Inhoudsopgave van August 2019 - Macworld

There’s an old joke about a bad writer blaming his tools—a sad excuse that it was the typewriter and not poor writing skill that was to blame. When macOS Mojave was announced last year, featuring four apps that originated on iOS and had been moved to the Mac by something we now call Catalyst, many of us were quick to blame Catalyst for the strange design quirks of those apps, which seemed simplified in ways that were jarring. Recent statements by Apple software head Craig Federighi, including his interview with John Gruber during WWDC and a subsequent interview with Jason Hiner of CNet, make it worth revisiting that assumption. “When I read some of the initial reviews of those apps, people were saying, ‘Obviously this technology is causing them to do things that…

Being a big business is all about making choices. Even the most successful, most profitable company can’t pursue all possible avenues. Decisions have to be made, even if they mean ignoring a segment of the market that might address some consumers. Such is the reality with Apple. It can’t possibly make all of the products that its customers want—it just doesn’t have the time, money, or people. But some of the choices that Apple has made about products to not pursue have been surprising. Especially when it seems as though the market in question is desperately in need of a solution that would be right up Apple’s alley. Earlier this month, during the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, I noticed a few places where it seemed as though Apple…

The new Thirteener Thin Leather Briefcase from Saddleback Leather Co. looks a little, well, like a saddlebag. (I was a cowboy for years, so I don’t say this lightly.) And much like a saddlebag, this 14.25-x-10-inch briefcase is big enough to hold necessities without being a burden, which makes it a perfect (if heavy duty) companion for Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro or the new MacBook Air. So long as you don’t try to take the whole ranch along on your commute and can deal with some scuffing, it should serve you well. The $349 Thirteener also reminds me of a good saddlebag because there’s little reason to worry about it falling apart over the next five years—or maybe even the next 50. Saddleback always uses heavy full-grain leather for its leather…

Do you really need a new iPhone? They’re so expensive now, and yours is…fine. It’s fine. You’ve never been one of those people who needs a new phone every year, or every other year, anyway. How do you know when it’s time to take the plunge and ditch your old iPhone for a new one? We’re definitely not one to encourage the cycle of nonstop iPhone upgrades. Hanging on to your phone for a long time is a good thing. But just as some users feel compelled to upgrade way too often, others stubbornly refuse to get a new phone until their current one literally won’t function at all, and might need a little help accepting that their old phone is holding them back. If one or more of these…

Pokémon Go thrived on the joys of simple discovery and exploration. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, as befits a game inspired by the goings-on at an imaginary elite school, requires learning so many extra features that it sometimes feels more like taking a class. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It does probably mean that its extra dose of complexity will keep developer Niantic’s game from achieving the same pinnacle of popularity as its 2016 blockbuster, but its appeal lies in offering the best bits of Pokémon Go’s experience for a different sort of crowd. After spending some time with Wizards Unite, I’m fairly certain I number among them. After all, I’m one of those fantasy-loving nerds who keeps a replica of Sting from The Lord of the Rings hanging on…

HARRY POTTER: WIZARDS UNITE Can developer Niantic once again capture the magic that swept the world in 2016 with Pokémon Go? It’s sure as heck trying to with Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, an augmented reality game that takes concepts from Pokémon Go and enriches them with new features, better artwork, more activities, and a deep immersion into J.K. Rowling’s “Wizarding World.” You’ll even get to pick a wand from Ollivander’s (although, weirdly, there’s no sorting hat ceremony). PROFESSOR LAYTON: DIABOLICAL BOX IN HD Mobile is the perfect platform for puzzle games, and that’s why I’m happy to see Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box make its way to the iPhone 10 years after its original launch for the Nintendo DS. The good professor and his buddy Luke are on the…

Fresh on the heels of the release of the public betas for iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina, Apple has updated both the iOS and macOS versions of its iWork apps: Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. Each app comes with its own bag of goodies, but each one now comes with better options for editing lists, charts, and tables—including the ability to create customized bullets. All three apps also let you stylize your text with new outline styles or by filling in the letters with gradients or your own images. In addition, all of the updates include a “face detection” feature that intelligently positions subjects in photos when you place those photos in placeholders or objects. PAGES Pages for Mac and iOS are basically the same, but the iOS version…

Yamaha’s MusicCast Vinyl 500 Wi-Fi Turntable (model TT-N503) is a nearly perfect marriage of good-ol’ analog and the best of today’s digital technology. The Vinyl 500 is the first turntable that can stream vinyl records to both Yamaha MusicCast wireless speakers and Bluetooth speakers and headphones. This gorgeously elegant turntable can also be incorporated into any traditional Hi-Fi system, whether or not there’s a phono preamp in your ensemble. And best of all, its flexible design is suitable for both the vinyl novice and the seasoned audiophile. IT STARTS WITH A SOLID TURNTABLE DESIGN Yamaha’s analog-to-digital magic trick starts with a high-quality turntable design, including a substantive base constructed from MDF (medium density fiberboard) that’s complemented by adjustable, vibration-dampening feet. MDF is valued for its rigidity and vibration-dampening properties, which…

CAN’T SELECT A DRIVE TO USE WITH TIME MACHINE? IT MIGHT NEED REFORMATTING If you use Time Machine, you know that macOS asks you whenever you mount a new external drive whether or not you want to use it as another Time Machine destination. One of the backup service’s best features is that it can create archives on multiple volumes at once, and remembers backup volumes when they’re removed, so you can rotate through disks and keep one or more offsite. However, you might mount a drive and want to use it with Time Machine and be unable to select it. That’s typically because the volume isn’t formatted using the old standby, HFS+, labeled “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” in Disk Utility. Time Machine can only create backup archives on HFS+…

Apple has announced a recall for owners of the 15-inch MacBook Pro. If you bought such a laptop between September 2015 and February 2017, it could have a battery that is at risk of overheating. Apple will replace the battery in these laptops for free. To see if your laptop is part of the recall, click on the Apple menu and select About This Mac. In the overview section of the About This Mac window that appears, you should see the OS as the main header. Just underneath that is the listing for your Mac. If it says, “MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015),” take note of the serial number. Then go to Apple’s website and submit the serial number to see if your 15-inch MacBook Pro is part of the recall.…

Need to get your iPhone screen fixed (or your MacBook keyboard) but the nearest Apple store is over an hour away? Don’t fret. Apple announced a partnership with Best Buy to offer certified repairs at all of its nearly 1,000 locations in the U.S. According to the release, Best Buy’s Geek Squad has nearly 7,600 newly Apple-certified technicians that can make same-day iPhone repairs and service other products. Best Buy stores will use official Apple parts and their repair work will be backed by Apple. Apple has been under pressure to reduce backlogs, wait times, and crowding for repairs at its Apple Stores, and this should help a lot. According to Apple, this partnership means that there are now over 1,800 third-party Apple authorized service providers in the U.S.—three times as…

AMAREY A900 ROBOT VACUUM The Amarey A900 is a powerful and efficient robot vacuum cleaner that does a particularly good job of extracting pet hair from carpet. With about 100 minutes to a charge the A900 packs up to 1,400Pa of suction power, which is great for pulling debris out of carpets. The vacuum had no trouble navigating different terrains, smoothly transitioning from carpet to hardwood to linoleum and back again. It comes with a remote control that you can use to control its cleaning modes and suction levels or use to manually direct the vacuum. The Amarey companion app provides the same controls plus access to mapping, scheduling, and third-party voice control features.—MICHAEL ANSALDO ECOBEE SMART THERMOSTAT WITH VOICE CONTROL Once you’ve wired it up, powered it on, and…

It’s just summer but already the fall smartphone wars are heating up. Apple has unveiled iOS 13 and with it many of the new features that will grace the next iPhone, and now Google has oneupped the hype machine with an unprecedented reveal of the Pixel 4 months ahead of its presumed launch. And why not? We all know the Pixel 4 is coming in October, and after YouTube creator Unbox Therapy got his hands on a metal model of the new phone and seemingly spilled all the details about the new dual camera and design, it was just a matter of counting the days. So rather than let it play out with rumors and speculation for months like it did with the Pixel 3, Google went ahead and took control the narrative.…

The best thing I can say about the Zagg Slim Book Go is that it has me seriously thinking about using my 9.7-inch iPad as my primary work machine again. Apple’s baseline iPad feels a lot like a miniature laptop once it’s paired with this case, right down to a backlit keyboard that’s far more satisfying to type on than anything Apple itself offers. It’s also one of the few cases with a good solution for handling the Apple Pencil, and its detachable keyboard makes it easy to use as either a tablet or a laptop as required. It’s not an unattractive case, but it’s never going to turn heads. Zagg covered the keyboard half with a linen material that reminds me (not unpleasantly) of coverless hardbound library books, while…

The iPad isn’t really the laptop replacement Apple wants us to think it is, but anyone who outright dismisses it as a productivity device shouldn’t be taken too seriously, either. The iPad can feel magical when you have the knowledge of the right tricks at hand. Once you’ve mastered them, works sometimes feels fun. It may not be a MacBook, but you’d be wrong to dismiss it as giant iPhone. Here’s a little introduction to the wizardry Apple conceals beneath the familiar facade of iOS. Some tips basically amount to refreshers of the tutorials, but other bits may make you whisper, “Wow.” (I’m speaking from my own experience.) Once you’ve got these tools at your disposal, you’ll understand why Apple has such a ridiculous lead in the tablet market. 1.…

Every time you turn around there’s a new VPN service wanting to protect your web browsing. A recent newcomer is Surfshark, which debuted in 2018. Based in the British Virgin Islands, with most of its team scattered around Europe and elsewhere, Surfshark is already offering a fair amount for its fee. The company has more than 500 servers in 49 country locations. It promises to let you watch Netflix U.S. (as well as France and Japan for that matter), and it has extra features such as multi-hop VPN connections, ad and tracker blocking, and unlimited simultaneous devices. Sounds like a good one, but is the product as good as its stats suggest? Let’s take a look. SECURITY, SOFTWARE, SERVERS, AND SPEED Surfshark uses IKEv2/IPsec as its security protocol. For encryption…

Paul Barton, founder and chief designer of PSB Speakers, has a well-deserved reputation for creating many superb speakers over the last four decades. When he turned his attention to headphones in 2011, the result was the critically acclaimed M4U 2 over-ear model with active noise cancellation (ANC). Since then, PSB has introduced several iterations of this product: the M4U 1 (passive, no ANC), M4U 4 (wired in-ear monitors), M4U TW1 (Bluetooth in-ear monitors), and now the M4U 8 Bluetooth over-ear headphones. Let’s find out if this model upholds the impressive legacy of PSB headphones. FEATURES The M4U 8 is a circumaural (over-ear) headphone with an adjustable, leatherette-clad headband and “gyro-suspended” earpads that conform to a wide variety of head sizes and form a nice seal around the ears. In fact,…

Apple might have just updated its 13- and 15-inch laptops with better processors and a tweak to the much-maligned butterfly keyboard, but there might be a completely new model arriving later this year. Unfortunately, you probably won’t be able to afford it. Echoing a previous report by Ming-Chi Kuo, IHS Markit analyst Jeff Lin says that Apple is planning to release a 16-inch MacBook Pro in September, marking the first new size for Apple’s flagship notebook since the 13-inch model was introduced in 2009. It would also represent the biggest MacBook since the 17-inch MacBook Pro was discontinued in 2012. Little is known about the new model, but Lin says it will be using a 3072 x 1920 LCD, higher than the 15-inch model’s 2,880 x 1,800 screen but not…

When I reviewed Picktorial 3.0, I noted how the software took a few unconventional approaches to photo editing and employed a clever way to save non-destructive edits. The new Picktorial 4.0 adds some new editing features, but mostly focuses on the organizing side of working with your library of images. AN EDITING ASSISTANT When you’re making adjustments to a photo—retouching in particular—you want to view the image at actual size to see how the edits are affecting the pixels. The new Assistant Viewer splits the editing area so you can view the full image in one pane while you’re applying corrections at 100 percent in the other pane. It’s a simple and effective alternative to zooming in and out repeatedly to see how the edits look. However, the panes are not…

It’s time, folks. Time to admit Apple was right to introduce the notch for the iPhone X back in 2017. Oh, sure, it was fun to ridicule the little black strip at the time; to see the memes grumbling about how Apple had lost its way and the tweets asserting that Steve Jobs Would Never Have Done This. But just 21 months later, we’re already seeing articles discussing which phones don’t have notches. Even Apple’s most direct rivals have embraced the notch: It sticks out like a black tongue on the Google Pixel 3 XL, and it lurks in the corner of Samsung’s overly ambitious Galaxy Fold. All these months later, Apple’s implementation of it remains, well, top notch. Nobody here is suggesting that Apple invented the notch. Indeed, the…

Apple may have changed the volume controls in iPadOS and iOS 13 to be less in-your-face, but that’s not the case with Siri. Summon Apple’s assistant and it will still overtake your entire screen and stay there until it’s done thinking and doing whatever you asked it to do, regardless of whether you have a 4-inch iPhone SE or a 12.9-inch iPad Pro. That might change in a future update. As MacRumors reports, Apple VP Craig Federighi responded to iPad fan Juliano Rossi’s question about Siri’s interface with a hopeful yet vague response: “What you describe is certainly valid feedback. Unfortunately, it’s not something we can add in at the last minute, but we will certainly consider it for the future.” Siri on the Mac already has an unobtrusive interface that appears…

Now that you’ve got a new iPad mini, why not carry it in style? Few cases afford such a pleasant mix of utility and style as WaterField Designs’ new iPad mini Travel Case, which shields the tablet and features slots for holding everything from the Apple Pencil to your AirPods and charging cables. It barely takes up more room than the tablet itself, and it’s small enough to slip comfortably into an airline seat pocket. It’s attractive, but it certainly looks like a high-end “travel case”—specifically one that I might stow a toothbrush in along with a few vials of hotel shampoo. Maybe that’s because of the little nylon loop in the upper left, which you can slip your finger in to minimize the chances of dropping the case while…

The Apple Watch is a marvel of miniaturization and can do so much. It’s no wonder it’s the most popular watch in the world. But the tiny display and simple controls don’t leave a lot of room for tutorials and explainers. Many of the best, most useful features and controls for the Apple Watch are, not exactly hidden, but at least hard to discover. 1. TAKE SCREENSHOTS Want to brag about that epic workout session or high score in an Apple Watch game? Taking a screenshot on your Apple Watch is simple. Just press and hold the side button and tap the digital crown (you can usually trigger it by simply tapping both buttons at once, which is easier since they’re on the same side of the watch). Your…

MacPaw has shot for the stars with its new version of CleanMyMac X, its catch-all Mac utility that serves as a software crud and gunk remover, as well as a malware scanner, macOS extensions manager, and a universal updater for your installed applications. Since my initial review of CleanMyMac X, MacPaw made some nice improvements, although some features still fall short of what they could be. HANDY MODULES MacPaw set out to make its menu-bar utility much better and has succeeded. A quick click on the icon reveals handy information such as how much space is left on each of your drive partitions, your Mac’s CPU load, how much RAM is available, your computer’s operating temperature, and other useful information. This is a nice touch and the menu can be…

The current generation of truly wireless earphones are not without their issues. Battery life is often lackluster. Connectivity between the earphones, their audio source and even between each earbud, can still be less than dependable. Then there’s the cost: As with most new technologies, a decent pair of truly wireless earphones doesn’t come cheap. One would think that the priority of headphone makers would be to find ways to bring these issues to ground. But not Sony. Instead of throwing their considerable resources into creating more dependable, less expensive and, therefore, more accessible high-quality truly wireless earphones, they decided that innovative industrial design and a premium price tag was the way to go. The $280 Xperia Ear Duo are the result of their efforts. While the Ear Duo’s unusual looks could make…