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Apple's native Camera app has plenty of tools for helping you get the right shot, but some are more hidden than others. The camera level is the perfect example of a really handy tool that many users don't even know exists, mainly because it's part of a feature that's turned off by default.

If you tend to take pictures of things when standing directly over your subject, like a meal on a table or an ornament on the ground, then you'll want to use the camera level, as it helps you capture a balanced shot without having to use a tripod arm or mount. It's also useful for taking a shot of something directly above you, like an object on the ceiling or in the sky.

How to Enable the Camera Level on iPhone and iPad

The camera level tool used to be part of the Grid overlay, but Apple has separated out the function in recent versions of iOS, and it now has its own switch.

1. Open the Settings app on your iOS device.
   

2. Scroll down the list and tap Camera.
   

3. In the "Composition" section, toggle on the switch next to Level.

How to Use the Camera Level on iPhone and iPad

1. Open the Camera app on your iOS device.
   

2. Set the capture mode to Photo, Portrait, Square, or Time Lapse, using the sliding menu above the shutter button.
   

3. Point the camera straight down above your subject (or straight up if the subject/scene you want to capture is above you).
   

4. Line up the floating crosshair with the fixed crosshair in the center of the screen by adjusting the angle of your phone's camera. The crosshairs will both glow yellow when in perfect alignment.
   

5. Tap the shutter button to capture the shot.

For this week's giveaway, we've teamed up with Popcord to offer MacRumors readers a chance to win a Popcord Lightning cable, which is a portable cable that's designed to fit right on your keyring so it's always with you for charging emergencies.

The Popcord, which started out as a Kickstarter project, features a Lightning connector attached to a thick silicone body that loops over to fit into an aluminum cover that also doubles as a USB-A port. The resulting Lightning cable loop is compact and fits onto a keyring, belt loop, bag hook, or any similar accessory.

When you need to charge an iOS device, you can pull the Lightning connector out of the cover, plug it into an iOS device, and plug the other end into any USB-A port on a MacBook or charging adapter. It's a simple solution for when you need a Lightning cable in a pinch. Folded up, Popcord is about two and a half inches long, and extended, it measures in at almost five inches.

Priced at £29.00 or $40 (shipping included), Popcord is a bit expensive in a market crowded with similar keychain cable solutions, but it is MFi (Made for iPhone) certified, longer than most keychain solutions, and made from a thick, durable rubber that's also flexible. The Popcord comes in several colors, including red, green, white, and black.

We have 15 Popcords to give away to MacRumors readers. To enter to win, use the Rafflecopter widget below and enter an email address. Email addresses will be used solely for contact purposes to reach the winners and send the prizes. You can earn additional entries by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, subscribing to our YouTube channel, following us on Twitter, or visiting the MacRumors Facebook page.

Due to the complexities of international laws regarding giveaways, only U.S. residents who are 18 years or older and Canadian residents (excluding Quebec) who have reached the age of majority in their province or territory are eligible to enter. To offer feedback or get more information on the giveaway restrictions, please refer to our Site Feedback section, as that is where discussion of the rules will be redirected.

Apple has added a new "Close Your Rings" page to its website that highlights how the Activity app works on Apple Watch.

The page details how Apple Watch users can close the Move ring by hitting their personal goal of active calories burned, close the Exercise ring by completing at least 30 minutes of activity, and close the Stand ring by getting up and moving around for at least one minute during 12 different hours in the day.

Three rings: Move, Exercise, Stand. One goal: Close them every day. It's such a simple and fun way to live a healthier day that you'll want to do it all the time. That's the idea behind the Activity app on Apple Watch.

Apple also provides tips about how to use and customize certain fitness-related features of the Apple Watch, and highlights Achievements and Monthly Challenges that can be earned by closing the rings in the Activity app.

While the page doesn't provide any brand new information, it should be useful for people who are considering purchasing the Apple Watch. Apple has been highlighting individual features on its website more often lately, including a new page that promotes augmented reality use cases powered by its ARKit platform.

Apple this week has begun selling an updated version of Belkin's InvisiGlass Ultra screen protector for iPhone X on its website and at its retail stores, nearly two months after the original was recalled due to quality issues.

Belkin's product page states that the screen protector is now 0.29mm thick, compared to 0.21mm for the original InvisiGlass Ultra. As such, the new version will hopefully prove to be more durable, after dozens of customers complained about the first iteration cracking way too easily during normal day-to-day usage.

Belkin halted sales of the original InvisiGlass Ultra in late December due to a wave of negative feedback, including several one-star customer reviews. At the time, a company spokesperson told MacRumors that it considers "product quality and consumer feedback" to be of "paramount importance."

"We have been constantly testing this product since we released the first generation of it timed to iPhone X availability and things have evolved since you and I last spoke," a Belkin spokesperson informed MacRumors. "We identified some improvements to be made in the next generation of this product."

Apple and Belkin appear to have been providing refunds to customers who purchased the original InvisiGlass Ultra and found it to be defective, so we recommend contacting the companies if your screen protector easily cracked.

The new InvisiGlass Ultra remains $39.95 from Apple. The updated screen protector is still listed as "coming soon" on Belkin's website.

(Thanks, Christian!)

iDevices today announced the launch of the latest product in its smart home lineup, the iDevices Instant Switch. The Instant Switch is a simple wireless wall switch that's designed to attach to a surface using adhesive, so there's no tricky installation required.

The Instant Switch, which was first announced at CES 2017, is designed to work with existing iDevices HomeKit products using a Bluetooth connection, providing an additional method of control. According to iDevices, the Instant Switch can be paired to a hard-wired iDevices Wall or Dimmer Switch to create a three or four-way control configuration, for example.

You can attach the Instant Switch to a wall or another surface using a 3M Command Strip, and it can be placed anywhere in the home. iDevices recommends using it in hard-to-reach locations, because no drilling or rewiring is required. A built-in user-replaceable battery is included, so power isn't needed.

If you don't want to use adhesive, the Instant Switch can also be fitted to any standard rocker faceplate because it's been designed to mimic a permanently installed light switch.

The new iDevices Instant Switch can be purchased from the iDevices website or Amazon.com for $34.95 starting today.

Google has updated its iOS Maps app with three new quick-access options that Android users have had access to for over a year now. The new tabs sit across the bottom of the home screen and are called Explore, Driving, and Transit.

Swiping up on the shortcuts reveals further details. For example, in Explore users can find a description of the local area, dining choices, and options to search for gas stations, ATMs, convenience stores, drug stores, and other amenities.

The driving tab provides a traffic summary for the area, including information on possible delays that might add time onto a commute. This tab will also include current ETAs for the user's home and work addresses if they are saved in the app's settings. Finally, the transit tab offers estimated bus and train schedules at stations in the vicinity.

Google Maps can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Danish acquirer Clearhaus today announced support for Apple Pay, bringing Apple's mobile payment platform to over 5,000 Nordic online merchants who use the e-commerce payment institution.

In October 2017, Apple Pay was introduced to Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, where top Nordic banks like Nordea, Jyske Bank, Edenred, N26, and ST1 quickly adopted the digital wallet system, allowing physical stores across the region to accept contactless payments with iOS devices.

Online payment gateway solutions and acquirers like Clearhaus, which has 20 percent of the market share in Denmark, have since been following suit.

"The emergence of mobile-friendly payment technology like Apple Pay proves that consumer behavior is changing - and webshops will need to adapt quickly. It's an easy, secure payment method, with the fastest checkout in the market today. That's why we have cooperated with our partner, QuickPay to bring Apple Pay to over 5,000 webshops in the Nordics."

Clearhaus serves 7,500 merchants in 33 countries across Europe with secure payment solutions for accepting Visa and Mastercard online.

Shazam, which Apple is in the process of acquiring, was today updated to version 11.7.0, introducing several major new features.

When a song is Shazamed, the result is now displayed with the song's name and an image of the performing artist, rather than the previous cluttered interface with large links to YouTube, Apple Music, and more.

You can access additional information on a Shazamed song by tapping on the artist's image for details or by using the small bubble buttons displayed at the top and bottom of the app's redesigned track-result menu to get to Apple Music, lyrics, videos, and more.

On this same screen, there's a new one-tap "Add To" button that will automatically add a song to an Apple Music or Spotify playlist.

There's also a new Lyric Syncing feature, which is designed to display a song's lyrics in real time as the music plays in the Shazam app, highlighting each line right as it's sung.

Your Shazams have a new look!

Once you've named that tune, you'll see a brand-new song page with the following features:

- Lyric Syncing: Belt it like you wrote it! With our new lyric-syncing, you'll see a song's lyrics in real time, enabling you to not just sing along to any song you Shazamed but finally master those words.

- Streamlined Results: Now when you Shazam a song, you'll get the results and one big photo of the artist behind it--perfect for focusing on the music you were looking to discover in the first place. For more info, simply tap on the artist photo.

- Everything In Its Right Place: We're excited to introduce an all-new track-result menu that makes it easy to view song lyrics, artist videos, updates and more in a single tap. Or swipe.

- Faster Playlisting: Connected to Apple Music or Spotify? 'Add to' playlist now takes one less tap. Simple!

As MacStories points out, Shazam has continued to receive regular updates since Apple's acquisition of the service was announced, suggesting Apple plans to continue to keep Shazam around as a standalone service for the foreseeable future.

Apple's acquisition of Shazam has not yet been finalized, however, so we could still see changes when the deal is done.

Last week, the European Commission announced that it has accepted requests from Austria, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Spain to assess Apple's acquisition of Shazam.

Apple today sent out a notice to developers letting them know that starting in April of 2018, all new apps submitted to the App Store must be built using the iOS 11 SDK, which is included in Xcode 9 or later.

Furthermore, Apple says that all new apps designed for the iPhone, including universal apps, must support the iPhone X's Super Retina display.

Update your version of Xcode to the latest release of Xcode 9 available on the Mac App Store, which includes the iOS 11 SDK, and build your apps. Starting April 2018, all new iOS apps submitted to the App Store must be built with the iOS 11 SDK. All new apps for iPhone, including universal apps, must support the Super Retina display of iPhone X.

With this requirement, Apple is aiming to encourage developers to adopt key features introduced in iOS 11, like Core ML, ARKit, new camera APIs, expanded SiriKit domains, and more, plus the company is making sure future apps will be fully compatible with the display of the iPhone X.

Apple will, for the time being, allow apps built using earlier SDKs to continue to be updated without switching over to the iOS 11 SDK, but at some point in the future, Apple is likely to require developers to use the iOS 11 SDK for app updates as well.

April 1, 2018 is also when Apple plans to stop accepting updates to watchOS 1 apps. All updates submitted after that date must be built using the watchOS 2 SDK or later, and all newly submitted apps must be built with the watchOS 4 SDK or later.

Following news that the HomePod leaves white rings on some wood surfaces treated with oil or wax, Pad & Quill has designed and debuted new Leather Coasters that are meant to be used with the HomePod.

Available in two colors, Whiskey and Chestnut, the 4-inch HomePod Coasters are made with full-grain leather and offer a soft leather backing.

Pad & Quill's new coasters will prevent the rings that occur on some wood furniture due to a chemical reaction between the wood and the silicone used for the vibration-dampening base of the HomePod.

The coasters will also work with other speakers that include similar silicone bases and also leave white marks on surfaces, such as the Sonos One, but the coaster's size and shape were designed with the HomePod in mind.

The new Leather HomePod Coasters can be purchased from the Pad & Quill website starting today for $19.95. Orders will begin shipping out next week.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Pad & Quill and may earn commissions on purchases made through links in this article.