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iOS 18 Tips, Tricks, How-Tos, News

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: 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: 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: 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.

How To: The Easy Way to Upload Files Anonymously from Your iPhone So They Can't Be Traced Back to You

If you need to share something online but don't want your personal information attached to the file, use an anonymous file hosting site. By uploading files anonymously, you keep your IP address safe and won't need to create any kind of account that could provide further logging. You can do this in a web browser, but it's much easier to do using a shortcut on your iPhone.

How To: Stop AirPods from Annoyingly Auto-Switching Between iPhone, iPad & Mac So They Stick to One Device

You're watching a YouTube video on your Mac, then go to check something on your iPhone. Of course, because you had a video queued on iOS, your AirPods automatically switch from your Mac to your iPhone. Now, your Mac's YouTube video is playing out loud, and you have to reroute your AirPods back over to macOS. Luckily, there's a hidden setting you can change that fixes this whole issue.

How To: These Excellent Air Treatment Devices Will Help You Breathe Better — On Sale Now

Having the right air quality can turn a room into an atmosphere. With a humidifier, you can see your skin dewy and your sinuses clear. Proper temperature control will keep you comfortable and content, and the right air purifier will give you clean air and peace of mind. If you're in the market for a humidifier, an air conditioner, a heater, or an air purifier but just need to find the perfect one to match your needs and your budget, then check out some of these great deals.

How To: Dial These Secret Codes to See if Someone Is Hijacking Calls & Texts on Your iPhone

Malevolent hackers can divert your incoming calls and texts to any number they want, and they don't need to be a criminal mastermind to do it. Even friends and family members can reroute your incoming calls and messages so that they know exactly who's trying to reach you, and all it takes is seconds of access to your iPhone or wireless account. These secret codes can help uncover them.

How To: Generate Live Captions for Any Streaming Video or Audio File Using Chrome's Desktop App

Captions are great for catching every word and important sound in a movie or TV show, but now there's a way in Google Chrome's desktop browser to enjoy captions for any audio file or source. You could ensure you never mishear a comment during an online meeting, and you could even follow along to a song's lyrics on platforms that don't already have in-sync lyrics, such as SoundCloud.

How To: Make iOS Alert You When Your iPhone Only Has 5% Battery Life Remaining

The battery on your iPhone can go from 10% to completely dead in a matter of minutes, or at least it can feel that way. Apple does prepare you with an alert when you hit the 20% and 10% mark, but it's easy to forget to charge your iPhone before it dies even with those notifications. That's why you should also be notified when your battery's down to 5% remaining.

How To: Eliminate Unwanted Texts & iMessages on Your iPhone to Avoid Spam, Scams & Phishing Attacks

Next to spam calls, few things are more annoying than being inundated with spam, scam, and smishing texts. Your iPhone's Messages app should be a place for your friends and family to stay in touch, not a minefield of phishing attacks, malicious links, and viruses. Luckily, there are quite a few methods to block and report your way to a more spam-free iPhone.

How To: Turn Any Website into a Full-Screen Android App with Ad Blocking, Dark Mode & More

Progressive Web Apps hope to one day bridge the gap between websites and apps by giving the former more access to your phone's features, but they're not very common yet. In the meantime, you can take matters into your own hands with an app that uses your system WebView to render websites in a full-screen, borderless window with a few extra features — a lot like a native Android app.

How To: Add Self-Generating Captions to Your Instagram Stories So You Don't Have to Type Them in Manually

When creating video content for social media, such as a story on Instagram, it's common practice to add captions or subtitles to the post so that people can watch it wherever they are on silent. Doing this by hand is time-consuming and frustrating, but Instagram has a solution: a feature to add automatically-generated captions to any story you make from your iPhone or Android phone.

How To: Get Trained in UX Design with This Bundle

Becoming a successful web developer is more than knowing coding languages. Learning to craft functional, intuitive designs is as much coding as knowing how the user will interact with what you've built. The Complete Become a UI/UX Designer Bundle can take you from introduction to mastery in designing the best user experience, and right now, it's only $34.99.

How To: See Your iPhone's Actual Signal Strength for Cellular Reception

The signal bars in your iPhone's status bar are great visual indicators for knowing how good your cellular reception is, but they're not very accurate. Instead of showing the actual amount of signal you're receiving, they just give you a general range, and you'll have no idea if three out of four bars is actually a good connection or not. But there is a trick to see the real numbers.

How To: Become a Web Developer with This $30 Bundle

Even as we look forward to returning to work in person, the last year has changed how work can be done. That means there will always be a demand for good programmers and coders who can support the digital infrastructure of the online working world. The Backend Developer Bootcamp Bundle can give you the expertise you need to become a highly qualified programmer for only $29.99.

How To: T-Mobile Is Automatically Selling Your Data to Advertisers — Here's How to Opt Out

It's getting harder and harder to escape ad tracking by the day. For the latest example, look no further than T-Mobile. The No. 2 carrier updated its privacy policy on Feb. 23, 2021, indicating that it would start sharing customer data with advertisers under the guise of more relevant ads starting April 26. If that's not something you'd like to participate in, there's a way to opt-out.