iPad Pro Diary, Day 2: I have a shameful confession to make. Even though I’ve been using an iPad and iPhone for years, I haven’t really been using them.

I do a few things that haven’t changed for donkeys. I read on the iPad all the time and send the odd email. I play songs on Sonos. I played Kingdom Rush a few times. I watched a Netflix video. That’s about it.

My iPhone I use more, but nothing heavy duty. Messaging, email, photos and maps. The odd phone call.

But now that I’m forcing myself to use the iPad Pro for work — to see if it really is a PC replacement — I’m discovering something unesxpected: That the iOS ecosytem is far deeper, more productive, and better integrated than I knew.

Not only is work easier on the iPad these days, it’s a lot more fun.

Rumor has it that Apple Watch will get an update next year. There is already plenty of speculation about what cool new features Cupertino will add.

Personally, I’m hoping that the new watch will focus on fitness, so I’ve created a mockup concept to show what I’d like to see in the next generation of Apple Watch. I call it the Apple Watch GPS, Nike edition.

This week: can the new iPad Pro really replace your Mac? Apple seems to think so, but we’ve got a Pro in-hand and we’re not so sure. Plus: Apple may soon offer us all a simple way to pay each other; and stick around for another classic El Kahney rant—zombie edition—on an all new Stuff We’re Into.

Our thanks to Harry’s for supporting this episode. Harry’s super-sharp, German-made razors ship free right to your door and for way less than the drugstore razors. Learn more at Harrys.com and save $5 off your first order with code CultCast.

If you’ve had an iPad for at least a couple of years now, you’ve probably noticed one of the major ergonomic issues with it: there’s no perfect way to hold it. You can hold your iPad to use it which always feels just slightly awkward, place it on a table which hunches you over and strains the back of your neck, or put it on your lap and fold your legs up which just feels ridiculous. A Kickstarter project called the Tstand aims to solve this problem.

The Tstand is a new, adjustable tablet stand that can dramatically decrease muscle tension when you’re trying to do something as simple as watch a show on Netflix. The stand has a foldable, clamshell design that can match any viewing angle you need.

Beats, like their creator Dr. Dre, have become synonymous with big sounds and big personality. They’re also known for coming at a premium price, which has kept a lot of people from properly pleasing their ears with Beats’ premium sound. Right now you can get in on the fun with a set of white refurbished, warranty-backed Beats Solo HD Headphones for just $99.99.

The iPad Pro is being hailed as “a new kind of computer,” but as some have noted, it’s really the top half of a new kind of computer. Missing is the bottom half — the keyboard.

Apple has a solution for that — the $169 Smart Keyboard, which turns the iPad Pro into a laptop lookalike. But there’s a fantastic alternative: Logitech’s Create keyboard and case.

Logitech’s Create has several advantages over Apple’s Smart Keyboard. First, it’s a keyboard and a case that turns the Pro into a proper faux laptop (Apple’s keyboard is half a case that covers only the iPad’s screen). Logitech’s keyboard has fantastic chicklet keys, versus Apple’s hated low-travel flat keys; and it’s backlit, an essential requirement for any keyboard.

All in all, Logitech’s $150 backlit keyboard turns the iPad Pro into a MacBook — but a MacBook with cool extra features like Touch ID and a touch-sensitive screen.

I think I expected too much of the Trident Valet, but now that we’ve gotten past our initial squabbling, I think we’ll be just fine.

The Apple Watch stand/case/charger, which has its own self-contained charger and an auxiliary port that lets you power up a second device while you top off your watch, will not replace your day-to-day charging setup. But it isn’t supposed to, and once you get past that, you’ll appreciate the Valet for what it is: A good-looking, convenient way to charge your devices on the go.

And if that’s all you need from it, you’ll be really happy together.

Sure, the hot new iPad Pro is big, beautiful, and plenty capable, but it’s also apparently future-proof.

Apple snuck in a USB 3.0-capable Lightning port into the bottom of your favorite massive tablet without telling anyone.

A number of developers have reported noticing a difference in the way the iOS App Store now organizes search results. It appears Apple made changes around November 3 to the search algorithm to improve the relevancy of the results. Developers have identified multiple factors that are contributing to the new App Store search and overall, the changes are garnering positive feedback.

We’ve gotten our happy little hands on the gorgeous, huge new iPad Pro, and we’ve got first impressions of the next-gen post-PC Apple tablet right here.

Plus, some Mac-like keyboard shortcuts for your new friend, must-have iPad Pro apps for creative types, a review of The Room Three (a fantastic puzzler in the App Store), and a check-in with Pope Francis, who wants us all to spend time with each other at the dinner table.

So check out all that and a bunch more in this week’s Cult of Mac Magazine, the best slice of Apple news and info this side of Cupertino. Be sure to get your own copy today.

Here’s a quick preview of what’s inside:

When it comes to smartwatch sales, Apple Watch has well and truly embarrassed the entire Android Wear ecosystem, even though it hasn’t spent anywhere near as long on the market. But with Google’s platform getting a high-profile supporter this week, is it time for change?

TAG Heuer’s new Connected is the first smartwatch from a luxury watchmaker, giving consumers a high-end alternative to the Apple Watch. It has beautiful hardware, great specifications, and even comes with an upgrade program that lets buyers swap it for a traditional TAG watch when it’s no longer useful.

So, is this the device Android Wear needs to mount a threat against Apple’s popular wearable?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we battle it out over that very question!

Tim Cook has weighed in on the Apple Store accused of racially discriminating against six black students who were barred from the store because security felt that they might steal something.

In an email sent to all Apple employees this morning the CEO called the situation ‘unacceptable.’ Cook said he thinks the Highpoint store issue was an isolated incident, but notified employees that leadership teams will be ‘refreshing their training on inclusion and customer engagement,’ starting with Australia.

Read Cook’s full email below:

The iPad Pro’s display is huge. 5.6 million pixels huge.

It’s hard to comprehend just how gigantic a display with ‘78% more display area than the iPad Air 2’ is, so developer Dennis Munsie put it into the perspective by showing that there’s actually more pixels inbetween the iPad Pro’s app icons, than there are on the entire display of the original iPhone.

Check it out:

Dubai has the world’s tallest buildings. While this may boost national pride in the United Arab Emirates, it also raises worry among the city’s firefighters. How do you fight a fire more than 1,000 feet up?

Jetpacks, of course.

The sparkling UAE city will be the first in the world to have emergency responders trained in using jetpacks to combat fires in the taller buildings.

Apple decided to take on Flipboard with the addition of the company’s News app in iOS 9, but according to publishers, the news aggregation service has been a huge disappointment so far.

Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp ripped the serviced last week, and based on a report from DigiDay, other top publishers are also frustrated with the traffic they’re getting from the service that’s only been out for two months.

JJ Abrams has been doing a bad job at keeping his promise not to release anymore trailers until Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit theaters next month.

A new trailer debuted online last night for the highly-anticipated movie and while it doesn’t have as many new scenes as the international trailer that dropped a few weeks ago, there are a couple interesting new bits, like Finn fighting a stormtrooper with some type of electric anti-lightsaber baton.

We’ve created GIFs of all of the new scenes so you can obsess over all the details:

For gamers of a certain age, there are few things as familiar and full of memories as the look and feel of the Super Nintendo controller. Those golden days of gaming are 30 years in the past, but they’re not gone. In fact, they’re still here and better than ever with 8Bitdo’s SNES30 Bluetooth Game Controller, a classic in the remaking that you can get your hands on for $29.95.

Watch snobs say the Apple Watch could never be a true collector’s items. But there is one Apple Watch charger guaranteed to be a pricey collectible.

It is saucer-shaped, gold in color and encrusted with 1,000 Swarovski crystals. Act now and you could own one of 10 for $5,000.

Apple’s first brick-and-mortar retail store in Singapore is one step closer, with Cupertino hiring staff to man its next Apple Store expansion.

The company’s website lists 14 job postings for the store, with positions including business manager, business specialist, and Apple Store leader. The retail store itself is expected to open in 2016.

It’s just six weeks until Christmas, and Apple’s hoping to convince you that it’s the company you should be turning to for help with your festive shopping — courtesy of its 2015 holiday season gift guide.

To make things even better, Apple today started offering free holiday shipping in the U.S, Canada, Europe and select other regions to make your shopping (whether it’s for yourself or others) a tiny bit more affordable.

Apple is considering using iMessage to make it easy for iOS to transfer users money to one another, according to a new report.

Given iMessage’s high level of encryption and existing popularity among users (particularly millennials), it makes perfect sense that Apple would use the software — rather than developing a completely new app — to further its mobile payment ambitions.

The Apple Watch is still being rolled out around the world, but according to the chairman of Quanta Computer, a.k.a. the company which builds Apple’s debut wearable device, a sequel is very much in the works.

Apple may be about to broker a deal with Samsung, which would see the South Korean tech giant exclusively supply Apple with OLED panels.

According to a new report, Samsung is currently expanding its OLED production capacity on the basis that a deal with Apple is “on the fast track.” A source claims that negotiations are progressing rapidly, and that Samsung may end up building a dedicated OLED facility with the sole purpose of supplying to Cupertino.

Apple Music may be gaining an edge over rival companies like Spotify thanks to its remuneration of artists — but in a new interview, the artist currently known as Prince inexplicably blames Cupertino for musicians making no money on the Internet.

“Tell me a musician who’s got rich off digital sales,” Prince told the U.K.’s Guardian newspaper, adding that, “Apple’s doing pretty good though, right?”

Because, as everyone knows, all of Apple’s money comes from withholding royalty payments for “Purple Rain,” right?

Apple has confirmed that it will shut down its Beats Music streaming service on November 30. The news comes just days after Apple Music finally arrived on Android, and users are being encouraged to switch over to its new platform.