iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear
Protect Your AirPods During Travel with This Tough Case
Sponsored By GOBUDi on Tue, 06/12/2018
Your music goes where you go, which means your AirPods are too often thrown at the bottom of a backpack or stuffed into a flimsy pocket where they could go missing. However, there is an easy solution. Meet CASEBUDi for AirPods, the tough travel case with a carabiner. Not only does this zippable case have a tough ballistic nylon exterior, it has a strong core that’s 50 percent thicker than other brands. Internally, the case has an elastic band that keeps your AirPods in place even when the case is unzipped. CASEBUDi for AirPods is only eleven dollars, making it a must-have accessory for anyone who owns Apple’s AirPods. Learn more about this simply brilliant solution below.
How to Check Your iPhone's Battery Health with iOS 11.3
By Leanne Hays
Apple landed in hot water with customers this year when a feature designed to slow the processors of older iPhone models to keep them from suddenly shutting down came to light. Critics maintained that Apple was throttling the speed of earlier iPhone models to push customers towards newer devices, while Apple insisted that the feature was necessary to cope with aging batteries. Now, with iOS 11.3, Apple is letting iPhone users decide for themselves how to manage their iPhone's battery health and processor speed. The first step in this process is making battery health visible, so customers can decide if and when they'd like to replace their battery. Let's get started learning how to check your iPhone's battery health in iOS 11.3, it's quick, easy, and a valuable piece of information about your device. Note that this feature is only available for iPhone 7, 6S, and 6 models.
The Best iOS Racing App without In-App Purchases
By Conner Carey
I love gaming on my iPhone, and I am happy to pay for an app. But too often, I’ll get into a ‘free’ game only to end up spending more on in-app purchases than I ever would have on a single game for any regular gaming console. Which is why Riptide GP: Renegade is such a refreshing surprise. I spent $2.99 for the initial game, which is a great price considering the developers don’t upsell you within the app at all. The graphics are beautiful, the racing controls are the smoothest I’ve ever tried, and it feels like a normal game because once I buy it, it’s fully-featured and ready to play. All of this combined makes Riptide GP: Renegade the best racing game on the iPhone. We’ll cover more on what this game offers and why I love it below.
Top Tips from Professionals for Your Most Productive Year Ever
By Donna Cleveland
In my professional life, I’ve been amazed at how much making a few small tweaks to my habits has improved my output and daily experience. This revelation has left me wondering—what other productivity hacks are people practicing that I could be taking advantage of if only I knew about them? So, on all of our behalf, I asked 11 professionals across many fields to share the strategies that are making their life more inspired and efficient in 2018.
How to Know if Your Facebook Data Was Leaked to Cambridge Analytica
By Leanne Hays
The numbers in the Cambridge Analytica Facebook scandal just keep climbing, from an original 55 million to a new estimate of nearly 87 million account holders who have had their data breached. This is because the quiz, "This Is Your Digital Life," collected data not only from Facebook users who completed it, but from all their Facebook friends as well. Facebook has barred the personality quiz from the platform and sent a message to all account holders who took the quiz, but if you'd like to make sure your data wasn't also breached, there's a way to find out. Let's check and see if our Facebook accounts have been compromised by Cambridge Analytica; it's easy to do right from your iPhone.
How Many Apps Have Access to Your Facebook Account?
By Sarah Kingsbury
In light of Facebook's recent data leak that compromised the personal information of up to 85 million users, the iPhone Life team shares advice on how to check on and delete third-party apps you've granted access to your account in order to help you protect your data from getting into the wrong hands. Other topics include iOS 11.3 bugs and Apple's new iPad and red iPhone 8.
Stream the 2018 Kentucky Derby Live on Your Apple TV without Cable
By Leanne Hays
New racing enthusiasts may ask, "when is the Kentucky Derby?" Experienced fans will let you know; the Run for the Roses is always the first Saturday in May. The Kentucky Derby is an American tradition that's been going strong since 1875, and in 2018 we have more options than ever before for catching not only the race itself, which is over in less than three minutes, but all the pageantry and tradition surrounding the event. If you own an Apple TV, you can catch the 2018 Kentucky Derby in 4K high definition resolution, but first, you'll need to find what channel the Derby is on, and a Kentucky Derby live stream. Let's find out the Kentucky Derby race time, what channel the race is on this year, and how to live stream all the derby fun to our Apple TVs.
New iOS 11.3 Update: Battery Health, Animoji, More
By Leanne Hays
iOS 11.3 is now available and brings with it fixes that iPhone owners have been hoping for, as well as upgrades and a few surprises. Two major fixes include greater transparency about data and privacy, and more information about battery health and throttling. Among the new features added to iOS 11.3: a Health Records feature in the Health app, the Business Chat platform, app integration with ARKit for a more diverse range of Augmented Reality experiences, and of course, four new animoji!
How to Add Phonetic Spelling to iPhone Contacts
By Leanne Hays
Sometimes Siri has a hard time pronouncing names from your iPhone. You can teach Siri to pronounce your friends' and family members' names, and even your own name properly, but you can also do something to help your faithful AI assistant get names right before she ever attempts to say them. As an added bonus, this iPhone tip can also help you remember how to pronounce names, so you don't make any embarrassing mistakes when calling a new business contact or friend. The trick to getting Siri, and yourself, to learn how to properly pronounce the names in your Contacts is to add phonetic spelling to those names that are a little less than common. Let's get started learning how to add the phonetic pronunciation of names to your iPhone's Contacts list!
Digital Dating: Rules, Advice & Tips for Online & App-Based Dating
By Hallei Halter
Online dating has become the norm, but that doesn't mean people are instantly good at it! First, you need to decide which of the many available dating apps and sites are the best, and then the real work begins. You’ll need to know how to craft a bio that shows off your assets, avoid common online dating pitfalls, and set up offline dates with the people you meet in your apps and online. But don’t worry, I’ve put together the following list of my best online dating tips that will help make using dating apps and websites fun and rewarding.
How to Make Song Volume Consistent on iPhone
By Leanne Hays
iPhones provide many useful services, not least of which is listening to music in a portable, convenient, and customizable fashion. One thing that can really deter from enjoying music on our iPhones, though, is the way that the volume can shift up and down from song to song. It can be a bit of a Goldilocks experience; first the iPhone volume is too high, then the volume level is too low, and sometimes it's just right. Luckily there's an easy iPhone trick to fix this issue so that you're not constantly having to adjust the volume on your iPhone. Let's get started learning how to enable Sound Check on your iPhone to level out the volume throughout your listening experience.
Save Recipes, Create Meal Plans & Build Grocery Lists with Paprika 3
By Conner Carey
Everyone has to eat to live, which is why apps that make planning, shopping, and preparing healthy meals are a godsend. This year I’ve been cooking the most I ever have in my life, and I’ve quickly realized how difficult it can be to keep all the recipes I’ve tried (or want to try) organized. And on top of that, there seemed to be no way to use those recipes to create a shopping list. But what I didn't previously know about is today’s incredible app: Paprika 3. For a one-time purchase of $4.99, this app allows you to save recipes from the internet without having to type any ingredients or directions. You can create a list of everything in your own pantry, build a meal plan with recipes you’ve saved, and add whatever you need to buy to a grocery list. All the work that takes place outside of the kitchen can be done with Paprika 3. There’s a whole lot this app can do, and we'll cover it all below.
How to Check Apple Watch Battery Levels on iPhone
By Leanne Hays
If you're an Apple Watch user you can check your battery level right on your Watch, but did you know you can also check the battery on your Apple Watch from the iPhone it's paired to? This tip will come in especially handy during colder months when it might be easier to pull out your iPhone than to pull up the long sleeve covering your watch. If you've been wondering how to check the battery on an Apple Watch from your iPhone, read on to find out.
How to Keep Your HomePod from Messing Up Your Apple Music Recommendations
By Leanne Hays
One of the coolest features of Apple's new HomePod is its ability to team up with your Apple Music subscription and act as a personal DJ, playing custom playlists based on your listening habits for you enjoy whenever you ask. Your HomePod's mixology skills can get thrown off kilter, though, if family members or visitors are also asking Siri to play their favorite tunes. And this will also influence what Apple Music thinks you like and plays for you on your other Apple Devices as well. Fortunately, there's a HomePod setting you can change to ensure that you won't end up listening to a mish-mosh of all your friends' and family members' musical tastes. Let's get started learning how to keep other HomePod users from influencing your "For You" Apple Music recommendations on your HomePod.
2018 Masters Golf Tournament: Live Stream All the Coverage on Apple TV
By Leanne Hays
How to Stream the 2018 Masters Live on Your Apple TV without Cable
Broadcast rights for the tournament are split between CBS and ESPN, the Golf Channel and CBS Sports are offering previews and commentary, and DirecTV is offering a live broadcast from Amen Corner, as well as the 15th and 16th holes. With so many broadcasters offering so much Masters content, we have our work cut out for us to figure out which streaming providers and over-the-air antenna will offer the best live coverage for free, or at the lowest price possible. Let's get started learning how to live stream the 2018 Masters Tournament on Apple TV.
iCloud Backup Failed? Why iPhone Won't Back Up & How to Fix It
By Leanne Hays
If your iCloud backup failed, there are several reasons why it might have happened. Let's get started troubleshooting why your iPhone won't back up to the cloud. Here are the first steps to take:
- Check Your iCloud Settings
- Check Your Power Source
- Check Your Wi-Fi Signal & Connection
- Make Sure Your iPhone's Screen Is Locked
- Make Sure Apple's iCloud Backup System Is Working