Macworld June 2019

A house divided against itself cannot stand. But with its dual stewardship of macOS and iOS devices, Apple is in some ways a house divided into two different ideas of what a computer should be. (And that’s without even getting to a semantic argument about what exactly “computer” means.) This week, rumors stirred the pot further, with the suggestion that support for pointing devices like mice and trackpads—traditionally the domain of the Mac—may be supported in an iOS release later this year. The takes have flown fast and furious, ranging from those suggesting this would be a huge improvement to productivity on the iOS to those decrying it as a totally useless feature. Me, I don’t have a horse in that race. Because what I want is not an iOS…

Tim Cook is not one of Time’s 100 most influential people of 2019. Nonetheless, as a three-time honoree of that list, he was invited to be interviewed by Nancy Gibbs at the Time 100 Summit. As expected, Cook didn’t reveal any details about new products, software, or services. Instead, the questions posed and answers given were broad, touching on Cook’s and Apple’s values and how technology fits into the world we live in. Here’s some of what he said about a variety of issues. Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity. ON APPLE’S VALUES “I’ve always deeply felt that people should have values, a corporation is nothing more than a collection of people, and therefore by extension a corporation should have values. “We’ve always had a set of things that…

Five years ago, Apple stopped development on Aperture and iPhoto, two apps made for photo management, the former being the professional app and the latter the app for general consumers. Apple replaced those apps with Photos, but you could still run the older apps, and Aperture users were more likely to stick with Aperture. However, Apple recently announced that Aperture, a 32-bit app, will not work in future versions of macOS, which will eventually support only 64-bit apps. If you’ve been holding out, you have to make one of the following choices: > Switch over to Photos > Switch to a third-party app, such as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom > Never upgrade macOS beyond Mojave, the last version that will work with Aperture If you really love Aperture, you could pick…

If you own Apple’s World Travel Adapter Kit, and/or you are an owner of Apple devices in Hong Kong, Singapore, or the U.K., you should pay attention to a recall that Apple has announced. The three-prong adapter used in these countries and that comes with the kit “may break,” according to Apple, and the company has recalled the part. To identify the recalled plug, Apple says that it is, “white, with no letters in the inside slot where it attaches to an Apple power adapter.” If you have a three-prong plug that is “white with gray on the inside portion that attaches to the power adapter,” you have the newer plug and you’re good. HOW TO EXCHANGE THE PLUG To exchange the plug, you need to contact your local authorized…

IPhone sales might be leveling off, but Apple is doing just fine. Apple on Tuesday announced its second quarter results for 2019, and it’s clear that the shift in it business model is in full swing. While Apple still posted revenue of $58 billion, iPhone sales were relatively flat, posting just $31 billion compared to $37.5 billion in the same 2018 quarter. Apple stopped breaking out unit sales last quarter, but it sold 52 million units in the year-ago quarter. Elsewhere, Apple is looking stronger than ever, particularly when it comes to Services. Apple reported a record $11.5 billion tally for the category (which includes Apple Music, digital sales, and Apple Pay) versus $9.2 billion last year. It was the first time Services broke the $11 billion mark. Paid subscriptions were…

Apple seems to have settled into a groove with a two-year update cycle for the iMac. The latest iteration of the company’s all-in-one desktop computer comes nearly two years after the previous release—and the 2017 iMac came two years after its predecessor. Updates to the processor, RAM, and graphics card are in the spotlight for Apple’s newest iMac; the rest of the machine remains unchanged. This review evaluates the 21.5-inch iMac with a 3.0GHz Core i5 processor. The standard configuration of this iMac is priced at $1,499 but the model reviewed here has the graphics card upgraded to the Radeon Pro Vega 20, which adds $350 to the price. FASTER CPU, GRAPHICS, AND RAM Two of the 2019 21.5-inch iMacs are built around Intel’s eighth-generation Core processor, while the entry-level $1,099…