iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

I had the opportunity to check out both the Endo ($44.99) and WCKD1 ($74.99)Bluetooth headphones from Wicked Audio. The Endo is an on-ear set of headphones and the WCKD1 is an in-ear earbud version. They have a lot of similarities, so choosing one depends on whether you prefer wireless Bluetooth headphones or Bluetooth earbuds.

If you have or think you might get an Apple Watch, or a Fitbit Blaze, or especially if you have one and think you might get the other, you will be very interested in the Smart Charging Stand ($34.99) from Satechi. This thing is like a power dock designed by the Transformers. It provides three external USB ports for charging,and inside the unit is another port. The company provides a short cable and stand specifically for the Fitbit Blaze, an adapter that can hold your own Apple Watch Charging cable and an adapter that can support your phone.

If you ever needed more storage space on your iPhone you might have noticed that the Messages file is quite large. The next problem you might have is learning how to recover deleted text messages after you overzealously delete them all in the name of downloading a new app. Learning how to recover deleted messages is easy; so you can officially breathe again.

We have a tip on how you can view the desktop version of a website you’re viewing in Safari on iPhone or iPad. But that tip requires you tap the Share icon, then select View Desktop Version. Did you know that you can use the page refresh icon to view the desktop version of a web page instead? I had no clue until very recently; it’s a pretty awesome hidden trick. Here’s a hidden trick for viewing the desktop version of a website on your iPhone or iPad.

3D Touch can be a cool, helpful feature for a lot of people. But I also know some who never use the feature or even find that it gets in the way of simply pressing and holding something on the screen. Whatever your reasoning, you can turn 3D Touch off on your iPhone. And it’s very easy to do. Here’s how to turn 3D Touch off on iPhone.

With Apple's introduction of the AirPods, the flood gates have started to open for companies that traditionally sold wired Bluetooth headsets to dip their toes into the truly wireless Bluetooth earbud market. A recent entry is 808 Audio's Earcanz Tru Wireless Earbuds ($79.99). How do they hold up against Apple's more expensive wireless Bluetooth earbuds?  Read on to find out.

One of the reasons I held off on getting a new MacBook Pro was my appreciation for (and investment in) MagSafe power adapters. They were designed to disconnect from a MacBook if the cable got snagged, so the cable would fall and not the laptop. When Apple moved to USB-C that capability was lost.

We’re all familiar with updating our iPhone’s iOS; but every now and again, a little box will pop-up telling us that our carrier settings need to be updated. Regardless of what cellular provider you use (Verizon, TFW, Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T, etc), every carrier has settings that need to be updated at times. A carrier settings update won’t take long to install. But it’s important to update your carrier settings on iPhone because the updates allow your cellular provider to update your network, enhance performance, and add new features such a Wi-Fi calling. We’ll cover a bit more on what a carrier settings update is below, as well as how to update your iPhone’s carrier settings.

If someone attempts to unlock an iPhone too many times unsuccessfully, an iPhone is Disabled, Connect to iTunes message will inevitably pop up. An iPhone will become disabled for security purposes—otherwise a hacker could sit there and try every possible combination until they got in. But just because your iPhone is disabled that doesn’t mean someone tried to unlock your device without permission. An iPhone or iPad may become disabled if a child plays around and gets locked out. It’s also perfectly possible to forget your own iPhone passcode, which may also cause you to enter too many digits and end up with a disabled iPhone asking to be connected to iTunes. Luckily, there are multiple solutions to this problem. Here’s how to fix a disabled iPhone by connect it to iTunes, iCloud, or using Recovery Mode.