iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Christmas shopping on a budget is essential for most. And, of course, we want to get presents for as many of our friends and family as we possibly can. But it doesn’t have to hurt your budget to get gifts for everyone—even good gifts. No candles here. We’re sticking to a budget of $25 and looking for the best tech gifts we can find. There’s still time before the holidays to check off gifts for all the people on your list. These stocking stuffers will please your friends and family without bursting your budget; here’s our best tech gifts under $25 for this holiday season.

For Christmas last year, I decided to splurge on myself by buying the Apple Watch. This was long before we even knew when an Apple Watch series 2 would make its debut, and I wasn’t willing to wait. I got it and quickly fell in love with all (well, most) of its features. Sure, apps loaded far too slowly, but I rarely used it for third-party apps. Having directions on my wrist when driving, skipping songs in two taps from the watch, and easily tracking activity throughout my day were the features I used and loved the most. But I got really tired of constantly being in touch. Honestly, I don’t need half the functions the Apple Watch has and I always feel slightly weird wearing one in public, “Walking Apple nerd, coming through.” So this Christmas, I decided to simplify. With a desire to improve my fitness in the coming year, I looked for a wearable that focused more on health tracking and less on everything else. I set a budget of a hundred dollars and required the wearable also be waterproof. Hello, Fitbit Flex 2 ($99.95). Here’s my five reasons I’m replacing my Apple Watch with a Fitbit Flex 2 this year.

If you're looking for a particular note, you can search within individual folders in the Notes app. But what if you want to search through all the notes in the app all at once? It's easy to do. Starting with iOS 11, Notes has its own search bar within the app. You'll just have to pull down slightly on the screen to make it appear. By searching your Notes with its search bar, you can find any note you've created by searching for terms from the note. Here's how to search the Notes app on your iPhone. 

If you want to join the rest of the world by reading your weather temperatures in Celsius, you can choose to make the switch in the Weather app. It’s a quick tap to switch from Fahrenheit to Celsius and back, but it’s hidden at the bottom of the page. And if you’re only looking at a single destination's weather, you might miss it altogether. Here’s how to change your Weather app temperature to Celsius on iPhone.

What good is a rugged, waterproof wireless speaker if you have to carry it around with you while on an adventure? That's the thinking behind the Braven BRV-1M ($99.99), an attractive, solidly built outdoor Bluetooth speaker that is designed for on-the-go use. It's waterproof (IPX7) and quite rugged. But unlike most competing outdoor Bluetooth wireless speakers, it has a GoPro mount built-in, so you can easily attach it anywhere a GoPro camera would go, such as on a bike, boat, or motorcycle. I just wouldn't mount it to a helmet since it is somewhat heavy.

Removing Apple Stock apps from your iPhone is a new feature with iOS 10. While we’ve wanted to delete stock apps for ages, only now is it possible to remove those stock apps from your Home screen. If you delete the stock apps from your Home screen, you can easily reinstall the stock apps from the App Store should you need them in the future. Here’s how to reinstall stock apps on iPhone with iOS 10 or later.

The calculator app that comes bundled in iOS is adequate for basic, quick calculations, but it lacks even a simple memory function or running history of operations. Hundreds of alternative calculator apps, both free and paid, are available from the App Store. But when you want the best, the absolute top of the category, PCalc ($9.99) from TLA Systems claims that it's the one to beat. Let's find out if that's the case.

Do you ever find a number you want to call that isn’t automatically highlighted on iPhone? Don’t go back and forth trying to remember that seven-digit code, just copy and paste it into the Phone keypad. Some numbers you find when going through apps on iPhone are highlighted blue. Those numbers allow you to simply tap the number and select call. But I’ve also come across numbers I needed to call that weren’t highlighted. When that happens, here’s the easiest way to call that number on iPhone: copy and paste a number into phone keypad.

How to Set Your FaceTime Caller ID

Believe it or not, you can FaceTime using an email instead of phone number or vice versa. Also, If you have multiple numbers and email addresses associated with FaceTime, you may want to know how to use a phone number for FaceTime instead of email. This article will show you how to change your FaceTime caller ID settings in just a few simple steps.

We’ve all had those moments when Siri is accidentally activated. Or we told Siri to set an alarm for six o’clock and the AI sets it for a.m. instead of p.m. Whatever the case, we’ve all needed to cancel a Siri command at one point of another. Depending on the situation, there’s a couple different ways to do this. Here’s how to cancel a Siri command.

I have seen the future of online mobile gaming, and it is MOBA. Multiplayer Online Battle Arena is a term familiar to any core, hardcore, or professional gamer. If it's not already a common term in your vocabulary, popular iOS MOBA titles like Vainglory and Ace of Arenas plan to change that, as they help usher in a new renaissance of mobile gaming.

The World Clock on iPhone allows you to see what time it is anywhere in the world. You can have as many different locations in your World Clock as you’d like. This is a handy feature is you have business partners or clients on the other side of the world or friends and family in another country. With the World Clock, you’ll know the best times to call or set up appointments. Here’s how to add a location to the World Clock on iPhone.

I switched to satellite-based DirecTV a while ago, when AT&T (owner of DirecTV) offered unlimited wireless data for DirecTV subscribers. It was a good deal, as we were anxious to leave Time Warner but not ready to cut the cable cord yet. But for those who prefer watching TV using apps, the company just announced DIRECTV NOW, an app-based streaming service that includes live TV as well as on-demand shows. It could be a bargain and it just got better.

After awhile, the Apple lightning cable is bound to fray. Finding the best durable lightning cable for charging your iPhone is a must. Apple switched to lightning cables with the iPhone 5, which means iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 users will be searching for a strong lightning charging cable too. You can get another one from Apple or put that money towards a third-party lightning cable that will be more likely to last a lot longer. We’ll cover the best, most durable lightning cables, the best short lightning cable, and multiple other categories. If you need a new charging cable, this is the roundup for you.

Who doesn’t like getting cool technology gifts? A hundred dollars in tech gifts goes a lot further than it used to. Whether you’re looking for fun tech gifts to give this Christmas, Hanukkah, or another holiday— we’ve got you covered with our gift guide to tech under $100. Filled to the brim with great gift ideas, we’ll cover everything from headphones and wearables to cases and e-readers. There’s a lot to choose from on a tight budget. Here’s the best tech gadgets and gifts under $100 to get your favorite people this holiday season.

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