USING THE LIFEPROOF TOUCH SCREEN UNDERWATER

Learn Apple's Shortcut - or Come Up for Air!

The technology behind Apple's iPhone and iPad touch screens is pretty amazing. Since they have ‘touch’ in their name, it’s logical that they respond to the pressure of our fingers. However, that's not the secret. Another idea is that they respond to body heat. Certainly not a bad theory, but since some of us always have cold hands, that too is incorrect. So, how do they work?

Apple touch screens respond to the natural electrical property of our bodies. You may not think of yourself as a battery holding an electrical charge, but that’s exactly why you get the static-electricity doorknob zap. So, what may not be good for doorknobs is great for touch screen technology.

Electricity is also why your devices don't work when you take your LifeProof-protected touch screen underwater. The electrical properties of the water work against the ability of your finger to transfer its minute electrical charge to an iPhone of iPad touch screen when you have your device submerged in water. It's because of physics—not the waterproof iPhone case or alien conspiracies.

You may be wondering why anyone would need to use the touchscreen underwater. No one goes to the bottom of the pool to draft emails, right? True, but taking photos and videos, and listening to music in and under the water is a fantastic capability that LifeProof waterproof iPod case and iPhone case users can’t live without.

Fortunately, Apple has given us a great way to snap photos and shoot videos underwater. It's the volume-up button. If you're taking photos, push the volume-up button once to snap your pic. For videos, your first push of the volume-up button starts recording; the second push stops recording. After doing this a few times, you might even find it easier and more reliable than using the onscreen camera shutter release.

For videos, you can also start and stop recording above water using the on screen control, then dive down and capture the action.

Here are the touchscreen touch points:

• Apple touch screens rely on our body's electrical capacity
• Water hampers the electrical connection between users and Apple touch screens
• When taken underwater in a LifeProof case, touch screens do not work
• The volume-up button is a great shortcut to shoot underwater photos and videos
• Video recording can also be started and stopped above water