Short of learning air guitar, hooking a guitar up to your iPhone is just about the easiest way to get started playing music. But it’s not just for practice, or goofing around at home. You can record and edit serious music with an iOS device, and even produce whole records.
But we’re already getting ahead of ourselves. Today, we’re just going to hook things up and rock out.
There’s a little-known but awesome trick you can do with the iPhone’s camera: triple-click the Home button to turn it into a magnifying glass. This is great if you don’t see so well, either because you’re farsighted or because you’re just getting old and doddery.
Today we’ll see how to switch on this awesome feature so it’s ready to deploy, and also take a look at some of the extras Apple built in to make the Magnifier tool even more powerful.
Today we’ll learn how to open and edit a PDF right in the iOS Mail app, and then send it on its way, all without opening any extra apps. Given that a lot of PDFs we receive are documents that need to be checked over, or signed, and then returned, this tip is a real time-saver.
Instead of waiting until you get back to your Mac, you can take care of things right from your iPhone.
Stop! Don’t download that PDF converter app for iOS. You don’t need it. What if I told you iPhones have come with a built-in PDF-conversion tool since iOS 10?
Once you know where this iOS PDF converter is buried, you can quickly and easily turn anything into a handy PDF on your iPhone or iPad.
By Chris Brantner, guest blogger
It may feel like forever until the beginning of football season, but the NFL draft is here to offer us all a brief glimpse into the excitement to come. The draft, which runs Thursday through Saturday, is an opportunity to dive into the NFL early and get an idea about the futures of certain teams.
You can keep up with all the picks whether you’re on your iPad, iPhone, Mac or Apple TV. There’s truly no reason to miss out!
YouTube is testing a Dark Mode design, which can be toggled on and off once you activate it.
If you’re watching videos late at night, Dark Mode is super-useful to help avoid straining your eyes — plus, it just looks cool. Find out how to enable YouTube Dark Mode it in the video below.
Superior iOS podcast app Overcast has issued a new 3.1 update, allowing users to send individual podcasts to their Apple Watch to listen to when they’re not in the immediate vicinity of their iPhone.
This is something that can’t be done with Apple’s official Podcasts app, even though users can send audio files from the iOS Music app.
While iPhones have pretty much replaced standalone video cameras, they don’t offer the same level of polish that a dedicated video camera or DSLR produces. It’s true that “the best camera is the camera you have with you,” but you can almost always spot a video shot on a phone.
The quality gap isn’t purely due to the lenses and tech within our phones, though. Bad habits make plenty of iPhone videos look lackluster. To show just how good an iPhone video can be, I put all my filmmaking knowledge to use for the montage below.
Instead of using my $3,000 video camera, I picked up my iPhone. With a minimum of accessories, I managed to produce what I think is a pretty cinematic video. You can see the results below — and then I’ll give you some useful tips and tricks for shooting iPhone videos like a pro.
By Chris Brantner, guest blogger
The NBA playoffs are upon us again! At this point, it could be anyone’s championship, which makes watching all the more interesting. Who will rise to compete in the final games, and who looks likely to fall?
If you plan to watch the NBA playoffs on your Apple device, you’re in luck. Whether you’re using your Mac or your iPhone, there are several options for both cable users and cord cutters.
By Chris Brantner, guest blogger
Catching every game of the NHL playoffs can seem slightly complicated — especially for cord cutters. Coverage is shared across multiple networks, including NBC, NBCSN, USA, CNBC and NHL Network.
If you’re reading this article, odds are you’re in the Apple ecosystem and you’re wondering how to watch the Stanley Cup games online. Luckily, plenty of options for watching the NHL playoffs exist, many of which work great on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Apple’s new Clips app wants to be your go-to for making short, fun videos geared for social networks. Clips is the perfect tool for the social media generation, allowing users to bust out engaging videos in seconds.
While the user interface is pretty simple, Clips packs a bevy of tools that help put a unique spin on your shots. Getting the hang of all the features can take a while, so we’ve rounded up some pointers on how to make the most of the new app.
Follow these Clips tips to make your videos pop.
The new Theater Mode in watchOS 3.2 can do more than keep you from annoying others when you’re at the movies. If you track your sleep with your Apple Watch, Theater Mode can help you get some extra shut-eye.
Google’s Gboard has been a great alternative iOS keyboard since its launch, and the latest update makes it even better. Now you can use it to dictate your messages, which will save you a load of time once you get in the habit.
In my opinion, Google has Siri licked when it comes to voice recognition, so there’s never been a better time to give Gboard a try. Here’s how to get started.
The iPhone’s Live Photos feature is one of the funnest innovations Apple’s brought to photography. There’s just one annoying problem with the moving pictures: you can’t choose which frame it uses for the final image.
Thanks to a third-party app there’s finally a way to do just that, making Live Photos more versatile than ever.
You might think you know everything there possibly is to know about your iPhone, but there’s always something new to learn. These hidden iPhone features will save you time every single day.
By Chris Brantner, guest blogger
March Madness is upon us. For the next month, college basketball will take over the sports world, and fans can catch all the action on their Apple devices. Whether you’re a cable subscriber or a cord cutter, here’s how to watch March Madness games on iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.
If you use your computer before going to bed, you owe it to your eyes to turn on Night Shift on your Mac. The feature, which adjusts the color of your display to the warmer end of the light spectrum after sundown, eases eye strain and can make falling asleep easier.
Night Shift dials down the amount of blue light emitted by your display. Studies have shown that exposure to blue light, which makes images look bright and crisp, can have adverse effects during nighttime use of electronics: Getting too much blue light after dark can make it more difficult to drift off to sleep.
Apple’s latest iOS 10.3 betas feature a floating QuickType keyboard for iPad, but it’s hidden away and inaccessible for now. Here’s how you can try it out before it is officially unlocked using the free Swift Playgrounds app.
Nintendo’s long-awaited Switch gaming console packs an surprisingly cool feature: You can use its unique Joy-Con controllers to play games on your Mac.
When you’re recording audio in QuickTime, there’s nothing more frustrating than a crash before you’ve had time to click Save. But all is not lost: This handy trick can help you recover lost recordings in the QuickTime app.
It might just save you a whole lot of effort. Here’s how to use it.
Because there are fewer MacBooks than iPhones on the market, and the laptops are more difficult to repair, buyback programs typically shortchange you when it comes to Apple computers.
But there are three easy tricks that will help you maximize your profit when you trade your old MacBook for cash. (You’ll also want to choose your buyback company wisely, but don’t worry — we’ve got a hot tip for that as well.)
iOS widgets are a great way to check in on your day. Apple gave us its own take on widgets with the core apps built into iOS 10, but you can do better.
If you’ve never taken a look at some of the great third-party iOS widgets available, you’re missing out. Here are six of our favorite iOS widgets to replace the stock Apple widgets. (If you don’t know how to add widgets, go to the bottom of this post for instructions on adding and using them.)
iOS widgets can put loads of useful data at your fingertips. A simple swipe to the right on your iPhone’s Home screen brings up the Today view, where widgets give you a quick glance at info pulled from your favorite apps.
If you’re using iOS 10 and you’ve never taken the time to customize your widgets list, you’re missing out. Here’s how to set up iOS widgets and keep your day on track.
The days of sharing one image at a time on Instagram are finally coming to an end.
Instagram revealed that starting today everyone can now post up to 10 photos and videos in a single post, giving users an all-new way to tell stories and share experiences.
Facebook is making big changes to the way it approaches video. Videos in the Facebook News Feed previously played silently unless users turned sound on. Now if you want to keep the sound off, you’ll need to dig through your Facebook settings.
Turn off the annoying new feature with these steps.