Apps

In this special back-to-school episode, the iPhone Life team shares tips and gear recommendations for students and parents and gives you the scoop on Apple's free Beats headphones for students who buy MacBooks or iPads. Also listen in to hear the latest iPhone 8 and Apple Watch rumors as Apple's fall announcement approaches.

iOS 10 is, arguably, the biggest update to come to iPhone. Not since the total redesign of iOS 7 have we seen changes this big to the iPhone’s operating system. From voicemail transcription (aka visual voicemail) to Siri with third-party integration, there’s a lot of new features to learn how to use. We’re still writing tips to cover all of the iOS 10 updates, but this roundup will feature my favorite top ten iOS 10 tips that we’ve published so far. We’ll include how to search for a destination that’s on your way in Maps, how to find your parked car with iOS 10, how to register as an organ donor in the Health app, and much more. Here’s the ten best iOS 10 tips every iPhone user should know.


As Siri gets smarter, Siri is becoming increasingly helpful. For instance; no matter where in the world you are, you can ask Siri to call the emergency number from where you live and the AI will dial the local emergency number instead. (That's why you should ignore the people who try to trick you into saying, "Hey Siri, 108." 108 is the emergency services number in India. Saying 108 to Siri is the same as asking the digital assistant to dial 911 or 999 or whatever your local equivelant is.) In addition to being smarter and more helpful with each update, Siri has plenty of witty responses for all kinds of occasions. You can ask Siri to tell you a story, give you a customized daily update, and around Halloween, Siri can give you some very clever costume ideas, including bending time and space to avoid dressing up at all. The AI is witty and has grown increasingly sassy, but how philosophical is Siri? I decided to ask Siri, “what is the meaning life?” Her answers are surprisingly accurate at times and downright hilarious at others.

Ever since the social app Snapchat debuted on the App Store two years ago, parents everywhere have been hyper aware of the downsides of their teens downloading and using the popular app.

Parents are concerned about enabling their children to receive (or send) sexually inappropriate photos or videos, photos that bully, or images taken in bad taste. If parents think they can routinely check their teen's phone to look for signs of these behaviors, Snapchat puts an end to that. When you take a photo in the app, it's not saved to the camera roll, and when you view a photo in Snapchat, it's available to the viewer for less than 10 seconds, and then it's gone forever. 

Social distancing during the Coronavirus pandemic is necessary to save lives, but it can be hard to adapt to an at-home lifestyle. We've already gone over some COVID-19 tips, like how to clean and sanitize your phone and other devices. We've also shared articles about yoga and meditation apps, as well as mental health apps that may come in handy during voluntary social distancing or quarantine. What about working from home, exercise, and shopping, though? Here's a roundup of the best fitness apps, shopping apps, food delivery apps, and more to keep you stocked up and in touch, and stave off cabin fever.  

In every issue of iPhone Life magazine, we feature the iPhone Home screens of people from different walks of life, so our readers can see how they use iPhone apps to meet a variety of needs. In our Summer 2020 issue, we featured Luca Sforza from Seattle, Washington. Luca runs a real estate photography business called Lensit Studio. The world of real estate photography has evolved in recent years to include video tours, drone photography, and 3D virtual photos, and the apps on his iPhone help Luca do it all.

Whether you use Apple's subcription music service or simply use the Apple Music app to listen to music you've purchased, here are 18 tips that will help you get the most out of the Music app, from creating music playlists to asking Siri to play the next track. Click on the headings for even more information about each Apple Music tip.

There's a lot to love about iOS 10, Apple's latest mobile operating system. But there are some features users don't love. At all. Ever since Apple released iOS 10, we've been hearing from readers who want to know why iPhone can't slide to unlock anymore and what is going on with the iPhone Home button, how to fix iMessage so they can send message effects, and where in iPhone screen settings they can turn off Raise to Wake. If you've been wondering how to turn off the most annoying iOS 10 features, we've got the answers below.

If you're wanting to know what the weather or temperature is in your current location or somewhere else, you can open the Weather app on your iPhone and get the current and weekly forecast. Thanks to Locations Services, you don't even need to enter your current location to get the local weather. Your iPhone will know where you are and show you what weather and temperatures to expect.

Buyer's Guide 2023: Kid's Tech

By Amy Spitzfaden Both

Buyer's Guide 2023: Kid's Tech

Just because they're young doesn't mean there aren't all kinds of different tech for kids that are both safe and age-appropriate. Technology can be a useful tool for raising healthy and happy kids in this fast-paced modern world. Check out our top picks for tech gear designed specifically for little ones! 

If you're like me and depend on your Notes app to organize your life, it can be frustrating to realize there's no tab key to indent on iPad or iPhone keyboards. Nested lists in the Notes app make navigation easier and let you mark tasks as partially done, and indenting blocks of text can draw attention to quotes or important items. But without an obvious option on the keyboard, how does one indent text in the Notes app? It's easier than you think.

How to Change Your Facebook Privacy Settings with a Privacy Checkup on iPhone

  1. Open the Facebook app on your iPhone; this won't work if you're logged into facebook.com on your browser.
  2. Tap the icon in the bottom right corner that looks like three horizontal lines.
  3. Scroll down and tap Settings & Privacy.
  4. Next, scroll down and tap Privacy Shortcuts. 
  5. Tap on Privacy Checkup.

With iOS 10 on iPhone and iPad, the Game Center app we’re used to is gone. Apple ditched the app, but most Game Center features remain. Within apps, you can still sign into Game Center. It will track your score for the Leaderboards and take a tally of your in-game achievements. But without a designated app, how do you change your Game Center username? Here’s how.

Have you noticed the Photos tab in the Photos app doesn't display all the photos you took at last night's party or from your morning walk? You can turn off Summarize Photos to view photos, as in ALL photos, in the Photos app. When Summarize Photos is on, the Photos tab chooses key photos to display. For example, if you took multiple photos of the same flower, Summarize Photos will have one or maybe two displayed when you browse the Photos tab. Here's how to turn off Summarize Photos so you can view all photos on your iPhone.

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