SEAL - The Essex Apple User Group The Essex Apple User Group 2026-04-04T06:24:32.535Z http://seal-apple.co.uk/ South Essex Apple Link Hexo Monitor Options and 50 Years of Apple http://seal-apple.co.uk/2026/04/03/Monitor-Options-and-50-Years-of-Apple/ 2026-04-03T21:01:34.000Z 2026-04-04T06:24:32.535Z At this meeting, held on 3rd April, Robert talked about monitor options for Macs, we discussed the 50th Anniversary of Apple and other topics raised by members.

Mac Monitors

Robert talked about choosing a monitor for use with a Mac and noted that while almost all Monitors will work there are now multiple models available specifically designed for Macs. These include:

Robert then covered 4K and 5K displays and how to use the resolution options in the Display settings to change the size of user interface elements.

Apple 50th Anniversary

We talked about Apple’s events and concerts held around the world to celebrate the 50th anniversary and Tim Cook’s letter celebrating the anniversary.

Mac Rumors have a decade by decade roundup of Apple’s history.

Apple published a commemorative short video showing key products over the years. Ben pointed out that this uses the music from the classic “Here’s to the crazy ones” advert reversed. This is demonstrated by appledsign on Instagram. DaveK mentioned Apple’s classic 1984 Super Bowl advert.

Ben also recommended the Wall Street Journal’s video Inside the Apple Archive with Time Cook.

Member Topics

]]> <p>At this meeting, held on 3rd April, Robert talked about monitor options for Macs, we discussed the 50th Anniversary of Apple and other topics raised by members.</p> MacBook Neo and other announcements http://seal-apple.co.uk/2026/03/06/MacBook-neo-and-other-announcements/ 2026-03-06T22:08:12.000Z 2026-03-07T08:25:00.875Z At our 6th March meeting, we talked about Apple’s recent hardware announcements including the MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e and new Studio displays. We also discussed other topics raised by members.

Apple Hardware Announcements

We talked about Apple’s recent set of hardware announcements, concentrating on the new low cost MacBook Neo. Here is Apple’s introduction video. Mac Rumours have a useful article summarising the Neo’s differences compared with the MacBook Air to meet the price point. Robert recommended this article by John Gruber with his very positive first impressions of the new model.

We also discussed the other announcements:

Member Topics

]]> <p>At our 6th March meeting, we talked about Apple’s recent hardware announcements including the MacBook Neo, iPhone 17e and new Studio displays. We also discussed other topics raised by members.</p> Apple Creator Studio http://seal-apple.co.uk/2026/02/06/Apple-Creator-Studio/ 2026-02-06T22:14:44.000Z 2026-02-07T08:12:54.477Z At this meeting, held on 6th February, we talked about Apple Creator Studio and the new features it adds to the iWork applications. Members also raised a number of other topics.

Apple Creator Studio

We talked about Apple’s announcement of Creator Studio which includes Apple’s professional media applications and adds features to them and the iWork applications for a regular subscription payment. The applications included are:

  • Final Cut Pro
  • Logic Pro
  • Pixelmator Pro
  • Motion
  • Compressor
  • MainStage
  • And addition features in Pages, Numbers and Keynote

Apple have a good summary of how the programme works.

Liz pointed out this useful video from Mac Most which tests the backwards compatibility of documents created in the new iWork apps and with the Creator Studio exclusive features.

Apple News

We discussed recent Apple-related news, including:

Member Topics

]]> <p>At this meeting, held on 6th February, we talked about Apple Creator Studio and the new features it adds to the iWork applications. Members also raised a number of other topics.</p> Happy New Year http://seal-apple.co.uk/2026/01/09/Happy-New-Year/ 2026-01-09T22:04:18.000Z 2026-01-10T09:42:22.580Z At the first meeting of 2026, held on 9th January, we had reviewed Apple’s 2025 and talked about some of the changes in the recent operating system updates. Members also raised a number of other topics.

Apple 2025

We reviewed some of the Apple releases and events in 2025 including:

26.x Operating Systems Updates

Robert highlighted some of the new features in recent operating system updates including:

Mac Rumors have articles summarising all the changes:
Mac OS Tahoe 26.2
iOS 26.2
iPadOS 26.2

Apple News

We discussed recent Apple-related news, including:

Member Topics

  • Liz asked about typing a non-breaking space in Pages, Ferrers advised that this can be done in all apps by pressing Option and Space on the keyboard.
  • Ferrers mentioned Keyboard Maestro and Better touch tool as utilities that can be used to automate typing such as inserting a non-breaking hyphen character.
  • We discussed using Open Core Legacy patcher to run macOS Tahoe on unsupported Macs. During the meeting Robert thought that this was available but has since found that it has not been not publicly released and appears to still be under development.
  • DavidB mentioned using OBS for screen recording and Ferrers and Ben also mentioned their using of this powerful tool.
  • DavidB recommended Chris McCausland: Seeing into the Future, available on iPlayer.
  • Elliott pointed out that Apple make several streaming radio channels including Apple Music 1 available free in the Music app and TuneIn radio (and probably other streaming radio apps).
  • DavidB mentioned that he’s still seeing a very high battery capacity on his iPhone after 2 years and recommended reducing the charging limit in settings. If you require full battery capacity, Ben pointed out that the optimised charging feature helps reduce battery wear.
  • Ben discussed his experiences with Apple Watch 11 and mentioned using the Walkie-Talkie feature on Apple Watch.
  • DaveK talked about and demostrated the Core Image filters (on that page click the filter name to see example images) that Apple make available to developers to include in their apps to process images.
  • DaveK mentioned the Monkey selfie copyright dispute.
]]> <p>At the first meeting of 2026, held on 9th January, we had reviewed Apple’s 2025 and talked about some of the changes in the recent operating system updates. Members also raised a number of other topics.</p> Affinity http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/12/05/Affinity/ 2025-12-05T22:28:39.000Z 2025-12-06T08:18:53.727Z At this final meeting of the year, held on 5th December, we had our traditional Apple themed quiz. Robert then gave some first impressions of the Affinity by Canva suite. We also discussed Apple news and members shared a number of topics.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at SEAL!

Quiz

As this was the last meeting of the year, we held our traditional Apple quiz. This year’s quiz covered new OS features, Apple history and trivia, and a picture round.

Congratulations to Ferrers and Ben who tied for the highest score.

Affinity

Robert gave his first impressions and a few introductory tips on the newly released Affinity by Canva. This Mac app integrates the Affinity applications into one package which is available free to anyone with a Canva account. Only optional AI features require a paid account. Robert concentrated on performing basic tasks with the image editor (Pixel studio) and publishing (Layout studio) functions.

Ferrers recommended Affinity tutorial videos (and live streams) from Elaine Giles on YouTube.

Ben asked about RAW support in Affinity, we found this support article.

Apple News

We discussed recent Apple-related news, including:

Member Topics

  • Ferrers mentioned using Luna display to use an older iMac as a monitor (it works to turn a Mac or iPad into a display for another Mac or PC, see their requirements documentation for details). Ferrers has written a document describing his setup and experiences. Note that this is from 2023 so there may be differences to the current Luna software.
  • Ferrers recommended Folder Quick Look on Mac. This app allows you to see folder and archive (ZIP, RAR etc.) instantly via the OS Quick Look feature.
  • Liz asked about typing non-breaking hyphens in Pages documents. Ferrers described how to add the character from the system Emoji & Symbols picker. We also found a way to insert it using the system Text replacements option (found in Settings/Keyboard). This article from La De Du covers both these options.
  • Robert mentioned that Mac Rumors have a useful Archive page where you can see a complete months of Apple news listed in a compact format.
]]> <p>At this final meeting of the year, held on 5th December, we had our traditional Apple themed quiz. Robert then gave some first impressions of the Affinity by Canva suite. We also discussed Apple news and members shared a number of topics.</p> <p>Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at SEAL!</p> M5 Updates http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/10/31/M5-Updates/ 2025-10-31T22:13:51.000Z 2025-11-01T10:31:25.376Z At this meeting, held on the 31st October, we talked about recent Apple news including products with the new M5 chip and some more new OS features. Members also raised a number of other interesting topics.

M5 Products

We talked about the recently announced products with the new M5 chip:

  • MacBook Pro M5
  • iPad Pro M5
  • 2025 Vision Pro

Mac Rumors have a useful article comparing the M4 and M5 chips.

More new OS features

Robert demonstrated some more features new to the 26 version OSes:

Apple News

We discussed recent Apple-related news, including:

Member Topics

]]> <p>At this meeting, held on the 31st October, we talked about recent Apple news including products with the new M5 chip and some more new OS features. Members also raised a number of other interesting topics.</p> New OS First Impressions http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/10/03/New-OS-First-Impressions/ 2025-10-03T21:21:29.000Z 2025-10-04T07:38:04.235Z At our 3rd October meeting, we talked about our first impressions of the new “26” operating systems and some of the new features. Members also discussed some other topics.

New OS First Impressions and features

We talked about the new OS versions, particularly iOS 26 and macOS 26 Tahoe. Robert highlighted some of the interesting new features:

iOS 26

macOS 26 Tahoe

Mac Rumors has some good articles on the macOS and iOS new features.

Member Topics

]]> <p>At our 3rd October meeting, we talked about our first impressions of the new “26” operating systems and some of the new features. Members also discussed some other topics.</p> Awe Dropping http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/09/12/Awe-Dropping/ 2025-09-12T21:02:48.000Z 2025-09-13T07:12:39.258Z At this meeting, held on the 12th of September, we talked about Apple’s announcments at te recent “Awe Dropping” event including iPhone 17, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and Air Pods Pro 3.

Awe Dropping Event

We spent most of the meeting talking about Apple’s recent “Awe Dropping” event where they talked about new iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPod models. The main announcements and features that prompted discussion were:

  • iPhone 17
    • The new Centre Stage front camera on all the new iPhone models.
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max.
  • The new iPhone Air.
    • Thinnest ever iPhone.
  • Apple Watch 11, SE 3 and Ultra 3.
  • AirPods Pro 3
    • Live translation
    • Heart rate sensor

Other announcements we mentioned:

Apple have the full presentation available.

Member Topics

  • DavidB mentioned the good practice of clearing the clipboard by copying something else (for example a space) after having copied a piece of sensitive data.
  • DavidB pointed out that with the iOS/iPadOS keyboard, pressing space automatically types the suggested text.
  • DavidB asked about switiching to an eSIM. We found the instructions on how to do this with some networks: EE, GiffGaff, O2.
  • DaveK demonstrated Liquid Glass on the iOS 26 beta, particularly how user interfaces change to intuitively reveal different controls.
  • DaveK mentioned the Conversation Boost feature of AirPods Pro.
  • DavidB recommended the new 5th series of Slow Horses on Apple TV+. DaveK mentioned that Slow Horses has been renewed up to a 7th series.
  • DavidB mentioned the that Scottish hikers have been asked to help find pieces of meteorite.
  • DavidB also mentioned a news story about a Scunthorpe man representing the UK at the Excel World Championships.
]]> <p>At this meeting, held on the 12th of September, we talked about Apple’s announcments at te recent “Awe Dropping” event including iPhone 17, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and Air Pods Pro 3.</p> Lock Screen Shortcuts http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/08/08/Lock-Screen-Shortcuts/ 2025-08-08T21:14:36.000Z 2025-08-09T07:01:57.323Z At our August meeting, held on the 8th, Robert shared some tips including how to quickly access shortcuts from the iPhone lock screen. Members also brought up several other topics.

Tips

Lock screen shortcuts

Robert showed how a folder can be created in the Shortcuts app to hold up to 8 shortcuts to perform different actions. When this folder is linked to a lock screen icon or the action button it pops up a menu allowing multiple actions to be assigned instead of the usual one.

The process using the action button is explained in this article. Here is how change the default torch or camera controls on the lock screen. To select a Shortcuts folder, select the Shortcut control, choose Show folder and select the folder you created.

Some of the shortcuts Robert used as examples were:

  • Opening an app, using the example BBC Sounds.
  • Starting Reminders showing a particular list.
  • Opening the camera in a selected mode (for example Selfie or Video).
  • Turning on and off smart lighting.
  • Opening a specific messages conversation.

Managing Messages storage

Robert talked about how to manage the storage used by Messages (particularly by attachments such as images and video) on devices as well as in iCloud. He pointed out that there is an option to limit message history to 1 year or 1 month to reduce the storage requirements.

This Apple Insider article has some good tips.

Apple News

We discussed recent Apple news including:

Member Topics

]]> <p>At our August meeting, held on the 8th, Robert shared some tips including how to quickly access shortcuts from the iPhone lock screen. Members also brought up several other topics.</p> New OS Features http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/07/11/New-OS-Features/ 2025-07-11T21:04:46.000Z 2025-07-12T09:08:19.940Z At this meeting, held on 11th July, we talked more about the new features in the version 26 operating systems coming later this year including the smaller improvements which have been spotted in the betas. Members also brought up several other topics.

Version 26 OS “little things”

Robert presented some the smaller new features that have been discovered in the iOS and macOS 26 beta versions including:

iOS 26

  • The home bar at the bottom of the screen now only appears briefly when an app is opened.
  • Customise the snooze time of alarms.
  • Warning if the iPhone camera is dirty.
  • You can spell out unrecognised words when using dictation.
  • Messages has new filtering options for unknown senders and the option to detect and allow one-time messages like passcodes from businesses.
  • In Messages on iOS and iPadOS, text within a message can now be selected (so you don’t have to copy the whole bubble). DaveK showed us how this works.
  • The estimated time to full battery is shown on the lock screen when charging.
  • The liquid glass transparency effect can be turned off in accessibility settings.

Macrumors has an interesting list of these features.

macOS 26

  • Option turn off selected app icons in the menu bar.
  • Many more Control Centre customisation options.
  • Volume and brightness adjustments now appear below the menu bar.
  • Menus now have icons next to most options to aid recognition.
  • Automatic categorisation option in Reminders.
  • For the technically minded, A new virtual disk format.

These articles cover many of the new macOS features:
Gotechtor: macOS 26 Tahoe New Features
Lifehacker: Coolest barely mentioned features in macOS 26 Tahoe

Member Topics

  • DaveK pointed out that in Notes you can organise your notes into folders and subfolders. We also found that there’s an option to enable notes stored on your Mac (alongside notes in iCloud) in Notes settings on the Mac.
  • DaveK demonstrated the categories feature introduced in Mail in iOS 18.2.
  • DaveK mentioned pkl, an Apple-supported project for developers to generate configuration files.
  • DaveK also talked about the viral AI band Velvet Sundown.
  • Ben mentioned how useful the automatic voice mail transcription is in the Phone app.
  • Denesh recommended Murderbot on Apple TV+.
  • We talked about the annoyance of the ad implementation on YouTube and other online streaming services. uBlock Origin with Firefox was suggested as an effective ad blocker. uBlock Origin is also available for Chrome and some other browsers but not recent versions of Safari.
]]> <p>At this meeting, held on 11th July, we talked more about the new features in the version 26 operating systems coming later this year including the smaller improvements which have been spotted in the betas. Members also brought up several other topics.</p> WWDC 2025 http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/06/13/WWDC-2025/ 2025-06-13T21:07:29.000Z 2025-07-12T07:00:24.388Z At this meeting, held on 13th June, We discussed Apple’s WWDC announcements including the new Liquid Glass design language coming to all Apple’s platforms. Members also brought up several other topics.

WWDC 2025

We talked about some of Apple’s many announcements from the 2025 World Wide Developer’s Conference. Some the highlights included:

  • The new Liquid Glass design language unifying the look of all Apple’s platforms for the first time.
  • OS version numbers being standardised on the coming year, so all the new OSes will be version 26.
  • Live translation in Messages, FaceTime and Phone.
  • New Phone features including call screening and hold assist.
  • Major changes to iPad OS including windowing, menus and a pointer.
  • A revamped Files app and Preview coming to iPad for the first time.
  • macOS Tahoe 26 will be the last to support Intel Macs.
  • Improvements to Spotlight on Mac including intelligent file and app suggestions, quick keys and clipboard history.
  • Customise folder colours and identify with icons and emoji.

DaveK showed us the new Icon Composer which allows developers to create liquid glass icons for their apps. Apple have an interesting WWDC video about the new icon designs.

Apple also have the full WWDC presentation on their site and also a comprehensive section highlighting the new features and changes.

Member Topics

]]> <p>At this meeting, held on 13th June, We discussed Apple’s WWDC announcements including the new Liquid Glass design language coming to all Apple’s platforms. Members also brought up several other topics.</p> Text to Speech http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/05/16/Text-to-Speech/ 2025-05-16T21:07:03.000Z 2025-05-17T07:10:54.503Z At this meeting, held on 16th May, Robert talked about text to speech options on the Mac. Members also brought up several other topics.

Text to Speech

Robert talked about various options for reading text such as notes, documents and books aloud on the Mac. This included:

Member Topics

]]> <p>At this meeting, held on 16th May, Robert talked about text to speech options on the Mac. Members also brought up several other topics.</p> Fancy Folders and Product Hunt http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/04/18/Fancy-Folders-and-Product-Hunt/ 2025-04-18T21:10:00.000Z 2025-04-20T08:04:39.676Z At this meeting, held on 18th April, we looked at the app discovery website Product Hunt and customising folder icons on Mac with FancyFolders. Members raised a number of interesting topics.

Product Hunt

DaveK introduced us to Product Hunt, a website for sharing and discovering new products. Developers can post about their apps and other tech products, the site lists new products each day and members can comment and upvote those that interest them. Top products of the previous day, week and month are highlighted.

DaveK will be launching his photo privacy app Discretion on Product Hunt on Sunday 20th April.

Fancy Folders

DaveK and Robert showed the free Mac app FancyFolders that can be used to quickly customise folder icons on the Mac with symbols and/or text. The folder icon colour can also be changed. DaveK has found that customising folders in this way makes it a lot easier to identify a specific folder when you have many in the same location.

DaveK found this app via an article by Justin Pot on Life Hacker.

The FancyFolders developer suggests using Apple’s SF Symbols library as a source of high quality symbols for folders that match Apple’s house style. These are a free download from Apple and come with an application help you view and find symbols.

Member Topics

  • Alan asked about copying Voice Memos he recorded on iphone to his Mac. We noted that if Voice Memos is enabled in iCloud settings on both devices the recordings should sync automatically. But if that’s not the case choosing the Share option for a recording allows it to be sent to another device via Air Drop, email, Messages or any of the other standard sharing options.
  • Ben asked about a Voice Memos recording on his iPhone that he’s unable to play within the app. We suggested sharing the recording to a Mac and then trying to open it in various applications that will play audio files. QuickTime Player, Garage Band, VLC and Audacity were all mentioned.
  • DaveK asked about hiding unwanted apps in the Mac app store so he no longer sees update requests for them (for example apps he’s tried but no longer uses). We found that apps can be hidden via the Account page (your name at the bottom left of the App Store window).
]]> <p>At this meeting, held on 18th April, we looked at the app discovery website Product Hunt and customising folder icons on Mac with FancyFolders. Members raised a number of interesting topics.</p> Procreate, Discretion and Apple Announcements http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/03/21/Procreate-Discretion-and-Apple-Announcements/ 2025-03-21T22:21:23.000Z 2025-03-22T07:52:16.238Z At this meeting, held on 21st March, DaveK showed us how he’s been using Procreate and previewed the next version of this photo privacy app Discretion. We talked about Apple’s recent hardware announcements and members also raised a number of interesting topics.

Procreate

DaveK showed us the digital illustration app Procreate on his iPad with Apple Pencil. He’s been finding the app useful for making hand written notes with the built-in brushes keeping handwriting and sketches smooth.

He walked us through the process of creating a sketch/blueprint style icon, based on a tutorial from Charlie Chapman.

Discretion

DaveK then went on to show us the new features he’s adding to Discretion, his photo privacy app.

  • Emoji keyboard access on iOS allows any system emoji to be selected to mask faces in the photo. This includes Memoji, stickers and Genmoji on supported devices.
  • A new Feature Roadmap allows users to see proposed features and vote on those they’d like to see added.

This new version is in development and will be released in the future.

Apple News

We discussed Apple’s recent hardware announcements:

  • Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips.
  • MacBook Air with M4.
  • iPad Air M3.
  • iPad with A16.

And other Apple new stories:

Member Topics

]]> <p>At this meeting, held on 21st March, DaveK showed us how he’s been using Procreate and previewed the next version of this photo privacy app Discretion. We talked about Apple’s recent hardware announcements and members also raised a number of interesting topics.</p> Maps, Pages and iPhone 16e http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/02/21/Pages-Tips-iPhone-16e-and-More/ 2025-02-21T22:16:56.000Z 2025-02-22T08:12:52.469Z At our 21st February meeting, DaveK showed us walking routes in Apple Maps and Robert demonstrated laying out items like tickets and cards in Pages on iPad. We also talked about recent Apple news including the iPhone 16e and members also raised a number of interesting topics.

Routes in Apple Maps

DaveK showed us the somewhat hidden feature of planning your own walking and hiking routes in Maps. He uses this to plan walking routes of a suitable length for his exercise goals.

Preparing Cards or Tickets in Pages in iPad

Robert demonstrated a method of laying out items that need to be duplicated for printing (link cards or tickets) in pages. He also showed how Freeform can be used to create the item to be printed. Using Freeform in this way had previously been suggested by DaveK, it provides a simplified user interface that can be easier than trying to layout the item in Pages.

Apple News

We discussed recent Apple-related news:

Member Topics

  • Sue asked about a warning that her iPhone had not been backed up. We advised her on how to manually trigger an iCloud backup.
  • Ben mentioned he’d noticed instances of the personal hotspot feature turning on without user intervention and suggested members check the setting on their iPhones. This article has some suggestions for potential causes of the hotspot being automatically enabled.
  • Ben had the game Fruit Ninja Classic and found that after a recent update it would not play without him creating an account. We couldn’t find confirmation of this change but the developer’s site does indicate that the game requires an Internet connection.
]]> <p>At our 21st February meeting, DaveK showed us walking routes in Apple Maps and Robert demonstrated laying out items like tickets and cards in Pages on iPad. We also talked about recent Apple news including the iPhone 16e and members also raised a number of interesting topics.</p> News, Tips and More http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/01/24/News-Tips-and-More/ 2025-01-24T22:04:47.000Z 2025-01-25T08:01:06.933Z At this meeting, held on 24th January, we talked about recent Apple news, Robert shared some tips and members raised a number of interesting topics.

Tips

Apple News

We discussed recent Apple-related news:

Member Topics

  • DaveK demonstrated his work on enhancements to his photo privacy app, Discretion.
  • We talked about potential snowy weather, DaveK and Robert found websites with histories of snowy winters in the UK: History of British Winters, UK Snowfall History.
  • Sue asked about creating and printing custom event tickets on her iPad. DaveK suggested that Freeform might be useful for designing a ticket before copying it to another app such as Pages for printing.
  • DaveK mentioned the recent death of director David Lynch.
  • DavidB had been watching Prime Target on Apple TV+.
  • Ben noted that he had seen the satellite icon on his iPhone when in an area of poor mobile signal. We noted that Apple have included a Satelite Connection Demo feature so you can get familiar with it before it’s needed in an emergency.
]]> <p>At this meeting, held on 24th January, we talked about recent Apple news, Robert shared some tips and members raised a number of interesting topics.</p> Tips, Genmoji & CES News http://seal-apple.co.uk/2025/01/10/Tips-Genmoji-CES/ 2025-01-10T22:08:44.000Z 2025-01-11T08:17:09.831Z Happy New Year from everyone at SEAL.

At our first meeting of the year, held on 10th January, Robert shared some tips concentrating on the Photos app, DaveK talked about Genmoji and we discussed Apple news including stories from the annual Consumer Electronics Show.

Tips

Genmoji

DaveK talked about using Genmoji as an app developer and demonstrated creating Genmoji. Mac Rumors have an interesting article exploring what you can and can’t make with Genmoji.

Apple News

We discussed recent Apple-related news including announcements from the Consumer Electronics Show:

And other Apple news:

Member Topics

  • Ben mentioned some problems logging into his BBC account in the iPlayer App on Apple TV. He was eventually able to resolve this by re-adding his account to the App.
  • DavidB had been watching 2022 documentary “The Elon Musk Show“ on BBC iPlayer
  • Ben and DavidB mentioned using the WiFi Calling feature (enabled in iOS Mobile Service settings) to make calls when there is no (or only very weak) mobile signal but WiFi is available.
]]> <p>Happy New Year from everyone at SEAL.</p> <p>At our first meeting of the year, held on 10th January, Robert shared some tips concentrating on the Photos app, DaveK talked about Genmoji and we discussed Apple news including stories from the annual Consumer Electronics Show.</p> 2024 Christmas Quiz http://seal-apple.co.uk/2024/12/13/2024-Christmas-Quiz/ 2024-12-13T22:07:26.000Z 2024-12-14T08:56:10.981Z At our last meeting of the year we held the customary Apple quiz, took a first look at some of the Apple Intelligence features and talked about recent Apple news.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at SEAL!

Quiz

Robert had prepared a quiz with questions covering Apple history, trivia and new features of recent products. Congratulations to DavidB for winning this year!

Some (potentially) interesting triva from the quiz:

Apple Intelligence

DaveK gave us an improptu demo of some Apple Intelligence features that have just become available in the UK:

Apple News

We discussed recent Apple news including:

Member Topics

]]> <p>At our last meeting of the year we held the customary Apple quiz, took a first look at some of the Apple Intelligence features and talked about recent Apple news.</p> <p>Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at SEAL!</p> Tips and Topics http://seal-apple.co.uk/2024/11/22/Tips-and-Topics/ 2024-11-22T22:15:49.000Z 2024-11-23T11:38:02.355Z At this meeting, held on the 22nd of November we talked about a number of topics raised by members and shared some interesting tips and discoveries.

Tips & Topics

  • DaveK had noticed that in iOS 18 pressing the power or volume buttons causes a visual indent along the screen edge.
  • DaveK mentioned a discussion of future AI based Siri enhancements on a recent episode of the MacOS Ken podcast.
  • Robert mentioned buying postage online via Royal Mail and their parcel collection service.
  • DavidB was able to compare health readings from his Apple Watch with calibrated professional equipment and found the readings he was tracking at the time closely matched. Always best to seek professional medical advice if you get an Apple watch health warning.
  • DavidB recommended Lessons in Chemistry, Silo and Bad Sisters all on Apple TV+.
  • Ben had noticed “speak” options appearing when he tried to copy a password from the Passwords app on iOS. We found that this was being caused by the “Speak selection” option being switched on in the “Spoken content” section of Accessibility settings.
  • Robert mentioned the “Minimise windows into application icon” setting in System Settings/Desktop & Dock on Mac. This prevents minimised windows from being added to the right of the Dock.
  • DaveK added that you can trigger App Exposé (which shows all app windows) from the app icon using a force click on a trackpad. We looked into this and found there are lots of other additional actions available with force touch.
  • iOS 18 highlights if you’re using a slow USB or wireless charger.
  • We talked about iPad battery health and found that a battery health percentage is only available on the very latest 2024 models. Toms Guide have a pretty complex and technical procedure for finding this information on older iPads.
  • Mac battery charging was also mentioned, we found this Apple support document about optimised battery charging on Mac.
  • DaveK had been using the Bluesky social media platform and we mentioned their starter pack feature that allows you to quickly follow accounts related to a specific topic.
  • DaveK asked about the transparent border feature of the iPhone camera app. Ben noted that this can be turned off in settings (it’s called “View outside the frame”) if you do not like it.
]]> <p>At this meeting, held on the 22nd of November we talked about a number of topics raised by members and shared some interesting tips and discoveries.</p> M4 Macs http://seal-apple.co.uk/2024/11/08/M4-Macs/ 2024-11-08T22:04:30.000Z 2024-11-09T08:02:16.679Z At our 8th November meeting we talked about the recently announced M4 Macs, Apple news and members shared other topics.

M4 Macs

We talked about the recently announced M4 Macs:

Mac Rumors have an article visually comparing the new models.

The M4 chips have been posting some impressive performance results and Apple have released a video called No Sweat emphasising this.

We also discussed some other recent Apple news:

Member Topics

  • DaveK’s Mac and iOS photo privacy app Discretion has been reviewed on LifeHacker by Justin Pot.
  • DaveK asked about finding iPhone specifications, members recommended the free app MacTracker and the website EveryMac.
  • DaveK mentioned the the website Just Build Things which has a large number of free tools available including AI chat, writing and image generation. Open the menu at the left of the site to see the extensive list.
  • Ben mentioned Adobe Express, a content creation tool with AI features.
  • Ben had an issue with FaceID not working in iOS 18.1 which he was able to resolve by restarting his iPhone.
  • DavidB and Ben talked about their experiences with phone call recording and live voicemail in iOS 18.
  • DavidB showed us a video he created in DaVinci Resolve.
]]> <p>At our 8th November meeting we talked about the recently announced M4 Macs, Apple news and members shared other topics.</p>