Inhaltsverzeichnis für October 2024 in Macworld

The M4 chip is finally coming to the Mac. The latest rumors say that before the end of this year, we will see updates to the MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac mini, with the Mac Studio, Mac Pro, and MacBook Air getting the same chipset next year. Usually, I get excited by updates of any kind to the Mac lineup. But this time? Meh. IT’S ALL THE iPAD PRO’S FAULT The new iPad Pro is the only Apple device to sport an M4 chip, and while that’s all fine and dandy for Apple’s tablet, its very presence dampens the enthusiasm I might have felt for any M4 Mac if for no other reason than there’s no mystery. Now that the M4 is out, we know what kind of performance to…

If you bought a new MacBook recently, you likely have one with a notch at the top of the display. As with the cutout on the iPhone, it’s where the FaceTime camera is housed, but unlike the newer iPhones, macOS doesn’t have a Dynamic Island-like feature where the cutout is used as a user interface anchor. NotchNook shows that it can be done—the notch on the MacBook can be a more useful part of the UI. It basically adds a Dynamic Island–like UI to the menu bar with things like media and shortcuts widgets, a file repository, and more. It has a lot of potential, but some aspects of the app could make you hesitate before installing it. NotchNook opens simply by moving the cursor to the MacBook’s notch (it also…

I usually work at home, but I like to go to a local coffee shop and work there while I grab some lunch. When I do go to the office, it’s an open space. In both of those situations, I feel a little exposed because people can easily see what I’m doing on my MacBook screen. We’ve all had that instance when we’ve caught someone peeking at the screen you’re working on—it’s awkward regardless of how discreet you care to be about what you’re working on. You can maintain some of that privacy on your MacBook by using a screen overlay that cuts down the viewing angle of the MacBook. I’ve been using the StarTech.com Laptop Privacy Screen, and it’s helped me feel less exposed and more comfortable in those…

DWARFLAB DWARF 3 SMART TELESCOPE With an enhanced 35mm telephoto lens and periscope, the Dwarflab Dwarf 3 connects wireless to your iPhone and can snap pictures of the stars at night with its Sony Starvis IMX 6768 sensor. It can even be used during the day to take pictures of bird in flight. If offers full manual and automatic controls and the ability to schedule when shots should be taken.—ROMAN LOYOLA HEXCAL STUDIO It’s been said that a cluttered desk leads to a cluttered mind, so if you’re willing to invest in the ultimate clean desk setup, there’s the Hexcal Studio. It combines a monitor stand, cable management, and multiple power plug types all in one unit that stretches across your desk. It even had a desk light so…

It’s only been a little more than a decade years since Apple unveiled its new Lightning port with the iPhone 5, but the tiny port is nearly completely gone. After the European Parliament voted back in 2022 for a new rule requiring all new phones and smaller electronics that use a cable to charge to be equipped with a USB-C port, the countdown to the death of Lightning began. While the rule technically only applies to new products sold in Europe, Apple has embraced the change globally with the launch of the iPhone 15. (If you own one, check out our roundups of the best USB-C iPhone charging cables and best USB-C iPhone chargers.) But it’s not just iPhones. Apple has already dumped Lightning on the iPad and AirPods Pro, and there…

The Belkin Auto Tracking Stand Pro is a motorized iPhone stand that can rotate 360 degrees. It can track your face and body (thus it’s not for the paranoid). So if you use your iPhone for FaceTime or the camera to record video of yourself, the Auto Tracking Stand Pro can be very useful by keeping you within the video frame. It’s able to track your movements because the stand implements Apple’s DockKit, a framework that works with the iPhone to figure out how to frame items in the best position. You don’t need to do anything—just mount your iPhone on the Belkin stand, then launch FaceTime, the Camera app, or any other app, and it will figure out how to track you. According to Belkin, it should work with…

With almost every iPhone launch, Apple states how its latest flagship is the best it has ever created. While the company undoubtedly enhances its smartphone line with every annual upgrade, not all of its releases have been equally impactful. With the iPhone 16 debut less than two weeks away, it’s time to walk down memory lane and highlight the seven best iPhone models yet. 7. iPHONE 5S (2013) The iPhone 5s will always have a special place in my heart. For starters, it was the very first mainstream smartphone to feature a chip with a 64-bit architecture. At the time, many perceived the A7 chipset as overkill due to the simple phone tasks. Nevertheless, the shift pushed the industry forward and influenced Android phone makers, which followed suit soon after. Speaking…

While most passwords we create should be kept strictly private, there are always some accounts or other secrets we need to share with a limited number of other people. Starting in iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma, you can create groups within Apple’s Passwords system to share and sync passwords securely. Apple imposes some significant limitations on sharing: > Everyone must be running iOS 17, iPadOS 17, or macOS Sonoma (or later, starting this fall) to access items in a shared group. > They must be in your contacts list. > There’s no support for Android or Windows or for web-based access. If that fits your sharing requirements, then using Apple’s system could be the best course, as it requires no additional software or subscription. To start sharing passwords…

Let’s face it, the idea of cloning your Mac’s hard drive can be simultaneously awesome and intimidating. This enters the next level of tech prowess, and you want to be sure that the archive you’re creating on an external volume is spot on, can be easily accessed later, and is easy to recover data from in a pinch, especially if the original hard drive is failing, making the infamous “click of death” sound, or mechanically spinning itself into nonfunctional slag. This is where Shirt Pocket’s SuperDuper! comes in (version 3.8 at the time of this review). Long a favorite of the Mac techie community, SuperDuper! has been a reliable go-to in the event that your hard drive was failing and data needed to be recovered from it. While not quite as…

Apple on Monday quietly released a web version of Apple Podcasts that allows access to Apple’s podcast service without using the Podcast app. The new web portal has the same access and management tools as the Podcasts app and can be used to listen to shows, manage subscriptions, sync libraries associated with an Apple Account, and browse podcasts on the service. The web version can be accessed at podcasts.apple.com. However, entering that address in Safari for iPhone or iPad will cause a prompt to appear, telling the user that the site will be opened in the Podcasts app. Opening the address in Chrome for iPhone launched the Apple Podcast website in the browser. The address works in any browser on desktop. The release of Apple Podcasts on the web comes after Apple…

Sometimes it feels like the big tech companies have lost the script about how to make things that people really want. Take Apple Intelligence. Apple Intelligence may very well end up being a boon for Apple’s platforms. Certainly, anything that improves Siri is going to be a welcome addition. Still, there’s a fair amount of evidence that no one wants this stuff. For example, CNN reports, “brands should avoid this popular term. It’s turning off customers.” That “term” is not what I thought of, which was “mouth feel.” Turns out it’s “AI.” If you don’t believe me, then maybe you’ll believe the Taco Bell Distinguished Professor of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University: “We looked at vacuum cleaners, TVs, consumer services, health services,” said Dogan Gursoy, one of the study’s…

The last Apple USB SuperDrive sitting in the company’s warehouse in the U.S. has left the building. According to the online U.S. (and Canadian and Australian) Apple Store, the Apple USB SuperDrive is “sold out”, and while Apple hasn’t officially made an announcement, we don’t expect the company to replenish its stock. After all, the days of optical media have come and gone. Apple introduced the SuperDrive in 2008, to go along with a wedge-shaped laptop that fits in a manila envelope called the MacBook Air. Back then, Apple didn’t think you should even bother with the SuperDrive, stating in the MacBook Air press release: “Many MacBook Air users will not find a need for an optical drive now that they can wirelessly rent movies from the iTunes Store, wirelessly…

The Satechi Thunderbolt 4 Multi-Display Docking Station (with DisplayLink) is a full docking station with 11 ports, including three Thunderbolt 4 and two HDMI 2.0 ports, that can support up to four external 4K displays at 60Hz. Connect this collection of fast ports to your laptop for a full desktop experience on any Thunderbolt/USB-C MacBook. The only other Mac-compatible dock we’ve seen with as many downstream Thunderbolt 4 (TB4) ports plus more display ports is the mega 21-port iVanky Fusion Dock Max dock that achieves this feat by having an unprecedented two Thunderbolt chips inside…and a $500 price tag. This single-chip, more affordable Satechi docking station instead gains such display power by using third-party DisplayLink Software. This enables even M1 and M2 Macs to connect to up to three displays (one…

When the iPad arrived in 2010, it was instantly clear that Apple got it right. The tablet computer wasn’t a new thing, but the design and interface of the iPad were on a different level, with a slim form factor, speedy processor, multi-touch interface, and a satisfying experience. It felt like a device from the future. Now that we’re in that future, the original iPad seems like a relic with giant bezels and a thicker body than two of the latest iPads stacked together. The latest iPad Pro has a processor that’s light years ahead of the A4 that shipped in the original iPad and a design that brings a significantly larger display in a body that’s nearly 75 percent thinner: Original iPad Height: 9.56 inches (242.8mm) Width: 7.47 inches (189.7mm)…

Google made a lot of noise with the launch of four new phones—the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold—with new chips, features, and designs. All four phones have the newest Tensor G4 chip with up to 16GB of RAM and prices that rival those of Apple’s highest-end iPhones. With a heavy focus on “Google’s most advanced AI” and the promise of “powerful performance,” you’d think the Tensor G4 is a powerhouse of a mobile chip that blows away the latest Snapdragon processors and competes with the A17 Pro in the iPhone 15 Pro phones. We’ve got the first benchmark scores and that’s not quite the case. Official reviews aren’t live yet, but the first scores have popped up and our sister site, Tech…

It seems like rechargeable batteries are everywhere—phones, laptops, watches, you name it. We’ve come to rely on such battery-powered devices, but they all need to be recharged eventually. What can you do when you’re in a situation where you’re going to be nowhere near a power outlet for an extended period? You can get a portable power station—a device a bit bigger than a lunchbox, housing a big battery that can carry enough power to charge or power small devices. This review takes a look at one such device: the Jackery Explorer 300 Plus Portable Power Station. I also looked at the optional SolarSaga 40W Mini Solar Panel that works with the Explorer 300 Plus for charging the device with solar power. DESIGN, PORTS, BATTERY The Explorer 300 Plus weighs…

With the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, Apple offers standard configurations to make it easy to pick a laptop. They seem straightforward, but if you think about all the things you do on a Mac—whether you’re a student or a professional—you can start to wonder which model to choose, and you may even find it difficult to decide. It’s a decision you don’t want to take lightly. You’re investing a considerable amount of money, and you don’t want to end up with a Mac that isn’t up to the task or one that has more than you need. This guide was created to help shoppers figure out what to look for when buying a MacBook. We’ll cover the main components you need to consider: the CPU, the GPU, the amount of…

If you’ve invested in AppleCare+ for your Apple device and the policy runs out, you now have more time to extend it. According to an Apple support document, customers now have 45 days to extend an AppleCare+ policy. Previously, Apple granted 30 days. The policy change seems to have gone into effect on August 14, when the support document was updated. An AppleCare+ policy can be extended for 24 or 36 months and paid monthly or annually. The price varies, depending on the device. Users can check their device coverage by logging into mysupport.apple.com with an Apple Account and then clicking on a product in the My Devices section. According to the support document, the 45-day window is available in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia, and several other countries. However,…

When it comes to ads finally arriving on Apple TV+, the question isn’t so much if but when—and, more importantly, for how much. Of course, there aren’t any ads on Apple TV+ yet, and Apple has yet to confirm any of the rumors about ads coming to Apple TV+. But with each of Apple’s biggest streaming competitors rolling out their own ad-supported tiers, the arrival of ads on Apple TV+ is starting to feel inevitable, and it’s not like there’s been an absence of signs. Most recently, The Telegraph reported that Apple has “held talks” with Barb, a joint venture between the U.K.’s largest TV networks that’s charged with tracking TV viewing habits, about “potential options for tracking adverts on Apple TV+.” There have been other signs as well, including…

If you’re looking for a cheap 4K streaming device, you can’t do much better than the Chromecast with Google TV. Available for $50 with 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos in a tidy design that plugs into an HDMI port and hides behind your TV, Chromecast is the perfect foil to Apple TV 4K: half the price with most of the basic functionality. Google’s newest device, aptly named Google TV Streamer, is a different animal. Priced at $99, it competes directly with Apple TV 4K on price and features, with a 32GB device with ethernet and HDMI that also serves as a Matter smart home hub and Thread border router. Apple, by comparison, charges $129 for a 64GB Apple TV 4K with a similar set of features (minus ethernet) and $149…

On Thursday, the Steve Jobs Archive revealed a new online exhibit that features Steve Jobs’ presentation at the 1983 International Design Conference. “The Objects of Our Life” exhibit features video footage of a 28-year-old Jobs explaining how technology will change the way things are done. In the 55-minute video, Jobs talks about the history of computers and how the kids of the time are part of the “computer generation” and “in their lifetimes, the computer will become the predominant medium of communication.” He explains how computers can be used in education, financial transactions, software development, and so on. At the time, the Lisa computer had just arrived in January, so Jobs talked about how it was made for creative design. The exhibit has additional footage from other talks Jobs did at the…

The Anker Prime 27650mAh Power Bank (250W) is one of the most powerful laptop power banks that you can match with your MacBook. It has bundles of battery capacity in a portable package. In particular it is a great fit with the 16-inch MacBook Pro, which has a battery rated at around the same watt-hours (99.6Wh) as this power bank (99.56Wh) and can be fast-charged at 140W. Attach Apple’s USB-C to MagSafe 3 cable to the power back, and you can utilize one of the two 140W PD 3.1 ports to fast-charge the 16-inch Pro. Although the power bank ships with a perfectly acceptable 140W-capable USB-C to USB-C cable, Apple allows fast charging only using its proprietary charging cable. TECH SPECS Battery capacity: 99.56Wh Fastest power output: 140W Total power…

Let’s face it—the main reason most of us want to run Windows on our Macs is so that we can play Windows games. There are, of course, many business and professional users who need to run Windows apps on their Macs for work—but there are millions more Mac users who want to play Diablo IV or Fortnite instead. So it was a bit of a landmark moment when Apple unveiled its Game Porting Toolkit (GPTK) at WWDC last year, as that was one of the few occasions in Apple’s entire history when it actually did something to help games developers bring their games onto the Mac. Whisky emerged following the launch of the Game Porting Toolkit last year—in fact, it’s actually based on GPTK and is very much focused on running Windows games…

There was a brief shining moment where it seemed like Apple might really have cracked the automotive industry—it wasn’t necessarily for the reasons you might think. Yes, the company tried hard for years to build its own car in a variety of ways, everything from designing the underlying automotive systems to building the whole thing from the ground up. But it wasn’t Apple’s own ambitious car project (now by all accounts dead and buried) that saw it make inroads into the automobile sector. It was the relatively modest addition of CarPlay. Now, the question of where CarPlay is heading has become increasingly murky in the wake of Apple’s car project’s demise. The company announced (fave.co/3XndIAO) a next-generation push that can use all of a car’s displays, with an interface tailored…

The iPhone’s video camera has gotten so good that it’s often used instead of a more expensive professional camera. Add the fact that an iPhone is much smaller–you can’t put most professional video cameras in a pocket–and the iPhone has become an attractive videographer’s tool. Traditional video cameras do have an advantage in that they offer more capabilities for fine-tuning. But the iPhone is trying to compete at that level, too, with Apple’s release of Final Cut Camera for iPhone. Packed into the app is the ability to tweak camera settings such as white balance, ISO, and shutter speed. Manual focus and frame-rate adjustments also add to the overall minutia of possibilities. When used as a companion to the new Final Cut Pro for iPad 2.0, you’ll find a well-oiled…

If you need to recover some lost data from your iPhone, there are a number of apps (see our roundup of the best data recovery apps for iPhone, with Dr.Fone being one. But calling Dr.Fone a data recovery app is a little of a misnomer. That’s because Dr.Fone is absolutely packed to the gills with features. Some are very useful, some are fairly useful, and some won’t be very useful at all, but the exact categories each of those find themselves in is largely down to user intent. Thankfully, you can just buy the things you want or need from Dr.Fone’s repertoire of tools, meaning that while it may set you back $100 for the whole kit and kaboodle, it’s well worth a look at each of its individual pieces,…

Six popular Microsoft apps for the Mac have security vulnerabilities that could allow a hacker to “gain any privileges already granted to the affected Microsoft applications,” according to a report by Cisco Talos. The apps affected are Microsoft Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, and Word. Microsoft runs an entitlement that disables macOS’s hardened runtime, which provides security against Dynamically Linked Library hacks. This can allow a hacker to install malicious software into Microsoft’s apps. “The attacker could send emails from the user account without the user noticing, record audio clips, take pictures or record videos without any user interaction,” according to Cisco Talos. The security firm stated that “Microsoft considers these issues low risk,” and that the company “has declined to fix the issues.” Microsoft has updated Teams and OneNote to…

Sometimes an app can take care of the big-picture items but shoot itself in both feet by forgoing the smaller things. This is the case with ESET Home Security (available in Essential, Premium and Ultimate configurations), developed by Slovakian software company ESET, a long-standing entity in the software security world. We looked at ESET Home Security Premium, which offers extensive antiviral and malware protection, Real-time File System Protection, a password manager, an encryption tool, and other features. The software downloads and installs cleanly from ESET’s website, and it’s easy enough to set up a 30-day trial with only an email address and no credit or debit card needed. ESET Home Security Premium retails at different price points given the number of devices it’s installed on and the number of years you’ve…

I had such high hopes for tvOS 18, the Apple TV software update due out this fall, that I bought a new Apple TV 4K streaming box just to take advantage of it. While tvOS 18 isn’t a major upgrade all around, it comes with a machine learning-powered dialogue enhancer that could make a big impact in the Newman household. I’m often juggling the volume on our 2017 Apple TV 4K to avoid waking the kids after their bedtimes, so adding an extra oomph to dialogue without raising the overall volume sounds pretty appealing. The feature doesn’t work on pre-2021 Apple TVs—apparently they lack the computational muscle—so off to Best Buy I went for the latest model. After setting up the box and installing the tvOS 18 public beta, I’m…

HOW TO USE PLANTS, BIRDS, AND OTHER OBJECT IDENTIFIERS IN PHOTOS Apple built machine learning into Photos starting in iOS 15, iPadOS 15.1, and macOS 12 to identify certain kinds of items in photos. These include works of art, flowers and other plants, pets and animals, popular landmarks, and other less-classifiable objects. Apple calls this Visual Look Up, though the name doesn’t appear in the interface. The Photos app offers visual clues when recognition is complete or an attempt is available that you might not have noticed or might have seen and not realized how useful it can be. In Photos for macOS, any image with a recognized item will overlay an icon in the single-photo view that appears when you double-click an image. You may have to first click…