iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Have you ever held your iPhone 12 Pro Max in your hands and wondered, like David Byrne, “How did we get here?” It may seem like we’ve always had our smartphones in our lives, but in reality, it was just 14 short years ago when the first iPhone came out. Imagine, the year 2007: no one owned an iPhone and the term “selfie” wasn’t even a twinkle in a future Instagrammer’s eye. Let’s take a walk down memory lane and learn what made the first iPhone the household name it is today.

We all know the convenience of all our passwords being stored in Apple Keychain. However, many of us also know the frustration of using our non-Apple devices and no longer having access to those passwords. Fortunately, there is now an extension for Chrome that lets you link your iCloud keychain to your Google browser, so you can keep all your passwords securely in one place. Let's learn how to do it.

Apple’s new AirTag is a device that helps you find those important items you’re always misplacing. You can attach one to your keys, purse, backpack, or even the elusive remote (with the help of some adhesive) and use the Find My app on your iPhone or iPad to locate it. Here, I’ll share my experiences with the AirTag, warts and all, after two weeks of hands-on testing.

What does Apple Wallet do? Apple Wallet (formerly Passbook) is, as it sounds, a virtual wallet app that keeps your credit and debit cards, rewards cards, boarding passes, movie tickets, and more all in one place. In this guide, we’ll go over how to add cards and passes to Apple Wallet and how to use them.

Apple covered a lot of ground in its preview of iOS 15, watchOS 8, macOS 12, and iPadOS 15 during the second virtual WWDC keynote. The announcement was a bit scattered, as presenters covered an unwieldy range of topics from exciting FaceTime improvements, a contextual way to manage notifications and Do Not Disturb called Focus, and beefed-up privacy protections for everything from iCloud and Health to Siri and Safari. Some of the changes were expected, such as Widgets for the iPad Home screen, while others, such as the ability to FaceTime with Android users, were not. Here's everything Apple announced today.

Apple revealed iOS 15 at the June 7 WWDC Keynote; the latest iPhone software update integrates apps, features, and services, both new and familiar, more seamlessly than ever before. These improvements help iPhone users connect with friends and family, reclaim their time, and get more from apps that we've all grown comfortable and familiar with, like Photos, Wallet, and Maps. Let's go over FaceTime updates, the new Focus feature and redesigned Notifications, the revamped Safari app, and much, much more to look forward to in the fall. 

In today's WWDC 2021 keynote presentation, Apple announced upcoming features and software updates for AirPods and Apple Music that will focus on an overall improvement to your listening experience. For AirPods, Spatial Audio and beamforming reigned supreme, while Apple Music made some serious upgrades in audio quality—at no additional cost—through the incorporation of Lossless Audio tiers and Spatial Audio. We'll discuss these fun new updates, along with some very practical upgrades to AirPods, such as the ability to locate these tiny devices with the Find My app.

Apple made some big moves at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, bringing things like cross-platform support and video sharing to FaceTime and on-device voice processing to Siri (no more spying on us!). Tune in to learn all the features David and Donna can’t wait to try, and what they definitely won’t be using.

WatchOS 8 is coming to an Apple Watch near you this fall! This much-anticipated software update, announced at Apple's WWDC keynote event, was met with sighs at the focus on revamping the Breathe app. While the improved Health features come with exciting possibilities, the spattering of minor core features, including more flexible text writing, AirTags on the watch's Find My app, and a new Portrait watch face raise more questions than whoops of excitement.

A good house cleaning app can be a lifesaver when you're trying to keep your home organized. Not only can it remind you to clean those spots you keep forgetting, but it can also help break down what can seem like insurmountable tasks into bite-sized pieces. Better yet, many can be shared with other household members so that the app can pester them to do their chores and save you the trouble. Here are the best cleaning apps we've found to keep your household running smoothly.

Each Apple TV update brings bug fixes, better functionality, and a generally better tvOS software experience. We recommend keeping your Apple TV updated to the latest software, and to do that you'll either need to perform a manual Apple TV software update or set the latest Apple TV update to occur automatically whenever a new tvOS version is available. We'll show you how to do both!

Apple Watch calls are great because you don't need your iPhone, and it leaves your hands free so you can multitask. I will teach you how to make a phone call and accept one, along with other tips to make the most of Apple Watch phone calls. Plus, I'll explain how to turn off phone calls on Apple Watch if you need some peace and quiet.

Did you know you can print items from the Notes app on your iPhone? It's a super useful tool, but it's tricky to figure out how to print from Notes on iPhone unless you know where to look. In this tip, we'll show you how to print notes from iPhone so you can save paper copies of your notes or scanned documents.

Apple finally announced its lost-item tracking device, the AirTag, at its 2021 "Spring Loaded" event. You can attach AirTags to your frequently misplaced items and use the Find My app to track them down, from near or far. But if you can track your own keys or wallet so easily, what’s stopping stalkers from tracking their victims in the same way?

Siri is the Apple voice-activated assistant that can help you navigate your devices. If you are wondering how do you get Hey Siri to work, I will walk you through activation, picking from the Apple voices list to personalize your assistant and other Apple Siri settings.