Macworld UK July 2022

Apple has released macOS Monterey 12.4. It includes updates to the Podcasts app, the Studio Display Firmware Update 15.5, and bug fixes. Below are the release notes: macOS Monterey 12.4 includes enhancements to Apple Podcasts and bug fixes: Apple Podcasts includes a new setting to limit episodes stored on your Mac and automatically delete older ones Support for Studio Display Firmware Update 15.5, available as a separate update, refines camera tuning, including improved noise reduction, contrast and framing Some features may not be available for all regions or on all Apple devices. For information on the security content of Apple software updates, please visit this website: fave.co/3N3HRh4 Of note, Monterey 12.4 removes the beta tag for Universal Control, the system that lets you drag and drop files between Macs and…

Raise a glass for the iPod, a line of devices that revolutionized portable music more than two decades ago. Apple has announced that the iPod touch will no longer be produced. The current model, introduced in 2019, will still be sold while supplies last. It starts at £199 for 32GB. The iPod touch was the last of the iPod line – essentially an iPhone SE with an A10 processor and no cellular connectivity. It was an iPod in name, but Music was just one of the many apps filling the home screen. The iPod has a long history, transforming the company when it debuted in 2001. At the time, it was the rare Apple product that wasn’t a Mac – though it did need one to transfer music. The iPod…

The first foldable iPhone may be years away, but Apple is already thinking of ways to set it apart from its competitors. According to the latest rumours, that also applies to the parts that don’t fold. Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that Apple may turn to E Ink technology for the foldable phone’s outside display in an effort to conserve power. Most foldables utilize a standard OLED display for their socalled ‘cover screen’, which operates like a normal smartphone for tasks that don’t need a bigger screen. For example, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 has a 6.23in outer OLED display with a 120Hz variable refresh rate. Apple is testing E Ink’s Electronic Paper Display (EPD) for future foldable device’s cover screen & tablet-like applications. The colour EPD has the potential…

Google has announced a set of new features for Chromebooks that arrived with the latest update, and one of them caught our eye: Google will begin warning users when a USB-C cable isn’t ‘performing ideally’ or ‘doesn’t support the high-performance USB4/Thunderbolt 3 standards’. With different Macs and iPads supporting different speeds and capabilities via the same connector, it can be hard to know which USB-C cable your Mac needs. With the wrong cable, data could move slowly, displays might not work properly, and charging speeds may suffer. While your Mac can identify the speed of ports and cables, most people probably don’t know how to do it. (You can find it in System Information under USB.) It would be handy if Apple were to display a notification warning the user…

Apple has revealed some of the new features coming to macOS later this year. During its WWDC keynote, the tech giant revealed the name of the next version of macOS as well as details of new innovations and updates to its Mac apps Mail, Safari, and more. RELEASE DATE We expect Ventura to arrive in late October. In 2021, macOS Monterey was released on 25 October, so expect a similar time frame. BETA RELEASE DATE Now that Apple has previewed the new macOS, the developer beta is available now. Public beta testers will also be able to sign up to try out the beta when it arrives in July. COMPATIBILITY Apple has confirmed that the following Macs will be supported: MacBook: 2017 or later. MacBook Air: 2018 or later. MacBook…

As we’ve already seen, Apple has announced that its next macOS will be called Ventura and will be available to download in the autumn. It will feature a ton of new features, but here are our favourites. 1. STAGE MANAGER Mac users tend to work in multiple apps and files at once, which leads to dozens of open windows. You can use Mission Control to sort your windows, but it’s still overwhelming to find the one you need. The new Stage Manager helps you get control of those windows. Stage Manager can be activated in Control Centre, and it places your active window in the centre of the display, with thumbnails of your other windows placed in a vertical row off to the side. When you click on a thumbnail,…