Apple releases a brand-new app for creative brainstorming and collaboration called Freeform.
Apple’s Freeform is a flexible canvas to share ideas in a creative way. Image source: Apple
Freeform is available now and comes included with iOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2 and macOS Ventura 13.1. Apple describes the app as a “flexible canvas” with an emphasis for sharing and collaborating visually. Think of it as a digital whiteboard, where you can draw or write freely without being limited by things like layouts or page sizes.
Sketch and share with easy-to-use tools
To express your creativity on its blank canvas, Freeform comes with a variety of tools that are easy to pick up. Building on the canvas theme, the app comes with various brush styles and color options for freeform writing, enhanced with built-in gesture support. iPhone and iPad users can use their fingers for freeform sketching and support for Apple Pencil is a plus for iPad users in this regard.
The app supports a wide variety of files that can be used in your canvas. Apart from the expected photos, videos and audio, you cand add links to websites and map location, sticky notes, preset shapes and diagrams and even PDF files. Adding content is easy too with drag-and-drop support for Files app and Finder on macOS. You can even add photos or scanned documents directly with iPhone and iPad cameras.
Collaborate easily with support for up to 100 people and built-in FaceTime and Messages features. Image source: Apple
Work creatively and collaboratively
Apple’s vision is for Freeform to be a collaborative space and has added features to support this. The app supports up to 100 collaborators in a single board. Getting those other 99 people is made easier with the new collaboration features in Messages. You can invite others by dropping a board into a Messages thread to invite all the people in that thread. All changes made to the board will also be tracked in the same thread. If messaging is not enough, FaceTime is built-in with the app too. FaceTime calls to all collaborators can be started by tapping the collaboration button at the top right of the screen. You can also view edits by all collaborators in real-time via FaceTime call. Freeform also allows boards to be shared via email, exported as a PDF or even a screenshot.
The creative professional market is hot in its strides for a few years now. It is understandable though, since it is a fresh take on performance PCs that are not gaming specific devices. Before all these hard-charging devices exist, creative professionals had to mostly rely on gaming specific devices to get their specific work done and to meet their own requirements.
Gaming specific PCs had a lot of power packed into them, which is why creative professionals would understandably prefer them for their work. The thing is gaming specific devices are quite compromised for the professional creative studio. They tend to be loud, with the sometimes-extreme thermal requirements that are extra powerful hardware. The cooling fans must go into overdrive most of the time to cool the hardware which would usually make the entire room sounds like a bomb is about to go off.
Source: HP
Source: HP
Source: HP
Source: HP
Source: HP
Source: HP
It does not have to be so anymore though with a slew of devices designed and manufactured specifically for the creative professionals in the world of content creation, The HP ZBook Firefly G9 is such a device. As a bonus, its user gets to take it anywhere to get productive.
12th Generation Power
First things first, the ZBook Firefly G9 packs the most powerful Intel CPUs to date, the 12th generation Core processors. You can spec it up to an Intel Core i7 processor for the best-in-class performance in a chassis that only weighs about 1.47kg. You can pair the processor with up to an NVIDIA T550 or RTX A500 GPU for a smooth and fast 3D workflow anywhere you take the laptop. With up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM, speed is never going to be a problem with the ZBook Firefly G9.
Ample Memory
To ensure that you have enough storage to work with, you can opt for up to 2TB in Gen4 PCIe NVMe SSD. Of course, you get to enjoy speedy access to all your work too when you need it. If you need to expand your storage, there is an extra Gen3 PCIe slot for you to work with.
Accurate Display
Everything you need is displayed via either a 14-inch or 16-inch display. Both options go up to WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200 pixels) resolutions with up to 100% sRGB colour gamut. While 400nits may not sound like a lot for a display for creative professionals, it is more than enough for most creative work remotely. If you wish to, there is a HDMI 2.0b power or two Thunderbolt 4 ports for you to connect to works specific displays for better colour accuracy and what not. It is also a 16:10 aspect ratio display, for extra working real estate on your laptop.
Made for Remote Working
The ZBook Firefly G9 is really made for remote working. It packs up to 13-hours in battery life, so that you can be working off-site for longer with no battery anxiety. If you need to go on a team meeting via teleconference, you get a 5-Megapixel AI camera that also tracks your movements while ensuring that your voice gets through loud and clear despite your busy surroundings. You do not only get WiFi 6E too, you get to opt for a ZBook Firefly G9 with 5G connectivity to really work anywhere you open your laptop. Of course, to keep prying eyes from your important work, there is an IR scanner with Windows Hello keeping your files guarded.
Pricing and Availability
The HP ZBook Firefly G9 will be available in Malaysia later in June 2022. Official pricing for the notebook will also be announced later. For more information on the HP ZBook Firefly G9, you can visit their website.
Innovation is ASUS’ middle name. Well, not really. But they are one of the most innovative PC manufacturers of late. They were the first and still the only manufacturer that offers a dual function touchpad that works as a mouse tracking pad and an extra number pad at the same time. They are the only manufacturer currently that ships some of their notebooks with two displays in a notebook PC. At this point, when ASUS launches new devices, we are basically asking, “what will be the next big thing?”.
OLED is not a new technology. By now you would have known and understood the power of an LED display and what it can offer in terms of colour reproduction and contrast, in comparison to regular LCD displays. It is not a new technology on ASUS devices too, in a sense. They have integrated the OLED technology into their ZenBook before this.
ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 OLED
Source: ASUS
The top-of-the-line ProArt notebook PC is the no compromise notebook for the creatives that needs the power for 3D CAD work. The OLED display that is splashed on the new ProArt StudioBook Pro measures in at 16 inches as per its name. The 16:10 display pushes 4K (3,840 x 2,400) UHD resolution into your face. The 4K UHD OLED display also boasts 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage with up to 550 nits in maximum brightness. At ΔE<2 as well, the pantone validated display should be a lot of help for creators.
Inside the 16-incher’s chassis you can find either a very powerful AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX (W5600, up to), or an industrial 3rd generation Intel Xeon W-11955M (W7600, up to). Alongside the choice of two processors, the ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16 can be specced with up to 64GB in 3200 MHz DDR4 RAM. At the same time, you can pack the StudioBook Pro with up to 4TB of PCIe SSD from the factory to ensure you have ample storage for all of your work and quick access to the files you need. Speaking of storage, the SD card reader on the StudioBook Pro is capable of reading SD cards at 985 MB/s for an extra smooth, extra fast workflow.
In terms of graphics, you get NVIDIA power for both variants of the StudioBook Pro. The notebook can be packed with up to an NVIDIA RTX A2000 GPU (A5000 of W7600 Intel variant), which is made specifically made for the studio environment. Thanks to modern machinery as well, you get the benefit and power of a full HDMI 2.1 port on the notebook.
Source: ASUS
While all these are well and good, it does take away from the interesting innovation that ASUS has fitted into the StudioBook Pro though. The innovation is on the surface of the keyboard on the ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16. On the keyboard surface of the StudioBook Pro is not just a keyboard and touchpad combo. The touchpad does not need to double as a numpad as well, because this has dedicated physical numerical keys. The innovation comes in a form of a small circular dial that sits just below the keyboard.
They call it the ASUS Dial and it is brilliant for the creative industry. Using dials to have more granular and finer controls over your creative software, or even volumes, is nothing new. But having that packed in a notebook and having it accessible wherever you deploy your mobile workstation without extra accessories is new. This is what the ASUS Dial is though, a dedicated, built-in dial that is compatible with Adobe’s suite of apps. The implementation is not limited to Adobe though, imagine working with CAD software to create your next big project. The Mousepad also has a third middle button now just to really suit content creators for their projects and apps.
ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED
Source: ASUS
There is also the ASUS ProArt StudioBook 16 OLED, a less bonkers version of the ultimate creative working laptop. The ASUS ProArt StudioBook 16, visually, shares the same design cues with the more expensive and powerful ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 16. The StudioBook 16 even features the same ASUS Dial that the Pro variant gets. The touchpad also features the third middle mouse button.
You still get a 16-inch 4K (3,840 x 2,400) UHD OLED display that boasts the same colour accuracy as the pro variant. The difference lies in the hardware that powers the device. While you can still opt for the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX AMD powerhouse if you are team red, the Intel variant only goes up to a Core i9-11900H processor. While it is no workstation powerhouse, the latest generation Tiger Lake Core i9 processor is still a respectable and mighty powerful processor for the notebook.
Graphics wise, the Intel variant stops at NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3060 while the AMD variant goes up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070. Both the notebooks support NVIDIA’s studio driver, these are creator-centric notebooks after all. You still get to pair the powerful processors with up to 64GB 3200 MHz DDR 4 RAM for smooth operations especially when you are relying on creative apps and 3D rendering projects. With up to 4TB in SSD storage as well, you are not going to be really wanting more storage space for your ongoing projects. On top of all of that is a super-fast SD Express 7.0 SD card reader with up to 985 MB/s read speeds.
Price and Availability
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
Source: ASUS
There are no announcements on the availability of the new ProArt StudioBook series with OLED displays just yet. There are no mentions on pricing either but remember these are made to be the ultimate portable workstation for content creators. In that regard, you can expect them to come at a premium. With that kind of price premium, its availability in Malaysia might be even more delayed. However, if you are a production house in need of powerhouse like the ProArt StudioBook series with OLED displays, you can try ringing up ASUS to come up with a deal.
Mobile World Congress 2020 was cancelled, but that does not
mean that you will miss all the big announcements. HUAWEI just had their announcement
not more than an hour ago. In that announcement they announced the latest HUAWEI
Mate Xs foldable smartphone. It is pretty much an evolution of last year’s
HUAWEI Mate X foldable smartphone. That is not all they launched though.
This year they also introduced the HUAWEI MatePad Pro, a
high-end tablet designed for the professionals. Why we say that? It has a DCI-P3
colour accurate display for the best sort of colour reproduction you can get on
10-inches of display. The 10.8-inch display pushes 2,500 by 1,600 pixels, effectively
a QHD+ display. With a 90% screen to body coverage too it is small, really
small. Thin too at 7.2mm, as thick as modern smartphones.
It is one of HUAWEI’s most advanced tablets to come out of
the Chinese tech giant’s showrooms. It packs HUAWEI’s HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G
processor. You get an option of getting the MatePad Pro with 5G connectivity
too if you really must. Of course, the 5G versions will cost you a little bit
more.
Audio cannot be neglected in a super powerhouse like the
MatePad Pro too. You get not only four speakers at each corner of the device; you
also get far-field mics for your voice commands from a distance away. That is
all wrapped in ultra-light fiber glass body or stylish vegan leather body.
For maximum productivity, you can get the HUAWEI M-Pencil
for EU€
99. You can take advantage of the app multiplier, multiscreen collaboration, multi-window
modes, and even HUAWEI share for even more optimised productivity and
multitasking. Of course, it does have large battery to fill the space within
the slim and compact body. 7,250mAh large, in fact. For that, you get all-day
productivity. It even charges at 40W if you plug it in a wall charger. It can
charge wirelessly at 37W too.
The HUAWEI will be available within this quarter of 2020. Malaysia? We do not have a set date yet, but it looks like we are also getting it soon enough. It comes in either Green or Orange Vegan Leather colour options, or White or Grey glass fiber colour options. Prices start at EU€ 549 (6GB + 128GB) [MYR 2,520], EU€ 649 (8GB + 256GB) [MYR 2,979], EU€ 749 (8GB + 256GB, M-Pencil, Vegan Leather) [MYR 3,438] for the WiFi version, EU€ 599 (6GB + 128GB) [MYR 2,749], EU€ 699 (8GB + 256GB) [MYR 3,208] for the LTE variant, and goes all the way up to EU€ 799 (8GB + 256GB) [MYR 3,666], EU€ 949 (8GB +512GB) [MYR 4,355] for the 5G variant. The HUAWEI MatePad Pro runs on HUAWEI’s EMUI 10.0.1 based on Android 10 Operating System (OS) though you can only get your apps through HUAWEI’s App Gallery.
