View and Manage Visited Places in Maps on iPhone

View and Manage Visited Places in Maps on iPhone

Your iPhone keeps a quiet record of the places you visit and gives you a simple way to review, organize, or delete that history. If you travel often or jump between work sites, this tool can save time and help you stay organized.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

December 4, 2025

Subscribe - Read the Newsletter Version

Think about the last time you tried to remember every stop you made on a weekend trip or a busy workday. 

Most people guess or search old receipts. 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Use the Visited Places in Apple Maps.

The Visited Places feature in Apple Maps gives you a clean way to see where you have been and tidy up your history whenever you want.

How to Add Your Passport to Apple Wallet and Speed Through Travel

How to Add Your Passport to Apple Wallet and Speed Through Travel

You can now store your passport digitally in Apple Wallet if you live in a supported region. This guide shows you how to set it up and use it for faster, smoother identity checks.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

November 27, 2025

Subscribe - Read the Newsletter Version

Think about the last time you stood in a long airport line while shuffling for your passport. 

Imagine presenting a secure digital version from your iPhone with a quick tap. 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Add your US Passport to your Apple Wallet.

Apple has begun activating official digital passports inside Apple Wallet for supported regions, and the experience changes how you move through airports, secure buildings, and border control kiosks. 

It feels natural and saves real time.

How to Add Backgrounds in Messages on iPhone

How to Add Backgrounds in Messages on iPhone

Apple now lets you place colorful or themed backgrounds behind entire conversation threads in iOS. It is a simple way to highlight a point, add energy to a conversation, or help readers follow key updates.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

November 20, 2025

Subscribe

Every group chat eventually reaches that moment when the important information disappears into the noise. 

Apple introduced a subtle but useful Messages upgrade that solves this problem by letting you add backgrounds behind your messages. 

It feels like a small tweak, yet it changes readability and adds style in a way that standard text bubbles never could.

How to Disable Apple Wallet Promotions in iOS 26

How to Disable Apple Wallet Promotions in iOS 26

Stop Unwanted Card Ads and Focus on What Matters Most in Your Wallet

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

November 13, 2025

Subscribe - Read the Newsletter Version

Have you ever opened Apple Wallet to pay for coffee only to find Apple pushing its latest card or financing offer instead? 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Disable Apple Wallet Promotions.

With iOS 26, Apple finally gives users control to silence these intrusive Wallet promotions. 

It’s a long-requested privacy and focus feature that puts you and not the marketing team back in charge of your digital wallet.

How iOS 26.1’s Liquid Glass Setting Fixes Apple’s Most Divisive Design

How iOS 26.1’s Liquid Glass Setting Fixes Apple’s Most Divisive Design

The new Liquid Glass interface in iOS 26 brings some sleek visual changes. If the ultra-transparent acrylic look isn’t for you, iOS 26.1 introduces a setting to tone it down. 

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor 

November 6, 2025

Subscribe - Read the Newsletter Version

Have you just updated to iOS 26 and thought: “Cool aesthetic, but wow, everything looks like frosted acrylic and I can’t read these menus in sunlight”? 

You’re not alone. 

Apple’s new design language, Liquid Glass, is one of the boldest visual changes to the iPhone in years. 

But with great translucency comes new challenges: readability issues, and even battery and thermal impacts on older phones.

Here's a Cool Tip:  Change the Liquid Glass setting.

With the new iOS 26.1 setting, you now have more control over how “glassy” your UI looks.

How to Poll People in Messages on iPhone with iOS 26

How to Poll People in Messages on iPhone with iOS 26

Decide faster together.  iOS 26 now lets you create interactive polls directly in iMessage so everyone in your chat can vote, suggest ideas, and instantly see results.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 30, 2025

How many times have you texted your friends or coworkers endlessly trying to pick a restaurant or meeting time? 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Poll People in the Message App in iOS 26.

Now you can collect votes without juggling texts, spreadsheets, or third-party apps. 

The feature is surprisingly powerful, especially for coordinating groups, planning events, or even quick daily decisions.

Record & Transcribe a Call on iPhone in iOS 26

Record & Transcribe a Call on iPhone in iOS 26

With iOS 26, your iPhone finally supports native call-recording and transcription, enabling you to capture business calls, client conversations or interviews directly and save them as searchable text in the Notes app.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor 

October 23, 2025

Subscribe

Have you ever hung up a key client call and thought, “What exactly did they say about the deadline?” 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Record and Transcribe Calls on iPhone in iOS26.

Apple’s iOS 26 introduces a call-recording + transcription feature. 

Being able to revisit the audio and a searchable transcript is a game-changer.

Call Screening on iPhone with iOS 26

Call Screening on iPhone with iOS 26

iOS 26 gives iPhone users a smarter way to handle unwanted calls. The new Call Screening feature lets your phone ask unknown callers to identify themselves so you can see who’s calling and why before you decide to answer.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor 

October 16, 2025

Subscribe

How many times this week did your iPhone ring with a number you didn't recognize? 

And how many of those calls were legitimate? 

If you are like most professionals, educators, or entrepreneurs today, that ratio is heavily skewed toward telemarketers, automated messages, and outright spam. 

Our phones have become essential tools, yet they are constantly hijacked by noise, eroding our focus and costing us valuable time.

Here's a Cool Tip:  Call Screening on the iPhone with iOS 26.

Meet the New Preview App in iOS 26: Edit, Sign, and Scan Without Leaving Your iPhone

Meet the New Preview App in iOS 26: Edit, Sign, and Scan Without Leaving Your iPhone

Apple’s iOS 26 introduces a dedicated Preview app for iPhone. It combines tools for viewing, editing, signing, and exporting both PDFs and images in one place, eliminating the need for multiple apps.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 9, 2025

Subscribe

Imagine opening a contract or a scanned document on your iPhone and realizing you need to sign it or highlight a section. 

In the past, that often meant switching between Files, Notes, and third-party apps. 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Use the new Preview app in iOS 26.

With iOS 26, Apple adds Preview to the iPhone, giving users a single, reliable workspace for documents and images. 

It’s simple, quick, and saves time.

Turn a Screenshot into a Calendar Event in iOS 26

Turn a Screenshot into a Calendar Event in iOS 26

In iOS 26, Apple introduces a clever Visual Intelligence feature that can detect event info in a screenshot and offer to convert it into a calendar entry. It’s a subtle shift that can shave seconds off scheduling and prevent you from losing track of important details.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor 

October 1, 2025

Imagine you screenshot a concert poster, a meeting invite in a group chat, or a flyer with date, time, and location and then forget to actually enter it into your calendar. 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Turn a Screenshot into a Calendar Event in iOS 26.

iOS 26 now watches for event cues in your screenshots and under the right conditions prompts you to create a calendar entry automatically. 

From a productivity standpoint, it's low-hanging fruit: you don’t have to juggle apps or copy & paste. 

This becomes one of those “I didn’t know I needed it” features until you can’t live without it.

Wake Up Smarter: How to Change Snooze Length in iOS 26 for Better Alarm Control

Wake Up Smarter: How to Change Snooze Length in iOS 26 for Better Alarm Control

Tired of the default 9-minute snooze? In iOS 26, Apple finally lets you customize snooze times for each alarm. Here’s how to use it, why it matters, and what to watch out for.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

September 25, 2025

You set your alarm for 6:30 a.m., press snooze, and the phone wakes you again at 6:39. 

The cycle repeats, and somehow the timing never feels quite right. 

For decades, the iPhone locked users into a 9-minute snooze window. 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Pick your Alarm Snooze Length in iOS 26.

iOS 26’s Liquid Glass Redesign Isn’t Just Eye Candy: It’s a Smarter Way to Work

iOS 26’s Liquid Glass Redesign Isn’t Just Eye Candy: It’s a Smarter Way to Work

Apple’s iOS 26 introduces a visually stunning Liquid Glass interface and productivity-enhancing features. 

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

September 16, 2025

Ever wished your iPhone could screen calls like a savvy assistant and look like it belongs in a sci-fi film? 

Here's a Cool Tip: Install Apple's latest update, iOS 26.

The Liquid Glass design is grabbing headlines, but beneath the shimmer lies a suite of features that quietly reshape how business users, educators, and productivity enthusiasts interact with their devices.

Feature Explanation

The centerpiece of iOS 26 is the Liquid Glass interface, a translucent, fluid design that adapts to your wallpaper, refracts light, and morphs across apps. 

It’s more than just aesthetic. 

Apple’s goal is to unify the user experience across devices, making transitions feel seamless whether you’re switching from iPhone to iPad or Mac.

But the real productivity punch comes from features like:

1. Call Screening: Unknown callers are prompted to state their name and reason before your phone even rings.
2. Visual Intelligence: Context-aware actions based on what’s on your screen, like adding calendar events or summarizing text.