How-To Guides from Gadget Hacks: Page 2

Open System Settings after installing macOS 27, and Apple Intelligence might be claiming far more space than Apple's own numbers suggest it should. That's the pattern surfacing on Mac forums this week: multiple owners running Apple's newest macOS release are seeing Apple Intelligence storage usage on Mac systems run well past what Apple's support documentation lists as the requirement. MacRumors measured 20.67GB on its own M4 Pro Mac mini, already above Apple's published 14GB ceiling for that...

CarPlay automatically adds every compatible app on the iPhone to the display, with no ranking of what actually matters while driving (Pocket-lint, two months ago). That means the default layout may not reflect what's useful behind the wheel. Apple built CarPlay to put iPhone tasks, navigation, calls, messages, onto the car's built-in display rather than the phone screen (Apple Support, last year). Connecting the phone gets those tasks on screen, but the deeper controls, app order, notification...

A phone that works fine at home can go dark within minutes of touching down in China. Not because one app breaks, but because three separate systems, internet access, navigation, and mobile payment, all require setup steps that are much easier to handle before you've already landed. Figuring out the best apps for traveling to China matters less than getting that setup order right before you leave.

The 78th Emmy Awards aired live on September 14, 2026, but anyone who missed the ceremony can still watch the 2026 Emmy Awards without cable.

As of this week, a Samsung Messages alternative app called Messages by OzarksMade is undergoing closed testing through Google Play, with a public launch set for 14 days after its testing Google Group hits 12 members and a post-launch price of $0.99. Treat that as a snapshot, not a finished product. Betas shift, thresholds get hit or missed, and pricing plans change before launch.

Google Photos has grown well past a backup app. It can search your library in plain English, answer questions about a single photo, edit images from a text description, and create new AI-generated images through templates.

This guide walks through how to use Visual Intelligence on macOS Golden Gate: what your Mac needs before turning it on, the keyboard shortcuts that trigger it, the in-app option built into Siri's systemwide context menus, and which questions are actually worth asking it.

Leave a phone on the dashboard of a parked car on an 80°F day, and the cabin around it will hit 114°F within 30 minutes. Give it an hour, and that number climbs past 130°F, according to Meqtor. Most phones are rated to operate only up to 95°F (Meqtor). Past that point, a phone isn't just uncomfortable, it's running well outside the range it was built for.

Chrome didn't kill ad blocking. It killed one specific technical approach, and took a popular extension's full functionality down with it. If ads have started slipping through since your last Chrome update, or an old uBlock Origin install stopped filtering the way it used to, the good news is that ad blockers that still work in Chrome are easy to find, once you know which one actually matches your problem.

Most Mac users assume the system language is all-or-nothing: change it, and everything from Finder to your third-party apps follows along. That's not quite right. macOS has a dedicated setting for how to change language for individual apps on Mac, letting you override one app's display language while leaving the rest of the system exactly as it was.

Pixel 11 Pro XL Extreme Charging mode can be activated from the phone's Battery and charging settings, the lock screen when eligible, or Quick Settings after the feature has been activated once.

Google's new Search profile looks like the kind of feature every creator should rush to claim: a dedicated, shareable page that puts your work front and center inside Google Search itself. Before spending time hunting for one, it helps to understand Google Search profile eligibility rules, since they set a high follower bar and apply only in the United States for now. This guide walks through who qualifies, how to run a Google Search profile eligibility check on your own name, and what claiming...

How to Charge Your Phone Without a Charger: Full Guide

Galaxy Z Fold 8 owners are posting screenshots on Samsung's community forum of a home screen gone sideways: icons overlapping, apps sliding past their assigned grid spots, some landing in the gap between the inner display's two panes. One owner said an icon got stuck there entirely, impossible to select or drag back (Android Authority, today). If you're trying to figure out how to fix Galaxy Z Fold 8 app icon misalignment, there's a specific software update worth checking before you waste time...

A newer iPhone can text emergency services from a trailhead with zero bars, but that capability isn't something you switch on in advance. It becomes available when you're off-grid and a normal call or text to emergency services can't connect, as long as you're outdoors with a clear view of the sky and using an iPhone 14 or later.

Backing out of an app, opening Settings, and scrolling through the full app list just to flip one permission toggle is a small tax most iPhone owners pay eventually. This guide walks through how to add an Open App Settings shortcut to Control Center, a one-step Shortcuts action that, according to reporting, jumps you from whatever app you're using straight to that app's own settings page, skipping the manual hunt through the list (Digital Today reported earlier this year).

Searching for how to watch 2026 US Open Round 2 live for free won't turn up a current live option because Round 2 is already over.

Search for the best $100 smartphone in 2026 and the results won't cooperate: every phone reviewers have actually tested this year costs more than that. Samsung's Galaxy A17 5G lists at $174.99, and Motorola's cheapest 2026 model, the Moto G Play, runs $169, with the standard Moto G at $199 (Android Authority, 3 months ago). Even PCMag's "cheap phone" roundup skips $100 entirely; its budget category starts under $300 (PCMag, seven weeks ago).

TSA counted 15 states with a mobile driver's license that worked at its airport checkpoints as of February 2025, a list that ran from California and Puerto Rico all the way to Louisiana and New York (TSA). More states have added the option since then, and checking TSA's Digital ID page is the only reliable way to know if yours is one of them today. This guide walks through how to add your driver's license to your phone: confirming your state and device qualify, completing enrollment, and...

A guide posted on XDA Forums last year describes a way to run Samsung DeX on a Galaxy Z Fold's internal screen, with no monitor, dock, or book cover attached.