iPad Pro - page 8

Apple is working on an iPad Pro with a 14.1-inch mini-LED display, ProMotion and Face ID, sources suggested Thursday.

Unfortunately for folks who are already salivating at the idea of such a big Apple tablet, it probably won’t arrive until early 2023.

If you’re one of the many, many people waiting longer and longer periods for your Mac thanks to supply-chain delays, we apologize in advance. We don’t mean to rub your face in your misfortune.

But when we find a great computer setup featuring an exciting new 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pro splitting time with an Xbox on a 40-inch, curved ultra-wide display, we’ve just got to talk about it.

Photographer and writer Chris Denbow puts an interesting twist on his computer setup. He credits its “Dark Mode” — which is obvious in the photographs of the desk and the room, but extends to the machines and the software he uses — for boosting his focus and creativity. He said the dark theme gives him a “space dedicated to creativity.”

“Introducing ‘Dark Mode,’ a minimal, monochromatic home office/workspace that helps eliminate distractions, [and] allows focus and productivity,” Denbow told Cult of Mac.

We don’t run across huge numbers of computer setups online driven by M1 MacBook Air laptops. When a laptop is the main computer, it’s more often a MacBook Pro.

But a MacBook Air powered by an M1 chip is a formidable machine, whether you’re tossing it in your knapsack for work on the go or leaving it on a stand on your desk, jacked into a USB-C hub and external display.

An M1 MacBook Air drives today’s featured setup — located in Germany — which also features some interesting bits and pieces we haven’t seen elsewhere. Those are a nifty Marshall wireless speaker and a foot hammock.

The M1 iPad Pro just dropped back to the lowest price we’ve seen. Amazon is currently selling the 11-inch model with 128GB of storage for just $699.99 after a $100 discount. (Note that part of that discount shows up at checkout.)

On higher-storage variants, you can score a discount of as much as $200. As usual, there’s no way of knowing how long these deals will last.

With iPadOS 16 right around the corner, there’s a lot of hope that a rumor of floating app windows for iPad will come true. This would make Apple’s tablet more Mac-like, without turning it into a Mac.

Enhanced support for external displays is also on many people’s wish lists, including my own. Apps on multiple screens would be another important part of making iPad more productive for high-end users.

Not every computer setup needs to be a visually stunning technological showcase, despite appearances to the contrary on social media sites. The best setup is the one that gets the job done. And, for many people, simpler is better.

Doug, a lawyer from San Francisco, extolled the virtues of his spare but highly functional MacBook-centered setup when he reached out to Cult of Mac recently.

Zagg launched a version of the Pro Keys with Trackpad that’s compatible with Apple’s largest iPad. It combines a rigid, protective case with a removable keyboard with a built-in trackpad.

There were already versions of the keyboard case for smaller iPad models, and now there’s one for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro.

A cool aspect of both Mac minis and the newer Mac Studio are the platform-like USB-C hubs festooned with ports and added storage capacity that third parties have designed for them to sit on. Satechi was quick out of the gate with one for the mini, but there are other such cleverly designed, space-saving hubs on the market. And many of them also fit the Studio.

Today’s featured setup boasts a powerful new Mac Studio perched on a Qwiizlab hub as it drives an LG UltraWide display, among other gear.

Recently we wrote about a PC gamer converting to the Apple ecosystem, happily, with an M1 MacBook Pro-based setup. Now we have a lucky recipient of not one but two recently shipped Studio Displays, freshly arrived to replace a pair of gaming monitors.

Apple shipped 4.6% fewer tablets in the first three months of 2022 than it did during the same period of 2021, according to a market research firm. The iPad-maker blames the shortfall on the global chip shortage preventing it from making enough devices to meet demand.

This is the second quarter in a row that iPad shipments have been hurt by component shortages.

There are two types of people in the world. There’s the person who happily tosses a bunch of mismatched gear on a desk and calls it a setup. Then there’s the person with properly placed objects, minimal-to-no cable clutter and careful color choices — down to the charging-pad-and-braided-cable level.

Today’s featured setup clearly belongs to the second type of person.

When a computer setup sports massive curved and stacked displays, it can be easy to miss other details. Today’s featured Mac mini setup features a 32-inch curved monitor sitting on top of a super-ultra-wide screen spanning a jaw-dropping 49 inches.

But a tiny object sitting off to the right in the photograph quietly steals the limelight. Look at what the AirPods Max headphones are sitting on.

Continue reading

Gallaudet University confirmed Saturday that Apple CEO Tim Cook agreed to deliver its commencement address next month. Cook responded to a student’s invitation via Twitter to speak at the school’s 152nd Commencement on May 13.

Gallaudet, located in Washington, D.C., calls itself the only university in the world where Deaf, deaf-blind and hard-of-hearing students live and learn bilingually in American Sign Language and English.

Apple and the university have close ties, with Gallaudet serving as an Apple Campus. Incoming students are equipped with a MacBook Pro or an iPad Pro. And the school praised Apple TV+ Oscar-winning film CODA for its realistic portrayal of a deaf family.

Ever show off your painstakingly constructed computer setup only to have everybody race past the gear just to ogle what’s showing on the screen(s)? The desktop wallpaper.

It’s kind of like that with today’s featured setup, the brainchild of a graphic designer.

He put together the dual-monitor setup around a 13-inch M1 MacBook Pro with a lineup of nice touches. And he also made the neato race-car wallpaper that got most of the attention.

Anyone who buys a desktop Mac or wants a desktop feel using their MacBook is going to need a decent-sized external display. And wouldn’t it be grand if we all had $5,000 to spend on an Apple Pro Display XDR? Well, we don’t. In fact, scratching together enough cash to buy a new, more-affordable Studio Display can feel like a stretch for many folks.

The owner of today’s featured computer setup figured out a clever way to run a brilliant Liquid Retina XDR Display at much less cost with their new Mac Studio. What’s the catch? Well, it’s only a 12.9-inch display. Because it’s an iPad.

Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s marketing chief, shared an image of a surprised young girl today. It looks like a photo, but the image was instead drawn by an Apple employee using an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil.

Check Joswiak‘s post for the full image. And never doubt that iPad is a serious tool for creating amazing art.

Some computer setups just say “slick.” They declare, in their perfection, “I might actually be staged.” They suggest, without a trace of shyness, much less humility, “There’s no way I look this clean all the damn time.”

Neither a speck of dust nor a stray cable to be seen.

But then again, some workstations are cleaned up with the arrival of a major new addition and made ready for the one photo where they’ll look their Sunday best. That’s likely the case with today’s featured setup, with its dark-stained woods and its lights just so. After all, it just got a brand new Mac Studio.

Apple launched the iPad in stores exactly 12 years ago today, and the device has evolved enormously since then, in both capabilities and hardware. Today’s devices can do so much more than their forbearers. Tablets have lived up to Steve Jobs’ vision … and exceeded it.

Here are a dozen reasons to love what Apple’s tablet has become.

We’ve written about storing a Mac mini in an upright rather than a flat position to save space. It’s OK to do if the machine’s intake and exhaust vents are not blocked. But what about using your Mac mini as a stand for a display, as in today’s featured computer setup?

It’s not necessarily quite as cut-and-dried as the upright mini question. Whether it’s totally fine or a little risky depends a little more on the specific Mac mini and the kind of monitor you use.

Early benchmark scores for the soon-to-be-released iPad Air 5 show the tablet has approximately the same performance as the iPad Pro models that cost much more.

That’s not a surprise considering the new Air has the same M1 processor as the Pro.

The Apple M1 processor inside the newly announced iPad Air 5 makes the tablet as powerful as the similarly sized iPad Pro. Given the price difference, the new Air is a better option for most people.

The iPad Pro has advantages. And it’s still the right device for some folks. But think hard before putting down an extra $200 that might be unnecessary. Here’s why the iPad Air 5, which Apple unveiled during Tuesday’s Peek Performance event, comes out ahead in many ways.

It requires a lot of bandwidth to drive the super-sharp 5K screen in Apple’s new Studio Display, and some devices just don’t cut it. Those hoping to use one with iPad Air will be disappointed to learn that a big upgrade is necessary.

Studio Display is only compatible with the fifth-generation iPad Air, announced during Apple’s big Peek Performance event on Tuesday. The fourth-generation model, released in October 2020, is left out in the cold — like iPad mini.

Just like any other electronic gadget, Apple Pencil can sometimes experience issues that prevent it from working as intended. The good news is that it’s quick and easy to fix almost any Apple Pencil problem.

Try these simple tricks to eliminate connectivity problems, stuttering and more when your Apple Pencil starts acting up.

If you’d like a change from plastic or silicone cases for your iPad Pro, you have a new option. Accessories maker Nomad rolled out two new premium leather products Wednesday, the Modern Leather Case and the Modern Leather Folio. Depending on how you feel about leather, you may find they offer a touch of class without much bulk.

Both products feature full-grain leather. Their slim design offers protection mainly because of specs like a raised TPE bumper and a polycarbonate layer.

Continue reading