Indholdsfortegnelse for July/August 2022 i Essential Apple User Magazine

James Gale Managing Editor I love meeting with my friends for a movie night, and come September, we’ll be able to have a virtual meeting with SharePlay over Messages. Martin Smith Group Senior Designer As a designer, I love Reference Mode, which keeps colours consistent across your Apple devices. This will make my job a lot easier. Alan Hulme Staff Writer New Sleep app features on the Apple Watch for me. If I don’t get a good night’s sleep, at least I can research why and try to fix the problem. Mark Ayshford Art Director Stage Manager with full display support for me. It’s a real shame it’s only available on M1 processors, but it looks an amazing feature. Ian Osborne Editor Apple’s built-in webcams haven’t exactly shone to date,…

The New M2 Processor As you might already know, Apple’s Mac lineup is being transitioned to new Apple Silicon processors instead of the Intel models used by older Macs. We’ve already seen several iterations of the Apple Silicon M1 processor, namely the M1, M1 Pro, M1 Max and M1 Ultra, all designed to maximise performance while using as little power as possible. With most of the Mac range already using M1-series processors, it’s time to lift the lid on the next generation of Apple Silicon – the M2. Many processors increase power to gain performance, but the Apple Silicon chips, including M2, do things differently. Power-efficiency is focussed throughout, maximising performance while minimising consumption. It’s built using an enhanced second-generation five-nanometre process, which makes it very thin. This improves power…

According to Apple’s Corey Wang, the smart home is still in its early days, and the company wants to bring its benefits to as many people as possible. In order to give users the best available choice of connected home gadgets, Apple has partnered with other industry leaders to create a new standard – Matter. This standard lets smart home accessories work together across platforms, including HomeKit gadgets. In fact, HomeKit underpins the framework of the Matter standard. With the next versions of Apple’s operating systems, the Home app is reimagined from the ground up. It’s more efficient and reliable, especially in homes with many accessories. The Rooms and Favourites sections are integrated into the main app tab, giving access to your entire home in a single screen. New categories…

Classicbot OS 2.0 URL: https://classicbot.com Price: £31.50, $38, 36,50 € Long-time Mac fans will recognise this cutie immediately. He’s based on the Mac Classic design, and is definitely a classic in his own right. He’s about 10cm tall, and comes supplied with a fonts suitcase and Mousebot as accessories. Detachable limbs are held on by magnets, so you can display him in pure Mac form too. He’s the perfect addition to any Mac owner’s desk. Dygma Defy Keyboard URL: https://dygma.com Price: TBA Could this be your next keyboard? Its manufacturer, who comfortably met their Kickstarter goal, claims it’s very ergonomic – far more so than a regular keyboard. It’s wireless, customisable and features detachable wrist rests. Neat Frame URL: https://neat.no/frame Price: £1,890, $2,290, 2.186 € Neat is one of the…

There are several reasons why you might prefer a trackball over a mouse. Those with RSI might find them more ergonomic. As the unit doesn’t physically move, they take up less room on your desk. Or you might just want a decent game of Missile Command. Whatever the reason, if you want a trackball, this Kensington model might fit the bill. It’s USB only, so make sure you have a spare port and aren’t too bothered about trailing cables. There’s a button on either side of the ball standing in as left and right mouse buttons, but you can’t press the ball itself for a third click. There is a scroll wheel surrounding the trackball, though. Download Kensington’s TrackballWorks app and you can configure the buttons, adjust the pointer speed…

The days when you had to spend a lot to get decent Bluetooth earbuds are long gone. These days, most mid-priced sets give excellent sonic reproduction, and are often packed with features that were previously only found in high-end models too. Take these TWS330 NB earbuds from Edifier. They offer active noise cancellation up to -38dB, deep neural network call noise cancellation for an excellent telephone experience, AAC HD audio decoding for higher-quality sounds and a companion app, all from a relatively affordable set of earbuds. The pellet-shaped carry case is comfortable in the pocket, and the earbuds are comfortable in the ears, though they’re a little difficult to get out of the case. They’re good for five hours on a full charge, and 20 hours when you throw in…

Like the Airpulse P100X reviewed over on Page 49, this Bluetooth stereo speaker boasts a retro design. It has a grille front and back and a gorgeous wooden frame, giving the device as a whole a real old-school radio vibe. Unfortunately it spoils the aesthetic with gaudy, cheap-looking gold button controls. It’s a portable device measuring 16.2x8.5x9.7cm and weighing 850g. Its ten-hour rechargeable battery means you can take it with you wherever you go. Connection to audio devices is with Bluetooth 5.0 or a 3.5mm AUX socket, and you can also slot in a microSD card packed with your tunes. Delivering the sound are two 4.8cm full-frequency drivers, coupled with an integrated large-size dual passive radiator. A TAS5822M amplifier chipset supports power output up to 25w for each speaker, though…

Keep It is a cross-platform notebook, scrapbook and organiser for Apple devices, and it’s been getting better with every release. This current version, available on Mac, iPad and iPhone, and lets you make notes to which you can add highlights, checklists, bulleted and numbered lists, links, dividers and more. You can add any sort of file to a note, such as images, text files, music files and so on. Text written directly onto the note can be formatted in all sorts of ways, far more so than those in the Notes app, and any note can be encrypted and password protected. If you install the app on more than one device, perhaps multiple Macs and/or your mobile gear, anything you’ve saved is shared between all your Apple devices. It’s paid…

If you’re a fan of the Despicable Me/Minions movies, and also enjoy endless runners, you’ll love this. You play as one of the cute little minions from the movies, trying to become Employee of the Month by running as far as you possibly can. It’s not clear what the purpose of the run is, but unlike every other endless runner game, there is a storyline of sorts. Gameplay uses a three-lane system with swipes in four directions. As your minion charges forward, simply swipe Left or Right to dodge objects and avoid falling employees, cliffs and more. You swipe Up to jump over obstacles, and swipe Down to slide under laser beams and such. The game offers a few surprises that help distinguish Minion Rush from almost every other endless…

Gameloft was one of the biggest and most highly regarded names in the early days of the Apple App Store, launching a huge range of high-quality, visually impressive games for the mobile format while keeping prices low. With its focus clearly on providing great mobile gaming, and an impressive back catalogue to show for it to this day, Gameloft’s pedigree is beyond question. So if you were seeking not only a very playable racing game but also a graphical showcase for your iPhone in 2010, Asphalt 6: Adrenaline might have been your first choice. Until then our experience of the long-running Asphalt franchise was limited to Asphalt Urban GT and its sequel on the Nintendo DS, and in comparison to those, this iPhone instalment took pole position right from the…

The Lock Screen No one pays too much attention to the iPhone lock screen these days. It’s just there, whenever your phone is locked and needs a passcode or a biometric to open it. Sure, it gives you the time and date, a few recent notices and easy access to the Camera app or Torch feature, but it that’s all it’s good for. But all this is going to change in iOS 16. The new operating system offers a complete overhaul for the iPhone’s lock screen. A new multilayered effect makes the subjects of photo wallpapers sit in front of the time, offering a sense of depth. If you press and hold the lock screen you get a screen selector, where you can swipe left and right through lock screen…

Weather Report Why has it taken so long for Apple to bring the Weather app to the iPad? It’s long been popular on the iPhone, but for some reason, it’s never made it across to Apple’s tablet device. We’ve no idea why, but with iPadOS 16, it arrives at last. Like the revamped iOS 16 Weather app, the iPad version features animated illustrations of current weather conditions, such as slow-moving clouds, heavy snowfall, driving rain, rays of sunshine and more. Taking advantage of the larger screen offered by the iPad, information is divided into individual modules displayed on the main screen. Tap one of these modules for more details. With just a tap, you can see the most important weather information, or explore maps to check precipitation, air quality and…

Device Guide While most of our reviews cover most devices, we have added these icons to give you a quick reference to what device is best suited for the product or software. Scores// Our ratings explained: 5 - excellent 4 - good 3 - average 2 - poor 1 - avoid…

Logitech Lift for Business is an ergonomic mouse for smaller hands. Instead of sitting flat on the table, it’s set at a 57-degree angle. It has a soft rubber grip and a thumb rest so you can use it for hours without triggering your RSI. You can connect it through Bluetooth to three devices at a time, switching between them with a button on the base of the mouse, or use a USB dongle offering Logi Bolt, Logitech’s secure wireless connectivity protocol that’s ideal for congested office environments. Available in white or black and in right- or left-hand versions, the mouse takes one AA battery which should last around 24 months. Atop the device are two mouse buttons and a scroll wheel, along with a smaller button that can be…

If you enjoy going out and about with your digital SLR and your Mac notebook, take a look at this ruck sack. Manfrotto Street Slim Camera Backpack has a space for a laptop of up to 14 inches, as well as two separate compartments for your bits and pieces. The lower compartment, accessed by opening the zipped flap around the front, conceals a padded chamber with dividers that velcro into position and make neat safe areas for your camera and peripherals. The upper compartment is an open space for your extra gadgets. Of course, if you want to use the bag for a weekend away, perhaps, you can remove the velcro dividers and pack it with your clothes and overnight bag. There are other pockets too, such as a document…

Nik Collection 5, by photo processing experts DxO Labs, is a suite of eight plug-ins that can be used within apps like Photoshop, Photoshop Elements and Adobe Lightroom. If you don’t use any of those programs you can open each individual item in the suite as a stand-alone app, but according to DxO, almost 90% of its users launch them from Photoshop or Lightroom. It’s not yet 100% Apple Silicon native, but it works fine in Rosetta 2 and total compatibility is coming. There are four creativity-oriented plug-ins, namely Nik Color Efex, Nik Silver Efex, Nik Analog Efex and Nik Viveza. The other four plug-ins are designed to help the photographer to perfect their pictures on a technical level. These are Nik Dfine, Nik Perspective Efex, Nik HDR Efex and…

Uploading auctions to eBay used to be a chore, but over time, the online auction site’s user interface improved. Setting up and maintaining your sales became easier and quicker. But where does this leave applications like GarageSale, which previously sold itself on simplifying the eBay auction process? The new GarageSale 9 adds a range of features to the app. It adds support for eBay’s new API to download attribute and category data. You can now add videos to your listings, send offers to watchers in bulk and use various JavaScript options too. Messages received eBay’s messages system can be flagged, there’s a new Preference settings that optionally brings up panel for inserting specific attributes into new listings and more. The app runs natively on Apple Silicon Macs. Come and Get…

A long time ago, on a console far, far away (probably in the attic?), the LEGO Star Wars saga was unleashed. Despite having a bad feeling about it due to the child-friendly visuals, the comedic leanings of the cut scenes and the general sense of this being a ‘kid’s game’, it proved to be absolutely fantastic. It reached across age demographics by delivering an experience that was accessible enough for younger players but challenging enough for the more mature gamer. Plus the seemingly endless self-referential nods to the fan base were whoop-inducingly brilliant. All bases were covered. This was not only the Star Wars prequels in Lego form, but unlike their big-screen counterparts, it was fun and a pleasure to immerse yourself in. The games-buying public agreed, and the Traveler’s…

Stage Manager When working on your Mac, you often have a lot of open windows. This can lead to a messy, confusing and sometimes overwhelming desktop. Stage Manager is a new way to organise and access these open windows. Stage Manager lets you focus on the app you’re currently using without being distracted by open windows from apps you’re not. Activated from the Control Centre, it groups windows initially on a per-app basis and sends open windows as bundles to the side of the screen. Opening a new app brings it to the centre of the desktop, and the one you were previously using joins those on the side of the screen. Clicking on an already-open app that sits aside the screen also brings it to the fore, with the…

There are changes coming to CarPlay, Apple’s excellent iOS feature that lets you use your iPhone in your car from a touchscreen built into the dashboard. These days, many cars have more than one screen, so as well as the standard CarPlay home screen, information is displayed on the other monitors too. Deep integration with the car’s hardware lets you tune your car’s radio or change the temperature directly from the CarPlay screen. You can also display widgets on one of the secondary screens, powered by your iPhone and perfectly designed to fit your screens. Vehicles compatible with the next generation of CarPlay will start to be announced from late next year. “CarPlay is the smarter, safer way to use your iPhone in the car, and has fundamentally changed the…

Everyone loves robots. Whether it’s Metal Mickey, C-3PO or the Terminator, we just can’t get enough of them. We all love dogs too. They’re cute, cuddly and playful. So you can’t go far wrong with a robot dog, right? Petoi certainly thinks so. That’s why they created Bittle the open-source bionic robot dog, an amazing mechanical mutt that can do tricks just like a real hound. Designed for coding and fun, Bittle operates on OpenCat, an open-source platform that offers amazing programming and customisation possibilities. It’s based on an Arduino-compatible board which you can connect to a Raspberry Pi or purpose-made modules and add-ons through wired and wireless connections. You can configure and control it through a dedicated iOS app. It’s great for learning about STEM and robotics.. Build a…

Airpulse’s latest offering, the P100X stereo Bluetooth speaker, should appeal to those who like their tech to be beautiful as well as practical. Inspired by traditional FM radios of old, it has a gorgeous mesh finish at the front and back, and an elegant cherry wood speaker casing at the top and sides. Sound-wise, it features a pair of custom-designed 10w tweeters and a 4.5-inch 40w mid-woofer, for 60w in total. The tweeters use an oval-shaped diaphragm to deliver a better high frequency response, accurately reproducing even the highest audio frequencies. The mid woofer is a 4.5-inch unit, featuring a hard anodised aluminium alloy cone suspended in a heavy, rigid cast magnesium alloy frame. The device connects to your audio source via Bluetooth v5.1, supporting the aptX HD codec, or…

Oclean’s new X Pro Elite Smart Electric Toothbrush connects to your iPhone through Bluetooth. A downloadable app keeps a record of your brushing, and offers tips to help you brush better. It’s stylish looking and feels very tactile in the hand, and is very quiet in operation. It even has a ‘Quiet Mark’, a symbol of approval from the Noise Abatement Society. The brush’s textured surface makes it easy to hold on to, and the conventional oval brush head (as opposed to a rotating circular head found on most electric toothbrushes) makes it very easy to use, especially if you have a small mouth or irregular teeth. It’s lightweight too, and well balanced. A rechargeable device, it comes with a charging cradle which connects to the mains through a USB…

With Google Maps and Apple Maps covering almost the entire world, it seems there’s next to nowhere they don’t work. North Korea? True, but there’s also places you’re actually likely to go where the aforementioned cartography apps fall short. In the sea. That’s where savvy navvy comes in. Licensing UKHO, NOAA and other official hydrographic office charts from around the globe, savvy navvy offers essential marine information for costal waters, mostly in North America/Canada, Europe and Australia. You can view tidal information from over 8,000 stations around the world, check tidal streams with the apps visual chart overlay and check on high and low tides. GPS tracking shows exactly where you are in the water, and for sailing boats, a wind map show wind directions too. A Life on the…

Wow, that was some night. Or at least you think it was. You’re dirty, (almost) naked and your head is pounding, but you can’t remember the drinking session that caused your predicament. In fact, you can’t remember much of anything at all. Who are you? What are you doing here? Why is there a dead body hanging from a tree around the back of the flea-pit hostel you currently reside in? These are the questions you must answer as you solve the murder, and also sort out your personal issues as you go. Disco Elysium is a fusion of point-and-click adventuring and RPG-style character building. To begin with, you choose an ‘archetype’ for your booze-impaired detective. At your choice, he can be a Thinker, Sensitive or Physical being, each of…