Macworld May 2019

Following news of new iPads, Apple revealed upgrades for its iMac lineup, featuring eighth-generation Intel Core processors in the standard configurations, with the option to upgrade to a ninth-generation processor. The price points of the standard configuration models remain unchanged. Apple is currently taking orders from the new iMac, but it won’t ship or be available in the Apple Store until next week. 21.5-INCH iMAC Apple has three standard configurations of the 21.5-inch iMac, and Apple is changing two of the three configurations. The $1,099 iMac stays the same, with a seventh-generation 2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of memory, a 1TB hard drive, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640, and a 1920x1080 display. The new $1,299 iMac features an eighth-generation 3.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i3 processor, 8GB of memory, a 1TB hard drive, 2GB…

The current iMac design is positively ancient, by computer design standards. The 27-inch Retina iMac, with its slim design and 5K resolution, was launched in the fall of 2014. It was really only a small tweak on the existing “slim unibody” iMac that dates back to 2012, itself only a thinner version of the unibody iMac design that goes back to 2009. The basic look and physical features of the iMac have barely changed in a decade. It’s a testament to the elegance of the design that it’s still desirable after all that time, but it’s well past time for a change. Recently, Apple updated the iMac line (see page 7) with new internal hardware, but the design and features remain fundamentally unchanged. We can’t tell you what a new…

Did Google just save Mac gaming? The Mountain View company never mentioned Apple during the reveal of its Stadia game streaming service at the Game Developers Conference, but Stadia sounds all but tailor-made for Mac users. A service that lets you stream games from a remote server straight to your browser! The ability to play the latest games without needing to invest in fancy eGPUs, graphics cards, and yes—even PCs! Even in 2019, so much of this still sounds like science fiction. I love my Mac, but necessity compels me to keep a massive PC running at home so I can play graphically intensive games like The Division 2 or Devil May Cry 5 when they release. As we all know, many of these games never come to the Mac at…

We’re teetering on the edge of an embarrassment of Apple riches. The company recently officially announced the dates of the 2019 Worldwide Developers Conference, and many eyes are already fixed on that point, which will be here in early June. Apple’s March event, which saw announcements about multiple Apple services like Apple News+, enhancements to Apple Pay, Apple Arcade, and Apple TV+, will almost certainly pale in comparison to WWDC, which is probably the most significant event in Apple’s calendar. Yes, the September launch of new iPhones and attendant devices may get more attention, but WWDC is where the company sets its agenda for the year—or years—to come. Though WWDC is still a month away, it’s never too early to start thinking about where Apple may be looking to focus…

As one of the world’s richest and most admired companies, we expect a lot from Apple. We expect big-thinking innovation and cutting-edge design. Perhaps it is because the company does so many things very well that it stings even more when it drops the ball on something simple. Everyone seems to agree that Siri needs to improve, or that MacBooks should have a totally new and better keyboard. But those are big design and engineering efforts that are not going to happen overnight. Here are a few things Apple could do with minimal effort. Some could happen immediately, others might start with the introduction of the next product in its line, but none would require serious engineering efforts or investment. While some of these ideas may cost Apple a few…

HDR is a specialized form of photography designed to expose details in both the highlights and shadows of a scene by merging multiple versions of the same image shot at different exposures. It’s hard to do HDR right without overdoing it, especially if your aim is a photorealistic image. The brain sees what the camera sensor cannot capture, and HDR techniques compensate by creating the image you saw in your mind’s eye. The 2019 version of Aurora HDR features a new Quantum HDR engine with artificial intelligence–based tone mapping technology. This facilitates more efficient photo merging to produce natural results that don’t look contrived—unless you want them to. A New Smart HDR Structure feature delivers more precise details and realistic sharpness without artifacts, noise, or halos. The software runs as a…