Ed Hardy - page 5

You’re at a party and your friend takes a great picture. You ask them to AirDrop you a copy and the two iPhones won’t connect. So frustrating … what the %^#* is wrong? Why can’t you share iPhone photos the way you used to? You probably just need to tweak a setting to turn on AirDrop’s capability to work with any iPhone.

You see, Apple changed the way AirDrop works in iOS 16. If you haven’t updated your AirDrop settings, it might not work the way you want. Here’s how to set the easy wireless file-transfer system so you can get that picture from your friend.

Apple’s music recognition service Shazam surpassed 100 billion song recognitions since it launched in 2002. A person would need to use it on their iPhone, iPad or Mac to identify a song every second for 3,168 years to reach that number.

“This monumental milestone not only reflects how much people enjoy using Shazam, but also their appetite for new music,” said Oliver Schusser, VP of Apple Music and Beats. “Music discovery is at the core of everything we do, and we keep innovating to make sure music lovers around the world can tap the Shazam button no matter where they hear music playing!”

In a surprise move, the M4 Mac mini includes a removable, swappable SSD. Apple really should give customers the option to buy high-capacity versions of these as storage upgrades for the tiny desktop. It would be a win for both the Mac-maker and its customers.

The option would be welcome addition even if the SSDs only came from Apple at fairly high prices.

Apple released iOS 18.1.1, iPadOS 18.1.1, macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 and visionOS 2.1.1 on Tuesday. The updates deal with serious security threats that bad actors apparently already exploited on older Macs.

Apple recommends the updates for all users.

The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly hoping to require Google to sell Chrome, the world’s most popular web browser — it’s even preferred by a majority of Mac users.

And this is just one of the possible consequences of a federal judge ruling this autumn that Google is a monopolist.

Getting a bit bored with the podcasts you subscribe to? One of the best ways to discover new ones is by finding out what other people are listening to. Apple made that easy on Tuesday by tabulating the most popular podcasts of 2024.

There are charts localized for listeners in nearly 100 countries and regions.

Anyone considering the newly launched Mac mini and iMac with the speedy M4 processor needs to watch our video reviews of these new desktops. We talk design and performance… just what you need to know to make a buying decision.

As a bonus, don’t overlook our video review of Apple’s USB-C Magic Trackpad, keyboard and mouse.

Watch them now:

The M4 Mac mini is so tiny that taking it on trips isn’t an unreasonable idea. With the right accessories, you might not need a MacBook. Seriously.

Here’s the gear needed to turn Apple’s diminutive desktop into a portable computer for your next holiday or even business trip.

The Apple TV+ dramedy Shrinking stayed among the top 10 most popular streaming series for another week, according to two ratings companies. And the sexy drama Disclaimer continues to pull in a large audience, too.

Both have been among the most-watched series on streaming since they debuted.

The OtterBox Statement Series Studio case for iPad Pro or iPad Air finds a brilliant balance of protection and portability. It’s slim and relatively lightweight, but wraps completely around the tablet to save it from disaster. And there’s a built-in adjustable kickstand and Apple Pencil holder, too.

I tested it with my M4 iPad Pro, and haven’t found a wraparound folio case I like better. Here’s why:

The latest MacBook Pro screen reportedly includes a quantum dot film. Apple previously eschewed this tech for close to a decade because it used a toxic element, but the company found an alternative.

The result is a better-looking display in the new macOS notebook.

The list of additions to the official collection of emoji we can use in text message includes an orca, a trombone an Apple core and, wait, is that Bigfoot?!

The industry group responsible for choosing new emoji proposed nine major additions and dozens of tweaks for the next update. If approved, they will come to iPhone, Mac and iPad, as well as Androids, PCs and many social media applications.

The Gemini application for iPhone that launched Thursday gives users direct access to Google’s AI-powered virtual assistant.

Have a conversation, get advice or generate images with the app.

The fourth and final season of the madcap workplace comedy Mythic Quest just got a premiere date. Ian, Poppy, David and the rest return to Apple TV+ on January 29.

But that’s not the end. The spinoff Side Quest launches in March.

The UK consumer-advocacy group Which? accused Apple of forcing iPhone and iPad owners to use iCloud, and then overcharging them for the service.

It’s asking for a hefty £3 billion ($3.8 billion) in compensation. That’s about £70 per consumer.

The updated version of Capcom’s classic Resident Evil 2 horror game launches on recent iPhone, iPad and Mac computers in under a month.

It’s the latest in the long-running series to hit Apple devices.

Trying to decide which Apple tablet is right for you? Knowing which is the most popular might help. And there’s no doubt which one earns the top spot: iPad Pro.

You can probably guess the second most purchased iPadOS model.

Apple is reportedly developing a “command center” for smart homes. It’ll supposedly be an inexpensive, wall-mounted, tablet-like computer used to control smart devices and make video calls. The device also would serve as an access point for the upcoming AI-powered Siri.

This is not much like anything the company offers now, though it does mix in some of the features of an iPad and a HomePod.

There’s no direct way to update your AirPods firmware. When Apple updates the software for the wireless earbuds — as it did recently for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 — it happens automatically, in the background. However, there is a way to speed up the AirPods update process. Plus, it’s a good idea to manually check you’re running the latest version, which brings bug fixes and sometimes great new features.

Apple released firmware update 7B21 for AirPods Pro 2 and 7B20 for AirPods 4 — simple “bug fix” updates. You can get more details, and find all current AirPods firmware versions below, along with tips for getting the AirPods update as quickly as possible

Here’s how to check if your AirPods are running the latest firmware on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Plus what to do if they aren’t, and what you can do to force AirPods’ firmware to update.

The Aukey MagFusion GameFrost Wireless Charger cools your iPhone or Android while it juices up, preventing the heat that often results from charging from damaging the battery.

I put the accessory through its paces to see how quickly it charges an iPhone 16, and how well it cools the handset.

Share Item Location lets AirTag users securely share the location of their tracking tag with an airline. The goal is to help find and recover lost luggage.

“The Find My network and AirTag have proven to be a powerful combination for users while traveling, providing invaluable location information when bags have been misplaced or mishandled,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, in a press release Monday. “With Share Item Location, we’re excited to give users a new way to easily share this information directly with third parties like airlines, all while protecting their privacy.”

Anyone getting real work done on an iPad might need to add a font to their word processor or image creation app. The process is more complicated than it should be, but you can bring the huge numbers of fonts available for Mac or Windows to your tablet, too … if you know how.

I’ll walk you step-by-step through the installation.

Twelve South introduced PlugBug Travel, a version of its USB-C wall charger with six power adapters so it can be used around the world. Taking it internationally makes its support for Apple’s Find My technology even more useful.

There are versions with two ports and four ports with outputs appropriate for iPhone and/or MacBook.

Anyone hoping to hack into an iPhone now finds it more difficult thanks to a change in iOS 18.1. Whether this is police, foreign espionage agents or criminal hackers, there’s now much less time to crack the security on Apple handsets because of a simple trick.

It’s another example of Apple being serious about protecting user privacy.

The SSD in the newly launched M4 Mac mini can be removed, but that doesn’t automatically mean it’s upgradable. At this point, it’s unlikely there’ll be an option to drop additional storage to the Mac mini.

Here’s why.

UPDATE: Further testing of the M4 Mac mini finds that the storage SSD can be swapped, unlike Mac Studio. But that still doesn’t mean upgrades are possible at this point.