MacLife November 2020

Typical. Just a few days before going to press, Apple announced its September Apple Special Event. Normally, it would have just sneaked into the calendar for this October on–sale issue, but possibly due to the COVID–19 pandemic it was a week later than usual. At the time of writing, the rumors suggest the possibility of a new Apple Watch — Series 6 (the event tagline is “Time Flies” which could be the giveaway, or perhaps it’s more to do with the year flying by due to everyone focusing on coronavirus all of the time). There’s also talk of an iPad of some description — maybe a new iPad Air with an edge–to–edge display to help boost sales of the non–Pro models. The iPhone 12 was also on the cards, but…

WHILE 2020 HAS not been a great year for the film industry in general, streaming services have become increasingly popular thanks to the COVID–19 pandemic. And Apple’s nine–month-old Apple TV+ service is looking like it’s off to a good start with 18 Primetime Emmy Award nominations across all of its digital offerings. Leading the field for Apple TV+ is The Morning Show. It features five acting nominations, with Jennifer Aniston receiving her first dramatic role nomination and Steve Carell being nominated for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. Other Apple TV+ shows receiving nominations are Beastie Boys Story, Defending Jacob, Central Park, Home, and The Elephant Queen. It’s the most program and acting nominations yet for a streaming service that’s in its first year. NEW SHOWS COMING Launched on 1 November 2019, Apple…

APPLE IS HITTING back at Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite that’s in the throes of suing Apple following the game’s removal from the App Store on its iOS devices. Apple has now launched a counter–suit claiming Epic Games has engaged in “willful, brazen, and unlawful conduct.” “Although Epic portrays itself as a modern corporate Robin Hood, in reality it is a multi-billion–dollar enterprise that simply wants to pay nothing for the tremendous value it derives from the App Store,” says Apple. “Epic’s demands for special treatment and cries of ‘retaliation’ cannot be reconciled with its flagrant breach of contract and its own business practices, as it rakes in billions by taking commissions on game developers’ sales and charging consumers up to $99.99 for bundles of ‘V-Bucks.’” When Epic circumvented the usual…

ONE THING THAT characterizes iOS 14, Apple’s latest OS for the iPhone, more than anything else is that it enables you to accomplish your tasks more easily. It does this both by better organizing apps and features, and displaying them in ways that better fit with how most of us use our phones. So, we have redesigned Widgets, Smart Stacks, and Apps Clips. This last one is particularly intriguing as it allows you to access some of the functionality of an app without actually installing it. Incoming call notifications now only take up part of the screen, which means they no longer feel like such an intrusion if you’re working in another app when they come in. Siri has gained more smarts and can now suggest apps when you first pick up your…

HOW TO Customize your home screen 1 Use the App Library Swipe left across the Home screen until you see the App Library after the last screen of apps. Tap a large app icon to open the app. Or tap a small app icon to open that folder and display all the apps that are inside it. 2 Hide pages The App Library means you no longer need pages full of apps. Tap and hold on any empty part of your Home screen. When the apps start to jiggle, tap the bar with dots in it at the bottom of the screen. 3 Pick pages to hide You’ll see a grid of pages. Tap the check mark to de–select pages, which will hide them and make accessing the App Library quicker. When you’re finished, press Done.…

Messages and more MESSAGES GETS A significant update in iOS 14. You can now pin conversations to the top of the list so you can keep track of them more easily. And group conversations have been brought closer to competitor apps — you can now give a group conversation a photo, emoji or Memoji to make it easier to spot in the messages list. If you want to address someone in a group conversation, you can “mention” them by typing their name. When you mention someone, their name is highlighted, and notifications can be configured so you only receive them for group conversations when you’re mentioned. You can also now reply directly to messages in a conversation. With iOS 14 it’s now possible to specify system–wide defaults for a web browser and mail…