If you bought this book (or are even thinking about buying it), you’ve probably already made the decision to buy an iPhone. Apple’s iPhone is designed to be easy to use, but you can still spend hours exploring the preinstalled apps, discovering how to change settings, and figuring out how to sync the device to your computer or through iCloud. (If you don’t know what that is, we dive into it in Chapter 4.) I’ve invested those hours so that you don’t have to — and I’ve added advice and tips so that you can become an expert with your iPhone.

This book will get you going with your iPhone quickly and painlessly so that you can move directly to the fun part.

About This Book

This book is specifically written for mature people like you. Folks who may be relatively new to using a smartphone and want to discover the basics of buying an iPhone, making and receiving phone and video calls, working with apps, getting on the Internet, enjoying music and photos, and discovering all of the other tricks your iPhone can do. In writing this book, I’ve tried to consider the types of activities that might interest someone who is 50 years old or older and picking up an iPhone for the first time.

Foolish Assumptions

This book is organized by sets of tasks. These tasks start from the beginning, assuming that you’ve never laid your hands on an iPhone, and guide you through basic steps using nontechnical language.

This book covers going online using either a Wi-Fi or cellular connection, browsing the web (Chapter 12), and checking email (Chapter 13). I’m also assuming that you’ll want to use the Apple Books e-reader app, so I cover its features in Chapter 17. I tackle all kinds of neat things you can do with your iPhone, such as monitoring use of your iPhone and its apps (Chapter 5), discovering new apps (Chapter 14), taking and sharing your photos and videos (Chapters 19 and 20, respectively), tracking your health (Chapter 24), and much more!

Icons Used in This Book

Icons are tiny pictures in the margin of pages that call your attention to special advice or information, such as:

These brief pieces of advice help you to take a skill further or provide alternate ways of getting things done.

Heads up! This may be difficult or expensive to undo.

This is information that's so useful, it's worth keeping in your head, not just on your bookshelf.

Maybe this isn't essential information, but it's neat to know.

Beyond the Book

There's even more iPhone information on www.dummies.com. This book’s Cheat Sheet offers tips on using Siri and suggests all kinds of apps that you can use to make the most of your iPhone. To get to the cheat sheet, go to www.dummies.com, then type iPhone For Seniors For Dummies Cheat Sheet in the Search box.

IN THIS PART …

Meeting your new iPhone

Navigating iPhone’s interface

Customizing your settings

Discovering installed apps

Activating special features

Monitoring how your iPhone is being used

Decide How Much Storage Is Enough

Storage is a measure of how much information — for example, movies, photos, and software applications (apps) — you can store on a computing device. Storage can also affect your iPhone’s performance when handling such tasks as streaming favorite TV shows from the World Wide Web or downloading music.

Streaming refers to playing video or music content from the web (or from other devices) rather than playing a file stored on your iPhone. You can enjoy a lot of material online without ever downloading its full content to your phone — and given that the most storage endowed iPhone model has a relatively small amount of storage, that isn't a bad idea. See Chapters 18 and 20 for more about getting your music and movies online.

Your storage options with an iPhone 12 or 12 mini are 64, 128, and 256 gigabytes (GB), while 12 Pro and 12 Pro Max are 128, 256, and 512 gigabytes. You must choose the right amount of storage because you can’t open the unit and add more as you usually can with a desktop computer. However, Apple has thoughtfully provided iCloud, a service you can use to back up content to the Internet (you can read more about that in Chapter 4).

How much storage is enough for your iPhone? Here’s a guideline:

• If you like lots of media, such as movies or TV shows, you might need 512GB.
• For most people who manage a reasonable number of photos, download some music, and watch heavy-duty media such as movies online, 128GB may be sufficient. But if there’s any possibility you may take things up a notch in the future regarding media consumption and creation (such as the newest grandchild being on the way soon), you should probably seriously consider 256GB.
• If you simply want to check email, browse the web, keep your calendar up to date, and write short notes to yourself, 64GB likely is plenty.

Do you know how big a gigabyte (GB) is? Consider this: Just about any computer you buy today comes with a minimum of 256GB of storage. Computers have to tackle larger tasks than iPhones, so that number makes sense. The iPhone, which uses a technology called flash storage for storing data, is meant (to a great extent) to help you experience online media and email; it doesn’t have to store much since it pulls lots of content from the Internet. In the world of storage, 32GB for any kind of storage is puny if you keep lots of content (such as audio, video, and photos) on the device.

What’s the price for larger storage? For the iPhone 12, a 64GB unit costs $799; 128GB is $849; and 256GB will set you back $949. iPhone 12 mini with 64GB goes for $699, 128GB at $749, and 256GB for $849. iPhone 12 Pro with 128GB is $999; 256GB is $1099; and the model tops out at $1299 for 512GB. Not to be outdone, iPhone 12 Pro Max is the priciest: $1099 for 128GB; $1199 for 256GB; and $1,399 for 512GB. Note that prices may vary by carrier and where you buy your phone.

Understand What You Need to Use Your iPhone

Before you head off to buy your iPhone, you should know what other connections and accounts you’ll need to work with it optimally.

At a bare minimum, to make standard cellular phone calls, you need to have a service plan with a cellular carrier (such as AT&T or Verizon), as well as a data plan that supports iPhone. The data plan allows you to exchange information over the Internet (such as emails and text messages) and download content (such as movies and music). Try to verify the strength of coverage in your area, as well as how much data your plan provides each month, before you sign up.

You also need to be able to update the iPhone operating system (iOS) and share media (such as music) among Apple devices. Though these functions can be utilized without a phone carrier service plan, you have to plug your phone into your computer to update the operating system or you may also update wirelessly over a network. You need to use a local Wi-Fi network to go online and make calls using an Internet service, such as FaceTime or Skype.

Given the cost and high-tech nature of the iPhone, having to jury-rig these basic functions doesn’t make much sense. Trust me: Get an account and data plan with your phone service provider.

You should open a free iCloud account, Apple’s online storage and syncing service, to store and share content online among your Apple devices. For example, you can set up iCloud in such a way that photos you take on your iPhone will appear on your iPad. You can also use a computer to download photos, music, or applications from non-Apple online sources (such as stores or sharing sites like your local library) and transfer them to your iPhone through a process called syncing.

Apple has set up its software and the iCloud service to give you two ways to manage content for your iPhone — including apps, music, or photos you’ve downloaded — and specify how to sync your calendar and contact information.

There are a lot of tech terms to absorb here (iCloud, syncing, and so on). Don’t worry. Chapters 3 and 4 covers those settings in more detail.

Where to Buy Your iPhone

You can’t buy an iPhone from just any retail store. You can buy an iPhone at the brick-and-mortar or online Apple Store and from mobile phone providers, such as AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. You can also find an iPhone at major retailers, such as Best Buy and Walmart, through which you have to buy a service contract for the phone carrier of your choice. You can also find iPhones at several online retailers (such as Amazon.com and Newegg.com) and through smaller, local service providers, which you can find by visiting https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204039.

Apple offers unlocked iPhones. Essentially, these phones aren’t tied into a particular provider, so you can use them with any of the four iPhone cellular service providers. Though you may save a lot by avoiding a service commitment, these phones without accompanying phone plans can be pricey. But there’s a trend for providers offering cheaper plans and installment payments on the hardware.

Take a First Look at the Gadget

In this section, I give you a bit more information about the buttons and other physical features of the newest iPhone models. Figure 1-3 shows you where each of these items is located on the iPhone 12, 12 mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max.

Here’s the rundown on what the various hardware features for iPhone models without Home buttons are and what they do:

• Side button: You can use this button to power up your iPhone, put it in Sleep mode, wake it up, lock it, force a restart, power it down, and much more.
• Lightning connector: Plug in the Lightning connector at one end of the Lightning to USB-C cable that came with your iPhone to charge your battery, listen to audio with EarPods (not included), or sync your iPhone with your computer (which you find out more about in Chapter 4).
• Ring/Silent switch: Slide this little switch to mute or unmute the sound on your iPhone.
• Built-in stereo speakers: The speakers in iPhones provide rich stereo sound and deeper bass than previous models, and are located on the bottom edge of the phone and at the top part near the earpiece.
• Volume Up/Down buttons: Tap the Volume Up button for more volume and the Volume Down button for less. (You can use the Volume Up button as a camera shutter button when the camera is activated.)
• Built-in microphones: Built-in microphones make it possible to speak into your iPhone to deliver commands or content. This feature allows you to make phone calls, use video calling services (such as Skype or Zoom), and work with other apps that accept audio input, such as the Siri built-in assistant.

If you have an iPhone model with a Home button, read your iPhone’s documentation or visit https://support.apple.com/iphone to discover the hardware features specific to your device.