iPod touch

While surveying the iOS health device monitoring landscape, I came across an inexpensive and somewhat compelling body temperature thermometer from Kinsa. Called the Smart Stick Thermometer ($19.99), this non-Bluetooth-enabled device uses the audio port on pre-iPhone 7 iOS devices to capture and record temperature.

There's an abundance of great gaming gear currently on the market. However, when you narrow your criteria down to great mobile-compatible gaming gear, your options fall off dramatically. As someone who has been gaming for about four decades and who takes his gaming rather seriously, I can attest to the importance of gear that does the job it was intended to do, and does it well. Enter SteelSeries and its line of mobile-friendly, pro-level gaming accessories.

I recently wrote an article entitled Apple's Post-PC Conundrum. In it I discuss what I consider to be the inevitable merging of Apple's OS and iOS operating systems and their corresponding user experience. For the record, I wholeheartedly believe, (despite Apple's protestations to the contrary) that I'm not far off in my assessment. Lending credence to my not-so-outlandish theory, newly uncovered patent applications from the tech giant shed some light on Apple's current areas of technological exploration and possible plans for future development.

At its foundation, Kingdom: New Lands ($9.99) is a tower-defense-style game. Build up your kingdom's defenses in order to fend off attacking monsters. If you survive to the next level, you will continue to expand your kingdom and strengthen your defenses while exploring the 2D pixelated lands for the required resources to succeed. You start the game with a queen, a crown, and a horse. Moving your mounted horse left or right reveals landscape that may contain characters to recruit and structures to build. You need to recruit and build to shore up your kingdom's defenses against the night-time raids of demons, ghosts, and other nasty surprises. As you progress and survive, you will level up to even more challenging and enchanting environments. If you die, you start over at the last level reached. Does this mobile port retain the wide appeal it achieved with its PC game fan base? Read on to find out.

The number of Bluetooth wireless speakers available on the market is staggering, and choosing which one to buy is like choosing which outfit to wear. Depending on the occasion, the right speaker can make the difference between an enjoyable experience and an infuriating one. While some manufacturers have designed for very specific use cases, others, like 808 Audio, have opted for a kitchen sink approach. Hence, its Hex Encore XL Wireless Speaker ($399.99) is the Swiss army knife of speaker units. Does it accomplish these objectives successfully and, more importantly, does it sound great doing so? Read on to find out.

Besides the usual bug fixes and tweaks that are standard with every iOS update, based on wbat's contained in the recently released iOS 10.3 beta 6, it's safe to assume that the upcoming release of iOS 10.3 will also have some cool new features. Here are the ones that have us most excited about the new iOS update, from Find my AirPods to a cool new 3D Touch feature in the Maps app.

2017 promises to be an exciting year for Apple. Not only is it the 10th anniversary of Apple's revolutionary flagship device, the iPhone, which means we can expect to see Apple blow our minds with inventive technological leaps; but rumor has it that Apple may be preparing to introduce not two, not three, but four new iPads to the world, likely as soon as this spring. But with all the hoopla surrounding Apple's iOS devices, one can't help but wonder what's in store for the Mac; not just this year, but in years to come.

Privacy is a huge topic these days. But despite this, many of us download apps and accept the terms without even thinking about it, thus giving apps access to our contacts, location, social media accounts, and more. If this describes you, no worries. I am going to tell you how you can check your privacy settings on your iPhone or iPad and revoke the access you absentmindedly gave to these apps.

Are you yearning for something to complement your active lifestyle? Something a bit different than the usual iPad carrying bag, case, or sling? Maybe an iPad carrying bag that still gives freedom of movement without becoming a bulky nuisance? In this review, I check out the Grab-It Pack Ultra Gadget Holster ($39.95) and Tablet Pack ($45.95) for either the iPad or iPad Mini. Let's take a look.

Last year mobile games brought in over 40 billion dollars in worldwide revenue. To put it in perspective, that's more than 2016's global movie box office revenue of 38 billion dollars, and the music industry's 15.1 billion dollar revenue. Cell phone games saw an 18 percent increase over the year before, with mobile gamers in the US alone, generating 24.8 billion dollars in revenue. The US is also the only country in the world where iOS gamers outnumber those on Android devices, despite the fact that Android gamers represent 78 percent of the global gaming market.

The latest rumors continue to indicate that Apple is actively developing some sort of VR or AR headset. Virtual Reality is a completely immersive, 3D visual (and sometimes auditory) experience. If you didn't know, VR is poised to change many things in our modern world; from interactive educational and training apps, to video games, movies, and sports.

It looks like I've got a new favorite audio system for experiencing music in the great outdoors. The Fugoo Go portable Bluetooth speaker ($99.99) was on display at this year's CES Showstoppers event in Las Vegas, and it's a fantastic addition to the Fugoo lineup. More portable than the powerful Fugo XL and more affordable than the original Fugoo rugged speaker, the Go puts out sound that is remarkable alone, and even more impressive in pairs.

If you are on the hunt for a powerful outdoor Bluetooth wireless speaker, one that can pump out massive volume and is also well-equipped to handle extreme environments, then the following head-to-head review of these two behemoths will be for you. I'm putting two of the best modern Bluetooth boomboxes to the test, to see which one of them fares the best.

What is Chromecast? It’s Google’s equivalent to AirPlay. Except you need the very reasonably priced Chromecast ($35) to stream content from your iPhone, iPad, or computer. If you need a solution for easily streaming Netflix or Hulu on your TV, setting up and installing Chromecast is a great way to go and is significantly more affordable than the Apple TV. Chromecast setup isn’t hard to complete. But it takes more than just plugging it in to figure out how to set up Chromecast. We’ll make your Chromecast setup easy with how-to steps and photos below. Here’s how to connect Chromecast to your TV.

Over the decades, I've heard some call iOS gaming escapism, while others may call it a distraction from the headline news on any given day; but as a lifetime core gamer, I've found myself extremely grateful on more than one occasion for the comfort, the exhilaration, the competition ,and the break from the day-to-day, real-world ups and downs that some of the more deeply immersive iOS game can provide. Mobile gaming has come a long way over the years and we now have plenty to choose from when it comes to core iOS games. On that note,  it's my pleasure to present iPhone Life's picks for best core iOS games.

The original console-based version of Jade Empire scored an 89 on Metacritic, a remarkably high score for a game. The follow-up Special Edition for PC released a few years later scored an 81 which is still admirable. Since the actual game's story, interface, and gameplay mechanics in this iOS version  of Jade Empire: Special Edition ($9.99) are identical to original game, I won't spend much time on going into those aspects of this conversion.  For those interested in a review of the core gameplay experience, there are a number of reviews for the game already on the web such as this one from Gamespot.

These days, hands-free iPhone operations are easier than ever. You can navigate in Maps, jam out to music, and look up information on Safari just by asking Siri to take over for you. But did you know you can also use Siri to send hands-free texts? To go completely hands-free in Notes and Messages, you'll need to enable dictation on your iOS device. In this article, we'll show you how to enable dictation and how to send texts via Siri, and we'll share a few simple dictation commands to get you started. Read on to learn all about how to dictate text on your iPhone.

Success and failure are relative, but if Apple wants to maintain its position of dominance at the top of the tech sector the company is going to have to have an ace up its sleeve. And I don't mean just developing a self-driving car or embracing artificial intelligence and virtual reality. Sure, these are noble, and necessary endeavors for Apple to embark upon, but other tech companies are already actively and fervently exploring these areas. In fact, it could be said that Apple may be lagging behind in these area, since it has been relying so heavily on the success of the iPhone and iPad lines for its prominence, popularity, and profit.

With the elimination of the headphone jack, Apple has effectively thrown its full weight behind Bluetooth technology. After years of being considered a faulty and glitchy transfer medium, Bluetooth has finally come into its own after years of refinement and technological advancement. The quality of playback that a Bluetooth speaker can pump out can easily be CD quality, depending of course on the source. Certainly it's been consistent and of a high enough caliber to fool die-hard audiophiles in blind acoustic tests. The following speakers are all top of the line Bluetooth speakers, each with its own merits and unique characteristics.