iPhone

While you're enjoying the great outdoors this Summer, whether at the beach or elsewhere, you’re going to want the loudest portable waterproof Bluetooth speaker you can find. Your Bluetooth speaker needs to be wireless and portable to easily go on adventures with you while also being rugged (ideally waterproof) and as loud as possible so that everyone in your party can enjoy the music. Furthermore, there is a seemingly endless array of excellent quality Bluetooth speakers, however, out of the multitudes of Bluetooth speakers on the market, only a limited and select few can lay claim to being loud, waterproof, portable and heavy duty. I've compiled a list of some of the best, most durable and rugged Bluetooth speakers available right now. What follows are the top outdoor wireless Bluetooth speakers for those who are adventurous or accident prone.

Every now and again, I decide it’s time to treat myself. My beloved House of Marley headphones recently fell apart, so I began searching for a new pair to invest in. A few Google searches later, I found myself ogling the Ultra Violet Beats Solo3 Wireless ($299) headphones. I’m a sucker for an elegant presentation, but are Beats more than just a pretty face? I’ve been using my Beats Solo3s for about two months now; so was it worth the price tag?

Is Apple’s new Clips app a replacement video editing app for iMovie? Not quite. The Clips app taps into the Instagram/Snapchat generation, offering an extremely easy platform in which users can create video stories and share them with friends. While Clips is a pretty awesome free video editing app, it’s not going to fulfill the same purposes as iMovie. For the video editing professional, Clips isn’t going to cut it for complex projects. But for the everyday person, it’s a fun new way to create professional-looking videos that are easily shareable with friends and via social media. I’ll go through everything you need to know to start creating and editing videos with the Clips app. This is the latest Apple app, and it seems that its main purpose is, simply, fun.

Sleep deprivation in our always-on, social media-saturated world is a problem that is only growing as we add more tech to our homes. It affects our performance on and off the job and can result in significantly adverse health effects, particularly as we age. I have dealt with my share of sleep issues over the years, due to regularly traveling and working different shifts at my job. Although I don't have any magic-bullet solutions, I can offer what I’ve found to be the most helpful apps, gear, and tips for lulling you to sleep.

Someone tell Casetify to send me a whole collection of these lovely cases. Pairing the beautiful designs Casetify is known for with multi-color grips for drop protection makes for a case that’s a gem to look at and use. I was sent a case for the iPhone 7 Plus; it has a yellow grip with watercolor-like flowers on the back. But you can visit Casetify iPhone 7 Cases Collection ($40) to see a whole array of designs. The latest in the Casetify line are these multi-colored grip cases, which come in mint green, lemon yellow, cotton candy pink & sky blue. I’ve been using my Casetify case for about a week now. I love it because it’s the type of case I can see myself using for a long time. I try out a lot cases, so finding one that I want to keep using well past review time is a fairly rare occurrence that I revel in.

If you’re ditching your iPhone, whether permanently or temporarily, you’re going to need to deactivate iMessage. This is due to an issue Apple had to solve a while ago, wherein users who switched to an Android, or other non-iPhone smartphone, were missing texts from friends who were sending iMessages. If you still have the iPhone that you need to disable iMessage on, the process is super quick and easy. Likewise, there’s a simple solution even if you’ve already sold or given your old iPhone away. If you switched from an iPhone to another iPhone, this shouldn’t be an issue for you. But if you’re switching (or planning to switch) to an Android device, use this tip to deregister your iPhone from iMessage before or after you’ve gotten your new smartphone. Here’s how to deactivate and deregister iMessage on iPhone.

If you already have a Paypal account that’s connected to either your bank account or debit/credit card, sending a friend or family member money couldn’t be easier with Paypal on iPhone. The best part is that Paypal doesn’t charge you anything to send money to friends and family, which means it’s perfect for splitting a bill, settling a bet, helping a friend, or whatever other reason you might need to send them money. Here’s how to send someone money via Paypal on iPhone.

The number of Bluetooth wireless speakers available on the market is staggering, and choosing which one to buy is like choosing which outfit to wear. Depending on the occasion, the right speaker can make the difference between an enjoyable experience and an infuriating one. While some manufacturers have designed for very specific use cases, others, like 808 Audio, have opted for a kitchen sink approach. Hence, its Hex Encore XL Wireless Speaker ($399.99) is the Swiss army knife of speaker units. Does it accomplish these objectives successfully and, more importantly, does it sound great doing so? Read on to find out.

The iPhone camera keeps getting better and better, which makes us all want to improve our photography skills, whether we’re using an iPhone 6 or the fancy iPhone 7 Plus with its dual lens. But all the high-tech features won’t save your photos alone. Getting a foundation in iPhone photography techniques can help you take professional pictures on your everyday device, which is why we at iPhone Life have partnered with iPhone Photography School to bring you a comprehensive guide for beginners and advanced users alike. You’ll learn how to properly focus your iPhone camera, set exposure for well-lit pictures, use lighting to your advantage, and much more. When you become an iPhone Life Insider, you’ll get immediate access to this and all of our other awesome guides, as well as all the usual benefits of an Insider subscription.

You’ve always been able to send sketches and drawings to other Apple Watch users with Apple Watch. Now those same text message drawing options come to iPhone and iPad with Digital Touch on iOS 10. You can send sketches, fireballs, and even your heartbeat in iMessages to other iPhone users. You can also choose a photo and write your Digital Touch message over it before sending your iPhone text drawings to a friend. We’ll go over all the different things you can do with Digital Touch on iPhone or iPad. Here’s how to send Digital Touch drawings in Messages with iOS 10 on iPhone.

A new Instagram feature allows you to upload up to ten photos and videos in one post to your Instagram feed. This creates a sort of slideshow on Instagram that you can share with your friends via your Instagram feed. The slideshow appears on Instagram much the same as a regular post, except you have the ability to swipe left and right to view the other photos or videos in the post. I’m sure Instagram users will come up with many creative ways to use this slideshow feature to its fullest. This is another improvement from Instagram on par with its deciison to finally allow users to create a second Instagram account. Nice to see the company implementing requested features. Here’s how to share multiple photos or videos to Instagram in one post.

As a writer, I believe that journaling regularly is an important aspect of my creative process. It’s the one time in the day I get to write freely without having to censor my thoughts or concern myself with things like grammar and editing—but writers aren’t the only ones who can benefit from journaling. Journaling can help you relieve stress, sort out your thoughts, and remember details about your life that you will value later on. I’ve kept journals since I was 14, and, believe it or not, I reference them regularly. Some of my entries undoubtedly make me cringe—here’s looking at you, 2004 (year of boys, angsty rants, and badly written Harry Potter fanfiction)—but my journals are also filled with a lot of valuable details about my life and memories I love reflecting back on. If you want to start journaling, the following diary apps are a great way to get started. Each journal app is passcode-protected, and many of them hardly require any work at all! 

In the Calendar app on iPhone, you can view days and months automatically. But you can also turn on week numbers, which will allow the Calendar app to display the week number of this year. Not everyone will find this tip necessary but if you like or need to know what week of the year it is, use this tip to display it. Here’s how to show week numbers in the Calendar app on iPhone.

The iHome iPLWBT5 Docking Clock Radio ($129.99) could really eliminate some of the clutter on your nightstand. It's a clock radio, which iHome has been making for years, but it also doubles as a dual charging dock for your iPhone 7 and Apple Watch. There's a Lightning dock on the top, which should accommodate most cases except really protective ones. For iPhones in protective cases or an iPad, there's a USB port so you can charge a device via your own Lightning cable. Finally, sitting on the side is an Apple Watch magnetic charging base. 

TreasureHunter ($4.99) is a  iOS board game conversion of the identically named, mildly popular board game released in 2015. This card game was created by legendary game designer Richard Garfield (the creator of the wildly popular Magic the Gathering trading card game). The conversion to iPad board game app was done by the game's Germany-based publisher Queen Games, a company that has had a somewhat mediocre track record digitally converting its other physical board games such as Alhambra and Kingdom Builder to iOS board games. Does TreasureHunter rise above those previous efforts? Read on to find out.

iPhone and iPad word processors are nearly as plentiful on the App Store as flashlight apps. In order to stand out from the crowded selection, developers need to offer products that meet a specific need. In the case of prose composition, one word processing app that enables the narrative (e.g. story and screenwriting) and article construction and evolution process is Scrivener ($19.99). Originally available only for the Mac, Scrivener has recently made the leap to the iOS platform. How does it fare on both? Read on to find out.

The Amazon Kindle app is available for free for just about any and every device you can think of. That means not only can you read your e-books on a Kindle, but also on your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook as well. Adding a device to your Amazon account is as simple as downloading the app and logging in with your Amazon account email and password. But what about when you get a new iPhone or buy a different Kindle? As you upgrade devices, the old devices will remain on your Amazon Kindle Account, which can lead to e-book samples accidentally being sent to the wrong device, unless you delete the device, a.k.a., deregister it. Here’s how to delete an old iPhone, iPad, or other device from your Amazon account on iPhone.

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