Tricks

How to install the iOS or iPadOS 13 beta

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 20, 2019
iOS 13 get ready

Apple on June 3, 2019 released developer betas of the new iOS 13 and iPadOS software. You're advised to avoid deploying the betas onto your daily drivers, but if you do happen to have a spare iOS device laying around somewhere - or you're the type who prefers to live on the bleeding edge of technology - follow the instructions in our step-by-step guide to learn how to download and install the iOS 13 beta on your iPhone and the beta of iPadOS 13 on your iPad.

Read More

How to check if an iPhone is new, refurbished, or a replacement unit

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 12, 2026
Icon of a confused man next to an iPhone asking if it's new

There are no external indicators on an iPhone or iPad that reveal whether it’s fresh out of the box, refurbished, or a replacement provided by Apple through a service request.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to distinguish between brand-new iPhones, refurbished models, replacement units, and even devices customized with Apple’s laser engraving.

Read More

Shortcuts Focus: how to delete all your completed reminders in one fell swoop

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 18, 2019

Inexplicably, Apple's Reminders app to this date has not bothered to offer us an option to delete all of the completed reminders at once. It should, at the very least, be able to remove completed items after a set number of days, but even that isn't allowed. Basically, you're left with two choices—either, joy, delete completed reminders manually, one by one, like an animal; or, leverage the power of scripting and iOS automation to your advantage like a boss.

Read More

Shortcuts Focus: enforcing Picture in Picture on YouTube & other unsupported websites on iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated May 7, 2024

Your iPad supports Picture in Picture (PiP) videos in apps and webpages, but this handy mode isn't universally supported across all video-streaming websites. Crucially, PiP is unsupported by YouTube.com's iPad interface on Safari. But there's a shortcut for that, too—thanks to the power of iOS automation, you can enforce Picture in Picture on YouTube and other websites.

Read More