How-to

One of the less flashy but valuable upgrades that arrives with Safari this year is built-in translation. Follow along for a look at how to translate websites on iPhone and iPad in iOS 14 and iPadOS 14.

iOS 14: How to limit third-party access to the iPhone’s Photos app

Michael Potuck Oct 7 2020 - 12:00 am PT

Among the variety of security and privacy enhancements with iOS 14 is improved control for photo permissions. Read along for how to limit third-party access to the iPhone’s Photos app.

How to mirror iPhone selfies iOS 14 walkthrough

iOS 14: How to mirror iPhone selfies

Michael Potuck Oct 5 2020 - 12:00 am PT

iOS 14 includes a number of changes and new features with the Photos and Camera apps. One of those minor tweaks but something that many will find useful is the ability to change the default orientation of images captured with the front-facing camera. Read along for how to mirror iPhone selfies.

How to watch 4K YouTube videos iPhone iPad Apple TV with iOS 14

How to watch 4K YouTube videos on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV

Michael Potuck Oct 2 2020 - 9:55 am PT

This year’s major software releases from Apple bring a nice upgrade for watching YouTube videos on many of its devices. Follow along for how to watch 4K YouTube videos on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

Update 10/2/2020: YouTube 4K support is rolling out to Apple TV 4K.

How to use burst mode with iPhone volume button

iOS 14: How to use burst mode with your iPhone volume button

Michael Potuck Sep 30 2020 - 12:00 am PT

Apple changed how burst mode works with the iPhone 11 cameras in iOS 13 that made things a bit more complicated. With iOS 14, there’s a new option to make things simpler and faster to access the feature. Follow along for how to use burst mode with the iPhone volume button.

iOS 14: How to hide iPhone app pages for a clean and customized UI

Michael Potuck Sep 25 2020 - 12:00 am PT

Along with all-new home screen widgets, iOS 14 offers the ability to remove app pages (without deleting apps) as another way to customize your experience. Follow along for a look at how to hide iPhone app pages for a cleaner setup.

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How to theme iOS 14 with custom icons and widgets – featuring Ayeris [Video]

Jeff Benjamin Sep 24 2020 - 10:37 am PT

With the ability to add custom widgets to iOS 14, a huge uptick in iPhone theming has taken place with such setups going viral on social media. I recently linked up with Thientam Bach, aka Surenix, a well-known graphic designer behind such jailbreak themes as Ayecon and Ayeris. He recently uploaded a version of Ayeris to his website specifically with iOS 14 theming in mind.

In this hands-on video, I show you how to emulate the Ayeris theme on your iPhone with the help of the Shortcuts app. It’s not nearly as clean as a real iOS jailbreak theme, but if you’re looking for a way to further customize the look of your Home screen, it’s an option.

iPadOS 14: How to use the new widgets on iPad

Michael Potuck Sep 24 2020 - 12:01 am PT

A big change that arrived with iOS 14 is an all-new home screen experience. This marks arguably the biggest UI update for iOS since it was first introduced. However, iPad isn’t getting all the same new features and changes as iPhone, but there are new widgets to take advantage of. Follow along for how to use the new iPad widgets in iPadOS 14.

iOS 14: How to use the new iPhone alarms

Michael Potuck Sep 23 2020 - 12:00 am PT

Among the more modest tweaks to the iPhone’s UI with iOS 14 is a redesigned Clock app. While there are some upsides to the new design that partially gets rid of the wheel picker, there are some confusing aspects to the new interface. Read along for how to use the new iPhone alarms in iOS 14 and where the Bedtime tab has moved.

iOS 14: How to add/edit iPhone mail, calendar, contacts accounts

Michael Potuck Sep 21 2020 - 10:00 am PT

iOS 14 brings a host of exciting new features and changes but there are also some tweaks that might catch you off guard. One of those subtle changes is where adding and managing accounts now lives. Read on for how to set up and edit iPhone Mail, Calendar, Contacts, Notes, and Reminders accounts.

iOS 14: How to use 10 of the most popular new iPhone and iPad features

Michael Potuck Sep 18 2020 - 10:06 am PT

iOS 14 was officially released this week which means anyone can now check out everything that’s new with the latest iPhone and iPad operating systems. While there are over 250 new features and changes, let’s take a detailed look at how to use iOS 14’s most popular features.

iOS 14: How to do Picture in Picture video multitasking on iPhone

Benjamin Mayo Sep 17 2020 - 10:08 am PT

One of the cool new features for the iPhone in iOS 14 is the addition of Picture in Picture video. This allows you to play video from one app whilst navigating around the rest of the device. The video will keep playing in a small thumbnail window, allowing for two app-at-a-time multitasking for the first time on the iPhone. Here’s how to use it.

iOS 14: How to use iPhone Back Tap custom controls for Shortcuts, Accessibility, system actions

Michael Potuck Sep 17 2020 - 10:00 am PT

How to use iPhone Back Tap custom controls for system actions, Shortcuts, Accessibility features

One of the new features that has arrived with iOS 14 that didn’t make a big splash but will be super useful for all users is something called Back Tap. The new iPhone feature lets you customize double and triple taps on the back of your iPhone to use for Shortcuts automations, Accessibility features, and iOS system actions. Read on for a look at how to use iPhone Back Tap custom controls and all the things you can do with the new feature.

Here’s how to use the new iPhone home screen widgets in iOS 14

Michael Potuck Sep 16 2020 - 1:15 pm PT

iOS 14 how to use home screen widgets iPhone and iPad

One of the biggest updates to come with iOS 14 is an all-new home screen experience. This marks arguably the biggest UI change for iOS since it was first introduced. Follow along for how to use iPhone home screen widgets in iOS 14.

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How to watch Apple event live stream September 15

How to watch Apple’s September Apple Watch and iPad event

Michael Potuck Sep 15 2020 - 8:00 am PT

Apple’s “Time Flies” event is set for September 15 at 10 a.m. PT/ 1 p.m. ET. The Apple Watch and iPad focused event from Apple Park could include other announcements for things like the company’s AirTags and the anticipated Apple One services bundle, but the iPhone 12 lineup isn’t expected to be unveiled until an October event. Read along for several different ways to watch the Apple event live stream on September 15.

How-to
Slack

How to personalize Slack with a custom font

Michael Potuck Sep 11 2020 - 1:22 pm PT

Want to switch things up in Slack with a personalized font or maybe just have some fun experimenting with different options? Follow along for how to change Slack fonts with a simple command.

How to watch Apple’s ‘Time Flies’ September event live stream on YouTube

Michael Potuck Sep 8 2020 - 10:24 am PT

Apple has officially announced its virtual “Time Flies” event for September 15 and the company has already made a live stream placeholder available for it on YouTube. Follow along below for how to set a reminder for the big event.

How to stream Disney Mulan live-action movie iPhone iPad Apple TV

How to watch Disney’s live-action Mulan on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad

Michael Potuck Sep 4 2020 - 2:29 pm PT

Disney has remade Mulan as a live-action film, and it’s premiering access to the movie through its Disney+ streaming service on Apple devices as well as Roku, Android, and others. Follow along for how to watch Disney’s Mulan on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, and more.

How to add AppleCare to your Mac after purchase

Michael Potuck Aug 28 2020 - 12:00 am PT

Have you already purchased a Mac but now decided that you’d like to protect it with AppleCare? Keep reading for how to add the coverage to your Mac after purchase, even if you didn’t buy it from Apple.

iOS: How to scan documents with the Notes app

Michael Potuck Aug 21 2020 - 3:01 am PT

Apple has been improving its Notes app each year, and the ability to scan documents within the app in iOS is better than ever. Follow along after the break for a look at how this useful feature works. We’ll also look at how to scan documents right in the Files app.

How to easily back up your Mac with Time Machine and a Synology NAS [Video]

Jeff Benjamin Aug 20 2020 - 9:47 am PT

In the past when I’ve covered my experience with Synology NAS products, it’s usually been from the perspective of using one of Synology’s more powerful offerings as a media server for Final Cut Pro X libraries. Today, I’d like to flip the script and talk about Synology’s entry-level NAS, the compact DS220j. I’d also like to begin regular discussions of more common needs for the everyday Mac user, such as Time Machine backups, private cloud storage, etc.

Being an entry-level model, the DS220j is marketed as a personal cloud solution for data sharing and backup, and I find it to be a good fit for those applications. In this first hands-on video, I’ll walk you through what it takes to set up the DS220j as a Time Machine backup solution for your Macs.

How to silence unknown and spam calls on iPhone

iOS: How to automatically silence unknown and spam calls on iPhone

Michael Potuck Aug 20 2020 - 3:01 am PT

Spam and other unwanted calls have become a real nuisance over the past few years. Apple included its feature that allows users to automatically silence unknown and spam calls on iPhone starting with iOS 13 and Verizon offers an even more advanced version of this with iOS 14. Read on for how this smart feature works and how to enable it on iPhone.

How to use full screen live lyrics on iPad in iPadOS 14

iPadOS 14: How to use fullscreen live lyrics on iPad

Michael Potuck Aug 19 2020 - 3:01 am PT

The Music app gets some nice improvements with iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, and one specific to the latter is fullscreen time synced lyrics. Read along for how to use fullscreen live lyrics on iPad.

How to sign into CBS apps and CBS․com with your Apple TV Channels subscription

Benjamin Mayo Aug 17 2020 - 12:20 pm PT

Apple TV Channels are a convenient way to sign up to your favorite networks and watch all their content natively in the Apple TV app, with the App Store handling all billing. However, at least for CBS, it is possible to use your Apple TV Channels account to log in to the native CBS apps and website. Here’s how.