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How To: Disable the Always-on Ambient Display on Your Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL

Unlike traditional backlit LCD technology, OLED screens don't use any power to display black pixels. Many manufacturers have taken advantage of this by implementing an always-on display, which only lights up a few pixels here and there to show relevant info when your phone is locked. But this leads to extra battery drain, albeit small, and it increases the risk of screen burn-in.

VSCO 101: How to Use Presets (or Filters) on Your Photos

One of the best features VSCO has to offer is its presets, also known as filters — they reduce the labor it takes to make your images look better by applying unique preset edits to each. Presets can make your photo look like it came from a professional studio or a black and white camera from the '70s. Sounds great, right? So, how do you get started?

How To: 8 Ways to Increase Battery Life on Your LG V30

The LG V30 has solid battery life. With its QHD P-OLED screen and 4 GB RAM, it's able to maintain all-day performance with average use. Heavier users might find that its 3,300 mAh battery isn't quite enough for a full day of work, though, but with a few software tweaks, you can squeeze out even more battery life.

How To: Turn Your LG V30 into a Google Pixel 2

The LG V30 is an amazing device that will contend for best smartphone of 2017. It has all the major features you'd expect from a high-end flagship, and it even includes what's become a rare commodity these days — a headphone jack. However, for the purists out there, the LG UX skin strays too far away from stock Android. Have no fear, for with the LG V30, you can have your cake and eat it, too.

How To: Get the Pixel 2 Launcher with the Bottom Search Bar & Google Now — No Root Needed

Update 10/14: Developer paphonb has added rootless Google Now integration to the leaked Pixel 2 launcher, so now, anyone running Android Nougat or Oreo can get the full Pixel 2 home screen experience. For those running Lollipop or Marshmallow, we've left the unaltered leaked version linked out below, but we've added a new link for the tweaked version with Google Now integration.

HoloLens Dev 101: Building a Dynamic User Interface, Part 7 (Unlocking the Menu Movement)

In the previous section of this series on dynamic user interfaces for HoloLens, we learned about delegates and events. At the same time we used those delegates and events to not only attach our menu system to the users gaze, but also to enable and disable the menu based on certain conditions. Now let's take that knowledge and build on it to make our menu system a bit more comfortable.

TIDAL 101: How to Adjust the Quality of Streaming or Downloaded Music

Thanks to their partnership with Tidal, over 30 million Sprint customers can access Hi-Fi audio on the go. And the Jay-Z-owned music service isn't limited to just Sprint customers — for $19.99/month, anyone can listen to lossless audio from their favorite artists. But streaming uncompressed audio files uses a lot more data than standard quality, so how do you use Tidal without hitting your data cap?

TIDAL 101: How to Cast Music to Your Google Home or Chromecast

With so many Chromecast-powered devices available, chances are, you're near something with casting abilities right now. Whether it's Android TV, Google Home, or any one of the various gadgets with Chromecast built-in, you can use a more powerful speaker to play media from your smartphone. The only caveat is that the app you're streaming from needs to support Google Cast, but thankfully, Tidal does.

How To: Catch a Ride with Lyft or Uber Straight from Apple Maps in iOS 11

There's no denying the impact ride sharing apps like Uber and Lyft have made on our lives. With fares that undercut traditional yellow cabs, combined with the fact that your ride is just a tap away, these services have become the primary mode of transportation for many folks in urban areas. Thanks to iOS 11, booking an Uber or Lyft has just become a lot more convenient.

How To: Access the Notes App Directly from the Lock Screen in iOS 11

All to often, many of us are struck with a brilliant idea out of nowhere, only to forget about it moments later thanks to the distractions of daily life. Sometimes, the actual process of jotting these ideas down in our iPhones can be a holdup, as the idea we want to record fades from memory before we can even unlock our devices and open Notes to get started.

How To: Use Portrait Lighting Mode on the iPhone X & iPhone 8 Plus

Apple introduced Portrait Mode with the iPhone 7 Plus, a feature which utilized the iPhone's dual cameras to create a shallow depth of field around a subject. This effect replicates the look of DSLR cameras, making your photos look more professional. Apple, of course, carries Portrait Mode to the iPhone X and iPhone 8 Plus in iOS 11, however, with it comes a twist — Portrait Lighting.

Kodi 101: How to Get Free Live TV Legally

When most people first become aware of Kodi (formerly known as XBMC), they hear about its ability to stream illegal content. But the real Kodi community knows that it's much more than just a haven for pirated material — it's an all-in-one media player that addresses the majority of home theater needs, particularly for those that decided to cut the cord.

How To: Get Back the Camera's Missing HDR Button on Your iPhone 8 or 8 Plus

Out of the box, when you shoot a photo on your iPhone using the stock Camera app, it will either shoot a normal or HDR photo. That's because Apple's high-dynamic-range setting is set to automatic by default. However, there's a button in the app so you can turn HDR on or off manually. While this HDR toggle persists in iOS 11 on the iPhone 7 models and older, it's not visible on the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus.

How To: Disable the True Tone Display on Your iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, or iPhone X

The new iPhone 8 and 8 Plus models come with a gorgeous Retina HD display with Apple's True Tone technology, which automatically adjusts the white balance on the screen to match the ambient light around you. The iPhone X also has True Tone built into its Super Retina HD display. However, if you're coming over from any previous model iPhone, it may look a little strange in some situations.

Action Launcher 101: How to Use Quicktheme to Make Your Home Screen Match Your Wallpaper

If you're like me, you change your wallpaper often. After maybe a week of looking at the same picture, you just have to have something different. Depending on the new wallpaper, you may spend another hour changing the background color of folders, the app drawer, and even Quickpage to match your overall theme. But you probably don't want to spend that much time tweaking your layout every week, so let me show you a way that reduces the time from an hour to a few seconds.

How To: Add Additional Emails to FaceTime & Messages in iOS 11

Using either iMessages or FaceTime on the iPhone is a great alternative for coworkers to stay in touch in the event that messaging services like Slack go down. They're also a handy means of communicating between buyers and sellers, as it provides a more intimate way of either checking out or showcasing a product. But you're not always going to want to give out your real number to everyone.

How To: Force Restart Your iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus When It's Acting Up

If your iPhone is acting up, frozen on a screen, and/or won't respond to you, force-restarting it is a surefire way to whip it back into shape. And the process is easy on older devices ... just hold down a two-button combo until the Apple logo appears. That's no longer the case with the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which require a more extensive procedure that's harder to remember.