Dear iPhone Users
What if I told you there was one simple trick that would not just improve your life, but also improve the lives of everyone around you?
What if I told you that this trick could be done in less than a minute, and is so easy that even a child could do it?
And what if I told you that this simple trick was something you could've done with any phone from the last 30 years?
Well this may be a surprise, but:
CHANGE YOUR DAMN RINGTONE
And while you're at it, change your notification sound too.
I observe this daily: I'm sitting in the break room at work, and then the familiar tones of an iPhone ringtone start playing. Every iPhone user's face perks up, hands fumble about in pockets as they reach for their phones, and then comes the obligatory utterance:
"Is that mine?"
Breathe out.
Surely that says it all. Every single moment of confusion could be nipped in the bud if someone (you) took a moment to change the little chimes that echo through the room. Changing your ringtone isn't just for yourself, it would be a courtesy to those around you who get confused as well. What should amount to a personal alarm loses all meaning if it can be confused for and undermined be someone else's.
"But what do I go with instead??"
Simple, choose a different ringtone in the settings app. Maybe load up your favourite song and set that as a ringtone – yes you'll have those around you inform you that Vanilla Ice hasn't been cool for 3 decades ever, but surely that's better than becoming a deer in headlights whenever someone's phone rings.
Or alternatively, keep your phone on vibrate instead.
... One of these days I'm going to hide a bluetooth speaker in the break room and play the iPhone ringtone at random intervals until everyone sees the light.
This post is dedicated to my old man, who despite constantly having no clue if his phone is going off or not, stands resolute and unwavering in the face of a simple solution that'll clear all the confusion in his day-to-day life.