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
- Be aware of a recent phishing scam that targets iMessage users prompting them to bypass Apple’s link protection.
- iOS 18.2 includes the option to re-enable the volume slider in the now playing widget on the lock screen.
- In macOS 15.2 the current weather can be added to the menu bar.
- RCS messaging between iPhone and Android is now available with Tesco Mobile users.
Apple News
We discussed recent Apple-related news:
- Apple’s LaserWriter printer turns 40 and the Mac mini is 20. DavidB mentioned that the famous 1984 Apple commercial was first shown 41 years ago.
- Samsung unveils a VR/AR headset that looks very similar to the Apple Vision Pro.
- macOS 15.3 and iOS 18.3 will enable Apple Intelligence automatically.
- macOS 15.3 release notes.
- A data breach at broker Gravy Analytics highlights the importance of managing app permissions.
- Benq releases monitors aimed at Mac users.
- Third party M4 Mac mini storage upgrades start shipping.
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.