Apple cut Vision Pro production, due to lacklustre demand
Apple has reportedly scaled back the production of its mixed-reality headset Vision Pro, according to TechCrunch. The move is due to lackluster demand for the AR/VR headset which Apple likes to dub as “3D Camera”.  In a recent interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook stated that the Vision Pro is not a mass-market product. Further, adding […] The post appeared first on iLounge.

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The brand-new iPad Mini is already on sale at Amazon
Macworld The new Apple Mini has only been available for a couple of days, and we’re already seeing its first discount on Amazon. It might not be a big one, but the new iPad mini is available in all colors for $484 at Amazon, $15 off its MSRP, and a good time to grab one if you’ve been thinking of buying. (We don’t know why it’s not marked as a deal but we assure you it’s on sale.) It’s been quite a while since Apple updated the iPad mini tablet, which was last released in 2021. And this is a pretty mild update, with a speedier A17 Pro chip, Apple intelligence support, and compatibility with the new Apple Pencil Pro. As far as the design goes, the new tablet looks identical to the previous version the same 8.3″ display with 500 nits. As far as colors, there’s a new blue option to go with purple, space gray, and starlight. The best part is that the new iPad Mini now starts at 128GB, which is double the previous models’ lowest capacity option and essentially a $50 price cut. If those upgrades aren’t enough, you can still get the 6th-gen iPad mini for $350 (30% off) while supplies last. It’s still a great tablet, but just note that it won’t be able to support all the AI goodies Apple has coming beginning with iPadOS 18.1. First week, first discount for the iPad MiniBuy it now at Amazon

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iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: What are the differences?
Macworld Apple’s iPhone Pro models are some of the most popular smartphones available. The classic three-camera array can be spotted everywhere you go, and that’s no surprise as those devices remain the best blend of technology and features on an iPhone. But, with the iPhone 16 Pro now available, should you upgrade from your iPhone 15 Pro? Or, if you have found an iPhone 15 Pro on sale, is it still worth buying now the 16 Pro is here? Find out which iPhone is the best option in terms of specs and budget in our comparison review of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro.  iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: Design and Build At first glance, there’s not much to tell the two devices apart, but when you pick them up it becomes apparent that a redesign has taken place. The iPhone 16 Pro is fractionally bigger than it’s predecessor so that it can accommodate the 6.3-inch display, while the iPhone 15 Pro only has to encase a 6.1-inch panel.  Anyron Copeman / Foundry Here’s the comparative dimensions: iPhone 15 Pro – 146.6 mm (5.77 inches) x 70.6 mm (2.78 inches) x 8.25 mm (0.32 inches); 187 grams (6.60 ounces); 6.1-inch display iPhone 16 Pro – 149.6 mm (5.89 inches) x 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) x 8.25 mm(0.32 inches); 199 grams (7.03 ounces); 6.3-inch display As you can see, the newer model is taller, wider and heavier than the previous generation, making it a bit more of a handful. There are, of course, the even larger Pro Max models, which feature the same specs as their relative counterparts, but boast larger screens – 6.7-inch on the iPhone 15 Pro Max and a whopping 6.9-inch on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, making the latter the largest display on an iPhone so far.  Here are those dimensions: iPhone 15 Pro Max – 159.9 mm (6.29 inches) x 76.7 mm (3.02 inches) x 8.25 mm (0.32 inches); 221 grams (7.81 ounces) 6.7-inch display iPhone 16 Pro Max – 149.6 mm (5.89 inches) x 71.5 mm (2.81 inches) x 8.25 mm(0.32 inches); 199 grams (7.03 ounces); 6.9-inch display All these iPhones feature a Titanium chassis and textured matte glass backs. The iPhone 15 Pro comes in Natural Titanium, Blue Titanium, White Titanium, and Black Titanium, while the iPhone 16 Pro is available in Desert Titanium, Natural Titanium, White Titanium, and Black Titanium. Apple iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: Features The newer model also comes with Apple’s new Camera Control button, which acts as a shortcut to various settings within the camera app, as well as a quick launch and shooting control. Reviews so far have been quite skeptical on its positioning because it is awkward to reach in landscape mode unless you have long fingers. It may be better suited to the new Visual Intelligence feature coming in iOS 18.2 (essentially Apple’s version of Google Lens), which is intended to be used in portrait mode. More on the cameras below. Both generations of iPhone Pro/Max come with the Action button, which can be used for various shortcuts, volume controls and the Side/Power button. USB-C is now standard on iPhones, and has been since it was introduced with the iPhone 15 range, so there’s parity here too. You’ll also be glad to know that the waterproof rating is IP68 across the board, as is support for MagSafe, although the iPhone 16 Pro also supports fast-charging with MagSafe, which the iPhone 15 Pro doesn’t. In our battery tests, the iPhone 16 Pro did perform significantly better than the 15 Pro, lasting a whopping 54% longer in our benchmark tests. The iPhone 16 Pro Max also improves over its predecessor, running 43% longer in the benchmarks over the iPhone 15 Pro Max. While this won’t directly translate into these gains in day-to-day activity, you can be sure that you’ll find the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max will outlast their older stablemates.  iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: Display There’s not much to differentiate between the displays, aside from the new sizing. Both come with Super Retina XDR panels that feature the Dynamic Island, ProMotion, Always-On, HDR, True Tone, Wide Color (P3), and 1,000 nits max brightness (typical), 1,600 nits max brightness (HDR) and 2,000 nits max brightness (outdoor). The only feature that’s new on the iPhone 16 Pro (and the Pro Max) is a 1 nit minimum brightness that could save power in darker settings.   Apple The displays on iPhones are always great, and there’s little to separate the ones on both generations. Naturally, the larger 6.3-inch panel on the iPhone 16 Pro will have a different resolution – 2622 x 1206 as opposed to 2556 x 1179 on the 6.1-inch panel for the iPhone 15 Pro – but as they have the same 460ppi they’re as sharp as each other.  Similarly, the larger 6.9-inch panel on the iPhone 16 Pro Max offers a resolution of 2868×1320, as opposed to 2796×1290 on the 6.7-inch panel for the iPhone 15 Pro Max – but with the same 460ppi they are equally sharp.  If you want a bigger display, you may be drawn to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which is a bit bigger than it’s predecessor, and bigger than the screen on the iPhone 16 Plus. It’s the biggest display ever seen on an iPhone. If the Pro Max models are too cumbersome, the iPhone 16 Pro is the one to choose. Prefer a more compact handset? It’s the iPhone 15 Pro.  iPhone 15 Pro vs iPhone 16 Pro: Tech Specs Here’s a breakdown of the comparative technical specifications of the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro. For reference, the Pro Max models have the same specs as their smaller siblings, aside from the dimensions, screen sizes and battery – all of which are slightly bigger.  iPhone 15 Pro/MaxiPhone 16 Pro/MaxDisplay6.1-inch/6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED panel, 2556×1179, 460ppi; 1,600/2,000 nits peak brightness (HDR/outdoor); Dynamic Island, ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate, Always On display6.3-inch/6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED panel, 2622 x 1206 resolution, 460ppi, ProMotion 120Hz refresh rate, 1,600/2,000 nits peak brightness (HDR/outdoor), 1 nits minimum brightness; Dynamic Island, Always On displayProcessorA17 ProA18 ProStorage128GB/256GB/512GB/1TB128GB/256GB/512GB/1TBRear Camera48MP f/1.78 Main, 12MP f/2.2 Ultra Wide, 12MP f/2.8 Telephoto, 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x optical zoom, Smart HDR 548MP f/1.78 Fusion, 48MP f/2.2 Ultra Wide, 12MP f/2.8 Telephoto, 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x, x5 optical zoom, Smart HDR 5, 48MP Macro, Spatial PhotosFront Camera12MP TrueDepth, f/1.912MP TrueDepth, f/1.9Video Recording4K video recording at 24 fps, 25 fps, 30 fps or 60 fps, ProRes video recording up to 4K at 60 fps with external recording, Cinematic mode, Action Mode, Macro, Log video, Academy Color Encoding System4K Dolby Vision video recording up to 120fps, ProRes video recording up to 4K at 120 fps with external recording, Cinematic mode, Action Mode, Macro, Log video, Academy Color Encoding SystemBiometric SecurityFace IDFace IDWi-FiWi-Fi 6EWi-Fi 6ELTE5G5GChargingUSB-CUSB-CWireless ChargingYes, with MagSafeYes, with MagSafe, including Fast Charging with 30W chargerBluetooth5.35.3Apple PayYesYesWaterproofingIP68IP68SIMDual (nano and eSIM except in the US where there is no support for physical SIM cards)Dual (nano and eSIM except in the US where there is no support for physical SIM cards)Dimensions146.6mm x 70.6mm x 8.25mm149.6mm x 71.5mm x 8.25mmWeight187g199gWe’ve highlighted the new upgrades in the iPhone 16 Pro/Max. iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: Performance As these are the Pro iPhones, there’s always going to be plenty of power available. The iPhone 15 Pro featured Apple’s A17 Pro chip, which is equipped with a 6-core CPU (2 performance, 4 efficiency), 6-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine and is compatible with the Apple Intelligence features. The new A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 Pro offers the same arrangement of CPU, GPU and Neural Engine cores. But, under the hood, Apple does claim some decent improvements in the newer silicon. It says that there is a 17% increase in total system memory bandwidth which should aid in the running of Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools and Image Playground. It also allows for the GPU to be 20% faster, while the CPU has been redesigned to be 15% faster while using 20% less power.  Macworld So, if you use your iPhone for demanding tasks like gaming, video production and so forth, then these improvements could be worth the extra money it takes to pick up an iPhone 16 Pro.  Apple is putting a lot of emphasis on the Apple Intelligence features. It should be noted that those same features are available on the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, Pro and Max, and the iPhone 15 Pro and Max. So Apple Intelligence is not a reason to pick the iPhone 16 Pro over the iPhone 15 Pro. iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: Cameras Again, it’s pretty much as you were in terms of cameras. And this year there is no difference between the iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max when it comes to cameras. As these are Pro devices, you get the three camera array on the rear. Apple has spruced up the iPhone 16 Pro optics though, with the main 48Mp f/1.78 sensor now called a ‘Fusion’ camera, rather than just a camera as it was on the iPhone 15 Pro. This seems to boil down to it being able to act as a 48Mp shooter as well as a 2x zoom, although there could be more complicated features hidden under the surface. One definite improvement is that the 12Mp f/2.2 Ultra Wide of the iPhone 15 Pro has been replaced with a 48Mp f/2.2 sensor in the iPhone 16 Pro, so you can get better images when shooting wide. The 12Mp f/2.8 Telephoto camera remains the same.  Foundry So, you get some upgraded hardware, bringing with it higher quality Macro photography, as well as the ability to shoot Spatial photos that will work with Apple’s Vision Pro headsets. Bit niche then.  Video definitely seems to be where the Fusion camera comes into play, boosting 4K Dolby Vision recording up to 120fps, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro can only reach 60fps (and that’s just standard 4K). Slo-mo now tops out at 4K Dolby Vision 120fps, which is a step up from the 1080p/240fps of the older model.  There’s also a stereo-quality four-mic array in the 16 Pro, with support for wind noise reduction and the new Audio Mix that lets you highlight certain parts of the soundtrack to videos.  The front facing camera remains the same 12Mp  f/1.9 TrueDepth module as before, although the video now includes 4K Dolby Vision, which would suggest that the A18 Pro chip is making that possible.  iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: Price The iPhone 16 Pro is available from Apple and other tech retailers in the following configurations and prices: iPhone 16 Pro (128GB) – $999/£999 iPhone 16 Pro (256GB) – $1,099/£1,099 iPhone 16 Pro (512GB) – $1,299/£1,299 iPhone 16 Pro (1TB) – $1,499/£1,499 Here’s some the best deals we’ve found available at the moment. You can find the best contract deals in our Best iPhone 16 deals (US) and Best iPhone 16 deals (UK) round-ups. Apple iPhone 16 Pro Read our review Price When Reviewed: $999 Best Prices Today: $999 at Apple | $999.99 at Best Buy If you wanted the larger display on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, then here’s the options: iPhone 16 Pro Max (256GB) – $1,199/£1,199 iPhone 16 Pro Max (512GB) – $1,399/£1,399 iPhone 16 Pro Max (1TB) – $1,599/£1,599 Again, here’s the best deals on the iPhone 16 Pro Mac out there at the moment: Retailer Price $1199 View Deal $1199.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket With the introduction of the iPhone 16 Pro models, Apple has now discontinued the 15 Pro models but you should still be able to find stock selling though in third-party retailers. Take a look at the best deals and contract deals in our Best iPhone 15 deals (US) and Best iPhone 15 deals (UK) round-ups. iPhone 16 Pro vs iPhone 15 Pro: Should you buy the iPhone 16 Pro? The iPhone 15 Pro is a great device with plenty of power, photographic capabilities, and delivers an exemplary iPhone experience. While the iPhone 16 Pro ups the stakes with improvements to processing, camera-tech and battery life, it all feels marginally rather than groundbreaking. It’s also larger, heavier and has a design that is already looking a little dull compared to some Android devices out there. If you want the best iPhone, then it’s the 16 Pro. If you want the best value for money, then we’d suggest hunting down any decent deals you can find on the iPhone 15 Pro. 

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iOS 18.2 lets you add the volume slider back to your iPhone’s Lock Screen
With the release of iOS 16 in 2022, Apple removed the volume slider from the iPhone Lock Screen except while using AirPlay. In iOS 18.2, however, Apple has decided to bring back that capability with a new “Always Show Volume Control” option in the Settings app. more…

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A week of Mac announcements – which one are you waiting for? [Poll]
Apple marketing VP Greg Joswiak yesterday revealed that we can expect an exciting week of Mac announcements, starting on Monday morning. The tweet also effectively confirmed that there will be no Mac event, just press releases and small-scale briefings for select media reps and creators … more…

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Chinese Communist Party welcomes Apple’s continued, deeper presence
Chinese Communist Party Commerce Minister Wang Wentao expressed support for Apple's continued growth in China during a meeting… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.

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Strong iPhone 16 sales in China, makes Apple #2 in smartphone market
iPhone sales in China appear to be making a comeback with reports claiming that the iPhone 16 has taken the No. 2 spot in the market. According to the latest data from market intelligence firm IDC, the iPhone was out of the top 5 smartphone choices in China. However, strong appreciation for the iPhone 16 […] The post appeared first on iLounge.

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More than 100 million Americans had their health data exposed in a UnitedHealth hack
A UnitedHealth hack exposed the personal information and health data of more than 100M Americans – the first time the company has put a specific number on the security breach. A ransomware attack was made on Change Healthcare back in February, but it was only yesterday that the company revealed its “unprecedented magnitude” … more…

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New Macs, new iOS 18.2, and debunked Apple rumors, on the AppleInsider Podcast
Apple has now promised us a week of what appears to be new Mac announcements, just as analysts start saying iPhone sales are failing, and Apple Intelligence is finally upon us.Apple's week of Mac announcements is comingIt's not as if it matters when this podcast is recorded, but this time you will hear Wesley Hilliard in mid-sentence as Apple makes its latest announcement. W practically need a Breaking News theme.That announcement promises a week of excitement — Apple's words — so Wes and William Gallagher get to counting on their fingers just what can come out when. Plus, this is a curious week to release new Macs because it's as certain as can be that the first round of Apple Intelligence will be released on October 28. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Bulk buyers are paying above retail for the iPhone 16, for four reasons
In most cases, you’d expect a shiny new Apple device to be worth less than you paid as soon as you walk out of the store, at least once you’re past the 14-day return period. You’d also expect companies buying in bulk to pay significantly less than retail. But one of the biggest resellers in the business tells us that neither of these things is true, and that it is currently selling bulk lots of the iPhone 16 for above retail … more…

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Apple confirms, teases “exciting week of announcements” beginning Monday
There’s something to be said for a teaser. Albeit not an official media event, Apple has officially confirmed that next week will be an “exciting week of announcements” starting on Monday morning. The teaser was posted to social media by Apple’s marketing VP Greg Joswiak. The announcement is thought to be expected to focus on […] Source

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Apple Intelligence is coming to fix the iPhone notification mess—finally
Macworld With iOS 18 introducing a slew of new system customizations, the iPhone has become more Android-like than ever. Nevertheless, a prominent flaw continues to hold back numerous green-bubbled users from switching. For years, the iPhone has suffered from a notification management problem that makes it hard to focus on the matters that matter. While Android has granular, per-app notification channels, iOS applications generally deliver their alerts as regular or time-sensitive notifications—and that’s not enough to keep things under control. Fortunately for those receiving a ton of digital noise, Apple Intelligence on iOS 18.1 addresses the notification problem plaguing our iPhones. While it doesn’t introduce any of the wholesale changes that the notification system desperately needs, its built-in smarts help reduce clutter and help make sure you don’t miss anything important. Trimming the fluff Despite being outshined by other Apple Intelligence features coming to your iPhone with iOS 18.1, the notification summarization feature is the one that will impact your digital experience the most. Once enabled, the tool automatically scans all alerts and displays a one-line summary encompassing each notification stack’s essence. Apple Intelligence will summarize your notifications so you can quickly see what you’ve missed.Foundry Here’s how it works: When your friends send you multiple or lengthy texts, you’ll see a summary of what was said so you can gauge how urgent the topics are. Without Apple Intelligence, you have to take time to skim through numerous, sometimes long messages to evaluate their importance. The best part about notification summaries in iOS 18.1 is that they work with all apps, including third-party ones, and require no developer involvement. So, even if you don’t rely on Apple Messages or Mail to communicate, Apple Intelligence will still analyze the content of your conversations and shrink the volume of your alerts in the Notification Center to an easily digestible bite-sized chunk. While you can technically do this now by pasting a long message into ChatGPT and asking for a summary, Apple Intelligence’s system-level implementation is what makes all the difference. It enables you to just glance at your Lock Screen to get a sense of the context without any user input—even when offline. Eliminating the noise While notification summaries reduce lengthy texts to a single line, your iPhone will continue to buzz whenever someone spams you with their latest life drama. Thankfully, Apple Intelligence’s notification management perks don’t stop there. As of iOS 18.1, users can toggle a new Reduce Interruptions Focus mode that aims to increase productivity. Reduce Interruptions works by analyzing push notification content. When the AI detects a sense of urgency in an alert, it notifies you. Otherwise, it delivers them quietly. Like other Focus modes, you can allow apps and contacts you want to alert you regardless of how critical their topics are.  Apple intelligence can scan your notifications and only let the most important ones through.Foundry Beyond Reduce Interruptions, Apple Intelligence also introduces a relevant toggle that optionally applies this AI filter to any of your existing Focus modes. Before installing iOS 18.1, I’d always hesitate to enable Do Not Disturb mode while working in case I missed out on an important alert. While I have always let notifications marked as time-sensitive come through, the categorization isn’t always accurate. Some “time-sensitive” alerts can wait and vice versa. The AI filter addresses this shortcoming by scanning each alert individually and evaluating its priority based on its content—not binary indicators set by app developers. As a result, I now keep Reduce Interruptions enabled at all times during work hours. This has significantly boosted my productivity, as random alerts no longer distract me. The same contact could use the same app to send me a meme and later ask a serious question, and, for the first time in iOS’ history, the system can distinguish between the two messages and only deliver the latter’s notification. It’s a game-changer. Beyond notification summaries and Reduce Interruptions, Apple Intelligence on iOS 18.1 also includes some exclusive, in-app perks for Mail and Messages users. If you accidentally dismiss the relevant notifications before reading their summary, Mail, and Messages will display similar summaries for each thread in the apps themselves. To help users maximize their productivity, Apple Intelligence also suggests relevant replies in these apps. Expectedly, smart replies in Messages are generally shorter and less formal than those in Mail, and you can always rely on Writing Tools (another Apple Intelligence feature) to rephrase a suggested response if it doesn’t match your expectations. Apple Intelligence has powerful new options for reducing notifications and keeping your focus on what matters.Foundry The ostrich effect Apple Intelligence on iOS 18.1 fixes the iPhone’s notification problem by pretending it doesn’t exist. Instead of overhauling the device’s notification management, the system can now rely on AI to deliver irrelevant alerts quietly while offering summaries that capture the gist of each notification stack. While this workaround won’t be ideal for some users, it certainly makes the issue more bearable. I’ve been actively relying on the AI notification features for a few weeks now, and they have significantly impacted my productivity and how I deal with everyday digital noise. After all, most alerts aren’t worth my immediate attention, and Apple Intelligence now intuitively scans them on my behalf so I can dedicate my time to more fruitful tasks.

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Iowa begins accepting digital IDs in Apple’s Wallet app
If you live in the hawkeye state, this could come in handy. Iowa residents can now att their their driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet for use at TSA checkpoints, venues, and businesses. On Wednesday, the Iowa Department of Transportation announced that residents could now add their state ID cards to their iPhones […] Source

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iOS 18.2 will allow users to set default calling and messaging apps
Earlier this year, Apple announced that European Union (EU) iPhone users will soon be able to set default apps for calling, messaging, and more. It appeared that the announcement was targeted only for the EU citizens. However, a new note on Apple’s developer website discovered by 9to5Mac, states that all iPhone users worldwide will be […] The post appeared first on iLounge.

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Apple and Goldman Sachs fined $89 million for misleading Apple Card holders
Apple and Goldman Sachs have been fined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) a sum of $89 million for illegally mishandling transaction disputes and misleading iPhone buyers about the interest-free payment options, according to The Verge.The issues affected hundreds of thousands of Apple Card users. The iPhone maker reportedly did not send “tens of […] The post appeared first on iLounge.

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TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus review: Fast 10Gbe NVMe network storage
Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Holds up to 8 NVMe SSDs Up to 1GBps transfers over 10Gbe Easy open case with 10Gbps USB ports Beefy heat sinks and cables included Cons Non-fatal bugs in the operating system interface Our Verdict Leverage up to eight fast, reliable, shock-resistant, and increasingly affordable NVMe SSDs in TerraMaster’s fast, F8 SSD Plus network storage box. Almost as fast as local storage, it’s a good, albeit pricey fit for performance-hungry workgroups. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Price When Reviewed$800 While local storage (a drive connected via USB or Thunderbolt) is preferable for most heavy-duty tasks, if you want to share projects and data between workstations, especially those that are in disparate locations, then NAS, or Network Attached Storage, can be super handy. Typical consumer/prosumer NAS boxes (which are really just small servers capable of far more than simple storage), mount hard drives or SATA SSDs. But increasingly we’re seeing products such as the TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus reviewed here, which features eight PCIe M.2 slots for NVMe “gumstick” SSDs. Of course, ethernet can’t deliver all of the insane performance offered by NVMe SSDs, even the 10-gigabit variety (10Gbe) that the F8 SSD Plus offers. But there are distinct advantages over hard drives, especially in terms of seek time and random ops. This can be a huge advantage when multiple requests from multiple computers are being handled simultaneously. Did I mention far superior physical robustness? On with the review. The interior of the F8 SSD Plus shows four of the eight M.2 slots. There are four on the other side as well. TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus’s features The TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus is an 8-bay/slot NVMe NAS box with an 8-core Intel Core I3 CPU, 32-execution unit GPU (part of the CPU), 16GB of DRAM, and 10Gbe ethernet connectivity. Ports include said 10Gbe ethernet, three 10Gbps USB ports (two Type-A, one Type-C), and an HDMI port which is currently for diagnostics rather than direct video output. The three 10Gbps USB ports, 10Gbe port, HDMI port, AC jack, and thumb screw on the back of the F8 SSD Plus. The approximately 7-inch tall, by 2.25-inch wide, by 5.5-inch deep F8 SSD Plus enclosure opens via a single thumb screw and rests on rubber feet. It’s not particularly hefty, weighing only 1 pound, 10 ounces with eight SSDs installed. You can add just under 5 ounces of additional heft by employing the eight included heat sinks (nice touch TerraMaster). Whether you’ll really need heat sinks depends on how much traffic the fan-cooled box is subjected to, but they can’t hurt. Count ’em. Eight beefy heat sinks are provided with the F8 SSD Plus. They’ll help keep the SSDs cool under heavy load. Despite its vertical orientation, I didn’t find the F8 SSD Plus particularly unstable, i.e., easy to tip over. That said, you might want to lay it on its side if it’s located somewhere it might be knocked over. Of course, SSDs aren’t nearly as delicate as the hard drives that normally inhabit NAS boxes so a tumble likely wouldn’t be catastrophic. The F8 SSD Plus sports the entire gamut of NAS/server features such as security, user control, file sharing, media streaming, Bittorrent downloads, video surveillance, Docker and VM hosting. These all require installing applications from TerraMaster’s curated collection. There are numerous backup solutions available as well and the File Manager lets you add remote folders from various online storage services such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Amazon S3/S3-compatibles. Just one of the plethora of settings pages in the TOS 6.0 NAS operating system. While the features are there, TOS 6.0 isn’t quite as refined as the operating systems offered by the QNAP’s and Synology’s of the world. One disappointment was the lack of multi-tasking in TOS 6. For instance, I couldn’t run file manager or anything else while I was installing an app. There are eight cores guys…come on! Also, the program didn’t seem to register such things as a deleted storage pool, an added online destination, or a new volume immediately. I wound up rebooting each time to get these changes to register. The file manager app in TOS 6.0 In the end, I found TOS 6 attractive, decently intuitive, relatively easy to use, and stable. But it could use some fine-tuning (and multi-tasking), even if none of the issues are particularly deadly. TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus price The Plus version of the F8 SSD we tested costs a rather hefty $800, but there’s a plain version with “only” a 4-core CPU and 8GB of DRAM that comes in at $600. How much fewer cores will affect overall performance we can’t say without testing that version. But it’s likely that four cores will be fine for most single-, two-user, or home office scenarios. If you want to explore the more advanced server features of TOS 6.0 such as hosting virtual machines, running Docker, and home surveillance, then I recommend the extra performance of the Plus. TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus performance Using the F8 SSD Plus was a very sprightly experience, from the HTML (browser) interface to uploading and downloading files. I filled the F8 Plus with eight 2TB PCIe 4.0 (overkill) NVMe SSDs. Two were used for the operating system and system folder, while the other six were combined in RAID 0, then in RAID 1 using BTRFS as a file system (the FS in BTRFS). TerraMaster also offers its own advanced RAID configurations under the moniker TNAS, which offers redundancy, spares, and a host of other modern RAID features. The tests were run from a Mac Studio M1 Max via its 10Gbe connection, through two 10 Base-T to SPF+ transceivers on a QNAP QSW-308-1C un-managed switch to the F8 SSD Plus. You might see slightly higher performance with 10 Base-T on both ends. You might not. As noted, the ethernet connection is going to be a limiting factor, but the superior sequential and most especially, fantastic random performance of NVMe SSDs will pull every ounce out of it. As you can see below, Disk Speed Test managed over 1GBps reading, and well over 900MBps writing in RAID 0. The F8 SSD Plus reading and writing in striped RAID 0 under Disk Speed Test. Woohoo! AmorphousDiskMark wasn’t nearly as optimistic about the F8 Plus’s write speed, but actually rated it higher in read speed. This is normal for the benchmark with network locations, and much closer to what I see with real-world copies to the box. Note that Disk Speed Test uses a much smaller 5GB data set so you’ll get better performance with smaller writes. This is closer to the write speed i get when I merely wrote our 450GB file using Finder to the F8 SSD Plus. You don’t lose a whole lot of performance from the F8 SSD Plus when mirroring in RAID 1. But we’re not nearly as worried about NVMe SSD failure as we are about HDDs going belly up so we don’t consider RAID 0 verboten on this box. That said, you might keep one pair of SSDs mirrored and put your vital data there, while using the rest in faster striped RAID 0. The ideal setup will depend on your data set. The F8 SSD Plus in RAID 1 still wrote quickly in Disk Speed Test. AmorphousDiskMark also showed a dip in write speed with the F8 SSD Plus in RAID 1. As Disk Speed Test only writes 5GB, ADM may be closer to the mark. I also saw around 250MBps writing PCWorld’s 450GB file to the F8 SSD Plus in RAID 1. The F8 Plus in RAID 1 reads great, but writes slower than in RAID 0. Though it should be obvious, the F8 SSD Plus will only provide a major advantage over other NAS solutions when it’s used on a 10Gbe network by multiple users. I still love it on my home 2.5GBps (which I use to reduce heat generation and energy costs from 10Gbe) network, but 250MBps reading and writing is something I can get with modern hard drives or SATA SSDs. Some NAS boxes offer M.2 slot/NVMe SSDs for caching duties, which can provide near the F8 SSD Plus’s performance under light duty. The F8 SSD in RAID 0 over a 2.5GBps connection. Good, but no better than most NAS. Then again, having lived through the hard drive era, and having experienced at least a half dozen failures, including some data loss, I appreciate the relative peace of mind that modern NVMe SSDs provide. I haven’t had one go belly up in many years, and the failures I have experienced early on were due to controller lockups and the data was recoverable, albeit at hefty expense. In fact, I’m so sanguine about NVMe SSD reliability, that I wouldn’t hesitate to run the F8 SSD Plus in RAID 0 (while backing up the vital data regularly, of course!). I mentioned heat sinks, so I should mention that the fan in the F8 SSD Plus wasn’t extremely noisy, but it wasn’t as quiet as I might wish. Sitting near my dead-silent Mac Studio, I could hear it. I don’t particularly care, but if such things bug you, you are now informed. Note that buying the top-tier SSDs for the F8 SSD Plus is a waste of money ; ethernet limits you to well under the speed of even an ancient PCIe 3.0 SSD. Go for capacity, and save money with DRAM-less (Host Memory Buffer/HMB) types. Their onboard secondary caching is easily fast enough when in groups (and likely even singly), even though the F8 SSD doesn’t support HMB primary caching. A couple of the previously mentioned bugs were in the disk manager. It was slow to acknowledge that I had deleted a volume and wouldn’t let me delete the RAID 1 storage pool it inhabited for several minutes. It then threw a dumb error about the deleted storage pool being degraded, showing one of the drives it had contained. The rest were in a new RAID 0 array. Irritating to be sure, but again, not fatal. Should you buy the F8 SSD Plus? Obviously, the F8 SSD Plus is not your cheapest storage option, even as far as NAS goes. But if you desire fast-as-possible, super-reliable, physically-resilient network/workgroup storage with all the perqs a server can supply (Docker, VMs, etc.), I can’t think of a better current option.

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How to install Windows on an Intel Mac
Macworld Apple’s decision to ditch Intel processors and move the entire Mac range to using its home-grown Apple Silicon processors certainly seems to have paid off. Its M-series processors, including the latest M3 and M4 chips, provide impressive performance and battery life – and even mean that Macs have the graphical horsepower to play some decent games at last. But, of course, there are still lots of Windows apps and games that don’t run on Macs at all, and this is one area where old Macs that used Intel processors did have an advantage as they made it easy to run Windows and Windows software in addition to all your normal Mac apps. The Windows operating system was written specifically to run on Intel processors, and the fact that Macs adopted Intel processors back in 2005-2006 meant that they were also able to run Windows, as well as the macOS itself. That was a real boon for many Mac users, as there are many professional-level apps in fields such as graphics and design that are only available for Windows PCs – not to mention all those Windows games that never get released on the Mac. So having the ability to run Windows apps and games on Intel-based Macs gave Mac users the best of both worlds. And, of course, lots of people are still using Macs that have Intel processors – I intend to cling on to my 27-inch Intel iMac for as long as humanly possible (although the possibility of a new Mac Mini coming soon with an M4 processor is rather tempting). So, for all my fellow diehard Intel-Mac users, here are the options for installing Windows on your Mac, along with all the Windows apps, games and other software that you might need to use. If you want to run Windows on a new M-series Mac read our separate article that explains how to run the ARM version of Windows on an Apple SIlicon Mac. Boot Camp Intel Macs had – and do still have – two options for running Windows, using either Apple’s own Boot Camp software or third-party virtualization tools such as the popular Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion. Parallels Desktop for Mac Read our review Price When Reviewed: Standard – £89.99 annual subscription or £104.99 perpetual license; Pro – £99.99 annual subscription; Business – £119.99 annual subscription Best Prices Today: $99.99 at Parallels (Subscription) | $129.99 at Parallels (Perpetual License) Boot Camp is a piece of software developed by Apple, which allows you to install the Windows operating system on your Mac, alongside the macOS, so that you can switch between the macOS and Windows whenever you need to. Boot Camp is still supported by Apple today, even though it no longer sells any Macs that use Intel processors, and you can read detailed installation instructions on Apple’s website. It’s worth mentioning, though, that Boot Camp hasn’t been updated much since the launch of new-generation Macs with Apple Silicon, and it still seems to be focused on the older Windows 10, rather than the current Windows 11. However, there are still millions of people around the world happily using Windows 10, so that’s not necessarily a problem if you simply want to run a few Windows apps or games on your Intel Mac. The Boot Camp software allows you to partition the internal hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD) of an Intel Mac, splitting it into two separate sections (known as partitions). One partition continues to store the macOS and all your normal Mac apps, but Boot Camp also allows you to install the Windows operating system onto the second partition, along with any Windows apps and software that you want to use. Once that’s done you can use a simple keyboard shortcut to dual-boot your Mac, switching between the macOS or Windows as required. The only disadvantage of using Boot Camp is that you have to choose – either you start up (or boot) your Mac into the macOS or you boot into Windows. The two operating systems remain entirely separate, so you can’t run Mac apps and Windows apps at the same time. If you wanted to run the Mac version of Photoshop while you’re at work, but maybe switch to Windows for a quick spot of Diablo 4 action at lunchtime, then you’d have to keep rebooting your Mac to switch back and forth between the macOS and Windows. There is another way of installing Windows onto your Mac, though – called virtualization – which allows you to run Windows and Windows apps right alongside all your normal apps, without having to switch between the two operating systems. Virtual Machines See our round-up of the best virtual machine software for Mac. Programs such as Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion use virtualization – sometimes also called emulation – to install Windows on your Mac, and they will work both with Intel Macs and the current generation of Macs with Apple Silicon. These are both conventional Mac programs that can be installed on your Mac like any other program, and they allow you to create a virtual machine (or VM), which is a piece of software that emulates the workings of a physical PC. VMware Fusion Read our review Price When Reviewed: Free (personal use); $120 (commercial) Best Prices Today: Free at VMware (Fusion Player, personal use) | Free at VMware Fusion Pro (non-commercial use) | $120 at VMware Desktop Hypervisor Pro When you create a virtual machine on your Mac you assign a certain amount of your Mac’s memory and storage to the virtual machine, and this allows you to install Windows onto the virtual machine. You can even specify the number of processor cores that you devote to running the virtual machine. You can then install other Windows apps onto the virtual machine as well, and run those Windows apps within the virtual machine. The virtual machine runs on your Mac just like any other Mac app, so you can run your Windows apps right alongside all your normal Mac apps. This is more convenient than using Boot Camp, as you no longer need to keep switching back and forth between the macOS and Windows. The disadvantage of virtualization is that your Mac is effectively running two operating systems at the same time –the macOS and Windows on your virtual machine – so you need a pretty powerful Mac with plenty of memory and storage to run a Windows virtual machine effectively. Even with the most powerful Intel Macs – which, after all, are a few years old now – it’s hard to get good enough performance using virtualization to play the latest Windows games that need high-speed 3D graphics. If you need top performance for gaming, or for professional-level graphics work, then it’s better to use Boot Camp to run Windows on an Intel Mac, as that will provide the best possible performance. However, a virtual machine running Windows can still give you good enough performance to run many Windows apps, such as Microsoft Office, or even some 3D graphics apps that may not be available for the Mac, so it’s still a worthwhile option for many Mac users. Windows 365 Price When Reviewed: $31 – $66 per month Best Prices Today: $31 at Microsoft There are other options too, although they do have their own drawbacks. Microsoft has a streaming service, called Windows 365, which runs Windows on a special cloud server, and then allows you to stream Windows to your Mac – or other devices – via the Internet. This can be a useful option if you have a fast enough broadband connection, but it does require a monthly subscription fee and the service is primarily designed for business users. However, there’s a one-month free trial available and you can also read our article How to use Windows 365 to run Windows on a Mac for more information. CrossOver Mac Finally, there are translation programs, such as CrossOver and Whisky, which actually allow you to run Windows software without even needing to install a copy of Windows first. These are a bit more specialized, though, so we cover them in more detail in a separate article. Whisky Read our review Price When Reviewed: Free Best Prices Today: Free at Whisky

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How to banish annoyances in Safari with Distraction Control on Mac
Constant distractions on your Mac can derail productivity, but Apple's Distraction Control tool provide an easy way to stay focused and in control. Here's where to find it.How to use Distraction Control on MacFrom pop-up ads to cluttered sidebars, it's easy to get distracted by non-essential elements on a webpage. Fortunately, with the introduction of macOS Sequoia, iPadOS 18, and iOS 18, Safari has a new feature called Distraction Control.Distraction Control is a Safari feature designed to hide specific parts of a webpage that may divert your attention. Unlike traditional ad blockers that try to eliminate all ads, Distraction Control gives you the freedom to manually select and hide items that you find distracting — whether they're ads, menus, or embedded videos. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

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Download the iPad mini 6 and 7 wallpapers right here
Apple recently announced a new generation of the iPad mini, which features the faster A17 Pro chip inside with support for Apple Intelligence. There are exclusive wallpapers available for these iPads, but you can download them for any device here. more…

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Perplexity AI native app for macOS now available on the Mac App Store
After teasing a native app for macOS last month, Perplexity AI on Thursday officially launched a version of its app for the Mac. Users can now interact with the platform more easily without having to rely on the web version. more…

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