Tim Hardwick
Tim is a Senior Editor at MacRumors and has been writing for the site since 2016. Formerly a magazine journalist, his work has appeared in over 30 newsstand print publications and online brands covering a range of topics, from the latest trends in technology to the mysteries of ancient history.
Based in the UK, Tim's current role at MacRumors involves editorial oversight and how tos, in addition to covering daily news and contributing occasional reviews. Tim can be reached at tim@macrumors.com, Telegram (@waxeditorial) or Twitter.
Based in the UK, Tim's current role at MacRumors involves editorial oversight and how tos, in addition to covering daily news and contributing occasional reviews. Tim can be reached at tim@macrumors.com, Telegram (@waxeditorial) or Twitter.
Tim Hardwick's Articles
How to Use Safari's Private Browsing Mode
This article explains how to use Safari's Private Browsing mode, which prevents your browsing history from being logged on your Apple devices. It's a useful feature if you're buying gifts online for friends or family, for instance, and you don't want anyone with access to your devices to find out what you're up to.
Of course, if you've already been browsing where you shouldn't have and...
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Scan Printed and Handwritten Notes in iPhone's Notes App
In 2022, Apple added a new feature to the stock Notes app on iPhone and iPad that allows you to quickly scan printed or handwritten text and save it in digital text format. Keep reading to learn how it works.
On earlier versions of iOS and iPadOS, scanning text into Apple's Notes app required tapping on a note's text field and tapping the Live Text option in the popup menu. However, Apple...
Play Ambient Background Sounds on iPhone to Stay Focused
On iPhone and iPad, one of several accessibility features that Apple includes is Background Sounds. The sounds are designed to help you stay focused, stay calm, and help you minimize distractions while you are busy with something.
The Background Sounds on offer include balanced, bright, and dark noise, as well as natural sounds like ocean, rain, and stream. All of the sounds can be set to...
How to Scan Documents in the Notes App on iPhone
In iOS and iPadOS, Apple includes a feature in Notes that allows you to quickly scan all kinds of documents so you can keep track of everything from receipts to recipes and photos.
The Document Scanner detects the edges of a document, aligns things properly, and removes all glare and tilt so you get a clean scan every time. Apple's document scanning tools are well engineered and impressive,...
Disable iPhone Private Browsing Authentication in Safari
With iOS 17, Apple introduced several new privacy and security features to its mobile operating system, one being the ability to require secondary authentication for Private Browsing tabs in Safari. Here's how it works and how to turn it off.
On an iPhone or iPad running iOS 17 or iPadOS 17, if you have any Private Browsing tabs open in Safari and then exit the session or the app, Apple's...
Play Calming Background Sounds on Mac to Stay Focused
In macOS Ventura and later, Apple includes an accessibility feature for Mac called Background Sounds. These sounds are designed to help you stay focused at work, promote calm, and minimize distractions. Keep reading to learn how it works.
Apple first introduced Background Sounds on iPhone, allowing users to play ambient soundscapes in the background. This feature is also available on Macs,...
Find Messages Faster in macOS Using Search Filters
In macOS Sonoma, Apple has improved the search function in its stock Messages app for Mac, which now allows you to combine search queries and narrow down results to quickly find the messages that you're looking for. This article explains how it works.
Previously in macOS, you could type a word or phrase in the search field of Apple's Messages app and it would return matching results, but...
How to Rearrange, Disable, and Delete iPhone Home Screen Pages
In iOS, Apple lets you disable individual Home Screen pages on your iPhone. It's also possible to rearrange the order of your Home Screen pages, and delete pages outright rather than merely disable them. Here's how it works.
How to Rearrange Home Screen Pages
Touch and hold a space on the Home Screen to enter jiggle mode.
Tap the row of dots representing your Home Screen pages.
In the...
How to Remove Suggested Contacts From iOS Share Sheet
Does your iPhone keep displaying certain contacts whenever you go to share something in iOS, and you'd rather not see them? Keep reading to learn how to get rid of them.
Whenever you go to share something on your iPhone or iPad using the Share button, iOS brings up the activity view – often called the Share Sheet – at the top of which is a row of suggested contacts with whom you've...
Some Google Drive Users' Files Have Mysteriously Vanished
Google Drive users have been warned not to disconnect their account within the Google Drive for desktop app, after a spate of reports of files going missing from the cloud service.
Alarm bells began ringing last week on Google's community support site when some users reported files mysteriously disappearing from Google Drive, with some posters claiming six or more months of data had...
M2 MacBook Air Gets Speed Boost With This Novel Cooling System
Apple's 15-inch MacBook Air doesn't have a fan, and instead uses a passive heat spreader to conduct heat away from Apple's energy efficient M2 chip. Curious to know if performance could be further improved with an active cooling solution, Frore Systems installed its own novel solid-state active cooling system into the laptop and subjected it to several benchmarks, with some impressive results.
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How to Link Notes Together in macOS
In macOS Sonoma, Apple has made its stock Notes app significantly more useful by adding the simple yet powerful ability to link notes and connect related notes together on your Mac. Here's how it works.
With just a few clicks, you can create links between notes in the Notes app in macOS Sonoma, making it easy to jump from one idea to another. To add a new link to another note, right-click ...
How to Disable Inline Predictive Text on Mac
Apple in macOS Sonoma added inline predictive text. Here's how it works on the Mac, and how you can turn it off.
Apple has improved its machine learning technology for Macs in an effort to make macOS a lot more helpful, and one of the features in which this tech has been deployed is inline predictive text.
Predictive text does just what it says - it predicts what you're going to type...
iPhone Displays Green and Orange Dots: What Do They Mean?
Digital privacy is a perennial hot topic these days, and Apple is regarded as being at the forefront of security when it comes to smartphone and tablet operating systems. For example, for an app to access your iPhone or iPad's camera, camera and microphone access must be enabled for the app in question in the Settings app.
Social media apps will often ask you for access to your device's...
Proton Drive Encrypted Cloud Storage App Now Available for Mac
Swiss-based privacy startup Proton today announced the availability of its end-to-end encrypted cloud storage service for Mac users with the launch of its macOS app.
Proton Drive lets users sync files between Mac and the cloud, access files offline, and free up space on local drives. Unlike iCloud, all data (including metadata) is end-to-end encrypted by default, so that no-one – not even...
Does My Mac Support Wi-Fi 6E?
Wi-Fi 6E, the latest advancement in Wi-Fi technology, offers several benefits when enabled on your Mac. This article explains what Wi-Fi 6E is, and which Apple Mac models support it.
What is Wi-Fi 6E?
Wi-Fi 6 operates on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, while Wi-Fi 6E also works over the 6GHz band for increased bandwidth. Wi-Fi 6E offers faster wireless speeds, lower latency, and less signal...
Disable 'Click Wallpaper to Reveal Desktop' in macOS
By default, macOS Sonoma hides all your active windows when you click on your desktop wallpaper. This is handy if you tend to have a bunch of files on the desktop that you need access to. But if you find this behavior maddening, there is a way to turn it off.
Apple's latest macOS Sonoma operating system for Mac has a new option called "Click wallpaper to reveal desktop." Enabled by...
Spotify Trials New Option to Turn Off Personalized Recommendations
Spotify is trialing a new ability for users to turn off their personalized recommendations, according to beta code unearthed by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris.
Depending on how it works, the new option could conceivably allow users to prevent songs played on their account on behalf of other listeners from affecting their personalized recommendations. Either way, it is likely to be...
Apple Explores iPhone 'Privacy Screens', Macs With Adjustable Viewing Angles
Earlier this year, The Wall Street Journal published an in-depth report highlighting instances of thieves watching iPhone owners enter their passcode before stealing the device in order to gain access to the device, data, and money.
With knowledge of the iPhone's passcode, a thief can easily reset the victim's Apple ID password in the Settings app, even if Face ID or Touch ID is enabled. It...
iOS 17.2: How to Lock Your iPhone Journal
Apple introduced its long-awaited Journal app for iPhone in iOS 17.2. Keep reading to learn how to keep your journal's contents secure and safe away from prying eyes.
Apple announced in June 2023 announced it was bringing its own journaling app to iOS 17, and it has since been confirmed that the app is included in iOS 17.2, which is currently available to download as a beta.
Apple's...
