iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

How to Turn On Screen Time

By Rachel Needell

How to Turn On Screen Time

Turning on Screen Time is a great way to track how often you use your device and what you spend the most time doing. Under Screen Time, you have the ability to track metrics across days and weeks, as well as set limits for Screen Time, too. Here's how to get started with Screen Time on your iPhone or iPad.

Are you wondering how to use the Safari app because you're not quite sure what the icons mean? Here's a brief overview of the main icons in the iOS Safari app and how to use them. All the icons reviewed can be found along the bottom bar after you open the Safari app on your iPhone. The icons do the same thing in the iPad Safari app, but may be located in a different part of the screen.

If you use a sleep tracking app or otherwise like wearing your Apple Watch while you sleep instead of charging your watch overnight, you might struggle to find times to charge your watch and keep your battery levels up. Here's a list of suggestions for how to save Apple Watch battery life at night, while you sleep! While there's no way to keep your battery fully powered, if you try one or a combination of the suggestions below, you'll notice a difference and be able to roll out of bed without having to recharge your Apple Watch battery as often!

If you're just getting started with Apple HomeKit automation, beginning with a timed automation is a great first step! Here's how to schedule an Apple Home automation, so your smart home accessory will perform an action like clockwork. For example, you can set your porchlights to turn on every day at sunset or open the curtains at a certain time while you're out of the house so your indoor plants get plenty of sunlight. The smart accessory will need to have previously been added to the Home app, as well as be charged and connected to Wi-Fi.

How to Remove Unearned Steps from Apple Health

While wearing your Apple Watch, you'll notice arm movements during activities like knitting, playing games, or even just waving might register as steps. Here's how to delete steps from your Apple Watch, which will erase the data and reset your step count closer to the correct number. You can't do this from your Apple Watch; you'll have to use the Health app on your iPhone.

Do you have questions about how to find, download, open, close, organize, delete, and otherwise manage iOS apps on your Apple device? Here's your roadmap to the App Store, and how to navigate all the applications you discover there. Whether you're wondering how to find a specific type of app, how to delete apps you no longer need, how to organize your Home screen so you can easily find the apps you're looking for, or even how to fix an app that's frozen or crashing, we have you covered. Dive in to our apps guide and find the information you need to get the most out of your apps.  

Apple previewed big security and privacy software updates for its users during the WWDC 2019 Keynote. The updates address concerns such as location tracking, information gleaning, and device hacking, giving Apple customers more control over whether and how their data is shared. On the horizon are more choices in location sharing and tracking, a feature called Sign in with Apple, the option to use a randomly generated email instead of your own, Find My Phone and Find My Friends unifying, and HomeKit security improvements.

Now that Apple has announced that it's getting rid of iTunes and splitting it into three, everyone wants to know, without iTunes, what will happen to my music library, will my playlists be transferred, and will the iTunes backup be replaced with a new option? Don’t worry; we’ve got the answers to all your burning iTunes related questions. 

The Apple Pencil is seen by many iPad users as a stylus (much to Jony Ive's annoyance), but its main use is as a tool for markups and creative projects in apps like Procreate or something more simple like Notes. Here are some quick tips for drawing with the Apple Pencil including adjusting opacity and line thickness, shading with the side of the Pencil's nib, erasing, and using the Apple Pencil 2's double tap feature to switch between tools. While there is some overlap with the basics functions of both a regular pencil and an Apple Pencil, you'll find the Apple Pencil has potential to unlock a digital flood of creative possibilties and may help with an artist block or two.

The Worldwide Developers Conference 2019 keynote event has come and gone, leaving us with an array of updates, reorganizations, additions, and hardware to assimilate into our mental map of Apple products and services. Rumors were flying about the death of iTunes, new iOS, watchOS, and Mac features; now let’s go over what really happened, and what it means for both Apple developers and customers.

In the special 112th episode of the iPhone Life Podcast, Sarah, Donna, and David sit down to analyze everything Apple announced at today's Worldwide Developers Conference. They analyze the event and explain all the coolest features of the forthcoming iOS 13, watchOS 6, tvOS 13, macOS Catalina, as well as the introduction of a new iPadOS and the death of iTunes.

During today's WWDC keynote Apple announced a lot of new watchOS 6 features that will give Apple Watch users more ability to leave their iPhones at home and options to further customize their watch'spotential and appearance. Expect new watch faces, improved fitness tracking, hearing health features, and much needed apps like Audiobooks, Voice Memos, and Calculator to be added to Apple Watch. The watch will also get its own App Store when watchOS 6 is released.

As you use your iPhone, you'll notice status icons are shown to signal certain functions. Here's a quick overview of some of the most common status icons you'll see on your iPhone's Home screen. For iPhones 8 and earlier, I show the screen of an iPhone 7. For iPhones X and later, I use the screen of an iPhone XR. Across devices, the status icons have the same meaning. The display of status icons are arranged differently between iPhone 8 and earlier, and iPhone X and later. But if you know which status icons you're looking for and what they mean, you won't have a problem finding them.

While I have a Ring video doorbell, it has some drawbacks. First, I had to physically hardwire it into my house. If I lived in an apartment, that would not be an option. The other issue is that I have to find and open my phone to see who is there. If I'm at the door, a peephole makes more sense. The folks at Brinno have a solution, with the Brinno DUO Smart Peephole DoorCam ($199.95). Brinno sent me the peephole camera and, sure enough, no heavy duty tools were required to install it.

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