The iPhone 16E will be Apple’s new “buffered” iPhone.

Tim Cook on Twitter:

Get ready to meet the newest member of the family.

Wednesday, February 19. #AppleLaunch

I’ve been thinking about this (probably too much,) but I don’t think it will be a new iPhone SE.

As a matter of fact, I think the SE lineup will be killed off.

What we will probably get is a new variant of the iPhone 16, rumored to be the iPhone 16E. This makes perfect sense for several reasons.

The iPhone SE lineup has defining features that make it an SE, the biggest two being the classic top and bottom bezels and the Home Button. If you get rid of both of those, you might as well get rid of the name too since it won’t make sense. People have associated the SE branding with those two hallmark features.

I know what you’re thinking. Apple has transformed many other devices and kept the same name, but in this case, pricing is a huge factor.

The 16E will have to support Apple Intelligence since Apple is heavily pushing it, meaning it will have an A17 Pro or A18 chip. Putting a faster chip in an iPhone SE model that beats the iPhone 15 in performance, and pricing it lower than that is nonsensical. If this device is part of the 16 lineup as the 16E, it becomes easy to make the price higher than the SE, but lower than the regular 16. I think it will take the place of the iPhone 15 and start at $699.

So now you have the following price points:

1. iPhone 16 Pro Max - $1,199 (starts at 256GB)

2. iPhone 16 Pro - $999

3. iPhone 16 Plus - $899

4. iPhone 16 - $799

5. iPhone 16E - $699

6. iPhone 15 Plus - $699

7. iPhone 15 - $599

The iPhone 14 and SE will be discontinued like in the EU, and the starting iPhone price takes a huge jump up from $429 to $599. I don’t think that’s a real shocker even though the click-bait headlines will definitely scream, “Apple raises lowest iPhone price by 40%.”

Seriously though, who really is buying the iPhone SE these days? I’m sure most people are being upsold into the iPhone 14 which is leagues better than the SE, making the real starting price of an iPhone as of today, $599.

Tim’s headline, “newest member of the family,” sounds like a whole new branding, and I think the “E” lineup of iPhones will fall in-line with the “A” line of Pixel phones.

The “E” lineup of iPhones also doesn’t have to be refreshed every year. It will be like the SE, acting like a price buffer to accommodate for technological advancements, laws and regulations, consumer demand, and company performance.

This is my speculation for this coming Wednesday.

An Apple Watch, a MacBook, and an iPhone all for less than $300?

Saw Luke Miani’s recent video, and it is a compelling ecosystem for a young adult. I’m talking about a late tween or early teenager, especially if they’re homeschooled and their current laptop is a Chromebook that makes the original MacBook Air screen look like a Retina display.

Yes, it’s that bad.

The fact that a 5 year old watch, a 10 year old laptop, and an almost 3 year old phone can still communicate with each other just seems incredible. It shouldn’t really surprise me since I’ve been using an 11 year old laptop that communicates with the newest iPhone and Apple Watch for logging in and Apple Pay.

iPhone SE supply is dwindling.

Joe Rossignol from MacRumors:

In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said iPhone SE inventory is "quickly" dwindling at a "large number" of Apple Store locations in the U.S., and he believes this is a "reliable sign" that a new model is on the horizon.

The current iPhone SE is still available to order on Apple's online store.

The current iPhone SE looks similar to the iPhone 8, with outdated features such as a Touch ID button, Lightning port, and thick bezels around the display. Pricing starts at $429, but at least a slight price increase seems probable for the next model.

Looks like the iPhone SE 3rd gen is on its way out, and if you really wanted one, now is the time to get it. A classic and a collectible down the line. You’ll be able to tell your grandkids about the “old days,” when you had to press a button to go to your Home Screen.

Nokia’s internal presentation to the iPhone announcement in 2007.

The Nokia Design Archive was opened to the public on January 15, 2025, and it has some interesting, previously confidential documents, including a reaction to the iPhone launch with a presentation titled:

Apple iPhone was launched (yes, it is “iPhone” *)

The asterisk led to the footnote:

*) Apple has agreed with Cisco on using the name, details not known.

We don’t know the details either, but let’s just say Apple got the better end of that deal.

The title sounds like they're mocking the iPhone, but the presentation tells a story of panic, fear, and stiff competition.

Not sure if this presentation should be in their Design Archive, but seeing references to the S60 Symbian OS and other Nokia phones was nostalgic.

This is as close to being a fly on the wall you could have been in Nokia’s executive meeting.

Full PDF of presentation in case they take it down.

Which iPhones have Face ID that work in landscape?

I watch a decent amount of videos on my iPhone, and there’s nothing worse than trying to unlock your iPhone in landscape with an iPhone that doesn’t support Face ID in landscape. 

You have to do that tilt gesture with your head while looking like an idiot to unlock your phone, or you have to turn your phone back to portrait mode to unlock it. You can also meet in the middle and do a slight head tilt and turn your phone at the same time, but the problem is you're eating fried chicken, and your hands are covered in refined oils.

Trust me, I’ve been there.

To avoid this, make sure you buy an iPhone that supports Face ID in landscape. Any iPhone 13 or later model on iOS 16 or later will support it.

How to make your iPhone Passcode more secure without changing it.

Apple released Stolen Device Protection (SDP) in response to criminals successfully ruining people’s lives by using an iPhone’s password to reset the victim’s iCloud password.

In 2023 the New York Times did a report on this new tactic, summarized on TidBITS:

Watch the video, but in short, a ne’er-do-well gets someone in a bar to enter their iPhone passcode while they surreptitiously observe (or a partner does it for them). Then the thief steals the iPhone and dashes off. Within minutes, the thief has used the passcode to gain access to the iPhone and change the Apple ID password, which enables them to disable Find My, make purchases using Apple Pay, gain access to passwords stored in iCloud Keychain, and scan through Photos for pictures of documents that contain a Social Security number or other details that could be used for identity theft. After that, they may transfer money from bank accounts, apply for an Apple Card, and more, all while the user is completely locked out of their account.

And yes, they’ll wipe and resell the iPhone too. Almost no crimes like this have been reported by Android users, with a police officer speculating that it was because the resale value of Android phones is lower. In the video, Joanna Stern said a thief with the passcode to an Android phone could perform similar feats of identity and financial theft.

Apple’s response? Stolen Device Protection:

With Stolen Device Protection, some features and actions have additional security requirements when your iPhone is away from familiar locations such as home or work. These requirements help prevent someone who has stolen your device and knows your passcode from making critical changes to your account or device.

• Face ID or Touch ID biometric authentication: Some actions such as accessing stored passwords and credit cards require a single biometric authentication with Face ID or Touch ID — with no passcode alternative or fallback — so that only you can access these features.

• Security Delay: Some security actions such as changing your Apple Account password also require you to wait an hour and then perform a second Face ID or Touch ID authentication.

In the event that your iPhone is stolen, the security delay is designed to prevent a thief from performing critical operations so that you can mark your device as lost and make sure your Apple account is secure.

Thieves can still come after you if they see you entering your passcode because they’re hoping you don’t have this feature enabled, or they might not be aware of it themselves.

The goal shouldn’t be to prevent thieves from breaking into your accounts and your life, the goal is to prevent them from taking your iPhone in the first place. Even if you have all the safety measures in place and your phone gets swiped, you’re still without a phone, which will be expensive to replace and will take hours to get everything synced up again.

The best way to stop this is to hide your password when typing it in, but sometimes we might be in a hurry and forget to keep our guard up. Not to mention this type of attack is common in bars, so your guard is already lowered.

The next best thing? Change your password to an alphanumeric one.

You don’t have to actually change your password, but you do have to add something at the end of it. Like a period.

Say your passcode was “090708”. You can change your passcode and add a period, so your password is now “090708.” If the potential thief does see you entering your passcode, they will see the alphanumeric keyboard and will be more likely to skip past you because it’s almost impossible to really see what someone is typing. The keyboard is small enough, even on the Pro Max models, that your “fat finger” will obscure what you’re typing, compared to the huge numeric keypad.

It also helps to turn off haptics when typing in your code since people can’t hear how long your password is.

Over time, you’ll actually get faster at typing the alphanumeric code since it is all number based, but no one would know you would do such a thing…unless they read my blog.

I tried to be even slicker and just keep the exact same password even though I selected an alphanumeric option and keyboard, but the iPhone defaults back to a numeric keypad, so I had to add the period.

You’re using it too much.

Ten tips from MacRumors for saving battery life on your iPhone, but I have one more:

Stop using it too much.

Touch some grass, bruh.

Camera Control comes in for the win (for once).

Yesterday was the first time I really appreciated Camera Control on the iPhone 16.

I have to set the scenario for you to really appreciate it:

It was below freezing outside, and I was standing on a hilly, icy surface at an angle, trying to take videos of my kids. Not in any danger, but still easy to slip and take a small fall. I’m really sensitive to cold and had to wear gloves. The gloves had capacitive tips for both the thumb and pointer finger allowing for touch screen operation.

Even with the capacitive gloves, it was a challenge to navigate the touchscreen due to my new artificial problem of having fat fingers. I still had to use the screen to switch to video mode which was a bit cumbersome, but for other controls, I used Camera Control.

The problem with taking pictures and videos in the snow is the camera sees all the white snow and ice and underexposes the shot, thinking the scene is too bright. That leads to a slurry of underexposed, underwhelming videos. I had to adjust the exposure throughout my memory capturing journey to get the whites to pop just right.

I could have made exposure adjustments with the touch screen, but “fat glove fingers” are not the best. Camera Control was perfect for this situation, and swiping with my gloves was effortless and dare I say, satisfying.

Zooming in and out was also easy to do without having to resort to the touch screen.

As satisfying as it was to benefit from the Camera Control button, let’s see how often I use it when winter is over…

Watching the original iPhone launch event with the next generation.

It’s hard for kids to imagine a world where smartphones don’t exist, especially if they were born after 2012.

The original iPhone event in hindsight is quite funny to watch and even condescending to kids because Steve Jobs was explaining how to use a multi-touch screen, something that was science fiction in 2007 for most people, yet is as natural as air in 2024.

It’s funny to just watch your kids reacting to people being oohed and aahed by something they take for granted.

Three of my favorite clips of the original launch:

“And to unlock the phone I just take my finger and slide it across.”

“I just take my finger…and I scroll.”

“I can just take my fingers and I can…we call it the pinch. I can bring them closer together or move them further apart.”

iOS 18 does not give you the freedom to move widgets wherever you want.

18 years.

We have been waiting 18 years to move our apps wherever we want to in iOS, and now we have complete app freedom.

After all, it took a new generation of engineers to make this happen.

Developers had to be born first, in order to handle the complexities of moving the icons from the top, to the bottom, per Craig Federighi himself.

Truly a remarkable feat.

Unfortunately, we may need to wait for another batch of engineers to be born to fix the widget situation.

All jokes aside, Apple states we can place widgets where we want them, but that is not the case. 

Apple’s claim:

Place your apps and widgets right where you want them. Arrange them along the bottom for quicker reach, or off to the side to frame a favorite wallpaper. Or give each page of your Home Screen a unique layout that's most helpful for you.

When it comes to apps, we do have complete freedom. With widgets, we cannot place them where we want them.

If you use the large widget, you have 2 spots to place them, but you cannot center the widget:

If you are using a medium-sized widget, you have 3 spots to place them, but you cannot place them in rows 2-3 and 4-5:

The smallest widget size, perhaps the most used by people to customize their home screens, has even more limitations. There are 6 layouts that you can use, but there are 9 layouts that you cannot use.

Apple’s walled garden gives you these six choices…

but not these nine choices.

This is the definition of freedom, within Apple’s walled garden.

The situation is more optimistic on iPadOS 18. You still have similar restrictions with the large and medium sized widgets, but for small widgets, you can place them anywhere. The extra space between icons allows for that luxury. It’s actually quite satisfying turning your apps into small widgets, and nothing moves.

I turned whatever apps I could into small widgets, and nothing shifted position.

Also works in portrait mode.

In order to fix this issue, we need the birth of a new generation to rise.

A new generation, with the skill and capabilities to fix what was thought to be unfixable.

A new generation, filled with hope and ambition.

A new generation, to give us the freedom we deserve.

Springboard, here we come!

6 settings you must have for your Apple Watch

Whenever I get an Apple Watch (it’s a yearly thing for me), I always do these six things to give me peace of mind. 

Note: You can setup most of these features on the Apple Watch under Settings, but it is easier to use the Watch app on your iPhone.

1. Add a passcode

This seems like a no-brainer, but our watches are now phones, whether we like it or not. There is too much sensitive data on our watches, and you don’t want anyone looking at your messages, emails, and photos, just to name a few apps. If you jump in the shower and take off your watch, all someone has to do is pick up your watch, and you just gave them access to your life. 

You can choose between a simple 4-digit passcode, and go up to a 10-digit passcode. Pick what works for you, and get peace of mind.

Open the Watch app and go to Passcode, and follow the prompts to set up your passcode.

Adding a passcode is also the only way to get Apple Pay on your watch, which is #2 on my list.

2. Adding Apple Pay

I had an issue recently with my bank where I had a fraudulent transaction posted to my account. Someone somehow used my debit card and it was time to file a fraud claim. Of course I had to wait 5-7 business days to get my new card in the mail. 

What I didn’t have to wait for was my digital card. I could login to my Bank’s app, and activate the digital card instantly. Having Apple Pay on my watch gave me the ability to purchase goods without having to resort to another credit card or bank account.

A more common occurrence is when you forget your iPhone or wallet, and now you can’t pay for anything. Having Apple Pay on your Apple Watch will bail you out in these all too common situations and once again, give you peace of mind.

Open the Watch app and go to Wallet & Apple Pay, and select which cards to add to your watch. If you scroll down, you can even Allow Payments on Mac and use your watch to confirm payments.

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3. Unlock your Mac with Apple Watch

This is a handy feature that any Mac user can appreciate. It is compatible with macOS Sierra and onwards, so odds are it will work with your current Mac. 

It works on my 2013 MacBook Pro. 

On your Mac, go to Settings > Touch ID and Password and scroll all the way down to the Apple Watch section, where you can allow the Apple Watch to unlock your Mac. This is especially handy on older macbooks that don’t have Touch ID. Now you don’t have to be paranoid that someone might be watching you enter your password when your watch will unlock it for you, and give you peace of…you get the idea.

If you have an older mac with the older Settings menu, just search “Apple Watch” in Settings and you will see the option to unlock with Apple Watch.

4. Swipe to change watch faces

This used to be a staple feature of the Apple Watch, but now it is hidden. The draconian way of changing watch faces is to tap and hold your finger on the current watch face screen until it zooms out, swipe left or right to another watch face, and then tap your finger on the screen to select your new watch face. You can do this a lot faster and get access to more information by simply swiping from the edge of your screen to the next watch face, just like in the early days of the Apple Watch.

Open the Watch App and go to Clock, and toggle ON Swipe to Switch Watch Face. 

5. Configure your Live Activities

This is a personal preference, but I would recommend setting up this feature from the get go so you’re not confused. Live Activities give you more upfront information about a particular activity, such as current media being played, workouts, parking timers, stopwatch, etc.

Think of it like Dynamic Island on your watch, except you get these cards at the beginning of your Smart Stack. This is nice when you’re playing a podcast and you want quick access to the pause and play buttons. However, it can also be annoying on other apps such as the ParkMobile app, where the information displayed is limited.

The ParkMobile Live Activity isn’t useful and clicking on the timer button on the right just tells you to “Open on iPhone.”

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The great thing about Live Activities is you can customize which apps are shown.

Open the Watch App and go to Smart Stack. Here you can disable or enable Live Activities altogether, and if you do allow them, you can customize which apps get to have the Live Activity feature. 

But do yourself a favor and disable Auto-Launch Live Activities. It’s just easier to access the Live Activities with a swipe up from your watch or by turning the Digital Crown when you want to, instead of fighting with it all the time when it pops up automatically.

There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to look at your watch and get some info from your complications (left), only to see that your Live Activities are automatically displayed with just the time and date (right).

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6. Unlock your watch with your iPhone

Open the Watch App and go to Passcode, and toggle on Unlock with iPhone. Now once you unlock your iPhone, your watch will be unlocked as long as you are wearing it. This is great if you have a longer passcode for the watch.

People got iPhones for the holidays.

Amber Neely from AppleInsider:

This year, CNBC reported that Apple's "Move to iOS" app has made its way into the top 40 apps on the Google Play store. It is not terribly surprising — after all, many people are excited to set up their new devices, but not without ensuring all their files come with them.

I couldn’t find the actual CNBC report, but as of 12/27/24 at 3:28PM, the Move to iOS app on the Play Store is ranked #12.

How about Google’s Android Switch app on the App Store? It’s ranked #160…in the Utilities category.

Do you need a cellular plan on your Apple Watch?

My opinion on this matter mimics quite literally everything Jason Cross at Macworld said about this topic. For most people, you don’t need a cellular plan.

I’ve never even considered having a plan in the last 10 years.

Cross quotes a cellular plan at an extra $10/month, but with fees it’s closer to $15-$20 per month.

Everytime he finds a reason to need a cellular plan, he finds a valid excuse:

For example, if you’re a runner that wants to run outdoors without the awkwardness of an iPhone strapped to you somewhere, and don’t want to give up listening to music or a podcast, an Apple Watch streaming to your earbuds is a great solution. You can always download the music or podcast ahead of time—cellular would let you stream, but that’s a minor convenience… 

I’ve seen reports of people who were glad they had their cellular Apple Watch to make a phone call when out on a hike without their iPhone, which I suppose could happen. But… you hike without your iPhone? You don’t want your camera with you, or the capability to connect to a satellite if you’re out of cellular range? (Emergency SOS via satellite isn’t a feature of the Apple Watch.)

The only real excuses?

The real benefit would be staying in touch via text or phone while out on your iPhone-free run…

Note that if you want to set up an Apple Watch for your child using a Kids account, it must have cellular. This is meant for a child that doesn’t have their own phone and ensures that you’ll always be able to locate them with Find My, send or receive texts or calls, and control their access to apps or notifications.

Most freak situations like swimming outdoors, paddle boarding, and surfing might warrant a cellular connection, but beyond that, your iPhone will likely be on your person or very close by.

Save yourself the $100 premium plus the monthly costs.

If you go stainless steel or titanium, the cellular capability will be built-in, but you don’t have to activate a plan.

For the record, I used a spare iPhone for my three young kids at $12/month with all fees included. The phone is given to the kid who will be away from home depending on their schedules.

The Right Way to Backup your iPhone.

Many people will be getting new iPhones this holiday season, and there’s nothing worse than having your transfer to another iPhone go bad without having a proper backup.

It’s easy to just backup your iPhone to iCloud, but there is a proper way to do it so you have little to no problems in case you need it.

Here is the proper way to backup your device to iCloud:

1. Update all your apps to the latest version in the App Store.

2. Force quit all your apps.

3. Restart your iPhone to remove any software gremlins running in the background.

4. Backup your iPhone to iCloud.

There is no 100% failsafe solution, but this method has always worked for me and gave me a reliable backup to fall back to.

Will the iPhone SE 3rd gen become a collector's item?

With the EU discontinuing any phone that does not have a USB-C port, that means aloha to the iPhone 14 and iPhone SE. 

The iPhone SE by itself is a mediocre iPhone, but it has the potential to become a collector’s item one day.

It will probably be decades before it is, but it has a lot of “lasts” that make it unique as a collector’s item:

1. Last iPhone with a lightning port.

2. Last iPhone with an LCD screen.

3. Last iPhone with Touch ID(?).

4. Last iPhone with a Home Button.

Touch ID might return to an iPhone near you, but what won’t return is the Home Button. 

One of the most iconic features of the iPhone era.

It doesn’t seem like a big deal right now, but it was the gateway to safety. The gateway back home.

No matter where you were on your phone, if you felt lost, you could always come home simply with a press.

In this case, a haptic press.

I passed up my chance to get the “Designed by Apple in California” book, when it was released, making the excuse that it was “too expensive.” 

Retailing for $199 for the small version and $299 for the large version, that seems like peanuts now since they’re fetching over $1,000 online in excellent condition. I wanted to buy one to look at and one to keep as an investment, but it might be too late.

The iPhone SE is still readily available.

Apple Collectors, don’t lose your chance.

Apple Watch compatibility with iPhones.

There’s a slew of iPhones and Apple Watches out there, but not every watch is compatible with every iPhone. How do you get around the confusion?

Apple has a convenient website that lets you know what is compatible, but the chart does not help you if you own an iPhone SE.

I am here to fill in the gap so you know what is compatible with your iPhone SE 1st, 2nd, or 3rd generation. This will be updated as new iPhones, watches, and software updates are announced.

Here’s the link: Apple Watch Compatibility Chart (updated 12-22-24)

To find out what iPhone SE or Apple Watch model you have check out these links:

Identifying your iPhone model

Identifying your Apple Watch model

Updated 12/22/24 @ 8PM: Spreadsheet was updated with more accurate iPhone SE compatibility.

Anker MagGo Apple Watch Power Bank Review - a lone champion.

Following the recent recall of Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro Fast Wireless Charger for Apple Watch + Power Bank 10K, (that’s one heck of a name), there are now only a handful of official fast charging power banks for the Apple Watch.

Two to be exact.

You have Otterbox’s 2-in-1 Power Bank with Apple Watch Charger, and the other one is the Anker MagGo Power Bank for Apple Watch.

The Otterbox one is cheaper at $35, but it has several limitations that make the Anker MagGo at $55 a much better deal. The only thing the Otterbox version has going for it is its smaller size and price. But for just $20, you can get so much more for your money. Not to mention your watch might not be as secure as you would like on the charging stand. Throw a steel Apple watch with a link bracelet, and I bet it falls off.

Here’s a quick chart comparison:

In terms of design and aesthetics, the Anker MagGo Power Bank looks and feels like a high quality product. Say goodbye to battery packs with rubbery coatings that inevitably get sticky and attract more lint than wool pants. The top is a curved matte-plastic with a glossy sheen, while the bottom is a matte plastic with 4 little feet that  probably are screw covers.

The sides are matte but ridged so you get a grippy surface. The MagSafe puck can be flush with the device or can be positioned at 90 degrees if you have a special band that won’t lie flat like the link bracelet . The puck is a bit stiff to bring up and down, but I would rather have it be a bit stiff vs being loose.

The built-in USB-C cable is supposedly very durable since it acts as a lanyard, and only time will tell how well it holds up. It’s not meant to be lassoed around, but if you just use it to pick it up and put away, that should be fine. The cord material is nice and might be made of the same material as an Apple Watch sport band. It feels like the Apple coined, “fluoroelastomer” material. The cord easily glides out of the slot to be used to charge any other USB-C device and nestles back into its space magnetically, which is satisfying.

You can charge the battery bank two ways: with the built-in cord, or with the built-in port. You also get infinite battery life if you plug in the cord to the port (you don’t actually get infinite battery life by doing that).

The button next to the cord allows you to turn on the display to check battery status, and pressing it again changes the orientation of the read-out. If you take the puck charger out at its 90 degree angle, the display automatically orients itself in the right direction. The display turns blue when charging other devices, and green when being charged up. You also get wattage readouts for each device being charged. Up to 3 devices at the same time.

So does it actually live up to its claim of fast charging the Apple Watch Series 10 from 0-80 in 30 minutes? 

Yes it does.

I drained my 42mm Jet Black Series 10, and I got 82% after 30 minutes. With the larger sized watches I am sure they will meet the 80% claim. I even tested the 41mm Series 9, and I got 88% in 45 minutes which exceeds Apple’s 80% in 45 minutes claim.

The Anker MagGo Power Bank for the Apple Watch is the lone champion right now if you want an external power bank that can fast charge the latest Apple Watches. Even though it is the only option with faster charging, it does not skimp on features and functionality, making it a great buy. Normally priced at $80, it is currently on sale for $65, and if you keep track of the price, you can get it for even cheaper (I got mine for $55).

iPhone 16 Camera Control - an Accessibility control Apple needs to add.

I’ve complained not once, but twice about the single click to take a photo being a bad idea. The iPhone shakes at exactly the wrong time and you risk taking a blurry photo, especially if you’re doing it one-handed.

Considering how much customizability Apple gives you in the Camera Control settings, they can easily make one more customization:

A single light press (the half-press with haptic feedback) to take photos. This does mean no more menu system to adjust common camera controls like exposure, zoom, etc., but there is already an option under Accessibility that allows you to disable the Light-Press and Swipe gestures altogether, getting rid of the common camera controls.

If Apple is OK with getting rid of the common camera controls, why not let us use a single or double click to launch the camera, and a single light press to take a photo?

Apple even included 3 sensitivity settings for light presses in accessibility, so you can fine tune the force for light presses.

This would honestly be a game changer and would make more people use the feature, especially for people who have a hard time pressing a button that is already flush with the phone’s body, making it the hardest button to press on the device.

How to turn on the “Always On Display” on your iPhone.

Apple introduced it’s first always on display for the iPhone 14 Pro. It works fine most of the time, but sometimes it just turns itself off for no apparent reason. I even did a fresh from zero setup for my iPhone 16 Pro Max and stil,l once every 2 days or so, the Always On Display just turns itself off.

I could go into Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display and toggle it on, but why do that when I can just use a shortcut instead?

If you’re having the same problem, a one-click shortcut will fix it.

How to get the maximum brightness on your iPhone.

By default, Apple has auto-brightness on your iPhone set to ON.

When you are indoors, you will never achieve the max brightness that your phone can achieve with this setting turned on.

Yes, even if you go to control center and slide the brightness all the way up, it will not be its brightest.

To unlock your maximum brightness and really see it shine, I need you to follow this process:

1. Go to a dimly lit area.

2. Make sure your phone has Dark Mode turned OFF.

3. Open your Control Center and maximize your brightness. Now you are setup to see eye-blinding brightness.

4. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display and Text Size, and scroll all the way down and disable auto-brightness.

Watch the screen and notice how much brighter it gets!

Remember one thing: this is great for indoor brightness only.

If you do want the highest brightness outdoors, you need to keep the auto-brightness setting ON. That is the only way to get peak brightness on your iPhone when outdoors. Apple limits this so your screen doesn’t max out at 2000 nits of brightness all day long and either destroy your screen or your battery life.

Instead of having to go through settings each time to toggle this on and off, you can ask Siri to either, “Turn on auto brightness” or “Turn off auto brightness.”

If you want to change the setting in silence, add this shortcut to take you right to the auto brightness toggle with a single click:

Auto brightness shortcut

Note: Tested on iOS 17 and iOS 18.2 Developer Beta