Hot Gadget Hacks How-Tos
How To: Activate Dark Mode in Facebook Messenger
Facebook has a new dark mode for Messenger, and it's a true OLED black theme. It's was hidden away in earlier versions and you needed to either run a root hack or send a moon emoji to activate it — but now, you can enable dark mode by toggling a simple switch in Facebook Messenger's settings.
How To: Save Up to 60% Battery Life by Enabling Dark Mode in the YouTube App
With the increasing popularity of OLED displays, companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung have all shifted away from traditional LCDs for their flagship devices. An OLED screen provides deeper blacks and is better for battery life since each pixel can be controlled individually while emitting its own light. This, in turn, has made dark themes an important software feature.
How To: App Over 150 MB? Here's How to Download It Using Cellular Data on Your iPhone
These days, cellular connections can be just as fast — if not faster — than traditional internet providers. That, coupled with the prevalence of unlimited data plans, means less worrying about hopping on a Wi-Fi network to download something. However, try to install an app or update over 150 MB, and your iPhone will insist you switch to Wi-Fi. We don't think this is very fair, so here's a way out.
How To: Set Multiple Timers on Your iPhone to Run Side by Side
Although the Clock app in iOS has undergone some design changes over the years, you still can't set more than one timer on your iPhone. Oddly enough, Apple's own HomePod speaker added this feature, mimicking the timer on Amazon's popular Echo smart speakers. Fortunately, through Apple's Shortcuts app, there's a clever hack to set multiple timers — without using a third-party timer app.
How To: Delete Your Bumble Account (Or Snooze It)
You've had your fun swiping, but now it's time to walk away from all of your online dating apps. Whether it's because you found someone you're interested in or just need some time away, it's important to know how to permanently erase your online dating footprint — and that includes deleting your Bumble account.
How To: Get the Most Out of the Gym With These 6 Essential Apps
The gym can be pretty distracting. With the slamming of weights and pieces of equipment, loud music blasting through the speakers, and plain old grunting, it can be challenging to focus on your workout. However, with your just your phone, you can not only eliminate these distractions but make the most of your time there.
How To: Add Some Color to Your iPhone's Notification Banners for Easier Sorting
The iPhone's notification system has drastically improved over the years, but it could still use some work. The notifications, while useful, are all monochrome, making it hard to distinguish which app posted each alert, and that's not even mentioning the drab overall look. This is where jailbreak tweaks can come in handy.
How To: Track All Your Online Orders from One App
Shopping wasn't always this easy. Now, in a matter of minutes, you can order your groceries for the week, send your cracked phone in for repairs, get your holiday shopping done, and have everything delivered to your front door in just a few days — without ever having to leave your home. Online shopping is convenient, comfortable, and a blessing ... right? Well, it can also be a headache.
How To: 8 Tips to Help You Become a MyFitnessPal Pro
If you're new to MyFitnessPal, it might seem daunting. The app is way more than just a calorie counter, but that's because getting fit is just as much about changing your lifestyle as it is about watching what you eat. So don't let it overwhelm you — there are just a handful of tips you should know to hit the ground running.
How To: Hide Notification Badges Without Actually Removing Them from Your iPhone's Home Screen
By default, there aren't many customization options for the notification badges on iPhones — you can either leave the numbered red bubbles there, or turn them off. But thanks to a new jailbreak tweak, you can now give your badges a unique look with new functionality.
How To: Get Android's Smart Lock Feature on Your iPhone
As great as passcode and biometric security features like Face ID are for preventing unwanted access, they aren't needed 100% of the time. When you're at home with a locked door between you and anyone you wouldn't trust with your phone, they really only serve to slow you down. Android has long had a solution for this, but a new Cydia tweak has now brought a similar solution to iPhones.
How To: Easily Store Your iPhone's Wi-Fi Passwords & Share Them with Anybody — Even Android Users
iOS 12 has a feature that lets you instantly share saved Wi-Fi passwords with other iPhone users, but it can be finicky when you're sharing with multiple people. Then there's an even more pressing question: How do you share your password with Android users? Thankfully, there's a Shortcut that can solve these problems.
How To: Automatically Enable Low Power Mode When Your iPhone Is Locked to Save Battery Life
Though not as flashy as Face ID and other features, Low Power Mode has become one of the unsung heroes of iOS. When you're away from a charger, enabling this feature will dial back performance and networking to help you eke out up to three extra hours of battery life. If your device is jailbroken, you can even automate Low Power Mode to ensure your battery never dips to critical levels while out and about.
How To: Block Notifications While You're Using the Camera on Your Android Phone
Imagine this: you have your finger poised to take the perfect picture — a once in a lifetime opportunity, like a solar eclipse — and you are suddenly caught off guard by a buzz, then "ding!" You look down at your phone to find your perfect pic ruined by distortion from the vibration, all because of an ill-timed notification. It's enough to make you crazy, especially when you find out it could have been prevented.
How To: Download Your 2018 Apple Music Listening History Just Like on Spotify
Around the end of each year, Spotify offers a year-in-review service so its users can see what they listened to the past year and share their listening histories in fun infographics. Apple Music does not have such a feature, unfortunately, but there is a way to curb that FOMO feeling this holiday season by downloading your listening history not just for 2018, but for the entire lifespan of your account.
How To: Get Google's Avengers AR Sticker Packs on Any Android Device with ARCore
The idea of augmented reality isn't new, but the world of smartphones is looking to push it forward in a big way. As with any platform, both product demand and technological advancements have to catch up to the industry before it can become a viable solution for daily consumer life. Apple and Google are working to introduce the smartphone consumer to AR for the first time with basic features for now.
How To: Like Tabs? Put a Tab in Your Tab with Chrome's New Sneak Peek Feature on Android
If you ever looked at Apple's Peek and Pop feature on Safari and said "I want that," Google has kinda-sorta delivered. A new hidden Chrome feature brings similar functionality to Android despite the lack of 3D Touch, and while it's a bit redundant and nowhere near as polished, it does make navigating the web easier.
How To: Get Dolby Atmos on Your OnePlus 6T for Enhanced Audio
The OnePlus 6T is easily one of 2018's best value phones for many reasons, especially when it comes to rooting and modding. But like many new phones, it's plagued with the single bottom-firing speaker that left us wanting more in the sound department. The speaker is decent on its own, but it appears to have some hidden potential at the same time.
How To: Use Quickdrawer & Google Now at the Same Time in Action Launcher
As highlighted in our article on how to enable Google Now in Action Launcher, doing so takes away the Quickdrawer. This effectively ruins one of the more beneficial features of Action Launcher, making it a tough choice between the two options. So I looked for a solution and found one that works.
How To: Customize Your Weekly & Daily Goals in MyFitnessPal
When you set up your MyFitnessPal account for the first time, it asks for a checklist of personal info to create nutrition and fitness goals for you. Whatever you decide then, it's important to know that the goals provided to you are not fixed. If your doctor or nutritionist recommends a new plan, or you simply want to change up your routine, you can customize your weekly and daily goals.
How To: Enable Google Now Integration in Action Launcher
One of the most useful features of the Pixel Launcher is access to the Google Discover page. Initially, this feature was exclusive to Google's launchers, forcing users to give up the customization of apps like Action Launcher if they wanted the quick access to relevant news and updates it provided. Fortunately, this is no longer the case.
How To: 'Quick Add' Calories for Snacks in MyFitnessPal to Keep Yourself Accountable for Every Tiny Bite
It's only normal to snack on a few french fries every once in a while when you're on a diet, but it's still important to hold yourself accountable, even when you cheat just a little bit. MyFitnessPal, for both Android and iOS devices, has a database of nutritional information to help keep track of the meals you eat, but it also has a way to add calories on the fly without digging for data.
How To: Make Fun Looping Facebook Messenger Videos with Boomerang
Boomerangs are a staple camera feature for Instagram and its users. The idea is to take up to 20 frames of video, which Instagram then processes into a looping movie that plays forward and backward. Since Facebook owns Instagram, it was only a matter of time before the feature hit its namesake apps, so it's not surprising that Messenger now supports the popular camera technique.
How To: MyFitnessPal Has a Hidden Way to See How Much Weight Your Diet Will Help You Lose
MyFitnessPal has become extremely popular thanks to features that help users keep themselves accountable and stay motivated as they eat healthier and lose weight. While the application does a great job of reminding you to log the food you eat in order to keep track of your calories, there is one incredibly useful feature that doesn't get much attention.
How To: Get Bokeh on Any Phone with Facebook Messenger's Portrait Selfies
Portrait mode works with any dual-lens iPhone, as well as the single-lens iPhone XR, and lets you take impressive portraits with blurry, bokeh-filled backgrounds. Portrait selfies, on the other hand, are only available devices with Face ID. But that's only for Apple's Camera app itself — third-party apps like Messenger have "portrait" selfies for any iPhone — as well as any Android phone model.
How To: Scan Food & Drink Labels in MyFitnessPal When Cooking at Home for More Accurate Nutrition & Calorie Info
In MyFitnessPal, you can search through a food database to add your meal into the app's diary and track your calories. Unfortunately, the sheer size of the database can make it hard to find exactly what you have just consumed, which is why MFP includes a barcode feature to make the process of adding food much smoother.
How To: Change Your Step Count Goal in Samsung Health
Once known as S Health, Samsung Health has become one of the most comprehensive health apps available for Android. In fact, we all can benefit from the features the app brings to the table — whether you're a marathon runner or a couch potato. If you're in the latter category, the app has a simple feature that can nudge you towards becoming more active.
How To: Instantly Determine Which Jailbreak Tweaks Will Work on Your iPhone
Apple has done a fantastic job of instantly patching iOS exploits through constant firmware updates to keep hackers at bay. Because of this, jailbreaking has largely been pushed to the fringes, resulting in a myriad of tweaks being abandoned by developers which, in turn, have been rendered incompatible with later jailbroken versions of iOS.
How To: Make Animated Selfie Stickers on Your iPhone Using Giphy's New Keyboard Extension
Giphy has had a few apps for iOS over the years. Giphy Keys was a keyboard built specifically for GIFs. Giphy Cam lets you create your GIFs complete with stickers. Giphy World is for adding augmented reality stickers to the real world. But now, Giphy has combined elements of all of these into its main app, so you can create, find, and share GIFs and stickers right from your keyboard.
How To: Create Mini Emoji-Style Stickers of Yourself in Gboard for Android & iOS
Expressing yourself during chats is much easier these days thanks to the steady rise of emoji. Now, products like emoji Minis for Gboard are taking the craft to an interesting yet familiar new level. With emoji Minis, you can automatically create stickers based off your own face. From there, you can further customize the stickers by adding key features such as glasses, earrings, and facial hair.
How To: You Really Should Tap This Icon in Your iPhone's Google App
Anyone remember Google Goggles? Well, it's back with a new name: Google Lens. But this time, there's more machine learning and it's integrated into many different Google apps and services. The latest is the Google app for iPhones.
How To: Everyone Should Buy a Gaming Phone — Not Just Fortnite Junkies
Last year, Razer kicked off a new trend by building a smartphone from the ground up with mobile gamers in mind. At the time, many thought the Razer Phone solved a problem that no one really had — but a year later, we're starting to see that gaming phones are perfect for more than just Fortnite players.
How To: Make the Most of Your Trip to the Movie Theater with These Apps
With the list of available mobile apps for moviegoers constantly expanding and improving, seeing a film at your local theater has never been better. With the right apps for your iPhone or Android phone, you can research movies, find out if showings are sold out, reserve seats, save money on tickets and concessions, preorder popcorn and soda, and even find dull bathroom-worthy scenes.
How To: Install the ElementalX Custom Kernel on Your OnePlus 6T
After you unlock the bootloader, install TWRP custom recovery, and flash Magisk to gain root access, what might be the next step of your modding adventure? A custom kernel, of course! Flashing a custom kernel onto your device gives you a whole new level of tweaks and customizations, and it allows you to have full control over how your system performs.
How To: The Best 'Fast Pair' Bluetooth Headphones for Your Android Device
In 2017, Google introduced a new feature called Fast Pair. This made discovering and pairing Bluetooth devices completely stress-free, as it eliminated the need to fumble through settings. Google has now made it even easier, so Fast Pair is a must-have feature for your next headphones.
How To: The 4 Best Apps for Downloading Movies & TV Shows
Streaming movies and TV shows on phones is more popular today than ever, but what about when you're on a plane, have a limited data plan, or will be in a no-service area? You'll want to download your movies and TV shows instead. While Netflix is excellent, you can't rent or download most of the latest movies and TV series. What you need is an app that lets you do just that.
How To: The Best Phones for Watching Movies & TV Shows — Under $500
You might think you need to buy a thousand dollar phone to get a great experience while streaming movies and TV shows from services like Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube, but that's just not true anymore. While phone prices keep rising and the midrange segment now ranges from $300–$500, there are still cost-effective options that come with top-notch displays and media features.
How To: Snag Hulu & Showtime with Spotify Premium for Just $5/Month
Media subscriptions are all the rage these days. Between Netflix, Apple Music, HBO Now, and countless more, your TV, movie, and music options have never been better. Unfortunately, all these choices weigh heavily on your wallet. So, when there's an opportunity to snag not just Spotify but Hulu and Showtime as well, all for just a tad bit over five dollars a month, how could you turn that down?
How To: The 5 Best Phones for Streaming Videos from Netflix, Hulu, YouTube & Amazon Prime
For many, phones are starting to replace televisions as the primary device for watching videos. Thanks to their portability and easy to use apps, it's often simpler to watch Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, or Prime Instant Video on the smaller screen. But not every phone is suited to fit this need, so we did some testing to find the best of the best when it comes to streaming videos.
How To: Buy Movies & TV Shows from Amazon Prime Video on Your iPhone
Amazon Prime Video is undoubtedly one of the best services out there for streaming and downloading movies and TV shows to your iPhone. If you try to buy or rent a movie or show in any of Amazon's iOS apps, however, you'll notice that there's no apparent way to do so. No buttons, no links, nada. What gives, and how can you buy and rent content from Amazon on your iOS device?