How-To

With iOS 10, the Messages app got its own App Store. This will allow you download apps within the Messages app that can be used in conjunction with it. For example, you can download Giphy and share your favorite gifs without needing a gif keyboard. You can also use Messages apps to buy and send stickers, share recipes, share weather forecasts, share flight information and maps, make dinner reservations, and more. It’s a whole new Messages world. Here’s how to download apps in Messages.

When I first downloaded iOS 10, I had a moment of panic. I opened Control Center and media playback was nowhere to be seen. With iOS 10, Apple made a lot of changes to Control Center. Thankfully, Media playback in Control Center is still there and only a swipe away from where it used to be. In fact, it got a bit of an upgrade with its own page in Control Center. We'll go over where media playback in Control Center on iOS 10 went, and how to use it.

Depending on your point of view, the new effects features in the Messages app is either lots of fun or totally ridiculous. But you never know when you’ll need to send your friend fireworks and confetti, so you might as well be prepared. Reduce Motion on iPhone is a setting we’ve recommended turning on in the past to save battery life. Keeping it on will still help battery life, but if you want to enjoy Message effects, you’ll have to turn it off. This is due to the function of Reduce Motion, which cuts out all the extra transitions and animations on iPhone. If you’ve been wondering why the new, fancy effects in Messages hasn’t been working for you—here’s how to fix it.

If you’re having trouble with iOS 10, or simply don’t like the changes, you can revert your iPhone back to iOS 9.3.5. The key is to do it as soon as possible and downgrading iOS takes a certain file called an IPSW file, which you can find a link to below. You certainly can downgrade from iOS 10 back to iOS 9, and doing so is the equivalent of uninstalling an update on iPhone. But it’s good to note ahead of time that you’ll need the backup you made before upgrading to iOS 10 in order for this to work smoothly. Without it you risk losing data and information that no iOS downgrade is worth. To downgrade iOS there are three major steps: put your iPhone into DFU mode, revert your iPhone using the downloaded IPSW file, and restore your iPhone with an iOS 9.3.5 backup or older. It may seem daunting to downgrade your iOS, but we’ll go step-by-step so that it’s an easy process. Here’s how to downgrade from iOS 10 to iOS 9 on iPhone or iPad.

iOS 10 is Apple’s biggest operating system update since iOS 7. You can finally remove stock apps from Home screen, and soon you’ll be able to ask Siri to hail you an Uber. Voicemails are now transcribed, the Messages app is having it’s own party with fireworks and confetti, Apple Music has been redesigned, and your iPhone can tell you when to go to bed. Yet even outlining all that, I’ve only scratched the surface of what you can do in iOS 10, which is why we created an easy, fun-to-watch video guide for iPhone Life Insiders. If you’re not familiar, iPhone Life Insiders receive daily video tips for mastering their iPhone in one minute a day. Among other features, they also receive in-depth guides filled with helpful information each time Apple does something new. Check out a sneak peak to the guide below where we’ll show you how to send handwritten messages and delete unwanted stock apps in iOS 10.

In the Health app on iPhone, you can create a Medical ID with important information in the case of an emergency. Your Medical ID can be accessed from the emergency dialler without unlocking your iPhone. When creating your Medical ID card, you’ll have the option to sign up as an organ donor with Donate Life America’s organ donation registry. Here’s how to register as an organ donor in the Health app on iPhone.

Next Wednesday, September 7, Apple will hold its fall keynote event and officially release the iPhone 7. You can easily watch the event on your device or Apple TV—we'll tell you how below. At the September event, we're certain the iPhone 7 will debut with redesigned antenna bands and no headphone jack. Beyond that, we may see the new Apple Watch 2 or a line-up of Macbook Pros. A lot has been kept secret this time around, so tune in and follow our coverage to stay up to date. See you on September 7; we’ll be covering the latest product launches while we stuff our face with pizza. Here’s how you can watch Apple's iPhone 7 September keynote event too.

You can ask Siri all kinds of fun things thanks to its connection with the WolframAlpha database. One of the fun questions to ask Siri is what flights are overhead, the answer to which might surprise you. Sitting in my friend’s apartment in Boulder, CO, there are five planes over my head within a 50-foot slant all at different altitudes. There’s not much you can do with the knowledge of what planes are flying overhead, but it’s a lot of fun. We’ll cover how to ask Siri what airplanes are above you along with a few other fun or helpful things you can ask Siri. Here’s “what flights are overhead” and other things to ask Siri.

Depending on the privacy settings on your Facebook account, people who aren’t your friends will be able to view your timeline and like, comment, or message you. But perhaps there is a certain someone you are not Facebook friends with who you would rather not have the ability to see your profile or contact you. Well, you can still block that person easily. Here’s how to block people on Facebook who aren’t your friends.