iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Apple Watch Series Comparison: From the First Generation to Apple Watch Series 9

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since the first-generation Apple Watch debuted. At first equal parts derided and celebrated, the Apple Watch has since all but taken over the world. From features like water resistance to blood oxygen tracking and car crash detection, Apple's self-described "most personal device" has evolved a lot over the years. Let's take a look at all Apple Watches in order from the original to the Series 10.

With WatchOS 3, the Apple Watch added the ability to make emergency SOS calls right from its Lock or Home screen. With iOS 11, the iPhone now has the same ability to call Emergency SOS. You turn this on within settings and enable Auto Call; so if you’re in a situation where you need help, it’s easy to make a call to emergency services such as 911. In order to call for emergency services on an iPhone running iOS 11 or later, you'll need to know your iPhone model since it's slightly different on iPhone 8. Here’s how to turn on Emergency SOS on iPhone.

Previously, I went over how to follow friends on Apple Music with iOS 11. But one of the perks of following your friends on Apple Music is getting to see what they’re listening to. If you’re in a music rut and want to discover something fresh, checking out what your friends are listening to on Apple Music is a quick way to find something you’re probably going to like. Here’s how to see what your friends are listening to on Apple Music with iOS 11 on iPhone or iPad.

I remember the days of taking home a huge vocabulary list home from school and spending hours memorizing the definitions. Back then, it was pain in the ass. But nowadays, I get a secret joy from using those same vocabulary words I dreaded. I don’t know about you, but as an adult, I still want to learn new words and continue to expand my vocabulary. Of course, the best way to do that is to read. But the next best way may very well be this app. The Daily Word is a super simple app that gives you a new word to learn each day along with its pronunciation, definition, and an example sentence. Here’s more on what it does and why we love it.

With each new iOS, Apple improves the once barely adequate Notes app. Now, it’s a bona fide note-taking app with lots of features. With iOS 11, the list of features grows with the ability to add tables to a note now possible. Making a table in the Notes app can be helpful for creating various items. For example, you could use one to keep an easy tally of your expenses. Here’s how to add a table to Notes with iOS 11 on iPhone.

Have you ever brushed against your Apple Watch screen during daily activity and started tracking a workout or opened a random app without meaning to? If so, you probably want to know how to lock your Apple Watch in order to prevent that from happening again. In addition, it prevents water from getting into the watch during water workouts. But you can also use Water Lock to keep your Apple Watch locked any time, even if you're not swimming. Here's how.

Do you feel like you're in a musical rut and wishing for a way to discover new songs, artists, and playlists? With iOS 11, Apple Music is finally getting social, and it's the perfect way to find new music and broaden your auditory horizons. It works like this, if you have friends who also use Apple Music, you can now follow each other. Once you find and connect with friends on Apple Music you can explore what they're listening to and make your playlists public on your profile so they can do the same. Let the cross-pollination begin! Apple Music will use also your iPhone’s contacts to find other friends who are using Apple Music and recommend that you follow them. You can connect your Apple Music profile to Facebook and Instagram as well, so that it can offer more recommendations from your social media friends. Let's get started using Apple Music to find new friends, new music, new music friends, you get the idea. Here’s how to find and follow friends on Apple Music with iOS 11 on iPhone.

Best Waterproof iPhone 8 & 8 Plus Cases:

  • Lifeproof Fre for iPhone 8 & 8 Plus ($89.99)
  • Catalyst Case for iPhone 8 & 8 Plus ($79.99-$89.99)
  • Dog&Bone Wetsuit Impact iPhone 8 ($79.95)
  • (2Pack) Universal Waterproof Pouch ($7.95)

Best Protective iPhone 8 & 8 Plus Cases:

  • Underwater Casetify Case for iPhone 8 or 8 Plus ($40)
  • Otterbox Defender Series for iPhone 8 or 8 Plus ($49.95)
  • Aknacase Glamour Series - Blue Wave for iPhone 8 or 8 Plus ($20)

I think we can all agree that money can be a tense subject. Rarely do we enjoy reminding a friend they owe us twenty bucks for last week’s group dinner. But, if you’re a social animal in the slightest, I’m sure you’ve found yourself splitting a tab with friends and family. At the beginning of this year, some of the iPhone Life team took a trip to Mexico, where we had to split a whole lot of different things from dinner to snorkeling. But it was easy to keep track of and pay each other back thanks to the app Splitwise (free). Here’s what it does and why we love it.

When the iPhone X made its debut in 2017, it was dubbed Apple's most breakable iPhone ever—ouch. This year all three of Apple's new iPhones, the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, have glass backs. But Apple insists they include, "the most durable glass ever in a smartphone... and a new level of water and dust resistance." Nevertheless, these are all pricey devices, so iPhone cases are a must to protect your purchase. With that in mind, here's a review of the best iPhone cases on the market for the iPhone X, XS, XS Max, and XR. Whether you need a cool iPhone case that's waterproof or one just tough enough to make sure those pretty glass backs and OLED screens never shatter or crack, our roundup has all the best protective phone cases for your new iPhone. First, we'll cover waterproof iPhone cases for the X, XS, XS Max, and XR, many of which also offer heavy-duty drop protection. For those less concerned about iPhone water damage, we'll also look at cases focused solely on being drop proof and shatterproof. Let’s jump in; here are the best cases for Apple's new iPhones from Otterbox, UAG, Lifeproof, and more. 

I grew up in one of the most beautiful places on the entire planet. No kidding. People would come from all over the world to visit our exquisite crystal blue waters and our lush tropical islands. Now however, everything has changed. In a matter of hours the Virgin Islands (the British Virgin Islands in particular) were decimated by the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Now the people in the islands are dealing with the devastation and many residents have gone from living an idealistic island life to living like refugees.

Best & Worst Features of iOS 11

By Sarah Kingsbury

In the 67th episode of the iPhone Life Podcast, the team shares their most loved and hated features of iOS 11 (spoiler: Donna's a big fan of Drag and Drop and Sarah loves lane guidance in Apple Maps). They also address concerns about the privacy and security of the iPhone X's Face ID feature and teach you how to optimize your storage with iOS 11.

If you have an iPhone 6s or later, you can turn on Siri by saying, “Hey, Siri” even when your iPhone isn’t plugged in. However, you also have the option to press and hold your Home button to activate Siri. With iOS 11 on iPhone, you can now turn press and hold to activate Siri off and reply solely on activating Siri with your voice by saying, “Hey, Siri.” If you often accidentally activate Siri when pressing your Home button, this is a great way to stop that from happening. Here’s how to turn off Press Home for Siri and instead only activate with Hey, Siri on iPhone.

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