Índice para December 2023 em Macworld UK

At Apple’s first-ever evening special event on 30 October dubbed ‘Scary Fast’, the company announced its new M3 chips. For the first time ever, an entire generation of Apple silicon for Mac was announced at once: the base M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max. We expect there will be an M3 Ultra coming in a Mac Studio update in 2024, but the ‘Ultra’ chip is literally two ‘Max’ chips together in a multi-die package, so there won’t be many surprises there. Here are the critical details on the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Max as announced by Apple. Any performance claims are Apple’s alone and need to be verified with independent testing, which we’ll be doing soon. M3 PROCESSORS COMPARED M3: 8 (4P + 4E) CPU cores; 8 or 10…

Ever since the 24-inch iMac arrived in 2021 and Apple retired the 27-inch model, we’ve been itching to get our hands on a large-screen iMac with Apple silicon inside. While there have been rumours about an iMac with a larger display, it was beginning to look like it would never happen, but a new rumour has revived our hopes. According to Ming-Chi Kuo (fave.co/46YOuuG), Apple is working on a “higher-end” iMac with a 32-inch mini-LED display. Apple was previously reported to be working on a large iMac to release in 2024, but since the rumour mill has gone quiet, it appears Apple has pushed back that timeline. However, Kuo says Apple will indeed release an updated 24-inch iMac next year. A 2025 release likely means the new iMac will have…

As we were waiting for new iPads last month, Apple instead dropped something of a surprise on us. Instead of a new tablet, we got a new cheaper stylus for the existing tablets. Well, most of them anyway. The new Apple Pencil, stylized ‘Apple Pencil (USB-C)’, is priced at £79, £30 less than the 1st-generation model and £60 less than the 2nd-generation model. It includes some of the same features as the prior models (including low latency and tilt sensitivity) but is also missing pressure sensitivity and wireless charging. And it’s not compatible with the 9th-generation iPad. To sum up: the brand-new Apple Pencil isn’t as good as the 2nd-generation Apple Pencil from 2018 and doesn’t even have all of the same features of the 1st-generation Apple Pencil from 2016.…

Perhaps you’ve heard that for the past few quarters, Mac sales have slumped. Perhaps you’ve also heard that the new iPhone 15 Pro has some nifty new features that have Apple fans flocking to stores to buy one. Hey, how about this for an idea: Apple should incorporate some of those nifty new iPhone features into the Mac. That’s a sure way to boost Mac sales – customers benefit, too, with features that make the Mac a more powerful tool. Here are the iPhone 15 Pro features that Apple should bring to the Mac. TITANIUM The iPhone 15 Pro has a titanium body instead of stainless steel, which has been used since the iPhone X. Apple describes it as “the most premium material” ever used on an iPhone. Titanium is…

One of the biggest imprints Steve Jobs and Jony Ive left on Apple’s design process is a certain kind of product idealism. At its best, Apple is striving to take ridiculously complex products, fusions of cutting-edge computer hardware design and huge software code bases, and make them simple. It’s a philosophy that’s led Apple to build wildly successful products that its customers love. And there’s one new iPhone 15 feature that perfectly illustrates why Apple’s idealism can take it to very interesting places. KEEP IT SIMPLE When Apple introduced Portrait Mode to the iPhone in 2016, the goal was to get smartphone photos to look as pretty as images captured on expensive cameras with long lenses – and that meant analysing the photo and adding an artificial blur to the…

Solid-state drives – aka SSD – used to be really expensive, but prices have really fallen in the last few years, and you can now pick up fast, reliable SSDs that cost only slightly more than their hard drive counterparts. As well as being faster than conventional hard drives, SSDs are lighter and sturdier too, making them ideal for use with a laptop when you’re travelling. That’s reflected in the drives we review here, most of which are small and light enough to slip into your pocket. However, the latest SSDs can also offer up to 8TB of storage, which makes them a good option for use with a desktop Mac in an office as well. And they can help to reduce cable clutter too, as they generally take their…

HOW TO FIND A PICTURE THAT APPEARS IN A PHOTOS MEMORY Apple’s algorithmically generated Memories collections in the Photos app in iOS, iPadOS and macOS can surface some great images and videos from the past, even if the themes are sometimes erratic. I understand why it might remind me of various trips, but sometimes a collection of eating pictures across many years is baffling. As you view a memory, you may want to jump to an individual photo and see it in context in your Photos library or share it with someone else. There’s a way to do this with a few taps and holds. iOS or iPadOS 1. While the memory is playing, tap in the centre of your device.2. Tap the grid icon at the lower-right corner.3. Scroll…

Apple revealed an update to the iMac at its ‘Scary Fast’. The new iMac now features an M3 processor while maintaining the same all-in-one design, accessories, and colours. The M3 processor is an upgrade to the M1 that was used in the iMac when it was released in May of 2021. The M3 features 8 CPU cores (4 performance, 4 efficiency), which is the same as with the M1 and M2. The M3 also has a 10-core GPU, which is more than the M1’s 7- and 8-core GPU. While the specs for the M3 seem very similar to the M1, the M3 has architectural changes that help boost its performance. The M3 is Apple’s first Mac chip to be made with the 3nm process, which allows for greater transistor density,…

While iPhone problems may be common, it’s much rarer for the Apple Watch to experience widespread issues. But the newest models are reportedly experiencing an issue with the display that has Apple working on a fix. According to an internal service memo shared with MacRumors (fave.co/3QpHIZq), Apple is investigating an issue where the display flickers or ‘pulses’ on some Apple Watch models when Always On mode is enabled. Sporadic reports around the web from both Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 users have complained about the issue, including some saying (fave.co/46I5MMT) their complications ‘flash pink’ when raising to wake. Apple has advised service providers to not repair the device as the issue appears to be tied to software rather than hardware. There are reports that the latest beta for…

Due to an extremely weird series of troubleshooting manoeuvres, I recently found myself having to set my Mac up from scratch without migrating any of my preferences for the first time in longer than I’d like to admit. Think decades, not years. This meant I had to experience every single Apple software default, enter license numbers into software not bought in the Mac App Store, and generally need to remake every decision that I had taken over the past few years in order to get back where I wanted to be. More than anything else, though, the experience reminded me that Apple has a lot of work to do when it comes to making the experience of upgrading or migrating to a new Mac more pleasant – and that its…

Price: £1,199 from fave.co/3S2WqH9 Apple’s latest, most expensive, best iPhone is better than last year’s model. It’s a little lighter, a little faster, a little better camera, a little more convenient. And yet, it’s hard not to feel decidedly underwhelmed. After days of use and a battery of tests, I can’t help but feel bored with it. All the improvements are welcome, but they’re largely uninspired. It’s as if Apple is out of ideas, or the iPhone is just too important to take any risks with, or all the company’s best efforts have been spent working on Apple Vision Pro. The best case one can make for the latest iPhone is that it’s an iPhone – it runs iOS, it runs iPhone apps, it’s privacy-minded and it works great with…

The Apple Watch is one of the most complete experiences you’ll find in the company’s range. Since its introduction in 2015, the electronic timepiece has become one of the dominant players in the wearable technology sector. Over different generations Apple has added features such as GPS, LTE and weatherproofing that make the Apple Watch ever more a standalone device in its own right – but is it possible to untether it from the iPhone? In this article, we explain what an Apple Watch can achieve without the assistance of an iPhone. USING AN APPLE WATCH WITHOUT AN iPHONE When you first get an Apple Watch, it requires an iPhone to set it up. There’s no getting around that. The Watch app on the iPhone does most of the heavy lifting,…

Apple’s built-in browser might be the most frequently used app on your Mac (yes, even more than the Finder, super Mac geeks). So Apple always adds helpful new features to Safari, its browser. In version 17, available with macOS Sonoma or as a separate download for macOS Ventura and Monterey, Safari helps you be more productive and secure. Let’s take a look at the new features. WEB APPS Safari for Mac has finally caught up with iOS and iPadOS, which have had this feature for a while. A web app is basically a website saved as a self-contained app that appears in the Dock. Just click on its icon to launch it. PROFILES With a profile, you can set up separate browsing sessions based on topics. For example, you can…

Apple has revealed its new MacBook Pro line-up with few changes other than a new chip. The MacBook Pro family is now powered by the M3 family of processors, including the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max. The only other change is a slightly brighter display (600 nits max SDR brightness versus 500 previously) and higher RAM limits up to 128GB. And there’s a new Space Black colour for the M3 Pro and M3 Max models. Here are the specs and pricing for the new machines: 14-INCH MACBOOK PRO 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 (£1,699): base M3 chip, 8 CPU cores, 10-core GPU, 8GB unified memory, 512GB SSD. Available in Silver or Space Gray. A model with the same CPU but a 1TB SSD is £1,899. This laptop replaces the…

Apple’s first October announcement wasn’t a new iPad, it was a new stylus for the iPad. Rather than replacing either of the previous ones, this goes on sale alongside them, so there are now three Apple Pencils, and it’s going to be even more confusing for iPad owners looking to buy one for their tablet. Largely following the design of the 2018 Pencil (complete with matte finish and flat side with magnetic attachment), the new stylus differs in the inclusion of a sliding cap which reveals the USB-C port for charging. Interestingly, Apple is not referring to the new device as a 3rd-gen model, but rather “the new Apple Pencil” or “Apple Pencil (USB-C)”, perhaps because the company doesn’t want customers to think it’s more advanced than preceding models. This…

The Mac Pro’s history has excellent high points, as well as challenges that had to be dealt with. When Apple replaced the Power Mac G5 with the Mac Pro, the switch to Intel chips made the future look bright while at the same time, users had to deal with the technology transition. In 2013, Apple proved it could think differently about its flagship Mac, with a cylindrical design that morphed our notion of what defines the Mac Pro. But the ‘trash can’ Mac suffered much criticism for its lack of upgradeability and reliance on external devices. The 2019 Mac Pro brought back the tower that users demanded, but Apple had to win back a lot of customers. Good or bad, the release of the new Mac Pro was an exciting…

Price: £899 from fave.co/45Yo0t6 Of the quartet of new iPhones released this autumn, the iPhone 15 is the cheapest, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the sexiest, and the iPhone 15 Pro – powerful and portable – is the connoisseur’s choice. But the iPhone 15 Plus might just be the most fascinating. After all, this is a form factor that didn’t exist at Cupertino until last year. Apple’s philosophy until then was that small things should be cheap and large ones expensive… which admittedly has some logic to it. But phone buyers don’t like being put in neat boxes, and some of them would quite like to get a large screen without having to pay for the very latest features and processing power. That’s where the Plus line comes in.…

Price: £39.99 from fave.co/3tK3FJX In as much as Apple has improved its security focus in recent years, including releasing more frequent macOS updates when significant exploits are found to be in the wild, there’s still a place for good antiviral tools. To this end, Avast Premium Security for macOS (version 15.74 at the time of writing) does an excellent job, setting out to keep your Mac secure from viruses and malware, scanning network content and only missing an occasional beat. Like a number of antiviral software packages for the Mac, Avast Premium Security divides itself into several modules (Virus Scans, Core Shields, Traffic Monitor, Network Inspector, Email Guardian, Ransomware Shield, Quarantine and Store). The home screen offers easy access to these tools. Click on the ‘Virus Scans’ button and Avast…

The key new feature in macOS Sonoma is the ability to add widgets to the Desktop. They’re no longer banished to the notification shade that slides opens when you click on the time in the menu bar. In Sonoma, widgets can exist anywhere on the Desktop so you can see them all the time. This new widget implementation gives you instant access to the information you need. Let’s look at how to add widgets to your Desktop. 1. EDIT WIDGETS When you first install macOS Sonoma, you can find your widgets like before by clicking the date and time in the menu bar. In the sidebar that appears, you’ll find a tab for the new Desktop widgets. You can click it to get started, but if you don’t see that…