Health has become increasingly high-tech. Adam Engst recently had a COVID-19 scare but was able to set his mind at ease with the iPhone-enabled Ellume COVID-19 Home Test. And for those with pacemakers and other implanted medical devices, Apple just updated its guidance relating to interference from magnets in Apple products. Given that four Mac models share the same M1 processor, which should you choose for your desktop? Julio Ojeda-Zapata surveys the options and offers tips to help you pick the perfect Mac. Jeff Carlson wraps up the issue with a detailed look at RAW Power 3, a capable RAW image editor for shutterbugs. Notable Mac app releases this week include Lightroom Classic 10.3, Microsoft Office for Mac 16.50, Little Snitch 5.2.1, Timing 2021.4, BBEdit 13.5.7, Zoom 5.7, Tinderbox 9.0, ScreenFlow 10.0, SoundSource 5.3.4, PDFpen and PDFpenPro 13.1, and Final Cut Pro 10.5.3, Compressor 4.5.3, and Motion 5.5.2.
Concerns about MagSafe in the iPhone 12 interfering with pacemakers, defibrillators, and other implanted medical devices surfaced earlier in the year. Apple now cautions that many of its magnet-using products could cause problems for such devices.
After suffering from uncontrollable shivers and a fever, Adam Engst (and his family) worried that he might have been infected with COVID-19, despite being fully vaccinated. He was able to use the Ellume COVID-19 Home Test—a rapid antigen test—to set everyone’s mind at ease. And the technology involved was a geek’s delight.
With its new M1-based iMac, Apple made shopping for a consumer-level desktop Mac more interesting. The 24-inch iMac is thin, colorful, and powerful. But is it right for you? Julio Ojeda-Zapata weighs the pros and cons of the iMac, the Mac mini, the MacBook Air, and the 13-inch MacBook Pro, all of which use Apple’s new M1 processor.
Every photo editing app can edit RAW files, but most of them apply the same controls to every image, regardless of format. RAW Power 3.3—on macOS, iOS, and iPadOS—features RAW-specific adjustments, the capability to work with proprietary RAW files that aren’t supported at the system level, and more. It also enables you to edit images in the Apple ProRAW format in ways that Apple’s own Photos app doesn’t.
Watchlist
Adds the AI-powered Super Resolution feature to increase image resolution intelligently. ($9.99/$19.99/$52.99 monthly Creative Cloud subscription, free update for subscribers, macOS 10.14+)
Enables co-authoring and AutoSave on Microsoft Information Protection-encrypted documents. ($149.99 new for one-time purchase, $99.99/$69.99 annual subscription options, free update, macOS 10.14+)
Provides improvements for search and sort performance in the rules window. ($45 new, free update, 31.9 MB, macOS 11+)
Update to the time and productivity tracking app with a focus on quality-of-life improvements. ($42 annual subscription, free update, 34.9 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Maintenance release with improvements and bug fixes for the long-standing text editor. ($49.99 new, free update, 18.7 MB, macOS 10.14.2+)
Brings a variety of new features and improvements to the video conferencing app. (Free, 25.3 MB, macOS 10.9+)
Note-taking assistant upgraded with support for M1-based Macs and a new command bar. ($249 new, free update, 47.4 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Major upgrade to the screencast recording and video editing app with new simultaneous screen, camera, and microphone recording. ($129 new, upgrade pricing available, 85.4 MB, macOS 10.15+)
Updates the the Audio Capture Engine and brings several improvements to the audio control utility. ($39 new, free update, 26 MB, macOS 10.13+)
Improves the speed of scrolling and drawing on larger PDF documents. ($79.95/$129.95 new, $35 upgrade, free update for version 13, 212/259 MB, macOS 10.14+)
Maintenance updates with improvements and bug fixes for the professional video editing apps. ($299.99/$49.99/$49.99 new, free updates, macOS 10.15.6+)
