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How to Customize the iPhone and iPad Home Screen with Liquid Glass

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When describing its new Liquid Glass design language, Apple spoke only generally about how users could change the look of icons and widgets on their iPhone and iPad home screens to be dark, clear, or tinted, without specifying how to do that. The trick is to touch and hold an empty spot on the Home screen to enter jiggle mode, tap Edit in the upper-left corner, and select Customize to bring up a set of controls: choose from Default, Dark, Clear, and Tinted. For Tinted, set the color ➊ and opacity ➋ using the sliders, and use the buttons at the top of the Customize panel to change the brightness ➌, expand icons and remove names ➍, and use either the suggested image color ➎ or pick a color with the eye dropper ➏. The effectiveness of a Liquid Glass-enabled Home Screen will depend on how much you rely on color to identify icons at a glance.

(Featured image by Apple)

Social Media: Apple’s new Liquid Glass design lets you make iPhone and iPad icons and widgets dark, clear, or tinted. Discover how to access these customization options and see if they enhance your Home Screen.

macOS 26 Tahoe Introduces New Recovery Assistant

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If a Mac running macOS 26 Tahoe experiences certain kinds of problems, it might automatically restart and launch a new Recovery Assistant. It will prompt you to unlock your disk if needed and to connect to a Wi-Fi network—an Internet connection is required. Apple doesn’t specify precisely what Recovery Assistant will do to recover your device, but it will either indicate that it succeeded, that it was unable to recover the device, or that it found no problems. In any case, you’ll need to restart your Mac, after which you may receive a notification to recover your iCloud data; initiate this process in System Settings. While we generally favor Macs being able to fix their own problems, we cannot stress enough how much more important it is to have a current backup than to rely solely on any recovery system.

(Featured image based on an original by iStock.com/Armastas)

Social Media: macOS 26 Tahoe brings a new Recovery Assistant, which automatically detects and attempts to resolve Mac problems. Just remember: automated recovery can be helpful, but backups are still essential.

App Store Gains Accessibility Nutrition Labels

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Apple does a good job providing accessibility options for users who experience issues with vision, hearing, motor control, and other accessibility needs. Nearly everyone will benefit from these features at some point in their lives. To encourage support for Apple’s accessibility features and assist users in finding compatible apps, the App Store now includes Accessibility Nutrition Labels that indicate supported features. Developers aren’t required to support or list these features, so it may take some time before many apps display this information. Still, it’s a welcome step forward!

(Featured image by iStock.com/findfootagehq)

Social Media: New App Store Accessibility Nutrition Labels show which apps support Apple’s accessibility features—a win for anyone who needs these capabilities now or in the future.

Updated Passwords App Adds History

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One small way Apple’s Passwords app lagged behind top password managers like 1Password was in its lack of a password history. It’s sometimes helpful—such as when trying to figure out why a seemingly correct password isn’t being accepted—to see previous passwords for a site and when they were changed. In macOS 26 Tahoe, iOS 26, and iPadOS 26, the Passwords app adds that feature. Click or tap View History to review the history of a particular site’s passwords.

(Featured image by iStock.com/designer491)

Social Media: Apple’s Passwords app can now show your password history in macOS 26 Tahoe, iOS 26, and iPadOS 26, helping you track down why that “correct” password isn’t working.

Blood Oxygen Monitoring Returns to Recent US Apple Watches with Software Updates

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With the release of iOS 18.6.1 and watchOS 11.6.1, Apple restored blood oxygen monitoring capabilities to US Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 models that previously had this feature disabled due to a patent infringement suit by medical device maker Masimo. Apple’s redesign processes blood oxygen data on the paired iPhone rather than on the watch itself. After updating both devices, you can view your blood oxygen readings in the Health app under Browse > Respiratory > Blood Oxygen. If blood oxygen monitoring doesn’t activate immediately after updating, try opening the ECG app on your watch to trigger the necessary software asset download. Apple Watch units that predate the ban and those sold in other countries continue to work as they always have, with the Blood Oxygen app on the watch itself.

(Featured image by Adam Engst)

Social Media: Apple restored blood oxygen monitoring on recent US Apple Watch models through a creative workaround that processes and displays data on the iPhone instead of the watch. Here’s how to get it working again.

Pay for Apple TV+ Annually to Avoid the Recent Monthly Price Increase

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Apple has raised the monthly subscription fee for Apple TV+ to $12.99, marking the third price increase since the streaming service launched at $4.99 in 2019. While the monthly cost has increased, Apple kept the annual subscription priced at $99, making it a more economical choice for those who plan to maintain their subscription throughout the year. Apple doesn’t put the annual billing option front and center on the Apple TV+ website, as you can see below, but you can easily switch to it in Settings > Your Name > Subscriptions on your iPhone or iPad or in System Settings > Your Name > Media & Purchases > Subscriptions > Manage on a Mac.

(Featured image by Apple)

Social Media: Apple has raised the price of an Apple TV+ monthly subscription to $12.99. However, if you plan to keep the subscription active for the entire year, you can save $56 by switching to the $99 yearly plan.

How to Display Contacts with Last Names First

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Most people prefer Apple’s default of sorting contacts by last name, so “Andy Anderson” appears near the start of the list and “Liliana Velasco” toward the end. But some would also prefer to display contacts with their last name first, such as “Anderson, Andy,” and “Velasco, Liliana.” That’s not the default, but if it’s what you want, here’s how to accomplish it. On the iPhone and iPad, go to Settings > Apps > Contacts > Display Order and select Last, First. On the Mac, open Contacts > Settings > General and from the Show First Name controls, select Following Last Name.

(Featured image by Adam Engst)

Social Media: Want to display your contacts with the last name shown first? Here’s how to configure your iPhone, iPad, and Mac to display “Anderson, Andy” instead of “Andy Anderson.”

Keep Sensitive Data Private by Disabling AI Training Options

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Most AI chatbots, including ChatGPT, Claude, and Google’s Gemini, let you control whether your conversations will be used to train future models. While allowing this could improve the AI, it also means that sensitive business information and intellectual property could become part of the chatbot’s training data. Once data is incorporated into AI training, it likely can’t be removed. Even with training disabled, you should be cautious about sharing sensitive business details, trade secrets, or proprietary code with any AI system. To reduce risks, disable these training options:

  • ChatGPT: Go to Settings > Data Controls and turn off “Improve the model for everyone.”
  • Claude: Navigate to Settings > Privacy and disable “Help improve Claude.”
  • Gemini: Visit the Your Gemini Apps Activity page and turn off Gemini Apps Activity.
  • Meta AI: Avoid it entirely, as it doesn’t allow you to opt out of training.

(Featured image by iStock.com/wildpixel)

Social Media: Don’t let sensitive business data become part of AI training sets. Here’s how to turn off training options in popular AI chatbots to protect your company’s information.

Recovering from a Failed Update with a Nearby iPhone or iPad

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We hope you never need a new recovery option that Apple has added to the iPhone 16 and current iPad mini (with an A17 Pro chip). If a device gets stuck during an iOS or iPadOS update, you may see an animation of devices being moved close together, indicating that it’s in recovery mode. Apple’s new solution to a failed update involves attaching the device in recovery mode to power and placing it next to another unlocked device that’s connected to Wi-Fi and running iOS 18 or iPadOS 18. The working device will display a Restore Nearby iPhone/iPad message. Once you tap Continue and wait for the devices to connect, you’ll be asked to enter a six-digit code from the recovery device on the other device to share its Wi-Fi connection. Tap OK when you see the “Restoring iPhone/iPad” message. It’s best to have both devices connected to power while this is happening. If this new way to recover from a failed update doesn’t work, or if a different iPhone or iPad model has had trouble during an update, you can use a computer to restore the device.

(Featured image by iStock.com/stockforliving)

Social Media: If your iPhone 16 or A17 Pro iPad mini gets stuck during an update, Apple’s new recovery feature lets you use a nearby iPhone or iPad to get back up and running.

Apple Introduces AppleCare One for Multi-Device Coverage

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Apple has launched AppleCare One, a new device protection plan that consolidates coverage for multiple Apple devices into a single monthly subscription. For $19.99 per month, US customers can protect up to three devices, with any additional devices costing $5.99 each per month. The plan includes unlimited repairs of accidental damage, battery replacements when capacity drops below 80%, and up to three annual claims for theft or loss of an iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch. You can add most devices up to 4 years old to your plan, though older devices must be in good condition and may require a diagnostic check. The coverage automatically transfers when you trade in a covered device to Apple and purchase a new one. Keep in mind that AppleCare One is a per-user plan that doesn’t cover multiple users’ devices, and standard service fees and deductibles apply for repairs and replacements.

(Featured image by Apple)

Social Media: Apple’s new AppleCare One plan allows you to cover multiple devices under a single subscription and even add devices up to 4 years old. At $19.99 per month for three devices, it could save you money and simplify your AppleCare coverage.