How-to

The Dock in watchOS 3 was arguably the biggest new feature to hit the Apple Watch at WWDC 2016. It’s a feature that allows you to find and switch to your most used apps. It takes the best of the Glances model from previous versions of watchOS and merges it with an updated and actionable interface.

The Dock promotes using apps in a way that no such feature on the Apple Watch has until now. In my opinion, it breathes new life into the Apple Watch, providing practical functionality that was missing in previous iterations of watchOS. Have a look at our hands-on dive into the Dock as we explore this exciting new feature.
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iOS 10 makes it possible to view two Safari windows side-by-side on the iPad via a feature called Safari split-view. It’s similar to the standard Split View between separate apps, but there are some differences to consider as well. In the following video walkthrough, we’ll show you how to use Safari split-view, and highlight some of its notable features.
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iOS has long had a super useful tool called Markup that lets you draw and add text over images and documents, but the feature has been buried inside Mail until now. iOS 10 brings Markup to more places including Photos and Messages. Below we explore Markup in both apps on iOS 10 plus share how to put the new feature to work.

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New in iOS 10 and macOS Sierra, Apple’s AirPrint is getting some welcomed improvements including ‘AirPrint Bluetooth Beacon’, the ability to create PDFs from the print panel in iOS, and support for multi-user and password-only printing.

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It’s now possible to open an unlimited number of tabs in iOS 10’s Safari browser. With that in mind, it would be quite tedious to have to close each tab one-by-one, and fortunately Apple realizes this.

In iOS 10, users now have the option of closing all open Safari tabs in one fell swoop. To do so, simply tap and hold the tab button, and you’ll be prompted to close all open tabs at once.
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One of the great things about watching video on an iPad is that content can be played inline in Safari. In other words, users can watch videos within Safari without being forced into a full screen video view.

Such functionality has been available in limited fashion on the iPhone. For example, the News app has been capable of playing videos inline since iOS 9.3.

Of course, such playback ability was touted for the Messages app during Apple’s WWDC 2016 keynote, but with the introduction of the iOS 10 beta, inline playback has also been added to Safari on iPhone.
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As someone who regularly does voiceover work and records podcasts, I need a setup that allows me to easily record on a whim. Any modern Mac could work for this setup, but I’m especially fond of the 12″ MacBook with its USB-C port. That single port, which handles data transfer, power, and display output, helps to simplify my configuration because all it requires is one cable to get started.

In this post, I’d like to share with you my setup for voiceovers and podcasting. What you’ll find is a rig that’s extremely easy to use and happens to look decent as well.
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The 2016 MacBook is capable of driving a 4K display at 60 Hz via a single USB-C cable. Such a feat is achievable via an easy-to-apply IOKit patch.

One of the great things about the new Intel hardware inside of the 2016 MacBook is that it’s capable of supporting 4K resolution at 60 Hz. The jump in refresh is a big deal, as anyone who’s tried to put up with running a 30 Hz refresh rate can attest to.

Operating at 30 Hz results in jerky and choppy cursor movement, and in some cases can induce headaches after prolonged use.

Sadly, the MacBook only supports 30 Hz out of the box for 4K resolution. It’s not immediately clear as to why this is, but on its support page, Apple makes it known that 4K resolution is limited to 30 Hz.

The good news is that it is possible to enable 60 Hz at native 4K resolution and 1080p (HiDPI/Retina) resolution on a 2016 MacBook. In fact, I just did so on the LG 27UD88 4K USB-C monitor that I recently reviewed. Watch the step-by-step process in our video tutorial for the details.
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If you get your home internet connection via your local cable provider, then it may be wise to invest in your own cable modem. Why? Have a look at your bill. If the cable company provided you with a modem, you might notice that it’s charging you a monthly lease fee.

This leasing option seems to be more common in the US, but investing in your own modem could end up saving you money in the long run. Outright owning a modem also means that you can sell it once you’re finished using it.

Saving money isn’t necessarily the only benefit of purchasing or upgrading your own modem. It may be possible to achieve significantly faster download and upload speeds by taking advantage of new hardware advancements.
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Sony’s a6300 is one of the Japanese company’s most recently released cameras and is the successor to the very popular a6000. The camera has already received a ton of praise — Jeff took it for a test drive the other week, and enjoyed its 4K shooting abilities.

One common complaint, however, is the lack of a selfie screen on the a6300. Sony missed a big opportunity by not including a built-in way for vloggers to view themselves while on camera. 

The solution? Use your iPhone as a digital viewfinder. Not only will such a setup work with the a6300, but it’ll work with other digital cameras that support such functionality.

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As someone coming from a 15″ MacBook Pro with Retina display, adjusting to the smaller form-factor of the 12″ MacBook takes some getting used to. But as brought out in our post highlighting 10 favorite MacBook features, the effort is worth it.

I’ve been using the 2016 MacBook as my primary computer since last week, and I’ve learned a lot about this little machine during my hands-on time. If you’re thinking about purchasing a new MacBook, or if you already own one, consider these tips to get more out of this tiny wonder.
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OS X features several handy native trackpad gestures aimed at controlling your Mac, but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to launch or open your favorite app with a simple trackpad gesture? In this post, we’ll show you how to easily wield BetterTouchTool in order to do just that.
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This weekend’s discussion of the Sony a6300 got me thinking about the iPhone’s camera, and how great it can be when wielded properly. Our own Ben Lovejoy shared his tips for taking good iPhone photos a few months ago, and now I’d like to share my 10 go-to tips for snapping better iPhone pictures.
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I like to think I’m pretty handy with a camera, but am definitely an amateur when it comes to video. Unlike some of the talented videographers we have here on the team, my idea of video editing is to throw a bunch of clips into iMovie, add cross-dissolves between them, drop in a music track and call it good.

But even that level of video editing can be surprisingly time-consuming, which creates something of a dilemma. I enjoy having a video record of things like fun bike rides, but don’t want to spend hours creating them. So for a group ride at the weekend, I tried a different approach that took hardly any time and seemed to work surprisingly well …

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When you invoke Mission Control on OS X El Capitan using the typical gesture on your Mac’s trackpad or via a keyboard shortcut, you’ve probably noticed that the desktop bar at the top of the interface appears minimized. Although this yields additional real estate for the app windows below the desktop bar, it means that you no longer get to see the handy thumbnails that represent each desktop without moving your mouse to the desktop bar area.

There are some workarounds to defeating this OS X El Capitan change, including an open source utility called Force Full Desktop Bar. But for those of you who don’t wish to go through the trouble of installing a separate utility, which also requires you to disable El Capitan’s System Integrity Protection, try this handy Hot Corner shortcut instead.
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Maintaining a high level of consumer security on iOS is a huge cornerstone to what makes Apple the company it is. Tim Cook believes that we’re at the ‘golden age of surveillance’, and that Apple’s level of encryption impacts the wellbeing of U.S. citizens. It’s no surprise that users who care about security want to be up to date on the latest practices and methods that guarantee that. That may just be one of the reasons Stefan Esser’s timely app, System and Security Info, is climbing the iOS App Store’s Top Charts (all the way to the top of the paid apps chart in the US).

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