MacFormat
May 2025MacFormat is the UK’s best selling magazine for the home Mac user. Each issue brings you all the exciting developments from the world of Apple, including reviews of new Macs, iPads and Apple’s own apps like iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand. We’ll show you how to make the most of your Mac, OS X and all the creative things you can do with it. We also review all the latest 3rd party software and kit – so if you’re looking for a new hard drive, monitor or printer that works with a Mac, you’ll be well served. iOS users are also welcome and we review the latest iPad and iPhone apps. ***Note: This digital edition is not printable and does not include the covermount items or supplements you would find with printed copies***
hello (again)
It took a little longer than expected, but Apple treated us to some amazing new products in March: the M4 MacBook Air, an updated Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra, a new £329 entry-level iPad (which now has an A16 chip) and the M3 iPad Air. We’ll be putting the Mac Studio with M3 Ultra and the M3 iPad Air through their paces in our June issue, but turn to p84 of this edition and you’ll be able to see what we make of the MacBook Air and the new iPhone 16e in this month’s in-depth reviews. We also investigate the chances of a big-screen iMac on p16. But if you’re not upgrading just yet, turn to p20, and you’ll discover some of the amazing things your existing…
Meet the team
Jo Membery Operations Editor Jo’s taken her plan for a summer BBQ to a whole new level after reading our Smarten Up Your Garden feature on p62. She’s now roasting her falafels too. Paul Blachford Art Editor Paul treated himself to a M4 Mac mini this month and, while it’s a brilliant machine, his decision is now tinged with regret: why didn’t he buy a Mac Studio instead? David Crookes Contributor Are you still hoping for a bigger iMac? David looks at the chances that might happen in this month’s MacFormat Investigates. Turn to p16 for more.…
APPLE CORE
HOT TOPIC! Apple’s big spring updates All-new Macs and iPads join the previously launched iPhone 16e Springtime often means new Apple products. This year the company treated us to a jam-packed season of new releases, with fresh products landing across the iPhone, Mac and iPad ranges. Kicking off the updates were the iPad Air and the 10.9-inch iPad. Starting with the iPad Air, this was upgraded to Apple’s M3 chip, which replaced the M2 from the previous version. Apple says the M3 offers twice the performance of the M1 iPad Air and is up to 3.5 times faster than the iPad Air with A14 Bionic chip. Apple also launched a new Magic Keyboard designed for the tablet, which has a larger trackpad and a new 14-key function row. The 10.9-inch…
New iPad Air
Trailed by Apple CEO Tim Cook on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with a “there’s something in the air” looping video, the latest iPad Air arrived at the start of a flurry of announcements that Apple made in the first week of March. While outwardly little has changed over the previous model (launched in May 2024) the 11- and 13-inch models have been given a refresh internally, making them more powerful than before. The iPad Air (2025) now comes with an Apple silicon M3 chip with an 8-core CPU and a 9-core GPU, which Apple says makes it 2x faster than the M1 iPad Air, offering 35% faster performance in multi-threaded CPU workflows and up to 40% faster graphics performance. The new iPad Air also gets Apple’s advanced graphics…
New iPad
Launched at the same time as the new iPad Air, Apple’s most affordable iPad also got an upgrade. Still equipped with a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, the Wi-Fi only iPad (2025) now gets Apple’s A16 chip and 128GB of storage to start (twice as much as before) for £329, 256GB of storage for £429 and 512GB of storage for £629, while Wi-Fi + Cellular models start at £479 and rise to £779. Apple says the A16 chip in the new iPad offers 30% faster performance than the A14 Bionic in its predecessor, with a 5-core CPU, a 4-core GPU and a 16-core Neural Engine. Weirdly, though, the new entry-level iPad also misses out on Apple Intelligence capabilities, the only recent device from Apple to do so. Like the previous model,…
New Magic Keyboard
Going hand in hand with the new M3 iPad Air, Apple also unveiled an all-new Magic Keyboard to go with it. Available only in white, the new Magic Keyboard features a QWERTY keyboard as well as a larger trackpad, and also has a 14-key function row, giving you easy access to features like screen brightness and audio volume. Like previous models, the Magic Keyboard has the same cantilever design as before, and has a single USB-C port on its aluminium hinge. The Magic Keyboard also attaches to the iPad Air using magnets with the Smart Connector providing power and data, dispensing with the need to use Bluetooth. The 11-inch version is £269; and the 13-inch £299. iPhone 16e accessories To accompany the release of the new iPhone 16e (read our…
