Macworld USA - May 2024

THE DAWN OF THE AI iPHONE: HOW IT CHANGES EVERYTHING
MAY 2024
APPLE’S BEST LAPTOP:

M3
MACBOOK BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IT’S
EVEN BETTER THAN BEFORE
AGING BRINGS
DISCOVERY,
NOT DISORIEN-
TATION.
Some things come with
age. Some others don’t.
Learn the
warning signs
of Alzheimer’s.
I N C O R P O R AT I N G M A C U S E R
MAY 2024 CONTENTS

MACUSER
5 wild PC hardware ideas that would be
even better on the Mac 7
14-inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro review 11
The M3 MacBook Air completes the
Apple Silicon transition 17
Finally a $999 MacBook worth buying 19
macOS redesign coming, not this year 21
MacUser Reviews 25
Hot Stuff 35
iOSCENTRAL
U.S. Justice Department sues Apple 39
AI is coming to the iPhone 42
Seen the last of the Apple Car? 45
5 MWC announcements that should have
come from Apple 48
iPhone isn’t sharing personal info 51
Review: 15-inch MacBook Air (M3) 62 iOS Central Reviews 55
WORKINGMAC
Apple’s new Manuals, Specs, and
Downloads page is a great resource 83
What wattage USB-C charger can you
use to charge a MacBook? 85
Recover unsaved Word documents 87
Ugreen Revodok Max 213 Thunderbolt
Dock review 96
Review: Intego VirusBarrier Scanner 101
PLAYLIST
AirPods Pro to get ‘hearing aid mode’ 105
FaceTiming on your Apple TV 4K? You
don’t have to hold your iPhone 107
JBL Xtreme 4 speaker review 109
iPhone setting that affects a speaker 113
HELPDESK
Move items using the App Switcher;
Manage Time Machine backups; Pause
iPhone 15 review 74 QuickTime while recording audio or
video; Tweak your SOS settings 117
COVER IMAGE COURTESY OF APPLE MAY 2024 MACWORLD 3

MASTHEAD
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Matt Egan

EDITOR IN CHIEF, CONSUMER BRANDS Jon Phillips
DESIGN DIRECTOR Robert Schultz
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Michael Simon
Editorial
SENIOR EDITOR Roman Loyola
STAFF WRITER Jason Cross
SENIOR CONTRIBUTORS Glenn Fleishman, Rob Griffiths,
Joe Kissell, Kirk McElhearn, John Moltz, Dan Moren, Jason Snell
COPY EDITOR Gail Nelson-Bonebrake
Design
ART DIRECTOR Steve Traynor
DESIGNER Rob Woodcock
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Genevieve Juillard
4 MACWORLD MAY 2024

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PUBLICATION INFORMATION
May 2024, Volume 41, Issue 5
Macworld is a publication of Foundry and International Data Group, Inc. Macworld is an independent journal not affiliated
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MAY 2024 MACWORLD 5

He’s 6’1”,
but he still
looks up
to me.
Adopt a teen.
You can’t imagine the reward.
MACUSER News and analysis about
Macs, macOS, and Apple
5 wild PC hardware ideas that

would be even better on the Mac
It’s time to reintroduce “Think Different” to the Mac lineup.
BY ROMAN LOYOLA
M
acworld columnist Jason Snell But unique and daring features could
recently wrote about how Apple breathe new life into the Mac and help it
should take more risks (fave. grow. So, taking cues from what’s in
co/3vo5gpW) with its products— current PC laptops and what was shown
and I wholeheartedly agree, especially when at the recent Consumer Electronics
it comes to the Mac. Makers of Windows PCs Show (fave.co/4a0g6S0), here are five
often implement odd features to stand out in features I’d like to see Apple interpret
a crowded marketplace—it’s something and use in its Mac products. Some of
Apple doesn’t need to do because Apple these are wild, and way out there, and
relies on the Mac’s elegance, reliability, and they wouldn’t sell in huge numbers—kind
role in an ecosystem that works well. of like the Apple Vision Pro (fave.
IMAGE: APPLE MAY 2024 MACWORLD 7

MACUSER 5 W I LD P C H A R DWA RE I DE AS
co/49YPPDE). But they could lead to pricey for the Air—but I can’t wait for the
future innovations and products that day when I can unlock my Mac just by
would become indispensable. looking at it.
FACIAL RECOGNITION REMOVABLE DISPLAYS

Okay, we’re not getting too wild just yet. One of the best features of the Vision Pro
Face ID is a feature that we’ve been (fave.co/3vlDfPS) is Mac Virtual Display,
pining over for some time now (fave. where you can connect a Mac to a
co/4apFmki). Yes, Touch ID works well on Vision Pro and open a giant workspace in
the Mac, but Face ID is stronger and more visionOS. The Mac’s screen goes blank
convenient. PCs have Windows Hello when this feature is on. The execution of
(fave.co/3TwJnwL), which lets you use this feature is very good, and it opens both
facial recognition, a fingerprint, or a the Mac and the Vision Pro to enormous
passcode to sign in. Since it already possibilities.
makes the best mobile facial recognition It feels like there’s an opportunity here
biometric on the planet and the Mac to make a Mac specifically for use with the
already has a notch, why can’t Apple put Vision Pro. It could be portable, with just a
Face ID’s True Depth sensor on the Mac? built-in keyboard and trackpad—essentially,
And, as I’ve suggested before, Apple a MacBook without the display. Sounds
could make this a pro feature if it’s too wacky? Yup. Will Apple sell a lot of these?
Probably not. But it could help
sell a few more Vision Pro
headsets.
To make it an even more
versatile product, Apple could
put an HDMI port and
Thunderbolt/USB 4 connectors
on it so you can attach a
display. Or—since we’re
thinking outside the box here—
Apple could make it with a
removable display. Take it off
when using the Vision Pro, and
We’ve been pining over Face ID on the Mac for some time. put it on when using it as a
8 MACWORLD MAY 2024

The Lenovo Apple’s ecosystem. But what
ThinkBook Plus Gen about that work when you
5 Hybrid lets you
don’t have the headset on? A
detach the screen
to use as a tablet Mac with a holographic
while plugging display would be a perfect
in the keyboard complement.
to an external
display. Spatial displays are in the
works by third parties. For
example, Looking Glass plans to
ship its 16-inch Spatial OLED
(fave.co/3vbB7u4) this summer. At
$3,000 for the display—costing
about as much as a Vision
Pro—a MacBook with a spatial
display would be extremely expensive,
but it would be a very cool product that
typical MacBook. I’m thinking something would stand out in Apple’s lineup and
similar to the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen give Apple another foothold in the world
5 Hybrid (fave.co/4apFr7A), which lets you of spatial computing.
use the display as a tablet
and the keyboard as a PC
when attached to an
external display.
HOLOGRAPHIC
MACBOOKS
This is another product that’s
a natural extension of Vision
Pro. The headset will be a
boon to those whose work
involves spatial environments,
introducing new ways to do
Looking Glass has plans to release a spatial display in the
things—it could create a summer. A Mac with a spatial display could be a great
workflow that’s unique to compliment to the Apple Vision Pro.
MAY 2024 MACWORLD 9

MACUSER 5 W I LD P C H A R DWA RE I DE AS
We saw plenty of curved monitors at CES

(fave.co/3IM81EH), but none that were as
cool as an Apple-designed all-in-one
would be.
LIGHT-UP TRACKPAD
CONTROLS
Apple discontinued the 13-inch MacBook
Pro last year, which means the once-
promising Touch Bar is no more (fave.
We’d love to see an iMac with a curved co/485LY6H). While the Touch Bar wasn’t
display like Asus’s ROG Swift OLED executed properly, it was a good idea.
PG39WCDM (pictured). Macworld columnist Jason Snell would like
to see a Magic Trackpad with
CURVED iMAC programmable buttons (fave.co/3vo5gpW),
The iMac (fave.co/3sOuRai) is a terrific but why not take a cue from Acer’s Swift Go
computer, but at 24 inches, it’s too small 14 laptop (fave.co/3IMQcFl), which has
for many users. A 27-inch iMac is very media controls built into its trackpad. Apple
much in demand, but Apple should go could do a similar thing, perhaps with
even bigger—make an iMac with a 38-inch programmable controls. ■
or 42-inch curved display. Since
curved displays tend to be
marketed toward gamers, I’d
like to see a gaming iMac with
a high-end M-series Pro chip
and high-end memory options.
Apple doesn’t have to
market it as a gaming iMac, but
a focus on the main area it has
neglected would certainly help
generate interest. Apple has
been trying to tout its gaming
prowess with the Mac, and a Acer’s Swift Go 14 laptop has a trackpad with built-in media
machine like this would help. controls that light up when you’re playing videos or music.
10 MACWORLD MAY 2024

14-inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro:
The sweet spot for price and
performance
It’s $400 more than the base 14-inch model, but you’ll be glad you paid the difference.
BY THOMAS ARMBRÜSTER
The $1,999 14-inch MacBook get a faster CPU and GPU, more memory
Pro with an M3 Pro System to work with, and more flexible
on a Chip is $400 more than connectivity options.
the base 14-inch MacBook This review looks at how the $1,999
Pro with an M3 SoC. While that higher MacBook Pro compares to the $1,599
price tag looks like a lot, the $1,999 model. A full review of the $1,599
laptop ends up being a better value. You MacBook Pro M3 (fave.co/3PtHb83) is

MACUSER REVIEW: 14 - I NC H M3 P RO M AC BOO K PR O
available for a more in-depth analysis Battery capacity: 72.4Wh

of that laptop. Price: $1,999
SPECIFICATIONS SIMILARITIES AND

Apple offers two standard configurations DIFFERENCES
of the 14-inch MacBook Pro with a M3 Pro The M3 Pro MacBook Pro has the same
chip. The model in this review is the design and size as the M3 MacBook Pro,
$1,999/£2,099 version. Our guide to the but with three major differences. The first
M3 chips explains the differences in difference is that the M3 Pro has three
greater detail (fave.co/3MZyVey). Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, while the M3
All of Apple’s laptops can customized has two. The second difference is that
with more memory and a larger SSD, the M3 Pro is available in Space Black,
which will raise the price. Our review unit while the M3 is not. The third difference
has the following specifications: is the external display support, which is
CPU: M3 Pro with a 11-core CPU more robust with the M3 Pro. Here’s
(5 performance cores, 6 efficiency cores), what each laptop can do:
16-core Neural Engine
GPU: 14-core GPU M3 Pro
Memory: 18GB unified memory > Two external displays with up to 6K
(150GBps memory bandwidth) resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt
Storage: 512GB SSD > One external display with up to 6K
Display: 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR resolution at 60Hz over Thunderbolt and
display; 3024-by-1964 native resolution at one external display with up to 4K
254 pixels per inch; 1,000,000:1 contrast resolution at 144Hz over HDMI
ratio; 1,000 nits sustained full-screen XDR > One external display over HDMI at 8K
brightness, 1,600 nits peak HDR content resolution at 60Hz, or one display at 4K
only, 600 nits SDR brightness; P3 color; resolution at 240Hz
True Tone; ProMotion
Ports: 3 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C; SDXC M3
card slot; HDMI 2.1; MagSafe 3; 3.5mm audio > One external display with up to 6K
Networking: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax); resolution at 60Hz
Bluetooth 5.3 Everything else about the two laptops is
Weight: 3.5 pounds (1.61 kg) the same—no difference in the display,
Dimensions: 0.66×14.01×9.77 inches webcam, speakers, keyboard, or trackpad.

CPU PERFORMANCE
The SoC inside our review unit is the GEEKBENCH 6
Single-core
slimmed-down version of the M3 Pro,
M3 Pro MacBook Pro
11 core CPU 14,304
which has 11 CPU cores (five performance
M3 MacBook Pro
8 core CPU 11,971
cores, six efficiency cores). The base M3
M3 Pro MacBook Pro
has eight CPU cores (four performance 12 core CPU 15,238
M2 Pro MacBook Pro
and four efficiency cores). 12 core CPU 14,233
M2 Pro MacBook Pro
The M3 Pro that we tested also has 10 core CPU 12,116
M3 Max MacBook Pro
more memory: 18GB, compared to 8GB 16 core CPU 21,545
in the M3. The M3 can be upgraded to HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER
16GB, but not 18GB, and that upgrade

will cost an extra $200, half of the price over the M3. In the Cinebench test, the
difference between the M3 and M3 Pro M3 Pro increases was 31 percent
laptops. compared to the M3.
Both the M3 Pro and M3 laptops We also included Geekbench results
include a 512GB SSD. The M3 Pro has for the M2 Pro with a 12-core CPU. That
upgrade options for 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, M2 Pro performed better than the 11-core
while the M3 options are only for 1TB M3 Pro, because it has eight performance
or 2TB. cores—two more than the M3 Pro.
For the test of the CPU, we use During the test with Cinebench 2024,
Geekbench 6 (fave.co/3g8CyNZ) and we used the power metrics Terminal utility
Cinebench 2024 (fave.co/3q2vLw4). The (fave.co/43wq5fi) to display the core
scores from each laptop are compared to frequencies and power consumption of
gauge the performance of each and to the CPU. The M3 Pro clocks both the
note the differences. efficiency cores and the power cores
In the benchmark results involving
single-core performance, there are hardly
any differences between the different M3
CINEBENCH R24
Multi-core
variants in Geekbench or Cinebench. M3 Pro MacBook Pro
11 core CPU 906
That’s to be expected since all chips use M3 MacBook Pro
8 core CPU 693
the same core technology. M3 Pro MacBook Pro
12 core CPU 1,029
The differences stand out with the
M3 Max MacBook Pro
16 core CPU 1,698
multi-core test results. In Geekbench,
HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER
the M3 Pro had a 44 percent boost
MAY 2024 MACWORLD 13

BLACKMAGIC DISK TEST BLACKMAGIC DISK TEST

Read; Mbps Write; Mbps
M3 Pro MacBook Pro M3 Pro MacBook Pro
11 core CPU 4,921 11 core CPU 4,241
M3 MacBook Pro M3 MacBook Pro
M3 Max MacBook Pro M3 Max MacBook Pro
HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER
slightly lower compared to the M3. In even when all the CPU cores were working
terms of power consumption, we see an at maximum speed. With the MacBook Pro
increase from the M3 with around 20 watts M3, its one fan had more and was louder.
to the M3 Pro with around 23 watts. This is Although the M3 Pro and M3 in our
about 13 percent more, with a performance testing have the same size SSD at 512GB,
increase of 31 percent. the M3 Pro’s drive was faster, especially
The MacBook Pro M3 Pro has two fans when reading. In general use, however,
to maintain a proper operating temperature. this is probably only noticeable if you must
These worked well and were very quiet write or read larger amounts of data.
iMOVIE: STABILIZE iMOVIE: ROLLING SHUTTER

Seconds Seconds
11 core CPU 57 11 core CPU 195
SHORTER SCORES ARE BETTER SHORTER SCORES ARE BETTER
iMOVIE: EXPORT 4K iMOVIE: EXPORT 4K (HIGH)

Seconds Seconds

HANDBRAKE 6.1 HANDBRAKE 6.1
H.265 x265; seconds H.265 Video Toolbox; seconds
M3 Max MacBook Pro M3 Max MacBook Pro
When working on 362 images in the

Photos app, we didn’t notice any hitches in
GEEKBENCH 6
Compute
performance on the M3 Pro, but we did M3 Pro MacBook Pro
14 core CPU 68,715
see that the 18GB of memory was not M3 MacBook Pro
10 core CPU 47,785
enough for the app and several gigabytes M3 Pro MacBook Pro
18 core CPU 78,541
of the SSD were used as virtual memory. M2 Pro MacBook Pro
19 core CPU 81,584
In iMovie, there are no unpleasant
M2 Pro MacBook Pro
16 core CPU 73,776
surprises when editing and exporting
M3 Max MacBook Pro
153,511
projects with the M3 Pro and its 18GB of 40 core CPU

memory—we had issues with the
MacBook Pro M3 and its 8GB of memory.
In addition, the M3 Pro handles editing of M3. Compared to the 16-core GPU in the
4K video from an iPhone 14 much faster M2 Pro, however, the M3 Pro is slower.
than the M3. The Cinebench 2024 GPU test gives
When converting a 6.7GB 4K movie another picture. The M3 Pro surpasses the
with Handbrake, the M3 Pro also finished M3 by a whopping 65 percent, and the M2
faster than the M3, but only takes about as Pro with 19-core GPU by 58 percent.
long as the M2 Pro.
3D WILDLIFE EXTREME
GPU PERFORMANCE M3 Pro MacBook Pro
14 core CPU 11,785
The M3 Pro in our test has a 14-core GPU, M3 MacBook Pro
10 core CPU 8,030
which is four more than the M3’s 10-core M3 Pro MacBook Pro
19 core CPU 12,029
GPU. In Geekbench’s Compute Metal test,
M3 Max MacBook Pro
40 core CPU 31,423
the M3 Pro has a significant performance
increase of 44 percent compared to the

lasted about 2.5 hours before

reaching the 4 percent mark at
which the performance COU
cores switch off. The M3 lasted
two hours. Using only the
clocked-down efficiency cores,
both laptops continued to work
for 30 minutes.
Fully charging the laptop
You’ll find the MacBook Pro M3 Pro noticeably faster than battery took about 90 minutes
the M3 model. using the 70-watt power adapter.
When testing with 3D Wildlife Extreme, VERDICT

the M3 Pro was 47 percent faster than the The MacBook Pro M3 Pro proves to be a
M3. The M3 Pro and the M2 Pro practically good work tool for everyday tasks. It’s
had the same results. We also noticed that noticeably faster than the MacBook Pro
the M3 Pro clocks the GPU minimally M3—the extra money you must pay to
higher than the M3 and requires around 6 upgrade from the M3 to the M3 Pro is
watts, which is around 35 percent more well spent. The MacBook Pro M3 isn’t a bad
power than the M3. laptop—it’s Apple’s pricing that’s out whack.
As a replacement for a MacBook Pro
BATTERY LIFE from the Intel era, or a
After about ten hours of use, mmmmh M1 MacBook Air or a 13-inch
the MacBook Pro M3 Pro’s 14-inch M3 Pro MacBook Pro, the lower-end
MacBook Pro
reached 19 percent, which is M3 Pro it is a great step
PROS
still enough for a two-hour • 18GB unified memory forward. However, if you have
standard.
movie in Amazon Prime. After an M2 Pro MacBook Pro, the
• Quiet.
watching the movie, the battery • Good performance.
lower-end M3 Pro does not
reached 10 percent. You can CONS offer any added value that
easily get over a working day • Low performance makes a switch seem
advantage over M2 Pro.
with this laptop. PRICE sensible—the lower-end M3
In a battery test with the $1,999 Pro just doesn’t provide
COMPANY
Endurance: CPU Stress Test enough of a boost over the
Apple
(fave.co/3TrUaZ1), the M3 Pro M2 Pro. ■

The M3 MacBook Air completes
the Apple Silicon transition
For the first time since Apple dumped Intel, there’s a laptop for every want and need.
BY MICHAEL SIMON
M
ore than four months after specifications bump that should make
unveiling the M3 chip in the buying a laptop a simpler process.
new 14-inch MacBook Pro Apple’s three plain-Jane M3 machines
(fave.co/43KC21r), Apple has range in price from $1,099 to $1,599, and
finally updated the other laptops in its this time around you won’t need to be a
family, the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook computer scientist to figure out which one
Air. The new machines are essentially a to buy. Here’s how the pricing breaks

MACUSER M 3 M ACB O O K A I R C O MPL E T ES A PP L E S IL ICO N T R AN SIT IO N
down at the simplest level: and no one is going to feel cheated by

> M3 MacBook Air, 13-inch, 8-core what they decide to buy.
CPU/8-core GPU, 256GB: $1,099 > Spend $999 and you’ll get a fantastic
> M3 MacBook Air, 13-inch, 8-core machine with an older but still excellent chip.
CPU/10-core GPU, 512GB: $1,299 > Spend an extra $100 and you’ll
> M3 MacBook Air, 15-inch, 8-core get the same machine with a faster chip
CPU/10-core GPU, 256GB: $1,299 and Wi-Fi and the ability to run two
> M3 MacBook Pro, 14-inch: 8-core external displays.
CPU/10-core GPU, 512GB: $1,599 > Spend another $200 and you’re
Rounding out the entry-level getting an even better chip with either a
MacBook offerings is the M2 MacBook larger display or twice the storage.
Air, which replaces the aging M1 model > Spend $300 more and you’re getting
at the same $999 price point. All of the a far superior display with much more
models come with 8GB of RAM and are expansion.
customizable to 16GB for $200 or 24GB > Finally, raise your budget to $1,999
for $400. Apple also charges $200 to go (another $400) and you can get one of the
from 256GB of storage to 512GB and high-performance Pro machines.
another $200 to go from 512GB to 1TB It might seem like a small thing, but for
across the board. the first time since Apple switched from
With the M1’s discontinuation, all of the Intel to its own silicon, the entire MacBook
current MacBooks now have a very line is updated with the latest chips,
similar design, with simple at-a-glance designs, and specs. The difference
differences: The Airs are thinner and between the M3 Airs and the Pros is clear,
lighter, and the Pros bring more ports. and there’s an excellent budget model that
You can get in the door with a modern doesn’t sacrifice newer features. The
MacBook for $999 and need to spend whole lineup makes sense and there’s no
at least $300 more than an Air for a need to dive into tech specs to pick out
Pro model. the model you want.
You can pretty easily divide the lineup You can take umbrage with 8GB of
into Steve Jobs’ famous Consumer/Pro RAM, but pound for pound, this is the
quadrant. The top left is the M2 Air, the top strongest MacBook lineup Apple has ever
right is the 15-inch Air, the bottom left is the offered. And for the first time in the Apple
13-inch M3 Air, and the bottom right is the Silicon era, the question is what you need,
14-inch Pro. None of them break the bank not how much you’re willing to spend. ■

Apple finally has a $999 MacBook
worth buying
The M1 MacBook Air has been replaced with the far-superior M2 model for the same price.
BY MICHAEL SIMON
A
long with the launch of the new While the price is the same, the
M3 MacBook Air in March (fave. newest budget laptop is a huge upgrade
co/3TMugjT), Apple shifted in value. The M1 model had Apple’s old
around its laptop range to design, chip, and screen, while the M2
make room for a new budget model. Gone model is an upgrade in every way. It has a
is the M1 MacBook Air (fave.co/3h67n8s) newer design with slimmer bezels, a
that had been in the lineup since 2020 larger and brighter display with rounded
and in its place is a new $999 model: the corners, 1080p FaceTime camera, and
13-inch M2 MacBook Air (fave.co/3zbn71l). spatial audio support.

MACUSER AP P LE FI N A L LY H AS $ 9 99 M AC BO OK
MacBook Air in 2020 for

$999, and despite its
older design, it was an
excellent budget machine.
However, without a price
cut in more than three
years, the M1 Air hasn’t
been worth its price tag
since the M2 arrived in
mid-2022.
Amazon and other
retailers are still selling the
M1 MacBook Air for $749
The M2 Air is an upgrade over its predecessor in every way. (fave.co/3VvdhUG), a
savings of $250 until
Apple is offering the M2 MacBook Air supply runs out. If the M2 model sees a
in the same four colors as the M3 similar discount later this year, it will be one
models—midnight, starlight, space gray, of the best Mac bargains ever. But for now,
and silver—along with two processor even at its full $999 price, the M2 MacBook
options. The previous M1 MacBook Air was Air gets our full recommendation. ■
only available with the
lowest processor, an
8-core CPU with a
7-core GPU, but you
can upgrade the M2
processor from an
8-core GPU to a
10-core GPU for $100.
However, we would
recommend getting
the M3 model at that
point, which also costs
$1,099.
Apple launched the Some retailers are still selling the M1 MacBook Air.

Report: macOS redesign is coming,
but not this year
Maybe Apple will fix the System Settings design.
BY ROMAN LOYOLA
I
n the latest version of the paid edition of However, the iOS 18 facelift is Apple’s
the “Power On” newsletter (fave.co/ priority (as usual), and the macOS one
49chdwK), Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman won’t be ready for WWDC. More likely,
reports that Apple has OS redesigns in it’ll be introduced within the next two
mind. The company is focused on one for years. Since the macOS redesign has
iOS 18 (fave.co/3Tsxtnu), which will debut just begun, no specifics are provided as
this summer at Worldwide Developers to what the redesign will entail. Apple
Conference. Gurman also reports that a last redesigned macOS with Big Sur in
macOS redesign is in the works, too. 2020, which would be more than five

MACUSER M ACO S R E D ES I G N I S COM ING
be coming to macOS. Vision

Pro and the Mac are very
closely aligned due to the
ability to share screen via a
virtual display, so it’s
possible Apple looks to
unify the two interfaces.
However, let’s hope
Apple takes this opportunity
to put the iOS-ification of
macOS into perspective.
Sometimes the carryovers
Apple is currently focused on redesigning iOS.
don’t work as well as they
could—the System Settings
years old when this new design overhaul redesign introduced in macOS Ventura (fave.
is expected to arrive. co/3SpcvUJ) is one example. While using
Apple’s approach isn’t surprising—it’s iOS-inspired elements can work in macOS,
what the company has done over the past Apple needs to remember that people use
several years. iOS takes the lead, and then the Mac in a much different way than the
Apple incorporates many of the ideas iPhone, and the UI needs to reflect that. ■
developed there and
implements them into
macOS. So once iOS 18
is released, we’ll get an
idea of what could be
coming to macOS.
Gurman specifically
claimed that Apple isn’t
looking to bring
visionOS’s design
language to iOS, but he
didn’t mention whether
the headset’s circular It’s not known whether the Vision Pro’s circular design elements
design elements would would be coming to macOS.

It’s always been
easier for me to
help others
than to
help myself
As a Veteran, when someone raises their hand for help, you’re often one of the first ones to
respond. But it’s also okay to get help for yourself. Maybe you want or need assistance with
employment, stress, finances, mental health or finding the right resources. No matter what it
is, you earned it. And there’s no better time than right now to ask for it. Don’t wait. Reach out.
Find resources at VA.GOV/REACH

Think
that’s
scary?
Sharks can be terrifying.
But what’s really scary,
and even deadly,
is distracted driving.
Eyes forward.
Don’t drive distracted.
MACUSER
The Latest Mac Products

Reviewed & Rated REVIEWS
4K DISPLAY
Apple makes nice displays, but sheesh,
DOUGH SPECTRUM they are expensive. So when a display like
Dough’s Spectrum One with Gorilla Glass
ONE: AN is released, it certainly catches a shopper’s
AFFORDABLE eye. Priced at $898 (that’s $799 for the
STUDIO DISPLAY display and $99 for the stand), it’s

considerably cheaper than the $1,599
ALTERNATIVE Apple Studio Display (fave.co/3E5nXk4).
BY ROMAN LOYOLA It’s easy to find a 27-inch, 4K display
that’s cheaper than the Studio Display, but
they are not usually on par with Apple’s
quality. The Spectrum One, however,
comes very close—so close that for a lot of
people, it’s a viable alternative to the
Studio Display. As you might expect, a few
compromises are made, but you also get a
IMAGE: DOUGH MAY 2024 MACWORLD 25

MACUSER REVIEW: D O U G H SP EC TR U M ONE
few features that you either can’t find or DESIGN AND BUILD
have to pay extra for in the Studio Display. Here’s a nitpicky detail that only Mac users
If you are thinking of buying the can understand. One of the problems with
Spectrum One, you should know about non-Apple displays is that they don’t match
Dough’s history. It used to be Eve, but it the Apple design aesthetic. This is a trivial
developed a bad reputation due to issue, but doggonit, third-party designs are
problematic products and customer often downright ugly.
service. I can’t speak to the company’s That’s not the case with the Spectrum
current service record, but the switch to One. It doesn’t look like an Apple product,
Dough (fave.co/3Py3mtw) involves efforts but it does look nice. The display’s
to provide better service and products to aluminum stand is a gray shade that’s not
reestablish itself and clean up its image. the same as Apple’s Space Gray, but it
doesn’t clash with it.
SPECIFICATIONS Overall, the Spectrum One feels like a
Size: 27 inches solid, sturdy display. That’s especially
Glass front: Corning Gorilla Glass important if you want to pivot the display
with DXC from time to time, which you can do.
Aspect ratio: 16:9 The display has a thin bezel that’s
Native resolution: 3840×2160 about a quarter-inch thick around the top
Panel type/backlight: IPS/white LED and sides, and they’re thinner than the
Response time: 5 ms typical, 1 ms Studio Display’s half-inch bezel. The
overdrive
Contrast ratio: 1,000:1
Frequency: 48Hz to 144Hz
Color depth: 10-bit
Brightness: 450 nits typical; 750
nits maximum
Dimension with stand (horizontal):
23.9×22.5×8.9 inches (607×571×227
mm) highest height; 23.9×17.7×8.9
inches (607×449×227 mm) lowest
height
Weight with stand: 18.8 lbs The top, left, and right bezels on the Spectrum One
(6.7 kg) are thinner than those on the Apple Studio Display.

Spectrum One’s bottom
bezel is thicker, but it
doesn’t stand out.
The Spectrum One
display in this review has a
Corning Gorilla Glass with
DXC front, and according to
Dough, this glass increases
the ambient contrast ratio
by 40 percent and reduces
reflection by 70 percent
when compared to other
Spectrum One displays,
which have glossy or matte Sold separately for $99, the Spectrum One’s stand offers tilt
glass. Compared to the and height adjustment and can pivot 90 degrees.
standard semi-glossy glass
on the Apple Studio Display, the Gorilla If the $99 for the stand is a letdown,
Glass appears more matte-like and does a consider that the stand included with
better job of diffusing glare. With a Apple’s Studio Display does not have
completely black Desktop, the Studio height adjustment. Apple does offer a
Display’s black looks deeper, while the stand with that, but you’ll have to pay an
Spectrum One has a bit of a frosted look. additional $400.
DISPLAY STAND PORTS

The Spectrum One’s stand does not come The Spectrum One connects to the Mac
with the display but is a separate part that through a USB-C port that also supplies
you’ll have to pay $99 for. The stand 100 watts of power throughput to charge a
attaches to the VESA mount; it snaps into connected MacBook. A Mac can also use
place and can be easily removed. The one of the two HDMI 2.1 ports, but by
stand does offer a good array of connecting through USB-C you’ll also be
adjustments: Its vertical tilt goes 7 degrees able to use the display as a hub and its
up or 23 degrees down, it can pivot 90 other USB-C port (15 watts), the two USB-A
degrees, and it has a height adjusting ports, and the 3.5 mm audio jack. There’s
range of 122 millimeters. also a USB-B port so PCs can use the

display as a port hub and

DisplayPort.
BUILT-IN CONTROLS
The back of the Spectrum
One has a mini joystick that’s
easy to reach when sitting in
front of the display—it’s at the
bottom center of the back.
When you push it down, a
control panel appears and the
joystick is used to navigate A connection hub and on-display control joystick are on
settings, including Picture the back of the Spectrum One.
settings such as Brightness,
Contrast, Color temperature, and rate. You can set it to Variable, which adjusts
Sharpness settings. the rate on the fly between 40 and 144Hz, or
It’s important to know about this control you can select a rate. You can also turn on
panel because you’ll need to access it to the option to adjust the display to show high
tweak the image quality—especially the dynamic range (HDR) content and pick a
Brightness, which I’ll discuss in the “Image color profile. The brightness can’t be set
and video quality” section. through System Settings, only through the
You can connect multiple devices to the display’s control panel.
Spectrum One, even a game console like
an Xbox or PlayStation. (After all, the IMAGE AND VIDEO QUALITY
Spectrum One was initially designed as a I used macOS Sonoma’s terrific wallpapers
gaming display.) And thanks to its variable (fave.co/3HEdNrc), as well as some
refresh rate—which includes the ability to personal photos and videos, to test the
run at 120Hz—gameplay will be smooth. You image quality of the Spectrum One, and
can’t get 120Hz on a Studio Display if you’re overall the image quality is impressive. The
able to connect a console to it in the first colors are rich, vibrant, and accurate, and
place—it doesn’t have HDMI, so you have to the detail is sharp. To me, the Spectrum
use an HDMI to Thunderbolt adapter. One looks more accurate in some
In macOS’s Display System Settings, the instances in which the Studio Display
Spectrum One can be adjusted for its refresh comes off as too lively.

But as I mentioned when I covered Display System Settings, but if you’re
the Gorilla Glass on the display, the viewing or working in HDR content, you’ll
Spectrum One’s black isn’t as rich or definitely want it on—it makes a dramatic
deep as that on the Apple Studio Display. difference. When viewing HDR videos, I
It doesn’t detract from the overall image noticed an improvement in the contrast
quality, it’s just…different. and detail with HDR. For example, in this
The 4K videos I played ran smoothly, video, you can see much more skin
and I didn’t notice any
off-putting artifacts. To
check the Spectrum
One’s response rate, I
ran Resident Evil: Village
with macOS Sonoma’s
Game Mode turned on.
The difference was
subtle when switching
between 60Hz and
144Hz, but the game did
look smoother at the
faster refresh rate, which
is key for first-person
shooters. The variable
and higher refresh rate
feature is one that you
can’t find on the Studio
Display, which is fixed
at 60Hz.
One major advantage
the Spectrum One has
over the Studio Display is
that it supports HDR10, a
standard high-dynamic
range format. HDR can be
turned on and off in the The Spectrum One at its highest and lowest heights.

texture with HDR on the Spectrum One made it a tad brighter by comparison.
than with HDR off or compared to the Turning up the brightness also helped
Studio Display. cut down the glare of the glass.
Though the Spectrum One has a
typical brightness of 450 nits, its MULTIMEDIA FEATURES
maximum brightness is 750 nits, which is The Spectrum One does not have built-in
150 more than the Studio Display. The speakers, microphones, or a camera. If you
brightness, however, is a big factor when want these features, you’ll have to resort
you’re setting up the Spectrum One. to external solutions. If you’re particular
According to the display’s built-in control about audio and image quality, you’ll
panel, the default brightness is set to 50, probably prefer to go this route even if
which I assume is 50 percent of the those parts are built in because you can
maximum 750 nits. In any case, it looks get speakers and a mic that produce much
too dim, especially when sitting next to a better quality.
Studio Display. When I turned it up to 80 As for the camera, you can use an
and 90, it looked to be more on par with iPhone and take advantage of macOS’s
Apple’s display, and turning it up to 100 Continuity Camera (fave.co/3rCtV4N). The
iPhone’s camera is much better
equipped to handle different
lighting situations and it
produces great video quality.
You will need to get a mount
such as Belkin’s iPhone Mount
with MagSafe for Mac Desktops
and Displays (fave.co/
3TWQTCF, $39.99).
The Spectrum One has a
nifty feature called Split Screen
mode, where the display can
show two sources at once.
Unfortunately, the two screens
don’t completely fill the display;
each screen occupies 50
The Spectrum One can pivot to a vertical position. percent of the horizontal

but they don’t offer a variable
refresh rate or a glass front like
the Spectrum One’s Gorilla
Glass. They also may use
twisted nematic (TN) or vertical
alignment (VA) display
technologies, which are
cheaper but tend to have
lesser overall image quality
than IPS or LED.
VERDICT
The Spectrum One is very good for even professional- The Spectrum One with Gorilla
level image work. Glass is worth a look if you’re in
the market for a display and
display width. Split Screen is turned on cringe at the $1,599 starting price of the
through the display’s control panel. Apple Studio Display. There are a few
trade-offs: It’s 4K resolution rather than 5K,
PRICE and it lacks speakers, a microphone, and a
The Spectrum One with Gorilla webcam. Its overall image
Glass is $799 without a stand. mmmm quality isn’t as good as that of
You can supply your own stand Dough Spectrum One the Studio Display, but it’s still
PROS
to connect to the VESA mount, very good, even for
• Good image quality.
or you can pay an additional • HDR support. professional-level image work.
$99 for a stand. Even at $898 • Can be used with multiple It had a few advantages over
devices.
(including a stand), that price is the Studio Display, such as
CONS
much more palatable for a lot • Stand sold separately a variable refresh rate to
for $99.
of customers than the $1,599 a maximum of 144Hz, a higher
• Blacks aren’t as deep as on
Apple Studio Display with the Apple Studio Display. maximum brightness, height
semi-glossy standard glass and • No built-in speakers, adjustment on its $99 stand,
microphone, or webcam.
a stand that does not offer PRICE and the ability to connect to
height adjustment. $799 game consoles at 120Hz.
COMPANY
Other 27-inch 4K displays Overall, it’s a display that’s
Dough
can be found for under $799, worth the investment. ■

MACUSER
MAC BACKPACK
With the Everyday Backpack,
PEAK DESIGN Peak Design has created a
backpack that’s robust and
EVERYDAY adaptable for many activities.
BACKPACK: And it looks chic, too.
SMART STORAGE In the backpack’s notebook

compartment, Peak Design came up with a
WITH A SNAP very clever height adjustment. If you have
BY THOMAS BERGBOLD a 13-inch MacBook Air, you don’t have to
reach very deep to pull it out. The
32 MACWORLD MAY 2024 IMAGE: PEAK DESIGN

compartment is well
padded, so even if you
drop the backpack your
precious MacBook is
protected.
The large main
compartment can be
divided using three
Velcro separators.
Without a separator, the
compartment is big
enough to hold, say, a All this stuff fits into the 20-liter version of the Everyday Backpack.
stack of three A4
binders and books, along with a separator from inside the pockets and latch onto the
to make room for a camera at the bottom, backpack to keep items secure.
and books or an iPad above it. Inside, there’s a softly lined
The main compartment can be compartment for glasses. It is accessible
accessed from three directions: via the via the same zipper as the notebook
large side covers on the left and right, or compartment.
from above. The cover flap has Peak The zippers—Peak Design calls them
Design’s MagLatch, which can be locked UltraZips—are weatherproof and the
in four stages with a
magnetically snapped
hook—it’s an elegant
way to accommodate
items that are bulging at
the top of the backpack.
The two outer side
pockets are perfect for
a drinking bottle,
umbrella, or tripod.
These pockets don’t
have zippers, but there
are straps that extend The backpack’s sturdy straps are smartly placed.

MACUSER REVIEW: P E A K D E SI G N EV ERY DAY BACK PACK
recycled 400D nylon, the

Everyday Backpack has a
pleasing canvas structure
and is coated with a
durable water repellent to
ensure good weather
protection. The backpack
is easy to clean.
The Everyday Backpack
is available in three colors
(Black, Charcoal, and
Midnight). The 20-liter size
The Everyday Backpack is easy to clean and looks great. (which is also available in
an Ash color) is $279.95,
openings are wide for easy access. Each and the 30-liter size is $299.95.
of the two side covers has a magnetic
closure compartment. These are good VERDICT
places for small things such as USB sticks, Peak Design has put a lot of thought into
adapters, cables, or keys. the Everyday Backpack, and it shows—it’s
The backpack has a large, comfortable, a sophisticated and universal backpack.
and minimalist-looking leather It’s a great fit for a variety of
strap at the top. The backpack mmmmm users, like photographers and
straps are large and well Peak Design
videographers who carry a lot
padded, making them Everyday Backpack of gear, workers and students
PROS
comfortable to wear. The going to where they need to
• Roomy with plenty of
backpack straps have a chest pockets. go, or athletes who need to
strap, and an optional Everyday • Magnetic closures. carry equipment. Yes, it’s
• No protruding
Hip Belt strap is available for compartments. expensive, but the Everyday
$29.95 (fave.co/3VveWd0). CONS Backpack is a high-quality
• No compartments for pens
There are also straps for or iPhone. product with workmanship and
fastening a sleeping bag PRICE material designed to last. The
From $279
or bicycle helmet to Everyday Backpack lives up to
COMPANY
the backpack. Peak Design
its name and is one of the best
Made of 100 percent backpacks we’ve reviewed. ■

What we’re
raving about
this month
FUJIFILM X100VI
MIRRORLESS
DIGITAL CAMERA
fujiﬁlm-x.com
Social media is in love with Fujifilm’s latest,

and with good reason—it’s a small yet
powerful camera that’s easy to use for
novices but has features pros will love.
This fixed-lens camera has a 40.2-
megapixel sensor that can capture 6K
video, five-axis in-body image stabilization,
a hybrid viewfinder, and 20 film simulation
modes to help you get the look you want.
—ROMAN LOYOLA

MACUSER
Hot Stuff
WACOM ONE 13
TOUCH
wacom.com
Wacom’s tablet display works with the

Mac--if you’ve always wanted to be able to
use a stylus for graphics arts, connect this
13-inch display to a USB-C port on a Mac,
and you can put your
digital pen to digital
paper (so to speak).
The display also
offers multi-touch
capability so you can
use your fingers, too.
—ROMAN LOYOLA

BENQ
PD3225U
benq.com
This 32-inch, 4K display is made for

professionals who demand color
accuracy. It has a 2000:1 contrast
ratio, Color Match for Macs with its
M-book Mode, and support for 98
percent of the P3 color space. This
Thunderbolt 3 display also includes a
KVM switch that allows users to
connect two Macs. —ROMAN LOYOLA

If you are I want you to stop,
look around
anywhere and open your heart.
in your Revel in the abundance

of your existence.
journey with See how small
substance use disorder
can be when sat next
substance to all that you are
or ever could be.
use disorder,
Fill your existence
with beauty, purpose
and a life of service.
And your substance

use disorder—
your history of
addiction,
the things you
may have done
that you are not
proud of—will one day
be small enough
to deal with
while allowing you
space to live this life
of joy.
Hold on.
We are not the sum

of our scars but rather
a beautiful mosaic of the
life they hold together.
—Joseph
Washington, DC
In recovery from
substance use
disorder
Learn how
substance use
recovery can
StartWithHope.com
iOSCENTRAL The latest on iOS, iPhone, iPad,
Apple Watch, and App Store
U.S. Justice Department sues

Apple over its ‘iPhone monopoly’
The DOJ is joined by 16 state and district attorneys general in claiming that
Apple has violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act.
BY JASON CROSS
T
he U.S. Department of Justice, The government alleges that Apple
joined by 16 state and district used contractual restrictions and
attorneys general, has filed a civil technological restrictions to limit developers
antitrust lawsuit against Apple in such a way that it is more difficult for
(fave.co/3IPFcHq) for monopolization or them to compete with Apple’s own
attempted monopolization of smartphone products and services, and more difficult for
markets in violation of Section 2 of the iPhone users to switch to Android.
Sherman Act. You can read the full text of “Apple undermines apps, products, and
the filling here (fave.co/3vywMB0, PDF). services that would otherwise make
IMAGE: BO SHEN/SHUTTERSTOCK MAY 2024 MACWORLD 39

iOSCENTRAL U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUES APPLE
users less reliant on the iPhone, location trackers like Tile to work as well
promote interoperability, and lower across devices as Apple’s own AirTags.
costs for consumers and developers. The DOJ breaks down its major
Apple exercises its monopoly power complaints into five main categories:
to extract more money from Blocking innovative super apps: Apple
consumers, developers, content has disrupted the growth of apps with
creators, artists, publishers, small broad functionality that would make it
businesses, and merchants, easier for consumers to switch between
among others.” competing smartphone platforms.
U.S. Dept. of Justice Suppressing mobile cloud streaming
services: Apple has blocked the
The suit also claims, “Unless Apple’s development of cloud-streaming apps and
anticompetitive and exclusionary conduct services that would allow consumers to
is stopped, it will likely extend and enjoy high-quality video games and other
entrench its iPhone monopoly to other cloud-based applications without having to
markets and parts of the economy.” pay for expensive smartphone hardware.
It should be noted that the suit does Excluding cross-platform messaging
not allege that Apple maintains a majority apps: Apple has made cross-platform
of the smartphone market, and it is not messaging worse, less innovative, and less
about whether consumers can choose to secure for users so its customers must keep
buy smartphones other than the iPhone. buying iPhones for the iMessage platform.
Rather, the suit charges that
Apple is using its market
strength to give an advantage
to its own apps, services, and
products over others—for
example, forcing third-party
smartwatch makers to use
application programming
interfaces that limit their access
and capabilities compared to
what Apple can do with its own
Apple Watch, or making it The suit charges that Apple has limited the functionality of
impossible for third-party third-party smartwatches.

Diminishing the functionality of kind of technology people expect from
non-Apple smartwatches: Apple has Apple—where hardware, software, and
limited the functionality of third-party services intersect. It would also set a
smartwatches so that users who dangerous precedent, empowering
purchase the Apple Watch face government to take a heavy hand in
substantial out-of-pocket costs if they designing people’s technology. We
do not keep buying iPhones. believe this lawsuit is wrong on the facts
Limiting the capabilities of third- and the law, and we will vigorously
party digital wallets: Apple has defend against it.
prevented third-party apps from offering Apple
tap-to-pay functionality, inhibiting the
creation of cross-platform third-party The Department of Justice began its
digital wallets. inquiry into Apple in 2019 and has built a
While these are the big-ticket case that is much broader than most other
items, the complaint says that Apple’s regulatory agencies. The European Union,
anticompetitive conduct extends for example, focused on the App Store
even beyond them, including “web and tap-to-pay functionality.
browsers, video communication, news Apple has successfully defended itself
subscriptions, entertainment, automotive against other antitrust suits, most recently
services, advertising, location services, against Epic Games, but the scope here is
and more.” much broader.
Apple has issued the following Whatever the outcome, it is unlikely to
response to the suit: have a material effect on users for quite
some time. These cases can take years to
At Apple, we innovate every day to resolve, and then any forced remedies are
make technology people love— often given deadlines even further out to
designing products that work seamlessly give the company time to comply. For at
together, protect people’s privacy and least the next couple of years, the most
security, and create a magical likely way this will impact Apple users is if
experience for our users. This lawsuit Apple preemptively makes minor changes
threatens who we are and the principles to its policies and contracts in an effort to
that set Apple products apart in fiercely argue that any past issues are already
competitive markets. If successful, it resolved and prevent the government
would hinder our ability to create the from imposing a bigger remedy. ■

iOSCENTRAL
AI is coming to the iPhone–and it

could change everything
Generative AI is set to impact every corner of Apple’s ecosystem.
BY DAN MOREN
A
fter years of the market call that the company would “share the
complaining that Apple is details of our ongoing work in that space
“behind” on artificial later this year.”
intelligence, the company is Of course, the company’s not really a
poised to make a big push in the stranger to this space: Apple has spent
technology with its platform updates this
year. It’s a rare move that’s been confirmed PODCAST: WHAT’S
by no less than CEO Tim Cook himself HAPPENING WITH AI
(fave.co/3TvIrJ4), who said in the
AND APPLE?
Listen now at fave.co/4aL3hv5
company’s most recent financial results
42 MACWORLD MAY 2024 IMAGE: APPLE

plenty of time deploying machine learning for a virtual assistant that reliably
technology in a variety of areas for years, understands what I’m asking for or that can
from photography to autocorrect. But the handle two instructions at once. One of
industry’s focus of late is on generative AI, the strengths of tools like ChatGPT is its
the technology that underlies the products conversational manner, which is good
that have captured the zeitgeist, from enough that it can make you feel like
chatbots like ChatGPT to image creation you’re interacting with a person rather than
tools like Dall-E and Stable Diffusion. a machine. Siri might have the trappings of
The big questions that hover over all of that with its voice models, but you get
this are how Apple will bring those enough canned responses to let the bits
technologies into its existing operating shine through.
systems and what choices it will make in Siri is also the locus of a lot of Apple’s
rolling them out. The company tends to be other intelligent features, including search
on the judicious side when it comes to and interaction with other services both on
deploying new features, but there are still the device (texts, calendars, email, and so
plenty of places on its platforms where on) and off. Apple, with its dedication to
generative AI—contentious as it may bringing processing to the device itself,
be—might find a foothold with users. may be able to leverage the interaction
with users’ data stores, but it does still
GET THIS CONVERSATION raise the question of what happens
STARTED when you need to deal with more than just
If there’s an obvious place for generative the data on a device.
AI, it’s what is often considered the heart
of intelligence on Apple’s platforms: Siri. CLOUDY WITH A
The virtual assistant turns 13 later this year, CHANCE OF AI
and in many ways it has not advanced That on-device processing isn’t anything
appreciably from its earliest days. I’ve to sneeze at: Apple has included its Neural
advocated for a Siri 2.0 (fave.co/40XjHLY) Engine, a specialized piece of hardware
for almost a decade, if not more, and designed explicitly for machine learning
generative AI feels like the opportunity to tasks, as part of its chips since 2017.
finally put that into fruition. Still, as tuned as those might be for
And it doesn’t even necessarily have to machine learning tasks, there are some
be full of all the whiz-bang capabilities that things that might simply necessitate
ChatGPT or Copilot have to offer; I’d settle more horsepower than a chip in an

iOSCENTRAL AI I S CO MI NG TO TH E i PH O NE
company’s own in-house

developments provides the
best of both worlds for users.
AI EVERYWHERE
Perhaps the biggest thing I’m
hoping to see from Apple’s AI
ambitions is just that: ambition.
There are tons of places
A recent report said that Apple is discussing the possibility throughout the company’s
of licensing Google’s Gemini AI technology. platforms that could benefit
from AI—whether it’s
iPhone or even a professional desktop summarizing an email message (and
can handle. perhaps using that summary to help inform
That’s one reason why the news this spam filtering), improving image editing
week that Apple had entered discussions (by, say, letting you remove unwanted
with Google (fave.co/3ToISVq) and OpenAI people or objects from a picture), or
for the use of their technology makes sense. helping developers (from those who write
For better or worse, those cloud-based apps to those like myself who just dabble)
technologies offer a lot more power, generate code.
especially when it comes to generative I realize that AI is the current buzzword
features—and it also means offloading of the industry, and everything and its
potentially battery-consuming features. cousin is bragging that it’s powered by
But it’s likely that such technology is artificial intelligence these days, but this is
just part of a suite of solutions. It’s not as if where I’m hoping Apple can bring some
Apple has been standing still on the AI sanity to the process. There are very
front: Just this week, it published a legitimate uses for the technology, and
research paper on training AI models (fave. Apple has the opportunity to come up with
co/498uG8P). While Apple’s AI tech may ideas that none of us can foresee. That’s
be best suited for specific cases dealing one of the places where the company
with its own devices, the company has traditionally excels—providing capabilities
been working on generative features for that at once seem obvious and have a
less time than competitors, and bringing in potentially huge impact on the way we all
those sources to complement the interact with our devices. ■

We haven’t seen the last of
the Apple Car
From AI to CarPlay, Apple’s efforts weren’t for naught.
BY DAN MOREN
A
dieu, Project Titan, we never cutting its losses doesn’t mean that
knew ye. But while Apple’s everything Titan-related has been packed
ambitious car project may have up into a white cardboard box and thrown
been left in the dust (fave. into Apple Park’s attic.
co/3IRJsWM), that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a We already known that many of the
valuable experience, nor that it doesn’t people who worked on Project Titan will
continue to pay some dividends for the be reassigned elsewhere. But it’s more
company. After a decade of work, billions than just the personnel who worked on the
in investment, and the work of hundreds of Apple Car; it’s the technology developed
engineers, you’d better believe that Apple for Apple’s automotive project that will
IMAGE: GORODENKOFF/SHUTTERSTOCK MAY 2024 MACWORLD 45

iOSCENTRAL HAVEN’T SEEN THE LAST OF THE APPLE CAR
surely work its way into other places how to have a conversation, or Photos
across the company’s product lines. After needs to figure out how you can remove an
all, one of Apple’s great strengths as a unwanted person from the backdrop, those
company that controls both its hardware tasks are all accomplished via training on
and software is the ability for features and existing data. While it may not be a direct
capabilities to be shared across its various technology transfer from one to the other,
devices where appropriate. the skills are largely the same. And given
that Apple has already tacitly committed to
AI GATHERING a big AI push in its upcoming platform
While Apple’s approach to its car may updates, the indication that it’s shifting
have shifted many times over the course personnel from Project Titan to working on
of a decade, one element of it remained adjacent technology makes a lot of sense.
largely consistent: some degree of
autonomy. Despite frequent if somewhat PUTTING ON A CARPLAY
vague claims that Apple has fallen behind While Apple may not be building its own
in artificial intelligence, the company’s use car, it’s not done with the automobile as a
of machine learning throughout its platform. CarPlay remains not only a going
product lines has been both widespread concern but one that’s in the midst of an
and deep over the years, so it’s obvious active big push, as partner companies are
that AI would work its way into the poised to start announcing cars that
automotive project. support the next generation of Apple’s
Autonomous car systems rely heavily automotive technology interface. These
on AI, for obvious reasons: Since you can’t cars will rely on CarPlay not only for in-car
predict every single event that you might navigation and entertainment but for the
encounter on the road, you need to entire user interface and experience.
develop systems that can learn how to While it seems as though Project Titan
deal with the unexpected, based on tons and CarPlay weren’t necessarily closely
of previous data. (Even then, there remain connected as projects, it’s hard to imagine
circumstances that are utterly there wasn’t some of the latter’s DNA
unpredictable—one challenge that has involved in the former. And it seems likely
ended up stymieing full autonomous that some of the technology that didn’t find
driving for the moment.) its way into an Apple car could instead
The same underlying principles are true migrate to CarPlay—perhaps even simply
with other AI systems. If Siri needs to learn in terms of lessons learned from trying to

Pro is once again the most cutting-edge
piece of hardware in the company’s
portfolio. Given that, it seems plausible that
some of the resources previously devoted
to Project Titan might find themselves
redirected toward Vision Pro.
This is another place where the
underlying technologies in the two
projects might have some synergy. For
example, many car companies have been
increasing the use of heads-up display
technologies for driving, and it’s not a
It seems like CarPlay can directly stretch to think Apple might have been
benefit from the work done with investigating it for its own vehicle as well.
Project Titan.
Such functionality, in particular the
overlaying of augmented interfaces in the
design a full car interface. real world, would seem to be of strong
The real question is whether any of the interest to the Vision Pro.
autonomous driving functionality that Likewise, the development of Apple
Apple worked on might end up in another car systems necessitated the use of a
car. While even the far-reaching nature of real-time operating system (fave.co/
next-generation CarPlay probably won’t be 3x3MowO) for processing information with
integrated enough in a third-party as little latency as possible. For something
automobile to deploy these features, it’s like the Vision Pro, which is trying to
possible that one of the partnerships Apple replicate reality as a pass-through with a
is building could expand to take advantage minimum of disconnect, that experience
of some of this technology. That may could be invaluable.
prove an attractive proposition for a car So while the Apple car may be gone,
company that hasn’t yet developed its own it’s not forgotten: Chances are we’ll see
autonomous driving features. vestiges of its influence popping up
through the company’s products for years
UNOBSTRUCTED VISION to come. Even in its demise, it still moves
Now that the Apple car is no longer on the us forward—that’s the technological circle
horizon, Apple’s recently released Vision of life for you. ■

iOSCENTRAL
5 MWC announcements that

should have come from Apple
The Android show highlighted some new tech that we want to see in Apple products.
BY MICHAEL SIMON
M
obile World Congress was that will get Apple fans a little jealous. Here
held this past February in are five that caught our eye—and we hope
Barcelona, and we understand Apple is paying attention.
if it passed you by. While
Apple and the iPhone are on everyone’s 1. GALAXY RING
mind, MWC is primarily an Android show. As if Samsung was reading the rumor
But there are still some announcements blogs, right after reports emerged that
48 MACWORLD MAY 2024 IMAGE: © 2024 GSMA / MWC

Apple had explored the
development of a smart ring
(fave.co/4a5v5KE), new details
emerged of the upcoming
Galaxy Ring (fave.co/
4a7xXGC), which reportedly
won’t work with iPhones. We
don’t know much about it
other than it will track most
health metrics that a
smartwatch does—sleep, 1.
heart rate, fertility, and so
on—and will last about a week between Messages app. We don’t know what
charges. Just as importantly, it’s the first Apple has planned for generative AI in
smart ring from a major smartphone iOS 18, but something similar in iMessage
company and looks great in pictures, so would be fun.
consider our interest significantly piqued
by the prospect of an Apple Ring (fave. 3. ONEPLUS WATCH 2
co/4a5O8EF). Apple Watch is the king of smartwatches,
but there’s still one area where we’d like
2. GEMINI IN GOOGLE to see a big boost: battery life. So we’re a
MESSAGES little jealous of the OnePlus Watch 2 (fave.
We’re still waiting for Apple to
unveil its first true generative AI
feature—which should be coming
at WWDC (fave.co/3zmnbvC)—but
Google has been moving at a fast
pace with its own Gemini chatbot.
Despite some early issues with
image creation, Gemini continues
to add new tools to its arsenal.
The latest announced at MWC
(fave.co/3vxqLoc): You can chat
with Gemini right in the Google 3.

iOSCENTRAL 5 MWC ANNOUNCEMENTS
detects that you’re looking at

them for longer than normal. Since
it’ll be a while before everyone
can afford a Vision Pro, we
wouldn’t mind eye-tracking on the
iPhone 16 (fave.co/3TRhXDh).
5. LENOVO THINKBOOK
TRANSPARENT
DISPLAY LAPTOP
Someday we’ll be wearing a
4. Vision Pro as thin and clear as a
pair of glasses. Someday we’ll be
co/3vsDKaN), which claims 100 hours of using iPhones and iPads that are little more
battery life with light use and about half than thin sheets of glass. Lenovo wants that
that with heavy use. Testers have been future to be now. The company unveiled its
able to go two to three days with normal 17.3-inch Micro-LED transparent display at
use. Meanwhile, the Apple Watch Series 9 MWC (fave.co/3TPA5Nv), with “a completely
is still stuck at around a day and a half. borderless and see-through display
experience.” It’s one of the coolest things
4. HONOR MAGIC 6 PRO we’ve ever seen—and we’re hoping Apple
Among the oodles of new tech introduced has something similar deep in its labs. ■
with Vision Pro is next-level
eye-tracking tech for
navigating without flailing your
hands all over the place. Honor
also has new eye-tracking
tech, but it’s not in a headset—
it’s in the company’s new
Magic 6 Pro phone. Called
Assistive eye-gaze control
(fave.co/3TOQHFj), it will
expand notifications banners
and launch apps when it 5.

No, your iPhone isn’t sharing
personal info with strangers
A new social media scare about Apple’s Journal app doesn’t have all the facts.
BY MICHAEL SIMON
I
f you’ve been on Facebook or TikTok Before we explain why it’s nothing to
recently you might have seen a warning, worry about, here’s how to turn it off:
filled with scary icons and rhetoric, > Go to the Settings app.
about a new iPhone setting that shares > Open the Privacy & Security tab.
your name and location. Like most viral > Scroll down to Journaling
warnings about the iPhone, it’s not true. Suggestions and tap it.

iOSCENTRAL YO U R i P H O NE I SN ’ T SH A R ING PE RSO NA L I NFO
journaling app uses the details to display

the beginning of a new journal entry about
the selected suggestion.”
The Discoverable by Others toggle is
designed to help friends and family
prioritize important events for journaling
by targeting ones that people they know
were at. When you make yourself
discoverable to other iPhones, the
features will suggest entries for personal
events throughout a week, such as “a
place they visited, a person they
1. connected with, a photo in their library,
or a song that they play repeatedly.”
> Toggle the Discoverable by Others The setting uses Bluetooth to detect
option off (1). devices belonging to people you know,
OK, now that you’re completely safe, so they need to be pretty close to you,
let’s review what this setting does and but it doesn’t identify exactly which
why your data and location aren’t at risk. people they are. So Journaling
The feature is tied to Apple’s new Journal Suggestions may detect that four people
app that arrived in iOS 17.2 (fave.co/ in your contacts were together for a few
3VwYJnF). Like most stock apps, it hours at a specific place with dozens of
automatically appears on your iPhone other people and deduce that it’s likely to
when you install the update. However, be a gathering. Then, the next time you
even if you delete the app, the setting open your journaling app of choice, it’ll
remains since it works across third-party prompt you to write about the event.
journaling apps as well via a new As with most features, this information
Journaling Suggestions framework. is stored on the device and is not shared
The feature employs a picker to give with Apple. No one near you will “know
users ideas for their journal entries. As your FULL NAME and EXACTLY where
Apple explains, “When someone chooses you’re geo located” as the warning claims.
a suggestion from the picker, the system It’s just a friendly feature to help you
makes high-level details about the event record your memories and, as we said at
available to your app. For example, a the top, it can be easily turned off. ■

“ Early detection allowed us to take control
of the situation and make a plan together.”
If you’re noticing changes, it

could be Alzheimer’s. Talk about
visiting a doctor together.
ALZ.org/TimeToTalk
CHECK IN ON
YOUR FRIENDS
EVEN THE “STRONG” ONES
It’s okay to not be okay.

Learn how to reach out to a friend about
their mental health at SeizeTheAwkward.org.
iOSCENTRAL
The Latest iOS Products

Reviewed & Rated REVIEWS
WIRELESS CHARGER I’ve reviewed a bunch of

ALOGIC MATRIX impressive portable multi-
device wireless chargers
ULTIMATE: A FOLD- recently, and this newcomer,
UP CHARGER THAT the Matrix Ultimate, lives up to its name. It
offers maximum fast iPhone and Apple
DOESN’T NEED Watch wireless charging with the ability to
A PLUG detach the iPhone charger as a power
BY SIMON JARY bank and the Watch charger to slot into
any USB-C port.
The whole package is portable and
even comes with a soft but stiff felt carry
case, mini USB-C wall charger, and
cable. But the most impressive feature is
magnetic MagSafe wireless charging
IMAGE: ALOGIC MAY 2024 MACWORLD 55

iOSCENTRAL REVIEW: A LO G I C MATR I X U LTIM AT E
support (iPhone 12 and later), thanks house or office. It comes into its own,
to a removable 5,000mAh battery pack. however, as a portable solution. As a
There are smaller and higher-capacity stand, it raises the magnetically clamped
alternatives, but the Matrix Ultimate is iPhone, which can be set in either portrait
one of the few that charges three Apple or landscape orientations—perfect for iOS
devices while delivering a full 15W 17’s StandBy mode.
to an iPhone. When you are away from your desk,
the Matrix Ultimate has a 5000mAh battery
MODULAR THREE-PIECE to fill up your devices without power. It’s a
DESIGN good size—there are bigger magnetic
Alogic has a range of modular MagSafe power banks out there, but they’re bulkier
charging products in its Matrix range. and heavier, and we’ve yet to see one that
Each can be connected to others, with charges at MagSafe’s full 15W potential
detachable portability being one of (though Qi2 [fave.co/3PyXYqp] could
the benefits. change that).
The Matrix Ultimate could be used on a The Stand measures 5.8×3.1×1.9
desk or bedside table charging stand, and inches (14.8×8×4.7 cm) and weighs 16.9oz
is attractive enough to sit anywhere in the (478g) with the power bank. Detached,
the power bank is 3.7×0.5×0.9 inches
(9.4×6.4×2.2 cm) and weighs 5.3oz
(151g), which is about average for a
battery pack of this size. At the back of
the stand is a flip-up Apple Watch
charging module that can rest at 90
degrees. The Watch hangs straight,
unlike on some stands (I’m looking at
you, OneGo—fave.co/3VuKEqF) where
the Watch can veer to one side.
Other MagSafe power banks also
include a built-in flip-out Watch charger,
but Alogic’s choice to give you the
option of taking just the power bank or
The Matrix Ultimate power bank can connect
with the detachable Apple Watch charger for both could be convenient, although
wearable repowering on the go. you’d need to be careful not to

misplace the Watch charger
when apart from either the
stand or the power bank.
The 5W Qi pad for
AirPods is at the back of the
stand and operable only
when the base is unfolded
to a stand.
The whole stand is
foldable. It’s pretty bulky,
weighing about a pound
(420 grams) fully laden, but Right: Alogic Matrix Ultimate. Left: OneAdaptr OneGo.
transportable enough to
warrant the term portable—especially in its Alogic Matrix Ultimate (5W versus 3W) but
travel case, which also holds the 35W wall its stand lacks an AirPods charger.
charger and cable. The whole OtterBox unit is the power
bank and is not detachable, so, on the
PERFORMANCE move, the Matrix Ultimate is much more
Where most travel chargers are limited to nimble, smaller, and significantly lighter.
7.5 watts, the Matrix Ultimate is MagSafe We test power banks by running
compliant and supports up to 15W for down an iPhone (for this case, an
iPhone 12 and later. The 3W Apple Watch iPhone 15 Pro) to 10 percent, and then
charger is just enough for faster-than- using the power bank to charge back
normal charging (Series 7, 8, 9, and Ultra), up to 100 percent. This process is then
and the 5W Qi pad at the back of the repeated until the power bank is
stand will charge up your AirPods’ depleted. The Alogic Matrix Ultimate’s
charging case. power bank scored 71 percent in our
The closest rival for Watch and iPhone tests (less than one full charge),
is the MagSafe-certified 15W OtterBox which is disappointing but not
2-in-1 Power Bank with MagSafe ($149.95 unreasonable for a 5,000mAh power
from fave.co/3vuGowE), which measures a bank. By comparison, the OtterBox’s
similar 6×3.2×1.3 inches (15.3×8×3.4 cm) 10,000mAh battery scored 185 percent
and weighs 12 oz. (340g). The OtterBox’s and could recharge an iPhone 15 Pro
Apple Watch charger is faster than the nearly two times.

iOSCENTRAL REVIEW: A LO G I C MATR I X U LTIM AT E
PRICE
The Alogic Matrix Ultimate
isn’t cheap at $169.99
(fave.co/3RCCMQy).
However, its price is similar
to the OtterBox 2-in-1
charger, which suggests
that Apple certification is
one reason behind the
higher costs. For example,
the MagSafe-compatible
OneAdaptr OneGo is
The Watch hangs straight on the Matrix Ultimate. priced at just $89.
Alogic itself sells another magnetic VERDICT

wireless charging power bank: the Lift If you want the fastest wireless charging
4-in-1 ($99.99 from fave.co/3RCCMQy), speeds, the Alogic Matrix Ultimate wins
which is a single-piece 10,000mAh power the day with an Apple-certified 15W
bank with a flip-up Watch charger. It MagSafe connection. It also gets points
managed to recharge our iPhone 1.5 times for its fast-ish 3W Apple Watch charger,
but requires a cable to charge your which is detachable and can connect to
AirPods. the equally detachable 5K
If you desire a stand with a mmmm power bank.
detachable power bank, the Alogic Matrix If you’re looking for a giant
Ultimate
Lift offers twice the battery PROS
wireless battery pack, you’ll
capacity. However, only the • 3-in-1 fast charging stand need something else, but for
Ultimate will wirelessly fast- • 15W iPhone, 3W Watch. most people, the Alogic Matrix
• Detachable 15W MagSafe
charge your iPhone. But the power bank. Ultimate does the job well when
Matrix Ultimate takes the crown CONS you’re on the move and need to
• Low battery capacity.
for its 15W wireless charging recharge as fast as possible
• Bulkier than slower rivals.
and clever design. PRICE
away from a power socket. And
Read all our reviews of the $169 when you get home (or a hotel),
COMPANY
best MagSafe magnetic wireless its stylish if blocky design will
Alogic
power banks (fave.co/3ulZ4y2). dress up a desk or nightstand. ■

iPHONE PRINTER Photographer Chase Jarvis (fave.co/
FUJIFILM INSTAX 3xegpdk) said, “The best camera is the
one you have with you.” And for just about
MINI LINK 2: everyone, that means it’s a smartphone
PORTABLE PRINTER camera—and unless you’re a serious
photographer, you’re not carrying another
WITH RETRO CHARM camera wherever you go. You know what
BY SIMON LOHMANN else people aren’t carrying with them?
Printers to output any photos shot on a
smartphone camera.
If you do find yourself in a situation
where you’d like to have the ability to
instantly print the photos you shoot with an
iPhone, you don’t have to lug around that
hefty all-in-one. As part of its Instax
product lineup, Fujifilm has portable photo
printers that are very easy to carry. This
review looks at the $99 Fujifilm Instax mini
IMAGE: FUJIFILM MAY 2024 MACWORLD 59

iOSCENTRAL REVIEW: FUJIFILM INSTAX MINI LINK 2
Link 2, a smartphone printer that can reminiscent of Polaroid photos. You get
produce beautiful photos of your family, much better overall quality at your nearest
your pet, your holiday get-together, or your pharmacy or hypermarket—and it’s no
weekend trip. match for professional prints. When using
The Instax mini Link 2 is nice and light the Instax mini Link 2, you consciously
at about half a pound (312 grams), and it’s want the certain retro charm and style of
about the size of a smartphone—it fits in a instant pictures. I found that reducing a
jacket pocket and is ready for immediate photo’s brightness and increasing the
use. Printing is done through the Instax contrast and saturation a little will get you
mini Link app (fave.co/3IPNGhJ) and a the brightest images possible.
Bluetooth connection. Fujifilm offers different “films” (fave.
The app is robust, offering a ton of fun co/3TtbMUq) for the Instax mini Link 2,
features besides the simple ability to print each with a different motif for the plastic
to the device. The collage function is border surrounding the image. Each pack
particularly exciting, where you can print of film costs about $10/£10 and has
several motifs on a single image. The enough for ten shots—about $1 per print.
Frame Print feature outfits photos with That’s a little pricey, and you’ll want to
different borders and a silly Match Test think carefully before deciding on making
feature imprints a “compatibility score” on a print. You don’t want to waste a print on
images with two people. You can add text a motif you’re unsure of. Multipacks are
or draw on photos before printing, choose available at a lower price per print to help
between landscape and cut the cost.
widescreen format, and even mmmmh
load videos into the app and Fujifilm Instax mini VERDICT
Link 2
print individual frames. With all the pictures you take, it’s
PROS
The printer offers special • Small, compact, and easy for your best photos to get
possibilities for enhancing your portable. lost on your iPhone. The Instax
• Lots of functions in the
photos. A lamp on the side of the iPhone app. Mini Link 2 is a great way to
printer is used for the fun Instax CONS remember special moments. It
• Weak battery life.
AiR feature, where you draw in doesn’t produce “studio-quality”
• High print cost.
the air using the lamp, and the PRICE
prints, but they’re great for
result is added to a photo. $99 informal events, parties, or art
COMPANY
As for the photo print quality, projects—if you can budget for
Fujifilm
images have a retro look the high cost per print. ■

Smokey Bear is
within us all.
For wildﬁre prevention tips, visit
SmokeyBear.com
FEATURE
REVIEW:
15-INCH
MACBOOK
AIR (M3)
SIMPLY THE
BEST, BUT
BETTER
THE M3 UPDATE TO APPLE’S
MOST POPULAR LAPTOP LINE
IMPROVES ON GREATNESS.
BY ROMAN LOYOLA
FEATURE REVIEW: 15 - I NC H MAC BO O K A IR (M 3)
Over the years, we’ve touted has our perception of the laptop: The
the MacBook Air as the MacBook Air continues to be the best
laptop for just about laptop choice for just about anyone.
anyone—it’s an ideal
combination of performance, features, and SPECIFICATIONS
price. It became even more compelling The MacBook Air gets an upgrade from
when Apple redesigned it and upgraded the M2 to the M3 chip. It does not have
to the M2 chip in 2022 (fave.co/3zbn71l) options for the M3 Pro or Max chips; for
and released a 15-inch M2 model in 2023 that, you need to look at the MacBook Pro.
(fave.co/41ss03E). Our guide to the M3 chip series (fave.
The MacBook Air now joins the M3 co/3MZyVey) provides more insight into
party that Apple started last fall (fave. the differences between the different M3
co/3MZyVey). It’s practically the same chips.
laptop as before—besides the chip The 15-inch MacBook Air in this review
upgrade, there are only two other new is the most expensive standard
features in the new M3 MacBook Air. A lot configuration in Apple’s lineup. It can be
has not changed with the Air, and neither customized with more memory and a
larger SSD, which
raises the price.
Here are the
specifications of the
laptop in this review:
CPU: M3 with an
8-core CPU (4
performance cores, 4
efficiency cores),
16-core Neural Engine
GPU: 10-core GPU
Memory: 16GB
unified memory
(100GBps memory
bandwidth)
Storage:
The 15-inch MacBook Air in Starlight. 512GB SSD

Display: 15.3-inch Liquid Retina LED
backlit display with IPS; 2880×1864 native GEEKBENCH 6.2.2
Single core
resolution at 224 pixels per inch; 500 nits M3 MacBook Air
3,144
brightness; P3 color; True Tone
M2 MacBook Air
2,619
Ports: 2 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C;
M1 MacBook Pro
MagSafe 3; 3.5mm audio 2,380
M3 MacBook Pro
Networking: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax); 3,167
Bluetooth 5.3
Weight: 3.3 pounds (1.51 kg)
Dimensions: 0.45×13.40×9.35 inches
GEEKBENCH 6.2.2
(1.15×34.04×23.76 cm) Multi-core
Battery capacity: 66.5Wh M3 MacBook Air
11,936
Price: $1,699 M2 MacBook Air
10,030
M1 MacBook Pro
8,459
PERFORMANCE M3 MacBook Pro
11,971
This update to the MacBook Air is all about
the speed bump that’s provided by the

new M3 chip. Our benchmarks look at how
it compares to the previous M2 as well as heavy-duty tasks that put more pressure
the other M3 Macs that Apple offers. on the chip, the MacBook Air may throttle
We use Geekbench 6 (fave.co/ down a little in order to maintain a proper
3g8CyNZ) to check the general, overall operating temperature. It takes a lot to
performance of a Mac. In both the Single- make the MacBook Air do this, so most
Core and Multi-Core tests, the M3 folks need not worry.
MacBook Air was 20 percent faster than Cinebench 2024 (fave.co/3q2vLw4) is a
the M2 MacBook Air—a typical boost from test that performs 3D rendering—the
one chip generation to another. heavy-duty task that was just mentioned
Compared to the M3 MacBook Pro above. While a MacBook Air probably
(fave.co/43KC21r), you can see that the M3 isn’t a primary tool for those who use
MacBook Air offers practically the same such software, its performance doesn’t
performance. That’s expected since they totally rule it out. This benchmark gives
have the same chip. The major difference us a good point of comparison with the
is that the MacBook Air does not have other Macs—and it shows that the M3
fans, while the MacBook Pro does. So on MacBook Air can handle its own during

CINEBENCH R24 CINEBENCH R24

Single core Multi-core
M3 MacBook Air M3 MacBook Air
141 658
121 542
111 471
141 693
these tasks. faster than the M2. When using the

We used HandBrake (fave.co/3Kz3epv) available hardware acceleration through
to encode the Tears of Steel (fave.co/ HandBrake’s H.265 (VideoToolBox)
2SWqjfx) video from 4K to a 1080p H.265 encoder, the M3 was 17 percent faster.
file. When doing the encoding completely We exported a 10-minute 4K video at
in software using the H.265 (x265) video two settings in iMovie to gauge CPU
encoder, the M3 is a healthy 26 percent performance. The M3 was 24 percent
HANDBRAKE 6.1 HANDBRAKE 6.1

H.265 x265; seconds H.265 Video Toolbox; seconds
689 211
934 255
1,415 326
M3 iMac M3 iMac
696 220
LO W E R S C O R E S A R E B E T T E R LO W E R S C O R E S A R E B E T T E R
iMOVIE: EXPORT 4K iMOVIE: EXPORT 4K

Best (ProRes); seconds High; seconds
93 254
123 286
289 242
M3 iMac M3 iMac
116 262
LO W E R S C O R E S A R E B E T T E R LO W E R S C O R E S A R E B E T T E R

BLACKMAGIC DISK TEST BLACKMAGIC DISK TEST
Read; MBps Write; MBps
3,058 3,323
2,790 3,216
2,768 2,462
M3 iMac M3 iMac
3,014 3,315
faster than the M2 when exporting the file Apple used a single 256GB chip in the
using the ProRes codec. When we changed M1 and M2 MacBook Air, but that’s
the quality setting of the export to High, changed with the 256GB SSD in the M3
the M3 advantage shrunk to 11 percent. MacBook Air. According to a teardown by
Testing the speed of the 512GB SSD Max Tech (fave.co/43wyjUR), Apple is now
in our review unit, the results between using two chips for the 256GB SSD (fave.
the M3 and M2 are practically the same. co/3IUYfjn). That’s a huge win for the
One interesting point of comparison customer because using just one NAND
between the M3 and M1 results—the M1 chip can cut performance by half—but that
MacBook Air we tested had a 256GB won’t happen with the 256GB SSD in the
SSD, which is implemented as a single M3 MacBook Air. Hurray!
NAND chip, while the M3’s 512GB SSD is Geekbench’s Compute benchmark
a pair of NAND chips. As we detail in the tests GPU performance using Metal or
“Price and availability” section below, OpenCL APIs. The M3 shows a slight 4
two chips are better than one, and you percent improvement that you probably
can see that here. wouldn’t notice. So it’s safe to say that the
GEEKBENCH 6 COMPUTE GEEKBENCH 6 COMPUTE

OpenCL Metal
30,391 47,660
27,831 45,755
20,120 33,093
M3 iMac M3 iMac
30,345 47,030

M3 and the M2 MacBook Airs offer the though—it does so automatically when a
same GPU performance. game launches.
The M3 does provide a significant,
noticeable boost over the M1: 44 percent. DESIGN AND BUILD
It’s another aspect of the M3 MacBook Air Apple introduced the current MacBook Air
that makes it an enticing upgrade from the design with the 2022 M2 model. While it
M1 MacBook Air. doesn’t mirror the MacBook Pro design
Rise of the Tomb Raider and exactly, it looks so similar that at a glance
Civilization VI are older games written you may not be able to tell the difference.
for Intel and not optimized for Apple’s Maybe you spend a lot of time in the
Metal graphics API. That could explain Apple Store and have developed a keen
why the M3 and M2 results are the sense of the MacBook colors and can
same—these games aren’t taking use that to instantly identify which is
advantage of any Metal API optimizations which. But the MacBooks speak the
that are available. Game Mode for same design language.
macOS (fave.co/3RCyycY) still activates, In fact, the Apple “translated” a feature
RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER RISE OF THE TOMB RAIDER

1,920×1,200 High; frames per second 1,280×800 Medium; frames per second
10 core GPU 56 10 core GPU 82
M3 iMac M3 iMac
61 102
CIVILIZATION VI CIVILIZATION VI
1,280×800 High; frames per second 1,280×800 Medium; frames per second
M3 iMac M3 iMac
47 68

of the Space Black
MacBook Pro to the
Midnight color option
of the MacBook Air.
That model now has
the same
“breakthrough
anodization seal” that
Apple says reduces
fingerprints. The
laptop in this review is
Starlight, not Midnight,
so I wasn’t able to
check on the seal, but The wedge shape is gone. The MacBook Air takes its design cues
I did review a Space from the MacBook Pro.
Black MacBook Pro
(fave.co/41w6LOh), and the seal works—it discontinued M1 MacBook Air (fave.
doesn’t prevent fingerprints completely, co/3h67n8s), in the Apple Certified
but they’re not very apparent and they’re Refurbished Store (fave.co/3x49TWG) or
easy to wipe away. It helps maintain through third-party retailers with remaining
Apple’s design aesthetic. stock (fave.co/43wywr7).
Besides Midnight and Starlight, the
MacBook Air is also available in Silver and PORTS AND CONNECTIVITY
Space Gray. That’s four color options, Here are the ports on the MacBook Air:
compared to the only two available for the two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, a
MacBook Pro. MagSafe 3 charging port, and a 3.5mm
Overall, the design and build are what audio jack. That’s it. With the Air, Apple
you’d expect from Apple: well thought out, takes the approach that this laptop
durable, and stylish. However, it’s not the prioritizes mobility, as opposed to the
unique wedge shape that was MacBook Pro, which is a mashup of
synonymous with the MacBook Air and mobility and desktop Mac sensibility. So
garnered favor among Air users. If that’s that means fewer ports on the Air.
what you really, really want, you can find If you’re reading this thinking, “But I
the last wedge-shaped Air, the need to connect more than two devices,”

then consider investing in

a USB-C hub. Consult our
guide to USB-C hubs and
adapters (fave.co/3x6fSu9)
to help find one. Check
with the hub manufacturer
to see what each one can
do, because there will be
limits as to how many
devices you can connect,
or even the type of
devices (like externa
displays) you can use.
Speaking of external The notch at the top of the Liquid Retina display houses the
displays, this leads us to 1080p FaceTime camera.
the other new feature that
was mentioned at the intro of this review. Max MacBook Pro, which supports more
The M3 MacBook Air can now support two displays with the laptop open. Or you can
external 5K displays each running at a get an older M2 Pro or M2 Max MacBook
60Hz refresh rate. However, the Air must Pro, which are less expensive than the M3
be closed to do this. If you open the laptop Pro and Max. Learn more about the
with two external displays connected, one external display support for the MacBooks
of them will have its video signal cut off (fave.co/3RbaED1).
and fed to the laptop display. We have a Wireless connectivity for the MacBook
separate article that explains how dual Air is through Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E
external displays on the M3 MacBook Pro (802.11ax), the third new MacBook Air
work (fave.co/3Turb71). feature, which is an upgrade from Wi-Fi 6
On the surface, this seems like a boon, (802.11ax) in the M2 MacBook Air.
but the closed laptop means the Air’s Networking speed will be a bit faster, and
keyboard and trackpad can’t be used, so faster is always good.
an external keyboard, mouse, and/or
trackpad needs to be connected. If this DISPLAY AND SPEAKERS
compromise isn’t acceptable, then your Apple uses Liquid Retina (LED) displays for
only option is to invest in a M3 Pro or M3 the MacBook Air, which are a step down

from the Liquid Retina XDR (mini-LED) macOS’s Continuity Camera feature that
displays in the MacBook Pro. But no one lets the iPhone connect to the laptop as a
looks at a MacBook Air display and thinks webcam (fave.co/3rCtV4N).
it’s bad or unacceptable—for everyday use,
the MacBook Air looks pretty dang good. BATTERY LIFE AND CHARGING
The 15-inch MacBook Air has a six- Apple didn’t change anything with the
speaker system with force-canceling battery in the M3 MacBook Air, so it’s still
woofers. (The 13-inch Air has a four- officially rated for up to 18 hours of video
speaker system.) It’s not the same system playback. Our battery test is a video that
as the 14-inch MacBook Pro, which has a plays on a loop until the battery runs out,
high-fidelity six-speaker system with with the display set at 150 nits. The M3 Air
woofers. The Air’s speakers don’t sound lasted almost the same amount of time as
as clean as the Pro, but they do sound the M2 MacBook Air—about 19 hours.
good and have a nice amount of oomph Apple is very consistent about its battery
for a thin laptop. Spatial Audio on music or life, and the expectation is that during
video with Dolby Atmos is supported, too. regular use, you’ll have no problem using
The 3.5mm audio jack supports high- the Air all day without having to plug in.
impedance headphones. Apple includes a 35W power adapter
with two USB-C ports, so you can plug in
CAMERA an iPhone, iPad, or other device and
I’ve reviewed quite a few M-series charge it along with the MacBook Air. The
MacBooks, and most of them have the MagSafe cable that Apple includes is
same 1080p FaceTime camera. Since it’s braided and feels much more durable than
the same camera, the comments I have the old, rubberized ones.
about the M3 MacBook Air’s camera are
the same: It’s much better than the 720p
camera Apple used for a long time, and it’s
BATTERY LIFE
Minutes
fine, but it could be so much more. 15" M3 MacBook Air
1,154
You probably won’t be embarrassed by 15" M2 MacBook Air
1,143
the camera’s image quality during a 13" M2 MacBook Air
1,051
videoconference. But if you’re using it to M1 MacBook Air
972
record a video of yourself, you’ll want
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro
1,030
something better. That better camera is in
your pocket on your iPhone. You can use

KEYBOARD AND TRACKPAD $1,699. As a standard configuration, that

The M3 MacBook Air has the same means you’ll probably be able to get it on
keyboard and trackpad as the M2 Air. The sale at Amazon soon enough.
backlit keyboard has full-size Function And really, 16GB of memory (whether
keys and a Touch ID button in the upper you want the 13- or 15-inch MacBook Air or
right corner. It’s a good keyboard, and the even a MacBook Pro) is what we
trackpad is stellar. recommend. If you decide to get a
standard configuration with 8GB, we think
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY you should customize it to get 16GB.
The pricing for the M3 MacBook Air is the Unfortunately, the upgrade from 8GB to
same as its M2 predecessor. There’s one 16GB is an additional $200, which is very
minor difference: The $1,699 Air in this pricey considering how much RAM
review is now offered as one of three modules go for nowadays. But you have to
standard configurations, and it’s the pay it because users can’t add more
only standard configuration with 16GB of memory to the Mac after purchase.
memory. With the 15-inch M2 MacBook Air,
Apple offered two standard configurations VERDICT
at $1,299 and $1,499, both with 8GB of The MacBook Air is a great laptop,
memory—if you customized the $1,499 especially for users who prioritize mobility.
model to 16GB of memory, it would be Thanks to Apple silicon, it can handle
whatever task you need to
do, whether it’s as simple as
using a word processor
while being online with a
gazillion Safari tabs open, or
a bit more complex with
iMovie and GarageBand, or
pro-level work with a video
production tool or software
development.
If you are still (!) using
an Intel MacBook, I
The MacBook Air’s Touch ID button is located at the upper enthusiastically encourage
right of the Magic Keyboard. you to upgrade to an

M-Series laptop. If you
upgrade to the M3
MacBook Air, you’re going
to love-love-love the
performance and perhaps
even kick yourself for
waiting so long. I realize
that some users are in a
position where their
dependence on Intel is
based on tools that are an
absolute necessity, but if
you can find an alternative If you can afford it, upgrade to 16GB of unified memory. It will
that’s M-series friendly, see help the laptop’s performance.
what you can do to adopt it.
This is the third generation of M-series, introduced with the M2 MacBook Air. The
and it’s stable, reliable, and works. new laptop does feel a bit bigger than the
If you have an M2 MacBook Air, the old design, but the screen is bigger. The
only major reason why you’d upgrade to M1 Air is still a good laptop, and holding
the M3 is because of the dual external on to it is understandable—but so is
display support. Yes, the 20 upgrading.
percent performance boost is mmmmh Whatever your situation, if
nice (faster is always better), but 15-inch MacBook Air you do decide to invest in the
(M3)
in everyday tasks, you won’t PROS M3 MacBook Air, we strongly
really notice it. But if you can • Still an outstanding recommend getting at least 16GB
performer in its class.
never get enough speed and • Excellent battery life. of unified memory. With more
you’re willing to spend the • Great combination of price, memory, the laptop won’t
features, and performance.
money, go for it. depend as much on using
CONS
M1 MacBook Air owners • Dual external display the SSD for memory swapping
support requires closed lid.
have more to consider. The (fave.co/3TKIzWn), which helps
• Pricey memory upgrades.
performance increase between PRICE
with performance. Unfortunately,
the M1 and M3 is enough to From $1,299 that means spending at least
COMPANY
widen eyes, and there’s also the $1,299, but the extra up-front
Apple
design change that was actually cost will be worth it. ■

FEATURE
REVIEW:
STRAIGHTFORWARD EX

SUPERB CAMERA SETUP +
DECENT BATTERY LIFE + FAST
PROCESSOR = (RELATIVELY)
AFFORDABLE QUALITY.
BY DAVID PRICE
XCELLENCE

FEATURE REVIEW: A PP L E i P H O N E 15
Every fall Apple releases four battery performance. I’ll sum up our
iPhones, but this excess of findings in the other departments as well,
choice seems less but for a fuller rundown read my review of
intimidating once you realize the larger model (fave.co/43sspnC).
that these are really just two phones
wearing different clothing. The iPhone 15 DESIGN AND BUILD
Pro Max is essentially a bigger version of If you want the latest look to emerge from
the iPhone 15 Pro—same processor, same Cupertino’s design studios, head on over
camera setup, same features—while the to the Pro range, with its light titanium
iPhone 15 discussed in this article is a frame and Action Button. The iPhone 15 is
shrunk-down version of the 15 Plus, which more of a classic design, pretty much
we reviewed last year. sticking to the iPhone 14’s aesthetic
In this article, I’ll be focusing on the playbook but switching from Lightning to a
areas where the iPhone 15 differs from the USB-C port on the bottom edge.
15 Plus: namely, portability, the screen, and It has flat edges and squared-off
corners in the style
Apple brought back in
2020 with the iPhone
12, which was itself a
nod to the iPhone 5
from 2012. The twin
camera lenses on the
rear project outward a
couple of millimeters
from the module, which
itself is raised from the
rear surface of the
phone. So if you try to
place the phone
screen-up on a table, it
won’t sit flat. If that
matters to you, I’d
strongly recommend the
The iPhone 15 sits comfortably in the hand. use of a case.

Having used the
iPhone 15 Plus as
my primary phone
for four months or
so before beginning
this review, I was
struck by how much
more comfortably
the standard 15 sits
in the hand. I have The iPhone 15 sticks to the iPhone 14’s aesthetic playbook.
probably medium to
large hands for an adult male—I can most measures (and certainly in
happily play a ninth on the piano—but the comparison to the sub-5-inch screens
Plus can be awkward to use with one Apple turned out for years), but feels small
hand, with the pinky finger instinctively next to the 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Plus and 15
drifting to a supportive position Pro Max. That’s not to mention the big-
underneath. That doesn’t generally screen Android handsets (fave.co/3vmdLls)
happen with the 15, which is easily pushing or occasionally even exceeding
supported by the meat of your palm on the 7-inch mark.
one side and a few fingers on the other. The size of screen you want is a
The 15 also weighs roughly 15 percent personal choice, and nothing I say is likely
less than the 15 Plus and fits more easily in to push you bigger or smaller than you’re
a pocket. (The 15 Plus does slide into a comfortable with. But I would recommend
jeans pocket fairly easily, but you have to experimenting occasionally with borrowed
be more aware of putting it in and taking it handsets or in-store samples; I’m a long-
out at the correct angle.) It’s just generally, time fan of Apple’s standard-size Pro
and obviously, a more portable device than phones, but since last fall I have been
its larger sibling, but there are downsides to growing to love the 15 Plus and its 6.7-inch
this such as a lower-capacity battery and a screen. Those who are used to larger
smaller and less immersive screen. screens, in turn, might find if they approach
things with an open mind that they find the
SCREEN QUALITY standard 15’s superior pocketability more
That screen measures 6.1 inches from than makes up for its slight reduction in
corner to corner, which is a decent size by real estate.

Size aside, the screen’s a good one, from 2022’s iPhone 14, whose main
with excellent brightness (boosted from camera lens was specced at just 12MP. It’s
last year for better performance outdoors), such a massive increase, indeed, that it
sharpness, and color reproduction. It effectively acts as a substitute for the
doesn’t get the ProMotion adaptive refresh telephoto lens that non-Pro iPhones miss
rate and always-on features that remain out on, because the iPhone 15 can crop
Pro exclusives, but it does the simple into an image without dropping below the
stuff—making images, videos, and app level of detail we’re used to. This is why
interfaces look great—very well indeed. the 15 gets a 2× optical zoom, and it’s a
very welcome addition: you may find, as I
CAMERAS do, that 2× simply makes sense as your
As with many of the elements discussed in default selection. The 15 Pro goes up to 3×
this review, the 15’s camera setup is the optical zoom, and the 15 Pro Max all the
same as that of the 15 Plus. It has twin way up to 5×, but these are features you’re
(48MP f/1.6 main and 12MP f/2.4 Ultra Wide) likely to use less often than reliable old 2×.
rear-facing camera lenses, and a single Other than this handy upgrade, the 15’s
(12MP f/1.9) front-facing camera for selfies. photographic chops are precisely what
Still no triple cameras for the non-Pro we’ve come to expect from Apple in
models, then, but this is a big step forward recent years: sharp, crisp, colorful photos
with masses of detail,
along with a startling
ability (thanks to
Smart HDR 5) to cope
with difficult lighting
conditions. It’s also
exceptional at
grabbing high-quality
video, while you can
take impressive
Portrait-mode selfies
with the front camera
even though it
The iPhone 15’s rear cameras produce sharp, crisp, and colorful doesn’t have a
photos with masses of detail. second lens.

BATTERY LIFE AND CHARGING
The iPhone 15 features a 3,349mAh BATTERY LIFE
Minutes
battery, compared to 4,383mAh on the iPhone 13
491
larger Plus model, and longevity away
iPhone 14
537
from a charge is accordingly lower:
iPhone 15
Apple rates the iPhone 15 for up to 20 639
iPhone 15 Plus
hours of video playback, whereas the 15 741
iPhone 15 Pro
Plus gets an estimated 26 hours and the 643
iPhone 15 Pro
15 Pro 23 hours. Max 782
In practice, of course, the main criterion HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER
for success is being able to get from one

charging session to the next without
running out of juice. Since most of us Geekbench is running a deliberately
charge overnight, or at least on some sort strenuous battery test so we can compare
of daily schedule (charging for a couple of different devices under laboratory
hours each morning may be better for conditions: it’s for comparisons, not
long-term battery health, although the 80% predictions. Here’s how some other
Battery Charge feature [fave.co/3uXJ5Xy] iPhones got on in the same test:
is a great preservative), the main thing is All of these devices would be
that the phone can get through a full day’s expected to last significantly longer than
cycle without dying. And the iPhone 15 this in general use, unless you’re the sort
can, with ease. Indeed, lighter phone users of person who spends all day running
may find that even after forgetting to phone benchmarks.
charge overnight, they will make it through On the charging front, the iPhone 15
a decent chunk of a second day too. features a USB-C port like all of its late
But this is all subjective, since a phone’s 2023 siblings, which means older
battery performance in normal use is hugely Lightning-based cables and docks won’t
dependent on what you do with it. For a be of much use any longer. (Note also
more scientific approach, we use the battery that while you get a USB-C to USB-C
test in the Geekbench 4 benchmarking suite, cable in the box, you don’t get a power
where the iPhone 15 scored 6,390 or a time adapter to go on the end of it.) The 15 is
of 10 hours, 39 minutes. capable of fast charging, provided you
Before you panic, this isn’t a measure pair it with a 20W or higher adapter.
of the life you should expect in real use. Under such circumstances, Apple says it

can charge from 0 to 50% percent in 30

minutes. In testing, our test unit actually WILD LIFE EXTREME
UNLIMITED Frames per second
managed 54 percent. iPhone 12
12
iPhone 13
14
PERFORMANCE iPhone 14
17
The iPhone 15 is equipped with the same
iPhone 14 Pro
A16 Bionic processor and 6GB of RAM) as 19
iPhone 15
the 15 Plus. This is a chip that first graced 16
iPhone 15 Plus
an iPhone back in fall 2022, and is a 18
iPhone 15 Pro
generation behind the A17 Pro in the latest 24
iPhone 15 Pro
Pro models. Max 24
That doesn’t mean it’s slow: far from it, in HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER
fact. In the multi-core component of the

Geekbench 6 speed test, it scored a
creditable 6,551 points, far surpassing the games on the App Store can throw at
leading Android devices such as the Google it. In the 3DMark testing suite it
Pixel 8 (2,842), Samsung Galaxy S23 (4,994), consistently (with one exception)
and the OnePlus 11 (5,209). Indeed, it wasn’t returned scores slightly lower than those
all that far behind the A17-equipped iPhone of the 15 Plus, but both have 5-core
15 Pro, which scored 7,431. Here’s how it GPUs, so that’s probably just
compares to other recent iPhones: experimental variation. This is a powerful
Graphically, the 15 should be able to gaming phone that won’t let you down
comfortably handle anything that any of now or in the next few years…but that
GEEKBENCH 6 GEEKBENCH 6
Single core Multi-core
iPhone 13 iPhone 13
2,336 5,698
iPhone 14 iPhone 14
2,637 6,695
iPhone 15 iPhone 15
2,596 6,551
iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Plus
2,641 6,685
iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 15 Pro
2,963 7,431
Max 2,953 Max 7,422

WILD LIFE UNLIMITED WILD LIFE EXTREME
Frames per second Frames per second
iPhone 12 iPhone 12
53 14
iPhone 13 iPhone 13
59 15
iPhone 14 iPhone 14
71 18
74 20
iPhone 15 iPhone 15
75 18
iPhone 15 Plus iPhone 15 Plus
76 19
94 24
Max 91 Max 24
older chip means that it will start to feel to the previous generation. Nor would
slow around a year earlier than the we, on balance, recommend making the
iPhone 15 Pro. upgrade if you currently own even an
iPhone 13 from 2021. For $799 ($829
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY unlocked), there simply aren’t enough
The iPhone 15 launched in September improvements to justify the cost.
2023 and starts at $799. For everyone else making the
128GB: $799 decision, however, the iPhone 15 is a
256GB: $899 very solid smartphone with a
512GB: $1,099 mmmm strong feature set at (by Apple’s
Apple iPhone 15
You can buy direct from standards) an affordable price.
PROS
Apple (fave.co/3QilIyj), or browse • Brilliant camera setup. The screen is sharp, the
our roundup of the best iPhone • Fast processor. camera setup is superb, the
15-series deals (fave. • Clever Dynamic Island battery life is decent, and the
feature.
co/3snWOp3). CONS processor is fast. Chuck in 5G
• Processor lacks support and the clever
future-proofing of A17.
VERDICT PRICE
Dynamic Island, and you’ve got
The iPhone 15 isn’t an exciting From $799 another example
COMPANY
product, thanks to its old- of Apple’s straightforward
Apple
fashioned design and similarity excellence. ■

TALK TO YOUR KIDS ABOUT FENTANYL
Fentanyl is being used to make counterfeit pills and
is being laced into other illicit drugs. Make sure your
teens know the facts.
Learn the facts on fentanyl and start a life-saving
conversation with your teen.
DropTheFBomb.com
WORKINGMAC Tips, tricks, and tools to make you and
your Mac or iOS device more productive
Apple’s new Manuals, Specs,

and Downloads page is a
great resource
One page to find everything you need to know about your Apple products.
BY JASON CROSS
A
pple has launched a new page The new Manuals, Specs, and
for customers that brings Downloads page (fave.co/3vqGci5) will
together a lot of separate help you find all the information you need
elements across its website for any of the Apple products you own. It’s
into a single resource. organized by product category and

WORKINGMAC A P P LE ’S N EW MA NUA L S, SP EC S, A ND D OW NLOA DS PAG E
includes tech specs, user

guides, information pages, and
repair manuals (when
applicable) for Apple
products going back
decades—even The pages have
including tech information on Apple
specs for products going back
decades, including
the old iMac G3 tech specs for the
(fave.co/3IEODty). iMac G3 (fave.
Some pages co/3PDZtnc).
include links to
software downloads
like EFI and firmware
updates (for older Macs)
or things like the Pro Display XDR category is for downloads and manuals for
calibrator software. The Software Apple’s consumer, professional, and
productivity software.
It should be noted
that info such as Tech
Specs pages has not
been updated to
include features
added post-release.
For example, iOS 17.2
added support for
Qi2 wireless charger
support for all iPhone
13 and iPhone 14
models, but their
specs pages only
lists original
The Software category is for downloads and manuals for Apple’s Qi support up to
consumer, professional, and productivity software. 7.5 watts. ■

What wattage USB-C charger can
you use to charge a MacBook?
Universal compatibility means just that.
BY GLENN FLEISHMAN
A
pple offers a wide variety of specific, like a 29W or 140W charger, that
USB-C chargers corresponding you must use exactly that wattage adapter
to the many models of for a given device.
MacBook, MacBook Air, and Fortunately, that’s not the case. While it
MacBook Pro it’s made that remain was true before the widespread adoption
available or that it offers replacements for. of the USB-C plug type by Apple and
You might think because these are so everybody else, USB-C makes it even
IMAGE: ANKER MAY 2024 MACWORLD 85

WORKINGMAC W H AT WAT TAG E U SB -C C H A RGE R TO U SE WI T H A M ACBO OK
easier as there’s only a

single kind of jack you
can plug into any port.
Power management is a
fundamental part of USB
generally; USB-C
improved on it by allowing
for power to flow either
direction on a cable (and
by adopting the most
advanced parts of the
USB trade group’s power
delivery specification, Any USB-C adapter can provide power to any host device with a
USB-C port.
fave.co/4cvGuon).
Different host devices For instance, if you plug a 10W
(like iPhones and MacBooks) and adapters adapter into a MacBook Pro that can
have specific combinations of power they charge up to 140W, it only passes power
can offer. But in all cases, any USB-C at 10W. Likewise, a 140W adapter won’t
adapter can provide power to any host blow up a maximum 29W chargeable
device with a USB-C port. You can’t go device! In many cases, you can use a
wrong: No adapter will provide more relatively low-wattage adapter with a
power than a host can accept. laptop and keep the battery from
depleting or charge it slightly. You need
Ugreen sells a range of different
USB-C chargers, such as the to match full wattage to full
Nexode Pro 65W (pictured). wattage or higher to ensure a
device charges completely,
even while in use.
We have recommendations
for the best USB-C charger for
your MacBook Pro or Air (fave.
co/3Aopnms) as well as the Best
USB-C charging cables for
iPhone, iPad and Mac (fave.
co/3HCWlmV). ■

How to recover unsaved Word
documents on a Mac
We’re here to help you recover a unsaved or deleted Word document on your Mac,
including how to find the AutoRecovery folder and how to see old versions.
BY MARTYN CASSERLY
F
ew computer-related disasters can accidentally clicked on delete, all might
quickly drain the color from your not be lost. We’ll show you how you can
face quicker than losing a recover that vanished Word document.
document you’ve been busily If everything is working as it should,
working on. Whether your Mac crashed or then it’s quite hard to lose a file in Word.
froze, you forgot to save, or you Word has an autosave feature that means
IMAGE: MONSTER ZTUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK MAY 2024 MACWORLD 87

WORKINGMAC RECOVER UNSAVED WORD DOCUMENTS
that in the event of an accident, you to initially save the document with a name,
should still have the bulk of your work, and after that Word will make incremental
except for the last ten minutes. Our top tip saves every ten minutes. However, even
would be to save a document as soon as if you haven’t done this, Word will still save
you start working on it to ensure that it your document, and you should be able to
autosaves regularly. find a version of it in the AutoRecover
But that’s not why you’re here. If you’ve folder. Below we will run through how to
opened Word and can’t find that document get to the AutoRecover folder and some
you were working on, don’t panic! There is other steps that you can take to recover
a good chance that you can get your your document.
document back. In this article, we’ll run
through the various ways you can recover SCENARIO 1: You are working on a
an unsaved or deleted Word document. Word document and you have to
restart your Mac without a chance to
HOW TO RECOVER AN save first
UNSAVED WORD DOC Solution: Open Word again to see an
We’ll run through a few scenarios that you autosaved version of your document.
might have been confronted with to The good news is that if you are using
recover that Word document for you. As an up-to-date version of Word, then just
we said above, the good news is that opening up Word again should recover
Word for Mac has a
built-in autosave
feature called
AutoRecover. This
means that Word is
quietly saving the
document you are
working on without
you needing to
manually tell the
software to do so.
For this feature to
function properly,
however, you’ll need The latest version of Word has autosave turned on by default.

the document—or at
least a very recent
version of it.
This is because
Word autosaves your
document—even if
you haven’t saved it
yet. This is despite the
presence at the top of You may need to use TextEdit to open the AutoRecovery file.
the window of an
AutoSave button, which may be off. (Switch SCENARIO 3: Word won’t open
that button on, and you’ll see a request to the AutoRecovery version of
save your document.) your document
Solution: Drag the file into a different text
SCENARIO 2: Opening Word doesn’t editor app
load up the document you were When you try to open the
working on AutoRecovery file (either by clicking on it
Solution: Find it in the AutoRecovery or trying to drag it onto the Word icon in
folder. the Dock), you may see a message
1. Open the Finder. claiming that Word experienced an error
2. Click on Go in the menu. trying to open the file. One of the
3. Click on Go To Folder. suggestions may be to open the Text
4. Paste in the following: Recovery Converter. Here’s what we did:
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft. 1. Open TextEdit.
Word/Data/Library/Preferences/ 2. Drag the file onto the TextEdit icon in
AutoRecovery the Dock.
5.This will open your AutoRecovery 3. Copy the text into a new file in Word.
folder where you will find the
AutoRecovery versions of your documents SCENARIO 4: In a moment of madness
even though you didn’t save them. you clicked on Don’t Save or Delete
Having found the document you Solution: Find the most recent version in
may not be able to open it, in which case the AutoRecovery folder
you may need to try the steps in the The great news is that even if you
next scenario. didn’t save your Word document—even

You’ll find the AutoRecovery versions of your documents in the AutoRecovery folder.
the best of us have clicked Don’t Save by SCENARIO 5: You made a mistake and
accident when we were closing want to go back to an older version
documents—you can recover it from the Solution: Browse through recent versions
AutoRecovery folder. However, it is really It’s not always the case that you lose the
difficult to locate, as it is locked away in a whole document. Sometimes you might lose
hidden Library folder. some of the work you have done, which can
Luckily there is a simple way to view be just as traumatic if you’ve spent a lot of
that folder. Just click on Go → Go To Folder time on it. As long as you have made an
in the Finder’s Go menu and paste in the initial save of the document, though, you
following text: should be able to browse the version history:
~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft. 1. With the Word document open, click
Word/Data/Library/Preferences/ on File.
AutoRecovery 2. Select Browse Version History.
This will open your AutoRecovery 3. In the right-hand column, you’ll see
folder, where you will find the the version history. Locate a version of the
AutoRecovery versions of
your documents even
though you didn’t save.
If you are thinking you
might be able to locate
that folder directly in the
Finder, notice that the
~ symbol means it is a
hidden folder, so it’s
easier to cut and paste the If you initially saved of the document, you should be able to
above address. browse the version history.

document that’s from
before you made the
mistakes you wish
to correct.
4. Click on Open
Version. This will open
a second copy of your
document.
5. Either click on
Restore (to go back to
this version of the
document) or If a file is missing, it may be in the Trash.
Compare (if you don’t
want to recover the whole document 2. You’ll now see the contents of the
and just want to copy and paste the bit Trash. Look for your file. If you click on a
you need). file and press Space Bar, you may be able
to see a preview of it.
OTHER WAYS TO RECOVER A 3. If you don’t see your file, look for a
LOST WORD DOCUMENT Recovered Items folder in the Trash. It’s
If the above doesn’t work, or if your possible that your file is located in that.
version of Word is older than the current 4. If it’s there, you’ll need to right-click
one, try the steps we outline below. on it and choose Put Back. This will place
the file back in the folder where it was
CHECK THE TRASH originally saved, and you can continue to
In some cases, your file might be missing work on it.
because you deleted it. It’s easy to do
when you are trying to make room on your DATA RECOVERY SOFTWARE
Mac and you remove a load of old files, There are third-party apps that may be
only to realize that one of them was able to help you recover your document if
crucial. Luckily this isn’t as disastrous as it the above advice doesn’t help.
sounds. The document might still be found
in the Trash. Disk Drill
1. Click on the Trash can icon in the Disk Drill will scan your storage for free
Dock to open it. and show you the files that can be

recovered using the tool (so you don’t FIND AUTORECOVERY FOR
have to pay before you know if it will be OLDER VERSIONS OF WORD
able to find your file). To recover the file, Since you might not have the latest
you’ll need to pay for the full version of version of Word, we’ll detail the steps for
Disk Drill ($89 from fave.co/3PCGvgv). you to follow to locate that Word
AutoRecovery folder.
EaseUS
EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard (fave. How to find the AutoRecovery folder
co/43wWqTm) will scan the drive or in Word 2016
volume where you lost the files. Once the Here’s how to find it in Word 2016:
scan is complete, you can view Unsaved 1. In Word 2016, the AutoRecovery
Documents. Double-click to see a folder is buried deep in the system and
preview of the file, and click Recover to requires your Mac to display hidden files,
recover it. There is a free version that has so the first step is to reveal these secret
a 2GB recovery limit, which may well be folders, to do so we recommend
enough for your needs. Get it here (fave. following our advice at the link below,
co/3IYnz89). (The full version costs although the key combination to use is
$69.95 a month, cancel at any time, or Cmd + Shift + period (.). Read: “How to
$99.95 a year.) show hidden files and folders on a Mac”
For details of some other apps that (fave.co/3TNUt1I).
might help you
recover your files,
check out our
roundup of the best
data recovery apps
(fave.co/4aLFnzB),
which include
Stellar Data
Recovery (fave.
co/4anRRgm),
RecoverIt (fave.
co/3vBNOOG),
Data Rescue (fave. In Word 2016, to find the AutoRecovery folder, your Mac will need to
co/3vytjlZ). display hidden files.

2. With
this done,
you’ll need
to open
Finder, then
click on the
Home icon
in the
left-hand
column (it’s The most recent file in our AutoRecovery folder was from 5 March, but we
usually your know more recent files are saved there.
name). Now
navigate to the following folder: 3. Once you’ve found the document
Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/ just click on it to open it up, then
Data/Library/Preferences/AutoRecovery/ remember to save it again under a
3. If you have any AutoRecovery files, new name.
then they will be in here. One thing to Even if you don’t find your document in
remember is that AutoRecovery files are the AutoRecovery folder, it may not be the
temporary and only exist if they think that case that it isn’t there. Files in the
Word shut down unexpectedly. So if you AutoRecover folder don’t always show up.
clicked Don’t Save rather than Save when We have first-hand experience of this.
you were closing the document, there In the past, our Mac has “helpfully” saved a
won’t be an AutoRecovery file for it. Word document in the Office 2011
AutoRecovery folder. This would not be an
How to find the AutoRecovery folder issue, except for the fact that when we
in Word 2011 then accessed the folder ( just a quick
If you are using Word 2011, it’s easy to search in Spotlight for Office 2011
locate the AutoRecovery folder: AutoRecovery), the files were nowhere to
1. Click on the File option in the Menu be seen.
bar, then search for Autorecover. As you can see from the screen grab
2. If you use Word often, then there above, the most recent file in our
might be a few different Autorecover files, AutoRecovery folder was from 5 March,
so check the date to see which one but we know that there are more recent
matches your missing item. files saved there.

The problem with the AutoRecovery In that case, you could try turning to
file is that it is located in a Library folder Time Machine.
that isn’t visible by default, and that will If you have a Time Machine backup on
have some impact on whether your files an external drive, you can roll back to a
are visible. Fortunately, there is a way to time when a deleted or corrupted file was
locate the file. still on your system.
1. Go to the folder where you’d hope to
How to view files in Office 2011 see your file or an earlier version of it.
AutoRecovery folder 2. Open Time Machine and flick back
1. Go to the Finder and press Alt (or through the days, weeks, or months to see
Option) while selecting Go from the if your file is there. We’ll keep our fingers
menu at the top of the page. This will crossed for you.
make the Library folder visible (if you 3. Follow our “Complete guide to Time
don’t press Alt, you won’t see it—and Machine” (fave.co/3ZHi8Rt) for instructions
you have to keep Alt pressed or it on how to recover your files.
will vanish). If you are unfortunate enough not to
2. Click on Library to open the have a backup routine, then we suggest
Library folder. beginning one immediately. Macs are
3. Locate the following folder: very reliable machines, but there is
Application Support → Microsoft → Office → always a risk of something going wrong,
Office 2011 AutoRecovery. so it’s best to protect yourself against
4. When you see Office 2011 in this potential disaster.
view, you should be able to locate Try looking at our “How to back up a
your file. Mac” feature (fave.co/3VyE1U9), which
highlights several solutions for this
RECOVER OLD VERSIONS OF essential practice.
DOCUMENTS VIA TIME
MACHINE RECOVER LOST DOCS FROM
While Word has its own Version History, THE TEMPORARY FOLDER
that only works if you have saved the file Your Mac also has a folder where it might
at some point. Plus, if you have temporarily keep files. The Temporary
subsequently deleted the document by folder isn’t easy to find though.
accident, you can’t open it to get to an To find the Temporary folder, use
older version. Terminal. You can find it in Applications →

Utilities → Terminal, or you can do a You may be able to rely on Word
Spotlight search for Terminal by pressing autosaving for you, but remember that you
Command + Space. have to save the file first to really benefit
1. Open Terminal. from Autosave.
2. Type: open $TMPDIR.
3. Press Enter. Change the autosave frequency
Inside this TMP folder, you should find A helpful thing to know is that you can
a folder called Temporaryitems. It’s reduce the gaps between autosaves on
possible that your document might be Word for Mac. By default they are set at
inside this folder. ten-minute intervals, but it’s easy to make
them more frequent.
TIPS TO AVOID LOSING WORD In Word, go up to the Menu bar at the
FILES top of the screen and click on Word.
To prevent this nightmare from ever From the dropdown menu, select
happening again, follow the tips we Preferences. Then, in the Output and
outline below. Sharing section, you’ll see a disk icon
named Save. Click this, and you’ll now
Save first, save often be able to adjust the time between
It goes without saying that you should saves by entering a value into the “Save
save frequently, especially if your Mac can every X minutes” box at the bottom.
be a bit unreliable. While it might be tempting to set it as
low as possible,
bear in mind
that Word’s
performance could
be hampered
slightly if it’s saving
every minute,
especially if you
are working on a
large file.
Experiment to see
You may find reducing the time between autosaves on Microsoft Word what setting works
for Mac helpful. best for you. ■

WORKINGMAC
Ugreen Revodok Max 213

Thunderbolt Dock: Mightier than
the average hub
13 top-end ports in a rugged and chic enclosure.
BY SIMON JARY
R
esembling an integral part of a two docks, plus a third contender, later in
Stealth Bomber, Ugreen’s this review.
gunmetal gray Revodok Max 213 The Max 213 has an impressive range
Thunderbolt Dock is a mean- of high-end ports, starting with its
looking desktop accessory. Built for Thunderbolt 4 connection to your
a vertical orientation, it resembles the MacBook, two more TB4 ports and a
mighty CalDigit TS4 Docking Station and dedicated DisplayPort 1.4 port to connect
is priced accordingly. We’ll compare the your main monitor. It can support two 4K
96 MACWORLD MAY 2024 IMAGE: UGREEN

displays at 60Hz, and boasts superfast
2.5Gb Ethernet.
SPECS AND FEATURES

The Ugreen Revodok Max 213
Thunderbolt Dock has 13
top-end ports.
> One upstream Thunderbolt 4 port
(40Gbps, 90W PD)
> Two downstream Thunderbolt 4
ports (40Gbps, 15W)
> One DisplayPort 1.4 video port (2x
4K at 60Hz) The Revodok Max 213 has an impressive
> Two USB-A ports (10Gbps, 7.5W) range of high-end ports.
> Two USB-A ports (5Gbps, 7.5W)
> One USB-C port (10Gbps, 20W) TS4’s front-mounted USB-C and beating
> 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet the Echo’s 7.5W USB-C ports.
> UHS-II SD card reader (312MBps) In comparison, the TS4 has three
> UHS-II MicroSD card reader 10Gbps USB-C ports (one at 20W). The
(312MBps) Echo has four, although all at 7.5W. Ugreen
> 3.5mm combo audio jack (front) has more USB-A ports: two at 10Gbps and
> 180W power supply two at 5Gbps.
While the Revodok Max 213 has a Of course, all three docks also
strong range of ports, you can find docking provide two downstream Type-C-
stations with more: The Sonnet Echo 20 compatible 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 ports,
SuperDock (fave.co/3Ef8H33) has 19, each at 15W charging potential. The
including an internal SSD slot. The CalDigit Revodok’s 180W power supply is
TS4 Dock (fave.co/3FyIC0F) has 18. superior to the Echo’s 150W but no
Most of those extra ports on the Echo match for the TS4’s 230W supply.
and TS4 are spare USB and multiple The Revodok Max 213 can charge a
audio ports; the Revodok 213 is a little laptop at up to 90W, a little weaker than
sparse on USB-C, with just a single the Echo (100W) or TS4 (98W).
port—although that one can charge a The dock’s power supply is
connected device at 20W, matching the supercompact. Ugreen makes some of our

WORKINGMAC REVIEW: U G R EEN RE VOD O K M A X 213 TH UNDE RBOLT DO C K
favorite tiny Mac laptop chargers (fave. docks to shame. It is backward compatible
co/3Aopnms), and it has clearly used some with other speeds of Ethernet, so it’ll work
of its charger engineering chops to great with a standard Gigabit Ethernet network.
effect here. You can connect wired headphones or a
It lets you daisy-chain up to six microphone via the front-mounted 3.5mm
Thunderbolt devices via the two audio jack.
downstream Thunderbolt 4 ports—note If you have legacy A/V equipment with
that these connected devices will share RCA jacks, you should consider the Echo
the 40Gbps bandwidth upstream to the 20’s two back-positioned right and left
laptop. You can add affordable portable channel line out RCA jacks. The TS4 has
storage via both the SD and MicroSD 4.0 3.5mm jacks both front and back, so
card readers, both of which are at speedy speaker cables would be tidier if
312Mbps UHS-II. You can usually buy a connected to the back port.
quality 512GB card for around $30 (fave.
co/3PxG47e), although storage prices can DISPLAY SUPPORT
be volatile so that may change. Rather than host the possible three
If you’re lucky enough to be connected downstream TB4 ports, each dock
to a superfast wired network, the 2.5 compared here swaps one for a dedicated
Gigabit Ethernet port puts most other video port: The Revodok and TS4 go with
a DisplayPort 1.4, while the Echo
has an HDMI 2.1 port.
These video options are
close in capabilities, but if your
monitor requires HDMI, you’ll
need a DisplayPort to HDMI
cable with the Ugreen or TS4
docks. The real potential of
that DisplayPort port is
Windows support for a single
8K monitor at 30Hz, but sadly
Apple display limitations mean
the highest Revodok-linked
We applaud Ugreen for keeping its power brick to a very display resolution possible is
compact size. 4K at 60Hz.

Full marks to
Ugreen for
positioning the
upstream
Thunderbolt 4 port at
the back, unlike
many docks that
place it messily at
the front. To be fair
to its closest rivals,
both the Echo 20
and TS4 also put the
Docks compared front and back: CalDigit TS4 (on the left in each host connector at
photo) versus Ugreen Revodok Max 213. the back.
One thing I like to
In comparison, the TS4 and an see on a dock is a power button, so I can
M-Series Mac can support a single 6K quickly stop the constant battery charging
display at 60Hz or 4K at 144Hz, but it’s also when I’m away from the laptop overnight.
restricted to 4K at 60Hz when
connecting dual displays.
You can connect another screen via
one of the Thunderbolt ports, or two via
both the downstream Thunderbolt
ports—although utilizing that DisplayPort
makes more sense for one screen.
Using Thunderbolt, you’ll need either a
USB-C monitor or an adapter cable.
DESIGN
This Ugreen Revodok Max 213 docking
station looks a lot like the CalDigit TS4.
Both can lie horizontally or stand vertical to
save desk space. There are small rubber The sturdy looks are augmented with military-
feet on one side and the vertical bottom. style side venting to keep the dock cool.

WORKINGMAC REVIEW: U G R EEN RE VOD O K M A X 213 TH UNDE RBOLT DO C K
and CalDigit docks for

looks over the Sonnet,
but remember that the
Echo 20 also offers a
built-in NVMe SSD slot
so you can add
storage right within the
dock, although the
SSD card itself isn’t
included in that price.
The Ugreen Revodok Max 213 looks great and has all the ports VERDICT
most people will need. The solid, compact
13-in-1 Ugreen
Neither the TS4 nor Echo 20 provides an Revodok Max 213 docking station looks
on/off button. great and offers all the ports most people
If color means a lot to you, the three will need. It’s up against some serious
docks we’ve compared here offer you competition, however, and its price is
choices: the Ugreen in a cool-looking therefore under the microscope when
Gunmetal Gray, Sonnet in Black, and comparing it to rivals such as the CalDigit
CalDigit in Aluminum. TS4 and Sonnet Echo 20. Read our
roundup of the best docking
PRICE stations for Mac (fave.co/3h1wVoY)
The Ugreen Revodok Max 213
mmmm for further buying advice.
Ugreen Revodok Max
docking station costs a rather 213 Thunderbolt Dock If you want to connect to a
steep $400 (fave.co/3TxArav), PROS single 6K display, the TS4 offers
• 13 top-end ports.
which matches the CalDigit TS4’s that higher resolution, and also a
• Thunderbolt 4.
price and those of other • 2.5Gb Ethernet. single 4K at 144Hz refresh rate.
Thunderbolt 4 docks such as CONS Both are matched when it comes
• Only one USB-C port.
Kensington’s SD5700T ($370). to a two external displays setup.
• Expensive.
The Sonnet Echo 20 PRICE
If you can afford it, the
Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock is $400 Revodok Max 213 is a great and
COMPANY
$100 less at $300. For the extra capable dock that you’ll be
Ugreen
$100, we do prefer the Ugreen proud to have on your desk. ■

Intego VirusBarrier Scanner
Intego’s free VirusBarrier Scanner is free, works well, and meets almost
all of your needs. What’s not to like?
BY CHRIS BARYLICK
Y
ou can’t knock something that VirusBarrier being a far simpler version of
comes for free, especially when the veritable army of many-featured
it works well and meets almost security software suites that has emerged
all of your needs. on the market in recent years.
This is the core philosophy of Intego’s If you’re looking for something simple
VirusBarrier, the free version of its antiviral and effective, you’ll find it here. Just
software, and arguably the teaser that download VirusBarrier Scanner from the
segues to its more robust subscription- App Store (fave.co/3TQLZa3), grant it full
based products. Here, the developers access to your hard drive, and you’re
sought to perform a few tasks well, and for ready to go. A simple interface lets you
the most part they have achieved this, easily customize which areas of your hard
IMAGE: APPLE/FOUNDRY MAY 2024 MACWORLD 101

WORKINGMAC REVIEW: INTEGO VIRUSBARRIER SCANNER
drive are scanned, external hard drives easy access to upgrade to the Mac
and volumes can be dragged onto the Premium Bundle X9, which is billed
window to be scanned, and a daily scan annually for $39.99 (fave.co/4cKyhNB) for
feature allows you to leave your Mac the first year’s subscription to cover a
running for it to be scanned throughout single Mac. Prices then scale upward to
the day. offer coverage for additional years for
Like several applications that have additional devices on the subscription
come on the market recently, contract, the Premium Bundle X9 offering
VirusBarrier has a Trusted Files menu additional features such as real-time,
that allows you to configure which files systemwide protection, parental controls,
are trusted and thus excluded from and privacy controls.
being scanned and quarantined. Once a Where tech support is concerned, a
scan is underway, it can readily sort good chat-based assistant can be found at
through the files on your hard drive, and support.intego.com. The assistant
in my case, I was able to plow through endeavors to figure out your software
the more than 6 million files on my M2 version, platform, and the issue at hand,
MacBook Pro in under 15 minutes. and presents you with support articles. If
If this level of simplicity sounds like an this proves insufficient, if the queue is full,
advertisement or teaser for a more robust or if nobody is on hand at Intego to chat,
commercial product, it is, as the app offers it’s easy enough to leave a detailed
support ticket as to the
problem you’re
encountering, which is
appreciated. Still, this is free
tech support for a free
product, and after reviewing
applications where tech
support from the developer
was entirely absent or
demanded a paid
subscription, the chatbot and
support ticket system were
VirusBarrier Scanner quarantined 27 of the 28 infected files signs that there was
we installed on our test system. someone at the other end

who might be able to help you
resolve your tech issue.
As for the VirusBarrier Scanner’s
overall efficacy, it got just about
everything I threw at it, and after I
deliberately infected my M2 MacBook
Pro with some of the worst viruses
and malware for the Mac I could find
from recent years, a full scan pinned VirusBarrier Scanner offers an excellent, reliable
down and easily quarantined 27 scanner for free.
infected files while missing the
DazzleSpy backdoor software, which I malware samples would have been ideal,
then removed with a free copy of and a few UI quirks raise one’s eyebrow
Malwarebytes. While 27 out of 28 isn’t bad and make one wonder if a quick fix is en
by anyone’s definition, DazzleSpy was route via a software update. Still,
detected in the wild years ago, and one VirusBarrier Scanner offers an excellent,
wonders why Intego hasn’t addressed this. reliable scanner for free, making it an
There are always a few foibles to excellent option worthy of consideration.
nitpick, and the lack of a feature that VirusBarrier Scanner fulfills the ideal of
shows how much time has how the software industry should
elapsed since a scan began, or work in that even though it’s a free
mmmmh
of a maximize window button or product, it offers something
Intego VirusBarrier
a resizable window, seem like Scanner worthwhile, drawing potential
PROS
odd omissions, especially when customers in to see what else
• Robust virus and malware
the rest of the user interface is scanning and removal. Intego’s subscription-based
fresh, clean, and easy to work • Clean interface, easy to packages could provide. One is
customize scanning,
with. Still, the app ran well and targets, and trusted files. intrigued by something good
CONS
never crashed during testing, rather than semi-coerced into
• Minor UI quirks,
and it’s simple enough to start a nonresizable windows. buying a full software suite to
full disk scan, minimize • The scan missed one attain the functionality you’d hope
malware infection.
VirusBarrier Scanner, and work PRICE
for in the first place. That speaks
with other apps on your Mac. Free to the developer’s credit, and
COMPANY
Yes, detecting, quarantining, hopefully its competitors will
Intego
and removing 28 out of 28 replicate that pattern. ■

Who adopted who?
Adopt a teen.
You can’t imagine the reward.
PLAYLIST Everything you need to know about Apple Music,
Apple TV, and Mac or iOS-based entertainment
Listen up: AirPods Pro to get

‘hearing aid mode’ in iOS 18
But the AirPods Pro hardware may not change this year.
BY ROMAN LOYOLA
W
e all probably know In the paid edition of the Power On
someone (or we are newsletter (fave.co/4auM8W9),
that someone) who wears Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the
AirPods all the time. Well, upcoming iOS 18 update (fave.co/4ctowTz)
you might be seeing even more people will come with a “hearing aid mode” that
leaving their AirPods in their ears if the will work on the AirPods Pro. Details on
latest report on a future feature pans out. how this feature works were not provided

PLAYLIST A I R PO D S P R O TO G ET ‘ H E A RING A ID M OD E ’
established a regulatory
category for over-the-counter
hearing aids (fave.co/
3Pz1gd9). Presumably, the
AirPods Pro with iOS 18’s
hearing aid mode would fall
under this category.
Apple currently has a
couple of AirPods Pro features
that can assist with hearing.
Apple will unveil iOS 18 at WWDC 2024. Conversation Boost uses the
AirPods Pro’s microphone to
and it’s not clear if the hearing aid mode isolate human voices and amplify them.
will work with the current AirPods Pro or a Live Listen uses the iPhone’s microphone
new model that has yet to be released. to pick up sounds and boost them
Apple will unveil iOS 18 at its through the earbuds.
Worldwide Developers Conference (fave. In July last year, Gurman reported (fave.
co/3zmnbvC). While the dates for the co/3TPHEE8) that Apple is “working on a
event have not been set, it usually occurs new hearing test feature that will play
in June. WWDC mostly focuses on different tones and sounds to allow the
operating systems, but Apple does release AirPods to determine how well a person
hardware at that time. The AirPods were can hear.” ■
updated last September, but only
to release the USB-C equipped
charging case—the earbuds
themselves have not changed
since September 2022. So Apple
could release a completely new
set of AirPods Pro at WWDC, but
reports of new AirPods Pro (fave.
co/3KeazeP) have not
been circulating.
In 2022 in the U.S., the Food Conversation Boost uses the AirPods Pro’s microphone
and Drug Administration to isolate and amplify human voices.

FaceTiming on your Apple
TV 4K? You don’t have to hold
your iPhone anymore
Belkin releases iPhone Mount for Apple TV 4K for use with Continuity Camera.
BY ROMAN LOYOLA
W
ith tvOS 17, Apple added implemented Continuity Camera, which
the ability to make allows the Apple TV 4K to connect to an
FaceTime calls with the iPhone and use its camera. That, however,
Apple TV 4K (fave. introduced a new problem: What do you
co/3TsZkUC). Since the Apple TV 4K do with the iPhone when making a
doesn’t have a camera, Apple FaceTime call on Apple TV 4K? Prop it up
IMAGE: BELKIN MAY 2024 MACWORLD 107

PLAYLIST i P HO N E MO U N T FO R A P PL E T V 4 K
degrees and can hold the

iPhone in either portrait or
landscape mode. The
mount is made of finished
metal and includes a
two-year warranty.
Priced at $49.99, Belkin
is currently taking pre-
orders for the iPhone
Mount with MagSafe for
Apple TV 4K (fave.
co/43GFI43), with shipping
Apple added the ability to make FaceTime calls with tvOS 17. slated for later this month.
Belkin also makes the
under your TV against a book? Awkwardly iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac
hold it in your hand while looking at your Desktops and Displays, fave.co/4ctIPAn
TV? Use some two-sided tape and stick ($39.99 at the Apple Store; fave.co/3VA5vZz)
your iPhone on the wall above the TV? and the iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac
Thankfully, Belkin has released a Notebooks, fave.co/3TTeQtl ($29.99 at the
solution to this first-world problem. The Apple Store, fave.co/3TPcfS6, or on Amazon,
new iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Apple fave.co/4apnrdE). ■
TV 4K allows you to put the iPhone in a
Belkin’s mount can
proper place elegantly. Compatible be placed atop your
with the iPhone 12 or later, the TV, or if your TV is
mount can be placed atop sitting on a table
or entertainment
your TV, or if your TV is sitting
center, it can sit
on a table or entertainment below it.
center, the mount can sit
below it. You can also mount it
on a wall.
The mount
offers a tilt
range of –20
to +30

JBL Xtreme 4 speaker: A powerful
portable for parties
The fourth generation of JBL’s Bluetooth travel speaker is beefier, better protected
from the elements, and louder than ever.
BY ANDREAS BERGSMAN
JBL is a major player in the The model names are well established in
portable speaker market, our minds, and most of the speakers are now
offering Bluetooth speakers in their third or fourth generation. At CES in
ranging from the very small January, JBL presented the mischievous Clip
Clip and Go series to the giant Boombox 5 and Go 4, as well as the long-awaited
(fave.co/3I0yxdL). In between are the piece Xtreme 4 (fave.co/4ctQkr5).
medium-size options: the Pulse, Flip, The Xtreme series has been
Charge, and Xtreme. something of a favorite among our
IMAGE: JBL MAY 2024 MACWORLD 109

PLAYLIST REVIEW: JB L X T RE ME 4
that the buckle on the strap

itself can also be used as a
bottle opener.
GOOD HAS BECOME

BETTER
The Xtreme 4 is nearly
1⁄4-pound heavier and slightly
wider around the waist
compared to its predecessor,
but it rests more surely on its
bottom than previous
The wide carrying strap that comes with the Xtreme 4 generations. It remains
makes it easy to take with you. wrapped in coarse fabric all
around, and it retains the large
editors (fave.co/4cAkU27). Optimal for passive bass radiators on each end cap.
those who want to take a slightly larger Like its predecessor, the Xtreme 4 is rated
speaker with them, whether it’s to the IP67 for protection from the elements,
pool, the beach, or a gathering in the meaning it is entirely waterproof and
park. With a fairly compact body dustproof. Need a better understanding of
weighing 4.6 pounds (2.1 kg),
the Xtreme 4 isn’t the lightest
travel companion, but it will
reward those who lug it along.
The Xtreme 4 is available in
three colors: black, blue, or
camouflage. Since the speaker
lacks an integrated handle, it
comes with an adjustable
carrying strap that can be hooked
to the top if you prefer to hang it
over your shoulder instead of
transporting it in a bag or The keypad on the top of the speaker is designed
something similar. A fun detail is slightly differently from those on earlier models.

multiple JBL speakers,
you’ll find that JBL has
replaced its Partyboost
technology with the
newer and more stable
Auracast technology,
which uses the
Bluetooth Low Energy
Audio (BLE) standard.
Don’t despair if you
have older Partyboost-
compatible JBL
speakers—they can still
JBL promises up to 24 hours of playtime on a single charge, and be linked to Xtreme 4
you can even replace the battery with a fresh one if it runs out. via the JBL Portable app.
IP codes (fave.co/3kJZy8J)? We’ll tell you CONVENIENT APP WITH A

all about them at the preceding link. 5-BAND EQUALIZER
The keypad on the top of the speaker is As before, the Xtreme 4 is equipped with
designed slightly different than earlier two 70mm (2.76-inch) woofers driven by a
models, but the functions
are largely the same.
There’s a centrally
located power button, a
button to put the speaker
in Bluetooth pairing
mode, clearly marked
buttons for volume
control, and one for play/
pause/track change. The
controls are simple and
straightforward.
When you want to
stream music to The app is both user-friendly and useful.

PLAYLIST REVIEW: JB L X T RE ME 4
a customizable
5-band equalizer
with four presets.
As for the
sound experience,
the speakers in
this series have
always sounded
good, so it would
be too much to
say that this fourth-
generation model
stands out against
its predecessors.
The Xtreme 4 sounds great and has more than enough power to But the Xtreme 4
entertain both you and your friends. does sound great,
with heavy bass
2×30-watt RMS amplifier (with AC power, it’s response and more than enough power to
2×20W with battery power). A entertain both you and your
pair of 20mm (0.79-inch) mmmmh neighbors.
tweeters are driven by a 2×20W
JBL Xtreme 4
RMS amp (on AC power, it’s PROS SPECIFICATIONS
2×15W with battery power). JBL • Plays both loud and well. Output power: 2×30W /
• IP67 rated.
says this speaker can last up to 2×20W (woofers/tweeters)
• Multiple compatible
24 hours on a fully charged devices can be linked Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3
(Partyboost/Auracast).
battery, compared 15 hours for CONS
Battery life: Up to 24 hours
the previous model. • Relatively unwieldy as a Charging time: 3.5 hours
travel speaker.
The JBL Portable app Frequency response:
• Price.
benefits from several changes, • Not backward compatible 44Hz—20kHz
including the ability for two with older JBL models (with Weatherization: IP67
Connect or Connect+).
Xtreme 4s to perform as a PRICE Smart speaker: No
stereo pair (that’s in addition to $380 Weight: 2.1 kg
COMPANY
the Partyboost and Auracast Dimensions (W×H×D):
JBL
features discussed earlier), and 297×149×141 mm ■

How the iPhone’s Headphone
Safety setting can affect a
Bluetooth speaker
A setting designed to prevent damaging your hearing can also throttle external speakers.
BY GLENN FLEISHMAN
A
pple wants you to avoid you can set a threshold above which your
damaging your hearing when iPhone or iPad will moderate sound. It
you’re using an iPhone or iPad doesn’t create an abrupt cutoff, but it
(but, strangely, not a Mac). In keeps you from hearing sounds above a
Settings → Sounds & Haptics → Headphone particular level, measured using standard
Safety, enable Reduce Loud Audio, and decibel units (fave.co/3Tvy7Rj).
IMAGE: FOUNDRY MAY 2024 MACWORLD 113

PLAYLIST i P HO N E’ S H EA D P H O N E SA F E T Y SE T TING
my phone could
produce a louder
volume to an external
Bluetooth speaker than
hers: she had
Headphone Safety on,
and I did not.
Apple lets you
categorize Bluetooth
devices in Settings →
Bluetooth → device
name → info icon →
Because Bluetooth doesn’t let a phone know what’s connected,
Apple throttles the maximum sound to all Bluetooth devices, Device Type. But
including externally connected speakers. Headphone Safety
doesn’t refer to that
However, once you enable this setting, choice if you’ve set it, nor does Apple
it affects all external audio devices, not show that sound is being throttled when
just wired and wireless headphones and the safety feature is turned on. ■
earbuds. Because Bluetooth
doesn’t allow a phone or tablet
to know what’s connected, just
the kind of Bluetooth data
that’s requested, Apple
throttles the maximum sound
to all Bluetooth devices,
including your externally
connected speakers. Headphone
If you forgot that you Safety offers a
single setting
enabled Headphone Safety or
that affects all
you expected it wouldn’t affect output via wired
external speakers, your headphones
mystery is now solved. My and earbuds
and all wireless
spouse and I troubleshooted connections
the problem when it turned out over Bluetooth.

AGING SPARKS
CREATIVITY,
NOT MENTAL
DECLINE.
Some things come with
age. Some others don’t.
Learn the warning

signs of Alzheimer’s.
Small acts of kindness can have a big impact in making people feel welcome.
When we reach out and connect with others, we can build a stronger community
where everyone – regardless of their background – feels like they belong.
LEARN HOW AT
BELONGINGBEGINSWITHUS.ORG
HELPDESK Answering Your Questions and Sharing Your
Tips About Getting the Most From Your Mac
Mac 911
Solutions to your most vexing Mac problems.
BY GLENN FLEISHMAN
HOW TO MOVE ITEMS key, pressing Command-Tab or Command-

BETWEEN MAC APPS USING Shift-Tab cycles you forward or backward
THE APP SWITCHER through those open apps. You can also
You can always find some hidden magic in use arrow keys or a scroll wheel, touch
macOS’s Finder, even if you think you area, or trackball on a mouse or pointer.
know all the tricks. It’s only recently that I (While holding Command after pressing
realized I had been underutilizing what you Command-Tab, you can add Escape to exit
could call “drag, tab, drop” or “drag-switch.” the app switcher without changing the
Anywhere in macOS, you can invoke frontmost app.)
the app switcher using the shortcut If you select one or more items in the
Command-Tab. It shows all open apps in Finder or any app that lets you drag things
the order of last invoked from left (newest) and communicate between apps, you can
to right. While holding down the Command invoke the app switcher to select an app

HELPDESK M AC 91 1
The app switcher facilitates dragging and dropping items between apps.
to wind up in, have the window in that app transition, Apple kept the legacy standard
appear, and then release the items. These HFS+ viable for backward compatibility.
items are copied to the destination, added (It’s called Mac OS Extended format
to a queue, or acted upon in whatever way (Journaled) in Disk Utility.) Macs running
the destination app allows. versions of macOS as recent as Sonoma
For instance, when I’m uploading items can still read HFS+ formatted volumes,
from the Finder to a file-transfer server, I even if you can’t boot a Mac from an HFS+
select them in the Finder, Command-Tab to volume starting with macOS 10.14 Mojave.
switch to Transmit, and then release while Apple also let HFS+ linger for Time
hovering over the correct server window. Machine backups. It took several releases
This can be much more interactive, of the APFS-enabled macOS before Apple
efficient, and accurate than having to adapted APFS to encompass a special
navigate via an Open dialog box and make Time Machine backup volume type (fave.
multiple selections (though some people co/3Txm8CL). (That happened in macOS
will prefer that). 10.13 Big Sur.)
The company provided no transition for
HOW TO MANAGE TIME existing Time Machine archives, however.
MACHINE BACKUPS BETWEEN While you can reformat a standard hard
APFS AND HFS+ DRIVES disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD)
Apple introduced the APFS (Apple that was set up with HFS+ to use APFS
Protocol Filing System) file system instead, the reformat is destructive. You
protocol in macOS Sierra. It’s now the can’t upgrade a Time Machine volume, nor
required format for macOS, but it took a can you copy a Time Machine backup with
while to transition from the former its archive format intact from an HFS+
implementation of the HFS+ (Hierarchical volume to an APFS volume and continue
File System Plus) format. Even during the backing up to it.

How to switch a Time Machine drive sure you have at least one full backup
from HFS+ to APFS before you make any significant change,
If you’ve been using Time Machine with an but two are ideal.
HFS+ drive (something still allowed with The “clean slate” strategy above has
Sonoma), how do you transition to APFS, the advantage of cost and simplicity. But
knowing that Apple will likely eliminate you lose all previous versions of any file
Time Machine on HFS+ in some future and any deleted files that haven’t yet
release of macOS? (Apple typically gives been purged. The “retire and replace”
at least two years’ warning, sometimes approach gives you a deep bench and an
longer, for major changes that involve file extra level of protection for as long as that
systems and or security features.) older drive remains in working condition
The two strategies you have are: and Apple doesn’t abandon HFS+. Even
Start with a clean slate: Reformat your after Apple moves on, you’d be able to
HFS+ drive with the APFS file system, mount and access an HFS+ Time Machine
erasing all its data, and immediately volume on a Mac with an older version of
perform a full Time Machine backup. macOS, of course.
Retire your HFS+ drive: Since most of
us can’t afford the expensive, large SSDs, HOW TO PAUSE QUICKTIME
you can leverage the advantage of cheap PLAYER WHILE RECORDING
hard drives. Keep your existing HFS+ Time AUDIO OR VIDEO ON A MAC
Machine volume in amber, never changing QuickTime Player is a convenient way to
it, and purchase a new drive, format it as record audio and video from your Mac. You
APFS, and start a fresh Time Machine can select sources for audio that include
backup with it. (If you want more any real or virtual microphones or sound
protection, you can get two HDDs and set inputs and from video sources that include
up a RAID 1 mirror [fave.co/3TQMYHu], nearby iPhones, iPads, and Apple TVs.
which writes all data to both drives After you press the Record button, you
simultaneously.) might not realize you have an option other
A strong caution: Always have a couple than clicking the button again, now in the
layers of backups. I perform a nightly clone form of the Stop button. Clicking Stop ends
of my startup drive to an external volume, the recording, and you’re prompted to
keep Time Machine running continuously, save the resulting file.
and also back up my documents to a However, there’s a hidden option you
secure online storage company. Make can’t access from any menu: Hold down

HELPDESK M AC 91 1
taken a look at it, now is a good time.

These settings get their own top-level
item as Settings → Emergency SOS in iOS
and Watch → Settings → Emergency SOS in
watchOS. Depending on your model and
operating system version, you may see
Hold down Option to reveal a Pause button. different options.
For all of the below, you need a cellular
Option, and the Stop icon changes to a connection or Wi-Fi. Emergency SOS
Pause one. Press the Pause icon, and it, as works over nearly any cellular network;
expected, pauses. you don’t need to have a contract or
While paused, the button appears roaming services for the reason that it’s for
again like the red Record button. Press it an emergency call. Apple’s advanced
to continue. You can also hold down Emergency SOS with satellite, fave.
Option, and the button changes to Stop. co/4aku9By (iPhone 14/14 Pro and 15/15
Click that to finish the recording. Pro) requires active involvement when
Unfortunately, this Option feature is there’s no network nearby and doesn’t
available only for audio and video work in all countries.
recordings. You cannot use it while you’re
recording the screen on your Mac. You How to trigger Emergency SOS
need third-party screen recording software Starting with the iPhone 8, you can trigger
for that, or you have to use iMovie or a Emergency SOS on any iPhone (no unlock
similar editing program to stitch screen is required) by pressing and holding the
recordings together. side button (right) and either of the volume
buttons (up or down at left) until a
HOW TO TWEAK YOUR Emergency Call slider appears. If you
EMERGENCY SOS SETTINGS continue to hold the two buttons, iOS
TO MATCH YOUR INTENT begins a countdown, followed by an alert.
Emergency SOS (fave.co/3Zmc55h) on an Releasing after the countdown is over or
iPhone or Apple Watch lets you quickly when you hear the alert, and your iPhone
reach emergency services, sometimes makes a call to emergency services with
without even lifting a finger. But if you haven’t no further intervention. (This option is not
reviewed the settings for this potentially available in India or with an earlier iPhone;
life-saving feature lately or you never have see “Add a trigger” below.) The notion is

unlocking the phone, it’s also the
way to reveal a slider to show your
Medical ID information. This lets an
EMT or someone else pull up
whatever you’ve entered in
Settings → Health → Medical ID. (If
you don’t want this to appear, in
that settings area, tap Edit and then
disable Show When Locked.)
> Face ID or Touch ID is disabled
and your iPhone requires entry of its
passcode or passphrase to unlock
it. This is a quick way to disable
biometrics, if you need such a thing.
(On an iPhone 7 or earlier,
Emergency SOS settings in iOS and watchOS let you
customize how and when calls are placed, including rapidly press and release the side
automatically. or top button five times and drag
the Emergency Call slider; there is
that if you are too incapacitated to view no automatic call option.)
the screen or perform any other action, if On an Apple Watch, press and hold the
you remember to squeeze those opposite side button until sliders appear. You can
side buttons, you get an audio alert and slide the Emergency Call option. You can
then merely have to let go. This could be also continue to hold, which starts a
vital in some emergencies. countdown and then calls automatically
If that option sounds like one you might after that point, as with an iPhone.
accidentally engage or not have available,
you can disable Call with Hold and Add a trigger
Release in Settings. If you’re concerned you may need even
This press-and-hold option also lets faster access to emergency help on an
you access three other outcomes: iPhone, you can enable Call with 5 Button
> You can use “slide to power off” to Presses. The sequence works like this.
power down your phone. This is the only 1. Press the side button five times to
way to reach that option. start a countdown.
> Because this trigger works without 2. When it ends, an alarm goes off.

HELPDESK M AC 91 1
8 or later, SE (2nd generation), or Ultra or

later, can detect when it seems that you
were in a car crash (fave.co/3vuCIuQ). (This
requires at least iOS 16 or watchOS 9.) If
your device thinks you were in a crash, it
starts a countdown as if you had triggered
Emergency SOS, at the end of which an
alarm sounds, and emergency services
are called automatically.
Some people have found that their
day-to-day or sports activities lead to
unexpected calls for help. You can disable
this feature in Emergency SOS settings in
You can press and hold and keep holding to iOS or watchOS by turning off Call After
trigger an automatic call. Severe Crash.
Fall detection: An Apple Watch
3. The iPhone immediately calls additionally offers fall detection (fave.
emergency services at that point. co/43tMWrX), which can be a real help if
In India, this is the only option available you are prone to falling, hike or otherwise
on an iPhone, and you only need to press go off in less-populated areas alone, or
the side button three times in step 1. are simply concerned that you might have
An iPhone 7 or earlier requires that you an unexpected accident and be physically
press the side or top button five times, but unable to call for help. (This feature dates
then you must manually move the back further: You need a minimum of a
Emergency SOS slider to place the call. first-generation Apple Watch SE, an Apple
Silent alarm: If you’re concerned about Watch Series 4, or an Apple Watch Ultra.)
alerting someone else that you’re making Fall detection is paired with movement
an emergency call on your iPhone, you monitoring. So with Fall Detection enabled
can enable Call Quietly. With that turned (set either to “Always on” or “Only on
on, no flashes or audio happens at the end during workouts”), you first get an alert that
of the countdown, even if you have you can cancel or use to call emergency
VoiceOver enabled. services. If you’re immobile for about a
Crash detection: All iPhone 14 and 15 minute, an Apple Watch then places an
models, as well as an Apple Watch Series automatic call. ■

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THE DAWN OF THE AI iPHONE: HOW IT CHANGES EVERYTHING

APPLE’S BEST LAPTOP:

MAY 2024 CONTENTS

COVER IMAGE COURTESY OF APPLE MAY 2024 MACWORLD 3

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Matt Egan

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD, INTERNATIONAL DATA GROUP

4 MACWORLD MAY 2024

HOW TO CONTACT MACWORLD STAFF

BACK ISSUES OF MACWORLD

REPRINTS AND PERMISSIONS

MAY 2024 MACWORLD 5

5 wild PC hardware ideas that

IMAGE: APPLE MAY 2024 MACWORLD 7

FACIAL RECOGNITION REMOVABLE DISPLAYS

8 MACWORLD MAY 2024

MAY 2024 MACWORLD 9

We saw plenty of curved monitors at CES

10 MACWORLD MAY 2024

IMAGE: APPLE MAY 2024 MACWORLD 11

available for a more in-depth analysis Battery capacity: 72.4Wh

SPECIFICATIONS SIMILARITIES AND

12 MACWORLD MAY 2024

in the M3. The M3 can be upgraded to HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER

16GB, but not 18GB, and that upgrade

MAY 2024 MACWORLD 13

BLACKMAGIC DISK TEST BLACKMAGIC DISK TEST

iMOVIE: STABILIZE iMOVIE: ROLLING SHUTTER

iMOVIE: EXPORT 4K iMOVIE: EXPORT 4K (HIGH)

14 MACWORLD MAY 2024

When working on 362 images in the

HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER

MAY 2024 MACWORLD 15

lasted about 2.5 hours before

When testing with 3D Wildlife Extreme, VERDICT

16 MACWORLD MAY 2024

IMAGE: APPLE MAY 2024 MACWORLD 17

down at the simplest level: and no one is going to feel cheated by

18 MACWORLD MAY 2024

IMAGE: APPLE MAY 2024 MACWORLD 19

MacBook Air in 2020 for

20 MACWORLD MAY 2024

IMAGE: APPLE MAY 2024 MACWORLD 21

be coming to macOS. Vision

22 MACWORLD MAY 2024

Find resources at VA.GOV/REACH

But what’s really scary,

and even deadly,

The Latest Mac Products

STUDIO DISPLAY display and $99 for the stand), it’s

IMAGE: DOUGH MAY 2024 MACWORLD 25

26 MACWORLD MAY 2024

DISPLAY STAND PORTS

MAY 2024 MACWORLD 27

display as a port hub and

28 MACWORLD MAY 2024

MAY 2024 MACWORLD 29

30 MACWORLD MAY 2024

MAY 2024 MACWORLD 31

SMART STORAGE In the backpack’s notebook