Hot Gadget Hacks How-Tos

How To: Get Back the 'Favorites' Phone Widget on Your iPhone's Home Screen or Today View in iOS 14

There are plenty of reasons to upgrade to iOS 14, home screen widgets chief among them. With that in mind, it's ironic that Apple placed so much emphasis on "widgets" this year when the new update removes a fan-favorite widget of the past — the "Favorites" Phone widget, which was accessible via the Today View or quick actions on the home screen. Here's how to get it back.

How To: Create Your Own Home Screen Widgets in iOS 14 for an Even More Customized iPhone

Possibly the most popular feature in iOS 14, home screen widgets are here to stay. Apple created a ton for its own apps, and third-party developers keep building ones for their own apps. But home screen widgets go beyond that since you can make a widget for practically anything you want, from a custom news feed to an inspirational picture of the day — and this is how you do it.

How To: Stop Getting Notifications When Tagged in iMessage Threads in iOS 14

One of iOS 14's more exciting features lets you tag someone in a group iMessage chat in the same way you would @ someone on Twitter, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Even if the conversation is muted, you can get notified when you're mentioned, which helps you jump in only when needed. But if you want complete silence, then disable contact tagging notifications altogether.

How To: Hide Any App from Your iPhone's Home Screen in iOS 14

It's not hard to let your iPhone's home screen get cluttered. Apps pile up one after another, and while you don't use every app every single day, you can't quite seem to part ways with even those one-use apps you've collected over the years. But you can apply the KonMari method to your home screen, getting rid of apps you don't love — without actually trashing any of them.

How To: iOS 14's New Security Alerts Rat Out Apps for Privacy Invasions on Your iPhone & It'll Only Get Better

In the tech world, our data is always under attack. When you download and install a new app, it can be difficult to know what information the app is actually accessing. Thankfully, a new emphasis on privacy in iOS 14 changes the game, exposing more of what your apps want access to — and even changing some behavior along the way.

How To: Stop Your Default Apps from Switching Back to Apple's After Your iPhone Reboots in iOS 14

As cool as iOS 14 is, it isn't without bugs. One of those bugs in iOS 14.0 just happens to affect one of its coolest features — choosing default browser and mail apps. When you reboot your iPhone, iOS will reset your default apps back to Apple's defaults, Safari and Mail. Not ideal. However, there is a fix that will stop you from having to choose default apps over and over again manually.

How To: Add Widgets to Your iPhone's Home Screen in iOS 14

We've wanted them for years, and Apple has finally made widgets accessible on the home screen in iOS 14. These are not the same widgets found in past versions of iOS. They're more data-rich, more colorful, and more versatile. And best of all, both the home screen and Today View get access to them.

How To: 22 Things You Need to Know About iOS 14's New Home Screen Widgets for iPhone

Widgets have been available on the iPhone for a while now, but they were tucked away in the Today View or hidden in the quick actions menu for app icons on the home screen. Android had always had a leg up on Apple in the widget department because they were so much more versatile, but that changed with the introduction of iOS 14.

How To: There's a New App Library on Your iPhone's Home Screen — Here's Everything You Need to Know About It in iOS 14

Are you tired of endless rows and columns of apps on your home screen? Before iOS 14, your only option was to hide apps in folders, uninstall them, or use some sort of elaborate workaround. You could hide a few stock apps easily enough, but that's it. Now, in the latest version of iOS, you can hide apps for real, and even hide entire home screen pages, and still access the apps in one convenient drawer.

How To: Become an Expert Data-Driven Project Manager for Under $50

Since Motorola engineer Bill Smith invented Six Sigma in 1986, corporations around the world have employed it to eliminate costs and process cycle time while increasing profits and customer satisfaction. These techniques and tools for process improvement were invaluable to famed CEO Jack Welch, who used them to redefine General Electric's business strategy in 1995.

How To: Use Apple's Translate Tool in iOS 14 to Convert Text, Speech & Full-Blown Conversations Between Two Languages

There have been third-party iOS apps for live conversation translations, and Google Assistant pushed out its own feature for iPhone last year. Still, iOS 14 now has a default translator for real-time multi-language talks in person. So you can finally chat with people who use a different language without missing anything or having to install any complicated apps on your device.

How To: Add iOS 14's New Smart Stack Widget to Your iPhone's Home Screen

One of iOS 14's best new features is the ability to add and stack widgets on your home screen, which lets you check in with your favorite apps without actually needing to open them. Apple takes the concept one step further with "Smart Stacks," where iOS intelligently stacks widgets together based on how you use your iPhone.

How To: Do This to Make Sure You're Not Getting Billed by Any Mysterious Subscriptions on Your iPhone

We hardly need to "buy" anything these days since games, music, books, news, movies, and TV are all available on the iPhone with various monthly subscriptions. Just set it and forget it so that your wallet does all the work for you. But if you're on a free trial or two and don't want to commit, you might get an unexpected charge if you forgot or don't know where to cancel. Here's how to avoid that.

How To: Battery Almost Dead? Here's the Best Way to Squeeze More Juice Out of Your iPhone Without a Charger

Your iPhone's almost out of battery power, there's no wired or wireless charger in sight, and you left your portable power bank at home. You don't want your battery to die, but you still need to use your iPhone. This is when Low Power Mode comes in handy, but you could be wasting valuable time and power if you're activating it the wrong way.

How To: 7 Apps That'll Pick Up TikTok's Slack if It Gets Banned in the US

The future of TikTok in the U.S. is all but certain. Microsoft, Walmart, or Oracle could save the day by buying the company, TikTok may win its lawsuit, or China's new restrictions could halt everything — but all could fail. Just like Vine before it, TikTok could be on its way out, only for opposite reasons. But will it matter if TikTok gets banned in the States? With the competition heating up, likely not.

How To: Stop iPhone Calls from Ringing Simultaneously on Your iPad, MacBook & Other Apple Devices

You might be using Zoom on your iMac, playing a Steam game on your MacBook, or completing a work assignment on your iPad, when suddenly you get a phone call on your iPhone. If the same Apple ID is used on all of your Apple devices, the call won't ring on your iPhone only — it'll ring on every damned device.