Apple iPad

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Apple iPad:

Apple working on iPad-like smart home display for 2024

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iPad Pro 2022 Back View
Apple has an iPad-like smart home controller in the works
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Apple’s recently announced HomePod 2 packs some impressive smart home capabilities. But that’s not the only product the company is working on.

Apple is reportedly working on several smart home devices, including a smart display. The low-end iPad-like device can control thermostats, lights and do FaceTime calls.

Future iPads could get big boost from M-series Mac processor

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An iPad with an M-series chip could happen in 2022..
iPads could be so much faster running Apple M-series Mac processors.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Apple could be preparing to dramatically improve the performance of its iPads. The company reportedly will start building its tablets with the same M-series chips that go into the company’s laptops and desktops.

These will be produced by Apple’s chip maker TSMC, which is moving ahead with developing 3nm processors. Its first production units will reportedly be M-series chips for Macs. And these processors will also allegedly be used in future iPad models.

Huge Mac sales drive record-breaking earnings for Apple

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Apple Q4 2020 earnings: Mac sales (and services) drove revenues to record highs last quarter.
Mac sales (and services) drive Apple revenues to record highs once again.
Photo: Rachel Moenning/Unsplash CC

Apple pulled in more revenue last quarter than in any previous July-through-September period, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Growth came from sales of Mac and iPad, as well as revenue from services.

But iPhone revenue was down dramatically because of the delayed release of the iPhone 12 series. That hurt earnings significantly.

2020 iPad might borrow the best features of the iPad Pro

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Apple Smart Keyboard Folio for the 2020 iPad Pro
The 2020 iPad could look a lot like this iPad Pro.
Photo: Apple

The 2020 iPad will resemble a smaller iPad Pro, if leaked schematics of this upcoming computer are accurate. It supposedly will offer narrow screen bezels, Face ID, a USB-C port and other features previously reserved for Apple’s high-end tablets.

Scribble and Smart Selection make Apple Pencil way more productive

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Apple Pencil 2 in Hand
The Apple Pencil is fancy, and finally getting more useful.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Back when Apple introduced the Apple Pencil, the company positioned the stylus primarily as a tool for artists. And try as I might, I’ve never been particularly great at drawing. That said, it didn’t stop me from picking up an Apple Pencil to annotate documents, edit photos or use as an alternative way to touch the screen.

Then the Magic Keyboard came along with a fantastic trackpad experience. It offered a different way to interact with the screen without touching it with my finger. But now, with iPadOS 14, Apple has rewritten the story of what Apple Pencil can do, and it’s completely changed how I use my iPad once again.

Best Apple Pencil alternatives for your iPad

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Adonit Note+ review
Apple Pencil isn’t the only iPad stylus. With Adonit Note+, you can draw Tippy. Or take notes, sign PDFs, and more.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

iPadOS 14 includes Scribble, finally allowing you to hand write text on an iPad with a stylus. If you don’t already have a stylus, there are some great options out there besides the very expensive Apple Pencil.

Here are some of the best available, so you can take full advantage of your iPad’s capabilities without paying too much.

iPad demand surges due to teleworking and online learning

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iPad neck
Students attending classes at home brought an increase in iPad demand.
Photo: R. Marsh Starks/UNLV Creative Services

Apple reportedly placed multiple rush orders for iPad screens with LG Display. The tablet saw increased demand in Asia this quarter, with COVID-19 forcing so many people to attend classes and work from home.

iPad sales dragged down by COVID-19, but rebound predicted

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The new 2019 iPad Air, with its 10.5-inch screen, works with Apple's existing Smart Keyboard.
The first quarter of 2020 wasn’t great for iPad Sales but Q2 might be much better.
Photo: Apple

Revenue from iPad sales dropped 10% during the first quarter of 2020. And shipments dropped 3%, according to a market-research firm. But analysts say that people working and studying from home during the pandemic could bring a burst of purchases this quarter.

A decade ago, iPad blindsided Windows team

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Steve Jobs with the original iPad
Apple co-founder Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad 10 years ago today. It wasn‘t good news for Microsoft.
Photo: Apple

Steven Sinofsky has an unusual perspective on the iPad. On the the 10th anniversary of Apple unveiling this tablet computer, the former president of the Windows Division at Microsoft looks back at his reaction to this breakthrough computer.

Adobe Illustrator heads for iPad in 2020

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Adobe Illustrator for iPad
Apple’s tablets would take another step toward parity with MacBook if Illustrator for iPad is real.
Photo: Adobe/Cult of Mac

An iPad version of the Adobe Illustrator professional drawing tool is in development, according to an unconfirmed report.

This apparently indicates Adobe is in the midst of converting several of its desktop tools to iPadOS, as Photoshop for iPad is also scheduled to debut sometime next year.

10.2-inch iPad hits Apple Store shelves

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ipad
The quickest way to get the new 10.2-inch iPad is to go to an Apple retail store today.
Photo: Apple

The latest iPad just made its appearance in Apple retail locations. Those eager to get their hands on the first 10.2-inch budget tablet with iPadOS can hurry to the nearest store to pick one up now.

This is currently a quicker option than ordering the seventh-generation iPad for home shipment.

Apple begins shipping first 10.2-inch iPad to customers

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Here’s the 10.2-inch iPad for 2019.
Anyone who pre-ordered the new iPad will receive it soon.
Photo: Apple

Apple today started shipping its latest budget iPad to those who pre-ordered this tablet after it was unveiled earlier this month. It will hit Apple Store shelves later this week; Apple isn’t saying exactly when, however.

This is the first 10.2-inch iPad, and it replaces the last 9.7-inch model in Apple’s lineup.

See the best iPadOS features in only 60 seconds

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iPadOS 13 running on a iPad
iPadOS makes it easer to switch between running applications.
Photo: Apple

iPadOS just launched, and Apple wants tablet owners to know why they should upgrade. Its short video hits the highlights, like accessing full contents of USB drives, the advantages of editing video on a larger screen, and much more.

Watch it now:

iPadOS arrives with the killer iPad features we’ve been craving

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iPadOS launch date
Beta testing is over. iPadOS 13.1 can be installed on any recent Apple tablet.
Photo: Apple

iPadOS 13.1 is now available, ready to be installed on a wide variety of iPad models. It brings features Apple tablet users have long been asking for: allowing applications to open multiple windows, support for mice, full access to USB drives, and much more.

This new version was announced in June and has been in beta testing all summer so there are no surprises. But the time for testing is over. Almost everyone with an iOS tablet made in the past five years can install iPadOS.

Astronaut uses iPad to DJ an out-of-the-world party

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DJ astronaut from ISS
DJ Astro Luca provided the tunes for a party while on the International Space Station.
Photo: BigCityBeats

A DJ providing music from an iPad is no big deal… unless he’s 250 miles above the Earth traveling at 17,000 miles an hour. That’s what astronaut Luca Parmitano did, casting music from the International Space Station.

Watch his set now:

Apple explores dual-screen MacBook with tactile keyboard

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Dual-screen MacBook patent
Apple wants to give MacBooks a second display with a tactile keyboard, ditching the built-in one.
Photo: Apple/Cult of Mac

Apple is considering a MacBook with two displays, with the second screen acting as a keyboard. By necessity, iPads already employ on-screen keyboards but these lack tactile feedback. Apple is looking for ways to make these virtual keys move when they’re typed on.

The company has been pursuing this project for years, as demonstrated by a patent it just received.

Apple Watch and iPad with LTE head for Xfinity Mobile

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Apple Watch Series 4
Apple Watch along with several iPad tablets are options for Xfinity Mobile customers.
Photo: Apple

In a better-late-than-never scenario, Comcast’s Xfinity Mobile wireless carrier will soon begin offering two recent iPad models along with last year’s Apple Watch. These are the first non-smartphones available from this company, and all have built-in 4G LTE wireless networking.

Google has made its last iPad rival

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Google Pixel Slate tablet
Pixel Slate is the last Google tablet you’ll ever see,
Photo: Google

Google won’t make any more tablets, and dropped plans to introduce two models it was prepping for release.

No reason was given, but heavy competition from Apple’s iPad line had to have been a factor.

iPads help refugee children learn new languages

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Students learn German language on iPad
iPad helps students in Germany learn a new language.
Photo: Apple

Teachers in Europe dealing with a flood of refugees are successfully teaching children new languages with iPads.

After a school in Germany gave every student in its German-as-a-second-language program an Apple tablet, the graduation rate rose to 100 percent.

Mobile officially tops TV as American’s biggest time waster

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iPhone XR 1
It’s been coming a long time, but Americans now spend more hours a day on our phones and tablets than we do watching TVs.
Photo: Apple

US adults spend more time on their phones and tablets than watching traditional televisions. While phone use has been on the rise for years even as TV use dropped, the most recent annual survey done by eMarketer is the first in which mobile devices came out on top.

Only a few years ago, TV use was significantly ahead of phones and tablets. Not any more.

iPadOS brings those killer iPad features we’ve been craving

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iPadOS is the new name of the tablet version of iOS.
iPadOS is the new name of the tablet version of iOS.
Photo: Apple

WWDC 2019 bugApple just unveiled some of the most significant changes to the iPad line ever as it continues making these tablets ever better computers for professionals. The company even went so far as to free them from iOS — from now on, they run iPadOS.

Other dramatic changes include allowing applications to open multiple windows, a home screen redesign, improvements to the Files app, and more.

iOS 13 could be Apple’s biggest iPad-focused upgrade ever

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Apple Smart Keyboard Folio turns the 2018 iPad Pro into a notebook.
Details leaking out ahead of next month’s iOS 13 announcement indicate it will offer plenty for iPad, but iPhone won‘t be overlooked.
Photo: Apple

The unveiling of iOS 13 is expected in less than a month, and a new report spills details on many of the improvements supposedly coming. For iPhone users, iOS 13 is bringing refinements to already existing features. iPad users, on the other hand, are supposedly getting plenty of new capabilities.