Apple's new operating system, iOS 12, has a set of Screen Time features that can be used to combat smartphone and device addiction by setting app limits. There are some apps, though, that you may want to have constantly available; luckily you can choose some apps that will always be allowed in your Screen Time settings. Let's get started learning how to set Always Allowed apps on iPhone and iPad.
How-To
App Saturday: Venmo
By Hallei Halter
What is Venmo? It's a fun and free way to send and receive money among friends, family, and online retailers. It eliminates the need to run to an ATM or wait for checks to both arrive and be deposited. Venmo is great for casual use and to quickly send or request even small amounts of money to keep your social status above 'friendly mooch'. If you've ever needed to chip in for a surprise birthday present or have someone reimburse you for a coffee run, Venmo is the app for you.
How to Change Your iPhone Screen’s Response to Taps
By Conner Carey
In Settings you can adjust quite a few of the ways your iPhone or iPad screen responds to taps. There is the option to Hold Duration, Ignore Repeat taps, and Enable Tap Assistance. We’ll go through the options and how to change them below.
How to Automatically Reopen an App on Your Apple Watch
By Conner Carey
By default, when you raise your wrist, the Apple Watch screen wakes up. Also by default, it shows you the Watch Face, assuming you want to see the time and have access to complications. But perhaps you’d rather see the most recent app or activity you were using instead. You can change the setting for Wake Screen from Watch Face to Last Activity. Here’s how to automatically reopen an app on your Apple Watch.
How to Turn Off Breathe Reminders on Apple Watch with WatchOS 3
By Conner Carey
With the introduction of WatchOS 3 came Breathe, a feature on Apple Watch that’s similar to Stand in that it reminds you to breathe throughout the day. Obviously we don’t need to be reminded to breathe, but the feature is about putting your focus on your breath, stopping everything else you’re doing, and taking a minute (or more) to practice a little mindfulness using breath as the centering point. On days I’m stressed, I appreciate the reminders. But most of the time, I dismiss it. If you’d rather not receive reminders to breathe throughout your day, here’s how to turn off Breathe reminders on Apple Watch with WatchOS 3.
How to Create a Kaleidoscope Apple Watch Face on iPhone
By Conner Carey
WatchOS 4 for Apple Watch added a lot of quality features to the smartwatch, including new watch faces. My personal favorite addition is the new Kaleidoscope watch face that uses either a built-in photo or a photo of your choice to create a colorful image in one of three different styles. We’ll go over how to use the Kaleidoscope watch face and how to create your own Kaleidoscope Apple Watch face on iPhone.
App Saturday: Groupon
By Leanne Hays
For me, the only thing better than having a good time with family and friends is knowing that I'm getting the most for the money I spend while we're out and about. That's why I've enjoyed using the Groupon app so far, and why the shopping and coupon app has earned a permanent place on my iPhone. Whether I'm looking for discounts at restaurants, money-saving deals on a hotel room or other travel expenses, or even experiences like couples massage or indoor playground tickets for the kids, the Groupon app always seems to have a coupon or rebate to help keep costs down. Best of all, the Groupon mobile app is free, and there are constantly new businesses and merchants offering some of the best coupons and discounts I've found anywhere online or in print. Let's get started learning about the Groupon app for iPhone and iPad, so you can start saving money, too!
App Saturday: Yelp
By Leanne Hays
I absolutely love going on road trips, or travel of any kind, really. One of the most fun aspects of any trip for me is finding places to eat, as well as museums and shops that are off the beaten path, local favorites that become part of my mental "must visit" list for future adventures. One of the best tools I've found for trip research to destinations near and far is the Yelp app. Yelp is a free app that collects professional and business reviews from all over the world including restaurants, movers, home cleaning services, shopping, and even doctors and clinics! Yelp has collected over 135 million reviews so far, and the number keeps growing as more and more smartphone users discover this handy app. If you're the type of person that likes to plan ahead and get the most for your money and time, you'll want to learn more about Yelp, including how to set up your own free account and use it to read and write reviews.
App Saturday: WeatherBug
By Leanne Hays
We live in an age of extreme weather, according to Science Daily, "Globally... the number of floods and other hydrological events have quadrupled since 1980 and have doubled since 2004, highlighting the urgency of adaptation to climate change. Climatological events, such as extreme temperatures, droughts, and forest fires, have more than doubled since 1980. Meteorological events, such as storms, have doubled since 1980." As weather becomes increasingly unpredictable, we need an accurate weather app to report on today's forecast, both current and hourly, as well as an extended weather outlook that includes the severe weather forecast and alerts. Since so many of us travel, we need not only local radar, but also national and global weather data so we can receive updates no matter where we are. WeatherBug is a free weather app that offers all these features; let's get started learning about my favorite weather app now, so you can decide whether or not to give it a home on your Apple device.
Now that we've all got our hands on the iOS 12 update, it's worth a reminder to check a few settings. One of the biggest changes with iOS 11 was the new driving Do Not Disturb for iPhone feature. If you haven't used this driving mode for your iPhone yet, it's a safety feature that's well worth your time to set up. I’ll show you how to turn on Do Not Disturb While Driving, how to turn off Do Not Disturb While Driving, and I’ll also cover the Do Not Disturb While Driving text message auto-reply on the iPhone!
One of the iOS 12 features I've been eagerly awaiting is Apple's new Shortcuts app. This new app allows you to instruct Siri to accomplish a task or series of tasks with native and third-party apps, all triggered by a phrase of your own choosing. In addition to creating your own Shortcut, Apple's latest help app also lets you choose from a Gallery of pre-designed shortcuts. Let's get started learning how to find the Shortcuts app on iPhone and iPad, and then use the Gallery to install a Shortcut we all need from time to time: finding directions home. Once you've installed the driving directions Shortcut, you can choose and configure as many other Gallery Shortcuts as you need. We'll go over how to create your own Shortcut in a future tip.
App Saturday: Pinterest
By Leanne Hays
Name any hobby, sport, interest, or diversion, and you'll find out more about it than you ever dreamed possible on the Pinterest app. Not so very long ago if you wanted to find guidance for your latest woodworking project, some fresh new garden ideas, inspiration for a unique vacation destination, or an exciting new craft idea, you'd have to pore over books and magazine articles or spend tons of time surfing the web to find all the most helpful links. Now, though, your search can be much more quick and rewarding; you can look to Pinterest as a clearinghouse for pictures, videos, and information about over 100 billion different topics ranging from wildly popular to extremely obscure, right on your iPhone or iPad. What's more, you can share your favorite Pinterest categories and findings with friends and family who are also using the site or app, and keep all your best pins (saved posts) for whenever you'd like to go back and refer to them. Let's get started learning about everything Pinterest now, so you can start pinning with the best of them!
Airbnb App: Convenience, Savings & Comfort on Your Next Trip
By Leanne Hays
I'm on a summer road trip right now with my kids and sister; an adventure I've been planning for the last two months. My favorite booking tool for accommodations has been, by far, the Airbnb app. This free travel app has saved me not only money, but also loads of time and effort in researching and budgeting for our lodgings from Iowa to the East Coast and back again. Whether you're planning a business trip or a family vacation, going to somewhere rural or to a big city, there's an Airbnb room, apartment, or house just right for you. Let's go over what the Airbnb app is, how it works, and why you should try it out if you haven't already.
How to Change Your Voicemail Message on iPhone
By Sarah Kingsbury
Need iPad and iPhone help? Sign up for iPhone Life Insider and Sarah will help you with all your iPhone troubleshooting and iOS-related issues. To learn more go to iPhoneLife.com/Insider. In this Hey Sarah column, one Insider wants to know how to change the default greeting on their iPhone's voicemail. Other questions include how to view more than the current month on Apple Watch and how to sort notes in the Notes app alphabetically.
How to Get Your iPad Ready to Give Away
By Sarah Kingsbury
Need iPad and iPhone help? Sign up for iPhone Life Insider and Sarah will help you with all your iPhone troubleshooting and iOS-related issues. To learn more go to iPhoneLife.com/Insider. In this Hey Sarah column, one Insider wants to know how to remove everything from their old iPad so they can give it away to a friend while another wants to know if it's possible to delete photos from their iPhone without also deleting them from iCloud.
App Saturday: Tomorrow App for Writing a Will on iPhone
By Leanne Hays
Every morning, five days a week, we publish iPhone how-tos to help you get the most out of your phone. But just as important as understanding how your Apple devices work is finding the best apps to use with them. That's why every Saturday we share one of the apps the iPhone Life Team has used and loved with our readers.
According to AARP, only four out of ten American adults have created a will. Writing a will is an important step for every adult, particularly for those of us with children, because we don't want those we've left behind unprotected and confused about our final wishes. Since I'm one of the six out of ten who haven't made a will yet and don't want to spend the time and money to visit a lawyer, I've made it my mission to find a way to write a do-it-yourself online will, preferably for free. I've found an iPhone and iPad app called Tomorrow that not only helps users write a will, including designating heirs, executors, and guardians for children and pets, but also walks us through the process of purchasing life insurance and setting up a trust for our beneficiaries. To learn more about how the Tomorrow last will and testament app works, read on.
App Saturday: Quartz
By Conner Carey
News doesn’t have to be overwhelming. While it’s important to stay aware and up-to-date, there is a better way to get your daily news briefing: the Quartz app. Instead of showing you a flood of articles, Quartz is focused on a single screen that looks very similar to any messaging app, except these messages give you bite-sized nuggets of news. With the Quartz app, you can get an overview of the news and choose which subjects you want more details about. Learn more on what this app does and why we love it below.
How to Reply to & Dismiss Notifications in iOS 11 on iPhone
By Conner Carey
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.
How to Make Your Favorite Song Your iPhone Ringtone
By Conner Carey
While it would be nice if Apple allowed us to easily select any song on our iPhone for use as a ringtone, it just doesn't work that way. There are certain ringtone apps that will allow you to use music from your iTunes, but that’s another article in itself. For around a dollar, however, you can buy a ringtone of your favorite song or melody from the iTunes Store. I recently purchased the incredibly nostalgic Sailor Moon intro melody for my iPhone. You can find popular songs, TV and movie melodies, sound effects, and more. Once you’ve made your purchase, it’s easy to set your ringtone. Here’s how to make your favorite song your iPhone ringtone.
How to Print Emails from Your iPhone
By Conner Carey
Thanks to smartphones, a lot of us have gotten into the habit of checking email on our iPhones. But some emails we receive, we also want to print. You could open your computer and print it that way, but you can also print the email straight from your iPhone. Read on to learn how to print your emails with AirPrint and whether or not your printer is AirPrint enabled.