Apple Apps

Want to know the quickest way to transfer photos and scan documents from your iPhone to your Mac? Here's how to use the Continuity Camera feature on the Mac, which enables you to scan documents or take photos on your iPhone and instantly have them uploaded on your Mac. Your Mac needs to be updated to macOS 10.14 or later and your iPhone to iOS 12 or later. You won't have to use AirDrop or have your device physically connected to the Mac with a cable for this tip. However, both your iPhone and Mac do need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network with Bluetooth enabled and be near each other (like in the same room). Both Mac and the iPhone will also need to be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple ID using two-factor authentication.

The Apple Watch Series 4 and later has a feature that will contact emergency services when you fall if you either confirm that you need help or you remain immobile for thirty seconds. Fall Detection on the Apple Watch can be enabled in your watch's Emergency SOS settings, which can be found in the Watch app on your iPhone. It's important to keep in mind that while the Apple Watch has an intuitive accelerometer and gyroscope, it won't register all falls. Also, if you participate in high-impact activities such as sports, those activities may register as falls. If you've previously entered your age in the Health app or while setting up your Apple Watch as 65 or older, Fall Detection will be on by default

If you want to get a better handle on file organization on your iPhone, the Files app can really help. Here's how to make a folder in the Files app. You'll have to have iOS 11 or later, and have set up and enabled iCloud Drive on your iPhone. You'll only be able to create a folder within the iCloud Drive category in the Files app. The On My iPhone category only stores files from apps that are downloaded to your device and can't be manually changed. 

Saving items like notes, documents, and photos to the Files app on your iPhone can help you view and manage several things from one app. Here's how to save items to the Files app, which will help you stay organized. If you use Finder on your Mac, you'll notice that the Files app works in a similar way for your iPhone. By saving items to the Files app, you can use Files as a hub to view or share multiple things from this single app. With the Files app, you'll be able to save items to your iCloud Drive (after you've set up iCloud Drive) or a folder under On This iPhone.

Do you swipe on emails to trash them only to see they've been archived instead of deleted? Here's how to delete emails on your iPhone, by changing the default swipe action from archive to delete. Below I'll show you how to change these settings for two different email apps. The Apple Mail app will need to have its settings changed from your iPhone's Settings app, while the Gmail app settings will be adjusted from within the Gmail app. If you use another third-party email app like Yahoo! and your emails are archived by default, try opening its settings within the app similar to the instructions below for Gmail.

While wearing your Apple Watch, you'll notice arm movements during activities like knitting, playing games, or even just waving will register as steps. Here's how to delete steps from your Apple Watch, which will erase the data and reset your step count closer to the correct number. You can't do this from your Apple Watch; you'll have to use the Health app on your iPhone.

The Apple Pencil is seen by many iPad users as a stylus (much to Jony Ive's annoyance), but its main use is as a tool for markups and creative projects in apps like Procreate or something more simple like Notes. Here are some quick tips for drawing with the Apple Pencil including adjusting opacity and line thickness, shading with the side of the Pencil's nib, erasing, and using the Apple Pencil 2's double tap feature to switch between tools. While there is some overlap with the basics functions of both a regular pencil and an Apple Pencil, you'll find the Apple Pencil has potential to unlock a digital flood of creative possibilties and may help with an artist block or two.

During today's WWDC keynote Apple announced a lot of new watchOS 6 features that will give Apple Watch users more ability to leave their iPhones at home and options to further customize their watch'spotential and appearance. Expect new watch faces, improved fitness tracking, hearing health features, and much needed apps like Audiobooks, Voice Memos, and Calculator to be added to Apple Watch. The watch will also get its own App Store when watchOS 6 is released.

The Photos app can get crowded quickly, but knowing how to use the Photos Tab inside the app can make navigating and organizing your files much simpler. And now it's even easier with the updated Photos app in iOS 13. To use the Photos Tab, open the Photos app and tap the Photos label on the bottom left to view your images by Years, Months, Days, or All Photos. Here's how to navigate the Photos Tab.

If you're trying to find a better way to keep in touch, FaceTime is a great option! FaceTime has features you can use like call waiting, and we have a FaceTime guide you can browse to learn more about this helpful video and audio calling app. Below, I show the first thing you need to know about FaceTime: how to make a FaceTime audio or video call. The person you call will also have to have FaceTime enabled on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

You can add money to your Apple ID account for App Store purchases without buying an iTunes gift card. Here's how to directly add funds to your Apple ID. If you budget your app or iTunes purchases, you can load the balance you want to spend and make purchases accordingly.

Have a song stuck in your head but can't figure out what it is? Starting with iOS 12, you can search for songs in Apple Music by lyrics. Even if the words replaying in your head don't include the title, there's still a good chance you'll find what you're looking for in the search results. Here's how to search with lyrics in Apple Music.

When you're planning a trip, in town or further afield, it can be a good idea to check the hourly weather forecast for your destination. You can do this in Apple Maps, which is especially useful if you already have the app open for navigation purposes.

There are lots of picture apps and photo apps available for the iPhone and iPad, and lots of them are even free, but one of my favorite photography apps for my iPhone is Apple's Photos app. Not only are Apple's native Camera and Photos app free, but they keep on improving with every new operating system. With iOS 12, for example, we can now use multiple search terms to find the photo we're looking for in the Photos app. This feature is a real time saver, and I'll show you how to use it right now so you can search your pictures faster and more accurately than ever before. 

One of my favorite features starting with iOS 12 is the handy Measure app. Apple's measurement app uses augmented reality (AR) to function as a tape measure and level all in one. You'll be able to use this app as long as you have an iPhone SE or iPhone 6S or later. In this tip we'll go over how to use the Measure app on the iPhone and iPad to take measurements; we'll cover how to use the level feature in another tip. Let's get started learning how to use Apple's new, free Measure app. 

Apple's iBooks app has gotten some major renovations with iOS 12 and is now just called Books. In addition to a new look and updated interfaces, there are lots of new features to explore including the ability to save books to a Wish List for later purchase. Let's get started learning how to save audiobooks and e-books to purchase later in the Books app on your iPhone or iPad. 

If you have a child who uses your iPad or iPhone, you'll love this tip. Keeping our kids from seeing inappropriate content online can be a struggle, but with iOS 12, Apple makes it even easier to set content restrictions on your personal devices (we will cover how to use Parental Controls to set restrictions on a child's personal device in a future tip.) If you ever hand your iPhone to the back seat to keep your kids occupied on a long car ride or let them watch a movie on your iPad while you get dinner together, you'll want to read this tip to make sure they're only accessing age-appropriate material. 

One of the iOS 12 features I've been eagerly awaiting is Apple's new Shortcuts app. This new app allows you to instruct Siri to accomplish a task or series of tasks with native and third-party apps, all triggered by a phrase of your own choosing. In addition to creating your own Shortcut, Apple's latest help app also lets you choose from a Gallery of pre-designed shortcuts. Let's get started learning how to find the Shortcuts app on iPhone and iPad, and then use the Gallery to install a Shortcut we all need from time to time: finding directions home. Once you've installed the driving directions Shortcut, you can choose and configure as many other Gallery Shortcuts as you need. We'll go over how to create your own Shortcut in a future tip.

Apple's new operating system, iOS 12, has a set of Screen Time features that can be used to combat smartphone and device addiction by setting app limits. There are some apps, though, that you may want to have constantly available; luckily you can choose some apps that will always be allowed in your Screen Time settings. Let's get started learning how to set Always Allowed apps on iPhone and iPad. 

Apple's Photos app lets you do location-based searches. Now, instead of trying scrolling through vacation pictures looking for the photos you took in a specific place, you can just search for that area, and all the pictures from that location will pop right up! Let's get started learning how to use this Photos search feature right now.