Tausi Insider

Photo : Tada Images ( Shutterstock ) Who remembers the games that shipped with classic iPods? You could have a pixel war in   Parachute , smash blocks in Brick , play cards in Solitaire , and test your knowledge of your own iPod’s library with Music Quiz . Of course, Apple has since discontinued the iPod, but they seem to have trouble letting go of the past.   Music Quiz lives on as a hidden iPhone game. The hidden music quiz hasn’t been around forever, but isn’t all that new either. Apple first added it to the iPhone not as a game but as a shortcut, back in 2020 with iOS 14 . The game w as part of a small series of “Starter Shortcuts”—the idea, I assume, was to offer users a quick look at what was possible with shortcuts (even though the app launch two years prior with iOS 12). Either way, it doesn’t seem to have been a wholly effective marketing campaign— I had no idea this music quiz existed. It’s just the kind of hidden feature that’s a pleasant surprise to discover ....

Photo : Kicking Studio ( Shutterstock ) Spotlight, once an essential tool in your iPhone productivity arsenal, has become nearly unusable on iOS 16. It sometimes displays search results almost instantly, but more often than not it takes a few seconds (or more) to find things. The latency is particularly noticeable on older iPhones, and the inconsistency of a once-reliable tool is pretty sad to see. The same feature has been facing similar issues on Mac, but at least there are alternatives—such as Alfred and Raycast — that make up for it. On your iPhone, you can’t replace Spotlight with an alternative, but you can try a couple of workarounds. Use your iPhone’s App Library If you keep swiping left on your iPhone’s home screen, you will find the App Library at the very end . Once there, swipe down to open the search bar and type the name of the app you want to find. You’ll see that this search box instantly loads the results you’re looking for. We’ve tried this on a three-year-o...

Photo : Bonsales ( Shutterstock ) Anytime you have someone new over your house, one of the first questions they’ll ask is, “What’s the wifi?” Sure, you could tell them, but do you even know? To be honest, I don’t. If you’re like me, you have some convoluted wifi name and password combo on the bottom of your router you need to consult every time it’ s needed. Luckily, there’s an easy way to step up your wifi sharing game without needing to change passwords or commit anything to memory. Of course, the situation isn’t as bad as it used to be. If you and your guest both have iPhones, you can share your network credentials with a single tap. That said, to start that process, your friend first needs to choose your wifi network from the list, and they need to be a contact in your phone, adding extra steps to what could be a seamless setup. On the Android side of things, you can share your wifi password using a built-in QR code. Again, more convenient than the past, but there’s room for ...

Screenshot : Jake Peterson I’m not trying to bullshit you. If you have a Samsung Galaxy — virtually any one of them — then you have a hidden chihuahua on your phone. You would never stumble upon it, which is why you’ve likely never seen nor known about it, but it’s there, lurking, ready to greet you at a moment’ s notice. The chihuahua is a picture, but it isn’t your Galaxy’s Gallery app—i t’s in a hidden menu called “diagnostic mode.” These diagnostics are n’ t advertised by Samsung in any way and you won’t find them by digging through the Settings app (or even entering developer mode ). How to launch diagnostic mode on your Samsung Galaxy To launch diagnostic mode on any Samsung Galaxy device, open the Phone app, then dial *#0*#. No matter what Galaxy you have, you’ll see a simple menu appear with a series of options that allow you to test different functions of your phone . For example, you’ll likely see “RED,” “GREEN,” or “BLUE” at the top of the grid, which test the scr...

Photo : Jake Peterson It’s true iOS isn’t as customizable as Android, but the gap is much narrower than it used to be. These days, your can personalize your iPhone’s Lock Screen , change your app icons to anything you like , and even add a digital pet to the Dynamic Island . If you’re in the market for yet another iPhone customization hack, here’s an odd one: You can add an emoji to your iPhone’s menu bar, right next to the clock. For this trick, we’re going to exploit a loophole in Apple’s “Focus” feature, as illustrated here by TikTok creator techhackguy . As you may already know, Focus allows you to create custom “Do Not Disturb” modes that block specific apps and notifications at different points in your day. For example, you can make a Work Focus that blocks incoming notifications from non-work apps or contacts and removes Home Screen pages containing any app you won’t need during business hours. One fun feature is the ability to assign an emoji to each Focus. You can use a b...

Photo : Ground Picture ( Shutterstock ) Black Friday brings some of the deepest discounts of the year for all sorts of tech products—and apps are no exception . If you’ve been holding off on buying any pricey paid, it’s worth taking another look this week. It might just be the perfect time to tap “Buy.” Below, we’ve highlighted a few of our favorite apps currently available at a discount. The list is accurate as of publication time , but things may have changed by the time you read this, so i f you see something you like, grab it before the deal expires. Many of these apps are good enough to be totally worth the full price, which makes these holiday bargains even sweeter. Affinity Suite: A great Photoshop alternative Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, and Affinity Publisher are among the best alternatives to Adobe’s Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign apps, respectively. Affinity allows you to pay once and keeps these apps until the next major version update. Many people p...

Your iPhone and Apple Watch want to keep you safe, but sometimes, they’re a bit overzealous about it. In an effort to save your life in the event of a car crash, they’ll reach out to emergency services on your behalf and let them know what’s going on. Only occasionally, they’ll mistake innocuous activities for horrible accidents. One minute, you’re enjoying skiing down the slopes; the next, you’re explaining to the police that no, you’re actually not in danger. The feature in at fault here is Crash Detection, a new addition to recent Apple devices, including the iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max, as well as the Apple Watch Series 8, Apple Watch Ultra, and the latest Apple Watch SE. Using the updated tech in these devices, Crash Detection analyzes your surroundings to determine if you’ve been in a severe crash. According to Apple , the devices are looking for “front-impact, side-impact, and rear-end collisions, and rollovers,” involving “sedans, minivans, SUVs, pickup truck...

Photo : Proxima Studio ( Shutterstock ) It’s unfortunate how often we hear about apps containing malware on Google’s platform ( not that they’re alone with a malware problem ). Each time we learn about new trojans, it’s a reminder to stay diligent when downloading new apps. This time, the newly-discovered apps have over two million downloads combined, meaning a lot of devices have been compromised. Cybersecurity Doctor Web discovered a trojan on the Play Store by the name of “Fast Cleaner & Cooling Master.” This app purported to be for OS optimization, claiming to improve the performance of Android on your smartphone. Instead, the app secretly communicates with developers through Firebase Cloud Messaging or AppMetrica Push SDK, display ads on victims’ smartphones, or use those devices as proxy servers. If you had the app installed on your Android, for example, third parties could route their traffic through your device. This app had less than 1,000 downloads, which, while n...

Photo : wavebreakmedia ( Shutterstock ) Many of us have been using iPhones since the beginning, and its “hidden” or “secret” features are things we’ve know about for ages. But every once in a while, I learn something new about iOS. This time , it’s a feature that lets you instantly measure someone with just your iPhone’s camera. This feature isn’t new , but it is only available on a select group of iPhones, specifically “Pro” models. If you have an iPhone 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, 13 Pro, 13 Pro Max, 14 Pro, or 14 Pro Max, you have an instant people-measuring tool in your pocket. However, even if you have the most recent iPhone 14 or 14 Plus, you don’t. ( Weird how a brand-new iPhone doesn’t have a feature the two-year-old iPhone 12 Pro does.) How Li DAR works on iPhones Even if Apple wanted to add this feature to non-Pro iPhones, it likely couldn’t— the measure feature is hardware-based, relying on the LiDAR sensor built-into the cameras of the Pro iPhones. If you have one, you’ve lik...

Image : Apple We all have the songs we have to sing along to— w hether they pop up on the radio, a streaming playlist , or the Sonos speaker in the office bathroom , when that track hits your ears, you’re grabbing the imaginary mic . And now, if you have Apple Music, you actually have a free karaoke machine in your pocket at all times , thanks to Apple Music Sing . Apple Music Sing is a new, free feature for Apple Music that works on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV 4K. With it, you can turn any compatible song into a karaoke moment. It builds off the popularity of the services’ real-time lyrics feature ( which competing platforms like Spotify have also taken on), and makes Apple Music feel like a sing-a-long app for you and your friends. Apple Music Sing turns your iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV into a karaoke machine First, Apple has updated real-time lyrics to “dance to the rhythm of the vocals,” which is a fancy way of saying the app dynamically highlights each word as it’s sung....