Last week, we marked 31 years of TidBITS with a desire to leave the negativity of 2020 behind and look to a more positive future. That future starts tomorrow, with Apple’s latest event, and in this issue, we speculate on what we might see. iPads? AirTags? New Apple silicon Macs? We’ll know for sure tomorrow. Frustrated by how hard it is to add and remove iPhone apps from the Home screen one at a time? Adam Engst shares two new tips that let you add and remove apps in bulk, thanks to the App Library. Rounding out the issue, Glenn Fleishman shares details on T-Mobile’s new 5G-focused home Internet service, and Jeff Carlson reviews the Podswap service, which lets you exchange old AirPods with weak batteries for less than a new pair would cost. Notable Mac app releases this week include Parallels Desktop 16.5, 1Password 7.8.1, Agenda 13, Default Folder X 5.5.8, and Alfred 4.3.3.
Apple has scheduled what is almost certainly a product introduction event for next week. Will we see new iPad Pro models, new M-series Macs, AirTags, or a better mousetrap?
Has it really been a year since we marked our 30th anniversary? It was hard to stay positive in 2020, but just as science and technology have given the world a way out of the pandemic, we’re going to focus more on the positive ways Apple-related technology can improve our lives.
Adam Engst has discovered a technique that lets you add and remove multiple apps at once from iOS 14 Home screens. The trick is stacking the apps with one hand while navigating to and from the App Library with your other hand.
If the batteries in your first- or second-generation AirPods are suffering from massively reduced battery life, you don’t have to pay full price for a new set (and throw away the old ones). For half the cost, Podswap will exchange your expired ones for a set of refurbished, genuine Apple AirPods with new batteries.
T-Mobile has furthered its reputation as the most competitive of the big three cellular companies in the United States by rolling out an unlimited usage broadband service that relies on the company’s 4G and 5G networks.
Watchlist
Brings full native support for M1-based Macs. ($79.99 annual subscription for standard edition or $99.99 perpetual license, 1.4 MB, macOS 10.13.6+)
Maintenance release with bug fixes and improvements for the password manager. ($64.99 new, free update, 71.5 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Improves navigation speed with added keyboard navigation and filtering support. (Free with $24.99 premium purchase option, 65.7 MB, macOS 10.12+)
Maintenance update with bug fixes and improvements for the Open/Save dialog enhancement utility. ($34.95 new, free update, 15.4 MB, macOS 10.10+)
Updates the Mac-based keyboard-driven launcher's companion Alfred Remote iOS app. (£23 new, free update, 4.7 MB, macOS 10.11+)
