The all-new Facebook Messenger app for macOS made its official Mac App Store debut on Thursday at a perfect time for those working and interacting more from home.
Messenger for the desktop first appeared in early March, almost a year after Facebook announced it at its F8 conference, but was then on offer in only a handful of countries. It is now open to all — and free to download.
Apple is gearing up for its first-ever digital-only Worldwide Developers Conference in June with a fresh update to the Apple Developer app.
Formerly called the WWDC app, the Apple Developer app is the one-stop-shop for all the in-depth information developers need on iOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS and all the other Apple platforms. Today’s big update adds some key new features that will make it easier and faster for developers to digest all the new info that comes out of WWDC 2020.
Check out the list of new goodies:
It’s now possible for developers to make their apps available as a universal purchase. Apple enabled the change on Monday, paving the way for macOS, iOS, tvOS, and watchOS apps to be bundled as one.
Apple is not forcing developers to use universal purchases. It does hope, however, that the move will promote the use of Catalyst for porting iPad apps over to Mac.
This top 5 Apple MDM platforms post is presented by Hexnode.
With the surge in recent years of employees working via smartphones, tablets and laptops from all over the place, it’s no surprise mobile device management, aka MDM, has become a crucial tool for organizations large and small. Then add in the near-ubiquity of cloud computing and software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps, plus companies letting employees use their own devices (BYOD). It all equals MDM becoming an unavoidable part of IT security. Ignore it at your own risk.
Apple is planning huge improvements to mouse support on iPhone and iPad for its iOS 14 update, a new report claims.
It is believed users will see more traditional cursor options — like those you’re used to seeing on desktops. Apple is also expected to add new gestures that will work alongside a new Smart Keyboard with built-in trackpad.
AMD’s next-generation graphics cards could bring ray tracing capabilities to Mac.
The company’s new Navi 2X architecture, coming later this year, will be the first to catch up with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX cards in the ray tracing department. It also promises 3D audio, faster load times, and “a new generation of games.”
When you start up a Mac, it goes “bong,” and that’s the way the world should be. Unless, that is, you bought a Mac in 2016 or later, when Apple removed the Mac startup chime. These days, a Mac starts up silently, with only a whisper of fan noise (or the din of a whirring, clicking hard drive on an iMac) to let you know something is happening.
But what if you miss the good old Mac startup chime? Or — if you’re new to Macs — you just fancy a bit of retro charm? Today we’ll see how to bring back the bong.
Apple Music’s lyric visualizer has arrived on Mac with the second beta release of macOS 10.15.4 Wednesday.
The feature, which gives users scrolling, karaoke-style song lyrics, was introduced as a much-lauded feature with iOS 13. Now Apple is porting it bringing it to macOS users as well.
Microsoft is working hard on a new version of Windows that promises to be faster, more efficient, and more secure. Windows 10X is available only in preview form for now, and it already runs surprisingly well on a MacBook.
One developer installed an early version of the software on an Apple machine, and it is proving to be “very smooth” so far.
Apple’s educational coding app, Swift Playgrounds, has finally made its way to the Mac.
After landing on the iPad in 2016, Apple has created a Catalyst version of Swift Playgrounds for Mac, making it easier for anyone to dive into the interactive lessons, no matter which platform you prefer most.
Could Apple be preparing to make a surprise switch to AMD processors in a future Mac? References to a number of new AMD microprocessors have been spotted in the latest macOS 10.15.4 beta, which rolled out to developers Wednesday.
The clues hidden in Mac code suggest Apple’s lengthy relationship with Intel could be on the rocks.
Nvidia GeForce Now is ready to stream the latest PC games to your Mac. It sells us a dream that sounds too good to be true, a future that macOS fans gave up wishing for a long time ago. And most importantly, it actually delivers it.
I’ve been playing games on GeForce Now for several days (I love my job!) so that I can tell you whether it’s worth your hard-earned cash. And although I’ve run into a few teething troubles that I can’t ignore, I’ve been blown away by what it can do.
Apple is laying the groundwork to make it easier for developers to distribute their apps across all of Apple’s platforms.
Included in Wednesday’s big batch of beta updates, Apple introduced a new option in Xcode 11.4 beta 1 for developers to build and test apps using a single bundle ID. Starting in March, iPhone users will be able to download an app via the iOS App Store and then (if the developer supports it) download it on other Apple platforms with ease.
This simple change might seem like an obvious added convenience for users, but it also sets up the App Store for some colossal changes over the next few years. It will force Apple developers to make some big decisions about their businesses.
Sorry, Pokémon fans, but hot new role-playing game Temtem isn’t coming to your Apple devices.
Publisher Humble Bundle today confirmed to Cult of Mac that there are currently no plans to bring the online creature-catching title to macOS. And it’s not looking good for iPhone and iPad, either.
Apple today rolled out its major Maps redesign to all users in the United States. It packs big improvements, including better road and pedestrian data, more precise addresses, and more detailed land coverage. It also offers Look Around, Apple’s answer to Google Maps’ Street View, in select locations.
Apple just dumped a truckload of new software updates on customers this morning, including the crucial iOS 13.3.1 update that brings an important fix to Screen Time.
Along with iOS 13.3.1, Apple also released macOS 10.15.3, tvOS 13.3.1, and watchOS 6.1.2. All four of the new updates are fairly minor and mostly focus on under-the-hood improvements.
A dangerous piece of Mac malware that hides as a fake Flash warning is a growing security threat to Mac users with one in 10 Macs infected, according to the security firm, Kaspersky.
The Shlayer Trojan has been active since early 2018 and so far it shows no signs of going away quietly. Shlayer has had an enormous amount of success attacking Macs, even though it’s a rather normal piece of malware.
Rocket League developer Psyonix today confirmed it will drop support for macOS (and Linux) in March.
Players will need to switch platforms to continue enjoying the game — or play without its beloved online multiplayer. The move could be a blow to Apple’s rumored plan to enter the desktop gaming market.
Ever wondered what it would look like if you combined every default macOS wallpaper, since Apple switched to OS X, into one single image? No? Well, one Apple super fan has done it anyway.
And the results look kind of like a trippy progressive rock/heavy metal album cover.
A big MacBook Pro refresh and a long-awaited Mac Pro overhaul couldn’t prevent Apple computer shipments from suffering another decline in 2019, according to new data.
Both IDC and Gartner say Mac shipments fell during the final quarter of 2019, and for 2019 as a whole. That’s despite decent growth for PCs, which enjoyed the highest single-quarter shipment volume in four years during Q4.
Apple is working on a new software feature for macOS that can crank Macs’ processing powers into overdrive. References spotted by 9to5Mac in the latest macOS Catalina beta mention a new “Pro Mode.” Details on how Pro Mode will work remain hazy. However, a few lines of code hint that it might only be available on MacBooks.
iOS 13 (and iPadOS) fixed the frustrating text-selection tools on the iPhone and iPad, but only if you know how to use them. Selecting a single word or sentence is still way easier on a Mac, because you have a mouse and keyboard permanently attached. On the iPad, though, you can still find the text selection slipping and jumping like an oiled fish.
Use these iPhone and iPad text-selection tips to highlight words and paragraphs the easy way in iOS.
If you’re at your Mac, go ahead and click a window for another app (don’t forget to come back right away). Clicking an app’s window brings it to the foreground, of course. But did you notice that only the window you clicked came forward. If that other app has any other windows open, they will stay hidden. It wasn’t always this way. In pre-OS X days, the default behavior was to bring all those windows to the front. And now, thanks to a new app called Front and Center, from John Siracusa, you can get this behavior on a modern Mac.
Twitter today rolled out its latest client update for macOS, adding Touch Bar and Sidecar support for the first time.
The release comes just a few months after Twitter took advantage of improvements in macOS Catalina that allowed it to port its iPad app to the desktop.
Ever since Safari 13, the Mac browser now prompts you every time you try to download a file. In this way, it behaves much like Safari for iOS. It’s a security feature, clearly designed to stop websites sneaking files onto your computer. But perhaps you value the convenience of uncontrolled downloads more than this added security? If so, you’re in luck, because you can turn this feature off. Better still, you can still block Safari downloads from “bad” sites, even while allowing new ones automatically.