Indice dei contenuti per January 2018 in MacFormat

For our latest subscription offer, see page 40! The iPhone X is incredible in a great many ways. Incredibly advanced. Incredibly sexy. Incredibly expensive. If you’ve bought one, you’ll want to protect your shiny new gadget, so AppleCare+ seems like a natural choice. However, is it the best way to give you peace of mind if something goes wrong? Over the next few pages, we’ll take a look at the options available so you know the best way to protect your costly investment. Firstly, let’s take a quick look at what rights are guaranteed to every citizen thanks to UK legislation. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you have up to six years to return an item that was faulty when you bought it (in England, Wales and Northern Ireland;…

After a 2016 quieter than a product launch at a BlackBerry store, 2017 was really strong for Apple, especially when it came to hardware. However, software was a little less strong across the board, so here’s what I’m hoping to see from Apple in 2018. First up is a smarter Siri. One of the few stumbles for Apple this year was HomePod slipping into 2018, but I think Apple should take its time to get it right at launch, and maybe look to re-announce it at an event in March, alongside expanded Siri capabilities. Siri works well for key stuff like understanding what you’re saying, but compared to Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa, what it can actually do is pretty limited. Expansions through SiriKit in iOS 10 were a sign…

PRIZE WORTH £549 Write, draw, create and edit on a gorgeous high-resolution monitor from AOC. We’ve got a stunning 4K display to give away, helping one lucky winner to transform their workspace. A great monitor is something that has to be seen to be believed. Find the right one and it can completely change the way you work, giving you more accurate colours and a larger canvas on which to get things done. That’s why we’re giving away an AOC U3277PWQU monitor. Its superb 4K display brings a huge amount of space to your desktop, which is perfect for editing large photos or working on multiple documents at once. It clocks in at 32 inches diagonally, helping it to make the most of that resolution. That’s not all. As well as…

Apple Watch Series 3 From £329 apple.com/uk Apple Watch Series 3 is packed with fitness features. Along with a heart rate sensor and accelerometer, it’s water resistant for swimming, supports GPS, and boasts an altimeter. The cellular model starts at £399. Garmin Edge 20 £110 buy.garmin.com Cheaper than most smartwatches, the Edge 20 is a ‘bike computer’ that can add smart tech to your bike. It includes GPS location tracking and downloadable route maps, and there are a variety of modes for indoor or outdoor use. Tangram Smart Rope Pure £60 apple.com/uk Skipping is a great workout for many sports as it improves both fitness and footwork. The Smart Rope Pure can monitor the speed and number of jumps, plus calories burned, and its app lets you program interval training…

(and use an ipad instead?) When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad nearly eight years ago, he made the point that it wasn’t just a bigger iPhone or a smaller MacBook – it was a third kind of device that, for some tasks at least, would be better than either. Since then, it’s got better than even he may have envisaged. The iPhone needn’t look to its laurels: nobody wants to stuff a 10-inch touchscreen in their pocket or hold it against their ear. The Mac, on the other hand, has seen Apple’s remarkable A-series mobile processors creep ever closer to its territory, and not even the super-slim 12-inch MacBook can match a tablet’s portability. So could it be time to ditch the desktop, nix the notebook, and make an iPad…

AnyFont £1.99, anyfont-app.com iOS handles fonts across apps much like macOS, but has no Font Book to add or manage them. AnyFont is the answer, accepting standard font files from a Mac via the iTunes app, from email attachments, or from Dropbox. Admittedly, it’s a bit cumbersome to use, but it’s also a must for serious iPad document creation. Documents 6 Free, readdle.com/products/documents iOS 11’s new Files app is a convenient place to manage documents, and integrates third-party cloud services whose apps you’ve installed. But Documents is more capable and can view, play and download files from the web. PCalc £9.99, pcalc.com Apple’s basic Calculator app only exists on iPhone. PCalc is a solid substitute for iPad that uses the full screen for scientific functions, conversions and a Reverse Polish…

Using iOS 11 with macOS Sierra Q I’ve held off upgrading to iOS 11 because I can’t yet upgrade my Macs to High Sierra. Would I face compatibility problems if I mixed iOS 11 with Sierra systems? by DAVID ARMSTRONG A Very many iOS and Mac users have successfully upgraded to iOS 11 while staying with macOS Sierra. As usual, there are trade-offs to be made, and there’s no doubt that to get the most out of iOS 11, you’d be better off running High Sierra when you can. Where you’d lose out are those new features in iOS 11 which don’t work with macOS Sierra. A good example of these is tables in Notes: if you insert a table into a note in iOS 11 and then try opening…

Apple hit the jackpot with the iPhone, a device that has become the company’s bestselling device and brought it untold riches. Naturally, other companies wanted to get in on the action and knock Apple from its lofty perch. The list of so-called iPhone killers is long, but three devices stand out: the Essential Phone, the Palm Pre and the Nokia N97. From sleek high-end devices to keyboard-equipped retro throwbacks, all are yet to make the grade. Essential Phone August 2017 Even before it launched, the Essential Phone was being touted as a potential iPhone killer. Word spread that former Apple engineer and Android founder Andy Rubin was involved, while shadowy leaked photos of the device quickly went viral. The Essential Phone seemed to be a device destined for success. Aside…

BUYING ADVICE Our authoritative reviews help you make more informed choices Manifesto – our ratings explained Our reviews are totally independent; we’re not affiliated with Apple or anyone else, nor are we influenced by advertisers. You can trust us to give an honest assessment of a product’s worth. The prices quoted for products are correct at the time of writing and are the best we can find from a reputable online dealer, excluding delivery. A brilliant thing in all regards, and worth every penny Strongly recommended; any flaws are only minor concerns Worth considering, though there may be better options Fundamentally flawed; look at alternatives as a priority A waste of your money and everyone’s time; do not buy! THE MACFORMAT AWARDS Awarded to a five-star product we believe is…

1 USB ports Some of our routers come with US B ports. With these, you can decide to share a storage drive across your network. This is really useful if, for example, you have a bunch of video files on a US B stick you wish to share to various devices. It’s also handy for backing up. 2 Price Routers vary wildly in price. Second generation 802.11ac routers aren’t cheap currently and that’s because of the more complex chipset inside. We recommend shopping around as prices also fluctuate quite a bit – expect some post- Christmas discounts. 3 ADSL connection Most of our routers are Ethernet, meaning they need to connect to an Ethernet feed. The Asus boasts ADSL connectivity, too, but that’s not a deal-breaker as you can get…

All of these routers offer exceptional connectivity options. As we’ve mentioned, the Asus offers the bonus of being able to connect up to ADSL broadband, although this is not a deal-breaker as various other 802.11ac routers are available with ADSL options. The Asus does also offer compatibility with the new G.fast standard, though. For wired connections, you’re looking at a reasonably standard four Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports across all these routers, with an additional WAN Ethernet port for connecting to a broadband model. In terms of wireless connectivity, there are different speeds on offer; at peak performance we found the Asus and TP-Link are the best performers, with the Netgear, D-Link, Linksys and Synology close behind. But you can’t go wrong with any of these options as you can see…

MONITOR ViewSonic VP2772 £702 viewsonic.com If you’re not fussed about 4K but still want exceptional image quality, this IPS display is truly superb. It offers 99% coverage of the Adobe RGB colour space, 10-bit colour and a 2560x1440-pixel resolution. It has HDMI 1.4, DVI and Mini DisplayPort connections, and four USB 3.0 ports for expansion. NETWORK STORAGE Drobo 5D3 £601 drobo.co.uk With two blazing fast Thunderbolt 3 ports and a 5Gbps USB-C port to boot, the Drobo 5D3 can provide you with rapid file transfers to and from your Mac. You can load it up with up to five HDDs or SSDs of differing capacities, giving you plenty of flexibility for storage options. It’s pricey, but a worthy investment. PRINTER Epson EcoTank ET-2600 £179 epson.co.uk The Eco-Tank ET-2600 has a…

1 iPHONE X PLUS Think the iPhone X is expensive? Rumours suggest Apple is working on a 6.5-inch Plus model, to be released in 2018. Better save the pennies. 2 FOLDABL E IPHONE The US Patent & Trademark Office has published a patent application from Apple for a foldable iPhone display. It was originally filed in Q3 2016. 3 iPHONE SE 2 Apple is reportedly planning on releasing a sequel to the budget-friendly iPhone SE in the second half of 2018. It’s expect to cost around £340.…

[MOVIE] DUNKIRK £13.99 Christopher Nolan turns his masterful eye towards a pivotal moment in Allied wartime history. As the bombs fall and bullets fly, British soldiers pray for an unlikely rescue. [PODCAST] UNGEN IUSED FREE Wikipedia is full of useless knowledge, and this podcast is devoted to the best of it. Need some pub quiz ammo? Start taking notes. [TV SHOW] PEAKY BLINDERS SEASON 4 £12.99 With Tommy Shelby and the Peaky Blinders at risk of ‘annihilation’, Shelby must return to Small Heath in order to fight for survival.…

You’ll gain an additional layer of protection if you purchase an iPhone X using a credit card. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, you get free protection for any purchase you make with a credit card costing between £100 and £30,000. In practice, that means that if Apple goes bust (unlikely) or the iPhone X is faulty when you buy it or is never delivered to you, you can claim the full amount back from your credit card company. You don’t have to have paid the full amount, and can still claim if you’re buying the iPhone with monthly repayments. The value of the item is the important thing, not how much you’ve paid. You don’t get this kind of protection with a debit card, so it’s worth considering…

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! SAVE 45% Turn to page 40 “WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR IPHONE X THEN?” Alex says… Alan says… You’re always the first one in the office to invest in the latest bit of Apple tech. Are you thinking that the iPhone X is the ‘future’? Face ID is extraordinary – I want it on all my Apple kit! But it may be a while before we get compelling apps made just for iPhone X. The phone is so expensive, especially as this is Apple’s first offering of facial recognition. And we’ve yet to see a killer AR or TrueDepth app. Animoji are fun, though. How are you adapting to the new gestures? Habit kept me reaching for the Home button for just one day. Now I find myself swiping…

LIVE SMARTER The smart home is here – live the Apple dream today! Here we are again. It’s that time of year – Christmas is upon us and the goose isn’t the only one that’s getting fat. Needless to say, many of us will kick off 2018 with the traditional New Year’s resolution to hit the gym and shed a few pounds. And, of course, we all know that we can use our iPhones or Apple Watch to monitor our daily exercise and fitness levels. However, many people may also want to go a bit further and set specific training targets, such as improving stamina for a marathon, or lap speed in the swimming pool. A straightforward smartwatch or fitness tracker might not be the best option here, but there…

NEW IDEAS Your in-depth guide to getting more from your Apple kit IMPROVE ITUNES’ NAVIGATION p48 Understand iOS gestures A tap is a brief contact of (usually) one finger on your device’s screen. To drag is to move a finger across the screen to scroll or pan around content. Swipe means move one or more fingers across an item or the screen, then let go. A flick is like swiping, but it’s quicker, and is often used to scroll content more quickly. Pinch means move two fingers together or apart, usually to zoom in or out. Touch and hold means lightly rest your finger on an item and wait for a reaction. Master Mac keyboard shortcuts When you see a shortcut like , hold all but the last key, then…

Apple’s first big mobile device success story shook up the portable music world. It took a while for everyone else to catch up, and there has been no shortage of rivals over the years who think their device is the one to overcome the iPod. Sadly for them, they never succeeded. Creative Zen Vision:M December 2005 As any Apple competitor knows, to trade blows with Apple you have to have the looks as well as the tech. The Creative Zen Vision:M tried to compete on both fronts, launching an impressive MP3 player that came in a range of attractive colours. It clearly caught the eye, landing prizes at the 2006 CES show and a Red Dot Design Award. It had ‘more’ than the iPod in terms of features: a better screen,…

Samsung Galaxy Gear September 2013 The Samsung Galaxy Gear shows why rushing to beat Apple isn’t always a good idea. Lacklustre design, poor battery life, limited apps and an uncomfortable strap meant it was a flop. It was replaced just seven months after going on sale. Pebble Smartwatch July 2013 The watch that kickstarted an industry was gone just three years after going on sale. After raising $10 million via crowdfunding and selling millions of units, the Pebble just couldn’t keep up with its rivals’ innovations. It was bought by Fitbit in 2016. TAG Heuer Connected November 2015 Even traditional watch firms have felt the pinch from Apple. Swiss company Tag Heuer responded to the popularity of smartwatches with the Connected watch, which looked more like a traditional timepiece. Suffice to say, it…

1 Get inside Undo the two screws at the back, near the bottom, with a Torx T15 screwdriver. To get at the top screws, recessed into the carry handle, you’ll need to firmly tape a Torx T15 screwdriver bit to the end of a pencil to fashion a makeshift screwdriver extension; wrap the tape tightly and it should be strong enough. 2 Power board Disconnect the green/yellow earth lead and the two large connectors going to the CRT tube. There’s a thick red, hightension line connected to the tube. Pull back the ‘suction cup’ cover; squeeze the connectors together to pull free. Undo the three Phillips screws and remove the power board from the chassis. 3 Disk drive Undo the four screws holding the CRT to the front bezel and…

£89.99 FROM Logitech, logitech.com FEATURES 12W (RMS) power output, Bluetooth 4.1, 2x 3.5mm audio inputs, 3.5mm audio output Logitech’s new MX mice and keyboards have gone down well here at MacFormat by providing ingenious features, such as the ability to quickly switch control between two separate computers. The company’s new MX Sound speakers attempt to provide similar versatility when you’re listening to music on your Mac, iPhone or iPad. The two compact speakers stand just 16cm wide and high, so they’ll sit comfortably on either side of your Mac without taking up too much desk space. They provide Bluetooth for iOS devices, and can pair with two devices at once. There are also two 3.5mm connectors for audio input from a Mac or other wired device, and a headphone connector as…

£329 FROM Bowers & Wilkins, bowers-wilkins.co.uk FEATURES Active noise cancellation, smart controls, aptX Bluetooth, 22-hour battery life, three environment filters Wireless noise-cancelling headphones feel like the pinnacle of private listening technology. In this regard, the PX headphones are a massive success. The feature-set is a masterclass in covering all the bases of a modern pair of headphones. Charging by USB-C? Check. A non-proprietary 3.5mm jack? Check. A complete set of physical button controls? Check. A respectable 22 hours of battery life? Check. Bluetooth aptX HD support? Check. More impressive is the ability of the headphones to understand when you’re using them and when you’re not, turning off simply by removing them from your head. You can even pause them by lifting just one of the earcups off your head. Occasionally…

Adata SE730H 256GB £139.35 FROM Adata, adata.com FEATURES IP68 dust and waterproof, USB-C port Design This SSD is metallic save for black plastic ends. One end pulls out of the body and pivots away to reveal the USB-C port, but our (theoretical, not encountered) concern is a bump to the cap might pull it out, leaving the port exposed. Portability The drive is 7.3x4.4x1.2cm and weighs just 33 grams. Size-wise, that’s in line with other small SSDs we’ve tested, though the weight is even lower than the gorgeous Samsung T5, our favourite tiny drive, which is 51 grams. Performance Adata’s drive features a USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface for better transfer rates on a suitable Mac. The peak rate we got was 528.2MB/sec when reading, but mean averages were as…

The feature set of all these routers is impressive – there’s not a lot to choose between them, although the cheaper Linksys and Netgear don’t have quite the same capacity as their more expensive brethren. But all have the latest 802.11ac Wave 2 standard and all are rather simple to set up, even if some of the quick start guides are a little lacking in useful detail. Moving on, there are several striking designs in this test, not least the TP-Link Archer and D-Link. The Asus router is also a formidable presence, clearly aimed at gamers after ultimate performance. The TP-Link is the cleverest design though, with the antennae folding really neatly into the unit. Unfortunately, the remainder of the units here are quite uninspiring designs, even if the Linksys…

At these price points, a USB port for file or printer sharing is a given and you can share network drives, for example, with all these routers. The Synology takes this a step further with an SD card slot – useful if you have a newer MacBook Pro or MacBook which doesn’t have an SD card slot (especially considering USB-C SD card converters are pretty rare). In terms of price, the Linksys and Netgear score high – they represent excellent value for money when you consider what they’re up against here and the fact that some of the others are around £100 more. The TP-Link is a fantastic router, for example, but is it worth £95 more than the Netgear? You could also question the price hike for the in-between…

£31.10 FROM Bombich Software, bombich.com NEEDS OS X 10.10 or later Creating a bootable clone of your startup disk can get you out of sticky situations if, for example, you want to perform a clean install of macOS. Carbon Copy Cloner does more than create bootable clones, but that remains its core function. And if you’re using High Sierra, version 5 supports that system and its new file system, APFS. This release has a guided restore function that walks you through restoring files when you start your Mac from a cloned backup. The new Cloning Coach watches in the background as you configure tasks, alerts you to potential problems, and advises on avoiding them. Other new features are focused on managing tasks. The Outlook view displays tasks in calendar form…

PHOTO EDITOR Affinity Photo £48.99 serif.com It’s hard not to love Affinity Photo. Whether you’re fancy yourself a seasoned pro or a photo novice, you will find it powerful and easy to use. Its interface has the perfect blend of ease of use and quick access to powerful features, and its useful batch processing is a great addition. An app that packs both power and practicality for less than £50? We’re in! WRITING APP(MAC) Scrivener About £35 literatureandlatte.com Different people often need different things from a writing app, but Scrivener handles so many things expertly. The winner of MF319’s group test has templates for scripts, short stories, novels and much more, allowing you to quickly get stuck in. That means it’s great value for money given its unrivalled flexibility. It’s…

The way we store data has changed radically from the early days of home computing to the modern era. From early data cassette storage on the Apple II in 1977 to the solid-state drive of the latest MacBook Pro, storage has gone through something of a physical and price revolution. Here we track the changes. January 1984 The original Macintosh 128K had a 3.5-inch internal floppy drive. It contained the disk-based MacOS system, but could be safely ejected once the computer was turned on, so you could use the drive for other things. October 1991 Apple released the PowerBook 140 (as well as two other models) with 20 to 80MB hard drives. February 2008 While you could plug a hard drive into an Airport Extreme, Time Capsule in 2008 was…

Jo Membery Operations Editor Jo will have spent the holidays catching up on her admin – sorting files and photos, before she tries out this issue’s advice to make her Mac feel new. Alex Blake Commissioning Editor Alex has been wearing a Santa hat for weeks now, and reminding us to be jolly and eat mince pies. It’s probably best Apple Watch doesn’t track that. Paul Blachford Art Editor Paul’s been busier than Santa’s elves, laying out this issue and planning the next in time for the Xmas break. Check p105 for a hint at the visual beauty that awaits next issue.…

APPLE SET TO RIVAL NETFLIX BILLION-DOLLAR INVESTMENT IN VIDEO & MUSIC Apple is known to be ramping up its video production work, and a new report from Loup Ventures posits that the company will offer all-in-one video and music subs within two to three years. That would rival the likes of Netflix and Amazon, and focus mainly on original content. It reckons Apple will benefit from a running start with 75 million subscribers. APPLE MAKES $52.6 BILLION Q4 2017 RESULTS ARE RATHER GOOD We’re used to Apple making lots of money, and there was no surprise when Tim Cook announced the firm’s fourth-quarter 2017 results. Apple made $52.6 billion in this period, up 12% on the same period last year. Sales of 46 million iPhones brought in $28.8 billion, iPads…

1 Despite making up less than half of all ARKit-only apps, games still account for 62% of all ARKit app revenues. 2 Over a third of all iOS apps made using just ARKit (rather than adding ARKit elements) are games. 3 Since September 2017, apps that use iOS 11’s ARKit framework have been installed over three million times. 4 Apple has been thinking about VR/AR headsets for at least 10 years, with its first patents on the subject filed back in 2008. 5 Pokémon Go was the first big AR hit – so much so that it made a huge $600 million in its first three months alone. 6 According to market analysts Statista, the global VR/AR market is set to top $215 billion by 2021. It’s currently at around $11.4 billion.…

LETTER OF THE MONTH! ADAPTER ANGST Three years ago I upgraded from a 24-inch iMac to a 27-inch model in order to keep up with developing technology. I then had to spend almost £100 to buy adapters as ports had changed from FireWire to Thunderbolt. Late last month, I upgraded to the new 27-inch iMac for the same reason. Once again, I’ve had to spend £140 on adapters, as ports have now changed from Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C). Why does a company that makes more profit than entire continents’ GDP penalise loyal return customers with hefty charges for adapters that must cost very little to produce? After spending almost £2,000 on the iMac, this is painful. Why not include them in the box? BY MICHAEL WALL ALAN SAYS… I…

ANGELA AHRENDTS apple.com “The onus is on retailers, the onus is on us to continue to evolve.” Retail chief says the mission of Apple Stores is not yet complete JONY IVE apple.com “The path of holding onto features that have been effective… leads to failure.” Design chief says Apple mustn’t rest on its laurels when it comes to design JOHN POOLE primatelabs.com “I don’t fully understand… why performance has seemed to stagnate on the Android side.” Geekbench developer says Apple is way ahead of Android in performance PHIL SCHILLER apple.com “I think customers were ready to have one more thing in the iPhone line that was new and very different.” Marketing head believes there was an unmet demand for iPhone X…

With Apple’s Pages, Numbers and Keynote available for free, every iPad has the productivity basics. Photos can manage your media and GarageBand is on hand for soundtracks. Safari covers web browsing, Mail should accommodate all your email accounts, and iBooks displays PDFs. Unless you’re a die-hard Apple purist who only ever works with other die-hard Apple purists, however – and if so, we salute you – you may need a bit more to complete your do-it-all mobile workstation. Although Apple’s apps handle Microsoft documents, there are limits to the accuracy of their conversions, so it makes sense to add Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, all designed for iPad and free to install, along with Outlook and OneNote. To keep their full functionality after 30 days you’ll need an Office 365…

EXPERT ADVICE Our resident genius solves your Mac and iOS problems Q Although I keep Raw images taken with my camera, my Mac has tens of thousands of JPEGs made from them. Could I save space by converting them to High Sierra’s HEIF? by NICK EASTON A Probably, but don’t commit much effort just yet. Although High Sierra and iOS 11 introduce support for high-efficiency formats for still images (HEIF) and video (HEVC), support is limited at present, and they may yet change. The initial releases of High Sierra don’t include any tools for creating HEIF files, and most third-party apps which work with images can’t save to the new format. You can open HEIF images in Preview, and save them as JPEG, PNG, and other formats, but if you…

Q Since upgrading to High Sierra, I’ve been unable to send messages from Mail to any account apart from me.com. Mail reports that ‘trying to log into this SMTP account failed’, although they’re set as they were in Sierra. A This is an old problem which happens when an update corrupts Mail’s list of SMTP servers. To fix it, you’ll need a copy of the correct details for each of the services, as you need to delete existing entries and make new ones. Open Mail’s preferences and click the Accounts item, then with an account selected on the left, click on the Server Settings tab. This displays a single pop-up menu, with that account’s outgoing mail server listed. Click on that menu, and select the Edit SMTP Server List item…

Such is Apple’s dominance in the tech world that it seems every other company is out to take it down. The media seems fond of the idea too, often resulting in a bevy of breathless headlines exalting the next ‘Apple killer’ of some form: the next iPod killer, the next Mac killer, the next iPhone killer – you get the idea. Sometimes these devices come from major Apple rivals like Sony or Microsoft, backed by almost limitless funds and expertise. Other times they’re brought out by small teams that think they’ve hit the jackpot where all others have failed, and can bring down the Cupertino giant. Of course, not every Apple killer ends in murderous success. Some put up a good fight but ultimately can’t land the final blow. Others…

After the success of the iPod and iPhone, rumours swirled of Apple’s next project: a tablet computer. Before the iPad was even revealed, rivals claimed that they had the device to beat the nascent ‘iSlate’. In a familiar story, Apple routed the competition. Some were buggy, some were slow, and some never even made it into the wild. They crashed and burned while the iPad went from strength to strength. HP Slate 500 October 2010 The problem with predictions is they don’t always come true. Case in point: the HP Slate 500, touted as an iPad killer for the masses before the iPad was even out. But after delays and rumoured changes, it ditched the consumer market and launched as an enterprise product instead. It was basically a touchscreen PC with…

Second-Gen AC Routers on test … Asus DSL-AC88U Wireless Modem Router AC3100 £215 D-Link AC3150 Ultra Wi-Fi Router DIR-885L £195 Linksys EA8300 Tri-band £150 Netgear Nighthawk AC2300 £135 TP-Link Archer C5400 V2 £230 Synology RT2600ac £225 We’ve looked at a group test of 802.11ac routers previously here in MacFormat, but things move on and we’ve now got a complete range of routers featuring new technologies. These ‘second generation’ or ‘Wave 2’ 802.11ac Wi-Fi routers feature MU-MIMO – or Multiple User, Multiple Input Multiple Output technology. The 802.11n and 802.11ac routers we’ve had for the last decade have used MIMO technology, but they could only deal with one device at a time. That’s no good for the devices and uses we have now, where streaming content, games and more to multiple…

In terms of sheer wireless performance, there were two that stood out – the Asus DSL-AC88U and the TP-Link Archer C5400 V2. The D-Link AC3150 came in a clear – and very successful – third place in our tests. We were really surprised at how speedy the file copy times were with all our routers but of course all 802.11ac routers are very proficient at communicating with just a couple of devices. It’s with stacks of devices like iPads, HomeKit tech, Apple TV and more that 802.11ac Wave 2 routers really come into their own – particularly if you’re streaming Full HD or 4K video content around your home. It’s worth pointing out that the Linksys, Netgear and Synology will still be capable enough for any multi-device home. If you…

Split screen In iOS 11, Apple updated the way compatible iPads handle multiple apps simultaneously. The most useful of these is arguably split screen. With this facility, you can have two apps open on screen, provided the apps support it. Open your first app, and then quickly swipe up from the bottom of the screen to show the dock. Tap and hold the icon for the second app then drag this to the left or right of the screen and release. If done correctly there should be a dark grey line down the screen; you can then drag this line from left to right to arrange the windows. You can also drag and drop text and images from one app to another, such as Safari to Mail. If the second…

GET ON INSTAGRAM Share your images with us by using the hashtag #MacFormat and we’ll print the best here in the magazine. While you’re there, follow @MacFormat (Twitter) and @MacFormatUK (Instagram). Winter blues? Here’s a reminder of summer BY KIKU77777 Forget cold wintery thoughts and think warm, sunny days and beaches! Thank you to Kiku77777 (who also sent us an iMac shot in our August issue, #315) for reminding us that despite the days closing in fast, we can look ahead to sunsets on the beach. This shot was taken at Bude, and the composition is great. The ripples on the water add texture, and the sea defence uprights lead your eye to that amazing skyline. Cracking shot. Share your pics with us using the hashtag #MacFormat on Instagram. In…