Here’s a cool little trick introduced in iOS 5. If you have alerts waiting for you on the iPhone’s lock screen, you can slide your finger across any of those alerts to unlock the iPhone and immediately be taken to the alert’s corresponding app.
Below is a screenshot of a text-message notification on a locked iPhone in mid-slide.
If using a passcode, you will have to enter your iPhone’s passcode before it will unlock the phone and launch the app.
The previous version of iOS had a similar feature, but it was much more limited and could be annoying. It used to be, if you happened to catch a notification within several seconds of it first appearing on the iPhone’s lock screen, you could slide to unlock the iPhone (using the iPhone’s default unlock slider, not the notification itself) and be taken to the corresponding app. However, there were times when I didn’t want to launch the app but simply unlock the iPhone and be taken to the home screen or the last app I was using.
Now that the iPhone’s lock screen can display several alerts at once, being able to swipe a specific alert gives you much more control over what app does or doesn’t launch. It can be a big time saver if, say, you want to immediately reply to a text message. Simply slide your finger across the notification and the Messages app will launch. Pretty neat!
I, like many others, was happy to see Apple finally add custom alert tones to the iPhone’s repertoire. Sure, the world is now going to be a lot more annoying place with random Star Wars sound effects and Old School quotes going off everywhere, but what can you do? You either do the annoying, or you are the annoyed.
Apple sells alert tones in the iTunes Music Store mobile app, or you can make your own the same way you make ringtones (see our thorough instructions here). Apple’s alert tones cost $0.99—a high price for what is a usually a second or two of sound, but it’s a price I shamefully admit I already paid. Below is a video I made of the current top 20 alert tones in iTunes:
Unfortunately, you can’t access alert tones in the desktop version of iTunes (correct me if I wrong somebody), instead, you need to do it through the iPhone/iPad app. The simplest way is to go to Settings–>Sounds and select a tone to change, eg, Text Tone. Then tap Buy More Tones.
That will launch the Tones section of the iTunes Music Store. Here’s the important part, now you must scroll down past the Ringtones to find the Alert Tones section. I suggest starting with the Top 10 lists and exploring from there.
Scroll down past ringtones to get to the alert tones.
Ready to never plug your iPhone into your computer again to sync? Here’s how. You’ll need an iPhone/iPad running iOS 5 or newer and iTunes 10.5 or newer.
1. For one last time, plug your iPhone into iTunes:
2. Click on your iPhone/iPad in the left sidebar:
3. Select the Summary tab at the top of iTunes:
4. Check the box that says Sync with this iPhone (iPad) over Wi-Fi:
Now unplug your iPhone/iPad, then look at the left sidebar in iTunes. It will still show your device connected to iTunes even though it’s not plugged in! Pretty cool. From here, there are two ways to sync.
5. How to automatically sync:
Important: iTunes needs to be open on your computer for automatic synching to work. Simply plug in your iPhone/iPad into a power source and it will automatically begin to sync.
6. How to manually sync (steps 7-11):
A manual sync is the only true wireless sync, as it does not require the iPhone/iPad to be plugged into a power source. It does, however, require you to be on the same Wi-Fi network as the computer with iTunes.
7. Open Settings:
8. Tap General:
9. Tap iTunes Wi-Fi Sync:
10. Tap Sync Now:
11. Wait for sync to finish:
Notes and Troubleshooting:
Syncing with Wi-Fi is slower than syncing with a USB cable.
If, while synching your iPhone/iPad over Wi-Fi, you connect the iPhone/iPad to your computer via a USB cable, the sync will continue uninterrupted via the cable. However, if you start syncing using a cable, then disconnect the cable, syncing will stop and will not continue over Wi-Fi.
Did you just upgrade to iOS 5 and wonder what new features you can play around with? Below are 5 of the most popular new features to try out.
1. View the Notifications Center
The new Notifications Center is likely to be one of the most popular features on the iPhone. To access it, simply swipe down from the top of the screen from the home screen or inside any app.
By default, you should see two widgets for the Weather and Stocks apps as well as any other alerts you’ve received since installing iOS 5. Want to receive more notifications? You can turn them on by going into the iPhone’s Settings app, tapping Notifications, and selecting from the apps you’ve installed. Note that you may have to set up alerts inside the apps themselves as well. For example, you can send notifications for your favorite sports team inside the settings of the ESPN ScoreCenter app.
To close the Notifications Center, swipe up from the bottom of the screen.
Extra Tip: Swipe left or right on the Weather widget to view a 6-day forecast.
2. Check Out the System-Wide Dictionary
You can now get the definition of any word in any app, provided the app lets you select text. To try it out, open up an email someone sent you and select any word by tapping and holding on it. Tap Define from the pop-up menu to bring up the iPhone dictionary’s definition.
3. Send a Free Text Message With iMessages
If you’re looking for the new iMessages app, there isn’t one. iMessages is a feature hidden inside the iPhone’s old text messaging app called Messages. To test out iMessages, open up Messages and select a contact that has an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 5 or newer. The recipient has to be running iOS 5 or newer for this to work, so tell your friends to upgrade! Now simply start typing a message and eventually you’ll see the Send button turn blue, confirming the recipient has iMessage (you’ll need a data connection, 3G or Wi-Fi).
4. Assign Custom Sounds to Text Messages and Other Alerts
It used to be that you were limited to the boring default sounds for text messages on the iPhone. Now you can assign your own fun sounds. You can create your own tones (our instructions here) or buy tones from the iPhone’s iTunes Store app. The Star Wars tones are particularly popular.
To change your tones, open up the iPhone’s Settings app, select Sounds, then select from the list of sound alerts. You can change the sounds for text messages, new mail, tweets, calendar alerts, and more.
To buy alert tones, tap the Buy More Tones button to open the iTunes Store app and scroll down until you see the words Alert Tones. Note that, currently, you can only buy Tones from the iPhone or iPad. You can’t buy them in the iTunes desktop application.
5. Take a Picture Using the iPhone’s Volume Up Button
There’s no need to fumble around with a touchscreen button to take a photo on the iPhone anymore. Simply open the Camera app and press the volume-up button on the side to snap a photo.
It looks like Stuff.tv got their hands on an iPhone 4S a little early and ran Siri through some tests. The video doesn’t show much of anything new, but it does reveal that Siri’s British computer voice sounds much better than the American English one. I’ll be switching over to British English in the Settings menu for sure.
*Update* MacRumors says the video above was recorded at Apple’s event last week. The site points out that even though the reviewer is tapping the microphone button to end speech recognition, it’s not necessary, as Siri will recognize the end pause. The site also linked to the video below, which shows off Siri and a few other iOS features.
CNET also has a video demoing Siri. Nothing much new here either except that it appears to show that iOS 5 can notify you with an alert when your are leaving a location.
And here’s an epic look at Siri by Jason Snell at MacWorld:
iPhone 4 (bottom) vs iPhone 4S (top). Image via Gizmodo.
For anyone shopping for a case for the new iPhone 4S, one thing to keep in mind is that it may not be compatible with older iPhone 4 cases. The new iPhone 4S matches up with the Verizon iPhone 4 in terms of the location of the volume buttons and ringer switch, but it doesn’t match the button placement of the original AT&T iPhone 4. So buyers should be careful in selecting a case.
When compared side-by-side, the ringer switch of the 4S is about a millimeter lower than the AT&T iPhone 4, and the volumes buttons are slightly lower as well.
iPhone 4S (left), iPhone 4 (middle), and CDMA iPhone 4 (right), via AppVV
Shoppers looking for a 4S-compatible case should either look for language that says its compatible with the Verizon CDMA iPhone, or just take note that the case provides leeway for the positioning of the iPhone’s volume and ringer switch buttons; in other words, the case should have a large cutout area for the ringer switch and volume buttons. Check out the ZeroChroma Teatro as an example. This is the case I use when I’m not reviewing other cases.
*Update* An AT&T representative has said that customers can keep grandfathered texting plans if they call AT&T immediately after ordering the iPhone 4S.
Customers ordering the new iPhone 4S are running into a nasty little surprise from AT&T. AT&T is forcing customers with grandfathered texting plans (the now defunct plans of $5 for 200 messages, $10 for 1000 messages) to choose between AT&T’s two new plans:
$0.20 per message
$20 for unlimited messages
AT&T introduced their new text messaging plans in August 2011 in a move they called “streamlining” at the time, although some feel AT&T is making a money grab in response to Apple’s new iMessage feature. iMessage will allow free text messaging between iPhones and other iOS devices.
There were also some reports of AT&T and Verizon ending grandfathered-in unlimited data plans (AT&T and Verizon no longer offer unlimited data plans) of iPhone 4S customers, but that doesn’t appear to be their official stance. For example, I am an AT&T customer with a grandfathered-in unlimited data plan, and I was allowed to keep my plan in the buying process on Apple.com (screenshot seen below). Some websites are suggesting to use Apple’s site instead of AT&T’s and Verizon’s to avoid the problem.
I was allowed to keep my grandfathered-in unlimited data plan.
With no LTE radio inside the iPhone 4S, it is not a true 4G phone, but it does support AT&T’s faster HSPA+ network. With the only HSPA+ network in the US carrying the iPhone (sorry, T-Mobile), AT&T seemingly has the advantage over Verizon and Sprint in luring in new iPhone 4S customers. So if AT&T has the fastest data network for the iPhone, does that mean you should buy an AT&T iPhone 4S? If average download speed is your only factor, then yes; but unfortunately a good experience with a wireless carrier is more complicated than that.
Yes, the HSPA+ radio in the iPhone 4S is theoretically capable of downloading data twice as fast as the iPhone 4’s HSPA radio. HSPA+ speeds top out at 14.4 Mbps compared with 7.2 Mbps of HSPA. However, real-world speeds are never as fast as advertised.
Buying any smartphone is like buying real estate, it’s all about location. In the case of smartphones, network coverage should be what you start with. Or more precisely, network coverage in the areas where you’ll be spending most of your time, like home and work.
Unfortunately, AT&T’s network coverage for HSPA+ is sparse in the US, although it does appear to be about equal to Verizon’s LTE coverage. This means most people in the US, at least for now, won’t be able to take advantage of faster HSPA+ speeds, even assuming AT&T is up to the task of offering those faster download speeds—no sure thing in itself. AT&T’s official stance is that HSPA+ can offer 4G-like speeds “when combined with enhanced backhaul,” in other words, bigger data pipes.
AT&T’s coverage map can be found here on their official website. You can zoom in on your area to see if it’s covered by 4G (which stands for HSPA+ on the map).
*Update* Here’s a list of AT&T’s HSPA+ markets. This is a list cobbled together from press reports, so it may be incomplete. Please check the coverage map link above to check your area:
– San Francisco (including north to Santa Rosa)
– Los Angeles
– San Diego
– Sacramento
– Bakersfield, CA
– Modesto, CA
– Chicago
– Dallas/Fort Worth
– San Antonio
– Austin
– Boston
– Providence, R.I.
– Houston
– Charlotte, N.C.
– Buffalo, N.Y.
– Puerto Rico
– Baltimore
– Jacksonville
– Tampa
– Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.
– Hartford, Conn.
– Syracuse, N.Y.
– Greater New York City
– Southern New England
– Eastern Pennsylvania
– St. Louis, Mo.
– Kansas City
– “Michigan”
– Anchorage, Ak
Want to check if you qualify for subsidized pricing for the iPhone 4S? Apple offers an easy online tool here on their website. Both Verizon and AT&T customers can use that link.
My subsidized pricing doesn’t kick in until November 19, that’s approximately 16 months after I bought the iPhone 4, which I pre-ordered and received on the day it became available in stores. Others may qualify earlier, as AT&T supposedly weighs in how much money you spend per month on text messaging and voice and data plans. I have the $30 unlimited data plan (grandfathered in), a $45 voice plan, and pay for unlimited texts.
A screenshot of my subsidy eligibility is below:
My iPhone 4S subsidized pricing kicks in November 19.
