Jim Karpen

Author Details

Jim Karpen's picture

Author Details

Jim Karpen

Jim Karpen holds a Ph.D. in literature and writing, and has a love of gizmos. His doctoral dissertation focused on the revolutionary consequences of digital technologies and anticipated some of the developments taking place in the industry today. Jim has been writing about the Internet and technology since 1994 and has been using Apple's visionary products for decades.

Whether you use Apple's subcription music service or simply use the Apple Music app to listen to music you've purchased, here are 18 tips that will help you get the most out of the Music app, from creating music playlists to asking Siri to play the next track. Click on the headings for even more information about each Apple Music tip.

Did you know Apple's iOS has an option to set your phone screen to grayscale (greyscale for our UK and Canadian friends)? Your first thought may be, “Why would I want my display in black and white rather than in color?” There are a few reasons you might want to see your mobile screen in black and white mode. iPhone grayscale can make the display more readable for those who are color blind. Second, if your battery is running low and you know that it will be a while before you have the opportunity to charge it, grayscale can extend battery life. Third, some experts say that using grayscale on your iPhone might help reduce or break phone addiction. Here’s how to turn on grayscale mode on your iPhone or iPad.

Whether you’re new to iPhone or have been using your device for a while—there are plenty of Siri tips and tricks you may have never tried. We know Siri has opinions on the meaning of life but what other things can you ask Siri to do? There are plenty of lists on the cool and funny things to ask Siri, but what about the useful things you can ask Siri? We’ve got you covered with 21 awesome and useful things Siri can do, many of which you’ve probably never heard of. If so, consider this a nice refresher. If not, prepare to be amazed as we scale the tip of the iceberg regarding things Siri can do. From using Siri as a calculator to finding your lost iPhone, Siri can do it all. Here are 21 Siri tips to make sure you're getting the most out of this wonderfully helpful assistant. Click on the each title to read the full tip detailing just what things to say to Siri and what the AI can do.

You can ask Siri all kinds of fun things thanks to its connection with the WolframAlpha database. One of the fun questions to ask Siri is what flights are overhead, the answer to which might surprise you. Sitting in my friend’s apartment in Boulder, CO, there are five planes over my head within a 50-foot slant all at different altitudes. There’s not much you can do with the knowledge of what planes are flying overhead, but it’s a lot of fun. We’ll cover how to ask Siri what airplanes are above you along with a few other fun or helpful things you can ask Siri. Here’s “what flights are overhead” and other things to ask Siri.

Once you get the hang of editing text on iPhone, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised how easy it is. Furthermore, adding italics, bold text, or an underline on the iPhone is also easily doable. You can also indent right, select, copy, and paste text on the iPhone. It all starts with highlighting the text you want to edit. Let’s jump in; here’s how to edit and format text on the iPhone.

The Accessibility features on iPhone are useful for those who are visually impaired; but they can also be useful to others, such as those occasions when it might be more convenient to have your iPhone or iPad read to you. Unless you're visually impaired, you may not want to enable VoiceOver via the Accessibility panel because it then begins reading aloud everything, including the Settings screen that you're on. Instead, we’ll go over how to enable a feature that lets you turn VoiceOver on just when you need it. Here’s how to have Siri read text to you on iPhone.

change default search engine safari top image

When you search the web in Safari on your iPhone or iPad, the default search engine determines what search engine is used to look for results. In addition to Google and Bing, iOS also gives you the option to use DuckDuckGo for Safari, which doesn't track your search history. Changing the default browser on an iPhone or iPad is easy; let's learn how.

Since the release of iOS 8 a few years back, the Mail app on iPhone has swipe options. This means that when you’re viewing an inbox, you can swipe an email left or right to select options such as mark read/unread, delete, flag, or archive an email. Plus, tapping the More option gives you access to all the other email actions. However, you can choose to customize these gestures, though the options are somewhat limited. And you can even turn them off, if you so choose. Here’s how to change mail swipe options in Settings on iPhone.

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.”

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