iOS 18
How To: Get Creative with Dark and Tinted Home Screen Icons on Your iPhone or iPad
Some iOS and iPadOS apps offer alternative app icons you can switch between. Beyond that, you'd have to create aliases in the Shortcuts app to customize the look of the app icons on your Home Screen. But that would mean two icons for each app in the App Library. Now, in a new software update, Apple is giving us a middle ground for Home Screen icon customization.
How To: Apple's Making Your iPhone's Reminders App Even Better with 10 New Features
Apple's improving its productivity tools for iPhone, and not just for apps like Calculator and Notes. The Reminders app is also getting a huge update.
How To: Tired of Tapping? Use an External Keyboard on Your iPhone and Unlock Tons of Keyboard Shortcuts
Your iPhone goes with you everywhere, and its touchscreen interface is all you need to navigate and use all your installed iOS apps. But an external keyboard can make your iPhone an even more efficient tool for productivity tasks such as drafting long emails, composing detailed notes, and writing reports in your favorite text editor.
How To: iOS 18 Upgrades Your iPhone's Buttons with Eye-Catching Visual Effects
There are a lot of great features coming to your iPhone with iOS 18, but one of the coolest features is also one of the simplest and most satisfying— one that you'll notice every day you use your iPhone. And for now, it's an iPhone exclusive, so you won't get the same gratifying experience on an iPad with iPadOS 18.
How To: Get RCS Messaging in Your iPhone's Messages App for iMessage-Like Chats with Android Users
Things are about to get a lot better in your iPhone's Messages app, and the most significant change will let you text Android users with iMessage-like features such as typing indicators, read receipts, large file sharing, high-quality photos and videos, and even emoji reactions. If you can't wait for its official release, there's a way you can try RCS on your iPhone right now.
How To: 10 Things Everyone Should Know About the iPhone's Keyboard for a Better Typing Experience
Seventeen years ago, Apple released iPhone, the first mainstream consumer phone with a touchscreen as its main typing input method. Apple has been perfecting its onscreen keyboard for almost two decades, and it's built with some fantastic features that make typing faster and easier. But it's easy to overlook some of these features, so here are some tips and tricks you need to be using if you aren't already.
How To: Add More Domain Extensions to Your iPhone's Keyboard Shortcut to Type Email Addresses or Website URLs Faster
When typing an email or website address in a compatible input field on an iPhone, most people will manually type in the domain extension. But there's a much faster way to enter domain suffixes for email addresses and website URLs that you should be using on your keyboard. Even better, there's a way to customize what domain extensions appear in the keyboard shortcut!
How To: Apple's Massive Calculator Update Lets You Convert Currency, Area, Length, Time, and Other Measurement Units with Ease
Apple's Calculator app is getting a massive redesign, one that will make it so much more than a simple calculator with built-in scientific functions. There's a new Math Notes feature that ties in with the Notes app, it can keep a history of your calculations, and you can even convert over 200 currency and measurement units.
How To: Apple's Messages App Has Some Cool New Text Editing Features and Effects for iMessage — Here's How It Works
At first glance, Apple's Messages app has always seemed pretty basic when it comes to text formatting options. However, there were and still are hidden ways to format text in your messages. But Apple's latest software updates give us even more ways to dress up text in messages, including more text effects.
How To: Schedule Messages to Send Later Automatically Using iMessage
You could already schedule an email to send on a specific day and time in Apple's Mail app, but that functionality is now also available in the Messages app. What's even better is that scheduled messages sync across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, something you don't get in the Mail app.
How To: Access All Your Mac's Files Right on Your iPhone or iPad — No Third-Party Software Needed
When you need a file on your Mac as soon as possible, you usually have to get your MacBook or hop on your iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, or Mac Studio. But that's too much work if you're in bed, lying on the couch, or outside in the fresh air. Why even bother when you can access that file directly on your iPhone or iPad — without moving an inch?
How To: All the Must-Try New Features That Make Apple's iPhone Calculator a Force to Be Reckoned With
Apple has completely redesigned its Calculator app for iPhone, and it's now powerful and practical enough to replace any third-party calculator you've been using.
How To: 20 Surprisingly Practical Uses for Apple AirTags
Apple AirTags are super helpful for keeping track of your keys, backpack, and other frequently misplaced items, but there are some pretty clever things you can do with them beyond finding regularly used stuff.
How To: Get Instant Solutions to Mathematical Problems on Your iPhone or iPad with Apple's New Math Notes
There are many ways to calculate basic math problems and solve algebraic equations, geometric expressions, and trigonometric functions on your iPhone, but Apple just came out with one that will blow you away.
How To: Download Apple's New iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 Wallpapers to Use on Any Device
Every year, Apple releases new wallpapers for its iPhone and iPad software updates, and that's exactly what's happening with its upcoming iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 releases, which are currently in beta testing. But you don't need iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 to enjoy Apple's new backgrounds — you can download and use them on any device, whether a smartphone, tablet, computer, or something else.
How To: AirPods Are Getting Even Better Thanks to iOS 18
If you're an AirPods user, things are going to get a lot better with iOS 18 and iPadOS 18. If you're not, it may finally be time to grab yourself a set of AirPods, especially if you're into privacy and gaming.
How To: Lock and Hide Apps on Your iPhone or iPad — The Official Way
You can lock practically any app on your iPhone or iPad behind biometric or passcode protection. And we're not talking about using any funky workarounds, either. There's now an official Apple way to protect sensitive apps and their data. It even safeguards your personal information, keeping it out of sight across the system. You can even hide apps, making it harder for others to know they're there.
How To: 10 New Home Screen Features Coming to iPhone with iOS 18
With the iOS 18 software update, your iPhone will have exciting new Home Screen customization options, including some we've been waiting for for years. Your iPad can also use all these Home Screen features with iPadOS 18.
How To: Your iPhone's Flashlight Has New Focus Beams and Greater Brightness Control on iOS 18
Apple is introducing a new flashlight feature on iOS 18 for iPhone models with Dynamic Island. This feature lets you adjust not only the brightness level but also the beam pattern, giving you control over how wide or narrow the light shines.
How To: Your iPhone's Clock App Is Getting a Big New Feature with iOS 18
When iOS 17 first came out, the iPhone's Clock app received a giant new feature, one that lets you set multiple timers and keep track of them on the Lock Screen, in the Notification Center, and in the Dynamic Island. The upcoming iOS 18 software update will give us something just as exciting for the stopwatch.