iPad Pro is here: we go hands-on with the big-screen tablet p12
iPhone 6s review: worth the upgrade? Our full verdict p62
Become an Apple Genius: solve any Mac & iOS issue p24
MAC
iPHONE
iPAD
iOS9 N ov e m b e r 20 1 5 N O.1 0 8
w w w. m ac l i f e .co m
50 awesome tips
and hidden features for your iPhone and iPad p40
win!
the NEW iPhone 6s p53
$5.99 u s
Apple t v Will apps and games help Apple conquer the living room? p14
Start FEED YOUR MIND. FEAST YOUR EYES.
GO
Discover amazing new tips and tricks in iOS 9 p24
Hands-on with the new iPad Pro We find out what Apple’s big new creation – and its accessories – are really like to use BY Gareth Beavis
12 nov 2015 maclife.com
The iPad pro is the device we weren’t sure we’d ever see, but at its event in September, Apple announced the 12.9-inch tablet for release in November, starting at $799 for the 32GB version. This is Apple taking on the enterprise market with its tablet range, but as with the MacBook Pros, it’s appealing to many other people than just the professionals its name suggests. The reason is simple: this thing has a massive screen with an impressive resolution and a bunch of fancy new tricks that, combined with iOS 9’s abilities, offer a compelling experience. The main thing you’ll notice about it is that it’s huge – really big in the hand. It’s admittedly hefty at over 1.5lbs, but that allows it to pack in a brilliant screen and four speakers while still reaching the 10 hours of battery life we’ve come to expect from iPads. It’s clear that Split View in iOS 9 was conceived for the iPad Pro, because there’s just so much that you can do with that screen real estate. Many apps will still just want to be run in fullscreen mode, and that’s great for creative pro apps
Feed your mind. Feast your eyes.
iPad Pro
The facts The Pencil is typical Apple simplicity and stark aluminum design – and great to use.
– but being able to get documents side by side for comparison, or refer to a website while writing an email, really does make it great for almost any kind of work. The Apple Pencil is an interesting addition; when we saw Adobe laying out magazine pages on the stage with the little aluminum stylus, we immediately saw its huge potential. It’s very good at sketching, not to mention the best we’ve tried when it comes to handwriting recognition, refusing to be confused by our fist rubbing the screen at the same time but at $99 it’s an expensive add-on. Still, the ability to shade, annotate and more is really impressive, and the reaction from the iPad Pro is instant. The Smart Keyboard is another device that we’ve been waiting to see from Apple for years now, and it’s also a nice addition. While it’s (very) expensive at $169, the keys allow for great accuracy, despite being rubber-clad. It’s very similar to the new MacBook’s keyboard, where the travel doesn’t feel traditional but still works really well. The iPad Pro takes the same stylings that endeared us to the iPad Air and uses them to create something that sits between the world of business and the world of sitting on your couch messing about with your tablet. Still, it’s its pro capacity that will be scrutinized
hardest – Microsoft’s Surface 3 was really well received, so Apple will be hoping that a MacBook-esque tablet can shine as well. A lot will obviously depend on how people view its capabilities compared to its cost, but given the clever software tweaks and accessories Apple has added, there’s a lot to be intrigued by. It’s almost a shame that this tablet probably won’t match the sales of the iPhone, as it means developers might not rush to develop the software; while Tim Cook was quick to point out the alliance with IBM and Cisco when launching the new iPad Pro, some developers of pro Mac software aren’t confident about making money from the iOS App Store. But this is great for play as well as work – we can see this being the perfect device with which to leaf
Cost $799 (32GB), $949 (128GB), $1079 (128GB+Cellular) Screen 12.9 in, 2,732x2,048 Processor Apple A9X Battery life 10 hours’ web surfing/video Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Lightning port, Smart Connector, 3.5mm headphone jack Features TouchID, stereo speakers, 8MP rear camera, 1.2MP front camera
through the newspaper or some comics on a lazy Sunday afternoon, or a great replacement for those that spend hours in bed watching Netflix on a laptop. And it’s not even that expensive... which isn’t something we get to say all that often about a new Apple product. We’ll have a full, in-depth review of the iPad Pro as we get closer to release, as well as the newly updated iPad mini 4, which now features an A8 processor.
Mobile video editing is one great use for the iPad Pro – it can even handle 4K video.
maclife.com nov 2015 13
>>> Start Feed your mind. Feast your eyes.
CRAVE THE GEAR WE’RE LUSTING AFTER
Exploride exploride.com $499
>>> This is a heads-up display you can put in any car, sitting in your eyeline giving you useful information, but not taking up much of the view, thanks to its transparent screen. It connects to your iPhone, so can play music, take or make hands-free calls and even read out messages – but it can also show car information, such as speed and fuel level. You can control it with gestures in the air – just move your hand up to raise the volume for example – or with your voice. It’s not CarPlay compatible, but we like its futuristic-looking interface anyay.
20 nov 2015 maclife.com
Parrot Hydrofoil Drone parrot.com $TBC (about $219)
>>> Parrot’s Minidrones are stupidly good fun, and this not only flies in the air, but also floats on water. Attach the little quadrocoper unit to the buoyant hydrofoil body and it flies at a 90° angle to the water while attached to the boat, using its propellers to speed the boat through the water, able to twist and turn on a dime without capsizing. And if you to go back to flying, just detach it and use it like any other fun flying drone. Like all of Parrot’s minidrones, you can control it from your iOS devices, with on-board cameras streaming to your iPhone or iPad screen.
Sensel Morph sensel.com $249
>>> This is a multi-touch and force-sensing tablet add-on that’s compatible with iOS or Macs. Okay, you might say, but these devices already have multi-touch and force-sensing abilities (well, some of them). The Sensel Morph can detect with so much more precision and pressure sensitivity, though – right down to the odd shapes of a paintbrush as you sweep it across. Even better is that it’s designed to work with certain overlays, which turn it into something you can physically feel – the possibilities are endless for manipulating pro apps.
Nebia nebia.com $399
>>> These days, everything gets disrupted by startups. That’s what Nebia is doing to the humble shower head – making those that just spray water normally seem out of date. The Nebia shower head “atomizes” water, turning it into much finer droplets than a normal shower head, meaning that water in the air has a greater surface area. The idea is that you get just as wet and clean, but use 70% less water in the process. It requires no special electronics – just smart design – and has been backed by Apple CEO Tim Cook among other tech luminaries. It sounds great, although 400 bucks for a shower head does dampen our enthusiasm.
maclife.com nov 2015 21
>>> Feature
by lu cy hat ter sley & luis Villazon
M
acs and iOS devices run smoothly and efficiently, but nothing lasts forever, and over time you’ll inevitably run into difficulties. Bloated apps, upgrades that stretch your device’s hardware resources, and more demanding apps and games can all make your Mac
24 nov 2015 maclife.com
struggle. Even though OS X and iOS are incredibly robust operating systems, you will, inevitably, encounter a problem at some point. In this feature, we’re going to check out common problems and how to fix them. In many cases, routine maintenance such as backing up and archiving old files and remembering to perform incremental updates to the
operating system and apps makes a huge difference. Resource-hogging apps, stalled updates and backups that take days to complete are all easy-to-address issues which, once resolved, will improve your Mac. We’ve got a slew of tips on how to fix system performance, file management, and nasty network niggles. Some issues only rear their head when you made the leap of faith from one version of OS X to the next - almost certainly from Mavericks to Yosemite. Jumping to the new version of OS X, El Capitan, is bound to reveal additional gremlins. With Yosemite still exhibiting problems, and the release version of El Capitan now available, this is a great time to learn about common Mac problems and prepare yourself for any trouble that might arise after an upgrade. By the end of it all, you’ll be like those cheery Geniuses in the Apple Store… even if you don’t get paid.
How to be an Apple Genius
Help! My Mac has slowed down Is your Mac running slow? These tips grease its cogs and shift it up a gear
“How do I speed up my Mac?” is one of the most common requests, especially when it comes to older models. Slow general performance is one of the most irritatingly frequent problems to encounter. The good news is that Apple tests upgrades of OS X against older machines and makes sure they’re capable of running everything correctly, so if you are experiencing slowdown it’s usually fixable somehow. The very first stop should be to empty the Trash. OS X needs some free space to organize its files; typically we advise around 10 percent of your hard drive space, or at least 10GB. So before you even start to examine your disk space, get rid of unwanted files. Items stored in Trash take up valuable disk space, so right-click it and choose Empty Trash now to purge them from your Mac. Check the available disk space by clicking Go > Computer from the Finder menu bar, selecting the icon for your main hard disk and choosing File > Get Info (ç+I). Available space is listed in the status bar (you might need to choose Show Status Bar if it’s not on). If you don’t have at least 10GB free, it’s time to delete or archive your old files. Good places to look are your Movies, Downloads and Documents folders. DaisyDisk ($9.99, daisydiskapp.com) can help you find
Check that you have a good amount of free space on your Mac – and clear some out if not!
space-hogging files. Applications tend to take up a lot of space. You can drag apps you no longer use to the Trash or use an app such as AppZapper ($12.95, appzapper.com) to get rid of them. Creating a backup with Time Machine is a good idea before you start to trash files. Connect an unused or new external drive with sufficient space, and go to System Preferences > Time Machine to use it for backups. Backing up to a directly connected hard drive is faster than using a drive such as Time Capsule, which backs up over Wi-Fi. If you do have a Time Capsule, it’s a good idea to connect to it using an Ethernet cable for the first backup.
maclife.com nov 2015 25
>>> Feature
Even so, backing up several gigabytes of data will take an hour or two and will impact your Mac’s ability to perform other tasks. After the initial run, only incremental changes are backed up, so it’s worth gritting your teeth and getting the first, full backup out the way. Then you can delete older, less critical files and folders, which should have the effect of making your Mac a little more sprightly. Turn off features If you’ve freed up some hard drive space and are still experiencing slow performance, then it might be time to tweak some features. To begin, go to System Preferences > Extensions > All and deselect any extensions you aren’t using. Open System Preferences > Energy Saver. On some older MacBooks, you may see a Better Battery Life and Higher Performance options. Choose the latter, then restart your Mac. This turns on the (more powerful) discrete graphics card, but drains the battery faster.
Energy Usage >>> Check your apps’ energy usage by clicking the battery icon in the menu bar on a MacBook. In Activity Monitor, you can see which apps are using the most processing power. Click the Energy tab and then sort the Energy Impact column to see which apps are using the most power over time. Also consider installing Coconut Battery (Free, coconut-flavour.com), which provides information about how many charge cycles your battery has been through, and its remaining capacity and health status.
26 nov 2015 maclife.com
On Macs of a very low specification, disabling Yosemite’s extensive use of transparency effects should improve your experience.
A good trick for older Macs is to uninstall Flash. It’s a resource hog and drains your battery. Of course, you won’t be able to access Flash-based web content, but many sites have now moved to a more modern HTML5 implementation. You can find a Flash uninstaller at adobe.ly/1P9sdfw. In your web browser, remember to close down tabs and windows you no longer need, as these are a drain on resources. Quit some apps App Nap is a built-in feature that slows down apps that are obscured by other windows and not currently doing something. If an inactive app is using valuable memory, recent versions of OS X will also compress this. That isn’t always possible, in which case the OS writes uncompressible data to disk to free up space for another app. If you find it hard to know which apps are open, in System Preferences > Dock make sure “Show indicators…” is enabled. To prevent napping apps reappearing after a restart, go to > Log Out… and deselect “Reopen windows when logging back in.” Turning off visual effects such as transparency can deliver incremental but important performance gains. In System Preferences > Accessibility, turn on “Reduce transparency.” MacBooks that start up slowly may not have been fully shut down the last time. This can happen if you closed the lid of your MacBook before the shutdown process finished, so don’t be too hasty when powering down for the day. After following these tips, you should find OS X runs much faster than before.
How to be an Apple Genius
Visual Guide Activity Monitor 6 1
4
2
5
3
1 Monitoring CPU and RAM Use Activity Monitor (in /Applications/ Utilities) to establish what apps and processes are using up the most CPU or RAM. Its CPU tab lists active processes with a real-time view. 2 Switch to different stats Activity Monitor details five different resources: CPU, Memory, Energy, Disk, and Network usage. Switch between them by clicking on the tabs at the top of the windows. If you think your Mac is running slowly, check the CPU and Memory sections first. 3 Sort by usage Each tab’s columns show how processes are using that particular resource. Typically the second column is the most important. Click a column
name, such as % CPU or Memory, so the arrow points down to sort processes in descending order of usage. Fluctuations and spikes in usage are shown on the graph at the bottom; it’s perfectly normal for these to occur as you open an app, download a video and so on. However, if Safari shows a web-based game or video clip using a significant portion of the CPU even after you’ve stopped using it, you may need to force-quit it.
it in the list, then on the X at the left of the toolbar, then confirm the action.
4 Force quit unruly apps When a process is shown in red, this is Activity Monitor’s way of saying it’s unresponsive. This is usually accompanied by unresponsive behavior from the app in question (although some processes run behind the scenes). To force-quit an item, click
6 Generating diagnostics Choose View > Run System Diagnostics… to generate a diagnostics report containing files that allow Apple to investigate issues with your Mac. Accept the privacy agreement, then enter your password to allow Apple access to the information.
5 Search and monitor Use the Search bar to check a specific program or process. If you have Dropbox or Spotify installed, it’s worth checking whether they are using too much network bandwidth, for example. You can check whether large backups or downloads are taking place in the Network tab.
maclife.com nov 2015 27
>>> Feature
50 amazing tips and tricks in
iOS9
iOS 9 is finally here, and it’s bursting with dozens of enhancements for your iPhone and iPad Words Matt Bolton, Christian Hall, Alan Stonebridge
hen a new iPhone is on the horizon it’s accompanied by a brand new OS to run on it. But, thanks to Apple’s Beta Software Program, we’ve been able to road test iOS 9 for months. It’s been through a few iterations, with minor changes, but we’ve finally been able to explore the finished version and share with you our favorite new ways of getting more from your iPhone and iPad. iOS 9 has some significant changes to the way you use an iOS device – it runs on all the same devices as iOS 8 – and it’s not just cosmetic either. Entirely new apps Wallet and News replace Passbook and
W
40 nov 2015 maclife.com
Newsstand, while iCloud Drive finally gets its own app to make it easier to get to your cloud-saved content. Then there’s everyone’s favorite voice assistant, Siri, which has been bolstered in iOS 9 with new voice training abilities. Find Siri in Settings and turn on “Hey Siri;” you’ll be asked to speak a few things so it gets to know your voice
50 amazing things to do in iOS 9
better in a mere five quick and easy steps. Talking of battery power, iOS 9 makes some major changes to help you get even more hours out of your iPhone. The all-new Low Power Mode turns off parts of the system that aren’t absolutely essential, meaning valuable power can be saved to get you through the day without trauma. Over on the iPad some of the biggest changes are focused on its interface. The fantastic Split View for iPad Air 2 (and the recently unveiled iPad Pro and iPad mini 4) gives you a side-by-side way to access two apps at once. It’s a feature that Windows users will know all about and it’s available in OS X El Capitan on the Mac, too. Then there’s Slide Over, a great new way to pull in another app for quick access, such as checking Mail when you’re watching a film, or using Calendar while browsing Safari, for example. Beyond these great headline features, we’ve discovered dozens of other useful little improvements that make life just that much easier. Enjoy!
maclife.com nov 2015 41
>>> Feature
Smarter and faster Check out these brilliant new features and improvements that make your iOS device even more pleasurable to use
New Accessibility options can be useful to anyone, not just those who require them.
On-screen keyboard Breathe a sigh of relief: letters on iOS 9’s on-screen keyboard reflect the case in which you’re typing. The top row of the iPad’s keyboard contains shortcuts to features such as copy and paste, undo/ redo, and formatting controls, plus buttons to attach photos and items from iCloud Drive in apps such as Mail. If you type quickly and with high accuracy, the character previews that appear above your finger each time you tap a key can be a distraction. They can be turned off in Settings > General > Keyboard. 03
Search in Settings At the top level of Settings is a search bar. Type something into it to get a list of matching settings, including the path to reach them – or you can just tap an item to jump straight to it.
Bluetooth keyboards When using a Bluetooth keyboard, the shortcuts bar still appears at the bottom of the iPad’s screen, along with an option to hide it. When you press ç+† on a hardware keyboard, iOS 9 presents an OS X-inspired app switcher that’s faster than the one controlled by touch. It enables you to reach any of the last eight apps you’ve used.
Deal with bad Wi-Fi If Wi-Fi Assist is switched on at the bottom of Settings > Mobile Data, iOS will fall back on your cellular network when it recognizes that the Wi-Fi network you’re using is doing a poor or unreliable job of getting you online.
accessibility settings Accessibility features (in Settings > General) have been expanded. You can turn off the Shake to Undo gesture, which you might find is too easily
04
01
02
42 nov 2015 maclife.com
05
Tired of digging through Settings menus? Now you can just search for what you want!
50 amazing tips and tricks in iOS 9
triggered. Vibrations from your iPhone can be suppressed, too. You can also adjust how long the screen must be touched before an action is triggered, treat multiple touches within a duration as one, and set whether a finger’s location when it touches or leaves the screen counts as a tap. Text insertion Positioning the text cursor just got easier on the iPad. Hold two fingers on the on-screen keyboard and the keys become grayed out. A blue vertical bar appears at the insertion point’s current location, and you can move it 06
If you prefer to use a Bluetooth keyboard for typing, the shortcuts can come in very handy.
as if you were moving it with a trackpad on a computer by sliding both fingers around the screen; the insertion point moves correspondingly. Choose Siri’s accent Until now, the language you selected for Siri would determine its accent in addition to guiding its expectation of how you say words – but not any more! If you prefer to have your assistant speak in a British or Australian accent, for example, you can choose that in Settings > General > Siri > Siri Voice. 07
Text to speech New voices for this can be found in Settings > General > Accessibility > Speech > Voices. 08
New actions New actions for dealing with email attachments enable you to save things to iCloud Drive, or to use Markup to annotate PDFs and images and return them. 09
maclife.com nov 2015 43
>>> Feature
Get more control over high-quality music streaming – and when to use it.
Set your preferred resolution and recording rate for video.
Device and data security The next time you set a passcode that unlocks your device, you’ll find that iOS 9 wants it to contain six digits – but tap Passcode Options if you still want to use four digits, or use Custom Numeric Code. This new option enables passcodes as short as one character (don’t do this), or much longer than six. As an added level of security, this option stops the Lock screen giving away the length of your passcode; what you’ve entered is submitted only when OK is tapped. In Settings > General > Auto-Lock there’s a new option that locks your device after just 30 seconds. 10
44 nov 2015 maclife.com
Your website accounts and saved bank cards (in Settings > Safari) are now protected by Touch ID rather than your passcode, provided you have set up Touch ID. Music In Settings > Music you can choose to have music streamed from iCloud and Apple Music in high quality even over a cellular internet connection. You might disable this if you’re on a limited data plan. 11
Camera In Settings > Photos & Camera, you can lock in settings for the resolutions and frame rates used to record regular or slo-mo video. Tap Record Video or Record Slo-mo to choose from the available qualities, which vary between generations of iPhone. 12
Six digits is now the default length for a passcode, although you can change this.
50 amazing tips and tricks in iOS 9
Search and Safari Two important features are now more powerful than ever before
Proactive suggestions Where you previously had to type before Spotlight search showed anything, iOS 9 proactively assesses what you do and when, and uses that to display things you might need right now. The search page also displays online news for your current location. 13
Disable proactivity If you prefer not to see Spotlight’s proactive suggestions, these can be disabled in Settings > General > Spotlight Search. Switch off Siri Suggestions at the top of that page.
Displaying the desktop version of a site in Safari is now a lot simpler and quicker.
14
Newly searchable 15 Many more kinds of item show up in iOS 9’s search results than before. Go to Settings > General > Spotlight Search and you’ll see more built-in apps are listed, including iBooks, Health and Wallet. Third-party apps from the App Store are listed, too. In fact, the rather longer list is indicative of a new capability Apple has placed in the hands of developers, who can make
their apps’ contents searchable in Spotlight. If you see unwanted kinds in search results, you can hide them here. However, you can no longer rearrange the list to prioritize things. Dictate your terms There’s now a microphone icon at the right of the search bar, which enables you to say what it is you’re looking for. This is available even if you’ve turned off iOS’s Dictation feature. 16
Perform calculations You needn’t dig around for the iPhone’s Calculator app to perform basic arithmetic because you can run numbers in Spotlight Search, just as in OS X. An added bonus is that it works on iPad too, even though that device lacks the Calculator app. Type a calculation into the search bar, using * for multiply and / for divide. Try using common functions too – for example, sqrt(144) will get you a square root result. 17
maclife.com nov 2015 45
ENJOYED READING THIS MAGAZINE? Treat yourself or someone else Choose from a huge range of titles Free personalised gift card when buying for someone else Guaranteed delivery in time for Christmas! Plus a range of stocking fillers from just ÂŁ5
Subscribe and make great savings at www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk