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

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 f

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

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 sto

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

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 th

> $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 matchin

> $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

> 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 B

> Resolution of the iMac’s Retina display. It also supports one external display at 6K/60Hz. > Maximum amount of unified memory available on M3 iMacs. Stock models come with 8GB though. > Maximum amount of internal storage available in the iMac. The

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 Moor

Apple fans are also keeping iPhones for longer between upgrades. Data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) shows that 71% of iPhone owners have a device that’s over two years old, up from 63% in 2020. Data for the first quarter of 2024

Everyone loves a brand-new Mac. That smell of fresh technology as you take it out of the box, the ease at which you can get it up and running, the improved performance compared to your old Mac. And if the machine you’re retiring couldn’t run the late

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 beco

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 Ap

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

MacFormat Best Buy 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU M3 16GB memory, 512GB SSD £1,999 The iMac has got the lot. A 24-inch 4.5K Retina-quality screen, a modern M3 Apple silicon processor, a crystal-clear 1080p FaceTime HD camera, a fantastic six-speaker system

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

MacFormat Best Buy 11-inch display, 8-core CPU, 9-core GPU M2, 8GB memory, 256GB storage £699 Unlike the regular 10th-generation iPad, the iPad Air comes in two sizes. As well as the 11-inch version (which already has half an inch more screen space t

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

MacFormat Best Buy 9-core CPU, 10-core GPU M4, 8GB memory, 512GB storage £1,199 For the last few high-end iPad releases, Apple has boasted about how it’s ‘the thinnest ever’. The current 11-inch iPad Pro is 5.3mm thick, and to be frank, that’s as thi

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

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 compare

MacFormat Best Buy 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU M4, 16GB memory, 1TB storage £1,899 Believe it or not, the 13-inch iPad Pro is even thinner than its 11-inch stable mate. At only 5.1 mm thick, it’s the thinnest product Apple has ever created. Available in

www.magazinesdirect.com/mac/D35T Or call 0330 333 1113 and quote ‘D35T’ ● NEW! Digital access to 130+ issues when you subscribe to print!**● Enjoy the MacFormat print edition for just £21.09 every six months!● Or enjoy six months of MacFormat digital

In iOS 11 or later, point the Camera app’s photo mode at this QR code to download our app. *First-time digital subscribers only.■

Your in-depth guide to getting more from your Apple kit › Email your queries and your questions to [email protected] › Cmd is the Command key. › Alt or Opt is the Option key. › Ctrl is the Control key, also shown as ‘^’ in shortcuts in the menu b

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) In part one of this feature

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 fr

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

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 sys

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 cor

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,

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 IA

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

Our resident genius solves your Mac and iOS problems Email your queries and your questions to [email protected] 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”,

For our latest subscription offer see page 34! Apple has been enjoying Ahealthy growth in computer sales of late. According to a report by the global intelligence firm IDC, there was a 20.8% growth in shipments of Macs in the second quarter of 2024 c

Q I’m trying to transfer my Music library from an old iMac running macOS 10.15 Catalina to my new Apple silicon iMac, as the final step in migration. What’s the best way to do that? by ROY MILLINGTON A Before moving your Music library to a new Mac, e

Q I’m about to travel with my MacBook Pro running macOS 14 Sonoma, but want to start it in macOS 13 Ventura to run older software. What’s the best way to do that? by ALEX WILDING A Options range from downgrading the system on its internal storage, to

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 co

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

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 calen

The Categories tab also includes an entry called Scripting and while novices are unlikely to get to grips with everything it offers straight away, over time it’ll take your shortcuts to another level. Scripting actions use your device’s system featur

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 ‘burg

Be careful if you’re running shortcuts which you haven’t created yourself or aren’t in the Gallery. It’s entirely possible for a malicious actor to tap into your photos or files, or run JavaScript to access sensitive data on a web page. Earlier this

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

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 f

› Get ready for macOS Sequoia! Plus iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, and more › Apple Intelligence: the pros and cons › Boost your Apple device security › Introducing Apple Intelligence › 101 ways to make iCloud truly great › On test: M4 iPad Pro, M2 i

Our authoritative reviews help you make more informed choices Email your queries and your questions to [email protected] › Our reviews are totally independent; we’re not affiliated with Apple or anyone else, nor are we influenced by advertisers.

› £319 › FROM fiio.com › FEATURES 80W stereo speakers, 3.5in carbon fibre woofer, RCA, 3.5mm, USB-C, coaxial, optical, Bluetooth 5.0 with AAC, Hi-res wireless certified, aptX HD/Adaptive/Low Latency We really liked Fiio’s SP3 speakers when we reviewe

› £99.99 › FROM elgato.com › FEATURES Eight LCD buttons, two touch-sensitive controls, time/date display, non-detachable braided USB-C cable; 207g Elgato’s Stream Deck range comprises desktop control panels for streamers and gamers. The line has now

› £25 › FROM mixx-audio.com › REQUIRES Bluetooth. USB-A or USB-C Mixx Audio makes a range of affordable wireless earbuds with even the priciest model costing less than £70, a far cry from what many manufacturers charge. The StreamBuds Solo 2 are even

› £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 Edifier makes a range of wireless audio devices with the D32 sitting somewhere b

› £179.99 › FROM uk.ankerwork.com› FEATURES 360° sound, Qi 2 15W wireless charger, 70° adjustable phone stand, 48kHz four-mic array, voice recognition, AI noise cancelling (privacy protection with local processing) Many people now work from home at l

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 ma

› Essential £34.99/year; Ultimate (as tested) £114.98/year › FROM eset.com/uk › NEEDS macOS 11 or later; iOS 11 or later Instead of paying out for individual subscriptions for malware protection, a VPN service, password manager, and a software firewa

› £34.99 › FROM cyan.com › NEEDS macOS 14.5 or later 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 be

› £4.99/month or £49.99/year › FROM apple.com/uk › NEEDS iPadOS 17.4 or later 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 platf

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. By

› From £1,399 › In October 2023, Apple updated its only iMac – the 24in model, so that it now benefits from Apple’s M3 chip. You can now choose between an 8-core CPU/8-core GPU at the entry-level, or an 8-core CPU/10-core GPU on the mid-range and top

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 operat