MacRumors

With the launch of iOS 11 and watchOS 4, Apple made it easier than ever to turn your own personal photography into an Apple Watch face. As long as you're running iOS 11 or later and watchOS 4 or later on your iPhone and Apple Watch, follow these steps to quickly add one of your Camera Roll pictures onto the face of your Apple Watch, where you can even turn it into a kaleidoscope faces.

Turning a Camera Roll Photo Into a Photos Watch Face

how to watch face 2

  1. Open Photos in iOS.
  2. If you only want one image on your Photos Watch face, simply navigate to it now and jump to step 5.
  3. If you want to make an album of images, tap "Select" in the top right corner of the Photos app.
  4. Scroll through your library and pick up to ten photos to include in your new Photos Watch Face.
  5. Tap the share sheet extension in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  6. At the very bottom of the screen, scroll until you find "Create Watch Face" and tap it.
  7. Choose "Photos Watch Face".
  8. Edit the Time Position and add up to two Complications.
  9. Tap "Add".

Turning a Camera Roll Photo Into a Kaleidoscope Watch Face

how to watch face 3

  1. Open Photos in iOS.
  2. Navigate to the image you want to turn into a Kaleidoscope Watch Face.
  3. Tap the share sheet extension in the bottom left corner of the screen.
  4. Tap "Create Watch Face."
  5. Choose "Kaleidoscope Watch Face."
  6. Pick between "Facet," "Radial," and "Rosette" designs for your Watch Face.
  7. Decide on adding up to three Complications.
  8. Tap "Add".

After following either of these guides, your all-new Apple Watch face will be waiting in "My Faces" within the Watch app on iOS. Once you find it in that list, you can tap on it, scroll down, and tap "Set as current Watch Face." If you have a Kaleidoscope Watch Face or decided on just one image for the Photos Watch Face, then that's what you'll see each time your wrist is raised. Anyone who has decided to add in multiple photos to their Photos Watch Face, however, will get a shuffled image with each wrist raise.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)
Related Forum: iOS 11

If you're waiting for the new Apple TV 4K to arrive tomorrow, Apple has already opened up the ability for you to purchase 4K HDR movies on iTunes as of last week. Although any movie you own in HD will be automatically upgraded to the enhanced 4K HDR format, Amazon is offering customers the chance to increase their iTunes film collections this week with a discount on the $100 iTunes gift card tier, being sold at $85 right now with free shipping (limited to one per customer).

apple tv 4k itunes gift card deal
That'll let you purchase five full-priced movies on iTunes for nearly the price of just four, and you can of course still use the gift card to buy any app, game, song, album, TV show, or book sold by Apple. There isn't currently a discount on the other price tiers of iTunes gift cards, so $50 and $25 cards on Amazon are priced at their respective levels.

Studios currently supporting 4K movies on iTunes at $20 include 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures. New releases available to purchase today include Wonder Woman, Baby Driver, Alien: Covenant, The LEGO Batman Movie, Logan, and many more. Currently, Disney is the only studio holding out from releasing its films in 4K on iTunes.

4k hdr itunes
Head over to our Deals Roundup to discover more recent and ongoing discounts, including sales on Jaybird and Jabra headphones at Best Buy, over 50 percent off a Thule Stravan Deluxe Attache for 13" MacBooks at B&H Photo, and an updated roundup of Qi inductive wireless chargers.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, Apple Deals
Tag: 4K
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Starting with iOS 11, Apple began offering a new feature that provides suggestions on how you can save space on your iOS device. These built-in space-saving suggestions, which can be found in the Settings app, can help you free up space on your iPhone when storage space is running low.

Toggling on Space Saving Suggestions

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down and tap on "General."
  3. Choose "iPhone Storage."ios11iphonestorage
  4. Tap "Enable" on any of the suggestions Apple provides to turn them on.

Offload Unused Apps

One of Apple's suggestions is to automatically delete unused apps when the storage space on your device is low. If you enable this feature, Apple will delete apps you don't use often, while saving the documents and data so you can download them again and pick right back up where you were if necessary.

ios11offloadapps
You can also offload individual apps by selecting them from the list of apps located just below all of Apple's suggestions.

Auto Delete Old Conversations

With "Auto Delete Old Conversations" enabled, Apple will automatically delete all messages and attachments that were sent over a year ago. This can save significant space, but be aware that once gone, there's no getting those messages back.

Review Large Attachments

The "Review Large Attachments" feature lets you see a list of the largest files on your device, located in Photos, Mail, and Messages. A tap will let you view a file up close, and a swipe to the left on an item in the file list will bring up an option to delete it. You can mass delete files by tapping on the "Edit" button in the upper right corner of the device.

ios11storageattachments
Along with these three options for storing space, the Storage section of the Settings app also displays all of the apps you have installed, with the app using the most storage space at the top. It also lets you know how long ago the app was last used, making it easy to cull items that aren't used often.

Depending on what's installed on your device, you may or may not see all of these storage options, but if you're getting low on space, they should appear.

Related Forum: iOS 11

federighi hero20120727Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi has revealed that a popular 3D Touch gesture for accessing the App Switcher will apparently return in a future update to iOS 11.

Federighi, replying to an email from MacRumors reader Adam Zahn, said Apple had to "temporarily drop support" for the gesture due to an unidentified "technical constraint."

Question from Zahn: Could we at least make the 3D Touch app switch gesture an option in iOS 11 so that I could retain the ability to switch apps that way instead of having to double tap the home button?

Response from Federighi: Hi Adam,

We regretfully had to temporarily drop support for this gesture due to a technical constraint. We will be bringing it back in an upcoming iOS 11.x update.

Thanks (and sorry for the inconvenience)!

- craig

On devices that support 3D Touch running iOS 9 or iOS 10, users can press deeply on the left side of the screen, drag to the right, and release to quickly access the App Switcher. The gesture stopped working in the iOS 11 beta, and an Apple engineer later confirmed it was "intentionally removed."


MacRumors has verified this email exchange passed through mail servers with an IP address range linked to Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California. Coupled with the fact Federighi has been replying to several customer emails since the iPhone X event last week, we're fairly confident in its accuracy.

Federighi replies have also revealed that Face ID will work with most sunglasses and that Apple has considered a Nightstand mode for iPhone X.

Popular smart light bulb manufacturer LIFX has been promising to add HomeKit support to its bulbs for quite some time now, and with an app update released this morning, some LIFX bulbs are now HomeKit compatible.

The 3.8.1 LIFX app update adds HomeKit support for LIFX, LIFX GU10, LIFX Downlight, and LIFX+ bulbs. It's only the third-generation bulbs that work with HomeKit -- original bulbs and LIFX White 800/Color 1000 won't work, nor will the company's LED strips.

lifxhomekit
A firmware update is required to enable support, with the app able to provide a HomeKit code for lights that did not ship with one. From there, the bulbs can be added to a HomeKit setup like any other product.

LIFX bulbs are similar to the Philips Hue line of bulbs, offering a range of color and white selections that can be controlled with a smartphone. LIFX bulbs do not require a hub and are controlled over Wi-Fi.

Pricing on LIFX bulbs starts at $59.99, but multiple bulbs can be purchased for a discount. LIFX bulbs can be bought from the LIFX website.

Instagram today expanded its selection of face filters to live video, allowing users to swap between filters when filming live content.

To use face filters during a live video, Instagram users can tap on the bottom right corner to browse through the filters and then apply them.

instagramfilterslivevideo

Starting today, you can play with face filters while sharing live video. Whether you're channeling a kitten or want to add some stars or rainbow light to your face, you can easily try on face filters while connecting with friends and followers in the moment.

All existing face filters are now available in live video, along with a brand-new sunglasses filter that will be available exclusively in live video for the next week. The sunglasses filter allows users to tap to change the scenery reflected in the lenses of the filter.

Instagram says face filters for live video are rolling out globally over the course of the next few weeks.

OWC has launched a new USB-C travel dock suitable for Apple's latest MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks.

owc usb c travel dock
The dock connects to a Mac or PC with a single USB-C cable and provides access to the following five ports:

  • 2× USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports

  • 1× USB-C port for power

  • 1× HDMI 2.0 port

  • 1× SD card reader

The USB-C port provides up to 60W of pass-through charging, while the HDMI 2.0 port can drive a 4K display at 30Hz.

The compact-sized dock is available on MacSales.com in MacBook-like Gold, Rose Gold, Silver, and Space Gray for $49.99 in the United States.

It's also available on Amazon in select colors.

Tags: Dock, OWC, USB-C

watchOS 4 brought several new features to the Apple Watch, including a new flashlight function that lights up the face of the Apple Watch so you can have an extra light when you're digging around in a bag, trying to open a door in the dark, or wherever else you might require a little bit of light.

It doesn't put off as much light as an iPhone screen, but it's handy in a pinch, especially since it's a hands-free light source.

applewatchflashlightwatchos4
Apple has also designed the flashlight to be a safety feature for runners and bicycle riders. At night, you can turn it on and have it flash, making other people out on the road aware of your presence.

Accessing the Flashlight

  1. While wearing the Apple Watch, raise your wrist up to illuminate the screen.
  2. Swipe up from the bottom to bring up the Control Center.
  3. Tap on the icon that looks like a miniature flashlight.
  4. Your Apple Watch display will now light up at maximum brightness.
  5. Close the flashlight by swiping down to dismiss it or by pressing the Digital Crown.

Changing Flashlight Modes

There are three flashlight modes in total - pure white, flashing white, and red. Changing between them is simple:

  1. With the flashlight active on the initial bright white display, swipe to the left.
  2. This switches the flashlight to the second display mode, which is a flashing black and white.
  3. Swipe to the left a second time to access the red light.
  4. Swipe right again to cycle through modes.
  5. Close the flashlight by swiping down to dismiss it or by pressing the Digital Crown.
Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

Apple's senior vice president of retail stores, Angela Ahrendts, has climbed to grab the 13th spot on Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" list for 2017. In 2015 Ahrendts took the 16th spot, and in 2016 she rose to the 14th spot.

The top 5 women on the list this year are Sheryl Sandberg (Facebook COO, #5), Abigail Johnson (Fidelity Investments CEO, #4), Marillyn Hewson (Lockheed Martin President and CEO, #3), Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo CEO, #2), and Mary Barra (General Motors CEO, #1).

AP keynote 2017 wrap up Angela Today at Apple
Fortune's list includes a brief summary of Ahrendts' latest accomplishments at Apple:

Since being persuaded by Tim Cook to join Apple in 2014 (she previously led British fashion brand Burberry), Ahrendts has been heads down on the tech behemoth’s largest store redesign in 15 years. In May the company launched its long-awaited “Today at Apple” initiative, which seeks to supplement public education through free courses on everything from coding to music production to photography. Apple’s highest-ranking woman, she oversees 60,000 retail employees and is responsible for the in-store experiences of a more than a million daily customers. Research firm eMarketer estimates that the combined revenue from in-store and online sales is nearly $50 billion. Ahrendts was the second executive after Cook—and the only woman—to take the stage at September’s keynote, where she spoke at length about Apple’s “town squares”—the new moniker for its retail stores.

Ahrendts joined Apple from Burberry in the spring of 2014, when she said she'd bring a personal touch to Apple's retail management. Three years later she has spearheaded the launch of Apple's next-generation retail store design and "Today at Apple" classes worldwide.

Last week, Ahrendts also appeared on stage during Apple's iPhone X keynote event, where she went into detail about new and upcoming Apple Town Square locations in Chicago, Paris, and Milan.

For more information on Fortune's ranking, the site has published a few articles today: explaining the list's continued importance, highlighting the newcomers, and pointing out those who have dropped off the list this year.

Saudi Arabia today lifted a ban on services that provide access to calling someone over the internet, part of government efforts attempting to attract more business to the country. This means that "all online voice and video call services," including Apple's FaceTime and Microsoft's Skype, opened up for user access last night at midnight (via Reuters).

facetime
These apps and services previously faced harsh regulations in Saudi Arabia with a ban that began in 2013, due to the government's wariness over secure internet communication. Now, users in the country will be able to FaceTime friends and family members, with the Saudi information ministry stating this should help "kick-start" the country's economy after recently being hit by low oil prices.

Saudi Arabia will lift a ban on internet phone calls, a government spokesman said, part of efforts to attract more business to the country. All online voice and video call services such as Skype, Snapchat, and Line that satisfy regulatory requirements will become accessible at midnight (2100 GMT), Adel Abu Hameed, spokesman for the telecoms regulator CITC said on Twitter on Wednesday.

“Digital transformation is one of the key kick-starters for the Saudi economy, as it will incentivise the growth of internet-based businesses, especially in the media and entertainment industries,” a statement from the information ministry said. “Access to VoIP (voice over internet protocol) will reduce operational costs and spur digital entrepreneurship – that’s why it is such an important step in the Kingdom’s internet regulation,” it said.

The Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission also published a press release [Google Translate] on the ban's lifting.

According to a tipster's email this morning, because iPhones sold in Saudi Arabia have had FaceTime completely blocked in the past, these devices will need some kind of carrier update in order to enable the feature. In response, local carriers are reportedly saying that this update is Apple's responsibility, so it's unclear when such an update will occur.

ALDI today announced it will now accept all forms of contactless payments, including Apple Pay, at all of its nearly 1,700 stores in the United States.

aldi apple pay

Shoppers can pay for their groceries by tapping their contactless-enabled bank card, smartphone or other wearable device on a payment terminal. Contactless payments are safe and secure, and have the same protection as making a payment with your PIN.

Some other grocery stores that accept Apple Pay in the United States include select Giant Food, Wegmans, BI-LO, Food Lion, Save Mart, Shop 'n Save, Trader Joe's, Winn-Dixie, Whole Foods, and United Supermarkets locations.

Apple's financial chief Luca Maestri recently said Apple Pay is by far the number one NFC-based payment service on mobile devices, with nearly 90 percent of all transactions globally—three out of four happen outside the United States.

Related Roundup: Apple Pay

Apple TV 4K reviews are out, providing us with first impressions of one of the most expensive streaming media players on the market.

apple tv 4k
The Verge's editor-in-chief Nilay Patel said the Apple TV 4K is "by far the closest thing to being a fully realized vision for the future of TV that exists," but for now it has some limitations that hold it back.

Notably, the Apple TV 4K doesn't have Dolby Atmos sound and the YouTube app can only play videos in 1080p quality.

But the new Apple TV doesn’t support Atmos. And it doesn’t support YouTube in 4K HDR. And it doesn’t have Disney or Marvel movies in 4K HDR. And it makes some 1080p content look less than great. […]

Apple doesn't support YouTube's VP9 video format, which means YouTube on the Apple TV 4K doesn't support 4K HDR playback. Apple doesn't have any timeline as to when or if that might happen; it's a problem that affects Safari on the Mac and iOS devices as well.

Apple told Patel that the lack of Dolby Atmos sound isn't a hardware limitation, and said support is on the roadmap.


The new Apple TV automatically upscales all SDR video to either HDR or Dolby Vision, depending on which format your TV supports, but Patel and some other reviewers said the end result doesn't always look great.

…Apple's HDR video processing is hit or miss. It was great when I watched HD content from iTunes, but it fell down in other apps. I watched The Dark Knight in HD on HBO Go with our video team, and the Apple TV 4K HDR processing blew out all the contrast in the image, sharpened everything to hell, and turned the film grain into noise.

Most reviews pointed out that the Apple TV 4K, priced from $179, is considerably more expensive than its competitors. Google's Chromecast Ultra is $69, Amazon's Fire TV starts at $90, and the Roku Premiere is $70.

However, the price difference could eventually be made up for with a cheaper selection of 4K movies available to purchase or rent in iTunes. Apple is also upgrading customers' existing iTunes libraries of HD videos to 4K at no cost.

Engadget's Devindra Hardawar:

You'll find Apple's first batch of 4K HDR films in their own section on the iTunes store. So far, the selection includes some major new releases like Wonder Woman, Baby Driver and Alien Covenant. Notably, they're mostly selling for $20, with a few older titles going for $15. Walmart-owned Vudu, which has been selling and renting 4K films for years, currently has those titles for $30. Even the rental prices for 4K are lower on iTunes -- $5 versus $10 on Vudu. And, just as Apple promised, several films I previously purchased on iTunes -- Star Trek Beyond, The Lego Movie and Kingsman were automatically upgraded to 4K HDR.

CNET's David Katzmaier:

All HD and 4K titles on iTunes cost the same. On other services, 4K is typically more expensive. Take a new release like "Wonder Woman." On iTunes it costs $20 to buy and $6 to rent, regardless of whether you get the HD or 4K/Dolby Vision version. On Vudu and Google Play, the HD version costs the same but the 4K/HDR version costs $30 to buy and $10 to rent. It's a similar story with new-to-video movies "Kong: Skull Island," "Ghost in the Shell" and "Transformers: The Last Knight."

Bottom Lines

The Verge's Nilay Patel:

I am very confident Apple is going to figure this TV thing out. It's the only company that has the combination of power and care to actually do it. But the Apple TV 4K's unrealized potential just makes it obvious that the future of TV is still pretty far away, and it's simply too expensive to gamble on in the meantime.

CNET's David Katzmaier:

But let's say you're OK spending $179 to get a high-performance streamer. If you're an "Apple person" with a nice TV and a yen for improved image quality, the Apple TV 4K is definitely worth getting -- and if you already own the non-4K one and you have cash to spare, it's a good excuse to kick that box to a secondary room. The same goes for movie buffs who regularly rent or buy new releases in 4K, thanks to iTunes' price advantage and promise to upgrade to the 4K versions.

TechRadar's Garis Beavis:

If you’re already in the Apple-sphere and want a streaming box, the Apple TV 4K makes the most sense. It’s costly, yes, and there are cheaper options on the market if you just want to get high-quality images beamed into your eyeballs.

But if you also want the wider app ecosystem, and the ability to connect sensors and use it as a workout trainer, play games with kids or control your smart home, then the Apple TV 4K is an easy choice.

Pocket-lint's Stuart Miles:

The new Apple TV 4K is the movie fan's champion set-top box and the place to buy 4K movies without breaking the bank, with the knowledge that if you own other Apple devices that you'll be able to easily watch them on the go too.

More Reviews: Mashable, BuzzFeed News, iMore, Financial Post, TIME

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Tag: Reviews
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Bose today announced its first-ever pair of wireless in-ear headphones called "SoundSport Free," which will go on sale in October for $250. Similar to Apple's AirPods and other wireless headphones, the SoundSport Free are small buds that you place in your ears without any connecting wires, and which charge through an included case while you're on-the-go (via CNET).

bose soundsport free
Bose's wireless headphones are more sport- and activity-focused, with silicone StayHear+ sport tips to ensure a comfortable fit during intense activities, as well as an IPX4 water resistance rating (Apple's AirPods are not rated for water resistance, although many users have noted their resilience through activities that coat them in sweat or water). The Bose Connect iOS app will also include a new "Find My Buds" feature, displaying the last known location and time of use in order to help you rediscover the lost headphones.

In terms of battery life, Bose said that the SoundSport Free will last for up to five hours on one charge, and the charging/carrying case can fuel up the headphones with an additional ten hours of battery. The five-hour battery life aligns with the AirPods in terms of battery on the buds themselves, but when comparing the charging cases Apple's case provides an additional 24 hours of life to the AirPods.

bose soundsport free 3
Controls are located on the top of the buds, giving you access to play, pause, skip track, take and end phone call controls, and even activate Siri or Google Assistant. Bose also explained that the SoundSport Free headphones include a Bluetooth antenna that is designed to provide a strong and reliable connection to your iPhone, which connects to the smartphone up to 30 feet away as long as there are no physical obstructions between the two devices.

When it came to the tech inside these earbuds, we focused on every little detail—from tuning the circuits for improved sound to tweaking the antenna position for maximum Bluetooth® signal strength. The result? Headphones that play consistently and clearly whether your phone is in your hand, in your pocket, strapped to your arm or sitting on top of the treadmill … and there’s never a wire in sight.

The SoundSport Free headphones are available to pre-order for $249.95 today on Bose's website with early orders expected for an October delivery date, and a "Midnight Blue" color option is said to be coming later this year. The company today also announced a new version of its QC35 over-ear headphones - called QC35 II -- incorporating Google Assistant directly into the device.

Tag: Bose

Apple TV 4K reviews are out, and one interesting tidbit is that the streaming media player could gain support for Dolby Atmos surround sound technology in the future by way of a tvOS software update.

apple tv 4k dolby atmos
"Apple told me that the lack of Atmos isn't a hardware limitation, and that support is on the roadmap," wrote The Verge's Nilay Patel.

Dolby Atmos was developed to give sound from movies and TV shows a more three-dimensional effect. Rather than being constrained to channels, sounds can be precisely placed and moved in three-dimensional space.

Patel explains:

Atmos and its competitor DTS:X are the next generation of surround sound formats, which the industry calls "object-based surround." Unlike traditional surround, which sends specific tracks of audio to specific speakers, Atmos allows audio engineers to place sound "objects" in 3D space, and your receiver or soundbar figures out how to recreate it.

Both the Xbox One S and Roku support Dolby Atmos. On the content side, Netflix has been rolling out support since July. Several theaters now play movies with Dolby Atmos sound, and many older titles have been remastered.

Related Roundup: Apple TV
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy)

Uber App IconUber has updated its iOS app to fall in line with new options in iOS 11 that let users limit an app's use of location services (via The Verge).

With iOS 11 installed, it's possible to restrict the gathering of location data by any third-party app so that it can only access the device's location status when the app is in use.

Uber has faced criticism in the past for tracking users' location even when they aren't using the service, while offering them only a binary choice of either allowing always-on tracking or turning it off altogether.

Uber had argued that the tracking enhanced rider safety and said it restricted tracking to five minutes following a ride anyway, but many users cited the policy as a privacy concern.


With the latest update however, Uber has highlighted the fact that users can elect to share their location "While Using the App", "Always", or "Never". These options can be found in the Settings app under Privacy -> Location Services -> Uber.

These permissions override any third-party app's settings, which should address users' concerns regarding similar behavior.

Tag: Uber

Popular PC and console game The Witness finally made its way to the iPhone and iPad tonight with the official release of the iOS version of the game. If you're not familiar with The Witness, it's a 3D Myst-like puzzle adventure game designed by Jonathan Blow, the developer behind popular game Braid.


In The Witness, players take on the role of a mystery person who wakes up alone on an island full of puzzles that need to be solved. The idea is to explore the island (which is open world), finish puzzles, and discover your identity.

There are more than 500 puzzles to solve and dozens of locations to explore on the island. The game, which took seven years to complete, has been well-received on other platforms both for the gameplay balance and art style.

thewitness
Our sister site TouchArcade has been eagerly awaiting the launch of The Witness since 2011, when we heard the first hints that the game might eventually be released on iOS devices. TouchArcade has followed its progress since then, and shared the news of its launch tonight.

The Witness is priced at $9.99 in the App Store, which is cheaper than the price from Steam or on consoles. In the Mac App Store, for example, it costs $39.99. The Witness is available now on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. [Direct Link]

Google today announced that it will acquire part of HTC's mobile division in a deal that's worth $1.1 billion.

Under terms of the agreement "a team of HTC talent" will join Google's hardware organization. The HTC employees moving to Google worked as part of the "Powered by HTC" unit that developed the Google Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. Google also gained a non-exclusive license for HTC intellectual property.

googlepixel
"These future fellow Googlers are amazing folks we've already been working with closely on the Pixel smartphone line, and we're excited to see what we can do together as one team," said Google SVP of hardware Rick Osterloh.

While part of HTC's mobile unit is moving to Google, HTC will continue to develop and sell HTC-branded smartphones. HTC says the sale will allow for a "more streamlined product portfolio," and that its next-generation flagship phone is already in development.

Google's HTC purchase marks its second major smartphone-related acquisition. Google purchased Motorola Mobility in August of 2011 for $12.5 billion, mainly to get Motorola's patents, and in 2014 sold the company to Lenovo for $2.91 billion.

With the acquisition of the HTC hardware team, Google will be able to more closely mimic Apple's strategy of close integration between software and hardware.

Google's next-generation Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL smartphones are set to debut at an October 4 launch event.

Tags: Google, HTC

Starting with iOS 11, Apple added a new emergency feature to the iPhone, which is designed to allow you to quickly and discreetly place a call to emergency services. In the United States, SOS dials 911, and in other countries, it works with local emergency response teams.

Emergency SOS is activated through a series of button presses on an iPhone running iOS 11 or later, and the buttons you need to press will vary based on your device. On the iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and older iPhones, rapidly press the Side button on the right of the device five times to activate Emergency SOS.

On the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR, you will need to press and hold on the Side button while also holding one of the two Volume buttons at the same time.

When you use these gestures, it brings up a slider bar that allows you to slide a finger across the screen to quickly place an emergency call. While this slider screen is the default option and is in place to make sure you don't accidentally place a 911 call, there's also an option to enable "Auto Call" for initiating a 911 call as soon as you activate Emergency SOS.

touchiddisabled
When you use Emergency SOS on an iPhone, the feature also disables Touch ID, preventing a would-be thief or other person with malicious intent from accessing your device without entering your passcode. It also automatically alerts any emergency contacts you've set in the Health app, sending them an iMessage with your location.

Enabling Auto Call

SOS is automatically included on every iPhone running iOS 11 and there is no disabling it. Activate it by pressing on the sleep/wake button five times in rapid succession to bring up the swipe interface. If you want the feature to call emergency services automatically without the need for an extra gesture, here's how to toggle it on:

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Scroll down to "Emergency SOS."emergencysosiphone
  3. Toggle on "Auto Call."
  4. To turn it off, simply toggle off Auto Call.

With Auto Call enabled, your phone will dial "911" (or your country's emergency line) after a three second countdown that gives you enough time to cancel the call if it's placed accidentally.

SOS on the Apple Watch

On the Apple Watch, an emergency call can be placed when you press and hold down on the side button for several seconds in a row. When you set up your Apple Watch, Apple prompts you to turn it on, but if you didn't, you can still choose to do so later.

On the Apple Watch, it's a lot easier to accidentally make an emergency call if something presses against the side button, so many people may not want this feature on. Here's how to turn it on:

  1. Open the Apple Watch app on the iPhone.
  2. Scroll down to General and tap it.
  3. Look for Emergency SOS. It's the sixth option.
  4. Tap to the Emergency SOS interface. emergencysosapplewatch
  5. Toggle on "Hold to Auto Call."
  6. To turn it off again, toggle off Hold to Auto Call.

Setting Emergency Contacts

As mentioned above, whenever you use the SOS feature, Apple will automatically notify your emergency contacts if you have them set. Emergency contacts can be set up in the Health app:

  1. Open the Health app.
  2. Choose Medical ID.
  3. Select "Edit" in the top right corner.
  4. Scroll down to the Emergency Contacts section.
  5. Tap the "+" button to add an emergency contact.emergencycontacts

You can add multiple emergency contacts, each of which will receive a text message with your location if you ever use the Emergency SOS feature.

Related Forum: iOS 11