Only one tablet has survived the rise and fall of the tablet craze — mostly unscathed, that is— and that’s the Apple iPad. First launched in 2010, the original iPad mostly served as a larger iPhone, but without calling capabilities. And with no front-facing camera, you couldn’t even place video calls. Fast forward almost a decade and Apple’s tablet lineup are bonafide laptop replacements for some. Apple has adapted the iPad in form, function, and overall cost in such a way that it’s become the no-brainer tablet purchase.
It’s an exciting day for animators and art geeks. The iPadOS-exclusive Procreate illustration app has made some serious waves in the creative community since its 2011 release, so expectations are high for the company’s new animation app.
Procreate Dreams is available now on iPad for $19.99 via the app store. Artist Nikolai Lockertsen has some great demos on YouTube to showcase what it’s capable of.
Our video producer, Vjeran Pavic, called out the new iPad version’s missing features in his review when it launched, and a new update coming out later this month will address at least one by adding stabilization.
Final Cut Pro is also getting an Apple Silicon performance boost for exporting videos, automatic timeline scrolling, and a lot of other tweaks. Like the update Apple released for Logic earlier today, it’s free, but the software will still cost $299.99 on macOS, with a subscription on iPad that’s $49 annually or $5 per month.
9to5Mac spotted that Apple updated the Mac and iPad versions of Logic Pro today. Updates include an automatic mastering tool called Mastering Assistant and 32-bit float recording.
Apple also ported over the iPad’s Sample Alchemy and Beat Breaker features to the Mac version, while the subscription iPad version gets drag-and-drop support from other apps.
Look for Logic Pro 1.1 (iPadOS) and Logic Pro 10.8 (macOS)
9to5Mac found evidence suggesting that Apple has gotten tvOS running on the sixth-generation iPad Mini — a device that would has a screen that’s near in size to the the rumored HomePod in development with a seven-inch screen. Suspicious!
Apple’s new $79 Pencil is mostly notable for what it doesn’t include; pressure sensitivity, wireless pairing, wireless charging, or a double-tap shortcut. But you can check out its selling point, a stealthy USB-C port, in this short hands on video. It can charge from USB-C iPads without an adapter or the awkward fragility of previous Lightning-equipped styluses when it releases next month.
Starting today, iPhone and iPad users running iOS 15 / iPadOS 15 or later can now download the Vivaldi web browser and access its built-in notes tool and desktop-style tabs that make it easy to manage and switch between open, private, recently closed, or synced browsing sessions.
[Vivaldi Browser]
Mark Gurman said on The MacRumors Show podcast yesterday that he “thinks we might” get a new base model iPad in October, noting it tends to come annually, announced via video instead of an event (like the M2 Pro computers early this year).
He says a new iPad Air will come “soonish,” so that doesn’t sound likely for October. But hey, at least we might get those M3 iMacs.
Our invites to the launch event for Apple’s next iPhone had barely arrived before it pushed developers another revision of its upcoming iOS and iPadOS 17 software update to test. (There are also updates rolling out for test versions of the new watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and even visionOS software.)
Until we actually see what’s shipping this fall, you can check out our early impressions or see how to install a beta version and test the update yourself.
Apple says it’s been working on AI research for years, and recent job listings show its current focus, reports the Financial Times.
Over the last few months company has posted dozens of AI jobs in the US, France, and China, looking to fill roles that could help build generative AI tools that use local processing on mobile devices, like this one:
We are seeking a candidate with a proven track record in applied ML research. Responsibilities in the role will include training large scale language and multimodal models on distributed backends, deployment of compact neural architectures such as transformers efficiently on device, and learning policies that can be personalized to the user in a privacy preserving manner.
Apple just released iOS 16.6 with “important bug fixes and security updates,” so go get your iPhones and such up to date. iPadOS 16.6, tvOS 16.6, macOS Ventura 13.5, and watchOS 9.6 are also available.
No specific features are mentioned in the release notes. You can update most Apple devices by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
Over on TikTok, creator Billy Skipper Hughes decided his iBook G3 needs to be an iPad in disguise, and I couldn’t be happier. It even has space for the Apple Pencil! And an Apple Watch charger!
It’s the greatest iPad case that ever was.
Apple recently announced a lot of nifty new hardware, and if you’re preparing to update your equipment, you may want to make room by trading-in your old Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Watch. We have a guide for how to wipe your device, and where you can trade it in for credit or cash.
Mark Gurman has detailed Apple’s roadmap up until the first half of 2024.
There’s the iPhone 15 lineup and three new Apple Watch models coming this fall. Later there’s three sizes of MacBook Pro with various M3 chips, new MacBook Airs, and new 24-inch iMacs. New iPad Airs and Pros are also on the way, the latter with OLED screens.
