Table of contents for 174 in iPad & iPhone User

If there’s one Apple product over the past few years that’s been something of a disappointment, it’s the HomePod. Apple’s smart speaker had a ton of potential when it was unveiled at WWDC 2017, but by the time it arrived in February 2018, it was overpriced and underwhelming. Now Apple is taking steps to right the HomePod ship. Apple has reportedly rehired HomePod engineer Afrooz Family, who left the company in 2016 to co-found Syng, a high-end audio company that sells a $1,799 Triphonic speaker. According to a Bloomberg report, Family was tapped to lead Apple’s HomePod software efforts as the company looks to get its smart speaker ambitions back on track. There have been persistent rumours that Apple is working on a new HomePod with a display, so Family’s…

A pple has announced three new colours for its HomePod mini smart speaker: blue, yellow, and orange. The new colours are available immediately, and join the existing white and space grey for a total of five colour options. But new HomePod mini colours isn’t the only audio announcement Apple made in its ‘Unleashed’ event on October 18. There’s also a brand new Apple Music tier that’s half the price of the individual plan. THE £4.99 APPLE MUSIC VOICE PLAN Apple Music has always distinguished itself from other music services, particularly its rival Spotify, by not offering a free ad-supported tier. You have to pay at least £9.99 a month for an individual plan, £14.99 per month for a Family plan, or subscribe through the Apple One services bundle. Now, Apple…

We love our AirPods Pro earbuds, but we don’t love the fear of losing them. A new feature in iOS 15 that arrived a little late just made them a lot easier to find. Apple has released a firmware update for the AirPods Pro that enables enhanced Find My support so you’ll be able to track down your lost earbuds like an AirTag or any other Find My device. Previously, the app would only show the last known location of the earbuds. If you lose one or both AirPods, you can now activate Lost Mode, which lets you tap into the power of the Find My network. When someone with an Apple device comes within range, you’ll be alerted to its location. Perhaps most importantly, you can also set up…

Steve Jobs’ impact was so significant that it’s difficult to find the words to describe his influence on business, technology, and society, even 10 years after his death. It’s hard to even narrow down the products released under his watch to a list of just five. But we tried anyway. Here’s our list of the most memorable products released during Steve Jobs’ tenure with Apple. Apple has posted a film titled Celebrating Steve to commemorate the anniversary of Jobs’ death – see fave.co/2XIohCJ. 1. APPLE II Everyone remembers the Mac (see item two on this list), but the Apple II is the first product that really got Apple going as a business. The first mass-produced computer by the company in 1977, the Apple II succeeded the Apple I, which was…

When I first heard the details about the iPod, Apple’s “breakthrough digital device,” I thought it sounded okay, but wasn’t a “musthave” item for me. However, now that I’ve used one for almost a week, I’ve changed my mind. I received an evaluation unit of the iPod the day before I drove from Nashville to Indianapolis to cover the EDUCAUSE conference – a five‑hour haul. I downloaded half a dozen albums (Sara Evans, Elton John and Ryan Gold) to listen to on the road. No, I’m not a dangerous driver. I didn’t plug in the ‘ear bud’ headphones that come with the iPod. Instead, I used a cassette plug-in adapter, which I’ve used previously for my portable CD player, to play the songs on the iPod through my car’s speakers.…

Price: £779 from fave.co/2XIWHVX If not for the arrangement of the cameras, the iPhone 13 would be nearly impossible to distinguish from the iPhone 12. There are other subtle differences – it’s a hair thicker, the volume and side buttons are lower, the notch is smaller, and the colours are a bit more subdued – but the main differentiator is the diagonal placement of the rear camera lenses. Like everything about the iPhone 13, that subtle change is more meaningful than it seems. You get the same wide and ultra-wide camera system as on the iPhone 12, but the diagonal placement is necessary to accommodate an advanced camera system. It’s a classic Apple upgrade – seemingly superfluous on the outside but hiding bigger things on the inside. The iPhone 13…

Just one day after the release of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, Apple began beta-testing iOS 15.1. The first beta was released to developers on 21 September. The public release came on 25 October, meaning it’s available now. The big addition in iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1 is the addition of SharePlay, but there are several other significant enhancements, too. Originally scheduled as part of the iOS 15 launch, SharePlay was pushed back to a later software update. WHAT’S NEW SharePlay After getting bumped from the original iOS 15 release, SharePlay is back in iOS 15.1. SharePlay lets users watch videos or listen to music together with others on a FaceTime call, with content in sync. ProRes support With the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, you can capture video…

For the most part, Night Mode in the Camera app on Modern iPhones is a great feature that can absolutely transform photos taken in very low light. If the Camera app detects a dark scene, Night Mode is enabled automatically, but sometimes you want that dramatic dark effect, and it’s annoying to disable Night Mode to get it. You have to tap the Night Mode indicator and then slide the timer down to zero seconds. If you wait a while before taking another photo, it will re-engage automatically. But maybe you don’t want it to. Maybe you want the Camera app to remember that you’ve disabled Night Mode. Fortunately, iOS 15 lets you do just that. HOW TO STOP NIGHT MODE AUTOMATICALLY ENGAGING With iOS 15, you can head to…

A pple may have initially praised the ruling in the Epic case as “a resounding victory” and “huge win”, but it has changed its tune, opting to appeal the decision. With Epic appealing as well, the whole process will start again, and it’s looking like it could be years before anything is actually settled. The main reason for the appeal is Apple’s violation of California’s anti-steering rules. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers found that Apple was in violation of the statute and ordered Apple to stop “prohibiting developers from including in their apps and their metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms”. In short, Apple would have had to allow developers to offer their own payment service (or at the very least a…

After more than a year of constant rumours, it has finally happened: Apple has unveiled the third-generation AirPods. While the second-gen AirPods (released in 2019) was identical to the first-gen (released in 2016), this new model takes on a whole new look. Here’s everything you need to know about the new AirPods. THEY LOOK A LOT LIKE THE AIRPODS PRO The third-gen AirPods mark the first change to the shape and size of Apple’s standard wireless earbuds since their introduction five years ago. Like the AirPods Pro, the AirPods 3 (as some have called them) have shorter stems and a rounder, more bulbous earpiece. The case is very similar to the AirPods Pro, too: shorter and wider, and with wireless charging capability standard, though you can of course also use…

A long with expanded Find My support for tracking down lost earbuds, the latest AirPods firmware has also unlocks Conversation Boost that amplifies the sound of the person talking in front of you. Conversation Boost uses your AirPods Pro microphones and computational audio to zero in on the sound of the person you’re speaking with. It works in tandem with Transparency Mode but instead of amplifying all sounds like Live Listen, Conversation Boost pinpoints human voices directed at you. You’re also able to adjust the level of ambient sound to help you focus. Here’s how it works, First make sure your AirPods Pro are on the latest firmware, version 4A400. You can check by connecting your AirPods to your phone, then going to Settings, About, tapping on the name of…

The beginning of Apple’s turnaround has been pegged to a lot of dates: when Steve Jobs returned to the company as part of its acquisition of NeXT in 1997, the debut of the original iMac in 1998, even the release of Mac OS X in 2001. But if you’re looking for the date that Apple truly charted its course for the market-dominating position it finds itself in today, you’ll have to go to 23 October 2001, on the calendar – or exactly 20 years ago. That was the day that Apple took the wraps off a most unexpected product, but one that would go on to change everything for the company: the original iPod. IT’S ABOUT THE MUSIC I remember vividly where I was at the time of the original…

Price: £319 from fave.co/3nyMm7N Why repair something that is not broken: in terms of price-performance ratio, the new iPad is unbeatable. Apple’s cheapest tablet is often overshadowed by the iPad Pro and iPad Air. But the basic model is the best-selling tablet – no Android tablet can keep up with it either. Admittedly, Apple’s new 10.2in iPad looks a little old-fashioned compared to the other models: the bezels around the edges are wide and the housing thick. The home button, which has disappeared from all other Apple devices (except the iPhone SE) remains, but despite the old-fashioned looks the iPad convinces with its current performance. DESIGN With its high-quality housing and first-class workmanship, the iPad does not look like a budget tablet. But, compared to the iPad Air and Pro,…

Price: £779 from fave.co/2XIWHVX Last year, the iPhone 12 Pro Max was more than just a larger version of the iPhone 12 Pro. Apple gave it a slightly different camera system, which meant if you wanted the best iPhone you also had to get the biggest iPhone. With the iPhone 13 Pro Max, things are back the way they should be. This phone is identical in features and performance to the iPhone 13 Pro; it’s just bigger. Bigger means heavier (naturally) and gives Apple room for an even larger battery. That larger battery, together with the other power efficiency improvements in the iPhone 13 Pro, make the Max the new battery life champ. It lasts much longer than the already-impressive iPhone 12 Pro Max. As the iPhone 13 Pro Max…

Apple introduced a new form of recovery key in September 2020 at the release of iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 to offer an option that lets you recover access to an Apple ID account with two-factor authentication when the password stops working (or you forget it) or your account is locked. Apple’s documentation didn’t initially reflect all the changes required to explain how to use this recovery key. (This recovery key is not related to the FileVault Recovery Key. It’s an updated version of a feature once used with two-step verification, which was replaced with two-factor authentication.) I contacted the company, waited, and never got enough information to recommend the feature – it was unclear how it worked. Our last advice to readers was to avoid enabling it. But somewhere…

The tools to control incoming notifications have become more nuanced in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 with the upgrade to Apple’s overarching Focus feature. This allows you to use Do Not Disturb – now a mode within Focus – to your advantage without losing track of incoming notifications you might want to review later. 1. Swipe to reveal the Control Centre.2. Press and hold the Focus button.3. Tap the … (three dots) to the right of Do Not Disturb.4. Pick an option among those shown, such as ‘For 1 hour’. Your iPhone or iPad now holds notifications that aren’t allowed to pierce the veil of your privacy – like people and apps you’ve given special permission to – in a special area of the Notifications Centre labelled While in Do…

We all know the frustration: you can sign up for a service or new app account or something with a few quick taps in an app or clicks on a web page, but when you try to delete your account you have to call a customer service number during inconvenient business hours and sit on hold for a while. Apple can’t do anything about that over the entire Internet, but it has full control over the rules of the App Store. In June, Apple updated the App Store Review Guidelines section 5.1.1. Section (v) now clearly states: “If your app doesn’t include significant account-based features, let people use it without a login. If your app supports account creation, you must also offer account deletion within the app. Apps may not…

Over the past two years, Apple has gone from selling one AirPods model to four. You can currently buy three earbuds – the 2nd-gen AirPods, 3rd-generation AirPods, and AirPods Pro – or the AirPods Max over-theear headphones. Let’s set that last aside for a moment. If you’re willing to spend £500 or more on a pair of cans, you’re making a whole different buying decision than if you want true wireless earbuds. But that still leaves three relatively similar-seeming earbuds to choose from. So which is right for you? FEATURES AT A GLANCE Maybe the best way to make a buying decision is to see how the three current AirPods stack up side-by-side. AirPods (2nd gen) Price: £119 Weight (earbuds): 4g Weight (case): 38g Battery life: 5 hours + 24…

Time rolls forward, the past recedes, and it all starts to fade, doesn’t it? Ten years ago, Steve Jobs died, and at the time I pondered how he’d be remembered. In the intervening years, his most notable product – Apple itself – has risen to unimaginable levels of power and influence. The fact that so much of Apple’s growth has happened since Jobs’s departure hasn’t reduced him at all. It would be relatively easy to argue that the success of Tim Cook’s Apple suggests that, despite everyone’s concern in the late days of 2011, it actually could go on without Jobs at the helm. But that’s not what anyone thinks. Instead, Jobs is credited for putting Apple on the path that led to it becoming what it is today. THE…

On 23 October 2001, Steve Jobs announced that Apple was venturing into the field of music and unveiled the very first iPod in a small room. Although the reaction from the crowd was positive, there was a whole lot less fanfare than today’s release events have. “Why music?” Jobs asked in his introduction. “Well, we love music, and it’s always good to do something you love. More importantly, music is a part of everyone’s life. Everyone! Music’s been around forever; it will always be around. This is not a speculative market.” Twenty years on, Apple’s pocket digital music and media player has evolved through multiple generations, designs, functions, and styles, such as the mini, nano, shuffle and touch models, and inspired some of Apple’s greatest products, including the iPhone and…

Price: £479 from fave.co/3bdD6jB A ccording to Apple the 2021 iPad mini is the biggest update since the mini format arrived in 2012 and that isn’t even an exaggeration, because even at first glance it is clear. Everything has changed except for the size. This is evident even from its appearance: The display now fills almost the entire front and the design follows the trend set by the iPad Pro models and adopted by the 2020 iPad Air: the edges no longer curve gently instead it has a trendy angular design like the iPhones. BIGGER SCREEN, SMALLER iPAD In terms of height and width, the iPad mini 6 has actually become a little smaller, which makes it even easier to hold with one hand. (The 2021 mini’s dimensions are 195.4X134.8X6.3mm…

There are just too many iPhone cases in the world. I mean, we get it…they’re inexpensive to manufacture with a big mark‑up, and the potential market is in the tens of millions with each new iPhone generation. Nearly everybody puts some kind of case on their phone because it’s just too easy to scuff, scratch, or shatter that thousand-pound pocket supercomputer. But what case should you buy? Are they all essentially the same, and you should just buy the one that looks the way you want at a good price? Or are some cases really truly better than others? We got a few dozen cases in to put them to the test, so we could recommend products based on more than just their web photos. So if you don’t see…

In iOS 15, iPadOS 15 and macOS Monterey, Apple has dramatically redesigned Safari for the first time in years. The iPhone gets the biggest changes, with a new tab bar at the bottom of the screen and a bunch of new gestures and touch targets. To say that the changes have been ‘controversial’ would be an understatement, with our own Jason Snell calling it ‘a mess’. But if you’re struggling to get used to the change, you don’t have to keep it. After criticism during the beta period, Apple has given users the option to go back to a single tab view with an address bar at the top of the screen, like it used to be! Here’s how: • Open Settings.• Select Safari.• In the Tabs section change from…