iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Enable Siri: How to Switch Back to Hey Siri on iOS 17

While previous versions of iOS required you to say, "Hey Siri," to activate Siri, iOS 17 drops the "Hey" and now allows you to summon your virtual assistant with just a simple "Siri." Some may find this more convenient, while others may find it more frustrating since simply saying Siri's name is enough to accidentally make unneeded reminders, set random timers, or search the web.

Let the choir sing, we can finally delete Apple stock apps on iPhone. Before iOS 10, there were only workarounds that allowed you to hide the apps, either within a folder or by enabling restrictions for the apps, but they weren’t actually gone. Apple finally allows us to remove stock apps from Home screen on iPhone. We're not entirely sure if deleting the apps frees up any storage on iPhone, but deleteled Stock apps are certainly out of sight and out of mind. If you decide you want any of them back, simply visit the App Store to redownload them. Here’s how to delete stock apps on iPhone.

Need to free up space on your iPhone, but having a hard time parting with absolutely anything it contains? I don’t know about you, but I’m that person with a 64 GB iPhone that has 35 GB of music—in other words, way more than I could ever listen to. That storage could be put to better use; and now with iOS 10, it can be, without any of my Apple Music disappearing. Optimizing your iPhone music storage in iOS 10 is pretty easy to do and completely automatic. Optimizing storage on iPhone means selecting a minimum amount of storage your music can take up and allowing your iPhone to remove the downloads of all that extra music you rarely listen to. Here’s how to optimize your iPhone music storage.

iOS 10 is Apple’s biggest operating system update since iOS 7. You can finally remove stock apps from Home screen, and soon you’ll be able to ask Siri to hail you an Uber. Voicemails are now transcribed, the Messages app is having it’s own party with fireworks and confetti, Apple Music has been redesigned, and your iPhone can tell you when to go to bed. Yet even outlining all that, I’ve only scratched the surface of what you can do in iOS 10, which is why we created an easy, fun-to-watch video guide for iPhone Life Insiders. If you’re not familiar, iPhone Life Insiders receive daily video tips for mastering their iPhone in one minute a day. Among other features, they also receive in-depth guides filled with helpful information each time Apple does something new. Check out a sneak peak to the guide below where we’ll show you how to send handwritten messages and delete unwanted stock apps in iOS 10.

Apple introduced AirPods, its wireless earbuds, to deal with the lack of a headphone jack on the new iPhone 7. But those earbuds come with their own problems. As separate left and right pieces, you could easily lose one (or both) and ruin your day. Many competing Bluetooth earbuds are sold in one piece with a strap connecting both sides. This helps keep them together, and if one falls out of your ear, it might not hit the floor because the other earbud is tethered to it.

 

iOS 10 is now available to install on your device! September 13 is here, and users with an iPhone 5s or later will be able to update to the long-awaited iOS 10. Meanwhile iPad users will need to have an iPad mini 2 or later. Anybody who is upgrading will automatically have iOS 10 when their new device arrives, but you'll still want to upgrade your older device (if compatible) for a smooth transfer when you move your data from the old phone to the shiny new one. There are loads of new features in iOS 10 that we’ll be covering in our daily tips in the coming months. Ready to update to iOS 10? Here’s how to do it. New iOS 10 features include a Lock screen widgets page, upgrade Maps, lift to wake screen, ability to delete Apple stock apps, voicemail transcription, and much more. Here’s how to update to iOS 10.

There’s a lot or a little you can access when your iPad or iPhone is locked, depending on the iPad or iPhone Lock screen settings you choose to enable. Lock screen access to your notifications, Siri, and Wallet, and control of your smart home is certainly convenient. But if you're concerned about someone else being able to use those features from your phone's Lock screen, you can also disable access for maximum privacy and security. We've already gone over how to change the auto-lock time on your iPhone, how to write notes from the Lock screen, and how to change your Lock screen wallpaper. Now, here’s how to change the Lock screen settings on an iPhone or iPad. Whether you want to change your iPhone X Lock screen, iPhone XR Lock screen, or even an iPhone SE Lock screen, here's how.  

The Do Not Disturb function on iPhone allows you to silence all incoming calls, texts, and notifications. Here's how to bypass Do Not Disturb for individual contacts using a feature called Emergency Bypass. This allows the people designated to reach you on your iPhone even if your Do Not Disturb settings are set to silence calls and texts from everyone. Here's how you can tweak the a contact's settings to override Do Not Disturb when it’s turned on so that you’ll still hear their incoming call or text or both. 

How Do I Wipe My iPhone Before Selling It? 6 Steps to Prep Your iPhone

This article will tell you how to erase your iPhone to sell it. Whether you want to sell your iPhone or trade it in for a newer model, you will need to learn how to do a factory reset on your iPhone. It is crucial to erase your iPhone so that no one can access your private information. It will also make your life easier if you can restore your iPhone’s data on your new phone. Learn what to do before selling your iPhone.


The times they are a changin’ with iOS 11. If you want to reply to notifications from Lock screen on your 3D Touch compatible iPhone, you’ll need to use 3D Touch. Older models have the good ‘ol Swipe to Reply feature in place, which we’ll also go over. However, rich notifications from Lock screen in iOS 11 allows you to do a lot more. The notification on your Lock screen can easily be responded to using either 3D Touch or by swiping left. This is one of the ways Apple is incorporating 3D Touch into more and more places on the iPhone. Here’s how to respond to notifications in iOS 11.

The iPhone 7 will ship with iOS 10, but users can begin to download and install iOS 10 next Tuesday, September 13. At its September event, Apple announced that iOS 10 is the biggest iOS release ever. And I would have to agree. Simply using the beta version of iOS 10 has convinced me I could never go back. Apple didn’t talk about iOS 10 much today, mostly as an intro to the iPhone 7 debut, but we’re going to cover everything you need to know about the latest and greatest operating system. This upgrade will seriously change how you use your iPhone from Siri’s ability to integrate with third-party apps to your ability to annoy friends with messages that rain confetti. Let’s take a look at the top ten iOS 10 changes coming to iPhone, in no particular order.

How to Screenshot on Apple Watch

You can screenshot on Apple Watch with just one step, which comes in very handy when you want to share something cool or interesting on your screen but only have a moment to catch it before the screen changes. We'll show you how to screenshot on Apple Watch so you can save and share interesting things from your Apple Watch screen.

Depending on the privacy settings on your Facebook account, people who aren’t your friends will be able to view your timeline and like, comment, or message you. But perhaps there is a certain someone you are not Facebook friends with who you would rather not have the ability to see your profile or contact you. Well, you can still block that person easily. Here’s how to block people on Facebook who aren’t your friends.

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