October sees the release of MacOS Ventura to the World – what can Mac users expect in the latest release?

As with previous MacOS releases, Apple clearly has one eye on the times, with the latest version of their operating system packed full of features for more flexible working patterns, mindfulness considerations and security additions. Read on to learn more.

DeskView

Top of the list from Apple is DeskView, which lets those with an iPhone 13 or 14 use the device as an external FaceTime camera. Ignore the promotional material about clipping your iPhone to the top of your MacBook for a better selfie – the real benefit here is as a portable camera that be used to show others on the call a view they can’t normally see – such as your keyboard, paperwork or objects behind the screen. Powerful stuff indeed.

Focus Filters & Stage Manager

An idea tested elsewhere but new to MacOS – focus filters allows you to group apps into types (‘Productivity’, ‘Communication’ etc.) and settings for those apps when that filter is applied. This helps cut out distraction and makes it easier to apply a kind of overarching ‘Work’ setting to your device when you need to concentrate.

Also new to MacOS is Stage Manager – a window control mechanism that parks apps stage left to make it easier to cycle through windows and control many interfaces at once.

Security enhancements

We’ve written about Lockdown Mode before – but the hyper-secure setting recently released for iOS users is now coming to MacOS as well: allowing those who are highly targeted or travelling in more dangerous parts of the world to set ultra-strict communication settings for their device to protect against surveillance malware.

Apple also makes good on its promise to support a passwordless future in line with the recommendations of the FIDO Alliance – introducing uniquely generated cryptographic passkey support for websites that links to biometrics.

Mail Improvements

Apple has quietly tidied up some of the gaps between Mail and other well-known email clients that are also available. Mail now includes a 10-second delay switch to stop an email being sent, automated reminders, and mercifully: scheduled sending, which will all appear in the newly released OS version.

Safari Updates

If you’re the kind of person who keeps hundreds of tabs open and lives through a browser – Safari tabs can now be grouped together to make organising your world easier – and shared with other users easily, helping you build and use collections of URLs easily. FaceTime calls will also now work within a browser, to save you returning to your iPhone.

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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.

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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.

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Apple have announced three new Apple products in their Autumn Keynote product release – including a new Mac Mini, MacBook Air and iPad Pro.

The new devices eliminate creeping gaps in the Apple product range, finally replacing legacy devices long overdue a refresh. The Air (released in 2011) and Mac Mini (2013) both receive a significant upgrade in design and more powerful technical specifications.

The new Mac Mini has been upgraded to to 3.6Ghz processor, 8GB of memory and 128gb all-flash storage. For power users, the specifications inside the new Space Grey casing can be pushed higher – up to 4.6Ghz 6-core i7, 2TB SSD and a staggering 64GB of memory likely to please even the most demanding of photo-editors.

Speaking from New York, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed rumours from earlier this year, and pitched the releases as a move to assist ‘creatives’, acknowledging that customers from Apple’s most loyal business sector would be anticipating convenience and more powerful hardware from the upgraded models to support their creative work.

The new MacBook air is an astonishing work of portability, at just 15.6mm thick (around 10% thinner even than the 2011 version) and incorporates a retina screen, Thunderbolt 3 Ports, Touch Sensor and many other recent staples of the current MacBook and MacBook Pro range.

A 100% recycled aluminium shell on both devices also demonstrates Apple’s increasing environmental awareness, and serious efforts have been made to decrease plastic consumption to manufacture the inner workings of the device.

iPad Pro receives updates handed down from the more successful iPhone range, including FaceID, edge-to-edge screens and a thinner shell (equating to 25% less volume than previous models) charged by USB-C and including the A12X chip.

Apple claim the increase in core-count equates to a huge jump in processing speed – making the Pro technically faster than 92% of all portable PCs, and even able to generate complex Autodesk objects or run games at 120 frames per second. If true, this represents an enormous leap in capability, positioning the iPad Pro as a true competitor to performance laptops.

2018’s Macbook Air will be priced from around $1,199, and Mac Mini/iPad Pro from around $799, at time of writing, and will be available almost immediately.

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If you choose a full-size magic keyboard for your mac you have the advantage of a PC-style number keypad, alignment and full-size arrow keys – but no PC-style ‘Num Lock’ key.

So if you discover your number keypad isn’t working, it can be hard to tell if this is due to a hardware failure or a setting to disable the numberpad in software. Never fear – here’s the answer:

Before you begin testing the settings as you go, it’s worth opening your favourite text app and the onscreen keyboard – via the ‘Show Keyboard Viewer’ option on the menu bar of modern macOS versions.

Where is ‘Num Lock’ on a Mac Keyboard?

Without the Num Lock key, you’ll need to tap either Clear or Shift + Clear on your hardware keyboard (depending on the version), and then test your numpad number keys again in your text app.

However, it’s also worth checking you don’t have a setting called ‘Mouse Keys’ enabled. This setting allows a user to move their mouse using the number pad as direction keys, and is intended as an accessibility option for those who find it difficult to use a mouse or trackpad.

If this is turned on, you may notice your mouse cursor move slightly when you tap one of the number keys on your number keypad.

You can check for Mouse Keys via the Apple Menu, choosing ‘System Preferences’ and clicking on ‘Accessibility’. Select ‘Pointer Control’ from the left hand menu and ‘Alternative Control Methods’. Here you can untick ‘Enable Mouse Keys’, and hopefully return your number pad to its expected function.