Apps

The Worldwide Developers Conference 2019 keynote event has come and gone, leaving us with an array of updates, reorganizations, additions, and hardware to assimilate into our mental map of Apple products and services. Rumors were flying about the death of iTunes, new iOS, watchOS, and Mac features; now let’s go over what really happened, and what it means for both Apple developers and customers.

While I have a Ring video doorbell, it has some drawbacks. First, I had to physically hardwire it into my house. If I lived in an apartment, that would not be an option. The other issue is that I have to find and open my phone to see who is there. If I'm at the door, a peephole makes more sense. The folks at Brinno have a solution, with the Brinno DUO Smart Peephole DoorCam ($199.95). Brinno sent me the peephole camera and, sure enough, no heavy duty tools were required to install it.

The Home app packs quite the punch if you're interested in automating the everyday functions of your house. With compatible accessories, you can create smart home scenes in the Home app; and when you enable the scene via an iOS device or Hey Siri command, these accessories will adjust to preferences you've selected. So the next time you're settling in for a movie, you can enable a scene you created to dim the lights and close the window curtains with one command rather than separate commands for each accessory.

If you want to quickly revisit pages in Safari, you can save them as bookmarks. But did you know you can save Safari bookmarks in bookmark folders? Instead of scrolling through all the bookmarks you've saved, you can categorize them into folders, making your bookmarks organized and easy to browse. Below, I'll show you how to create Safari bookmark folders.

Instead of opening an app, you can use Hey Siri to check the weather forecast. With a simple "What's the weather today?" Siri will tell you what to expect for the current day's weather. Siri uses the Apple Weather app by default. You can also ask about the forecast for the coming week, ask for sunrise and sunset times, or any questions related to the weather.

Did you know you can use your Apple Watch as a timer? Since the Apple Watch is on my wrist, I'm less likely to ignore the the timer going off than if I were using my iPhone, or drop my Apple Watch if I'm using the timer while cooking with slippery ingredients or washing dishes. For less fumbling and more punctual time management, try using the Timer app on your Apple Watch.