Table of contents for Issue 129 in iPad & iPhone User

You won’t find dramatic changes or really big new features in iOS 11.2.5, but it does add support for HomePod (read our preview on page 13) and the ability for Siri to play audio news. That last one is a little odd, because the feature went live in January and worked fine on earlier versions of iOS. Here’s what Apple lists in the release notes: HomePod support • Setup and automatically transfer your Apple ID, Apple Music, Siri and Wi-Fi settings to HomePod. Siri News • Siri can now read the news, just ask, “Hey Siri, play the news”. You can also ask for specific news categories including Sports, Business or Music. Other improvements and fixes • Addresses an issue that could cause the Phone app to display incomplete information…

It’ll be fun, they said. It just works, they said. And to be fair, the iPad is a spectacularly intuitive and user-friendly computing device. But even the iPad has its moments of head-scratching bafflement, and we all have to start learning somewhere. Over the following pages we explain the basics of iPad ownership. It should be perfect for the beginners and the newcomers, but we think everyone will find something here they didn’t know before. How to turn it on An iPad has very few buttons: there’s the Home button on the front, below the screen; the power button, at the top right; volume buttons, on the right-hand edge; and possibly a mute switch, next to the volume buttons. If the iPad is only in sleep mode, you can wake…

Apple Pay Cash has now launched in the US and looks set to launch in the UK soon, lets you pay your mates over iMessage, or by using Siri. Here’s everything you need to know. Requirements For starters, both the money sender and receiver need to be running iOS 11.2 or later. Apple Pay Cash was added in iOS 11.2 beta 2, and is in the final release as well. According to Apple’s support page, you’ll need to meet the following requirements: • A compatible device with iOS 11.2 or later. • Two-factor authentication for your Apple ID. • An eligible credit or debit card in Wallet, so you can send money. • Be at least 18 years old. Setting up Apple Pay Cash Before you can send or receive…

Hot on the heels of iOS 11.2.5, Apple has started to release betas of iOS 11.3. And it’s going to have some pretty cool features on board, including the one we’ve all been waiting for: a toggle for CPU throttling on phones old batteries. Here’s everything you need to know about what’s in iOS 11.3, when it’s coming, and how to install the beta. New features Battery and Performance As promised, Apple will bring some much-needed power management to the battery settings in iOS 11.3. Apple says users will now be able to see their overall battery health, and will recommend if it needs to be serviced. You will also be told if your battery is triggering a chip slowdown, and can choose to turn that feature off. The switch…

If you’re new to the iPhone or iPad, you may not know that it’s possible to make various adjustments to the settings of your device. To do so, tap on the Settings icon on your Home Screen, the one that looks like a cog. Like System Preferences on a Mac, Settings on your iPhone or iPad offers access to tools for adjusting screen brightness, setting up a password, configuring your Wi-Fi, and more. But in addition you will also find options for handling phone calls and mobile broadband, as well as many additional security features that protect your personal files, photos and other information. In our two-part series, we look at the main settings that you need to know about in iOS. Here’s part one. Search the Settings app Before…

Apple’s AirPods are far from perfect, but they some of the best true wireless earbuds on the market, particularly for those with a lot of Apple gear. Everyone knows that AirPods work with iPhones, iPads, and Macs, but we tend to overlook the fact that they also work wonderfully with Apple TV (4th generation or 4K). With the audio beaming wirelessly across your living room to your AirPods, you can enjoy late night or early morning TV without disturbing everyone else in your house. Here’s how you make it happen. Pairing with Apple TV If your Apple TV is running tvOS 11 or later, and it’s logged in to the same iCloud account as the iPhone or iPad you’ve paired your AirPods with, you’re already done! AirPods automatically pair with…

HomePod (£319 from fave.co/2rRVNWv) may be the first new Apple device since Apple Watch nearly three years ago, but for many of us, it’s not the oh-my-god-I-need-to-have-it gadget we wanted it to be. Unless you’re specifically looking for a way to play Apple Music in your house, you’re probably on the fence about whether to buy one. If that’s the case, here are 11 things you might want to consider before placing your order. 1. You’ll need iOS 11.2.5 Before you consider buying a HomePod, you’ll need to make sure you have the proper hardware: • iPhone 5s or later • iPad Pro (all models) • iPad (5th generation) • iPad Air or later • iPad mini 2 or later • iPod touch (6th generation) If you’re an Android user…

Apple’s iOS 11.2.2 update seeks to mitigate the risks associated with the Spectre chip flaw via a security update to Safari and Webkit. Since a Spectre attacker is most likely to attack your system via a JavaScript vulnerability, Apple has addressed the issue in iOS 11.2.2 to make your system more secure. The patch doesn’t actually fix the issue, however, and it’s unlikely Apple will ever release an iOS update that will. While researchers and programmers are actively working on ways to reduce the likelihood that your iPhone will ever be exploited using the Spectre flaws, Apple and others have made it clear that these are merely mitigations and not outright fixes. Apple has warned that there may be an impact on your iPhone’s performance. They shouldn’t be severe, but…

The past month brought us a large stack of exciting new picks. Big releases like Thumper: Pocket Edition, The Room: Old Sins, and World of Warships Blitz helped start 2018 with a bang, but they’re not alone on this list. In fact, we’ve found 10 worthwhile debuts from a strong first month of mobile gaming, from music games to puzzlers, shooters, and strategy affairs, and you’ll find our first impressions of all of them in the slides ahead. 1. Thumper: Pocket Edition Price: £4.99 from fave.co/2rZP6S2 Music games tend to be upbeat and bright, matching the kind of tunes you’d actually want to tap along to – but Thumper: Pocket Edition is not that kind of game. It’s billed as ‘rhythm violence’, sending your little space beetle along a winding…

i Pad & iPhone readers are likely quite used to restoring their iOS devices. Sometimes, you’ll need to bring your iPhone or iPad in or ship it off for repair, and Apple has to reset or replace it. Other times, you might hit a glitch – a rapidly draining battery is a common one – where the ‘best’ remedy is backing up and restoring. But reader Jim writes in with what I think is a common scenario for which there’s an extra step that isn’t exactly obvious: when you want effectively to transfer the contents of an older iOS device with a newer replacement, but the newer iOS hardware is already set up and running, just not with your stuff. First, Make sure you have a fresh back up of…