iPhone and Apple news

With yesterday's Apple announcement of the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max (and I am sooo excited!) I've heard a lot of gripes about the switch from a lightning charge cable to a USB-C charge cable . Here's the deal in a nutshell-- and it's ac…

We've officially hit the point of full Apple product saturation in our household -- and as so many parents in our Out Tech Your Kids community tell us, they have too. So what do you do when you're all basically on Apple devices, your kid…

Recently, as you may have heard (ahem) a bunch of influential musical artists have been leaving Spotify , podcasters are rethinking the platform , and plenty of listeners are canceling their Spotify Premium subscriptions. (Which is evide…

I know I'm not the only one who wants to get rid of the unread email count badge on my phone that taunts me loudly in BRIGHT. RED. NUMBERS. Every so often, a friend on social media gleefully (like a Mr. Burns kind of gleeful if you ask m…

Lately I've heard some mixed opinions about the Focus feature on the latest iOS 15. If you haven't updated your iPhone yet, Focus mode is similar to the Sleep mode introduced with iOS 14 with even more detail and more ways to customize y…

Just in time for this summer's long-awaited 2020 Tokyo Olympics -- yes, they're still calling it that -- leave it to Apple to create the accessory to match. They're out today with 22 new, limited-edition International Sport Loop Collecti…

Each time there's a live streaming Apple Event to announce the new products and updates, we watch diligently to see what's new for parents and families, or which advances and improvements will actually make our lives a little easier, mor…

Over the past year, I have been so grateful for the sleep stories on Calm and some of the Apple Music playlists to help me fall asleep. The one issue: I was sometimes waking up in the middle of the night, my AirPods still in my ears...my…

Welcome to May, the month in which top brands lets everyone in the press in on all their new products supporting and celebrating June's Pride Month. Some of these products...well, it feels like pandering TBH, but in the case of Apple, th…

Every year, we share our top 10 most popular posts on Cool Mom Tech. From the best podcasts for kids to customizing your iPhone 14 home screen, here are the posts we wrote this year that resonated the most with our readers in 2020. Also …

Over the last couple of months, Apple has launched some pretty awesome devices and features that are pretty pertinent to parents - from Family Set-Up to the new HomePod Mini - and a few other things in between. So, on this episode of Out…

We've been fan of CASETIFY's fun iPhone case mash-ups for a while now, and so I was so happy to see them announce their new collection with -- yep, you guessed it -- the United States Postal Service. This new USPS collection celebrates t…

If you haven't heard by now, the customization features on the new iOS home screen are alllll kinds of extra (i.e. you can turn your home screen into a Harry Potter tribute , Microsoft Paint throw-back , or neon color study). It's pretty…

If you're already planning on stocking up on your favorite Apple products for back to school like we are ( new laptop for online school , anyone?), then this is the week to do it. Now through August 30, any purchase made using Apple Pay …

Apple's all set to release the new iOS 14 sometime this fall. And since an operating system update is the only way I'm marking time these quarantine days (Kidding! Mostly.) I was pretty stoked to explore the new features in their preview…

When you think "voracious reader of the classics" you don't generally think at the same time "..and big game, toor!" And yet, that's how I feel every time I open up Dear Reader. Free with Apple Arcade , this fun, quippy, clever, and fair…

We're going into our 10th year of Cool Mom Tech and our 2nd year of our Out Tech Your Kids Facebook group that's almost at 4500 members! We know, we can't believe it either. Every year, we share our 10 most visited posts on Cool Mom Tech…

If you've got a kid on an iPhone or an iPad, this week's iOS 13.3 update (as well as iPad OS 13.3 )has some serious parental controls that we think you'll be happy to know about. Introducing Communication Limits Starting his week, there'…

Breaking news! Apple just announced the new AirPods Pro bluetooth earbuds, and well, let's just say if you're already an AirPods fan, you're going to be pretty excited. And if you've been waiting for them to add a few new features before…

We're pretty much Team AirPods here at Cool Mom Tech. I was the first person to try them and sing their praises (though I don't use them anymore since my dog chewed one up). Then Liz jumped on the AirPods train. Well, after reading this …

On Tuesday, Apple hosted their big Apple Event 2019 and announced some pretty exciting new products and services. If you had time to watch it live, this time streaming on YouTube (whoa), then you've probably heard all of this before. But…

My son just texted me: "Mom, Say 18 to Siri , but then watch your screen." Sure enough, a countdown for calling 911 pops up. Thankfully, I was watching my screen like he told me to and I was able to stop it. Related: The first thing your…

I worship regularly at the church of AirPods , but I've heard from several of my friends who ask me how to keep the AirPods from falling out. Maybe they need bigger ear holes like me? Or, better, these EarHooks . Related: I tried AirPods…

I've been a Mac convert for many years now, and one of the big reasons I switched was due to all the Malware issues I was experiencing with my PCs. Macs are safer! You've probably heard someone tell you that, right? But if you're under t…

Yesterday, I spent a good two hours live tweeting the bigger Apple announcements at their 2019 developer conference that would be of interest to parents. Like, news about parental controls, photo sharing, and home security? Yes please! N…

Just when you might have thought Apple was done with the iPod touch , they announced a brand spankin' new one. You're not alone in the head scratching because they haven't updated the iPod since 2015. That's like 20 years in Apple years!…

I had an original Apple Watch way back when it first came out, and I really liked it. I also ended up feeling like it was "another thing" -- another thing to charge, another thing to take care of, another thing to buy accessories for. So…

If you've been wanting an Apple Watch Series 3 , whether you're a first-timer or are looking to upgrade, you're going to be hard pressed to find a price as low as this. We spotted certain models for as low as $199 on Amazon.com right now…

We're big fans of the Do Not Disturb feature on iPhone , which, if you're not familiar, allows you to temporarily block notifications (including texts and calls) with lots of customization too. As you can probably guess, it's perfect for…

If you haven't updated to the new iOS 12.2, it's worth it just to get the new Screen Time app feature that allows you to customize your child's downtime by the day. It's pretty easy to do once you have your phone running on the new iOS. …

In advance of their big video streaming announcement which is supposed to hit next week, Apple shared a bit of good news, especially if you're an iPad fan. They've got two new iPads, with some exciting features, that are available for or…

After finally updating my son's iPhone SE to iOS 12 , I've been able to properly utilize the Screen Time app , which by the way, is where you'll find all the Restrictions you might be familiar with from previous iOS versions. If you've g…

In case you were wondering, there will be 230 new emojis hitting your phone in 2019 , and we've got the scoop. From more gender inclusive couples to people with disabilities, we're excited to see a lot more diversity, and let's be honest…

We've seen lots of different ways to organize your iPhone apps , and well, just when we thought we'd seen the best, we discovered this iPhone app organization method from Ian Stanczyk (above). It's not necessarily the best, but certainly…

If you're a frequent Facetime user, you might want to turn it off until Apple fixes a recent glitch that actually allows callers to listen and see the people they're calling, even if they don't answer. Creepy much? Related: Watch out for…

I tend to be the one who schools my husband on cool iPhone tips and tricks , but this time, he's the one who schooled me when he showed me how to set a live photo as my iPhone's wallpaper. I admit, I take a bunch of live photos, but don'…

One thing I know about my daughter: She looooves her Pop Socket grip on the back of her phone -- and she also tends to drop said phone. A lot. We insisted on an Otterbox phone case for protection long ago, but I may be willing to let her…

Turns out the Apple One-Year Warranty is way more flexible than you might realize. Or as the store associate told me on a recent visit, "you got Beats headphones that are not working or coming apart in any way? Just bring it in and we'll…

tThis morning I was scrolling through Facebook and found several friends had shared this iPhone keyboard trick that I had never seen before. And well, of course I had to give it a try. Guess what? It totally works, and it's a gamechanger…

It's November, which means fall, and Thanksgiving, and apparently if you're Otterbox, more Star Wars smartphone cases . We were totally into the Star Wars cases they launched last year, and even more into the Solo: A Star Wars Story case…

We're so excited watching Apple's big announcement today about the brand new MacBook Air . With the title of Apple's most affordable MacBook (the price tag starts at $1199) we imagine lots of parents are going to be considering this for …

I've tried many different approaches to organizing my iPhone apps , but the same thing always happens: I can't find the ones I need when I need them. Logic says you leave your most-used apps on the main page, then put the others in files…

We always get kind of excited for each new iOS update (yeah, we're geeky that way) and the new iOS 12 update is no exception. We've been looking forward to it since we heard about all the new iOS parental controls in particular that Appl…

If you're looking to upgrade your iPhone's look for fall (yes, that's a thing I hear), may I suggest these beautiful Maria Maria hand-embroidered iPhone cases I spotted at Nordstrom? Related: These gorgeous iPhone cases are rock solid. E…

As an Apple family, we've seen various iterations of devices in our home over the years. And that means, different chargers, different ports, you get the idea. But that doesn't necessarily mean you need to buy a bunch of other cables and…

Are you tired hearing about how much I love my AirPods ? Well, if you're a recent convert or a seasoned user, I have found the perfect case, from our friends at TwelveSouth . We've featured their clever, practical Apple products over the…

We discovered the adorable Porg pins at UtinniBikini Etsy shop earlier this year, and now she's back with Porg smartphone cases that we need in our life right now. Aren't they awesome? Related: 16 of the coolest Star Wars gifts for kids …

There is a chance that you've seen your iPhone ask you to turn on Low Power Mode when it gets to 20% battery life, but what you might not have known is that you can toggle it on and off manually when you're out and about to help you save…

Turn that summer screen time into learning time at your local Apple Store thanks to their annual free summer camps . We've been lucky enough to snag a spot for our own kids in previous years and they've loved it. The catch: the spots go …

No judgments, parents -- we too have admitted (often) that it can be hard to manage kids' screen time , especially when our kids get older and we're not attached at the hip. Well Apple gets it too, and in today's big iOS 12 announcement …

Every so often, a commenter gets frustrated that we have reviewed an iOS-only app, and asks why we don't review more Android apps. We feel you. So every so often, we offer a response as to why iOS apps tend to be better than Android apps…

I recently upgraded from an iPhone 7 to an iPhone 8+, and as much as I love the bigger screen, it does take a bit of time to get used to. If you're like me and have gone up an iPhone size, you'll want to use Reachability Mode to help mak…

We've been long time supporters of Project (RED), featuring lots of their awesome collaborations here on Cool Mom Tech (and Cool Mom Picks ). So it's no surprise that we're very excited about the new Project (RED) iPhone 8 and 8 plus , t…

You might remember a few months ago when Apple announced that they are purposely slowing down your iPhones to prevent them from shutting down. This after we all thought we were going a little crazy when a new iPhone (and iOS) would launc…

Just yesterday at their Education event, Apple announced the rumored new 9.7 inch iPad , which is seems specifically aimed at students and teachers. Though, if you're not either of those, you can still get your hands on it as well. With …

On our recent Spawned with Kristen and Liz podcast, we chatted about the hottest (and nottest) Spring 2018 fashion trends , one of which we both agreed could be pretty cool on accessories. Yep, we're talking about bold floral and tropica…

A few years ago, we featured the Kickstarter campaign for The Light Phone , a gadget that was designed to help people separate themselves from their smartphones. Well, they've recently launched The Light Phone 2 and it's blowing up Indie…

If you're like us, you find yourself using Google to check the same recipes and ratios over and over again. How much water for brown rice? What amount of butter do I need for that pie crust again? That's why we're loving this clever iPho…

A new season on the horizon means a new iPhone case for me, and from all my searching, it looks like geodes , marble, and rocks are hotter than ever. I love that you can go bright or subtle, depending on your taste, both of which are sur…

Leave it to the kids to figure out cool iPhone tricks before we do, especially where emoji are concerned. Turns out, there's a fun way to insert emoji into your texts without toggling back and forth between keyboards -- something that ca…

Ever since I switched to the headphone jack-less iPhone, I rarely ever use earbuds because I cannot keep Bluetooth earbuds charged. And please don't ask me where I put the attachment that converts headphones to lightning. That is why I f…

Over the holiday break, I took my family on a trip to Sedona, Arizona and the Grand Canyon, and thanks to my fantastic iPhone 8+ camera with Portrait Mode, I've got some fantastic photos. But, as I quickly discovered after some trial and…

From scary apps your kids might be using to the solar eclipse of 2017 (remember that?), we rounded up our top 10 most popular posts here on Cool Mom Tech from 2017. 10. Is Unroll.me safe to use ? After the controversy over their use of d…

If you've always had a sinking feeling that your iPhone battery started to you know what the fan when new iPhone models were released, you probably felt vindicated last week. That's when multiple sources, like our friends at CNET , repor…

Even we here at Cool Mom Tech were surprised to learn about this hidden iPhone safety feature that could possibly help save lives. And while it's easy to activate, it's not something you would happen to do by accident, which is great for…

I've seen lots of different photo ornaments that you can make or order, but none like this clever DIY tutorial for iPhone photo ornaments we found at Chica Circle, created by Elba at Live Colorful. And hooray, it looks like even us not-s…

Okay, so please tell me I'm not the only iPhone owner who's had an iPhone for literally years ...and never knew this super basic time-saving iPhone trick. Turns out, your clock -- you know, the little digital display of the time at the v…

There's a glitch in the matrix! Okay, not really, just that there's a bug in iOS 11 that for many people turns their letter "i" to a weird symbol. Thankfully, there's a quick fix until they come up with a fix in the next iOS version, whi…

We just discovered a cool, new feature in iOS 11 that you might not have heard about, called Screen Recording, that actually allows you to record your screen (think live screen shot), and even narrate while you do. However, it's a little…

If you've upgraded to iOS 11 , then there's a good chance you've stumbled upon the new Control Center. Well, given it takes up almost the whole screen now, it's pretty hard to miss. And if you haven't, we'll I think you're in for a treat…

I took the plunge this weekend, and upgraded my iPhone to iOS 11. There are no shortage of awesome new features, but the one that caught my attention almost immediately was Do Not Disturb While Driving . This feature will automatically m…

Last week, my fiance' showed me his newly organized iPhone with all the apps neatly filed away into folders and I got hella jealous. This is 40, people. Turns out, organizing your iPhone apps into folders is super simple, and it can make…

Ah, September. It's the time of year when the weather changes, the kids go back to school, and Apple launches its new devices that make us all drool and try to figure out which child we can sell to afford one. Sorry, Johnny, you've left …

With the iPhone 8 announcement coming tomorrow, we know there's going to be lots of you (including us) strongly considering selling or trading-in your older model for a pretty new one. But there's good reason to update beyond just the aw…

My youngest child loves watching movies on our family iPad, but if your kids are like her, they can't help tapping and touching the screen which then requires you to rewind, fast forward, or turn it back on 400 times. So when I found out…

If you or your tween or teen loves those glitter-filled iPhone cases, you know, the ones with liquid and floating sparkles and designs, you'll want to check the manufacturer stat. The CPSC has recently issued a recall because there have …

You've probably seen the stories about how kids have pranked their parents using the Text Replacement feature on the iPhone. You know, they set it so that when their parents text the word "No," it gets replaced with the word "Yes." Oh ki…

If you're like me, then you've probably thought that force quitting apps on your iPhone or iPad (by tapping the home button twice and swiping up) would make your phone run faster and save your battery. Well, turns out that tip -- which I…

I've been in the mood for a new iPhone case, which is how I discovered these fun geode cases at Society 6 . While they're not real geodes (I know, stating the obvious here), they really do look like the real thing. Such a bright, colorfu…

I've been seeing a lot of research lately that seems to find a correlation between how much time we spend on our phones and our kids' behavior . Specifically, their bad behavior. The constant distraction of pings and alerts from my phone…

Remember those awesome choose-your-own-adventure books we all loved as kids? Well Netflix has just launched their first in a series of choose-your-own-adventure TV shows, and mama? It's so much fun! The first episode, Puss in Book: Trapp…

These camps are so cool that you’ll want to be a kid again! Well maybe temporarily.

I'm grateful to my daughter who (much to the chagrin of tweens and teens everywhere, I'm sure) tipped me off to a trick I wasn't aware of: Kids can easily download new apps to their devices without your knowledge, if you have Apple Famil…

Okay, okay so the new HomePod is not technically the Amazon Echo (aka Alexa), but well, it pretty much is, just shaped more like a marshmallow in Apple's signature black and white. That's not to say we're all not going to want it when it…

We're not huge fans of sending emails on the fly, even with the "Sent from our iPhone and talk-to-text hates us" warning at the bottom. But if we do, there are 3 handy iPhone email tricks we use to make them look as buttoned up as they w…

Last year my husband and I gifted our two older kids with their own iPod and Kindle, and along with the devices came a contract that outlined our expectations for using them. As my friends have started getting wifi-connected tablets or p…

With so many families ditching land lines and moving strictly to mobile phones, the biggest issue has been what to do when you need to call 911. In fact, it's such a big deal that I know lots of parents who have decided to keep their lan…

Back when iOS 10 hit and the iPhone 7 launched , we mentioned the Favorites widget which you will find on your iPhone when you swipe right from your home page or locked screen. Found it yet? Okay, good. Turns out, it's one of our most fa…

Your Valentine's Day just got a whole lot more romantic thanks to the official news that Prince is now available on Spotify and Apple Music. Whoo! That's right, all of his albums can be streamed all day, and... all night. Ahem. Start off…

I've been a big Nordstrom fan for years, and not just because I have a little shoe addiction . Their customer service is unrivaled, like the time they sent someone to my home to take off a security tag an associate had forgotten to take …

These days, you can make as much of a fashion statement with your iPhone as you can with your clothes and accessories. Case in point: these new Liquid Glitter iPhone cases at Casetify , which are a special Valentine's Day treat for the t…

You're probably familiar with the emergency call feature on the iPhone , which you might have seen if you temporarily forgot your passcode or had a child attempt to do it incorrectly multiple times. But you might not know that you can ad…

Our tech holiday gift guide continues, this time with stylish holiday tech gifts. Whether she just loves her smart phone, or considers herself a tech geek with style, we've rounded up 10 of the coolest gifts that we bet she'd love to hav…

Here's a cool trick that you can use on your iPhone to turn any book into an audio book, with a simple swipe using the handy Speak Screen feature. To enable Speak Screen, go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Speech > Sp…

Today at the Apple Event, the new MacBook Pro was revealed, and let's just say we are all trying to find ways to rationalize an upgrade. If you're wondering whether you might want to trade in your older model for this new laptop, here's …

Ever since downloading iOS 10 , I have swiped-to-unlock my phone about 75 times. Talk about being a creature of habit. It has taken a bit to get used to "press home to unlock," especially because now I seem to hold the home button too lo…

If you're having issues with your iPhone on iOS 10 , here's a simple trick that could save you a whole lot of battery life. Bonus: It'll help with data usage too. Although Wi-Fi Assist is meant to be a helpful service by automatically sw…

Even though I downloaded iOS 10 last week, like many of you, it's taking me awhile to get used to all the changes and new iOS 10 features. Oof, there are a ton. And while I have to admit that I'm liking most of them, there's definitely a…

The new iPhone 7 is here on September 16, which in our world means a new case, too. And no surprise, there are already tons of fantastic iPhone 7 cases that are ready to ship and protect your precious investment. Jet-black iPhone, helloo…