Hot Gadget Hacks How-Tos

How To: 27 Features in iOS 14.3 That'll Make Your iPhone Experience Way Better

Apple's latest big update to iOS 14 has a lot to be excited about. While iOS 14.2 had some fun new features, such as new emoji and wallpapers, People Detection in Magnifier, and a Shazam control, iOS 14.3 brings on the heat. There are new Apple services and products that are supported, ApplePro RAW is ready to go, the TV app makes searching better, and custom home screen app icons work even better now.

How To: Learn to Create Your Own Apple Apps for the App Store with This SwiftUI Course Bundle

If you want to quickly pick up a new skill over the holidays, learning to build your own Apple apps is one of the most impressive ones you can work on. This complete course bundle on SwiftUI and iOS 14 will have you submitting your own iOS apps to the App Store in just two weeks. Right now, The iOS 14 & SwiftUI Bootcamp Bundle is on sale at 95% off, for just $24.99 (regular price $600).

How To: The Trick to Taking Night Mode Time-Lapses on Your iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max

Good time-lapse videos capture cities, nature, and other long-running events in a way normal photos and videos simply can't. Your iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max can make time-lapses look even better, thanks to Night mode. But it isn't exactly intuitive or even clear on how to enable the feature since, unlike with Video mode, you won't find a Night mode icon to use.

How To: Make Your iPhone's Camera Remember Your Last Used Exposure Compensation Value for Later

Your ability to control exposure in the Camera app is much better in iOS 14. Instead of setting the exposure for a single shot, you can also lock an exposure compensation value for an entire session while you take photos and videos. A session ends as soon as you exit the app, but you can also remind your iPhone to use your last used ECV the next time you open Camera.

How To: Set Custom Wallpapers for Individual WhatsApp Chats So That Each Thread Has Its Own Look

One of WhatsApp's best features is being able to change the default wallpaper for all chats. There's no reason to stick to the default WhatsApp backgrounds when you can be texting over an image of literally anything. In a newer WhatsApp update, you can go a step beyond that by setting custom wallpapers for individual chats, personalizing every text thread you have.

How To: Bring Back the Squeeze Gesture for Google Assistant on Your Pixel 5 — No Root Needed

The Pixel 5 is a bit of a departure from previous Pixels. Gone are the Pixel 4's Soli-based Motion Sense gestures, the Pixel 3's dual front-facing speakers, and the glass back panel of previous generations. But perhaps the most notable omission for long-time Pixel users is the lack of a squeeze gesture to trigger the Google Assistant.

How To: The Best Black Friday Deals on iPhone Accessories

The holiday season is here! Whether you're gift shopping for the iPhone owners in your life or just trying to save some money on your own purchases, Black Friday can deal out the discounts. This year, you'll find great prices on iPhone accessories of all kinds — all Thanksgiving week long — whether you're buying gear for an iPhone 12, X, or 7, there's something here for everyone.

How To: Auto-Change Your iPhone's Background with MacOS Big Sur's Dynamic Wallpapers

Three new wallpapers showed up in iOS 14.0, each with dark and light versions, while iOS 14.2 added eight more. Each iPhone also has live wallpapers catered specifically for it. However, none of Apple's wallpapers are dynamic. That means they won't change automatically based on certain conditions, such as what time of day it is. MacOS's do, though, and you can get those working on your iPhone.

How To: 10 Coding, SEO & More Courses on Sale Right Now That Will Turn You into a Pro Developer

This holiday season, give yourself a gift that will keep on giving: a new web development skill. Whether it's to secure lucrative freelance work in the new year, bolster your résumé, or have fun with some frankly outrageous discounts on online course bundles right now (up to 99% off), there's nothing better you can do with your free time. Your future (pro coder) self will thank you.

How To: Create the Next Big Video Game by Learning Unity 2D with This Course Bundle, Now 98% Off

Whether you've always dreamed about making your own video games for fun or a career, now you can make the dream a reality with The Unity 2D Game Developer Bundle. Not only does this complete course include a ton of content, but it's not often you get to learn such valuable skills at such a low price. Right now, this course is a huge 98% off its original price, at just $39.99 (regular price $2,189).

How To: Stop Getting Unwanted AirDrops on Your iPhone from Strangers & Pranksters

One of Apple's best features is AirDrop, which easily lets you send files to other Apple devices with a simple tap. That said, it might be a little too easy to use since just about anyone can send a file to your iPhone, whether you know them or not. The difference between AirDrop as a useful tool among your contacts and an open channel for the entire iPhone community comes down to one setting.

How To: Learn Coding in Just One Hour a Day with This Top-Rated Course

No matter the field you work in, tech dominates every industry in 2020, and that means that you can always increase your earning potential by adding valuable coding skills to your arsenal. Coding can lead to dream software development career paths, lucrative freelance work, and it can be an impressive boost to your résumé. Now, you can learn these valuable skills at home with The Complete One Hour Coder Bundle, an offer at an unmissable 97% off its usual price, at just $34.99 (usually $1,200).

How To: Trigger Reachability on Your iPhone to Interact with the Top Part of the Screen One-Handed

Apple's "Reachability" feature made its debut with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, to compensate for larger screen sizes, allowing users to reach screen items at the top while using one hand. It has since become a staple feature of all iPhones (except the original iPhone SE), but how you activate it varies depending on if it's a model with Face ID or Touch ID.

How To: Master SEO with This Ultimate Course, Now Just $14.99

All modern entrepreneurs know that your business is as strong as its SEO. Whether you want to Rank #1 on Google to increase your personal branding, traffic to your online storefront, or to add the skills to your resume, you can now get a Complete SEO Training course for just $14.99, in the Gadget Hacks Shop, 92% off the regular cost of $199.

How To: Miss When Siri Used to Display On-Screen Transcriptions of Everything Spoken? You Can Get That Back in iOS 14

With iOS 14, Siri no longer takes up the entire display unless you want it to. That may be a good thing, but the update also axed the live feedback when listening to you and responding. Siri used to transcribe your words in on-screen text before answering, and it would transcribe its own answers as well. While it looks like those are gone, you can bring them back to life at any time.

How To: Use Apple's iPhone 12 Studio to See How MagSafe Accessories Will Look on Your New Phone

There's a variety of brilliant colors in the iPhone 12 lineup, including the elegant Gold and show-stealing Pacific Blue finishes on the Pro models. It's difficult enough to choose an iPhone color as a customer, but deciding on accessories can make things even worse. Which color case looks best with what iPhone color? What about a MagSafe wallet attachment? Well, Apple has a tool to help you figure that all out.

How To: Bring Back Full-Page Siri in iOS 14 So You're Not Distracted by Any Apps Underneath

Full-page interfaces are so iOS 13. With Apple's iOS 14, alerts such incoming phone and FaceTime calls now appear as small banners instead. The same goes for Siri. Instead of using your iPhone's full display, Siri now exists in an unobtrusive overlay. But if you miss the focus that full-screen Siri used to bring, you're in luck because the feature still exists — it's just hidden.

How To: Lock Any App on Your iPhone Behind Face ID, Touch ID, or Your Passcode for Extra Privacy & Security

Apple does not provide a native way to lock apps on your iPhone behind Face ID, Touch ID, or your passcode. For a long time, we've wanted that option for improved privacy and security, but Apple does allow developers to use its authentication protocols. Apps like Messenger, Outlook, and WhatsApp give the option to lock them down, but for the apps that don't, you can force it with a little time and effort.

How To: Send & Receive Disappearing Messages in Your WhatsApp Conversations to Keep Chats Clutter-Free

Sometimes, keeping every message comes in handy. Maybe you want to relive fun conversations from months or years ago, or perhaps you need to recall a piece of data such as an address, name, or link. However, not all chats need to stick around forever. Whether you're concerned about privacy or just keeping your threads clutter-free, WhatsApp's "disappearing messages" may be what you're looking for.

How To: All the Video Apps Compatible with Dolby Vision HDR on iPhone 12 & 12 Pro

There's one big drawback when it comes to shooting video in HDR with Dolby Vision on the iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max — it's not compatible with many apps and services. That means your video will be downgraded to SDR when sharing. That said, there are options to shoot, view, and edit iPhone-created Dolby Vision HDR videos that are available to use right now.

How To: What Do All Those 5G Status Icons Mean on Your iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max?

If you upgrade to an iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, or 12 Pro Max, you can take advantage of super-fast 5G speeds, but which 5G network are you actually getting and is it better than the others? Depending on your carrier, you may see 5G, 5G+, 5G UW, or 5G E in the status bar next to the signal strength, and there's a pretty big difference between them.