How-To

With each new operating system, Apple offers a range of new wallpapers as well. But it’s easy to forget that there are new wallpapers when you update to iOS 11, so I thought we’d quickly go over it in a tip. With iOS 11, you can use some beautiful new flower wallpapers, pictures of earth and the moon from space, or wallpapers with the classic Apple rainbow. Let’s jump in; here’s how to use one of the new iOS 11 wallpapers on iPhone.

I’m sure we’ve all opened up Safari to search for the definition of a word. But with iOS 11, you don’t even need to search. Once you begin your query, Safari will automatically provide a details card at the top with the definition of the word. And as you’re typing it, Safari will even guess what word you’re looking up. Here’s how to define words in Safari with iOS 11 on iPhone.

Ready to watch MLB and the World Series online? We’ve got four different ways you can make that happen. If you’re watching the World Series on Apple TV, we’ll also cover options that will allow you to do so. It’s unlikely you’ll find a way to watch the World Series online for free (legally, at least), but there’s a few different subscriptions you can sign up for that will allow you to watch MLB and the World Series online and without cable. For cable subscribers, we’ll cover how you can watch the World Series on Apple TV with the Fox Sports Go app. But the rest of our options will be focused on watching MLB and the World Series online and on your devices, including iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. Let’s go.

Facebook is a great way to keep up on news and videos that your family and friends share. The problem is time. There’s never enough time to read everything you’d like to, and honestly, it’s not easy to find those articles again. I’ve seen people share articles they want to read later, but that can clutter your timeline and annoy your friends. Fortunately, Facebook has a save feature that makes it easy to save those and go back to them later. Here’s how to save an article (or video) to view later on Facebook.

Stranger Things was a surprise hit upon its release on Netflix in July 2016. This 1980s-inspired science fiction-horror series featured eight episodes last year, and returns with nine episodes on October 27. Stranger Things Season 2 will be available exclusively on Netflix, which means you need to be subscribed to Netflix. With a Netflix subscription you’ll be able to watch Stranger Things Season 2 online through your iPhone, iPad, Macbook, or other app-enabled device. You can also stream the show through your Apple TV or smart TV when Season 2 premiers on October 27.    

Unless you have extensive experience with various wines, it’s not easy to know where to begin to what food to pair that wine with. Most of us have likely tried the popular wines like Merlot or Moscato, but feel lost when trying to branch out. I don’t know about you, but when I’m choosing a fancy wine for a special occasion, I end up choosing the wine with a label I think is creative or interesting, instead of knowing anything about what I’m going to drink or if it will go with the meal. Luckily, there is an app for this. Pocket Wine allows you to browse the various styles of wine, the grapes used to make it, keep track of the wines you’ve tried, and see what wine pairs best with what food. We’ll go over more on what the apps does and why we love it below.

Top iOS 11 Tips & Tricks

By Rheanne Taylor

Thanks to iOS 11, your iPhone and iPad just got a lot more powerful. With each new release, Apple focuses on improving old features as well as delivering new ones. So whether you’re looking to kickstart your productivity by scanning documents in the Notes app or train yourself to be a safer driver with Do Not Disturb While Driving, this guide is your T go-to source for all that and more. 

Investing in stocks is something that can feel intimidating to learn how to do and difficult to jump into. Stockpile (free) makes it easy to everyone to start trading stocks, even kids. When you buy and sell, Stockpile charges you just $1 for the transaction, the rest is yours. I’ve tried other stock investing apps in the past, but always got hung up on how much it would cost to buy stocks or the process of setting up my back account with the app. But Stockpile takes a different approach by walking you through the process of buying stock immediately. In the last ten minutes, I was able to buy ten dollars in Apple stock, create an account, and begin the process for connecting my bank account. You heard me right—I bought ten dollars in Apple stock. But how is that possible when a single Apple stock costs way more than that? Learn more on this app, what it does, and why we love it below.

Once we’re done with schooling, it’s all too easy to let learning fall by the wayside. But in any field, writing, reading, and speaking skills can help you stand out from the crowd. Most brain game apps focus on games that have no real-world application, but Elevate (free) takes a different approach. The free version of the app offers three types of daily games: Brevity, Processing, and Memory. Listening and Math are included in premium content. If you want to expand your vocabulary, improve how many words you can read per minute, and keep your memory sharp, give this learning game a try. Here’s more on what Elevate does and why we love it.

The app store looks very different in iOS 11. Not only are many of the tabs at the bottom different, but also Apple has added new features to the App Store that weren’t there before. The App Store has full articles on how to play certain games, interviews with the developers of a popular app, a featured App of the Day, and more. In a lot of ways, it’s much easier to find and discover apps in the new App Store. But it may take some getting used to. Here’s a quick tour of the new App Store with iOS 11 on iPhone.

With the release of iOS 11 and Apple’s debut of the new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Pluse, and iPhone X, I wanted to feature an awesome augmented reality app so we can get a taste of what’s to come. With iOS 11 out, Apple’s ARkit for app developers is available too. Which means we’re going to see more and more apps that utilize the iPhone’s camera to present some kind of graphic, game, or information as a part of the world around us. The most popular example of AR on iPhone to date is, of course, Pokemon GO. But I’ve heard a lot of people wondering if and how AR could be used for more than just gaming. Well, I’ve got an incredible example today. Say hello to AR MeasureKit. Who needs a tape measure when you’ve got an iPhone? I’ll go over more ofwhat it does and why we love it below.

This is one iPhone Life journey I’m very much going on with you all. It’s that time of year: new devices in means old devices got to go. But how? Should you sell your iPhone or trade-in your iPhone? How do you get the best deal? I’m facing these same questions. Sure, selling my iPhone would mean more money toward that shiny new iPhone X, but how much trouble do I want to go through? There are a lot of iPhone trade-in offers out there, including those from carriers like Verizon, third-party resellers like Gazelle, and even from Apple itself. We can’t make the decision for you, but we can lay out all of your options and the money (or credit) you can expect to get from each. Here’s how to sell or trade-in your iPhone so you can get that new one.

Previously, I went over how to follow friends on Apple Music with iOS 11. But one of the perks of following your friends on Apple Music is getting to see what they’re listening to. If you’re in a music rut and want to discover something fresh, checking out what your friends are listening to on Apple Music is a quick way to find something you’re probably going to like. Here’s how to see what your friends are listening to on Apple Music with iOS 11 on iPhone or iPad.

Everyone has a hard time getting to sleep at some point or another. And none of us appreciate alarms that startle us awake and out of the sweet, sweet joy of slumber. Plus, I don’t know about you, but any app that helps me focus is welcome in my life. Which is why, this week, I’m featuring my new favorite app: White Noise ($0.99). With over 40 sounds (and more available for download) that you can mix and record as you please, White Noise allows you to create various sound playlists that you can return to and share as you please. We’ll go into more on what White Noise does and why we love it below.

If you’ve heard of Poshmark (free), then you’re already in-the-know and maybe even wondering why we’re featuring it. But there are plenty of people that haven’t heard of this app and they need to know! Poshmark is the best place to buy and sell clothing and accessories from name brands big and small, including everything from Nike to Louis Vuitton. If you love finding a good deal on thrifted clothing, but aren’t a fan of sorting through aisles and aisles of clothes, Poshmark is going to be your new favorite place to shop. If you want to buy or sell high-end clothing for less, download this app and give it a try.

If you enjoy handwriting notes on your device, it’s essential to be able to find what you’re looking for within those notes later on. Previous iterations of the Notes app only allowed you to search for words that were typed. But with iOS 11, the Notes app is capable of searching through your handwritten notes as well. Here’s how to search handwritten words in Notes with iOS 11 on iPhone or iPad.

With iOS 10, Apple introduced Message Effects that allow you to add a bit of fun to the messages you send. You could make confetti rain or a laser show ensue when the recipient opened it. With iOS 11, Apple adds two new Message Effects— Echo and Spotlight. We’ll go over what each Message Effect does and how to use it. Here’s how to use the new Message Effects with iOS 11 on iPhone.

With WatchOS 3, the Apple Watch added the ability to make emergency SOS calls right from its Lock or Home screen. With iOS 11, the iPhone now has the same ability to call Emergency SOS. You turn this on within settings and enable Auto Call; so if you’re in a situation where you need help, it’s easy to make a call to emergency services such as 911. In order to call for emergency services on an iPhone running iOS 11 or later, you'll need to know your iPhone model since it's slightly different on iPhone 8. Here’s how to turn on Emergency SOS on iPhone.

For years, we’ve recommended turning off Background App Refresh on your device to save battery life and cellular data. Background App Refresh automatically refreshes apps you have open in the background so that when you go to look at the app again, the page is already up to date and loaded. Which is why the feature can siphon off your data without you noticing. But now, with iOS 11 on iPhone, you can choose to turn Background App Refresh on only when your device is using a WiFi connection. That way, you can enjoy the perks of the feature without worrying about how much data it’s using. Here’s how to set background app refresh to Wi-Fi only with iOS 11 on iPhone.

Birthdays are a great thing to celebrate with those you care about. If you have someone's birthday saved with their contact information, the Calendar app will automatically create an all-day event for that date. However, with iOS 11, Facebook events seem to have dissapeared from Calendar along with Facebook birthdays. For some this will be welcome, since it means seeing generally less birthdays. But if you want to hide birthdays altogether, it's a a simple process. Here’s how to hide birthdays in the Calendar app on iPhone.

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