By Conner Carey
App developers are consistently releasing updates and upgrades to improve in-app experiences and to fix bugs. To make this process easy, your iPhone will automatically download available updates over Wi-Fi. Apps, books, and music you purchase on other devices are also automatically downloaded. If you prefer to updte your apps manually, here’s how to turn the option off.
By Krisoy Desouza
Every now and again you need a simple but challenging game to play while on your commute to work or if you're just having a relaxing Sunday. The Little Prince - Bubble Pop Journey (free) game for iOS is a puzzler that involves matching three bubbles of the same color to eliminate them. The app is based on the film, The Little Prince, which is an adaptation of the book by Antoine de Saint Exupéry. In the film the mother imposes strict rules on her daughter, so she can pass the entrance exam to get enroll in a prestigious school.
By Conner Carey
How we journal and keep diaries has changed along with technology. I remember when voice-command password protected journals were all the rage, but as the Internet grew in scope, LiveJournal took over. Now, apps are the most convenient and often consistent way to keep a journal. It’s likely with you at all times since you have your phone, and most journal apps allows you to include pictures for further personalization. I looked through dozens of available journal apps; here’s my list of the four best apps for journaling.
By Conner Carey
Finding an app you love is a lot of fun. What’s even more fun is getting your friends obsessed with the same app. Whether it’s a silly game you've become addicted to (I’m looking at you, Neko Atsume) or a challenge app like Quiz Up where you can compete with your friends, it’s easy to share an app you love; here’s how.
By Conner Carey
Apple Music has a plethora of playlist choices, and Apple heavily promotes the fact that humans curate these playlists instead of computers. There are various options for finding Apple Playlists from the For You section of Apple Music, and you can create playlists as well! If you discover or create a playlist you particularly love, you might be wondering how to share Apple Music playlists. It’s easy to share music on your iPhone with Apple Music playlists; let's learn how now!
By Conner Carey
Ah yes, dating; a social practice that has evolved and changed rapidly over the years and especially with technology. There are dating sites for everyone from Christians, to dog people, and smokers; there’s even a dating site for farmers. However, in the world of dating apps the most well-known include Tinder, OkCupid, EHarmony, Grindr, and the like. Yet, most of these apps require swimming through a barrage of silliness, especially for women. If you’re looking for a different way to meet people, these dating apps each take their own unique approach.
As we move further into the era of cord-cutting, with streaming replacing cable TV, some of the options can get a bit confusing. HBO, for example, offers both HBO Go and HBO Now. Showtime has both a Showtime app and a Showtime Anytime app. Amazon Prime is also a popular service for streaming movies and shows, and we'll look at that option as well. In general, these services are trying to make themselves available on as many devices as possible.
By Conner Carey
Social media and dating apps are a dime a dozen, yet the aspect of connection isn’t necessarily present. It’s all too easy to swipe no or scroll past without really engaging with another human being on the other end. We’ve seen apps come and go over the years that’ve tried to overcome this barrier but few have sustained long enough to gain serious momentum. Honesty and empathy are paramount to our well being, and these three apps manage to bring people together via their smartphones.
By Conner Carey
Many apps provide extra content or enhancements for a fee, but in-app purchases are a good way to accidentally rack up a high App Store bill. Those 99 cent extras add up quickly and before you know it, you (or your kids!) have gone way over your monthly phone bill budget. No worries though; there’s an easy way to prevent this in your Settings app. Here’s how to restrict in-app purchases.
By Conner Carey
Apple’s AI, Siri, is constantly improving. You can use Siri to do more now than ever, including including playing albums, asking about sport scores, and turning on and off certain settings such as Low Power Mode or Bluetooth. However, sometimes you ask Siri to do something and change your mind or need to ask another question. For instance, if you ask Siri to set a reminder but realize you don’t need the reminder, it’s easy to cancel the command. Here’s how to cancel Siri commands.
By Conner Carey
There are certainly days where none of us like Facebook. Perhaps you’re not a fan a Twitter either, but you still want to stay in touch with friends or discover and connect with amazing people around the world. Well, as it turns out, there are a lot of alternative social networks you can try instead. If you’re sick of Facebook and planning not to go back, here’s five other social network alternatives.
By Conner Carey
I rarely review games because the options are too endless and trying them out involves a lot of free time. However, I have slowly but surely built up a reservoir of my go-to games when I have a spare minute and want to play. I’ve played all of these games far more than I care to admit and I recommend you join me.
I had the opportunity to try Wi-Fi HDD P700 ($119.99) from Emtec. I liked the truly massive amount of storage (1 TB or 2 TB) it offers compared to most competing offerings which are solid state based and offer 16 GB to 64 GB. I also liked that it offers both Wi-Fi and Ethernet based router capability. The device offers six hours of battery life, plus iOS and Android support with multi-user support (up to eight users). However, it is somewhat expensive and users must have the free "Emtec Connect" app to access the content.
By Conner Carey
New third-party apps for Apple Watch are constantly being introduced as the iPhone accessory gains momentum. One of the biggest complaints of watch users is the lack of apps that work well on such a small device. Developing apps for a screen measured in millimeters means thinking about our wearable tech as both a companion to iPhone and a stand alone device. That’s why I put together a roundup of six apps that make the Apple Watch more productive and/or more fun to use.
