Conner Carey

Never Forget to Water Your Plants Again with Happy Plant

By Conner Carey

Whether indoors or out, plants add oxygen to the air and bring a sense of calm to those who look upon them. I’ve always dreamed of an apartment filled from top to bottom with sprawling green plants, but remembering the various watering schedules amid my busy schedule means more plants die on my watch than thrive. No longer! If your thumb ain’t so green, the Happy Plant (Free) app is what you need. The app lets you create a little profile for each of your plants and set a watering schedule. For each plant you add, the app prompts you to take a picture of the plant. And each time you water it, the app asks for another picture. Overtime, all of those photos are strung together for a time-lapse of your plant and its growth. I’ll go over more of what Happy Plant does and why I love it below.

How to Turn On iPhone X & Turn Off iPhone X

By Conner Carey

Without a Home button, how do you shut down the iPhone X? There are a couple ways; in a previous tip, I went over how to power off your iPhone without buttons, which is more of an iOS 11 feature than an iPhone X one. You can also hard restart your iPhone X, but you only need to do that if the device is frozen or glitching. However, you can still power down your iPhone X with buttons; the process is just a bit different than you’re used to. Let's get started learning how to turn on and off your iPhone X.

How to Turn Off Portrait Mode After Taking a Photo on the iPhone

By Conner Carey

Portrait Mode is a feature on the iPhone 7 Plus, 8 Plus, X, XR, XS, and XS Max that gives photos a professional look by blurring the background (known as the bokeh effect). While Portrait Mode on the iPhone is a software version of what DSLR camera lenses can do, it works pretty well most of the time. But perhaps you took a photo in Portrait Mode that didn’t turn out so well. You can turn off Portrait Mode after taking the photo since it is just a software feature. Here’s how to turn off Portrait Mode after taking a photo on the iPhone.

The Ultimate Video Guide to Your iPhone X: Everything You Need to Know

By Conner Carey

The iPhone X is an incredible device, so it follows that you’d want to know all the ways in which you can use it. From big changes like navigating without a Home button to awesome and fun new features like Animoji and Face ID—our iPhone X Guide will walk you through everything you need to know. This is also a great guide to check out if you’re still on the fence about getting the iPhone X; we cover all the fine points and even walk through an unboxing of the iPhone X so you can see if it’s a good fit for you. As always, our in-depth video guides are part of the super useful iPhone Life Insider program. With an Insider membership, you’ll get instant access to not only the iPhone X guide, but also our entire library of guides, and much more, which we’ll cover below. The iPhone X is Apple’s premium tenth anniversary-edition iPhone; here’s how to use it.

How to Open the Flashlight & Camera from the Lock Screen on Your iPhone

By Conner Carey

Do you want to know how to open the Camera app on your iPhone 11 or 11 Pro quickly? Or are you wondering how to access the flashlight? This tip will teach you how to access both your flashlight and camera, right from the Lock screen. Before the iPhone X, you had to swipe left on the Lock screen to open the iPhone Camera, but things changed when Apple got rid of the Home button. When looking at the Lock screen on your iPhone 11 or 11 Pro, you’ll see two icons on either side near the bottom: a camera and a flashlight. Having quick access to the Camera app and flashlight on your iPhone 11 is a great feature that utilizes some of your extra screen space. But how do you open the Camera app or turn on the flashlight from the Lock screen? Your instinct may be to tap each icon, but you’ll need to make it a 3D Touch or a long press. Here’s how to access the flashlight and camera from the Lock screen on your iPhone 11 or earlier iPhone without a Home button.

How to Open & Use the App Switcher on iPhones without a Home Button

By Conner Carey

Want to know how to close apps on an iPhone 11 or other iPhones without a Home button? The App Switcher on your iPhone 11 or 11 Pro is nearly identical to the App Switcher on older model iPhones. There are two major differences: how you access the iPhone’s App Switcher and how you remove apps from the App Switcher. We’ve already covered how to close apps in the App Switcher; here’s how to open the App Switcher on an iPhone 11 or 11 Pro. We’ll also cover a really cool feature that allows you to quickly swipe between apps without ever opening the App Switcher. Let’s get into it.

How to Activate Siri on the iPhone

By Conner Carey

Want to learn how to get Siri on the iPhone 11 or any iPhone without a Home button? Earlier iPhone models used the Home button to activate Siri, but that's not an option with the iPhone X and later. While activating Siri may not be as intuitive if you're used to having a Home button, it's just as easy once you retrain your muscle memory. Of course, Hey Siri is still an option on the iPhone 11 Pro and earlier iPhones with no Home button, and it's the same as before. But we'll cover how to activate Siri on your iPhone 11 manually below.

How to Access Notifications on iPhone X

By Conner Carey

In a previous tip, we covered how to access Control Center on your iPhone X. I talked about the notch at the top of the iPhone X, which naturally divides the top left and right of your screen. Apple uses that simple divide to the fullest by giving you access to both Control Center and Notifications with a swipe down from the top. Here’s how to access Notifications on iPhone X.

How to Get Back to the Home Screen on an iPhone 11 & Other iPhones with No Home Button

By Conner Carey

One of the biggest questions people usually have when they upgrade from an older iPhone with a Home button to an iPhone 11 is, "How do I navigate my iPhone 11 without the Home button?" In particular our readers frequently ask us how do you return to the Home screen on the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max as well as any earlier iPhone without a Home button? The answer is surprisingly simple: To go back to the Home screen without a Home button, start by locating the thin, long bar that usually appears as white, black, or gray, at the very bottom of your screen. Here’s how to return to Home screen on iPhone XR, XS, 11, and more.

How to Access the Control Center on an iPhone 11 & Any iPhone without a Home Button

By Conner Carey

Does your iPhone 11 have a Control Center? Yes! But unlike iPhones with Home buttons, you don’t swipe up to get to the iPhone 11’s Control Center. To access the Control Center on an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, and any other iPhone without a Home button, you’ll need to swipe down, not up. The notch at the top of your iPhone 11 creates two distinct sides at the top of the screen, and Apple uses this small divide to give you access to both Notifications and Control Center. This tip covers how to access the Control Center but keep an eye out for our tip on how to accessg Notifications without a Home button. Here’s how to get to the Control Center on the iPhone 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max and earlier iPhones without a Home button.