iPhone

Stay up-to-date on the latest iPhone news and learn new tips and tricks with our comprehensive tutorials. From software updates to new features, we’ve got you covered.

3D Touch tips and tricks for the stock Videos app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 6, 2016

In this day and age of YouTube streaming and on-demand video, the stock Videos app feels a little outdated and way too limited in terms of features though it gets the job done.

With the Videos app, you can watch movies, televisions shows and music videos that you bought or rented from the iTunes Store, as well as enjoy your personal clips synchronized from iTunes on your computer.

On the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus, using the Videos app is a little more engaging thanks to 3D Touch. In this tutorial, we'll let you in on 3D Touch shortcuts and gestures that are available in the Videos app.

Callisto lets you use the current time as a passcode on your iOS 9 device

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

You may have heard that the best security is something that lays in plain sight. In some instances, this can be right, because people tend to over-think things.

A jailbreak tweak called Callisto is now available in Cydia's BigBoss repository for $1.49 that lets you use the current time for a passcode instead of something you set for yourself.

In this review, we'll walk you through how it works and show you all of the settings it comes with to make life more comfortable for passcode input.

Upmind, Tweetcat and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated August 24, 2023

Looking for some new apps and games to try out this weekend? iDB has you covered with our latest Apps of the Week post. This week's list includes some great titles such as the language-learning app Upmind, and Espresso Chat, which offers a new take on group messaging. We also have two new games that you won't want to miss.

Making more sense of the fitness data your Apple Watch collects with Activity++

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 8, 2016

Developer David Smith has expanded his lineup of ++ apps for the iPhone and iPad (Pedometer++ and Sleep++) with the addition of Activity++, an iPhone app designed to help you make the most from your Apple Watch fitness data.

But wait, why on Earth would you need another app when the built-in Activity app's rings provide an at-a-glance overview of your Move, Exercise and Stand goals?

Panama Papers leak suggests iPhone manufacturer Foxconn may have evaded $22 billion in taxes

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 8, 2016

A whopping 11.5 million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, so-called Panama Papers leak, reportedly suggest that the world's top contract fabricator Foxconn, which assembles iPhones and many other consumer electronics products for other tech firms, may have evaded taxes worth up to a massive $22.86 billion via investments in Panama's offshore companies.

Foxconn vehemently denied its involvement in the Panama Papers scandal. In an eyebrow-raising move, the Taiwanese firm then dropped veiled threat it might resort to suing news publications that make up such rumors, according to DigiTimes on Friday.

Spotting the signs of a fake Apple Lightning cable

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated June 26, 2018

Whenever you buy a new iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, it'll come with a Lightning to USB cable that you will use to charge and sync your device. On the other hand, you have to be careful when you buy these cables separately, especially online, because you could end up with a counterfeit cable.

A counterfeit is a cable that tries to look just like Apple's OEM Lightning to USB cable, even though it isn't. Using these cables could have an adverse effect on your device, so we'll show you how to spot the differences between a counterfeit and genuine Lightning to USB cable in this piece.

Fix iPhone or iPad not connecting to Wi-Fi

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated August 19, 2026

Try these troubleshooting tips if your iPhone or iPad won’t join or connect to a Wi-Fi network and you can’t use the Internet on your device.

Microsoft’s Hub Keyboard now available on iPhone

Cody Lee ∙ Updated April 30, 2018

Microsoft's Hub Keyboard is now available for the iPhone. No, it's not the Windows Phone keyboard that's being ported to Apple's handset. It's an iOS version of the Hub Keyboard that landed on Android in February.

Like other third-party software keyboards, Hub can be easily installed on your device once downloaded. Just navigate to Settings > General > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard, and select Hub from the subsequent list.

Cut the Rope: Time Travel goes free as Apple’s App of the Week

Cody Lee ∙ Updated October 16, 2018

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion in iTunes with Cut the Rope: Time Travel. This means that from now through next Thursday, you'll be able to pickup ZeptoLab's popular puzzler for free for both iPhone and iPad—a solid savings of $2.

For those unfamiliar with the game, Time Travel is one of the many titles in the Cut the Rope physics puzzler franchise. In it, players are against tasked with helping Om Nom collect candy as he journeys back in time to the Middle Ages, Ancient Egypt and more.

Facebook Messenger passes 900 million users, unveils profile codes and other new features

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2016

Facebook today announced its Messenger mobile application is now being used by more than 900 million people globally every month, up from 800 million active monthly users announced in January.

Celebrating the milestone, the social network firm unveiled Snapchat-like scannable profile codes.

In addition, it announced some interesting new ways for people to find businesses and friends to start a conversation, including vanity profile URLs on Messenger. More than a billion messages are now being sent every month between people on Messenger and businesses, wrote David Marcus, Facebook's Vice President of Messaging.

Samsung expects 10 percent profit growth on better-than-expected Galaxy S7 sales

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2016

According to preliminary results posted Thursday, there's a light at the end of a long tunnel for Samsung Electronics and that light is the new Galaxy S7 flagship smartphone. After more than two straight years of decline in its mobile division, the South Korean firm is now projecting more than ten percent profit growth for the first quarter of 2016, beating market estimates.

The Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge were announced back in February ahead of their March 11 debut. Both phones, which have managed to address some of user complaints like memory expandability, were met with mostly positive reviews. Thus far, the new devices have moved three times as many units in their first month compared to their predecessor, the Galaxy S6/edge series, according to Bloomberg.

FBI confirms a tool it bought to unlock terrorist’s iPhone 5c does not work on iPhone 5s and newer

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2016

James Comey, Director of the Federal Bureau of iPhones—that is, Investigation—confirmed in an interview with CNN yesterday that a tool that the agency had purchased from a third-party to unlock San Bernardino shooter Syed Farook's iPhone 5c cannot be used to bypass security protections on newer models, from the iPhone 5s onward.

This implies the tool relies on the fact that the iPhone 5c and earlier models lack hardware features like the Secure Enclave embedded in Apple's mobile processors (from the iPhone 5s's A7 chip and onward) which keeps encrypted sensitive information and stuff like the number of passcode attempts isolated from the rest of the system.