Inhoudsopgave van September 2024 - Macworld

The future of technology sometimes goes in surprising directions, taking an obvious path and then suddenly doubling back to go down a road less traveled. There was a time when The Future was underpowered client devices powered by remote servers, until it wasn’t—and then, thanks to cloud services and AI, it was again. The rise of AI as a force in the tech industry—for good or ill, be it snake oil or world-changing (it’s probably in between on both counts)—has upended a lot of assumptions about how tech works and where it’s going. The conventional wisdom has held that Apple is behind, and that AI puts it at a disadvantage. That might be true, but…maybe it isn’t. THE POWER OF THE DEVICE AI is generally thought of as a job…

A new report from CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners) attempts to quantify how long consumers hold on to their Macs before buying a new model. And its conclusion, which will not make happy reading for Apple, is that the numbers are going up. The study asked U.S. consumers how old their previous Mac had been when they chose to replace it. In 2024, more than half (56 percent) said 3 years or more. That’s a 16-point increase from the equivalent survey in 2020, when just 40 percent gave that answer. As the “3 years or more” category increased in size, all the other categories shrank. The number of upgraders who keep their Mac for 2 to 3 years has dropped from 19 to 13 percent; those who keep it for…

At first glance, the Baseus Blade HD Laptop Power Bank 100W 20000mAh is the ideal laptop power bank. It’s flat, it’s not too heavy, it has enough capacity for one MacBook charge, and it’s not too slow when charging. It does have impressive features: a capacity of 20,000mAh; two USB-C power delivery ports with a maximum output power of 100 watts and an input power of 65 watts; and two USB-A ports with a maximum of 30 watts. It measures 5.27×5.27×0.7 inches (13.4×13.4×1.8 centimeters) and is flat with rounded corners, perfect for stowing in a bag. It also comes with a protective storage bag and a USB-C charging cable. The 20,000 mAh capacity is enough to charge a 13-inch MacBook Air M1 from zero to 100 percent once, with about…

We’re about to enter the Apple Intelligence era, and it promises to dramatically change how we use our Apple devices. Most importantly, adding Apple Intelligence to Siri promises to resolve many frustrating problems with Apple’s “intelligent” assistant. A smarter, more conversational Siri is probably worth the price of admission all on its own. But there’s a problem. The new, intelligent Siri will only work (at least for a while) on a select number of Apple devices: iPhone 15 Pro and later, Apple silicon Macs, and M1 or better iPads. Your older devices will not be able to provide you with a smarter Siri. Some of Apple’s products that rely on Siri the most—the Apple TV, HomePods, and Apple Watch—are unlikely to have the hardware to support Apple Intelligence for a…

Dashlane has been a stalwart password manager for several years now, with plenty of advanced features and security protocols to keep your passwords safe and always available. But there’s more to it than just logging into your accounts, as you’ll see below. SOFTWARE AND FEATURES Dashlane is easy to get to grips with when you first launch the app. The Home page shows your most frequently used passwords, alongside quick access to your logins, secure notes, payment methods, personal info, and IDs. There’s also a row of icons at the bottom of the page that you can use to navigate to your notifications (messages from Dashlane about your account), the password generator, tools, and settings. It’s all clear and easy to understand, which makes interacting with the app a breeze. There’s…

The iPad Pro offers a simple deal: Pay more, and get the best possible performance and the widest range of functions. The new iPad Pro M4 also fulfills this promise. It is exclusively equipped with Apple’s most modern chip and offers an impressive OLED display with HDR support for the first time. I don’t want to dwell on the question “Can an iPad replace a MacBook?” for long, as it’s been discussed far too often. (Many users long ago decided that it can.) Complaining about the high price is also pointless; it’s simply very expensive. The more interesting question is how much better the new iPad Pro is than its predecessor from 2022 and the new iPad Air, and whether it justifies that high price. We can say without reservation…

A Macworld reader has a perfectly good 2009 MacBook Pro—except for its swollen lithium-ion battery. He wants to keep it on hand for limited uses after safely removing and disposing of the battery. Is there a downside to working battery-free? Not really. As long as you always have it plugged in, a Mac laptop has no idea about or interest in whether it’s drawing power from a battery or from a wall outlet. Years ago, I used a hand-me-down iBook like this (in the era in which you could just pop out a dead battery, as they were removable), so my kids had a machine to bang away on when they were little. Of course, the big problem is that any power discontinuity means that the Mac shuts off instantly.…

Apple looks set to join other streaming TV providers by adding a tier to Apple TV+ that includes advertising. What’s less clear is whether customers will have the option to pay less and watch commercials, as is the case with Netflix and Disney, or if Apple will choose the route taken by Amazon and request that those who don’t want to watch ads pay more. The latest evidence that Apple is investigating the practicalities of introducing ads on Apple TV+ comes via The Telegraph (subscription required), which reports that Apple has been meeting with the U.K. ratings agency Barb to look at options for tracking advertising. It’s not clear from the report whether Apple has held similar meetings in the U.S. and other countries. Barb, a joint venture between various U.K.…

WHERE DID THAT APP GO? HOW TO FIND A MISSING APP ON iPHONE OR iPAD Apple lets you search in iOS or iPadOS to find apps by name but doesn’t tell you where they are if you have many folders and Home Screen pages. You can both hide Home Screen pages and delete apps from the Home Screen, creating two paths to find missing apps if you want to make them more accessible for launching with a tap from a Home Screen page you use frequently. First, search for the app by swiping down and entering the first few characters in the Search field until it appears under Top Hit. Press and hold the app icon. In the menu that appears, you will see Add to Home Screen if you…

The M5 MacBook range could arrive—or at least go into production—as early as next year, according to a new report from a respected source. In a seemingly mundane and industry-focused Medium post, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo writes about an upcoming change in Apple’s choice of camera partner: Sunny Optical, he says, “will become Apple’s new CCM [compact camera module] supplier in 2025” covering that year’s new MacBook range. So far, so humdrum. But the second half of the sentence contains a passing reference that will have Apple watchers perking up their ears: “Sunny Optical will become Apple’s new CCM supplier in 2025, with mass production and shipments in Vietnam for the CCM of the new M5 series MacBook models” [my emphasis]. Until now, most pundits (including Kuo himself) have predicted that…

Apple is a colossus. Some of us might remember back when it was doomed and nearly bankrupt, but these days it generates hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue every day and has a market capitalization of more than 3 trillion dollars. And yet even the most powerful companies are fallible. Often they have a hubris that suggests their success in one area means they can easily extend it to others—often with disastrous results. This week, Apple got another reminder that even its mighty power might not be able to make it succeed at all its ambitions. Don’t be embarrassed, Apple. Even the world’s most beautiful models still get pimples from time to time. MONEY ISN’T BANKING Apple is giving up on Apple Pay Later, a split-payment service that it…

Parenthood brings many challenges, but the worst for my money is when your child refuses to eat some delicious food they’ve never tasted. Just try it, you beg, tears running down your face. Everyone likes halloumi. Not that adults are much better. We’re slightly more likely to give unfamiliar food a chance, I suppose, but unfamiliar people and places and political viewpoints? Good luck with that. Unfamiliar technology, too. iPhone users: When was the last time you gave Android a proper try? All of this came to mind last week when I finally got a chance to try out Vision Pro, Apple’s mixed-reality headset. (It launched in the U.S. back in February, but only recently became available to demo and buy here in the U.K.) Everyone has an opinion on Vision…

A new army of wireless chargers is about to emerge: faster, more efficient, and, we hope, more affordable, and based on the latest Qi2 (pronounced “chee too”) charging standard. These new magnetic wireless chargers promise 15W power transfer—twice as fast as many wireless chargers available today. Power specialist Anker is one of the first companies to release Qi2-compatible chargers, and the foldable Anker MagGo 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Station is a great example of what we can expect from the latest technology. It charges the iPhone (iPhone 13 and later) at 15W, and is also certified by Apple to fast-charge the Apple Watch, as well as charge AirPods in a wireless charging case. As with all new technologies, you may be skeptical. Is Qi2 as good as MagSafe? In one word,…

Although most of us cannot imagine being separated from a Mac for more than a few hours or maybe a couple of days, emergencies, study trips, and summer or other travel can lead to many days, weeks, or even months in which your Mac isn’t in use. Should you shut it down? And if you do, will anything go wrong while it’s shut down in your absence? Should you leave it plugged in, whether it’s battery-powered or not? SHUT DOWN YOUR MAC If you’re not planning on using your Mac during your absence or while it’s in storage, the best thing you can do is shut your Mac down. If it’s a desktop Mac, after using Apple menu → Shut Down, unplug it from wall power. This could prevent damage…

HP’s OfficeJet printers are normally aimed at business users who work in busy offices and need to print lots of documents every month. However, the OfficeJet 8122e is a more affordable option designed for small businesses and people who work from home. Oddly, though, there are different versions of the printer available in the U.S. and in other regions. You can’t buy it directly from HP in the U.S., so customers there will need to head to Walmart to buy the OfficeJet 8122e for a price of $179. But in the U.K., it’s available on the HP website—although it’s called the OfficeJet Pro 8122e and costs a very reasonable £110. It’s a fairly conventional all-in-one printer, with a built-in scanner and copier functions. It provides 1,200×1,200dpi for mono printing, and uses interpolation…

A little more than ten years ago, portable Bluetooth speakers were having a moment, and the original Beats Pill (circa 2012, before Apple acquired Beats) was a big part of their surge in popularity. In the years that followed, we saw few updates to the line aside from the simplified Beats Pill+, which was discontinued a couple of years ago. Now the popular portable speaker is back, entering into a market flooded with cheap competitors. While it is much improved over previous versions, it has a few faults that we’d love to see addressed in the next revision. DESIGN Beats’ iconic pill shape has been copied a lot in portable Bluetooth speakers, and there’s a reason. It’s handy to carry around, it fits anywhere a water bottle would go, and…

In some corners of the laptop market, the PC versus Mac war is firing up again. Apple reignited the flames by including broad comparisons to PC laptops in its marketing for the M1 and subsequent chips—and then delivered incredible speeds compared to its Intel predecessors. But a downright inferno erupted when Qualcomm introduced its Snapdragon X Elite processor, taking direct aim at Apple with claims of faster performance than the M3 MacBook Air’s. Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon X Elite last fall, and it finally started shipping in the new Microsoft Surface Pro this month. Our colleagues at PCWorld give it a review with benchmarks and it’s worth a read. However, their review is PC-focused and only mentions the Mac in passing, so we decided to take a look at their results…

The best thing about the USB-C standard is that not only does it reduce the amount of e-waste, but it also makes traveling easier—but you may still need multiple chargers when on the road. Your iPad requires one, your iPhone another, and your computer a third. While it’s possible to charge them individually with one charger, the problem is if you need to charge multiple gadgets at the same time. Enter the Satechi 145W USB-C GaN Travel Charger. Satechi’s latest addition is a relatively compact charger with a charging capacity (as the name gently alludes) of 145 watts with the ability to fast-charge even the 16-inch MacBook Pro. For those who don’t know what a GaN charger is, it’s a technology that uses gallium nitride, a semiconductor material that has…

Apple Maps might have had an inauspicious start, but over the years it’s gotten a whole lot better. Today, Apple Maps is as good as or better than Google Maps, with stunning visuals, incredibly detailed topography, and rock-solid turn-by-turn directions and traffic updates. The only problem (other than a secret Duck Duck Go integration): It only works on Apple devices. Now the secret’s out. Apple on Wednesday launched Apple Maps on the web in beta, allowing anyone to use the service in a browser. Now, you won’t need an Apple device to use Apple Maps, and many features are already available, including driving and walking directions; point-of-interest information such as photos, hours, ratings, and reviews; the ability to order food directly from the Maps place card; and curated Guides that let…

We’re still more than a month from the unveiling of the iPhone 16, and already iPhone 17 rumors are stirring up. The most interesting of these is probably the phone some are taking to calling “iPhone 17 Slim,” a new ultra-slim model that seems to break from a lot of the iPhone tradition of recent years. It’s a departure from the normal lineup, and it’s something of a gamble for the world’s biggest phone maker. We don’t even know that it’s going to actually be called “iPhone 17” at all—it could take a page out of the iPhone SE playbook and carry a numberless name like “iPhone Air” that gets a new “generation” every year or two. But whatever Apple calls it, the product priorities and positioning make it a big…

iPhones are famous for their long lifespans, thanks to their premium hardware and Apple’s commitment to at least five years of software support. We’ve probably all come across someone still rocking an iPhone 8, as a mere battery swap typically gives these devices a new lease on life. Nevertheless, Apple has been really boosting the iPhone lately, which could entice certain customers to upgrade more often. Even if you bought an iPhone 14 Pro just two years ago, you may find yourself coveting an iPhone 16 Pro upgrade this fall. After all, Apple has made some significant changes in the past couple of years, and if the rumors about the iPhone 16 Pro features are true, there are at least ten reasons why this upgrade may not feel like just a…

Over the last several years, Apple has dramatically improved how it handles lithium-ion battery charging in iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches. Across multiple system releases, the company moved from always charging to 100% to a more careful analysis of how much charge is needed based on your daily usage patterns. Lithium-ion batteries have a remarkable number of charge cycles. You can charge them fully, drain them, and charge them full again hundreds of times without seeing much degradation in full charging capacity. This makes them ideal for smartphones, tablets, laptops—and electric vehicles. But this category of battery has a problem that works a bit like pressurization. Fill a balloon to a certain amount, and it’s pliable and safe and deflates slowly over time. But try to estimate what its…

The long-rumored HomePod with a display could finally be coming to market. According to MacRumors, “code discovered on Apple’s backend” reveals a new device identified as “HomeAccessory17,1.” The name resembles “AudioAccessory,” which Apple uses for its HomePod. MacRumors also found references to a variant of tvOS for the device, similar to what the current HomePod runs. The “17.1” portion of the name could reference the A18 chip that may be at the heart of this device. The A18 chip is expected to debut with the iPhone 16 this fall, so that could mean that this Home Accessory 17.1 could be released at the same time. However, the same leak also uncovered several new iPads in the works along with some seemingly scrapped models, so it’s unclear whether the HomePod is imminent. Rumors…

AirPods are…fine. We’re big fans of the 2nd-generation AirPods Pro, which are a fine pick at the retail price of $249 but are almost always on sale for $200 or less. Even that is much too steep for some users, though. If you’re not a big headphone user or are just minding your budget, you could be looking in the sub-$100 price range. That leaves you with the option of buying regular non-Pro AirPods—and not the latest improved 3rd-generation model, but the aging 2nd-gen AirPods first introduced five years ago. Those $129 earbuds are almost always on sale for under $100, but for about the same price you can get a pair of brand-new Beats Solo Buds, which are better in almost every way. DESIGN You’ve likely seen earbuds like this…