How-to

The United States is celebrating Thanksgiving today, and many Americans are getting ready for family gatherings, watching football games, enjoying their holiday free time – and looking for bargains as Christmas shopping approaches. If you’re the “tech person” in your family, chances are someone will ask for help with their iPhone or Mac. Here are some tips to make them run better!

Apple first launched free engraving with the 2nd-gen AirPods in 2019 and expanded the options to include emoji in early 2020. But did you know you can put your own face on AirPods with free Memoji engraving? Here’s where and how to access the option.

Want an exact way to start tracking workouts with Apple Watch instead of having to deal with the default 3, 2, 1 countdown? Read on for how to turn off the Apple Watch Workout countdown and start activity tracking instantly.

The major US carriers have been working to increase account security to prevent a notorious hack fraudsters use called SIM swapping (or port-out scam). However, Verizon offers something beyond the competitors with its “Number Lock” feature. Read on for how to stop SIM swap attacks on iPhone.

Making the jump to a new carrier can often sound appealing, whether it’s the incentives, the hopes of better coverage, pricing, or all of the above. However, the reality is that switching can be a commitment (even without contracts) and it’s no fun to make the move only to realize you’ve made a mistake. Fortunately, now it’s possible to do free and instant carrier eSIM trials on iPhone on all the major US networks.

Update to this article from 2015 for 2022: This story was originally published a month after the original Apple Pencil was released in 2015. Three years later, Apple redesigned the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. Apple Pencil 2 was less slippery, paired and charged magnetically, and generally just better in every way possible.

Fast-forward from 2018 to 2022, Apple introduced the 10th-gen iPad as an affordable option with the modern design. However, this new iPad bravely enters the market with support for the original Apple Pencil and not the second-gen version. Also it requires a dongle to pair. Anyway, this odd turn of events suddenly makes this tip from seven years ago relevant again. Enjoy this reopened time capsule.

Apple Pencil is a terrific digital stylus that transforms iPad Pro into a highly capable electronic sketch pad and notebook, but it’s dead simple design potentially leaves something to be desired for some users. For example, its cylindrical-shaped symmetrical body lacks a basic pen clip for attaching it to your shirt pocket or elsewhere, which makes it look prettier and simpler but means it easily rolls down inclines and can’t attach to cases or pockets. Apple has weighted it internally to sit in place on a flat surface cleverly with the Apple Pencil marking facing upward, but it’s still no match for a slight slant and where exactly are you supposed to put it?

macOS Ventura has a variety of new features and changes and one that may be jarring is System Preferences morphing into System Settings. Follow along for a look at what’s changed, tips and tricks for using the new UI with Mac System Settings, feature requests, and more.

macOS Ventura comes with a number of new features and updates and one of the changes that may come as a surprise is System Preferences being overhauled to System Settings. Along with that, the Mac System Report isn’t where it used to be.

Are you ready to take a break from or part ways with Twitter? Read along for how to deactivate or delete your Twitter account from iPhone, iPad, and the web. We’ll also cover how to download a copy of your Twitter archive.

Low Power mode arrived for Apple Watch Series 4 and later with watchOS 9 last month. And with watchOS 9.1, Apple Watch Ultra gets an additional Low Power setting to take that even further. Here’s how to get up to 60-hour battery with Apple Watch Ultra.

Apple has expanded the capability of its Continuity Camera feature this year with macOS Ventura and iOS 16. Now users will be able to use iPhone as Mac webcam for a high-quality, wireless experience. Follow along for at how to use Continuity Camera.

Apple has launched a major new capability to the Photos app with iOS 16.1 that makes it much easier to share photos and videos with loved ones. Going beyond the Shared Albums feature that’s been available for years, iCloud Shared Photo Library lets you automatically or manually share your entire or partial photo library and also directly from your camera.

Apple has debuted its new Stage Manager feature on Macs with macOS Ventura and iPadOS 16.1 for iPads to help “make focusing on tasks and moving between apps and windows easier and faster than ever.” Follow along for a hands-on look at how to turn on Stage Manager on Mac, how it works, and how to use it.

Apple has launched its new Stage Manager feature with iPadOS 16.1 for select iPads and with macOS Ventura on Mac to help “make focusing on tasks and moving between apps and windows easier and faster than ever.” Follow along for how to turn on Stage Manager on iPad, how it works, what iPads are supported, and how to use the polarizing feature.

macOS 13 is now available for everyone and it comes with a variety of new features like Stage Manager, Continuity Camera, iCloud Shared Photo Library, and more. But should you install macOS Ventura on your Mac right away? Follow along to figure out what the best option is for you.