Want to make someone’s Christmas extra special this year with a new phone? For all interests and all ages, we’ve come up with a list of five phones to fit everyone’s Christmas stocking. Galaxy S9 Plus – for the movie buff in your life A bigger version than the S9, the S9 Plus has a 6.2-inch widescreen Infinity Display made for film fans. It covers almost the entire surface of the phone, so nothing will take their focus away from what’s happening on-screen. And with Quad HD+ resolution, they’ll see everything happen in spellbinding quality. The stereo speakers in the S9 Plus are incredible too, producing Dolby Atmos surround sound. They will feel like they’re in the cinema. They can even enjoy this next-level sound on the free AKG earphones included in the box. They’ll be fully immersed in their favourite Netflix binge on the train, without annoying the other passengers. Interested? You can order the Galaxy S9 Plus here. Google Pixel 3 – for a budding photographer It’s official

We’ve all heard of The Grinch that Stole Christmas, but what about the phone that saved Christmas? That’s right, your smartphone can save the big day in more ways than one. Let us explain. Christmas should be a time of fun and relaxation. But it can also be extremely stressful. From buying the wrong presents to undercooked turkey, it’s full of potential pitfalls. That’s where your smartphone can help. Because by downloading a few handy apps, you can avoid any of the usual festive missteps and mishaps. Sitting comfortably? Then let us show you five ways your phone can save Christmas… 1. Take the stress out of last minute Christmas shopping Let’s face it, shopping for a last minute pressie can be a major headache. The streets are cold and wet, it’s full of desperate shoppers, and every store has Cliff Richard’s ‘Mistletoe and Wine’ on repeat (or is that just our imagination?). So why not do it all online, from the comfort of your home, with a little help from the Funky Pige

Christmas is on its way and you’ve got prezzies to buy and stockings to fill. Let us solve your Secret Santa stresses with these great-value gadgets – all for under £20. Nails Inc iPhone 8 case + nail polish Turn on the style! If you know an iPhone fan with an eye for fashion, this’ll be right up their street. With the iPhone 8 Nails Inc case and matching nail polish, they’ll proudly strut their stuff. Get a colour that suits their style – there’s Leopard Print, Marble and Stars. KitVision Selfie Stick Stick one of these in their stocking. Get it? Stick? Oh, forget it. But if you’re buying for a selfie fan, this is a great choice. With the inbuilt extension pole, there’ll be able to take those difficult high-angle shots. There’s no selfie that’s beyond them with the KitVision Selfie Stick PopSockets Grip This PopSockets collapsible grip fixes to the back of phones and tablets, acting as a stand. It’ll also make holding their phone way more comfortable. Choose from three b

Samsung’s next flagship is rumoured to be unveiled in February 2019. What can we expect from it? Here’s what the tech press is predicting… When will the next Galaxy be released? “We’re expecting Samsung to follow tradition and announce the new Galaxy during the first quarter of 2019: most likely around the end of February or the start of March during the annual Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona” T3 How many versions of the next Galaxy will there be? “When it comes to the screen though it’s worth noting that there’s sure to be more than one size. In fact, this time around there might be three. One of these, apparently codenamed 'Beyond 0', is said to have a 5.8-inch screen which might be flat. That would be the most basic model, but there's also said to be 'Beyond 1', which apparently has a 5.8-inch curved screen, and 'Beyond 2', with a 6.2-inch curved screen. There’s also said to be differences in the three models’ fingerprint scanners and cameras, which we’ll get to in

Happy World Giving Day, everyone! If you’re feeling charitable and want to start giving, we’ve found five apps that’ll help you support those good causes you’re passionate about. Today is an international day of charitable giving, so it’s a great time to donate to good causes. But with so many worthy charities helping people around the world, it can be difficult giving to all those we want to support. That’s why we’ve come up with this list of charitable apps for you. They're all available to download from the App Store or Google Play, and another thing they’ve got in common is that they let you help charities in a number of imaginative ways – not just cash donations. Charity Miles Charity Miles is a real win-win app. The more you exercise, the more you reward your favourite charities. Everybody benefits. Go for a walk or run, and Charity Miles will donate some cash per mile to the charity of your choice (you can choose from a selection in the app). If you prefer gett

Keep it safe in style, start charging it wirelessly, or even explore stunning VR worlds. Check out these five handy accessories to bring your Google Pixel 3 smartphone to life. Got a new Pixel 3 smartphone? Then why not treat it to an accessory or two? The choice is yours… GEAR 4 Crystal Palace clear case If you want to keep your Google Pixel 3 safe from knocks and bumps but you don’t want to hide its smooth curves and unique colour, a clear case is just what you need. Why is this case so special? Well, GEAR4 has teamed up with D30, the world’s leading impact protection brand. And the material they’ve produced for these clear cases is the same stuff used by the military, pro athletes and industrial builders. It’s even used in bulletproof glass, so it’ll easily protect your Pixel 3 from everyday scrapes and scratches. All this super-strength protection doesn’t make the case too bulky, you’ll be pleased to hear. It’s slimline and completely clear, and you can easily access a

These days it’s easy to take amazing photographs with your phone – especially if it’s got a multi-lens camera. We’ve rounded up some of the best below, with our thoughts on what makes them so special. Huawei P20 Pro The Huawei P20 Pro was the world’s first to have three lenses. We’re talking about a 40MP, 20MP, and 8MP 3x telephoto zoom lens. Why three? Well, they each do separate things, but work together to create the perfect photo… The largest lens captures colour, while the second one captures black and white detail. Combined, they deliver incredible detail and colour reproduction. That means everything you shoot looks just as you remember seeing it with your own eyes. And then there’s the telephoto zoom lens, which lets you get closer to your subject using a 3x optical zoom, or a 5x Hybrid zoom. In fact, quite often you’ll be able to zoom in and see stuff that’s not visible with the naked eye, like a sticker on the window of an office block. You can order the Huawei P20 Pro

Apple to the core? Android die-hard? Still supporting Nokia? If you had to be loyal to one phone brand for the rest of your life, which would you choose? To enter the competition, simply scroll to the bottom of the page, tell us what brand you'd choose and hit reply! And why not tell us a bit more about what makes you so brand loyal? One winner will be selected at random, with the closing date for entries at 23.59pm on 18/11/2018; so be sure to enter by then. It really is that simple! Good luck! 🍀 --------------------------------------- iD Community £100 Technology Voucher Giveaway – Terms & Conditions. Promoter: iD Mobile, Dixons Carphone PLC, 1 Portal Way, Acton London, W3 6RS. By entering this promotion, you accept and agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions: This promotion is open to all UK residents aged over 18 years (except for employees and their families, of the Promoter and their group of companies). To enter this promotion, you wi

The latest smartphones have pretty amazing cameras, so if you’re the sort of person that likes to just point and shoot, you’ll probably end up with a great-quality shot. But could it be even better? We’ve taken a look at the different modes to make your photos sing. Auto Mode / Photo If in doubt, go auto. This is the camera’s default setting, and it makes all the decisions for you. It takes care of things like light and whether you need a flash – and when it comes to close ups, auto mode can really do the job. Let’s say you’re taking a picture of an important document or something you’re looking to sell – auto mode will ensure an accurate shot, more often than not. And better still, some newer smartphones offer intelligent auto mode (AI), which will work out what you’re trying to take a picture of and adjust the settings accordingly. Clever stuff. Portrait Mode Portrait mode is here to give your photos a professional look. It chooses things like colour settings and depth of field,

Right, so you’ve got your awesome new iPhone Xs, with its stunning 5.8-inch Super Retina HD display. But it’s time to start really exploring! Here are some of our favourite iPhone Xs tips and tricks. Make a Memoji Remember Animojis, those fun animated emojis on iPhone X that responded to your facial expressions? Well, the Xs has gone one further with Memojis. They’re animated emojis – and they look just like you. Creating yours is easy. Just go to the Message app, then select App drawer and the Animoji icon (it’s a monkey). Swipe right and tap ‘New Memoji’. Look at your camera, and your Memoji will appear. Then you can change things like your hair colour, and when you’ve settled on a look, press ‘done’. All that’s left to do after that is to share your Memoji with the world! 2. Get to grips with depth control A lot of phones give you pictures with professional-looking blurred backgrounds, but with the iPhone Xs, you can give your snap the treatment after it’s been taken.

Nokia has been busy this year, releasing a range of smartphones for everyone – one of the most recent being the top-of-the range Nokia 8 Sirocco. And now with the release of the Nokia 1, the Finnish phone giant has the budget price bracket covered, too. In fact, the Nokia 1 isn’t just budget. It’s super-budget. We don’t usually like to talk about phone prices straight away, but we think this one’s worth mentioning. Because it’s the low price that makes the Nokia 1 such a rare thing – a quality Android smartphone, at a feature phone price. Let’s take a closer look at it… Tough build, swappable back You know what we love about the Nokia 1’s design? It’s not pretending to be anything other than a budget phone. Yes, it’s made of plastic, it’s chunky and it’s got thick bezels. But it’s also nice and grippy, and fits comfortably into the palm of your hand. It certainly doesn’t feel flimsy, and you get the impression that this is a phone that could take being dropped with a mere sh

Ever found yourself wondering what some smartphone jargon actually means? Well, here’s a list of common (and not-so-common) smartphone-related terms and acronyms along with easy-to-understand explanations. 3G 3G was introduced back in 1998 and gave phone users internet access at higher speeds - making downloading music and video much more accessible. It’s so good in fact, that loads of people still use it. 4G It’s the current standard of internet speeds, capable of super-fast mobile speeds of up to 300Mbps. That’s pretty fast and is the reason you’re able to stream problem-free when you’re not connected to Wi-Fi. 5G 5G is the future, supposedly offering speeds hundreds of times faster than 4G. It could even make wired internet connections a thing of the past. No more crossed wires, just smooth wireless connectivity. GPRS If you’re on 2G, you might have noticed the letters ‘GPRS’ (General Packet Radio Service) appear in the top right of your screen. This is enhanc

The end of 2018 is fast approaching, so now seems like the right time to look at this year’s big developments in the world of mobile. We’ve picked out five trends. Artificial intelligence (AI) We’re aware of AI through the likes of Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant, but now there are lots of other clever things it can do on our phones. For example, built-in AI cameras know what we’re taking a picture of and where we’re taking it, then adjusts the settings to give you the best possible shot. Clever, right? One of the phones that does this to great effect is the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, which recognises over 1,000 scenarios. Augmented reality From AI to AR. Augmented reality turns our ordinary selves into dancing dogs, fabulous fairies and the like – and there’s a load of phones that now support this new technology. One example is the Samsung Galaxy S9, which lets you embrace your own unique style and express your personality. You can pick your hair and clothes – and then make

The iD Mobile Black Tag event has started, with some amazing mobile deals up for grabs. You don’t have to wait until Black Friday 2018, these money saving offers are available now! Ready for a bargain? That’s right, our Black Tag event is up and running with some incredible deals. You can save up to £330 on a pay monthly handset deal, or buy a SIM free phone and pair it with one of our great little SIM only deals. We’ve got something for everyone, so head to our Black Tag event page and check them out! You can save up to £330 on the incredible iPhone 7. Or if you're more of an Android fan you can save up to £96 on the Huawei P20 Lite, or save up to £100 on the Samsung Galaxy J6. If you’d like to learn a little more about Black Friday, and why our Black Tag event is a little different to it, read on… What is Black Friday? Black Friday is the day of the year where lots of retailers offer large savings and attractive deals for one day only. This makes it one of the busiest

Let’s play, iPhone X and iPhone Xs owners. Animating yourself with the Animoji and Memoji feature is a lot of fun, and is sure to impress your friends. It’s really easy too, as you’re about to see. Let’s get animated Thanks to the amazing front-facing TrueDepth camera on your iPhone X or Xs, you can animate Apple’s emoji characters with your own facial expressions and create fun video messages up to 30 seconds. If you’ve ever fancied being a cute pooch, cheeky monkey or oh-so-spooky ghost, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. You can also add some audio to the mix while your chosen emoji follows your facial movements to a tee. Fancy creating something that’s a little more, well, you? Then go for a Memoji, the super fun feature that gives you the tools to create yourself as an emoji. Yep, you can finally see yourself as an awesome cartoon-style avatar! We’ve tried it out for ourselves and the result is hours of fun. Memojis and Animojis are really easy to create. Just

More and more smartphones are using wireless charging to get back up to speed after a hard day’s work. So you can forget about plugs, wires and cables – where we’re going, we won’t need them. Wireless charging has been around for a few years, but it’s only been quite recently that the major smartphone releases have started featuring it. And if you ask us, it’s about time. Technology that lets us power up our favourite devices without worrying about wires and searching for plug sockets? Yes please. Wireless charging is the future, and here’s everything you need to know about it… How does wireless charging work? Ready for some science? Good, because here it comes. Wireless charging – also known as inductive charging – uses magnetised coils to create an electromagnetic field. A moving magnet inside the coil generates electricity, which can be transferred to another coil nearby as a source of power. So just imagine the other coil nearby is inside the battery of your smartphone. Your sm

Remember, remember it’s the 5th November! To help you celebrate, here’s a list of bangin’ apps to download before you head outdoors for bonfire night. They’ll add some sparkle to Guy Fawkes Night. iLightningCam 2 Free on iOS Originally designed for capturing photos of lightning, iLightningCam 2 works for taking pictures of fireworks too. The most impressive thing about the app is its ability to take photos automatically. Just point your camera up to the sky, and it will detect the firework straight away and take a picture. And the full resolution feature means you’ll get razor-sharp images. Boomerang Free on iOS and Android If you want to try and make some fun firework videos, give Instagram’s Boomerang app a try. It loops one-second videos backwards and forwards, so with some good timing and a bit of luck, you should be able to create some cool firework effects. AccuWeather Free on iOS and Android No one wants to be stuck watching fireworks during a downpour, so

With an incredible 6.3-inch screen, clever AI camera and all-round speediness, the Honor Play is a heck of a phone. Let’s take a closer look. The screen’s a gamer’s delight The Honor Play is great for gaming. Well, the clue’s in the title, really. But a great gaming phone simply wouldn’t be complete without a great big screen. And the Honor Play certainly has one of those – there’s a whole 6.3-inches to play with, the largest on any Honor phone. Plus it’s Full HD+ so you can really immerse yourself in what’s happening on screen. It has a bigger body-to-screen ratio for a better view of the action, and if you’re worried that the notch will distract you, simply hide it. Plus, with up to 16 million colours, that’ll do all your games justice. You have the power The Honor Play is seriously fast (that’ll be the Kirin 970 octa-core processor doing its thing, processor fans). And graphics are impressive too, thanks to something called GPU Turbo, which will make sure everything

Are you missing out on the fun of Instagram Stories? You might have noticed them already, on top of some of your friends' feeds. So, let’s get you up to speed, and show you how to create your very own slices of Instagram history. What are Instagram Stories? Instagram Stories has got to be the most eye-catching feature on Instagram. It lets you create a single story by posting multiple photos and videos onto it. The story appears just like a slideshow, and the content disappears after 24 hours. You’re basically free to come up with any story you want. You could create one of a big night out with friends, mixing up photos and videos, or you could share an evening spent trying to create a culinary classic in the kitchen. Even if you don’t get it right, it could still be worth posting – we all love a failed attempt at a Bake Off classic. If you feel like you still need some inspiration (or should that insta-ration?), there’s only one thing for it. Let’s see what your friends are

Got your pumpkin ready? Halloween is here, which means there’s no better time to head to the nearest costume shop, daub yourself with fake blood and put on a scary movie. If that’s not your thing then fear not, because you can have just as much spookily good fun with your phone. Just check out these ghoul – ahem, cool – Halloween-themed apps to sink your fake fangs into. The Simpsons: Tapped out (free on iOS and Android) One of our favourite mobile games has been given the scare treatment with a new Treehouse of Horror story. An evil sorcerer has taken over the town of Springfield using dark magic. Now it’s overrun with hordes of beasties. Naturally, only you can stop them. Want more? Then check out the other games joining in the Halloween fun, like Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff and Futurama: Worlds of Tomorrow to see what other scary goings-on are occurring. Into the Dead 2 (free on iOS and Android) Halloween just isn’t Halloween without zombies, right? Into t

Smartphone camera tech has never been better. It’s easy to take great-quality shots with a simple aim and shoot. But how much do you know about the different modes on your camera? Let’s take a look at what each mode does and when to use it, so you can get the most out of your camera. Auto Mode / Photo Your camera’s default setting (Auto Mode or just Photo on iOS) makes all of your photography decisions for you. Some of the newer phone cameras also have Intelligent Auto Mode, which cleverly analyses your setting and automatically puts you on the best mode. It knows whether you need a flash or not, and sorts out your lighting as well. When to use it: Need a close-up of a document or object? Auto Mode will capture all of the detail you need. The shot might not look as aesthetically pleasing as it would if you used a different mode but it’ll give you an in-depth, clear look at what you’re photographing. Pro Mode / Burst Mode If you’re an expert that knows your aperture from your I

It’s important to choose the right amount of data for your mobile plan. If you get too little, you might end up buying add-ons every month. If you get too much, then you’re paying for something you don’t use. So, let us help you get it right - and we’ll also throw in a few data saving tips for good measure. The amount of monthly data you need depends on what you use your phone for. If it’s purely for work, the chances are you’ll mostly be sending emails and browsing the web. For that type of usage, a 500MB allowance should be enough. But if you use your phone like most of us do - for fun, leisure and timewasting on your daily commute (streaming music and videos, playing online games… you know the kind of thing), then 2GB data is probably the minimum amount you need a month. And even then, you’ll need to be careful with video streaming. Watch a Netflix film in glorious HD and your 2GB will be gone in less than an hour. If you go for a bigger amount of data, like 5GB, then it

The waiting is finally over, and Apple’s latest smartphones have been unveiled. The new iPhones will be known as iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR, and they all share features and tech that are truly off the scale. But first of all, let us explain the key differences between each one. The 6.5-inch iPhone XS Max – the biggest display ever on an iPhone – is truly awe-inspiring. It has the most storage space in any iPhone, up to a massive 512GB, which is enough space to hold 200,000 photographs. It packs dual 12MP cameras for great-quality photos and Face ID for secure unlocking and payments. The iPhone XS comes with the same amazing features, but with a 5.8-inch screen – the same as on the iPhone X. The iPhone XR is truly ground-breaking. Not only does it have all the great specs as you’d get with the iPhone XS and XS Max, but it does it all with the most advanced LCD in a smartphone. The screen comes in at 6.1-inches – a bigger display than iPhone 8 Plus but in a smaller desi

Do you ever think where we would be without smart people? Without them you wouldn’t have amazing life-changing inventions such as the lightbulb, the car, or even the smartphone. Being smart is cool. So, join us as we celebrate Smart is Cool Day, with a look at some of the best brain training apps around. You’ll definitely feel smarter after playing around with these. Luminosity Android (Free) / iOS (Free) Luminosity is one of the most popular brain training apps around, and for good reason. It’s crammed to the brim with games to exercise a range of mental skills including memory, attention span and problem-solving. It’s the perfect app to reinvigorate your grey matter and give your brain a boost. With a training programme on board, it’s like having a personal trainer for your brain. The developers reckon that a single session can turbocharge your mental skills. So, what are you waiting for? NeuroNation Android (Free) / iOS (Free) Take your cognitive skills up a n

Why do one thing when you can do two? This article takes a closer at multitasking on your phone. How to do it – and why you should. How to launch split-screen It’s easy – just a case of dragging and dropping. Open your chosen app, then select the app switcher icon (a square on the right of the nav bar) and select the first app. Drag the app to the top of the screen to drop it into place, then simply tap the second app and it’ll magically appear in the bottom half of the screen. Why multitask? Research while you write Got research to do for a piece of work, or writing an important email but need more details? Constantly switching between your web browser and your emails or word doc can be a right pain. Well, with split screen, half of the screen can be your writing and the other half can be your webpage etc. Research while you write, and save time. You can copy and paste from one place to another, or even drag and drop. Tweet and watch Want to catch up on the Bake Off latest g