iCreate

Please, Sur, can I have some more? Suits you, Sur! We went through all of the clichés when trying to come up with suitable coverlines for Apple’s huge new macOS update. But then we figured we didn’t need to be clever as Big Sur is, er, big enough and

This month Apple made the commitment to go carbon neutral in its supply chain and products by 2030, which  is 20 years sooner than IPCC targets. Apple is already carbon neutral for its global corporate operations, but this new commitment means that b

Traditional analogue photographers would stick coloured filters over their camera’s lens to change the look of their black-and-white images. For example, a red filter would darken blues. This created dark greyscale skies that helped clouds pop out in

When Apple showcased its successor to macOS 10.15 Catalina at June’s WWDC20 event, its name couldn’t have been more apt. Big Sur, the area in California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise from the Pacific Ocean to form one of the most beautiful str

When the first generation of Apple Watch was released five years ago it quickly became the best-selling wearable tech, shifting 4.2 million units in the second quarter of 2015. A new ‘Series’ is typically released every subsequent September. ■

To capture smooth flowing steadicam-style camera moves with our GoPro we used a Zhiyun gimbal. Zhiyun also produces gimbals suitable for the iPhone 11, such as the Zhiyun Smooth Q2 (£109 on Amazon). You can attach these gimbals by a screw thread to t

To create streaks of flame in Photoshop, create a new transparent layer and draw a path using the Freeform Pen tool. Go to Filter>Render>Flame. Use the sliders and drop-downs to experiment with different flame types. Click ‘OK’. Repeat the process to

A common component of any documentary is a lower third caption that introduces various ‘talking head’ subjects. Final Cut Pro X’s Titles sidebar has a ‘Lower Thirds’ category that offers 72 animated graphics with a customisable name and description t

While recording a performance, you can trigger individual cells at any time by clicking on them to queue them, but only one cell can play at once on each track. To indicate that they are queued, cells will flash while waiting for the next sweep of th

If you want to accurately replicate a sequence of transposition points quickly, you can. Simply group them by either drawing a selection box around them with the cursor or holding the shift key while clicking multiple points. From here you can copy a

The first column in the Activity Monitor window lists processes. Your Mac runs apps which have obvious windows, but also a lot of code behind the scenes, like printer and video drivers, Spotlight indexing the disk contents, audio drivers, Keychain fo

One of the key features of Launchpad, and one that takes it closer to the iOS interface, is the use of gestures. If you have a trackpad you can configure these gestures within System Preferences but by default a slightly awkward three-finger-and-thum

Your Mac’s Activity Monitor app looks complicated, but it is a utility that you should get to know because it can be very useful. Apps like Mail and Calendar open windows on your desktop and you can clearly see what apps are running, but behind the s

Like on iOS, it is also possible to send audio through the macOS Messages app. To the right of the text field, you will see a sound wave icon – click on this and your Mac will instantly start recording audio. Speak your message and then click the Sto

The ‘Sound’ options within macOS’s System Preferences are limited to connected audio devices, as opposed to MIDI controllers. You’ll also find virtual interfaces, such as SoundFlower, but essentially the options let you toggle input/output. Since the

When the Notification Centre feature was first introduced back in macOS Mountain Lion (10.8), many thought that it would signal the end of the Mac’s Dashboard feature, which serves a similar purpose. However, it survived until macOS 10.14 Mojave befo

The other option that you can explore from the screen sharing options is ‘Ask to Share Screen’. This will send a request to the other person that you would like to view their screen, and if they accept, a new window will appear on your desktop that d

Your iPhone is a pocket powerhouse that can be used for tapping into the internet on the move, checking for important emails when you are away from the office and even streaming movies when you’re in the middle of nowhere – but it all comes at a pric

If you are getting noticeably low on mobile data then the first thing you should do is to go to Settings>Mobile Data>Mobile Data Options. Here you will see the ‘Low Data Mode’ option – turn it on to instantly reduce your iPhone’s mobile data consumpt

These are specific options to your mobile data provider and may include Voice over LTE (VoLTE), which means better-sounding voice calls, or Voice & Data over 4G. When enabled, this allows you to make phone calls and send text messages over wireless n

As well as apps, various system services on your iPhone use mobile data; you can monitor them by going to Settings>Mobile Data>System Services. It may be alarming to see that services such as Game Center eat into your data – especially if you don’t u

While browsing through the Mobile Data settings on your iPhone you may be alarmed by one statistic at the bottom of the list of apps that use mobile data – ‘Uninstalled Apps’. What does this mean? Are apps that you have deleted coming back from beyon

In older iPhone operating systems, you must go to Settings>Mail>Accounts to find the ‘Fetch New Data’ options. Here you will be able to determine the preferred schedule option (‘Manual’) for each account and turn off the ‘Push’ option. ■

Symptom data logged in the Health app can also be shared with third-party apps. On a Symptom page, scroll to the bottom and select ‘Data Sources and Access’ to see which apps and research studies are allowed to read data. You can also see which – if

Apple says the noise measurements are more accurate if you’re wearing AirPods or Beats headphones. They are less accurate via wired headphones and speakers since the levels are estimated based on the volume of the device. Tap ‘Show All Filters’ to fi

If you have Location Services turned on, then you may be surprised to learn that iOS keeps a log of your significant locations – that is, the places that you visit most often. These locations are only stored on your iPhone and you can check the log b

We’re delighted to say that you can use your PlayStation’s DualShock to control the action on your iOS device. Just pick it up, press the Share and the PS buttons together until the light bar is lit then, on your iOS device, go to Settings>Bluetooth

You can download a file from the web in Safari and then attach it to an email by dragging and dropping. Start by tapping the download icon in Safari and long-hold the downloaded file. Still holding, quit Safari, launch Mail, start a new email and dra

The Accessibility settings in iOS 14 contains an option called Sound Recognition for people with impaired hearing. It will keep an ear out for key sounds such as a dog or smoke alarm and alert you. Accessibility also has a feature called Headphone Ac

Chances are you’ve signed up to the public beta of iOS 14 and you’re already getting to grips with its many enhancements. If you haven’t, then you’ll find there’s much to look forward to – and even those who are playing around with this fantastic new

Sometimes voice memos recorded using Apple Watch have trouble syncing with your other devices. If you’re having this issue, you should check that your Watch is paired, connected and signed into the same iCloud account as your other Apple devices. It’

I heard that it is possible to create a Siri shortcut for searching on Google, is this even possible? Yes, Google has added Siri shortcuts to all of its apps and services on iOS. To see it in action, start off by downloading the Google app from the

Is it possible to expand my Mac’s Photos app editing tools or shall I just use a different app altogether? Jane McGoldrick You can expand the editing capabilities of your Photos app using extensions. Open the App Store and install the ‘Polarr Photo

Voice control • AirPlay 2 • Bluetooth • Wi-Fi • 54-20,000 Hz marshallheadphones.com amazon.co.uk THE LATEST ADDITION TO MARSHALL’S EVER-GROWING family of portable speakers surprised us on many different levels. Measuring 128 x 168 x 123mm, we figu

Nine light panels • Works with Apple HomeKit nanoleaf.me alza.co.uk …AND NOW FOR SOMETHING HIGHLY COOL! In case you aren’t familiar with Nanoleaf, it’s the company that introduced Light Panels to the market four years ago, effectively carving out

Five DSP presets • Touch-sensitive control panel • Plug and play shure.com amazon.co.uk A LACK OF PHYSICAL INTERACTION during the COVID-19 lockdown forced many of us to rely on video streaming to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. But if y

£99/$99 ekster.com Constructed out of PVB (polyvinyl butyral) from recycled car windscreens to create a vegan leather that is indistinguishable from real cowhide, Ekster’s Parliament wallets look and smell incredible. Inside, you will find a dura

DROPPED INTO THE BOTTOM of a volcano to drill down into the Earth’s core and assess the possibility of building an underground colony, the events of Little Orpheus play out in flashback with our intrepid explorer providing a voiceover to recount the

£3.99/$4.99 iOS 9.0 or later • 2 GB daedalic.com iOS App Store FELIX THE REAPER IS A DARKLY fiendish 3D puzzle game where your task, as a worker for the Ministry of Death, is to oversee the orderly transition of souls to the afterlife. What this

Arcade subscription macOS 10.15 or later • 220.4 MB 1simplegame.com Mac App Store CHILL-OUT GAMES ARE TEN-A-PENNY IN APPLE ARCADE, but The Lullaby of Life definitely has something about it. Combining relaxation, dexterity and agility, you travers

Release date March 1987 • Processor: Motorola 68000 @ 7.8MHz • Memory: 1MB RAM • Hard drive: 20MB • Display: nine-inch monochrome 512x342 Original price: £2,300/$3,900 Price now: £110/$125 Arriving at the same time as the Macintosh II, the SE int