iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Saved by the Apple Watch: Stories from Our Readers

I frequently call my Apple devices lifesavers. I would miss 99 percent of my appointments without the help of my iPhone alarms, but it may be a bit of an exaggeration to say I would die without my HomePod. There was no hyperbole needed for many of you who wrote in with stories of when your Apple devices saved the day! Once again, you came through with some amazing tales of your iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirTags coming to your rescue. I will reproduce several of them here, edited for space and clarity.

CES, the Consumer Electronics Show of the year is upon us. Already we’re seeing awesome products from new companies and new products from awesome companies. Fitbit, the wearable tech company, took this opportunity to announce its new smart wearable ‘Blaze’ with a square face and touch screen display. Like an Apple Watch, the Fitbit Blaze ($199.95) will be able to alternate between different bands, but per Fitbit’s standard, the watch will focus on fitness tracking. However, it will also receive Smart Notifications such as calls, text messages, and calendar events.

The iBooks app is extremely useful for keeping books and pdf files together in one place on your iPhone or iPad. From the iBooks app, you can visit the iBooks store and browse the top charts and featured books on the market. However, storage space fills up quickly and you may not want to keep all the books forever. When your My Books storage is getting cluttered, here’s how to remove iBooks from your iPhone or iPad.

I recently had a chance to try out the Apple Pencil for the first time. I expected to enjoy the experience; I did not expect to be tempted to buy the iPad Pro because of the Apple Pencil. I cannot express how glorious it was in words, even simply taking notes felt natural. I had the chance to play with some apps using the Apple Pencil and discovered a few that were superb. I’ve included staple drawing apps such as Procreate and Paper in past roundups; here are seven a little more off the beaten path.

All of the outstanding protective iPhone 6s cases included in this head-to-head battle have to meet a minimum criteria; and therefore, they all have the following core features in common. They are all waterproof to a depth of at least six feet for a minimum of half an hour and they are all drop-proof from a height of at least six feet. Additionally, these cases can all be considered full-time-use cases, which means that they allow full access to all of the iPhone's ports, controls, and features, without ever having to remove the case itself. Read on to see which of these quality cases—the Lifeproof Nüüd, the Catalyst, or the Punkcase Spikestar—is the best rugged waterproof iPhone 6s case.

Some apps we use once and never visit again. Others become addicting rabbit holes where time disappears. Every now and again, we find a few good apps that stick with us through the good and the bad. They’re the staple apps often found on Home screens, free of folders to confine them, because they’re used too often for the extra tap. These are five of those awesome (& free!) apps that you’ll use often, if not every day.

It's hard to believe that after all these years, someone could reinvent a USB cable and leave me impressed. But that's exactly what Lander did with its Neve Lightning Cable ($29.99). Lander paid a lot of attention to the pet peeves of most users. The cable is remarkably thin and while I've seen flat cables before and I've seen fabric braided cables before, I've never seen one cable that is both flat and covered with braided fabric. The result is a tangle-free, comfortable cable with an attractive design. It's one of the best lightning cables out there. 


The New Year is quickly approaching and it’s time to reflect on how the previous year has gone. As we do so, we appreciate the goals we met and strive to improve the areas we didn’t. Featurings apps for quitting smoking, staying calm, getting good sleep, and improving nutrition, here’s five apps for keeping your new year's resolutions. Plus an app that focuses on goal tracking, allowing you to join a community of people on a similar path. 

Apple released its top 25 apps of 2015 list on the App Store last week. The company declared these apps the “most visionary, inventive, and irresistible” of the year.  Did your favorite make the cut? Top picks include Paper for sketching and Instagram for sharing, but the winners range largely in category. So let’s get to it: here’s a look at the top award winners on Apple’s list and quick links to all the apps.

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