2020 has been a tough year, but thanks to TidBITS members, we’ve weathered it better than many. Will you pitch in to help us keep bringing you content throughout 2021 too? If you have an iPhone 11, pay attention to touch problems because Apple has a new repair program to fix failing display modules on eligible models for free. Looking for some indoor exercise during the pandemic? Adam Engst tried out the Stealth Core Trainer, which helps you strengthen your core while playing iPhone games. Finally, Julio Ojeda-Zapata traveled around Minnesota’s Twin Cities area to try out T-Mobile and Verizon’s 5G networks and ponder the real-world implications. We’re still catching up from having more Watchlist items than fit in an issue, so our notable Mac app releases this week include Timing 2020.12, Quicken 6.0, Sip 2.5, Yojimbo 4.6, PDFpen and PDFpenPro 12.2.1, GrandPerspective 2.5.3, Scrivener 3.2, iStat Menus 6.5.1, Ulysses 21, Bookends 13.4.7, RapidWeaver 8.7, Carbon Copy Cloner 5.1.23, and PopChar X 9.0.
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If your iPhone 11’s touchscreen has become unresponsive, Apple may fix it for free under a new repair program.
Looking for a way to work out at home during the pandemic? Adam Engst tried the Stealth Core Trainer, which enables you to do dynamic planks while using your body as a game controller for playing simple video games on your iPhone.
Apple’s iPhone 12 line is the first with 5G, meaning the phones can tap into high-speed data from the main cellular carriers in the US. But “high speed” is relative. Depending on carrier and location, downloads are crazy fast or merely akin to 4G LTE. Julio Ojeda-Zapata tried T-Mobile and Verizon 5G.
Watchlist
Adds support for macOS 11 Big Sur to the Web design and publishing software. ($89 new, free update, 80.7 MB, macOS 10.12+)
Restores importing from JSTOR and detection of drag-and-drop of PDFs onto the app icon in the Dock. ($59.99 new, free update, 70.3 MB, macOS 10.10+)
Refreshes the user interface to fit with the look and feel of macOS 11 Big Sur and enhances Revision mode. ($49.99 new, free update, 30 MB, macOS 10.14.4+)
Adds support for M1-based Macs. ($9.99 new, free update, 28.8 MB, macOS 10.11+)
Adds compatibility with M1-based Macs and macOS 11 Big Sur to the long-form writing tool. ($49 new, free update, 85.3 MB, macOS 10.12+)
Brings support for M1-based Macs and macOS 11 Big Sur to the graphical disk usage utility. (Free, 3.1 MB, macOS 10.9+)
Adds compatibility with M1-based Macs and addresses multiple issues in macOS 11 Big Sur. ($79.95/$129.95 new, free update, 91.4/140.6 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Adds native support for M1-based Macs and returns the Downloads window to the Window menu. ($30 new, free update, 9.4 MB, macOS 10.13.6+)
Brings support for macOS 11 Big Sur to the menubar-based color picker app. ($10 new, free update, 10.4 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Major release for the financial management app introduces a new modern interface plus compatibility with macOS 11 Big Sur and M1-based Macs. ($35.99/51.99/77.99 annual subscription, free update for subscribers, 86.2 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Adds support for M1-based Macs and fixes an issue that could lead to high CPU usage on Macs running macOS 11 Big Sur. ($42 annual subscription, free update, 35.3 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Updates the drive-cloning and backup utility to support making bootable backups of a macOS 11 Big Sur startup disk on Intel-based Macs. ($39.99 new, free update, 18.8 MB, macOS 10.10+)
Major new release for the character discovery and font exploration utility with several new features and added support for macOS 11 Big Sur. (€29.99 new, free update, 5.3 MB, macOS 10.10+)