Apple has steadfastly maintained two separate sets of software for their desktop and mobile devices; iOS on smartphones and tablets, and macOS (formerly known as OS X) for desktops and laptops. But that dichotomy is becoming an increasing source of frustration to many users. It's time for Apple to introduce a touchscreen Mac.

MacStories blogger Frederico Vitticci has created an incredibly robust iOS shortcut called Home Screen Icon Creator, which allows you to create custom buttons that look different and, if you want to get fancy, to fine-tune what happens when you open an app. It also lets you create customisable icons for iOS shortcuts and icons for calling people from your contacts.

Trying to find the perfect iOS apps can be tough, and we’re willing to bet that your iPhone or iPad is full of pages and pages of apps. There’s just so much out there, it’s hard to come up with a short list of favourites. We understand. Allow us to help you with our freshly updated Lifehacker Pack for iOS.

I remember all the hubbub when Apple first announced Face ID back in September of 2017. There were countless articles and thought pieces criticising Apple for the terrible experience its new security technique was about to create. Instead of just pressing on your iPhone’s Home button, a natural task as you pull your iPhone out of your pants pocket, jacket, or bag, you’d have to pull your device up to eye level, stare at it, and then go about using it as normal.

The world might feel like a mess right now, depending on your technological, financial, or political interests, but there's one thing I think we can all get universally excited about. Google Maps has finally come to CarPlay.

iOS 12.1 is officially available for iPhones and iPads. The next generation of the operating system comes with a number of new features for your iPhones and iPads. Here’s a quick look at what’s worth checking out in the latest update — and how to get it right now.

Tomorrow Apple will hold a special event in New York where it is widely expected a new iPad Pro will be revealed. An icon hidden deep inside iOS 12 appears to reveal what the device will look like. Intriguingly, there is no home button and the corners are now rounded - just like the iPhone X.

Apple is expected to announce a ton of new stuff in the US this Tuesday, including a new iPad Pro with Face ID, a new MacBook Air, and maybe an iPad or Mac Mini. The event is going down in Brooklyn, and is invite only. If you didn’t make it to the guest list you can still follow along with all the action online.

Ah, the age-old question that plagues all mobile phone users: update or not? Specifically, should you really update your device to the latest and greatest version its software or operating system? What if the update makes it worse?

Photo bloat is real, people. Most of us forget about all of our selfies, food shots, and random photos shortly after we post them to Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, et al. But your phone doesn't. The files sit in the camera roll in your Photos app, taking up valuable storage space that you could be filling with apps, podcasts, or if you're like me, a giant backlog of email. Eventually, things may get so bad that you're scrolling through Photos and deleting a few pictures every time you need space.

Should you install a public beta of iOS on your primacy iPhone or iPad? Most people caution against it — especially when a beta is in its earlier stages, since you never know what kind of bugs might brick that-which-you-use-your-iPhone-to-do (or your favourite apps).

iOS: If you’re the kind of person who uses a little creativity when organising the apps on your iPhone or iPad — by icon colour, for example — it might be time to take your device’s look to the next level. Sure, you can name your folders something descriptive and/or witty, like “yellow” instead of the category of the apps found within it, but here’s a trick you can use to ditch folder names entirely.

Adobe has decided to expand Photoshop's reach beyond traditional computing platforms. The company has announced that from early next year, you'll be able move between PCs running Windows or macOS and an iPad, using exactly the same PSD file. Photoshop for iPad shares the same code base as its desktop counterpart which ensures seamless transitions between devices.

Fresh off the official launch of iOS 12 and the grand renaming debut of Apple's Shortcuts app — I asked people for their favourite Shortcuts. In no particular order, here are the best I've seen.

Take a bad photo on your iPhone? No problem, just bin it! Except, it hasn't actually been deleted, just moved, and anyone who knows where to look can find it easily. So, how do you make sure the photos you trash are gone forever?

iOS: While most Apple fans who love podcasts have probably switched to an app like Overcast or Castro, you might want to go back and spend a few minutes with Apple’s updated Podcasts app in iOS 12. There are a few new features that have finally made this app a viable alternative to the, er, alternatives. Here’s what’s new.

iOS 12 is out, and a lot of people are suddenly realising that they spend way too much time on their smartphones. Way. Too. Much. Time.

That’s all thanks to the Screen Time feature you’ll find within your device’s Settings menu — right under “Do Not Disturb”. Tap it, and your iPhone or iPad will give you all sorts of scary information: How many hours you’ve spent glued to it, what you did, and even how much you picked it up (to the hour, even).

After being announced back in June, the final version of Apple's mobile OS is now widely available. You'll need an iPhone 5c or newer or a 2013 iPad or newer (anything that could run iOS 11, essentially), and when you've got the software installed, here's everything you can do.

iOS: If you pre-ordered an iPhone XS or XS Max and have been test-driving iOS 12 in beta form, you’ll want to avoid updating your device to iOS 12.1. Why not live on the edge? Because there’s no beta version of iOS 12.1 for the iPhone XS or XS Max.