iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Thanks to smartphones, a lot of us have gotten into the habit of checking email on our iPhones. But some emails we receive, we also want to print. You could open your computer and print it that way, but you can also print the email straight from your iPhone. Read on to learn how to print your emails with AirPrint and whether or not your printer is AirPrint enabled.

If you have an iPhone, you have the ability to send short video and audio messages right from a text message. This could be useful for sharing video or audio of where you are or what you’re doing with a friend without opening your camera or recording audio in the Voice Memos iOS app.

You can even set messages you send or receive to go away after two minutes (the default) or to stick around on your iPhone for a year. (Note that this will not determine how long the messages stay on a recipient's or other sender's phone.)

As we move further into the era of cord-cutting, with streaming replacing cable TV, some of the options can get a bit confusing. HBO, for example, offers both HBO Go and HBO Now. Showtime has both a Showtime app and a Showtime Anytime app. Amazon Prime is also a popular service for streaming movies and shows, and we'll look at that option as well. In general, these services are trying to make themselves available on as many devices as possible.

Social media and dating apps are a dime a dozen, yet the aspect of connection isn’t necessarily present. It’s all too easy to swipe no or scroll past without really engaging with another human being on the other end. We’ve seen apps come and go over the years that’ve tried to overcome this barrier but few have sustained long enough to gain serious momentum. Honesty and empathy are paramount to our well being, and these three apps manage to bring people together via their smartphones.

When you’re browsing the web on  your iPhone or iPad, it’s important to protect your information from malicious or fraudulent websites. The problem with this is you can’t always tell which websites are legitimate and which could cause your device trouble or steal your information. However, Safari has a built in function that will warn you with a Fraudulent Website Warning before you open a suspicious website. Here’s how to turn this on.

Perhaps you want to send a cute video of your baby’s first steps or your dog chasing his tail. The best way to send videos on your iPhone is through the Messages app. Whether you want to take a short video to send or use a video already saved in your library, sending video messages is easy!

At the recent Consumer Electronics Show, I almost skipped past the Sandman Clocks booth. After all, how high tech can a clock be and what does a clock have to do with iPhones? A lot, as it turns out. The 4-Port USB Charging Clock ($29) from Sandman Clocks is first and foremost a clock. That is apparent from the bright and large red LED numerals that are easy to see, day and night. They take up almost the full size of the clock, which is great, especially if you keep it far away from your nightstand. But what really sets the Sandman Clock apart is that it has four USB ports, including a high powered port for charging tablets, which allows it to act as a multi-device charging station. I have my iPhone, iPad mini, Apple TV Siri remote, and Apple Watch on my nightstand. This could charge all of those and not take up any more wall outlets. The Sandman Clock would be ideal for hotels that want to accommodate their guests' many USB devices, without making them unplug a lamp as I've had to do too often.