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Wednesday, 15 January 2020

Calls for Apple to Bring iPhone-Style Low Power Mode to MacBooks

Following rumors of a performance-boosting "Pro Mode" coming in the next update to macOS Catalina, developer Marco Arment has argued that Apple should bring an iPhone-style Low Power Mode to MacBooks as well.

Since iOS 9, Apple has included a Low Power Mode on iPhones that reduces the amount of power that the device uses when the battery gets low, and Arment this week shared his experience with his own self-styled equivalent for macOS.

His method involves the use of a third-party app called Turbo Boost Switcher Pro that enables users to disable Intel Turbo Boost on a Mac's processor. According to Arment, disabling Turbo Boost has increased his 16-inch MacBook Pro's battery life by an estimated 30-50 percent and made it "a much better laptop" the vast majority of the time he uses it.

With Turbo Boost disabled, peak CPU power consumption drops by 62%, with a correspondingly huge reduction in temperature. This has two massive benefits:

The fans never audibly spin up. When Turbo Boost is enabled, the fans annoyingly spin up every time the system is under a heavy sustained load. Disable it, and it’s almost impossible to get them to be audible.

It runs significantly cooler. Turbo Boost lets laptops get too hot to comfortably hold in your lap, and so much heat radiates out that it can make hands sweaty. Disable it, and the laptop only gets moderately warm, not hot, and hands stay comfortably dry.

Arment claims that despite the reduction in processing power, his ‌MacBook Pro‌ is "still fast enough to do everything I need (including significant development with Xcode)." His only concern is that the app which allows him to enjoy these benefits is on borrowed time: Turbo Boost Switcher Pro relies on a legacy kernel extension that likely won't be supported in future versions of macOS.

"I suspect that this is the last year I'll get to run the latest OS and be able to turn off Turbo Boost at will, making all of my future laptop usage significantly worse," says Arment.

An iPhone's Low Power Mode reduces battery usage by disabling background app refreshing and automatic downloads, locking the screen after 30 seconds, and via other methods. Would you be happy to see an optional Low Power Mode in a future version of macOS, too? Let us know in the comments.

Related Roundup: MacBook Pro

Tag: Marco Arment

Buyer's Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)

This article, "Calls for Apple to Bring iPhone-Style Low Power Mode to MacBooks" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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iPhones Can Now Be Used to Generate 2FA Security Keys for Google Accounts

A new update to Google's Smart Lock iOS app lets users set up their iPhone or iPad as a security key for two-factor authentication when signing into native Google services via Chrome browser.

Once the feature is set up in the app, attempting to log in to a Google service via Chrome on another device such as a laptop results in a push notification being sent to their iOS device.

The user then has to unlock their ‌iPhone‌ or ‌iPad‌ using Face ID or Touch ID and confirm the log-in attempt via the Smart Lock app before it can complete on the other device.

After installing the update, users are asked to select a Google account to set up their phone's built-in security key. According to a Google cryptographer, the feature makes use of Apple's Secure Enclave hardware, which securely stores ‌Touch ID‌, Face ID, and other cryptographic data on iOS devices.

The Smart Lock app requires that Bluetooth is enabled on both the ‌iPhone‌/‌iPad‌ and the other device for two-factor authentication to work, so they have to be in close proximity, but the advantage of the system is that it ensures the process is localized and can't be leaked onto the internet.

The Google Smart Lock app is a free download for ‌iPhone‌ and ‌iPad‌ on the App Store. [Direct Link]

(Via 9to5Google.com)

Tags: Google, security

This article, "iPhones Can Now Be Used to Generate 2FA Security Keys for Google Accounts" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/2TrthXG

YouTube iOS App Gains 'Topics' to Filter Your Subscriptions Feed

Google has updated its official YouTube iOS app with Subscription feed "topics" in an effort to make it easier for users to catch up with their favorite creators.

The topics appear below the top row of followed channels and essentially act as filters for content that you subscribe to.

The default setting is "All," which lists all videos from channels you're subscribed to, from newest to oldest. Then there's "Today," showing all the videos published within the past 24 hours.

The other topics include "Continue Watching" (videos you started watching but haven't finished yet), "Unwatched" videos, "Live" videos (includes livestreams as well as YouTube Premieres), and "Posts," which shows only community posts.

Google says that tests showed that these topics encouraged more subscribers to come to their subs feed daily to look for new updates. That said, there's no requirement to use them, and user feeds will continue to show in reverse chronological order in the traditional way if the topics buttons are left untouched.

YouTube is a free download for iPhone and iPad. [Direct Link]

Tag: YouTube

This article, "YouTube iOS App Gains 'Topics' to Filter Your Subscriptions Feed" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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from MacRumors: Mac News and Rumors - All Stories https://ift.tt/2QWL73f

Tuesday, 14 January 2020

60 People Treated After Delta Flight Dumps Jet Fuel on Los Angeles County

Around 60 people in Los Angeles County were treated by first responders after a jet returning to Los Angeles International Airport dumped its fuel in mid-air, showering at least five elementary schools and a high school shortly before noon, CNN reported on Tuesday.

Some Trump Supporters Are Using Baby Yoda (of All Things) to Promote MAGA

There’s been a disturbance in the Force.