iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

iView: Our Magazine's Digital Future

Around Thanksgiving, 1985, not knowing anything about printing, publishing, or running a business, my late wife Rita and I launched our company and first print publication: a 32-page newsletter about making the most of the Hewlett Packard 110 Portable PC. For 38 years, we’ve published print issues helping tech enthusiasts—first of HP, then Microsoft, and finally of Apple products—238 issues in all. With the summer 2023 issue of iPhone Life, the print streak ends.

There are certainly days where none of us like Facebook. Perhaps you’re not a fan a Twitter either, but you still want to stay in touch with friends or discover and connect with amazing people around the world. Well, as it turns out, there are a lot of alternative social networks you can try instead. If you’re sick of Facebook and planning not to go back, here’s five other social network alternatives.

Touch ID has seen some major improvements since the release of the iPhone 6s. It’s more accurate and works much more often than it used to. But now, I find Touch ID unlocks my iPhone before I have a chance to check the notification that has popped up. Or, if I’m driving and I just want to change the song from the Lock screen, sometimes Touch ID works too quickly and I end up unlocking my iPhone and having to take the extra step of opening the Music app. Well, here’s our trick to get around that.

Yesterday, I reported on the Letter to Customers Apple CEO, Tim Cook released following a US Federal Judge’s order for the company to help the FBI break into the San Bernardino Shooter’s iPhone. A fellow writer here at iPhone Life wrote an opinion piece detailing how Apple could do this for a single iPhone, but the issue extends beyond a single instance. Today multiple major Rights Groups have released statements in solidarity with Apple’s refusal. Ultimately this issue is important, because it creates a precedent for privacy moving forward.

If you have a Bluetooth car stereo, a Bluetooth speaker, a Bluetooth keyboard, or any other Bluetooth-enabled device that you don’t want your iPhone to connect to anymore, it's easy to make your device forget about it. Follow these easy steps and your iPhone won’t remember your Bluetooth device. If you change your mind, no worries, you can pair the device as though it were new.

Even if you're fairly tech-savvy, you may not know how much 64 GB of iPhone storage actually is, or the way to explain what the differences are in memory vs. storage. Honestly, many people don't know how much storage they need on their iPhone, iPad, or other devices, and most of us have run into issues when we've ended up with too little storage. How much storage should you get on your iPhone? You're right to wonder, especially now that the iPhone 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max are here with 128, 256, or 512 GB of storage, and the iPhone 12  and 12 mini have arrived with 64, 128, or 256 GB options to choose from. Let's look at memory vs. storage on iPhone, iPad, and other devices, and how much memory and storage capacity you actually need on your phone.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook has released an open letter to customers announcing the company's opposition to an order from a US Federal Judge which would require Apple to help the FBI access data on the iPhone 5c used by the San Bernardino shooter. Cook explains exactly what the FBI is trying to do, what old laws they’re using to do it, and expresses his concern for the democracy of America, “Ultimately, we fear that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty our government is meant to protect.”

I had the opportunity to try Wi-Fi HDD P700 ($119.99) from Emtec. I liked the truly massive amount of storage (1 TB or 2 TB) it offers compared to most competing offerings which are solid state based and offer 16 GB to 64 GB. I also liked that it offers both Wi-Fi and Ethernet based router capability. The device offers six hours of battery life, plus iOS and Android support with multi-user support (up to eight users). However, it is somewhat expensive and users must have the free "Emtec Connect" app to access the content. 

When it comes to running and listening to music, you need headphones or earbuds that feel comfortable but won’t budge no matter what terrain you’re running on. In the past when trying out active headphones, I’ve come across two major problems: they fall out or the added bulk to keep them in place hurts my ears. If a pair of active earbuds have neither of these problems, I look for added features and am particularly drawn to those with Bluetooth capability. Here’s my list of the three best Bluetooth-enabled earbuds for running.

There’s two ways to add events in mail to your calendar app. With iOS 9 or later, there’s a feature in Settings that allows for Events Found in Mail to automatically be added to your Calendar app. You can turn this feature on or off. If you’d prefer to turn it off, you can also add individual Mail events to your Calendar app manually. This tip will show you how to do both.

Many movie files that work on your computer don’t necessarily work on an iPhone or iPod. If you’re attempting to sync a video that isn’t compatible, iTunes will flash a message letting you know it can’t play on your device. What that message doesn’t tell you is that there’s an easy way you can convert the video so that it will play. Here’s how to convert a video for iPhone.

6 Best Apps for Apple Watch

By Conner Carey

New third-party apps for Apple Watch are constantly being introduced as the iPhone accessory gains momentum. One of the biggest complaints of watch users is the lack of apps that work well on such a small device. Developing apps for a screen measured in millimeters means thinking about our wearable tech as both a companion to iPhone and a stand alone device. That’s why I put together a roundup of six apps that make the Apple Watch more productive and/or more fun to use.

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