iphones

Warren wants a new iPhone with a large screen. But he doesn't know what to get. He wants one that will last awhile. Leo says that to future proof, he's going to want to get the iPhone XS Max. It'll have the longest runway as for use. He could get the iPhone XR, as it's got the same internals as the iPhone XS, but it's a smaller liquid retina screen, not OLED. He's also giving up the dual camera on the back, but the iPhone XR camera still has a basic version of portrait mode, which is pretty good. The iPhone XR is also available in several colors!

Mick bought the iPhone XS and wanted to migrate all his text messages to the new phone. Leo says in the iPhone message settings, there is a backup to iCloud feature. But it has to be on beforehand in order to save all messages in the cloud. Otherwise, they are stored locally.

Mick's wife is also having trouble with Face ID, which will unlock for her daughter. Leo says they can train it better using the "setup with alternate appearance" option.

Eric is thinking of updating to the iPhone XR, but he wants to know if using Face ID is going to be a hassle moving over to it from Touch ID. Rich says that once he sets it up on the phone the first time, it's stored locally and his apps will access the login that way. The first time he logs into his other apps, it'll ask him if he wants to use Face ID to log in. After he gives the permission, it will use Face ID every time after that.

Tom wants to know how to share his contact information digitally with his smartphone. Leo says that there's plenty of programs that can scan his business cards (the standard is called VCF or VCard) and convert it to digital data. There's also a "share card" feature in the iPhone to share a VCF Vcard file via Bluetooth. Android has these options as well.

Ed is blind and uses a Plantronics Bluetooth headset with his iPhone. When he gets an incoming call while he's on a call, he can't do anything without cutting off his current call. Leo says that call waiting is an imperfect technology and he doesn't use it. Leo says that if he can tell Siri to put it on hold, and take the other one, that would be great. Ed should talk to an Apple Genius at the Apple Store. They may know something.

Tim has an iPhone 6S and when hooking it up to his smart TV, nothing happens. The TV says it has the signal, but nothing happens. It has worked in the past. Leo says that it sounds like HDCP may be the issue. That's digital copy protection. Everything in the chain has to be HDCP compliant to work. But that should only be an issue if he's watching YouTube or a movie. It should work with photos and home videos no problem. Tim says a friend's iPhone works though. Leo says it sounds like an iOS issue, then.

Marshall updated his iPhone to the iOS 12 Public Beta. Now he can't turn on CarPlay in his phone. Leo says that he can type "CarPlay" in the search field at the top of the screen in Settings and it will show right up. But going to iOS 12 isn't advisable for a main device.

John is frustrated that he can't delete the pictures on his phone without deleting them from iCloud. Leo says that if he selects "optimize phone storage" in settings, it will delete it on the phone without deleting it on iCloud. But he'll have to select "Keep Originals" on his Mac so it doesn't delete there.

Peter wants to know if there's a device that will charge multiple devices wirelessly. Leo says that Apple will be coming out with a product next year that will do just that. It uses the Qi standard and will charge an Apple Watch, iPhone, and AirPods. It's called AirPower. There are others, but the Apple Watch doesn't support Qi 100%, and as such, Apple has devised a way to do it. But it won't come out until sometime in 2018. Will an aftermarket charger work? Leo says if it's designed to handle multiple devices, then yes. But he may run into issues with his Apple Watch.

Tom has been working in the technology industry for decades and he views his mobile phone differently than most. It's like a super computer in your pocket. Leo agrees saying that it's rapidly becoming the main computer for all our lives, and when you consider the time you spend on it over two years, even buying a phone for $1,000 isn't all that much money considering how much they are used. It's a great investment. But even then, $1000 is a lot to spend up front for anyone. The irony is that while the cost of mobile phones seem to be rising, the cost of a desktop is falling.