iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Apple’s Vision Pro Will Be Available in February 2024

Apple’s much-anticipated mixed reality headset will be available for purchase in just a few weeks! The Vision Pro is advertised as an AR headset, but it is more of a wearable Mac that will integrate with iCloud and have access to over 1 million apps. Despite the hefty $3,499 price tag, Apple is hoping that the Vision Pro will become as mainstream as an iPhone or Apple Watch.

Revolution followed by evolution—that’s the pattern Apple follows for its flagship iPhone line. Last year’s release revolutionized the iPhone with the X’s edge-to-edge OLED display and facial recognition. This year’s iPhone XS and XS Max (which costs anywhere from $1,000 to $1,449 depending on storage capacity) is an evolution of the iPhone X with a bigger display (if you get the Max) and better processor. But do these evolutionary steps warrant a one-thousand-dollar purchase? It depends.

Sometimes Do Not Disturb will still let messages and calls through in certain circumstances depending on your Do Not Disturb settings. Want to use your phone without receiving ANY notifications and calls? Here's the best way to set Do Not Disturb so your phone won't go off for any reason. I use it for when I'm listening to podcasts or just trying to get some work done.

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There's nothing quite like that moment when you open an Apple box and see your fresh new iPhone for the first time, but what comes next? We'll teach you how to set up a new iPhone with a new Apple ID or with an existing Apple ID and data from an older device. Whether you're a first-time user or upgrading your current iPhone to a new device, we've got you covered. Read on to learn how to transfer data to a new iPhone, restore your settings from iCloud, or create your very first Apple ID for your brand-new iPhone.

App Saturday: Google Chrome

By Hallei Halter

Considering options for a web browsing alternative to Safari on your iPhone or iPad? Google Chrome is a fast web browser app that can quickly load pages and has loads of features you can easily learn to take advantage of. With so much to offer, here's why Google Chrome is one of our top choices.

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FaceTime can be tricky, and you may have found yourself wondering, "why is my FaceTime camera flipped?" FaceTime video calls automatically use the front-view camera, but sometimes you may want to use the back camera. Sure, you can flip your iPhone around, but it's hard to tell where your camera is pointing when you do that. Here's how to flip the FaceTime camera during a call instead.

When your iPhone is locked, you can glance at your notifications previews to see if you need to respond to messages or open another app, but that means other people can read your text notifications, too. Fortunately, you don't have to hide alerts altogether to ensure your privacy. Instead, we'll show you how to hide notification previews, so they're only visible when your iPhone or iPad is unlocked. If you found this tip because you want to learn to hide text messages, that's not what this tip is about, but we have a different article about how to hide messages on your iPhone.

App Saturday: YouTube

By Hallei Halter

I used to only watch YouTube when I wanted to do something specific, like looking up a how-to video or watching from a link someone sent me. With so many videos and not so very strict categories, I found it hard to find something I liked right off the bat when just browsing the app. But after liking some videos and subscribing to a couple channels, I began to better navigate YouTube's sea of videos. Now I can browse YouTube and enjoy videos relevant to what I like or branch out to discover new interests. 

The new Apple Watch ECG app works with your Apple Watch Series 4 to read your heart's rhythm and detect any irregularities that might indicate atrial fibrillation (AFib), while letting you take note of any additional symptoms you want to record. To use the ECG app, your Apple Watch Series 4 with watchOS 5.1.2 or later needs to be paired with iPhone 5s or later with iOS 12.1.1 or later. Older Apple Watches do not have this feature.

This will sound strange coming from someone who works for a tech publication, but I’ve been so worried about buying my daughter a cellphone that I’ve put it off until she was literally the last kid in her grade without one. What have I been worried about? Everything from the more minor things like screen addiction and gigantic data overages, to larger, 60 Minutes-level fears of her getting cyberbullied or meeting an online predator. Now, though, she’s almost 14 and will be in high school next year. I’ve come to the realization that it’s part of my job as a parent to ease my teenager into the technology that’s an everyday part of all our lives, rather than keeping her from it so she has to acclimate herself all at once when she’s old enough to purchase her own smartphone.

I've reviewed a number of accessories from Nyrius before, so I was excited to see the company's latest item, ORION Home Wireless HD Video Transmitter & Receiver ($149.99), had arrived. I liked the previous model, but it used miniUSB and the newer model is microUSB-based, which is a step up. It's also easier to set up; indeed it is set up by default, out of the box. The Orion Home is two boxes that look alike, but one is a transmitter and the other a receiver. They are both similar in size to the Apple TV, but with a perforated top, which probably helps with reception.

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