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iPhone

iPhone: Cult of Mac Superguide
The iPhone is the world’s most popular smartphone.

The iPhone is Apple’s smartphone. Launched in 2007, it is Apple’s best-selling product, representing around half of the company’s revenue for more than a decade.

The slim device’s innovative touchscreen interface revolutionized the way users interact with smartphones. Apple continually updates the iPhone, releasing new models with new features every year.

The iPhone runs on a proprietary operating system known as iOS, which shares many features with iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and visionOS. iOS 26 is the current version.

In 2025, the iPhone lineup currently includes five models — the budget iPhone 16e, the regular iPhone 17, the iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max. Apple announces most models every year in early September, while replacements for the 16e are expected around February. Apple also continues to offer older models for sale at a reduced price after they’ve been replaced.

Table of contents: Everything you need to know about the iPhone

  1. iPhone history
    1. Original iPhone
    2. iPhone 3G and 3GS
    3. iPhone 4
    4. iPhone 4s
    5. iPhone 5
    6. iPhone 5s and 5c
    7. iPhone 6, 6 Plus and 6s
    8. iPhone 7 and iPhone 8
    9. iPhone X
    10. iPhone XS, XS Max, XR, 11 and 11 Pro
    11. iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineup
    12. iPhone 14, 15 and 16 lineup
  2. iPhone features
    1. iPhone Camera
    2. Camera Control
    3. Dynamic Island
    4. iPhone screen
    5. StandBy
    6. iPhone storage
    7. iPhone Photos
    8. iMessage on iPhone
    9. iPhone Backup
    10. Find My iPhone
  3. iPhone Accessories
    1. MagSafe
    2. MagSafe chargers
    3. MagSafe cases
    4. MagSafe wallets
  4. Latest news

iPhone history

Original iPhone

Promotional image of the original iPhone.
The original iPhone that changed it all.

Apple unveiled the original iPhone on January 9, 2007, at Macworld Expo in San Francisco.

It was the first smartphone with an all-screen design, capacitive touchscreen and advanced modern software with full web browsing capabilities. Phones before the iPhone came with physical keyboards, required you to click around with arrow keys for navigation instead of tapping the screen, and ran limited proprietary software.

The iPhone’s 3.5-inch touchscreen display and powerful software (based on Mac OS X) set it apart from the competition. These two technologies enabled all kinds of innovation in the interface that we still use today: the Home screen of apps, inertial scrolling, slide to unlock, pinch to zoom and a software keyboard.

The original iPhone lacked many major features, though. There were no third-party apps or App Store, because the software was still being developed. That would not arrive until the following year. The camera didn’t take video, only very low-resolution pictures. Cellphone cameras in 2007 were not expected to be good. There was no copy and paste feature — the design team hadn’t figured out a good interface for it yet. iMessage wouldn’t launch for another few years — the iPhone only supported SMS/MMS texting.

iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS

iPhone 3G
The iPhone 3G was a big step forward.

The iPhone 3G in 2008 brought a much improved wireless connection. The original was limited to the 2G Edge network, with typical download speeds a measly 0.1 Mb/s. Without Wi-Fi, downloading emails or browsing the web was nigh unusably slow. The 3G radio significantly helped.

It also added GPS, offering precise location tracking in Google Maps.

The iPhone 3G switched out the two-tone design for a plastic shell, in either black or white. The headphone jack was no longer recessed, allowing for more kinds of headphones to be plugged in.

The iPhone 3GS in 2009 was the first model to get a faster processor, making it twice as fast. It also had a higher resolution 3 MP camera capable of recording video.

iPhone 4

iPhone 4 from the front, rear and side.
The iPhone 4 had a timeless and beautiful design.

The iPhone 4 in 2010 was a huge leap forward when it debuted in 2010. Its design, with glass on the front and back sandwiched around a silver stainless steel band, is one of the most iconic. It still feels very premium and nice in the hand to this day.

The Retina display doubled the resolution of the screen, so text is easier to read and images and video look crisper and higher-resolution. It maintained the same 3.5-inch size, but with pixels doubled from 480 × 320 to 960 × 640 resolution. Apple rolled out Retina displays across the rest of its product lineup, onto the iPad in 2011, the MacBook Pro in 2012 and the iMac in 2014.

It introduced the first front-facing “selfie” camera on an iPhone, and brought with it FaceTime video calling. (Although, at first, you could only FaceTime other people who had an iPhone 4.)

It also had the first Apple silicon chip, called the A4. Apple had acquired PA Semiconductor two years prior in 2008. Apple would continue to develop all of its own processors for the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch in-house, until eventually switching the Mac to Apple silicon in 2020.

This iPhone is famous for leaking before its official introduction. A prototype iPhone 4 was accidentally left in a bar by an Apple engineer. It ended up in the hands of Gizmodo, which bought it for $5,000 and published all kinds of details about its design and features.

In the United States, the iPhone 4 was the first model to be offered on Verizon, ending its exclusivity with AT&T. Interestingly, the Verizon iPhone 4 had a different physical design, with antennas repositioned around the outside. This design would be used on the iPhone 4s.

Those antenna lines on the outside were famous for causing the iPhone to lose some of its signal strength if they were covered up by your hand. Steve Jobs was called back home from his Hawaii vacation in order to hold a press conference addressing the issue. In the end, Apple offered customers a free bumper case that would cover up the lines, and future models were designed with the antenna lines in different spots that are harder to cover up.

Yet another snag would hit the iPhone 4, as the white model was delayed by ten months. Evidently, the brighter color led to light leaking into the camera sensor.

iPhone 4s

iPhone 4s
The iPhone 4s introduced us to Siri, clad in gray linen.

The iPhone 4s in 2011 was a significant internal upgrade. It again had a significantly faster chip inside, the A5. It was the first iPhone to get 4G LTE connectivity. The rear camera was also now capable of recording 1080p video, with some image stabilization.

The iPhone 4s was most famous for introducing Siri. The first generation voice assistant, then in beta, could set timers, read and send texts, play music from your library, perform math calculations via Wolfram Alpha, give information on movies and actors from Wikipedia, and more. (Not much has changed on that front.)

It was also the first iPhone not to be introduced by Steve Jobs. The keynote was hosted by CEO Tim Cook; the iPhone 4s was introduced by Phil Schiller and Scott Forstall. The iPhone 4s was announced on September 4, 2011; Jobs died the following day.

From this point onwards, new iPhones were introduced in September, with few exceptions.

iPhone 5

iPhone 5s in three colors: gold, silver and space gray.
The iPhone 5 and 5s raised the size of the screen for the first time.

The iPhone 5 in 2012 was the first model to come with a bigger screen, raising it from 3.5 inches to 4. It increased the height of the display without changing the width, making it a standard 16:9 aspect ratio. Apple marketing claimed that the new display was still easy to use with one hand, as one thumb could easily reach over to the opposite edge or up to the very top. The taller screen allowed for an extra row of icons on the Home Screen, or an extra email to display in your inbox.

The iPhone 5 came in a very dark black finish, that had a tendency to chip away as it aged.

iPhone 5s and 5c

The iPhone 5s in 2013 brought two major innovations.

Touch ID let you authenticate your iPhone using a fingerprint sensor built into its Home Button. With one simple click of the button, you could wake up your iPhone and instantly unlock it. Prior to Touch ID, many people didn’t set up their phone with a passcode. This significantly increased the security of iPhone users everywhere.

The A7 chip inside the iPhone 5s was also the first 64-bit chip in a smartphone. This gave the iPhone 5s a much longer lease on life than previous models. The iPhone 5s launched with iOS 7, but can be updated to iOS 12.5.7 — that’s five major updates. Previous models had only received three or four.

It also came in three colors: Silver, Space Gray and a new Gold.

iPhone 5c
The iPhone 5c was Apple’s most colorful iPhone yet.

After the debut of the iPhone 5s, instead of continuing the sale of the iPhone 5 at a lower cost, Apple replaced it with the iPhone 5c. It was essentially an iPhone 5, but with a colorful plastic shell instead of the similar-looking metal body.

iPhone 6, 6 Plus and 6s

iPhone 6s
The iPhone 6 had a more simple design that stayed for many years.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in 2014 dramatically increased the size of the screen, now to 4.7 and 5.5 inches. (This was also the first time Apple debuted two models in one generation.) The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were a huge hit, as “phablets” had taken off as a category among Android phones.

The iPhone 6 was the first iPhone to have a protruding camera. While this change was wildly controversial at the time, it now seems quaint. Its single lens looks like a tiny blemish on the back compared to today’s iPhones, with gigantic multi-camera arrays.

It also adopted a more basic design, with a rounded aluminum body, that would stay for many years.

The iPhone 6s in 2015 was a large internal upgrade. The A9 chip significantly boosted performance by 70%. A second-generation Touch ID sensor was much faster. The display introduced 3D Touch — a pressure-sensitive layer that added an extra dimension to interaction. In addition to a tap, you could press. This would let you preview an email without opening it, or you could press the edge of the screen to quickly switch apps. The camera also introduced Live Photos for the first time.

iPhone 7 and 8

iPhone 7 Plus jet black
The iPhone 7 came in a brilliant Jet Black finish.

The iPhone 7 in 2016 brought with it a haptic Home Button. The button no longer physically clicked, but instead used a precisely controlled motor to simulate a button click. The iPhone 7 Plus was the first iPhone to introduce a dual-lens camera system, offering a telephoto optical 2× zoom. Portrait Mode combined the image from both lenses to simulate a shallow depth of field effect, also known as ‘bokeh.’

It also came in a special Jet Black color, with a highly polished black aluminum finish.

The oft-forgotten iPhone 8 was introduced in 2017 at the same time as the iPhone X, with many of the same internal components, but without the radical new all-screen design. It featured a similar design to the prior iPhone 7, with a rectangular screen and a Home Button, except with a glass back to support wireless charging.

iPhone X

iPhone X promotional image
The iPhone X is still a sharp, modern-looking phone.

The iPhone X in 2017 was the most dramatic redesign of the iPhone since its introduction. (Apple still pronounces the X as “ten.”)

The all-screen design abandoned the Home Button that had been present since the very beginning, along with the chunky bezels on the top and bottom. The screen reached all the way to the edge, allowing for a significantly larger screen in a phone was largely the same physical size.

Shrinking the proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, speaker and camera — along with the new Face ID sensors — led to a large notch in the top of the screen. The iPhone 13 Pro would reposition the speaker even higher, allowing the notch to shrink; the iPhone 14 Pro would replace the notch with the Dynamic Island.

The A11 chip inside the iPhone X was the first to include a Neural Engine, for better performance with machine learning-based tasks and features. The Neural Engine would later become an integral part of Apple silicon, powering Apple Intelligence on the iPhone 15 Pro and later.

iPhone XS, XS Max, XR, 11 and 11 Pro

The new iPhones X go on sale tomorrow. Are you ready?
The iPhone XS marked the return of gold.

The iPhone XS debuted on September 12, 2018. The A12 chip inside was a monumental leap forward, with a 50% faster GPU and 8× faster Neural Engine. The modern all-screen design now came in two sizes — the iPhone XS Max was the same phone, in a much larger 6.5-inch size.

The iPhone XR debuted at the same event, as a lower-cost model with a similar design. It featured a lower-resolution LCD display rather than an OLED panel, with a screen size squarely in the middle at 6.1 inches.

The iPhone 11 lineup replaced all three models on September 10, 2019. Last year’s iPhone XR was revised to become the iPhone 11, with a much-upgraded camera. The iPhone XS and XS Max became the new iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, featuring much brighter displays, a new triple-camera layout and far greater battery life.

iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 lineup

iPhone 12
The iPhone 12 was the first with 5G.

Three became four with the new iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max, featuring a fresh redesign with flat edges all around. These models were the first iPhones with 5G connectivity, and introduced the MagSafe line of chargers and accessories. The entry-level models were finally bumped from an LCD display to OLED, like the Pro models.

The quadruplets carried over the following year as well, with the iPhone 13 lineup. The iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max now featured always-on displays, letting you keep an eye on your notifications and the time while your phone is locked.

iPhone 14, iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 lineup

iPhone 16 Pro colors
The iPhone 15 and 16 Pro (pictured) switched from polished stainless steel to a matte titanium frame.

The iPhone 14 lineup dropped the mini. It now consisted of the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max and an iPhone 14 Plus — a budget phone with the same screen size as the Pro Max. The iPhone 14 introduced Emergency SOS via Satellite, for contacting emergency services in remote locations. On the pro models, the notch was replaced by a new Dynamic Island — a floating black cutout in the display, that can show background tasks like timers and navigation up in the status area. The main rear camera could take 48 MP photos for the first time.

The iPhone 15 lineup switched all models away from Lightning to the industry-standard USB-C connector. The lower-end models now featured the Dynamic Island. On the iPhone 15 Pro, the traditional ring/mute switch was replaced by a customizable Action button. The pro models support Apple Intelligence.

The iPhone 16 lineup introduced a new Camera Control button for quickly opening and operating the camera. It is also pressure-sensitive for detecting half-presses and touch-sensitive for swiping along the surface. The lower-end models also received the Action button. All models support Apple Intelligence. The Pro models can now seamlessly shoot 4K 120 fps video.

An addition to the 16 lineup was released the following February, the iPhone 16e. This replaced the aging SE model. It modernizes the budget model with an edge-to-edge screen, Face ID and a single 48 MP rear camera. Reviews praised its lightweight and gorgeous design, though it was criticized for lacking MagSafe — a standard feature since 2020.

iPhone 17 lineup

iPhone Air profile
The iPhone Air is shakes up the lineup.

Apple changed things up in 2025 once again. The Plus model was discontinued in favor of an all-new model, the iPhone Air. Thin is in like it’s 2014 again. It made sacrifices on speakers, rear cameras and battery life for the sake of being just 5.6 mm thin through its body — although the camera and plateau protrude a little farther. Reviews were glowing about its stunning design.

The entry-level model got a ProMotion and always-on display, a top feature formerly exclusive to the Pro models. The Pro models themselves include a new aluminum unibody design with a larger plateau, making space for even more battery life. Reviews praised the value of the regular 17 and the unapologetic utility of the high-end model.

All 17 models received a much-needed update to the selfie camera, with a square sensor that can take both vertical and horizontal selfies, no matter how you hold the phone. The Pro models were updated with a 48 MP sensor in the telephoto lens, allowing for smooth zooming between 4–8× levels at full quality. All models were also bumped up to 256 GB of storage.

iPhone Features

iPhone camera

Desert Titanium iPhone 16 Pro
The camera dominates the back of the iPhone.

The camera is one of the iPhone’s most prominent features, with a large multi-camera system dominating the back of the phone on the pro models. Here’s a quick guide to the features of the iPhone’s camera:

Photo modes

  • Photo takes a picture. With Live Photo enabled, your phone will record a short snippet of video around the picture. You can turn Live Photos into cool animated effects.
  • Portrait mode will artificially blur the background, like a DSLR camera. This works best if there’s a lot of clear separation between your subject and the background. I also recommend using this feature outside during the day, or indoors with a lot of even light, for the best results. You can also pick a few color effects; the zoom control is moved to the corner.
  • If your phone has multiple lenses, you can tap .51, 2, 3, 4 or 5 to switch between them. You can also pinch to freely zoom in and out. Tap the Reverse button in the bottom right to switch to the front-facing camera.
  • Pano will take a panorama. Hold your phone steady (or put it on a tripod) and tap the button to start. Slowly and steadily spin your phone around in a circle to capture your surroundings.

Video modes

  • Swipe right or tap Video to record instead. In the upper right corner, you can tap to change the video resolution or frame rate. As you’re recording, hit the white button to take a picture.
  • Tap the icon of a person running to turn on Action mode. This will stabilize the video if you’re filming handheld with a lot of motion. This feature requires an iPhone 14 or newer.
  • Cinematic mode is like Portrait mode for video. It’ll intelligently determine the focus of the shot and blur the background. You can even adjust the focus after the video’s been taken. This is available on the iPhone 13 or newer.
  • Slo-Mo will record video at a much higher frame rate, played back in slow motion. In the upper right corner, you can set the speed. 120 is 4 times slower; 240 is eight times slower.
  • Time-Lapse is the opposite; it’ll speed up your video. Set your phone steady on a ledge, shelf or tripod and start recording. However long you record for, it’ll shorten the result to about twenty seconds or so.

Camera Control

Camera Control Button iPhone 16 Pro
The Camera Control button on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro gives you instant access to your camera AND camera settings.

The Camera Control is a new button on the side of the iPhone 16 lineup. It makes opening the camera and taking a picture faster than ever before:

  • Click the button to open the Camera app.
  • Click the button again to take a picture.
  • Hold the button down to take a video.

It also has some advanced functionality, for operating the camera, that you can enable in Settings:

  • Half-click the button to bring up a control slider to zoom in and out. Swipe your finger along the button to control the zoom level.
  • Double-half-click the button to switch between other camera controls.
  • Half-click and hold the button down to lock the focus and exposure.

Dynamic Island

The Dynamic Island morphs into different sorts of notifications.
The Dynamic Island morphs into different sorts of interactive widgets at the top of the screen.

The Dynamic Island is a status area at the top of the screen on the iPhone 15, iPhone 14 Pro and later models. Music or podcasts playing in the background, active phone calls, running timers, Apple Maps navigation and more will add little widgets to the Dynamic Island so you can quickly switch back to them.

  • Tap on an item to switch to that app.
  • Tap and hold on it to bring up quick interactive controls.

iPhone screen

Modern iPhones have an OLED screen, where each pixel can be individually lit. That means you get true, deep blacks and higher contrast. iPhone screens can also show HDR (High Dynamic Range) content. This brightens parts of the image for more vibrant colors.

Newer iPhones can hit a maximum typical brightness of 1,000 nits, considered bright enough to be legible outdoors, with a higher peak brightness for HDR content. The iPhone 15 and newer models can reach up to 2,000 nits outdoors, making them ideal for those bright sunny days.

The iPhone 13 Pro, later pro models and the iPhone 17 have a ProMotion display. Whereas a typical display refreshes at 60 Hz, a ProMotion display can refresh up to 120 Hz for smoother animations. It can also match the refresh rate of the content onscreen, if you’re watching a 30 FPS video or a 24 FPS movie. When nothing is moving on the screen, it can drop down to 10 FPS for preserving battery life.

The iPhone 14 Pro, subsequent pro phones and the iPhone 17 come with an always-on screen. When the phone isn’t being used, it dims the brightness of your Lock Screen, while keeping your notifications and wallpaper visible. Apple says the always-on screen only takes approximately 1% of battery life per hour.

StandBy

Standby mode in iOS 17
It turns your phone into a little smart display when you’re not using it.

StandBy is a special mode you can put your phone in while it’s sitting on your desk, nightstand or counter. To enter StandBy, your phone has to be charging and held horizontally. This works great if you have a MagSafe charging stand, but also works if your phone is plugged in and propped up.

In StandBy mode, your phone can show you the time, rotate through photos, or show a variety of widgets.

StandBy was introduced in iOS 17 on models with MagSafe.

iPhone storage

Every iPhone, just like a computer, has internal storage for saving photos, apps, messages and more. The latest iPhones come with 256 GB of storage on the base model, but can be ordered in higher capacities of 512 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB.

iPhone Photos

The new Photos app library in iOS 18
The new Photos library in iOS 18 has a floating toolbar at the bottom.

Apple Photos is the photo management app on your iPhone. Images you take on the camera, or save from the web, are added to your photo library here.

The Photos app is divided into two sections.

  • When you launch the app, you can scroll up to browse through your library. Tap the Sort & Filter button in the bottom left to view pictures sorted by date added instead of date taken, or to show screenshots in with the rest of your photos.
  • Scroll down to browse through collections and albums. You’ll see your albums, named people and pets, pinned collections, intelligently chosen collections of trips and memories and different media types and utilities. You can customize the order of these items by tapping Customize & Reorder at the bottom.

You can assign names to the people and pets in your photo library to make them easier to find. You can tap the Search button at the top to find images based on the name of the people, the location, the date and even objects inside the photo.

Photos automatically sync every night to iCloud when your iPhone is charging and connected to Wi-Fi. New photos and edits will sync across all your devices.

You can create a shared photo library with those close to you. You can each continue to have photos private to yourselves, but photos you take together can be added to the shared library automatically.

iMessage on iPhone

iMessage is a special feature that kicks in when you’re texting another person with an iPhone. Instead of texting by SMS (or RCS) using your cell carrier, it’ll send your text over iMessage.

iMessage allows for higher-quality photos and videos, text formatting, larger file attachments, stickers, SharePlay and built-in apps and games.

You can use iMessage from any iPhone, but also on a Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and Vision Pro.

iPhone Backup

iCloud+ Storage Capacity
You can sync huge amounts of data to the web with iCloud.

iCloud can seamlessly back up your iPhone every night when it’s charging and connected to Wi-Fi. This means that if you ever lose or upgrade your device, you can pick up exactly where you left off.

Turn it on in Settings, tap on your name at the top, tap iCloud and tap iCloud Backup. Make sure you enable Back Up This iPhone.

Find My iPhone

Find My lets you find a lost device. Whether it was misplaced around the house, left at a friend’s place or stolen, Find My will help you get it back.

You can launch the Find My app from any of your other Apple devices, like an iPad, Mac or Apple Watch. You can also use Find My from a Windows PC or Android device via icloud.com.

iPhone Accessories

MagSafe

MagSafe is the name for accessories, cases, stands, chargers, wallets and more that attach to your iPhone magnetically. The feature was introduced on the iPhone 12 and is compatible with all subsequent models (except the iPhone 16e).

MagSafe chargers

A MagSafe charger can charge at speeds up to 25W on the iPhone 16 and later. Most officially certified MagSafe devices charge at 15W, while other third-party “MagSafe-compatible” devices only charge at 7.5W.

MagSafe chargers typically either snap onto the back of your phone with wired cables or attach your phone to solid charging stands. You can also find MagSafe battery packs, if you want to top up your battery without dealing with a messy cable in your pocket. MagSafe car chargers let you quickly prop up your phone with navigation, while charging it up as well.

Check out our full guide on MagSafe chargers here.

MagSafe cases

A thicker case will prevent your iPhone from connecting to MagSafe, as the magnets will not be able to make a strong connection. But a MagSafe case will include the same pattern of magnets built in, so that you can keep using the same accessories.

MagSafe wallets

If you want to carry around a small handful of cards, you can carry them in a magnetically attaching MagSafe wallet.

Check out our full guide on MagSafe wallets here.

Latest news

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on iPhone:

iPhone Air gains traction despite getting labeled a ‘flop’

By

iPhone Air profile
iPhone Air attracts some buyers with its super-slim design.
Photo:

The iPhone Air accomplished one of the goals Apple surely had for it: It’s reportedly outselling the device it replaced — and by a wide margin. That said, the super-slim iPhone hasn’t exactly taken the world by storm.

Still, it’s far from the flop that some critics labeled it.

Everything new in iOS 26.4: Emoji, Apple Music features and more

By

iOS 26.4 New Features graphic
Check out all that’s new in iOS 26.4.
Image: Apple/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

iOS 26.4 brings a bunch of great new features to your iPhone, and it should arrive very soon.

It adds eight all-new emoji — a couple that I’ll definitely start using often (in addition to a few weird ones, as always). Apple Music also receives several excellent new features, like concert listings coming up in your area, in addition to a refined user interface. And the Apple Podcasts app gets a big video upgrade. 

Those come in addition to tons of other interface tweaks. Here are all the new features you can look forward to in iOS 26.4.

How to block ads (and other distracting things) on iPhone for free

By

Image of an iPhone showing the Hide Distracting Items feature used to remove ads from web pages, along with the words,
Simplify the web, one annoyance at a time.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Safari’s Hide Distracting Items feature lets you remove ads from your iPhone, along with other elements on the page that irritate you. It doesn’t require an ad blocker or a paid extension — Apple built it right into the browser in iOS 18.

Hide Distracting Items is not an ad blocker per se. But if pop-ups and other items with no obvious close button pester you, Hide Distracting Items can come to the rescue. Here’s how to use it — keep reading or watch our video.

Apple finally fixes frustrating iPhone typing problem

By

An iPhone typing problem frustrates iPhone users.
An iPhone typing bug that frustrates users gets a fix.
AI image: Apple/ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

Apple’s iOS 26.4 update includes a small line in its release notes that is drawing outsized attention. It promises “improved keyboard accuracy when typing quickly.”

While that might sound like a routine tweak, it appears to address a typing problem that has frustrated iPhone users for months.

New iPhone hacking tool puts hundreds of millions of devices at risk

By

DarkSword iPhone hacking tool
Don't let hackers take over your iPhone.
AI image: ChatGPT/Cult of Mac

A sophisticated hacking technique called DarkSword, capable of silently taking over iPhones the moment a user visits an infected website, has been discovered in active use — and Apple users running older software are squarely in the crosshairs, according to a new report Wednesday. 

If you haven’t updated to the latest iOS for your device, do so now.

iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 16: Newer isn’t always better

By

iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 16
Sometimes, picking a winner is not easy.
Photo: Apple/Rajesh Pandey/Cult Of Mac

Apple’s budget-oriented iPhone 17e packs a faster processor and more base storage — at a lower price — than the iPhone 16. But despite launching more than a year earlier, the iPhone 16 still holds an edge in several important aspects.

Here’s how the two affordable iPhones compare — and which one you should buy.

New iPhone game controller brings Hall effect precision

By

Serafim S3 Universal Mobile Game Controller
Get your iPhone game on!
Photo: Serafim

The new Serafim S3 Universal Mobile Game Controller is an Apple MFi-certified accessory that aims to bring console-level gaming to iPhone users with Hall effect magnet-based joysticks and more, the company said Monday. Priced at $89.99, S3 is available now on Amazon and the Serafim website.

The iPhone 17e, now a solid budget phone with minimal compromise [Review] ★★★★

By

Pink iPhone 17e sitting on a blue shiny background★★★★
A budget model phone has no business being one of the most gorgeous iPhones ever.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

The iPhone 17e may be a subtle upgrade, but it’s a slight change that makes all the difference. Now with MagSafe, the budget smartphone doesn’t suffer much in the way of compromises. Storage capacity is doubled, making the base model an exceptional choice; the blistering A19 chip is even faster than its predecessor.

Although the lack of a Dynamic Island makes it feel like an older phone than it really is, unless you really care about photography or giant screens, there’s not a lot that seems missing. It’s just as gorgeous as before and still highly practical.

Here’s my full review.

How to make your photos 3D in iOS 26

By

Make the Coolest Wallpaper
Not just of an old dog — a 3D old dog!
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

In iOS 26, the awesome new Spatial Scenes feature lets you convert an ordinary 2D photo to a 3D scene that moves in your hand. It doesn’t have to be a recent picture or one taken with a special camera, either. You can try out Apple’s new 3D effect on any decent photo, even if it’s from 20 years ago.

You can play with Spatial Scenes in the Photos app, converting images and seeing how the effect works. But the best part is that you can set one as your iPhone’s Lock Screen wallpaper, and see it every time you unlock your phone. It even works with the excellent Photo Shuffle feature, so you’ll keep getting new ones to gawk at.

Check out the GIFs below that show how Spatial Scenes work, or watch our hands-on demo video.

Folding iPhone may take a major step toward iPad-style productivity

By

Folding iPhone multitasking: Planning dinner
Making dinner plans could get easier with the folding iPhone's split-screen multitasking, as shown in this concept image.
AI image: ChatGPT/Sonny Dickson/Cult of Mac

The folding iPhone will require iOS 27 to be enhanced with support for running two applications side-by-side on its large, foldable display, according to a reliable source.

Split-screen multitasking is a feature borrowed from iPadOS, but Apple’s upcoming premium handset will be an iPhone and therefore run iOS — just a modified version.

The iPhone’s haptic keyboard is fantastic: Here’s how to turn it on

By

iPhone Haptic Keyboard graphic
Get a clicky keyboard on your phone, too.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Studies show that a haptic keyboard improves touchscreen typing speed and input accuracy, but very few people know you can enable it on your iPhone.

Android phones years ago had haptic keyboards, but without a precision vibration motor, the feedback was too slow to make the illusion really work. With the Taptic Engine — hardware in every iPhone since the iPhone 6s that can simulate all kinds of vibrating textures — Apple created a perfectly convincing effect to enable the haptic keyboard.

Read on to see where to enable it — or watch our quick video.

Today in Apple history: Apple reconsiders the Newton?

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The Newton MessagePad 2100 was the last hurrah for Apple's Newton line.
In retrospect, Apple's Newton MessagePad survey seems like stealth iPhone research.
Photo: Moparx

March 10: Today in Apple history: Apple reconsiders the Newton MessagePad? March 10, 2004: Apple sends out a survey to select Apple customers, claiming that it is considering relaunching the Newton MessagePad.

“We need to determine why the Apple Newton was not a commercial success and whether there is an interest in re-launching a new version of the Newton,” Apple’s survey says. “Your comments will help understand why the Newton failed and if there is interest in re-launching a new, improved Newton.”

In hindsight, it seems pretty clear that Apple’s apparent interest in launching another personal data assistant served as cover for stealth market research for the still-in-development iPhone.

New CAD drawings reveal Apple’s upcoming folding iPhone

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Apple’s folding iPhone takes shape in new CAD drawings
The folding iPhone might look much like this concept based on leaked CAD drawings.
AI image: ChatGPT/Sonny Dickson/Cult of Mac

CAD drawings supposedly revealing the design of the first folding iPhone indicate the device will sport a very different shape than rival foldable smartphones.

The early Monday leak comes from a reliable source, and the design shown matches earlier reports about the so-called iPhone Fold. So this may well be what the new premium iOS device looks like when it debuts in the fall.

Today in Apple history: Devs get the key to unlock iPhone’s awesome power

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The iPhone SDK paved the way for iPhone apps and the App Store.
The iPhone SDK plants the seeds for the App Store's stunning success.
Photo: Apple

March 6: Today in Apple history: Devs get the key to unlock iPhone's awesome power March 6, 2008: Apple releases the iPhone software development kit, finally allowing coders to start creating native mobile apps for the new smartphone. The iPhone SDK gives developers the tools they need to unlock the new smartphone’s potential.

When the App Store eventually opens a few months later, a new industry springs up overnight. Third-party devs rush to take advantage of Apple’s lucrative app distribution network.

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 17e comparison: Here’s the smarter pick

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iPhone 17e vs. iPhone 17
Is the iPhone 17e a better buy than the iPhone 17?
Image: ChatGPT/Apple

Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup has a new, more affordable addition: the iPhone 17e. It might look different from the rest of the family, but under the hood, it shares many of the same core components.

If you are trying to decide between the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17e, here’s the smarter option.

iPhone 17e doubles built-in storage, adds MagSafe

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iPhone 17e colors
iPhone 17e comes in several colors to catch the eye.
Photo: Apple

Apple launched the iPhone 17e on Monday, offering a new option for those who want a premium smartphone that won’t empty their bank account. The base version offers twice as much storage capacity as its predecessor, makes the jump to the latest Apple A19 processor and adds full support for MagSafe accessories.

“iPhone 17e combines powerful performance and features our users love at an exceptional value, making it a compelling option for customers looking to upgrade to the iPhone 17 family,” said Kaiann Drance, Apple’s vice president of worldwide iPhone product marketing, in a press release. “We know our customers want a product that will last, and iPhone 17e delivers just that. With A19 for incredible performance, double the entry storage, a smarter camera system, and enhanced durability, iPhone 17e is designed to stay fast, secure, and valuable for years to come.”

Save your history and recommendations: Listen to Apple Music in private mode

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Apple Music Private Mode graphic
It’s not a built-in feature, but you can make it yourself.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

If you’re tired of your kids’ or partner’s music polluting your music recommendations and history, there’s a solution. While Apple Music does not offer a built-in private mode, you can make your own using a Focus mode.

Turn on a special Focus mode, and Apple Music will ignore all the songs, artists and albums that play next.

It’s even possible to enable your private mode when you connect to a specific Bluetooth speaker, like a living room sound system. Or when you enter a specific location, like work. Here’s how to set it up — keep reading or watch our quick video.

New standard makes more smart locks work seamlessly with iPhone

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Aliro smart lock standard
The new Aliro 1.0 standard will ensure more smart locks work well with more devices.
Photo: CSA

The new Aliro 1.0 communication protocol and credential standard could fundamentally change how iPhone users interact with smart locks, the Connectivity Standards Alliance said Thursday upon release of the specification. And it will affect usage not just at home, but in places like offices, hotels, colleges and apartment buildings. 

Never miss a live show in your hometown with Apple Music Concerts

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Apple Music Concerts graphic
A great new feature comes to Apple Music.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Upcoming iOS 26 feature Apple Music Concerts solves one of music lovers’ biggest heartbreaks — finding out too late that your favorite artist already passed through your neighborhood on tour, unbeknownst to you.

The feature lets you see shows coming soon to your city, with convenient details on venues, ticketing, set lists and more. You can also look up an artist’s tour and see all their upcoming shows.

Supposedly, Apple Music Concerts will even notify you when a tour is coming nearby. The feature, available now in iOS 26.4 beta 2, hasn’t been out long enough for me to test. But if it works like the Apple Music notifications that alert you about new tracks, it could be a lifesaver.

Unfortunately, though, there’s one serious drawback. Here’s an overview of Apple Music Concerts. 

This secret iPhone gesture will come in handy everywhere [Pro Tip]

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Photo showing the two-finger select gesture on the iPhone
This gesture comes in handy all the time.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

Pro tip bugA hidden gesture on the iPhone and iPad lets you quickly select a bunch of items in a list — kind of like Command-A (⌘A) for Select All on a Mac. I use it all the time to select a bunch of emails to archive, a bunch of reminders to rearrange, a batch of files to sort, etc. 

Once you learn this two-finger swipe gesture, you’ll use it everywhere. It’s great for getting work done on the go with your phone. Watch our quick video or keep reading.

iPhone 18 Pro might double down on bold colors

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An iPhone 17 Pro in Cosmic Orange, on a desk surrounded by objects with orange accents
The iPhone 17 Pro finally brings some chromatic excitement, and extremely pro features to the lineup.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Following the success of the cosmic orange iPhone 17 Pro, Apple reportedly plans to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro in a deep red color. It will seemingly be the new flagship color for 2026 Pro iPhones. 

The company may also be testing similar hues internally.

Today in Apple history: Apple and Cisco settle over ‘iPhone’ name

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The InfoGear iPhone was definitely a bit ... different from current models.
The first iPhone was definitely a bit ... different from current models.
Photo: Bob Ackerman/Wikipedia CC

February 21: Today in Apple history: Apple and Cisco settle over 'iPhone' name February 21, 2007: Apple comes to an agreement with Cisco over the iPhone trademark, which Cisco legally owns but Apple wants to use.

Under the agreement, both companies get to use the iPhone trademark on products throughout the world. The two businesses also dismiss outstanding lawsuits against one another, and agree to “explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security, and consumer and enterprise communications.”

It’s a classic bit of Apple CEO Steve Jobs steamrolling the opposition.

Every display should have this iPhone MagSafe mount [Review] ★★★★★

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Belkin Display Mount mounted on a display★★★★★
The pictures in this article aren’t very good because I couldn’t use the iPhone 12 Pro (pictured) to take the picture.
Photo: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

The Belkin iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac Desktops and Displays, despite what its lengthy product name may imply, is a simple and straightforward product that does one thing remarkably well. It mounts your iPhone to a desktop display with MagSafe.

It’s straightforward to set up; it’s easy to plop your phone on and pull it off; it’s well made and feels nice in the hand. It’s great for Continuity Camera. The Belkin iPhone Mount with… no, I’m not writing all that out again. The Belkin iPhone display thing is an easy recommendation.

How to use the new Phone app (or get the old one back)

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Try Out the New Design
Give it a go before you give it up.
Image: D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac

For the first time in 18 years, Apple redesigned the oft-overlooked Phone app. The overhaul in iOS 26 simplifies the Phone app’s layout, putting your favorites, call history and voicemails in one tab, and providing easier access to search.

Its fancy Liquid Glass-inspired layout goes hand-in-hand with the Phone app’s excellent call filtering features.

Here’s how you can learn to love the new design — and how to nope out of it if you don’t like it.