Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: 8 Big Apple Maps Features iOS 14.5 Brings to Your iPhone
If you rely on Apple Maps to get around over other navigation apps, there's a lot you can do. Look Around lets you tour cities up close, restaurant reservations make dining less frustrating, and 3D view gives a new perspective of a neighborhood. While there are many more where that came from, iOS 14.5 just added six new features and changes you need to know about.
How To: iOS 14.5 Updated Apple Podcasts with 16 Features & Changes You'll Definitely Use on Your iPhone
Spotify has caught up to Apple in monthly podcast listenership and is even forecast to surpass Apple soon, but Apple just made some serious changes to its Podcasts app for iOS and iPadOS that could keep Apple at the top.
How To: 4 New Reminders Features in iOS 14.5 That'll Boost Your Productivity & Make To-Lists More Fun
Apple's Reminders app has come a long way. In the past, if you really wanted to keep track of your important daily, weekly, and monthly tasks, you needed to install a specialty third-party app to make it work. While those apps still offer valuable features, Reminders can get the job done for many iPhone users now. With iOS 14.5, Apple only sweetens the deal.
How To: Browse Privately & Securely with This VPN
If you're looking to improve your browsing experience, then a VPN is the right way to go. If you're tired of censored or geographically blocked sites and wary of companies selling your data, then a good VPN can be your answer to a problem that limits every aspect of your experience online.
How To: Give Yourself the Massage You've Been Craving for $54.99
The season for outdoor activities and indoor heavy cleaning has arrived, and with that comes all the aches and pains of enjoying it. If you find yourself with sore muscles and no easy way to fix it, then a portable massager you can use whenever you're in pain is something that could put the spring back in your step.
How To: Apple's AirTags Are Ready to Preorder on Amazon & Other Online Stores — Get Some Before They Sell Out!
If you have no intention of getting personalized engravings on your AirTags, you don't need to shop on the Apple Store unless you have an Apple Card you want to earn Daily Cash with. Best Buy. Target. Adorama. B&H Photo. All of those places will let you preorder AirTags now but so does Amazon, America's second-biggest retailer, a good choice whether you have Amazon Prime or not.
How To: Make the Best of Your Gaming & Browsing with One Deal
Improving your experience online is getting easier every year. Browsing can be safe, easy, and boundary-less with the right VPN, and gaming online is working better than ever to connect and compete with other players.
How To: Can't Wait for iOS 14.5? You Can Install It on Your iPhone Right Now Before It's Officially Out
Apple's iOS 14.5 is the biggest update since iOS 14.0 came out, with over 50 confirmed features and more being discovered every day. There are new emoji, support for AirTags, more privacy controls, and exciting upgrades to Siri, Maps, Reminders, Podcasts, Music, and even Shortcuts. So it wouldn't surprise us if you want to get this on your iPhone ASAP.
How To: Switch Between Bluetooth Accessories in 1 Tap on Android
Back in Android 9, Google took away the expanding mini-menu for Bluetooth connections. The way it used to be, you could long-press the Bluetooth toggle in your Quick Settings, then the panel would turn into a fast-access menu for Bluetooth settings. It was a fairly minor feature, but dropping it has made it a lot harder to switch between your various Bluetooth accessories.
How To: This Trick Makes It So Much Easier to Lower Your Blinds All the Way
One of the lowest levels of hell is a room where you have to make the window blinds go all the way down. No matter if you're pulling the cord left or right, forward or backwards, the blinds will drop a foot or two, then catch on some invisible snag and refuse to go down that last little bit.
How To: Delete the T-Mobile App from Any Android Phone — No Computer Needed
If you buy an Android phone from any of the big US carriers, it will come with several extra apps in addition to any apps the manufacturer preinstalled. It's all in the name of profit, of course. Some of these apps are from companies that paid the carriers to distribute their software, and some are from the carriers themselves, usually aimed at upselling you or perhaps collecting a little data.
How To: Learn to Design Games with Unity for Just $39.99
Game design is among the fastest-growing industries in tech. What once was a passing hobby or niche job has become a thriving industry with a huge variety of work. If you are interested in learning game design, either as a hobby or a profession, then The 2021 Complete Learn to Code by Making Games in Unity Bundle will hold some interest for you — and it's on sale for $39.99.
How To: If Your Sneaky Kids Keep Making In-App Purchases on Your iPhone, This Will Block Them for Good
You can't hand over your iPhone to a kid and expect everything to be OK. Not only will they drop your iPhone (and they will), they could also do something much worse than a cracked screen — in-app purchases.
How To: Disable Defunct Streaming App Buttons on Your Roku Remote or Upgrade Them to the Channels You Want
Streaming media companies like Netflix and Hulu make deals with Roku to have their apps featured on Roku's remote controls, but there's an inherent flaw with this model: the buttons become useless if the app no longer exists. So, is there anything you can do to change those defunct buttons on your Roke remote?
How To: 7 Search Tips You Need to Know to Find Specific Photos & Videos Faster on Your iPhone
If you've been using an iPhone for years, chances are you have thousands of photos and videos in your Photos app. And while it may be fun to browse them when you have free time, finding a specific one can be a chore if you're not searching your gallery right.
How To: You Can Learn a Language Together with a Friend by Using Babbel
Learning a new language as an adult isn't just hard because your brain works differently from when you were a kid. You also have to contend with having less time and energy to practice. However, if you're looking to add another language to your repertoire at a pace you decide, then the Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime Subscription for All Languages: 2-Pack will be a useful tool for you.
How To: Update Your iPhone Calculator's Look with These Easy Color Mods
If you're anything like me, you use the Calculator app on your iPhone like fifty times a day, and you're sick of the same user interface it's had since iOS 11 came out. While you can't mod the button shapes and sizes, there is a way to breathe new life into your calculations with some Calculator theming.
How To: This HomePod Setting Keeps Other People Out of Your Notes, Reminders & Calendar for Good
HomePod and HomePod mini are excellent smart speakers if you're entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. They even offer ways to protect your sensitive information from friends and visitors who try to ask Siri to spill your secrets. But there's an extra layer of privacy you can put in place to make sure nobody gains access to any important notes, reminders, and calendar events.
How To: This Interactive Demo Turns Your iPhone into a Samsung Galaxy Smartphone You Can Test Out
The Apple ecosystem might be strong, but so is the pull from devices outside Cupertino's walls. If you've ever felt curious about what life could be like with a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, be that an S21 or a Note20, you don't need to make the switch to know. In fact, you can give it a go right on your iPhone.
How To: These Top-Rated Wireless Earbuds Are Only $65
It's frustrating to go and listen to music just to find that your wired earbuds more closely resemble a tumbleweed you can't easily unknot. Cords tangle, are vulnerable, and make it hard to do so many of the things music makes easier — like working out, commuting, and cleaning. The Raycon E50 Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds are completely wireless earbuds that are on sale now for $64.99 — a full 45% off their regular listed price of $119.
How To: The Secret iPhone Dialer Trick That Dials Extensions Automatically & Navigates Automated Call Menus for You
Automatic phone menus are the worst. You call the number, listen to prerecorded prompts, press button, listen, press button, listen, press button, listen, until you're routed or connected to the right extension, directory, menu, person, or whatever. But you can bypass these automated attendants to get right to where you need to go by setting up a simple shortcut on your iPhone.
How To: Your iPhone's Display Can Get Brighter Than You Think
When you want to brighten up your iPhone's screen, you likely use Control Center's brightness slider to increase your nits (especially if you've disabled auto-brightness). But once you max it out, it doesn't seem like the display can get any brighter. However, depending on your iPhone model, your display may be capable of getting a lot brighter based on how you use it.
How To: No Job Interviews? Your Resume Might Be Getting Rejected by Automated Systems — Here's How to Find Out & Fix It
Never being contacted for a job you're interested in interviewing for is a terrible feeling. It might make you feel inadequate as if your qualifications aren't up to par, but the problem might be that your resume isn't even getting read in the first place.
How To: You're Searching Your Safari Tabs Wrong — Use This Hidden iPhone Trick to Find Them Faster
I am constantly hitting Apple's limit of 500 open tabs in Safari on my iPhone, so it's safe to say that I have way too many tabs to sort through. With that many tabs open in the browser, it can be impossible to track down the one needed at any given moment. If that sounds like you, stop browsing tab after tab to locate the right one because there are hidden tricks to searching those tabs that make it easy.
How To: Make Excel Work for You with This Training Bundle
Microsoft Excel is one of the most widely used tools in the professional sphere. It's also one that's difficult to master beyond a superficial understanding of how to input data. The All-In-One Microsoft Excel Certification Training Bundle can teach you how to make this multifaceted software into a time-saving utility, and right now, it's on sale for $33.99.
How To: Let This $40 Robot Clean Your Hard Floors for You
Keeping your home clean is an endless battle with time, motivation, and the easy availability of cleaning supplies. That's where the Hard Surface Floor Cleaning Robot Vacuum comes in. This magical device will save you time by automatically keeping your floors clean, never requires motivation, and doesn't require additional supplies beyond occasionally emptying the dust bin.
How To: Stop Your HomePod from Spying on You
While Apple's reputation for privacy and security is nearly unmatched, it'll never be perfect when Hey Siri is always listening. Aside from iOS devices, Hey Siri always listens for questions and commands on the HomePod and HomePod mini smart speakers. If you rarely use Hey Siri on those speakers, it's worth disabling the feature for some extra privacy.
How To: Have You Pressed This Little Button in Your Galaxy's Volume Panel Yet?
With Samsung's One UI 3.0 update, the main on-screen volume slider has a little menu button on the top of it. Tapping this will expand the slider into a full-blown volume panel, complete with controls for all of the various types of sounds your Galaxy might make. Standard stuff, really, but there's more to it.
How To: Use a Secret Voice Command to Unlock Your iPhone
Your voice is the key to unlocking many features on your iPhone. For example, you can ask Siri to send a text message to a friend, add items to a list, run a custom shortcut, or turn on your lights, but Apple does not allow you to unlock your iPhone with a Siri voice command. Instead, you can turn to a lesser-known feature to unlock your iPhone without Face ID, Touch ID, or typing your passcode.
How To: Master the Adobe Creative Suite for $33
In the creative world, Adobe products have become synonymous with the work you can do using them. Photoshop and Illustrator are staples in visual art, and every other program Adobe offers is similarly adored. However, as beloved as Adobe products are, they can have a steep learning curve, particularly for beginners and for those returning to them after some time away.
How To: 32 Things You Didn't Know About Your iPhone's Keyboard
Apple's stock keyboard for iPhone has gone through many changes over the years. Some have been significant, and others more subtle. Overall, most of these updates have been fairly obvious, so you're probably already using them — but there are more than a few interesting features that were slipped in under the radar that you may not know about.
How To: Experience the Best of VR Gaming for $99.99
VR gaming has developed rapidly in the last few years, moving from a fantasy to a product you can actually afford. As the VR industry grows, so do the ways you can experience virtual reality. The Dragon VR Gaming 3D Stereo Headset with Bluetooth Controller is the ultimate in VR gaming, offering you top-of-the-line performance for only $99.99 while it's on sale for 50% off.
How To: The Way You Select Text on Your iPhone Will Change Once You Know These Hidden Tricks
While there's no denying that iPads are better when it comes to multitasking and productivity, your iPhone has a few tricks up its sleeve to rival even the best iPad features. One thing about iPadOS is that it's really easy to highlight editable text with gestures, but it's just as simple on iOS if you know all the secrets.
How To: Browse the Internet Safely for 10 Years with This VPN
There are so many things in place that make browsing the internet difficult. From geographical walls to malicious software and spying — there's a lot to consider any time you do the most basic of functions online. VPN.asia: 10-Year Subscription is a VPN that can streamline your security process and make browsing the web so much easier, and right now, it's on sale for just $79.99.
How To: Download Reddit Videos on Android
Reddit has been pushing for more first-party content over the last couple years. So instead of just being a place to submit links, you can now upload photos and videos directly to Reddit's servers. But unlike Imgur, Gfycat, and other popular file hosts, Reddit doesn't give you an easy way to download videos.
How To: Turn Your Contacts into Apps on Your iPhone's Home Screen
When iOS 14 was released, the "Favorites" widget, which provided quick access to your most-used contacts, was nowhere to be seen. There's a workaround that brings it back via the Shortcuts app, but the original Favorites widget was better all around. For those of you looking for something better, try turning all your favorite and most-used contacts into apps on your home screen.
How To: Mirror Your iPhone's Entire Screen to Mac & Windows Using Any Web Browser
Screen mirroring software has been around for ages, allowing you to mirror your iPhone to a projector, laptop, TV, or another device. It's useful to have during lectures, presentations, and meetings, so it's no wonder why Apple created its AirPlay technology. However, AirPlay doesn't work in all situations.
How To: There's a Hidden App on Your iPhone — One That Won't Show Up on Your Home Screen or App Library
Every now and then, an iOS secret surfaces that makes me wonder, "How am I just learning about this?" I remember the first time I found out how to delete numbers in the Calculator app, and when I discovered you could bulk-move apps around the Home screen. Now, there's another tip to add to the list: a hidden iOS app whose icon you quite literally can't find unless you know where to look.
How To: 4 New & Noteworthy Indie Android Apps of the Week — March 26 Edition
I'm always looking for solutions to problems people are having with their smartphones. This means I spend a lot of time browsing forums and release sites looking for new apps. In doing so, I find a lot of apps that don't quite solve a major problem, but are nonetheless pretty cool. I came across four of those this week.
How To: Learn the Most Used Coding Languages for $30
Learning to code is difficult, but the potential of a little expertise in a few programming languages grants you is worth the effort. Learning to code won't just put you on one career path; many fields, from game design to data science, use coding languages. The All-in-One Coding Skills Bundle can be your start toward mastery of some of the most useful coding languages around for $29.99.