How Tos - Page 86

Apple's native Mail application in macOS lacks a specific option for enabling out-of-office replies, but there is another way you can set them up on a Mac, and that's with Rules. It's worth bearing in mind at the outset that your Mac needs to be powered on for this out-of-office method to work. That's because Apple Mail rules are only applied locally to incoming emails, and aren't active on the...

There are several ways you can take screenshots on a Mac. Preview offers the option from its File menu. There's also a little screen capture app in the macOS Utilities folder called Grab. But the simplest and most common method is to use your Mac's built-in shortcut key combinations. Taking a screenshot is as easy as hitting Shift-Command-3 to capture the whole screen, or Shift-Command-4 to...

Apple News is the built-in news app for iOS 11 that aggregates and curates stories and topics from a variety of third-party news sources. The service is only available in the U.S., Australia, and the U.K. at the time of writing, so not all new iPhones and iPads will come with the stock app installed. Apple News aims to offer a cleanly presented and personalized news service that caters to your ...

Apple includes a raft of accessibility options in iOS to meet the various needs of its users, allowing them to customize their iPhone and iPad interface in several helpful ways. To make these features quicker to access, Apple also includes an Accessibility Shortcut feature in iOS that, once set up, can be invoked using a triple click of the Home button (or Side button if you have a device with...

If you're sick of waiting for the progress bar to complete every time you reboot after a macOS software update, then you'll be pleased to learn there's another way to update your Mac that could potentially reduce your downtime. The process involves a simple Terminal command, and allows you to continue using your Mac as the update downloads and the initial software installation takes place in...

In iOS 11 and later, it's possible to add an Apple TV Remote interface to the Control Center that will allow you to quickly navigate and control playback on your 4K Apple TV or fourth-generation Apple TV using your iPhone or iPad. It's a great solution if you just can't get on with Apple's Siri Remote, and doesn't require you to install an app. In this article, we'll show you how to set up the...

If you've been maintaining and migrating the same Contacts list across Macs over the years then you've probably come across your fair share of duplicate contact cards. They can also appear seemingly out of nowhere after setting up iCloud Contacts on your Mac for the first time. Unless you intentionally keep certain information for the same contact separated out for whatever reason, duplicate...

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...

iOS 11 introduced handy new drag and drop features on the iPad, that let you drag photos, files, links, and more between apps. What you might not know, though, is that drag and drop also works for blocks of text. Instead of copying and pasting text on the iPad, you can select a block of text and then drag it right into another app using the drag and drop features. Here's how: Select a...

HomePod, much like an iPhone or iPad, can be used as an alarm clock replacement to wake you up in the morning or remind you of important tasks. Using ‌HomePod‌ as an alarm clock is simple, but it is controlled separately than alarms on your ‌iPhone‌ and there are a few tricks to be aware of. Setting Using Siri The easiest way to set an alarm on the ‌HomePod‌ is to ask ‌Siri‌. ‌Siri‌ can set a...

To play music from third-party music services like Spotify to your HomePod, you don't need an iOS device -- a Mac will work too. You can send any audio playing on your Mac right to your HomePod, and not just audio from iTunes. To AirPlay from Mac to HomePod, your Mac and your HomePod need to be on the same Wi-Fi network. Make Sure Volume is Enabled in Menu Bar It's easiest to AirPlay...

If you're having trouble with HomePod and need to return it to its factory settings, there are two simple methods for resetting the device and erasing all of your content. You can either use the Home app on the iPhone, or manually reset the HomePod on the device itself. Here's how: Resetting HomePod with iPhone Open up the Home app. 3D Touch or long press on the HomePod icon. Ch...

Siri on HomePod lets you listen to any show found in Apple's Podcasts catalog with a few voice controls that are similar to those for Apple Music playback. In this guide, we've listed some of the most useful ‌Siri‌ controls for Podcasts, along with basic commands that will help you do things like pause and rewind parts of a Podcast you might have missed, subscribe to a podcast, change the volume,...

One of the main uses for Siri on HomePod is to control your Apple Music collection. There are ‌Siri‌ voice commands for accessing content like playlists, genres, moods, liking or disliking songs, playing more music based on something you've heard, starting a new radio station, and much more. Because the list of ‌Siri‌ commands is so extensive, this guide won't be covering every possible option...

Apple's new $349 HomePod sounds incredible and is the ultimate speaker for Apple Music subscribers, but it's also an excellent way to manage your HomeKit-compatible devices through Siri voice commands. Controlling HomeKit accessories with Siri on HomePod isn't radically different from controlling them via an iOS device, but there are some extra HomePod benefits to be aware of. Subscribe to ...

HomePod has built-in Siri functionality, which means it can be used to do a lot of the same things that can be done with an iPhone or an iPod, like setting an alarm or a timer. If your HomePod is in the kitchen, setting a timer while cooking can be useful, and it's as simple as using a single Siri command. All you need to say is "Hey Siri, set a timer for [x amount of time]." You can...

The HomePod offers great sound, and with AirPlay connectivity, you can set the ‌HomePod‌ up to function as a speaker for your Apple TV, routing ‌Apple TV‌ sound through the ‌HomePod‌. You can use ‌Apple TV‌ and ‌HomePod‌ together as long as you have a third, fourth, or fifth-generation ‌Apple TV‌ Pairing ‌Apple TV‌ and ‌HomePod‌ Open the Settings app on the ‌Apple TV‌. Scroll down to the Video and...

There are many commands that Siri can understand on the HomePod that make it super simple to take quick notes and set up reminders for later, which all sync to any iOS device connected to the smart speaker. As long as you allowed the ‌HomePod‌ access to Contacts, Messages, Reminders, and Notes in the initial pairing process, you'll be able to ask ‌Siri‌ to do the commands in this guide. First,...

Apple's new HomePod smart speaker is designed primarily for Apple devices, and it's heavily tied to the Apple ecosystem. Natively, you can only stream music on the HomePod through an Apple Music subscription, iTunes purchases, or iTunes Match content uploaded to iCloud Music Library. It might sound like you're out of luck if you subscribe to a third-party music service like Spotify, Pandora,...

As a smart speaker, HomePod comes with built-in Siri support, so you can use it without ever touching it, but Apple did include a touch panel at the top of the device that supports several gestures. ‌HomePod‌ gestures can activate ‌Siri‌, control the volume of what's playing, skip to the next song, pause/play and more. All of the touch gestures you can use with the ‌HomePod‌ are below. Volume V...