Newsstand - page 28

Let’s be honest, you already know whether you’re going to watch Mariah Carey’s Magical Christmas Special on Apple TV+.

This isn’t an early Apple Silicon Mac where you need to read up on whether the transition to a new chip architecture has worked before making your purchasing decision. You either heard the words “Mariah” and “Christmas special” and thought “that’s an easy skip,” or immediately set about making space on your calendar to enjoy it in all its festive fierceness.

Nothing I write here is going to change your mind on either of these polarized takes. But, for the record, I enjoyed the show, which premiered today on Apple TV+.

It’s almost the end of 2020 (hallelujah!) which means it’s time to start looking back at all the things you’ve enjoyed this year. All the vacations, parties, social events … okay, maybe not those things. But what about the music?

If you have Apple Music, it’s easy to check out all the artists, tracks, and albums you’ve enjoyed this year with your 2020 Replay mix. You can even see how long you’ve listened to your favorite artists and played your favorite albums. We’ll show you how!

Some iPhone 12 users are reporting problems with either battery life or dropped calls. The difficulties aren’t happening to every user, but they seem to be fairly widespread.

There have been complaints about all four variations of the iPhone 12, not a specific model.

Apple reportedly warned authorized service providers that new products are coming the morning of Tuesday, December 8.  Among the possibilities are AirPods over-the-ear headphones and AirTags item-tracking tags. Or new Apple TV hardware.

This could be the Apple “Christmas Surprise” that had been predicted.

Do “certified freak, seven days a week” or “Pour up the whole damn seal, I’ma get lazy” mean anything to you?

If you’re anything like other Apple Music listeners around the world, they certainly do. That’s because they’re from Cardi B’s “WAP” and Roddy Ricch’s “The Box,” two of the songs atop the newly released “Most-Read Lyrics of 2020” list on Apple’s streaming music service. And there’s more data where that came from!

iOS 14 is still only a couple of months old for most users, but inside Apple designers and engineers will already be planning what next year’s upgrade will offer.

While we likely won’t get to see what they’re working on until WWDC 2021, Kevin Kal, a talented 20-year-old designer and engineering student in France, has created one of the first concepts we’ve seen for iOS 15.

Check it out.

New tests show relatively speedy performance for a Mac mini with an ARM-based Apple M1 processor running the ARM version of Windows 10. Even though the OS is running as a virtual machine, benchmarks show the device can handle X86 applications far faster than the Microsoft Surface Pro X, which also uses an ARM chip.

If you share a Mac with others and are frequently switching between user accounts, you’ll be pleased to know you can do that quicker than ever in macOS Big Sur, thanks to a new feature called fast user switching.

You’ll need to set it up yourself because Apple doesn’t enable it by default, but it’s super-simple to do. We’ll show you how.

As 2020 thankfully sputters to its conclusion, Apple has released its list of the year’s best 15 apps and games “notable for their positive cultural impact, helpfulness, and importance.”

The App Store Best of 2020 winners cover a multitude of areas — from the Zoom app that more or less defined the year of lockdown to streaming service Disney+ to a nifty sleep app.

With the year winding down, Apple picked its favorite podcasts, books and audiobooks of 2020. The offerings “kept us entertained, made us think, provided a much-needed escape, or filled our hearts up,“ noted Apple.

All the recommendations are, of course, available through Apple Podcasts or Apple Books.

You just got a shiny new iPhone 12 and of course you want your Apple Watch to play nicely with it. You could reset the Watch to start out fresh, but there’s an easier way switch your Apple Watch to your new iPhone.

Here’s what you do.

New M1 Macs let users run iPhone and iPad apps natively for the first time, but gamers should think twice about loading up Call of Duty: Mobile. Playing Activision’s popular shooter on one of the super-fast new computers could get them banned.

Hector Martin (aka marcan) wants to port a full, useful version of the Linux operating system to the new Macs running Apple Silicon, but he needs help.

He’s got the skills for it — he put Linux on a PlayStation 4, for example. But the developer wants assistance from the public bringing the operating system to Macs running the new M1 processor. Not technical help, but financial contributions.

RAVpower PD 30W USB-C Charger with Lightning Cable can be the wall charger that iPhone 12 users need. It includes USB-C and USB-A ports, and fold-down electrical prongs. And it juices up iOS handsets as fast as possible — far quicker than Apple’s old 5W chargers. Plus, it even comes with a charging cable for use with older iPhones.

Read on for the results of my real-world testing of the wall charger and cable combo.

Many of the glitches and frustrations you might encounter with HomePod and HomePod mini can usually be fixed with a simple factory reset. It’s easy to do and doesn’t take long, but Apple doesn’t make it immediately obvious how a reset is performed. So we’ll show you what you need to do.

Apple did away with the Clock app’s scroll wheel for setting alarms in iOS 14, swapping it for a numeric keypad instead. But the scroll wheel isn’t dead yet … if you know where to find it.

We’ll show you where it’s hidden.

The Cult of Mac Store’s biggest ever sale is coming to an end, but there’s still time to save on the hottest accessories from some of the biggest brands this Cyber Monday.

You’ll find cases, sleeves, bands, stands, and more from the likes of Twelve South, Elago, and Casetify at up to 72% off the usual price. And we’ll even throw in free standard shipping when you spend over $75.

Don’t miss out! Check out all the items on offer today and bag yourself a bargain.

The HiRise Wireless manages a rare feat: it’s both useful and attractive. This charger holds your iPhone up at an angle where the screen can be easily seen. And a removable core allows this accessory to be used while traveling. Just as importantly, the base unit would look at home on any CEO’s desk.

Find out if this is the wireless charger you’ve been looking for in our hands-on review — and bag yours for 20% less in the Cult of Mac Store’s Black Friday sale.

After a decade with an iPhone, I didn’t expect anything could come along to transform the way I use my phone. iOS 14 widgets proved me wrong. They have me interacting with the handset in a way I never have before.

It’s that time of year again — post turkey-carving and game-watching, it’s time to start thinking about holiday gifts. Take the guesswork (and stress) out of what presents you’ll be giving to your family and friends this year for the holidays.

We rounded up the top 11 gifts under $150, conveniently wrapped up in one list for you, so you can take care of everyone on your list, from your next-door neighbor to your mom. And, you can rest assured you’re getting the best deal possible. For a limited time, enjoy an extra 20% off for Black Friday pricing site-wide using code BFSAVE20.

The Aukey 9-in-2 USB-C Hub (CB-C81) lets you add a pair of 4K HDMI screens to your MacBook. But that’s just the start because it packs in nine ports, despite a relatively small size. It offers a pair of USB-A ports, SD/microSD card readers, Ethernet and more.

After real-world testing, here’s how this multiport adapter stands up.

Apple’s next-generation iPad Pro could bring 5G with super-fast mmWave support, according to a new report. The new slates, which are expected to launch in 2021, may use Apple’s own 5G modem.

The iPhone 12 Pro starts at $999, but the components for this high-end smartphone cost less than half the selling price. Market researchers disassembled Apple’s latest top-tier handset to ascertain its parts cost.

And they figured out that only a tiny percentage of the device is actually made is China.

Apple will introduce a redesigned Apple Watch and MacBook lineup in late 2021, according to one reliable analyst.

Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities expects Apple’s next-generation wearable to bring “innovative health management functions.” He also told investors iPhone 12 is off to a strong start.

A new website could become the go-to guide to which applications are compatible with Macs running on Apple Silicon chips.

IsAppleSiliconReady.com lists apps that have been ported to run on Apple’s new M1 processor. It also tells if apps are compatible with Rosetta 2, the macOS Big Sur feature that allows the M1 Macs to run software compiled for Intel chips.