Tag: iPhone

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Tech

The Smartphones of the Future: The Out-of-This-World Shapes That Our Beloved Gadgets May Have in the Near Future

Photo by Daniel Romero on Unsplash

Regardless of how much we love our smartphones, we all need to admit that the vast majority of them look pretty much the same. Otherwise, we have good reasons to love our smartphones, considering that these gadgets are capable of numerous tasks such as waking us up in the morning, showing us the calendar, giving us the opportunity to take notes, taking photos, recording videos, scrolling through social media, and so on and so forth. 

Of course, some smartphones have the volume buttons placed in different places, as well as the ports for headphones and chargers and so on and so forth. Smartphones are a huge trend now in 2024, considering that it’s very hard to find a person who doesn’t have one. Whether we’re talking about elders, adults, teenagers, children, or even toddlers, they all have smartphones these days. But soon enough, in just a few years, we may all witness a radical change in the appearance of smartphones, not to mention that they will probably be a lot more powerful than they already are. Let’s speak about some of those possible changes, shall we?

Foldable and rollable displays

Perhaps each of us has to admit that one of the most interesting developments in smartphone design is the emergence of foldable and rollable displays. Considering the advancements in flexible OLED technology, manufacturers have begun experimenting with devices that can transition between a compact form factor and a larger display that looks more like a tablet. How about imagining a smartphone that falls out into a full-sized screen for exciting multimedia experiences and then falls back into a normal size that would make the device fit very well into a pocket? In a similar way, rollable displays offer the possibility for devices to expand or retract, adapting to the needs of the user. 

Holographic and transparent designs:

It’s true that this point holographic and transparent smartphones sound more like science fiction scenarios, but recent advances in augmented reality as well as transparent display technology are bringing that concept. How about imagining a smartphone that projects holographic images and interactive virtual elements into the world we all see today? Transparent smartphones, on the other hand, could offer us a glimpse into the inner mechanisms of the device, showing its components to anyone who is curious enough to look. 

Curved and wraparound displays:

While curved displays have already made their Mark in the smartphone industry, if we look ahead, we can realize that designers are exploring the possibilities of wrap-around displays that extend beyond the front-facing surface of the device. Such wraparound screens could incorporate secondary displays on the sides or back of the smartphone, providing extra functionality such as quick access to notifications, interactive controls, and shortcuts. Such scenarios come true in the near future, and we believe that the odds are pretty high they will redefine how we interact with our smartphones,

Could we even imagine our life without a smartphone? Could we live without one? Smartphones these days are even more popular than computers such as laptops or desktop PCs and a lot of folks all there are seriously addicted to these portable devices. We should be the ones owning smartphones not vice versa.

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Tech

Top Reasons to Buy an iPhone

Photo by Tron Le on Unsplash

Many people consider iPhones too expensive for what they have to offer, but we all know how the world works: people say a lot of things that are not necessarily true. About 1.5 billion of the world’s population represents active iPhone users, and that number will probably even go up in the near future.

Let’s say you think about buying an iPhone while you’re still not absolutely sure that it’s what you need and want. You can’t buy an iPhone or any other gadget just because your friend has one, as you’re an educated and rational person who seeks objective arguments above anything else. Or at least that’s how it should be. Either way, let’s see what the most important reasons you can have for buying an iPhone, whether it’s one of the old models or a high-end device (iPhone 15, iPhone 14, iPhone SE, etc.):

Both the software and hardware parts are built by the same company

One very important difference between iPhones and Android devices is that in the case of the first gadgets, the same company is responsible for creating both the software and the hardware part. Apple has created and maintains the iOS operating system, while the same Cupertino-based giant is also responsible for creating the iPhones themselves. Before asking, “so what?,” you must be aware that any device will work much better if the operating system cooperates efficiently with its hardware area. That’s certainly the case for iPhones, which is why so many people prefer using them.

Camera quality

iPhones are usually renowned for their great camera quality, and let’s face it: taking photos and recording videos are among the main reasons why people buy smartphones nowadays! Apple is known for investing a lot in advanced camera technology, computational photography, and software enhancements. As a result, those iPhones will be capable of impressive photo and video capabilities.

You can convince people that you are a rich person

If you want to make others believe that you’re filthy rich, as you can’t seem to think about any other way of impressing your crush, you could consider buying an iPhone. You can even make some extra financial efforts, such as eating less for several months in a row in order to save the amount of money that you need. A new high-end iPhone is usually priced at around $1,000, which means that you definitely need to make some effort to make that kind of money. But as long as others will believe that you’re a rich person, if and only if you truly want that, what else could matter more?

Wide range of accessories

iPhones can also benefit from a wide range of compatible accessories, such as chargers, cases, smart devices such as Apple Watch smartwatches, and more. In other words, iPhones will open the door for you to a diverse and generous ecosystem.

Customer Support

We all have our moments when we need to reach customer support and demand answers, even if it’s about something that we can fix ourselves. iPhones usually offer some interesting customer support service, as those guys are always polite and willing to help out their customers. You can reach customer support through AppleCare, Apple Stores, and even online resources.

In the end, as long as you don’t reach customer support just because you forgot to charge your phone and you wonder why the device doesn’t start anymore, it shouldn’t be a problem.

There are numerous online stores that you can use to buy your next iPhone, such as eBay, Walmart, T-Mobile, the Apple Store itself, and many more.

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Tech

“Notifications Silenced” on iOS 15 and iOS 16: What Does the Message Mean?

Photo by Tron Le on Unsplash

Learning how to handle an iPhone isn’t exactly like a walk in the park if you’ve been using only Android devices until that point. However, grabbing and using a smartphone created by Apple can be one of the most pleasing experiences as soon as you understand how it works. But things can surely become confusing if you open a person’s iMessage chat thread and the ‘Contact has notifications silenced’ text label appears.

Contrary to what you may be tempted to believe in such a situation, the person in question didn’t either block or mute you. The Focus status feature, which has recently been implemented by Apple, is to blame for the message. But let’s get into more depth, shall we?

What does “Notifications silenced” mean?

Focus modes are among the newly introduced features, and they comprise various profiles of customized notification settings that allow the user to disable notifications on the iPhone based on specific criteria. In other words, Focus profiles are to blame for the appearance of the ‘Contact has notifications silenced’ prompt.

Within the Focus modes, there is the Share Focus Status feature, which has the role of informing others that one of the Focus modes is activated on your iPhone. Therefore, the ‘has notifications silenced’ message shall appear in iMessage.

The message will appear to your contacts on the iMessage app with whom, you have had a conversation. But supposing you want to get rid of the message, you need to know that this can be done a lot easier than you might think!

How to remove the ‘has notifications silenced’ message

First of all, you need to know that it’s not possible to get rid of the message if you’re seeing it for a contact. Only if the contact turns off the Focus mode the message won’t appear anymore.

How to turn off the Share Focus Status

It’s time to learn how to turn off the Share Focus Status, so feel free to pay a little attention to the steps below! In case you use iOS 16, here are the steps:

  1. Open the Settings menu from your iPhone device.
  2. Head over to Focus, and then hit the Focus status option.
  3. Next to the Focus profile that interests you, you have to turn off the toggle. Or, you can disable the Share Focus status that appears at the top so that the Focus status for all profiles will be disabled.

If you’re using an iPhone that runs on iOS 15, on the other hand, here’s what you need to do to disable the Share Focus Status:

  1. Open the Settings menu.
  2. Select the Focus option.
  3. Select the focus mode where you need to turn off the Focus status.
  4. Select the Focus Status and deactivate the toggle that appears on the next screen.

That’s all, congrats! But there’s more information you need to know!

How to deactivate the Focus Status for iMessage

Disabling the Focus status for each Focus at a time could be a bit frustrating. Therefore, try to disable it for iMessage directly! To do so, all you need to do is open the Settings menu from your iPhone, select Messages, and deactivate the toggle that appears next to Focus.

How to deactivate the Focus Mode

Learning how to disable the Focus Mode will automatically turn off the Focus status and make you get rid of the ‘Has notifications silenced’ message.

For iOS 16 users, they need to open the Control Center, select the currently active Focus icon, and turn it off. If you’re using iOS 15, on the other hand, open the Settings menu, select Focus, select the needed Focus mode, and deactivate it from the next screen that will appear.

That’s pretty much all you need to know about the ‘notifications silenced’ message that has made a lot of iPhone users become frustrated!

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Tech

iPhones Displaying SOS Texts: What Do They Mean and How to Remove Them

Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on Unsplash

Let’s say that after reading tons of articles online about the old “Android vs. iPhone” subject, you’ve finally decided to buy yourself your first iPhone. Whether it’s the latest and the greatest iPhone 15, last year’s iPhone 14, or some older model, you might find yourself a bit frightened by the SOS text that appears in the top-right corner of the device. You’ve never dealt with such a situation before, which means that you clearly need some guidance.

We’re here to tell you what the SOS text displaying on an iPhone means and how you can get rid of it. Luckily, there’s more than one single way to remove the SOS text, so keep reading to find out!

What does “SOS Only” mean on an iPhone

If your iPhone displays the SOS icon or the SOS-only text, it means that your cellular network is going through some issues. Therefore, it’s impossible to make or receive usual phone calls, send messages, or even use cellular data. Instead, the iPhone can be used in case you need to make an emergency call (calling your girlfriend to find out where she’s been all night doesn’t count as an emergency in this case). Instead, it’s possible to call emergency numbers such as 911, 112, or similar ones.

Although iPhones usually display the SOS message because there’s no proper cellular network available, it could also mean that your SIM doesn’t have roaming privileges or the SIM card might not have been inserted in the correct way. If you haven’t paid your bills, on the other hand, you also shouldn’t be surprised if the SOS message appears, as it indicates that the SIM card doesn’t work anymore. The message could also indicate that the network has been changed to a different one in the settings menu.

How to remove the “SOS Only” message on your iPhone

Considering that there could be several causes for the emergence of the “SOS Only” message on your iPhone, it automatically means that there is more than just one possible fix. In other words, feel free to try out each of the methods at the time and see if the problem has gone away or not:

Re-insert the SIM card

Simply removing the SIM card from your iPhone, cleaning it, and then inserting it back into the device could solve your problem and get you rid of the “SOS Only” message. Before thinking that it sounds too good to be true, feel free to give it a try!

Check the network

If the network is poor, don’t be surprised if the SOS icon shows up on your iPhone’s display. Therefore, changing your location in the room or going to another area where you can get a good network signal might also save the day for you.

Restart your iPhone

Believe it or not, a lot of errors and problems can be solved by just restarting your device, and iPhones are no exception. A temporary bug might be what’s causing the SOS icon to show up on the display, which means that restarting the device can help a lot. You can do that by simply pressing and holding the power button until the Power slider shows up. From that point, you will have to drag the slider towards the right side. Wait a few seconds after your iPhone has turned off and press the Power button for the device to start again. Check if the pesky message has disappeared or not. If the issue still hasn’t gone away, it’s time to move on to the next possible fix!

Activate Data Roaming

In case you’re traveling to a different country than the original area where you received your SIM, it’s time to make sure that the data roaming on your phone is enabled. Here’s what you need to do:

  1. Head over to the Settings menu.
  2. Select Cellular data (Mobile data).
  3. Select Cellular data (Mobile data) options
  4. Activate the toggle that’s positioned next to Data Roaming.

Restart the cellular data

Consider restarting the cellular data or even turning it off completely to move on to a WiFi connection, if there is any. Pretty much anyone has a WiFi router at home nowadays or a good friend who has one and is willing to share the password.

But if you’re willing to keep clinging to the cellular data, you can just restart it and see if the problem with the SOS text message goes away or not. For that, head over to the Settings menu and then to Cellular Data. Be patient for a few seconds and turn it back on.

Reset the network settings

As one of the last resorts, resetting the network settings could also help you get rid of the SOS text appearing on your iPhone’s display. However, you need to keep in mind that this measure will erase all the network settings, such as WiFi and Bluetooth, and make them go back to their default statuses.

To reset the network settings, head over to the Settings menu, then go to General, hit the Transfer or reset iPhone, and ultimately hit Reset and Reset network settings.

Surely, it’s a bit difficult for anyone to figure out how to handle an iPhone after using only Android phones until that moment, but let’s not forget that it’s in the best interest of any tech company out there to make things as easy as possible for their customers. Apple is no exception, and it’s known for making a great combination of both the hardware and software parts for iPhones, making those two realms collaborate with one another in a very efficient way.

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News Tech

How to Fix the ‘Message Blocking is Active’ Error on iPhones

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A lot of people owning iPhones still prefer the standard Messages app for sharing thoughts with their friends and loved ones, even though WhatsApp is gaining more and more fields. Apple updates its Messages app often, but still, the software can become annoying sometimes due to several factors.

One of the most annoying errors that iPhone users can face is the one called ‘message blocking is active.‘ You may have already guessed why such an error appears: you either blocked the person you’re trying to send a message to, or the person has blocked you.

However, there’s another common possibility that you might not know about: parental controls have established that your iPhone cannot send messages to a specific person.

There could be even more reasons why the ‘message blocking is active’ error occurs. But hopefully, you won’t need to know about them. So how can you get rid of the annoying error? We’ve made a list of a few possible fixes, so try them each one at a time to see if the problem goes away:

The first steps

We have no intention to offend you, but the first things you should do in order to try to solve the issue are the most simple ones. Don’t worry; it can happen to anybody to forget them, regardless of how aware we are of their importance:

  • Restart your iPhone to see if the error goes away or not. A lot of errors are solved by simply restarting your device.
  • Make sure you have enough cellular signal. Maybe you’re in a forest or a desolated area; if so, the pesky error can occur.
  • Update your iPhone to the latest iOS version. A lot of software issues can occur as well if you’re using an outdated operating system. To update, simply head over to the Settings menu, then tap General, and choose Software Update.
  • Check your list of blocked contacts. As we said, the ‘message blocking is active’ error can appear if you’ve blocked the person you’re trying to contact. Therefore, if that person is on your block list, you must tap the unblock option. To verify this, simply go to Settings, then tap on Phone, and hit the Blocked Contacts option.

Mistyping the number

If you accidentally type the number of the person wrong, don’t be surprised if the ‘message blocking is active’ error occurs. This means that you should simply check the phone number twice or more to find out if you’ve typed it correctly or not. Don’t neglect this step, regardless of how useless you may find it! A lot of people have to deal with the aforementioned error just because they weren’t careful enough when they were typing the phone number of a friend.

You can simply meet your friend face to face and ask for his number once again and check if it’s the same as the one you’ve added to your phone.

Don’t be afraid to ask!

Simply asking the person who you cannot contact if they’ve blocked you can save the day as well. If you think that the person gets intimidated fast, you can ask nicely something like, “did I bother you so badly that you blocked me?”. A lot of people usually don’t admit that they’ve blocked somebody if you ask them face-to-face. But hey, it’s their right to remain silent!

Of course, you need to physically meet the person in order to ask if you’ve been blocked. Or, you can use a friend’s phone to call or message the person from another number.

Keep calm and remain patient! You can certainly continue the connection with that friend or love of your dreams that has blocked you!

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