Smartphones

How To: Add Personalized Animated Stickers to Your Snapchat Photos & Videos with Cameos

Late last year, Snapchat introduced Cameos, deep fake-ish stickers animated from your own selfies. Now, Cameos have evolved as a sticker option to use in photos and videos captured with the app's camera.

How To: This Is Where All Those Reels You Liked & Saved on Instagram Are

So, you're trying to show a friend or two a hilarious Reel you liked or saved on Instagram, but where is it? Unlike TikTok, Instagram doesn't make it clear where you're supposed to find your liked and saved Reels. Luckily, we can help.

News: Galaxy Note 20 vs. iPhone 11 Pro: Comparing the Mid-Level Flagships from Samsung & Apple

After the iPhone X eclipsed the $1,000 mark, phone prices skyrocketed. Android OEMs like Samsung started putting out phones in the same price bracket that were crammed with expensive parts. To appease the folks that didn't want to drop over a grand on even the nicest phones, a new segment was created with devices that are still in the flagship tier, but not top-of-the-line.

News: Galaxy Note 20 Ultra vs. iPhone 11 Pro Max: Full Spec Comparison of Samsung & Apple's Best Phones

At the beginning of every year, Samsung drops a fantastic phone in the Galaxy S series, and then tries to top it with the Galaxy Note series in August. This year, Samsung had their work cut out for them. But they managed to improve on their predecessor and properly challenge Apple's best.

News: Pixel 4a vs. iPhone SE — Is Apple's or Google's Budget Phone Better for You?

If you're in the market for a new smartphone, there are some pretty fantastic options for $400 or less. Both Apple and Google have unveiled budget smartphones with high-end specs in 2020, so you no longer have to suffer from subpar quality to save a few bucks. Low prices no longer mean cheap phones.

How To: Disney Upgrades 'Which Character Am I' Camera Effect with Snapchat AR, ESPN+ & Disney+ Shows

After an Instagram creator created a viral sensation last holiday season with the Which Disney camera effect, Disney followed it up with a Sponsored Lens playing a similar roulette with programming from Hulu.

How To: Do Your Part & Track Congress with These 5 Apps for iPhone & Android

If you live in the US, it's your civic duty to understand our governing bodies and the political system that puts them in place. It doesn't matter what your age is, knowing who to vote for is as important as voting at all. That starts with policing your own representatives to help decide whether or not we should re-elect them.

How To: Morph into a Gecko & Learn About Reptiles with PetSmart's Snapchat AR Lens

I've been steadily making my way through the series Hannibal, which arrived on Netflix in June. I've just now made it to the back half of the third season, which introduces us to a new villain who (spoiler alert) seeks to become the Great Red Dragon.

How To: Download Your Purchased & Uploaded Songs from Google Play Music Before It's Gone

Google Play Music has been approaching end of life for a while now, but we now know that Google will begin cutting off access to the service in September 2020 ahead of a complete shutdown in December 2020. In addition, Google will begin closing its music store on Google Play this month.

How To: Movies Anywhere Makes It Easy to Watch Films with Friends Remotely at the Same Time

Wearing masks and social distancing doesn't sound like a fun movie night with friends, but you can still be comfortable and watch films together remotely. Services like Discord and Netflix Party make it possible to watch movies simultaneously from different parts of the U.S., and now you can do it with Movies Anywhere too.

How To: Cheer for Your Favorite NBA Team Virtually in the Orlando Bubble

Now that MLB has finally begun to play ball without fans, the NBA is gearing up to restart its season with 22 out of teams qualifying to play in isolation in Orlando and advance to the playoffs.

How To: Facebook's Navigation Bar Doesn't Need All Those Tabs & Alerts

In the Facebook app for Android and iOS, the shortcuts bar has a few necessary tabs to go home or view notifications or settings. But there are other tabs there that can make the interface feel cluttered if you don't use them often or at all. Thankfully, there's a quick trick to get rid of them for a cleaner navigation bar.

How To: Create Photo Collages Using Instagram's Story Camera — No Layout App Needed

For the longest time, Instagram didn't have a native collage feature. If you wanted to post a story with an assortment of photos, you'd need to use the company's Layout app or a third-party collage maker. Thankfully, that is no longer the case since Instagram now bakes Layout directly into the story camera.

How To: Feeling Nostalgic? Here's How to Find Songs You Couldn't Get Enough of on Tidal

It is surreal how your playlists change over time. A song you loved in January will be forgotten about in May. With hundreds of singles from different artists coming out daily, it is easy to get distracted. Tidal understood this problem and created a solution called "History Mix."

How To: Get a Sneak Peek at Xbox Series X Launch Titles with Snapchat Lenses for Halo Infinite, Destiny 2 & More

Microsoft and Sony are priming their promotional pumps to hype up their respective next-generation gaming consoles, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, both of which are scheduled to arrive in time for the 2020 holiday season.

News: The Return of the 'Budget Flagship' — Here's What the Major OEMs Are Doing to Combat $1,000+ Phone Prices

After years of complaining about rising prices, OEMs are finally listening to consumers. It couldn't have come at a better time thanks to potential recession due to COVID-19. As evident with the poor sales of Samsung's Galaxy S20 series, consumers are not looking to spending $1,000+ on a smartphone just for the latest specs.

How To: Get the Galaxy Note 20's Leaked Wallpapers on Any Phone

New wallpapers for new smartphones are basically a tradition at this point. That tradition doesn't change with the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra — Samsung is introducing five fresh wallpapers for the new devices. Of course, Samsung would like these wallpapers to remain Note 20-exclusive, but that's not how we roll. Here's how you can get them on your iPhone or Android right now.

How To: Hide Your Facebook Messenger Online Status from Everyone Except Certain Contacts

Facebook Messenger's user base has grown so much that it has taken over text messaging as the primary contact method for many people. However, sometimes you might want to hide your online status from specific contacts and appear offline to others. There's a neat little trick you should know that can help you achieve this.

YSK: You Can Lock Mario Kart Tour in Landscape or Portrait Without Touching Your Phone's Main Rotate Setting

Nintendo changed Mario Kart Tour for the better with an option to play the game in landscape mode. That said, the game will rotate automatically, which can mess you up in the middle of a heated race. But you don't need to lock your iPhone or Android phone's orientation setting to fix the problem since you can do so within the game itself. That way, other apps will auto-rotate as usual.

How To: Force Mario Kart Tour to Always Use Landscape Mode

Nintendo's decision to add landscape mode to Mario Kart Tour makes the game feel more like the real deal. That said, it can be annoying to rotate your phone every time you want to play in landscape orientation. It can be even more annoying when the game switches between landscape and portrait view in the middle of a heated race. Luckily, there's a way to make sure every competition is played in widescreen.

How To: Set Data Limit Alerts on Google Fi

Google Fi Is a great wireless carrier alternative and can be quite beneficial when used correctly. If you don't require much data, you can easily get away with a $30 or less bill. However, if you wanted to crank out more data during your current billing cycle, there's a setting you should use to keep your data in check.

How To: Scan Your Surroundings with Google Maps Live View to Calibrate Your Location

Google Maps Live View is already one of the more useful examples of augmented reality on smartphones that is available to the average consumer today.

How To: How Screen Sharing Works in Messenger Video Chats

Screen recording is an essential tool for sharing what's on our smartphones. If you want to send your friends and family an unsharable video you're watching, or a neat trick you discovered on your phone, recording your screen is one way to do so. Messenger, Facebook's standalone chat app, simplifies the experience by implementing live screen shares directly in video calls.

How To: Add PayPal to Google Pay as a Payment Method

On Android, you can connect your PayPal account to Google Pay so that you can use that as a payment option when checking out with Google's digital wallet platform. It even works across Google services like the Play Store, Gmail, YouTube, and the Google Store. If you have an iPhone, you can also use PayPal via Google Pay, but what you can do is limited.

How To: Anonymously View Instagram Stories & Posts Without an Account

Instagram makes it easy to view a public account without that person or business knowing unless, you know, your finger accidentally slips and hits the like button on a post. Aside from that, if you're careful, you can browse anonymously through an account without anyone noticing — only you can't do that with Instagram Stories.

How To: See All the Pictures You've Taken with an Interactive Heat Map in Google Photos

Google Photos is one of the most useful apps for storing, sorting, searching, and sharing all of the photos and videos you capture on your smartphone — but if you travel, it just got a lot more useful.

How To: Apple Added 8 Key Android Features to iOS 14 & It's a Big Deal if You're on the Fence About iPhones

The smartphone market is stagnating. Without hordes of new users rolling in every year, the best way to boost profits nowadays is to poach customers from the competition. That's exactly what Apple appears to be doing with iOS 14.

How To: 4 Tips to Improve YouTube Music Recommendations — Make 'Discover' & 'Your Mix' So Much Better

Now that the transfer tool for migrating your Google Play Music library to YouTube Music is rolling out, more fans of the former, which will meet its end in 2020, are giving its replacement a try.

How To: Share Your Smartphone's Screen in Google Meet

Now that Google Meet is free for anyone with a Gmail address, you can expect to see invites from Google's service alongside Zoom calls.

How To: Become a Video Chat Pro with These Facebook Messenger Tips

Facebook Messenger is a messaging app first, but of its more than 1.3 billion monthly users, 32 percent use its video chat feature at least once every month. While it may seem pretty straightforward to video call with family and friends on Messenger, there are many tips and tricks that can help enhance your experience.

How To: 5 Ways to Communicate Safely on Your Smartphone — Keep Police & Big Data Out of Your Conversations

It is well documented that what you say and do online is tracked. Yes, private organizations do their best to protect your data from hackers, but those protections don't extend to themselves, advertisers, and law enforcement.

How To: Get Your Favorite Local Business into Pokémon GO

A side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is that small businesses are suffering from forced closures and social distancing, but game developer Niantic has a solution.

How To: Join in the First-Ever Virtual Pokémon GO Fest

With the global COVID-19 pandemic preventing Pokémon GO players from venturing into the real world, developer Niantic has adapted the game for trainers to play in a socially-distanced manner.

How To: Communicate Offline — No Wi-Fi, Cell Reception, or Mobile Data Needed

Almost 20% of the US population (about 60 million Americans) live in rural areas where mobile reception is weak or nonexistent. In times of crisis, these Americans can't rely on the internet to communicate with loved ones or receive new information. This is why being able to interact offline is so important.

News: New Release Dates for Every Major Phone Coming in 2020

It is safe to say 2020 sucks. With the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest, things haven't been great. But beyond impacting your emotional state, that upcoming phone you've been waiting for has likely had its release date pushed back.

How To: Here's What That 5G+ Icon in Your Status Bar Really Means

When you look at the top corner of your phone, what do you see? Upon upgrading to Android 11 or iOS 14, you'll see either "5G," "5G+," or "5G E" if you're connected to the right network. But what exactly do these symbols mean? They indicate not only if you're using 5G, but also what type you're connected to.

How To: Don't Record Police with Your Regular Camera App — Use the ACLU's to Make Sure It Gets Uploaded Right Away

With thousands of people across the country protesting, you might be thinking about joining the march. But as is too often the case, law enforcement has been called to oversee the protests, and interactions aren't always peaceful or lawful.

How To: Show Your Support for Social Causes with AR Lenses from Snapchat, Instagram & More

For the average consumer, augmented reality is a fun way of dressing up photos and videos for social media. However, AR is also gaining momentum as a medium for storytelling, particularly in sharing powerful messages.

How To: 4 Smartphone Tips to Help You Stay Safe During the Country's Reopening

It is a scary time to be alive. As states start to ease back shelter-in-place restrictions, the new world you're entering is still unsafe. With a vaccine months away, your best bet is to follow CDC guidelines and use the tools at your disposal.

How To: Download HBO Max Movies & TV Shows in the Highest Quality

Whether you're binging "Friends," "Game of Thrones," or Harry Potter movies, if you want to watch HBO Max downloads in the highest quality possible, you can't just use the default settings. Without doing the legwork, the TV shows and films you download onto your iPhone or Android phone will be lower quality than the full HD version you can have.