Apple's recently-released iPhone and iPad update doesn't just fix a privacy bug, but patch two significant security issues which the Cupertino firm says may have already been exploited in the wild. The company's advice is that users update to iOS 14.5.1 and iPadOS 14.5.1 as soon as possible, in addition to Macs and Apple Watches, so as to protect their devices from the potential hack.
Apple's first big hardware launch of 2021 is headed to preorder tomorrow, with the order books for the first Apple M1-powered iMac opening. Bringing not only Apple Silicon but an array of colors not seen since the iMac G3, the 24-inch iMac also brings with it a potentially tough decision for macOS users.
Services and Mac revenue reached an all-time high for Apple's financial Q2, 2021. Revenue overall was up 54 percent to reach a new all-time-high for this quarter. It should perhaps have been expected that Apple's year here in 2021 would be better than last. Last year was a bit of a surprise to the world at large, given COVID-19 and the pandemic that it brought. Now that we're inching away from said pandemic, the dip in sales most companies saw in 2020 can be decimated by blockbuster sales in 2021.
With the latest version of Zoom, a new option is available for group calls. This new option is called Immersive View, and it may just change the way you experience video calls from this point forward. To access this option, you'll need to enable it manually. Immersive View may be available by default in the future, but for now you still need to flip a switch*.
This week Microsoft released Office 2021 Standard for Mac (Preview) with early testing versions of Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, OneNote, and Teams. This system is not intended for home users of Office, and is instead meant as a preview program for organizations expecting to buy and deploy "the new volume licensed (perpetual) version of Office that is scheduled to be released later this year."
Anytime someone buys a new Apple product such as an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or Mac, they often buy the AppleCare+ extended warranty. That warranty covers the devices for all manner of accidental breakage and other issues. Apple recently announced that in Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US, owners who originally purchased AppleCare+ can renew their coverage for longer than was previously allowed.
Just as the rumors foretold, Apple revealed a new iMac during its Spring Loaded event today. As Apple spent 2021's early months phasing out older iMac models, we expected the company to introduce a new iMac at some point this year, and now the new all-in-one has been confirmed with Apple's own in-house silicon at its core. The new iMac will use Apple's M1 chip, and it'll be available in an array of different colors.
There's a new wireless keyboard from Apple this week with a collection of features that make previous models look obsolete. This new Magic Keyboard (revealed and released in the year 2021) has its own Touch ID sensor - meaning you'll be able to log in to your iMac (or whatever computer you're using*) with your fingerprint.
The power of the Apple M1 processor has been demonstrated time and again by using the M1 Macs for cases Apple never intended, not to mention would allow. That includes running resource and graphics-intensive gaming emulators or other operating systems on top of the Arm-based macOS. Perhaps the most glowing example, and most damning for Microsoft, was running Windows 10 ARM on an Apple M1 Mac, something that can now be done officially with the latest release of Parallels Desktop.
Opera has announced that the Opera browser has improved performance on the new Apple M1 Mac computers. Opera now natively supports the newest Apple M1 processors. Apple moved its Mac computers from Intel to its own silicon chips giving it more control over the performance of Mac hardware and software.
Apple has always been seen as one of the biggest enemies of the "right to repair" movement. It has been heavily criticized for its heavy restrictions on who can repair its devices, which ends up costing consumers a lot, even with Apple Care and warranty programs in place. Apple is now addressing part of those complaints with its Independent Repair Provider program for third-party repair shops that is now expanding to almost every country where Apple products are sold.
Apple's M1 chips have definitely been hot items in the computing world but their availability has been limited to two kinds of devices only. The M1 MacBooks and M1 Mac minis cater to just one segment of Apple's customers and still leave some desktop users, particularly Apple's Mac Pro and iMac customers. The latter might finally get their due if the latest beta version of macOS Big Sur 11.3 is any indication, hinting at upcoming iMacs running on a slightly new M1 processor.