| Cult of Mac

5 more secret iPhone gestures you need to know

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Secret Faster Gestures
These secret gestures will speed up your iPhone.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Here are a few secret tricks and gestures that’ll help you get around your iPhone faster. These hidden gestures help you text pictures to your friends faster, scroll through big pages and screens, type special characters and use your phone one-handed.

This is a follow-up to an article from earlier this year with three other secret iPhone gestures you need to know. Learn all of these gestures and you’ll feel like an iPhone power user.

Look up laundry tag and car dashboard symbols with your iPhone camera

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What Do They Mean?
Ever wonder what these symbols mean?
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Those cryptic laundry symbols and car dashboard icons are a mystery, until now: your iPhone camera can tell you what they mean. You don’t have to look up a guide or Google their meaning; just take a picture and your iPhone will tell you.

While in my testing, it didn’t identify every single symbol, the feature will do in a pinch. And if you want to use an app for the best possible results, I have two recommendations found on the App Store that can help you.

Just how hot are those new M3 MacBook Pros? [The CultCast]

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Apple's M3 Max chip sitting in front of flames. The CultCast episode 621.
Just how extreme is the MacBook Pro's thermal throttling?
Original photo: Christopher Burns

This week on Cult of Mac’s podcast: Tests performed on the M3 MacBook Pros reveal the performance-crushing effects of thermal throttling and skimpy RAM. Erfon is not impressed!

Also on The CultCast:

  • Apple shocks everyone by pledging to support Rich Communication Services for better texting between iPhones and Android devices.
  • Griffin runs down some of the most interesting new features coming soon in iOS 17.2.
  • Apple reportedly plans to overhaul the iPad lineup next year, and a mammoth 12.9-inch iPad Air is apparently on the menu.
  • If the iPhone 16 gets exclusive AI features, will Siri really get smarter? We’re extremely skeptical.

Listen to this week’s episode of The CultCast in the Podcasts app or your favorite podcast app. (Be sure to subscribe and leave us a review if you like it!) Or watch the video live stream, embedded below.

Find electric car charging stations in Apple Maps

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Where Can I Plug In?
Find charging stations from Apple Maps.
Image: Ank Kumar/Wikimedia Commons/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Find electric car charging stations from Apple Maps while you’re on the road to figure out where you can top up your EV. Apple Maps added some powerful new features in iOS 17 to make it easy: you can see charger availability, charging speed and connector types for your vehicle.

Here’s how it works.

iOS 17.2 beta 3: All the features and changes

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iOS 17.2 release notes
Time to try out iOS 17.2 beta on your iPhone!
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

A week after seeding the second iOS 17.2 beta, Apple has released the third beta of the OS. The first two beta builds were loaded with new features, and iOS 17.2 beta 3 is no different.

Below are all the changes and enhancements we have found in iOS 17.2 beta 3 so far.

Use Live Voicemail and Silence Unknown Callers together for call-free bliss

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Talk After The Beep
Don’t want to miss those important calls about my Lightning cable wholesaling business.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

With Live Voicemail, a new feature in iOS 17, you don’t need to pick up your iPhone midcall to see who’s calling or what they want. You can see a transcription of their voicemail message as it’s being recorded — and pick up at any point, if the call turns out to be important. This feature proves transformative for introverts who only want to answer a phone call if strictly necessary.

Even better, Live Voicemail pairs very well with another iOS feature, Silence Unknown Callers. With both of these turned on, unwanted calls will be far less intrusive, but you will still be able to pick up the important calls as they come in.

Here’s how to use Live Voicemail to avoid phone spam and other annoyances without missing crucial calls.

Sideloading iPhone apps could arrive in the EU next year

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App Store
Europeans will soon be able to make an end run around the App Store by sideloading iPhone applications.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

The good news is that iPhone could finally allow users to install applications directly starting in 2024, according to a reliable source. The bad news is that being able to go without the App Store will only be an option in Europe.

To be clear, sideloading is required by EU law so it’s definitely happening. The timing isn’t clear, though.

How to set up repeating Apple Cash payments

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Automatic Apple Cash Payments
Schedule payments using the easiest way to pay someone — Apple Cash.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Set up repeating, scheduled Apple Cash payments to send money to your friends or family on a regular basis. You can use this to pay back your housemates for bills, send your kids some money or pay back personal debts.

Whatever the reason may be, Apple Cash is a fast and easy way to send money. I even have a pro tip for scheduling a singular payment in advance. Here’s how to set up recurring payments.

iOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 are here with useful new features

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iOS 17.1 release notes
iOS 17.1 and iPadOS 17.1 are here with several big and small changes.
Image: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

iOS 17.1, the first major point release of iOS 17, is here. It drops just over a month after iOS 17 arrived.

Alongside iOS 17.1, Apple is also releasing iPadOS 17.1 and watchOS 10.1 to the public today. Below is a look at some of the top new features in the OSes.

Check In: Every parent should know this essential iOS 17 feature

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Where Did You Go?
A smarter way to keep tabs on your loved ones’ travels.
Image: Boonlert Aroonpiboon/Wikimedia Commons/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Check In is a new iOS 17 feature that tracks your travels and lets contacts know when you’ve safely reached your destination. It’s great for traveling, or kids going to and from school, or even going on a date. You no longer have to count on remembering to text someone when you make it home safely — your iPhone will let them know for you.

Check In is like sharing your ETA in Apple Maps, but tweaked for personal safety. Friends, family and loved ones will be automatically notified if you’re stopped for any reason before reaching your destination. It also has timer-based check ins, which come in handy for situations like meeting a stranger from Craigslist. If you don’t check in after a set time, your contacts will be alerted.

Here’s how to use it — frankly, every parent should know how this works.