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30 Siri Apple Music Commands on HomePod: A Complete List

by Kevin Hollington

If you want to take charge of the music on your HomePod, we’ve broken down the most useful Siri commands to know below.

Whether you have a HomePod Mini or a second-gen HomePod, you can use Siri as a personal DJ to control song playback, queue up songs, find song facts, add songs to your library, play your favorite playlists, or even play something new.

Getting results on HomePod depends on using the right phrases, so here’s a look at some of the most important Siri commands that works with Apple Music.

Playback commands

  • "Hey Siri, play some music"
  • "Hey Siri, next/previous song"
  • "Hey Siri, pause this song"
  • “Hey Siri, resume playing”
  • "Hey Siri, repeat this song"
  • "Hey Siri, play this song from the start"
  • "Hey Siri, skip this song"
  • "Hey Siri, shuffle songs"
  • “Hey Siri, increase the volume by 10%”

Song commands

  • "Hey Siri, play [title] by [artist]"
  • "Hey Siri, play the newest song by [artist]"
  • "Hey Siri, play [radio station]"
  • "Hey Siri, play my favorites mix"
  • "Hey Siri, play something new"
  • "Hey Siri, play more like this"
  • Hey Siri, play the song that goes…." and insert the bit of lyrics you recall at the end
  • "Hey Siri, play something [mood]"
  • "Hey Siri, play the number one song right now"
  • "Hey Siri, play a live version of this song"
  • "Hey Siri, after this song, play [name] by [artist]"
  • "Hey Siri, play the top songs from 1991"
  • "Hey Siri, add this song to my [name] playlist"
  • "Hey Siri, add this song to my library"
  • "Hey Siri, love this song"
  • “Hey Siri, never play this song”

Song queries

  • "Hey Siri, who sings this song?"
  • "Hey Siri, who’s the drummer in this song?"
  • "Hey Siri, when was this song recorded?"
  • "Hey Siri, what album is this from?"
  • "Hey Siri, what song is this?" or "What’s this song?"

Have any useful ‌Siri‌ commands that work with ‌Apple Music‌ on HomePod that we should add to the list? drop a comment to let us know.

More about Siri and the HomePod

Tag: HomePod
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8 Big Disadvantages of Apple Watch You Must Know in 2025

by Kevin Hollington

From outrageous pricing to a closed ecosystem that locks its users in, there are many disadvantages of an Apple Watch.

Apple Watch is a wearable smartwatch that allows users to accomplish a variety of tasks, including making phone calls, sending text messages and reading email. Apple released the Apple Watch on April 24, 2015. Here are eight disadvantages of an Apple Watch in 2024.

1. You’ll Need an iPhone to Start Using the Apple Watch

One big disadvantage of an Apple Watch is that you can’t set it up without using an iPhone. The Watch must be paired with an iPhone to link an Apple ID. You can’t even activate the watch using another Apple product, like a Mac, Apple TV, or iPad. The Apple Watch app only works with the iPhone.

Apple’s choice to make its smartwatch a companion device to the iPhone has been controversial. An iPhone is expensive, and not everyone wants to shell out the cash to use the watch. Also, companies like Google have been more lenient. Android watches are compatible with other operating systems, including iOS.

You can’t use an Android device to set up an Apple Watch. The Watch is designed to be a companion device to an iPhone for much of its functionality. This is particularly true of the Wi-Fi model, though Apple also sells an Apple Watch with cellular connectivity that operates more like a standalone device.

Once you’ve set up your Apple Watch with cellular you can do many of the things you’d normally rely on an iPhone for, like receive text messages, take phone calls, and access functions that depend on the internet. Unfortunately, this isn’t advisable due to the power drain placed on your Watch when using cellular data.

You’re unlikely to receive all-day battery life if using your cellular Apple Watch away from your iPhone for prolonged periods. Wi-Fi models depend on your iPhone so you miss out on a lot of functionality when your paired iPhone is out of range. The exception here is when you’re in the presence of a Wi-Fi network that you’ve connected to before (when your iPhone was present).

2. Apple Watches do not work with Android phones

An Apple Watch and an Android phone might offer some users the best of both worlds, but it’s never that simple when it comes to Apple and Google.

If there’s one notable disadvantage of an Apple Watch, it’s the lack of compatibility with operating systems beyond iOS.

With a device as popular as this, it’s not surprising that Android phone users might want to consider pairing their smartphone with an Apple Watch. However, that’s not a very good idea as the two are just not designed to work with each other. To be clear, an Apple Watch can technically be used with an Android phone with a number of workarounds. However, there will be many issues to overcome, resulting in an experience that’s just not worth it for most consumers. Not to mention, an iPhone will still be needed to begin with.

The Apple Watch will only work with iPhones, which isn’t ever likely to change. To activate an Apple Watch, you’ll need an iPhone with the Watch app installed. There’s no substitute for this on Android, even if your device supports Bluetooth connectivity.

The main issue with using these two devices together is that they cannot be paired with each other. Considering that’s the main purpose of a smartwatch, the lack of pairing support and the inability to share data negates the point of owning a smartwatch and smartphone. More to the point, an Apple Watch needs to be connected to an iPhone during the initial setup process. Unless an iPhone is accessible to the Android phone user, they won’t even be able to get started with an Apple Watch.

In short, anyone can wear an Apple Watch, including Android phone users. However, the reality is that anyone looking to have a proper smartwatch experience should stay within their own OS lanes. Android users should use Wear OS or third-party platform watches, iPhone users should use Apple Watches.

3. Notifications on Apple Watch can be overwhelming

The Apple Watch is able to shoulder the tsunami of notifications you receive on a daily basis, letting you glance at updates without getting sucked into your iPhone. But most people don’t need or want such constant access to updates.

A more complex reason is that some alerts are only useful for learning information rather than doing something with that information without the iPhone. Furthermore, if you still view your iPhone regularly throughout the day, dealing with notifications on two screens instead of one can add to the mental load, rather than reducing screentime as intended.

Never-ending notifications can be harmful to both productivity and mental health. The Apple Watch make it possible never to miss another notification. But this isn’t necessarily a good thing.

4. Apple Watches are overprice

Yes, you want it. But do you want it to the tune of $799?

Generally speaking, you want to buy the newest watch you can afford so that it continues to receive software updates from Apple. The latest update, watchOS 10, launched on the Apple Watch Series 4 and newer models, though no one can say with certainty whether the Series 4 will get the next big software update. But the problem is the price.

In 2022, Apple launched its latest batch of smartwatches including the $399 Series 8 and the new $249 SE.

Oh. Did I mention there is a $799 model of the Apple Watch? The Apple Watch Ultra is made out of titanium, costs $799 and is built for extreme athletes. But a Peloton class with Olivia Amato is about as extreme as my workouts get, so these exciting new features were lost on me. If you’re like me and exercise is something you do to stay healthy, you don’t need to spend $799 on the Ultra.

For the same price, you can purchase a mid-range iPhone. The phone will have a bigger screen, higher specs, better functionality, and a built-in camera.

Apple Watches have their benefits, but in terms of value for money, there is no comparison.

First of all, you need an (overpriced) iPhone (a current model) in order to actually use your watch. Have an Android phone, or (like me) have no phone at all? Too bad, so sad. No Apple Watch for you.

Hypothetically, assume you have an iPhone. Then you buy an Apple Watch. Then your iPhone gets dropped down some stairs (hey, it happens). Now you need a new phone. Well, you better go plop down the (nearly) thousand dollars on a new iPhone… otherwise your exorbitantly priced watch just became a useless brick attached to your arm.

So what? It’s psychotically expensive. And, yeah, it forces you to use only specific pieces of technology for the indefinite future – effectively locking you out of any other technological advancements that happen outside of the Apple Watch/iPhone world. That doesn’t inherently make this a bad watch… does it?

Yes. Yes, it absolutely does. Add to this the fact that the Apple Watch hit the market a year later than the Android-powered smartwatches (which have more flexibility and more power than Apple’s gadget), and the Apple Watch instantly becomes a status symbol that declares to the world, “I have too much money, I want to be locked into a hardware ecosystem, and I like my technology to be out of date before I buy it.”

In such a situation, you are left wondering whether the watch is a fashion statement or a gadget. But the problem is that the device seems likely to fail on both counts. Viewed as a gadget, the device is just too expensive given its limited functionality. Yet it’s going to be an uphill battle to sell a square, bulky touchscreen device as a fashion statement. In trying to be both a gadget and a luxury item, it’s at high risk of falling in the no-man’s land between the two.

See also: Why Are Apple Watches so Expensive? (Top 10 Reasons)

5. Apple Watch Need Regular Charging

Another disadvantage of an Apple Watch is that it needs charging every one or two days. This is understandable given the functionality but it’s something you should think about if you’re planning on replacing a traditional watch.

Having an Apple Watch means one more electronic device that you’ll need to keep charged. And if you forget, your new watch won’t even be able to tell time.

The current lineup of Apple Watch models will easily get you through a full day before needing a charge. In my testing, both of the new Apple Watch models get at least 32 hours of runtime, but this is on the low end compared to other wearable devices on the market.

For runners using watches, battery life is indispensable to the experience. It can be a huge barrier, effectively rendering a run non-existent if the battery runs out. If there’s even a remote risk, the value is diminished.

Apple hasn’t strayed from its 18-hour battery life claim in what feels like a lifetime. If you ask, Apple Watch loyalists won’t hesitate to tell you their charging regimen to get around the fact that it needs daily charging. But the Garmin and Polar fans love getting a minimum of 14 days on a single charge and somewhere between 30-40 hours of GPS activity. In comparison, you get roughly 5-6 hours of GPS activity on the Apple Watch. That’s more than enough for the average person, but it still requires endurance athletes to do a little math or specifically remember to charge up their watch before a run. With a Garmin or Polar, you don’t have to think about it at all. You can just go.

The Apple Watch Ultra has twice the battery life of the regular Apple Watch. And while this is great, it still pales in comparison to Garmin. Let’s take a look:

Battery Life:

  • Apple Watch Ultra: Up to 3 days
  • Garmin Epix: Up to 10 days
  • Garmin Epix Solar: Up to 17 days
  • Garmin Fenix 7: Up to 18 days
  • Garmin Fenix 7 Solar: Up to 30 days
  • Garmin Enduro 2: Up to 45 days

Or if we take a look at how the battery life holds up during regular GPS Mode:

  • Apple Watch Ultra: 12 hours
  • Garmin Epix: 42 hours
  • Garmin Fenix: 57 hours
  • Garmin Enduro 2: 150 hours

On top of that, longer battery is more convenient than scheduled fast charging if you prioritize sleep tracking. All in all, battery life is still a big reason why some people opt for Fitbit, Garmin, and Polar devices. Now if Apple were to figure out multi-day battery life? That’d be an entirely different story.

6. Fitness Tracking Is Sometimes Unreliable

Fitness tracking is a relatively new concept. This means that the data that you receive from them isn’t always entirely accurate.

Data tracking issues apply to both Apple Watches and fitness trackers. They can give you a lot of information that you wouldn’t otherwise have. But the accuracy of that data is not something that anybody’s health should rely on.

7. Apple Watches Are Not Convenient for Phone Calls

Apple is improving the Apple Watch all the time, but the watch is not yet convenient for making phone calls. It’s easy to argue that it never will be.

Holding your wrist to your ear is never going to be comfortable, and until everybody changes their mind about this, you’re always going to look pretty strange doing so.

Apple Watches do work well with hands-free headsets like airpods, but the benefit of a watch over a phone in this scenario is debatable.

8. A Fitness Tracker Might Be More Practical

Apple Watches are designed to be used as fitness trackers. They achieve this goal, but there’s a reason that many people opt for a dedicated device instead.

Fitness trackers are significantly cheaper, often much smaller, and usually have much longer battery lives. For example, some fitness trackers last for up to 30 days without a charge.

If you’re looking for a device that can track your activity 24 hours a day, an Apple Watch might, therefore, not be the best choice.

Conclusion

Apple Watch has improved a lot in recent years, and it has also become a lot more popular. But, with so many disadvantages of an Apple Watch, it hasn’t yet become must-have accessories. If you’re an Apple fanatic and want to try something new—or you’ve simply been looking at new watches to try—the Apple Watch will likely appeal to you. But before you commit to a purchase, you need to critically think about these disadvantages of an Apple Watch.

Tag: Apple Watch Products
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7 Major disadvantages of Apple AirPods in 2025

by Dave Johnson

Before buying Apple AirPods, you should know their main disadvantages.

Apple AirPods are some of the most popular wireless earbuds on the market – and since December 2020, when the AirPods Max arrived, the most popular over-ears too. Whether you’re listening to music, making voice calls or chairing a Zoom meeting, you can rely on the AirPods to do a good job. Due to many benefits of Apple AirPods, it’s nigh-on impossible to ride a bus or hit the gym without seeing a pair of Apple’s colourful oversized ear cups being pulled out of a bag, or Tim Cook’s familiar white buds poking out of someone’s ears.

In addition to the classic AirPods (2019), Apple has introduced a duo of pricier, noise-cancelling buds called the AirPods Pro, replaced them with the 2022-released AirPods Pro 2, and added the over-ear AirPods Max to the line-up. There’s also the AirPods 3 – a sort of middle ground between the Pro variant and the regular AirPods. So what are disadvantages of Apple AirPods?

1. They Are expensive

Being a premium product, the Cupertino giant’s AirPods don’t come cheap – in any of their guises. Granted, AirPods are more convenient, but they make you pay a lot more to enjoy that convenience. This is because making a pair of wireless headphones is more costly than making wired ones.

The added components that make Apple AirPods wireless inflate their bill of materials, i.e., the price of all intermediate goods required to create the final product. The higher this cost, the more you pay as a consumer.

The AirPods Pro are Apple’s noise-canceling version of the AirPods. They’re smaller and sleeker than the AirPods and come with an even heftier $249 price tag.

There’s the first AirPods disadvantage. $249 is a lot of money for a set of earbuds. For that sort of money, they don’t need to be good, they need to be pretty much perfect.

Simple touches — like Transparency Mode (which allows the outside noise in, which makes it feel like you’re not wearing earbuds) coming on automatically when you have one bud in, and noise-canceling kicking in when you add the second — are welcomed. And these features work and work flawlessly.

But, still, $249 is a lot of cash, especially when you factor in how long they will last. After two years original AirPods owners were starting to report that battery life was down to minutes, but you might be lucky and get three or more years or decent usage. But be in no doubt, these are disposable items, and the memory of dropping $250 on the earbuds might still be reasonably vivid by the time they start giving you problems.

Let’s assume a worst-case that they last a couple of years, then the AirPods Pro cost you $125 a year, or about $2.50 a week. I’ll let you choose whether that’s a good value or not.

2. They Require frequent Charging

In this day and age, where pretty much every gadget comes with a battery, having yet another thing to recharge from time to time is a major pain.

Having AirPods means one more electronic device that you’ll need to keep charged. And if you forget, your new headsets will be rendered useless.

On the other hand, wired headphones don’t need to be recharged as they come with an audio plug; the convenience of “plug and play” is nothing to take for granted.

Also, since you don’t have to recharge them constantly, they help you save some electricity and reduce your power bills just a little bit. While that may not be a big consideration for you, it’s an added benefit nonetheless.

3. They Have Latency Issues

Apple AirPods have come a long way, and the latency they used to have is slowly mitigating over the years. You may not notice the delay when casually listening to music, but if you are a gamer, you are well aware of how prominent those milliseconds can be.

Wireless latency is always a concern with any headphones or earbuds that use Bluetooth, but a new report points out that AirPods Pro 2 are way better than the generation they replace. But they still aren’t quite good enough.

Musician and developer Stephen Coyle has tested the latency of the first-gen AirPods, AirPods 2, AirPods Pro, and AirPods Pro 2 to see how well all of them handle latency. It turns out Apple’s latest earbuds are pretty great, but they’re still some way off being usable by people who need an instant response to things happening on-screen.

Sounds good, but not good enough

Coyle ran some tests by tapping the iPad Pro’s screen with an Apple Pencil and measuring the time it took for earbuds to play a sound. The results showed that the iPad Pro’s onboard speaker took 83ms to play the sound, giving us a baseline from which to work.

From there, the AirPods 1 took 296ms, and the AirPods Pro 167ms. The AirPods 2 were quicker at 153ms, with AirPods Pro winning the day with 126ms. That’s a notable improvement over the original AirPods Pro but a little off the baseline. “Perhaps a more interesting point to note is that the second-generation AirPods Pro perform only 43ms worse than the built-in speakers,” Coyle says.

However, as impressive as that might be, it isn’t good enough. Coyle says that “there’s still too much latency for audio feedback to feel snappy and responsive,” meaning some use cases still need wired headphones. Those are likely to be professional audio mixers and podcasters, but for everyone else, there’s a good chance that AirPods Pro 2 will be good enough for most things, if not all.

4. They Are Difficult and Expensive to Repair

This one is fairly straightforward. However, as AirPods have more components in their body, they are harder and more complicated to fix.

Apple will replace the batteries for $150, but that’s a lot of cash, and a significant chunk of the cost of an outright replacement, so I wonder how many will go down the route of getting Apple to fix them.

Forget about trying to repair them yourself, because you’ll fail and end up with a bunch of bits. I understand that it’s hard to make something that’s this small and integrated, and still keep it repairable, but the short lifespan, combined with the zero repairability, makes the AirPods Pro — and AirPods, along with every other product in this category — a crime against Mother Nature.

That’s not to say that wired headphones are a bargain to fix, of course. Depending on how high-end your headphones are, the repair prices vary. But by a general rule of thumb, repairing AirPods requires more work.

5. They Are not Ideal for Professionals

Pretty much all professional-grade headphones are wired, and that’s because wired cans are simply more reliable and are designed to be specialized as opposed to wireless ones that are made for the masses. This is also why studio headphones are so expensive.

For professionals like artists and audio engineers, headphones are a work investment for mixing and mastering tracks, not a tool for recreational listening. This means they must work as expected every single time and be tuned in a very specific way.

Apple AirPods are tuned to have fun and upbeat sound, i.e., a “V-shaped” sound signature. The sound signature is designed to manipulate the sound in a way that is pleasing to hear at the cost of losing accuracy and detail.

Professional wired headphones tend to have a flat or balanced sound signature to ensure maximum accuracy and precision of sound reproduction. Musicians can’t afford not to know how their track sounds; they need it to be as true-to-life as possible.

6. They Are not Environment Friendly

One disadvantage of AirPods is that they don’t last for a long time because their battery capacity usually decrease over time.

Like other Apple products, AirPods are not designed to be user serviceable. Sensitive circuitry is protected by a nearly impenetrable outer shell and held together with gobs of glue, but owners looking to keep the device functional will inevitably require a replacement for its diminutive Lithium-ion battery.

“For roughly 18 months, AirPods play music, or podcasts, or make phone calls. Then the lithium-ion batteries will stop holding much of a charge, and the AirPods will slowly become unusable. They can’t be repaired because they’re glued together. They can’t be thrown out, or else the lithium-ion battery may start a fire in the garbage compactor. They can’t be easily recycled, because there’s no safe way to separate the lithium-ion battery from the plastic shell. Instead, the AirPods sit in your drawer forever,” according to Vice magazine.

Finally, on the disposal end, one big disadvantage of AirPods is that they are highly toxic. The plastics, metals and batteries that go into making AirPods are rarely disposed of correctly. Most likely they will go into one’s regular trash.

Their compact design is attractive to buyers, but is intended for disposal and yet it’s difficult to do that without contributing to e-waste.

AirPods will stop holding a charge within a few months of purchase, and while Apple will be able to replace them with another set, that too will be heading for the pile.

When people throw AirPods away without a thought, they are contributing to a growing environmental problem of plastic waste.

7. They Face Connectivity Issues

Another notable disadvantage of AirPods is that they don’t always pair with your device seamlessly, forcing you to spend more time than necessary trying to get both to connect. Not to mention how there are a number of Bluetooth codecs, and not all of them will be compatible with your device. For example, Apple’s devices use ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) to provide high-res audio, but that standard doesn’t work with other devices. On the flip side, many devices will use Qualcomm’s aptX (and its variants) or Sony’s LDAC for high-res audio, but Apple’s iPhone and iPad support neither.

Some users of the second-generation AirPods Pro are reporting ongoing issues with their brand-new earbuds randomly disconnecting from their devices as they listen to music or watch videos.

Symptoms can also include an iPhone or iPad showing the ‌AirPods Pro‌ as connected, but no audio actually being played. Reports suggest the bugs are sporadic and apparently not caused by anything specific, with no clear fix.

Such problems are not entirely unique to the second-generation ‌AirPods Pro‌, as customers of the original ‌AirPods Pro‌ that launched in 2019 have reported similar issues in the past. The new ‌AirPods Pro‌, having launched three years after the original, have caused some users to be frustrated that bugs related to connectivity are seemingly not yet addressed.

This is not a problem with wired headphones, as you just need to insert the headphone plug into the jack. The only minor connectivity issue with wired headphones is that if your plug or jack is dirty, you may sometimes hear static noises, but that’s something a quick wipe from a dry cloth can easily fix.

Conclusion

So, yes, the AirPods are great. They are like not wearing earbuds. But they are also an abomination. AirPods disadvantages such as limited lifespan and zero repairability are hard to swallow. The price is startling. The fact that they rely on so much support baked into iOS that other manufacturers cannot access is also worrying because it gives Apple such a leg up over all the competition. I’m begging you—yes, you, dear reader. You have to stop buying the newest AirPods just because they work well with your iPhone. Just don’t. Buy any of Apple’s other models, which have the modern features (and comfy fit) you deserve.

Tag: iPhone Products
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10 Siri Tips & Tricks every iPhone user should know about

by Dave Johnson

While Apple has added dozens of unique capabilities to Siri during the past few years, many are hidden under the surface, or just not very well known.

To that end, here are ten Siri tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of Apple’s digital Assistant.

Best Siri tips and tricks

1. Restart your iPhone using Siri

Thanks to iOS 16, you can now tell Siri to restart the iPhone, a feature that previously required holding a combination of buttons, or digging into the phone’s Settings. Those still work, but we often go for the easier route to get things done.

Simply tell Siri to “restart iPhone,” and the digital assistant will get the job done as long as your phone is unlocked.

2. Use Siri to hang up calls on iPhone

Another cool Siri trick to remember while you’re using your iPhone is the command to hang up a call. It might not sound like a big deal, and your friends and family at the end of the line will hear you tell Siri to hang up. They also might make fun of you for some time to come.

This Siri trick can come in handy when you’re driving and the phone is on speaker. Or anytime the phone is on speaker or you’re using Bluetooth earbuds and you’re not close to the device.

3. Hidden Siri trick: Convert text to emoji

Another hidden Siri trick that can prove useful while driving is using the iPhone assistant to turn text into emojis. All you have to do is dictate your text as you’d typically do with Siri. When you need to add an emoji, just say the emoji name followed by the word “emoji.” That should be enough for Siri to turn the text into emoji.

You need an iPhone XS or newer running iOS 16 or later to take advantage of this Siri trick.

4. Enable automatic message sending for Siri

Another hidden Siri trick lets you send a message automatically, which means you won’t have to manually confirm that you want the message to go through. To enable this setting, follow the steps below:

  1. Head to Settings.
  2. Select Siri & Search.
  3. Tap Automatically Send Messages
  4. Enable Automatically Send Messages toggle.

From there, you can choose where to have messages sent with Siri automatically. You can mix and match three options: CarPlay, headphones, and hearing devices.

5. Use Siri even when iPhone is face down or covered

iPhones have a feature called Facedown Detection, which prevents Siri from listening to the “Hey Siri” hot phrase when the phone is facedown on a table or its front is covered with cushions or a flip cover (unless connected to power). This trick makes it possible to temporarily prevent Siri from responding to the hot phrase without changing any settings or turning Siri off completely.

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Go to Accessibility.
  3. Select Siri.
  4. Slide the switch for ‘Always Listen for Hey Siri‘ to the ON position.

Now, iOS will always listen for the “Hey Siri” wake-up phrase, even when your iPhone is facing down, or its front has been covered with something.

6. Announce notifications on hearing devices

Another cool Siri trick makes it possible for you Announce Notifications on Speaker. You can activate the feature by following the steps below:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap Accessibility.
  3. Select Siri.

But the feature has an even better accessibility tool for people who are hearing impaired. You can have Siri announce notifications on Made for iPhone hearing devices. Just follow the steps below to enable this setting:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap Siri & Search.
  3. Select Announce Notifications.

Please note, this setting will only show up if you have hearing aids connected to your iPhone.

As you can see above, the Siri Accessibility menu is another place where you can customize some of the Siri skills in this post.

7. Run iPhone Shortcuts with your voice

Another neat Siri trick available to iPhone and iPad users who are running iOS 16 and iPadOS 16 is the ability to run premade shortcuts from your apps. If developers preload apps with shortcuts you can use them right after installing the apps. Just tell Siri to run them.

All you need to do is invoke Siri by voice or via the iPhone’s side button. Then ask the digital assistant to run whichever shortcut you want.

8. Silence Siri on your iPhone

If you can’t always receive spoken responses from Siri or don’t like the experience, you can switch things up in iOS 16. Follow the steps below:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap Siri & Search.
  3. Tap Siri Responses.
  4. Choose Prefer Silent Responses.

9. Take a screenshot on your iPhone using Siri

One of cooler Siri trick is its ability to to take a screenshot on iPhone. If you ever come across something that you need to capture as a screenshot, just bring up the Assistant and say “take a screenshot.”

10. share items using Siri

The iPhone offers many intuitive ways to share everything from photos to web links, and even if that doesn’t work for the app you’re using, you can still take a screenshot and share your content that way.

This still involves multiple steps, however, but the good news is you can make the whole process a lot smoother just by asking Siri to help you out.

If you’re using an app that supports direct sharing, such as Safari, Apple News, Music, or Photos, you can instead have Siri share a link to the actual web page or article that you’re reading, or the photo that you’re looking at.

  1. On your iPhone, open a webpage, news article, song, or photo that you want to share.
  2. Hold down the Side Button to activate Siri, or say Hey Siri.
  3. Say “Share this with,” and the name of the contact you’d like to share the current screen with. For example, “Share this with John”
  4. A new Messages window will open with the shared item attached, addressed to your intended recipient.
  5. Siri will ask if you’re ready to send it. Either say “Yes” or tap the Send button to send the screenshot without further comment.
  6. Alternatively, you can tap in the Add Comment box if you would like to type a message to go along with the screenshot, and then tap Send when done to send it on its way.

Apps that support direct sharing include Safari, Music, Podcasts, Photos, TV, News, and Maps.

Tag: iPhone Tips
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Is iPhone more user friendly than Android? The truth!

by Kevin Hollington

I have been using an iPhone for over 10 years now, and even though I am a massive fan of the device, I was a heavy Android user during my early years.
I was not a big fan of the iPhone or iOS back then and used to even strongly suggest my friends and family members choose Android over iOS.
There were a few reasons why I used to be an Android fanboy.
Back in the day, Android phones were much more affordable than iPhones and had more customization options and features.
But now, the price gap between Android and iOS flagships is pretty narrow, and most features you find on Android are also available on iPhones.
Besides, Apple has made many improvements to its software and hardware over the years and is now one of the best in the industry in terms of performance, battery life, software support, etc.
Despite a few reasons like the choice of devices, affordability, and fast charging, if you are in the market for a smartphone that’s easier to use, it makes much more sense to go with an iPhone than an Android phone.
In this post, I will explain why iPhone is user friendly than Android phone.

Why is the iPhone the easiest phone to use?

This is going to hurt a little, Android fanboys. One of iOS’ biggest selling points is just how intuitive it is. From kids all the way up to senior citizens, many people love iOS simply because it is pretty straightforward to use.

Despite all the promises by Android phone makers to streamline their skins, the iPhone remains the easiest phone to use by far. Some may lament the lack of change in the look and feel of iOS over the years, but I consider it a plus that it works pretty much the same as it did way back in 2007. Pick it up, turn it on, touch the app to open.

All the apps in iOS are displayed right on the home screen, so you’ve got quick access to everything on your phone without delving into hidden menus. And all of Apple’s standard apps, like Weather and Mail, are top-notch, and most people don’t feel the need to download other versions. You can’t say the same thing for Android, where phones from different manufacturers often ship with a completely different set of stock apps with varying degrees of quality.

Apple knows people love iOS because it’s simple, and there have been times when it has been criticized for not giving users enough options to personalize their experience. But even though some might say it’s too simplified, what iOS lacks in customization, it more than makes up for in usability.

Android features an open platform that accommodates full-on customization. You’ll have total control over your smartphone’s settings, and you can use the broad scope of apps on Google Play to execute them.

However, this level of customization also creates a steep learning curve. You’ll need some technical proficiency and customization experience to utilize Android’s platform, which not all smartphone users have.

On the contrary, iOS devices have a straightforward, user-friendly interface. They come with various pre-installed, out-of-the-box features, so you can start using them right from the get-go. You wouldn’t need much time to learn an iOS interface.

Conclusion

This one is definitely down to personal preference, but as someone who has jumped back and forth between iOS and Android, i can confidently say that iPhone is easier to use than Android.

Apple phones are known for their ease of use. Their usability comes from simple operating logic: all the apps are launched from the home screen. All the settings, for example, can be found under one menu. And even if you upgrade your iPhone to the newest model, the operating system still works the same way and taking it into use is easy.

An android phone can be modified and customised in various ways, but the basic features of its operating system are much more complicated and confusing than the iOS system. If you value an easy to use and good smartphone for basic use, an iPhone is the obvious choice.

Tag: iPhone Products
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10 Reasons iPads Are Better Than Other Tablets

by Dave Johnson

Here are all the reasons we think an Apple iPad is better than a Samsung, Lenovo, Amazon, Microsoft, or any other tablet.

iPads have been around for a while now, and in that time they’ve cemented themselves as some of the most popular tablets on the market. They’re well-designed, easy to use, and come with some great features. But why are they so popular? And more importantly, why are they better than Android-based tablets?

In this article, we’ll explore ten reasons why we think Apple tablets are better than the competition, touching on everything from durability to ease of purchase, and more.

Top 10 Reasons Why iPads are Better than other tablets

1. The Immersive Experience

The first reason why iPads are better than the competition is their high-quality audio, video, and typing experiences, which makes them more immersive devices as a whole. Here’s what we mean:

  • The Retina Display has a higher pixel density than most Android tablet screen, which makes everything appear sharper. Only very high-end Android tablets come with the comparable display quality.
  • The Magic keyboard for iPad uses scissor-switch keys, so the key travel and spacing make it very comfortable to type on, not finicky like most Android keyboards.
  • iPad speakers are way ahead of the competition and sound far better than almost every non-Apple tablet.

The iPad offers various forms of input; touch, pencil, and mouse. As a result, you can use an iPad as a tablet, laptop, and notepad—all at the same time. You can use it just like a regular tablet, then use the Apple Pencil to write anything you wish. Foe example, you can use your iPad to take note during a meeting which is actually better for remembering them compared to typing them out.

But when you have to type up a long document, you can connect a physical keyboard to the iPad to make writing process more seamless. iPads have become versatile products, rather than just tablets. The iPad can adapt to your needs or any situation and be the device you need to get most of your work done.

2. Design and portability

Let’s face it: iPads are cool. They have a sleek design that other tablet brands try (and fail) to copy and Apple has spent years building its brand’s social status as premium and creative.

People see you with an iPad and are likely to think you’re creative, stylish, and probably successful. Of course, you can be all of those things with any type of tablet. But there’s no denying that iPads offer a certain social cachet that other tablets just don’t have.

One big advantages of iPads over other tablets is that iPads are incredibly thin and light. The refreshed design with minimal bezels makes them even more portable, allowing you to easily take one out during outdoor activities or put it in a backpack. Since iPads are very light, they won’t add much weight to your bag, which is excellent since you could be carrying other staff at the same time.

3. iPads works beautifully with Apple Pencil

The Apple Pencil is one of the best accessories of the iPad. The Apple Pencil provides a smooth, responsive writing experience that is unlike any other tablet on the market.

If you purchase an iPad Air, iPad Pro, or iPad Mini, you will have the option to buy the second-generation Apple Pencil. The second-generation Apple Pencil is arguably one of the best digital writing experiences on a tablet. If you you ever need to create graphics, the iPad and Apple Pencil will surely make your work easier. In addition to that, you can find several apps that are great for the Apple Pencil. Most tablets from other brands today don’t create Digital pencil, as their focus is on other utilities.

4. iPads support Cellular Connection

Another huge advantage of an iPad over other tablets is that you can use an iPad over cellular data. This lets you perform tasks that requires internet connection even when you don’t have wi-fi access. Apple laptops don’t have built-in cellular, and using a phone hotspot can be tedious and drain your phone’s battery quickly. However, you can buy the iPad Air, iPad Pro, and iPad mini with 5G cellular capabilities. Unlike other tablets, you don’t have to carry another device to connect an iPad to the internet if Wi-Fi is unavailable.

The major carriers in the US also offer plans for iPads. You can also purchase an iPad on an installment plan through carriers such as AT&T and Verizon if you prefer to pay for the device monthly.

5. iPadOS and Apps

Another big selling point for iPads is the operating system. Apple tablets come with iPadOS, Apple’s operating system, which is a highly stable and user-friendly platform, built especially for Apple’s tablets. Many people find it easier to use iPadOS compared to Android.

Moreover, it comes with a variety of built-in iPad applications that are designed to work well with, again, all your other Apple products. The App Store is also filled with more high-quality apps that are perfect for productivity, creativity, and entertainment.

6. iPads have High-Quality Cameras

Another advantage of iPads is that they feature exceptional cameras for all the things you may need them for. Your video calls will look crispy clear, unlike mediocre android tablet webcams, and you’ll be able to show people what you can see with the forward-facing camera. In addition, you can use the high-quality primary cameras on the iPad to scan documents onto your device effortlessly. This feature can be beneficial to your daily tasks.

7. Ease of Purchase

There are two reasons why iPads are easier to purchase.

Firstly, they only come in three kinds—iPad Air, iPad mini, and iPad Pro—each with different target markets. This shortened list of options makes choosing the best tablet for you easier. Compare this to other brands, like Samsung, who have tons of varieties of the same tablets, with undecipherable names.

Secondly, Apple’s online store is well-organized and easy to navigate, and the company’s retail locations are dotted all across the globe, packed with knowledgeable staff to help you make your purchase. In contrast, many other tablet manufacturers’ websites can be difficult to navigate, and their retail locations can be cluttered and overwhelming.

8. The Apple Ecosystem

The Apple ecosystem comprises of all the hardware and software that Apple designs and puts out. Almost all Apple devices, apps, and operating systems are a part of the ecosystem: iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Mac, iCloud, Apple Music, and so on.

So, when people talk about the Apple ecosystem, they’re actually referring to how well all these products work together. It’s the ecosystem that makes it possible for you to start a task (like creating a note on your iPad and then pick up right where you left off on your iPhone or Mac.

The ability to seamlessly move between Apple devices is one of the reasons why iPads are better than other tablets. Other tablet manufacturers have tried to create their own ecosystems, but none of them have been as successful as Apple. As a result, iPads tend to offer a more integrated and seamless experience than other tablets.

9. Quality and Durability

Not only are Apple tablets packed with industry-leading hardware, but they’re also high-quality and durable. With regular, moderate care, an iPad can easily last you five years or more. All you need to do is learn how to take care of your iPad properly.

Though many tablets compete strongly in this area, iPads take the lead. They have a strong aluminum and steel frame around their body, which makes them sturdy and significantly more resistant to wear and tear (unless you drop and dent them, of course). And even if anything does go wrong, Apple covers every product with a one-year warranty and it’s easy to book a repair at your nearest Apple Store.

10. Longevity and Resale Value

One of the greatest advantages of iPads over other tablets is their longevity and value-retention. While many tablets can last you several years (or more), iPads are the only tablet that will still look stylish after all that time and still fetch a good price on the second-hand market.

As time goes on, apps grow bigger and all tablets start slowing down. But Apple is one of the best companies around for continually supporting old devices with new software updates. Not only does this keep you secure against the latest online threats, but it means you can also keep getting new features on your iPad as it ages.

Perhaps this longevity is the reason why iPads retain their value so well. You can usually sell a three-year-old iPad for around 50% of its original price. But a three-year-old Android tablet? You’ll be lucky to get 25% of its original value.

Is It All Rainbows and Butterflies?

From their longevity and resale value to their design and portability, there are plenty of reasons to choose an iPad over another type of tablet, like Android devices. When you factor in ease of purchase and the a huge library of apps, it’s clear why iPads are industry-leading products.

But, iPad still have some drawbacks. Depending on what you want to use your tablet for, the iPad may just not suit you.

Tag: iPad Tips
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Top 10 Advantages of Apple Music Over Spotify in 2024

by Dave Johnson

Here are all the advantages of Apple Music over Spotify in 2023.

When it comes to choosing a service, it’s a close race between Spotify Premium and Apple Music, but Apple Music has several benefits over Spotify premium. This is thanks to hi-res lossless and spatial audio albums, and the deep integration with Apple ecosystem. Let’s check all the advantages of Apple Music over Spotify in details.

Advantages of Apple Music Over Spotify

Here are 10 reasons why Apple’s audio service has a lot of big advantages over Spotify and other popular competitors:

1. Advantages of Apple Music over Spotify: Music library

Apple Music and Spotify both feature massive libraries, but Apple claims the advantage with “over 100 million” songs to Spotify’s “over 80 million.”

One hundred million songs — it’s a number that will continue to grow and exponentially multiply. But it’s more than just a number, representing something much more significant — the tectonic shift in the business of music making and distribution over these past two decades.

2. Advantages of Apple Music over Spotify: Lossless Audio

One area where Apple Music has big advantage over Spotify is in sound quality. Apple Music offers Lossless Audio. Spotify doesn’t.

There’s a difference in terms of quality for listening to that music if you look at bitrates. Spotify’s apps offer an Ogg Vorbis stream quality equivalent to 160kbps for free users, while its premium service goes up to 320kbps.

Apple Music’s standard bitrate is lower at 256kbps for AAC streams, but it’s not the end of the story. There’s Lossless to take into account.

Apple launched Lossless as its high-definition audio option, which offers music at a higher fidelity than normal. This includes two quality levels: 24-bit/48kHz Lossless and 24-bit/192kHz Hi-Res Lossless.

To chuck around these higher quantities of bits means a higher amount of bandwidth is required. For Apple Music Lossless, that means a bitrate of up to 1,411kbps, much higher than usual.

The major caveat here is that you need the proper hardware to listen to Lossless audio. Lossless doesn’t work over Bluetooth, and even Apple admits that even its super-expensive AirPods Max headphones won’t support it, even when connected with a wire. That said, even when listening primarily on wireless earbuds while using an iPhone, I found that most songs sounded louder and brighter on Apple Music compared to Spotify.

Spotify did say it would introduce a similar high-fidelity service, named Spotify HiFi, but it failed to launch despite its promotion, and it was delayed indefinitely.

3. Advantages of Apple Music Over Spotify: Spatial Audio

Another advantage of Apple Music over Spotify is Spatial Audio. Apple Music offers Spatial Audio. Spotify doesn’t.

This works like a surround sound system in your earbuds, with the audio mapped out in the physical space around you. Apple is working with artists to specifically engineer their songs to take full advantage of the vast soundscape provided by the clever tech. Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos is included at no extra cost and automatically kicks-in whenever you’re listening with a Spatial Audio-compatible device, including the new third-generation AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Max.

4. Advantages of Apple Music Over Spotify: Cloud locker

Apple Music’s biggest special feature is the iCloud Music Library, accessed through iTunes, which allows collectors to access their libraries of tracks in AAC 256kbps wherever they go when signed in with the same Apple ID. Apple Music has a key advantage over Spotify in that you can combine the songs you already own with the Apple Music streaming catalog.

If you turn on iCloud Music Library within Apple Music, you can access your personal library of tunes across all your devices (from the PC to the phone). This feature “matches” songs in your library with those in the iTunes catalog, or uploads them if the song isn’t available, so you can listen to your music wherever you’re signed in with your Apple ID. You can store up to 100,000 songs.

Note that iTunes Match is also available even without an Apple Music subscription for $25 a year.

Spotify also lets you play music from your device in the Spotify app, but it only works for local files so they aren’t stored in the cloud. So it’s a less elegant solution.

5. Advantages of Apple Music over Spotify: Cool ways to dive deep on an artist

While Spotify is pretty easier to navigate than Apple Music, the Apple Music app has few advantages that will make your inner music nerd happy. Certain album pages feature animated artwork, and some are even accompanied by a full article that provides a deeper dive on the music straight from the artist. When browsing an artist’s catalog, you’ll also see links to any Apple Music Radio shows they’ve been featured on.

Speaking of which, Apple Music Radio is one of the service’s best features. You’ll get live radio shows from top industry personalities like Zane Lowe and Ebro as well as no shortage of on-demand interviews to discover from artists big and small. Spotify offers auto-generated radio stations based on specific artists and genres as well as prerecorded podcasts with songs mixed in, but it doesn’t quite have the same type of live content — or the same big names.

6. Advantages of Apple Music Over Spotify: Apple Music is a good value

Apple Music starts at $9.99 per month, which is pretty standard for a music streaming service. But it’s an especially great value if you get an Apple One bundle, which gets you Apple Music, Apple TV , Apple Arcade and iCloud with 50GB of storage for $14.99. If you own an Apple device and plan on using the company’s various subscription services, it’s a no-brainer.

Apple Music and Spotify’s family plans are generally comparable, letting up to six users share an account for $15 to $16 per month. But if you want more than just music for your money, Apple’s got the best deal out right now.

7. Advantages of Apple Music Over Spotify: Videos

Apple does a lot more with video, offering music videos alongside tracks, documentaries, and other content. Spotify does provide limited video, such as video podcast playback and some exclusive content, but it’s certainly not as far along as Apple’s offering.

8. Advantages of Apple Music Over Spotify: Integration with Apple’s ecosystem

As you would expect, Siri works with Apple Music so you can ask her to play today’s hits and she will do just that. You can ask Siri to “play the top songs from 2021”, “play more songs like this”, “add the new Drake album to my library”, “play all songs by Drake” (to listen to all of Drake’s music, even if it’s not in your library), and “play my music by Drake” (to hear Drake’s songs that you have saved to your library). You can also ask Siri to shuffle the songs in an album or playlist. There are also a new range of playlists coming that can be controlled via Siri. For these, you could ask Siri to plan music for a dinner party, for example.

While Siri does work with Spotify, Siri is part of iOS, and can thus take advantage of iOS and all aspects of it.

Aside from the aforementioned Siri support, Apple Music provides a relatively large collection of features that could benefit users.

The deep integration with Apple’s ecosystem also helps the service a lot, such as enabling Siri queries to play back anything in the catalog. Accessing the music across all Apple devices, and to hand off between items, such as an iPhone to a HomePod mini, gives even more control over how a user listens to their music.

9. Advantages of Apple Music over Spotify: Social sharing

Both services let you follow your favorite artists to keep up to date with their posts and latest releases.

You can also follow friends. On Spotify, you can see what song your pals are listening to in real-time (if they choose to share this detail) on the desktop app.

Spotify Codes are a way to share tracks, albums and playlists among friends. It’s kind of like a custom QR code that you can scan with the camera in Spotify if you’re listening in the same location, or share through messages if you’re apart.

Many popular musicians seem to be more active in posting updates on Apple Music and it’s easier to find that content than it is on Spotify.

Naturally, you can also follow your friends and see what they’re up to across both platforms. While it’s much easier to find profiles on Apple Music than it is on Spotify, you do have to already have your friends in your contacts list (or on Facebook) to follow them.

10. Advantages of Apple Music Over Spotify: Music Discovery

Everyone has heard big things about Spotify’s algorithm that helps its users to discover new music. It’s been a huge hit amongst its users and results in new playlists every week that are tailor-made around the listening habits of a particular user.

However, Apple Music has another approach in which instead of using an algorithm to create playlists for you, it employs real people to do the hard work.

This may well appeal to those of us out there who prefer a human touch when it comes to having our music selected for us.

Apple Music is proud that the curated playlists that they provide have been designed by actual people instead of machine learning algorithms and it’s clear that many users prefer their method.

Conclusion

Apple Music has many advantages over Spotify. Apple has a huge music catalog and integrates seamlessly with other music libraries, has an enormous subscriber community, and delivers a great sound quality.

If you’re an Apple user with lots of music in your library, Apple Music offers a great experience and you’ll prefer the continuity in interface.

Tags: Apple Music, iPhone Tips
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14 Hidden iPhone Features – You Probably Didn’t Know About

by Kevin Hollington

In this article, you’ll be excited to learn that there are several new hidden features that could completely change how you use your iPhone.

Now running the 16th major release of iOS, the iPhone is packed with so many features that mastering them all is no less complicated than learning all the nuances in Windows or MacOS. If you want to get the most out of your iPhone and learn the best tips and tricks for using your phone, here are 14 of the best lesser-known features in Apple’s mobile pocket-sized computer.

If you want to take a closer look at some of the hidden iPhone features, like password-protected photo albums and easily accessible Wi-Fi passwords, here’s what you need to know.

1. Hide apps you don’t use without deleting them

It doesn’t take long to accumulate so many apps that they become hard to manage and organize. If you have apps you rarely use but don’t want to delete them entirely, you can hide them from the Home screen. They’ll still show up in Siri search and you can find them in the App Library (that last page on your iPhone when you keep swiping left). This also comes in handy for hiding built-in apps that Apple doesn’t let you delete.

Just tap and hold the app icon until the pop-up menu appears, then tap Remove App. Instead of tapping Delete App, tap Remove from Home Screen.

2. Automatically close old Safari tabs

If you’re like most people, you may have countless Safari tabs open. But it’s surprisingly easy to tame Safari using this hidden iPhone feature. Start the Settings app and then tap Safari. In the Tabs section, tap Close Tabs. Here you can specify when your iPhone should automatically clean house by closing old tabs — you can choose After One Day, After One Week, After One Month, or Manually, which leaves them open until you close them yourself.

3. Change the iPhone’s default browser

Not a fan of Safari? Perhaps you are a dedicated Chrome or Firefox fan on your desktop computer, and would rather use one of those browsers on your iPhone as well. With this iPhone hidden feature,changing your default browser is easily done. Start the Settings app and then tap Safari. Tap Default Browser App and choose whichever installed browser app you prefer.

4. Lock your camera’s focus and exposure

Digital SLR and mirrorless camera photographers know how easy it is to lock the focus and exposure settings — usually just by pressing a button near the shutter release — so they can reframe and recompose the photo. Thanks to this hidden iPhone feature, you can do the same thing on your phone. Start the Camera app and then tap and hold the screen where you want to lock the focus and exposure. After a moment, you’ll see the AE/AF Lock message at the top of the screen; as you recompose the shot, the focus point and exposure setting will stay fixed until you take the picture. You can drag your finger up or down to manually adjust the exposure. To cancel the lock, tap anywhere on the screen.

5. Set a sleep timer for any media

Want to play music or a show at bedtime so the phone shuts off after a set time? You can easily enable a sleep timer using this hidden iPhone feature. Start the Clock app and tap Timer at the bottom. Set the amount of time you want the music to play and then tap When Timer Ends. In the pop-up menu, choose Stop Playing, then Set. Now you can start your timer and the Music app will stop playing automatically.

6. Reply to a specific message in Messages

Did someone send you a long string of messages, and you want to respond to something from a particular message way up in the conversation? Simply use this hidden iPhone feature. In the Message app, tap and hold the message you want to respond to, then tap Reply. Now you can write a message and it’ll appear in the Message app attached to the original message so it’s clear what you are referring to.

7. Tag contacts in group messages

If you’ve been in a group chat you probably know that it’s sometimes hard to get a specific person’s attention, especially if not everyone is closely following the conversation. If you are group chatting in the Messages app, you can use this hidden iPhone feature to tag a specific contact so they get a notification when you send the message. In the Messages app, open a group message and type the @ symbol followed by someone in the chat’s name, like @dave. When you press Space or add punctuation, the @ symbol will disappear and you’ll see a subtle animation effect on the name. When you send the message, that person will get a notification.

8. View and share saved Wi-Fi passwords

In Settings, go to Wi-Fi and tap the tiny information icon to the right of the network you want the password for. To view the network password, tap the Password section and then use Face ID or enter your passcode to view it. You can then tap Copy to copy the password into your clipboard and share it.

9. Use the Space bar as a mouse

It can be infuriatingly difficult to position the cursor at a specific place on the screen when correcting a typo or moving the cursor somewhere else in a document. Thankfully, Apple has given you a sort-of-secret way to easily move the cursor as if your phone had a built-in mouse or touchpad. Simply tap and hold the keyboard’s Space bar. After a moment, the keyboard will turn blank. Now the entire keyboard area is a large touchpad — just move your finger around to reposition the cursor.

10. Compress the keyboard for one-handed typing

The iPhone keyboard has more secrets hiding in plain sight. If you frequently type one-handed, you can compress the keyboard and slide it to the left or right, depending upon which hand you prefer to type with. To do this, tap and hold the Globe or emoji icon at the bottom left until the pop-up menu appears. In the menu, tap the right- or left-justified keyboard icon. To cancel the compressed keyboard and go back to the ordinary one, tap the arrow to the left or right of the keyboard.

11. Find and remove duplicate photos and videos

Maybe you’ve saved the same photo multiple times or downloaded a video more than once, resulting in duplicates littering up your photo album. It may not be a problem if you’ve got storage to spare, but you’re running out of space, you can now remove every single duplicate easily with this hidden iPhone feature.

In Photos > Albums, you should see a new Duplicates album under Utilities. Apple scans through all of your photos and shows you any photo or video you’ve saved more than once in that album. From there, you can either delete any duplicates, or simply press Merge, which will keep the photo with the highest quality (and relevant data) and then move the others to the trash.

12. Bring haptic feedback to your keyboard

With this hidden iPhone feature, you can enable a slight vibration for every single key you type in. Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback and toggle on Haptic. The sound option you see is the loud and annoying clacking sound you might hear when you type in something and your phone isn’t on silent mode, so you can keep that disabled.

13. Hidden and Recently Deleted albums are now password protected

Thanks to this hidden iPhone feature, you can now lock the Hidden album. You don’t actually need to do anything to toggle this feature on. If you want to check it out, launch the Photos app and go to the Albums tab at the bottom of the screen. If you scroll down, you’ll see a tiny lock next to the Hidden and Recently Deleted albums. To view the contents of those albums, you’ll need to use Face ID or your passcode.

14. Pin your favorite tabs in Safari

Safari caps your open tabs at 500, and if you’re nearing that limit, it might be pretty darn hard to find the exact tab you’re looking for. You could scroll endlessly, but with this hidden iPhone feature, you can easily find the exact tab you’re looking for.

In Safari, if you press down on an open tab, you will see an option to hit Pin Tab. This will move that tab to the top of Safari, where it will exist as a tiny tab preview, permanently pinned there, which you can then tap to view.

Tag: iPhone Tips
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25 iPhone Hacks – You Had NO IDEA Existed

by GeeksModo Staff

2022 was a big year for Apple Fan. The year brought us new phones, like the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro, and new software updates, like iOS 16. Whether you bought something new, updated your iPhone with new software, or just kept on trucking with the same old tech, we were here to help you use it all. These are our favorite iPhone hacks and tips of 2022.
If you dive into the Settings app, you can find some cool iPhone hacks you might not have even known existed. Want to declutter your home screen? Use your battery a little less throughout the day? You can do all that — and more. Some of these iPhone hacks are relatively straightforward, while others are hidden deep within your device.

In this guide, we’ve got 25 iPhone hacks that you’ll definitely want to try today.

1. Stop apps from tracking your exact location

Apps like Doordash, Postmates, Google Maps and Waze all require your exact location to deliver food to the right location or direct you to where you want to go. But not all apps need to know precisely where you are at every moment.

Thanks to this iPhone hack, you can easily prevent any app from tracking your exact location. In the Settings app, choose an application (like Instagram, for example), tap Location and then toggle off Precise Location. Any app with Precise Location off will only know your approximate location, within a few miles.

Don’t toggle this feature off for apps that require exact location, like food delivery and navigation services.

2. Turn the back of your iPhone into a button

With this cool iPhone hack, the back of your device can be used as a secret button to activate certain actions, like take a screenshot or enable low power mode, and run shortcuts that can automatically play music when you arrive at the gym or turn on your smart lights when you get home. However, the option is hidden deep in your settings — here’s how to find it.

In the Settings app, go to Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap and choose one of the two tapping options (double or triple tap). You should see a list of actions you can run by tapping the back of your iPhone, like opening your camera, turning on the flashlight, scrolling up and down and more. Tap on on action or shortcut to set it for double or triple tap.

3. Bring back full-screen incoming call alerts

If your iPhone is unlocked and you receive a phone call, a banner-style notification will appear at the top of your screen, with a photo and name of the person calling, and the options to pick up or deny the call. But this banner wasn’t always there.

Before iOS 14, the incoming call screen would take over your entire display when your iPhone was unlocked and in use. It was disruptive, sure, but it also got the job done.

When the banner appeared, it was a welcome change for many, because it’s more discreet and allows you to still use your phone while receiving a call. However, if for any reason you’re not a big fan of the banner and want to revert to the more attention-grabbing full-screen alert, you will appreciate this hidden iPhone hack. Go to Settings > Phone > Incoming Calls and tap Full Screen.

4. Turn off 5G coverage you don’t want or have

Apple touts a Smart Data feature that’s specific to its 5G phones (iPhone 12 and iPhone 13) that will automatically switch between 4G LTE and 5G networks based on how you’re using your device.

However, you may find that your iPhone’s battery drains faster than it did before. If you don’t want to sacrifice battery life for faster 5G speeds, shut it down with this neat iPhone hack. You can always turn 5G back on when you want it, or when service in your area improves.

To turn off 5G on your iPhone 12 or iPhone 13, forcing it to always use 4G LTE even if you have 5G coverage, open the Settings app, then go to Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Voice & Data and tap LTE.

Alternatively, if you want your iPhone to exclusively use a 5G connection when available, you can select 5G On.

5. Fine-tune how much data is used by a 5G connection

If you’re happy with your 5G performance, here’s a related iPhone hack you should check out. Go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Options > Data Mode, where you’ll find three different options: Allow more data on 5G, Standard and Low Data Mode.

Even though there are brief descriptions below the three different settings, they don’t paint a complete picture for the first option. According to an Apple support document, allowing more data on 5G will give you high-quality video and FaceTime calls. It also enables your phone to download software updates and stream high-definition Apple TV and Apple Music content, and it allows third-party developers to also improve their respective apps.

The default setting on this page will depend on your carrier and your data plan, so it’s a good idea to check your iPhone and make sure it’s correctly set to your preference.

6. Stop apps from cluttering up your home screen

The App Library is a place where you can quickly find and access all of your applications. And while apps are housed here, all newly downloaded apps also appear on your home screen. This may not be a problem if you download apps sparingly, but if you’re installing new apps on a consistent basis, they can quickly clutter up your home screen.

Thanks to this iPhone hack you can stop downloaded apps from appearing on your home screen. Go to Settings > Home Screen and select App Library Only. If you want to find the app, you’ll have to swipe left on your home screen until you reach the App Library.

7. Stop unexpected (and embarrassing) photo popups on your iPhone screen

Apple’s artificial intelligence helps surface photos and videos in various places across your iPhone, as a reminder of family vacations, couple photos and holidays — but you may not always want your personal pictures to pop up unexpectedly, especially if they’re private, embarrassing or inappropriate.

With this iPhone hack, you can now prevent Featured Photos, as well as curated collections known as Memories, from appearing in photo widgets on your home screen and the Search and For You sections in Photos.

To block these tailored photos, make sure you are running iOS 16 or higher. Now, launch the Settings app, go into Photos and toggle off Show Featured Content. All featured content will no longer appear across your device — instead, it’ll only be available in your photo library and albums.

8. Put the address bar in Safari back on top

The address in Safari migrated to the bottom of the screen with the introduction of iOS 15 — a welcome addition for those with smaller hands who had difficulty reaching it with one hand at the top. While this move might feel more natural, since it’s closer to the keyboard and where you typically place your thumbs, it can be off-putting since many people are used to seeing the URL bar near the top of the screen.

Thanks to this hidden iPhone hack, you can easily put the address bar back at the top of the screen. Go to Settings, tap Safari and choose the Single Tab option under the Tabs subheading.

9. Add features that can be used when your iPhone is locked

There are times when you might want to have certain info handy even when your phone is locked. That’s why Apple allows you to enable some features without having to unlock your device, such as the notification center, Control Center, the ability to reply to messages and the Wallet app.

To customize the features you’d like to access on the lock screen, simply use this iPhone hack. Launch the Settings menu, tap Face ID & Passcode and enter your passcode when prompted. Scroll down until you see the Allow Access When Locked section, and toggle the sliders based on your preferences.

10. Make your favorite email app or web browser your default

It was a long time coming, but 2020’s iOS 14 update finally brought the ability to choose your own default apps — at least for email and web browsing. That means that when you tap a link or an email send button, your iPhone will automatically launch the web browser or email provider of your choosing rather than Safari or Mail.

To set up this iPhone hack, open the Settings menu and select the app you’d like to set as a default (such as Google Chrome or Outlook). You should then see a button that says Default Mail App or Default Browser App. Tap that option and select the app of your choosing instead of Safari or Mail.

11. Get full notifications on your lock screen

The first time you experience Apple’s Face ID tech, you’ll notice that you can’t see the content of new alerts and notifications on the lock screen. For example, instead of seeing who sent you a text message and what it says, you’ll only see a generic Messages alert.

By default, all iPhones with Apple’s Face ID tech will hide the content of an alert until you pick up your phone and unlock it. It’s a privacy feature that I rather enjoy, but I also understand how it could be annoying (I’ve heard a few complaints from readers and family members alike).

Thanks to this cool iPhone hack, you can change how notifications appear on your lock screen by going to Settings > Notifications > Show Previews and selecting Always. Conversely, you can select Never if you want to keep the content of your notifications always hidden from the lock screen.

12. Turn off (or on) HDR video for sharing videos

Phones in the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineups can record high dynamic range (HDR) video with Dolby Vision. That means your videos will be brighter with more accurate colors and improved contrast. Sounds awesome, right? It is. But there’s a problem — not every app or service will work with HDR video.

Developers will need to update their apps in order to accept HDR video, but even then, the person viewing the video will need a capable device to see the difference in quality. For Apple devices, those include the iPhone 8 or newer, the 2020 iPad Air, the second-generation iPad Pro and some Macs.

So, what can you do to share videos universally? Well, you have a few options:

You can turn off HDR video by going to Settings > Camera > Record video and turning the switch next to HDR Video to the Off position. Going forward, all videos will be captured in standard dynamic range, and you shouldn’t have any issues sharing or editing it.
Leave HDR Video turned on, but when you want to share the video, with Facebook for example, use the Photos app instead of going into the Facebook app and uploading it. When you use the Photos app, your iPhone will automatically convert the video to SDR and upload it. When you send the video to another iPhone user, Apple will detect if their iPhone, iPad or Mac is compatible with HDR Dolby Vision. If it’s not, Apple will convert the video automatically.
If you leave HDR Video on and need to edit your video, you can use Apple’s iMovie app or the Photos app that’s built into your iPhone. You can even use iMovie to export the video as SDR if needed.

13. Customize your home screen with fancy wallpaper

Another iPhone hack related to home screen you should implement involves your wallpaper or background. Apple has added some new wallpapers of its own, with a pretty cool twist.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone and select Wallpaper from the list. Make sure the switch labeled ”Dark Appearance Dims Wallpaper,” which you’ll see below the two thumbnail previews of your wallpaper, is turned on. Now, tap Choose a new wallpaper and select either Stills or Live. See the circle near the bottom of each wallpaper? It’s half black, half white.

That circle means that the wallpaper has both light and dark mode versions and will change automatically based on the system status of your phone.

You can also set live wallpapers as your background if you’re not sold on dark and light mode.

14. Turn on dark mode to save your battery

Speaking of dark mode, if you don’t want to have to repeatedly adjust your screen’s brightness, you can use your phone’s dedicated dark mode. Dark mode converts all of the white backgrounds in apps to, more often than not, a black background. In turn, your phone is able to save battery power thanks to the darker colors.

Turn on this cool iPhone hack by going to Settings > Display & Brightness and selecting the Dark option at the top of the screen.

Apple’s apps will automatically switch to a dark color scheme, and most third-party apps have also adopted the feature.

15. Manage your notifications with Focus Mode

We get a lot of notifications every day, but not all of them are relevant all the time. With iOS 15, Apple introduced a feature called Focus Mode. Think of it as a custom Do Not Disturb feature that’s tailored to specific circumstances.

Focus Mode blocks less relevant alerts, while allowing notifications from important people and apps to come through so that you don’t miss anything. You can set up different types of Focus Modes for specific circumstances.

Apple currently offers options for Do Not Disturb, personal, sleep, work, driving, fitness, gaming, mindfulness and reading, but you can also create your own custom mode. You can schedule Focus Modes so that they turn on automatically when needed, and display your status in apps so that others know you have notifications silenced.

To set up this neat iPhone hack, open the Settings menu, tap Focus and choose one of the available options to set up your notification preferences. Tap the plus ( ) symbol in the top right corner to add a new Focus.

16. Make your screen text bigger or smaller

With a couple of taps on your iPhone’s screen, you can adjust the font size to make it easier to read. Open Settings and go to Display & Brightness > Text Size where you can use the slider until you’re happy with the font size.

For a little added oomph, you can turn on Bold Text (it’s just below the Text Size button).

17. Add an alternate appearance to Face ID

Apple’s facial recognition feature — Face ID — constantly learns different aspects of your face with each scan. If you’re struggling to get Face ID to consistently recognize you, try this hidden iPhone hack.

Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > enter your PIN > Set Up An Alternate Appearance and go through the process of enrolling your face again.

18. Disable auto brightness for longer battery charge

Your iPhone’s screen brightness level can have a big impact on battery life. By default, iOS will automatically adjust the display’s brightness based on how much light its ambient sensor detects. But if you want to take complete control, you can disable auto-brightness using this iPhone hack, meaning the brightness level will stay where you set it until you adjust it again.

Open Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and at the bottom of the page, you’ll find a switch to turn off Auto-Brightness.

Now, whenever you want to adjust your screen, you can do so by opening Control Center with a swipe up from the bottom of the screen on a device with a home button, or a swipe down from the top-right corner on newer iPhones.

19. Triage your privacy settings

The first time you set up an iPhone with all of your apps, you’re bombarded with prompts asking for permissions to access personal information ranging from tracking your location to your Apple Health information or your camera roll.

It’s far too easy to get in the habit of approving everything just so you can use the app, but take a few minutes and go through your privacy settings to tailor what each app can and can’t see. We walk you through the whole privacy process in two quick steps.

20. Go back to using old iPhone lock screen notifications

Apple’s latest redesign brings widgets, customizable fonts and colors, a wallpaper gallery and stylized date and time to the lock screen, as well as one overlooked change to notifications. Instead of appearing at the top of your lock screen, notifications now appear at the bottom, which you can then tap on to appear full screen.

However, not everyone may be happy with this change. If you want to go back to the way notifications appeared on iOS 15, simply use this iPhone hack. Launch the Settings application and go to Notifications > Display As. You’ll then see three options:

  • Count: Notifications appear as a numbered count at the bottom of the screen.
  • Stack: Notifications appear in a stack at the bottom of the screen.
  • List: Notifications appear fully across your screen.

To go back to the old notification style, choose the List option.

21. Use Control Center to access apps with a swipe or tap

The iPhone’s Control Center is a convenient spot to quickly change songs, turn on airplane mode, connect to Wi-Fi or start a timer, but there’s so much more to it than that. You can quickly turn your flashlight on, check on a timer or start recording your screen with a quick swipe and tap.

Customize which apps and features are available in Control Center by opening Settings > Control Center. Remove an option with a tap on the red minus button or add an option by selecting the green addition button. Drag features up or down using the three-line icon on the right side of the screen.

Personally, I like having quick access to the Wallet app and toggles for low-power mode and dark mode.

As a reminder, if you have an iPhone with a home button, like the iPhone SE, you can swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open Control Center. If you have an iPhone with Face ID, you’ll need to swipe down from the top-right corner of the screen where the battery icon is.

22. Strip the new search button from your iPhone’s home screen

Your iPhone’s search feature lets you quickly find a text message, third-party app, file, note or location — pretty much anything on your device or on the web. As you know, to get the search bar, you just swipe down anywhere on the screen, and it appears.

With iOS 16, Apple adds another way to access Search from the home screen, via a small button right above your dock.

However, the new search button is easy to accidentally trigger, because it’s near where your thumb might go when you swipe between your various home pages.

But, like many new features on iOS 16, you can turn this setting off. Simply launch the Settings app, go to Home Screen and toggle off Show on Home Screen to remove the search button from your home screen.

The Search bubble should disappear, replaced by a few small dots representing your various home screens.

23. Organize alerts with Notification Summary

Apple wants to help you manage your notifications in iOS 15, starting with the Notification Summary feature. Rather than letting notifications pile up on your home screen, you can schedule alerts that aren’t urgent to arrive in a bundle at a specific time of day.

Important notifications like calls, direct messages and other time-sensitive alerts (like the status of your Uber or Lyft ride, for example) will still appear immediately.

To try this iPhone hack, open Settings, press Notifications and tap Scheduled Summary.

24. Keep from accidentally ending your own phone calls

The side/power button on the side of your iPhone allows you to quickly sleep and wake up your device, but if you accidentally hit it during a phone call, you’ll prematurely end your call. If that’s something you’ve encountered in the past, this iPhone hack will let you prevent that from happening.

Make sure you are running iOS 16. Then go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch and toggle off Lock to End Call to prevent the side button from ending your calls. If you do hit the side button accidentally, your screen will go to sleep, but you’ll stay on your phone call, uninterrupted.

25. Change Siri’s voice

If you’ve recently set up a new iPhone, you may have noticed that Siri no longer defaults to a female voice. Instead, you’ll be asked which Siri voice you want to use, including several more recent options. Once you’ve made your selection, Apple will change Siri’s voice across all of the devices linked to your Apple ID.

You can check out the voice options by going to Settings > Siri & Search > Siri Voice.

Tag: iPhone Tips
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I ditched Android for an iPhone 14 Pro Max, and I’m not sorry

by Dave Johnson

Why you should get dirty in Apple’s walled garden.

It wasn’t my plan to betray Google’s mobile platform for iOS. I’ve always enjoyed Android — it’s customizable and “open,” encouraging competition between handset makers and app developers that leads to better products for consumers. If you told me a year ago that I’d be writing a story about buying my first iPhone, I would have called you insane. After all, I’ve been on Team Samsung Galaxy for almost 10 years.

But here I am, the proud owner of a brand new iPhone 14 Pro Max. It’s a little hard to believe given my long relationship with Galaxy phones. But this is real, and let me tell you, I’m glad I made the switch.

But why did I ditch Android for Apple? I was all but ready to get the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra only a few short weeks ago. As I’ll detail below, though, the time was right for me to make the jump from Android to iPhone. And while I’m still getting acquainted with my new device, I already know it’s one of the best investments I’ve made. I may even be in love.

Apple does not approve this message

First things first: This assessment was not written using a review unit provided by Apple. I bought this iPhone 14 Pro Max using an upgrade available on my family’s Verizon account and I’ve been using it as my primary handset for about 14 days.

Please also note: this isn’t an iPhone vs Android opinion piece. I deal with enough console war nonsense on Twitter to jump into another Big Brand debate. The purpose of this op-ed is to share my story and to let Android users know what it’s like moving from that platform to Apple. It may be the best decision you could make — it has been for me.

Here’s why I switched from Android to iPhone and why I’m never going back.

iOS provides a smoother experience over Android

As a tech nerd, I’ve had the chance to review Android and Apple products such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra and iPad Air 5, respectively. I’ve also used the MacBook Pro 14-inch at various times. The latter was my first real experience with macOS and it was somewhat of an eye-opening encounter.

Reviewing Android and Apple devices has revealed how clunky the Android interface actually is. I’ve heard this complaint many times in the past but, since I’ve mostly only used Android devices (Samsung’s phones and tablets), I didn’t see a problem with Android. Now I understand what people have been telling me all this time.

For example, my Android phone and tablets would occasionally lock up or randomly restart. Apps could also become unresponsive and sometimes require me to uninstall and reinstall them. I’m a Windows user and face these same issues on PC. Android’s hiccups seemed perfectly normal. Operating systems are naturally messy, no?

Maybe I was being willfully ignorant, but looking back, I haven’t faced these issues on Apple devices. While being a computing writer has let me become more familiar with Apple, I’m not completely unaware of the company’s devices. I used the first generation iPod touch for many years and also own the 7th Gen iPad released in 2019. Both provided smooth and seamless experiences.

These Apple products just worked, which is something I couldn’t always say about my Galaxy phones and tablets. In retrospect, I knew the iPad 7 was superior to the Galaxy Tab A. As an Android user, I just didn’t want to admit it.

The iPhone experience

Acclimating to iOS 16 wasn’t hard. In fact, it has been a natural transition since I’m already so familiar with the operating system’s basic functions. Aside from downloading and logging in to all the apps I had on my old Android phone, it didn’t take long for me to use the iPhone 14 Pro Max as if I’ve owned an Apple phone for years. Then there are the new (or new to me) features that have enhanced the iPhone experience.

FaceID is easily my favorite iPhone 14 Pro Max feature. Instead of manually entering a password to unlock my phone or to log in to apps, I can just look at my phone. I’m surprised how well this feature works. In fact, it’s kind of scary. FaceID has worked when I’m checking my phone at night with the lights off, while wearing a mask, and even when I’m glancing off to the side. The technology is borderline magic.

MagSafe is another “how the hell did I live my life without this?” feature. I bought Anker’s MagSafe charger and I love how it magnetically locks to the back of the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Best of all, I don’t have to remove my Spigen Tough Armor case for MagSafe to function. I’m glad this is a viable charging option because, for reasons unknown, iPhones still use Lighting cables… but I won’t rant about that here. I also like using the Spigen MagSafe wallet. While it only holds three cards, it’s a great accessory that spares me from having to carry both a wallet and a phone.

Presently, I only have two complaints with the iPhone. Apps aren’t listed alphabetically like they are on Android. Moving apps around on the phone screen is surprisingly cumbersome. Doing so feels like playing one of those sliding puzzle games from when you were a kid, only more annoying.

I also wish there was a blinking light that told me if I had notifications. But considering how I’m no longer distracted by a constant notification light, perhaps I shouldn’t complain.

Customization? I don’t need it

One of the main reasons people prefer Android over iPhone is customization. Where Apple keeps its ecosystem under a tight leash, Android allows for a deep level of customization. In all honestly, I’ve only ever used Android’s basic features. I have no inclination to manually install programs not found on the Google Play Store or to dive into the operating system and tweak things. Apple’s operating systems being restrictive isn’t an issue for me.

With that said, it’s not like I wasn’t able to tailor the iPhone experience to my liking. I use Google’s various platforms for work and my personal life. The first thing I did with my new phone was to install every Google app I needed, such as Google, Chrome, Drive, Maps, Photos and so on. I removed Safari, Apple News, and the built-in calendar from the home screen and replaced them with Google’s equivalents.

Goodbye, Android

I’ve owned an iPhone for just shy of two weeks but I can safely say I won’t be going back to Android phones any time soon. Though Android is a perfectly viable platform that continues to improve, it still isn’t up to par with Apple’s operating systems. And as I said, I don’t care about customization. I just want a device that works and doesn’t give me headaches.

Before I go, I want to apologize to all of the iPhone users I’ve texted over the years. I shouldn’t have subjected you to those garish-looking green text bubbles. Sorry for making you put up with that.

Tags: iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone Products
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