Apps

If you're into iPhone photography and filming, there will come a time when you feel the need to start investing in accessories to improve your results. One of the most basic yet helpful extras you can buy is an iPhone tripod. A phone tripod can help you get your best shots by stabilizing your iPhone, thereby eliminating unwanted movement and jiggling while you film or live stream. A tripod is also very handy when the time comes for a selfie or group shot where you'd like to include everyone. Whether you have the newest iPhone or an older version like the iPhone 6, iPhone 7, or iPhone 7 plus, there's a tripod out there that will help you take your filming and photography to the next level. Let's get started learning about three of my recommendations for your upcoming purchase. 

Need iPad and iPhone help? Sign up for iPhone Life Insider and Sarah will help you with all your iPhone troubleshooting and iOS-related issues. To learn more go to iPhoneLife.com/Insider. In this Hey Sarah column, one Insider wants to know how to change the default greeting on their iPhone's voicemail. Other questions include how to view more than the current month on Apple Watch and how to sort notes in the Notes app alphabetically.

Need iPad and iPhone help? Sign up for iPhone Life Insider and Sarah will help you with all your iPhone troubleshooting and iOS-related issues. To learn more go to iPhoneLife.com/Insider. In this Hey Sarah column, one Insider wants to know how to remove everything from their old iPad so they can give it away to a friend while another wants to know if it's possible to delete photos from their iPhone without also deleting them from iCloud.

Every morning, five days a week, we publish iPhone how-tos to help you get the most out of your phone. But just as important as understanding how your Apple devices work is finding the best apps to use with them. That's why every Saturday we share one of the apps the iPhone Life Team has used and loved with our readers. 

According to AARP, only four out of ten American adults have created a will. Writing a will is an important step for every adult, particularly for those of us with children, because we don't want those we've left behind unprotected and confused about our final wishes. Since I'm one of the six out of ten who haven't made a will yet and don't want to spend the time and money to visit a lawyer, I've made it my mission to find a way to write a do-it-yourself online will, preferably for free. I've found an iPhone and iPad app called Tomorrow that not only helps users write a will, including designating heirs, executors, and guardians for children and pets, but also walks us through the process of purchasing life insurance and setting up a trust for our beneficiaries. To learn more about how the Tomorrow last will and testament app works, read on. 

App Saturday: Quartz

By Conner Carey

News doesn’t have to be overwhelming. While it’s important to stay aware and up-to-date, there is a better way to get your daily news briefing: the Quartz app. Instead of showing you a flood of articles, Quartz is focused on a single screen that looks very similar to any messaging app, except these messages give you bite-sized nuggets of news. With the Quartz app, you can get an overview of the news and choose which subjects you want more details about. Learn more on what this app does and why we love it below.

Since WWDC 2018, we've been eagerly awaiting the release of WatchOS 5 this September. Now that Apple has confirmed the official date for the September announcement (that's the 12th of September for those of you keeping score) we're more excited than ever to dive into the rumors surrounding the Apple Watch. What might the new design feature, and what do we already know about WatchOS 5? Read on to dig into all the rumors leading up to the big announcement.

While it would be nice if Apple allowed us to easily select any song on our iPhone for use as a ringtone, it just doesn't work that way. There are certain ringtone apps that will allow you to use music from your iTunes, but that’s another article in itself. For around a dollar, however, you can buy a ringtone of your favorite song or melody from the iTunes Store. I recently purchased the incredibly nostalgic Sailor Moon intro melody for my iPhone. You can find popular songs, TV and movie melodies, sound effects, and more. Once you’ve made your purchase, it’s easy to set your ringtone. Here’s how to make your favorite song your iPhone ringtone.

You've probably run across the acronym AR or heard friends mention AR gear or games, but what is AR, exactly? Augmented reality (AR) merges computer-generated images with the real world around you. Unlike VR (Virtual Reality), AR games don't require a special headset; you just need your iPhone, a good protective case, and the space to move around. We've covered some of the best AR games available for your iPhone in this article. Read on to you

Have you ever asked yourself, "What is the TV Provider function on iPhone?" You've come to the right place, because we've got the answers on how you can use TV Provider feature in the Settings apps to connect to your cable provider. The TV Provider setting brings all of your TV show and movie watching experiences together under the Zero Sign-In feature. With TV Provider, you can sign in once with your cable provider or any iOS TV app like Hulu or Amazon and never have to sign in again on any other Apple device. Here’s how to watch cable on your iPhone or iPad using the TV Provider setting.

The Mail app on your iPhone can connect all of your email accounts in one place with different folders that allow you to organize and view your emails in the best way for you. One way the Mail app helps you stay on top of your communication is with the Drafts folder, where you can find messages you started and saved, but never got around to sending. You can use this tip to quickly and easily see all the drafts you’ve begun across all of your Mail app connected accounts. Here’s how to view all drafts in the Mail app on your iPhone right from your Inbox.

In the past, when a stranger on Facebook sent you a message, you didn't receive a notification the way you would with messages from friends. These messages used to be filtered into a section of Facebook Messages called the Other Inbox, but now Facebook has split the Other Inbox into two separate areas: Message Requests and Filtered. The Message Requests Inbox is for messages from people you've communicated with in the past, although you might not be friends with them on Facebook. The Filtered Inbox is for completely unknown senders. There’s actually an easy (though unintuitive) way to access your hidden messages. Most of the time, these messages aren't important. But every now and then, there’s a message you need or want to read. Here’s how to view your hidden Facebook messages on iPhone.

Using the right task-management app and note-taking app can make all the difference to your productivity. Unfortunately, the iPhone Notes app and Reminders app aren't quite up to handling more than the basics. On the other hand, the App Store offers so many alternatives that it can be hard to know which of the options will end up being the right app for your particular needs. Whether you're looking for the best task-reminder app, the best Evernote alternative, the best checklist app, or the best iPad note-taking app, we've assembled this list of our favorites and shared which functions each app does really well. There's sure to be an app in this list that can meet your requirements!

Starting with iOS 10,  when Siri got the ability to complete tasks in third-party apps, a lot of third-party app developers added Siri voice command compatibility, including Pinterest, Skype, and Uber. You can even make Siri open Google Assistant for you. But how can you know what apps can Siri use? We’ll cover some top third-party apps Siri is able to use and how to make sure those apps are enabled for use with Siri. Here’s how to use Siri with third-party apps and some top apps to try.

How to Avoid Tolls on Google Maps:

Get driving directions without tolls on Google Maps using the following directions:

  1. Download Google Maps in the App Store.
  2. Open the app and search for your destination.
  3. Tap the blue button or Route.
  4. Sidenote: you can tap the up and down arrows next to the search boxes to switch your “from” and “to” if needed.
  5. Enter your “from” address or use your current location.
  6. Tap the three vertical dots right of the search boxes.
  7. Select Route Options.
  8. Toggle on Avoid Tolls.
  9. To save your preference for avoiding tolls with Google Maps, toggle on Remember settings.
  10. Tap the back arrow to return to the map.
  11. Tap the blue circle with a white arrow pointing up to begin navigating.

How to Set Up Out of Office on iPhone: Outlook

We'll cover how to set up out of office for Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, iCloud, and more. Here is how to set up out of office for Outlook. It's reccomended you set up your out of office reply on a computer. 

  • Sign in to Outlook.com.
  • Tap the Settings icon that looks like a gear in the top right corner.
  • Choose Automatic Replies.
  • Check the box Send Automatic Replies.
  • Choose the start and end date, then check the box Send replies only during this time period.
  • Below that is a blank body of text. Enter the message you want people to receive as your out of office reply.
  • You can check the box for sending Ooo replies to everyone or just to your contacts.
  • Click Ok at the top when you’re done.

If you set a start and end time and check the box, “Send replies only during this time period,” your out of office reply will automatically turn off. If not, you can easily turn off by revisiting settings, clicking Automatic Replies, and checking the box, “Don’t send automatic replies.”

Face it; kids are going to use technology as a regular part of their lives. Whether it's a home or at school, for recreation or education, or all of the above, your children and grandchildren will learn all the ins and outs of your iPhone, iPad, and whatever other devices you may have around the house. We already know it's important to limit screen time to keep our kids well rounded, but what about other parental controls? Apple has created several iPhone and iPad restriction settings that adults can put in place without ever needing to purchase a parental control app, and even more settings are coming with iOS 12! There are many reasons you might enable restrictions on your iPhone; they act like a child lock app and control major aspects of privacy, allowed content, and more. Here are two restrictions I find very helpful; preventing kids from adding or deleting apps on your devices. Let's get started learning how to use these parental control settings.

While planning your next family vacation or tropical getaway, you might find yourself wondering how some people grab those great group selfies without losing their iPhone over a waterfall. If you’ve ever found yourself fumbling for the shutter button while trying to take a perfectly framed self-portrait, then it might be time to consider a selfie stick. Read on to learn about the different types of selfie sticks and how to incorporate one into your next group selfie.

This is something I’ve always wondered about but didn’t realize there was a solution for until recently. When someone dies, what happens to their Facebook page? This must have been a question posed by many users because Facebook allows you to designate someone to manage your Facebook page if you should happen to die, this is called a Facebook legacy. You can also set your profile to automatically delete once Facebook has been notified of your death. Either way, here’s how to create a will for your Facebook page.

Beginning with iOS 9 the Mail app included Markup, a photo editor that lets you write, draw on, and add shapes and signatures to your images. Now there's no need for a separate app to sketch and add text to pictures; iPhone and iPad users can insert images into the body of emails, then mark them up right there without ever leaving the Mail app. Let's get started learning how to use Markup on your email images.

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