We’re taking a brief break from building an email issue of TidBITS next week to make way for the latest addition to the Centers family, so look for the next issue in your mailbox on 28 June 2021. | Continue reading
Brings a variety of improvements and bug features to the Swiss Army knife of graphics programs. ($39.95 new, free update, 260 MB, macOS 10.9+) | Continue reading
New Extended RAW feature adds support for cameras beyond those offered by Apple’s RAW engine. ($39.99 new, free update, 53.7 MB, macOS 10.14+) | Continue reading
Restores direct downloading of PDFs from publishers that use ScienceDirect. ($59.99 new, free update, 97.8 MB, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading
Provides fixes to support USAA’s new Direct Connect method. ($60 new, free update, 13.9 MB, macOS 10.11+) | Continue reading
Maintenance release with fixes and improvements for the recently upgraded contact manager. ($39.96 annual subscription, free update from version 2, 29.6 MB, macOS 10.13.2+) | Continue reading
New services and features in operating systems coming later this year will improve security and privacy for everyone using Apple products, even outside the Apple walled-garden ecosystem. iCloud+ even adds anonymized browsing. | Continue reading
Apple has announced 2021’s Apple Design Award winners, this time splitting them out into six unique categories. | Continue reading
Apple’s upcoming operating systems have an impressively long list of supported models, but devils dance in the details. Older devices won’t be able to take advantage of all the new features, reasonably enough, but you should be aware of what you might be missing. | Continue reading
It should come as no surprise that TikTok collects a vast amount of data from its users. Now the company is being more upfront about some of that biometric data. Transparent, but creepy. | Continue reading
In addition to the work Apple does in providing explicit accessibility features, Steven Aquino notes that many of the marquee features of Apple’s upcoming operating system updates provide notable benefits to users with disabilities. | Continue reading
Craig Federighi gave an interview to Fast Company to discuss Apple’s new privacy features and offer his opinions on the privacy landscape. | Continue reading
Faced with the inability to find an official solution to Google blocking embedded browsers from its login page, the developers of the Gmail-specific email client Mailplane have stopped selling licenses and are offering refunds to those who purchased in the last 60 days. | Continue reading
Apple’s watchOS 8 introduces a variety of improvements in health, communication, photos, home automation, and more. | Continue reading
This year’s Worldwide Developer Conference keynote was chock full of innovative new features for apps and devices in the Apple ecosystem, far too many to cover at once. Here are our ten favorites. | Continue reading
With iPad OS 15, unveiled Monday at its Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple has enhanced multitasking to be more discoverable and easier to use. iPadOS also gains features found in iOS since last year, including the App Library and Home Screen widgets. | Continue reading
At its Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, Apple shared numerous new features that cut across most of its operating systems. But what caught our attention for this article was how many of them caused us to exclaim, “Finally!” | Continue reading
Apple designed MagSafe to improve wireless iPhone charging by adding magnets for snap-in-place positioning. The company’s own MagSafe accessories are a mixed bag, but third-party makers have come to the rescue. Julio Ojeda-Zapata tested a handful of MagSafe products that improve … | Continue reading
Apple has published a description of its Secure Intent technology that explains how you can securely log in and confirm purchases without entering a password. John Gruber of Daring Fireball analyzes Apple’s statements to speculate about the future of Apple security. | Continue reading
Apple’s new AirTag trackers have provoked considerable interest about their potential for misuse. That’s why your iPhone or iPad can alert you if you’re being tracked by one, with or without your knowledge. We detail exactly when and why. | Continue reading
Corrects how the audio control utility handles AirPlay devices and enhances support for AirPods Pro and AirPods Max. ($39 new, free update, 26 MB, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading
Major new release for the server monitoring tool adds support for syncing data between multiple Macs via iCloud. ($99 new, free update, 17.1 MB, macOS 10.12+) | Continue reading
Adds the capability to link to objects and add links to objects in Numbers and Pages. (Free, various sizes, macOS 10.15+) | Continue reading
Updates the browser with a redesigned and modernized look with a cleaner, easier to use design. (Free, 126 MB, macOS 10.12+) | Continue reading
Restores the capability to delete vaults on 1Password accounts and makes recently deleted items accessible for 1Password accounts. ($64.99 new, free update, 75.2 MB, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading
Amazon will soon turn on Amazon Sidewalk, which will enable many Amazon devices to share your bandwidth with other Internet of Things devices. Here’s how to turn it off if you want to opt-out. | Continue reading
When a Berlin man dropped his iPhone 12 Pro in a canal, he attached a magnet to a fishing pole and was able to rescue his iPhone. | Continue reading
We don’t know how the legal fight between Epic Games and Apple over App Store policies will end, but it has made public reams of formerly classified internal documents from both companies. The Verge highlighted some of the most interesting bits. | Continue reading
Though Apple’s App Tracking Transparency has thwarted some of Facebook’s tracking efforts, the social media company can (and will, of course) still extract personal information through photos you upload. Here’s how to prevent such antisocial behavior. | Continue reading
A little-noticed fact about M1-based Macs has started to get some attention. If the Mac’s internal drive is dead or fully erased, you can’t boot from an otherwise valid external drive. Why would Apple make that choice? Security, security, security. | Continue reading
Flexibits, developer of the Fantastical calendaring app and Cardhop contacts app, has released Cardhop 2.0, with core features available for free and new and advanced features as part of the Flexibits Premium subscription that includes Fantastical. | Continue reading
Patches a number of WebKit-related security vulnerabilities. (Free, various sizes, macOS 10.15+ and 10.14+) | Continue reading
Patches security vulnerabilities in Catalina and Mojave. (Free, various sizes, macOS 10.15.7 and 10.14.6) | Continue reading
The Apple TV has received its first hardware update in years, but is it worth an upgrade? Do you even need an Apple TV anymore? | Continue reading
After years of making Apple TV users suffer, Apple has redesigned the Siri Remote. Is the second-generation redesign a big enough improvement to justify its $59 price tag? | Continue reading
Apple has released operating system updates to add support for paid podcast subscriptions and Apple Card Family, along with enhanced privacy and anti-stalking protections for AirTags. | Continue reading
Apple has published a support article offering clarity on how lossless audio will work with your devices. | Continue reading
Maintenance release for the independent Twitter client with an icon update and bug fixes. ($7.99 new, free update, 26.3 MB, macOS 10.14+) | Continue reading
Maintenance release for the personal finance management app with a plethora of improvements and bug fixes. ($49.99 new, free update, 144 MB, macOS 10.11+) | Continue reading
Brings an assortment of bug fixes to the file automation and cleanup utility. ($42 new, free update, 20.3 MB, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading
Our lengthy article outlining numerous scenarios for ways that the AirTags could be used and misused revealed that some people didn’t understand the difference between Find My iPhone and participating in the global Find My network. They are distinct, and you can use one without t … | Continue reading
Already the leader in accessibility for its various devices, Apple has announced many more that will be available in the coming months. | Continue reading
Major update for the drive-cloning and backup utility with faster backups and a redesigned interface. ($39.99 new, free update, 19.4 MB, macOS 10.15+) | Continue reading
iOS 14.5 has rendered some old apps inoperable that worked in previous versions of iOS 14. What options are available for recovering data from those apps if you can no longer launch them? Adam Engst spelunks through iPhone backups and numerous erase-restore cycles to see what’s p … | Continue reading
Apple Music will provide free upgrades to lossless audio, Dolby Atmos, and Spatial Audio starting next month. | Continue reading
Resolves an issue with smart rule actions incorrectly running twice and improves installation of the Mail plug-in. ($99 new, free update, 132 MB, macOS 10.11.5+) | Continue reading
Introduces an iOS edition of the bookmark manager included with the macOS edition. ($29.99 new, free update, 20.6 MB, macOS 10.13+) | Continue reading
Introduces a new icon styled for macOS 11 Big Sur to the open-source file transfer app. (Free, 119 MB, macOS 10.9+) | Continue reading