iPhone Life Magazine Spring 2021

Leading up to the holidays, Apple reminded us of its ability to pull off seemingly miraculous feats. We knew the tech giant had plans to build its own laptop and desktop chip called the M1. The vision was enticing—to build computers that performed tasks at rapid speed and with much greater efficiency. We were wary, though, and for good reason. As our CTO Raphael Burnes pointed out, by switching away from Intel processors, Apple is essentially performing a brain transplant on its Macs and MacBooks. For software developers, it requires them to build new versions of their apps to work with the M1. That could take years and an abundance of resources, if they decide to do it at all. But days after Apple launched a trio of M1 Macs in…

Donna Cleveland, Editor in Chief 2016 VW Tiguan with Apple CarPlay ($16,000) I’ve had my Tigie for a year, and while I love the size and build of this mini-SUV, far and away my favorite feature is its Apple CarPlay system. On a cross-country drive from Iowa to Florida last month, I enjoyed CarPlay’s Dashboard view displaying my route and next turn in Apple Maps, Spotify playback controls, and Audible library. While CarPlay is available in hundreds of vehicle models, it’s been a first for me, and having the Apple interface I know and love in my car has proven to be invaluable. Rheanne Taylor, Senior Video Producer Fangs by Sarah Anderson ($14 on Amazon) My friend gifted me this book recently and I love it so much. Fangs is a collection of comics centered around…

At $699, the iPhone 12 mini is not Apple’s cheapest iPhone. That title still belongs to the $399 iPhone SE 2020, but the mini is indeed the cheapest iPhone with 5G. It is also the cheapest iPhone with Face ID, the latest CPU, and Apple’s dual-camera system. But what is really impressive is that it is also the smallest iPhone with all of the above features! Even though Apple launches a new flagship iPhone every year, like many iPhone owners, I typically skip a generation. However, I chose to upgrade early because of several new features in the iPhone 12 family that made it worth it. If you’re looking for value for your money, the iPhone 12 mini does just about everything the iPhone 12 does, but in a smaller form and…

Apple has officially launched its first line of laptop and desktop processors with the M1. The M1 offers an exciting vision of a different kind of computer experience. The processor is faster (aren’t new processors always faster?), offers better graphical performance, delivers a long battery life, and translates Intel-based apps remarkably well with Rosetta II. It also promises better integration with iOS and iPadOS apps, but so far, the delivery is half-baked at best. Apple is gambling big, trying to unify all its products, but what about you? Should your next upgrade be an Apple M1-equipped Mac? APPLE’S DECISION TO BUILD THE M1 For the third time in the company’s history, Apple is switching who builds its central processor units—the brain which does all the computing. This is a big change since…

I’ve always had a hard time seeing where a tablet fits into my technology landscape. I have a laptop, I have a phone, why would I need a hybrid? But the 2020 iPad Air’s portability and processing power (not to mention color options) caught my attention, and I finally crossed the threshold into iPad ownership. I have to say: I like it. EASY TO USE…ISH While the setup was so easy I almost wanted to cry (hello, just holding my phone near the iPad and letting iCloud do the rest), I quickly became aware of the extreme limitations of the iPad Air if you don’t have accessories. If you want to use it as anything more than an oversized iPhone, you need at minimum a keyboard and a stylus. I’d anticipated this…

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have by now heard the term 5G. You may have seen in the news that some conspiracy theorists thought it was spreading COVID-19, or perhaps you’ve heard of it in the context of Apple’s new iPhone 12 series with 5G capabilities. Apple sure made a big deal of 5G, but why? Everybody is happier with faster downloads, but there is much more to it than just that. Simply put, 5G is the next generation of internet and voice technology for cellphones. Every few years as technology evolves, a new standard is required. The main pressures driving the need for this are increasing demands for high-speed data and the rapidly increasing number of connected devices. 5G promises to address those two needs: faster…