iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

How to Organize Your Calendar in 2025

(Sponsored Post) By Amy Spitzfaden Both on Thu, 10/31/2024

Apple is pretty good about updating its products, but it seems to have forgotten about the Calendar app and its many downsides. The makers of Informant 5, on the other hand, do not forget to regularly improve their app based on user experience. The latest updates to this calendar and task-management app are a productivity game-changer.

Apple AirPods manual

Got a new pair of AirPods? Once you know how to set up, connect, and configure them, you'll discover why people who own a pair of Apple's wireless earbuds or wireless over-ear headphones love them. We're here to help get you started with this Apple AirPods manual, which will cover the original AirPods, AirPods 2, AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro 2, and AirPods Max.

Revolution followed by evolution—that’s the pattern Apple follows for its flagship iPhone line. Last year’s release revolutionized the iPhone with the X’s edge-to-edge OLED display and facial recognition. This year’s iPhone XS and XS Max (which costs anywhere from $1,000 to $1,449 depending on storage capacity) is an evolution of the iPhone X with a bigger display (if you get the Max) and better processor. But do these evolutionary steps warrant a one-thousand-dollar purchase? It depends.

Sometimes Do Not Disturb will still let messages and calls through in certain circumstances depending on your Do Not Disturb settings. Want to use your phone without receiving ANY notifications and calls? Here's the best way to set Do Not Disturb so your phone won't go off for any reason. I use it for when I'm listening to podcasts or just trying to get some work done.

set up new iPhone top image

There's nothing quite like that moment when you open an Apple box and see your fresh new iPhone for the first time, but what comes next? We'll teach you how to set up a new iPhone with a new Apple ID or with an existing Apple ID and data from an older device. Whether you're a first-time user or upgrading your current iPhone to a new device, we've got you covered. Read on to learn how to transfer data to a new iPhone, restore your settings from iCloud, or create your very first Apple ID for your brand-new iPhone.

App Saturday: Google Chrome

By Hallei Halter

Considering options for a web browsing alternative to Safari on your iPhone or iPad? Google Chrome is a fast web browser app that can quickly load pages and has loads of features you can easily learn to take advantage of. With so much to offer, here's why Google Chrome is one of our top choices.

Flip FaceTime camera top image

FaceTime can be tricky, and you may have found yourself wondering, "why is my FaceTime camera flipped?" FaceTime video calls automatically use the front-view camera, but sometimes you may want to use the back camera. Sure, you can flip your iPhone around, but it's hard to tell where your camera is pointing when you do that. Here's how to flip the FaceTime camera during a call instead.

When your iPhone is locked, you can glance at your notifications previews to see if you need to respond to messages or open another app, but that means other people can read your text notifications, too. Fortunately, you don't have to hide alerts altogether to ensure your privacy. Instead, we'll show you how to hide notification previews, so they're only visible when your iPhone or iPad is unlocked. If you found this tip because you want to learn to hide text messages, that's not what this tip is about, but we have a different article about how to hide messages on your iPhone.

App Saturday: YouTube

By Hallei Halter

I used to only watch YouTube when I wanted to do something specific, like looking up a how-to video or watching from a link someone sent me. With so many videos and not so very strict categories, I found it hard to find something I liked right off the bat when just browsing the app. But after liking some videos and subscribing to a couple channels, I began to better navigate YouTube's sea of videos. Now I can browse YouTube and enjoy videos relevant to what I like or branch out to discover new interests. 

The new Apple Watch ECG app works with your Apple Watch Series 4 to read your heart's rhythm and detect any irregularities that might indicate atrial fibrillation (AFib), while letting you take note of any additional symptoms you want to record. To use the ECG app, your Apple Watch Series 4 with watchOS 5.1.2 or later needs to be paired with iPhone 5s or later with iOS 12.1.1 or later. Older Apple Watches do not have this feature.

This will sound strange coming from someone who works for a tech publication, but I’ve been so worried about buying my daughter a cellphone that I’ve put it off until she was literally the last kid in her grade without one. What have I been worried about? Everything from the more minor things like screen addiction and gigantic data overages, to larger, 60 Minutes-level fears of her getting cyberbullied or meeting an online predator. Now, though, she’s almost 14 and will be in high school next year. I’ve come to the realization that it’s part of my job as a parent to ease my teenager into the technology that’s an everyday part of all our lives, rather than keeping her from it so she has to acclimate herself all at once when she’s old enough to purchase her own smartphone.

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