iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

How to Lock Chrome Incognito Mode Tabs on iPhone & iPad

Google Incognito mode in the Chrome app is great for private browsing, but did you know you can make your Incognito tabs even more private? If you leave Incognito mode tabs open on your iPhone or iPad, anyone who has your password or comes along while your device is unlocked can see them. If you want to leave Incognito tabs in Chrome open, you can keep them private by locking them. Here's how to turn on the Chrome incognito lock.

The folks at Igloohome have been making smart door locks and lockboxes for a while, and they keep getting better. They sent me their latest, the Smart Keybox 3 ($189) to review and it improves over version 2 in multiple ways. This is not a door lock; it is a lockbox that hangs on a doorknob or gate. The circular keypad is used to unlock the lockbox using a PIN. You can also use the companion app to unlock the box via Bluetooth or generate more PIN codes for construction workers, cleaners, and other folks. It could also be helpful for Airbnb guests or keeping motorboat keys near the pier or a storage shed, etc.

The Apple Notes app is a convenient way to keep track of lists, ideas, and more. You can choose to start a new note from your Lock screen every time you need to jot something down, or to continue with the last note you were working on. We've already shown you how to write a note directly from your iPhone's Lock screen, and how to organize your notes by transferring them to a folder. Now, let's learn how to set whether to continue a previous note or start a new note when opening Notes from your Lock screen. 

When the folks at Michael Louis sent me a Personalized Embossed Leather Cases ($74) to review I thought I was getting special treatment. A leather case with my initials stamped in silver on the back? Pretty cool. Then I realized they offer free personalization to everyone, when ordering online! You can specify up to six characters and even choose emojis and the color. This is a nice touch and will certainly set your phone apart in a crowd.

One of my favorite takeaways from the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is finding gadgets that have no batteries or circuitry of any kind but exist to enhance our use of electronic gadgets. One example is the JURA ANCHOR carabiner for AirPods & AirPods Pro (starting at $24.99). It's not an AirPods case but it adds a carabiner key chain through some clever magic. The carabiner has a Lightning connector that has no electronics, instead it acts as an anchor that supports up to 15 times the weight of the AirPods case. You plug the JURA into the Lightning port, again with no electronics, and the molded connector keeps it in place. Then you can use the carabiner on the other end to attach your AirPods to a backpack, keychain, etc.

I am spoiled by wireless charging. I want everything to charge simply by putting it down on a flat surface. For example, my remote control, toaster, blender, etc. In fact, I did see a blender that charges wirelessly at the Consumer Electronics Show. Clearly wireless charging will be available for more than just smartphones and AirPods, And now wireless charging is available for gaming mice. Logitech sent me the Powerplay Wireless Charging System Mousepad ($119.99) to try.

I’m back in school for a business degree and just took a course where students run a very small venture using only $20 in startup capital. I chose 3D printing because it was already a hobby of mine, and a bottle of resin was only twenty bucks. I named my company Jax 3D Prints, and it’s done pretty well so far for a side hustle conducted for school. We sell miniatures for things like Dungeons and Dragons and custom parts that are usually more expensive, like washing machine knobs, at reasonable prices.

I travel a lot and am always looking for the ideal battery pack, and the Mophie Powerstation Plus XL Wireless ($99.95) comes close. The company sent me a review unit to try. There are a few features that set this charging battery apart from the rest. First, it charges via Lightning. This means iPhone owners can carry one less cable. In fact, the second differentiator is that it has a Lightning cable built-in, so you can charge your iPad (not Pro) or iPhone. But you would still need a separate standalone Lightning cable and wall plug to recharge the Powerstation.

If you're worried about losing your expensive AirPods you will want to connect a Bluetooth tracker to the AirPods case, but there's no practical way to do so. Fortunately, the folks at Trackeroo have developed the simple but brilliant Trackeroo AirPods Case (starting at $6.95). Trackeroo gave me a case to try, but at that price, the company probably paid more for postage sending it to me! It's truly a bargain given that it could save you $150 on a lost set of AirPods!

In the 135th episode, iPhone Life Video Editor Nicholas Naioti joins the show to share tips from the FaceTime video guide he’s been working on for the past month. The team also updates listeners on Apple’s new 13-inch MacBook Pro release and the first online-only Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC)—where we’ll see demos of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14—that will commence June 22nd.

The next Apple event is the 31st annual Worldwide Developers Conference, where the company will unveil the next versions of iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, the mobile software for iPhones and iPads, and hold online sessions for Apple developers. The developers conference kicks off at 10 a.m. PT on June 22 with the WWDC Apple keynote address, which will livestream on Apple’s website and via the new Apple Developer app for the Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, and Mac. Along with its September iPhone announcement, the WWDC Apple keynote is one of the biggest Apple events of the year. We'll be offering live commentary in our Facebook group and in the live recording of the iPhone Life Podcast right after at 1 p.m. PT. Here’s how you can watch the WWDC 2020 Apple Keynote too.

Can you use a Bluetooth mouse with an iPad? You can now! We've long been able to use accessories like Bluetooth speakers, headphones, or the Apple Pencil with our iPads, but starting with iPadOS 13, iPad mouse and trackpad support finally arrived in a limited way as an Accessibility feature. Now, with iPadOS 13.4, pairing and using a mouse with your iPad is a fully integrated feature. In even better news, Apple announced a new Magic Keyboard with a trackpad with a cursor for navigating, editing, and gestures. We've already gone over iPad tutorials and tips such as how to take a screenshot on an iPad, how to use an iPad as a second monitor with Sidecar, how to set up your iPad for work, and even recommendations for the best iPad Pro apps for professionals. Now, let's learn how to pair and use your iPad with a wireless mouse or trackpad.

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