Table of contents for Autumn 2018 in MacFormat

If you feel the Apple Watch is just too small to navigate properly, you’re in luck. That’s because the new version of the Watch – Series 4 – now has a bigger screen, with the display reaching closer to the edges. The case sizes have been bumped up to 40mm and 44mm, leaving more breathing room for apps. Apple says the screens are 32% and 35% larger than the previous 38mm and 42mm versions, while also managing to be thinner. Elsewhere, the Digital Crown has been upgraded to give you a haptic buzz when it’s turned. The idea here is to make scrolling through apps easier and more responsive. Next to the Digital Crown, the speaker is 50% louder than before. The mic has been relocated to the other side…

Quick, let’s get the elephant in the roomed pushed out of the inexplicable elephant-sized door this room apparently has. The iPhone XS launch was super dull. Faster, better cameras, brighter screen… Apple forgot the ‘S’ feature that makes these one-year-on models worth buying. I’d say it’s the dullest update since the 3GS, but that was more exciting, because the speed bump itself was transformative back then. But Apple Watch Series 4? Now we’re cooking. Not because it’s thinner or has a bigger screen (I’m not convinced more information on display at once is what the Watch needs at all), but because it’s starting to look like the most incredible product for personal health ever. Even more precise heart rate monitoring, an ECG and fall detection (on top of the existing…

I need your help as I’m a newbie in the iMac field. I have been reading your mag now for a number of issues and wish to purchase an iMac to replace a Windows PC from Acer. However, I wish to wait for the latest updated iMac to arrive, which you say is coming some time in 2018. I was on Apple’s UK website and it has ‘new’ listed beside it’s iMac. Is this the updated model you have written about, as it looks the same as the current model. ALEX SAYS… Thanks for asking about this. No, it isn’t the 2018 refresh. Apple often leaves ‘new’ labels on its site for longer than we would like. The expected update times listed in our store guide are educated guesses, based…

This is the time of year when your iOS devices get a raft of improvements and new features, thanks to a major software update. We’ve spent the summer months bearing with the beta versions of iOS 12, investigating fresh features like Screen Time and scouring for new settings and behaviours to bring you this comprehensive collection of tips. iOS 12 works on all the same devices as iOS 11, and Apple boldly claims that it delivers performance improvements to older devices, not just the latest ones. So, don’t be fooled by the images of iPhone X throughout this feature, as many of these features apply to earlier models, with a few obvious exceptions, such as the new Memoji characters you can create to represent yourself in iMessage and FaceTime conversations.…

Are you really aware of how much time you spend picking up your iPhone to check on things throughout each day? A few minutes here and there soon adds up, and because you may be disinclined to log your iPhone and iPad use manually, Screen Time can do it for you. This new feature enables those same devices to play a part in keeping gadget guilt in check. You can use it to: gain insights about your behaviour; impose a soft limit that nudges you in the right direction when a daily quota runs out; and set a hardcore lockout that stops activity till a passcode is entered. Got a real gadget addiction? Get a friend to look after the code and act as your conscience. This feature can also…

Look up passwords When you need to enter a password on a device that can’t use iCloud Keychain, say things like “Hey Siri, show my Netflix password”. This takes you to Settings > Passwords & Accounts and, after checking your identity, shows the requested credentials. Look up memories You can ask Siri to show photos of named people in your library, places, times, and even objects. For example, try “Hey Siri show photos of my dad”, “of dogs”, or “from last December”. Translate more Siri in iOS 12 is able to translate between more than 40 language pairs. Not sure if one you need is available? Just say “Translate” to Siri and it’ll return a list of the languages it works with.…

Apple News has a revamped interface in iOS 12. The changes are most impactful on iPad; using the new sidebar is much faster than the five tabs that used to run across the bottom of the screen. On iPhone, things are still organised in tabs, but three of them – Following, Search and Saved – are grouped in Channels. There’s a new item in Settings > News: Always Show ‘Up Next’. Turned on by default, it keeps the share, love/dislike, text formatting and ‘Next story’ link visible as you read. Turn it off and the controls are hidden as you scroll down to help you focus on reading the content. They come back when you reach the bottom (or top), scroll upwards, or tap the top or bottom edge of…

Battery life is the one concern that never goes away, so in recognition of that Apple has made the Settings > Battery page more visual and interactive to help. Additionally, it has extended the long-term view to 10 days, which may help if you find your phone runs low on power on specific days as you can compare your app activity and routine on them. The data visualisation has two parts: The top chart shows battery charge over time, and the bottom one shows activity from apps and services for each period, and an idea of how much of it took place while the screen was on or off. Below the new charts is a breakdown of apps’ energy usage, like in previous versions of iOS. You may see a…

NEW IDEAS Your in-depth guide to getting more from your Apple kit GET YOUR MAC TO READ TO YOU p42 Understand iOS gestures A tap is a brief contact of (usually) one finger on your device’s screen. To drag is to move a finger across the screen to scroll or pan around content. Swipe means move one or more fingers across an item or the screen, then let go. A flick is like swiping, but it’s quicker, and is often used to scroll content more quickly. Pinch means move two fingers together or apart, usually to zoom in or out. Touch and hold means lightly rest your finger on an item and wait for a reaction. Master Mac keyboard shortcuts When you see a shortcut like command + option +…

IT WILL TAKE 20 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to add lights to Portrait mode pics, and the principles of good lighting to use them YOU’LL NEED An iPhone 7 Plus, 8 Plus or X, Apollo: Immersive Illumination What makes professional portrait shots look so good is not just the quality of camera or framing. Proper studio lighting elevates a photo beyond the norm. That’s why Apple includes some special lighting effects as part of Portrait mode, but you don’t get any control of those, so you can’t be artistic. That’s where the app Apollo: Immersive Illumination (£1.99) comes in. It lets you add custom lights to Portrait mode photos, setting their colours and positions to cast realistic glows on your subjects, for pro-style results. The thing is, lighting is…

EXPERT ADVICE Our resident genius solves your Mac and iOS problems How can I keep old apps working on future systems? Q Will macOS Mojave be able to run 32-bit apps – I have several I can’t update. If not, could I run them in a macOS ‘virtual machine’? A Mojave does run 32-bit apps, although the first time that you open them in Mojave it informs you that their days are numbered. Apple originally warned that High Sierra would be the last macOS to run 32-bit apps “without compromise”, though it didn’t explain exactly what that meant. In fact, Mojave will run 32-bit apps, but the next major version after it – 10.15, expected in late 2019 – is now the version that looks destined to kill off support…

Should I upgrade from El Capitan with Adobe CC? Adobe CC 2017 apps are now compatible with High Sierra, and full details are at bit.ly/mfadobehs. If you’re running an earlier version of CC, Adobe recommends that you update to 2017 first. It’s best to wait for Adobe to produce a similar document before you upgrade your system to Mojave. Where can I get more sources for the Dictionary app? Most commercial dictionaries for macOS use their own apps, rather than Apple’s bundled Dictionary, which requires them in a special format. There’s a fine collection of freeware dictionaries for many languages at bit.ly/mfdicts. To install them, simply put each in a folder within /Library/Dictionaries, then open the Dictionary app, go to its preferences, find the new dictionaries in the list and…

We’re going to focus on consumer VPNs in this guide. A normal connection to the internet – whether over an Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi – sends data in packets that aren’t subject to any additional forms of encryption on top of what may already have been applied (such as to data sent to and from a secure website over the HTTPS protocol). The data is requested, sent and received through servers supplied by your internet service provider (ISP), which can be used to identify you, your location and your internet usage. A VPN effectively adds another, more secure layer to the process. Each packet of data is encapsulated, which basically means it’s wrapped in an outer packet that’s encrypted prior to being sent – think of this outer packet as…

Like all forms of encryption, VPN can’t promise to make you hackproof (see below). Neither can it make you invisible or anonymous online – if someone is monitoring your internet connection, they can still see data is being received and transmitted, and they can probably guess a VPN connection is being used. Neither does a VPN mask your online activity: even though the packets are encrypted, the data itself isn’t, so your internet behaviour can still be tracked using cookies and other existing technologies by websites and data providers. A VPN is just one element in a multi-layered approach to security and privacy. When it comes to web browsing, for example, use your browser’s private mode to avoid leaving telltale traces of where you’ve been. A VPN is just one…

AIRPODS ALTERNATIVES ON TEST... > Anker Soundcore Liberty Lite > Jabra Elite 65T > Jaybird RUN > Optoma NuForce BE Free5 > Rowkin Micro Touch There’s no getting around the fact: AirPods have become incredibly popular among iPhone users. More than a few armchair commentators saw the launch of Apple’s wireless in-ear headphones in 2016 as a sad reflection of the times – an age of mobile streaming services in which audio quality standards had given way to cursory musical appreciation and casual listening convenience. But the truth is that improvements in wireless streaming tech have made concerns over sound quality overblown, and that’s partly down to Apple’s own efforts (just have a listen to a HomePod, for example). The popularity of AirPods has once again justified Apple’s ruthless approach…

Free, or optional subscription (from about £5 per month) FROM Readdle, sparkmailapp.com NEEDS iOS 10 or later Its premise is that email is still at the centre of our working lives, so why not build a tool around that? There’s no shortage of email clients vying for space on your iPhone or iPad’s home screen, so why should you be bothered about another? Well, for one thing Spark is more than just an email client. Sure, it allows you to send and receive email from any account, and to file it, flag it, or even ignore it if that’s what you want to do. But Spark also merges features from collaborative tools such as Slack and Microsoft Teams. Its premise is that email is still at the centre of most…

Jo Membery Operations Editor Having spent weeks culling her worst photos, Jo’s now employing the tricks of the trade learnt from our Skills section for her ‘above-average’ shots. Alex Blake Commissioning Editor Alex has finally upgraded his ageing iPhone 6 Plus and original Apple Watch. Everything now runs so fast he’s not sure if he will be able to keep up. Paul Blachford Art Editor Still struggling to save up for that elusive new Mac Pro, Paul is hoping for a trickle-down price effect on other ‘older’ Apple kit to get his upgrade fix.…

RIP BACK TO MY MAC FEATURE WILL NOT APPEAR IN macOS MOJAVE Back to My Mac, the macOS feature that lets you connect to your other Macs over the internet, has been phased out in Mojave. Apple lists alternatives at bit.ly/mfmjbttm. They include using iCloud Drive for access to files, but there has been no increase on the 5GB iCloud storage space provided for free, so that may require you to pay for more. NEGLECTED NO LONGER MACBOOK AIR AND MAC MINI TO GET REFRESH If you’ve been holding out for an updated Mac mini or MacBook Air, you may be in luck, as a report from Bloomberg has claimed that both devices will soon be updated by Apple. The Mac mini is reportedly gaining a ‘pro’ update with more…

1 150 Mac OS X 10.3 Panther came with a raft of performance improvements – over 150, according to Apple. It was also the first version of the system to feature Safari. 2 3 million Mountain Lion, or Mac OS X 10.8, was popular right from the off. It was downloaded 3 million times in its first four days – a record at that time. 3 £21 million OS X 10.7 Lion was downloaded one million times on its first day. Priced at £20.99, that would have made Apple almost £21 million in just 24 hours. 4 400% Launched in 1997 at a tough time for Apple, Mac OS 8 exceeded expectations by 400%, selling 1.2 million copies in its first two weeks. 5 128MB The first version of Mac OS…

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! SAVE UP TO 57% Turn to page 30 “DO YOU WORRY ABOUT GADGETS AFFECTING YOUR EYESIGHT?” Alex says… Alan says… I use my phone a lot in the evening, so I turned on Night Shift as soon as it was introduced. It really helps the screen feel less harsh. Yeah, it’s a really nice feature. I recommend friends and family try it out for a while, even if the orange tint feels odd initially. I have a friend who has an Android app for the same purpose, but the tint makes its way into screenshots too. Night Shift doesn’t, and I’m less conscious of it after this long. I find its all-day-long, ambient light-based counterpart, True Tone, truly indispensible. Turn that off a few times during a day…

Many of the distractions you encounter each day come from notifications – that is, unless you take time to meticulously configure them in Settings > Notifications. Let’s face it: it’s likely you’ll be annoyed but quickly move on, only making changes if the interruptions are frequent. Even if your notification settings are just right, Notification Centre and the Lock screen can become overcrowded. iOS 12 addresses these weaknesses to help you keep this invaluable but often irritating feature under control. Grouped Notifications We’ve all had it: a Lock screen that’s filled with so many notifications that it’s hard to know where to begin. Things are a little neater and easier to deal with now, as iOS 12 groups notifications, stacking them up by app in a smaller space so you…

Machine learning already makes your devices proactively helpful, a prime example being the app suggestions in Spotlight that save you searching. Your devices work out what to show there based on what you do and when. However, iOS 12 takes this to the next level by suggesting much more specific actions you can ask apps to do. If you often call someone, request a route and start a playlist on your way home, your device may recognise that. You’ll start to see shortcuts for things like these on the Lock screen and in Spotlight, saving you having to unlock your device and jump between apps. You can control where shortcuts appear under Siri Suggestions in Settings > Siri & Search – the Lock Screen item is new in iOS 12.…

There’s a brand-new app in iOS 12, Measure, and it’s available on iPhone and iPad. The app uses Apple’s augmented reality (AR) tech, ARKit 2, to measure the distance between points on flat surfaces. Third-party apps beat Apple to this task when ARKit was first introduced, but the point is Apple now bundles an AR app with iOS. Note that while the app can measure distances between points on flat surfaces, it can’t be used to measure the length of an arc on a curved surface, say. To see more of what ARKit can do – at no cost – go to developer. apple.com/arkit/gallery in Safari. Browse a sample of 3D models, put them on surfaces in the camera’s view, then pinch to resize, twist to turn, and move around…

The app for making audio notes is revamped, and is available on iPad at last! Its record button is easier to reach, on a black bar at the bottom of the screen, so on Plus-size iPhones in particular there’s less of a stretch Accumulated memos you no longer need? Now when you tap Edit, you can quickly select as many as you want to delete and clean up. When playing a memo, there are now Podcasts-style buttons for skipping 15-second increments, rather than dragging the timeline. 1 Get started Even though the record button is closer to your thumb in this design, you don’t actually have to tap it to start recording. Swipe upwards from the black bar. 2 Naming Recordings are named after your current location. Don’t want to…

The ability to mark up docs and images in any app where the Share sheet is available is immensely useful, but the tools were a little lacking in options – until now! 1 Line thickness After selecting one of the three drawing tools, tap on it a second time to reveal new options. There are five line thicknesses and an opacity slider. 2 Opacity reminder Sometimes you’ll see a tiny number displayed at the bottom of the selected tool’s graphic. That’s shown only when the tool is set to draw semi-transparent lines, reminding you to change that setting if it’s not what you want. 3 More colours! Do the annotation colours blend in with your document, or maybe you want something that pops a bit more? You’re no longer limited…

IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to share your location and see where friends are YOU’LL NEED Trusted Contacts, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp Find My Friends is a great app, and a clever use of Location Services, but it has one drawback: it’s Apple-exclusive. Perhaps one day this won’t matter, but while people insist on using non-Apple smartphones, you’re going to need a cross-platform solution to meet up with your kids or friends. The first, and perhaps most obvious, port of call is Google, whose Trusted Contacts app is available across iOS and Android phones. Contacts added to its list can request your location, and you’re free to refuse. If your phone is out of signal range or its battery isn’t charged, your last known location is shared.…

How do I test if two binary files are identical? One quick screen is to select both files in Finder, choose File > Get Info and compare their sizes in bytes – if they don’t match exactly, they can’t be the same. Beyond that, it’s simple and quick to compare SHA-256 signatures using a tool like Hash (£0.99, Mac App Store). How do I check a silent macOS security update has been installed? Apple doesn’t notify when these occur, so macOS only tells you after one is installed – it shows up in the list of installations in System Information. LockRattler (Free, eclecticlight.co) connects to a page that lists the latest version of each tool, and can check for waiting updates. Could I use a local snapshot to revert to…

Does your internet activity sometimes need to take place over a cafe or hotel’s Wi-Fi? What about accessing BBC iPlayer or finishing off your latest Netflix obsession when you’re on holiday abroad? Whether for increased assurance of privacy, the ability to access UK-specific video content, or you want access to computers and storage devices back home or in your office, a virtual private network is the solution. Here we talk about the pros and cons of the tech, dispel some myths about it too, and explain how to make sure you’re getting a good deal that suits your needs.…

Not all VPN services are equal – each one should be rigorously checked so that it meets your needs before you part with any money. A VPN’s performance will depend on the protocols it uses, plus how many servers it employs worldwide (the more servers it uses, the less congested each one will be). And speaking of servers, check to see which countries it offers servers in – is your chosen one covered? Each VPN should be rigorously checked, so that it meets your needs before you part with any money Pricing is important, of course, but not all paid-for services are equal, as you’ll see opposite. What’s the VPN’s policy on logging? Where’s the VPN company physically based (this determines which jurisdiction it’s under – and affects its data-retention…

Connecting to your VPN by app is quick and convenient, but what if you want an always-on connection that’s protecting you from the moment you log in? Start by checking your app’s preferences to see if it can be configured to do so – for example, NordVPN app users should open the sidebar and choose Settings, then flick the switches to ‘Start on Boot’ and ‘Connect on Start’. (You also need to select your choice of server.) If your VPN app doesn’t offer this feature, it’s possible to add the functionality using a script – or you could just follow our step-by-step guide for a more user-friendly approach. 1 Download VPN app Go to blog.timac.org/2018/0719-vpnstatus/ and click the ‘Precompiled VPNStatus’ link to download the VPNStatus app. After copying it to…

Your home is a sanctuary. It’s where everything important happens. Valuable equipment is smaller, lighter and easier to dispose of than it ever was. Cars, now secured by advanced immobilisation, aren’t hotwired away any more – thieves would sooner dart into your house, take the keys and be gone with your vehicle in seconds. If you happen to be targeted you’ll want to know about it fast, employ the most secure methods you can to fortify your home, and – if worst comes to worst – have the evidence you need to catch the culprit. Investing in home security kit is about far more than security in the long run. There’s a big layer of convenience to it, a large dash of self-assurance and, mixed with the rest of your…

IN PRINT ON IPAD & IPHONE ISSUE 330 OCTOBER 2018 Troubleshoot Mac problems yourself Take control with Family Sharing Best office apps rated Reviewed: new MacBook Pros ISSUE 329 SEPTEMBER 2018 Stay connected: iCloud demystified Essential Mac, iPhone and iPad apps Safer surfing: advanced tips for Safari iPad keyboard cases reviewed ISSUE 328 AUGUST 2018 macOS Mojave and iOS 12 revealed Our in-depth guide to Photos How the App Store changed the world Reviewed: budget 4K displays To order back issues of the print magazine, go to bit.ly/macformat_back or phone +44 (0)844 848 2852 and we’ll post them out to you. Download back issues onto your iOS device at any time and keep them forever in your personal library. bit.ly/macformatipad NEVER MISS AN ISSUE! SUBSCRIBE TODAY! IN PRINT & ON…

£599 FROM Blackmagic Design, blackmagicdesign.com FEATURES Radeon Pro 580 graphics processor, 8GB of GDDR5 memory, 2x Thunderbolt 3 ports, 4x USB 3 (Type-A) ports, HDMI 2.0 port The fan is impressively quiet – we could barely hear it in a near-silent environment External graphics processors, or eGPUs, offer a lifeline to boost the graphics capabilities of Thunderbolt 3-equipped Macs beyond what’s built in. This one differs from Razer’s Core X (see last issue) in that it’s ready to go, rather than needing you to choose and install a card. Blackmagic has opted for a Radeon Pro 580, a mid-range processor that costs about £300 as a removable card. Note that, unlike the Core X, the card here isn’t replaceable. Getting rid of heat generated by graphics processors is a concern…

1 Audio quality Do they provide decent sonic reproduction in the lows, mids, and highs? Is the bass overpowering or well balanced? Do music genres sound muddy or vibrantly clear? You want to enjoy the audio experience. 2 Earbud fit Are the earbuds comfortable to wear? Don’t forget, the real test comes with prolonged use. Also, do they isolate you from the noise and commotion of the outside world, or let in a pile of sound pollution? 3 Battery life How long do the earphones last on a single charge, and do they take an age to recharge from empty? You don’t want to be sitting around waiting for them to hit 100% for too long. Also, what’s the capacity of the included charging case? 4 Bluetooth connection Some wireless…

Trash talk If you find yourself deleting files often on your Mac, you’re probably already aware that they end up in the Trash, which you can browse by clicking its icon at the right end of the Dock. The Trash serves as a handy safety net in case you accidentally delete something, but its contents are still taking up storage space on your Mac. If you need to make room, you‘ll need to empty the Trash. To do this, ctrl-click on the Trash icon and choose Empty Trash. You can set your user account to automatically empty the Trash after 30 days: switch to Finder, choose Finder > Preferences, then click the Advanced tab and turn on the relevant option. If you’re deleting files from a USB memory stick to…

GET ON INSTAGRAM Share your images with us by using the hashtag #MacFormat and we’ll print the best here in the magazine. While you’re there, follow @MacFormat (Twitter) and @MacFormatUK (Instagram). Craggle rock Wharncliffe Crags Nowt says South Yorkshire like a gritstone escarpment. This shot ticks a fair few of our natural element requirements – craggy grey gritstone, orange-tinged bracken, green rolling fields, woodland, and blue skies with the odd wispy cloud. The area, which is not far from Sheffield, is a wildlife haven, so if you’re up that way, see if you can pop along and catch sight of the tree pipits, nightjars, newts and dragonflies. Share your pics with us using the hashtag #MacFormat on Instagram. In each issue, we’ll pick our favourite to feature on this page.…

[MOVIE] The Eyes of Orson Welles £9.99 Mark Cousins’ piece is a love letter to Welles – and his drawings and paintings – influenced by a striking photo of the movie pioneer. [PODCAST] Someone Knows Something FREE SKS digs into cold cases from Canadian criminal history in search of the clues needed to find answers and bring closure. [TV SHOW] Maniac NETFLIX What if taking a pill could solve all your problems? That’s the pharmaceutical dream offered in this one-off series starring Emma Stone and Jonah Hill.…

A BAD MOVE FROM APPLE? I have just ordered – and received – my ninth Photo Book from Apple, and beautiful it is too. My son has made several as well. Imagine then my horror at learning that Apple intends to stop its print service at the end of September. This is terrible, and I believe it wouldn’t have happened under Steve Jobs. Surely part of the iLife experience was that you could get these beautiful books and many other things? Sure, Apple has offloaded this to a third-party service, but have you seen the quality? Not to mention the interface. It’s awful. I sense the hand of accountants here. If Apple keeps on like this and offloads any more services to third parties, there’s going to come a time…

STEVE WOZNIAK woz.org “I don’t measure the world by… simplifications like round numbers. A company is great because it is great.” Apple co-founder cautions against reading too much into Apple’s $1tn valuation TIM BERNERS-LEE w3.org “I’m… an optimist standing at the top of the hill with a… storm blowing in my face.” Internet pioneer says net neutrality repeal threatens the future of the web WARREN BUFFETT berkshirehathaway.com “In terms of its utility to people and what they get for a thousand dollars… it’s incredible.” The famous investor believes the iPhone X is “enormously underpriced” OM MALIK om.co “The most irrelevant thing on the Watch is the watch face.” Tech pundit says the Watch is about much more than just telling the time…

Password practices often leave a lot to be desired, many of us reusing the same password in multiple places. If just one sites suffers a breach, you run the risk of those credentials being tried on other sites and services to gain access to even more of your information. So, iOS 12 does a few simple things to encourage you to adopt better habits. When creating an account on a website, iOS 11 would ask if you wanted it to create a secure password, but offered the option of cancelling and choosing your own. The difference in iOS 12 is subtle. The phrasing in its dialog tells you it has gone ahead and generated a strong password, though it doesn’t submit it to the website or app until you allow…

The third-party app called Workflow, which Apple bought in 2017, has been renamed Shortcuts and gained new capabilities. Other apps expose to it actions that can be taken within them. You stitch together a sequence of actions, potentially involving multiple apps, to achieve a task. These sequences can be run within Shortcuts itself, from the Share Sheet, from a Home screen icon, from Shortcuts’ widget in the Today view, or – like the one-step shortcuts that iOS itself suggests – by saying your chosen phrase to Siri. 1 The gallery Not sure how to use the app? A good way to learn is by example. Tap Gallery in the bottom bar to browse premade shortcuts you can download. Tap one, then Show Actions to see what it can process and…

1 Make your Memoji In Messages, tap the Animoji button in the apps bar. In the gallery that opens, tap + (far left) to create a new Memoji. Skin colour, hair, facial features and more can be tailored. 2 Create variations You can make multiple Memoji. If you only want to alter small details, like headwear, tap the ellipsis (…) under a Memoji in the gallery, pick Duplicate, tap the ellipsis again, then choose Edit. 3 Record yourself Like Animoji, Memoji track your face movements. Select yours in the gallery and tap the red button. The max length has been extended to 30 seconds. 4 Add more personality You can add cheeky expression to Animoji and Memoji. Stick out your tongue or wink and the avatar will too. 5 Special…

The latest version of Apple’s ebook and PD F reader brings with it a visual and navigational overhaul. Way back when Apple released iOS 7, it stripped out skeuomorphic effects from its apps, though some aspects of the analogue world remained – notably, the page-turning effect in iBooks. iOS 12 reintroduces a small amount of that playful nod to physical media, adding a hardback spine effect to previously flat cover artwork. However, the big changes come in how you keep track of things you’re reading and what you’d like to read, and discover new books over time. 1 Reading Now The top row of this tab shows your most recently read book at the top left. To the right (iPad) or just below (iPhone) are covers of other books you’ve…

1 Identify your tabs Make tabs easier to tell apart by going to Settings > Safari and turning on ‘Show Icons in Tabs’. They appear at the top of each item in the tabs overview. Also turn on Show Tab Bar to see them there. (On iPhone, it appears in landscape mode.) 2 Check data usage It’s easier to work out which apps use the greatest amount of your mobile data allowance. In Settings > Mobile Data, they are sorted in descending order of usage, not by name, so you can identify hogs without scrolling through them all. 3 Double Face ID Does Face ID fail to recognise you some days? It may be because you’re wearing different headwear than usual, for example. Register a second face scan in Settings…

YOU WILL LEARN How image stabilisation techniques remove camera shake, and their limitations When cine cameras became small enough to hold in one hand, they began to change the way we recorded family memories, as well as freeing movie directors from the pedestals on which bulky filming rigs were wheeled around. But there was a visible problem: while most people could hold a stills camera – well, still for long enough to take a photo – shooting moving pictures resulted in what became known as ‘shakycam’. While the producers of gritty dramas shrugged and called it a style, audiences – including your in-laws – were inclined to grumble that they felt seasick and couldn’t see what was going on. In the mid-1970s, cameraman Garrett Brown invented a body-mounted, counterweighted gimbal…

Can I access Wikipedia offline? First download the free Kiwix reader, which handles the special ZIM compressed format that offline sites come in. Then visit bit.ly/mfkiwix for a list of downloads. A full Wikipedia in English is around 83GB, but without pictures that falls to 20GB. Can I mute someone in an iMessage group conversation? You can’t ‘mute’ their messages to the group, and you’ll continue to see them so long as they and you are both members of that group. However, you can turn off receiving alerts for all messages from that conversation: open the conversation in Messages and tap the ‘i’ icon to see the switch.…

VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and, as its name suggests, is a way of creating a more private connection to the internet. VPNs act like a network within a network by adding a virtual layer to your physical network connection. This layer creates a special tunnel to connect a client (such as your Mac or phone) to a server (the remote location). All data sent between server and client is encrypted, so it can’t be read by another party. There are two main uses for VPN, which determine the type of server being used. The first type is a consumer VPN, which is used to provide a more secure and private connection to the internet, regardless of the security of the network you’re connecting through. It means you can…

There’s no real need to pay for a VPN if you only need it for occasional use – say when browsing on the road. Free services may only offer a subset of features found in paid-for packages, but you can still pick a service that will cover you for basic use. Things to look for include: monthly bandwidth limit, availability of apps, logging policy and availability of servers. Both choices below can be supplemented by hide.me, which allows you to use its servers (500MB per fortnight) without having to register your details. TunnelBear Free, tunnelbear.com If you can live with its 500MB cap on data, TunnelBear has everything else in spades: loads of locations for bypassing geo-restrictions, high security (IKEv2/IPsec and OpenVPN) through its free app, and some handy fail-safe…

We’ve seen how VPN clients work for secure internet access, but how do you configure a VPN server to dial back home to your own network? If all you want is access to your Mac when on the road, then Back to My Mac is the obvious choice (though it’s discontinued in macOS Mojave). If you need to widen access to other kinds of device, then you need a VPN server. Until recently, macOS Server made this process easy, but its VPN server functionality is being depreciated. The best place to implement a server is at router level, so check to see if your router supports acting as a VPN server in this way. If it doesn’t, then a good alternative is a network hard drive – QNAP, Synology and…

Swann Smart Security Camera £129.99 FROM swann.com FEATURES 6,000mAh battery If you have a large home with a wide perimeter, some camera systems (mentioning no names, Arlo) are pricey to get started with. Swann’s lower-priced cam, once you’ve delved into the settings to up its quality from the highly compressed default, can capture a very decent 120° picture despite its bargain-buy status, and it can do even more when used as an indoor cam, including zone-based motion sensing. Its heat-based passive infrared sensor (PIR) cuts down on false-positive activations, and we love the mounting mechanism, pivoting via a magnetic dish on the back when placed on the mount’s metal ball. You’ll need to pull the whole cam down to recharge it, and, ironically, it’s probably easily stolen. Ring Spotlight Cam…

BUYING ADVICE Our authoritative reviews help you make more informed choices Manifesto – our ratings explained Our reviews are totally independent; we’re not affiliated with Apple or anyone else, nor are we influenced by advertisers. You can trust us to give an honest assessment of a product’s worth. The prices quoted for products are correct at the time of writing and are the best we can find from a reputable online dealer, excluding delivery. A brilliant thing in all regards, and worth every penny Strongly recommended; any flaws are only minor concerns Worth considering, though there may be better options Notable flaws; look at alternatives as a priority A waste of your money and everyone’s time; do not buy! The Mac FORMAT Awards Awarded to a five-star product we believe…

£319 FROM Insta360, insta360.com FEATURES Six-axis gyroscopic stabilisation, MicroSD card slot Tis camera is a small lozenge with 4K, 180° cameras on each side, combining to create 360° footage. The device feels solidly made, and operating it standalone is relatively straightforward – one press of the single button to turn it on, another press to take a photo, a double-press to begin video recording, and three presses to start 120fps ‘bullet time’ recording. Connecting it to an iOS device reveals the Insta360 One’s true power, though. The integrated Lightning connector is tidy, and the app works well, bar a few translational mistakes. From the app, you can start and stop 360° recording and set shutter speeds and ISO. In relatively dim light, footage is impressively crisp and clear. In good…

£2.99 FROM LateNiteSoft, camera.plus NEEDS iOS 11 or later Camera+ was one of the earliest ‘pro’ camera apps for iOS. But at eight years old, the original version looked pretty tired and has now been updated. In Camera+ 2, the main shooting window is well thought-out. All the major controls are available, like flash, macro mode, portrait mode (where available) and camera selection, including a wide/telephoto toggle for dual-camera phones. By tapping the small button next to the shutter you can hide or reveal on-screen displays like grid and spirit level, as well as change shooting modes. Autofocus tap, zoom and manual exposure are available, and you can use manual focus, white balance and shutter priority mode. You can store original copies of your images and can use different formats…

MONITOR Philips 328P6AU BREB £400 philips.co.uk Getting a colour-accurate display used to cost a pretty penny, but this monitor is both impressive and affordable. It hits 99% of the Adobe RGB gamut – great for colour-critical work – and supports 10-bit colour. Throw in a host of ports (including USB-C), an IPS display and a great price, and you have a seriously good screen. NETWORK STORAGE Drobo 5D3 £749 drobo.co.uk With two blazing fast Thunderbolt 3 ports and a 5Gbps USB-C port to boot, the Drobo 5D3 can provide you with rapid file transfers to and from your Mac. You can load it up with up to five HDDs or SSDs of differing capacities, giving you plenty of flexibility for storage options. It’s pricey, but a worthy investment. PRINTER Epson…

iOS 12 Shortcuts Cookbook: Unlock the power of Apple’s new app ALSO INSIDE… Save time and do more with Spotlight Learn Pages 7’s new tools for making stationery Group test: Family storage for your network Apple Pencil and Logitech Crayon go head to head … and more! Contents subject to change ISSUE 332 ON SALE 23 OCT 2018 DON’T MISS IT – SUBSCRIBE TODAY! IN PRINT & ON YOUR IPAD Our print and digital bundle gets you the paper magazine as well as our iPad edition myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/macformat ON YOUR MAC Read digitally on your Mac: subscribe with Zinio at zinio.com/macformat Zinio subscriptions do not include a print copy of the magazine.…