Sommaire pour October 2023 de MacFormat

It’s amazing to think that almost half of all sales of Macs these days are to people who’ve never owned one before, but that’s exactly what Apple revealed during its third quarter results in August. However, it’s also not surprising – there’s a halo effect around products such as the iPhone and AirPods that attracts people to other Apple products too. Plus, the company is on a tear right now; over the last nine months, it’s launched new versions of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, Mac mini, Mac Studio and Mac Pro. And with Apple silicon going from strength to strength, the Mac is attracting growing numbers of upgraders too. So whether you’re a first-time buyer, a student heading to school or college, or a seasoned user switching up to…

Linn Sondek LP12-50 >From £50,000 > From linn.co.uk > This rather pricey turntable marks the 50th anniversary of possibly the most iconic product in hi-fi history. For this important occasion, Linn has teamed up with LoveFrom – yes, as in ex-Apple Chief Design Officer Jonny Ive’s creative design firm. The LoveFrom collective’s ”respectful and gentle” expertise has ensured that the player comes with as much aesthetic appeal as possible without veering too far from the much-lauded 1970s original. You’ll find precision-engineered aluminium hinges, a subtle yet funky power/speed button, and a Bedrok plinth formed of orthogonal layers of beech placed under pressure to create one solid chunk of material. There are only 250 being handmade in Scotland on a first-come, first-served basis. Which doesn’t give any of us much…

IT WILL TAKE 1 hour YOU WILL LEARN How to build a basic website YOU’LL NEED Blocs (£3.99/month or £39.99/year), iPadOS 15.6 or later Blocs has been available on the Mac for a number of years, enabling web designers and developers to quickly create professional-looking websites and WordPress themes without needing to write any code. More recently, it’s been launched on the iPad, giving the choice of creating a website from scratch or using a template. Given the extensive number of features beneath Blocs’ simple looking interface, it’s difficult to do this app justice. As well as using Bloc sections to structure websites and Bric elements to bring them to life, you can add gradients and shadows, apply CSS filters and add scroll-based parallax effects. Fonts can be imported and…

YOU WILL LEARN How Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit helps Windows games run on Mac Apple’s latest M1 and M2 processors provide much better graphics performance Key fact Old Macs that used Intel processors included a piece of Apple software called Boot Camp. This enabled you to install Windows – which was designed for Intel processors – on your Mac, and then switch between the macOS and Windows as required. It was a great option for playing Windows games – but Boot Camp no longer runs on the latest Apple silicon Macs. Whoopi Goldberg caused a bit of a stir online recently, when she criticised W games developer Activision-Blizzard for not releasing the critically acclaimed Diablo IV on Mac. But this is nothing new for Mac gamers, and the sad truth…

However much storage you have on your Mac, you’ll always find a way to fill it. You might vow every time you buy a new model to keep it running swift and smooth, but over time your best intentions get overwhelmed, whether that’s down to a lack of time or falling into bad habits. Even if your Mac’s storage is still relatively empty, you’ll have noticed it start to fill up. Perhaps you’ve taken a brief tour of your personal user folders and realised there’s junk on there that needs clearing out. Or maybe you’re just desperate to find a new home for files you no longer need on a daily basis but might want to access to later. Whatever your motivations for clearing out your Mac’s storage drive, we’re…

Mac FORMAT VERDICT A great accessory to have in your pocket – even if it is a little slow. ★★★★☆ +MagSafe ready +Emergency power +Small, neat, relatively unobtrusive -Slow iPhone charging While Apple’s made great efforts to boost the iPhone’s battery life, gaming, web surfing and movie viewing all take their toll - and if you’re shooting 4K video too? You’d better have a spare battery to hand. Belkin’s BoostCharge Magnetic Wireless Power Bank 2.5K is just the thing. For £35, you get a 2500mAh battery pack that attaches to your iPhone 12, 13 or 14 using MagSafe and gives the battery a boost. We say ‘boost’, because the power bank isn’t enough to recharge your battery from 0-100%, but it will top up its power. Available in black or…

When it comes to fully featured graphics tablets, Xencelabs is on a tear right now – and it’s easy to see why. The company’s Pen Display 24 wowed us last month (MF394) with its incredible build-quality and cool features. Now it’s the Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium Bundle’s turn. And it’s great. For £329.90 you get a medium-sized graphic tablet (measuring 320.5x232.5x8mm), a Quick Keys remote control, two styli (the 3- Button Pen and the Thin Pen with two buttons) and a pen case, which comes with all kinds of add-ons and accessories. An equivalent Intuos Pro tablet from Wacom would cost £329.99 just for the tablet alone – accessories like a second thin pen and spare nibs will cost extra. The Xencelabs Medium Tablet Bundle’s pen case is, ahem, a…

Many of Logic’s classic software instruments and effects plug-ins have been carried over Apple has been trying to convince us for a number of years that an iPad can replace a Mac for professional creative work and, in a handful of cases, like art and graphics that’s arguably been true. For music production, however, serious Digital Audio Workstations (DAWs) haven’t made the leap to iPad, with the notable exception of Steinberg’s Cubasis. Perhaps in an effort to remedy this, Apple has created Logic Pro for iPad. Light years more powerful than GarageBand, it’s also not a direct port of Logic Pro for Mac. Instead, Apple has created a supremely powerful new app that will be familiar to existing users but is completely reworked for the touch interface. Unlike Final Cut…

EXPECTED NOV 2023 UPDATED APR 2021 iMac From £1,399 Ever since the Bondi Blue iMac debuted in 1998, Apple’s all-in-one desktop computer has been setting standards for design and performance. The current 24in model is certainly Apple’s finest yet – thanks to its 4.5K (4480x2520) Retina display and the Apple-designed M1 chip, which is available with either an 8-core CPU/7-core GPU at the entry-level, or an 8-core CPU/8-core GPU on the mid-range and top-tier versions. All models come with 8GB of memory as standard (upgradeable to 16GB), with solid-state drive (SSD) storage ranging from 256GB on the entry-level and mid-range versions to 512GB on the top tier, although you can add more – up to 1TB on the entry-level and up to 2TB on the mid-range and top-tier models…

Contact us Email your queries and your questions to letters@macformat.com LETTER OF THE MONTH! PRINTING BY NUMBERS Thank you for highlighting the power of Apple apps Pages, Numbers and Keynote in your September issue (MF394). I’m an avid user of Numbers and Keynote, and present a lot of material, so I was extremely interested to discover your tips. However, one issue I haven’t been able to overcome is the ‘print highlighted section’ that features in an Excel spreadsheet and seemingly not Numbers. Sometimes I only need/want to print or PDF a section of my data. Have I missed a trick or is this really a missing feature? BY GARY WILLIAMS ROB SAYS… It really is a missing feature – and one we hope Apple addresses in the next Numbers update.…

For our latest subscription offer see page 34! For any fan of the Premier League, seeing Wayne Rooney and Mikel Arteta on the pitch is nothing new. Both players gained legions of fans when they played for Manchester United and Arsenal respectively in their heyday but things are different this time around. They’re standing watching a spectacle. On the Audi Field, in Washington DC, home to DC United, they wait patiently as light-and-smoke machines are rolled on to the pitch, turning the stadium into a disco. Fireworks paint the sky red and white, while a flyover and the American national anthem bring the party to a crescendo, just in time for the whistle to blow for kick-off. This is football Major League Soccer (MLS)-style and there is every reason to…

1 Organise logins There are various ways to organise your logins – by folder, type and by marking some as favourites. 2 Find your login Logins matching the current view (or search terms) are shown here – simply select one to view it. 3 Make changes You can manually edit key details like the login’s name and URL(s) – the websites it appears on. 4 Store more details You can set special conditions, plus attach more information – notes and custom text fields too. IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes YOU WILL LEARN To set up and use Bitwarden on Safari YOU’LL NEED Bitwarden account and app(s), macOS 10.14 or later, Safari Genius tip! Make frequently accessed logons more visible by ticking the Favourite box when editing so they appear at…

1 Project sidebar Chapters, scenes and plot outlines help you manage (and rearrange) your story’s structure. 2 Shortcut toolbar Provides shortcuts based on the current tab you’re in – roll over each button for a description. 3 Asset details Assets allow you to organise your research – use the provided templates, plus add your own. 4 Quick navigation A new tab opens every time to move to a new section. You can use these to switch quickly between them. IT WILL TAKE 30 minutes YOU WILL LEARN Plan, organise and write a story with Quoll Writer YOU’LL NEED Quoll Writer (Free), macOS 12 or later, a story idea or two! Quoll Writer helps you plot, organise, and bring together research material If you’ve a great idea for…

IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes YOU WILL LEARN To add motion blur; create long exposures YOU’LL NEED Spectre Camera (iOS 15 or later/ Slow Shutter Cam (13.1 or later) Digital camera users can manually adjust their shutter speed to capture a long exposure. This causes moving objects to become blurred which is a springboard for a variety of creative effects. Ocean waves become abstract paint-like streaks. Cars at night emit laser-like light trails. Your iPhone chooses its shutter speed automatically to try and capture a sharp, blur-free shot. If you shoot in low light, that might trigger Night mode, where you can manually dial in a longer exposure, up to a maximum of 30 seconds. However, in the daytime you’re stuck with the shutter speed that the Camera app chooses.…

Playback is rich and expansive with powerful low end, clear mids and sparkling highs. Music sounds joyous VERDICT Superb-sounding earbuds with a wealth of features at a very reasonable price. ★★★★☆ + Wonderful, rich sound + Excellent noise cancelling + Loads of features + Attractive price - Buds battery life a little short - No manual EQ The Ear (2) is the latest release by London-based Nothing, a company that specialises in wireless audio. These earbuds are an upgrade on its original Ear model, and also drop slightly in price. The first thing that strikes you is the design, with the case and buds both using clear plastic for a unique look. The whole thing is also very lightweight and well built, with the earbuds offering IP54 and the case…

Mac FORMAT VERDICT An affordable alternative to Apple’s Smart Folio with a flexible form factor. ★★★★☆ +Affordable protection +Landscape and portrait stand -Slightly fiddly design When spending money on an iPad, it pays to protect your investment, and the Rebound Hybrid Case 360 promises to do just that. Designed for iPad Pro 11-inch and 12.9-inch, it comes with a back case featuring a clear shell, protective camera cutout and rubberised bumpers that can be used on its own; and a matching wrap-around magnetic cover, which takes some of the features of Apple’s £89 Smart Folio case and gives them a novel twist. The magnetic cover has a magnetic flap on its leading edge that can be used to keep your Apple Pencil in place and the cover closed (something Apple’s…

Adding serious screen real estate to a laptop generally requires using conventional desk monitors, but the Monduo 16 Pro Duo Display is a different proposition entirely. In its folded form it is roughly the same size and weight as a 16-inch MacBook Pro but made of plastic to keep it as light as possible. Open it out and it sits over the back of your laptop’s display, with one side sprung to allow a snug fit. At the base of the central panel is an extendible foot which makes the whole thing steady when placed on a flat surface, less so if resting it on your knee. The Monduo’s twin screens can be positioned flat or in a more curved arrangement. Each display has two USB-C ports and an HDMI…

Constant increases in your wealth thanks to trains shuttling back and forth From 2006 comes an iOS port of yet another classic PC game, this time a railway tycoon sim in which you plot steam-based financial dominance with not a care for the huge amounts of industrial pollution you’re inflicting on the world. And while it’s possible to play your way through various careers and scenarios, a better fit for mobile is the Train Table mode, in which you’re set loose on the landscape with no goals, infinite cash, and may find yourself reaching for an engine driver’s cap. The actual game, in which you play against up to 20 would-be railroad barons, isn’t exactly stressful, however. The process of linking resources such as farms with cities and trying to…

[ MAC APP] Mimestream $49.99/year (about £39/year) Gmail on your Mac done right Gmail is one of the world’s most popular email providers, but it’s never felt properly integrated into macOS because, aside from using it with the macOS Mail app, you need to access it from a web browser – it’s never had a standalone app of its own. Mimestream has now stepped in to fill the void, and it’s everything you could want from Gmail on Mac. It’s built for Apple silicon and features a ton of familiar features, including swipe gestures, menu bar extras, and more. You can write with Markdown, use Gmail aliases, undo messages you’ve sent, and mention other users in emails. And if you have multiple Gmail addresses, you can incorporate them all…

£35 > Cost of a single AirTag from the Apple Store. An AirTag 4-pack costs £119. 16 > Maximum number of AirTags that can be associated with a single Apple ID. 2023 > Year in which Apple is expected to announce a new range of AirTags, with more details expected very soon. 1 year > Average lifespan of the replaceable CR2032 battery used in the AirTag. You’ll receive a warning when the battery is running low. 240m > Maximum estimated range of an AirTag’s wireless signal, which uses Bluetooth to connect to nearby devices. In theory, an AirTag is trackable for hundreds of miles because of the way the underlying technology works. £359 > Cost of an AirTag Hermès key ring. It is available in 16 different colours, though, including…

What do you look for in a Mac? Do you want a powerful computer that can handle multiple 8K video feeds, or are you after a more basic device for web surfing and email? Does it need to be portable or are you happy to leave it on your desk? Is money no object or do you have to watch what you spend? Or maybe you’re looking for customisation options when buying a Mac from the Apple Store? In this feature, we’ll explore the wide range of choices available to you, according to your needs and budget. There’s a Mac for (almost) every pocket. We also recommend some essential add-ons, accessories and apps you can buy for your new Mac to help you make the most of it. But before…

IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to use the Elements Organiser to managed your clip collection YOU’LL NEED Adobe Premiere Elements 2023, (£86.56), macOS 11 or later With an ever-growing collection of video footage it can be a time-consuming challenge to find specific clips. Fortunately, the Elements Organiser is packed full of tools to help you take control over your video collection so you can locate and export the best clips to edit in Premiere Elements. Better selection By default, Elements Organiser stores clips chronologically, but this relies on your memory to find a particular clip. With a little bit of housekeeping as you import your footage you can make it much easier (and faster) to find specific video clips in the future. We’ll show you how…

IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to make the most of the Music app on iPad, and access iTunes purchases too YOU’LL NEED iPadOS 16 or later, Music app, Apple Music subscription (optional) Of all the versions of the Music app available on Apple devices, the iPad version is our favourite. It’s simpler to use than the Mac app, and less cramped than the one on iPhone, and it offers the best features of both. Better still, the Music app on iPad makes the most of your tablet’s bigger screen with a great-looking interface that puts all the key features easily at your fingertips. To enjoy music on on your iPad you will need at least one of three things: an Apple Music subscription (from £10.99/month); an…

IT WILL TAKE 5 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to find places, get directions and explore using Maps YOU’LL NEED watchOS 9 or later Genius tip! If you’re in one of the cities where Maps on iPhone offers directions specifically for cyclists, you can get them on your Apple Watch too. Maps has been one of the stars on Apple Watch since the very first version, and hopefully we’ve now all got a bit more used to getting vibrations when driving. Apple has given it a visual makeover for watchOS 10 (we’re using the public beta in our screenshots), but the core app works just as it always did; you can get real-time directions, select from a range of transport including walking and public transport, and find nearby places ranging…

The artist Andy Warhol famously said that one day everybody would be famous for 15 minutes. He got the number right and the unit wrong: today, everybody can be famous for 15 seconds. That’s how long a song on TikTok lasts – although the video it contains can be a little longer. There’s been an explosion of people uploading music, video and podcasts for people to stream live or listen to at their leisure, an explosion in places to share content, and a whole new world of hardware and software to help make the most of it. It’s never been easier to share on social media – although making money from it is more difficult. But money isn’t the only reason to broadcast yourself. It’s a lot of fun, and you…

The effect is pleasing and fun, and does everything you’d expect an Ambilight TV to do. Back in 2004, Philips wowed TV watchers with Ambilight, its first TV equipped with a rear-mounted light strip. The TV claimed to produce a more immersive viewing experience by splashing colours on the wall behind it to echo those on screen. The effect was also said to reduce eye-strain. Philips has continued to iterate on that idea ever since, with its latest Ambilight TV line-up starting at 65 inches and costing from £599.99. Philips says it has more than 10 million Ambilight ‘lovers’ worldwide. While Ambilight is a lot of fun, it’s hardly essential, especially when it means having to buy a whole new television in order to take advantage of it. However, smart-lighting…

Group test Reviewed by ALEX BLAKE ON TEST… > Discord > FaceTime > Google Meet > Microsoft Teams > Skype > Zoom When the pandemic struck in 2020, the world got a fast lesson in video-calling apps. If you didn’t know how to use one before, you certainly did after and, for many of us, the world of work was changed forever. These days, video-calling apps are still with us – for many people, they’re an absolutely essential part of day-to-day life. But they’re not just for work, and are ideal for catching up with friends and family in your downtime. Whether you need to discuss your tasks with colleagues or just want to hang out with mates for casual group chats or organising get-togethers, you can bet there’s…

According to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter this month, Apple is already using an AI chatbot internally to help its teams do their work, and it’s going to start moving it into customer-facing products next year. If he’s right, then it might not be long before we get an AI-boosted Siri. If you’ve ever used an AI chatbot, like ChatGPT, for instance, then you’ll know it’s a lot better than Apple’s current virtual assistant, Siri. There’s no other way to say it – right now, Siri sucks. Ask ChatGPT something like ‘explain quantum computing in simple terms’, and you get an actual answer. Ask Siri and you get a ‘I found this on the web’ response, which tries to point you in the right direction but is simply handing…