screen Archives

🏋️ Peloton’s $7K treadmill: Peloton’s trying a full reboot with new bikes ($1,445), Bike Plus ($2,495), Row Plus ($3,995) and Tread Plus ($6,695). AI will track your form, count reps and suggest weights, plus a massive swivel screen eases your switch from cardio to strength. Yes, they finally upgraded the crummy bike seats, because apparently our butts unionized. Oh, the app’s monthly subscription is now $49.99/month.

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⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Got a Kindle without ads? You can show your book covers on the lock screen. Go to Settings > Screen and brightness > Show covers on lock screen. If you’ve got ads, Amazon lets you pay a one-time fee to remove them.

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Use ChatGPT on WhatsApp: You don’t need to open the app to prompt. In WhatsApp, go to the Chats screen, tap the green (+) icon, and select New Contact. Set the country code to the United States, enter (800) 242 8478, name it and tap Done. Tap the Message button, and ChatGPT will be verified and ready to go.

Add a vertical monitor: A second screen is great for reading long docs or messaging while you work. It’ll show sideways at first, but no panic. Right-click your Windows Desktop > Display Settings > select your display > Display Orientation > choose Portrait or Portrait (flipped), then Keep Changes. Here’s a nice 24-inch monitor on sale.

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⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Stepping away from your desk? On Windows, press the Windows key + L to lock your screen without closing apps. On Mac, press Control + Command + Q to do the same.

📖 Make your Kindle feel like a real book: Love this little change. Go to Settings > Screen and brightness > Show covers on lock screen.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: For the best viewing distance, take your TV’s size in inches and multiply by 1.2. So if your screen is 40 inches, you’ll want to sit about 48 inches (4 feet) back.

💬 Reply from lock screen: iPhone makes it easy to fire off a text without fully unlocking. When a message pops up on your lock screen, just long-press the preview, punch in your passcode, and a mini Messages window with keyboard appears. Type, send, done. Fast replies, zero app hunting.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Windows folks, Ctrl + Shift + Esc. This instantly opens Task Manager, skipping that annoying Ctrl + Alt + Delete screen. Use it to see what’s hogging your system or to shut down frozen apps faster than you can say, “Why is Chrome using 2GB of RAM?”

🕒 Customize your Mac lock screen clock: In macOS 26, you can change how the clock looks on your lock screen. Go to System Settings > Wallpaper > Clock Appearance. Choose if the clock shows on the Lock Screen, on both the Screen Saver and Lock Screen, or Never. Then pick from six fonts and adjust the Weight with the slider underneath.

📚 Stop accidental taps on Kindle: If random screen touches keep messing with your reading, you can disable them. Inside a book, tap the three-dot menu in the top right and select Disable Touchscreen, then hit OK. You’ll still swipe to turn pages. To bring taps back, just restart your Kindle.

📱 Switch layouts in Phone app: In iOS 26, the Phone app looks a little different. Tap the Filter button (three lines) in the top-right corner and choose between the Classic layout or the new Unified view. Unified puts your recent calls, voicemails and contacts on a single screen so everything’s together.

🔔 Flash alerts on Android: Waiting for an important message? You can make your phone’s camera LED flash along with the screen. Go to Settings > Notifications > Flash Notifications, then toggle on Camera flash and/or Screen flash. FYI: For each one, you can choose whether it applies to all apps or only a specific app.

🥶 Not the ad fridge: Samsung swore they had no plans to put ads on smart fridges’ screens. We know that song and dance. Cut to now and a new software update turned into full-blown Cover Screen promotions. Samsung says, “The ads are added value.” Talk about having big meatballs. At this rate, I’ll need a pop-up blocker in the produce drawer.

🍏 iPadOS 26: The Journal app has landed on iPad. To create an entry, open the app and tap the (+) next to Journals in the left sidebar. Name it, pick a color and choose an icon. Then tap (+) at the top of the screen, add a title and start writing. You can also insert photos, record audio or draw with markup tools.

😒 Stop Android screens from timing out: If your phone keeps going dark too fast, go to Settings > Display > Screen timeout and bump it up. Even better, toggle on Screen attention (or Keep screen on while viewing) in the same menu. This way, the countdown only starts once you actually look away.

📱 iOS 26: Go to Settings > Apps > Phone > Screen Unknown Callers. You’ll see two options: Silence, which has always been there, or the new Ask Reason for Calling. With it on, your iPhone will auto-answer unknown numbers, ask the caller to state their name and reason, then ring your phone with that info so you can decide whether to pick up. The best.

📱 iOS 26: Screenshots work differently now. First, go to Settings > General > Screen Capture and toggle on Full-Screen Previews. When you take a screenshot with Side + Volume Up, you enter full-screen edit mode. Crop the image, use the markup tool at the top to draw or write, then tap the Tick button to Save.

🌙 Dim your Android screen: At the lowest brightness, your phone can still feel blinding at night. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Vision enhancements > Extra dim and turn on Extra dim shortcut. Press Side + Volume buttons together to darken the screen, then press again to brighten it back up. Don’t see it? Check Quick Settings.

🔒 Lock your Kindle library: Make sure no one snoops on your books. On the Home screen, tap the three-dot menu (top right) > Settings > Device Options > Device Passcode. Enter a code, confirm it and hit OK. Done.