iPhone For Seniors For Dummies. Spivey Dwight
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Chapter 1
Buying Your iPhone
IN THIS CHAPTER
❯❯ Discover what’s new in iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, and iOS 10
❯❯ Choose the right iPhone for you
❯❯ Decide how much storage is enough
❯❯ Understand what you need to use Your iPhone
❯❯ Know where to buy your iPhone
❯❯ Explore what’s in the box
❯❯ Take a first look at the gadget
You’ve read about it. You’ve seen on the news the lines at Apple Stores on the day a new version of the iPhone is released. You’re so intrigued that you’ve decided to get your own iPhone to have a smartphone that offers much more than the ability to make and receive calls. iPhone also offers lots of fun apps, such as games and exercise trackers; allows you to explore the online world; lets you read e-books, magazines, and other periodicals; allows you to take and organize photos; plays music and videos, and a lot more.
Trust me: You’ve made a good decision, because the iPhone redefines the mobile phone experience in an exciting way. It’s also an absolutely perfect fit for many seniors.
In this chapter, you learn about the advantages of the iPhone, as well as where to buy this little gem and associated data plans from providers. After you have one in your hands, I help you explore what’s in the box and get an overview of the little buttons and slots you’ll encounter – luckily, the iPhone has very few of them.
Discover the Newest iPhones and iOS 10
Apple’s iPhone gets its features from a combination of hardware and its software operating system (called iOS; the term is short for iPhone operating system. The most current operating system is iOS 10. It’s helpful to understand which new features the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus phones and iOS 10 bring to the table (all of which are covered in more detail in this book).
New features in iPhone 7 and 7 Plus include
❯❯ Water-resistance: iPhone 7 has been redesigned so that it’s the first iPhone to be water-resistant.
Now, you don’t want to take your iPhone 7 deep-sea diving, but it’s likely to survive submersion in about a meter of water for up to 30 minutes. Mind you, this number has been tested in a lab, and isn't based on real-world conditions. In other words, if your iPhone 7 gets wet it’s much more likely to survive the ordeal than previous iPhone iterations, but it still isn't something you’d like to see happen to your expensive investment.
❯❯ An A10 Fusion chip: The processing speed of this chip is twice as fast as the A9 processors found in the iPhone 6, and its graphics speed is up to three times faster. Its four-core design allows it to also use more power when you need it, and to consume less power when you aren't using your iPhone, so you should enjoy longer battery life and not have to charge up your device as often.
❯❯ A 12MP rear-facing camera: The camera in iPhone 7 and 7 Plus offers such features as a larger lens aperture (which allows for more light and better nighttime photos) and optical image stabilization (providing sharper images with longer exposure than previous iPhone versions).
❯❯ A 7MP front-facing camera: The front-facing camera now supports a higher resolution and wide color capture, making FaceTime calls and selfies much sharper and more vibrant.
❯❯ New Home button: The redesigned solid-state Home button is both durable and pressure-sensitive.
❯❯ Stereo speakers and no headphone jack: Audio gets an upgrade with the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, as now you can listen to audio in stereo, with speakers on both ends of the enclosure. This also allows the volume to be much louder from the external speakers than before. The new iPhones also no longer come with headphone jacks; rather, you connect your Earpods (included with your iPhone 7 and 7 Plus) via the Lightning connector.
❯❯ The Retina HD display: The new displays in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are the brightest ever in an iPhone – up to 25 percent brighter than previous versions. The color gamut of the display is also wider, providing richer colors than ever before.
Any iPhone device from the iPhone 5 forward can use most features of iOS 10 if you update the operating system (discussed in detail in Chapter 2); this book is based on version 10 of iOS. This update to the operating system adds many new features, including
❯❯ Much-improved Messages app: Messages is the default messaging app in iOS 10, and it’s received more attention from Apple than ever before. You can now send handwritten messages, send stickers (illustrated icons), customize with personal touches (such as sending kisses), invisible ink (text or photos that remain hidden until you swipe them), and more.
❯❯ Siri integration: Siri is able to be integrated into third-party apps, so now you can use Siri to gain even more functionality.
❯❯ Improvements to the Maps app: With iOS 10, Maps can integrate with other services, such as Uber and OpenTable. You can also search for gasoline stations, places to grab coffee and snacks, rest areas and more along your route, and even find out how much more time the stop will extend your trip. Maps will also help you remember where you parked your car.
❯❯ Home app: Apple is on the fore of the smart home revolution, and the Home app is evidence of that. This app will allow you to control all of your Apple HomeKit-enabled smart home devices from a single app, providing more convenience and enhanced compatibility.
❯❯ Improvements to the Music app: The Music app has been completely redesigned to make it more intuitive to use. You can even follow along with your songs by reading the lyrics from within the Music app.
❯❯ Ability to remove built-in apps: iOS 10 is the first version of iOS that allows you to remove apps that are built-in to the release. For example, if you have no use for the Stocks app you can remove it in iOS 10; in previous iOS versions you had to move it to an out-of-the-way spot on one of your Home pages. Go to https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204221 to find a full list of the built-in apps that you can remove.
These are but a very few of the improvements made to the latest version of iOS. I suggest visiting www.apple.com/ios/ios-10 to find out more.
Choose the Right iPhone for You
The size of each iPhone varies:
❯❯ iPhone 7 measures 2.64” by 5.44” (4.7” diagonally) and 7.1 mm thick.
❯❯ iPhone 7 Plus measures 3.07” by 6.23” (5.5” diagonally) and 7.3mm thick (see Figure 1-1).