Apple is expected to redesign multitasking on iPadOS 16, improving the tablet experience to make it more akin to a laptop running macOS or Windows.
That’s according to Bloomberg’s usually reliable Mark Gurman, who says the updated tablet OS will introduce aspects of multitasking to match the Mac, including floating, windowed apps.
Gurman said the “significant changes” will make it easier for users to view currently open apps and quickly switch between apps. Apparently there is also an option to resize the application window.
greater flexibility
Currently, iPadOS allows you to multitask using a split-screen view called Split View or a rigid floating app view called Slide Over. While these jobs are pretty good, Apple seems to want to go further.
Not only does the iPad have more screen real estate than the iPhone (iPadOS was split from iOS in 2019), but the latest and most expensive models also run the same M1 chip that’s inside the Mac. These tablets are already more like laptops than phones.
At Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple CEO Tim Cook is expected to announce changes to new versions of iOS, tvOS, watchOS and macOS and everything we mentioned in iPadOS.
What is a computer?
Apple’s pitching of the iPad as a laptop replacement isn’t new — you’ve probably seen its “What’s a computer?” ad — but it’s now looking to take it a step further, positioning its tablet as something you can take anywhere mature computer.
iPad devices are lightweight, portable, fast, and have a huge selection of accessories. Not only that, but they also feature something Macs and MacBooks don’t: touchscreens. Add top-notch interiors and there’s a lot of potential here.
However, power users are disappointed by some of the limitations of the iPad in its current form – it’s not ready to do everything a laptop can, and iPadOS 16 may change that. Being able to switch between app and location windows like on macOS would certainly help.
Sudden and frequent Mac restarts, especially those accompanied by on-screen warnings, are known as kernel panics. This is the Microsoft equivalent of the Blue Screen of Death, and you’ll often see the “Your computer restarted because something went wrong” error when your machine restarts.
Many things can cause a kernel panic. It may indicate a hardware problem, such as RAM or CPU. Unreliable peripherals you connect to your Mac could also cause a kernel panic, or it could just be a case of running out of disk space. Kernel panics happen occasionally, but if you don’t encounter them often, you shouldn’t worry too much about it.
If your Mac experiences frequent kernel crashes, try the following possible fixes:
1. Remove any peripherals that may be causing the problem.
For example, if the panic only happens when your webcam is plugged in, run your machine without it for a week and see how it goes.
2. Check if you have enough free space.
If you need more space, you can delete files to create more
3. Run memtest86 to test your Mac’s memory.
You need to create a bootable USB flash drive and test your computer’s memory outside of the macOS environment. If you notice any problems with the RAM, you can try to replace it if possible.
To do this, hold down the D key while starting up your Mac and see if any hardware issues are detected.
5. Boot into Safe Mode.
Hold down the Shift key as the system starts to boot into Safe Mode. See if the problem still exists. Safe Mode excludes any third-party kernel extensions that might cause problems. It will also scan your volume for errors and fix anything it finds.
6. Reinstall macOS from scratch.
This is the nuclear option, but it may clear any software that is causing the problem.
battery life drops
Batteries don’t last forever. They all show signs of aging over time. Power issues can also indicate a problem with the System Management Controller (SMC). This chip in Intel-based Macs is responsible for low-level operations, including charging LED behavior and fan control.
If you notice battery issues, try the following possible fixes:
1. Check the health of the battery.
The most common cause of poor battery life is poor battery condition. Fortunately, macOS can tell you exactly the condition of your battery, how many charge and discharge cycles it has gone through, and whether it needs to be replaced.
2. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC).
If the battery is in good condition, resetting the SMC may resolve some power-related issues, such as a Mac that won’t charge.
This is a good idea if you frequently use your Mac for extended periods of time without mains power.
4. Adjust your habits when using battery power.
Launch Activity Monitor and click the Energy tab to see which apps are using your battery. Perform tasks like video and photo editing only when your Mac is plugged in. Use Safari to browse the web – it’s more efficient than Chrome or Firefox.
Apple sells the world’s most popular smartwatch, but it’s not a standalone product. If you don’t have an iPhone, you might be wondering what you can do with an Apple Watch, or if you can use an Apple Watch.
You can’t set up an Apple Watch without using an iPhone. The Watch must be paired with the iPhone to link the Apple ID. You cannot use an iPad to complete this process; it must be an iPhone 6s or later running at least iOS 15.
You can’t use an Android device to set up your Apple Watch. The Watch is designed to be a companion device to most of the features of the iPhone. This is especially true of Wi-Fi models, although Apple also sells an Apple Watch with cellular connectivity that operates more like a standalone device.
After you set up your Apple Watch with cellular, you can do many things you normally do with your iPhone, such as receive text messages, answer phone calls, and access features that rely on the Internet. If you use your cellular Apple Watch away from your iPhone for extended periods of time, you’re unlikely to get a full day of battery life.
Things you can do without an iPhone
There are some features that don’t depend on the iPhone, especially those related to health and exercise. Your steps and active calories are counted when you wear your Apple Watch, which means you can fill your Move, Exercise and Stand rings with or without your iPhone.
Your watch will continue to track and record your heartbeat, and you can measure your heart rate with the Heart app or perform an echocardiogram with the ECG app. You can use your watch’s alarms and timers, or play music already stored on your watch. If you sleep on your watch, your wearable will continue to monitor sleep quality.
You can also pay for items with Apple Pay or with a card in Apple Wallet that is already available on your Watch. Apps like Voice Memos, Photos, Calendar, and Noise will continue to work as expected.
Don’t buy an Apple Watch unless you have an iPhone
If you don’t have an iPhone, the Apple Watch might not be for you. Even if you’re using another family member’s iPhone to set up the device, it’s still not ideal because the Watch is designed to work with your own personal Apple ID and device.
Apple packs its iPhone and iPad with a bunch of neat hidden features, and it seems like every iOS (or iPadOS) update adds more. The latest update, the 15.5 update, brings new privacy features and tweaks to Apple Cash. Also, iOS 16 may soon roll out more upgrades. The follow-up version of iOS 15 is expected to debut at WWDC, Apple’s annual developer conference in June, but it will likely be in beta until the fall.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of iPhone and iPad features to try out, from SharePlay to Focus. While many hidden features can be found in the iPhone’s settings, other iOS tricks are built right into the interface — like the keyboard’s secret trackpad.
When editing text, you may hold your finger on the screen and move the cursor around all letters, numbers, and punctuation marks to get where you want. The magnifying bubble provides some help by enlarging the text under your finger, but there’s another way to move the cursor that’s easier to use than the traditional way. So how do you bring up the secret trackpad on your iPhone or iPad?
Here’s how to discover hidden trackpads on iOS devices.
1. Anywhere you have written a piece of text, bring up the keyboard and hold down the space bar until the keyboard is blank. You should feel a little haptic feedback and see the cursor zoom in for a second, which means you can now use the keyboard as a trackpad.
2. With your finger still down, move it across the keyboard to move the cursor, just like you would on a Mac’s trackpad.
3. To place the cursor, simply remove your finger from the screen. You can then make any edits to the text using any other key (e.g. Delete). If you want to move the cursor again, press your finger on the space bar to bring up the hidden trackpad.
The last thing you want is a hard drive with little or no storage space. A nearly full hard drive can negatively affect your entire computer, which will inevitably slow it down and cause your applications to crash more frequently. The only fix is to clean the drive and delete the large files that are taking up the most space, and Windows 11 makes it easy to get rid of unwanted files.
Instead of downloading third-party software to free up disk space, Windows 11 can configure some settings to quickly delete temporary and system files and old downloads. If you’re worried about deleting important files, don’t worry. Windows 11 will help you decide which files to delete to improve your PC’s performance.
On a Windows 11 computer, go to Settings -> System -> Storage. If this is your first time accessing this setting, please wait a few seconds for your computer to analyze your data storage. Once Windows has gathered what it needs to know, you can see your total free memory at the top of the page. Below it, you’ll see a breakdown of storage, divided into Apps & Features, Temporary Files, and Others. You can also click Show more categories to see further breakdowns.
However, the setting we’re interested in is Storage Sense, which automatically frees up space on your computer when you’re running low on disk space. It does this by deleting temporary files, emptying the recycle bin, and getting rid of old downloads in the background without you having to do it manually.
To turn on Storage Sense, just turn it on here. If you click Settings, you can configure several functions:
1. Run Storage Sense: Run Storage Sense when disk space is low (default) or on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
2. Delete files from My Recycle Bin if they have existed for more than 1 day, 14 days, 30 days (default) or 60 days.
3. Delete files in My Downloads folder if they haven’t been opened for more than the following time: select Never (default), 1 day, 14 days, 30 days, or 60 days.
These Storage Sense settings can help you limit which files are deleted and when, so you don’t have to worry about any important files getting wiped from your computer.
At the bottom of the page, you can click Run Storage Sense Now to use the feature.
If you want to delete more files to free up space, use the cleaning suggestions below Storage Sense. If you click it, it will scan your system and recommend files you manually delete, such as temporary files, large or unused files, files synced with your cloud, and unused applications.
You should have an odd question – your smartphone seems to be charging relatively quickly until it’s about 80% charged? It takes longer to reach 100%, why? This is due to the way your device handles lithium batteries.
Lithium batteries have three charging stages, each designed to protect the battery in its most vulnerable state. these are:
1. Constant current precharge, also known as “trickle charge”
2. Constant current regulation mode
3. Constant voltage regulation mode
precharge
The first stage applies when the battery is depleted or when the battery voltage is below 3.0 V. The battery must be reactivated slowly to prevent problems caused by the battery being left in a discharged state for extended periods of time. A battery’s passivation layer is a protective layer that forms as part of a normal chemical reaction and may need to recover, and low-voltage trickle charging allows this to happen.
This pre-charge phase typically takes place around 10% of the maximum charging speed. This explains the delay in powering a fully discharged smartphone. For example, a depleted iPhone will often display a depleted battery symbol for a few minutes before reaching the necessary voltage for normal startup.
During the precharge phase, the current remains constant (but at a lower rate than in the next charge phase), while the voltage gradually increases.
Constant current charging
Once the battery reaches 3.0 V, your phone will start charging gradually faster. During this phase of charging, the current is set to a constant high rate, while the voltage is increased over time. This is the amount of time your device will charge at its fastest speed, as well as using any available fast charge modes.
This phase charges the battery to approximately 80% of capacity in the shortest time battery safety allows.
Constant voltage charging
Once the battery reaches about 80% charge, charging switches to constant voltage regulation mode. At this point, the voltage is held constant to keep the battery at maximum state of charge, while the current is slowly reduced. This prevents overcharging and avoids damaging the battery. This also means that as the charge level approaches 100%, the charging speed will slow down.
The current will continue to drop until the battery is charged to near capacity, at which point charging will stop completely. At this point, you’d better take your smartphone out of the charger.
If you leave the phone connected, the battery will discharge slightly until it reaches around 3.9 to 4 V, at which point the top-up charge will take place. The device will continue to discharge and charge as long as you connect it to the charger.
How does this affect fast charging?
You may have noticed that some smartphone manufacturers advertise that fast charging can charge your device to “50%” or “80%” in a short amount of time. This is because fast charging is conditional. If your battery is already high, fast charging is unlikely to provide much improvement.
Fast charging can only be used during constant current regulation of charging. Once you reach constant voltage regulation mode or the battery capacity is around 80% or higher, safeguards are in place to protect the battery from damage.
Overcharging the battery is a bad idea. At best it can cause damage, affecting the battery’s ability to stay charged, but at worst it can cause the battery to gradually heat up, causing bodily harm. Fortunately, modern smartphones manage the charging process for you to prevent this from happening.
Lithium batteries are not susceptible to the dreaded “memory” effect that old rechargeable batteries suffer from, where they “forget” their charge capacity unless fully discharged first. Lithium batteries are not foolproof, and they do lose capacity with each charge cycle over time.
The charge cycle is not just from 0% to 100%, but represents the cumulative wear and tear of the battery. For example, charging from 50% to 100% on two consecutive days uses a full charge cycle. Some smartphone makers have taken steps to avoid premature battery aging through a feature called optimized charging.
Optimize charging work by charging your device to 80% and waiting. By learning about your habits and routines, the device will be in the final stages of charging to coincide with when you’re most likely to remove the charger, such as when you wake up in the morning.
Is your computer dying too fast? If you’re using Windows 11, there are some tips and tricks, like preventing apps from constantly refreshing in the background or reducing the lock screen timeout, which can help extend your PC’s battery life. Here’s what you need to know!
Prevent apps from refreshing in the background
Apps on your computer run in the background and continue to work even when you’re not actively using them. For example, they can send you notifications when you receive text messages, emails or comments on social media. However, you don’t always need to refresh apps, especially when the battery is low, which is why you can stop them from doing so:
1. Open the Settings app and go to System.
2. Click Power & Battery.
3. Click on now under battery (you must unplug it).
When enabled, certain notifications and background activities will be suspended to help preserve battery life.
There are also some settings you can use to improve battery saver: you can change the battery percentage when battery saver is enabled, and reduce screen brightness when battery saver is in use.
Decrease the refresh rate of the monitor
The refresh rate is how often the image on the screen is refreshed per second: the higher the refresh rate, the smoother the action on the screen. Unfortunately for your battery, a higher refresh rate also means more power. If you don’t need a high refresh rate, you can lower it to help save battery:
1. Open the Settings app and click System.
2. Next, go to Display, then Advanced Display.
3. Finally, change the number displayed next to “Choose a refresh rate.”
Depending on your laptop or desktop, you may see different default refresh rate numbers. If you only have one refresh rate option, unfortunately you can’t lower it.
Also, it’s important to note that if you lower the refresh rate, it will affect your computer’s performance. In some cases, this can make it more difficult to perform routine tasks.
Use a dark background or theme
If your Windows 11 computer has an OLED display, it can take advantage of dark backgrounds or themes to help extend battery life. Unlike older LCD/LED displays, each pixel on an OLED display emits light individually, which means if the background is black, those pixels won’t light up and use battery.
1. Open the Settings app and click Personalize.
2. At the top of the page, select a dark theme.
There are some dark themes to choose from. Each of them dims your background and all the windows and certain apps you can use in Windows 11.
If you already have a personalized dark background, you can go to Settings > Personalization > Colors > choose your mode and choose Dark from the options that appear.
Decrease lock screen timeout
The longer the screen is on, the more energy it uses, which is why you might want to quickly turn it off when you’re away from your computer, whether it’s a few minutes or an hour.
Below Power, you’ll find settings for turning off the display after a certain amount of inactivity. You can change the minutes from whatever default you have to a lower number. However, you should only change the battery power settings for the times when you need to save battery the most.
Android 13 beta is currently in its second iteration, and if you want to test some unreleased features and settings, you can do so right now.
The process of installing the developer preview isn’t too difficult, but it’s not easy either. It involves unlocking developer options, downloading fairly large files, factory resetting the device, and more. Fortunately, downloading and installing the new Android 13 beta is much simpler.
The final version of Android 13 will eventually be the easiest way to get it, but it’s still months away. If you really want to get an early look at what’s to come — as long as you have a supported Android device, like a Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro — you can start testing Android 13 Beta 2 right away.
While the Android 13 beta is more polished than the Android 13 developer preview, you should still expect bugs that might make your phone harder to use with this release. If you’re willing to deal with these issues, or if your device is a backup of your everyday phone, you can download the Android 13 beta. Also, make sure to back up your device before downloading the Android 13 beta, in case something goes wrong or you decide to quit the program later.
Which Android devices are compatible with the Android 13 beta?
Currently, only some Pixel smartphones support Android 13:
How to download the Android 13 beta on your supported device
The easiest way to download the Android 13 beta on your phone is to go to the Android Beta for Pixel page on your computer, check if your device is supported, and sign up for the Android 13 program.
Under your Eligible Devices option, you should see if your phone is supported.
As long as you haven’t signed up for the Android 12 Beta or Android 13 Developer Preview, you’ll see the option to opt in. If you’ve signed up for the pre-releases above, you don’t need to do anything to get Android 13. You should automatically receive the update on your phone.
To sign up for the Android 13 beta, click Opt-in, then click Confirm and sign up after reading the terms and conditions. You should see a notification that your device is now in the Android 13 beta program.
You will then receive over-the-air updates on your phone. If you don’t get notifications on your phone, go to Settings > System > System Updates to check for your Android 13 update. It may take up to 24 hours to receive OTA updates.
To exit the Android 13 Beta program, go back to the Android Beta for Pixel page, but this time click Exit. Within 24 hours, you should receive an OTA update on your phone, which will wipe all your locally saved data and give you the latest public version of Android at the time.
The lore of PCs that no longer boot after a simple update has been lost, even requiring a full format to get up and running again! Fortunately, things are very different with Windows 10: Updates are tested for a long time, well-timed patches are released every month, and traffic accidents are very rare.
But that doesn’t mean that bugs don’t happen even today: if we are one of the unfortunate users, the PC is blocked after an update or doesn’t shut down in the update screen. Below we’ll show you all the steps to take to get back up and running in no time without having to proceed with the risky disk formatting.
Force restart
If our computer stops on the “Preparing Windows, do not turn off the computer” screen for more than an hour, then there is a problem with the updater. In this case, we disregard the advice of the computer itself and press the restart key or hold down the power key for a few seconds on a stationary PC to get a forced restart or shutdown.
On the next system boot, if the problem is temporary, we will see the same screen again and probably finish the process. If the update screen is still blocked, let’s wait at least an hour to rule out any heavy updates: if the system is still blocked, we can proceed with one of the other suggestions in the guide.
Remove stuck updates
If the PC fails to boot properly due to an update error, we force restart the system three times in a row: doing so will launch the Emergency Recovery Console, which you can use to delete this pending update.
In the window that will appear, click the Advanced Options button, click Troubleshooting, then click Advanced Options again, and finally click Command Prompt to open the prompt window.
We press Enter or Enter on the keyboard to confirm. All pending updates will be removed, so you can restart your system immediately without locking the screen again. To exit the console, go back to the first screen and press Continue .
When the system starts, Windows may ask you to install the update again: currently we can avoid installing it by blocking Windows Update, even though this process is not recommended.
boot repair
To proceed with Startup Recovery, open Recovery Console, press Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options, and finally Startup Repair.
As soon as the item is clicked, the Windows Diagnostics tool will start: at this stage we don’t have to do anything but wait to restore the settings needed to boot the operating system properly. After a few minutes of recovery attempts, the system will reboot and it can be accessed again without any blocking.
system Restore
If we had the foresight to activate System Restore before the crash, we could have solved all our problems at once by returning to a known working Windows configuration. System restore usually creates an image before the update, otherwise we would have to use one of the restore points we created.
To continue, we force restart the PC three times in a row, click Advanced Options, then Troubleshoot, select Advanced Options again, and click System Recovery. In the new screen, press the account on the PC, enter the password if necessary, and select the restore point to use in the recovery tool window. After a few minutes, your PC will be up and running again without a crash on startup.
If the procedures indicated so far are unsuccessful and the system remains locked, you have no choice but to try to restore Windows, keeping your personal files. To continue in this sense, we start the Recovery Console again, press Troubleshoot again, and click Reset PC.
After pressing Reset PC, we choose to keep personal files , and we confirm the recovery operation. In the latest version of Windows 10, you will also be asked if you want to download an updated version of Windows 10 from the cloud: we also confirmed this opportunity, so you can update your system without downloading another update.
The latest Apple Silicon MacBook offers incredible all-day battery life in optimal conditions. However, battery health inevitably declines with age, so how do you maintain that performance in the long term? Here are a few things you can do, check them out!
Keep Optimized Charging On
iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks can take advantage of a feature called Optimized Charging to monitor your usage patterns and adjust charging behavior accordingly. The optimal balance point for lithium batteries is between 40% and 80%. Charging to 100% or letting your battery percentage drop too low is considered bad for the battery. A fully charged battery stores a higher voltage, which puts more stress on the battery.
You can find this setting under System Preferences > Battery > Battery. Once your Mac learns your daily habits, it waits for your device to be fully charged so the battery spends less time at 100%.
If you charge your laptop overnight and go to work every day at 8am, your MacBook will wait for the last 20% or so of the top-up. If for some reason you happen to leave an hour early, you may find that your battery is not fully charged. The same applies to iPhone and iPad.
Don’t leave your MacBook plugged in all the time
It’s impossible to “overcharge” a MacBook battery while it’s plugged into a power source. If you keep it plugged in, the battery won’t overheat or damage any other components. The one exception is if you start noticing bulging batteries, a serious problem that can lead to injury.
The aforementioned optimized charging feature can keep your laptop plugged in, but it’s not foolproof. If your laptop never leaves your desk, or your schedule is particularly erratic, macOS may not be able to determine when to delay charging the battery.
That’s why it’s best not to leave the machine on the charger all the time. Ideally, you’ll want to drop the battery down to 40% before charging it to around 80% for best results. This ensures that the battery is not overstressed by the high pressure required to reach 90% or 100%.
Avoid exposing your MacBook to extreme temperatures
Generally speaking, extreme temperatures are bad for your MacBook. Extreme heat is notoriously bad for technology, and researchers have found that extreme cold can crack the metal used in lithium batteries, separating the cathode from the rest of the battery. Storing the cathode at sub-freezing temperatures “caused the battery to lose up to 5% of its capacity after 100 charges compared to batteries stored at higher temperatures.”
The solution is to make sure your laptop isn’t exposed to extreme temperatures. Don’t leave it in the car overnight in winter. MacBooks are not ruggedized laptops and are not designed for extreme weather conditions.
Consider using AlDente Pro to manage charging
If you’re really keen on preserving your MacBook battery for as long as possible, the free app AlDente might be of interest to you. The app allows you to set charging limits so that your MacBook stops falling below maximum capacity at a percentage of your choosing. By default, this is 80%.
The free version only has a charge limiter and discharge mode, allowing the MacBook to run on battery even when plugged in. This allows you to discharge the battery to a “healthier” percentage without removing the power connector.
AlDente only works with macOS Big Sur or later, and works best on most MacBooks produced in 2016 or later. Earlier laptops lost support for some features, but most post-2013 models support the all-important charge limiter feature.
If you want to know the state of your battery, you can go to System Preferences > Battery > Battery and click on “Battery Health…”.
To see a more detailed look, including charge cycle counts, click the Apple logo in the upper-left corner of the screen, then click About This Mac, then click System Report on the Overview tab. Scroll down to “Power” and under “Health Information” you should be able to see the battery’s cycle count.
