iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

AI Planned My Vacation

By Linda Ruth

AI Planned My Vacation

With my 35th wedding anniversary coming up, I wanted to plan something extra special. My husband is ambivalent about travel—sure, it’s a big treat, but it’s also a big pain. Plus, when you travel, you’re not at home! I have a reputation as the family’s travel planner. This year, though, I wondered: might AI have something to contribute?

Crush Your 2025 Health Goals with the Withings Body Scan

(Sponsored Post) By Amy Spitzfaden Both on Thu, 01/09/2025

Your 2025 health goals deserve so much more than just a number on a scale. Withings is here to support all your body resolutions with a revolutionary health analysis. The Withings Body Scan revolutionizes home health checkups in a powerful, incredibly simple experience, directly from your home, in just 90 seconds.

I love my dog, but getting her to sit still for a photo is tricky, let alone for a selfie with both of us in the picture. There's just too much to coordinate. The folks at Model Citizen had the same idea, but they did something about it! They created the Woofie ($9.50). It's not a selfie-stick, but rather a snap-on attachment for your phone.The idea is to insert a dog treat in the top of the device so it gets your dog's attention. And it works!

App Saturday: Quartz

By Conner Carey

News doesn’t have to be overwhelming. While it’s important to stay aware and up-to-date, there is a better way to get your daily news briefing: the Quartz app. Instead of showing you a flood of articles, Quartz is focused on a single screen that looks very similar to any messaging app, except these messages give you bite-sized nuggets of news. With the Quartz app, you can get an overview of the news and choose which subjects you want more details about. Learn more on what this app does and why we love it below.

In the 91st episode, the iPhone Life team unpacks the latest blast of rumors as Apple's fall iPhone event quickly approaches. Tune in to learn when the September product launch will take place and how you can follow it. Plus, get the details on the three new iPhones we expect Apple to release, iPad Pro with Face ID, an upgrade to the Apple Watch line, and the likelihood of the AirPods 2 arriving this year.

Whether they're for a summer dinner party with a group of friends or an extravagant wedding for 200 people, sending invitations and keeping track of who all is attending can be a lot of work. Particularly for weddings, acquiring or creating invitations is either lots of time or lots of money. But with the Paperless Post app, you can create invitations, ecards, and textable flyers to send to all of your guests. Learn more on what this app does and why we love it below.

With iOS 13 and iPadOS, Apple offers more accessibility settings than ever before. Beginning with iOS 11, iPhone and iPad users could customize their devices' Control Centers to include the apps they use the most. For those with mobility issues, the deaf and hearing impaired, and the blind and visually impaired, Apple's accessibility features are a great choice to add to the Control Center. There are many settings to choose from, including RTT/TTY phone call access, an LED flash rather than an audible alarm for alerts, assistive touch, braille, a magnifying glass, and much more. Let's get started learning how to add Accessibility Shortcuts to the Control Center on your iPhone and iPad so you can have the features, tools, and settings you need at your disposal. 

If you're like me, you spend a good chunk of your day texting. But did you know you can break up the routine by recording a message using animated Memojis, also called Animojis? Your friends will receive a video of your voice coming out of your animated likeness! This tip may not change your life, but it will bring a bit of fun to your texting routine. We'll show you how.

For years I’ve heard about the app Procreate. But only recently was I able to download the app and try it with Apple Pencil on iPad for myself. I am certainly no visual artist, but I was immediately amazed by the capabilities and user-interface of Procreate. The app somehow manages to be both user-friendly and built for professionals. I expected a steep learning curve having used various other design software in the past. To my surprise, a couple YouTube videos and a few questions answered via Google were all I needed to feel like I had a grasp on how to use the app. Learn more on what it does and why we love it below.

Airline travel can be so draining, especially when flights don't stay on schedule; one thing that can help is to have all the information you need to track a flight right on hand. It's possible to get information about a flight with JetBlue, Spirit Airlines, Frontier, or any other airline by turning to Google or using an airline's app or a flight tracker app. But there's an even faster way that doesn't require opening an app. iPhone users can track flights using Search on their devices. Let's get started learning how to track a flight right from our iPhones; all you'll need will be the airline and flight number. 

Want to know how to share a podcast from one iPhone to another? Sometimes, a podcast episode is so good, you have to share it right away. With this tip, you can share a podcast episode any time, even while you're listening! Then, when you're done with the episode, you'll have someone to talk about it with right away. It's great way to spend time with someone, even if you can't be in the same place. Not only can you share a podcast, but there are also several different ways to do so. You can send an episode via text message, Facebook Messenger, email, a Facebook post, and more, all from right within the podcast episode you're enjoying at the moment. Let's get started learning how to share a podcast episode on your iPhone! 

Summer is here and it's time for partying outdoors. I can't think of a better iPhone accessory to do that with then the TikiTunes Wireless Speaker and Ambient Light ($39.99) from Limitless Innovations. It's a fun, attractive wireless Bluetooth speaker that can be paired with a second TikiTunes speaker to provide true stereo sound. At $40, it's reasonable to get two for that purpose. 

My day-to-day case lately has been an Urban Armor Gear case that I picked up at CES 2018 and I'm quite happy with it. Recently, I got to try UAG's Monarch iPhone X Case ($59.95). This model carries on UAG's tradition of using heavy-duty materials and a rigid skeleton design, and goes even further with solid metal screws for support in the corners, which are the most likely points of impact when an iPhone is dropped. Indeed, the case meets 2X Military drop-test standards (MIL STD 810G 516.6.) The 10-year warranty is likely to outlast your iPhone!

Here's a fun one! Did you know that Apple's animated emojis, Animojis, can not only be sent as video messages but also as stickers in your iPhone's Messages app? While you still need an iPhone with Face ID to send video messages, you can now send Animoji stickers from any iPhone with iOS 13, meaning the iPhone SE and later. Let's get started with learning how to make and use Animoji stickers in Messages right now. 

I can’t say enough good things about the new line of iPhone cases and case accessories and mounts from Hitcase. They have truly raised the bar when it comes to creating rugged, durable, waterproof cases, which in and of itself would be noteworthy. However, Hitcase has taken things a step further by crafting an extensive lineup of custom-made accessories that perfectly fit its iPhone cases. These accessories include a selection of top-quality photo lenses, as well as a selfie stick, a chest mount, and a handlebar mount, to name a few.

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