Inhoudsopgave van February 2025 - MacFormat

Whether you’ve been lucky enough to get a shiny new Mac, iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch for Christmas or not, you can still kit out your device with some incredible apps – and they needn’t cost you a bean! On p20, you’ll discover no less than 50 of our favourites – from photo editors to drawing programs, word processors to map apps and utilities. We hope you find them useful. When you’ve finished checking them out, you might want to give your favourite tunes a spin. In Part 2 of our Apple Music Guide (p62), we reveal the best ways to import, manage and sync your CD or vinyl collection across your devices. Plus, we’ll show you how to create some great playlists too. Talking of playlists, you might want…

More revelations have come in an interview with Fast Company, with Apple revealing many previously unknown details about the new M4 Mac mini. For instance, so many users of the previous Mac mini would turn it around to access the rear ports that Apple realised it had to listen to its customers and add slots to the front of the device. Yet the upgradeable, modular SSDs were influenced more by engineering concerns than by Apple customers, the company says. Apple also redesigned the saw that cuts the Mac mini during the manufacturing process in order to reduce aluminium waste, while the Apple logo is made from 80% recycled steel as part of the computer’s status as the first carbon neutral Mac. Oh, and that power button that’s annoyingly located on…

Are you waiting for a MacBook Pro with an OLED display to finally make an appearance? According to a leaked roadmap, it could touch down in 2026. And that’s not all – the next few years could yield OLED-equipped versions of the MacBook Air, iPad mini and iPad Air, as well as Apple’s first foldable device. Revealed by Jukanlosreve on X and reportedly sourced from industry analysts Omdia, the timeline suggests that a MacBook Pro with Tandem OLED tech will arrive in 2026, with display sizes increased by 0.1 inches to 14.3 and 16.3 inches, respectively. There’ll be a new Tandem OLED iPad Pro in 2028 too, the roadmap indicates. As for non-Tandem OLED panels, those will be outfitted into the iPad mini in 2026, the iPad Air in 2027,…

Software can be expensive. The Mac’s 3D modelling tool ViaCAD Pro 12, for example, sets you back £700 on the Mac App Store, and on the iPhone and iPad, professional piano-tuning app Verituner costs £600. But you don’t have to break the bank to bag an app. There’s a huge range of software available for your Apple gear that’s entirely free of charge. ‘Free’ doesn’t mean ‘poor’ either. Some of the best apps in their class are freebies. Handbrake, for example, has long been the Mac’s go-to app for video conversion, and it’s completely free to download and use. If you’re struggling to play a video file, the free VLC app can probably do it and The Unarchiver is the only tool you need for decompressing archived files. In this…

There are some great free apps you can use on your Apple Watch. While most watchOS apps are components for iPhone apps, some are stand-alone offerings. We’re keeping away from software with in-app purchases (IAPs) unless there’s a very respectable free version you can use for as long as you like. WatchChat2 FROM xanteam.de ALSO ON Watch only For some reason, there still isn’t an official WhatsApp app for Apple Watch, but third-party client WatchChat 2 is the next best thing. You can access all your WhatsApp chats, enjoy media, send and receive voice messages and more, all from your wrist. A premium, paid-for version unlocks new features, but you can use the free app forever. Cloud Battery FROM alanyan.ca ALSO ON Mac, iPod, iPhone With Cloud Battery, you can see…

Subscribe online… www.magazinesdirect.com/mac/DH44A Or call 0330 333 1113 and quote ‘DH44A’ Great reasons to subscribe • NEW! Digital access to 130+ issues when you subscribe to print!** • Enjoy the MacFormat print edition for just £21.09 every six months! • Or enjoy six months of MacFormat digital edition for just £16.87! • Delivered direct to your door and device • For more than 25 years, we’ve been helping Apple fans get the most from their kit Keep your subscription rolling today! DIGITAL ONLY £16.87 every six months PRINT & DIGITAL ACCESS PLUS ACCESS TO 130 DIGITAL BACK ISSUES! £21.09 every six months Terms and conditions: Offer closes 28 February 2025. Please allow up to six weeks for the delivery of your first subscription issue (up to eight weeks overseas). The…

Apple Intelligence is finally here – and that means Photos now has added image-editing superpowers, thanks to the new AI-assisted Clean Up tool. In older versions of Photos for Mac, you could try using the Retouch tool to replace unwanted spots or blemishes, but it struggled to remove larger objects without leaving smudged or blurry pixels. And there was no Retouch tool in the iOS version of Photos. The new AI-powered Clean Up tool does a much better job of replacing unwanted objects (such as a distracting background photo bomber) to create a cleaner shot. We’re looking at Clean Up on the Mac and iPad here, but the tool is available in the iOS version of Photos too. The Clean Up tool works amazingly well, but it can struggle on…

The newly released iOS 18.2 is a really big deal, bigger than iOS 18 itself. And that’s because at last it brings the new and long-awaited Siri and Apple Intelligence features to your iPhone 15 Pro or later. While many Apple Intelligence features are stand-alone or app-specific – such as Image Playground for creating pictures and Clean Up in Photos – some are system-wide, and of course Siri is available everywhere on your device. iOS 18.2 gives Siri a fresh new look and some extra powers. It’s more useful, and there’s a handy type-to-talk option that you access with a swift double-tap. But the biggest change is that if you want it to, Siri now integrates with ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence (AI) service. Apple plans to offer alternatives such as…

Apple’s music recognition service for Macs and more, Shazam, recently celebrated its 100 billionth recognised song. That means it’s listened to even more songs than someone at Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, and even though the app is very familiar it still feels very much like a magic trick – especially when you can simply ask your watch what song’s playing and get an instant answer. In watchOS 11, Shazam has been renamed (mostly) to Music Recognition, but while it may have a different name it’s still the same music-recognising masterpiece it’s always been. And, as we’ll discover, it’s easy, efficient and really fun to get your watch to tell you what’s playing. Chances are it’s Dance Monkey by Tones and I, the most Shazam’d track of all time with 45…

Now that you’re familiar with the Music app on Mac and everything it offers, it’s time to dive deeper into playlists – especially Smart Playlists. While creating one is incredibly easy, as it’s likely you’ve used them before via Apple Music or in iTunes, there are plenty of features to explore. Playlists are curated collections of tracks that you can name, personalise with a photo, and even share with friends or as public playlists that anyone can subscribe to. For example, if you want to create a playlist for your morning gym sessions, you can create one and launch it within Apple Music – or simply ask Siri to play it. You can add music from your own library or from Apple Music’s streaming catalogue – however you must have…

> £559 (optional Marker Plus stylus, £40, Book Folio case, £79, Type Folio keyboard case, £219) > FROM remarkable.com > FEATURES 274.1x196.6X5.1mm, 525g, 11.8-inch e-ink display (2160x1620 at 229ppi), 1.8GHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, 2GB memory, 64GB storage; up to 14 days’ regular use, 90 days’ standby Colour screen aside, the most welcome feature is its under-the-hood performance boosts This new reMarkable e-ink tablet is the third model from the company, but it doesn’t replace the reMarkable 2. Instead it offers a high-end alternative that makes several advances over its acclaimed sibling. The screen is bigger at 11.8 inches versus the reMarkable 2’s 10.3-inch display. This is achieved by both increasing the size of the tablet (274.1x196.6mm instead of 246x188mm) and reducing the bezels. It’s a little thicker at 5.1mm (up…

> £199.99 > FROM logitech.com > FEATURES USB-C, Bluetooth, customisable control; switch between up to three Macs, plug-in integration with a number of pro apps The two-part hardware system provides a much better way to interact with certain pro apps Modern creative apps have so many tools and features that a keyboard and mouse are often not the most efficient way to work with them, even if it is very familiar. Logitech’s MX Creative Console is a clever two-part hardware system that pairs with the company’s Logi Options software and provides a much better way to interact with certain pro apps, as well as more widely used software like Apple Music, Zoom and Spotify. To get started, download the free Logi Options app for Mac which also manages any other…

Group test Reviewed by NICK PEERS ON TEST… > Avast One Silver > Bitdefender Antivirus for Mac > Intego Internet Security X9 > Malwarebytes Premium Security > Norton AntiVirus for Mac > Trend Micro Antivirus These days, every Mac needs antivirus protection. Despite the hardened security built into macOS itself, there are still opportunities for all kinds of malware, from traditional viruses and spyware to new threats like ransomware and so-called stealer malware. Macs have been particularly targeted by the latter, with Atomic Stealer and Poseidon Stealer both new threats designed to steal sensitive information such as passwords, login details and financial info. You don’t need to pay for antivirus protection – there are several excellent free tools out there – but doing so provides you with a broader range of…

> £9.99 > FROM the4winds.com > NEEDS Mac OS X 10.6 or later Unearthing the perfect layout is a very satisfying feeling Pokémon is one of the most popular gaming franchises in the world, and you can feel its influence coursing through NeoDuel: Backpack Monsters. But this is no simple Pokémon knockoff – it’s a different beast entirely. And what a fun beast it is. In NeoDuel, you get a set of tiles upon which you can place monsters known as Cosmions. These creatures have various stats for attacks, healing, energy usage and more. You get a random selection to pick from (which you can re-roll if you like), and each monster comes with a different cost. NeoDuel is an auto battler, so once you’ve set up your team, you…

Some of the best ideas from Apple have their origins in science-fiction TV shows or literature. I’m pretty sure the iPad kind of existed in Star Trek: The Next Generation, nearly 30 years before Steve Jobs revealed one on stage in San Francisco in 2011 when he introduced the world to the smooth slab of black glass, polycarbonate and aluminium that would change everything, once again. Equally, artificial intelligence existed in science fiction long before it did in an iPhone. Sure we’ve had virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa for years now, but it’s only thanks to ChatGPT Advanced Voice Mode and Google Gemini Live being released this year that we’ve finally got an AI that we can talk to like it’s a human, just like Lieutenant Commander Data in…

Rumours have swirled for a while that Apple is working on a HomePod with a built-in display, as well as its own smart home security camera. Now, industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has reiterated his belief that the former will enter mass production in 2025, with the latter arriving a year later. Kuo believes the camera will be able to wirelessly connect to the HomePod, and that Apple will “tightly integrate” the two into its HomeKit system in other ways. Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman has previously claimed that Apple is creating a HomePod with a built-in screen, plus a smart home speaker with a display mounted on a moveable arm.…

B&O Beoplay Eleven > £429 > From bang-olufsen.com > Looking for an even more stylish alternative to Apple’s AirPods? Give these wireless earbuds from Danish audio makers Bang & Olufsen a try. Available in Natural Aluminium and Copper Tone finishes, they boast an AirPods Pro-like in-ear design with Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) to keep unwanted sounds out and great sounds in. Equipped with six microphones, the Beoplay Eleven include both Wind Guard (to reduce ambient wind noise) and Transparency modes (to let some sounds in), as well as Bluetooth multipoint so you can seamlessly switch between devices without missing a beat. Water- and dust-proof to IP57 and made from aluminium and toughened glass, the earbuds can last for up to six hours between recharges (with ANC on) with an additional 14…

Numbers, Pages and Keynote FROM apple.com/uk ALSO ON iPhone, iPad and iCloud Where else could we start but with the Mac’s sensational suite of productivity apps? Previously commercial products, the Pages word processor, Numbers spreadsheet app and Keynote presenter are completely free. Pages is a fantastic word processor that is just at home with images as it is with text. As well as writing a quick letter to your bank manager, you can also use it to lay out newsletters or leaflets, make posters, print business cards and more. You don’t need Microsoft Excel to make a spreadsheet. The excellent Numbers has all the formula and function features you need for an informative spreadsheet, and can include shapes, pictures and even videos too. And with Keynote, making great presentations is…

Apple’s Mail app has long been giving its rivals a run for their money, but the addition of Apple Intelligence is taking it to another level. With a host of great new features, and more promised on the way, it’s set to revolutionise how you handle all those emails that fill your inbox each day. It’ll also potentially change the way you communicate by ensuring each message you send is near-perfect thanks to the magic of Writing Tools. Upgrade your Mac to macOS 15.1 or later, and you’ll benefit from easier searching. With priority messages, time-sensitive emails are now sent to the top of the inbox so, if you have a flight or some event tickets, you’ll be able to quickly find them. Mail is also making it easier to…

There’s a new phrase is being used to describe the iPhone 16 series rear camera: the 48MP Fusion camera. The resolution? That’s not new. But the other word, Fusion, is. Apple uses the term Deep Fusion for its computational photography processing, which helps dramatically improve low-light shooting in particular. But it didn’t describe the iPhone 15 as having a Fusion camera in the previous generation. So what’s up? Is ‘Fusion’ used in part to make it seem the iPhone 16 gets more of a camera upgrade than it really has? Sure, probably. But there’s also some substance behind the name. Potentially. Getting to the bottom of this one could also help you make the most of an iPhone 16 or iPhone 16 Pro camera. Let’s take a look. There are several…

Replace a dying Fusion Drive Q I’ve been using the 128GB SSD from my 2015 iMac’s broken Fusion Drive with El Capitan. Now it’s almost full of ‘hidden space’. How can I delete that? by ZOE BRAND A When a Fusion Drive fails, it’s often possible to continue using that Mac with just the surviving one of its two component drives functioning, either the hard drive or SSD. However, that’s best used as a temporary measure until you can arrange a more lasting substitute startup drive. SSDs in Fusion Drives are small, and by the time their paired hard drive has failed, are usually reaching the end of their own working life. Two likely causes of all that missing storage space are dead storage blocks in the SSD, and failure…

While there are plenty of ways to listen to music on your Mac via subscription services like Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music, the Music app on Mac still lets you import your classic music collection — just like the old days. If you’re a music lover, you’ve likely built up (or possibly inherited) a physical music collection, consisting of CDs and maybe even vinyl records that haven’t been played in decades. If so, you may be wondering: can you transfer all of this physical media into the Music app on your Mac? The answer is yes! And you can do plenty with it too. Back in the early 2000s, iTunes revolutionised music by enabling you to rip your music by simply inserting CDs into a Mac’s disc drive. But…

The health and fitness features baked into Apple devices are not gimmicks. They genuinely have the power to improve and, in some cases, save lives. Aside from encouraging you to exercise and motivating you to work towards your fitness goals, the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch will monitor your body and ensure it’s in tip-top shape. These devices will also amass reams of data and make it available for analysis either by you or, should something feel amiss, by a medic. With the latest operating systems – watchOS 11, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 – you’re in even better hands. As you’ll see in this guide, Apple is now offering greater insights into your health and it has been rolling out even more fitness features grounded in science. You’re also…

> £149.99 > FROM marshall.com > FEATURES 2x 10W drivers, 2x passive radiators, Bluetooth, USB-C, dust- and waterproof to IP67 The sound is balanced and suprisingly rich and powerful The first Emberton model released since Marshall officially merged with Stockholm-based Zound Industries, version 3 comes in black or cream finishes and retains the gorgeous design and finish so reminiscent of Marshall’s legendary guitar amps. Weighing just 700g, it’s solidly built and remarkably also IP67 dust- and water-resistant meaning it can withstand being submerged in water, though obviously you’d probably not try to do this. It charges over USB-C, from empty to full in two hours and provides 32 hours of playback, with a 20 minute quick-charge allowing up to six hours if you’re in a rush. A cable is supplied…

> £89.99 > FROM creative.com > FEATURES 40mm drivers, 5x mics, Bluetooth 5.3 with AAC, 70 hours’ battery (40 hours with ANC) The SXFI tech creates a nice sense of space and dynamics Noise-cancellation technology is now common in many headphones, but the technology is still fairly expensive – for instance, it adds £50 to the cost of the latest AirPods from Apple. However, Creative’s Zen Hybrid SXFI noise-cancelling headphones are among the most affordable we’ve seen so far, costing just £89.99. Admittedly, the plastic earpieces – available in black or light grey – do feel rather lightweight, but they’re sturdy enough to cope with a few bumps in a backpack when you’re travelling. Creative hasn’t cut too many corners to keep the price down either. The headphones use Bluetooth…

> £299.99 > FROM apple.com/uk > NEEDS macOS 14.6 or later Apple Intelligence has been used to give Final Cut Pro 11 a big upgrade Back in June of 2011, Apple’s professional non-linear editor (NLE) Final Cut Pro became Final Cut Pro X. Over the following decade, Final Cut Pro removed the X from its title, but its toolset evolved to become a more useful resource for professional video editors. The Final Cut Pro 11 release deserves its full new version number as it boasts much more than a few tweaks to existing tools. As you’d expect with a new Apple product, Apple Intelligence has been used to give Final Cut Pro 11 a big upgrade – speeding up tedious tasks with smart artificial intelligence (AI) powered tools. Let’s start…

BEST BUYS… > EXTERNAL DISPLAY Philips 27B1U7903 £1,099 philips.co.uk > An excellent monitor that satisfies on every level. It’s expensive, but you do get a lot of quality for your money. MF392 > OUR TOP 3 MESH NETWORK DEVICES ASUS ZenWiFi XD5 > £209.99 > MF398 > asus.com/uk TP-Link Deco X55 > £219.99 > MF398 > tp-link.com/uk/ Devolo Magic 2 WiFi 6 Starter Kit > £219.99 > MF398 > devolo.co.uk BLUETOOTH SPEAKER Marshall Middleton £269.99 marshallheadphones.com > Meaty, beaty, big and bouncy, the Middleton knows how to rock. MF391 > OUR TOP 3 PORTABLE SSDS Crucial X8 > £212 > MF388 > uk.crucial.com SanDisk Extreme > £100 > MF388 > westerndigital.com OWC Envoy Pro SX > £285 > MF388 > owc.com > NAS DRIVE Asustor Lockerstor 2 Gen2 AS6702T £469 asustor.com >…

Apple CEO Tim Cook discussed Apple Intelligence, the Vision Pro headset, Apple’s pre-recorded keynotes and more in a wide-ranging interview conducted with Wired magazine, revealing plenty of fascinating facts about both Cook and the company. Regarding Apple Intelligence – the name, Cook insists, is not a pun on artificial intelligence (AI), he explained that Apple began serious work on its generative AI tools around 2017, when the first Neural Engine debuted in the iPhone X. Back then, “It became obvious that we had to divert lots of people to it, that it would be a new era for our products,” Cook said. Apple began serious work on its generative AI tools around 2017 Yet despite the potential importance of AI to Apple products, Cook stated that Apple never considered charging for it.…

[MAC APP] Blocs 6 Free (offers IAPs) Web design wizardry for your Mac Blocs is a website builder that lets you craft your own websites without learning a single line of code. It comes with pre-made sections and templates, beautiful interactions and typography options, and much more. It’s just been updated to version 6, bringing a host of new features to the app. Fresh features include a preview mode for different devices, Apple Intelligence integration, a redesigned interface, new CSS (cascading style sheets) effects, and all-new ways to check element fonts, colours, and other details. There are many more new additions beyond this that can help you build a stunning website in next to no time. With Blocs, you can create unlimited websites for free. If you want more power…

While many of the free apps we covered in the iPhone section also work on the iPad – and indeed, many of these iPad apps also run on the iPhone – here we’ve chosen software that takes advantage of the Apple tablet’s larger screen and specific features. It’s much more fun sketching, for example, when you have an Apple Pencil and more space in which to express your ideas. Again, some apps have in-app purchases, but we’ve only included those with decent free versions. SketchBook Drawing Pad FROM anbanh-app.web.app ALSO ON iPhone A neat drawing app for children – or the big kid in all of us. SketchBook is at its best when used with an Apple Pencil, but you can use your fingers if you don’t have one. The beauty…

Whether you’re struggling with some prose, finding writing a chore, looking for the right tone, or hoping to organise your words into something more digestible, Apple’s new Writing Tools are sure to help. Thanks to Apple Intelligence, these tools let you proofread, rewrite and summarise text, enabling you to communicate more effectively. You’ll find it available in Apple apps like Notes, Mail, Pages and Messages as well as in many third-party apps and online services, such as Gmail and LinkedIn. One Ctrl-click is all you need to discover whether it’s at hand. Here we show you how to get the most out of all that Writing Tools has to offer right now, but bear in mind that Apple is continuing to make improvements. As of December, with macOS 15.2 (Sequoia),…

Whether you’re working or relaxing, unwanted interruptions can be annoying. Fortunately, the Focus option built into macOS has your back. You can set up a selection of Focus modes that, when active, silence notifications and only allow specific ones. In this guide, we’ll show you how to add new Focus modes, choosing from presets such as Mindfulness, Gaming, and Work, or set up a custom Focus mode from scratch. You’ll learn how to set a schedule based on a time period, location or an app being opened, such as Books for the Reading mode. You can opt to only allow notifications from certain people and apps, and add a filter for those from some Apple apps, such as only allowing notifications from particular Mail accounts. Focus modes have been given new…

Thanks to our ever-present iPhone cameras, we have been able to document family milestones and everyday events for many years. Throughout this time, Apple has focused on developing ways for us to relive our precious memories in new ways, such as Live Photos that display a three-second video (and audio) snippet from before and after the photograph was taken. With the inclusion of the new Spatial mode in the Camera app, Apple has provided us with an even more effective way to step back in time! Traditional photographs are two-dimensional, displaying only width and height. However, we don’t think about a memory as being a flat photograph or a flat video because our brains encode memories spatially. The iPhone Camera’s Spatial mode adds a third dimension to our clips and…

Which free space to believe? Q When I try installing software, my Mac refuses, claiming there’s less than 30GB free space, but Storage tells me there’s over 100GB available. Which storage info is right? by JOHN FRASER A There have been long-standing problems in figures reported by Storage, now in the General section of System Settings, and those shown in the Finder’s Get Info dialog. Although the former can be useful to indicate what’s using most of your Mac’s storage space, much is often given as System Data, which is too vague, and free space seldom matches that reported in Disk Utility, which is generally most accurate. Some of these discrepancies result from differing treatment of what’s considered purgeable, including APFS snapshots, temporary files and caches. In theory, much if…

Last month, we explored how Apple Music on Mac, iPhone, and iPad could work for beginners. In this second and final part, we’re going to dive into the advanced features you might not know about. For example, the Equaliser feature can adjust the quality of your music to better suit certain songs, such as live concert recordings, while the Mini Player allows you to control your music easily as you multitask on your Mac. These and other features can expand how you listen to your music with the Music app, as well as those exclusive to an active Apple Music subscription, such as Lyrics (line-by-line song words) and Dolby Atmos (spatial) audio. If the appearance of the Apple Music app seems familiar, there’s a good reason for that. Back in…

Our ratings Our reviews are totally independent; we’re not affiliated with Apple or anyone else, nor are we influenced by advertisers. A truly exceptional product. Award given solely at the discretion of the editor. The best example of its kind when pitted against comparable products. A brilliant thing Strongly recommended Worth considering Notable flaws A waste of your money BUYING ADVICE Our authoritative reviews help you make more informed choices Contact us Email your queries and your questions to letters@macformat.com…

> £549.99 > FROM benq.eu > FEATURES 32-inch screen, 4K resolution (3840x2160), P3 colour gamut, HDMI and USB-C, 15W and 90W power delivery, 3W stereo speaker, height-adjustable stand If you’re looking for a monitor to use at home with a notebook, this one will definitely suit your needs BenQ’s MA-series monitors are built with MacBook integration in mind. With a screen like the BenQ MA320U, you know it’s going to play nicely with your MacBook Air, MacBook Pro or older Mac notebook, but it’s also adept at supporting other Macs, and non-Apple devices too. It’s easy to assemble, with no tools needed. Just screw the base into the post and snap on the screen section. The stand and rear are silver-coloured, with the screen unit and bezel in black. It…

> £474.26 > FROM kensington.com > FEATURES 10 downstream ports, including three Thunderbolt 5 for displays and storage, 2.5Gbps Ethernet, power delivery up to 140W The dock’s mains adaptor ensures that it remains cool in use Thunderbolt 5’s promised leap in speed becomes most critical when connecting your Mac to a dock to feed multiple displays and external storage. Realising the full potential of an M4 Pro or Max with several peripherals requires a dock, but that has to squeeze all their data through its single cable to your Mac. It’s in that host connection where Thunderbolt 5 could prove truly game-changing. Kensington’s SD5000T5 Triple 4K Docking Station is robustly engineered and solid rather than petite, with a similar internal volume to an M4 Mac mini and nearly twice the…

> £199.99 > FROM apple.com/uk > NEEDS macOS 14.4 or later Logic Pro is one of the world’s most popular digital audio workstations (DAWs), and it’s also one of the world’s best software deals: we bought a copy in 2007 and that’s meant 17 years of free upgrades, both major and minor. It’s not the only reason we love the Mac, but it’s a big reason why we’d never consider moving to a Windows PC. The upgrade builds on the very solid foundations of Logic Pro 11 and adds Quantec Room Simulator, Plug-in Search (a big time saver), and a host of improvements that’ll feel very welcome to serious Logic users. Those improvements include the much-wanted ability to re-order the channel strips in your mixer; the ability to quickly share…

iMac > From £1,299 > In October 2024, Apple updated its 24in iMac with the M4 chip, and the iMac now has the wonders of Apple Intelligence built in. You can choose between an 8-core CPU/8-core GPU at entry-level, or an 10-core CPU/10-core GPU on the mid-range and top-tier versions. The entry model now comes with 16GB of memory as standard, configurable to 24GB; the mid- and top-tier versions are configurable to 24 or 32GB (32GB only available with 512GB or more of storage). The solid-state drive (SSD) storage starts at 256GB on entry-level and mid-range versions, and 512GB on the top-tier iMac, although you can add up to 1TB on the entry-level model and up to 2TB on mid-range and top-tier models. You still get a 4.5K (4480x2520) Retina…