Apple’s launch of a raft of new products had the usual effect of dividing the Apple-sphere into those that “did” and those that “didn’t” like the new kit. My take is that these things are such a personal choice that, like Brexit, we have several million people with several million perceptions of what is right or wrong.

It all comes down to a few parameters such as the amount of money made for the shareholders and whether the latest widget improves your life in some way - making your work easier or giving you more leisure bang for your buck.

One new benefit is that you now have the ability to call more than one person on FaceTime. Up to 32 of your friends, staff or clients can join a Group FaceTime call. The first time I saw this I thought that this will only be for the worker bees in a company who are used to very expensive teleconferencing systems but soon came to realise that, come the holiday season, it will be to easy to call Aunt Jemima in London and Uncle Fred in Norwich at the same time, which is something you couldn’t do before, to have a truly family call.

How much will this cost you say, after all teleconferencing has always been very expensive, to the extent that only a very few large companies could afford it? According to Apple it will depend on your carrier and your wifi and mobile data plan so be careful! It could be very cheap but don’t try ringing all your relations in Australia as that could cost you a bit!

Note that according to the Apple Support pages “To make and receive FaceTime calls with multiple people, you and your friends must be using macOS Mojave or later for Macs or iOS 12.1 or later for iPads or iPhones. Group FaceTime may not be available in all regions.”

Here is the URL for more information on the Apple Support Page for Group FaceTime:-

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT209022

Let me know how you get on but (there’s always a but, isn’t there!) make sure you know what you’re spending.

Have a great Holiday Season and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!