MacLife

THIS MONTH’S COVER star is the amazing new Mac mini — a brilliant little Apple desktop that we’re showing actual size: just five–inches square. Not only is it stunning to look at and use, it’s plenty powerful too, as you’ll discover in our lead revie

APPLE ALMOST NEVER reveals details of future products, but sources report some exciting releases that are due in 2025. > iPHONE SE 4: A fourth–generation iPhone SE is said to be on track for release in Q1 2025. The current SE, introduced in March 202

What do Siri, Face ID and Maps have in common? Other than being part and parcel of Apple’s offering, these core components of the Apple ecosystem have directly benefited from acquisitions. The same is true of Apple silicon, Apple Music and even macOS

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) is everywhere. Every consumer tech product being released today uses the buzzword in some form or another in its marketing, as companies race to show their prowess in the field. Whether it’s Google with Google Gemini in t

EVERYBODY NEEDS A time–saving tip or two. Easy ways to get things done on their Apple gear, banking a few precious minutes here and there to spend researching your next project, spending time with the family or watching cat videos on YouTube. Saving

SEQUOIA’S NEW PASSWORDS App takes the previous features split between Safari and System Settings and houses them in a dedicated password manager. The app automatically accesses passwords and passkeys stored in the keychain you can share in iCloud, sp

WITH THE LAUNCH of macOS Sequoia, Apple has made many of macOS’s security features easier to find and simpler to use, and there’s more consistency between macOS, iOS and iPadOS too. Sequoia’s System Settings has been given a significant redesign, and

JUST TO BE CLEAR, we’re not talking about Microsoft Windows here. We’re looking at proper, stylish Apple–designed windows and the new ways you’re now able to organise them in macOS Sequoia. By exploring the many options available to you in Apple’s la

iPHONE MIRRORING IS One of the standout features of macOS Sequoia, and it makes it easier than ever to quickly access apps and features of iPhone without ever leaving your Mac — and it’s super–easy to do. To use iPhone Mirroring, you’ll need a Mac ru

FOLLOWING THE RELEASE of the iPhone 16 range, you can now apply a new generation of Photographic Styles to photos on iPhone and Mac. In effect, Photographic Styles are in–camera filters that change the colors and tones of a photo to flatter different

THE MORE YOU use a music–streaming service, the more locked into it you become. If you decide to switch, you’re faced with rebuilding all your custom playlists, one by one — if you have more than just a handful, this can be enough to put you off swit

ALTHOUGH IT HAS long been possible to personalize your iPhone using different wallpapers, adding widgets, putting apps into folders and pulling off some tricks using third–party apps such as Widgetsmith, with iOS 18, you can go further than ever befo

GARAGEBAND IS AN incredible app for amateur and pro music makers alike; it may look simpler than its professional sibling Logic Pro, but it still has lots of pro-level features. Like Logic Pro, you can expand the selection of built-in instruments and

BEING OUT OF REACH of Wi–Fi and cellular connections can be frustrating. Without access to the internet, you can feel cut off from the world but there are some circumstances in which you can also feel vulnerable and may find yourself in danger. If yo

APPLE SELDOM REVEALS much about malware protection in macOS, and has kept silent about the substantial improvements made in Sequoia. XProtect, responsible for checking apps and other code for telltale signs of them being malicious, has been beefed up

REMEMBER THAT NOW–INFAMOUS Apple advert, showing an entire creative studio suite being crushed and replaced by an iPad? It proved controversial among content creators, but its underlying message was clear; your iPad — and other Apple gear — can do an

From $599 From www.apple.com Features M4/M4 Pro chip, 16GB unified memory (24GB/32GB/48GB/64GB available), 256GB storage (512GB/1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB available), Wi–Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 3x Thunderbolt 4 (Thunderbolt 5 on M4 Pro) WITH A DESIGN THAT makes i

From $1,299 (model tested $2,899) From www.apple.com Features M4 chip, 24–inch Retina display (4,480 x 2,520), 16GB unified memory (24GB/32GB available), 256GB storage (512GB/1TB/2TB available), Wi–Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 2x or 4x Thunderbolt 4 ports W

From $1,599 From www.apple.com Features M4/M4 Pro/M4 Max chip, 16GB unified memory (24GB/32GB/36GB/48GB/64GB/128GB available), 512GB storage (1TB/2TB/4TB/8TB available), Wi–Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3 CHIEFLY AIMED AT creative pros who need plenty of power

$99.99 (three–year license) From adobe.com Needs macOS 13 or later THE FULL VERSION of Adobe Photoshop is the result of over three decades of evolution. Since version 1.0 back in 1990, the app has grown to incorporate the needs of photographers, desi

Save money in 2025 with these top picks for Mac, iPhone and iPad + ALSO INSIDE… Part 1: Make the most of Apple’s streaming service • Discover the new Camera Control on iPhone 16 • Improve the sound of your home movies • Master iCloud Drive on Mac …an