Tutorials

How to quickly fix mispronounced Siri queries

You may be aware that there is already a feature in iOS that sort of lets you type in your questions to Siri instead of using voice commands. It's quite handy for those situations when talking aloud isn't an option or Siri fails to recognize repeatedly what you said. Starting with iOS 10, Siri includes a “Maybe You Said” feature.

Taking advantage of machine learning and artificial intelligence, it suggests corrections for mispronunciations or incorrectly recognized queries. In this post, you'll learn how to leverage this feature to avoid having to manually correct any mispronounced words.

How to change the behavior of Control, Option, Command and Caps Lock keys on Mac

macOS provides an enhanced keyboard remapping feature that allows you to change the behavior of the special modifier keys on your Mac's keyboard, such as Caps Lock (⇪), Control (⌃), Option (⌥) and Command (⌘).

For example, you could remap the Caps Lock key to trigger the Escape command.

This feature is especially useful if you’re familiar with a keyboard layout different from your current keyboard or are an experienced touch typist who finds some of the default modifier key actions a bit awkward to use. In this tutorial, you'll learn about remapping the Mac's modifier keys to non-default actions.

Testing the operating range of AirPods and Beats Solo3 vs non-W1 Beats headphones

Much has been said about the virtues of the W1 chip Apple started baking into their latest wireless Beats line-up and of course the AirPods. By now we know for sure that W1 facilitates a much faster pairing process, as do we know that the chip significantly amplifies both battery life and conservation techniques. What’s less prominently talked about - at least from official sides - is the operating range of these wireless headphones and the presumed effect the W1 chip addition has had on that benchmark.

For I felt information on the internet was just a bit too murky to count on, I decided to take it upon myself and conduct a little experiment: I packed my rucksack with four headphones (two of which boast the new W1 chip) and headed to a nearby park in order to pit them against each other. Pairing them one after another and then slowly making a bee-line for the opposite direction, one thing quickly became clear: the results for the maximum distance obtainable aren’t surprising in terms of order, but they definitely are in their clarity.

How to markup and annotate your photos on iPhone or iPad

Markup tools for Photos on iPhone

The built-in Photos, Mail, Notes, Messages, Books, and Files app let you annotate and doodle on pictures using Markup tools.

You can use a pen, highlighter, and pencil tools to draw or write on them. You can also add shapes, arrows, text, lines, signature, speech bubbles, magnify a part, and more.

This comprehensive tutorial shows you how to use the built-in drawing tools to Markup photos on your iPhone and iPad.

How to mute progress updates from your friends and hide your own data in Activity sharing

Apple Watch Activity teaser

Activity sharing is a tried and tested way to boost your app engagement by pitting your own fitness data against others that are willing to share theirs. Fitbit and Nike knew for a while of the extra motivation released when someone else monitors your activity, Apple knows full well since iOS 10 and watchOS 3. Agreeing to share and relay your activity on Apple Watch can hence be an inspirational thing, but it also results in a considerable increase of wrist-buzzing every day.

If you have committed to sharing your activity and your patience with the daily activity updates from your friend is starting to wear thin, remember that there is an option to mute those notifications. The tutorial also demonstrates how to hide your own activity from that friend, in case you don’t want them to know about your newest calories crushing workout just yet.

Reminisce more efficiently with ‘Show Photos from this Day’ in iOS

The holidays are a natural time to sit down with friends or loved ones and flip through all of your photos ad nauseam. iDB features help and guides aplenty for confident navigation of the Camera and Photos app, however one little trick has managed to fly under the radar for many, albeit its capability to save you valuable time when browsing your compendium of years and years of photos.

The tutorial below will teach you how to ask your iPhone or iPad to show you all remaining photos captured on the same day the footage you were initially looking at has been taken. In simpler words, say you are laughing at a vacation video taken at the pool and want to reminisce what else went on that day - here is what you should do instead of going back to your collection and painstakingly scanning your catalogue for that day.

How to use your Apple AirPods like a pro

So you've treated yourself to a nice pair of AirPods, Apple's Bluetooth earbuds based on custom silicon that enables low power consumption, reliable connections, automatic pairing, Hey Siri and other perks. To master them, follow our tutorial showing you how to use your AirPods like a pro.

How to log out of all active Facebook sessions from your iPhone

If you have a Facebook account, then chances are you access it on more than one device. You might forget from time to time to sign out of sessions on other machines you don't intend to use again, such as those in schools or at the workplace, potentially handing over access to your Facebook account to the next person(s) who uses the machine.

Facebook fortunately comes with a feature that lets you sign out of all active sessions on your account with just a few taps. We'll show you how you can do this in this tutorial.