Confirming rumours circulating since April, Apple has unveiled Apple Intelligence, a groundbreaking personal intelligence system set to redefine user experiences on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

However, unlike many well-known rivals, Apple Intelligence places much of the workload back on the user’s device in an effort to maximise trust. Ever privacy-focused, Apple’s innovative system integrates powerful generative models with personal context, providing highly relevant and useful intelligence without such a heavy reliance on data sharing with the cloud.

Apple Intelligence is anticipated to be seamlessly embedded into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, leveraging the power of Apple silicon to enhance language and image processing. It also introduces Private Cloud Compute, which dynamically balances computational loads between on-device processing and secure, server-based models, ensuring unmatched privacy and security.

– Advanced Writing Tools: Users can now rewrite, proofread, and summarize text across apps like Mail, Notes, and Pages. Features like Rewrite, Proofread, and Summarize help users craft perfect messages, emails, and documents with ease.
– Enhanced Mail and Notifications: Priority Messages and Smart Reply in Mail, along with Priority Notifications, keep users on top of important communications.
– Image Playground: This feature allows users to create fun and engaging images within apps like Messages, Notes, and more, using styles such as Animation, Illustration, or Sketch.
– Genmoji Creation: Users can generate unique Genmoji by typing descriptions, adding a new layer of expression to their communications.
– Enhanced Photos and Memorie: Improved search capabilities and the new Clean Up tool make managing photos and videos easier. Users can create personalized Memories with suggested music from Apple Music.

Apple’s longstanding Siri virtual assistant is to become more natural and contextually aware, now supports richer language understanding, on-device support, and new actions across Apple and third-party apps. ChatGPT is also being integrated into the Apple ecosystem, allowing users to leverage its expertise directly within iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. Privacy protections ensure that user data remains secure, with ChatGPT’s capabilities enhancing Apple’s system-wide Writing Tools and image generation features.

Apple Intelligence will be available in beta with iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia this Autumn in U.S. English, expanding to more languages and features over the next year. It will be supported on devices with M1 chipsets, and newer.

For Apple advice and expertise, please contact our team today.

Rumours of an Apple AI product have spread rapidly following release of four small language models to developers.

Open source and free to use, ‘Open-source Efficient Language Models’ or ‘OpenELM’ are a set of efficient text generation models available for Apple developers to begin experimenting. So far, the low-key release online without major fanfare has prompted only a handful of downloads.

Unlike Microsoft, Google and Facebook, many believe Apple are working on ‘on-device AI’ models that would not involve sharing large quantities of data with cloud-based platforms – a major step for the future of more privacy-focused AI. With a 3-billion parameter option available, it’s possible Apple may be quietly preparing something every bit as capable as Google Gemini, albeit behind the scenes.

In February, Apple’s CEO Tim Cook revealed that AI features are planned for future mac releases, but did not give further details, and has so far not released general purpose models for commercial use.

This has led to intense speculation that Apple are considering heading in a slightly different direction to the rest of big tech – perhaps keen to differentiate themselves in key areas.

However, Apple have already launched machine learning frameworks that hint at AI models running on M-series chipsets, an image editing model, and a UI-based model that would allow an AI to navigate a smartphone or tablet.

All this leaves Apple fans waiting until at least the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in June, or other annual announcements during September, to see what’s waiting behind the scenes.

For IT Support and expertise, please contact our team today.

Apple have previewed a range of futuristic new technologies at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference 2022.

Among the latest releases were the upcoming new version of Apple’s flagship Mac operating system, macOS Ventura, iOS 16 for iPhone and iPad, new hardware and the new M2 Chipset.

Ventura brings a range of device-flexibility options to mac and macbook hardware – including ‘Continuity Camera’ – the impressive ability to use an attached iPhone’s special camera lenses via your laptop for some (truly next-generation) video-calling tricks.

A new productivity tool called ‘Stage Manager’ also helps users group windows into temporary groups – although perhaps the more useful feature is handoff support for facetime to iphone, allowing the user to leave their desk ‘mid-call’ without interrupting the conversation, in the style of more enterprise unified-communications apps.

2022’s powerful new MacBook Air will be the first to receive Apple’s own M2 silicon chipset, which somehow exceeds the staggering performance and power-efficiency traits of its M1 predecessor. To put those traits into perspective – Apple claim a new M2 chip can match 87% of the performance of a 12-core PC/laptop chip, while using only 25% of the power.

iOS 16 adds new abilities to iPhone – including the option to customise their lock-screens and notifications, circulate family photos in a shared album, and recall recently sent iMessages.

Apple also previewed a range of new services and Apple account features, including a new ‘Buy-Now-Pay-Later’ scheme (BNPL) in the style of popular fintech services like Klarna, passkey-based login support within Safari, and a safety feature called ‘Safety Check’ designed to help those who end up in abusive relationships.

For Apple IT support and expertise, please contact our team today

Apple has released important security updates under macOS 11.3, in response to a serious gatekeeper vulnerability discovered by security researcher Cedric Owens.

The weakness, found in Apple’s ‘Gatekeeper’ tool which normally blocks unrecognised apps from being installed by default, allows a dangerous file to be rigged so as to not trigger the operating system’s inbuilt safeguards.

Writing in a Medium Post entitled ‘Gatekeeper Bypass: 2021 Edition’, Owens demonstrates a terrifying method by which an attacker can ‘very easily craft a macOS payload that is not checked by Gatekeeper.’

Once launched, no warning prompts prevent the user from installing just about any dangerous application, which can also communicate with external servers without even triggering App Transport Security (ATS).

The simplicity of the hack, which leverages the fact that scripts placed in Contents / macOS / directory are not checked, has been described by Objective-See as ‘massively bad’ and ‘a doozy’ of a blog post.

GateKeeper itself was originally introduced in 2012 as part of an effort to stop the spread of malware in Mac OS X ‘Lion’ v10.7.5, and was followed by enforced application notarisation in 2020 under macOS 10.15 ‘Catalina’, as Apple required software developers to have apps officially cleared for authorised use.

In response to the discovery, Apple have released macOS Big Sur 11.3 update with ‘improved state management’ that prevents the ‘bypass’ of Gatekeeper checks, and are urging macOS users to install the upgrade.

For Cybersecurity expertise and support, please contact our team today.

In yesterday’s Spring Loaded Event, Apple unveiled its 2021 offering to the world of technology: including the new iMac, iPad Pro and AirTag.

The iMac 2021, starting a $1499, arrives with Apple’s M1 chip which replaces the Intel Comet Lake processors from the previous year’s model – boasting 4 FireStorm and separate IceStorm CPU cores, 16 billion transistors and promises up to 3.9x faster video processing and 7.1x faster image processing.

Furthermore, the chassis has been completely redesigned with a 50% reduction in width at only ‘11.5 mm thin’ which comes in a spectrum of vibrant colours. The display is at an all-new generous 24 inches consisting of 11.3 million pixels on a 4.5k retina display – a 1080p camera is also included within the new chassis design.

Similarly, the iPad Pro 2021, now functions with the M1 Chip powering a Liquid Retina XDR display; exhibited on a 12.9-inch model screen. Starting at $749, the iPad Pro now has Thunderbolt and USB4 support which allows for increased manual connectivity to external storage, camera and accessories. The 2021 model also boasts a 12MP Ultra-Wide front camera with a 122-degree field of view enabling face tracking and camera panning for enhanced video calling.

The launch of the highly anticipated AirTag was an event highlight. AirTags are clip on accessories to track the items you attach them to using the Find My Network on Apple devices. These are set to be released on April 30th, 2021 and to have a price tag of £29. Apple pitch this as an expansion of the ‘Find My’ biome where the “AirTag will provide customers with another way to leverage the power of the Apple ecosystem and enhance the versatility of iPhone” – Kaiaan Drance, Vice President of Apple’s Worldwide iPhone Product Marketing.

Apple Card now allows spouses to share and merge their credit lines, have equal rights on their account and allow for over 13-year-olds to be added into the account with optional spending limits as part of the Apple Card Family. It must be noted that the Apple Card currently only operates in the US.

Apple Podcasts received a redesign of its app interface alongside a new feature: Apple Podcast Subscriptions for new podcasts, ad free listening, early access and content creator support opportunities.

The iPhone 12 and 12 Mini are now available in a purple spray colour – this is in addition to launching the MagSafe Leather Case and new Leather Sleeve in the same Deep Violet Colour Scheme.

Apple have announced a new range of Mac devices with Apple M1 Silicon Chips. iPad and iPhone devices have used Apple’s own ‘A’ chips for some time, but M1 will be the first Apple chipset in macOS devices – which previously used Intel chips under license.

M1 is expected to show exceptional performance – with the 8-core CPU matching comparable PC laptop performance while using only 25% of the power, and able to deliver over twice the speed of comparable PC laptop CPU performance at maximum power levels.

Apple claim this makes the newest generation of devices – the new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini – faster than 90% of PCs sold in the last year.

Autumn 2020 sees the release of macOS Big Sur, the latest update to Apple’s Mac operating system, which has been optimised for the M1 chipset and its integrated graphics – as well as offering new app features such as universality for all Mac apps across all M1 devices, and offering iOS/iPadOS apps vis macOS.

For Apple expertise and support, please contact our team today.

macOS 11.0 Big Sur, unveiled in June 2020 at WWDC, is the newest version of macOS, set to be released this Autumn.

macOS Big Sur elevates the most advanced desktop operating system in the world to a new level of power and beauty.   Delivering their biggest design upgrade since the introduction of Mac OS X. Experience and enjoy Mac to the fullest, with a refined new design and the biggest Safari update ever.  Discover new features for Maps and Messages and get even more transparent around your privacy.

Mac OS X is finally finished, with Apple confirming that it’s officially moving to macOS 11 after almost 20 years of OS X (or macOS 10).  This fall, users will finally be upgrading from the 10.X versions that Apple has been using for nearly two decades to version 11.0.  It’s ‘MacOS’ from now on, much like ‘iOS’ and ‘iPadOS’.

Safari Updates

Safari is packed with new features, including a customisable start page, elegantly designed and more powerful tabs, quick and easy translation, and a new Privacy Report.  A new weekly Privacy Report on your start page shows how Safari protects your browsing across all the websites you visit.  Users can choose when and which websites a Safari extension can work with, and tools like data breach password monitoring never reveal your password information — not even to Apple.

In the biggest update to Safari since its original launch in 2003, the world’s fastest browser is even faster, providing industry-leading speed and battery life.  Tabs have been entirely redesigned to make navigating with Safari faster and more powerful by showing more tabs onscreen.  Displaying favicons by default to easily identify open tabs, and giving users a quick preview of a page by simply hovering over the tab.

Other newly Updated features

The updated Messages app lets Mac users send and receive more personal and expressive messages, and easily keep track of and interact within group messages. Maps also offers an all-new experience with immersive features for exploring and navigating the world.

macOS Big Sur delivers a spacious new design that makes navigation easier, while putting more controls at users’ fingertips.  Overhauling everything from the curvature of window corners to colours and dock icon designs.   A refreshed Dock displays thoughtfully designed icons that are both uniform and consistent in shape to match others in the Apple ecosystem.  Buttons and controls for apps appear when needed, and disappear when not in use.  The entire experience feels more focused, fresh, and familiar, reducing visual complexity and bringing users’ content front and centre.

The customisable menu bar features a new Control Centre, delivering instant access to the controls used most, from the desktop.  And a new design for core apps brings more organisation to multiple open windows and makes interacting with apps even easier.

macOS Big Sur is available to developers, with Apple planning to make a public beta available to public beta testers next month. When it launches in the fall, macOS Big Sur will be a free update for all compatible Mac models.

For Apple device expertise and IT Support, please contact our team today.

Apple have released MacOS Catalina, 2019’s update to the Mac’s leading operating system.

Catalina introduces a number of new features, including ’Sidecar’ dual display, new media systems, Mac Catalyst for developers and Screen Time activity monitoring.

Although we say it every year, the endless march towards a unified Mac/iPad operating system feels another step closer: macOS Catalina introduces ‘Sidecar’ – which allows an iPad to be the secondary monitor for your MacBook. In addition to being a smart productivity trick for those needing extra screen space, the iPad is able to perform new functions such as an extra high-resolution display for those with impaired vision.

MacOS Catalyst, released in the latest version, also makes it easier for app developers to publish their apps across both MacOS and iPadOS operating systems, with the implication being that Apple see the devices as very much part of the same software universe.

Apple have shuffled their media services options around this year – replacing iTunes with new services named Apple Music, Apple Podcasts and Apple TV. In addition, the new Apple Arcade gaming subscription service has been launched, with a fixed-subscription service for an unlimited package of games.

Screen Time introduces activity monitoring, with either productivity or parental control clearly in Apple’s sights. Downtime allows users to share time away from the screen, categories or individual apps, and includes shared visibility across multiple apple devices.

As always, it’s worth waiting a short time for others to discover any early release-bugs in the new operating system update, before updating promptly.

For Apple device expertise and IT Support, please contact our team today.

Due out this Autumn (2019) is macOS Catalina – Apple’s latest new operating system for the Mac range.

MacOS Catalina is currently in Beta, so it’s unclear exactly how the final update will look. However it appears once again that Apple are increasingly blurring the boundary between Mac and iPad, as well as doubling-down on a rich media experience:

“…MacOS Catalina gives you more of everything you love about Mac. Experience music, TV and podcasts in three all-new Mac apps. Enjoy your favourite iPad apps now on your Mac. Extend your workspace and expand your creativity with iPad and Apple Pencil.  Discover smart new features in the apps you use every day.  You can now take everything you do above and beyond.  With macOS Catalina, the apps you love are now more beautiful and intelligent making your everyday tasks easier than ever.”

Apple’s decision to replace iTunes also receives its own sales pitch as part of the new operating system’s roll-out:

“… iTunes forever changed the way people experienced music, films, TV programmes and podcasts. It all changes again with three all-new, dedicated apps — Music, Apple TV and Apple Podcasts — each designed from the ground up to be the best way to enjoy entertainment on your Mac. And rest assured: everything you had in your iTunes library is still accessible in each app. iCloud seamlessly syncs everything across your devices — or you can back up, restore and sync by connecting the device directly to your Mac.”

In addition, some of macOS Mojave’s ‘focus’ tools are being extended, in the hope of making your Mac use more productive – in addition to advanced voice control.

“… macOS Catalina brings all your favourite Screen Time features to Mac, giving you greater insight into how you’re spending your time. Monitor usage, schedule downtime, and set limits for both apps and websites across all your devices. Enhanced security features better protect macOS against tampering, helping to ensure that the apps you use are safe, giving you greater control over access to your data, and it’s even easier to find your Mac if it’s lost or stolen.”

Apple is expected to release macOS Catalina free of charge to all users, and is currently in a testing phase. We do not recommend Apple users seek to move to Catalina just yet, as final version bugs may still be identified during the public beta.

For Apple hardware, expertise and support, contact Lineal today

The current Mac Pro computer debuted back in June 2013 with an upgrade consequently in the winds.  Reports suggest that a fresh model may finally see the light of day in the first week of June. According to sources, Apple will be revealing its new Mac Pro at the World Wide Developers Conference. 

Given that the Pro targets demanding pro-users, like Architects and Developers, it makes sense for the new Mac to be revealed here.  With super fast processors, more maximum RAM, better GPUs, and a slew of other improvements, almost certainly make this the most powerful and capable Mac Pro Apple have ever launched.

The new design will better accommodate future upgrades and higher-end hardware. Apple says the design of the current high-end device has restricted the company’s ability to upgrade it, necessitating a total redesign.  Internal expansion and dual-processor options are key aspects on the wish list of improvements.  The actual capabilities of the most recent creation are however still a mystery.  

Aside from a revised Pro, there are rumours that Apple is developing a high-end high-throughput modular system.  This will facilitate regular upgrades to meet the needs of Apple’s pro user base. It will ship alongside an upcoming Apple-branded pro display, which rumours suggest will be 31.6 inches with a 6K resolution.  With “outstanding picture quality” enabled through a new Mini LED-like backlighting design.

For IT expertise please contact Lineal Software Solutions Ltd

Apple have issued a fix for yesterday’s severe security alert, after it emerged the tech giant’s High Sierra operating system would allow access to many users’ MacOS Root User without entering a password.

The story caused alarm around the world, as Mac users discovered full administrator control of their device was available to anyone within reach of the keyboard.

Discovered by a Turkish developer who tweeted it to Apple Support, Lemi Ergin, the widely publicised fault is believed to affect all Apple MacOS devices (such as the iMac and MacBook ranges) running version 10.13.1 or newer.

Mr Ergin has since published an article on Medium defending his decision to flag the vulnerability publicly, arguing that despite the security flaw being public knowledge on the Apple Developer Forum since 13th November, Apple had failed for resolve the issue.

Yesterday Lineal published guidance to all our Mac clients, advising caution over the physical security of Apple hardware, and explaining the need for users to set a new root password to temporarily secure their Mac while Apple worked on a security fix.

Security update 2017-001 is now available via the App Store, and Apple have even taken the almost unprecedented step of forcing 10.13.1 devices to update automatically.

The failure to set a random default MacOS root password (a fundamental technical security feature) once again calls into question the recent competence of Apple’s historically excellent quality control and product testing, and may slow the adoption of the firm’s latest flagship operating system. The widespread media publicity surrounding the story is also likely to undermine Apple’s long-held reputation for security on Mac devices.

Apple issued an apology, stating ‘We greatly regret this error and apologise to all Mac users.”

For Apple assistance and support, contact Lineal’s IT team today.

Intel have caused widespread confusion amongst expectant Apple iMac Pro customers, following an announcement that their new processors won’t actually be powerful enough for the new iMac Pro.

Apple’s upcoming new flagship iMac is set to be high-powered in the extreme, supposedly boasting up to 18 cores running at 4.5Ghz, up to 16GB RAM and 4TB of SSD storage.

Unfortunately, Intel’s new server-grade Xeon ‘Purley’ processor chips and specifically the fastest Intel Xeon Gold 6144 which will soon be available, can only reach a turbo-boosted 4.2Ghz at best.

This leaves Apple either falsely advertising the specifications of their upcoming new iMac Pro, or unable to build the device pending further developments. It’s unclear whether this was simply a miscommunication between Intel and Apple, or whether Intel have embarrassingly fallen short of some previous agreement during research and development.

The new iMac Pro isn’t actually due to be released until December 2017, so there’s still time for Apple to manoeuvre on the exact details of the Pro’s staggering specification.

The ‘Most Advanced Graphics ever’ includes the new Radeon Pro Vega GPU: able to handle all the next-generation 3D-rendering, virtual reality and machine learning tasks one would expect from a ground-breaking Apple device which will need to last several years of technological advancement – and justify a $4,999 (starting) price!

It appears that rather than replacing the existing cylindrical Mac Pro, the new ‘most powerful’ device in Apple’s range will simply combine the 5k retina display as part of the iMac Pro package, perhaps correctly reasoning that the space-grey behemoth will already be the reserve of premium customers.

Apple remains particularly strong within the creative sector, and the new iMac Pro almost looks like a gauntlet, thrown down in challenge to the most processor-demanding architects, animators or video-editors to do their worst.

Once it can actually be assembled that is.

For Apple hardware, expertise and support: contact Lineal’s IT Support team today. 

Apple’s second beta of macOS High Sierra has been made available to testers, following initial unveiling at the 2017 Worldwide Developers Conference.

Early indications point to High Sierra being a heavily-media themed update to Apple’s most recent operating system. In addition to the new Apple File System (APFS) already in use on your iPhone’s media-heavy storage, a new ‘High Efficiency Video Codec’ and compatibility with Virtual Reality technology is being introduced.

All the additions have been made with the dominance of flash-based SSD storage in mind, and the mind-boggling files sizes now generated by visual media. HEVC in particular will compress high-quality video more than 40% more than previous codecs, helping save space on your ever-slimmer MacBook. 

Metal 2 adds new under-the-hood abilities to each Mac’s GPU to support machine learning and VR, as well as external device GPUs for the peripherals required to support these mediums.

The ‘elevated’ generation of updates to macOS software also includes speed and privacy additions to various default apps, including Safari. Developers have tinkered with the controls and abilities of Apple photos to make it more intuitive, and users can look forward to a little more humanity from Siri.

Apple is expected to release macOS High Sierra in the Autumn free of charge to all users, although (with caution) technically capable enthusiasts can be among the first to try the beta here.

Lineal have more than 30 years of Apple expertise: contact us today.

Sierra

Should I be upgrading to macOS Sierra?

With Apple’s latest OS, Sierra, now available for download and already receiving it’s first update (10.12.1) what do our team think of the latest version – and what are our favourite additions? If El-Capitan’s endless prompt messages haven’t already tempted you, we review some of the best below.

Siri

Siri makes her (or his? Different voices are available in your mac’s system preferences case this is the kind of thing that bothers you…) debut on Apple’s machines, with all the normal features available on iOS iPhones and iPads: web searches, booking diary appointments, starting calls, messages and more, all by asking Siri.

It’s surprisingly innovative too. We can launch our SQLWorks software by instructing Siri to do so, although it requires us to enunciate S-Q-L Works quite carefully.

Tabs

Many applications can now be run in a tabbed view much like a web browser. This is very useful if you need multiple documents, maps, virtual machines or remote access windows running at once, without constantly moving things around to free up screen space.

Universal Clipboard

Copy from your Mac, paste on your iPhone or vice versa. If you own multiple Apple devices signed in to your iCloud account, this can be really useful. This feature is overdue on Apple devices, so it’s good to see it introduced in Sierra.

Archiving

iCloud will now look through your files to check for files that are used very infrequently and will archive them automatically to prevent them taking up space. If you use iCloud a lot, this will help do some essential housekeeping for you.

Much like with universal clipboard and the ability to unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch, it feels like Apple are now designing with the assumption that it’s fans will own multiple Apple devices.

Despite all these features, the usual warnings apply of course: no one can guarantee that older versions of software will be compatible on Sierra (indeed Microsoft Exchange bugs involving non-syncing email were hurredly fixed in Sierra’s first update)  so it’s best to let someone else take the risk first, and wait a little while for any bugs to be fixed – before updating from El Capitan to the best MacOS yet.

For Apple help and support – click here.

Education tracking software LearnSprout has been bought by Apple, in a purchase expected to extend the computing giant’s reach into the education sector.

American software platform LearnSprout, already used across 42 states in over 2500 schools, is an analytics dashboard that allows teachers to monitor pupil’s performance and results, attendance, student health and more.

LearnSprout’s developers argue that by aggregating data, schools can help study trends for promoting better teaching, improving readiness for higher education and ensure a more efficient use of resources.

This is the second announcement in recent weeks about Apple investing heavily in technology for the education sector, following the January launch of Apple’s Education package and iPad modifications designed for classroom use. It’s unlikely to be the last.

For education sector IT support – talk to Lineal today: 01271 375999

AirDrop must be prompted to recognise older Apple devices

Apple’s AirDrop tool has been a much praised addition to Apple’s software lineup – allowing Mac users to wirelessly transfer files from one Apple device to another in close proximity.

However users often report that their new Mac is unable to ‘see’ adjacent Mac devices, preventing them from using AirDrop.

The solution is surprisingly simple: look to the bottom of the AirDrop window on the newest manufactured device, where a small link reads “Don’t see who you’re looking for?” clicking this opens a new option “Search for an older Mac”, which widens the search to older devices running OS X or iOS.

There’s been no explanation from Apple as to why Airdrop is set up in this way, but enabling ‘Search for an older Mac’ allows a 2015 Macbook to find a previously invisible 2011 Macbook with ease, allowing you to begin transferring files.

Happy AirDropping!

Lineal have over 20 years of Apple expertise: contact us today via 01271 375999 or email [email protected]

Here at Lineal we’ve generally been impressed with the release of OS X El Capitan – but the release of Apple’s latest operating system has not come entirely without pitfalls.

Some of our own staff experienced printing problems for the Mac version of Microsoft Office 2016 – these have fortunately already been rectified in update version 10.11.1 by a humbly apologetic Apple.

One of the most notable surprises however was the outright removal of functionality that long-time Mac users have had from the earlier days of personal computing.

Apple’s Disk Utility app update has removed the ability to verify and repair disk permissions on your Mac, leaving users with no way to verify incorrectly installed programs with the correct disk permissions to read/write to their hard drive.

At Lineal we’ve always advised users to verify and repair disk permissions after major updates, and even some Apple software regularly flags up as in need of verification.

Apple has made two sweeping generalisations: firstly, that Mac users only need to run software that immediately cooperates with their hardware (a big assumption) and secondly that users will be content to let Apple worry about the details of their computer maintenance.

Personal computing today feels a little less personal. Mac users have become used to the idea that Mac updates are very reliable, and worthwhile installing promptly – yet the sudden removal of longstanding features puts this in doubt for the first time.

Should we all trust manufacturers? A question for Volkswagen.

Lineal can offer Tech Support for a range of Apple devices: get in touch with us today via 01271 375999 or contact us online. 

Flickr: M Dreibelbis

Apple launched the new OS X 10.11 El Capitan to Mac users yesterday, in the latest free update of its trademark operating system.

The new offering is not a revolution, but an evolution of Apple’s OS X Yosemite released last year, with the newest version including a host of tweaks to improve performance and ease of use.

Having test-driven the software, Lineal staff had the following initial verdicts on El Capitan:

1. Immediate downloads are for die hard fans – even with 60+ Mbps download speeds, it took us several hours to download the full version today, less than one day after release. Conversely, some of our team managed to download it hours after release in under 20 minutes. Early download performance seems very inconsistent, presumably due to global load on Apple’s servers. For a more user-friendly experience, be patient and download over the weekend.

2. We liked the new multitasking tools, including the Split View window management system highly reminiscent of Microsoft Windows 10, but even more useful on Apple’s smaller screen MacBooks.

3. El Capitan improves performance behind the scenes, loading a test PDF file around 50% faster, and improving battery life in the process. Finder also shows a greater initiative, intelligently understanding ‘edited yesterday’ and similar phrases to speed up searching for your files.

4. Safari finally gets a refresh that includes pinned tabs, allowing for a more efficient way to keep persistent information open. This has been possible in Chrome and Firefox for some time so it’s good to see improvements to Safari to complete the user experience compared to the rivals.

5. Several of Apple’s most basic apps have received an overdue refresh – for example Notes, where users will find they can now add hitherto excluded images and video if needed, along with a few basic formatting options. Shake your mouse cursor and it will swell in size so that you can find it easily. Apple hasn’t changed – these are thoughtful touches.

Overall OS X El Capitan is a solid, if somewhat modest, revision to Apple’s software range, which clearly has not been rushed to release. The new features have been developed with care and the real draw is increased performance. Both are worth waiting a day or two for though, giving other users time to test the new system, and yourself a less stressful update.

Lineal can offer support and expertise for a range of systems, including various Mac devices – get in touch with us today via: http://www.lineal.co.uk/contact/

This week saw the hotly anticipated release of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, Apple Inc’s flagship smartphone announced in their annual product release that has become as inevitable as the tides.

With the iPhone now accounting for something close to 70% of Apple’s revenue, the 6S and 6S Plus were the main attraction. The new design fixes old durability problems with a stronger case and tougher screen, but added features include the obligatory faster processor, a new rose gold colour choice, and an upgraded 12MP camera – all aimed at keeping ahead of the competition, at least when it comes to performance.

‘3D Touch’ is Apple’s newest technical innovation, making the screen of the company’s newest devices pressure sensitive. This gives users the illusion of screen depth by accurately judging the strength of the screen press, allowing for new capabilities like a ‘peek’ at an app with a gentle touch, and giving Apple another technical edge with which to play the long game.

Not that Apple’s thinking hasn’t been questioned: commercial clients may find the power to shoot high resolution 4k video enticing, but will likely be sceptical at how practical it is to save such high-quality video files on a smartphone.

Indeed, for a company whose founder’s dislike of the stylus is well documented, releasing a large tablet with a stylus appears an open invitation for criticism. Nevertheless this is exactly what Apple have now done, introducing the new iPad Pro, a 12.9 inch tablet, ostensibly optimised for creative use by designers, illustrators and other editors needing a larger screen.

The demonstration of the iPad Pro included the new $99 (£65) stylus, the Apple ‘Pencil’ effortlessly photoshopping a woman’s smile on screen, an illustrative but perhaps ill-chosen example that somehow made it through Apple’s press office without ringing media alarm bells. Appropriate use aside, the technology is nevertheless impressive: the Apple pencil combined with 3D Touch allows pressure sensitive brush strokes on screen drawn with great precision.

This year’s releases represent Apple maturing a little, yet still relying on groundbreaking technical features to stay ahead of the curve.  Apple Inc. shares actually slid two percent to close lower on Wednesday, with investors holding their breath to see whether the new products were enough to really ‘impress’ customers. The tech giant has arguably sacrificed some of the flamboyance of previous years’ releases to concentrate on the innovation needed to outpace rivals, and open more important doors for its own future, including in the form of its renewed invasion into our living rooms with the new Apple TV and tvOS complete with the long heralded AppStore.

Lineal has over 20 years of business experience with Apple Mac, including connecting your mobile devices for working on the move – why not get in touch with us today? http://www.lineal.co.uk/contact/

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