Table of contents for February 2022 in MacFormat

Whether your Mac is a whizzy new M1 iMac, an M1 Pro MacBook Pro or an older Intel machine, there are probably times when you just wish it had more ‘oomph’ – and that’s exactly what’s on offer in this month’s lead feature, starting on page 20. In ‘Power up your Mac’, you’ll discover all kinds of clever ways to squeeze even more performance out of your machine, plus we share some tips, tricks and shortcuts that’ll help save you both time and energy – whether you’re putting finishing touches to a work project, working on your favourite Mac-based hobby or just want to make your Mac life easier and more organised. On page 62, you’ll find 82 of the best apps for Mac that you can download and use…

WE ASKED… Which model iPad will you buy next? Log on and see next issue’s big question! twitter.com/macformat facebook.com/macformat Apple’s classified design labs revealed Design magazine Wallpaper* has been granted access to Apple’s secretive design labs, revealing some interesting insights. For instance, when it came to creating the first AirPods prototypes, Apple worked with academics to scan thousands of ears to learn how to design for both the inner and outer ear. There are many other interesting anecdotes, from how tricky it was to get the right tap sensation on the Apple Watch to how important typography is to the company. Apple’s SF Symbols font offers over 100,000 symbol combinations, while SF Camera was created specifically for the Camera app with the idea of feeling ‘boxy’ and analogue.…

Apple updates its Apple Watch every year, but 2022 could see three separate versions, say well-known reporter Mark Gurman and Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In his weekly newsletter, Gurman explained Apple would release the Apple Watch Series 8, alongside a new Apple Watch SE and a special rugged version aimed at extreme sports enthusiasts. This follows a report from Gurman in March 2021 that alleged Apple was considering a hardier version of the wearable for hikers, athletes, and other demanding users. According to Gurman, this rugged Watch was dubbed the ‘Explorer Edition’ inside Apple and would include a rubberised exterior that would offer greater protection than the current Apple Watch. The Apple Watch Series 8, meanwhile, could come with temperature and blood pressure monitoring features, plus blood glucose tools, according…

1 Muse S > £329.99 > choosemuse.com Even though the Muse S is billed as a ‘digital sleeping pill’, you wouldn’t want to swallow one. It’s a smart headband that aids meditation, and offers sleep tracking and some fancy neuroscience, which it claims will help you fall asleep more easily. Once paired with your wireless headphones, the Muse S helps you relax via guided meditations and sleep-preparation exercises. That alone could help you get a more restful night’s sleep. But, beyond that, the band also tracks your brain activity using a built–in EEG. Not only does this give you a breakdown of how you slept when you wake up the next morning, but the device will detect restless periods during the night and automatically begin playing relaxing audio snippets to…

Whether you only use your Mac occasionally or you’re the kind of power user who spends hours sitting or standing in front of it every day, it’s likely that you sometimes become frustrated because it won’t run as quickly or as smoothly as you’d like it to or you think it should. It’s also likely that you’ve encountered the dreaded beachball, and that you know that there are things you could do differently that would make using your Mac more productive but haven’t got round to figuring out what they are. That’s exactly what we’ll do over the next 11 pages. From everyday housekeeping tasks that will keep your Mac running smoothly, to tips and tricks to make you more productive, to third-party apps that can do a lot of…

Anyone who has used a Mac for more than a few weeks knows that while you might start out with a pristine storage drive with lots of free space, it doesn’t take long before you start to fill it with apps, images, music, documents and lots of other files. Given that many Macs still ship with only 128GB of storage, it’s often not long before your Mac starts to groan under the weight of all that data. The good news is that there is plenty you can do to free up storage starting with the built-in Manage storage feature. This handy tool, accessed by clicking on the Command menu and choosing ‘About this Mac’, then Storage > Manage will tell you what is taking up space on your drive and…

Fans of Automator will know how useful, and how much fun, creating automated workflows can be. The same goes for Shortcuts in iOS or iPadOS. Now, Shortcuts has come to the Mac with macOS Monterey and it’s Automator with rocket boosters. As you’d expect, Shortcuts on the Mac syncs with iCloud, so any shortcuts you’ve created in iOS appear in the Gallery on your Mac. Shortcuts are comprised of actions, and actions can be almost anything that you do on your Mac, from copying text to playing a track in your Music library. You build shortcuts by adding actions and passing their output to the next action in the sequence. A shortcut can be as simple as adding one reminder to a list, or have multiple actions involving several apps.…

IT WILL TAKE 30 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to spot and delete duplicate tracks in Apple Music YOU’LL NEED Apple Music Identify and delete duplicate tracks, and organise playlists in folders It’s been 20 years since Apple launched the iPod. At the time, the only way to get music onto the device was to rip your own CDs or download tracks from one of the fledgling download services and add them to iTunes manually. Over the years, iTunes evolved, opening its own download store in 2003 and allowing you to upload your own tracks to iCloud in 2013. Then came Apple Music streaming, and finally, the replacement of iTunes with the Apple Music app on the Mac. Time to tidy up If, like us, you’ve been using iTunes the…

IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to capture low-light shots using the Camera app YOU’LL NEED iPhone 11 or later In low-light, newer iPhones have the edge over their predecessors due to wider apertures As the nights draw in we have less daylight hours to shoot in. And, when it’s cold outside we’re more likely to take shots indoors. In low-light conditions, traditional DSLR photographers can manually set a faster ISO speed to make their camera more sensitive to available light. However, this can add ugly specks of digital noise to a shot. Alternatively, a wider aperture will let in more light, but then that can make it harder to get the subject in sharp focus. DSLR photographers can also set a slower shutter speed but this…

How to check and manage app subscriptions? To view and control your subscriptions, open the App Store app and tap your account icon at the top right. Tap Subscriptions, then the item in the list of your subscriptions. This shows all plans available, allowing you to pick a different one, or cancel your current plan and resubscribe as you wish. How to reduce mobile data use in Safari? One simple way is to stop it from preloading your search results, which it does to open the first result more swiftly. In Settings tap Safari and then disable Preload Top Hit. Unless you often open that first hit, the only difference you’ll notice is a fall in data use. Why does my M1 Mac crash when waking with a dock? This…

Yahoo Weather From mobile.yahoo.com/weather Available on iOS, iPadOS Apple’s own weather app had a huge update on iPhone recently; on iPad the weather widget takes you to weather.com. Yahoo’s weather app remains one of our favourites with hourly and longrange forecasts, all kinds of info and some nice location-aware photos too. An Otter RSS Reader From anotterrss.com Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS Promising to be ‘the most okayest and minimalist RSS reader on iOS and macOS’, this is a simpler, more visually appealing alternative to the likes of NetNewsWire for RSS feeds. You don’t get the power-user features of rival readers, but An Otter does the basics brilliantly. NetNewsWire From netnewswire.com Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS NetNewsWire does for reading what Overcast does for podcasts. It enables you to subscribe…

Pages, Numbers and Keynote From apple.com/uk Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS Chances are the best office apps for you are already on your device. The recently updated Pages, Numbers and Keynote apps are Microsoft Office compatible (including change tracking and comments in Word documents) but do their thing with a distinctly Apple sensibility. Pages doubles as a pretty great desktop publishing program, the mobile versions are fantastic and fast, and the apps all integrate brilliantly with your Photos library too. Spark From sparkmailapp.com Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS Spark is like the standard Mail app with superpowers. It offers a smart inbox and smart search, email snoozing and mail templates, shared composition, email scheduling, follow-up reminders and excellent notifications. The free version has up to 5GB of shared file storage…

Cyberduck From cyberduck.io Available on Mac Cyberduck began as an FTP app but it’s more than that; it’s a powerful cloud browser with support not just for FTP and SFTP but WebDAV, Amazon S3, OpenStack Swift, Backblaze B2, Microsoft Azure and OneDrive, Dropbox and Google Drive. It’s a great app for remote file management. BBEdit From barebones.com Available on Mac Although BBEdit is a paid product, its free mode isn’t just a demo; it’s effectively TextWrangler, a code and text editor with multiple undo, multiple clipboards and tons of customisation options. Its multi-file search-and-replace features are very good and it’s incredibly fast. Transporter From apple.com/uk Available on Mac Apple’s Transporter used to be a command-line tool for uploading content or apps to Apple, and now it’s an app. It’s a…

The internet should have a sign above it that says ‘here be dragons’. Social networks follow you around the web to see where you go and what you like; advertisers use all kinds of tools to build up incredibly detailed profiles of you to sell on or use to target you with ads; and all kinds of sites use dirty tricks that make the web a whole lot less fun. But Safari gives you the tools you can use to fight back, to keep your privacy protected, and to disable the features that some websites use to make your life more difficult. Despite impressive competition, Safari is still our everyday browser — and its privacy features are a big part of that. Unlike search engines and social networks that make…

IN PRINT ON iPAD & iPHONE ISSUE 373 JANUARY 2022 Mac secrets revealed: 71 must-try tips New MacBook Pro and AirPods tested AirPlay everything for easy streaming What next for Apple in 2022 ISSUE 372 DECEMBER 2021 New MacBook Pro: M1 Pro and M1 Max! 55 Apple essentials – all the best kit iPadOS 15 superguide: tips and tricks Streaming soundbar group test ISSUE 371 NOVEMBER 2021 In-depth guide to macOS Monterey New Apple kit rated and reviewed: iPhone 13 Pro, iPad 10.2in and iPad mini We celebrate 20 years of the iPod To order back issues of the print magazine, go to bit.ly/macformat_backissues or phone +44 (0)330 333 1113 and we’ll post them out to you. Download back issues onto your iOS device at any time and keep them…

ON TEST… Audioengine A2+ Creative Pebble V3 Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Logitech Z333 Pioneer DJ DM-50D Q Acoustics M20 HD Fortunately, we’ve come a long way since the days when audio playback was little more than an afterthought in the computer world. Apple’s machines have some of the best built-in speakers in the business, but no integrated computer speaker is ever going to be able to match a dedicated external pair for soundstage, bass reproduction, or volume. Simple physics mean the more air a speaker can move, the greater its power and sonic range will be. The category of ‘desktop’ speakers is distinct from pro models that music producers would typically use together with an audio interface. Here, the models are geared more towards everyday use for gaming, watching movies,…

£25.99 FROM Cyan Worlds, cyan.com NEEDS macOS 11.5 or later You’re on your own when it comes to figuring out how each puzzle works Almost 30 years after its original release, puzzle classic Myst has been updated for the modern age. The new version brings improved textures and lighting, virtual reality support, and better performance thanks to Metal 2.1. Is that enough of a reason for Myst veterans to pick it up again? The answer is most definitely yes. Three decades is an eternity in computing terms, and so much in Myst has been improved. The most striking change comes to the graphics. Now, the game looks absolutely stunning. Crank up the settings and you’ll get beautiful god rays, detailed shadows, enhanced lighting, and high-resolution textures. It’s incredible to look…

The first time I saw Steve Jobs in the flesh was in 2004. I was crammed into an empty warehouse somewhere in Docklands, London for the launch of the UK iTunes Store, with around 400 other UK journalists. I had only recently become the editor of MacFormat and had no idea how Apple press events worked, so I naturally assumed they would all be like this – Steve Jobs jetting over from California to perform a keynote, and a celebrity pop star to sing us back out to the car park. That would turn out not to be the case, but Steve obviously thought that the launch of the UK iTunes Store was a big enough deal to justify a trip to the UK in person, and Alicia Keys had…

When Apple launched iOS 14.5 in spring 2021, it included a muchhyped feature called App Tracking Transparency (ATT). The idea behind this was that any time an app wanted to share your data across other apps or websites, you would have the option to deny this request. It was followed by reports of panic in the advertising industry as data brokers feared their privacy-busting businesses would be heavily impacted by the new policy. As it turns out, they did not have too much to fear, as Apple has not been particularly strict, according to a report from the Financial Times. The article alleges Apple has made a quiet pact with companies that make a range of popular apps, including Facebook and Snapchat, that allows the apps to continue to share…

[MAC APP] Blender 3.0 Free A revolutionary update for the open-source favourite Computer graphics app Blender has received its biggest update in years as it steps up to version 3.0. This comprises performance improvements, new features, design tweaks and much more. There are speed improvements that make a huge difference over time. For instance, moving around the viewport is faster, while rendering is now up to eight times faster. Meanwhile, there’s a new drag-and-drop Asset Browser, the interface has been freshened up, and there are now thumbnail previews on the Video Sequencer. There’s a new Pose Library, the Grease Pencil has been revamped, and the Geometry Nodes system has been completely reimagined. In fact, there are too many changes to list here. Blender 3.0 is free, although you can donate…

54 Number of (PRODUCT)RED items Apple currently sells. They include the Beats Solo3 wireless headphones, Apple Watch Braided Solo Loop, iPhone 13 cases in silicone and leather and an AirTag Leather Key Ring. 192 million+ Number of HIV tests conducted in sub-Saharan Africa as a result of Apple-supported grants. £369 Cost of the entry-level 41mm Apple Watch Series 7 (PRODUCT)RED. The 45mm version costs £419. 13.8 million Number of people who have been given life-saving antiretroviral treatments as a result of Apple-supported grants. 11 million+ Number of people helped with care and support services by Apple-supported grants in sub-Saharan Africa since 2006. 13 October 2006 Launch date of the first ever Apple (PRODUCT)RED, er, product, a special edition iPod nano. $270 million Amount of money raised by Apple through (PRODUCT)RED…

Technology has come a long, long way since the first Mac was launched way back in 1984. One thing that hasn’t changed though, is how we interact with it. While some people use voice commands and dictation software, for most of us, telling our Mac what we want it to do involves a keyboard and either a mouse or a trackpad. When it comes to choosing which keyboard to use, most Mac users stick with the one that came with their Mac (unless you use a Mac mini or Mac Pro, in which case you’ll have to supply your own). But that’s not always the best idea. The same is true of your mouse or trackpad. For example, if you use a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air predominantly at a…

Analysis of your Mac’s storage can reveal that a big chunk of space has been taken up by media files, such as music, movie, or TV shows. If so, you have a choice: delete them or move them. You can do the former safely if the files are downloaded from Apple Music, the iTunes Store, or the TV app, because you can re-download them another time. However, if they are files you’ve ripped from CD or created yourself, it’s a different matter. The best thing to do is to move your library to another drive. We’ll show you how to do that for Apple Music and Photos. Get rid of duplicate files Use a Smart Folder Create a Smart Folder with nothing in the search box, click ‘+’ then choose…

Exhausted all our fantastic ideas here but feel your Mac still isn’t running as fast as you’d like? There are still things you can do to give it a boost or make you more productive. You should start by making sure macOS is up to date. Click on the Command menu, choose ‘About this Mac’, then Software Update. Unless you have a good reason not to, you should also check the box that tells macOS to install updates automatically. Next, make sure the apps you run regularly are up to date. You can usually check for updates using the app name menu in an application or on the Mac App Store for apps you’ve downloaded from there. Check your Wi-Fi and broadband connection. So much of what we do on…

IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes YOU WILL LEARN Animated overlays, portrait to landscape and AI effects YOU’LL NEED Adobe Photoshop Elements 2022, macOS 10.15 or later Sometimes a shoot can produce disappointing results. For example, when snapping a child blowing dandelion seeds you may fail to capture enough floating seeds. Photoshop Elements 2022’s new Animated Overlay tool enables you to bring static shots to life by adding floating particles (including dandelion seeds). You can even modify the particles to float in front or behind the subject as we’ll demonstrate. Photoshop Elements caters for the fact that many photos will be shown off on sites such as Instagram or Twitter. It now makes it even easier to export your edited shots in shapes and sizes that will make them look their…

IT WILL TAKE 30 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to record places accurately in MacFamilyTree YOU’LL NEED MacFamilyTree, macOS 10.13 or later Geography plays a key role in family history. Were your ancestors globetrotters or did they spend their entire life within the confines of a single town? The more accurate your place data, the better able you are to trace your forebears’ journey and take advantage of MacFamilyTree’s mapping tools. The way places are recorded in MacFamilyTree is influenced by the GEDCOM genealogical standard – see opposite for an explanation. While GEDCOM doesn’t allow you to set up specific buildings such as a home or church as a ‘Place’, you can get around this within MacFamilyTree to ensure your mapping tools are as accurate as possible. When you have…

IT WILL TAKE 5 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to keep track of all your iOS device battery levels YOU’LL NEED Cloud Battery, iOS 12.1, macOS 10.15 or later (optional) The more Apple devices you accumulate, the harder it is to keep track of what’s charged up and what isn’t. Sure, there’s a battery widget in iOS, but this offers no customisation and very little info. There’s got to be a better way. Thankfully there is, and it comes in the form of Cloud Battery. This app can send you notifications whenever your devices’ batteries drop below a certain level, so you know when to charge them. It can also tell you when they’ve been juiced up above a set level so you don’t overcharge them. Plus you get Apple…

As we mentioned, connecting a DAC to your Apple devices can be a bit tricky. Some older DACs still use the ageing micro-USB port, which isn’t Apple-friendly at all. Other DACs use a USB-A port, which is fine for desktop Macs that have USB-A, but you’ll need one of Apple’s USB-C adaptors (from £19) if your Apple devices only have USB-C or Lightning. But, thankfully, the latest generation of DACs have finally started to use USB-C, which is ideal for Macs and iPads that also have USB-C (unfortunately, Lightning devices will still need an adaptor). One interesting trend is for ultra-portable DACs, such as the THX Onyx (£199.99) or Astell & Kern’s USB-C DAC (£109). These DACs are so small that they look just like little extension cables that you…

Vectornator From vectornator.io Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS Vectornator is a free, fully featured Adobe Illustrator-style vector-drawing and editing app, and the developers say it’ll remain completely free until they work out how or if they’re going to make money from it. No matter what kind of Apple device you design with, you’ll love using Vectornator on it – but, be warned, older Macs can’t join the Vectornator party, as you need macOS 11 Big Sur or later to use it. GIMP for Mac From gimp.org Available on Mac The open-source GIMP image editor used to be a bit of a faff on the Mac, but it’s now easier to install, learn and use. It’s still a little buggy compared to commercial image editors, but then again those cost money…

Telegram From telegram.org Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS Telegram promises to be the fastest individual and group message system on Earth, with end-to-end encryption. It syncs across all your devices and offers unlimited file-sharing and storage, and if you start typing on one device you can continue instantly on another. Twitter From twitter.com Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS, tvOS The Mac app isn’t great – stick with the website – but the iOS and iPadOS versions of the official Twitter app are solid, fast, easy to use and do everything you’d expect; hashtags, trends, image and link-sharing, following and unfollowing, and, of course, muting and blocking too. Instagram From instagram.com Available on iOS The ‘cooler’ Facebook that it’s okay to like doesn’t seem to suffer from the same problems…

Amphetamine From Mac App Store Available on Mac Amphetamine is designed to keep your Mac awake even when it wants to sleep, and you can use it to keep connected displays awake too. You can enable Amphetamine for specific apps or for specific tasks, so for example you might want your Mac to stay awake while you’re using headphones or prevent the main display from going to sleep when a particular app is open. It’s really easy to use but it’s also packed with options and statistics. OnyX From titaniumsoftware.fr Available on Mac OnyX is an excellent app for cleaning up your Mac’s temporary files, caches and other data, as well as changing how key apps work and getting rid of problematic files or folders. But it’s important to be…

Everywhere you go on the internet, someone is trying to track you. Apple would rather they didn’t. Apple’s commitment to protecting your privacy isn’t just marketing. It’s clearly committed to making Safari the browser that protects your privacy in a market where many of the big names do exactly the opposite. As Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice-president of software engineering, told the European Data Protection and Privacy Conference: “The solution has to start with not collecting the data in the first place.” And as we’ll see here, Safari has been designed to make it very difficult for sites to collect data that might identify and track you. Apple’s philosophy is simple: “Users should know when their data is being collected and shared across other apps and websites — and they…

Our ratings Our reviews are totally independent; we’re not affiliated with Apple or anyone else, nor are we influenced by advertisers. A truly exceptional product. Award given solely at the discretion of the editor. The best example of its kind when pitted against comparable products. A brilliant thing Strongly recommended Worth considering Notable flaws A waste of your money BUYING ADVICE Our authoritative reviews help you make more informed choices Contact us Email your queries and your questions to letters@macformat.com…

While Q Acoustics’ M20 HD has the best connectivity and arguably the best sound, it is significantly more expensive than anything else on test and also a little large for a desktop speaker system. The Pioneer DJ DM-50D also sounds excellent but lacks anything by way of computer integration. Audioengine’s A2+ is compact and well-built yet punches way above its weight. Sitting comfortably on even a smaller desk, it supports USB streaming as well as aptX Bluetooth, 3.5mm audio input, and has an RCA input for other devices. There’s no headphone socket but the balance of inputs and outputs is good, and sonic performance excellent with a range of sources. The Logitech and Klipsch systems are good for gamers, though less focused with movie and music playback. Creative’s Pebble V3…

£6.99 FROM Yannick Schrade, shiftscreen.app NEEDS iOS or iPadOS 14 or later It has a launchpad from where you can open its special apps and up to six windows can coexist at once Apple likes to tout the iPad as being capable of replacing a computer but in some areas it falls short. One example is using external monitors. Although you can physically connect to a second screen with a cable or wirelessly using AirPlay, iPadOS and iOS limit you to simply mirroring what’s on the device’s screen. And even worse, you’ll often get mismatched aspect ratios, resulting in wasted empty space on the external screen. Shiftscreen is an attempt to get around this limitation until Apple decides to fix the issue, which may never happen. It’s an inexpensive app…

DESKTOP SPEAKER Ruark MR1 £329.99 ruarkaudio.com Winner of MF357’s head to head, the MR1 speaker set looks and sounds the business. The dome tweeter and long-throw woofer can handle a variety of audio styles with aplomb. You get a good variety of connectivity options, and we love the chunky function/volume dial too. IN-EAR WIRLESS EARPHONES Sony WF-1000XM4 £250 sony.co.uk The WF-1000XM4 are slightly smaller than their predecessor and the case is 40% smaller – and more ecofriendly. The true wireless earbuds have a good audio ability, support voice-assistant control and the Headphones Connect app provides lots of customisation and ease of use. As well as LDAC, the WF-1000XM4 are compatible with SBC and AAC codecs. KEYBOARD (MAC/iOS) Logitech MX Keys For Mac £99.99 logitech.com If you spend a lot of…

These days, it’s an open secret that Apple is working on a mixed reality headset that blends virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Now, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has conveyed fresh details on the features he believes will be in the device. His report alleges that the headset will weigh around 300g to 400g. That’s up from a previous report from Kuo in March 2021, where he stated it could weigh 150g, but is still less than most rival devices. Kuo followed this up with a second report claiming the headset will offer advanced gesture control, object detection, eye tracking, voice control, and more. Past reports from Kuo and other sources have stated the headset will contain an 8K display for each eye and will cost at least $1,000.…

Rumours had been swirling for a while that Apple would start producing its own chips for the Mac family and thus end its 15-year relationship with Intel. However, that did not make the announcement any less dramatic when it came in June 2020. A crucial chapter in the interlinked stories of two significant firms was coming to a close. We’ve seen the direction Apple is going, but the question remains – what’s next for Intel? M1 positivity That initial announcement was certainly exciting but relatively light on detail. In November 2020, we learned a lot more about what we now know as the M1 chip, and it has become increasingly apparent why this transition was so important for Apple (see MF360). Not only was the reaction to those first M1…

The Finder is the Mac’s file manager. Everything you do with files, whether launching an app, copying, pasting or moving files, or using Quick Look to preview them is done in the Finder. There are a couple of improvements that have been made to the Finder in recent versions of macOS that are worth making a point of using regularly. The first is tabs. While the Finder still doesn’t have a proper dual-pane interface, tabs go some way towards that. They work in the same way as browser tabs in Safari (and use the same Command+ T shortcut to create a new one) in that they enable you to open a different view without cluttering your desktop with windows. And you can drag and drop files from one tab to another…

When you first launch a brand new Mac its zips through the startup process. Then, as you continue to use it, startup slows down and seems to take much longer. As you use your Mac and install software on it, some of that software installs launch agents or launch daemons which load before login and thus slow down the startup process. In addition, some apps install login items, which load after you have logged in, but before your Mac has finished starting up. Login Items are fairly easy to manage – see below. In general, apps or menu bar items that want to launch automatically when you login should ask permission when you install them. Whether you grant permission or not, you can change your mind at any time. Launch…

IT WILL TAKE 45 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to use pivot tables in Numbers YOU’LL NEED Numbers 11.2 or later While Numbers surpasses Microsoft’s Excel in some areas, it is lacking in others. Excel, ahem, excels at slicing and dicing data and allowing you to build scenarios. While Numbers doesn’t… until now that is. The most recent version of Numbers on Mac, iOS and iPadOS supports pivot tables. And in case you don’t spend your days knee-deep in spreadsheets, pivot tables are tables that allow you to ‘pivot’ data from another table. So, if for example, you have a table that records widgets sales, you might have columns for the type of widget, date sold, price they sold for, quantity and sales office responsible. Each row would be one…

IT WILL TAKE 30 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to assign tasks in Reminders YOU’LL NEED iOS 13 or later Recent iOS updates have meant some great improvements to Reminders. The app has gained lots of new features, including the ability to collaborate with others on tasks. You can invite others to share lists you create and then, once they have accepted, you can assign reminders to them. You can also assign reminders to yourself. When reminders are assigned to you, Reminders creates a Smart List called Assigned to You so you can see them all in one place. Custom Smart Lists are new in iOS 15 and they make it easy to keep track of reminders. They allow you to organise reminders based on parameters you specify such as…

IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to share media and even workouts using FaceTime YOU’LL NEED iOS 15.1, macOS 12.1, Apple Music and/or Apple TV When you use the shared listening or viewing features, SharePlay isn’t a streamer, it’s a synchroniser It’s always better to show somebody something than tell them about it, or to play them a song rather than describe it. And with Apple’s SharePlay, which is now part of FaceTime, you can do just that while you chat. That song you’re raving about? You can play it in full quality for everybody. That funny TikTok? You can share that too. So far, SharePlay is available on the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Apple TV. And, as we go to press, it’s finally become available…

GarageBand From apple.com/uk Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS GarageBand is an extraordinary app for making all kinds of music and other audio. And for many musicians and podcasters it’s all the software you could ever need. It’s essentially a friendlier, simpler version of the mighty Logic Pro X, and its selection of auto-playing instruments means you don’t have to know how to play in order to make something magical. It also includes some superb artist lessons to help inspire you. Spotify From spotify.com Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS If you don’t already have a streaming music subscription then Spotify offers a very good experience without too many adverts. You don’t get Spotify Connect, Spotify Radio or the highest quality audio on the free tier so this isn’t one for…

Khan Academy From khanacademy.org Available on iOS, iPadOS The Khan Academy is a non-profit organisation dedicated to providing free, world-class education to anybody anywhere, and its app is packed with knowledge. Although it’s a little US-focused the information here is universal, and it’s particularly strong on maths and science topics. Sumdog From sumdog.com Available on iOS, iPadOS If your child is attending a UK primary school, you should be able to get this excellent educational app for free – each school has a login code. It’s a bright, friendly and fun collection of game-style tasks that are more fun than anything in a textbook. Duolingo From duolingo.com Available on iOS, iPadOS, iMessage Duolingo can help you to learn new languages or brush up on the ones you already know. It’s…

Polarr Photo Editor From polarr.com Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS, online Polarr is more of a filter app than an editor, enabling you to adjust various properties – colour, light, lens, curves and so on – and to apply interesting and eye-popping colour filters. There’s a paid-for version with more tools and better layer handling, but the core set in the free version is impressive and the interface is easy to use. If you’re looking to do more than Photos can do, it’s definitely worth downloading. iMovie From apple.com/uk Available on Mac, iOS, iPadOS Ever since it debuted on the iMac DV in 1999, iMovie has been one of the best video apps on the Mac – and more recently, on iPhone and iPad. It may lack the power features…

Ghostery Ghostery blocks ads, trackers and other content that advertisers and others may use to try and track your online activity, and it does so without any noticeable effect on Safari’s performance. We’ve found that without the trackers, many websites load faster and perform better. AdBlock Plus We don’t want to deprive websites of money but neither do we want to be blasted with ads, autoplay videos, popups and other page debris – especially when we’re on mobile data. AdBlock Plus enables you to block the worst offenders without blocking everything. SimpleURL Internet addresses seem to be getting longer and longer, which is a real pain when you want to post them to social media or share in Messages. This little extension converts even the lengthiest of URLs into something…

The changes Apple has made to Safari are designed to stop online surveillance. But you can make your browsing even more secure with a few well-chosen Extensions. Safari Extensions are little apps that easily plug into Safari on your Mac, iPhone or iPad to give it new powers. Those powers could involve finding voucher codes for online shops, or they might block all kinds of online irritations. In this section we’ll focus on the latter to help you browse sites more effectively. We’ll also look at a very powerful Safari Extension called Social Fixer. It’s designed specifically for Facebook and does an excellent job of undoing a lot of the things that really annoy us on the social network, such as filling our feed with unwanted content and recommending things…

£699 FROM Bowers & Wilkins, bowerswilkins.co.uk FEATURES 240W amplifier, 2x 25mm double-dome tweeters, 2x 90mm mid-range drivers, 1x 150mm subwoofer, 35Hz-24kHz frequency response, AirPlay 2, Bluetooth 5.0 (aptX), 1x USB-C port (service only), 210x650x194mm, 6.5kg The Zeppelin is a well-judged listen when it comes to tonal balance Not before time, Bowers & Wilkins has revived its iconic wireless speaker. The Zeppelin comes with aptX Bluetooth, Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect built in – plus you get access to pretty much all the rest of the planet’s stock of music via its responsive Music control app. There’s support for Amazon Alexa, too. And the unit is as good looking and well made as ever. Only now it sounds better than ever. While it isn’t a substitute for an actual pair…

£299 FROM Klipsch, klipsch.com FEATURES Noise cancelling, transparency, custom EQ, gesture support, IPX4 At £299, Klipsch’s noise-cancelling true wireless headphones are a pricey contender, costing £60 more than the AirPods Pro. The chunky metal case and side hinge is reminiscent of a Zippo lighter. A silicone base gives it solid grip when placed down and, on the inside, a three-bar light shows the case’s charge. A generous six pairs of tips means it’s easy to get a snug fit, with each earbud sitting flush in the ear canal. Passive noise cancelling is very good, but active noise cancellation reduces ambient sounds even further. It’s effective, but not AirPods Pro effective, and while transparency is good, it’s not stellar. There are some neat tricks: gesture control (nod to accept calls, for…

£86.56 (upgrade for £70.91) FROM Adobe, adobe.com/uk NEEDS macOS 10.15 or later Premiere Elements is designed to help video makers trim, fix and share their video footage as eye-catching sequences Thanks to our ever-present iPhone and its superb camera, we’re likely to record more video clips than ever before, leading to the problem of organising and sharing our favourite footage. As a simplified version of Adobe’s Premiere Pro, Premier Elements 2022 is an entry-level non-linear editor (NLE) that’s designed to help video makers trim, fix and share their video footage as eye-catching clips and sequences that will generate those endorphin inducing ‘likes’ on sites such as Twitter and Instagram. If Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements are brother and sister apps, Elements Organiser is the parent. The Organiser enables you to…

Our iPhones work in so many useful ways these days: we’ve got in our hands an instant messenger, games console, digital camera. We can also add Dictaphone to the list, thanks to the quality mics and great range of recording apps on the App Store. But which recording app should you get? There are plenty of apps tailored to various recording needs. Some are perfect for quick, painless recording. Others specialise in super-accurate transcription. And some also integrate their recording chops into broader organisational tools. We’ve found six of the best verbal note-takers for you to check out and download. Each one is ideally suited to recording audio on the go. Otter: Transcribe Voice Notes Free (IAPs) NEEDS iOS 11 or later When you’re recording audio notes, you don’t want…

Everything you ever wanted to know about Apple’s secure sharing and syncing service Make your Mac more accessible >Discover the hidden power of Accessibility and how it can help you across all your devices Password security >Stay safe online with our comprehensive guide to your first line of defence ALSO INSIDE… >Create your own dynamic desktop wallpaper >Start some (good) new habits with a great planning app >Master Account Recovery and the Digital Legacy programme …and much more! Contents subject to change ISSUE 375 ON SALE 8 FEB 2022 DON'T MISS IT-SUBSCRIBE TODAY! IN PRINT & ON YOUR iPAD Our print and digital bundle gets you the paper magazine as well as our iPad edition. magazinesdirect.com/macformat-magazine-subscription ON YOUR MAC Read digitally on your Mac: subscribe with Zinio at bit.ly/ziniomacf…