If your Mac is still running macOS 11, there’s a software update you need. Apple released macOS Big Sur 11.6.7 to fix an email bug that prevents email applications from opening attachments.
The new version is available to download now.
There’s a lot to like in iOS 16, so I couldn’t resist installing the first beta to test the best new features. Here’s my hands-on experience with the new Lock Screen, improvements in the Messages and Mail apps, and more. These are just my favorites from the couple of days I’ve had to test the initial beta.
Plus, the next version of iOS adds other features that might be great — when Apple gets them working right.
Update May 2023: The end of season 3 certainly seems to have wrapped up the show, though Apple CEO Tim Cook would like a season 4.
There’ll only be three seasons of the massive Apple TV+ hit Ted Lasso. One of the series writers and stars says the plan is to end the show with the upcoming season three.
That’s bad news for fans. And for Apple too, which needs every successful show it can get for its streaming service.
iPadOS 16 gives Apple tablets some powerful new capabilities, but there have been protests that these are limited to iPad models with the M1 processor. Apple promises this isn’t a trick to force people to upgrade their computers.
The iPad-maker says that only the M-series processors can deliver enough RAM to display eight applications at once.
Bluetooth headphones are nearly ubiquitous, and an upcoming feature called Auracast will allow computers or phones to stream music to not just one Bluetooth receiver but all of them in the area.
While one goal of Bluetooth’s Auracast broadcast audio is to let people share their music with groups, it also has more practical uses.
One of the most-requested iPad features is here. Stage Manager in iPadOS 16 puts applications in resizable, floating windows. I’ve tested the first beta of the new system for several days now, and there’s a lot to like. And there’s plenty of frustration too. But some of that comes from this being an early beta.
Here’s my hands-on experience with the iPad’s new multitasking system, and why I think it’s going to change the way many of us use our tablets.
The just-launched Belkin SoundForm Immerse Bluetooth earbuds offer more than just great sound. They have active noise cancellation, and also work with Apple’s Find My network so they can be located with an iPhone.
They offer many of the same features as Apple’s AirPods Pro but at a lower cost.
Mac is not the preferred platform for most gamers, but Metal 3 in macOS Ventura shows Apple hasn’t given up. And iPadOS 16 is getting support for a wider range of game controllers.
These are just a couple of gaming features Apple is bringing to Mac and iPad.
The Lightning port’s days are numbered. The EU government has settled on a plan that will require all new phones and tablets to have a USB-C port, including iPhone.
But is seems Apple saw the writing on the wall and is already getting ready to switch iPhone from Lightning to USB-C.
Anyone with an eye on the newly announced MacBook Air or 13-inch MacBook Pro should be aware that they have a limitation: each supports only a single external monitor. It seems that’s all the Apple M2 processor can handle.
But the same is true for MacBooks with the original M1 chip, and workarounds were developed for these devices that will likely work with the M2 models.
Credit to Apple: The company managed to sneak some real surprises past the leakers and tipsters. Several reveals during Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote came as a shock to everyone. There’s a new MacBook no one was expecting, a way to use an iPhone as a Mac webcam, a huge revamp to CarPlay and more.
Also surprising were some things that didn’t show show up during the live-streamed event.
Here’s everything unexpected that managed to sneak into the WWDC22 keynote.
The iPhone’s Dictation feature that lets you enter text just by speaking gets even simpler in the upcoming iOS 16 by combining voice and text input.
And it won’t even be necessary to enter punctuation. The phone will handle that on its own.
The wraps came off iPadOS 16 during the keynote for WWDC22 on Monday, and Apple fulfilled the requests of many iPad power users by adding support for resizable, floating app windows. And there’s also full support for external displays. There are many other changes as well.
“Our vision for iPadOS is to create a distinct experience that’s built on the best of iOS with powerful capabilities from macOS, combined with features that are uniquely iPad,” said Craig Federighi, SVP of software engineering. “All of this comes together to deliver our most versatile release this year in iPadOS 16.”
Imagine standing in your backyard and looking up at a full-size Tyrannosaurus rex. That’s the possibility raised by a report that Apple asked producer Jon Favreau to turn his Prehistoric Planet docuseries into augmented reality or virtual reality. The project is supposedly for the AR/VR headset Apple will launch soon.
Apple also reportedly recruited other film and TV directors to create content, too.
Apple’s share of the global smart speaker market grew considerably as HomePod shipments increased by almost 30% year over year.
HomePod, which once had only a tiny sliver of this market, has gained considerably on Amazon and Google.
An unannounced Mac mini is now listed on the B&H website, though without full product details. The desktop’s most eye-catching feature is an Apple M2 processor, which also has not yet been announced.
In addition, the retailer lists a “Mac mini Tower” running an M1 Pro. Both products are labeled as “New Item – Coming Soon.”
Mix the classic Frogger arcade game with Raiders of the Lost Ark and you get Frogger and the Rumbling Ruins. Jump through puzzle-ridden ruins to unravel their mysteries.
The puzzle game from Konami debuted Friday on the Apple Arcade subscription service.
Satechi’s USB-C Slim Dock sits on the stand for the 24-inch iMac and adds six frequently-used ports. It also sports an enclosure for user-installed SSDs.
It launched Friday, and is available now for 20% off the usual price.
Apple U.S. retail store employees now get a minimum of 12 hours between shifts, up from 10 hours. And they won’t have to work more than five days in a row. These are just two of the changes Apple is reportedly making to how it schedules workers at its 270+ retail locations.
It’s likely these are intended to reduce employee interest in joining unions.
We’re less than a week away from WWDC22, but it’s not too late to take a look ahead to the unveiling of iOS 16, macOS 13, iPadOS 16 and watchOS 9. As always, these operating system upgrades are expected to be the highlights of Apple’s annual developer conference.
Some details about them already leaked out, though. Here’s a foretaste of WWDC22.
There are cases for MacBooks. And there are USB-C hubs. And external hard drives, too. Case X is all three of these. It clips to the top of the laptop, adding six extra ports and up to 4TB of additional storage.
Byrdbyte Creations’ product is still at the crowdfunding stage, though.
Apple TV+ revealed that the psychological thriller Surface from Veronica West will premiere on July 29. It stars Gugu Mbatha-Raw, best known for appearing in Apple’s critically acclaimed The Morning Show.
The upcoming series asks, what if you woke up one day and didn’t know your own secrets?
Grab your sword and your iPad to battle the demonic forces of evil in Diablo Immortal. Blizzard Entertainment created the massively multiplayer online action role-playing game for iPhone, Android and Apple tablets.
It’s also out for PC, and players will be able enjoy the game across platforms.
Apple’s five-episode dinosaur documentary Prehistoric Planet pulled in plenty of viewers. Amazing archosaurs recreated with cutting-edge CGI effects helped the series hit number five on a list of most-watched TV shows on all the streaming services in the United States.
And Severance continues to draw a big audience almost two months after the season finale on Apple TV+.
Employees of an Apple store in Atlanta won’t be voting to form a union after all. They withdrew their request with the National Labor Relations Board, and said Apple had carried out “a systematic, sophisticated campaign to intimidate them.”
It remains unknown how this will affect employees trying to unionize at an Apple retail store in New York