The Latest from Gadget Hacks: Page 103

If you're like me, you habitually check the Play Store for app updates a few times a day. Whether it's because I'm hoping a buggy app gets fixed or a new feature gets added (such as dark mode), instead of waiting for that "Updates Available" notification, I want it now. Well, what if I told you there is a faster way to do that?

The punch hole design of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 has challenged users to find a clear way to deal with it. Although it's less intrusive than a notch, if left unaccounted for, it can be just as much of an eyesore. One of the more creative ways we've found is to use as a battery indicator.

I've been using the Galaxy Note 10+ as my daily driver for a while now. I love it, but as with any phone, it loses its pizzazz after a while. But since it's an Android phone, there's always a way to add fresh features and functionality to the UI.

So you're listening to Spotify on your Note 10+ and you pause it for a second to talk to someone. A minute or so passes, and you press the play button on your wireless headphones ... but nothing happens. That's because Samsung already killed the Spotify app. Here's how you can prevent this.

OnePlus, whose phones always challenge for the title of best spec-to-price ratio, releases two main devices every year. There's the primary flagship in late spring, then an iterative update with the "T" suffix in fall. Typically, there's not much difference between the two, but this year, OnePlus is mixing up the formula a bit.

Android 10 has some super cool gestures that let you navigate your device with intuitive swipes. But did you know this headlining feature is not enabled by default? To get the most out of Android 10, you'll have to turn on gesture navigation.

You're scrolling wrong. Kind of a weird accusation, isn't it? But you are. If you're still scrolling through long pages on your iPhone swipe after swipe, you're simply wasting time. There's a much faster way to get to where you want to be, whether that's on a lengthy webpage, long conversation in Messages, or multipage document.

The Pixel's "Flip to Shhh" feature may not be groundbreaking, but it is useful. Third-party apps are copying it for other phones because it's so convenient. But it's not enabled by default and it's fairly hidden in the settings. So to take full advantage of your Pixel's feature set, you should learn how to use Flip to Shhh.

In Mario Kart Tour, you will find that sometimes you are just having a hard time passing the person in front of you. As hard as you try, you have been stuck in second place and you're on the last strip of the track with no items at your disposal. Here is where using a technique known as Slipstream comes into play.

It happens to all of us. You're ahead of the pack, clearly in first place, when someone launches the Spiny Shell (aka, the blue shell). It catches up and circles you before crashing into your kart, and there's seemingly nothing you can do about it. But what if I told you there are two ways to avoid this fate in Mario Kart Tour?

Remember when typing without physical keys seemed ridiculous? Now, touch typing is the smartphone norm. That said, mistakes are inevitable on small screens. So before you start hammering on that delete key or shaking your iPhone like a madman, know that there's a better way to undo text you didn't mean to type — no shaking involved.

Are you here yet? When will you arrive? How long until you get here? How far are you? Hurry up! When you're meeting up with someone or a group of people, you may get flooded with messages like that. Instead of trying to answer them mid-trip, you can send them your status from Apple Maps, so they know precisely when you'll arrive, and they'll even get updates if traffic is holding you back.

If you're concerned about someone accessing your OneDrive files, you may want to upgrade your protection by enabling fingerprint or Face ID unlocking. Your sensitive information deserves to be protected, and now you can do so easily. Worry no longer — if you need to let someone else use your phone, with a password-protected OneDrive, sneaky file grabbers will be out of luck.

Navigating and editing text is an essential part of any operating system, and with iOS 13, Apple has made some significant changes. Some things remain the same when working with text, but there are many updates to moving the cursor, scrolling, and selecting, cutting, copying, pasting, undoing, and redoing text.

A few things on Android and iPhone have not been perfected. For instance, selecting and copying text is a task I often find myself fumbling over. But recently, we stumbled across a nifty way to select text that's a huge improvement over how we've been doing it.

In iOS 13, Safari has become even more powerful, especially when it comes to privacy. The browser will warn you when you create a weak password for a new account. Your history and synced tabs in iCloud are end-to-end encrypted now. And there are per-site settings that let you choose which domains can and can't have permission to use particular device hardware or sensors.

Ever since iOS 7, you could ask Safari on iPhone to show you the desktop version of a website, and in iOS 9, it became even easier to do. However, it's always been a hidden feature, something you wouldn't know is there without reading articles or tips online telling you what to do. Apple's iOS 13 update shines a light on it so everyone will know it's there, ready to use.

Sharing pictures from Google Photos by sending a link saves time because you don't have to download the image from Google, then reupload it somewhere else. But anyone who has your link can access your pictures, and baked into every file is metadata that you may not want prying eyes to know about.

Most of us swipe on Tinder while on the go. With all the pictures, Tinder on Android and iOS uses a decent amount of data. If you know the pain of Tinder triggering overage fees, limit the data-hungry app. There's a little trick you can use to help keep your swiping up and your mobile bill down.

The Reader mode in Safari is a great way to view a webpage on your iPhone in a stripped-down manner, removing unnecessary images, videos, and advertisements for a streamlined experience free of distractions. Apple's iOS 13 improves upon Safari Reader when it comes to choosing which sites you want it to run automatically on, so everything is more accessible with more controls to work with.

Beyond spotlight-grabbing features like Dark Mode and computer mice support that iOS 13 contains, Apple has also made its mobile platform more user-friendly for people that exhibit sensitivity to on-screen animations. If you've always found the transitional effects between app pages jarring, your iPhone now has a setting to help with that, preventing possible motion sickness and anxiety.

Public Wi-Fi networks that have a captive portal sign-in screen can sometimes be broken on Android. This seems to happen randomly and on some devices more than others. You'll get the "Sign into Wi-Fi network" notification, but it just doesn't work. If that's happening to you, you'll be glad to know an app can help fix the issue.

Apps can collect a lot of data. Even if they don't have permission to access your GPS or camera, they can still read other sensors and learn a lot more than you'd think. Your gyroscope could be used as a keylogger. The light sensor could read your visited links. But if you're on Android 10, you don't need to worry about this.

I'm a notification minimalist. When I get alerts, I want to deal with them ASAP. If the time is not right and I want to reference the notification later, snoozing was always the best course of action. But in Android 10, Google tucked away snoozing, so here's how to get it back.

Ever tried using Android's split screen mode only to find the app you wanted to split doesn't support it? Even big-name apps like ESPN still don't support the feature despite the majority of Android devices having split screen. So instead of waiting for the developers, how about we just force compatibility?

If you're still working your way through the hundreds of features and changes that iOS 13 brings to your iPhone, you might be a bit surprised to learn that your device is now out of date. While Apple only dropped the big update for iPhones on Thursday, Sept. 19, the company has already released its successor. All iOS 13-compatible iPhones can now update to iOS 13.1, out today, Tuesday, Sept. 24.

It's finally out. After months of testing, iOS 13 is available to install on your iPhone, which means over 200+ new features you can use right now. The update, released on Sept. 19, can be installed over the air or from a restore image using iTunes in macOS Mojave and older or Finder in macOS Catalina. Ditto for the 13.1 update issued on Sept. 24.

Microsoft is quickly adding dark mode to its full line of apps. Microsoft To Do is the latest to receive this treatment, and it looks great. Now you can tick items off your to-do list without straining your eyes or draining extra battery life.

Facebook Messenger Lite is more than just a battery-friendly version of the full-fledged Messenger app for Android. It's still packing some pretty neat features and it's so much snappier than its bloated counterpart. All of the essentials are present, down to the ability to give your contacts nicknames.

You don't need to delete an entire thread in the Messages app to get rid of a couple of texts on your iPhone. With a few taps, you can remove unwanted iMessages and texts, as well as storage-hungry photos and videos, to de-clutter a conversation. And in iOS 13, the process is even easier.

Facebook Messenger Lite is an official, de-bloated version of Facebook Messenger for Android. It's snappier and it's a lot more battery-friendly, but this is because there are fewer features complicating everything. One feature they didn't leave out, however, is the ability to send audio messages.

Normally, when you scroll down a webpage in Safari on your iPhone, it automatically hides the bottom toolbar and minimizes the top Smart Search field. But as soon as you scroll back up, they both reappear, which can be pretty annoying if you don't need them. Apple's iOS 13 update brings many new features to Safari, one of which solves the toolbar issue so you can keep it hidden when reading.

Spent a couple hours trying to activate the SIM in my new phone to no avail. , Try Putting Your Watch in Airplane Mode and Restarting Your Phone. Verizon couldn't figure it out, just saying it could take "up to 2 hours." After getting disconnected from Verizon support, it occurred to me this might be caused by my cellular Watch. I put it in airplane mode and restarted the phone. Within 3 minutes of being on, the phone was activated.

Galley Go is a new lightweight app made by Google that provides a simpler alternative to Google Photos. While it's a lighter app, it still includes dark mode. You just have to turn it on to help boost battery life and save your eyes at night.

If you're a vlogger or somebody who relies on high-quality selfie cam footage, the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max are right up your alley. Apple's newest iOS devices all come equipped with a 4K front-facing camera, and the video quality is spectacular. That said, your video won't be in 4K right out of the box. You'll need to set that resolution yourself.

The long-awaited Dark Mode may have grabbed all the spotlight with iOS 13, but Apple has made subtle changes across the whole platform to make your iPhone even more user-friendly. A small option aimed at people who are sensitive to motion is one such example — a feature that can also be a godsend for the rest of us.

OneDrive has some really cool features, like being able to lock your files with a fingerprint. If you want to be on the forefront of these new features, you can sign up to the OneDrive beta testing program to get new feature before anyone else.

I couldn't find an answer for this anywhere, but the iMessage profile pic or avatar is not working in iOS 13. I have followed all the instructions to create a photo or avatar to share with your contacts but it never sticks. After I change it, I'll go back into the settings or via the message app and it's back to my initials. Can't figure out a way to get it to stick. Anyone else having issues with this?

Haptic feedback is one of the iPhone's most underrated features. With Face ID, you'll feel a satisfying tap or two when buying something in the App Store or iTunes, unlocking protected notes, viewing saved passwords in Settings, and the list goes on. For the first time, Apple has added haptic feedback when unlocking your iPhone via Face ID, as well as a way to disable haptic feedback for Face ID entirely.