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New Seventh-Generation iPad mini Adds A17 Pro for Apple Intelligence

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Although the first wave of Apple Intelligence features won’t upend the user experience for most people, Apple is pushing hard to ensure that all its new devices can participate. That’s largely what’s behind the recently released seventh-generation iPad mini. It’s physically unchanged other than a few new colors, but under the hood, the iPad mini sports an A17 Pro processor that makes it compatible with Apple Intelligence. Other changes from the previous generation include Apple Pencil Pro support, 128 GB of storage at the base level (up from 64 GB), 10 Gbps USB 3 (twice as fast), Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 (up from Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0), and cellular support only via eSIM (no more physical nano SIM). The price still starts at $499, with cellular connectivity adding $150. It’s a minor update, but one that keeps the iPad mini up to date for those who prefer a more compact iPad design.

(Featured image by Apple)

Social Media: Apple has updated the iPad mini with an A17 Pro chip for Apple Intelligence, along with more storage, faster connectivity, and support for the Apple Pencil Pro. It’s still $499 and remains an excellent option for anyone wanting a smaller iPad.

Apple’s Tips App Provides Extensive User Guides and Helpful How-Tos

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Apple has included the Tips app with the iPhone and iPad since iOS 8 in 2014 and on the Mac since macOS 10.14 Mojave in 2018. Initially, it didn’t contain much useful content, and many longtime users ignored it. However, Apple has significantly increased the amount of information in Tips over time, adding device-specific tips, full device and app user guides, highlights of new features, and more. Many tips even include short demonstration videos. Tips is worth exploring or referring to the next time you have a question. Be sure to encourage anyone you know who’s new to the iPhone, iPad, or Mac to take a look—it even helps them practice key gestures!

(Featured image by Adam Engst)

Social Media: If you haven’t explored Apple’s Tips app on the iPhone, iPad, or Mac recently, check it out. Apple has added a lot more content, including device and app user guides, highlights of new features, and interactive practice guides.

Beware Fake “Sextortion” Scams

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All those data breaches are coming back to haunt us. Once our phone numbers and addresses began to be leaked, it was only a matter of time before scammers would personalize their attacks to make them seem more real. The latest “sextortion” scams purport to have compromising video of you taken from your computer’s webcam, backing it up with your phone number and a Google Street View-like image that matches your leaked address. They make a lot of claims and dire-sounding threats, but talk is cheap, and there’s nothing behind them. Do not pay the scammers!

(Featured image by iStock.com/Thapana Onphalai)

Social Media: Scams are starting to incorporate personal information stolen in data breaches, so you may get “sextortion” threats that purport to know your phone number, address, and more.

Reveal Mac Window Proxy Icons Permanently with This Setting

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We’re big fans of the Mac’s window proxy icons, those little icons that appear in window title bars next to the filename. They’re not just cosmetic—you can use them just like the Finder icon for the open document. You can drag one to Mail to attach the document to a message, to a Web browser to upload it, or to any other location you can drag a document’s icon in the Finder. You can also drag a proxy icon for a folder from the title bar of its Finder window to Open and Save dialogs to navigate to the folder. In macOS 11 Big Sur, Apple hid the proxy icon until you moused over the filename, but starting in macOS 12 Monterey, the company provided an option to show them all the time. To enable it, select System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Show window title icons.

(Featured image by Adam Engst)

Social Media: People who like using the Mac’s window proxy icons (and if you don’t know about them, you should!) can make them visible at all times with an option deep within System Settings. Here’s how to find it and what you can do with proxy icons.

Apple ID Renamed to Apple Account in Latest Operating System Releases

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In macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and watchOS 11, Apple has officially renamed Apple ID to Apple Account. The new name is a slightly more sensible term because you can sign in to an Apple Account that holds your information, whereas an Apple ID was primarily an identifier—it’s an email address—that didn’t inherently imply that it stored data. The name change is mostly a distinction without a difference, but you should be aware of it when reading support documentation or tech articles. You’ll see the new term in System Settings on the Mac and Settings on the iPhone and iPad.

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

Social Media: Apple has renamed Apple ID to Apple Account everywhere as of macOS 15 Sequoia, iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and watchOS 11. Nothing has changed functionally, but keep it in mind when reading tech articles or support documentation.

Restrict Access to Sensitive Apps in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18

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Do you worry about family members with whom you’re otherwise happy to share your iPhone passcode reading your private diary in a journaling app? Or perhaps you want to keep your child out of apps where they could cause mischief. A new feature in iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 lets you use Face ID or Touch ID to restrict access to specific apps, optionally hiding them in the process. Touch and hold the app’s icon on the Home Screen, and tap Require Face/Touch ID. When prompted, either tap Require Face/Touch ID to leave the app’s icon visible on the Home Screen but restrict access or tap Hide and Require Face/Touch ID to restrict access and hide the icon. Protected apps only open after you authenticate with Face ID or Touch ID; hidden apps can be accessed only from the Hidden folder in the App Library after authenticating. (To reach the App Library, swipe left repeatedly on your Home Screen, then scroll to the bottom to find the Hidden folder.)

(Featured image by iStock.com/SasinParaksa)

Social Media: Keep prying eyes—or mischievous children—out of sensitive or important apps by requiring Face ID or Touch ID access before the app opens. You can also hide such apps so they appear only after you authenticate.

Energy Saver Can Shut Down Your UPS-Equipped Mac in a Power Outage

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An uninterruptible power supply, or UPS, provides essential protection from power surges, spikes, brownouts, and outages. But if you’re not at your Mac when the power goes out, the UPS may run out of battery before you (or the power) return. Happily, if you connect your Mac to your UPS with a USB cable, macOS can detect the outage and shut your Mac down safely, regardless of what else is happening. Make sure open documents are saved whenever you step away from your Mac, or you could lose changes. In System Settings > Energy Saver > UPS Options, you can trigger the shutdown in three ways: after using the UPS battery for a specified amount of time, when the time remaining on the UPS battery hits a specific number, or when the UPS battery level drops below a particular percentage. There’s no harm in setting all three. Remember that it can take a minute or two for your Mac to shut down, so err on the short side for safety’s sake. Apple supports most UPS models from major manufacturers such as APC, CyberPower, and Tripp Lite.

(Featured image by Adam Engst)

Social Media: If you connect your Mac to your UPS with a USB cable, you can use Energy Saver to shut your Mac down automatically in the event of a power failure… before the UPS battery runs out.

Five Quick Tips to Ease iPhone and iPad Text Editing and Amaze Your Friends

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A friend recently expressed astonishment when she saw us using trackpad mode while editing text on an iPhone. (It works on the iPad, too!) So, even if you already know these tips, do your friends a favor and show them:

  • Tap once to position the insertion point at the start or end of a word.
  • Touch and hold to reveal the magnifier and move the insertion point within words ➊.
  • Touch and hold the Space bar to turn the entire keyboard into a virtual trackpad that lets you move the insertion point above ➋. On the iPad, you can also touch and hold with two fingers anywhere on the keyboard.
  • Double-tap to select a word; keep dragging to select more text, one word at a time ➌.
  • Triple-tap to select an entire paragraph.

(Featured image by Adam Engst with keys from MXW Photo)

Social Media: Editing text on an iPhone or iPad will never be as easy as on a Mac, but with these tips, you can quickly position the insertion point and select words and paragraphs using your finger.

Set macOS to Require a Password after Screen Saver Start or Display Sleep

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Although paying attention to online security is of primary importance, don’t forget local security. You don’t want to go out for lunch and let someone wandering by your office poke through your email, messages, photos, and private files. To ensure this doesn’t happen, set your Mac to start the screen saver or sleep the display after a few minutes (on a laptop, just close the lid), and then set “Require password after screen saver begins or display is turned off” to a short duration. We recommend 1 or 5 minutes, though you can adjust to balance inconvenience against security. To eliminate the fuss almost entirely, use Touch ID or an Apple Watch to unlock your Mac without having to type your password.

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

Social Media: Don’t forget about local security on your Mac. Make sure to require a password shortly after the screen saver starts or the display sleeps to prevent people from riffling through your email, photos, messages, and more.

No More Ransom Website Offers Ransomware Decryption Tools

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We’ve written in the past about how Apple-only companies can protect themselves from ransomware (strong security, isolated backups, monitoring software), but realistically, it’s primarily a threat to computers running Windows and Linux. If you, or anyone you know, is targeted by ransomware, look to the No More Ransom website, developed by Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre and the Dutch police, for advice and tools. The advice boils down to: “Don’t pay the ransom because it proves to the criminals that ransomware works, and there’s no guarantee it will solve your problem.” On the tools side, the Crypto Sheriff helps identify the type of ransomware in play, and No More Ransom provides decryption tools for 180 different forms and variants of ransomware. There are no guarantees, but anyone who has fallen prey to ransomware should start with No More Ransom.

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

Social Media: Ransomware primarily affects Windows and Linux computers, but if you, or anyone you know, falls prey to it, visit the No More Ransom website for advice and decryption tools.