Macworld UK September 1, 2015

Apple has been busy over the past month. Not only has it released public beta versions of iOS 9 and OS X 10.11 El Capitan, but it’s launched Apple Music, Apple Pay has arrived in the UK, and even updated its iPod line-up with new colours. Nobody can complain that Apple has been quietly twiddling its thumbs. People do complain, though. We’ve heard people grumbling that, having installed the beta versions of the as yet unreleased operating systems, their apps don’t run the way they expect them to. What do you expect when you sign up as a beta tester? There wouldn’t even be a beta program if the software wasn’t going to be buggy – it’s your job to identify these bugs. Don’t install beta software on your main…

Apple Pay finally arrived in the UK on 14 July. A first tier of UK banks offered Apple Pay support immediately, including NatWest and Nationwide, but a second wave will have to wait until later in the year. Notable holdouts include Barclays and, surprisingly, HSBC. The latter was expected to be one of Apple Pay’s launch partners, but the bank announced it wouldn’t support the service until the end of July. Barclays has its own contactless payment service, bPay, but reversed its opposition to Apple Pay on launch day with a supportive tweet that read: “We are really excited about the launch of Apple Pay and will bring Barclays debit cards and Barclaycard credit cards to Apple Pay in the future.” Aside from HSBC, six more banks will sign on…

It seems that Apple has no immediate plans to kill its range of MP3 players. On 15 July, the company refreshed the iPod touch, nano and shuffle, though only the touch had a big overhaul. All three iPods are available in gold, dark blue and pink, though the iPod touch is the only model to get new features under the hood. The touch comes with iOS 8.4 and access to Apple Music, which isn’t surprising, but the new version also adds a 128GB model to the line-up for the first time for £329. A 16GB touch costs £159, a 32GB model will set you back £199, while the 64GB option is priced £249. All models are available in store, with Apple throwing in free next-day delivery if you’d prefer to…

Apple’s third quarter was another bumper one for the tech giant. The Cupertino company made $10.7bn in profit on $49.6bn in revenue, compared to profit of $7.7bn on $37.4in in revenue in the same quarter in 2014. Apple beat its own expectations and Wall Street’s. Analysts expected the company to pull in revenue of $49.4bn, while Apple forecast revenue of $46- to $48bn. The company didn’t beat its record-breaking holiday quarter (when it made $18bn in profit and sold 74.5 million iPhones), but it’s not exactly a fair comparison. This quarter is, however, always the strongest time for sales, and it always follows a new iPhone launch, when excitement is at its peak. Apple’s handset continues to be the company’s sales juggernaut, raking in $31.37bn on 47.5 million devices sold.…

It felt a bit like software Christmas on 9 July, with public betas of OS X El Capitan and a final version of Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac shipping to Office 365 subscribers (read our reviews on page 62). Your iPhone and iPad aren’t neglected, though – Apple also launched the public beta of iOS 9. A beta is a beta, so don’t get swept up in the excitement and forget that this software isn’t final and could have bugs. You might want to think twice about putting it on your everyday iPhone or Mac. That said, developers have already seen several betas of both iOS 9 and Mac OS X El Capitan and there haven’t been any major problems. The beta software programme started with OS X 10.10 Yosemite…

After years of treating the Mac as an also-ran, Microsoft has changed its tune: it formally released Office 2016 for the Mac on 9 July, even before it released it for Windows. The only catch? If you’re not already an Office 365 subscriber, you’ll be forced to wait until September. If you do subscribe to Microsoft Office 365 subscription service, obtaining the new software should be a snap. It includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook, with a Mac-like feel to it all. In the intervening five years since Microsoft last released a version of Office for the Mac (Office 2011), numerous other office suites have put down stakes on the Mac, not least of which has been Apple’s own iWork productivity suite. But Microsoft’s argument is that, with Office,…