Table of contents for January 2017 in MacFormat

Ztylus Revolver Lens Expand your iPhoneography with swappable lenses Not every iPhone lens kit is as easy to use as the Ztylus Revolver. It’s a case with an attachment that contains four different lenses, which pop out over your iPhone’s regular camera. If you want to use a different lens, just rotate the attachment to move a new one into place, then pop it out to get started. The Revolver contains four different types of lens – macro, wide-angle, fisheye and circular polariser – so you won’t need to worry about removing lenses and attaching replacements every time you want to change style, as they’re all stored inside the attachment. $99.95 (about £80) INCLUDES Ztylus Lite/Metal iPhone case, Revolver lens kit WEBSITE ztylus.com WORKS WITH iPhone 5/5s, 6/6s, SE, 6…

[MOVIE] JULIETA £9.99 Pedro Almodóvar’s 20th film touchingly explores the turmoil of a woman’s attempts to reconnect with her estranged daughter. [GAME] F1 2016 £7.99 Get the thrill of F1 racing on your Apple TV! Featuring every official team, driver and circuit, it’s a must for petrolheads and F1 fans. [TV SHOW] THE EXPANSE NETFLIX Set 200 years in the future, the solar system has been colonised – but humanity’s survival is threatened by the ugly prospect of war.…

Apple has sometimes made too many things, but ditching essential accessories makes using your Mac a less distinctively crafted experience. When Phil Schiller announced the new MacBook Pro, he offered a new monitor to plug into its Thunderbolt 3 ports – but not one made by Apple. LG’s UltraFine 5K, at £884, is the nearest you can now get to an official screen, and although its price matches the late Thunderbolt Display, its design doesn’t. It looks more like a bog-standard PC unit with its bezel turned upside down. That’s to accommodate a webcam, something that in my experience the average creative professional will welcome about as much as an increase in the tax on Nespresso. But it’s not only monitors that are being wiped from the face of the…

“We want to kill cash”, said Apple CEO Tim Cook when discussing the Apple Pay system in a recent interview. Apple Pay was launched in the US back in 2014 and reached Europe in 2015, and it’s been gaining support steadily since then. Apple Pay can be really useful when you’re travelling abroad, as the contactless payment system is now supported by most major UK banks, enabling you to use your UK debit or credit card to make quick, cash-free payments while in the US, France, Canada, Australia, China or several other countries. Your iPhone’s Wallet app can also store ticket info, so you can quickly check in at airports. A number of airlines, including British Airways, support Apple Pay in their apps to speed up bookings and payments. Of…

Force Quit The Force Quit key combo ((command)+(option)+oe) isn’t a panacea for whatever ails your Mac, but it’s the quickest way to see which apps are unresponsive; they’re clearly marked in the list this shortcut reveals, and there’s a button to force the selected apps to quit. Hide everything You may know that (command)+h hides all of the active app’s windows, and that you can click the app’s Dock icon to bring them back. If you have a screen full of sensitive info in multiple apps, you might put the display to sleep using a method described at apple.co/2frGvfl, which differ between models. Secure your Mac When leaving your Mac alone for a moment in a shared space, logging out is an extreme way to secure it, and it can…

NEW IDEAS Your new-look guide to getting more from your Apple kit 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 (command)+a+C, hold all but the last key, then press that one. c…

IT WILL TAKE 20 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to record from multiple audio sources at the same time. YOU’LL NEED Audio Hijack 3.3. Local or online audio sources to record from. Audio Hijack can simplify even the most complex of podcasting studio setups If you’re able to record a voice and then upload the results to the internet, you can make a podcast. However, what if your ambitions are more, well, ambitious? Apps that cope just fine with a single mic can become a pain if you’re trying to combine multiple speakers from multiple sources: a FaceTime call here, a Skype call there, and a couple of mics in the mix, too. Don’t despair, because Audio Hijack can make even the most complex setup simple. Its latest version (£48,…

IT WILL TAKE 15 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How Markdown speeds up all kinds of writing. YOU’LL NEED A text editor or a Markdownfriendly app. Of Markdown’s many benefits, the clearest is time; it enables you to quickly format text as you type it Genius Tip! Everything you need to know about Markdown’s origins and syntax is at Daring Fireball – see bit.ly/2eWCGSG. If you’ve ever looked at, written or edited HTML, you’ll know that while it's fairly straightforward it can also get awfully messy looking, even when you’ve created a style sheet to separate out the formatting for its content. For example, for a numbered list you’d have something like this: <p>Best Macs ever</p> <ol> <li>MacBook Pro with Retina display</li> <li>New MacBook</li> <li>Power Macintosh</li> Wouldn’t it be better if…

Peripherals quick-fire questions Which printers are confirmed to work with Sierra? > Apple provides a list of all printers and scanners that are supported by drivers supplied with Sierra at apple.co/2gcIUj7. Most if not all Canon models require macOS 10.12.1 or higher, as they have problems with the initial release. Other printer manufacturers may also offer separate drivers on their website. How can I eject a stuck disk from my Mac’s optical drive? > The most reliable way is to hold down the mouse button during startup, until the optical drive spits out the disk. However, undersize, non-circular or warped disks, or those stuck due to a loose label, may get mechanically stuck, and you’ll need to take the drive (or your Mac) to an engineer who can disassemble it…

macOS quick-fire questions What should I do if someone accessed my iCloud account? > If you have security concerns about your Apple ID account, which includes iCloud, contact Apple’s support desk immediately through getsupport.apple.com. Also contact your credit card provider to check recent card transactions and discover if any are fraudulent. The provider should be very helpful as this sort of problem is sadly common. Has Sierra changed how you enter Recovery mode? > No, you still hold down c+r when you hear the startup sound to enter the Recovery system. However, if you use a wireless keyboard, you may find that that your Mac ignores its input at this stage. If that happens, try connecting a wired USB keyboard to your Mac, or connect Apple’s Magic Keyboard to a…

iOS software quick-fire questions Can I use my iPad’s USB charger with my iPhone? > Yes. Apple lists its power adaptors at apple.co/2eBAZeA. All can charge iPhones, and the iPhone 6 and newer models are able to charge more quickly from a 10W or 12W adaptor than from the 5W one that’s provided with them. In general, an iPad power adaptor is the better choice if you only carry one. Can I get a new Lightning adaptor for Apple Pencil? > Try AppleCare, which will want to know the serial number of your Pencil, or an Apple retail store. TechMatte offers a third-party, female-to-female Lightning adaptor (£12, amzn.to/2gdeD3J). An Apple replacement may be cheaper or even free if you’re lucky. Bluetooth headphones losing lip sync Q When I use LG…

One of the most frustrating things about technology is dismissal. Something new and exciting appears, and naysayers are all too eager to wave it away, shrugging it off as a mere toy. This happened in the past with the mouse and the very first Mac. These days, it still happens where the iPhone and iPad are concerned. Here at MacFormat we know different, and our readers do too. You know that an iPhone or an iPad can be a tiny window into a world of productivity and creativity – and this in some ways goes beyond even the Mac in terms of convenience, usability and accessibility. So the following pages delve into a range of tasks you may never before have considered doing on your iOS devices. From recording podcasts…

CONVERT LISTS Convert to Ordered List and Convert to Unordered List do what you would expect, given their names. Respectively, they add numbers or bullets to the start of selected lines of text and, in the process, they overwrite any that already exist). SAVE AS PDF You can share Editorial documents as HTML or plain text. However, PDF provides a better output option when sending on your words. The exported document is sent to Editorial’s browser and can be shared from there. COPY ALL TEXT This one’s useful for people who want to use Editorial for Markdown but need to quickly export text to add it to a website. Copy All Text converts your work to HTML and places it on the Clipboard with a single tap. EDITORIAL BACKUP This…

This iPad-only app ensures your tablet does something useful even when idle. It’s essentially a set of customisable widgets, which you drag to the canvas and configure to display useful information, such as weather forecasts, calendar entries, and news/social media feeds. However, if you pay a one-off £7.99 in-app purchase and you gain access to more involved widgets: Graph, Table and Do-It-Yourself. (The in-app purchase also adds the straightforward Photos, Countdown, and Text widgets.) The fastest way to get going with Graph and Tables is to place a CSV (comma-separated variable) file in Dropbox and point Status Board at it. For a CSV file, use the Tables option, and Microsoft Excel with headers top and left in the usual manner. Populate the doc with your data. For tables, you can…

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…

$80 (about £64) FROM Twelve South, twelvesouth.com FEATURES Integrated Micro-USB charging cable, 2A/5V USB output port Mac FORMAT VERDICT It looks unremarkable and is fairly costly, but does the job well and its USB port is useful. + Charge and keep tidy − Average looks Twelve South's Fermata is, in some ways, a case of form over function. It's a headphone stand with an integrated charging cable. Why do you need it when wireless cans come with a charging cable in the box? To show them off, of course. Setting up Fermata is straightforward, and Twelve South handily includes four different mains adaptors for the charging cable. The cable feeds into a Micro-USB slot in the base of the Fermata. Next, you plug a bendy, reversible USB cable (which looks…

£35 FROM Adonit, adonit.net FEATURES Bluetooth 4.0, oneclick shutter for photos, LED function indicator, Mini-USB one-B charging There are two problems with most styluses. Firstly, the tips are often too sticky to allow smooth lines to be drawn. Secondly, they are often too large and a little soft, making precision hard to achieve. This is where the Adonit Snap comes into play. Its slim, brushed metal body feels well made, and it fits nicely in the hand. A single button falls just right on one face – the stylus is flattened rather than rounded – leaving a small LED visible. Drawing with the Snap is a joy. Its nib is firm and glides rather than skids over your iOS device’s display. Having just the right amount of friction is the…

Insta360 Nano £199 FROM Insta360, insta360.com FEATURES Lightning connector, MicroSD slot, iOS app Design The Insta360 Nano is impressively compact. It can be used on its own but is best connected to your iPhone’s Lightning port. It lacks a tripod socket, so it needs extra hardware to stand up; without, your hand will loom large in your shots. Features Exposure is fully automatic, but there is a slider for you to adjust brightness. There’s control for white balance and an HDR option to avoid blown-out highlights too, and a memory card slot to manage media storage. Ease of use Connecting to an iPhone is simple. Once in place the Nano is easy to control from the app, but whether or not it’s connected to your phone, you can’t easily put…

£200 FROM Veho, veho-uk.com FEATURES 60W output, 40Hz–19kHz DIMENSIONS 282x293x167mm, WEIGHT 2.9kg Veho is perhaps best known for its Muvi action cam. It also makes a range of Bluetooth speakers, which it has just updated with the addition of its eye-catching new M10 model. This circular speaker measures 28.2cm in diameter and sits perched on top of a sturdy metal stand similar to that of the iMac. Beneath the smart grey fabric cover you’ll find two woofers and two tweeters with a total output of 60W, so the compact M10 has plenty of power to play with. Along with Bluetooth streaming, the M10 also has a 3.5mm socket for wired connections, and it features a rechargeable battery that lasts for up to nine hours, so you can easily move it…

Contact us Email your queries and your questions to letters@macformat.com LETTER OF THE MONTH! BIG APPLE Does anyone else think that Apple’s recent UK price rises looks like opportunistic greed? Apple quotes the fall in the value of the pound as the reason, but I remember when the pound to dollar exchange rate was much more favourable to the pound, but its UK prices didn’t fall to reflect this. No doubt there will be extreme currency fluctuations in the next two or three years as the Brexit process unfolds. Indeed, we have seen a significant adjustment recently following the court decision on parliamentary consultation, but I haven’t seen a price fall for UK consumers. This is also against the background that UK prices of their products do not reflect the…

 Apple is moving out of the router business and has reassigned its AirPort staff to projects like Apple TV, says Bloomberg. Speaking to “people familiar with the matter”, Bloomberg said the decision was made in order to “sharpen the company’s focus on consumer products that generate the bulk of its revenue”. Apple’s AirPort line is due an upgrade, with the latest edition being released in 2013. Even then it wasn’t as advanced as many rivals’ offerings, lacking WPS compatibility and sporting just a single USB 2.0 port. It now looks like anyone holding out for an updated AirPort will have to look elsewhere for a wireless router. Wireless standards often change quickly, and in the past Apple frequently updated its AirPort range to keep up. Added to that, the…

1 SAN FRANCISCO The city of San Francisco, where Jobs was born in February 1955, still owes Apple’s co-founder $174 for overpaid parking tickets – that’s 174 years’ worth of his annual salary since returning to Apple in 1997. 2 Los Altos Jobs showed an early interest in electronics, getting a summer job at Hewlett Packard while living in nearby Los Altos, California. He was just 13 years old at the time. 3 Alice in WONDERLAND One of Jobs’ first employments involved dressing up as Alice in Wonderland characters at a local mall. He was paid $3 an hour (about £13.50 today). 4 $7.4 billion Jobs gave $10 million to the creation of Pixar. When Disney bought it for $7.4 billion in stock, Jobs became Disney’s single largest shareholder, holding…

TIM COOK apple.com “And as we expected, we’re on track for the best quarter ever for Apple Watch.” Apple CEO is bullish about Apple Watch sales in recent months STEVE MILUNOVICH ubs.com “[Apple must] come out with a top-notch product every time because that’s what you expect from them.” UBS analyst says Apple can’t afford failure DONALD TRUMP trump.com “I think we’ll create the incentives for you, and I think you’re going to do it.” President-elect tells Tim Cook he can convince Apple to build in the US JONY IVE apple.com “It’s the things that we think were salient in our learning or that we just had an affection for.” Ive on choosing products to include in the Designed by Apple in California book…

Bluesmart One £399 uk.bluesmart.com Possibly the smartest suitcase currently available, it includes its own digital scales to weigh all your gear before you leave home. It uses Bluetooth, 3G and GPS to prevent theft and help you locate it pretty much worldwide. Bose QuietComfort 35 £290 bose.co.uk Bose is a leader in noisecancelling tech, and these are its new top-of-therange Bluetooth cans to feature it. They provide up to 20 hours of battery life, and you can fall back on using a cable if the battery runs out of juice. Kanex GoPower Watch £90 kanex.com This handy dual-purpose battery has 4,000mAh capacity – that’s enough to charge an iPhone 7 twice or an Apple Watch six times over. It’s about 80mm square, but it has a charging plate for the…

1Dictate rather than type We’re great fans of Nuance Dragon see MF307), but don’t forget macOS has dictation built in, which you can enable in the Keyboard preferences pane. Invoke it by pressing ƒ twice. By default, voice recordings are sent to Apple’s server for transcription, which returns written words to your app; enable Enhanced Dictation if you prefer it to be done on your Mac. 2Find special characters Holding down certain keys reveals variations on their character, but you need to know which offer this. Turn on ‘Show keyboard and emoji viewers in menu bar’ in Keyboard preferences, click the new icon, pick ‘Show Emoji and Symbols’ to reveal a grid of characters, then double-click one to type it in the app you’re using. Choose ‘Show Keyboard Viewer’ to…

IT WILL TAKE 30 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to publish your site to the web. YOU’LL NEED RapidWeaver 7. Your own website hosting space. Genius Tip! It’s sensible to buy a domain (like techradar.com) and hosting space; cats.com looks better than somedomain.com/users/21414/files/cats. You’ve crafted your copy, carefully chosen your images and tweaked your chosen template until it’s exactly what you want. Now there’s only one thing left to do: publish your website for the world to see. Since Apple canned the MobileMe service and its website hosting capability a few years ago, RapidWeaver’s publishing options have centred around FTP (File Transfer Protocol), which is a way to quickly transfer files. To use FTP, you’ll need to get the appropriate login FTP server type details (FTP, SFTP or FTPS) from…

IT WILL TAKE 10 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to ensure macOS’s basic protections against security threats are doing their job. YOU’LL NEED macOS Sierra (though much of this also applies to older systems). You might feel relatively safe using a Mac, but you’re still vulnerable to social engineering and other tricks that may allow malicious software to run. That’s why Apple has built in some protections against unknown software running. The key one is Gatekeeper. Though its name isn’t written anywhere in System Preferences, naturally you’ll find its settings in the Security & Privacy pane. Look in that pane’s General tab and under the heading ‘Allow apps downloaded from’ you’ll find two options that either allow apps to run only if they’re from the Mac App Store or if…

1Get started When creating a new document in Pages, you can choose from various templates, but they are predefined rather than customisable. However, you can create a sort-of personalised template using a cunning workaround. Choose one of Apple’s existing templates – Elegant Letter, say – as a starting point. 2Make adjustments Select and edit Apple’s boilerplate text as appropriate (including the footer – remember to scroll down), replacing it with your own details. If you prefer to use different font, select a text box, tap the toolbar’s paintbrush icon, and make changes accordingly, ensuring whatever you’re left with is easily readable. 3Add new elements Tap + and use the tools within to construct your custom masthead, importing images or using shapes to create a logo. If you’re adding an image,…

£240 FROM Seagate, seagate.com FEATURES 8TB, USB 3.0, 2x USB-A ports Mac FORMAT VERDICT A great choice for desktop users looking for lots of storage plus additional USB ports. + Plenty of storage − Bulky chassis This drive from Seagate is well priced and has a welcome bonus in the form of a two-port USB 3.0 hub. Usefully, these are positioned on the front of the unit, and because the drive requires its own power adapter, they won’t draw any extra juice from your Mac. Don’t be fooled by the white model on the web – in the UK, this chunky drive only comes in a single shade: black. The Mac version should be preformatted and ready for instant use, although if you end up with the PC version it’s…

Welcome to MacFormat’s Store Guide, the place to go to find out about all the Apple kit that matters, whether you’re looking for your next iPhone or a powerful new desktop Mac. We’ve chosen our top products from Apple’s product line-up, plus the best third-party kit that meets our quality standard. Whether you’re a recent convert or a seasoned Apple user, we highlight a model of each product that’s ideally suited to your needs. So, check our handy tables to see which Mac, iPad or iPhone is best for you. We’ve also highlighted the gold standard in audio, storage, cameras, and many other categories to complement your Mac or iOS device with the best accessories. Who’s it for? ENTRY LEVEL You’re just getting started in the world of Apple and…

Desktops from all computer manufacturers seem unable to fire up the imagination, which isbacked up by their sales being surpassed by laptops for some time. Far from abandoning the iMac though, we think Apple will simply revise its current design to make way for a slighty more edge-to-edge screen with new Retina display tech, a fancy new Magic Keyboard 2 with Touch Bar, and USB-C connections at the rear. A 2017 iMac is unlikely before April, and prices are likely to stay high, having already been raised alongside the new MacBook Pro’s debut. But if any company is going to make a desktop that will make you fall in love with a ‘traditional’ computer again, it’s Apple. Just don’t expect a touchscreen hybrid; Apple hates the idea, with Phil Schiller…

Have you ever taken out an AppleCare Protection Plan when buying a new Mac? We asked that question on our social media pages a couple of months ago, and two-thirds of our readers said no. There are a number of reasons why you might decide against buying an AppleCare plan, from the cost involved to relying on existing UK consumer rights legislation. So, do you even need to take out AppleCare in the first place? And if not, why not? The Brexit effect Brexit means many things, but noteworthy here is that the EU regulations that Britain is currently bound by, including a range of consumer protection laws, may no longer apply once the UK leaves the EU. However, that doesn’t mean you need to rush out and buy an…

LIVE SMARTER The smart home is here – live the Apple dream today! They say that travel broadens the mind, but sometimes it can drive you out of your mind, too. Checking into airports, changing currencies, and tablets and smartphones that seem to run flat before you’ve even gotten off the ground. And when you reach your destination you discover your luggage went to Buenos Aires while you were flying to Barcelona. Modern tech can take away some of that strain, though. Noise-cancelling headphones are a must for many travellers, but they’re just the start of travel tech. There are now smart suitcases that can send you a message from anywhere in the world if they get separated from you, and compact battery packs that are powerful enough to…

Genius Tip! The Tile tracker works both ways. So, if you misplace your iPhone, you can press a button on the Tile itself to have its app on your iPhone sound an alarm. 1 The Finder Tile is primarily for use with personal items such as your keys, wallet or bag, but you can easily slip one into a backpack or suitcase when you’re travelling, and then track your belongings with its companion iPhone app. 2 Close at hand Tile uses Bluetooth to communicate with your iPhone. Bluetooth has a maximum range of around 100ft, but that can still help you to find nearby belongings, perhaps misplaced at home or going round on a baggage carousel. 3 Beyond Bluetooth If your bag goes out of Bluetooth range, the Tile app…

macOS comes with an ever-evolving collection of apps that greatly add to your Mac’s total value. Many of them have gained helpful enhancements in Sierra, and new features, such as Siri, offer you fresh ways to work. Though the bundled apps and built-in features can each be used in isolation, some interact to save you time. Sierra detects new people and events in more apps than just Mail, and adds them to Calendar and Contacts if that behaviour is enabled in the latter two apps’ General prefs. Let’s look at other fun and practical things it offers. Tweak the menu bar > Previously you could move only some of the icons at the right end of the menu bar. In Sierra, by holding c you can drag almost all of…

IT WILL TAKE 30 minutes YOU WILL LEARN How to build rules in Hazel, in order to automate tidying up your Mac. YOU’LL NEED Hazel 4 Hazel silently checks folders and runs your rules on any relevant files that are added to them Genius Tip! Hazel performs actions within seconds of files appearing in monitored folders. You can turn Hazel off, though, to temporarily revert to manually sorting the contents of folders. One of the downsides to Apple’s brave new world of technology is how much flash storage costs. For a long while, we revelled in massive hard drives, which reduced in price every year. Now, we live in an era of pricey SSDs. Additionally, Apple’s trying quite hard to nudge everyone towards storing their data on iCloud Drive. The…

EXPERT ADVICE Our resident genius solves your Mac and iOS problems Q I have a scary problem with Firefox. While accessing Hotmail messages, I accidentally clicked on an adjacent advert. To my alarm a window popped up flashing ‘Trojan’, accompanied by beeping sounds. I shut down Firefox immediately. What can I do to make my Mac safe again? by ST E PHE N S TURGE S S A As the link was on the Hotmail page rather than in the body of an email, the risk of malware is low, but it was clearly unwanted and unnerving. To confirm your Mac isn’t infected with anything nasty, download an antimalware utility such as Malwarebytes – you can get that one for free from bit.ly/2ftmVmV. There’s no need to trash Firefox, but…

Hardware quick-fire questions What does the mAh number mean? > It stands for milliamphours and is a measure of the total energy stored in the battery. An 1,800mAh battery can supply a current of 180mA for 10 hours, or 360mA for five hours. Note that batteries also have a maximum current that they can safely discharge, and if you try to draw 18 amps for six minutes, you will destroy the battery at best and start a fire at worst. What’s best to remove corrosion from terminals? > The white crusty stuff on terminals is just metal salts formed by the chemical reaction with the leaking battery electrolyte. It can be wiped off with a damp cloth. However, if the individual cells have begun to leak, they are well past…

Editorial (£7.99, apple.co/2fFE3mV) feels like the text editor other text editors want to be when they grow up. At its core, it’s a minimalist plain-text editor suitable for streaming words from your brain to your device and structuring them using formats such as Markdown (see our tutorial on page 58), TaskPaper or Fountain. Spend some time with the app and it’s revealed to be something greater. You can fold up sections by tapping a triangle icon next to headings (each of which subsequently displays a word count for the collapsed section), and jump to headings by selecting them from the menu bar. Terms can be highlighted throughout a doc, and formatting can be previewed in a web browser. However, it’s Editorial’s extensibility that makes it a must-have if you’re…

Soulver A calculator and a spreadsheet all in one really handy app Calculator apps mostly copy their desktop equivalents – and by desktop, we mean actual calculators that sit on real-world desks. However, Soulver rethinks calculations on iOS, being closer in nature to scribbling sums on a scrap of paper, except the sums magically add up, and the figures can be edited at any time. By way of example, try using Soulver to add up business expenses. On the first line, type “Hotel: 4 nights at £179.” Anything left of the colon is recognised as a label; the other figures are understood and a total is provided in the right-hand column. You can do similar stuff with meals and taxis. (Lists can be commaseparated, or you can tap + to…

Modern iOS devices give you shortcuts for triggering actions within certain apps. However, Launch Center Pro (£3.99, apple.co/2ghXKp8) utilises a more traditional iOS input method, having you define and use shortcuts on a grid-based layout that echoes the Home screen. It comes with a number of useful shortcuts, such as to tweet your last photo or add an event to Fantastical. It also offers shortcut groups, whereby you press an icon (Photos, Bookmarks, Search, and so on) and slide across to the action you require. Existing items can be deleted or amended and new ones made in Edit mode. Tap the pencil icon, select a slot, and use the app’s Action Composer to browse available actions and select the ones you require – say, to create a singletap shortcut…

£419 FROM Nikon, nikon.co.uk FEATURES 21.14MP 1/2.3-inch sensor, 4K Ultra HD video at 24 frames per second, ISO 100–1600 Approach the KeyMission 360 like any other action camera and you’re in for a tough time Mac FORMAT VERDICT An expensive, bonkers product, sure, but it’s great for forward-looking adrenaline junkies. + Very rugged + Lightweight + Unique footage − Expensive, and a niche product for now Action cams such as GoPro and Garmin Virb have very wideangle lenses, which are better for producing steady footage over lumpy terrain. However, the Nikon KeyMission 360 goes at least 270 degrees better, offering a pair of 180-degree lenses on its front and rear faces, and stitching the resultant images The camera itself is a rugged little cube: with its focal-length-widening lens protectors attached,…

£90 FROM Netatmo, netatmo.com FEATURES 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHz) Wi-Fi, iOS 8.1 or higher (iOS 9 for HomeKit integration) This unit monitors air quality, CO2 (but not carbon monoxide), temperature, noise and humidity in a single room in your home. It connects to Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz band and is set up, controlled and measured using an iOS or Android app. After the simple set-up process, you can get a quick reading from the device by touching the top of the cylinder – a pulsating light from red (bad) to green (excellent) will give you a ‘mood’ reading. For exact measurements, use the app, which will also alert you should it record any unusual figures, such as high CO2 levels or low temperature. The app is flexible and versatile – there are…

Apple Watch Series 2 scored highly in a number of categories, but its high price cost it dearly when you consider fitness prowess alone. As a runner’s watch, the Polar M600 ditches style in favour of analytics, while Fitbit’s Blaze offers a nice compromise between fashion and workout tracking, but only one device here impressed across the board. Garmin’s Vívoactive HR is packed with sport tracking features – golf, anyone? – and records a host of metrics in genuinely insightful ways. Its display may be a bit dull, but what you lose in brightness you gain in several days’ worth of battery life for those weekend hiking trips. Apple Watch Series 2 scored highly, but its high price cost it dearly when you consider fitness prowess alone Alex says… Apple…