According to the latest hardware leaks, Apple will be launching three new phones in 2018 - including a followup to its polarising flagship, the notch-equipped iPhone X. Here are five things you need to know about the upcoming phone, based on the latest credible leaks and rumours, including images of a 6.5-inch screen.

Both Google and Apple have started the long tease ahead of new software updates in Spring, with Android P and iOS 12 now available to users who are brave enough to take the plunge (and have a developer account, in Apple's case). So which beta software looks most promising and gets us most excited? Here's how they stack up.

Dear Lifehacker, We know using cheap, third-party cables to charge a smartphone is bad, but what about the little bricks that plug into the wall or nubs that plug into a car lighter? Are these safe to use or will they turn my iPhone into a ticking time bomb?

On May 30, security research Ian Beer, well-known in the industry for uncovering bugs in Apple software, announced the discovery of two new exploits in iOS — specifically 11.3.1, which until recently was the most up-to-date build. Shortly afterwards, the jailbreaking community went bonkers, the promise of an updated jailbreak for Apple gadgets, both new and old, seemingly around the corner. But, here we are, well into June, with no public jailbreak in sight. So, what's going on?

I got my nails done a few weeks ago, and it felt great, but I highly recommend trying Wanna Nails (iOS, Android) before you head into the salon so you aren't fumbling around with colour choices. And if you're more a DIY person for nail maintenance, you can avoid purchasing a colour you end up hating. Let the powers of augmented reality help you preview different colours on your nails with the tap of a finger.

Android/iOS: What's on your network? You can always pull up your router's web interface to get a sense of which devices are connected, but you're probably just going to get a list of MAC addresses and assigned IPs - not very helpful. The app Fing - Network Scanner is a great, free way to get a better idea of all the devices your router has to deal with.

iOS: If you want to use a voice assistant on your Apple Watch, you've pretty much been restricted to Siri's dulcet tones. This week a new app brought another popular assistant to your wrist: Alexa.

iOS: For Apple enthusiasts, game developer Zach Gage is practically a household name. Not only does Apple love to feature the indie developer - and his games - on the App Store, but he's won Apple's Palme d'Or of apps, a coveted Design Award, as well as numerous other industry recognitions for his fun creations. You might know a few by name: Ridiculous Fishing, Sage Solitaire, Spelltower and the ever-frustrating Really Bad Chess. Or perhaps you've seen his latest creation: Pocket-Run Pool.

If you want to play with the "early AF" release of iOS 12, or run around in the deserts of macOS Mojave, you normally have to give Apple $149 for the privilege of developing apps for its platform - apps it will ultimately take a 30 per cent cut of (unless you offer a subscription and keep a user for longer than a year, but now I'm getting minute).

iOS/Android: Philips has released a major update to its Hue app that actually makes it worth using. And I'm not being over the top when I say that; prior to this update, the Hue app was a mess. It felt like it took forever to load; the user interface was challenging, to put it nicely; and it made me set off on a hunt for the best third-party apps I could use to control my fancy Hue lights without the headache and stress of the official Hue app.

A new Mac App Store! Dark Mode! Desktop Stacks! Group FaceTime! Dick Tracy mode for your Apple Watch! It's WWDC day, and Apple revealed plenty of new features for its various platforms this morning. (No, you're not getting more free iCloud space, and yes, your Macbook Pro keyboard still sucks.)

At WWDC Apple debuted the next version of its iOS operating system, iOS 12. After dealing with issue after issue in iOS 11 for the past year, the company's shied away from a visual overhaul, opting to fix what ails the OS and add some features that, while not revolutionary, are welcome additions to iOS 12 (and hopefully mean fewer bugs in the long run).

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference, also known as WWDC, officially kicks off on Tuesday. As the name suggests, the annual conference is centred around the developers that are making apps and services for things such as your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac.

Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (or WWDC if you want to save a bunch of letters) hits on Tuesday and we fully expect the company to spill the beans on a great many things, including iOS 12 - the next major update for its mobile OS. In preparation for the event, here's what you should be looking out for in particular.

With the public launch of iOS 11.4 earlier this week, Messages in iCloud is finally ready for prime time — and not a moment too soon. If you ever linked your phone number to Messages on multiple devices at once, you'd have to delete the same texts on each device over and over. Now, when your devices' Messages apps are all linked through iCloud, what you do on one synchronises to the others. Time saved; frustration reduced.

iOS: Apple has finally released its much-anticipated public version of iOS 11.4, which ushers in a few big improvements to the mobile operating system, including messages that (finally) synchronise across devices via iCloud, stereo pairing for its big HomePod speakers, AirPlay 2, and a bunch of new calendar features for Siri.

Windows: Here's the problem: The HEIF image format, which Apple now uses in iOS 11 in the form of HEIC files, is a great alternative to JPEG. HEIC images eat up less space and support plenty of extra features, such as depth maps and 16-bit colour. Great. Wonderful.

Apple's annual development event, the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) kicks off in a week. While we didn't score a media invitation to this event, we're keeping tabs on what's coming and that means a few rumours are starting swirl. So, what can we expect?

We could all use a little more time in the day, and your smartphone apps are here to help you. Plenty of the apps you use every day include handy timesavers that you might not have noticed yet, but fear not — we're here to point them out for you. Use these tricks to claw back some minutes or even some hours out of every day, time you can use for something more productive or enjoyable.