Start a new note in an instant. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
macOS Monterey includes the same Quick Note feature that’s baked into iPadOS 15. Using it is incredibly simple, and it’s a great way to quickly jot down important information — such as phone numbers, email addresses, and appointments — that you don’t want to forgot.
We’ll show you how to use it, and how to customize the Quick Note feature on Mac to suit you.
Keep track of links you've received from friends. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
iOS and iPadOS 15 make it easier than ever to keep track of web links that are shared with you in Messages by putting them all in one place inside Safari.
Here’s where you can find them — and how to view them all on iPhone and iPad.
There are plenty of ways to tune in. Photo: The Olympics/Cult of Mac
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games officially kicks off on Friday, June 23, and you can enjoy it all on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac. We’ll guide you through who’s hosting the action, and which apps you’ll need to watch it.
Host casual conversations, share your screen and more. Image: Slack/Cult of Mac
Slack is rolling out its new Huddles feature in an effort to bring the office environment to wherever you might be working. The feature lets you hold “quick, informal discussions” with other members of your team.
You can also use it to share your desktop screen, which makes it great for demonstrations. We’ll show you how to use Huddles on iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Grab Apple's first AirPods Pro beta today. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Apple this week seeded its first AirPods Pro beta firmware for registered developers. This version enables a number of new features, including Ambient Noise Reduction and spatial audio for FaceTime calls.
You'll need if you want Apple's support. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
If you run into any issues with your new MagSafe Battery Pack, you may need to provide Apple Support with its serial number. There are a couple of quick and easy ways to find that. We’ll show you how.
It's easier than you think. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
It’s easy to set alarms or timers on a HomePod smart speaker with Siri voice commands, but HomePod Software Version 14.7 adds the ability to make manual changes to of these with an iPhone or iPad. No Siri required.
It's easier than ever to wipe your Mac clean. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
macOS Monterey makes it easier than ever to remove all your precious data from your Mac when it’s time to sell it or make a fresh start. Its new Erase All Content & Settings feature wipes your machine without forcing to you to reinstall its operating system, just like on iPhone and iPad.
Google's new "quick delete" wipes your last 15 minutes of searches. Photo: Google
Google rolled out a couple of new search-related security tools Thursday for its main iOS app. With them, you can add security to saved search histories and quickly delete recent searches. We’ll show you how to use them, below.
Amp up your emoji game with Soundmojis in Facebook Messenger. Image: Facebook
Emoji just got a sonic boost in Facebook Messenger. The social network’s chat app added Soundmojis on Thursday, giving users the option of sending audio snippets with some key emoji.
At launch, you can send catchphrases from TV shows, bits of hit songs, and garden-variety stock sounds. If your conversation demands the world’s tiniest violin emoji, your chat partner can actually hear it!
A strong passcode is the next-best thing to keeping your iPhone in a safe. Photo: Rob Pongsajapan/FlickrCC
It’s time to stop using that useless six-digit passcode on your iPhone. Now that cops around the United States are going crazy for the GrayKey, a little box that can crack your iPhone’s passcode in hours, it has become clear that the iPhone’s regular six-digit numerical code is no longer secure.
Plus, now that GrayKey is available, it won’t be long before they’re in the hands of the bad guys, too, if they’re not already. In fact, instructions on how GrayKey works surfaced online last month.
The good news is, it’s super-easy to change your iPhone passcode to something a lot better. The bad news? There actually isn’t any, unless you already have the cops trying to break into your iPhone — in which case you’ve got plenty of bad news already.
It's easy (albeit time-consuming) to switch back to iPadOS 14. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
So, you’ve already installed the iPadOS 15 beta beta on your iPad and now some of your favorite apps and features are broken. Don’t worry — it’s really easy (if a little time-consuming) to revert back to iPadOS 14.
Got iOS 15 public beta regret? It's not too late to go back. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
If you’ve already installed the iOS 15 beta on your iPhone and run into issues, you might want to downgrade to iOS 14 until more stable releases are available. Luckily, it’s really easy to do that if you have a Mac handy.
Learn how to launch and play the Google iOS app's hidden pinball game. Photo: Steve Snow
Intrepid explorers online on Reddit and YouTube have come across an especially fun Easter egg in Google’s iOS app — a secret pinball game that takes a little doing to find.
You'll need a compatible Mac and around 12GB of free storage space. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Anyone can put the macOS Monterey beta on their Mac — it’s no longer reserved for developers. Apple added the pre-release version to its public beta program on Thursday.
Installing it is free, and not too difficult. Here’s how begin playing with macOS Monterey yourself.
You don't have to spend $49 on a band to get the face. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple introduced new International Collection bands for Apple Watch on Tuesday, priced at $49 each. There are 22 available and each comes with an accompanying Stripes face you can download from Apple’s website.
But you don’t need to buy a band to get your hands on the new faces. We’ll show you how to download them right now to show support for your country at this year’s Summer Olympics.
Now it's easy to share tweets in Instagram Stories. Photo: Instagram
Twitter rolled out an update to its iOS app earlier this week that lets users quickly and easily share tweets to their Instagram Stories. It’s now nearly a one-click operation, but not quite.
Naturally, users have always been able to take a screenshot of a tweets and manually upload it to an Instagram Story. But the new interface takes some of the manual labor out of the process, making it simple and fast. And the results look good!
Get a month of Paramount+ free through Apple TV. Photo: ViacomCBS
Apple TV users can get a free month of Paramount+, the streaming service formerly known as CBS All Access, Apple said Monday in a tweet.
The trial offer, running now through June 30, is available to new Paramount+ subscribers in the United States when they sign up through the Apple TV app. As not all free trial offers on Apple TV last a full month, this is a good one. Here’s how to jump on it and watch Paramount+ originals like Star Trek: Picard and Jordan Peele’s reboot of The Twilight Zone. The streaming service also offers movies from the Mission: Impossible and Star Trek franchises.
You can continue using Apple TV+ until your trial ends. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
The one-year free trial of Apple TV+ comes to an end later this month, which means you will be charged soon to keep your subscription going. If you don’t want to use Apple TV+ going forward, you need to cancel it.
You'll need a spare Apple Watch and an iPhone running iOS 15. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
watchOS 8 isn’t the most significant update Apple Watch has seen over the years, but it’s certainly no snoozefest. Improvements to a number of key apps and a new face will be welcomed by Watch wearers this fall.
And you don’t have to wait until this fall to get yours hands on it. If you have a spare Apple Watch and an Apple Developer account, you can download and install watchOS 8 today. We’ll show you how.
You'll need a compatible Mac and around 12GB of free storage space. Image: Apple/Cult of Mac
Ready to start testing macOS Monterey? You can already get your hands on the developer beta — so long as you have a compatible Mac. We’ll show you how to download and install it today.
Any old headphones will do. Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac
You’ll need some special equipment to enjoy high-resolution lossless audio tracks inside Apple Music. But spatial audio with Dolby Atmos is available to everyone who has a set of decent headphones.
Here’s how to enable it on your iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.
... if you have a spare iPhone or iPad. Photo: Apple
Itching to get your hands on iOS and iPadOS 15 as soon as possible? The first developer betas are out now, and although we definitely don’t recommend installing them just yet, we’ll still tell you how to do it.
All you need is an Apple Developer account and an iPhone or iPad.
Amazon plans to combine every Echo speaker and Ring security camera in the United States into a shared “mesh network” to ensure devices stay online even when disconnected from their owners’ home Wi-Fi connection.
The system, called Amazon Sidewalk, faced scrutiny over the lack of transparency with regard to its rollout. Many people also express concerns about the potential privacy issues it could raise.
Not interested in taking part? Here’s how to opt out of Amazon Sidewalk before it goes live on June 8.