5 Apps for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing
By Logan Waldo
The iPhone as most people know it is not the same device when it’s in my hands. As a deaf person, my iPhone serves as a tool for accessing a whole new world. Some of the apps that hearing people use daily for recreational or professional purposes are apps I rely on to communicate with other people and to make my life more comfortable. In this article, I’ll highlight five of my favorite iPhone applications that make my life easier in every way. These apps include a helpful voice to text app, as well as a popular Apple app, FaceTime.
This article will tell you how to take a screenshot on your iPhone using Siri. We've gone over how to take a screenshot manually, but pressing buttons on an iPhone can be a literal pain if you have joint problems. That, plus messy fingers from cooking or being outside in the cold can make it hard to use to your hands to do a screenshot. For those times when a manual screenshot isn’t an option, you may have wondered, "can I ask Siri to take a screenshot?". The answer is, yes! With iOS 14, you can now just tell Siri to take a screenshot, instead of having to use Voice Control, as you did previously. Let's learn how.
How to Enable & Use Sound Recognition on the iPhone (iOS 14)
By Erin MacPherson
Apple’s focus on accessibility has grown since its first days of larger type and simple setups, and the Sound Recognition setting is possibly the most exciting new example of Apple’s inclusivity initiative. For those who are deaf, hard of hearing, or simply frequent users of noise-canceling headphones, the Sound Recognition feature in iOS 14 can alert them to a whole host of pre-programmed recognizable sounds. I use this feature when I’m working in my studio and can’t quite hear things like the doorbell, running water, or other important sounds. Here’s how to set up Sound Recognition, how to use it, and what to know before you start.
How to Find Out What Those Emojis Are Called
By Sarah Kingsbury
Emoji symbols add a touch of whimsy to text messages, notes, and emails. But did you know that they have names besides "the pink flower," "the other pink flower," "dead dudes one and two," and "the not-quite-full moon—is it waxing or waning? I can never remember"? The easiest and most hilarious way to find out what the Emojis' official names are is to have your iPhone read them out loud to you.
How to Use the iPhone Reachability Feature, with or without a Home Button
By Sarah Kingsbury
iPhone screens have gotten wider, and those wider screens can sometimes be hard to navigate one-handed. If you're having trouble accessing items at the top of the screen on your iPhone, give your overstretched thumb a break and start using Apple's Reachability feature to pull the top of the screen within reach. To use this feature, you'll need to enable Reachability in the Settings app. Here's how to use Reachability, with our without the Home button, to make your iPhone's screen more comfortable to access.
Hooke Verse Wireless 3D Audio Headset Review
By Mike Riley
Most professional videographers agree that high-quality audio capture is just as important, if not more so than, high-quality video capture. Watching a low resolution YouTube video with superb audio reproduction is far more tolerable than watching a high resolution video with poor audio quality. That is why I find it so surprising that Apple has focused so much of its iPhone feature attention on camera and video capture quality while still utilizing a run of the mill embedded mono microphone for audio. The founders of Hooke Audio saw this subpar configuration in not just the iPhone but other smartphones and video capture devices like GoPro's, and built a product to address this discrepancy. Read on to find out if the Hooke Verse wireless binaural 3D audio microphone system ($159.99) succeeds at eliminating this mobile audio capture fidelity problem.
How to Add 3D Touch Actions to AssistiveTouch
By Hallei Halter
If you have a 3D Touch-supported device, starting with iPhone 6s (but not including the iPhone SE or XR), you can add a 3D Touch multitasking gesture by way of AssistiveTouch. So, instead of pinching to zoom, you can use the AssistiveTouch button and zoom with a tap instead! Zoom and other gestures or actions can become a shortcut accessible by 3D Touching the AssistiveTouch button. This is an ideal option if you have a Home button that isn't too reliable or just want to take advantage of the convenience.
How to Change Your iPhone Screen’s Response to Taps
By Conner Carey
In Settings you can adjust quite a few of the ways your iPhone or iPad screen responds to taps. There is the option to Hold Duration, Ignore Repeat taps, and Enable Tap Assistance. We’ll go through the options and how to change them below.
For someone who is blind or has impaired vision, Be My Eyes is a resource that makes everyday tasks easier. Sighted people sign up to be volunteers; when a blind or visually impaired person asks for assistance, the app video calls one of over a million volunteers to help. When someone starts a call, the first available volunteer will connect with them. If you’re blind or visually impaired, you can contact volunteers as often as you want; there are plenty of people who have showed up to say, “I’m here; what can I do?” And you can connect with them in a matter of minutes. Learn more on what the app does and why we love it below.
How to Turn On Closed Captions for Media on the iPhone
By Conner Carey
For some, it’s not easy to catch every word spoken when watching their favorite shows, videos, and movies on their devices. My mom has grown accustomed to watching her shows with closed captions, simply because she likes the added benefit of reading while she watches. Luckily, it’s easy to set up. You can turn on closed captions for media as your default on iPhone or iPad; here’s how.
How to Turn 3D Touch Off on iPhone
By Conner Carey
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.
Color Blind? How to Correct Your iPhone's Colors for Your Vision
By Conner Carey
Accessibility features on iPhone improve year after year. It used to be that those who are color blind could only to choose to use grayscale, but did you know that’s no longer the case? If you’re color blind, you can go into your settings and select the color correct palette that works with your specific type of color blindness. It’s pretty incredible. Even those with ‘regular’ vision should check it out. Here’s how to correct your iPhone’s colors for your vision.
How to Disable Press Home to Open with iOS 10 on iPhone
By Conner Carey
With iOS 10, press Home to open means you have to click the Home button to actually navigate to your Home screen. You’ll see at the top of Lock screen, when you use Touch ID, it will say Unlocked but it won’t open to Home until you press your Home button. And if you have Raise to Wake disabled, unlocking your iPhone takes two presses of the Home button. Press Home to open can be disabled in Settings by turning on Rest Finger to Open. Here’s how to disable press Home to open with iOS 10 on iPhone.
How to Quickly Invert Colors for iPhone Use in Low-Light Situations
By Sarah Kingsbury
In situations when even Night Shift mode is too bright, you can easily invert colors on the iPhone. I was on a late night stroll with my dog when I received a text from my daughter that needed a reply. During the exchange that followed, I dictated my texts instead of attempting to type out a reply while walking and holding an energetic puppy still; but even so, I had to take a moment after sending each message to stop and let my eyes readjust to the darkness. Next time, I’ll use this tip before leaving the house. Here’s how to quickly invert colors on iPhone.
How to Turn off Reachability
By Conner Carey
With the introduction of larger iPhone screens, Apple also created the feature Reachability. You may have activated this by accident in the past; it’s when your interface temporarily moves to the bottom of the screen, providing access to icons or links that were out of reach while holding the phone with one hand. To activate Reachability, you simply tap the Home button twice. Don’t click the Home button, or the App Switcher will pop up. However, if you don’t care for this feature, here’s how to turn off Reachability.
Tip of the Day: Increase Your iPhone Typing Speed
By Sarah Kingsbury
Messages, emails, notes, reminders, there are so many ways to give your thumbs a workout while using an iPhone. Getting your iPhone typing up to speed can be a real time saver. Here are a few suggestions that will have you thumbing out messages speedily and with ease:
Tip of the Day: Make Those Broken Headphones Work
By Sarah Kingsbury
Have you ever tried to listen to music or watch a movie with a pair of headphones that only work on one side? It's pretty miserable, isn't it? (Every parent who has ever made the mistake of sharing his headphones with his kids is nodding sadly right now.) Obviously it's time for you to order a new, higher quality pair of headphones and hide them from your destructive offspring. In the meantime, you can enjoy the full audio experience by switching your iPhone or iPad's audio settings to mono.
Tip of the Day: How to Use Guided Access for Toddlers
By Paula Bostrom
Little ones love using iDevices with the games and the swiping and the buttons. However, the owners of those devices may not love it when their toddler starts accessing other apps, notes, or the actual phone. Luckily, there is a way to disable all apps but the one you want your toddler to play with.
Tip of the Day: How to Set Triple Click Shortcuts
By Paula Bostrom
The Accessibility feature on the iPhone is designed to make life easier for someone with a disability. If you have visual issues or motor impairments your iPhone can accommodate you. iUsers without disabilities also find many of these features to be useful when interacting with their devices. An easy way to turn these features on or off or switch between them is to use the triple click-shortcut on your Home button.
Tip of the Day: How to Add a Comment in Pinterest
By Becca Ludlum
There are several reasons why you might want to edit a pin description. Maybe you'd like to add your comments about a recipe, mention another way to do a step in the DIY project that you found easier, or even just make a note for yourself that you have already tried that pin. The reasons are plentiful. Here's how to edit a pin description in Pinterest.