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Hands on: iPadOS 15 fixes a multitude of multitasking sins

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iPadOS 15 multitasking
The tiny multitasking menu at the top of each application is a significant improvement in iPadOS 15.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

With iPadOS 15, Apple makes the iPad’s multitasking system much more intuitive. I’ve been testing it with the first beta of this OS update, and I’m quite pleased with the changes.

Here’s how the new iPad side-by-side multitasking system works in real life. And why I think it’ll bring this feature to more users.

Craig Federighi’s impressive WWDC iPad catch gets set to toe-tapping music

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Craig
Just one man and his iPad.
Photo: Apple

Want to relive Craig Federighi’s daring iPad catch from Monday’s keynote, set to a toe-tapping tune? Of course you do. Fortunately, Jonathan Mann is here to help.

Mann, a prolific musical YouTuber, has been writing songs about Apple dating back to the days of Antennagate and the iPhone 4. None other than Steve Jobs once played one of Mann’s iPhone ditties on stage at an Apple event. Each year after Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Mann pens a song based on the event.

His song this year won’t leave you any the wiser if you didn’t watch this year’s WWDC keynote. But it will certainly get you nodding your head — and reliving that Federighi catch over and over. Check it out.

Some Apple fans are upset they sold their MacBook Pros ahead of WWDC

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Antonio takes rumors and makes them into renders. Not pie-in-sky dreams
Sadly not destined for WWDC.
Concept: Antonio De Rosa

Selling your old Apple device to buy a new one can be a high-stakes game. Do it before Apple announces the replacement and you can bank a few extra bucks because a) you’re selling the latest-gen product and b) the market’s not yet saturated with other sellers doing the same thing.

The catch? You’d better be confident that Apple’s going to announce the product you think it will. Because if it doesn’t, you’ll be stuck with no device at all. That appears to have happened to a handful of Apple users who were confident that Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote would include the launch of next-gen MacBook Pros powered by M2 chips.

Apple didn’t unveil new laptops — and now people who sold their computers to gear up for new ones are not too happy about the situation.

9 things that blew us away at WWDC 2021

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Apple CEO Tim Cook wraps the WWDC21 keynote on June 7, 2021.
Apple CEO Tim Cook wraps the WWDC21 keynote on June 7, 2021.
Photo: Apple

Some new features really stood out when Apple revealed the next versions of all its operating systems during Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote. Users of iPhone, Mac and iPad, and Apple Watch, too, can look forward to welcome improvements this fall.

We picked out the best of these to make sure they don’t get overlooked.

watchOS 8 adds new Mindfulness app and Portrait watch face

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watchOS introduces a new Portrait mode watch face with depth effect
watchOS introduces a new Portrait mode watch face with depth effect
Photo: Apple

We got our first glimpse of the OS that will be gracing everyone’s wrists this fall when Apple showed off watchOS 8 during Monday’s WWDC keynote.

This update looks like more of an evolution than a revolution. Text editing gets a little easier.  And we’ll get various small enhancements for the apps we already know and love, like photo sharing and a redesigned Music app.

macOS Monterey brings Universal Control, Shortcuts, and Safari improvements

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macOS Monterey
Big Sur is dead. Long live macOS Monterey!
Photo: Apple

macOS Monterey will bring a plethora of nifty new abilities to Mac — and, in the process, help make Macs work even better with iPhones and iPads.

Announced Monday during the Worldwide Developers Conference’s opening keynote, it will be the first new Mac operating system following the arrival of Apple Silicon across the entire product line. This year’s update isn’t close to the giant redesign that was 2020’s macOS 11 Big Sur. But macOS Monterey 12 nonetheless boasts a bevy of exciting new features.

Apple adds powerful new privacy features to Mail and more

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Apple Privacy Slide from WWDC 2021
Apple is taking even more shots at advertisers in the WWDC 2021 Privacy updates
Screenshot: Apple

Apple is bringing big privacy-focused changes to its Mail app and other parts of its ecosystem, the company said Monday.

“At Apple, we believe privacy is a fundamental human right,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior VP of software engineering. “We don’t think you should have to make a tradeoff between great features and privacy. We believe you deserve both.”

iOS 15 brings welcome enhancements to FaceTime, notifications, more

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iOS 15 brings welcome enhancements to FaceTime, Notifications, more
Apple took the wraps off iOS 15 on the opening day of its WWDC conference.
Screenshot: Apple

iOS 15 just made the jump from rumor to reality. Apple is bringing major new features to FaceTime, Messages, notifications, and more. Many of the applications that come bundled with iPhone are getting updates, like Apple Maps and Weather.

However, some features people had been hoping for didn’t make the cut, like interactive widgets.

iPadOS 15 brings Home screen revamp, more powerful multitasking

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iPadOS 15
iPadOS gets widgets you can place anywhere — just like iPhone.
Photo: Apple

Apple today gave iPad owners their first peek at iPadOS 15 with a revamped Home screen and more powerful multitasking. The update also introduces bolstered privacy controls and some welcome changes to notifications.

iPadOS 15 makes its public debut this fall alongside iOS 15 and other software updates for Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. Developers can get their hands on the very first betas later today.

iPadOS 15 to MacBooks: Everything we’re looking forward to at WWDC 2021

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What to expect at WWDC 2021: iOS 15, macOS 12, new MacBook models, and more.
Get ready for updates to five operating systems. And maybe a pair of new MacBooks.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

June 7 will be the single most important day of 2021 for Apple. It’s the start of the annual Worldwide Developers Conference where the company will ceremoniously unveil fresh operating system updates for iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch and more.

Big changes are anticipated for iPadOS 15, and some nice enhancements are also predicted for iOS 15. The improvements in macOS 12, watchOS 8 and tvOS 15 are likely to be more modest.

But the show won’t stop there. While WWDC is supposed to be about software, there’s a good chance we will see new MacBooks announced Monday as well.

How to opt out of Amazon’s mass wireless sharing plans

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How to opt out of Amazon Sidewalk
You have until June 8.
Image: Cult of Mac

Amazon plans to combine every Echo speaker and Ring security camera in the United States into a shared “mesh network” to ensure devices stay online even when disconnected from their owners’ home Wi-Fi connection.

The system, called Amazon Sidewalk, faced scrutiny over the lack of transparency with regard to its rollout. Many people also express concerns about the potential privacy issues it could raise.

Not interested in taking part? Here’s how to opt out of Amazon Sidewalk before it goes live on June 8.

The Mosquito Coast season finale will leave you desperate for more [Apple TV+ review]

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The Mosquito Coast review season finale: Where will the Fox family go next season?
Where will the Fox family go next season? We can't wait to find out.
Photo: Apple TV+

The Mosquito Coast, the bold Apple TV+ potboiler about a family on the run from the law, wraps up its impressive first season this week with the end of the road — a few roads actually — in sight.

It’s a gripping finale that will leave you breathlessly waiting for the show’s just-announced second season.

New house with Tesla, new home office with Tesla toys [Setups]

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A new house calls for a first-time home office with an ultrawide monitor and plenty of toys.
A new house calls for a first-time home office with an ultrawide monitor and plenty of toys.
Photo: StevenJ95

Redditor StevenJ95 recently moved from an apartment to a house, allowing him to have a new home office. For the first time. He’s got room enough in there for his MacBook Pro, his Samsung curved ultrawide monitor and even his Tesla Model S, Cybertruck and Supercharger.

OK, those last three are two diecast model cars and a cute little desktop Tesla charger for phones and such. But he does have a real Tesla Model 3 — which he sensibly parks elsewhere — as well as a lot of enthusiasm for the brand, judging by how he decorates his setup.

Lisey’s Story looks like a Stephen King adaptation done right [Apple TV+ review]

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Lisey's Story review: Julianne Moore shines in this adaptation of Stephen King's novel.
Julianne Moore shines in this adaptation of Stephen King's novel.
Photo: Apple TV+

With Lisey’s Story, Apple TV+ officially enters the Stephen King business, a step every streaming service must eventually take. The new miniseries, based on King’s novel of the same name, just so happens to boast an astonishing pedigree. So the inevitable move reads less like calculation and more like certainty for once.

This is a miniseries that, at least initially, looks like it’s firing on all cylinders.

Apple’s twice-dead AirPower charging mat project is alive. Again.

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AirPower cancelled.
Alive? Dead? Maybe not even Tim Cook knows for sure.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

What does Apple’s oft-discussed, never-shipped AirPower charging pad have in common with Baron Samedi, the voodoo priest from the 1973 James Bond movie Live and Let Die? Two things predominantly: 1) People think they’re folklore until they actually appear, and 2) They seemingly can’t die.

That’s right: After dodging death more times than Evel Knievel, a new Bloomberg report claims that AirPower is back on. Again. Or, at the very least, the project still has a heartbeat.

iPad mini set for big redesign, while MagSafe makes its way to iPad Pro

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There’s more 2021 iPad Pro RAM than in any previous Apple tablet.
Apple wants to keep its iPad line hot coming out of the pandemic.
Photo: Apple

Apple is planning some exciting new additions for its iPad line. According to Bloomberg, Apple plans to bring wireless charging to the iPad Pro, along with the first iPad mini redesign in six years.

The wireless charging iPad will supposedly debut in 2022. The redesigned iPad mini — complete with narrower bezels and possible removed Home button — will meanwhile arrive later this year.

How to allow a guest to control your HomeKit devices

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Add a guest to the Home app
The safe and easy way to share HomeKit control.
Image: Apple/Cult of Mac

If you’re going away this summer and leaving your home in the hands of someone else, you might want to give them control of your HomeKit devices. And it’s really easy to do that inside the Home app.

Here’s how to invite anyone with an iPhone, iPad or Mac to control your smart home gadgets as a guest.

SwitchEasy Skin keeps AirTag secure and protected for under $13

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SwitchEasy Skin for AirTag
100% BPA-free and environmentally friendly.
Photo: SwitchEasy

Keep your AirTag protected and secured to almost anything with the simple, stylish and affordable SwitchEasy Skin.

Made from sturdy silicone, the Skin is non-toxic and environmentally friendly. It shows off both sides of your AirTag while allowing you to easily attach it to backpacks, purses, suitcases and more.

Bag yours today for as little as $12.99.

Keyboard app’s meteoric rise shows the power of TikTok

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All hail Techin Park, developer of Paste Keyboard and new king of the App Store.
All hail Techin Park, developer of Paste Keyboard and new king of the App Store.
Photo: Techin Park

A simple copy-and-paste app called Paste Keyboard shot to the top of the App Store charts this week after languishing in obscurity for years.

Made by 28-year-old South Korean developer Techin Park, the keyboard app hitched a ride on TikTok’s massive success — and then dethroned it as the most popular app in the United States.

“Everyone is curious how such [a] simple idea, copy and paste, has trumped the almighty TikTok in app rank,” Park told Cult of Mac. “Copy and paste is a feature we all use at least once daily. Not many think it’s special. But in reality, increasing efficiency [when it comes to] how we copy and paste can save a lot more of our time than we possibly think.”

And, apparently, score you crazy numbers of downloads, too.

Retired DJ and TV writer rocks head-spinning gear list [Setups]

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Three setups in one makes for hot fun in the Arizona sun.
Three setups in one makes for hot fun in the Arizona sun.
Photo: Tyler Botha

Arizona-based Tyler Botha, aka theallseeingeye on Reddit, is a TV-focused copywriter for a San Francisco startup and a retired pro DJ. The setup and epic gear list he sent to our attention does triple duty with a capable “WFH Desk,” a powerful “Gaming Corner” and a remarkably complete “DJ Desk.”

Talk about “complete.” Botha’s gear list, represented in the links below, is probably the longest one ever published in a Cult of Mac Setups article. You don’t have to be a DJ to appreciate it, but it helps.

iPhone 13 could be thicker to fit larger batteries

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This is a CAD drawing supposedly showing the iPhone 13 notch
The 120Hz screen in the iPhone 13 might require a heftier battery.,
Screenshot: Jon Prosser/Front Page Tech

An improved display in the iPhone 13 series reportedly will force Apple to put in a larger battery, making the upcoming handsets slightly thicker.

This could mean we finally get an iPhone screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. The faster rate makes the user interface of a phone or tablet just a bit smoother and more responsive.

Apple Car loses ‘multiple top managers’ this year

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Apple Car: Hyundai Ioniq Electric x Apple Mouse
Unlikely to roll off the lot until later this decade.
Concept: LeaseFetcher

The bumpy, pothole-filled road to Apple Car continues, with Bloomberg claiming Wednesday that Apple has “lost multiple top managers of its self-driving car team” in recent months.

The company reportedly has hundreds of engineers working on self-driving software, along with multiple groups of employees working on a physical vehicle. However, multiple managers on the project have thrown in the towel this year alone. That’s never a great look.