There’s never been a better time to be an Apple user. Whether it’s your iPhone or iPad, Mac or Apple TV, Apple hardware and software is smarter, more useful and easier to use than ever – and it’s all about making you the centre of your Apple universe. From tiny tweaks to enormous improvements, the latest versions of macOS, iOS and iPadOS are packed with features to make life simpler. And the good news is that the good stuff keeps on coming; we’re on the brink of brand new operating systems for Mac, iPhone and iPad that will have even more improvements.
In this feature we’ll discover the features, shortcuts and tweaks that’ll save you tons of time and endless amounts of effort across all your Apple kit: from Mission Control in Monterey to Safari Extensions in iPadOS, these tried and tested time-saving tips will make every day easier.
Desktop makeovers
1 Control notifications
System Preferences > Notifications (macOS 10.15, Catalina) or Notifications & Focus (macOS 12, Monterey) gives you lots of control over which apps can notify you and how they can do it, enabling you to get the updates you want without your Mac constantly telling you about unimportant things.
2 Change the Dock
≈-click on an empty bit of the Dock and you can change its size, its magnification level and its position on the screen. You can also decide whether it should hide away when it isn’t in use so that there’s more screen space for the app you’re currently using.
3 Find Focus (Monterey)
Monterey’s Focus modes enable you to set different kinds of notification preferences for different times or tasks. For example, you might have one for work, one for personal time and another for lunchtime. It’s easy to create and edit modes in System Prefs > Notifications & Focus.
4 Get stacking
If, like us, your Mac Desktop is often where you dump stuff, ≈-clicking on it and selecting Use Stacks will make your Mac life a whole lot neater. This feature organises items into appropriate stacks, such as images and PDF documents. It makes things tidy and faster to find.
5 Do more Desktops
Use the Mission Control key on your Mac keyboard to create and switch between multiple virtual desktops. This is a great option for studying or working; you can have all the key apps in one desktop and pesky temptations, such as social media apps, in another.
6 Add your iPad
From Catalina onwards, Sidecar enables you to use a compatible iPad as a second screen. Go to the Window menu and you should see a Move To section listing the available iPad(s). Cick on the iPad and the app will move to it. Both devices need to be on the same network with the same Apple ID.
Start up faster!
1 Speed up startup
Your Mac may have unwanted programs or program helpers that load every time you or others log in, slowing down your startup and adding to your Mac’s workload. You can see them and remove them in System Preferences > Users > Login Items.
2 Start your Mac automatically
You can get your Mac to start up or wake up at a specific time. Go into System Preferences > Energy Saver > Schedule and you can create a schedule that applies to every day or even specify certain days.
3 Unlock with your Watch
If your Apple Watch is passcode protected, you can use it to automatically unlock your Mac when you get close to it. To enable this, go into System Preferences > Security & Privacy > ‘Use Your Apple Watch to unlock apps and your Mac’.
Finder, faster
Get what you need
