By Sarah Kingsbury
This special episode of the iPhone Life Podcast looks at Apple’s pivot from devices to services with today’s announcement of Apple News Plus, Apple TV Plus, Apple Arcade, and Apple Card. Sarah, David, and Donna go over the details of each service, and help answer the question—are they worth the money?
By Hallei Halter
Today during its services announcement, held at the Steve Jobs Theater in its Cupertino headquarters, Apple announced a new premium magazine subscription service called Apple News Plus. With the Apple News Plus membership, readers can access thousands of articles by hundreds of publications in one place. Having a single digital subscription to several magazines and newspapers can make it easier for you to read and know more about current events, be it news or upcoming trends. The service is available today with the iOS 12.2 update on both iPhone and iPad, and on macOS 10.14.4 on Mac. With the $9.99/month price, you'll have access to 300 magazine titles, which includes content from back issues, and at least two newspapers. You'll be able to share the subscription to up to six people at no extra cost with family sharing.
By Hallei Halter
The iPhone Xs, Xs Max, and XR have Dual SIM cards, which includes a nano-SIM and an eSIM. The eSIM is a digital SIM that allows your phone to have a second active cell plan from your carrier. Essentially, your phone will have two phone numbers. This is great if you want a business number separate from your personal number or are traveling out of the country and want to get a phone number from a local carrier without swapping out the physical SIM. Typically this feature only works with iOS 12.1 and later with a few carriers in the US. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile currently support this feature with varying restrictions. Check with your carrier to understand how you can best use eSIM with your device. Below, I'll give a general overview of how to set up an eSIM.
By Hallei Halter
Seeing the price of a medication at the register can cause a sudden case of sticker shock. GoodRx is an app that compares prescription prices between pharmacies and provides manufacturer prescription coupons. GoodRx can be used by anyone with or without insurance, including Medicaid, to help save money.
By Hallei Halter
If you have a 3D Touch-supported device, starting with iPhone 6s (but not including the iPhone SE or XR), you can add a 3D Touch multitasking gesture by way of AssistiveTouch. So, instead of pinching to zoom, you can use the AssistiveTouch button and zoom with a tap instead! Zoom and other gestures or actions can become a shortcut accessible by 3D Touching the AssistiveTouch button. This is an ideal option if you have a Home button that isn't too reliable or just want to take advantage of the convenience.
By Sarah Kingsbury
Apple will hold a spring event on Monday, March 25, at 10 a.m. PT, at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, California. You can easily watch the event on your device or Apple TV—we'll tell you how below. At the March event, Apple is expected to announce both a video streaming service featuring original content and a subscription service for news and magazines. In the days leading up to the event, Apple has quietly announced new iPads (including a new iPad mini 5!) and new AirPods via press release, mostly likely because the tech giant doesn't want any hardware announcements distracting the press from covering its services announcement on Monday. We'll be offering commentary during the event in our Facebook group and in the special podcast episode we'll be recording right after. Here’s how you can watch Apple's March event too.
By Leanne Hays
Right on the heels of the iPad Air and iPad mini 5 announcement comes another release we've been wishing for; Apple's second-generation AirPods are finally here! The new AirPods are faster and more efficient, offer extended battery time, improved sound quality, and even the option of wireless charging. Let's go over the features, pricing, and availability of the latest AirPods so you can decide if you'd like to invest in a pair of the Bluetooth earbuds.
By Sarah Kingsbury
In the 106th episode of the iPhone Life Podcast, David, Donna, and Sarah share an overview of Apple's brand new iPad Air and iPad mini and explore the tradeoffs of the five tablets the tech giant now offers. They also discuss what to expect from Apple's March 25 services announcement based on the latest rumors. Tune in next week for a special episode immediately following the Apple Announcement. Note: After this episode was recorded, Apple announced the release of new AirPods with a wireless charging case.
By Leanne Hays
An unexpected Apple announcement just dropped in advance of the March 25 event, and you're going to love it! Two new iPads are available for pre-order now and will be in Apple Stores by next week, a 10.5-inch iPad Air and the long-awaited iPad mini 5. I'm going to be the first to say I was wrong; in my iPad mini 5 rumors article I wrote that Apple was probably finished with the mini line since it's been so long since one was released and iPhone screens are getting almost as large as those on Apple's smallest tablet. Let's go over everything you'll want to know about the newest iPads including features, dimensions, finishes, and price so you can decide which of these tablets you'd like to buy.
By Hallei Halter
I have an iPhone XR, and when I take a screenshot, it shows as a small icon in the corner of my screen and stays there for a long time unless I do something to get rid of it or I tap on it to mark it up. Here's how to move a screenshot off the screen of an iPhone X or later.
By Hallei Halter
If you've just moved into a new area or want to get outside of your normal social circles, Bumble can help. Bumble aims to connect people on romantic, professional, or platonic levels by letting users upload photos and bios to announce what they're looking for. With a growing user base and the ability to switch between different sections depending on your goals, Bumble could be the one-stop app for friends, dates, and career contacts.
By Hallei Halter
Having a contact picture pop up with a name on your iPhone screen helps to reduce confusion. We'll walk through how to add iPhone contact photos (or a contact emoji if you prefer this fun option to a photo). In either case, having a contact pic appear when that person calls helps to differentiate between contacts.
By Hallei Halter
You can add money to your Apple ID account for App Store purchases or use Apple Pay without having to use a linked card. Here's how to add funds to your Apple ID directly. If you budget your app or iTunes purchases, you can even load the balance you want to spend and make purchases accordingly.
By Tamlin Day
It's that time again. For the last few years, Apple has hosted its first announcement of the year in March, and this year looks to be no exception. The official date, March 25, already has plenty of rumors flying around the blogosphere. From new Apple streaming services to AirPods and AirPower, we've got all the current rumors right here and ready for your perusal. So pull up a chair, grab your hot beverage of choice, and read on to learn all about what to expect from the upcoming March 25 announcement.
By Hallei Halter
I didn't use walkie-talkies much as a kid, but now with this feature on Apple Watch I can indulge in a slightly more futuristic way. Here's a general overview on how to use Walkie-Talkie on Apple Watch. To use Walkie-Talkie, you'll need Apple Watch series 1 or later updated to watchOS 5.
