As a power user, I find Mac window management clunky and broken when using the options built into macOS. Switching between apps, and snapping apps into desired screen locations, should not be so frustrating.
So, I took matters into my own hands — streamlining how I snap, switch and manage windows to finally make macOS work for me, not against me.
You can download the watchOS 26 public beta right now. With it, you can try out the great new Liquid Glass design coming to the Apple Watch before Apple ships the update to everyone. And you can check out Workout Buddy, the AI-powered coach that gives you encouragement during your workouts.
Of course, there are a few things you should look out for. Beta software is buggy and can lead to data loss or apps that don’t work. This particular beta is a rough one, with lots of broken animations and features. A lot of apps you use probably won’t work correctly. I strongly recommend that you at least wait for the public beta — it’ll be available starting in July.
If you’re still sure you want to try it out, you’ll need to install iOS 26 on your iPhone first. I’ll show you how.
You can download the macOS 26 Tahoe public beta right now. You can get a look at the exciting new design coming to the Mac before the update is shipped to everyone. And you can try out the new super-charged Spotlight.
Of course, there are a few things you should look out for. Beta software is buggy and can lead to data loss or apps that don’t work. This particular beta is a rough one, with lots of broken animations and features. A lot of apps you use probably won’t work correctly. You’ve been warned.
If you’re still sure you want to try it out, you should make sure you have a backup of your most important data with two copies of your photo library before you try installing. I’ll show you how.
Anyone interested can download the iOS 26 public beta for free — right now. You can get a look at the exciting new Liquid Glass design coming to the iPhone before the update is shipped to everyone. The iOS 26 public beta also comes with a new Camera and Phone app, new Apple Intelligence features, 3D photos and more.
Of course, there are a few things you should look out for. Beta software is buggy and can lead to data loss or apps that don’t work. Battery life will suffer and your phone will often get hot. You have been warned.
If you want to try it out, you should make sure you have a backup of your most important data with two copies of your photo library before you try installing. I’ll show you how.
You can get a temporary debit card number to pay with Apple Cash online in case you want to pay with your balance on a site that doesn’t accept Apple Pay. If you have a lot of money sitting in your Apple Cash account, this can be a convenient way to pay without using your other cards. (It’s also handy if you don’t have any credit or debit cards from other banks.)
In case it’s unclear, Apple Cash is what you receive when someone sends you money via iMessage. It’s not to be confused with the other products with similar names. Apple Card is a highly rated credit card you can apply for. (It’s a physical card, made of titanium.) Apple Card Savings is a high-interest savings account for people with a physical Apple Card. And Apple Pay is a payment method (secured by Face ID, Touch ID or your device’s passcode) that lets you pay with credit/debit cards from other banks.
Previously, you could only pay with your Apple Cash via Apple Pay (or transfer it to your bank). Now, you can tie your Apple Cash to a virtual card number to pay using your Apple Cash balance online. Here’s how to set it up.
Struggling trying to figure out the best way to edit PDFs? Thanks to the PDF Editor ,PDF Book Reader ® app for Mac, iPhone and other Apple devices, editing and managing PDF documents doesn’t need to break the bank — or frazzle your mind.
It’s a great all-in-one PDF app — and Cult of Mac readers can get a free one-year subscription.
AutoFill on iPhone is supposed to help you out when you’re entering a password or typing in your email. When it doesn’t work, it can be incredibly frustrating — especially if you don’t know some complicated password offhand. The phone’s supposed to remember it so you don’t have to!
Sure, you could switch over to the Passwords app — or you can instantly autofill passwords right from the text box. AutoFill works anywhere you can input text, including third-party browsers.
In addition to passwords, you can autofill credit cards, contacts and more. You can even autofill scanned text from documents, signs and more using the camera.
Here’s how it’s done.
The Translate app built into your iPhone is a hidden gem if you’re traveling abroad. It gives you the ability to download languages in advance, so you don’t have to worry about a dodgy cellular connection.
The camera lets you translate text in-line of a restaurant menu or parking meter — it could help you out of a sticky situation. The Translate app’s conversation view makes it easy having a back-and-forth with someone who doesn’t speak your native tongue.
Here’s how to make the most out of the built-in Translate app.
iMessage effects can add much more meaning, emotion and fun to your texting. You can add bold, italics, underline and strikethrough text, just like a formatted document, and even choose from a bunch of cool, animated effects. Plus, you can use full-screen animated effects, including lasers, confetti and fireworks — which seems perfectly appropriate on the Fourth of July.
With Apple’s text message effects, you can make quite an impression. You can make congratulations more bombastic (to rejoice in someone’s finest moments). Or, you can use formatting and effects to convey sarcasm, stress and sorrow more clearly.
These text effects are fun and incredibly useful. Keep reading below or watch our video.
With a little know-how, you can photograph fireworks with an iPhone and achieve great results. But just pointing and shooting with no prior planning can lead to blurry, unexciting fireworks photos.
For instance, does this sound familiar? Last year’s fireworks made you say ooh and ahh, but when you look at your iPhone photos from that night, the sound you make is more of an ugh.
Don’t blame Siri or some engineer in Cupertino for previous photo fails. The iPhone camera, as mighty as it is, can’t do all the thinking for you — especially in challenging lighting conditions like a fireworks display. But with a little thought and preparation, you can make this holiday worth reliving on your iPhone camera roll.
Below are some simple tips to make your iPhone fireworks photos sizzle.
Out of the many dozens of options, which is the coolest Apple Watch face? Every time I see someone wearing an Apple Watch, I try to scope out which watch face they use. Nine times out of 10, they use either the Modular face or the Photo face (with a Sport band).
This is despite the Apple Watch offering dozens of watch faces, allowing for all kinds of customizability.
If you want to spice up and individualize your Apple Watch, here are the best and coolest faces. And in our video, I rank every watch face on a tier list.
Thanks to a settlement in a class-action lawsuit related to Siri and data privacy, most U.S. Apple users can receive up to $100. You just need to fill out an online form by July 2, 2025. (Spoiler alert: That’s today.)
You’re eligible for a settlement if you live in the United States and used Siri between September 17, 2014, (when Apple released “Hey Siri” in iOS 8) and December 31, 2024. You can receive up to $20 per device, for up to five devices, if you’ve ever accidentally triggered Siri in the middle of a private conversation or meeting.
Here’s how Apple got in this mess, how to find out if you’re eligible, and how to submit your claim.
you can turn off autocorrect on your iphone if you want your texts to come across as casual and laid back. psychologically, lowercase writing that isnt punctuated with apostrophes or periods read as more informal and friendly
turning off autocorrect is super-easy. you can even turn off capitalization but leave on corrections for spelling and grammar. see how awesome it is? heres how to do it!!! :)
Screensavers fell out of fashion a long time ago, but Apple’s Aerial screensaver looks so beautiful, it just might make you reconsider. In fact, with its stunning visuals, it might just be the best Mac screensaver around.
The Aerial screensaver started on the Apple TV, showing gorgeous, sweeping helicopter photography of the world’s greatest natural landscapes, underwater sights and cityscapes — even shots from space. Now, if you have a desktop display set up somewhere prominently in your house, you can get the same beautiful vistas on your computer with the Aerial screensaver for Mac.
Here’s where to find this beautiful Mac screensaver, plus some setup tips that will really help it shine.
If you know how to schedule texts on iPhone, you can make sure you never forget to send a reminder, birthday greeting or early morning message for someone in a different time zone. You can schedule a whole slew of texts up to a week in advance, with links, photos, attachments and more, using the iPhone’s Send Later feature.
This can save your bacon if you’re often the type of person to forget to text someone later. And it’s really easy to do, once you figure out how to use the somewhat hidden feature.
You want to get faster at typing? Sure, you can hold down the Backspace key or mash it really fast. But there’s a better and more precise way to backspace and delete text on the Mac, using the Option (⌥) and Command (⌘) keys. These Mac typing shortcuts can make editing text lightning-fast and seamless. Here’s how you can be a keyboard wizard.
All of these work on the iPad, too, if you have a physical keyboard connected.
iPhone Stolen Device Protection offers increased safety for your accounts and financial information if someone steals your handset and its passcode.
Here’s how to activate the security feature, and — more importantly — why you should do it now.
Apple has a daily crossword and crossword mini that you can play on your iPad and iPhone inside the News app. This feature is available to anyone with an Apple News+ subscription or the Apple One Premier bundle.
I absolutely love playing the crossword puzzles every day. I’m not very good at them, but it’s a fun challenge and it’s a well-designed app.
Here’s how it works.
Need to convert YouTube videos to MP3 files easily, so you can transform your favorite streaming content into high-quality audio files that are a breeze to store and play? One simple way is to download and use 4K YouTube to MP3, a powerful Mac app designed specifically for audio extraction.
This specialized converter focuses on delivering crystal-clear audio files from YouTube videos, podcasts, music and other content across popular platforms including Facebook, SoundCloud and Twitch.
There’s been another big data leak of over 16 billion records, and that’s a great opportunity to do something you’ve probably been procrastinating on: Replace your website passwords that hackers stole because of some lax security. Fortunately, Apple’s new Passwords app makes it easy to find out which of your passwords leaked so you can change passwords right on your iPhone.
Stay one step ahead by fixing a potentially serious problem now, before something bad happens.
You can see the past week’s weather on your iPhone in the Apple Weather app. It shows all kinds of detailed weather data — not just temperature and rain, but wind, humidity, visibility, pressure and more.
You also can easily see how that info compares to the average weather data to see if this is an unusually heavy winter or a particularly hot summer. Apple Weather even shows you details on the phase of the moon, all in iOS 17.
Here’s how it works.
Connect Apple Watch to a treadmill at Planet Fitness, and other exercise equipment, for more accurate health data inside the Fitness and Health apps on your iPhone. After all, if you’re working out, you want to make sure your Apple Watch gives you credit for it.
Here’s how.
June is the best time of year to give feedback to Apple on betas for iPhone, Mac, iPad and Apple Watch. Just after the company releases the initial betas of its upcoming software updates, this is when Apple engineers have the most time to address bugs and make changes. And that makes this the optimal time to file an Apple bug report.
It won’t be long before Apple engineers’ task lists fill up through the fall, when the new software will be released. After that, teams are rearranged to make the sprint toward the next year’s updates. So if you have any input, you’d best make yourself heard now.
How do you file a bug report or send in feedback to Apple? Apple made a tool called Feedback Assistant that will guide you through the process. It’s available if you’re running a developer or a public beta of iOS, macOS or iPadOS. Here’s how.
You can download the visionOS 26 developer beta for free — right now. You can get a look at the exciting new spatial widgets coming to the Vision Pro before the update is shipped to everyone. Unlike other platforms, there is no public beta option, only the developer beta.
Of course, there are a few things you should look out for. Beta software can be buggy and can lead to data loss or apps that don’t work.
If you’re still sure you want to try it out, you should make sure you have a backup of your most important data with two copies of your photo library before you try installing. I’ll show you how.
The importance of backing up your iPhone messages is obvious. So, when you want to save text messages from iPhone, why settle for a backup that doesn’t let you access them?
Whether precious conversations with a loved one or vital information for a legal case, your messages deserve to be saved — and, more importantly, easily accessible on your computer.