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How to Avoid Head-Tracked Spatial Audio for FaceTime Audio Calls

If you listen to a FaceTime Audio call using AirPods and hear the other person’s voice moving annoyingly from side to side as you turn your head, the problem is likely head-tracked spatial audio. In general, spatial audio attempts to make sounds seem to come from all around you, and its dynamic head-tracking option adjusts the audio for each ear to simulate how the sound would change as your head moves. Dynamic head tracking may be desirable for music or movies, but with a FaceTime Audio call, having the other person flip back and forth between your ears can be highly disconcerting. To stop this behavior on an iPhone or iPad, open Control Center, touch and hold the volume control, and tap either Off or Fixed instead of Head Tracked. Spatial audio isn’t an option on Mac FaceTime calls.

(Featured image by iStock.com/1550539)


Social Media: If you’ve ever experienced a weird situation where sound on a FaceTime Audio call moves back and forth between your AirPods, it’s because of spatial audio’s dynamic head tracking. Learn how to turn it off.

Annoyed by Inline Predictive Text Suggestions? Here’s How to Turn Them Off

In a slight nod to the hype surrounding generative AI, Apple added inline text prediction capabilities to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. They can be helpful, particularly on the iPhone and iPad, where it’s often much easier to tap the Space bar than to finish typing a word or sentence. But that’s less true on the Mac, where a fast typist can be slowed down or derailed by the suggestions, and some people dislike having an AI finish their thoughts. The feature is easily turned off. On the iPhone and iPad running at least iOS/iPadOS 17.2, go to Settings > General > Keyboard and switch off Show Predictions Inline. (Leave Predictive Text on to continue to get suggestions above the keyboard.) On the Mac running macOS 14.2 Sonoma or later, open System Settings > Keyboard, click Edit under the Text Input header, turn off “Show inline predictive text,” and click Done.

(Featured image based on an original by iStock.com/Armastas)


Social Media: If you’re not a fan of the new inline text predictions on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can easily turn them off and get back to typing only the words you want to appear.

Forget Your Just-Changed Passcode? iOS 17’s Passcode Reset Has Your Back

The hardest time to remember your iPhone or iPad passcode is right after you’ve changed it. Generally speaking, there’s no reason to change your passcode, but if you inadvertently or intentionally shared it with someone with whom you wouldn’t trust your bank account information, changing it to something new is a good idea. We could also imagine a child who knows your passcode changing it on you as a prank. For whatever reason, if you can’t enter your new passcode, a new iOS 17 feature called Passcode Reset lets you use your old one for 72 hours. Once you’ve tried the wrong passcode five times, tap Forgot Passcode , enter your old passcode , and create a new one . If you’re certain you know the new one, you can expire the old one sooner in Settings > Face ID/Touch ID & Passcode.

(Featured image by iStock.com/NazariyKarkhut)


Social Media: If you change your passcode and can’t remember it (or it was changed for you by a prankster), iOS 17 lets you use your old passcode for 72 hours. It’s a helpful backstop for the results of a memory lapse or mischievous child.

With Storms Increasing, Protect Your Tech Gear from Damaging Power Fluctuations

It has been a tough year for extreme weather events. While the connection between weather and technology may seem tenuous, heat waves, high winds, and lightning strikes can play havoc with all sorts of powered and networked electronic devices.

Anything that causes power fluctuations—spikes, surges, sags, brownouts, and blackouts—can hurt your tech gear. Protecting your most vulnerable devices doesn’t have to be expensive, but don’t be complacent because you plug your Mac into a cheap surge protector you’ve had since college. And note that many power strips offer no surge protection at all.

First off, why are power fluctuations problematic? There are two scenarios:

  • Too little power: Sags and brownouts are drops in voltage; a sag is a short-term dip, whereas brownouts last longer. Blackouts are complete power outages. Although they’re less damaging than surges, sags and brownouts can cause electronic devices to behave erratically or crash, and the fluctuation in voltage—particularly when coming back from an outage—can stress components. Losing power entirely will cause you to lose any unsaved work and possibly end up with document or even drive corruption.
  • Too much power: Spikes and surges are sudden, brief increases in voltage; the difference is that spikes are shorter than surges. Either way, the excessive power can degrade or damage sensitive electronic components, reducing lifespan or causing immediate failures.

The best solution to these scenarios is an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). Put simply, a UPS is a big battery into which you plug your Mac and other peripherals. It then plugs into a wall outlet and monitors the incoming power. If the power surges, falls below a certain threshold, or fails outright, the UPS switches the power source to its internal battery. This happens so quickly that your Mac never even notices.

If your gear is plugged into a UPS when a blackout hits, you get some time to save your work and shut down gracefully, ensuring that you don’t lose data or flirt with drive corruption. A UPS also protects against spikes and surges, filtering out the excess voltage so it can’t harm the devices plugged into it. The downsides to UPSes are that they’re an extra expense, their batteries need replacing every few years, and they take up space under your desk. For a home or small office UPS, consult Wirecutter’s recommendations. For larger installations, contact us.

If power outages are rare in your location, you may prefer to rely on a surge protector instead of a UPS. As the name implies, surge protectors filter out voltage spikes and surges so they won’t damage your gear. Surge protectors are smaller and less expensive than UPSes, and while they don’t have batteries to fail, their protection circuitry degrades over time, so they should be replaced every few years as well. Better surge protectors alert you or stop working entirely when they can no longer provide protection. Again, Wirecutter has good recommendations.

If most of your expensive tech gear is battery-powered, you could forgo even a surge protector. Outages aren’t an issue, and a MacBook or iPhone power adapter will protect against most sags, brownouts, spikes, and surges. The power adapter may incur damage, but it’s inexpensive to replace.

One final thought. No UPS, surge protector, or power adapter can protect against a direct lightning strike. Lightning is too fast and too powerful—it’s millions or even hundreds of millions of volts. Even turning your equipment off isn’t sufficient because lightning that has traveled miles through the air to hit the ground can easily jump across an open switch. If lightning strikes are common in your area, unplug your most expensive devices entirely during severe storms.

To sum up:

  • For a desktop Mac and peripherals, a UPS is a worthwhile investment if you ever suffer from power outages. Also, consider a UPS for essential networking gear—cable modems, routers, switches, and network-attached storage.
  • If power outages are extremely rare, or for equipment that doesn’t need to remain on during an outage, get a good surge protector. If it doesn’t automatically disable itself when it’s no longer effective, write the date on the bottom and replace it in a few years.
  • Although there’s no harm in doing so, it’s not necessary to plug battery-powered device chargers into a surge protector or UPS. A spike or surge may damage them, but they’ll probably sacrifice themselves to protect your gear.
  • When in doubt during severe storms, unplug your most valuable equipment to protect against a direct lightning strike.

(Featured image by iStock.com/HardRockShotz)


Social Media: How can you protect your tech gear from unexpected power fluctuations? A UPS is best in some scenarios, but a not-too-old surge protector is often sufficient.  You can also let your Apple chargers do their job without worrying about what they are plugged into.

Keep Your Apple Devices Cool in the Summer Heat

June 2023 was the hottest month on record for the planet, at least until July 2023. Among the many ill effects of such heat are what it does to iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple Watches, and other digital devices. Excessive heat shortens the overall lifespan of lithium-ion batteries and increases the likelihood of both transient errors and hardware failures—iPhones warn you when they’re getting too hot because of these issues. Apple recommends using nearly all its devices in conditions no hotter than 95ºF/35ºC and storing them in locations that don’t exceed 113ºF/45ºC. (The exception is the adventurous Apple Watch Ultra, which can be worn in temperatures up to 130ºF/55ºC.) The most common place to avoid is a car parked in the sunshine on a hot day, which can easily exceed 130ºF within an hour and rise from there. So don’t leave your iPhone in the car during an afternoon at the beach!

(Featured image by iStock.com/Jorge Garcia Argazkiak)


Social Media: As many parts of the world struggle with record heat waves, remember that excessive heat—operating temperatures over 95ºF/35ºC—is harmful to portable electronic devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Keep your digital friends cool!

How to Protect Your Child’s Hearing from Too-Loud Headphone Audio

Loud sounds are harmful to everyone, and many parents worry that their children are at risk for hearing loss due to too-loud headphone audio from iPhones and iPads. To lower the likelihood of this happening, Apple provides a Reduce Loud Sounds option in Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Headphone Safety for both iOS and iPadOS. Select it and set a limit, with 80–85 decibels generally considered safe. To keep kids from increasing the limit, go to Settings > Screen Time and set a Screen Time passcode. Then navigate into Content & Privacy Restrictions, enable the switch at the top, and then scroll down and set Reduce Loud Sounds to Don’t Allow. After that, the headphone output from all apps will be capped at the decibel level you specified.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Ivan Zhdanov)


Social Media: Too-loud headphone volume causes hearing loss, but Apple makes it easy to reduce loud sounds played through headphones and prevent kids from bypassing the volume limits.

Look Up Apple Device Details in Mactracker

It’s difficult for even those who work with Apple devices daily to remember all the details. What processors were available with the 2020 iMac? What resolutions did the Apple Thunderbolt Display support? What are the differences between the fifth and sixth generations of the iPad mini? To find the answers to these and many other questions quickly, turn to Ian Page’s free Mactracker app, an indispensable repository of information about Apple products. Versions are available for the Mac and the iPhone and iPad.

(Featured image based on an original by iStock.com/Shahid Jamil)


Social Media: If you ever need to look up technical details about an Apple product, look no further than the Mactracker app, which provides specifications for every Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod ever made. It’s an indispensable free download.

Use the Hidden Album in Photos to Hide Private Images

We’ve recently heard from people who have been embarrassed when they gave their iPhone to someone to swipe through some innocuous photos of a vacation, only to have the person swipe too far and end up at some NSFW (not safe for work) images. Ouch.

Embarrassment might be low on the list of problems such photos could cause. It’s not hard to imagine a male supervisor innocently sharing photos with a female employee but ending up embroiled in a sexual harassment situation if she were to stumble across the kinds of NSFW photos that regularly land politicians in hot water.

It’s safest to avoid taking NSFW photos to start, especially if the iPhone is a work-managed device. If that’s unrealistic, we recommend deleting any NSFW images from the iPhone as soon as feasible. A third option may be the best solution in the modern world—the Hidden album Apple provides in the Photos app on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. On the iPhone and iPad, you’ll find it with other albums in the Utilities collection. On the Mac, it appears in the sidebar under Photos. (If you don’t see it, you may have hidden it—we explain how to unhide it below.)

There are four essential things to know about the Hidden album:

  • You don’t add photos to the Hidden album by dragging or using an Add to Album option. Instead, you choose Hide from a contextual menu. On the iPhone and iPad, touch and hold a photo (or a set of selected photos) and tap Hide in the menu that appears. Or tap the ••• button and choose Hide. On the Mac, select one or more photos, Control-click them, and choose Hide X Photos. To remove a photo from the Hidden album, use the same approach with the Unhide command.
  • Unlike regular albums, whose photos also appear in All Photos, photos in the Hidden album won’t appear anywhere else, including in searches. That’s the point of the feature.
  • You can hide or show the Hidden album on each of your devices independently. On the iPhone and iPad, control whether it shows up in the Utilities album collection with Settings > Photos > Show Hidden Album. In the Photos app on the Mac, control whether it appears in the sidebar using View > Show/Hide Hidden Photo Album. Obviously, if you’ve hidden the Hidden album, you must show it to look inside.
  • If you use the Hidden album, we strongly recommend protecting it (and the Recently Deleted album) with Face ID or Touch ID so only those with biometric access to your device can view it. On the iPhone and iPad, enable Settings > Photos > Use Face/Touch ID (see above). On the Mac, go to Photos > Settings > General and select “Use Touch ID or password.” Again, these settings are per-device, so what you set on the iPhone won’t automatically carry over to other devices. But really, turn it on everywhere.

Overall, the Hidden album is a welcome feature, and if you have any photos that could embarrass you if someone were to stumble across them, put them in the Hidden album and turn on the biometric protection.

(Featured image based on an original by iStock.com/AlexZabusik)


Social Media: Although it’s safest to keep all NSFW images off your iPhone entirely, if you have photos that could be embarrassing or legally troublesome if the wrong person were to stumble across them, protect them using the Hidden album in Photos.

Adjust AirPods Options in the Settings App

If you sometimes have trouble configuring your AirPods, here’s the trick. The AirPods settings screen is available only when the AirPods are connected to your iPhone, so you must open their case or put them in your ears. Once you do that, a new item with the name of the AirPods appears at the top of the Settings app. Tap it to switch between Noise Cancellation and Transparency, configure what the press-and-hold action does, and start ear tip tests.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Vasily Makarov)


Social Media: Baffled about where the AirPods settings screen is hiding? To find it, start by opening their case or putting them in your ears, and then look for an option near the top of the iPhone Settings app.

The Hardware You’ll Need to Run Apple’s 2023 Operating Systems

At Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June, the company unveiled the upcoming versions of its operating systems: macOS 14 Sonoma, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17. They won’t be available until September or October of 2023, and even once they ship, we recommend waiting a few weeks before upgrading your smaller Apple devices and holding off on macOS upgrades for a couple of months.

Regardless, it’s worth considering how these operating systems might impact your plans to buy new hardware in the next six months. Any Apple device you purchase now—or have bought in the last five years—can run the new operating systems. But some devices that can run the current macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 16, and iPadOS 16 won’t be upgradable to their replacements later this year. More importantly, some older devices that can be upgraded won’t support all the new features.

Here’s what you’ll need and compatibility gotchas to keep in mind.

macOS 14 Sonoma

For macOS 14 Sonoma, Apple has dropped support for Mac models released before 2018. That works out to five models across the iMac, MacBook Pro, and MacBook product lines. If you rely on one of those Macs and want to run Sonoma, think about when it would make sense to buy a new Mac, perhaps in early 2024. By then, all new Macs will likely ship with Sonoma. These Macs can run Sonoma:

  • iMac: 2018 and later
  • iMac Pro: 2017
  • MacBook: None
  • MacBook Air: 2018 and later
  • MacBook Pro: 2018 and later
  • Mac mini: 2018 and later
  • Mac Pro: 2019 and later
  • Mac Studio: 2022 and later

The specific 2017 Mac models that are stuck at Ventura are:

  • iMac: 21.5-inch and 27-inch
  • MacBook Pro: 13-inch and 15-inch
  • MacBook: 12-inch

Unsurprisingly, some new features in Sonoma require sufficient processing power that they work only on Macs with Apple silicon—one of the M1 or M2 chips.

  • Game Mode: This special mode automatically gives games top priority on the CPU and GPU, lowering usage for background tasks. It also reduces latency for wireless accessories, like game controllers and AirPods, for improved responsiveness.
  • Just “Siri”: Although dropping “Hey” from the “Hey Siri” trigger phrase works on all iPhones with iOS 17 and iPads with iPadOS 17, it requires a Mac with Apple silicon or when using the AirPods Pro (2nd generation).
  • Made for iPhone hearing aids: Apple-compatible hearing aids can now be paired directly with Macs, but only those with an M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, or M2. That works out to the MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021), MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2021), Mac Studio (2022), and all Macs with the M2.
  • Presenter Overlay: You can keep your image visible while sharing your screen on a video call, either in front of the shared screen or in a small movable bubble.
  • React with your hands: During video calls, 3D augmented-reality reaction effects like hearts, confetti, and fireworks can be triggered with hand gestures, but only on Macs with Apple silicon or when using Continuity Camera with an iPhone 12 or later.
  • Screen Sharing performance improvements: Apple has radically improved the performance of the Screen Sharing app over high-bandwidth connections, but it requires the advanced media engine in Apple silicon.

If you’re unsure which Mac you have, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu.

iOS 17

With iOS 17, Apple has maintained the same cutoff date as Sonoma, supporting all iPhone models released in 2018 and later. That means you’ll be able to run iOS 17 on these iPhones:

  • iPhone 14/Plus/Pro/Pro Max
  • iPhone 13/mini/Pro/Pro Max
  • iPhone 12/mini/Pro/Pro Max
  • iPhone 11/Pro/Pro Max
  • iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
  • iPhone XR/XS/XS Max

Practically speaking, these iOS 16-compatible devices won’t be able to upgrade to iOS 17:

  • iPhone X
  • iPhone 8/8 Plus

Several new iOS 17 features have more restrictive system requirements.

  • Enhanced autocorrect: iOS 17 enhances autocorrect so it works better (and yes, it will let you use curse words), and it temporarily underlines autocorrected words so you can see which ones were changed. It requires an iPhone 12 or later.
  • Inline predictions: Similarly, inline predictions of what you’re going to type—so you can just accept the suggestion rather than tapping out all those letters—require an iPhone 12 or later.
  • Point and Speak: Those with vision disabilities might appreciate the Point and Speak feature that makes it easier to interact with physical objects that have text labels, but it works only on the Pro models of the iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and iPhone 14.
  • React with your hands: The hand-triggered video call reactions require an iPhone 12 or later.

If you can’t remember which iPhone model you have, go to Settings > General > About and look next to Model Name. This works for the iPad, too.

iPadOS 17

It’s more involved to determine whether your iPad can upgrade to iPadOS 17 because there are four different iPad model types with varying capabilities. These models can run iPadOS 17:

  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch (2nd–6th generation)
  • iPad Pro 11-inch (1st–3rd generation)
  • iPad Pro 10.5-inch
  • iPad Air (3rd–5th generation)
  • iPad (6th–10th generation)
  • iPad mini (5th & 6th generation)

While that list encompasses a lot of iPads, a simpler way to look at it is that only three iPad models that can run iOS 16 won’t be able to upgrade to iOS 17:

  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st generation)
  • iPad Pro 9.7-inch
  • iPad (5th generation)

Because Apple extended overall iPadOS 17 compatibility somewhat further back than it did with iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma, quite a few iPadOS 17 features work only on select models:

  • Back-to-back Siri requests: Although all iPhones will let you issue multiple requests to Siri without reactivating it, on the iPad, the feature works only on an iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), or iPad (8th generation and later).
  • Enhanced autocorrect: This improvement to typing requires an iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad (10th generation), iPad Air (4th generation and later), or iPad mini (6th generation).
  • External display cameras: If you want to take advantage of an external display’s camera while it’s attached to the iPad, you’ll need an iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later), iPad (10th generation), iPad Air (4th generation and later), or iPad mini (6th generation).
  • FaceTime with Apple TV: Using an iPad’s mic and camera for FaceTime on an Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) requires an iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later), iPad (8th generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), or iPad mini (5th generation and later).
  • Inline predictions: Getting suggestions about what to type next on the iPad requires an iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad (10th generation), iPad Air (4th generation and later), or iPad mini (6th generation).
  • PDF AutoFill: iPadOS 17 will use machine learning to analyze PDFs, and if it detects a form, you can fill it out automatically using your contact information. But only if you’re using an iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (1st generation and later), iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad mini (5th generation and later), or iPad (8th generation and later).
  • React with your hands: As with the iPhone and Mac, only some models let you trigger reactions with gestures: the iPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later), iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later), iPad (10th generation), iPad Air (4th generation and later), and iPad mini (6th generation).
  • Screen Distance: This health-related feature is supposed to encourage kids to hold the iPad farther away to reduce the likelihood of developing myopia. But how many kids read on an iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation and later) or iPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later)?

watchOS 10

The Apple Watch has a simple upgrade story: every model compatible with watchOS 9 can also run watchOS 10. That means everything from the Apple Watch Series 4 up through the Apple Watch Ultra, including the Apple Watch SE. (Look in the Watch app on your iPhone if you can’t remember which model you have.)

Two of the new features promised for watchOS 10 work only on specific models:

  • The NameDrop feature that lets you transfer contact information wirelessly with just proximity works with all iOS 17-compatible iPhones, but it can communicate only with an Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch Series 6 or later, or Apple Watch Ultra.
  • The Time in Daylight feature that helps parents track whether their kids are spending the recommended 80–120 minutes per day outside requires an Apple Watch SE (2nd generation), Apple Watch Series 6 or later, or Apple Watch Ultra.

tvOS 17

As with the Apple Watch, the Apple TV upgrade situation is easy to understand: tvOS 17 will run on the Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K (1st and 2nd generation), just as with tvOS 16.

However, note that the promised option to let you use the mic and camera from an iPhone or iPad for FaceTime calls on the Apple TV works only if you have an Apple TV 4K (2nd generation). That might be the first real reason to upgrade from an older Apple TV.

(Featured image by Apple)


Social Media: Later this year, Apple will release macOS 14 Sonoma, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, watchOS 10, and tvOS 17. Here’s the hardware you’ll need to run these operating systems—and to support some of the whizzier features.