MacLife July 2022

What’s the most useful feature or tip in the latest version of macOS or iOS/iPadOS that you’ve come across? It’s a small thing really, but for me being able to place Widgets onto the iOS Home Screen was a real gamechanger when it came out in iOS 14 (sheesh, that seems like an age ago now — but it’s only a couple of years). I love having instant access to my most commonly used apps, such as to–do lists, right there in front of me when I turn my iPhone on. There are plenty of other things out there, but that’s the one I use on a daily basis. If you don’t have a particular favorite, or can’t recall one, our main feature this issue might prove inspiring. Whether it’s being…

THERE IS A long history of mid–range Macs being a slightly awkward thing to buy. Back in the day, plenty of people bought the lowest–end Power Mac not because of all the creative juice behind it, but simply because it gave them the best balance of price and flexibility for memory or storage. We had a golden age of mid–tier Macs for a while, with the 27–inch iMac and more powerful Mac mini variants providing a higher level of processor power and great memory options (especially when they had user–upgradeable memory). They were future–proof, they gave you headroom to get into Photoshop or video editing without complaints, and they were well–priced. Recently, the mid–range has felt a little forgotten again — especially if you wanted a good dose of graphics power for…

I was really surprised by your group test of “Noise Canceling Over–Ear Headphones” in the May 2022 issue. You did not include the Bose Quiet Comfort 45 noise–canceling headphones in the review. I was interested to see how they compared to the other pairs of headphones. I have used two different versions of the Bose noise–canceling headphones over the last 8 years, I think it has been, and I love them. They are relatively small, making them ideal for travel, they’re light, and in my opinion the noise–canceling and the audio quality are first rate. How come they were not included? I am a new reader to Mac|Life so perhaps they were recently reviewed at some other point in the past? KEN SPENCER Great point, Ken — we really rate the Bose…

AFTER ANOTHER QUARTER of growth in revenue from Services, and risks ahead for hardware because of supply constraints, Apple is reportedly working on new Services. In its fiscal quarter ended March 26, 2022, Apple reported all-time-record Services revenue of $19.8bn (up from $16.9bn in the same quarter of 2021). Top earner is still iPhone ($50.6bn revenue in the quarter), but Services ranks second and brought in almost twice as much as the Mac (which grossed $10.4bn in the quarter, although this was a 15% rise year-on-year thanks to demand for new models with Apple silicon). Even more significantly, only Services rose quarter-on-quarter. While the iPhone, Mac, and Apple’s “Wearables, Home, and Accessories” segments all performed better than in any previous March quarter, each of these actually earned more in the December quarter.…

APPLE HAS OFFICIALLY discontinued the iPod, and the last of the line, the iPod touch, is now reported to be sold out in the US. However, we can take our music and other media with us on more devices than ever before, and Apple is bringing new features to the podcast medium, which the proliferation of the iPod first made possible. Apple has announced Delegated Delivery, which will allow podcast creators to upload, manage, and distribute their premium audio through participating third–party hosting providers instead of having to upload to Apple Podcasts whether or not they are also using alternative distribution services. Creators can still upload directly to Apple Podcasts if they choose, and they will have to continue using Apple’s service to create new channels or manage users’ subscriptions. Users are…

APPLE IS NO longer the most valuable company in the world. Following its warning to investors about the risks from component supply constraints, which it said could mean a revenue hit of $4bn to $8bn in the current quarter, Apple’s share price tumbled. Oil company Saudi Aramco now holds the top spot. However, according to Canalys, Apple is now #1 in computer market share worldwide… if you count iPad as a computer. Totaling desktop, laptop, and tablet shipments worldwide in Q1 2022, the research company estimates Apple has 18.8% market share. Shipments by second–placed Lenovo fell -12.2% year-on-year, and third-placed HP -17.6%. Looking just at computers alone, Counterpoint Research says global PC shipments fell -4.3% year–on–year while Apple laptops and desktops grew 8% in the same period. On rival IDC’s figures the…