Leanne Hays has over a dozen years of experience writing for online publications. As a Feature Writer for iPhone Life, she has authored hundreds of how-to, Apple news, and gear review articles, as well as a comprehensive Photos App guide. Leanne holds degrees in education and science and loves troubleshooting and repair. This combination makes her a perfect fit as manager of our Ask an Expert service, which helps iPhone Life Insiders with Apple hardware and software issues.
In off-work hours, Leanne is a mother of two, homesteader, audiobook fanatic, musician, and learning enthusiast.
By Leanne Hays
Your iPhone's flashlight is one of its most simple, yet useful, features, and through the years it's gotten easier and more convenient to use. In current versions of iOS, you can simply ask Siri to turn your flashlight on and off for you.
By Leanne Hays
Have you ever needed to know how to find the serial number for your iPhone or iPad? These unique numbers can be used to identify your devices, so knowing how to find them is important. In this article, we'll go over what exactly serial and IMEI numbers are, why you might need them, and the easiest ways to track them down. Read on to learn more about how to find the serial number for your iPhone or iPad.
By Leanne Hays
You can use multiple search terms to find specific pictures in the Photos app. I use this time-saving feature to search for specific pictures from vacations, entering a date and location to see all videos and photos from each trip. Read on to learn how to image search on your iPhone using multiple keywords.
By Leanne Hays
The iPhone has a bunch of great native apps that can really help you get your work done. But one of the best, little-known apps that come on your iPhone is the Measure app. The iPhone Measure app, while sometimes imperfect, does a pretty decent job of taking appropriate measurements of spaces. There are a few keys to getting it to work right, but this has helped me out in so many circumstances where I did not have a tape measure ready.
The native Apple Books app, formerly iBooks, has the ability to save e-books and audiobooks to a wish list for later purchase. This feature, called Want to Buy, is perfect for keeping track of which e-book or audiobook you'd like to read or listen to next. 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 Apple makes putting parental controls on your iPad or iPhone easy. (We cover how to use Parental Controls to set restrictions on a child's personal device in a different 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 how to restrict your iPad or iPhone for your child 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.
By Leanne Hays
For me, the only thing better than having a good time with family and friends is knowing that I'm getting the most for the money I spend while we're out and about. That's why I've enjoyed using the Groupon app so far, and why the shopping and coupon app has earned a permanent place on my iPhone. Whether I'm looking for discounts at restaurants, money-saving deals on a hotel room or other travel expenses, or even experiences like couples massage or indoor playground tickets for the kids, the Groupon app always seems to have a coupon or rebate to help keep costs down. Best of all, the Groupon mobile app is free, and there are constantly new businesses and merchants offering some of the best coupons and discounts I've found anywhere online or in print. Let's get started learning about the Groupon app for iPhone and iPad, so you can start saving money, too!
It seems like there are apps and smart gear for every aspect of life these days, and that even applies to caring for our pets! We've researched the best electronic pet accessories for our 2018 Buyer's Guide, including items like a GPS tracker, automatic cat and dog feeder, a microchip-enabled cat and dog door, and even a smart dog toy. Read on to learn more about some of the best new gear for keeping your animals safe, healthy, and entertained.
By Leanne Hays
Whether you have a road trip coming up, a long commute to work or just a series of errands to run around town, it's nearly inevitable that you'll spend some time every day in that home away from home: your car. No matter what your destination, there are a few Apple accessories that can help make daily driving more convenient, safe, and pleasant. We've included reviews of a magnetic phone charger, an iPad car mount, a portable jump starter, a mobile air purifier, and even more cool car accessories you never knew you needed (until now.) Read on for our car-tech roundup, where we'll introduce you to six of our top picks for auto accessories this year.
