{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1.1", "user_comment": "This feed allows you to read the posts from this site in any feed reader that supports the JSON Feed format. To add this feed to your reader, copy the following URL -- https://www.macstories.net/tag/ipad/feed/json/ -- and add it your reader.", "home_page_url": "https://www.macstories.net/tag/ipad/", "feed_url": "https://www.macstories.net/tag/ipad/feed/json/", "language": "en-US", "title": "iPad – MacStories", "description": "Apple news, app reviews, and stories by Federico Viticci and friends.", "items": [ { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=77727", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/bookshop-org-now-supports-local-booksellers-with-ebook-sales/", "title": "Bookshop.org Now Supports Local Booksellers with eBook Sales", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

Bookshop.org launched in 2020 as a way to sell books online while still supporting local bookstores, which have become a rarity in the U.S. The company has seen success selling physical books online. As Boone Ashworth explains at Wired:

\n

\n For physical books, Bookshop lets buyers direct 30 percent of the proceeds of a sale to their favorite participating bookstore. An additional 10 percent of those sales, plus the sales of books that are not earmarked for a specific store, gets split up and distributed to every store on Bookshop’s platform.\n

\n

Now, Bookshop has added eBooks that can be purchased online and read in the company’s new Bookshop.org app, available for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Ashworth breaks down how these sales work:

\n

\n Ebook sales through Bookshop, however, will see 100 percent of the proceeds going to the store that sells them through the platform. If a user buys an ebook directly from Bookshop without naming a bookstore they want to support, then a third of that profit will go into the pool of funds that gets divided between stores. The rest will go to pay for Bookshop.org’s engineers and server costs.\n

\n

Giving local bookstores the ability to sell eBooks fills a big hole for those businesses. Bookshop CEO Andy Hunter shared the company’s motivation for offering eBooks with Wired:

\n

\n “It’s crazy that bookstores can’t sell ebooks to their customers right now,” Hunter says. He says he wants this program to continue his company’s mission of propping up local bookstores, but he also hopes this move will help take Amazon down a peg as well.\n

\n

I’ve tried Bookshop’s app briefly with some book previews, and it works well. The settings options aren’t as extensive as in other eBook readers, but the basics – like text size, pagination versus scrolling, a couple of font options, and light, dark, and paper themes – are all there. The design makes browsing your library of books or finding something new to read easy, too. It may not be enough for some readers, but this is a 1.0 release, so I’m optimistic additional options will be offered with time.

\n

It’s great to see Bookshop offering eBooks. We have an excellent bookstore here in Davidson that I love to browse, but more often than not, I prefer an eBook over the paper version, so it’s nice to have that as an option now.

\n

The Bookshop.org app is available on the App Store as a free download. eBooks must be purchased online and synced with the app.

\n

\u2192 Source: wired.com

", "content_text": "Bookshop.org launched in 2020 as a way to sell books online while still supporting local bookstores, which have become a rarity in the U.S. The company has seen success selling physical books online. As Boone Ashworth explains at Wired:\n\n For physical books, Bookshop lets buyers direct 30 percent of the proceeds of a sale to their favorite participating bookstore. An additional 10 percent of those sales, plus the sales of books that are not earmarked for a specific store, gets split up and distributed to every store on Bookshop’s platform.\n\nNow, Bookshop has added eBooks that can be purchased online and read in the company’s new Bookshop.org app, available for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. Ashworth breaks down how these sales work:\n\n Ebook sales through Bookshop, however, will see 100 percent of the proceeds going to the store that sells them through the platform. If a user buys an ebook directly from Bookshop without naming a bookstore they want to support, then a third of that profit will go into the pool of funds that gets divided between stores. The rest will go to pay for Bookshop.org’s engineers and server costs.\n\nGiving local bookstores the ability to sell eBooks fills a big hole for those businesses. Bookshop CEO Andy Hunter shared the company’s motivation for offering eBooks with Wired:\n\n “It’s crazy that bookstores can’t sell ebooks to their customers right now,” Hunter says. He says he wants this program to continue his company’s mission of propping up local bookstores, but he also hopes this move will help take Amazon down a peg as well.\n\nI’ve tried Bookshop’s app briefly with some book previews, and it works well. The settings options aren’t as extensive as in other eBook readers, but the basics – like text size, pagination versus scrolling, a couple of font options, and light, dark, and paper themes – are all there. The design makes browsing your library of books or finding something new to read easy, too. It may not be enough for some readers, but this is a 1.0 release, so I’m optimistic additional options will be offered with time.\nIt’s great to see Bookshop offering eBooks. We have an excellent bookstore here in Davidson that I love to browse, but more often than not, I prefer an eBook over the paper version, so it’s nice to have that as an option now.\nThe Bookshop.org app is available on the App Store as a free download. eBooks must be purchased online and synced with the app.\n\u2192 Source: wired.com", "date_published": "2025-01-28T10:36:00-05:00", "date_modified": "2025-01-28T10:36:00-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "app", "books", "iOS", "iPad", "iPadOS", "iPhone", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=77704", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/introducing-our-updated-ipad-hub/", "title": "Introducing Our Updated iPad Hub", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

We’ve updated MacStories’ iPad hub. You may not have noticed before, but it’s linked right there in the masthead, and it’s an amazing resource. The iPad hub collects over a decade of Federico’s coverage of years of iPad hardware and iPadOS. It’s a fantastic historical resource and the best place to find his latest coverage.

\n

Federico has been using and writing about the iPad since its beginning. His many hardware reviews benefit from that in-depth knowledge and his experiments in modularity and creating a hybrid laptop-tablet are legendary.

\n

On the iPad hub, you’ll find:

\n

If you love the iPad as much as we do, check out our iPad hub. It’s a fantastic resource and a fun trip through Apple’s hardware history.

\n

\u2192 Source: macstories.net

", "content_text": "We’ve updated MacStories’ iPad hub. You may not have noticed before, but it’s linked right there in the masthead, and it’s an amazing resource. The iPad hub collects over a decade of Federico’s coverage of years of iPad hardware and iPadOS. It’s a fantastic historical resource and the best place to find his latest coverage.\nFederico has been using and writing about the iPad since its beginning. His many hardware reviews benefit from that in-depth knowledge and his experiments in modularity and creating a hybrid laptop-tablet are legendary.\nOn the iPad hub, you’ll find:\nFederico’s latest iPad coverage like iPad Pro for Everything and iPad mini Review: The Third Place.\nYou’ll also find his iPadOS reviews, including every version from iPadOS 18 back to iOS 9.\nIn 2020, we celebrated the iPad’s 10th anniversary with a look back at the tablet’s history and future, which is collected on the hub too.\nPlus, there’s a long list of stories full of productivity tips, deep dives into iPad-exclusive features, and commentary.\nIf you love the iPad as much as we do, check out our iPad hub. It’s a fantastic resource and a fun trip through Apple’s hardware history.\n\u2192 Source: macstories.net", "date_published": "2025-01-27T09:06:34-05:00", "date_modified": "2025-01-27T09:06:34-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "iPad", "iPadOS", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=77655", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/our-macstories-setups-updates-covering-video-production-gaming-and-more/", "title": "Our MacStories Setups: Updates Covering Video Production, Gaming, and More", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

The second half of 2024 saw a lot of change to my setup and Federico’s. We launched the MacStories YouTube channel, expanded our family of podcasts, and spent time chasing the ultimate portable gaming setup for NPC: Next Portable Console. The result was that our setups have evolved rapidly. So, today, we thought we’d catch folks up on what’s changed.

\n
\n

Our Setups page has all the details, but you’ll notice a couple of trends from the changes we’ve made recently. As Federico recounted in iPad Pro for Everything: How I Rethought My Entire Workflow Around the New 11” iPad Pro, the linchpin to ditching his Mac altogether was recording audio and video to SD cards. He already had a solution for audio in place, but video required additional hardware, including the Sony ZV-E10 II camera.

\n
\"Federico's

Federico’s White OLED Steam Deck and Lenovo Legion y700 tablet.

\n

Federico’s gaming setup has evolved, too. The Sony PS5 Pro replaced the original PS5, and he swapped the limited edition white Steam Deck in for the standard OLED version. He also revealed on NPC: Next Portable Console this week that he’s using a Lenovo y700 2024 gaming tablet imported from China to emulate Nintendo DS and 3DS games, which will be available worldwide later this year as the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3. Other upgrades to existing hardware Federico uses include a move from the iPhone 16 Plus to the iPhone 16 Pro Max and an upgrade of the XREAL Airs to the XREAL One glasses.

\n
\"My

My portable video recording setup

\n

As for myself, CES and its bag size limitations pushed me to rethink my portable video and audio recording setups. For recording when I’m away from home I added several items to my kit that I detailed in What’s in My CES Bag?, including:

\n

On the gaming side of things I added a white TrimUI Brick and GameCube-inspired Retroid Pocket 5.

\n

2024 was a big year for setup updates for both of us. We already have new hardware incoming for testing, so keep an eye on the Setups page. I expect we’ll update it several times in 2025 too.

\n

\u2192 Source: macstories.net

", "content_text": "The second half of 2024 saw a lot of change to my setup and Federico’s. We launched the MacStories YouTube channel, expanded our family of podcasts, and spent time chasing the ultimate portable gaming setup for NPC: Next Portable Console. The result was that our setups have evolved rapidly. So, today, we thought we’d catch folks up on what’s changed.\n\nOur Setups page has all the details, but you’ll notice a couple of trends from the changes we’ve made recently. As Federico recounted in iPad Pro for Everything: How I Rethought My Entire Workflow Around the New 11” iPad Pro, the linchpin to ditching his Mac altogether was recording audio and video to SD cards. He already had a solution for audio in place, but video required additional hardware, including the Sony ZV-E10 II camera.\nFederico’s White OLED Steam Deck and Lenovo Legion y700 tablet.\nFederico’s gaming setup has evolved, too. The Sony PS5 Pro replaced the original PS5, and he swapped the limited edition white Steam Deck in for the standard OLED version. He also revealed on NPC: Next Portable Console this week that he’s using a Lenovo y700 2024 gaming tablet imported from China to emulate Nintendo DS and 3DS games, which will be available worldwide later this year as the Lenovo Legion Tab Gen 3. Other upgrades to existing hardware Federico uses include a move from the iPhone 16 Plus to the iPhone 16 Pro Max and an upgrade of the XREAL Airs to the XREAL One glasses.\nMy portable video recording setup\nAs for myself, CES and its bag size limitations pushed me to rethink my portable video and audio recording setups. For recording when I’m away from home I added several items to my kit that I detailed in What’s in My CES Bag?, including:\na Tomtoc sling bag\nthe Insta360 Flow Pro gimbal\nDJI’s Mic 2 wireless microphones and receiver\nLexar’s tiny 2TB SSD and hub accessory for the iPhone\nOn the gaming side of things I added a white TrimUI Brick and GameCube-inspired Retroid Pocket 5.\n2024 was a big year for setup updates for both of us. We already have new hardware incoming for testing, so keep an eye on the Setups page. I expect we’ll update it several times in 2025 too.\n\u2192 Source: macstories.net", "date_published": "2025-01-16T11:13:17-05:00", "date_modified": "2025-01-16T11:29:46-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "accessories", "apps", "iPad", "mac", "photography", "setups", "video", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=77608", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/razer-launches-pc-remote-play-for-streaming-pc-games-to-the-iphone-ipad-and-other-devices/", "title": "Razer Launches PC Remote Play for Streaming PC Games to the iPhone, iPad, and Other Devices", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Razer.

\n

Yesterday, Brendon and I wandered into a ballroom where Razer was showing off its latest hardware. We weren’t expecting much beyond super-powerful gaming laptops (✅) and lots of RGB lights (also ✅). However, just as our guided booth tour was ending, we asked about an iPhone, iPad mini, and Windows PC setup on a nearby table, which it turns out was a demo of Razer’s new PC Remote Play app.

\n

There are a lot of ways to stream games from a Windows PC to iPhones, iPads, and other devices, but Razer PC Remote Play looks like it could be one of the easiest and nicest of the bunch. What was impressive about the demo was that Razer’s app automatically adjusts to the device to which you’re streaming, matching its screen’s refresh rate and aspect ratio. That ensures you’ll get the most out of the device to which you’re streaming, and you won’t see letterboxing or pillarboxing, which is caused by a mismatch between the aspect ratio of your PC remote device. According to a Reddit user who says they are a Product Developer for Razer PC Remote Play, the app is built on the open source Moonlight/Sunshine projects, with the goal of simplifying setup and configuration.

\n

Razer PC Remote Play is currently in beta and requires that you run Razer Cortex on your Windows PC and install the Razer PC Remote Play and Razer Nexus apps on your iPhone, iPad, or other devices. I haven’t had a chance to set this up yet because I don’t have a PC with me at CES, but judging from the iOS app I set up it looks as simple as opening Razer PC Remote Play, which detects if there is a PC on your network running Razer Cortex. Once paired, Razer says your PC games will show up in its Nexus game launcher app alongside your other games.

\n

I’m excited to try Razer PC Remote Play myself. The Moonlight/Sunshine project is a great way to stream PC games, but it can take some fiddling to work well with any given setup. What Razer is promising is a simplified version that just works out of the box. We’ll see how well it works in practice, but the demo I saw was promising.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: Razer.\nYesterday, Brendon and I wandered into a ballroom where Razer was showing off its latest hardware. We weren’t expecting much beyond super-powerful gaming laptops (✅) and lots of RGB lights (also ✅). However, just as our guided booth tour was ending, we asked about an iPhone, iPad mini, and Windows PC setup on a nearby table, which it turns out was a demo of Razer’s new PC Remote Play app.\nThere are a lot of ways to stream games from a Windows PC to iPhones, iPads, and other devices, but Razer PC Remote Play looks like it could be one of the easiest and nicest of the bunch. What was impressive about the demo was that Razer’s app automatically adjusts to the device to which you’re streaming, matching its screen’s refresh rate and aspect ratio. That ensures you’ll get the most out of the device to which you’re streaming, and you won’t see letterboxing or pillarboxing, which is caused by a mismatch between the aspect ratio of your PC remote device. According to a Reddit user who says they are a Product Developer for Razer PC Remote Play, the app is built on the open source Moonlight/Sunshine projects, with the goal of simplifying setup and configuration.\nRazer PC Remote Play is currently in beta and requires that you run Razer Cortex on your Windows PC and install the Razer PC Remote Play and Razer Nexus apps on your iPhone, iPad, or other devices. I haven’t had a chance to set this up yet because I don’t have a PC with me at CES, but judging from the iOS app I set up it looks as simple as opening Razer PC Remote Play, which detects if there is a PC on your network running Razer Cortex. Once paired, Razer says your PC games will show up in its Nexus game launcher app alongside your other games.\nI’m excited to try Razer PC Remote Play myself. The Moonlight/Sunshine project is a great way to stream PC games, but it can take some fiddling to work well with any given setup. What Razer is promising is a simplified version that just works out of the box. We’ll see how well it works in practice, but the demo I saw was promising.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2025-01-08T12:11:07-05:00", "date_modified": "2025-01-08T12:11:07-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "apps", "gaming", "iPad", "iPhone", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=77577", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/espresso-displays-announces-the-4k-15-pro-portable-display/", "title": "Espresso Displays Announces the 4K 15 Pro Portable Display", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: espresso Displays.

\n

Late yesterday, espresso Displays announced the addition of a new portable display to its Pro lineup. The espresso 15 Pro joins the company’s 17 Pro, which was released last year. Highlights of the 15.6” display include a brighter 60Hz 4K screen and a new stand, along with features from the 17 Pro like touch sensitivity.

\n
\"Source:

Source: espresso Displays.

\n

The display, which is enclosed in an aluminum body with two USB-C ports, is capable of 550 nits of brightness over a single USB-C cable, a 100-nit improvement over the larger 17 Pro display. The new Stand+ will enable the screen to be elevated much higher, too, thanks to a clever design that can be folded up into a travel-friendly configuration.

\n

The espresso 15 Pro will be shown off at CES starting tomorrow, where I’m hoping to spend some hands-on time with it. Although I haven’t seen the 15 Pro yet, I have tried the 17 Pro and espresso Display’s standard 1080p 15” portable display, which came with the same Stand+ as the 15 Pro model. Both displays are well-built, lightweight, and easy to use, making them great complements to a Mac, iPad, or even an iPhone for anyone who wants a second screen. I’m particularly interested in the 15 Pro, though, because despite its great resolution, the 17 Pro is a little bigger than I typically want to carry with me, and I expect the added brightness of the 15 Pro will be a nice addition, too.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: espresso Displays.\nLate yesterday, espresso Displays announced the addition of a new portable display to its Pro lineup. The espresso 15 Pro joins the company’s 17 Pro, which was released last year. Highlights of the 15.6” display include a brighter 60Hz 4K screen and a new stand, along with features from the 17 Pro like touch sensitivity.\nSource: espresso Displays.\nThe display, which is enclosed in an aluminum body with two USB-C ports, is capable of 550 nits of brightness over a single USB-C cable, a 100-nit improvement over the larger 17 Pro display. The new Stand+ will enable the screen to be elevated much higher, too, thanks to a clever design that can be folded up into a travel-friendly configuration.\nThe espresso 15 Pro will be shown off at CES starting tomorrow, where I’m hoping to spend some hands-on time with it. Although I haven’t seen the 15 Pro yet, I have tried the 17 Pro and espresso Display’s standard 1080p 15” portable display, which came with the same Stand+ as the 15 Pro model. Both displays are well-built, lightweight, and easy to use, making them great complements to a Mac, iPad, or even an iPhone for anyone who wants a second screen. I’m particularly interested in the 15 Pro, though, because despite its great resolution, the 17 Pro is a little bigger than I typically want to carry with me, and I expect the added brightness of the 15 Pro will be a nice addition, too.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2025-01-06T12:40:35-05:00", "date_modified": "2025-01-08T11:26:15-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "accessory", "CES 2025", "Displays", "iPad", "mac", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=77550", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/stories/whats-in-my-ces-bag/", "title": "What\u2019s in My CES Bag?", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

Packing for CES has been a little different than WWDC. The biggest differences are the huge crowds at CES and the limits the conference puts on the bags you can carry into venues.

\n
\n

My trusty Tom Bihn Synapse 25 backpack isn’t big, but it’s too large for CES, so the first thing I did was look for a bag that was small enough to meet the CES security rules but big enough to hold my 14” MacBook Pro and 11” iPad Pro, plus accessories. I decided on a medium-sized Tomtoc Navigator T24 sling bag, which is the perfect size. It holds 7 liters of stuff and has built-in padding to protect the corners of the MacBook Pro and iPad as well as pockets on the inside and outside to help organize cables and other things.

\n
\"Tomtoc's

Tomtoc’s medium Navigator T24 sling bag. Source: Tomtoc.

\n

I don’t plan to carry my MacBook Pro with me during the day. The iPad Pro will be plenty for any writing and video production I do on the go, but it will be good to have the power and flexibility of the MacBook Pro when I return to my hotel room. For traveling to and from Las Vegas, I appreciate that the Tomtoc bag can fit everything I’m bringing.

\n
\"A

A surprising amount of stuff fits in the T24. Source: Tomtoc.

\n

With little room to spare, my setup is minimal. I’ll write on the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro, carrying the iPad with me tethered to my iPhone for Internet access. That’s a tried-and-true setup I already use whenever I’m away from home.

\n

\n
\"My

My entire video production setup, minus my iPhone and iPad.

\n

The new part of my travel setup is the gear I’m using to record video. At the core of the setup is my iPhone 16 Pro Max. For on-the-go video, I’m bringing an Insta360 Flow Pro gimbal. It’s lightweight, so it fits nicely in my Tomtoc bag, and it has a lot of bells and whistles like subject tracking and DockKit support, which I’m looking forward to trying.

\n
\"The

The Insta360 Flow Pro gimbal. Source: Insta360.

\n

I’m also planning to record podcast-style segments with Brendon wherever we can find a little space. For that, I have a Manfrotto PIXI Mini Tripod and a MagSafe-compatible tripod adapter from Moment. Using Final Cut Camera and Final Cut Pro for the iPad, I’ll be able to control recording from my iPad Pro.

\n
\"A

A 2TB SSD and mini USB-C hub.

\n

With thousands of people crammed in a tight space, I can’t rely on always having a good Wi-Fi or mobile data connection. For maximum flexibility and minimal reliance on wireless connections, I have an incredibly small Lexar 2TB SSD. I’ll record video to the SSD and then plug it into the iPad Pro for editing instead of relying on AirDrop.

\n
\"By

By adding a DJI Mic 2 receiver, I can improve our audio while saving to external media.

\n

The Lexar SSD came with a tiny hub, too, which is how I’m handling audio. With the hub, I can also plug in a DJI Mic 2 receiver. It comes with two microphone transmitters that sound remarkably good for mics that are so small and wireless. The DJI Mic 2 comes in a sturdy carrying case that charges its components just like an AirPods case does. Like the Lexar outboard storage, the case barely adds any volume or weight to my overall kit, which I love.

\n
\"A

A big Anker Prime battery to power our gear all day long. Source: Anker.

\n

However, not everything I’m taking is lightweight. I also plan to carry my Anker Prime 27,650mAh Power Bank with me during the day to recharge my iPhone, iPad, and other devices that will undoubtedly need topping off after shooting video. I’ll bring my 10,000mAh Anker MagGo Power Bank too because it’s compact and a great way to charge up my Apple Watch and smaller USB-C devices. When I’m in my hotel room, I’ll be able to charge everything relatively quickly thanks to a 100W Anker USB-C GaN wall charger and a 65W three-port USB-C GaN charger from UGREEN, which I’ll probably carry with me during the day too. I’ll charge everything via OWC Thunderbolt 4 cables to maximize power throughput.

\n
\"The

The TrimUI Brick. Source: TrimUI.

\n

For any downtime I’ll have, I’m bringing my white TrimUI Brick, one of my latest retro videogame handhelds. I don’t expect to have much free time on this trip, but if nothing else, it’s a long flight from Charlotte to Las Vegas, the perfect time for some light gaming. Brendon talked a little about the Brick on a recent episode of NPC. Federico and I have both received our own Bricks since then, so I’m sure we’ll talk about the device more soon. In my limited time with it, though, it seems like the perfect travel handheld with its solid build and small but sharp and bright 3.2” screen.

\n

Finally, I’m bringing two sets of old-fashioned wired EarPods. I’ll use the version with a 3.5mm headphone jack for the TrimUI Brick and the USB-C model as needed for editing videos. They aren’t the best quality headphones by a long stretch, but I won’t have to deal with any audio latency or connectivity issues that wireless headphones would introduce. Plus, all the other wired headphones I have are simply too big to fit in my Tomtoc bag.

\n
\"The

The Tom Bihn Synapse 25 has been demoted to carrying clothes.

\n

To complement my compact tech kit, I’ll also bring my trusty Tom Bihn Synapse 25 backpack. I won’t be able to bring it into any venues, but since I’ll only be away for three nights, I should be able to pack my clothes, on-the-go snacks, and other items with some careful planning.

\n

CES has required a different sort of setup than I’m used to. I appreciate the constraint on the size of bag I can carry during the day because, having never attended CES in Las Vegas, I know I’d be prone to pack a lot of unnecessary gear “just in case.” Instead, I’ve had to focus on minimizing what I bring and maximizing its flexibility. I’ll know soon enough whether I’ve made any miscalculations.

\n

You can follow along with our CES coverage here on MacStories.net under the tag ‘CES 2025’ and this dedicated RSS feed. You’ll also find two playlists on our YouTube channel: ‘NPC @ CES’ for handheld gaming news and ‘MacStories @ CES’ for everything else.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

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Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

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Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Packing for CES has been a little different than WWDC. The biggest differences are the huge crowds at CES and the limits the conference puts on the bags you can carry into venues.\n\nMy trusty Tom Bihn Synapse 25 backpack isn’t big, but it’s too large for CES, so the first thing I did was look for a bag that was small enough to meet the CES security rules but big enough to hold my 14” MacBook Pro and 11” iPad Pro, plus accessories. I decided on a medium-sized Tomtoc Navigator T24 sling bag, which is the perfect size. It holds 7 liters of stuff and has built-in padding to protect the corners of the MacBook Pro and iPad as well as pockets on the inside and outside to help organize cables and other things.\nTomtoc’s medium Navigator T24 sling bag. Source: Tomtoc.\nI don’t plan to carry my MacBook Pro with me during the day. The iPad Pro will be plenty for any writing and video production I do on the go, but it will be good to have the power and flexibility of the MacBook Pro when I return to my hotel room. For traveling to and from Las Vegas, I appreciate that the Tomtoc bag can fit everything I’m bringing.\nA surprising amount of stuff fits in the T24. Source: Tomtoc.\nWith little room to spare, my setup is minimal. I’ll write on the iPad Pro and MacBook Pro, carrying the iPad with me tethered to my iPhone for Internet access. That’s a tried-and-true setup I already use whenever I’m away from home.\n\nMy entire video production setup, minus my iPhone and iPad.\nThe new part of my travel setup is the gear I’m using to record video. At the core of the setup is my iPhone 16 Pro Max. For on-the-go video, I’m bringing an Insta360 Flow Pro gimbal. It’s lightweight, so it fits nicely in my Tomtoc bag, and it has a lot of bells and whistles like subject tracking and DockKit support, which I’m looking forward to trying.\nThe Insta360 Flow Pro gimbal. Source: Insta360.\nI’m also planning to record podcast-style segments with Brendon wherever we can find a little space. For that, I have a Manfrotto PIXI Mini Tripod and a MagSafe-compatible tripod adapter from Moment. Using Final Cut Camera and Final Cut Pro for the iPad, I’ll be able to control recording from my iPad Pro.\nA 2TB SSD and mini USB-C hub.\nWith thousands of people crammed in a tight space, I can’t rely on always having a good Wi-Fi or mobile data connection. For maximum flexibility and minimal reliance on wireless connections, I have an incredibly small Lexar 2TB SSD. I’ll record video to the SSD and then plug it into the iPad Pro for editing instead of relying on AirDrop.\nBy adding a DJI Mic 2 receiver, I can improve our audio while saving to external media.\nThe Lexar SSD came with a tiny hub, too, which is how I’m handling audio. With the hub, I can also plug in a DJI Mic 2 receiver. It comes with two microphone transmitters that sound remarkably good for mics that are so small and wireless. The DJI Mic 2 comes in a sturdy carrying case that charges its components just like an AirPods case does. Like the Lexar outboard storage, the case barely adds any volume or weight to my overall kit, which I love.\nA big Anker Prime battery to power our gear all day long. Source: Anker.\nHowever, not everything I’m taking is lightweight. I also plan to carry my Anker Prime 27,650mAh Power Bank with me during the day to recharge my iPhone, iPad, and other devices that will undoubtedly need topping off after shooting video. I’ll bring my 10,000mAh Anker MagGo Power Bank too because it’s compact and a great way to charge up my Apple Watch and smaller USB-C devices. When I’m in my hotel room, I’ll be able to charge everything relatively quickly thanks to a 100W Anker USB-C GaN wall charger and a 65W three-port USB-C GaN charger from UGREEN, which I’ll probably carry with me during the day too. I’ll charge everything via OWC Thunderbolt 4 cables to maximize power throughput.\nThe TrimUI Brick. Source: TrimUI.\nFor any downtime I’ll have, I’m bringing my white TrimUI Brick, one of my latest retro videogame handhelds. I don’t expect to have much free time on this trip, but if nothing else, it’s a long flight from Charlotte to Las Vegas, the perfect time for some light gaming. Brendon talked a little about the Brick on a recent episode of NPC. Federico and I have both received our own Bricks since then, so I’m sure we’ll talk about the device more soon. In my limited time with it, though, it seems like the perfect travel handheld with its solid build and small but sharp and bright 3.2” screen.\nFinally, I’m bringing two sets of old-fashioned wired EarPods. I’ll use the version with a 3.5mm headphone jack for the TrimUI Brick and the USB-C model as needed for editing videos. They aren’t the best quality headphones by a long stretch, but I won’t have to deal with any audio latency or connectivity issues that wireless headphones would introduce. Plus, all the other wired headphones I have are simply too big to fit in my Tomtoc bag.\nThe Tom Bihn Synapse 25 has been demoted to carrying clothes.\nTo complement my compact tech kit, I’ll also bring my trusty Tom Bihn Synapse 25 backpack. I won’t be able to bring it into any venues, but since I’ll only be away for three nights, I should be able to pack my clothes, on-the-go snacks, and other items with some careful planning.\nCES has required a different sort of setup than I’m used to. I appreciate the constraint on the size of bag I can carry during the day because, having never attended CES in Las Vegas, I know I’d be prone to pack a lot of unnecessary gear “just in case.” Instead, I’ve had to focus on minimizing what I bring and maximizing its flexibility. I’ll know soon enough whether I’ve made any miscalculations.\nYou can follow along with our CES coverage here on MacStories.net under the tag ‘CES 2025’ and this dedicated RSS feed. You’ll also find two playlists on our YouTube channel: ‘NPC @ CES’ for handheld gaming news and ‘MacStories @ CES’ for everything else.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2025-01-02T10:23:01-05:00", "date_modified": "2025-01-03T12:10:26-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "CES", "CES 2025", "Final Cut Pro", "iPad", "iPhone", "macbook pro", "photography", "video", "stories" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=77499", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/stories/ipad-pro-for-everything/", "title": "iPad Pro for Everything: How I Rethought My Entire Workflow Around the New 11\u201d iPad Pro", "content_html": "
My 11\" iPad Pro.

My 11” iPad Pro.

\n

For the past two years since my girlfriend and I moved into our new apartment, my desk has been in a constant state of flux. Those who have been reading MacStories for a while know why. There were two reasons: I couldn’t figure out how to use my iPad Pro for everything I do, specifically for recording podcasts the way I like, and I couldn’t find an external monitor that would let me both work with the iPad Pro and play videogames when I wasn’t working.

\n

This article – which has been six months in the making – is the story of how I finally did it.

\n

Over the past six months, I completely rethought my setup around the 11” iPad Pro and a monitor that gives me the best of both worlds: a USB-C connection for when I want to work with iPadOS at my desk and multiple HDMI inputs for when I want to play my PS5 Pro or Nintendo Switch. Getting to this point has been a journey, which I have documented in detail on the MacStories Setups page.

\n

This article started as an in-depth examination of my desk, the accessories I use, and the hardware I recommend. As I was writing it, however, I realized that it had turned into something bigger. It’s become the story of how, after more than a decade of working on the iPad, I was able to figure out how to accomplish the last remaining task in my workflow, but also how I fell in love with the 11” iPad Pro all over again thanks to its nano-texture display.

\n

I started using the iPad as my main computer 12 years ago. Today, I am finally able to say that I can use it for everything I do on a daily basis.

\n

Here’s how.

\n

\n

Table of Contents

iPad Pro for Podcasting, Finally

\n

If you’re new to MacStories, I’m guessing that you could probably use some additional context.

\n

Through my ups and downs with iPadOS, I’ve been using the iPad as my main computer for over a decade. I love the iPad because it’s the most versatile and modular computer Apple makes. I’ve published dozens of stories about why I like working on the iPad so much, but there was always one particular task that I just couldn’t use the device for: recording podcasts while saving a backup of a Zoom call alongside my local audio recording.

\n

I tried many times over the years to make this possible, sometimes with ridiculous workarounds that involved multiple audio interfaces and a mess of cables. In the end, I always went back to my Mac and the trusty Audio Hijack app since it was the easiest, most reliable way to ensure I could record my microphone’s audio alongside a backup of a VoIP call with my co-hosts. As much as I loved my iPad Pro, I couldn’t abandon my Mac completely. At one point, out of desperation, I even found a way to use my iPad as a hybrid macOS/iPadOS machine and called it the MacPad.

\n

Fast forward to 2024. I’ve been recording episodes of AppStories, Connected, NPC, and Unwind from my iPad Pro for the past six months. By and large, this project has been a success, allowing me to finally stop relying on macOS for podcast recording. However, none of this was made possible by iPadOS or new iPad hardware. Instead, I was able to do it thanks to a combination of new audio hardware and Zoom’s cloud recording feature.

\n

When I record a show with my co-hosts, we’re having a VoIP call over Zoom, and each of us has to record their own microphone’s audio. After the recording is done, all of these audio tracks are combined in a single Logic project, mixed, and exported as the finished MP3 file you listen to in your podcast client of choice. It’s a pretty standard procedure. When it comes to the iPad, there are two issues related to this process that iPadOS alone still can’t provide a solution for:

\n

As you can see, if I were to rely on iPadOS alone, I wouldn’t be able to record podcasts the way I like to at all. This is why I had to employ additional hardware and software to make it happen.

\n

For starters, per Jason Snell, I found out that Zoom now supports a cloud recording feature that automatically uploads and saves each participant’s audio track. This is great. I enabled this feature for all the scheduled meetings in my Zoom account, and now, as soon as an AppStories call starts, the automatic cloud recording also kicks in. If anything goes wrong with my microphone, audio interface, or iPad at any point, I know there will be a backup waiting for me in my Zoom account a few minutes after the call is finished. I turned this option on months ago, and it’s worked flawlessly so far, giving me the peace of mind that a backup is always happening behind the scenes whenever we record on Zoom.

\n
\"Being

Being able to have backups for video and audio recordings is a great Zoom feature.

\n

But what about recording my microphone’s audio in the first place? This is where hardware comes in. As I was thinking about this limitation of iPadOS again earlier this year, I realized that the solution had been staring me in the face this entire time: instead of recording my audio via iPadOS, I should offload that task to external hardware. And a particular piece of gear that does exactly this has been around for years.

\n

Enter Sound Devices’ MixPre-3 II, a small, yet rugged, USB audio interface that lets you plug in up to three microphones via XLR, output audio to headphones via a standard audio jack, and – the best part – record your microphone’s audio to an SD card. (I use this one.)

\n
\"The

The MixPre-3 II.

\n

That was my big realization a few months ago: rather than trying to make iPadOS hold a Zoom call and record my audio at the same time, what if I just used iPadOS for the call and delegated recording to a dedicated accessory?

\n

I’m here to tell you that, after some configuration, this works splendidly. Here’s the idea: the MixPre-3 acts as a USB interface for the iPad Pro, but at the same time, it can also record its microphone input to a WAV track that is kept completely separate from iPadOS. The recording feature is built into the MixPre’s software itself; the iPad has no idea that it’s happening. When I finish recording and press the stop button on the MixPre, I can then switch the device’s operating mode from USB audio interface to USB drive, and my iPad will see the MixPre’s SD card as an external source in the Files app.

\n
\"Grabbing

Grabbing audio files from the MixPre when mounted in the Files app.

\n

Then, from the Files app, I can grab the audio file and upload it to Dropbox. For all my issues with the Files app (which has only marginally improved in iPadOS 18 with a couple of additions), I have to say that transferring heavy files from the MixPre’s SD card has been reliable.

\n
\"With

With a good SD card, transfer speeds aren’t too bad.

\n
\"The

The menu I have to use when I’m done recording.

\n

The trickiest aspect of using the MixPre with my iPad has been configuring it so that it can record audio from a microphone plugged in via XLR locally while also passing that audio over USB to the iPad and receiving audio from the iPad, outputting it to headphones connected to the MixPre. Long story short, while there are plenty of YouTube guides you can follow, I configured my MixPre in advanced mode so that it records audio using channel 3 (where my microphone is plugged in) and passes audio back and forth over USB using the USB 1 and 2 channels.

\n

It’s difficult for me right now to encapsulate how happy I am that I was finally able to devise a solution for recording podcasts with call backups on my iPad Pro. Sure, the real winners here are Zoom’s cloud backup feature and the MixPre’s excellent USB support. However, I think it should be noted that, until a few years ago, not only was transferring files from an external drive on the iPad impossible, but some people were even suggesting that it was “wrong” to assert that an iPad should support that feature.

\n
\"Finally.\"

Finally.

\n

As I’ll explore throughout this story, the, “An iPad isn’t meant to do certain things,” ship sailed years ago. It’s time to accept the reality that some people, including me, simply prefer getting their work done on a machine that isn’t a MacBook.

\n

iPad Pro at a Desk: Embracing USB-C with a New Monitor

\n
\"My

My desk setup.

\n

A while back, I realized that I like the idea of occasionally taking breaks from work by playing a videogame for a few minutes in the same space where I get my work done. This may seem like an obvious idea, but what you should understand about me is that I’ve never done this since I started MacStories 15 years ago. My office has always been the space for getting work done; all game consoles stayed in the living room, where I’d spend some time in the evening or at night if I wasn’t working. Otherwise, I could play on one of my handhelds, usually in bed before going to sleep.

\n

This year, however, the concept of taking a quick break from writing (like, say, 20 minutes) without having to switch locations altogether has been growing on me. So I started looking for alternatives to Apple’s Studio Display that would allow me to easily hop between the iPad Pro, PlayStation 5 Pro, and Nintendo Switch with minimal effort.1

\n

Before you tell me: yes, I tried to make the Studio Display work as a gaming monitor. Last year, I went deep down the rabbit hole of USB-C/HDMI switches that would be compatible with the Studio Display. While I eventually found one, the experience was still not good enough for high-performance gaming; the switch was finicky to set up and unreliable. Plus, even if I did find a great HDMI switch, the Studio Display is always going to be limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. The Studio Display is a great productivity monitor, but I don’t recommend it for gaming. I had to find something else.

\n

After weeks of research, I settled on the Gigabyte M27U as my desk monitor. I love this display: it’s 4K at 27” (I didn’t want to go any bigger than that), refreshes at 160Hz (which is sweet), has an actual OSD menu to tweak settings and switch between devices, and, most importantly, lets me connect computers and consoles over USB-C, HDMI, or DisplayPort.

\n
\"Another

Another angle.

\n

There have been some downgrades coming from the Studio Display. For starters, my monitor doesn’t have a built-in webcam, which means I had to purchase an external one that’s compatible with my iPad Pro. (More on this later.) The speakers don’t sound nearly as good as the Studio Display’s, either, so I often find myself simply using the iPad Pro’s (amazing) built-in speakers or my new AirPods Max, which I surprisingly love after a…hack.

\n

Furthermore, the M27U offers 400 nits of brightness compared to the Studio Display’s 600 nits. I notice the difference, and it’s my only real complaint about this monitor, which is slim enough and doesn’t come with the useless RGB bells and whistles that most gaming monitors feature nowadays.

\n

In using the monitor, I’ve noticed something odd about its handling of brightness levels. By default, the iPad Pro connected to my CalDigit TS4 dock (which is then connected over USB-C to the monitor) wants to use HDR for the external display, but that results in a very dim image on the M27U:

\n
\"With

With HDR enabled, the monitor gets very dim, and the colors are off.

\n

The most likely culprit is the fact that this monitor doesn’t properly support HDR over USB-C. If I choose SDR instead of HDR for the monitor, the result is a much brighter panel that doesn’t make me miss the Studio Display that much:

\n
\"SDR

SDR mode.

\n

Another downside of using an external monitor over USB-C rather than Thunderbolt is the lack of brightness and volume control via the Magic Keyboard’s function keys. Neither of these limitations is a dealbreaker; I don’t care about volume control since I prefer the iPad Pro’s built-in speakers regardless, and I always keep the brightness set to 100% anyway.

\n

The shortcomings of this monitor for Apple users are more than compensated for by its astounding performance when gaming. Playing games on the M27U is a fantastic experience: colors look great, and the high refresh rate is terrific to see in real life, especially for PS5 games that support 120Hz and HDR. Nintendo Switch games aren’t nearly as impressive from a pure graphical standpoint (there is no 4K output on the current Switch, let alone HDR or 120Hz), but they usually make up for it in art direction and vibrant colors. I’ve had a lovely time playing Astro Bot and Echoes of Wisdom on the M27U, especially because I could dip in and out of those games without having to switch rooms.

\n
\"This

This monitor is terrific for gaming.

\n

What truly sells the M27U as a multi-device monitor isn’t performance alone, though; it’s the ease of switching between multiple devices connected to different inputs. On the back of the monitor, there are two physical buttons: a directional nub that lets you navigate various menus and a KVM button that cycles through currently active inputs. When one of my consoles is awake and the iPad Pro is connected, I can press the KVM button to instantly toggle between the USB-C input (iPad) and whichever HDMI input is active (either the PS5 or Switch). Alternatively, if – for whatever reason – everything is connected and active all at once, I can press the nub on the back and open the ‘Input’ menu to select a specific one.

\n
\"Multiple

Multiple inputs for a desktop monitor – what a concept.

\n

I recognize that this sort of manual process is probably antithetical to what the typical Apple user expects. But I’m not your typical Apple user or pundit. I love the company’s minimalism, but I also like modularity and using multiple devices. The M27U is made of plastic, its speakers are – frankly – terrible, and it’s not nearly as elegant as the Apple Studio Display. At the same time, quickly switching between iPadOS and The Legend of Zelda makes it all worth it.

\n

Looking ahead at what’s coming in desktop monitor land, I think my next upgrade (sometime in late 2025, most likely) is going to be a 27” 4K OLED panel (ideally with HDMI and Thunderbolt 5?). For now, and for its price, the M27U is an outstanding piece of gear that transformed my office into a space for work and play.

\n

The 11” iPad Pro with Nano-Texture Glass

\n

You may remember that, soon after Apple’s event in May, I decided to purchase a 13” iPad Pro with standard glass. I used that iPad for about a month, and despite my initial optimism, something I was concerned about came true: even with its reduction in weight and thickness, the 13” model was still too unwieldy to use as a tablet outside of the Magic Keyboard. I was hoping its slimmer profile and lighter body would help me take it out of the keyboard case and use it as a pure tablet more often; in reality, nothing can change the fact that you’re holding a 13” tablet in your hands, which can be too much when you just want to watch some videos or read a book.

\n

I had slowly begun to accept that unchanging reality of the iPad lineup when Apple sent me two iPad Pro review units: a 13” iPad Pro with nano-texture glass and a smaller 11” model with standard glass. A funny thing happened then. I fell in love with the 11” size all over again, but I also wanted the nano-texture glass. So I sold my original 13” model and purchased a top-of-the-line 11” iPad Pro with cellular connectivity, 1 TB of storage, and nano-texture glass.

\n
\"I

I was concerned the nano-texture glass would take away the brilliance of the iPad’s OLED display. I was wrong.

\n

It’s no exaggeration when I say that this is my favorite iPad of all time. It has reignited a fire inside of me that had been dormant for a while, weakened by years of disappointing iPadOS updates and multitasking debacles.

\n

I have been using this iPad Pro every day for six months now. I wrote and edited the entire iOS and iPadOS 18 review on it. I record podcasts with it. I play and stream videogames with it. It’s my reading device and my favorite way to watch movies and YouTube videos. I take it with me everywhere I go because it’s so portable and lightweight, plus it has a cellular connection always available. The new 11” iPad Pro is, quite simply, the reason I’ve made an effort to go all-in on iPadOS again this year.

\n

There were two key driving factors behind my decision to move from the 13” iPad Pro back to the 11”: portability and the display. In terms of size, this is a tale as old as the iPad Pro. The large model is great if you primarily plan to use it as a laptop, and it comes with superior multitasking that lets you see more of multiple apps at once, whether you’re using Split View or Stage Manager. The smaller version, on the other hand, is more pleasant to use as a tablet. It’s easier to hold and carry around with one hand, still big enough to support multitasking in a way that isn’t as cramped as an iPad mini, and, of course, just as capable as its bigger counterpart when it comes to driving an external display and connected peripherals. With the smaller iPad Pro, you’re trading screen real estate for portability; in my tests months ago, I realized that was a compromise I was willing to make.

\n

As a result, I’ve been using the iPad Pro more, especially at the end of the workday, when I can take it out of the Magic Keyboard to get some reading done in Readwise Reader or catch up on my queue in Play. In theory, I could also accomplish these tasks with the 13” iPad Pro; in practice, I never did because, ergonomically, the larger model just wasn’t that comfortable. I always ended up reaching for my iPhone instead of the iPad when I wanted to read or watch something, and that didn’t feel right.

\n
Using the 11\" iPad Pro with one hand is totally fine.

Using the 11” iPad Pro with one hand is totally fine.

\n

Much to my surprise, using the 11” iPad Pro with old-school Split View and Slide Over has also been a fun, productive experience.

\n

When I’m working at my desk, I have to use Stage Manager on the external monitor, but when I’m just using the iPad Pro, I prefer the classic multitasking environment. There’s something to the simplicity of Split View with only two apps visible at once that is, at least for me, conducive to writing and focusing on the current task. Plus, there’s also the fact that Split View and Slide Over continue to offer a more mature, fleshed-out take on multitasking: there are fewer keyboard-related bugs, there’s a proper window picker for apps that support multiwindowing, and replacing apps on either side of the screen is very fast via the Dock, Spotlight, or Shortcuts actions (which Stage Manager still doesn’t offer). Most of the iOS and iPadOS 18 review was produced with Split View; if you haven’t played around with “classic” iPadOS multitasking in a while, I highly recommend checking it out again.

\n
\"I

I still love the simplicity of Split View.

\n

One of the other nice perks of Split View – a feature that has been around for years now2, but I’d forgotten about – is the ease of multitasking within Safari. When I’m working in the browser and want to compare two webpages side by side, taking up equal parts of the screen, I can simply drag a tab to either side of the screen to create a new Safari Split View:

\n
\"When

When I drag a link to the side, Split View instantly splits the screen in half with two Safari windows.

\n

Conversely, doing the same with Stage Manager opens a new Safari window, which I then have to manually resize if I want to compare two webpages:

\n
\"\"

\n

So far, I’ve focused on the increased portability of the 11” iPad Pro and how enjoyable it’s been to use a tablet with one hand again. Portability, however, is only one side of this iPad Pro’s story. In conjunction with its portable form factor, the other aspect of the 11” iPad Pro that makes me enjoy using it so much is its nano-texture glass.

\n

Long story short, I’m a nano-texture glass convert now, and it’s become the kind of technology I want everywhere.

\n

My initial concern with the nano-texture glass was that it would substantially diminish the vibrancy and detail of the iPad Pro’s standard glass. I finally had an OLED display on my iPad, and I wanted to make sure I’d fully take advantage of all its benefits over mini-LED. After months of daily usage, I can say not only that my concerns were misplaced and this type of glass is totally fine, but that this option has opened up new use cases for the iPad Pro that just weren’t possible before.

\n

For instance, I discovered the joy of working with my iPad Pro outside, without the need to chase down a spot in the shade so I can see the display more clearly. One of the many reasons we bought this apartment two years ago is the beautiful balcony, which faces south and gets plenty of sunlight all year long. We furnished the balcony so we could work on our laptops there when it’s warm outside, but in practice, I never did because it was too bright. Everything reflected on the screen, making it barely readable. That doesn’t happen anymore with the nano-texture iPad Pro. Without any discernible image or color degradation compared to the standard iPad Pro, I am – at long last – able to sit outside, enjoy some fresh air, and bask in the sunlight with my dogs while also typing away at my iPad Pro using a screen that remains bright and legible.

\n
\"Sure,

Sure, I’m talking about the display now. But I just want to stop for a second and appreciate how elegant and impossibly thin the M4 iPad Pro is.

\n

If you know me, you also know where this is going. After years of struggle and begrudging acceptance that it just wasn’t possible, I took my iPad Pro to the beach earlier this year and realized I could work in the sun, with the waves crashing in front of me as I wrote yet another critique of iPadOS. I’ve been trying to do this for years: every summer since I started writing annual iOS reviews 10 years ago, I’ve attempted to work from the beach and consistently given up because it was impossible to see text on the screen under the hot, August sun of the Italian Riviera. That’s not been the case with the 11” iPad Pro. Thanks to its nano-texture glass, I got to have my summer cake and eat it too.

\n

I can see the comments on Reddit already – “Italian man goes outside, realizes fresh air is good” – but believe me, to say that this has been a quality-of-life improvement for me would be selling it short. Most people won’t need the added flexibility and cost of the nano-texture glass. But for me, being unable to efficiently work outside was antithetical to the nature of the iPad Pro itself. I’ve long sought to use a computer that I could take with me anywhere I went. Now, thanks to the nano-texture glass, I finally can.

\n

iPad Pro and Video Recording for MacStories’ Podcasts

\n

I struggled to finish this story for several months because there was one remaining limitation of iPadOS that kept bothering me: I couldn’t figure out how to record audio and video for MacStories’ new video podcasts while also using Zoom.

\n

What I’m about to describe is the new aspect of my iPad workflow I’m most proud of figuring out. After years of waiting for iPadOS to eventually improve when it comes to simultaneous audio and video streams, I used some good old blue ocean strategy to fix this problem. As it turns out, the solution had been staring me in the face the entire time.

\n

Consider again, for a second, the setup I described above. The iPad is connected to a CalDigit Thunderbolt dock, which in turn connects it to my external monitor and the MixPre audio interface. My Neumann microphone is plugged into the MixPre, as are my in-ear buds; as I’ve explained, this allows me to record my audio track separately on the MixPre while coming through to other people on Zoom with great voice quality and also hearing myself back. For audio-only podcasts, this works well, and it’s been my setup for months.

\n

As MacStories started growing its video presence as a complement to text and audio, however, I suddenly found myself needing to record video versions of NPC and AppStories in addition to audio. When I started recording video for those shows, I was using an Elgato FaceCam Pro 4K webcam; the camera had a USB-C connection, so thanks to UVC support, it was recognized by iPadOS, and I could use it in my favorite video-calling apps. So far, so good.

\n

The problem, of course, was that when I was also using the webcam for Zoom, I couldn’t record a video in Camo Studio at the same time. It was my audio recording problem all over again: iPadOS cannot handle concurrent media streams, so if the webcam was being used for the Zoom call, then Camo Studio couldn’t also record its video feed.

\n

Once again, I felt powerless. I’d built this good-looking setup with a light and a microphone arm and a nice poster on the wall, and I couldn’t do it all with my iPad Pro because of some silly software limitation. I started talking to my friend (and co-host of Comfort Zone) Chris Lawley, who’s also been working on the iPad for years, and that’s when it dawned on me: just like I did with audio, I should offload the recording process to external hardware.

\n
\"The

The message that started it all.

\n

My theory was simple. I needed to find the equivalent of the MixPre, but for video: a camera that I could connect over USB-C to the iPad Pro and use as a webcam in Zoom (so my co-hosts could see me), but which I could also operate to record video on its own SD card, independent of iPadOS. At the end of each recording session, I would grab the audio file from the MixPre, import the video file from the camera, and upload them both to Dropbox – no Mac involved in the process at all.

\n

If the theory was correct – if iPadOS could indeed handle both the MixPre and a UVC camera at the same time while on a Zoom call – then I would be set. I could get rid of my MacBook Air (or what’s left of it, anyway) for good and truly say that I can do everything on my iPad Pro after more than a decade of iPad usage.

\n

And well…I was right.

\n

I did a lot of research on what could potentially be a very expensive mistake, and the camera I decided to go with is the Sony ZV-E10 II. This is a mirrorless Sony camera that’s advertised as made for vlogging and is certified under the Made for iPhone and iPad accessory program. After watching a lot of video reviews and walkthroughs, it seemed like the best option for me for a variety of reasons:

\n

The ZV-E10 II seemed to meet all my requirements for an iPad-compatible mirrorless USB camera, so I ordered one in white (of course, it had to match my other accessories) with the default 16-50mm lens kit. The camera arrived about two months ago, and I’ve been using it to record episodes of AppStories and NPC entirely from my iPad Pro, without using a Mac anywhere in the process.

\n
\"The

The latest entry in my iPad production workflow.

\n
\"The

The ZV-E10 II with the display closed.

\n

To say that I’m happy with this result would be an understatement. There are, however, some implementation details and caveats worth covering.

\n

For starters, the ZV-E10 II notoriously overheats when recording long sessions at 4K, and since NPC tends to be longer than an hour, I had to make sure this wouldn’t happen. Following a tip from Chris, we decided to record all of our video podcasts in 1080p and upscale them to 4K in post-production. This is good enough for video podcasts on YouTube, and it allows us to work with smaller files while preventing the camera from running into any 4K-related overheating issues. Second, to let heat dissipate more easily and quickly while recording, I’m doing two things:

\n

In terms of additional hardware, I’m also using a powerful 12” Neewer ring light for proper lighting with an adjustable cold shoe mount to get my angle just right. I tried a variety of ring lights and panels from Amazon; this one had the best balance of power and price for its size. (I didn’t want to get something that was too big since I want to hide its tripod in a closet when not in use.)

\n
\"My

My ring light (and, as you can see, my reflection in the folded-out display).

\n
\"The

The other view when the display is open.

\n

The software story is a bit more simplistic, and right in line with the limitations of iPadOS we’re familiar with. If you’ve followed along with the story so far, you know that I have to plug both my MixPre-3 II and ZV-E10 II into the iPad Pro. To do this, I’m using a CalDigit TS4 dock in the middle that also handles power delivery, Ethernet, and the connection to my monitor. The only problem is that I have to remember to connect my various accessories in a particular order; specifically, I have to plug in my audio interface last, or people on Zoom will hear me speaking through the camera’s built-in microphone.

\n

This happens because, unlike macOS, iPadOS doesn’t have a proper ‘Sound’ control panel in Settings to view and assign different audio sources and output destinations. Instead, everything is “managed” from the barebones Control Center UI, which doesn’t let me choose the MixPre-3 II for microphone input unless it is plugged in last. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but seriously, how silly is it that I can do all this work with an iPad Pro now and its software still doesn’t match my needs?

\n

When streaming USB audio and video to Zoom on the iPad from two separate devices, I also have to remember that if I accidentally open another camera app while recording, video in Zoom will be paused. This is another limitation of iPadOS: an external camera signal can only be active in one app at a time, so if I want to, say, take a selfie while recording on the iPad, I can’t – unless I’m okay with video being paused on Zoom while I do so.

\n

When I’m done recording a video, I press the stop button on the camera, grab its SD card, put it in Apple’s USB-C SD card adapter, and plug it into the iPad Pro. To do this, I have to disconnect the Thunderbolt cable that connects my iPad Pro to the CalDigit TS4. I can’t plug the adapter into the Magic Keyboard’s secondary USB-C port since it’s used for power delivery only, something that I hope will change eventually. In any case, the Files app does a good enough job copying large video files from the SD card to my iPad’s local storage. On a Mac, I would create a Hazel automation to grab the latest file from a connected storage device and upload it to Dropbox; on an iPad, there are no Shortcuts automation triggers for this kind of task, so it has to be done manually.

\n
\"My

My trusty official Apple dongle.

\n
\"Transferring

Transferring large video files takes a while, but it works.

\n

And that’s pretty much everything I have to share about using a fancy webcam with the iPad Pro. It is, after all, a USB feature that was enabled in iPadOS 17 thanks to UVC; it’s nothing new or specific to iPadOS 18 this year. While I wish I had more control over the recording process and didn’t have to use another SD card to save videos, I’m happy I found a solution that works for me and allows me to keep using the iPad Pro when I’m recording AppStories and NPC.

\n

iPad Pro and the Vision Pro

\n

I’m on the record saying that if the Vision Pro offered an ‘iPad Virtual Display’ feature, my usage of the headset would increase tenfold, and I stand by that. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been rediscovering the joy of the Vision Pro as a (very expensive) media consumption device and stunning private monitor. I want to use the Vision Pro more, and I know that I would if only I could control its apps with the iPad’s Magic Keyboard while also using iPadOS inside visionOS. But I can’t; nevertheless, I persist in the effort.

\n

As Devon covered in his review of visionOS 2, one of the Vision Pro’s new features is the ability to turn into a wireless AirPlay receiver that can mirror the screen of a nearby Apple device. That’s what I’ve been doing lately when I’m alone in the afternoon and want to keep working with my iPad Pro while also immersing myself in an environment or multitasking outside of iPadOS: I mirror the iPad to the Vision Pro and work with iPadOS in a window surrounded by other visionOS windows.

\n
\"Mirroring

Mirroring to the Vision Pro…

\n
\"…lets

…lets me work with a bigger iPad display on top of my actual iPad.

\n

Now, I’ll be honest: this is not ideal, and Apple should really get around to making the iPad a first-class citizen of its $3,500 spatial computer just like the Mac can be. If I don’t own a Mac and use an iPad as my main computer instead, I shouldn’t be penalized when I’m using the Vision Pro. I hope iPad Virtual Display is in the cards for 2025 as Apple continues to expand the Vision line with more options. But for now, despite the minor latency that comes with AirPlay mirroring and the lack of true integration between the iPad’s Magic Keyboard and visionOS, I’ve been occasionally working with my iPad inside the Vision Pro, and it’s fun.

\n

There’s something appealing about the idea of a mixed computing environment where the “main computer” becomes a virtual object in a space that is also occupied by other windows. For example, one thing I like to do is activate the Bora Bora beach environment about halfway (so that it’s in front of me, but doesn’t cover my keyboard), turn down the iPad’s display brightness to a minimum (so it’s not distracting), and write in Obsidian for iPad – mirrored via AirPlay to the Vision Pro – while other windows such as Messages, Aura for Spotify, and Safari surround me.

\n
\"This

This is better multitasking than Stage Manager – which is funny, because most of these are also iPad apps.

\n

Aforementioned limitations notwithstanding, I’ve found some tangible benefits in this setup. I can keep music playing at a medium volume via the Vision Pro’s audio pods, which sound great but also keep me aware of my surroundings. Potentially distracting apps like Messages can be physically placed somewhere in my room so they’re nearby, but outside my field of view; that way, I can send a quick Tapback reaction using hand gestures or type out a quick response using the Vision Pro’s virtual keyboard, which is only good for those types of responses anyway. And most importantly, I can make my iPad’s mirrored window bigger than any external monitor I have in my apartment, allowing me to place a giant Obsidian window at eye level right in front of me.

\n
\"Bora

Bora Bora multitasking.

\n

Since I started using Spigen’s head strap with my Vision Pro, I completely solved the issue of neck fatigue, so I can wear and work in the headset for hours at a time without any sort of pain or strain on my muscles.

\n
\"The

The head strap I use with the Vision Pro.

\n

I don’t need to extol the virtues of working with a traditional computing environment inside visionOS; for Mac users, it’s a known quantity, and it’s arguably one of the best features of the Vision Pro. (And it’s only gotten better with time.) What I’m saying is that, even with the less flexible and not as technically remarkable AirPlay-based flavor of mirroring, I’ve enjoyed being able to turn my iPad’s diminutive display into a large, TV-sized virtual monitor in front of me. Once again, it goes back to the same idea: I have the most compact iPad Pro I can get, but I can make it bigger via physical or virtual displays. I just wish Apple would take things to the next level here for iPad users as well.

\n

iPad Pro as a Media Tablet for TV and Game Streaming…at Night

\n

In the midst of working with the iPad Pro, something else happened: I fell in love with it as a media consumption device, too. Despite my appreciation for the newly “updated” iPad mini, the combination of a software feature I started using and some new accessories made me completely reevaluate the iPad Pro as a computer I can use at the end of the workday as well. Basically, this machine is always with me now.

\n

Let’s start with the software. This may sound obvious to several MacStories readers, but I recently began using Focus modes again, and this change alone allowed me to transform my iPad Pro into a different computer at night.

\n

Specifically, I realized that I like to use my iPad Pro with a certain Home and Lock Screen configuration during the day and use a different combo with dark mode icons at night, when I’m in bed and want to read or watch something. So after ignoring them for years, I created two Focus modes: Work Mode and Downtime. The first Focus is automatically enabled every morning at 8:00 AM and lasts until 11:59 PM; the other one activates at midnight and lasts until 7:59 AM.3 This way, I have a couple of hours with a media-focused iPad Home Screen before I go to sleep at night, and when I wake up around 9:00 AM, the iPad Pro is already configured with my work apps and widgets.

\n
\"My

My ‘Downtime Focus’ Home Screen.

\n

I don’t particularly care about silencing notifications or specific apps during the day; all I need from Focus is a consistent pair of Home and Lock Screens with different wallpapers for each. As you can see from the images in this story, the Work Mode Home Screen revolves around widgets for tasks and links, while the Downtime Home Screen prioritizes media apps and entertainment widgets.

\n

This is something I suggested in my iPad mini review, but the idea here is that software, not hardware, is turning my iPad Pro into a third place device. With the iPad mini, the act of physically grabbing another computer with a distinct set of apps creates a clear boundary between the tools I use for work and play; with this approach, software transforms the same computer into two different machines for two distinct times of day.

\n

I also used two new accessories to smooth out the transition from business during the day to relaxation at night with the iPad Pro. A few weeks back, I was finally able to find the kind of iPad Pro accessory I’d been looking for since the debut of the M4 models: a back cover with a built-in kickstand. Last year, I used a similar cover for the M2 iPad Pro, and the idea is the same: this accessory only protects the back of the device, doesn’t have a cover for the screen, and comes with an adjustable kickstand to use the iPad in landscape at a variety of viewing angles.

\n
\"The

The back cover for my iPad Pro.

\n

The reason I wanted this product is simple. This is not a cover I use for protecting the iPad Pro; I only want to attach it in the evening, when I’m relaxing with the iPad Pro on my lap and want to get some reading done or watch some TV. In fact, this cover never leaves my nightstand. When I’m done working for the day, I leave the Magic Keyboard on my desk, bring the iPad Pro into the bedroom, and put it in the cover, leaving it there for later.

\n

I know what you’re thinking: couldn’t I just use a Magic Keyboard for the same exact purpose? Yes, I could. But the thing is, because it doesn’t have a keyboard on the front, this cover facilitates the process of tricking my brain into thinking I’m no longer in “work mode”. Even if I wanted, I couldn’t easily type with this setup. By making the iPad Pro more like a tablet rather than a laptop, the back cover – combined with my Downtime Focus and different Home Screen – reminds me that it’s no longer time to get work done with this computer. Once again, it’s all about taking advantage of modularity to transform the iPad Pro into something else – which is precisely what a traditional MacBook could never do.

\n

But I went one step further.

\n

If you recall, a few weeks ago on NPC, my podcast about portable gaming, I mentioned a “gaming pillow” – a strange accessory that promises to provide you with a more comfortable experience when playing with a portable console by combining a small mounting clasp with a soft pillow to put on your lap. Instead of feeling the entire weight of a Steam Deck or Legion Go in your hand, the pillow allows you to mount the console on its arm, offload the weight to the pillow, and simply hold the console without feeling any weight on your hands.

\n

Fun, right? Well, as I mentioned in the episode, that pillow was a no-brand version of a similar accessory that the folks at Mechanism had pre-announced, and which I had pre-ordered and was waiting for. In case you’re not familiar, Mechanism makes a suite of mounting accessories for handhelds, including the popular Deckmate, which I’ve been using for the past year. With the Mechanism pillow, I could combine the company’s universal mounting system for my various consoles with the comfort of the pillow to use any handheld in bed without feeling its weight on my wrists.

\n

I got the Mechanism pillow a few weeks ago, and not only do I love it (it does exactly what the company advertised, and I’ve been using it with my Steam Deck and Legion Go), but I also had the idea of pairing it with the iPad Pro’s back cover for the ultimate iPad mounting solution…in bed.

\n
\"The

The gaming pillow paired with my iPad Pro.

\n
\"\"

\n

All I had to do was take one of Mechanism’s adhesive mounting clips and stick it to the back of the aforementioned iPad cover. Now, if I want to use the iPad Pro in bed without having to hold it myself, I can attach the cover to the gaming pillow, then attach the iPad Pro to the cover, and, well, you can see the result in the photo above. Believe me when I say this: it looks downright ridiculous, Silvia makes fun of me every single day for using it, and I absolutely adore it. The pillow’s plastic arm can be adjusted to the height and angle I want, and the whole structure is sturdy enough to hold everything in place. It’s peak laziness and iPad comfort, and it works incredibly well for reading, watching TV, streaming games with a controller in my hands, and catching up on my YouTube queue in Play.

\n
\"The

The mounting clip attached to the back cover.

\n

Speaking of streaming games, there is one final – and very recent – addition to my iPad-centric media setup I want to mention: NDI streaming.

\n

NDI (which stands for Network Device Interface) is a streaming protocol created by NewTek that allows high-quality video and audio to be transmitted over a local network in real time. Typically, this is done through hardware (an encoder) that gets plugged into the audio/video source and transmits data across your local network for other clients to connect to and view that stream. The advantages of NDI are its plug-and-play nature (clients can automatically discover NDI streamers on the network), high-bandwidth delivery, and low latency.

\n

We initially covered NDI in the context of game streaming on MacStories back in February, when John explained how to use the Kiloview N40 to stream games to a Vision Pro with better performance and less latency than a typical PlayStation Remote Play or Moonlight environment. In his piece, John covered the excellent Vxio app, which remains the premier utility for NDI streaming on both the Vision Pro and iPad Pro. He ended up returning the N40 because of performance issues on his network, but I’ve stuck with it since I had a solid experience with NDI thanks to my fancy ASUS gaming router.

\n

Since that original story on NDI was published, I’ve upgraded my setup even further, and it has completely transformed how I can enjoy PS5 games on my iPad Pro without leaving my bed at night. For starters, I sold my PS5 Slim and got a PS5 Pro. I wouldn’t recommend this purchase to most people, but given that I sit very close to my monitor to play games and can appreciate the graphical improvements enabled by the PS5 Pro, I figured I’d get my money’s worth with Sony’s latest and greatest PS5 revision. So far, I can confirm that the upgrade has been incredible: I can get the best possible graphics in FFVII Rebirth or Astro Bot without sacrificing performance.

\n
\"My

My PS5 Pro and N60 encoder next to it.

\n

Secondly, I switched from the Kiloview N40 to the bulkier and more expensive Kiloview N60. I did it for a simple reason: it’s the only Kiloview encoder that, thanks to a recent firmware upgrade, supports 4K HDR streaming. The lack of HDR was my biggest complaint about the N40; I could see that colors were washed out and not nearly as vibrant as when I was playing games on my TV. It only seemed appropriate that I would pair the PS5 Pro with the best possible version of NDI encoding out there.

\n

After following developer Chen Zhang’s tips on how to enable HDR input for the N60, I opened the Vxio app, switched to the correct color profile, and was astounded:

\n
\"The

The image quality with the N60 is insane. This is Astro Bot being streamed at 4K HDR to my iPad Pro with virtually no latency.

\n

The image above is a native screenshot of Astro Bot being streaming to my iPad Pro using NDI and the Vxio app over my network. Here, let me zoom in on the details even more:

\n
\"\"

\n

Now, picture this: it’s late at night, and I want to play some Astro Bot or Final Fantasy VII before going to sleep. I grab my PS5 Pro’s DualSense Edge controller4, wake up the console, switch the controller to my no-haptics profile, and attach the iPad Pro to the back cover mounted on the gaming pillow. With the pillow on my lap, I can play PS5 games at 4K HDR on an OLED display in front of me, directly from the comfort of my bed. It’s the best videogame streaming experience I’ve ever had, and I don’t think I have to add anything else.

\n
\"I

I have now achieved my final form.

\n

If you told me years ago that a future story about my iPad Pro usage would wrap up with a section about a pillow and HDR, I would have guessed I’d lost my mind in the intervening years. And here we are.

\n

Hardware Mentioned in This Story

\n

Here’s a recap of all the hardware I mentioned in this story:

\n

Back to the iPad

\n
\"It's

It’s good to be home.

\n

After months of research for this story, and after years of experiments trying to get more work done from an iPad, I’ve come to a conclusion:

\n

Sometimes, you can throw money at a problem on the iPad and find a solution that works.

\n

I can’t stress this enough, though: with my new iPad workflow, I haven’t really fixed any of the problems that afflict iPadOS. I found new solutions thanks to external hardware; realistically, I have to thank USB-C more than iPadOS for making this possible. The fact that I’m using my iPad Pro for everything now doesn’t mean I approve of the direction Apple has taken with iPadOS or the slow pace of its development.

\n

As I was wrapping up this story, I found myself looking back and reminiscing about my iPad usage over the past 12 years. One way to look at it is that I’ve been trying to get work done on the iPad for a third of my entire life. I started in 2012, when I was stuck in a hospital bed and couldn’t use a laptop. I persisted because I fell in love with the iPad’s ethos and astounding potential; the idea of using a computer that could transform into multiple things thanks to modularity latched onto my brain over a decade ago and never went away.

\n

I did, however, spend a couple of years in “computer wilderness” trying to figure out if I was still the same kind of tech writer and if I still liked using the iPad. I worked exclusively with macOS for a while. Then I secretly used a Microsoft Surface for six months and told no one about it. Then I created a hybrid Mac/iPad device that let me operate two platforms at once. For a brief moment, I even thought the Vision Pro could replace my iPad and become my main computer.

\n

I’m glad I did all those things and entertained all those thoughts. When you do something for a third of your life, it’s natural to look outside your comfort zone and ask yourself if you really still enjoy doing it.

\n

And the truth is, I’m still that person. I explored all my options – I frustrated myself and my readers with the not-knowing for a while – and came out at the end of the process believing even more strongly in what I knew years ago:

\n

The iPad Pro is the only computer for me.

\n

Even with its software flaws, scattershot evolution, and muddled messaging over the years, only Apple makes this kind of device: a thin, portable slab of glass that can be my modular desktop workstation, a tablet for reading outside, and an entertainment machine for streaming TV and videogames. The iPad Pro does it all, and after a long journey, I found a way to make it work for everything I do.

\n

I’ve stopped using my MacPad, I gave up thinking the Vision Pro could be my main computer, and I’m done fooling myself that, if I wanted to, I could get my work done on Android or Windows.

\n

I’m back on the iPad. And now more than ever, I’m ready for the next 12 years.

\n
\n
  1. \nNPC listeners know this already, but I recently relocated my desktop-class eGPU (powered by an NVIDIA 4090) to the living room. There are two reasons behind this. First, when I want to play PC games with high performance requirements, I can do so with the most powerful device I own on the best gaming monitor I have (my 65” LG OLED television). And second, I have a 12-meter USB4 cable that allows me to rely on the eGPU while playing on my Legion Go in bed. Plus, thanks to their support for instant sleep and resume, both the PS5 and Switch are well-suited for the kind of shorter play sessions I want to have in the office. ↩︎\n
    2. \n
  2. \nRemember when split view for tabs used to be a Safari-only feature? ↩︎\n
    3. \n
  3. \nOddly enough, despite the fact that I set all my Focus modes to sync between devices, the Work Mode Focus wouldn’t automatically activate on my iPad Pro in the morning (though it would on the iPhone). I had to set up a secondary automation in Shortcuts on the iPad Pro to make sure it switches to that Focus before I wake up. ↩︎\n
    4. \n
  4. \nWhen you’re streaming with NDI, you don’t pair a controller with your iPad since you’re merely observing the original video source. This means that, in the case of my PS5 Pro, its controller needs to be within range of the console when I’m playing in another room. Thankfully, the DualSense has plenty of range, and I haven’t run into any input latency issues. ↩︎\n
    5. \n
\n

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Join Now", "content_text": "My 11” iPad Pro.\nFor the past two years since my girlfriend and I moved into our new apartment, my desk has been in a constant state of flux. Those who have been reading MacStories for a while know why. There were two reasons: I couldn’t figure out how to use my iPad Pro for everything I do, specifically for recording podcasts the way I like, and I couldn’t find an external monitor that would let me both work with the iPad Pro and play videogames when I wasn’t working.\nThis article – which has been six months in the making – is the story of how I finally did it.\nOver the past six months, I completely rethought my setup around the 11” iPad Pro and a monitor that gives me the best of both worlds: a USB-C connection for when I want to work with iPadOS at my desk and multiple HDMI inputs for when I want to play my PS5 Pro or Nintendo Switch. Getting to this point has been a journey, which I have documented in detail on the MacStories Setups page.\nThis article started as an in-depth examination of my desk, the accessories I use, and the hardware I recommend. As I was writing it, however, I realized that it had turned into something bigger. It’s become the story of how, after more than a decade of working on the iPad, I was able to figure out how to accomplish the last remaining task in my workflow, but also how I fell in love with the 11” iPad Pro all over again thanks to its nano-texture display.\nI started using the iPad as my main computer 12 years ago. Today, I am finally able to say that I can use it for everything I do on a daily basis.\nHere’s how.\n\nTable of ContentsiPad Pro for Podcasting, FinallyiPad Pro at a Desk: Embracing USB-C with a New MonitorThe 11” iPad Pro with Nano-Texture GlassiPad Pro and Video Recording for MacStories’ PodcastsiPad Pro and the Vision ProiPad Pro as a Media Tablet for TV and Game Streaming…at NightHardware Mentioned in This StoryBack to the iPadiPad Pro for Podcasting, Finally\nIf you’re new to MacStories, I’m guessing that you could probably use some additional context.\nThrough my ups and downs with iPadOS, I’ve been using the iPad as my main computer for over a decade. I love the iPad because it’s the most versatile and modular computer Apple makes. I’ve published dozens of stories about why I like working on the iPad so much, but there was always one particular task that I just couldn’t use the device for: recording podcasts while saving a backup of a Zoom call alongside my local audio recording.\nI tried many times over the years to make this possible, sometimes with ridiculous workarounds that involved multiple audio interfaces and a mess of cables. In the end, I always went back to my Mac and the trusty Audio Hijack app since it was the easiest, most reliable way to ensure I could record my microphone’s audio alongside a backup of a VoIP call with my co-hosts. As much as I loved my iPad Pro, I couldn’t abandon my Mac completely. At one point, out of desperation, I even found a way to use my iPad as a hybrid macOS/iPadOS machine and called it the MacPad.\nFast forward to 2024. I’ve been recording episodes of AppStories, Connected, NPC, and Unwind from my iPad Pro for the past six months. By and large, this project has been a success, allowing me to finally stop relying on macOS for podcast recording. However, none of this was made possible by iPadOS or new iPad hardware. Instead, I was able to do it thanks to a combination of new audio hardware and Zoom’s cloud recording feature.\nWhen I record a show with my co-hosts, we’re having a VoIP call over Zoom, and each of us has to record their own microphone’s audio. After the recording is done, all of these audio tracks are combined in a single Logic project, mixed, and exported as the finished MP3 file you listen to in your podcast client of choice. It’s a pretty standard procedure. When it comes to the iPad, there are two issues related to this process that iPadOS alone still can’t provide a solution for:\nIn addition to recording my local audio, I also like to have a backup recording of the entire call on Zoom – you know, just as a precaution. On the Mac, I can easily do this with a session in Audio Hijack. On the iPad, there’s no way to do it because the system can’t capture audio from two different sources at once.\nBackups aside, the bigger issue is that, due to how iPadOS is architected, if I’m on a Zoom call, I can’t record my local audio at the same time, period.\nAs you can see, if I were to rely on iPadOS alone, I wouldn’t be able to record podcasts the way I like to at all. This is why I had to employ additional hardware and software to make it happen.\nFor starters, per Jason Snell, I found out that Zoom now supports a cloud recording feature that automatically uploads and saves each participant’s audio track. This is great. I enabled this feature for all the scheduled meetings in my Zoom account, and now, as soon as an AppStories call starts, the automatic cloud recording also kicks in. If anything goes wrong with my microphone, audio interface, or iPad at any point, I know there will be a backup waiting for me in my Zoom account a few minutes after the call is finished. I turned this option on months ago, and it’s worked flawlessly so far, giving me the peace of mind that a backup is always happening behind the scenes whenever we record on Zoom.\nBeing able to have backups for video and audio recordings is a great Zoom feature.\nBut what about recording my microphone’s audio in the first place? This is where hardware comes in. As I was thinking about this limitation of iPadOS again earlier this year, I realized that the solution had been staring me in the face this entire time: instead of recording my audio via iPadOS, I should offload that task to external hardware. And a particular piece of gear that does exactly this has been around for years.\nEnter Sound Devices’ MixPre-3 II, a small, yet rugged, USB audio interface that lets you plug in up to three microphones via XLR, output audio to headphones via a standard audio jack, and – the best part – record your microphone’s audio to an SD card. (I use this one.)\nThe MixPre-3 II.\nThat was my big realization a few months ago: rather than trying to make iPadOS hold a Zoom call and record my audio at the same time, what if I just used iPadOS for the call and delegated recording to a dedicated accessory?\nI’m here to tell you that, after some configuration, this works splendidly. Here’s the idea: the MixPre-3 acts as a USB interface for the iPad Pro, but at the same time, it can also record its microphone input to a WAV track that is kept completely separate from iPadOS. The recording feature is built into the MixPre’s software itself; the iPad has no idea that it’s happening. When I finish recording and press the stop button on the MixPre, I can then switch the device’s operating mode from USB audio interface to USB drive, and my iPad will see the MixPre’s SD card as an external source in the Files app.\nGrabbing audio files from the MixPre when mounted in the Files app.\nThen, from the Files app, I can grab the audio file and upload it to Dropbox. For all my issues with the Files app (which has only marginally improved in iPadOS 18 with a couple of additions), I have to say that transferring heavy files from the MixPre’s SD card has been reliable.\nWith a good SD card, transfer speeds aren’t too bad.\nThe menu I have to use when I’m done recording.\nThe trickiest aspect of using the MixPre with my iPad has been configuring it so that it can record audio from a microphone plugged in via XLR locally while also passing that audio over USB to the iPad and receiving audio from the iPad, outputting it to headphones connected to the MixPre. Long story short, while there are plenty of YouTube guides you can follow, I configured my MixPre in advanced mode so that it records audio using channel 3 (where my microphone is plugged in) and passes audio back and forth over USB using the USB 1 and 2 channels.\nIt’s difficult for me right now to encapsulate how happy I am that I was finally able to devise a solution for recording podcasts with call backups on my iPad Pro. Sure, the real winners here are Zoom’s cloud backup feature and the MixPre’s excellent USB support. However, I think it should be noted that, until a few years ago, not only was transferring files from an external drive on the iPad impossible, but some people were even suggesting that it was “wrong” to assert that an iPad should support that feature.\nFinally.\nAs I’ll explore throughout this story, the, “An iPad isn’t meant to do certain things,” ship sailed years ago. It’s time to accept the reality that some people, including me, simply prefer getting their work done on a machine that isn’t a MacBook.\niPad Pro at a Desk: Embracing USB-C with a New Monitor\nMy desk setup.\nA while back, I realized that I like the idea of occasionally taking breaks from work by playing a videogame for a few minutes in the same space where I get my work done. This may seem like an obvious idea, but what you should understand about me is that I’ve never done this since I started MacStories 15 years ago. My office has always been the space for getting work done; all game consoles stayed in the living room, where I’d spend some time in the evening or at night if I wasn’t working. Otherwise, I could play on one of my handhelds, usually in bed before going to sleep.\nThis year, however, the concept of taking a quick break from writing (like, say, 20 minutes) without having to switch locations altogether has been growing on me. So I started looking for alternatives to Apple’s Studio Display that would allow me to easily hop between the iPad Pro, PlayStation 5 Pro, and Nintendo Switch with minimal effort.1\nBefore you tell me: yes, I tried to make the Studio Display work as a gaming monitor. Last year, I went deep down the rabbit hole of USB-C/HDMI switches that would be compatible with the Studio Display. While I eventually found one, the experience was still not good enough for high-performance gaming; the switch was finicky to set up and unreliable. Plus, even if I did find a great HDMI switch, the Studio Display is always going to be limited to a 60Hz refresh rate. The Studio Display is a great productivity monitor, but I don’t recommend it for gaming. I had to find something else.\nAfter weeks of research, I settled on the Gigabyte M27U as my desk monitor. I love this display: it’s 4K at 27” (I didn’t want to go any bigger than that), refreshes at 160Hz (which is sweet), has an actual OSD menu to tweak settings and switch between devices, and, most importantly, lets me connect computers and consoles over USB-C, HDMI, or DisplayPort.\nAnother angle.\nThere have been some downgrades coming from the Studio Display. For starters, my monitor doesn’t have a built-in webcam, which means I had to purchase an external one that’s compatible with my iPad Pro. (More on this later.) The speakers don’t sound nearly as good as the Studio Display’s, either, so I often find myself simply using the iPad Pro’s (amazing) built-in speakers or my new AirPods Max, which I surprisingly love after a…hack.\nFurthermore, the M27U offers 400 nits of brightness compared to the Studio Display’s 600 nits. I notice the difference, and it’s my only real complaint about this monitor, which is slim enough and doesn’t come with the useless RGB bells and whistles that most gaming monitors feature nowadays.\nIn using the monitor, I’ve noticed something odd about its handling of brightness levels. By default, the iPad Pro connected to my CalDigit TS4 dock (which is then connected over USB-C to the monitor) wants to use HDR for the external display, but that results in a very dim image on the M27U:\nWith HDR enabled, the monitor gets very dim, and the colors are off.\nThe most likely culprit is the fact that this monitor doesn’t properly support HDR over USB-C. If I choose SDR instead of HDR for the monitor, the result is a much brighter panel that doesn’t make me miss the Studio Display that much:\nSDR mode.\nAnother downside of using an external monitor over USB-C rather than Thunderbolt is the lack of brightness and volume control via the Magic Keyboard’s function keys. Neither of these limitations is a dealbreaker; I don’t care about volume control since I prefer the iPad Pro’s built-in speakers regardless, and I always keep the brightness set to 100% anyway.\nThe shortcomings of this monitor for Apple users are more than compensated for by its astounding performance when gaming. Playing games on the M27U is a fantastic experience: colors look great, and the high refresh rate is terrific to see in real life, especially for PS5 games that support 120Hz and HDR. Nintendo Switch games aren’t nearly as impressive from a pure graphical standpoint (there is no 4K output on the current Switch, let alone HDR or 120Hz), but they usually make up for it in art direction and vibrant colors. I’ve had a lovely time playing Astro Bot and Echoes of Wisdom on the M27U, especially because I could dip in and out of those games without having to switch rooms.\nThis monitor is terrific for gaming.\nWhat truly sells the M27U as a multi-device monitor isn’t performance alone, though; it’s the ease of switching between multiple devices connected to different inputs. On the back of the monitor, there are two physical buttons: a directional nub that lets you navigate various menus and a KVM button that cycles through currently active inputs. When one of my consoles is awake and the iPad Pro is connected, I can press the KVM button to instantly toggle between the USB-C input (iPad) and whichever HDMI input is active (either the PS5 or Switch). Alternatively, if – for whatever reason – everything is connected and active all at once, I can press the nub on the back and open the ‘Input’ menu to select a specific one.\nMultiple inputs for a desktop monitor – what a concept.\nI recognize that this sort of manual process is probably antithetical to what the typical Apple user expects. But I’m not your typical Apple user or pundit. I love the company’s minimalism, but I also like modularity and using multiple devices. The M27U is made of plastic, its speakers are – frankly – terrible, and it’s not nearly as elegant as the Apple Studio Display. At the same time, quickly switching between iPadOS and The Legend of Zelda makes it all worth it.\nLooking ahead at what’s coming in desktop monitor land, I think my next upgrade (sometime in late 2025, most likely) is going to be a 27” 4K OLED panel (ideally with HDMI and Thunderbolt 5?). For now, and for its price, the M27U is an outstanding piece of gear that transformed my office into a space for work and play.\nThe 11” iPad Pro with Nano-Texture Glass\nYou may remember that, soon after Apple’s event in May, I decided to purchase a 13” iPad Pro with standard glass. I used that iPad for about a month, and despite my initial optimism, something I was concerned about came true: even with its reduction in weight and thickness, the 13” model was still too unwieldy to use as a tablet outside of the Magic Keyboard. I was hoping its slimmer profile and lighter body would help me take it out of the keyboard case and use it as a pure tablet more often; in reality, nothing can change the fact that you’re holding a 13” tablet in your hands, which can be too much when you just want to watch some videos or read a book.\nI had slowly begun to accept that unchanging reality of the iPad lineup when Apple sent me two iPad Pro review units: a 13” iPad Pro with nano-texture glass and a smaller 11” model with standard glass. A funny thing happened then. I fell in love with the 11” size all over again, but I also wanted the nano-texture glass. So I sold my original 13” model and purchased a top-of-the-line 11” iPad Pro with cellular connectivity, 1 TB of storage, and nano-texture glass.\nI was concerned the nano-texture glass would take away the brilliance of the iPad’s OLED display. I was wrong.\nIt’s no exaggeration when I say that this is my favorite iPad of all time. It has reignited a fire inside of me that had been dormant for a while, weakened by years of disappointing iPadOS updates and multitasking debacles.\nI have been using this iPad Pro every day for six months now. I wrote and edited the entire iOS and iPadOS 18 review on it. I record podcasts with it. I play and stream videogames with it. It’s my reading device and my favorite way to watch movies and YouTube videos. I take it with me everywhere I go because it’s so portable and lightweight, plus it has a cellular connection always available. The new 11” iPad Pro is, quite simply, the reason I’ve made an effort to go all-in on iPadOS again this year.\n\nThe new 11” iPad Pro is, quite simply, the reason I’ve made an effort to go all-in on iPadOS again this year.\n\nThere were two key driving factors behind my decision to move from the 13” iPad Pro back to the 11”: portability and the display. In terms of size, this is a tale as old as the iPad Pro. The large model is great if you primarily plan to use it as a laptop, and it comes with superior multitasking that lets you see more of multiple apps at once, whether you’re using Split View or Stage Manager. The smaller version, on the other hand, is more pleasant to use as a tablet. It’s easier to hold and carry around with one hand, still big enough to support multitasking in a way that isn’t as cramped as an iPad mini, and, of course, just as capable as its bigger counterpart when it comes to driving an external display and connected peripherals. With the smaller iPad Pro, you’re trading screen real estate for portability; in my tests months ago, I realized that was a compromise I was willing to make.\nAs a result, I’ve been using the iPad Pro more, especially at the end of the workday, when I can take it out of the Magic Keyboard to get some reading done in Readwise Reader or catch up on my queue in Play. In theory, I could also accomplish these tasks with the 13” iPad Pro; in practice, I never did because, ergonomically, the larger model just wasn’t that comfortable. I always ended up reaching for my iPhone instead of the iPad when I wanted to read or watch something, and that didn’t feel right.\nUsing the 11” iPad Pro with one hand is totally fine.\nMuch to my surprise, using the 11” iPad Pro with old-school Split View and Slide Over has also been a fun, productive experience.\nWhen I’m working at my desk, I have to use Stage Manager on the external monitor, but when I’m just using the iPad Pro, I prefer the classic multitasking environment. There’s something to the simplicity of Split View with only two apps visible at once that is, at least for me, conducive to writing and focusing on the current task. Plus, there’s also the fact that Split View and Slide Over continue to offer a more mature, fleshed-out take on multitasking: there are fewer keyboard-related bugs, there’s a proper window picker for apps that support multiwindowing, and replacing apps on either side of the screen is very fast via the Dock, Spotlight, or Shortcuts actions (which Stage Manager still doesn’t offer). Most of the iOS and iPadOS 18 review was produced with Split View; if you haven’t played around with “classic” iPadOS multitasking in a while, I highly recommend checking it out again.\nI still love the simplicity of Split View.\nOne of the other nice perks of Split View – a feature that has been around for years now2, but I’d forgotten about – is the ease of multitasking within Safari. When I’m working in the browser and want to compare two webpages side by side, taking up equal parts of the screen, I can simply drag a tab to either side of the screen to create a new Safari Split View:\nWhen I drag a link to the side, Split View instantly splits the screen in half with two Safari windows.\nConversely, doing the same with Stage Manager opens a new Safari window, which I then have to manually resize if I want to compare two webpages:\n\nSo far, I’ve focused on the increased portability of the 11” iPad Pro and how enjoyable it’s been to use a tablet with one hand again. Portability, however, is only one side of this iPad Pro’s story. In conjunction with its portable form factor, the other aspect of the 11” iPad Pro that makes me enjoy using it so much is its nano-texture glass.\nLong story short, I’m a nano-texture glass convert now, and it’s become the kind of technology I want everywhere.\nMy initial concern with the nano-texture glass was that it would substantially diminish the vibrancy and detail of the iPad Pro’s standard glass. I finally had an OLED display on my iPad, and I wanted to make sure I’d fully take advantage of all its benefits over mini-LED. After months of daily usage, I can say not only that my concerns were misplaced and this type of glass is totally fine, but that this option has opened up new use cases for the iPad Pro that just weren’t possible before.\nFor instance, I discovered the joy of working with my iPad Pro outside, without the need to chase down a spot in the shade so I can see the display more clearly. One of the many reasons we bought this apartment two years ago is the beautiful balcony, which faces south and gets plenty of sunlight all year long. We furnished the balcony so we could work on our laptops there when it’s warm outside, but in practice, I never did because it was too bright. Everything reflected on the screen, making it barely readable. That doesn’t happen anymore with the nano-texture iPad Pro. Without any discernible image or color degradation compared to the standard iPad Pro, I am – at long last – able to sit outside, enjoy some fresh air, and bask in the sunlight with my dogs while also typing away at my iPad Pro using a screen that remains bright and legible.\nSure, I’m talking about the display now. But I just want to stop for a second and appreciate how elegant and impossibly thin the M4 iPad Pro is.\nIf you know me, you also know where this is going. After years of struggle and begrudging acceptance that it just wasn’t possible, I took my iPad Pro to the beach earlier this year and realized I could work in the sun, with the waves crashing in front of me as I wrote yet another critique of iPadOS. I’ve been trying to do this for years: every summer since I started writing annual iOS reviews 10 years ago, I’ve attempted to work from the beach and consistently given up because it was impossible to see text on the screen under the hot, August sun of the Italian Riviera. That’s not been the case with the 11” iPad Pro. Thanks to its nano-texture glass, I got to have my summer cake and eat it too.\nI can see the comments on Reddit already – “Italian man goes outside, realizes fresh air is good” – but believe me, to say that this has been a quality-of-life improvement for me would be selling it short. Most people won’t need the added flexibility and cost of the nano-texture glass. But for me, being unable to efficiently work outside was antithetical to the nature of the iPad Pro itself. I’ve long sought to use a computer that I could take with me anywhere I went. Now, thanks to the nano-texture glass, I finally can.\niPad Pro and Video Recording for MacStories’ Podcasts\nI struggled to finish this story for several months because there was one remaining limitation of iPadOS that kept bothering me: I couldn’t figure out how to record audio and video for MacStories’ new video podcasts while also using Zoom.\nWhat I’m about to describe is the new aspect of my iPad workflow I’m most proud of figuring out. After years of waiting for iPadOS to eventually improve when it comes to simultaneous audio and video streams, I used some good old blue ocean strategy to fix this problem. As it turns out, the solution had been staring me in the face the entire time.\nConsider again, for a second, the setup I described above. The iPad is connected to a CalDigit Thunderbolt dock, which in turn connects it to my external monitor and the MixPre audio interface. My Neumann microphone is plugged into the MixPre, as are my in-ear buds; as I’ve explained, this allows me to record my audio track separately on the MixPre while coming through to other people on Zoom with great voice quality and also hearing myself back. For audio-only podcasts, this works well, and it’s been my setup for months.\nAs MacStories started growing its video presence as a complement to text and audio, however, I suddenly found myself needing to record video versions of NPC and AppStories in addition to audio. When I started recording video for those shows, I was using an Elgato FaceCam Pro 4K webcam; the camera had a USB-C connection, so thanks to UVC support, it was recognized by iPadOS, and I could use it in my favorite video-calling apps. So far, so good.\nThe problem, of course, was that when I was also using the webcam for Zoom, I couldn’t record a video in Camo Studio at the same time. It was my audio recording problem all over again: iPadOS cannot handle concurrent media streams, so if the webcam was being used for the Zoom call, then Camo Studio couldn’t also record its video feed.\nOnce again, I felt powerless. I’d built this good-looking setup with a light and a microphone arm and a nice poster on the wall, and I couldn’t do it all with my iPad Pro because of some silly software limitation. I started talking to my friend (and co-host of Comfort Zone) Chris Lawley, who’s also been working on the iPad for years, and that’s when it dawned on me: just like I did with audio, I should offload the recording process to external hardware.\nThe message that started it all.\nMy theory was simple. I needed to find the equivalent of the MixPre, but for video: a camera that I could connect over USB-C to the iPad Pro and use as a webcam in Zoom (so my co-hosts could see me), but which I could also operate to record video on its own SD card, independent of iPadOS. At the end of each recording session, I would grab the audio file from the MixPre, import the video file from the camera, and upload them both to Dropbox – no Mac involved in the process at all.\nIf the theory was correct – if iPadOS could indeed handle both the MixPre and a UVC camera at the same time while on a Zoom call – then I would be set. I could get rid of my MacBook Air (or what’s left of it, anyway) for good and truly say that I can do everything on my iPad Pro after more than a decade of iPad usage.\nAnd well…I was right.\nI did a lot of research on what could potentially be a very expensive mistake, and the camera I decided to go with is the Sony ZV-E10 II. This is a mirrorless Sony camera that’s advertised as made for vlogging and is certified under the Made for iPhone and iPad accessory program. After watching a lot of video reviews and walkthroughs, it seemed like the best option for me for a variety of reasons:\nI know nothing about photography and don’t plan on becoming a professional photographer. I just wanted a really good camera with fantastic image quality for video recording that could work for hours at a time while recording in 1080p. The ZV-E10 II is specifically designed with vlogging in mind and has an ‘intelligent’ shooting mode that doesn’t require me to tweak any settings for exposure or ISO.\nThe ZV-E10 supports USB-C connection to the iPad – and, specifically, UVC – out of the box. USB connections are automatically detected, so the camera gets picked up on the iPad by apps like Zoom, FaceTime, and Camo Studio.\nThe camera can record video to an SD card while also streaming over USB to an iPad. The recording is completely separate from iPadOS, and I can start it by pressing a physical button on the camera, which plays a helpful sound to confirm when it starts and stops recording. Following Chris’ recommendation, I got this SD card from Lexar, which I plan to rotate on a regular basis to avoid storage degradation.\nThe ZV-E10 II has a flip-out display that can swivel to face me. This allows me to keep an eye on what I look like in the video and has the added benefit of helping the camera run cooler. (More on this below.)\nThe ZV-E10 II seemed to meet all my requirements for an iPad-compatible mirrorless USB camera, so I ordered one in white (of course, it had to match my other accessories) with the default 16-50mm lens kit. The camera arrived about two months ago, and I’ve been using it to record episodes of AppStories and NPC entirely from my iPad Pro, without using a Mac anywhere in the process.\nThe latest entry in my iPad production workflow.\nThe ZV-E10 II with the display closed.\nTo say that I’m happy with this result would be an understatement. There are, however, some implementation details and caveats worth covering.\nFor starters, the ZV-E10 II notoriously overheats when recording long sessions at 4K, and since NPC tends to be longer than an hour, I had to make sure this wouldn’t happen. Following a tip from Chris, we decided to record all of our video podcasts in 1080p and upscale them to 4K in post-production. This is good enough for video podcasts on YouTube, and it allows us to work with smaller files while preventing the camera from running into any 4K-related overheating issues. Second, to let heat dissipate more easily and quickly while recording, I’m doing two things:\nI always keep the display open, facing me. This way, heat from the display isn’t transferred back to the main body of the camera.\nI’m using a “dummy battery”. This is effectively an empty battery that goes into the camera but actually gets its power from a wall adapter. There are plenty available on Amazon, and the one I got works perfectly. With this approach, the camera can stay on for hours at a time since heat is actually produced in the external power supply rather than inside the camera’s battery slot.\nIn terms of additional hardware, I’m also using a powerful 12” Neewer ring light for proper lighting with an adjustable cold shoe mount to get my angle just right. I tried a variety of ring lights and panels from Amazon; this one had the best balance of power and price for its size. (I didn’t want to get something that was too big since I want to hide its tripod in a closet when not in use.)\nMy ring light (and, as you can see, my reflection in the folded-out display).\nThe other view when the display is open.\nThe software story is a bit more simplistic, and right in line with the limitations of iPadOS we’re familiar with. If you’ve followed along with the story so far, you know that I have to plug both my MixPre-3 II and ZV-E10 II into the iPad Pro. To do this, I’m using a CalDigit TS4 dock in the middle that also handles power delivery, Ethernet, and the connection to my monitor. The only problem is that I have to remember to connect my various accessories in a particular order; specifically, I have to plug in my audio interface last, or people on Zoom will hear me speaking through the camera’s built-in microphone.\nThis happens because, unlike macOS, iPadOS doesn’t have a proper ‘Sound’ control panel in Settings to view and assign different audio sources and output destinations. Instead, everything is “managed” from the barebones Control Center UI, which doesn’t let me choose the MixPre-3 II for microphone input unless it is plugged in last. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but seriously, how silly is it that I can do all this work with an iPad Pro now and its software still doesn’t match my needs?\n\nHow silly is it that I can do all this work with an iPad Pro now and its software still doesn’t match my needs?\n\nWhen streaming USB audio and video to Zoom on the iPad from two separate devices, I also have to remember that if I accidentally open another camera app while recording, video in Zoom will be paused. This is another limitation of iPadOS: an external camera signal can only be active in one app at a time, so if I want to, say, take a selfie while recording on the iPad, I can’t – unless I’m okay with video being paused on Zoom while I do so.\nWhen I’m done recording a video, I press the stop button on the camera, grab its SD card, put it in Apple’s USB-C SD card adapter, and plug it into the iPad Pro. To do this, I have to disconnect the Thunderbolt cable that connects my iPad Pro to the CalDigit TS4. I can’t plug the adapter into the Magic Keyboard’s secondary USB-C port since it’s used for power delivery only, something that I hope will change eventually. In any case, the Files app does a good enough job copying large video files from the SD card to my iPad’s local storage. On a Mac, I would create a Hazel automation to grab the latest file from a connected storage device and upload it to Dropbox; on an iPad, there are no Shortcuts automation triggers for this kind of task, so it has to be done manually.\nMy trusty official Apple dongle.\nTransferring large video files takes a while, but it works.\nAnd that’s pretty much everything I have to share about using a fancy webcam with the iPad Pro. It is, after all, a USB feature that was enabled in iPadOS 17 thanks to UVC; it’s nothing new or specific to iPadOS 18 this year. While I wish I had more control over the recording process and didn’t have to use another SD card to save videos, I’m happy I found a solution that works for me and allows me to keep using the iPad Pro when I’m recording AppStories and NPC.\niPad Pro and the Vision Pro\nI’m on the record saying that if the Vision Pro offered an ‘iPad Virtual Display’ feature, my usage of the headset would increase tenfold, and I stand by that. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been rediscovering the joy of the Vision Pro as a (very expensive) media consumption device and stunning private monitor. I want to use the Vision Pro more, and I know that I would if only I could control its apps with the iPad’s Magic Keyboard while also using iPadOS inside visionOS. But I can’t; nevertheless, I persist in the effort.\nAs Devon covered in his review of visionOS 2, one of the Vision Pro’s new features is the ability to turn into a wireless AirPlay receiver that can mirror the screen of a nearby Apple device. That’s what I’ve been doing lately when I’m alone in the afternoon and want to keep working with my iPad Pro while also immersing myself in an environment or multitasking outside of iPadOS: I mirror the iPad to the Vision Pro and work with iPadOS in a window surrounded by other visionOS windows.\nMirroring to the Vision Pro…\n…lets me work with a bigger iPad display on top of my actual iPad.\nNow, I’ll be honest: this is not ideal, and Apple should really get around to making the iPad a first-class citizen of its $3,500 spatial computer just like the Mac can be. If I don’t own a Mac and use an iPad as my main computer instead, I shouldn’t be penalized when I’m using the Vision Pro. I hope iPad Virtual Display is in the cards for 2025 as Apple continues to expand the Vision line with more options. But for now, despite the minor latency that comes with AirPlay mirroring and the lack of true integration between the iPad’s Magic Keyboard and visionOS, I’ve been occasionally working with my iPad inside the Vision Pro, and it’s fun.\nThere’s something appealing about the idea of a mixed computing environment where the “main computer” becomes a virtual object in a space that is also occupied by other windows. For example, one thing I like to do is activate the Bora Bora beach environment about halfway (so that it’s in front of me, but doesn’t cover my keyboard), turn down the iPad’s display brightness to a minimum (so it’s not distracting), and write in Obsidian for iPad – mirrored via AirPlay to the Vision Pro – while other windows such as Messages, Aura for Spotify, and Safari surround me.\nThis is better multitasking than Stage Manager – which is funny, because most of these are also iPad apps.\nAforementioned limitations notwithstanding, I’ve found some tangible benefits in this setup. I can keep music playing at a medium volume via the Vision Pro’s audio pods, which sound great but also keep me aware of my surroundings. Potentially distracting apps like Messages can be physically placed somewhere in my room so they’re nearby, but outside my field of view; that way, I can send a quick Tapback reaction using hand gestures or type out a quick response using the Vision Pro’s virtual keyboard, which is only good for those types of responses anyway. And most importantly, I can make my iPad’s mirrored window bigger than any external monitor I have in my apartment, allowing me to place a giant Obsidian window at eye level right in front of me.\nBora Bora multitasking.\nSince I started using Spigen’s head strap with my Vision Pro, I completely solved the issue of neck fatigue, so I can wear and work in the headset for hours at a time without any sort of pain or strain on my muscles.\nThe head strap I use with the Vision Pro.\nI don’t need to extol the virtues of working with a traditional computing environment inside visionOS; for Mac users, it’s a known quantity, and it’s arguably one of the best features of the Vision Pro. (And it’s only gotten better with time.) What I’m saying is that, even with the less flexible and not as technically remarkable AirPlay-based flavor of mirroring, I’ve enjoyed being able to turn my iPad’s diminutive display into a large, TV-sized virtual monitor in front of me. Once again, it goes back to the same idea: I have the most compact iPad Pro I can get, but I can make it bigger via physical or virtual displays. I just wish Apple would take things to the next level here for iPad users as well.\niPad Pro as a Media Tablet for TV and Game Streaming…at Night\nIn the midst of working with the iPad Pro, something else happened: I fell in love with it as a media consumption device, too. Despite my appreciation for the newly “updated” iPad mini, the combination of a software feature I started using and some new accessories made me completely reevaluate the iPad Pro as a computer I can use at the end of the workday as well. Basically, this machine is always with me now.\nLet’s start with the software. This may sound obvious to several MacStories readers, but I recently began using Focus modes again, and this change alone allowed me to transform my iPad Pro into a different computer at night.\nSpecifically, I realized that I like to use my iPad Pro with a certain Home and Lock Screen configuration during the day and use a different combo with dark mode icons at night, when I’m in bed and want to read or watch something. So after ignoring them for years, I created two Focus modes: Work Mode and Downtime. The first Focus is automatically enabled every morning at 8:00 AM and lasts until 11:59 PM; the other one activates at midnight and lasts until 7:59 AM.3 This way, I have a couple of hours with a media-focused iPad Home Screen before I go to sleep at night, and when I wake up around 9:00 AM, the iPad Pro is already configured with my work apps and widgets.\nMy ‘Downtime Focus’ Home Screen.\nI don’t particularly care about silencing notifications or specific apps during the day; all I need from Focus is a consistent pair of Home and Lock Screens with different wallpapers for each. As you can see from the images in this story, the Work Mode Home Screen revolves around widgets for tasks and links, while the Downtime Home Screen prioritizes media apps and entertainment widgets.\nThis is something I suggested in my iPad mini review, but the idea here is that software, not hardware, is turning my iPad Pro into a third place device. With the iPad mini, the act of physically grabbing another computer with a distinct set of apps creates a clear boundary between the tools I use for work and play; with this approach, software transforms the same computer into two different machines for two distinct times of day.\nI also used two new accessories to smooth out the transition from business during the day to relaxation at night with the iPad Pro. A few weeks back, I was finally able to find the kind of iPad Pro accessory I’d been looking for since the debut of the M4 models: a back cover with a built-in kickstand. Last year, I used a similar cover for the M2 iPad Pro, and the idea is the same: this accessory only protects the back of the device, doesn’t have a cover for the screen, and comes with an adjustable kickstand to use the iPad in landscape at a variety of viewing angles.\nThe back cover for my iPad Pro.\nThe reason I wanted this product is simple. This is not a cover I use for protecting the iPad Pro; I only want to attach it in the evening, when I’m relaxing with the iPad Pro on my lap and want to get some reading done or watch some TV. In fact, this cover never leaves my nightstand. When I’m done working for the day, I leave the Magic Keyboard on my desk, bring the iPad Pro into the bedroom, and put it in the cover, leaving it there for later.\nI know what you’re thinking: couldn’t I just use a Magic Keyboard for the same exact purpose? Yes, I could. But the thing is, because it doesn’t have a keyboard on the front, this cover facilitates the process of tricking my brain into thinking I’m no longer in “work mode”. Even if I wanted, I couldn’t easily type with this setup. By making the iPad Pro more like a tablet rather than a laptop, the back cover – combined with my Downtime Focus and different Home Screen – reminds me that it’s no longer time to get work done with this computer. Once again, it’s all about taking advantage of modularity to transform the iPad Pro into something else – which is precisely what a traditional MacBook could never do.\nBut I went one step further.\nIf you recall, a few weeks ago on NPC, my podcast about portable gaming, I mentioned a “gaming pillow” – a strange accessory that promises to provide you with a more comfortable experience when playing with a portable console by combining a small mounting clasp with a soft pillow to put on your lap. Instead of feeling the entire weight of a Steam Deck or Legion Go in your hand, the pillow allows you to mount the console on its arm, offload the weight to the pillow, and simply hold the console without feeling any weight on your hands.\nFun, right? Well, as I mentioned in the episode, that pillow was a no-brand version of a similar accessory that the folks at Mechanism had pre-announced, and which I had pre-ordered and was waiting for. In case you’re not familiar, Mechanism makes a suite of mounting accessories for handhelds, including the popular Deckmate, which I’ve been using for the past year. With the Mechanism pillow, I could combine the company’s universal mounting system for my various consoles with the comfort of the pillow to use any handheld in bed without feeling its weight on my wrists.\nI got the Mechanism pillow a few weeks ago, and not only do I love it (it does exactly what the company advertised, and I’ve been using it with my Steam Deck and Legion Go), but I also had the idea of pairing it with the iPad Pro’s back cover for the ultimate iPad mounting solution…in bed.\nThe gaming pillow paired with my iPad Pro.\n\nAll I had to do was take one of Mechanism’s adhesive mounting clips and stick it to the back of the aforementioned iPad cover. Now, if I want to use the iPad Pro in bed without having to hold it myself, I can attach the cover to the gaming pillow, then attach the iPad Pro to the cover, and, well, you can see the result in the photo above. Believe me when I say this: it looks downright ridiculous, Silvia makes fun of me every single day for using it, and I absolutely adore it. The pillow’s plastic arm can be adjusted to the height and angle I want, and the whole structure is sturdy enough to hold everything in place. It’s peak laziness and iPad comfort, and it works incredibly well for reading, watching TV, streaming games with a controller in my hands, and catching up on my YouTube queue in Play.\nThe mounting clip attached to the back cover.\nSpeaking of streaming games, there is one final – and very recent – addition to my iPad-centric media setup I want to mention: NDI streaming.\nNDI (which stands for Network Device Interface) is a streaming protocol created by NewTek that allows high-quality video and audio to be transmitted over a local network in real time. Typically, this is done through hardware (an encoder) that gets plugged into the audio/video source and transmits data across your local network for other clients to connect to and view that stream. The advantages of NDI are its plug-and-play nature (clients can automatically discover NDI streamers on the network), high-bandwidth delivery, and low latency.\nWe initially covered NDI in the context of game streaming on MacStories back in February, when John explained how to use the Kiloview N40 to stream games to a Vision Pro with better performance and less latency than a typical PlayStation Remote Play or Moonlight environment. In his piece, John covered the excellent Vxio app, which remains the premier utility for NDI streaming on both the Vision Pro and iPad Pro. He ended up returning the N40 because of performance issues on his network, but I’ve stuck with it since I had a solid experience with NDI thanks to my fancy ASUS gaming router.\nSince that original story on NDI was published, I’ve upgraded my setup even further, and it has completely transformed how I can enjoy PS5 games on my iPad Pro without leaving my bed at night. For starters, I sold my PS5 Slim and got a PS5 Pro. I wouldn’t recommend this purchase to most people, but given that I sit very close to my monitor to play games and can appreciate the graphical improvements enabled by the PS5 Pro, I figured I’d get my money’s worth with Sony’s latest and greatest PS5 revision. So far, I can confirm that the upgrade has been incredible: I can get the best possible graphics in FFVII Rebirth or Astro Bot without sacrificing performance.\nMy PS5 Pro and N60 encoder next to it.\nSecondly, I switched from the Kiloview N40 to the bulkier and more expensive Kiloview N60. I did it for a simple reason: it’s the only Kiloview encoder that, thanks to a recent firmware upgrade, supports 4K HDR streaming. The lack of HDR was my biggest complaint about the N40; I could see that colors were washed out and not nearly as vibrant as when I was playing games on my TV. It only seemed appropriate that I would pair the PS5 Pro with the best possible version of NDI encoding out there.\nAfter following developer Chen Zhang’s tips on how to enable HDR input for the N60, I opened the Vxio app, switched to the correct color profile, and was astounded:\nThe image quality with the N60 is insane. This is Astro Bot being streamed at 4K HDR to my iPad Pro with virtually no latency.\nThe image above is a native screenshot of Astro Bot being streaming to my iPad Pro using NDI and the Vxio app over my network. Here, let me zoom in on the details even more:\n\nNow, picture this: it’s late at night, and I want to play some Astro Bot or Final Fantasy VII before going to sleep. I grab my PS5 Pro’s DualSense Edge controller4, wake up the console, switch the controller to my no-haptics profile, and attach the iPad Pro to the back cover mounted on the gaming pillow. With the pillow on my lap, I can play PS5 games at 4K HDR on an OLED display in front of me, directly from the comfort of my bed. It’s the best videogame streaming experience I’ve ever had, and I don’t think I have to add anything else.\nI have now achieved my final form.\nIf you told me years ago that a future story about my iPad Pro usage would wrap up with a section about a pillow and HDR, I would have guessed I’d lost my mind in the intervening years. And here we are.\nHardware Mentioned in This Story\nHere’s a recap of all the hardware I mentioned in this story:\niPad Pro (M4, 11”, with nano-texture glass, 1 TB, Wi-Fi and Cellular)\nGigabyte M27U monitor\nAirPods Max (USB-C)\nCalDigit TS4 Thunderbolt dock\nSound Devices MixPre-3 II\nNeumann KMS 105 microphone\nSony ZV-E10 II camera\nSD card (for MixPre and camera)\nDummy battery for camera\nNeewer 12” ring light with stand and cold shoe mount\nApple SD card adapter\nSpigen head strap for Vision Pro\nTineeOwl iPad Pro back cover\nGaming pillow\nMechanism Deckmate bundle\nASUS ROG Rapture WiFi 6E Gaming Router GT-AXE16000 central router + ASUS AXE7800 satellite\nPS5 Pro\nKiloview N60 NDI encoder\nBack to the iPad\nIt’s good to be home.\nAfter months of research for this story, and after years of experiments trying to get more work done from an iPad, I’ve come to a conclusion:\nSometimes, you can throw money at a problem on the iPad and find a solution that works.\nI can’t stress this enough, though: with my new iPad workflow, I haven’t really fixed any of the problems that afflict iPadOS. I found new solutions thanks to external hardware; realistically, I have to thank USB-C more than iPadOS for making this possible. The fact that I’m using my iPad Pro for everything now doesn’t mean I approve of the direction Apple has taken with iPadOS or the slow pace of its development.\nAs I was wrapping up this story, I found myself looking back and reminiscing about my iPad usage over the past 12 years. One way to look at it is that I’ve been trying to get work done on the iPad for a third of my entire life. I started in 2012, when I was stuck in a hospital bed and couldn’t use a laptop. I persisted because I fell in love with the iPad’s ethos and astounding potential; the idea of using a computer that could transform into multiple things thanks to modularity latched onto my brain over a decade ago and never went away.\nI did, however, spend a couple of years in “computer wilderness” trying to figure out if I was still the same kind of tech writer and if I still liked using the iPad. I worked exclusively with macOS for a while. Then I secretly used a Microsoft Surface for six months and told no one about it. Then I created a hybrid Mac/iPad device that let me operate two platforms at once. For a brief moment, I even thought the Vision Pro could replace my iPad and become my main computer.\n\nThe iPad Pro is the only computer for me.\n\nI’m glad I did all those things and entertained all those thoughts. When you do something for a third of your life, it’s natural to look outside your comfort zone and ask yourself if you really still enjoy doing it.\nAnd the truth is, I’m still that person. I explored all my options – I frustrated myself and my readers with the not-knowing for a while – and came out at the end of the process believing even more strongly in what I knew years ago:\nThe iPad Pro is the only computer for me.\nEven with its software flaws, scattershot evolution, and muddled messaging over the years, only Apple makes this kind of device: a thin, portable slab of glass that can be my modular desktop workstation, a tablet for reading outside, and an entertainment machine for streaming TV and videogames. The iPad Pro does it all, and after a long journey, I found a way to make it work for everything I do.\nI’ve stopped using my MacPad, I gave up thinking the Vision Pro could be my main computer, and I’m done fooling myself that, if I wanted to, I could get my work done on Android or Windows.\nI’m back on the iPad. And now more than ever, I’m ready for the next 12 years.\n\n\nNPC listeners know this already, but I recently relocated my desktop-class eGPU (powered by an NVIDIA 4090) to the living room. There are two reasons behind this. First, when I want to play PC games with high performance requirements, I can do so with the most powerful device I own on the best gaming monitor I have (my 65” LG OLED television). And second, I have a 12-meter USB4 cable that allows me to rely on the eGPU while playing on my Legion Go in bed. Plus, thanks to their support for instant sleep and resume, both the PS5 and Switch are well-suited for the kind of shorter play sessions I want to have in the office. ↩︎\n\n\nRemember when split view for tabs used to be a Safari-only feature? ↩︎\n\n\nOddly enough, despite the fact that I set all my Focus modes to sync between devices, the Work Mode Focus wouldn’t automatically activate on my iPad Pro in the morning (though it would on the iPhone). I had to set up a secondary automation in Shortcuts on the iPad Pro to make sure it switches to that Focus before I wake up. ↩︎\n\n\nWhen you’re streaming with NDI, you don’t pair a controller with your iPad since you’re merely observing the original video source. This means that, in the case of my PS5 Pro, its controller needs to be within range of the console when I’m playing in another room. Thankfully, the DualSense has plenty of range, and I haven’t run into any input latency issues. ↩︎\n\n\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-12-18T10:30:18-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-12-18T10:38:31-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Federico Viticci", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/viticci/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/94a9aa7c70dbeb9440c6759bd2cebc2a?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "iPad", "iPad Pro", "M4", "productivity", "stories" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=77242", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-releases-updates-to-final-cut-pro-and-logic-pro-for-the-mac-and-ipad/", "title": "Apple Releases Updates to Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the Mac and iPad", "content_html": "
\"The

The Magnetic Mask. Source: Apple.

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Today, Apple revealed the latest updates to Final Cut Pro for the Mac and iPad, with both offering a variety of new features and simplified workflows.

\n

Final Cut Pro 11 for the Mac has added magnetic masks, extending the “magnetic” metaphor used for clips placed on your timeline. Apple says the new feature will allow you to quickly mask people and objects in a shot to color grade them or add effects separately from the rest of a scene.

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\"Final

Final Cut Pro for Mac creating closed captions. Source: Apple.

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The app can automatically generate closed captions now, too. The feature, which was briefly shown off in a video published alongside the announcement of the new Mac mini, uses artificial intelligence to convert dialogue into text.

\n

Final Cut Pro 11 is also now capable of editing spatial video for the Apple Vision Pro. In its press release, Apple says:

\n

\n Final Cut Pro 11 now supports spatial video editing, allowing editors to import their footage and add effects, make color corrections, and enhance their projects with titles. The depth position of titles and captured footage can also be adjusted during the editing process. Spatial video clips can be captured directly with Vision Pro, or on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and Canon’s new RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens paired with Canon R7.\n

\n
\"Enhance

Enhance Light and Color in action. Source: Apple.

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Final Cut Pro for the iPad has been updated to version 2.1 with several new features. I’ve been using Final Cut Pro more regularly since we started the MacStories YouTube channel, and one of the limitations I noticed immediately is that the color correction tools in the iPad version weren’t nearly as good as on the Mac. The iPad’s color tools still aren’t as sophisticated as what’s available on the Mac, but this update does add new color grading presets as well as a new Enhance Light and Color feature that intelligently applies color, contrast, brightness, and color balance to a video and works with SDR, HDR, RAW, and Log-encoded media.

\n
\"One

One of Final Cut Pro for iPad’s new brushes. Source: Apple.

\n

Live Drawing on a video has been expanded with new brushes, too. There are new watercolor, crayon, fountain pen, and monoline pen brushes, letting users create a greater variety of looks for their videos. Other new effects include a picture-in-picture effect, callouts, and a set of built-in soundtracks. I’m eager to try picture-in-picture, which should be a good way to create tutorials and other types of videos and callouts; it’s an effect available from multiple third-party effects vendors on the Mac, but new to the iPad.

\n

The iPad version of Final Cut Pro is also adding a host of other new features, including:

\n

\n

Final Cut Pro Camera is being updated as well. Custom LUTs are still not available, but Apple has added its LOG LUT for color grading footage, which can be previewed while recording. Users can also record in LOG HEVC, which will preserve the benefits of shooting in LOG, but with much smaller files than, say, Apple ProRes.

\n

The camera app has also added a level for filming top-down footage, which the Apple Camera app has had for some time, and support for recording in 4K at up to 120fps on the iPhone 16 Pro line.

\n

It’s great to see all three Final Cut Pro apps get updates today. I’ve been using them all more regularly and like using the iPad app the most, although it’s frustrating at times knowing that the deep catalog of third-party effects plug-ins available on the Mac aren’t available on the iPad. Apple said third-party plug-ins were coming to the iPad version when Final Cut Pro launched on the device, but here we are about 18 months since its debut, and not a single company offers plug-ins for the iPad. The ability to apply custom LUTs on the iPad is another request I hear a lot from users. Hopefully, both features will make their way to the iPad eventually.

\n

Final Cut Pro 11 for the Mac and Final Cut Camera are free updates to the existing versions, Final Cut Pro for iPad’s subscription pricing remains $4.99/month or $49.99/year, and all apps are available on the App Store.

\n
\"The

The Quantec Room Simulator plug-in on the Mac. Source: Apple.

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Apple also released an update to Logic Pro for the Mac and iPad, adding a new Quantec Room Simulator plug-in that recreates ‘80s-era hardware invented by Wolfgang “Wolf” Buchleitner. The plug-in simulates room acoustics in a natural-sounding way that has been used in a wide variety of recordings.

\n

Among the artists to have used Quantec Room Simulator hardware is Peter Gabriel, who had this to say about Apple’s new Logic Pro plug-in:

\n

\n The Quantec Room Simulator has been a key element to my sound for many years, appearing on records like Passion and Us. I also used it to build harmonic drones to start my live set, which then evolved into songs like ‘Across the River.’ It’s wonderful that Apple is bringing the Quantec QRS back to life as a plug-in for Logic users around the world.\n

\n
\"The

The Quantec Room Simulator plug-in on the iPad. Source: Apple.

\n

Although I probably don’t have a use for it, I love the idea of recreating the Quantec Room Simulator as a plug-in that’s available to anyone who uses Logic.

\n

On both the Mac and iPad, Logic also adds a new option to Reorder Mixer Channels, which allows users to rearrange channel strips by dragging and dropping them. Finally, the iPad version introduces Sample Folders to help musicians organize their sound samples.

\n

Logic Pro 11.1 for the Mac is available as a free update to existing users, and Logic Pro for iPad’s subscription pricing remains $4.99/month or $49.99/year.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "The Magnetic Mask. Source: Apple.\nToday, Apple revealed the latest updates to Final Cut Pro for the Mac and iPad, with both offering a variety of new features and simplified workflows.\nFinal Cut Pro 11 for the Mac has added magnetic masks, extending the “magnetic” metaphor used for clips placed on your timeline. Apple says the new feature will allow you to quickly mask people and objects in a shot to color grade them or add effects separately from the rest of a scene.\nFinal Cut Pro for Mac creating closed captions. Source: Apple.\nThe app can automatically generate closed captions now, too. The feature, which was briefly shown off in a video published alongside the announcement of the new Mac mini, uses artificial intelligence to convert dialogue into text.\nFinal Cut Pro 11 is also now capable of editing spatial video for the Apple Vision Pro. In its press release, Apple says:\n\n Final Cut Pro 11 now supports spatial video editing, allowing editors to import their footage and add effects, make color corrections, and enhance their projects with titles. The depth position of titles and captured footage can also be adjusted during the editing process. Spatial video clips can be captured directly with Vision Pro, or on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and Canon’s new RF-S7.8mm F4 STM DUAL lens paired with Canon R7.\n\nEnhance Light and Color in action. Source: Apple.\nFinal Cut Pro for the iPad has been updated to version 2.1 with several new features. I’ve been using Final Cut Pro more regularly since we started the MacStories YouTube channel, and one of the limitations I noticed immediately is that the color correction tools in the iPad version weren’t nearly as good as on the Mac. The iPad’s color tools still aren’t as sophisticated as what’s available on the Mac, but this update does add new color grading presets as well as a new Enhance Light and Color feature that intelligently applies color, contrast, brightness, and color balance to a video and works with SDR, HDR, RAW, and Log-encoded media.\nOne of Final Cut Pro for iPad’s new brushes. Source: Apple.\nLive Drawing on a video has been expanded with new brushes, too. There are new watercolor, crayon, fountain pen, and monoline pen brushes, letting users create a greater variety of looks for their videos. Other new effects include a picture-in-picture effect, callouts, and a set of built-in soundtracks. I’m eager to try picture-in-picture, which should be a good way to create tutorials and other types of videos and callouts; it’s an effect available from multiple third-party effects vendors on the Mac, but new to the iPad.\nThe iPad version of Final Cut Pro is also adding a host of other new features, including:\nthe ability to expand clips in the timeline vertically with a pinch gesture,\ndynamic adjustments to the size of the picture-in-picture window,\nsupport for editing high-frame-rate video, and\nApple Pencil Pro haptic feedback for timeline scrubbing and dropping effects onto the timeline.\n\nFinal Cut Pro Camera is being updated as well. Custom LUTs are still not available, but Apple has added its LOG LUT for color grading footage, which can be previewed while recording. Users can also record in LOG HEVC, which will preserve the benefits of shooting in LOG, but with much smaller files than, say, Apple ProRes.\nThe camera app has also added a level for filming top-down footage, which the Apple Camera app has had for some time, and support for recording in 4K at up to 120fps on the iPhone 16 Pro line.\nIt’s great to see all three Final Cut Pro apps get updates today. I’ve been using them all more regularly and like using the iPad app the most, although it’s frustrating at times knowing that the deep catalog of third-party effects plug-ins available on the Mac aren’t available on the iPad. Apple said third-party plug-ins were coming to the iPad version when Final Cut Pro launched on the device, but here we are about 18 months since its debut, and not a single company offers plug-ins for the iPad. The ability to apply custom LUTs on the iPad is another request I hear a lot from users. Hopefully, both features will make their way to the iPad eventually.\nFinal Cut Pro 11 for the Mac and Final Cut Camera are free updates to the existing versions, Final Cut Pro for iPad’s subscription pricing remains $4.99/month or $49.99/year, and all apps are available on the App Store.\nThe Quantec Room Simulator plug-in on the Mac. Source: Apple.\nApple also released an update to Logic Pro for the Mac and iPad, adding a new Quantec Room Simulator plug-in that recreates ‘80s-era hardware invented by Wolfgang “Wolf” Buchleitner. The plug-in simulates room acoustics in a natural-sounding way that has been used in a wide variety of recordings.\nAmong the artists to have used Quantec Room Simulator hardware is Peter Gabriel, who had this to say about Apple’s new Logic Pro plug-in:\n\n The Quantec Room Simulator has been a key element to my sound for many years, appearing on records like Passion and Us. I also used it to build harmonic drones to start my live set, which then evolved into songs like ‘Across the River.’ It’s wonderful that Apple is bringing the Quantec QRS back to life as a plug-in for Logic users around the world.\n\nThe Quantec Room Simulator plug-in on the iPad. Source: Apple.\nAlthough I probably don’t have a use for it, I love the idea of recreating the Quantec Room Simulator as a plug-in that’s available to anyone who uses Logic.\nOn both the Mac and iPad, Logic also adds a new option to Reorder Mixer Channels, which allows users to rearrange channel strips by dragging and dropping them. Finally, the iPad version introduces Sample Folders to help musicians organize their sound samples.\nLogic Pro 11.1 for the Mac is available as a free update to existing users, and Logic Pro for iPad’s subscription pricing remains $4.99/month or $49.99/year.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-11-13T18:02:19-05:00", "date_modified": "2024-11-13T18:02:19-05:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Final Cut Pro", "iPad", "Logic", "mac", "music", "video", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=76970", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/stories/ipad-mini-review-the-third-place/", "title": "iPad mini Review: The Third Place", "content_html": "
\"The

The new iPad mini.

\n

My first reaction when I picked up the new iPad mini last Thursday morning was that it felt heavier than my 11” iPad Pro. Obviously, that was not the case – it’s nearly 150 grams lighter, in fact. But after several months of intense usage of the new, incredibly thin iPad Pro, the different weight distribution and the thicker form factor of the iPad mini got me for a second. Despite being “new”, compared to the latest-generation iPad Pro, the iPad mini felt old.

\n

The second thing I noticed is that, color aside, the new iPad mini looks and feels exactly like the sixth-generation model I reviewed here on MacStories three years ago. The size is the same, down to the millimeter. The weight is the same. The display technology is the same. Three minor visual details give the “new” iPad mini away: it says “iPad mini” on the back, it’s called “iPad mini (A17 Pro)” on the box, and it’s even called “iPad mini (A17 Pro)” (and not “iPad mini (7th generation)”) in Settings ⇾ General ⇾ About.

\n

I’m spending time on these minor, largely inconsequential details because I don’t know how else to put it: this iPad mini is pretty much the same iPad I already reviewed in 2021. The iPadOS experience is unchanged. You still cannot use Stage Manager on any iPad mini (not even when docked), and the classic Split View/Slide Over environment is passable, but more constrained than on an iPad Air or Pro. I covered all these aspects of the mini experience in 2021; everything still holds true today.

\n

What matters today, however, is what’s inside. The iPad mini with A17 Pro is an iPad mini that supports Apple Intelligence, the Apple Pencil Pro, and faster Wi-Fi. And while the display technology is unchanged – it’s an IPS display that refreshes at 60 Hz – the so-called jelly scrolling issue has been fixed thanks to an optimized display controller.

\n

As someone who lives in Italy and cannot access Apple Intelligence, that leaves me with an iPad mini that is only marginally different from the previous one, with software features coming soon that I won’t be able to use for a while. It leaves me with a device that comes in a blue color that isn’t nearly as fun as the one on my iPhone 16 Plus and feels chunkier than my iPad Pro while offering fewer options in terms of accessories (no Magic Keyboard) and software modularity (no Stage Manager on an external display).

\n

And yet, despite the strange nature of this beast and its shortcomings, I’ve found myself in a similar spot to three years ago: I don’t need this iPad mini in my life, but I want to use it under very specific circumstances.

\n

Only this time, I’ve realized why.

\n

\n

Special Episode of AppStories, Now with Video Too

\n

We recorded a special episode of AppStories all about the new iPad mini and my review. As usual, you can listen to the episode in any podcast player or via the AppStories website.

\n

Today, however, we’re also debuting a video version of AppStories on our YouTube channel. Going forward, all AppStories episodes will be released in audio and video formats via standard RSS feeds and YouTube, respectively.

\n
\n

AppStories debuted in 2017, and with over 400 episodes recorded, it’s long past due for a video version.

\n

It’s safe to say that bringing AppStories to YouTube is a good sign that our YouTube channel has graduated from an experiment to a full-fledged component of MacStories. If you haven’t subscribed to the channel yet, you can check it out and subscribe here, and it also includes:

\n

I hope you’ll enjoy the video version of AppStories. You can find our YouTube channel here.

\n

Setting Up the iPad mini

\n

Apple sent me a review unit of the blue iPad mini with 512 GB of storage (a new tier this year), alongside an Apple Pencil Pro and a denim Smart Folio. The denim color looks alright; the blue color of the iPad mini is, frankly, a travesty. I don’t know what it is, exactly, that pushes Apple every so often to release “colors” that are different variations of gray with a smidge of colored paint in the mix, but here we are. If you were expecting an ultramarine equivalent of the iPad mini, this is not it.

\n
One is ultramarine; the other is \"blue\".

One is ultramarine; the other is “blue”.

\n
\"The

The iPad mini (right) is visibly thicker than the M4 iPad Pro.

\n

Something that surprised me when I started setting up the iPad mini was the absence of any developer or public beta program to install iPadOS 18.1 on it. My iPad Pro was running the iPadOS 18.1 developer beta, so while I was able to migrate my iCloud account and system settings, I couldn’t restore from a backup because iPadOS 18.1 wasn’t available for the new iPad mini at all last week. That was unusual. I’ve reviewed my fair share of iPads over the years; traditionally, Apple releases a specific version of their current betas for members of the press to install on their review units.

\n

With this iPad mini, I had to start from scratch, which I decided to use to my advantage. It gave me an opportunity to investigate some questions. How would I set up the iPad mini as a companion device to my iPhone 16 Plus and 11” iPad Pro in 2024? In a world where the Vision Pro also exists as a personal, private device for entertainment, what role would an iPad mini specifically set up for “media consumption” fill in my life?

\n

And the biggest question of all: would there even be a place for it at this point?

\n

The Role of the iPad mini

\n

Look at any marketing webpage or press release about the iPad mini, and you’ll see that Apple is more than eager to tell you that doctors and pilots love using it. My last experiences in those fields were, respectively, Pilotwings on the Super Nintendo and Trauma Center on the Nintendo DS. I’m fairly certain that curriculum wouldn’t qualify me as an expert in either profession, so those iPad mini use cases aren’t something I can review here.

\n

I can write about two things: how this iPad mini compares to the previous one from a hardware perspective and, more broadly (and more interestingly for me), what role the iPad mini may fill in 2024 in a post-OLED iPad Pro, post-Vision Pro Apple ecosystem.

\n

What’s Different: Better Wi-Fi, Apple Pencil Pro, and No More “Jelly Scrolling”

\n

As I mentioned above, the new iPad mini comes with the A17 Pro chip, and since it’ll need to power Apple Intelligence, it also now offers 8 GB of RAM – the bare minimum needed to run AI models on Apple’s platforms these days. I haven’t been able to test Apple Intelligence on the iPad mini, so all I can say is that, yes, the new model is just as fast as the iPhone 15 Pro was last year. For the things I do with an iPad mini, I don’t need to run benchmarks; whether it’s watching YouTube videos, browsing Mastodon, or reading articles in GoodLinks, there’s never been a single time when I thought, “I wish this iPad mini was faster”. But then again, the old iPad mini was fine, too, for the basic tasks I threw at it.

\n

Where I did notice an improvement was in the Wi-Fi department. Thanks to its adoption of Wi-Fi 6E (up from Wi-Fi 6), the new mini benchmarked higher than the old model in speed tests and, funnily enough, came in slightly higher than my M4 iPad Pro as well. From the same spot in the living room in close proximity to my Wi-Fi 6E router, the three iPads performed speed tests at the following rates across multiple tests:1

\n

As you can see, the 6Ghz band helps the Wi-Fi 6E-enabled devices, resulting in amazing performance for streaming bandwidth-intensive applications. For example, I used my iPad mini to stream Astro Bot from my PS5 using the MirrorPlay app, and it was rock solid, on par with the latest iPad Pro. That wasn’t the case when I last tried to stream games locally with the iPad mini and iPad Pro paired with a G8 game controller last year.

\n
\"The

The new iPad mini running Astro Bot from my PS5. I’m using the GameSir G8 Plus controller here.

\n

For this change alone, I would make the case that if you’re looking for a compact tablet for videogame streaming (whether locally or over the Internet), the new iPad mini is a very compelling package. In fact, I’d argue that – display technology considerations aside – the iPad mini is the ideal form factor for a streaming companion device; it’s bigger than a phone, but not as heavy as a 11” tablet.

\n

The other change in this iPad mini is support for the Apple Pencil Pro. Apple has been (rightfully) criticized over the past year for some of its confusing updates to the Apple Pencil lineup, but with this iPad mini, it feels like the company is now telling a clear narrative with this accessory. The new iPad mini supports two Apple Pencil models: the entry-level Apple Pencil with USB-C and the Apple Pencil Pro. This means that, as of late 2024, the iPad mini, Air, and Pro all support the same Apple Pencil models with no perplexing exceptions.

\n
\"The

The iPad mini paired with the Apple Pencil Pro.

\n

Now, you know me; I’m not a heavy user of the Apple Pencil. But I do think that the Pencil Pro makes for a really interesting accessory to the iPad mini, even when used for non-artistic purposes. For instance, I’ve had fun catching up on my reading queue while holding the mini in my left hand and the Pencil Pro in my right hand to quickly highlight passages in GoodLinks. Thanks to the ability to run a custom shortcut by squeezing the Pencil Pro, I’ve also been able to quickly copy an article’s link to the clipboard just by holding the Pencil, without needing to use the share sheet. The iPad mini also supports Apple Pencil Hover now, which is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated features of the Apple Pencil. Being able to hover over a hyperlink in Safari to see where it points to is extra nice.

\n
\"With

With a squeeze of the Pencil Pro, I can instantly copy the URL of what I’m reading in GoodLinks (left).

\n

None of these features are new (they’ve been supported since the new iPad Pros in May), but they feel different when the iPad you’re using is so portable and lightweight you can hold it with one hand. The Pencil Pro + iPad mini combo feels like the ultimate digital notepad, more flexible than the Apple Pencil 2 ever was thanks to the new options offered by the Pro model.

\n
\"Silvia's

Silvia’s much better handwriting with the Apple Pencil Pro, iPad mini, and Steve Troughton-Smith’s upcoming Notepad app.

\n

We now come to the infamous phenomenon known as “jelly scrolling”. If you recall from my review of the iPad mini three years ago, this is not something I initially noticed, and I don’t think I was alone. However, once my eyes saw the issue one time months later, it ruined my experience with that display forever.

\n

For those unaware, jelly scrolling refers to a display issue where, in portrait orientation, scrolling a page would result in one half of the screen “moving” more slowly than the other. It could go unnoticed for months if you weren’t paying attention or your eyes simply weren’t seeing it, but once they did, you’d see a jelly-like effect onscreen with the two halves of the display sort of “wobbling” as you scrolled. There are plenty of videos that demonstrate this effect in motion, and as I said, it was more of a, “Once you see it, there’s no way to unsee it,” sort of problem. When my eyes picked up on it months after the review, it bothered me forever that I didn’t mention it in my original story.

\n

I’m happy to report that, in the new iPad mini, the jelly scrolling issue has been fixed without the need to change the underlying display technology of the device. The new iPad mini has an optimized display controller that ensures the entire panel will refresh at the same rate and speed. For this reason, even though it’s the same display across two generations with the same refresh rate, color gamut, pixel density, and brightness, the new iPad mini does not have one side of the screen that refreshes more quickly than the other.

\n

There’s an argument to be made that a tablet that costs $500 in 2024 should have a refresh rate higher than 60Hz. I’d argue that the same is true for the iPhone 16 lineup: ideally, Apple should raise the baseline to 90Hz and keep ProMotion at 120Hz exclusive to Pro devices. However, as someone who uses the iPhone 16 Plus as his iPhone of choice, it would be hypocritical of me to say that the 60Hz display of the iPad mini is a dealbreaker. This device doesn’t have the same fancy display as my 11” iPad Pro, but for what I want to use it for, it’s fine.

\n

Would I prefer an “iPad mini Pro” with OLED and ProMotion? Of course I would love that option. But with jelly scrolling out of the equation now, I’m fine with reading articles, watching videos, and streaming games on my iPad mini at 60 Hz.

\n

There are other hardware changes in the iPad mini I could mention, but they’re so minor, I don’t want to dwell on them for too long. It now has Bluetooth 5.3 onboard instead of Bluetooth 5.0. The iPad mini, like the Pro and Air models, has switched to eSIM only for cellular plans, which means I have one fewer physical component to worry about. And the USB-C port has graduated from USB 3.1 Gen 1 speeds (5 Gbps) to USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), which results in faster file transfers. However, I don’t plan on using this iPad for production work that involves transferring large audio or video files (we have a YouTube channel now), so while it’s welcome, this is a change I can largely ignore.

\n

The Most Compact Tablet for (Occasional) Split View

\n

Over the past three years, I’ve gotten fixated on this idea: the iPad mini isn’t a device I’d recommend for multitasking, but it is the most compact Apple computer you can have for the occasional Split View with two almost iPhone-sized apps side by side. I don’t use this device for serious, multi-window productivity that involves work tasks. But I’ve been surprised by how many times I found myself enjoying the ability to quickly invoke two apps at once, do something, and then go back to full-screen.

\n
\"Split

Split View on the iPad mini. The Ivory + Spotify combo is something I do almost every day when I’m done working.

\n

Or, let me put it another way: the iPad mini fills the multitasking gap left open by my iPhone and the absence of a foldable iPhone in Apple’s lineup. Even on my 16 Plus, there are times when I wish I could use, just for a few seconds, two iPhone apps in vertical Split View. The iPad mini is the only Apple device I can hold with one hand while also using Split View or Slide Over. And there’s something to be said about that option when you need it.

\n

When I’m unwinding at the end of the day, sometimes I like to put a YouTube video on one side of the screen and keep Mastodon open on the other. The iPad mini lets me do it. Or maybe I want to keep both my Ivory and Threads timelines open at the same time because some live event is going on. Or perhaps I just want to keep GoodLinks or Safari open and invoke Quick Notes to jot down an idea I had while reading. These aren’t highly complex, convoluted tasks; they’re simple workflows that benefit from the ability to split the screen or summon a temporary window. The iPad mini is the best device Apple makes for this kind of “ephemeral multitasking”.

\n
\"Slide

Slide Over is equally useful on the iPad mini, especially because I can invoke it with just my thumb.

\n
\"And

And don’t forget: Slide Over comes with its own window picker, too!

\n

In a post-Stage Manager world, there’s something about the reliability of Split View and Slide Over that I want to publicly acknowledge and appreciate. I briefly mentioned this in the story I wrote about the making of my iOS and iPadOS 18 review: for the past three months, I’ve only used Stage Manager when I connect my iPad Pro to an external display. When I’m working on the iPad by itself, I no longer use Stage Manager and exclusively work in the traditional Split View and Slide Over environment instead.

\n

The iPad mini is not an ideal multitasking machine. It doesn’t support Stage Manager, three-column app layouts aren’t available by default2, and apps in Split View can become so small that they feel like slightly wider iPhone apps. And yet, there is something so nice and – as I argued three years ago – delightful about controlling Split View multitasking with your thumbs as you hold the device in landscape, it’s hard to convey unless you try it.

\n

Most iPad mini reviews, including mine from 2021, typically focus on the media consumption aspect of the device. And I’ll get to that before I wrap up. What I’m trying to say, however, is that I no longer buy the argument that you’d “never” want to multitask on such a small display. I’ve found tangible, practical benefits in the ability to “consume content” while doing something else on the side. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to write my next longform essay on the iPad mini. It means that multitasking is a spectrum, and I love how the mini lets me dip in and out of multiple apps in a way that the iPhone still doesn’t allow for.

\n

The Third Place

\n
\"My

My Ayn Odin 2 Mini, Vision Pro, Steam Deck OLED, and iPad mini.

\n

As I used the new iPad mini last week, I was reminded of a PlayStation 2 advertising campaign from 2000 to promote the launch of Sony’s new console. The campaign, called ”The Third Place”, featured a commercial directed by David Lynch, among others that are wrongfully attributed to him, but which play along a similar theme.

\n
\n

The concept behind these eerie, cryptic commercials is actually quite fascinating and rooted in history. In sociology, there’s this concept of a third place, which represents a social environment separate from a person’s home (their first place) and workplace (their second place). Examples of “third places” include coffee shops, parks, theaters, clubs – places where people go to socialize, hang out, and ground themselves in a different reality that is socially and physically separate from what they do at home and what they do at work. In Ancient Greece, the agora was a classic example of a third place. The lines get blurry in our modern society when you consider places that can be work and social environments at once, such as co-working spaces, but you get the idea.

\n

With their ad campaign (directed by TBWA, a name familiar to Apple users), Sony wanted to position the PS2 as an escapist device to find your third place in the boundless possibilities provided by the digital worlds of videogames. Truth be told, when I saw those commercials as a kid (I was 12 in 2000), I just thought they were cool because they were so edgy and mysterious; it was only decades later that I was able to appreciate the concept of a third place in relation to gaming, VR, and everything in between.

\n

I’ve been thinking about the idea of a third place lately as it relates to the tech products we use and the different roles they aim to serve.

\n

The way I see it, so many different devices are vying for the third place in our lives. We have our phones, which are, in many ways, the primary computers we use at home, to communicate with others, to capture memories of our loved ones and personal experiences; they are an extension of ourselves, and, in a sense, our first place in a digital world. We have our computers – whether they’re traditional laptops, modular tablets, or desktops – that we use and rely on for work; they’re our second place. And then there’s a long tail of different devices seeking to fill the space in between: call it downtime, entertainment, relaxing, unwinding, or just doing something that brings you joy and amusement without having to use your phone or computer.

\n

For some people, that can be a videogame console or a handheld. For others, it’s an eBook reader. Or perhaps it’s a VR headset, a Vision Pro, or smart glasses that you can wear to watch movies or stream games. Maybe it’s an Apple TV or dedicated streaming device. Just like humans gravitate toward a variety of physical third places to spend time and socialize, so can “third place devices” coexist with each other in a person’s time separate from their family or work obligations. This is why, for most people, it’s not uncommon to own more than one of these devices and use them for different purposes. We’re surrounded by dozens of potential digital third places.

\n

The tech industry has been chasing this dream (and profitable landscape) of what comes after the phone and computer for decades. In Apple history, look no further than Steve Jobs’ introduction of the original iPad in 2010, presented as a third device in between a Mac and iPhone that could be “far better” at key things such as watching videos, browsing your photos, and playing games. When a person’s primary computer is always in their pocket (and unlikely to go away anytime soon), and when their work happens on a larger screen, what other space is there to fill?

\n

When I started looking at these products through this lens, I realized something. The iPad mini is the ideal third place device for things I don’t want to do on my iPhone or iPad Pro. By virtue of being so small, but bigger than a phone, it occupies a unique space in my digital life: it’s the place I go to when I want to read a book, browse the web, or watch some videos without having to be distracted by everything else that’s on my phone, or be reminded of the tasks I have to do on my iPad Pro. The iPad mini is, for me at least, pure digital escapism disguised as an 8.3” tablet.

\n

From this perspective, I don’t need the iPad mini to run Stage Manager. I don’t need it to have a ProMotion display or more RAM. I don’t need it to be bigger or come with a Magic Keyboard. I need it, in fact, to be nothing more than it currently is. I was wrong in trying to frame the iPad mini as an alternative to other models. The iPad mini would lose the fight in any comparison or measurement against the 11” iPad Pro.

\n

But it’s because of its objective shortcomings that the iPad mini makes sense and still has reason to exist today. It is, after all, a third device in between my phone and laptop. It’s a third place, and I can’t wait to spend more time there.

\n
\n
  1. \nFor context, I have a fiber connection that maxes out at 1 Gbit down and 300 Mbits up. ↩︎\n
    2. \n
  2. \nUnless a developer adds specific support for the iPad mini to always mark this layout as available. My favorite RSS reader, Lire, can be used with three columns in landscape on the iPad mini. ↩︎\n
    3. \n
\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

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What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

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Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

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Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

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Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

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Join Now", "content_text": "The new iPad mini.\nMy first reaction when I picked up the new iPad mini last Thursday morning was that it felt heavier than my 11” iPad Pro. Obviously, that was not the case – it’s nearly 150 grams lighter, in fact. But after several months of intense usage of the new, incredibly thin iPad Pro, the different weight distribution and the thicker form factor of the iPad mini got me for a second. Despite being “new”, compared to the latest-generation iPad Pro, the iPad mini felt old.\nThe second thing I noticed is that, color aside, the new iPad mini looks and feels exactly like the sixth-generation model I reviewed here on MacStories three years ago. The size is the same, down to the millimeter. The weight is the same. The display technology is the same. Three minor visual details give the “new” iPad mini away: it says “iPad mini” on the back, it’s called “iPad mini (A17 Pro)” on the box, and it’s even called “iPad mini (A17 Pro)” (and not “iPad mini (7th generation)”) in Settings ⇾ General ⇾ About.\nI’m spending time on these minor, largely inconsequential details because I don’t know how else to put it: this iPad mini is pretty much the same iPad I already reviewed in 2021. The iPadOS experience is unchanged. You still cannot use Stage Manager on any iPad mini (not even when docked), and the classic Split View/Slide Over environment is passable, but more constrained than on an iPad Air or Pro. I covered all these aspects of the mini experience in 2021; everything still holds true today.\nWhat matters today, however, is what’s inside. The iPad mini with A17 Pro is an iPad mini that supports Apple Intelligence, the Apple Pencil Pro, and faster Wi-Fi. And while the display technology is unchanged – it’s an IPS display that refreshes at 60 Hz – the so-called jelly scrolling issue has been fixed thanks to an optimized display controller.\nAs someone who lives in Italy and cannot access Apple Intelligence, that leaves me with an iPad mini that is only marginally different from the previous one, with software features coming soon that I won’t be able to use for a while. It leaves me with a device that comes in a blue color that isn’t nearly as fun as the one on my iPhone 16 Plus and feels chunkier than my iPad Pro while offering fewer options in terms of accessories (no Magic Keyboard) and software modularity (no Stage Manager on an external display).\nAnd yet, despite the strange nature of this beast and its shortcomings, I’ve found myself in a similar spot to three years ago: I don’t need this iPad mini in my life, but I want to use it under very specific circumstances.\nOnly this time, I’ve realized why.\n\nFor Club MacStories+ Discord Members\nLive iPad mini Q&A\n\nLater today at 5 PM CEST (11 AM Eastern), we’ll hold a live event in the Club MacStories+ Discord. I’ll take questions from members about the new iPad mini, talk about my review, and more.\nTo join the Club MacStories+ Discord, sign up for a Club MacStories+ or Club Premier plan, or if you’re an existing Club MacStories member, you can upgrade your account to get Discord access on our Plans page. Once you’ve joined, visit the Account page to connect your Discord account and join our server.\nYesterday, we kicked off our fall Club MacStories Membership Drive with 20% off on annual memberships for anyone joining for the first time, reactivating an expired plan, or upgrading a current plan. What’s more, we have special columns, today’s live Discord event, giveaways, discounts, and more coming to all Club members throughout the event, which makes it a terrific time to join the Club. \nTo take advantage of the discounted plans, please use the coupon code CLUB2024 at checkout or click on one of the buttons below.\nSo join today, to participate in the live Discord event at 5 PM CEST (11 AM Eastern) and get access to all the other Fall Membership Drive perks, plus the entire back catalog of Club newsletters, discounts, downloadable eBooks and other goodies, and more.\nJoin Club MacStories+:\n\nNow Just$80\n\nJoin Club Premier:\n\nNow Just$96\n\nSpecial Episode of AppStories, Now with Video Too\nWe recorded a special episode of AppStories all about the new iPad mini and my review. As usual, you can listen to the episode in any podcast player or via the AppStories website.\nToday, however, we’re also debuting a video version of AppStories on our YouTube channel. Going forward, all AppStories episodes will be released in audio and video formats via standard RSS feeds and YouTube, respectively.\n\nAppStories debuted in 2017, and with over 400 episodes recorded, it’s long past due for a video version.\nIt’s safe to say that bringing AppStories to YouTube is a good sign that our YouTube channel has graduated from an experiment to a full-fledged component of MacStories. If you haven’t subscribed to the channel yet, you can check it out and subscribe here, and it also includes:\nthe video versions of Comfort Zone and NPC: Next Portable Console;\npodcast bonus material for NPC;\naudio versions of Ruminate, Magic Rays of Light, and MacStories Unwind;\nplaylists of classic AppStories episodes; and\na growing collection of MacStories videos.\nI hope you’ll enjoy the video version of AppStories. You can find our YouTube channel here.\nSetting Up the iPad mini\nApple sent me a review unit of the blue iPad mini with 512 GB of storage (a new tier this year), alongside an Apple Pencil Pro and a denim Smart Folio. The denim color looks alright; the blue color of the iPad mini is, frankly, a travesty. I don’t know what it is, exactly, that pushes Apple every so often to release “colors” that are different variations of gray with a smidge of colored paint in the mix, but here we are. If you were expecting an ultramarine equivalent of the iPad mini, this is not it.\nOne is ultramarine; the other is “blue”.\nThe iPad mini (right) is visibly thicker than the M4 iPad Pro.\nSomething that surprised me when I started setting up the iPad mini was the absence of any developer or public beta program to install iPadOS 18.1 on it. My iPad Pro was running the iPadOS 18.1 developer beta, so while I was able to migrate my iCloud account and system settings, I couldn’t restore from a backup because iPadOS 18.1 wasn’t available for the new iPad mini at all last week. That was unusual. I’ve reviewed my fair share of iPads over the years; traditionally, Apple releases a specific version of their current betas for members of the press to install on their review units.\nThe release candidate version of iPadOS 18.1 with support for the new iPad mini only came in last night – five days after I started using the device.\n\nWith this iPad mini, I had to start from scratch, which I decided to use to my advantage. It gave me an opportunity to investigate some questions. How would I set up the iPad mini as a companion device to my iPhone 16 Plus and 11” iPad Pro in 2024? In a world where the Vision Pro also exists as a personal, private device for entertainment, what role would an iPad mini specifically set up for “media consumption” fill in my life?\nAnd the biggest question of all: would there even be a place for it at this point?\nThe Role of the iPad mini\nLook at any marketing webpage or press release about the iPad mini, and you’ll see that Apple is more than eager to tell you that doctors and pilots love using it. My last experiences in those fields were, respectively, Pilotwings on the Super Nintendo and Trauma Center on the Nintendo DS. I’m fairly certain that curriculum wouldn’t qualify me as an expert in either profession, so those iPad mini use cases aren’t something I can review here.\nI can write about two things: how this iPad mini compares to the previous one from a hardware perspective and, more broadly (and more interestingly for me), what role the iPad mini may fill in 2024 in a post-OLED iPad Pro, post-Vision Pro Apple ecosystem.\nWhat’s Different: Better Wi-Fi, Apple Pencil Pro, and No More “Jelly Scrolling”\nAs I mentioned above, the new iPad mini comes with the A17 Pro chip, and since it’ll need to power Apple Intelligence, it also now offers 8 GB of RAM – the bare minimum needed to run AI models on Apple’s platforms these days. I haven’t been able to test Apple Intelligence on the iPad mini, so all I can say is that, yes, the new model is just as fast as the iPhone 15 Pro was last year. For the things I do with an iPad mini, I don’t need to run benchmarks; whether it’s watching YouTube videos, browsing Mastodon, or reading articles in GoodLinks, there’s never been a single time when I thought, “I wish this iPad mini was faster”. But then again, the old iPad mini was fine, too, for the basic tasks I threw at it.\nWhere I did notice an improvement was in the Wi-Fi department. Thanks to its adoption of Wi-Fi 6E (up from Wi-Fi 6), the new mini benchmarked higher than the old model in speed tests and, funnily enough, came in slightly higher than my M4 iPad Pro as well. From the same spot in the living room in close proximity to my Wi-Fi 6E router, the three iPads performed speed tests at the following rates across multiple tests:1\nOld iPad mini (Wi-Fi 6): 600 Mbps down, 200 Mbps up\nM4 iPad Pro (Wi-Fi 6E): 643 Mbps down, 212 Mbps up\nNew iPad mini (Wi-Fi 6E): 762 Mbps down, 274 Mbps up\nAs you can see, the 6Ghz band helps the Wi-Fi 6E-enabled devices, resulting in amazing performance for streaming bandwidth-intensive applications. For example, I used my iPad mini to stream Astro Bot from my PS5 using the MirrorPlay app, and it was rock solid, on par with the latest iPad Pro. That wasn’t the case when I last tried to stream games locally with the iPad mini and iPad Pro paired with a G8 game controller last year.\nThe new iPad mini running Astro Bot from my PS5. I’m using the GameSir G8 Plus controller here.\nFor this change alone, I would make the case that if you’re looking for a compact tablet for videogame streaming (whether locally or over the Internet), the new iPad mini is a very compelling package. In fact, I’d argue that – display technology considerations aside – the iPad mini is the ideal form factor for a streaming companion device; it’s bigger than a phone, but not as heavy as a 11” tablet.\nThe other change in this iPad mini is support for the Apple Pencil Pro. Apple has been (rightfully) criticized over the past year for some of its confusing updates to the Apple Pencil lineup, but with this iPad mini, it feels like the company is now telling a clear narrative with this accessory. The new iPad mini supports two Apple Pencil models: the entry-level Apple Pencil with USB-C and the Apple Pencil Pro. This means that, as of late 2024, the iPad mini, Air, and Pro all support the same Apple Pencil models with no perplexing exceptions.\nThe iPad mini paired with the Apple Pencil Pro.\nNow, you know me; I’m not a heavy user of the Apple Pencil. But I do think that the Pencil Pro makes for a really interesting accessory to the iPad mini, even when used for non-artistic purposes. For instance, I’ve had fun catching up on my reading queue while holding the mini in my left hand and the Pencil Pro in my right hand to quickly highlight passages in GoodLinks. Thanks to the ability to run a custom shortcut by squeezing the Pencil Pro, I’ve also been able to quickly copy an article’s link to the clipboard just by holding the Pencil, without needing to use the share sheet. The iPad mini also supports Apple Pencil Hover now, which is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated features of the Apple Pencil. Being able to hover over a hyperlink in Safari to see where it points to is extra nice.\nWith a squeeze of the Pencil Pro, I can instantly copy the URL of what I’m reading in GoodLinks (left).\nNone of these features are new (they’ve been supported since the new iPad Pros in May), but they feel different when the iPad you’re using is so portable and lightweight you can hold it with one hand. The Pencil Pro + iPad mini combo feels like the ultimate digital notepad, more flexible than the Apple Pencil 2 ever was thanks to the new options offered by the Pro model.\nSilvia’s much better handwriting with the Apple Pencil Pro, iPad mini, and Steve Troughton-Smith’s upcoming Notepad app.\nWe now come to the infamous phenomenon known as “jelly scrolling”. If you recall from my review of the iPad mini three years ago, this is not something I initially noticed, and I don’t think I was alone. However, once my eyes saw the issue one time months later, it ruined my experience with that display forever.\nFor those unaware, jelly scrolling refers to a display issue where, in portrait orientation, scrolling a page would result in one half of the screen “moving” more slowly than the other. It could go unnoticed for months if you weren’t paying attention or your eyes simply weren’t seeing it, but once they did, you’d see a jelly-like effect onscreen with the two halves of the display sort of “wobbling” as you scrolled. There are plenty of videos that demonstrate this effect in motion, and as I said, it was more of a, “Once you see it, there’s no way to unsee it,” sort of problem. When my eyes picked up on it months after the review, it bothered me forever that I didn’t mention it in my original story.\nI’m happy to report that, in the new iPad mini, the jelly scrolling issue has been fixed without the need to change the underlying display technology of the device. The new iPad mini has an optimized display controller that ensures the entire panel will refresh at the same rate and speed. For this reason, even though it’s the same display across two generations with the same refresh rate, color gamut, pixel density, and brightness, the new iPad mini does not have one side of the screen that refreshes more quickly than the other.\nThere’s an argument to be made that a tablet that costs $500 in 2024 should have a refresh rate higher than 60Hz. I’d argue that the same is true for the iPhone 16 lineup: ideally, Apple should raise the baseline to 90Hz and keep ProMotion at 120Hz exclusive to Pro devices. However, as someone who uses the iPhone 16 Plus as his iPhone of choice, it would be hypocritical of me to say that the 60Hz display of the iPad mini is a dealbreaker. This device doesn’t have the same fancy display as my 11” iPad Pro, but for what I want to use it for, it’s fine.\nWould I prefer an “iPad mini Pro” with OLED and ProMotion? Of course I would love that option. But with jelly scrolling out of the equation now, I’m fine with reading articles, watching videos, and streaming games on my iPad mini at 60 Hz.\nThere are other hardware changes in the iPad mini I could mention, but they’re so minor, I don’t want to dwell on them for too long. It now has Bluetooth 5.3 onboard instead of Bluetooth 5.0. The iPad mini, like the Pro and Air models, has switched to eSIM only for cellular plans, which means I have one fewer physical component to worry about. And the USB-C port has graduated from USB 3.1 Gen 1 speeds (5 Gbps) to USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), which results in faster file transfers. However, I don’t plan on using this iPad for production work that involves transferring large audio or video files (we have a YouTube channel now), so while it’s welcome, this is a change I can largely ignore.\nThe Most Compact Tablet for (Occasional) Split View\nOver the past three years, I’ve gotten fixated on this idea: the iPad mini isn’t a device I’d recommend for multitasking, but it is the most compact Apple computer you can have for the occasional Split View with two almost iPhone-sized apps side by side. I don’t use this device for serious, multi-window productivity that involves work tasks. But I’ve been surprised by how many times I found myself enjoying the ability to quickly invoke two apps at once, do something, and then go back to full-screen.\nSplit View on the iPad mini. The Ivory + Spotify combo is something I do almost every day when I’m done working.\nOr, let me put it another way: the iPad mini fills the multitasking gap left open by my iPhone and the absence of a foldable iPhone in Apple’s lineup. Even on my 16 Plus, there are times when I wish I could use, just for a few seconds, two iPhone apps in vertical Split View. The iPad mini is the only Apple device I can hold with one hand while also using Split View or Slide Over. And there’s something to be said about that option when you need it.\n\nThe iPad mini is the only Apple device I can hold with one hand while using Split View.\n\nWhen I’m unwinding at the end of the day, sometimes I like to put a YouTube video on one side of the screen and keep Mastodon open on the other. The iPad mini lets me do it. Or maybe I want to keep both my Ivory and Threads timelines open at the same time because some live event is going on. Or perhaps I just want to keep GoodLinks or Safari open and invoke Quick Notes to jot down an idea I had while reading. These aren’t highly complex, convoluted tasks; they’re simple workflows that benefit from the ability to split the screen or summon a temporary window. The iPad mini is the best device Apple makes for this kind of “ephemeral multitasking”.\nSlide Over is equally useful on the iPad mini, especially because I can invoke it with just my thumb.\nAnd don’t forget: Slide Over comes with its own window picker, too!\nIn a post-Stage Manager world, there’s something about the reliability of Split View and Slide Over that I want to publicly acknowledge and appreciate. I briefly mentioned this in the story I wrote about the making of my iOS and iPadOS 18 review: for the past three months, I’ve only used Stage Manager when I connect my iPad Pro to an external display. When I’m working on the iPad by itself, I no longer use Stage Manager and exclusively work in the traditional Split View and Slide Over environment instead.\nThe iPad mini is not an ideal multitasking machine. It doesn’t support Stage Manager, three-column app layouts aren’t available by default2, and apps in Split View can become so small that they feel like slightly wider iPhone apps. And yet, there is something so nice and – as I argued three years ago – delightful about controlling Split View multitasking with your thumbs as you hold the device in landscape, it’s hard to convey unless you try it.\nMost iPad mini reviews, including mine from 2021, typically focus on the media consumption aspect of the device. And I’ll get to that before I wrap up. What I’m trying to say, however, is that I no longer buy the argument that you’d “never” want to multitask on such a small display. I’ve found tangible, practical benefits in the ability to “consume content” while doing something else on the side. This doesn’t mean that I’m going to write my next longform essay on the iPad mini. It means that multitasking is a spectrum, and I love how the mini lets me dip in and out of multiple apps in a way that the iPhone still doesn’t allow for.\nThe Third Place\nMy Ayn Odin 2 Mini, Vision Pro, Steam Deck OLED, and iPad mini.\nAs I used the new iPad mini last week, I was reminded of a PlayStation 2 advertising campaign from 2000 to promote the launch of Sony’s new console. The campaign, called ”The Third Place”, featured a commercial directed by David Lynch, among others that are wrongfully attributed to him, but which play along a similar theme.\n\nThe concept behind these eerie, cryptic commercials is actually quite fascinating and rooted in history. In sociology, there’s this concept of a third place, which represents a social environment separate from a person’s home (their first place) and workplace (their second place). Examples of “third places” include coffee shops, parks, theaters, clubs – places where people go to socialize, hang out, and ground themselves in a different reality that is socially and physically separate from what they do at home and what they do at work. In Ancient Greece, the agora was a classic example of a third place. The lines get blurry in our modern society when you consider places that can be work and social environments at once, such as co-working spaces, but you get the idea.\nWith their ad campaign (directed by TBWA, a name familiar to Apple users), Sony wanted to position the PS2 as an escapist device to find your third place in the boundless possibilities provided by the digital worlds of videogames. Truth be told, when I saw those commercials as a kid (I was 12 in 2000), I just thought they were cool because they were so edgy and mysterious; it was only decades later that I was able to appreciate the concept of a third place in relation to gaming, VR, and everything in between.\nI’ve been thinking about the idea of a third place lately as it relates to the tech products we use and the different roles they aim to serve.\nThe way I see it, so many different devices are vying for the third place in our lives. We have our phones, which are, in many ways, the primary computers we use at home, to communicate with others, to capture memories of our loved ones and personal experiences; they are an extension of ourselves, and, in a sense, our first place in a digital world. We have our computers – whether they’re traditional laptops, modular tablets, or desktops – that we use and rely on for work; they’re our second place. And then there’s a long tail of different devices seeking to fill the space in between: call it downtime, entertainment, relaxing, unwinding, or just doing something that brings you joy and amusement without having to use your phone or computer.\nFor some people, that can be a videogame console or a handheld. For others, it’s an eBook reader. Or perhaps it’s a VR headset, a Vision Pro, or smart glasses that you can wear to watch movies or stream games. Maybe it’s an Apple TV or dedicated streaming device. Just like humans gravitate toward a variety of physical third places to spend time and socialize, so can “third place devices” coexist with each other in a person’s time separate from their family or work obligations. This is why, for most people, it’s not uncommon to own more than one of these devices and use them for different purposes. We’re surrounded by dozens of potential digital third places.\nThe tech industry has been chasing this dream (and profitable landscape) of what comes after the phone and computer for decades. In Apple history, look no further than Steve Jobs’ introduction of the original iPad in 2010, presented as a third device in between a Mac and iPhone that could be “far better” at key things such as watching videos, browsing your photos, and playing games. When a person’s primary computer is always in their pocket (and unlikely to go away anytime soon), and when their work happens on a larger screen, what other space is there to fill?\n\nThe iPad mini is the ideal third place device for things I don’t want to do on my iPhone or iPad Pro.\n\nWhen I started looking at these products through this lens, I realized something. The iPad mini is the ideal third place device for things I don’t want to do on my iPhone or iPad Pro. By virtue of being so small, but bigger than a phone, it occupies a unique space in my digital life: it’s the place I go to when I want to read a book, browse the web, or watch some videos without having to be distracted by everything else that’s on my phone, or be reminded of the tasks I have to do on my iPad Pro. The iPad mini is, for me at least, pure digital escapism disguised as an 8.3” tablet.\nFrom this perspective, I don’t need the iPad mini to run Stage Manager. I don’t need it to have a ProMotion display or more RAM. I don’t need it to be bigger or come with a Magic Keyboard. I need it, in fact, to be nothing more than it currently is. I was wrong in trying to frame the iPad mini as an alternative to other models. The iPad mini would lose the fight in any comparison or measurement against the 11” iPad Pro.\nBut it’s because of its objective shortcomings that the iPad mini makes sense and still has reason to exist today. It is, after all, a third device in between my phone and laptop. It’s a third place, and I can’t wait to spend more time there.\n\n\nFor context, I have a fiber connection that maxes out at 1 Gbit down and 300 Mbits up. ↩︎\n\n\nUnless a developer adds specific support for the iPad mini to always mark this layout as available. My favorite RSS reader, Lire, can be used with three columns in landscape on the iPad mini. ↩︎\n\n\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-10-22T09:00:14-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-10-23T13:11:59-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Federico Viticci", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/viticci/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/94a9aa7c70dbeb9440c6759bd2cebc2a?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "iPad", "ipad mini", "stories" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=76375", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/reviews/reeder-a-new-approach-to-following-feeds/", "title": "Reeder: A New Approach to Following Feeds", "content_html": "
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15 years into its life, Reeder is one of the most popular and beloved RSS readers available on Apple’s platforms. You can’t have a discussion about the best way to follow RSS feeds without Reeder coming up as a contender – and believe me, we’ve had many such discussions here at MacStories and on the Club MacStories+ Discord. It’s an institution, and one that many people have very strong feelings about.

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With a product as successful and engrained as Reeder, it would be easy for the app’s developer Silvio Rizzi to stick to what works and keep it the same without rocking the boat. But to Rizzi’s credit, that’s absolutely not the case with the new version of Reeder, which is available today. Instead, the new Reeder expands the app’s scope far beyond that of a typical RSS reader and fundamentally rethinks the traditional approach to keeping up with feeds. It’s a massive break from the past that will likely prove divisive among Reeder’s longtime user base. At the same time, it has the potential to appeal to a whole new audience of users who’ve never tried RSS readers before.

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\"Reeder

Reeder Classic (formerly Reeder 5) is here to stay.

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There’s a lot to cover in this update, but first, a word of reassurance for fans of Reeder as we know it: it isn’t going anywhere. The previous version, Reeder 5, has been renamed Reeder Classic and remains available on the App Store. In fact, Rizzi intends to continue developing Reeder Classic in conjunction with the new version. If you want to stick with the Reeder you know and love, you certainly can, and I think offering both versions is the right call given the huge change in direction Rizzi has gone with this update.

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The best word to describe the new Reeder is “ambitious.” Its purpose is not just to be your RSS reader, but your inbox for keeping up with feeds of many different kinds from various sources across the Internet – text from websites, sure, but also videos on YouTube, audio from podcasts, posts on social media, and more. It’s a one-stop shop for the feeds you follow online, collecting them together into a single timeline that you can seamlessly browse across all of your devices. As I said, it’s a lofty goal.

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It’s also quite different from what previous versions of Reeder were trying to do. In order to take on this new role as an inbox for all of your feeds, Reeder has been rebuilt from the ground up, a characteristic that shows both in its design and functionality. Many new features have been added, but nearly as many have been removed. Whether this update looks like a streamlined evolution or a stripped-down regression depends largely on if you’re interested in this sort of catch-all tool at all, but that’s the risk one takes when reimagining an established product in such a substantial way.

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Let’s start with what you won’t see in the new version of Reeder. The app does not integrate with RSS sync services like Feedly and Inoreader. Instead, Reeder syncs subscriptions and other data exclusively via iCloud. This limitation is necessary due to the fact that Reeder incorporates other types of feeds that aren’t supported by RSS sync services, but it’s also a big break from the norms of typical RSS readers. Users switching from a sync service to Reeder can import their subscriptions in a single batch via an OPML file.

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\"There

There are several newer items in this list that I haven’t seen yet, but I have no way of knowing.

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If that isn’t enough of a shock, Reeder also does away with one of the most basic precepts of reader apps: unread counts. In the world of Reeder, there is no concept of an article that’s been read or unread. There’s no badge indicating how many new items you’ve yet to see. Rather, the app simply records your position in the timeline and lets new items fill in above it. To check out new items, you just scroll up, and your timeline position syncs between all of your devices so that you’re always starting from where you previously left off.

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This change makes keeping up with your feeds feel more like browsing social media than reading a list of articles. Without an unread count dwindling down as you work your way through your feeds, you’re left trusting Reeder to put you in the right place every time to ensure you don’t miss anything. That’s a big ask, and it only works if the position syncing is rock solid.

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Thankfully, it is. In my testing, I’ve found that the app places me at my previous position in the timeline each time I open it. I’m someone who cares very much about seeing everything that comes across the feeds I choose to follow, so my expectation level is very high for a feature like this, and Reeder meets it reliably.

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The last big feature users have come to expect from RSS clients that isn’t available in Reeder is feed organization. The app includes a list of subscriptions automatically grouped by feed type, including Podcasts, YouTube channels, and regular RSS feeds, but users cannot manually organize their subscriptions further. All RSS feeds are lumped together, so if you follow sites covering various topics like technology, music, and entertainment, there’s no way to create separate timelines for each of those categories. In this case, I don’t think the new approach Reeder is taking demands this omission; it’s just not an option currently available. I’d like to see it added because I know that’s how a lot of people approach RSS, especially if they have a large collection of feeds they follow.

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Reeder’s list of feed sources that can be added (left), podcast search results (middle), and social media feed options (right.)

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With that out of the way, let’s move on to what’s possible with the new Reeder that wasn’t in previous versions. The app supports subscribing to feeds from a variety of sources:

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Many of these sources are technically accessible via RSS, but finding their feeds can be tricky, and those feed URLs can change over time. Reeder makes adding these sources as simple as searching for them in a text field, and whether the app relies on RSS, an API, or some other integration doesn’t really matter to the user. All they see is a clean, well-designed feed of items from the source they’ve chosen.

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\"Reeder

Reeder makes for a decent read-only Mastodon client.

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To me, the most interesting options in this list are the social media home timelines. Selecting one of these feed types prompts the user to sign in to their account on the selected service. Once that’s done, Reeder literally becomes a read-only client for the social media site the user has chosen. I don’t use Bluesky or Micro.blog, so I wasn’t able to test those, but the Mastodon integration is implemented surprisingly well. The timeline displays posts and reposts with properly formatted usernames, attached images, and embedded links. Tapping a post will show it in context with replies, and tapping on a username will open that user’s profile in a web view. I’m not personally looking for a read-only Mastodon client, but if I were, Reeder would make a great one.

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If this list of feed sources seems like a mishmash of vastly different content types, that’s because it is. The Reeder timeline combines text articles, photos, videos, social media posts, audio files, and more all together in a single view. For some, that may sound like chaos. But to others, it’s actually harmony. It saves users from having to check a different app for each type; instead, all the content they care about is available in one convenient place.

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Displaying all of this content together in a way that’s intelligible requires considered design, and Reeder delivers on that front in spades. The app features a three-pane layout with categories listed in the leftmost pane, feed item previews in the middle, and the content of the selected item on the right. The design is simple and well spaced out without coming off as sparse. Iconography and accent colors are used infrequently but effectively, putting the emphasis on the content of your feeds above all else.

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The categories list starts with the app’s three timelines: Home, Video, and Audio. Home is the main timeline where feeds of every type are listed. Feeds can be optionally excluded from the Home timeline via a toggle in each feed’s settings, but by default, every feed you subscribe to goes in Home. The Video and Audio timelines filter the Home view to only display items that include video and audio content, respectively. The Video timeline features YouTube videos from channels you subscribe to, but it also includes any articles with embedded video links.

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Adjusting a feed’s settings.

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Underneath the three timelines are the app’s various category sections. Each source type is given its own section in the sidebar, and every section can be expanded to display a list of the feeds it includes alongside their favicons. Long-pressing on a feed reveals options to delete it or adjust its settings, including its name, whether or not it appears in the Home timeline, and how items from the feed should be displayed. Each feed’s settings pane also includes its URL, which can be copied to the clipboard.

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The Saved section is a special category of item tags provided by the app itself: Links, Later, Bookmarks, and Favorites. The Links tag contains any links that have been added to the app via the share sheet. Items from feeds within Reeder can be tagged with Later, Bookmarks, or Favorites to be stored in those lists long-term. You can also add custom tags to items in your timeline, and these tags will be listed in the Saved section as well.

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To me, Reeder’s Saved tags are the least polished aspect of the app. They’re difficult to manage because the app doesn’t include a tool for selecting multiple items at once or even swiping on them to remove them from a list. Instead, you have to remove items one at a time by long-pressing on them and deselecting the tag in the context menu.

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The Later list is also the one place in the app I miss unread counts. If I save an item for later, I want it to get some special treatment and not be mixed in with a bunch of other similar-looking items that I may or may not have read. Maybe if it were easier to untag items, then it wouldn’t be a problem, but as it is, it’s not viable even as a basic read later solution in my eyes.

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\"A

A tag’s settings with sharing enabled (left), the shared tag’s public webpage (middle), and its JSON feed imported into Reeder Classic (right).

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The Saved section does contain a powerful hidden feature, though: any tag, including a custom tag, can be shared publicly via a webpage or JSON feed. You can enable this feature by long-pressing on a tag, opening its settings, and toggling on the ‘Public JSON Feed’ option. Once the feature is enabled, the app will display a small cloud icon next to the tag and present you with a shareable link to a page that lists all of items marked with that tag. The page also includes a link to a JSON feed for the tag that you can subscribe to in another RSS app. You can quickly copy the public URL and JSON feed URL for a shared tag by long-pressing on it. This feature has a wide array of possible use cases, like syncing your read later list to another app or quickly spinning up a page of links on a particular topic. It’s a very cool addition that I would have never thought of for an app like Reeder, but I’m into it.

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Selecting a timeline, tag, or feed in the sidebar will open a list of the items it contains. Reeder displays items with a uniform look regardless of their type, which is impressive given the variety of types the app supports. Each item lists its feed source and favicon at the top, followed by a short text preview of its contents (or its entire contents if the item is a social media post). At this point, item types diverge to show elements specific to their content. Articles include their main image next to their text previews, whereas audio items show their cover art underneath a play button that starts audio playback when pressed. Video items display their thumbnails underneath a play button that starts the video when pressed.

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Videos start playing inline but can be expanded to full screen or moved to picture-in-picture mode. When in full screen, videos are shown in the default system video player, which includes playback controls, a scrubber, a button for changing playback speed, and a volume slider. Reeder’s video player options are clean and adaptable, allowing you to watch videos the way you prefer.

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\"Reeder’s

Reeder’s audio mini-player (left), its full-size player view (middle), and the audio player in action on my iPhone’s Lock Screen (right).

\n

The app’s audio player is top-notch. It initially appears as a miniplayer at the bottom of the screen displaying the audio file’s cover art alongside a play/pause button and buttons to skip forward and backward. Tapping on the mini-player expands it into a full-size player view that includes artwork, the item’s name and feed source, a scrubber, playback controls, a speed selector, a link to the audio file’s item listing, and even a tappable list of MP3 chapters. The player integrates with system playback controls in Control Center and on the iPhone and iPad Lock Screen, too. I’m impressed with how feature-packed the audio player is, and it shows how much of an emphasis this update puts on supporting audio.

\n

As pleased as I was with the audio player during testing, I was genuinely shocked to find that the app’s timeline syncing feature extends to audio playback. If you start listening to a podcast on one device and later open the app on another, you’ll see a partially filled circle around the item’s play button. Tap it, and the app will resume playback where you left off. The combination of a fully-featured audio player and position syncing makes Reeder an actual contender in the podcast app space. I personally don’t plan to switch to it as my main podcast app, but I do use it to subscribe to a couple of shows I listen to irregularly. I always have a good experience when I listen to podcasts in Reeder, and it genuinely makes me want to use the app for this purpose more often.

\n

All of that is well and good, but at a certain point, you will want to use Reeder to… you know… read something. Thankfully, the app’s text parser inherits the quality of previous versions – that is to say, it’s best in class. Tapping an item in a timeline, tag, or feed list will open its contents in full. The app offers a nice, distraction-free reading experience with inline images and original text formatting. It really can’t be beat. The reading view also includes buttons to quickly tag an item or send it elsewhere via the share sheet.

\n

There are some feeds that don’t play nicely with any text parser, or that only include a portion of each article before forcing you to go to the web to read the rest. For these feeds, I enable the app’s Reader View, which usually does the trick. You can enable Reader View on a per-feed basis by long-pressing on a feed and opening its settings. Or if you prefer, you can set a feed to automatically open its items in a web view instead.

\n
\"The

The app’s reading experience includes important accessibility features like adherence to the system text size and Bionic Reading, but no customization options.

\n

The reading view isn’t as customizable as in previous versions of Reeder. The app doesn’t include options to change its font, font size, line spacing, or text alignment. Font size does respond to the system’s text size, though, and Bionic Reading is available in the app’s settings. Although the default reading experience is excellent and just accommodating enough to work for most people, it would be nice to have more customization options in the future. I’d also like to see the ability to open the next article in a list by scrolling past the bottom of the current item re-added soon.

\n

The app’s settings page is pretty bare overall. General settings include the ability to disable the app’s auto-refreshing feature and Background App Refresh, as well as the option to add left and right swipe gestures within lists for quickly tagging an item or opening it in the browser. The Display & Layout section lets you enable dark mode, slightly adjust the appearance of items in lists, and set a default layout for the app to use in landscape mode. And finally, there is a Default Apps section where you can select which apps you’d like to use for opening links to Mastodon, Micro.blog, and Reddit.

\n

The lack of customizability is another way in which the new Reeder is not a one-to-one replacement for the previous version, as is the absence of Shortcuts actions and widgets. While I would like to see these features added in time, I think the simpler state the app is currently in could be intentional. This new version is so different from what came before that the transition will be tough for a lot of Reeder 5 users, so offering them a more streamlined experience could help smooth things over in a small way.

\n

This new Reeder is certainly more opinionated than the last. It offers users a lot of options for feed sources in exchange for less choice when it comes to how the app looks and works. For a lot of people, that will be a dealbreaker, and that’s understandable. But for those who are willing to give this new approach to feed subscriptions a try, I think the new Reeder offers an excellent way of keeping up with the online sources you want to read, watch, and listen to.

\n

I was initially skeptical of the idea of combining so many of the sources I care about into one app. I downloaded a beta version of the new Reeder mainly to check out its design. The design was so compelling that I decided to try it out as my go-to RSS reader, but I had no intentions of adding any other sources. Over time, I was so drawn in by the experience that I wanted to spend more time in it and slowly started migrating more and more feeds over: YouTube channels, a few podcasts, even some news-focused social media feeds. What I found throughout the transition was that adding different types of content into Reeder didn’t water down the experience; it made it even better. It turned the app into a destination that I look forward to checking throughout the day.

\n

That doesn’t mean I’ll use Reeder for every possible feed it can contain. There’s still something to be said for apps that are purpose-built for specific types of content, like podcast players and social media apps. But for a good portion of the sources I want to keep up with every day, Reeder is the best way I’ve found to do so, and having them in one app has turned out to be great.

\n

Making such a foundational change to a long-established app is a huge risk, but that risk comes with an equally weighty purpose: to recreate Reeder into a one-stop digital inbox fit for the current web landscape. It’s a tall order, but the app hits the mark dead center. The work Silvio Rizzi has done on this new version is nothing short of excellent; I encourage readers to give it a try. It might not be what we’re used to, but new things can often surprise us, maybe even delight us. The new Reeder has certainly done that for me.

\n

Reeder is available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It’s free to use with up to ten feeds, and a $1/month or $10/year subscription to Reeder+ unlocks the ability to subscribe to unlimited feeds along with creating shared feeds and adding social media home timelines.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

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What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

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Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

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Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

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Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

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Join Now", "content_text": "15 years into its life, Reeder is one of the most popular and beloved RSS readers available on Apple’s platforms. You can’t have a discussion about the best way to follow RSS feeds without Reeder coming up as a contender – and believe me, we’ve had many such discussions here at MacStories and on the Club MacStories+ Discord. It’s an institution, and one that many people have very strong feelings about.\nWith a product as successful and engrained as Reeder, it would be easy for the app’s developer Silvio Rizzi to stick to what works and keep it the same without rocking the boat. But to Rizzi’s credit, that’s absolutely not the case with the new version of Reeder, which is available today. Instead, the new Reeder expands the app’s scope far beyond that of a typical RSS reader and fundamentally rethinks the traditional approach to keeping up with feeds. It’s a massive break from the past that will likely prove divisive among Reeder’s longtime user base. At the same time, it has the potential to appeal to a whole new audience of users who’ve never tried RSS readers before.\nReeder Classic (formerly Reeder 5) is here to stay.\nThere’s a lot to cover in this update, but first, a word of reassurance for fans of Reeder as we know it: it isn’t going anywhere. The previous version, Reeder 5, has been renamed Reeder Classic and remains available on the App Store. In fact, Rizzi intends to continue developing Reeder Classic in conjunction with the new version. If you want to stick with the Reeder you know and love, you certainly can, and I think offering both versions is the right call given the huge change in direction Rizzi has gone with this update.\nThe best word to describe the new Reeder is “ambitious.” Its purpose is not just to be your RSS reader, but your inbox for keeping up with feeds of many different kinds from various sources across the Internet – text from websites, sure, but also videos on YouTube, audio from podcasts, posts on social media, and more. It’s a one-stop shop for the feeds you follow online, collecting them together into a single timeline that you can seamlessly browse across all of your devices. As I said, it’s a lofty goal.\nIt’s also quite different from what previous versions of Reeder were trying to do. In order to take on this new role as an inbox for all of your feeds, Reeder has been rebuilt from the ground up, a characteristic that shows both in its design and functionality. Many new features have been added, but nearly as many have been removed. Whether this update looks like a streamlined evolution or a stripped-down regression depends largely on if you’re interested in this sort of catch-all tool at all, but that’s the risk one takes when reimagining an established product in such a substantial way.\n\nLet’s start with what you won’t see in the new version of Reeder. The app does not integrate with RSS sync services like Feedly and Inoreader. Instead, Reeder syncs subscriptions and other data exclusively via iCloud. This limitation is necessary due to the fact that Reeder incorporates other types of feeds that aren’t supported by RSS sync services, but it’s also a big break from the norms of typical RSS readers. Users switching from a sync service to Reeder can import their subscriptions in a single batch via an OPML file.\nThere are several newer items in this list that I haven’t seen yet, but I have no way of knowing.\nIf that isn’t enough of a shock, Reeder also does away with one of the most basic precepts of reader apps: unread counts. In the world of Reeder, there is no concept of an article that’s been read or unread. There’s no badge indicating how many new items you’ve yet to see. Rather, the app simply records your position in the timeline and lets new items fill in above it. To check out new items, you just scroll up, and your timeline position syncs between all of your devices so that you’re always starting from where you previously left off.\nThis change makes keeping up with your feeds feel more like browsing social media than reading a list of articles. Without an unread count dwindling down as you work your way through your feeds, you’re left trusting Reeder to put you in the right place every time to ensure you don’t miss anything. That’s a big ask, and it only works if the position syncing is rock solid.\nThankfully, it is. In my testing, I’ve found that the app places me at my previous position in the timeline each time I open it. I’m someone who cares very much about seeing everything that comes across the feeds I choose to follow, so my expectation level is very high for a feature like this, and Reeder meets it reliably.\nThe last big feature users have come to expect from RSS clients that isn’t available in Reeder is feed organization. The app includes a list of subscriptions automatically grouped by feed type, including Podcasts, YouTube channels, and regular RSS feeds, but users cannot manually organize their subscriptions further. All RSS feeds are lumped together, so if you follow sites covering various topics like technology, music, and entertainment, there’s no way to create separate timelines for each of those categories. In this case, I don’t think the new approach Reeder is taking demands this omission; it’s just not an option currently available. I’d like to see it added because I know that’s how a lot of people approach RSS, especially if they have a large collection of feeds they follow.\nReeder’s list of feed sources that can be added (left), podcast search results (middle), and social media feed options (right.)\nWith that out of the way, let’s move on to what’s possible with the new Reeder that wasn’t in previous versions. The app supports subscribing to feeds from a variety of sources:\nRSS feeds\nPodcasts\nYouTube channels\nMastodon accounts, tags, and home timelines\nBluesky accounts and home timelines\nMicro.blog accounts, Discover feeds, and home timelines\nGlass accounts\nFlickr accounts\ncomic strips\nsubreddits\nMany of these sources are technically accessible via RSS, but finding their feeds can be tricky, and those feed URLs can change over time. Reeder makes adding these sources as simple as searching for them in a text field, and whether the app relies on RSS, an API, or some other integration doesn’t really matter to the user. All they see is a clean, well-designed feed of items from the source they’ve chosen.\nReeder makes for a decent read-only Mastodon client.\nTo me, the most interesting options in this list are the social media home timelines. Selecting one of these feed types prompts the user to sign in to their account on the selected service. Once that’s done, Reeder literally becomes a read-only client for the social media site the user has chosen. I don’t use Bluesky or Micro.blog, so I wasn’t able to test those, but the Mastodon integration is implemented surprisingly well. The timeline displays posts and reposts with properly formatted usernames, attached images, and embedded links. Tapping a post will show it in context with replies, and tapping on a username will open that user’s profile in a web view. I’m not personally looking for a read-only Mastodon client, but if I were, Reeder would make a great one.\nIf this list of feed sources seems like a mishmash of vastly different content types, that’s because it is. The Reeder timeline combines text articles, photos, videos, social media posts, audio files, and more all together in a single view. For some, that may sound like chaos. But to others, it’s actually harmony. It saves users from having to check a different app for each type; instead, all the content they care about is available in one convenient place.\nDisplaying all of this content together in a way that’s intelligible requires considered design, and Reeder delivers on that front in spades. The app features a three-pane layout with categories listed in the leftmost pane, feed item previews in the middle, and the content of the selected item on the right. The design is simple and well spaced out without coming off as sparse. Iconography and accent colors are used infrequently but effectively, putting the emphasis on the content of your feeds above all else.\nThe categories list starts with the app’s three timelines: Home, Video, and Audio. Home is the main timeline where feeds of every type are listed. Feeds can be optionally excluded from the Home timeline via a toggle in each feed’s settings, but by default, every feed you subscribe to goes in Home. The Video and Audio timelines filter the Home view to only display items that include video and audio content, respectively. The Video timeline features YouTube videos from channels you subscribe to, but it also includes any articles with embedded video links.\nAdjusting a feed’s settings.\nUnderneath the three timelines are the app’s various category sections. Each source type is given its own section in the sidebar, and every section can be expanded to display a list of the feeds it includes alongside their favicons. Long-pressing on a feed reveals options to delete it or adjust its settings, including its name, whether or not it appears in the Home timeline, and how items from the feed should be displayed. Each feed’s settings pane also includes its URL, which can be copied to the clipboard.\nThe Saved section is a special category of item tags provided by the app itself: Links, Later, Bookmarks, and Favorites. The Links tag contains any links that have been added to the app via the share sheet. Items from feeds within Reeder can be tagged with Later, Bookmarks, or Favorites to be stored in those lists long-term. You can also add custom tags to items in your timeline, and these tags will be listed in the Saved section as well.\nTo me, Reeder’s Saved tags are the least polished aspect of the app. They’re difficult to manage because the app doesn’t include a tool for selecting multiple items at once or even swiping on them to remove them from a list. Instead, you have to remove items one at a time by long-pressing on them and deselecting the tag in the context menu.\nThe Later list is also the one place in the app I miss unread counts. If I save an item for later, I want it to get some special treatment and not be mixed in with a bunch of other similar-looking items that I may or may not have read. Maybe if it were easier to untag items, then it wouldn’t be a problem, but as it is, it’s not viable even as a basic read later solution in my eyes.\nA tag’s settings with sharing enabled (left), the shared tag’s public webpage (middle), and its JSON feed imported into Reeder Classic (right).\nThe Saved section does contain a powerful hidden feature, though: any tag, including a custom tag, can be shared publicly via a webpage or JSON feed. You can enable this feature by long-pressing on a tag, opening its settings, and toggling on the ‘Public JSON Feed’ option. Once the feature is enabled, the app will display a small cloud icon next to the tag and present you with a shareable link to a page that lists all of items marked with that tag. The page also includes a link to a JSON feed for the tag that you can subscribe to in another RSS app. You can quickly copy the public URL and JSON feed URL for a shared tag by long-pressing on it. This feature has a wide array of possible use cases, like syncing your read later list to another app or quickly spinning up a page of links on a particular topic. It’s a very cool addition that I would have never thought of for an app like Reeder, but I’m into it.\nSelecting a timeline, tag, or feed in the sidebar will open a list of the items it contains. Reeder displays items with a uniform look regardless of their type, which is impressive given the variety of types the app supports. Each item lists its feed source and favicon at the top, followed by a short text preview of its contents (or its entire contents if the item is a social media post). At this point, item types diverge to show elements specific to their content. Articles include their main image next to their text previews, whereas audio items show their cover art underneath a play button that starts audio playback when pressed. Video items display their thumbnails underneath a play button that starts the video when pressed.\nVideos start playing inline but can be expanded to full screen or moved to picture-in-picture mode. When in full screen, videos are shown in the default system video player, which includes playback controls, a scrubber, a button for changing playback speed, and a volume slider. Reeder’s video player options are clean and adaptable, allowing you to watch videos the way you prefer.\nReeder’s audio mini-player (left), its full-size player view (middle), and the audio player in action on my iPhone’s Lock Screen (right).\nThe app’s audio player is top-notch. It initially appears as a miniplayer at the bottom of the screen displaying the audio file’s cover art alongside a play/pause button and buttons to skip forward and backward. Tapping on the mini-player expands it into a full-size player view that includes artwork, the item’s name and feed source, a scrubber, playback controls, a speed selector, a link to the audio file’s item listing, and even a tappable list of MP3 chapters. The player integrates with system playback controls in Control Center and on the iPhone and iPad Lock Screen, too. I’m impressed with how feature-packed the audio player is, and it shows how much of an emphasis this update puts on supporting audio.\nAs pleased as I was with the audio player during testing, I was genuinely shocked to find that the app’s timeline syncing feature extends to audio playback. If you start listening to a podcast on one device and later open the app on another, you’ll see a partially filled circle around the item’s play button. Tap it, and the app will resume playback where you left off. The combination of a fully-featured audio player and position syncing makes Reeder an actual contender in the podcast app space. I personally don’t plan to switch to it as my main podcast app, but I do use it to subscribe to a couple of shows I listen to irregularly. I always have a good experience when I listen to podcasts in Reeder, and it genuinely makes me want to use the app for this purpose more often.\nAll of that is well and good, but at a certain point, you will want to use Reeder to… you know… read something. Thankfully, the app’s text parser inherits the quality of previous versions – that is to say, it’s best in class. Tapping an item in a timeline, tag, or feed list will open its contents in full. The app offers a nice, distraction-free reading experience with inline images and original text formatting. It really can’t be beat. The reading view also includes buttons to quickly tag an item or send it elsewhere via the share sheet.\nThere are some feeds that don’t play nicely with any text parser, or that only include a portion of each article before forcing you to go to the web to read the rest. For these feeds, I enable the app’s Reader View, which usually does the trick. You can enable Reader View on a per-feed basis by long-pressing on a feed and opening its settings. Or if you prefer, you can set a feed to automatically open its items in a web view instead.\nThe app’s reading experience includes important accessibility features like adherence to the system text size and Bionic Reading, but no customization options.\nThe reading view isn’t as customizable as in previous versions of Reeder. The app doesn’t include options to change its font, font size, line spacing, or text alignment. Font size does respond to the system’s text size, though, and Bionic Reading is available in the app’s settings. Although the default reading experience is excellent and just accommodating enough to work for most people, it would be nice to have more customization options in the future. I’d also like to see the ability to open the next article in a list by scrolling past the bottom of the current item re-added soon.\nThe app’s settings page is pretty bare overall. General settings include the ability to disable the app’s auto-refreshing feature and Background App Refresh, as well as the option to add left and right swipe gestures within lists for quickly tagging an item or opening it in the browser. The Display & Layout section lets you enable dark mode, slightly adjust the appearance of items in lists, and set a default layout for the app to use in landscape mode. And finally, there is a Default Apps section where you can select which apps you’d like to use for opening links to Mastodon, Micro.blog, and Reddit.\nThe lack of customizability is another way in which the new Reeder is not a one-to-one replacement for the previous version, as is the absence of Shortcuts actions and widgets. While I would like to see these features added in time, I think the simpler state the app is currently in could be intentional. This new version is so different from what came before that the transition will be tough for a lot of Reeder 5 users, so offering them a more streamlined experience could help smooth things over in a small way.\nThis new Reeder is certainly more opinionated than the last. It offers users a lot of options for feed sources in exchange for less choice when it comes to how the app looks and works. For a lot of people, that will be a dealbreaker, and that’s understandable. But for those who are willing to give this new approach to feed subscriptions a try, I think the new Reeder offers an excellent way of keeping up with the online sources you want to read, watch, and listen to.\nI was initially skeptical of the idea of combining so many of the sources I care about into one app. I downloaded a beta version of the new Reeder mainly to check out its design. The design was so compelling that I decided to try it out as my go-to RSS reader, but I had no intentions of adding any other sources. Over time, I was so drawn in by the experience that I wanted to spend more time in it and slowly started migrating more and more feeds over: YouTube channels, a few podcasts, even some news-focused social media feeds. What I found throughout the transition was that adding different types of content into Reeder didn’t water down the experience; it made it even better. It turned the app into a destination that I look forward to checking throughout the day.\nThat doesn’t mean I’ll use Reeder for every possible feed it can contain. There’s still something to be said for apps that are purpose-built for specific types of content, like podcast players and social media apps. But for a good portion of the sources I want to keep up with every day, Reeder is the best way I’ve found to do so, and having them in one app has turned out to be great.\nMaking such a foundational change to a long-established app is a huge risk, but that risk comes with an equally weighty purpose: to recreate Reeder into a one-stop digital inbox fit for the current web landscape. It’s a tall order, but the app hits the mark dead center. The work Silvio Rizzi has done on this new version is nothing short of excellent; I encourage readers to give it a try. It might not be what we’re used to, but new things can often surprise us, maybe even delight us. The new Reeder has certainly done that for me.\nReeder is available on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It’s free to use with up to ten feeds, and a $1/month or $10/year subscription to Reeder+ unlocks the ability to subscribe to unlimited feeds along with creating shared feeds and adding social media home timelines.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-09-05T13:45:24-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-09-05T13:45:24-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Devon Dundee", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/devon/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/4eb98b9644c6ed442892af2c78d9e8c1?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "app", "iPad", "iPhone", "mac", "reeder", "RSS", "reviews" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=76357", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/reviews/ticci-tabs-a-simple-way-to-keep-up-with-your-favorite-six-or-seven-websites/", "title": "Ticci Tabs: A Simple Way to Keep Up With Your Favorite Six or Seven Websites", "content_html": "
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It seems the tech community’s search for the perfect reading setup continues unabated. Just this week on AppStories, Federico and John discussed which RSS readers have stood the test of time. Between text-to-speech apps, RSS readers, eReaders, and more, surely there’s no room left for another approach to catching up on articles? Apparently, there is. Enter Ticci Tabs with a straightforward but specific solution.

\n

You may have noticed something familiar about the name of this app: it contains the nickname of our venerable Editor-in-Chief here at MacStories, Federico Viticci. That’s because Ticci Tabs has an amusing backstory. Several weeks ago on Connected, Federico lamented that there wasn’t an app that allowed him to browse his favorite “six or seven” websites in their original form, separate from a browser or RSS reader in a stripped down version of Safari. Less than a week later, developer Jonathan Ruiz released a beta version of Ticci Tabs on TestFlight, and it did just what Federico described. What might have seemed at first like a fun app carrying out a function requested by one specific person has blossomed into an intriguing and well-thought-out utility. Let’s take a closer look.

\n

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\"The

The opening flow of Ticci Tabs.

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When you first launch the app, below a nice trio of onboarding screens (which you can access again from the app’s settings, an option I always appreciate) is a big ‘Save a new tab’ button. Tap this, and you’ll be shown a card containing two fields: Title and URL. Input the title and URL of the website you want to add and tap ’Save.’ It’s as easy as that. The website now appears in your Ticci Tabs list. You can add as many sites as you want (not just six or seven), and anytime you tap on a tab, the app will open an in-app browser window displaying the selected website. You can then read and scroll through the site and, when you’re finished, close the browser window and move on to another website in your list. Within your website list, you can also drag sites around to reorder them and quickly delete one with a swipe to the left.

\n

That’s the core of what Ticci Tabs does. However, this simple-seeming app has some clever touches that elevate the user experience beyond the basics. Chief among them is saving website logins. Using cookies, the app will keep you logged in to every website in your list, which is especially helpful for sites that require a login. If you’ve ever used an in-app browser in another app, you’ll know that persistent logins are not a given.

\n
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\"The

The process for signing in to sites that use secure email links.

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Most impressive of all, though, is the way the app deals with websites that send “secure” sign-in links via email. Apart from being a bit unsafe and very annoying, these links are also incompatible with tools like Ticci Tabs. When you tap a sign-in link from an email, it opens in your default browser, defeating the point of starting a login session within the app. Ruiz has come up with a novel way around this. After you add a website to Ticci Tabs, open the page and start the login process. When you receive your login link via email, copy its login link and switch back to Ticci Tabs. Long press on the website in your list and select ‘Use sign in link.’ The system will prompt you to grant clipboard access to the app, and after you allow it, the website will open up and log you in. From then on, you will stay logged in when you open the site in Ticci Tabs.

\n

Ruiz didn’t stop there, though. He’s included Shortcuts actions, a share sheet extension, and some basic widgets as well. The app’s Shortcuts actions allow you to add new tabs as well as open, delete, or get information for any tab in the app. The share sheet extension will create a new tab with the URL and title of any website you send to it, and the widgets grant one-tap access to any tab in your list, with options to configure widgets to display a single site or a grid of favicons for multiple sites.

\n
\"Ticci

Ticci Tabs has solid support for Shortcuts, the Share Sheet, and Widgets.

\n

If this all seems like a very back-to-basics approach to browsing the web, that’s because it is. But to be honest, after using it for only a short period, I’ve been enjoying this simplified way of browsing my favorite websites. It directs my attention to the sites themselves, and I like the feeling of opening the app purposefully to visit my chosen sites rather than mixing them in with the dozens of other tabs I have open in Safari or the endless list of articles in my RSS reader.

\n

One aspect of the app I’m not a fan of is the visual design of its UI elements. The gradients feel like a very early iPhone design style and could do with a more modern look. The layout of the UI is good; it’s just the look of the individual elements that I can’t get onboard with. I also think there should be a warning when you swipe to delete a tab from your list. It’s not a big issue, but it would be a helpful precaution.

\n

These minor issues aside, developer Jonathan Ruiz has a great little utility on his hands. He took a half-brief from someone on a podcast and created an app with a very specific purpose. But he also took the time to really think through the various user interactions involved to make sure that nothing gets in the way of the app’s intention: giving people easy access their favorite six or seven (or so) websites.

\n

Ticci Tabs is available for free on the App Store and built for the iPhone and iPad, though the iPad version can also be installed on Apple silicon Macs and the Vision Pro. The app includes a tip jar should you wish to show the developer your appreciation.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "It seems the tech community’s search for the perfect reading setup continues unabated. Just this week on AppStories, Federico and John discussed which RSS readers have stood the test of time. Between text-to-speech apps, RSS readers, eReaders, and more, surely there’s no room left for another approach to catching up on articles? Apparently, there is. Enter Ticci Tabs with a straightforward but specific solution.\nYou may have noticed something familiar about the name of this app: it contains the nickname of our venerable Editor-in-Chief here at MacStories, Federico Viticci. That’s because Ticci Tabs has an amusing backstory. Several weeks ago on Connected, Federico lamented that there wasn’t an app that allowed him to browse his favorite “six or seven” websites in their original form, separate from a browser or RSS reader in a stripped down version of Safari. Less than a week later, developer Jonathan Ruiz released a beta version of Ticci Tabs on TestFlight, and it did just what Federico described. What might have seemed at first like a fun app carrying out a function requested by one specific person has blossomed into an intriguing and well-thought-out utility. Let’s take a closer look.\n\nThe opening flow of Ticci Tabs.\nWhen you first launch the app, below a nice trio of onboarding screens (which you can access again from the app’s settings, an option I always appreciate) is a big ‘Save a new tab’ button. Tap this, and you’ll be shown a card containing two fields: Title and URL. Input the title and URL of the website you want to add and tap ’Save.’ It’s as easy as that. The website now appears in your Ticci Tabs list. You can add as many sites as you want (not just six or seven), and anytime you tap on a tab, the app will open an in-app browser window displaying the selected website. You can then read and scroll through the site and, when you’re finished, close the browser window and move on to another website in your list. Within your website list, you can also drag sites around to reorder them and quickly delete one with a swipe to the left.\nThat’s the core of what Ticci Tabs does. However, this simple-seeming app has some clever touches that elevate the user experience beyond the basics. Chief among them is saving website logins. Using cookies, the app will keep you logged in to every website in your list, which is especially helpful for sites that require a login. If you’ve ever used an in-app browser in another app, you’ll know that persistent logins are not a given.\n\nThe process for signing in to sites that use secure email links.\nMost impressive of all, though, is the way the app deals with websites that send “secure” sign-in links via email. Apart from being a bit unsafe and very annoying, these links are also incompatible with tools like Ticci Tabs. When you tap a sign-in link from an email, it opens in your default browser, defeating the point of starting a login session within the app. Ruiz has come up with a novel way around this. After you add a website to Ticci Tabs, open the page and start the login process. When you receive your login link via email, copy its login link and switch back to Ticci Tabs. Long press on the website in your list and select ‘Use sign in link.’ The system will prompt you to grant clipboard access to the app, and after you allow it, the website will open up and log you in. From then on, you will stay logged in when you open the site in Ticci Tabs.\nRuiz didn’t stop there, though. He’s included Shortcuts actions, a share sheet extension, and some basic widgets as well. The app’s Shortcuts actions allow you to add new tabs as well as open, delete, or get information for any tab in the app. The share sheet extension will create a new tab with the URL and title of any website you send to it, and the widgets grant one-tap access to any tab in your list, with options to configure widgets to display a single site or a grid of favicons for multiple sites.\nTicci Tabs has solid support for Shortcuts, the Share Sheet, and Widgets.\nIf this all seems like a very back-to-basics approach to browsing the web, that’s because it is. But to be honest, after using it for only a short period, I’ve been enjoying this simplified way of browsing my favorite websites. It directs my attention to the sites themselves, and I like the feeling of opening the app purposefully to visit my chosen sites rather than mixing them in with the dozens of other tabs I have open in Safari or the endless list of articles in my RSS reader.\nOne aspect of the app I’m not a fan of is the visual design of its UI elements. The gradients feel like a very early iPhone design style and could do with a more modern look. The layout of the UI is good; it’s just the look of the individual elements that I can’t get onboard with. I also think there should be a warning when you swipe to delete a tab from your list. It’s not a big issue, but it would be a helpful precaution.\nThese minor issues aside, developer Jonathan Ruiz has a great little utility on his hands. He took a half-brief from someone on a podcast and created an app with a very specific purpose. But he also took the time to really think through the various user interactions involved to make sure that nothing gets in the way of the app’s intention: giving people easy access their favorite six or seven (or so) websites.\nTicci Tabs is available for free on the App Store and built for the iPhone and iPad, though the iPad version can also be installed on Apple silicon Macs and the Vision Pro. The app includes a tip jar should you wish to show the developer your appreciation.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-09-03T13:59:41-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-09-03T14:33:42-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Jonathan Reed", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/jonathan/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/be1c33880ca03ae50c6e770350254361?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "app", "iPad", "iPhone", "Ticci Tabs", "reviews" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=76321", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/stories/ipados-18s-smart-script-a-promising-start-but-dont-toss-your-keyboard-out-yet/", "title": "iPadOS 18\u2019s Smart Script: A Promising Start But Don\u2019t Toss Out Your Keyboard Yet", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

The carefully controlled demos of Smart Script at WWDC reminded me of every time Apple shows off the Photos app, where each picture is a perfectly composed, beautiful image of smiling models. In contrast, my photo library is full of screenshots and random images like the blurry one I took the other day to capture my refrigerator’s model number.

\n

Likewise, handwriting demos on the iPad always show someone with flawless, clear penmanship who can also draw. In both cases, the features demonstrated may work perfectly well, but the reality is that there’s always a gap between those sorts of perfect “lifestyle” demos and everyday use. So today, I thought I’d take iPadOS 18’s Smart Script for a spin and see how it holds up under the stark reality of my poor handwriting.

\n
\"Smart

Smart Script, meet John’s handwriting (auto-refine enabled).

\n

The notion behind Smart Script is to make taking handwritten notes as easy and flexible as typing text. As someone who can touch type with my eyes closed, that’s a tall order, but it’s also a good goal. I’ve always been drawn to taking notes on an iPad with the Apple Pencil, but it’s been the constraints that held me back. It’s always been easier to move and change typed text than handwritten notes. Add to that the general messiness of my handwriting, and eventually, I abandoned every experiment with taking digital handwritten notes out of frustration.

\n

Smart Script tries to address all of those issues, and in some cases, it succeeds. However, there are still a few rough edges that need to be ironed out before most people’s experience will match the demos at WWDC. That said, if those problem areas get straightened out, Smart Script has the potential to transform how the iPad is used and make the Apple Pencil a much more valuable accessory.

\n

\n

First off, it’s worth noting that Apple is doing some very impressive real-time machine learning to process what you write. I’ve primarily been testing Smart Script on an 11” M4 iPad Pro with 1TB of storage and 16GB of memory. That’s a top-of-the-line iPad Pro, but the feature also works with most modern iPads. Here’s the full list of supported devices:

\n

I briefly tested Smart Script on my iPad mini too, and so far, the experience has been roughly the same as on my iPad Pro.

\n

That said, on the M4 iPad Pro, Smart Script runs smoothly, but my iPad gets noticeably hot and the battery drains more quickly than usual while filling a full screen of notes with my handwriting. This is the sort of issue that tends to settle down with the public release of an OS update, but it’s worth noting because the heat and battery drain I’ve experienced during the betas makes using Smart Script feel more like working in Final Cut Pro for iPad than Notes.

\n
\"Auto-refinement

Auto-refinement is subtle. The notes on the left were auto-refined by Smart Script, while the ones on the right weren’t.

\n

I suspect most people are probably not thrilled with their own handwriting. I know I’m certainly not; it pains me to show mine off in this story. But that’s why Smart Script’s ability to refine your handwriting is so useful. The feature isn’t replacing your handwriting with a facsimile. Instead, it’s analyzing your writing style and preserving it while also smoothing it to make it straighter and more legible, which helps take the edge off of my scratchings.

\n
\"Turning

Turning on auto-refine.

\n

To turn on text refinement, go to the three-dot ‘More’ button in the Apple Pencil’s tool menu. (With the Apple Pencil Pro, this is the array of buttons that appears when you squeeze the barrel of the Pencil.) Choose the gear icon, and you’ll see a toggle to turn on ‘Auto-refine Handwriting.’ I’ve found that I can write a line or two of text using Notes in landscape orientation before refinement kicks in, animating to magically improve my handwriting. It’s wild to see and works just as Apple says: the more you write in this mode, the closer the refinement looks to your own writing style. The one glitch I’ve run into with auto-refine is that if I’m furiously taking notes and refinement kicks in while I’m writing, Notes will stop accepting my writing for a beat, which usually means I have to rewrite one or two letters.

\n
\"Smart

Smart Script recognizes misspelled words and offers suggested changes.

\n
\"I

I don’t think this looks like my handwriting, but at least it’s spelled correctly.

\n

Spell-checking is baked into Smart Script, too. If a word isn’t recognized, it will be underlined with a blue dotted line. Tap it, and suggested spellings will appear in the action menu popover. If you select one, the word you hand-wrote will be replaced by the correctly spelled word in your own handwriting. The replaced word doesn’t always match my handwriting well, but it’s close enough and still breaks my brain a little to see in action.

\n

Also, if you scratch out a word without removing the Apple Pencil from the surface of the iPad when you’re finished, the word will be erased. For more than a single word, I think the eraser tool works better, but the scribble gesture is a nice alternative because it doesn’t require switching tools.

\n

The parts of Smart Script that have the most rough edges are moving text around and pasting text in your own handwriting. If you tap and hold with the Apple Pencil, a cursor will appear that can be used to move text around the page. You can move the text a little to make room to add a word or two, or you can move whole lines and paragraphs down to make room for a drawing, larger blocks of handwriting, or pasted text. The trouble is that moving text around isn’t as precise or accurate as it should be.

\n
\"Moving

Moving text around can be a challenge.

\n

In the video above, I first moved my notes a little to make room for some additional text in a different color. That caused the notes to wrap down the page as I made space, but the left margin didn’t stay aligned the way I would have liked. Next, I added a few sloppy words in a different color, which, once refined, changed the color of one of the words I hadn’t added. I then accepted a spelling suggestion, which resulted in a jumbled mess. The problem seems to stem from having added two lines of text on one line and cramming in the last word diagonally because adding just a couple of words that match the words before and after the edit worked fine.

\n

During earlier betas, I saw even worse results. However with yesterday’s beta release, many of the issues seem to have been resolved. Reflowing text still isn’t perfect, but it’s come a long way in a short period of time. So, while I recommend sticking to simpler edits to avoid text reflowing problems, Apple seems to have gotten the feature on the right track going into the fall updates.

\n

Another interesting aspect of Smart Script is the ability to insert copied text in the style of your handwriting. Digital type can be jarring when looking at a page of handwritten notes. Smart Script’s solution is to give you the option to paste text that approximates your handwriting.

\n

Pasting works a lot like moving text. After you copy something, long-press with the Apple Pencil until the cursor appears. If you have text on your clipboard, ‘Paste’ will appear in the action menu allowing you to drop in whatever you copied. Here’s an example of a sentence I pasted from an article I wrote on MacStories.

\n
\"The

The text at the top of the note was pasted in and doesn’t exactly match my handwriting, but it’s sort of close.

\n

It’s pretty clearly not my handwriting. The pasted text looks a little too perfect. Perhaps that’s a good thing because it helps distinguish your words from the ones pulled from another source, but if that’s the intent, I’d think Apple would automatically allow you to paste in a source reference, too. That’s not an option, though.

\n

One quirk of pasting text is that you can only do it within existing handwritten notes, meaning that if you start by making room for what you want to paste on a page and long-press on a blank space, you won’t get the option to paste what’s on your clipboard. Instead, you need to long-press on a line that already includes text. It’s a strange limitation that confounded me at first.

\n
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Finally, Math Notes, a feature of the Calculator app and Notes, integrates with Smart Script. As you take notes, you can add mathematical expressions and formulas, including variables, and solve them inline. I particularly like the integration of Math Notes with both Calculator and Notes. You can start in Calculator by tapping the button with a calculator icon and choosing Math Notes. That opens a UI that looks just like Notes. Write your expressions, and moments after you write an equals sign, your answer will appear in the app’s tint color to indicate that it was calculated for you. If you prefer, you can turn off automatic calculations entirely or have the app suggest calculations before actually doing them. Then, when you switch over to Notes, you’ll find the note you created in Calculator waiting for you along with your other notes.

\n
\"Some

Some simple examples of Math Notes in action. The feature can also create graphs that change dynamically as you change variables.

\n

Math Notes is the sort of feature that I expect students will love, but it’s also going to be handy for the kinds of simple calculations everyone comes across in daily life. You might want to split the cost of a purchase among multiple people, calculate the cost of a trip you’re planning, or figure out how long it will take you to save for a big purchase. In all of these cases, it’s useful to have the math inline with surrounding notes that provide context.

\n

Apple’s goal of making handwritten notes as versatile as typed text is admirable, but it’s not quite there yet. I love the auto-refinement of my handwriting and plan to use it anytime I take notes. Math Notes is another bright spot that I don’t expect I’ll use frequently, but I’m glad it will be there when I need it. I’ll use Smart Script’s text reflow feature, too, but sparingly until I’m sure the reliability issues I saw during the betas have been resolved.

\n

Despite the rough edges, what I like most about Smart Script is that the Apple Pencil has become more than a tool for artists and a pointing device for the rest of us. It’s a far more capable accessory than ever before that I find myself slowly using more and more over time. Part of that evolution has been my move to the 11” iPad Pro, which I use far more often without the Magic Keyboard case than I did the larger iPad Pros I’ve owned. However, it also comes down to what the Apple Pencil Pro can do. It has become my highlighter and markup tool for PDFs, a way to take notes, and more. It’s not an accessory I use every day yet, but with Smart Script, I’m enjoying taking handwritten notes more than in the past – which has made me less likely to grab my keyboard and more likely to simply jot down a note or use Scribble in text fields. Smart Script is off to a promising but imperfect start, and with time, I hope it can fulfill Apple’s vision of handwriting as coequal with typing as an input method.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: Apple.\nThe carefully controlled demos of Smart Script at WWDC reminded me of every time Apple shows off the Photos app, where each picture is a perfectly composed, beautiful image of smiling models. In contrast, my photo library is full of screenshots and random images like the blurry one I took the other day to capture my refrigerator’s model number.\nLikewise, handwriting demos on the iPad always show someone with flawless, clear penmanship who can also draw. In both cases, the features demonstrated may work perfectly well, but the reality is that there’s always a gap between those sorts of perfect “lifestyle” demos and everyday use. So today, I thought I’d take iPadOS 18’s Smart Script for a spin and see how it holds up under the stark reality of my poor handwriting.\nSmart Script, meet John’s handwriting (auto-refine enabled).\nThe notion behind Smart Script is to make taking handwritten notes as easy and flexible as typing text. As someone who can touch type with my eyes closed, that’s a tall order, but it’s also a good goal. I’ve always been drawn to taking notes on an iPad with the Apple Pencil, but it’s been the constraints that held me back. It’s always been easier to move and change typed text than handwritten notes. Add to that the general messiness of my handwriting, and eventually, I abandoned every experiment with taking digital handwritten notes out of frustration.\nSmart Script tries to address all of those issues, and in some cases, it succeeds. However, there are still a few rough edges that need to be ironed out before most people’s experience will match the demos at WWDC. That said, if those problem areas get straightened out, Smart Script has the potential to transform how the iPad is used and make the Apple Pencil a much more valuable accessory.\nSupported By\nSetapp\n\n\nSetapp:  End the search, start the work. One subscription to dozens of apps for Mac and iPhone.\n\nFirst off, it’s worth noting that Apple is doing some very impressive real-time machine learning to process what you write. I’ve primarily been testing Smart Script on an 11” M4 iPad Pro with 1TB of storage and 16GB of memory. That’s a top-of-the-line iPad Pro, but the feature also works with most modern iPads. Here’s the full list of supported devices:\niPad Pro 12.9-inch (5th generation and later)\niPad Pro 11-inch (3rd generation and later)\niPad Air (M2)\niPad Air 10.9-inch (4th generation and later)\niPad (10th generation)\niPad mini (6th generation)\nI briefly tested Smart Script on my iPad mini too, and so far, the experience has been roughly the same as on my iPad Pro.\nThat said, on the M4 iPad Pro, Smart Script runs smoothly, but my iPad gets noticeably hot and the battery drains more quickly than usual while filling a full screen of notes with my handwriting. This is the sort of issue that tends to settle down with the public release of an OS update, but it’s worth noting because the heat and battery drain I’ve experienced during the betas makes using Smart Script feel more like working in Final Cut Pro for iPad than Notes.\nAuto-refinement is subtle. The notes on the left were auto-refined by Smart Script, while the ones on the right weren’t.\nI suspect most people are probably not thrilled with their own handwriting. I know I’m certainly not; it pains me to show mine off in this story. But that’s why Smart Script’s ability to refine your handwriting is so useful. The feature isn’t replacing your handwriting with a facsimile. Instead, it’s analyzing your writing style and preserving it while also smoothing it to make it straighter and more legible, which helps take the edge off of my scratchings.\nTurning on auto-refine.\nTo turn on text refinement, go to the three-dot ‘More’ button in the Apple Pencil’s tool menu. (With the Apple Pencil Pro, this is the array of buttons that appears when you squeeze the barrel of the Pencil.) Choose the gear icon, and you’ll see a toggle to turn on ‘Auto-refine Handwriting.’ I’ve found that I can write a line or two of text using Notes in landscape orientation before refinement kicks in, animating to magically improve my handwriting. It’s wild to see and works just as Apple says: the more you write in this mode, the closer the refinement looks to your own writing style. The one glitch I’ve run into with auto-refine is that if I’m furiously taking notes and refinement kicks in while I’m writing, Notes will stop accepting my writing for a beat, which usually means I have to rewrite one or two letters.\nSmart Script recognizes misspelled words and offers suggested changes.\nI don’t think this looks like my handwriting, but at least it’s spelled correctly.\nSpell-checking is baked into Smart Script, too. If a word isn’t recognized, it will be underlined with a blue dotted line. Tap it, and suggested spellings will appear in the action menu popover. If you select one, the word you hand-wrote will be replaced by the correctly spelled word in your own handwriting. The replaced word doesn’t always match my handwriting well, but it’s close enough and still breaks my brain a little to see in action.\nAlso, if you scratch out a word without removing the Apple Pencil from the surface of the iPad when you’re finished, the word will be erased. For more than a single word, I think the eraser tool works better, but the scribble gesture is a nice alternative because it doesn’t require switching tools.\nThe parts of Smart Script that have the most rough edges are moving text around and pasting text in your own handwriting. If you tap and hold with the Apple Pencil, a cursor will appear that can be used to move text around the page. You can move the text a little to make room to add a word or two, or you can move whole lines and paragraphs down to make room for a drawing, larger blocks of handwriting, or pasted text. The trouble is that moving text around isn’t as precise or accurate as it should be.\nMoving text around can be a challenge.\nIn the video above, I first moved my notes a little to make room for some additional text in a different color. That caused the notes to wrap down the page as I made space, but the left margin didn’t stay aligned the way I would have liked. Next, I added a few sloppy words in a different color, which, once refined, changed the color of one of the words I hadn’t added. I then accepted a spelling suggestion, which resulted in a jumbled mess. The problem seems to stem from having added two lines of text on one line and cramming in the last word diagonally because adding just a couple of words that match the words before and after the edit worked fine.\nDuring earlier betas, I saw even worse results. However with yesterday’s beta release, many of the issues seem to have been resolved. Reflowing text still isn’t perfect, but it’s come a long way in a short period of time. So, while I recommend sticking to simpler edits to avoid text reflowing problems, Apple seems to have gotten the feature on the right track going into the fall updates.\nAnother interesting aspect of Smart Script is the ability to insert copied text in the style of your handwriting. Digital type can be jarring when looking at a page of handwritten notes. Smart Script’s solution is to give you the option to paste text that approximates your handwriting.\nPasting works a lot like moving text. After you copy something, long-press with the Apple Pencil until the cursor appears. If you have text on your clipboard, ‘Paste’ will appear in the action menu allowing you to drop in whatever you copied. Here’s an example of a sentence I pasted from an article I wrote on MacStories.\nThe text at the top of the note was pasted in and doesn’t exactly match my handwriting, but it’s sort of close.\nIt’s pretty clearly not my handwriting. The pasted text looks a little too perfect. Perhaps that’s a good thing because it helps distinguish your words from the ones pulled from another source, but if that’s the intent, I’d think Apple would automatically allow you to paste in a source reference, too. That’s not an option, though.\nOne quirk of pasting text is that you can only do it within existing handwritten notes, meaning that if you start by making room for what you want to paste on a page and long-press on a blank space, you won’t get the option to paste what’s on your clipboard. Instead, you need to long-press on a line that already includes text. It’s a strange limitation that confounded me at first.\nSource: Apple.\nFinally, Math Notes, a feature of the Calculator app and Notes, integrates with Smart Script. As you take notes, you can add mathematical expressions and formulas, including variables, and solve them inline. I particularly like the integration of Math Notes with both Calculator and Notes. You can start in Calculator by tapping the button with a calculator icon and choosing Math Notes. That opens a UI that looks just like Notes. Write your expressions, and moments after you write an equals sign, your answer will appear in the app’s tint color to indicate that it was calculated for you. If you prefer, you can turn off automatic calculations entirely or have the app suggest calculations before actually doing them. Then, when you switch over to Notes, you’ll find the note you created in Calculator waiting for you along with your other notes.\nSome simple examples of Math Notes in action. The feature can also create graphs that change dynamically as you change variables.\nMath Notes is the sort of feature that I expect students will love, but it’s also going to be handy for the kinds of simple calculations everyone comes across in daily life. You might want to split the cost of a purchase among multiple people, calculate the cost of a trip you’re planning, or figure out how long it will take you to save for a big purchase. In all of these cases, it’s useful to have the math inline with surrounding notes that provide context.\nApple’s goal of making handwritten notes as versatile as typed text is admirable, but it’s not quite there yet. I love the auto-refinement of my handwriting and plan to use it anytime I take notes. Math Notes is another bright spot that I don’t expect I’ll use frequently, but I’m glad it will be there when I need it. I’ll use Smart Script’s text reflow feature, too, but sparingly until I’m sure the reliability issues I saw during the betas have been resolved.\nDespite the rough edges, what I like most about Smart Script is that the Apple Pencil has become more than a tool for artists and a pointing device for the rest of us. It’s a far more capable accessory than ever before that I find myself slowly using more and more over time. Part of that evolution has been my move to the 11” iPad Pro, which I use far more often without the Magic Keyboard case than I did the larger iPad Pros I’ve owned. However, it also comes down to what the Apple Pencil Pro can do. It has become my highlighter and markup tool for PDFs, a way to take notes, and more. It’s not an accessory I use every day yet, but with Smart Script, I’m enjoying taking handwritten notes more than in the past – which has made me less likely to grab my keyboard and more likely to simply jot down a note or use Scribble in text fields. Smart Script is off to a promising but imperfect start, and with time, I hope it can fulfill Apple’s vision of handwriting as coequal with typing as an input method.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-08-29T10:00:11-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-08-31T16:23:09-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Apple Pencil", "iPad", "iPadOS", "iPadOS 18", "Summer OS Preview 2024", "stories" ], "attachments": [ { "url": "https://cdn.macstories.net/screenrecording_08-27-2024-07-00-02_1-1724855704786.MP4", "mime_type": "video/mp4", "size_in_bytes": 14754361 } ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=76061", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/stories/new-projects-new-setup/", "title": "New Projects, New Setup", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

The past few months have been busy at MacStories. The release of new iPads was followed by our launch of new podcasts and then WWDC. Along the way, my gear setup has changed a little, too.

\n

Portable Setup Changes

\n

11” iPad Pro and Accessories

\n
\"\"

\n

Leading up to Apple’s spring event and knowing that it would feature new iPads, I was on the fence about buying one. The Pencil Pro and the Tandem OLED display tipped the balance, though, and I ended up getting the 11” Wi-Fi-only model with a Magic Keyboard Case, a Smart Folio cover, and Apple Pencil Pro.

\n

I was tempted by the nano-texture display but ultimately passed on it as well as cellular connectivity. I expect there’s a nano-texture device of some sort in my future, but even without it, the iPad Pro’s Tandem OLED display works better in sunlight than previous displays. I don’t use an Apple Pencil often, but with the new Pro model, I plan to play around with it more to see if I can find a place for it in my day-to-day computing. The lack of meaningful iPadOS 18 updates coming this fall is a letdown, but I’m still pleased with my purchase because the smaller form factor and fantastic display have led me to use my iPad Pro more.

\n

Desk Setup Changes

\n
\"Balolo's

Balolo’s tablet holder accessory.

\n

With the change in iPad sizes, the articulating arm I used for the 12.9” iPad Pro no longer worked for me. Instead, I’ve transitioned to another Balolo accessory, the Tablet Holder. It sits neatly in the center of my Desk Cockpit shelf, where I can set my iPad for use with Sidecar or Universal Control. If you’re a Club member and interested in Balolo’s Desk Cockpit setup, which I covered in detail this past February, there’s a coupon code for 10% off on the Club Discounts page.

\n
\"My

My new video gear from Elgato.

\n

I have been experimenting more with video in recent weeks, too. That led to the addition of an Elgato Facecam Pro and Key Light to my desk, along with an Elgato Mini Mount stand for the camera.

\n

\n

Portable Podcasting

\n
\"The

The Shure MV7+ in its protective case.

\n

This year, I decided to update my portable podcasting setup with a new microphone that can record over USB-C and an XLR cable at the same time. The Shure MV7+ is a step up in sound quality from the Shure Beta 87A I used in the past, even though it doesn’t sound quite as good to my ear as the Earthworks ETHOS mic I use at my desk. The biggest advantage, though, is that I can record directly to my laptop over USB-C and to an SD card in the Sound Devices Mix-Pre 3 II that I pulled out of storage. This offers me the simplicity of direct recording to my laptop’s internal SSD and the security of having a backup on a separate device. Along with the Shure MV7+ mic, I bought a hard case to protect it when traveling.

\n

Headphones

\n
\"The

The Beats Fit Pro.

\n

As I mentioned in this week’s AppStories+ pre-show, I’ve recently been testing out the Sennheiser Momentum Sport Earbuds. The jury’s still out on those for the reasons I explained on the podcast, but a set of headphones that I now use daily is the Beats Fit Pro. I had a pair of Powerbeats Pro for about five years, but I wanted something smaller with transparency mode so that I can be more aware of my surroundings. After a couple of months of use, I’m very happy with the Beats Fit Pro. They sound good, connect easily to my Apple Watch, and have most of the other features found in AirPods Pro.

\n

Gaming

\n
\"This

This is how you do Windows, right?

\n

The biggest change in my gaming setup is the addition of the Lenovo Legion Go portable Windows gaming handheld to my setup. I don’t use it for every game I play, but I also purchased a ONEXGPU eGPU that gives me a nice graphics boost when playing the most demanding games. I pair the Legion Go with Logitech’s new Keys-To-Go 2 (which I reviewed in MacStories Weekly last month) and a yellow POP Mouse whenever I need to dive into Windows for more than launching a game.

\n
\"The

The Anbernic RG35XXSP (left) and Miyoo Mini A30 (right).

\n

Since I started NPC: Next Portable Console with Federico and Brendon Bigley, I have been exploring retro handhelds again, including two new devices:

\n

Over time, I’m sure I’ll settle on one of these devices or my Miyoo Mini+ over the others, but so far, I’ve enjoyed rotating between all three.

\n
\"Save

Save the Hero Builders cartridge reader.

\n

To copy ROMs from my collection of game cartridges I also added a Save the Hero Builders cartridge reader to my setup. It’s custom-built in Japan and based on an open source project. I love the look of the model I got with its yellow PCB and black thumbscrews. It looks intimidating but is actually pretty simple to use.

\n
\"Of

Of course, I have new controllers.

\n

Finally, no gear update would be complete without a couple of new controllers. On Brendon’s recommendation, I picked up 8BitDo’s SN30 Pro in transparent green. It looks a lot like a classic SNES controller, but with thumbsticks. It’s nice and compact, which makes it a good companion for playing games on my 11” iPad Pro. For iPhone gaming I recently acquired the Razer Ultra controller, which is big but solidly-built and features high-quality components.

\n

I also purchased a CRKD Nitro Deck+ wrap-around controller for my OLED Switch. The Nitro Deck+ transforms the Switch into something about the size of a Steam Deck, and compared to the original Nitro Deck model, this one features a quieter rumble feature and easier removal of the Switch. Plus, it’s transparent, which sealed the deal for me. My only reservation is that I’m not sure putting the ABXY buttons under the right thumbstick was a good idea, but I haven’t had the Nitro+ long enough to decide yet.

\n

Okay, that’s all for now. For a complete overview of the tech I use every day, check out the Setups page. If you have any questions about the gear discussed above, feel free to get in touch with me in the Club MacStories Discord community, on Mastodon, or on Threads.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "The past few months have been busy at MacStories. The release of new iPads was followed by our launch of new podcasts and then WWDC. Along the way, my gear setup has changed a little, too.\nPortable Setup Changes\n11” iPad Pro and Accessories\n\nLeading up to Apple’s spring event and knowing that it would feature new iPads, I was on the fence about buying one. The Pencil Pro and the Tandem OLED display tipped the balance, though, and I ended up getting the 11” Wi-Fi-only model with a Magic Keyboard Case, a Smart Folio cover, and Apple Pencil Pro.\nI was tempted by the nano-texture display but ultimately passed on it as well as cellular connectivity. I expect there’s a nano-texture device of some sort in my future, but even without it, the iPad Pro’s Tandem OLED display works better in sunlight than previous displays. I don’t use an Apple Pencil often, but with the new Pro model, I plan to play around with it more to see if I can find a place for it in my day-to-day computing. The lack of meaningful iPadOS 18 updates coming this fall is a letdown, but I’m still pleased with my purchase because the smaller form factor and fantastic display have led me to use my iPad Pro more.\nDesk Setup Changes\nBalolo’s tablet holder accessory.\nWith the change in iPad sizes, the articulating arm I used for the 12.9” iPad Pro no longer worked for me. Instead, I’ve transitioned to another Balolo accessory, the Tablet Holder. It sits neatly in the center of my Desk Cockpit shelf, where I can set my iPad for use with Sidecar or Universal Control. If you’re a Club member and interested in Balolo’s Desk Cockpit setup, which I covered in detail this past February, there’s a coupon code for 10% off on the Club Discounts page.\nMy new video gear from Elgato.\nI have been experimenting more with video in recent weeks, too. That led to the addition of an Elgato Facecam Pro and Key Light to my desk, along with an Elgato Mini Mount stand for the camera.\n\nPortable Podcasting\nThe Shure MV7+ in its protective case.\nThis year, I decided to update my portable podcasting setup with a new microphone that can record over USB-C and an XLR cable at the same time. The Shure MV7+ is a step up in sound quality from the Shure Beta 87A I used in the past, even though it doesn’t sound quite as good to my ear as the Earthworks ETHOS mic I use at my desk. The biggest advantage, though, is that I can record directly to my laptop over USB-C and to an SD card in the Sound Devices Mix-Pre 3 II that I pulled out of storage. This offers me the simplicity of direct recording to my laptop’s internal SSD and the security of having a backup on a separate device. Along with the Shure MV7+ mic, I bought a hard case to protect it when traveling.\nHeadphones\nThe Beats Fit Pro.\nAs I mentioned in this week’s AppStories+ pre-show, I’ve recently been testing out the Sennheiser Momentum Sport Earbuds. The jury’s still out on those for the reasons I explained on the podcast, but a set of headphones that I now use daily is the Beats Fit Pro. I had a pair of Powerbeats Pro for about five years, but I wanted something smaller with transparency mode so that I can be more aware of my surroundings. After a couple of months of use, I’m very happy with the Beats Fit Pro. They sound good, connect easily to my Apple Watch, and have most of the other features found in AirPods Pro.\nGaming\nThis is how you do Windows, right?\nThe biggest change in my gaming setup is the addition of the Lenovo Legion Go portable Windows gaming handheld to my setup. I don’t use it for every game I play, but I also purchased a ONEXGPU eGPU that gives me a nice graphics boost when playing the most demanding games. I pair the Legion Go with Logitech’s new Keys-To-Go 2 (which I reviewed in MacStories Weekly last month) and a yellow POP Mouse whenever I need to dive into Windows for more than launching a game.\nThe Anbernic RG35XXSP (left) and Miyoo Mini A30 (right).\nSince I started NPC: Next Portable Console with Federico and Brendon Bigley, I have been exploring retro handhelds again, including two new devices:\nMiyoo Mini A30, a Game Boy Micro-inspired handheld that’s perfect for travel\nAnbernic RG35XXSP, a Game Boy Advance SP-inspired handheld that folds up to protect the screen and controls\nOver time, I’m sure I’ll settle on one of these devices or my Miyoo Mini+ over the others, but so far, I’ve enjoyed rotating between all three.\nSave the Hero Builders cartridge reader.\nTo copy ROMs from my collection of game cartridges I also added a Save the Hero Builders cartridge reader to my setup. It’s custom-built in Japan and based on an open source project. I love the look of the model I got with its yellow PCB and black thumbscrews. It looks intimidating but is actually pretty simple to use.\nOf course, I have new controllers.\nFinally, no gear update would be complete without a couple of new controllers. On Brendon’s recommendation, I picked up 8BitDo’s SN30 Pro in transparent green. It looks a lot like a classic SNES controller, but with thumbsticks. It’s nice and compact, which makes it a good companion for playing games on my 11” iPad Pro. For iPhone gaming I recently acquired the Razer Ultra controller, which is big but solidly-built and features high-quality components.\nI also purchased a CRKD Nitro Deck+ wrap-around controller for my OLED Switch. The Nitro Deck+ transforms the Switch into something about the size of a Steam Deck, and compared to the original Nitro Deck model, this one features a quieter rumble feature and easier removal of the Switch. Plus, it’s transparent, which sealed the deal for me. My only reservation is that I’m not sure putting the ABXY buttons under the right thumbstick was a good idea, but I haven’t had the Nitro+ long enough to decide yet.\nOkay, that’s all for now. For a complete overview of the tech I use every day, check out the Setups page. If you have any questions about the gear discussed above, feel free to get in touch with me in the Club MacStories Discord community, on Mastodon, or on Threads.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-07-16T11:02:08-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-16T11:02:08-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "accessories", "games", "headphones", "iPad", "podcasts", "stories" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75975", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/delta-1-6-released-in-the-eu-and-for-patreon-members-with-a-worldwide-app-store-release-in-the-works/", "title": "Delta 1.6 Released in the EU and for Patreon Members with a Worldwide App Store Release in the Works", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

Delta, the retro gaming emulator that took the App Store by storm when it was released earlier this spring and now has over 10 million users, has been updated in the EU via AltStore PAL and for Patreon members, who can sideload the app. An update to the App Store version has been submitted to the App Store for the rest of the world but has not been approved yet.

\n
\"Playing

Playing the SNES version of Donkey Kong Country.

\n

The update brings official iPadOS support to Delta for the first time. That means support for native iPad features like Split View, Stage Manager, multiwindowing, and even Handoff, which can be used to move a game from one device to another. The update also introduces a refinement of Delta’s new icon, which was changed because Adobe thought it looked too much like its own logo and demanded that Delta make changes to the icon. Delta’s built-in skins have been updated too to work with the iPad’s larger screen:

\n
\n

\n
\"Multiwindow

Multiwindow gaming.

\n

I’ve had a chance to try the new Delta 1.6 iPad features and they’re great, so it was disappointing to see that the app has been rejected by App Review. According to the AltStore Mastodon account, the reason was that the app included a link to the developers’ Patreon page, even though that link appeared in prior versions of the app. The Patreon link has been removed and the app resubmitted, so hopefully the update will be available worldwide soon.

\n

It’s a shame that Delta 1.6 is being held up in App Review, but barring any further objections from Apple, I expect we’ll see the update on the App Store soon.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Delta, the retro gaming emulator that took the App Store by storm when it was released earlier this spring and now has over 10 million users, has been updated in the EU via AltStore PAL and for Patreon members, who can sideload the app. An update to the App Store version has been submitted to the App Store for the rest of the world but has not been approved yet.\nPlaying the SNES version of Donkey Kong Country.\nThe update brings official iPadOS support to Delta for the first time. That means support for native iPad features like Split View, Stage Manager, multiwindowing, and even Handoff, which can be used to move a game from one device to another. The update also introduces a refinement of Delta’s new icon, which was changed because Adobe thought it looked too much like its own logo and demanded that Delta make changes to the icon. Delta’s built-in skins have been updated too to work with the iPad’s larger screen:\n\n\nMultiwindow gaming.\nI’ve had a chance to try the new Delta 1.6 iPad features and they’re great, so it was disappointing to see that the app has been rejected by App Review. According to the AltStore Mastodon account, the reason was that the app included a link to the developers’ Patreon page, even though that link appeared in prior versions of the app. The Patreon link has been removed and the app resubmitted, so hopefully the update will be available worldwide soon.\nIt’s a shame that Delta 1.6 is being held up in App Review, but barring any further objections from Apple, I expect we’ll see the update on the App Store soon.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-07-11T10:03:27-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-07-11T10:03:27-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "App Review", "app store", "Delta", "games", "gaming", "iPad", "iPadOS", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75861", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/final-cut-pro-2-for-ipad-and-final-cut-camera-released/", "title": "Final Cut Pro 2 for iPad and Final Cut Camera Released", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

Apple announced that today it is releasing Final Cut Pro 2 for the iPad and Final Cut Camera for the iPhone on the App Store. Both apps were announced at the company’s Let Loose event in May. To recap, Final Cut Pro 2 for the iPad adds the following features:

\n
\"Final

Final Cut Camera.

\n

Final Cut Camera is available to download for free on the App Store and can be used standalone to record video or in conjunction with the iPad’s Live Multicam feature. Videos that you record are stored in the app itself but can be exported to Final Cut Pro or shared with other apps via the share sheet.

\n

I received beta versions of both apps just before WWDC, so I only began testing them recently. Based on that early testing, working with a 25GB project stored on an external drive worked well, at least with my 2TB Samsung T9 SSD, which uses USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 for 20Gbps throughput. Final Cut Camera is straightforward to use, too, and I appreciate that it doesn’t dump the videos it records into Photos. However, I haven’t had a chance to test Live Multicam. I only have one iPhone (which is shocking, I know). Plus, I was unable to connect that sole iPhone to Final Cut Pro 2 for the iPad due to what appears to be a bug in either iOS or iPadOS 18.

\n

That said, it’s good to see Apple iterating on the iPad version of Final Cut Pro and adding the iPhone into the mix for capture. My video editing needs are fairly simple, but for $49/year, Final Cut Pro 2 for the iPad strikes me as a good deal for a lot of video creators. As of publication, Final Cut Camera was not appearing on the App Store but should be available soon.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Apple announced that today it is releasing Final Cut Pro 2 for the iPad and Final Cut Camera for the iPhone on the App Store. Both apps were announced at the company’s Let Loose event in May. To recap, Final Cut Pro 2 for the iPad adds the following features:\nLive Multicam, which allows users to record multiple streams of iPhone video using the new Final Cut Camera app;\nsupport for creating and editing projects on external storage;\ncamera setting controls like ISO and shutter speed; and\nnew color grading presets, backgrounds, soundtracks, title styles, and more.\nFinal Cut Camera.\nFinal Cut Camera is available to download for free on the App Store and can be used standalone to record video or in conjunction with the iPad’s Live Multicam feature. Videos that you record are stored in the app itself but can be exported to Final Cut Pro or shared with other apps via the share sheet.\nI received beta versions of both apps just before WWDC, so I only began testing them recently. Based on that early testing, working with a 25GB project stored on an external drive worked well, at least with my 2TB Samsung T9 SSD, which uses USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 for 20Gbps throughput. Final Cut Camera is straightforward to use, too, and I appreciate that it doesn’t dump the videos it records into Photos. However, I haven’t had a chance to test Live Multicam. I only have one iPhone (which is shocking, I know). Plus, I was unable to connect that sole iPhone to Final Cut Pro 2 for the iPad due to what appears to be a bug in either iOS or iPadOS 18.\nThat said, it’s good to see Apple iterating on the iPad version of Final Cut Pro and adding the iPhone into the mix for capture. My video editing needs are fairly simple, but for $49/year, Final Cut Pro 2 for the iPad strikes me as a good deal for a lot of video creators. As of publication, Final Cut Camera was not appearing on the App Store but should be available soon.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-06-20T13:12:58-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-06-20T13:58:10-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Final Cut Pro", "iPad", "iPhone", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75847", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/retro-videogame-streaming-service-antstream-to-launch-on-the-app-store-next-week/", "title": "Retro Videogame Streaming Service Antstream To Launch on the App Store Next Week", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

In the wake of the Digital Markets Act, Apple made a couple of worldwide changes to its App Review Guidelines, along with many EU-specific updates. One of the worldwide updates was to allow third-party game streaming services.

\n

Today, Antstream became the first game streaming service to announce that it will launch an app on Apple’s App Store. Antstream is a retro game streaming service with a catalog of over 1,300 videogames. The service, which is available on multiple other platforms in the EU, US, and Brazil, will bring its licensed library of games to the iPhone and iPad next week on June 27th.

\n

Antstream’s catalog covers a wide variety of retro systems, including the Atari 2600, Commodore 64, SNES, Megadrive, PlayStation One, and Arcade classics. Antstream Arcade normally costs $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year but will be available for $3.99 per month or $29.99 per year for a limited time when it launches on the App Store.

\n

I haven’t used Antstream Arcade yet, but I’m looking forward to trying it to see what’s in the catalog and check out how it performs over Wi-Fi.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "In the wake of the Digital Markets Act, Apple made a couple of worldwide changes to its App Review Guidelines, along with many EU-specific updates. One of the worldwide updates was to allow third-party game streaming services.\nToday, Antstream became the first game streaming service to announce that it will launch an app on Apple’s App Store. Antstream is a retro game streaming service with a catalog of over 1,300 videogames. The service, which is available on multiple other platforms in the EU, US, and Brazil, will bring its licensed library of games to the iPhone and iPad next week on June 27th.\nAntstream’s catalog covers a wide variety of retro systems, including the Atari 2600, Commodore 64, SNES, Megadrive, PlayStation One, and Arcade classics. Antstream Arcade normally costs $4.99 per month or $39.99 per year but will be available for $3.99 per month or $29.99 per year for a limited time when it launches on the App Store.\nI haven’t used Antstream Arcade yet, but I’m looking forward to trying it to see what’s in the catalog and check out how it performs over Wi-Fi.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-06-18T14:07:21-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-06-18T14:07:21-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "app store", "games", "iPad", "iPhone", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75641", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/stories/whats-in-my-wwdc-2024-bag/", "title": "What\u2019s in My WWDC 2024 Bag?", "content_html": "
\"My

My Tom Bihn Synapse 25 backpack.

\n

It’s time to get packed for WWDC, and like most years, my carry-on bag will be stuffed with everything I need to cover the event for MacStories. This year, I’ve focused on streamlining my podcast recording setup after some problems that slowed me down last year. Built around my everyday ‘away from home’ setup that I’ve been using for several months, I think I finally have a simple yet powerful writing and podcasting travel setup that should serve me well on the trip.

\n
11\" M4 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro.

11” M4 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro.

\n

The center of my setup will be a 14” M3 Max MacBook Pro that Apple sent me for testing. It’s a fantastic computer that’s more than capable of handling the research, writing, and audio production work I’ll be doing, along with any video taken during the week.

\n

I’ll also take my new 11” iPad Pro, which should help lighten my bag when I’m traveling back and forth from my hotel to Apple Park. Swapping my old 12.9” iPad Pro for the new 11” model will be perfect for this sort of trip. I plan to use it for getting some work done on the flight to California and for taking notes at the WWDC keynote. It’s hard to jot much down during the event while you’re sitting outside in the sun, so anything more than my iPad would be overkill.

\n

\n
\"GL.iNet

GL.iNet GL-MT3000 portable Wi-Fi router and Sound Devices MixPre-3 II.

\n

The part of my setup that is changing the most is the equipment I’ll take for podcasting. Last year, I took my Sound Devices MixPre-3 II to WWDC to use as an audio interface. The trouble was that, at the time, I hadn’t used it as my primary interface in months, and as a result, its complexity slowed me down. So, this year, I simplified and added redundancy.

\n
\"The

The core of my new mobile podcasting setup.

\n

My new travel microphone is a Shure MV7+ that can be used with USB-C or XLR cables. In the past, I used an Audio-Technica ATR2100x USB/XLR mic, but the model I have uses mini USB, which is a pain. Fortunately, the new version uses USB-C, but I went with the Shure MV7+ because it’s a better-sounding mic overall, even if it isn’t quite as good as the Earthworks ETHOS mic in my home office.

\n

The new Shure mic, which will sit on a lightweight Mictop Desktop Mic Stand, will allow me to record directly to the MacBook Pro via USB-C. For backup, I’ll also bring along the MixPre-3 II, but not for its audio interface capabilities. The MixPre-3 II can also serve as a field recorder, so I’ll connect it to the Shure MV7+ using an XLR cable and simultaneously record directly to an SD card as a backup in case something goes wrong on the Mac.

\n
\"Multipurpose

Multipurpose headphones.

\n

I’ll also take a couple sets of headphones. My Audio-Technica ATH-M70X are excellent multi-use headphones that work well for recording and editing podcasts, as well as listening to music or playing videogames. They’ll be joined by a set of the Shure SE215 PRO Wired Earbuds, which work well for monitoring my mic when I’m recording video.

\n
\"Storage

Storage and batteries.

\n

Over the past year, I’ve fallen in love with Samsung T9 SSDs for creating fast, quiet backups. The T9 uses a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 cable for fast transfers, which is perfect for managing large files. I’ll have one for backups of the MacBook Pro in my bag, along with a 2TB model that I just purchased for extra outboard storage that should make it easier to move large files between my Mac and iPad.

\n
\"The

The Belikin BoostCharge Pro and my trusty AI-free sunglasses.

\n

Of course, I will also take battery packs. I have a 10,000 mAh Belkin BoostCharge Pro battery that has a built-in fast charger for the Apple Watch, eliminating the need for a separate cable. I’ll also pack my big 27,650mAh 250W Anker Prime Power Bank. It takes no time to top off any device using the Anker battery and a Thunderbolt cable. I will probably bring Apple’s discontinued MagSafe battery pack for the iPhone, too. It doesn’t charge quickly or have the highest capacity, but it does a nice job of extending the iPhone’s life when I’m out for many hours at a time and taking lots of photos and videos.

\n

For Internet connectivity, I’ll bring along my GL.iNet GL-MT3000 portable Wi-Fi 6 router. It’s perfect for boosting the Wi-Fi signal in hotel rooms or connecting directly to any Ethernet port and creating its own local network. Because it can run on a power bank, the router works equally well at a coffee shop, or anywhere else I find myself struggling with a bad Wi-Fi connection.

\n
\"The

The MacStories Unwind 2024 playlist.

\n

Although I know from experience that I won’t have a lot of downtime during WWDC, I’ve packed some fun, too. I’ll be listening to the MacStories Unwind 2024 playlist that Federico and I are collaborating on, along with other recent favorites, using my AirPods Pro (3rd generation).

\n
\"The

The GameSir X2s iPhone controller and my Anbernic RG35XXSP.

\n
\"One

One more shot of the RG35XXSP because transparent gadgets are my thing.

\n

Of course, I’ll bring a device for games, too. For this trip, I’m bringing my brand new Anbernic RG35XXSP, which just arrived a couple of days ago. The RG35XXSP, one of our topics on the next episode of NPC: Next Portable Console, is designed to look like a Game Boy Advance SP and has received excellent reviews so far. I’ll also take my GameSir X2S iPhone controller because I have a lot of iOS games in my backlog that I want to check out.

\n

Well, that’s about it. Now all that’s left to do is to run some final equipment tests to make sure everything is working correctly and pack it all up. I’m excited as always to get to see so many of the developers we write about all year, and although some of my friends aren’t able to make it this year, it will be great to see those who will be there, hang out, and get some writing and podcasting done for MacStories readers and listeners.

\n

You can follow all of our WWDC coverage through our WWDC 2024 hub or subscribe to the dedicated WWDC 2024 RSS feed.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "My Tom Bihn Synapse 25 backpack.\nIt’s time to get packed for WWDC, and like most years, my carry-on bag will be stuffed with everything I need to cover the event for MacStories. This year, I’ve focused on streamlining my podcast recording setup after some problems that slowed me down last year. Built around my everyday ‘away from home’ setup that I’ve been using for several months, I think I finally have a simple yet powerful writing and podcasting travel setup that should serve me well on the trip.\nSupported By\n1Password\n\n\n1Password Extended Access Management: Secure every sign-in for every app on every device\n11” M4 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro.\nThe center of my setup will be a 14” M3 Max MacBook Pro that Apple sent me for testing. It’s a fantastic computer that’s more than capable of handling the research, writing, and audio production work I’ll be doing, along with any video taken during the week.\nI’ll also take my new 11” iPad Pro, which should help lighten my bag when I’m traveling back and forth from my hotel to Apple Park. Swapping my old 12.9” iPad Pro for the new 11” model will be perfect for this sort of trip. I plan to use it for getting some work done on the flight to California and for taking notes at the WWDC keynote. It’s hard to jot much down during the event while you’re sitting outside in the sun, so anything more than my iPad would be overkill.\n\nGL.iNet GL-MT3000 portable Wi-Fi router and Sound Devices MixPre-3 II.\nThe part of my setup that is changing the most is the equipment I’ll take for podcasting. Last year, I took my Sound Devices MixPre-3 II to WWDC to use as an audio interface. The trouble was that, at the time, I hadn’t used it as my primary interface in months, and as a result, its complexity slowed me down. So, this year, I simplified and added redundancy.\nThe core of my new mobile podcasting setup.\nMy new travel microphone is a Shure MV7+ that can be used with USB-C or XLR cables. In the past, I used an Audio-Technica ATR2100x USB/XLR mic, but the model I have uses mini USB, which is a pain. Fortunately, the new version uses USB-C, but I went with the Shure MV7+ because it’s a better-sounding mic overall, even if it isn’t quite as good as the Earthworks ETHOS mic in my home office.\nThe new Shure mic, which will sit on a lightweight Mictop Desktop Mic Stand, will allow me to record directly to the MacBook Pro via USB-C. For backup, I’ll also bring along the MixPre-3 II, but not for its audio interface capabilities. The MixPre-3 II can also serve as a field recorder, so I’ll connect it to the Shure MV7+ using an XLR cable and simultaneously record directly to an SD card as a backup in case something goes wrong on the Mac.\nMultipurpose headphones.\nI’ll also take a couple sets of headphones. My Audio-Technica ATH-M70X are excellent multi-use headphones that work well for recording and editing podcasts, as well as listening to music or playing videogames. They’ll be joined by a set of the Shure SE215 PRO Wired Earbuds, which work well for monitoring my mic when I’m recording video.\nStorage and batteries.\nOver the past year, I’ve fallen in love with Samsung T9 SSDs for creating fast, quiet backups. The T9 uses a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 cable for fast transfers, which is perfect for managing large files. I’ll have one for backups of the MacBook Pro in my bag, along with a 2TB model that I just purchased for extra outboard storage that should make it easier to move large files between my Mac and iPad.\nThe Belikin BoostCharge Pro and my trusty AI-free sunglasses.\nOf course, I will also take battery packs. I have a 10,000 mAh Belkin BoostCharge Pro battery that has a built-in fast charger for the Apple Watch, eliminating the need for a separate cable. I’ll also pack my big 27,650mAh 250W Anker Prime Power Bank. It takes no time to top off any device using the Anker battery and a Thunderbolt cable. I will probably bring Apple’s discontinued MagSafe battery pack for the iPhone, too. It doesn’t charge quickly or have the highest capacity, but it does a nice job of extending the iPhone’s life when I’m out for many hours at a time and taking lots of photos and videos.\nFor Internet connectivity, I’ll bring along my GL.iNet GL-MT3000 portable Wi-Fi 6 router. It’s perfect for boosting the Wi-Fi signal in hotel rooms or connecting directly to any Ethernet port and creating its own local network. Because it can run on a power bank, the router works equally well at a coffee shop, or anywhere else I find myself struggling with a bad Wi-Fi connection.\nThe MacStories Unwind 2024 playlist.\nAlthough I know from experience that I won’t have a lot of downtime during WWDC, I’ve packed some fun, too. I’ll be listening to the MacStories Unwind 2024 playlist that Federico and I are collaborating on, along with other recent favorites, using my AirPods Pro (3rd generation).\nThe GameSir X2s iPhone controller and my Anbernic RG35XXSP.\nOne more shot of the RG35XXSP because transparent gadgets are my thing.\nOf course, I’ll bring a device for games, too. For this trip, I’m bringing my brand new Anbernic RG35XXSP, which just arrived a couple of days ago. The RG35XXSP, one of our topics on the next episode of NPC: Next Portable Console, is designed to look like a Game Boy Advance SP and has received excellent reviews so far. I’ll also take my GameSir X2S iPhone controller because I have a lot of iOS games in my backlog that I want to check out.\nWell, that’s about it. Now all that’s left to do is to run some final equipment tests to make sure everything is working correctly and pack it all up. I’m excited as always to get to see so many of the developers we write about all year, and although some of my friends aren’t able to make it this year, it will be great to see those who will be there, hang out, and get some writing and podcasting done for MacStories readers and listeners.\nYou can follow all of our WWDC coverage through our WWDC 2024 hub or subscribe to the dedicated WWDC 2024 RSS feed.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-06-07T13:57:12-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-06-16T15:39:48-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "accessories", "Apple Music", "controller", "iPad", "iPad Pro", "macbook pro", "WWDC 2024", "stories" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75634", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/stories/apple-tv-go-ipados-workstation/", "title": "Apple TV Go: How a USB-C Mod Spiraled into an iPad-Based tvOS Workstation", "content_html": "
\"Apple

Apple TV Go.

\n

This time of year is one that’s always filled with anticipation for what’s upcoming for both developers and users of Apple’s platforms. And while many traveling to Cupertino will be focused on the iPhone in their pocket or the iPad or MacBook that regularly travels with them, for an Apple TV aficionado, it’s a different story.

\n

As I packed for my first WWDC last year, I had a moment of self-reflection. Did I really need to pack an external display, ATEM switcher, HDMI splitters, HomePod minis, controllers, multiple Apple TVs, and an eight-gang multi-plug extension lead into my carry-on in anticipation of a noteworthy software story for Apple TV?1 After all, the year prior had developers and fans giving their best impersonations of confused John Travolta following a largely absent year for tvOS.

\n

Thankfully, WWDC23 was a different story, with a surprisingly ambitious tvOS 17 release full of improvements and features I couldn’t wait to try. But while other attendees could go hands-on with the first developer betas of their favorite platforms with relative ease, given the nature of Apple TV hardware, I had to head back to the apartment I was staying at whenever I wanted to get hands-on time with tvOS.

\n

Somewhere in the Apple TV multiverse, there was a USB-C powered device that I could carry with me for quick reference, whether at Apple Park or a south London coffee shop during my writing process for last year’s tvOS review. Somewhere, there was an iPad-like device that could run tvOS, offering a superior software alternative to the plentiful supply of affordable, battery-powered Android portable projectors.

\n

Although neither of those products have yet to enter our own Apple TV universe, the introduction of iPadOS 17 and its support for UVC (USB Video Class) devices had my imagination running wild at the possibilities for this year. I needed to become the hero of my own story and create the on-the-go tvOS workstation I envisioned by braving the world of hardware modification and building my very own Apple TV Go.

\n

\n

Modifying Apple TV 4K for USB-C Power

\n

First, a disclaimer: with great power comes great responsibility. I’m sharing my personal experience resulting from a readily-available third-party modification, and your own experience may vary. I’m not suggesting that you do the same to your own Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) hardware. Instead, this story is meant only to serve as inspiration to MacStories readers, and I take no responsibility for any issues that may result from attempted modifications. Please take modification seriously and be extremely careful.

\n

My Apple TV Go journey begins with some hardware modification. As I searched for an alternative to Mission Accessories’ short-lived plug-and-play USB-Power Cable for Apple TV, a YouTube rabbit hole eventually led me to discovering Chloe Madison’s Voidbox Industries and their USB-C Modkit for Apple TV 4K (3rd generation).

\n

Admittedly, I had never opened up a working Apple product before, and while I have no intention of decapitating a MacBook anytime soon, Federico’s inspiring MacPad story served as the espresso shot of courage I needed before following Voidbox’s succinct and easy step-by-step illustrated instructions.

\n
\"\"

\n

Upon opening the USB-C Modkit, I was introduced to everything needed to retrofit my Apple TV 4K for USB-C power. As detailed on the kit’s store listing, the following parts and tools are included:

\n

The three-step process began with opening the Apple TV by inserting the included guitar picks into the seam near the bottom edge. The goal was to release clips from all three sides, which gave a satisfying audible ‘pop’ when released. These clips are well hidden – about 5mm in from the corner radius – and strong, to the point that I replaced the included guitar picks with opening picks from my iFixit toolkit, as they offered a little more give.

\n
\"\"

\n

Once the base was removed, my first reaction looking at the internals of my Apple TV was one of surprise at how much space was taken up by the power supply unit. From the perspective of someone with no engineering experience at all, the possibility of future Apple TV hardware in smaller form factors seemed more plausible than ever.

\n
\"The

The latest Apple TV 4K generation has no internal fan, opening up the possibility for future changes to the form factor by Apple.

\n

Next, it was time to remove the PSU and power connector. There are five T7 screws around the Apple TV’s PSU and two T5 screws located inside the power connector. I had no issues using the supplied T6 Allen key to remove the T7 screws holding the power supply, but I will note that I had to be gentle and definitive in my Allen key placement when removing the T5 screws in the power connector in order to prevent accidentally damaging or stripping them in the process.

\n
\"\"

\n

The final step involved installing the Modkit by first affixing the plastic shroud in the opening where the original power connector once was. I was nimble-handed enough to keep it in place as I placed the plastic strip with two holes below the Modkit PCB and inserted the two M2 5x8mm screws. I then aligned the USB-C port inside the opening of the shroud and lowered the opposite side towards the screw holes left over from removing the PSU.

\n
\"I

I had to tighten the final two screw holes well so that the PCB didn’t come loose.

\n

After completing the installation, all that was left to do was reattach the base of the Apple TV by pushing the seams back into the clips, connect HDMI to my TV, and find virtually any USB-C power supply to deliver the measly 7 watts of power needed to boot up my newly-modded Apple TV 4K.

\n
\"“It’s

“It’s alive!”

\n

Video Components, Powered by iPad Pro

\n

It was then time to turn my attentition to my new 11” iPad Pro (Silver, 256GB, Wi-Fi) and Magic Keyboard – the central components to making tvOS portable. The M4 chip and Tandem OLED were both headline additions to Apple’s most recent iPad hardware releases, but thanks to improvements in both power delivery and power passthrough, the new iPad Pro greatly improved my ability to power all three components in the video chain directly from its battery, thanks to a tiny but capable USB-C hub.

\n

Getting the Apple TV’s HDMI signal into the iPad required a USB video capture device. The one I bought for this experiment is the HDMI 2.1-compliant 4KX from Elgato. Although it’s not the smallest capture device on the market, its capture capabilities are unmatched, allowing for iPad capture at up to 4K 60fps SDR,2 while also sporting both HDMI out and a two-way 3.5mm audio jack.3

\n
\"The

The raw materials that would soon come together to form Apple TV Go.

\n

Under normal circumstances, that would be the end of my UVC-based video chain, but my coverage of tvOS also includes changes and integrations of Apple’s tools within third-party apps. While menu systems can be captured without issue, video players and the content within them cannot, thanks to High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). In order to view content from third-party apps in my setup, I had to introduce an HDMI splitter to the video chain.

\n

Fun With Velcro: A Modular iPad Story

\n

With my chosen components now connected, I had to figure out how to physically affix them to the back of the Magic Keyboard housing my iPad Pro. What I envisioned was a truly portable, modular setup that I could unplug and tear off with little fuss, but how would I attach it? Given that there was added weight to account for and cable management to contend with, magnets were out, and Velcro was in.

\n

I’ve often theorized that Apple’s MagSafe ecosystem has the potential to go further if only their Smart Folio cases had magnets on the outside to easily attach or remove additional modular pieces housing components tailored to a particular function or workflow. This project’s needs gave me the perfect opportunity to test out my theory using sheets of Velcro-like material and a MacStories favourite, the ESR Smart Cover for iPad Pro.

\n

I began by attaching the soft Velcro adhesive sheets to the bottom of the Magic Keyboard’s outer casing, cutting around the outer perimeter and away from the hinge so as not to have any of the adhesive side overlap. I then repeated the same process for the top casing, making sure to pre-cut a hole to make way for the iPad Pro’s camera.

\n
\"\"

\n
\"\"

\n

Next, I cut the ESR cover in half before cutting the bottom section from its foldable side and then covering the front-facing side with the same smooth Velcro material I’d just applied to the Magic Keyboard. With two strips of the Velcro hook material placed on the underside, I had made a ‘Magic Island’ to house my video equipment securely, with the ability to quickly tear it away when not in use.

\n
\"\"

\n

My fun with Velcro had only just begun. Next came the mounting process, which consisted of sticking the Velcro hook material to the bottom side of my video components and the softer material to the top and sides to help with cable management. I used short and flexible angled HDMI cables along with the shortest high-capacity USB-C cables I could find, and I formed little loops with the hook material to keep everything in place, resulting in a setup that ended up looking pretty clean, all things considered.

\n
\"My

My work-in-progress Magic Island before I cleaned up the cabling.

\n
\"The

The finished product, with the Magic Island and Siri Remote attached to the back of my iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard.

\n

The Magic Island could then attach to the back of my Magic Keyboard, either placed flat or secured by its edge to act as an additional leg to support heavier setups when placed on a flat surface. Over the summer months I’ll be further exploring the Magic Island concept with 3D printing, but for now, I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out.

\n
\"Now

Now that’s what I call a kickstand.

\n
\"The

The Magic Island easily detaches from the Magic Keyboard when not in use.

\n

Side Quest: Customizing the Magic Keyboard to Match the Siri Remote

\n

While we’re on the subject of the Magic Keyboard, I wanted to share a few words on replacing the keys of my silver Magic Keyboard with the black keys from the space black variant. The process was as stressful as it was costly, but I think you’ll agree that the end result was worth it, and it looks even better when paired with my Siri Remote.

\n
\"\"

\n

I began the process by drinking three cups of coffee and taking meticulous notes on Nikolai Christ’s excellent YouTube videos detailing the process of removing the clips from each key type, as well as the metal mechanisms present in the oversized keys and space bar. Over the course of the next five hours, I successfully replaced each key on my Magic Keyboard, with all keys retaining the functionality and travel expected out of the box – bar three of the smaller keys that were damaged, as well as two scissor switches which are especially delicate on the Magic Keyboard’s 11” variant.

\n
\"What

What the Magic Keyboard looked like in the middle of my five-hour key replacement process.

\n

Luckily for me, none of the damaged keys were from the new function row, and the mechanisms for the new Magic Keyboard are the same as the previous generation, meaning that if you do damage keys trying to replicate my modification, you have a good chance of sourcing replacements by looking at the used Magic Keyboard market like I did. Dear readers, the best advice I can give is to follow the videos closely, take your time, and be gentle.

\n

Apple TV Go as a Mobile tvOS Workstation

\n

So now that the build is complete, what can Apple TV Go actually do? While I predominantly mean to use it as a capture device, there are a couple of happy accident use cases I have already stumbled upon while using it.

\n

A feature previously available on macOS that I’ve missed ever since its 2011 discontinuation is remote playback controls via Front Row. Front Row made the Mac feel like less of a work device and more like an entertainment device when it was time to unwind at the end of the day. If you’re like me and still miss the functionality of using a remote to control media playback through your Apple computing platform of choice, you’ll appreciate the benefits and nostalgia of seemingly controlling your iPad with the Siri Remote – even though you’re actually controlling the Apple TV connected to it.

\n
\"This

This is the future I want to live in.

\n

Whether through the physical Siri Remote or the Remote found in Control Center, remote control functionality should, in my opinion, be treated as not only a comfort feature for any computing platform capable of playing back media, but one that could greatly improve the portable media consumption experience for those with limited mobility.4 It’s a feature I’d welcome with open arms if it were to ever be reintroduced to a continually growing list of accessibility options on Apple’s platforms.

\n

One other benefit of my Apple TV Go setup is the ability to send Apple TV video to external devices by using the NDI HX Capture app to turn my iPad Pro into an NDI encoder. Although this functionality wouldn’t be high-end enough for gaming, for video, its proved stupendous.

\n

I’ve been using this method to send video from Apple TV to Apple Vision Pro in order to play content from apps not yet available as native visionOS apps or in iPad compatibility mode. As some international-based early Apple Vision Pro adopters will attest to, the wait for an international rollout has been tedious, but this integration means I’m still able to watch local content on the biggest screen I own without the need for clumsy browser-based interactions.

\n

The ability to share Apple TV video as an NDI source from the iPad to visionOS also opened up some interesting possibilities for sharing video. I’ve long been an advocate of SharePlay – and use it multiple times per week with family and friends – but very few services have integrated with the feature. In visionOS, you’re able to share screens with other participants in the call, and despite the odd jumped frame, Devon and I were able to watch a show together, with one caveat: he couldn’t hear the audio I was hearing.

\n

To overcome this limitation, I connected Apple TV Go to an iPad signed into a different Apple ID account and added it as an additional FaceTime participant to our call. Suddenly, we were able to watch any video together with Apple TV as the source, whether in visionOS or through any other FaceTime-compatible device.

\n

That’s the extent of my experimentation thus far. Going back to my original intention of viewing and capturing a UVC device, there are a plethora of great, free iPad apps for doing this on the App Store, and I use three of them for different use cases with Apple TV Go.

\n

Elgato’s own Capture app is my go-to for quick video and screenshot captures, as well as access to quick settings for my permanent capture card in this setup. I found the app’s screenshot captures, which make up most of the chapter artwork for Magic Rays of Light, to be the fastest and most consistent in quality of all of the apps I have used so far. Across my testing of various apps, the Capture app is the only app that currently records in 4K 60fps.

\n
\"Elgato's

Elgato’s Capture app.

\n

However, while the Capture app only offers HEVC captures, Genki Studio allows for far more granular user control. Further options include encoding in the more universally recognised H.264 codec and bitrate control that can be adjusted with a handy slider, allowing me to set the Mbit/s output of a given capture depending on my particular scenario.

\n
\"Genki

Genki Studio.

\n

The third app in my rotation is mainly used for times when I’m at my desk comparing tvOS versions side-by-side, adding an externally-powered Apple TV and capture card into the mix. Camo Studio, predominantly aimed at streamers, allows users to bring in two video sources at once, thus overcoming the iPadOS limitation that doesn’t allow me to use two separate capture apps simultaniously in Split View.

\n
\"Camo

Camo Studio for iPad.

\n

The combination of Camo Studio and my Apple TV Go setup also opens up possibilities for on-the-go content creation, mixing and matching between the iPad’s onboard cameras, connected video capture devices, and custom overlays. The app also offers the ability to record on-device for later distribution, or to go live on YouTube, Twitch, Trovo, or any streaming service that supports RTMP.

\n

My one limitation when capturing multiple video sources is due to the lack of support for multiple audio sources on iPadOS. This means I have to choose a single audio source, scuppering any plans for Apple Music Sing karaoke captures, Apple Arcade game streams, and Apple TV+ commentaries – at least for now.

\n
\"\"

\n

While the idea of a portable tvOS workstation is incredibly niche, it further exhibits what a joy the iPad is as a modular computing platform. Yes, Apple TV Go is yet another strange experiment, but it’s one that solves a problem and pushes the iPad’s modularity to its conceivable limits.

\n

From a tvOS perspective, Apple TV Go asks more questions than it duly answers. The main one is, why has Apple been so reluctant to expand the range of devices running tvOS in an age where it sells four different Apple Pencils? Despite my love for the Apple TV hockey puck introduced all the way back in 2010, it would be beneficial for tvOS to be made available on a wider range of Apple devices as an alternative to more buggy experiences developed by third parties.

\n

Will Apple ever release an Apple TV Go of their own? It’s doubtful, at least in our branch of the Apple TV multiverse. But as I fly across the Atlantic for my first glimpse at what’s next for Apple TV and tvOS 18 from both a user experience and developer perspective with my tvOS workstation in hand, I’m buoyed by the possibilities.

\n
\n
  1. \nI brought it all with me regardless. ↩︎\n
    2. \n
  2. \nAt the time of writing, iPadOS video capture cannot capture in 4K HDR. ↩︎\n
    3. \n
  3. \nI have future plans for the audio jack that I’ll be eager to share should iPadOS introduce the ability to manage multiple audio sources in the future. ↩︎\n
    4. \n
  4. \nIt would also complement well the ability to navigate iPadOS with a game controller, which is already available. ↩︎\n
    5. \n
\n

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What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

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Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

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Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

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Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

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Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

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Join Now", "content_text": "Apple TV Go.\nThis time of year is one that’s always filled with anticipation for what’s upcoming for both developers and users of Apple’s platforms. And while many traveling to Cupertino will be focused on the iPhone in their pocket or the iPad or MacBook that regularly travels with them, for an Apple TV aficionado, it’s a different story.\nAs I packed for my first WWDC last year, I had a moment of self-reflection. Did I really need to pack an external display, ATEM switcher, HDMI splitters, HomePod minis, controllers, multiple Apple TVs, and an eight-gang multi-plug extension lead into my carry-on in anticipation of a noteworthy software story for Apple TV?1 After all, the year prior had developers and fans giving their best impersonations of confused John Travolta following a largely absent year for tvOS.\nListen for More About Sigmund’s Apple TV Go on\nMagic Rays of Light\nJoin Sigmund Judge and Devon Dundee for a special episode of Magic Rays of Light, featuring a conversation about Sigmund’s Apple TV Go, WWDC predictions, and more. Learn more about Magic Rays of Light and MacStories’ other podcasts on the MacStories Podcasts page.\n\nThankfully, WWDC23 was a different story, with a surprisingly ambitious tvOS 17 release full of improvements and features I couldn’t wait to try. But while other attendees could go hands-on with the first developer betas of their favorite platforms with relative ease, given the nature of Apple TV hardware, I had to head back to the apartment I was staying at whenever I wanted to get hands-on time with tvOS.\nSomewhere in the Apple TV multiverse, there was a USB-C powered device that I could carry with me for quick reference, whether at Apple Park or a south London coffee shop during my writing process for last year’s tvOS review. Somewhere, there was an iPad-like device that could run tvOS, offering a superior software alternative to the plentiful supply of affordable, battery-powered Android portable projectors.\nAlthough neither of those products have yet to enter our own Apple TV universe, the introduction of iPadOS 17 and its support for UVC (USB Video Class) devices had my imagination running wild at the possibilities for this year. I needed to become the hero of my own story and create the on-the-go tvOS workstation I envisioned by braving the world of hardware modification and building my very own Apple TV Go.\n\nModifying Apple TV 4K for USB-C Power\nFirst, a disclaimer: with great power comes great responsibility. I’m sharing my personal experience resulting from a readily-available third-party modification, and your own experience may vary. I’m not suggesting that you do the same to your own Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) hardware. Instead, this story is meant only to serve as inspiration to MacStories readers, and I take no responsibility for any issues that may result from attempted modifications. Please take modification seriously and be extremely careful.\nMy Apple TV Go journey begins with some hardware modification. As I searched for an alternative to Mission Accessories’ short-lived plug-and-play USB-Power Cable for Apple TV, a YouTube rabbit hole eventually led me to discovering Chloe Madison’s Voidbox Industries and their USB-C Modkit for Apple TV 4K (3rd generation).\nAdmittedly, I had never opened up a working Apple product before, and while I have no intention of decapitating a MacBook anytime soon, Federico’s inspiring MacPad story served as the espresso shot of courage I needed before following Voidbox’s succinct and easy step-by-step illustrated instructions.\n\nUpon opening the USB-C Modkit, I was introduced to everything needed to retrofit my Apple TV 4K for USB-C power. As detailed on the kit’s store listing, the following parts and tools are included:\nthe Modkit printed circuit board with linear voltage regulator\nthree guitar picks to open the Apple TV case\na T6 Allen key to remove the power supply and power connector\na 3D-printed shroud for the power connector opening\na 3D-printed spacer/insulator\ntwo M2 5x8mm screws\nThe three-step process began with opening the Apple TV by inserting the included guitar picks into the seam near the bottom edge. The goal was to release clips from all three sides, which gave a satisfying audible ‘pop’ when released. These clips are well hidden – about 5mm in from the corner radius – and strong, to the point that I replaced the included guitar picks with opening picks from my iFixit toolkit, as they offered a little more give.\n\nOnce the base was removed, my first reaction looking at the internals of my Apple TV was one of surprise at how much space was taken up by the power supply unit. From the perspective of someone with no engineering experience at all, the possibility of future Apple TV hardware in smaller form factors seemed more plausible than ever.\nThe latest Apple TV 4K generation has no internal fan, opening up the possibility for future changes to the form factor by Apple.\nNext, it was time to remove the PSU and power connector. There are five T7 screws around the Apple TV’s PSU and two T5 screws located inside the power connector. I had no issues using the supplied T6 Allen key to remove the T7 screws holding the power supply, but I will note that I had to be gentle and definitive in my Allen key placement when removing the T5 screws in the power connector in order to prevent accidentally damaging or stripping them in the process.\n\nThe final step involved installing the Modkit by first affixing the plastic shroud in the opening where the original power connector once was. I was nimble-handed enough to keep it in place as I placed the plastic strip with two holes below the Modkit PCB and inserted the two M2 5x8mm screws. I then aligned the USB-C port inside the opening of the shroud and lowered the opposite side towards the screw holes left over from removing the PSU.\nI had to tighten the final two screw holes well so that the PCB didn’t come loose.\nAfter completing the installation, all that was left to do was reattach the base of the Apple TV by pushing the seams back into the clips, connect HDMI to my TV, and find virtually any USB-C power supply to deliver the measly 7 watts of power needed to boot up my newly-modded Apple TV 4K.\n“It’s alive!”\nVideo Components, Powered by iPad Pro\nIt was then time to turn my attentition to my new 11” iPad Pro (Silver, 256GB, Wi-Fi) and Magic Keyboard – the central components to making tvOS portable. The M4 chip and Tandem OLED were both headline additions to Apple’s most recent iPad hardware releases, but thanks to improvements in both power delivery and power passthrough, the new iPad Pro greatly improved my ability to power all three components in the video chain directly from its battery, thanks to a tiny but capable USB-C hub.\nGetting the Apple TV’s HDMI signal into the iPad required a USB video capture device. The one I bought for this experiment is the HDMI 2.1-compliant 4KX from Elgato. Although it’s not the smallest capture device on the market, its capture capabilities are unmatched, allowing for iPad capture at up to 4K 60fps SDR,2 while also sporting both HDMI out and a two-way 3.5mm audio jack.3\nThe raw materials that would soon come together to form Apple TV Go.\nUnder normal circumstances, that would be the end of my UVC-based video chain, but my coverage of tvOS also includes changes and integrations of Apple’s tools within third-party apps. While menu systems can be captured without issue, video players and the content within them cannot, thanks to High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP). In order to view content from third-party apps in my setup, I had to introduce an HDMI splitter to the video chain.\nFun With Velcro: A Modular iPad Story\nWith my chosen components now connected, I had to figure out how to physically affix them to the back of the Magic Keyboard housing my iPad Pro. What I envisioned was a truly portable, modular setup that I could unplug and tear off with little fuss, but how would I attach it? Given that there was added weight to account for and cable management to contend with, magnets were out, and Velcro was in.\nI’ve often theorized that Apple’s MagSafe ecosystem has the potential to go further if only their Smart Folio cases had magnets on the outside to easily attach or remove additional modular pieces housing components tailored to a particular function or workflow. This project’s needs gave me the perfect opportunity to test out my theory using sheets of Velcro-like material and a MacStories favourite, the ESR Smart Cover for iPad Pro.\nI began by attaching the soft Velcro adhesive sheets to the bottom of the Magic Keyboard’s outer casing, cutting around the outer perimeter and away from the hinge so as not to have any of the adhesive side overlap. I then repeated the same process for the top casing, making sure to pre-cut a hole to make way for the iPad Pro’s camera.\n\n\nNext, I cut the ESR cover in half before cutting the bottom section from its foldable side and then covering the front-facing side with the same smooth Velcro material I’d just applied to the Magic Keyboard. With two strips of the Velcro hook material placed on the underside, I had made a ‘Magic Island’ to house my video equipment securely, with the ability to quickly tear it away when not in use.\n\nMy fun with Velcro had only just begun. Next came the mounting process, which consisted of sticking the Velcro hook material to the bottom side of my video components and the softer material to the top and sides to help with cable management. I used short and flexible angled HDMI cables along with the shortest high-capacity USB-C cables I could find, and I formed little loops with the hook material to keep everything in place, resulting in a setup that ended up looking pretty clean, all things considered.\nMy work-in-progress Magic Island before I cleaned up the cabling.\nThe finished product, with the Magic Island and Siri Remote attached to the back of my iPad Pro’s Magic Keyboard.\nThe Magic Island could then attach to the back of my Magic Keyboard, either placed flat or secured by its edge to act as an additional leg to support heavier setups when placed on a flat surface. Over the summer months I’ll be further exploring the Magic Island concept with 3D printing, but for now, I’m pretty happy with how it all turned out.\nNow that’s what I call a kickstand.\nThe Magic Island easily detaches from the Magic Keyboard when not in use.\nSide Quest: Customizing the Magic Keyboard to Match the Siri Remote\nWhile we’re on the subject of the Magic Keyboard, I wanted to share a few words on replacing the keys of my silver Magic Keyboard with the black keys from the space black variant. The process was as stressful as it was costly, but I think you’ll agree that the end result was worth it, and it looks even better when paired with my Siri Remote.\n\nI began the process by drinking three cups of coffee and taking meticulous notes on Nikolai Christ’s excellent YouTube videos detailing the process of removing the clips from each key type, as well as the metal mechanisms present in the oversized keys and space bar. Over the course of the next five hours, I successfully replaced each key on my Magic Keyboard, with all keys retaining the functionality and travel expected out of the box – bar three of the smaller keys that were damaged, as well as two scissor switches which are especially delicate on the Magic Keyboard’s 11” variant.\nWhat the Magic Keyboard looked like in the middle of my five-hour key replacement process.\nLuckily for me, none of the damaged keys were from the new function row, and the mechanisms for the new Magic Keyboard are the same as the previous generation, meaning that if you do damage keys trying to replicate my modification, you have a good chance of sourcing replacements by looking at the used Magic Keyboard market like I did. Dear readers, the best advice I can give is to follow the videos closely, take your time, and be gentle.\nApple TV Go as a Mobile tvOS Workstation\nSo now that the build is complete, what can Apple TV Go actually do? While I predominantly mean to use it as a capture device, there are a couple of happy accident use cases I have already stumbled upon while using it.\nA feature previously available on macOS that I’ve missed ever since its 2011 discontinuation is remote playback controls via Front Row. Front Row made the Mac feel like less of a work device and more like an entertainment device when it was time to unwind at the end of the day. If you’re like me and still miss the functionality of using a remote to control media playback through your Apple computing platform of choice, you’ll appreciate the benefits and nostalgia of seemingly controlling your iPad with the Siri Remote – even though you’re actually controlling the Apple TV connected to it.\nThis is the future I want to live in.\nWhether through the physical Siri Remote or the Remote found in Control Center, remote control functionality should, in my opinion, be treated as not only a comfort feature for any computing platform capable of playing back media, but one that could greatly improve the portable media consumption experience for those with limited mobility.4 It’s a feature I’d welcome with open arms if it were to ever be reintroduced to a continually growing list of accessibility options on Apple’s platforms.\nOne other benefit of my Apple TV Go setup is the ability to send Apple TV video to external devices by using the NDI HX Capture app to turn my iPad Pro into an NDI encoder. Although this functionality wouldn’t be high-end enough for gaming, for video, its proved stupendous.\nI’ve been using this method to send video from Apple TV to Apple Vision Pro in order to play content from apps not yet available as native visionOS apps or in iPad compatibility mode. As some international-based early Apple Vision Pro adopters will attest to, the wait for an international rollout has been tedious, but this integration means I’m still able to watch local content on the biggest screen I own without the need for clumsy browser-based interactions.\nThe ability to share Apple TV video as an NDI source from the iPad to visionOS also opened up some interesting possibilities for sharing video. I’ve long been an advocate of SharePlay – and use it multiple times per week with family and friends – but very few services have integrated with the feature. In visionOS, you’re able to share screens with other participants in the call, and despite the odd jumped frame, Devon and I were able to watch a show together, with one caveat: he couldn’t hear the audio I was hearing.\nTo overcome this limitation, I connected Apple TV Go to an iPad signed into a different Apple ID account and added it as an additional FaceTime participant to our call. Suddenly, we were able to watch any video together with Apple TV as the source, whether in visionOS or through any other FaceTime-compatible device.\nThat’s the extent of my experimentation thus far. Going back to my original intention of viewing and capturing a UVC device, there are a plethora of great, free iPad apps for doing this on the App Store, and I use three of them for different use cases with Apple TV Go.\nElgato’s own Capture app is my go-to for quick video and screenshot captures, as well as access to quick settings for my permanent capture card in this setup. I found the app’s screenshot captures, which make up most of the chapter artwork for Magic Rays of Light, to be the fastest and most consistent in quality of all of the apps I have used so far. Across my testing of various apps, the Capture app is the only app that currently records in 4K 60fps.\nElgato’s Capture app.\nHowever, while the Capture app only offers HEVC captures, Genki Studio allows for far more granular user control. Further options include encoding in the more universally recognised H.264 codec and bitrate control that can be adjusted with a handy slider, allowing me to set the Mbit/s output of a given capture depending on my particular scenario.\nGenki Studio.\nThe third app in my rotation is mainly used for times when I’m at my desk comparing tvOS versions side-by-side, adding an externally-powered Apple TV and capture card into the mix. Camo Studio, predominantly aimed at streamers, allows users to bring in two video sources at once, thus overcoming the iPadOS limitation that doesn’t allow me to use two separate capture apps simultaniously in Split View.\nCamo Studio for iPad.\nThe combination of Camo Studio and my Apple TV Go setup also opens up possibilities for on-the-go content creation, mixing and matching between the iPad’s onboard cameras, connected video capture devices, and custom overlays. The app also offers the ability to record on-device for later distribution, or to go live on YouTube, Twitch, Trovo, or any streaming service that supports RTMP.\nMy one limitation when capturing multiple video sources is due to the lack of support for multiple audio sources on iPadOS. This means I have to choose a single audio source, scuppering any plans for Apple Music Sing karaoke captures, Apple Arcade game streams, and Apple TV+ commentaries – at least for now.\n\nWhile the idea of a portable tvOS workstation is incredibly niche, it further exhibits what a joy the iPad is as a modular computing platform. Yes, Apple TV Go is yet another strange experiment, but it’s one that solves a problem and pushes the iPad’s modularity to its conceivable limits.\nFrom a tvOS perspective, Apple TV Go asks more questions than it duly answers. The main one is, why has Apple been so reluctant to expand the range of devices running tvOS in an age where it sells four different Apple Pencils? Despite my love for the Apple TV hockey puck introduced all the way back in 2010, it would be beneficial for tvOS to be made available on a wider range of Apple devices as an alternative to more buggy experiences developed by third parties.\nWill Apple ever release an Apple TV Go of their own? It’s doubtful, at least in our branch of the Apple TV multiverse. But as I fly across the Atlantic for my first glimpse at what’s next for Apple TV and tvOS 18 from both a user experience and developer perspective with my tvOS workstation in hand, I’m buoyed by the possibilities.\n\n\nI brought it all with me regardless. ↩︎\n\n\nAt the time of writing, iPadOS video capture cannot capture in 4K HDR. ↩︎\n\n\nI have future plans for the audio jack that I’ll be eager to share should iPadOS introduce the ability to manage multiple audio sources in the future. ↩︎\n\n\nIt would also complement well the ability to navigate iPadOS with a game controller, which is already available. ↩︎\n\n\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-06-07T12:00:01-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-06-07T12:05:58-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Sigmund Judge", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/sigjudge/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/429c9d68303d0fbb9764d654f4befbae?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "apple tv", "iPad", "iPad Pro", "tvOS", "stories" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75397", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/the-ipad-pro-2024-manifesto/", "title": "The iPad Pro 2024 Manifesto", "content_html": "

There are so many parts of Steve’s iPad Pro manifesto I would quote here on MacStories, but I’m going to limit myself to just a couple of excerpts.

\n

What I like about this story is that it’s a balanced take on the limitations of iPadOS from the perspective of a developer, laid out in a comprehensive roundup. It serves as a great companion piece to my story, but from a more technical angle.

\n

Here, for instance, is a well-reasoned assessment of why Stage Manager isn’t ideal for developers of iPad apps:

\n

\n Stage Manager was such a missed opportunity: it tried to bolt-on a windowing model onto iPadOS without providing developers any way to optimize for it, and has had virtually no meaningful improvements in two years. What I really want to see are APIs. APIs to know when an app is running in Stage Manager and give it an opportunity to enable extra functionality to accommodate that — like having an ‘open in New Window’ context menu option that it would otherwise hide. APIs to set window size/shape, minimum and maximum size. APIs to open a window in split view if possible, with a preferred screen side. APIs to drag a window on mouse-down. Auxiliary views or inspector panels that can be floated on/near a primary window, like visionOS’ ornaments.

\n

Many of these features are available as APIs to apps using the iOS SDK… on macOS and visionOS. Which is why it boggles the mind that iPad’s own Stage Manager spec completely shunned them, and ignored the explicit intent provided by developers as to how they want their apps to work. Stage Manager wasn’t provided as an opportunity to make our apps better, it was inflicted on developers in a way that harmed the developer, and user, experience. Which is why today you can very quickly stumble upon apps that don’t quite resize correctly, or have important parts of the UI covered by the virtual keyboard, or toolbars floating in strange places.\n

\n

To this day, developers have no way to fine-tune their apps so that they behave differently (and better!) when Stage Manager is active. This part about JIT is also worth calling out:

\n

\n Just-in-time compilation is essential to power things like web browsers, console and PC emulators, and language-based virtual machines. It is used by Apple’s own apps, like Playgrounds, to empower key functionality that no third party app can match. And it is provided in a very limited way (with a ton of asterisks) to Alternative Web Browsers in the EU under the DMA, so they can implement their own JavaScript engines. The DolphiniOS project, which emulates Nintendo’s GameCube, recently posted a video that perfectly encapsulates the problem and demonstrates why emulators for newer consoles just can’t come to iPadOS. Other app stores, like Microsoft’s Windows Store, offer a JIT entitlement as standard, and I think Apple should, too.\n

\n

It’s not like JIT cannot exist on iPadOS; it’s that Apple has chosen not to offer it as an entitlement for third-party developers.

\n

I also want to point out two more aspects of Steve’s manifesto. It’s almost a 1:1 match of a story he wrote for us in 2019, which is quite sad as it tells you a lot about iPadOS’ state of affairs. Five years later, and we’re still asking for the same changes. Additionally, it should be noted that Steve is not asking for Apple to call it a day and put macOS on iPad. Claiming that someone who criticizes iPadOS does so because “they just want the iPad to turn into a Mac” has become the de rigueur dismissal for some reply guys these days, and it completely misses the point.

\n

I highly recommend reading Steve’s full story here.

\n

\u2192 Source: highcaffeinecontent.com

", "content_text": "There are so many parts of Steve’s iPad Pro manifesto I would quote here on MacStories, but I’m going to limit myself to just a couple of excerpts.\nWhat I like about this story is that it’s a balanced take on the limitations of iPadOS from the perspective of a developer, laid out in a comprehensive roundup. It serves as a great companion piece to my story, but from a more technical angle.\nHere, for instance, is a well-reasoned assessment of why Stage Manager isn’t ideal for developers of iPad apps:\n\n Stage Manager was such a missed opportunity: it tried to bolt-on a windowing model onto iPadOS without providing developers any way to optimize for it, and has had virtually no meaningful improvements in two years. What I really want to see are APIs. APIs to know when an app is running in Stage Manager and give it an opportunity to enable extra functionality to accommodate that — like having an ‘open in New Window’ context menu option that it would otherwise hide. APIs to set window size/shape, minimum and maximum size. APIs to open a window in split view if possible, with a preferred screen side. APIs to drag a window on mouse-down. Auxiliary views or inspector panels that can be floated on/near a primary window, like visionOS’ ornaments.\n Many of these features are available as APIs to apps using the iOS SDK… on macOS and visionOS. Which is why it boggles the mind that iPad’s own Stage Manager spec completely shunned them, and ignored the explicit intent provided by developers as to how they want their apps to work. Stage Manager wasn’t provided as an opportunity to make our apps better, it was inflicted on developers in a way that harmed the developer, and user, experience. Which is why today you can very quickly stumble upon apps that don’t quite resize correctly, or have important parts of the UI covered by the virtual keyboard, or toolbars floating in strange places.\n\nTo this day, developers have no way to fine-tune their apps so that they behave differently (and better!) when Stage Manager is active. This part about JIT is also worth calling out:\n\n Just-in-time compilation is essential to power things like web browsers, console and PC emulators, and language-based virtual machines. It is used by Apple’s own apps, like Playgrounds, to empower key functionality that no third party app can match. And it is provided in a very limited way (with a ton of asterisks) to Alternative Web Browsers in the EU under the DMA, so they can implement their own JavaScript engines. The DolphiniOS project, which emulates Nintendo’s GameCube, recently posted a video that perfectly encapsulates the problem and demonstrates why emulators for newer consoles just can’t come to iPadOS. Other app stores, like Microsoft’s Windows Store, offer a JIT entitlement as standard, and I think Apple should, too.\n\nIt’s not like JIT cannot exist on iPadOS; it’s that Apple has chosen not to offer it as an entitlement for third-party developers.\nI also want to point out two more aspects of Steve’s manifesto. It’s almost a 1:1 match of a story he wrote for us in 2019, which is quite sad as it tells you a lot about iPadOS’ state of affairs. Five years later, and we’re still asking for the same changes. Additionally, it should be noted that Steve is not asking for Apple to call it a day and put macOS on iPad. Claiming that someone who criticizes iPadOS does so because “they just want the iPad to turn into a Mac” has become the de rigueur dismissal for some reply guys these days, and it completely misses the point.\nI highly recommend reading Steve’s full story here.\n\u2192 Source: highcaffeinecontent.com", "date_published": "2024-05-14T09:09:39-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-05-14T09:09:39-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Federico Viticci", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/viticci/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/94a9aa7c70dbeb9440c6759bd2cebc2a?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "developers", "iPad", "iPad Pro", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75358", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/stories/not-an-ipad-pro-review/", "title": "Not an iPad Pro Review: Why iPadOS Still Doesn\u2019t Get the Basics Right", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

Let me cut to the chase: sadly, I don’t have a new iPad Pro to review today on MacStories.

\n

I was able to try one in London last week, and, as I wrote, I came away impressed with the hardware. However, I didn’t get a chance to use a new iPad Pro over the past six days ahead of today’s review embargo.

\n

I know that many of you were expecting a deeper look at the iPad Pro on MacStories this week, but that will have to come later. I still plan on upgrading to a 13” iPad Pro myself; I’ve decided I want to return to the larger size after a few months with the 11” iPad Pro. If you’re interested in checking out reviews of the new iPad Pros from heavy iPad users like yours truly right now, I highly recommend reading and watching what my friends Jason Snell and Chris Lawley have prepared.

\n

Still, as I was thinking about my usage of the iPad and why I enjoy using the device so much despite its limitations, I realized that I have never actually written about all of those “limitations” in a single, comprehensive article. In our community, we often hear about the issues of iPadOS and the obstacles people like me run into when working on the platform, but I’ve been guilty in the past of taking context for granted and assuming that you, dear reader, also know precisely what I’m talking about.

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Today, I will rectify that. Instead of reviewing the new iPad Pro, I took the time to put together a list of all the common problems I’ve run into over the past…checks notes…12 years of working on the iPad, before its operating system was even called iPadOS.

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My goal with this story was threefold. First, as I’ve said multiple times, I love my iPad and want the platform to get better. If you care about something or someone, sometimes you have to tell them what’s wrong in order to improve and find a new path forward. I hope this story can serve as a reference for those with the power to steer iPadOS in a different direction in the future.

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Second, lately I’ve seen some people argue on Mastodon and Threads that folks who criticize iPadOS do so because their ultimate goal is to have macOS on iPads, and I wanted to clarify this misunderstanding. While I’m on the record as thinking that a hybrid macOS/iPadOS environment would be terrific (I know, because I use it), that is not the point. The reality is that, regardless of whether macOS runs on iPads or not, iPadOS is the ideal OS for touch interactions. But it still gets many basic computing features wrong, and there is plenty of low-hanging fruit for Apple to pick. We don’t need to talk about macOS to cover these issues.

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Lastly, I wanted to provide readers with the necessary context to understand what I mean when I mention the limitations of iPadOS. My iPad setup and workflow have changed enough times over the years that I think some of you may have lost track of the issues I (and others) have been experiencing. This article is a chance to collect them all in one place.

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Let’s dive in.

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[table_of_contents]

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Missing Apps

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Of all the issues I have with iPadOS, I want to start with a relatively simple one: some apps from macOS and iOS just aren’t available on the platform.

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This was fine when the iPad was a new product and Apple was busy launching new OSes and rethinking their approach to the Mac. However, after 14 years, it’s hard to imagine that the company couldn’t have filled these gaps if they really wanted to.

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Here are the apps from iOS and macOS I find myself missing the most on the iPad:

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\"Preview

Preview and TextEdit for Mac.

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The list could go on, especially if we consider that Apple sells “Pro” versions of the iPad that cost thousands of dollars, which would benefit from apps that a lot of professionals typically use on macOS. Where’s Terminal for iPadOS? Why do we have to manage fonts with an obscure method in Settings instead of the excellent Font Book app? Dare I even say it…where’s Xcode for iPadOS?

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Not-So-Desktop-Class Apps

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While I’m on the topic of apps, it’s worth pointing out that the apps that did find their way to iPadOS still pale in comparison to their Mac versions in terms of feature set. Despite Apple’s promise of desktop-class apps a couple of years ago, the company’s actual implementation has been erratic at best, with an inconsistent delivery of Mac-like features that haven’t done much to raise the status of iPad apps.

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The simplest way to look at this is that most built-in iPad apps don’t match the functionalities offered by their macOS counterparts despite iPadOS having all the prerequisites for them to offer said features. For instance, while Apple shipped smart folders and smart lists in Notes and Reminders, respectively, Mail for iPadOS still doesn’t let you create smart mailboxes like it does on the Mac; nor does Music for iPadOS support the Mac version’s smart playlists. The same is also true for the Files app and its lack of Finder’s smart folder functionality.

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\"Creating

Creating a smart folder in Finder.

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The issue extends beyond these power-user features and touches all sorts of aspects of other Apple apps for iPadOS. Shortcuts is one of the worst offenders with a complete disregard for the iPad’s multitasking capabilities: Shortcuts for Mac offers powerful actions to find and control windows on-screen; the iPad version does not. Safari for Mac lets you adjust the browser’s toolbar to your liking with the ability to drag buttons around and pin specific extensions; Apple rolled out customizable toolbars for iPadOS two years ago, but they never added support for them in Safari for iPad. On the Mac, there is an excellent Dictionary app that you can open to search for words, look up their definitions, and more; on the iPad, the “dictionary” is limited to the ‘Look Up’ option of the edit menu, which forces you to always select some text first.1

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\"What

What is this, a dictionary for ants?

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I hear what some of you might say: “The iPad is supposed to be a lighter platform than the Mac!” But the thing is, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t make a big deal of bringing desktop-class experiences to the iPad (rightfully so, given the price of iPad Pro models) and then do so inconsistently and sporadically. If iPadOS is meant to support desktop-class apps, the job can’t be done halfway.

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Files: A Slow, Unreliable File Manager

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Out of all the apps I’ve mentioned so far, I want to shine a spotlight on Files. It’s a bad product that needs a fundamental rethink from a design and performance perspective.

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Files has only marginally improved since its debut in iOS 11 (!), and we’re well past the point of arguing that, well, iPads aren’t meant to have a file manager. Apple has offered a native iPad file manager for exactly half the iPad’s lifetime; that ship has sailed. It’s time for Apple to take the Files app seriously, because this version just doesn’t cut it.

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It starts from the very basics. Files is not a reliable app, and it’s certainly not as reliable as Finder on macOS. More often than not, I try to select some files in a location to copy or move them to another, and the operation either gets stuck or canceled. This frequently happens with large files located on external drives, forcing me to fall back to my Mac if I want to quickly and reliably copy something from an SSD and save it on my computer. Basic copy, cut, and move operations should be the cornerstone of a file manager, and the fact that Files still fails at those is inexcusable.

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Compared to Finder, the Files app also feels sluggish, and it often gets stuck in an unresponsive state that requires me to force quit it. This tends to occur with folders stored in iCloud Drive, which never open instantly, the way they do on my Mac. Furthermore, Files’ integration with iCloud Drive is much more aggressive than Finder about purging downloaded copies from my iPad’s local storage, causing me to realize – at random times – that a file I need is no longer available offline.

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Sadly, the list of problems goes on:

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\"No

No custom quick actions here.

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I saved the most absurd limitation of Files for last. As of iPadOS 17, it’s still impossible to set default apps for opening specific file types. I shouldn’t even have to explain why this is a ridiculous shortcoming, but here we are. On the iPad, every document you click in Files defaults to showing you a Quick Look preview, and there is no way to tell the system that you want to view the document with another app instead.

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It’s not like macOS has a fantastic UI for this (Windows has a much better system for file defaults), but at least it’s something, and it works. On iPad, the Files team seemingly failed to acknowledge that people may want to use different apps for different document types; instead, iPadOS assumes all the file management you could ever need should be happening inside the Files app. The inability to just say, “I want to open this file in [App XYZ]”, is completely unacceptable.

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\"John

John sent me edits for this story as a .md file. Since I have a beta of Delta for iPad installed, the Files app is convinced that this file is a SEGA Genesis game, and there’s nothing I can do to change it. I wish I was kidding.

\n
\"Ah

Ah yes, I can’t wait to play…’Edits ticci story’ on my emulated Genesis.

\n

After seven years, I’m starting to wonder if maybe it’s time for Apple to scrap the Files project and start over with a new app based on the strong foundation of Finder. We’re well past the point of excusing the Files app for being a young file manager; when you’re spending $3,000 on a high-end iPad Pro with plenty of storage, you want the app to manage that storage to be flawless.

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Files is not that app.

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Audio Limitations

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There are two key problems with the audio system of iPadOS:

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Jason Snell and I have widely documented these issues over the years, but especially the second one as it relates to podcasting on iPad. Jason was my source of inspiration years ago when I tried to record podcasts on my iPad Pro, and…the setup I concocted was a bit of a mess. Allow me to quote myself from five years ago:

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\n To record a podcast, I have a conversation with my co-hosts on Skype. However, we don’t use the audio of the Skype conversation itself as the episode: while we’re talking, each of us records a high-quality local audio track from our microphones; at the end, multiple local tracks are mixed together in one audio file that gives the illusion we’re all talking together in the same room rather than thousands of miles apart over Skype. This right here is, by far, the most important requirement for the way I like to record podcasts: we want to use Skype, but each of us has to record the local track of our own microphone input.

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Secondly – and this is why I’ve been unwilling to try other “solutions” for podcasting on iPad over the years – I want my co-hosts to hear my voice coming through the same microphone I’m using to record my local audio track. To have a good conversation with natural back and forth that yields a good final product, I think it’s important that everyone on Skype gets to hear the other person loud and clear.\n

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Replace “Skype” with “Zoom”, and nothing has changed since I wrote this in 2019. If I want to record my microphone’s local audio while also being on a call, iPadOS doesn’t let me do it. It’s no surprise that I, Jason, and others ended up going back to a Mac, if only to record podcasts the way we like, which is not even a particularly weird way of recording audio. All I’m asking for is a way to record myself while I’m on a call, and iPadOS 17 still doesn’t support it. Plus, I have to imagine that this issue would apply to other fields of audio production as well, such as musicians collaborating remotely, folks who want to record screencasts over apps that play audio, and more.

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Furthermore, these audio restrictions are part of a broader conversation regarding iPadOS and multiple audio streams, or the lack thereof. Have you ever found yourself watching a YouTube or Twitch video on mute on your Mac while also listening to podcasts or music on the same computer? It’s nice, right?

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\"Multiple

Multiple audio sessions on macOS with proper sound settings.

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Well, the same scenario is impossible to achieve on iPadOS. Only one media playback session can exist at a time on the iPad, so if you’re listening to music and start a video, the music will pause, and vice versa. This is why iPadOS doesn’t know how to deal with recording audio while also outputting in another VoIP app. Fourteen years on, I find it hard to believe that an iPad has to be limited to playing only one source of audio at a time.

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Multitasking: A Fractured Mess

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Where do we even begin here?

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There is no better definition of uneven development than the iPad’s history with multitasking interfaces. As my annual reviews can confirm, Apple has shown a tendency to release a new iPad multitasking UI every 2-3 years, never refine it, and discard it to make room for another iteration that starts the cycle anew.

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If Apple followed the same approach with the Mac since its launch in 1984, we’d have 13 different multitasking methods today. Instead, macOS has largely been built around the one freeform multi-window approach, with full-screen mode and Stage Manager tacked onto the system over the past decade.

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Stage Manager is Apple’s latest attempt to bring a more flexible and desktop-like multitasking environment to the iPad. As I explained nearly two years ago when it launched, its original release was a disaster. Apple’s first take on Mac-like multiwindowing was riddled with bugs and performance issues, which, for a while, forced me to revert to traditional multitasking via Split View and Slide Over.

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\"Still

Still no more than four windows at once.

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Fortunately, with last year’s iPadOS 17, Apple cleaned up several of Stage Manager’s initial stability woes and inconsistencies while also giving pro users more freedom in terms of window placement and touch-based controls. However, Apple’s efforts last year only improved the basic functionality of Stage Manager, leaving several requests unanswered and letting Stage Manager’s foundation languish without the additional flexibility that one would expect from a pro-oriented feature.

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To name a few:

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I don’t think any of these features fall under the hypothetical umbrella of “Mac features you shouldn’t wish for on an iPad”. If Apple sells a product called “iPad Pro” that supports desktop-class apps with desktop-class multitasking, that experience should also be, well, desktop-class. But it’s not. Apple did the bare minimum work for Stage Manager, “fixed” it last year to make it at least passable, and never considerably improved it since launch – which, in many ways, is the story of iPad multitasking so far.

\n

I insist on covering this aspect of the iPad experience because Apple has followed the same path with Split View and Slide Over, which haven’t received substantial updates in years, either. And I know for a fact that, if only time and resources were devoted to it, it wouldn’t have to be this way.

\n

For a few months earlier this year, I spent some time with a OnePlus Open foldable. The device is obviously not as pleasant as an iPad, and I fundamentally dislike the Android app ecosystem, but believe me when I say that the folks at OnePlus (objectively, a smaller company than Apple) have shipped a vastly better tiling interface for split-screen multitasking than Apple.

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OnePlus’ ‘Open Canvas’ multitasking UI has several advantages over the iPad’s Split View system. For starters, you can create saved app pairs (which you can pin to your Home Screen), and the same app window can exist either in an app pair or standalone without having to create a new window for the app. This is a major difference from iPadOS’ architecture, where a window can only exist as an “object” in one place at a time. But it goes deeper than that. To take advantage of the Open’s larger screen when unfolded, the Canvas UI lets you add up to three tiles on-screen, and the system automatically zooms out and reflows to either show you a three-column interface or a fluid tiled arrangement with two windows above and one larger window below. It’s incredibly clever and intuitive in practice, and I recommend checking out this video to get a sense of what it looks like:

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All this to say: iPadOS’ multitasking, even without Stage Manager, could be so much more. I think several iPad users (and I was guilty of this, too) have convinced themselves due to Apple’s pace of updates that we’ve reached the peak of what tablet multitasking should do with Split View and Stage Manager. But look outside Apple’s stance on iPadOS, and you see that is not the case. Once again, I’m not arguing for macOS features on the iPad; I’m saying that, if Apple wanted to, it could design innovative, high-performance, delightful tablet-first multitasking systems. Sadly, iPad multitasking tells a very different story.

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I could then go on and mention the fact that iPadOS doesn’t offer APIs or sandboxing exceptions for third-party apps to enhance multitasking (like they can on a Mac), but that’s a step too far given the circumstances. Serious iPadOS multitasking changes need to happen from the top down; before wishing for third parties to be able to modify and augment multitasking, we need Apple to address the basics first.

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Spotlight

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Speaking of the basics, we need to talk about Spotlight for iPadOS.

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Any respectable, modern computer – especially one from Apple – should have a fast and reliable app launcher. Spotlight for iPad, despite some minor improvements over the last few iPadOS releases, still isn’t that.

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As has been documented over the years, the iPad’s version of Spotlight has long been afflicted by slow and inconsistent performance. To this day, sometimes I invoke Spotlight and search for an app that I know I have installed on my iPad, and no results come up. Then I dismiss Spotlight, try again, and the app appears. Other times, Spotlight gets stuck: either I press ⌘ + Space and the search box doesn’t appear, or my keyboard’s arrow keys don’t do anything. Usually, a reboot fixes these issues; sometimes, I have to detach my Magic Keyboard and re-attach it for Spotlight to receive keyboard input again.

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\"When

When it works, Spotlight is nice. When it works.

\n

Then there’s the “find my stuff” issue. So many times, I try looking for a document inside an app that supports Spotlight indexing, or perhaps a shortcut from the Shortcuts app, and no results come up. Then I try again after a few hours, and results do appear. It drives me insane, and it’s been like this for years now.

\n
\"Can

Can you spot the problem?

\n

These issues are compounded by the inability to install Spotlight replacements on iPadOS. Spotlight works well on macOS, but if I don’t like it, I can install a replacement like Raycast or Alfred and use a different launcher. The iPad has neither the APIs nor the policies in place for these apps to exist. And so I’m left using a half-baked, inconsistent launcher that mostly encumbers my work, hoping that someday, eventually, it’ll get better.

\n

Lack of Background Processes and System-Wide Utilities

\n

And now, allow me to wish for one Mac-like feature that is not even that esoteric if you think about it.

\n

iPadOS needs to gain support for executing long-running, complex tasks in the background. I’m not referring to Background App Refresh, which is the system that lets apps stay active in short bursts in the background to receive push notifications and other updates. I’m talking about the ability to tap into the power of the M-series chips and the iPad’s RAM to keep specific tasks running in the background while you’re doing something else.

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You don’t need to look far to see where iPadOS is failing in this regard. If you use Apple’s own Final Cut Pro for iPad – one of the company’s very showcases of the new iPad Pro – and begin exporting a video, then switch apps for even a second, the export is canceled. If you simply switch workspaces in Stage Manager or accidentally click on an incoming notification, an entire project’s export will fail:

\n
\"Like

Like a pro.

\n

From a computer that now comes with the M4 and, in certain configurations, 16 GB of RAM, this is absurd. Mac laptops with far less impressive specs have been able to keep tasks running in the background for decades. The iPad, now fourteen years old, can’t.

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This limitation extends beyond the realm of pro apps such as Final Cut or Logic and applies to all kind of software that, due to the nature of iPadOS, is impossible to find on the platform. Because of a mix of technical limitations and policy decisions, it’s still impossible for an application that wants to perform something in the background to exist on iPadOS. From clipboard managers and video encoders to automation utilities and AI-based photo editors, if you want to run a time-consuming task in the background on iPad, you’re out of luck.

\n

As a result, not only have these limitations fostered an environment in which third-party developers are actively discouraged from bringing true desktop-class experiences to iPad, but existing iPad apps still largely feel like blown-up versions of their iPhone counterparts. After all, if the same limitations are shared between a phone and tablet, what’s an iPad app but an iPhone version dressed up with a larger layout?

\n
\"If

If you want to use a clipboard manager on iPad (pictured: PastePal), you have to keep the app open, just like on an iPhone.

\n

iPadOS’ closed, iPhone-like nature has reverberated throughout other parts of the iPad experience. For instance, system-wide utilities can’t currently exist on the platform. Software such as customization tools, task managers’ quick capture windows, alternative emoji pickers, and drag-and-drop “shelf” utilities – apps that do not execute memory-intensive background tasks but still want to run in the background – simply can’t exist on iPadOS.

\n

Does it have to be this way? Apple is well within their rights to choose how they want iPadOS to behave. But when the operating system powers a computer that is ostensibly sold as a laptop replacement, one has to wonder if Apple is making the correct decisions.

\n

To Be Fixed Later This Year, But Only for Some

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I hear you: some of these problems will be addressed later this year thanks to the Digital Markets Act in Europe, which has been extended to apply to iPads as well.

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I’m sure that, later in 2024, we’ll see the likes of Clip and other side-loaded apps come to iPadOS in Europe. And it’s also obvious that we’ll receive support for non-WebKit browsers to replace Safari. Besides the fact that these changes are going to be limited to Europe, they also aren’t tied to deeper, global policy-related changes on iPadOS. The issues I’ve outlined so far, and the others I’ll continue highlighting below, don’t indicate that Apple is willing to open up the foundation of iPadOS to allow for more flexible, desktop-class computing. These DMA-related changes just mean that Apple is complying with the law and covering the essential functionalities requested by the European Commission.

\n

Hiding behind the DMA as a hopeful force for structural iPadOS changes is a farce. At the core of the problem lies Apple’s reticence to take iPadOS to the next level, and the DMA has nothing to do with it. The change, once again, needs to happen from the top down.

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Inefficiency by a Thousand Cuts

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If you’ve used iPadOS long enough (the iPad has been my primary computer for 12 years now), I’m sure you’ve run into these: the small bugs, annoyances, and missing features that don’t seem like much in isolation. Considered as a whole, however, they paint a not-too-rosy picture for an operating system that, 14 years into its existence, still lags behind macOS in terms of basic functionalities and problems that have never been addressed. Let me mention just a few examples.

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iPadOS still doesn’t support third-party backup tools or a built-in one like Time Machine. If you’re one of those professional users whom Apple caters to, such as a photographer or YouTuber, you know how painful this is. If you want to back up your work, which likely spans multiple terabytes of storage these days, you have two solutions on iPad:

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Sure, you could use iCloud backup, and, as long as your work archive does not exceed 12 TBs, and assuming the Files app works for you, you’ll be okay. But we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought that an online-only backup system with no support for local or off-site storage was the answer for folks whose livelihoods depend on preserving the files they create. Where is Time Machine for iPadOS with support for versioning? Where are third-party APIs to allow for tools like Backblaze or Carbon Copy Cloner to exist on iPad?

\n
\"The

The iPad’s only backup option is iCloud.

\n

We’ve gotten used to this idea that such tools “shouldn’t exist” on iPad because the iPad was meant to be different from the Mac. But then again, we can’t have it both ways: we can’t celebrate the arrival of Mac apps such as Final Cut and Logic on iPad while also glossing over the lack of flexibility that professional users have on Apple’s other platform. That is, unless we want to live with a delusional idea of “professionals” only needing to back up their files on a Mac because nothing could ever happen when they do the same work on an iPad.

\n

Platforms may differ, but work is work. You can’t be all loosey-goosey about work only when it’s convenient for your theory that iPadOS should be “lighter”.

\n

I could then mention the lack of clamshell mode, which is another example of Apple getting an iPad functionality almost right without finishing it. The company rolled out support for external displays with Stage Manager two years ago, and that’s been a fantastic addition to the platform, allowing people to connect an iPad to a monitor and double their workspace. The iPad Pro supports Thunderbolt 4, which implicitly supports DisplayPort over USB-C, making the iPad compatible with a wide range of third-party displays too. It’s great.

\n

The problem is that if you want to use an iPad with an external display at a desk, you have to keep it open and unlocked. Even if you’ve paired an iPad with an external keyboard and mouse or trackpad, you can’t just close the Magic Keyboard on top of the iPad and assume that the external display connection will continue working. This, of course, is not ideal; it forces you to always keep the iPad open somewhere on your desk, with its display turned on and accessible because – this is the worst part – some functionalities such as Control Center cannot be used on the secondary monitor at all.

\n
\"Sigh.\"

Sigh.

\n

Like so many other iPad workflows, there are workarounds, but they’re suboptimal, and they’re no replacement for the real functionality that Apple should ship – a functionality that, as you may imagine, has been working fine for ages on the Mac. I’m sure that someone out there will spin this as, “Actually, I like that I need to keep my iPad open”, but I don’t buy it.

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I could then maybe mention how the Home Screen still doesn’t let you place icons freely anywhere you want, or pin specific folders and files for quick access, thus feeling like an enlarged version of the iOS Home Screen. Or maybe I should cover the floating keyboard “thingy”, that button that routinely gets in the way of text fields and other UI elements when you’re typing inside apps with a Magic Keyboard. Perhaps I should note that sometimes the Magic Keyboard’s pointer gets stuck, requiring a reboot of the iPad itself?

\n

You get the idea.

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The Need for Change

\n
\"\"

\n

You know what’s equally the best and worst part of all this? That I still love the iPad.

\n

The iPad is the only Apple computer that genuinely feels made for someone like me – a person who loves modularity, freedom, and the mix of touch and keyboard interactions. I share my frustrations because I care about the platform and want it to get better. But at the same time, we need to face reality: the iPad’s operating system isn’t improving at the speed the hardware deserves – that iPad owners who spent thousands of dollars on these machines deserve.

\n

Something needs to change.

\n

With new iPad Pros nearly upon us, it’s time to admit that iPadOS is not an operating system of the same caliber as Apple’s new hardware. iPadOS has been the victim of erratic updates over the years, with features that were meant to “reimagine” desktop computing only to get not even halfway there and be left to languish for years. Once again, I am not suggesting that the solution is to put macOS on iPad and call it a day. I’m saying that if that’s not in the cards, then Apple should consider all the ways iPadOS is still failing at basic computing tasks. I’d be okay with iPads running iPadOS forever. But if we passively accept that this is as good as an iPad can get, I strongly believe that we’ll play a role in letting Apple squander the greatest computer form factor they’ve ever created.

\n

I’m tired of hearing apologies that smell of Stockholm syndrome from iPad users who want to invalidate these opinions and claim that everything is perfect. I’m tired of seeing this cycle start over every two years, with fantastic iPad hardware and the usual (justified), “But it’s the software…” line at the end. I’m tired of feeling like my computer is a second-class citizen in Apple’s ecosystem. I’m tired of being told that iPads are perfectly fine if you use Final Cut and Logic, but if you don’t use those apps and ask for more desktop-class features, you’re a weirdo, and you should just get a Mac and shut up. And I’m tired of seeing the best computer Apple ever made not live up to its potential.

\n

I started using the iPad as my main computer when I was stuck in a hospital bed and couldn’t use a laptop. I kept using it because once you get a taste of that freedom, it’s hard to go back. I will continue using it because none of the alternatives match Apple’s hardware quality, app ecosystem, and pure delight. But loving something doesn’t mean ignoring its flaws. And iPadOS is a flawed operating system that still doesn’t get the basics right and, as a result, drags down the entire product line.

\n

I’m looking forward to the new iPad Pros, but I can’t shake the feeling that the same old iPadOS cycle is about to begin all over again.

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  1. \nI hope Kotoba finds its way to AltStore in the near future. ↩︎\n
    2. \n
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Join Now", "content_text": "Let me cut to the chase: sadly, I don’t have a new iPad Pro to review today on MacStories.\nI was able to try one in London last week, and, as I wrote, I came away impressed with the hardware. However, I didn’t get a chance to use a new iPad Pro over the past six days ahead of today’s review embargo.\nI know that many of you were expecting a deeper look at the iPad Pro on MacStories this week, but that will have to come later. I still plan on upgrading to a 13” iPad Pro myself; I’ve decided I want to return to the larger size after a few months with the 11” iPad Pro. If you’re interested in checking out reviews of the new iPad Pros from heavy iPad users like yours truly right now, I highly recommend reading and watching what my friends Jason Snell and Chris Lawley have prepared.\nAfter the London event, Apple eventually offered me a review unit on Friday, but it would have arrived today, just a few hours ago, making it an impossible deadline for me. So I respectfully declined. I’d rather take my time to produce a better-researched (and hopefully more useful) story for my readers, who are my priority.\n\nStill, as I was thinking about my usage of the iPad and why I enjoy using the device so much despite its limitations, I realized that I have never actually written about all of those “limitations” in a single, comprehensive article. In our community, we often hear about the issues of iPadOS and the obstacles people like me run into when working on the platform, but I’ve been guilty in the past of taking context for granted and assuming that you, dear reader, also know precisely what I’m talking about.\nToday, I will rectify that. Instead of reviewing the new iPad Pro, I took the time to put together a list of all the common problems I’ve run into over the past…checks notes…12 years of working on the iPad, before its operating system was even called iPadOS.\nMy goal with this story was threefold. First, as I’ve said multiple times, I love my iPad and want the platform to get better. If you care about something or someone, sometimes you have to tell them what’s wrong in order to improve and find a new path forward. I hope this story can serve as a reference for those with the power to steer iPadOS in a different direction in the future.\nSecond, lately I’ve seen some people argue on Mastodon and Threads that folks who criticize iPadOS do so because their ultimate goal is to have macOS on iPads, and I wanted to clarify this misunderstanding. While I’m on the record as thinking that a hybrid macOS/iPadOS environment would be terrific (I know, because I use it), that is not the point. The reality is that, regardless of whether macOS runs on iPads or not, iPadOS is the ideal OS for touch interactions. But it still gets many basic computing features wrong, and there is plenty of low-hanging fruit for Apple to pick. We don’t need to talk about macOS to cover these issues.\nLastly, I wanted to provide readers with the necessary context to understand what I mean when I mention the limitations of iPadOS. My iPad setup and workflow have changed enough times over the years that I think some of you may have lost track of the issues I (and others) have been experiencing. This article is a chance to collect them all in one place.\nLet’s dive in.\nSupported By\nConcepts\n\n\nConcepts:  Sketch, Note, Draw.\n\n[table_of_contents]\nMissing Apps\nOf all the issues I have with iPadOS, I want to start with a relatively simple one: some apps from macOS and iOS just aren’t available on the platform.\nThis was fine when the iPad was a new product and Apple was busy launching new OSes and rethinking their approach to the Mac. However, after 14 years, it’s hard to imagine that the company couldn’t have filled these gaps if they really wanted to.\nHere are the apps from iOS and macOS I find myself missing the most on the iPad:\nCalculator. I honestly think it’s wild that after 14 years, the iPad still doesn’t come with a built-in calculator app and that you have to use Google or a third-party calculator for basic operations. Fortunately, it sounds like Apple is going to address this issue in the upcoming iPadOS 18 release.\nTextEdit. I can’t tell you how many times I use TextEdit on my Mac as a simple scratchpad for bits of text I copy from different apps and need to keep around in a temporary holding spot. TextEdit is also a capable, minimal, and reliable text editor for plain and rich text files. Any modern computing platform should have a built-in text editor, but iPadOS doesn’t. Given how Microsoft was even able to productize Notepad on Windows with modern features, this feels like a missed opportunity for Apple.\nPreview. Another unsung hero of Apple’s desktop apps is Preview. Whether you have an image or PDF document that you want to check out in more detail, or perhaps even edit, you can rest assured that Preview for macOS has your back. The iPad feels like the ideal platform for Preview: the device is great for viewing photos or reading PDF documents, and the Apple Pencil would take Preview’s annotation capabilities to the next level. Apple probably wants you to believe that Quick Look’s interactive system-wide previews on iOS and iPadOS are a substitute for the Preview app, but that’s not the case. There’s something about Preview’s clarity and ease of use that can’t be replaced by a simple Quick Look preview, and that’s not to mention the features that iPadOS’ Quick Look lacks compared to Preview for macOS.\nJournal. This is a recent addition, but I was very surprised when the Journal app was launched on iPhone without an iPad counterpart. Just like with Preview, the iPad feels like the optimal platform for Journal: it’s a device you can grab at the end of the day, while reflecting on the things you’ve done and the places you’ve been, as you unwind and get ready for what’s coming up tomorrow. An iPadOS version of Journal would be a fantastic way to select photos you want to remember, jot down a few thoughts, and quickly interact with Apple’s journaling suggestions. As apps like Day One and Everlog have shown, an iPad can be a fantastic device for journaling.\nPreview and TextEdit for Mac.\nThe list could go on, especially if we consider that Apple sells “Pro” versions of the iPad that cost thousands of dollars, which would benefit from apps that a lot of professionals typically use on macOS. Where’s Terminal for iPadOS? Why do we have to manage fonts with an obscure method in Settings instead of the excellent Font Book app? Dare I even say it…where’s Xcode for iPadOS?\nNot-So-Desktop-Class Apps\nWhile I’m on the topic of apps, it’s worth pointing out that the apps that did find their way to iPadOS still pale in comparison to their Mac versions in terms of feature set. Despite Apple’s promise of desktop-class apps a couple of years ago, the company’s actual implementation has been erratic at best, with an inconsistent delivery of Mac-like features that haven’t done much to raise the status of iPad apps.\nThe simplest way to look at this is that most built-in iPad apps don’t match the functionalities offered by their macOS counterparts despite iPadOS having all the prerequisites for them to offer said features. For instance, while Apple shipped smart folders and smart lists in Notes and Reminders, respectively, Mail for iPadOS still doesn’t let you create smart mailboxes like it does on the Mac; nor does Music for iPadOS support the Mac version’s smart playlists. The same is also true for the Files app and its lack of Finder’s smart folder functionality.\nCreating a smart folder in Finder.\nThe issue extends beyond these power-user features and touches all sorts of aspects of other Apple apps for iPadOS. Shortcuts is one of the worst offenders with a complete disregard for the iPad’s multitasking capabilities: Shortcuts for Mac offers powerful actions to find and control windows on-screen; the iPad version does not. Safari for Mac lets you adjust the browser’s toolbar to your liking with the ability to drag buttons around and pin specific extensions; Apple rolled out customizable toolbars for iPadOS two years ago, but they never added support for them in Safari for iPad. On the Mac, there is an excellent Dictionary app that you can open to search for words, look up their definitions, and more; on the iPad, the “dictionary” is limited to the ‘Look Up’ option of the edit menu, which forces you to always select some text first.1\nWhat is this, a dictionary for ants?\nI hear what some of you might say: “The iPad is supposed to be a lighter platform than the Mac!” But the thing is, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t make a big deal of bringing desktop-class experiences to the iPad (rightfully so, given the price of iPad Pro models) and then do so inconsistently and sporadically. If iPadOS is meant to support desktop-class apps, the job can’t be done halfway.\nFiles: A Slow, Unreliable File Manager\nOut of all the apps I’ve mentioned so far, I want to shine a spotlight on Files. It’s a bad product that needs a fundamental rethink from a design and performance perspective.\nFiles has only marginally improved since its debut in iOS 11 (!), and we’re well past the point of arguing that, well, iPads aren’t meant to have a file manager. Apple has offered a native iPad file manager for exactly half the iPad’s lifetime; that ship has sailed. It’s time for Apple to take the Files app seriously, because this version just doesn’t cut it.\n\nFiles is a bad product that needs a fundamental rethink.\n\nIt starts from the very basics. Files is not a reliable app, and it’s certainly not as reliable as Finder on macOS. More often than not, I try to select some files in a location to copy or move them to another, and the operation either gets stuck or canceled. This frequently happens with large files located on external drives, forcing me to fall back to my Mac if I want to quickly and reliably copy something from an SSD and save it on my computer. Basic copy, cut, and move operations should be the cornerstone of a file manager, and the fact that Files still fails at those is inexcusable.\nCompared to Finder, the Files app also feels sluggish, and it often gets stuck in an unresponsive state that requires me to force quit it. This tends to occur with folders stored in iCloud Drive, which never open instantly, the way they do on my Mac. Furthermore, Files’ integration with iCloud Drive is much more aggressive than Finder about purging downloaded copies from my iPad’s local storage, causing me to realize – at random times – that a file I need is no longer available offline.\nSadly, the list of problems goes on:\nUnlike Finder, the Files app doesn’t display transfer speeds when moving or copying something. This becomes especially problematic for large files that I’m moving to or from an external drive, making me second-guess whether the transfer is working at all.\nQuick Actions aren’t customizable like they are on macOS (and have been since Mojave). Files’ inspector panel does support Quick Actions, but, for some reason, you can’t build your own custom actions using Shortcuts. The technology is literally the same across platforms, but one file manager doesn’t support it all the way.\nSpeaking of Shortcuts, on the iPad, the app has no concept of “getting the current selection” from the Files app. On the Mac, you can create shortcuts that act on the currently-selected file(s) in Finder; on the iPad, Shortcuts doesn’t offer a matching action for the Files app.\nWe still cannot create smart folders in Files for iPad. The technology is clearly there – Apple added a similar feature to Notes and Reminders – but the Files app for iPad remains behind on this front too.\nNo custom quick actions here.\nI saved the most absurd limitation of Files for last. As of iPadOS 17, it’s still impossible to set default apps for opening specific file types. I shouldn’t even have to explain why this is a ridiculous shortcoming, but here we are. On the iPad, every document you click in Files defaults to showing you a Quick Look preview, and there is no way to tell the system that you want to view the document with another app instead.\nIt’s not like macOS has a fantastic UI for this (Windows has a much better system for file defaults), but at least it’s something, and it works. On iPad, the Files team seemingly failed to acknowledge that people may want to use different apps for different document types; instead, iPadOS assumes all the file management you could ever need should be happening inside the Files app. The inability to just say, “I want to open this file in [App XYZ]”, is completely unacceptable.\nJohn sent me edits for this story as a .md file. Since I have a beta of Delta for iPad installed, the Files app is convinced that this file is a SEGA Genesis game, and there’s nothing I can do to change it. I wish I was kidding.\nAh yes, I can’t wait to play…’Edits ticci story’ on my emulated Genesis.\nAfter seven years, I’m starting to wonder if maybe it’s time for Apple to scrap the Files project and start over with a new app based on the strong foundation of Finder. We’re well past the point of excusing the Files app for being a young file manager; when you’re spending $3,000 on a high-end iPad Pro with plenty of storage, you want the app to manage that storage to be flawless.\nFiles is not that app.\nAudio Limitations\nThere are two key problems with the audio system of iPadOS:\nYou cannot play multiple audio streams at the same time.\nYou cannot record your own local audio while on a VoIP call.\nJason Snell and I have widely documented these issues over the years, but especially the second one as it relates to podcasting on iPad. Jason was my source of inspiration years ago when I tried to record podcasts on my iPad Pro, and…the setup I concocted was a bit of a mess. Allow me to quote myself from five years ago:\n\n To record a podcast, I have a conversation with my co-hosts on Skype. However, we don’t use the audio of the Skype conversation itself as the episode: while we’re talking, each of us records a high-quality local audio track from our microphones; at the end, multiple local tracks are mixed together in one audio file that gives the illusion we’re all talking together in the same room rather than thousands of miles apart over Skype. This right here is, by far, the most important requirement for the way I like to record podcasts: we want to use Skype, but each of us has to record the local track of our own microphone input.\n Secondly – and this is why I’ve been unwilling to try other “solutions” for podcasting on iPad over the years – I want my co-hosts to hear my voice coming through the same microphone I’m using to record my local audio track. To have a good conversation with natural back and forth that yields a good final product, I think it’s important that everyone on Skype gets to hear the other person loud and clear.\n\nReplace “Skype” with “Zoom”, and nothing has changed since I wrote this in 2019. If I want to record my microphone’s local audio while also being on a call, iPadOS doesn’t let me do it. It’s no surprise that I, Jason, and others ended up going back to a Mac, if only to record podcasts the way we like, which is not even a particularly weird way of recording audio. All I’m asking for is a way to record myself while I’m on a call, and iPadOS 17 still doesn’t support it. Plus, I have to imagine that this issue would apply to other fields of audio production as well, such as musicians collaborating remotely, folks who want to record screencasts over apps that play audio, and more.\nFurthermore, these audio restrictions are part of a broader conversation regarding iPadOS and multiple audio streams, or the lack thereof. Have you ever found yourself watching a YouTube or Twitch video on mute on your Mac while also listening to podcasts or music on the same computer? It’s nice, right?\nMultiple audio sessions on macOS with proper sound settings.\nWell, the same scenario is impossible to achieve on iPadOS. Only one media playback session can exist at a time on the iPad, so if you’re listening to music and start a video, the music will pause, and vice versa. This is why iPadOS doesn’t know how to deal with recording audio while also outputting in another VoIP app. Fourteen years on, I find it hard to believe that an iPad has to be limited to playing only one source of audio at a time.\nMultitasking: A Fractured Mess\nWhere do we even begin here?\nThere is no better definition of uneven development than the iPad’s history with multitasking interfaces. As my annual reviews can confirm, Apple has shown a tendency to release a new iPad multitasking UI every 2-3 years, never refine it, and discard it to make room for another iteration that starts the cycle anew.\nIf Apple followed the same approach with the Mac since its launch in 1984, we’d have 13 different multitasking methods today. Instead, macOS has largely been built around the one freeform multi-window approach, with full-screen mode and Stage Manager tacked onto the system over the past decade.\nStage Manager is Apple’s latest attempt to bring a more flexible and desktop-like multitasking environment to the iPad. As I explained nearly two years ago when it launched, its original release was a disaster. Apple’s first take on Mac-like multiwindowing was riddled with bugs and performance issues, which, for a while, forced me to revert to traditional multitasking via Split View and Slide Over.\nStill no more than four windows at once.\nFortunately, with last year’s iPadOS 17, Apple cleaned up several of Stage Manager’s initial stability woes and inconsistencies while also giving pro users more freedom in terms of window placement and touch-based controls. However, Apple’s efforts last year only improved the basic functionality of Stage Manager, leaving several requests unanswered and letting Stage Manager’s foundation languish without the additional flexibility that one would expect from a pro-oriented feature.\nTo name a few:\nStage Manager is still limited to four windows at once. Despite the iPad Pro becoming more and more powerful over time (to the point that the latest iPad Pros are now one M-chip generation ahead of MacBooks), Stage Manager still forces you to work with only four windows shown on-screen at once. Imagine if a 13-inch MacBook Air could only let you see four windows at the same time. And no, Stage Manager for Mac doesn’t have this limitation, proving that – SoCs and screen sizes being equal – Apple’s architecture is more than capable of going beyond four simultaneous windows.\nIt’s still impossible to create presets for often-used window combinations. iPadOS still doesn’t offer a way to save frequently-used app combinations as “presets” or “pairs” that you can recreate with one click. Shortcuts could be a way to address this limitation, but Shortcuts for iPadOS doesn’t integrate with Stage Manager at all. Android has offered this functionality on phones for several years now. With Stage Manager for iPad, pro users have to manually recreate their workspaces from scratch every time.\nSometimes the wrong window still remains active and receives keyboard input. This is a bug that keeps getting in the way of my ability to get work done on a daily basis. Sometimes I have, say, Safari and Obsidian windows next to each other in Stage Manager, and I think I’ve selected Safari. But when I invoke a specific keyboard shortcut, text input is received by Obsidian’s text editor instead. Imagine if a Mac did this.\nIt’s still unclear how to spawn a new window for the frontmost app, or how to see all windows from the current app. On a Mac, if you’re working with a window in front of you (regardless of whether you’re using Stage Manager or not), you have a consistent, universal way of creating a new window for the current app: the menu bar’s File ⇾ New Window menu. On iPad, this is not the case. There is no system-wide keyboard shortcut to create a new window for the app you’re currently using; to create a new window (and only in apps that support multiple windows), you have to long-press its icon in the dock (if you have that app in your dock), select ‘Show All Windows’, and only then can you press a ‘+’ button to create a new window for the app…in a separate workspace. All of these interactions need to be faster, simpler, and better-presented to users instead of being tucked away within long-press menus.\nThere is no way to quickly preview all windows in the current workspace. Similarly, iPadOS doesn’t provide users with an easy-to-use, fast way of previewing all windows in the current workspace. The Mac has long offered Mission Control as a system to get a bird’s eye view of windows on your desktop, and it works with both Stage Manager and traditional multiwindowing. On the iPad, none of this exists.\nI don’t think any of these features fall under the hypothetical umbrella of “Mac features you shouldn’t wish for on an iPad”. If Apple sells a product called “iPad Pro” that supports desktop-class apps with desktop-class multitasking, that experience should also be, well, desktop-class. But it’s not. Apple did the bare minimum work for Stage Manager, “fixed” it last year to make it at least passable, and never considerably improved it since launch – which, in many ways, is the story of iPad multitasking so far.\nI insist on covering this aspect of the iPad experience because Apple has followed the same path with Split View and Slide Over, which haven’t received substantial updates in years, either. And I know for a fact that, if only time and resources were devoted to it, it wouldn’t have to be this way.\nFor a few months earlier this year, I spent some time with a OnePlus Open foldable. The device is obviously not as pleasant as an iPad, and I fundamentally dislike the Android app ecosystem, but believe me when I say that the folks at OnePlus (objectively, a smaller company than Apple) have shipped a vastly better tiling interface for split-screen multitasking than Apple.\nOnePlus’ ‘Open Canvas’ multitasking UI has several advantages over the iPad’s Split View system. For starters, you can create saved app pairs (which you can pin to your Home Screen), and the same app window can exist either in an app pair or standalone without having to create a new window for the app. This is a major difference from iPadOS’ architecture, where a window can only exist as an “object” in one place at a time. But it goes deeper than that. To take advantage of the Open’s larger screen when unfolded, the Canvas UI lets you add up to three tiles on-screen, and the system automatically zooms out and reflows to either show you a three-column interface or a fluid tiled arrangement with two windows above and one larger window below. It’s incredibly clever and intuitive in practice, and I recommend checking out this video to get a sense of what it looks like:\n\nAll this to say: iPadOS’ multitasking, even without Stage Manager, could be so much more. I think several iPad users (and I was guilty of this, too) have convinced themselves due to Apple’s pace of updates that we’ve reached the peak of what tablet multitasking should do with Split View and Stage Manager. But look outside Apple’s stance on iPadOS, and you see that is not the case. Once again, I’m not arguing for macOS features on the iPad; I’m saying that, if Apple wanted to, it could design innovative, high-performance, delightful tablet-first multitasking systems. Sadly, iPad multitasking tells a very different story.\nI could then go on and mention the fact that iPadOS doesn’t offer APIs or sandboxing exceptions for third-party apps to enhance multitasking (like they can on a Mac), but that’s a step too far given the circumstances. Serious iPadOS multitasking changes need to happen from the top down; before wishing for third parties to be able to modify and augment multitasking, we need Apple to address the basics first.\nSpotlight\nSpeaking of the basics, we need to talk about Spotlight for iPadOS.\nAny respectable, modern computer – especially one from Apple – should have a fast and reliable app launcher. Spotlight for iPad, despite some minor improvements over the last few iPadOS releases, still isn’t that.\nAs has been documented over the years, the iPad’s version of Spotlight has long been afflicted by slow and inconsistent performance. To this day, sometimes I invoke Spotlight and search for an app that I know I have installed on my iPad, and no results come up. Then I dismiss Spotlight, try again, and the app appears. Other times, Spotlight gets stuck: either I press ⌘ + Space and the search box doesn’t appear, or my keyboard’s arrow keys don’t do anything. Usually, a reboot fixes these issues; sometimes, I have to detach my Magic Keyboard and re-attach it for Spotlight to receive keyboard input again.\nWhen it works, Spotlight is nice. When it works.\nThen there’s the “find my stuff” issue. So many times, I try looking for a document inside an app that supports Spotlight indexing, or perhaps a shortcut from the Shortcuts app, and no results come up. Then I try again after a few hours, and results do appear. It drives me insane, and it’s been like this for years now.\nCan you spot the problem?\nThese issues are compounded by the inability to install Spotlight replacements on iPadOS. Spotlight works well on macOS, but if I don’t like it, I can install a replacement like Raycast or Alfred and use a different launcher. The iPad has neither the APIs nor the policies in place for these apps to exist. And so I’m left using a half-baked, inconsistent launcher that mostly encumbers my work, hoping that someday, eventually, it’ll get better.\nLack of Background Processes and System-Wide Utilities\nAnd now, allow me to wish for one Mac-like feature that is not even that esoteric if you think about it.\niPadOS needs to gain support for executing long-running, complex tasks in the background. I’m not referring to Background App Refresh, which is the system that lets apps stay active in short bursts in the background to receive push notifications and other updates. I’m talking about the ability to tap into the power of the M-series chips and the iPad’s RAM to keep specific tasks running in the background while you’re doing something else.\nYou don’t need to look far to see where iPadOS is failing in this regard. If you use Apple’s own Final Cut Pro for iPad – one of the company’s very showcases of the new iPad Pro – and begin exporting a video, then switch apps for even a second, the export is canceled. If you simply switch workspaces in Stage Manager or accidentally click on an incoming notification, an entire project’s export will fail:\nLike a pro.\nFrom a computer that now comes with the M4 and, in certain configurations, 16 GB of RAM, this is absurd. Mac laptops with far less impressive specs have been able to keep tasks running in the background for decades. The iPad, now fourteen years old, can’t.\nThis limitation extends beyond the realm of pro apps such as Final Cut or Logic and applies to all kind of software that, due to the nature of iPadOS, is impossible to find on the platform. Because of a mix of technical limitations and policy decisions, it’s still impossible for an application that wants to perform something in the background to exist on iPadOS. From clipboard managers and video encoders to automation utilities and AI-based photo editors, if you want to run a time-consuming task in the background on iPad, you’re out of luck.\nAs a result, not only have these limitations fostered an environment in which third-party developers are actively discouraged from bringing true desktop-class experiences to iPad, but existing iPad apps still largely feel like blown-up versions of their iPhone counterparts. After all, if the same limitations are shared between a phone and tablet, what’s an iPad app but an iPhone version dressed up with a larger layout?\nIf you want to use a clipboard manager on iPad (pictured: PastePal), you have to keep the app open, just like on an iPhone.\niPadOS’ closed, iPhone-like nature has reverberated throughout other parts of the iPad experience. For instance, system-wide utilities can’t currently exist on the platform. Software such as customization tools, task managers’ quick capture windows, alternative emoji pickers, and drag-and-drop “shelf” utilities – apps that do not execute memory-intensive background tasks but still want to run in the background – simply can’t exist on iPadOS.\n\nIf the same limitations are shared between a phone and tablet, what’s an iPad app but an iPhone version dressed up with a larger layout?\n\nDoes it have to be this way? Apple is well within their rights to choose how they want iPadOS to behave. But when the operating system powers a computer that is ostensibly sold as a laptop replacement, one has to wonder if Apple is making the correct decisions.\nTo Be Fixed Later This Year, But Only for Some\nI hear you: some of these problems will be addressed later this year thanks to the Digital Markets Act in Europe, which has been extended to apply to iPads as well.\nI’m sure that, later in 2024, we’ll see the likes of Clip and other side-loaded apps come to iPadOS in Europe. And it’s also obvious that we’ll receive support for non-WebKit browsers to replace Safari. Besides the fact that these changes are going to be limited to Europe, they also aren’t tied to deeper, global policy-related changes on iPadOS. The issues I’ve outlined so far, and the others I’ll continue highlighting below, don’t indicate that Apple is willing to open up the foundation of iPadOS to allow for more flexible, desktop-class computing. These DMA-related changes just mean that Apple is complying with the law and covering the essential functionalities requested by the European Commission.\nHiding behind the DMA as a hopeful force for structural iPadOS changes is a farce. At the core of the problem lies Apple’s reticence to take iPadOS to the next level, and the DMA has nothing to do with it. The change, once again, needs to happen from the top down.\nInefficiency by a Thousand Cuts\nIf you’ve used iPadOS long enough (the iPad has been my primary computer for 12 years now), I’m sure you’ve run into these: the small bugs, annoyances, and missing features that don’t seem like much in isolation. Considered as a whole, however, they paint a not-too-rosy picture for an operating system that, 14 years into its existence, still lags behind macOS in terms of basic functionalities and problems that have never been addressed. Let me mention just a few examples.\niPadOS still doesn’t support third-party backup tools or a built-in one like Time Machine. If you’re one of those professional users whom Apple caters to, such as a photographer or YouTuber, you know how painful this is. If you want to back up your work, which likely spans multiple terabytes of storage these days, you have two solutions on iPad:\nBack up your work manually.\nRely on iCloud backups.\nSure, you could use iCloud backup, and, as long as your work archive does not exceed 12 TBs, and assuming the Files app works for you, you’ll be okay. But we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought that an online-only backup system with no support for local or off-site storage was the answer for folks whose livelihoods depend on preserving the files they create. Where is Time Machine for iPadOS with support for versioning? Where are third-party APIs to allow for tools like Backblaze or Carbon Copy Cloner to exist on iPad?\nThe iPad’s only backup option is iCloud.\nWe’ve gotten used to this idea that such tools “shouldn’t exist” on iPad because the iPad was meant to be different from the Mac. But then again, we can’t have it both ways: we can’t celebrate the arrival of Mac apps such as Final Cut and Logic on iPad while also glossing over the lack of flexibility that professional users have on Apple’s other platform. That is, unless we want to live with a delusional idea of “professionals” only needing to back up their files on a Mac because nothing could ever happen when they do the same work on an iPad.\nPlatforms may differ, but work is work. You can’t be all loosey-goosey about work only when it’s convenient for your theory that iPadOS should be “lighter”.\nI could then mention the lack of clamshell mode, which is another example of Apple getting an iPad functionality almost right without finishing it. The company rolled out support for external displays with Stage Manager two years ago, and that’s been a fantastic addition to the platform, allowing people to connect an iPad to a monitor and double their workspace. The iPad Pro supports Thunderbolt 4, which implicitly supports DisplayPort over USB-C, making the iPad compatible with a wide range of third-party displays too. It’s great.\nThe problem is that if you want to use an iPad with an external display at a desk, you have to keep it open and unlocked. Even if you’ve paired an iPad with an external keyboard and mouse or trackpad, you can’t just close the Magic Keyboard on top of the iPad and assume that the external display connection will continue working. This, of course, is not ideal; it forces you to always keep the iPad open somewhere on your desk, with its display turned on and accessible because – this is the worst part – some functionalities such as Control Center cannot be used on the secondary monitor at all.\nSigh.\nLike so many other iPad workflows, there are workarounds, but they’re suboptimal, and they’re no replacement for the real functionality that Apple should ship – a functionality that, as you may imagine, has been working fine for ages on the Mac. I’m sure that someone out there will spin this as, “Actually, I like that I need to keep my iPad open”, but I don’t buy it.\nI could then maybe mention how the Home Screen still doesn’t let you place icons freely anywhere you want, or pin specific folders and files for quick access, thus feeling like an enlarged version of the iOS Home Screen. Or maybe I should cover the floating keyboard “thingy”, that button that routinely gets in the way of text fields and other UI elements when you’re typing inside apps with a Magic Keyboard. Perhaps I should note that sometimes the Magic Keyboard’s pointer gets stuck, requiring a reboot of the iPad itself?\nYou get the idea.\nThe Need for Change\n\nYou know what’s equally the best and worst part of all this? That I still love the iPad.\nThe iPad is the only Apple computer that genuinely feels made for someone like me – a person who loves modularity, freedom, and the mix of touch and keyboard interactions. I share my frustrations because I care about the platform and want it to get better. But at the same time, we need to face reality: the iPad’s operating system isn’t improving at the speed the hardware deserves – that iPad owners who spent thousands of dollars on these machines deserve.\nSomething needs to change.\nWith new iPad Pros nearly upon us, it’s time to admit that iPadOS is not an operating system of the same caliber as Apple’s new hardware. iPadOS has been the victim of erratic updates over the years, with features that were meant to “reimagine” desktop computing only to get not even halfway there and be left to languish for years. Once again, I am not suggesting that the solution is to put macOS on iPad and call it a day. I’m saying that if that’s not in the cards, then Apple should consider all the ways iPadOS is still failing at basic computing tasks. I’d be okay with iPads running iPadOS forever. But if we passively accept that this is as good as an iPad can get, I strongly believe that we’ll play a role in letting Apple squander the greatest computer form factor they’ve ever created.\n\niPadOS is a flawed operating system that still doesn’t get the basics right.\n\nI’m tired of hearing apologies that smell of Stockholm syndrome from iPad users who want to invalidate these opinions and claim that everything is perfect. I’m tired of seeing this cycle start over every two years, with fantastic iPad hardware and the usual (justified), “But it’s the software…” line at the end. I’m tired of feeling like my computer is a second-class citizen in Apple’s ecosystem. I’m tired of being told that iPads are perfectly fine if you use Final Cut and Logic, but if you don’t use those apps and ask for more desktop-class features, you’re a weirdo, and you should just get a Mac and shut up. And I’m tired of seeing the best computer Apple ever made not live up to its potential.\nI started using the iPad as my main computer when I was stuck in a hospital bed and couldn’t use a laptop. I kept using it because once you get a taste of that freedom, it’s hard to go back. I will continue using it because none of the alternatives match Apple’s hardware quality, app ecosystem, and pure delight. But loving something doesn’t mean ignoring its flaws. And iPadOS is a flawed operating system that still doesn’t get the basics right and, as a result, drags down the entire product line.\nI’m looking forward to the new iPad Pros, but I can’t shake the feeling that the same old iPadOS cycle is about to begin all over again.\n\n\nI hope Kotoba finds its way to AltStore in the near future. ↩︎\n\n\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-05-13T17:00:04-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-05-17T06:10:30-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Federico Viticci", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/viticci/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/94a9aa7c70dbeb9440c6759bd2cebc2a?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "iPad", "iPad Pro", "iPadOS", "stories" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75311", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/stories/thoughts-and-first-impressions-on-the-new-ipad-pros-from-apples-event-in-london/", "title": "Thoughts and First Impressions on the New iPad Pros from Apple\u2019s Event in London", "content_html": "
The new 13\" iPad Pro.

The new 13” iPad Pro.

\n

I just came back to my hotel from the media event Apple held earlier today in London at their Battersea Power Station headquarters. I had high expectations for the new generation of iPad Pros that Apple unveiled today – some of which were exceeded by reality (hardware), and others that were, regrettably but unsurprisingly, faced with the reality of the iPad platform (software).

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What follows is a loose collection of notes and impressions from the event, where I was able to try both iPad Pro models multiple times and spend some quality time with their accessories.

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Let’s dive in.

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Notes on Apple’s Battersea Location

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Before we get to the iPads, I have to spend a few words on how stunning Apple’s office space at Battersea Power Station in London is. I knew from photos and general knowledge that there was something special about the history of Battersea and the work Apple had done there, but seeing it in real life for the first time truly is something else. The scale of the building is remarkable, and it hits you in a different way than, say, Apple Park’s ring does. It’s tall.

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\"Arriving

Arriving at Battersea.

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What I didn’t know about Battersea is that the lower-level floors are a mall, with Apple’s offices taking up the higher floors. It immediately struck me that, the way Apple renovated Battersea Power Station, it feels like a place that sits somewhere in between Apple Park and, say, the Via del Corso Apple Store in Rome. Much like the city of London itself is a fascinating mix of modern architecture and old structures, so is Battersea a blend of old and new. The contrast between brick walls and the modern wood and glass that Apple added everywhere is a recognition of the building’s historical importance mixed with contemporary touches that we know from Apple’s retail stores.

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\"The

The mall downstairs.

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\"A

A view of Apple’s offices.

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Most of all, Apple’s Battersea HQ feels like a welcoming place for media gatherings, which is why I hope Apple will continue hosting similar events here in the future. Apple set up a stage and chairs in the office’s atrium, which is a large open space surrounded by balconies where everyone can see you and you can see everyone. No offense to Cupertino, but simply looking around and taking in the scene here was a lot cooler than sitting under a tent at Apple Park:

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\"The

The view from the atrium today.

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Apple’s Battersea office is unmistakably a European place with a strong European vibe. Apple Park is remarkable for a lot of different reasons, but after years of media events in the United States, I have to say: today felt nice. I hope Apple does more events here. I could easily see a “European WWDC” happening at and around Battersea in the future.

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The New iPad Pros: OLED, Thinness… and iPadOS

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Alright, let’s get to the iPads.

\n

First, I have to come clean and admit that I didn’t even go see the new 13” iPad Air in person. The stars of the show were the new iPad Pros. I think the larger iPad Air will make for an excellent tablet for most people who want an iPad with a good keyboard, but the more interesting story today was Apple’s strategy for the high end of the iPad lineup. The fact that the iPad Air demo tables at the hands-on area were always half-empty was proof of that.

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The first thing I noticed when picking up the new 13” iPad Pro1 wasn’t the new OLED display (more on this below); it was the thinness and lightness. It’s hard to convey in an article what it felt like, but I’ll try: the 13” model feels impossibly thin and light. At 5.1mm, the 13” iPad Pro is now 1.3mm thinner than before, and in the process, Apple also shaved off 103 grams from the device’s weight (579 grams vs. 682 grams in the old model). Both are impressive reductions that I felt right away when I picked up the larger iPad Pro. I will have to use this device for prolonged sessions to make a final assessment, but after holding it with one hand for a minute, I couldn’t feel the same pressure I did with the previous-gen model.

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Holding the 13\" iPad Pro.

Holding the 13” iPad Pro.

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The 13\" iPad Pro is remarkably thin.

The 13” iPad Pro is remarkably thin.

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The thinness and reduced weight of the big iPad Pro are making me question which model I want to use going forward. I went into this event knowing I’d get an 11” iPad Pro again, but after trying the new 13” in person, I’m not so sure anymore. It’s still a large tablet that’s not as portable as the small one, but the thinness and lightness of it are making reconsider my decision. I can’t get over how wildly thin and light the new 13” iPad Pro feels.

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I guess I’m feeling this way because the 11” iPad Pro – although finally on par with the 13” in terms of display technology – didn’t see quite the same leap in terms of thickness and weight.

\n

The small iPad Pro is 5.3mm thin (0.2mm more than the 13” iPad Pro), and it “only” lost 20 grams (446 grams vs. the old 466 grams) in the transition to OLED. Don’t get me wrong: the 11” still feels like you’re holding the “right” tablet – small enough to use one-handed, and large enough in landscape to use it with a keyboard attached. I speak from experience here since I’m actually using macOS (with smaller UI elements than iPadOS) on my 11” iPad Pro, and it’s totally fine. It’s just that when you pick up the new 11” iPad Pro, it doesn’t wow you like the thinner and lighter 13” model does.

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I have a theory regarding what Apple has done here, and it revolves around the company’s approach to each device’s built-in battery. The 11” iPad Pro features a bigger battery than before, going from a 28.65-watt-hour battery to a 31.29-watt-hour one, and the device only lost 20g and 0.6mm. Conversely, the big iPad Pro features a smaller battery than before, going from a 40.88-watt-hour battery to a 38.99-watt-hour one, and the device has lost 1.3mm and 103g. However, both models are advertised as having the same battery life as before: up to “10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video”.

\n

Also worth keeping in mind: the new iPad Pros have new display resolutions with more pixels that need to be pushed than before. The 11” iPad Pro has gone from 2388x1668 to 2420x1668 (3,983,184 pixels vs. 4,036,560 pixels – a 1.3% increase), while the 13” iPad Pro has gone from 2732x2048 to 2752x2064 (5,595,136 pixels vs. 5,680,128 pixels – a 1.51% increase).

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The 11\" iPad Pro.

The 11” iPad Pro.

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My theory is that Apple prioritized different aspects of the iPad experience for each model and chose different trade-offs for the two sizes. Given the weight reduction granted by OLED and the lower power draw made possible by the M4, I can imagine that they may have chosen to make their most common tablet size (the 11” one) as thin as possible, but not dramatically so. At the same time, I have a feeling Apple wanted to make the unwieldy 12.9” iPad Pro a lot more accessible than it used to be, hence the smaller battery that is, however, compensated for by the M4, which promises the same battery life as before despite the smaller capacity and increased pixel resolution.

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Are these the right trade-offs? I can’t answer that question today, but I’m curious to find out. The one thought I still can’t shake is that, on the 13” iPad Pro, Apple’s own Thunderbolt cable connector is thicker than the device itself:

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\"Hard

Hard to see from this zoomed shot, but the connector is thicker than the iPad now.

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Speaking of the display: you’ll be shocked to hear that OLED (or as Apple calls it, their “Tandem OLED” tech) looks incredible in real life. I’ll want to try my own content on those displays (I can’t wait to stream PC games and play Nintendo Switch games on them), but from what I saw at the hands-on area, colors were vivid and vibrant, blacks were true, deep blacks, and both displays were bright. If there’s an OLED version of a product, I’m always going to get it, and I can’t wait to spend more time with these OLED iPad Pros. I’m especially intrigued to test dark mode interfaces with OLED’s true blacks, which I didn’t do today.

\n
\"The

The colors on these new iPads look incredible.

\n

I was able to play around with the nano-texture display too, and while I’m going to need more time with it, I came away impressed. At first glance with a regular iPad Pro and a nano-texture one side by side, I couldn’t see the difference. According to Apple, they’re using a new chemical process to alter the glass with nano textures, which ensures the display keeps the same properties as the glossy one – same brightness, same contrast. However, as soon as an Apple employee grabbed the iPad with the nano-texture display and started moving it around, I could see the difference: the overhead spotlights were not reflecting on it as much as they were on the other iPad Pro, and even fingerprints on the display looked different.

\n
\"Check

Check out the light reflection in the top-right corner of the iPad and you’ll see what the nano-texture glass does compared to the glossy bezel.

\n

At the hands-on area, I couldn’t discern a loss in quality and color reproduction between the two displays, but I hope I’ll have the chance to try both in the near future and judge Apple’s claims for myself. What I wasn’t expecting when I grabbed the iPad Pro with the nano-texture display was that the display felt as smooth as the regular glossy one. The best way I can describe it is that the nano-texture iPad Pro looks like a nicer version of the Paperlike screen accessory that doesn’t degrade image quality and is also smooth to the touch. If you were expecting this matte option to feel rough like paper, this is not it, and I’m glad Apple went in this direction. An 11” iPad Pro with a matte OLED display sounds like an incredibly intriguing proposition for a device that can be your main computer and a tablet you can use outside or, dare I say it, at the beach.

\n

I know what you’re all thinking, though. I went into this event with a MacPad on my hands (literally) and left with a new generation of iPad Pros that are an amazing hardware revision powered by the same lackluster software as before.

\n

The elephant in the room, which I plan to address more in-depth in a future story, is that while the iPad Pro’s hardware was fine before and is finer now, its software was a letdown before, and nothing has changed after today’s event. I don’t need to rehash why I think Apple is missing a huge opportunity by not embracing the iPad Pro as a machine that could do both iPadOS and macOS equally well in the same package. I’ll save that for iPadOS 18 at WWDC. What I will say is that if there was a gap between the older-generation iPad Pro hardware and its software, that gap is now a Tears of the Kingdom-sized chasm between these thin, OLED iPad Pros and iPadOS 17.

\n

Apple can’t seem to break out of this loop they’ve been in for the past six years with the iPad Pro: state-of-the-art, bleeding-edge hardware running software that underutilizes it. Will the even better hardware of these new iPad Pros be enough to offset the limitations of iPadOS? Is there more to these iPads when it comes to software that will be revealed at WWDC next month? Do you feel like you’ve heard these questions before?

\n

The Accessories

\n

I was also able to play around with the iPad Pro’s new accessories today.

\n

The Apple Pencil Pro’s squeeze gesture and associated haptic feedback feel great. You squeeze the pencil, and a radial menu appears on-screen in apps that use the native PencilKit framework, allowing you to choose which tools you want to use. (Third-party apps can reprogram this gesture to show different UIs.) Squeezing the Pencil and getting the haptic feedback feels like squeezing the AirPods Pro’s stem, but there is real, tactile feedback since there’s a haptic motor inside the new Pencil. I dig it, and the addition of a gesture is a nice way to simplify the interface while still providing quick access to drawing tools. I’m not much of a Pencil user myself, but I look forward to playing around with it in different apps.

\n
\"\"

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I was obviously more interested in the new Magic Keyboard, and I think Apple pretty much delivered what I wanted. The new Magic Keyboard has the same key mechanism and outer-facing cover as before; however, the keyboard now has a function row, the inner part (the palm rest) is made of aluminum, and it has a larger glass trackpad that supports the same haptic feedback previously seen in Mac laptops.

\n
\"The

The larger trackpad is a welcome change.

\n
\"The

The redesigned hinge of the Magic Keyboard.

\n

The new Magic Keyboard is, effectively, the definitive version of the original design from 2020. The cantilever-based floating mechanism is here to stay (as is the Smart Connector), and everything else around it has been fine-tuned for pro users. I always found the previous trackpad a little too cramped for my hands, so I’m glad to see a larger version; my white Magic Keyboard aged horribly in the inner part despite my care, so I think the aluminum body will help; the addition of a function row means I’ll never have to make the trip to Control Center again to adjust display brightness or control media playback, which is terrific and a huge “finally”. Somehow, the new Magic Keyboard also felt lighter than the previous one, but this is something I’ll have to double-check in a future review.

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\"Using

Using the multitasking function key on the Magic Keyboard with Stage Manager produces a nice animation with the app switcher.

\n

There are two details I noticed with the new Magic Keyboard that I want to point out. When you close the keyboard shut on the iPad Pro, it now makes a nice, satisfying “click”, which I liked a lot.

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\"Up

Up close with the new Magic Keyboard.

\n

Furthermore, the keyboard has a color-matched, rubber (I think it’s rubber?) ridge that runs across its entire perimeter, which likely serves as protection for the display when the keyboard is closed. I like how this frames the keyboard and that the rounded edges unsurprisingly match the curvature of the iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard itself.

\n

Open Questions

\n

Of course, I left the event with a lot of questions about the iPad Pro’s hardware and software:

\n

Is the new Magic Keyboard more difficult to open? Myke mentioned this when we were at one of the hands-on tables, then I noticed another journalist struggling with opening the Magic Keyboard, and when I tried it, I experienced it myself. Since the edge of the keyboard is now flush aluminum without an inset “lip” like on MacBooks, it’s hard to know at first where you’re supposed to grab it. I’m keen to see how quickly I can get used to this design, but I also wonder why it wasn’t designed like MacBook keyboards.

\n
\"Myke

Myke trying to open the Magic Keyboard.

\n

How will third-party apps handle the new iPad Pro’s display resolutions? If a developer hasn’t updated their iPad app for the new screen sizes, will the app get letter/pillar-boxed, or automatically scale to fill the screen?

\n

Is the function row on the new Magic Keyboard hard to access? We knew this was going to be the case, but the cantilever design of the Magic Keyboard does seem to make the function row a little too hard to access sometimes. Depending on the angle the iPad is at, your fingers will likely bump into its bottom edge. Again, I need to use the device more, but I noticed this at the event today.

\n

How will the M4 impact “normal usage” of the iPad Pro in everyday life? The improvements in Logic and Final Cut Pro look fantastic, but those apps are not for me. Given the limitations of iPadOS, it’s hard for me to imagine what I – someone who doesn’t edit video or audio – will notice in terms of performance improvements granted by the M4. I suppose that having the same battery life with thinner iPads will have to be it.

\n

My Next Decisions

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\"\"

\n

I came away from today’s Apple event with two thoughts2:

\n

Let’s face it: I didn’t go into this event thinking that my iPad Pro’s thickness was the problem. But at the same time, after seeing and holding a 5.1/5.3mm OLED tablet – optionally with a matte display – I would lie if I said I didn’t want one immediately. In many ways, these new iPad Pros are the ultimate expression of the design language introduced in 2018: impossibly thin and approaching the limit of the USB-C port’s height, with an outstanding display technology, and with better accessories.

\n

The problem was, is, and will continue to be the iPad’s operating system, which doesn’t provide users with nearly as many capabilities as macOS does on laptops that are now even behind the iPad Pro when it comes to M-series chips.

\n

The thing is, however, despite my grudges with iPadOS, there is no other tablet or laptop I want to use in my life made by any other tech company. Believe me, I’ve tried them all over the past year, from a Surface Pro to a OnePlus Open foldable that I never mentioned before. None of the alternatives are as compelling as an all-in-one package as an iPad Pro if what you’re looking for is a tablet that can transform into a laptop. And now these iPads are going to feel even nicer to hold and use thanks to the slimmer profile, reduced weight, and OLED displays.

\n

This is probably not the sort of inflammatory take that’s going to make this story go viral, but my opinion is that you can still love the iPad’s hardware for what it is and criticize its software for what it’s not. As I have explained, the alternative – just getting a regular Mac laptop and calling it a day – is not for me. I’d rather keep pushing the limits of what my iPad Pro can do and make my case for radical changes to iPadOS than give up on a form factor that makes computing more fun and pleasant for me.

\n

And so here I am, back in my hotel room in London, thinking about whether I want to stick with my original plan and get an 11” OLED iPad Pro or return to the 13” model because of its newfound thinness and lightness. Glossy display or nano-texture one? 512 GB model or 1 TB model to get access to 16 GB of RAM and the 10-core M4?

\n

The road to iPad Pro happiness has always been paved with questions and compromises, and today’s event has followed the same trajectory. Life is easier for Mac users: most of them pick a MacBook Air and are done. And they’re happy! The iPad Pro is a complicated product, part of a complicated lineup, with a complicated software story. And yet, for many of us, it also remains the only clear answer for a particular type of hybrid computer that we want in our lives. The kind of computer with the kind of app ecosystem that, frankly, no one else makes.

\n

Just like six years ago, I’m wondering, “Where does the iPad Pro go from here?” There’s only one way to find out: to be along for a bumpy ride.

\n

You can follow all of our May 2024 Apple event coverage through our May 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated May 2024 Apple event RSS feed.

\n
\n
  1. \nI’m so happy that Apple has simplified the name to just “13 inches” instead of the old “12.9 inches”. It’s much easier to say and matches Apple’s other dimensions for Mac laptops. ↩︎\n
    2. \n
  2. \nOkay, fine, three thoughts: John Ternus looks even better in person. ↩︎\n
    3. \n
\n

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Join Now", "content_text": "The new 13” iPad Pro.\nI just came back to my hotel from the media event Apple held earlier today in London at their Battersea Power Station headquarters. I had high expectations for the new generation of iPad Pros that Apple unveiled today – some of which were exceeded by reality (hardware), and others that were, regrettably but unsurprisingly, faced with the reality of the iPad platform (software).\nWhat follows is a loose collection of notes and impressions from the event, where I was able to try both iPad Pro models multiple times and spend some quality time with their accessories.\nLet’s dive in.\n\nNotes on Apple’s Battersea Location\nBefore we get to the iPads, I have to spend a few words on how stunning Apple’s office space at Battersea Power Station in London is. I knew from photos and general knowledge that there was something special about the history of Battersea and the work Apple had done there, but seeing it in real life for the first time truly is something else. The scale of the building is remarkable, and it hits you in a different way than, say, Apple Park’s ring does. It’s tall.\nArriving at Battersea.\nWhat I didn’t know about Battersea is that the lower-level floors are a mall, with Apple’s offices taking up the higher floors. It immediately struck me that, the way Apple renovated Battersea Power Station, it feels like a place that sits somewhere in between Apple Park and, say, the Via del Corso Apple Store in Rome. Much like the city of London itself is a fascinating mix of modern architecture and old structures, so is Battersea a blend of old and new. The contrast between brick walls and the modern wood and glass that Apple added everywhere is a recognition of the building’s historical importance mixed with contemporary touches that we know from Apple’s retail stores.\nThe mall downstairs.\nA view of Apple’s offices.\nMost of all, Apple’s Battersea HQ feels like a welcoming place for media gatherings, which is why I hope Apple will continue hosting similar events here in the future. Apple set up a stage and chairs in the office’s atrium, which is a large open space surrounded by balconies where everyone can see you and you can see everyone. No offense to Cupertino, but simply looking around and taking in the scene here was a lot cooler than sitting under a tent at Apple Park:\nThe view from the atrium today.\nApple’s Battersea office is unmistakably a European place with a strong European vibe. Apple Park is remarkable for a lot of different reasons, but after years of media events in the United States, I have to say: today felt nice. I hope Apple does more events here. I could easily see a “European WWDC” happening at and around Battersea in the future.\nThe New iPad Pros: OLED, Thinness… and iPadOS\nAlright, let’s get to the iPads.\nFirst, I have to come clean and admit that I didn’t even go see the new 13” iPad Air in person. The stars of the show were the new iPad Pros. I think the larger iPad Air will make for an excellent tablet for most people who want an iPad with a good keyboard, but the more interesting story today was Apple’s strategy for the high end of the iPad lineup. The fact that the iPad Air demo tables at the hands-on area were always half-empty was proof of that.\nThe first thing I noticed when picking up the new 13” iPad Pro1 wasn’t the new OLED display (more on this below); it was the thinness and lightness. It’s hard to convey in an article what it felt like, but I’ll try: the 13” model feels impossibly thin and light. At 5.1mm, the 13” iPad Pro is now 1.3mm thinner than before, and in the process, Apple also shaved off 103 grams from the device’s weight (579 grams vs. 682 grams in the old model). Both are impressive reductions that I felt right away when I picked up the larger iPad Pro. I will have to use this device for prolonged sessions to make a final assessment, but after holding it with one hand for a minute, I couldn’t feel the same pressure I did with the previous-gen model.\nHolding the 13” iPad Pro.\nThe 13” iPad Pro is remarkably thin.\nThe thinness and reduced weight of the big iPad Pro are making me question which model I want to use going forward. I went into this event knowing I’d get an 11” iPad Pro again, but after trying the new 13” in person, I’m not so sure anymore. It’s still a large tablet that’s not as portable as the small one, but the thinness and lightness of it are making reconsider my decision. I can’t get over how wildly thin and light the new 13” iPad Pro feels.\nI guess I’m feeling this way because the 11” iPad Pro – although finally on par with the 13” in terms of display technology – didn’t see quite the same leap in terms of thickness and weight.\nThe small iPad Pro is 5.3mm thin (0.2mm more than the 13” iPad Pro), and it “only” lost 20 grams (446 grams vs. the old 466 grams) in the transition to OLED. Don’t get me wrong: the 11” still feels like you’re holding the “right” tablet – small enough to use one-handed, and large enough in landscape to use it with a keyboard attached. I speak from experience here since I’m actually using macOS (with smaller UI elements than iPadOS) on my 11” iPad Pro, and it’s totally fine. It’s just that when you pick up the new 11” iPad Pro, it doesn’t wow you like the thinner and lighter 13” model does.\nI have a theory regarding what Apple has done here, and it revolves around the company’s approach to each device’s built-in battery. The 11” iPad Pro features a bigger battery than before, going from a 28.65-watt-hour battery to a 31.29-watt-hour one, and the device only lost 20g and 0.6mm. Conversely, the big iPad Pro features a smaller battery than before, going from a 40.88-watt-hour battery to a 38.99-watt-hour one, and the device has lost 1.3mm and 103g. However, both models are advertised as having the same battery life as before: up to “10 hours of surfing the web on Wi-Fi or watching video”.\nAlso worth keeping in mind: the new iPad Pros have new display resolutions with more pixels that need to be pushed than before. The 11” iPad Pro has gone from 2388x1668 to 2420x1668 (3,983,184 pixels vs. 4,036,560 pixels – a 1.3% increase), while the 13” iPad Pro has gone from 2732x2048 to 2752x2064 (5,595,136 pixels vs. 5,680,128 pixels – a 1.51% increase).\nThe 11” iPad Pro.\nMy theory is that Apple prioritized different aspects of the iPad experience for each model and chose different trade-offs for the two sizes. Given the weight reduction granted by OLED and the lower power draw made possible by the M4, I can imagine that they may have chosen to make their most common tablet size (the 11” one) as thin as possible, but not dramatically so. At the same time, I have a feeling Apple wanted to make the unwieldy 12.9” iPad Pro a lot more accessible than it used to be, hence the smaller battery that is, however, compensated for by the M4, which promises the same battery life as before despite the smaller capacity and increased pixel resolution.\nAre these the right trade-offs? I can’t answer that question today, but I’m curious to find out. The one thought I still can’t shake is that, on the 13” iPad Pro, Apple’s own Thunderbolt cable connector is thicker than the device itself:\nHard to see from this zoomed shot, but the connector is thicker than the iPad now.\nSpeaking of the display: you’ll be shocked to hear that OLED (or as Apple calls it, their “Tandem OLED” tech) looks incredible in real life. I’ll want to try my own content on those displays (I can’t wait to stream PC games and play Nintendo Switch games on them), but from what I saw at the hands-on area, colors were vivid and vibrant, blacks were true, deep blacks, and both displays were bright. If there’s an OLED version of a product, I’m always going to get it, and I can’t wait to spend more time with these OLED iPad Pros. I’m especially intrigued to test dark mode interfaces with OLED’s true blacks, which I didn’t do today.\nThe colors on these new iPads look incredible.\nI was able to play around with the nano-texture display too, and while I’m going to need more time with it, I came away impressed. At first glance with a regular iPad Pro and a nano-texture one side by side, I couldn’t see the difference. According to Apple, they’re using a new chemical process to alter the glass with nano textures, which ensures the display keeps the same properties as the glossy one – same brightness, same contrast. However, as soon as an Apple employee grabbed the iPad with the nano-texture display and started moving it around, I could see the difference: the overhead spotlights were not reflecting on it as much as they were on the other iPad Pro, and even fingerprints on the display looked different.\nCheck out the light reflection in the top-right corner of the iPad and you’ll see what the nano-texture glass does compared to the glossy bezel.\nAt the hands-on area, I couldn’t discern a loss in quality and color reproduction between the two displays, but I hope I’ll have the chance to try both in the near future and judge Apple’s claims for myself. What I wasn’t expecting when I grabbed the iPad Pro with the nano-texture display was that the display felt as smooth as the regular glossy one. The best way I can describe it is that the nano-texture iPad Pro looks like a nicer version of the Paperlike screen accessory that doesn’t degrade image quality and is also smooth to the touch. If you were expecting this matte option to feel rough like paper, this is not it, and I’m glad Apple went in this direction. An 11” iPad Pro with a matte OLED display sounds like an incredibly intriguing proposition for a device that can be your main computer and a tablet you can use outside or, dare I say it, at the beach.\nI know what you’re all thinking, though. I went into this event with a MacPad on my hands (literally) and left with a new generation of iPad Pros that are an amazing hardware revision powered by the same lackluster software as before.\nThe elephant in the room, which I plan to address more in-depth in a future story, is that while the iPad Pro’s hardware was fine before and is finer now, its software was a letdown before, and nothing has changed after today’s event. I don’t need to rehash why I think Apple is missing a huge opportunity by not embracing the iPad Pro as a machine that could do both iPadOS and macOS equally well in the same package. I’ll save that for iPadOS 18 at WWDC. What I will say is that if there was a gap between the older-generation iPad Pro hardware and its software, that gap is now a Tears of the Kingdom-sized chasm between these thin, OLED iPad Pros and iPadOS 17.\nApple can’t seem to break out of this loop they’ve been in for the past six years with the iPad Pro: state-of-the-art, bleeding-edge hardware running software that underutilizes it. Will the even better hardware of these new iPad Pros be enough to offset the limitations of iPadOS? Is there more to these iPads when it comes to software that will be revealed at WWDC next month? Do you feel like you’ve heard these questions before?\nThe Accessories\nI was also able to play around with the iPad Pro’s new accessories today.\nThe Apple Pencil Pro’s squeeze gesture and associated haptic feedback feel great. You squeeze the pencil, and a radial menu appears on-screen in apps that use the native PencilKit framework, allowing you to choose which tools you want to use. (Third-party apps can reprogram this gesture to show different UIs.) Squeezing the Pencil and getting the haptic feedback feels like squeezing the AirPods Pro’s stem, but there is real, tactile feedback since there’s a haptic motor inside the new Pencil. I dig it, and the addition of a gesture is a nice way to simplify the interface while still providing quick access to drawing tools. I’m not much of a Pencil user myself, but I look forward to playing around with it in different apps.\n\nI was obviously more interested in the new Magic Keyboard, and I think Apple pretty much delivered what I wanted. The new Magic Keyboard has the same key mechanism and outer-facing cover as before; however, the keyboard now has a function row, the inner part (the palm rest) is made of aluminum, and it has a larger glass trackpad that supports the same haptic feedback previously seen in Mac laptops.\nThe larger trackpad is a welcome change.\nThe redesigned hinge of the Magic Keyboard.\nThe new Magic Keyboard is, effectively, the definitive version of the original design from 2020. The cantilever-based floating mechanism is here to stay (as is the Smart Connector), and everything else around it has been fine-tuned for pro users. I always found the previous trackpad a little too cramped for my hands, so I’m glad to see a larger version; my white Magic Keyboard aged horribly in the inner part despite my care, so I think the aluminum body will help; the addition of a function row means I’ll never have to make the trip to Control Center again to adjust display brightness or control media playback, which is terrific and a huge “finally”. Somehow, the new Magic Keyboard also felt lighter than the previous one, but this is something I’ll have to double-check in a future review.\nUsing the multitasking function key on the Magic Keyboard with Stage Manager produces a nice animation with the app switcher.\nThere are two details I noticed with the new Magic Keyboard that I want to point out. When you close the keyboard shut on the iPad Pro, it now makes a nice, satisfying “click”, which I liked a lot.\nUp close with the new Magic Keyboard.\nFurthermore, the keyboard has a color-matched, rubber (I think it’s rubber?) ridge that runs across its entire perimeter, which likely serves as protection for the display when the keyboard is closed. I like how this frames the keyboard and that the rounded edges unsurprisingly match the curvature of the iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard itself.\nOpen Questions\nOf course, I left the event with a lot of questions about the iPad Pro’s hardware and software:\nIs the new Magic Keyboard more difficult to open? Myke mentioned this when we were at one of the hands-on tables, then I noticed another journalist struggling with opening the Magic Keyboard, and when I tried it, I experienced it myself. Since the edge of the keyboard is now flush aluminum without an inset “lip” like on MacBooks, it’s hard to know at first where you’re supposed to grab it. I’m keen to see how quickly I can get used to this design, but I also wonder why it wasn’t designed like MacBook keyboards.\nMyke trying to open the Magic Keyboard.\nHow will third-party apps handle the new iPad Pro’s display resolutions? If a developer hasn’t updated their iPad app for the new screen sizes, will the app get letter/pillar-boxed, or automatically scale to fill the screen?\nIs the function row on the new Magic Keyboard hard to access? We knew this was going to be the case, but the cantilever design of the Magic Keyboard does seem to make the function row a little too hard to access sometimes. Depending on the angle the iPad is at, your fingers will likely bump into its bottom edge. Again, I need to use the device more, but I noticed this at the event today.\nHow will the M4 impact “normal usage” of the iPad Pro in everyday life? The improvements in Logic and Final Cut Pro look fantastic, but those apps are not for me. Given the limitations of iPadOS, it’s hard for me to imagine what I – someone who doesn’t edit video or audio – will notice in terms of performance improvements granted by the M4. I suppose that having the same battery life with thinner iPads will have to be it.\nMy Next Decisions\n\nI came away from today’s Apple event with two thoughts2:\nI want Apple to hold more media events at Battersea in the future.\nI know I’m going to get a new iPad Pro, but I’m not sure about which size anymore.\nLet’s face it: I didn’t go into this event thinking that my iPad Pro’s thickness was the problem. But at the same time, after seeing and holding a 5.1/5.3mm OLED tablet – optionally with a matte display – I would lie if I said I didn’t want one immediately. In many ways, these new iPad Pros are the ultimate expression of the design language introduced in 2018: impossibly thin and approaching the limit of the USB-C port’s height, with an outstanding display technology, and with better accessories.\nThe problem was, is, and will continue to be the iPad’s operating system, which doesn’t provide users with nearly as many capabilities as macOS does on laptops that are now even behind the iPad Pro when it comes to M-series chips.\nThe thing is, however, despite my grudges with iPadOS, there is no other tablet or laptop I want to use in my life made by any other tech company. Believe me, I’ve tried them all over the past year, from a Surface Pro to a OnePlus Open foldable that I never mentioned before. None of the alternatives are as compelling as an all-in-one package as an iPad Pro if what you’re looking for is a tablet that can transform into a laptop. And now these iPads are going to feel even nicer to hold and use thanks to the slimmer profile, reduced weight, and OLED displays.\nThis is probably not the sort of inflammatory take that’s going to make this story go viral, but my opinion is that you can still love the iPad’s hardware for what it is and criticize its software for what it’s not. As I have explained, the alternative – just getting a regular Mac laptop and calling it a day – is not for me. I’d rather keep pushing the limits of what my iPad Pro can do and make my case for radical changes to iPadOS than give up on a form factor that makes computing more fun and pleasant for me.\n\nThe iPad Pro remains the only clear answer for a particular type of hybrid computer.\n\nAnd so here I am, back in my hotel room in London, thinking about whether I want to stick with my original plan and get an 11” OLED iPad Pro or return to the 13” model because of its newfound thinness and lightness. Glossy display or nano-texture one? 512 GB model or 1 TB model to get access to 16 GB of RAM and the 10-core M4?\nThe road to iPad Pro happiness has always been paved with questions and compromises, and today’s event has followed the same trajectory. Life is easier for Mac users: most of them pick a MacBook Air and are done. And they’re happy! The iPad Pro is a complicated product, part of a complicated lineup, with a complicated software story. And yet, for many of us, it also remains the only clear answer for a particular type of hybrid computer that we want in our lives. The kind of computer with the kind of app ecosystem that, frankly, no one else makes.\nJust like six years ago, I’m wondering, “Where does the iPad Pro go from here?” There’s only one way to find out: to be along for a bumpy ride.\nYou can follow all of our May 2024 Apple event coverage through our May 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated May 2024 Apple event RSS feed.\n\n\nI’m so happy that Apple has simplified the name to just “13 inches” instead of the old “12.9 inches”. It’s much easier to say and matches Apple’s other dimensions for Mac laptops. ↩︎\n\n\nOkay, fine, three thoughts: John Ternus looks even better in person. ↩︎\n\n\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-05-07T19:04:46-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-05-08T02:46:47-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "Federico Viticci", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/viticci/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/94a9aa7c70dbeb9440c6759bd2cebc2a?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "iPad", "iPad Pro", "May 2024 Event", "stories" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75304", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/apples-may-2024-let-loose-event-by-the-numbers/", "title": "Apple\u2019s May 2024 Let Loose Event: By the Numbers", "content_html": "
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Today’s Let Loose online Apple event was packed with facts, figures, and statistics throughout the presentation and elsewhere. We’ve pulled together the highlights.

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iPad Pro

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\"Source:

Source: Apple.

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\"Source:

Source: Apple.

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\"Source:

Source: Apple.

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iPad Air

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\"Source:

Source: Apple.

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Accessories and Other

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\"Look

Look at that beautiful row of function keys.

\n

You can follow all of our May 2024 Apple event coverage through our May 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated May 2024 Apple event RSS feed.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Today’s Let Loose online Apple event was packed with facts, figures, and statistics throughout the presentation and elsewhere. We’ve pulled together the highlights.\niPad Pro\nSource: Apple.\nThe new iPad Pro’s GPU is 10x faster than the original model and 4x faster than the M2 iPad Pro\nThe M4 chip is 50% faster than the M2\nThe M4’s 16-core Neural Engine is 60x faster than the original Neural Engine\nThe M4 uses a 2nd generation 3nm process\nThe M4 features 28 billion transistors\nSource: Apple.\nApple has improved the thermal performance of the iPad Pro by 20% compared to the previous model\nThe Neural Engine can handle 38 trillion operations per second\nThe unified memory bandwidth is 120GB/s\nThe iPad Pro display supports 1000 nits of brightness for SDR and HDR content and 1600 nits peak brightness for HDR\nStorage capacities range from 256GB to 2TB\nThe Wi-Fi version of the 11” iPad Pro is .98 pound (444 grams), and the 13” model is 1.28 pounds (579 grams). Adding cellular adds 2 grams to the 11” model and 3 grams to the 13” version.\nSource: Apple.\nThe 256 and 512GB models have 8GB of RAM, while the 1TB and 2TB models have 16GB of RAM\nThe new models support Bluetooth 5.3\nThe 11” iPad Pro is 5.3mm thick, and the 13” model is 5.1mm thick\nIt’s possible to spend $3,077 on a fully-spec’d 13” iPad Pro with Apple Pencil Pro and Magic Keyboard for iPad\niPad Air\nSource: Apple.\nThere’s a new 13” model\nThe M2 chip in the new Air is 50% faster than the M1 and 3x faster than the iPad Air with the A12 Bionic chip\nThe iPad Air can be configured with up to 1TB of storage\nThe front and back cameras both have 12MP sensors\nThere are 4 colors available, 2 of which are new\nThe 11” Air is 1.02 pounds, and the 13” model is 1.36 pounds, both of which are heavier than their iPad Pro counterparts\nBoth models are 6.1mm thick\nThe 11” iPad Air maxes out at 500 nits of brightness and the 13” model at 600 nits for a 100-nit difference\nAccessories and Other\nLook at that beautiful row of function keys.\nThe Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro has a 14-key function row\nThe price of the existing 10th generation iPad was reduced to $349\nApple paid 0 tributes to Warren Buffet’s Paper Wizard\nYou can follow all of our May 2024 Apple event coverage through our May 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated May 2024 Apple event RSS feed.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-05-07T14:47:41-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-05-07T16:45:29-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "iPad", "ipad air", "iPad Pro", "keyboard", "May 2024 Event", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75295", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/final-cut-pro-2-and-logic-pro-2-for-ipad-updated-along-with-their-mac-counterparts/", "title": "Final Cut Pro 2 and Logic Pro 2 for iPad Updated Along with Their Mac Counterparts", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

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Last year at this time, I beta-tested Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad. I was impressed with both and found editing podcasts in Logic Pro for iPad surprisingly easy. That said, both apps were still limited compared to what their sibling versions could do on the Mac. With today’s update, Apple appears to be pushing both apps much further into ‘Pro’ territory than ever before, undoubtedly thanks to the M4 chip inside the new iPad Pros.

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\"Source:

Source: Apple.

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In what I think is a first for one of its iPadOS apps, Apple has given Final Cut Pro for iPad a version number. One of the most impressive features shown off today was Live Multicam, which supports up to four simultaneous live camera feeds:

\n

\n Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 delivers Live Multicam, an innovative new solution for users to capture up to four different angles of a single scene, whether working with their own devices or collaborating with others. Live Multicam connects wirelessly via Final Cut Camera, a new video capture app, enabling users to view up to four iPhone or iPad devices and providing a director’s view of each camera in real time. Each live camera feed can have settings adjusted right from Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 to easily dial in exposure, focus, zoom, and more for the perfect shot. Editable preview clips are immediately passed through to Final Cut Pro for iPad and replaced with full-resolution files in the background, so users can seamlessly move from production to editing.\n

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Final Cut Camera is a separate new app for the iPhone and iPad that works with Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 to feed each video stream to an iPad for real-time, wireless capture.

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\"Source:

Source: Apple.

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The app also offers greater storage flexibility, allowing videographers to edit projects on an external drive. Here’s how Apple describes it in its press release:

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\n For even more storage flexibility, Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 now supports external projects, letting users easily create or open projects on an external storage device and import media without taking up space on their iPad. Editors can quickly hand off external projects to another editor or take them into Final Cut Pro for Mac; create new projects on external storage; and seamlessly import high-resolution files and professional codecs like ProRes and Log.\n

\n

Additionally, the update adds new color-grading presets, text titles, and soundtracks. Final Cut Pro for Mac is being updated to version 10.8, which includes new AI features and organizational tools.

\n
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

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Logic Pro has been updated for the iPad and Mac, too, with several features, including:

\n

\n …Session Players, which expand the popular Drummer capabilities in Logic Pro to include a new Bass Player and Keyboard Player; Stem Splitter, to extract and work with individual parts of a single audio recording; and ChromaGlow, to instantly add warmth to tracks.\n

\n

The common thread among these updates that Apple highlighted is the apps’ reliance on AI and machine learning to make complex edits to compositions.

\n

Apple says that Final Cut Pro for iPad 2, Final Cut Camera, and Final Cut Pro for Mac 10.8 will be available later this spring, while Logic Pro for iPad 2 and Logic Pro for Mac 11 will be available on the App Store starting Monday, May 13.

\n

You can follow all of our May 2024 Apple event coverage through our May 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated May 2024 Apple event RSS feed.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: Apple.\nLast year at this time, I beta-tested Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad. I was impressed with both and found editing podcasts in Logic Pro for iPad surprisingly easy. That said, both apps were still limited compared to what their sibling versions could do on the Mac. With today’s update, Apple appears to be pushing both apps much further into ‘Pro’ territory than ever before, undoubtedly thanks to the M4 chip inside the new iPad Pros.\nSource: Apple.\nIn what I think is a first for one of its iPadOS apps, Apple has given Final Cut Pro for iPad a version number. One of the most impressive features shown off today was Live Multicam, which supports up to four simultaneous live camera feeds:\n\n Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 delivers Live Multicam, an innovative new solution for users to capture up to four different angles of a single scene, whether working with their own devices or collaborating with others. Live Multicam connects wirelessly via Final Cut Camera, a new video capture app, enabling users to view up to four iPhone or iPad devices and providing a director’s view of each camera in real time. Each live camera feed can have settings adjusted right from Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 to easily dial in exposure, focus, zoom, and more for the perfect shot. Editable preview clips are immediately passed through to Final Cut Pro for iPad and replaced with full-resolution files in the background, so users can seamlessly move from production to editing.\n\nFinal Cut Camera is a separate new app for the iPhone and iPad that works with Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 to feed each video stream to an iPad for real-time, wireless capture.\nSource: Apple.\nThe app also offers greater storage flexibility, allowing videographers to edit projects on an external drive. Here’s how Apple describes it in its press release:\n\n For even more storage flexibility, Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 now supports external projects, letting users easily create or open projects on an external storage device and import media without taking up space on their iPad. Editors can quickly hand off external projects to another editor or take them into Final Cut Pro for Mac; create new projects on external storage; and seamlessly import high-resolution files and professional codecs like ProRes and Log.\n\nAdditionally, the update adds new color-grading presets, text titles, and soundtracks. Final Cut Pro for Mac is being updated to version 10.8, which includes new AI features and organizational tools.\nSource: Apple.\nLogic Pro has been updated for the iPad and Mac, too, with several features, including:\n\n …Session Players, which expand the popular Drummer capabilities in Logic Pro to include a new Bass Player and Keyboard Player; Stem Splitter, to extract and work with individual parts of a single audio recording; and ChromaGlow, to instantly add warmth to tracks.\n\nThe common thread among these updates that Apple highlighted is the apps’ reliance on AI and machine learning to make complex edits to compositions.\nApple says that Final Cut Pro for iPad 2, Final Cut Camera, and Final Cut Pro for Mac 10.8 will be available later this spring, while Logic Pro for iPad 2 and Logic Pro for Mac 11 will be available on the App Store starting Monday, May 13.\nYou can follow all of our May 2024 Apple event coverage through our May 2024 Apple event hub or subscribe to the dedicated May 2024 Apple event RSS feed.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-05-07T13:57:05-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-05-07T13:57:05-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Final Cut Pro", "iPad", "Logic", "May 2024 Event", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75264", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/reviews/screens-5-2-adds-support-for-the-vision-pro-and-other-features/", "title": "Screens 5.2 Adds Support for the Vision Pro and Other Features", "content_html": "
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Screens by Edovia is a screen-sharing app that lets you control your computer from another device, and today, version 5.2 is out with an excellent set of updates that improve the app’s performance and usability. However, the biggest change is that Screens now works on the Vision Pro, which is a big deal for anyone managing computers remotely.

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I’m a longtime Screens user, but I was initially skeptical about using it with the Vision Pro. How useful or easy-to-use would Screens be when running on the device? The answer is ‘very.’ The Vision Pro version of Screens is a terrific addition to the previously-released iPhone, iPad, and Mac versions, and combined with the other changes in version 5.2, this is a bigger update than the point release might suggest.

\n

\n
\"Watching

Watching myself take screenshots of Screens via Screens.

\n

I’m going to stick to covering the visionOS version of Screens and the other changes introduced in version 5.2 because I reviewed version 5.0 of the app late last year. So, if you’re unfamiliar with Screens’ core functionality, be sure to check out that review.

\n

Suffice it to say, I’m a big fan of Screens. I’ve used the app to connect to my Macs, whether at home or away, for years. Sometimes, I’m just being lazy because a file I need is on my office Mac, and I’m in another part of my home, and other times, I’m away and forget something important. Either way, firing up Screens makes it easy to get what I need.

\n

That sort of convenience is multiplied when I’m using the Vision Pro. If I’m close to my Mac, I can simply mirror its display in the Vision Pro using visionOS’ built-in remote access feature. That only works well, though, when I’m near the Mac it’s connected to. What’s great about Screens 5.2 is that it allows me to do something similar from anywhere, which is incredibly cool. That means being able to type in an app on my Mac Studio no matter where I am. I love it.

\n
\"Connections

Connections can be sorted by frequency of use.

\n

Not only that, but I can open a connection to my Mac mini or laptop, too, spreading three virtual Macs around my living room if I want. I don’t have a good reason to do that, but if your job is managing multiple Macs or running different processes on a bunch of computers, I have to imagine it would be a lot nicer to have multiple big windows that you can spread out around your space than flipping among them on a fixed-size display.

\n

Another highlight of Screens on the Vision Pro is the quality of the image it mirrors. As part of the version 5.2 update, Edovia updated its rendering engine across all platforms, which I expect made a difference. Text was crisp and legible on every Mac I accessed, and images looked great, too. Plus, unlike the Mac mirroring built into visionOS, you also have access to all the tools available in Screens, which are arrayed in toolbars along the bottom and left side of its visionOS window.

\n

If there’s a downside to accessing your Mac from the Vision Pro with Screens, it’s that the gestures to control your Mac take some getting used to. I’ve been mirroring my Macs in the Vision Pro since I got the device. However, to navigate the Mac using mirroring, you need a keyboard and trackpad because it doesn’t support gestures, so you better have a Magic Trackpad for moving your cursor around.

\n
\"Screens

Screens includes an excellent set of gestures for navigating remote computers.

\n

In contrast, Screens does support gestures. The app allows you to move the pointer by pinching and dragging. A single pinch is the same as a single click, and a double-pinch is a double click. If you pinch with both hands and move them up or down, the active window will scroll. Also, a right-click is triggered if you pinch with both hands and rotate them a little. After some practice, I found it easy to get around my Mac’s UI using these gestures, but the experience is different enough from working with native visionOS windows that you should expect it to take a little time to wrap your head around conceptually.

\n
\"Unused

Unused sidebar sections can be toggled off.

\n

In addition to the new rendering engine I mentioned above, Screens now allows users to set image compression on a per-connection basis. That way, if you have a connection you know isn’t great, you can compress the image more to help improve performance. Codecs can be specified for PC connections, too. Finally, if there are sidebar sections you don’t use, you can toggle them off in settings, and your library of connections can be sorted by connection frequency so the ones you use the most are at the top of the list.

\n

Mac mirroring is one of the Vision Pro’s best features. It’s both an escape valve for things the Vision Pro can’t do or where app support is thin and a powerful way to interact with the Mac, period. Screens 5.2 takes that idea even further, allowing you to interact with multiple Macs and other computers anywhere and making the app the most useful utility I’ve tried for visionOS so far.

\n

Screens 5.2 is available on the App Store for $2.99/month, $24.99/year, or a one-time payment of $79.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Screens by Edovia is a screen-sharing app that lets you control your computer from another device, and today, version 5.2 is out with an excellent set of updates that improve the app’s performance and usability. However, the biggest change is that Screens now works on the Vision Pro, which is a big deal for anyone managing computers remotely.\nI’m a longtime Screens user, but I was initially skeptical about using it with the Vision Pro. How useful or easy-to-use would Screens be when running on the device? The answer is ‘very.’ The Vision Pro version of Screens is a terrific addition to the previously-released iPhone, iPad, and Mac versions, and combined with the other changes in version 5.2, this is a bigger update than the point release might suggest.\n\nWatching myself take screenshots of Screens via Screens.\nI’m going to stick to covering the visionOS version of Screens and the other changes introduced in version 5.2 because I reviewed version 5.0 of the app late last year. So, if you’re unfamiliar with Screens’ core functionality, be sure to check out that review.\nSuffice it to say, I’m a big fan of Screens. I’ve used the app to connect to my Macs, whether at home or away, for years. Sometimes, I’m just being lazy because a file I need is on my office Mac, and I’m in another part of my home, and other times, I’m away and forget something important. Either way, firing up Screens makes it easy to get what I need.\nThat sort of convenience is multiplied when I’m using the Vision Pro. If I’m close to my Mac, I can simply mirror its display in the Vision Pro using visionOS’ built-in remote access feature. That only works well, though, when I’m near the Mac it’s connected to. What’s great about Screens 5.2 is that it allows me to do something similar from anywhere, which is incredibly cool. That means being able to type in an app on my Mac Studio no matter where I am. I love it.\nConnections can be sorted by frequency of use.\nNot only that, but I can open a connection to my Mac mini or laptop, too, spreading three virtual Macs around my living room if I want. I don’t have a good reason to do that, but if your job is managing multiple Macs or running different processes on a bunch of computers, I have to imagine it would be a lot nicer to have multiple big windows that you can spread out around your space than flipping among them on a fixed-size display.\nAnother highlight of Screens on the Vision Pro is the quality of the image it mirrors. As part of the version 5.2 update, Edovia updated its rendering engine across all platforms, which I expect made a difference. Text was crisp and legible on every Mac I accessed, and images looked great, too. Plus, unlike the Mac mirroring built into visionOS, you also have access to all the tools available in Screens, which are arrayed in toolbars along the bottom and left side of its visionOS window.\nIf there’s a downside to accessing your Mac from the Vision Pro with Screens, it’s that the gestures to control your Mac take some getting used to. I’ve been mirroring my Macs in the Vision Pro since I got the device. However, to navigate the Mac using mirroring, you need a keyboard and trackpad because it doesn’t support gestures, so you better have a Magic Trackpad for moving your cursor around.\nScreens includes an excellent set of gestures for navigating remote computers.\nIn contrast, Screens does support gestures. The app allows you to move the pointer by pinching and dragging. A single pinch is the same as a single click, and a double-pinch is a double click. If you pinch with both hands and move them up or down, the active window will scroll. Also, a right-click is triggered if you pinch with both hands and rotate them a little. After some practice, I found it easy to get around my Mac’s UI using these gestures, but the experience is different enough from working with native visionOS windows that you should expect it to take a little time to wrap your head around conceptually.\nUnused sidebar sections can be toggled off.\nIn addition to the new rendering engine I mentioned above, Screens now allows users to set image compression on a per-connection basis. That way, if you have a connection you know isn’t great, you can compress the image more to help improve performance. Codecs can be specified for PC connections, too. Finally, if there are sidebar sections you don’t use, you can toggle them off in settings, and your library of connections can be sorted by connection frequency so the ones you use the most are at the top of the list.\nMac mirroring is one of the Vision Pro’s best features. It’s both an escape valve for things the Vision Pro can’t do or where app support is thin and a powerful way to interact with the Mac, period. Screens 5.2 takes that idea even further, allowing you to interact with multiple Macs and other computers anywhere and making the app the most useful utility I’ve tried for visionOS so far.\nScreens 5.2 is available on the App Store for $2.99/month, $24.99/year, or a one-time payment of $79.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-05-07T08:26:24-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-05-07T08:41:09-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "iPad", "iPhone", "mac", "utility", "Vision Pro", "Vision Pro App Spotlight", "reviews" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75257", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-announces-new-and-updated-apple-arcade-games-coming-in-may-and-june/", "title": "Apple Announces New and Updated Apple Arcade Games Coming in May and June", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Apple announced that four new games are coming to Arcade early next month:

\n

In addition, on May 30th, Where Cards Fall, the excellent indie game by The Games Band that was published by Snowman and is already part of Apple Arcade, will be coming to the Vision Pro for the first time.

\n
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Where Cards Fall is a beautiful game that won an Apple Design Award in 2020. One of the game’s core mechanics is building structures from cards that help you advance from one level to the next, which strikes me as an excellent match for the Vision Pro’s spatial gestures.

\n
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Return to Monkey Island is getting the Apple Arcade ‘+’ treatment too. As Apple describes it:

\n

\n Return to Monkey Island+ is an unexpected, thrilling return of series creator Ron Gilbert that follows the legendary adventure games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. The game continues the story of Guybrush Threepwood, his zombie pirate nemesis LeChuck, and his true love Elaine Marley. Return to Monkey Island+ is playable across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Players will solve puzzles and explore the islands with a clever evolution of classic point-and-click adventure game controls.\n

\n

Anyone who grew up in the 90s on The Secret of Monkey Island should enjoy this game a lot. I’m also curious to try Tomb of the Mask+, a retro platformer.

\n

In addition to the new games coming to Arcade and the Vision Pro, Apple announced updates to some fan favorites throughout May and June, including WHAT THE CAR?, Ridiculous Fishing EX, and Crossy Road Castle. For a complete list, be sure to check out Apple’s press release.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: Apple.\nApple announced that four new games are coming to Arcade early next month:\nRabbids: Legends of the Multiverse\nReturn to Monkey Island+\nTomb of the Mask+\nFabulous - Wedding Disaster+\nIn addition, on May 30th, Where Cards Fall, the excellent indie game by The Games Band that was published by Snowman and is already part of Apple Arcade, will be coming to the Vision Pro for the first time.\nSource: Apple.\nWhere Cards Fall is a beautiful game that won an Apple Design Award in 2020. One of the game’s core mechanics is building structures from cards that help you advance from one level to the next, which strikes me as an excellent match for the Vision Pro’s spatial gestures.\nSource: Apple.\nReturn to Monkey Island is getting the Apple Arcade ‘+’ treatment too. As Apple describes it:\n\n Return to Monkey Island+ is an unexpected, thrilling return of series creator Ron Gilbert that follows the legendary adventure games The Secret of Monkey Island and Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge. The game continues the story of Guybrush Threepwood, his zombie pirate nemesis LeChuck, and his true love Elaine Marley. Return to Monkey Island+ is playable across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Players will solve puzzles and explore the islands with a clever evolution of classic point-and-click adventure game controls.\n\nAnyone who grew up in the 90s on The Secret of Monkey Island should enjoy this game a lot. I’m also curious to try Tomb of the Mask+, a retro platformer.\nIn addition to the new games coming to Arcade and the Vision Pro, Apple announced updates to some fan favorites throughout May and June, including WHAT THE CAR?, Ridiculous Fishing EX, and Crossy Road Castle. For a complete list, be sure to check out Apple’s press release.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-05-06T10:37:50-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-05-06T10:37:50-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Apple Arcade", "games", "iPad", "iPhone", "mac", "Vision Pro", "news" ], "attachments": [ { "url": "https://cdn.macstories.net/apple-arcade-where-cards-fall-1715005626108.mp4", "mime_type": "video/mp4", "size_in_bytes": 27937530 } ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75254", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-reveals-its-2024-pride-collection-spotlighting-lgbtq-communities/", "title": "Apple Reveals Its 2024 Pride Collection, Spotlighting LGBTQ+ Communities", "content_html": "
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

Today, Apple introduced a new Pride collection highlighting LGBTQ+ communities. The collection includes a new Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop, a matching Apple Watch face, and dynamic iPhone and iPad wallpapers. The band goes on sale beginning May 22nd, and the watch face and wallpapers are coming in watchOS 10.5, iOS 17.5, and iPadOS 17.5.

\n

Here’s how Apple describes the new brightly-colored Watch band:

\n

\n The new Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop evokes the strength and beauty of LGBTQ+ communities with a vibrant, fluorescent design inspired by multiple pride flags, and features a laser-etched lug that reads “PRIDE 2024.” The colors black and brown symbolize Black, Hispanic, and Latin communities, as well as those impacted by HIV/AIDS, while the pink, light blue, and white hues represent transgender and nonbinary individuals.\n

\n
\"Source:

Source: Apple.

\n

The watch face is called Pride Radiance and, along with the wallpapers, uses dynamic multi-colored neon-style lighting:

\n

\n Users can choose from a spectrum of colors to personalize their watch face and wallpapers. On Apple Watch, the colors trace each numeral of the watch face and react in real time as the user moves their wrist based on input from the gyroscope. On iPhone and iPad, beams of color spell out “Pride” and dynamically move when the user unlocks their device\n

\n

The new Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop will be sold in retail stores, on apple.com, and via the Apple Store app for $99 on May 22nd in the US and Canada and on May 23rd in other locations.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Source: Apple.\nToday, Apple introduced a new Pride collection highlighting LGBTQ+ communities. The collection includes a new Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop, a matching Apple Watch face, and dynamic iPhone and iPad wallpapers. The band goes on sale beginning May 22nd, and the watch face and wallpapers are coming in watchOS 10.5, iOS 17.5, and iPadOS 17.5.\nHere’s how Apple describes the new brightly-colored Watch band:\n\n The new Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop evokes the strength and beauty of LGBTQ+ communities with a vibrant, fluorescent design inspired by multiple pride flags, and features a laser-etched lug that reads “PRIDE 2024.” The colors black and brown symbolize Black, Hispanic, and Latin communities, as well as those impacted by HIV/AIDS, while the pink, light blue, and white hues represent transgender and nonbinary individuals.\n\nSource: Apple.\nThe watch face is called Pride Radiance and, along with the wallpapers, uses dynamic multi-colored neon-style lighting:\n\n Users can choose from a spectrum of colors to personalize their watch face and wallpapers. On Apple Watch, the colors trace each numeral of the watch face and react in real time as the user moves their wrist based on input from the gyroscope. On iPhone and iPad, beams of color spell out “Pride” and dynamically move when the user unlocks their device\n\nThe new Apple Watch Pride Edition Braided Solo Loop will be sold in retail stores, on apple.com, and via the Apple Store app for $99 on May 22nd in the US and Canada and on May 23rd in other locations.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-05-06T09:52:31-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-05-07T08:40:17-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "apple watch", "iPad", "iPhone", "Pride", "wallpaper", "news" ], "attachments": [ { "url": "https://cdn.macstories.net/apple-pride-collection-apple-watch-pride-edition-braided-solo-loop-1715003366188.mp4", "mime_type": "video/mp4", "size_in_bytes": 19135969 } ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75198", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/the-talk-show-episode-399-i-decapitated-the-macbook-air-with-federico-viticci/", "title": "The Talk Show, Episode 399: \u2018I Decapitated the MacBook Air\u2019 with Federico Viticci", "content_html": "

This week, Federico joined John Gruber on The Talk Show for a wide-ranging conversation about:

\n
\n

It’s a terrific episode from two people who have witnessed the evolution of blogging firsthand and Apple’s struggle to find a comfortable place for the iPad in its product lineup. That makes it the perfect warmup for next week’s Apple event.

\n

\u2192 Source: apple.co

", "content_text": "This week, Federico joined John Gruber on The Talk Show for a wide-ranging conversation about:\nMacStories’ 15th anniversary and how blogging has changed over the years\nWWDC 2024\nFederico’s MacPad\nApple’s upcoming event on May 7th\nApple’s response to the EU’s Digital Markets Act\n\nIt’s a terrific episode from two people who have witnessed the evolution of blogging firsthand and Apple’s struggle to find a comfortable place for the iPad in its product lineup. That makes it the perfect warmup for next week’s Apple event.\n\u2192 Source: apple.co", "date_published": "2024-04-30T11:36:56-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-04-30T11:36:56-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "DMA", "iPad", "MacStories", "podcast", "regulation", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=75151", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/news/apple-announces-may-7th-let-loose-event/", "title": "Apple Announces May 7th Let Loose Event", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

Today, Apple announced that it will be holding a video event on May 7, 2024 at 7 AM Pacific.

\n
\"\"

\n

The announcement, which was sent to members of the press, doesn’t specify what it is about, but based on the illustration in the invitation, which clearly depicts an Apple Pencil, and based rumors, I expect the company will reveal new iPads and related accessories.

\n

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

\n

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

\n

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

\n

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

\n

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

\n

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

\n

Join Now", "content_text": "Today, Apple announced that it will be holding a video event on May 7, 2024 at 7 AM Pacific.\n\nThe announcement, which was sent to members of the press, doesn’t specify what it is about, but based on the illustration in the invitation, which clearly depicts an Apple Pencil, and based rumors, I expect the company will reveal new iPads and related accessories.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-04-23T10:28:13-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-05-06T20:08:23-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "Apple Pencil", "iPad", "May 2024 Event", "news" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=74885", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/linked/a-macstories-setups-update/", "title": "A MacStories Setups Update", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

Last November, we created the MacStories Setups page. It’s a collection of the gear, apps, and services that Federico and I use for work and play. We knew when we created the page that it would change regularly, and it has. Today, we’re introducing our third update in four months, which collects changes related to Federico’s MacPad setup and some smaller adjustments that we’ve both made recently.

\n

The MacPad additions to Federico’s setup include:

\n

However, Federico isn’t living a MacPad-only lifestyle. He uses the Vision Pro daily and has added it along with the following accessories to his setup:

\n

Other additions include:

\n

Our app lineups change constantly, too, and most recently, Federico has added:

\n

As for me, since my big desk setup upgrade, I’ve made a handful of changes to my desk and gaming setups, along with other adjustments.

\n
\"The

The Logitech Casa Pop Up Desk.

\n

With summer around the corner, I’ve been refining my portable setup. The Logitech Casa Pop Up Desk that I reviewed recently is perfect for an afternoon at a coffee shop or sitting out on my balcony. I’ve enjoyed the Boox Tab Ultra so much that I added a Boox Palma for ultra-portable e-ink reading on-the-go.

\n

The articles I save to read on the Palma and elsewhere are currently split between GoodLinks and Readwise Reader. I’ve also swapped out NaturalReader for Speechify for text-to-speech workflows, but I’m not completely satisfied with any read-aloud solution I’ve tried yet.

\n

I’m also slowly refining my gaming setup. The ASUS ZenWiFi Pro Wi-Fi 6E mesh router system is a big step up from the Linksys Atlas routers I was using before in terms of both coverage and speed. I’m still floored by the bandwidth I get with my iPhone 15 Pro Max and Ayn Odin 2 Pro. I also picked up a Miyoo Mini+ retro gaming handheld because I’m traveling soon and wanted an ultra-portable handheld to take with me. Also, to track what I’m playing, I’ve been using GameTrack, which I recently reviewed.

\n

Both of us have added a handful of other apps and gear, too, so be sure to browse through the Setups page to find the complete listing of our current setups.

\n

\u2192 Source: macstories.net

", "content_text": "Last November, we created the MacStories Setups page. It’s a collection of the gear, apps, and services that Federico and I use for work and play. We knew when we created the page that it would change regularly, and it has. Today, we’re introducing our third update in four months, which collects changes related to Federico’s MacPad setup and some smaller adjustments that we’ve both made recently.\nThe MacPad additions to Federico’s setup include:\nThe 11” iPad Pro\nThe GameSir G8 Galileo game controller\nA JETech laptop sleeve\nThe Opal Tadpole webcam\nHowever, Federico isn’t living a MacPad-only lifestyle. He uses the Vision Pro daily and has added it along with the following accessories to his setup:\nEUCARLOS carrying case\nKIWI lens protector\nOther additions include:\nA battery base for Federico’s portable HomePod mini setup\nA new ASUS mesh Wi-Fi 6E router\nA grip case for the Steam Deck\nA Suti PhoneBack for his iPhone\nOur app lineups change constantly, too, and most recently, Federico has added:\nFork for managing the MacStories GitHub repos\nGameTrack for videogame tracking\nSequel for other media tracking\nGoodLinks as his read-later app\nPocket Casts for podcast listening\nCARROT Weather for weather forecasts\nInoreader for RSS\nAs for me, since my big desk setup upgrade, I’ve made a handful of changes to my desk and gaming setups, along with other adjustments.\nThe Logitech Casa Pop Up Desk.\nWith summer around the corner, I’ve been refining my portable setup. The Logitech Casa Pop Up Desk that I reviewed recently is perfect for an afternoon at a coffee shop or sitting out on my balcony. I’ve enjoyed the Boox Tab Ultra so much that I added a Boox Palma for ultra-portable e-ink reading on-the-go.\nThe articles I save to read on the Palma and elsewhere are currently split between GoodLinks and Readwise Reader. I’ve also swapped out NaturalReader for Speechify for text-to-speech workflows, but I’m not completely satisfied with any read-aloud solution I’ve tried yet.\nI’m also slowly refining my gaming setup. The ASUS ZenWiFi Pro Wi-Fi 6E mesh router system is a big step up from the Linksys Atlas routers I was using before in terms of both coverage and speed. I’m still floored by the bandwidth I get with my iPhone 15 Pro Max and Ayn Odin 2 Pro. I also picked up a Miyoo Mini+ retro gaming handheld because I’m traveling soon and wanted an ultra-portable handheld to take with me. Also, to track what I’m playing, I’ve been using GameTrack, which I recently reviewed.\nBoth of us have added a handful of other apps and gear, too, so be sure to browse through the Setups page to find the complete listing of our current setups.\n\u2192 Source: macstories.net", "date_published": "2024-03-27T10:02:52-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-03-27T10:02:52-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "gaming", "iPad", "iPhone", "mac", "macpad", "read-later", "setups", "Vision Pro", "Linked" ] }, { "id": "https://www.macstories.net/?p=74694", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/reviews/logitechs-casa-pop-up-desk-elevates-your-macbook-for-more-comfortable-computing/", "title": "Logitech\u2019s Casa Pop-Up Desk Elevates Your MacBook for More Comfortable Computing", "content_html": "
\"\"

\n

When I’m sitting at home in my office, the ergonomics are perfect. I have a comfortable chair with plenty of back support, my keyboard is at the right height, and my Studio Display is at eye level. The trouble is, that’s not the only place I work or want to work. As a result, I spend time almost daily using a laptop in less-than-ideal conditions. That’s why I was eager to try the Logitech’s Casa Pop-Up Desk that debuted in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand last summer and is now available in North America, too.

\n

Logitech sent me the Casa to test, and I’ve been using it on and off throughout the past 10 days as I work at home, away from my desk, and in various other locations. No portable desktop setup is going to rival the ergonomics of my home office, but despite a few downsides, I’ve been impressed with the Casa. By making it more comfortable to use my laptop anywhere, the Casa has enabled me to get away from my desk more often, which has been wonderful as the weather begins to warm up.

\n

\n
\"Closed,

Closed, the Casa Pop-Up Desk looks like a notebook.

\n

The Casa’s case, called the Casa Book, takes design inspiration from classic Moleskine-style notebooks and bento boxes. Everything tucks away neatly in what looks from the outside like a hardbound book or notebook with a sturdy elastic band holding it shut.

\n
\"Opening

Opening the Casa Pop-Up Desk reveals the keyboard, trackpad, and a small compartment for a charging cable.

\n

Inside the Casa are three compartments. Two of the compartments house the Casa Keys keyboard and Casa Touch trackpad, while the third contains a USB-C cable for charging the peripherals, with enough spare room for another short cable or two. At first glance, I expected the keyboard and trackpad to be difficult to remove because they sit flush against the sides of the case. However, Logitech has cleverly angled the bottom of each compartment so you can push down on the keyboard and trackpad to tilt its opposite edge up, making it easy to grab.

\n
\"Setting

Setting up the stand.

\n

The Casa Book transforms into a stand that elevates your laptop. The front cover of the Casa Book folds into two connected sides of a triangle, with one long edge slotting into a groove in the other half of the case where it’s held in place with magnets. That forms a triangular stand for the base of your laptop. Along the bottom are two L-shaped rubberized brackets that hold the computer in place. There are additional rubberized pads at the top and in the center of the stand to further stabilize your laptop. The grippy rubber band that holds the entire Casa together when everything is put away helps it stay put on a tabletop when used as a stand, too.

\n
\"A

A view from the side.

\n

Using the Casa lifts the bottom edge of my MacBook Pro’s screen about 7” (nearly 18 cm) off a tabletop. The effect is a substantial improvement in ergonomics, significantly reducing my tendency to hunch over my MacBook Pro.

\n

I’ve also tried the Casa with an M1 MacBook Air and a 12.9” iPad Pro. The stand works equally well with the MacBook Air, raising its screen to a much more comfortable height. The Casa works with the iPad Pro, too, but with caveats. If you try to use it with the Magic Keyboard case attached, the screen tilts forward, which is unworkable. However, without the keyboard attached, the Casa transforms into an iPad drafting table, which works well for interacting with it using touch, the Apple Pencil, or Logitech’s keyboard and trackpad.

\n
\"The

The Logitech K380 (top), the Casa Keys (center), and Apple’s Magic Keyboard (bottom).

\n

The keyboard that comes with the Casa is similar to Logitech’s K380 keyboard, except its keys are square instead of rounded, and it’s rechargeable, whereas the K380 uses AAA batteries. Both differences are upgrades as far as I’m concerned.

\n

The Casa’s keyboard and trackpad have the exact same footprint as the keyboard and trackpad on a MacBook Pro. The keyboard’s layout is slightly different than a Magic Keyboard, but the functionality is largely the same. However, the function buttons are smaller on the Casa’s keyboard, and it uses an inverted T-pattern for the arrow keys, which I know many people prefer to Apple’s configuration.

\n
\"\"

\n

Logitech says that the keyboard’s battery will last up to five months, which is far longer than I’ve used it. However, I’ve always had good luck with Logitech keyboards when it comes to battery life, so I don’t expect that I’ll need to charge it very often. One thing that helps Casa Keys achieve that battery life is the fact that the keyboard isn’t backlit, which is worth keeping in mind if you expect to work in a dark environment. The keyboard can also pair with up to three devices, which is something I wish Apple would do with its keyboards but hasn’t.

\n

Typing on the Casa keyboard is a lot like the Magic Keyboard. The keys are quiet and have a little more surface texture than the Magic Keyboard. The key travel is greater on the Casa Keys than the Magic Keyboard, and the whole keyboard is thicker and very slightly more angled, too.

\n
\"The

The Casa Touch (left) and Apple’s Magic Trackpad (right).

\n

As for the Casa Touch trackpad, it’s the best third-party trackpad I’ve used, but it still isn’t as good as Apple’s Magic Trackpad. Even though it’s the same size as my MacBook Pro’s trackpad, the Casa Touch looks tiny sitting on a table because it’s significantly smaller than a Magic Trackpad. Overall, though, the smaller size hasn’t bothered me.

\n

Like the keyboard, the Casa Touch pairs with up to three devices. In addition to a MacBook Pro, I’ve paired the trackpad with my iPad Pro, and it supports the multitouch gestures I commonly use on the iPad. However, the multitouch support is not the same as a Magic Trackpad’s native OS-level support, so you may see differences in the Casa Touch’s multitouch behavior over time.

\n

The hardest aspect of the trackpad to get used to is the fact that it’s mechanical. You can press it anywhere, and the trackpad will register a click, but there’s definitely more travel at the top than at the bottom. The performance, however, is excellent, and Logitech says its battery will last three weeks. I’ve seen reviews that mention a slight lag in the input, but I haven’t experienced that myself. The trackpad is responsive, and thanks to Logitech’s Options+ app, it supports all the macOS trackpad gestures I use. I’d prefer it if the Casa Touch wasn’t mechanical, but for a setup like this, it’s been fine.

\n

The Casa keyboard and trackpad work with Options+ as well. The app allows you to customize the buttons and gestures on both, set up shortcut commands, and use Flow, Logitech’s feature that bears some similarities to Universal Control. Options+ is a big improvement over Logitech software from a couple of years ago. I don’t customize my keyboards or pointing devices much, though, so I don’t have anything more to add to the subject.

\n
\"\"

\n

Finally, I want to share a little about what it’s been like to use the Casa Pop-Up Desk for the past week and a half. I’ve used the setup at my kitchen table, outside on our porch, on a picnic table outside, at a high-top table at a coffee shop, and on a relatively low café table. The one thing those environments have in common is that they weren’t designed for ergonomics.

\n

Typically, when I work in these kinds of locations, I find myself calling it a day after a couple of hours and heading home to my comfortable desk setup. Hunching over a laptop in an uncomfortable chair gets old fast. However, using the Casa Book stand, which elevates my MacBook Pro’s screen to eye level, I’ve found that working in all of these places is much more comfortable. The setup can’t fix an uncomfortable chair, but it has definitely improved my posture and eliminated hunching over my laptop.

\n

The biggest downside of the Casa Pop-Up Desk is its weight. At 2.65 pounds (1.2 kg), it’s about one pound lighter than my MacBook Pro, which is noticeable in my backpack. That’s a lot if the alternative is using your laptop without a stand and external peripherals. However, any stand, external keyboard, and pointing device are going to add weight. In that context, the Casa’s weight is less of an issue, especially when it comes with the benefits of a stable stand, well-built keyboard, and a trackpad with long battery life. And, even if you just use the Casa at home, I think a lot of people will appreciate that it keeps everything together in a neat package that doesn’t look out of place sitting on a bookshelf or a coffee table.

\n

The Casa Pop-Up Desk comes in three color combinations: Bohemian Blush, Classic Chic (which I tested), and Nordic Calm. It’s available from Amazon and directly from Logitech for $179.99.

\n

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Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

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Join Now", "content_text": "When I’m sitting at home in my office, the ergonomics are perfect. I have a comfortable chair with plenty of back support, my keyboard is at the right height, and my Studio Display is at eye level. The trouble is, that’s not the only place I work or want to work. As a result, I spend time almost daily using a laptop in less-than-ideal conditions. That’s why I was eager to try the Logitech’s Casa Pop-Up Desk that debuted in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand last summer and is now available in North America, too.\nLogitech sent me the Casa to test, and I’ve been using it on and off throughout the past 10 days as I work at home, away from my desk, and in various other locations. No portable desktop setup is going to rival the ergonomics of my home office, but despite a few downsides, I’ve been impressed with the Casa. By making it more comfortable to use my laptop anywhere, the Casa has enabled me to get away from my desk more often, which has been wonderful as the weather begins to warm up.\n\nClosed, the Casa Pop-Up Desk looks like a notebook.\nThe Casa’s case, called the Casa Book, takes design inspiration from classic Moleskine-style notebooks and bento boxes. Everything tucks away neatly in what looks from the outside like a hardbound book or notebook with a sturdy elastic band holding it shut.\nOpening the Casa Pop-Up Desk reveals the keyboard, trackpad, and a small compartment for a charging cable.\nInside the Casa are three compartments. Two of the compartments house the Casa Keys keyboard and Casa Touch trackpad, while the third contains a USB-C cable for charging the peripherals, with enough spare room for another short cable or two. At first glance, I expected the keyboard and trackpad to be difficult to remove because they sit flush against the sides of the case. However, Logitech has cleverly angled the bottom of each compartment so you can push down on the keyboard and trackpad to tilt its opposite edge up, making it easy to grab.\nSetting up the stand.\nThe Casa Book transforms into a stand that elevates your laptop. The front cover of the Casa Book folds into two connected sides of a triangle, with one long edge slotting into a groove in the other half of the case where it’s held in place with magnets. That forms a triangular stand for the base of your laptop. Along the bottom are two L-shaped rubberized brackets that hold the computer in place. There are additional rubberized pads at the top and in the center of the stand to further stabilize your laptop. The grippy rubber band that holds the entire Casa together when everything is put away helps it stay put on a tabletop when used as a stand, too.\nA view from the side.\nUsing the Casa lifts the bottom edge of my MacBook Pro’s screen about 7” (nearly 18 cm) off a tabletop. The effect is a substantial improvement in ergonomics, significantly reducing my tendency to hunch over my MacBook Pro.\nI’ve also tried the Casa with an M1 MacBook Air and a 12.9” iPad Pro. The stand works equally well with the MacBook Air, raising its screen to a much more comfortable height. The Casa works with the iPad Pro, too, but with caveats. If you try to use it with the Magic Keyboard case attached, the screen tilts forward, which is unworkable. However, without the keyboard attached, the Casa transforms into an iPad drafting table, which works well for interacting with it using touch, the Apple Pencil, or Logitech’s keyboard and trackpad.\nThe Logitech K380 (top), the Casa Keys (center), and Apple’s Magic Keyboard (bottom).\nThe keyboard that comes with the Casa is similar to Logitech’s K380 keyboard, except its keys are square instead of rounded, and it’s rechargeable, whereas the K380 uses AAA batteries. Both differences are upgrades as far as I’m concerned.\nThe Casa’s keyboard and trackpad have the exact same footprint as the keyboard and trackpad on a MacBook Pro. The keyboard’s layout is slightly different than a Magic Keyboard, but the functionality is largely the same. However, the function buttons are smaller on the Casa’s keyboard, and it uses an inverted T-pattern for the arrow keys, which I know many people prefer to Apple’s configuration.\n\nLogitech says that the keyboard’s battery will last up to five months, which is far longer than I’ve used it. However, I’ve always had good luck with Logitech keyboards when it comes to battery life, so I don’t expect that I’ll need to charge it very often. One thing that helps Casa Keys achieve that battery life is the fact that the keyboard isn’t backlit, which is worth keeping in mind if you expect to work in a dark environment. The keyboard can also pair with up to three devices, which is something I wish Apple would do with its keyboards but hasn’t.\nTyping on the Casa keyboard is a lot like the Magic Keyboard. The keys are quiet and have a little more surface texture than the Magic Keyboard. The key travel is greater on the Casa Keys than the Magic Keyboard, and the whole keyboard is thicker and very slightly more angled, too.\nThe Casa Touch (left) and Apple’s Magic Trackpad (right).\nAs for the Casa Touch trackpad, it’s the best third-party trackpad I’ve used, but it still isn’t as good as Apple’s Magic Trackpad. Even though it’s the same size as my MacBook Pro’s trackpad, the Casa Touch looks tiny sitting on a table because it’s significantly smaller than a Magic Trackpad. Overall, though, the smaller size hasn’t bothered me.\nLike the keyboard, the Casa Touch pairs with up to three devices. In addition to a MacBook Pro, I’ve paired the trackpad with my iPad Pro, and it supports the multitouch gestures I commonly use on the iPad. However, the multitouch support is not the same as a Magic Trackpad’s native OS-level support, so you may see differences in the Casa Touch’s multitouch behavior over time.\nThe hardest aspect of the trackpad to get used to is the fact that it’s mechanical. You can press it anywhere, and the trackpad will register a click, but there’s definitely more travel at the top than at the bottom. The performance, however, is excellent, and Logitech says its battery will last three weeks. I’ve seen reviews that mention a slight lag in the input, but I haven’t experienced that myself. The trackpad is responsive, and thanks to Logitech’s Options+ app, it supports all the macOS trackpad gestures I use. I’d prefer it if the Casa Touch wasn’t mechanical, but for a setup like this, it’s been fine.\nThe Casa keyboard and trackpad work with Options+ as well. The app allows you to customize the buttons and gestures on both, set up shortcut commands, and use Flow, Logitech’s feature that bears some similarities to Universal Control. Options+ is a big improvement over Logitech software from a couple of years ago. I don’t customize my keyboards or pointing devices much, though, so I don’t have anything more to add to the subject.\n\nFinally, I want to share a little about what it’s been like to use the Casa Pop-Up Desk for the past week and a half. I’ve used the setup at my kitchen table, outside on our porch, on a picnic table outside, at a high-top table at a coffee shop, and on a relatively low café table. The one thing those environments have in common is that they weren’t designed for ergonomics.\nTypically, when I work in these kinds of locations, I find myself calling it a day after a couple of hours and heading home to my comfortable desk setup. Hunching over a laptop in an uncomfortable chair gets old fast. However, using the Casa Book stand, which elevates my MacBook Pro’s screen to eye level, I’ve found that working in all of these places is much more comfortable. The setup can’t fix an uncomfortable chair, but it has definitely improved my posture and eliminated hunching over my laptop.\nThe biggest downside of the Casa Pop-Up Desk is its weight. At 2.65 pounds (1.2 kg), it’s about one pound lighter than my MacBook Pro, which is noticeable in my backpack. That’s a lot if the alternative is using your laptop without a stand and external peripherals. However, any stand, external keyboard, and pointing device are going to add weight. In that context, the Casa’s weight is less of an issue, especially when it comes with the benefits of a stable stand, well-built keyboard, and a trackpad with long battery life. And, even if you just use the Casa at home, I think a lot of people will appreciate that it keeps everything together in a neat package that doesn’t look out of place sitting on a bookshelf or a coffee table.\nThe Casa Pop-Up Desk comes in three color combinations: Bohemian Blush, Classic Chic (which I tested), and Nordic Calm. It’s available from Amazon and directly from Logitech for $179.99.\nAccess Extra Content and PerksFounded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.\nWhat started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.\nClub MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;\nClub MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;\nClub Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.\nLearn more here and from our Club FAQs.\nJoin Now", "date_published": "2024-03-13T11:24:41-04:00", "date_modified": "2024-03-13T11:24:41-04:00", "authors": [ { "name": "John Voorhees", "url": "https://www.macstories.net/author/johnvoorhees/", "avatar": "https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5a1475dcd87638ed2f250b6213881115?s=512&d=mm&r=g" } ], "tags": [ "accessories", "iPad", "iPad Pro", "keyboard", "mac", "macbook air", "macbook pro", "reviews" ] } ] }