Hot Gadget Hacks How-Tos

How To: Use Telegram's GIF & Sticker Search to Find a Perfect Reaction for a Chat

Remember trying to express yourself over the 160-character limit on SMS texts? We've come a long way since then, and messaging services have nearly taken over with emoji, chat effects, custom interface colors, and other personalizations. Necessities for messages these days include GIFs and stickers, and Telegram makes it easy to find those perfect reactions for any moment.

How To: Facebook's Adding a Way to Watch Videos Together with Friends Around the Globe Using Messenger

For all its faults, you can't say that Facebook hasn't been instrumental in connecting friends and family together, no matter where in the world everyone is. That's why one of its upcoming features — watching videos together with Facebook friends directly in Messenger — is so novel. It's just another example of the internet bridging gaps that couldn't be bridged just a short while ago.

How To: iOS 13 Makes It Easier to Request Desktop & Mobile Sites for Webpages on Your iPhone

Ever since iOS 7, you could ask Safari on iPhone to show you the desktop version of a website, and in iOS 9, it became even easier to do. However, it's always been a hidden feature, something you wouldn't know is there without reading articles or tips online telling you what to do. Apple's iOS 13 update shines a light on it so everyone will know it's there, ready to use.

How To: Send Robocalls, Spammers & Unknown Callers on Your iPhone Directly to Voicemail

Does your iPhone always ring off the hook, with each call nothing more than a robocall, spammer, or scammer? It's not just you. Auto-dialing systems and phone scams are a growing issue that anyone with a phone number is likely experiencing throughout the United States. But Apple has added a super simple way to combat these calls in iOS 13, a feature we recommend everyone turn on.

How To: Can't Find the Accessibility Menu & Its Options in iOS 13? It Got a Huge Update Worth Checking Out

The iPhone's "Accessibility" menu is one of those options that's very easy to overlook but incredibly handy in certain situations. You can set AssistiveTouch to help navigate your device, use a Bluetooth mouse when your screen is acting up, and enable the red screen filter for nighttime escapades. For as long as the menu has been available, it's been in the "General" settings, but not in iOS 13.

How To: Turn Off Those Annoying Amber Alerts & Emergency Broadcasts on Your Android

To bring things up to code with a new FCC standard, Android recently added an "Emergency broadcasts" feature that will make your smartphone notify you whenever a potential safety threat or Amber Alert is posted in your area. Even if you have your phone set to silent, these emergency alerts will cause your device to emit a loud, piercing sound when a potential threat is nearby.

How To: Enable Dark Mode in Google Maps on iPhone & Android

Dark mode is one of the most requested features these days, but it's even more important with a navigation app. If you're using Google Maps for directions while driving at night, the default white background will shock your eyes and make it harder to see the road in front of you. Thankfully, you can now enable a dark theme to make this whole process a lot safer.

Coming Soon: Call & Message All Your Facebook, Instagram & WhatsApp Friends from One App

You're in constant communication with your friends and family. The only issue? Nobody uses the same app. Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp — you have contacts spanning all three, and the resulting balancing-act to keep in touch can be overwhelming. That's why Facebook — who owns all three apps — is coming out with a way to call and message friends across all three platforms from one place.

How To: Install Android Q Beta on Any Project Treble Phone

For many, the stock version of Android is often considered the epitome of what the operating system should look and feel like by default. It's clean and clear of unwanted extra apps that come pre-installed with the system, provides a fluid and fast user experience, and runs on just about any device that has an unlocked bootloader to install a custom ROM with the stock version ready to go.

How To: Install Android Q Beta on Any Google Pixel Phone

During the Google I/O 2019 keynote, the latest Android Q Beta was released to the public for Pixel smartphones along with 15 other non-Pixel devices. It's the third Developer Preview for Android 10, but it's the first official public beta outside of Google's Pixel smartphones. A new public beta means good things are on the way as the future of Android continues to evolve.

How To: Get a Real System-Wide Dark Mode on Your iPhone for Less Battery Drain & More Night-Friendly Views

A universal dark theme has long been one of the most sought-after features we've been urging Apple to introduce for iOS. While this wish went unfulfilled with iOS 12, there's renewed hope that it'll finally touch down with iOS 13's arrival. The jailbreak community, however, has had this functionality available for quite some time, and you can too if you're running the right iOS version.

How To: Save Custom Shooting Presets in Filmic Pro So You Don't Have to Adjust Settings Later for Similar Shots

Filmic Pro has a superb suite of professional settings — bit rate, frame rate, and mic choice, to name a few — which can enable you to capture the best footage possible. But different shots require different setups, and it can be frustrating to change settings on the fly. Filmic Pro lets you skip that whole process by saving your favorite settings as presets for quick and easy access.

How To: Automate Focus, Zoom & Exposure Changes in Filmic Pro for Smoother Pull Operations

There are many reasons to use Filmic Pro if you're a mobile videographer. Chief among them is its automated controls, called "pull-to-point" sliders. These pull-to-point controls not only allow you to manually adjust focus, zoom, exposure, ISO, and shutter speed before and during the action, they also let you set start and end points to automate each function, leaving you free to focus on filming.

How To: Add Dissolves, Wipes, Fades & Other Video Transitions in Enlight Videoleap for iPhone

An edited video with lots of different clips needs great transitions to be successful. Transitions support your story and message, and without any, there's always a chance that your audience might lose track of what's going on and when. When editing in Enlight Videoleap for iOS, you can easily add cut, dissolve, iris, wipe, slide, and fade transitions to your video clips with just a few taps.

How To: Automatically Delete Your Google History on a Schedule

Your Google history is mostly a binary choice — either you enable it fully, taking advantage of all its features while letting Google record your activity, or you disable it, staying incognito but also missing out on some fun stuff. But now, Google will let you auto-delete your history, allowing you to utilize all the perks that come with recording your history while maintaining some level of privacy.

How To: Enable Dark Mode on Overcast for iPhone

We all listen to podcasts differently — on the way to work, at the gym, when drifting off to sleep. If you're in the latter group and rely on Overcast to help you with your nightly routine, you're probably sick of its blinding light theme keeping you up. That's why the app features a dark mode, to keep things easy on the eyes while picking out or playing an episode.

How To: Share Audio & Video Clips in Overcast to Show Off Your Favorite Podcasts

In a world of seemingly endless streaming services, podcasts continue to offer free, unlimited entertainment for all. When you find a podcast that's just too good to keep to yourself, sharing it with family and friends is inevitable, but how you share may determine whether or not they listen to it or not. Links alone aren't enough. Audio and video clips are how you get them sucked in.

How To: Replace Video Backgrounds with the Green Screen Chroma Key Tool in Enlight Videoleap for iPhone

Using a green screen is an affordable and easy way to transport your video to anywhere imaginable, even to places that don't exist. You can use it to sit behind a desk in a busy newsroom or dance on the moon, but first, you have to know how to properly perform chroma key compositing two videos together. Fortunately, Enlight Videoleap on iOS makes it easy.