MacLife August 2021

It feels as if every time Apple announces a new event, there’s always a plague of disappointment when the company doesn’t produce the goods that the tech Twitterati has been rumoring for months beforehand. It’s as if we have this misguided illusion that Apple only makes products or services to suit what we want, and when we want it. And that’s exactly what happened at this year’s WWDC event. Instead of accepting that this event was primarily set up in mind to showcase new software developments to, well, developers, the general public was enraged when Apple chose to only reveal the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, macOS and watchOS, and not give us a sneak peak of some up–and–coming shiny new hardware. The thing is — Apple does the same…

I’m really surprised that you wrote in the May 2021 issue on page 19 that “you can’t decide to upload some but not all of your photos — it is an all–or–nothing deal.” Then you go on to describe how to create shared photo albums. Shared Albums is in fact exactly how you upload only some of your photos to iCloud. This is how I have been sharing my reference photos for watercolor paintings to and from iPhone, iPad, and iMac. You simply create a shared photo album that only you use. It’s very simple: In your iCloud settings for Photos, skip over iCloud Photos and My Photo Stream; just enable Shared Albums. Then create a Shared Album and add only the images you need in iCloud. They will then…

AT THIS YEAR’S Worldwide Developers Conference — like last year’s, a virtual event — Apple announced major updates to all its software platforms. In iOS 15, arriving this fall, Spatial Audio is added to FaceTime calls, so each person’s voice sounds as if it’s coming from where that person is located on screen. New mic modes optionally isolate your voice from ambient sounds for clarity, while Portrait mode for video calls blurs the background. A new Grid View in Group FaceTime calls lets you see more faces at a time. While connected with friends over FaceTime, you can use the new SharePlay feature to listen to songs together in Apple Music, watch TV shows or movies in sync from Apple TV+ and other streaming services, or share your screen to view apps…

> PRIVACY CONTROLS ARE enhanced with Mail Privacy Protection to hide your IP address and help stop trackers from snooping on emails, plus an App Privacy Report revealing how your apps are sharing information. With on–device speech recognition, Siri requests are now processed entirely on your device by default for even greater security and faster response. > WITH iOS 15, AirPods now offer Conversation Boost to aid users with hearing difficulties, plus Announce Notifications, enabling Siri to speak notifications and even read you your shopping list when you arrive at the appropriate predefined location. > iCLOUD+ INTRODUCES NEW features including Hide My Email, which generates a unique random address to conceal your real address while it forwards incoming mail, new Account Recovery features, and more. Current iCloud subscribers will be upgraded to…

THE NEW FEATURES in iOS 15 — including SharePlay, Focus, Safari Tab Groups, and Live Text — are also coming to iPad in iPadOS 15 this fall, plus more. You can now organize and personalize your iPad by placing widgets among app icons on Home Screen pages, including a new larger size widget. A new App Library automatically organizes your apps into categories such as Productivity, Games, and Recently Added for faster access to apps right from the Dock. A new multitasking menu appears at the top of apps, making it easier to go into Split View or Slide Over with just a tap, or with an external keyboard you can use new shortcuts for multitasking. There is quick access to the Home Screen when using Split View, making it easier…

AS APPLE’S PLATFORMS continue to converge, the hot new features in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 are also coming to the Mac in macOS Monterey this fall. The Focus feature helps you stay in the moment by filtering out notifications unrelated to your current activity. FaceTime includes spatial audio, optional voice isolation, Portrait mode video, and SharePlay. Safari has a new, compact tab design with Tab Groups to organize tabs, and these sync across Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Quick Notes make it easy to jot down ideas or links, and Notes gains tags, tag–based Smart Folders, and mentions. In addition, Shortcuts arrives on the Mac, enabling you to automate many tasks, with a range of pre–built actions designed just for Mac and a Shortcuts Editor to customize and create more. Automator is…