Cullen Thomas

Author Details

Cullen Thomas's picture

Author Details

Cullen Thomas

Cullen Thomas is a senior instructor at iPhone Life. For ten years as faculty at Maharishi University, Cullen taught subjects ranging from camera and audio hardware to game design. Cullen applies a passion for gadgetry to answer questions about iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple cloud services; to teach live classes; and to specialize in the privacy and security aspects of the Apple ecosystem. Cullen has dual degrees in Media & Communications and Literature, and a Masters degree from the David Lynch Graduate School of Cinematic Arts.

Offline, Cullen designs videogames with Thought Spike Games, writes fiction, and studies new nerdery.

Mastodon: @CullenWritesTech@infosec.exchange

Email: cullen@iphonelife.com

Signal: +1-512-814-5526

If you’re wondering how to save battery on your iPhone, you’re probably thinking about keeping it going through the day. Saving battery doesn't just mean making your iPhone last longer on one charge, it also means making sure your iPhone's lithium-ion battery itself lasts longer, thus extending the life of your iPhone; and the sooner you start, the better. To help you save battery on your iPhone and extend the life of the physical battery, we'll explain how to check your iPhone Battery Health regularly, when you should replace a worn out battery, how to take care of your lithium-ion battery’s physical safety, and what to do if your phone won’t charge. Let’s get started.

This article will tell you how to adjust the lighting in Portrait mode shots. Portrait mode has been making folks look great since the iPhone 7 Plus and 8 Plus—taking great portraits has never been so easy as picking a Portrait Lighting mode and letting the iPhone work its magic. With iOS 13, Apple added even more flexibility: you could adjust the intensity of the lighting effect applied in Portrait mode. iOS 14 has made the process even smoother, which we'll look at below. To avoid your photo looking like a bad Photoshop job, just tap the lighting intensity icon at the top of the screen and swipe on the slider left or right to tune the effect up or down. A little goes a long way! Let's get started.

Customize your contact icon in the Messages app, and you’ll be able to share any picture on your iPhone, including a Memoji, Animoji, or emoji or initials with a custom color with anyone you message. You can also edit your iMessage profile picture and name. Once it’s set, you can choose whether to make your profile name and image visible to everyone in your contacts list or only to select contacts. Let’s get started.

How to Use Slide to Type on iPhone

With swipe to text on the iPhone keyboard, you can compose words by swiping from letter to letter without lifting your finger from the virtual keyboard, and the phone predicts what word you want by noticing when you hesitate or change directions. You can also switch back and forth between swiping and tapping to type, as you prefer. Let's get started with iPhone swipe texting.

This article will tell you how to format an email in the Mail app on your iPhone. Rich text email, including bold text and fonts, has come to the iPhone! Starting in iOS 13 and continuing in iOS 14, you can format emails to your pleasure in the Mail app by simply composing an email, selecting the text you want to format, and then tapping the "Aa" option just above the keyboard. A menu of text formatting options will replace the keyboard, and you can format your email like a pro. Here’s how to format your text in the Mail app on an iPhone.

Adjust exposure iPhone camera top image

Did you know you can brighten and darken your iPhone camera shots before you even take them? You can do this by setting the exposure, and it's as easy as sliding your finger up or down. Adjusting exposure is a way to make the darks a little darker or the lights a little lighter. We'll show you how to change the exposure on your iPhone camera and create the image you want every time.

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