iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Apple event November 2020

Apple just announced its third fall event this year, taking place on November 10 at 10 a.m. PST. Aptly named One More Thing (a phrase regularly used by Steve Jobs to announce significant products), it is likely to focus on the first Apple Silicon Mac and the launch of macOS 11 Big Sur, but it may also cover AirPods Studio, AirTags, and a new Apple TV and Siri remote. Like the other fall events, this will be entirely virtual, streaming from the Apple Park campus in Cupertino, California. Let's take a closer look at the details of the event and what may be announced.

The Hassle-Free Way to Transfer & Save iPhone Content

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Your iPhone contains an incredible amount of priceless photos, messages, and music, all of which you'd be sad to suddenly lose, right? The iMazing app by DigiDNA helps you safeguard your special memories with easy-to-use export, saving, and even printing options. Especially with the new iPhone 13 coming out, an app like this might just be what you’ve been looking for!

The TabletStage from Mighty Dwarf has a split personality... and that's a good thing! Aside from splitting apart to form an easel for iPad, iPad mini, or other tablets, it also includes stereo speakers and can accept audio via Bluetooth, NFC (with supported tablets), or 3.5mm audio jack (cable included.) It charges via Micro USB (cable included) and, at least for my review unit, ships pre-charged and ready to use!

The TabletStage folds into a compact form for easy stowage in your gadget bag. When you unfold it,  the device forms a full-size "stage" for your tablet. The audio quality is surprisingly strong, thanks to a pair of clever slits in the base that act as a subwoofer. If you cover them up, you'll hear the difference.

Welcome to my iPhoneography workflow. Here, I'll share the images I create with my iPhone and the hand-picked, trial-and-error methods I use to capture and edit them with.

This image I took recently, titled "Sunday Serenity," is a very easy-to-approach iPhoneography photo. I want to share a few quick tips first off. Using your iPhone to take professional-looking photos involves a little manipulation. Trying to get those far-away landscape shots with your iDevice can be difficult compared to using a DSLR camera.

In this photo, the sun was about to come up, which is THE BEST time to catch sunrises (for sunsets, the best time is right after the sun goes down). It all relates to lighting, and colors are more intense before or after the sun makes an appearance.

The rugged, waterproof case market has exploded this year, and now that summer is in full effect, people keep asking me, “Which waterproof iPhone case should I get?”

This time last year, Lifeproof had excellent offerings, and... well, that was really about it in terms of quality waterproof iPhone cases. This year, however, there is no shortage of top-quality waterproof cases for your iPhone. Read on for a quick roundup of the best of the best available. And while I can't tell you which one is best suited to you, I can turn you on to some great options (some of which you may not have known about), and let you decide.

This article is intended for readers suffering from the narrow field-of-view of iPhones starting with the iPhone 4 and for programmers offering any kind of video recording in their apps.

As you may know already, recent iDevices use image stabilization during video recording. Unfortunately, not even the latest-and-greatest iPhone 5 has optical stabilization, only electronic, unlike the Nokia Lumia 92x. This, unfortunately, means part of the sensor is used for the stabilization itself, further narrowing the already limited field-of-view (FOV). I recommend you watch engadget's iPhone 5 vs. Nokia Lumia 920 videos so you can see how immensely better optical stabilization is.

My iPhone 5 has been sporting Valenta’s Booklet Croco White ($38.99) for barely a week, and it’s already made quite the impression.

I'll give the guys a disclaimer here— this particular case from Valenta is pretty feminine. It is satiny white and kind of blingy (which is probably why I love it!), and I've gotten more compliments on it than on any other accessory in recent memory.

Its booklet design and croco print covering its genuine leather surface give it the appearance of a fashionable women's wallet. Like many clutches, it's made of 100 percent genuine leather and has an inner pocket for storing cash, ID, or credit cards. A small magnetic clasp secures the cover to the back. 

New apps make our iPhones more multifunctional each day. You can turn your device into a flashlight, heart rate monitor, diet tracker, and much, much more. Among these are a multitude of apps that turn your iPhone into a remote control for your PC or Mac, letting you manage your life wirelessly, right from your iPhone.

Below is a list of popular apps that give you power over your Mac or PC.

1) Remote (Free)

 

The Remote app by Apple allows you to use your iPhone to manage your Apple TV, Mac or PC, and even iTunes. Remote is easy to install and will allow you to open the whole iTunes directory from your iPhone. What’s more, it also lets you create playlists and modify collections.

The new, highly-anticipated Lifeproof iPad mini case ($99.99) is now available. Available now at Best Buy as well as at Lifeproof's website, the frē is nothing short of a feat of modern design genius.

The frē takes all of the best elements of its Lifeproof predecessors and fuses them to create a case that is Lifeproof’s best so far. If you are already familiar with Lifeproof cases, you know that the company (recently purchased by Otterbox) excels at crafting some of the best protective cases for iDevices. Sporting slim profiles, supporting full-time use, complete functionality, and control accessibility, Lifeproof cases could perhaps be considered more of an enhancement to your iDevice as opposed to an encumbrance. If Steve Jobs had designed a ruggedized, waterproof, shock proof, snow proof and dust proof iDevice, it likely would have turned out similar to the Lifeproof case. This go-anywhere, do-anything case is simply the best in its class.

If you're like me, after viewing Monday's WWDC keynote address, you want to check out iOS 7 for yourself. To get a beta copy of iOS 7, you must be enrolled in one of Apple's iOS developer programs ($99 annual fee). If you have been following my How to Unleash Your Inner App Developer blog series, you may want to sign up anyway so you can continue to follow my weekly tutorials as we move our demo app onto an iOS device.

If you sign up as a developer, you're in good company. Apple announced at WWDC that there are now 6 million iOS developers worldwide, with 1.5 million developers added in just the last year!

Divoom, in my mind, holds the title as the champ of high quality small speakers. One of my favorites is the Bluetune Solo, which I wrote about recently for iPhone Life. And now, there is a new kid on the block with Divoom's recently released Onbeat 200 ($79.99).

I never cease to marvel at the amazing crisp, clear sounds that small speakers can produce these days, and the new Onbeat is no exception.

It measures 6.25 x 2.75 x 2 inches, which makes it totally portable for use at home, in the office, or on the road. I enjoy taking mine out in my Japanese garden while I’m working. I’ve even taken it bird watching with me and called birds with it. As a test while on the road, I listened to an audiobook borrowed from my library on the Onbeat. I was able to hear the spoken words clearly over any road noise and enjoyed the story as I rolled along. Even the people in the backseat were able to listen in without any difficulty. So it passed all the tests.

In this age of multi-device households, sharing accounts with family members can be a little stressful. Add a tween or teenage into the mix, and it might be enough to push you over the edge. If you’ve ever had your phone ring with a FaceTime call from your 12 year-old’s best friend or received the “iCloud is full” error message after adding a new device to your household, this article is for you.

First, it’s important to know a little bit about your Apple ID and iCloud. Your Apple ID is what gives you access to iCloud, FaceTime, iMessage, iTunes, the App Store, and Game Center, among other services. Since these are the most-used services in my house, they are the ones I’m going to talk about here. Some families choose to share an Apple ID for some services and use separate Apple IDs for others. There is no “one size fits all” cure for family device management—it all depends on your family's preferences. If you forgot your Apple ID, here's how to reset your password.

This article is meant for advanced users and programmers.

Today, I've started investigating the CPU usage of the software decoders of the iOS multimedia players I'm reviewing for my forthcoming iOS Multimedia bible. (Of which the work-in-progress feature & benchmark measurements chart, in OpenOffice format, is already public. It's quite a bit messed up (again, it's a chart I'm actively working on) but you may already find answers to even your most unique questions.) For this, I've reviewed all the CPU measurement techniques available on iOS – a very important parameter of the players if you want to have as good battery life and low device temperature as possible. (There may be huge differences in the efficiency between even custom audio – for example, OGG or WMA – decoders, let alone video ones.)

The iPhoneography Tip of the Week series features tips, tricks, and tutorials to help you take better pictures with your iPhone.

I received a Facebook message from a friend a short time ago challenging me to describe the method she used to create an image of a rose surrounded by a silky-pink tunnel. I found out she used a straw to create the beautiful image, and I decided I would experiment with the trick, and see what I could create.

Here is what you will need to try it yourself:

1. Scissors;

2. A straw (your choice of color);

3. The subject;

4. Your iPhone!

It's official, summer is here. Time for days at the beach and afternoons by the pool: in other words, for many people, it's time to shape up. When it comes to staying bikini ready, my iPhone is my best friend. I have apps that help me track of my calorie intake, sign up for classes at my gym, and track my heart rate. But recently I've added a new app to my fitness arsenal, My Diet Coach - Weight Loss for Women (Free). My Diet Coach takes a totally different approach to dieting; this isn't a calorie counter or fitness tracker. My Diet Coach uses personalized motivation and tips to help you through social or emotional eating situations where you may be tempted to make unhealthy choices. 

This article will be useful for anyone planning to display the output of Keynote on an external screen. I've clearly marked sections meant for advanced users or ones with jailbroken devices; they can be safely skipped by other users. This article contains a lot of information on video/TV output in general and the multitasking/backgrounding JB tweaks, which may also be of interest to readers who aren't Keynote users.

Apple's Keynote app ($9.99) is by far the most widely used iOS application to play back presentations. In this writeup, I present you with a complete discussion of everything related to displaying its contents on an external screen or projector (from now on, for brevity, I'll call TV).

If you don't know the name Gary Rayner, chances are still good you know the company he built from the ground up. Rayner is the visionary genius behind the phenomenally successful and multiple-award winning Lifeproof protective cases. Over the years, I've had several opportunities to write about Mr. Rayner, his demanding standards of quality, and the Lifeproof line of cases, arguably some of the best iDevice cases on the market.

Last week at the CTIA Wireless Association convention in Las Vegas, not only did Lifeproof win three trophies at the iPhone Life Best of CTIA Awards, it also played a significant role in a major announcement from Brian Thomas, CEO of Otterbox. Live on the iPhone Life iZone stage, Thomas made the announcement that Otterbox had acquired Lifeproof in a move that according to iPhone Life CEO David Averbach “adds substantially to the Otterbox legacy and solidifies the company’s hold on the case market.”

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