If you have an iPhone or iPad that came out in the last five years, there's a good chance it's now running iOS 12, which launched last month. Apple's latest software supports devices dating back to late 2013, including the iPhone 5S, iPad Air, and iPad Mini 2.

And if for some reason you've been putting off the upgrade, you shouldn't. While previous iOS releases have been notorious for degrading the experience of older devices, iOS 12 actually makes old iPhones and iPads run faster.

Of course, the upgrade also comes with plenty of new features. Some of them, such as Animoji and Screen Time, have gotten a lot of publicity from Apple, but others may not be obvious in day-to-day use. Here are some of my favorites:

Strong passwords: When you're signing up for a new app or website, iOS 12 will suggest a password with random letters, numbers, and characters. Just hit "Strong Password" to use it. Apple's iCloud keychain will then store the password so you can enter it automatically on other Apple devices. If you need to log in on a non-Apple device, you can either ask Siri to show the password for a specific app or visit the "Passwords & Accounts" section of iOS settings to view all your stored passwords.

Easy text selection: Prior to iOS 12, you could turn the keyboard into a virtual trackpad for selecting text with a firm press, activating the "3D Touch" feature built into the iPhones 6S and onward. If you have an older iPhone or the new iPhone XR (which also lacks 3D Touch), you can now bring up the trackpad by long-pressing on the keyboard's spacebar. (iPad users can still access the trackpad with a two-finger swipe on the keyboard.)

ID another Face: The Face ID feature on the iPhone X, XS, and XR is no longer limited to a single face. Now you can add a second by heading to Settings, choosing "Face ID & Passcode" and tapping "Set Up an Alternate Appearance."

Quicker iMessage reactions: Since iOS 10, you've been able to double-tap on an iMessage to select a quick reaction, such as thumbs up or ha-ha. Now you can do this straight from the Notification Center. Just expand the message with a firm 3D Touch press (or swipe left and select "View" on non-3D Touch devices), then double-tap to see the reactions list.

Clear all notifications: Removing all your notifications at once no longer requires 3D Touch. Just long-press the "X" at the top of a notification group, then select "Clear All Notifications."

Hey Siri, find my phone: Exactly what it sounds like. This is useful if you have more than one Apple device around the house and have a habit of losing track of your phone. (Note to self: "Other ways to find your phone" as a future story idea.)

Close apps with ease: The idea that you can preserve battery or system resources by force-closing apps from the app switcher menu is a long-standing myth, but closing an app can still be useful if it stops working properly. iOS 12 makes this easier for iPhone X users by eliminating the need for 3D Touch. From the app switcher menu, just swipe up on any app to close it.

Bedtime mode: If you're like me, you have a bad habit of glancing at your phone's notifications right before bed (and sometimes in the middle of the night). Bedtime mode helps you resist temptation by removing notifications from the lock screen during certain hours. To enable this, head to Settings, select "Do Not Disturb," and make sure you have Do Not Disturb scheduled to run at night. Then, flip on the "Bedtime" toggle.

Morning weather: Once you've enabled Bedtime mode, you can also get the day's weather forecast on your lock screen in the morning. Apple's Weather app needs access to your location for this to work, so head to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Weather, then select "Always." The morning forecast should appear on the lock screen automatically.

More Do Not Disturb options: iOS 12 makes it easier to temporarily silence your notifications. Open the Control Center (by swiping from the top-right on an iPhone X or newer, or swiping up from the bottom of the screen on older phones), then long-press or firm-press the moon-shaped Do Not Disturb icon. From here you can enable Do Not Disturb for an hour, until you leave your current location, until your current calendar event ends, or until the evening.

Got more questions about iOS 12? Send me an email and I'll be happy to help.
 

Next time you want to ask your Amazon Echo something in the middle of the night, try talking in a whisper. Assuming you've enabled whisper mode, Alexa will respond in a soft--and, well, mildly creepy--voice.

This is an optional feature, so you'll have to activate it first by saying, "Alexa, turn on whisper mode." Alternatively, open the Alexa app, hit the menu button in the top-left corner, select Settings > Alexa account > Alexa Voice Responses, and flip on the "Whispered Responses" switch.
 

Upcoming Apple news: Tomorrow, October 30, Apple is holding a press event in New York. Based on the rumor mill, the company will likely announce new Macs (including the first MacBook Air redesign since 2010 and possibly a new Mac Mini desktop) and new iPads Pro with slicker designs and FaceID face recognition. Apple may also refresh its AirPods wireless earbuds and Apple Pencil accessory for the iPad.

All of this means that today would be a terrible time to pay full price for a new Mac or iPad Pro. I'll have all the details on the new gear in the next issue of Advisorator.

Controlling your Google search data: While searching on Google, you might sometimes wish the company didn't remember what you've been looking for. Maybe you don't want Google showing you advertisements based on medical issues or child development questions, or you don't want to leave behind holiday gift clues on a family computer. Perhaps you just don't like the idea of Google keeping a lifetime record of everything you've wondered about, and want to clean house.

Last week, Google added a shortcut to Search that makes managing this data easier. On a phone or tablet, press the menu button in the top-left corner--or press the "Settings" button on a computer--then select "Your data in search." This will bring up a summary of recent search activity, along with quick options to delete your last hour's searches or your full search history. The page also provides links to other privacy-related Google settings, such as voice search history and ad personalization.

It's a nice gesture--surely brought on by increasing scrutiny of tech giants and the specter of regulation--but Google could go further. The new quick deletion tools only apply to web search, not to other Google activity, and there's no way to have Google automatically delete the troves of older data it has on file. (You can do this manually by selecting "Google Activity" from the new menu, searching with a "Before" date range, then pressing the three dots in the search bar and selecting "Delete results.") Google says it will add similar shortcuts to other products such as Maps next year, but I've asked the company about letting folks automatically delete old data and have received non-answers.

Keep in mind also that if you search without being logged into a Google account--for instance, in a private browser tab--Google still uses tracking cookies to build a "signed out" profile of that activity, associated with your current device or browser. The "Your Data in Search" shortcut lets you manage this data as well, but you'll have to repeat the process for any device you use.

Printer ink shenanigans: A couple weeks ago, Motherboard had an interesting story about printer makers trying to lock out third-party ink cartridges through bogus "security" updates. The latest culprit is Epson, which began quietly distributing such updates in late 2016 or early 2017. (The Electronic Frontier Foundation recently got wind of the matter and has filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General.) HP tried something similar in 2016, only to reverse course after a backlash.

This seems like a fine time to note that you don't have to pay exorbitant prices for printer makers' own ink cartridges. I've ordered Canon-compatible cartridges in bulk from Inkjets.com a couple of times, and have been happy with the prices, turnaround times, and the cartridges themselves. Canon's own cartridges would have cost me twice as much for about half the ink.
 

We're entering somewhat of a deal dead zone with the holidays approaching, but if you like the idea of a smaller iPad, Walmart has the iPad Mini 4 on sale for $275. That's down from a list price of $399, and $154 cheaper than Apple's current-generation iPad with the same 128 GB of storage.

Yes, this is old hardware--Apple released the iPad Mini 4 in 2015, and hasn't refreshed the line since--but the 7.9-inch screen is still great for reading e-books and playing games with your thumbs, plus it runs iOS 12. It's possible that Apple is planning an iPad Mini 5, but the rumor mill doesn't expect it until next year if at all.