When Apple announced iOS 9, I got really excited about the forthcoming News app. And now that I'm using it regularly, I feel my excitement was warranted. Plus, I like the snappy and seamless manner in which one can toggle between the overview of the news and a specific story. And I recently learned there's an even easier way to return to the overview, as well as to read the next story without going to the overview.
Apple first announced HomeKit, its smart-home platform, in June of 2014, but HomeKit-compatible devices have been slow in coming. And frankly, it may not have been easy to understand exactly what HomeKit is and what the benefits are. iHome generously sent me its smart plug a few weeks ago, and now I finally get what HomeKit is. It's really cool. I want to share with you what I've learned, in case you're interested in what HomeKit is and whether you may want to start creating a smart-home environment. This is especially relevant now, because with the annual Consumer Electronics Show currently going on, more and more HomeKit devices are being announced.
By Jim Karpen
Apple introduced third-party keyboards in iOS 8 after a lot of user requests. Now, the options seem endless, from the popular SwiftKey app to adding a gif keyboard for fun communication between friends. To add a third-party keyboard, the first thing you need to do is download a keyboard app from the App Store. Once downloaded, the setup is easy.
By Conner Carey
The iBooks app is extremely useful for keeping books and pdf files together in one place on your iPhone or iPad. From the iBooks app, you can visit the iBooks store and browse the top charts and featured books on the market. However, storage space fills up quickly and you may not want to keep all the books forever. When your My Books storage is getting cluttered, here’s how to remove iBooks from your iPhone or iPad.
By Paula Bostrom
I love using Wallet. Instead of my actual wallet or keychain getting weighed down with shopper loyalty cards, the Wallet app stores them all in one place, no plastic required. Here's how to switch from plastic to the Wallet app.
Little do most people know, there are full dictionaries in languages other than English available on the iPhone. Whether you’re bilingual or enjoying learning about a language, it’s easy to add foreign-language dictionaries to your iPhone. Here’s how.
If you receive an iTunes gift card or app code, you’re going to want to use it. You can redeem music in the iTunes app and other codes in the App Store. Doing so is easy and who doesn’t love free music and apps?
By Conner Carey
Maybe you’re not ready to buy those songs you love in iTunes, but you do want to save them for purchase later. Well, in iTunes you can easily create a wish list for those songs.
Social media is one of many ways to keep in contact with someone these days; it makes sense to include that information within a contact card, especially for the people you interact with most. Doing so allows you to view their social media profile directly from Contacts. Here’s how to include someone’s social media profile information in their contact card.
Similarly to the Safari browser on your Mac, the Safari app on your iPhone or iPad will recommend suggested websites, show popups related to your search, and auto-fill search queries as you type. Here's how to turn off suggestions for search in Safari. It's a simple, quick tip!
I use reading glasses for some things, a concession to middle age, but fortunately I don't ever need them when I'm using my iPad. That's because I've adjusted the settings so that the text is larger and bolded, making it much easier to see. These settings apply to all of Apple's apps and to third-party apps that support Apple's Dynamic Type. Ever since iOS 8 was introduced, Apple has gathered text size, bold, view, and brightness into a single panel in Settings.
By Conner Carey
Want to keep your subscriptions private? Many people want to know how to hide subscriptions on their iPhone or iPad, but it's not completely possible at this time. We can show you how to hide subscriptions from your Family Sharing group, though! Of course, keeping your iPhone locked goes a long way toward keeping your subscriptions and subscription history private; we'll show you how.
By Conner Carey
It's very simple to forward calls from your iPhone. Call forwarding on iPhone automatically directs incoming calls to a different number. Let's walk through how to forward calls to another number on your iPhone.
By Conner Carey
When you type in popular app names into the Safari search url bar, Apple will try to match that with apps you either have or may want from the App store. It’s a suggestion feature turned on by default. Here’s how to turn it off.
One of the interesting new features of iOS 9 is its "proactive" smarts. Apple wants your device to anticipate what you want to do depending on the context. A good example of that is how your iPhone or iPad now responds when you plug in earbuds or headphones. Your device figures that you want to listen to something, and a small icon appears in the lower left corner of your lock screen that shows the most recent audio app you've been using, whether that's Apple Music, Spotify, Podcasts, or any other app.
