Table of contents for No. 247 in iCreate

Love iOS as I do, there is still plenty of room for improvement. This became clear while putting together our iPhone Home and Lock Screen customisation guide this issue (which starts on page 14), when the scattergun approach Apple has provided for personalising your iPhone become blatantly apparent. As we discovered, it’s far more complicated than it needs to be to change the wallpaper of one screen and not the other, and if you decide to apply ‘Blur’ to your Home Screen wallpaper then all hell will break loose if you have the ‘Reduce Transparency’ setting turned on – well, it’ll look like crap anyway. And why are options to change the boldness and size of the app icon font buried in the Accessibility settings? And why, when you customise…

Pro iPhones such as the iPhone 14 Pro Max can shoot High Dynamic Range (HDR) footage using the Apple ProRes codec, which enables you to capture clips with more colour and tonal detail. You can edit ProRes clips on your iPhone using the iOS iMovie app, but for even greater editing control you’ll want to be able to edit HDR footage from the comfort of your Mac’s big display using Final Cut Pro’s extra tools. Here we’ll show you a workflow to help you shoot, edit and share ProRes footage that will look great on HDR displays (such as your iPhone or a 4K HDR TV). Working with ProRes Identify a ProRes file in Final Cut Pro Knowledge base Downsides to ProRes Due to their 10-bit colour depth, ProRes clips…

Some apps automatically run tasks in the background on the Mac, and before macOS Ventura, it was not obvious which apps did this and how to stop them. Although you could look at Login Items in the old System Preferences, it rarely showed anything. The new System Settings app changes everything and Login Items now displays more startup items than in previous versions of macOS. It still isn’t perfect, but it is much better at revealing what background tasks run and it gives you the controls to allow or prevent them. Here we look at the new Login Items and methods of modifying background apps. Step-by-step Customise background apps in macOS 1 General settings Login Items used to be in Users & Groups in old versions of macOS, but it…

Collaboration features have been updated in Ventura and they are simpler and more powerful. What you might not expect is that the Messages app is at the centre – wherever you start collaborating from, ultimately the invitation is sent using Messages. You can start with Messages and drag files to it from Finder, or you can start within an app from the Share function. Collaboration settings can be customised within Messages or before being passed to it. The workflow is more efficient than in previous versions of macOS, and it is easier than ever to invite colleagues or friends to view or edit documents. Step-by-step Start collaborating in Messages 1 Start a conversation Open the Messages app and select the person you want to join you in working on a…

First introduced with macOS Mojave, the Dynamic Desktop theme is so-called because the image shown on the desktop changes throughout the day. If you go to System Settings>Wallpaper and select the ‘Dynamic’ theme for one of the stock Apple desktop images, the lighting in the image will reflect the current time of day. As you will discover here, it is possible to use one of your own images for a Dynamic Desktop theme. You just need to either have multiple versions of the same picture taken at different times of day (unlikely), or cheat and adjust the exposure of a single image to give the illusion of it getting darker. Knowledge base Synchronise the desktop The macOS Dynamic Desktop is synchronised to the time so that a dark image is…

Sometimes we just need a simple reminder to do something, but a single line of text containing a few words might be insufficient for the task. You must then decide whether to create a note, containing formatted text, bullets, lists, images and more, or a simpler reminder. Now there is no need to choose. You can create reminders that contain rich notes with bullet, dash and numbered lists, formatted text, and you can even embed images. Reminders is significantly more powerful in iOS 16 (and iPad and Mac), so let’s take a look at its new notetaking capabilities. Step-by-step Make rich text Reminders notes 1 Create a reminder Open the Reminders app on the iPhone and then create a new reminder. Enter a brief title for it at the top.…

Listening to audio at too high a level for a prolonged period of time can damage your hearing. Indeed, the World Health Organisation says long-term exposure to sound at or above 80 decibels (dB) can lead to permanent problems so, to protect you, your iPhone monitors your headphone volume level, telling you if it’s ‘OK’ – below 80dB – or ‘Loud’ in which case you should take action. The data is contained within the Health app where, if you press the info button, you can see how long you ought to limit yourself to certain levels. You also get a personal ongoing chart of exposure that’ll build up as time goes by. Make better sense of your data Get a clearer view of the fluctuations of sound you’re being exposed…

If you own an Xbox Series S or X, then there’s a good chance you will have signed up to Game Pass. It’s a monthly videogame subscription service that gives you access to a huge collection of games, and it’s an affordable way to not only play older games, but many fantastic new titles on day one of their release. These are not confined to an Xbox console, though. With a Game Pass Ultimate subscription, it’s also possible to enjoy the games on the move by playing them on an iPad – with the press of an app icon, all your favourites will be there. Getting set up is easy and you can even connect your Xbox wireless controller to play. It makes use of the Xbox Cloud Gaming offering,…

The thought of running just over three miles may sound ridiculous if you don’t usually run long distances, but it has been proven to be feasible for most people, if they follow a set routine. Commonly called ‘Couch to 5K’, the Watch to 5K app is designed to make the experience as portable as possible. It is so minimal that there isn’t even a functional iPhone app to sit alongside it, but this does not affect the functionality in any way. You can install it, put on your running shoes, give the first run a try and you may be surprised at just how easy it is! Even if the first run is impossible, you can try again and attempt to get just a little bit further each time, because…

Key features Apple H2 headphone chip • Active Noise Cancellation • Dual beamforming microphones Learn more apple.com/airpods-pro Available from apple.com WHEN TRYING OUT VERSION 2 OF THE AIRPODS PRO, our first thought was, what is actually different? The first AirPods Pro were a positive step forward for Apple, the sound quality was good and the overall performance great when you have multiple Apple devices. What can be improved? Well, while the design hasn’t moved on that much since the first iteration (just a new audio vent hinting at a difference) the new case has a speaker and a lanyard attachment, for both ease of finding the lost earbuds and keeping hold of them on your person. There are a few new features we enjoyed in the mix too: volume control…

Price £34.99/$34.99 (student), £119/$119 (pro) Requirements macOS 10.15 or later Learn more 3d4medical.com Available from Mac App Store WHETHER YOU’RE A STUDENT OR JUST WANT A GOOD, ANATOMY-BASED POINTLESS ANSWER, this app will help you explore 3D gross and microscopic anatomy in detail, based on the most up-to-date research and data. You can also discover content created by medical experts, including courses and videos – and everything is accessible from all of your Apple devices. You can try it for free but full access will require an annual subscription. The breadth of content is impressive. There are 21 full courses included and an atlas comprising of 750 models that tell you everything you need to know about the human body in full 3D. It’s a formidable learning tool that goes…

THE RUMOUR MILL IS SPINNING ONCE MORE CONCERNING APPLE, AND THIS TIME WE’VE HEARD SPILLAGE ON THE TOPIC OF WHAT MACS WILL BE COMING OUT IN 2023 – AND TO PREPARE FOR SOME POSSIBLE DISAPPOINTMENTS. This all comes from a renowned source on all things Apple, Mark Gurman. In a recent Bloomberg newsletter, Gurman touches on what’s next in terms of MacBooks, the Mac Pro, and the iMac (or what isn’t next – at least not this year – in the latter case, as you’ll see). As ever, treat rumours with plenty of caution, even those from more reliable sources. Earlier-than-expected Pros According to Gurman, we will see new MacBook Pros in the first half of 2023, but they will have exactly the same design and features as the existing…

When you shoot straight into a setting (or rising) sun, a backlit foreground subject can become a black silhouette that contrasts with the background sky’s vivid colours. However, sometimes the iPhone will try and reveal detail in a backlit subject even if you want it to be completely black. Fortunately, Photos has all the tools required to make selective tonal adjustments and create striking silhouettes. The setting sun will bathe your subject in a warm, golden glow, but you may not be on location at the right time. Photos also has plenty of colour-tweaking tools for adding a golden hour look to any shot. Knowledge base Colour temperature The sunlight’s colour temperature, which is measured in Kelvin (K), changes throughout the day. This can add cold blue or warm orange…

Some musicians pour scorn at the notion of needing assistance with their innate sense of timing, but the technique of performing to a ‘click track’ needn’t always be a dirty concept, especially in GarageBand. While many drummers aren’t fond of the practice, it can be hugely useful for adhering to a strict tempo. Most basically, GarageBand’s click track is its digital metronome that can be toggled to hear beat ticks signifying the project’s time signature and master tempo. However, you may also prefer to use a basic percussion loop, Drummer track or even your own MIDI region that can have its click sounds changed. Chasing clicks Where to look within GarageBand’s workspace when working with click tracks Knowledge base Ticked off GarageBand’s metronome provides a traditional click for guiding tempo.…

We have had sharing features in the Photos app for quite some time, and it has been possible to create an album and share it with family members or friends. Photos stores pictures in a library and in Ventura you can now create a separate library that is shared with others. Up to five people can be invited to the shared library and this means everyone has access to the photos it contains. You, and the other members, can move photos and videos from your personal library to the shared one. Photos are only in one library, so you can choose what you see. Shared libraries sync across devices. Step-by-step Create a shared Photos library 1 Get started Open the Photos app and click Photos> Settings. Click the ‘Shared Library’…

Time needed You will already know that you can unlock a hidden developer menu in Safari by going to Safari>Settings>Advanced and ticking the ‘Show Develop menu in menu bar’ option, right? Well there is another, even more hidden menu that you might not be aware of called ‘Debug’, that you need to enter a Terminal command line to access. Many thought that this was removed in macOS Ventura as the command line no longer seemed to work. However, there is an option in System Settings that you will need to turn on first to use the required command line, and we will guide you through the whole process here. Step-by-step Unlock the Safari debug menu 1 Open the settings Start off by going to System Settings> Privacy & Security and…

Primarily designed for people with a visual impairment, the image detection feature in iOS’s Magnifier app is an invaluable tool for identifying objects within the immediate vicinity. It can give you on-screen and spoken descriptions of items and, with the latest version on an iPhone Pro, it can go as far as telling you when someone is nearby or if a door is open or locked. There’s also a chance you could use this feature to find a lost item – by scanning the environment using your iPhone, you may find that the app suddenly identifies the object you are looking for. In either case, you will need to set it up so that the function is present and working in the way you’d like it to. Step-by-step Activate image…

Although the storage options for iPhones is a lot better than it used to be, we still find ways to max it out in no time at all. This is why it is important to know how to clean out documents and data that you no longer need in order to free up space. In this tutorial we will point you where you need to go on your device to monitor your iPhone storage and remove any unneeded files. We’ll also show you how to do the same thing on iCloud – which can also be swamped with content that you may or may not need – and highlight some of the recent security features in iCloud that you need to turn on this minute. Step-by-step Free up your iPhone…

There are countless apps available that can be used to organise your notes and also many word processors designed to help you create smart-looking documents, but Craft aims to do both in style. The idea is to include a huge number of advanced document tools and enable you to use them alongside each other all within one document. You can include images, embed links and even add smart links to other documents you have created in Craft. On top of this you can build a personal folder structure and work with others if you are using Craft for work purposes. There is a learning curve involved, but we would suggest to download it and simply play with as many features as you can. The initial experience is fun and rewarding…

The streaming service landscape is forever changing. As existing services add new tiers and introduce ads, new ones emerge to widen the choice of programming. In some cases, services are given a total revamp and, in the case of ITV Hub, that has meant a rebranding to ITVX, which comes complete with a fresh lick of paint and the incorporation of the BritBox service for paying subscribers. There’s much to catch your attention thanks to more than 10,000 hours of free programming, among them shows exclusive to the platform. There are themed channels, a dedicated news section, livestreams of ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, ITVBe and CITV, and full season drops as well as a host of feature films. It’s definitely worth exploring if you live in the UK, so let’s…

Price Arcade subscription Requirements iOS 13.0 or later • 341MB Learn more ofcr.co.jp Available from iOS App Store AN ARCADE COOKING SIM, Cooking Mama: Cuisine! reduces the art of cooking down to a simple series of actions – what to add, how to chop, when to stir, etc – bypassing the finer nuances of what goes into preparing an excellent plate of food in favour of simplistic arcade fun. And it’s great! If you never played these games on the old Nintendo DS, then you’re in for a treat as you choose your ingredients and then go about preparing a mystery dish. You have to follow the on-screen mini games to complete each stage of the cooking process – be it swiping to chop or keeping a hob at just…

IMovie has plenty of transitions to help you wipe or dissolve from one clip to another, but if you’re creative with your iPhone camera work then you can create the effect of classic transitions by using simple cuts (and show off on social media sites). For example, if you place a leaf over the lens and then drop the iPhone, then the leaf will fall away to reveal your subject (see our supplied Clip04). This provides a creative alternative to using an iMovie Wipe transition. We’ll also show you how to create wipe-style transitions by using objects such as an umbrella to instantly transport a subject from a city street to the wild woods! Make the cut Create transitions from cuts and camera moves Knowledge base On the go After…

The Channel EQ plugin derives from the way Logic’s Mixer window layout is modelled on the broad-format mixing consoles found in professional studios since the 70s and 80s, with row upon row of intimidating knobs. These desks would boast multiple channels – at least one for each track on the tape machine – so a large portion of these knobs were dedicated to each channel’s EQ section. Similarly, each track in Logic features its own dedicated Channel EQ plugin, which can be used to cut or boost selected frequencies across the high, mid and low ranges for whatever’s on that track. Set the tone Explore the sound-shaping powers of Logic’s Channel EQ Knowledge base Scoring an equalizer Channel EQ is a parametric equalizer: a versatile tone control that divides a…

Notes’ smart folders were basic in previous versions of macOS; before Ventura, a smart folder could be created that shows notes containing specific tags, but that was it. Notes in Ventura are much more powerful and rules can be defined to determine the notes that appear in a smart folder. The rules are similar in some ways to the ones used to create smart folders and searches in Finder, or to take actions on incoming emails in Mail. You create a rule that says something like, if a note has this or that, and was created before a certain date, then show it. If you collect a lot of information in Notes, you can easily find it. Smart folders deconstructed Rules and conditions to define contents Knowledge base Compatibility In…

The Mac’s keyboard has 26 letters, ten numbers and a handful of symbols, but there are actually hundreds of characters, including accents, umlauts and more. There are sometimes eight or nine different variations of a single vowel, for example. There are hundreds of emoji characters and pictographs, too; currencies from around the world use special symbols; there are maths symbols, Greek letters, and many more. So how do you enter all of these characters? There are a couple of ways: the Emoji & Symbols picker and the floating Keyboard Viewer that is reactive to the keys you press. Here we show you how to use both. How to type emojis and more Get access to every character option that you need Knowledge base Compatibility Although we used the Pages app…

There was a time when scanning a document always meant using a large flatbed scanner – hardly handy when you were out and about and wanted to scan a document on the fly. With the incorporation of cameras into our smartphones, people began taking photos of documents instead. Then scanning apps emerged which cleaned up documents and made them more readable. The Notes app has such a scanner built in, and you can add a control to the Control Centre and go straight to the scanner from there, saving a heap of time and a fair few taps. This can be accessed via the Lock Screen too. Quickly edit your scans Before saving your scan, you can make some small tweaks to ensure it looks great Knowledge base When should…

Do you listen to audiobooks on your iPhone? If you have not yet tried it, why not download some free audiobooks to get you started? The audiobook player in the Books app has had a makeover in iOS 16 and it is now better than ever. Listening to audiobooks is now very similar to listening to podcasts and music. In iOS 16, you can download and play an audiobook and it continues to play while you browse the store and purchase others. The audiobook mini player looks great on the Lock Screen too, and you can view compact or large versions of the player. Step-by-step Download and play audiobooks in Books 1 Find free books Open the Books app and press ‘Audiobooks’ at the bottom. Swipe up until you reach…

With Apple Music Sing, it’s your turn to be part of the music. This new feature for Apple Music subscribers allows you to adjust the vocal volumes on millions of songs and sing along with precise, beat-by-beat lyrics. You can even rope in tipsy friends and family members to belt out a duet or several. Apple Music Sing arrives as part of the iOS 16.2 update, so head to Settings>General>System Update and make sure that your iPhone is running the latest version. When you have updated, warm up your vocal chords and slip into your stage gear because things are about to get very loud (and probably very messy). Let’s rock! Step-by-step Start using Apple Music Sing on iPhone 1 Discover Sing Launch the Music app and then tap on…

The Apple Watch is a brilliant tool for tracking your fitness and for ensuring that you do not miss any important notifications, but it can be so much more than that. If you use the default apps or third-party offerings, your Apple Watch can control a vast range of connected devices right from your wrist, and this greatly enhances the usability, value and fun such a device can bring. We are going to show you a few ways in which your Apple Watch can control other devices and also demonstrate how the Apple Watch itself can be controlled, which in certain circumstances could prove to be a vital tool in your dayto-day use. The Apple Watch is almost unlimited in what it can do and it is getting more flexible…

Glossary The place to come for key terms made easy Hot Corners On Mac you can use the corners of the screen as hot corners, to quickly start actions when you move the pointer to a corner. For example, you can start the screen saver when you move the pointer to the top-left corner of the screen. Legacy Contact A Legacy Contact is someone you choose to have access to the data in your Apple account after your death. This feature is available on all devices running iOS/iPadOS 15.2 and macOS 12.1 by going to Settings>Apple ID> Password & Security. Universal Clipboard This is an Apple ecosystem feature that enables you to copy and paste content between Macs, iPads and iPhones. To use it you need to ensure all devices…

• System-on-chip: Apple A9 • CPU: 1.84 GHz dual-core 64-bit ARMv8-A • GPU: PowerVR GT7600 (hexa-core) • Memory: 2GB LPDDR4 RAM • Storage: 16, 32, 64 or 128GB • Display: Four-inch Retina Display, LED-backlit IPS LCD, 1,136 x 640 pixel resolution (326 ppi, aspect ratio 16:9) • Rear camera: 12MP, f/2.2 aperture, 4K video recording at 30fps • Front camera: 1.2MP, 720p video recording • Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 • Original price: £349/$399 • Price now: £50/$55 The first-generation iPhone SE (which is an initialism of Special Edition) actually forms part of the ninth generation of the iPhone alongside the higher-end iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. It shared the same physical design and dimensions as the iPhone 5S, but with similar internal hardware to the iPhone 6S, including the newer…