MacFormat October 2021

Our Macs are brilliant: fast, easy to use, powerful, and they “just work”… until you suddenly find they don’t. Luckily, this month’s lead feature (p20) is here to help you unleash your inner Apple Genius and fix those annoying problems that crop up from time to time – from apps that don’t play nicely to networking issues to the dreaded flashing question mark folder at startup. Over 13 pages, you’ll discover the tips, tricks and techniques that can help bring your Mac back to its full just-working glory. Turn to p62 and you’ll find an in-depth guide to another modern problem – how to eke out more battery life from your devices, whether it’s a MacBook, an iPhone, an iPad or an Apple Watch. We’ll help you identify power hogs and…

Our Macs are brilliant: fast, easy to use, powerful, and they “just work”… until you suddenly find they don’t. Luckily, this month’s lead feature (p20) is here to help you unleash your inner Apple Genius and fix those annoying problems that crop up from time to time – from apps that don’t play nicely to networking issues to the dreaded flashing question mark folder at startup. Over 13 pages, you’ll discover the tips, tricks and techniques that can help bring your Mac back to its full just-working glory. Turn to p62 and you’ll find an in-depth guide to another modern problem – how to eke out more battery life from your devices, whether it’s a MacBook, an iPhone, an iPad or an Apple Watch. We’ll help you identify power hogs…

Jo Membery Operations Editor After months of working from home, Jo is marking our “return to the office” by taking an extended summer break. All the more doughnuts for us! Paul Blachford Art Editor When Paul’s not designing MacFormat pages, he creates exquisite renders of dream Apple products for our sister site, TechRadar. SUBSCRIBE TODAY! & GET A GREAT FREE GIFT WORTH £50 TURN TO PAGE 34 macformatuk.tumblr.com facebook.com/macformat twitter.com/macformat Instagram.com/MacFormatUK…

Over the past year, Apple’s business practices have come under scrutiny from governments across the world that believe the Cupertino giant is too large and potentially abusing its powerful position. The UK government has not been absent from these intrigues, and has been mulling actions to exert more control over Apple and other ‘Big Tech’ firms. One of the government’s latest moves is its mooted introduction of the Digital Markets Unit, or DMU, which will operate under the Competition and Markets Authority. This unit will be able to assign companies ‘Strategic Market Status’, which means they will need to follow “new rules of acceptable behaviour with competitors and customers in a move that will benefit the public and drive growth and innovation across the economy.” The designation will be applied to companies that…

Over the past year, Apple’s business practices have come under scrutiny from governments across the world that believe the Cupertino giant is too large and potentially abusing its powerful position. The UK government has not been absent from these intrigues, and has been mulling actions to exert more control over Apple and other ‘Big Tech’ firms. One of the government’s latest moves is its mooted introduction of the Digital Markets Unit, or DMU, which will operate under the Competition and Markets Authority. This unit will be able to assign companies ‘Strategic Market Status’, which means they will need to follow “new rules of acceptable behaviour with competitors and customers in a move that will benefit the public and drive growth and innovation across the economy.” The designation will be applied…

Rumours that Apple has been working on iPhone reverse charging finally bore fruit when the company released its £99 MagSafe Battery Pack. This small puck magnetically clips to the back of an iPhone and offers up to 5W of wireless power for your phone when attached. If the Battery Pack is connected to a 20W charger or higher over Lightning and clipped onto your iPhone, it can charge your phone at 15W. Interestingly, its own internal battery can be restored by your iPhone. When the two devices are attached, you can plug in your iPhone and it will start charging the MagSafe Battery Pack as well. This uses the iPhone 12’s reverse-charging tech, which was discovered in late 2020 but has only just been enabled by Apple. Currently, it doesn’t work…