iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear
iPhone Life's Best of CES 2021 Award Winners
By Sarah Kingsbury
During past Consumer Electronics Shows, iPhone Life's team of editors have walked the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center for the best new technology for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users. This year's CES was a much smaller, all-online event and we all missed the magical experience of unexpectedly stumbling upon new and innovative or weird but wonderful tech products on the show floor. Even so, we did our best, watching online presentations and attending video meetings in search of new and exciting tech to share with our readers. Unsurprisingly, antimicrobial and disinfecting tech turned out to be the big theme of CES 2021, with everything from disinfectant foggers to UV-C lights to germ repelling bags, phone cases, and more on virtual display. The following Best of CES 2021 Awards go to our favorite gear we found that's coming to market this year, ranging from the truly exciting (a smartphone with a flexible OLED!) to the less flashy but infinitely more likely to make your daily life better (a cup holdercar mount! A wireless CarPlay receiver!)
Best Apple Gadgets at CES 2021
By Donna Cleveland
In the 151st episode, David and Donna share the most useful and innovative iPhone tech they found at the Consumer Electronics Show 2021, from rollable phones to MagSafe car mounts.
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Use iPhone Life Insider to Master Your AirPods, iPhone & More
(Sponsored Post) By Erin Smith on Wed, 01/13/2021
Our catalog of expertly designed guides for Apple devices are one of the biggest draws of our iPhone Life Insider program. They help our subscribers master their apple devices via simple guidance and detailed how-tos, all while giving users the flexibility and control over when and how they access the information. Our upcoming AirPods Guide will be an excellent resource for anyone who wants to truly become one with their AirPods.
How to Turn Off Optimized Battery Charging on the iPhone
By Olena Kagui
Optimized Battery Charging is designed to improve battery life, and part of charging optimization includes reducing the time that the iPhone spends fully charged. When this function is enabled, your iPhone will delay charging past 80% in certain situations. There are various benefits to keeping iPhone optimized charging on, but you can experience a faster charge if you turn charging optimization off.
8 Ways to Manage Tabs in the Safari Web Browser
By Olena Kagui
Safari is the default web browser app on all Apple devices. When you select links in other apps and open them in Safari, new tabs will open. After a while, it can become difficult to navigate and manage your tabs. Learn to close all safari tabs, bookmark tabs, open incognito tabs, and navigate the Safari web browser seamlessly.
I take a screenshot on my iPhone several times a day, so I'm happy that Apple has introduced a new way to take a screenshot. One of the new iOS 14 features Apple has rolled out is Back Tap, a set of shortcuts that allow iPhone users to double or triple tap the back of their phones to perform various tasks. Back Tap is a great iPhone accessibility feature for people with reduced dexterity or limited vision, but being able to take a screenshot with a few taps on the back of our iPhones is convenient for everyone. Let's learn how to take a screenshot on your iPhone using Back Tap. Back Tap works with the iPhone 8 and later, including the iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and the new iPhone 12 line.
Upgrading your iPhone to iOS 14 comes with many great features, but sometimes it can prevent newly downloaded apps from appearing on your Home screen. Here’s why you might be missing apps and how you can fix it.
How to Find Imports in the Photos App on an iPhone & iPad
By Leanne Hays
Are you wondering, "how do I find my photos and videos I imported to my iPhone?" There's a section just for imported media in the Photos app where you can easily find all the images and videos you've saved from text messages, the web, and more. We'll show you how to find Imports, and filter for pictures, video, edited media, and favorites, so it's easier to find the image or video you're searching for.
When you make an Up Next playlist in the Podcasts app, the top podcast in your list will play when your current episode is finished. Once you've created this playlist or queue, you can add, remove, or rearrange your podcast episodes. Let's learn how to create an Up Next list, then add, subtract, and rearrange your podcast playlist in the Podcasts app.
Apple Watch Won’t Update? Here’s How to Fix It.
By Olena Kagui
The Apple Watch is an impressive and powerful device. Just like your iPhone, its software needs to be updated regularly for maintenance and bug repair. But what if the Apple Watch update won’t install? The following troubleshooting tips should help you when your Apple Watch won't update.
Review: For the HomePod Mini, There’s Still Room to Grow
By Donna Cleveland
When the HomePod mini arrived late last fall, I finally saw an Apple smart speaker I could get on board with. The combination of added Siri features and the $99 price tag made purchasing the mini an easy decision. And I’m not the only one—the speaker sold out on Apple’s website within a few hours of going on sale in November.
Review: The iPhone 12 Mini is Kind of A Big Deal
By Todd Bernhard
At $699, the iPhone 12 mini is not Apple’s cheapest iPhone. That title still belongs to the $399 iPhone SE 2020, but the mini is indeed the cheapest iPhone with 5G. It is also the cheapest iPhone with Face ID, the latest CPU, and Apple’s dual-camera system. But what is really impressive is that it is also the smallest iPhone with all of the above features!
Coolest Ways to Use Markup on the iPhone
By Olena Kagui
Markup is a nifty iPhone feature that allows users to doodle, magnify, and place text on images and PDFs in the Photos, Mail, Notes, Files, and Messenger apps. Whether you need to add a signature, insert text or draw shapes onto existing documents or images, Markup has you covered. Learn to save time when signing digital documents as well as add your personal flair to your images. Markup is a powerful tool that is great for business as well as entertainment and is compatible with the Photos, Messages, and Mail apps.
How to Manage & Organize Podcasts on an iPhone
By Olena Kagui
Using the Podcasts app, iPhone users can download podcasts, create playlists, and organize them as needed. The following tips will help you navigate your podcasts for the ultimate listening experience.
Are you wondering how to organize photos on your iPhone? You can make a folder to hold multiple photo albums and other folders! Unfortunately, you can't move already existing photo albums into an album folder you create; hopefully, that feature will be added in a future operating system. Let's go over how to add a folder to the Photos app on your iPhone.
Tired of searching for a website or webpage in the Safari app every time you need to refer to it? We'll show you how to add a bookmark on your iPhone and iPad, and where to find your bookmarks, so you can skip the search and easily find the page you're looking for, every time.
iPhone Apps & Gear for Your New Year’s Resolutions
By Donna Cleveland
In the 150th episode, David and Donna share apps and gear to help you accomplish your 2021 goals. Last but not least, they’ll go over tips for decluttering your phone that will help give you a fresh start for the new year!
Many Apple Watch users love the Start and End Workout reminders because, like me, they forget to properly track their workouts. However, other users are irritated be the constant reminders, and since they already know how to end a workout on the Apple Watch, they don't want to deal with the additional notifications. We'll show you how to change your Apple Watch settings to stop these reminders.
Isn't the whole point of an Apple Watch to make communication simpler and more accessible? That was the idea behind Default Replies and Smart Replies on Apple Watch, but too often you just can't find the right reply, or you use one so often that you'd rather have it handy each time you text someone back. We’ll show you how to create custom message responses on your Apple Watch for just such occasions.