Deals: Grab an AirTags 4-pack for $69.99

Dec 28, 2024 - 1 Comment

AirTags

AirTags are the compact easy to use tracking devices from Apple that allow you to keep track of your personal belongings, car keys, even pets, packages, and other interesting uses. AirTags leverage the Find My network of millions of other Apple devices to help pinpoint the locations of AirTags, and you can make them play sounds and use Precision Finding with ultra-wideband technology to find exactly where the AirTag’d item is, making finding lost possessions easier than ever before.

Apple usually sells the 4-pack of AirTags for $99, but right now Amazon is offering an amazing deal for a 4-pack of AirTags for just $69.99.

FTC: OSXDaily is an affiliate partner with Amazon, meaning if you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment which goes towards keeping the site running.

By OSXDaily - Deals - 1 Comment

4 iPhone Tips to Help Your Relatives and Loved Ones this Holiday Season

Dec 26, 2024 - Leave a Comment

iPhone tips to help your family devices

While you’re visiting family this holiday season, if you’re the family tech guru you might get asked some questions about iPhone. This year, why not be a little more proactive and sit down with someone less tech savvy, and with a few tweaks, improve their iPhone experience?

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By Jamie Cuevas - iPhone, Tips & Tricks - Leave a Comment

Use ChatGPT by Phone by Calling 1-800-ChatGPT for AI Voice Answers & Communication

Dec 20, 2024 - 1 Comment

Use ChatGPT by Phone

OpenAI, the company behind the popular ChatGPT artificial intelligence tool, has introduced a new phone-based ChatGPT client experience. By calling 1-800-ChatGPT (1-800-242-8478), you are able to have a phone conversation with ChatGPT to get AI answers by phone.

Essentially the phone line for ChatGPT means that you can access and use ChatGPT entirely by voice, and without data or an internet connection. All you need is a phone line, whether that’s a land line, or a cell phone.

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By Ali Khan - Fun, Tips & Tricks - 1 Comment

How to Disable Mail Sender Icons on iPhone in iOS 18.2

Dec 19, 2024 - 12 Comments

How to turn off Mail sender icons on iPhone

Apple recently introduced a completely new redesign for Mail app on iPhone including a Mail Categories feature that many users have strong opinions about, and along with that design change are new large prominent sender profile icons, which sit next to every item in the inbox. These large prominent mail sender icons squeeze the Mail interface on iPhone making it more difficult to read who an email is from, along with obscuring much of the mail subject, and hiding most much of a mail message preview, making the Mail app on iPhone more difficult to read, scan, and use for many iPhone users. Mail sender icons will show the contact photo of a sender if that’s available, but since that’s usually not the case with most emails, you end up with large random thumbnail icons that just obscure the Mail interface.

Fortunately, much like you can disable the annoying Mail Categories feature that was introduced to iPhone, you can also disable the obnoxious large prominent Mail sender icons and contact photos as well, making your Mail inbox easier to read again, restoring Mail to the classic appearance that had been mostly the same since the beginning of iPhone.

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By Jamie Cuevas - iPhone, Tips & Tricks - 12 Comments

How to Check Battery Life of iPhone

Dec 18, 2024 - Leave a Comment

Check iPhone battery life

The iPhone has pretty great battery life, especially when they’re brand new devices, but like all electronic devices that are battery powered, over time and with usage the battery on iPhone will drain down. If you are new to iPhone, you may be wondering how you can check the remaining battery life of iPhone, and fortunately it’s a simple task.

To check the battery life on your iPhone, you can do any of the following.

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Mist Makes Downloading MacOS Installers & Firmwares Easy

Dec 17, 2024 - 1 Comment

Mist allows you to easily download full MacOS installers and firmwares

Many Mac users, IT staff, and systems administrators like to have on hand full MacOS installers, for both current and prior versions of MacOS system software. Additionally, many advanced Mac users and IT professionals need to have readily available MacOS IPSW firmware files for performing restores to Apple Silicon Macs, for virtual machines, even for deployments, troubleshooting, or just simply reconfiguring and setting up a Mac. This is where the free Mist tool comes in, which makes it very easy to download any available MacOS IPSW firmware file, or any available version of MacOS installer.

While we maintain an updated list of all available versions of MacOS installers to download, and we’ve covered similar apps to Mist before like MDS, the Mist offers another option and perhaps an easier to use interface than MDS, and without some of the features of MDS that many more casual users won’t need. Plus, you can grab MacOS firmware IPSW files too, and that’s super handy. Mist is remarkably easy to use, here’s how it works:

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By Paul Horowitz - Mac OS, Tips & Tricks - 1 Comment

Beta 1 of iOS 18.3, MacOS Sequoia 15.3, iPadOS 18.3, Released for Testing

Dec 17, 2024 - Leave a Comment

iOS 18 and MacOS Sequoia public betas

Apple has released the first beta versions of iOS 18.3, MacOS Sequoia 15.3, and iPadOS 18.3, for users enrolled in the beta testing programs for Apple system software.

The upcoming updates are now in beta testing, and are expected to focus on bug fixes and security enhancements as usual. Some new features are likely to be included as well, with perhaps the most notable addition thus far being the introduction of Genmoji on the Mac.

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By Paul Horowitz - News - Leave a Comment

How to Disable Mail Categories on iPhone & Return to Old Inbox Style

Dec 16, 2024 - 39 Comments

How to disable Mail Categories on iPhone and iPad and return to the normal inbox

If you have recently opened the Mail app after updating to iOS 18.2 or iPadOS 18.2, you likely discovered that Mail now defaults to a Mail “Categories” view, showing distinct mail category inboxes; “Primary”, “Transactions”, “Updates”, and “Promotions”. Presumably Apple chose to redesign everyones inbox and enable Mail Categories by default on iPhone and iPad because they thought users would like their email app to be redesigned and having to take additional steps to see all of their emails, but the Mail category feature is already causing frustration with many users who do not want to fumble through a new complicated user interface that hides many emails from immediate view, let alone see their emails sorted into categories and often erroneously so.

There are many complaints about the Mail categories feature, from making the Mail interface worse or more confusing, emails no longer being listed in chronological order with the newest emails on top, emails can be incorrectly labeled or categorized improperly, some users lament it’s harder to find their emails, some say the new Mail Categories interface is cumbersome and annoying to switch between multiple categories to see all of your emails, and many users simply prefer the standard default Mail interface that has existed forever on iPhone and iPad with all emails shown in a single inbox that they manage on their own.

If you want to turn off the annoying Mail categorization feature in iOS 18.2 on iPhone, read along to learn how to do that, and to get the much loved easy to use old Mail app inbox style back again.

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How to Check Battery Cycle Count on iPhone

Dec 13, 2024 - 2 Comments

How to check iPhone battery cycle count

Some iPhone users may be interested in learning what the battery cycle count is on their iPhone. A battery cycle is counted when a full charge and discharge cycle has completed, and this number can help to determine battery usage, health, as well as longevity.

Up until recently and with the latest model iPhone devices, this was a more cumbersome process, where checking battery cycle count by looking at iPhone Analytics Data was one option, and using third party apps, or even a Mac, was another. But if you have an iPhone 15 or newer, it’s now easier than ever to determine iPhone battery cycle count right on your device, and with minimal effort.

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By Ali Khan - iPhone, Tips & Tricks - 2 Comments

How to Lock iPhone / iPad Apps with Face ID or Passcode

Dec 12, 2024 - 1 Comment

How to require Face ID or Passcode to use app on iPhone or iPad

A handy app-specific security feature is available for iPhone and iPad that requires authentication with Face ID or a passcode before a chosen app can be launched. Essentially this lets you lock any iPhone or iPad app with Face ID or a passcode, and this lock applies even if your iPhone or iPad is already unlocked in general. Features like this are quite popular with security and privacy advocates, but are also useful for the average iPhone and iPad user too for many different scenarios.

The app lock feature works with both Face ID and with a Passcode, so whichever authentication method you use on iPhone or iPad you will find this available. If you are not familiar with how this feature works, read along and you’ll quickly find out how simple it is to enable and lock apps on your device.

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By Jamie Cuevas - iPad, iPhone, Security, Tips & Tricks - 1 Comment

MacOS Sequoia 15.2 Update Released with ChatGPT Siri, Image Playground, Bug Fixes, & More

Dec 11, 2024 - 4 Comments

MacOS Sequoia software update

Apple has released MacOS Sequoia 15.2 as an update for Mac users running the Sequoia operating system. The software update includes new Apple Intelligence features including ChatGPT support for Siri, Image Playground image generation tools, along with some improvements to writing tools AI. Aside from AI, you’ll also find new abilities to share items in Find My, refinements to various apps, and the usual round of bug fixes and security enhancements.

If you’re a Mac user not running MacOS Sequoia 15.2, you will find macOS Sonoma 14.7.2 and macOS Ventura 13.7.2 instead, each with security patches.

Aside from Mac software updates, Apple also made available updates for iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2, and updates for HomePod and Apple Vision Pro.

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By Paul Horowitz - Mac OS, News - 4 Comments

iOS 18.2 Released with ChatGPT Siri, Image Playground, More AI, Bug Fixes, & Security Updates

Dec 11, 2024 - 1 Comment

iOS 18.2 update and iPadOS 18.2 update

Apple has released iOS 18.2 for all iPhone users, and iPadOS 18.2 for all iPad users. The new software updates focus primarily on bringing new Apple Intelligence AI features to compatible devices, including support for ChatGPT integration with Siri, Image Playground image generation, along with smaller new AI features throughout various apps and the operating system.

Separate from AI, there are also refinements to the Photos app, the ability to share items in Find My, a bug fix for Photos not appearing in the All Photos view right away, a new Mail category feature that will undoubtedly be polarizing, and various other bug fixes and security enhancements.

Aside from iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2, there are also releases for older iPhone and iPad versioned as iOS 17.7.3 and iPadOS 17.7.3, plus software updates for Mac including MacOS Sequoia 15.2 with AI features, macOS Sonoma 14.7.2 with security fixes, macOS Ventura 13.7.2 with security fixes, watchOS 11.2 for Apple Watch, and tvOS 18.2 for Apple TV.

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By Paul Horowitz - iPad, iPhone, News - 1 Comment

How to Use Any Emoji as Tapback Reaction on iPhone, Mac, iPad

Dec 10, 2024 - 1 Comment

Custom Emoji tapback reaction

The Tapback reaction feature in Messages for iPhone, iPad, and Mac is popular, and with the latest versions of system software for these devices, you can now Tapback with any Emoji, rather than just the handful of defaults. This offers a nice way to further customize a response to a message, and it’s pretty easy to use.

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By Jamie Cuevas - iPad, iPhone, Mac OS, Tips & Tricks - 1 Comment

2nd RC Build of iOS 18.2, MacOS Sequoia 15.2, iPadOS 18.2, Released for Testing

Dec 9, 2024 - 3 Comments

Even more betas

A second release candidate build of iOS 18.2, MacOS Sequoia 15.2, and iPadOS 18.2, has been made available for all beta testers. The 2nd RC build follows after issuing the first RC build a week prior. RC, or Release Candidate, are usually the finalized beta version of system software that is made available to beta testers before the final version is released to everyone in the public. This suggests the final release of iOS/iPadOS 18.2 and MacOS Sequoia 15.2 is soon, perhaps even this week.

iOS 18.2 and MacOS Sequoia 15.2 will include a round of bug fixes and security patches, along with new AI features, a few smaller features like the ability to use iPhone Mirroring with Personal Hotspot, a weather widget for the Mac menu bar, and sharing for devices in Find My.

By far the biggest change coming in iOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 are the inclusion of more Apple Intelligence AI features, including ChatGPT integration and Image Playground which allows for generating images with AI. Currently, Apple Intelligence features are mostly summarization abilities and various useful writing tools. Apple’s AI features are strictly limited to newer devices however, meaning those capabilities will not be available for all users.

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By Paul Horowitz - News - 3 Comments

RC of MacOS Sequoia 15.2, iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, Released for Testing

Dec 5, 2024 - 1 Comment

Even more betas

Apple has issued the release candidate build for iOS 18.2, MacOS Sequoia 15.2, and iPadOS 18.2, for all users that are involved in the beta testing programs for Apple system software. RC, or Release Candidate builds, are typically the final version of a beta before it gets released to the general public, indicating the final releases of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and MacOS Sequoia 15.2 are imminent.

Aside from the usual bug fixes and security enhancements, these upcoming software updates are focused on bringing new Apple Intelligence features to compatible devices, including Image Playground AI image generation capabilities, and ChatGPT integration. This will be the second route of AI features introduced to the Apple operating systems, with a variety of handy writing tools and summarization features being available at the moment.

Some other new features will be included as well, including the ability to share devices in Find My, a weather widget for the Mac menu bar is available, iPhone Mirroring can be used with Personal Hotspot, and a handful of other small changes and adjustments.

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By Paul Horowitz - Mac OS, News - 1 Comment

How to Record Calls on iPhone

Dec 5, 2024 - 4 Comments

How to Record Calls with iPhone

One of the potentially most useful newer features on iPhone is available in iOS 18.1 and later, offering a remarkably simple way to record calls on iPhone. Now, iPhone has an easily accessible call record button, available on the same phone screen that you use to toggle speaker phone, mute, and end the call. When you activate the call recording feature, a message plays for both parties to inform all that the phone call is being recorded, but it’s still probably a good idea to verbally confirm with the call participants that you’re going to record the call.

With this official call recording on iPhone, you no longer have to rely on the old tricks like calling your voicemail on 3-way, or recording from a Mac with speakerphone.

Calls recorded on iPhone are stored automatically within the Notes app, labeled as “Call with (contact name or phone number)”, where you can easily listen to the call again, review a voice-to-text transcription, and add additional notes if you’d like.

Ready to get started with this incredibly useful feature? Let’s dive in and you’ll quickly learn how you can record any call on your iPhone, whether you’re making the call, or you’re receiving the call.

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By Paul Horowitz - iPhone, Tips & Tricks - 4 Comments

How to Instantly Write a Business Plan with AI on Mac, iPhone, iPad

Dec 3, 2024 - 4 Comments

How to create a business plan instantly with Apple Intelligence on Mac, iPhone, iPad

While there are plenty of paid options to get a business plan, from business plan software, to books, to working with a consultant, or even outsourcing the entire thing, another option is available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users, and it uses the magic of Apple Intelligence features and ChatGPT to instantly create a business plan for literally any business, industry, or location.

Whether you need a business plan to start a business, help flesh out ideas for a new or existing business, are trying to get a small business loan and need a business plan for the bank or lender, or even as an academic exercise or class, you’ll get a great business plan in literally seconds, generated from the brilliance of artificial intelligence and large language models.

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By Jamie Cuevas - iPad, iPhone, Mac OS, Tips & Tricks - 4 Comments

How to Summarize Webpages in Safari for Mac

Dec 2, 2024 - 2 Comments

How to use the Summarize feature for webpages in Safari on Mac

One of the useful Apple Intelligence features that is available in Safari is the webpage summarization feature. With Apple Intelligence Summarize in Safari, you can have an AI summary of an entire webpage, whether it’s a long article, a general website, or anything else on the web, giving you a nice summary of the page contents. This can help you quickly determine information and save time, and it’s really easy to use in Safari on the Mac.

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By Jamie Cuevas - Mac OS, Tips & Tricks - 2 Comments

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