How to turn on the “Always On Display” on your iPhone.

Apple introduced it’s first always on display for the iPhone 14 Pro. It works fine most of the time, but sometimes it just turns itself off for no apparent reason. I even did a fresh from zero setup for my iPhone 16 Pro Max and stil,l once every 2 days or so, the Always On Display just turns itself off.

I could go into Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display and toggle it on, but why do that when I can just use a shortcut instead?

If you’re having the same problem, a one-click shortcut will fix it.

People know your Wi-Fi password, and it can get you hacked.

With iOS 16 and later, Apple has made it a lot easier to find your Wi-Fi password and other Wi-Fi passwords that you have connected to.

With iOS 18, it’s way easier since you can do it from the Passwords app. 

I didn’t even know you could look at a Wi-Fi password when someone shares it with you, until I looked at the Wi-Fi category in the Passwords app.

I went to a relative’s house recently who likes to keep a low profile, and they are always reluctant to share their Wi-Fi password. They don’t even keep bluetooth on, so they have to manually type their password into my phone or my kids’ devices whenever we come over. 

Once he entered the password on my iPhone, I just went into the Passwords app, went under the Wi-Fi category, and voila! There was the password. 

They were surprised to find out how I knew it, but it shows you why you need to make sure that password is not used anywhere else. A lot of people (around 78%) use the same password for multiple accounts, and if you’re using your Wi-Fi password for something else, now is a good time to change it.

How to get the maximum brightness on your iPhone.

By default, Apple has auto-brightness on your iPhone set to ON.

When you are indoors, you will never achieve the max brightness that your phone can achieve with this setting turned on.

Yes, even if you go to control center and slide the brightness all the way up, it will not be its brightest.

To unlock your maximum brightness and really see it shine, I need you to follow this process:

1. Go to a dimly lit area.

2. Make sure your phone has Dark Mode turned OFF.

3. Open your Control Center and maximize your brightness. Now you are setup to see eye-blinding brightness.

4. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display and Text Size, and scroll all the way down and disable auto-brightness.

Watch the screen and notice how much brighter it gets!

Remember one thing: this is great for indoor brightness only.

If you do want the highest brightness outdoors, you need to keep the auto-brightness setting ON. That is the only way to get peak brightness on your iPhone when outdoors. Apple limits this so your screen doesn’t max out at 2000 nits of brightness all day long and either destroy your screen or your battery life.

Instead of having to go through settings each time to toggle this on and off, you can ask Siri to either, “Turn on auto brightness” or “Turn off auto brightness.”

If you want to change the setting in silence, add this shortcut to take you right to the auto brightness toggle with a single click:

Auto brightness shortcut

Note: Tested on iOS 17 and iOS 18.2 Developer Beta

Hidden Accessibility feature in the Password App.

If you touch and hold your username or password, there’s an option to, “show in large type.” Not only is it larger, but it comes with color coding for each type of character:

1. Brown = upper case letters

2. Black = lower case letters

3. Blue = special characters

4. Orange = numbers

No more confusion between a 1 and a l, and between 0 and O.

This is helpful for everyone, especially the visually impaired.

Are RCS messages encrypted?

The short answer is no, but the devil is in the details.

With iOS 18, Apple has introduced RCS messages, which is a new industry standard in messaging that allows you to send high quality videos and photos instead of those abysmally low-resolution photos and videos you currently send to your fellow Android users.

RCS also supports delivery and read message receipts just like iMessage.

In a nutshell, it makes your interaction with non-iPhone users more like iMessage, while still keeping the green bubble.

Not all carriers support RCS, but remember one thing.

One very important thing.

RCS is not end-to-end encrypted.

According to Apple’s site:

Apple’s implementation of RCS is based on the industry’s standard. RCS messages aren’t end-to-end encrypted, which means they're not protected from a third-party reading them while they're sent between devices.

Besides the messages themselves, What other sensitive information about you can be transmitted when using RCS? 

More than you think:

User identifiers are exchanged for your carrier and their partners to authenticate your device and provide a connection. These identifiers could include but are not limited to your IMEI, IMSI, current IP address, and phone number. Your current IP address might also be shared with other RCS users.

It’s funny how all the news around RCS focuses on high end photo and video transmission, but no one emphasizes that it is just as insecure as regular SMS/MMS.

If you really want to have secure group chats that allow high quality images and videos, stick with a more secure platform such as WhatsApp.

Or better yet, you could just convince your friends to get an iPhone and use iMessage, which is end-to-end encrypted.

This is the one reason why you need iPhone Mirroring on your Mac.

With macOS Sequoia and iOS 18, you can now seamlessly mirror your iPhone to any of your Macs.

It might seem pointless since whatever you can do on your iPhone you can do bigger on the Mac, but there is one reason, one critical reason, why you need this feature.

As much as we love our Macs, there are always times where it just doesn’t want to work as magically as Apple would make you think. 

You get an iMessage on your iPhone, but it doesn’t show up on your Mac. 

You get a WhatsApp message on your iPhone, but it doesn’t show up on your Mac. 

You need to login to your bank and need your 2-factor code that was texted to you, but it doesn’t show up on your Mac.

Are you getting it?

With iPhone Mirroring, you will never miss a message from any app since you literally have your iPhone on screen. No more frustration and forcing yourself to reboot your Mac right then and there when you are in the skin of it in order to make all the things sync perfectly.

Just mirror your iPhone and reboot later when it’s convenient for you.

iPhone Mirroring on a desktop Mac only works well if you have these devices.

To put it simply, you need a Magic Trackpad or a Magic Mouse to get the full iPhone mirroring experience. If you use any other mouse, the experience is not good.

Transitions stutter, and clicking and holding your normal mouse to swipe left and right on your home screen is imprecise. Very often the iPhone triggers “jiggle mode” to edit your home screen when you just wanted to swipe left or right. Scrolling with the click wheel is also not smooth at all.

And yes, I have a very capable wired mouse.

Swiping left, right, up, and down on the Magic Trackpad just feels more natural for operating iOS since it is a touch-based OS. The experience is very similar to my iPad Pro with a Magic Keyboard.

I haven’t tested the Magic Mouse, but if you love the Magic Mouse, I am sure it will work just as well since it uses a similar touch interface.

Thankfully, Apple’s Magic Trackpad is worth the cost compared to the Magic Mouse, especially now that it is USB-C.

3 security reasons why you should upgrade to iOS 18.

iOS 18 is Apple’s latest software update for iPhones, and with it you get 3 very important security features that will make it harder for others to snoop around your devices and make it easier for you to manage your ever-growing digital footprint.

1. Passwords app

This is an underrated feature, but having a dedicated Passwords app from Apple breaks the barrier for most people to start organizing their passwords. Apple already had its own password manager in the past, but it was buried in the Settings app making it hard for most people to use.

You can even create shared group where you can share passwords with others, which is great for families.

The app also has a built verification code system like Google Authenticator, so you can save all your 2-factor authentication codes all in one place.

You can even create new passwords from the app so you don’t have to come up with them yourself. Check out Apple’s website for more info on the passwords app.

2. Locking and hiding your apps

Every app can now require authentication, either via Face ID or Touch ID. Simply tap and hold any app, and select the “Require Face ID” option (It will say Touch ID if you have an iPhone SE 2nd gen or later). This is an easy and secure way to protect your most private information from people who also might share your device.

For all 3rd party apps, you can also require Face ID and hide the app from your homescreen. This does also disable notifications and critical alerts from the app, so be careful.

To “un-hide” the apps, you just need to go to your hidden apps folder under App Library, and tap on it to initiate Face ID, and it will reveal the hidden apps. Touch and hold the app of your choice and select, “Don’t require Face ID.”

3. “Inactivity Reboot”

This is the hero feature of iOS 18.

This feature was added by Apple in iOS 18.1 as an extra security and safety measure against hackers and thieves. If your phone goes unused for 3 days (72 hours to be exact), the phone automatically reboots itself even if it has plenty of battery power.

It was initially thought to be 4 days, but it has been confirmed to be 72 hours.

This reboot puts your iPhone in a more secure state, also known as “Before First Unlock,” or BFU state. Every time your iPhone reboots, it requires your password before it enables Touch ID or Face ID, making it harder for hackers to retrieve information from the phone with older hacking devices since the data is encrypted.

Per TechCrunch:

“Inactivity reboot” effectively puts iPhones in a more secure state by locking the user’s encryption keys in the iPhone’s secure enclave chip. 

Once someone unlocks their phone with their password, the phone is now in “After First Unlock,” state or AFU.

Security researchers use their own simplified terms. Phones that have had their password entered are “hot” devices, while freshly rebooted phones are “cold” devices:

Tihmstar said that many forensic companies focus on “hot” devices in an AFU state, because at some point the user entered their correct passcode, which is stored in the memory of the iPhone’s secure enclave. By contrast, “cold” devices are far more difficult to compromise because their memory cannot be easily extracted once the phone restarts.

Although it might be a nuisance for law enforcement, it is another deterrent for thieves and hackers until they find more sophisticated ways to steal data from your iPhone.

For the general consumer, it is another victory for data privacy and security.

What features do older iPhones get with iOS18.1?

Great writeup by Chance Miller showing all the features you get even if your iPhone doesn’t support Apple Intelligence.

Apple Intelligence is only supported on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and all iPhone 16 models.

If you have an older iPhone, then check out the link to see what features you will get with iOS 18.1.

The best feature in my opinion the ability to drag and drop files from your iPhone to your Mac and vice versa:

Making good on its promise from WWDC, iPhone Mirroring now supports the ability to easily drag and drop files between your iPhone and your Mac. This feature requires both iOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1. Then, when you’re using iPhone Mirroring, you can wirelessly move files back and forth just by dragging and dropping.

How to reduce Motion Sickness while using your iPhone.

Great write-up by Ryan Christoffel at 9to5Mac. I’m not normally the passenger when in a vehicle, but when I am, I do get motion sickness and have to put my phone down.

I will have to try this one day, but I’m sure it will work just as advertised:

Vehicle Motion Cues is a new accessibility feature in iOS and iPadOS 18. You can activate it by opening Settings ⇾ Accessibility ⇾ Motion, or with a Control Center toggle.

When adding the Control Center toggle, you have to scroll all the way to the bottom under “Vision Accessibility,” to add the toggle. Here is what the toggle looks like in small and big form.

Got a new iPhone? Here is the one battery setting you need to fix now.

Your iPhone battery is a consumable item, just like any other battery. The more you take care of it, the longer it will last, and the better your performance will be. 

What is the most effective thing you can do to improve your battery health?

The best thing to do is to limit the charge on your iPhone’s battery. Starting with the iPhone 15, you can limit the charge of your iPhone to 80%, so it does not charge beyond that setting.

When you charge beyond 80%, you will start to generate more heat while charging, which will degrade the battery’s health. You will get more battery life in the short term, but at the cost of battery health in the long run. 

I have been using an iPhone 15 Pro Max everyday since October 2023, and I have 99% battery health on my iPhone. I have my charging limit set to 80%, and that is why it has stayed in excellent condition. 

The real kicker? I have been using MagSafe wireless charging 99.9% of the time. 

I have lost 1% battery health in 11 months of daily use while charging wirelessly.

Wireless charging is less efficient than directly plugging in your phone to charge, but MagSafe is more efficient and smart compared to just a standard Qi wireless charger, and overall generates less heat if you go wireless.

If you are a regular user like me who uses their phone for social media, Youtube, email, and everything non-game related, you should achieve similar results by setting your limit to 80%.

Here’s how to do it:

Go to Settings → Battery → Charging.

Under charging, you can set your charge limit from 80% to 100% in 5% intervals.

The lower your charge limit, the longer your battery will last since it will generate less heat.

This is critical for most people who keep their iPhones for years. If your battery ages prematurely, you will have performance issues, and might not even be able to complete certain tasks that require significant battery power. 

Here is Apple’s more thorough explanation of battery health:

For a phone to function properly, the electronics must be able to draw upon instantaneous power from the battery. One attribute that affects this instantaneous power delivery is the battery’s impedance. A battery with a high impedance might be unable to provide sufficient power to the system that needs it. A battery's impedance can increase if a battery has a higher chemical age. A battery’s impedance will temporarily increase at a low state of charge and in a cold temperature environment. When coupled with a higher chemical age, the impedance increase will be more significant. These are characteristics of battery chemistry that are common to all lithium-ion batteries in the industry.

When power is pulled from a battery with a higher level of impedance, the battery’s voltage will drop to a greater degree. Electronic components require a minimum voltage to properly operate. This includes the device’s internal storage, power circuits, and the battery itself. The power management system determines the capability of the battery to supply this power and manages the loads to maintain operations. When the operations can no longer be supported with the full capabilities of the power management system, the system will perform a shutdown to preserve these electronic components. While this shutdown is intentional from the device perspective, it might be unexpected by the user.

How to find your hidden apps in iOS 18.

Hiding your apps in iOS 18 is a new feature that everyone will find useful, for better or for worse. The crazy thing is, when you want to actually find those apps, it can drive you nuts trying to figure out where they actually went.

Scroll all the way to the right on your homescreen until you get to the App Library. Then scroll all the way down and you will see your hidden “folder” completely transparent. Tap the “folder,” and watch as FaceID magically reveals your apps once again.

To unhide the app permanently, simply long press on it and select, “Don’t require Face ID.”

If you want to keep the app hidden but want to adjust it’s settings, go to Settings, scroll all the way down to Apps, and scroll all the way down again to see your hidden apps.