| Cult of Mac

Take control of your Apple Pencil 2

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Like everything else, the new Apple Pencil is better.
Like everything else, the new Apple Pencil is better.
Photo: Andrea Nepori

The Apple Pencil 2 is way better than version 1.0. It’s always charged. It’s always there on the side of your iPad, ready to use. And now that it supports tap gestures, it’s also a lot more powerful. But it doesn’t stop there.

Check out these excellent Apple Pencil 2 tips and tricks to take your Apple stylus usage to the next level.

Linea Go, the iPad’s best drawing app, is now on iPhone

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Linea Go manages to shrink the iPad version and keep it easy and fun to use.
Linea Go manages to shrink the iPad version and keep it easy and fun to use.
Photo: The Iconfactory

Linea Go is the little sister of Linea, perhaps the best pick-up-and-go drawing app on the iPad. And unlike the iPad, where there are a ton of really top-end drawing and painting apps, the iPhone has far fewer, especially if you just want a great way to lay down a quick sketch.

If nothing else, Linea Go shows just how great it would be if the Apple Pencil worked with the iPhone.

The best Apple Pencil apps that aren’t for drawing

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apple-pencil-jar
Don't leave your Apple Pencil in the jar.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

You have a new iPad, and you have a new Apple Pencil. Time to learn how to draw, right? Not necessarily. Just like a regular pen or pencil, there are ton of other things you can do with an Apple Pencil. You can write, of course, but you can also play games, compose musical scores, do coloring in books, edit photos, and even play the Apple Pencil like a musical instrument.

Let’s take a look at the best non-drawing apps for Apple Pencil.

How to replace a paper notebook with your iPad

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lock screen notes
The iPad might finally be better than paper.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

The iPad has replaced many things — it’s a TV, it’s a games console, it’s a book, it’s a (huge) camera, and it’s even a typewriter. But until recently, it hasn’t made a very good alternative to paper. But thanks to the Apple Pencil, and to iOS 11, that has changed. Now you can write and draw a note without even unlocking your iPad, and you can search for anything you write, just as if it were text. Let’s check out lock-screen notes.

How Apple made the Photos app even more private in iOS 11

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Private photos Linea
App’s like Linea don’t need to read your whole photo library just to save a sketch.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

In iOS 11, developers have a new way to access your Photos library: write-only access. Instead of granting permission for an app to read and write to your Photos library, just so it can save the odd image, an app can now only be allowed to write — or save — images, without getting to poke around inside your library to see what else is there. It’s much more private,

Fire Emblem Heroes, Linea and other awesome apps of the week

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Awesome Apps
'Appy weekend everyone!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Looking to get up to speed on the week’s hottest apps? We’ve got your back!

In a week in which Apple announced record-breaking revenues, we’ve combed through the latest apps to bring you the cream of the crop. Whether you’re looking for Nintendo’s latest iOS game or a great sketching app, we think you’ll find something to entertain you…