iPhone

Stay up-to-date on the latest iPhone news and learn new tips and tricks with our comprehensive tutorials. From software updates to new features, we’ve got you covered.

Charge up to six devices at the same time with the Rapid Charge USB Wall Charger

It is highly likely that you have three, four, or even six rechargeable mobile devices in your home (possibly more). Whether you are using a smartphone, tablet, e-reader, wireless speaker, or some other device that uses a USB cable to recharge, there are probably a lot more gadgets lying around than you realize.

Choetech makes a six port Rapid Charge USB Wall Charger that, not only supports charging of six devices at the same time, but also provides fast charging with up to 10-amp output.

Best Buy app now accepting Apple Pay, coming to retail stores later this year

Best Buy announced today that it will begin supporting Apple Pay within its mobile app, effective immediately, and within its stores later this year. This is a major partnership for Apple, as it’s the first one with a member of MCX—the Walmart led consortium of retailers that are backing payment app 'CurrentC.'

A Best Buy spokeswoman told Recode that “we remain invested in MCX,” but she would not comment on when CurrentC will be available to the public and if the electronics retailer would accept it at launch. “We are actively monitoring their pilots,” she said. “It’s too early to declare whether we will take it at launch.”

Facebook Messenger launches video calling

Merely a week after flipping the switch on audio calling in the popular WhatsApp service, Facebook today started rolling out video calling to its Messenger app on iOS and across other mobile platforms.

As you know, Messenger already offers people the ability to make voice calls to friends around the world. By enabling cross-platform video calling across the ubiquitous messaging service, which commands 600 million users, the firm has enabled users to engage in face-to-face conversations with their friends and the people they care about, regardless of the platform of their choice.

Real-time rain and lightning alerts launch in Weather Channel for Apple Watch, iPhone and iPad

The Weather Channel today announced bringing new real-time rain and lightning alerts to the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Apple Watch via an updated iOS app. The refreshed mobile software lets you receive the exact alerts for rain, snow and lighting strikes that are relevant to you and based on your location.

In addition, you can now set up fully customizable notifications based on personal preferences so you can receive timely alerts tailored to your preference.

Instagram updated with new filters and emoji hashtags

Facebook's Instagram posted an update today for its iOS client, bringing the app to version 6.11.0. The update brings about a handful of improvements, including new filters and the ability to use emoji in hashtags.

The new filters include Lark, Reyes and Juno, and Instagram describes the creative tool additions "as a family of modern, subtle filters that brighten and enhance your photos in refined, beautiful ways."

Unread gains iOS 8 Share sheet, 1Password integration, landscape on iPhone and more

Unread, an RSS client for the iPhone and iPad originally created by Jared Sinclair and later acquired by Supertop, is getting a nice update this morning with several new features and a handful of bug fixes.

Unread, which supports a number of popular feed services, now features a useful Share extension so you can now send links and text from any app easily rather than fiddle with a proprietary sharing menu.

On the iPhone, the app will now reorient its user interface when you turn your device upside down. More importantly, Unread 1.5 for the iPhone and iPad at last supports Readability in the article view, letting you enjoy the full articles without ads, custom layouts, website navigation and other distractions.

Seven cool things Apple Watch can do without its paired iPhone

Designed as a versatile companion to the iPhone, the Apple Watch uses the GPS and Wi-Fi in your iPhone to give you the full experience. That's why the very first step before you can start using the Watch is pairing it to an iPhone in iOS's Apple Watch application.

But even though the wearable device wasn't conceived as a standalone product, it can still do a few tricks on its own, without having a paired iPhone in range. Here are seven different things the Apple Watch can do without being tethered to an iPhone.

Is Apple Watch draining your iPhone’s battery too fast? This may help

Contrary to popular belief, the Apple Watch has a pretty remarkable battery, a notion driven home by even the toughest of critics and reviewers.

Now that first shipments have arrived into the hands of consumers, and people have spent a day or two with their device, reports are coming in that the wearable device is in some cases dramatically draining the battery of an iPhone it's paired to.

Our own Oliver Haslam has underscored the phenomenon in his hands-on with the Watch based on his first 24 hours with the device, as did others including former Engadget editor Ryan Block. What gives?

Charge your iPhone and Apple Watch simultaneously with these dual USB chargers

The first night I took off my Apple Watch, I ran into a problem. I went to plug the charger into the outlet behind my nightstand, and I realized both spots were taken—1 by my iPhone alarm dock and the other by my lamp. So I started looking into dual USB chargers.

Figuring I wasn't the only one coming up a plug short, I decided to share my findings here on iDB. I've compiled a list of 8 dual USB chargers that I feel are worth checking out. They vary in price and design, and as usual, I've only included those with high ratings, making sure they are some of the best dual USB chargers you can use with your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch.

‘Offers Apple Watch App’ label added to App Store

In order to better distinguish between regular iPhone applications and those with added Apple Watch functionality, a new 'Offers Apple Watch App' label is now available in the App Store across the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices. It's also found when browsing Watch-compatible iOS apps in the App Store section of iTunes for Mac/Windows PCs.

When available, the label appears right below the app icon on individual app pages and in search results, making it easier to discover Apple Watch apps.

Twitter’s iOS app now showing apps on profile pages, new Highlights feature hits Android

The official Twitter application for the iPhone and iPad is now showing certain apps on profile pages, as noted by Twitter user 'ryan'. It's a silent refresh on Twitter's backend, meaning no update is necessary to your existing copy of Twitter for iOS. The web interface is unaffected by this nifty little change.

For the time being, it seems that mostly applications from major publications and brands are being highlighted, including ones by The New York Times and BuzzFeed, among others. In addition to branded news apps, other notable brands include Spotify and Twitter's own Periscope.