iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Since WWDC 2018, we've been eagerly awaiting the release of WatchOS 5 this September. Now that Apple has confirmed the official date for the September announcement (that's the 12th of September for those of you keeping score) we're more excited than ever to dive into the rumors surrounding the Apple Watch. What might the new design feature, and what do we already know about WatchOS 5? Read on to dig into all the rumors leading up to the big announcement.

In the 83rd episode of the iPhone Life Podcast, the team shares highlights from Apple's Q2 earnings report and discuss why analysts' gloomy iPhone X projections were all wrong. Sarah and Donna also share their favorite high-end headphone recommendations and weigh in on whether you can use emojis in place of punctuation marks when texting

Okay, so you’ve taken the leap and handed your child or teen a smartphone. You may feel like you’ve made the biggest decision already; but if you want to keep your child safe, you have many more decisions to make ahead of you. I hear a lot of chatter about how to keep kids safe on social media (which is a critically important topic), but there’s not as much guidance when it comes to one of the iPhone’s simplest features: text messages. In addition to keeping kids and teens safe while texting, we need to make sure they understand texting etiquette. Here, I’ll touch on the five most important things you and your child need to know to stay safe, secure, and polite when it comes to texting. 

There are a lot of different apps you could use to learn a language, but not all language apps give you the tools to truly become fluent in a language. Babbel offers language learning at a classroom level from the comfort of your smart devices. The app offers fourteen different languages and more than 8500 hours of learning content across them. I chose this app to feature because of the way it engages the learner; it immediately felt different to me than the numerous other language apps I’ve tried. We’ll go over more on what it does and why we love it below.

Learn how to temporarily disconnect from a Wi-Fi network using the Control Center on your iPhone. You're connected to a Wi-Fi network with a weak signal, and you'd like to turn off Wi-Fi on your iPhone. Of course, you could open your Settings app, open Wi-Fi, disconnect from your current Wi-Fi network, and join another or switch to cellular. But did you know there's a much faster way to accomplish this task by using the Control Center? Here's how

Good news for everyone who was disappointed 2018 concluded without the announcement of AirPods 2, the AirPower Charging Mat, or a new set of over-ear headphones, potentially called Studio Pods: We may be getting at least one, maybe two of those devices very soon. Via press release, Apple has given us an official release date and specs of the AirPods 2. The rumors of an accompanying wireless charging enabled AirPod case, indicate that Apple may finally be ready to release the promised AirPower Charging Mat as well. In this rumor roundup, we'll cover every update about the new rumored new wireless earbuds and wireless charging case, as well as Studio Pods and AirPower related rumors.  

The 118th US Open is fast approaching, so now's the time for golf fans to figure out how to stream the championship on our Apple TVs. The US Open begins June 11 and runs through the 17th at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, NY. Fox Sports is in its fourth year of broadcasting the Open as the US Golf Association's principle broadcaster. Let's get started finding out which Fox networks are participating, the broadcast schedule, and how to live stream all the 2018 US Open action on our Apple TVs. 

I have always been leery of adhering a cover to my iPad. It isn't that I'm worried the adhesive will damage the device or leave it marred, it’s more about convenience. When you review cases you need to take them off with some frequency so you can test the next one. Well, I bit the bullet when two different cases arrived, both with adhesives. Here are my experiences and thoughts about the Twelve South SurfacePad and the Toast for iPad Pro.

2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the US Open tennis tournament, and Apple TV owners can catch all the action in high definition without a cable subscription. To accomplish this, you'll need to know the US Open TV schedule for 2018 and which online streaming services offer the best coverage from those networks. Let's get started learning how to live stream the 2018 US Open to our Apple TVs in advance of the tournament.

If you like PopSockets but wish there was a larger version for iPads and other tablets, there is good news from Safetray Products. The G-Hold iPad Holder ($29.95) is similar to a PopSocket, but it is larger and it can be more easily repositioned because it uses Micro Suction not adhesive. Safetray, as its name suggests, is known for similar adapters to help waitstaff keep a grip on serving trays; so this is right up the company's alley.

Voicemail-to-text transcriptions on the iPhone aren't a perfect offering—the service often drops words and mangles names—but despite that, voicemail transcriptions are useful if you would rather scan a bit of text than listen to a voice message. If you want to send that text to someone else, you'll have to select the text, then on the Edit menu that pops up, choose the Share option, and finally tap the sharing method you prefer and send the text. One feature we'd love to see added to the voicemail-to-text feature is a single-step method for sharing voicemail transcriptions similar to the method for sharing the audio of voicmails. While we're waiting for this feature, though, the select-share workaround is functional enough. Read on to learn how to share voicemail to text transcriptions on your iPhone. Please note that Voicemail-to-Text Transcription is only available for the iPhone 6s and later.

Once a technology, in this case, backup batteries, becomes a free give away for marketing purposes, it gets harder and harder to find products that warrant a review. MyCharge has managed to create a new backup battery worthy of your attention. The $49.99 MyCharge AdventureMax packs a 10050mAh battery into an attractive but rugged  compact portable charger that weighs just half a pound. The plastic case looks great and the material offers a secure feel when it's being held. The AdventureMax will charge two devices at a time via its 2.4A standard USB ports.

You rely on your iPhone for everything, so why not for dinner tonight? If you've been in a recipe rut, or just want help to become the best home chef you can be, download these free cooking and step-by-step recipe apps to get you started. Some of these cooking apps require a trip to the grocery store, while others help you find recipes to work with ingredients you already have in the fridge. As a bonus, if you lack motivation, check out our top foodie Instagram account choices to get all the culinary inspiration you need.

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