Astropad

Read Cult of Mac’s latest posts on Astropad:

Improved iPad screen protector and Apple Pencil tip make drawing easier

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Astropad Rock Paper Pencil v2 textured iPad screen protector and Apple Pencil tip
Rock Paper Pencil v2 is for artists struggling with drawing on a slick iPad screen.
Photo: Astropad

The second-generation version of Astropad’s Rock Paper Pencil includes an improved version of the textured iPad screen protector. Theres also a more durable Apple Pencil tip.

The combo is designed for digital artists who want drawing on an iPad to feel more like using a pen on paper.

Darkboard offers creatives an iPad stand for drawing and notetaking

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Astropad Darkboard makes drawing on an iPad more comfortable
The iPad's slender bezels won't make drawing a challenge any more with Darkboard.
Photo: Astropad

The Astropad Darkboard is a new lightweight, ergonomic drawing surface for iPad. It gives artists a place to rest their arm while drawing without covering the tablet’s screen.

After a successful launch on Kickstarter, the product is now available worldwide.

Darkboard makes drawing on an iPad more comfortable

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Astropad Darkboard makes drawing on an iPad more comfortable
The iPad's slender bezels won't make drawing a challenge any more with Darkboard.
Photo: Astropad

The Astropad Darkboard is a new lightweight, ergonomic drawing surface for iPad. It gives artists a place to rest their arm while drawing without covering the screen.

There are versions for the three largest Apple tablets.

Turn iPad into professional drawing tablet with Astropad Studio for PC

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Turn iPad into professional drawing tablet with Astropad Studio for PC
Artists, grab your iPad and Windows laptop. Astropad Studio for PC is here.
Photo: Astropad

Astropad released the first Windows version of Astropad Studio, software that turns an iPad into a drawing tablet wirelessly communicating with a laptop or desktop. With it, artists can mirror their favorite professional drawing or painting apps on the tablet, including using an Apple Pencil with Windows software.

The software has been in beta testing for a year.

Free Astropad Studio beta turns iPad into second screen for Windows PCs

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Astropad Studio on Windows lets your iPad become a drawing pad for Windows apps.
Astropad Studio on Windows is available as a free public beta. It makes an iPad into a PC’s second screen.
Photo: Astropad

Astropad released a free public beta of the Windows version of its software that turns an iPad into a second screen for a laptop or desktop. With the beta, users can test out mirroring their favorite apps on the tablet, including using an Apple Pencil to draw in Windows software.

Luna Display update makes iPad a better MacBook second screen

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Luna Display easily converts an iPad into a second screen for your MacBook Pro.
The Luna Display adapter is so small you can hardly see it.
Photo: Astro HQ

A new version of the software that drives Astro HQ’s Luna Display promises to noticeably improve the screen refresh rate and latency for this dongle that lets an Apple tablet function as an external screen for a Mac.

The improvements have also been brought to Astropad Stiudio, this company’s app that turns an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil into drawing tools for a Mac.

Tiny adapter makes your iPad into a MacBook’s second screen [Review]

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Luna Display easily converts an iPad into a second screen for your MacBook Pro.
Luna Display easily makes your iOS tablet into a screen for your Mac.
Photo: Astro HQ

Even a 15-inch MacBook Pro screen feels cramped when compared to a big desktop display. Too bad toting around a second screen for your laptop isn’t practical.

But maybe it is. Luna Display is a tiny wireless adapter that lets an iPad act as an external display for a Mac. We tested this accessory to see how well it lives up to its promise of a hassle-free way of extending our MacBook screen when on the go. Read on to find out how it did.

Astropad turns your iPad Pro into an amazing wireless drawing tablet

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Draw on your Mac via your iPad Pro. Slick!
Draw on your Mac via your iPad Pro. Slick!
Photo: Giovanni Donelli/Astropad

Digital artists know that there’s no substitution for a graphics tablet when trying to draw on your Mac, except maybe the iPad Pro and Pencil.

Astropad co-founder Matt Ronge thinks his company’s $20 app, when combined with an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil, can match and even exceed the current champ of the tablet world, the Wacon Cintiq.

“iPad Pro is an amazing drawing platform but iOS is far too limited for the professional artist,” says Ronge. “So we wanted a way where we could get the best of both worlds, the power and flexibility of the Mac coupled with the touch interface of the iPad.”

5 iPad Pro apps creatives should download now

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iPad Pro
You should build something on all of that real estate the iPad Pro is giving you.
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Apple’s massive iPad Pro tablet is finally getting into the hands of the waiting public, and now all that remains is the small matter of how to make the most of its 13-inch screen.

The company has been pushing its new hardware to creators and enterprise. And while we’re guessing that most artists and professional designers and artists who already owned iPads have a favorite app or two, newbies picking up the latest for its huge screen and fancy Apple Pencil stylus might be at a loss with where to look.

Here are some of our picks for iPad Pro apps to start getting your creati-on.

#ProTip: The best book on marketing for app developers

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AltConf profile
Matt Ronge and Giovanni Donelli, the indie devs behind Astropad, a hit app that turns an iPad into a graphics tablet.
Photo:

We’re down here at WWDC, fishing for ProTips. It’s rich hunting ground. WWDC is the world’s biggest gathering of Apple developers, the alpha geeks, experts par excellence. What’s a ProTip? A ProTip is a nugget of knowledge, a little bit of expertise from someone in the know — a pro.

Astro HQ is a two-person indie software company that launched its first app in February.

Run by two ex-Apple engineers — Matt Ronge and Giovanni Donelli — their app was successful. They’re now making their livelihoods from their software. They’re living the dream! Independent app developers!

They’re as rare as unicorns.

Only 0.01 percent of app developers are financially successful, according to a depressing survey by Gartner.

Ronge and Donelli did a lot of things right, including their own app marketing, which they say was key to their successful launch.

They did the app marketing themselves, with no prior experience, and a lot of what they learned was thanks to one book.