Innehållsförteckning för July 2024 från Macworld

Well, that was fast. The M3 chip, introduced last October, is already yesterday’s news. We’re living in an M4 world, courtesy of the surprising announcement that the new iPad Pro is powered by Apple’s next generation of chips. Even if you don’t care about iPads, this announcement will affect the trajectory of the Mac and iPhone in quite a few ways. The first question to answer is: Why so soon? The iPhone gets a new chip generation once a year when the new iPhones arrive. Apple likely wants the M series on a similar cadence, since the two chips are really variations of one another. The rush to the M4 breaks this cycle. A NEW CHIP ARCHITECTURE The answer is complicated and has a lot to do with the vagaries of…

I have an admission: Though I frequently review new Apple products, I don’t always buy them. Like many of you, I can’t afford to update every bit of Apple hardware every time the company revises one of its products. So I have to carefully measure when my stuff has now become too old and needs to be replaced with the shiny and new versions. Of course, Apple would love us all to buy new stuff all the time. But the company has to earn its sales the hard way. I might buy a new iPhone because of an upgraded camera or a new MacBook Air because of a new design and a faster processor. I might bypass the latest Apple Watch because the new features just don’t matter to me.…

SABRENT ROCKET NANO V2 If you’re shooting 4K ProRes video with an iPhone Pro, or you simply record a lot of videos and photos, your iPhone’s storage may be filling up. This pint-size Sabrent SSD provides up to 4TB of external storage with fast speeds over a USB-C connection. It works with your Mac and USB-C iPad, too.—ROMAN LOYOLA PLUGABLE 6-IN-1 USB-C HUB FOR iMAC 24 INCH Designed for the iMac, this hub not only expands the connectivity of the iMac, but it also mounts on the iMac stand and makes great use of space. It has Micro SD and HD Card slots, 10GBps USB-C and USB-A ports, and two USB 2.0 ports. The Plugable hub has a rear USB-C port for connecting to a Mac; the cable feeds…

One of Apple’s best accessories is its keyboard case for iPad Air and Pro, called the Magic Keyboard. To go along with the newly designed thinner iPad Pro, Apple introduced a new sleeker Magic Keyboard. It’s got almost everything we loved about the old Magic Keyboard, like pass-through USB-C charging and quality backlit keys (and sadly, a high price tag), but it makes the following improvements: > It’s thinner. > There’s a half-height function row to control quick settings like brightness, volume, and media controls. > The trackpad is larger and has haptic feedback. > The keyboard deck is made of aluminum. Between the aluminum keyboard deck, larger trackpad with haptic feedback, function row, and all-around thinner package (together with a thinner iPad Pro), the whole thing feels more like…

Pitaka takes a modular approach with its MagEZ Slider 2 charging station ($179). It is a MagSafe-compatible charging station, with a charger that’s also a removable 4000mAh power bank that you can take with you. But it goes even further with the intelligent design—namely on the back, where there’s another wireless charging area for AirPod cases. Once a little shelf is attached, you can place an AirPods case on it and it will charge. On the side is a USB-C port for charging; Pitaka offers the MagEZ Slider 2 with a USB-C charging pad for an Apple Watch for an extra charge. But you can plug in any USB-C cable or use the USB-C Apple Watch charger that comes with the Apple Watch. It has a rotating base, so you…

Apple’s updated iPad Air for 2024 comes in two sizes, 11 inch and for the first time 13 inch, features the M2 chip, comes in new colors, and much more. LATEST SOFTWARE The iPad Air ships with iPadOS 17.5, but a newer build of iPadOS 17.5, 21F84, is available to download as soon as you take it out of the box. The release notes are identical to those for iOS 17.5, with the following addition specific to the 2024 iPads: Document scanning is improved on the new iPad Air and iPad Pro. The 2024 iPad Air and Pro both feature a new “adaptive True Tone flash.” The camera function uses AI to identify if it’s primarily a document in view, then takes multiple images with the adaptive flash, stitching them…

Passwords are among the banes of most people’s online lives. Even though passkeys (where you can use a second device to prove you are you and gain access) are beginning to make things easier, it will be a long time before we move away from the confusing collection of numbers, symbols, and letters (at least one of which should be uppercase) that online services demand. Remembering the various account details for each site or app we use is an overwhelming task, meaning we often resort to having the same login for everything, which is a disaster waiting to happen. To get around this, without having to write down all our passwords in a little book or, worse still, in the notes app on your phone, a password manager is a…

Can a Sonos home audio product succeed if it’s isolated from the company’s synergistic networking ecosystem? We’re about to find out as Sonos wades into the crowded and hypercompetitive noise-cancelling headphone market with the $449 Sonos Ace. The Sonos brand is nearly synonymous with whole-home audio, thanks to the company’s pioneering work building speakers and amplifiers that connect over wireless mesh networks, but its first headphones are based on Bluetooth 5.4, not Wi-Fi. As such, Sonos will be competing with such entrenched brands as Apple, Bose, Sennheiser, and Sony. The company’s first cans arrived—in black or soft white versions—on June 5. As befits a product in this price range, the Sonos Ace will feature custom-designed 40mm drivers; support for both Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality spatial audio processing—complete with…

The golden age of artificial intelligence has just begun, with AI tools now available that help people get more things done. But Apple’s presence in AI has been muted, to put it kindly. Apple needs to do something to make an impression and tell the world it’s keeping up with the times. That impression was made during Apple’s “Let Loose” event to showcase new iPads. The company also used the event to announce the new M4 chip, which has the fastest Neural Engine Apple has ever created—the Neural Engine is used to perform AI functions. It’s clearly Apple’s effort to keep up with the competition. Delivering the M4 chip at this time is a dramatic change from Apple’s typical chip cycle. The M3 arrived just a bit over six months ago,…

There was a time when a trip downtown was filled with the hustle and bustle of people. And a lot of those people sported Timbuk2’s Classic Messenger Bag—not just bicycle messengers, but also commuters going to work, tourists sightseeing, and anyone else trying to get where they need to go. The Classic Messenger Bag became more than just a bag. It became an urban icon. Times change, though. Downtown isn’t what it used to be—there are fewer people going to the office, delivery from Uber and DoorDash has replaced bike messengers, and tourists aren’t packing the street like they once were. Timbuktu’s Classic Messenger Bag has changed, too, and while it was always a great bag, it’s become even more versatile for the times when you go out—downtown, the suburbs,…

The consensus about the new iPad Pro (see page 52) is in: The hardware is more powerful and impressive than ever, but it’s still largely hampered by software that just hasn’t managed to keep up. Such has been the story of the iPad Pro almost since its inception almost nine years ago, and despite moves that would seem to augur good things for the platform—like forking iPadOS off from iOS—Apple hasn’t exactly done a bang-up job of assuaging users about its commitment to making the tablet a full-fledged citizen of its lineup. But zooming out, there’s a larger question at play here: What are the long-term prospects of the iPad? Once heralded the future of computing, the iPad seems to have fallen short of that promise, and in the process has…

As the Let Loose event wound down in early May, Tim Cook had one last announcement before the stream ended: The 10th-gen iPad now starts at $349, an impressive $100 price drop. What he didn’t say is the move also means the 9th-gen iPad is gone. Apple hasn’t updated the 9th-gen iPad since September 2021, so it’s not a huge surprise to see it go away. It still had Apple’s old iPad design with a Home button and Lightning port, tapered edges, and an A13 Bionic chip, at a starting price of $329. It was definitely showing its age, and unless you got it on sale, it was no longer the great bargain it once had been. However, it was the only remaining non-Mac device that still had a headphone jack. It was…

If you’re serious about getting a better handle on your iPhone gaming, consider a gamepad, an external device that provides physical controls—actual buttons, joysticks, direction pads, and more. Look at one like the GameSir X2s Type C controller, which works with the iPhone 15 series of phones. The Type C in the name refers to its USB-C connector, which plugs into the iPhone 15 (it also works with Android phones). The X2s cradles the iPhone; just pull the X2s apart and place the iPhone in. The cradle is rubberized, so there is minimal risk of scratching the phone. It also gently squeezes the phone for a secure fit. The USB-C connector is adjustable, so regardless of how thick or thin the phone is, the fit remains. I tested it with…

The AI race is in full swing, and OpenAI just fired its latest salvo with its “Spring Update” announcements. The most significant new part is a new model, ChatGPT-4o (the “o” stands for “omni”), which is faster and smarter with better multimodel capabilities—and importantly, it’s available to all users, not just those who subscribe. In addition, there are new tools for developers, a new GPT Store to more easily find customized GPTs, and crucially, a new Mac app (a Windows app will come later this year). CHATGPT-4O The focus of ChatGPT-4o seems to be on making it easier to use for more people, but it is still OpenAI’s most capable AI product yet. Benchmarks from the company show industry-leading performance on text evaluation, automatic speech recognition, visual understanding, and more.…

In our time reviewing VPNs in 2024, it’s become clear the industry has grown to offer some fantastic benefits whether you’re looking to unlock Netflix in another country or connect to a Wi-Fi access point you don’t quite trust. The other thing that’s clear is that VPN companies really want to entice you into a two-year deal. That’s perhaps unsurprising, and what’s good enough for the likes of Surfshark and NordVPN is good enough for everyone else, but PureVPN is offering more than a whopping 80% off its plans if you sign up for 24 months. On the one hand, that’s great—PureVPN is an excellent VPN service with plenty of tools and additional extras to tailor it nicely to your needs. On the other, two years is a long time in a…

Your iPhone and iPad screens are beautiful enough, but are they big enough to show off your favorite videos, photos, and other visual content? Probably not; fortunately, it’s easy enough to connect those devices to your big-screen TV. We’ll show you all the ways to do just that. And you don’t even need a fancy smart TV. Keep in mind that if your goal is to watch streaming services such as Apple TV+, Netflix, or Hulu on your television, mirroring your iPhone or iPad is neither necessary nor the most practical solution. Instead, you can buy a low-cost streaming media player such as a Roku Streaming Stick+ or Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, plug them into your TV, and operate them with a proper remote control. Here’s a link to our…

With the release of the iPad Pro, Apple has ushered in a new chip generation with the M4. The introduction of that chip disrupted Apple’s usual chip release cycle, however—the M3 was first released only six months ago in the MacBook Pro and iMac. The last device to get an M3 was the MacBook Air in January. What about the rest of the Mac lineup? In the recent edition of his Power On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the Mac Studio and Mac Pro aren’t on Apple’s release schedule until mid-2025. In April, Gurman reported that Apple was testing a Mac Studio with “a still-unreleased M3-era chip” as well as a M4-series chip, which left its status for release in 2024 unclear. But now it appears that Apple has decided to…

The Anker 675 USB-C 12-in-1 Docking Station and Monitor Stand solves several of your laptop’s limitations in one user-friendly, stylish, friendly and functional product. A laptop is a wonderful device, but it comes up lacking in a few areas because of its portability. First, the screen is small and cramped for opening multiple files and applications. You can end up squinting at tiny text and having to keep open multiple tabs and layers of documents. Second, using a laptop is not great for your posture, neck, back, shoulders, eyes…basically, it’s not good for your body. Stooping over that small screen with hunched shoulders is not great for your neck, back, or arms. Thirdly, many laptops lack connections and extension ports to attach other devices, such as storage, displays, and wired…

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, one of the first things he did was drastically streamline the company’s product portfolio. Slashing over 70 percent of the company’s products, everything was focused on a simple 2×2 grid: pro and consumer on one axis, desktop and portable on the other. Among other things, he argued that if consumers don’t know which product to buy, that means there are too many products. Obviously, Apple is in a very different place today. It’s many times larger and competes in many more markets (both product markets and territorial markets). While it’s arguable that Apple makes too many products today, one could scarcely argue that it has too many Apple Pencils. There are four. Four! APPLE PENCIL (X4) It wouldn’t be crazy to suggest…

Google recently announced that its suite of AI-based photo-editing tools will imminently be available to all Google Photos users even without a subscription. In the past, many of these features were restricted to Google’s own hardware; Magic Editor, for example, initially launched on Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, while Magic Eraser started out as a Pixel 6 exclusive. But this development means iPhone owners can enjoy access to the same tools without having to switch to an Android handset. And they’ll also enjoy it without having to pay. In the past the company required users to have a Google One subscription in order to access its AI editing features. That won’t be the case any longer. Google’s blog post highlights the following: Photo Unblur: Sharpens up blurry shots Magic Eraser:…

Apple has updated the iPad Pro for 2024 at an event that Apple CEO Tim Cook described as the “biggest day for iPad.” The new iPad Pro comes in two sizes, 11 inch and 13 inch, and it features the M4 chip, better display technology, and much more. Read on to find out everything you need to know. PODCAST: APPLE LETS LOOSE WITH NEW iPAD PRO, iPAD AIR, & MORE Listen now here  RELEASE DATE They’re available now. Apple unveiled the new iPad Pro May 7, 2024. Pre-orders started immediately following the event and the new products shipped on May 15. LATEST SOFTWARE The iPad Pro M4 ships with iPadOS 17.5, but there’s a newer build of that version available to download as soon as you take it out of the box.…

Install the April 2024 iWork update and you’ll gain access to a “new” feature that’s decades old: noncontiguous text selection. Put simply, it means you can select text that doesn’t flow continuously from one letter to the next. This lets you select multiple areas of text for manual formatting or character styles all at once instead of one at a time. (Apple doesn’t let you use Find & Replace to select everything that matches the Find field, however.) To make a noncontiguous selection: 1. Start by selecting any text in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote. 2. Hold down the Command key. 3. Select additional ranges: drag for a select, double-click to add words, or triple-click to add paragraphs. You can remove text from the selection by dragging or Shift-dragging while keeping Command…

The Beats Solo 3 were released in late 2016, and 7.5 years is definitely too long to wait for a refresh of the “affordable” on-ear model of one of the world’s most popular headphone brands. As you would expect, a lot has changed. Gone is the ancient Apple W1 chip, in favor of a proprietary tech platform that supports lots of modern features for both Apple and Android devices. Sound quality is improved, and the battery lasts 25 percent longer. They still look like Beats and sound like Beats, and they do very little to move the brand or category forward. There’s nothing wrong with the Solo 4 headphones—they’re good. But with such a long gap from the prior model, they only just meet expectations rather than surpass or redefine…

IS YOUR MAC SLUGGISH OR RUNNING HOT? HERE’S WHAT TO DO It’s happened to you, probably many times over the years: You’re using Safari, and it starts to feel like molasses. You’re working among several apps, and you start to have to wait for seconds or longer as you switch between them, adding frustration. Or you touch your laptop, and say, “Yowch!”—it’s much hotter than expected. What’s going on? The complex interplay of Mac hardware, macOS software, third-party background utilities and add-ons, and foreground apps can result in unexpected outcomes, like CPUs running hot, memory crunches, and sluggish performance. You can’t always pull one thread and untangle the problem. But you can pursue a few straightforward strategies to make things better without wasting lots of time. Try these actions the…