Posts

A Few of Our Favorite Things: Tech Edition

/in /by

The holiday season is fast approaching, but we’re asked to recommend tech gear year-round. Here are some recommendations if you’re looking for a geeky gift for that special someone or need to supplement your tech toolkit with new or updated equipment. We don’t have personal experience with all these items, and there are undoubtedly many worthy alternatives—next time we chat, let us know about peripherals you’ve particularly liked. Where possible, we provide links to the manufacturer’s product page and to Amazon, where prices are sometimes lower.

External SSD

All Macs now use solid-state storage internally, and the pricing of external solid-state drives now makes them attractive for both additional storage and silent backups. SSDs also provide the ultimate performance for demanding workflows. The Samsung and Crucial SSDs are good general-purpose drives; look at the OWC Envoy Pro FX for high-performance tasks.

External Hard Disk Drive

For extensive backups and massive archives, you need a large external hard drive. They come in sizes up to 20 TB, and you can pay less than $20 per terabyte, although $20–$30 per terabyte is more common. It’s impossible to recommend specific models without knowing how much storage you need, but check out products from these manufacturers. Because hard drive prices fluctuate wildly, visit diskprices.com to identify current deals on new drives.

  • Seagate: Seagate offers a collection of desktop and portable drives under its own name and the LaCie brand. Apart from some of the larger LaCie drives, most are aimed at consumers.
  • Western Digital: Although some suggest that Western Digital drives are less reliable than Seagate’s, many people like the company’s wide variety of external hard drives.
  • OWC: Other World Computing sells desktop and portable drives with an emphasis on RAID storage and professional uses. OWC also offers enclosures into which you can install bare drives purchased elsewhere, which can save money if you want to upgrade the drive over time.

External Displays

You can find a wide array of displays that work with a Mac, with Apple’s Studio Display leading the pack in both features and price. It’s a 5K display that provides unparalleled sharpness at its standard pixel-doubled resolution of 2560×1440. There’s little direct competition—LG offers the main 5K display that’s cheaper. If that still exceeds your budget, check out the 27-inch 4K displays from Alogic and Asus, which connect via USB-C. Dell and BenQ also make high-quality screens that connect using Thunderbolt. Note that these third-party displays don’t include webcams and generally feature subpar speakers compared to the Apple Studio Display, so building a comparable display would require a separate webcam (or an iPhone using Continuity Camera) and speakers.

Laptop Chargers

Although all MacBooks come with a power adapter, you might want additional chargers that stay plugged in wherever you work or take up less space in your laptop bag. Plus, Apple’s chargers, though high quality, are expensive and large. Consider these alternatives, keeping in mind that fast charging requires higher wattages than standard charging (70W for the M3 MacBook Air, 96W for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, and 140W for the 16-inch MacBook Pro). Extra ports are often welcome, and the OneAdaptr chargers work in 200 countries.

USB Hubs

There are lots of reasons to want a USB hub, and your needs will push you toward one product or another. We chose three options: the Anker 555 provides many different types of ports, the Anker 10-port hub provides numerous USB Type-A ports, and the Satechi 4-port hub offers USB-C ports.

Thunderbolt Docks

USB hubs are sufficient for many situations, but for more demanding setups, you’ll want a Thunderbolt dock that enables you to connect multiple external displays, hard drives, and Gigabit Ethernet, all while using high-wattage charging. The Sonnet and CalDigit docks boast the most ports in horizontal and vertical form factors, respectively, and the OWC dock trades some ports for portability.

Non-Apple Pointing Devices

Some people dislike trackpads, and others aren’t fond of Apple’s Magic Mouse. Luckily, there are plenty of alternatives. Although most Bluetooth mice will work with the Mac, additional software may be necessary to control tracking speed, extra buttons, or scroll wheels. Unusual pointing devices like the Kensington trackball and Contour RollerMouse may be appreciated by those suffering from hand or wrist pain from mousing.

Non-Apple Mac Keyboards

All Macs other than the Mac mini come with a keyboard, of course, but if you’re not a fan of the feel and minimal key travel of Apple’s keyboards, you might consider an alternative. You’ll need to decide if you want a full-size keyboard with a numeric keypad or a compact keyboard that takes up less space on your desk—there are also various sizes in between. Also, keyboards use different switches under their keycaps, so it may require experimentation to find what you like best. It’s worth buying a keyboard aimed at the Mac market to ensure it has or can be configured with the correct keys. The recommendations below should get you started; also check out other products from these manufacturers.

iPad Keyboards

Apple makes some of the best keyboards for the iPad, but they don’t work with all older models. The company makes the Magic Keyboard for the M4 iPad Pro models, the Magic Keyboard that works with the iPad Air and earlier iPad Pro models, and the Magic Keyboard Folio for the 10th-generation iPad. If you want to spend less, leave out the trackpad, or have a different case design, look into the alternatives.

Small Device External Batteries

Although Apple continuously works to improve battery life for the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods, there will always be situations—travel, camping, non-stop use—where an external battery is a lifesaver. That’s especially true for older devices whose batteries don’t last as long as they used to.

MagSafe Chargers for the iPhone

Wired charging will always be faster and more efficient than wireless charging, but the convenience of MagSafe charging for the iPhone is compelling. As a bonus, MagSafe chargers can also power wireless charging cases for the AirPods Pro, and some, like the KUXIU X55, feature a puck for recharging the Apple Watch.

Let us leave you with a final piece of advice. For many of these product categories, you’ll find a dizzying array of alternatives at bargain basement prices from no-name Chinese manufacturers. While it’s impossible to make blanket assertions, we recommend sticking with reputable companies that have been serving Apple users for years. Even if their products are somewhat more expensive, they’re less likely to cut corners on manufacturing quality and safety and more likely to provide support in the event of problems.

(Featured image by iStock.com/Gatot Adriansyah)

Social Media: If you’re looking for a geeky gift for the Apple user on your holiday list or need to bolster your tech toolkit with new or updated gear, read our recommendations for a wide variety of peripherals.

The Hardware You’ll Need to Run Apple’s 2022 Operating Systems

/in /by

At Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June, the company threw back the curtains on macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and watchOS 9. These operating systems won’t be available until September or October of 2022, and we usually recommend waiting some time to upgrade—particularly for macOS.

Even so, it’s not too early to think about how these operating systems might impact your plans to buy new hardware in the next six months. Any Apple device you buy now—or have bought in the last few years—will be able to run the new operating systems. But some devices that can run the current macOS 12 Monterey, iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8 won’t be able to upgrade to their replacements later this year. And some older devices that can upgrade won’t support all the new features.

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

macOS 13 Ventura

For macOS 13 Ventura, Apple has dropped support for every Mac model released before 2017. That’s in contrast to macOS 12 Monterey, which supported previous generation Macs that came out as early as 2013. If your Mac predates 2017 and you want to run Ventura, think about when it would make sense to buy a new Mac, perhaps in early 2023.

  • iMac: 2017 and later (late 2015 supported by Monterey)
  • iMac Pro: 2017 and later
  • MacBook: 2017 and later (early 2016 supported by Monterey)
  • MacBook Air: 2018 and later (early 2015 supported by Monterey)
  • MacBook Pro: 2017 and later (early 2015 supported by Monterey)
  • Mac mini: 2018 and later (late 2014 supported by Monterey)
  • Mac Pro: 2019 and later (2013 supported by Monterey)
  • Mac Studio: 2022

If you’re unsure which Mac you have, choose About This Mac from the Apple menu and look in the first line under the macOS version.

iOS 16

With iOS 16, Apple has maintained the same basic timeframe, supporting all iPhone models released in 2017 and later but dropping everything earlier, along with all iPod touch models. That means you’ll be able to run iOS 16 on these iPhones:

  • iPhone 13/mini/Pro/Pro Max: A15 Bionic
  • iPhone 12/mini/Pro/Pro Max: A14 Bionic
  • iPhone 11/mini/Pro/Pro Max: A13 Bionic
  • iPhone SE (2nd generation or later): A13 Bionic
  • iPhone XR/XS/XS Max: A12 Bionic
  • iPhone X: A11 Bionic
  • iPhone 8/8 Plus: A11 Bionic

We included each model’s chip family in the list above because that becomes important for particular features we’ll discuss later.

Practically speaking, these iOS 15-compatible devices won’t be able to upgrade to iOS 16:

    • iPod touch (all models)
    • iPhone SE (1st generation)
    • iPhone 6s/6s Plus
    • iPhone 7/7 Plus

iPadOS 16

Things get more complicated with iPadOS 16 due to there being four different iPad model types with varying capabilities. As with the iPhone models, we’ve included the chip families for reference.

  • iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st–5th generation): A9X, A10X Fusion, A12X Bionic, A12Z Bionic, M1
  • iPad Pro 11-inch (1st–3rd generation): A12X Bionic, A12Z Bionic, M1
  • iPad Pro 10.5-inch: A10X Fusion
  • iPad Pro 9.7-inch: A9X
  • iPad Air (3rd–5th generation): A12 Bionic, A14 Bionic, M1
  • iPad (5th–8th generation): A9, A10 Fusion, A10 Fusion, A12 Bionic, A13 Bionic
  • iPad mini (5th and 6th generation): A12 Bionic, A15 Bionic

While that’s a long list, a simpler way to look at it is that only two iPad models that can run iOS 15 now won’t be able to upgrade to iOS 16:

  • iPad mini (4th generation)
  • iPad Air (2nd generation)

If you’re unsure which iPad model you have (this goes for the iPhone, too), look in Settings > General > About > Model Name.

watchOS 9

The upcoming watchOS 9 has a simple upgrade story. It supports the Apple Watch Series 4 through the Apple Watch Series 7, including the unnumbered Apple Watch SE. (Look in the Watch app on your iPhone if you can’t remember which model you have.) The only current model that won’t be able to upgrade is the Apple Watch Series 3. Although that model is quite old, dropping support for it is somewhat awkward since Apple continues to sell it even today as a low-cost option. If you’re planning to buy an Apple Watch soon, avoid the Series 3.

Feature-Based System Requirements

For some new features in iOS 16 and iPadOS 16, Apple has drawn a line in the sand at the A12 Bionic chip. These features will work on an iPhone or iPad with an A12 Bionic or later, but not on older devices that can still run iOS 16 and iPadOS 16. Some will also work on the Mac. These features include:

  • Lifting the subject of a photo from its background (also works on all Ventura-compatible Macs)
  • Live Text support in videos (also works on all Ventura-compatible Macs)
  • Spotlight search for images by location, people, scenes, text, and contents
  • Using dictation alongside the onscreen keyboard
  • Inserting emojis using dictation (in Ventura, requires a Mac with Apple silicon)
  • Enhanced Siri support for asking an app what voice commands it supports, hanging up calls, inserting emojis in texts, and working offline (these features won’t be available on the Mac in Ventura)
  • Recognition of birds, insects, and statues in Visual Lookup (also works on all Ventura-compatible Macs)

Some additional features have idiosyncratic system requirements:

  • Live Captions that automatically generate text for any audio require an iPhone 11 or later, an iPad with A12 Bionic or later, or a Mac with Apple silicon.
  • Detection Mode in the Magnifier app, which can identify objects like doors, requires an iPhone 12 Pro or iPhone 13 Pro, an iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th and 5th generation), or an iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd and 3rd generation).
  • The Camera app will let you blur the foreground in Portrait photos and improves the quality of Cinematic mode videos, but only for the iPhone 13 lineup.
  • The capability to use an iPhone as a webcam requires an iPhone XR or later.
  • When using an iPhone as a webcam, the Center Stage and Desk View features (the latter lets you show the other party what’s in front of you on your desk) require an iPhone 11 or later.
  • The new Studio Light feature that dims the background and lights up your face to simulate external lighting needs an iPhone 12 or later.
  • The Health app’s capability to scan medicine labels requires an iPhone XR or later.
  • Dictation can add punctuation automatically if you’re using an iPhone 11 or later, an iPad with an A12 Bionic or later, or a Mac with Apple silicon.
  • You can shrink iPad user interface elements to be smaller to fit more onto the screen with M1 iPads.
  • iPadOS 16 supports virtual memory swapping to provide up to 16 GB of memory to demanding apps, but only on M1 iPads.
  • The new Stage Manager windowing feature requires an M1 iPad in iPadOS 16 but will work with all Ventura-compatible Macs.

It can be disappointing when your fully functional Mac, iPhone, or iPad doesn’t support some snazzy new feature, but it’s better that Apple lets that device upgrade to the latest operating system rather than kicking it off the upgrade train just because it doesn’t have enough processor power for everything.

(Featured image by Apple)

Social Media: Later this year, Apple will release macOS 13 Ventura, iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and watchOS 9. Here’s the hardware you’ll need to run these operating systems—and to support some of the whizzier features.