iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

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.