Music & Audio
How To: iOS 14.5's Apple Podcasts Update Could Devour Your iPhone's Data & Storage Unless You Do This
Apple's iOS 14.5 overhauled the Podcasts app, combining new aesthetics with smart and efficient features. While you might find the app better at playing your favorite podcasts than past versions, you might also find something negative about the update on your iPhone: it may be eating up your storage.
How To: Search Apple Music by Record Label to Find Like-Minded Artists & Albums
Some record labels release albums across the entire music spectrum, dipping their toes into every genre, sub-genre, and language imaginable, while others attack only the categories they're good at. So if you're hunting for new music, and the Listen Now, Browse, and Radio tabs in Apple Music are getting stale, iOS 14.5 lets you browse like-minded artists, albums, and playlists by specific record labels.
How To: 7 Cool Features iOS 14.5 Adds to Your iPhone's Music App — For Apple Music & Your Own Library
Apple's big iOS 14.5 update adds over 60 new features and changes to your iPhone, some of which are upgrades that audiophiles and even casual music listeners can appreciate. Whether you subscribe to the Apple Music streaming service or simply use the Music app for your own library of tunes, iOS 14.5 has a few things you should know about.
How To: Share Song Lyrics from Apple Music in iOS 14.5 — Complete with Audio Clips
Sometimes, you don't want to be the only one enjoying killer lyrics from your favorite songs. Sure, you can text your friends and let them know how great these tracks are, but you could also take advantage of one of Apple Music's coolest new features of iOS 14.5 — lyrics sharing!
How To: Set Spotify as Siri's Preferred Audio Player in iOS 14.5 for Music, Podcasts & Audiobooks
It's no secret that Apple and Spotify haven't exactly gotten along in the past, but things are looking better than ever in iOS 14.5.
How To: iOS 14.5 Updated Apple Podcasts with 16 Features & Changes You'll Definitely Use on Your iPhone
Spotify has caught up to Apple in monthly podcast listenership and is even forecast to surpass Apple soon, but Apple just made some serious changes to its Podcasts app for iOS and iPadOS that could keep Apple at the top.
How To: This HomePod Setting Keeps Other People Out of Your Notes, Reminders & Calendar for Good
HomePod and HomePod mini are excellent smart speakers if you're entrenched in the Apple ecosystem. They even offer ways to protect your sensitive information from friends and visitors who try to ask Siri to spill your secrets. But there's an extra layer of privacy you can put in place to make sure nobody gains access to any important notes, reminders, and calendar events.
How To: Stop Your HomePod from Spying on You
While Apple's reputation for privacy and security is nearly unmatched, it'll never be perfect when Hey Siri is always listening. Aside from iOS devices, Hey Siri always listens for questions and commands on the HomePod and HomePod mini smart speakers. If you rarely use Hey Siri on those speakers, it's worth disabling the feature for some extra privacy.
How To: Set Unique Alert Tones for Different Types of Sounds with iOS 15's Sound Recognition
Your iPhone's Sound Recognition feature is a powerful tool to help keep you alert to the world around you. With it, iOS will inform you if it hears a fire alarm, a door bell, glass breaking, among many other kinds of sounds. In iOS 15, Apple is updating the feature, allowing you to choose the alert tone that plays when iOS recognizes a specific sound.
How To: Auto-Play New Podcast Episodes on Your iPhone When Connecting Headphones, Starting a Trip, Tapping an NFC Tag & More
The Shortcuts app can help you play the next unlistened podcast from one of the shows, but getting the latest unplayed episodes from your whole queue of shows in the Podcasts app is a little trickier. There is an easy way to do it on your iPhone, though, and you can even automate it so that Podcasts plays your most recent untouched episode automatically.
How To: Download Spotify Songs & Podcasts on Your Apple Watch for Offline Playback
The Apple Watch is rapidly becoming a standalone device that you can use without an iPhone or internet connection, and Deezer and Spotify have just helped make that even more true by adding support for offline playback on the watch.
How To: You Need a DAC to Enjoy Apple Music's Hi-Res Lossless Audio — Here Are the Best Options
On May 17, Apple announced that Lossless Audio playback for Apple Music was finally coming to subscribers in June. The long-awaited option will let users stream songs at a much higher quality than ever before. Still, in the fine print, Apple noted that you wouldn't be able to listen to the best sound quality — Hi-Resolution Lossless — on your iPhone without a DAC.
How To: The Fastest, Easiest Way to Download SoundCloud Music Files to Your iPhone as MP3s
If you like to listen to popular songs from huge musicians and hard-to-find music from obscure indie artists, SoundCloud is for you — and you don't have to pay a dime. When you find a song you really love and want to play it back even when you're not connected to the internet, SoundCloud has offline listening, but there is a way to download your favorite tracks onto your iPhone for longevity.
How To: Why Your Lost AirPods Say 'Offline' or 'No Location Found' in the Find My App
If you lose your AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max, you can turn to Find My to locate them. But sometimes, things don't go according to plan, and many things can go wrong. For example:
How To: Stop AirPods from Annoyingly Auto-Switching Between iPhone, iPad & Mac So They Stick to One Device
You're watching a YouTube video on your Mac, then go to check something on your iPhone. Of course, because you had a video queued on iOS, your AirPods automatically switch from your Mac to your iPhone. Now, your Mac's YouTube video is playing out loud, and you have to reroute your AirPods back over to macOS. Luckily, there's a hidden setting you can change that fixes this whole issue.
How To: Generate Live Captions for Any Streaming Video or Audio File Using Chrome's Desktop App
Captions are great for catching every word and important sound in a movie or TV show, but now there's a way in Google Chrome's desktop browser to enjoy captions for any audio file or source. You could ensure you never mishear a comment during an online meeting, and you could even follow along to a song's lyrics on platforms that don't already have in-sync lyrics, such as SoundCloud.
How To: 11 Ways to Check the Battery Life of Your AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max
If you're an AirPods owner, you know the sound — that decrescendo of little beeps and boops means imminent "death" for your wireless earbuds. Other than that infamous chime, however, it's not overly clear how to check your AirPods, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max power levels. That's why we've listed all the ways to do so.
How To: The Not-So-Obvious Way to Use AirPods with Your Nintendo Switch or Switch Lite
The Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite are console gaming on the go — with zero regards for modern audio features. Headphone jack? Check. Bluetooth connectivity? Not so much. While Nintendo seems to think we're all happy to live like it's 2015, there's a way to use your AirPods with your Switch or Switch Lite for wireless and convenient entertainment.
How To: Use a Different Apple ID for Apple Music Without Using Family Sharing
Your Apple Music subscription is tied to the Apple ID that subscribed, so you can stream content from any iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, or watchOS device that your Apple ID is signed in to. However, things get slightly more complicated when you want to listen to Apple Music on another device you use with a different Apple ID, such as a work iPhone. Complicated, but not impossible.
How To: Rename Your Original Sound to Make Your TikTok Video More Shareable
TikTok is a video-platform first, and while visual content is critical to its popularity, what has carried many of these videos to millions upon millions of views isn't only what you see but what you hear.