8:00 -12:00 12:00 – 4:00
• MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2024
Room C open whenever the club is open for free The Mac U Video Training.
• TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2024
Room C open whenever the club is open for free The Mac U Video Training.
• WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2024
• THURSDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2024
Computer West
Visit Computers West, our parent organization! MacsWest is a Computers West User Group, as is the PC Group.
News From Apple
For years, Apple’s September event has focused almost exclusively on new flagship iPhones and new Apple Watch models. Once in a while, other second-tier products make an appearance. And in recent cycles, the Mac and high-end iPads had their shining moment later in the year—often in October or November.
We expect the same to happen this time. You can almost certainly count on new iPhones and Watches. As for what else to expect: well, no Macs, but there are a couple of interesting possibilities.
Here’s what we expect to see next week.
Gone are the days of radical changes to the iPhone; the last dramatic redesign was the iPhone X in 2017. Since then, Apple has iterated a little bit each year—never enough to drive yearly upgrades, but perhaps enough to entice consumers with phones that are three years old or so.
The iPhone 16 and 16 Pro are expected to continue this pacing, with a grab bag of improvements to existing features but nothing too radical.
The only notable design change that has been rumored is the introduction of the “Capture” button on all models; this will allow taking pictures without using the touchscreen on all models. This could be done with the Action button on last year’s iPhone 15 Pro, and that Action button is expected to come to all iPhone 16 models (not just Pro) this year.
But adding a Capture button frees the Action button up for other things, and the Capture button is expected to produce different results depending on how you press it, making it more useful.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus rear camera arrangement will switch to two vertically aligned lenses instead of the diagonal arrangement of the previous model. Apart from that and the new buttons, there will be no noticeable design changes in the non-Pro phones this year.
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will also not have noticeable design changes, but they will have slightly larger screens. The Pro is going from a 6.1-inch screen to 6.3 inches, while the larger Max version will go from 6.7 to 6.9 inches. The phones will be slightly larger, but much of the screen-size gain will come from Border Reduction Structure (BRS) implementation that will reduce the already barely there bezels a little bit.
Speaking of the screens, the Pro models will feature new panels that will provide just a bit more maximum brightness, following a trend of improvements in that area that has spanned the last few iPhones.
That’s it for changes visible on the outside. Inside, the phones are expected to get an improved thermal design—which hopefully addresses our biggest complaint when we reviewed the iPhone 15 Pro—as well as faster 5G modems in the Pros and a new A-series chip that will probably offer modest gains in performance and efficiency over the top-tier chip from last year.
All the remaining changes that are rumored from leaks, supply-chain insights, or news reports are tweaks to the camera systems. All models will get better ultra-wide cameras that handle low light better, and the iPhone 16 Pro will go to a 48-megapixel ultra-wide camera to better match the wide-angle lens’ overall performance. Additionally, the 5x zoom telephoto lens that was reserved only for the Pro Max last year will make its way to the smaller Pro this time.
That’s all we’ve heard so far. Looking back on paragraphs of text here, it sounds like a lot, but most of these things are pretty modest improvements. Those coming from an iPhone 13 Pro or earlier may be tempted by all this, but it’ll be pretty silly to upgrade from an iPhone 15 to an iPhone 16 unless Apple has managed to keep some earth-shattering new feature a secret.
When you agree to TikTok’s terms of service after downloading the app, you’re handing Communist China the keys to the kingdom. I dug up all the creepy things TikTok tracks and how it does it — plus, how to quickly find red flags in their terms and conditions.
Think the TikTok paranoia is overblown? It’s not. Here’s the laundry list of datayou give up every time you scroll. It’s a lot:
Seem like a fair trade for cute videos and a new dance challenge? Didn’t think so.
TikTok also embeds data into images and ads to track the time and date you view a page, complete with a description. The amount of data TikTok collects is so extensive that it can come dangerously close to cloning your entire phone.
Where TikTok stores its data is also a major red flag for Congress; the info collected by TikTok users in the U.S. is connected straight to servers in China.
I’ve been warning you about this Communist China app for a while now, but scanning any app’s terms and conditions too quickly could put you at risk of giving up more than you expect. Here’s how to quickly spot the biggest red flags:
There may not have been a media event this week, but that doesn’t mean things weren’t incredibly busy in the Apple world. The week kicked off with the official release of iOS 17 and related updates, and then there was a daily trickle of media reviews for all of the incoming new hardware.
It all culminated with Friday’s launch of the iPhone 15 lineup, Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 models, and the tweaked AirPods Pro with USB-C case. There’s been lots to unpack with all of this, so read on for all the details!
Following over three months of beta testing, iOS 17 was released on Monday for the iPhone XS and newer. The free software update includes a wide range of new features and changes, so check out our iOS 17 mega guide for our comprehensive coverage of everything new.
Apple also released iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17, while macOS Sonoma will be released on Tuesday.
After installing iOS 17 on your iPhone, check out our list of 12 things to do first in order to take full advantage of the update’s key new features and configure some of the new settings that are available.
We’ve also rounded up some popular iPhone and Apple Watch apps that have already been updated with support for interactive Home Screen widgets and some other new iOS 17 and watchOS 10 features.
The new iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are here! Ahead of Friday’s launch, the first reviews of the devices were shared by select media outlets and YouTube channels. Make sure to check out our unboxing and early hands-on video, as well as our top five reasons why you might want to opt for the iPhone 15 Pro Max at the top of the lineup.
We’ve also rounded up early reviews of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2, and the updated AirPods Pro with a USB-C charging case.
If you are just unboxing an iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max, make sure to update the device to iOS 17.0.2 before transferring data to the device from another iPhone, or else you might encounter issues.
An update notice screen appears early in the setup process, but don’t skip this step or you might find your brand-new iPhone 15 stuck on the Apple logo screen and you’ll have to connect it to a computer to restore it.
Over the past week, we have been sharing a series of Buyer’s Guides to help customers with their purchasing decisions, including one for the iPhone 15 Pro vs. the iPhone 15 Pro Max that compares 10 major differences between the devices.
We’ve also shared guides for the iPhone 15 vs. iPhone 15 Pro, Apple Watch Series 9 vs. Ultra 2, and more, all of which are listed on the MacRumors Buyer’s Guide page.
All of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models feature a new battery health setting that prevents the devices from charging beyond 80% at all times.
This new setting is separate from Apple’s pre-existing Optimized Battery Charging feature, which merely delays charging beyond 80% until a better time based on the device’s daily charging routine.
iPhone 15 models also show the battery’s cycle count in the Settings app.
iOS 17 adds several features to all second-generation AirPods Pro, including Adaptive Audio, Conversation Awareness, and Personalized Volume, and we’ve explained how to use all of them.
Keep in mind that these software features are also available on the original second-generation AirPods Pro released in September 2022, so there is no need to update to the new USB-C model to use them.
Each week, we publish an email newsletter like this highlighting the top Apple stories, making it a great way to get a bite-sized recap of the week hitting all of the major topics we’ve covered and tying together related stories for a big-picture view.
So if you want to have top stories like the above recap delivered to your email inbox each week, subscribe to our newsletter!
Apple has been in the computer business since the very beginning. Over the years there have been some absolute classics, going right back to the company’s first product, the Apple I, in 1976.
Yet it was with the Macintosh line that Apple’s computers really found their feet. They’ve been so successful that these days the best Macs are synonymous with quality, durability, and performance. But even with such a storied history, it’s possible to pick out a few key milestones along the way. These are the greatest hits, a list of the best Macs in history that helped propel Apple to new heights.
Remember the Super Bowl commercial for the Macintosh 128K? You know the one. Dubbed “1984” and directed by Ridley Scott, it features a young athlete smashing an on-screen Big Brother, freeing hordes of captive onlookers from captivity and conformity. That commercial was for Apple’s Macintosh 128K, and was meant to herald a new era of computing.
Small and lightweight, the Macintosh 128K was a true home computer, something that could find a place in anyone’s front room. It was affordable, too, lowering the barriers to entry for people who may have shied away from the computers of the past.
And it propagated a range of features that we take for granted today. It was the first computer to popularize the computer mouse, something that had been dreamed up a decade earlier but had never broken through into the mainstream. Its operating system standardized the easy-to-use graphical user interface, with windows and desktop metaphors that competitors sought to imitate. And it showed there was an alternative to IBM, whose products had a near-monopoly on the market.
When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997, the company was a total mess. A flailing product strategy, years of poor management, and underwhelming sales had combined to push Apple to the brink of bankruptcy. Yet just a year later, Apple would launch a computer that not only saved the company, but would also revolutionize the entire industry.
Everything that went into the iMac showed it was different to anything done before. It came in bursts of color, a radical departure from the beige boxes that dominated at the time. Its case was translucent so you could see the insides, helping to demystify how computers worked. And it had a carry handle, not because Apple expected you to move it often, but to help overcome the fear many people had of computers and encourage them to touch it.
It was all deliberate and geared toward making the computer approachable, friendly, even fun. That would never have worked if the software was a nightmare to use, but Apple succeeded here, too. Like the Macintosh 128K that came before it, the iMac was famously easy to use.
But it wasn’t just a plaything — it was fast, too, way more so than you would expect given its innocent demeanor. And, perhaps most importantly, it made it straightforward for people to connect to the internet. It was perhaps the first mega-hit computer of the internet era, paving the way for everything that followed, and was certainly one of Jony Ive’s greatest achievements.
If the iMac G3 helped Apple take the fear factor out of computing, its follow-up, the iMac G4, established the company as the king of cool. Ditching the bright colors for classy white and silver, the iMac G4 adopted the design language established by the iPod and used by Apple for years to come.
Its origin came thanks to a moment of inspiration. After the success of the iMac G3, Steve Jobs and Jony Ive were struggling to come up with a successor. During a stroll in Jobs’ garden, the epiphany came. Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve’s wife, had planted a profusion of sunflowers. Ive spotted them and excitedly began sketching: With a monitor attached to a moveable arm, the next iMac would seem to be so fluid it could reach for the sun, just like a sunflower.
Unlike the iMac G3 with its CRT display, the G4 introduced flat LCD panels to the Mac range, redefining how thin and light an Apple computer could be. Its LCD panel was a key selling point, but it also excelled when it came to ergonomics. The cantilevered monitor arm was not just pretty, it could be easily manipulated into a comfortable position for whoever was using it. And with all the components hidden in the base, it prompted stunned reactions of “where’s the computer?” from puzzled spectators.
Steve Jobs declared that the iMac G4 “has a beauty and grace that will last the next decade.” Sadly, it in fact lasted only two years before being discontinued. But its legacy has lived on as proof that Apple knew how to combine stunning design with excellent practicality and superb software.
When Apple relaunched the Mac Pro in 2019, it instantly drew comparisons to the 2006 Mac Pro thanks to its “cheese grater” front panel design. But aside from that unusual visage, what else made the first Mac Pro special? As it turns out, quite a lot.
A year earlier, Steve Jobs had promised that Apple would soon switch from PowerPC processors to Intel chips. This promised a huge uptick in performance, and nowhere was that clearer than with the Mac Pro. It was the first Mac to hit the 3.0GHz mark, something Jobs conceded was not possible on the old PowerPC architecture.
What’s more, Apple drove the point home by loading each Mac Pro with not one but two Intel Xeon processors. The chips were 64-bit, and increased the performance-per-watt of the machines. In fact, Apple claimed they offered double the performance of the previous Power Mac G5.
All that power was housed in a chassis that was as striking on the inside as it was on the outside. Once opened, there were no messy cables and fiddly screws. Everything was neatly compartmentalized, with drives simply slotting into place. It showed Apple understood that design was not just about how a thing looked, but how it worked — something Steve Jobs had been preaching since the days of the iMac G3.
While the 2006 Mac Pro was Apple’s most powerful computer in its early transition to Intel chips, it wasn’t the first. That honor goes to the 2006 MacBook Pro. And it was such a leap forward that it truly earned the “Pro” moniker.
Compared to the PowerBook G4 that came before it, the MacBook Pro offered up to four times the performance thanks to the Intel Core Duo, the first dual-core processor in a Mac. It did that while occupying a thinner, lighter aluminum chassis, and its display was two-thirds brighter than the PowerBook, starting a trend for brilliantly bright MacBook Pro screens that continues to this day.
It was also the first Mac to introduce the beloved MagSafe, which has made a welcome return in recent years. And at the top of the display was the first built-in iSight webcam, something that the PowerBook G4 totally lacked.
The transition to Intel processors resulted in a monumental jump in performance for Apple’s Macs, and one of the places this was most apparent was the first MacBook Pro. It was so significant that it prompted a name change that’s still with us all these years later.
We all know Steve Jobs was a master at the keynote presentation, but nowhere was that more apparent that at his iconic unveiling of the first-generation MacBook Air in 2008. After explaining just how thin and light the device was, Jobs then strolled over to a side table and pulled a MacBook Air out of a manilla envelope, to cheers and disbelief from the audience.
But this wasn’t just bluster. The MacBook Air was like nothing we’d ever seen before. Jobs explained Apple set out to do several things: Make a laptop that was thinner than the competition, yet was more powerful, had a better display, and a better keyboard. And boy, did the MacBook Air achieve that.
At its thickest point, the MacBook Air was thinner than the thinnest point on the world’s previous slimmest laptop — that’s how incredible Apple’s feat of engineering was. Unlike rival devices, it came with a larger 13-inch display and a full-size keyboard. And it had a full-power processor that destroyed the competition.
It was so unprecedented, it elicited stunned gasps from Jobs’ audience on several occasions. Its achievement was that it showed it was possible to build an ultra-thin laptop without the compromises other companies were forced to make.
The transition to Intel processors may have brought enormous gains in 2006, but nearly 15 years later Intel’s chips were becoming more of a hindrance than a help to Apple’s Macs. They ran too hot for Apple’s slimline aspirations, and didn’t run nearly fast enough either. Something had to change.
That something was a complete transition to Apple’s own chips, and it utterly revitalized the Mac lineup. No longer did Macs seems like overpriced underperformers — if anything, they were absolute bargains with the power and efficiency of Apple silicon. The M1 MacBook Air was a great example of this, and yet, it’s the MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch that make the list here.
After all, no one had doubts Apple couldn’t replicate the capabilities of an ultra-thin laptop like the MacBook Air. But to replace the performance of a high-wattage CPU and discrete graphics? Now that was a challenge many of us were skeptical of.
And yet, Apple totally pulled it off. The redesigned chassis brought back beloved features like MagSafe and extra ports, while the performance of the M1 Pro and M1 Max were doing things no one had seen before in a laptop of this class.
Yet what was even more amazing was that the MacBook Pro managed to do this while seriously increasing the battery life, something it continues to run circles around its competitors with. If nothing else, these MacBook Pros were proof that Apple’s move to its own silicon was going to pay off in the long run, and in many ways, it’s only just begun.
The easiest way to sign your documents is on your computer. All you have to do is download the right document, sign with your finger and then send the document via email or print it out. It’s a streamlined process, but if you’re a Mac owner, you may be signing your documents the wrong way.
You might be using third-party software like Adobe Acrobat Reader to sign your important documents like lease papers or taxes, but there’s another, easier way to do it. Using the Preview application, which comes built-in to MacOS, you can sign pretty much any document in seconds.
Now playing: How to sign a PDF on your Mac in a few easy steps
1:31
The first step is to input your signature on your Mac (more below). Then every time after that you’ll simply select the signature you saved, and your Mac will apply it to the document that needs to be signed. Easy peasy.
The first thing you’ll need to do is add your signature to your Mac, which you can do within Preview. To start:
Apple will sync your signature with your iCloud account, making it available in Preview on any Mac you’ve signed in to with your Apple ID.
You have three options to create a digital version of your signature:
Now that setup is done, your signature is in the system and you’ll see just how fast it is to sign documents in Preview.
With your document open in Preview, follow the same process we just outlined, except that after clicking on the signature button, click on your signature.
A small box that includes your signature will show up in the document, which you can then drag around and resize. After you’ve lined up your signature, you can save the document and then share it.
I timed how long it takes me to open a document and click the appropriate buttons to add a signature, and I was able to get it done in under a minute, and that includes adding the date by clicking on the add text button in Preview.
Now that you’ve mastered signing documents at record speed, make sure to check out even more hidden Mac tips and this hidden MacOS feature that lets you use your voice to quickly type on your Mac.
The iPad is a capable laptop replacement in many ways, and iPadOS multitasking features and Apple’s Magic Keyboard take that to the next level. iPadOS differs from iOS in several ways, and includes keyboard shortcuts and trackpad gestures that unlock functionality you can’t get on an iPhone.
First thing’s first: To get started with iPad keyboard shortcuts and gestures, you’ll need to set up a keyboard and trackpad with your iPad—either the official Magic Keyboard or a third-party option. If you want to see the available keyboard shortcuts for the app you’re currently using, press and hold the Command button and choose between the different categories that show up on screen.
Some of the common ones you might see are Cmd+C to copy, Cmd+V to paste, and Cmd+Z to undo the most recent action, for example. These match the same shortcuts on macOS on the desktop, and certainly make it easier to handle text editing—you can use Command+I for italics, Command+B for bold, and Command+U for underlined text too, which you’re probably familiar with in word processing apps.
In several apps, you can use Command+N to create a new file, Command+O to open an existing file, and Command+P to print the current file. Others are more specific, such as Command+R to reply to messages and Command+Shift+F to forward emails in the default Mail app that Apple develops. In Apple Calendar, hold down Command and tap a number from 1–4 to switch between the different views.