iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

In the 76th episode of the iPhone Life Podcast, find out why members of the iPhone Life team chose to participate in (or opt out of) of a company-wide "phone fast." Listen in to hear lessons learned and how they survived to tell the tale! Other topics include Animoji, sleep apps for combating insomnia, and Jabra's lineup of true wireless earbuds.

Why have speakers for your Mac or PC and separate ones for your wireless devices? Logitech has an interesting alternative with the MX Sound ($99.99). The beautiful speakers can plug in to your computer using the 3.5mm input jack, while also being paired with not one but two Bluetooth devices. This means you could connect an iPhone and an iPad to the same high quality speaker and alternate use between the devices.

Want to know the quickest way to open the Camera app or turn the Flashlight on or off with an iPhone with no Home button, like an iPhone X, iPhone 11, or iPhone 12? Before the iPhone X, you had to swipe left on the Lock Screen to open the iPhone Camera. If you have a newer iPhone, though, we'll teach you how to turn on the Flashlight, turn the Flashlight off, and open the Camera, right from an iPhone Lock Screen. 

If you have fond '90s cartoon memories of watching Ms. Frizzle and the gang take amazing trips in their magic school bus, I have great news! Your kids can enjoy The Magic School Bus in an updated form, The Magic School Bus Rides Again. In this reboot of the classic kids cartoon, Ms. Frizzle becomes a college professor, so her little sister Fiona Frizzle takes her place as teacher and bus driver at Walkerville Elementary. There are episodes reminiscent of the classic cartoon: trips to outer space, through the human digestive system, and under the ocean, but also shows with updated themes like renewable energy. If you're looking for an educational cartoon on Netflix that you can watch and enjoy as much as your kids will, this is the one!

I was expecting a more outrageous design for a speaker named Outcry Extreme ($54.99) from a brand named Wicked Audio, but that's what you get for making snap judgments. In reality, the Outcry Extreme looks like a high-end speaker from Sonos, but it's a fraction of the price. There is one styling cue that is subtle, but it's there. The Wicked Audio logo is embossed in the metal grill, if you're looking for it. 

Did you just upgrade your iPhone to a new model with no Home button? The most common question we hear from users new to the no-home-button "club" is how to find the Home screen on an iPhone without that button. I encountered this issue with my iPhone 11 and was stuck Googling "How do I get to my iPhone 11 Home screen?" So I'm here to help, and hopefully to make it easier for you to feel comfortable with the new way to navigate home on your iPhone without a Home button. Here’s how to get to the Home screen on iPhone XR, XS, X, 11, and more.

The Crown, an exclusive Netflix offering, won Best Drama at the Golden Globes this year, and viewers are already excited about news about The Crown Season 3. Will The Crown cast change much? Who will the new Crown actors and characters be? Will Helena Bonham Carter really join The Crown cast? We'll have to wait to find out, but speculation sure is fun! For now, though, if you haven't watched The Crown yet you haven't fallen too far behind. Seasons of The Crown are ten episodes each, and Season Two just premiered on Friday, December 8, 2017. This means that you have nearly all year to watch seasons 1 and 2 of the Crown and can look forward to wrapping your 2018 holiday gifts while watching The Crown Season 3. Here's how to stream The Crown online through your iPhone, iPad, Macbook, or Apple TV.     

Godless is Netflix's first attempt at a western series. Originally intended to be a feature-length film, Godless got stretched to seven glorious episodes instead. I love it when that happens! With a cast including Jeff Daniels, Jack O'Connell, Michelle Dockery, and Merritt Wever, plus breathtaking scenery and authentic sets and costumes, this miniseries is sure to please Western afficionados everywhere. All seven episodes of the series have been released, but they're only available on Netflix, which means you need to be subscribed to Netflix. With a Netflix subscription you’ll be able to watch Godless online through your iPhone, iPad, Macbook, or other app-enabled device. You can also stream the show through your Apple TV.

All of us have had to plow through at least one difficult day of school or work after a less-than-optimal night of sleep, or even an all nighter. But what happens when a rough night becomes the norm? The Centers for Disease Control collects data about the sleep habits of Americans, and reports that one in three of us are getting fewer than the recommended seven hours of sleep per night. Whether you can't fall asleep, can't stay asleep, or both, insomnia is not only miserable, but bad for your health. I'm one of those insomniacs that can't stay asleep; waking up more nights than not after only about four hours of shut-eye, and not being able to drift off again for at least an hour or two. If you're like me, and have spent many wakeful hours wishing you could just relax and sleep, it's time to find some help. While relaxing bedtime routines, meditation for sleep, natural insomnia remedies, calming teas, and even sleeping pills can help, there's one more thing I think you should try: a sleep app for your iPhone! I tried Sleep Genius for two weeks, and am still using it every night. Sleep Genius is a sleep app that combines soothing sleep music, a gentle alarm, a relaxation program for anxiety at any time, and even a power nap feature! Read on to learn more about Sleep Genius, and why I think you should give this sleep app a home on your iPhone.

The 2018 Winter Olympics are approaching quickly, and this year promises to be an excellent one for live coverage of both the opening ceremony and athletic events. South Korea bid to host Winter Olympics XXIII all the way back in 2009, and has been planning and building for the event even before receiving news of their winning proposal in 2011. Olympics preparations are doubtless reaching fever pitch at NBC, this year's Olympics broadcaster, as well. After all, the 2018 Winter Olympics will be the largest ever—eighty nations (with the notable exclusion of Russia due to their shameful doping scandal) competing in fifteen different sports at 102 events in twelve different venues!  NBC has a lot on their plate with their plans to live stream these winter games, for sure! Winter Olympics fans without cable won't have quite as many plans to make, but we will need to think ahead about how to stream our favorite events and games. Let's get started learning about the NBC Olympics schedule, and how to live stream NBC Olympics coverage to our Apple TVs.

Taking a screenshot allows you to capture exactly what’s on your screen and save it as a photo. To take a screenshot on an iPhone without a Home button (iPhone X and later), you'll need to use a combination of the Side and Volume Up buttons to capture the screen. I take a lot of screenshots in my job; but even outside of work, there are various reasons taking a screenshot can come in handy. Every iPhone before the iPhone X uses the Home button and Side button together to take a screenshot. But with the introduction of the edge-to-edge display with the iPhone X, Apple needed to shift how you take a screenshot on iPhones with no Home button. Let’s go over it.

PayPal is a service that allows users to enter their credit or debit card information, then use the PayPal platform to quickly receive and make payments and send money in an encrypted, secure fashion. A top platforms for secure online payments since 1998, PayPal's convenience and security currently serves over 218 million active accounts. PayPal has never suffered a major data breach, and innovates continually to stay ahead of hackers and identity thieves. It makes sense then, that Apple customers would want a PayPal app for their devices. While PayPal rolled out an iPhone app years ago, iPad users are still wondering when a PayPal app for iPad is coming. After all, the larger screen size of an iPad would be much better for reviewing transactions and updating information than squinting at a small iPhone screen. Let's learn how to get the PayPal app for iPad!

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