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APRIL 2024 CONTENTS

MACUSER
14-inch M3 MacBook Pro review 7
Jony Ive apparently led a “big war” at
Apple to kill the MacBook Air 13
The last MacBook Pro with an optical
drive is officially dead in Apple’s eyes 15
How to sell a Mac or MacBook 17
MacUser Reviews 25
Hot Stuff 38
iOSCENTRAL
Apple unveils new Sports app 43
Sorry, EU iPhone users: Home Screen
web apps are going away 45
Don’t put wet iPhone in rice 47
Is the Apple Watch suffering an
existential crisis? 49
If Vision Pro fails, these features need to
Apple Vision Pro review 62 live on in Apple’s other devices 52
iOS Central Reviews 57
WORKINGMAC
Optimized Battery Charging 87
Macs can’t use as many displays as they
have USB-C ports 90
Troubleshoot your printer with logs, jobs,
and a printer page in macOS 92
Avira Prime for Mac 95
PLAYLIST
SharePlay music control coming to Apple
HomePods, Apple TV 101
OS 17.4 includes new CarPlay and Apple
Maps “instrument cluster experience” 103
Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e review 105
HELPDESK
How to set up networked Time Machine
backups; if you can’t authorize something
with a Safari round trip, change default
browser temporarily; type formatted
Hidden iPhone 15, iOS 17 features 78 fractions on your iPhone and iPad; keep
your iPhone flashlight from turning on 115
COVER IMAGE COURTESY OF APPLE APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 3

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DESIGN DIRECTOR Robert Schultz
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Michael Simon
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SENIOR CONTRIBUTORS Glenn Fleishman, Rob Griffiths,
Joe Kissell, Kirk McElhearn, John Moltz, Dan Moren, Jason Snell
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Design
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APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 5

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SmokeyBear.com
MACUSER News and analysis about
Macs, macOS, and Apple
14-inch M3 MacBook Pro:

So close, yet so far
The base model MacBook Pro is an odd fit in Apple’s laptop lineup.
BY THOMAS ARMBRÜSTER
A
pple introduced the 14-inch a “pro” laptop, a question of performance
MacBook Pro with a base M3 value arises. Is it really up to the
chip as a replacement for the professional-level tasks that are associated
13-inch MacBook Pro (fave. with pro usage?
co/3POoGJc) that served as the company’s
most affordable pro laptop. Generally, the SPECIFICATIONS
M3 MacBook Pro succeeds in that role, The laptop in this review is the base model
offering a combination of features that 14-inch MacBook Pro with a base M3
improve upon its predecessor. However, for System on a Chip (SoC).
IMAGE: APPLE APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 7

MACUSER REVIEW: 1 4- INCH M3 MACBOOK P R O
CPU: M3 with an
8-core CPU (4
performance cores,
4 efficiency cores),
16-core Neural Engine
GPU: 10-core GPU
Memory: 8GB unified
memory (100GBps
memory bandwidth)
Storage: 512GB SSD
Display: 14.2-inch The 14-inch MacBook Pro ports now include an SDXC card slot
Liquid Retina XDR and an HDMI 2.1 port.
display; 3024×1964
native resolution at 254 pixels per inch; display available from Apple–it also bests
1,000,000:1 contrast ratio; 1,000 nits most Windows PC laptop displays. It’s a
sustained full-screen XDR brightness, big improvement over the 13.3-inch Retina
1,600 nits peak HDR content only, 600 nits display used in the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
SDR brightness; P3 color; True Tone; The audio quality from the six-speaker
ProMotion sound system with force-canceling
Ports: 2 Thunderbolt 4/USB 4; woofers leaves nothing to be desired—
SDXC card slot; HDMI 2.1; MagSafe 3; external speakers are superfluous. It’s
3.5mm audio another big improvement over the stereo
Networking: Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax); speakers in the 13-inch MacBook Pro.
Bluetooth 5.3 While Apple’s current 15-inch MacBook Air
Weight: 3.4 pounds (1.55 kg) (fave.co/41ss03E) also has a six-speaker
Dimensions: 0.61×12.31×8.71 inches sound system, the 14-inch MacBook Pro
(1.55×31.26×22.12 centimeters) produces better sound.
Battery capacity: 70Wh As with the 15-inch MacBook Air, the
Price: $1,599 14-inch MacBook Pro has two Thunderbolt
3/USB 4 ports, a MagSafe port, and a
DISPLAY, SPEAKERS, PORTS headphone jack. The MacBook Pro also
As with the M3 Pro and M3 Max laptops in has an SDXC card reader, which is used
the lineup, the 14-inch MacBook Pro M3 to transfer data between the laptop and a
has a Liquid Retina XDR display, the best device. Photographers and

videographers can use the slot for the and the 3nm process used to create it
cards from cameras—though, as we’ll allows for more transistors. In all, the M3
discuss in a bit, professionals who deal can complete more commands at the
with many very large files should not get same time than its predecessors.
the base M3 MacBook Pro. And there’s To gauge performance, we ran
an HDMI 2.1 port, which is practical for benchmark tests using Geekbench 6 (fave.
people who make presentations and want co/3g8CyNZ), Cinebench 23 (fave.
to quickly connect to a projector or large co/3IgYaX2), and Cinebench 2024 (fave.
external display. co/3q2vLw4). We compared the test
results of the M3 with the results we have
CPU AND GPU PERFORMANCE available for the M2 MacBook Pro (fave.
With the base versions of Apple’s System co/42T8xdh), the M1 13-inch MacBook Pro
on a Chip, the number of CPU cores does (fave.co/2PXzhbw), and the M1 MacBook
not differ between the M3, M2, and M1; Air (fave.co/3h67n8s). Each test result
each chip has eight total CPU cores, differed slightly in terms of the M3’s
divided between four performance and increase over its predecessors, so for the
four efficiency cores. With the MacBook sake of simplicity, we are discussing the
Pro’s M3, the CPU clock speed is faster, results as an average of all three tests.
GEEKBENCH 6 GEEKBENCH 6
Single-core Multi-core
M3 MacBook Pro M3 MacBook Pro
3,167 11,971
2,587 9,631
2,333 8,250
HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER
CINEBENCH R23 CINEBENCH R23

1,907 10,468
1,623 8,733
1,513 7,778

CINEBENCH R24 CINEBENCH R24

141 693
121 542
111 471
Compared to the M1, the M3’s which showed a 19 percent

performance increase in single-core tests improvement of the M3 over the M2,
is 30 percent, while the multi-core tests and a 73 percent increase over the M1.
show a 43 percent improvement. With Geekbench 6’s Compute Metal test
Compared to the M2, the M3’s tests show (which isn’t as challenging as the 3D
a 19 percent single-core and a 24 percent Mark test), the M3 had a 9 percent
multi-core improvement. increase over M2 and a 50 percent
We also ran the Mac Power Monitor increase over M1.
app (fave.co/42XFpld) during the multi- When testing with 3D Mark Extreme,
core test with Cinebench 2024 to we measured the GPU’s clock speed
determine the utilization of the CPU cores and its power consumption with Mac
and power consumption. The performance Power Monitor. The GPU cores clocked
cores ran at 3.7GHz, and the efficiency in at 1.34GHz and consume around 17
cores at 2.7GHz. All cores were used at watts on average. We saw that with the
100 percent, and Mac Power Monitor CPU, only the efficiency cores are used,
determined an average power consuming about 1 watt.
consumption of just under 18 watts—the We attempted to run Cinebench
graphics processor has nothing to do in 2024’s GPU test, but we encountered a
this test except briefly refresh the monitor
display. As the benchmark runs, the
laptop’s fans kick in to maintain a proper
3D MARK WILDLIFE
EXTREME
operating temperature, but the clock M3 MacBook Pro
8,030
speed of the cores is not throttled. M2 MacBook Pro
6,759
To measure the performance of the
M1 MacBook Pro
4,642
M3’s graphics processing unit (GPU), we
HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER
used 3D Mark (fave.co/49sNjWb),

problem: The test cannot
run with the M3 MacBook
Pro’s base configuration of
8GB of unified memory.
This brings up an issue that
has stirred controversy in
the Mac community: While
Apple considers this laptop
a pro-level device (fave.
co/3wyJ4tw), no serious
pro using high-end pro
apps would buy a Mac with
just 8GB of RAM (fave. The M3 MacBook Pro brings a new design and an upgraded
co/3u4jGLi). Even 16GB of display compared to the 13-inch M2 model.
memory barely makes this
model suitable for such tasks. Read is no difference when writing, but the M3
our separate article that explains why is 10 percent faster when reading.
8GB of memory is not enough on the SSD performance can vary from laptop
M3 MacBook Pro (fave.co/49srOoc), to laptop, even if they have the same
even for general-purpose use with storage capacity. We’ve found that write
non-pro software. and read speeds are around 3,000MBps,
so you’re in good hands with the M3
SSD AND SDXC MacBook Pro.
PERFORMANCE We also checked the speed of an
The standard configuration of the M3 external USB 3.2 Gen 2 1TB Samsung T7
MacBook Pro includes a 512GB SSD, SSD by performing file transfers of 52GB
which Apple has installed as a pair of worth of music files (6,288 total files) and nine
256GB chips. When tested with the large image files totaling 39GB. Averaged
Blackmagic Disk Speed Test (fave. across all tests, we determined a write rate of
co/3pGDmiz), the SSD write speed was 639MBps and a read rate of 710MBps.
29 percent faster than the M1 MacBook When transferring files from an SDXC
Pro’s 512GB SSD, and the read rate card via the laptop’s built-in SDXC card
increased by 10 percent. Compared to slot, we saw read speeds of 94MBps and
the 1TB SSD in the M2 MacBook Air, there write speeds of 81MBps.

configured 15-inch MacBook Air is

$1,499. So the Air is cheaper, but
its display isn’t as nice as the
MacBook Pro’s (though it’s still
high quality), and the Air doesn’t
have an HDMI port or an SDXC
card slot. It’s likely you don’t need
those features and can’t justify the
extra money for the MacBook Pro.
Yes, the M3 is faster than the M2,
but if you’re performing general
productivity tasks and not
venturing into pro apps at all, you
won’t notice the speed difference.
The M3 MacBook Pro offers a combination of features This brings us to one major
that improves upon its predecessor’s. reason why you should not buy
the 14-inch MacBook Pro M3:
VERDICT Apple’s decision to equip the $1,599
As a successor to the 13-inch M2 MacBook standard configuration with 8GB of
Pro, the 14-inch MacBook Pro M3 is worthy. memory. It’s simply not enough for
At $1,599, the new MacBook Pro is $100 professional graphics, photo, and video
more than the 13-inch MacBook software or for developer tools.
Pro with 8GB of memory and a mmmh You can upgrade the memory
512GB SSD, but the new laptop 14-inch M3 to 16GB or 24GB, but that will
MacBook Pro
offers significant updates in all add an extravagant $200 or
PROS
areas: the display, the audio • Excellent display. $400 to the price tag,
system, the ports, and of • Excellent speakers. respectively. At that point, you
• M3 offers a performance
course the chip. boost over older chips.
might as well spend a bit more
However, the MacBook Air CONS money and upgrade to a
complicates a customer’s • Memory upgrades are 14-inch MacBook Pro with a
pricey.
buying decision. The 13-inch PRICE faster M2 Pro (11-core CPU,
MacBook Air M2 with 8GB of $1,599 14-core GPU), 18GB of memory,
COMPANY
memory and a 512GB SSD is and a 512GB SSD, which is
Apple
$1,399, and a similarly $1,999. ■

Jony Ive apparently led a ‘big war’
at Apple to kill the MacBook Air
According to Walt Mossberg, Jony Ive had more product power under Tim Cook, and had
this risky idea.
BY ROMAN LOYOLA
W
e here at Macworld used what if there was only one laptop line, the
to complain that the MacBook Pro, and nothing else?
MacBook lineup was too That’s what former Apple design
complicated, but Apple has guru Jony Ive wanted to do, according
now simplified it so it makes more sense. to journalist Walt Mossberg. In a
But what if Apple had gone even further— recent episode of The Vergecast podcast

MACUSER JO N Y I VE WA R AGA INST MACBOOK A IR
(fave.co/4bYr9wG), Mossberg talks about just a specifications upgrade, not a

one of the ideas that Ive had while working redesign. Mossberg, who admitted that
with Tim Cook at Apple. (It’s at the 26:30 this story came from a single high-level
mark of the show.) Ive wanted to whittle source at Apple and may not pass
down the MacBook lineup to one model, “journalistic rigor,” said this MacBook Air
the MacBook Pro. “He decided there was released at an event at the Brooklyn
didn’t need to be an Air and a Pro,” said Academy of Music (fave.co/49UyjjI), which
Mossberg. “He decided he could do the was in 2018. “This source of mine pulled
Pro and make it as light and as thin—or me aside,” said Mossberg, “and said, ‘We
thinner than—the MacBook Air. And it finally won.’”
would be a higher-priced machine, so that Ive left Apple the next year (fave.
would be better for their bottom line, and co/3T09ig4). It’s easy to conclude that this
people would buy it even if they didn’t event led to Ive’s departure (Mossberg
need the extra power it gave.” doesn’t address it in the podcast), but it’s
Mossberg cautions that the rumor is “a more likely that Ive had been planning to
one-source story” from “a very high-level” leave regardless of the outcome. Ive had
person at Apple who “really super-knew been at Apple for nearly 30 years and had
the products.” stuck around for eight years after Steve
Apple followers may remember Steve Jobs died (fave.co/3Bnogmo).
Jobs’ philosophy of having two different But (cue the Jeffrey Wright voiceover;
product sets, one for general consumers, fave.co/3wAd4Fh), what if Tim Cook had
and one for pros. Ive’s idea flies in the given into Jony Ive? What if all we had
face of that. “There was a big war was the MacBook Pro as Apple’s laptop
between the design team and its acolytes offering? Ive was notorious for believing
(in other words, the Jony Ive–led team), that customers had to be shown what
and the engineering and product they wanted and would argue that
managers side of the company,” said customers would just adapt. But would
Mossberg. The latter group wanted a new they, especially if their pocketbook was
MacBook Air because it was Apple’s best- taking such a huge hit? As Mossberg said,
selling laptop. “They did not want to leave it would have been a higher-priced
it on a hill to die.” device, so there would have been
This dispute continued, but eventually considerable backlash by Apple
the product people prevailed, and a new customers. Maybe, maybe not. The world
MacBook Air was produced, though it was will never know. ■

The last MacBook Pro with an
optical drive is officially dead in
Apple’s eyes
The 2012 13-inch MacBook Pro is no longer supported by the company.
BY ROMAN LOYOLA
S
itting on a shelf in my garage is discs. (For you young’uns, an optical drive
a 2012 13-inch MacBook Pro. I is used to read data from things called
keep it around because it has CDs, DVDs, and in some instances—but
an optical drive—it was the last not this one—Blu-ray discs.)
Apple laptop with the feature. Since I’m However, that 2012 MacBook Pro is
the go-to tech support guy in the family, now dead to Apple. As spotted by Ars
I’ve used that laptop more than I Technica (fave.co/3P0EMkY), the company
expected to get data from old vintage officially put it on its obsolete list, which

MACUSER LAST M ACBOOK P R O W ITH OPTICA L D R IV E OF F I CI ALLY DE AD
cheaper option, according to

Mactracker (fave.co/31RVsFT),
which also states that its
marketing tagline was, “We
put more into it. So you can
You can use Apple’s SuperDrive to burn CDs and DVDs. get more out of it.” Apple
ended macOS support (fave.
means that “all hardware service” has co/3oyPNQo) for this model when Big Sur
ceased and that “service providers cannot arrived in 2020.
order parts for obsolete products,” Apple called its optical drive the
according to Apple’s support SuperDrive, and it was able to burn CDs
document about vintage and obsolete and DVDs. Apple still sells an external USB
products (fave.co/3hKXaxj). SuperDrive for $79, fave.co/49UgIIm (it’s a
An Apple product is considered couple of bucks cheaper on Amazon, fave.
“vintage” between 5 and 7 years after it co/3wAhADI), but it uses a USB-A
has stopped being available for sale. connector, so you’ll need a USB-A to
“Service and parts may be obtained for USB-C adapter to use the drive on a
longer, as required by law or for up to 7 modern Mac. Third-party optical drives that
years, subject to parts availability,” are much cheaper are also available. ■
according to Apple. After that, a product
can be declared “obsolete.” If you have an
obsolete product, you can’t take it to an
Apple Store for repairs. You can try to take
it to a third-party repair shop, but that shop
will have to find other sources besides
Apple to get parts.
This specific MacBook Pro model was
introduced in June 2012 and actually
stayed in Apple’s lineup for a
long time despite being
replaced by an optical drive-
free model in late 2012. Apple
offered the 13-inch MacBook Pro with
an optical drive until October 2016 as a The 2012 MacBook Pro is now dead to Apple.

How to sell a Mac or MacBook
Want to sell a MacBook, iMac, or other Mac? We explain the best place to sell a Mac,
how to find out much your Mac is worth, and how to get the best price.
BY KAREN HASLAM
D
o you have an older Mac you First things first—probably the most
want to sell? There are various pressing question you have is, how
ways to do it with the minimum much is your Mac worth? We’ll address
amount of hassle. But there’s that first. Then we will look at all the
more to selling your Mac or MacBook than ways to sell your Mac: from selling it on
picking how you will sell it. This guide covers eBay or other marketplaces, to trading it
everything you need to do, from evaluating in at Apple, or selling it to a service that
the market and choosing the right price to specializes in selling refurbished Macs.
making sure you aren’t ripped off, and being We also discuss the best place to sell a
prepared for hagglers. Mac, below.

MACUSER HOW TO SEL L A MAC OR MACBOOK
HOW MUCH IS MY an Apple Certified engineer has looked it

MAC WORTH? over and made repairs to make it like new,
Wondering how much you can get for your and it may even come with a warranty.
Mac? When you pick your price, you need Many secondhand Macs for sale come
to keep a few things in mind. Here’s what with extras. Perhaps it’s in the original
you need to do to figure out how to price sealed box (that is, never used). Maybe
your Mac for sale. they are bundling software with it (which
isn’t strictly legal; the Mac should have its
1. Find out the model of your Mac data wiped out before you sell it). Some
The first step when it comes to selling your may or may not include accessories such
old Mac is finding out which model you as a keyboard, mouse, or power adapter.
have—not just whether it’s a MacBook Air What you offer in your total package can
or MacBook Pro, for example, but the influence your selling price.
generation and other specs. You can read Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store
our guide to identifying which Mac you (fave.co/3ThSTnt) is a good indication of
have for help with that (fave.co/48D9zLs). the maximum resell value of your M-series
Mac (Apple no longer sells Intel-based
2. Find out how much similar Macs Macs), but expect yours to sell for a lot
are selling for less. For example, a 2020 MacBook Air
Once you know your Mac’s model, you with an 8-core CPU and 7-core GPU M1
can start to work on what it’s
worth. Finding out its model,
specs, and value can help you set
a selling price.
When you research used
Macs for sale, you’ll find that
some listings categorize the
laptop as pre-owned while others
are listed as refurbished or
certified refurbished. Pre-owned
usually means it’s used and has
not had major repairs or
modifications to make it like new. Apple’s Certified Refurbished Store will give you an
Refurbished generally means that indication of the maximum resell value of your Mac.

chip is $849 in Apple’s
Refurb store, which includes
a full one-year warranty and
the knowledge that Apple’s
engineers have rectified any
problems with the device. If
you decide to sell your Mac
at a similar price, a person is
unlikely to buy your used
Mac if they can get what is
essentially a new one at the
Refurbished Store.
If you want to sell an
Intel-based Mac, check prices
on BackMarket (fave.co/ Although there’s a small customer base that wants Intel
430sdMs). Just like Apple, Macs, most buyers will want M-series models.
BackMarket sells certified
refurbished Macs with a 12-month warranty. software support for a couple more
years because Apple will continue to
3. Be realistic about demand issue security updates for the past two
Apple’s switch from Intel chips to its own versions of macOS. Versions of macOS
M-series chips will affect your ability to sell that are two or three generations older
an Intel Mac. There’s a small customer than the current version usually can still
base that wants Intel Macs, but most access iCloud, and the apps still work.
people want the M-series. But if there is a security threat, and
Keep in mind that as Macs age, Apple Apple doesn’t update the version of
starts dropping support for them in macOS you are running to address it,
different ways. Apple often drops older you may find that websites stop working
Mac generations when it releases a new and the Mac becomes unusable.
version of macOS. There will be features It’s not only software support that
that require a version of macOS that won’t dwindles. Apple stops providing hardware
run on an older Mac. support, usually after five to seven years,
Even if your Mac can’t run the latest which means you have to use a third-party
macOS, it should continue to get shop for repairs.

4. Decide what to sell it for money, delivering your Mac, and waving
Be realistic about what your used Mac is goodbye, but it can be satisfying.
worth. If your price for your three-year-old If you want to sell an old Mac and limit
MacBook Pro is close to that of a the effort you need to put in, find a
completely new Mac, it’s not going to sell. business that will buy your Mac. These
But if you aren’t in a major hurry to sell businesses often refurbish the Mac so
your Mac, you might be happy to price it they can turn it around and sell it, so that
higher, hoping that someone will be means you won’t get top dollar, but it’s
prepared to pay for it. an easy sell. We cover some of these
If you want to sell it quickly, you might businesses below.
think that pricing it for a fast sell is wise. If you are selling your Mac with the
But a price that is too low could be a red idea of buying a new one, some retailers
flag to shoppers—they might assume that offer an exchange. Apple will let you do
your Mac is faulty. If you’re looking for a this, as will various Apple Certified
fast sale, consider a Mac-selling service Resellers. We look at the prices you can
(we list a few below). get for this below, but you can also find out
Don’t get caught up in what you more information here: “How to sell or
originally spent on it. The MacBook Pro trade in your old Mac and save on a new
you are selling might have been the top one” (fave.co/3M2hS95).
dog at the time you bought it, but now an Alternatively, if your Mac has very
entry-level MacBook Air could be more little resell value, you might prefer to
powerful, so don’t expect people to pay donate or recycle it.
top dollar for your old Mac.
6. Choose the best time to sell a Mac
5. Choose whether to sell it privately The time of the year can affect the sale of
or via a business, or part-exchange it your Mac. Typically, it makes sense to sell
How to sell your Mac depends on the an old model before Apple announces a
amount of effort you want to put into it. new one, rather than after the
Selling your Mac through eBay (fave. announcement. When a new model
co/3UYBBxX) or a similar service is a lot of is announced, the older ones will lose a
work. You might make a bit more money if significant amount of value. So keep an
you sell it privately, but you have to deal eye on upcoming Apple events and
directly with the buyer. It’s not as simple as rumors and try to preempt them if possible.
posting your Mac for sale, collecting your You can read our lowdown on what

products we expect
Apple to announce over
the next few months
(fave.co/49JCuP8), and
when we think Apple will
hold its next launch
event (fave.co/
3O0UJHX). We
anticipate Apple updates
in the spring (usually
March), June (to coincide
with Worldwide
Developers Conference), Selling a MacBook in the summer months prior to students
September, and October. returning to or starting college is one option.
But the company has
been known to update products outside way to make some money by selling your
these windows. Mac without the hassle. The amount on offer
Another good time to sell is in the will depend on your machine’s condition.
summer months prior to students returning > CashForYourMac (fave.co/3P3lrQa)
to or starting college. While students can > Decluttr (fave.co/49S7NY5)
get a decent discount on Mac products > SellYourMac (fave.co/3SVW0B6)
(read more about how to get an education
discount on Apple products; fave.co/ APPLE TRADE-IN
3IjOBqi), an older Mac may be a better fit Apple has a trade-in program where the
for a student budget. value of your old Mac is applied toward
Selling in the runup to the December the purchase of a new one. Not all Macs
holidays is also a good time, but there is qualify, though; Apple may offer to recycle
competition from the Black Friday deals it instead of allowing it to be traded in.
(fave.co/42USZWr). Apple certainly doesn’t pay the highest
rates either, but it’s a convenient service.
WHERE TO SELL YOUR MAC To use the program, you will need to
These services will buy the old Mac from enter your Mac’s serial number, which
you. They won’t pay you as much as they will you can find in the Apple Menu →
sell it for, but this can be a quick and easy About This Mac.

> Sell on Ebay, Amazon, Craigslist,

or a local Facebook group.
> Sell via an ad in a local
newspaper or privately some
other way.
> If you just want to get rid of it and
you don’t care about getting money
for it, you could give it away via
Freecycle (fave.co/3SPyKEI), or give it
to your local charity.
WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU

SELL YOUR OLD MAC
It’s perfectly safe to sell on a Mac
secondhand, provided you take
Apple’s trade-in program is another option. some basic precautions. (Well, if
you’ve been storing state secrets or
TRADE IT IN WITH YOUR LOCAL billion-dollar business-critical data on
MAC RESELLER there, you might want to get in some
This is another option if you don’t have a specialist help. The following tips are for
local Apple Store. Some Apple resellers the rest of us!)
can use the Apple Trade-In program to Before you sell your Mac
take your old Mac off your hands. They secondhand, you should clean it both
might offer to knock some money off the inside and out. We have complete details
purchase of a new Mac in exchange for on how to wipe and reset a Mac (fave.
taking your old Mac. But there isn’t a lot of co/4bSUYhY), but in a nutshell: Make sure
flexibility in terms of how much of a you have a backup and erase your Mac
discount they can give you because Apple using the tools in macOS.
controls the prices they sell products at. Also, check to see if you have any
original box or packaging. The more
OTHER SELLING OPTIONS presentable the Mac looks in its
If you’d rather get the maximum amount of photographs, and the more original
money for your Mac, you might prefer to packaging you have, the more it will fetch
use one of the following to sell your Mac. on the secondhand market. ■

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MACUSER
The Latest Mac Products

Reviewed & Rated REVIEWS
TOUCHSCREEN MONITORS
One of our favorite third-party displays is
ALOGIC CLARITY Alogic’s Clarity, a great-looking premium
27-inch 4K monitor that can pivot from
MAX TOUCH AND landscape to portrait orientations and
CLARITY MAX 32- boasts an excellent versatile stand and a
INCH 4K MONITOR: back-mounted USB hub.

Last year, Alogic announced Pro and
WORLD’S FIRST Touchscreen Clarity models, with
32-INCH MAC retractable webcam, and in 2024 there
are three new versions, including the
TOUCHSCREEN world’s first 32-inch glossy display
BY SIMON JARY touchscreen for Mac.
IMAGE: ALOGIC APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 25

MACUSER REVIEW: A LOGIC CL A R ITY MA X MONITOR S
Where the 27-inch Clarity Pro added an screen, 24.6 inches (62.4cm) wide with
all-important webcam to the display, and the 23.5 inches (59.7cm) actual screen width.
Clarity Pro Touch added a touchscreen Maximum screen resolution, however,
display, the new 32-inch Clarity Max displays remains at 3,840×2,160 pixels at 60Hz
stretch wider. We particularly appreciate the (landscape) and 2,160×3,840 (portrait).
Touch model, where you can tap, swipe, The monitor case is made from
slide and pinch onscreen over a space three plastic rather than the metal that you
times larger than an iPad. get with an Apple-branded display—
although at a fraction of the price—but
DESIGN it doesn’t look cheap.
The main difference between
the 27-inch and 32-inch
Clarity displays is the new
wider screen. While it’s not
greatly taller than the
27-inch, the 32-inch display
is appreciatively wider.
Read our Alogic Clarity Pro
Touch 27-inch monitor review
(fave.co/48IU8Sk) and
Clarity 27-inch monitor
review (fave.co/3IeqhX3).
Physically, the Clarity Max Alogic Clarity monitor can swivel…
monitor (without stand)
measures 16.9 inches tall
(43cm) with 15.8 inches
(40cm) of vertical screen,
28.6 inches (72.6cm) wide
with 27.6 inches (70cm)
actual screen width. This
compares to the 27-inch
models that measure 14.8
inches (37.5cm) tall with 13.2
inches (33.5cm) of vertical …and tilt.

The aluminum stand fits the
Apple aesthetic, even when
compared to Apple’s own
expensive monitor stands.
Unlike with the static Apple
display, you can easily adjust
the height of the Clarity
monitors, with the stand
height-adjustable up
to 150mm.
The screen can also fit
100mm VESA monitor arms and The Clarity Max Touch in portrait mode next to a 27-inch
a special folding stand also Clarity in landscape.
made by Alogic. The screen
itself can swivel and tilt, as well as rotate in from Clarity Pro to Max (320 nits) is due
portrait and landscape orientations. to a different scaler being used.
Screen setup from the box is super easy, The Clarity range uses QLED (Quantum
and the display snaps simply into the Dot LED) screen technology that helps
stand. produce brighter and more vibrant colors
than usual.
SCREEN PIXELS AND COLORS I had to play around with the settings
The most important consideration when quite a bit to get to a color on the Max Touch
buying a display is the picture quality. close to that of the Clarity Pro. I changed to
As with the other Clarity models, the the Movie Mode in the onscreen controls’
Alogic Clarity Max and Max Touch offer a Contextual Models settings, which maxes
4K (3,840×2,160 pixels) screen, capable the brightness and increases the contrast,
of displaying 16 million colors at a 60Hz shadow balance, and saturation until the
refresh rate. As those pixels are spread colors look more intense.
across the wider screen, pixel density is
reduced. As such the display quality isn’t APPLE STUDIO DISPLAY
quite as great as on the 27-inch models. VERSUS ALOGIC CLARITY
The Clarity Pro is noticeably brighter MAX TOUCH
than the Max—350 nits (Min), 400 nits Apple’s own monitors offer 5K or 6K
(Typical)—and this drop in brightness resolutions, but at a cost—the 5K Apple

Studio Display (5,120×2,880 resolution) Here are all the Clarity and Studio
with equivalent stand costs a third more Display models with pricing:
than the top-end Clarity Max Touch and > 27-inch, 5K Apple Studio Display, with
lacks the touchscreen functionality. While webcam: $1,599
offering a superior resolution and color > 27-inch, 5K Apple Studio Display,
density, the Studio Display is two and a height-adjustable, with webcam: $1,999
half times the price of the entry-level > 27-inch, 4K Alogic Clarity: $799
Clarity. Read our Apple Studio Display > 27-inch, 4K Alogic Clarity Pro, with
review (fave.co/3E5nXk4). webcam: $999
> Apple Studio Display: 14.7 million pixels > 27-inch, 4K Alogic Clarity Pro Touch,
> Alogic Clarity: 8.3 million pixels with webcam and touchscreen: $1,199
Apple’s Studio Display can go > 32-inch, 4K Alogic Clarity Max: $999
significantly brighter (600 nits versus > 32-inch, 4K Alogic Clarity Max Pro,
320), but Alogic’s display supports HDR with webcam: $1,199
(High Dynamic Range) 600 content, > 32-inch, 4K Alogic Clarity Max Touch,
which means the whites of the display with webcam and touchscreen: $1,399
are very bright and clear, and the blacks While the Studio Display offers a higher-
are much deeper, giving the same effect end screen, the Alogic Clarity screens will be
as 600 nits. bright and impressive enough for most
The 27-inch Apple Studio Display users. If 4K is good enough for you, you get
connectivity hub has one upstream 96W a lot of screen for your money with the
PD Thunderbolt 3 port to connect to the Clarity range, and especially the new 32-inch
computer and three 10Gbps USB-C Max models. For a brighter, much richer
ports for connecting peripherals and screen, you will need to spend a lot more
storage devices. cash on the Apple monitor.
In comparison, the 32-inch Clarity
Max can power a connected laptop at TOUCHSCREEN CONTROLS
65W—enough for a 14-inch MacBook, but The most obvious advantage the Clarity
larger laptops would work better with a Max Touch has over the Apple Studio
higher power source, so you may want Display and other premium screens is its
to stick with the MagSafe power precision, 10-point multitouch, One Glass
connector and USB-C charger. Read our Solution (OGS) touchscreen.
roundup of the best MacBook chargers We are all experts on a touchscreen,
(fave.co/3Aopnms). which we know from our iPhones and

Alogic has an optional
accessory, the $199 Clarity Fold
Stand, to better facilitate
comfortable drawing or
interacting onscreen—the
articulating stand securely
holds the monitor raised at an
angle like a drafting board. It
can rotate 360° so that you can
share work with colleagues.
As with the 27-inch Clarity
Pro Touch, it’s a more intuitive
way to fine-tune levels and
effects in photo editing or
music mixing, in applications
such as Adobe Lightroom and
The most obvious advantage the Clarity Max Touch has Audition, and Apple Pro Logic—
over the Apple Studio Display is its precision touchscreen. but with a wider screen.
Getting hands-on or
iPads—but few Mac users are used to stylus-on with the screen in front of you
interacting with our computers via a encourages spontaneity and
touchscreen, which is more common with experimentation.
Windows PCs. (Read: “Why there isn’t a Noncreatives shouldn’t ignore the
touchscreen Mac, but should be” at fave. benefits either. It’s fun to move folders
co/49NYZCq). around, open tabs, and double- and
Computer touchscreens have real triple-tap text with a finger. Suddenly, the
benefits, especially for professionals desktop mouse starts to seem rather
such as designers, artists, and scientists. old-fashioned.
Popular creative programs, such as Alogic’s use of One Glass Solution
Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, technology, which combines the monitor’s
SketchUp, ZBrush, Autodesk Maya, protective layer with its input layer via a
Blender and Inkscape, for example, conductive medium, keeps the Clarity Max
allow for freehand input, such as Touch’s screen as thin as the other Clarity
drawing or sculpting. monitors, while maintaining the monitor’s

bright picture. This is a major

advantage over lower-cost
capacitive touchscreen monitors
that often appear darker because of
the extra layer of glass required.
As well as letting you use your
fingers, the Clarity Pro Touch
supports capacitive styluses on
Windows, macOS, and
ChromeOS—as well as Microsoft
Pen Protocol (MPP)–compatible
active styluses on Windows. Alogic
sells its own Active Surface Stylus
Pen for $49.99 (fave.co/49VVSsn).
While it’s a quality touchscreen, The downloaded UPDD Commander app lets you
the Clarity Pro Touch doesn’t customize a long list of touch gestures.
support pressure-sensitive touch.
a text file you’ll need in the setup. Handily,
TOUCHSCREEN MAC SETUP Alogic includes a QR scan code in the
Setting up the touchscreen is not as user manual so you can quickly get to
straightforward as you might hope, but you Clarity touchscreen drivers. The drivers
should have to do it only once and it’s can also be found on the Clarity Max
down to the lack of touch functionality built Touch product page.
into the macOS, which offers less support The downloaded UPDD Commander
for touch functionality than Windows. As a app lets you customize a long list of touch
result, Alogic requires Clarity Touch users gestures involving one, two, three, or five
to download drivers and a UPDD fingers with taps, presses, drags, and
configuration app to provide more swipes. A one-finger tap substitutes for a
functionality on Mac. mouse click. A two-finger tap can be set as
Getting to a stage where you can move a double-click.
folders about, switch between tabs, close
windows, and so on is simple. However, to ONSCREEN CONTROLS
get a full pinch-and-zoom touchscreen, I’ve always hated computer display
you need to download special drivers and onscreen controls that are mostly hidden

under the bottom of the screen, where you Slack, or Teams—requires it, and then
have to feel for the near-invisible button and auto-retracts when it’s no longer needed.
then try to work out how to navigate through This keeps the straight-line looks of
the onscreen controls with the other the monitor when not in use, and also
identical buttons. Alogic hasn’t made this gives you privacy protection as it
any easier on the Clarity range, tucking the ensures that the camera has no chance
buttons away underneath so you have to of spying on you if malware has somehow
search them out like you’re reading Braille. gotten into your system.
But a real advantage of the It’s an 8-megapixel webcam that offers
touchscreen models is the ability to simply a decent-quality image, and audio is fine,
swipe the onscreen controls into vision too. (The Apple Studio Display features a
and then manipulate by touch. This feature fixed 12-megapixel webcam.)
could be worth the upgrade to While it’s clever, the retractable
touchscreen on its own. webcam feels flimsy, and the adjusting
scroll wheel at the back doesn’t give a lot
WEBCAM of camera maneuverability—although it’s
Some Clarity models lack a webcam. You certainly more than you get with the Apple
can add your own separate webcam to Studio Display’s static camera and lack of
dangle from the top of the monitor, giving any adjustability to the monitor. With the
you more flexibility and choice than having a Clarity Max Pro and Max Touch, you will
fixed in-screen cam. See our list of the best mainly use the monitor’s own super stand
Mac webcams (fave.co/3Th0Kml). to center yourself onscreen.
The Clarity Pro and Pro
Touch earned their “Pro” title
with the addition of a
webcam, and you’ll find
the webcam on the Clarity Max
Touch and Clarity Max Pro,
although not the entry-level
32-inch Clarity Max.
The clever webcam raises
itself from within the monitor
when an app—such as The 8-megapixel webcam offers a decent-quality image,
FaceTime, Zoom, Google Meet, and audio is fine, too.

SPEAKERS the monitor via either the USB-C or the

Alogic’s Clarity display features two 5W USB-B port at the back of the display.
speakers. While it’s OK for video calls and All Alogic Clarity monitors boast the
superior to the Mac mini’s lousy built-in back-mounted hub that includes a USB-C
speaker, you wouldn’t want to listen to The upstream port that supports top-end
Dark Side of the Moon on them—you are DisplayPort 1.4, plus an upstream USB-B
better off with a separate quality speaker. port, and two USB-A downstream ports, as
The built-in 3.5mm audio jack can be well as a DisplayPort 1.4 and two top-end
used to connect external speakers. HDMI 2.1 ports, and a 3.5mm audio port.
You connect from your Mac to the
BUILT-IN MULTI-PORT HUB screen for Extended or Mirrored display
AND POWER modes via either the USB-C, DisplayPort
To have full use of the touchscreen and 1.4 or one of the HDMI 2.1 ports. But
webcam, you must connect your Mac to connecting via the video ports will not
allow the webcam or
touchscreen to work. Given
that, the extra video ports at
the back of the monitor are
rather redundant if you want to
have full control of all the
features, as you can’t daisy-
chain the video ports.
Using USB-C or USB-B, it
can connect to your computer
for not just the display, but
also charge a laptop at up to
65W at the same time. The
original Clarity monitor offered
90W charging for the laptop
but the Pro/Max and Pro/Max
Touch require around 25W for
the webcam.
The Alogic Clarity screen neatly slots the stand stem into
the upper area shown above. Below is the eight-port USB At the same time, Alogic
and HDMI hub. reduced the power supply

from 180W to just The Clarity Touch
150W, meaning with an additional
Clarity Fold Stand.
laptop charging is
limited to 65W.
The bonus of
charging your laptop from
the monitor means you
don’t need a separate power
supply for your laptop. You can
just connect with one cable to
get an external display and
keep even a medium-size
(13- to 14-inch) laptop
fully charged.
If the computer is
connected to the USB-C port on the both USB-C and USB-B connections are
display, the USB-A ports will operate at a acceptable for touchscreen use.
rather lame USB 2.0 (480Mbps) speed To connect your Mac to the display via
because the video traffic shares the USB-B, you will need an extra USB-C
USB-C cable with the USB data. This is to USB-B cable, which strangely isn’t
where the Studio Display’s higher- included. The Clarity monitors come with
bandwidth 40Gbps Thunderbolt 3 three cables: USB-C to USB-C (10Gbps),
connection and fast USB-C ports are HDMI to HDMI and, curiously, USB-A
superior. USB 2.0 is fine for most to USB-B.
peripherals (keyboards and mic, for Despite the multiple display
example), but not for high-speed storage connections, you cannot daisy-chain other
devices such as external hard drives and displays to the Clarity’s hub, so the two
USB flash drives. HDMI ports are rather redundant.
However, this is where the USB-B
connection comes into its own. If the PRICE
computer is connected to the display’s For a quality 32-inch display, Alogic’s
USB-B port, the USB-A ports operate at entry-level Clarity Max is competitively
5Gbps USB 3.0 speed. This makes the priced at $999. Adding a retractable
USB-B connection the most sensible, and webcam, the Clarity Max Pro costs $1,199.

screen but lacks either an

adjustable stand or
a touchscreen.
The Clarity Fold Stand costs an
extra $199 (fave.co/48zQp9m),
something to consider if you want
to securely hold your monitor raised
at an angle like a drafting board or
almost flat against the table to suit
your creative style.
Read our full roundup of
Artists and video pros will appreciate this premium- the best monitors for Mac (fave.
looking 32-inch 4K touchscreen display. co/435WyIB).
With touchscreen, the Clarity Max VERDICT

Touch is priced at $1,399. For a large, The Alogic Clarity Max Touch adds wide
widescreen 4K touchscreen display, this is 32-inch touchscreen functionality for Mac.
attractively priced. While you may not think you need a
> Alogic Clarity Max 32-inch UHD 4K touchscreen, you’ll find yourself quickly
Monitor: $999 getting used to swiping and
(fave.co/472JC8x) mmmm dragging with your finger.
> Alogic Clarity Max Alogic Clarity Max It’s a premium-looking
Touch and Clarity
Pro 32-inch UHD 4K Monitor Max 32-inch 32-inch 4K touchscreen
with Smart Webcam: $1,199 4K monitor display with built-in USB hub
PROS
(fave.co/48zAwjl) and a fantastic height-
• Impressive wide 4K 60Hz
> Alogic Clarity touchscreen. adjustable, tilt and pivot
• Fantastic adjustable stand.
Max Touch 32-inch UHD 4K stand. Artists and video pros
• Built-in USB hub.
Touchscreen Monitor with CONS
will appreciate its now wider
Smart Webcam: $1,399 • 4K, not 5K. touchscreen.
(fave.co/49zgFlz) • Lower color density and less We prefer the brightness
brightness than 27 inch.
Compare those prices to PRICE and color depth of the 27-inch
Apple’s $1,599 price tag for $1,399/$999 Clarity Pro over the 32-inch Max,
COMPANY
its smaller 27-inch Studio but that’s a compromise you
Alogic
Display, which has a 5K make for the wider screen. ■

MACBOOK BACKPACK
It’s not uncommon nowadays
PACSAFE X ANTI- to have thousands of dollars’
worth of gear that you carry
THEFT 16-INCH around with you when you’re
COMMUTER on the go. So it follows that you should
BACKPACK: SAFE use a carryall or holdall that securely

protects your stuff. The Pacsafe X Anti-
AND SECURE Theft 16-inch Commuter Backpack (fave.
BY THOMAS BERGBOLD co/49t30MS) has several mechanisms to
prevent theft when you’re out and about.
IMAGE: ALOGIC APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 35

MACUSER REVIEW: PACSA FE X A NTI-TH EFT 16 - INCH COM M UT E R BACK PACK
EVERYTHING HAS ITS PLACE

The Pacsafe X is not a classic backpack
that you load from the top. Instead, like
a sling, the opening is located on the
long side. This provides very good
access to the impressive storage space,
although the numbers—a height of 17.3
inches (44 centimeters), a width of 11.8
inches (30 cm), and an 18-liter volume—
don’t sound like that much.
The large main compartment has a
zipper on three sides. When it’s
completely open, you have very good
The zipper can be locked to prevent the access to two padded compartments,
compartments from opening. one that can fit a MacBook up to 16
inches and one suitable for an 11-inch
The Pacsafe X has a few features to iPad. A slim folder has additional space in
protect it from being quickly slashed open
with a blade. The straps have wires built
in, the body of the backpack has a steel
mesh lining, and the zippers are made to
resist punctures.
In addition to the slash protection,
the Pacsafe X has other safety features.
The zippers in the two main
compartments are protected with a
lock-like system, and in the secondary
compartment with an extra loop. The
main compartment also has pockets
with radio-frequency identification
(RFID) blocking to stop RFID readers.
A safety clasp on one of the carrying
straps is used to securely attach the A safety clasp on one of the carrying straps is
backpack to a chair. used to securely attach the backpack to a chair.

the main
compartment.
The second
compartment is
larger than it
looks. It runs the
entire length
and width of the
Pacsafe X
and has an
additional
large mesh
compartment
with a zipper. It’s The backpack has an excellent set of features to protect your gear.
a good place to
stash cables, power supplies, and tissues. slate and tan, and a smaller version is
A large A5-size compartment with a zip available that fits a 13-inch laptop. The
fits a lot of small items, and there are also 16-inch backpack is $179.95 and the
three compartments for thick pens. 13-inch backpack is $159.95.
Another compartment hidden on the back
is a good place for the iPhone. One of the VERDICT
most practical compartments is The Pacsafe X Anti-Theft
on the right shoulder strap, mmmmm 16-inch Commuter Backpack
perfect for opening with one Pacsafe X Anti-Theft has an excellent set of
16-inch Commuter
hand and storing earphones Backpack features to protect your gear
with a charging box or keys. PROS from theft, and I really liked
• Many sections.
There is also a compartment the many compartments,
• Very good zippers.
on the side for a slim water • Convincing theft protection.
especially the small pocket on
bottle. • Good accessibility. the right shoulder strap. It’s
The Pacsafe X backpack is CONS also very comfortable to carry.
• Pricey.
made of recycled nylon (the The price seems high but,
PRICE
equivalent of 23 plastic $179 after several weeks of daily
bottles) and has a PVC-free COMPANY use, I can say that the
Pacsafe
coating. It’s available in black Pacsafe X is built to last. ■

Hot Stuff What we’re
raving about
this month
LOOKING GLASS
16" SPATIAL OLED
lookingglassfactory.com
The Spatial OLED is a display that uses

a proprietary light field technology to
show 3D content without having to
wear 3D glasses--multiple users can
look at the display without losing 3D
fidelity. The display has a 3840-by-2160
resolution with a 60Hz refresh rate. It’s
available as a vertical or horizontal
display--it does not pivot between the
two orientations.—ROMAN LOYOLA

SATECHI SM1 SLIM
MECHANICAL
BACKLIT
BLUETOOTH
KEYBOARD
satechi.net
The keys on Satechi’s SM1 use low-profile

brown switches that provide a balance
between typing and gaming. The keyboard
has an adjustable backlight with 14 different
patterns and a lock screen shortcut key
that works on the Mac. Powered by a
2500mAh battery, the SM1 has a USB-C
port for charging or to connect to a Mac in
wired mode.—ROMAN LOYOLA

MACUSER
Hot Stuff
UGREEN
REVODOK
MAX 213
THUNDERBOLT 13-IN-1
DOCKING STATION
ugreen.com
This docking station features Thunderbolt 4

support, allowing the connection of two 4K monitors
with a Mac equipped with a Pro- or Max-level
M-series chip. Along with two Thunderbolt/USB 4
ports, it has four USB-A ports, 1 USB-C port, an
ethernet port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an
SD/TF Card Slot.—ROMAN LOYOLA

We Help You Help.
When you help care for a loved one, you take care of everything.
But are you taking care of yourself?
AARP can help with information and useful tips on how

you can maintain a healthy life balance, care for your own physical and mental
well-being, and manage the challenges of caring for a loved one.
Get help from others. Ask family and friends for assistance.
Seek advice from other people caring for their loved ones.
Care for yourself. Don’t forget about your own needs. It’s just as
important to make a plan to take care of yourself as it is to create a
caregiving plan for your loved one.
Tap into AARP’s resources. AARP.org/caregiving has a wide array

of information, including legal and ﬁnancial guidance.
You’re there for them. We’re here for you.
Find free Care Guides to support you

and your loved one at AARP.org/caregiving
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

iOSCENTRAL The latest on iOS, iPhone, iPad,
Apple Watch, and App Store
Apple unveils new Sports app

with a focus on scores
Free app covers NBA, NHL, and numerous soccer leagues, but doesn’t
acknowledge the existence of cup matches.
BY DAVID PRICE
A
pple today announced the leagues, including the Premier League,
launch of Apple Sports, a new Serie A, MLS, LaLiga, and the Bundesliga.
free app dedicated to When you first set up the app, you’ll be
supplying sports fans with their asked to tell it which leagues and teams
favorite teams’ latest scores and stats. you’re interested in (if you haven’t already
The app covers NHL, MLB, men’s and done so in Apple News); from then on you
women’s basketball, and numerous soccer can choose to tailor your view to show

iOSCENTRAL A P P LE U NV EIL S NEW SPORTS A PP
recent, current or upcoming matches might be worth mentioning that the U.S.
involving either your favorite leagues or hosts the Cricket World Cup [fave.co/
your favorite teams. 4bYLzWk] later this year. But sure, Apple,
At this stage there are a number of carry on with ignoring cricket.
surprising limitations, suggesting that it is Functionally, Apple Sports is limited by
still half-finished. The most obvious gaps a strict focus on leagues and an apparent
are in the supported sports and leagues: ignorance of cup matches. (A Chelsea fan
The NFL isn’t covered yet, although Apple in the Macworld office laments that his
insists this will become available for its team’s cup final appearance on Sunday is
upcoming season. (Oddly, Apple says the not listed, yet the less important league
same thing about MLB coverage in its game postponed to make room for it is.)
press release [fave.co/3UZ1Nso], but that’s It’s also strange that you can’t go back any
already available as a selectable favorite further than yesterday to see older results,
in the app even though there aren’t any or further than a week into the future. And
games close enough to be listed.) there’s no news tab, nor any kind of
In an interview with Fast Company long-term schedule of matches. It doesn’t
(fave.co/3UVIvEh), senior vice president of even support Live Activities. You’ll still
services Eddie Cue said the app’s simple need to visit the TV app to follow a game
interface is by design. “You can spend five on the lock screen or Dynamic Island.
seconds to go look at the score, or you One possible clue to the makers’
might spend 30 seconds, or you might priorities can be found in the betting
spend three minutes going play by play information (the odds for each team, the
because it’s the end of the game. It’s all spread, and so on) listed prominently for
about that. It’s getting you in, giving you certain matches. Apple isn’t keen on even
what you need, and doing it really quickly.” the appearance of moral murkiness so it’s
Moving outside the traditionally most hard to see this developing into a full
popular sports in the U.S., this reporter was betting feature, but the option is there, and
surprised to note the absence of any would be hugely lucrative. Ultimately, of
cricket coverage. This, after all, is the course, Apple will want the Sports app to
second most popular sport in the world, tie into its live streaming of matches (fave.
behind only soccer. It’s also the second co/3T1q5za) on Apple TV+. It will be
sport of the U.K., one of the three countries interesting to see how it develops from
where Apple Sports is initially launching here, but for now, it won’t be replacing
(along with the U.S. and Canada). Indeed, it your sports app of choice. ■

Sorry EU iPhone users, Home
Screen web apps are going away
Apple blames the ‘enormous amount of engineering’ it took to comply with the
Digital Markets Act.
BY MICHAEL SIMON
B
ack in iOS 14, Apple released a send notifications and show unread
new feature to let users turn any badges just like a real app. Unfortunately,
website into an app by adding it If you live in the European Union, Apple is
to their home screen with a few about to turn that off.
taps. Then in iOS 17, it supercharged the As part of the iOS 17.4 beta (fave.
feature by allowing those shortcuts to co/49V0dMo), which brings major
IMAGE: ARTJAZZ/SHUTTERSTOCK APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 45

iOSCENTRAL EU iP HONE U SER S TO LOSE H OME SCR EE N WE B APPS
changes to the App Store on the iPhone, Addressing the complex security and
Apple has also announced (fave. privacy concerns associated with web
co/49VK7C0) that users will no longer apps using alternative browser
have access to Home Screen web apps. engines would require building an
Of course, users will still be able to create entirely new integration architecture
bookmarks to their favorite sites within that does not currently exist in iOS and
Safari, but Apple is removing the one-tap was not practical to undertake given
convenience of a dynamic home page the other demands of the DMA and the
icon. As Apple explains: very low user adoption of Home
Screen web apps. And so, to comply
Malicious web apps could read data with the DMA’s requirements, we had
from other web apps and recapture their to remove the Home Screen web
permissions to gain access to a user’s apps feature in the EU.
camera, microphone or location without
a user’s consent. Browsers also could Basically, Apple doesn’t want to waste
install web apps on the system without a time on securing Home Screen web apps
user’s awareness and consent. for third-party browsers and app stores since
most people don’t use them.
Web apps could also be a way
to avoid Apple’s fees and
restrictions, so it’s easier for
Apple to just dump the feature.
iOS 17.4 includes
numerous App Store changes
effective only in the EU,
including alternative app
stores and payments, third-
party browser engines, and
access to NFC for mobile
payment systems. It also
introduces some 600 new
APIs, but unfortunately,
EU iPhone users will no longer have access to Home progressive web apps aren’t
Screen web apps. among them. ■

Putting your wet iPhone in rice to
dry is a bad move, Apple warns
But we know you’re going to do it anyway.
BY MICHAEL SIMON
E
ver since cellphones were a For years, we’ve turned to a simple
thing, we’ve been dropping household staple when we need to save
them in water. And while today’s our iPhones from a liquid death: a bag of
iPhones are fairly resistant to rice. The method is decidedly low-tech.
splashes, dips, and dunks, there are still Just pop your phone in a bag of rice, seal
times when they get too wet and the it up, and wait for a day or so. The idea is
dreaded liquid-detection alert appears that the rice will draw the water out from
on your screen. inside the phone before it can fry any
IMAGE: FOUNDRY APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 47

iOSCENTRAL D O N ’ T PU T W ET iPH ONE IN R ICE
internal parts. People who have 1. Tap your iPhone gently against your
experienced waterlogged phones (fave. hand with the connector facing down to
co/3SWXN9e) swear by it, and there’s remove excess liquid. Leave your iPhone
tons of anecdotal evidence to show that it in a dry area with some airflow.
does indeed work. 2. After at least 30 minutes, try
However, researchers have been charging with a Lightning or USB-C cable
claiming (fave.co/3ThDKDw) for years or connecting an accessory.
that it’s all a myth and rice doesn’t 3. If you see the alert again, there is
actually dry your phone faster and could still liquid in the connector or under the
slow down the process, leaving your pins of your cable. Leave your iPhone in a
logic board susceptible to further dry area with some airflow for up to a day.
damage. And a new 2024 support You can try again to charge or connect an
document (fave.co/3P2oxUw) from accessory throughout this period. It might
Apple actually advises against using take up to 24 hours to fully dry.
rice to dry out your iPhone since it 4. If your phone has dried out but it
could make matters worse, as “doing so still isn’t charging, unplug the cable from
could allow small particles of rice to the adapter and unplug the adapter from
damage your iPhone.” Instead, Apple the wall (if possible), and then connect
suggests the following steps: them again.
Among the don’ts, Apple also urges
against drying your iPhone with an external
heat source or compressed air, or inserting
a “foreign object,” such as a cotton swab
or a paper towel, into the Lightning or
USB-C port.
Granted, iPhones have been able to
Apple’s withstand submersion in water at a
dreaded maximum depth of 6 meters (about 20
liquid-
detection feet) for up to 30 minutes since the
alert will iPhone 12 (fave.co/4c0aIja), so chances
appear are you haven’t had to worry about
if your
encountering liquid damage for a while.
iPhone
gets too But if you ever do, leave the rice in the
wet. cabinet. ■

Is the Apple Watch suffering an
existential crisis?
Now Covid-19 fears have largely disipated, the Apple Watch is struggling to find a purpose.
BY HALYNA KUBIV
I
n recent years, Apple has become quite leapfrogged Rolex as the most popular
secretive about the success of the watch, backed up by an analysis of social
Apple Watch. If it’s supplying figures for mentions (fave.co/3IlnJGy); this was later
that product, they’re more likely to be confirmed by official figures from the Swiss
processor specs or serial numbers than watch industry (fave.co/43fNdPr). However,
unit sales, or vague proclamations, like a this feat was less impressive than you
record number of new users bought one might think. According to data from the
during the recent quarter. Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry,
Instead, we have had to fall back on the country as a whole exported between
third-party sources of data. Back in 2016, it seven million and eight million mechanical
was claimed that the Apple Watch had watches per year leading up to the

iOSCENTRAL A P P LE WATCH ’ S EXISTENTIA L CR ISIS
pandemic years;
since 2021, this
figure has leveled
off at just over six
million units (fave.
co/3uStIiT). These
are small numbers
in comparison to
what would be
expected from a
major Apple
product line.
The tricky
thing, when we’re
trying to establish Apple Watch sales have leveled off.
the Apple Watch’s
level of success, is Apple’s policy of They rise rapidly in the first quarter of the
combining all wearables, home, and year, just at the time when the first three
accessories products into one category, months of a new Apple Watch model are
and then providing sales figures for that in the books. In other words, we can say
category as a whole. However, the figures with reasonable confidence that the
in Apple’s quarterly reports since mid-2017 fortunes of the wearables and home
suggest that the Apple Watch most likely category closely mirror the success of the
accounts for the majority of its wearables Apple Watch itself.
sales. The Apple Watch is expensive and What has been noticeable about
seemingly popular enough to easily wearables sales for the past two years is
dominate the category. that they still spike in the December
HomePods are a niche product, as are quarter, but nowhere near as high as in
the AirPods Max. AirPods and AirPods Pro 2021 and, in some cases, 2020. This is all
can’t be called cheap, but compared to the more surprising when you consider
the Apple Watch, they have to sell that Apple introduced the higher-priced
significantly more units to be relevant at Apple Watch Ultra a year ago, which was
all. And if you look at Apple’s sales figures supposed to improve this sales picture.
for wearables, you will notice a pattern: Instead, we see the opposite trend.

Wearables sales in the most recent front pages of newspapers. That means a
December quarter (fave.co/3IfQch3) were run of success has ended for the Apple
11 percent down on the same period in the Watch. And now new watches don’t even
previous year, which was itself 8 percent have the blood-oxygen sensor enabled
down on the year before that. (fave.co/3Sl0pgC), which will only further
hurt sales.
WHAT’S GOING ON WITH The innovations in the most recent two
THE APPLE WATCH? generations of Apple Watch are not earth-
The Apple Watch is far from doomed, and shattering, either (fave.co/3IlueJk): crash
there are a lot of fluctuations going on. detection, a newer chip, and double tap
But there are definitely some worries for (fave.co/3silUpp). These are all nice things
Tim Cook. Two factors have probably to have, but not enough to push happy
come together to cause the decline. owners of older models to upgrade. So
In 2020 and 2021, health concerns where does that leave the Apple Watch?
during the Covid-19 pandemic probably Another health crisis isn’t likely to come
helped the Apple Watch increase sales anytime soon, and the pattern of iteration
figures. Automatic hand-wash detection rather than innovation suggests that’s not
nagged you to scrub for a full 20 seconds. going to change anytime soon. ■
The blood-oxygen
sensor introduced in
2020 just before the
pandemic engulfed the
world was able to
detect a rapid drop in
blood-oxygen levels,
one of the main
indicators for the
disease.
But Covid-19
restrictions have been
largely lifted for two
years now, and the
The blood-oxygen sensor introduced just before the pandemic
disease has engulfed the world was able to detect a rapid drop in blood-oxygen
disappeared from the levels, one of the main indicators for the disease.

iOSCENTRAL
Even if Vision Pro fails, these three

features need to live on in Apple’s
other devices
It’s chock-full of complex technology that needs to make its way to other Apple products.
BY DAN MOREN
O
ne of the greatest strengths of others. Touch ID, for example, started on
Apple’s product line is its the iPhone before jumping to iPad and
ability for interplay. Not only Mac models. The same goes for Retina
do its devices work closely and True Tone displays. Heck, Apple
with each other, but features that begin life silicon began as part of Apple’s mobile
on one platform often make their way to efforts and now powers its entire lineup.
52 MACWORLD APRIL 2024 IMAGE: APPLE

As demonstrated
by the proceeding,
this shift tends to
happen especially
with devices at the
more cutting-edge
end of Apple’s
portfolio. That’s no
surprise, really, given
that those tend to be
the places where
the company is
investing the most The Vision Pro’s Mac virtual display could lead to more screen sharing
time, money, and between devices.
resources in pushing
the technological envelope. available for Apple silicon-based Macs
Of course, the latest in cutting-edge tech running macOS Sonoma.
from Apple these days is none other than While third-party screen-sharing apps
the Vision Pro (see page 62). It’s chock-full of have existed on Apple’s other platforms
expensive, complex technology, and frankly, for a long time, it’s somewhat surprising
it would be a bigger shock if none of its that the company’s never offered its own
advancements ever made their way to other take on this feature on its mobile devices.
Apple products. Now that the Vision Pro has The iPad in particular seems like it would
been in the wild for a couple of weeks, it’s a be a perfect place to have the ability to
bit easier to figure out which applications display a Mac display, especially with the
might actually make sense on Apple’s other benefits of the high-performance mode:
products. stereo audio, HDR video, and so on. On
the face of it, it seems as though those
VIRTUAL REALITY devices would be compatible; after all,
One of the biggest hit features of the they use, in many cases, the same Apple
Vision Pro is the ability to use it as a virtual silicon chips that run comparable Macs
display for your Mac. This, by all accounts, (not to mention the Vision Pro).
seems to build upon the new high- Certainly, such a feature might be a
performance screen-sharing mode that’s little bit less useful on an iPhone, with its

iOSCENTRAL THR E E A PPL E V ISION P R O FEATU R ES
small touch targets and general lack of a via eye and hand tracking: You look at
keyboard and trackpad, but I’ve something to highlight it and use hand
definitely run into instances in the past gestures to confirm that choice.
where I’ve needed to screen-share with But my question is: Why stop at the
my Mac at home from my smartphone. Vision Pro? Both of those interaction
Bringing the full power of the Mac to the models seem like they could be useful on
iPad might seem like a concession that other Apple devices as well. While there
the iPad can’t entirely replace a Mac, but would no doubt be much work needed to
after more than a decade of fretting adapt them to, say, the Mac or iPad, they
about the disparity, perhaps it’s time to certainly could be a boon in certain
stop worrying about it and embrace the accessibility contexts, such as for people
functionality the iPad can bring. who have motor-based disabilities. The
Mac has always been a home for other
HANDS-OFF user interaction methods, from Mouse
Oftentimes with a brand-new platform Keys to Voice Control, and adding eye and
comes a brand-new interface paradigm, hand tracking to the list makes the
and visionOS is no different. With the platform even more versatile.
Vision Pro, much of the interaction is done Even for those who don’t need these
particular
accessibility
features, being
able to control a
Mac or iPad from
across the room
without touching it
seems like it might
have use cases,
whether you’re,
say, skipping to
the next music
track during a
party or using an
iPad while
Apple’s eye- and hand-tracking tech needs to be used elsewhere. cooking.

(Speaking as someone
who frequently wants to
scroll a recipe on a
touchscreen device while
their hands are covered
in raw meat, I would be all
over some sort of hand-
tracking feature.)
Though it would also
require the use of
external hardware and
probably some much
better cameras, I’d
likewise be interested to
see both eye tracking and hand gestures
supported on the Apple TV. It could be
It would be great if the Vision Pro had
useful for those all too frequent occasions some backgrounds similar to the Aerial
when you accidentally lose the Siri screensavers on the Mac.
Remote in your couch cushions.
using my desktop background and
ENVIRONMENTALLY perhaps some ambient sound as well.
CONSCIOUS Third-party options to do some of this
Immersive environments are another one have existed in the past, but building it
of Vision Pro’s big attractions, and though I into the operating systems feels like it
can immediately see the limitations of could be a fun way to get a taste of the
porting them to Apple’s other platforms— Vision Pro experience on my MacBook or
the decided lack of immersion being the even my iPad.
biggest—there are still elements of the Apple’s Aerial screensavers already
feature that could be great for users of provide a different but similar vibe on the
other platforms. Mac, and while I don’t need the constant
In particular, as someone who often movement those provide, some subtle
likes working at alternative places, like animation in the desktop background could
coffee shops and libraries, I’d love the go a long way toward helping my Mac
ability to channel those environments transport me to a different headspace. ■

LEARN HOW AT
iOSCENTRAL
The Latest iOS Products

Reviewed & Rated REVIEWS
WIRELESS CHARGER Twelve South makes our

TWELVE SOUTH favorite 3-in-1 iPhone, Watch,
and AirPods charger, the
BUTTERFLY 2-IN-1 HiRise 3 Deluxe (fave.
MAGSAFE CHARGER: co/3uV53dK), and it has triumphed again
with this pocketable 2-in-1 charger that can
CHARGE iPHONE handle the iPhone and Apple Watch, or
AND APPLE WATCH the iPhone and AirPods, charging the two
AT TOP SPEEDS devices simultaneously. If Apple made a

2-in-1 charger, it might well look like this,
BY SIMON JARY
and it is priced accordingly.
CHARGING PERFORMANCE
Apple would have it running as fast as
possible, too. Technically the Twelve South
IMAGE: TWELVE SOUTH APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 57

iOSCENTRAL REVIEW: TW ELV E SOU TH BU TTER FLY 2- IN-1 M AG SAF E CHARG E R
Watch in Nightstand
mode. Flip it round,
and you can set the
iPhone in landscape
StandBy mode.
Even Apple hails it
as “the world’s
smallest 2-in-1 USB-C
MagSafe charger.” It
measures 2.4×2.4×0.9
inches (6×6×2.35cm)
and weighs 4.2
ounces (119g).
Unfurl the device to reveal two wireless charging pads. While that is
heavier than your
ButterFly 2-in-1 MagSafe Charger can’t be average butterfly, it is certainly more robust
beaten: It is fully Apple certified, so it while still remaining easily pocketable; just
wirelessly fast-charges the Watch at 5W remember that you’ll need to pack a USB-C
and the iPhone at 15W. wall charger and cable. You won’t need to
buy one, though, as it ships with a compact
DESIGN 30W charger that comes with
But the Butterfly’s real wonder is its interchangeable international plug heads
clever, dinky foldable size
and its MacBook-like
aluminum styling.
Unfurl the elegant charger
and the two wireless charging
pads are revealed: one
MagSafe for iPhone 12, 13, 14,
and 15; and the other an
adjustable Apple Watch
charging module.
You can fold the charger You can fold the charger 180 degrees and place an iPhone
180 degrees and place the in landscape StandBy mode.

for the U.S. and Canada, CA, the
U.K., the EU, and Australia and
New Zealand.
In travel mode, it’s a little
larger than an AirPods Pro
case. You can swap the Apple
Watch for a wireless AirPods
case, so all your non-Mac
Apple products are catered for.
PRICE
The Twelve South ButterFly
2-in-1 MagSafe Charger isn’t
cheap, retailing at $129.99 (fave.
co/3T1Jq3q). It isn’t yet available Twelve South’s charger is incredibly compact.
to buy outside North America,
despite those international plugs, although you can wait to charge those AirPods, the
we expect a worldwide release soon. ButterFly wins out.
Maybe the closest Watch and iPhone For more options, take a look at our
charger we’ve tested is the Zens 2-in-1 list of the best Apple Watch chargers (fave.
MagSafe + Watch travel charger co/49yTqrY), complete with
(fave.co/3QM36XS), which is mmmmh in-depth testing and
cheaper but not as flexible as Twelve South recommendations.
ButterFly 2-in-1
the Twelve South ButterFly, and MagSafe Charger
doesn’t fast-charge the Watch. PROS
• Charges Watch and iPhone

VERDICT
The Journey SWIV 3-in-1 (can swap Watch for While expensive, the Twelve
AirPods).
Foldable Wireless Charging South ButterFly 2-in-1
• Fast-charges Watch.
Station (fave.co/3V0hRKd) can • 15W MagSafe for iPhone. MagSafe Charger is clever,
fast-charge a Watch but is slower • Portable. elegant, and functional enough
CONS
at wirelessly charging an iPhone to justify this. It is a supercompact
• Expensive.
(7.5W vs 15W). It is larger, though PRICE
certified fast charger that should
still pocketable, and that allows it $129 be winning design awards, and it
COMPANY
to charge the iPhone, Watch, and will certainly win you over if you
Twelve South
AirPods all at the same time. But if can afford the price tag. ■

iOSCENTRAL
PORTABLE POWER BANK The BoostCharge Pro (fave.

BELKIN co/42XDjSg) is one of the
rare species of power banks
BOOSTCHARGE that can charge the Apple
PRO: A QUICK Watch through inductive charging. You
don’t have to plug a cable into the
CHARGE IN YOUR BoostCharge Pro’s USB-C port; you can
POCKET just place the watch on the edge of the
BY THOMAS BERGBOLD power bank. You can even charge a
2nd-generation AirPods Pro case this way.
Avoiding the necessity to use a cable is
very convenient.
Its power capacity of 10,000 mAh is
sufficient to charge an iPhone 15 twice, but
can also provide an iPad or MacBook with
energy for a short time. We measured the
60 MACWORLD APRIL 2024 IMAGE: BELKIN

charging speed and found very good in a bright environment. The BoostCharge
times. After every 30 minutes, the iPhone Pro has the optimal size for a power bank
15’s battery reached 55 percent and the that you always like to have with you; its
Apple Watch reached 48 percent. The curves and its soft-touch surface fit
BoostCharge Pro’s 20W output limits how perfectly in the hand. The surface of the
fast it can charge larger devices, device does attract lint,
such as an iPad Pro and mmmmh however.
MacBook Air—we measured a Belkin BoostCharge
Pro
respectable 29 percent on the PROS
VERDICT
iPad Pro and 18 percent on the • Fast charging for Apple The BoostCharge Pro is one of the
Watch and iPhone.
M1 MacBook Air. • Pleasant soft-touch surface.
faster power banks for charging
Belkin includes a 12-inch (30 • USB-C cable included. the iPhone and Apple Watch we
centimeter) USB-C charging CONS have tested so far. It holds a good
• LED indicator very dark.
cable with the BoostCharge Pro. • 20W output limit. amount of power, is easy to use,
A four-level LED display on the PRICE and is comfortable to carry. It’s one
device that gives a rough $99 of the best power banks we’ve
COMPANY
estimation as to how much Belkin
tested and a straightforward
power is left was difficult to read recommendation. ■
The LED display doesn’t shine brightly enough for certain situations.

FEATURE
REVIEW:
APPLE
VISION
PRO
INCREDIBLE
UNREALIZED
POTENTIAL
APPLE TAKES AN
AWKWARD BUT
VERY EXCITING
FIRST STEP INTO THE
WORLD OF SPATIAL
COMPUTING.
BY JASON CROSS

FEATURE REVIEW: A PPL E V ISION P R O
The wait is over. Apple’s eagerly anticipated Vision Pro headset is finally here.
A
pple’s Vision Pro spatial But that’s the rub. That greatness of
computer (fave.co/4bZf2zq), a this product feels like it is always just off in
VR headset with pass-through the distance somewhere. Really trying to
video, hand tracking, and eye use the Vision Pro as anything more than a
tracking, is not just another VR headset. It’s media consumption device right now is an
not just an expensive Meta Quest 3 with exercise in compromises and inefficiency,
higher-quality displays. and even as a pure consumption device
It is those things, but it’s not just those there are big drawbacks and tradeoffs.
things. There are moments when you If only it was lighter. If only it was less
really do feel, in your gut, that you’re doing expensive. If only I could plug USB-C
things that are going to be the way it is at
some point in the future. After a week of PODCAST: SHOULD
using the Apple Vision Pro every day, one YOU BUY THE APPLE
thought keeps passing through my head. VISION PRO?
Listen now at fave.co/3IiR9VB.
“This is going to be great…one day.”

devices into it. If only there more apps. If but it’s less pronounced than it is with most
only the apps were better. other headsets.
If only. Looking at rendered content on
When the “wow” moments pass (and something like a Meta Quest 3 versus an
there are some big “wow” moments) Apple Vision Pro is like using an old 1080p
you’re left wondering when the Vision Pro TV versus a new 4K HDR OLED. Apple
is going to do this, or why it doesn’t do pulls a lot of tricks behind the scenes to
that, and eventually you may decide to just make this work, like foveated rendering
go ahead and use your Mac or your iPad (where only the specific part of the screen
or iPhone to do what you want to do. you’re looking at is rendered in full
Some of the Vision Pro’s shortfalls can resolution and everything else is a little
be addressed with software updates, fuzzy—just like your actual vision).
others are hardware related, but either Speaking of tracking: It’s kind of magic.
way it’s hard to recommend this pricey Just look at something and it immediately
face computer right now for any but the highlights. Pinch, even with your hand
most die-hard early adopter Apple fans. relaxed down low, and you’ll select it.
There’s no need to wildly swipe and poke at
INCREDIBLE BUT LIMITING the air in front of you; people near you will
HARDWARE barely know that you’re doing anything at all.
You have no doubt seen videos and Look-and-pinch is the primary means of
screenshots online that show the point- interacting with visionOS, and it’s both
of-view experience of the Apple
Vision Pro. It may look to you
very much like using a Meta
Quest 3 or a similar competing
consumer headset.
These videos in no way
capture the experience. Apple’s
micro-OLED displays have
incredible fidelity, color depth,
and dynamic range. You don’t
see pixels. There’s no “screen
door effect.” In some lighting, Apple loves digital crowns. It makes you wonder when
you can get a bit of lens glare, the iPhone will get one.

technically impressive and limiting. After Sound quality from the little speakers
years of multitouch interfaces, having one integrated into the strap is surprisingly
touch point (per hand) feels like a good, and though it leaks to others pretty
handicap. Locking your gaze on things easily at higher volumes, it’s a comfortable
takes some adjustment, too. Our natural way to mix outside audio (which you want
instinct is to look at something to target it if you’re seeing the outside world) with
but look away, which doesn’t work here. spatial audio from the apps you’re using.
You have to keep staring at the interface AirPods Pro make a great way to prevent
element to operate it. Imagine turning off a others from hearing your content, but they
light switch: You just look at it long enough typically prevent you from hearing the
to accurately move your hand toward it, world, too—ideal for isolated, immersive
but the Vision Pro wants you to keep experiences but not so much for
staring at it until the action is complete. augmented reality.
If you bring a window close enough, The straps work well—the dual-loop
you can literally poke and swipe at it band distributes the headset weight more
directly—but with no tactile feedback, it’s evenly, and the light seals are comfortable
not really a great experience. It’s like and block out light very well, though the
wrestling a ghost. It all works incredibly magnetic attachments can’t keep them on
well, but it also gives you the sense that in effectively enough. It can be tricky to
a generation or two, it’ll be much more physically handle the Vision Pro without
intuitive and fluid. accidentally popping the light seal off. The
The same goes for pass-through tendency is to grab it by the light seal to
video. The view of the outside world is remove it, but Apple instructs you to grab
both the best I’ve ever seen and still not the front display instead. Otherwise, you
good enough. Apple keeps the entirely risk separating the light seal from the
photon-in to photons-out latency down to display and dropping it.
12 milliseconds or less, but the video feed The weight, around 600 to 650 grams,
quickly becomes grainy and colors is not necessarily heavy in itself, but all that
become muted when you leave a brightly weight is hanging out in front of your face
lit area. I don’t think of my home as instead of distributed around your head.
particularly dark, but my typical lighting So to keep things in place, the strap has to
wasn’t bright enough to get great fidelity place significant pressure on the light seal.
unless I turned on a lot more lights than Apple’s pathological aversion to plastic
I’m used to. means it used aluminum and glass to give

the device a premium feel, but I’d take other peripheral devices that you have
plastic any day if it shaved 150 to 200 plugged into it.
grams off this thing.
The entire front of the device is EARLY, OFTEN CLUNKY
incredibly glossy, making it difficult to see SOFTWARE
what’s going on and diminishing its The software situation is best described
trademark feature, EyeSight. It’s definitely as fledgling. For the world’s biggest and
a nice idea, but it simply does not work as most valuable tech company with
Apple advertises (fave.co/3T0U0HH) and it decades of software experience to lean
merely serves to add cost and complexity on, it’s a little frustrating to see how
for no good reason. limited some of the apps and interfaces
And while it looks clumsy in pictures, are. With the exception of immersive
the external battery pack was the right video and some games, everything feels
move. It’s not very cumbersome in like a floating iPad window, even the ones
practice, and any weight that can be put that aren’t iPad apps.
somewhere else is a good thing. You can resize windows freely, but
Eventually, it will all need to be they just don’t look and feel like the
integrated, but for the next few years, big-boy versions you get on a Mac.
making the headset lighter by detaching Third-party apps are mostly iPad apps,
the battery pack is the way to go. with fewer than a thousand visionOS-
Finally, there’s no data input at all—no specific apps. Those that are there feel
USB-C, no Lightning,
nothing—though Apple
sells a $300 Developer
Strap (fave.co/3P60OTw)
that replaces the audio
strap with a dongle that
“provides a USB-C
connection between
Apple Vision Pro and
Mac.” The USB-C port
on the battery pack is
for power only and Carrot Weather is a spatial app but doesn’t really do anything the
won’t recognize any iPad or Mac version doesn’t.

rushed. They’re
frequently buggy, often
just a floating window
that resembles an iPad
app, and feature spatial
features that are
gimmicky. For example,
Carrot Weather (fave.
co/3UTC04O) is great,
but it’s little more than
an iPad app with an
option pop-out “full Home View is a poor app management interface and is not
globe” view that makes customizable. It’s the first thing that has to change in visionOS 2.0.
you say, “Oh, neat!” but
isn’t actually useful. I want to look around room. The first time you walk around your
the real world and see isobars and radar house looking for where you left the Safari
precipitation in the sky. window hanging, it’s kind of amazing.
In fact, most of what the Vision Pro Every time after that, it’s frustrating.
experience amounts to is floating Why can’t I double-pinch the window
windows anchored in the spaces around bar to anchor the window to me, instead of
you. I don’t mean to discount this to its position in my living room?
technical feat. The windows are incredibly Something so simple feels like a slam-
crisp and vibrant, and they really appear dunk visionOS 2.0 feature.
to be part of your real environment. They If you want to run multiple apps at once
occlude the real world appropriately, cast (and of course you do), you’ll quickly find
shadows on flat surfaces, and never yourself running out of physical space.
waver even a millimeter. Layering windows on top of each other is
But they’re also always anchored to a poor experience that makes it hard to
the space, instead of to you. If you want a select what you want or switch to the
window to follow you as you walk around, desired app, so you find yourself arranging
you have to literally grab its little window these fairly large windows in the air all
bar at the bottom and carry it. More than around your desk or couch or whatever.
once I have awkwardly been unable to Then you have to turn all over the place to
find a running app because it’s in the other use different apps. Again, it’s amazing at

first, and then it quickly becomes an app management experience.
exercise in frustration when you start It’s easy to complain about this stuff
asking, “Where do I put all this stuff?” because the limitations and potential
There are no window management solutions seem so obvious. And yet, the
features to speak of. A command that experience of physically placing apps in the
gathers and arranges all your windows real world is kind of amazing. As limited as
around you, akin to Mission Control on a everything feels right now, it still hits you in
Mac, feels like an obvious omission. your gut, on that very first day, just how
There’s nothing like Split View on iPad to useful it’s going to be to put apps in a
let you glue two apps together. Something place. One day, an AI-powered smart
like Stage Manager (fave.co/3uVseEB) grocery list will be pinned virtually on your
would let you stack multiple apps and fridge, the way you used to attach a paper
switch between them without finding new shopping list to it with a magnet. It will
airspace to locate every app you want to update automatically as you open your
run, but it’s not there. cupboards and fridge to see what is
App management problems aren’t missing, and it will pop up into your view
just limited to the apps that are running. when you go to the grocery store, following
The Home View presents apps as little you around and highlighting aisles and
circles in a honeycomb-like
array, with the first page full
of fixed Apple apps and the
next pages full of your apps,
in alphabetical order. The
first page is not in
alphabetical order,
confusingly. There is no way
to change any of this, and
it’s frustrating as hell.
Perhaps most perplexing is
that iPhones, iPads, and
Macs have a dock but the
Vision Pro does not. Top of
When you video-chat with someone, they see a digital
the list for visionOS 2.0 is an representation of you called Persona (in beta). Mine looks
entirely new Home View and better than most, but still pretty weird.

shelves with the items you need. section on the Home View, but that’s
The possibilities for integrating only a way to start FaceTime calls since
computer-rendered graphics into the real there’s no FaceTime app either.
world, combining interactivity, intelligence, It all feels oddly half-baked for a
location, and your own personal company like Apple. Some apps and
preferences, feel limitless. We have always experiences are fantastic, while others feel
been able to imagine these things, but this incomplete or are missing entirely.
is the first product to deliver an experience
that feels like it’s actually building the PRODUCTIVITY
technology to make it happen, and maybe OR LACK THEREOF
it’s not that far away. The keyboard is hilariously basic and next
It’s also worth mentioning the apps to impossible to use for anything more
that are simply missing or just poorly than entering URLs—if you want to type
represented. There are no Calculator or sentences, pairing a Bluetooth keyboard is
Weather apps. Not only is it not possible mandatory. You can use dictation, but
to use Find My to locate your Vision Pro that’s even less productive than it is on
hardware, there’s no Find My app (even iPhone or iPad, because selecting text to
the iPad version) to locate your friends make corrections with the look-and-pinch
or other Apple stuff. The most obvious interface is kind of awkward.
spatial candidate among Apple’s own If you aim to be productive, you really
apps has to be
Maps, but you only
get the iPad app.
Bizarrely, there’s
no Contacts app at
all. Your contacts
are synced and
usable within apps,
but there’s no
place inside the
Vision Pro to
manage them.
Instead, there’s a This keyboard is terrible, and suitable for little more than pecking out
top-level People quick messages or short search terms.

need a keyboard
and touchpad at a
minimum, and a
MacBook at most.
Here’s one of the
Vision Pro’s
neatest tricks—
just look at a
MacBook that’s
logged into the
same Apple ID,
and a Connect
button will appear Using the Vision Pro as a big virtual Mac display is its best productivity
floating above it. feature, which is not quite the compliment you think it is.
One pinch-select
later, you’ve got a floating 4K virtual left or right, you feel like it expands your
display with remarkable quality and fairly capabilities at first. Focus on your task at
low, but noticeable, latency. But there’s hand with a Notes window floating off to
only one display, and it can’t even be a your left, Safari to the right, and some
secondary display to your real-life streaming video playing off in the distance,
MacBook display, which turns off. You can or maybe Apple Music up above. And all
do the same with a Mac desktop using the you have to do is glance over at any of
Vision Pro control panel. these windows for your Mac’s keyboard
That limits the usefulness to those and trackpad to automatically control that
times when you just need a larger screen app via Universal Control. It’s like magic,
but don’t have room for it. When it comes and it makes you feel like a productivity
to getting things done, a physical god. (It’s worth noting that a mouse will not
secondary monitor is going to be faster, work with the Vision Pro. Even the mouse
sharper, and better in almost every way. attached to your Mac will only work within
Oh, and the audio will only come from your your Mac display window. It’s a touchpad
Mac instead of playing through the Vision or nothing.)
Pro speakers, for some reason. But then you try to do stuff, and you
When you’re viewing your Mac this realize that you’re just turning your head
way, adding visionOS or iPad apps to its all over the place to use lesser versions of

easier with a real cursor

and keyboard. I could
have opened a browser
tab on my Mac, made
my order, and closed it
again in less than half
the time as fiddling
around with look-and-
pinch in visionOS. And I
could have used the
browser of my choice.
The entire Apple
Vision Pro experience
sometimes feels that like
Look-and-pinch takes a little getting used to, and is no substitute that. The first few times
for real multitouch. you do something, the
possibilities are so
the apps you have on your Mac, and exciting that you lose sight of just now
these floating windows are getting in the inefficient it all really is right now. As time
way of each other. With few exceptions, goes on, you realize you could just do
opening up new windows on your Mac whatever you’re doing faster and easier
(perhaps adding them to new Spaces) is on your iPhone or Mac. Better apps and
faster and easier. better visionOS features will improve all
An example: While working on this that, but it’s not here yet.
review and taking notes on my MacBook
in a virtual display, I used the floating INCREDIBLE BUT ISOLATING
visionOS Safari window to my left to order MEDIA CONSUMPTION
some wings for lunch. I was able to If there’s one area where the Vision Pro
successfully navigate the site and place app experience does not let you down, it’s
my order, thanks in large part to address media consumption. Between the
autocomplete and easy Apple Pay impressive built-in speakers and spatial
checkout (you do not want to type a credit audio, the beautiful and bright displays,
card number on the visionOS keyboard), and all the magical head and hand
but it would have been a lot faster and tracking, simply watching videos is an

absolute delight. supports the proper WebXR standards.
Whether it’s Apple TV+, Disney+, or Stand-alone video players like Moon
even Netflix in a browser (there’s no Netflix Spatial Player (fave.co/3IidgeO) and Reality
app), viewing flat content is gorgeous. It’s Player (fave.co/431sVJl) are working on
sharp, bright, and has great color and support for these videos, but it’s all pretty
dynamic range. Some apps let you watch rough and buggy right now.
in a virtual environment, like the Disney El The thing that strikes me most about
Capitan Theatre or the sands of Tatooine. media consumption is just how isolated it
Movies made for 3D have never looked is. Obviously there are times when you
better. Watching the latest Avatar or want that, but watching movies or TV is
Guardians of the Galaxy in 3D just about often a very social experience. When I
beats a real movie theater. showed the Disney Theater to my wife, the
Then there are the spatial videos, the very first thing she said was, “Wouldn’t it
180-degree 3D video Apple has made be cool if you could look to the side and
available in the TV app. There are a see me in the seat next to you, and I could
handful—among them an immersive see you, and we could watch a movie
dinosaur experience, an up-close meeting together sitting next to each other even if
with rhinos, and an Alicia Keys we were hundreds of miles apart?”
performance while you’re standing next to It’s such an obvious scenario, such a
her piano—and they’re all spectacular. perfect “you can only do this in the Vision
They’re also not entirely new. There Pro” example, but it’s not something the
are lots of 3D
180-degree or
360-degree videos
out there on the
web, including on
places like YouTube
and DeoVR (fave.
co/48ElfxN). But
playing these
videos through the
web doesn’t work
at all right now, and
won’t until Apple Why can’t I watch a movie in a virtual theater with someone?

Vision Pro can do with ease. Apple has all Yes, that’s literally seven times the price of
the pieces—Personas (in beta), SharePlay, a Meta Quest 3. But with the insanely great
spatial audio—they just need to be glued displays, hand and eye tracking, and all
together better. One would think that this the other things that produce a drastically
sort of “only on the Vision Pro!” experience higher-fidelity experience, you can almost
would have been a top priority during justify it. Almost.
development, rather than just watching But what is up with the pricing of all the
video in a virtual environment at a higher other Vision Pro stuff? Most of it is priced
quality than on the many other VR at $199, no matter what it is (a huge red
headsets that have been doing virtual flag if there ever was one). It’s almost as if
theaters and environments for years. Apple is just trying to see what it can get
Speaking of 3D video, capturing spatial away with.
videos with the Vision Pro or your iPhone The Travel Case would be overpriced
15 Pro is surprisingly great. The resulting at $149, and it costs $199 (fave.co/48ElLvJ).
video, limited though it may be, is like A spare battery, despite holding less
looking into a live diorama cutout of a power and being less functional than most
moment from your past. There are plenty $69 power banks, costs $199 (fave.
of restrictions—it works best at a distance co/3P3r2pM). The light seal, which is just
of 4 to 8 feet and requires a steady some foam and fabric and magnets, would
camera—but this is honestly a much better be “Apple Priced” at $49, but costs (you
way to relive moments than flat video. It guessed it) $199 (fave.co/3uSNB9x). An
feels weird to say it, but it’s the closest extra single or double band each costs
thing the Vision Pro has to a killer feature. $99, which is easily double what it should.
Even the app developers seem to be
PRICING THAT IS thinking that if you’ll pay almost $4,000 for
OUT OF CONTROL this headset, you have money to burn. I
While we don’t review products based on can really appreciate the Juno app (fave.
price, obviously value is always a co/49PJCcG) as a sort of wrapper around
consideration, and the pricing of the Apple the YouTube API, given that YouTube
Vision Pro must be discussed. Not only is doesn’t have its own app, but it should be
the device crazy expensive, but just about a $1.99 app at best, not $4.99. So many
everything involved with it is. other apps feel totally bare-bones and
For the headset itself, one could almost borderline unusable unless you pony up
justify the sky-high starting price of $3,499. for pricey subscriptions, like cooking app

really take off.
Obviously,
there’s the visionOS
stuff. I should be
able to anchor apps
to me, not to the
environment. There
should be a class of
“heads-up display”
widgets that stick in
my field of view. The
entirely isolating
experience needs
If only this USB-C port passed along data in addition to power. to feel more social,
with immersive
Crouton (fave.co/3IlNmXE), which warns SharePlay video viewing, much-improved
you emphatically not to cook while Personas, and real spatially oriented social
wearing the Vision Pro. media and communication apps from
It’s hard to see spatial computing as third-party developers. Window
The Future when everything about it feels management and text input need a massive
so expensive. It feels like a hobby for the overhaul. The device needs more gestures
kind of wealthy people who drop money and some variety of multitouch, as well as
on app subscriptions without a thought, Find My, Weather, Calculator, and all the
and it’s not in keeping with democratizing other missing apps, and real spatial
exciting new technology. I look forward to versions of the iPad apps.
not only a more affordable spatial But some of what the Vision Pro needs
computing device, but a more affordable can’t be addressed without new hardware.
spatial computing ecosystem. The field of view is a bit too narrow with
noticeable black borders. It’s like seeing
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT the world through a scuba mask (Apple
Speaking of what I can’t wait to see in a won’t say what it is, but it looks like 100
future version, a better price is just the degrees). It needs to shed about a third of
beginning. There are so many things its weight. Video passthrough might not be
Apple needs to address before this can necessary down the road, but in the

meantime, it needs to be a lot better, this first-generation device worth it?

especially in low light. Leaving aside the fact that Apple’s other
Then you’ve got the way this hardware first-gen products were never priced this
was meant to basically be used indoors at far beyond their competitors, it’s still hard
your home or office. There’s no cellular to recommend right now.
connection, and no way for apps to follow More than anything else, the Apple
you or to be anchored to objects that Vision Pro needs to demonstrate a reason
move. Remember that next time you see why it must exist. There’s nothing you can
someone pretending to use one in public do with it right now that you can’t do some
on your social feeds. other way, usually easier, faster, and more
The USB-C port on the battery back affordably. It desperately needs some killer
really should be used for both power and apps. It needs to do things you just
data. That would enable physical security couldn’t do if you didn’t have spatial
keys, microphones and audio interfaces, computing—and floating some iPad app
HDMI input (with an adapter), external windows around your apartment isn’t it.
storage, and a host of other extremely There’s a ton of promise, both for this
useful functions. device specifically and for the broader
spatial computing push in general. But we
VERDICT don’t review potential; we review products.
There’s so much interesting new The Apple Vision Pro as a
stuff going on with the Apple mmmm product, not an idea, is still too
Vision Pro that one could opine Apple Vision Pro limited, too isolating, and too
about it all day. It’s not just Apple’s PROS
minimally useful for either
• Incredible fidelity.
newest device—and the most • Impressive technology in
productivity or entertainment to
expensive first device in a several respects. be worth jumping into.
• Feels like a glimpse of the
category from Apple since the future. Some of that can be
original Mac (when adjusted for CONS addressed with more mature
• The entire ecosystem is
inflation). There are entirely new very expensive.
software (both visionOS and
interaction models at play and • Apps are limited in number apps), but some of the shortfalls
and utility.
social mores being tested, and the simply require more capable
• Too heavy and unbalanced.
legal and regulatory challenges PRICE
hardware. Even diehard Apple
are surely just getting started. $3,499 early adopters are advised to
COMPANY
At the end of the day, you wait for the former, and everyday
Apple
have to make a judgment call: Is fans can wait for the latter. ■

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FEATURE
DID YOU JUST GET A NEW iPHONE FOR

THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS (MAYBE YOUR
FIRST EVER)? YOU MAY NOT HAVE KNOWN
THESE SETTINGS AND FEATURES EXIST.
BY JASON CROSS
HIDDEN
iPHONE 15
AND iOS 17
FEATURES
NEW (AND
OLD) USERS
NEED TO
KNOW

FEATURE 10 HI D D E N i PH ONE 15 A ND i OS 17 FEATU R ES
S
o you just got a new iPhone 15. there, your iPhone will automatically save
Maybe it’s your first iPhone ever, depth information along with the photo.
maybe you just haven’t When you open that photo in the Photos
upgraded in a while. You went app and tap Edit, you’ll see a portrait
through the setup, updated iOS to the option in the lower left. Select this to
latest (currently iOS 17.2), added your apps, adjust the amount of background or
set up your accounts and two-factor foreground blur. You can also tap on
authentication…now what? various objects in the photo to make that
You’re probably having a great time the focal point, blurring everything else. In
with your new iPhone already, but there other words, instead of having to take
are a handful of hidden and lesser-known photos in Portrait mode, you can apply
features and settings you’ll want to know and adjust Portrait later.
about. Here’s a list of some of our favorite While this feature was heavily
little settings and tips. You can do all this marketed by Apple, most don’t know that
stuff in just a few minutes, and it might it works on regular objects too—it’s just
make your iPhone experience a whole lot not automatic. When taking a photo, tap
more enjoyable. on an object in the viewfinder. You’ll see
that little ƒ symbol appear, and your photo
1. CHANGE FOCUS AFTER YOU will have all the depth info and portrait
TAKE A PHOTO adjustment capabilities.
With the iPhone 15, the camera app will
automatically recognize when there is a 2. TURN ON BATTERY
person or pet (dog or cat) in the frame. PERCENTAGE
You’ll see a little ƒ icon in the bottom iPhone users were frustrated for years that
corner of the viewfinder. When this is Apple removed the battery percentage
number on iPhones with Face ID
(which is most of them), but iOS
16 brought it back. It’s just not
enabled by default.
We have a guide to enable
battery percentage (fave.
co/3OZbFyA), but basically, all
you do is open Settings, tap
1. Battery, and then flip the toggle

only charge to 80%. Rechargeable
batteries age more quickly when
kept fully charged, so this will help
keep your battery at its full
capacity longer.
You might want to consider
trying the 80% Limit option for a
week or two. If you notice that you
actually run out of charge every day
with that setting enabled, you can
always change it, but you may
notice it doesn’t actually change
your phone use or charging habits
at all, and it will seriously extend the
3. life of your iPhone battery.
for Battery Percentage. Then you’ll know 4. SET A HEADPHONE

exactly when you need to plug in your AUDIO LIMIT
iPhone to fill it up. You ever accidentally blasted out your
ears with the headphone volume set too
3. CONSIDER SETTING A high? We’ve all
CHARGING LIMIT been there.
While you’re in the Battery settings, you Open Settings
may want to consider setting a charging → Sounds &
limit. Tap Battery Health & Charging and Haptics →
you’ll see info about the health and Headphone
performance of your battery, but also a Safety (it’s way
Charging Optimization menu. Tap that and down at the
you’ll see three options: Optimized Battery bottom). There’s a
Charging, 80% Limit, and None. (Older toggle in that
iPhones don’t have the 80% Limit option.) menu for Reduce
Optimized Battery Charging is the Loud Audio that
default—your iPhone will learn how you lets you set a
use your phone over time and sometimes specific decibel 4.

level, and your iPhone will reduce any 7. ADD YOUR DOG OR CAT TO
sound that would go over it. YOUR PHOTOS ALBUMS
You may have noticed that the Photos app,
5. TURN ON THE HAPTIC in the Albums tab, and a section for
KEYBOARD People, Pets & Places. (Prior to iOS 17, this
While we’re in the Sounds & Haptics was only People & Places, because iOS
menu, there’s another setting that Apple could not automatically identify pets.)
should really make the default. Select The People & Pets section uses AI to
Keyboard Feedback and you’ll see toggles recognize people in your images and
for both Sound and Haptic. You can turn show you all the pics of that specific
the sounds off to eliminate the “tik tik tik” person. It does this entirely on the device,
sounds that bother everyone around you, processing your photos when your iPhone
and enable the Haptic setting to get a nice is charging and not in use.
clicky feel when you tap keys on the With iOS 17, you can add cats and
onscreen keyboard. It feels great, provides dogs, you’ll just need to identify them first.
better feedback than the sounds do, and Select a photo of your furry friend, and tap
doesn’t annoy those around you. the Info (i) button at the bottom. It may
have sparkles around the circle and switch
6. SET CUSTOM RINGTONES from a cat or dog icon to Info. That means
AND ALERT TONES it’s working.
We’re not done with that Sound & Haptics When you tap
menu yet! this, you’ll see a
You can change a lot of sounds here, lot more
including your default Ringtone (in the information about
Contacts app you can set a custom the photo, along
ringtone for specific people), the sound for with a small circle
texts, calendar alerts, and so on. in the lower left
New to iOS 17.2 is that Default Alerts of the image
selection at the end. That’s the sound for showing your
nearly every app notification you get, pet’s face. (There
outside the few listed above it. Can you can be multiple
believe Apple only now allowed you to pets in one photo,
change this? and you’ll see
circles for each.) 7.

Tap that circle and
then tap Name This
Pet. Do this for a few
photos, and then wait
a day or two for your
iPhone to process
your entire photo
collection in the
background. You’ll
then see your pet
added to the People &
Pets folder, and any 8.
new images of your
fuzzy buddy will be automatically added. insects, food, landmarks, books, albums,
and so much more.
8. USE VISUAL LOOK UP ON
YOUR PHOTOS 9. USE YOUR iPHONE AS A
Remember the Info button from the WEBCAM ON A MAC
previous tip? That’s your ticket to one of If you’ve got a Mac, you’re going to love
the coolest features of iOS that not many using your iPhone as its webcam. A
people use. It’s called Visual Look Up and modern iPhone produces a much higher-
it uses AI to identify things in your photo quality video stream than any built-in Mac
and provide context-sensitive information or Studio Display webcam and even
and searches. makes outsiders question what your DSLR
You’ll know Visual Look Up has setup is.
identified something in your image if you Our guide here (fave.co/3rCtV4N) will
see the little sparkles around the Info walk you through the process, but
button. Tap that and then tap Look Up basically just open Settings → General →
[object] where [object] is the thing Apple AirPlay & Handoff and make sure
identified in your image. If it’s food, you’ll Continuity Camera is enabled.
see things like recipes for that exact food Then have your iPhone near your
item. If it’s a bug, you’ll see links to info Mac (you have to use the same Apple ID
about it and similar images from around on both systems, which you probably
the web. You can identify plants, animals, already do), and you’ll see your iPhone

iPhone?
Priceless!
But you may
notice that it
doesn’t sync, or
it only syncs
iMessages.
Here’s how to
make sure you
get everything
on your Mac
and keep it up
to date with
9. your iPhone.
On your
listed as a selectable camera and iPhone, open Settings → Messages → Text
microphone in almost any Mac video- Message Forwarding. Then toggle the
streaming app. Choose it, look at your Macs (if you have more than one) to which
iPhone screen to make sure it’s unlocked you want to forward SMS/MMS messages
and permission given to use it as a from your iPhone.
camera, and presto! Instant wireless On your Mac, open Messages, then
super-high-quality webcam. open its Settings (under the Messages
You can even do cool effects like menu in the Menu Bar). In the iMessage
Portrait mode, Center Stage, studio light, tab, make sure Enable Messages in iCloud
and Desk View. It’s miles better than any is checked and you are signed in. If this
Mac camera and will instantly upgrade wasn’t already set, it can take a few
your Zoom meetings and FaceTime calls. minutes for all your messages to sync and
show up on your Mac.
10. SET UP TEXT MESSAGE This setting is typically enabled by
FORWARDING TO YOUR MAC default on your iPhone, but if it got
Speaking of making your iPhone and Mac changed or you need to check it, you’ll
work together: Messages on Mac is find it in Settings → Your Apple ID (the big
extremely handy. Full access to texting banner at the top) → iCloud → Apps Using
right from your computer, synced with your iCloud (you may have to tap Show All). ■

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WORKINGMAC Tips, tricks, and tools to make you and
your Mac or iOS device more productive
The best macOS feature you

don’t know you’re using:
Optimized Battery Charging
System setting helps your MacBook’s battery last longer.
BY ROMAN LOYOLA
A
s you probably know, a you want the battery to be viable as long
battery’s charge capacity as possible. Fortunately, macOS has
diminishes over time (fave. built-in ways to help maintain your
co/49AoYxn). If you’ve recently battery’s condition.
bought an M-series MacBook, you spent a In macOS Sonoma, the Battery System
good amount of money on that laptop, so Setting provides good information you can
IMAGE: TADA IMAGES/SHUTTERSTOCK APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 87

WORKINGMAC O P T I M IZED BATTERY CH A R GING
use to determine your battery’s health. afternoons and evenings you spend
There’s a chart that displays your battery plugged in, Optimized Battery Charging
charge level over the last 24 hours and the can set the charging cycle so that the
last 10 days. Another chart shows screen battery is charged up to 80 percent after
usage—the MacBook’s screen is one of you plug in, then charge it to 100 percent
the most power-hungry components. before you go on battery in the morning.
But there’s a setting that’s not obvious Many Macworld readers have noticed
in the Battery tab in System Settings. It’s that even with Optimized Battery Charging
called Optimized Battery Charging, and on, the MacBook battery gets charged to
we’ll cover what it’s about and why you 100 percent, without regard to a person’s
should be using it. routine. Apple has not explained this; Mac
911 columnist Glenn Fleishman thinks (fave.
WHAT IS OPTIMIZE BATTERY co/3uZ4Xld) that it’s because a MacBook
CHARGING? uses very little energy when not in use and
In macOS Catalina, Apple introduced a the screen is dim, so the battery still
Battery Health Management (fave. charges to 100 percent. In that situation,
co/3wI8FAo) setting that evolved into Apple’s algorithm says charging to 100
Optimized Battery Charging in later percent is ideal—so little power is used
versions of macOS. Optimized Battery that there aren’t big enough fluctuations in
Charging “learns from your daily charging charging and discharging to adversely
routine so it can wait to finish charging affect battery viability.
past 80 percent until you need to use it on Optimized Battery Charging is turned
battery” to slow down the battery aging on by default, so there’s a good chance
process, according to Apple. you’ve had it on for a considerable
In other words, with Optimized Battery amount of time. If you don’t feel like it’s
Charging on, the MacBook battery charges working, there’s a theory that the
to 80 percent and stops. Then macOS algorithm can’t learn when a MacBook is
uses an algorithm based on your usage to plugged in before turning it on. You may
determine when the battery should be need to turn off the setting, unplug the
charged to 100 percent. power, restart the MacBook, turn it back
If you have a regular daily routine, this on, and then plug the MacBook in to get
setting works well. For example, if you the algorithm working.
usually spend the mornings using your In my experience, it doesn’t hurt to
MacBook on battery, and then the keep Optimized Battery Charging switched

Note that you
cannot set macOS to
charge up to 80
percent and stop.
You can’t do this on
older iPhones, either,
but you can do this
with the iPhone 15
and iOS 17 (fave.
co/3uXJ5Xy). Apple
has never officially
stated why this is.
Perhaps it’ll change
in a future macOS
Optimiize Battery Charging is found in System Settings → Battery; update. The other
click the Info icon in the Battery Health section. sections of this
window cover:
on whether you have a regular battery-use > Battery Condition: This provides a
routine or not. My routine is irregular, and status on the effectiveness of the battery. It
with the setting on, I’ve never had an displays either Normal or Service
instance where the battery wasn’t at 100 Recommended. If you see the latter, the
percent when I needed it to be. battery may be working normally, but its
ability to hold a charge has been
HOW TO ADJUST THE OPTIMIZE diminished to a point where you need to
BATTERY CHARGING SETTING consider replacing it.
Accessing the Optimized Battery > Maximum Capacity: This is the
Charging setting isn’t obvious. Go to percentage of a battery’s charge capacity
System Settings → Battery, and in the relative to when it was new.
Battery Health section, click the Info (i) > Learn More: This button goes to
icon. A new window appears, and you’ll Apple’s support document about battery
find a switch for Optimize Battery health management in Mac notebooks
Charging. Apple turns it on by default, but (fave.co/434EgrK). It provides information
if you want to turn it on or attempt to on battery health and how management
recalibrate it, you can do that here. can affect battery lifespan. ■

WORKINGMAC
Macs can’t use as many displays

as they have USB-C ports
Each model of Mac has peculiarities that require examining technical specs
to figure out how many displays you can attach and of which kind.
BY GLENN FLEISHMAN
A
pple went all in on USB-C, every Mac introduced since about 2018
starting with the introduction of has its own port story.
the now-discontinued 12-inch The number of USB-C ports on a Mac
MacBook in 2015. For a while, has almost no relationship with the
you could buy a Mac with one, two, or four number of displays you can connect,
USB-C ports, all of which were also however. The internal workings of the
Thunderbolt 3 capable, except the 12-inch Mac’s graphical processor units (GPUs)
MacBook. With the introduction of Apple and display controllers to which they’re
silicon and Thunderbolt 4, as well as faster connected determine Apple’s formula for
flavors of USB 3 over USB-C, it seems like the total number of displays, as does the
90 MACWORLD APRIL 2024 IMAGE: FOUNDRY

resolution (the number of pixels) of the > Read our guide “How many monitors
attached monitors. can I plug into my Mac, anyway?” (fave.
For instance, there are Macs with two co/35VEFDq), which provides a full
USB-C ports that also support Thunderbolt rundown for both Apple silicon M-series
3/4, and they can handle up to four Macs and Intel Macs.
monitors. Some Mac models now have > We also explain “How to connect two
USB-C ports that are indistinguishable or more external displays to an M1, M2 or
from each other yet have different M3 MacBook” (fave.co/3T3epMp), which
technical specs, and the Mac models includes a workaround for the problem
support different numbers of displays. discussed here.
The Mac Studio is a good example—it > Consult Apple’s technical
comes in M2 Max and M2 Ultra versions. specifications for a particular model. Apple
Those models, named for their chips, have archives these specifications for older
six USB-C ports each plus an independent models, so start with a search engine if
HDMI port. However: your Mac isn’t one that’s still sold—that will
> The M2 Max models support get you to the page.
Thunderbolt 4 on the rear four USB-C > Read our “Best Mac monitors
ports but only USB-C (USB 3.2 at 10 Gbps) roundup” (fave.co/3SZUYUL). ■
on the front two.
> The M2 Ultra provides
Thunderbolt 4 support on all six
USB-C ports.
On the display side:
> The M2 Max can handle up to five
displays: four over Thunderbolt using
USB-C and one over HDMI.
> The M2 Ultra can run up to eight
displays, which may require the HDMI
port for the highest resolution and
refresh rates.
How can you tell when shopping for
a new Mac or planning displays for your
You can get around the problem by using a
existing one how many video outputs a docking station, such as Satechi’s Triple 4K
Mac can handle? Consider this: Display Docking Station (fave.co/4bXtuI6).

WORKINGMAC
Troubleshoot your printer with logs,

jobs, and a printer page in macOS
Some less-obvious printing features could save a lot of head scratching.
BY GLENN FLEISHMAN
T
he macOS interface for working underneath. This is useful for setting
with printers, scanners, and— options that may not be presented to you
yes—fax machines has always in Sonoma via Apple menu → System
been a little quirky. Apple built Settings → Printers & Scanners by selecting
the printing component on top of the a printer and clicking Printer Queue, which
open-source CUPS protocol. (CUPS once opens the Print Center app. (You can also
stood for Common UNIX Printing System find this in Applications → Utilities).
and now is just…CUPS.) As with many
server components, Apple put a friendly COMPLETED JOBS
layer on top of CUPS. And it mostly works. Trying to remember if you printed a file
When it doesn’t, you can peel back the and it didn’t come out, or checking
layer and look at what keeps it ticking whether something output to a device
92 MACWORLD APRIL 2024 IMAGE: CANON

Print Center under
File → Error Log. This
opens the Console
with the log found
deeply buried in
system logs for
CUPS. (If you’d like to
find it directly, it’s
/private/var/log/cups.)
The Complete Jobs list lets you see what actually printed, according Low-level errors
to macOS, and when. affecting the CUPS
system are logged
that’s not within reach—maybe one even here. If you see a lot of errors and looking
in another part of your home, office, or the them up on Google doesn’t help debug,
world, depending on your network this might indicate that the nuclear option
configuration? Go to Windows → is necessary: resetting the printing system.
Completed Jobs. (This feature has lurked In Sonoma, Control-click or right-click on a
in macOS for many years.) This log shows printer in System Settings → Printers &
the title of the document printed, when it Scanners, choose Reset Printing System,
was sent to the printer, and when it was and follow the prompts. You have to add
completed. It also works for output faxes, back all printers after resetting.
with additional
information in the Fax
column. If you can’t
find either that the
item is in the list or that
it has a time stamp for
when it printed, it’s
likely it did not.
ERROR LOG
You might not know
there’s an error log Sometimes accessing this not very obvious Error Log might reveal
for printing! It’s in the a software or network problem that’s been bedeviling you.

WORKINGMAC T R O UBL ESH OOT YOU R PR INTER IN m a cOS
THE CUPS PRINTER PAGE Each printer company has a different

Every printer in CUPS is actually a tiny default password. In some cases, it might
Web server, too. If you select the printer be admin or the name of the company,
in Printers & Scanners and click Options like canon. Canon notes on its help page
& Settings, you can click Show Printer (fave.co/3TklgST) for printer passwords that
Web Page. This opens the micro-server some models use the printer’s serial
in your default browser. If you get an number as its Web administrative password.
error, turn the printer on and try again. Generally, this page offers the same
You may also be told there’s an invalid access to features available from the
security certificate, as printer makers interface panel on your printer. But it can
don’t install a full-fledged security be a way to dig through settings to
document; you can follow prompts to troubleshoot problems and provides
“visit the page anyway.” This printer easier access to changing the printer’s
page shows some basic printer name and its Wi-Fi connection. For
information. You need to log in with a instance, my Canon printer has a Quiet
password to see more detailed Mode that reduces noise while printing—
information and change configurations. this slows down some functions and
performs them more
gently, reducing speed—
that is available nested
about five layers deep
on its panel, and of which
I was unaware.
A warning: Changing
the printer password
through its web server
might require that you
enter the new
passport whenever
you want to use the
interface panel to access
certain settings, such as
The tiny web server in a printer provides access to its most
obscure features, some of which you can access far more easily changing the network
through a browser. connection. ■

Avira Prime for Mac
Avira Prime does a great job of detecting unwanted and potentially
risky software on macOS without impacting performance.
BY CHRIS BARYLICK & KEITH MARTIN
W
hile it’s handy that various FEATURES
security and utility suites Like similar applications on the market (you
are trying to fold more can read about alternatives to Avira Prime
features into their in our roundup of the best AV software for
offerings, some parts sometimes work Mac, fave.co/3Gaf9tt), Avira Prime is
better than others. designed around several modules (Virus
Avira Prime, the paid version of Avira’s Scans, Protection Options, Quarantine,
free antiviral software Avira Free Security VPN, Passwords, Cookie Cleaner, Identity
(fave.co/4cdAW23), works to provide Assistant, Junk Cleaner, Uninstaller, and
several tools for the user. Startup Apps). Each module can be

WORKINGMAC REVIEW: AV IR A PR IME FOR MAC
customized and configured as needed. and clean up your cookie data. It helpfully
The software installs cleanly enough and groups cookies into different categories so
requests permission to fully access the we could easily remove stats, tracking and
hard drive, which is par for the course. ads-based items without touching login
Once a virus scan has begun, the records, and it did this across our different
Quick Scan can take less than 10 seconds, browsers. Junk Cleaner was surprisingly
while a Full Scan took over six hours to effective, reclaiming almost 55GB of space
look over 800-plus gigabytes of files on a when we tried it. There’s also a dedicated
one terabyte SSD. The Custom Scan uninstaller manager for cleaning up when
feature allows files and folders to be removing apps and controls to manage
dropped in for quick scanning as well as those that start automatically.
external volumes to be scanned through The Identity Assistant offers to
as needed. It’s easy enough to minimize extensively track your email addresses,
Avira Prime and work with other phone numbers, credit cards, bank
applications as the scan continues, so it’s accounts, physical addresses, driver’s
not entirely occupying your Mac as it license, gamer tags, insurance account
chugs through your files. numbers, and mother’s maiden name to
The other modules tend to work as see if any illicit activity surfaces including
advertised. The Cookie Cleaner module this information.
does a good job of allowing you to view Password Manager is a combination of
local system and browser
extensions plus a web-based
management console with its
own master password. The
Passwords section of the main
window a button sends the user
to a web page, where credentials
are managed. This works best
with a browser extension and we
are pleased to confirm that one is
now available for Safari (fave.
co/3uLKRLn—the extension used
Avira Prime’s Full Scan took over six hours to look over to only be available for Opera,
800-plus gigabytes of files on a 1-terabyte SSD. Chrome and Firefox).

space; the Uninstaller does a
good job of locating and
removing applications; and the
Startup Apps offers tight control
over which applications activate
when your Mac is booted. Aside
from Avira Prime crashing once
when the Junk Cleaner was
running, these elements work as
well as anything offered by
The Cookie Cleaner module does a good job of allowing competing software suites.
you to view and clean up your cookie data. Still, there are some
prominent concerns to address.
The password manager and junk files First and foremost, the Full Scan took over
cleaner are included in both free and six hours to complete on my 2022 M2
paid-for versions of Avira. Where Prime MacBook Pro. In addition to this, the
differs from the Free Security version is program stopped to confirm that the user
that you get full, unlimited use of the VPN granted access to scan areas such as
service (provided as a separate app) Documents and Downloads during the
instead of the 500MB per month limit initial full scan, something I’d never seen
imposed on non-paying users. The VPN before in any application I’ve worked with.
can optionally block malicious website While elements such as the scheduler
content, adding to the software’s local work and allow scans to be programmed
scanning and monitoring security. The in advance, the fact that Avira Prime’s viral
module creates a VPN network scan located and quarantined several
configuration, which allows for extra minor worm files, but missed suspect files
privacy, but if you have a dedicated client such as the Wave web browser, which has
you already like, this may be a better option. been implicated in assorted phishing
scams in recent months, proved worrisome.
USABILITY & PERFORMANCE That said, independent test labs at AV
Where performance is concerned, the Comparatives and AV Test have given
Junk Cleaner module does a good job of Avira Prime for Mac good scores. In May
removing extraneous trash, downloads, 2023, Avira scored 99% for Mac Malware
and temporary files to help recover disk protection and 99% for Mac PUA Protection

WORKINGMAC REVIEW: AV IR A PR IME FOR MAC
with AV Comparatives (fave.co/46Yc7nc), The rate of $9.99 per month to cover

while AV Test (fave.co/3T4bkvu) gave Avira five devices with Avira Prime isn’t
99.8% in September 2023. terrible, but when you consider that
One criticism is that the Identity there is no limit to the number of devices
Assistant only points out where your the free version will cover, you might
personal information has been want to make do with the free option,
compromised in large-scale hacks, such which offers the same core protection as
as those that occurred at Adobe, the Prime version.
Dropbox, and Tumblr, and this feels like This is really the sticking point with
an upsell. The software quickly emails Prime: It’s pretty expensive when you
you information that could have been consider that Avira Free Security offers the
discovered for free on haveibeenpwned. same core protection as Prime. It doesn’t
com. Avira Prime then offers identity feel like you’re getting much extra for your
monitoring for $38.99 for the first year, money with Prime.
with an automatic renewal of $64.99 for
each additional year until canceled. VERDICT
Avira Prime does a good job of spotting
PRICE and dealing with unwanted software,
Avira Prime (fave.co/4cdBo0f) is a five- through both manual and automatic scans
device subscription that can cover your Mac and activity monitoring. The additional
and iPhone and—if necessary—a Windows features are well designed; the Phantom
PC and Android smartphone as well. VPN, the cookie cleaning, junk file
There’s no trial and no special management, and uninstaller
first-year price offered, which mmmmh helper all add to the package.
means there’s no surprise a year Avira Prime for Mac
If you just want something to
into your subscription with inflated PROS watch for dodgy software
renewal costs. • Easy to use. activity, Avira Free Security may
• Full VPN.
However, while there is no trial be all you need. And it’s hard not
• Won’t slow down your Mac.
of Avira Prime, there is a free CONS to think that Avira is doing itself a
version: Avira Free Security for • No fine-tuning scan disservice by offering so much
options.
Mac (fave.co/4cdAW23), which we PRICE for free: The additional benefits
review separately. There’s also $10 per month of Avira Prime won’t justify the
COMPANY
the slightly cheaper Avira Internet annual subscription cost for
Avira
Security (fave.co/3Ikxzbw). most people. ■

Smokey Bear is
within us all.
For wildfire prevention tips, visit
SmokeyBear.com
MADDY TURNED
HATE
Maddy Park
Founder,
@CafeMaddyCab
INTO
HOPE
AND
STARTED
A MOVEMENT
In 2021, the rise of violence against the Asian
community made even the simple act of taking
public transportation unsafe. So, Maddy started
a fund to pay for cab rides for those in the Asian
community that needed it most, including women,
the elderly, and the LGBTQ+ community. With over
$100,000 raised in just two days, she started a
movement based on love that lives on today.
Join Maddy’s cause and get the tools

to support the Asian community now at
LoveHasNoLabels.com
PLAYLIST Everything you need to know about Apple Music,
Apple TV, and Mac or iOS-based entertainment
SharePlay music control coming

to Apple HomePods, Apple TV
Soon you’ll be able to allow others to take charge of music playback on
your HomePod, HomePod mini, or Apple TV.
BY BEN PATTERSON
A
pple’s HomePod speakers and Apple feature that lets you share your
Apple TV streaming players currently playing media.
will soon be getting a nifty new SharePlay debuted back in October
trick: the ability to allow friends, 2021 (fave.co/3V9y3J8) on FaceTime,
family, or anyone else to take turns allowing users to share video and music
controlling music playback. playback during FaceTime calls. Last fall,
The functionality will arrive courtesy of SharePlay came to Apple’s CarPlay
SharePlay, the two-and-a-half-year-old platform (fave.co/3uMe3Sp), perfect for

PLAYLIST S HA R E P LAY MU SIC CONTR OL
letting pals in your CarPlay-equipped Music app on your Apple device, ensure
vehicle take charge of what’s playing over the app is controlling playback on your
the car speakers on Apple Music. HomePod, and then tap the SharePlay
Now comes word that SharePlay’s icon near the bottom of the screen.
music control feature will soon land on the Once you’ve tapped the SharePlay
HomePod (fave.co/3V2R685), HomePod button, a QR code will appear on your
mini (fave.co/3ImUFP2), and Apple TV screen. Allow a friend to scan the code,
(fave.co/3uXnyOC) via a software update. and they’ll be able to control the music
MacRumors spotted SharePlay music playback on your HomePod, complete
control for the HomePod and Apple TV with the ability to add new tracks.
(fave.co/48DGzU3) in iOS 17.4 and tvOS MacRumors notes that besides letting a
17.4. Apple has since confirmed that iOS nearby person scan the QR code, you can
17.4 (which also includes extensive App also take a screenshot of the code and
Store changes [fave.co/3V3bUfz] as send it to whomever you wish, meaning
mandated by the EU) will arrive this month, even a far-flung friend could control your
and it’s reasonable to assume that Apple HomePod.
will release the tvOS 17.4 update at the Meanwhile, SharePlay music control on
same time. Apple TV will work by scanning a QR code
SharePlay on the HomePod will work in displayed on your TV screen.
a similar fashion to how the feature works Of course, you’ll be allowed to approve
on CarPlay. You’ll just fire up the Apple or deny any SharePlay music control
requests on your HomePod or
Apple TV, meaning users won’t
be able to hijack your device
just because they have the
SharePlay QR code.
Your friends and family won’t
need Apple Music subscriptions
to control music playback on
your HomePod or Apple TV via
SharePlay; that said, you’ll need
to be an Apple Music subscriber
to initiate SharePlay music
SharePlay music control is also coming to the Apple TV. control sessions. ■

OS 17.4 includes new CarPlay
and Apple Maps ‘instrument
cluster experience’
The new feature will work in vehicles that support dual-screen CarPlay.
BY ROMAN LOYOLA
T
he update to the iPhone operating In iOS 17.4, with supported CarPlay
system, iOS 17.4, has a new feature vehicles, Apple Maps will present a new
to try out if you have the proper instrument cluster experience with
car. According to the developer information about upcoming maneuvers.
release notes (fave.co/434vXfH), CarPlay Users will be able to swap the desired
with Apple Maps support has been updated: display type between the main and

PLAYLIST i O S 17. 4
that takes over the

dashboard completely.
Porsche has previewed
next-gen CarPlay (fave.
co/3Tn4K4S), and the
first cars with the
software are
supposed to ship this
year, but no formal
announcements have
been made. The new
Apple previewed “the next generation of CarPlay” at WWDC 2023. CarPlay feature in the
iOS 17.4 beta 4 is
instrument cluster screen by tapping the separate from next-gen CarPlay.
map configuration button on the upper You can learn more about the in-auto
right of the Maps main screen. experience in our CarPlay FAQ (fave.
co/3AEvROC) and find out more about the
Since this feature works “between the iOS 17.4 beta (fave.co/49V0dMo), which
main and instrument cluster screen,” it also includes new options for distributing
appears that it’s for CarPlay implementations iOS apps from alternative app
that use two screens. Most cars use only the marketplaces in the EU. ■
main screen located in the
center of the car console for
CarPlay. Apple added the
ability for CarPlay to work on
the instrument cluster screen
and display maneuver cards
in iOS 13.
At the Worldwide
Developers Conference in
2022, Apple previewed “the
next generation of CarPlay”
(fave.co/3uM3lvf), a yet-to-be-
released version of CarPlay Porsche has already previewed the next-gen CarPlay.

Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e:
Steak, evolved
The maker says its latest noise-cancelling set of headphones is an evolution,
but that’s really just the Brits being characteristically modest.
BY MICHAEL BROWN
Bowers & Wilkins describes digital signal processing engine that

its all-new Px7 S2e gave B&W’s audio engineers an
headphone as an “evolved” opportunity to retune the 40mm drivers
form of the Px7 S2 I heaped in this new headphone.
praise on in my June 2022 review (fave. Oh, the Px7 S2e are also available in a
co/3GT4iVx). Indeed, any changes in new color, Forest Green. The review
industrial design are quite subtle. The sample B&W sent for this review is the
evolution comes in the form of a new very pretty Ocean Blue. Both shades are a
IMAGE: BOWERS & WILKINS APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 105

PLAYLIST REVIEW: B OW ER S & W IL KINS PX 7 S2E
nice departure from the black headphones of B&W’s considerably more upscale Px8
I typically get in for review, but you’re not (fave.co/48D0lz6). The buttons and their
considering $399 headphones based on locations and functions are also the same.
their color scheme. The headband, yoke, and ear cups on the
I described the previous model as two sets of cans are virtually identical, but
possessing more steak and less sizzle, the Px7 S2e is fabricated from less high-
and that’s what B&W delivers here as end materials: plastic, faux leather, woven
well. The Px7 S2e isn’t festooned with the fabric, and a printed logo, where the Px8
fancy features you’ll find on the best boasts Nappa leather, diecast aluminum,
headphones from Sony or Bose, nor does and diamond-cut metal detailing.
it deliver the state-of-the-art noise While the Px7 S2e might be made of
cancellation those brands justifiably boast somewhat lesser materials, nothing about
of. What the Px7 S2e does deliver is its appearance or its mechanical
slightly more faithful audio reproduction operation gives that away. The earcups
than its predecessor. glide smoothly up and down the
headband and firmly hold their position
DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY when set, for example.
The Px7 S2e’s industrial design, like that of This revised product weighs exactly
the model it succeeds, hews closely to that the same as the one it replaces: 307
grams (10.8 ounces), and
B&W includes the same
hardshell case, which
has an interior storage
compartment for the
provided USB-C and
USB-C to 3.5mm cables.
The earcups fold flat for
storage, but these cans
are far from pocketable
in a pair of cargo pants.
The headphone’s
memory-foam earcups
You’ll be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the Px7 S2e fit entirely around the
and the Px7 S2 they replace; at least, until you listen to them. outsides of my ears, and

You can also pause the music by
lifting either earcup—or by doffing
the Px7 S2e altogether. This feature
has three levels of sensitivity if you
need to fine-tune it in the B&W app,
or you can disable it altogether.
A single button on the lower
side of the left earcup can be
programmed to either switch
between the headphone’s noise-
cancelling modes (more on this in
Bowers & Wilkins is sticking with mechanical buttons, a bit) or summon your phone’s
and I thank them for it. digital assistant.
its headband felt comfortably tight against BLUETOOTH, BATTERY LIFE,

my head without creating undesirable AND CHARGING TIMES
pressure on the arms of my eyeglasses. Bowers & Wilkins says the Px7 S2e’s
They remained comfortable during many lithium polymer batter should deliver 30
long critical listening sessions. hours of listening time, and a 15-minute
Mechanical buttons on the right charge should yield 7 hours of playback. A
earcup provide much-
appreciated tactile feedback,
which I much prefer over
touch-sensitive controls. A
sliding switch at the top of the
set powers the headphones
on and off, with an LED below
it indicating the headphone’s
state. Smooth-surfaced
volume-up and volume-down
buttons are separated by a
textured button that toggles
play/pause on the source The Bowers & Wilkins Px7 S2e are comfortable to wear for
you’re listening to. long sessions of critical listening, even if you wear glasses.

full charge requires 2 hours.

Like so much else, these
specs match those of the
Px7 S2. The battery is
charged via the
headphone’s USB -C port,
which you can also use to
stream audio to take full
advantage of lossless hi-res
audio services.
While these
headphones are outfitted
with a Bluetooth 5.2 radio
and support three flavors of You can stream from Tidal, Qobuz, and other services directly
Qualcomm’s aptX codec— from the Bowers & Wilkins Music app, but you might find you
Adaptive, HD, and the prefer the user interfaces of the native apps.
original aptX—in addition to

AAC and SBC, none of those codecs is manufacturer is about to leave it out of
truly lossless. As before, there is no their feature set. Bowers & Wilkins isn’t the
support for Sony’s excellent LDAC codec. market leader on this score—if you want
Apple iPhone users, for what it’s worth, the best ANC, look to Bose or Sony—but
will be limited to the AAC codec anyway, B&W’s engineers aren’t exactly noobs in
so they might be particularly interested in this area. The Px7 S2e provides excellent
checking out USB-C streaming. I tried it noise cancellation that doesn’t affect the
with my iPhone 15 Pro and appreciated the fidelity of its audio reproduction.
higher fidelity the wired connection The headphone is equipped with six
offered (a USB-C to 3.5mm cable is also microphones: Two mics monitor ambient
provided for analog sources)—but wow, is noise from the outside world, two measure
it ever hard to go back to cables. the output of each of the headphone’s
drivers, and two are used for phone
NOISE CANCELLING AND calls—and to suppress environmental
PHONE CALLS noise during calls. I made a number of
Whatever your opinion of active noise calls in a variety of indoor and outdoor
cancelling, no wireless headphone environments with the Px7 S2e, and the

people on the other end of the line B&W audio components—say, Zeppelin
couldn’t tell I was using a headset. or Formation-series wireless
Once you’ve installed B&W’s Music app loudspeakers—you can seamlessly
on your smartphone, you can choose from switch from one to another.
three levels of noise cancellation: On; The app supports direct streaming
Pass-Through, which uses the from several hi-res streaming platforms,
headphone’s mics to pipe in including Deezer, Qobuz, and Tidal. You
environmental sound for situational can use any streaming service you wish
awareness; and Off, which disables both of outside of the app, but doing so
the other modes. As I mentioned earlier, sacrifices the ability to switch between
you can also use the app to program the B&W components. On the other hand, I
button on the left earcup to cycle through prefer the native apps’ user interfaces;
those three modes. Tidal in particular, because B&W’s
You can use the B&W Music app to version doesn’t provide a means to
adjust the headphones’ EQ (boosting or display lyrics.
cutting bass and treble respectively by
plus or minus 6 dB). The app delivers AUDIO PERFORMANCE
another benefit as well: If you have other Bowers & Wilkins has for a long time
taken the technologies and
best practices it develops for
its highest-end products and
trickled them down to its
less-expensive offerings.
While the 40mm cellulose
drivers in the Px7 S2e are the
same as those in the original
Px7 S2, the company says its
engineers brought a lot of
what they learned about
digital signal processing for
headphones during
development of the
At some point, you’ll need to open the B&W Music app, if
only to program the button on the Px7 S2e’s right earcup or company’s flagship Px8
to tweak its EQ settings. headphone to this midrange

Zoom” with its wild

percussion and piano.
On a slightly tamer
note, I listened to Yo-Yo
Ma and the Silk Road
Ensemble’s cover of
“St. James Infirmary
Blues,” from their
album Sing Me Home.
The wonderful
Rhiannon Giddens
(Carolina Chocolate
Drops) sings on this
The Px7 S2e comes with a case, a USB-C to 3.5mm cable for analog track, an American
listening, and a USB-C cable for both charging and listening. blues standard the
ensemble infuses with
product. And it shows—the Px7 S2e a Klezmer flair. Those are both fun records
sounds fabulous. for adventurous listeners to check out.
Listening to Sturgill
Simpson’s “Oh Sarah,” from his
mmmmh VERDICT
album A Sailor’s Guide to Earth If the feature you value most in
Bowers & Wilkins
on Tidal, displayed the Px7 Px7 S2e noise-cancelling headphones
S2e’s ability to produce a deep PROS is blocking out the noise of the
• Excellent audio fidelity.
and wide soundstage. Bass outside world, you might be
• Very good active noise
lines were satisfyingly fat but cancellation. happier with the Sony
not at all flabby, as were • Beautiful design, fabulous WH-1000XM5 (fave.co/3k4Ia1E)
build quality.
Simpson’s vocals. CONS or Bose QuietComfort Ultra
Switching gears—hard—to • Not as flashy as the (fave.co/47aeYJe). As great as
competition from Bose and
the Qobuz playlist “Best of Sony. both of those cans sound, if
2023—Experimental,” I dug how • ANC prowess still lags Bose you’re like me and noise
and Sony.
the headphones reproduced PRICE cancelling takes a back seat to
the avant-garde stylings of $399 audio fidelity, it’s the Bowers &
COMPANY
Carlos Niño performing Wilkins Px7 S2e you’ll want to
Bowers & Wilkins
“Brooklyn Zoom, Brooklyn strap to your head. ■

LEARN HOW AT
Help a lost
pet get home
Posting a lost pet notice
can reunite a family for
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PetsAndPeopleTogether.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 SET UP NETWORKED corrupted, you had relatively few options.

TIME MACHINE BACKUPS Apple stopped selling Time Capsule
FOR A HOUSEHOLD devices in 2018, and many readers still
Apple’s Time Capsule base station put a miss them.
Wi-Fi access point, a network router, and a You can simulate a Time Capsule if you
backup drive that tied into Time Machine have a desktop Mac that’s always on and
all in a single box. That was its downfall, has a robust network connection. There
too: If the drive failed or became are a few asides:

HELPDESK M AC 9 11
→ You can use network-attached Then it performs an automatic catchup,

storage (fave.co/3hwDufY, NAS), but not all using the cached backups on an individual
NAS systems support Time Machine. I’ve Mac to transfer those to Time Machine.
also heard many stories of inconsistent Here’s how you get started with
performance. networking Time Machine backups.
→ Your computer acting as a networked I’ll walk through these points after
Time Machine destination doesn’t have to the following overview:
be on all the time. But it does mean that → Get a sufficiently large drive to
computer, when it is on, will spend more of store the entire potential contents of all
its active time performing backups, devices on your network backing up to
catching up for when it’s turned off. it, plus 50 to 100 percent more capacity
→ A Mac laptop can work perfectly well to store archives.
as a networked Time Machine destination, → Format that drive as APFS.
but if you take it somewhere else, put it to → Partition the drive if you want to
sleep, or unplug it from battery power, reserve specific storage for each Mac
backups cannot occur. instead of creating a large pool for all
→ A robust network connection is Macs on the network.
advised—that is, connect that machine via → Use the Sharing settings to enable
ethernet to your network rather than rely Time Machine on the drive.
on Wi-Fi. If you use the latter, Wi-Fi works → Connect from the other Macs to set
fine, but it will potentially congest your up Time Machine.
network because
of the high
intermittent value
of backup data.
Time Machine is
robust enough that if
it can’t back up right
away, macOS
caches files that
need to be backed
up if they’re
modified between
backup sessions. You can use MacBook as a networked Time Machine destination.

Get a big drive and format it as APFS Partition the drive
If you add up all the storage required on You have the option with Time Machine to
your network and add 50 to 100 percent either use one big pool of storage for
on top, and it comes out below 2TB, you everyone and Time Machine creates
might consider an SSD for speed and individual backup destinations for each
quiet. The drive may be running some Mac, or you can partition the drive and
reasonable percentage of the time, and if have each computer on the network target
you or someone else is working next to a specific partition. I’ve seen problems (as
the computer that’s the Time Machine have forum posters and readers) with the
destination, you’ll hear a hard drive pooled method: Time Machine should
(HDD) chugging away. automatically purge old snapshots as
That said, if your total needs are over storage in the pooled storage becomes
2TB, 4TB drives remain quite expensive full, but it doesn’t always seem to
(more than twice the cost of 2TB), and recognize that it has to take action.
you’ll either want to purchase multiple Follow Apple’s instructions on APFS
2TB drives or switch to an HDD. You can partitioning (fave.co/3woWouQ). Create a
get extremely high-capacity hard drives single container and then partition that
(12TB or larger) for a song these days. container for the number you need.
(I opted to get a two-drive system and use Each partition dedicated to a specific
RAID mirroring so that I would have a Mac should use the 50 to 100 percent
second backup: Each bit of backup is guideline above for setting its size.
written to both drives in case one fails.
You can find RAID systems from many Set up sharing for Time Machine
companies, although they add to I’ve found that using the process Apple
your cost.) describes doesn’t always work reliably,
APFS has been the preferred Time where sharing these volumes so anyone
Machine backup drive format since fall can read and write to them enables Time
2021, and I recommend using it. Follow Machine. Instead, I do the following:
Apple’s instructions to format your drive 1. Create a new user on the Mac
as APFS (fave.co/3woWouQ). This is a offering Time Machine backups. You can
destructive process, and you will lose follow these instructions (fave.co/430EeRT).
any data on the drive, so copy it off and The user does not need Administrator
ensure you have a perfect copy before privileges. I named this user “Network
erasing in that case. Time Machine” for clarity on my Mac.

HELPDESK M AC 9 11
2. In macOS Ventura or later, go to  → Select Read & Write from the popup menu
System Settings → General → Sharing and to the right of that user’s name in the list.
click the info (i) icon to the right of the File 4. Also, for each volume Control-click
Sharing item. or right-click the volume’s name in the
3. Drag each volume into the Share Shared Folders list and choose Advanced
Folders list. In turn, select each volume, click Options. Enable “Share as a Time Machine
the plus-sign (+) button at the bottom of the backup destination.” You can set a
Users lists, and add your networked user. maximum limit for backups, but it’s not
necessary if you’re using the entire
volume for Time Machine.
5. Click Done.
Now, from each Mac:
1. In the Finder, choose Go →
Network, find the Mac, and log in
as the networked Time Machine
user. (This shouldn’t be necessary,
but I find logging in first and storing
the password in the Keychain when
prompted helps prevent Time
Machine backup problems later.)
After adding volumes, Control-click or right-click to 2. Go to Apple menu → System
access Advanced Options. Settings → General → Time
Machine.
3. Click the plus sign to add a
volume. The shared volume
(pooled or specific to your Mac)
should appear in this list. Select it
and click Set Up Disk.
4. Next, you may be prompted
to log into a user account, even if
you’ve already connected to that
account in the Finder or with
Use Advanced Options to enable Time Machine for Time Machine.
the volume and to set a limit, if necessary. You can optionally use this

by Citi for banking and credit cards.
Quicken prompts you to approve the
new connection and then opens a
window in your browser.
For whatever reason, in my case
The networked volume or volumes appears as an Safari refused to oblige: It opened
option on other Macs, noting after the word “on” the window and let me log in, but it
which Mac the volume is shared from. didn’t allow whatever activity Citi
wanted to perform. Only a partially
process to set up encryption for the loaded page appeared.
backup in the final step, which means that After trying some troubleshooting, I
the key you choose is the only way to realized the easiest course of action was
unlock it later. If you choose to encrypt to switch browsers. Quicken lacks an
your networked Time Machine backup, option—like many apps—to choose a
make sure you store the key in a preferred browser. Instead, it relies on the
password manager. There’s no other default setting in macOS.
way to unlock the backup, as the Change the default browser and open
password is unrecoverable, even from the authentication page like this:
the Mac that’s performing the backup to 1. Go to Apple menu → System Settings
a connected drive.
CAN’T AUTHORIZE
SOMETHING WITH A
SAFARI ROUND TRIP?
CHANGE YOUR
DEFAULT BROWSER
TEMPORARILY
Some Mac apps require a
round trip through Safari to
authorize activities using a
web-based login. For instance,
a recent update to Quicken for
You can change the default web browser for just a moment
macOS supports a more to solve an app-based authentication problem that requires
secure login method offered a web round-trip.

HELPDESK M AC 9 11
→ Desktop & Dock in macOS 13 Ventura or text on your iPhone or iPad? Their
later or go to Apple menu → System operating systems lack something as
Preferences → General in macOS 12 simple as a Character palette. However,
Monterey or earlier. you can lean on the free Pages app that
2. Choose another browser from Apple offers to all iPhone and iPad
“Default web browser.” owners (fave.co/4c3psOa). After installing
3. In the app that needs to log in, now that, if you don’t have it, and launching
click the sequence to open a browser tab. Pages, follow these steps:
Your new default browser is used. 1. Create a new document by tapping
4. When you’ve finished the the plus-sign icon in the upper-right corner
authentication process, change your of the Pages app.
default browser back to Safari. 2. Tap Start Writing.
3. Tap the ellipsis (…) in a circle (More)
HOW TO TYPE FORMATTED button in the upper-right corner.
FRACTIONS ON YOUR iPHONE 4. Swipe down to find the Settings icon
AND iPAD and tap it.
If you’re typing on a Mac, you have a 5. Tap Auto-Correction and enable
variety of options on how to enter drawn Auto-Format Fractions. (It may already be
or “true” fractions, ones that are turned on.)
typographically rendered to look like they Now, as you type most single-digit
appear in a recipe or in a book. I’ve fractions, Pages automatically reformats
covered that previously in “How to use them. You must type a space before and
macOS’s Character
Viewer to type
emoji and other
symbols” (fave.
co/3tmuhQO) and
“How to insert
fractions in Word
and Pages” (fave.
co/49JWqSw).
But what if
you’re typing out You can type fractions as you go in Pages, and the app automatically
an email or other reformats them into more compact versions drawn within the typeface.

another character (like a space or dash) iPhone 15
afterward for Pages to perform its owners
can set
transformation. For instance, type a space,
the Action
numeral 1, a forward slash, numeral 2, and button to
then a space, and Pages produces ½. (This trigger the
also works in Numbers.) flashlight.
Once you have your message or even
just the fractions you need, copy and
paste them into a Mail message or other
document.
You can find fractions in the standard
Unicode format by searching for them on
the web, too, and then copy and paste
them into an email message or document.
This page at Compart.com (fave. with our phone’s LEDs. Unfortunately,
co/3UZh8ZW) displays all the common Apple doesn’t offer a way to disable the
typographic or drawn fractions as links to Flashlight button (or the Camera button)
individual character pages; when you land from your lock screen.
there, you can copy the fraction as a single However, if you find it a common
character. annoyance, you can make a tradeoff in
If you use fractions commonly, you ease of waking your phone to avoid
could type out or paste the ones you rely triggering the flashlight (or Camera app). In
on most into a Pages document and then Settings → Accessibility → Touch, disable
copy them from there into other Pages Tap or Swipe to Wake. With this option off,
files or other locations as you need them. you need to press the side/top (standby or
wake) button to activate your iPhone. After
HOW YOU CAN KEEP YOUR that you can then use a passcode, Touch
iPHONE FLASHLIGHT FROM ID, or Face ID.
TURNING ON BY ACCIDENT If you have an iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro
Apple makes it simple to turn on an Max, you can set the Action button to
iPhone’s flashlight from the lock screen— trigger the flashlight (fave.co/436klss). That
too simple. All of us have found ourselves button requires an intentional press of
noticing our pocket is glowing, or lift our about a second, making it quite difficult to
phone and assault someone in the eye trigger without meaning to. ■

RISK OF PREDIABETES:
1 IN 3 ADULTS
LIFE DOESN’T ALWAYS

GIVE YOU TIME TO
CHANGE THE OUTCOME.
RISK OF
SHARK ATTACK:
1 IN 11.5 MILLION
PREDIABETES DOES.
TAKE THE RISK TEST TODAY AT

DoIHavePrediabetes.org

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APRIL 2024

APRIL 2024 CONTENTS

COVER IMAGE COURTESY OF APPLE APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 3

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Matt Egan

INTERNATIONAL DATA GROUP CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD

4 MACWORLD APRIL 2024

HOW TO CONTACT MACWORLD STAFF

BACK ISSUES OF MACWORLD

REPRINTS AND PERMISSIONS

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14-inch M3 MacBook Pro:

IMAGE: APPLE APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 7

8 MACWORLD APRIL 2024

CINEBENCH R23 CINEBENCH R23

APRIL 2024 MACWORLD 9

CINEBENCH R24 CINEBENCH R24

Compared to the M1, the M3’s which showed a 19 percent

10 MACWORLD APRIL 2024

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configured 15-inch MacBook Air is

12 MACWORLD APRIL 2024

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(fave.co/4bYr9wG), Mossberg talks about just a specifications upgrade, not a

14 MACWORLD APRIL 2024

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cheaper option, according to

16 MACWORLD APRIL 2024

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HOW MUCH IS MY an Apple Certified engineer has looked it

18 MACWORLD APRIL 2024

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> Sell on Ebay, Amazon, Craigslist,

WHAT TO DO BEFORE YOU

22 MACWORLD APRIL 2024

Samantha, Practice Coordinator -

It’s time to let your skills shine.

TEAR THE PAPER CEILING.ORG

LIFE DOESN’T ALWAYS

RISK OF TAKE THE RISK TEST TODAY AT

The Latest Mac Products

INCH 4K MONITOR: back-mounted USB hub.

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bright picture. This is a major

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SPEAKERS the monitor via either the USB-C or the

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screen but lacks either an

With touchscreen, the Clarity Max VERDICT

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BACKPACK: SAFE use a carryall or holdall that securely

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The Spatial OLED is a display that uses

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