Where’s the spine?

I’ve just bought my first copy of your magazine, along with a printed MacBook manual to go with my newly acquired MacBook Pro. I may buy a future edition of the manual, but I’m less sure about shelling out for your magazine again. Is almost everything Apple deliriously blissful? Have you lost your critical factor almost entirely, or are you just too scared to say boo to a goose? by Adam C Smith

Alex sa ys…

We’re saddened to think that we come across as uncritical of Apple when it’s deserving of that treatment, as we strive to publish fair commentary on Apple and other companies throughout all sections of the magazine.

We’ve given prominent mention to things Apple has got wrong. The January issue (#321)’s Welcome page, where you might normally expect an upbeat message, was largely devoted to the root security issue in High Sierra. This seemed like the best place to ensure readers would see the topic. Similarly, in this issue we’ve mentioned our mixed feelings over HomePod’s arrival while it’s missing some key features. Matt Bolton’s column (see page 20) often mentions where Apple could do better.

We believe we’re balanced in our reviews. Few Apple devices are truly bad, but we wouldn’t hesitate to give a low score if one were fundamentally flawed.

All said, we appreciate that some of our content, such as the Apple in Numbers page, might read as too congratulatory, and we’re looking at ways to diversify topics and angles in that coverage. We’d certainly like to learn more about specific objections from you and all readers, Adam – so feel free to let us know examples of where you would have liked us to do things a little differently.

Here at MacFormat, we endeavour to be fair in our reporting and testing. If your experience of a product differs from ours, please do let us know.