By Giveaways
Don't forget to enter this weekend's Giveaway Contest!
Here's how it works: Every other weekend we raffle off tons of great apps and accessories for FREE then announce the winners through iphonelife.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. To enter, go to iPhoneLife.com/giveaways. If you win an app, we will email you the promo code. If you win an accessory, we will ask you for your mailing address.
By Conner Carey
There are a lot of accessories for the iPhone that are superfluous - awesome but not necessary. Then, there’s the small group of items every iPhone user should have. This list includes a screen protector, a case, and headphones. Beyond that, you can get fitness trackers, smartwatches, speakers, docks, but the most essential items for getting started are simple. We’re going to go over each item, top products, and the various options available for each item.
By Dig Om
What can't we track these days in terms of health and fitness? Truly, it seems like there's a smart device and associated app for just about every athletic endeavor we can imagine. There's smart basketballs, smart golf gloves, and smart football helmets, to name a few. So it should come as no surprise that someone would eventually develop a way for folks to put their iPhones to work tracking and assisting with Kegel exercises.
By Sarah Kingsbury
In the 25th episode, the iPhone Life team talks about the pros and cons of cutting the cord and replacing cable or satellite TV with an Apple TV, as well as which apps offer the best viewing options. Other topics include how to free up storage space on an iPad or iPhone, what the earthquake in Taiwan means for iPhone 7 chip production, and why you should pay for your music streaming service.
By Conner Carey
A question I think everyone has at some point when shopping online is will it look that good in person? Particularly when it comes to fashion items, a picture doesn’t capture the quality of something. When I discovered this iPad Pro and Macbook sleeve by Inateck ($21.99), I fell in love with the picture. After including it in a recent roundup, the company asked me to take a closer look at the product for review.
By Todd Bernhard
I had the opportunity to try Wi-Fi HDD P700 ($119.99) from Emtec. I liked the truly massive amount of storage (1 TB or 2 TB) it offers compared to most competing offerings which are solid state based and offer 16 GB to 64 GB. I also liked that it offers both Wi-Fi and Ethernet based router capability. The device offers six hours of battery life, plus iOS and Android support with multi-user support (up to eight users). However, it is somewhat expensive and users must have the free "Emtec Connect" app to access the content.
By Todd Bernhard
How real is the iPhone 5se? Or the iPad Air 3? Real enough that Chinese case manufacturers already have products (or at least mockups) to sell. At iPhone Life, we received a press release from at least one firm with prices and photos for its iPhone 5se and iPad Air 3 cases. The photos are reproduced here, and seem to indicate that the iPhone 5se will resemble the flat-edged iPhone 5 on the sides, but with the rounded bottom of the iPhone 6 series. The iPad Air 3 case doesn't look that different from the iPad Air 2. The case appears to have large openings on the outside, as the next tablet is expected to have four speakers, like the iPad Pro.
By Conner Carey
When it comes to running and listening to music, you need headphones or earbuds that feel comfortable but won’t budge no matter what terrain you’re running on. In the past when trying out active headphones, I’ve come across two major problems: they fall out or the added bulk to keep them in place hurts my ears. If a pair of active earbuds have neither of these problems, I look for added features and am particularly drawn to those with Bluetooth capability. Here’s my list of the three best Bluetooth-enabled earbuds for running.
By Todd Bernhard
The folks at Landing Zone make some nice landing docks for MacBooks so I was interested in checking out their IONA dock ($59) for iPhones. The dock has some features that other stands don't offer. First, the IONA can swivel left and right. This is nice for my setup, as my desk doubles as a nightstand. So during the day, my iPhone can face my chair and at night it rotates to face my bed.
By Todd Bernhard
I've tried a lot of highly rugged Bluetooth speakers, but they tend to come with a high-end price. The ECOPEBBLE ($59.99) from ECOXGEAR offers a rugged design and is waterproof to IP67 standards. The thing even floats! However, it's still quite affordable at under $60.
By Giveaways
This is the official announcement of the iPhone life Biweekly Giveaway! Be sure to enter the giveaway at iphoneLife.com/giveaways to win prizes, which we'll announce February 22! We are raffling off tons of great accessories for FREE.
By Todd Bernhard
One of the best featutes of the new Apple TV is the Siri Remote. Navigating through apps and content is a lot easier when you can talk to your TV via the remote. Plus the remote has gyroscopic sensors so it can double as a game controller. But it's also quite small and, if you have a black couch like I do, it's easy to lose. If that happens, you'll want a replacement, but you might be shocked to learn that it costs $79. That's more than the previous generation Apple TV.
By Sarah Kingsbury
In the 24th episode, the iPhone Life team is joined by long-time iPhone Life contributor, Mike Riley, to talk about the iPad's role in creating and performing music and the best apps and gear for getting started. Other topics include Error 53, which is reportedly bricking iPhones that have been repaired by third parties, and Tim Cook's Super Bowl twitter blunder. Plus, the iPhone Life kids weigh in on their parents' tech rules.
By Conner Carey
Creativity is the spice of life, and technology has made high-end tools available to the everyday person at decent prices. Sure, the iPad is great for watching Netflix or playing games, but I think it really shines when put to use for artistic endeavors. Whether you’re a visual artist, writer, musician, etc. - there is an iPad accessory out there to assist in your creation of art. Here’s five unique accessories I found.
By Rheanne Taylor
One of the things that frustrated me most when I recently got the iPhone 6s was its size (yes, I was one of those people who longed for the days of my 4-inch iPhone 5s). The problem was that I had a pretty difficult time using the iPhone 6s one handed. Yeah, I get it, there’s that whole Reachability feature that Apple added to help solve this exact issue. But let’s be honest—nobody likes Reachability. I’ve activated the feature a lot since purchasing my phone, but never on purpose. So when I saw the 6Sense Tempered Glass Screen Protector by Avant Guard at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show—which allows you to activate functions located at the top corners of your screen (like the Back and Edit buttons in the Photos app) from the bottom of your screen instead—I was pretty excited by the concept.