Macworld的October 2025目录

Twenty years ago, Mac OS X Tiger introduced us to a search feature that would stand the test of time: Spotlight. And while at the time I found myself ambivalent about its many quirks, some of which were maddening, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s hard not to be impressed by how far Spotlight has come. Almost every year, Apple has made Spotlight a little better, and macOS Tahoe is its biggest and most impressive upgrade ever. So let’s celebrate Spotlight for what it was, is, and is about to become. WHEN DISKS BECAME BIG ENOUGH TO SEARCH As soon as the classic Mac OS became capable of holding more than a few dozen files on tiny floppy disks, there was a need to find files. So Apple introduced a…

The latest version of ChatGPT, GPT5, was released earlier this month, promising “a significant leap in intelligence over all our previous models.” GPT-5 has already been activated as the standard model for free ChatGPT users; you only have to pay if you need more capacity or usage or the Pro version with “extended reasoning.” This all sounds great. But can it live up to the hype? And why should Mac users, and Apple fans in general, care about ChatGPT-5? Allow us to explain. ANOTHER STEP TOWARD SUPERINTELLIGENCE? Let’s start by drilling down into what exactly OpenAI means by a leap in intelligence. For one thing, the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, is convinced that the new version has taken a big step toward artificial general intelligence, which refers to the theoretical…

If you’re an-on-the-go laptop user who carries around a mouse for trackpad-less efficiency, you’ll know it’s easy to leave at home when traveling, or drop on the floor when moving too quickly between meetings, between classes or going for that much-needed coffee. Now there’s a mouse that can magnetically clamp to your MacBook, making accidental drops far less likely. It may be the mouse you never knew you needed. ESR claims that its MagMouse is the world’s first magnetically attachable wireless mouse. We tried it out to see if it would become our go-to mouse when on the move or when rooted to a desk at home and the office. MAGNET MAGIC? The magnetic claim is not quite as magic as it sounds. The ESR MagMouse doesn’t magnetically grip to…

APPLE: THE FIRST 50 YEARS applefirst50.com Here’s yet another book that details the history of Apple. What makes this one different? It’s written by David Pogue, who wrote a column for Macworld back in the days when it was a print magazine. Featuring interviews with Steve Wozniak, John Scully, Jony Ive, and other, the book not only looks at the company’s past but also “assesses the forces that challenge Apple’s dominance as it enters its second half century.”  INSTA 360 GO ULTRA insta360.com Measuring 1.8×1.8×0.7 inches, this tiny camera records 4K video at 60 frames per second. It offers 70 minutes of runtime and can charge from zero to 80 percent in 12 minutes. It includes pendant and a clip so you can wear the camera and be hands free.…

If you’re interested in unreleased Apple products, you’ve probably read something by Sonny Dickson. He’s one of the most widely known and frequently quoted figures in the mysterious world of tech leaks, with a long and distinguished track record of early and accurate predictions…and, as is the case for all leakers, a few missteps too. Nobody’s perfect. Now the poacher is turning gamekeeper, and Dickson is launching his own line of tech products inspired by the artistic merits of obsolescent devices. (Perhaps it would be poetic justice if some of his future products were leaked in turn.) Macworld caught up with Dickson over email to discuss life as a leaker, sustainability, tech as art, and his plans for the future. Macworld: When did you first become interested in technology? Sonny Dickson:…

Tripods can be a real pain if you want to take photos or videos with your iPhone when you’re out and about, as standard models tend to be heavy and bulky. Not so with the Kraftgeek Just Tap Tripod tested here. It’s a lightweight, compact MagSafe tripod that doubles as a selfie stick when the legs are folded. Kraftgeek specializes in tripods and stands of all kinds. In addition to making various smartphone stands, the company also offers music stands, easels and other stands. The Just Tap consists of ten interlocking aluminum segments, creating a telescopic pole. This is inserted into a round plastic body, which in turn consists of three segments and folds out into three tripod feet at the touch of a button on the underside. This in…

Certainly one of the main highlights of iOS 26, which was announced in June at the Worldwide Developers Conference 2025, is the new Liquid Glass interface. But the update also comes with a lot of other new features—such as many new application programming interfaces that open up a lot of possibilities for app developers. While Liquid Glass is the most notable change for anyone trying out the iOS 26 public beta, it’s not the only one. With smarter battery tools, improvements for AirPods and Apple Music, and more capabilities powered by Apple Intelligence, the update brings improvements to everyone. So even if you’re not a fan of the new Liquid Glass interface or are wondering what else iOS 26 has to offer, we’re here to show you that the update…

If you’re constantly worried about dropping, breaking, or losing your Apple gear, AppleCare+ offers peace of mind. In return for a relatively low monthly fee, Apple will repair or replace your device for far less than the cost of buying a new one. Until now, each Apple device you covered needed a separate plan, which can get pricey. Depending on which devices are being covered, that can cost as much as $40 a month. But starting tomorrow, covering multiple items will get a lot cheaper. Apple has announced a new AppleCare One plan that for $19.99 a month will let users cover up to three devices with “unlimited repairs for accidents like drops and spills, 24/7 priority support from Apple experts, quick and convenient Apple-certified service, and battery coverage.” The new AppleCare…

Apple on Thursday announced that the monthly fee for its Apple TV+ video streaming service is now $12.99 in the U.S., up from the previous $9.99. The fee in the U.K. is £9.99, and annual Apple TV+ subscriptions and Apple One (which includes Apple TV+) remain unchanged. The price increase is effective immediately for new subscribers, though some areas of the Apple TV+ website still show the $9.99 per month rate. Current subscribers will continue at the $9.99 rate until it’s time to renew, at which point the $12.99 rate will take effect 30 days after. “Since its launch, Apple TV+ has expanded its deep library of hundreds of Apple Originals, with thousands of hours of premium programming across genres and brand-new releases weekly—all ad-free,” Apple said in a statement.…

The Mac just got one of the best games of the last decade. Cyberpunk: 2077 may have had a lot of technical issues when it was first released 4.5 years ago, but the ambitious open city, memorable story, and high production values helped gamers hang in there. Their patience was rewarded with a slew of patches to fix problems, rebalance game systems, add quality-of-life features, and more. Now, coinciding with patch 2.3, Cyberpunk: 2077 is finally available for the Mac—on the App Store, Steam, and Epic Games Store. So how well does it run? Is the game worth your time and money? PERFORMANCE IS JUST OK First, if you’re running the macOS 26 beta, you might as well not bother with Cyberpunk: 2077 right now. The menus load fine, but…

When Apple releases its new operating systems this fall, it’s going to imbue them with the ability to do live, real-time translation in its most critical communications apps. This new capability runs entirely on device, so none of your sensitive communications go anywhere. And it works in multiple apps and even on multiple devices. PHONE CALLS The most obvious application is in the Phone app. When you call someone who is speaking a foreign language, your device can translate for you. Your words are translated on screen in real time, and then spoken with a synthesized voice for the caller. When they talk, you’ll see their words translated on your screen and hear a spoken voice saying them in your language. Since this all happens on your iPhone, the other…

It’s been more than three years since Apple announced the Studio Display, a cheaper alternative to the Pro Display XDR for Mac users looking for a great external monitor with Retina quality. Even with rumors suggesting that Apple will launch an updated monitor next year with better technologies, I couldn’t help myself and bought a Studio Display a while ago. Why on earth did I buy one now? That’s exactly what I asked myself right before buying it. But after using it for several months, I’m happy to say that I don’t regret it. At the same time, I know it may not be the right choice for everyone. If you’re torn between buying the current Studio Display now or waiting for a potential refresh, here’s what you should know. THE EXPERIENCE…

You’ve read a lot about the macOS 26 interface this summer, but it’s not just menus and buttons that will be different on the Mac later this year. Apple is taking advantage of the Liquid Glass introduction to bring some new icon designs to the Mac as well to help give macOS a fresh look. You might have seen some of them on social media posts, but for many users, the differences will be jarring. If you’re the type who makes graphical identifications while looking around on your Mac, some of the icons may throw you off because Apple made a drastic change. Other icons will be recognizable—you may not even notice a difference unless to pause a take a close look. In many cases, the icons are simpler and have…

The Verbatim TurboMetal SSD comes in the classic NVMe form factor with a length of around 106 millimeters. The beautifully rounded metal housing is 55 millimeters wide and only 18 millimeters thin. At 150 grams, it is not too heavy despite the metal housing, but it is no lightweight either. As with many USB4 enclosures, Verbatim also relies on cooling with an active fan and cooling slots. The fan is temperature-controlled and starts automatically if the temperature gets too high. Verbatim specifies a USB4 data transfer rate of 3600MBps for writing and 3700MBps for reading. However, we were not able to achieve this on an M3 MacBook Air; in our 4K test with Aja System Test Lite, it was 2664MBps for writing and 3123MBps for reading. Although these are not…

I am a diehard Mac user, even if it means I have to lug around a big and heavy (relatively speaking) MacBook with me instead of something more portable. I’ve tried using an iPad, but like many people, I found that iPadOS isn’t the proper environment for my productivity. Apple may have changed that. At Worldwide Developers Conference 2025, the company introduced iPadOS 26, the next major version of the iPad operating system, and Apple’s Craig Federighi called it the “biggest iPadOS release ever.” He’s not exaggerating. The changes in iPadOS 26 are so drastic that if I don’t switch over to an iPad completely, I’ll at least make it a viable part of my workflow. The next version of iPadOS is nothing short of transformative, and even old-school Mac…

Early last year, Apple made the bold, court-mandated decision to remove the Blood Oxygen feature from the Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the U.S. over a patent dispute with medical technology company Masimo. Since then, all new watches (including the Series 10, which launched several months later) have shipped with the sensor disabled, eliminating a feature available since the Series 6. Now Apple has reenabled the blood-oxygen feature for Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 users. In a press release, “An Update on Blood Oxygen for Apple Watch in the U.S.,” Apple says, “Users with these models in the U.S. who currently do not have the Blood Oxygen feature will have access to the redesigned Blood Oxygen feature by updating their paired iPhone to iOS…

This apparently nondescript power bank looks like a slightly chunky iPhone power bank or an Amex Black Card member’s pack of cards. Manipulate it like a Rubik’s Cube—it even clicks like one—and it transforms into an adaptable charger for iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods. It even boasts a backstand so it can be a regular magnetic iPhone charging stand at home as well as a powerful battery pack on the road. It is available in two battery capacities: the familiar 5000mAh and 10000mAh varieties. DESIGN The Kuxiu K1 is a jet-black slab of metal measuring not much more than a pack of cards and not weighing too much more. 5000mAh (19.35Wh): 4.1×2.7×0.6 inches (10.5×6.9×1.5cm); 6.4oz (182g) 10000mAh (38.7Wh): 4.1×2.7×0.8 inches (10.5×6.9×2cm); 8.9oz (253g) The back section can rotate up to…

When Apple announced macOS 26 Tahoe at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, much of the attention rightly went to its Liquid Glass user interface redesign. It’s a massive change to the look and feel of the Mac operating system, and it’s the first time in years that anything this significant has happened to the visual style of macOS. But macOS Tahoe isn’t just a pretty face—it’s packed with beefy features aimed squarely at power users. From incredibly capable new shortcuts to intelligent suggestions in the Reminders app, there’s a lot for demanding pros to sink their teeth into. Here are five of the best power user features in macOS Tahoe, so you know exactly where to find them once it arrives on your Mac. SMART SHORTCUTS Shortcuts has always been a…

Apple has always been fond of square and stylish desktop designs, from the original Macintosh through the G4 Cube and all the way to the latest M4 Mac mini. Yet accessories such as docking stations that are meant to sit next to these Macs are usually either tall and thin or long and slim. The Anker Prime 14-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station looks rather like the latest Mac mini and Mac Studio. And like those two desktop Macs, it is built around the latest and fastest connection standard, Thunderbolt 5 (TB5). DESIGN The Anker Prime 14-in-1 TB5 dock has the same aluminum finish as Apple’s Mac mini and Mac Studio, and mimics the port arrangements, too. It measures 4.6×4.6×3.0 inches (11.6×11.6×7.5cm) and weighs 38oz (1.1kg). Those measurements are similar to those…

Compared to the iPhone and its complex functions, the Apple TV 4K is a relatively simple device. You’ve got a simple Home Screen with large icons, a few menus across apps, and not much to set up, really. Nevertheless, tvOS enables power users to customize certain UI elements, system behavior, the Siri Remote, and more. Here are some of the essential tweaks to settings that can help you personalize your Apple TV experience in as little as 15 minutes. 1. CUSTOMIZE THE REMOTE Before getting started, you’ll want to ensure that your Apple TV’s bundled Siri Remote behaves as expected. Head to the Settings app and visit the Remotes and Devices section. There, you can optionally speed up or turn off the remote’s touch surface after testing its default sensitivity.…

With macOS Tahoe, Apple has made a drastic improvement to Control Center: you can now add, remove, and rearrange its controls. This represents a significant shift from previous versions, where certain controls were permanently located in Control Center, the options for adding controls were limited, and the order couldn’t be rearranged. In this article, we’ll look at how you can add controls, remove the ones you don’t want, and arrange them in a way that makes sense for you. You can check our macOS Tahoe superguide for more information and tutorials. Here’s how to customize Control Center in macOS Tahoe. 1. THE EDIT CONTROLS BUTTON Before macOS Tahoe, Control Center was managed in System Settings, and your options were basically to turn controls on or off. That’s no longer the case…

Visual Intelligence is one of the few AI-powered feature of iOS 18 that we regularly make use of. Just hold down the Camera button on your iPhone 16 (or trigger it with Control Center on an iPhone 15 Pro), point your phone at something, and press the button. If it’s a sign in a foreign language, you can translate it. If there’s a phone number, call it in one tap. Address? Add it to your contacts or navigate to it. A business may pull up hours and contact info, or even a menu if it’s a restaurant. And of course, it can identify all sorts of plants and animals, landmarks, famous artwork, and more. If Apple’s built-in AI doesn’t know enough, you can tap the Ask button to ask ChatGPT.…

In a couple of months, Apple will release macOS 26, which brings some nice features to your Mac, including Liquid Glass, a new Phone app, and vastly improved Spotlight Search (page 80). But like other recent updates, it lacks an eye-opening feature that leaves users in awe. When you take macOS 26 into context with the rest of Apple’s upcoming software releases, the Mac was vastly overshadowed. It could make a devoted Mac user wonder if the platform even matters anymore. iPADOS 26: THE FUTURE The most exciting release this fall will be iPadOS 26 and its new windowing system. Not only is it a much-needed feature, but it’s also well done—it works like it does on the Mac but with a more modern flair. After trying to implement a…

Adobe first launched Photoshop exclusively for the Macintosh in 1990. Since then, the software has grown to become the default photo editor for creative professionals on all platforms. Today, the app is available on all major operating systems and continues to keep up with the latest industry trends—including the current AI boom. While many rivals have put out alternative photo editing apps, very few brands have managed to gain a fraction of Adobe’s relevance in this space. Nevertheless, Photoshop is expensive, and whether it’s worth the recurring fees will depend on your personal budget and needs. Adobe Photoshop is available on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Windows, Android, and the web. While all clients serve the same main purpose, the actual feature set differs based on the platform you’re using. For example,…

Question for classic Mac users who go way back to System 6 or 7: Remember the Control Strip, which gave you direct access to various applications or functions at the click of a mouse? It was released in 1994 with System 7.1, with the PowerBook 500 series the PowerBook Duo 280 computers. With System 7.5.3, it was made available to all Macintoshes. Control Strip was a very useful tool, as it allowed settings such as volume, screen resolution, color depth, and much more to be adjusted at the click of a mouse. It was relatively extensively configurable and could be quickly switched on and off. But with the advent of the Dock in Mac OS X, the control bar became superfluous, because the Dock allows direct access to numerous applications,…

Ever since Macs got Apple Silicon chips, Apple fans have wondered about the feasibility of running macOS on mobile devices, especially iPads, since the latest models are powered by the same chips inside Macs. Interestingly, a developer has now shown that this is indeed possible. Duy Tran, a developer specializing in hacking Apple devices, shared details of his impressive work on Reddit. After much research and testing, he figured out how to run essential parts of macOS on an iPhone, although there are many limitations. RUNNING PARTS OF MACOS ON THE iPHONE He started by installing WindowServer, a critical macOS process responsible for rendering graphic elements on the screen, such as windows, icons, and visual effects. Essentially, every app running on macOS needs WindowServer, so being able to run it…

At the Worldwide Developers Conference 2025, Apple announced watchOS 26, the latest operating system for Apple Watch. And it’s a big update, encompassing AI features, a revamped Workout app, live translation in Messages, and a thorough redesign. Most Apple Watch owners likely installed the new OS almost as soon as it became available—either at the public launch in September or possibly even earlier, when the public beta dropped back in July. But there’s something you might want to take into account if you haven’t yet updated: A bunch of watch faces seem to have been removed. As 9to5Mac points out, the Fire and Water, Gradient, Liquid Metal, Toy Story, and Vapor faces were all unavailable in the first developer beta of watchOS 26. That doesn’t definitely mean they are gone forever:…

If we have one criticism of Apple’s Pro phones, it’s the limited range of colors: white, black, blue, and natural titanium on the iPhone 15 models; and white, black, desert, and natural Titanium on the iPhone 16 Pro and Max. If you like the color you picked, of course, you can choose a clear case to show it off, but there’s a reason why most phone cases come in colorful, patterned, character-led, statement, and customizable options. The latest protective case from Torras, the $64.99 / £49.99 Ostand OAir available for the iPhone 16 Pro and 15/16 Pro Max, offers a range of new colors—Forest Green, Violet Purple, Amber Brown, Obsidian Black, Coral Pink. But that’s not the best reason to buy it. That would be the exciting option to swap out…

One of the reasons why people invest in the Apple ecosystem is the interoperability between devices. The main reason for the interoperability is iCloud, Apple’s cloud service. You can get a free membership when you create an Apple Account, which includes a paltry 5GB of cloud storage. We recommend upgrading to at least 50GB if you can afford it, which costs $0.99/£0.99 per month. If you sign up for more storage, you are also getting Apple’s iCloud+ service. With iCloud (sans the plus sign), you get syncing between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and 5GB of storage. The plus sign in iCloud+ means that the service offers more features, but because iCloud has been a storage service for so long, these additional features are often overlooked. Don’t ignore them! iCloud+…

Plugable has radically redesigned its popular UD-6950PDH docking station, which now comes to the attention of owners of the M1 and M2 (and to a lesser degree M3) Macs. With this docking station, Macs with the plain (nonPro or Max) Mion. If you’re in or around the tech space (like a discerning Macworld reader would be), then you may have heard of Notion. What originally appears to be a (very capable) note-taking app is actually much more, but ask anyone who uses it regularly what they use it for and you can expect more than one use. That’s because Notion, while it initially feels like a handy document editor, is a powerful database creation suite that features a whole host of features, and now has integrations with standalone Mail and…

Despite the huge success of its AirPods range, Apple has always been a bit slow to adopt new audio technologies. It took years to bring high-res audio to the Apple Music streaming service, and even the wildly expensive AirPods Max wasn’t able to play lossless or high-res audio until after an update in March 2025. Apple’s also lagging behind some of its rivals with support for new Bluetooth features, such as the Auracast broadcasting technology. Auracast allows one device or audio source to transmit Bluetooth audio to multiple sets of headphones, as well as Auracast-compatible hearing aids and cochlear implants. That broadcasting ability makes Auracast great for public announcement and entertainment systems, as well as being a useful accessibility feature for people with hearing problems. At a recent event promoting its…

With macOS Tahoe, Apple is introducing a new Liquid Glass look for the user interface. This new look involves transparent elements where some sections on screen will be able to show elements layered below them. It gives macOS a fresh new look (or makes it look a little like Windows Vista, if you’ve been using computers long enough to understand that reference). If you don’t like the new transparent look or if it affects how well you can see items, there is a way to reduce it and in some instances turn it in off altogether. Here’s how to reduce transparency in macOS Tahoe. HOW TO REDUCE TRANSPARENCY 1. In System Settings, go to Accessibility in the left column. 2. In the main area of the window, look for the…