Category: Tech

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape optimizing your online presence is more important than ever. One effective strategy is using URL shorteners. URL Shortener transforms long, unwieldy URLs into concise, manageable links, enhancing user experience and providing valuable analytics.

Whether you’re a business owner, marketer, or casual user, leveraging a powerful URL shortener can significantly boost your digital strategy.

What is a URL Shortener?

A URL shortener is a tool that converts lengthy URLs into shorter, more shareable links while preserving the original destination. These services are widely used in digital marketing, social media, and SEO optimization to improve user engagement, track link performance, and enhance branding efforts.

Why Use a URL Shortener?

• SEO Benefits: Shortened URLs can improve link trust and click-through rates, which are crucial for SEO success.
• Improved Aesthetics: Clean, concise links appear more professional and are easier to share.
• Enhanced Engagement: Simplified links lead to higher user interaction and better engagement on social media platforms.
• Tracking & Analytics: Gain insights into clicks, user locations, and devices, allowing for data-driven decisions.
• Customization: Branded URLs increase brand recognition and credibility, making them ideal for marketing campaigns.

Top URL Shortener Services in 2025

1. Bitly (Best for Businesses and Analytics)
   • Website: Bitly.com
   • Key Features: SEO-friendly branded URLs, advanced analytics, bulk link shortening, and integration with Google Analytics and social platforms.
   • Pros: Robust analytics, customization options, and strong security features.
   • Cons: Limited free plan, expensive paid plans.
2. TinyURL (Best for Quick, No-Signup Usage)
   • Website: TinyURL.com
   • Key Features: No signup required, custom short URL keywords, permanent short links.
   • Pros: Free, simple to use, no link expiration.
   • Cons: No analytics or tracking, lacks bulk shortening options.
3. Short.io (Best All-in-One Solution)
   • Website: Short.io
   • Key Features: Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel integration, built-in SEO-friendly analytics, bulk link import, link cloaking, and broken link detection.
   • Pros: Comprehensive SEO and branding features, strong analytics, cost-effective.
   • Cons: Some advanced features require a paid plan.
4. Rebrandly (Best for Brand Customization)
   • Website: Rebrandly.com
   • Key Features: Branded short links with custom domains, UTM tagging, social media pixel tracking, API access, and advanced analytics.
   • Pros: SEO-friendly link management, enhances brand authority, excellent tracking tools.
   • Cons: Expensive, advanced features locked behind premium plans.
5. eg.gd (Best Free Alternative to Rebrandly)
   • Website: eg.gd
   • Key Features: Free URL shortening with custom domain support, basic analytics, and no premium restrictions.
   • Pros: Completely free, feature-rich.
   • Cons: Less established, potential scalability issues.

SEO Benefits of Using a URL Shortener

• Boost Click-Through Rates (CTR): Short, branded links appear more trustworthy, driving higher clicks.
• Enhance Social Media Engagement: Platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn favor clean, trackable links.
• Better Tracking & Attribution: Detailed analytics provide insights into traffic sources.
• Improve Branding: Custom short links establish authority and increase recall value.
• Optimize for Search Engines: Keyword-rich short links can improve SEO rankings.

By understanding and utilizing URL shorteners, you can significantly enhance your digital strategy, whether you’re focusing on SEO, branding, or simply improving user experience.

The definition of “tweet” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 2013. This year we have witnessed one of the most influential and powerful individuals on our planet, President Donald Trump, making regular headline news with the content he shares over Twitter.

But how did this massive platform come to be, and how has it evolved over the years?

What is the first tweet in history?

The first Tweet was published on March 21, 2006, 9:30 pm PST, when Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, posted: “just setting up my twttr.”

just setting up my twttr

— jack (@jack) March 21, 2006

What’s Twitter’s History?

The platform was initially launched as Twttr! At the time (and still today), it was a popular trend for companies to drop vowels in their name. Just look at social channels like Flickr, Tumblr, and Scribd. 

However, shortly after Twttr’s launch, the company rebranded and changed its name to “Twitter.”

When did Twitter introduce the verified account? Why?

• In June 2009, Twitter introduced verified accounts after many high-profile celebrities had complained about impersonation on Twitter. The verification tick can now be applied for by any person or business, letting people know that an account of “public interest” is authentic.

• In July 2009, Twitter added hyperlinks to #hashtags. People had already been using hashtags in their tweets regarding specific events and topics, but now people could explore hashtags just by clicking on them. This was a hugely important step for Twitter.
  

  When did Twitter introduce Re-Tweeting?

• In November 2009, Twitter introduced Re-Tweeting. Users had previously been reposting someone’s tweet by writing RT at the start of their tweet. Twitter caught on and eventually introduced retweeting so people could do this easily, with the click of a button.
• In September 2010, Twitter delivered “New Twitter” – the most significant update to the website’s interface. The design had a complete upheaval, with videos and photos becoming viewable on Twitter.
• In December 2011, Twitter introduced revamped Web site to make the microblogging service easier and help companies showcase their brands better. The new version of Twitter would feature a new look and feel and faster performance.
• The redesigned website comes as Twitter is taking steps to introduce more advertising and faces increased competition from Web giants Facebook and Google Inc.
• In October 2011, Apple Inc integrated Twitter’s service directly into the popular iPhone software. Since then, Dorsey said, the number of monthly sign-ups for Twitter has increased by 25%.
• In the same year, the new version of Twitter sought to simplify the service and made it easier for new users to understand various Twitter-specific features, such as the # symbol (hashtag) used to search for topics on the service.
• The new version of Twitter also featured a revamped profile page, in which a company can customize the look of its brand and highlight specific content, such as videos or photos. Previously, the profile pages displayed a chronological list of the company’s most recent Tweets.
• Twitter was taking steps to build a profitable business on top of its popular service. The company began showing ads on limited parts of the service in 2010 and is expected to generate about $140 million in ad revenue this year, according to estimates by industry research firm eMarketer.
• Twitter became an effective fund-raising platform when the Red Cross launched a mobile giving campaign that surpassed all expectations. High-profile users tweeted about the drive to help victims of the Haiti earthquake. Many of their followers tweeted and retweeted the message, helping the Red Cross raise more than $8 million within 48 hours of the Haiti earthquake, a large-scale earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010, on the West Indian island of Hispaniola, comprising the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
• In June 2012, Links pasted into a tweet now had a content preview, image, or video of the link. This made the content shared by URL a lot more dynamic and engaging.
  

  When did Videos become available on Twitter? How?

• In January 2013, Twitter launched Vine, an app that allows you to shoot and share six-second looping videos. The Vine experiment was interesting, with the intention for the platform to be a way to capture “casual moments in their [users] lives and share them with friends.” Videos were viewable on Twitter.
  

  When did Twitter become a Public Company?

   

• In September 2013, Twitter filed to become a public company. (It announced the news to the public in a tweet.) It’s initial public offering (IPO) in November raised $1.8 billion, giving it a market value of $31 billion.
  

  When did Animated GIFs become available on Twitter?
  

• In June 2014, Animated GIFs could be shared and viewed across all of Twitter’s platforms (desktop, mobile, and app).
  

  When did Live Streaming become available on Twitter? How?

• In March 2015, Periscope, an app that allows live streaming, was acquired by Twitter for a reported $85million. This highlighted a growing trend for live streaming across social media.
• In October 2015, Twitter introduced poll questions to their Tweets, allowing users to ask polling questions with up to 4 possible answers.
• One of Twitter’s co-founders, Jack Dorsey, returned as CEO in October 2015. Twitter had continued to grow in popularity but had yet to become profitable, so it added other features to increase user interaction. Twitter added a new feature, Moments, which allowed users and the service to create curated thematic collections of tweets and other content. Moments were displayed prominently in their tab in the app.
• The most radical change occurred in March 2016, when Twitter replaced its chronological timeline (in which tweets were ordered by time) with an algorithmic timeline in which tweets that were popular on the service or even tweets that were liked by the people a user followed would appear first. Twitter claimed this change made users interact with others and even tweet more. Still, some criticized it as creating an experience that would produce an information bubble confirming users in their existing biases.
• In January 2017, Twitter replaced Moments with Explore, in which trending subjects, including Moments, were collected. The character limit of a tweet was increased from 140 to 280 characters.
• Twitter finally became profitable in the last quarter of 2017, with 330 million monthly users.
• In December 2017, Twitter introduced a plus button to create threaded tweets easily. Just a month after increasing the character limit, Twitter appears to be angling towards sharing long for content more easily.
• In Early 2019, Twitter switched from tracking monthly users to “monetizable daily active users,” the number of users exposed to ads daily.
• Fleets, added in November 2020, were collections of tweets and other content designed to vanish within 24 hours, much like Stories on the social networks Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. However, Fleets failed to catch on with users, and the feature was discontinued in August 2021.
• In May 2021, Twitter introduced Spaces, in which accounts with more than 600 followers could host live audio conversations.
• As of late 2021, the service had 217 million monetizable daily active users. In November 2021, Dorsey stepped down as CEO again and was replaced by chief technology officer Parag Agrawal.
• In 2022, Twitter announced that it was to be purchased by South African-born American entrepreneur Elon Musk for about $44 billion. Musk was to become the sole owner of the company.

Three months later, Musk announced that he was withdrawing his bid for Twitter, citing concerns over bot accounts and claiming that the company was in “material breach of multiple provisions” of the purchase agreement. 

Bret Taylor, the chair of Twitter’s board of directors, responded by saying that the company was “committed to closing the transaction on the price and terms agreed upon with Mr. Musk.” By then, Twitter shares had declined roughly a third from Musk’s proposed purchase price.

• In July 2022, Twitter sued Musk to force him to buy the company, and in September 2022, Twitter’s shareholders voted to accept Musk’s offer.

The changing face of Twitter

Over the years, the Twitter logo went through some exciting changes, as shown below: 

Twitter’s homepage and its design evolution

Twitter’s homepage design was revealed on April 15, keeping the now familiar bird but dropping the word “Twitter.” The new layout aims to create a broader content hub to hook potential new users, gathering Tweets into a curated list of topics instead of popular individual tweets and trending hashtags. These screenshots of Twitter’s homepage as it evolved since its founding in 2006.

Twitter’s Homepage Changes from 2006 to 2020

Twitter was created in March 2006 and launched later that year in July. Since then, it has evolved a lot. Today we will review the changes and evolution of Twitter’s homepage design in the last fourteen years just as follows:

2006-2008

2009-2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019-2020

2021

2022

And yet Twitter will still be developing year by year to cope with the new technology updates and digital world demands. Can you imagine what Twitter will look like in 2030?

Over the past few years, Signal has been known for its significant secure and private atmosphere and wealth of features provided to its users.

The reason is that Signal chats are end-to-end encrypted; neither Signal, your phone company, nor the government can read the messages you send and receive from other users.

How does the “end-to-end encryption” process work?

The process works by encoding a sender’s message so that only the intended receiver’s device can unlock it.

The encryption itself isn’t a unique feature. Messaging Apps like iMessage, Telegram, and Whatsapp all do it. But unlike other apps, Signal’s source code is publicly available, so experts have been able to poke and prod at its defenses for years, strengthening it in the process.

On Signal, group chats are encrypted, too, which means that the Signal service has no record of your group memberships, group titles, group avatars, or group attributes.

The Beta version of Signal has a wealth of additional features

Signal has updated its features in a beta version to create “New Groups.” You can easily set up regular group chats or “Legacy Group” chats.

Group features in Signal include:

1. The ability to invite members via a group link or QR code;
2. In-chat @mentions;
3. Admin controls to edit group info, add& remove members, and adjust the disappearing message timer;
4. The size limit of Signal groups is 1,000 members;

Other Signal’s Key Features

• Similar to other messaging apps, Signal is free on iPhone, Android, Mac, and PC. Users can also have one-to-one conversations to send pictures, videos, internet links, voice messages, etc. They can even send and react to messages with emojis, much like on Slack and Discord.
• Signal users can lock the app with the same passcode or fingerprint scan normally used to lock their phone If they’re concerned about someone accessing the Signal app from their phone.
• Signal requires a phone number to join the app. You can sign up with a Google voice number to keep yours private.  Apple users should visit their privacy settings within the app and turn off “Show Calls in Recents” to prevent their history from syncing with the cloud.
• Users can also set their messages to disappear over time or photos after a single viewing.

In conclusion, Signal is the safest messenger where you can enjoy your private talks simultaneously; you’re given a wide range of tools to manage that privacy.

This week, Russia declared war on its neighbor Ukraine after many political and military skirmishes, affecting the lives of tens of millions of civilians in Ukraine, as well as thousands of companies, including a group of start-ups developing apps that millions around the world rely on.

Over the past years, many startup companies in Ukraine have achieved global success, not only European-wise, through many services, applications, and products. Here is a list of the top Ukrainian startups/ apps:

1. Grammarly

Founded in Ukraine by Max Litvin, Alex Shevchenko, and Dmytro Leader in 2009, the start-up provides a language correction service and tool. It’s one of the most popular tools journalists, and content writers rely on to ensure better language-error-free writing.

You can use Grammarly on the web, Windows app, or integrate with document editing applications such as Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Any writer can rely on Grammarly before posting on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and others.

Grammarly is one of the most famous Ukrainian startups that provide a service that has achieved great success worldwide.

The company employs more than 500 employees, and it also has offices in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, New York, Vancouver, Canada, and San Francisco.

The startup’s value reached more than 1 $1 billion in 2019, and at the end of 2021, it secured $200 million in new funding at a valuation of $13 billion.

Grammarly expressed on its official Twitter account the solidarity with the Ukrainian people who are now facing Russian occupation, saying: “To the staff, family and people of Ukraine, stay strong, we hold on and stand with you proudly.”

2. Reface app

The Reface application, which relies on AI techniques, allows users to replace faces within images, GIFs, and videos.

Founded in 2018 by Den Dmitrenko, Dima Shvets, Ivan Altsybieiev, Kyrylo Syhyda, Oles Petriv, Roman Mogylnyi, Yaroslav Boiko, Reface is a leader in applying AI/ML technologies for personalized content creation.

The application has achieved great popularity during the past two years during the pandemic outbreak. The number of downloads of Reface app exceeded many of the most popular apps like Tik Tok.

The application is available for free download on Android users through Google Play and iPhone users through Apple App Store.

For example, the user only has to take a picture of the face or set the face in any image and then replace it with an actor’s face! The app has the ability to create comic cartoons, as well as the ability to replace the voice or move an image so that it pronounces a text.

Reface achieved more than 150 million installs, including 100 million within one year. It also topped the list of the most popular applications on the App Store. Moreover, Google chose it among the best applications on Google Play Store in 2020.

The developing company of Reface asked the users of the application for support as it said that the world needs to know what is happening in central Europe. That was after a tweet through its official account on Twitter saying that its team woke up Thursday morning, February 24, 2022, on a series of explosions after Russia launched a large-scale invasion attacking several cities across Ukraine.

3. CleanMyMac X App for Mac

The startup was developed by the Ukrainian company MacPaw, headquartered in Kyiv – Ukraine. It’s one of the most popular Mac users, which allows users to get rid of malware with a button click.

The same company also developed another set of applications for Mac and iPhones, including Clear VPN and Wallpaper Wizard 2, and Gemini Photos to eliminate duplicate photos.

The Ukrainian company said that it has a contingency plan to ensure no disruptions to MacPaw’s operations, development, or customer service.

4. Effa Corp.

Founded in 2018 and registered in Delaware in the USA, the startup develops green products. Effa produces disposable eco-friendly products for everyday use.

Effa has created its first products: Effa Toothbrush and Effa Razor, both are 100% recyclable and renewable. As well as paper soap and paper q-tips.

The construction of both Toothbrush and Razor allows detaching the recyclable parts after being used and recycling them separately.

5. Preply App

Founded in 2012 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Kirill Bigai, Dmytro Voloshyn, and Serge Lukyanov, Preply is a language-learning app and e-learning platform that allows users to communicate with specialized tutors of different languages.

In September 2021, the app received $50.6 million of investments in a total of 8 funding rounds.

6. Esper Bionics

Founded in 2019 by Anna Believantseva Dmytro Gazda, Esper Bionics provides AI-based orthopedic prosthetics and neurology products. The company’s products include a bionic self-learning hand prosthesis and a wearable brain-computer interface.

The startup also offers a cloud-based software solution that individualizes the control of wearables. It has applications in mechatronics, wearable electronics, and natural implants.

7. Readdle

Founded in 2007, Readdle is a tech startup with over 200 employees. The Ukraine team members are based out of Odesa and Kyiv and have been developing world-class productivity apps used by millions globally for over ten years.

Readdle is the developer of PDF Expert, Spark email, Documents, Scanner Pro, Calendars, Fluix productivity apps.

Spark is an email application for iOS, macOS, and Android devices by Readdle.

On April 2, 2019, Readdle released Spark for Android, the company’s first mobile application for the Android platform.

Readdle assures its customers that its product services remain unaffected by the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.

8. Snovio

Founded in 2017 by Oleksii Kratko, Snovio offers email lookup solutions to marketers and businesses. Allows marketers to generate a list of email addresses from domain names, find the email address on LinkedIn, verify email addresses, and view detailed company profiles.

Snovio offers a Chrome Extension to make it easy for the users to find leads for building email campaigns.

9. Ajax Systems

Founded in 2011 by Aleksandr Konotopskyi, Ajax Systems is a tech startup that manufactures smart security systems and sensors for homes. It offers wireless window and door opening sensors and movement sensors.

The startup is entering the Argentina market. The company plans to enhance its influence in the region and build a local team.

The founder of Ajax Systems, Aleksandr Konotopskyi, is recognized as the entrepreneur of the year 2021 by Forbes Ukraine.

Many Ukrainian entrepreneurs have contributed to launching and settling significant startups offering critical applications and services that are now indispensable, such as Jan Keum, co-founder of WhatsApp, and Max Livchin, who co-founded PayPal.

With 5G support, a new hardware design, and camera improvements, Apple has marked the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro models as the beginning of a new generation of iPhone. Thus, they placed the iPhone 12 lineup on top of the iPhone X generation.

Although the iPhone 13 models, the latest Apple generation of smartphones, are available, many people are likely wondering. Is it still worth buying an iPhone 12, or iPhone 12 mini can save a few dollars?

If price is a vital consideration for you, the iPhone 12 and 12 mini represent excellent middle-ground devices in Apple’s lineup.

Compared to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini successors, the iPhone 12 ($699 starting price) and iPhone 12 mini ($599 starting price) are $100 cheaper, which is a realizable saving.

While the iPhone 13 models have more new features, the iPhone 12 four models (iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro max) still have significant features: 5G support, a new striking design, and improved cameras.

If you’re looking to save even more money, Apple offers some models priced even lower than the iPhone 12 and 12 mini. The iPhone 11 from 2019 remains in Apple’s lineup, priced at $499, and it offers the same 6.1-inch display size as the iPhone 12.

However, there are some tradeoffs in iPhone 11, such as the LCD rather OLED, a lack of 5G support, and the use of older components with somewhat lower performance.

All that you need to know about iPhone 12 lineup

On October 13, 2020, Apple introduced the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini, which offer powerful features at an affordable price tag. The more expensive and now-discontinued iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, the iPhone 12 and 12 mini, remain ideal for anyone who doesn’t need pro-level camera features.

The 6.1-inch iPhone 12 was a successor to the iPhone 11 from 2019, while the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 was an all-new size and marked the smallest iPhone Apple had introduced since the 2016 iPhone SE.

The two phones are technically identical regardless of screen size and battery size. The iPhone 12 mini is ideal for those who prefer an iPhone that can be used one-handed with its small size.

Display

The iPhone 12 and 12 mini-feature Super Retina XDR OLED displays an edge-to-edge design except the Face ID notch and small bezels around the edge.

The Taptic Engine that powers Haptic Touch was smaller than the iPhone 11. There’s a fingerprint-resistant oleophobic coating to keep the display free from grime. Support for Haptic Touch provides haptic feedback when interacting with the show for actions like long presses.

Sizes

The 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini has a resolution of 2430 x 1080with 476 pixels per inch, and the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 has a resolution of 2532 x 1170 with 460 pixels per inch. The displays offer HDR support with 1200 nits peak brightness, Wide Color for vivid, true-to-life colors, Haptic Touch for feedback, and True Tone to match the display’s color temperature to the ambient lighting for a more natural viewing experience.

Design

Apple revamped the design of the iPhone 12 lineup in 2020, introducing flat edges that were a departure from the rounded edges of prior models and are similar in design to the iPad Pro.

The all-glass front and glass back panel are held together with an aluminum frame, which features a flat design and is slightly different from the stainless steel band used for the iPhone Pro models.

There’s a notch at the front to house the TrueDepth Camera, speaker, and microphone, and there’s a slim bezel all around the edges of the iPhone 12.

Ceramic Shield

The front of the iPhone is protected by a Ceramic Shield cover that replaces the standard cover glass of previous models. The Ceramic Shield is infused with nano-ceramic crystals and offers 4x better drop performance.

Apple largely carried over the iPhone 12 design and Ceramic Shield for the iPhone 13, and the two generations look very similar to one another.

iPhone 12 Colors

Like other recent models, the back of the iPhone 12 is made from glass, with the two halves of the device sandwiching an aerospace-grade aluminum enclosure. That comes in six colors: blue, green, black, white, (PRODUCT)RED, and purple, an extra color added in April 2021.

Water Resistance in iPhone 12

The iPhone 12 models offer IP68 water and dust resistance and can hold up to submersion in 6 meters of water for up to 30 minutes.

iPhone 12 Models Support 5G Connectivity

The iPhone 12 models were the first to support 5G connectivity for faster downloads and uploads, better quality video streaming, improved gaming, and higher-definition 1080p FaceTime calls. 5G coverage is available worldwide, but only iPhone 12 devices sold in the United States support mmWave 5G, the fastest 5G technology available.

WiFi, Bluetooth, and U1 Chip

Both iPhone 12 and 12 mini support WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. They include a U1 Ultra Wideband chip for spatial awareness and interactivity with other devices that have the U1 feature, such as the HomePod mini.

A14 Bionic Chip

There’s an A14 chip inside the iPhone 12 models, and it was the first chip in the smartphone industry built on a 5-nanometer process for performance and efficiency improvements. Apple said at the launch that the 6-core CPU and 4-core GPU in the A14 was 50 percent faster than the fastest competing smartphone chips, although the A15 chip in the latest iPhone 13 models has pushed things even further.

Neural Engine

The A14 chip also includes a 16-core Neural Engine that offers an 80 percent increase in performance for machine learning tasks compared to the previous A13 chip.

New Camera Features

The regular iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models are similar to the Pro models in most respects, but the camera is a major differentiating factor. While the Pro models include a triple-lens camera setup with a LiDAR Scanner and other bells and whistles, the iPhone 12 and 12 mini have a more straightforward and less advanced dual-lens camera setup.

There are still significant camera improvements in the new iPhone 12 models compared to the iPhone 11. There’s an ƒ/2.4 Ultra-Wide camera and a Wide camera that has an ƒ/1.6 aperture that lets in 27 percent more light for better performance in low-light conditions along with 2x optical zoom and 5x digital zoom.

Cinematic Video Recording

The iPhone 12 models can capture 30fps HDR video with Dolby Vision, enabling cinema-grade videos to be captured, edited, and shared right on the iPhone. It also supports 4K video recording at up to 60fps. There’s improved cinematic video stabilization and a Night mode Time-Lapse feature, along with Dolby Vision selfie videos using the TrueDepth camera.

TrueDepth Camera and Face ID

The TrueDepth camera continues to enable the Face ID facial recognition biometric authentication feature in the iPhone, and it offers a 12-megapixel selfie camera. The selfie camera supports Smart HDR 3, Deep Fusion, Night mode, and Night mode Portrait shots.

Battery Life

The iPhone 12 mini delivers up to 15 hours of video playback, 10 hours of streaming video playback, or 50 hours of audio playback. When it comes to battery life, the iPhone 12 offers up to 17 hours of video playback, 11 hours of streaming video playback, or 65 hours of audio playback. The iPhone 13 lineup provides an even better battery life thanks to efficiency improvements and slightly larger batteries, but the iPhone 12 battery life is still solid.

Fast Charging

Both iPhone 12 models offer fast charging, which provides a 50 percent charge in 30 minutes using a 20W power adapter.

MagSafe

A MagSafe charger, MagSafe iPhone cases, sleeves, and wallet accessories. Apple introduced MagSafe accessories for iPhone 12 models designed to work with a ring of magnets built into the back of the iPhones. MagSafe supports 15W wireless charging, an upgrade over the 7.5W charging available through standard Qi-based wireless chargers. The iPhone 12 models can also be charged using the Lightning port, unchanged.

No Power Adapter

Apple eliminated the power adapter and EarPods from the iPhone 12 box, and these accessories must be purchased separately. All iPhone models now ship with a USB-C to Lightning cable by default, with Apple doing away with the USB-A version.

PDF is among the most trusted document formats when it comes to sharing important information. It has now become a standard format that is widely used among individuals and businesses. The portable document format is available in different standards and versions, making it compatible with access over multiple systems.

Let’s learn about some of the inevitable features of the PDF so that you can use it confidently for sharing and storing data.

PDF is a signable file format

Since PDF is mostly used for sharing official and confidential information with users, these files incorporate security algorithms that prevent unauthorized access. Password protection or encryption is used to prevent unauthorized users from opening, editing, copying, or printing the document.

Authorized users can add digital signatures to the PDF file using Adobe Acrobat XI. If you are a MacBook user, you can use built-in Preview or Quick Look for signing the PDFs. You can write or draw your name, or you can add an image of your signature to your computer for signing the PDF. For more information on digitally signing a PDF on Mac, you may visit https://setapp.com.

PDF/A s an ISO standard

Current PDF/A is the widely used PDF version today. ISO certification displays international consensus that ensures the best practices are followed and implemented for long-term archiving. PDF/A is a platform as well as supplier independent format, designed by Adobe after years of PDF expertise.

You must have heard about PDFs or PDF/A, but many of us are unaware of different versions that include PDF/A-1, PDF/A-2, PDF/A-3, PDF/A-4. Knowing the PDF/A options and levels makes the users capable of understanding the value of the document for viewing, printing, sharing, or archiving.

PDF is a reliable file format

Using a PDF, information can be shared securely across the continents without fearing the integrity of data. The recipient can view the contents of the PDF in their original format with Adobe Reader.

It is possible to view a PDF on Windows and macOS without installing any additional hardware or software. The cross-platform file format is compatible with mobile devices and can be shared, accessed, installed, and shared between iOS and Android phones.

PDFs prevent the integrity of data

When you share data as PDF, the source and the destination files and the data stored within remain the same. Modifications to the original content can compromise the quality and the context of the information, so it’s important to protect the integrity of data throughout the transfer route.

PDFs support images, text, illustrations, color graphics, audio, video, and other multimedia elements; therefore, it’s the most recommended option for data sharing. Another significant benefit is that this file format is optimized to use with assistive technology.

Now that you know the characteristics of the PDF files, let’s learn how you can save and combine multiple files into a PDF on macOS.

Using a PDF in macOS

Save a PDF

macOS users can share a document with other Mac users by saving it as a PDF so that users can view it without any app. Users can open the PDF in Preview or Adobe Acrobat. To save a document as a PDF, follow the given steps:

1. Open the document that you want to save as a PDF on your Mac.
2. Go to the Print option from the File menu.
3. Select the PDF pop-up and select Save as PDF.
4. Select the location where you want to save your PDF, and fill in the Title, Author, Subject, and Keywords fields.

If you wish to add a password to the PDF, click on Security Options. Once you assign a password to your document, you will need to enter it every time you want to open, copy, or print the document.

Combine multiple files into PDF

If you want to combine multiple files into one single file, PDF is quite a secure and recommended way to do it.

1. Launch the Finder window by clicking the Finder icon in the Dock.
2. Select all the files that you wish to merge into a PDF.
3. Control-click all selected files, click Quick Actions and select Create PDF.

The selected files will appear in the same order in the PDF, so be careful while selecting them. The resultant file will be saved automatically with the same name as the first file you have chosen to combine to PDF.

Compress a PDF on Mac/MacBook

Use the Preview app on your MacBook to compress a PDF.

1. Launch Preview, open the PDF, click on the File menu and select Export.
2. Next, click the Quartz Filter pop-up menu and click on Reduce File Size.

On compressing a PDF, the quality of the document may compromise, and the result will be of lower quality than the actual file.