Apps

Whether you’re an early riser or prefer to sleep in, everyone wants to begin the day on a good note. In this world of modern technology, it’s easy to start scrolling social media or checking work emails the minute you open your eyes. This kind of routine doesn’t give your sleepy brain or body any time to adjust and find a moment of peace before you’re thrown back into the thick of it. That’s why I’ve gathered a list of the best apps to open before you put yourself out into the world that will bring a little bit of positivity, learning, good habit-building, and gratitude into your fast-paced life.

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.

If you're someone that likes to go for hikes or enjoys exploring parks, did you know that you can use the Fitness app to see a map of your last hike or walk? This is especially great if you want to duplicate a path you've walked before, or you want to share your journey with friends. Additionally, it's a great way to avoid getting lost the next time you go exploring! Here's how it works.

A handy feature called Continuity & Handoff makes it possible for you to answer phone calls from your Mac or iPad when they are all connected through iCloud. However, if you want to learn how to stop your iPad from ringing or how to turn off the ringer on your Mac, there is a quick way to easily disable your other devices from ringing. Here’s how to turn off phone calls on iPad and Mac.

Setting up recurring events in your calendar can be incredibly useful for helping you to keep track of meetings, birthdays, holidays, etc. We’ll show you how to add recurring events to iPhone calendar so that you never miss an important date again.

To secure notes when using the Notes app, Apple allows you to create a unique Notes password for each of your Notes accounts, whether they're in iCloud, iPad or iPhone Notes, or an email-associated account. This way, if you want to keep some notes only on your iPhone under an extra layer of security, you can.

Apple Maps has its strengths and weaknesses, and those weaknesses may lead you to prefer Google Maps. It can be a pain to separately open the app and type in an address every time you want to navigate, so you might be wondering how to change your default map on your iPhone. Unfortunately, you can't officially do this, but you can make it so every navigation you launch from your mail or your web browsing takes you straight to Google Maps. Here's how to set Google Maps as the default on your iPhone by working around Apple's limitations.

Once you’ve got an iPhone in your pocket or purse, it’s quick to become your go-to camera just because it’s there and ready, whether for taking selfies, family photos, or even more artistic fare. Personally, I almost never carry my expensive DSLR camera anymore. Instead, I keep a few tips in mind and a pocket full of small accessories so I’ll be ready when the light is just right.