iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

top image iphone 16 and iphone 16 plus

Apple's September 9 "It's Glowtime" event was an exciting one for those of us who appreciate the more budget-friendly iPhone models, including the most Pro features we've ever seen in base models. The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus offer tons of updates, including new features like the Camera Control button and an upgraded camera system, faster performance thanks to the A18 chip, and Apple Intelligence features only available in the iPhone 16 series and the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Read on to learn why the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus are the upgrades for (almost) everyone! 

5 Things You Need to Know from Apple's iPhone 16 Event

Apple's much-anticipated fall event brought us updates to three device lines: the iPhone 16, the Apple Watch 10, and the AirPods 4. Each category brought us a few headlining features, but whether or not you should upgrade each device depends largely on what device you already have. The entire 16 line sports the A18 chip, specially designed for Apple Intelligence features, and a brand new Camera Control button. We also see some Pro features come to the base models, such as the Action Button. The Apple Watch 10 sports a slimmer profile and a larger screen option than before and an important health feature that detects sleep apnea. The AirPods 4 also sees many of the AirPods Pro 2 features join its ranks, while the AirPods Pro 2 are getting a software update that can make them function as hearing aids. Here are the top five takeaways from Apple's iPhone 16 event.

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.

How to Recover Deleted Calls on iPhone

Regularly deleting your call history is a great way to maintain privacy. However, this can be problematic if you accidentally delete a number you forgot to save. If you want to recover the deleted call history on your iPhone, you'll need to restore the device to a previous backup from before you deleted the calls. We'll show you how to recover the deleted call history on your iPhone. 

How to Change Emergency Contact

iPhone's Emergency SOS system really does save lives. The feature allows iPhone users to quickly call for help, alert their emergency contacts, and ping their location. If you've already set up your emergency contacts but would like to change, edit, or delete emergency contact information, it's a fairly simple process. Here's how to change emergency contacts on your iPhone.

Delete Unknown Fingerprints from Your iPad (or iPhone)

A good way to maintain a secure device is to ensure no one can access it but you. Having a passcode that you keep to yourself is a great way to keep a device private, but a device that uses Touch ID may end up with a few extra fingerprints from unknown persons. But you might not have known that you can actually test which fingerprints are yours and which fingers they belong to! Here's how to determine unknown fingerprints and delete them.

One of the best ways to use the Apple Watch is as a fitness tracker. Luckily, Apple designed the Apple Watch with fitness in mind, including various features, sensors, and metrics built-in to the device. If you're interested in strength training but are not a fan of using weights, or you would prefer to exercise in a way that's more natural to the body's movements, you'll want to learn all about Functional Strength Training on the Apple Watch.

Which Apple Services Are Worth Paying For?

Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, iCloud+, News+, Apple One… The list of Apple’s subscription options is enough to make your head spin. Each subscription comes with its own questions: Is it better than its competitors? Is it worth the monthly price? If I subscribe, will I use it? How can I best bundle my subscriptions? Lucky for you, I’ve tried every Apple subscription out there and can tell you with confidence which are worth the monthly price tag.

How to Automatically Forward Text Messages to Another Phone

Can you divert text messages to another phone automatically? Sort of. If you want to automatically forward text messages to another device, you have to link that device to the same Apple ID as your iPhone, and then enable automatic text message forwarding. If you don't want to link another device to your Apple ID, your best option is to forward text messages manually.

What Is Stolen Device Protection & Is It Better Than FindMy?

Stolen Device Protection was released with iOS 17.3, and it helps protect your phone from iPhone passcode thieves who might get access to your passcode or Apple ID password. This Apple security update requires biometric data to access or change any sensitive iPhone settings. It also forces you to wait an hour to make changes to your Apple ID if you are at a location other than work or home.

How to Lock the Journal App

The Journal App, a fun new app that came with iOS 17.2, is a great way to keep a digital journal directly from your iPhone. The Journal app has a straightforward user interface that allows you to write, upload media, add links, and keep track of important memories. For this reason, it's important to be able to keep that information private. Here's how to lock the Journal app to protect your entries from prying eyes.

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