You might have noticed some changes to your iPad's Home screen in iPadOS 15, not all of them good. I had my Home screen arranged the way I like it, but now, when I switch from landscape orientation to portrait, the icon grid changes from 6 x 4 to 4 x 6, forcing a rearranged icon configuration. Irritating! But there's got to be a way to fix it, right? Well, kind of. We'll dig into it below.
Apps
AI Planned My Vacation
By Linda Ruth
With my 35th wedding anniversary coming up, I wanted to plan something extra special. My husband is ambivalent about travel—sure, it’s a big treat, but it’s also a big pain. Plus, when you travel, you’re not at home! I have a reputation as the family’s travel planner. This year, though, I wondered: might AI have something to contribute?
How to Use the iPhone Camera Lock Screen Shortcut
By Conner Carey
iPhone camera access on Lock Screen is incredibly easy, though the method to access the Camera app has changed slightly through the versions. Currently, in iOS 16, there are two different methods for opening the Camera app without unlocking your phone. We'll explain both.
How to Move Your FaceTime Thumbnail Image
By Abbey Dufoe
When you're FaceTiming, you can see the other person and you can also see yourself. But say you’re FaceTiming someone on your iPad or iPhone and they’re trying to show you something from their location, or their face is covered by the small image of you. Luckily, you can easily move the thumbnail image of you!
How to Turn a Live Photo into a Long-Exposure Photo on iPhone
By Conner Carey
I’m no photographer, but Apple's long exposure feature for iPhone allows me to make any Live Photo look almost as good as a real long-exposure picture. Here’s how to use the Long-Exposure iPhone feature with a Live Photo on iPhone.
Does CVS Take Apple Pay? (2024)
By Brian Peters
Apple Pay is a convenient system for making payments from bank accounts and credit cards that comes built into major Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac). It allows you to make payments to stores when there in person, via websites, or even through apps. Unfortunately, not all stores, sites, and apps accept Apple Pay. Among the places that accept Apple Pay, however, there are some that previously did not accept Apple Pay, and have eventually started to allow the use of the payment system in their stores and on their sites. One of these stores is CVS, at least in part.
How to Change Ringtone on iPhone
By Conner Carey
Your ringtone alerts you of incoming calls, and it can be a fun way to customize your phone. I'll teach you how to change your default ringtone and how to get custom ringtones on iPhone!
How to Send Messages with Effects on iPhone
By Rachel Needell
You may have heard of Message Effects, the fun animations you can add to any text sent through the Messages app by pressing and holding the blue send button. But do you know the secret code words you can type to automatically trigger iPhone text effects? Not only is this a fun way to impress your friends, iMessage tricks are a super convenient way to make your messages a bit more snazzy with basically zero effort.
How to Add Someone to Favorites in the People Album of Photos
By Conner Carey
Did you know Apple's Photos app allows users to add Favorites to the People album? When you mark someone as a Favorite, the Photos app will place them at the top of your People album, so it’s easy to find their pictures. Here’s how to add someone to your Favorites in the People album on an iPhone.
How to Use Google Maps Offline
By Sarah Kingsbury
Have you ever asked, "Can I save a Google Map offline?" The answer is yes! If you are traveling to a place where you won't have reliable or affordable access to data or Wi-Fi, you can actually download maps in Google Maps, which allows you to save the maps you need ahead of time, and you will be able to access them offline.
How to Hide Photos from the People Album on iPhone
By Conner Carey
You can hide a photo from a People album if it's not flattering or you don't want others to see it there. Here's how to hide photos in a People album on iPhone.
How to Retrace Your Steps with Backtrack on the Apple Watch
By Rachel Needell
The small but mighty Apple Watch continues to wow users as it becomes more and more advanced. For example, I just recently learned how to retrace my steps via the Compass app on the Apple Watch, and it's left me with a surprising sense of reassurance about going on hikes in the North Carolina mountains. But whether you live in the country or find yourself navigating a busy city, anyone can learn how to retrace their steps with Backtrack on the Apple Watch so you never get lost again.
How to Rename an Album in the Photos App on iPhone & iPad
By Leanne Hays
Sometimes I’ll expand a photo album or split it if it’s gotten too large. Then, I need to rename the album name to accurately describes the pictures it contains. If you’ve been wondering, "How do I rename an album in Photos," here’s how.
How to Duplicate a Photo or Video on Mac
By Leanne Hays
This Mac Photos app tip will allow you to make a duplicate of a photo or video so you can work on the copy and leave the original untouched. Here’s how to make a copy of a picture or video on a Mac.
How to Unsend an Email in Gmail
By Rachel Needell
We've all made the mistake of sending an email too quickly and forgetting the attachment, or leaving in embarrassing typos. Luckily, if you use Gmail, you have the ability to unsend an email for up to thirty seconds after you sent it! We'll walk through how to unsend emails in Gmail, whether you're using the app or the web version.
How to Merge Duplicates in the People Album on iPhone
By Conner Carey
Apple's Photos app uses facial recognition to group photos of the same person in the People album. Sometimes your iPhone gets it wrong and categorizes one face as two (or more) different people. Here's how to merge these duplicate people in the People album.
Safari Website Tinting colors the system status bar at the top of your device to match the header color of the website you're currently viewing. Some really appreciate this feature as it creates a less distracting view, however, others feel the gray system status bar makes it easier to see the iPhone status bar icons. If you fall in this camp, we'll show you how to disable Website Tinting.
How to Add Siri Suggestions to Home Screen on iPhone
By Rachel Needell
While I have a lot of love for many of the iPhone widgets, the one that stands out above all the rest is the Siri Suggestions Widget. The magical thing about the Siri Suggestions Widget is that it always knows what your most used apps or shortcuts are and adjusts its suggestions based on the apps or features you open and use most often.
How to Search Photos on iPhone with Photo Captions
By Leanne Hays
iPhone photographers can add a caption to a photo right in the Photos app. If iCloud Photos is enabled, these captions will sync and be visible on all Apple devices signed in with the same Apple ID. This means that you can search a photo by caption. Let's go over how to do a photo search on your iPhone using captions.
How to Schedule a FaceTime Calendar Invite
By August Garry
FaceTime's getting a makeover in iOS 15, and one change that adds some Zoom-like capabilities to FaceTime is the ability to schedule a FaceTime call and invite your friends with the Calendar app. Let's learn how to schedule a FaceTime meeting.