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The Spotify HiFi dream is still alive, as platform plans to do something “unique” someday
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No one can blame you if you've given up on Spotify HiFi ever becoming a thing. It’s been two years since the initial announcement. However, all hope is not lost as the streaming service recently confirmed that it’s still working on the high-res audio tier.

This news comes from Spotify co-president Gustav Söderström who sat down for an interview on TheVerge’s podcast, Decoder. Confirming HiFi’s existence was pretty much the only straight answer he gave as the rest of the responses were vague at best. According to Söderström, the reason why the tier is taking so long is that the “industry changed and [Spotify] had to adapt”, but doesn’t elaborate any further. He does hint at the cost of HiFi and deals with music labels as being two major factors to the delay, and again, doesn't elaborate any further.

Söderström goes on to say Spotify wants to do something “unique” with HiFi and not “unnecessarily commoditize” itself by “[doing] what everyone else does”. When asked about an expected launch date and support for spatial audio, Söderström remained tight-lipped. There will be a “Spotify HiFi lossless-type experience at some point” in the future, however, that’s all the co-president was willing to divulge.

Söderström’s comment on needing to adapt to a changing industry is arguably the most telling in that whole exchange because it’s emblematic of the company’s recent moves. Pinning the delay of Spotify HiFi on not wanting to copy other platforms is rather ironic if you think about it. For starters, the streaming service is currently rolling out a redesign for its mobile app taking clear inspiration from TikTok. It now sports a vertical discovery feed as a way to encourage people to check out the latest songs or popular podcasts. You even have Spotify incorporating tech from OpenAI in its new DJ feature to simulate a real-life radio DJ. While these additions are great and everything, do users really want the TikTok experience and generative AI? From what we’ve seen, not really.

It appears the platform is more interested in growing its media library over providing HiFi. Spotify has grown its podcast content exponentially alongside real-time transcriptions. Also, the audiobook feed has a new preview feature where users can listen to a book for five minutes before purchasing. All this and still no high-res audio, at least any time soon. We asked Spotify if it could tell us more about its HiFi tier – anything at all. This story will be updated at a later time.

If you want to get high-res audio, there’s a way to do it with the right set of devices. Be sure to check out TechRadar’s guide on how to buy into high-res audio without the high prices. 

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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AMD fixes bug that freezes up Windows 11 PCs – but there’s still bad news
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AMD has fixed a nasty bug in Windows 11 (and 10) which causes all sorts of unpredictable issues, including the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), with the cure coming as part of its latest graphics driver.

That would be the Adrenalin version 23.3.1 driver, which as AMD notes resolves a bug that triggers “intermittent driver timeout, system freeze or BSOD” with “select displays.”

The fix, however, is just for RDNA 3 GPUs at the moment (the RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT). As Neowin points out, this issue also affects previous-gen AMD graphics cards (like the RX 6000 range), and because only RX 7000 cards are mentioned in the driver release notes, presumably the fix for older GPUs is still to come.

Meanwhile, there is a workaround of sorts for those who are still encountering this bug. In theory, the problem lies in the Multi-plane Overlay (MPO), which is part of the Windows Display Driver Module (v1.3), and Neowin explains that the issue has been around since January 2023.

The reason for that strong suspicion is that if you turn off MPO – sadly that requires  a Registry tweak, which is not for the faint-hearted – the problem appears to resolve itself (at least in some reported cases).

Analysis: MPO needs some serious attention?

One thing to note is that while this bug sounds seriously nasty – and it certainly can be, given the listed effects – at least the worst manifestations, namely those full lock-ups and BSODs, are relatively rare. (Timeouts are more likely, which are irritating, but not nearly as much of a blow).

Although of course, you don’t want any chance of a hard crash happening in an ideal world. Since Windows 10, the likes of system freezes or blue screens have become much rarer (thankfully). Gone are the days when full-blown crash and burns were a relatively common experience for Windows users.

As to when AMD will smooth things over for those who don’t own a cutting-edge RDNA 3 graphics card, time will tell. Hopefully folks in that boat won’t have long to wait, as the workaround is not really suitable for those who aren’t confident enough with PCs to head into the Registry and do some tinkering. (A wrong step in the Registry can lead to very bad things happening with your PC, so always bear that in mind).

On a broader level, MPO – a feature designed to take some load off the GPU and CPU – has experienced a rather rocky time of things, and been labeled as the cause of a good many other bugs and display-related oddities. It seems like a part of Windows that needs an overhaul, in short, or we could find more strange bugs like the one AMD has (partially) stamped out manifesting themselves down the line.

As a final note, if you are updating to AMD’s driver version 23.3.1, be very careful in the process, as in certain circumstances, a rare but truly dire problem can arise on installation – namely your PC getting bricked.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Twitter’s latest meltdown proves Elon Musk is still doing it wrong
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Twitter thrives on shares, not just within the social media platform but from partner links all over the Internet. Except on Monday, most of those links stopped working.

For approximately an hour, anyone trying to share recently published articles on Twitter was met with an error message clearly intended for developers:

Twitter API bug

(Image credit: Future)

It was almost as if Twitter was informing publishers that they didn't pay their water bill and, as such, couldn't publish links on the social network.

What went wrong?

We didn't have to wait too long for Twitter CEO Elon Musk to explain. In response to a tweet from former Netscape founder and well-known venture capitalist Marc Andreessen pointing out how four of the five top Twitter trends were about Twitter, Musk tweeted, “A small API change had massive ramifications. The code stack is extremely brittle for no good reason. Will ultimately need a complete rewrite.”

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This seemingly clear-headed tweet though should be cause for alarm. Musk claims the code stack (basically a massive stack of programs that all work together to create the Twitter whole) is brittle and needs a rewrite. What he fails to mention is that among the thousands of Twitter employees he laid off since November, a good number of them were engineers and, it's safe to assume, some were in what's known as QA or quality assurance.

Typically if you plan on making any kind of code change to a website, online service, or app, QA tests it on an offline copy of the platform. In this way, they ensure that the updates, no matter how small, won't adversely impact the live environment.

The concept is known as “production,” the live site or service, versus “staging,” an environment that's identical to live but can not be seen or touched by users. You run your new code or feature through staging, a group of QA testers applies a set of known scenarios (maybe they throw in an edge case or two) and as long as there are no red flags, the update gets pushed from Staging to Production. 

Twitter, which has seen its overall reliability drop (from going offline to having features appear and disappear unexpectedly) since Musk took over, may be getting its updates in a different way.

Musk likes to test features on production (the live site). As a result, he keeps running into unintended consequences.

There is some disagreement on whether or not there is a Twitter QA team.

Some argue one exists but Musk grows impatient and then pushes untested code live.

Others insist that Elon Musk arrived at Twitter and discovered that Twitter had no QA team and it was long in the practice of pushing untested code live. That though seems highly unlikely. 

I asked Musk directly on Twitter if the API update was tested on staging before being pushed live and will update this post if he responds.

Never assume

The assumption he made here, that a small API change would have little impact on the site was a poor one. And, yet, Musk still doesn't understand that he's doing it wrong.

Testing features of any kind on a live version of a complex platform like Twitter will inevitably result in bugs and crashes.

Will rewriting the code stack solve all this? Maybe, but very few platforms stay as clean as they were on launch and even if the rewrite is robust and perfect, frequent updates and fresh features will test that stability.

As long as Musk refuses to fully test what he launches before he launches it, there is no scenario in which Twitter escapes regular downtime.

This is a simple fix, Elon, make QA an inescapable part of the development pipeline and save yourself and us a lot of headaches. Or keep doing it your way because that's working out so, so well.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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This malware tool is still successfully exploiting Internet Explorer vulnerabilities
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The notorious exploit-as-a-service RIG Exploit Kit, targeting users of the positively ancient, vulnerability-ridden web browser Internet Explorer, is still going strong, experts have warned.

Per a report by security research firm Prodaft, installs of the kit are attempting around 2,000 intrusions a day, and succeeding 30% of the time, allowing it to spread infostealers and other forms of malware to users in over 207 countries.

Despite warning against the rise of cybercrime-as-a-service in 2022’s Microsoft Digital Defence Report, and RIG being known to also distribute ransomware, millions of users (mostly in enterprise) just won’t stop using Windows Explorer, having apparently no regard for data privacy.

Update your browser, please God

Internet Explorer has been old news since around 2015, when the now Chromium-based Edge was put into development, and completely depreciated since August 2021. 

And in February 2023, Microsoft announced that it’s finally getting around to scrubbing every last bit of it from existence, such an embarrassment it is in this day and age, and making you use Edge anyway (although you can still do a lot better).

We keep writing about it, and we keep getting emails from burgeoning violent criminals swearing at us over why we bother doling out security posture advice for businesses at all. (Hugs and kisses to all our readership, even if they’ve fled an institution. xox)

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 > Google says North Korea targeted an Internet Explorer zero-day vulnerability

> Microsoft prepares for Internet Explorer’s retirement by making Edge better

> We’ve also listed the best endpoint protection services 

But, do you know what, we’re going to do it again: buy new laptops running Windows 11, and enjoy all the advancements in UI that have come on in the last 28 years, you wanton maniac.

And then maybe you won’t have to keep a straight face in front of IT when threat actors known only as “Bean Meme Gang” steal the private medical records of a million people, and we could write about something else.

Via BleepingComputer

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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Chrono Cross on Switch still leads the standard for RPGs, 20 years on
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Chrono Cross fans have been calling for a re-release of the classic JRPG almost since its launch back in 1999. Finally, after many long years of waiting, we're getting our wish.

Available to play on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and other models, it features remastered graphics, the ability to fast forward, auto-battle improvements, and more.

I've been playing this new remaster on Nintendo Switch, and it's only strengthened my belief that modern RPGs can benefit a lot from the Chrono series, particularly when it comes to narrative and audio.

War of the Parallel Worlds

Chrono Cross fireball element in action

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Chrono Cross is a sidequel, rather than a sequel to Chrono Trigger, the famous RPG released for Nintendo's Super Nintendo console in 1995. Instead of time-travel, you travel across parallel worlds to face off against Lynx, a cruel agent of the supercomputer FATE that's trying to eliminate the main character, Serge, and his party while they also try to defeat a Time Devourer.

When Chrono Cross was released back in 1999, it was critically acclaimed, with praise heaped on its battle system and multiple endings. You could see dramatically different conclusions depending on who you recruited to your party and the conversation options you picked through the game.

While Chrono Trigger saw a remaster in 2008 on the Nintendo DS, followed by a PC release in 2018, I hoped for Chrono Cross to get a similar treatment. The spinoff may not have found the same fame as Chrono Trigger, but it still had a loyal fan base.

While I bounced off of Final Fantasy VIII on the original PlayStation back in 1999, and attempts to get into other entries in the series, Chrono Cross' story of Balamb Garden hooked me in, especially as it revolved around time travel. I've loved stories of time travel ever since seeing films and shows like Back to the Future and Quantum Leap. 

Final Fantasy VIII was how I discovered Chrono Cross, thanks to a magazine reviewing the eighth entry back in 2000. A small blurb was listing alternatives to the game, and it erroneously stated that it was a sequel to Chrono Trigger, with a bigger focus on time travel mechanics. Even though it turned out to be about parallel worlds, Chrono Cross still kept me enthralled.

Chrono Cross, facing a boss

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Playing the remaster on my Switch in 2022 has been a joy. Its art style has been lovingly remastered from top to bottom, alongside the modern features similar to the Final Fantasy remasters of fast-forwarding gameplay, avoiding battles, and more, with the press of the ZR button.

The audio deserves a special mention too. It's easy to focus on the gameplay of these RPGs from the mid-90s, all the while forgetting the music is just as cemented in our memories. Moments such as Chrono Cross' battles and when Serge stands at the graveside of his parallel self, all land because of this fantastic score. Composer Yasunori Mitsuda knew raised the bar for what RPG scores could achieve.

While it's not been confirmed yet if you can play Chrono Cross on a Steam Deck, I'd be surprised if this wasn't possible. There was no slowdown on the Switch, and everything worked as intended. I'm sure playing this in a higher resolution on the Steam Deck will only enhance the game.

Boss in Chrono Cross

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Chrono Cross is a prime example of how it makes you think about second chances, and what could have been if you took one route instead of the other.

We've all had those sliding doors moments, where we wonder what would had happened if we'd acted differently in the moment. Chrono Cross' story reminds me of a lyric from the song 'Two of Us', from The Beatles' 'Let it Be' album, “You and I have memories, longer than the road that stretches out ahead.” That's what Serge's story is here, across the parallel worlds, with multiple endings.

Without spoiling the game, the endings are dependent on facing certain bosses at certain moments, alongside answering questions to characters in certain ways. This will all lead to one of 11 endings that may mean that Serge and his party find the happy epilogue or the sad conclusion of the story.

Hopefully, this remaster may mean another entry in the Chrono series could occur. We're already seeing reboots and sequels that we wouldn't have thought would be possible in recent years, with Resident Evil 2 Remake, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and the sequel, Return to Monkey Island all a reality.

Somewhere in this universe, Crono and Marle from Chrono Trigger, alongside Serge and Leena are waiting to appear in a third game, and in an age of remakes and remasters, perhaps its time to see what these characters are doing, and how a game on our modern consoles and handhelds will work across time periods and alternate worlds.

  • Chrono Cross may well find itself on our list of the Best RPGs

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Chrono Cross on Switch still leads the standard for RPGs, 20 years on
  • No Comments

Chrono Cross fans have been calling for a re-release of the classic JRPG almost since its launch back in 1999. Finally, after many long years of waiting, we're getting our wish.

Available to play on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 / PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and other models, it features remastered graphics, the ability to fast forward, auto-battle improvements, and more.

I've been playing this new remaster on Nintendo Switch, and it's only strengthened my belief that modern RPGs can benefit a lot from the Chrono series, particularly when it comes to narrative and audio.

War of the Parallel Worlds

Chrono Cross fireball element in action

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Chrono Cross is a sidequel, rather than a sequel to Chrono Trigger, the famous RPG released for Nintendo's Super Nintendo console in 1995. Instead of time-travel, you travel across parallel worlds to face off against Lynx, a cruel agent of the supercomputer FATE that's trying to eliminate the main character, Serge, and his party while they also try to defeat a Time Devourer.

When Chrono Cross was released back in 1999, it was critically acclaimed, with praise heaped on its battle system and multiple endings. You could see dramatically different conclusions depending on who you recruited to your party and the conversation options you picked through the game.

While Chrono Trigger saw a remaster in 2008 on the Nintendo DS, followed by a PC release in 2018, I hoped for Chrono Cross to get a similar treatment. The spinoff may not have found the same fame as Chrono Trigger, but it still had a loyal fan base.

While I bounced off of Final Fantasy VIII on the original PlayStation back in 1999, and attempts to get into other entries in the series, Chrono Cross' story of Balamb Garden hooked me in, especially as it revolved around time travel. I've loved stories of time travel ever since seeing films and shows like Back to the Future and Quantum Leap. 

Final Fantasy VIII was how I discovered Chrono Cross, thanks to a magazine reviewing the eighth entry back in 2000. A small blurb was listing alternatives to the game, and it erroneously stated that it was a sequel to Chrono Trigger, with a bigger focus on time travel mechanics. Even though it turned out to be about parallel worlds, Chrono Cross still kept me enthralled.

Chrono Cross, facing a boss

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Playing the remaster on my Switch in 2022 has been a joy. Its art style has been lovingly remastered from top to bottom, alongside the modern features similar to the Final Fantasy remasters of fast-forwarding gameplay, avoiding battles, and more, with the press of the ZR button.

The audio deserves a special mention too. It's easy to focus on the gameplay of these RPGs from the mid-90s, all the while forgetting the music is just as cemented in our memories. Moments such as Chrono Cross' battles and when Serge stands at the graveside of his parallel self, all land because of this fantastic score. Composer Yasunori Mitsuda knew raised the bar for what RPG scores could achieve.

While it's not been confirmed yet if you can play Chrono Cross on a Steam Deck, I'd be surprised if this wasn't possible. There was no slowdown on the Switch, and everything worked as intended. I'm sure playing this in a higher resolution on the Steam Deck will only enhance the game.

Boss in Chrono Cross

(Image credit: Square Enix)

Chrono Cross is a prime example of how it makes you think about second chances, and what could have been if you took one route instead of the other.

We've all had those sliding doors moments, where we wonder what would had happened if we'd acted differently in the moment. Chrono Cross' story reminds me of a lyric from the song 'Two of Us', from The Beatles' 'Let it Be' album, “You and I have memories, longer than the road that stretches out ahead.” That's what Serge's story is here, across the parallel worlds, with multiple endings.

Without spoiling the game, the endings are dependent on facing certain bosses at certain moments, alongside answering questions to characters in certain ways. This will all lead to one of 11 endings that may mean that Serge and his party find the happy epilogue or the sad conclusion of the story.

Hopefully, this remaster may mean another entry in the Chrono series could occur. We're already seeing reboots and sequels that we wouldn't have thought would be possible in recent years, with Resident Evil 2 Remake, Final Fantasy VII Remake, and the sequel, Return to Monkey Island all a reality.

Somewhere in this universe, Crono and Marle from Chrono Trigger, alongside Serge and Leena are waiting to appear in a third game, and in an age of remakes and remasters, perhaps its time to see what these characters are doing, and how a game on our modern consoles and handhelds will work across time periods and alternate worlds.

  • Chrono Cross may well find itself on our list of the Best RPGs

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

If you’re still using Internet Explorer, just please stop now, Microsoft says
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Microsoft has once again urged users to stop using its outdated Internet Explorer browser as the software limps closer to its retirement.

The company has again reminded users that Internet Explorer 11 is being retired from Windows 10 in June 2022, with Microsoft Edge taking its place.

It seems that some users may be a touch unwilling to make the jump, however, with Microsoft forced to emphasise that the days of Internet Explorer really are numbered.

The future is Edge

“As previously announced, the future of Internet Explorer on Windows is in Microsoft Edge,” Microsoft stated in a company announcement.

“The Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) desktop application will be retired on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10. This means that the IE11 desktop application will no longer be supported and afterward will redirect to Microsoft Edge if a user tries to access it.”

The company did highlight that any particularly nostalgia-driven users can still use Internet Explorer mode (IE mode) within Microsoft Edge for the time being. IE mode aims to support legacy websites and applications within Microsoft Edge until they can be ported over to the new software.

Read more

> Microsoft Edge is about to give you an excellent new way to procrastinate

> Internet Explorer might not be entirely dead just yet

> Microsoft 365 update will make sure no one is at a disadvantage

Microsoft first announced plans to retire support for Internet Explorer 11 across Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 back in August 2020, and since then has been gradually stripping back services for the software.

Its Microsoft 365 deadline passed in August 2021, although some apps may still function via the browser, albeit with users seeing a severely diminished experience.

External tools have also pulled back, with Google Search withdrawing support for Internet Explorer in October 2021, leaving the browser reliant on its own in-house Bing search, with support for Docs, Sheets, Slides and other Google Workspace apps removed in March 2021.

Microsoft Edge continues to perform strongly in the global browser market, with recent figures placing it on the verge of surpassing Apple's Safari offering. 

The latest StatCounter numbers show Microsoft Edge is now used on 9.54% of desktops worldwide, just behind Safari at 9.84% – although both are still far behind runaway market leader Google Chrome on 65.38%.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

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If you’re still using Internet Explorer, just please stop now, Microsoft says
  • No Comments

Microsoft has once again urged users to stop using its outdated Internet Explorer browser as the software limps closer to its retirement.

The company has again reminded users that Internet Explorer 11 is being retired from Windows 10 in June 2022, with Microsoft Edge taking its place.

It seems that some users may be a touch unwilling to make the jump, however, with Microsoft forced to emphasise that the days of Internet Explorer really are numbered.

The future is Edge

“As previously announced, the future of Internet Explorer on Windows is in Microsoft Edge,” Microsoft stated in a company announcement.

“The Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) desktop application will be retired on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10. This means that the IE11 desktop application will no longer be supported and afterward will redirect to Microsoft Edge if a user tries to access it.”

The company did highlight that any particularly nostalgia-driven users can still use Internet Explorer mode (IE mode) within Microsoft Edge for the time being. IE mode aims to support legacy websites and applications within Microsoft Edge until they can be ported over to the new software.

Read more

> Microsoft Edge is about to give you an excellent new way to procrastinate

> Internet Explorer might not be entirely dead just yet

> Microsoft 365 update will make sure no one is at a disadvantage

Microsoft first announced plans to retire support for Internet Explorer 11 across Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 back in August 2020, and since then has been gradually stripping back services for the software.

Its Microsoft 365 deadline passed in August 2021, although some apps may still function via the browser, albeit with users seeing a severely diminished experience.

External tools have also pulled back, with Google Search withdrawing support for Internet Explorer in October 2021, leaving the browser reliant on its own in-house Bing search, with support for Docs, Sheets, Slides and other Google Workspace apps removed in March 2021.

Microsoft Edge continues to perform strongly in the global browser market, with recent figures placing it on the verge of surpassing Apple's Safari offering. 

The latest StatCounter numbers show Microsoft Edge is now used on 9.54% of desktops worldwide, just behind Safari at 9.84% – although both are still far behind runaway market leader Google Chrome on 65.38%.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Sidecar can still be used in iPadOS 15.4 with Universal Control – but what is it?
  • No Comments

With Universal Control releasing with macOS 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4 as a beta, some have been wondering if it's replaced a similar feature that's been available since 2019.

Sidecar was released with macOS Catalina in 2019, which allows users with a Mac to use an iPad as a second screen. You couldn't interact with the tablet in iPadOS. This feature would only display whatever you chose from the Mac.

But it's not had its time to shine in three years, with many wondering what the feature does, and how it works. Universal Control has only confused this further, with some wondering if it replaced Sidecar.

During my time using an iPad in 2021, I was able to get Sidecar working with my old MacBook Air (2013), so I wanted to finally straighten out the differences between Universal Control and Sidecar, and how both can be used for certain situations.

What's the difference?

The best way to think of these features is to see Sidecar as a way of only displaying content, while Universal Control is a way to manage content between devices.

You can use your trackpad and keyboard to manage content between your Mac and iPad in Universal Control. But in Sidecar, you're essentially using macOS on both devices, so your Mac thinks it's connected to a second display only. There's no iPadOS when you're using Sidecar.

You're using a keyboard and mouse within this feature, similar to using three external displays in Windows 11 for example – same OS, but an extension of the display. That's what Sidecar's function is for your Mac.

Universal Control on a MacBook Pro

(Image credit: TechRadar)

In an Apple Support document, it details the requirements to use the feature and it explicitly states that you can use AirPlay for Sidecar to work wirelessly or a lightning or USB-C cable to connect your Mac and iPad to also enable Sidecar.

But in Universal Control, you only have to make sure that your Mac and iPad are on the same Wi-Fi network and the same iCloud account. As long as they're both in close proximity to one another, you can use your trackpad or mouse to switch over to the iPad, with no effort necessary to enable the feature.

Sidecar is still a useful feature in 2022, especially if you have an old iPad somewhere. Using a Mac with an external display can be a great help if you're doing work, watching a movie, or playing a game.

Even though Apple hasn't showcased Sidecar much since 2019, it's nice to know it and Universal Control can stand aside one another and can fit certain situations when needed, wherever you may be.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More

Sidecar can still be used in iPadOS 15.4 with Universal Control – but what is it?
  • No Comments

With Universal Control releasing with macOS 12.3 and iPadOS 15.4 as a beta, some have been wondering if it's replaced a similar feature that's been available since 2019.

Sidecar was released with macOS Catalina in 2019, which allows users with a Mac to use an iPad as a second screen. You couldn't interact with the tablet in iPadOS. This feature would only display whatever you chose from the Mac.

But it's not had its time to shine in three years, with many wondering what the feature does, and how it works. Universal Control has only confused this further, with some wondering if it replaced Sidecar.

During my time using an iPad in 2021, I was able to get Sidecar working with my old MacBook Air (2013), so I wanted to finally straighten out the differences between Universal Control and Sidecar, and how both can be used for certain situations.

What's the difference?

The best way to think of these features is to see Sidecar as a way of only displaying content, while Universal Control is a way to manage content between devices.

You can use your trackpad and keyboard to manage content between your Mac and iPad in Universal Control. But in Sidecar, you're essentially using macOS on both devices, so your Mac thinks it's connected to a second display only. There's no iPadOS when you're using Sidecar.

You're using a keyboard and mouse within this feature, similar to using three external displays in Windows 11 for example – same OS, but an extension of the display. That's what Sidecar's function is for your Mac.

Universal Control on a MacBook Pro

(Image credit: TechRadar)

In an Apple Support document, it details the requirements to use the feature and it explicitly states that you can use AirPlay for Sidecar to work wirelessly or a lightning or USB-C cable to connect your Mac and iPad to also enable Sidecar.

But in Universal Control, you only have to make sure that your Mac and iPad are on the same Wi-Fi network and the same iCloud account. As long as they're both in close proximity to one another, you can use your trackpad or mouse to switch over to the iPad, with no effort necessary to enable the feature.

Sidecar is still a useful feature in 2022, especially if you have an old iPad somewhere. Using a Mac with an external display can be a great help if you're doing work, watching a movie, or playing a game.

Even though Apple hasn't showcased Sidecar much since 2019, it's nice to know it and Universal Control can stand aside one another and can fit certain situations when needed, wherever you may be.

TechRadar – All the latest technology news

Read More