Tag Archives: iPad

Apple Showcases Its In-House Apps on New ‘Apps by Apple’ Page

September 5, 2023 Nur Jeevan Leave a comment

Apple has introduced an all-new “Apps by Apple” webpage, residing on its official website. This dedicated space serves as a platform to celebrate and showcase Apple’s proprietary apps, available across the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and Apple TV ecosystems.

In true Apple fashion, the company showcases its commitment to delivering a seamless user experience through these apps, accompanied by tantalizing glimpses of forthcoming features in iOS 17 and beyond.

So, what exactly does this ‘Apps by Apple’ page bring to the table?

A Guide to Apple’s App Universe

This newly minted digital domain, found at apple.com/apps, conveniently categorizes Apple’s apps into six distinct clusters:

Communication: Tagged as “Apps to keep you connected,” this category includes essentials like Phone, Messages, FaceTime, Mail, and Contacts. Apple’s aim here is clear – to facilitate effortless connections.
Creativity: “Tools for pros and passionate creatives” is the mantra here. This enclave caters to the artist in you, boasting apps like Photos, Camera, GarageBand, iMovie, and Final Cut Pro for iPad.
Productivity: In the “All you need to make your work of art” realm, Apple’s offerings include Notes, Reminders, Calendar, Freeform, and Pages. The focus? Enhancing your productivity and creativity.
Exploration: Embark on journeys of discovery with apps like Safari, Maps, Weather, Find My, and Wallet. These apps are designed to simplify your explorations of both the digital and physical worlds.
Entertainment and Home: “Brilliant ways to watch, read, listen, and relax” – this segment features Apple TV, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple Music Classical, and Podcasts, promising entertainment and relaxation at your fingertips.
Health and Fitness: Prioritizing “Wellness for your mind and body,” Apple offers apps such as Apple Health, Fitness, Workout, Sleep, and Cycle Tracking. Your well-being takes centre stage here.

Aside from these categories, the ‘Apps by Apple’ page provides insights into the features that underpin Apple’s ecosystem. These include Siri, iCloud, CarPlay, and Continuity, designed to seamlessly integrate various aspects of your digital life. Family Sharing, another highlighted feature, promotes harmonious device sharing among families.

A Response to Regulatory Changes

It’s worth noting that the unveiling of this page comes at a time when the European Union (EU) is considering regulations that may require Apple to allow third-party app stores and sideloading on iPhones within its member states. Sideloading entails installing apps from sources other than Apple’s App Store. Apple’s long-standing argument for restricting sideloading revolves around security concerns, as it enables stricter control over potential threats like malware.

With these regulatory shifts looming, Apple’s ‘Apps by Apple’ initiative can be seen as a strategic move to bolster its in-house app portfolio. By emphasizing the quality, seamlessness, and privacy features of its apps, Apple aims to ensure that users continue to choose its ecosystem, even in the face of alternative options.

Apple reassures users that “Every app by Apple comes with powerful privacy features to help protect your data and give you control over your information.” This commitment aligns with Apple’s broader stance on privacy and data protection.

While these changes may initially impact EU users, the global tech landscape may witness ripple effects as the industry navigates evolving regulations.

In conclusion, Apple’s ‘Apps by Apple’ webpage serves as a testament to the company’s dedication to delivering a user-friendly and secure app experience. As the tech world continues to evolve, Apple remains unwavering in its pursuit of innovation and excellence.

iOS, Mobile, News

Apple Releases iPadOS 16 Finally

October 25, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The Apple iPad, in our humble opinions, is still the best type of table device out there. Well, when you consider that the iPad is no longer just one tablet, and that Apple makes all kinds of tablets to suit different types of users, it is clear why we say that the Apple iPad range is the most versatile range of tablets out there. Even just the regular iPad offers a better tablet experience than most Android tablets.

There are plenty of reasons why the Apple iPad range is so successful and sought after. The one thing that really sets Apple’s iPad apart is the operating system, the iPadOS. While it did start out as a glorified and enlarged version of the iOS, it really is in a class of its own today, especially with iPadOS 16 that is just released today. So, what is new?

New Messages Feature

Apple iPadOS 16 collaboration — Source: Apple

While the most popular messaging app in the region (Malaysia) is still WhatsApp, Apple’s Messages app has gone from strength to strength with every new iteration. In their latest iPadOS 16, you can now edit, unsend, and mark conversations as unread. That also means you get a little more control over your messages, who you send the messages to, and how you send the messages. If you made a mistake, simply retract the message instead of explaining that you made a mistake.

Via the new Messages app as well, users can invite their friends and family to SharePlay. Simply send them a SharePlay invite via Messages, and they can also join into the fun of watching a movie or TV show together, game together, or even workout together. For work, collaboration invitations can be sent via Messages, and everyone tagged on that messages thread can be automatically added to a document or spreadsheet.

Smarter Mail

Apple iPadOS 16 Mail search — Source: Apple

No more missing your emails with iPadOS 16. You now can mark an email with ‘Remind me’ feature so that you can always come back to the email later. That way, you can put emails in backburners and not forget to respond to the email or act accordingly. At the same time Mail will now alert you if you forgot to include recipients and attachments into your email just before you send it out. If you feel like you have made a mistake, you can retract or cancel delivery of the mail before it even reaches the recipients inbox. If you need to, you can even schedule your emails to be sent out at specific times.

Share Your iCloud Library

Apple iPadOS 16 iCloud Shared Photo Library — Source: Apple

Sharing is caring, and that holds true especially when it comes to your family. Via iCloud Shared Photo Library, up to six family members can share, edit, contribute, and enjoy the photos within the library. Of course, all the shared photos will appear in each user’s Memories and Featured Photos as well. Family moments, after all, is meant to be shared.

Safer Safari

Apple has also included passkeys with Safari with next-generation credential encryption feature. With passkeys, you can be sure that your credentials will never fall into the wrong hands. You simply use Touch ID or Face ID for all your verification needs. This function is synced across devices with iCloud Keychain. For better collaboration, Tab Groups allows you to share groups of webpages with your family and friends. Your friends and family can even add tabs to the group, and you can see what everyone is viewing.

Even Better Collaboration with Freeform

Apple iPadOS 16 Freeform — Source: Apple

The iPad is meant to be just more than an enlarged display for entertainment purposes. The iPad is also meant to be a productivity tool that offers a larger canvas to work with compared to smartphones. With Freeform, it becomes a powerful productivity and collaborative tool that allows users to share and work on the same canvas. With full support for Apple Pencil, the iPad takes collaborative productivity to the next level. Freeform also allows you to keep track of changes made by each user.

Weather App Comes to iPad

Of course, with the larger real estate of the iPad’s display, you really want to fully take advantage. The Weather app does just that complete with immersive animations, detailed maps, and forecasts. With a single tap, users can check on precipitation, air quality, and temperature of the region. If there is a severe weather alert issued in the area, users will also be notified via the Weather app.

Drag and Drop

Apple iPadOS 16 Live Text — Source: Apple

With iPadOS 16 users can also pick up objects from within images to be put into apps like messages with Visual Look Up. The feature now also recognizes birds, insects, and statues. Live Text is also better at understanding texts in videos throughout the system. Users can easily transpose videos and audio to text and quickly copy and paste the texts.

Pro Workflow

Source: Apple
Source: Apple

Exclusive to the iPad Pro, iPadOS 16 makes it an even more indispensable tool for the ones working in the creative industry. Taking advantage of the highly vivid and accurate Liquid Retina XDR display on the 12.9-inch iPad Pro, the OS allows users to use the iPad as a reference display for your editing workflow. This is especially useful for colour grading your work on or for visual approval work too.

Multitasking with Stage Manager

Apple iPadOS 16 Pro feature Stage Manager — Source: Apple

Apple has teased Stage Manager for a while now and it has come to the iPadOS 16, finally. It works pretty much like custom widow groups in Windows OS. You can group apps that are open together and layer apps on top of each other and open all of them simultaneously so that you do not lose time switching from one task to another. You can even create a group of apps that can be opened together in the Dock area to save even more time on your workflows. At the same time, an update that will be brought forth to the M1 and M2 versions of the iPad Pro will allow the tablet to support external displays with up to 6K in resolution.

Availability

Source: Apple
Source: Apple

Apple’s iPadOS 16 is now available for download over-the-air (OTA) for your Apple tablet. Of course, you want to make sure that you have an Apple iPad no older than the 5^th generation. If you own a 5^th generation iPad Mini and later, you get to enjoy iPadOS 16 too. All iPad Pro models will get iPadOS 16 update. More on Apple’s iPadOS 16 can be found on their website.

iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

Finally, a USB Type-C on the new Apple iPad! Oh, There Are New Colours Too.

October 19, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Apple and their proprietary lightning port and cable goes way back. It is the first sort of port and cable combination that is reversible. That means that you can plug your Apple device via the Lightning port in either orientation. Technically Apple’s lightning port is the first ever reversible connector for charging and data transfer purposes.

Since the introduction of USB Type-C though, most modern devices adopted the technology with no issue. It has become the most universal type of port there is today. It also looks like USB Type-C is here to stay, since they have been updating the USB Type-C cable and port for even more power delivery and data transfer capabilities. That is usually enough for organisations to sway into the USB Type-C ecosystem, except for Apple.

Apple has been reluctant to shift to the USB Type-C platform. They technically do have USB Type-C equipped devices like the Apple iPad Pro and iPad Air, but that was about it. Today, they add another device to the USB Type-C collection, the brand new 2022 iPad.

Apple iPad 10th gen Magic Keyboard Folio Apple Pencil 221018 — Source: Apple

The USB Type-C is not the only new thing on the Apple iPad for 2022 though. It looks different too compared to the ones that came before. The tenth-generation Apple iPad now shares a similar design language with the Apple iPad Air and Apple iPad Pro. The unibody back and sides have a more rounded edge over the other two USB Type-C devices in Apple’s stables though.

Alongside the new body design, comes a new display layout with a thinner overall bezel. It is still a 10.9-inch tablet with Liquid Retina display. They have also updated the processor to Apple’s A14 Bionic chip that is supposed to be more powerful than the A13 Bionic before while remaining more power efficient. You still get a 12-Megapixel ultra-wide angle camera up front, which makes for excellent video calls. Out the back is a new 12-Megapixel camera though. This new camera comes with 4K video recording capabilities.

On top of the added flexibility of USB Type-C port and connection, the Apple iPad also packs Wi-Fi 6 for an even faster and more stable connection to the web. If you want to, you can also opt for the 5G capable variant for all sorts of work on-the-go. For an added versatility, you can also opt for a Magic Keyboard Folio designed specifically for the Apple iPad.

The Apple iPad also now comes in four vibrant and unique colours. You can get your hands on a blue, pink, yellow, and sliver shades. Yes, you noticed, there is no space grey option this time. There is also no home button. Your Touch ID is now moved to the power button on top of the device, near the camera.

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

The new Apple iPad with USB Type-C and the A14 Bionic chip is now available for pre-order in the US and select regions. It will ship out and hit stores 26^th October 2022 onward in these select regions too. Malaysia’s Apple website has also started teasing the Apple iPad alongside the newly launched iPad Pro. We are expecting the device to arrive in Malaysia sometime in November 2022. The new Apple iPad will set you back at least US$ 449 (MRY 2,099*). As usual, it is only available in 64GB and 256GB storage configurations. For more information on the Apple iPad for 2022, you can visit Apple’s website.

iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

The New iPad Pro with M2 Chip is Here!

October 19, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

When Apple launched their first M1 silicon to the market, we immediately saw the potential of it powering an iPad Pro. Last year, they made it a reality and finally shoehorned an M2 chip to an iPad Pro. It brought untold powers into an iPad Pro and made the tablet the most versatile work companion you can find in the market. With the Apple Pencil, the iPad Pro is a formidable tablet with the powers of a full-fledged laptop.

Then comes this one, the M2 powered iPad Pro.

Apple iPad Pro hero 2up 221018 — Source: Apple

On the surface, it is the same device all around compared to the older generation iPad Pro from 2021. Everything from the glass panel out front and aluminium backing did not change from the previous Apple iPad Pro. The only difference then, in terms of hardware, is the fact that this iPad Pro now contains Apple’s most powerful chip so far, the M2.

The 2022 powerhouse of a tablet will also ship with Apple’s latest iPadOS 16 to fully take advantage of the beast that is the M2 chip. There is stage manager that takes your multitasking to entirely new levels, you can connect to external displays with the iPad Pro and get two working displays effectively out of it, You can turn the iPad Pro’s highly accurate display into a reference display too or all your colour grading needs, and the best part about iPadOS 16 is that now you can run desktop class apps on the iPad Pro.

The camera on the iPad Pro for 2022 can also now capture ProRes videos. Combined with up to three folds speed in transcoding ProRes footages, this iPad Pro is a video production beast in a thin and lightweight package. You might not even need to carry other devices in this case to get a quick video footage out of it.

Apple did not introduce a new Apple Pencil with the iPad Pro this time. They did not have to with iPadOS 16. With a detection from up to 12mm away from the display, the Apple Pencil is more versatile and accurate than ever. Hovering above the display allows users to see where the Pencil will touch the display before they even make a mark. At the same time, when the Pencil gets near to the display, text boxes automatically expand to make way for handwriting recognition.

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

To bring the tablet up to speed when remote working, Apple has outfitted the iPad Pro with Wi-Fi 6E capabilities to ensure that you can download and upload large files at any time of the day with little interruption to your workflow. If there is no reliable Wi-Fi umbrella around, there is the cellular capabilities that gives you 5G networking (sub-6GHz and mmWave standards) wherever you are (subject to network availability as per locations).

The Apple iPad Pro is now available for pre-order in 28 countries and regions. That obviously includes the United States. You can expect to start seeing the iPad Pro in stores in those select regions from the 26^th of October 2022 onward. There are no mentions or confirmations on the latest iPad Pro’s availability date in Malaysia just yet. With the Malaysian website already teasing the device though, we expect the device to arrive sometime in November of 2022. The 11-inch variant starts at US$ 799 (MYR 3,899*) while the 12.9-inch variant starts at US$ 1,099 (MYR 5,399*). More information on the Apple iPad Pro can be found from Apple’s website.

*Official local (Malaysia) pricing as per Apple.com

Business, Computers, Health, iOS, Lifestyle, Mobile, News

More Apple Than Ever: Apple is Preparing to Launch More Products Beyond WWDC 2022!

June 27, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) 2022 was a big success. We saw the Apple M2 chip being introduced to the world. We also saw the new MacBook Air that is no longer a wedge-shaped laptop. There is also new MacBook Pro with M2 chip in it, obviously.

According to Mark Gurman, the Apple guy at Bloomberg, who has also been a highly reliable source for all things Apple, WWDC 2022 is really a pre-cursor to what Apple has planned out for the rest of 2022. In that case, 2022 looks rather busy for Apple.

We know that Apple’s next new iPhone will be coming somewhere in September, and it will come with a new proprietary Apple chip. The new Apple iPhone models, four of them, will also be the most powerful iPhone devices you can get your hands on. That is also a given, and a known fact.

According to Gurman, the new iOS 16 that was announced at WWDC 2022 is a good indication of what is to come with the next-generation iPhone. The revamped lock screen points to an always-on display feature on the new Pro models of the iPhone. At the same time, the lock screen could display a lot more information than just the clock. It could tell you the weather, your calendar, stocks, activities, and other information. For the sake of privacy, you can also control how much of the information gets displayed on the always-on display.

While the EU has made regulation changes and enforces that every electronics manufacturer, including Apple, to start transitioning to USB Type-C standards in the coming years, the new Apple iPhone 2022 will not sport USB Type-C just yet. It will still feature Apple’s proprietary Lightning port for now. You can expect USB Type-C iPhones to come in 2023 though.

Then there will be the new iPads. Apple did not release the M2 for nothing. Like the M1 chip in the iPad Pro, you can expect the new iPad Pro launching later in the year to feature the M2 chip. In that sense, there will be new 11-inch and 12.9-inch Apple iPad Pro models coming at the end of the year with M2 chips. The M2 chips should be able to take advantage of the new iPadOS 16’s Stage Manager multitasking functions too. There is also a chance, according to Gurman, that Apple will launch larger form factor Apple iPad Pro models. He expects Apple to launch 14 and 15-inch variations of the Apple iPad Pro.

Unlike how Apple took their time with M1 chips spreading across Apple’s range of products. The M2 might spread more like wildfire this time. Gurman expects Apple to start launching even more products equipped with the M2 chip. There is an M2 Mac mini, M2 Pro chips on the Mac Mini and MacBook Pro models. There could be the M2 Max, M2 Ultra, and M2 Extreme chips coming too, since Apple already has the knowhow on building even more powerful chips based on their original SoC design.

The HomePod is also something that Apple might be looking to upgrade in the coming months. Apple might be looking to update the new HomePod with new processing chips, like the new Apple Watches. There is also supposed to be some new optimization made to the smart speaker in terms of size and audio performance. There are also rumours about multi-touch functions. Gurman also expects new AirPods Pro to be launched with new updated processing chips and higher quality audio.

Remember that all these things are just speculations. There are no straight up confirmations from Apple that they will be launching these new products immediately or in their regular September launch. Until they do make their official announcements, we can only wait and watch.

Source: Bloomberg

iOS, Mobile, News

[WWDC 2022] iPadOS 16 Can Now Take Advantage of M1’s Power

June 13, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Apple’s iPad ecosystem is one of, if not the most successful tablet line-up in the entire world. Even though we have always been fans of the Android ecosystem, even we must admit that the Android tablet experience pales in comparison to the modern iPad, especially when you consider the iPad Pro line-up. Sure, the Android tablet experience have improved tremendously over the years with more choices popping up at the same time. Even then, the basic iPad will still be our tablet of choice, if a decent basic tablet is what you are looking for.

Of course, every story today has a humble beginning. For the iPad, it started out as an oversized iPhone that runs on iOS. The iOS that was on the iPad evolved to become iPadOS though, and it started differentiating itself from the iPhone counterpart pretty much from the get-go. Now with iOS 16, we have iPadOS 16.

To be fair, the iPadOS 16 is not the 16^th generation of iPadOS. The iPadOS was an adaptation of the iOS for much larger screen formats, hence its confusing yet dignified naming scheme. Still, the iPadOS 16 is most likely the most significant iPadOS that Apple has ever developed for modern Apple iPad devices.

The whole idea behind the iPadOS 16 is making use of the Apple M1 chips you can now find on the Apple iPad Pro devices from 2021. Since the iPadOS can take advantage of the bigger display of the iPad devices anyway, it is built with more multitasking functions than ever. To make the iPad more of a productivity beast than ever before, there are more collaboration tools and capabilities built into the interface too.

Messaging, but Even Better

Apple WWDC22 iPadOS16 Messages 220606 — Source: Apple

Messaging on the iPadOS should be a little more distinctive even compared to the regular messaging app you can find on iOS. On the iPadOS 16’s messaging app, you can edit or recall messages that are recently sent. If you have mistakenly deleted a message, you can even quickly recover them. In case you need to save your messages for later, you can even mark them as unread to remind yourself to come back to it later.

Work And Collaborate, but Smarter than Ever

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

Apple introduces Freeform, a new collaboration tool that gives users the ability to see, share, and collaborate within a single space and with full support for Apple Pencil. You can contribute to the board and edit the contents of the board at any given time, in real-time. You can even create and start a board right from FaceTime and see real-time updates in your messages thread.

Mail is even better too. Like the iOS version of the Mail app, messages can be recalled and cancelled before it reaches the recipient’s inbox. You can even schedule emails to be sent at your desired time. If you so wish to, you can even set your emails in your inbox folder to ‘Remind Later’ just so you can look at it again at a more appropriate time. If you need to pull up older messages, the new search algorithm also ensures that you can easily find your older emails quickly and accurately.

Check the Weather on iPad, Finally

The weather app for the iPad is now here and is much better than before. Well, it is a weather app, there is no running from its basic functions of telling you the current weather and other weather predictions. Instead of a plain image or background though, the weather app tells you weather with interactive animations that changes according to the current weather and weather predictions. Users who live in high-risk areas can even get notified if a severe weather alert is issued for their area. At the same time, users can even check the air quality in a particular area with easy to read, color-coded scale.

Professionally Adapted

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

The iPad Pro can now become another rather useful tool in a content creator’s arsenal. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro comes with a brilliant Liquid Retina XDR display that is rather wasted if not properly utilized. With iPadOS 16, users can now use the 12.9-inch display of the iPad Pro as a reference display for colour grading purposes and even compositing images.

There is also something called Display Zoom. It allows users to increase the pixel density of their display so that they can see more in their apps. When needed, Virtual Memory Swap can also adapt the iPad’s storage to expand available memory for differing application (up to 16GB) depending on their demands.

Apple also introduced Stage Manager, an iPadOS exclusive feature. It is a unique multitasking interface that automatically organizes apps and windows on top of one another so that users can easily and quickly switch between tasks. Windows can be stacked and overlapped atop one another in a single view too for more versatility in multitasking. Apps can also be grouped together if needed so that they can be quickly accessed when needed. Stage manager can also be used with external displays thanks to the power of Apple’s M1 chip.

More Mac Like that iOS Like

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

The biggest thing we think that Apple did not elaborate on with the Apple iPadOS16 is the fact that you can now run desktop, Mac class apps on M1 powered iPads. While there has not been too many examples or apps that is meant to run on the iPadOS and iPad devices, the potential of having a full desktop app like Adobe’s suite or even their own Final Cut Pro is a huge deal, considering that many are looking to replacing their current laptops and desktops with an iPad Pro.

Availability

The iPadOS 16 is now available as a developer preview on Apple’s Developer Program website. The public beta should be coming in the coming month at their website too. The full build of Apple’s iPadOS 16 will be available as an OTA update for 5^th Generation iPads and later. More information on the Apple iPadOS can be found on the iPadOS microsite.

iOS, Mobile, News

The New Apple iPad Air, Now with M1 Chip at MYR 2,699, Why Do You Want Anything Else?

March 9, 2022 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

When the Apple iPad Air first launched, we thought: “hmmm, this is a very interesting device”. We must admit too, we wanted one. It is the first Apple iPad that features a modern and generally accepted USB Type-C connectivity. It also brought the Apple iPad ecosystem, save for the iPad Pro, to the modern world with the most powerful Apple System on a Chip (SoC) at its time. The new A14 bionic matched the Apple iPad experience to the most modern Apple iPhone you can find at the time.

The M1 on Air

Still, at its price, it became one of the most desirable Apple tablets you can find. It would be also our recommendation of you had money to spare for a tablet. To be fair, Apple’s tablet game has been unrivaled for quite some time now, why would the Apple iPad Air be any different with what it could offer, before the iPad Pro leapfrogged it with the M1 chip.

Now though, the Apple iPad Air for 2022 has become the most desirable Apple iPad again. It now packs the power of the M1 SoC, the same one you can find on a MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. That is not all they did to improve the Apple iPad.

Built for Video Calls

You now get Centre Stage 12-Megapixel FaceTime HD camera. The previous iPad Air did not get this feature because the front camera is not wide enough for the feature. Out the back is a the regular 12-Megapixel camera that you get from before. Thanks to the new chipset, the Apple iPad Air also gets 5G connectivity out-of-the-box for a quick workflow anywhere, and anytime. Of course, you still could opt for a Wi-Fi only version. That is about it for the improvements on the Apple iPad Air though.

More of the Same Things

Apple iPad Air Apple Pencil lifestyle 220308 — Source: Apple

Apple iPad family lineup 220308 — Source: Apple

The display is still a 10.9-inch, like before. The 2,360 by 1,640 Liquid Retina display with wide colour gamut (DCI P3) is unchanged. There is no home button out front too, like the older device. The Touch ID enabled power button still sits in the same place and the same as before. The iPad OS 15 though, is an expected update.

Price and Availability

The Apple iPad Air for 2022 will be available in the United States starting from the 18^th of March 2022 onward. There is no confirmed local (Malaysia) availability for it at this time, but we are guessing that it will be available later in March, or somewhere in April 2022. It will be available in Space Grey, Pink, Purple, Blue, and Starlight colour options. It is also available in only 64GB and 256GB configurations. Of course, you can choose between a Wi-Fi only or a 5G capable options. Prices start from MYR 2,699 and MYR 3,349 respectively. More information on the Apple iPad Air can be found on their website.

Camera, iOS, Mobile, News

Adobe Teases the Camera Raw on the Apple iPad’s Photoshop App

October 13, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

The Apple iPad has really come into its own in the world of content creation today. It has become one of the go to or must have tools in a remote production set up to quickly get at least photos edited and uploaded quickly. Adobe’s Photoshop app on the iPad is mostly the weapon of choice in that matter. Adobe’s Photoshop for iPad is one of the most powerful photo editing tools you can find on a mobile device, just short of laptops.

It has just become even more powerful though with the added ability to edit RAW files. This not only includes Apple’s ProRAW file format. You can even edit photos in DNG formats from other proper DSLR type cameras if need be.

While you might not see value in taking photos in RAW and editing them on your mobile device, there are good reasons why you want your photos taken and post edited in RAW. For one, RAW photos usually will take full advantage of your camera’s full dynamic capabilities. If you are using your smartphone to take RAW photos, you can even take advantage of its full sensor size. In terms of post editing, there are a lot more manipulation you can do with RAW photos, down to the granular details.

Now you have that ability to edit RAW photos on-the-go with the Apple iPad thanks to the Camera Raw ability on the Adobe Photoshop software. Camera Raw is a known plugin for Adobe’s suite to add RAW decoding capabilities. It gives even Adobe’s Lightroom the ability to open and edit RAW photos.

That also means you have a greater control over photos on your iPad. You can now turn your iPad into a professional photo editing station, and you do not even need a PC to work on your photos now. There is small caveat here though.

How to Transfer Camera Raw Images to Photoshop on the iPad | Adobe Photoshop

The new function is not actually available for current Apple iPad users. Adobe says that the function will be ‘coming soon’, whatever that means. They managed to showcase and tease the power of the Adobe Photoshop on an iPad with Camera Raw capabilities too on YouTube. This feature is also announced ahead of Adobe’s Max 2021 conference, so we may be able to expect the function to come to Apple iPad devices, especially the iPad Pro with m1 chips after the fact. For now, we can only wait.

iOS, Mobile, News

Apple’s Most Popular iPad Gets Refresh for 2021/2022

September 16, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Apple’s September 2021 event has just concluded yesterday. They kick it off with the 9^th generation Apple iPad. While it is not the most powerful Apple iPad available in Apple’s tablet line-up, it is technically the most accessible and the most popular Apple tablet ever.

The new 9^th generation Apple iPad is a much-improved Apple iPad even compared to the 8^th generation they introduced last year though. For starters, the latest Apple iPad comes with a powerful A13 Bionic chip that is even more powerful than the chip that came before while offering an extended battery life. The new A13 Bionic chip also allows the iPad to be an even more powerful learning and productivity tool than ever.

The 10.2-inch Retina display now packs True Tone technology that ensures that you get the best viewing experience in any lighting conditions. It still supports the 1^st generation Apple Pencil for more intuitive note taking. You can pair it to Apple’s Smart Keyboard too for productivity purposes.

The front-facing camera is now a 12-Megapixel ultrawide shooter that works with Center Stage. Center Stage on the new iPad engages the A13 Bionic’s neural engine to automatically recognise faces through your front-facing camera and optimises the camera angle and frame to fit a single subject or multiple subjects. Center Stage is now supported by Zoom, Webex, and Bluejeans. Of course, you get the same functionalities on FaceTime.

The new iPadOS 15 powered iPad also comes with at least double the storage compared to the previous generation iPad at 64GB. There is also a larger 256GB storage option if you really need the space.

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

The Apple iPad starts at US$ 329 (MYR 1,499*). There is also a WiFi + Cellular variant with prices starting from US$459 (MYR 2,119*). The new Apple iPad will come in either the silver or space grey finishes. The new Apple tablets will be shipping to customers in 28 countries and regions, including the United States (US), from the 24^th of September 2021. Pre-orders has not started for Malaysia just yet though. You can find more information on the new Apple iPad on their website.

*Official Malaysia pricing.

iOS, Mobile, News

The new Apple iPad mini is a Smaller, More Powerful iPad Air for US$ 499

September 16, 2021 Darwin Sucipto Leave a comment

Apple’s iPad Air that was launched in 2020 was a game changer for the Apple iPad. It marked a shift for Apple’s product direction. It is Apple’s first mobile based device that features a USB Type-C port instead of the regular Lightning port.

The move to USB Type-C is a welcome change for users. It is also another door for whole new possibilities for the Apple iPad ecosystem. The availability of USB Type-C now allows Apple to develop even faster charging devices too for the Apple iPad ecosystem. But before the Apple event launch yesterday, the only Apple mobile device that sports the USB Type-C port is only the Apple iPad Air.

There is a new USB Type-C device in Apple’s stables though. The new iPad mini is finally refreshed and is a lot more powerful than before. It features the highly requested USB Type-C port.

Apple iPad mini hero 09142021 — Source: Apple

The iPad mini share plenty of similarities to the iPad Air launched in 2020 though. It is void of any physical button on the display plane, for example. The Touch ID button is now integrated with its power button on the top right corner of the device. That also allows the display to occupy a larger real estate on the device.

The 8.3-inch display is a Liquid Retina panel that boasts 500 nits in brightness. It is also a highly accurate display with P3 wide colour gamut coverage. To ensure that you get the best experience in any lighting conditions, True Tone technology on the display will adjust its colour profile based on the lighting conditions in your environment.

The Apple iPad mini now supports Apple’s 2^nd generation Pencil which attaches to the iPad Mini magnetically. At the same time, the Apple Pencil will be wirelessly charged while attached to the iPad mini. Of course, with the 2^nd generation Apple Pencil, the iPad Mini becomes a completely different workhorse.

Apple iPad mini ipad family lineup 09142021 — Source: Apple

Power comes in the form of Apple’s latest A15 Bionic chip, the same one you find on the Apple iPhone 13 Pro. That also means you get a combination of two high-performance cores and four low-power cores for a total of six cores from the 5nm system on a Chip (SoC). With five dedicated GPU cores, the new A15 Bionic delivers 80% more graphical performance compared to the older iPad mini the 2021 variant replaces. At the same time, the dedicated 16-core Neural Engine and new Machine Learning (ML) accelerators offers twice the ML performance of the older iPad mini. That also means that Siri on the Apple iPad mini is more powerful than ever.

The rear camera is now a 12-Megapixel sensor. No, it ends there. There is only one camera out the back of the iPad mini that is paired to a True Tone LED flash. Clearly the iPad mini is not made for photography.

It is made to be a productive machine that you can work remotely with though. The compact iPad features a 12-Megapixel ultra-wide sensor out the front of the device. That allows Apple to inherit the Center Stage technology from the iPad Pro devices. The ultra-wide sensor allows for a larger frame, but at the same time, with the clever AI engine on the A15 Bionic SoC, the camera can cleverly focus on you, zoom in and out of scenes to include more users to be in the frame, and even for users to scale in and out of video calls. The feature is also now supported on Zoom, BlueJeans, and Cisco’s Webex apps.

Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple
Source: Apple

The iPadOS 15 powered Apple iPad mini for 2021 will be available in 28 countries, including the United States (US) from 24^th September 2021. The iPad mini for 2021/2022 should be available in Malaysia October 2021 onward. it will be available in two storage options – 64GB and 256GB options. You can choose between Space Grey, Pink, Purple, and Starlight colour options. The Apple iPad mini will set you back US$ 499 (MYR 2,299*) onward for the WiFi only version and US$ 649 (MYR 2,949*) onward for the WiFi + Cellular variant. More on the Apple iPad mini for 2021/2022 can be found on their website.

* Approximately based on exchange rate of US$ 1 = MYR 4.16 on xe.com as of 16/09/2021

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