iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

Your First Cellphone: True Stories of Cellphones Past

I got my first cellphone when I was around 14. It was my father's, actually; I just got to carry it when I went anywhere without my parents, and he didn't want it in the first place, so it became de facto mine. It was a Samsung SPH-N400—an old Samsung flip phone. In any case, what I had was a little blue block about two inches wide and four inches tall with a retractable antenna and a bright green screen whose pixels you could count on your fingers. It had the game Snake and it took me 30 minutes to draft a single text message—a capability I didn't even know the phone had for the first several months it was in my possession. I loved it dearly.

With iOS 10, Apple introduced Message Effects that allow you to add a bit of fun to the messages you send. You could make confetti rain or a laser show ensue when the recipient opened it. With iOS 11, Apple adds two new Message Effects— Echo and Spotlight. We’ll go over what each Message Effect does and how to use it. Here’s how to use the new Message Effects with iOS 11 on iPhone.

Qi wireless chargers are about to become all the rage with owners of the new iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X. If you weren't already on the Qi wireless charging bandwagon, you're about to find yourself much more inclined to be, now that Apple is offering Qi wireless charging as a native feature of its new iPhone X and iPhone 8 series. With Qi wireless charging, you simply place your Qi enabled device upon the Qi charging base and that's it, your device begins charging. Easy as can be. Fortunately Qi wireless charging is already an established charging platform, so there are plenty of great Qi wireless charging pads to choose from, with more on the way including Apple’s own AirPower charging plate. Let's learn more about some of the best wireless iPhone charging stations currently available.

I’ve tried Mealime (Free) in the past and shared my experience. It’s one of the few practical daily meal planning apps, as it offers meals you can make within about 45 minutes. Every meal I’ve tried is super delicious, and my only real complaint is that there needs to be even more variety (new recipes are added every week). However, if you’re a busy professional or caretaker who wants to feed yourself and your family healthy meals, I highly recommend giving Mealime a try. The free version is limited but perfect for testing it out. The pro version of Mealime is $5.99 a month; so if you decide you love it too, it won’t break the bank. We’ll go over more of what Mealime does and why we love it below.

Qi? What is Qi? And how do you even pronounce that? Turns out, Qi (pronounced chee, as in cheese) is a Chinese word and concept that refers to air, life force, and energy flow. It makes total sense to use this term when referring to inductive chargers, which restore life to your iPhone's battery without the use of cables. Let's learn more about magnetic charging with Qi stations and how Qi wireless charging works with the iPhone X, 8 Plus, and 8. We'll discuss Qi charging pads, Qi compatible iPhone cases, and the benefits of using a wireless charger for your Apple devices versus a standard Lightning cable charger. So let's get started talking about Qi, the life source for your iPhone!

ATTENTION: Our photo contest has recently undergone a few changes, so be sure to read our new rules carefully.

It's photo contest time again. We know you enjoy taking the occasional artistic shot with your iPhone, so why not get rewarded for it? Enter our iPhone Photography Contest on Instagram for a chance to win an Olloclip lens and a spot in our magazine! 

Now you can print photos directly from your iPhone, either wirelessly or by docking your iPhone on the PD-480 Photo Printer Dock PD-480 ($139.99) from Kodak. The dock can even charge your iPhone as well. Kodak also sells an Android version, although the iPhone version has a microUSB to Lightning adapter, so that may be the only difference.

With WatchOS 3, the Apple Watch added the ability to make emergency SOS calls right from its Lock or Home screen. With iOS 11, the iPhone now has the same ability to call Emergency SOS. You turn this on within settings and enable Auto Call; so if you’re in a situation where you need help, it’s easy to make a call to emergency services such as 911. In order to call for emergency services on an iPhone running iOS 11 or later, you'll need to know your iPhone model since it's slightly different on iPhone 8. Here’s how to turn on Emergency SOS on iPhone.

Previously, I went over how to follow friends on Apple Music with iOS 11. But one of the perks of following your friends on Apple Music is getting to see what they’re listening to. If you’re in a music rut and want to discover something fresh, checking out what your friends are listening to on Apple Music is a quick way to find something you’re probably going to like. Here’s how to see what your friends are listening to on Apple Music with iOS 11 on iPhone or iPad.

I remember the days of taking home a huge vocabulary list home from school and spending hours memorizing the definitions. Back then, it was pain in the ass. But nowadays, I get a secret joy from using those same vocabulary words I dreaded. I don’t know about you, but as an adult, I still want to learn new words and continue to expand my vocabulary. Of course, the best way to do that is to read. But the next best way may very well be this app. The Daily Word is a super simple app that gives you a new word to learn each day along with its pronunciation, definition, and an example sentence. Here’s more on what it does and why we love it.

With each new iOS, Apple improves the once barely adequate Notes app. Now, it’s a bona fide note-taking app with lots of features. With iOS 11, the list of features grows with the ability to add tables to a note now possible. Making a table in the Notes app can be helpful for creating various items. For example, you could use one to keep an easy tally of your expenses. Here’s how to add a table to Notes with iOS 11 on iPhone.

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