iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

The Fumble-Free, Easy-Access Phone Solution

(Sponsored Post) By Olena Kagui on Tue, 11/23/2021

What if you could avoid that moment of panic when you can't find your phone without having to fumble through your purse and pockets? You can do just that with the CASEBUDi Crossbody Phone Lanyard. Enjoy the security of knowing your phone is on you and is easy to access wherever you go. This hands-free solution frees up space and offers peace of mind, available for a special price during the Cyber week sale.

I had the opportunity to try the i-FlashDrive MAX (starting at $79.99). PhotoFast gave me the accessory to try and it saved me a lot of trouble. My daughter had a lot of photos and videos on her iPhone that needed to be backed up. I was able to treat the i-FlashDrive like a USB drive and copy the files to it from her iPhone and then plug the drive into my Mac and use it as a normal Flash Drive. You do need to use PhotoFast's free app to access files within iOS, but that's true for all of these types of drives.

After months of beta testing, iOS 9 will be available some time today for downloading. It offers a range of new features, including a News app, a more intelligent Siri, transit and walking directions in Maps, greater search capabilities, split-screen multitasking on the iPad, and more. I've been using the beta version since early August and really like it. In this tip I'll be covering how to update your device to iOS 9.

I always look forward to reviewing the latest headset from Phiaton, a company that is consistently refining its product line. While some of its headset releases take small incremental steps forward, others, like its wireless BT 100 NC ($119) innovate on an entirely new level. But in the case of the BT 100 NC, do these innovations go far enough to justify replacing your existing headset?

If you’ve followed my Game Centered column, you’re likely already familiar with SteelSeries. The company makes some of the best gaming peripherals available for Apple devices and is a brand that I’ve included in my articles numerous times before, with good reason. Whether you are a casual Crossy Road player looking for an affordable but excellent pair of headphones, or a Vainglory gamer on the pro-circuit looking for a high-end pair of headphones, SteelSeries has you covered. The company also specializes in designing game controllers for the iPhone and the iPad, and now it's unveiled its latest controller, the Nimbus, designed specifically to deliver a console-type gaming experience on the new Apple TV. On the day of the Nimbus’ announcement, we interviewed the SteelSeries CEO Ehtisham Rabanni about the controller and his thoughts on the future of gaming.

One of the new features of the iPhone 6s is Live Photos. Turned on by default, this feature captures images for 1.5 seconds before and after the actual still photo that you take. When you tap on your still photo, you see what appears to be a three-second video of that moment. As you can see in the embedded video below, a still photo of rippling waves can show the actual rippling when you touch the display. Apple emphasized, however, that this is not a video, and that it doesn't greatly increase the file size. Any Live Photos you take can be viewed across iOS devices. And they appear as simple jpeg images when viewed on other devices.

People are asking how to put their emergency info on the Lock screen of their iPhones. If you have a medical issue such as a seizure disorder, cardiac condition, or similar problem that may leave you unable to communicate with medics and other first responders, it's important to have a simple method they can use to understand your situation so they can best help you. While a medical alert bracelet, ID bracelet, or even a medical ID card in your wallet may help in an emergency, there's one more tool you can use to ensure you receive the prompt care you need—your iPhone! Even if you keep your iPhone locked with a passcode or Touch or Face ID, it's still possible to have your Medical ID visible on your smartphone so that bystanders and emergency personnel can assist you in a medical emergency. Let's get started learning how to get the Medical ID on the Lock screen of your iPhone.

I will probably upgrade to the iPhone 6s, but not for the reasons you might think. Yes, Apple claims "The only thing that’s changed is everything" and that's true. Almost every element of the iPhone 6 has been enhanced. The metal is stronger. The screen has 3D Touch. The camera is a big improvement. The processor is faster, as are the graphics and networking. If your job was to repair iPhones, there are almost no components from the older iPhone 6 that could be reused in the iPhone 6s. It is entirely new. Everything has indeed changed. Apple has a valid point and it is also trying to head off the inevitable "nothing's changed" criticism that comes with any "s" model.

It got barely a mention during Apple's action-packed announcement on September 9, but Apple now offers an iPhone Lightning Dock, in four different colors. And if you want one, it's one of the few items announced that is actually available to order and shipping within 1–3 business days. The dock is sold in silver, space gray, gold, and rose gold to match the latest lineup of iPhone 6s colors. The dock itself is compatible with more than the iPhone 6s, specifically the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, 6, 6 Plus, 5s, 5c, 5, and iPod touch 5th and 6th generation. But it still may not be the Lightning dock for you.

Those with Parkinson’s, diabetes, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and asthma can participate in medical research right from their iPhones through Apple’s ResearchKit to help create more effective treatments for their diseases. Through the use of free apps, participants can help doctors and scientists gather data to research how they can better diagnose, treat and prevent disease. Not all the apps require that a user have the particular disease. When the user grants permission, the apps can access data from the Health app, along with any other information the user includes. Participants are not named in the study and all data gathered will be de-identified.

Today's Apple Announcement was full of surprises! iPhone fans have been watching the rumor blogs (Siri told us to!) for months to see if we could get a glimpse of what the new iPhones–we now know them to be 6s and 6s Plus–would look like in terms of features and well, looks. Apple fans definitely didn't expect what was announced today. Here's a look at the rumors, the truths, and the surprises.

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