Table of contents for October 2024 in MacFormat

Whether your loved ones are going back to school or heading off to university, or you’re just looking to upgrade before the next round of OS updates, this month’s lead feature should help. In it, you’ll discover the best Macs (and iPads) that’ll give you the biggest bang for your buck. Plus, we recommend some great accessories and some brilliant ways to save money on your purchase – you can find out more starting on p20. While Apple Intelligence promises to bring all kinds of clever new ways to use your devices later this year and next with macOS Sequoia, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, there’s lots you can do to speed up things today – with one of the biggest being Shortcuts, Apple’s replacement for Automator. In our Shortcuts…

Replacing your iPhone’s battery can be an exercise in frustration – but not if a reported change comes to the iPhone 16. According to The Information, Apple is working on a new system that will let you use a small jolt of electricity to pop out your iPhone’s battery, making the whole process significantly simpler. That’s a very different system to what exists now. Current iPhones hold their batteries in place using adhesive strips, which can be difficult to work around. The Information says that Apple’s new system, though, would house the battery in a metal case, which would lift up the battery when a small dose of electricity is applied to it. However, Apple would still recommend that you carry out the work via a repair shop. Apple says…

Siri has been lagging behind its rivals for years, so there was great excitement at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June when it was announced that the virtual assistant would be getting a major overhaul, finally giving it the shot in the arm it’s long needed. Yet a new report claims we’ll have to be patient in order to see its new features. According to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, none of Siri’s new tools will be available when iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia launch later in 2024. Instead, Gurman says that “Siri features are likely to go into beta testing for developers in January [2025] and then debut publicly around the springtime – part of an iOS 18.4 upgrade that’s already in the works.” The delayed features include Siri’s…

> From £220 > From loewe.tv/uk > Designed in conjunction with footballer Kylian Mbappé, the We. HEAR Pro is a portable Bluetooth 5.3 speaker that’ll look and sound great on the pitch – or anywhere else you happen to be. Available in Denim, Neon and Black, this cylindrical speaker has 50W of audio power, plus it comes with a handy carry strap and a built-in Lithium-Ion battery that’ll last for up to 24 hours between recharges. Its built-in USB-C port means you can also use it as a power bank for your devices. Loewe also says it’s dust- and water-resistant to IPX6.…

You may own a vintage Mac, iPhone or iPad that’s still capable of running essential software. You may also find you can stream services and use web-based apps and may decide to stick with what you have for a while longer. But be careful. As Jake Moore, global cybersecurity advisor at ESET, explains, you need to weigh up the risks. Newer operating systems come with the latest privacy and security updates and will protect your device from vulnerabilities. When a device is deemed vintage by Apple, it won’t receive updates, leaving it prone to malware and other exploits. Moore advises people to upgrade before Apple withdraws its support. “Some old Apple devices do not receive any security updates which can be vital in stopping threat actors remotely accessing the device or…

MacFormat Best Buy 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU M3 16GB memory, 512GB SSD £1,499 When the MacBook Air was first released in 2008, MacFormat contributor Matt Bolton said it was ‘overpriced, underpowered and definitely the future’. He was right on all three points. 16 years later, we’re in that future, and the latest MacBook Airs are neither overpriced nor underpowered. The current 13-inch MacBook Air range use the latest Apple silicon M3 chips, except for a couple of models that have the M2. They range in price from £999 to £1,499. Four colours are available: Silver (a regular aluminium casing), Starlight (adds a hint of yellow), Space Grey (a beautiful gunmetal colour) and Midnight (black). The MacBook Air’s key strengths are its portability and battery life. It’s only 1.13cm thick, and weighs just…

SanDisk Desk Drive SSD › From £359.99 › westerndigital.com › This stylish and compact desktop drive comes in 4TB and 8TB sizes. It’s great for keeping your large files off your Mac mini. As it’s a solid-state drive (SSD), it’s fast too. Just the thing for high-needs users. Apple Magic Keyboard › From £99 › apple.com/uk › Apple’s cheapest version of its wireless keyboard lacks a numerical keypad, but it’s a good size to drop in a bag. For extra money, you can add a keypad and/or Touch ID. They’re all very responsive. Apple Magic Mouse or Trackpad › From £79 mouse/£129 trackpad › apple.com/uk › Apple peripherals aren’t cheap, but they’re good, and perfect with macOS. Available in black or white, these both offer gesture control when using your…

Tucked away in a corner of the Apple website is Apple’s refurbished store. To use it, go to apple.com/uk, scroll to the bottom, look for the column headed ‘Apple Store’ then click ‘Certified Refurbished’. Here you’ll find ex-demo, returned and repaired products across all of Apple’s product ranges, from Macs to iPhones to iPads, with each one extensively checked and refurbished by Apple engineers, and given a one-year limited warranty. While you’re unlikely to find the very latest Apple products, the savings on older models can be substantial – up to 15% in some cases. Students and recent graduates can also get discounts on brand new Apple gear through dedicated services such as UNiDAYS (myunidays.com/GB).…

MacFormat Best Buy 11-core CPU, 14-core GPU M3 Pro 18GB memory, 512GB SSD £2,099 The MacBook Pro is the most powerful of Apple’s notebook range. They’re not cheap, starting at £1,699, but you get a lot of notebook for your notes. All models in the 14-inch MacBook Pro range offer some variant on the Apple silicon M3 processor. The three cheaper releases, available in Silver or Space Grey, use regular M3 chips. Two of the three higher-end models, which offer Silver or Space Black finishes, use the M3 Pro chip and the top-end 14-inch MacBook Pro has an M3 Max. This is important, because as well as offering more processor and graphics processor cores, the M3 Pro and M3 Max can drive more external screens than the standard M3 chip.…

MacFormat Best Buy 12-core CPU, 18-core GPU M3 Pro, 36GB memory, 512GB SSD £2,999 When it comes to mobile Mac computing, there’s no better notebook than the 16-inch MacBook Pro. The screen is perfect for design work, offering two extra inches compared to the 14-inch model. It looks amazing too, thanks to its Liquid Retina XDR display, which has 3456x2234 native resolution at 254 pixels per inch. It offers refresh rates of up to 120Hz, a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 600 nits of brightness. The screen’s extra size makes it a little less portable. It’s 35.57cm wide and 24.81cm deep, but weighs only 2.14kg for the M3 Pro version and 2.16kg for the M3 Max. At 1.68cm thick it won’t stretch a bag’s notebook pocket, as long as it’s tall…

IT WILL TAKE › 10 minutes YOU WILL LEARN › How to add one or more users to your Mac, and determine what they can and can’t do YOU’LL NEED › macOS 14 or later Your Mac is a desirable piece of kit, so it’s inevitable someone else will want to use it from time to time – be that a family member, friend or guest. Trouble is, handing over your Mac when it’s logged into your account is a path to potential danger. Another user could access your files, make changes to your settings, download apps and much more. But you can avoid all that stress by setting up extra accounts. With macOS, you can easily add and remove users, determine what they can and can’t do and prevent your…

IT WILL TAKE › 20 minutes YOU WILL LEARN › How to remove apps the easy way YOU’LL NEED › macOS 10.14 or later, AppCleaner (optional, Free, various macOS options available) Over time, most Macs accumulate electronic lint – things that live in dark corners gathering digital dust. And some of those things are apps you’ve long forgotten about, moved away from or just don’t need any more. Uninstalling them can free up lots of space on your Mac without also removing any documents, photos, videos or other things you might have made with them. They’ll stay where they are in folders such as Documents, Pictures and so on. The fastest way to uninstall many apps is to open Launchpad, press and hold on the app you want to remove…

IT WILL TAKE › A few minutes to master the app, longer to grow your veg! YOU WILL LEARN › How to plan your patch and rotate crops, and discover which veg grow well together and different crop needs YOU’LL NEED › Veggie Garden Planner (Free, offers IAPs; iPadOS 15 or later), access to a garden, allotment, or vegetable patch At this time of year, our thoughts often go to our gardens. Whether you have a backyard, an allotment or a couple of acres of arable land, you can have fun – and save a few quid – by growing your own vegetables. What could be better than digging up a few spuds, pulling some carrots and cutting down a cabbage on a Sunday morning, and then cooking them for…

How to stop apps from asking to track my location? > In Settings, tap through to Privacy & Security > Tracking and there turn off ‘Allow Apps to Request to Track’. This only works for new requests, though, and not retrospectively. To control existing tracking settings tap Location Services and find the app in the list there to change its access. How to force my Calendars to sync with iCloud? > Open the Calendar app, then tap Calendars at the foot to view the list. There drag the whole view down until a spinning progress indicator appears at the top and starts to rotate, then release. Once that has finished spinning, tap Done at the top right, and your calendars should have synced fully.…

Work-related shortcuts are not restricted to Pages, Numbers and Keynote. Take a look in the Gallery and you’ll find shortcuts such as Break Timer, which lets you take a breather while remaining focused, and Create Meeting Note which checks your calendar for upcoming gatherings and gets a note ready for you. It’s worth mentioning that workflows you may have created using Automator (Shortcuts’ effective predecessor on Mac) can also be imported into Shortcuts (File > Import) and converted. You may need to make some tweaks to get them working, though. HOW TO Improve your workflow 1 Convert images The HEIC image file format saves space but a shortcut activated via the Share menu can convert them to other formats. Tap Add Action > Media > Convert Image, select a file format…

The journey from the scrappy Apple of the 1970s to the world-conquering trillion-dollar titan of today has been a long one, and Apple hasn’t always travelled that road in a straight line. Nestled among Apple’s many blockbuster products, you’ll also find many products that didn’t quite catch in the same way as the iPhone. Some were years ahead of their time, some were ideas that Apple simply decided not to explore further, and some really should have been left in the meeting room. As we’ll discover, Apple has also made some very beautiful versions of its best-known products in order to raise funds for the charity Product (RED) – products that have sold for more than most people spend on a house. Over the next few pages we’re going to…

BUYING ADVICE Our authoritative reviews help you make more informed choices Contact Email your queries and your questions to letters@macformat.com › 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…

› £99.99 › FROM elgato.com › FEATURES Eight LCD buttons, two touch-sensitive controls, time/date display, non-detachable braided USB-C cable; 207g The LCD buttons look fantastic, with text and icons rendered with pleasing crispness Elgato’s Stream Deck range comprises desktop control panels for streamers and gamers. The line has now expanded with the Stream Deck Neo, which is meant to be a bit friendlier to non-gamers for whom acronyms like FPS (first-person shooter) and GG (good game) are utterly meaningless. The Neo swaps the Stream Deck’s black colourway for an all-white appearance, while also cutting the button count from 15 to eight. Below the buttons lie a helpful time/date display and two touch-sensitive buttons for scrolling between pages of controls. We like the white design, while the LCD buttons look fantastic,…

› £199.99 › FROM edifier.com › FEATURES 60W output, Hi-Res Audio/Hi-Res Audio Wireless certified, 3.5mm and USB-C, Bluetooth 5.3, USB, and AUX inputs, supports AirPlay 2 AirPlay 2 is supported so you can take advantage of Apple Lossless Edifier makes a range of wireless audio devices with the D32 sitting somewhere between its hi-fi and portable ranges. Compact but well-built, it powers off the mains and also has a rechargeable internal battery that can provide up to 11 hours of playback. Despite its portability, there’s no weather sealing so you’ll want to keep it indoors or at least away from moisture. The design is pleasingly retro and there’s a choice of two colours, with a row of buttons on the front for playback, power and input selection. These are mostly…

› £4.99/month or £49.99/year › FROM apple.com/uk › NEEDS iPadOS 17.4 or later Up to four cameras are supported so you could film four different subjects or several angles of the same subject Apple released Final Cut Pro for iPad in 2023, alongside Logic Pro for iPad, in a concerted effort to bring its desktop ‘pro’ apps for video and music creation to the platform and bolster its claims that an iPad really can replace a Mac. The system requirements for Final Cut Pro 2.0 are higher thanks to its intensive graphics demands, so you’ll need an Apple silicon M-series iPad, though that includes the newer Air as well as the Pro models. While there are not many changes compared to Version 1.0 of the software, the changes in this…

Apple has now classified the iPhone X, the original AirPods and the first HomePod as ‘vintage,’ marking an important change in these devices’ life cycles. Apple designates products as vintage when between five and seven years have passed since it stopped selling them. At that point, Apple Stores and Authorised Service Providers will continue to offer repairs for up to two years, as long as parts remain available. These products are not yet deemed ‘obsolete,’ which happens when Apple stopped selling them more than seven years ago. At that point, Apple will not repair them and third-party shops will not be able to get genuine parts.…

> $199.99 (£185.85) > From soundblade.com > This under-monitor soundbar from Australia’s BlueAnt would look great under any Mac, but particularly the latest iMacs, thanks to its slick design and the fact that it’s available in any one of five matching colours: Pink, Blue, Green, Charcoal and White (Yellow, Orange and Purple iMac owners miss out for now). Already the winner of a Red Dot design award, the Soundblade offers up to 120W of peak power output, delivered by a 2.1-channel speaker arrangement that comprises 2x full-range dual voice coil, dual neodymium magnet drivers and an 80mm subwoofer. All of which makes it perfect for watching movies, playing games and listening to your favourite tunes on Apple Music while sitting at your Mac. Getting everything connected is easy too with…

4.5K > Resolution of the iMac’s Retina display. It also supports one external display at 6K/60Hz. 24GB > Maximum amount of unified memory available on M3 iMacs. Stock models come with 8GB though. 2TB > Maximum amount of internal storage available in the iMac. The entry-level model, though, only gets 1TB. 7 > Number of colours available on the current iMac – the cheapest £1,399 model is available in Blue, Green, Pink and Silver, while the mid-range £1,599 and £1,799 models add three more shades: Yellow, Orange and Purple. 11.5mm > Maximum thickness of the iMac’s body – making it incredibly thin given the computer components it contains. 2 > Number of Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports on the entry-level iMac. Mid- and top-tier models get two additional USB-C 3 ports. M4…

Which are the best add-ons and accessories for your new MacBook Air? There are some great options out there, from both Apple and third-party manufacturers. Ask yourself how you’re going to use your new notebook and the goodies you need will soon become apparent. Selected here are just a few of our favourites – from a stylish laptop bag to a multiport hub. Pebble 2 Combo for Mac › From £64.99 › logitech.com › If you intend to use your notebook as a desktop when home, try this keyboard and mouse set. It’s comfortable, available in a range of colours and connects to Mac – and Apple devices – using Bluetooth. 6TB WD My Passport Ultra for Mac › £204.99 › westerndigital.com › If you need lots of storage, this…

MacFormat Best Buy 6-core CPU, 4-core GPU A14 Bionic, 256GB storage £499 When a Mac is a little outside your price range, or you have a desktop Mac and would like something cheap to carry around, why not buy an iPad? You can share files between your computer and tablet using your iCloud storage, key applications such as Pages, Numbers and Keynote are available on the iPad and if you buy a Bluetooth keyboard or a keyboard case, you can use it as a notebook too. The current version of the regular iPad is the 10th generation release. Prices are relatively affordable – they start from £349 for the entry-level model. They’re available in Silver, Blue, Pink or Yellow, so there’s bound to be one to match your sense of…

Twelve South BackPack › £34.99 › twelvesouth.co.uk › This handy shelf fits to the back of your iMac or Apple Studio Display. It’s great for holding a storage drive or USB hub, keeping it off your desk. It’s also reassuringly sturdy and strong. A printer › There are so many different printers on offer we won’t try to select one for you. Decide whether you’re looking for an office or photo printer, but bear in mind most models aren’t one-trick ponies and can do both jobs. Print through Wi-Fi or USB from your iMac. Edifier S350DB speakers › £279.99 › edifier.com › The iMac has good speakers, but if you want a multimedia experience, try this 2.1 system. It has a great subwoofer, supports aptX and offers up to 150W…

IT WILL TAKE › 20 minutes YOU WILL LEARN › To make use of the more advanced features contained in Notes on Mac YOU’LL NEED › macOS 14 or later, Notes app Apple’s Notes app provides more than a simple text box for jotting down your immediate thoughts or placing content you’ve come across. It also allows you to structure projects, flesh out your ideas using different types of media, create sketches, produce checklists, scan documents and sync everything to your other devices via iCloud. And even that’s just scratching the surface. When macOS 15 (Sequoia) arrives, Notes is going to get even better – but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t focus on the cool things it can do already. It won’t take long for you to figure out how you…

IT WILL TAKE › 10 minutes YOU WILL LEARN › How to get the most from Control Centre YOU’LL NEED › watchOS 8 or later One of the most useful things on your Apple Watch may be hiding in plain sight. That’s because Apple moved the Control Centre when it launched watchOS 10, so it’s easy to forget it’s there: the upwards swipe that used to open Control Centre now brings up your widgets instead, and Control Centre now requires you to press the side button. Fast access While the Control Centre has been relocated from watch face to watch button, it’s still very useful, and while of course it’s a lot simpler than Control Centre on your iPhone or iPad it does the same job; it gives you fast…

EXPERT ADVICE Our resident genius solves your Mac and iOS problems Contact us Email your queries and your questions to genius@macformat.com Macs have been waiting for AI While it may now seem odd, 20 years ago the star of Mac OS X Panther was Preview, claimed to be “the fastest PDF viewer on the planet”, with support for the Mac’s new built-in faxing. Looking at Preview’s subsequent slow decline, it’s hardly likely to make Apple’s list of new features in macOS Sequoia. That’s because Apple is primarily a hardware vendor, and those original star features followed its success with desktop publishing in the 1990s, which brought together new capabilities in Macs and Apple’s printers. The next couple of years will see AI assume that role of selling Apple silicon Macs,…

Why can’t my iMac 2019 use iPhone Mirroring? > Sequoia’s iPhone Mirroring is one of its most attractive features, but relies on hardware device attestation to pair that Mac with the iPhone, only possible using an Intel Mac with a T2 chip, or an Apple silicon Mac. As the iMac 2019 doesn’t have the necessary hardware, it can’t pair. How long does Apple support versions of macOS for? > Although it has never published this, Apple provides full support for the current version of macOS for the full year. After that it provides only security fixes for the following two years. Those aren’t as comprehensive as fixes supplied for the current macOS, though. Once those three years have passed, it’s left unsupported. How to uninstall a system extension? > System…

As you’ve seen, Shortcuts is a versatile tool which Apple has supported over the years. The launch of iOS 17 introduced an Open Camera action, for instance, which lets you create a shortcut that opens the Camera app into a specific capture mode. Set it to Selfie, Portrait, Portrait Selfie, Photo, Cinematic, Slo-Mo, Time-Lapse, Pano or Video and you’ll be ready to grab that perfect shot or take rolling footage in seconds. With iOS 17.4, a new Get Physical Activity action was also added, letting you make shortcuts which determine your current activity whether that’s running, cycling, walking or driving. It works across iOS, iPadOS and watchOS but it is far from the only action you can use with Apple Watch. In fact, shortcuts let you get much more out…

› Essential £34.99/year; Ultimate (as tested) £114.98/year › FROM eset.com/uk › NEEDS macOS 11 or later; iOS 11 or later Its capable malware protection engine is versatile and highly configurable Instead of paying out for individual subscriptions for malware protection, a VPN service, password manager, and a software firewall, you might be looking for a different approach. Assembled around its thoroughly capable anti-malware engine that we reviewed a year ago (#MF408), ESET Home Security’s aims to offer all-in-one protection. The ESET Password Manager comes at the added cost of a Premium subscription (£44.99), and is a browser extension rather than a full app, so looks unlikely to match Sequoia’s new bundled app unless you need to integrate with Windows or Android. ESET’s unlimited VPN has excellent geographical coverage, is easy…

Fast Cut automation Final Cut Pro has numerous time-saving features powered by artificial intelligence (AI) including Fast Cut automation. This can crop, trim and edit footage for you, vastly speeding up your workflow, while leaving you to make refinements yourself. Live Multicam By adding up to four iPhones or iPads each running the new Final Cut Camera app, you can now record multiple angles at once, and focus, zoom and tweak each one from Final Cut Pro and record their streams centrally, for editing later. Scene Removal Mask Apple silicon enables Final Cut Pro to identify a person in a scene and isolate them, masking out their background. Unlike green screening and rotoscoping which take a lot of time, the process here is instant.…

PHOTO EDITOR Luminar AI £9.99/month skylum.com › If you want to improve your photos without spending too much, this is the app for you. MF361 PRODUCTIVITY TIMER Vitamin-R 4.14 €27.95 (about £30) publicspace.net › Break your working day up into short bursts of distraction-free activity. MF384 WRITING APPS Scrivener £49.99 literatureandlatte.com › A genuinely outstanding app that has almost everything you could ever need. MF385 › OUR TOP 3 VIDEO EDITORS Wondershare Filmora > £17.49/month > MF387 > wondershare.com HitFilm (Creator) > £7.99/month > MF387 > fxhome.com Lightworks Create > £7.99/month > MF387 > lwks.com › OUR TOP 3 NOTE TAKING APPS Agenda. > Free (IAPs) > MF389 > agenda.com Bear > Free (IAPs) > MF389 > bear.app Simplenote > Free (IAPs) > MF389 > simplenote.com › OUR TOP 3…

There’s a real sense that we’re in the quiet before the storm… Apple Intelligence is coming this autumn as part of macOS Sequoia, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, and right now it’s hard to think about anything else. This is the biggest update to Apple’s operating systems I can remember. With AI integrated directly into Siri I think I’m going to be more productive with my Apple devices than ever before, and I’m looking forward to getting a lot more use out of Siri. From what we’ve already seen at WWDC 2024, Apple Intelligence looks fantastic, particularly its ability to rewrite emails, find photos and create emojis for any occasion. I’m hoping that there will be even more uses for AI than the ones we currently know about, we’ll just…

With the iPhone 16 range just around the corner, there’s not long until we see what Apple has been working on for the last year. But what significant improvements and updates can we expect from the upcoming devices? We’ve scoured the rumour mill to find out. There are some features that are anticipated to come to every iPhone 17 variant. Across the range, we anticipate 120Hz ProMotion screen tech and always-on displays, as well as 24MP front-facing cameras. The entry-level iPhone 17, meanwhile, might even get a larger 6.3-inch screen. On the inside, there will be an A19 chip, 8GB of memory and Wi-Fi 6E. There could even be a new iPhone 17 Slim to replace the 17 Plus This year’s iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are…

Time Machine is great way to regularly back up your Mac, but sometimes you just want a little more than what it offers. In cases like that, Carbon Copy Cloner is a really solid option, and now that it’s updated to version 7, it’s even more capable than before. There’s a new Backup Volume Setup Assistant that makes backing up easier and safer, and you now get more options for permanently keeping certain snapshots for posterity (which is useful if they’re particularly important). You can search for files across snapshots, limit backup tasks by network status, back up iOS devices to your Mac, and more. Version 7 brings a huge number of new features – many more than we have space to discuss here. If you regularly back up your…

> $388 (£362.16) > From hidock.com > Sticking with desktop gadgets, the HiDock H1 has a somewhat different take on Mac audio – it combines an 11-in-1 dock with a ChatGPT-powered artificial intelligence (AI) recorder. This means you can easily capture audio from any input source and have conversations and meetings automatically transcribed, with the supplied HiNotes software (available via a free lifetime subscription) doing the heavy lifting so you don’t have to. Connectivity-wise, the H1 comes with 3x USB-C (one with 118W Power Delivery), 2x USB-A, 2x HDMI, 1x 2.5Gbps Ethernet, Bluetooth 5.2 and an SD/microSD card reader. It also has a full-range speaker built into its base, and a Bluetooth earpiece for hands-free calls, plus noise cancellation tech.…

MacFormat Best Buy M2 Pro, 10-core CPU, 16-core GPU, 16GB memory, 512GB SSD £1,399 Really need a Mac but you don’t have much money – or maybe space? Then the Mac mini is perfect. Prices start at £649, and all current Mac mini models are powered by Apple’s own M2 system-on-a-chip (SoC). The Mac mini is just 19.7cm square and 3.58cm deep, and weighs from 1.18kg. This makes it very transportable. If you use a Mac in the office and also from home, you could set up a screen and a keyboard in both places and carry the Mac mini between them. It’s powerful enough for most tasks, and it has two USB-A ports, Gigabit Ethernet, an HDMI port and a 3.5mm headphone jack, plus either two or four Thunderbolt…

MacFormat Best Buy 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU M3 16GB memory, 512GB SSD £1,699 While you may well like the portability of the MacBook Air, you might prefer a larger screen. If so, you’ll be glad to know there’s a 15-inch option. Despite the extra screen space (and therefore larger body), it still weighs just 1.51kg and is 1.15cm thin. It has the same battery life as its smaller counterpart, namely 18 hours video streaming or 15 hours wireless web surfing. Once more, you can use this notebook all day without recharging. As you’d expect given its larger display, the 15-inch model costs a little more than the 13-inch. The cheapest of the 15-inch range costs £1,299. That’s £200 more than the cheapest 13-inch model, but you do get two extra…

Whatever Mac you buy, if you order from apple.com/uk you can customise its configuration to better suit your needs. When you click its Select button you’re taken to a screen where you can add in various customisation options. The off-the-shelf stats are selected by default, but upgrades are offered. For example, if you’re buying the most expensive 15-inch MacBook Air, for an added cost, you can increase the memory to 24GB, opt for 1TB or even 2TB of storage and choose between a 35W Dual USB-C Port or a 70W USB-C Power Adapter. Like all Macs with a keyboard, you can change the layout from British or US English to a variety of other options, such as Spanish, Arabic, French, Italian, German and more. If you’re buying a Mac with…

MacFormat Best Buy 12-core CPU, 30-core GPU M3 Max, 32GB memory, 512GB SSD £2,099 Technically, the Mac Studio isn’t Apple’s highest-end Mac. The Mac Pro is still a thing, but these days it’s an enterprise machine that costs a fortune. The Mac Studio is also far from cheap, costing £2,099 for the off-the-shelf M2 Max version and £4,199 for the M2 Ultra-powered version. Buy the more expensive model and customise it to the max on Apple’s website and it will set you back an incredible £8,999. But what a Mac it is. The king of desktop Macs The M2 Max version can handle up to 10 streams of 8K ProRes video playback. Its 67 billion transistors can manage up to 15.8 trillion operations per second, and it can support up…

IT WILL TAKE › 15 minutes YOU WILL LEARN › How to counteract keystone distortion, remove grain and scratches and add colour to a mono print YOU’LL NEED › Apple Photos (iOS 12 or later), Adobe Photoshop (macOS 11 or later) You can even improve on the original by adding colour and facial detail In part one of this feature last month (#MF407), we explored a variety of hardware and software solutions to rescue old analogue prints, slides or negatives and give them a new lease of life as digital format files. Being digitised is the first step to rescuing an old photo as much more work needs to be done to restore it to its original look. Indeed, you can even improve on the original by adding extra properties…

Let’s say you’ve written a note containing financial details or medical information. You’ll want to keep it private. With Notes, you can do just that. First of all, you need to create a password (Notes > Settings > Set Password). This can be your system password or an entirely new one. Next, select a note, click the Lock button and enter the password. You can click the Lock button again and select Close All Locked Notes, otherwise they’ll automatically close when exiting Notes or after a period of inactivity. Note that Quick Notes can’t be locked.…

IT WILL TAKE › 10 minutes YOU WILL LEARN › How to get quick and easy answers to your questions YOU’LL NEED › iOS 16 or later There’s a chance you haven’t even heard about the Apple Support app even though it’s been around for eight years. After all, if you have an immediate problem with your devices, your first port of call is likely to be a search engine. Yet, if that’s the case, you’re doing things the long way round. Apple Support is a mine of information that lets you discover more about your devices, learn how to get the most out of them and perform useful tasks such as discovering your most recent Apple Store orders, learning about Apple Trade In and resetting your Apple ID password. You…

Is there a free firewall like Little Snitch? > Yes: Lulu from Objective-See at bit.ly/mac408lulu is a free open source software firewall that blocks outgoing connections, such as those made by malicious software when it tries to phone home. While it’s straightforward to install and use, it lacks the more advanced features of Little Snitch. How to select non-contiguous text in Numbers? > This feature is only available in recent versions, and lets you select two or more non-adjacent words. Select the first in the normal way, then hold the Cmd key while selecting additional words. This only works within the same section of text, though, and can’t select words in different cells. How to open a Note straight into a Pages document? > This is now quick and easy:…

Shortcuts are intended to make it easier to perform everyday tasks on your Apple devices. Ironic, then, that many users have taken one look at the Shortcuts app and felt that it looks rather complicated. In some respects it is: shortcuts can be so complex, they are almost like mini apps. But you don’t need to get bogged down in the finer aspects of a shortcut to make use of them. Most are simple to create, and since lots are pre-made everyone can benefit. Why can’t I just stick to using my apps? There’s absolutely nothing wrong in using your apps and devices in the manner to which you’ve become accustomed – that is, by launching different apps as and when you need them and by delving into the settings…

Shortcuts are supposed to make performing tasks more efficient, so it’s rather fitting that they could save you lots of time and make you more productive when you’re working. As you look through the actions available to you in Shortcuts, you’ll find a bunch of them relating to Pages, Numbers and Keynote which work across iOS, iPadOS and macOS. They can get you up and running in seconds, leaving little room for procrastination. You can make work life even more fluid on a Mac if you make your Shortcut available in the menu bar. With the shortcut in editing mode, you only need to click the Details icon (‘i’) and select Pin In Menu Bar. You can access multiple shortcuts this way so if you need access to one file or…

There are so many shortcuts you can use when you’re out and about. You could try the ‘Walk to Coffee Shop’ shortcut, for example, which uses Maps to give you directions to the nearest outlet. This can be customised by, say, changing ‘coffee’ to ‘burger’. There’s a Share Location shortcut, too. Edit the shortcut, tap Recipients, choose who you want to invite and run it when you get to where you’re going. Your recipients will be told exactly where you are. Not sure how to get back home? The Directions Home shortcut will sort that once you input your address. Need to meet more friends later but you’re not going to get there on time? The Running Late shortcut will work out where you’re supposed to be based on your…

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› £69.99 › FROM dictation.philips.com › FEATURES USB-C, 32GB memory, mono microphone, 16kHz sample rate; 24g It works very well – it’s quick to complete and easy to download the transcribed files Note-taking or minuting is an unavoidable part of many peoples’ working day and seems like something that technology should be able to help with. Recording conversations is easy enough, since all our smartphones, placed on a desk, can do it. But it’s a technique that draws attention to itself and can just leave you with a slightly tinny MP3. The Philips VoiceTracer is a pen – a regular pen, not any kind of special touch-sensitive one – that incorporates a 360° microphone that can be activated with a simple flip of a switch. You can record just leaving…

Projectors have clear advantages over even the best large-screen TVs. When paired with a fold-away screen, you can get a huge picture for a lot less than you’d pay for a similarly sized television, and when you’re done watching the movie, football match or whatever, you can fold down the screen and put the projector away. And if it’s a portable model like these, you can take it around to a friend’s house and watch with them too. Naturally there are also some disadvantages. You need a dark room in which to use a projector. In this respect, it’s just like the cinema. The image you get might not be as sharp as a television, and the bulb has a limited life expectancy (though it’s usually pretty decent these days; a…

› £34.99 › FROM cyan.com › NEEDS macOS 14.5 or later The lack of hand-holding means the glory is all yours when you (finally) find an answer Veteran Mac gamers might have fond memories of 1997’s Riven, a hair-pullingly tricky puzzler from legendary studio Cyan. Well, the good news is – for fans and newcomers alike – the game has just been freshly updated with retooled mechanics and upgraded graphics. If you love puzzles and want to be tested to your logical limits, it’s worth every penny. Riven focuses on the father-and-son duo of Gehn and Atrus. Gehn harnessed ancient technology to forge the world of Riven through his writing, hoping to become the overlord of all existence. Yet his handiwork led to the world’s disintegration; Atrus, resentful at what…

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