How Tos - Page 38

Apple's Shortcuts app is a great part of iOS because it includes tools that allow you to automate almost any action you can think of. But there is one aspect of it that has often annoyed users, and that's the lack of a setting that turns off notifications. Whenever Shortcuts runs an automation (let's say, disable rotation lock when a particular app is opened) it does so in the background....

In iPadOS 15, Apple introduced a new productivity feature called Quick Notes that provides a quicker way to jot down things on your iPad without you having to go in and out of the Notes app. Whether you're on the Home Screen or within any app, you can bring up a floating Quick Note window at any time using your finger or an Apple Pencil, by swiping diagonally up from the bottom-right corner...

In iOS 15.4, currently in beta, Apple has added the ability for users to add notes to account entries in iCloud Keychain. This article explains how it's done. Slowly but surely with each iteration of iOS, Apple has been improving ‌iCloud‌ Keychain to put it on equal footing with rival third-party password managers such as 1Password. And in iOS 15.4, it continues that tradition with a simple...

If you use an Apple Magic Keyboard with your iPad, you might be interested to know that Apple has added an optional setting in iPadOS 15.4, currently in beta, that allows you to adjust the brightness of the keyboard's backlighting. To access the Keyboard Brightness option, you'll first need to add it manually to the Control Center. The following steps show you how. Launch the Settings app...

In iOS 15.4, currently in beta, Apple has added a handy new feature that allows you to unlock your iPhone with Face ID and authenticate Apple Pay payments even when you're wearing a mask. In previous versions of iOS going back to iOS 14.5, it is possible to unlock your ‌iPhone‌ while wearing a mask, but only if you're also wearing an Apple Watch as an extra layer of security. The new option...

As of iPadOS 15.4 and macOS Monterey 12.3, Apple has introduced support for Universal Control, the long-awaited feature that's designed to allow multiple Macs and iPads to be controlled with a single mouse and keyboard. Thanks to ‌Universal Control‌, you can use the same cursor and keyboard on any nearby Mac or ‌iPad‌ that's signed into your iCloud account. So, for example, if you have a...

In iPadOS, Apple includes several multitasking options that let you work with more than one app on your iPad at the same time. This allows apps that support multitasking to be used in a few different ways. This article looks at Slide Over. Be sure to check out our separate Split View how-to guide by clicking the link. We've also provided a link for it at the end of this article. Slide Over in ...

In iPadOS, Apple includes several multitasking options that let you work with more than one app on your iPad at the same time. This allows apps that support multitasking to be used in a few different ways. This article looks at Split View, which makes two apps appear side by side in a split screen arrangement. Be sure to check out our separate Slide Over how-to guide by clicking the link. We've...

Did you know that your Apple Watch can use a different MAC address with each Wi-Fi network to prevent network operators from tracking your activity across different Wi-Fi networks? To communicate with a Wi-Fi network, a device has to identify itself to the network with a unique network address called a media access control (MAC) address. If your Apple Watch always uses the same Wi-Fi MAC...

When Apple first introduced the Touch Bar on its Macs in 2016, the company touted the adaptive app-specific features of the OLED strip and framed it as an improvement over the traditional function keys that it replaced. What Apple didn't expect was the number of users who mourned the physical function keys, which often play an important role in the workflows of creative professionals and...

When most people hear the word FaceTime, they think of Apple's call service as a video communications platform. But you don't need a camera to use ‌FaceTime‌, because it supports audio calls too. That means you can use it on Apple Watch as long as it's connected to Wi-Fi or cellular. If you've ever taken a phone call on your Apple Watch when your iPhone isn't within easy reach, you'll know...

WhatsApp in 2020 launched disappearing messages on its end-to-end encrypted chat platform as a way of doubling down on user privacy. If you want to have control over how long a message lasts in WhatsApp, read on to learn how it works. When you sit down and have a face-to-face conversation with someone, usually you're reasonably confident that your conversation isn't being recorded and stored ...

Apple's iMessage is one of the most popular messaging platforms, and Apple continues to improve it with new features, hoping that it will keep people using its devices. However, there may be times when you want to disable iMessage. This article tells you how. There are genuine reasons why you might want to disable iMessage. Turning off iMessage is usually the first thing to do if you're...

Apple includes an App Library feature in iOS and iPadOS that shows you all of the apps that are installed on your iPhone or iPad in one place, both in an icon view organized into smart categories and in an alphabetical list. Since all of the apps are listed in the App Library, app icons and Home Screen pages can be hidden for a cleaner look. On ‌iPad‌, Apple adds an App Library icon to the...

Browser tabs in Safari are a great way to visit multiple webpages in the same browsing session without having to close any of them, which makes them particularly useful for cross-referencing and researching things online. But all too often, the number of tabs you have open can get out of control. This makes navigating them tricky and it can also sap system resources, so to avoid being...

Apple designed its iPadOS software so that you don't have to close an app when you're not using it, since most apps that are not active remain in a suspended state and don't use up any resources or eat up battery. However, if an iPad app becomes unresponsive, you may need to force quit the app and restart it to get it to work properly again. Here's how you can do that on both older and...

Macs aren't infallible, and at some point during your time using them you'll come across a situation in macOS where an app has become unresponsive, leaving you without access to its contents and functions, and only a continually revolving beachball for your troubles. If the beachball stays on the screen for more than a few minutes and you can't interact with the app's interface, this usually ...

When Apple Music first launched in 2015, playing it on anything other than an Apple device was impossible. Thankfully though, over the years Apple has made its streaming service available to access through third-party devices and speakers, including Amazon Echo and Google-owned speakers. This article focuses on Google devices. If you have a Google Home mini or a newer Nest-branded smart...

Most social media networks and chat platforms these days include a feature that shows when a user was last online or last active on the service, which can be either helpful or a hindrance, depending on your personal or business situation. WhatsApp includes an optional "Last Seen" status for the person you're chatting with in a conversation thread, while Instagram tells you how long it was...

For a long time now, WhatsApp has included a feature that shows when a user was last online or last active on the messaging platform, which can be either helpful or a hindrance, depending on your personal or business situation. As regular WhatsApp users will know, the "Last Seen" status of a contact sits atop the conversation thread, informing you when that contact last opened the app and...