• January 3, 2025

    Text Replacements Not Working on the Mac? Check This Setting

    Apple provides a handy ecosystem-wide feature that replaces a typed abbreviation—say “eml”—with text you specify, like your email address. (Seriously, copy that one so you don’t have to type your email address repeatedly.) These automatic text replacements sync via iCloud so you can use them on the Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Find them on the Mac in System Settings > Keyboard > Text Replacemen... Read more
  • December 19, 2024

    Safari 18 Adds Highlights, Distraction Control, Redesigned Reader, and Video Viewer

    Alongside this year’s crop of operating systems comes Safari 18, the latest version of Apple’s Web browser. Most of what you do in Safari depends on the websites you use, of course, but Apple has added a handful of features aimed at improving your overall browsing experience, including Highlights, Distraction Control, a redesigned Reader, and Video Viewer. We’ll focus on the Mac with macOS 1... Read more
  • December 5, 2024

    In iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, Quickly Turn Home Screen App Icons into Widgets

    Widgets on the iPhone or iPad Home Screen are enhanced versions of app icons that display extra information. You can now bypass the complicated widget creation process and experiment with widgets more easily. No longer do you have to edit the Home Screen, tap the Edit button, tap Add Widget, choose a widget from the full set of choices, and position it as desired. Instead, touch and hold an app... Read more
  • November 28, 2024

    Apple Brings the M4 Chip Family to the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro

    Apple has concluded a three-day release of the first Macs to use the M4 chip family, which debuted earlier this year with the iPad Pro. The updated iMac and MacBook Pro retain the same industrial designs as in the past, while Apple took a shrink ray to the Mac mini. These are highly compelling Macs, with the M4, M4 Pro, and M4 Max chips providing best-in-class performance; the iMac and MacBo... Read more
  • November 21, 2024

    First Wave of Apple Intelligence Features Appear in macOS 15.1 Sequoia, iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1

    Is it time to make your Apple devices smarter? Apple has just released macOS 15.1 Sequoia, iOS 18.1, and iPadOS 18.1 with an initial collection of Apple Intelligence features and a promise of more coming in December. The company is making a big deal about... Read more
  • November 19, 2024

    A Few of Our Favorite Things: Tech Edition

    The holiday season is fast approaching, but we’re asked to recommend tech gear year-round. Here are some recommendations if you’re looking for a geeky gift for that special someone or need to supplement your tech toolkit with new or updated equipment. We don’t have personal experience with all these items, and there are undoubtedly many worthy alternatives—next time we chat, let us know about p... Read more
  • November 14, 2024

    New Seventh-Generation iPad mini Adds A17 Pro for Apple Intelligence

    Although the first wave of Apple Intelligence features won’t upend the user experience for most people, Apple is pushing hard to ensure that all its new devices can participate. That’s largely what’s behind the recently released seventh-generation iPad mini. It’s physically unchanged other than a few new colors, but u... Read more
  • November 12, 2024

    Apple’s Tips App Provides Extensive User Guides and Helpful How-Tos

    Apple has included the Tips app with the iPhone and iPad since iOS 8 in 2014 and on the Mac since macOS 10.14 Mojave in 2018. Initially, it didn’t contain much useful content, and many longtime users ignored it. However, Apple has significantly increased the amount of information in Tips over time, adding device-specific tips, full device and app user guides, highlights of new features, and mor... Read more
  • November 7, 2024

    Use Guided Access for Securely Allowing Others to Use an App on Your iPhone or iPad

    iPhones and iPads are highly personal devices, but you might want to let someone else use a particular app on yours without letting them poke through Messages, Mail, and Photos. For example, a child could play a game, a volunteer could check in attendees, or a friend could take photos. To allow this, Apple created Read more