iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C Portable Genius

Chapter 7 How Do I Synchronize My iPhone?

Your iPhone can function perfectly well on its own. After all, you can use it to create your own bookmarks, e-mail accounts, contacts, and appointments; you can download music and other media from the iTunes Store; and you can take your own photos using its built-in cameras. If you want to use your iPhone as a stand-alone device, no one can stop you, but I’m not sure why you’d want to. With all the great iPhone synchronization features, you can also share tons of useful and fun content on your computer using your iPhone. This chapter shows you how to master syncing your iPhone and your Mac or Windows computer.

Connecting Your iPhone to Your Computer

When the iPhone was first released, it looked as though we might have finally arrived at that glorious day when computers and devices could just sort of sense each other’s presence and begin a digital conversation without requiring something as inelegant as a physical connection. Ugh. However, even though the fancy-schmancy iPhone supported three wireless technologies — Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and cellular — exchanging data between it and a Mac or PC required a wired connection.

Well, I’m happy to report that those days are behind us. Sort of. Yes, you can still use a cable to connect your iPhone and your computer, but iOS also supports wireless connections via Wi-Fi. The next couple of sections ...