iPhone


These days we have a plethora of options when it comes to finding a Qi wireless charger that best suits our needs. While these convenient charging pads have many similarities, no two are the same. In fact, one of the biggest differences I find between charging pads, aside from obvious variances in style and appearance, would have to be the charging wattage that they deliver and therefore how fast they charge. In my testing I found that all of these Qi chargers work well even with iPhones in rugged protective cases.

In the 86th episode, the iPhone Life team tells you everything you need to know about Apple's iOS 12 Public Beta program and whether or not you should join it. Listen is as Donna walks you through the process of preparing your device and signing up, and learn the reasons why David is waiting for the official release and and why Sarah says the Beta is worth going for.

If you have the Facebook app on your iPhone, you've agreed to allow Facebook access to all your phone's contacts. If you don't remember giving that permission, neither do I; but apparently, it's part and parcel of the terms of service. Don't worry, though; there's an easy way to change this sharing setting and make the names and numbers in your Contacts app private again. Let's get started learning how to stop Facebook from accessing your Contacts on iPhone. 

I've been a fan of audiobooks since they were books on tape, and I clearly remember the very first one I ever listened to, Brahm Stoker's Dracula. Thanks to my local library, this classic audiobook was free; and as the years rolled on, I checked out the new-and-improved books on CD, until I finally modernized and started streaming audiobooks on my iPhone. I don't have a lot of time to sit down and read anymore, so the Audible app has been a great way to keep up with my favorite authors. One problem, though; I listen to far more than one book per month, and it's getting expensive to keep purchasing extra credits. That's why I'm excited to report that I've ended right where I began, with free audiobooks from my local library! There are two apps, called Libby and OverDrive, that let me borrow e-books and audiobooks, read or listen to them, and then return them all on my iPhone or iPad.  Let's get started learning how to find audiobooks on Libby and OverDrive, so you can have as much fun exploring and "reading" these free audiobooks as I am! 

If you've ever wondered how to download videos or music from YouTube and been frustrated that you can't, there's a fix for that. Better yet, it's a legal one, and it doesn't violate the YouTube terms of service. I'm talking of course about YouTube Premium (formerly called YouTube Red), a paid membership that allows you unlimited access to commercial-free videos, background play to keep your tunes going even when you're using other apps or your screen is off, and the ability to download songs and videos to watch on your iPhone even when you're offline. Let's go over the details of YouTube's premium service, so you can decide if this is the way to save YouTube videos you've been looking for. 

Did you know your iPhone has a helpful feature that allows you to color code email addresses that you're composing messages to? You've probably had the experience of inadvertently sending an email to the wrong person and the problems that can cause! Fortunately, Apple's Mail app has a feature that lets you identify a particular domain by highlighting it blue and turning all other addresses red. This can be useful if, for example, you want to make sure you don't inadvertently send your work-related emails to someone outside your company. Recipients within the company will have their email addresses appear blue in the To field, and the email address of recipients outside the company will appear red.

The PGA Championship will be here again before we know it, and this year will be played August 9 through 12 at the Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri. This event marks the 100th anniversary of the championship tournament, and if you've been hoping to catch PGA TV coverage without cable, now is a great time to start making your streaming plan. We'll need to know which networks are airing the golf tournament this year, and which streaming services include these networks, so we don't miss any of the action. Let's get started learning how to watch the 2018 PGA Championship on Apple TV without cable. 

Apple has incorporated biometric authentication into the iPhone since the 5s, when Touch ID was introduced. Last year, thanks to the TrueDepth camera that's able to map 3D surfaces, the iPhone X included a brand-new feature called Face ID. iPhone X owners who've set up FaceID can use the feature to unlock their devices, as well as pay for purchases in the iTunes store, Apple Books, the App Store, and to make payments with Apple Pay. Although this feature does add significant convenience to the iPhone experience, many Face ID users have complained that only one person can be registered per device, as opposed to the five different fingerprints that could be set up in Touch ID. It looks as though this issue may be solved with iOS 12, though, because the Beta version gives users the opportunity to register an Alternative Appearance upon setting up Face ID. 

iOS 11.4 has made it possible to AirPlay audio content to multiple Apple devices and third-party AirPlay compatible speakers at once, including HomePods and Apple TVs. A really cool outcome of this upgrade, called AirPlay 2, is the ability to set up two HomePods in the same room, sync them, and have them work together to create stereo sound. If you'd like to utilize this new iOS 11.4 AirPlay 2 feature, you'll need to set your HomePods up as a stereo pair. Let's get started learning how to set your HomePods up as a stereo pair right from your iPhone, so you can start enjoying amazing, upgraded audio right away. 

It’s easy to lose track of the pages you’ve liked on Facebook, and they can add up quickly. Before you know it, your news feed is jammed with content from all those Facebook likes, and you're not seeing the posts from friends and family that you're really looking for. How to see your likes on Facebook, and how to unlike pages on Facebook—those are the questions! There’s an easy iPhone tip to find all your page likes on Facebook so you can unlike the pages you're no longer interested in; let's get started!

The 29th Annual Worldwide Developers Conference is taking place June 4–8 in San Jose, and Apple enthusiasts the world over are excited to hear whether rumors about software, tech, and services will be met, or even exceeded. The annual Apple conference features over 100 seminars and hands-on labs presented by Apple engineers, as well as special events including the WWDC Bash, an epic party and concert on the final night. Only Apple developers were allowed to enter the lottery for a chance to pay $1,599 for a WWDC ticket, and a select group of 350 students and STEM teachers earn a full scholarship to the event each year. For those of us who can't make it to one of the biggest Apple events of the year, the keynote address is the highlight of WWDC. This is because the Keynote speech is when we'll all finally learn about upcoming versions of iOS, macOS, and other Apple software, as well as rumored new devices like the AirPods 2, StudioPods, and 2018 iPad Pro. Let's round up all the 2018 WWDC rumors and make some educated guesses about what the Keynote will bring this year! 

How much data does Snapchat use on an iPhone is an important question to answer if you have a limited data plan. If you often enjoy using Snapchat filters, posting stories, and sharing snaps with friends, you may find yourself wondering, "Does Snapchat use data? And if it does, how much data does Snapchat use?" Remember, if you’re sending photos, videos, and text messages or sharing your location over Wi-Fi, there’s no reason to be concerned over Snapchat data usage. But if you are doing these things using cellular data, you may be wondering how to limit Snapchat data usage. Let’s jump in: Here’s how to find out the answer to the question how much data does Snapchat use on your iPhone and what to do about it.

How much data does YouTube use is an important question to answer if you have limited data on your iPhone or iPad. If you often enjoy streaming YouTube videos within the YouTube app on your device, your YouTube data usage can quickly get out of control. We’ll answer the question how much data does YouTube use per hour, which makes it easy to answer the question how much data does a YouTube video use. Remember, if you’re streaming YouTube on Wi-Fi or watching offline content you’ve downloaded over Wi-Fi from YouTube, there’s no reason to be concerned over YouTube data usage, unless you have very limited bandwidth with your internet provider at home. The YouTube app does use a decent amount of data when you’re streaming long videos or watching multiple videos over a period of time, but there are still things you can do to control how much data YouTube uses on your iPhone or iPad. Let’s jump in: here’s how to find out the answer to the question how much data does YouTube use on your iPhone or iPad and what to do about it.

I'm just now diving into the world of Spotify, and one of my favorite features is, of course, the Spotify playlist! After using Spotify for at least two weeks, a new Spotify playlist appears; it's called the Spotify Discover Weekly playlist. Discover Weekly is a batch of song recommendations that are based on the music you've played and liked over the course of the week. The frustrating thing about this list, though, is that it disappears and is replaced every Monday. It's great to get the new recommendations, but what if you'd like to save the old playlist? Let's get started learning how to save or download your Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify, so you can save the playlists you really love and listen to them whenever you want. 

I appreciate a good podcast though I have never cared for the built-in Podcast app on my iPhone. Yet it wasn’t until very recently that I decided to finally look for a solid replacement. There are various options in the App Store; you can certainly try out your fair share of podcast apps and see which you like the best. But my choice was surprisingly easy to make: iCatcher Podcast Player is a highly customizable podcast app that makes discovering new podcasts fun and listening to those you already love easy. Learn more on what it does and why we love it below.

When you have thousands of photos, there’s no way you’re going to look through them to try and spot the duplicates. There’s also the matter of exact versus similar duplicates—it would be a pain in the ass to try and sort that out manually. Well, a question in the iPhone Life Facebook group about this very topic sent me on a search for the best app for easily removing duplicate photos. And I do believe I’ve found it: Remo Duplicate Photos Remover on the iPhone is a free app that scans all of your photos, presenting you with a quick look at all of the duplicates. Then the app makes it easy for you to quickly remove the photos you don’t want to keep. Learn more on what this app does and why we love it below.

Instagram keeps track of the various hashtags, accounts, and locations account holders search for so that they can easily find their favorite pictures again, and also to use in offering suggested searches to follow and like. If you're not comfortable with your search history being saved, you can clear your Instagram search history. Keep in mind, though, that your new searches will continue to be logged, so you'll need to go through and delete all searches periodically if you don't want them on record. Let's get started learning how to clear search history on Instagram on your iPhone. 

It's that time of year again, when families want to travel and adventure together, school children and college kids are all out for the summer, and warm weather beckons everyone to the waterside for good times. It’s also the time when your chances of damaging your iPhone increase; whether from dropping your device in the water or from something happening to it while you're out and about on miscellaneous summertime escapades. To better protect your precious devices this summer, a heavy-duty, rugged iPhone case can most definitely be an asset. All of the cases included in this roundup provide superior protection for your iPhone, year round, with varying levels of insulation from dust, snow, mud, impact and water intrusion. Which one you decide to go with will depend on personal taste and how you intend to use your iPhone. Worth mentioning: Along with providing exceptional protection for your iPhone, all of these cases allow Qi wireless charging. Also worth mentioning, unless otherwise specified, all of the cases featured here that are compatible with the iPhone 8 or 8 Plus will be compatible with the older iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

Your iPhone has a variety of free ringtones to peruse, and the iTunes Store has a gigantic selection of iPhone ringtones to purchase, but what if you want to make your own custom ringtone? Good news! You can make phone ringtones free using already purchased songs from your iTunes library. All you need is your iPhone, a Mac or PC, a Lightning cable, 20–30 seconds of your favorite song, a little bit of time, and a willingness to try something new. Let's get started learning how to make your own custom free ringtones for iPhone with iTunes! 

I make no claims of being an amazing guitarist; I wouldn't even say I’m all that good. That said, I’ve enjoyed playing guitar for 20 years and I love it with all my heart. I find it to be both a creative outlet and a valuable form of relaxation and meditation. Back when I began my guitar playing journey, learning required paper books and teachers; nowadays, a few good apps can go a long way toward helping you learn and grow as a musician. The following are a few of my favorite, most indispensable iOS apps for guitar players.

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