Category: iOS

The M6 Toll – Not quite contactless, actually

Yesterday, for a special treat, I used the M6 Toll road. It’s just a couple of miles from my house and takes around 20 minutes off my journey but I, along with many, many, many other people, simply don’t use it due to the insane cost. At £5.50 …

RATED – The BBC iPlayer Radio app

Welcome to the first in a series of articles celebrating apps which are an example to others on how things should be done. I’m probably preaching to the converted, but I wanted to talk about the BBC iPlayer Radio app. It’s available for iPhone,, Android and Kindle. For …

I think I’ve got the Weather Bug

As much as I hate to admit it, we’re now definitely in the Autumn. The leaves are falling off the trees and I can no longer sit outside the pub without several coats on. It’s a bit naff, but if you time the weather right, there’s still the …

iPhone 7 explodes in transit

Following on the recent news of Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 batteries catching fire, it appears that one of Apple’s latest flagships suffered the same fate. This time, it was the time for the iPhone 7, which exploded whilst being delivered to its new owner, according to the Reddit user who …

Find out more about yourself and your friends – Personality Match

At school I played a game to see how well me and my friends “matched” each other. It was a bit like the origami paper game where you’d create a folding “fortune teller” device which had a concealed message. You’d ask each other questions and then, based on …

Protecting your teenager against sexting

When I was in my teens, smartphones weren’t really a “thing”. Sure, we had mobile phones, but they were big clunky things and you couldn’t even text on them unless you paid for the texting “service”. Plus, they were pretty much confined to older people, not “grandpa” old, …

The hidden iPhone 7 3.5mm audio port – How to find it

It’s now time for another article about someone doing something stupid to a brand new iPhone 7. They’re hoping that they’ll get enough YouTube clicks so that they can get enough revenue to replace the phone that they’re just about to break. I know… this whole internet thing …

Games appear to be creeping onto my phone.. and staying there

Not too long ago you could pick up my phone and find it to be a productivity powerhouse. I’d have my email, my Citrix Receiver, Office 365, my calendar and not much else. It was a portable office. Now though, after coming back from holiday, I’ve found that …

Lightning connected headphones from JBL appear

Well, these have apparently already sold out. Not only that, but because they interface with an iPhone 7 and the Lightning connector, they cost £169.99. That’s a lot. They are really rather good, and include adaptive noise cancellation plus top-quality sound with no need for any batteries because …

Token iPhone 7 article published in order to get traffic

Oh come on, let’s be honest. I’ve never seen so many websites writing so much bobbins about the iPhone 7 just to get more hits. Pah.. I’ll be honest. I’ve got a tiny bit of information for you and I’m going to… Publish it because, to be honest, …

So, you want to listen to music AND charge your iPhone 7?

I pointed it out after the announcement but, if I’m being honest, it’s not going to be a massive deal-breaker for most iPhone owners. See, I can understand to some degree because Apple give you just a single USB-C port in the MacBook Pro. It looks neat, it …

iPhone 7 pre-orders live today. Get the best cashback deal

We don’t normally do this, but some guy from TopCashback has gone through the various places that you can purchase the new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus to see which one offers the best cash-back deal. It’s pre-order day today and we’ve seen several network websites go …

Apple admit the Jet Black iPhone 7 prone to scratching. 

Let’s be honest, the Jet Black iPhone 7 looks …. absolutely gorgeous. Ooooo! Shiny shiny! Who in there right mind would want to shove that beautiful design and that polished finish in a case eh!? Well it appears that’s exactly what Apple want you to do after the …

Upgrade your iPhone 6s to an iPhone 7 for a LOT LESS

The iPhone 7 pricing is quite high. We all know that. Some have tried to blame Brexit for the £599 price-tag (that’s the 32GB one, the 128GB version is £699 and the 256GB handset is £799). So how can you upgrade for a lot less? Well, my friends, …

Is the iPhone Upgrade Programme really worth it?

OK, so we had the slight misfire with the Galaxy Note7, but we’ve still got the Galaxy 7 edge and the Galaxy 7 out there and, as you’ll no doubt be aware, the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus have hit the scene too. There’s other devices …

The Apple iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, the Apple Watch 2 – All the details

The launch was another theatrical masterpiece. From the moment you saw James Corden bopping along with Tim Cook to the eventual iPhone 7 announcement, you could virtually taste the excitement. The audience had been whipped up into a hot quivering mess with a Nike Apple Watch, Super Mario …

CoolSmartphone Live Podcast – Apple Event Special

Tonight’s Coolsmartphone Podcast is live – check out the video below to watch the Fruity Goodness. You’ve watched the launch and now it’s time to make your mind up. We’ll be discussing it in video below and it’ll be in audio-only for our next podcast out on Friday. …

Apple iPhone Event – Watch live

Yes, it’s that time. 6PM UK time, 7PM European. The iPhone 7, the iPhone 7 Plus and everything in-between. We’ve already got a very good idea about what will be announced in the next few minutes, but you can sit back, relax and watch the event below. Don’t …

LockSmart and LockSmart Mini – Review

Back in March at Gadget Show live, I met up with the guys from Dog & Bone, who had an array of convenient accessories for those who like adventure and technology. Well, the lovely people at Dog & Bone sent us two of their Bluetooth locks, namely LockSmart …

iPhone 7 – iOS Users Surveyed By OnePulse

The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus are being announced later today. All the breadcrumbs at IFA pointed to it. We’re pretty much certain of it. But what do iOS users think? As good as we are here at Coolsmartphone.com we’re not mind readers yet, but thankfully we …

Handling my finances on the move

Sure, I use my phone for playing games on. I use it to get the latest news too, but I don’t think I’m alone in using it for one very important task, and that’s keeping an eye on my finances. We’ve touched upon ways of making money with …

Want to look like you’ve got an Apple iPhone 7 Plus?

We love our Twitter followers. Sure, we love our good ‘ole website visitors too, I mean you guys float our boat, but our merry band of Twitter followers have a special place in our heart. As an example, @philme40 sent us a tweet about the as-yet-unannounced iPhone 7 …

Possible iPhone 7 benchmarks are impressive

Just two more days. That’s it. Until Apple reveals their new ‘revolutionary’ new iPhone 7 handset. Apple people like myself don’t have a constant stream of new handsets to get excited about, so let us have our excitement for a couple of weeks! We already know pretty much …

VPN made simpler – Hide My Ass

I won’t beat around the bush. If you’re doing anything that you’d like to be kept a bit secret from your ISP then you need a VPN. Whether it be streaming, torrents or something in-between, online privacy is something you need to be looking at. However, it’s always …

The Apple iPhone 7 – Time for some honesty

It’s just a couple of days to go until the launch of the iPhone 7. Sorry, but I’m going to say it like it is. Perhaps it’s the years of coverage I’ve done. Perhaps it’s the fact that all the modern smartphones look fairly similar from a distance …

No Headphone Jack for the New iPhone

3.5mm headphone jacks. They’re a standard, right? Well, as we saw earlier, it definitely looks like Apple are going to be doing away with it when they announce their new revolutionary handsets next week. After this post showing a new iPhone 7 cover earlier in the week I’ve …

iPhone 7 Cases begin to appear. No 3.5mm audio port in sight

People call me an Android fanboy, but the launch of yet another iPhone is always going up be a big ticket event. The launch is taking place at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Wednesday, September 7, at 10AM local time, which is 6PM BST. …

EU says, “Hey Apple. That’ll be £11bn in back taxes.”

It’s a company which is big and, like many others, is “careful” about how taxes are paid. By “careful” we of course mean that they try to avoid paying any if they can. A lot of large companies do this and a lot will offer the same defence …

Urgent iPhone update

Hello iPhone users. Hope your phones are safe!! News is that there has been a botched attempt to hack into an iPhone recently. Apple have promptly responded with a global update and has marked it as “URGENT”.  The story is that the break in was attempted by an …

Don’t want your WhatsApp sharing with Facebook? Here’s what you need to do..

Since Facebook’s huge purchase of the WhatsApp platform in 2014 and getting rid of the 99p annual fee, they’ve introduced a voice call facility, a desktop application and end-to-end encryption since. However, they never capitalised on any new revenue streams. Well, as you saw yesterday, Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced upcoming …

WhatsApp will now share your data with Facebook.

It’s a move that we could almost feel coming after the application became free. Facebook will now be able to see phone numbers from WhatsApp to allow “better friend suggestions”. Not only that, but they want to let third parties send you “marketing texts” through WhatsApp instead of …

Like Pokémon Go? How about a Pokémon holiday?

Personally I thought that the buzz surrounding this have would’ve died down, but it shows no signs of abating. People at the park, in the queue at the local bus stop, walking to work and even at the pub. Yes the pub, they’re all doing it. Now, amongst …

Google Duo is now out!

Not too long ago, we noticed that Google launched early registrations for the new Duo application. This seems to be an independent app for video calling, separate to Hangouts. What the future holds for Hangouts, we don’t know yet. There is nothing technical about the application, anyone using the …

Bored? Like Doctor Who? Wanna be an artist?

Yes? well, you are in luck! Scary Beasties have launched an application aimed at adults who are wanting to colour in everything from Daleks to Cybermen. Out now for Android devices and iOS devices. The application has 45 images ready to be coloured in regardless of your sense …

JustWatch – The streaming search engine app review

When you absolutely, positively HAVE to watch that particular movie (or TV show) tonight; accept no substitutes! The Justwatch app promises to scour the internet to provide all the options. It’s my default search tool for all such videos queries… it’s that good! I’m not sure of the …

New Pokémon Go maps launched for passionate gamers

Pokémon Go is the game that is captivating everyone’s attention at the moment. It’s because many of us remember playing it when we were kids. If you are one of those players and you’ve been wondering where you can find Electabuzz or Pikachu, it’s worth knowing that Pokémon …

New safety feature getting added to Strava – Beacon

I sit on my fat backside for most of the day, so getting out and actually moving around is a bit important. I tend to cycle, be it mountain biking or road biking, and after trying the alternatives I’ve ended up using Strava. It seems to be the …

Flippin’ fantastic – But do you actually use it?

I’ve been lucky enough to try a number of phones over the years. When you’re reviewing them there’s a number of features and apps to try out, but one I tend to always skip is Flipboard. It’s available for both Android and iOS and, although it looks very …

VR on the iPhone with the Amir VR Glasses

When it comes to mobile VR, Android based devices such as Gear VR have grabbed most of the attention recently. As regular readers and listeners of the Coolsmartphone podcast will know my devices of choice are iOS based, so I was keen to see if there was a VR …