No need to change any settings. GIF: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
You don’t need to be using a Disney face to get your Apple Watch to tell you the time. Using a simple tap gesture, you can have the time read to you while using any watch face. Find out how in this Apple Watch pro tip.
Fall detection on Apple Watch can be a real life-saver for those who are unsteady on their feet, but it isn’t enabled by default (unless you’re 55 or over). Here’s how to activate it on Apple Watch Series 4 or later.
Apple’s newest macOS update makes it easier than ever to check MacBook battery health, and to prolong its lifespan. In this pro tip, we’ll show you where to find the new battery health features, and how to check the status of yours.
Have you noticed that your external display doesn’t look right when using it with a MacBook Air or MacBook Pro? Is it far too warm, like everything is coated in orange? It’s a common problem, but there’s an easy way to fix it.
One of the improvements you’ll find inside Apple’s new iOS 13.5 update, rolled out earlier on Wednesday, is the ability to stop people from getting larger or moving around the screen during Group FaceTime calls.
Increasing your Move goal can help you be even more active. Photo: Apple
You might need to exercise a little more if you hope to stay fit while stuck at home for most of the day during a global pandemic. Give yourself a little push by increasing your Move goal on Apple Watch.
It’s easy to do, and if you’re one of the many Apple Watch owners who likes to complete their Move goal every day, it will help you burn a few additional calories to make up for spending most of the day on the couch.
Get an edge in Battle Royale matches. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Did you know that Apple’s latest iPad Pro models can play Fortnite even better than dedicated game consoles? Get an edge in your Battle Royale matches by upgrading to a super-speedy 120 frames-per-second.
Show off your Apple Watch setup. Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Did you know that it’s possible to capture Apple Watch screenshots after a simple settings change? Find out how in today’s pro tip and it’ll be easier than ever to share snaps of your favorite Apple Watch apps and watch face setups.
Ready to go whenever you need it. GIF: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Fixing typos and other errors while typing on iPhone can be frustrating if you’re still stabbing away at the screen with your fingertips. Instead, turn iPhone’s keyboard into a trackpad for more precise cursor placement.
Touch ID is a wonderful addition to the Mac that makes logging in, downloading apps, and authorizing purchases easier than ever. Make it even more useful by adding an additional fingerprint and customizing your preferences.
Snapping a screenshot of your MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar can be useful for so many things, and it couldn’t be easier to do. All you need is a simple keyboard shortcut … and at least a couple of fingers.
A swipe right isn't just good for Tinder. GIF: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Using nested lists is a terrific way to organize your plans and thoughts inside the Notes app, and it’s super-simple to create them on iPhone and iPad using this quick pro tip. All you need is to get your swipe on.
Escape keys for everyone. GIF: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
$299 won’t get you much in an Apple Store these days. It won’t even buy you an Escape key with your iPad Pro Magic Keyboard. But if you’re finding life a little difficult without one, there is a quick and easy way to add your own.
Here's how to quickly unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask. Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
You shouldn’t have to deal with the frustration of unlocking your iPhone with Face ID when you’re wearing a mask. And you don’t have to. This simple pro tip shows you how to skip Face ID and quickly unlock with a passcode instead.
Make using a mouse with iPad even better. GIF: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple’s default mouse and trackpad settings in iPadOS might work great with the company’s own accessories, but they can be less than ideal with third-party peripherals. Scroll speed, in particular, seems very temperamental.
Unfortunately, Apple decided it would be a good idea to hide away those scroll speed settings, so a lot of users have no idea they can be adjusted. Here’s where you can find them on iPad.
Scrolling Apple News doesn't have to be about ignoring dozens of articles. Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac
Ever since its launch, people have mostly been dismissive about Apple News on iPhone, iPad and Mac. One big reason is the way it interacts with links on the web, boxing users into the News app instead of letting them visit the open web.
For me, that’s actually a pretty desirable thing, because I really like the News app. It’s much cleaner-looking than many ad-bloated websites, and far less emotional and combative than getting your news on social media.
But making the News app show you the things you care about, with less clutter and noise, requires one simple trick.
The dongle works pretty much anywhere. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
If you own a 2018 iPad Pro, you probably also bought Apple’s USB-C-to-3.5mm headphone jack adapter, just so you can plug headphones into your $1,000-plus computer. But what if you want to do something totally crazy like, I don’t know, listen to music and charge the iPad at the same time? Or, given that this a pro machine, maybe you want to hook up a MIDI piano keyboard, or other gear, and use headphones at the same time?
Tough luck, right? No! If you have any old USB-C hub or dock, you can plug Apple’s cheap little dongle into the hub itself. Check it out.
The quickest way to see your app updates in iOS 13. Photo: Cult of Mac
iOS 13 did away with the old Updates tab in the App Store, and replaced it with Apple Arcade. That’s pretty bad news if you don’t want to use Apple Arcade. But on the plus side, you can access your app updates from the Home screen using 3D Touch. And the good news is that, in iOS 13, you can also use this trick on the iPad.
A rather strained Safari metaphor. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
Did you ever type in a URL, only to find later that you already had that site open in another Safari tab? Well, never again, because in iOS 13, Safari will prompt you to open that original tab instead.
Rephrase your tasks as questions. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
How many times have you stared at the same list of stale tasks on your to-do list? I have whole sections that have been there so long they’ve become invisible to me —- just like the sign in by bathroom telling guests to sit down to pee has become invisible to certain of my antisocial visitors.
Now, today’s tip isn’t going to help you to finish off those lingering tasks. You may as well just delete them, because you’re never, ever going to complete them. But it might help you rescue newly added tasks from the same stagnant fate. It’s called the “question mark to-do list trick”, and so far it’s working for me.
This is a simple tip, but until I worked it out it was driving me crazy. In landscape orientation, the iPad Files app’s sidebar is always present, making it easy to get to any favorite folder, location or label, pretty much instantly.
In portrait, though, the sidebar disappears. However, there are two easy ways to make it come back, neither of which involves tapping the back arrow until you arrive at the root level of iCloud Drive.
Don’t try this at home. Or at the office. Or anywhere, really. Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac
The new 2018 iPad Pro has a lot of magnets inside. There are around 90 of them on the back of it alone, just to stick it to the Smart Keyboard Folio or the ridiculously priced new Smart Folio cover, according to tests done by Pocket Lint. But those magnets are also great for sticking the iPad Pro to a refrigerator door like a giant fridge magnet.
Tweetbot 5 themes: Gotta activate 'em all. Photo: Cult of Mac
Tweetbot 5 for iOS adds some nice modern features, including a dark theme that looks great on OLED screens. There’s also an awful, creepy new icon.
But that’s not why we’re here today. The iPhone’s best Twitter app also packs a whole bunch of secret, hidden themes for you to choose from. Here’s how to activate them.
Despite its many flaws, Siri is still useful for lots of tasks: Setting a coffee timer, adding a reminder, looking up a fact. But what I almost never want is Siri’s voice feedback.
Usually I’m looking at my iPhone when I use Siri, and I don’t use Hey Siri ever. What I want is to ask Siri a question, and have it answer, without all the usual smart-mouthed nonsense. Thankfully, there’s one setting that does just that: Mute Siri.