Elisabeth Garry

Author Details

Elisabeth Garry's picture

Author Details

Elisabeth Garry

Elisabeth Garry is an Associate Editor for iPhone Life. Formerly of Gartner and Software Advice, they have six years of experience writing about technology for everyday users, specializing in iPhones, HomePods, and Apple TV. As a former college writing instructor, they are passionate about effective, accessible communication, which is perhaps why they love helping readers master the strongest communication tools they have available: their iPhones. They have a degree in Russian Literature and Language from Reed College.

When they’re not writing for iPhone Life, they’re reading about maritime disasters, writing fiction, rock climbing, or walking their adorable dog, Moosh.

Your First Cellphone: True Stories of Cellphones Past

I got my first cellphone when I was around 14. It was my father's, actually; I just got to carry it when I went anywhere without my parents, and he didn't want it in the first place, so it became de facto mine. It was a Samsung SPH-N400—an old Samsung flip phone. In any case, what I had was a little blue block about two inches wide and four inches tall with a retractable antenna and a bright green screen whose pixels you could count on your fingers. It had the game Snake and it took me 30 minutes to draft a single text message—a capability I didn't even know the phone had for the first several months it was in my possession. I loved it dearly.
Apple Watch Series Comparison: From the First Generation to Apple Watch Series 9

It's hard to believe it's been ten years since the first-generation Apple Watch debuted. At first equal parts derided and celebrated, the Apple Watch has since all but taken over the world. From features like water resistance to blood oxygen tracking and car crash detection, Apple's self-described "most personal device" has evolved a lot over the years. Let's take a look at all Apple Watches in order from the original to the Series 10.

Ghost in the iMachine: Spooky Tech Stories

As much as we love technology, we have always been suspicious of it. You only need to look to our horror stories to understand that: from 2001: A Space Odyssey to The Ring to M3GAN, we are captivated by the idea of what happens when technology turns on us. Even Frankenstein, considered by many the first true science-fiction story, is about the dangers inherent in toying with technology whose consequences we can’t fully understand.

Saved by the Apple Watch: Stories from Our Readers

I frequently call my Apple devices lifesavers. I would miss 99 percent of my appointments without the help of my iPhone alarms, but it may be a bit of an exaggeration to say I would die without my HomePod. There was no hyperbole needed for many of you who wrote in with stories of when your Apple devices saved the day! Once again, you came through with some amazing tales of your iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirTags coming to your rescue. I will reproduce several of them here, edited for space and clarity.

Oops! Our Most Embarrassing Tech Stories

We’ve all had it happen: you get a little too comfortable with autocorrect, and all of a sudden you’ve sent a horrifying text to your mother-in-law when all you wanted to do was ask if she wanted to come over for dinner at six. And then there are the times when the real world decides to assert its dominance over our digital fantasy world. How many of us have fished our iPhones out from bodies of water and hopefully dumped them into bags of rice?

The Tech That Made Us

By Elisabeth Garry

The Tech That Made Us

These days, technology develops almost too quickly to keep track of. Every year, Apple releases a new iPhone that can do things that even a few years ago would have sounded straight out of a science fiction novel (and sometimes more in a Blade Runner than an Avatar way). Mark Zuckerberg wants us all to live in the metaverse (can’t he just get a Second Life account?); Elon Musk wants to evacuate the ultra-rich to Mars. We’ve become so used to walking around with supercomputers in our pockets that it can be easy to forget just how futuristic today’s tech would seem from the vantage point of even the early 2000s, let alone the middle part of the 20th century, when computers emerged in our cultural consciousness.

5 Best Cultural Apps for iPhone

If we’re not careful, our devices can make our worlds feel smaller, spending all day with our faces buried in our screens. But if you know how to use them right, our devices can also expand our worlds. You can use them not only to connect with people around the globe, but specifically to broaden your cultural horizons. Want to learn Brazilian capoeira? There’s an app for that. Need to find the best places to visit in the Philippines? There’s an app for that, too. You can study cuisine from every corner of the world, learn hundreds of languages, watch foreign movies and TV shows, and so much more.

Notifications Get a Makeover in iOS 16

At the WWDC keynote on June 6, Apple announced revamped notifications for iOS 16 that will make it possible to see more information in your notifications without having to unlock your iPhone. Users have been grousing about the utility of notifications on the iPhone lagging behind that offered by certain Android phones, and Apple heard those concerns loud and clear.

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