MacFormat 1 April 2015

The world of Apple products is a vibrant ecosystem that’s about to get its next major asset – the Apple Watch. But the core systems of OS X and iOS have been coming closer together for years now, and with Yosemite and iOS 8, the ecosystem dream of true interoperability is here thanks to Continuity, Handoff, iCloud Drive and more! We explore all of these great features, showing you how to maximise your productivity when using all your Apple devices together. And we’ll also rekindle your love for Apple’s OS X Server, an oft-forgotten software gem that can be a Time Machine target for your family’s Macs and use your internet connection more efficiently. Also in this issue we take a look at Apple’s new CarPlay system, which puts iTunes…

We round-up the Apple stories that matter to you Apple’s iPad shipped five years ago this April, instantly defining a new computing genre when it did. “Is there room for a third category of device in the middle? Something that’s between a laptop and a smartphone?” asked Apple’s co-founder, Steve Jobs, when launching it. “iPad creates and defines an entirely new category of devices that will connect users with their apps and content in a much more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before”, he said. Apple began iPad development in the early noughties, Jobs said at the D8 conference in 2010. “I actually started on the tablet first. I had this idea of being able to get rid of the keyboard, type on a multi-touch glass display,” he…

Tim Cook www.apple.com “History has shown us sacrificing our right to privacy can have dire consequences. We still live in a world where all are not treated equally.” Apple boss stands up for all of us Jony Ive www.apple.com “Everything we make [is] partially wrong, because it’s not perfect.” Apple designer says there’s always room to improve Laurene Powell Jobs www.newyorker.com “I never thought about a sconce before I met Steve. Steve would have a definite point of view about this ceiling. And I learned about mullions.” Steve Jobs always had opinions, his widow confirms Brian White www.cantor.com “Given the growing enthusiasm around personal robots at CES… we believe Apple has an opportunity to… develop personal robots for the home.” Analyst predicts the Apple iRobot…

01 Apple Car? A spate of recent hires from Tesla and other car firms suggests Apple plans to make a car. 02 How much? The 18-carat gold Apple Watch Edition will cost from $10,000, some industry observers are predicting. 03 Ive quits? Lots of speculation Jony Ive plans to quit Apple emerged after an interview in The New Yorker. He’s still there. 04 iTunes gets human Apple is hiring music journalists to boost iTunes, most recently recruiting Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, who will work in Cupertino. 05 The Apple Watch store Apple may introduce dedicated Apple Watch store areas within key high-fashion retailers, if their new product takes off.…

Free energy Apple will invest £1.25 billion (€1.7b) in two data centres in Europe, both powered by renewable energy. “This significant new investment represents Apple’s biggest project in Europe to date”, said CEO Tim Cook. “We’re thrilled to be expanding our operations, creating hundreds of local jobs and introducing some of our most advanced green building designs yet”. The centres will be located in County Galway, Ireland, and Denmark’s Central Jutland. They will drive the iTunes and App Stores. iMessage, Maps and Siri in Europe. Apple claims it now employs 18,300 people across 19 European countries and its extended economy supports over 500,000 European jobs. The two data centres will open in 2017. Public iOS betas Apple will begin public beta testing for future iOS releases, following the success of…

When I was a kid, a million was a big number. Around the early 1980s, billions became the unit of serious money. Now it takes trillions to move the dial. So it’s unsurprising that Apple seems set to become the first US company to hit a trillion dollar valuation. Apple’s current share price of $133 sets its valuation at $775 billion. It seems very likely to reach the $172 Apple needs to hit the 12 zero handle. Even sceptics like me start to give up on how anything as fragile as a business can be worth that. But markets listen only to the drumbeat of the future, and today’s rhythm is e-Cars. Tesla has shown a shiny electric car can add billions to your market cap. The mere whiff of…