Factory is an aptly-named new iPad synthesizer from SugarBytes. In fact, calling it a synth is underselling it — kind of like calling GarageBand a “tape recorder”. Factory does synthesize sounds, but it also has built-in effects, a sequencer, an arpeggiator, and a totally wild DJ-style crossfader, which lets you morph between presets.
The app is ultra-flexible, as capable of finely-crafted sound design as it is of sonic mayhem.
Adobe is working on a brand new Photoshop app that will bring its most powerful editing tools to iPad. It will make its debut sometime this year, but a lucky few will get the chance to test it early.
Creative Cloud subscribers can now sign up for a chance to get access to the beta.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars now plays nicely with modern iOS devices.
Rockstar’s mobile hit is the fourth in the GTA franchise to add support for iPhone and iPad variants with edge-to-edge displays and the latest A12 processors. The latest version is free for those who have already purchased Chinatown Wars.
Samsung has started rolling out the new Apple TV app on compatible Smart TVs.
The app gives users access to all their iTunes content as well as Apple’s upcoming TV+ subscription service. You’ll need to install a firmware update to get your hands on it.
Apple Music enlisted clothing company LRG to become the latest company to handpick songs for a new set of curated playlists.
LRG, short for Lifted Research Group, became popular for its street wear thanks to endorsements from some of the biggest rappers and R&B artists in the world. As you’d expect, its new playlists are highly influenced by those genres too.
In the bad old days, there used to be just one way to send an email attachment from your iPhone. You had to find the file or image, and use the share sheet to send it via email. Then, you’d add the address, subject line and message, and send the mail. And if you needed to add another file to that email? Tough.
Now, things are much better. There are now several ways to send mail with attachments on iOS — the exact number depends on whether you’re using the iPhone or iPad. Let’s check them out.
I love rolltop backpacks, both for their flexibility and because they keep the rain out. WaterField Designs’ new Tech Rolltop is a cool-looking waxed-canvas bag, with some typically smart WaterField details.
The Sensel Morph is a different kind of “keyboard” for the iPad or Mac. It’s a pressure-sensitive panel onto which you can slap various silicone overlays, turning it from a QWERTY keyboard into a piano, a movie-editing controller or many other specialized interfaces.
It’s a customizable, wildly imaginative input device designed for musicians, video editors, illustrators, writers and other creative types.
The song you’re listening to on your iPhone is a bit too quiet, so you adjust the volume. Perfect. Then the song ends, and the next one blasts your ears. You fumble your iPhone from your pocket and tap the volume down a notch or two.
Thanks, Apple Music. Why can’t you just play all the songs at the same volume? Obviously that’s what everyone wants.
Wait, what’s that? You can? How?
Wall Street received surprisingly better-than-expected news from Apple’s Q2 2019 earnings report today — and the stock is soaring in after-hours trading.
iPhone sales remain down, but pretty much every other facet of the company’s business is firing on all cylinders. Customers are falling in love with the iPad all over again. Services are booming. And Apple’s wearables business is now the size of a Fortune 200 company.
Despite plenty of doom and gloom from analysts over the last 12 months, Apple’s future is looking bright again.
Amazon is serving up sweet deals on iPads right now. You can grab the latest entry-level model for just $249. Or, if you can’t put that sweet 11-inch iPad Pro out of your mind, you can make the purchase price a lot less painful with today’s $300 discounts.
Also in today’s Deals & Steals roundup: Inexpensive HomeKit-compatible light bulbs and amazing deals on wireless chargers and USB-C cables!
Apple seeded the fourth beta of iOS 12.3 to developers this morning, just one week after the last beta was released. iOS 12.3 beta 4 brings with it a number of changes for iPhone and iPad, including changes to the Apple TV app, Wallet app tweaks and tons of bug fixes.
Update: The public can now also download iOS 12.3 beta 4, allowing anyone to test out the new features.
Among its other new features, iOS 13 could bring USB-C mouse support to the iPad, a new report claims.
The rumor comes courtesy of MacStories editor Federico Viticci, who revealed it on the latest episode of his podcast. While he didn’t (unsurprisingly) single out names, he mentioned that he had heard it from a “couple of people.”
Slope, a beautifully designed minimalist tablet stand, transforms your iPad into a second Mac screen or even a mini iMac.
Whether you’re pairing iPad with Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard, or using it as an external display for MacBook or iMac, Slope positions and displays your tablet with utmost style and security.
It’s the perfect way to integrate your new iPad Pro into your desktop setup and Apple ecosystem. This is especially significant with the rumored macOS 10.15 update, code-named “Sidecar,” enabling an iPad to act as a second screen for running macOS software.
At first glance, the decade-old OP-1 synthesizer from Swedish musical instrument makers Teenage Engineering looks about as standalone as it gets.
The tiny device couples a short, piano-style keyboard with a screen. And it contains a drum machine, several synthesizers, a sampler, a handful of sequencers, a virtual four-track tape recorder and even an FM radio. You can create entire tracks on it with no other gear, or you can hook it up to electric guitars and microphones and bring the outside world in.
But it also pairs surprisingly well with an iPad. You can record audio back and forth, but things go much deeper than that. You also can use the OP-1’s hardware keyboard to play instruments on the iPad, and use iPad MIDI apps to control the synthesizers on the OP-1.
If you own both pieces of gear already, hopefully this how-to will give you some new ideas about making music with an iPad. But if you only own an iPad, this in-depth article will provide tips for using your tablet with other music gear.
And if you know nothing about the OP-1, or about Teenage Engineering’s work in general, you’ll learn why the company is kind of the Apple of the synth world. Teenage Engineering is known for its incredible interface design — and for having a quirky personality similar to 1984-era Apple, when the brand-new Mac was making waves.
Amazon and Best Buy are now offering some of the biggest discounts we’ve seen on Apple’s latest iPad Pro lineup. And you can make yours even more affordable by selling your old model when you upgrade.
Cult of Mac offers real cash for your old Apple devices, and we typically pay more than anyone else. What’s more, it’s incredibly quick and simple, and we will even buy back battered tech in need of repair.
Huawei says it has had no contact with Apple regarding the supply of 5G chips for a future iPhone lineup.
The Chinese smartphone-maker has previously stated it would be willing to work with its rival on a 5G iPhone. However, Apple has not been in touch — despite its struggle to obtain chips elsewhere.
Mozilla, the company behind Firefox, is calling for Apple to boost user privacy on iOS by introducing rotating advertiser IDs.
Most iPhone and iPad users don’t know that they can block access to their unique ID, Mozilla says. Regularly rotating IDs would make it harder for companies “to build profiles of us over time.”
Sign the petition to pressure Apple into making a change today.
iOS 13 will bring big improvements and a whole bunch of new features to iPhone and iPad users this fall.
Many of the changes have been spilled in a new report that cites people familiar with the update. You can look forward to a real dark mode, better multitasking, a font manager, and more.
Apple chip-maker TSMC is almost ready to start mass-producing next-generation A13 chips for this year’s new iPhone lineup.
The A13 will employ an “enhanced version” of TSMC’s N7+ fabrication process, according to a new report. It is likely to be Apple’s last 7-nanometer chip following the launch of TSMC’s new 5nm foundry at the Southern Taiwan Science Park.
The quick answer is “Yes, of course you should.” The more complex answer is “But only if you need it.” Your iPhone has an equalizer built in, although it’s not exactly easy to find. Annoyingly-hidden-yet-essential interface elements aside, there’s usually not much point in tweaking the EQ of your Apple Music library unless you have a problem in your setup.
But if you do want to use it, here’s how.
WhatsApp is one of the world’s most popular messaging apps. More than 1 billion people use it every single day. But until now it’s not been available on the iPad without using a WhatsApp Web workaround.
That may be about to change, however, as WhatsApp is reportedly working on an official iPad app. It’s about time!
There have, unfortunately, been plenty of scams involving stolen or misappropriated Apple products due to their high resale value.
However, few clock up the kind of quantities revealed in a report about a five-year scam. It involved an accounting manager for a software company. Over several years, Nadia Minetto spent upward of $6 million on iPhones and iPads using a company credit card. These Apple devices were then sold, before Minetto was ultimately caught.
Apple’s efforts to make the iPad as thin as possible mean that their fragile aluminum frames have been known to bend easily. But the new iPad mini holds up surprisingly well in a brutal bend test.
Unlike its larger siblings, the fifth-generation slate remains perfectly intact when shaped to look like a banana.
Are you thinking of switching from the Mac to the iPad? Maybe you’re sick of your MacBook’s glitchy keyboard, or you would prefer to be able to remove the keyboard altogether when you don’t want it, and use touch instead?
Or perhaps you’re tempted by the cheaper pro apps on iOS, or the portability, or you just can’t see the point of a 27-inch iMac on your desk when all you do is read and write.
Whatever your excuse, switching from macOS to iOS is easier than ever. Thanks to iCloud, and a host of great apps and accessories, switching can be almost seamless. Let’s see what you need.