Gadget Hacks: Page 15

Improving your experience online is getting easier every year. Browsing can be safe, easy, and boundary-less with the right VPN, and gaming online is working better than ever to connect and compete with other players.

Apple's iOS 14.5 is the biggest update since iOS 14.0 came out, with over 50 confirmed features and more being discovered every day. There are new emoji, support for AirTags, more privacy controls, and exciting upgrades to Siri, Maps, Reminders, Podcasts, Music, and even Shortcuts. So it wouldn't surprise us if you want to get this on your iPhone ASAP.

Apple wants to support the advertising economy, but its primary focus of late has been user privacy and security. In Safari, cross-site tracking, which lets content providers track you across websites and apps to show you more targeted ads, is disabled by default. However, content providers can get around that using less privacy-invasive ad measurements, but you can stop that too in iOS 14.5.

You use your iPhone's Reminders app to keep track of everything from grocery lists to the day's most important tasks. Over recent iOS updates, Apple has added tools to Reminders to make it even more powerful, like assigning tasks to other people and setting location-based reminders. Now there's another great update, and it gives you the ability to sort your lists.

Since iOS 11, a thumbnail preview appears on your iPhone whenever you take a screenshot. It's useful for access to quick sharing options and editing tools, but you can't disable the preview image. You can wait for it to disappear or swipe it off-screen, but that's as good as it gets — until now. In an iOS 14 update, there's an option to disable the screenshot preview — only you won't find it in Settings.

With its emphasis on well-rounded audible entertainment, Deezer gives all music and podcast fans the best of both worlds. As great as the app is, it's inconvenient to constantly tell Siri to play your music and podcasts through Deezer so that it doesn't default to Apple Music or Apple Podcasts instead. But as of iOS 14.5, you can set Deezer as your iPhone's "default" music player for Siri.

If Pandora is your primary music app on your iPhone, you know it can be frustrating to use with Siri. The digital assistant always wants to use Apple Music instead, so you need to specify that you want to play through Pandora with almost every request. That's now a thing of the past because iOS 14.5 allows you to set Pandora as your Siri's preferred music player.

Back in Android 9, Google took away the expanding mini-menu for Bluetooth connections. The way it used to be, you could long-press the Bluetooth toggle in your Quick Settings, then the panel would turn into a fast-access menu for Bluetooth settings. It was a fairly minor feature, but dropping it has made it a lot harder to switch between your various Bluetooth accessories.

If you buy an Android phone from any of the big US carriers, it will come with several extra apps in addition to any apps the manufacturer preinstalled. It's all in the name of profit, of course. Some of these apps are from companies that paid the carriers to distribute their software, and some are from the carriers themselves, usually aimed at upselling you or perhaps collecting a little data.

Bloatware is a problem on Android, and it's not just a Samsung thing. Removing apps that have the Uninstall or Disable button grayed out in Settings has always involved sending ADB commands to your phone from a computer, which itself was always such a pain to set up. Thankfully, that has finally changed.

Game design is among the fastest-growing industries in tech. What once was a passing hobby or niche job has become a thriving industry with a huge variety of work. If you are interested in learning game design, either as a hobby or a profession, then The 2021 Complete Learn to Code by Making Games in Unity Bundle will hold some interest for you — and it's on sale for $39.99.

You can't hand over your iPhone to a kid and expect everything to be OK. Not only will they drop your iPhone (and they will), they could also do something much worse than a cracked screen — in-app purchases.

When you think of an online music service nowadays, Spotify is probably near the first that come to mind, and for good reason. Being able to create, share, and take all of your playlists anywhere, across all of your devices, is something that I couldn't live without. Unfortunately, nothing this good is free, and with Spotify Premium, users of their free service are left with very limited features when streaming on their mobile devices.

Learning a new language as an adult isn't just hard because your brain works differently from when you were a kid. You also have to contend with having less time and energy to practice. However, if you're looking to add another language to your repertoire at a pace you decide, then the Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime Subscription for All Languages: 2-Pack will be a useful tool for you.

Apple's iOS 14.5 is the biggest update to your iPhone since iOS 14. The new software features over 40 features and changes, including 217 new emoji, controller support for PS5 and Xbox Series X, and battery calibration for the iPhone 11 line. Now, Apple is inching closer to the finish line with 14.5 beta 7.

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.

It's frustrating to go and listen to music just to find that your wired earbuds more closely resemble a tumbleweed you can't easily unknot. Cords tangle, are vulnerable, and make it hard to do so many of the things music makes easier — like working out, commuting, and cleaning. The Raycon E50 Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Earbuds are completely wireless earbuds that are on sale now for $64.99 — a full 45% off their regular listed price of $119.

When iOS 14 was released, the "Favorites" widget, which provided quick access to your most-used contacts, was nowhere to be seen. There's a workaround that brings it back via the Shortcuts app, but the original Favorites widget was better all around. For those of you looking for something better, try turning all your favorite and most-used contacts into apps on your home screen.

When you want to brighten up your iPhone's screen, you likely use Control Center's brightness slider to increase your nits (especially if you've disabled auto-brightness). But once you max it out, it doesn't seem like the display can get any brighter. However, depending on your iPhone model, your display may be capable of getting a lot brighter based on how you use it.

Never being contacted for a job you're interested in interviewing for is a terrible feeling. It might make you feel inadequate as if your qualifications aren't up to par, but the problem might be that your resume isn't even getting read in the first place.

Microsoft Excel is one of the most widely used tools in the professional sphere. It's also one that's difficult to master beyond a superficial understanding of how to input data. The All-In-One Microsoft Excel Certification Training Bundle can teach you how to make this multifaceted software into a time-saving utility, and right now, it's on sale for $33.99.

With Samsung's One UI 3.0 update, the main on-screen volume slider has a little menu button on the top of it. Tapping this will expand the slider into a full-blown volume panel, complete with controls for all of the various types of sounds your Galaxy might make. Standard stuff, really, but there's more to it.

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.

In the creative world, Adobe products have become synonymous with the work you can do using them. Photoshop and Illustrator are staples in visual art, and every other program Adobe offers is similarly adored. However, as beloved as Adobe products are, they can have a steep learning curve, particularly for beginners and for those returning to them after some time away.

While there's no denying that iPads are better when it comes to multitasking and productivity, your iPhone has a few tricks up its sleeve to rival even the best iPad features. One thing about iPadOS is that it's really easy to highlight editable text with gestures, but it's just as simple on iOS if you know all the secrets.

Ever since 3D Touch's introduction in iOS 9 for the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, a little-known trick for moving the cursor around and selecting text was built into Apple's stock keyboard. On iOS 12 or later, it works for all iPhone models with or without 3D Touch or Haptic Touch baked in.

Reddit has been pushing for more first-party content over the last couple years. So instead of just being a place to submit links, you can now upload photos and videos directly to Reddit's servers. But unlike Imgur, Gfycat, and other popular file hosts, Reddit doesn't give you an easy way to download videos.

There are so many things in place that make browsing the internet difficult. From geographical walls to malicious software and spying — there's a lot to consider any time you do the most basic of functions online. VPN.asia: 10-Year Subscription is a VPN that can streamline your security process and make browsing the web so much easier, and right now, it's on sale for just $79.99.

The sound your iPhone makes when you connect it to a power source has been the same for a long time. Unfortunately, it was never possible to change that chime to something different without jailbreaking first, which opens your iPhone up to malware and hackers. Thankfully, iOS 14 has changed that.

Apple just seeded developers the sixth iOS 14.5 beta today, Wednesday, Mar. 31. The update includes a calibration for battery health measurements for the iPhone 11 line, as well as two new Siri voices.

Screen mirroring software has been around for ages, allowing you to mirror your iPhone to a projector, laptop, TV, or another device. It's useful to have during lectures, presentations, and meetings, so it's no wonder why Apple created its AirPlay technology. However, AirPlay doesn't work in all situations.

I'm always looking for solutions to problems people are having with their smartphones. This means I spend a lot of time browsing forums and release sites looking for new apps. In doing so, I find a lot of apps that don't quite solve a major problem, but are nonetheless pretty cool. I came across four of those this week.

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:

Attackers may have actively exploited a new WebKit vulnerability on iOS and iPadOS, but Apple just released a patch to secure your iPhone and iPad from attacks.

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.

Between all the streaming services you have to contend with, it's hard to want to go through the trouble of plugging in an adapter and loading up a DVD when you could find another movie without needing to move.

Earlier this month, the rumor mill suggested that Apple was gearing up for a Mar. 23 event, with a possible release of iOS 14.5 to boot. That event, as we can now see, never came to be. It seems Apple is also not quite ready to unveil iOS 14.5, either, as we now have a fifth beta to test on our iPhones.

They say you're supposed to keep your kids away from screens until they're at least three years old. They say a lot of stuff, but then real life happens and your toddler watches a little TV while you're working from home during a pandemic.

If you need to share something online but don't want your personal information attached to the file, use an anonymous file hosting site. By uploading files anonymously, you keep your IP address safe and won't need to create any kind of account that could provide further logging. You can do this in a web browser, but it's much easier to do using a shortcut on your iPhone.

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.