MacFormat May 2020

It’s been just over eight years since Apple delivered iCloud to the world (it launched 12 October 2011, fact fans), and its power and reach has grown exponentially in that time. It enables you to seamlessly sync your data across all of your devices and then access it anywhere, acts as a relatively safe haven for your iPhone photos and videos, and even forms the backbone of other Apple apps and services – from the App Store and the iTunes Store to Reminders, Notes, Keynote, Numbers and Pages. It’s all pretty amazing when you think about it. But… iCloud is such a many-tentacled thing it can sometimes be tricky to a) work out what it does, why and how; and b) a little confusing to use – especially when it occasionally…

It’s been just over eight years since Apple delivered iCloud to the world (it launched 12 October 2011, fact fans), and its power and reach has grown exponentially in that time. It enables you to seamlessly sync your data across all of your devices and then access it anywhere, acts as a relatively safe haven for your iPhone photos and videos, and even forms the backbone of other Apple apps and services – from the App Store and the iTunes Store to Reminders, Notes, Keynote, Numbers and Pages. It’s all pretty amazing when you think about it. But… iCloud is such a many-tentacled thing it can sometimes be tricky to a) work out what it does, why and how; and b) a little confusing to use – especially when it…

HOT TOPIC! Apple unveils MacBook Air Twice the power, twice the storage Apple’s most popular laptop got an update in March, with Intel quadcore processors available for the first time, plus twice as much solid-state storage than before, and the same Magic Keyboard used on the 16in MacBook Pro. The entry-level MacBook Air now costs just £999 (£100 cheaper than the 2019 model it replaces) and comes with a 10th-generation Intel Core i3 (Ice Lake) processor running at 1.1GHz, plus Intel Iris Plus Graphics, 8GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory and 256GB of SSD storage (up from 128GB before). The £1,299 step-up model boosts the base model spec to a 10th-generation 1.1GHz Intel quadcore i5 CPU and 512GB of SSD storage. However, delve into the build-to-order options and you can also ask for a 1.1GHz…

HOT TOPIC! Apple unveils MacBook Air Twice the power, twice the storage Apple’s most popular laptop got an update in March, with Intel quadcore processors available for the first time, plus twice as much solid-state storage than before, and the same Magic Keyboard used on the 16in MacBook Pro. The entry-level MacBook Air now costs just £999 (£100 cheaper than the 2019 model it replaces) and comes with a 10th-generation Intel Core i3 (Ice Lake) processor running at 1.1GHz, plus Intel Iris Plus Graphics, 8GB of 3733MHz LPDDR4X memory and 256GB of SSD storage (up from 128GB before). The £1,299 step-up model boosts the base model spec to a 10th-generation 1.1GHz Intel quadcore i5 CPU and 512GB of SSD storage. However, delve into the build-to-order options and you can also…

Apple has published the names and images of the winners of its Night mode photography competition, which it launched in January to promote the camera smarts in the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. Thousands of people worldwide took part in the competition, but only six images from China, India, Russia and Spain made the final cut. The winners – Konstantin Chalabov, Andrei Manuilov, Mitsun Soni, Rubén P Bescós, Rustam Shagimordanov and Yu ‘Eric’ Zhang – will have their photos featured in a gallery on Apple’s website, on its Instagram page and on billboards globally. Crucially, each photographer will also receive a licence fee for their work – something Apple was upfront about this time after being criticised by professional photographers over its 2019 ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign. Night mode is…

Apple has published the names and images of the winners of its Night mode photography competition, which it launched in January to promote the camera smarts in the iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max. Thousands of people worldwide took part in the competition, but only six images from China, India, Russia and Spain made the final cut. The winners – Konstantin Chalabov, Andrei Manuilov, Mitsun Soni, Rubén P Bescós, Rustam Shagimordanov and Yu ‘Eric’ Zhang – will have their photos featured in a gallery on Apple’s website, on its Instagram page and on billboards globally. Crucially, each photographer will also receive a licence fee for their work – something Apple was upfront about this time after being criticised by professional photographers over its 2019 ‘Shot on iPhone’ campaign.…