Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i Macworld UK

After months – years, even – of rumours, Apple has finally unveiled its mixedreality headset. Dubbed Apple Vision Pro, it supports both AR and VR applications and offers features and specs that make other competing products look like toys. Apple calls it “the most advance personal electronics device ever” and has filed over 5,000 patents related to it. But it will cost you. Apple says it starts at $3,499 (around £2,820) and will be available early in 2024, initially in the US only. No date has been set when we’ll be able to get our hands on it in the UK. Apple claims it is a high-end TV, sound system, computer, and more – making the cost a bargain by comparison. The tech giant calls it a new type of…

Apple’s previous Mac Pro was introduced in 2019 and since then Apple has transitioned every other Mac to its own chip architecture, starting with the M1 in November 2020 followed by the M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra, then the M2 in June 2022, and M2 Pro and M2 Max in January 2023. The Mac Pro, which was still using an ageing Intel processor, was looking very dated. Finally, four years after the 2019 model was unveiled, Apple has introduced a Mac Pro with Apple silicon inside. The new Mac Pro features the M2 Ultra combining the performance of Apple’s most powerful chip with the versatility of PCIe expansion. The Mac Studio has also been updated with the same M2 Ultra chip – see page 21. RELEASE DATE The…

At WWDC 2023, Apple previewed iPadOS 17, this year’s main software update for the iPad. While pre-event rumours suggested this would be a quiet refresh, there were several worthwhile changes and new features that are good news for iPad owners. “iPadOS powers our most versatile device and enables users to do so many things on iPad, and now with iPadOS 17, we deliver an experience that’s even more personal and capable,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. 1. LOCK SCREEN AND WIDGETS Last year iPhone users got the new ability to customize their lock screens, but tablet users missed out. iPadOS 17 now brings this option to the iPad. You can set photo shuffles or Live Photos as the background, customize the font and colours, and…

At WWDC 2023, Apple announced a surprising raft of new features coming to AirPods and AirPods Pro. These revolve around the ability to have your headphones adapt automatically to the sounds around you and adjust noise cancellation or transparency features to suit the situation. The 2nd-gen AirPods Pro get the bulk of the upgrades with three new features: Adaptive Audio, Personalized Volume and Conversation Awareness. Adaptive Audio is a new mode that sits midway between Transparency and noise cancellation. It reacts to different types of noise, knowing to mute some – such as leaf blowers and marching bands, based on the demo – and allow others through, such as the noise of incoming vehicles. In theory, at least this is a smart way to blend safety and convenience without requiring…

The AirTag from Apple is a compact tracking device that has an extremely long life and precise locating ability in the right circumstances. Unlike a GPS tracker, which requires cell service and may drain a battery quickly, an AirTag relies on the distributed Find My network of iPhones, iPads, and Macs that hundreds of millions of people around the world carry with them, and uses Bluetooth LE to signal that hardware. While there are a thousand positive and legitimate ways to use an AirTag, it can be abused when someone tracks you without your knowledge, which potentially exposes you to a dangerous situation. For example, the York regional police department in Canada recently announced that AirTags are being placed in hidden areas of target cars parked in public, and then…

Price: £152 from fave.co/41t9pCS The Edifier WH950NB Bluetooth wireless headphone looks great, is comfortable to wear for long stretches, has easy-to-use physical buttons and delivers solid active noise cancellation. Unfortunately, it’s also a headphone that won’t deliver its best performance unless you’re using a Bluetooth playback device that supports the LDAC codec. For most people, it won’t perform at a level that’s comparable to other quality headphones in its price range. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t deliver good sound at the lower-resolution SBC codec, but there’s no good reason to spend £152 on a headphone that won’t take full advantage of what your playback device can deliver. DESIGN The Edifier WH950NB headphone is available in black or white with gold accents. The earcups have a pebbled plastic surface that evokes…

HOW TO UNLOCK A DECEASED PERSON’S REMAINING DEVICES WITHOUT LEGACY ACCESS The past few years have seen highly elevated levels of unexpected deaths of those around us. Preparations people might once have made as they aged or contracted a disease that took some time to strike the fatal blow are gone in a moment. Survivors are left with loss and the material remains of that person’s life, including their hardware. The saddest thing I have to tell people who write in after someone close to them has passed away is that they can’t access the stored photos, letters, and other parts of a person’s life. In some cases, of course, people wish their life’s digital record to end with them. Most of the time, it’s an accident, due to a…

Apple pulled the covers back on the latest iteration of its Mac operating system at WWDC on 5 June 2023. Named macOS Sonoma after the city in Northern California known for its wine-making region, the new software has customization at its heart, with Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering stating, “We think users are going to love macOS Sonoma and the new ways it enables them to personalize with widgets and stunning new screen savers, see new levels of gaming performance, and gain powerful productivity for video conferencing and browsing with Safari.” Here are the headline features to look forward to in Sonoma when it arrives in the autumn. 1. SCREENSAVERS Okay, this might seem like a blast from the past, but screensavers are still a thing…

Apple has announced the Mac Studio with M2 Max and M2 Ultra, delivering the performance boost of the M2 Max and the newly introduced M2 Ultra in the compact design of the Mac Studio. RELEASE DATE The new mac Pro is available to buy now from fave.co/3JI6PAWI. PRICE M2 Max Mac Studio: £2,099 M2 Ultra Mac Studio: £4,199 DESIGN The new Mac Studio has the same design and dimensions as its predecessor. The M2 Ultra version is slightly heavier, weighing 3.6kg compared to the M2 Max model, which comes in at 2.7kg. As before there’s only one colour option. PROCESSOR Here’s a quick rundown of how the chips break down: M2 Max CPU: 12 cores GPU: 30 cores/38 cores RAM: 32GB/64GB/96GB (with 38‑core GPU) M2 Ultra CPU: Up to 24…

At WWDC 2023, Apple announced the watchOS 10 software update, which brings a complete rethinking of how we use and interact with the Apple Watch. While a leak ahead of the event that claimed the company was redesigning the famous Grid View of apps didn’t happen, other fundamental aspects of the interface have received major revamps. “With watchOS 10, we’ve redesigned the interface, allowing users to experience Apple Watch like never before,” said Alan Dye, Apple’s vice president of Human Interface Design. The most striking change is the introduction of the new Smart Stack, a collection of widgets accessible from any watch face (with a turn of the Digital Crown) that adjusts the information presented to the user based on the context: weather information at the start of the day,…

Apple has a rich, if chequered, history of releasing new Macs for hardcore computing professionals. Now that the Mac Pro has had a long-awaited revamp to Apple Silicon, let’s remember the days when pro Macs were towering beasts using more metal than the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and more plastic than a nursery full of Lego bricks. Today some pro Mac users are happy with a flimsy bit of aluminium like the Mac mini. Wimps. We demand something that looks like it contains a nuclear reactor. It needs to be bigger than a suitcase with warning stickers all over it, hotter than a barbecue and noisier than a drag car. Yes, something like the old Power Mac G5. Here’s a look at Apple’s beefy, bodacious, and behemoth pro Macs over…

Price: £34.99 from fave.co/3qq8p5J Some security products that offer both Windows and macOS versions seem to devote equal time and resources to both versions. Others more heavily favour the Windows version, leaving the Mac edition lacking certain features and options. Such is the case with F-Secure Total for the Mac, which seems to be a full-featured security program at first glance but isn’t quite on par with its Windows counterpart. INSTALLATION To use F-Secure Total, you can select one of the paid subscriptions right off the bat or go for the free 30-day trial, all of which prompt you to set up an account. The trial requires no credit card and even gives you free technical support if you need it. At the main screen, you’re asked if you want…

Price: £195 from fave.co/3HZWCAW The Shure brand might have you thinking of pro audio gear more than consumer electronics, but the Shure Aonic 40 noise-cancelling headphone deserve to be compared to what market leaders Bose and Sony have to offer. And considering that Shure started out building innovative microphones starting in 1925, this headphone does a great job with phone calls. The Aonic 40 is a closed‑back, over-ear headphone with 40mm dynamic drivers. Those drivers utilize neodymium magnets and have a frequency response range of 20-to 22kHz. The headphone features a sleek and stylish design, with a matte black finish and chrome accents. The earpads are plush and comfortable, and they create a good seal around the ears, which helps to block out external noise even before you turn on…

After months of rumours, Apple revealed the 15-inch MacBook Air during the WWDC event on 5 June 2023. Here’s everything that was revealed about the new laptop, which Apple claims is the thinnest 15-inch laptop on the market. DESIGN The new Air has the same squareedged metal construction as the 13-inch MacBook Air M2, but obviously this time the chassis is a little larger to contain the 15.3-inch panel that is the star of the show. All this growth hasn’t robbed the Air of its namesake though, with Apple stating that it is a remarkably thin 11.5mm and weighs in at just 1.51kg. Apple claims that this makes it 40 percent thinner and around 200g lighter than the “best-selling 15-inch Intel Core i7 PC laptop”, although we don’t know for…

At the WWDC keynote, Apple unveiled some of the new features coming in iOS 17. Among them a new app called Journal, Live Voicemail and a new way to use Stickers. Read on for the lowdown on all the new features and improvements coming to your iPhone later in 2023. RELEASE DATE iOS 17 will be rolled out to iPhones across the world in autumn 2023, almost certainly in mid-September. Over the past few years, the release of the new version of iOS has been fairly consistent: iOS 16: 12 September, 2022. iOS 15: 20 September, 2021. iOS 14: 16 September, 2020. iOS 13: 19 September, 2019. iOS 12: 17 September, 2018. We therefore predict an iOS 17 launch date of 11 September. Before the full version arrives, a series…

A long with iOS 17, watchOS 10 and macOS 14 Sonoma, Apple announced tvOS 17, which includes a few new nice-to-have features, including a redesigned Control Centre and the ability to locate a lost Apple TV remote with your iPhone. But the main reason you’ll want to update this autumn is FaceTime. That’s right, Apple is finally bringing the FaceTime app for video calls on Apple TV 4K. Using Continuity Camera and the iPhone, users will be able to wirelessly connect to the iPhone while presenting calls on your television. With the advantage of the bigger screen, Apple is also introducing Split View for Apple TV which lets users enjoy watching shows or movies while on a call. Apple says video conferencing apps from Cisco, Zoom, and others will launch…

Apple and Google have announced a joint initiative to prevent the misuse of Bluetooth online tracking devices, such as Apple’s AirTag. The two companies have developed a specification that is being proposed as an industry standard for iOS and Android and has the backing of many third-party companies that offer such trackers, including Chipolo, Pebblebee, Samsung and Tile. “Apple launched AirTag to give users the peace of mind knowing where to find their most important items,” said Ron Huang, Apple’s vice president of Sensing and Connectivity. “We built AirTag and the Find My network with a set of proactive features to discourage unwanted tracking – a first in the industry – and we continue to make improvements to help ensure the technology is being used as intended. This new industry…

For years, iPad Pro owners have complained the ‘Pro’ is evident in the hardware, but the software is consumergrade, making the high-end tablet just a very expensive way to run iPad apps that already run as fast as you could want on far more affordable iPad models. That has improved in small steps over the past few years, but the iPad Pro still doesn’t feel like a Pro device, and it’s a software problem. The most obvious example has been the lack of Apple’s own professional content creation software on the platform. Now, with the release of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad, it’s a little easier to justify the ‘Pro’ in iPad Pro. REAL PRO SOFTWARE I am in no way a professional video editor or sound…

There are lots of different types of speakers out there to choose from, but Apple users are best off getting one with AirPlay support. We’ve tested out some of the best ones you can buy. Multi-room speaker systems are more popular than ever – especially as mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad allow us to carry our entire music library from room to room, or connect to music streaming services such as Apple Music or Amazon Prime Music with a tap. There’s a lot of choice out there, offering a wide variety of features, specs, designs and price tags. But we’re here to guide you through the complexity and help you find the best speaker equipped with AirPlay 2 for optimal performance with your Mac and iOS devices. HOW…