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Category: Tech How To

October 8, 2023

How to Protect the Camera Lenses on the Back of your iPhone

If you worry about destroying your iPhone’s three camera lenses, you might want to consider buying a case with a lens cover.

In many ways, the most prominent feature of an iPhone is its camera system. Being able to make a phone call these days is almost an afterthought. And those three camera lenses on recent iPhones are fairly large. Long gone are the little lens dots on the back of smartphones.

As I began to consider my daily life with my brand-new iPhone 15 Pro Max, I thought about how to best protect its three lenses from damage. Of course, I know I’ll be constantly placing my new iPhone on various surfaces facing up to maximize its ‘always on’ trick. (Love that!) And in practicing this technique, my iPhone will always rest on its camera lenses.

That doesn’t feel quite right.

A Standard Case Won’t Cover Every Danger
Sure, many iPhone cases have a lip surrounding the lenses that prevent direct contact. Other cases can even out the back side of an iPhone, so it becomes one flat surface without the lens bump. Then, they won’t protrude at all.

But those three lenses are still unprotected and exposed to the grimy elements.

You wouldn’t mistreat any other camera lens that way. You’d have a lens cap for it, right?

What happens to those three iPhone lenses after daily contact with any number of surfaces? Wouldn’t that eventually smudge and scratch them, affecting the optics of all your photos and videos?

Sure, the little camera lenses are natively constructed with sapphire crystal lens covers. Does that make them impervious?

A Genius Perspective
So, I brought my concern to a couple Apple Genius’s when I picked up my iPhone 15 Pro Max at the Apple Store.

One mostly brushed off my question as irrelevant. He said that he simply wipes off his iPhone’s lenses for smudges and they’re ready to go. He said otherwise, he “doesn’t think much about it.”

Whenever I visit an Apple Store looking for answers, I often quiz multiple Geniuses. So, I kept going…

I found another Apple Genius who appeared more analytical. (Maybe it was the glasses.) He told me that all flat clean surfaces were safe to rest an iPhone on. I should just be mindful of avoiding gritty surfaces. Those “might” scratch the camera lenses.

I felt a bit better with that answer. But life isn’t flat and clen. Life is gritty, especially when you least expect it.

An iPhone Case with a Lens Cover
The standard solution of simply wiping off my three little lenses with a microfiber cloth (or my sleeve) just wasn’t going to cut it. I knew I wanted a more comprehensive plan.

Question: Had any iPhone case manufacturers yet designed their cases with a dedicated lens protection solution? After a little quick Googling, I realized that in fact, yes… some of them had.

Though I may be in the minority for wanting this extra protection, I decided to buy an iPhone case that offered a protective lens cover.

Cases for new iPhone models take time to enter the market. So, I looked for a quick and dirty solution to help my iPhone’s lenses avoid the grit.

I found two types of cases built with little plastic covers that shielded the camera lenses. They moved one of two ways:

  • Sliding over and away (left to right)
  • Folding over and back (like a little door)

SUPCASE Closed-Door Solution
I ended up trying out the tiny door concept with the SUPCASE UBMag XT Case.
Amazon has it for $26.99.
The little lens door locks in place when it’s closed and is appropriately stiff as you move it. (The plastic flap doesn’t swing around when it’s open.) The door can also double as a kickstand for your iPhone.

The SUPCASE allows for MagSafe charging and magnetic grip, and functionally works just fine.

Most importantly, the “closed door” gives me peace of mind as I move my iPhone and its three camera lenses around.
All this said, the lens cover does require the extra step of opening it before taking a photo. So, in those spontaneous moments, you’ll inevitably lose a second or two before getting off your first shot.

Cautious Optimism
I wanted immediate protection for my new iPhone, and for a case in the sub $30 category, this was a solid choice. It’s a good way to begin ahead of other iPhone 15 Pro Max case options entering the market.

Does that mean I’ll eventually upgrade to another case? Perhaps. No case will last through your iPhone’s expected lifetime. My iPhone cases have all shown wear and tear long before that. But isn’t that the whole point?

The case takes the licking, and your iPhone keeps on ticking.
(Wait…that’s another brand.)

Bottom line: My three new camera lenses now have their extra layer of protection. Do they actually need a cover? Who really knows for sure…

But the idea of it certainly makes sense to me.

Case closed.

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October 1, 2023

8 Ways to Quickly Get your New iPhone Up to Speed

I’m the proud owner of my new iPhone 15 Pro Max. Beyond the basic set up, here are the next steps I took and extra purchases I made to quickly unlock my iPhone’s full potential.

Buying a new iPhone and setting it up is easy. But integrating it into the daily routines of your old device is not as simple as you might expect. Sure, migrating apps and data over is straight forward, but’s that’s not everything you need to think about. There are other steps to take and more decisions to make surrounding your core purchase.

It’s been five years since I bought my recently departed, beloved iPhone XS Max, and I found myself a bit rusty on remembering everything I needed to take care of surrounding my iPhone 15 Pro Max purchase.

Here’s my guide with eight tips to help speed the entire process and get you quickly up and running with your next iPhone.

#1
Be Sure to Join the Virtual Line Early on Launch Day
If it’s time to upgrade to your next iPhone, then it makes sense to buy one the day it’s released to maximize its twelve months of being the ‘latest and greatest.’ I bought my iPhone 15 Pro Max online at 8:20am the day of its launch. It arrived a week later, and I picked it up at the Apple Store. Sweet.

But that happy story first required 25 minutes of frustration, persistence and I think a dash of luck.

I sat down at 7:55am EDT in front of my Mac Studio on launch day and promptly waited for the Apple Store to open for business. (Yes, it’s usually down during the hours ahead of a new iPhone going on sale.) The Apple Store didn’t open (for me) until 8:05am. And then it took another fifteen minutes of multiple failed purchasing attempts (as I fought others around the world to be among the first new iPhone owners) before the transaction finally went through. (I’ve had the same challenge over the years when buying an iPhone on day 1.)

Apparently, I just squeaked through before the delivery times began to slip into October and November.

So, it clearly pays to be prompt and close to the front of your virtual line.

#2
Buy More Storage than You Think You’ll Need
Five years ago, I wrote my blog post, “Why Do You Need an iPhone with 512GB of Storage?” And while I recommended the idea of having what was at the time a ridiculous amount of storage, I ended up sticking to 256GB. This time, 512GB was a no brainer for the extra $200.

The choice was whether to spend another $200 on top of that for 1TB.

While I’m enamored with the idea of recording Pro Res video clips, I no longer feel the need to permanently house every piece of media I generate locally on my iPhone. With that strategy, even 1TB storage would eventually not be enough.

The truth is you can’t carry around every digital media file you’ve ever created. And I would also argue why would you? That would be a crippling number of videos and photos to manage.

Sure, I’m always impressed when a parent can pull out their iPhone and quickly flip through tens of thousands of photos to find that one cute photo of their kid from a decade ago. That’s a superpower I don’t have. And I’m willing to bet that no one will be able to retain that capability forever. You can only flip though so many files before your finger falls off.

#3
Buy the 20W USB-C Power Adapter
Apple’s 20W USB-C power adapter is the new norm. Goodbye tiny 5W adapter (though it will still work slowly in a pinch). Unfortunately, you don’t get a 20W adapter in your iPhone’s box (just a USB-C cable). So, you’ll need to buy one separately if you don’t already have one.

#4
Replace your Lighting Cables
I’m sure you know by now that the Lightning connector is out, and USB-C is in for the iPhone 15 line. Yes, you do get one USB-C cable in your iPhone’s box, but that’s not going to be enough, right?

You’ll have to replace your existing arsenal of Lightning cables to maintain your new iPhone’s power/charging stations.

And if you intend to continue using your old USB-A chargers, you’ll need to buy some USB-A to USB-C cables.

#5
Buy a Case with a Camera Cover
Choosing a protective case for a new iPhone can easily become a complex decision. Unless you take the path of least resistance and go with an Apple case, it could be weeks of research before you come to a decision (guilty).

I wanted a case ready to go for my iPhone 15 Pro Max (essentially as a temporary solution, if need be). So, I took a chance and ordered one on Amazon before my iPhone arrived. That’s way early, because case manufactures are still guessing a new iPhone’s physical specs at that point. But I did okay.

The case fits really nicely, and its distinguishing feature is its little folding door cover for my iPhone’s three camera lenses.
Protecting those little lenses was on my mind, and this quickly took care of that concern!

#6
Unpair and Pair your Apple Watch
Your Apple Watch is an intensely faithful device. It sticks to only one iPhone at a time. If you think that by simply cloning your old iPhone’s identify into your new iPhone, your Apple Watch will gleefully follow along, you’d be wrong.

Your Apple Watch needs to literally break up with your old iPhone and then marry your new iPhone. So that means first unpairing it. And then pairing it again.

It’s not an especially quick process. So, set aside a half hour or so for this.

#7
Sign Back into your non-Apple Apps
Yes, your iCloud apps will be ready to go. But for everything else… nope.

You’ll need a chunk of time to sign back into the rest of your apps.

#8
Add a MagSafe-Compatible Charger for your Car
And then there’s your iPhone’s car interface. No matter how you connect your iPhone in, you’ll want to consider how it’s positioned in your car (perhaps mounted to your dash). A MagSafe-compatible solution is a good idea for both positioning and charging.

I picked up Belkin’s Magnetic Wireless Car Charger that’s MagSafe-compatible and mounted it to one of the air vents on my dash.
The magnetic grip is plenty strong. The vent mount slides in fine, though it does feel a bit ‘MacGyvery,’ (which in fact it is).

Technically, it’s not an official MagSafe mount and thus doesn’t charge as fast. (Belkin’s upgraded MagSafe model is the real deal, but it’s quite pricy at a hundred bucks!)

This one works just fine.
Click.

For the record, I also saved some money on my Belkin charging mount by buying a used one. I clicked on Amazon’s “Saved with Used – Like New” icon for $41 bucks (same model). It really was like new, and I saved almost twenty bucks. So, if you see that purchasing option, I think it’s a good idea for this type of support tech.

One other note… Some magnetic mounts are just that… magnetic. They don’t offer charging. So, check the fine print when reviewing your choices.

Doing the Work Pays Off
Getting your new iPhone back into the groove of your old device takes some planning and additional spend. Sure, you may have the latest and greatest in your pocket, but no smartphone is an island. It will also need its own accessories to be able to keep up in your orbit.

You’ve taken years to curate the experience you want from your iPhones. Only when everything is literally back in place and properly supported will your next iPhone really feel like… yours.

I recommend making this a weekend project. That’s what I did.

It’s time well spent, and let me tell you, there’s no better feeling than starting a Monday morning with your gleaming piece of new Apple tech operating at its full potential.

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September 10, 2023

How to Find your Perfect Camera Moment on Vacation

When you think you’ve just snapped your perfect vacation shot like I did while sea kayaking in Alaska, don’t put your camera away just yet. The best may be yet to come.

You can plan all you want, but finding the best moment to visually capture the awesomeness of your vacation will usually be an unexpected opportunity.

During our Backroads’ Alaskan vacation, that happened to me during a fifteen-minute break after we had finished our amazing group sea kayaking expedition around Yukon Island in the Kachemak Bay near Homer.

Downtime can be your Magic Opportunity
We were all waiting around on the island’s beach for the water taxi to pick us up and transport us back to Homer. The group slowly began to focus on skipping stones on the water. This was technically a slight delay in our schedule (as if you could ever perfectly align every minute).

I had already taken my share of photos and videos with my waterproof GoPro while my son and I traversed the Kachemak Bay in our kayak. It was hard to know how successful my shots would be as I snapped away, but I felt satisfied with my attempt.

That said, I can’t deny that I still felt the painful memory of my iPhone kayaking disaster back in Connecticut earlier in the summer. The incident was still fresh. So, I had been a bit preoccupied to avoid a similar incident. Sure, my GoPro was more impervious, but I didn’t have it locked down. I could have easily dropped the GoPro into the bay. (But if I had, that would have certainly been the topic of this post.)

Time to Put my GoPro to Work
I already had ample opportunity to capture beautiful shots and record a few videos while on the water. I was done. Or was I?

For me, a big challenge during this kind of trip was to snap away… and also keep up.

Remember, I was always in motion with the group… kayaking… bicycling and hiking. I never had fifteen minutes to really take my time and craft the perfect shot. And then it hit me…

I was standing there on a mystical island in Alaska in perfect weather conditions. I had nothing to do for fifteen minutes while our group waited.

Holy cow! This was the moment! My opportunity! It was like a lightning bolt hit me. (And yes, sometimes I need that to see the obvious.)

Every view from this rocky island beach was spectacular. My mind raced as I considered my options on how to best use this creative opportunity.

By this point in our vacation, I had realized that the wide Alaskan vistas were my ‘money shots.’ I had come prepared to zoom in tight with my Panasonic Lumix ZX200D and its 15x zoom lens. But I quickly learned that the opposite approach demanded equal attention.

GoPro… this is your moment to shine!

But wait, I didn’t have a tripod with me. D’oh! I looked about at the craggy shore and angled boulders littered about. (I felt like nature was smirking at me.) Then I walked up to one of the rocks and peered closer. Yep… I could see a few flat spots… Enough space to balance my GoPro.

I looked behind me. Everyone was happily skipping their own rocks, and nobody noticed my absence.

I had found my moment. And I put my GoPro to work. Here’s what it captured:


My Alaskan Zen
It’s often difficult to be in an incredible environment and appropriately capture its imagery. And in trying to do so, you can easily forget to fully immerse yourself in that space.

This fifteen-minute exercise enabled me to do both. Admittedly, my video clips only offer a limited view on this mind-blowing Alaskan space. But I can happily report that these fifteen minutes also became my minutes of pure Alaskan Zen.

Slow Down
I returned to the group as the water taxi arrived. I boarded the boat, and nobody knew what I had just experienced. I had joined with the Alaskan wilderness for those few minutes. It was a true gift.

When you’re wired to always be on the go, it’s useful to sometimes slow down and embrace the unscheduled moment. That’s where the magic often resides.

For your camera… and for you.

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