iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Double-Click Side Button Not Working? Check This Setting (2023)

Double-clicking the iPhone side button is something everyone does, whether it's to pull up Apple Pay or confirm that you want to install an app. However, if you have shaky hands or a physical impairment that prevents you from clicking the side button fast enough, you might have trouble using these features. Luckily, if double-clicking the side button is not working for you, your iPhone has an accessibility setting to slow down the click speed.

For some, it’s not easy to catch every word spoken when watching their favorite shows, videos, and movies on their devices. My mom has grown accustomed to watching her shows with closed captions, simply because she likes the added benefit of reading while she watches. Luckily, it’s easy to set up. You can turn on closed captions for media as your default on iPhone or iPad; here’s how.

In this special back-to-school episode, the iPhone Life team shares tips and gear recommendations for students and parents and gives you the scoop on Apple's free Beats headphones for students who buy MacBooks or iPads. Also listen in to hear the latest iPhone 8 and Apple Watch rumors as Apple's fall announcement approaches.

We're all aware that there are millions of apps in the App Store, which means there’s very little chance any one of us has heard of even a quarter of what’s available. That’s why we love to look for lists of the coolest iPhone apps, best apps for iPhone, and now, the best unheard of apps, including apps for travel, photography, dating, and more. Lots of cool apps are bound to slip under the radar. But we’re all excited when a new app we’ve never heard of turns out to be fantastic, and better yet, free. We’ll cover eight apps that aren't trending but are still awesome, educational, and helpful for iPhone users. 

When you’re on the phone with someone, you can still use other apps. Let’s say you’re talking to a friend who needs another mutual friend’s number. You can stay on the phone with them while you visit your contacts to find the information. It’s a simple tip but one that will be forever useful. Here’s how to use another app while on a phone call with the iPhone.

The Sneaky Trick to Retrieve Deleted Messages on iPhone

Did you accidentally delete a text message and now you need to get it back? Fortunately, there are several methods to get back deleted text messages, so no need to worry! We'll go over how to retrieve deleted messages if your iPhone is running iOS 16 or newer, plus a few other tips and tricks to recover deleted text messages on an iPhone if you have older software.

It's hard to earn a five star review from me, especially for something as mundane as a charging hub. But the Nomad USB Charging Hub (starting at $39.95) does the job of a hub, and hides the cables inside to prevent accidental disconnection and look good at the same time. Speaking of cables, Nomad has some of the most rugged cables you can buy, so when you're on the go, you can take Nomad quality with you.

3D Touch can be a cool, helpful feature for a lot of people. But I also know some who never use the feature or even find that it gets in the way of simply pressing and holding something on the screen. Whatever your reasoning, you can turn 3D Touch off on your iPhone. And it’s very easy to do. Here’s how to turn 3D Touch off on iPhone.

ATTENTION: Our photo contest has recently undergone a few changes, so be sure to read our new rules carefully.

It's photo contest time again. We know you enjoy taking the occasional artistic shot with your iPhone, so why not get rewarded for it? Enter our iPhone Photography Contest on Instagram for a chance to win an Olloclip lens and a spot in our magazine! 

I use the Reminders app on my iPhone quite a bit. I’ll create a reminder to pick up my dry cleaning, to buy my cousin a birthday present, or to pay a bill. When I create Reminders, I usually set them to remind me on a certain day, at a certain time. But if I need to make a change to one reminder among many, manually shuffling through them is a pain. For example, I made a Reminder to “pay a fee for the school trip” my son was going on. I forgot what the fee amount was and needed the information before the due date. Instead of tapping each folder and scrolling through them to find it, I simply accessed the Reminders search field. Here’s how to search for a particular reminder on iPhone.

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