2024 saw the arrival of the iPhone 16 and iOS 18, both of which dominated iPhone coverage at How-To Geek. Here are the iPhone-related articles that you read the most last year.
If this is your first time using the Shortcuts app, you may not feel comfortable creating your own Shortcuts or searching for third-party ones right away. Luckily, Apple has a Gallery section within the app to help you get started. To access the Gallery, tap the “Gallery” icon from the bottom bar. You will be brought to a section full of pre-built shortcuts, complete with a search bar.
Shortcuts is a free productivity tool that lets you build time-saving workflows on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. These workflows can be as simple or complex as you like, and here Hannah Brostrom talks you through the easiest way to get started: by grabbing some ready-made recipes from the Shortcuts gallery.
By Hannah Brostrom – Published Jun 17, 2024
Another Apple Intelligence feature in iOS 18.1 is the ability to record your phone calls in the Phone app. Not only is the audio of your phone conversation recorded, but your iPhone will also automatically transcribe the audio for you, giving you a written record of the call. These call recording transcriptions are saved to a special folder within the Notes app.
iOS 18 doesn’t only improve the underlying iPhone software, Apple also uses major upgrades to make impactful changes to its core apps. Apple Notes has been one of the best note-taking apps on the market for a long time, and Adam Davidson talks us through how iOS 18 makes several significant improvements.
By Adam Davidson – Published Oct 26, 2024
It’s great to have a versatile camera setup on a smartphone, but I don’t understand the point behind Camera Control (yet). Sure, it shortens the process of opening the Camera app, but everything else it does, like switching between camera modes, zooming in and out, or shooting a picture, is a bit more tedious and time-consuming than what I can do with on-screen controls.
Deciding when to upgrade your iPhone can be a tricky decision to make. For Shikhar Mehrotra, it turns out that three years is enough time for the dust to settle before the urge takes over. Though the upgrade was worthwhile, not every new feature received a glowing recommendation.
By Shikhar Mehrotra – Published Nov 1, 2024
RCS doesn’t support text animations, formatting text, or any text effects introduced in iOS 18 or recent versions of Android. You won’t be able to send Apple Cash, use the small apps that run inside iMessage, or send someone a text with effects like fireworks.
You’d be forgiven for missing Apple’s cursory nod to the “future” of text messaging in the iOS 18 announcement, which introduces cross-platform support for typing indicators, read receipts, and better file transfers. But, as David Schloss discusses, both Apple and Google have failed to realize the technology’s full potential (yet).
By David Schloss – Published Nov 29, 2024
Normally I have to turn off my VPN, make an AirDrop transfer, and then remember to turn on my VPN again. This wasn’t necessary with LocalSend. Sending a file from my iPhone to my Mac was effortless, with both devices appearing immediately and the transfer initiating without the usual “will they, won’t they” dance I’ve become accustomed to.
As someone who struggles getting AirDrop to work a good percentage of the time, LocalSend was a game-changer for me. As long as the two devices you want to share files between are connected to the same Wi-Fi network, it just works. It’s now always running on my Mac, and two taps away on my iPhone.
By Tim Brookes – Published Aug 29, 2024
Typos are a part of life, but there is a way to fix them! Whether you’ve sent a message to the wrong person or want to fix your spelling mistake, iMessage has you covered. You can unsend an iMessage within two minutes of sending, and edit it up to five times within fifteen minutes of sending it.
Apple’s proprietary “blue bubble” messaging protocol is fast, free, and secure (as long as all parties have Apple devices, of course). It’s a good idea to use it for the end-to-end encryption alone, but Hannah Brostrom walks us through a few more useful features including threads, stickers, and data recovery.
By Hannah Brostrom, Published Jun 1, 2024
If you have an Apple Watch Series 7 or later (including the Apple Watch Ultra and its successor), you can type on your Apple Watch using an on-screen keyboard that appears when prompted. The experience can be hit-and-miss, but one thing that can make it less frustrating is swiping instead of typing.
Apple Watch falls under iPhone here at How-To Geek, chiefly because you need an iPhone to use one. As someone who virtually never takes their Apple Watch off, I’m always looking for new tips and tricks I can use to get even more out of the wearable. This year, I found 12.
By Tim Brookes – Published Oct 30, 2024
I’m not sure why Apple has put so much effort into capturing high-quality street view imagery of Australian capital cities, but I’m not complaining. There’s a particular 3D “spatial” look to Apple’s solution that adds a parallax effect, separating foreground objects (like road signs) from the background when you pan around.
I ditched Google Maps for Apple Maps years ago. That decision mostly comes down to living in an area that’s well-serviced by Apple and personal preference. I still keep Google Maps installed, but Apple Maps is the app I instinctively open whenever I need to plan a route (on my Mac, too).
By Tim Brookes – Published Nov 24, 2024
Social media can take up way too much of your time without you realizing it. Fortunately, you can use Screen Time on your iPhone to limit how much time you spend on social media. Head to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits to enable app limits and define how much time you want to spend on these apps per day.
I spent 30 minutes reading text prompts aloud and then waited two days for my iPhone to process the results, and now I can use my iPhone to mimic my voice. An accessibility feature first and foremost, it’s just one of the many things you didn’t realize your iPhone could do for you (the others are more useful, I promise).
By Tim Brookes – Published Jan 1, 2024
Siri is experiencing some of the biggest changes, with Apple integrating ChatGPT-style large language model (LLM) technology into the assistant. With AI, Siri is capable of better understanding you and interacting with apps for you, among other tasks. Apple is also integrating AI tools for image creation, image editing, text composition, rewriting, and more.
News of Apple’s latest software update is of relevance to the vast majority of iPhone owners, whether you’re upgrading this year or have a device that’s five years old. Apple unveiled the new software at its June 10 WWDC bash, debuting Apple Intelligence for the first time and confirming that no devices would be dropped this time around.
By Tim Brookes – Published Jun 10, 2024
Thanks for joining us in 2024, here’s to another year of interesting iPhone content for 2025. Got an Android device too? Check out our top Android posts of 2024.
