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52 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 FEATURE REVIEW: iPHONE 15 PRO MAX A pple’s latest, most expensive, best iPhone is better than last year’s model. It is a little lighter, a little faster, a little more convenient, and has a slightly better camera. And yet it’s hard not to feel decidedly underwhelmed. After days of use and a battery of tests, I can’t help but feel bored with it. All the improvements are welcome, but they’re largely uninspired. It’s as if Apple is out of ideas, or the iPhone is just too important to take any risks with, or all the company’s best efforts have been spent working on Apple Vision Pro (fave.co/40wN1ca). The best case one can make for the latest iPhone is that it’s an iPhone—it runs iOS, it runs iPhone apps, it’s fairly privacy minded, and it works great with all your other Apple products and services. But you can say that of every modern iPhone, so why choose this one? Because, though it’s somewhat uninspired, it’s still the best iPhone. And if you want the best iPhone, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is it. DESIGN AND BUILD The first thing you’ll notice upon picking up an iPhone 15 Pro Max (or the regular Pro model) is how much lighter it feels than previous Pro phones. Apple’s switch from stainless steel to titanium for the outer frame has only reduced weight by about 10 percent, but all that weight comes from the outer edges, so it seems like an even bigger weight reduction. This doesn’t really make it a light phone, mind you. Other premium smartphones of this size—the Pixel 7 Pro and the Galaxy S23+, for example—have been lighter than the iPhone Pro Max models for some time, and this change brings Apple in line with them. It’s If you want the best iPhone, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is it.
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 53 welcome, but not revolutionary or even a competitive advantage. You also won’t find that the titanium (bonded to aluminum) frame offers better durability. It’s not more scratch resistant, harder to dent or ding, or really less prone to showing fingerprints—though the natural titanium color seems to hide them well. Otherwise, the brushed and matte finish of the titanium sides feels a little nicer than the glossy stainless steel, and the corners are smoothed out a little, making the phone a little nicer to hold without a case on it. Speaking of colors, they’re all a bit boring, though that’s not uncommon in the Pro models. Gold is gone, replaced by a Natural Titanium color that is…gray…but looks quite handsome and sophisticated. White and black are still available, but the white isn’t as bright, and the black isn’t as dark as previous iterations. So three of the four colors are shades of gray, more or less. This year’s special color is Blue Titanium, a dark blue shade that feels classy but conservative. Much has been made of Apple’s move away from the Lightning port, replacing it with USB-C. Apple isn’t giving us faster charging than the iPhone 14 Pro Max, but the USB-C port is quite a bit more convenient for using the same cable to charge your iPhone, MacBook, and likely most of your other digital devices. On the Pro models, this port supports USB3 transfer speeds, handy for offloading lots of video. You can plug in an external drive and shoot video directly to it—in fact, this is required to shoot 4K/60 ProRaw format (shooting to internal storage tops out at 30fps). You can plug in an external display straight into your iPhone and get a very low-latency mirror, perfect for playing premium games that are made for using a paired Bluetooth controller. You can read photos off a USB-C card reader. I plugged in my USB-C to Ethernet adapter and got online without a Wi-Fi connection. USB audio interfaces work too, provided they get enough power. It’s all very convenient, and very frustrating that Apple only made this leap The iPhone 15 Pro USB-C port (top) looks similar to the Lightning port (bottom) but offers greater flexibility.
54 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 FEATURE REVIEW: iPHONE 15 PRO MAX when forced to by EU regulations (which it opposed). The switch to USB-C is unequivocally an improvement, and one Apple could have easily made years ago. This is far from cutting-edge technology and has been standard in Android phones for a very long time. It’s hard to give points to Apple for doing better by its customers only under protest. The move to USB-C isn’t the only way in which Apple has made the iPhone 15 Pro more convenient. The on/off mute switch has been replaced with what Apple calls the Action Button. Press and hold it for a second to mute or unmute, with a distinct vibration pattern so you can switch between modes without looking. You can Replacing the mute switch with a programmable button has been a long time coming. also change the button to perform a variety of different actions in Settings: Set a Focus mode, launch the Camera app (and act as a shutter), turn on the flashlight, start recording a voice memo, launch the magnifier, turn on an Accessibility feature, or launch a Shortcut. That last option is perhaps the most powerful if you know how to make shortcuts (if not, you can copy one you find online). It provides almost infinite flexibility to make the Action Button do whatever you want. You can launch any app instantly, and even perform some actions within. You can make it conditional, so it does different things at different locations. Changing a switch into a button isn’t exactly what I would call a creative innovation—OnePlus and Samsung have dabbled with this in the past–but it is well executed. One oddity: The settings menu to adjust the Action Button looks oddly out of place, stylistically completely different from any other Settings menu, but it’s simple to understand. Perhaps best of all, because the functions of the button are defined by software, the Action Button’s capabilities can (and should) be improved in further iOS software updates. However, it’s hard to understand why the Action Button is a “Pro” feature and
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 55 The Action Button menu looks nothing like any other Settings menu. wasn’t brought to the standard iPhone 15 models as well. It feels arbitrary and capricious. At a glance, this is recognizably an iPhone Pro model, but casual observers wouldn’t even necessarily know it’s the iPhone 15 Pro if they’re not up to date on available color options. SCREEN AND SPEAKERS On the outside, the rest of the iPhone 15 Pro models seem very much like last year’s. There are no differences in the display’s size or capabilities, though the bezels around it have shrunk ever so slightly (making the phone body just a teensy bit smaller). It still boasts nice color accuracy with great HDR quality, peaking at 1,000 nits for standard dynamic range, 1,600 nits for peak bright areas on HDR content, and cranking up to a blistering 2,000 nits for a short time in bright sunlight outdoors, making it very easy to see on a sunny day. The speakers sound similar, as does the microphone quality. Apple has made some internal design adjustments to make components easier and therefore less costly to repair, which is a nice thing we hope you never have to deal with. CAMERAS Let’s get this out of the way: Most of the cameras on the iPhone 15 Pro Max are identical to those on the iPhone 14 Pro Max. The main 48MP wide camera, ultrawide, and front camera remain unchanged. The telephoto camera is a new sensor and periscope lens array that enables 5X optical zoom, equivalent to 120mm. This is only available on the iPhone 15 Pro Max— the iPhone 15 Pro has the same 12MP, 3X optical camera as it did last year. That zoom level is nice, and a bit of catch-up to premium Android phones that have employed this technology already. It produces noticeably “zoomier” shots and when you use digital zoom to push in to around 10X, you get a cleaner shot than on the standard iPhone 15 Pro or earlier iPhone Pro models.
56 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 FEATURE REVIEW: iPHONE 15 PRO MAX It’s not such a super-zoom that you can take awesome photos of very distant or tiny objects…your hummingbird photography game is not going to be forever changed. But it does get you closer to the action for sports, or just getting a nice natural bokeh taking candid pics at a park or cookout or whatever. It’s the software side of things where photography on the new iPhone 15 Pro models gets interesting. Apple has enabled a new default 2MP image size with new image processing, and it works in HEIF or JPEG modes. The 48MP “Pro” shots can now be saved in a “HEIF Max” format instead of requiring ProRaw, which means you have a little less control if you do lots of post-processing but the images take up about 15 times less storage space. What’s more, you now have three different options for the standard wide shot. The default 1X is equivalent to 22mm, but tap that 1X button in the camera app you and can toggle between 28mm and 35mm crops. These new settings still produce 2MP images but use different sets of pixels The difference between 3X optical zoom (top) and the new 5X zoom exclusive to the Pro Max model (bottom) is significant.
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 57 from the image sensor through parts of the image processing pipeline. It’s a form of digital zoom, but delivers clearer, sharper results than what you’re used to with digital zoom. One handy new trick: When you take a photo of a person, dog, or cat, the iPhone 15 recognizes that subject and automatically saves the depth map information along with the image. Then, even if you weren’t in Portrait mode, you can go back and enable Portrait mode after the fact in the Photos app, adjusting depth-of-field and selecting the focal point. So for most shots of people or pets (dogs and cats anyway), you won’t have to say “I wish I took a portrait mode shot” or “I wish I didn’t take a portrait mode shot.” Just shoot, and worry about it later. Handy! Video shooting has two new useful tricks. If you want to shoot ProRaw at 4K and 60fps, you can, provided you plug in an external drive and record directly to it (those files are so big you’re going to want to do that anyway). You’ll need a USB-3 compatible cable to do this; the one that comes in the box is only rated for USB2 speeds, which is typical of nearly every smartphone’s included cable. More interesting is the ability to shoot in a Log color format. This is a true “Pro” feature, a flattened color gamut that requires post-processing. Apple provides LUTs (look-up tables) to convert these Log-encoded ProRaw videos to HDR, but the idea is that they contain a wider range of data to give you much better control when color grading videos in post-production. For the Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro crowd, it really is a killer feature. There are just two significant drawbacks. First, playback on your iPhone does not have any sort of LUT applied, so you can only see the flattened color space. You With 5X optical zoom, pushing into 10X digital still produces very usable results.
58 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 FEATURE REVIEW: iPHONE 15 PRO MAX should have the option to see the restored HDR with a default LUT applied (and perhaps tap to change between them). Second, the Log color space option is only available when shooting in ProRaw, which takes an enormous amount of space. I think the flexibility to shoot more compact HEVC files with Log color space would be greatly appreciated and seems like something Apple could easily manage in a software update. There’s nothing to wow you about the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s camera. Apple’s image processing still seems a little aggressive and can give your images a bit of an oversmoothed and oversaturated look, but the bump to 24 megapixels does help give sharp detail without as many sharpening artifacts. But you’re not going to be floored by what you get. There’s no big breakthrough, no neverseen-that-before feature that makes this a must-have. BATTERY LIFE AND CHARGING It’s not clear if the A17 Pro processor in the iPhone 15 Pro Max uses less power than the A16 Bionic did, but the entire phone system as a whole gets roughly the same battery life as last year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max. In our battery rundown tests, where we loop the Geekbench 4 tests with a fixed screen brightness of 200 nits, it lasted 13 hours and 2 minutes, just a BATTERY LIFE Minutes 643 760 782 701 HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 15 Pro iPhone 14 Pro iPhone 13 Pro 555 584 couple percent longer than last year’s Pro Max phone. That may not be an improvement, but it’s still fantastic battery life, especially for a phone with a 120Hz display. Apple’s official specs list the exact same battery life as the iPhone 14 Pro Max, and that’s probably what you’re going to experience in regular everyday use; you won’t really notice just a few percent here or there. Despite the shift to USB-C, charging performance hasn’t changed either. Apple says you still get about 50 percent in 35 minutes, which is pretty accurate. But the shift to USB-C does bring one welcome improvement in the ability to charge other devices that support USB power delivery, albeit at a rate of only 4.5 watts. That includes accessories like AirPods or Apple Watch, and even other phones, including Android phones (if they support USB Power Delivery). You probably won’t rescue one phone with
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 59 your iPhone very often, but topping off your almost-dead AirPods or Apple Watch is a very real possibility. PERFORMANCE The A17 Pro is the beating heart of the iPhone 15 Pro models, while the standard iPhone 15 gets the A16 Bionic that was found in last year’s Pro phones. The name change is interesting and probably deliberate: We wouldn’t be surprised if future products get an A17 non-Pro chip. It’s a bigger and more complex chip, but still sports six CPU cores: two performance and four efficiency. The SoC is connected to 8GB of RAM, up from 6GB in last year’s Pro iPhones. We measured CPU performance at about 10 to 12 percent faster, which is the kind of performance uplift that you see in benchmark charts but don’t really feel in practice. iPhones have been more than fast enough for a long time, and every year run circles around the best Android phones. Nothing has changed there. The GPU is an all-new six-core design, up from 5 cores in the A16. Apple says it’s 20 percent faster, but that’s what we would expect from 20 percent more cores. But the cores are an all-new design and support ray-tracing hardware acceleration and mesh shaders, common features in PC graphics chips for years now and found in the latest smartphone GEEKBENCH 6.2 Compute 16,021 22,668 27,105 19,983 HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 12 Pro Max GEEKBENCH 6.2 Multi-core 4,691 6,695 7,422 5,493 HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 12 Pro Max GEEKBENCH 6.2 Single-core 2,053 2,637 2,963 2,274 HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 12 Pro Max chips for Android phones. In the GeekBench 6 GPU compute test, which measures using the GPU for general computation tasks rather than graphics rendering, we saw a performance jump very near the claimed 20 percent. In the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme high-end
60 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 FEATURE REVIEW: iPHONE 15 PRO MAX graphics test, again, there’s about a 20 percent boost. New this year is the 3DMark Solar Bay test, which runs a very high-end test using ray tracing with three different quality levels. Here, the phone runs 50 to 60 percent faster than the iPhone 14 Pro Max. Apple is pitching the iPhone 15 Pro as capable of running console-quality games, as evidenced by the Resident Evil: Village port that it says is equivalent to the Xbox and PlayStation console versions. Well…no. It’s the full game, yes, but at a noticeable reduction in resolution and overall graphics fidelity. It’s still an incredibly impressive feat, but you should disabuse yourself of the idea that the A17 Pro turns your iPhone into a pocket game console. That’s only true if you jump back to the prior generation of game consoles, and we’ve heard the “as powerful as a console!” argument about iPhones before. It was a major selling point of the iPhone 5 (fave.co/3rBqsXD), which as we all know did not replace anyone’s PlayStation or Xbox. 3DMARK Solar Bay Unlimted 2,419 3,816 6,217 3,182 HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 12 Pro Max iPhone 11 Pro 2,402 3DMARK Solar Bay 2,963 4,298 6,520 3,951 HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 12 Pro Max iPhone 11 Pro 2,681 3DMARK Wild Life Extreme Unlimited 2,039 3,035 3,917 2,713 HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 12 Pro Max iPhone 11 Pro 1,833 3DMARK Wild Life Extreme 2,271 3,295 3,971 3,042 HIGHER SCORES ARE BETTER iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 12 Pro Max iPhone 11 Pro 2,055
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 61 This new GPU is most exciting in what it means for Macs. When this new architecture makes its way to M-series processors, it will really help the Mac catch up to the feature set that Windows gamers take for granted, and may help it catch up on performance as well. A quick aside about thermals. Some have noticed that the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max get very hot when running high-end premium games. This is true, but so did the iPhone 14 Pro, and the seems at most just a few degrees hotter. However, I really felt the heat while using the phone while it was charging, where it sometimes got hot enough to be uncomfortable to hold. Is there thermal throttling that decreases the performance of the A17 Pro when running extended heavy workloads? Yes, but again, this was true of prior chips as well. Consider these results from the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme stress test, which loops the high-end benchmark for 20 minutes. Both the iPhone 14 Pro (left) and iPhone 15 Pro (right) lose about a third of their performance very quickly—after the first run!—and then stabilize. The main difference is that at all times, the iPhone 15 Pro runs about 20 percent faster than last year’s best. This isn’t a shocking result, really. The best high-end smartphones have a “Stability” score in this test of less than 70 percent, and it’s not uncommon to see some below 60 percent. VERDICT In almost every way, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is better than its predecessor. It’s a little lighter, a little faster, a little more convenient, has a little bit better camera, The thermal performance throttling of the iPhone 15 Pro is similar to the iPhone 14 Pro’s.
62 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 FEATURE REVIEW: iPHONE 15 PRO MAX mmmm iPhone 15 Pro Max PROS • USB-C. • Lighter weight. • A few nice camera system improvements. CONS • Same battery life. • Very expensive. • Higher starting price. PRICE $1,199 COMPANY Apple and has the same battery life. And yet the improvements are rather boring. USB-C is finally here, and if it wasn’t years late, that might be exciting. The lighter titanium frame only brings Apple in line with the weight of its competitors. The 5X optical zoom is fun and can be useful, but it’s no game-changer. Shooting video in the Log color space is an awesome pro feature that’s hamstrung by requiring you to shoot ProRes and the lack of any LUT application in playback. The best new feature is the Action Button, which should really be on every iPhone and not relegated to $1,000- plus models, but even that just saves a tap or two. Perhaps this is just where smartphones are now; modest yearly improvements are appreciated, but hardly a reason to upgrade. Like laptops and desktops, the technology is at a plateau. You either do something gimmicky that won’t last or you keep making modest improvements year over year, expecting users to hang on to their old device for three or four years before considering a new one. I’m sure a big breakthrough is out there, somewhere, but it may take years to arrive. So should you buy the iPhone 15 Pro Max? Well, if you want the best big iPhone, this is it, so get it. Once the “new phone euphoria” wears off, you probably won’t notice much of a difference in your day-today life if you’re coming from an iPhone 14 Pro Max or 13 Pro Max. Essentially, if your old iPhone is three years old or older, this is a nice upgrade. If it’s newer than that, you can safely wait another year. With a new higher starting price of $1,199/£1,199 (not a price increase per se; Apple just got rid of the cheaper 128GB model), this is a great phone but not a phone worth having FOMO over. ■ If you want the best big iPhone, this is the model for you.
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CHANGING THE WAY YOU FEATURE 64 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 LOCK SCREEN CUSTOMIZATION, AUDIO MEAND HEALTH APP ARE AMONG THwatch
USE YOUR APPLE WATCH NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 65 ESSAGE TRANSCRIPTS, SMART PDF EDITING, HE HIGHLIGHTS. BY DAVID PRICE hOS 10
66 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 FEATURE WATCHOS 10 A t WWDC 2023 (fave.co /3XrG9fq), Apple announced the watchOS 10 (fave.co/ 3ZIaqIf) software update, which brings a complete rethinking of how we use and interact with the Apple Watch. A leak (fave.co/3QbtXxD) ahead of the event claimed the company was redesigning the famous Grid View of apps, but that didn’t happen. However, other fundamental aspects of the interface have received major revamps. “With watchOS 10, we’ve redesigned the interface, allowing users to experience Apple Watch like never before,” said Alan Dye (fave.co/46yTNAR), Apple’s vice president of Human Interface Design. The most striking change is the introduction of the new Smart Stack, a collection of widgets accessible from any watch face (with a turn of the Digital Crown) that adjusts the information presented to the user based on the context: weather information at the start of the day, for instance, or boarding passes when traveling. By focusing on bite-size versions of apps with key data rather than full apps, Apple is trying to find the optimal way to reduce interaction and maximize informativeness. This is the key battle when making a smartwatch interface usable. Another example of this change in philosophy—away from apps and toward Smart Stack is accessible from any watch face. Weather, Activity, and Messages look very different in watchOS 10.
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 67 bite-size chunks of data and mini toggles— is the new way Control Center is accessed. Instead of swiping up from the bottom of the screen, you use the side button, which should be a lot easier. The app dock (accessed in watchOS 9 using the side button) is now accessed by double-pressing the Digital Crown. Numerous apps themselves have been redesigned, with the common theme being an expansion of their interfaces to take up more of the Apple Watch’s screen; framing furniture and blank space around the edge of the interface has been minimized. The Weather, Music, and Stocks apps, for example, get colorful background images to illustrate the current conditions or artist playing, or to match the stock currently being viewed. Similarly, incoming calls are signaled with a fullscreen notification showing the contact image for the caller. And the Activity app gets extra icon buttons around the edge of the rings. Apple says some third-party apps have already come up with new designs to match this style, and that others will be able to follow soon. Other apps have been redesigned more fundamentally to make them easier to use. The main interface of the Messages app is now organized according to contact, with contact face icons instead of the first line of recent messages; this seems more intuitive, but the loss of those previews may prove a negative. These redesign decisions are so significant and fundamental that it will take time to evaluate their impact. HEALTH AND FITNESS FEATURES There are numerous less fundamental changes in watchOS 10, although this isn’t to downplay their importance. The Apple Watch is continuing (and deepening) its focus on health and fitness. The Mindfulness app gets the ability to log emotions and moods, information that can then be analyzed in the Health app on iPhone to identify concerns and find solutions. Apple Watches running watchOS 10 will be able to measure time spent in daylight using the light sensor, and this too can be monitored in Health. And the Medications app gains the ability to chase Logging your emotional state can be helpful in diagnosing mental health problems.
68 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 FEATURE WATCHOS 10 up with follow-up reminders when the user doesn’t log the use of a medicine. On the fitness side, Apple announced the new ability to connect your Apple Watch automatically to Bluetooth cycling accessories such as speed sensors, as well as new algorithms for monitoring cycling performance. Cycling workouts will now show up on the companion iPhone and be offered as a full-screen display so you can NameDrop lets you share your details more easily. get more visual information when using a phone holder on your bike. This includes a new Cycling Speed view. OTHER CHANGES Like most watchOS updates, this one includes new watch faces. There’s Palette, a minimalist design whose colors shift over time, and a Snoopy face for fans of the Peanuts cartoons. Also in the miscellaneous category, you can now view FaceTime video messages on your Apple Watch and easily share your contact details by bringing your Apple Watch close to someone else’s iPhone. WHICH DEVICES GET WATCHOS 10? watchOS 10 will become available in the fall and is available for Apple Watch Series 4 and later. The companion iPhone needs to be an XS or later and must be running iOS 17 (fave.co/3swAnhn). ■ The Palette face changes color throughout the day.
When you help care for a loved one, you take care of everything. But are you taking care of yourself? AARP can help with information and useful tips on how you can maintain a healthy life balance, care for your own physical and mental well-being, and manage the challenges of caring for a loved one. You’re there for them. We’re here for you. We Help You Help. Find free Care Guides to support you and your loved one at AARP.org/caregiving Get help from others. Ask family and friends for assistance. Seek advice from other people caring for their loved ones. Care for yourself. Don’t forget about your own needs. It’s just as important to make a plan to take care of yourself as it is to create a caregiving plan for your loved one. Tap into AARP’s resources. AARP.org/caregiving has a wide array of information, including legal and fi nancial guidance.
BELONGI BELONGINGBEGINSWITHUS.ORG NGBEGINSWITHUS.ORG ARTWORK BY Small acts of kindness can have a big impact in making people feel welcome. When we reach out and connect with others, we can build a stronger community where everyone – regardless of their background – feels like they belong. LEARN HOW AT
IMAGE: FARKNOT ARCHITECT/SHUTTERSTOCK NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 71 WORKINGMAC Tips, tricks, and tools to make you and your Mac or iOS device more productive S oftware—good software, at least—is in a continual state of evolution. It’s one of the most impressive things about the current state of affairs in technology, even if it’s something most of us take for granted. Once upon a time, you bought a device, and how it was at that point was basically how it was for the rest of its lifetime. Three overlooked Apple apps you should start using right now The company has spent a lot of time working on several of the core apps across its platforms, trying to ensure that they provide a great experience. BY DAN MOREN
72 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 WORKINGMAC 3 OVERLOOKED APPLE APPS But software can change and improve. Case in point: A recent story in The Wall Street Journal suggested that opinions on Apple Maps (fave.co/3PXck4e) have changed in the decade since its tumultuous release. Once the (rightful) butt of jokes (fave.co/46jy1By), it’s now become a respectable piece of mapping software in its own right, a worthy competitor to Google Maps. And it’s not the only piece of Apple software to follow such a trajectory. The company has spent a lot of time working on several of the core apps across its platforms, trying to ensure that they provide a great experience. Are there third-party options that are equally good? Absolutely, and in some cases they are better. Still, while Apple could have rested on its laurels with its built-in apps, getting them just to the point of “good enough,” there are plenty of places where it has added features and enhanced capabilities year after year. If you haven’t checked them out recently, here are three that may be worth another look. TAKE NOTE Perhaps no app in Apple’s catalog has come as far as Notes. When it debuted with the original iPhone in 2007, Notes was the height of skeuomorphic design: a yellow-ruled notepad with just a single font option, the much-maligned Marker Felt. But those days are long behind it. Notes has had a few major overhauls over the last 16 years, and along the way it has become an incredibly capable app that rivals its more full-fledged text editors and word processing: improved formatting, tables, checklists, collaboration, password protection (including using Face ID or Touch ID), tags, smart folders, drawing, and handwriting recognition, just to name a few. Plus, on the Mac, you can use any font you’ve got installed. Even, yes, Marker Felt. This year’s Notes has evolved with a robust set of formatting tools. platform updates
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 73 are also adding two features that take Notes even further. First, you’ll be able to link between notes (the easiest way to do so is to type >>, at which point you’ll get a drop-down menu of notes that you can search), which is helpful for crossreferencing. Second, you can embed full PDFs within a note and even mark them up in real time, which is a particularly helpful feature if you happen to collaborate on those documents with co-workers or others. I’ve used Notes as my go-to brain dump for years now, simply by virtue of its solid syncing features. I’ve got almost a thousand notes in there now, and I don’t think I’ll be slowing down anytime soon. BE KIND, REMIND The original Reminders app was—not unlike Notes—a bit sparse. Debuting in iOS 5 and macOS 10.8, it was a very simple and straightforward to-do app, underpowered compared to most of the existing options in the space. But the team building it (which, not coincidentally, is also the team responsible for Notes) has spent a lot of time beefing it up in recent years to the point where it respectably holds its own. I’ve tried a variety of different to-do apps over the years, but Reminders has ended up being the one that I’ve stuck with, thanks not only to its existence across Apple’s platforms but also to its integrations with other apps and services. With the addition of features like tagging, list templates, pinned lists, smart lists, subtasks, and way, way more, Reminders Like many of Apple’s built-in apps, Reminders syncs across the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
74 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 WORKINGMAC 3 OVERLOOKED APPLE APPS Apple’s Podcasts app has stellar CarPlay support. has become a to-do app that can fit just about any need. I’m really looking forward to the latest updates to Reminders, though: This year it’ll get the ability to automatically categorize items on a grocery list (produce, bakery, butcher, and so on) as well as create your own categories of reminders. As someone whose household currently relies on AnyList for our grocery shopping, I think these latest additions might finally get me to the point of choosing one to-do app to rule them all. POD PEOPLE Apple’s Podcasts app is hardly unpopular, but among certain groups of users, it’s definitely an also-ran. But I’ve been using Podcasts as my go-to podcast app for a long time, and while it isn’t perfect, I’ve found it to do the job more than adequately. The more recent versions might lack the whimsical reel-to-reel tape designs of the original app, but I appreciate its Up Next queue, ability to create stations of podcasts, and quick access to chapter markers. Plus it’s got stellar CarPlay support and, obviously, it has the virtue of offering built-in access to Apple’s podcast directory. Upcoming updates like search filters, queue improvements, and the ability to display per-episode artwork look like they’re going to make the Podcasts user experience even richer. While apps like Overcast (fave. co/48yCNMX), Castro (fave.co/3t7fvgL), and Pocket Casts (fave.co/3Q0T1Hu) have their stalwart fans, there are a lot of casual users for whom Podcasts simply works the way their brain does. ■
IMAGE: APPLE NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 75 A pple is undergoing some staffing changes that include the elimination of social media support staff. As a result, Apple will soon no longer provide customer support through X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and its Apple Support Community, according to MacRumors (fave.co/48DHRzG). MacRumors cites anonymous sources that state that on October 1, @AppleSupport (fave.co/46bUY9H) on X, which has 1.5 million followers, will provide automated replies that explain other ways to get support from Apple. Also, comment replies to the Apple Support YouTube channel (fave.co/46dheQq), which has 1.55 million subscribers, will cease. Most concerning is that Apple will no longer have officials who post to the Apple Support Community forum (fave.co/ 3RCQcgV), which launched 12 years ago (fave.co/3ZCWY8i). It is a very active web resource for users to discuss issues with Apple products. MacRumors’ report does Need help from Apple? Don’t go to social media Help may no longer be available through X, YouTube, or the Apple Support Community. BY ROMAN LOYOLA
76 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 WORKINGMAC NEED APPLE HELP? DON’T GO TO SOCIAL MEDIA not state if the forum will remain available for users to help each other without official input, or if it will be taken down completely. HOW TO GET SUPPORT FROM APPLE Apple has a Support website (fave. co/3NOpfEI) that details how customers can get assistance from Apple. It provides access to Apple’s vast database of support documents that you can search through. The Support website also provides a means to chat with or talk on the phone to an Apple Support representative —for phone calls, users have to fill out an online form and provide a phone number, and then an Apple rep will call the customer. Apple also offers an Apple Support app (fave. co/3rrLisx) for the iPhone and iPad. Customers can also visit the Genius Bar at their local Apple Store. Appointments are required and can be made on the Apple Store website (fave. co/3LL2osl) by finding a store and then clicking the “Make a reservation” link. Not all Apple Stores provide Genius Bar services. Learn more about booking a Genius Bar appointment (fave.co/ 3R4DtAY). MacRumors reports that the employees who worked in social media roles have the option to switch to a phone-based support role, but chat-based roles are not offered. Those who decline the option will need to find employment outside of Apple. Macworld has asked Apple for confirmation of these changes and will update this article if we hear anything. ■ You may need to make an appointment with an Apple Genius at one of the company’s physical stores.
IMAGE: APPLE NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 77 T he ability to create a web app has been a feature in iOS and iPadOS for years and it’s finally coming to macOS with the release of Sonoma. While most Mac users work in dedicated macOS apps, it’s not unusual to use a web app, and the new ability to create a standalone web app can help users navigate software more efficiently. What is a “web app” in the first place? Basically, it’s software that is using webbased tech—most people just call them “websites.” If you’ve ever used a social network in a browser, you’re using a web app. Other web apps include services (Uber, DoorDash), stores (Amazon), any of Google’s services, or even iCloud.com. Web-based tools such as Microsoft Office macOS Sonoma: How to make and use web apps The age-old iOS feature finally comes to the Mac. BY ROMAN LOYOLA
78 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 WORKINGMAC MACOS SONOMA: HOW TO MAKE AND USE WEB APPS 365 or Adobe Creative Cloud are more familiar as web apps. On the Mac before Sonoma, you accessed these web apps by launching a browser and entering a URL. Now you’ll be able to save that site as self-contained apps, so when you need them, you need only click on the icon to launch it. You can turn just about any website into a web app, even content sites like Macworld. If there’s a site you use frequently and it would help your workflow to run it as a separate app, this feature will speed things app. Here’s how to make a web app, as well as some tips for managing it. Web apps require Safari 17, which is included with macOS Sonoma. Check out our macOS Sonoma guide (fave. co/42cIBqT) for more information about the latest version of the Mac operating system. 1. ADD TO DOCK Launch Safari in macOS Sonoma. Then open the website you want to make into a web app. Click on the File menu and select Add to Dock. 2. RENAME THE WEB APP A window will appear, asking you to enter the name of the web app. By default, the name is the one that the site has as its HTML title, which often includes the name and tags to be used by web crawlers such as Google. That means the default name can be excessively long. Give it a shorter name that’s useful to you. Click Add when your name is ready, and you’re good to go. 1. 2.
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 79 3. WHERE IS THE WEB APP YOU JUST MADE? Here’s where you can access the web app. Dock: The web app you just made appears in the Dock. Move it within the Dock by clicking and dragging. Controlclick on the icon, and you can access the management options available to all Dock items, such as “Remove from Dock” and “Open at Login.” Launchpad: The web app is added to the last screen of Launchpad. Move it within Launchpad screens by clicking and dragging it. Spotlight: Web apps can be found when performing a Spotlight search. If you remove the web app from the Dock, you can get to it through Launchpad or Spotlight. Wait, what about the Applications folder—isn’t the web app in there? That’s when it gets confusing. We have separate instructions in a section below (after this set of instructions) on how to put the web app in the Applications folder. 4. WEB APP MENUS Since a web app’s functions are web based and not Mac based, the menu bar isn’t really used for web app functions. All the functions are within the web app itself, and some web apps, such as Microsoft Office 365, have their own menu bar sitting below the Mac’s menu bar. 5. WEB APP GENERAL SETTINGS The General settings (web app name → Settings → General, or press Command+, and then click on the 3. 4.
80 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 WORKINGMAC MACOS SONOMA: HOW TO MAKE AND USE WEB APPS General tab) is where you can: > Change the name; > Customize the icon; > Turn navigation controls that appear at the very top on/off; > Turn the color in the title bar on/off. 6. WEB APP PRIVACY SETTINGS The Privacy settings (web app name → Settings → Privacy, or press Command+, and then click on the Privacy tab) is where you can manage the settings for the camera, microphone, screen sharing, and location. This redirects you to the Privacy & Security Settings, where they are managed. Also available is the ability to clear the app’s website data, similar to how it works in Safari. HOW TO PUT MACOS SONOMA WEB APPS IN THE APPLICATIONS FOLDER There’s a peculiarity that occurs with where Sonoma puts the web app when it’s made. It doesn’t affect how the Mac works or a web app’s functionality, but it affects your personal file and app housekeeping habits. If you look in the Applications folder in the sidebar of a Finder window, or you are in the Finder and select Go → Applications (Shift+Command+A), you won’t find the web app, but you’ll see your Mac apps. This specific Applications folder is located at the surface level of your Mac’s storage; if your storage appears as an icon on the Desktop, open it and you’ll see this folder. Web apps aren’t saved to this Applications folder. Instead, it’s in the Applications folder of your user account. The easiest way to navigate to this location is to Control-click on the web app icon in the Dock and select Show in Finder. A Finder window called Applications will 5. 6.
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 81 open, and the web app will likely be the only app you see. If you Control-click the Applications header at the top of the window, a pop-up will appear, showing you the location of the folder, which will be something similar to (starting from the bottom of the list) your Mac’s name → your storage name → Users → username → Applications. How to fix this if you think it needs fixing What if you prefer to have the web app in the “main” Applications folder, the one with all your Mac apps? After all, this is the default folder that opens in Finder sidebars and other places. You can fix this by making an alias of the web app and then placing it in the main Applications folder. To make an alias, select the web app in the Users → username → Applications folder, then select File → Make alias. An alias icon will appear, and you can then drag it to Applications in the sidebar. When you open the main Applications folder, you should see the alias. You can rename it if you wish. The main Applications folder is seen by all the user accounts for that Mac. If you leave the web app in its original location, only that specific user account can see it. If you want all the users of that Mac to see the web app, place an alias in the main folder. ■ Web apps are placed in an Applications folder specific to the user, not the “main” Applications folder that you find at the top level of your Mac’s storage. When you open the main Applications folder, you should see the alias.
82 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 WORKINGMAC IMAGE: ANDREY_POPOV/SHUTTERSTOCK D espite the existence of the metric system and an increased reliance in recent years on decimal fractions to write partial amounts (such as 2.5), we often find ourselves wanting to drop in a true fraction. We know that ½ or ¾ looks snazzier than 1/2 and 3/4, like making sure you’re using curly or typographer’s quotation marks instead of straight typewriter ones. But you can easily be stymied when typing in Microsoft Word or Apple’s Pages: Not all fractions appear to be available. You can simulate them by using font styling to choose superscript (for the top number, or numerator) and subscript (for the bottom one, the divisor called the denominator), but then doesn’t the slash look wrong? There are two cascading issues: > First, does your software identify when you’re typing a fraction and How to insert fractions in Word and Pages Microsoft and Apple try to help you put the numbers in the correct place and have it look good, too. BY GLENN FLEISHMAN
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 83 convert it to something more compact and cleanly styled? > Second, does the typeface you’re using include “drawn” fractions for the ones in question? WHAT WORD AND PAGES CAN DO Word only automatically substitutes a small subset of typed numbers with the “correct” fractions from a typeface: 1/2, 1/4, and 3/4. Pages has a greater variety. In my testing and seemingly depending on the typeface, it will drop in all available fractions when the denominator is 2 up through 10 (from 1/2 to 9/10, say). So type 5/8, and you get the neat-looking ⅝. However, these fractions can vary in appearance, as Pages will show ones that are both using the design of the typeface and ones that look much more generic and are clearly pulled from another font. What if you’re using something that doesn’t fit the autoformatting options? Or what if you want something more precise? You can leap into a manual process using some shortcuts. FORMAT WITH “FAKE” FRACTIONS We think of typefaces as having all the necessary letters, numbers, and symbols we need to write essays, reports, and webpages. In fact, few typefaces contain every possible character, as most people need only a certain number for day-to-day use. A fancier typeface, one designed for more sophisticated or subtler typographic purposes, often includes a lot of extras, like many ligatures, or drawn-as-joined characters. The fi and ff ones are common, but some faces include st and Th as well. With fractions, some fonts—individual styles of a typeface, like bold or 800 or condensed oblique—may have only the most basic ratios, which are typically 1/2, 1/4, 3/4, 1/3, 2/3, and 3/3. Others may fill out the fraction family for eighths, too. However, many fonts do include drawn superscripts and subscripts designed to be used for footnotes, scientific notation, and fractions. These are created by the type designer to have the same feel and weight as other characters in a given style of a typeface. But you have to work to pick them. You can choose superscript (the upper number) and subscript (the lower) for numerals by using styling choices in Word or Pages. When chosen, those apps don’t pick the drawn letter but rather shrink a regular numeral down and reposition it vertically. This can make the fractions stand out awkwardly if your document is otherwise well designed or even if it uses a single weight (like Georgia Roman) and a single size of a typeface. (You can tell when someone relies on footnotes that haven’t
84 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 WORKINGMAC INSERT FRACTIONS IN WORD & PAGES been given a designer’s pass, as the superscript numbers will seem lighter or thinner compared to the main body text—sometimes nearly unreadably so.) However, this method is straightforward and fast; it’s appropriate for personal and informal uses. Here’s how to make “fake” superscripts and subscripts: > In Word with Home chosen in the toolbar, select numbers in the text, and then click the x-sub-2 and x-super-2 buttons. > In Pages, with text selected, either choose Format → Font → Baseline and then Superscript or Subscript, or press Command-Control-plus for superscript or Command-Control-minus for subscript. FORMAT WITH “TRUE” OR DRAWN FRACTIONS If you want to aim for something typographically consistent, you can access the drawn superscripts and subscripts in a font through the Character Viewer. If you don’t know how to access this palette, see “How to use macOS’s Character Viewer to type emoji and other symbols” (fave. co/3tmuhQO). The easiest way to use the Character Viewer to find fractions is to customize the display: 1. Click the ellipsis (…) symbol for More in the upper-left corner. 2. Choose Customize List. 3. In the Symbols section, check the Digits—All box. 4. Click Done. Now when you bring up the palette and click Digits—All, you’ll see every number available in Unicode, which includes fractions and the characters for drawn superscripts and subscripts. You can drag or double-click any item in the palette into a document. If you have the text insertion cursor at a point where you can enter text in Word or Pages, double-clicking inserts. Otherwise, drag the character into the document. If you copy (Command+C) the fraction and then paste it, it will paste the fraction and its character info; you can delete the unneeded info. It can be annoying to scroll each time to find what you need. To bypass the scrolling, choose each fraction and click The Character Viewer gives you direct access to choosing well-proportioned fractions.
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 85 With the right typeface, you can use the Typography palette to construct a fraction. Add to Favorites under its preview at the right side of the viewer. Then you can click the Favorites link in the left-hand list. I’ve found that in some typefaces, the superscript 1, 2, and 3 don’t match the other numbers, likely for historic reasons. If you notice that difference, you have a workaround that relies on OpenType features you can access through the Typography palette in Pages only: 1. Press Command-T to open the Fonts palette. 2. Select a numeral in your Pages document. 3. In the palette, click the More button to select Typography and reveal the Typography palette. 4. Click the Vertical Position section to show options, and choose Superiors/ Superscripts or Inferiors/Subscripts as appropriate. If the typeface contains the correct characters, you’ll then be able to compose perfect fractions. You may also need to adjust character spacing to make the fractions look just right: Click the gear menu in the Format → Text palette and reduce Character Spacing. GET THE RIGHT FORWARD SLASH There’s one more subtlety you can invoke if you want to put the cherry on top of the fraction cake. There are several kinds of forward slashes in most typefaces and defined in the overarching Unicode format. A regular slash is about 20 degrees from the vertical; one used with a fraction is closer to 30 degrees. The fraction slash in a typeface fits more neatly with the drawn superscript and subscripts, and have the correct thickness of stroke to make it all look like a designed unit. Search in the Character palette for “fraction slash” to find and favorite that extra-special diagonal. BUILD WHAT YOU NEED If you frequently need fractions, you could build a document with common fractions constructed from superscripts, fraction slash, and subscripts, and then copy and paste them in as needed into your main document. Or you could type normal fractions, like 5/8, and then search for that text, replacing it with drawn numbers such as ⅝. ■
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IMAGE: SONOS NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 87 PLAYLIST Everything you need to know about Apple Music, Apple TV, and Mac or iOS-based entertainment When I heard Sonos was working on a second generation of its first portable speaker, the Move, I wondered how they could make it better than the first, which I raved about in my 2019 review (fave.co/3tfQ9NR). I clearly suffer from a lack of imagination. The Sonos Move 2 is superior to that excellent speaker in nearly every way. It’s also $50 more expensive than the original, which remains on the market at $399. Yes, Sonos Sonos Move 2: An indoor / outdoor entertainer It doesn’t look much different from the original groundbreaking speaker, but there’s virtually nothing here that hasn’t been improved. BY MICHAEL BROWN
88 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 PLAYLIST REVIEW: SONOS MOVE 2 back to my house, and the speaker automatically restored its connection to my Wi-Fi network without interrupting the song. What’s even more impressive is that the music playing on the speaker was still in sync with a Sonos One speaker inside my house. Concurrent Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity offers a second advantage: Friends can stream music to the Move 2 without needing to install the Sonos app on their phones or getting on your Wi-Fi network. But with the app on your phone, you can then group the Move 2 with any other Sonos speakers on your network and stream that same music to all of them. Like other Sonos speakers, the Move also supports Apple’s AirPlay 2 multi-room expects to fetch $449 for the Move 2. Outfitted with dual angled tweeters, the Sonos Move 2 is a stereo speaker where the original delivers mono performances. What could be better than stereo? A less-directional sound stage that doesn’t ignore listeners sitting behind the speaker, as might happen if a group of partygoers are gathered around a picnic table. The first Move was so highly directional you needed to be right in front of it to get the most enjoyment. And the only way to listen in stereo was to buy two Moves. That feature has been carried over to this new model if you want it, but you’ll get a great two-channel experience with just one of the new models. The Move 2 once again supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity (Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0, respectively), but those connections are concurrent this time around. While streaming music over my Wi-Fi network, I walked down the street until the speaker lost its connection to my network and the music stopped. I lifted the speaker, pressed the Bluetooth button in back, and the music resumed, now streaming from my phone. I then walked The Sonos Move 2 supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity simultaneously, so friends can connect to the speaker without needing the Sonos app or your Wi-Fi credentials.
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 89 audio technology in addition to Sonos’ own powerful ecosystem. DESIGN & BUILD > Dimensions: 9.5×6.3 x 5 inches (H×W×D) > Weight: 6.61 pounds > IP56 weatherization > Touch-sensitive controls > Color choices: Black, white, or olive green (a new color) On the downside, Sonos hasn’t done much of anything to reduce the Move 2’s hefty weight; in fact, at 6.61 pounds, it’s slightly heavier than the first-generation speaker, which tipped the scales at 6.6 pounds. As before, a scoop-like handle molded into the back of the speaker makes it easy to pick up and lug around, but this clearly isn’t an entertainer destined to go in your backpack. That said, you needn’t worry too much about exposing the Move 2 to the elements, as it carries the same IP56 weatherization as the first. That means no particulate matter should ever cause the speaker to fail, and it has the highest protection from water short of immersion. Should it ever fall in the mud, you can spray it with a jet nozzle without worrying about damage—but don’t drop it in the pool. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about IP codes at this link: fave. co/3kJZy8J. Sonos says that the Move is constructed from impact-resistant materials and that it can withstand exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays as well. I left it operating it in direct sunlight on an unseasonably warm day in Portland for several hours, and a noncontact temperature sensor reported the surface temperature of its enclosure at 120 degrees Fahrenheit (both the top and the front grill). AUDIO PERFORMANCE > Three Class-D amplifiers (one for each driver) > Dual tweeters and one mid-bass (single-speaker stereo) > Sealed enclosure > Bluetooth 5.0 (SBC and AAC codec support) Weighing in at 6.61 pounds, the Sonos Move 2’s bulk is best described as lovably luggable.
90 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 PLAYLIST REVIEW: SONOS MOVE 2 The Move 2 has a single midwoofer in addition to the dual angled tweeters I’ve already mentioned. Each of these drivers is powered by a separate Class D amplifier. As usual, Sonos doesn’t disclose driver sizes or materials or its amplifier power specifications. Portable speaker designers often make use of bass ports and/or passive radiators to enhance bass response; Sonos doesn’t, as the Move 2 has only active drivers in a sealed enclosure. As such, it’s no bass monster, but it’s not bass shy, either. Listening to Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” from her debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, the thumping opening bass line felt rich and full, although I didn’t feel the pounding in my chest as I would with a much larger speaker—or one with passive radiators. More importantly, the higher frequencies of the drum machine, finger snaps, and vocals were rendered with explicit clarity. The Move 2 sounds tight and cohesive, and its enclosure doesn’t transfer energy to the surface it’s resting on to cause unwanted resonance. Playing Steely Dan’s “Home at Last,” from the band’s 1977 masterwork Aja, the Move 2 delivered the three bass notes that joins the piano at the end of the second bar with a satisfying thump. When the horns enter the mix, the pealing trumpets are delivered with sparkling clarity. On the next track, “I Got the News,” I could hear each strike of the drummer’s stick on his hi-hat. The vocals, with Michael McDonald’s unmistakable tenor in the chorus, were equally well defined. I listened to the speakers indoors in several sizes of rooms— including with different ceiling heights—and out of doors, taking advantage of Sonos’ Automatic Trueplay technology that uses the speaker’s onboard microphones to monitor its own performance and adjust its tuning in response to its surroundings. The Move Thanks to its real-time Trueplay EQ adjustments, the Sonos Move 2 sounds every bit as good outdoor as it does in the house.
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 91 Sonos significantly improved the Sonos Move 2’s volume control with this touch-sensitive groove slider. 2 sounded great everywhere: right next to a wall, on an open counter, and in the backyard. Trueplay is wonderful and it works in both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modes, although you can disable it if you find it annoying. I certainly didn’t. The Sonos Move 2 is an immensely satisfying speaker to listen to, whether you’re streaming over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. I can’t help but wonder, however, if it would sound even better over Bluetooth if Sonos supported a high-resolution Bluetooth codec like Sony’s LDAC or Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive. The speaker does support Apple’s AAC codec. Audiophiles will find nits to pick, but if you’re looking for a reference-quality speaker, you shouldn’t expect it to be suitable for both outdoor and indoor performances. ONBOARD CONTROLS > Play/pause > Track forward/back > Volume > Activate voice assistant As before, the Sonos Move 2 has capacitive touch controls on the top of the speaker, with dedicated buttons for play/ pause, track forward, and previous track. It’s much easier to control the speaker’s volume, compared to the previous model, thanks to a horizontal groove (slide your finger left to lower the volume, up to raise it). These controls are operational whether you’re listening via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The same controls are available in the Sonos app if you’re using Wi-Fi (provided your phone and the speaker are on the same network). You can also control the speaker with voice commands, using the onboard mic and either Alexa or Sonos Voice Control, the latter featuring the mellifluous pipes of Giancarlo Esposito. Unlike the first-gen speaker, Google Assistant is not supported here. The Move 2 is adept at hearing either wake word—“Alexa” or “Hey Sonos”—even when you’ve cranked up your tunes. As a last resort, however, you can tap the “voice bubble” button on the top of the speaker.
92 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 PLAYLIST REVIEW: SONOS MOVE 2 You’ll place the Move 2 on this ring-shaped charging cradle when its battery runs low. For the privacy-conscious, Sonos Voice Control offers the advantage of processing your requests on the speaker itself— nothing is uploaded to the cloud. If you want additional privacy assurance, the speaker’s mics can be electrically defeated by flipping a switch on the back of the speaker. The on/off and Bluetooth buttons are also there. The major downside to using Sonos Voice Control is the limited support for third-party music-streaming services. You can use it with subscriptions to Sonos Radio, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Deezer, or Pandora, but it’s not compatible with Qobuz, Tidal, Spotify, YouTube Music Premium, and many other services. It’s not all bad news, though: You can use voice control to pause, resume, and adjust the volume no matter which service you’re listening to, you just can’t request a particular artist, album, or song by asking for it—you need to use the app for that. Music service apps are slightly more embracing of Amazon’s Alexa: You can use the same apps, plus a few more including Tidal (but not Qobuz). Apart from voice control, Sonos supports just every service you can think of. BATTERY LIFE Sonos has managed to more than double the Move’s battery life, going from 11 hours of playback time on the first-gen speaker to a full 24 hours on this one (a claim I didn’t attempt to verify). The speaker comes with a wireless cradle with physical contacts that touch a pair of pads on the back of the speaker (it’s not a Qi-type charger). The wall wart for the charging base retains the right-angle form factor of the original, so its cord won’t block an adjacent wall outlet, but the cradle’s power cord is removable this time. You won’t need to remember to bring the charging base with you, because you can plug any USB-PD charger into the speaker’s USB-C port. You probably won’t want to take the charging base with you
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 93 mmmmh Sonos Move 2 PROS • Excellent audio performance—in stereo! • Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity— simultaneously! • Very wide sound stage. CONS • Still no support for hi-res Bluetooth codecs. • Still best described as luggable. PRICE From $449 COMPANY Sonos The USB-C port on the back of the Move 2 serves several functions when you add optional accessories. anyway, because replacing a lost one will set you back $79. No battery lasts forever, and you might be tempted to just upgrade to a new model should the one in a cheaper speaker reach the end of its lifespan. Given the Move 2’s high price tag, I’m happy to report that Sonos sells a reasonably priced replacement battery kit for $79 (ditto for the original Move). The Move 2’s USB-C port can also charge another device from the speaker’s battery, a common feature on portable speakers these days. Less typical, it serves two other functions, albeit with added-cost accessories: A $19 line-in adapter lets you use the USB-C as a line-level aux input, which is great if you want to plug in a turntable with its own preamp; the battery-powered Audio-Technica Sound Burger (fave.co/48Ni7ku), for example. A $39 combo adapter lets you do that and hardwire the speaker to your home network with an ethernet cable. VERDICT You’ll find a host of portable, weatherized Bluetooth speakers that cost significantly less than the Sonos Move 2, but none that are as smart or as flexible, that deliver such long battery life, that can operate over both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, or, most importantly, that sound remotely as fabulous. If you already own a first-generation Move and are weary of that speaker’s 11-hour battery life, moving up to this model might be worth it; personally, I’d rather spend that money on my favorite artists’ live shows. If you have the budget and want the best portable speaker on the market, nothing comes close to the Sonos Move 2. ■
94 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 PLAYLIST IMAGE: PRESONUS O ut of the box, the $130 PreSonus HD10BT (fave. co/3tmxsrI) Bluetooth headphone with active noise cancellation (ANC) impressed me with both its styling and its solid feel. I also appreciated its relatively flat frequency reproduction, which makes this headphone a better choice for home A/V studio use than many consumer cans. On the other hand, PreSonus’ otherwise effective noise-cancellation PreSonus Eris HD10BT: Good cans–just don’t use ANC Marketed as professional headphones, the Eris HD10BT deliver largely accurate audio reproduction. But they won’t once you enable active noise cancellation. BY JON JACOBI
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 95 tech appreciably alters the HD10BT’s sound, and there’s no app you can use to change its EQ. DESIGN AND BUILD The Eris HD10BT are over-ear, closed-back headphones with 40mm drivers and a mic on each ear cup to facilitate the ANC and phone calls. The headphones are styled in black and silver, and as I said, they look good out of the box. The left cup is home to the ANC switch, as well as the micro-USB charging port. The right cup has the up/down/callanswering buttons and the Bluetooth pairing button. Though I love the way the Eris HD10BT looks—with its sturdy, partly metal construction and the heft that comes with that material—I have some niggles with its fit and finish. While the texture of the material covering part of the back, outer portion of its ear cups offers a nice tactile sensation and a good grip, it was already starting to abrade in two locations after just a couple of trips into the carrying case. I can only imagine what they would look life after a few months of anything less than the most delicate handling. Also, the center panel with the Bluetooth pairing button was popping out a bit when I took the headphone out of its box. I pressed it back in and it remained in place, but the fitment of these plastic parts on both cups could be more precise. The HD10BT ship with a straight 4-foot 3.5mm cable, a 3.5mm-to-1/4-inch adapter, a USB-A to micro-USB charging cable, and a zippered hardshell case. AUDIO AND ACTIVE NOISECANCELLING QUALITY The best way to describe the Eris HD10BT’s sound (sans ANC, that is) is flat and accurate: that is, it doesn’t accentuate any particular frequency, including the high end or the bass. And that’s what you want If this had been a one-off, I wouldn’t complain; however, this type of premature wear showed up in a couple of places after I handled the HD10BT just a few times.
96 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 PLAYLIST REVIEW: PRESONUS ERIS HD10BT when you’re mixing audio tracks—minimal coloration by your playback equipment. The midrange and field definition was spot on. I had no problem picking instruments or parts out from the mix; another plus for home studio use. The HD10BT also handle volume well, not overly changing timbre as you crank things up. But for recreational listening, I was quickly wishing for an app with EQ capabilities, as my older ears like a bit more sparkle. Many music apps have their own EQ, so if the one you use has that feature, you won’t mind that PreSonus doesn’t provide its own. PreSonus’ active noise cancellation is very effective at taming environmental sound pollution; however, it does affect the EQ. That’s not something you want from a professional headphone. There’s a drop-off in the high end—as with many middle-ofthe-road ANC designs—but it’s very slight. Quite unusually, activating ANC also delivered a slight boost in the lower registers. So forget what I said about flat response the moment you flip this headphone’s ANC switch to the on position. That’s not to say the Eris HD10BT sounds bad with active noise cancellation engaged, it’s just not as balanced or precise in its frequency reproduction. And I tested it with both The Presonus HD10BT in its hardshell carrying case. Notice the center panel sticking out slightly. This was before I pushed in back in, but the poor fit of the plastic inserts is a bit concerning.
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 97 Bluetooth and connected to my source with a cable. PreSonus claims up to 16 hours of battery life, which typically means without ANC engaged. With ANC on, the headphone had about 70 percent battery life remaining after two hours of listening, so figure a bit less than what PreSonus thinks It will deliver. COMFORT LEVEL My first impression of the Eris HD10BT was that it was one of the more comfortable over-ear headphones I’ve tried. The ear cups are soft but not squishy, and they’re deep enough to keep my auricles from bottoming out on the speaker grill. Good job there. After a few hours, however, I found myself wishing for a bit more padding on the headband. It’s a two-rail design, which is sturdy but puts all the pressure in two smaller areas. The metal in the HD10BT makes it rather weighty for its class—0.9 pounds—and that weight led to pressure forming on the top of my head. To compensate, I found myself moving the pressure point by rotating the headband slightly backward and then forward. After a time, I added some external padding to the headband. You might not be as sensitive. VERDICT Despite its flaws, I enjoyed my time with the PreSonus Eris HD10BT. It’s a handsome headphone that sounds decent, cancels noise well, and is relatively affordable. But I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that the Anker Space Q35 (fave.co/46fi3bx) are a better headphone for casual listening—and they’re a bit less coin. ■ mmm PreSonus Eris HD10BT PROS • Good sound with a flat reproduction curve. • Comfortable ear cups. • Attractive styling. CONS • ANC alters the sound. • No app for EQ adjustments. • Headband needs more padding. PRICE $130 COMPANY PreSonus The Eris HD10BT sound decent and cancel noise well.
98 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 PLAYLIST IMAGE: FINAL AUDIO F inal Audio has delivered one of the best-sounding noisecancelling earbuds you can buy: the ZE8000 (fave.co/3ZMRoAj). Buy a set and you’ll also get one of the more outrageous designs in the earphone market, a look that will enchant some and completely turn off others. Final is based in Japan, a country that fully embraced the Brutalist architectural movement that seems to have inspired the sharp corners and concrete-textured finish of the ZE8000. They’ve created an earphone that has no real parallels in the consumer audio world, so buyers will stand out from the white earbud hordes. HOW DO THE FINAL ZE8000 SOUND? The ZE8000 have an impressive soundstage and excellent detail, comparing favorably to the Astell&Kern AK UW100 (fave.co/40ZXHjt) and Campfire Audio Orbit (fave.co/3tffVC3) earbuds, two Final Audio ZE8000: Wildly different, exceptionally good The industrial design is polarizing, and noise cancellation plays second fiddle to fidelity, but the Final ZE8000 are among the best ANC earbuds on the market. BY JAMES BARBER
NOVEMBER 2023 MACWORLD 99 The pebbled texture of the ZE8000 noise-cancelling earbuds’ finish evokes painted concrete. There’s a lot of air inside the Final ZE8000 case, so the lid has some give if you press down when the case is closed. models that ditch active noise cancellation in pursuit of the best possible audio reproduction. Final offers a feature called 8K Sound+, a setting activated from the Final Connect app that “upgrades the signal processing algorithm” to improve the sound quality to the “maximum limit.” When listening in a quiet environment, 8K Sound+ offered a slight but noticeable improvement to audio quality. The improvement wasn’t noticeable when using the ZE8000 earbuds outdoors or in a noisy environment. 8K Sound+ was a massive drain on the battery, so I ended up turning it off and never felt as though I needed it when listening indoors. I did most of my testing with an iPhone 13 Pro Max, listening to Apple Music, but heard an ever-so-slight increase in audio quality when playing back lossless audio on an Android device that supports the aptX Adaptive codec. The earbuds support Bluetooth 5.2 and the SBC, AAC, aptX, and aptX Adaptive codecs, the latter of which allow for transmission at up to 24bit/96kHz from compatible Android devices. The ZE8000 are also compatible with Snapdragon Soundenabled devices. Final advertises the ZE8000’s “f-CORE for 8K Sound’ ultra-low distortion driver with a large 13mm
100 MACWORLD NOVEMBER 2023 PLAYLIST REVIEW: FINAL AUDIO ZE8000 diaphragm. The lightweight driver uses an aluminum-magnesium dome injectionmolded onto a highly flexible silicone surround, with a floating mechanism used for the voice coils. The f-CORE drivers are powered by Class-AB amplifiers, which Final says delivers a better balance between sound quality and power efficiency than the Class-D amplifiers that most true wireless earphones use. Final promises lower total harmonic distortion (THD) from these drivers than we’ve experienced from other true wireless earphone models, resulting in a higher level of detail and more precise sound texture. Janelle Monáe’s 2023 album The Age of Pleasure features a blend of soul and funk that blends in a mixture of dub and dancehall. The album’s mixes put Monáe’s voice front and center, pushing many of the musical elements to the sides for a widescreen listening experience. The ZE8000 did a fantastic job of reproducing the low-end reverberations essential to the capturing the Jamaican musical influences the artist employs here. DO THE FINAL ZE8000 HAVE GOOD ACTIVE NOISE CANCELLING? Many users value maximum noise reduction from wireless headphones, but audiophiles know that the digital signal processing required for ANC to work also tends to alter the music signal, sometimes in unacceptable ways. The Final ZE8000 are meant to appeal to serious music listeners, so the company has made a serious effort to balance audio quality with noise reduction. Both the Astell&Kern and Campfire earbuds preserve audio quality by ditching the ANC altogether, so Final is making an ambitious attempt to balance features that are basically in conflict with each other. ANC on the ZE8000 is very good, but it’s not great. The 2nd-gen Apple AirPods Pro offer the best balance of ANC and music quality that I’ve heard, and the ZE8000 can’t quite compete with the noise reduction of the Apple earbuds. It’s also substantially less than what you’d get with the Sony WF-1000MX4 (fave.co/483TIH0) or the Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds II (fave.co/44wQrgr), two models that get rave reviews from users who prize noise reduction over all else. INDUSTRIAL DESIGN The ZE8000 are available in black or white, even though the white seems to have gray undertones that emphasize the rock-like design. They have a distinctive angular design in sharp contrast to the rounded corners featured on almost every other wireless in-ear headphone. The ZE8000 come with a massive case, measuring 3×1.25×2.5 inches. The lid