If you do any kind of writing or sketching on your iPad, you should use a stylus. But you don’t need to spend $99 on an Apple Pencil. SonarPen is the affordable “smart pen” every iPad owner needs. It’s accurate, practical, and it never needs charging.
As much as Apple Pencil accessories seem like useless widgets desired to cash in on gullible buyers, the PencilSnap from Twelve South solves a real problem — how do you keep your Pencil together with your iPad? With a paper notebook, you either clip your pen to the cover (good), to the spine (nasty), or just leave it between the pages and jam the book closed around it (what are you? Some kind of monster?).
With the iPad you can’t do any of those. Instead, you’ll have to buy the PencilSnap to take care of it for you.
It is usually correct to ridicule Apple Pencil accessories. This hand-stitched leather sleeve for the Pencil, for instance, is absurd. But some Apple pencil accessories are almost essential, including today’s selection, the Fintie cap holder, nib cover, and Lightning cable adapter tether. At first glance, these may look as pointless as a the pencil case, but after some study, you’ll see they’re essential to fix Apple’s own design mistakes.
Still stressed about holiday shopping? Don’t fret! Cult of Mac is here to help you pick out the perfect gifts for your loved ones this Christmas. This gift guide offers up a bunch of brilliant suggestions for the iPad addict in your life.
We’ve handpicked the best accessories, the finest cases, and more.
The iPad Pro is set to get a huge processor upgrade in 2018, based on the latest rumor out of Apple’s supply chain in Asia.
Apple supposedly plans to slap an octa-core processor in next year’s iPad Pro, making them the most powerful tablets Apple’s ever made. The chip will allegedly be manufactured by TSMC and will pack a few features the A11 chip on the iPhone X doesn’t have.
Whether it’s Touch ID or Siri, we’re used to seeing hot iPhone features make their way across to the iPad. However, a new report suggests that we may soon see the opposite phenomenon: the arrival of an iPad-style Apple Pencil arrive on the iPhone.
According to “an industry source,” Apple is preparing to launch an iPhone as early as 2019 that will include a stylus. Apple is said to be in talks with several stylus makers, suggesting that this wouldn’t simply be adding iPhone support for the existing Apple Pencil, but instead the creation of something new.
Microsoft is bringing its Edge web browser to iPhone.
Windows users will feel right at home with its design, which looks as close as possible to that of Edge on the desktop. They will also enjoy the ability to send websites to their desktop when they want to view them on a larger screen.
It used to be so simple: If you swiped open the iOS Control Center and tapped the Bluetooth icon, then Bluetooth would be toggled on or off. That was it, and the same went for Wi-Fi.
In iOS 11, tapping the same Bluetooth button doesn’t do that. Instead, the Control Center Bluetooth button disconnects your iPhone or iPad from connected Bluetooth accessories, leaving the actual Bluetooth radio on. What’s more, not all accessories get disconnected. Just what in the blazes is going on here?
iPhone and iPad owners can finally enjoy iOS 11 starting today and Apple’s got some spanking new videos to help you dive right in.
Apple published a series of new how-to videos on iOS 11 that cover a range of topics like converting handwritten notes into type and editing photos. The helpful new videos also cover some cool third-party apps that take advantage of the software update’s new features.
Watch them all right here:
Apple Pencil has become such an essential accessory for iPad Pro owners that Apple is working on bringing it to the iPhone.
New patents again reveal the company’s work on making the iPhone compatible with its beloved stylus, just a day after Samsung announced its new Galaxy Note 8, a smartphone that has become so popular thanks to its S Pen.
Having to keeping track of your Apple Pencil with ugly accessories is the worst feature of Apple’s magical stylus. A new iPad app is promising to change that hassle by providing a Find My iPhone like solution for the Apple Pencil.
Nebo is an alternative to Apple’s upcoming iOS 11 Notes app. Like the Apple app, Nebo lets you use the Apple Pencil to draw and write in notes. It also recognizes the words you write and lets you search on those terms. Unlike the native Notes app, however, Nebo also converts your longhand scrawls into actual, editable text, which can be copied and pasted anywhere.
In fact, I used Nebo to write this entire article. My handwriting isn’t as fast as my typing any more (my hand still hurts), but the app is fantastic.
Apple is famous for its iconic designs, but is the company slowly losing its way?
Products like the Apple Pencil and Smart Battery Case suggest that Apple’s design team might be missing a certain spark. Even the iPhone, once the prettiest smartphone by a long shot, is now being outshone by rivals from the likes of Samsung and LG.
Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over whether Apple design has become lazy and boring. And be sure to have your say!
With the Apple Pencil getting so useful in the upcoming iOS 11, you might consider purchasing one for use with your iPad Pro. There are already a slew of accessories for the Pencil, most of which are utterly ridiculous, like this leather case — from Apple itself, no less.
As a longtime Apple Pencil user, though, one accessory has caught my eye. It’s the FRTMA magnetic sleeve, and it solves a whole bunch of Apple Pencil “problems” all at once.
Apple has begun selling refurbished models of the Apple Pencil at a discount. iPad Pro owners in the United States can save a pretty penny when picking up the best stylus available for their tablet — but it’s still not the most affordable.
In love with your new iPad Pro? You can thank Microsoft for that.
Microsoft executive Ryan Gavin claims Apple’s latest take on tablets wouldn’t have happened without the Surface Pro. It is a “clear example” that the company is following Microsoft’s move into ultraportable 2-in-1 machines.
Apple has rolled out yet another pair of iPad Pro ads, this time focusing on power and what makes Apple Pencil so spectacular.
The 16-second clips continue the “Real Problems” campaign, which sees common complaints solved by Apple’s tablet.
All this week, illustrator and senior UX/UI designer Andy McNally will be sketchnoting Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference for us.
My markers and pens worked overtime to capture all of the news and announcements in this year’s WWDC keynote. I captured three pages of notes on watchOS 4, macOS HighSierra, the iMac Pro, the new 10.5 inch iPad Pro, and iOS 11. The artist in me is excited about trying out the new iPad Pro to test the improved Apple Pencil latency. You can check out all of Apple’s announcements and details here.
Apple just unveiled the 10.5-inch iPad Pro we’ve all been waiting for. It delivers a faster 120Hz display for smoother motion and enhanced Apple Pencil performance, but Apple’s latest A10X Fusion processor for the best performance on an iPad to date.
All next week, illustrator and senior UX/UI designer Andy McNally will be sketchnoting Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference for us, starting with the big keynote on Monday.
It is time to get ready for the 2017 WWDC. What should I pack? What pens should I bring? OK, maybe I’m the only one who has to think about what pens and colored markers I need to bring. However, it is critical to remember all of the chargers and cables for our Apple devices.
“Sketchnotes” are an increasingly popular form of visual note-taking. By combining text and images, sketchnotes are not only beautiful, but often easier to recall than text alone. The technique is an effective way of capturing notes and ideas in the classroom, meetings and conferences.
All next week, illustrator and senior UX/UI designer Andy McNally will be sketchnoting Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) for us, starting with the big keynote on Monday.
Andy has been covering Apple’s events as sketchnotes for some time. We ran some of his sketchnotes from last year’s event, which proved very popular. He’s back again this year, and is planning to publish sketchnotes from a variety of sessions at the conference.
Before he gets started, Andy shared some tips and techniques for getting started on sketchnoting yourself. Let’s take a look:
If you love the idea of Apple Pencil but you don’t want to upgrade to a pricey iPad Pro, the new Bamboo Sketch stylus is the solution.
With 2,048 levels of pressure sensitivity, interchangeable tips, and Bluetooth connectivity, it’s the ultimate stylus for any iPad.
The iPad Pro is getting some fresh competition from Microsoft after the company just took the wraps off its newest tablet, the Surface Pro.
It’s been over 16 months since Microsoft’s would-be iPad-killer was last updated. Although its the 5th version of Microsoft’s tablet, this go around the company decided to ditch the number suffixes and pack the Surface Pro with more features than ever before.
Tim Cook has repeatedly said Apple has no plans to make a touchscreen MacBook, but a crazy new concept imagines what would happen if the company replaced keyboards with a giant touchpad.
Giving creatives a big touchscreen instead of a keyboard may sounds like a horrible idea at first. Typing would definitely take some getting used to. However, designer Daniel Brunsteiner’s concept shows how you could do some cool new stuff with the touchpad.
Take a closer look:
For all the intricate thought that went into the design of the Apple Pencil, a safe and elegant way to store and charge it with the iPad Pro was an obvious detail seemingly overlooked.
An accessories startup has produced a smart case for the iPad Pro that conveniently docks and charges the pencil along an edge.