Thanks Apple! Everyone Gets An #iPhoneXR For The Holidays! @Apple

Thanks Apple!

Yes, Verizon and I are on a first name basis!

I am old and crabby. It was time for a phone upgrade, so I happily got us all the new iPhone XR. And then I saw the unlocking through facial recognition feature, and I hemmed and hawed. Well, guess who loves the convenience of unlocking his iPhone by doing nothing but looking at the screen! I guess you can teach this old dog new tricks! I love my new phone and all of its new features:

Unlocking with Face ID
-To quickly unlock your iPhone XR, simple raise to wake, glance at your display and simultaneously swipe up to go home

Siri
-Press and hold the side button to ask Siri a question

Apple Pay
-Double-click the side button to pre-arm Apple Pay, then glance at the screen to authenticate with Face ID, and hold your phone to the terminal

Wake
-Tap anywhere on the display to wake your iPhone XR

Lock Screen Shortcuts
-You can now access Flashlight & Camera even quicker straight from the lock screen on iPhone XR using Haptic Touch

Home
-Swipe up from the bottom edge at anytime to return home

Lock Screen Notifications
-Access Lock Screen Notifications by swiping down from the top of the display

Control Center
-Swipe down from the top-right edge to open Control Center

Turn Off
-Press and hold the side button and either volume down and side button, then swipe to turn off iPhone

BUT WAIT! THERE’S MORE iPhone XR Tips and Tricks!

-Adjust the background blur on portrait photos with Depth Control – Depth Control lets you adjust the depth of field before or after you shoot Portrait mode photos. To change the depth of field before you shoot, in Portrait mode, tap the ‘f’ icon in the top-right corner of the screen and drag the Depth Control slider to change the effect. To edit your portrait after you shoot, go to Edit and drag the Depth Control slider. Depth Control with Portrait mode also works on the front-facing TrueDepth camera for even more stunning selfies.

-Move the keyboard cursor and more with Haptic Touch – When using the keyboard, touch and hold the space bar to turn the keyboard into a trackpad for your cursor. Haptic Touch makes it easy to change the position of the cursor without tapping directly on text. You can also use Haptic Touch on the Lock screen shortcuts or to see more options in Control Center.

-Water resistance – iPhone XR is splash and water resistant rated IP67 (maximum depth of 1 meter up to 30 minutes) and protects against everyday spills including coffee, tea and soda. Allow at least 5 hours before charging with a Lightning cable or connecting a Lightning accessory. You can use wireless charging after wiping the phone dry.

-Memoji – Memoji are an entirely new type of Animoji just for you. Create a Memoji to match your personality and mood. Then make as many alter egos as you want in Messages and FaceTime. To create a Memoji, tap the Animoji icon in messages, then swipe right and select New Memoji.

-Group FaceTime – FaceTime with more people than ever before—up to 32 simultaneous participants with Group FaceTime, now available With iOS 12.1. Add new filters and effects to your video conference that keep your conversations lively. To start a Group FaceTime call, simply add participants with the ‘+’ button in FaceTime and select audio or video to start the call.

My son was all over the new memoji. I am afraid to tell him about the facetime capability, he already uses that too much! His entire class from school would end up doing their homework together every evening.

Lastly, there is even more, like apps that let you place furniture in your home from certain stores (it shows you how the spacing will look in your room, it is amazing), Lego AR Playgrounds, and an AR app called Wonderscope for the kids.

And have you seen the hottest new color? You showcase your iPhone XR with a clear case as the choice of colors is breathtaking!

The only thing this phone cannot do is take down your holiday decorations, but I am sure Apple is working on that!