How-To

There's something soothing about grouping related things together, and that goes for contacts too! Contacts are listed alphabetically in the Contacts app and Apple doesn't offer a way to group them by any other criteria (although you can use the search function to filter contacts by things like company name or notes you may have added to a contact card). But these contacts won't otherwise be grouped all together in your list of contacts. You can work around this by editing your contacts' names to include initials or words so they appear grouped together according to criteria determined by you. Use this tip to group your contacts by how you know them—work, a hobby, family, etc.—so you can quickly browse to message a specific person or see everyone in that group at once. 

As part of the Apple home automation wave, the HomePod is a fun way to use Apple HomeKit accessories. The smart speaker connects to other iOS devices and can access Siri for voice commands, responding to questions, or playing music. If you want to let family members or friends use the HomePod to do things like turn lights on and off and adjust the thermostat in your house, you can give access via the HomePod. Here's how to add another user to the Apple HomePod.

Within the Clock app on the iPhone there is a stopwatch you can use. Here’s how to use the iPhone’s stopwatch, and why you would want to use it. Whether you want to track how quickly someone runs a mile, time individual laps or circuits, or simply track the time it takes to complete a task, you can use the stopwatch to do it. 

One of the great features of our mobile devices is the ease with which we can share photos and videos. You can use your iPhone or iPad to send multiple photos via email or messaging. And if you want to send recent photos, you can easily select multiple pictures to send to someone in the Photos tab in the Photos app. Here’s how to share multiple recent photos on the iPhone.

Have you received a GIF in a text on your iPhone and wondered, "what does GIF stand for, anyway?" If you've been wondering what GIF means and how to find the GIF keyboard on your iPhone so you can start sending them, too, this is the article for you. GIFs are basically small, moving or animated pictures that you can use and send in a variety of ways. In this tip, we'll go over how to search for and send an Messages GIF. You won't need a GIF app or anything extra, and it's fun and easy. Let's get started!

We’ve been able to add emojis to text messages on iPhone for many years. But as the operating system updates have been released over time, more and more emojis had been introduced, which means there’s a lot to look through in order to find that specific emoji you want to use. Apple solved this problem with iOS 10. Now you can add emojis to a text message without scrolling through pages looking. Here’s how to add emojis to a text without opening the emoji keyboard.

The Calendar app is incredibly convenient for keeping track of appointments, events, and even birthdays. It’s also a great tool for helping you remember those appointments, events, and birthdays. I am extremely forgetful, so once I enter something into my Calendar I usually add an alert to help me remember it. Different people may need to set different reminder intervals for events. That’s why Apple made it easy to change the setting for when the Calendar will alert you for an event.

While you may think of Spotify or Apple Music when it comes to streaming music, if you're wanting to stay up to date with new music or browse your tried and true favorite albums, Amazon Music just about has it all. And you already have access to it if you are an Amazon Prime member. With the ability to find and listen to thousands of hours of music, you won't have to search for long to settle on something you enjoy.

The iPhone Xs, Xs Max, and XR have Dual SIM cards, which includes a nano-SIM and an eSIM. The eSIM is a digital SIM that allows your phone to have a second active cell plan from your carrier. Essentially, your phone will have two phone numbers. This is great if you want a business number separate from your personal number or are traveling out of the country and want to get a phone number from a local carrier without swapping out the physical SIM. Typically this feature only works with iOS 12.1 and later with a few carriers in the US. Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile currently support this feature with varying restrictions. Check with your carrier to understand how you can best use eSIM with your device. Below, I'll give a general overview of how to set up an eSIM.