Howtogeek.com News, Tips, Tricks, Ideas

After trailing behind Apple in the software support department since the beginning of smartphones, Samsung and Google finally stepped up—both now promise seven years of Android updates. But what does that mean for you, and is it really as good as it sounds?

Samsung released the Galaxy S24 series earlier this year, but the company doesn't just sell premium flagship phones. Samsung has a few budget smartphones under the Galaxy A lineup, and now the Galaxy A35 and A55 phones are on the way.

My first Android Wear smartwatch was the Moto 360. My second was the Google Pixel Watch. Smartwatches have gotten a lot better in that time, but I still didn’t keep one on my wrist for more than a few months. Why?

iOS 17.4 packs quite a few new features and improvements, from podcast transcripts and new emoji options to multilingual message playback, Apple Cash numbers, and beyond. These changes and under-the-hood tweaks can be easy to miss if you don’t know where to look, which is where we come in.

Apple has been slowly opening up its hardware and software in response to new legislation in the European Union. The iPhone 15's switch to USB Type-C was partially due to new EU laws about phone chargers, and more recently, the company created support for installing third-party app stores for phones in the EU. However, most of the changes are still blocked from working outside of the EU, and now more region-locked features are on the way.

Handing your child a tablet with unlimited access to apps, games, and the internet at large is not a good idea. However, tablets can be great for kids if used with safeguards in place. That's what both Amazon Kids and Google Kids Space aim to provide, but they do it very differently.

Mobile gaming is booming, and there are thousands of great games looking to tempt you away from your console or PC. Unfortunately, app stores do a poor job of helping you find them. That’s where TapTap comes in.

In January, NVIDIA unveiled that it would start offering GeForce Now day passes for gamers, and after a short wait, they're now available starting at $3.99 per day. Here's what you need to know.

Adobe is bringing more of its Firefly generative AI features to mobile devices. The new Adobe Express app beta, which will eventually replace the standard Adobe Express app, includes AI-powered features like Generative Fill and Text to Image effects. It also supports real-time collaboration with the desktop version of Express.

You probably subscribe to PlayStation Plus for online gaming and a catalog of on-demand games, but your subscription also comes with access to a selection of free movies as part of Sony Pictures Core. Here's how you can start watching today.

Apple released iOS 17 for iPhones and iPadOS 17 for iPads last year, complete with new iMessage features, custom lock screens for iPads, a Journal app, StandBy Mode on MagSafe charging stands, and other helpful features. There have been a few minor updates since then, and now version 17.4 is rolling out.

Waze is introducing new alerts for speed limit changes, toll booths, sharp turns, emergency vehicles, and more. The navigation app will also provide new insights when planning routes or searching for parking. Most of these improvements will arrive on Android and iOS by the end of March 2024.

Three years ago, Android app support was touted as a major selling point for Windows 11. But Microsoft is making a complete heel-turn. It's officially ending support for the Windows Subsystem for Android (WSA), and it will completely shutter the PC-based Amazon Appstore on March 5th, 2025.

Have you updated your toaster recently? Though this may sound silly and far-fetched, we’re rapidly approaching the stage where everything is connected and able to receive over-the-air updates.

Cash App is a popular app that allows you to send and receive money online, but it may not always work properly. There are few things as frustrating as trying to access or send money and not being able to do it. Thankfully, there are a number of easy fixes if Cash App is not working.

Mozilla is slowly converting K-9 Mail into Thunderbird for Android. Now, in the latest K-9 Mail release (6.800), Mozilla rectifies the app's awkward account setup process to provide a more friendly experience. The update also includes some minor changes and bugfixes.

The latest Pixel Feature Drop is here, and with it comes several improvements for the Pixel smartphone and smartwatch. Some of these new features are exclusive to the Pixel family, while others will be generally available on Android or Watch OS in the future.

Passkeys sure look like the future of passwords, and password managers are slowly adapting to the new technology. 1Password was one of the first services to add support for passkeys, and now that extends to the 1Password app for Android.

We've all faced the problem before: you want to try a new game, but you're not sure if you want to buy it. What if you dislike it? What if it runs poorly? What if you just want to try something new, and don't actually want a new game? Free-to-play events are here to save you from your boredom.

Android-based operating systems pushing aside core Android features is nothing new. Huawei is going down that route with HarmonyOS, but Amazon did it first with its Fire OS ecosystem. The operating system is used by Amazon's Fire TV streaming sticks and TVs, as well as Amazon's Fire tablets—the company even attempted to make a Fire Phone at one point, but that was a disastrous failure and we don't talk about it. The latest "improvement" to the OS seems to be restricting basic Android app functionality.

It's gut-wrenching to learn that someone has accessed one of your gaming accounts. Unfortunately, this is all too common. My accounts have been compromised several times, which is what inspired me to better safeguard my gaming accounts.

The Galaxy Watch and Pixel Watch now offer on-wrist transit directions with Google Maps. Plus, the Google Wallet smartwatch app can now access boarding passes, gym membership cards, concert tickets, and other items from your smartphone.

Microsoft's Copilot AI is slowly but surely appearing everywhere. The software, powered by GPT-4, can now replace the default option of Google Assistant (or even Gemini) on your Android phone.

One of the coolest things about Android is the sheer amount of ways you can make your phone look awesome. You can change everything from your home screen launcher, icons, fonts, and, of course, the wallpaper. But don't settle for boring stock wallpapers—there are apps for that, too.

Have you ever installed a shiny new computer part only to realize it's not making much of an improvement in games? This is the result of a performance bottleneck caused by another component in your system. Here's how to spot them and what you can do.

Good news—memory cards are back in gaming vogue. If you missed the days of the N64 and PlayStation memory cards, there's still a way to enjoy the novelty with the Xbox Series consoles.

Cooler Master just launched the MK770, a highly customizable mechanical keyboard with a unique sense of style. The MK770 should appeal to both casual users and enthusiasts, as it focuses on comfort without sacrificing high-end features, such as hot-swappable switches and per-key lighting.

Early Android phones came with keyboards that were remarkable for how much worse they were than third-party options. These days, that isn’t the case. You probably haven’t given much thought to the keyboard that pops up whenever you try to type on your phone. Do you gain anything by seeking out an alternative?

The upcoming iOS 17.4 update will open the doors for third-party app stores to exist on iPhone, but only in the European Union for now. SetApp, a popular app subscription service for Mac, will be one of the first alternative app stores on iPhones.

The DualSense Edge is more than twice the price of a standard DualSense PlayStation 5 controller, but it comes with the extra features and customizations you’d expect from a premium gamepad.

Countless PS5 deals and discounts were available during Black Friday and the holidays. If you missed out, now you can get the newer PS5 Slim Spider-Man 2 bundle for the lowest price we've seen yet, only $449.

Most smartwatches struggle to last 24 hours on a single charge. But the newly-released OnePlus Watch 2 boasts a maximum 100-hour battery life. This shocking accomplishment comes courtesy of the "hybrid interface" in Wear OS 4, meaning that a 100-hour battery may become commonplace in new Android smartwatches.

Are you running out of space on your Xbox? Don’t worry, creating free space is easy. We’ll have you downloading and installing new games in no time.

Your iPhone can record high-quality videos, but this quality has a drawback: enormous file sizes. Luckily, you can compress videos on your iPhone to free up storage space at the cost of video quality.

Between the confusing name changes and having two apps with a similar function, Google Pay will finally shut down in the United States later this summer. Google Wallet will replace it entirely.

Optical character recognition, or OCR for short, is nothing new. We've had it for years, and aside from the occasional accuracy improvement, how we use it has mostly remained the same. We can identify text from photos, translate it, or use it to kick off a web search. Gboard, the default keyboard on many Android phones and tablets, is adding a handy new feature that takes advantage of OCR.

Modern gaming technology and fast internet connections are wonderful, but so too were in-person LAN parties. I spent my youth lugging CRTs and PC towers to friends' houses or whatever space we could borrow for a weekend, and I miss it with all my heart. Here's why it was awesome.

NVIDIA's GeForce Experience and Control Panel are merging into a single, unified app. Available today in beta, the new NVIDIA app provides driver updates, per-game settings, a reworked gaming overlay, new AI-powered filters, and more.

Wireless charging is pretty straightforward—it's charging without a wire. But reverse wireless charging, what's that?

Wireless charging has always been convenient, but it was typically slower than wired charging methods. Good news! With the Qi2 wireless charging standard, things are faster and more convenient.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 lineup might not have as many hardware changes as previous generations, but there are AI features that are supposed to make your experience better, all under the "Galaxy AI" umbrella. We weren't expecting Samsung to roll those features out to its older phones, at least for the time being, but that is now starting with the release of the One UI 6.1 update.

Valve's Steam Deck is a massive success, and has kick-started an entirely new product category of handheld gaming PCs. But it's easy to forget that this isn't Valve's first attempt at a PC-console hybrid, so perhaps it's time for them to try again.

The best way to supercharge a PC game, especially after you're mostly done with it, is to install some mods. They can be a great way to make a game fun again. They're usually unofficial, which is why a lot of people stray from them, but what if you could have sanctioned, official "mods" that aren't made by the game developers, but otherwise have an official stamp of approval? This is exactly the concept Minecraft is currently trying out, with "add-ons" coming soon to players.

Signal is the gold standard for private and secure messaging, but it has always required you to share your phone number to start talking to someone, which can compromise your privacy unless you take additional steps. Signal is now rolling out regular usernames that can be used in place of a phone number.

As video games continue to get bigger and more expensive, buying new ones can feel like a huge commitment. It's more important than ever to be confident that a new game is worth your money. Fortunately, you can try out many games before you buy them (even if you have to be a little creative).

One of the best things about owning an Android phone is the vast customization tools to help you personalize your experience. However, for some people, especially senior citizens, having these many options is a burden. We've compiled a list of tips to make your Android device more accessible.

You don’t think twice about snapping a photo with your smartphone, but how often do you take screenshots in games? Not often enough, probably.

The PS5's Create button makes it easy to capture screenshots of videos while you're playing, but this media doesn't have to live on your console. Here's how to transfer your gaming memories for sharing, backup, or simply to free up space.

Circle to search is one of the most useful recent additions to Android phones. With it, you can circle a designated area of your screen to search one specific thing that you can't type down in your browser bar. It's a feature that can greatly improve your screen searching experience and, frankly, we wonder how it wasn't a thing before. If you were hoping to use it with other search engines, though, it looks like this option is closed off.

Steam is by far the most popular digital game storefront on the PC. Despite its popularity, there are some features hidden in its depths that you might not know about. Here are seven of the most useful.

Wouldn’t it be the best thing in the world if you could learn to code with an app on your phone? There are actually a few apps out there that help you do just that.

Shazam now allows you to identify in-app music while wearing headphones. This feature is tailored toward TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube users who need a convenient way to identify songs. It works with wired or Bluetooth headphones on iOS and Android.

Wine is the compatibility layer for running Windows applications and games on non-Windows platforms, including Linux, Mac, and Android. Wine 9.0 has now been released after a year of development, improving compatibility and adding some great new features.

Since its founding in 2006, ASTRO Gaming has been known as a premium consumer electronics brand with a particular prowess in audio gear. A part of Logitech since 2017, ASTRO Gaming has continued to push the envelope in premium audio gear, culminating in their latest release, the Astro A50 X, part of the Logitech G Gaming Gear lineup.

Customization is one of the things that makes Android so great, but it's for more than just aesthetics. If you have trouble seeing things, you can adjust the size of icons, text, and more. We'll show you how.

As expected, Samsung introduced three new flagships this year in the S24 lineup, with the Samsung Galaxy S24+ landing smack dab in the middle feature-wise. It’s almost the Galaxy S24 Ultra in several ways, but not quite. This middle-of-the-road flagship offers impressive specs and capabilities in many areas but lags behind the other recent flagships like the iPhone 15 Pro or Pixel 8 Pro with a few key features that even the new Galaxy AI can’t make up for.

It's not always easy to remember when to do important things. Luckily, your iPhone or iPad can easily remind you about a repeating task or event using the Reminders app. Here's how to set it up.

Converting regular flat video games into VR is usually something that takes developers a significant amount of time and money, but the UEVR mod promises to instantly convert thousands of games to VR without any effort from the developers themselves.

You can’t upgrade your Xbox like you can a PC, but that doesn’t mean you can’t improve your experience. Here are some tips for squeezing as much performance as possible from Microsoft’s home consoles.

Today's cell phone market is flooded with multiple carriers, dozens of plans, and exorbitant monthly costs. We're here to help. From unlimited data and family plans to prepaid options and more, here are the best cell phone plans available.

Did you buy a used or refurbished Steam Deck and want to check its battery health? Perhaps you've had your Deck for a while and want to see how the battery is holding up. Let's take a look at how to check your Deck’s battery health, and a couple more battery-related tips to keep things in good condition.

The Nintendo 3DS may be over a decade old at this point, but even without the cutoff of official support from Nintendo, it can be a robust piece of hardware for emulation and retro gaming. This guide will inform you on the steps to create your own handheld retro machine out of your old 3DS, whether it's the "New" model or the original.

There's a seemingly endless supply of Android weather apps in the Google Play Store. However, finding one with a great weather widget loaded with features and customization controls isn't as easy. Here are 10 of the best weather widgets available.

Xbox controllers are great. Not only are they the best choice for an Xbox console, they also happen to work great on many other gaming platforms, whether that's your phone, your PC, or even other other consoles with the use of unofficial adapters. Microsoft also likes to release them in several different colorways. These new options, however, are perhaps among the best-looking ones if you're not completely convinced by previous designs.

The best Xbox Series X headsets will allow you to hear everything in your game while carrying your voice with crystal clarity to your teammates. Finding the perfect one can be a challenge, but these are the headsets that stand above the rest.

There's nothing worse than the sinking feeling of disappointment you get after purchasing a shiny new graphics card when you realize that it doesn't work correctly. Before you lose your cool and return it, follow these troubleshooting tips to make sure the card was installed correctly.

Video game demos used to be a staple of gaming, from discs and floppies included with magazines to downloadable trials that could be played indefinitely. But when the digital age came along, demos seemed to fall out of fashion. Fortunately, that trend seems to be reversing.

Choosing where to put your new TV is a big decision. You want an immersive and comfortable viewing experience, and you don’t want more holes in your wall than necessary. Here are some pointers to get it right the first time.

The best gaming headset needs to be affordable, comfortable, sound sharp, and have a microphone that won't make your voice chat companions wince. Our top picks manage to do it all with some extra features on top.

Purchasing a flashy new graphics card is exciting, but with so many factors to look at, excitement can easily turn into frustration. Today we'll help figure out which card to buy based on your unique scenario and budget.

Gaming microphones are useful not only for chatting with teammates, but also for producing crisp audio during livestreams. If you want to move on from the middling microphones built into gaming headsets, take a look at our favorite gaming microphones.

If you've ever wanted a scientific calculator app on iPhone, don't fret—your iPhone already comes with one built in. Apple's Calculator app includes a scientific mode that has been hiding in plain sight since 2008. Here's how to use it.

Google Assistant is the default digital assistant on Android smartphones. But if you ever wanted to give that job to ChatGPT, you can with the help of a third-party app. We’ll show you how to set ChatGPT as the default assistant app on your Android phone so you can invoke it from any screen with the press of a button.

Nintendo Switch now supports a wide variety of headsets and headphones. Whether you need the functionality of a wireless connection or something affordable and durable for your kids, here are our five favorite headsets for Switch.

With the eShop gone and much of its online functionality severely cut down, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Nintendo 3DS was dead in the water. But the system still thrives on the resale market, even though some of its more notable titles have made it to the Switch.

If you're switching away from Apple Notes, want to share notes with someone, or just like to archive your notes, exporting all your notes is the first step in the process. Follow along as we look at a few different ways to do this on your iPhone and iPad, or Mac.

In a bid to improve fidelity and motion, NVIDIA is continually pushing the envelope when it comes to gaming monitor technology. G-SYNC Pulsar is the next step towards a tear-free and smooth gaming experience from the market-leading GPU manufacturer. Here's how it works.

A new upscaling feature is quietly making its way to the Samsung Gallery app. This feature, which requires the latest Photo Editor update, uses AI to increase an image's resolution and clarity. It may be useful when close-cropping a photograph or deciphering an image with illegible text.

After being released in select markets last month, the Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 5 is now available in the United States. This little 8-inch tablet has a lot to offer with its ultra-rugged design and removable battery, but there are a few catches.

As retro gaming continues to grow in popularity, so do cheap handheld retro gaming consoles from brands you've never heard of. Many of these devices are not worth your time or money. Here's how you can separate the wheat from the chaff.