Do you want to use a different Apple ID or email address for sending and receiving messages over iMessage? Fortunately, this is pretty easy to do on an iPhone and iPad, and all you need is a minute or two of your time.
Interested in starting your very own podcast? It turns out that all you need is Garageband and a Mac. Whether you want to record audio on your Mac for a podcast, or perhaps just a personal voice recording, you’ll find Garageband to be useful for this purpose, and it’s just one of a variety of ways to record podcasts on the Mac.
Do you want to watch videos simultaneously while you’re working on your Mac? Thanks to the picture-in-picture mode that’s built into Safari, you can multitask efficiently on your Mac. And there are actually multiple different ways to access and enter into Picture in Picture mode in Safari for Mac, so let’s cover those.
Did you know that your iPhone and iPad can read Safari content displayed on the screen out loud? This is a feature that could prove to be quite useful if you’re busy focusing on something else, you want an article or webpage read to you, or for accessibility purposes.
Apple has released the final versions of iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6 for iPhone and iPad.
The new system software versions include some small features relating to Apple Card and AirTags, and a handful of bug fixes and other enhancements. The full release notes for iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6 are further below.
Separately, Apple released macOS Big Sur 11.4 for Mac, tvOS 14.6 for Apple TV, and watchOS 7.5 for Apple Watch.
macOS Big Sur 11.4 has been released for Mac users. The latest software update for Mac includes various bug fixes and small enhancements, making it recommended for users running macOS Big Sur.
Though not mentioned in the release notes, macOS 11.4 is also said to include support for bootable backups using third party apps like Carbon Copy Cloner on M1 Macs.
Separately, Apple released iOS 14.6 and ipadOS 14.6 for iPhone and iPad, along with tvOS 14.6 and watchOS 7.5 for Apple TV and Apple Watch.
Want to add new contacts from the Mac? Whether you’re new to the Mac ecosystem or just haven’t used the Contacts app for this purpose before, adding new contact information to Contacts on Mac is pretty simple, and assuming you’re using iCloud, the added contacts will sync directly to any linked iPhone, iPad, or other Macs too. And of course you can remove contacts from MacOS too.
Are you traveling or moving to a different country? Or maybe, you just want to access App Store or iTunes content that’s available in a specific region? Well, for those scenarios you have two options; you can either create a new Apple account from scratch, or change your current account’s country or region, the latter being the option most people would prefer. So, let’s walk through how you can change the region and country of Apple ID on your device.
Have you ever wanted to listen to a radio station from another state or country? Maybe you want some different music, or to listen to different talk radio? Perhaps you were traveling and heard a radio station you liked in Ireland, or maybe you have a favorite radio station from where you lived years ago in New York, or maybe you just want to hear what’s on the radio in Nigeria? Or maybe you’re just curious about the local news in Singapore, Chennai, India, or Topeka, Kansas?
Whatever the motivation, be it curiosity or reminiscing, you’ll find you can listen to radio stations just about anywhere around the world, using a nifty free service called Radio Garden.
Did you know that you can change the Apple account that’s used by the HomePod to stream content on Apple Music and other podcasts?
Want to use a shorter 4 digit passcode on your iPhone or iPad again? You can do that, though it’s important to remember that shorter passcodes are not as secure.
If you’re a long-time iPhone or iPad user, you probably remember the old days when you were able to use four-digit passcodes. Although Apple defaults users to six-digit passcodes now, you can still switch to a four-digit passcode if you prefer to.
Apple has released a second Release Candidate build of iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6 to users participating in system software beta testing programs for iPhone and iPad.
The second release candidate of iOS 14.6 and iPadOS 14.6 comes two days after beta 1 of iOS 14.7 and iPadOS 14.7 were released for testing, setting up a situation where there are two concurrent beta versions of system software available for beta testers.
Do you want those beautiful wallpapers that are bundled with Apple’s new M1 iMac? If you already own a Mac, even if it’s an Intel-based Mac, you don’t have to browse for them and get the image files, because they’re already on your Mac running the latest versions of Big Sur – they’re just hidden.
Ever thought of using a Nintendo Switch controller with a Mac? You can do that!
While it’s true that the Mac might not be the gaming powerhouse that some gaming fanatics may like, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some pretty great games to be played. Apple Arcade has certainly improved matters, and the App Store hosts plenty of paid-for and free titles, and the new Apple Silicon Macs also have access to many iPad and iPhone games. But sometimes playing games with a mouse and keyboard just isn’t something you want to do. That’s when using a game controller really comes in handy, and what better controller to use than a Nintendo Switch Joy-Con?
Did the new Hello screen saver on the M1 iMacs grab your attention? It’s kind of a modernized version of the retro “Hello” text on the first Macintosh. If you thought it looked snazzy, you may be excited to find out that you can get this screen saver on your Mac too, even if it isn’t powered by the M1 chip.
Lost or forgot the passcode that you use for Screen Time on your Mac? Don’t start panicking. Thankfully, resetting your Screen Time passcode without losing all your settings is a pretty straightforward process on macOS.
Apple has released the first beta versions of iOS 14.7, iPadOS 14.7, macOS Big Sur 11.5, tvOS 14.7, and watchOS 7.6 to users enrolled in the beta testing programs for Apple system software. The developer beta has been made available first, and is typically soon followed by the same build for public beta testers.
The new beta versions arrive before iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, and macOS 11.4 have been released to the public, suggesting that finalized versions of those system software releases, which are also still in beta as Release Candidates, are likely to debut in the very near future.
Are you running low on your iCloud storage space? If an iCloud backup is too large for the iCloud plan you have, you won’t be able to backup the iPhone or iPad, and this is one of the most common reasons iCloud backups fail. If you’re not planning to upgrade to an iCloud plan with a higher storage limit, you may want to reduce your next backup size to make sure you don’t exceed your limit.
