iPhone For Dummies, 2026 Edition, 17th Edition

Introduction

Apple’s iPhone models are among the best smartphones ever built. Each year, Apple introduces new iPhone models with faster, better, and usually sleeker hardware, together with a new version of the iOS operating system that gives the iPhones their amazing capabilities. Each new version of iOS brings new features, and the iPhone is now versatile enough to be your only computer (depending on your needs).

So how do you get the most out of this amazing device? Well, you could muddle along with trial and error — or you could use this book and get up to speed faster and with less effort.

Given that you’re reading this, it looks as though you made the right choice.

About This Book

Let’s get one thing out of the way right from the get-go: I don’t think you’re a dummy. In fact, I think you’re pretty darn smart for buying a Dummies book. That says to me that you have the confidence and intelligence to know what you don’t know. The Dummies franchise is built around the core notion that most of us feel insecure about topics we’re tackling for the first time, especially when those topics have to do with technology.

Apple makes the iPhone and iOS as easy to use as possible — but there's still plenty to learn. Let me give you a couple of examples.

First, every iPhone is beautifully designed and equipped with a bare minimum of controls — so those controls perform multiple duties. For example, on the right side of your iPhone is the side button, which you use to power your iPhone ...