Voice Control

How to unlock your iPhone with your voice

Ankur Thakur ∙ November 8, 2021

You usually unlock your iPhone using Face ID, Touch ID, or by entering the correct passcode. In addition to these, there is an accessibility setting that lets you unlock your iPhone using your voice. All you have to do is set up the voice command in the Voice Control feature and then say that phrase to unlock and get inside the iPhone. In this guide, we will show you how to do that. We also have a video demonstrating this. Finally, don't forget to see the drawbacks so that you can make an informed decision about using iPhone voice unlock.

A list of offline Siri commands that work without an internet connection on iPhone and iPad

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 13, 2021

Check out this list of useful offline Siri commands on your iPhone and iPad that work without an internet connection, including messaging, networking, setting timers and much, much more.

How to remotely control iPhone camera to take pictures or videos

Siddharth Suvarna ∙ Updated January 12, 2022

Apple's iPhone usually feature an excellent camera, and can take some really good photos and videos. Several users also place the iPhone on a tripod, or lean it against a rock, to take group shots or shoot jitter free videos. Of course, you can set a timer and be done with it. However, there are ways to capture photos and videos totally hands-free.

How to create custom Voice Control commands on Mac

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ Updated April 23, 2020

The Voice Control feature on macOS gives you a great way to maneuver your Mac with nothing but your voice. You can open menus, use dictation in apps, and adjust your settings.

One flexible part of Voice Control is that you can create custom commands and vocabulary. This is handy for having your Mac respond to words and phrases that are most comfortable to you.

Here’s how to create custom Voice Control commands on your Mac.

How to use Voice Control to navigate your Mac

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ Updated April 23, 2020

With the macOS Catalina update, Apple introduced a helpful feature called Voice Control. Using Voice Control, you can navigate your Mac using only your voice. This is an enhancement to the previous dictation feature available on macOS and is quite useful for many people in different situations.

You can easily enable Voice Control and use it like you would any other input device, like your keyboard or mouse. But with Voice Control comes a bit of a learning curve. This includes knowing and even remembering basic navigational and app commands.

To help you get started, this tutorial shows you how to use Voice Control to navigate your Mac.

Lasers can control Siri and other voice assistants: Researchers

Peter Cohen ∙ November 5, 2019

Researchers in Japan and the United States announced they'd found a way to hijack voice assistants including Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Siri using lasers and other focused beams of light, according to a report in the New York Times.

How to enable and use Voice Control instead of Siri on iPhone

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ May 20, 2019

Maybe you’re not a big fan of Siri although you like giving voice commands. Or maybe you do like Siri but aren’t connected to the internet and can’t use it. For whatever reason, you can still give your iPhone voice commands using a feature called Voice Control.

Using Voice Control, you can control your music, make phone calls, and more. If you’d like to give it a try, this tutorial shows you how to enable and use Voice Control instead of Siri on iPhone.

How to enable and use VoiceOver on HomePod on iOS and Mac

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ March 11, 2019

If you use accessibility features like VoiceOver on your Mac or iOS devices, you can also use them on your HomePod.

VoiceOver is a helpful feature for the visually impaired that tells you out loud what’s happening on your device. Plus, you can control it with simple gestures.

If you would like to set this up and start using it on your Apple smart speaker, it’s very easy to do. Here’s how to enable and use VoiceOver on HomePod on iOS and Mac.

How to create an Alexa Voice Profile on Amazon Echo speaker

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ March 7, 2019

While you might use Alexa and your Amazon Echo speaker to do things like shopping, listening to music, or checking your calendar, you probably don’t think about the effect of your voice. Your speaker is smart enough to recognize your voice in order to personalize your experience.

For instance, setting up a Voice Profile can help with announcing messages only sent to you, customized music playback, and skipping news stories you’ve already heard.

If you haven’t taken the time to set this up, our tutorial will walk you through it. Here’s how to create an Alexa Voice Profile on Amazon Echo speaker.

How to change the language and Siri’s voice on HomePod

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ February 26, 2019

You can customize your HomePod to respond to your “Hey Siri” commands. So, what if you want to use a different language? Many people speak more than one dialect these days. For instance, say you speak both English and Spanish and you’re having a group of friends over who all speak Spanish? Change the HomePod so everyone can talk to Siri.

Or, what if you’re just learning a second or third language? Giving commands in that other dialect to Siri for HomePod could be a great way to practice.

Along with being able to change the language on your HomePod, you can also change Siri’s voice. You might prefer a male voice with a British accent or a female voice with an Australian accent. This is easy to change as well.

This tutorial shows you how to change both the language and Siri’s voice on HomePod.

Alexa for iPhone picks up voice controls

Christian Zibreg ∙ June 27, 2018

Alexa for iPhone now lets you check the weather, get sports scores, control smart home accessories, ask questions and more—all by using just your voice.

10+ new features in iOS 10.2 beta 1

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 14, 2017

Apple yesterday issued beta 1 of the forthcoming iOS 10.2 software update for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. For starters, iOS 10.2 beta 1 includes three new wallpapers, provides a bunch of new emoji as part of the Unicode 9.0 standard and gives Camera the optional ability to remember filter, Live Photo and mode settings.

Star ratings are back in the Music app and Videos has its own widget. Oh, and you can now annoy friends with a brand new animation in Messages.

Without further ado, here's our video hands-on with iOS 10.2 beta 1 accompanied by a detailed description of all the new features and enhancements.