Mac & i issue 2/2023 now in stores

Mac & i issue 2/2023 is now also available in well-stocked newsagents – and of course still in the Heise Shop, either on paper (free shipping up to and including April 13, 2023) or as a PDF. The topics:

Which Mac for whom?

Anyone who wants to buy a new Mac is faced with a large number of models with even more equipment variants and wonders whether even a used computer will suffice. Johannes Schuster classifies the properties of the current and last Mac generations and gives recommendations.

macOS 13 on old Macs

Only the latest macOS delivers new features, full app support and all security patches. It’s annoying when Apple no longer supports its own Mac. The free tool OpenCore Legacy Patcher still allows the installation, but it has to intervene deeply in the system. Leo Becker explains step by step how it works, names side effects and uses six specific examples to check how well older MacBooks and desktop Macs run with it. So much in advance: It works surprisingly well, at least on MacBook Pro 2016 (MacBookPro13.2), MacBook Pro 2015 (MacBookPro11.5) and iMac 5K 2014 (iMac15.1). There were minor problems with Mac Pro 2013 (MacPro6.1) and Mac mini 2012 (Macmini6.2), but they are tolerable. Based on our experience, we would only advise owners of the now 12-year-old MacBook Air 2011 (MacBookAir4.1) not to install it. Many of the good experiences can be transferred to other Mac models, so you no longer have to settle for an old operating system and lacking security.

Where is AI with Siri?

AI tools with sophisticated language models are increasingly causing a sensation and new techniques such as ChatGPT or Midjourney go beyond reason. Other artificial intelligences generate texts, images, new location-based contexts, entire videos. But what does Siri, Apple’s artificial intelligence, actually do? Marcus Schwarze has put together which AI services you should know about – there are a few more than the two mentioned – how they work, how you can try them out and provides all sorts of examples that amazed us all. He also asked some industry insiders and business aficionados how they assess the importance of the services, why they think Apple is lagging behind, and how things might move forward in the near future. Incidentally, he typed his text character by character himself. 😉

Practical tips for Mac, iPhone and iPad

iOS and iPadOS 16.4 were released recently and once again have exciting things in store: real web apps and powerful shortcuts make iPhone and iPad more flexible, new emojis add variety. With Leo Becker’s tips you will find all the innovations in the Apple operating systems and use them optimally.

Hardly anyone knows it, but that’s changing now: In contrast to Parallels, VMware and VirtualBox, the free UTM app can not only virtualize Windows and Linux, but also emulate other processors and retro systems such as Mac OS Classic. However, there are a few stumbling blocks, especially with Windows. We wouldn’t be Mac & i if we didn’t show in detail where they are and how to avoid them. In a second post, Christian Rentrop also checked how well Windows 11 runs with UTM on the Mac, which apps run in it and how it compares to the virtualizer Parallels.

In addition to releasing the new HomePod 2, Apple has also taught new things to its other HomePods — most notably the popular HomePod mini. With the tips from Sebastian Trepesch, you can tease out the best possible sound, use smart functions and solve problems.

You don’t need to type out complicated texts like IBANs – just point the camera of your Apple device at it, because it has built-in text recognition. With our tips for the “Live Text” function, you can also add printed events directly to the calendar or have signs translated abroad. Leo Becker also shows how to make any text copyable.

Many users surf in Safari without a single extension – the browser learns great new tricks with them. With it you see less advertising, switch off annoying cookie banners, search the web more efficiently and much more. Joachim Kläschen presents 25 useful extensions for macOS, iOS and iPadOS – many of them are free.

A new photo for the ID card is needed, but you don’t want to trust the photo booth and a photographer is expensive – some people would prefer to take the biometric passport photo themselves at home on their iPhone. Sebastian Trepesch explains how this works in the “living room wall photo studio”.

With the free Bunch app, you can automate tasks that would otherwise sometimes require a lot of clicks – even completely click-free at set times. Immo Junghärtchen shows how to configure the tool with bunch files in the text editor in order to start or end individual processes at the push of a button.

This time, the Developer’s Corner is all about metal: Version 3 of Apple’s API for 3D apps and parallel computing on the GPU puts speed in the foreground. Many of the new features should allow graphics programs to run faster. Using the example of a simple raytracer, Jürgen Schuck shows how they can be used in practice and what the result is.

Thorough hardware and software testing

We’ve already mentioned the HomePod 2: Berti Kolbow-Lehradt’s test clarifies whether its comeback with a built-in temperature sensor, improved sound and better light show is worth buying.

USB sticks cost little in relation to their storage volume, fit in any trouser pocket and can be used universally. With USB-C soon to be found on all Apple devices, they’re even more rare, especially with high capacities. Johannes Schuster doesn’t think it’s worth buying a smaller stick, because models with 128 GB are available from as little as 15 euros. His test of models from the manufacturers DeLock, Intenso, Kingston, MediaRange, SanDisk, Transcend and Verbatim clarifies what you should pay attention to

The same colleague then tested 10 gigabit adapters, which can speed up the Ethernet connection in the network by a factor of 10. After all, the LAN can’t be fast enough when exchanging a lot of files with a fast server or running applications on a NAS. The five 10GE adapters come from the four manufacturers OWC, Promise, Qnap and Sonnet.

Also in the test lab: the MacBook monitor Monduo 16 inch Pro Duo Display, the all-terrain smartwatch Suunto 9 Peak Pro, the chic Elgato Stream Deck+ control center, Arturia MiniLab 3, a keyboard for music production, a MacBook dock with HDMI and Ethernet from LMP and a MacBook stand and dock from Hama.

According to the Federal Statistical Office, Germans got back an average of 1072 euros with their tax returns in 2018. Some people need a large desk to spread their folders out on, others just need an iPhone or a browser. Inge Schwabe presents apps for tax returns for each platform: Smartsteuer, Taxfix, Klartax, Lohnsteuerkompakt, Steuersparrechner 2023 and WISO Steuer 2023. No matter which one you prefer, you should always take the chance of a refund.

Exciting reports

A new iPhone is better than its predecessor – of course, it’s like that every year. But how do the models actually compare to Android smartphones? Where does Apple lead, where not, what is missing in the portfolio? In short: How well do Apple devices hold up against the competition? Thanks to the classification by Sebastian Trepesch, you can have your say.

In the third year of the corona pandemic, Apple was also hit: production losses in China and the poor economy have spoiled the balance sheet for 2022. Compared to other high-tech companies, Apple does not have to lay off masses of employees, but has scope for strategically important investments. Christoph Dernbach has researched why Apple is getting through the crisis better than other high-tech giants despite the bad figures.

They are a kind of digital free riders: AirTag clones based on microcontrollers can be integrated into Apple’s Find My network, which is actually intended for iPhones, Macs, AirTags and the like. Such do-it-yourself solutions can even do more than Apple intends, as Fabian Bräunlein found out – and they show the potential the technology still has.

As always, the new issue also contains lots of tips and tricks, tests of apps, accessories and games. Mac & i Heft 2/2023 you can also read in the browser as PDF or prepared for reading iPhone and iPad, Android devices and Kindle Fire Purchase in Mac & i Apps.

Mac & i subscribers already know many of the articles because they read Mac & i at heise+ at no extra charge – including the articles that are always published in advance. The only requirement for access is that you link your subscription to your heise online account. To do this, please go to the “My User Data” page and click on “Subscriptions” in the area on the left. subscribers always get the magazine earlier than the kiosk buyers.

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