Animoji is a new iMessage feature that currently is only available on the iPhone X. Animojis are animated emojis, and the technology required to create them is really incredible, with far-reaching potential applications. The Animojis feature allows iPhone X owners to animate various characters in ten-second videos and send them to friends. When you move your face, the Animoji automatically moves with you. With Animojis, you are essentially animating your own face, as though you were in a cartoon right from the comfort of your iPhone. The first iteration of Animojis allowed you to be a unicorn, the poop emoji, a panda, a chicken, and more. With iOS 11.3, Apple has added a bear, a dragon, a lion, and a skull. Here’s how to use Animojis on your iPhone X.
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How to Use Business Chat on iPhone with iOS 11.3
By Leanne Hays
Apple announced the Apple Business Chat platform at WWDC 2017 and iOS 11.3 has finally introduced us to the program. The Business Chat platform allows iPhone users to connect with companies through iMessages, or from the businesses' app or website, rather than talking on the phone. Apple is rolling out Business Chat slowly; it's only available as a beta version right now, with a limited number of partner companies. Let's stay ahead of the curve and learn how to use Business Chat on our iPhones.
How to Sort App Store Reviews on iPhone with iOS 11.3
By Leanne Hays
I don't know about you, but before I purchase an app in the App Store, I like to read a few reviews to see how other customers have liked (or disliked) their purchase. Now iOS 11.3 makes it easier than ever before to sort app reviews so customers can find the information they want about individual apps. Let's get started learning how to find and sort user-submitted reviews in the App Store on our iPhones, so we have more information before purchasing apps.
7 Best Free Cooking Apps Every Foodie Should Try
By Abbey Dufoe
You rely on your iPhone for everything, so why not for dinner tonight? If you've been in a recipe rut, or just want help to become the best home chef you can be, download these free cooking and step-by-step recipe apps to get you started. Some of these cooking apps require a trip to the grocery store, while others help you find recipes to work with ingredients you already have in the fridge. As a bonus, if you lack motivation, check out our top foodie Instagram account choices to get all the culinary inspiration you need.
Best Productivity Apps: Top Picks from the iPhone Life Team
By iPhone Life Team
The numbers in the Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal just keep climbing, from an original 55 million to a new estimate of nearly 87 million account holders who have had their data breached. This is because the quiz, "This Is Your Digital Life," collected data not only from Facebook users who completed it, but from all their Facebook friends as well. Facebook has barred the personality quiz from the platform and sent a message to all account holders who took the quiz, but if you'd like to make sure your data wasn't also breached, there's a way to find out. Let's check and see if our Facebook accounts have been compromised by Cambridge Analytica; it's easy to do right from your iPhone.
How to Delete Privacy-Invading Facebook Apps on iPhone
By Leanne Hays
Facebook Privacy: How to Delete Facebook Apps
- Tap on the x to the right of the app you want to delete.
- Choose Delete App or Delete App & Activity from the pop-up menu. I recommend Delete App & Activity.
- After deleting your chosen app, you'll receive a notification telling you the app may still keep data you've previously shared.
- After you tap Close, you'll see a screen like this:
The next time your Facebook app refreshes, the apps you deleted will completely disappear.
The Apple News app is great for keeping up to date on the day's top developments and stories. The more users interact with the News app, the more customized it becomes, and now, with iOS 11.3, Apple has made the News app even more individualized. The For You section of the News app now allows you to tailor the For You video selection to your preference. Let's get started learning how to personalize the For You section of Apple's News app on your iPhone, so you can get all the content you're really looking for by keeping or eliminating the Today's Videos and Must-See Videos section.
How to Turn Off Throttling on iPhone with iOS 11.3
By Leanne Hays
When it came to light that Apple was throttling processor speed for older iPhone models, the fallout was ugly. Apple explained that the throttling was meant to prevent iPhone models 6 through 7 Plus from shutting down when their batteries couldn't keep up with the demands of their processors. Apple also lowered replacement battery prices to $29 to assist customers in getting their iPhones back up to speed. Now, with iOS 11.3, Apple is letting go of the automatic throttling plan and allowing iPhone users the ability to decide for themselves whether they'd like to slow processor speeds when their iPhone's batteries aren't able to keep up. Let's learn more about the throttle setting on your iPhone, actually called the applied performance management feature, and where to disable this setting if you choose.
Some of iPhone Life's most popular articles have been about saving battery life on the iPhone, which just goes to show how much room Apple still has to improve when it comes to battery life. Luckily, you have a new source of information for saving battery life that’s directly from Apple: Battery Life Suggestions. Now, when you view Battery in your Settings app, Apple will present some suggestions for ways you can improve your battery life. Here’s how to use those Battery Life Suggestions for better battery life with iOS 11 on iPhone.
Top 3 Address Book & Contacts Apps for iPhone
By Sarah Kingsbury
If you've ever wondered how to delete multiple contacts on iPhone or how to create groups of contacts (hint: it requires a computer), then you know the iOS Contacts app that comes with your iPhone has a few shortcomings. For the casual user, these shortcomings may be no more than an inconvenience; but for power users who manage hundreds or thousands of business contacts, these shortcomings may be deal breakers. If you're looking for a great alternative to Apple's Contacts app, read on for three alternative address book, phone book, and contacts apps that will meet your contact-management needs.
How to Get Siri to Stop Interrupting You on iPhone
By Sarah Kingsbury
It's like the Interrupting Cow joke that delights school-age kids everywhere; you activate Siri and start speaking your request, only to be interrupted by, "Here's what I found on the web." At which point you probably say something like "If you'd just let me #$@%ing finish, Siri, you'd know I'm trying to call my wife, not do a web search!"
I can't help you with your anger issues, but I do have a very simple solution to your problems with Interrupting Siri. Here's how to get Siri to stop interrupting you and listen to your entire question.
Apple HomePod Review: 5 Things We Love About Apple's Smart Speaker, & a Few We Don't
By David Averbach
Should You Purchase the HomePod?
iPhoneLife CEO and writer David Averbach reviews audio quality, "Hey Siri" performance, the HomePod's fit into Apple's ecosystem, five of his favorite HomePod features, and who should and shouldn't purchase a HomePod.
Best Waterproof iPhone 8 & 8 Plus Cases:
- Lifeproof Fre for iPhone 8 & 8 Plus ($89.99)
- Catalyst Case for iPhone 8 & 8 Plus ($79.99-$89.99)
- Dog&Bone Wetsuit Impact iPhone 8 ($79.95)
- (2Pack) Universal Waterproof Pouch ($7.95)
Best Protective iPhone 8 & 8 Plus Cases:
- Underwater Casetify Case for iPhone 8 or 8 Plus ($40)
- Otterbox Defender Series for iPhone 8 or 8 Plus ($49.95)
- Aknacase Glamour Series - Blue Wave for iPhone 8 or 8 Plus ($20)
The Best iOS Racing App without In-App Purchases
By Conner Carey
I love gaming on my iPhone, and I am happy to pay for an app. But too often, I’ll get into a ‘free’ game only to end up spending more on in-app purchases than I ever would have on a single game for any regular gaming console. Which is why Riptide GP: Renegade is such a refreshing surprise. I spent $2.99 for the initial game, which is a great price considering the developers don’t upsell you within the app at all. The graphics are beautiful, the racing controls are the smoothest I’ve ever tried, and it feels like a normal game because once I buy it, it’s fully-featured and ready to play. All of this combined makes Riptide GP: Renegade the best racing game on the iPhone. We’ll cover more on what this game offers and why I love it below.
Everyone has to eat to live, which is why apps that make planning, shopping, and preparing healthy meals are a godsend. This year I’ve been cooking the most I ever have in my life, and I’ve quickly realized how difficult it can be to keep all the recipes I’ve tried (or want to try) organized. And on top of that, there seemed to be no way to use those recipes to create a shopping list. But what I didn't previously know about is today’s incredible app: Paprika 3. For a one-time purchase of $4.99, this app allows you to save recipes from the internet without having to type any ingredients or directions. You can create a list of everything in your own pantry, build a meal plan with recipes you’ve saved, and add whatever you need to buy to a grocery list. All the work that takes place outside of the kitchen can be done with Paprika 3. There’s a whole lot this app can do, and we'll cover it all below.
How to Make Song Volume Consistent on iPhone
By Leanne Hays
iPhones provide many useful services, not least of which is listening to music in a portable, convenient, and customizable fashion. One thing that can really deter from enjoying music on our iPhones, though, is the way that the volume can shift up and down from song to song. It can be a bit of a Goldilocks experience; first the iPhone volume is too high, then the volume level is too low, and sometimes it's just right. Luckily there's an easy iPhone trick to fix this issue so that you're not constantly having to adjust the volume on your iPhone. Let's get started learning how to enable Sound Check on your iPhone to level out the volume throughout your listening experience.
I have never used my Photos app to properly sort my pictures into albums, and I’m going to make an educated guess and say that this is true for most of us. We take a bunch of photos at an event or with friends, share the ones we love, and let the others take up space on our devices. When it comes time to find a photo, I’m always searching through the All Photos album, scanning for the one I need. But there is a better way! I found Slidebox because I was looking for an app that would let me easily create albums, sort photos into those albums, and delete the photos I don’t need to keep. To my absolute delight, Slidebox allows me to do this super easily by using swiping gestures to quickly sort through photos like you sort through potential connections on Tinder. Learn more on why I love this app and what it does below.
Organizing your life so that it works for you instead of against you is a great way to lower overall stress and free up some brain power. Wunderlist is a to-do list and task manager that allows you to easily keep track of any area of life, get reminders about what you need to do, and collaborate with others from right within the app. I also use Wunderlist to make lists of random things I want to remember, such as movies I want to watch or books I want to read. On the surface, it’s easy to look at Wunderlist and see just a to-do app, but the plethora of features make it an incredible tool for staying organized and on top of things without having to remember it all yourself. We’ll go over more on what Wunderlist does and why we love it below.
There are certain keyboard symbols that are just not readily apparent when you search for them on your iPhone. One example is the copyright symbol; just where is it on the iPhone's keyboard, anyway? Don't worry, there is a simple way to type the copyright symbol on your iPhone so that you can easily let people know that they need to ask for permission to reproduce, distribute, or perform the work in question. Let's learn how to include the copyright symbol in messages from your iPhone!