It’s been pretty smooth sailing for Dave and his iPhone X, but Melissa went on a fishing expedition with the whole family in iCloud and reeled in a Black Friday deal or two. Notch or no notch, Apple has kept us all very busy applying software patches and spackle across their product line. Lots of growing pains are being smoothed over, so don’t hesitate to apply the latest updates for iOS 11.2, watchOS 4.2, and tvOS 11.2, as well as several macOS updates. If you are curious about getting your whole family connected with iCloud this holiday season, have a listen to this deep dive for some ideas on what’s possible before you attempt to connect accounts or migrate data. Full show notes are at InTouchwithiOS.com

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News:  iPhone Crashing with Apple’s 12/2 Notification Bug? Fix it with iOS 11.2 — The Mac Observer

Apple Releases tvOS 11.2 for 4th and 5th Generation Apple TV Models— MacRumors

Amazon Prime Video Available on Apple TV — The Mac Observer

Everything Apple Pay Cash, From Setup to Sending Money — The Mac Observer

Apple Admits Video Platform Defeat to YouTube — The Mac Observer

Tips: Apple Support YouTube Page

Dave has been consistently impressed by Face ID on the new iPhone X. Melissa had some questions last episode about how Face ID works in the dark and our friend Barry has some good resources for helping us all learn more about it:

Face ID — iMore

Apple's New Face ID Biometric System Works in the Dark and When Your Face is Obscured by Hats and Beards — MacRumors

How to "see" the crazy dot map the iPhone X uses to scan your face — iMore

Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals of note were BestBuy’s 2017 iPad sale and Amazon’s digital $100.00 iTunes Gift Card deal. Keep checking your local listings because this is the time of year for those kinds of sales. iTunes Gift Card deals are the best way to reduce your costs on iCloud Storage Plans when you buy it at the yearly price in the form of iTunes credit. Apple will first charge your iTunes Gift Card credit before it charges your credit card on file, so keep it topped up and save with these annual sales. 

Melissa’s new 2017 iPad was instrumental in helping to get iCloud Family Sharing set up because it runs iOS 11 which is required for administering a Family Sharing account. Some might view all she went through as a total nightmare, but she sees it as an opportunity to dissect how it all works and what might suit the needs of others.

Apple has a handy Apple Support app where you can get help from the comfort of your couch. They can run a remote diagnostic on your device and advise you on what steps to take in troubleshooting. Melissa recommends taking screenshots along the way to document the information.

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Meta: ITWIOS 018 Adventures in iCloud was recorded December 6, 2017. “Please Listen Carefully” by Jahzzar is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. In Touch with iOS is an independently produced podcast, publication and social identity and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. All other Apple Inc. trademarks discussed are the property of Apple Inc. A full list of Apple trademarks is available here. Sometimes we use affiliate links for products in show notes. Unless otherwise noted, these products or services are not a sponsor. Your patronage helps to support our content production at no additional cost to you and does not alter our honest opinion of said product or service.