This funky looking ball is going to help you sleep

There are already too many sleep apps on the App Store to count, and they all claim to do pretty much the same things: Sense your sleep patterns, wake you at the optimal time, and chart your sleep trends. A new Kickstarter project by a company called "Hello" may make them all obsolete, with a pair of accessories that work along with your iPhone to track just about every possible bit of information related to your nighttime habits.

It's called Sense, and it's already quadrupled its original $100,000 goal with a further 28 days of fundraising left. The Sense system is made up of an app, a central unit that remains stationary on your nightstand, and the "Sense Pill" that clips on to your pillow. Between the three devices, Sense tracks movement, noise, humidity, temperature, ambient light, and even air particles that could be keeping you from getting a good night's rest. The main unit also has a proximity sensor, speaker, and LED lighting.

Ignoring the fact that the primary Sense device looks like a rubber band ball -- or maybe one of those weird, spherical aliens from Futurama -- the Sense system seems like it takes just about every conceivable piece of sleep science into account. Even at the discounted Kickstarter price of US$99, it's certainly a bit of an investment, but if you've gone through a half dozen sleep tracking apps with little or no success, it might be time to take things more seriously.

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iPhone 101: Add labels to your On/Off toggles in iOS

iOS is filled with toggles that allow you to turn a feature on or off. In iOS 7, the state of a toggle is indicated by color with green meaning "on" and white meaning "off." If you need an additional visual cue either because of vision problems or personal preference, you have the option to turn on labels that add an On/Off indicator symbol to each switch as shown above.

Accessibility Settings with On/Off Labels disabled(l) and enabled(r).

This secondary visual cue is hidden in the Accessibility menu, and you can turn it on as follows:

1. Open the Settings app in iOS


2. Tap General > Accessibility


3. Scroll to the option to "Turn on On/Off Labels


4. Swipe or tap the toggle to turn it on, with green indicating that the feature is enabled


5. View another toggle to confirm the addition of the labels

iOS uses the standard power button label that is used on electronic devices -- a circle represents the "on" state and a line represents "off." Between the color and the label, you should have minimal difficulty in determining whether an option is enabled or disabled in the settings. Besides its functional purpose, the added labels also look nifty in each switch icon.

Best meditation apps for iPhone: Omvana, Headspace, Breathful, and more!

From breathing techniques to soothing sounds and music, these are the best meditation apps for iPhone!

Looking for the best iPhone apps to help you relax, track, and make the most out of your meditation time? Sometimes the stresses of our everyday lives can make mental health more important than ever. Even if it's only for 30 minutes, being able to disconnect from our devices and the outside world can help eliminate stress and clear your mind. The App Store is full of apps to help you make the most of every meditation session, but which meditation apps for iPhone are the absolute best?

Omvana

Most people listen to music or soothing sounds while meditating and Omvana was made for this purpose. Not only can you browse thousands of tracks in Omvana's library, you can mix and edit them to suit your own mood and preference. Omvana has tons of collections that focus on different areas such as sleep meditation, productivity, and lots more.

If music or ambient noise is important to you while meditating, you won't find anything better than Omvana.

Headspace

Headspace is a fun way to not only track meditation sessions but to motivate you to make time for them. You start off attempting 10 minutes a day and work up from there. As you progress, you'll unlock achievements. You can also add your friends and check out meditation sessions that are meant for different types of stress relief.

If you need some motivation or want the ability to communicate with other meditators, check out Headspace.

Breathful

Breathful is a barebones meditation app that lets you track 10 minute sessions. Since the main goal of meditation is mindfulness that is distraction free, Breathful can also keep track of any distractions you may encounter. Simply tap the screen during a meditation to record a distraction. This data is then saved in Breathful so you can compare sessions and see how you're progressing.

If you enjoy short meditation sessions but want a way to track distractions too, Breathful is what you want.

Ensō

Ensō is a simple to use meditation timer and bell that you can customize by choosing how much preparation time you'd like and how long you'd like to meditate. You can also set intervals if you choose. Ensō comes complete with professionally recorded bell and bowl sounds to enhance the meditation experience. You can also purchase more via in-app purchase if you'd like.

For a distraction free meditation experience that lets you customize intervals and timers, you want Ensō.

The Mindfulness App

The Mindfulness App is full of guided meditations that vary from 3 minutes to 30 minutes in length. You can track statistics about your meditation sessions so you can see how you're doing and what you need to spend more time on. There are also many guided meditation programs you can buy via in-app purchase that focus on specific areas such as breathing, standing, and many more.

When it comes to guided meditation, you want The Mindfulness App.

Your vote for best meditation apps for iPhone?

If you enjoy meditating, do you rely on any of the above apps to make the most of your time? If not, do you use any other meditation apps you think should be included in this list? Be sure to let me know in the comments!

Paid App Gone FREE For iPad/iPhone – Save $19

We love these freebie posts, as we're sure you all do too. Today we have a whopping $19 in saving for you all. That's right, we have 6 different iPhone and iPad apps that have gone FREE over on the iTunes Store today. They include games, camera apps and more so take a look and see what bargain you fancy getting your hands on.

Pou ($2.99 – FREE / iPhone and iPad)

Pou is a virtual pet game that's hours of fun. Your little pet is an alien that is very needy and you have to feed him and play games. The mini games are great and even adults might find that they quickly become addicted. Check it out on the iTunes store.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rooftop Run ($3.99 – FREE / iPhone and iPad)

This is a real little gem of a find. If you are, or were, a TMNT fan, this is for you. You have to run, jump, dive and fight your way across New York rooftops as one of the turtles. It's an action packed game and hours of great fun. Again it's free on the iTunes store.

Fjuul – Fitness Tracker ($1.99 – FREE / iPhone)

Here's a great fitness tracker that is also unique. It's doesn't just count the steps you've taken in any given period, it also calculates the intensity of your movements and can be used for walking, jobbing, running and more. Free today over on iTunes.

ArtRage ($1.99 – FREE / iPhone)

Ever wanted to paint on your iPhone? Well now you can with ArtRage. It allows for realistic painting and really does stand out amongst its competitors. What more can we say, take a look it you like painting and give it a go.

CameraBag 2 ($4.99 – FREE / iPhone and iPad)

CameraBag 2 is a feature rich photo editor for the iPhone and iPad. It has a lovely interface and plenty of great features. There are separate apps for the iPhone and iPad so be sure to get your hands on these today.

Makanim ($2.99 – FREE / iPhone and iPad)

This is another app for artists and it allows you to create abstract art on your phone. It really does give a great graphic experience thanks to its multi-touch gesture system. It's definitely worth trying out especially when its free.

That's all we have for you today but be sure to check back regularly because we love posting about free apps and try to do it at least once a week. If you come across any apps that we haven't featured here today, be sure to let us know in the comments.

Apple Launching 5.5-Inch iPhone 6 After 4.7-Inch Version to Avoid Competition Between Two Models

Apple will launch the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 several months after the 4.7-inch version to avoid competition between the two models, according to a new report from DigiTimes citing supply chain sources.

The different timetables have been set as Apple does not want to repeat the mistake it made in 2013 when it launched the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c simultaneously, said the sources.

Prior rumors have pointed out that production issues with the 5.5-inch iPhone 6 would cause Apple to delay its release a few months after 4.7-inch version, however this newest report claims that isn't the case for the launch delay. A report from Bloomberg last month suggested that Apple would be launching both versions of the iPhone 6 simultaneously, noting that the company had begun preparing the 4.7-inch model and 5.5-inch for manufacturing.

4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 mockups compared to iPhone 5s

Apple is expected to unveil the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 at a September event, although a report yesterday noted that the company is unsure as to whether it will show off the 5.5-inch version at the same time. The company is said to be preparing between 70 and 80 million iPhone 6 units to meet anticipated customer demand, as the larger screen could cause a massive spike in upgrades from both iPhone upgraders and those switching from Android.

In addition to a larger screen, the iPhone 6 is expected to feature a faster A8 processor, a thinner profile, an improved camera, and Apple's new iOS 8 mobile operating system.

Related roundups: iPhone 5c, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6

Want to download old iPhone firmware? Here's where to find it

Do you miss your old firmware? Do you have an old device that for some reason you want to run like it's 2009? Well iOS fans, you are in luck. The folks over at TechArrival have compiled a list of download links to original iPhone iOS firmware files for every firmware version.

Take a walk down memory lane with the iOS 2.0.0 for the 2G, and then see what 2.1.0 was like. Maybe you've gotten sick of iOS 7 and want to move back in time to iOS 6. Maybe you'll realize things aren't so bad with your current firmware version. We're not here to judge - tt's your phone.

If you're downloading the firmware in Safari make sure to turn off the auto unzip feature so the files aren't extracted. Head over to TechArrival and enjoy.

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Say goodbye to Foursquare check-ins tomorrow

OK, I'm depressed. For years, I've enjoyed using Foursquare to check in at restaurants, airport gates, hotels, and even my own home. During that time, I became "mayor" at a number of different locations and loved getting the occasional badge for doing something awesome like checking at 30 different BBQ restaurants or 50 different microbreweries. Well, that all changes tomorrow when Foursquare will become more of a discovery app, forcing those of us who have loved using the app for check-ins to move to the company's Swarm app instead.

If you've used Foursquare regularly over the past few months, you've seen the not-so-subtle changes. First, it seemed almost impossible to get a mayorship, mainly because they had dropped the feature. Next came the almost daily suggestion to download and install Swarm. And now, check-ins will be moving to Swarm tomorrow, meaning that you really do need to download the free app.

Foursquare obviously didn't consult with users before making the move to two apps, one for discovery and one for check-ins. Swarm currently has about a one-and-a-half star rating out of five stars on the App Store, and Foursquare -- which used to be one of the more popular location-oriented social networking apps -- is now down to about two-and-a-half stars, primarily because users are upset with what the company decided to do. Take a look at some of the comments in the App Store reviews:

I'm not sure the Foursquare Labs folks thought this one out very well. For those who want a single app to perform check-ins, see what your friends are up to, and even get ratings and tips for places you're thinking about trying, you might need to consider just using Yelp or -- God forbid -- even Facebook.

For myself, I'll give Swarm a try, but I have a bad feeling that one of my favorite apps -- Foursquare, which took top billing in my social networking iPhone folder -- is going to get deleted soon along with it.

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