MacFormat February 2016

Structure Sensor Turn an iPad’s camera into a mobile 3D scanner 2D is so yesterday! This accessory attaches to an iPad and connects with a Lightning cable. The sensor expands on the iPad’s built-in camera to capture and display 3D scans. It casts thousands of invisible infrared dots onto objects in a room. Using ‘structured light’, the sensor records the distance between each dot and the camera to construct a 3D geometric picture. The sensor has a depth sensing range of nearly 12 feet, so it’s perfect for scanning around indoor rooms to take multiple measurements at once. FROM $379 (about £250) WEBSITE structure.io INCLUDES iPad bracket WORKS WITH iPad Air, iPad Air 2, iPad mini 2, 3 and 4…

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! 3 ISSUES FOR £5! * Turn to page 46 *INCLUDES PRINT AND DIGITAL EDITIONS It’s exactly 32 years since the Mac first said “hello”, and to celebrate we’re saying hello with an all-new MacFormat. We’ve been hard at work reinventing the magazine to better reflect your needs and today’s changes in the Apple ecosystem. As well as a fresh new design, which we hope you’ll find easier to read, we’ve introduced some brand-new sections and totally overhauled others too. First off there’s Apple Home, your new monthly guide to the connected home, something that’s becoming increasingly important to the world of Apple with the advent of HomeKit. Each issue we go deep into smart home tech to help you make the right purchases and show you how to…

We thought 2015’s ultrathin and light 12-inch MacBook would replace the MacBook Air, but if the rumours are true we could see a new range of Airs in mid-2016. With the 12-inch MacBook fulfilling needs when it comes to small screens, it’s more likely that an updated MacBook Air range would come in 13-inch and 15-inch screen sizes. Let’s look at the likely benefits of that. Alex says… Despite the MacBook, there is still a place for a new range of Airs THE POLL WE ASKED… What would be your most desired feature for the iPhone 7? Log on and see next issue’s big question! twitter.com/macformat facebook.com/macformat RUMOUR MILL # Hot on the heels of the tech giant’s latest moves… 1 UP IN THE AIR Fingers point to a March…

Mac users have always felt rather well- insulated from the malware that has so blighted PC users, but a report from security sages Symantec suggests that may soon change. The firm points to a number of recent Apple security breaches – such as the XcodeGhost debacle of September 2015 – as evidence that Mac and iOS threats are on the rise. It quoted a recent study that found that the number of OS X malware samples detected in 2015 was five times greater than the previous five years combined. “Should Apple continue to grow in popularity, it seems likely that these trends will continue”, said report author Dick O’Brien. Elsewhere, the report suggests that the growing popularity of Apple products may spur on the malware authors. However, O’Brien also pointed…

Two months after the launch of the new Apple TV, the platform is faring well according to data analysts AppFigures, with roughly 3,000 apps being available for it by the end of 2015. The data suggests that tvOS has been warmly embraced by developers, with the number of apps growing at a similar pace to the iOS App Store when it first launched. Predictably, there were more tvOS games available for download than any other category of app, with almost two fifths of apps falling into this category. However, the majority of the 50 most downloaded apps were actually from the entertainment category, suggesting they are more popular among users – with the top 10 apps all being streaming services such as Netflix. The BBC released its iPlayer app in…

$ 666.66 THE PRICE THAT THE APPLE I FIRST SOLD FOR Steve Wozniak said that it was simply because he “liked repeating digits”, and when the price worked out at $667 (a markup of a third) he changed it to $666.66 because it was simply an easier number to write. 10% THE STAKE THAT RONALD WAYNE HAD IN APPLE Wayne was the third Apple co-founder and held a tenth of the company on 1 April, 1976. He sold up for just $800 on 12 April, 1976. He also accepted $1,500 to not claim against Apple in the future. In 1982, Apple made its first billion dollars and is now worth more than $700 billion. 481 THE NUMBER OF APPLE STORES IN THE WORLD Apple’s stores have expanded steadily since 2005,…