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5 Fun iOS 17 “Tweaks” - The Mac Mentor

geoff@themacmentor.com (Geoff Horwitz) — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 17:20:45 GMT

There are so many fun new features in iOS 17, I thought I’d send a few more your way.

First, let’s start with setting up a Contact Poster for you. Contact Posters are a fun way to customize how you show up when you call someone on their iPhone or when you share your contact information with them.

To get started, open the Contacts app, then find your contact (if you don’t have yourself in your iPhone by now, you should definitely create your contact). At the top right of your contact, tap the Edit icon. You should see your initials and an Edit button below your initials. Tap Edit and then you’ll have a series of options for your Poster. You can choose from a photo, Memoji, or you can leave the poster with your initials. Give it a try, best part is, you can always change it ☺️. Here’s mine.

Next up, is a great new feature that’s been added to Keychain that allows you to share passwords. If you don’t know what Keychain is, or don’t use it, it’s a password keeper that’s part of iCloud. Now, there a reasons to share passwords (and reasons not too). What you choose to do is of course up to you. There are people that share passwords on paper, or via the Notes app, via text, or via email. All of those are not so great options. What to do you ask? Well, Keychain now offers a safer, better password sharing option. First, you’ll need to make certain the person you wish to share passwords with has their iPhone updated to iOS 17 ��. Once that’s been solidified, on your iPhone, open Settings, scroll down and tap Passwords (located just under Wallet & Apple Pay), once you’ve either scanned your face or entered your iPhone’s code, at the top right tap the “+” then choose “New Shared Group”, click Continue, then name your group. Next below your name, click the + to Add People to your new Shared Group.

Now for iOS 17’s next great new feature, this one centers on Apples AirTags? Have you wished that you could share the location of your AirTag(s) with a partner, spouse, child or friend? Well, now you can! Open the FindMy app, and on the bottom toolbar, tap Items. Next tap your AirTag and a sliding window appears. You’ll see a Play Sound option, a Find option and below that, a Share This AirTag option. Tap Add Person, then click Continue. Your contacts list will appear and you can type the name of the person(s) you wish to share your AirTag with. Then, at the top Right, tap Share. The person you chose to share with will get a notification on their iPhone (or other Apple device), at which point they choose to accept or deny your request. This is a great way for others to help you if you loose that specific device and have no way to check for your AirTags.

Finally for this blog, a terrific new feature for those of you that run the laundry room or mud room, as it’s also known, at your house. Now, back in iOS 15 Apple started including a lookup feature in photos. You could take a picture of a flower and you could look up the type of flower it was, see a cool dog or cat and if you wanted to know it’s breed, you now could easily find out. Now, with iOS 17, Apple has taken the feature one step further by providing you a way to lookup those silly symbols on your clothing tags that you almost never can see, and almost certainly have a hard time knowing what the heck they mean! � All you need to do is take a picture of the tag in your clothing, open Photos, click the picture, on the lower toolbar, tap the icon with an “i” then tap the Look Up Laundry Care, then you’ll get a set of icons with instructions!

Seriously, how many times have you looked at a clothing tag and been like “What the real fu#$!!!!” For those of you that have ever experienced this, I truly believe that this will become one of your favorite new iPhone features! It’s already become one of mine.

Well that’s it for this blog, as always, thank you for reading and if you enjoyed, please share!

Cheers,

Geoff

iPhone 15 Pro Battery Saving Tips

geoff@themacmentor.com (Geoff Horwitz) — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 07:53:54 GMT

Welcome to iPhone 15 Pro Battery saving tips

With all the new features and functionality of the new iPhone 15 Pro(s), I thought it prudent to focus first on how to best save your new iPhone battery life. Below I’ve provided some tips on how to make your new iPhone battery last longer.

First, lets start by turning off Live Activities.

What are Live Activities you ask? Live Activities is a feature that lets apps continually display information on your Lock Screen or Dynamic Island . First available on the iPhone 14 Pro models, now advanced further with the iPhone 15 Pro models and iOS 17, Live Activities are more prevalent than ever. Add this with to the Always-On Mode for the display, and the great battery life of your new iPhone, will be providing you with great angst �� instead of great life.

So, how do you stop Live Activities? Follow these steps:

Open up the Settings app.
Go to Face ID & Passcode.
Enter your passcode to unlock the ‌iPhone‌.
Scroll down and toggle off Live Activities.

This will stop Live Activities from showing up on your Lock Screen, however, let me recommend you take this one step further. Next, in the individual app sections in the Settings app, disable Live Activities on an app-by-app basis, this will help you avoid using Live Activities features within each app.

Below is an example of the MLB Ballpark app with the Live Activities setting off:

Unfortunately, there is no way to fully disable the ‌Dynamic Island‌, but you can swipe left on any running animation to dismiss it.

Next battery saving tip: Delete Widgets on the Lock Screen and Home Screen:

With ‌iOS 17‌, Apple has continued to improve Widgets, now, introducing, Widget interactivity. Should you choose, you have the option to use Widgets on your Lock Screen, allowing you to do things like control smart home products or check off Reminders without ever needing to open an app.

If you're not using a particular widget often, it is my recommendation to remove it as a way to preserve battery life.

On the Lock Screen specifically, you can use an option that doesn't have widgets. Specific Lock Screens can be linked to a Focus mode, so you can even set up something that removes widgets and nixes unimportant notifications.

Next tip, turn off Live Voicemail

A new feature in iOS 17 is Live Voicemail. Live Voicemail allows for a readout of a voicemail as it’s happing, so you can answer the phone if it's something important. Since Live Voicemail shows up right on the Lock Screen, it's not doing your battery any favors.
If you want to disable it, you can do so by going to Settings > Phone > Live Voicemail and toggling it off.

Next Tip: Turn Off Always-On Display (this only pertains to the iPhone 15 Pro models)

As the name suggests, the Always-On display on the ‌iPhone 15 Pro‌ models leaves the clock, your wallpaper, widgets, and Live Activities visible on the Lock Screen even when your ‌iPhone‌ is locked. Battery drain!

The display uses a 1Hz refresh rate to preserve battery, and Apple has some tricks like turning off the display when a connected Apple Watch is no longer nearby (signaling that the ‌iPhone‌ owner is not nearby) or the ‌iPhone‌ is in a pocket, but Always-On display still drains battery faster than no Always-On display.

You can turn off the Always-On display by following these steps:

Open up the Settings app.
Tap on Display & Brightness.
Tap on Always On Display.
Toggle off Always On Display.

It's not clear just how much battery life the Always-On display drains because it's going to vary from case to case, but even if it's only a few percent, it's worth turning off, especially if it's not a feature that you find useful.

I hope you found these tips useful. I’ll provide additional tips soon. In the meanwhile, let me know how you are enjoying your new iPhone 15.

Iphone Battery Hacks - How to Make Your iPhone Battery Last Longer

geoff@themacmentor.com (Geoff Horwitz) — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 14:15:20 GMT

Welcome to The MacMentor’s guide on iPhone battery optimization! Below I lay out 11 ways to help with your iPhone battery life. However, with all the power and features packed into our iPhones, battery life remains crucial for us. Fortunately, I’ve got your back, and I’m here to provide some tips and tricks you can use to make your iPhone's battery last longer and keep it running more efficiently throughout the day.

1. Understanding iPhone Battery Basics:

Before I make a dive into optimization techniques, let me help you get familiar with some essential battery basics. iPhones use lithium-ion batteries, which are rechargeable but have a limited lifespan. Understanding battery health and capacity will help you make better, smarter decisions to prolong your iPhones battery life.

2. Check Battery Health:

To check your iPhone's battery health, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. In this setting, you’ll find helpful information about your battery's capacity and performance. If the capacity is significantly degraded, you may want to replace the battery either at Apple, or through an Apple authorized service provider.

3. Update Your iPhone:

I know I harp on this, but keeping your iPhone's software up to date is crucial for battery optimization. Apple frequently releases updates that include bug fixes and performance enhancements, which can positively impact battery life.

4. Optimize Screen Brightness and Timeout:

Next, lowering your screen brightness and reducing the auto-lock time will significantly impact battery usage. Use adaptive brightness or adjust it manually to a comfortable level. Please make sure you set your auto-lock timeout to the shortest duration you find convenient.

5. Manage Background App Refresh:

There simply is no reason to have any apps Background App refresh setting to on or enabled. Go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and select "Off" on each app to conserve battery life. Then turn the main Background App Refresh setting to off so any new apps that you add will be set to “Off” automatically.

6. Control Location Services:

Location-based services can and will drain your battery quickly. It’s up to you to decide which apps genuinely need access to your location, and disable it for others through Settings > Privacy > Location Services. I suggest you go over each app and have them set to “While Using” at most.

7. Choose Wi-Fi Over Cellular Data:

Whenever possible, using Wi-Fi instead of cellular data will save significant battery life. Your phone consumes more power to maintain a stable cellular connection.

8. Disable Push Email:

The Push email feature, fetches new emails as soon as they arrive, but it’s a battery hog. Instead, set your email to fetch manually or at intervals that better suit your needs.

9. Turn off Unused Connectivity Features:

When you are not using settings like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or Personal Hotspot, make sure to turn these features off. Each of these features continuously search for connections and consume unnecessary power.

10. Enable Low Power Mode:

A great way to save life when your battery is running low, activate Low Power Mode through Settings or the Control Center. This will limit background processes and visual effects, extending battery life when you need it most.

11. Disable Unnecessary Notifications:

I don’t know about you but I find most notifications annoying. By Reducing the number of notifications you will have a noticeable impact on battery life. Customize your notification settings for each app through Settings > Notifications.

Finally, I hope you you implement some or all of these battery optimization techniques, as it will help your iPhone retain a charge for longer periods, thus reducing the need for frequent charging and extending the overall lifespan of your iPhones battery, and who doesn’t want that? Remember to always keep an eye on your battery health, stay up to date with iOS updates, and don’t forget that small adjustments to your daily habits can make a big difference in preserving your iPhone's battery life. Happy optimizing!

If you have questions, please reach out, we are ALWAYS happy to help ��

iGems: 10 Fantastic Siri hacks

geoff@themacmentor.com (Geoff Horwitz) — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 16:04:13 GMT

This blog is aimed at helping those of you who already use Siri to make your life easier. Also for those of you who don’t, this blog will hopefully have you re-thinking why you are not using Siri. I hope you enjoy these ten great Siri hacks.

Reminders and Alarms: Siri can help you set reminders and alarms quickly. Just say "Hey Siri, set a reminder for [task] at [time]" or "Hey Siri, set an alarm for [time]" to create reminders and alarms without manually going through the Clock or Reminders app.
Launching Apps: Instead of manually searching for and opening an app, you can ask Siri to launch it for you. Just say "Hey Siri, open [app name]" and Siri will open the requested app.
Sending Messages and Making Calls: Siri can send messages or make calls for you. Use commands like "Hey Siri, send a message to [contact] saying [message]" or "Hey Siri, call [contact]" to perform these tasks hands-free.
Navigation: Siri can provide directions and help you navigate. Ask Siri questions like "Hey Siri, how do I get to [destination]?" or "Hey Siri, what's the traffic like?" to receive real-time navigation instructions and traffic updates.
Social Media: Siri can post to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter on your behalf. Use commands such as "Hey Siri, post to Facebook" or "Hey Siri, tweet [message]" to update your social media accounts using Siri.
Math and Calculations: Siri is a handy calculator. Ask Siri to solve math problems, calculate tips, or convert units. For example, say "Hey Siri, what is 25% of 80?" or "Hey Siri, convert 5 miles to kilometers."
Language Translation: Siri can help with translations. Ask Siri to translate phrases or sentences into different languages. For example, say "Hey Siri, translate 'hello' to French" or "Hey Siri, how do you say 'thank you' in Spanish?"
Sports Updates: This is one of my favorites! Stay updated on your favorite sports teams by asking Siri for scores, game schedules, and player information. Just say "Hey Siri, what was the score of the last [team name] game?" or "Hey Siri, when is the next [team name] game?"
Entertainment: Siri can provide recommendations for movies, TV shows, and even jokes. Ask Siri questions like "Hey Siri, what are some good movies to watch?" or "Hey Siri, tell me a joke" to get some entertainment suggestions.
General Knowledge: Siri is a wealth of information. Ask Siri questions about various topics, such as history, science, or trivia. Just say "Hey Siri, who is the current President?" or "Hey Siri, tell me an interesting fact."

If you have Siri set up, to activate Siri, simply say "Hey Siri" followed by a command. If you have yet to set up “Hey Siri”, open the Settings App, tap Siri and Search, enable Listen for “Hey Siri”, follow the prompts to set it up and you’ll be good to go! Then you’ll be ready to have fun with Siri.

Ten Mac Essentials for new Mac users

geoff@themacmentor.com (Geoff Horwitz) — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 10:45:37 GMT

Are you a new Mac user? Well congratulations on joining the world of Mac computing! Now, getting used to a new operating system can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be, we're here to help. In this micro-blog, we share ten Mac essentials that every new (and existing) user should know. By the end of this post, you'll feel much more confident navigating your Mac.

1. Get to know the Finder: The Finder is the file management system for the Mac. Spend some time exploring its various features, such as the sidebar, toolbar, and view options.

2. Learn keyboard shortcuts: Macs have numerous keyboard shortcuts that can save time and improve productivity. Some essential shortcuts include Command+C (copy), Command+V (paste), and Command+Tab (switch between open apps).

3. Set up Time Machine: Time Machine is the built-in backup feature on the Mac. Set it up to automatically back up your files to an external hard drive or network-attached storage device.

4. Customize the Dock: The Dock is the bar of icons that sits at the bottom (or side) of the screen. You can customize it by adding or removing apps, changing its size, and enabling magnification.

5. Use Spotlight to find files and launch apps: Spotlight is the built-in search feature on the Mac. Use it to quickly find files, launch apps, perform calculations and even do web searches.

6. Take advantage of multi-touch gestures: MacBooks (Air and Pro) have a touchpad called the trackpad that supports various multi-touch gestures, such as swiping between open apps and zooming in and out of documents. Similar features and functionality can be found on the mouse that comes with the iMac.

7. Use iCloud to sync your data: iCloud is Apple’s cloud-based storage and syncing service. Use it to keep your contacts, calendar events, notes, and other data in sync across all your Apple devices.

8. Install and use third-party apps: The Mac App Store has a vast selection of apps, but don't be afraid to explore third-party options as well. Popular apps include Google Chrome, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office along with many others.

9. Customize your settings: The Settings app (System Preferences, if you have yet to upgrade to macOS Ventura) is where you can customize your Mac's settings, including your desktop wallpaper, trackpad and mouse preferences, and security settings.

10. Explore the menu bar: The menu bar is the bar of menus that sits at the top of the screen. It contains various system-wide menus, such as the Apple menu and the Spotlight menu. Spend some time exploring its various options and features.

We know these ten Mac essentials will help you make your start to the Mac world a smooth one. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to The Macmentor at https://www.themacmentor.com/ . We are always happy to help new Mac users get the most out of their devices.

Three Great IOS Tips & Tricks

geoff@themacmentor.com (Geoff Horwitz) — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 21:33:15 GMT

1. Remove the last number in your calculator (calculations)

Have you become accustomed to deleting a number in the calculator because you had one digit incorrect? Frustrate you it did I’m sure! Thankfully that’s changed! Now, simply lay your finger down and swipe across the display, either way to replace a single number or numbers, making the calculator app far more useful!

3. Quickly set a Timer

Instead of opening the clock app (or some 3rd party timer app you’ve downloaded). Simply invoke the Control Panel by swiping down on the top right of your screen where the battery icon exists. Then, long press the clock icon to invoke the timer slide.New Paragraph

Want to speed up your Mac? Start with freeing up space on your hard drive.

geoff@themacmentor.com (Geoff Horwitz) — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 03:07:02 GMT

Are you a digital hoarder?

When was the last time you checked the amount of free space on your Mac (or PC)? If it wasn’t recently, why not? If it was recently, did you do something about it, or were you unsure and you just left things as they were. There are numerous issues to not having enough storage. Most obvious being it will slow the computer down and not allow you to store files. Next, you won’t be able to update the operating system software (macOS) because you won’t have space to do so. Now I know many of you don’t want to or think you need to update, however there are certain dangers to not updating, including missing what could be major security fixes that protect you and your computer from online threats.

One of the best places to start cutting back on storage is with photos.

Most of us have thousands of photos on our iPhones and iCloud, I’m willing to bet you have tons of duplicates (unless you’ve run the duplicate remover that comes in iOS16). Now, I’m not going to tell you what you should and shouldn’t save, but come on…how many photos of the family pet do you need, that look EXACTLY alike?!?

Once you’ve cleaned out your photos, next place to hit on your Mac is Downloads. Have you ever been to the Downloads folder? Did you even know it exists? Go to Finder, under favorites, click Downloads. Were you aware those files were there? If there’s stuff you don’t need there DELETE it…:).

After cleaning out Downloads, go to the Application folder. Now DO NOT delete apps just because you aren’t using them as they may be system files. If you have questions about Apps in the Applications folder, call me.

Finally, mail. Do you delete email? Did you know you can and should delete old Sent emails as they take up space and you don’t need them?

Do you delete your Junk email? Do you empty your email trash? All things you should be doing to make your email footprint smaller.

That’s just a few tips to get you going, if you ’d like more assistance with Storage, DON’T WAIT for you Mac to stop working! Please call us at 847.902.6681 or email us at geoff@themacmentor.com we’ll be happy to come out and help.

Why iPhone’s Don’t Need Anti-Virus Software

Thu, 09 Feb 2023 08:33:46 GMT

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is, do I need to download an Anti-Virus app for my iPhone? If so which one and why? The answer 99.9 percent of the time is no, you do not need an anti-virus app for your iPhone or iPad. The .1 percentage of the time you would need it is if you decided to “jail break” your iPhone, meaning, download a third party’s version of iOS.

Apple has designed iOS with security first and foremost in importance.

Many companies do offer “security” apps for your iPhone/iPad, these apps do NOT help with viruses.

Apple has FINALLY brought duplicate merge/deletion capability to your devices!

geoff@themacmentor.com (Geoff Horwitz) — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 00:44:46 GMT

One of my favorite new features in iOS 16 and macOS 13 gives you the ability to merge and delete duplicate photos, from within the Photo App.

Do you have tens of thousands of photos on your iPhone, Mac, iCloud? How many of those are duplicates? Why hasn’t Apple made it easy to get rid of those duplicate photos? Believe it or not, having photo duplicates can and will slow your devices down because your hard drive will running out of space, and so will your iCloud storage, and thus the head ache begins.

Now, along comes iOS 16 and macOS 13, and Apple has FINALLY brought duplicate merge/deletion capability to your devices! For some of you, not a moment too soon! ��

On your Mac, make sure you’ve update to macOS 13.1. Once that’s complete, open the Photos App, if you have duplicates, you’ll see a “Duplicate” option on the left Favorites Bar under Imports and above Recently deleted. Click the Duplicate option and you’ll see all your duplicate photos (hopefully not too many ��

On your iPhone and iPad make sure you’re at the most recent iOS (16.2). Once complete, open Photos, on the bottom toolbar, click Albums, scroll down to the bottom and if you have duplicate photos, you’ll see an option under Utilities titled Duplicates. Tap that, from there you’ll have the ability to select all duplicates (should you choose to) and delete them, or do them individually.

As always, I highly recommend updating your devices and keeping everything current! This will help with cleaning up some needed space.

What are Passkeys and why you should be excited.

geoff@themacmentor.com (Geoff Horwitz) — Tue, 03 Jan 2023 14:34:44 GMT

Passwords are the bane of our online existence. We struggle with creating passwords, storing them and updating them.�� It is suggested to create unique passwords for each system we login to, then our information gets hacked and sold and we need to change passwords for one or more systems.��

For everyone who has ever logged into a website or app and forgotten the password, then had to jump through hoops to reset it, then had to enter it in the unprotected spreadsheet (or what ever insecure location you store your passwords), get excited, because pretty soon, passwords will be a thing of the past, thanks to Passkeys. Passkeys are new to consumers and will enable a fully password-less experience!

Passwords are typically not secure, prone to very frustrating security policies (character length, special characters etc.) and vulnerable to phishing attacks. Passkeys are the standards-based solution to the password problem that is rolling out to modern browsers, phones and tablets.

Passkeys can reduce the risks of your account being compromised because it removes passwords. The way they work is thru multi-factor authentication; those factors include, Something you know: The passkey to your iPhone/iPad. Something you have: an authenticator embedded in your iPhone/iPad. Something you are: Your fingerprint or your face.

Passkeys are not reused across sites like passwords can be (and all to often are!), so the risk of stolen credentials affecting other accounts is far less.

In the Apple world Passkeys rely on iCloud Keychain (your iPhone/iPad must be at iOS 16, and your Mac must be at macOS Ventura) which in turn requires two-factor authentication for further protection. Passkeys will sync across all of a user's devices through ‌iCloud‌ Keychain, which is end-to-end encrypted with its own cryptographic keys.

Passkey synchronization across accounts provides redundancy in case an Apple device is lost, but should all of a person's Apple devices become lost and the passkeys along with them, Apple has implemented an iCloud Keychain escrow function to recover passkey information. There is a multi-step authentication process to go through to recover an ‌iCloud‌ Keychain with passkeys, or users can set up an account recovery contact.

Passkeys, when put to use, will be as simple as using ‌Touch ID‌ or ‌Face ID‌ to create a passkey to go along with a login.

Apple is currently working with members of the FIDO Alliance (FIDO is short for Fast IDentity On Line), including Google and Microsoft, to ensure that passkeys can also be used with non-Apple devices and across platforms. On non-Apple devices, Passkeys will work through QR codes that will authenticate using the ‌iPhone‌, but it will require support from other companies, so it's a standard that needs to be adopted across the tech world.

Apple says that transitioning away from passwords is going to take some time, but it is working with developers to create a password less future.