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News From Apple
Opinion
Image: Apple
Over four years ago, Apple announced that it was going to stop using Intel processors in its Macs and start using its own silicon. At the time, it sounded like a daunting task, but feasible thanks to the years of success using its own chips in the iPhone and iPad.
The fourth generation of M-series chips in the Mac was released in November. While on the surface, that doesn’t sound like a big deal, it actually has a deeper significance. The transition from Intel chips to Apple silicon is finally complete–there aren’t any major hangups anymore that could make customers second-guess an investment. For the first time since the Apple silicon transition began, the Mac lineup now feels like it is whole as we head into 2025.
Apple released its very first Apple silicon Macs, the M1 MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini in November 2020 during the height of the pandemic. The pandemic affected production, which in turn affected Apple’s chip release cycle.
Once the pandemic ended, Apple and its chipmaker, TSMC, worked to get back on track and yeah later we’re finally starting to see a regular cycle with the M chips. Implementation of new production techniques affects that cycle, but it’s not as disruptive. We now have a better sense of when a new generation of chips will arrive, which makes for shoppers who can make informed buying decisions.
When the M1 was released, it offered incredible performance boosts over the Intel chips it replaced. But Mac users tend to hold on to their Macs for as long as possible—there’s a strong desire to get the most out of the sizable investment. If someone had bought a new Intel Mac a year or two before the M1’s release, convincing them to upgrade so soon wasn’t easy, especially when Intel apps ran perfectly fine thanks to Rosetta 2 (see below). Even the new design and performance gains of the M2 or M3 may not have been convincing enough.
But with the release of the M4, the time and performance gap between it and the last set of Intel CPUs used in Macs is so vast now that it can’t be ignored any longer. Below are benchmarks for the M4, M1, and the Intel 3.8GHz Core i7, which was one of the last Intel chips (and one of the fastest in a Mac) in the 2020 27-inch iMac.
The M4 doesn’t offer twice the performance of the Core i7, but it’s close. That’s a noticeable difference, whatever you’re doing on your Mac. Even if you think your Intel Mac is fast enough, it’s hard not to feel like you’re missing out.
It’s not just about performance. Apple chips are much more efficient than Intel chips, saving battery life on MacBooks and generating less (if any) fan noise on desktop Macs. It all combines to remove any doubt about Apple silicon’s ability to replace Intel chips.
With the M4, Apple decided to set the base unified memory configuration at 16GB. It was a change that was a long time coming–8GB is doable, but 16GB makes a noticeable difference.
The RAM increase is an important factor in the Apple silicon transition because it’s no longer a hurdle to adoption for someone who’s still using an Intel Mac. It makes the Mac run more efficiently and helps with supporting current and future Apple Intelligence features. And by not raising prices, Apple essentially cut prices by $200 across its entry-level models.
When Apple introduced the M1 in November 2020, it didn’t change the designs of the MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, or Mac mini. But when Apple introduced the M1 iMac a few months later, a completely new iMac design was also revealed, creating anticipation for more new designs throughout the Mac line. When those new designs eventually arrived, they not only breathed new life into each model, but they were also exciting and showed real innovation for the first time in years.
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The new Mac designs aren’t directly related to the Intel-to-Apple silicon transition, but they show the possibilities that Apple’s chips open up. By controlling the whole stack, Apple can design chips and cases that push boundaries, and the current lineup is the best Apple has made in years.
A major concern during the Intel-to-Apple silicon transition was software compatibility. Apple addressed this issue, for the most part, with Rosetta 2, Apple’s software that allowed apps written for Intel to run on Apple silicon. Rosetta2 worked well for a vast majority of apps.
Now that we’re over four years since the start of the transition, developers have had plenty of time to update their apps so that they can run natively on Apple silicon and no longer need Rosetta. You can find apps that won’t run on Apple silicon, but often the developers of those apps have abandoned the Mac. And you’re likely going to find a replacement that’s better anyway.
Finally, the upcoming M5 chip actually plays a role in the M4 and the idea that the transition is complete. With its release expected in late 2025, it reaffirms a regular release cycle for Apple and the Mac. It should provide a 15 to 25 percent performance boost over the M4–the typical improvement from generation to generation that we’ve seen since the M1. It also could be the first M-series chip where the Mac feels “settled,” where everything about each model is in place and seems right for today’s customers.
Now that the transition is complete, Apple can focus on bigger upgrades in the future, such as OLED displays and cellular connectivity in the MacBook. Apple didn’t just change chips, the completion of the transition is why those upgrades can happen in the first place.
Roman is a Macworld Senior Editor with over 30 years of experience covering the tech industry, focusing on the Mac and other products in the Apple ecosystem. He is also the host of the Macworld Podcast. His career started at MacUser, where he received Apple certification as a repair technician (when Apple did that kind of thing). He’s also worked for MacAddict, MacLife, and TechTV.
Managing Editor, Macworld JAN 3, 2025 6:16 am PST
How-To
Image: Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) might sound complicated–they are–but setting one up and using it on your Mac is very easy.
Here, we’ll show you through the entire process of setting up a VPN, step by step, from signing up for a service to installing the software and connecting to a server.
A VPN encrypts the connection between your Mac and the internet and also makes it appear as though you are located where the server is. If you connect to a server in New York, for example, websites and streaming services will behave as though you were in that region, rather than your true location, which could be anywhere in the world.
This is a handy thing to have on your Mac (and iPhone and iPad) if you want to be able to access content that isn’t usually available in your country – e.g. BBC iPlayer if you are in the U.S., or HBO Max which has very little coverage outside the U.S. Plus, if you are concerned about privacy the VPN will encrypt your data and hide your IP address. See: Should I use a VPN on my Mac/iPhone? and for more information on the legalities and whether it is safe to use a VPN read: Is a VPN safe for Mac?
Before you can start using a VPN, you must choose a VPN service to use. NordVPNis our top VPN recommendation, but you’ll find a whole range of alternatives–including many that may be more affordable–in our round-up of the best VPN services for Mac. For the best value VPN right now see our Best Mac VPN dealsround-up.
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Once you’ve decided which VPN service to get, head to its website and choose the pricing plan that suits you best.
NordVPN, which we’re using here, currently offers two-year, one-year, and one-month subscriptions. In the image above the first option is the cheapest, costing $5.29/£4.39 per month for the two years. There might be options that look cheaper, but, after the first year, you could be paying a lot more at which point you might want to cancel and look for a new deal.
You can find the best deal right now on NordVPN’s website. (Nord, as well as other VPNs, often offer deals that offer a lower price per month.)
Create an account and use your preferred method of payment to activate your subscription. Be sure to keep your password and username safe as you will need these.
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With your account details ready, download the app for your chosen VPN.
On your Mac, you should be able to download via the App Store, which is usually faster and safe, but some VPNs might offer download links from their websites for newer or better-featured versions.
With Nord, the best deals are here. You can download NordVPN from Nord’s website, as well as from the Mac App Store.
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If you choose to download your VPN from the App Store, you may be asked to sign in using your Apple ID after clicking Install App.
Once installed, open the app. You’ll need to sign in using the email address and password from when you created your account earlier (step 1).
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Once logged in, you’ll see a popup that asks you for permission to allow your VPN to add VPN configurations on your machine. You’ll need to press Allow and may be asked to enter the password you use to log in to your Mac.
Below, we explain how to set up a VPN that requires you to go into your Mac’s settings, but like most services, Nord’s app does all the configuration for you when you click Allow here.
As long as you have downloaded a trusted VPN app from a trusted source, this should be safe.
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To begin using the VPN, you’ll be asked to choose a server. This could be within the country you are located if you are looking to protect your privacy and aren’t trying to access blocked content. If, however, you are trying to access a service, such as U.S. Netflix from inside the U.K., or BBC iPlayer from outside the U.K., or you want to check a website, you need to choose the relevant server location.
If you are using Nord, you can pick a server using the search bar in the top left corner, or scroll around the world map, or through the country list. Other VPNs will have a similar process for selecting the location of the server you will be routed via.
You may encounter some alerts when you try to connect to a new server for the first time. For example, you may see a message like the one above: “neagent wants to use your confidential information stored in NordVPN in your keychain.” This will only appear if IKEv2 is set as the protocol to use, but you’re better off using OpenVPN or NordLynx (based on WireGuard) if you want a faster connection.
You can type in your Mac administrator password and click Always Allow, which means NordVPN will remember the login password within your keychain for future use, and won’t ask you for it again unless you change the password.
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Your VPN will offer various settings. For example, with Nord you can access settings in Preferences. Click on NordVPN in the top menu and then click on Settings (Preferences in older versions of macOS).
Here you will find options like “Launch the app on computer startup” and an option to auto-connect to a particular country (see: Settings > Auto-connect). That way the VPN connects to a server of your choice from the moment you launch the application.
You can also access an advanced version of Nord’s Kill Switch here. Kill Switch should stop data leaks if your connection drops; the advanced settings give an additional layer of security. Other VPNs may have a similar feature you can find in the app’s preferences.
You’ll be able to access the VPN settings and server lists at any time by launching the app itself or using the icon in the navigation bar at the top of your computer where you’d usually find the date and time.
Once connected, you can use your Mac as normal, but in the knowledge that no one can spy on your web browsing, and you should be able to access previously blocked content.
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Whenever you want to surf the internet as if you are in another country, or just ensure that your data is encrypted you can turn on your VPN, select the country server you want to use, and use facilities that might not be available to you otherwise. To use a streaming service from another country you will need to be signed up for that service. Enjoy your vacation!
In some scenarios, the VPN service does not use its own app. Instead, you will need to go into the System Settings of your Mac and configure the Network settings. It can sound a little daunting but it’s simple once you know how.
Your VPN provider should be able to offer help installing and setting up, but this example using Hidden24 should give you some idea of what to expect.
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Karen has worked on both sides of the Apple divide, clocking up a number of years at Apple’s PR agency prior to joining Macworld more than two decades ago. Karen’s career highlights include interviewing Apple’s Steve Wozniak and discussing Steve Jobs’ legacy on the BBC. Having edited the U.K. print and online editions of Macworld for many years, more recently her focus has been on SEO and evergreen content as well as product recommendations and buying advice.
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
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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.