MacFormat - November 2023 UK

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While it’s looking increasingly likely

that the first M3 Macs won’t arrive Meet the team
this side of Christmas, there is one
upgrade you can get your hands
on: macOS 14 Sonoma.
Jo Membery
Starting on p20, you’ll be able to
Operations Editor
discover all the key features of this
Apple’s switch to USB-C for
amazing – and free – update with
iPhone has prompted Jo to
plenty of tips and tricks to help you
embark on an upgrade too.
make the most of it along the way.
She’s finally moving away
We’re particularly fond of the changes
from the Apple Desktop Bus,
Apple’s made to Messages, and Sonoma’s new wallpapers too.
last seen in the wild in 1999.
Talking of tips and tricks, turn to p60 and you’ll find 28
hidden features of iOS that’ll work on almost any iPhone,
which is handy, as starting on p75 we also have in-depth Paul Blachford
reviews of the new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15. Art Editor
While Apple’s making a big fuss over the iPhone 15 Pro’s Paul’s trying to justify
titanium shell and both phones’ hugely improved photography buying an Apple Watch
capabilities, there’s arguably an even bigger change: Apple Ultra 2 by turning up to
has at last ditched the iPhone’s Lightning port in favour of the office in a wetsuit and
USB-C. Not only does that bring the iPhone into line with the saying “let’s take a deep
Mac and iPad, but it’ll have all kinds of practical repercussions dive into it” in meetings.
– for it not only means (finally!) that you can use a single cable
to charge all your Apple gear, but it will also make your iPhone
compatible with all kinds of add-ons and accessories – from SUBSCRIBE
external displays to external drives. Oh, and we also have TODAY!
a review of the Apple Watch Series 9 (p80). Enjoy the issue!
HURRY! & GET A
ROB MEAD-GREEN
TIME-
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OFFER
GREAT GIFT
EDITOR WORTH £69.99
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NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 3

Issue 397
November 2023
macformat.com
20
macOS Sonoma
6 NEW: iPHONE 15 RANGE
Plus Apple Watch Series 9 superguide
> Discover the cool new features
APPLE CORE in your FREE Mac upgrade – and
how to make the most of them!
6 RUMOUR & NEWS
The latest updates from Cupertino and beyond
9 APPS & GAMES

Our top picks of the month for Mac and iOS
10 CRAVE
The hot new gear we’re lusting after
13 FACTS & FIGURES

The incredible stats and facts behind Apple’s
latest superphone: the iPhone 15 Pro Max
14 OPINION
Are Apple’s Neural chips creating a class
divide within Apple products?
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4 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023

Issue 397 CONTENTS
40 Surf different with Arc APPLE CHOICE

60
HIDDEN 76
iPHONE iPhone 15 Pro
FEATURES
> We celebrate 79
APPLE SKILLS the best of the
lesser-known iOS
tips and tricks
38 MASTER SCREEN SHARING
Share your Mac’s screen with someone else
40 SURF DIFFERENT WITH ARC 80

Try an all-new web browsing experience
42 SYNC & SHARE WITH DROPBOX HARDWARE

Ensure access to your files across your devices
44 CUSTOMISE STANDBY IN iOS 17 76 iPhone 15 Pro

Turn your iPhone into a clock while it’s charging 79 iPhone 15
80 Apple Watch Series 9
46 CREATE A CONTACT POSTER
Dazzle your contacts with a custom screen 82 Lenco PDR-045,
STM ChargeTree Go
48 USE SAFARI PROFILES 83 JBL Tour Pro 2
Supercharge Safari on your iPhone or iPad
84 TP-Link Deco XE200
69
50 SHARE STUFF IN iOS 17 85 Sonos Era 300
Share things even more easily with AirDrop
watchOS 10 SOFTWARE
52 HOW IT WORKS: QI2
The new wireless charging standard explained superguide 86 Group test: Password managers
> Make your Apple 92 ESET Cyber Security 7
GENIUS TIPS Watch feel brand
new with this
94 Ulaa
incredible upgrade 95 No Man’s Sky
Howard Oakley solves all 96 App round-up: Six apps
54 your Mac hardware, software that come alive on iPad
and iOS and iPadOS issues 74
BACK 98 STORE GUIDE
ISSUES Get help with picking accessories
and apps to go with your Apple kit
Head here if you’ve
missed an issue 105 NEXT MONTH
What’s coming in MF398 on 14 November
106 ONE MORE THING…

The TiBook: Apple’s first foray into titanium

What’s inside
6–8
RUMOUR & NEWS
The latest updates
from Cupertino
and beyond
EDITED BY ROB MEAD-GREEN
9
APPS & GAMES
Our top picks of the
month for Mac and iOS
10
CRAVE
The hot new gear
we’re lusting after
13
FACTS & FIGURES
HOT TOPIC!
The key stats behind
Apple’s flagship iPhone
– the iPhone 15 Pro Max
New iPhone and Apple
14
OPINION
Are Neural Engine
Watch models make
chips creating a class
divide within Apple kit?
16
September debut
MACFORMAT
Titanium frames, USB-C ports, new gestures, and more
INVESTIGATES
RIP the Lightning port ne of the biggest Apple events while on the front the notch has now been
O of the year took place on 12
September when the Cupertino
replaced by the Dynamic Island.
The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max now
firm unveiled a slate of new iPhone and feature a titanium chassis, slimmer bezels,
Apple Watch models. There were also smaller and a new A17 Pro chip. There’s also an Action
updates to the AirPods Pro and iCloud+, button like on the Apple Watch Ultra that can
which we’ll come to shortly. be used to open apps, launch shortcuts, and
This issue, we’re reviewing the iPhone 15, more. The Apple Watch Series 9, meanwhile,
iPhone 15 Pro, and Apple Watch Series 9, so has a new S9 chip and a ‘double tap’ feature
we’ll save our in-depth analysis for the reviews that lets you tap your forefinger and thumb
Contact us section (see p76 onwards). But it’s worth together to enable certain actions.
covering the major points here.
The entire iPhone 15 line-up (including the Apple Watch Ultra 2
Email your queries to Pro models) has switched to USB-C, ditching The Apple Watch Ultra also received an
[email protected] the 11-year-old Lightning port in the process. update, with the new second-generation
Both the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 15 Plus model priced at £799 (the same price as its
Join the conversation at come with the A16 Bionic and a second- predecessor). This time around, the display
facebook.com/macformat generation Ultra Wideband chip. On the back, brightness has been increased to a retina-
or on Twitter @macformat the main camera now shoots 48MP pictures, searing 3,000 nits, which is 50% brighter

Pair the Apple Watch Ultra 2
with an Alpine Loop for a
carbon neutral purchase.
The improved repairability of the iPhone

15 Pro models means reduced costs to
fix them in some circumstances.
Apple slashes
than the previous model. At the other
end of the scale, the device can drop
The Ultra 2 comes iPhone
down to a brightness of just one nit in with the new S9 chip, repair costs
dark surroundings.
As well as that, the Ultra 2 comes with
enabling Siri to run hen it introduced
the new S9 chip found in the Series 9. This
enables Siri to run entirely on-device for
entirely on-device W the iPhone 15 Pro
in September, Apple
requests that don’t require the internet, you pair it with a Trail Loop or Alpine Loop touted its increased repairability,
and the assistant can now securely access band, as the emissions involved in making especially for the glass on its
your data from the Health app. Meanwhile, the device have apparently been reverse. What the company didn’t
Apple says the chip’s Neural Engine makes significantly curtailed. say was that this means repair
dictation up to 25% faster. costs for the back glass are now
There’s also the ‘double tap’ feature AirPods Pro and iCloud+ much cheaper.
of the Series 9, and a new Modular There were also updates to the AirPods Repairing the rear glass of
Ultra watch face that has the most Pro 2, which now has a USB-C port on an iPhone 14 Pro would cost you
complications of any Apple Watch face. the charging case instead of Lightning. a whopping £519. Now, however,
And if you’ve lost an iPhone 15 model, However, you cannot buy the case by the same process for the iPhone
the Apple Watch Ultra 2 lets you find it itself, so anyone wanting to upgrade will 15 Pro will set you back a much
with Apple’s Precision Finding technology need to buy an entirely new set of AirPods. more reasonable £169.
thanks to the new Ultra Wideband chip Apple also noted that the new AirPods Last year’s regular iPhone 14
that the devices share. Pro 2 enable lossless audio when used came with a new chassis that could
Apple also claims it’s possible to buy with a Vision Pro headset. However, there be opened from the front or the
a carbon-neutral Apple Watch Ultra 2 if was further consternation when it was back, which resulted in much lower
revealed that the previous AirPods Pro repair costs. The Pro models missed
2 will not work with this tech, presumably out on this change, but now they
due to an upgraded H2 chip in the newest have adopted a more repairable
model compared to the old version. chassis too, which permits the
Finally, iCloud+ has two new storage pricing change.
options: 6TB and 12TB. Here in the UK, The iPhone 15 Pro is cheaper in
these plans cost £26.99 and £54.99 other ways, with prices starting at
respectively, compared to $29.99 and £999, compared to £1,099 for the
$59.99 a month respectively in the US. iPhone 14 Pro. The iPhone 15 and
For our full verdicts on the iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus received £50 price
Pro, iPhone 15, and Apple Watch Series 9, cuts, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max
The 15 Pro and Pro Max feature a titanium chassis, turn to the reviews section, which starts retains last year’s pricing, but starts
slimmer bezels, and a new Action button. on page 76. with 256GB of storage, not 128GB.
iPhone 12 radiation update

Apple has updated the
iPhone 12 in France to
satisfy a government
watchdog.
Apple has announced that it will directive on radiation exposure limits. At
update the iPhone 12 in France to first, Apple disputed the claims, stating
address concerns that it is emitting that the iPhone 12 has been certified by
excess radiation. The move comes after numerous international bodies and is
a French government watchdog ordered compliant with radiation standards.
that sales of the device be halted in the However, the firm later revealed it would
country – potentially permanently – and bring out a software update for French
claimed that it violated a European Union users that would address the concerns.
Image credit: Apple Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 7

APPLE
NEWS
ROUNDUP
SIRI REMOTE
GETS FIND MY
QUICKLY LOCATE
YOUR LOST REMOTE
> Losing your Siri M3 chip reportedly The delay to the M3 chip could
Remote (hint: it’s down
the sofa) could become
a thing of the past
delayed until 2024 mean iMac fans have to wait
even longer for a new version.
thanks to an update Launch date of new Macs seemingly pushed back

in iOS 17 and tvOS 17,
which lets you locate it hen it comes to Macs, there’s The setback is disappointing because
with the help of visual
prompts on your
W usually a decent chance that
Apple will launch new models
the M3 chip is widely expected to be a sizeable
upgrade over the M2. According to the rumour
phone. Just open the in the Autumn. However, that may not happen mill, it’s going to be made using a 3-nanometre
Apple TV remote this year, if reports from numerous Apple process (the same technology used to build
control widget in iOS analysts and leakers prove accurate. So, if the A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro), which
and you’ll see a Find you’ve been holding out for a new machine, will bring improvements to its performance
My-style interface that you just might have to wait a little while longer. and efficiency.
will help you find the Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo and journalist Mark Unfortunately, it seems we may have to
device. Note that it only Gurman have both noted that M3 Macs – wait until next year to see those gains, as a
works on the second- including potentially the iMac, 13-inch MacBook consensus is now forming around the idea of
and third-generation Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro – are now due to a delayed M3 debut. With Macs absent for the
Siri Remotes. arrive in 2024. Apple leaker Revegnus, near future, it suggests that Apple might scrap
meanwhile, believes the delay is due to issues its rumoured Autumn launch event and simply
chip maker TSMC is having with yields. announce product updates via press releases.
APPLE WATCH
IS ‘CARBON
NEUTRAL’
APPLE CLAIMS IT’S
Intel announces Thunderbolt 5
GOING GREEN Likely coming to Macs and iPads in 2024 or 2025
> The Apple Watch ntel has introduced content. This mode is only 4K monitors at 144Hz. It
Series 9 and Ultra 2
have become Apple’s
I Thunderbolt 5, the
latest version of its
activated when a compatible
device is attached to a
can also support refresh
rates of up to 540Hz on
first carbon neutral Thunderbolt connectivity high-bandwidth display. a single display.
products (if you buy standard, which will go live According to Intel, the Apple has long supported
them with the right at some point in 2024. The new version of Thunderbolt Thunderbolt connectors, and
band). The company company promises this will will be able to support has included them on Macs
says it achieved this double the bidirectional data multiple 8K displays or three and iPad Pro tablets for
by reducing its reliance transfer rate from 40Gbps to years, so it’s almost a
on air travel and using 80Gbps. That should make it certainty that the company
more recycled material, a more interesting change will incorporate Thunderbolt
resulting in a 75% cut than the upgrade from 5 into its future products.
in emissions. The other Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt However, it’s uncertain
25% is made up for 4, when data transfer rates whether Apple will offer
with carbon credits. remained the same. Thunderbolt 5 products
It has also ended the There is also a ‘Bandwidth right out of the gate, so it’s
sale of leather bands Boost’ feature that allows possible the first compliant
Future Macs could get Thunderbolt 5
due to their high a device to transmit up to ports, but that might not happen until Macs and iPads will go live in
environmental impact. 120Gbps speeds for video 2024 or even 2025. 2025. Keep your eyes peeled.
8 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credit: Apple Inc

Apps & games APPLE CORE
APP OF THE MONTH
Media
Picks
What you should
be playing and
reading this month
[M AC A PP]
Mercury Weather 2
[A L BU M]
Autumn Variations
Free (offers in-app purchases) Ed Sheeran
£10.99
Merging beautiful design with informative data The surprise second
album of 2023 from
Apple’s Weather app on the of the app. All the information is neatly Ed Sheeran, Autumn
Mac is packed with useful data, contained – you can just click the daily forecast Variations charts his road
but sometimes that can be to see more detailed stats, for example – which to recovery from the
overwhelming. Mercury Weather, means everything is there when you need it depression and anxiety
meanwhile, is far more succinct, yet never veers and gone when you don’t. that have haunted him.
too far the other way by omitting key info you We particularly like the app’s menu bar item,
really need. It’s excellently balanced, convenient, which pops out to show temperatures, rain
and really easy to use. forecasts, plus hourly and daily temperature
Helpful graphs showing temperature highs predictions. When the menu is hidden, the icon
and lows are front and centre, with current shows current conditions and temperature,
conditions and the hourly forecast at the top putting important details just a glance away.
[AU DIOB O OK ]
Elon Musk
Walter Isaacson
£12.99
Love him or hate him,
Elon Musk captures
attention. Steve Jobs’
biographer assesses
Musk’s life to find
the truth about one
[iO S A PP] [iOS GAME] [M AC GA M E] of the world’s most
Flighty 3 Unpacking Baldur’s Gate 3 powerful men.
FREE (offers IAPs) £9.99 £49.99
Flighty is one of Already a hit on If you like RPGs
the best travel the Mac, Unpacking and Dungeons &
apps you can find. has arrived on iOS. Dragons, you’ll love
It’s just added Flighty Friends, Each level is a vignette of a Baldur’s Gate 3. Even if you
which lets you invite your person’s life; having moved don’t, chances are you’ll be
friends and family to share into a new home, you must won over. The storytelling, [PODCAST]
flight details and get status unpack their belongings and party-based adventuring and The Missing Madonna
updates, making it simple to fit them on to shelves. As you freedom of choice – if you Britain’s largest art heist
see everyone’s progress and do so, the objects they own can think it, you can almost saw a da Vinci painting
stay in touch. Now you can tell rich and surprisingly certainly do it – makes stolen from a Scottish
quickly stay on top of delays, poignant stories – all without Baldur’s Gate 3 an unmissable castle. This is the inside
arrival times and more. a word being spoken. gaming experience. story of the theft and
Why you need it: It makes flying Why you need it: It’s a clever, Why you need it: A true ‘game the frantic search
a little easier. touching puzzle game. of the year’ contender. that followed.
Image credits: Triple Glazed Studios Inc,

A Gingerbread Man Records Release/
Ed Sheeran Ltd, Simon & Schuster UK, NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 9
Flighty LLC, Witch Beam, Beamdog, BBC
APPLE CORE Hot new kit
THE GEAR WE’RE LUSTING AFTER
U-Turn Orbit Theory Turntable

> From $999 (about £980) > From uturnaudio.com
> U-Turn turntables are a rare breed The external silicone belt drive, in
of tech – they’re all made by hand – combination with the inverted main
and the vinyl-playing specialist has bearing, results in an ultra-quiet motor
recently given the range a revamp. so your audio takes centre stage. And
The Theory turntable is the most the hardwood Theory model use 100%
advanced in the upgraded line-up. walnut, ebonised oak or oak for the
The precision gimbal Orbit Arm 3 plinth, rather than a veneer effect used
tonearm, made from a single piece of in some ‘wooden’ turntables. As the
magnesium and an Ortofon 2M Blue players are handmade, you can even opt
cartridge, ensures accurate tracking, for a built-in preamp and upgrade to a
vibration damping and low distortion. 2M Bronze cartridge when you buy. The Theory is an engineering – and audio – beauty.
10 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credit: U-Turn Audio

LG Signature OLED M 97in
> £27,999.98 > From lg.com
> LG is promoting this as the world’s get Brightness Booster Max tech, and the The Box also offers three HDMI 2.1 ports
first OLED TV with 4K 120Hz wireless AI smarts sense what you’re watching to (plus USB, Bluetooth, and more) for
connectivity. This means we’re a real optimise the picture and audio settings. games consoles and the like. So far,
step further into the hallowed world of… The TV is not completely cable-free, opinion is positive on the lack of latency.
cable-free home entertainment! An a9 AI you plug in a single power cord, but the So, what’s the drawback? Er, well, just
Processor enables that refresh rate, you Zero Connect Box transmits wirelessly. check that pricing again…
Netgear Orbi B&O Beolab 8 Moment T-Series

970 Series > From £4,398 > From bang-olufsen.com > From $119.99 (about £115)
> From shopmoment.com
> From £1,599.99 > From netgear.com/uk
> The only trouble with powerful
> Some Mac, iPhone and iPad models speakers is that, well, they can be > With each iPhone incarnation, we’re
may have made the move to Wi-Fi 6E, ugly. Not so Bang & Olufsen’s Beolab 8. witnessing staggering upgrades in
but next-gen wireless is already waiting Like a piece of sculptural art, the speaker camera quality (see p76). Which means
in the wings. Evidence for that comes in system is available in four stylish designs, makers of compatible lenses need to
the form of the Netgear Orbi 970 – a mesh with either a table or floor stand or wall continuously up their game. Moment has
system that uses Wi-Fi 7. That expands on mount (a ceiling mount is forthcoming). redesigned its lenses with 25% more glass
the 6GHz bandwidth offered by Wi-Fi 6E to Inside you’ll find a 0.6-inch tweeter, 3-inch and a larger bayonet interface to support
320MHz, giving it data shifting speeds of mid-range driver and a 5.25-inch woofer, new, larger camera phone sensors. You’ll
up to 27Gbps or 2.4 times that of Wi-Fi 6. each driven by its own D-class amp, benefit from sharper images and sensor
Described as offering ‘elite connectivity’, delivering 300W of power in total. The stabilisation, and you can build up your kit
the Orbi 970 is priced to match with a Beolab 8 also has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and bit by bit – lens, mount, case, filter, and
two-pack (comprising one router and AirPlay 2 onboard. Plus, it’s designed to be carry bag. You can also get Pro Camera
one satellite) costing a cool £1,599.99. modular with upgradeable components. App support to help get the best results.
Image credits: LG Electronics, Netgear, Bang & Olufsen, Moment Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 11
ON
SALE
NOW!
DIG ITA L O N L IN E P R IN T
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Facts & figures APPLE CORE
THE iPHONE 15 PRO MAX 256GB > Storage capacity of the

most affordable iPhone
15 Pro Max, which costs
£1,199. That’s twice the
storage of the £999 iPhone
15 Pro, which gets 128GB
Apple’s flagship iPhone is packed with groundbreaking to start. Both phones can
be upgraded with 512GB
tech – and here are the stats to back it up or 1TB of storage.
3,606,840 pixels
> Resolution of the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s Super
Retina XDR Display, which measures 2796x1290
pixels at 460 ppi.
29 hours
> Maximum run time of the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s
battery when watching video – that’s six hours
more than the iPhone 15 Pro (23 hours), and
nine hours more than the iPhone 15 (20 hours).
35 trillion
> Number of operations per second performed by
the 16-core Neural Engine inside the A17 Pro.
4x faster
> Performance boost achieved by using hardware-
accelerated ray tracing rather than software. This
enables the A17 Pro to deliver smoother graphics
and more realistic lighting effects. Full
review
next
issue!
10Gbps 6
> Maximum data > Number of graphics cores in the
transfer speed of the A17 Pro chip that powers the iPhone
USB-C port on the 15 Pro. It also has a six-core CPU
iPhone 15 Pro and Pro (comprising two performance and
Max – that’s 20 times four efficiency cores), plus a 16-core
faster than Lightning. Neural Engine.

APPLE CORE Opinion
MATT BOLTON…
IS WORRIED THAT APPLE’S NEURAL
CHIPS ARE BRINGING BACK
SOFTWARE CLASS DIVISIONS
WE’D NEARLY LEFT BEHIND
ne of the benefits of Apple producing its own
O chips, and of a general plateauing of Intel chip
improvements in Macs even before the Apple
switch, over the last few years has been that we didn’t
get much of a ‘left behind’ syndrome when new OS
updates were released. In the days of OS X, it wasn’t
uncommon for some of the new features of an update to be
locked away if your Mac was too old. But we got to a point
where that wasn’t so much of an issue, and effectively any
new feature coming to Mac or iPhone especially would be
available on anything the software runs on.
The ‘left behind’ syndrome didn’t totally go away (on iPad,
it really reared its head recently with Stage Manager, which
only works on specific machines with heftier processors), but
for most of us, the fear of our devices being missed off the list The new ‘double tap’ gesture would be a great upgrade
for existing Apple Watch users, but it’s on Series 9 only.
of cool upgrades is rare now.
Features based on But it’s growing again in

2023, and it seems to come
the new Neural chip to accurately interpret
them… even though a version of this feature
machine-learning down to the rise of features
based on machine-learning
has been available on Apple Watch for a
while, among the Accessibility options. And
techniques require techniques that require
Neural chips. There are two
while we’re talking about Apple Watch, let’s
also mention the new on-device Siri speech
Apple’s Neural chips obvious examples from this
year of new ‘features’ that
understanding, which again is available
on the new model solely because of its
are all about software, but aren’t available on older models Neural comprehension power.
because their processors aren’t up to it. All of these are very useful features.
The first is the Adaptive Audio features that just arrived Neither requires new dedicated hardware
on AirPods Pro 2. These create a new kind of Transparency such as sensors or mics to make them
mode that more selectively blends the outside world with what happen – it’s about the speed to run them
you’re hearing, and can automatically switch modes when you to Apple’s satisfaction. We’re entering
talk to someone, so you can hear the response. Evidently, it a world of very interesting software
requires the power of the H2 chip, which possibilities with the rise of machine-
is only used in the second-gen AirPods learning tools and the hardware to run
Pro right now. That’s a big shame for them in every device, but I don’t love that
owners of the first-gen AirPods Pro, but it’s bringing back a two-tier system of
it’s even more frustrating for anyone software, with divisions even between
who recently bought AirPods Max – devices being sold today.
Apple’s most expensive and premium
headphones, still on sale right now, and ABOUT MATT BOLTON
lacking support for these latest features. Matt is Managing Editor at
The second is the new ‘double tap’ TechRadar.com, and previously worked
gesture on the Apple Watch Series 9, on T3, MacLife and MacFormat. He’s
which is detected using heart and motion been charting Apple’s ups and downs
If I had just bought Apple’s most premium
headphones, and they didn’t get the latest sensors that are the same as on Apple since his student days, but still hopes
features, I’d be very unhappy. Watch Series 8 (and 7), but seem to need to hear “one more thing”.

For our latest
subscription offer
see page 34!
INVESTIGATES
Apple has moved the iPhone to USB-C, bringing about the

end of the Lightning port. We take a look at what that means
WRITTEN BY CHARLOTTE HENRY
or those lucky enough to thing about it is that USB-C is a universal Purchases like that at the scale Apple sells
F get your hands on one of standard, immediately giving you access iPhones seriously add to its bottom line.
the iPhone 15 range, to a much wider range of accessories such There is certainly a strong argument for
perhaps the first things as charging cables. No more hoping Apple including a power adaptor in the box
you will notice is that the cable that third-parties produce items with a with this generation of iPhones to help
comes in the box is different to those Lightning connector. people with the transition and build that
from previous generations. That is It also means that it is easier to jump into the cost of the device. The company
because Apple is moving all its devices to and from using an iPhone – the chargers stopped putting power adaptors in iPhone
away from the Lightning port and to and accessories that come with an Android boxes in 2020 to reduce waste and the
USB-C. And none of the old Lightning phones and other devices should now work amount of packaging it uses. This was
port accessories you’ve collected over with the iPhone too. Or you can use some fine when the adaptor for your old phone
the years are compatible anymore. Apple devices and some non-Apple devices worked with the new one. This year, it is
It is a hugely significant change from and just use the same cables. However, in more of an issue.
Apple, especially for the iPhone. The good the short term, it means that if you’re The switch to USB-C, however, was
buying an iPhone 15 (and don’t have any ultimately not Apple’s choice. It’s the result
USB-C accessories already) you’re going of the European Union passing legislation
to have to buy new power adaptors, cables demanding a single standard for charging.
and wired headphones, either from Apple All phones and tablets sold in the bloc have
or a third-party, adding to the cost. to have USB-C connectors by the end of
There is a cynical argument that points 2024. Commenting in October 2022 when
out that this is all somewhat in Apple’s the EU Parliament passed the legislation,
favour, at least in the short-term, even if its rapporteur Alex Agius Saliba said:
it has had to stop using its proprietary “The common charger will finally
Lightning technology in the process. Buy become a reality in Europe. We have
the iPhone 15 Pro and you might have to waited more than 10 years for these rules,
You can find out more about the other buy a new power adaptor and USB-C but we can finally leave the current
improvements to the iPhone 15 range from p76. EarPods alongside the phone itself for £38. plethora of chargers in the past. This

The iPhone is now catching
up with other devices in the
Apple line-up by ditching the
old Lightning charging port
in favour of USB-C.

APPLE CORE RIP Lightning
future-proof law allows for the development

of innovative charging solutions in the future,
and it will benefit everyone – from frustrated
consumers to our vulnerable environment.”
While those regulations applied only to
devices sold within the EU itself, Apple chose to
make the change globally – it would hardly have
been cost effective or logistically efficient to make
one set of devices for the EU and another for the
rest of the world. As Apple’s senior VP of
worldwide marketing told the Wall Street
Journal’s Joanna Stern last year: “Obviously,
we’ll have to comply; we have no choice.”
Why Lightning? Being proprietary tech, the

Lightning port meant that
The move to USB-C
Apple had very clear reasons for introducing consumers had to buy into Apple’s USB-C is far from a new concept to Apple users.
Lightning with the launch of the iPhone 5 in 2012. range of cables and accessories. The company first used it on the 2015 MacBook
It was much, much smaller than the 30-pin and has rolled it out consistently on laptops and
connector it had used on iPhones and iPods up iPads since then. (Those machines, of course,
to that point. Around 80% smaller, in fact. The do come with the new power adaptors.)
change did not bring about huge performance There is a reasonable argument that, EU
gains as Lightning was based on USB 2.0, rather directives or not, that Lightning’s time was up.
than the faster USB 3.0. However, it did enable Not only is it annoying to have one set of cables
Apple to make devices that were thinner and for your iPhone and another for almost as
lighter than their predecessors. It even meant the everything else, Apple really couldn’t continue
cable worked whichever way it was plugged into
a device, making it much more user-friendly.
The using Lightning when faster alternatives for
charging and data transfer were available. As
Most importantly, the Lightning port Lightning Filipe Espósito noted last year for 9to5Mac, “in
separated Apple products from those of its rivals
as none of them could use it. It was Apple’s
connector an era of 4K ProRes video that results in huge
files, Lightning has become a nightmare for Pro
technology and Apple’s alone. The proprietary allowed users. It also lacks the super-fast charging
nature of the Lightning port meant that, of Apple to speeds that USB-C supports.”
course, there was controversy around users
having buy all new cables and accessories
make devices According to Apple, the charging speed of
the iPhone 15 with a USB–C cable should be the
back then too. It is worth noting that the that were same as its predecessor, although we found it to
old 30-pin connector was also proprietary
technology. Apple obviously prefers to own
thinner be quicker. We tested out charging a new iPhone
15 Pro with a battery that had been run down to
all parts of its devices wherever it can. and lighter zero with the dual-port 35W adaptor that Apple
Essential USB-C accessories
20W USB-C Power Adaptor USB-C to Lightning Adaptor Apple EarPods (USB-C)
> A 20W single port adaptor is available > This £29 Apple adaptor is ideal for > If you prefer wired headphones, Apple
from Apple for £19, while a dual-port anyone who wants to use their existing now sells its classic EarPods with a
35W adaptor costs £69. You need one Lightning devices with an iPhone 15. You USB-C connector for £19. On phone calls
of these to charge your devices via plug in the Lightning device at one end particularly, the microphone sound is
conventional power sockets. and connect via USB-C at the other. often better with a wired connection.

RIP Lightning APPLE CORE
sells and provides with some laptops. It was

staggeringly fast. It is also very quick on
the single 20W charger. The phone does
get rather hot when charging though, but
that is not a particularly new issue. Data
transfer should be improved too.
USB-C has other advantages. For
instance, it allows reversible charging. You
can use the iPhone 15 and other USB-C
devices to charge others. If your friend is
running low on battery you can help them
out! Indeed, if you have have one of Apple’s
USB-C to Lightning cables, you even charge
previous generations of iPhone.
USB-C can also be used to connect
to external monitors and speakers to play
high-quality audio and video. Here’s a fun
potential use case: a gamer on their travels
may decide to bring a USB-C cable and
a Bluetooth controller with them, then require a USB 3.0 cable. However, the
plug the iPhone into a 4K display and cable that ships with the iPhone 15 Pro
use Bluetooth to connect the controller to still only offers USB 2.0 speeds. Apple
the iPhone. Voilà – a high-quality, highly may eventually make this higher level
portable, gaming console! The fast data of performance more broadly available,
transfer offered by USB-C removes any lag at least to pro users but, at the time of
issues that trying to connect to the display writing, a user wanting to get USB 3.0 and
via Bluetooth would create. Thunderbolt speeds needs… you guessed
it, some extra accessories! Apple is selling a
Not so fast… one-metre Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) Pro Cable that
In the press release announcing the iPhone 15 it says, “supports Thunderbolt 3, Thunderbolt 4
Pro, Apple boasted: “The new USB-C connector The iPhone’s transition to a and USB 4 data transfer up to 40Gbps, USB 3.0
is supercharged with USB 3.0 speeds – up to 20x USB-C port will bring a bit of data transfer up to 10Gbps, DisplayPort video
extra expenditure for some,
faster than USB 2.0 – and, together with new output (HBR3) and charging up to 100W.”
but standardising charging
video formats, enables powerful pro workflows tech should prove more That cable will set you back a further £75.
that were not possible before.” economic in the long run. For now, while USB-C is universal, those
However, all is not quite as it might seem on of us with devices from different years may find
that score… A look at the footnotes at the bottom ourselves carrying around more cables, not less.
of the announcement explains that these speeds You might have an iPhone 15 and a previous
generation of AirPods for instance – one
has a Lightning connector, the other
USB-C. The same might be true with
an iPad, which starting transitioning
to USB-C in 2018. Throw in a charger
for your Apple Watch and another for a
Mac and you suddenly have a number of
different wires in your bag again. One
potential solution is to charge as many
devices as possible using MagSafe as the
connector type then becomes irrelevant,
but not all Apple products are compatible.
Belkin BoostCharge Pro Flex Apple Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) Transitions in technology are always
USB-A to USB-C Cable (1m) Pro Cable (1m) tricky, and often frustrating. However,
> This £14.95 cable lets you use USB-A > If you are transferring large amounts the move from Lightning to USB-C will,
ports to charge your new USB-C iPhone of data or want a high-quality video ultimately, be good for everyone as
15, useful if you have USB-A ports in connection, this £75 cable will enable chargers, cables and accessories become
power sockets at home or in vehicles. great performance from a USB-C port. standardised in Europe and beyond.
Image credit: Apple Inc, Belkin NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 19

What exciting new features does the latest release
of the Mac’s operating system have in store for us?
It’s time to take a look at macOS 14: Sonoma
Written by Ian Osborne
O
nce again, a new version of Sonoma takes a fresh look at screen
the Mac’s operating system, savers and adds widgets to the desktop. New
macOS, arrived in the Autumn video conferencing features let you place
packed with useful new features your own image on top of your presentation,
and enhanced capabilities. and Game Mode lets your games run better
For the last decade, Apple has named by giving priority to the CPU and GPU. In
each new version of macOS after a Safari, you can divide your browsing between
Californian landmark, and this year’s release Profiles, and save out web pages as Dock
– macOS 14 – is no exception. macOS Sonoma applications. In Reminders, your tasks can
takes its name from a city in the North Bay be displayed as a kanban board and you can
region of San Francisco Bay. Wes Craven’s share AirTags and accessories with up to
Scream was partly filmed there, but the new five other people in Find My. It’s all in the
version of macOS is certainly no horror story. amazing macOS Sonoma.
macOS Sonoma works with…

As you’d expect, macOS and cannot be used Desktop Macs
Sonoma drops support for on Intel Macs running ✓ iMac: 2019 and later
some older Macs. If you’re Sonoma. These include ✓ iMac Pro: 2017
running macOS Ventura Presenter Overlay, the ✓ Mac Pro: 2019 and later
on a 2017 MacBook Pro, abbreviated wake word ✓ Mac Studio: 2022 and later
a 2017 iMac or a 2017 ’Siri’ (instead of ‘Hey Siri’) ✓ Mac mini: 2018 and later
12-inch MacBook, you and Game Mode.
can’t upgrade to Sonoma. To run macOS Notebook Macs
Unfortunately, some Sonoma, your Mac must ✓ MacBook Air: 2018 and later
features in Sonoma are for meet the following system ✓ MacBook Pro: 2018 and later
Apple silicon Macs only, requirements…

In macOS Sonoma, widgets can be taken out of
the Notification Centre and placed on the Desktop.
When you’re doing something else on your Mac,
they fade into the background to avoid distractions.
Desktop & screen savers

These awesome landscapes look amazing on a Mac’s Retina screen
The way the Mac uses desktop. You can then review the windows are then pushed to the edges
widgets has had a very information they offer at a glance. of the screen, just like they are when
welcome overhaul. In So they don’t distract, when you you do a four-finger spread gesture on
previous versions of macOS, open an app on your Mac, the widgets a trackpad. Your widgets are then easy
you had to open the Notification Centre blend into the background, intelligently to see. Naturally, clicking on a widget
by clicking on the time and date in the lifting colour from the wallpaper behind (whether its diminished or not) opens
menu bar. In macOS Sonoma, you can them. It’s easy to get back to the its parent app. And thanks to Continuity,
drag them out of the Notification Centre widgets. All you have to do is click on widgets from your iPhone are also
and place them anywhere on the the desktop, and application and Finder available on your Mac.
Screen savers
& wallpapers
> macOS Sonoma features When you wake your Mac
some gorgeous slow-motion ready to unlock it with your
video screen savers of places password or biometrics, the
around the world. Look out time and account photo stay
for the Hong Kong skyline, out of the way so they don’t
Monument Valley’s sandstone detract from the screen saver.
buttes and, of course, the After logging in, the screen
hills and valleys of Sonoma, saver stops moving and
the Californian territory that becomes your desktop image.
Apple’s new screen savers feature slow-motion video scenes gave the operating system They look great, and give your
from around the world. Here we see Sonoma, California. its name. Mac an all-in-one aesthetic.

HOW TO Add widgets to your desktop >
1 Add a widget
To add widgets to your desktop from
the Notification Centre, click the time and
2 Check out the gallery
Alternatively, Ctrl-click on the
desktop and, from the contextual menu,
3 Organise widgets
Drag widgets from the Widget
Gallery to the desktop, and place them
date display in the menu bar to open it, select Edit Widgets. A Widget Gallery where you like. To drag a widget into the
then drag a widget on to the desktop. appears, from which you can add widgets Notification Centre, click the time and
You can drag it back again too if you to your desktop, or to the Notification date display to open it (everything moves
change your mind. Centre if you prefer. to accommodate it) then drag it in.
4 Use your widgets

You can drag widgets around the
desktop, and click on one to open its
5 Access from iPhone
Thanks to Continuity, you also have
access to widgets from your iPhone in
6 Deleting widgets
You can drag widgets around the
desktop – just click on one and drag it
parent app. Here we clicked on Clock. macOS Sonoma. Just make sure your into a new space. To delete a widget,
Widgets are interactive, so you can use phone is nearby or on the same network. open the Widget Gallery and click on
them to operate their parent apps Like all widgets, choose a size that’s best the ‘–’ sign in its top-left corner to remove
without having to open them. suited to your needs. it. You can always add it again later.
HOW TO Do more with screen savers >
1 Choose a screen saver

In the Apple menu (top left corner of
desktop), select System Settings. In the
2 Slow-mo videos
Slow-mo video screen savers include
landscapes, cityscapes, underwater
3 As wallpaper
To use the screen saver as a
desktop wallpaper, click the switch.
left-hand sidebar, choose Screen Saver. scenes and images of the Earth. Click If you want to change your wallpaper
Scroll the right-hand window up and on one to choose it. Choose one, and to something other than the new screen
down to see what screen savers are if it doesn’t download automatically, savers, in System Settings, click on
available on your Mac. click the Download button. Wallpaper in the sidebar.

In Sonoma’s Messages app, you can combine
search filters to narrow down your searches.
Messages
The Mac’s messaging app gets a few new features
Stickers In Sonoma, the Messages

app is now easier to search.
> The application drawer has In common with iOS and
been tidied up, with all stickers iPadOS 17’s Messages apps,
found in one window. Click the ‘A’ you can use search filters to narrow down
icon to the left of the text input your results and zoom in on what you’re
field for a menu of things you can looking for. After typing a search term,
add to a message. Select Stickers you can then add additional terms.
for a pop-up sticker picker. This Search filters can be names, files, Audio messages are now transcribed and offered
has three tabs; the clock face tab locations, web addresses and more. When in text so you can read it as well as play it.
shows recently used stickers, the you begin to type a name, for example, and you can search for pictures, web
middle tab showing a peeling completion suggestions are offered in addresses or places associated
sticker shows all your stickers, a menu. Choose one, and it becomes with that Messages chat.
including those made on your a search filter. Choose Link, Location If you’ve not checked a group chat
Apple mobile devices, and the or Photo from the menu that follows, for a while, an up-pointing chevron icon
last tab is Memoji stickers. in the top-right lets you zoom
to the oldest message you’ve
not read. In group or individual
chats, you can reply to an
individual message in the
conversation by two-fingered
swiping it to the right, though
this only works with
iMessages, sent through
Apple. Incoming audio
messages are now transcribed
too. You can still tap the Play
You’ll find stickers are much more Swipe a message to the right, and you can reply to it directly, icon to listen to them, but their
accessible in macOS Sonoma. as long as it was sent as an iMessage. content is also offered as text.

macOS Sonoma FEATURE
Video conferencing
macOS Sonoma brings us some great new ways to present remotely
Since the pandemic and If you’re sharing content such as your only). These let you trigger graphical
resultant lockdown, video desktop or a slideshow, you can use displays with hand gestures. Make
chat has become more Presenter Overlay to impose your image a peace sign and the screen is filled
widely used on all platforms. on top of whatever it is you’re showing, with balloons. Two thumbs up gives
To make video communication even so the people you’re presenting to get to a fireworks display, making a heart
better, macOS Sonoma brings Presenter see you as well as your presentation. This shape with your fingers throws up lots
Overlay to Apple silicon Macs, a new is especially useful for business chats. of heart icons and more. If hand gestures
feature that can be used with any video For more casual video conversation, aren’t your thing, these Reactions can
conferencing app, not just FaceTime. there are Reactions (Apple silicon Macs be triggered using a menu too.
HOW TO Use Presenter Overlay (Apple silicon Macs only) >
1 From the menu

While sharing your screen or a
presentation in a video conference,
2 Small presenter overlay 3 Large presenter overlay
If you select Small in the Presenter
Overlay section, you appear in a small
The Large option in Presenter
Overlay gives you a greater prominence.
click on the icon showing a screen and bubble that can be dragged around the You’re to the fore, with your presentation
a silhouette in the menu bar. You see this screen and placed wherever you like. being placed between yourself and the
menu. As you can see, Presenter Overlay This image is, of course, taken from background. Again, this information is
can be Off, Small or Large. your own webcam. supplied by your webcam.
4 How it works
Large Presenter Overlay uses the
Neural Engine to take the image from
5 Walk, talk and move
The webcam continues to pick up
your movement, enabling you to move
6 Making reactions
You can use Reactions in a video
chat, either choosing from the menu as
your webcam and separate you from around in front of your presentation, shown, or by giving a gesture. You can
the background and place your screen while the background remains behind use these new effects with any video
in between the two, with your picture it all. Naturally, you can talk to your chat app, such as FaceTime, Zoom,
in front of your content. viewers too, as usual. Teams, Webex and more.

Safari
Do more with the Mac’s
web browser
No new version of macOS
would be complete without
some new Safari features
and improvements, and
Sonoma is no exception. According
New Safari Profiles let you divide your browsing into categories such as Work, Home and more.
to Apple, in macOS Sonoma, Safari
is the world’s fastest web browser. To further streamline your general your bookmarks separate, but also
Private Browsing gets a significant Safari use, you can use Profiles (see p48 compartmentalises your cookies, history,
update, helping you keep your web for more) to separate your browsing into extensions, Tab Groups and Favourites,
surfing even more private when needs user-defined categories. You can have so you can set up each browsing
must. You’ll now find that trackers are one for websites associated with work, experience as you choose. If you use
automatically blocked, and Private one for personal browsing, one for a a site for both work and personal use
Browsing windows are locked when specific hobby or subject you enjoy, and with separate login accounts, you can
you’re not using them. so on. The Profiles feature not only keeps sign into them separately and switch
between them quickly.
To use Safari Profiles, open Safari
Enhanced Private Browsing and in its application menu, choose
Settings. Click the Profiles tab, and add
> Safari now locks Private Browsing or remove profiles using the ‘+’ and ‘–’
windows when you’re not at your icons in the bottom-left corner. When set
Mac, so no one can see what you up, you switch between profiles using a
were looking at. You can lock them pull-down menu in the browser’s toolbar.
manually using Window > Lock All Perhaps the most useful update to
Private Windows, or Cmd+Ctrl+L. Safari is the ability to make web apps out
Known trackers are blocked from of websites. They’re saved to the Dock
loading, and trackers that are added and the Applications folder, and function
to web addresses as you browse are like regular apps. If you’ve ever explored
automatically removed. You can lock Safari’s Private Browsing windows. a website and wished it was available as
an app instead, this feature is for you.
HOW TO Make web apps from websites >
1 First steps
Launch Safari and open the page you
want to turn into a fully functioning web
2 Name the app
A window appears in the middle
of the screen. Edit the name of the
3 In the Dock
Close the Safari browser window.
Your web app is now found in the Dock,
app. In Safari’s File menu, select the website (which will be the name of the with your other apps. Click on it to open
option titled ‘Add to Dock’ as shown web app) and its web address if you wish. the web app, which now functions
above - you will find it towards the Choose something short for the name. independently of Safari, with a
bottom of the menu. When you’re ready, click the Add button. simplified set of controls.

Privacy & Security Password

and Passkey
Help keep yourself and your children safe online sharing
A new feature
Communication Safety in macOS Sonoma
is a useful feature for lets you share your
parents to use to help passwords and passkeys with
prevent their children a select group of friends. After
from seeing something they shouldn’t. forming a group, anyone in it can
It’s accessed through Apple menu > add and edit passwords and
System Settings > Screen Time. Click passkeys, keeping the resource
on Communication Safety, and you can up to date. You choose what you
turn on the ‘Check for Sensitive Photos’ share – the group doesn’t simply
option for your children’s devices. In the gain access to all your password
Messages app, this feature checks for Set up the Communication Safety feature through information – and the group’s
Screen Time. It’s a great parental control feature.
nudity and provides them with guidance originator can remove a group
and age-appropriate resources should With Sonoma, Communication Safety member at any time. Sharing is
such a picture be sent to them. It does also covers AirDrop, the Photos picker, through iCloud Keychain, so it’s
not give Apple access to these photos. incoming calls and FaceTime messages, end-to-end encrypted.
further reducing the chances of your
child viewing an inappropriate picture.
Another new feature of Sonoma is
Sensitive Content Warning, which helps
prevent adult users viewing something
they’d rather not see. Covering AirDrop,
Messages, incoming calls, incoming
Contact Posters and FaceTime video
messages, it warns you that the video or
picture might be sensitive and asks
whether you want to see it. This optional
feature can be switched on or off in
Sensitive Content Warning is a great way of keeping Apple menu > System Settings > You can share passwords and passkeys
nude and vulgar pictures off your Mac. Privacy & Security. with a select group of friends.
4 Edit web app

Click the web app’s menu and select
Settings, and you can edit the name, web
5 Launching the web app 6 Deleting web apps
You can also find your new web app
in the Launchpad (open it from the Dock)
You can remove a web app from
your Dock by Ctrl-clicking on its icon
address and icon used for the app, and and the Users > [Name] > Applications and choosing Options > ‘Keep in Dock’.
more. Under the Privacy tab, you folder. Another way of launching it is to To delete it completely, in Launchpad,
can access Privacy & Security Settings use Spotlight; just open the Spotlight drag it on to the Bin, then confirm
and clear the website data. window and type its name. you want to remove it.

In Sonoma’s Notes app, you can begin
to type a note, then move it to the
Pages app where you can continue.
PDFs & Notes

The way the Notes app deals with PDFs has had a boost
Finish The PDF (Portable

Document Format) is
in Pages a very important type
of file, and one that many
Ever started typing a of us use a lot today. The way we work
note in the Notes app, with PDFs has been enhanced and
and wished you’d done improved in macOS Sonoma.
it in Pages? In Sonoma, you can Using machine learning, text fields
turn a note into a Pages document, in PDF forms are identified and made
quickly and easily, and with no available for typing. You can use AutoFill
copying and pasting required. to quickly fill out a form, and simply type
In the Notes app’s toolbar, click into fields where no AutoFill is available.
the Share icon. From the Share You can add a signature you have
menu, select Open in Pages and saved in Preview or make a new one, In macOS Sonoma, it’s much easier to fill in and send
the Pages app is launched, and the and check boxes are ticked when you a PDF form on your Mac.
note you were working on is turned click on them. This works on documents keep multiple PDFs in the same note, and
into a Pages document. Images are you scan with your iPhone’s or iPad’s with Live Collaboration, changes made to
carried across as well as text. camera and open on your Mac, as well a PDF you’re working on with another
as those sent to you as a PDF. person are made in real time.
In the Preview app, click the Show Another improvement to the Notes
Markup Toolbar button for more options. app is that you can now add inline links
These include a text entry tool, a drawing from one note to another. With a note
tool, a redaction tool, a signature button open, click on the place in the note where
and a new text box. you want the link to appear, and right
The way the Notes app deals with click. From the menu, select Add Link
PDFs has also been improved. You can and you can then type or paste a web
You can open a note in Pages without having open a PDF stored within a note at address or the title of another of your
to copy and paste the text and attachments. full-width view within the Notes app, notes. You can add a name if you wish.

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FEATURE macOS Sonoma
Everything else
There’s lots more that’s new in
macOS Sonoma...
Having covered the main open the System Settings
new features of macOS app from the Apple menu
Sonoma, let’s take a look in the top-left corner of
at what else it offers. For your screen. In the
example, if you set up Siri to react to left-hand sidebar, click on
a spoken instruction, on Apple silicon Siri & Spotlight. Then, in
Macs that instruction can now simply be the right-hand window, In Sonoma, you can wake the digital assistant with ‘Hey, Siri’
‘Siri’, not ‘Hey Siri’. A useful change, make sure the Ask Siri as before, or just ‘Siri’.
especially if you’ve got so into the habit switch at the top is on. as by clicking on the Siri icon in the top
of saying ‘Hey Siri’ that you say, ‘Hey Below this switch is a pull-down menu bar. From this menu, choose ‘Siri or Hey
Alexa’ when waking an Amazon device. (the default position of which is ‘Off’) that Siri’ if you want either to wake the digital
To change the wake instruction for lets you turn on the wake words, so you assistant, or ‘Hey Siri’ if you prefer to do
Apple’s personal digital assistant, first can summon Siri with your voice as well things the old way.
Kanban
By doubling the Bluetooth boards in
Reminders
sampling rate, Game Mode
greatly reduces latency when
using a PlayStation or Xbox
controller with your Mac. A kanban board presents
information in columns,
and allows you to move
individual pieces of data between
them. Reminders in Sonoma never
uses the term, but its Column View
is a kanban board in all but name.
In Reminders, start a new list
and in the View menu, choose As
Game Mode & Porting Toolkit Columns. Ctrl-click or two-finger click
on the main window, and from the
> Often when it comes to video For games developers there’s Game menu, select New Column. You can
games, the Mac promises much but Porting Toolkit, which makes it easier then add reminders in the usual way,
delivers little. Every new operating to port games from other platforms to Ctrl-clicking on a reminder and
system seems to have new features the Mac. Evaluating how well a game is choosing ‘Move to Column’ to
to make the Mac a more attractive likely to run on a Mac is a process that move it between columns.
platform for games publishers, but the used to take months. With Game
expected take-up never appears. With Porting Toolkit, it can be done in
Sonoma, we have Game Mode to look days. Converting the game to the Mac
forward to. This gives your games platform is easier too, significantly
priority on the CPU and GPU, reducing reducing development time.
resources used for background tasks. Yet the game Apple showcased
We’re told this dramatically reduces during the keynote was Hideo Kojima’s
latency with wireless accessories like Death Stranding, a title that’s new to
AirPods and Bluetooth controllers. the Mac but has been out on other
Game Mode works with any Mac game, platforms since 2019. It seems the Mac
so expect titles you currently own to is destined to lag behind when it comes
enjoy a boost. to new games for some time to come. The Reminders app now lets you organise lists
in a kanban-like column view.

A better People album – now with pets!
We all love our pets, a picture with your pet’s face in it, and plus sign in the info window to
right? They’re part of click the Info icon in the toolbar (the produce a circle, drag it over your
the family. In macOS one that looks like a globe with shining pet’s face and then add the name.
Sonoma’s Photos app, stars). If your pet has been circled, Then, when you close the Photos app
they’re recognised as just that. simply type his or her name in the and reopen it, in the People & Pets
Launch Photos and make sure View space under the ring around their album, you see your furry little friend
> Show Face Names is enabled. Open face. If the face isn’t circled, click the recognised by name.
The Mail app Find my

Not much is new for the shared
Mail app in Sonoma, but
it does get a couple of
AirTags
fresh and useful features. One-time Apple’s AirTags are great
verification codes received in Mail now for keeping an eye on
auto-fill in Safari, making logins more your property. Pop one
streamlined. If you’re planning a in your backpack, suitcase or wallet,
holiday or a business trip, Mail pushes and you can trace its whereabouts
related emails to the top of your using the Mac’s Find My app. In
search results as the travel date macOS Sonoma, as well as locating
approaches. Finally, if you click on your AirTag, you can also share that
the emoji icon in a new email’s toolbar info with up to five people, so not
With the Visual Lookup feature, you can
(the smiley face), you can add up to identify plants, animals and even recepies only you but your friends and family
three large emojis in a row. If you add from the Photos app. can also keep an eye on where it is.
a fourth, or type anything that shares Give one to a child, for example, and
a line with an emoji, they shrink back
down to their regular size.
Visual Lookup both parents could find them should
they wander off, and you could all
Visual Lookup is awesome, keep tabs on communal luggage too.
and it’s had a revamp. Open
a picture of a plant or animal
in the Photos app, then click on the Info
icon. Click on the icon that appears on
the subject, and it’s identified. You can
also use Visual Lookup on food and
have it suggest similar recipes, and it
now works with paused videos as well
as photos. It’s an excellent feature for
the curious, or those with an interest in
wildlife, gardening, cookery or other
such subject that benefits from Apple’s
Like the Messages app, Mail now lets you use
large emojis in your emails, as long as there are Visual Lookup feature. Share the location of your Apple AirTags with up
three or fewer. to five people in macOS Sonoma’s Find My app.

FEATURE macOS Sonoma
New Accessibility options

The new Mac operating then sync that personal
system brings a host of new voice with your Mac.
Accessibility features, with If you have motor
which you can customise disabilities, when dictating
your computer to make it easier to and editing text with Voice
use should you have a disability. Control on your Mac, phonic
For the hard of hearing, devices such suggestions for alternative
as hearing aids that are certified Made for words appear. This differs
iPhone can now be connected to your from when you mistype a
Mac for telephone and FaceTime calls, as word, and the Mac bases
well as listening to music or videos. If you its suggestions on what
With Sonoma’s Accessibility features, you can use an alternative
find speaking a challenge, you can use it thought you typed. voice in Live Speech, and even train the feature to use your own.
Live Speech to type what it is you want to With Voice Control, the
say in a call, and have it change the text suggestions are based on what can customise the text size in Mac apps to
to speech for you. If you’re likely to lose it thought you said instead. suit their preference. These features are
the use of your voice in the future, you Animated images like GIFs can be found by opening System Settings from
can use your iPhone or iPad to train Live automatically paused in Messages and the Apple menu, and clicking Accessibility
Speech to sound just like you do now, and Safari, and those with vision impairments in the left-hand sidebar.
AirPods Home activity

> There are a few new features for history
Apple’s AirPods, assuming you
own a set that’s recent enough to In Sonoma’s Home app
enjoy them. Updates to Automatic you can now access more
Switching mean moving between info than before. The app
your Apple devices with your shows who locked or unlocked a
AirPods is much quicker. This door, and when they did it. Recent
feature is limited to AirPods (2nd activity for HomeKit-compatible
and 3rd gen), AirPods Pro (1st and garage doors, contact sensors and
2nd gen), and AirPods Max. Also, We’ll soon be able to create collaborative security systems are also logged,
when on a call, you can press the playlists in the Music app, and work on and accessible through Home.
stem of your AirPods to mute and them with our friends. To access these new features,
unmute yourself, assuming you you have to upgrade your Home app
have AirPods Pro (2nd gen) with
the latest firmware.
Music playlists to the new Apple Home architecture.
Open the app, and at the top of the
A feature that isn’t in main window is a notification that
macOS Sonoma at the an upgrade is available. Click Learn
time of writing but is due More, then Continue. If you missed
‘later this year’ is collaborative this notification, click the ‘…’ icon
playlists in the Music app. We’ve (top right), Select Settings and
long been able to share playlists with click Software Update.
others, but with Sonoma (and indeed
iOS/iPadOS 17), we can join forces
with a few friends and fully
collaborate on one. Anyone in the
group can add new tracks to the
playlist, delete songs and reorder
them in the playlist. You can react to
your friends’ choices with emoji too.
Apple’s own earbuds enjoy This feature isn’t even in the beta
an update, but the newest
features aren’t available yet, but we look forward to seeing it. Upgrade your connected home to the new Apple
on the oldest AirPods. Home architecture to use new features in the app.

The Journal app curates

information from many
other apps on your Mac to
combine into your digital
scrapbook and diary.
Journal
Later this year, we can all keep our digital jottings and cuttings in one place
A new app coming ‘later also makes suggestions of other things too, so you will be able to add
this year’ helps you to include gleaned from apps such as information curated from third-party
curate your memories, Photos, Contacts, Maps, Fitness and apps as well as Apple’s own.
taking information from more. Pictures you took, people you met, In typical Apple style, the app is
several different apps and storing places you visited and workouts you did built with privacy in mind. You can lock
them in a digital scrapbook/diary are all suggested, for you to place in your it when you’re not using it, so if you hand
hybrid. Journal is coming to iOS/ digital journal for the day. It’s up to you your unlocked phone to someone, they
iPadOS 17 as well as Sonoma, and what goes in there – you don’t have to can’t simply launch the app and take a
syncs across all three platforms. accept every suggestion. sneaky read. And all processing is done
Like a diary, Journal lets you write Apple is going to release an API that on the device in question, so nothing is
down your thoughts each day for later allows developers to include Journal sent to Apple’s servers and Apple can’t
review. But using machine learning, it integration into their own applications read your entries.
Other journalling apps

Day One My Treehole Diarly
> Free (IAPs) > dayoneapp.com > Free (IAPs) > Mac App Store > Free (IAPs) > diarly.app
This digital diary is built Another diary-meets- Diarly (Diary, Journal
for reminiscing. It’s scrapbook, this one’s & Notes) is described
cross-platform, available lockable for the sake of as a ‘private daily bullet
on iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and your privacy. My Treehole is free, but notepad’. It boasts a minimalistic,
Mac, with syncing available if you with in-app purchases for premium uncluttered design that makes
buy a premium membership. As content such as more font styles, it easy to concentrate on your
a free app (there is a premium cloud backup and sync, Night Mode thoughts. An all-in-one journalling
tier), it’s free to use forever with support and Touch ID/password solution, it has calendar, map, and
unlimited text entries. Custom protection. It’s a gorgeous way to timeline views and can store images
templates make journalling easy. store your innermost thoughts. and photographs too.

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EDITED BY JO MEMBERY [email protected]
Master Apple
shortcuts
macOS
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 bar.
The thick, outlined up
arrow is the Shift key.
The thin, left arrow or
outlined pointer with ‘X’
inside is the Delete key, which 40
deletes to the left. Pressing
the Function key (Fn) and the
Delete key deletes to the right. WHAT’S INSIDE
The thin, right arrow key with
a small vertical line at the end
38 MASTER SCREEN SHARING
is the Tab key, which shifts the
Share your Mac’s screen with someone else
focus between some controls.
40 SURF DIFFERENT WITH ARC
iOS Try an all-new web browsing experience
A tap is a brief contact
of (usually) one finger 42 SYNC & SHARE WITH DROPBOX
on your device’s screen. Ensure access to your files across your devices 42
To drag is to move a finger
across the screen to scroll 44 CUSTOMISE STANDBY IN iOS 17
or pan around content. Turn your iPhone into a clock while it’s charging
Swipe means move one or
more fingers across an item 46 CREATE A CONTACT POSTER
or the screen, then let go. Dazzle your contacts with a custom screen
A flick is like swiping, but it’s
quicker, and is often used to 48 USE SAFARI PROFILES
scroll content more quickly. Supercharge Safari on your iPhone or iPad
Pinch means move two
fingers together or apart, 50 SHARE STUFF IN iOS 17
usually to zoom in or out. Share things even more easily with AirDrop
Touch and hold means lightly
rest your finger on an item 52 HOW IT WORKS: QI2 48
and wait for a reaction. The new wireless charging standard explained
Image credits: Apple Inc, The Browser Company of New York, Dropbox Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 37
Master screen sharing
Whether near or far, it’s easy to share your Mac’s screen with someone else
IT WILL TAKE There are dozens of reasons Whatever the reason, sharing a screen
30 minutes why you might need to share from one Mac to another is pretty simple,
your Mac’s screen with someone whether you’re in the same room or another
YOU WILL LEARN else or access the screen of a continent. You don’t need third-party software
How to share friend or family member. Perhaps you left a – though there are third-party tools that add
your Mac’s screen file on a Mac at the office and need to open it more features – and you can even copy and
at home. Or maybe you have a ‘headless’ Mac paste from one Mac to the other. All the tools
YOU’LL NEED running upstairs and you need to troubleshoot you need are built right into macOS. Screen
macOS 12 or later it on your MacBook. Need to help a friend or sharing has been around for ages, but if
for SharePlay family member with a problem on their Mac? you want to share a screen in FaceTime or
A FaceTime call with screen sharing is the Messages using SharePlay, you’ll need to be
easiest way to do it. running macOS 12 or later. Kenny Hemphill
HOW TO Share your screen
Genius tip!
You can’t use Screen
Sharing and Remote
Management at the
same time. So, when you
enable Screen Sharing,
make sure Remote
Management is off.
1 Share on a local network

On the Mac whose screen you want to
share, go to System Settings > General >
2 Allow more access
Click Computer Settings. If you want
to access the Mac’s screen from a PC or
Sharing. Turn on Screen Sharing. Click the ‘i’ iPad third-party client, click ‘VNC viewers
and take a note of the VNC address. Choose may…’. If you want to allow anyone to request
whether to allow access to all or specific users. permission to view your screen, enable that.

Screen sharing APPLE SKILLS
CONTINUED… Share your screen
Jargon buster
SharePlay is a sharing
feature in macOS and
iOS that allows you to
‘watch along’ with
friends in FaceTime
and Messages, and
3 Start sharing
On the other Mac, open a Finder window,
click Network in the sidebar, click the first Mac
4 Screen share remotely
On the Mac you want to share to, invoke
Spotlight, search for ‘Screen Sharing’ and click
can also be used to
share a screen.
and choose Share Screen. Alternatively, click it to launch it. In the ‘Connect to’ window that
the Go menu, choose Connect to Server, and opens, type the Apple ID to which the other
type in the VNC address you noted. Mac is logged in, then click Connect.
5 Allow sharing
On the Mac whose screen is being shared,
click Accept when the request to share the
6 Manage settings
If you’re sharing a bigger screen to a
smaller one, click the Screen Sharing menu
screen appears. Then choose Control My then Settings. Use the Display tab to set how
Screen to give the other Mac control, or the larger screen will scale and ‘Scroll the
Observe My Screen to keep control. screen’ to determine how it will scroll.
Genius tip!
When you share a
screen, your viewing
options depend on your
network connection.
Click the View menu
in Screen Sharing to
see your choices.
7 Share with FaceTime

In a FaceTime call, click the camera icon
in the menu bar. Click the Screen Sharing
8 Share with Messages
In Messages, click on a conversation
or send someone a message. Click the ‘i’ and
button. Then, either choose ‘Share the app choose Share. Select either ‘Invite to Share My
window’, and click on the app window, or Screen’ or ‘Ask to Share Screen’, depending
‘Share the Whole Screen’ and click anywhere. on which screen you want to share.

Surf different with Arc
Try an all-new web browsing experience with this intuitive browser
IT WILL TAKE Most of us probably stick to the existing web pages. There are built-in
15 minutes tried-and-tested web browsers, notes, a pop-out video player, and tabs
be that Safari or Chrome or are archived automatically (after a time
YOU WILL LEARN Firefox. But venture outside of the you set) to avoid tab overload. It’s a new
How to use all of the box and you can find some really interesting way to browse, and it works superbly.
best features in the apps that are pushing the boundaries of what If you’re stuck in web-based purgatory
Arc web browser you can expect to find when you surf the web. and want something that will rejig your
One such browser is Arc, an upstart app experience, Arc is well worth a try. Here,
YOU’LL NEED that rips up the web browser rule book in a we’ll take you through all the key features
Arc, macOS 12 or later host of different ways. It rethinks tabs, lets that help it stand out. Who knows, it could
you save live widgets to your own mood soon become your main browser of choice.
boards, and even enables you to redesign Alex Blake
HOW TO Surf differently with Arc
1 Tab organisation
Tabs live in the left sidebar. Pinned
tabs are at the top, unpinned tabs are
2 Search bar
Arc uses a Spotlight-like search bar,
which is summoned by pressing Cmd+T.
3 Create a space
With Spaces, you can separate tabs
for different purposes, like with Safari’s
below. Drag an unpinned tab into the This allows you to open new tabs, tweak Tab Groups. Click the ‘+’ in the bottom-
pinned section to stick it in place, or the app’s settings, view your extensions, left, then click New Space. Give that
move it into the favourites area to and much more. It’s an all-in-one space a name, assign a profile, and
give it a larger icon. command bar for Arc. pick a theme, then click Create Space.
40 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credits: Apple Inc, The Browser Company of New York
Browse online with Arc APPLE SKILLS
CONTINUED… Surf differently with Arc
4 Using spaces
Each space has its own pinned and
open tabs, which is great for organisation
5 New profile
To use different logins, cookies and
history in different spaces, try profiles.
6 Quick preview
Arc shows a quick preview of some
favourited websites. Add a compatible
(favourites persist across spaces). Click Spaces > Change Profile > New website to your favourites, then when
Change spaces with the icons in Arc’s Profile > Change Profile to add one. You you hover over its icon, you’ll see a live
bottom-left corner, or swipe on your can now keep work and personal logins peek. It’s great for checking your mail
trackpad inside the tab sidebar. in separate silos. or joining a Zoom call.
7 Split View
Arc can run multiple tabs next to
each other like Apple’s Split View. Simply
8 Tab switcher
To quickly cycle through your open
tabs, press Ctrl+Tab. This brings up an
9 Easels
One of Arc’s best features is called
Easels. These are custom mood boards
drag a tab from the sidebar on to the interface like the app switcher in macOS. that can be filled by you, complete with
main Arc window. You can adjust the Hold Ctrl and keep pressing Tab to move live content. Press Ctrl+Shift+E to create
width of each tab, move them up or right, or press Ctrl+Shift+Tab to move one. You can add photos, text, shapes,
down the sidebar, and more. left through your tabs. draw by hand, and more.
10 Live widgets
Some elements saved to
Easels work as live widgets and can be
11 Edit pages with Boosts 12 Little Arc
Arc can edit existing web pages.
Open a website, click the ‘+’ in Arc’s
In a different app, press
Cmd+Opt+N to open Little Arc. This is
interacted with. In the address bar, click bottom-left corner, then click New Boost. a mini browser that’s perfect for quickly
the toggle icon, then the camera button. Now you can adjust the font, colours, looking up information, opening links
Click or drag an area on a web page, and more. There’s also a gallery of user- from other apps, and more. It’s meant
choose an easel, then click the Play icon. created Boosts to download. to be used temporarily, then closed.

APPLE SKILLS macOS
Sync and share with Dropbox

Ensure access to your files across all your devices
IT WILL TAKE Back in the day, sharing files whisks those files away to any other device
5 minutes with yourself and others over that is logged in with the same Dropbox
email was the done thing. But account. In an instant you can sync files
YOU WILL LEARN it’s hardly an ideal method, as wherever you need them to go, all
How to sync and it’s an inefficient way to manage your files without a single email being sent.
back up your files and clogs up your inbox to boot.
using Dropbox A much better way is to use Dropbox, an Simple but effective
app that helped change the way we manage The beauty of Dropbox lies in its simplicity,
YOU’LL NEED our files across multiple different devices. and there are no complicated processes to
Dropbox, macOS It lets you drop files into a folder that then follow. It even adds itself to Favourites in
10.13 or later Finder’s sidebar, so jumping to the folder is
quick and easy. If you do want to do a bit more
with the file hosting service, there are extra
features, like backup and collaboration tools,
that make the experience even richer.
We’ve put together this tutorial to help
you get the most out of Dropbox and learn
The beauty of a few new tricks. By the end of it, you should
Dropbox lies in know your way around the app and be happily
syncing files across all your devices. It’s free
its simplicity… to get started, and Dropbox lets you use up to
but there are 2GB of storage space without paying a penny.

If you need more, there are plenty of different
If there are things you don’t want to see in the Dropbox
extra features folder on Mac, hide them in Prefs > Sync > ‘Selective sync’. pricing options available. Alex Blake
42 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credits: Apple Inc, Dropbox Inc

Access your files APPLE SKILLS
HOW TO Sync and share with Dropbox
Jargon buster
Syncing makes your
files available on all
connected devices.
Backing up saves
files in the cloud
for recovery in case
something goes wrong.
1 Start syncing
The way sync works is simple: anything
moved into the Dropbox folder on your Mac will
2 Context menu
Ctrl-click any file on your Mac to show
Dropbox options in the context menu. There
be uploaded to the cloud and your connected are more choices for files that are synced
devices. Remove something from the folder inside your Dropbox folder, such as adding
and it will be deleted from the cloud. a signature or viewing its version history.
3 Menu bar
Click the Dropbox menu bar item to see
which files have been synced and backed up,
4 Dropbox online
In the menu bar app, click the globe icon
to open your Dropbox folder in your web
as well as information on any shared files. Click browser. This will show all your synced files
the folder icon in the menu bar app to access on the Dropbox website, where you can share,
your Dropbox folder at any time. download and delete them, and more.
Genius tip!
In Finder, files Dropbox
has successfully synced
have a green tick to
their right. Those that
are still in progress use
a blue icon instead.
5 Back up your files

As well as syncing, you can also back up
your documents, desktop files, and more. This
6 Manage your backups
Click the menu bar app, then click
your user icon (top-right). Click Preferences,
means uploading the contents of these folders click the Backups tab, then click Manage
to the cloud in case you need to recover them. Backups to view backup status, frequency,
Syncing just uploads the Dropbox folder. and to adjust which folders are backed up.

Customise StandBy in iOS 17
Turn your iPhone into a fancy bedside clock when it’s charging
IT WILL TAKE One of the most eye-catching dashboard and handy bedside clock.
15 minutes features of iOS 17 is the new You don’t even need to worry about glare
StandBy display. When your disturbing your sleep because, in low light,
YOU WILL LEARN iPhone screen is locked, turned the information is displayed in a much
How to make your into the horizontal position and charging, more eye-friendly red tint.
iPhone display StandBy appears automatically, displaying Those with an iPhone 14 Pro/Pro Max
at-a-glance info when widgets, a full-screen clock or your favourite and newer can benefit further thanks to an
it’s charging photos, depending on the mode you’re using. Always On option so you don’t have to tap
The feature operates best if you have an the screen to view. Users of these iPhones
YOU’LL NEED upright MagSafe charger but it’ll work well can enable a ‘Motion to Wake’ feature as well
iOS 17 or later if you simply prop up your iPhone. In either but everyone has the ability to customise
case, StandBy turns your iPhone into a useful StandBy as we’re about to see. David Crookes
HOW TO To use StandBy on an iPhone
Genius tip!
Go to Settings >
StandBy to switch to
a red-tinted Night Mode
in low ambient lighting.
You can also allow/
disallow notifications
and hide notification
previews.
1 Change the widgets

When you access StandBy for the first time,
you’ll see its interactive view, displaying a
2 Enter editing mode
You may find the clock isn’t displaying
your required timezone but you can manually
classic analogue clock and a calendar widget change it. Press and hold the widget to access
by default. Swipe up on either of these to its editing screen and tap the clock. You can
view and switch to different widgets. then tap the timezone and pick another.

StandBy info APPLE SKILLS
CONTINUED… How to use StandBy
Jargon buster
StandBy doesn’t mean
you can’t access the
iPhone’s functions.
Notifications, Siri,
iMessages and phone
calls appear full screen.
3 Use Smart Rotate

The widgets to the left and right sides
of the screen form stacks. If you tap Smart
4 Remove widgets
With that in mind, you should edit the
widget stacks, removing the ones you won’t
You can also hide
notification previews.
Rotate in the editing mode, the widget want to see. In editing mode, swipe to the
displayed will be the one deemed to have the offending widget, tap the ‘–’ button in its
most timely and relevant information for you. top-left corner and tap Remove to confirm.
5 Add new widgets

There are more widgets you can use. To
access these from the editing screen, tap the
6 Interact with them
There are two ways to engage with
widgets. You can tap an arrow to launch an
‘+’ button in the top-left corner. Select a associated app or you can interact directly with
category, search for widgets and select Add a widget, perhaps by ticking off a to-do list.
Widget when you see one you like. Tap Done. The available method depends on the widget.
Genius tip!
You can use Smart
Rotate for just one of
your stacks if you wish
– you’d turn it off on one
stack if, for example,
you always wanted the
clock or reminders to
be displayed.
7 Change the view

You don’t have to use the interactive view.
Swipe right-to-left along the screen and you’ll
8 Have a full clock
Swipe along the screen again and you’ll
enter the clock page – the time will fill the
enter the Photos screen. Change images by display. Swipe up on this page to switch
entering editing mode and tapping ‘+’ in the between five different clocks. You can tap
top-left corner to choose an album. the bottom-right button to change the colour.

APPLE SKILLS iOS
Create a Contact Poster

Dazzle your contacts by displaying a custom splash screen when you call
IT WILL TAKE Imagine being able to make a big impact, you could use your own face, a picture
5 minutes impression whenever you call a of a pet, or a Memoji. Or, if you’d rather be
contact’s phone number. With more understated, you can simply use your
YOU WILL LEARN Contact Posters in iOS 17, you initials instead – but even then there’s the
How to create a can do just that by creating an image which potential to dress up the screen to make it
poster that will be automatically fills the screen of a friend, family more eye-catching with various fonts and
shared with others in member or workmate’s iPhone, putting you in colours at your fingertips.
your contacts list control of how you present yourself.
As you’ll see, you can customise your Name dropping
YOU’LL NEED poster in a number of ways. For maximum There’s certainly a great potential to be
iOS 17 or later creative here. You could produce a bold piece
of artwork, save it to your Photos app and
make use of it here, for example. You can also
use a host of built-in filters. It’s possible to
create more than one Contact Poster too,
There’s the allowing you to produce different ones for

different occasions – one to use for work,
potential to perhaps, and another for your close friends.
dress up the What’s more, you can use your Contact

Poster in conjunction with iOS 17’s new
screen to NameDrop feature, which you can find out
make it more about on p50. By bringing your iPhones

together, your posters will leap from one
You can turn Name & Photo Sharing off if you wish and
eye-catching even alter the name which is shared with others. handset to another. David Crookes

Contact Posters APPLE SKILLS
HOW TO Set up a Custom Poster
Good to know
After completing a
poster, you’ll be asked
if you want to use the
image as your Contact
Photo. If so, it’ll appear
in your friend’s contact
1 View your contacts card

You can view your contacts card by either
launching the Phone app and tapping Contacts
2 Choose a Poster
When setting up a poster for the first time,
tap Continue (after that, select Edit and tap
lists and as your Apple
ID image.
or by opening the Contacts app. Just tap your Customise). Choose a Poster – you can use a
own card which appears at the top of the fresh photo, select an existing image, select
screen and select Contact Photo & Poster. a Memoji, or just display your initials.
3 Use a photograph
When using a photo, swipe to cycle
through different image filters, such as
4 Use a Memoji
If you select Memoji, choose an existing
image or tap ‘+’ to create a new one. You can
Overprint and black and white. Pinch to crop then choose an expression or tap the camera
the image and tap the ‘…’ icon to create a to record your own. Tapping the icon in the
depth effect, lifting the subject over the text. lower-right corner lets you add a Depth Effect.
Genius tip
Rather your poster
didn’t auto-appear on
other people’s phones?
Select Contact Photo
& Poster and turn off
Name & Photo Sharing
or select Always Ask.
5 Change colours
Unless you’re using an unfiltered photo,
you can change any poster’s background
6 Change fonts
If you tap the Contact name on any
poster, you can select a different font, alter
colour (including a Monogram, which displays its thickness and change the colour, again
up to two editable letters). Tap the coloured adjusting it using the slider. When happy, tap
circle, select a colour and alter via the slider. Done to preview. You can tap Back to amend.

APPLE SKILLS iOS/iPadOS
Use Safari profiles on the go

This quick-change feature will super-charge Safari on your iPhone or iPad
IT WILL TAKE One of our favourite iOS/ Apple TV+ it’s a bit like that but without
15 minutes iPadOS 17 features is Safari Christopher Walken. And if like us you’re
Profiles, which enables you to really bad for having dozens of Safari tabs
YOU WILL LEARN have separate and different open at once, it’s going to save you stacks
How to create and personalities when you browse the web. of time and effort. It’ll feng shui your
use Safari Profiles You might have a Work profile that you use Favourites, tame your tabs and streamline
during office hours. And then you might have your Safari experience.
YOU’LL NEED a Play profile for the fun stuff such as social
iOS/iPadOS 17 media and other non-work activities. Favourites, tabs and syncing
Each profile exists separately from the What makes Safari Profiles particularly useful
other(s): if you’ve watched Severance on is the fact that each Profile can have its own
Favourites folder or folders, as well as its own
selection of tab groups – so, for example, in
our Work profile we have a tab group for
social media, another tab group for our
content management system and work
planners and so on. Switching to our
Personal profile makes them all disappear,
Genius tip! replaced by a different set of tabs, tab
Safari Profiles don’t groups and favourites.
replace Safari tab The other big benefit of Safari Profiles is
groups, so you can have that they sync, so if you have iOS 17 on your
two or more different iPhone, iPadOS 17 on your iPad, and macOS
profiles, each of which Sonoma on your Mac, the same profiles are
has their very own The combination of Safari Profiles and Tab Groups is available across all your devices.
tab groups. powerful, delivering multiple spaces within each profile. Carrie Marshall

Safari Profiles APPLE SKILLS
HOW TO Use Safari Profiles
1 Start from scratch

The first thing we need to do is go into
Settings > Safari and then scroll down to
2 Make it nice
As you can see, you need to give
your new profile a name and an icon. If
3 Find your Favourites
You can set your Favourites to an
existing folder or a new one. This enables
the new Profiles section. When you’re you don’t like the icon or colours in the you to organise bookmarks per profile.
here for the first time, there’s just one main block, tap the ‘…’ icon for more For example, you might want to keep
thing to click: the New Profile link. So options (shown here). Once done, there work bookmarks in your work profile
let’s click that one now. are a few more steps to consider. and hide them in non-work profiles.
4 Add one more

When you tap on Done, Safari
automatically adds another profile, which
5 Spot the icon
Open Safari. If you look towards
the top left of the screen, you should
6 Pick your profile
Where it says Profile, it should also
tell you which profile you’re currently on,
it calls ‘Personal’. This is where all your see a little icon that looks like a head and in this case Personal. Tap on it and
currently open tabs go. Let’s add one shoulders icon. That’s where your profiles another menu pops up, this time with
more, this time for work stuff. With live, so tap on it and you should see a your available profiles. Tap the one you
incredible originality we’ll call that ‘Work’. menu like the one shown here. want and it’ll change to that profile.
7 Do your thing
In this example, we’ve tapped on our
brand new Online Shopping profile. As
8 Change your profile
So we’ve opened a bunch of tabs
and Safari’s working normally. But then…
9 Get to work
As with our Online Shopping profile,
we’re taken to a standard Start Page
you can see, it’s a very garish start page; oh no! It’s the boss! To switch to the Work – this time in orange. You can now use
the purple is the colour we foolishly profile, go back to the icon at the top left Safari normally, and switching between
picked in Settings. Now you can just use of the screen – for us it says Online different profiles will switch between
Safari as normal. Try opening a few tabs. Shopping – and tap Profile > Work. their open tabs, groups and bookmarks.

Share stuff easily in iOS 17
Improvements to AirDrop now make it even easier to share things
IT WILL TAKE Introduced in 2011, AirDrop As well as allowing photos and videos
10 minutes has become one of Apple’s most to be shared, you can now more easily share
useful features. It has allowed contact details using NameDrop and media via
YOU WILL LEARN you to select a file, such as a SharePlay. It’s also possible to transfer large
How to share files, photo, open the Share menu and choose files with very little effort. And in the case of
media and your contact a nearby Apple device to send it to. NameDrop, you can share contact details
details with ease And, as of iOS 17, AirDrop has now become between an iPhone and Apple Watch running
even easier to use by allowing transfers to watchOS 10. All in all, it makes AirDrop feel
YOU’LL NEED take place simply by bringing two iPhones more seamless but if you’re having problems,
iOS 17 or later close together – while allowing some transfers just remember that the new features tend to
to continue even if the handsets actually work more reliably if the top edges of the
become far apart. iPhone touch or overlap. David Crookes
HOW TO Use NameDrop
1 Enter Customise mode

First of all, ensure Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
are enabled then open the Settings app,
2 Introduce your iPhones 3 Share or Receive
Ensure both iPhones are awake
and bring them towards each other. The
Each person’s Contact Card or
Contact Poster (see p48) will appear
tap General and choose ‘Everyone for 10 screens will pulsate and your Contact on the other device. Tap Share if you
Minutes’. To be sure, you should also Card/Poster will appear. Tap the contact want your details to end up on the other
check that the Bringing Devices detail beneath your name to choose what iPhone or Receive Only if you only want
Together option is turned on. information you want to share. their info. Tap Done to save the contact.

Share stuff in iOS 17 APPLE SKILLS
HOW TO Use SharePlay
1 Start playing content

Play music or start watching a film or
TV show using a SharePlay-compatible
2 Launch SharePlay
Your friend will then be asked if they
wish to accept your invitation. As well as
3 Enjoy the content
The same content plays on both
iPhones. Rewind, forward or pause on
app such as TV or Music. Bring your being able to tap Join SharePlay in a pop- one and the same happens on the other.
iPhone close to a friend’s iPhone and up window to connect, they can also The message tells you how many people
tap the SharePlay icon on the screen open the Messages app, go to your are watching. Close the content and you
which appears. message thread and tap Join. can end the session for all.
HOW TO AirDrop files
1 Share a photo
Select an image from the Photos app
then bring your handset close to another
2 AirDrop a file
Proximity sharing can also be used
to AirDrop files. You can launch the Files
3 Share away
Once you bring your iPhone close
to another iPhone, the two will connect
unlocked iPhone. Once connected, tap app and select a document that is stored and you can tap Share to beam the file
Share. It doesn’t matter what AirDrop on your iPhone – just tap the ‘…’ menu across. In this instance, the two handsets
settings are in use – it’ll work even if icon, choose Select and tap a file you will need to be pretty much touching to
Receiving is turned off. want to AirDrop. initiate sharing.
Don’t hang around

You don’t need to stand around for ages
Files and photos can be large, more so if you’ve decided you want to share two
or more. This could entail having to wait around, awkwardly touching one iPhone
against another while AirDrop tackles the task. But, if you both have iCloud
switched on, you can relax. Once you’ve initiated a file, photo or video transfer
using AirDrop, the magic continues to happen via the internet. At this point,
you can pull the iPhones apart and get on with your day, meaning it doesn’t
really matter if the transfer takes a while.

APPLE SKILLS How it works
Belkin currently makes two versions of its

BoostCharge chargers - one with MagSafe for Apple
devices, and a standard Qi version for Android.
HOW IT WORKS
Qi2
The new wireless charging standard
that’s based on Apple’s MagSafe
YOU WILL LEARN pple was a bit slow in adopting the that are designed specifically for use with
How Apple’s MagSafe
merged with Qi
A Qi wireless charging technology,
but it now looks like one of the
Apple devices. The most important feature
here is the use of a series of magnets that are
to create Qi2 first to get in on the act with the new Qi2 placed around the charging coils on both the
wireless charging (pronounced ‘chee-two’). In fact, you could iPhone and the charging device. Standard Qi
argue that it’s mounted something of a covert chargers are a bit picky about making sure
take-over of the technology, as Qi2 is that you align the electrical circuits in just the
essentially an updated version of Apple’s right way, so MagSafe uses those magnets
MagSafe – with the added bonus that it works to ensure that the charging circuitry on both
with Android and other non-Apple devices too. devices is precisely aligned in order to provide
Qi technology has actually been around better power transmission, faster charging
since 2008, developed by an organisation times, and less wasted energy. And, as the
called the WPC - Wireless Power Consortium. It name implies, MagSafe also keeps your
took a few years to take off, but by 2012 Qi was expensive iPhone safe by holding it securely
being used by Samsung and a number of other in place while it’s charging.
companies in their Android smartphones. Apple But this is where things gets a bit
Key fact hates adopting technologies developed by complicated. MagSafe and Qi
Most Qi chargers other companies, but it eventually adopted are compatible, but standard
can provide up to 15W Qi for the iPhone 8 in 2017, with other Qi chargers from third-party
of power, but Apple devices such as the AirPods and Apple manufacturers, such as Belkin,
originally limited Qi on Watch following soon after. Anker and Mophie, may not
the iPhone to just 7.5W. But, of course, Apple always likes support the additional features
That was increased to to do things its own way, and in 2020 available with MagSafe – unless,
15W with MagSafe on the it introduced MagSafe charging for that is, they carry Apple’s official
iPhone 12, but you could the iPhone 12. MagSafe is often ‘Made For MagSafe’ logo. That’s
only get 15W from described as a competitor or rival why Belkin makes two versions
Apple’s MagSafe to Qi, but MagSafe does still use of its BoostCharge stands. The
chargers, or third-party the Qi technology to provide basic BoostCharge uses Qi and
chargers that were wireless charging – which is why can charge both Apple and
approved by Apple as you can still use a standard Qi Android devices, but it doesn’t
‘Made For MagSafe’. charger from other manufacturers have the extra magnetic
However, Qi2 is now to charge your iPhone and other features provided by MagSafe.
based on MagSafe, so Apple devices. However, there’s also the
Qi2 chargers should However, MagSafe also Apple’s mobile devices are compatible
provide 15W as well. provides some additional features with both MagSafe and Qi chargers.
52 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credits: Belkin, Apple Inc

Qi2 wireless charging APPLE SKILLS
Big box – from Qi to Ki

The Qi wireless charging technology Most modern kettles are now cordless kettles, food blenders, or even small
is primarily designed for use with – so instead of plugging the kettle directly frying pans. The Ki technology can
smartphones and other digital devices, into a mains power socket, you place the provide up to 2.2kW of power, so it can
but the Wireless Power Consortium kettle on a separate base unit that work even with quite powerful kitchen
(WPC) wants to go further than that provides electricity to heat the water. appliances, and the charging bases can
in the future. It’s already working on The Ki technology works in a similar be bought as standalone devices – like a
plans for Qi3, and there’s a variant of Qi way, but a Ki charging base – known Qi charger – or built into the worktop of a
called ‘Ki’ that is designed for the as a ‘transmitter’ – can work with lots kitchen in new homes, or included in new
‘cordless kitchen’ of the future. of different kitchen devices, such as types of cookers in the future.
BoostCharge Pro that supports MagSafe

and is made specifically for Apple devices.
The BoostCharge Pro also carries the
‘Made For MagSafe’ logo on its packaging,
which tells us that the charger has been
officially approved by Apple for use with
iPhones and other Apple devices.
The new power generation

Even so, having two different types of
chargers can be confusing for consumers,
and it’s also a real hassle for manufacturers
who have to produce separate Qi and
MagSafe versions of their products.
That’s where the new Qi2 comes in. Apple
is a member of the WPC committee, and it
offered the MagSafe technology to the WPC
to form the basis of the new Qi2 standard. So,
from a technical point of view, MagSafe and Both MagSafe and Qi2 use magnets
Qi2 are very similar, with both technologies for charging efficiency and holding
using magnets to improve charging devices, but Qi2 works with a wider
range of devices.
efficiency and to hold devices safely in
place while they’re charging. The main
difference is simply that Qi2 is also
designed to work with Android and other such as an iPhone or Apple Watch. However,
types of devices, as well as Apple devices. Qi2 introduces a new ‘magnetic lock’ feature Key fact
This makes things simpler for consumers, that can work with a wider range of devices MagSafe is an Apple
who don’t have to worry about which type - including VR headsets such as Apple’s trademark, and is
of charger to buy, while manufacturers can forthcoming Vision Pro. That probably restricted to Apple
now produce just a single charging device explains Apple’s decision to hand MagSafe devices or third-party
that works with Apple and Android, and to the WPC for use in Qi2, as it helps to chargers that have been
other devices too. prepare the technology infrastructure that approved by Apple. Qi2
Of course, Apple never makes things easy, will be needed to support the Vision Pro uses the term ‘magnetic
so it’s still keeping the MagSafe name for its when it is launched in 2024. power profile’ instead.
own products, including the new iPhone 15. And Qi2 looks like it’s hit the ground This refers to the use
However, Apple did confirm during the launch running. It was announced during CES at the of magnets to improve
event in September that the iPhone 15 uses start of 2023, and is already supported by the power transmission and
magnets for “perfect alignment of MagSafe iPhone 15, while Belkin and other companies to hold your devices
or Qi2 chargers”. have also announced new Qi2 chargers due safely in place while
Qi2 does introduce some entirely new for release before Christmas. All of which charging - just like
features, though. Most Qi and MagSafe means that Qi2 might be a rare new tech that MagSafe, except that
chargers are designed for use with small is announced, launched, and widely adopted it works with Android
devices that use flat surfaces for charging, within a single year. Cliff Joseph devices too.
Image credits: ZAGG Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 53

EXPERT
ADVICE
Our resident genius
solves your Mac and
iOS problems
Contact us
your questions to
EDITED BY HOWARD OAKLEY [email protected]
Software Share certificates across Macs

Update How can I share security certificates iCloud. The Keychain Access app has full
insecurity Q in my iCloud Keychain?

by O L L I E H A V I L A N D
access to its contents, making it simple to
add certificates and other secrets.
The iCloud Keychain uses a different
ust as we don’t You don’t appear to be able to share format with access controls for better security,
J all want to drive
automatic
A secrets of your own choosing, apart
from internet and other passwords,
but Keychain Access can only see its
passwords, not the rest of its contents,
vehicles, some of us prefer using the keychain shared in iCloud. That isn’t preventing us from adding our certificates
to download and install because of any limitation in the keychain, but so they can be accessed by other Macs
updates when we choose, the fact that you can’t add your own keys or and devices sharing that keychain.
rather than leaving it to the certificates to the keychain that’s shared. Apple intends moving away from the old
Software Update pane to Macs have two types of keychain: the login file-based keychains like login, and using ‘data
decide. There are hidden keychain, that’s normally used to store our protection’ replacements like the keychain
dangers in that; going fully own certificates and secure notes uses an shared in iCloud. For the time being, the only
manual with all the pane’s ancient format, is stored in our Home Library’s way to use those certificates on multiple Macs
settings disabled can fail to Keychains folder, and can’t be shared in is to add them to the login keychain on each.
detect updates to macOS’s
built-in malware protection,
leaving your Mac at risk.
Unless you check for and
install those using other
means, such as the
softwareupdate command
or the free app SilentKnight,
every Mac should run with
the last item, and install
security responses and
system files (or similar)
enabled in Software Update.
That still gives you control
over whether and when
macOS updates are
downloaded and installed,
and should stop your Mac
being left with out-of-date
security protection.
Keychain Access only sees passwords in the keychain shared in iCloud, and can’t add other secrets like certificates.
Email your queries and your questions

54 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 to [email protected]
iOS software GENIUS TIPS
iOS software
Swipe away your touchscreen troubles and
rekindle your love of Apple’s mobile devices
Quick-fire Never share

questions
Which browsers your Apple ID
could I use instead
of Safari? My wife and I share an Apple ID
> There’s now a wide
choice of third-party
Q to make Photos sharing easier
and access News+ together.
web browsers to choose Because of that, I can’t use my profile
from. These include photo for calls I make on my iPhone, as
Firefox, Microsoft Edge it complains that two phone numbers
and Google Chrome, and are associated with one Apple ID.
more specialist apps like Is there any way around that?
Brave, DuckDuckGo, by V I C B R O W N
Opera and high-privacy
options like Ulaa. Avoid Your Apple ID and iCloud account
those whose titles start
with ‘Private Browser’,
A are intended for one individual to
use, and shouldn’t be shared with
or which aren’t more anyone else, no matter how close you are.
widely available. Although Apple doesn’t try to enforce
that, it’s explicitly included in iCloud’s
How can Maps tell terms and conditions. You and your wife
where I’m likely would do much better to have your own
to go next? Apple IDs for separate iCloud accounts,
> When enabled, your that can then be grouped together with
iPhone or iPad keeps Family Sharing to bring you the same
a list of significant benefits and shared features, and your
locations that you visit own profile photos.
repeatedly, and shares Apple explains how to tackle this in
that with the Maps app support.apple.com/HT201060. Setting
to suggest routes. up a family group is straightforward:
Enable this in Settings > you each need your own distinct Apple
Privacy & Security > IDs, and one of you becomes organiser
Location Services > of the group. The organiser then opens
System Services > their Apple ID in Settings on their iPhone
Significant Locations. or iPad, or System Settings on a Mac, and
opens Family Sharing there to set it up
and add each of the other Apple IDs
Add family members in Settings, and allocate shared
as family members. subscriptions, iCloud+ storage and other features.
You can then share iCloud+ storage (as
explained at support.apple.com/HT208147), are kept secure, and that your iCloud access
Photo Libraries, and subscriptions to Apple’s is kept separate in the event that you might
services including News+. Having individual ever need to have solo or private access
accounts ensures that both your accounts to contents stored in iCloud.

GENIUS TIPS Mac hardware
Mac hardware
We help to solve your hardware hassles, from
interrupted upgrades to running diagnostics
Quick-fire
questions
Unlock a used Mac
Should I split or I bought a used Mac mini 2018, but storage, but it also disables Find My Mac
replace my iMac’s
Fusion Drive?
Q when I try to start it up, it asks for
a password or the Apple ID of its
and Activation Lock.
They can disable it in their account at
> If it’s over three years previous owner. How can I bypass those, iCloud.com/find by removing that Mac from
old, it may not have install a fresh copy of macOS and use it? the list of All Devices there. However, if it
much life left in either by A N G E L A L O N G still has FileVault enabled, you’ll need their
the SSD or hard drive. If password before you can access its internal
you can afford it, have Unfortunately, only its previous owner SSD. With Activation Lock disabled, you could
the drive replaced with
an SSD, to extend its
A can open that Mac up, as it still has
Activation Lock enabled. This is linked
restore that Mac in DFU mode from another
Mac, using Apple Configurator 2 (free from the
working life for several to Find My Mac, and prevents anyone else App Store), but that’s not for the faint-hearted
years. Otherwise, get from starting up a Mac protected by its T2 and should only be a last resort.
a Thunderbolt SSD or Apple silicon chip. This isn’t a feature If you’re unable to get the Mac’s previous
and start up from of older Intel Macs without a T2. owner to help, but have proof of purchase, you
that instead. What the previous owner should have may be able to persuade Apple to unlock your
done before parting with it is run Erase All Mac, but be aware that this often happens with
Why can’t I Content and Settings, which not only destroys stolen Macs, so you’re going to have to good
upgrade the SSD all their personal data kept on its internal evidence that it’s now legally yours.
in my M2 Mac?
> Most Apple silicon
Macs have their internal
storage soldered in, so
it can’t be replaced
independently. It isn’t a
normal SSD, but relies
on the M2 chip as its
disk controller, and its
Secure Enclave for data
encryption. It also
makes theft of your Mac
and its data almost
impossible.
At the least, the previous owner has to disable Find My Mac before selling a Mac, or its purchaser will be locked out.

What’s the cost to
replace a MacBook
Pro battery?
> Apple should give you
a quote at support.apple.
com/en-gb/mac/repair
for around £245, using
original parts and
Enable FileVault on a Mac with a T2 or Apple silicon covered by its warranty.
chip, as it provides immediate privacy protection Beware of others who
without needing additional encryption.
might fit inferior
replacements.
Prepare your Mac for repair How to clean the

keyboard in my
What should I do to protect the the key used for that encryption, which MacBook Air?
Q personal data on my iMac when
it goes in for a screen repair?
happens instantly.
If FileVault isn’t already turned on and your
> Remove any dust using
a vacuum cleaner with
by J O H N L U Mac has an Intel processor but not a T2, it could care, and clean off solid
take many hours before it would provide the residue using a little
Any repair, even to the display, could protection of encryption. You might then be isopropyl alcohol and a
A require more extensive surgery. To
safeguard your data, ensure that you
better off removing or encrypting just your
most sensitive data.
lint-free cloth. Although
you can use its Lock
back your Mac up thoroughly before it goes Finally, remember to turn off Find My Mac Screen to stop this from
anywhere. If you’ve already enabled FileVault in the iCloud section of the Apple ID item in generating keypresses,
on its internal storage, that will protect it from System Settings or Preferences, and disable any the best solution is the
prying eyes. If FileVault isn’t yet enabled and firmware password by starting in Recovery and free KeyboardCleanTool
your Mac has a T2 or Apple silicon chip, then using Startup Security or Firmware Password free from folivora.ai/
you should turn it on, as the data is already Utility there. If you don’t disable those, the keyboardcleantool.
encrypted, so all FileVault has to do is protect technician may not be able to access your Mac.
Recover files in Target Disk Mode

My MacBook Pro 16-inch one. Shortly after connecting the other files rescued, ask an Authorised Apple
Q 2019 is sick and can’t start
up properly. Is there any way
Mac, the Target’s internal Data volume
should mount in that Mac’s Finder, and
Service Provider or Apple technician,
as they have a tool they can use that
to retrieve files from its internal SSD? you’ll then be prompted to enter its could still work, although some seem
by T O M D L U T E K FileVault password (if enabled). reluctant to use it.
When you’ve finished rescuing
If possible, try using Target Disk files from it, eject the Target Mac’s
A Mode with another Mac. To do
this, your sick Mac needs to be
disk in the Finder, then press and
hold the Power button on the sick
able to start up in this mode; depending Mac to shut it down again. If you
on what part of its hardware is sick, that can’t get this to work and still need
may not be possible. Start it up with the
‘T’ key held until you see the Thunderbolt
symbol appear on its display. If that
doesn’t work, press the Power button
to shut it down again.
If this does work, connect it using a
Thunderbolt 3 or 4 cable to another Mac;
if it’s still running Catalina or earlier, you
should be able to use a USB-C data cable If a sick Intel Mac can start up in Target Disk Mode, you
if you don’t have a Thunderbolt should be able to rescue files from its internal storage.

GENIUS TIPS macOS
macOS
Shine a spotlight on the solutions to
your most irritating Mac problems
Quick-fire
questions
Why does dragging a
file to iCloud move it
there?
> Dragging a file within the
same volume moves it,
but between two different
volumes it’s copied to
preserve the original.
Volumes connected via a
network are considered to
be separate, but iCloud is
different, and an
integrated part of your
Mac’s Data volume. To
copy instead of move, use
Convert an inode number in a First Aid
Opt-drag. message to a path using Precize and the
GetFileInfo command in Terminal.
Why does Terminal
tell me it has been
restored?
> When you open
Find the file causing an error
Terminal, any open When running First Aid in Disk free utility Precize from bit.ly/mac397precize,
windows are returned to
their previous status by
Q Utility, I keep coming across a
warning that a ‘Resource Fork
and in its second line it gives its volfs path.
Next open Terminal and type:
restoring that session, xattr is missing for compressed file’,
including any saved but the message gives an inode id and GetFileInfo
window contents, doesn’t tell me which file is at fault.
command history and How can I stop those errors? with a trailing space.
environment. A new by G R E G P R E S T O N Then copy the volfs path from Precize and
window instead gives the paste it into the command line after that space.
time and date of the last Warnings like that aren’t uncommon, Delete the last number, which is the inode of
login, when you last
opened Terminal, as it has
A and generally clear themselves over
time. If it recurs, then you first need
the wrong file, and paste in the inode number
given in Disk Utility’s warning message, to
nothing to restore. to identify the file that’s responsible. Inode create that item’s path in a command like
numbers uniquely identify every item in a
volume, and can be used in an alternative GetFileInfo /.vol/16777238/402194151
low-level file system known as volfs. Because
the inode number is only unique within that Press Return, and a few seconds later
volume, to discover which file it is you also Terminal gives the full path to that file or
need to know the number of that volume. folder, together with other information about
One easy way to do this is using another it. You can then work out whether you want
file on the same volume. Open that in my to delete that item.

macOS GENIUS TIPS
How often should

macOS check itself
for malware?
> In macOS Catalina
or later, XProtect scans
for malware should
run daily, or more
frequently when Apple
considers the threat is
high. Scans should run
in the background
when your Mac
is awake but not
being used heavily.
First select the container on the disk where
Select APFS (Encrypted) format, which will
you want to add the encrypted volume. This
prompt you for a new password, then give How to remove
will share space with the existing volume.
the new volume an appropriate name. apps from the
Open With menu?
Lock private data away > Launch Services
builds that menu from
How can I secure personal data on encrypted disk images. Because all APFS the apps on your Mac,
Q an external drive, in case it gets lost
or stolen? Could I use permissions?
volumes in a container share its free disk
space, it’s easy to add an APFS encrypted
and which types of
document they can
by J A Y W I L L I A M S volume to your external drive. open. An app that’s
In Disk Utility, set the View tool to Show stored outside the
Permissions don’t provide privacy All Devices, then select the container on your main Applications
A protection, and only limit access
for apps that behave themselves.
external disk in the sidebar. Click the ‘+’ to
add a new volume, select ‘APFS (Encrypted)’
folders won’t normally
be included, but to be
The only trustworthy way to prevent access as its format, give it an unguessable password, certain, put the app in
to personal data is to encrypt it using a robust and an appropriate name before clicking the an archive or remove
method such as APFS encrypted volumes, or Add button. it altogether.
Ignore any permission problems

I moved my image library upwards of 502. Sometimes users are your admin password. The bottom line
Q and documents to my new
Mac on an external drive, but
removed, and it can happen that an
external disk ends up with user numbers
offers the checkbox to ‘Ignore ownership
on this volume’. Tick that and your weird
when I try to use them I seem to hit that differ from those in that Mac. If permission problems should vanish, as
permission problems. Why, and what a file is then owned by user 505, but macOS then won’t worry whether the
can I do about it? there’s no user with that number, owner is 501 or 505.
by S T E V E S T U R G E S S that can throw the
permissions system.
When inspecting permissions Thankfully, macOS
A in the Finder’s Get Info dialog,
each item has an owner and
provides a workaround
intended for external
group, with their set permissions, and drives. Select that drive
for all users. Although shown there with or volume in the Finder
names like your user name, that isn’t and open the Get Info
how the file system sees them: instead, dialog. In the lowest
owners and groups are converted into section, Sharing &
numbers. On most Macs, the first admin Permissions, click
user is given the number 501, and the padlock and If you run into permission problems on an external drive,
subsequent users have numbers authenticate with just tell macOS to ignore ownership on that volume.

Hidden iPhone
features you need
to know about
Your iPhone is packed with tools to help you
get the most out of it. Here we celebrate the
best of the lesser-known iOS tips and tricks
WRITTEN BY PETER WOLINSKI
Y
our iPhone comes loaded with walkthroughs where a little more
handy hidden features and explanation is needed – hopefully
hacks that can make it much at least one or two are new to you.
easier and more fun to use. In our Just a quick note before we begin:
opinion, it’s this plethora of little- most of these hidden features have
known features that really help to been embedded within iOS for a while,
cement iPhones as the best so even people using older devices
smartphones out there. should be able to utilise at least some.
But do you know all of the little To ensure we’re all on the same
tricks? Well, there are so many that we’d page, though, make sure your device is
be willing to bet you probably don’t. To up to date by going to Settings > General
help with that, we’ve rounded up 28 of and tap Software Update. If an update
our favourite hidden iPhone features is available, tap Download and Install.
that everyone should know, and how Once downloaded, tap Install Now. With
to use them, with step-by-step that done, you’re good to discover more.

Access the iPhone’s
hidden trackpad
Even people with the smallest
4 hands can find the compact
keyboards of phone screens a little
hassle-prone. Scanning through large
chunks of text to find the exact spot
you want to edit can be a tricky task,
although it has been improved in iOS 17.
To help with this, your iPhone features
a hidden trackpad, which can be used
to scan easily and precisely across your
screen. Just press and hold the Space
bar on your iPhone’s keyboard to turn
that keyboard into a trackpad.
Customise the iOS Control Centre Unlock the

One iPhone hack that makes life
1 easier is being able to customise
Recognition the most useful - no more interactive iOS
fumbling around Home Screen folders,
Control Centre. By adding your favourite desperately trying to find the Shazam app
weather map
and most-used widgets to Control Centre, before the song ends. To customise your While many modern iPhone
you can access them with a simple swipe Control Centre, go to Settings, then tap
5 models like the iPhone 15 Pro
down, even when your iPhone is locked. Control Centre. Scroll down to More are waterproofed to IP68, it’s still no
This is super handy when you need a Controls and add any controls that’ll fun to get stuck out in the rain. Handily,
feature immediately. We find Music be handy at a moment’s notice. the iOS Weather app has you covered
with an easy-to-read interactive weather
map so you can easily see the day ahead’s
weather and never get caught out again.
Use Back Tap for extra iPhone controls With a scrolling 12-hour forecast for
With Back Tap enabled, you icons or the Control Centre pull-down anywhere on the planet, featuring
2 can assign a range of different menu. There’s a range of different temperature, precipitation, wind strength
functions to both a double and a triple time-saving and accessibility functions and air quality overlays, and all of your
finger tap on the back of your phone, you can assign, and you can even locations pinned, the app’s weather
kind of like gestures on a trackpad. combine the feature with Shortcuts map virtually turns you into a weather
You could, for example, use a double tap for even more customisation. To enable reporter, and is difficult to stop using
for your torch and a triple tap for your Back Tap, open the Settings app and once you’ve started. To enable the
Camera – these are both incredibly useful tap Accessibility. Next, tap Touch, then interactive forecast, open the Weather
when you’re using your phone at odd tap Back Tap. Tap either Double Tap or app and tap the map icon in the bottom-
angles and can’t reach the Lock Screen Triple Tap to assign functions to each. left corner of the screen.
Share whatever is on your screen using Siri

iOS comes with advanced have your hands free to do so. An image
3 sharing abilities using Siri. or photo can be shared, as can a song
Instead of sharing the old-fashioned way you’re listening to on Apple Music. If Siri
by tapping the Share button, you can use can’t share your screen, for example with
Siri to share whatever is on your screen the Weather app, it’ll take a screenshot
with a contact. It’s not a life-changing and send that instead. To share your
feature, but comes in handy when you screen with a contact, say “Hey Siri, share
need to share something quickly or don’t this with…” whomever you’d like to see it.

FEATURE iPhone secrets
Drag and drop

files and photos
between apps
A little-known feature that
6
can save you a ton of time
is the ability to drag and drop
between iPhone apps. With the drag
and drop feature, you can quickly
and easily import an image or video
from your photos or a web page, or
even a PDF from your files, and drop
it into an app like Notes or Messages.
This hidden feature can be a little
tricky the first time around. Here’s
the gist; tap and hold on the file you
Unleash the power of your
want to move, then move it toward
iPhone’s calculator app
the top or bottom of the display. Like us, you might have give it another chance: the humble
Then, while continuing to hold that
7 thought the native Calculator Calculator app actually has a few
file with one finger, you swipe up app was a little basic, especially tricks up its sleeve. Turn the iPhone
from the bottom of the screen with when compared to those giant landscape to unveil a scientific
another finger and open the app calculators you used in maths class calculator, and swipe left or right at
you want to drag your file into. at school. Well, maybe you should the top of the display to delete digits.
Turn your iPhone’s Enter hidden codes

camera into a to unlock features
document scanner 9
If you’ve ever typed in a code
to find your IMEI or phone
It used to be that scanning number (*#06#) when selling your
8 a document to turn physical phone, you may have an inkling of
pages into a digital file required what this one’s about. What you
a dedicated scanner or all-in-one might not know, though, is that as
printer. And indeed, for perfect copies, well as codes to find those numbers,
this is still the case. But what if you just there are also codes to tell your
need to quickly turn that line from your iPhone to do a whole range of things,
textbook into a quote in your notes from hiding your number (141
app? Unsurprisingly, iOS has a neat followed by the person’s number and
solution, and your iPhone’s camera is area code), to diverting calls (**61
also a handy tool to convert physical when you don’t answer, **62 when
text into digital. To get started, open your iPhone is unreachable, or **67
an app you want to scan text into – this when your iPhone is busy) and even
could be Notes, Messages, or any other launching a field test mode (turn
app that lets you enter text. In the off Wi-Fi, then enter 3001#12345#)
text-entry area, tap and hold for a to see data about your cellular
couple of seconds then release your connection. Simply open your Phone
finger. You should now see a scanner app, then head to the keypad and
icon and ‘Scan Text’ appear. dial in one of the codes.

Search anytime, anywhere using Spotlight
Spotlight search saves a lot of without needing to wait for Face ID
10 time when you need to get to to do its thing. To access Spotlight
something fast. To take that one step while locked, simply swipe down from
further, you can now access Spotlight anywhere but the top right of your
directly from your Lock Screen, screen (as swiping from the top right
meaning you can search immediately opens Control Centre).
Enable Face ID
when you’re
wearing a mask
You can still use Face ID when
12 you’re wearing a mask or
other facial obstruction like a scarf.
Once you turn on the switch to use
Face ID with a mask on for the first
Use your flash for notifications time, you’ll have to rescan your face.
The good news is that you can turn the
Ever get jealous of Android customisation feature, as you’ll only feature on/off without having to rescan
11 users with their neat LED really notice it in the dark or if your phone your face each time. The bad news is
notification lights? What you may not is on a surface facing screen down. But that this makes your iPhone inherently
know is that the iPhone has a little-known it’s still pretty handy, especially if you a little less secure, as it is using less
accessibility feature which gives users a miss notifications a lot when on silent. biometric data to unlock your phone.
notification light, too. The iPhone’s LED Open the Settings app, scroll down To enable Face ID with a mask, open
flash can be set to flash for alerts, such as and tap Accessibility. Tap Audio/Visual, the Settings app and tap Face ID &
messages and other notifications. This is then scroll to the bottom and toggle Passcode. Enter your passcode and
more of a visual accessibility tool than a on ‘LED Flash for Alerts’. toggle on ‘Face ID with a Mask’.

Cast Harry Potter
spells using Siri
On top of being a pocket-sized
13 computer and camera, your iPhone
also doubles up as a magic wand. That’s
right. You can use Siri to cast spells from
Harry Potter and enable functions without
having to lay a finger on your screen. To
cast a spell, say “Hey Siri,” (or just “Siri” in
iOS 17) followed by one of three spells. Say
“Hey Siri, Lumos” to turn on your iPhone’s
torch. Say “Hey Siri, Nox” to turn the torch
off again. Say “Hey Siri, Accio [app]” to
open that app. More spells can be custom-
made using Shortcuts.
Hide sensitive How to use the

or unwanted zooming Maps slider
apps using the 15
While we’re all familiar with the
App Library ubiquitous two-finger pinch

zooming function across touchscreen
Instead of trying to find a devices, a simple yet relatively
14 place or folder for any apps obscure feature of iOS is one-finger
you don’t use – or you don’t want zooming on Apple Maps and Google
people to see – it’s easier to just Maps. This useful trick enables the use of double-tap on the screen and the map
move them out of sight completely both Apple Maps and Google Maps one- will zoom in slightly. To control the zoom
with this little-known trick. You can handed and one-fingered, which comes level, double-tap the screen but keep
now remove an app from your Home into its own when navigating a new place your digit held down on the second tap.
Screen without deleting it completely, with full hands. In map view, simply You can now zoom in and out.
using the App Library. To get started
press and hold the app you want to
hide. After a couple of seconds, a
menu should appear with multiple Turn on background
options. From this options menu, sounds to ease stress
select Remove App. Doing this will
bring up a second menu, press If you’re in need of a bit of
‘Remove from Home Screen’.
16 relaxation, you can use the
Background Sounds feature to pump
soothing ambient noise through your
AirPods, including rainfall, streams,
oceans, and white noise. We can vouch
for how useful this feature is when
working, helping to cut out distractions
and focus on work. What’s more, unlike
putting on an ASMR or ambient noise
track on Spotify or Apple Music, this
feature isn’t streaming anything, so
it works even without an internet
connection. Just open Settings and then
tap Accessibility. Next select Audio/
Visual, then tap Backgrounds Sounds and
toggle on Background Sounds at the top.

iPhone secrets FEATURE
Rearrange multiple
apps at once
If you’ve ever done a full-scale
17 rearrange of your iPhone’s Home
Screen, you’ll know how tedious it can
be to move each and every app one
Get custom battery
by one – so don’t. One of the handiest alerts with a shortcut
little-known features of the iPhone is that Ever miss those 15, 10 and 5%
you can drag and move multiple apps all
18 battery alerts your iPhone gives
at once. This enables you to clean up your you because your phone’s on silent?
Home Screen in a fraction of the time. To Thankfully, you can avoid this using a
get started, tap and hold an app on your shortcut to set alerts at 30 or 40%,
Home Screen and move your digit slightly giving you more of a heads up that you’re
until all your app icons start wiggling. Keep starting to get low. Better still, you can
your digit held down and use another digit have Siri announce your warning, so even
to tap and select other apps that you if you keep your iPhone on silent, you’ll
want to move – you’ll notice they’ll all be never miss the battery warnings again. To
grouped together as you tap each one. get custom battery alerts, create a new
Keep your original digit still held down and automation in the Shortcuts app, tap
use another digit to navigate to a place or Battery Level and specify a percentage.
folder on the Home Screen. Then, release Then tap Add Action to customise what
your digit and they’ll all be moved. your iPhone does once you hit that level.
Enable Dark Mode

Dark Mode will turn your
20
phone’s theme to primarily
dark, which reduces the effects of
bright, white and blue light, in turn
making your phone more pleasant
and comfortable to use at night.
iPhones can even automatically
switch between Dark Mode and light
appearance based on the time of day.
To turn it on, open the Settings app
and tap ‘Display and Brightness’. Tap
the Dark checkbox underneath the
Appearance section. To go back at a
later point, tap the Light check box.
To set Dark Mode automatically,
on the ‘Display and Brightness’ menu,
toggle the automatic slider to On
Track flights using Messages (green) and then tap options. The
One of our favourite Messages flight’s departure time, whether the default automatic setting is for
19 features is the ability to track flight is running late, the expected ‘Sunset to Sunrise’ which will see
flights within a chat – that’s right, you arrival time and even the arriving your phone switch to dark mode as
can actually track live flights using baggage carousel number. You’ll also the day closes, and then to light
Messages! If you’ve got a friend or see a map showing where the flight is! appearance as the day opens. To
family member flying in to see you, or Super cool. To track a flight in Messages, change this, tap Custom Schedule.
you’re flying out to them, you can use one party must send the flight number Tap the time boxes to select when
Messages to track the flight and see as a message. Then, press and hold the you would like to have light and dark
important information, such as the flight number and tap Preview Flight. appearances enabled.

Clear your iPhone’s memory
It’s common for the iPhone to periodically slow down or slow-down is that your phone’s Random Access Memory
21
and stutter, and you may have noticed your device (RAM) has become full. So what do you do if your iPhone is
occasionally behaving sluggishly, particularly when trying operating slowly and you think memory is the issue?
to flick between or open apps, or when performing tasks using
intensive apps. Sometimes, your iPhone may freeze altogether. How to clear RAM on iPhone
Obviously, on older phones this is more common, as their Firstly, if you’re using an iPhone without a physical Home button,
hardware is less well placed to handle more modern software you’ll need to enable Assistive Touch (you’ll see why later). If your
and applications. Very often, what can be causing the freezing phone does have a physical button, don’t worry about this step.
Go to Settings, then tap Unlock your phone. Next, This more powerful You’ll now be presented
A B C D
Accessibility. Select Touch in quick succession, press troubleshooting menu with a lock screen,
and then tap AssistiveTouch. the Volume Up button, then does not show the SOS slider. signalling you’ve done it right
Switch AssistiveTouch on. You’ll press the Volume Down button, While you’re in this menu, tap and to test it’s worked, swipe
now see a circular button on then hold the Lock button until a the AssistiveTouch button on up and hold in the centre of the
screen. Tap this button to see shutdown menu appears. You’ll screen to bring up that menu. screen to open your app tray.
a menu of touch options. The now be on the troubleshooting Next, press and hold the Each app you’ve had open will
one we’ll need later is the Home shutdown menu which is used Home option. If you’re on an restart when tapped, which is
button. Next, enter the shutdown for force restarting, recovery and iPhone with a physical button, how you know your system
menu, but not the normal one… DFU modes and RAM clearance. simply hold that down. memory has been cleared.
Sign documents Delete multiple contacts

You need to know working, no one has time to If you don’t know how in Messages. If you’ve got a lot
22 how to sign send a signed letter in the
24 to delete multiple of spring cleaning to do, you’re
documents on your mail. Whether you need contacts on an iPhone, still best off deleting multiple
iPhone. After all, when was to sign a scan of some you’re not alone. Many people contacts on iCloud. You can
the last time you signed for paperwork or just add a resort to doing it over iCloud. use this Contacts feature to
something with a pen? signature to an email, it’s You might think that you’d be select more than one group
Many contracts like lease easy. Open the document in able to perform a function of contacts, though.
agreements and bank Photos, tap Edit, and tap the like this by selecting multiple To delete multiple contacts
information are handled pen symbol. Then tap the ‘+’ contacts using an Edit button, on iPhone, open the Contacts
almost solely online now, and tap Signature, sign it tapping a bullet point next app or the Phone app and tap
and with the rise of remote and tap done. to individual contacts and Contacts. Find a group to
trashing them. That’s how delete. Using two fingers,
it’s done on Messages and tap a contact and drag up or
Remove a photo’s background Mail, after all. But, for some
reason, Apple hasn’t followed
down to select the adjacent
contacts. The contacts will
Knowing how Photos app – open it and suit on Contacts. then be highlighted grey.
23 locate the image to edit. Tap Thankfully, there is now Release your fingers. If you’d
to remove the
background of a photo on and hold the subject and an easy way to delete multiple like to add on another group
iPhone is really useful, you’ll see a ‘glow’ wash over contacts on iPhone. It for deletion, repeat step 2.
enabling you to instantly it. You’ll then see options to combines the drag-select If not, press and hold with
isolate your subject from Copy, Add Sticker, or Share feature of iOS 16 with the press a single finger and tap Delete
a distracting background. the subject. Choosing Add and hold function that allows [x] Contacts. Finally, tap
It also enables you to set Sticker, adds it to your sticker you to delete contacts. This Delete Contacts.
the subject of your image and Memoji list. You can even feature is only suitable for
against a new background. use a Live Photo to create an deleting groups of contacts
You may think you’d need animated sticker. next to each other. You can’t
to pay for photo-editing select multiple contacts
software, but you don’t. individually like you’d select
This all takes place in the multiple individual messages
66 | MACFORMAT |
iPhone secrets FEATURE
Cut distractions with Create Zip files since you may be able to get below the
Safari’s Reader mode Knowing how to create Zip files typical 25MB attachment limit. What’s
The iPhone has a built-in way
26 on iPhone is a useful skill. It more, the files you compress can be
25 to clear online clutter and let allows you to compress files so they take anything from docs and audio to images
you see web pages more clearly. It’s up less space – potentially saving you the and videos and, since they’re placed
called Reader, and it’s built into Safari. cost of upgrading to a larger capacity inside a single file, they start to become
Not every website or web page iPhone or having to buy more room on more manageable. For this tutorial, we’re
supports Reader, but many do. iCloud. Zip files are also easier to email concentrating on using the Files app.
To enable it, open a web page in
Safari and tap the ‘AA’ icon to the left
A Launch the Files app D Compress the files
of the Smart Search field. Tap Show Open the Files app either by When you have selected all of the
Reader from the menu that appears. looking for the Files icon on your Home files you need, tap the ‘…’ button in the
You can also adjust text size from this Screen or by using Spotlight (swipe down bottom-right corner and select Compress.
menu using the small or large ‘A’ on the iPhone screen, type Files and tap
buttons. You’ll now have a page in the icon when it appears).
E Rename the archive
Reader format, with just text and A Zip file will be created and this
images displayed. To exit the Reader,
B Choose a location will appear in the same folder as the files
and return to the full page, tap the ‘AA’ Look for the files you want to you selected. If you press and hold on
icon again and select Hide Reader. compress. You can tap Browse and the Zip file you can tap Rename and
Alternatively, if you’d like to set the choose a location such as iCloud Drive enter a new filename if you wish.
Reader to come on whenever it can, go or On My Phone. You will then be able
to Settings > Safari. Tap Reader. Then to tap a folder to view the files within it.
under Automatically Use Reader On,
switch ‘google.co.uk’ and/or Other
C View and select your files
Websites toggles to On. Safari will now Once a folder is open, tap the ‘…’
display pages in Reader mode where button in the top-right corner and tap
possible. This is basically like an Select. Now tap on files that you would
automatic ad blocker. like to include in your compressed Zip.
Identify any song Turn off autocorrect

Knowing how to identify any One of the biggest - and most
27 song on iPhone is something 28 welcome – improvements in
that’ll come in incredibly handy all the iOS 17 is better autocorrection
time. Perhaps you’re out shopping and suggestions when typing in
hear a song over the radio; whatever Messages and elsewhere. You can
the reason, using the iPhone’s built-in even quickly accept inline suggestions
Shazam app, you can usually find out Controls. If not, scroll down and tap when typing by pressing the Space
exactly what song it is you’re hearing. the green ‘+’ symbol next to Music bar when a predicted word appears.
What’s even better is that you don’t Recognition. When you hear a song However, if you find its suggestions
actually need to open Shazam to launch you like, swipe down from the top of annoying, or you just want more
music recognition (although you can). your screen to open Control Centre control over how iOS 17 handles the
By far the quickest and easiest method and then tap Music Recognition. words that you type, head to Settings
to find out a song is to add music Wait a little for the feature to analyse > General > Keyboard. There, you’ll
recognition to your Control Centre, the sound it is hearing. If the sound is discover a whole series of options
meaning it’s always just a swipe and quiet, it may not work and you may have that you can toggle - from switching
tap away when you’re in a rush because to move closer. Once Shazam has picked Auto-Correction on or off, to Smart
the song is nearly over. up the song, a banner will appear at the Punctuation. You can even opt to use
To identify any song on iPhone, add top of the screen. You can either quit now a one-handed keyboard or use iOS
Music Recognition to your iPhone’s you know the song, or tap the song 17’s Dictation options instead.
Control Centre in the Settings app – tap banner to open Shazam, find out more
Control Centre. Check whether Music and see your saved songs. You can now
Recognition exists in your Included add that song to your favourite playlist.

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superguide
Make your Apple Watch feel brand new with this incredible upgrade
Written by Carrie Marshall
T
he Apple Watch’s 10th your mental health as well as your
birthday isn’t until 2025 physical health. In the fitness category watchOS 10
but its operating system, there are huge improvements for works with…
watchOS, is now in double cyclists, new features for hikers and a Apple Watch Series 4
figures. Last year’s watchOS 9 wasn’t wealth of improvements to the Fitness Apple Watch Series 5
a big deal, but this year is different. In app and the Fitness+ service. And, in Apple Watch Series 6
fact, we think watchOS 10 is the biggest the customisation category, you’ll find Apple Watch Series 7
Apple Watch upgrade in years. new faces, more in-app options and a Apple Watch Series 8
watchOS 10 is designed to new feature, Smart Stack, that makes Apple Watch Series 9
improve the Apple Watch experience your Apple Watch even more you. Apple Watch Ultra
in three key ways: health, fitness and Here’s everything you need Apple Watch Ultra 2
customisation. In the first category, to know about this significant Apple Watch SE
you’ll find new features to help with Apple Watch update.
Image credit:
credits:Apple
AppleInc
Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 69
watchOS 10
What’s hot in watchOS 10

Time to tick these improvements off your wish list
NEW FACES
W
hether you’re wearing
an Apple Watch Series 4,
an Apple Watch SE or
This year’s new Apple Watch faces an Apple Watch Ultra,
are Snoopy and Palette. The former, watchOS 10 will make your Apple
featuring Charles Schultz’s famous Watch feel brand new. In addition to the
cartoon dog, may well be the cutest usual selection of new features, watchOS
Apple Watch face yet – and Palette 10 also changes the way your Apple
may well be the prettiest. Watch looks and works.
The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s
visually quite different. Apple’s own apps
are brighter and more glanceable, with a
unified design that’s coherent, consistent
and very clear. The Control Centre has
been moved to the side button to make
space for a new collection of widgets that
Apple calls Smart Stack, and there are
two fun new faces as well as lots of
customisation and complications.
Smart control
Smart Stack is more than just widgets. Smart Stack uses machine learning to predict
Snoopy and his pal Woodstock play with the It uses machine learning to try and work what information you’ll need and to deliver
watch hands, and motivate you during workouts. it when and where you need it.
out what information you’ll want to see
and deliver it when you want to see it, so mindfulness features by offering
you’ll see different things based on the mood tracking and, shortly after iOS
time of day, your typical schedule, your 17 launches, by providing a journalling
location and even the weather. We’re app that could be a very powerful way
very impressed by it so far, and by the to identify the things, places and people
way it also brings key controls for the that make you happier.
apps you’re using – such as your That’s not all. NameDrop enables you
podcasts or workout controls. to give someone your contact details by
There are big improvements to bringing your Apple Watch next to their
fitness tracking and Fitness+, to the iPhone, Maps now has the same offline
Maps app for hikers and to workout mapping as the iPhone app, and group
tracking for cyclists. But one of the calls are now supported over FaceTime
Palette has a gorgeous colour-shifting display, most interesting health features is new: Audio. You can even view FaceTime
and lots of customisation options. mental health. Apple is building on its video messages on your wrist.
Introducing Smart Stack

When you swipe up from the bottom designed to bring you info in little The big benefit of Smart Stack is
of your Apple Watch or turn the glanceable widgets, just like widgets do that it provides quick access to things
Digital Crown, you’ll see the new on iPhone, iPad and in macOS Sonoma. that you might not want to have as a
Smart Stack feature (Control You can choose which widgets appear, complication (or that you can’t because
Centre is now in the side button). and the stacks will change based on the your favourite face doesn’t have room for
Smart Stack looks a lot like the Siri time of day, your location, whether enough complications): simply swipe
watch face and, like that face, it’s you’re working out, and so on. or turn and they’re there.

watchOS 10
WHAT’S NEW In watchOS 10
1 Clearer call alerts

Even the Ultra isn’t big enough to
display a full Contact Poster like on
2 Serious sleeping
The Sleep app has had a makeover:
instead of showing your sleep schedule it
3 Great outdoors
There are tons of improvements for
outdoor types, including new waypoint
iPhone, but with watchOS 10 you get a now takes you to your sleep data. The features in Compass (pictured) and lots
call alert that uses a photo to show who’s schedule information is now accessed via of new metrics for cyclists to track their
calling. It’s a nice touch: we recognise the alarm clock icon (top left). It still can’t rides. US Apple Watch users also get
faces faster than we read names. track your naps, though. new topographic mapping in Maps.
4 Attractive activities
The Activity app has been
redesigned to make all of your key info
5 More weather
The Weather app is now super-
powered. Its background reflects current
6 Everything is better
The World Clock app is a great
example of the redesign: while it shows
more glanceable and swipeable, and it weather conditions; the coloured ring the same time, sun location, sunrise and
shares a common design language with shows expected temperatures, and sunset details it’s much brighter, clearer
other apps such as the Sleep app; integrates with Smart Stack to show and friendly than before and devotes
everything feels more cohesive. the forecast in the morning. more of its display to glanceable info.
HOW TO Customise the Control Centre
1 Swipe it up
Control Centre now lives in the side
button, so press that to display it and
2 Tap to delete
Icons behave like they do on your
iPhone Home Screen when you go into
3 Tap to add
If you swipe past the current Control
Centre icons, you’ll see a second section
then swipe until you get to the bottom edit mode: tapping on the red ‘–’ icon will with green ‘+’ icons instead. These are
of the icons. That’s where you’ll find the remove that app from Control Centre. the icons that aren’t currently in Control
Edit button, which enables you to adjust You can’t remove everything – features Centre; add them by tapping on the ‘+’
the order or add and remove icons. such as Wi-Fi and Battery are fixed. sign and dragging to their new location.

Health & fitness
watchOS 10 introduces huge improvements to help you live a healthier, happier life
S
POWER ZONES peaking to Outside magazine, Tim Hikers get some very useful new
WORKOUT Cook said that “I really believe
that if you zoom out to the future
navigation and emergency features, albeit
mostly in the US to begin with, and all kinds of
VIEW and then look back and ask, ‘what workouts (and third-party apps too) can take
watchOS 10 contains a lot of has Apple’s greatest contribution been?’ it advantage of Live Activities to show crucial
important improvements for will be in the health and wellness area.” And data on your iPhone without you having to
cyclists, including the ability with watchOS 10, Apple’s already impressive unlock it. Apple’s Fitness+ service has got
to calculate personalised Apple Watch health and fitness features some very welcome improvements too, and all
power zones from your have become even better. the health and fitness apps have been given a
activity and from connected When it comes to exercise, your Apple visual refresh to make them even more useful.
devices such as cycle Watch does everything from cycle tracking One important new feature is one you
computers. watchOS 10 can to cyclist training. And there are significant can’t see. There’s a new Workouts API for app
then estimate your Functional improvements to the latter, including lots of developers to record workout data directly on
Threshold Power, which is the new metrics to analyse your rides and support your Watch instead of to a paired phone, and
highest average power you can for Bluetooth devices such as cycling that should enable them to deliver more
sustain for an hour, and tell you computers and power meters. useful real-time data.
what power zone you’re in. In
addition to the colour-coded
zone indicator – ranging from
blue for easy to dark red for Cycling metrics
super hard – the view shows
your elapsed time, your time in
on iPhone
the zone, your cadence in RPM With watchOS 10 and iOS customisable, and
and your power output in watts. 17, your iPhone becomes it’s scrollable to
a bike computer. The deliver more
phone displays the same information when
metrics as your watch but you want to read it.
takes advantage of the That means your Stick your iPhone on the handlebars and
bigger display to make the iPhone and Watch you’ve got a pretty great cycling computer
speed indicator much bigger cover the essentials with a customisable display.
while also showing the you’d normally owner of one, you can get
metrics you want to focus need a cycling computer for its data in your iPhone’s
on. The display is – and if you’re already the friendly interface.

watchOS 10
Apple Fitness, custom plans and Stacks

If you’re a subscriber to want to do it and how much multiple workouts and/or
Apple Fitness+ or have time per day you want to meditations to the same stack
it in your Apple One spend, and you can then and then move seamlessly
bundle, you’ll like the select the activity types you from one to the other.
improvements in watchOS want to include. You can add Not all features are
10. Following on from the specific workouts, trainers obvious. Watch apps get new
custom workouts of watchOS and even select the music. sensor information to detect
9, you can now create custom The other new feature we rapid changes in direction
Fitness plans too. You can set really like in Fitness is Stacks. and acceleration, which
a weekly schedule, specify This is effectively a fitness should make golf, tennis and
the number of weeks you playlist, enabling you to add badminton apps even better.
Vision health Medication

Daylight isn’t just good for your reminders
mood. It’s good for your eyes too, and If you need to stay on top of a
the new Time In Daylight feature in medication or a food supplements
the Health app is designed to ensure schedule, medication reminders
you get enough of it. The International are genuinely life-enhancing and
Myopia Association recommends potentially life-saving. In watchOS
children get 80 to 120 minutes outside
each day and adults at least 20 to
10 they’re even better. You can now get
the app to give a follow-up reminder if
Hiking
reduce the likelihood of near- or you haven’t logged your medication, We’ve got bad news for non-US
short-sightedness, and your Watch can vitamin or supplement at the usual users here: the new topographic
automatically track your outside time time, and you can set those reminders hiking maps and trail navigation
and tell you if you need to get out more. as critical for ones you must not miss. discovery in the Maps app are
currently US-only. You do get the
revised Compass app, though, which
has new views including Elevation
View and Cellular Connectivity
Waypoints: if you go completely
off-grid, your Watch can tell you the
last place you were able to get a phone
signal so you can retrace your steps
if you need to make or take a call.
Mental health
You can now log your is still missing: the new We’ve yet to try Journal’s
current or daily mood, Journal app, which has been mental health features for
and that information goes designed to work alongside ourselves, but we’re definitely
to a new part of your the mood tracking, activity intrigued: an app that with
iPhone’s Health app: tracking and fitness apps to your permission uses your
Mental Wellbeing. Apple help keep a record of your phone history (calls,
recommends you log your days and suggest mentally messages, photos, workouts,
mood twice daily to build healthy things to do, was due location and more) alongside
up a picture of your mental to arrive with iOS 17, but is mood reporting could be a
health, but part of that picture now “coming later this year.” very useful wellbeing tool.
The iOS 17 Journal app, which combines journalling,

input from multiple apps and your own mood reporting,
Image credit: Apple Inc didn’t arrive in time for the watchOS 10 launch.
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BUYING
ADVICE
Our authoritative reviews
help you make more
informed choices
Contact us

your questions to
EDITED BY ROB MEAD-GREEN [email protected]
Our ratings
Our reviews are totally
76
independent; we’re not
affiliated with Apple or
anyone else, nor are we
influenced by advertisers.
A truly exceptional product.

79
Award given solely at the
discretion of the editor.
HARDWARE
76 iPhone 15 Pro
79 iPhone 15
80 Apple Watch Series 9
The best example of its 82 Lenco PDR-045,
kind when pitted against STM ChargeTree Go
comparable products.
83 JBL Tour Pro 2 80
84 TP-Link Deco XE200
A brilliant thing
85 Sonos Era 300
Strongly recommended SOFTWARE 95
86 Group test: Password managers

Worth considering
92 ESET Cyber Security 7
94 Ulaa
Notable flaws
95 No Man’s Sky
96 App round-up: Six apps
A waste of your money that come alive on iPad
Image credits: Apple Inc, Hello Games NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 75

APPLE CHOICE Hardware
iPhone 15 Pro
Titanium-clad flagship is now better than ever
From £999 FROM apple.com/uk FEATURES 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR Display (2556x1179
pixels), A17 Pro chip, 128/256/512/1TB of storage, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G, USB-C port
The new he first time Apple launched a new
Action button T product clad in titanium, iTunes

was fresh out of the gate and Apple
has been still sold Macs powered by PowerPC chips:
in this case, the PowerBook G4. Arriving
designed to in January 2001, it quickly went on to be
work like a nicknamed the ‘TiBook’ (see p106). Now
we have the first ‘TiPhone’.
hardware That’s because, like its famous forebear
shortcut (and the Apple Watch Ultra), the new iPhone 15
Pro comes in titanium, the same metal used
in everything from aeroplanes to surgical
implants, thanks to its light weight, strength
and rust resistance. However, rather than clad
the back and sides of the iPhone 15 Pro in
titanium, Apple has limited it to the iPhone’s
frame – the same one that in previous years
has been clad in aluminium or stainless steel.
The result is that the iPhone 15 Pro is some 19g The iPhone 15 Pro’s triple-lens camera system can shoot
lighter than the iPhone 14 Pro that preceded images in 24MP or 48MP and has a 3x Telephoto mode.
The new Action button it (187g vs 206g), while also being slightly volume buttons and a Volume Mute switch on
provides quick access to
your favourite features – smaller, if a little thicker (70.6x146.6x8.25mm the left-hand side, the iPhone 15 Pro ditches
the camera, for example. vs 71.5x147.5x7.85mm). The titanium is now the Volume Mute switch in favour of a new
bonded to an internal Action button (an idea ‘borrowed’ from last
aluminium frame, which year’s Apple Watch Ultra). The Action button
is covered by a matt glass has been designed to work like a hardware
back and a 6.1-inch Super shortcut, giving you quick access to a
Retina XDR Display on the particular iPhone feature – the Camera app,
front. As with other recent say, or the torch. The available options can be
iPhone models, the iPhone found in Settings > Action Button and are easy
15 Pro also benefits from to set up. You can even get the Action button
Apple’s Ceramic Shield to perform a Shortcuts action, if you wish.
on the front glass to make To prevent accidental activation, the Action
it more robust, while the button has to be pressed then held to perform
entire device is water- your chosen action – that should help prevent
and dust-proof to IP68. it being triggered accidentally although, as the
The titanium and glass Action button is located within millimetres of
design is available in four the Volume Up button, using it can be a little
suitably ‘pro’ looking frustrating at first.
colours - Black Titanium, The most noticeable change to this year’s
White Titanium, Blue iPhone 15 Pro (and iPhone 15) is, of course, the
Titanium and Natural replacement of the old Lightning port (see p16)
Titanium, with the device’s with USB-C. While that’s felt like a move that
edges sporting a slight was long overdue (with most other Apple
brushed-metal effect. products already using the port), the way
While previous iPhones it’s been implemented is rather curious.
have sported up/down On the iPhone 15 Pro, the USB-C port is
76 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credit: Apple, Inc

iPhone 15 Pro APPLE CHOICE
The iPhone 15 Pro is

Apple’s slickest and
quickest iPhone yet.
Image credit: Apple, Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 77

BENCHMARKS Our analysis explained

iPhone 15 Pro 3.78GHz A17 Pro 2023 iPhone 15 Pro 3.78GHz A17 Pro 2023 iPhone 15 Pro 3.78GHz A17 Pro 2023
1,643MB/s (write)
2,121 58fps 738MB/s (read)
iPhone 15 3.45GHz A16 Bionic 2023 iPhone 15 3.45GHz A16 Bionic 2023 iPhone 15 3.45GHz A16 Bionic 2023
1,866MB/s (write)
1,886 56.36fps 1004MB/s (read)
iPhone 13 Pro 3.22GHz A15 Bionic 2021 iPhone 13 Pro 3.22GHz A15 Bionic 2021 iPhone 13 Pro 3.22GHz A15 Bionic 2021
1,297MB/s (write)
1,722 55.4fps 955MB/s (read)
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Index score (higher is better) Frames per second (higher is better) Storage read/write speed (higher is better)
GEEKBENCH 5 3DMARK WILD LIFE PERFORMANCETEST

SINGLE-CORE TEST This cross-platform benchmarking MOBILE (PASSMARK)
We use this cross-platform app measures a device’s graphics Another cross-platform
benchmarking tool to measure a performance, running a one-minute benchmarking tool for mobile
device’s performance, with a single- test at 2560x1440 resolution. Higher devices. Here we’re measuring
The iPhone 15 Pro delivers core processor baseline of 1,000. frame rates are better. storage read/write speeds.
incredible photo quality
for a camera phone.
capable of transferring data at iPhone to charge up your AirPods, when used
10Gbps (the same as USB 3.1 Gen 2), in their charging case. The USB-C port is also
but on iPhone 15, that essential for certain tasks – want to shoot a
speed is capped at movie in ProRes 4K at 60fps? You’ll need to
480Mbps, the same hook up an external drive to do so, even if your
as USB 2.0 and/or the iPhone 15 Pro has 1TB of storage on-board.
old Lightning port.
This feels like Performance
something of a missed Despite these caveats, the iPhone 15 Pro
opportunity here, given performs brilliantly, with its speedy A17 Pro
that Apple could have chip making light work of all kinds of tasks.
included a Thunderbolt/ Everything feels slick, quick and butter smooth
USB 4 port on the iPhone no matter which app you use in iOS 17, with
You’ll find the USB-C port 15 Pro with data transfer particular praise reserved for its gaming
makes life a lot easier in
terms of connectivity. speeds to match. There performance – while previous iPhones could
are lots of other benefits stutter on occasion, the A17 Pro’s vastly
though. Aside from now improved six-core GPU doesn’t miss a beat – no
being able to charge your iPhone using any wonder Capcom is bringing AAA titles Resident
USB-C cable you have around, you can also Evil 4 and Resident Evil Village to the iPhone
use the port to hook up all kinds of other for the first time. With support for 4K output
devices, including external drives and displays. via USB-C and the ability to the pair the iPhone
VERDICT You can even use the USB-C port on the with a Bluetooth controller, you essentially
The iPhone 15 Pro end up with a pocket-sized games console.
takes everything you Another big area of improvement lies in the
love about iPhone and iPhone 15 Pro’s cameras. Its triple-lens camera
makes it even better. system is now even better, enabling you to
And finally it has capture 48MP images with Apple boasting that
USB-C on board too. the Pro now essentially offers seven different
lenses: 0.5 Ultra Wide (Macro and 13mm); Main
(24mm, 28mm and 35mm); and Telephoto
Butter-smooth (2x, 48mm and 3x, 77mm). The results are
performance incredibly impressive for a smartphone
Great triple-lens camera – you’ll be able to find out more
camera system when we take an in-depth look at the
USB-C – finally! The iPhone 15 Pro is available in four Titanium finishes: photography capabilities in our iPhone 15
Thunderbolt next? Black, White, Blue and Natural with wallpapers to match. Pro Max review next issue. Rob Mead-Green

Hardware APPLE CHOICE
iPhone 15
The smartphone for the rest of us
From £799 FROM apple.com/uk FEATURES 6.1-inch Super Retina
XDR Display (2556x1179 pixels), A16 Bionic chip, 128/256/512GB of
storage, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, 5G, USB-C port
The iPhone 15 hile Apple’s ‘pro’ iPhones always
also gets a W get the best new features, those

features eventually ‘trickle down’
USB-C port to the rest of us – and that’s the case with
this year’s iPhone 15. Available in four pastel
instead of shades (Blue, Green, Yellow and Pink), plus
Lightning Black, the iPhone 15 now sports the A16 Bionic
chip from last year’s iPhone 14 Pro and gets its
Dynamic Island too – the animated area around
the TrueDepth camera on the front that’s used
to display useful info, notifications and more.
Interestingly, this year’s iPhone also has
a much-improved dual camera system with
a 48MP Main camera for the first time, plus
a 2x Telephoto option. Like the iPhone 15 Pro,
the iPhone 15 also gets a USB-C port instead
of Lightning, although this time data transfer
speeds are limited to 480Mbps (USB 2.0),
rather than the 10Gbps speeds of the 15 Pro.
The iPhone 15 is also £50 cheaper than last
year’s iPhone 14 (which cost £849 to start),
You can easily adjust the focal offering 128GB of storage for £799, 256GB for The iPhone 15 has finally dropped the old model’s notch in
length when taking photos in £899 and 512GB for £1,099 – although if you’re favour of the Dynamic Island – and it’s much better for it.
Portrait mode – and even shift thinking of spending that kind of money, you Of all the new features, the camera is the
the focus after shooting.
might want to consider an iPhone 15 Pro with thing that’ll be of most interest to new buyers,
256GB of storage as it costs the same. but things here are a little complicated. That’s
because, in normal usage, the iPhone 15’s
Performance Photonic Engine combines a 12MP low-light
As you’d expect from a phone that sports last image with a 48MP super-resolution one to
year’s ‘pro’ chip, the iPhone 15 is no slouch give you a more finely balanced 24MP result.
when it comes to performance. Apps launch While the 2x Telephoto ‘lens’ uses a bit of photo
quickly and run smoothly, thanks to the A16 trickery to cut a 48MP capture down to a 12MP
Bionic’s six-core CPU and five-core GPU, even one when you use the zoom. To capture, a full
if it can’t quite scale the giddy heights of the res image at 48MP, you’ll need to head to
A17 Pro chip in the iPhone 15 Pro. Settings > Camera Formats and switch on
VERDICT Resolution Control to use the HEIF Max setting
The iPhone 15 is when using the Main camera at 1x.
keenly priced and Most interestingly, Portrait mode now
has some neat new enables you to adjust the level of bokeh (blur)
features – that’s a win! when taking pictures of friends, pets or pot
plants by tapping the ‘f’ icon in the top-right
★ corner then swiping the focal length slider
Now more affordable above the shutter button left or right. You can
Improved cameras even change the focal length after shooting if
Hey, Dynamic Island! The iPhone 15’s dual camera system can shoot at up to you want. Very cool. Very clever. Just like the
Cool colour choices 48MP, although Night and Flash photos are saved at 12MP. iPhone 15 itself. Rob Mead-Green

Watch Series 9
Faster, smarter and with better eco-credentials than before
From £399 (41mm)/£429 (45mm) FROM apple.com/uk FEATURES 41mm or 45mm size,
Apple S9 chip, Always-On display, up to 18 hours’ battery life, GPS, mobile connectivity options
Apple says the pple’s latest smartwatch looks
dual-core S9 A little changed on the face of it –

but looks can be deceiving. In
has 5.6 billion fact, the Apple Watch Series 9 is packed
with all kinds of changes, most of them
transistors, good. For a start, this year’s Apple Watch
making it 60% is slightly cheaper than before with prices
starting at £399 for the 41mm and £429
faster than the for the 45mm, netting you a £20 saving
previous S8 over the Series 8. It also comes in new
colours, with the aluminium version
available in Pink, Midnight, Starlight,
Silver and (Product) Red; and the
Stainless Steel (which starts at £699)
coming in Gold, Silver and Graphite.
Going hand in hand (ahem) with the new
colours are a range of new straps, giving
Apple the chance to crow about its eco
credentials. Team your Apple Watch Series 9
with a Sport Loop, for example, and you’ll end
up with buying Apple’s first carbon neutral
product. The company has even teamed up
with Nike and Hermès to produce eco-friendly While changes on the outside are somewhat minimal,
inside the Watch Series 9 has a lot going on.
versions of their straps and loops, with the
company effectively banning leather from it twice as bright as the Series 8) to as little as
its product line-up. 1 nit in low light. Plus it’s also fitted the Series 9
While the Series 9 doesn’t look much with its new S9 SiP (System in Package), and a
different from the Series 8 and Series 7 that second-gen Ultra Wideband chip. Apple says
These Apple Watch Nike preceded it, Apple’s still managed to pack in the dual-core S9 has 5.6 billion transistors,
bands are made from recycled
materials, including old Watch plenty of innovations – from an Always-On making it 60% faster than the S8 SiP inside
bands and fishing nets. display that can vary from 2,000 nits (making the Watch Series 8, plus there’s a new four-
core Neural Engine for machine learning tasks.
Combining the two enables the Watch Series 9
to perform more on-device tasks than before,
helping to protect your privacy when using Siri
(since the Watch Series 9 doesn’t have to go
scurrying to the internet to find answers to
your questions quite so often). It also enables
a new Apple Watch feature: double tap.
Fingertip controls
Superficially based on an Accessibility feature
known as Double Pinch, double tap enables
you to carry out on-watch commands single-
handedly, simply by tapping your forefinger
and thumb together twice in quick succession.
You can use double tap to do things like make

Palette is one our favourite
Apple Watch faces, helping
time pass more colourfully,
if not quickly!
and take a phone call, reply to messages and watchOS more visually rich and appealing to
play and pause music while doing other things use than before, it’s also moved a few things
– like walking the dog, lugging the shopping or around. Swiping upwards from the bottom
cleaning up your little one after a messy lunch. of the screen now displays a Smart Stack
The other big change the Watch Series 9 of widgets, showing your most commonly
brings to your wrist is second-gen Ultra used apps instead of Control Centre; while
Wideband. Ultra Wideband is the tech inside Control Centre has been moved to the side
Apple’s AirTags and some iPhones, button. Plus, there’s a wealth of
that enables you to quickly track enhancements for cyclists and
down mislaid items, and even gives hikers, new mental health features
you on-screen directions to guide and two new watch faces: Palette,
you to them. Second-gen Ultra which presents an ever-shifting
Wideband finally brings that array of colours as the hands
to the Apple Watch Series 9 sweep around the dial; and
and iPhone 15, enabling you Snoopy, featuring the famous VERDICT
to use your Watch to precisely dog from the Peanuts Apple’s smartwatch
locate the phone, where you cartoons, along with his gets better with every
could only make it play yellow-bird sidekick, Woodstock. generation and, while
a sound or give you a Every generation of Apple the Series 9 doesn’t
generalised location before. Watch builds on the last and this move the dial much,
The final big change is year’s Series 9 is no different. the changes on offer
one that’s common to all It’s added a nip here, a tuck are very welcome.
Apple Watch models from the there, and has brought new
Series 4 onwards: watchOS 10. features to the table while ★
watchOS 10 marks the refining the stuff you already know Quick and easy to use
biggest change to the Apple and love. The Apple Watch remains More environmentally
Watch since the first gen arrived the world’s greatest smartwatch. friendly than before
in 2015, reimagining its core The Series 9 has managed to inch watchOS 10 is great
watchOS 10 will change the way
apps while refining the interface. you use your Watch – thanks to it that bit closer to perfection. Practically identical to
While the changes have made features like Smart Stack. Rob Mead-Green the Series 8 and Series 7

Lenco PDR-045
Portable Bluetooth speaker
with DAB/FM radio
FROM lenco.com FEATURES
Bluetooth 5.0, 3.5mm audio input, DAB/FM tuner A handy-sized speaker that will
appeal to old-school radio fans.
here are lots of smart wooden control panel detailed enough for listening
T portable Bluetooth
speakers available
on top, and 2.4-inch LCD
display on the front for
to some light music, or
catching up with the cricket
these days, but Lenco’s selecting input modes and scores on the radio.
affordable PDR-045 stands radio stations. Battery life The screen on the front
out by also doubling up is around seven hours and, isn’t touch-sensitive, though,
VERDICT as a handy portable radio, along with Bluetooth, there’s and the button controls for
Light, compact design supporting both DAB and a 3.5mm audio connector the radio functions are a bit
and built-in radio make FM radio. Available in black also available. fiddly. Even so, it’s still handy
the PDR-045 a good or silver, the compact little The PDR-045 provides to have that option so that
travelling companion speaker measures 68mm very respectable sound you can listen to the radio
for radio buffs. high, 180mm wide and 55mm quality for such a portable without using up any of the
deep, and weighs just 407g, little speaker. The bass output precious mobile data on your
★★ so it’s easy to just slip it into is fairly weak – but that’s iPhone or iPad, making the
Light, portable design a backpack. really no surprise with a PDR-045 a good option for
Bluetooth speaker It’s sturdily built, though, speaker of this size, and the die-hard radio fans on the
with DAB/FM radio with a retractable aerial, a 5W output is clear and move. Cliff Joseph
STM ChargeTree Go
Going somewhere? You might want to take this
FROM stmgoods.com FEATURES iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods
charging at 7.5W, 3W and 5W respectively, foldable design with carry bag,
USB-C port (1m charging cable included, charger not supplied), 221g An affordable
solution to
till packing multiple on the road. Plus, it multiple device
S chargers and
cables in your bag
folds flat so it’s easy to
stow. Your iPhone
charging on
the go.
to keep your Apple devices sits on a sloping

juiced up on the go? There charging pad, with
is an easier way. With the a horizontal pad for
VERDICT ChargeTree Go from STM, you AirPods on the rear. On the
An affordable, 3-1in get a three-in-one wireless right, a spring-loaded arm stand expects your iPhone to
wireless charger that’s charger for iPhone, Apple pops out for your Apple sit in portrait mode rather
great for life on the go. Watch and AirPods with a Watch. It’s a neat solution, than landscape, making it
single USB-C connection (a but there are a few catches. tricky to use StandBy mode.
★ 1m cable is included). All you The ChargeTree Go relies The Mophie 3-in-1 Travel
Robust, fold-flat design need to add is a power supply. on Qi rather than Qi2 or Charger with MagSafe is
Can charge three The ChargeTree Go looks MagSafe to charge your arguably classier with its
devices at once good – supplied with a carry iPhone, so it’ll charge at the integrated carry pouch,
MagSafe not included bag, and made from ABS max 7.5W rate allowed by fold-up design and, of course,
StandBy mode plastic and silicone, it feels Apple (rather than the 15W MagSafe, but then it costs
use is tricky robust enough to survive life offered by MagSafe). And the £134.95. Rob Mead-Green
82 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credit: Lenco UK, STM Goods

Designed for travellers,

the Tour Pro 2 provides
good battery life and an
ingenious charging case.
JBL Tour Pro 2

Innovative charging case makes JBL’s latest earbuds ideal for travelling
FROM uk.jbl.com FEATURES Bluetooth 5.3, AAC, charging case with 1.45in touch display;
10 hours battery (8 hours with noise cancellation)
The charging BL’s Tour Pro 2 earbuds look like equaliser presets, or adjust the volume of your
case has a J just another AirPods clone, with

small oval earpieces that sit inside
voice when making phone calls.
The case also has a ‘Find My Buds’ feature
1.45in touch your ear and a ‘stem’ that provides access
to touch-sensitive controls. However, a quick
that helps you find the earbuds if you forget
where they are, and you can even turn up the
sensitive look at the charging case tells you that JBL has screen brightness and use it as a small torch.
screen brought some of its own ideas to the table too.
Available in black or silver, the little earbuds Good sound range
are light and comfortable, and rated IPX5 for Importantly, the headphones also deliver the
water-resistance, so they’re tough enough for audio goods, supporting Apple’s AAC codec
outdoor use or exercise. They also provide and providing a taut, sinuous sound for the
impressive battery life, lasting for 10 hours electronic bass on Prime Evil by The Orb.
on a single charge, or eight hours when using The bass isn’t overwhelming though, and the
noise-cancellation. The charging case can then earbuds also pick out the sharp ticking of the
recharge the earbuds three more times. percussion that gives the track its nervous,
The charging case has a 1.45-inch touch- manic energy. They can handle delicate
VERDICT sensitive screen, which you can classical sounds too, with a light,
A little pricey, but activate by swiping your finger wistful tone on the melancholy
good sound quality, right, and then again to view a piano and violin duet on Arvo
and battery life, series of additional controls. Pärt’s Spiegel Im Spiegel. The
and an ingenious This allows you to quickly adjust noise-cancellation features aren’t
charging case. all the main settings without quite as noise-crushingly effective
having to reach for your iPhone as Apple’s AirPods Pro, but they
★ or iPad. A single swipe shows should still help you to relax on
Good sound you the main playback controls a noisy train or plane, and there’s
Impressive battery life – Play/Pause and Forward/Back even a ‘silent’ mode that turns
Innovative – while a second swipe lets you off the music but leaves noise-
charging case adjust the volume. Keep swiping cancellation on for a set amount
Average noise- and you can adjust the noise- The control screen on the of time so that you can have a
cancellation cancellation settings, select charging case is really handy. nice quiet nap. Cliff Joseph
Image credit: Harman International Industries NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 83

TP-Link
Deco XE200
High-speed Wi-Fi 6E mesh system
for larger homes and offices
FROM tp-link.com FEATURES 2x routers, tri-band Wi-Fi 6E,
max speed 10.8Gbps, 1x 10Gbps Ethernet, 2x Gigabit Ethernet
The XE200 pple has taken its time bringing If you’ve upgraded to Wi-Fi 6E devices, this router performs
is even able A the latest Wi-Fi 6E to its products,

but now that it’s arrived it’s worth
well, and the accompanying app includes useful features.
before adding the second Deco router to the
to reach into considering a new Wi-Fi router or mesh
system that also supports Wi-Fi 6E in
network. Unsurprisingly, the XE200 provides
very strong performance, and was even able
a persistent order to get the best possible performance to reach into a persistent Wi-Fi dead-zone in a
Wi-Fi dead- for your home or office network.
Admittedly, TP-Link’s Deco XE200 is very
back office, providing a smooth 450Mbps Wi-Fi
connection for an office iMac, which normally
zone in a much a top-of-the-range option, costing a has to use a set of PowerLine adaptors to
back office whopping £799.99. However, that price
includes two identical routers that support
provide a wired network connection instead.
tri-band Wi-Fi 6E using the new high- Added extras

performance 6GHz frequency band, along The app includes a number of useful features,
with the standard 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. including free parental controls with filters that
That allows it to provide a blockbusting can block adult material or prevent your kids
maximum speed of 10.8Gbps, while the from downloading files from the web without
two routers together can cover buildings your permission. Some router manufacturers
up to 6,500sq ft in size. charge extra for features such as these, so
The design of the XE200 stands out too, it’s good to see that TP-Link includes these
with each router consisting of a tall, white features for free. There are additional
cylinder, with TP-Link’s familiar ‘swirl’ that subscription services available, though,
VERDICT makes it look more like a fancy flowerpot than including an Advanced Parental Control
It’s very expensive, a conventional router. Tucked around the back service, which provides additional features,
but the XE200 of each router, you’ll find a 10Gbps Ethernet such as time limits for internet usage, and
provides state-of- port that is designed for the latest fibre and costs £2.99 per month or £17.99 per year.
the-art Wi-Fi 6E high-speed broadband connections, along with There’s also a Security+ service that protects
for larger homes. two Gigabit Ethernet ports to provide wired your network from hackers and other threats
connections for a laptop or other devices. for £4.99 per month or £34.99 annually.
★ The TP-Link Deco app is easy to use, The XE200 may be overkill for many
Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E although you need to create a free TP-Link people, especially if your Apple devices are
Top speed account to get started. Once we’d done that, still using Wi-Fi 5 or 6. But, if you need a
of 10.8Gbps the app was able to automatically detect our high-performance mesh Wi-Fi system that
Easy-to-use app first Deco, and then prompted us to create a can cover larger homes and offices, then the
Seriously expensive name and password for our new network XE200 will certainly earn its keep. Cliff Joseph
84 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credit: TP-Link Corp Ltd

Sonos Era 300

Sonos’ new flagship provides precise sound and Dolby Atmos
FROM sonos.com FEATURES 4x tweeters, 2x woofers, 6x amps; dual-band Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2, Bluetooth 5.0
A tweeter on he cylindrical design and £249 to provide a wired audio input. A simple
top is angled T price tag of the Sonos Era 100

make it the most obvious rival for
adaptor with a 3.5mm audio connector costs
£19, or £39 for an adaptor that has both a
upward to Apple’s HomePod, but it’s the top-of-the-
range Era 300 that stands out from the
3.5mm connector and an Ethernet port for
a wired network. That’s annoying, given the
enhance crowd. Admittedly, the 300 is more expensive, high price of the Era 300 – but at least Sonos
the sense of costing £449, but its support for Dolby Atmos,
larger design and more powerful sound leave
does give you that option, whereas Apple’s
HomePod simply ignores wired connections
spatial sound the HomePod looking a little underpowered. and Bluetooth altogether.
Available in black or white, the Era 300 is The Sonos app works well, providing access
considerably larger than either the HomePod to online music services and radio stations, and
or the Era 100, with an unusual hour-glass the app runs on Macs and Windows PCs as well
design that is pinched around the middle. It as iOS and Android devices, making it easy to
stands 190mm high, 260mm wide and 160mm control the speaker with most types of digital
deep, and weighs almost 4.5kg, so it’ll need device. But, of course, it’s the sound quality
a fairly solid shelf to support it. However, the that really matters, and the Era 300 really
powerful speaker houses six drivers, with one delivers, with a clear, detailed sound that has
VERDICT high-frequency tweeter facing directly forward, plenty of power behind it. Bass can often be a
If you want a high- and both a woofer and a tweeter on each side weakness on one-piece speaker systems, but
quality one-piece to provide good stereo separation. There’s one the Era 300 lands the bouncing bass riff on
speaker that supports last tweeter on the top of the unit, angled Bad Guy by Billie Eilish with a really taut, firm
Dolby Atmos, the Era upward to enhance the sense of spatial sound sound. It handles higher frequencies well too,
300 is hard to beat. for films or music that support Dolby Atmos. catching the crisp finger snaps with great
clarity, and every breathy whisper of Billie’s
Making connections voice as she declares - “I’m the bad guy – duh!”
Excellent The Era 300 supports dual-band Wi-Fi for We’re not convinced that Dolby Atmos adds
sound quality connecting to your home network, as well as much to pop or rock music, but the Era 300
Dolby Atmos support AirPlay 2 for quick and easy streaming with works a treat with the soundtrack of Blade
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Apple devices. It’s good to see that Sonos has Runner, adding a real sense of movement as
and AirPlay finally added Bluetooth as well – but annoying the futuristic hover-car zooms across during
Expensive to find that you have to buy a separate adaptor the dramatic opening sequence. Cliff Joseph
Image credit: Sonos Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 85

APPLE CHOICE Group test
GROUP
TEST:
Access passwords from all your devices

ompetition is fierce among password
C managers, as they vie for your
subscription. As a result, most have
near-identical core features, including auto-fill
support for a range of browsers from Safari to
Chrome, and time-based one-time passcodes
(TOTP) as used in two-factor authentication (2FA).
In addition to web login passwords, most support
encrypted storage of payment cards and other
secrets. They also use biometric security,
including Touch ID on Apple silicon Macs,
and Touch ID or Face ID on mobile devices.
They differ more in who looks after your secrets.
Most keep your vault in their cloud, making you
dependent on their security protection; a few like
Strongbox give you the choice of storage, a feature
that was widely used in older versions of 1Password.
Although they all try to make migration easy, and
can import your existing passwords from iCloud
Keychain, that currently isn’t possible for passkeys,
as their support is being introduced. Here’s our
choice of the best of today’s password managers.
How we tested
We installed these password managers on a Mac
Studio, iPad Pro and iPhone, each running their
current system release. We set them up by importing
a CSV file we had exported from iCloud Keychain via
Passwords settings, added some of their custom
types, and edited them. Products were assessed for
ease of use on each platform, security against tests
reported for a product intended to brute-force their
master passwords, and browser auto-fill in Safari.
Things to consider…
Extra features
1 Do you really need features in addition
to those already built into macOS, iOS and
iPadOS, and are they worth the money you’ll
be committed to paying for them?
The transition
2 Switching to a new password manager can
become complicated, and the more you have stored
Group
in your vault, the harder it can get. Don’t get locked
into a service you could come to regret later.
test
Reviewed by
3 Passkey support
Passkey support is still in its infancy. For
the moment, you can’t export or import passkeys
HOWARD OAKLEY between different managers, but you might have to
change your passkey if you want to switch service.
ON TEST…
> 1Password Electron framework
> Bitwarden 4 1Password, Bitwarden and Keeper use
> Dashlane the Electron framework. Being cross-platform
> Keeper Password Manager and rendered with Chromium, these password
> LastPass managers can feel more like web apps than native
> Strongbox ones, and need frequent security updates.
Image credit: Getty Images NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 87

1Password Bitwarden
(about ) per year FROM 1password.com , Premium (about ) per year FROM bitwarden.com
Long the Masked Email for those who Bitwarden has sending others a secure link
benchmark don’t use Apple’s service in pioneered open by email or message.
of password iCloud+. Unique to 1Password source and Bitwarden’s interface has
managers, 1Password is Travel Mode, which hides essentially free password changed little over the last
version 8 no longer supports selected vaults automatically management. That said, couple of years and would
the standalone vaults that when crossing international its free tier lacks advanced benefit from a redesign,
gave the option of storing borders, invaluable for support for two-factor although it’s unlikely to give
secrets locally. Although the journalists and others who authorisation, secure storage up using Electron for a native
redesign to this version also visit countries they can’t trust. for files of up to 500MB, and experience, and it does still
moved these apps to Electron, Passkey support has now other features. At its Premium support macOS back to
they retain their previous high been added to macOS, and is level, though, it’s still by far Mojave. Importing existing
standards and have among on its way for devices. With the cheapest, and you don’t passwords in a CSV file works
the best interfaces. that in place, 1Password have to sacrifice power; for well, but has to be performed
1Password is the most remains the standard against around £10 a year you get via the web to your vault,
comprehensive in features, which others are judged. support for passkeys, and which is unnecessarily clumsy.
with extended support a command line interface.
for developers in the VERDICT We particularly like VERDICT
management of SSH Comprehensive features Bitwarden Send, an unusual Value for money
keys and even has its own Excellent interface feature providing end-to-end Supports Mojave and later
command tool. A bonus is Travel Mode for added safety encrypted transfer of long Secure text and file transfer
support for protected email Developer tools text messages, or files of Non-native Electron apps
addresses using Fastmail’s up to 500MB, by simply ★
88 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credits: 1Password, Bitwarden Inc

Password managers APPLE CHOICE
Dashlane Keeper Password

(about ) peryear FROM dashlane.com Manager
If you want of the extra space on the per year FROM keepersecurity.com
complete larger displays of Macs and
control over the iPads, where functions such Keeper Password Another capable suite of
cryptography used, then as editing don’t flow well. Manager is one of apps are again sadly based on
Dashlane could prove ideal. Dashlane also gets annoyingly the few remaining Electron, which doesn’t make
Its settings allows plenty fussy when you add new mainstream commercial best use of the larger displays
of choice, including how it devices, but once that’s done password managers that of Macs or iPads, although
generates encryption keys, it settles down and behaves doesn’t bundle secure it’s still pleasant to use on
for which it recommends the itself. Those apps also only storage. KPM is one of a all three Apple platforms.
most robust Argon2d. Like support latest releases of family of products aimed It now has integrated
much else in Dashlane, macOS, with Ventura as the more at enterprise cloud password import, a feature
though, those can only be minimum, and iOS/iPadOS 16 management, and offers that previously required use
changed in its web app, which or later. Dashlane’s bonus, separate tiered subscriptions of a separate app; it’s now
also applies to importing though, is its bundled VPN for file storage. Although it’s more polished, and integrates
passwords. Activating its that can come in handy. officially only for the same with other Keeper products.
browser plug-in and three versions of macOS still
negotiating the web interface VERDICT supported by Apple, its Mac VERDICT
isn’t particularly welcoming. Technically excellent app should run on High Sierra Capable and competent
While its apps are Bundled VPN or later. To use its new Good passkey support
generally pleasant and Reliance on web app support for passkeys, though, Secure file storage extra
purposeful, they’re not Weak macOS interface your devices need to be iPadOS interface weak
designed to make good use ★ running iOS/iPadOS 17. ★
Image credits: Dashlane Inc, Keeper Security Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 89
LastPass Strongbox
/Premium per year FROM lastpass.com /Pro per year/Lifetime
FROM strongboxsafe.com
Over the last In addition to standard secrets
couple of years, including passwords, notes, Strongbox is a format, you could even host
LastPass has payment cards and bank suite of apps that it on your own server.
suffered serious security accounts, it can protect brings the KeePass KeePass and Strongbox
breaches and is now contact details, and comes standard to Macs and Apple only handle passwords, not
struggling to win back its with a full 1GB of encrypted devices with wide browser other secrets like payment
reputation as one of the file storage. Its options for coverage including Safari. cards. Its suite of apps are
leading managers. This is multifactor authentication Open-source KeePass has well designed and native too,
unfortunate as, given a are particularly extensive, and become a popular standard with the best editing features
suitably robust password, it’s keen for you to embrace and uses the best encryption by far. If you want to break
brute-force attacks on its password-less access. available, including Argon2 free of subscriptions, buy its
vaults should be among the LastPass seems to have for encryption keys. one-off lifetime Pro version
most difficult of the popular emerged stronger from its Alongside the proprietary and you can use KeePass
password managers. security breaches, although it Enpass (not reviewed here), across your Macs and devices
Sadly, its changed does need to be less irritating. Strongbox is one of few without any further charge.
interface doesn’t work as password managers that
well as it used to on macOS, VERDICT leave you to host its vault. VERDICT
and can irritate by its Multifactor options For that, you can keep it on Secure vault in iCloud
persistent nagging to One-to-many sharing your Mac, share it in iCloud Excellent app interfaces
accomplish tasks it sets you Secure address book Drive, Dropbox or OneDrive, One-off purchase option
as ‘achievements’. Its iPad Irritating interface or other cloud services. As it’s Passwords only
app feels much better, though. ★ vault is in standard KeePass ★
90 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credits: LastPass US LP, Phoebe Code Ltd
THE WINNER
Strongbox
Flexibility of vault storage and the very best interfaces
ierce competition Mac become more important put your secrets at risk. Of completely, giving you choice
F has ensured that

all these apps and
the more you use their apps.
A free tier might seem
the five conventional services
which still rely on that,
over where you store and how
you share vaults. Sharing a
their services are of a high attractive, but to get any 1Password remains the leader vault in iCloud or Dropbox
standard. The decision comes benefits beyond the features in its breadth of features and gives you control over your
down to details. Features like already in macOS and iOS, quality of its interface, and secrets instead of trusting
1Password’s Travel Mode you’ll need to pay for them. Bitwarden’s low annual cost them to others who then
could literally save your skin, LastPass’s security makes it best value for money. expect payment. Coupled
and differences in how display breaches have shown how Strongbox breaks away with its excellent native apps,
space is used on your iPad or centralising vault storage can from the subscription service it’s our first choice.
How
do they
compare?
P Specs oduct 1Password Bitwarden Dashlane Keeper Password LastPass Strongbox

Manager
Price per year $35.88 (about £35) Free/Premium $10 $39.96 (about £40) £29.99 Free/Premium £37.44 Free/Pro £18.49/
(about £10) Lifetime £79.99
Website 1password.com bitwarden.com dashlane.com keepersecurity.com lastpass.com strongboxsafe.com
macOS minimum 10.15 10.14 13 11 10.15 11
iOS/iPadOS Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Safari extension Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Touch ID Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Face ID Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Passkeys Coming Yes Yes Coming Coming Coming
Secure storage 1GB 500MB 1GB Extra cost 1GB N/A
Open-source No Yes No No No Yes (KeePass)
Developer tools Yes Yes No No No Yes
Other features Travel mode VPN Mac app actually Many vault options
supports 10.13 or later
Overall ★ ★ ★ ★
Note: The final verdict scores reflect the overall opinion of a product and are not necessarily an average of the criteria listed in the table.
Image credits: 1Password, Bitwarden Inc, Dashlane Inc, Keeper Security Inc, LastPass US LP, Phoebe Code Limited NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 91
APPLE CHOICE Software
ESET Cyber Security 7

Security and anti-malware for your Mac in discreet form
£24.98 (Pro £34.99)/year FROM eset.com NEEDS macOS 10.15 or later
It’s protection hreats from malware, phishing and
imposes T other online crime keep growing.

Although security protection built
remarkably into macOS has improved greatly over the last
few years, you may feel that more is required
little overhead to keep on top of those increasing risks. ESET
and remains Cyber Security claims to provide real-time
protection against malicious software,
unobtrusive including potentially unwanted programs
throughout (PUPs) as well as real nasties, together with
protection from phishing and other attacks
over the web and in email messages.
To be of any value, security software needs
to be complicated. ESET Cyber Security
consists of an app with helpers and two system
extensions, one of which uses the built-in
Endpoint Security system, while the other
For higher cost, the Pro version brings even more features.
monitors network connections to protect
web and email. Those could make installation but the app’s ‘scand’ process that scans files
a nightmare, but ESET’s staged onboarding makes significant use of Efficiency cores.
support turns it into a series of steps Overall its protection imposes remarkably little
negotiating each obstacle put in place by overhead and remains unobtrusive throughout.
macOS, such as authorising the system
extensions in Privacy & Security settings, Proactive protection
and giving its components Full Disk Access. Automatic scans for malicious software are
ESET’s presence is most noticeable for the made once a week, although you can opt for
first few minutes following start up, when your a custom schedule, or run them on demand
Mac is already busy maintaining its Spotlight whenever you wish. Those can extend to your
indexes and making its initial backup. On a whole Mac, or target individual folders or files.
Each feature has
options to balance faster Apple silicon Mac you’ll only notice this ESET Cyber Security also monitors what’s
security with intrusion. if you follow CPU History in Activity Monitor, happening with your Mac’s files. Try unzipping
a downloaded archive, and it goes straight in
to check whether its contents are malicious.
This is a significant difference from macOS;
although its XProtect tools scan daily,
Gatekeeper checks are only run when you
try to open apps and files, not when they’re
just being saved. If you want this more
proactive protection, then you’ll need
a product like ESET Cyber Security.
It has extensive settings to exclude items
from its Detection Engine, adjust its sensitivity,
and that of other protections. You can also
allow, block and exclude addresses from web
access. The app keeps its own log records,
covering any malware detections it has made,
filtered websites, the results of its scans, and

ESET Cyber Security 7 APPLE CHOICE
Installation guides you gently

through its complications.
other events including updates to the app included CloudMensis, DazzleSpy, Genieo,
and its Detection Engine. Help is online, and JokerSpy, KeySteal, MacKeeper, RustBucket,
consists of a detailed guide to the software, Shlayer and XCSSET. In every case, ESET
with access to ESET’s knowledge base, and detected them as soon as they were unzipped
to customer support. from their encrypted archives, and removed
ESET’s single licence covers both macOS all trace of them, performing perfectly.
and Windows 10, while its Pro version extends VERDICT
to cover Android phones and tablets. In Gets on with the job Excellent
addition, the Pro version adds a configurable ESET Cyber Security is a highly effective enhancements to
software firewall, removable media blocking, solution in the battle against malware, phishing security built into
parental controls, more extensive scanning and other attacks over the web and in email macOS without
of websites and email, and monitors for messages. It delivers that with a small footprint hitting performance,
macOS updates. and without annoying notifications, just quietly if you need them.
To assess its performance against getting on with its job.
known malware, we pitched the Pro version The biggest question, though, is whether
of ESET Cyber Security, using the same you need to pay its subscription, and that all Early detection
scanning engine, against a Ventura 13.4 virtual depends on your assessment of risk, and of malware
machine packed with nine well-known and whether the protection built into macOS is Low use of
recent types of malware, supplied by courtesy generally sufficient for your needs. If you do system resources
of the Objective-See Foundation. To ensure decide that you want further enhancements, Unobtrusive
that macOS didn’t provide any help, we then ESET Cyber Security or its Pro version in normal use
disabled all built-in security including should be ideal. Guided installation
Gatekeeper protection. Samples used Howard Oakley process
Image credits: Apple Inc, SET spol sro NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 93
Three of its six user modes:
Developer, Work, and Personal.
Ulaa
Privacy-centred web browser with different user modes
FROM ulaa.com NEEDS macOS 10.13 or later
Each of its six rivacy and control of advertising controls include a custom block list.
user modes P have grown increasingly important

features in web browsers. Safari
Other modes have their own combination
of extensions and settings supporting
runs in offers Private Relay with iCloud+, competitors
promise private or incognito browsing, and
different types of access.
isolation of there’s no shortage of ad blocker extensions. The Zoho connection

one another Ulaa, developed by Zoho, is one of few that
seem serious enough to sacrifice income from
Standard protection lets pages load relatively
normally, with blocking of ads, tracking and
Google and other advertising platforms. analytics, malware and potentially unwanted
There’s an inner irony as Ulaa is built on programs (PUPs), phishing and resource
open-source Chromium, at the heart of Google abuse. There’s also ‘extreme’ protection,
Chrome, uses the same Widevine DRM engine, which adds stealth mode, blocking of cookies
and offers extensions from the Chrome Web and web address tracking, but will
Store. Relying on Chromium requires prove incompatible with some websites.
responsive updating: currently Ulaa receives Ulaa isn’t well integrated within other
a minor update every month, and provides macOS apps. It can’t access Safari’s
patches every few days to keep pace with bookmarks directly, nor names and other
Chromium’s fixes. Other Chromium-based data in Contacts, and doesn’t use the iCloud
VERDICT web browsers often aren’t as conscientious. keychain. Instead it uses its own password
Best suited to those Ulaa is novel in casting its privacy manager, shared through a Zoho account,
with Zoho accounts, protection and ad blocking into six user modes, which is also required to sync data with
its user modes are each run in isolation of one another. These are Ulaa on other Macs and devices.
innovative, and intended for developers, personal use, work, an By now, you’ve probably been wondering
serious about privacy. unconstrained ‘Open Season’ mode, incognito, why anyone would invest a year’s beta
and kids. You can thus have open pages in development to produce yet another web
★ several of those modes at the same time, browser. The answer lies in its links to Zoho:
Isolated user modes and allocate websites to each. if you already have an account at work, then
Privacy and Kids mode is password-protected and Ulaa is well integrated into that environment,
ad blocking most restrictive, locking away pages for other and ideal to take home to the family. As a
Limited Mac modes until the password is entered to return standalone browser, its modes are valuable,
integration to an adult mode. Also concealed are browsing but without a Zoho account, probably aren’t
Separate password histories, bookmarks, and other data from worth the effort of yet another password
manager those modes. Content filtering and parental manager and trappings. Howard Oakley
94 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credit: Ulaa by Zoho

Finding and logging new creatures
is an interesting part of the game.
No Man’s Sky
The game that gives you a universe to explore
FROM hellogames.org NEEDS macOS 12.3 or later
There are 18 o Man’s Sky was released with planets to explore than you could handle in a
quintillion N great fanfare on Windows and the

PlayStation 4 in the summer of
lifetime, but they frequently feel alike. Similar
gravity, similar mineral deposits, similar plant
planets to 2016; seven years ago. It’s since appeared on
the PS5 and Xbox Series X and S in 2020, and
life and wild creatures.
explore, but even the Nintendo Switch in 2020. Yet it didn’t Best life in space
don’t try to appear on the Mac – a system that’s more than
capable of running it – until this year.
Resource management is key, as you learn
to build new equipment using the things you
visit every one On its initial release, No Man’s Sky was collect. You can set up bases too, expanding
plagued with problems, however, disappointing and enhancing them as you go. Progress is
both critics and gamers. Seven years on, the slow but steady. When outside of a base, your
bugs have been fixed, features installed and exosuit protects you. Keep it charged, or you
the game polished and expanded. Us Mac could come to a sticky end.
gamers might have had a long wait, but at There are three ways to play. You can
least its issues have been solved. follow the storyline involving Atlas, the
The game takes place in a procedurally mysterious cosmic entity, you can make for
generated, open universe. If you can see it, you the centre of the galaxy, or you can ignore it
VERDICT can go there. There are 18 quintillion planets to all and explore, treating No Man’s Sky as a
An interesting and explore, but don’t try to visit every one. That simulated life in space rather than a game to
rewarding experience, would take an estimated 585 billion years. be completed. Surprisingly, the last way proves
but only if you focus Exploration and discovery are its key themes. the best. The storyline is thin and heading for
on the journey instead As you travel the universe, you find new life the galaxy’s centre isn’t very exciting, but living
of the destination. forms, valuable minerals and exotic flora and your best life in space is satisfying.
fauna, all of which you can record as you go, No Man’s Sky has been compared to Elite
★★ and resources can be traded in for upgrades. and its sequels. Perhaps a better comparison
Huge amount So was it worth the wait? Well, it’s mixed would be Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. It gives
to explore news. No Man’s Sky clearly shows the danger you a fictional world to live in and enjoy, with
Visuals and of using procedurally generated environments ‘completing’ the game of secondary
acoustics very good instead of writing them by hand. It may make importance. Like Animal Crossing, this title
Weak storyline for a potentially huge game, but it’s often at is something you may come back to again
Planets can feel samey the expense of depth. There may be more and again if you enjoy it. Ian Osborne
Image credit: Hello Games NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 95

APPLE CHOICE iPadOS
6 apps...
That come
alive on iPad
Let these apps take advantage of all that extra screen space
Procreate LumaFusion djay – DJ App & AI

procreate.com luma-touch.com (IAPs) algoriddim.com
iPadOS 15.4.1 or later iPadOS 15.4 or later iPadOS 12.2 or later
One of the iPad’s best uses Editing videos on the go? Then Music-making app djay is a
is as a large drawing pad, and you’ll benefit massively from the great example of an app that
Procreate shows exactly why iPad’s large screen and intuitive gets even better on iPad. Its
so many artists are drawn to Apple’s touch controls. For work like that, get iPhone version lets you spin records on
tablet. The app pairs up perfectly with LumaFusion. This much-lauded app virtual decks, but the added screen space
an iPad and an Apple Pencil, with its is perfectly designed for tablets, of an iPad makes this a much more
plethora of artistic tools – including transforming what can be fiddly work comfortable and accurate affair. You can
hundreds of brushes – helping you create into smooth and simple operations. You loop tracks, isolate instruments in real
your best work. It boasts an intuitive can throw together high-res footage with time, monitor audio and swap, blend and
interface, super-high-res canvases, multiple video and audio tracks, go in fade tracks as you go. It’s brilliant for live
a deep layer system, and much more. depth with powerful editing and performances and ideally suited to music
If you’ve bought an iPad for painting correction tools, and fine tune it production too. If DJing is your thing, this
and drawing, Procreate is a must-buy. all, ready for the end product. is an essential app for your iPad.
96 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credits: Savage, Luma Touch LLC, algoriddim GmbH
iPad-friendly apps APPLE CHOICE
igger isn’t always better. But, Here, we’re taking a look at apps
B for some apps, a bigger screen
really transforms the way we
for reading, art, video creation, music
making, styling documents, and even
interact with them. Whether it’s just exploring our galaxy. These examples
down to more space for the interface, work well enough on iPhone, but if you
or easier touch controls, the iPad screen want to expand your screen horizons,
lends itself particularly well to some apps. try them on your iPad. Alex Blake
Craft: Write docs, Kindle Night Sky

AI editing (IAPs) amazon.co.uk (IAPs) nightsky.com
(IAPs) craft.do iPadOS 14 or later iPadOS 14 or later
iPadOS 14 or later
The iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Ever wondered what that
Apps for writing and managing app go together like coffee and constellation is in the air
documents can be clunky. Not cream, with Apple’s tablet above? Time to get Night Sky.
so Craft, which is one of the providing the perfect viewport for all This clever app overlays the stars,
most elegant writing apps on the market your favourite digital reading material. planets, and other celestial objects on to
– and it gets even better on the iPad. It’s Kindle’s enormous literature library gives the real world, using augmented reality
overflowing with beautiful templates you plenty to choose from, and you can to enlighten and educate. The iPad is the
and brilliant touch controls, all of which tweak the viewing experience, from font perfect device for this; you can fit more
benefit from the iPad’s expansive display. size to screen brightness. There are a on-screen than on an iPhone, but it’s
You can drag and drop any on-page bunch of extra features too, such as easier than waving a MacBook around.
element, there’s an AI assistant to help X-Ray, which summarises key players in Load Night Sky on to your iPad and you’ll
you compose beautiful copy, and sharing your current book, or Whispersync, which get a beautiful view of the firmament
with colleagues is as easy as it gets. enables you to sync across your devices. overhead, with all its secrets illuminated.
Image credits: Craft Docs Limited Inc, Amazon.com Inc, iCandi Apps Ltd NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 97
Your guide to the best Apple hardware and third-party accessories
EXPECTED Mid-range and top-tier iMacs

NOV 2023 comes with a Magic Keyboard
UPDATED
APR 2021 with Touch ID. The entry-level
has a standard Magic Keyboard.
iMac From
£1,399
Ever since the Bondi Blue iMac GPU on the mid-range and top-tier Available in a choice of seven
debuted in 1998, Apple’s all-in-one versions. All models come with 8GB of gorgeous colours (Green, Yellow, Orange,
desktop computer has been setting memory as standard (upgradeable to Pink, Purple, Blue and Silver), each M1
standards for design and performance. 16GB), with solid-state drive (SSD) storage iMac also comes with a 1080p FaceTime
The current 24in model is certainly ranging from 256GB on the entry-level camera, a six-speaker sound system and
Apple’s finest yet – thanks to its 4.5K and mid-range versions to 512GB on the support for Spatial Audio. You’ll also find
(4480x2520) Retina display and the top tier, although you can add more – up two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports on each
Apple-designed M1 chip, which is available to 1TB on the entry-level and up to 2TB on model, with mid-range and top-tier
with either an 8-core CPU/7-core GPU at the mid-range and top-tier models if you options gaining two additional USB 3
the entry-level, or an 8-core CPU/8-core wish via Apple’s build-to-order options. (USB-C) ports. Prices start at £1,399.
iMac 24in £1,399 iMac 24in £1,599 iMac 24in £1,799

(Entry level) (Mid-range) (Ultimate)
Display: 23.5in 4.5K Retina (4480x2520) with True Tone Display: 23.5in 4.5K Retina (4480x2520) with True Tone Display: 23.5in 4.5K Retina (4480x2520) with True Tone
Chip: Apple M1 with 8-core CPU (4 performance cores, Chip: Apple M1 with 8-core CPU (4 performance cores, Chip: Apple M1 with 8-core CPU (4 performance cores,
4 efficiency cores), 7-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine 4 efficiency cores), 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine 4 efficiency cores), 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 8GB (upgradeable to 16GB) Memory: 8GB (upgradeable to 16GB) Memory: 8GB (upgradeable to 16GB)
Storage: 256GB (upgradeable to 512GB or 1TB) Storage: 256GB (upgradeable to 512GB, 1TB or 2TB) Storage: 512GB (upgradeable to 1TB or 2TB)
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt/USB 4, 1x Gb Ethernet (option) Ports: 2x Thunderbolt/USB 4, 2x USB 3, 1x Gb Ethernet Ports: 2x Thunderbolt/USB 4, 2x USB 3, 1x Gb Ethernet
Apple Magic Apple Magic

Mouse Trackpad
From £79 From £129
Design quirks aside, This Multi Touch glass
Apple Magic Keyboard with (we’re looking at you, trackpad is a thing of
Touch ID and Numeric Keypad Lightning Port) the Magic beauty, giving you lots
From £179 Mouse is a great pointing of control over macOS
This extended keyboard is a great upgrade device, thanks to its Multi and it’s rechargeable
option for any Mac and comes with Touch ID for Touch support. The black too. The black version
faster Mac logins. The black version costs £199. version costs £99. costs £149.

Apple kit STORE GUIDE
EXPECTED
JAN 2024
UPDATED
JAN 2023
Mac mini From

£649
Apple’s most affordable desktop

may not come with a mouse, a
EXPECTED trackpad or keyboard, but it’s also
JUNE 2024 great value starting at even less
UPDATED
JUNE 2023 than the last model at £649.
Despite the reduction in price, the
Mac mini now boasts Apple’s M2 chip,
MacBook Air From

£999
boasting an 8-core CPU, 10-core GPU
and 16-core Neural Engine. The 8GB of
memory can now be boosted up to
Released in June 2023, the new 40% thinner than comparable PC 24GB, while SSD storage options
15-inch MacBook Air actually has laptops; it’s just 11.5mm thin and weighs range from 256GB all the way up to
a 15.3-inch Liquid Retina display. The 1.51kg. The 13in Air is 11.3mm thin and 2TB. There is now also an M2 Pro
laptop boasts a silent, fanless design, an weighs 1.24kg. The Liquid Retina display version with a 10-core CPU/16-core
all-new six-speaker sound system (the in the 15in MacBook Air has a resolution GPU (configurable to 12-core CPU/19-
13in has a four-speaker set-up), and of 2880x1864 pixels, while the 13in has core GPU), with 16 to 32GB memory
immersive Spatial Audio. As per the 2560x1664. Both support up to one and 512GB to 8TB SSD storage.
2022 Air update, the 15in model also billion colours. Entry-level and mid-range M2 Mac
comes with an M2 chip. The M2 features Both the M2 MacBook Air models mini models continue to come with
an 8-core CPU, offering 18% faster come with 1080p FaceTime HD cameras, two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, but
performance than the previous M1, along MagSafe 3, two Thunderbolt/USB 4 the M2 Pro model has now has four.
with a 10-core GPU, giving a 35% boost ports and a headphone jack as well as
in graphics performance. The M2 also Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3. You also get
has up to 50% more memory bandwidth up to 18 hours of battery life when Mac mini £649
than the M1. Both M2 MacBook Air viewing video or 15 when web surfing. (Entry level)
models come with 8GB of memory as Prices for the M2 13in Air start at Chip: Apple M2, 8-core CPU (4 performance cores, 4
efficiency cores), 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
standard, configurable to 16 or 24GB. £1,149, while the 15in model options start Memory: 8GB (upgradeable to 24GB)
According to Apple, the new 15in Air at £1,399. (The M1 MacBook Air is also Storage: 256GB (upgradeable to 512GB, 1TB or 2TB)
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt/USB 4, 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI 2.0,
is the thinnest 15in laptop available – still available from £999.) 3.5mm headphone jack, Gb Ethernet (10Gb Ethernet option)
MacBook Air £1,149 MacBook Air £1,399 Mac mini £1,399

(Mid-range) (Ultimate) (Ultimate)
Display: 13.6in Liquid Retina with True Tone Display: 15.3in Liquid Retina with True Tone Chip: Apple M2 Pro with 10-core CPU (4 performance cores,
Chip: Apple M2 with 8-core CPU (4 performance cores, Chip: Apple M2 with 8-core CPU (4 performance cores, 4 efficiency cores), 16-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
4 efficiency cores), 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine 4 efficiency cores), 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine Memory: 8GB (upgradeable to 16GB)
Memory: 8GB (upgradeable to 24GB) Memory: 8GB (upgradeable to 24GB) Storage: 512GB (upgradeable to 1TB or 2TB)
Storage: 256GB (upgradeable to 512GB, 1TB or 2TB) Storage: 256GB (upgradeable to 512GB, 1TB or 2TB) Ports: 4x Thunderbolt/USB 4, 2x USB-A, 1x HDMI 2.0,
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt/USB 4, 3.5mm headphone jack Ports: 2x Thunderbolt/USB 4, 3.5mm headphone jack 3.5mm headphone jack, Gb Ethernet (10Gb Ethernet option)
TV 4K Apple HomePod/ Watch

From £149 HomePod mini Series 9,
Apple’s third-gen £99/£299 Ultra 2, SE
little black box with Apple’s Siri-powered From £219
A15 Bionic chip now speakers sound great, The SE and new
adds HDR10+ to the you can link two for Series 9 are water resistant to
mix. Prices now start at just stereo sound, and use them 50m, but the new titanium Ultra 2 is water resistant
£149 (Wi-Fi only); the standard version now as smart home hubs. The mini comes in five to 100m. The Series 9 and the Ultra 2 now run on an
comes with 64GB of storage, while paying £20 colours; the 2nd-gen Midnight/White HomePod S9 SiP and boast an Always-On Retina display, and
extra gets you 128GB and Ethernet support. (£299), offers higher spec and spatial audio. all three offer Emergency SOS and Crash Detection.

STORE GUIDE Apple kit
EXPECTED
JAN 2024
UPDATED
JAN 2023
MacBook Pro
From £1,349
While the MacBook Pro 13-inch got

the M2 treatment back in June 2022,
January 2023 sees the introduction
of the M2 Max or M2 Pro in the 14in
and 16in models. The new 14-inch M2
Pro model is available in a variety of CPU/
GPU flavours – 10-core CPU/16-core GPU,
12-core CPU/19-core GPU, with 16 or 32GB
memory options. Alternatively, if you step
up to the M2 Max option, you can go for a SSD storage to 8TB SSD storage. The core GPU, with 32 or 64GB memory
12-core CPU/30-core GPU or 12-core 16in offers an M2 Pro 12-core CPU/19- flavour or 12-core/28-core GPU, with
CPU/38-core GPU, with 32 or 64GB core GPU, with 16 or 32GB memory. The 32 to 96GB memory. Again, all range
unified memory. All range from 512GB M2 Max comes in either 12-core CPU/30- from 512GB to 8TB SSD storage.
MacBook Pro 13in £1,349 MacBook Pro 14in £2,149 MacBook Pro 16in £3,749
(Entry level) (Mid-range) (Ultimate)
Display: 13.3in Retina (2560x1600) with True Tone Display: 14.2in Liquid Retina (3024x1964) with True Tone Display: 16.2in Liquid Retina (3456x2234) with True Tone
Chip: Apple M2 with 8-core CPU (4 performance cores, Chip: Apple M2 Pro with 10-core CPU (6 performance cores, Chip: Apple M2 Max with 12-core CPU (8 performance cores,
4 efficiency cores), 10-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine 4 efficiency cores), 16-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine 4 efficiency cores), 38-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 8GB (upgradeable to 24GB) Memory: 16GB (upgradeable to 32GB) Memory: 32GB (upgradeable to 96GB)
Storage: 256GB (upgradeable to 512GB, 1TB or 2TB) Storage: 512GB (upgradeable to 1TB, 2TB, 4TB or 8TB) Storage: 1TB (upgradeable to 2TB, 4TB or 8TB)
Ports: 2x Thunderbolt/USB 4, 3.5mm headphone jack Ports: 3x Thunderbolt/USB 4, HDMI port, SDXC card slot Ports: 3x Thunderbolt/USB 4, HDMI port, SDXC card slot
Mac Studio From

£2,099
EXPECTED
JUNE 2024
UPDATED
JUNE 2023
The Mac Studio finally received a

long-hoped-for update in June 2023
with the new model sporting Apple
silicon M2 Max and M2 Ultra chips.
The new Mac Studio is up to six times
faster than the most powerful Intel-based
27-inch iMac and up to three times faster
than the M1 Ultra Studio that preceded it.
The Studio’s aluminium body is very
The Mac Studio is Apple’s most powerful
desktop Mac to date – it’s pricy though. Studio Display
From £1,499
compact for a desktop Mac, measuring unified memory (upgradeable to 192GB).
197x197x95mm, but it’s what’s inside that Storage options on both scale up to 8TB. Launched alongside the Mac
counts. The M2 Max chip has a 12-core The Mac Studio M2 Max starts at Studio in March 2022, the Studio
CPU, a 30-core GPU (upgradeable to £2,099, and the M2 Ultra starts at Display is a great addition to any
38-core), and 32GB of memory £4,199, so these machines are not for Mac setup.
(configurable to 96GB). The M2 Ultra everyone. But both offer an incredible Powered by Apple’s A13 Bionic
comes with a 24-core CPU, 60-core GPU array of connectivity options and and running iOS, it features a
(upgradeable to 76-core), and 64GB of support for the more pro user. 27-inch Retina display with 5K
resolution (5120x2880 pixels)
and True Tone, a 12MP Ultra Wide
Mac Studio £2,099 Mac Studio £4,199 camera with Centre Stage, and
(Entry level) (Ultimate) a six-speaker sound system with
Chip: M2 Max with 12-core CPU (8 performance cores, Chip: M2 Ultra with 24-core CPU (16 performance cores, support for Spatial Audio. A range
4 efficiency cores), 30-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine 8 efficiency cores), 60-core GPU, 32-core Neural Engine
Memory: 32GB (upgradeable to 96GB) Memory: 64GB (upgradeable to 192GB) of stand options are available, and
Storage: 512GB (upgradeable to 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB) Storage: 1TB (upgradeable to 2TB, 4TB, 8TB)
Ports: 4x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-C, 2x USB-A, HDMI 2.0, Ports: 4x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-C, 2x USB-A, HDMI 2.0,
you can choose nano-texture glass
3.5mm headphone jack, 10Gb Ethernet, SDXC card slot 3.5mm headphone jack, 10Gb Ethernet, SDXC card slot for £250 more.

Apple kit STORE GUIDE
EXPECTED
NOV 2023
UPDATED
OCT 2022
EXPECTED
APR 2024
UPDATED
MAR 2022
EXPECTED
NOV 2023
UPDATED
OCT 2022
iPad/mini iPad Air From

£669 iPad Pro From
£899
iPad (10th gen) From £499
iPad mini From £569 Like the iPad, iPad mini and iPad Apple’s priciest iPad is also its
Pro, the iPad Air has an all-screen most fully featured. Available in 11in
Apple celebrates the iPad’s 10th design that makes the most of its and 12.9in sizes, the iPad Pro models
incarnation by increasing the 10.9in Liquid Retina display. Inside its now boast M2 Apple silicon, which
display to 10.9in and boosting its super-slim chassis, you’ll find the same turbocharges the performance, and
internals to an A14 Bionic chip. You Apple silicon M1 chip as the entry-level iPadOS 16 enables the new Apple
now get an Ultra Wide 12MP front and MacBook Air and Mac mini. Plus it’s Pencil ‘hover experience’.
updated 12MP back camera. The iPad available in a choice of storage options The 12.9in model’s Liquid
now also finally adopts the USB-C (64GB or 256GB), has 802.11ax Wi-Fi Retina XDR display boasts miniLED
port, and comes in Blue, Pink, Yellow (aka Wi-Fi 6) and Bluetooth 5.0 backlighting, but even the 11in model
and Silver. Prices start at £499. onboard, and there are Wi-Fi+Cellular gets 120Hz ProMotion refresh rates,
The iPad mini is like a shrunk variants with 5G starting at £719. plus a Thunderbolt/USB 4 port for
down iPad Air, with an all-screen The iPad Air also supports Apple’s charging and connection to a wide
design centred around its 8.3in Liquid second-gen Apple Pencil and can be range of external devices. And both
Retina display. The £569 version teamed with Apple’s Magic Keyboard support the second-gen Apple Pencil,
comes with 64GB of storage (but can for powerhouse productivity on the go. Magic Keyboard, and Centre Stage.
be upgraded to 256GB), comes with a Augmented reality fans will love its The 12.9in now makes an even
12MP Wide camera, second-gen Apple LiDAR-equipped 12MP Wide camera, greater MacBook replacement.
Pencil support and USB-C charging. plus it also has Centre Stage.
iPad iPad mini iPad Air iPad Pro

Display: 10.9in Display: 8.3in Display: 10.9in Display: 11in or 12.9in
Chip: A14 Bionic Chip: A15 Bionic Chip: Apple M1 Chip: Apple M2
Storage: 64GB, 256GB Storage: 64GB, 256GB Storage: 64GB, 256GB Storage: 128GB-2TB
Ports: USB-C Ports: USB-C Ports: USB-C Ports: Thunderbolt 4
Unlocking: Touch ID Unlocking: Touch ID Unlocking: Touch ID Unlocking: Face ID
Apple Smart Folio Apple Pencil Apple Magic

From £69 From £109 Keyboard/Folio
Available in a range of stylish colours, these Available in first-gen and From £279
wrap-around magnetic cases will keep your iPad, second-gen variants, the The Magic Keyboard
iPad mini, iPad Air and iPad Pro looking good for Pencil brings pinpoint (for iPad Air/iPad Pro),
years, and they double as handy stands. accuracy to your iPad comes with backlit
interactions, making it great keys and easy-to-use
for sketching, painting and trackpad. There’s also
creating handwritten notes. a Magic Keyboard
And lots more besides. Folio for iPads.

EXPECTED
SEPT 2024
UPDATED
STORE GUIDE Apple kit SEPT 2023
EXPECTED
APR 2024
UPDATED
MAR 2022
EXPECTED
SEPT 2024
UPDATED
SEPT 2023
iPhone SE iPhone 15/ iPhone 15

From £429
Plus Pro/Pro Max
Apple’s most affordable iPhone iPhone 15 From £799 iPhone 15 Pro From £999
is now even better value, thanks iPhone 15 Plus From £899 iPhone 15 Pro Max From £1,199
to a September price reduction of
£20. As with the iPhone 14 range, In September, Apple launched its The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max
the SE works on an A15 Bionic iPhone 15 range. The base model boast a lightweight titanium shell
chip. The iPhone SE offers plenty of retains its 6.1in screen, and the Plus with a textured matt glass back.
the things people love about iPhone, stays at 6.7in, while both handsets There’s now a new fast Action button
including iOS’s phenomenal ease of are still of an aluminium build. on the side of the handset that acts
use. There’s only a single 12MP Wide Both models now benefit from the as a handy physical shortcut.
main camera and no Night mode, but Dynamic Island, while the dual-camera The quad-pixel sensor on the
you do get True Tone, a Photonic system has been improved with a Main camera provides 48MP, 12MP
engine, and 4K recording. 48MP Main camera and a 12MP Ultra Ultra Wide, 12 MP Telephoto with up
Battery life is decent too with the Wide, plus a Photonic Engine for low- to 5x optical zoom on the Pro Max.
iPhone SE lasting for up to 15 hours light images and Smart HDR 5. The The 15 Pro and Pro Max are powered
between recharges (with Qi wireless iPhone 15 lasts for up to 20 hours by a graphics-friendly A17 Pro chip.
charging onboard too). The main when playing video playback; the Plus Video playback times remain at up to
thing the iPhone SE misses out on up to 26. And the best news? The 15 23 hours for the Pro, while the Pro
is Face ID unlocking, making do with and 15 Plus are each £50 cheaper than Max can keep going for 29.
Touch ID on the Home button instead. the 14 and 14 Plus before them.
iPhone SE iPhone 15 iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro Max

Display: 4.7in Display: 6.1in Display: 6.7in Display: 6.1in Display: 6.7in
Chip: A15 Bionic Chip: A16 Bionic Chip: A16 Bionic Chip: A17 Pro Chip: A17 Pro
Storage: 64GB-256GB Storage: 128GB-512GB Storage: 128GB-512GB Storage: 128GB-1TB Storage: 256GB-1TB
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi
Unlocking: Touch ID Unlocking: Face ID Unlocking: Face ID Unlocking: Face ID Unlocking: Face ID
Apple AirTag Apple Apple

£35 AirPods/ AirPods Max
Ideal for keeping track AirPods £499
of keys, bags and other Pro 2 Apple’s premium
easily mislaid items, From £179 headphones have
AirTag hooks into Apple’s Third-gen recently been reduced
Find My network, with AirPods and by £50 (from £549).
precision finding on the second-gen AirPods Pro boast Spatial Audio They are also supremely
iPhone 11 or later, thanks with dynamic head tracking. The Pro also comfortable and sound
to their built-in U1 chip. support ANC and Adaptive Transparency. particularly good.

Third-party kit STORE GUIDE
BEST BUYS… BEST BUYS…

Third-party iPhone,
iPad & Watch apps
VIDEO EDITOR (iOS/iPADOS)
LumaFusion 3
£29.99 luma-touch.com
EXTERNAL DISPLAY BLUETOOTH SPEAKER NAS DRIVE A powerful and reasonably priced
Marshall Middleton Asustor Lockerstor 2 video-editing suite. Existing users
Philips 27B1U7903 can upgrade for free.
£1,099, philips.co.uk £269.99, Gen2 AS6702T ★★★★★ MF372
An excellent monitor that marshallheadphones.com £469, asustor.com
satisfies on every level. It’s Meaty, beaty, big and Excellent and versatile NOTE-TAKING (iOS/iPADOS)
expensive, but you do get a bouncy, the Middleton mid-range network Notability
lot of quality for your money. knows how to rock. storage. £8.99 notability.com
★★★★★ MF392 ★★★★★ MF391 ★★★★★ MF390
Notability is a superb note-taking
app with lots of flexibility. It’s ideal
OUR TOP 3 OUR TOP 3 OUR TOP 3
for a variety of projects.
MESH NETWORK DEVICES PORTABLE SSDS SUPERFAST CHARGERS
★★★★★ MF360
ASUS ZenWiFi XT9 Crucial X8 Satechi 200W
> £459.99 > MF386 > £211.99 > MF388 USB-C 6-Port PD GaN
> asus.com/uk > uk.crucial.com £159.99 > MF392 SCANNING/OCR (iOS/iPADOS)
> satechi.net
GeniusScan+
Linksys Atlas 6 SanDisk Extreme Anker 737 Charger
> £179.99 > MF386 > £99.99, > MF388 GaNPrime 120W £8.99 grizzlylabs.com
> linksys.com/gb > westerndigital.com £84.99 > MF392 Fast, flexible and useful scanning
> anker.com/uk
with good optical character
Devolo Magic 2 OWC Envoy Pro SX Ugreen Nexode recognition (OCR).
WiFi next > £285 > MF388 200W USB-C Desktop
> £174.99 > MF386 > owc.com £199.99 > MF394 ★★★★★ MF368
>devolo.co.uk > uk.ugreen.com
PAGE LAYOUT (iPADOS)
Affinity Publisher 2
BEST BUYS… Third-party Mac apps £17.99 affinity.serif.com
Serif’s page layout app finally arrives on
iPad and it’s great – even if the interface
takes some getting used to.
★★★★★ MF391
PHOTO EDITOR (iPADOS)

Capture One
£4.49/month captureone.com
PHOTO EDITOR PRODUCTIVITY TIMER WRITING APPS
A comprehensive photo editor offering
Luminar AI Vitamin-R 4.14 Scrivener powerful Raw conversion and desktop-
quality editing tools on the iPad.
£9.99/month skylum.com €27.95 (about £30) £49.99 ★★★★★ MF384
If you want to improve publicspace.net literatureandlatte.com
your photos without Break your working day A genuinely outstanding RSS READER (iOS)
spending too much, this up into short bursts of app that has almost Reeder 5
is the app for you. distraction-free activity. everything you could ever £4.99 reederapp.com
★★★★★ MF361 ★★★★★ MF384 need. ★★★★★ MF385
Version 5 brings minor, but welcome
improvements to an already great
OUR TOP 3 OUR TOP 3 OUR TOP 3 RSS news-reader app.
VIDEO EDITORS NOTE TAKING APPS EMAIL ★★★★★ MF361
Wondershare Filmora Agenda. Spark
> £17.49/month > MF387 > Free (IAPs)> MF389 > Free > MF375 GAME (iOS/iPADOS)
> wondershare.com > agenda.com > sparkmailapp.com
Overboard!
HitFilm (Creator) Bear Edison Mail £5.99 inklestudios.com
> £7.99/month> MF387 > Free (IAPs) > MF389 > Free (IAPs) > MF375
> fxhome.com > bear.app > mail.edison.tech A gem. A small, but perfectly formed
and entertaining game about a ship-
Lightworks Create Simplenote Airmail Pro
> £7.99/month> MF387 > Free (IAPs) > MF389 > £5.99/month > MF375 based murder mystery.
> lwks.com > simplenote.com > airmailapp.com ★★★★★ MF372
Image credits: Koninklijke Philips NV, Marshall Amplification PLC, Asustor Inc, ASUSTeK Computer Inc, Linksys
Holdings Inc, devolo AG, Micron Technology, Inc, Western Digital Corporation, Other World Computing Inc,
Satechi, Fantasia Trading LLC, Ugreen Ltd, Skylum, publicspace.net, Literature & Latte Ltd, Wondershare, Artlist NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 103
UK Ltd, LWKS.com, Momenta BV, ShinyFrog, Automattic Inc, Spark Mail Ltd, Edison Software, Bloop, Luma Touch
LLC, Ginger Labs, The Grizzly Labs, Serif (Europe) Ltd, Capture One, Silvio Rizzi, inkle Ltd
MacFormat, Future,
Quay House, The Ambury
Bath, BA1 1UA
Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244
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EDITORIAL
Editor ROB MEAD-GREEN
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CONTRIBUTORS
EDITORIAL: Alex Blake, Matt Bolton, Guy Cocker, David Crookes,
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ART: Apple Inc, Getty Images, Olly Curtis, Phil Barker
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GOODBYE Until next issue…
One more thing

The TiBookGraham Barlow remembers Apple’s last,
successful, foray into titanium casings
Are we moving towards

the announcement of
a TiBook Take II?
orget its new A17 Pro chip, the The TiBook was perhaps the first truly modern-
F new 48-megapixel camera and
the new Action button, the real
looking laptop – not chunky at all, and sporting that
space-age grey colour that you see on every MacBook
superpower of the new iPhone 15 Pro is today. In fact, looking back at the 2001 TiBook, you can
its ability to instantly turn your iPhone 14 see that it set the standard for all Apple’s laptops to come.
Pro from being a splendid state-of-the-art For instance, it was the first laptop that had the Apple
pocket-sized supercomputer into being a logo on the lid oriented correctly, so that when you opened
dead weight in your hand in seconds. your laptop people saw the Apple logo staring directly
It does this by ditching the steel enclosure at them on the back, the right way up, not upside down.
of the previous model and replacing it with It had obviously taken Apple a little while to realise that
‘aerospace-grade’ titanium. Titanium just half the fun of owning an Apple product was that it gave
sounds better, doesn’t it? Why settle for steel you bragging rights over your clunkier PC laptop owning
when you can have titanium? And in four friends. The upside-down logo didn’t look so good…
different colours, too! Sadly, titanium didn’t last as a laptop material, with
Apple opting for aluminium casings, which were light,
Setting the standard cheaper and more malleable. Also, back in 2001, Apple
The advantage of titanium is that it’s as strong had no way of colouring the titanium, so it simply painted
as steel, but half the weight and therefore it gets over it, a fact that can be gleaned by looking up
used in everything from surgical equipment TiBooks on eBay today and seeing how much
and implants to the Mars rover. But this isn’t the paint has flaked off over the years.
Apple’s first experiment with titanium. Back Apple has previously used titanium
in 2001, it produced the world’s first titanium on the Apple Watch, but now titanium is
laptop, the G4 PowerBook, lovingly known as making a comeback on the iPhone. So, my NEXT ISSUE ON SALE
the ‘TiBook’ because ‘titanium PowerBook’ was only question is, when can we expect it in 14 NOV
just too much of a mouthful. a titanium MacBook Pro again, Apple?

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9 APPS & GAMES

13 FACTS & FIGURES

4 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023

40 Surf different with Arc APPLE CHOICE

40 SURF DIFFERENT WITH ARC 80

42 SYNC & SHARE WITH DROPBOX HARDWARE

44 CUSTOMISE STANDBY IN iOS 17 76 iPhone 15 Pro

106 ONE MORE THING…

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6 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023

The improved repairability of the iPhone

iPhone 12 radiation update

Image credit: Apple Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 7

thanks to an update Launch date of new Macs seemingly pushed back

8 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credit: Apple Inc

APP OF THE MONTH

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Netgear Orbi B&O Beolab 8 Moment T-Series

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Features based on But it’s growing again in

14 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credit: Apple Inc

Apple has moved the iPhone to USB-C, bringing about the

16 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023 Image credit: Apple Inc

Image credit: Apple Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 17

future-proof law allows for the development

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Essential USB-C accessories

18 | MACFORMAT | NOVEMBER 2023

sells and provides with some laptops. It was

Image credit: Apple Inc, Belkin NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 19

Written by Ian Osborne

macOS Sonoma works with…

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Desktop & screen savers

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4 Use your widgets

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1 Choose a screen saver

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Stickers In Sonoma, the Messages

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HOW TO Use Presenter Overlay (Apple silicon Macs only) >

1 From the menu

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HOW TO Make web apps from websites >

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Privacy & Security Password

4 Edit web app

Image credit: Apple Inc NOVEMBER 2023 | MACFORMAT | 27

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