Innehållsförteckning för No. 243 från iCreate

“Upgrading to iPhone 14 is achievable, even in the current climate” So Apple’s ‘Far Out’ September event brought us new Apple Watches and AirPods Pro, but it was the unveiling of the gorgeous new iPhone 14 that really impressed. We’ve now got last year’s ‘pro’ standard A15 silicon in the iPhone 14 and 14 Plus, and the next-gen A16 Bionic in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max, making them the most powerful smartphones ever. You can also get some great trade-in deals on your older iPhones to make upgrading to iPhone 14 achievable, even in the current climate. Starting on page 14, we’ll show you exactly what the iPhone 14 is capable of – if you’re still unsure about upgrading – and show you the settings and features you…

So, you have just got your hands on an all-new iPhone 14, eh? Which model did you go for? The standard edition, the iPhone 14 Plus, the iPhone 14 Pro or the iPhone 14 Pro Max? Whichever model, colour and capacity you went for, there is much to admire and explore with your new device, such as new safety and photography features that are exclusive to iPhone 14, plus the expansive new customisation and multitasking capabilities that iOS 16 brings to the party. Over the following pages we’ll help you understand exactly what your device is capable of – from advanced digital photography to potentially saving your life if you are in a car crash or stranded out in the sticks with no hint of a cellular signal – and…

Spy-themed TV shows and movies feature sequences where a security camera tracks faces in a crowd. A rectangular graphic overlay automatically follows a face as the camera attempts to identify the subject. Thanks to Final Cut Pro’s object tracking powers, we can mimic this popular special effect with ease by making a Photoshop graphic follow a face. As well as getting graphics or titles to track a face, you can also apply and track effects. We’ll show you how to place a Pixelate effect over a face and get Final Cut to automatically reposition and rotate the effect to keep the subject’s face obscured. Keep on track How to make graphic track faces Step-by-step Track objects and faces 1 Add clips Choose File>New Event. Label it ‘Tracking’. Choose File>Import>Media and…

Stage Manager does not look like a groundbreaking feature when you consider what macOS is capable of, but in an operating system that has historically relied on the Dock for quick access to apps and files, it really can change how you use your Mac. There is something more natural about having a selection of thumbnails appear on the desktop that makes jumping between them quicker and easier. It is a brilliant example of considered design that has obviously been tested extensively because, within a few moments, it feels hard to jump back from it. It literally takes minutes to embed itself in your workflow. Step-by-step Jump between apps in style 1 Enable Stage Manager Go to System Settings>Desktop & Dock and click ‘Stage manager’. You should also enable ‘Recent…

Launchpad is clearly a macOS version of the iPhone and iPad user interface and it is very different to the usual way to run apps. You may prefer it to searching for apps in Spotlight, that is if you can remember app names, or searching through the Applications folder for what you need. One click on the Launchpad icon in the Dock and all your apps are available. The Launchpad screens need organising though, but you can drag icons into position, create folders for groups of apps, like games or photography, and use its own search to find apps fast. There is an alternative way to access apps using Launchpad and few people know it can show apps as a list as well as icons. Use the Launchpad menu to…

You’re rattling off an email or tapping out a message before sending it and – boom! – you realise there’s a whopping error in there or, worse, you’ve gone and sent it to the wrong person. If you’ve just been moaning about your job and your boss is about to see what you’ve written, it can be far from ideal. With iOS 16, help is finally at hand. You can now unsend an email or a message. You can also edit messages which means you’re not clogging up a thread with further clarifications. All you need is an iPhone made from 2017 onwards and the update, potentially relieving yourself of a whole heap of stress and worry. Step-by-step How to unsend an email 1 Go to Settings The Unsend Email…

Waze Developer Waze Inc Difficulty ⚫⚪⚪ Time needed 10 Apple Maps has travel directions, with driving, cycling, walking and public transport information. It works well, but there are alternatives and Waze is a popular driving app that offers something different. It has a social side so you can see other people reporting speed, traffic, accidents and road works. Use Waze in your car on the iPhone or with CarPlay and you can control Apple Music and other audio apps from within it. Start and stop music, skip to the next or previous track, select a different playlist and more. Enable Apple Music integration, add your other audio apps, and relax while you drive. Step-by-step Access audio apps within Waze 1 Open the sidebar Open the Waze app and then tap…

One of the best new features of iPadOS 16 is undoubtedly Stage Manager which gives you the ability to have up to four recent apps within easy reach for quick access. Not only that, it allows you to resize the app windows in much the same way as you can on a Mac. You can also group apps together and even make use of an external display to give your apps and workflow more space to breathe. All of which sounds great, so what are you waiting for? Well, the feature is only available if you have an iPad with at least an M1 chip – and that means anyone with a recent iPad Pro and iPad Air model will be able to dive in but those with older tablets…

Night Sky is a very well-known app and has been impressing iPhone users for years, but you may not be aware of how capable it is on an Apple Watch. It is not just a smaller version of the iPhone app, it can actually enhance how you learn about the skies because using the watch is more convenient and natural. Add to this the stellar way in which so much functionality and visual intricacy has been crammed into the smaller screen and it simply has to be worth checking out. We will show you what you can do with Night Sky on your wrist and also highlight just how complete a solution it is which will hopefully make you try it out for yourself. It is possibly the most visually…

£250/$250 Key features AirPlay 2 • Bluetooth 4.2 • 55Hz-20kHz • Chromecast built-in Learn more audiopro.com/a10 Available from audiopro.com AUDIO PRO’S NEW A10 MKII MULTIROOM SPEAKER comes with a bumper load of features packed into its modest dimensions. It has built-in Chromecast that lets you stream audio from more than 300 apps, four preset buttons to store your favourite playlists and access your favourite radio stations, and it also works with AirPlay, so you can create a multiroom system with other AirPlay speakers. Barrel of fun Standing at just 193mm tall, the A10 can be placed anywhere around your home, and an optional extra in the form of Audio Pro’s contemporary ceiling rail means that you can even have it dangling from the rafters, with the voice control features eradicating…

Price Free Requirements macOS 10.12 or later Learn more dwarves.foundation Available from Mac App Store WHILE THE MAC MENU BAR CAN PROVIDE EASY ACCESS to system settings and features, it can soon become cluttered and ungainly. Hidden Bar remedies this by allowing you to hide the lesser-needed icons while still maintaining their accessibility. The app works by placing a chevron in the menu bar and anything to the right of it is visible at all times, and anything to the left is hidden away until you click on the chevron. You can drag icons into the hidden zone by clicking on the chevron to reveal all, and then holding Cmd and clicking, holding and dragging the icons across. It’s a very simple concept that has been well executed, and it…

Metadata is the information stored inside every photograph that you snap on your iPhone, such as where and when the photo was taken and who or what features in the picture. If you want to share a photo without giving away the location it was captured in then you can adjust metadata in Photos to protect your privacy before posting the shot on social media. You can also add custom metadata in the form of a caption to help you quickly find a specific photo more easily in the future by using Search. If you don’t recognise a particular landmark, Photos can use metadata to identify it for you. Using metadata Access and alter info stored in a photo Step-by-step View and modify metadata 1 Access metadata In Photos, browse…

To record audio in GarageBand, we use USB mics and interfaces for connecting instruments. These ‘inputs’ or ‘sources’ are automatically recognised by macOS and initialised for GarageBand. Here we can assign them to a track, hit Record and audition the results. But how do we record more than one source together? Maybe you want a direct guitar signal captured alongside a miked live amp? To do this, we first use the Audio MIDI Setup app to create an aggregate input device boasting multiple input channels. This allows two channels to be recorded simultaneously across multiple tracks. Recorded delivery Locating the most significant points of interest when recording from multiple inputs Step-by-step How to record multiple inputs 1 Input sources We have two input devices connected. The first is an iRig…

You probably never thought about customising the ‘compose new message’ window in the Mail app on the Mac. However, it could work better with a few tweaks. We are all familiar with the green and blue bubbles in Messages, indicating people that have and don’t have iPhones. Mail can do a similar thing with emails, and indicate using colour who is in or outside of your company, your family or group of friends. You can also show hidden fields that enable you to add extra information to emails, like the priority, reply-to address and more. Customising Mail takes only a few minutes and is easy to do. Step-by-step Customise Mail compose 1 Select a signature Customise the compose window by creating signatures in Mail>Preferences> Signatures. It can be as simple…

Settings Developer Apple Inc Difficulty ⚫⚪⚪ Time needed 10 The default settings for the iPhone display do not suit everyone. If you find some apps have text that is too small, or too thin and faint, you can go into Settings>Display & Brightness and increase the text size or make text bold. In Settings>Accessibility>Display & Text Size you can also set the transparency, contrast, button shapes and more. These are global settings that affect all apps on the iPhone, but you may not want to change them for everything. For this reason, it is possible to customise the display and text for individual apps. Each app can have custom display and text settings. Step-by-step Customise one app or all apps 1 Choose an app Open an app you would like…

RunPee may sound like the ultimate niche novelty app, but it does actually have a real-world use that can help you to enjoy a movie you have paid to watch. The premise is simple, which is to offer the opportune moments in a film when you should go to the toilet if you need to and this works surprisingly well. It could be that you do not actually need to go yet, but when you get the alert you can capture the moment and then enjoy the best parts of the movie a few minutes later. As bizarre as the idea of the RunPee app sounds, it does offer some genuine realworld benefits. Step-by-step Watch the most important moments 1 Find a film You can search for any film by…

With iPadOS 15, Apple introduced Visual Lookup which recognised different objects in your photographs, from flowers and pets to art and landmarks. It let you view details about these items and check out similar images. But, as of iPadOS 16, it’s been improved and you are now able to do the same with birds, insects and statues, too. You can also play around with a fab new Visual Lookup function that lets you lift a subject from the background. It’s mightily impressive and works within seconds, letting you copy, share or drop the subject within multiple apps. It also needs to be tried to be believed: the image and annotations to the right only go some way towards preparing you for the jaw-dropping moment you first see it for yourself.…

Paramount+ has been around for a while in the US (it was rebranded from the CBS All Access service) but it’s now also available in the UK. It means viewers on both sides of the Atlantic can catch up with a host of popular shows and movies. There’s exclusive content such as Star Trek, Yellowstone, Halo, 1883, The Man Who Fell to Earth and South Park. There’s also a great range of children’s programmes. Watching Paramount+ on an Apple TV device is easy. You only need to sign up for an account or use an existing one. There are free trials knocking around (either direct or via Amazon Prime) and, if you’re a Sky Q customer with a Sky Cinema subscription, you get Paramount+ thrown in. The latter account can…

Price Arcade subscription Requirements iOS 13.5 or later • 1.7GB Learn more horizonchase.com Available from iOS App Store WITH ITS ROOTS FIRMLY IN THE DINGIEST OF 80S AMUSEMENT ARCADES, Horizon Chase 2 is a simplistic racing game that looks great and provides genuine thrills. The cars are fast, flashy and upgradable, and the picturesque tracks from around the world are packed with detail and require barely an easing up of the accelerator to negotiate – at least at first. The onscreen pedal and steering flaps work well, and you can also apply the nitros to leave your opponents for dead on the straights. Longevity comes in the form of completing the world tour, tricking out your garage and racing against friends or the world’s best drivers online. Verdict A great-looking,…

Camera movements, such as tilts, tracks and pans help tell a story in a more interesting way and also add life and energy to your edited sequences. You can enhance your camera moves in the editing stage by retiming footage to speed it up. A long slow camera tracking towards a subject can be a bit boring and risks losing the audience’s attention. However, if you speed up the action in the middle of the clip and then return to normal speed at the end you can create a dynamic ‘speed ramp’ that propels the narrative and keeps the viewer watching! Need for speed Go faster with these retiming techniques Step-by-step Change the speed of footage 1 Import clips Create a new iMovie project then click on ‘Import Media’. Browse…

Logic’s 10.7 update has added a couple of extra features to the Step Sequencer to help with creating basslines, namely the new Mono and Legato modes. Most basslines are monophonic, meaning that they only play one note at a time, but the Step Sequencer usually allows you to input multiple notes per step to create chords. When inputting notes in Mono mode, however, you can only enter one note per step, making Mono mode the ideal choice for bass parts. Meanwhile, the addition of Legato mode makes it possible to tie adjacent notes together for smoother transitions between different pitches. Life in Mono Make entering bass patterns easy with Mono mode Step-by-step Using Mono and Legato modes 1 Select sound On a new software instrument track, choose Synthesiser>Bass>Hard Tech Bass…

Safari Developer Apple Inc Difficulty ⚫⚫⚪ Time needed 11 Most apps on the iPhone are on the Home Screens. Apple apps fill the first screen and other apps are on extra screens. Keep swiping left and eventually you reach the App Library. Pull down and there is a complete list of all the apps on the phone. Is it really complete though? Some apps do not appear on the Home Screens and only appear in the App Library. However, there are even more apps and they don’t appear anywhere. You need special codes and techniques to access them. Some hidden apps have special URLs that work in Search or Safari, others appear only when performing certain actions. Step-by-step Access apps hidden in iOS 1 Weird URL #1 Open Safari and…

Our iOS devices are there for fun as well as function, and a good way to tap into your iPhone’s playful side is to type keywords such as ‘scary’, ‘horror’ and ‘Halloween’ into the App Store search field. This will churn up a freakish sediment of sinister apps that you can download to add some seasonal fun to your Halloween gatherings, sleepovers, etc. Most of the apps featured here are free to download and use, although free versions do tend to have mood-killing ads. However, these can often be removed by upgrading in-app at a cost and, in all likelihood, you could get a few years of use out of them for the price. So, grab your capes, fake fangs and pointy hats and make the most of this October…

Although the Apple Watch screen is large enough to display information, you may find yourself squinting at the text. Sometimes, the background feels as if it’s getting in the way, too. Thankfully, Apple allows you to adjust the text size to make it larger and bolder while also ensuring labels can be more clearly seen and transparency is reduced. It’s also possible to go the other way and have more text on the screen to reduce scrolling if you so wish. And it only takes a couple of minutes to set everything up. What’s more, you can also switch on a zoom function that lets you view screen items with more clarity on-the-fly. So let’s take a look at how you can achieve all of this direct from your wrist.…

Joby Beamo Ring Light for MagSafe £45.95/$49.99 joby.com Designed for on-the-go content creators, the Beamo is a portable LED photo and video light that magnetically attaches to MagSafe-compatible iPhones. The ring light can be easily attached when needed and features a flip mechanism so it can be used to support the front and rear cameras. It features four levels of brightness and also sports a handy mirror so that you can check your look before going live. It even comes with a soft carry pouch to house and protect the light when not in use. Twelve South BookBook iPhone Case £54.99/$69.99 amazon.co.uk As if owning an iPhone wasn’t already the height of sophistication, Twelve South’s BookBook iPhone cases not only provide protection and functionality, they also give the illusion that…