Swipe left to delete, and swipe right to keep. That's the Tinder-like premise behind photo app Flic($0.99), which gives you the power to easily clean out your camera roll with a "flic" of your finger.

Lifehack labs keeps things simple with the release of Flic. When you're tired of dealing with a trove of unwanted photos and you want to clear up some storage space, less is more. A thumbnail of each photo is the main focal point, "trash" and "keep" buttons occupy the lower half the screen and a tracker for how much space is freed up can be found near the top.

The trash bin icon stores your photos until you are ready to expunge them completely. And if you forget to do any housekeeping, the app sends a monthly notification to go back and discard the previous month's pictures.

Monthly notifications also serve as a last ditch effort to remind you to take a peek at the photos before they vanish. If an individual photo is mistakenly deleted, you can also tap the undo button.  

Ultimately, if the growing number of photos is too much to bear, Flic is certainly a must have. Make sure to grab it for half price from the iTunes app store, because it's expected to climb back up to $1.99 eventually.

Without the screen, what is the mighty iPhone 6? Well, it could be a trendy paperweight. You could use it for a game of inter-cubicle catch, or possibly to throw at an attacker. Let's face it, an iPhone 6 without that fabulous screen, is a piece of expensive junk. I know there are plenty of users with cracked or scratched screens who might refute this, but every one of them wishes they had either used protection or bought insurance. So, it surprises me when I see someone with a snazzy new iPhone in a case, sans the screen protector. Huh? For the price of an oil change, ZAGG's InvisibleShield screen protection has your, erm, iPhone screen's back, or something like that..

There are now three flavors of the InvisibleShield, each of offering unique materials and levels of protection, but all employing superior technology for the defense of your iPhone screen. We were sent the two higher-end protection offerings—the HDX ($24.99) and Glass ($34.99)—for review. The original top-selling product is still available for $14.99.

The hdx is really for the user who expects to crack up their screen. You know who you are (I'm one too). You drop stuff. You bang up against stuff. You take your fancy new iPhone to the gym where the free weights are rolling around. While HDX probably can't stop a crushing blow from a 50-pound dumbbell, it can withstand the usual drop and/or whack. The product comes with a lifetime warranty against wear and tear, since the nanotechnology behind the hdx will self-heal major scuffs, while preserving the visual sharpness you paid top dollar to enjoy.

The glass is for the user who wants another layer of just that between the world and their iPhone screen. It is literally a 0.4mm thin sheet of fortified, tempered glass. The material is specially designed for a very smooth touch experience, and is also highly scratch resistant. This is probably more suitable for a business professional who does not expect too much risk of major screen injury, but wishes to preserve the look and feel of the already superb iPhone display with crystal clarity.

The Verdict

If you are still not convinced of the necessity of protecting your screen, consider that a recent consumer study reports that 48 percent of smartphone users have a damaged device. We are major fans of the InvisibleShield line of screen protection. The products are well made, and designed to endure, and therefore get the iPhoneLife stamp of approval. These screen protectors are all very easy to apply, are case friendly, and will help you to keep that fancy new iPhone screen looking like the day you bought it.

It's photo contest time again. We know you enjoy taking occasional artistic shots with your iPhone, so why not get rewarded for it! Enter our iPhone Photography Contest for a chance to win awesome prizes and a spot in our magazine! 

Submit your best iPhone photograph(s) at iphonelife.com/enterphoto by October 24. You must take and edit all photos with an iOS device, using only iOS apps. 

Our editors will choose the top three entries, and our readers will choose the fourth and final winner by voting for their favorite images on Facebook. Voting ends November 3. If your submission is among the winners, you’ll win an olloclip quick-connect lens set ($70 value) and an olloclip Quick-Flip Case ($50 value). The top 9 photos will also be featured in an upcoming issue of iPhone Life magazine.

You still have time to create a winning masterpiece, so get out there and do it!

This post is part of our daily tip series. Want to master your iPhone and iPad? Sign up here to get the tip of the day delivered right to your inbox.

For the next few months we are running a special Award Winner Edition of our iPhone Life Biweekly Giveaway featuring prizes from companies that won iPhone Life awards at the recent Super Mobility Week powered by CTIA 2014 trade show! This weeks prizes are worth $265.00 so you definitely don't want to miss out on a chance to win!

Thanks to everyone who entered the October 6 iPhone Life Biweekly Giveaway! Every other week we give away three amazing prizes, so if you didn't win this time, make sure you enter the October 20 giveaway and tell your friends to enter too!

And the winners are... (drum roll please):

Burt Finkelstein and Trung Nguyen.

Didn't Win This Week? No worries! Visit iphonelife.com/giveaways for the chance to win in the next giveaway round. If you see your name but didn't receive an email, please check your spam folder.

This week's featured items are:

1. Otterbox - Defender for iPhone 6: Retail Price $59.90

Triple-layer, ultra-rugged iPhone 6 case made to survive the bumps, drops and scratches you encounter on your adventures. Built-in screen protector shelters every inch of your 4.7" touchscreen. You can also customize your case with a variety of color options and build your own personally designed Defender Series iPhone 6 Case. Belt-clip holster keeps your iPhone 6 handy and provides a mini-stand for hands-free use.

2. Jaybird - Bluebuds X: Retail Price $169.95

BlueBuds X are the smallest Bluetooth headphones available, yet they pack an incredible eight hours of play time, double that which has previously been possible from a product this small. 

3. Steelie Car Mount Kit: Retail Price $34.99

The Steelie Car Mount Kit is the perfect phone holder for your car. It docks your phone to your dashboard in a snap, so it's visible, accessible, and right where you need it, everywhere you go.

Questions or comments? Email Brian@iphonelife.com. Good luck and remember to visit iphonelife.com/giveaways to enter! Also check out our other contests at iphonelife.com/contests. The next contest drawing is October 20th!

How the mighty have fallen. Sapphire manufacturer GT was lauded as the next great investment based on their arrangement with Apple. The speculation was that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus would have sapphire screens, sourced from GT, and would result in payments of $578 million from Apple, in installments. Alas, the new iPhones still use glass screens, and while some of the Apple Watches will have sapphire screens, the expectations were too high. GT has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and their stock has plummeted 90 percent to around $1.

Corning, makers of Gorilla Glass, used in most smartphones including Apple, has long criticized sapphire as being too heavy and brittle. While they didn't comment on the GT news, they did say "Gorilla Glass is the industry standard for tough, thin cover material. We continue to believe it is the best material for a broad range of markets." While sapphire is the second hardest material next to diamonds, that only helps with scratches, not shattering due to falls.

This might not be the end of sapphire screens for Apple, as the watch could be a better fit. The smaller screen would be easier to produce, the cost can be managed, and a watch is less likely to fall. Indeed other watchmakers use sapphire to protect against dings. Even Apple uses sapphire for the camera lens and to protect the Touch ID sensor. 

Access Control is one of the late-breaking features added to the Swift language. It allows you to specify the parts of your code you want to make public, and the parts you want to hide. It's an important tool in creating easy-to-use, and easy-to-understand interfaces.

Targets and Modules

In Xcode, your source code files are assigned to different targets. A typical Xcode project has two targets—one for your main app file, and one for unit tests. To see the targets in a project, click the first node in the Project Navigator. This displays the Project Editor with a Projects and Targets list on the left. (If you don't see this list, click the small square highlighted in Figure 1).

Figure 1 - Xcode's targets

By default, all the files in the Project Navigator and any new files you add to the project are part of the main app target. The only file that is part of the unit test target is the unit test code file under the "Tests" group.

To see which target a particular file belongs to, select it in the Project Navigator, go to the File Inspector, and look under the Target Membership section (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - Viewing a file's target membership

By default, all the code in a project belonging to the same target is also part of a single module. In Swift, by default, all the code that is part of the same module can access all other code in that module. This is a vast improvement over Objective-C where you could only reference another class in the same project by importing its header file—a real speed bump when teaching beginners how to write code.

If you are building a single, stand-alone app, this level of access control may work well for most of the code you write. However, there are typically a number of places where it's best to change this default access level.

Access Levels

There are three access levels in Swift (Figure 3).

Figure 3 - Swift's code access levels

1. Public - Allows access to code within the same module, or to another module that imports the module the code is declared in.

2. Internal - Allows access to code in the same module, but not to any other module. This is Swift's default access level.

3. Private - Restricts access to the source file the code is declared in. Although it's typical to have a single class, structure, enum, etc. defined in a source code file, you can declare more than one per file.

Access Control Modifiers

You use the public, internal, and private modifiers to specify the access level of your code. For example, here are the modifiers used to declare access to classes:

Here are the modifiers used to declare access to members of a class:

Again, if you don't specify an access modifier, the default access level for your code is internal.

Class Access Level

Let's get a hands-on look at class access level. To work through these steps, download the sample project at this link.

1. Open the AccessControlDemo project located in the folder where you downloaded the sample project.

2. As the Project Navigator shows, there are three classes you are going to use to check out how access levels work with classes; PublicNote, InternalNote, and PrivateNote (Figure 4).

Figure 4 - The "class access level" demo classes

3. If you select each of the three classes, you will see the following class declarations:

Keep the three different access levels depicted in Figure 3 in mind as we try to access these classes from different places:

• A different module
• The same module
• The same source code file

Accessing a Public Class

Let's start by trying to access the public class from a different module.

1. In the Project Navigator, expand the AccessControlDemoTests group folder and select the AccessControlDemoTests.swift code file.

2. Add the following code to the testExample method:

3. Press Command+B to build the project. You will get a Use of unresolved identifier 'PublicNote' compiler error. Do you know why?

Remember, the PublicNote class is in a module different from the one the unit test class is in, so we need to import the module.

4. By default, a project's module name is the same as the project name, so you need to add the import statement to the top of the AccessControlDemoTests code file:

5. Press Command+B to build the project and the compiler error will go away.

6. Now add the following code to the testExample method:

7. Press Command+B and both these lines of code produce a Use of unresolved identifier error. That's because, as Figure 3 shows, you cannot access an internal or private class from a different module.

8. Go ahead and delete the last two lines of code you added in the previous step so the project compiles without error.

Now let's see how this works when we try it from the same module where the classes are declared.

1. Select the ViewController.swift file in the Project Navigator.

2. In the viewDidLoad method, add the following three lines of code:

The first two lines of code work great. That's because you can reference a public or internal class from code in the same module. However, the last line of code fails, because you can only reference a private class from within the same source code file where the private class is declared.

3. Delete the last line of code you added in the previous step, so the project compiles without error.

4. Select the PrivateNote.swift file in the Project Navigator, and add the following class declaration to the code file:

This code compiles without an error. That's because the only way you can access a private class is from the code that resides in the same source code file.

Class Member Access Level

Now let's see how different access levels work with members of a class.

1. Select the Note.swift file in the Project Navigator. Here's the class definition you'll find there:

This is a public class named Note that has public, internal, and private methods. Let's try accessing the methods of this class from a different module.

2. Select the AccessControlDemoTests.swift file in the Project Navigator and add the following code to the testExample method. This code creates an instance of the Note class:

3. Add a new empty line of code and then type n. as in Figure 5.

Notice that the only method accessible from another module is the public method.

4. Delete the last few characters you entered in the previous step.

Let's see how the method access levels work when we access them from within the same module.

1. Select the ViewController.swift file in the Project Navigator and add the following code to the viewDidLoad method:

2. Add a new empty line of code and type n. as in Figure 6.

Notice that both the public and internal methods are accessible from code located in the same module.

3. Delete the last few characters you entered so the project compiles again without error.

Now let's see how the method access levels work when we access them from within the same source code file.

1. Select the Note.swift code file in the Project Navigator.

2. Add the following class declaration at the bottom of the Note.swift code file:

3. On a new empty line, type n. and you will see all three methods including the method marked as private in Figure 7.

Figure 7 - All three methods appear in Code Completion.

4. Remove the last few characters you typed so the project will compile again.

5. Note that you can also access the private method within the class it is declared in. For example, if you go to the getPublicNote method and type self. you can see that all three methods are accessible (Figure 8).

Figure 8 - You can access a private member from within the class in which it is declared.

6. If you typed self. in the getPublicNote method, delete it so the project compiles without error.

Types, Members and Access Levels

Here are some basic rules governing how setting the access level of a class affects the access level of its members (properties, methods, initializers and subscripts).

• Setting the access level of a class to private sets all its members to private by default.

• Setting the access level of a class to public or internal (or don't specify any level, which defaults to internal), defaults all its members to internal.

Beginner developers often make the mistake of making all members of a class public. This is not a good approach, because it exposes members of the class that may not be useful to a consumer of the class, and in the process clutters and confuses the class interface.

In addition, if you expose too much of the inner workings of a class, you run the risk of allowing developers to use your class in ways that are unsafe and that produce tight coupling. If classes are too tightly coupled, it creates a brittle code base—when one class changes, it creates a chain reaction that forces major changes to other classes.

So Apple's approach of making the members of a public class internal by default is the right way to go. It forces you to take the extra step of adding the public keyword to a member, causing you to consider whether that member should be public.

Method and Function Access Level

In addition to the default access level it receives from its containing class, a method's access level must be set to the most restrictive access of its parameters and return values. For example:

This method has a private parameter type and an internal return type. This makes the entire method private and therefore it must be marked private as this code sample shows.

This rule also applies to functions, which do not have a containing class.

Initializer Access Level

The rules that apply to a method's default access level that it receives from its containing class also apply to initializers—public and internal classes have internal initializers, and private classes have private initializers by default.

Where this rule usually surprises developers is when they realize they need to create a public initializer for a public class, since its default is internal.

The rules that apply to method parameters also apply to initializers—their access level must be set to the most restrictive access level of their parameters.

You can manually specify an initializer's access to be the same or equal to the access level of its containing class. The one exception is required initializers, which must have the same access level as the type they are contained in.

The initializer for structures is internal by default, unless it has any private members. In that case, it would be private by default. You can also manually create a public initializer for a structure.

Variable, Constant, Property, and Subscript Access Levels

In Swift, you can't set a variable, constant, property or subscript access level higher than the level of its type.

For example, in the following code, you must declare the note property as private, because its type, PrivateNote is private:

Getter and Setter Access Levels

Getter and setter methods are automatically assigned the same access level as the variable, constant, property or subscript they belong to.

You can manually specify a lower access level for a setter than a getter to restrict the read-write accessibility of that member. To do this, specify private(set) or internal(set) before the var or subscript declaration. For example:

Note that this works for both computed and stored properties, since Swift generates a getter and setter for a stored property behind the scenes.

Miscellaneous Access Levels

There are other access rules that apply to enumerations, protocols, extensions, generics, tuples, nested types, and type aliases. Consult Apple's documentation to find out the special rules that apply to each.

Inheritance and Access Control

One of the more interesting effects of access control is how it works with inheritance.

Inheritance and Classes

You can subclass any class your code has access to. This means:

• You can create a subclass of a public class from anywhere.

• You can create a subclass of an internal class only from within the same module.

• You can create a subclass of a private class only from within the same source code file.

A class does not automatically inherit its superclass access level. For example, in the following code, SubPublicNote does not inherit its superclass public access level:

If you want SubPublicNote to be public, you have to explicitly declare it. However, note that you can't specify an access level for a subclass higher than its superclass. So, for example, you can't subclass an internal class and make it public.

Inheritance and Class Members

Class members also do not automatically inherit their access level. Rather, they get their default access level based on the access level of the class they are declared in, as described earlier in the Access Levels of Types and Their Members section.

For example, in the following code, Subnote is a subclass of Note, and overrides its getPublicNote method. This method is internal by default. That's because it doesn't get its default access from its superclass, but from the class in which it is declared.

When you override a member, you can make it more accessible in the subclass, but you can't make it less accessible. For example, in the following code Subnote is a subclass of Note. It overrides the getPrivateNote method and elevates its access level to public:

Conclusion

Access control is an important feature of Swift that should be applied carefully to your iOS classes. It's well worth it to take the time to make an API that only contains the necessary members, because it makes your apps easier to create and extend in the future!

It's that time of year again. Right after a new iPhone comes out there is the inevitable deluge of great cases to protect your new investment. This happens with every iPhone release, but perhaps never more markedly than with the introduction of the completely new form factors of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. If ever an iPhone needed a case it is these large and larger models, with their increased real estate, slick, rounded edges, and extra weight. Rather than clump a bunch of individual cases together I'll be focusing on one great case each week over the course of the coming months. This week's featured case is one of the best rugged cases on the market: Griffin's new Survivor All-Terrain ultra rugged, heavy-duty case.

The All-Terrain ($49.99–$59.99) is Griffin's premier heavy-duty case. In fact, I'd have to say that it's currently the most protective, rugged case available to purchase for the iPhone 6/6 Plus, and for the price it's your best value for such an thoroughly durable and reliable case. The All-Terrain meets or exceeds the demanding MIL-STD-810 standards of protection. Its levels of dust and waterproof protection are only exceeded by its exceptional drop protection. Add to that equation its high quality, scratch resistant touchscreen protector and the end result is an iPhone built to withstand more than your average levels of abuse and hardship.

I review a lot of iDevice cases, and I've always been impressed with the design, build, and inherent integrity of Griffin's most rugged case. Their latest cases for the newest iPhones are no exception as they continue in Griffin's tradition of excellence. There is simply no other case on the market right now that offers this unparalleled level of protection. Eventually this popular sector of the case market will heat up and the competition will increase as companies like Lifeproof and Catalyst enter the fray, but as of now, if a ruggedly protective case that will safeguard your iPhone 6/6 Plus against all manner of hazard and intrusion is what you are on the hunt for, you will only find that in Griffin's All-Terrain.

The Herculean All-Terrain is rated to safely withstand drops onto concrete from over six-feet high, and while I wouldn't recommend fully submerging your All-Terrain encased iPhone in water (though I wouldn't be surprised if it could handle a brief submersion), nonetheless this case is rated to be able to withstand extensive wind driven rain and incidental splashes, the kind of things that would likely spell disaster for your new iPhone 6/6 Plus in most any other case. All of the ports and potential entry ways for debris and liquid are covered or able to be sealed securely, making this is a highly water-resistant case, and I know that water-resistance is a feature that many iPhone users consider essential.

There are only two drawbacks to the superior level of protection the All-Terrain provides. One is size. The All-Terrain is bulky, which when combined with an already large iPhone like the 6 or 6 Plus makes for quite a handful, but then again, if you have the 6 Plus you already know what you signed up for so this should come as little surprise. The upside of its bulkiness is that no bulk goes to waste. The extra heftiness of the All-Terrain is due to its beefy padding and grippy contours. This is a case that despite its size, always feels easy to grasp in one hand and if it were to drop, you can rest assured that your iPhone will be as safe as  possible from most falls of seven feet or less. So the increased overall size of your device is the trade off for such a high degree of protection.

The only other downside to the All-Terrain has to do with the audio quality, which is slightly muted as a result of a thin, water resistant membrane covering the iPhone's speaker. This same membrane causes as slight vibratory buzz when audio is played at maximum volume. This is only a minor annoyance though, as it is  the tradeoff for having an iPhone 6/6 Plus case that will keep debris and liquid safely away from your new iPhone.

Conclusion:

The Griffin All-Terrain is the preeminent rugged and extreme-duty iPhone case and it is available to purchase right now. I highly recommend this case for anyone who needs that extra level of protection, either due to being a little accident-prone or due to being an adventurous adrenaline junkie.

iPhone Life rating:

5 out of 5 stars

This post is part of our daily tip series. Want to master your iPhone and iPad? Sign up here to get the tip of the day delivered right to your inbox.

I constantly use tabs in Safari. When I'm viewing a page and see a link I want to read — but without closing the page I'm currently on — I tap and hold the link to open it in a new tab. I sometimes have as many as a half dozen tabs open. And nothing is more frustrating than inadvertently closing a tab when it's something I haven't yet read. Fortunately, if that happens to you, there's a simple way to re-open recently closed tabs.

In the screen capture below, I have three tabs open.

Let's say I inadvertently closed a tab on a Steve Jobs article. To view a list of recently closed tabs, tap and hold the "+" button (which is normally used to open a new tab) located bottom center on the iPhone and upper right on the iPad.

Then tap on the item of interest in the list, and the tab is re-opened.

Monster headphones have been in the business of making premium audio accessories for over three decades now, and they have built up quite a reputation by developing high-end audio gear. Over the years I've heard a great deal about the amazing quality of  the audio gear made by Monster, the company served as the launch pad for Apple-owned Beats by Dre. So when I had to opportunity to try a pair of the Monster Inspiration Lite on-ear headphones ($269.95), I was excited to see how these headphones from the company that helped shape the future of Beats would perform.

Design and Comfort

The Inspiration headphones have a great look to them; with a sleek and sophisticated, modern design. The Lites are currently available in two colors (black and white, with a silver option to be released in the near future), and they have the ability to swap out the headband strap for one of dozens of different color options. The underside of the headband is well padded as are the ear cushions making these headphones great for longer listening sessions, though I have to say, as someone with big ears, I generally prefer over-ear headphones due to the extra space and comfort of their larger earcups. For those of you who prefer over-ear headphones, Monster also offers a full size, over-ear pair of the Inspiration headphones for the exact same price.

Another feature I like about the Inspiration Lite headphones is that they come with an audio cable input jack in both earpieces, so you can choose your preferred side to plug into source, and more importantly this allows users to take advantage of Monster's MusicShare feature. MusicShare is a feature specific to the on-ear Inspiration Lites, which lets you connect one pair of headphones to source, and then an additional pair of headphones to the first pair so that multiple listeners can enjoy the same audio. This is a great feature for gamers in particular, or any environment where multiple listeners want to tune in to the same audio without disturbing others nearby. As a bonus, one of the two included audio cables has the much-appreciated feature of in-line volume, Siri and playback control buttons.

These headphones fold up for convenient travel and their on-ear design is perfect for those times when an over-ear pair of 'phones might be either too bulky or too noise-isolating. Considering that the Inspiration Lites are an on-ear design, they actually provide excellent passive noise isolation, keeping external background noise out while keeping whatever you may be listening to well contained. They are also relatively sturdy, which is a good thing, since I can easily envision these being someone's go-to pair of cans for travel.

Acoustic Quality

The audio quality of the Inspirations is what you might expect from a company that has been tried and tested for as long as Monster has; they sound amazing. These cans bring refined technology and years of research and development to the equation and the resulting product is one that has to be heard to be fully appreciated. These Monster headphones are as good, if not better, than what Beats delivered before they were under Apple's banner, as the don't suffer from the excessive bass that so many complained about with Beats. The Inspiration are most impressive though, when you actually have them wrapped around your head. That's when they shine brightest, when their pristine and well-balanced soundscape can truly be relished.

Conclusion

The Monster Inspiration Lites on-ears that I tested were a little confined feeling for my ears. Even though I enjoyed the audio quality tremendously, I'd encourage anyone who happens to fancy these headphones to consider the larger, more spacious Inspiration over-ear model. Whichever way your pleasure tends, whether toward on-ear or over-ear headphone styles, the Monster Inspiration are an excellent investment in a high-quality audio accessory. I feel safe in saying that they won't disappoint.

iPhone Life rating:

5 out of 5 Stars

It's official. Apparently, Apple thinks it's been too long even though they just had a press event last month. But that was about iPhones and the Apple Watch. October 16 is their next event and it should be about new Macs, running Mac OS X Yosemite. The iMac line and Mac mini should be updated, and a 12-inch MacBook Air is expected to replace the 11-inch and 13-inch models. Also expected in October is iOS 8.1 with support for Apple Pay on iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with Near Field Communication.

But the real news for iOS users should be a refresh to the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display. Indeed it has been too long since those were updated, and two generations of iPhones have had a Touch ID fingerprint sensor while the iPad has gone without one. The A8 processor from the iPhone 6 should be standard. Apple might even have a gold model, given the popularity of that color on the iPhone 5. This should be remedied on October 16.

It's no surprise then that Apple and other retailers are blowing out the current iPads. There are some great deals on Apple's refurbished site and retailers like Target are offering good discounts on new iPads  Be sure to watch this space for live coverage of Apple's next announcement.

The iPhone 5s is still for sale, and many iPhone 6 owners may be handing down their older iPhones to family members. That's what I did, and, since it's still worth $200 to $300, I want to make sure my daughter keeps it protected! That means a waterproof, rugged case. And because it's an iPhone 5s, I'd like to keep the Touch ID functionality.

The Catalyst waterproof case ($64.99) seems to show the company has learned from the mistakes of other case makers. The two-piece unit goes together easily enough, and remains relatively slim. The Touch ID sensor is protected by a membrane, and still scans fingerprints. A novel rotating knob activates the iPhone's mute toggle switch. Finally, the ports at the bottom are protected by a single rubber flap that extends along most of the bottom. Even the back is see through, so you can see the fancy gold iPhone, if that's your style! 

My only wish would be for an iPhone 6 version. Understandably, because of Apple's secrecy, such a case isn't available yet. But they have a waiting list to be notified when one is out. I'd prefer having a waterproof case that was tested thoroughly, with real iPhone 6's and not built before the phone was available!

Apple just sent out their invitations to members of the press for their October 16 Town Hall media event, where Tim Cook is widely expected to reveal Apple's latest iPads. Indeed, it's been quite the year for Apple. The invite has a rainbow-colored, linear Apple logo and reads simply, "It's been way too long." But what does this mean?

Apple is known for embedding cryptic hints in their media event invitations. So this one in particular has me imagining all of the possibilities. After all, what on Earth could Apple be referring to when they say "way too long"? Certainly not the forthcoming iPad Air 2. The original iPad Air just came out just last year, which isn't a long time relative to Apple's typical product cycles. And while rumors are circulating that Apple may introduce updated iMacs or MacBook Air, neither of those would be considered old devices. In fact their most recent releases were less than a year ago.

No, when I consider the possible things Apple  might unveil at this next event, my mind wanders first and foremost to the Apple TV set top box, which hasn't seen a new product released in almost three years. My second guess as to what Apple might consider "too long" since its last update: the Mac Mini, which hasn't seen a new iteration in almost two years.

The other observation I can make with Apple's invite is a subtle one, but worth mentioning. Under Tim Cook, Apple has striven to make respect for diversity and inclusion of all races, genders and sexual orientations a top priority. The rainbow isn't just the symbol of Gay Pride, it also has a history of being representative of all of the peoples of this little planet we call home, as well as a reminder of the awesomeness of nature and the environment, the preservation of which has also been high on Apple's list of priorities. So there's that.

Could Apple's invitation hint at new product releases in these categories? I sure hope so, in part because as a gamer, I've heard great things about how the new Apple TV will integrate with our iOS devices to deliver a truly spectacular gaming experience.

What do you think iPhone Lifers? Any guesses as to what Apple is hinting at and what we might expect at this month's event?

If you're concerned about battery life, you'll want to check out the new feature in iOS 8 that lets you see what apps are using your battery the most. This usage can simply result from your using an app a lot, but other times apps have background processes that drain the battery or the app isn't working properly. This feature gives you a clearer picture of what's going on.

Apple's October 16 announcement invitation said "it's been too long," but the latest rumors suggest we may have to wait a little longer for a 12.9-inch iPad. An iPad Pro has long been rumored, and makes sense, but Apple's focus now is on meeting the oversized demand of the iPhone 6 Plus. Rather than ask their suppliers to switch over to a larger display for a supersized iPad, Apple needs them to focus on the 5.5-inch screen iPhone 6 Plus, at least according to the Wall Street Journal.

October's announcement is expected to bring a new MacBook Air model with a 12-inch screen, presumably to consolidate the current 11-inch and 13-inch models. That makes sense, but it also would be an interesting tipping point, where the low-end MacBook line would be smaller than the largest iPad, if a 12.9-inch iPad surfaces.

Apple has never shied away from cannibalizing its own products. The theory in the Silicon Valley is that if you're not doing it, someone else will. This lets the market decide which product they want, and either way, Apple has a solution. An iPad Pro, especially with a keyboard case, would offer portability, instant-on, and touchscreen capabilities that a MacBook Air can't touch, no pun intended!

If you like to use the camera on your iPhone or iPad, one of the features you'll appreciate in iOS 8 is the ability to recover deleted photos. When you delete a photo, it remains available in the Recently Deleted album on your device for 30 days. If you decide that in fact you want to save a photo you deleted, you can easily recover it.

To recover a deleted photo or photos, go the the Albums view in the Photos app. In addition to any albums you've added, you'll see three default albums: Recently Added, Videos, and Recently Deleted.

Tap on the Recently Deleted album to view the photos you've deleted.

If you want to restore some or all of them, tap Select at the upper right. Then tap on the photos you want to restore. When you've selected the photos, then tap Recover at the top left on the iPad and bottom right on the iPhone.

Photos are kept in the Recently Deleted album for 30 days, after which they really are deleted. When you view the contents of the Recently Deleted album, each photo has a notation at the lower right indicating how many more days before it's deleted.

Jony Ive, Apple's head of design for both software and more recently hardware, had a sit-down with Vanity Fair. You can read the transcript here but the point that stuck out for me was his disdain for copycats. In addition to a formal interview, there were questions from the audience. Here's one such exchange:

While the original question was regarding Xiaomi, which considers itself the Apple of China, it could also be referring to Samsung, Google, and Android. Check out this diagram, from ZDnet.

Many observers have noted that Steve Jobs said "Good artists copy, great artists steal." It's worth noting that line was stolen from Picasso! But the more I think about it, what he was saying is that everybody copies... the great ones do it imperceptibly, without it being obvious, and taking the best stuff and making it their own. Stealing... and getting away with it, without being obvious... that's the mark of the great ones. 

The Biweekly Giveaway – Award Winner Edition features prizes from companies that won iPhone Life awards at the recent Super Mobility Week powered by CTIA 2014 trade show! Be sure to enter the giveaway at iPhoneLife.com/giveaways to win prizes, which we'll announce October 20! We are raffling off tons of great accessories for FREE.

Here's how it works: Every other Friday we announce the prizes we're giving away through iphonelife.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. To enter the giveaway, go to iPhoneLife.com/giveaways and tell your friends to enter too! On the following Monday morning, we will randomly select the winners. If you win an app, we will email you the promo code to redeem the app for free. If you win an accessory, send us your address and we will mail it to you.

This week's featured items are:

1. Jaybird - Bluebuds X: Retail Price $169.95

BlueBuds X are the smallest Bluetooth headphones available, yet they pack an incredible eight hours of play time, double that which has previously been possible from a product this small. 

2. Steelie Car Mount Kit: Retail Price $34.99

The Steelie Car Mount Kit is the perfect phone holder for your car. It docks your phone to your dashboard in a snap, so it's visible, accessible, and right where you need it, everywhere you go.

3. Otterbox - Defender for iPhone 6: Retail Price $59.90

Triple-layer, ultra-rugged iPhone 6 case made to survive the bumps, drops and scratches you encounter on your adventures. Built-in screen protector shelters every inch of your 4.7" touchscreen. You can also customize your case with a variety of color options and build your own personally designed Defender Series iPhone 6 Case. Belt-clip holster keeps your iPhone 6 handy and provides a mini-stand for hands-free use.

Game Centered features roundups and in-depth reviews of the best in iOS games and related gaming news. This week we've got some great news for any core iOS gamers looking for great gaming gear, as well as a teaser for the upcoming Game of Thrones game, and a new word game that you are going to love from popular game developer Zynga.

New Lineup of SteelSeries' Siberia Gaming Headphones, Available Now

SteelSeries is at the cutting edge of gaming technology in general, and in particular, they are one of the few major manufacturers of core gaming gear that truly seem to appreciate that the future of video gaming lies with iOS. SteelSeries has been making top-of-the-line gaming accessories that are compatible with iOS for years now. One of their products that I've already written much about is their Stratus game controller, which is one of the best MFi console style game controllers available and definitely my personal favorite.

SteelSeries also make amazing quality gaming headphones and they've just introduced their all new lineup of Siberia headphones which are designed from the ground up to help makers gamer's experiences as rich and vivid as possible. The new Siberia series comes in four models at four price points ranging from the ridiculously affordable, entry-level Siberia RAW Prism ($59.99) to the higher-end Siberia Elite Prism ($199.99), both of which are available to order now.

If you are a gamer and you aren't familiar with SteelSeries' Siberia cans, you're missing out. They boast some of the most amazing specs and features you will find in a pair of gaming oriented headphones. I'll be providing a more detailed review of some of their new line up soon, but for now, if you haven't checked out these premium headphones, do yourself a favor and click HERE.

Telltale Teases All New Game of Thrones RPG

Winter is coming, and so is an all new Game of Thrones game. From the developers behind the critically acclaimed Walking Dead game series comes another teaser for their upcoming GoT game, which is expected to debut on iOS alongside its console counterparts in the near future. Telltale is being understandably tight-lipped about it so not only can I not tell you when to expect this highly anticipated title to be available in the App Store, I can't even speculate too much as to what it will be about. If I had to guess I'd say this game will take place in the cold lands of the north and in choose-your-own-adventure style, it will place you in the role of the main character who I am expecting may be a member of one of the banner clansmen lending support to "King" Stannis on his march to Winterfell and the land once held by the Starks.

The folks at IGN took the time to make this short video where they dissect the clues and go into detail as far as what storyline we might see in this new game, but as interesting as the video is, it is still just educated guesswork. We'll simply have to wait and see what adventures the actual game presents us when it is released, presumably before the end of the year. Stay tuned to Game Centered here at iPhone Life and I will certainly keep you up to date on the latest developments as this promising new game nears release.

If you can't see the above video about the new GoT game, just click HERE.

New Words with Friends Game Lands in the App Store

Wrapping up this edition of Game Centered, we have awesome news for any Words with Friends fan. In celebration of their five-year anniversary, this internationally beloved game has just gotten a major facelift. We're not talking about an update here, but rather, an entirely new app called New Words with Friends(free), and this revamped version is tailor made for iOS 8, with its snappy response time, vastly improved graphics and layout, and a host of new features.

More than any other game on my iDevice library, WwF has been the one that I continue to come back to, time and time again, year after year, whenever I want a quick gaming fix. I immediately downloaded the New Words with Friends app and was able to pick up exactly where I left off with games from my old WwF app, I didn't even have to login or reconnect to Facebook or Twitter; very convenient, kudos to the programmers. This is a must-have for any fan of this title or this word game genre, and if you've never tried your hand at this word puzzler, now may be the perfect time.

As new iOS apps flood the App Store every day — recently topping 1,200,000 — we know it’s tough to tell which ones are worth their salt. But thanks to our Weekly Scoop, you can have the best for free! Here you’ll find a weekly roundup of the coolest apps free or at a discount for a limited-time only. Each week features the best and brightest from websites like Free App Report, AppsGoneFree, AppieDay, AppShopper and more.

Hurry! Get 'em while they’re hot!

1. The Two Room($.99 from $2.99)

Due to the heavy graphic requirements, this app is only compatible with iPhone 4S and up and iPod Touch, 5th generation. If your device can handle it, the next question is, can you? It's a physical puzzler that is wrapped in a game of mystery living within a tactile 3D world. Sound awesome? Only one way to find out!

2. Weather Dial(Free)

(Note: for folks running iOS 7 or higher, you'll need Weather Dial 2 instead) But for the rest of us, we can enjoy a sleek, Apple-like interface that's simply and beautifully designed. The app includes current and local weather, automated night mode, optional dark and light modes, chance of rain, sun rise and sunset charts, global geolocation, and all kinds of other cool stuff.

3.Sim Aquarium(Free)

This app is pretty simple really. It's an interactive true 3D fish tank in your pocket. If you find watching fish swimming around to be relaxing, you can just take a little mental break and watch them do their thing.