Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2022 i Macworld

Safari is the default browser on every Mac, and it’s quite good. Apple has optimized it for its own chips and the macOS operating system, so it’s fast and syncs nicely to your iPhone and iPad. But there are plenty of other options out there. You’ve probably heard of them—Chrome, Firefox, Brave, DuckDuckGo—but if you’re a longtime Safari user, you might not think you need to stray. Here are five reasons why you might want to try out another browser on your Mac. YOU MOSTLY USE GOOGLE SERVICES If you tend to use web-based apps and services, you might find the experiences with those better on a different browser. Apple tends to focus on its own ecosystem of apps, and the web experience, even for iCloud, isn’t as good as…

The System Preferences app in macOS has been there since the very beginning, and it’s showing its age. A tiny, largely unchanging rectangle sized for the tiny displays of the early 2000s, it’s past time for Apple to create a new, modern settings app for the modern Mac. And in theory, that’s what the System Settings app in macOS Ventura is supposed to do. It’s a new app, clearly inspired by the Settings apps on iOS and iPadOS. That’s not a bad idea since so many Mac users also use those platforms, and it makes sense that Apple’s platforms harmonize. The problem is that, with a month or so to go before macOS Ventura goes final, the System Settings app in the beta is a bit of a disaster. Unless things change…

Call it the Godzilla Problem. Apple is so big and influential that any move it makes will have enormous consequences for someone, somewhere. If Godzilla takes a walk, he leaves enormous footprints (and, let’s be honest, a bunch of crushed stuff) behind him. And like any large corporation (or nuclear Kaiju), Apple knows when it’s time to tread lightly and when it’s time to throw its weight around. Any choice it makes—especially where the iPhone is concerned—can move markets, make or break suppliers, and distort the trajectory of the tech industry. When Apple announced the iPhone, it broke the control that wireless carriers had over our phones. Apple would bring the iPhone to the company that agreed to keep its paws off the phone’s Apple-built interface, AT&T (then Cingular) agreed,…

Apple is worth trillions, but that doesn’t mean it gets everything right. Started on the back of a Kickstarter project in 2014, the tiny firm Pebblebee has produced a range of compact tracking products. Its latest, Pebblebee Clip, outshines Apple’s AirTag tracker in most important regards except weight. The Clip works with Apple’s Find My network just like an AirTag, although Pebblebee has put in a larger battery to power a higher-powered Bluetooth transmitter. The battery is rated for six months on a single charge—that’s right, it’s a rechargeable battery, sporting a built-in USB-C jack and including a short USB-C to Type-A cable. It has an attractive matte-black finish on its plastic center and metal frame and keyring, with just a tiny bit of concavity around its center on both…

The iPhone 14 Pro Max is the latest big phone from Apple. It’s almost the same phone as its smaller sibling, the iPhone 14 Pro—it has the same camera system, the same processor, and the Dynamic Island. The major differences are the iPhone 14 Pro Max’s bigger design, display, and battery. Our iPhone 14 Pro review covers the performance, camera, the Dynamic Island, and more, so for the big picture, read that review first. This review focuses on the size and battery life, the major differences that separate the two phones. AS BIG AS IT’S ALWAYS BEEN The first iPhone with a 6.7-inch screen was the iPhone 12 Pro Max in 2020. The iPhone 14 Pro Max is the about same size as the 12 Pro Max, as well as…

There seem to be two types of users when it comes to Spotlight in macOS. Some use Spotlight regularly, maybe to the point where it’s the main user interface element for everything on the Mac—for example, to launch an app or document, the user activates Spotlight, types it in the search field, and then clicks on the desired result. Then there are the users who barely use Spotlight at all. Regardless of how you use Spotlight, Apple has made it a much better tool to use in macOS Ventura. If you use it all the time, your experience is going to improve, and if you don’t use it at all, you may start to do so. Let’s take a look at why Spotlight is now a better search tool on…

Spatial Audio is one of the coolest tricks Apple has ever added to its headphones and earbuds. It uses special sound processing to trick your ears into thinking sounds are originating from all sorts of points around you. It’s used to play back Dolby Atmos content in Apple Music and other supported video and audio applications, and it sounds really great. Even though we only have two ears, we know the direction sounds are coming from because the sounds are altered as they interact with our ears and head. Our brains pick up on these subtle changes to determine the direction of origin. With Spatial Audio, Apple uses algorithms called HRTFs (head-related transfer functions) to mimic those changes, so you “hear” a sound coming from some place other than the little…

I now think of the Tronsmart T7, and the numerous similarly designed Bluetooth speakers, as canister types. You heard it here first, and the name fits. My extreme creative prowess aside, the $60 T7 stands out from that crowd by virtue of its sweet combination of affordability, weatherproofing, attractive design, good sound, and entertaining—albeit modest—light show. It also has the ability to function with a second T7 as a pretty darn good-sounding stereo system that—at $120 for two speakers—won’t break the bank. HOW IS THE TRONSMART T7 DESIGNED? The Tronsmart T7 is a black sound canister measuring approximately 8.5 inches long and 3 inches in diameter, weighing in at just under 2 pounds. The unit is meant to sit on its end cap with its large rotary knob facing up;…

The redesigned MacBook Pro has everything to make a Mac user happy. I called the 14-inch MacBook Pro “a truly satisfying laptop” and said, “It can now wear the crown of the professional’s choice without hesitation”. It’s perhaps one of the best laptops Apple has made in the past 15 years. But it’s been nearly ten months since I wrote that review, and the sheen has figuratively worn off. While I still have no qualms about recommending the MacBook Pro to users who demand the most from their Macs, I can’t help but think about what I’d like Apple to update on the MacBook Pro to make it even better than it is now. Here’s a list of features I want to see come to the next MacBook Pro. 1.…

Boasting the looks of an Apple display but at a more affordable price, the Alogic Clarity Monitor scores points on aesthetics and performance. Connected to a Mac mini or Mac Studio, this 27-inch display could recreate the glories of the now discontinued larger iMac. Apple sells two of its own displays, and, as you might expect, neither of them is particularly affordable. The high-end Pro Display XDR starts at $4,999 and the “entry-level” Studio Display starts at $1,599. Read our Apple Studio Display review. There are, of course, plenty of non-Apple displays available. At $650, the Dell 2720Q UltraSharp 27in 4K USB-C Monitor is less than half the price of the Apple monitor. Its 4K screen (3,840 by 2,160 pixels) is not up to the Studio Display’s 5K resolution but will…

So you just got a brand-new iPhone, you’ve transferred everything from your old phone, and now you’re playing with your shiny new toy. What do you do first? Obviously, you’re going to check out the apps you already have been using on your old iPhone for so long, probably marveling at how fast they load and how smooth and responsive everything is. Then what? Here are our suggestions for the first seven things you should do with your iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro. And if your iPhone 14 is your first experience with iOS 16, you should know there are lots of excellent new features to try out there, too. UPDATE TO iOS 16.0.1 If you have an iPhone 14–series handset, Apple has an update that you should install…

Apple has gone all in on the eSIM (embedded SIM), a programmable internal version of the SIM (subscriber identity module) card used to ID your phone to cellular networks. With the U.S. models of its iPhone 14 series, Apple has gotten rid of a physical slot for the SIM card. But it also continues to expand eSIM flexibility on other iPhone models and iPads. For decades, a SIM acted as a secure hardware component that fit into a slot on phones used on most networks worldwide. A SIM provides hard-coded unique ID information for a phone to join a home network or ID itself while roaming. A SIM lets a carrier associate one or more phone numbers and billing information with a given cellular device. (Technically, SIMs were used on…

The Pebblebee Card performs a trick I didn’t think possible: It packs a rechargeable battery into a wallet-size wireless tracker that works on Apple’s Find My network. The company says the battery lasts about 12 months between charges. Recharging requires an included adapter. Apple’s AirTag has a battery you can replace, but the tracker itself is a small bulbous lump—not comfortable by itself in a wallet. (You might consider a wallet case, like the TagVault Wallet or Nomad Card.) The matte-black plastic Pebblebee Card is slightly smaller than a credit card at roughly 2.1 by 3.3 inches (53 by 84mm). It’s thicker, though: A credit card is a mere 3/100 inch (0.78mm) while the Card is just over 1/10 inch (2.8 mm). It weighs 0.5 ounces (15 grams). Even at that size,…

The iPhone 14 is basically an iPhone 13s. It features a very similar processor and has an appearance very similar to that of the previous generation, but like the S iPhones of old it offers a bunch of new camera features that improve photography in impressive ways. Starting at $799, the iPhone 14 costs the same as the iPhone 13 in the U.S.—though if you live elsewhere you will be paying more. In the U.K., for example, the iPhone 14 costs £849, while the iPhone 13 was £779. This bump in price means the standard iPhone is less affordable than it was for many, and when you consider you could save $100/£100 by buying a new iPhone 13, the question is: Do the new features justify the price? WHAT’S NEW…

An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) can provide continuous backup power to your devices in the event of a power outage. They can also shore up power shortfalls (brownouts) and condition power in areas with poorly managed electrical grids. UPSes have been around for decades, and Apple began providing silent, built-in support in macOS many years ago. It’s currently found in System Preferences → Energy Saver on Macs that require plugging in, like an iMac or a Mac mini. (This will move to System Settings → Energy Saver in macOS 13 Ventura.) At some level, a UPS is only as good as its integration with the equipment it’s helping to keep going. A modern, high-capacity UPS might provide all the power necessary to keep your Mac and peripherals running during short…

AirPods are primarily associated with the iPhone, but they can be used on the Mac—the connection even switches from the iPhone to the Mac automatically. But in macOS Monterey and earlier, users didn’t get to control much of the AirPod’s settings. The Noise Cancellation could be adjusted for the AirPods Pro, and that was about it. In macOS Ventura, users will finally get access to the full complement of AirPods settings, just as in iOS. The AirPods settings will appear in Ventura’s System Settings when the AirPods are connected—when they’re disconnected, the settings for the AirPods disappear. To get to the settings, connect your AirPods to the Mac. Then open System Settings, and in the left column, scroll down to the section with the settings for input devices, such as the…

HOW TO BLUR THE BACKGROUND FOR VIDEO CALLS ON YOUR MAC Apple didn’t hide Portrait mode in macOS Monterey with M-series Macs, but it sure didn’t highlight it. This background-blur option appears only in Control Center and only when you have video input active. That can be a built-in camera in a laptop or an iMac or a third-party webcam. With a camera selected in an app, click the Control Center icon in the menu bar. Note that a Video Effects option now appears. Click that tile and then click anywhere in the Portrait line to enable the mode. Notice that the background blurs slightly. You can also enable and disable Portrait mode in an active FaceTime session: The Portrait mode icon appears in your selfie video thumbnail preview. You…

I could use a Mac upgrade, but I’m a cheapskate and I’ve put it off. The performance of my old Mac is fine for what I do. A lot of great deals have popped up recently for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, but I haven’t made the investment. But you know what would finally make me spend my money? A Mac with Dynamic Island. Dynamic Island is a new user interface element that was introduced with the iPhone 14 Pro. With this phone, Apple redesigned the front notch to a pill shape, but instead of leaving it as something on the screen that you try to ignore (as you did with the notch), Apple decided to give it a name and make it a key way to interact with the phone.…

For those who work across nations, whether from a desk or traveling by car, plane, train, or bus, keeping track of local differences can be a bear to memorize and prepare for. Even European Union countries that have adopted the euro vary in electrical plug types, languages, and time zones. Morpho from Think Tap Work combines every useful fact and conversion into an app, letting you set countries, currencies, and units you use preferentially as pinned items or presets. You can figure out the right AC adapters to pack, the country code for calling attached to the SIM you get when you arrive, and whether to drive on the left or right side of the road. But you can also use the app to help you with imperial to metric conversions—or…

With the launch of the new iPhones and Apple Watches, the annual fall season of the latest Apple tech is now fully upon us. But though the September event may have been the first and most prominent in the run-up to the holiday season, there’s almost certainly more waiting in the wings. When we look forward at what to expect from subsequent Apple announcements, it can be instrumental to look at the way Apple is positioning the products it’s already released this year. In particular, both the Apple Watch and the iPhone lines saw “main” models (the iPhone 14 and the Apple Watch Series 8) that received less substantial updates, while the company took much bigger swings for its top-of-the-line models (the iPhone 14 Pro and the Apple Watch Ultra).…

Apple has announced a large imminent price hike on the App Store in a large number of countries across Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. In one case this increase will be more than 30 percent. The increase will take place on October 5 and will apply to the existing pricing tiers: In the Euro zone, for example, the lowest (non-free) tier will increase from €0.99 to €1.19. Developers are free to compensate for the higher tier prices by dropping their apps to a lower tier, but may not be able to keep the price exactly the same. In full, there are updated tier price lists for the Euro zone (plus a separate list for Montenegro), Chile, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, South Korea, Sweden, and Vietnam. The Verge notes that Japan…

The yearly iPhone release, and indeed most smartphone releases, have gotten kind of boring: The latest model is a little faster, the camera’s better, and maybe there’s some stand-out gimmick that will feature in all the ads but won’t really improve the way you use your phone. In general, there’s not a lot to talk about. This year, with the iPhone 14 Pro, I’m happy to report that there is something interesting to talk about. Naturally, the iPhone 14 is a little faster, and yes, the camera is indeed better. But there are two other new features this year, exclusive to the Pro models, that actually change the way you use your iPhone for the better: the always-on display and Dynamic Island. Apple is late to deliver an always-on display,…

As I write this, Apple still does not have Wi-Fi 6E in any of its products. That’s expected to change very soon, but the market is already moving on to the next big thing: Wi-Fi 7. Why should you care about the new standard? Well, everyone likes more bandwidth and lower latency, both of which are core goals of the new standard. But the biggest benefit might be the way it’s designed to smartly overcome congestion and instability, delivering more stable networks that perform better in challenging conditions. Known in the IEEE standards as 802.11be, the final specification for Wi-Fi 7 is still a couple of years away from being completed. But hardware makers rarely wait for that—they build early products based on the draft specification, updating their firmware over time…

Internet networking involves a lot of alchemy, and I confess to occasionally dropping an eye of newt (or an IP of newt) into a boiling pot to fix problems on my local network. There’s a particular message macOS displays in limited cases that is perplexing because it’s the sort of low-level bubbling up Apple generally takes care of. In this case, your Mac alerts you to a problem that may be of your own making or that might involve your Wi-Fi gateway or broadband modem. That message is: “Another device is using your IP address.” This conflict prevents your computer from accessing some of the local network and from reaching the internet. Here’s why. Every device that communicates over the internet needs a unique internet protocol (IP) address, a number…

Focal has completely redesigned its flagship open-back headphone, Utopia. This a luxury audio device with a vertigo-inspiring price tag of $5,000. Let that settle in for a moment, but don’t make the mistake of dismissing these cans as an overpriced novelty designed to bleed cash from swells with deep pockets. Utopia is the finest headphone I’ve ever heard, delivering audio quality and detail that compares favorably to the output of floor-standing loudspeakers that cost tens of thousands of dollars. UNBOXING UTOPIA The Focal Utopia comes in an upholstered black “leather-effect” (Focal’s term) box. Slide the top half from the bottom (and I do mean slide; the inside of the box has a black felt lining), and you’ll encounter the black fabric case that holds your headphone and another upholstered box…