iPhone J.D. is the oldest and largest website for lawyers using iPhones and iPads. iPhone J.D. is published by Jeff Richardson, an attorney in New Orleans, Louisiana. This site does not provide legal advice, and any opinions expressed on this site are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of Jeff's law firm, Adams and Reese LLP. iPhone J.D. is not associated with Apple, Inc.
Pursuant to 16 CFR Part 255, the Federal Trade Commission's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, please note: (1) iPhone software and hardware developers routinely send me free versions of their products to review. I sometimes keep and continue to use these products that I did not pay for after posting my review, which might be considered a form of compensation for my review, but I do not believe that I let that color my review. (2) When I post links to product pages on Amazon, my links include a referral code so that when products are purchased after clicking on the link, I often receive a very small percentage of the sale. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Again, I do not believe that I let that color my review of products. (3) Some of the ads that run on this website are selected by others. If one of these ads comes from the seller of a product reviewed on iPhone J.D., that is a coincidence, and I do not believe that it colors my review of that product. Other ads are from paid advertisers, and if I discuss a product from a company that is a current advertiser, I will note that. (4) Some of the ads that run on this website are from monthly sponsors of iPhone J.D. When I discuss products from these companies on iPhone J.D., I do so to pass along information provided to me by the sponsor. Often, I will also provide my own commentary on the product, and while my goal is to be honest, please keep in mind that I was compensated to promote the product. If you have any questions about this, just send me an e-mail or post a comment on a specific product review.
The third episode of the In the News podcast is now available. Brett Burney and I discuss three topics in the episode. First, we discuss the new iPad Pro, which I’ve now been using for a week. Second, we discuss the update to the CardHop app, an app that you can use for working with your contacts entries. Finally, we talk about the new flagship Apple Store in Rome and Apple Stores in general.
In the “In the Know” portion of this episode, Brett recommends the Measure app. I recommend a new game available to subscribers of Apple Arcade called SongPop Party, a fun game in which you compete with others to identify a song artist or title after listening to just a few seconds of the song.
I have now had a week with the new 12.9" iPad Pro, and I am enjoying this new iPad even more today than I was when I wrote my review a few days ago. Because it has been a busy week, I haven't had the chance to take advantage of the incredible screen by viewing additional HDR content. But as I have been using this new iPad in my law practice, I'm appreciating the speed even more. There have been dozens of instances in which I have been amazed how quick everything is and how smooth the experience is — from working with large PDF documents to surfing complex web pages to loading and saving documents. It is really impressive. I'll talk about this more in today's edition of the In the News podcast, which will be the first new episode since Brett and I introduced the podcast a few days ago. Thanks to all of you who have already subscribed in your podcast player of choice. (So far, the Overcast app has been the most popular app used to download episodes.) And now, the news of note from the past week:
Massachusetts attorney Bob Ambrogi has a great video that shows off the LINK app from Mobile Helix, an app that allows attorneys to use their traditional law firm software such as email and document management within a secure environment on an iPad. This is part of Bob's "How it Works" series, which I believe means that it is a sponsored post, but it is still really interesting to see Seth Hallem, the CEO of Mobile Helix, show off the app.
Fantastical has long been my favorite calendar app on the iPhone and iPad. I last mentioned it almost a year ago when the app was updated to support videoconference calendar entries, a feature that I have used countless times during the pandemic. Although you can use many features of Fantastical for free, for $40 a year you get access to premium features. This week, Flexibits, the company behind that app, updated another one of its apps called Cardhop. Cardhop makes it easier to work with all of your contacts entries by using natural language to search and work with that information. This week, the app was updated to add some new features, and the same subscription that gives you access to the advanced features of Fantastical also gives you access to all of Cardhop's features. California attorney David Sparks of MacSparky explains what is new, some of which he shows off in some videos created for Flexibits.
David Sparks also reviews the new remote for the Apple TV. And his last two sentences say it all: "Now I need to order a second one for the bedroom TV. There is no way I can go back after just 30 minutes with this new one."
The Ford F-150, the most popular motor vehicle of all time and the best-selling vehicle in the United States for the last 30 years, has been in the news lately because of its upcoming Lightning electric truck, which President Biden recently test drove. But the current Ford F-150 also has some tech changes, including a new SYNC 4 system that works with both wired and wireless CarPlay. Eric Slivka of MacRumors shows off the new SYNC 4.
Sebastiaan de With is part of the team that makes the impressive Halide app, a full-featured camera app. He does a great job looking at all of the changes in the camera on the new iPad Pro. For example, the new iPad happens to do a great job with close-up pictures, which is not something that I expected.
Apple has a new Pride Edition band for the Apple Watch, and it comes with a new Apple Watch face. In this post on Twitter, kevinv posted a GIF that shows off this interesting new band.
The YouTube channel Adam's Tech Life shows off some neat Shortcuts that you can use to speak a command to a HomePod mini and then have your Apple TV and the lights in your house do a bunch of things.
And finally, let's talk about the newest Apple Store. Some Apple Stores are relatively small, in a mall, and — except for during a pandemic — busy and crowded. But a few Apple Stores are flagship stores with lots of space. For those flagship stores, Apple often devotes serious attention (and money) to restoring a historical venue. This week, Apple opened its new flagship store in Rome, located in the historic Palazzo Marignoli. Apple itself has a webpage that shares some images of the new store and includes a great video. But even better is the discussion of the store and amazing photographs by Federico Viticci and Silvia Gatta of MacStories, who got early access to the store and took some pictures (using the iPhone 12 Pro Max). Here is one of the photos of the store provided by Apple, taken in the Genius Bar "where a team of conservators have worked thousands of hours to restore the exquisite, geometrically patterned, hand-painted ceiling." This place is impressive.
I've been working on something in secret for the past few weeks, and I'm thrilled to finally share it with you: the In the News podcast. On Friday, April 10, 2009, I debuted the first In the News post on iPhone J.D., taking a look back at the news of note from the prior week. There have been many more since then; this past Friday, I published the 578th such post.
The new In the News podcast builds upon that idea. Every Friday, after my weekly post is published on iPhone J.D., Brett Burney of Apps in Law and I will discuss three of the top stories in the news that are significant for attorneys and other professionals who use Apple mobile technology, such as the iPhone and iPad. Often, those will be three of the topics addressed in my Friday post, but that might not always be the case. At the end of the podcast, we have a segment called "In the Know" in which Brett and I each share one pick of the week: an app, a technique, a website, etc.
The podcast will typically run about 30 minutes or less, and the plan is for the podcast to be published in the middle of the day on Friday. Thus, each new episode should be ready for you to listen to it during your commute home on Friday or over the weekend.
The episode that will come out this Friday is actually our third episode because we recorded test episodes on May 14 and May 21. The first two episodes are now available if you want to turn back the clock and listen to them. For example, during the second episode, I mentioned that my new iPad Pro was out for delivery, and then it showed up at the very end of the podcast. Of course, you now know what I think about that new iPad because it was the subject of the review I posted on Monday.
The website for the podcast is inthenewspodcast.com. You can listen to episodes on that website if you want, but I believe that you will enjoy the podcast more if you subscribe using your podcast player of choice on your iPhone, such as Apple's own Podcasts app, the Overcast app, the Spotify app, etc. Here are links that you can use to subscribe in many popular podcast apps:
I suspect that most people will listen to the audio version of this podcast. That's how I myself listen to most podcasts. But sometimes, when I listen to an audio podcast and there is also a video version available, I will switch from the audio to the video when I want to see what the hosts are talking about.
You can do the same thing with the new In the News podcast because Brett is creating video versions of each podcast. And he is doing an amazing job with them. Brett has been producing videos for his Apps in Law website for a long time. He has also published numerous video tutorials over the years, such as his iPractice on an iPad course back in 2017 and his more recent TextExpander for Lawyers course. Brett knows so much more than I do about creating excellent (and fun!) video content, so I love that he is doing this.
For the video version of the podcast, you can see both me and Brett on the side of the screen. In the main part of the screen, Brett shows off webpages or other content, giving you the chance to see what we are discussing.
There is a link to each video podcast on inthenewspodcast.com. Also, you can find the video episodes on the YouTube page for the In the News podcast. I suspect that some folks will want to watch the videos every week, and others will listen to the audio podcasts every week and then look at the videos from time to time. However you want to do it, both versions will be available for every episode.
In addition to subscribing in a podcast client or on YouTube, you can follow the In the News podcast on Twitter and Mastodon to get updates of new posts.
As you can probably tell, I'm incredibly excited to launch this podcast. In part, that is because I always enjoy discussing these topics. But what makes me most excited about this podcast is the opportunity to team up with Brett. We've given numerous CLE presentations together over the years, so I know that we will be great co-hosts. Both Brett and I have a long history with technology, especially legal technology. We both started using computers in the 1980s — I used the Sinclair ZX81 and then the Commodore 64 before I purchased a Mac Plus in college, and some of Brett's earliest computers were the TRS-80 and Compaq computers. Brett did tech support during college and got involved with legal technology when he was in law school in the late 1990s. He loved doing that so much that he pivoted from practicing law to becoming a legal technology consultant in 2002. Thus, Brett has been helping lawyers to get the most out of their technology for about two decades, and he was even Chair of the 2015 ABA TECHSHOW. And finally, while both Brett and I know lots about using PCs and Macs in a law practice, we both love using Apple mobile technology, especially the iPhone and iPad.
Whether you have been listening to podcasts every day for years or you are new to the world of podcasts, I encourage you to subscribe to this new podcast and watch episodes on YouTube. I think that you will enjoy what we are doing.
Apple has lots of great mobile devices — the iPhone, AirPods, and now the new AirTag. But for me, it is the iPad that is truly special. It has become an integral part of my law practice, and it is the #1 reason that I virtually never use paper and I virtually always have the document that I need at my fingertips. This has been especially true since 2015 when Apple introduced the first generation of the 12.9" iPad Pro. The large screen is fantastic for viewing documents such as the brief filed by opposing counsel, exhibits, transcripts, etc. And the Apple Pencil, also introduced in 2015, makes it so easy to annotate those documents. The 12.9" iPad Pro took a big step forward in 2018 when the third generation was introduced. The much smaller bezels meant that virtually all of the screen was usable for viewing content, and the flat sides work great with the second generation Apple Pencil 2. Because the fourth generation introduced in 2020 was a minor update, I know a large number of attorneys who, like me, skipped that model and continued to use the fantastic 2018 model.
The fifth generation 12.9" iPad Pro is now available, and I've been using one since this past Friday morning. Unlike the 2020 update, this 2021 update is substantial because of two key advances: the much better screen, and the faster M1 processor. Plus it contains everything that I have loved about the 12.9" iPad Pro since it was introduced in 2015, including the great design introduced with the third generation in 2018.
Overall
The look of the 2019 fifth generation 12.9" iPad Pro is virtually the same as the 2018 third generation and the 2020 fourth generation. The fifth generation is a tiny bit thicker (0.25") than the prior generations (such as the 0.23" third generation). It is also slightly heavier (1.5 pounds) than prior generations (such as the 1.39-pound third generation). However, I did not notice these changes in normal use of the fifth generation. The only way that I could tell the difference is if I switched back and forth between the third and fifth generation, and even then, the difference was minor, although I could notice it.
Battery life seems unchanged from prior models of the 12.9" iPad Pro. (Apple says 9-10 hours.)
The 12.9" comes in Space Gray and Silver. Storage sizes are 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, and (for the first time ever) 2TB. The models come with 8GB of RAM, except that the 1TB and 2TB models come with 16GB of RAM. I purchased the 512GB version, which is a step up from the 256GB models that I've used since 2017. I purchased the Wi-Fi model (no 5G) and it costs $1,399.00. However, Apple is paying me $535 to trade in my third generation 12.9" iPad Pro, so that reduced the overall cost to $864 for the upgrade from the device I've been using since 2018.
There is also a new 11" model, but I've been using the 12.9" model since 2015 and that is what I prefer. Also, the 2020 11" version of the iPad Pro does not have the new mini-LED screen discussed below.
Better screen
In 2017, Apple introduced the iPhone X with an OLED screen. OLED screens are great for contrast because when a portion of the screen is supposed to be black, it is truly black — no light is used for that part of the screen. And that was part of the reason that The iPhone X brought support for HDR (high dynamic range) to increase the contrast between parts of the screen that are supposed to be dark and parts of the screen that are supposed to be bright. HDR support has improved from the iPhone X to the current iPhone 12, but if you are using any of those models of the iPhone, then you have a sense of what HDR can look like on a mobile device.
For a number of technical reasons, Apple has opted not to use OLED for an iPad screen, so it has instead used LEDs. LED screens are good — you probably also use one on your computer monitor — but they don't have the contrast of OLED and typically don't support HDR. But in the newest 12.9" iPad Pro, Apple is using a new display technology called mini-LED. And it is a big step forward over the display technology that Apple previously used with the iPad.
First, the dark colors are very dark. It is not quite as good as the OLED screen on a modern iPhone, but it is darn close. In the past, when your iPad was supposed to show an all-black screen — such as the night sky or space in a movie — what you instead saw was just a very dark gray. It is easy to see this if you are using an iPad that has a black bezel. Compare the true black of the bezel to what is on the screen when your iPad is trying to display black and you can see the difference. But with the mini-LED display on the new 12.9" iPad Pro, there is almost no distinction between the black bezel and the screen. You can still see it if you look for it, so it is not quite the pure black that you get with the iPhone's OLED screen, but it is a huge improvement over the previous display technology.
Second, the bright colors are very bright. Brightness is measured in nits — or, if you want to be more technical, candela per square metre. The first model of the 12.9" iPad Pro supported 400 nits. The fourth generation model supported 600 nits. (The current version of the iPad Air supports 500 nits.) This new fifth generation 12.9" iPad Pro will typically work in a 600 nits mode, which is plenty bright when you are working with documents or surfing the internet. But when you display HDR content, the entire display can go up to 1,000 nits. And better yet, Apple can highlight up to 40% of the screen up to 1,600 nits. That's better than even the OLED screen on the iPhone 12 line, which goes up to 1,200 nits.
Put these two together and you get quite an impressive result. If a part of the screen is black but there is also something bright taking up 40% of the screen or less, the contrast is outstanding and life-like. And it is not just about brightness; it is also about color. Colors on the mini-LED display can really pop. The pictures in my Photos app have never looked better. And speaking of pictures, I hate that I cannot put a picture of the new screen that I have taken myself in this section of my review. Although I tried, I just don't have a way to capture how good it looks in a way that you will be able to see it on whatever screen you are using right now. You need to see it with your own eyes to see how good it looks.
Having said that, if have a recent iPhone, you can get a sense of what this all looks like by viewing an HDR video on YouTube such as this one by Jennifer Gala. When I watch that video on my third generation 12.9" iPad Pro, or even the nice 27" screen of my 2019 iMac with Retina 5K (which goes up to 5oo nits), it looks good. But on the OLED screen on my iPhone 12 Pro, the image quality is jaw-dropping. And even though the blacks are a little better on the OLED screen of my iPhone 12 Pro, the image is even more impressive on the fifth generation 12.9" iPad Pro — not just because it goes up to 1,600 nits instead of 1,200 nits, but also because the 12.9" screen is SO MUCH BIGGER. There is a limit to how much you can be impressed by a smaller iPhone screen. But a big, beautiful, 4K HDR image on a 12.9" screen is really something.
When you are looking at HDR content, the fifth generation 12.9" iPad Pro is stunning. Movies and TV shows look fantastic in 4K Dolby Vision HDR, whether it is space battles in one of the Star Wars movies or even just incredible color on the soccer field during an episode of Ted Lasso. But over the last few days, some of my favorite content has been content that I created myself. The iPhone 12 line of phones can record in HDR with Dolby Vision, up to 30 fps (frames per second) on the less expensive models and up to 60 fps on the iPhone 12 Pro. All of the videos that I have taken with my iPhone 12 Pro for the last seven months have been in HDR Dolby Vision 60 fps, but up until now, I could only appreciate that quality on the iPhone itself. (The TV at my house is only 1080p, so it is not 4K and does not support HDR.) Those videos look amazing on this new iPad. For example, in a video I took a few weeks ago when my daughter competed in her middle school track and field championship, the video quality is so amazing that I feel like I am there again, cheering her on again as she earned the gold medal in one of her events. I now wish that I could go back in time and re-record 4K HDR video of my kids when they were younger.
So this new screen is very impressive when you are viewing 4K HDR content. If your job involves creating the next Star Wars movie, that would be a reason to use this iPad. But what if your job is just to be a lawyer: reading and annotating PDF files, composing emails, using websites, etc. Does this new screen make a difference?
It does make a difference but in a more subtle way. You are not going to be experiencing 1,600 nits when you look at a PDF document. But you will still experience a better screen. The prior models of the iPad Pro (and even the newest 11" iPad Pro model) use 72 LEDs to light the screen. The fifth generation 12.9" iPad Pro uses over 10,000 LEDs, grouped into 2,500 different local dimming zones that can brighten or dim based on what is being shown on that zone of the display. There have been many times during the last few days when I have looked at this screen — even something as mundane as my home screen — and I found myself pausing to appreciate that the screen looks so much richer. Black looks really black. Colors pop. Everything looks its best. And while I cannot tell you that using this iPad will improve the quality of your legal work — a lot of smart lawyers have drafted impressive legal briefs using crappy computer displays — it can help you to have a nicer, more enjoyable experience. Indeed, considering that an iPad is all about the screen — that is what you look at all the time, that is what you touch, that is what you hold in your hands — a significant improvement to the quality of the screen is easy to enjoy.
You don't need to eat at a good restaurant, drive in a premium car, or live in a nice house. Unless you are lucky enough to be in a situation where money is no object for you, you need to pick the parts of your life where you consider it worth it to pay for nicer experiences. But if you decide that you want a premium screen on an iPad, this new iPad Pro really delivers.
Faster
This new iPad is faster for three reasons. First, it uses Apple's M1 processor, the same chip that Apple is currently shipping in its newest iMac and MacBook computers. According to tests run by Jason Snell of Six Colors, the M1 processor helps this fifth generation model to be up to 60% faster than the fourth generation model (which was, for most tasks, very close in speed to the third generation model). And it's not like the third and fourth generation iPad Pro models were slow.
Second, the storage on this new iPad is faster. It can read and write from the internal SSD memory about twice as fast.
Third, the new iPad has more RAM. The 2018 third generation 12.9" iPad Pro had 4GB of RAM, unless you purchased the 1TB model which had 6GB of RAM. The 2020 fourth generation used 6GB of RAM for all versions. The 2021 fifth generation uses 8GB of RAM for most models and 16GB of RAM for the models with 1TB or 2TB of storage. With more RAM, there is a greater chance that information that you need will already be in memory, so the iPad can display it even faster. when you switch between applications, or switch between tabs within an application, this can make a difference.
Put it all together and this new iPad is definitely faster. I have the 512GB model, so mine has 8GB of RAM. Most of the time that I am using the iPad, the experience is similar to my third generation model. But then I will do something like launch an app, open a new PDF file, load a webpage, and I am amazed how quickly it lunges forward. Have you ever experienced the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Disney World? Unlike a typical roller coaster that starts slowly, the first thing that happens when that ride begins is that you accelerate from 0 to 57 mph in less than 2.8 seconds. I found myself thinking of the beginning of that ride when I started using this new iPad because there so many times when an action would suddenly occur so quickly when I expected it to take longer. Many of these actions would typically take less than a second anyway, so the speed jump was noticeable but over quickly. Nevertheless, I've also noticed that apps like PDF Expert start-up and display PDF files much faster than before.
There are a few apps available now, and more coming in the future, that take advantage of the M1 speed not in just a burst mode, like I've described above, but also for performing long, complex tasks such as working with video. I can't wait to see what both Apple and third-party developers do to push the limits of the impressive speed of the M1 processor.
For now, most of the time, the speed of this new iPad is similar to the third and fourth generation. But then from time to time, especially when I am changing what I am doing, this new model is much more responsive. It's a nice improvement.
Center Stage
Another significant change in this new iPad is the introduction of something that Apple calls Center Stage. The front-facing camera on this iPad uses an ultra-wide lens so it can see a broad area. When you are using that camera, and when you have Center Stage enabled, the iPad will crop to focus on faces. If you move around, the cropped area will move with you. If a second person enters the camera's field of view, the cropped area will open so that both of you are on screen. It makes it appear that a professional camera operator is panning left or right and zooming in or out.
I had fun playing with this feature with my son. The best way for you to see how it looks is to look at the short videos embedded in this section of the review of this new iPad by Federico Viticci of MacStories. He used a special app that was developed specifically for him for the purpose of showing off how Center Stage. Click that link, and you will have a great sense of how the feature works. Or, here is a short video from when Apple debuted this feature last month:
The feature is neat, and I suspect that I will use it when my family videochats with other friends and family. But I don't expect to use it much at work. Even though I do participate in quite a few video conferences in my law practice, and even though I use my iPad Pro for some of them, I always try to stay in one place, looking directly into the camera. Thus, I don't need a virtual camera operator to follow me moving left and right or in and out.
Having said that, it is a pretty impressive demonstration of the power of artificial intelligence. Apple did a great job with this feature, so I wanted to devote some attention to it in this review. I expect that Apple will add Center Stage to other products in the future.
Etc.
The improved screen and speed are the reasons that I am very happy with this new iPad. But there are two other features worth mentioning.
Although prior models of the iPad Pro supported USB-C, this iPad has a USB‑C connector with support for Thunderbolt / USB 4. This allows accessories, such as an external drive, to communicate with the iPad much faster. Although I don't have a current reason to take advantage of this, I like having it there because I might have a need to use it in the future. I have often purchased a computer that had a new type of port that I wouldn't use at all for the first year or so, but then I would purchase some sort of external device that takes advantage of the port, and I'd be happy to have it there. I could see that happening for this new and very fast port. The port is also compatible with regular USB-C, so my existing accessories work just fine.
You can buy a version of this new iPad with 5G cellular support. I purchased the Wi-Fi model; if I need to access the Internet when I don't have access to Wi-Fi, I can just take the time to tether to my iPhone. But if you use cellular data with an iPad much more frequently than I do, it is nice to have this built-in. And as 5G continues to roll out across the country, it is nice that you have the ability to connect to a super-fast network if you find yourself close to a 5G microcell.
Conclusion
In light of both the features and the price, there is no question that that is the top-of-the-line iPad. The large mini-LED screen is the best screen that I've ever seen on an Apple device. Frankly, it is better than any screen that I've ever seen in person. (There are of course better screens on high-end TVs, but I haven't actually used one of those before.) And while the last two generations of the iPad Pro were fast, I frequently notice the bursts of speed with this new model. Moreover, as good as this iPad is today, I suspect that we will see it get even better in the future as Apple and other developers come up with ways to make the most of the additional speed of the M1 processor, the extra RAM, and the faster disk access.
If you enjoy using an iPad and you want to get the very best, this premium iPad has a lot to offer. Or, if you feel that this new iPad is too much for you, that's fine because the iPad Air that came out in late 2020 is also a great iPad and it costs hundreds of dollars less.
The first Apple Store opened 20 years ago this week, and Charlotte Henry of The Mac Observer takes a walk down memory lane to note that anniversary. The first store was located in the Tysons Corner mall in Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. Twenty years later, it is obvious that the stores have been a huge success for Apple. I was living in New York City for a while after Hurricane Katrina, so I was able to attend the opening of the iconic Apple Store on Fifth Avenue on May 19, 2006. That store soon became the highest-grossing retailer on Fifth Avenue. For those who live close to an Apple Store — whether it is one of the huge flagship stores or just a smaller store in a mall — it is nice to have a place where you can see and try out the latest products. And on days like today when Apple introduces new products, the stores can be a great way to get a new product on Day 1 even when online orders won't ship for weeks or months. (Some models of the iPad Pro are currently not shipping until mid-July.) Michael Steeber of 9to5Mac shows off what some of the window displays look like in Apple Stores today. And now, the news of note from the past week:
Of the three major new products that Apple is releasing today, the one that I am most interested in is the new iPad Pro 12.9". The one that I pre-ordered should be delivered to me today: 12.9", Wi-Fi only, 512GB, Space Gray. As I look forward to using that new device, I've been reading reviews from members of the tech press to whom Apple provided early review units. The consensus seems to be that the new screen is amazing and the device is very fast, but the hardware is now better than the iPad OS software. I agree with a lot of what California attorney David Sparks wrote about this situation. If you want more information on the new iPad Pro, here are the five reviews that I found the most valuable.
Harry McCracken of Fast Company says that "this new iPad Pro is a good-size leap beyond its 2018 and 2020 predecessors," and he says that the signature feature is the new display. "But while the previous iPad Pro screen was illuminated by 72 LEDs, the new one increases that by almost 14,000%. Behind the screen, there are 10,000 tiny LEDs arranged in 2,500 zones, giving Apple the ability to boost or dim the brightness with pinpoint precision. That allows for blacker blacks and more accurate reproduction of a broader range of colors."
Daniel Bader of iMore says that thanks to the M1 chip in the new iPad Pro, the new iPad Pro "flies through whatever you need it to do," although he also notes that the last two iPad Pro models were also quite fast.
Dieter Bohn of The Verge wrote an excellent review, along with a great video review. He says that the 2018 iPad Pro was so fast that he couldn't perceive much of a speed increase in the apps that he used on the new iPad Pro. However, he says that the new display is so good that it is "the best thing for watching movies that isn’t a high-end television," adding (jokingly) that "the display is so good that Tenet actually makes sense when you watch it on this iPad Pro."
Jason Snell of Six Colors wrote that "watching HDR video is an eye-popping experience. Live-action movies have some very bright explosions and very dark undertones, and they all looked great." He also ran lots of tests of the speed increase thanks to the M1 chip, and concluded that while the new hardware is fantastic, Apple desperately needs to update the iPad OS software to allow users to do more with this powerful hardware. As Snell notes, Apple's WWDC developer conference is just a few weeks away, and fingers are crossed that Apple will preview some notable iPad OS improvements coming in iOS 15 later this year.
The most comprehensive review of the new iPad Pro 12.9" comes from Federico Viticci of MacStories. His review also does the best job of explaining and then showing off the new Center Stage feature, which makes it appear that a camera is following you as you move around during a videoconference on FaceTime, Zoom, or other platforms.
Another new Apple product being released today is a new 24" iMac. I don't really discuss Macs on iPhone J.D., but this does look like a really nice device, and it makes me look forward to later this year (or next year?) when Apple should announce the next high-end version of the iMac. The new iMac released today looks like a big iPad on a stand, as you can see in this review by Jason Snell of Six Colors.
Another new product that Apple is releasing today is the new Apple TV 4K. The consensus seems to be that one of its best features is the new remote. I have an Apple TV HD, which seems sufficient for me because I don't even have a 4K television in my home theater room; I use a 1080p plasma television. The review of the new Apple TV HD by Jacob Krol of CNN disagrees with me, concluding "If you have an Apple TV HD (yes, the one from 2014), now is a perfect time to upgrade. You’ll see tvOS in a much more dynamic way, lock in support for 4K streaming and get improved internal hardware and a great new remote." But after reading his review, the only real advantage that I see if you have a 1080p TV is that apps and streaming services will work a little faster with a faster Apple TV. I'm going to stick with my current Apple TV HD for now and wait to upgrade until I get a new TV — which I don't see happening any time soon.
John Gruber of Daring Fireball reviews the new Apple TV remote, which costs $59 if you purchase it on its own. It works with the Apple TV 4K (2nd generation), Apple TV 4K (1st generation), and the Apple TV HD.
This week, Apple previewed some upcoming software updates that are designed for people with disabilities. There are some interesting announcements, such as SignTime, the ability to use sign language to communicate with AppleCare and Retail Customer Care representatives. But the coolest update looks to be AssistiveTouch for Apple Watch, which lets a person interact with an Apple Watch screen even if they only have the ability to use the arm/hand that the watch is on. How? Using a series of gestures such as pinch or clench. Sarah (@sarahyuui), an intern currently working for the Apple Accessibility team, tweeted this short video to show how it works and the technology looks amazing. Bravo to Apple.
I wrote earlier this week about the upcoming updates to audio quality on Apple Music. User mrsidnaik on Reddit posted this excellent explanation of lossless audio.
If you are interested in using PopSockets with your iPhone but don't want to use adhesive to make something stick to the iPhone or a case, there are now three products that you can use without adhesive, two of which use magnets to work with MagSafe on the newest iPhones. Juli Clover of MacRumors reviews the new PopSockets devices.
José Adorn of 9to5Mac notes that Microsoft Teams now lets users create a free personal account for 24-hour videoconferences with up to 300 people. It's not a new app; it's the same Teams software that you may already be using on iOS, Mac, and Windows for your work, but now you can also have a personal account.
Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac reviews the Chipolo ONE Spot, a tracker that works with Apple's Find My system. He says that it is a cheaper alternative to the AirTag — not so much for the price, which is virtually the same, but because it has a hole on it so you don't need to purchase a separate adapter to put it on a keychain. The Chipolo unit lacks the precision finding feature of the AirTag, but it can play a noise, and that might be all that you need to find it.
In an article for Macworld UK, David Price argues that it is a good thing that the iPhone has a notch at the top. He actually makes a pretty compelling argument.
Apple's AirPlay 2 technology is nice because you can have stream audio to multiple devices at the same time. But what if the music in one of your rooms comes from an old stereo that doesn't support this new technology? Chance Miller of 9to5Mac notes that Belkin unveiled the Soundform Connect, a $99 product that adds AirPlay 2 to any speaker with a 3.5mm input.
And finally, the latest version of the iOS operating system adds App Tracking Transparency to reduce the ability of one app to invade your privacy when you are using a different app. Apple came up with a pretty clever video called Tracked that shows, in a humorous way, the privacy control that this new feature puts into your hands:
Yesterday, Apple announced that its Apple Music streaming service will add two new features next month. One of them will be a nice improvement and is likely to improve your experience listening to music. As for the other addition ... well, there is a good chance that you won't notice it at all. Fortunately, there is no extra charge for either of these additions.
Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos
Spatial Audio is the name that Apple gives to certain surround sound technology. Apple first announced Spatial Audio when it previewed iOS 14 on June 22, 2020. iOS 14 was released on September 17, 2020, and it brought support for Spatial Audio on the AirPods Pro. I've been using it since that time, and I've been very impressed. Unlike stereo, where you just hear things on the left or right, when you listen to something with Spatial Audio enabled, you can hear sounds coming from specific locations around you. It is very neat, and it works with many major video streaming services including Apple TV+. The AirPods Max, which was introduced on December 8, 2020, also supports Spatial Audio. Videos with Spatial Audio can do a decent job of replacing a home theater experience.
Yesterday, Apple announced that it is bringing Spatial Audio to Apple Music next month, with support for Dolby Atmos. Thus, instead of just listening to traditional stereo music, you will be able to listen to songs in which specific instruments or other sounds appear to be located in specific places all around and above you. And while Spatial Audio for movies currently requires the AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, Apple announced yesterday that you will able to listen to Spatial Audio/Dolby Atmos songs "on all AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip, as well as the built-in speakers in the latest versions of iPhone, iPad, and Mac."
Songs need to be remastered in Spatial Audio. Apple says that there will be thousands of songs at launch, with more added over time.
What will it sound like? Apple hasn't released any samples yet, but if you have used Spatial Audio with AirPods Pro to listen to a movie or TV show, you already have some sense of it. But perhaps a better way to get a sense of how it will sound is to go to this page on the Dolby website while you are using AirPods or other headphones with your iPhone. They have some great samples on that page, including songs where you can switch between stereo and Dolby Atmos. The difference is pretty stunning.
I'm looking forward to this addition. I don't often listen to music with my AirPods Pro. I'm more likely to listen to music in my car or using a HomePod mini. But when I do so, for a song that supports Spatial Audio/Dolby Atmos, I expect the song to sound much richer.
Lossless Audio
I remember the days when folks would download very low bitrate songs from questionable services like Napster, and the audio quality was rather poor. Nowadays, the songs on streaming audio services such as Apple Music sound quite good. But what if they sounded even better, with even fewer compression artifacts? Apple says that with lossless audio, "Apple Music subscribers will be able to hear the exact same thing that the artists created in the studio." Okay, but will it actually make a difference? I have doubts.
Lossless audio is nothing new. Back in 2014, Neil Young was involved in a Kickstarter campaign for the PonoPlayer, a device that used 20x more data than a normal MP3 file. It was supposed to provide a superior listening experience. But when David Pogue, who at the time was writing for Yahoo Finance, ran a blind test between the PonoPlayer and normal MP3 files, he couldn't tell the difference. And Pogue is a former professional musician. He then had others test a PonoPlayer versus an iPhone, and they couldn't tell a difference either. In the many years since that 2015 article, I've seen countless others say that most folks simply cannot tell the difference between modern MP3 music (or the similar AAC system that Apple uses) and songs with a higher bit rate. Jason Cross discussed this a few weeks ago in an article for Macworld where he concluded that almost nobody can hear the difference. His article includes a link to a website where you test to see if you can hear the difference. I could not.
But even if you are one of the rare people who can hear the slight difference, you will need to use different equipment to experience Lossless Audio. Chris Welch of The Verge reports that none of Apple's current wireless products support Lossless Audio, so you cannot use this with AirPods, AirPods Pro, HomePod, HomePod mini, etc. Filipe Espósito of 9to5Mac explains why, and it has to do with the current limitations of Bluetooth technology.
So you need to use wired headphones, or an Apple TV or Mac connected to nice speakers. And to use the highest quality that Apple will offer — Hi-Resolution Lossless at 24 bit at 192 kHz — you will need to add external equipment, such as a USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC).
So why is Apple even offering Lossless Audio? I think the reason is that, later this year, Spotify is offering a premium service called Spotify HiFi, which also includes lossless music. By offering Lossless Audio at no extra charge, Apple probably hopes to avoid people picking Spotify over Apple Music because of this difference — even if it is a difference that most folks won't be able to notice.
Are all of these lossless music formats just snake oil? Perhaps. But having said that, I've been to dinner at fancy restaurants when people have ordered very expensive bottles of wine, and I'll admit that I've enjoyed that wine. Was I actually tasting the difference between a very expensive bottle of wine and a good, but less expensive, bottle? I doubt it, but there is something to be said for the experience. And if the experience of listening to lossless music makes you feel better about your music, while then I say, go for it. Especially if you don't have to pay extra for it. But just be aware that if you were to listen to a blind test, you might not be able to tell the difference.
Conclusion
Lossless Audio is not going to make much of a difference for me, and I doubt it will make a difference for most of you. But I think that Spatial Audio music with support for Dolby Atmos will be a nice upgrade to Apple Music, so I was happy to see that announcement yesterday. Plus, it is something that no other music streaming service is offering — at least, not yet. Sometimes I listen to Jazz music without lyrics when I am getting work done, and if I find myself immersed in what seems to be three-dimensional jazz music, perhaps that will help me to get even more into the groove while I am writing the next brief. And I suspect that Spatial Music will cause me to listen to more music on my AirPods Pro instead my HomePod mini when I want a superior listening experience.
Wireless charging has been a feature of the iPhone since the introduction of the iPhone X in 2017. Nevertheless, I haven't used it very much, in part because I have never been very inconvenienced by using a cord, and also, I like that charging an iPhone with a cord is much faster. But for the last few weeks, I have been trying out the first wireless charger that has peaked my interest because of its impressive versatility: the Power Bar from Einova by Eggtronic. (The company is going through a name change, so sometimes you see this called the Eggtronic Power Bar, but in the future it will likely be called the Einova Power Bar. A review unit was sent to me at no charge.) This device does so many different things that I think it has a lot of appeal. But it also has some drawbacks to consider as you compare this product to a traditional portable battery.
A wireless power station
The first of the many functions of the Power Bar is to serve as a wireless power station. There is a USB-C port on the side of the Power Bar. You can either use the included USB-C to USB-C cable or your own cable to provide a charge to the Power Bar. Note, however, that the Power Bar doesn't come with the charger that plugs into a wall outlet with USB-C on the other end, so you need to purchase that separately, use one that you already have, or connect to the USB-C port on a computer.
With the Power Bar connected to power, you can use this single device to charge three different products at the same time. There are two 7.5W Qi charging spots. You can use them to charge two iPhones at the same time, which could be useful if you are traveling with another person. (Note that if both iPhones are larger, such as the "Plus" size models, they may be too big to fit side-by-side on the two charging spots.) I used the second charging spot for the case for my AirPods Pro. Just press the button on the side to turn on wireless charging and place your iPhone, your AirPods case, or both on the Power Bar to charge them.
The 7.5W speed means that you cannot charge as quickly as you can with the $30 Apple MagSafe Charger, which will charge up to 15W for most iPhone models (12W for the iPhone 12 mini), as long as you are using a 20W power adapter. But of course, if you are trying to charge as fast as possible, using a USB-C to Lightning cord with a 20W power adapter will charge about twice as fast as the Apple MagSafe Charger and about four times as fast as the Power Bar. Wireless charging is never about speed. It is about convenience. Just set down your iPhone and it starts to charge; pick it up and you are good to go.
The third charging spot provides 5W wireless charging for an Apple Watch. It works best if you use your fingernails to raise the charging spot — not a very elegant solution, but it works. You can use it without raising the charging spot, but the raised charging spot does a better job of holding the Apple Watch in the correct orientation to receive a charge, especially when a band is attached to the watch.
There is another shortcoming of the Power Bar as compared to the Apple wireless charging options sold by Apple: no magnet. Apple's MagSafe charger contains a magnet to connect to the iPhone and, perhaps more importantly, ensure that the iPhone is in the correct orientation for charging. On the PowerBar, the Apple Watch charger has a magnet, so it works the same way. But the two Qi charging spots do not, so I sometimes I find that I would place my iPhone down and then have to move around the iPhone a bit until I hear the "ding" to tell me that the iPhone is in the right spot for wireless charging.
If you put the Power Bar on your desk with a USB-C cord connected to a charger or a computer, you will always have a place on your desk to charge all three of the Apple devices that support a wireless charge: the iPhone, the AirPods, and the Apple Watch.
A portable power bank
The Power Bar has another trick up its sleeve. You can disconnect the USB-C cord from the Power Bar and it still provides power. It can do this because it contains a 10,000 mAh battery. And thanks to the 30W USB-C port, you can recharge the Power Bar more quickly than many other portable batteries. Three blue lights next to the USB-C port tell you how much power the device has: Full to two-thirds, two-thirds to one-third, or one-third to almost empty.
There are actually two ways to use this as a power bank. First, you can use three wireless ports that I just described. When you use the Qi charging ports, a green light corresponding to that port will blink so that you know that power is being provided to that port. Second, you can use the USB-C port on the side to plug in a cable. That way, you get the speed advantage of charging via a cord — about four times the speed of charging with these Qi charging ports.
The Power Bar comes with two 3-foot cables that allow you to make three types of connections. First, as mentioned above, the device comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable. You can use that cord with the Power Bar to charge an iPad Pro or a laptop computer. Second, the Power Bar includes a USB-C to Lightning cable for charging an iPhone and accessories that support Lightning. Third, the Power Bar comes with a small USB-C to USB connector. This connector is useful for when you want to charge the Power Bar itself but all you have is a traditional USB charger or computer port, not a newer USB-C charger or USB-C port on a computer. It is faster to charge the Power Bar using a USB-C charger, but if you only have access to a slower USB charger, you can use this small connector to make that work.
Charging with a cable works well. For example, I used a fully-charged Power Bar to charge my iPad Pro 12.9" (3rd generation). When I started, I had 13% power. About an hour later, during which time I continued to use my iPad Pro, my iPad Pro had 70% power and the Power Bank was empty.
And that is a very realistic use case for me. I have had times in the past when I was at a day-long CLE or deposition without easy access to a power outlet. And if I use my iPad Pro extensively throughout a morning, I can be down to 13% or something similar by the early afternoon. With this Power Bar, I can keep working on my iPad and add another 50% or more or power to it, which is more than enough to get me through the end of of a day, even a day with extensive use of the iPad.
If you are charging an iPhone, the 10,000 mAh battery should be enough to recharge most iPhones almost three times.
There is a shortcoming of the Power Bar versus similar batteries: size and weight. I recently reviewed the Anker PowerCore 10000 PD Redux. Like the Power Bar, that Anker PowerCore has a 10,000 mAh battery with a USB-C port on the side. But the PowerCore is more easily portable, weighing just under 7 ounces and with dimensions of 4” by 2” by 1”, with curved sides making it easy to hold. The Power Bar weighs just over 13 ounces and has dimensions of 7.3" by 2.67" by 1.02". Of course, it needs to be bigger to have wireless charging, a feature that is not included with the Anker PowerCore. But whereas I have carried around the Anker PowerCore in a pocket many times, the Power Bar is really too big for that.
Conclusion
The Power Bar is very different from other portable batteries. If all you want is a portable charger, then I think that you would prefer something like the $40 Anker PowerCore so that you have a power source that is as small and light as possible. But if you want the ability to charge up to three devices at once, the Power Bar is better — although also three times more expensive. The Power Bar is also better for the conveniences of wireless charging. You can just put a Power Bar on a table and place an iPhone on it and start charging, without dealing with any wires that take up additional space on the table and get in your way. And you can charge an Apple Watch without having to use the special Apple Watch charging cord. Moreover, while the Anker PowerCore will go unused when you don't need portable power, the Power Bar can remain useful by staying plugged in at your desk, ready to provide wireless charging throughout the day whenever you want it.
[NOTE: Shortly after this review was posted, the price on Amazon went up to $149.99. It also increased on the Einova website. I'm not sure if this is a temporary change or not.]
The 2021 version of the iPad Pro will be out a week from today, and I recently received a notice from Apple that mine has shipped from China. But for now, the newest Apple device is still the AirTag, and there were lots of stories about the AirTag this week as more folks have started to try them out. For example, Kirk McElhearn of Intego ran an AirTag through some stress tests — extreme heat, extreme cold, the washer and dryer — and reports that they are very durable. I do fear that there is now some small part of me that actually wants to lose my keys or some other item just so that I can use the Find My app on my iPhone to relocate the item in a game of hide-and-seek. And now, the other news of note from the past week:
If you read the original version of my review of ExhibtsPad earlier this week, you should take a second look at the bottom of the post because I added to the end of the post a bunch of new information provided by Ian O'Flaherty, who created the app.
Illinois attorney John Voorhees of MacStories reviews a new feature in the Darkroom app called Clarity that lets you use a single slider to make a picture pop, or in the other direction, smooth out details and make the picture appear more flat.
Luke Dormehl of Cult of Mac notes that Atlanta is the 29th location to gain support for the Look Around feature in the Apple Maps app. Thirty years ago yesterday, my wife and I graduated from Emory in Atlanta, so we took advantage of the new Look Around feature on my iPad last night to take a virtual stroll through campus. I'm embarrassed to admit that I got disoriented a few times because the campus has changed so much since I was there. It is annoying how some things change when you are away for a few decades.
I saw an interesting post on the Mac Power Users forum this week of a new way for a restaurant to handle the check. Mitch Wagner of San Diego posted that instead of bringing a normal check, the waitress brought a paper receipt with a QR code. Scanning that code with an iPhone launched the App Clips feature — meaning that his iPhone immediately downloaded a tiny version of an app for the restaurant. In that App Clip, he could see his full itemized receipt, add a tip, and pay the bill. Sounds like a nice way to handle a restaurant check — fast and easy.
Dave Mark of The Loop notes that your iPhone has a feature where the iPhone can describe out loud what it sees in the camera lens. The feature is designed as an accessibility feature, but it is also just a neat use of technology.
And finally, in a fun video for the Wall Street Journal, tech reporter Joanna Stern compares Apple's new AirTag with a drug-detection dog to see which could find an item faster:
Thank you to Nota for its sponsorhip of iPhone J.D. this month. Nota is a no-cost IOLTA management solution powered by M&T Bank. It was built by working directly with solo and small law firms and is designed to help simplify trust account management.
Nota’s cloud-based intuitive design uses real-time information directly from your bank accounts making it seamless for you to adhere to accounting requirements. Forget using a spreadsheet to track your individual client balances. All money in and out of your IOLTA account can be assigned to a client, and reconciled down to the penny.
Features include one-click reconciliation reporting, custom transaction alerts and virtual client sub-accounts with smart tagging.
I had a chance to see a comprehensive demo of how Nota works, and I was impressed. You access Nota by using a web browser on your PC or Mac, and the interface is clean and straightforward. The service makes it easy to create and manage virtual sub-accounts for each of your matters with no limit to the number of client matters. Nota closes the loop between your bank account, checkbook, and client ledger to help you to minimize IOLTA management headaches. After all, you went to law school to be a lawyer — not to be an accountant.
Nota is currently available to attorneys whose offices are located in and who are practicing law in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Florida, and West Virginia and to whom the rules and regulations for IOLTA accounts are applicable.
Click here to learn more about Nota. Terms and conditions may apply.
LitSoftware has been creating iPad apps for lawyers for over a decade. The company is well-known for its TrialPad, TranscriptPad, and DocReviewPad apps. A few days ago, Lit Software released ExhibitsPad, its latest app. The idea of this app is interesting: replace the exhibit binders that a trial litigator passes out to a judge, jurors, arbitrators, or other factfinders. Instead of giving them bulky binders that are difficult to handle and a pain to create, you hand each one of them an iPad. That way, they can view and zoom in on an exhibit that they are holding in their hand, without having to squint to read a monitor across the room or a paper document that can be hard to read. Of course, an entry-level iPad costs $329, so with 12 jurors, a judge, counsel, etc., the initial cost of this approach can add up. But binders can also be expensive to create and difficult to update, and that cost repeats for the next trial, whereas you can buy the iPads once (even older models at a discount) and then use them again and again. Plus, viewing an image of a document on a screen can be much more effective than a piece of paper in a binder, so for the right kind of trial, a litigator may decide that it is worth the expense.
Since this app is brand new, I have not yet had a chance to try it out in trial. But I know that the folks at Lit Software have used this in sample trials, and they tell me that it has worked well for them. Read on to see how this app works so that you can decide whether it makes sense for you to use it yourself in a trial, arbitration, mediation, deposition, etc.
[UPDATE: A few hours after this post went live, the head of Lit Software, Ian O'Flaherty, reached out to me to share some additional thoughts. I've added them to the end of this post, and they are worth reading.]
How to load exhibits
To use this app, you will need to have one or more iPads that you will provide to the factfinder(s). The only app that you need to install on each of those iPads is the ExhibitsPad app, which you can download from the App Store. Once installed, you can — and probably should — take advantage of Apple's Guided Access feature so that the factfinder cannot exit the ExhibitsPad app. For example, you don't want a juror using Safari to search the Internet during trial.
You yourself will need to have a single paid copy of ExhibitsPad. And you don't pay for ExhibitsPad on its own; it is included at no extra charge as a part of the Lit Suite subscription (which I discussed in this post), the subscription that gives you access to all of Lit Software's apps. Normally, a Lit Suite subscription gives you permission to use each app on up to three devices. But for ExhibitsPad, the license allows you to use the app on up to 26 devices, which should be enough for a full jury, alternates, judge, counsel, etc.
Once the ExhibitPad app is on each device, you create a case name and install the exhibits. The best way to do that is to use an external thumb drive. That way, you can place all of the exhibits on the thumb drive and then connect the thumb drive to each iPad to load the exact same exhibits on each iPad. To connect a thumb drive to an iPad, you may need a connector, depending upon whether the iPad has a Lightning or USB-C port and depending upon whether you are using a USB or a USB-C thumb drive.
Thus, the best way to use the app is for all of the trial/arbitration/mediation/etc. exhibits to first be pre-marked for all parties. Then, all exhibits for all parties would be placed on a single thumb drive, and then loaded onto each iPad. This is the same procedure that you would use for a standard trial binder.
I presume that many folks will work with PDF files, but you can also load videos or audio recordings as exhibits.
There is an alternative way to use ExhibitsPad, a way that would work well in a deposition. In some depositions, you don't mind giving all of the exhibits to the witness at the outset. But other times, you only want to provide the exhibit as you are using the exhibit. For this, you can give the witness an iPad running ExhibitsPad with no exhibits loaded. Then, every time you want to show an exhibit to the witness, you can AirDrop the exhibit to the witness (and opposing counsel). If you want to highlight something on the exhibit, do so on your iPad and then just AirDrop it again. I haven't tried this yet myself, but my understanding is that every time that you AirDrop a new exhibit, it replaces the other exhibit. In other words, the witness only has one exhibit at a time — much like a real deposition.
Viewing exhibits
After you preload all of your exhibits and provide the iPad to the factfinder, the factfinder will see a list of all of the exhibits — either listed by name, or in a thumbnail format. Note that in the following images, I'm using a bunch of one-page exhibits, but you can also use multi-page PDF files.
Tap on any file to open it to full-screen. The user can use standard pinch commands to zoom in and out on the document.
This is a feature that makes ExhibitsPad unlike any other way of presenting evidence to a juror or other factfinder because they have control. If they are having trouble reading something small, they can zoom in to look closer. You are literally putting the exhibits in the hands of the juror in a way that is easier to see and handle than providing exhibit binders.
What if a juror wants to annotate a document? To do so, the juror zooms in or out and then presses the camera button at the top right, which creates an image of the screen. The juror can then use the standard iPad tools with a finger to write, highlight, annotate, etc. Those snapshots are stored locally on the iPad and not shared with others so they are personal to the juror — just like when a juror takes notes during trial.
A factfinder can delete a snapshot (swipe to delete), but a factfinder cannot delete or change the actual exhibit.
Conclusion
ExhibitsPad is a fascinating idea for an app. I can see many jurors and other factfinders appreciating the ability to be closer to the exhibits, making the exhibits more powerful. But I can also sit pitfalls, such as if you have a juror who is unfamiliar with technology and uncomfortable using a touch screen. Also, if the factfinder is allowed to use ExhibitsPad during a presentation, the factfinder might get distracted by one exhibit and not pay attention to the next exhibit that the lawyer is discussing. But you could address this by only providing the iPads when the factfinder begins deliberation. I can see this being a particularly appropriate tool in an arbitration.
Apps like TrialPad and TranscriptPad have been around for so long that lawyers have found lots of interesting ways to use those apps, and the apps have evolved over time. ExhibitsPad is just starting its life this week, and I'm sure that creative lawyers will come up with interesting ways to use this app that I'm not yet thinking about. Moreover, I'm sure that the app will receive updates to make it more powerful in the future. But after playing with this new app for the last few days, the more that I think about this app, the more excited I am about the different ways that this app can be used by a litigator to make the best possible presentation to factfinders.
Click here to get ExhibitsPad:
- - - - - - - - - - - -
FROM IAN O'FLAHERTY OF LIT SOFTWARE:
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for taking the time to review our app.
We wanted to allow the owner of ExhibitsPad to be able to restrict the end user to only be able to use ExhibitsPad, and you described how that can be done using Apple's Guided Access which is built into iPadOS. As you said, this feature can limit the end user to one app, preventing a juror doing their own research on the internet. We also wanted to make sure the juror or witness couldn't get back to the Home Screen of ExhibitsPad and delete the exhibits, or somehow try to add more exhibits. We accomplished this by adding a Password setting in the Settings app of ExhibitsPad. When a password is enabled, the user has to enter this password in order to get back to the Home screen in ExhibitsPad. This feature, combined with Guided Access, makes sure that when you hand the iPad to the juror or witness, they stay within the guardrails!
I thought your readers might also be interested in the background behind the creation of ExhibitsPad. We've all heard the maxim, "necessity is the mother of invention" and ExhibitsPad is proof of this saying.
Recently, during the height of the COVID 19 pandemic, we were tasked with a way to hygienically distribute documents to all the parties in a federal trial. This was a hybrid trial where evidence was being presented using TrialPad on the screens in the courtroom, and over Zoom at the same time. Some witnesses were appearing remotely via Zoom, but others would appear in person, and both sides and the judge would be in the courtroom and needed the ability to review the documents being discussed.
This could have been accomplished with binders, but because it was many thousands of pages, it would have been a lot of binders! Additionally, there would need to be a new clean set of binders for each witness. And as the trial progressed, more exhibits would be admitted. This seemed like an overwhelming task for paper, but an ideal use of the iPad, a glass surface that can be easily wiped clean and disinfected. Both parties and the judge agreed to this novel approach.
Knowing that the iPad would be the ideal medium, we looked at various apps that might accomplish this in an easy and efficient way. We obviously considered our own TrialPad and DocReviewPad as ways for users to review evidence. Both of these apps are very powerful and easy-to-use tools with specific purposes, but neither was an ideal solution to be given to the parties as a way to review documents and videos. There needed to be a simple app specifically designed to distribute exhibits.
It became obvious that if we created an app like this it could have many other uses in legal proceedings. Besides being used by the judge and parties during this trial, iPad devices could be loaded with all the evidence introduced during the trial, and given to jurors to review during deliberations. Each juror could use an identically prepared court-issued iPad with all the exhibits, while remaining socially distanced, and not having to share paper and binders.
As you mentioned Jeff, the initial costs of purchasing iPad devices would soon turn into a cost savings over purchasing multiple binders for every matter, and the associated printing costs. Loading and preparing iPad devices would also be much faster than printing and organizing binders, with the added benefit of knowing that the evidence on one iPad was an exact mirrored copy of the evidence on the other iPad devices.
Even after the pandemic, when we're vaccinated and feeling safe enough to interact with others again, this type of app would still be useful to distribute evidence to jurors for deliberations. Besides containing all the documents and color photo exhibits that can be zoomed in on; it can also include audio recordings, video depositions, and other multimedia files that each juror can play, pause, rewind, or scrub through.
We evaluated other simple PDF apps available on the App Store but there was something with each app that didn't make it suitable for a legal proceeding. We decided we had to make an app ourselves, but it required some important features and capabilities:
A court employee had to be able to load evidence into the app easily and quickly. [We decided in making a USB drive the main way this is accomplished.]
The court employee loading the evidence needed a way to confirm that every iPad had the exact same set of exhibits. [We accomplished this by having a document, page, and multimedia count on the Home Screen of ExhibitsPad.]
There couldn't be any possibility that exhibits from a previous matter could get left in the app and get mixed with the new case being deliberated. [Every import of exhibits will completely replace the exhibits of any previous import.]
It had to be easy to use for non-technically proficient users to review the evidence. [We decided on text buttons or simple icons, with large touch targets.]
The app had to be very intuitive with a minimum learning curve, not requiring a manual or training. [We kept everything to one screen with a flat hierarchy so that users, with different comfort levels when it came to technology, couldn't get lost within the app.]
There had to be a robust and easy search capability to find an exhibit, even if hundreds of exhibits were part of the case. [A larges search field is always at the top of the screen.]
The search should search the file names (i.e. exhibit numbers or parts of names), but not search the OCR data to prevent a juror from using the power of the iPad to mine the data. [As a user types in the search field the files are filtered to only show documents or multimedia files that contain those characters.]
The end user shouldn't be able to exit the app, possibly accessing the internet or using other apps. [Accomplished with Guided Access and a password is required to get to the Home Screen.]
The end user should be able to take a snapshot of a particular page of a document to be able to reference it later. [A snapshot tool stores any snapshots in a dedicated Snapshots area in the app.]
There should be some way for the user to annotate a snapshot of an exhibit without altering the original exhibit. [Any snapshots that are taken can be annotated with Apple's familiar markup tools.]
These requirements drove the development of ExhibitsPad, an easy-to-use, single-purpose app designed to allow the end user to review exhibits, whether they be documents or multimedia.
As you discussed Jeff, ExhibitsPad can be used just as easily in deposition, with the questioning lawyer arriving with an iPad, or multiple iPad devices, loaded with the exhibits they intend to discuss. Or have ExhibitsPad empty, and then AirDrop exhibits one at a time for the witness to review as they're being discussed, controlling the delivery and pace of the exhibits without giving anything away at the outset of the deposition.
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This article won the LitigationWorld Pick of the Week award on May 21, 2021. The editors of TechnoLawyer, who publish a number of free weekly email newsletters for lawyers and law office administrators, give this award to one article every week that they feel is a must-read for an audience that is interested in modern litigation practice.
The CDC says that fully vaccinated people can "[v]isit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing." But how does a venue know whether people coming indoors are fully vaccinated? About a month ago, I linked to an article by Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post in which he describes vaccine passport apps from states such as New York. I live in New Orleans, and this week, Louisiana became the latest state to provide digital proof of COVID-19 vaccination on an iPhone so that you can prove vaccination to any establishment asking for that verification. It is part of the LA Wallet app, which I reviewed back in 2018, an app that you can use as a substitute for your physical driver's license. That app is especially useful if you forgot to pick up your wallet before you jumped in the car; as long as your iPhone is with you, you still have your driver's license. You can now use that same app to verify through the State of Louisiana Department of Health that you have been vaccinated. Using the app, you can show others, in a verified way, the date that you were vaccinated. (For two-dose vaccination, it lists the date of the second dose.) Time will tell when and where proof of vaccination will be necessary, and I realize that some states, such as Florida this week, are going the opposite direction, banning bars, businesses, schools, and government entities from asking anyone to provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination — at the same time that Florida is enacting other laws that leave me, and other fans of democracy, rolling our eyes. But for those folks who desire to prove that they are vaccinated, and for those establishments that want to take advantage of that to provide a safer environment for patrons, Louisiana and other states now have a mechanism in place. And now, the other news of note from the past week:
In the latest episode of the Mac Power Users podcast, California attorney David Sparks and his co-host Stephen Hackett discuss apps that you can use to be productive with an iPhone. It's a great episode full of lots of tips. As they noted in the podcast, because of the small screen of the iPhone, it is often not the platform of choice for most tasks (although there are a few where it excels). But when you are away from your computer and iPad, the iPhone is so powerful that you can get lots of serious work done with the right app, sometimes with the aid of an external keyboard.
This week, the trial between Apple and Epic regarding the removal of Fortnite from the App Store began before Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of the Northern District of California. Illinois attorney John Voorhees of MacStories wrote this overview of the issues in the trial before the trial began.
Unlike Tile and other manufacturers of tracking devices, Apple has emphasized privacy as a part of its development the AirTag and thus has many methods in place to discourage the improper use of an AirTag to track another person. Nevertheless, Geoffrey Fowler of the Washington Post reports that there are still ways that an AirTag can be used to track another person without their consent, at least for a period of time. Apple has the ability to update the AirTag, so I would not be surprised to seek Apple update AirTag settings over time as it improves its privacy protections.
This week, Apple issued an important security update for the iPhone (iOS 14.5.1) and other platforms. It fixes a flaw in Webkit, used by Safari and other apps, and Apple is aware of a report that the flaw had already been exploited by someone. If you haven't updated your devices yet, do so now. Roman Loyola of Macworld has more details on the update.
Juli Clover of MacRumors reviews the Brydge 12.9 MAX+, a cheaper alternative to Apple's Magic Keyboard for iPad.
James Titcomb of The Register reports that Apple could be working with a UK company to develop a way for the Apple Watch to monitor blood sugar and alcohol.
Amber Neely of Apple Insider reports that a woman recently gave birth to a baby on an airplane. Fortunately, there was a doctor on board to help the premature newborn. And fortunately, there was an Apple Watch on board because the doctor used it to keep tabs on the baby's heart rate.
And finally, a person on YouTube who calls himself AirTagAlex mailed an AirTag to himself in the Netherlands to see how the device would track the journey through the mail system, and created this interesting video:
This past Friday, Apple started selling its latest new product, the AirTag. An AirTag is the size of a small button, 1.26 inches in diameter. And like a button, it weighs virtually nothing, less than half an ounce (0.39 ounce). Place an AirTag in an object like a briefcase or a purse, and the AirTag can help you to locate that item if you lose it. A single AirTag costs $29, or you can purchase a four-pack for $100. I've been trying out four AirTags for the last few days, and I'm very impressed with how well this system works.
This post addresses four aspects of the AirTag. First, how to store it with an item. Second, how to find if it again if it is far away from you. Third, how to find its precise location once you are close to it. And fourth, how to use Lost Mode if you cannot find an AirTag.
Where to put an AirTag
An AirTag is a little larger than a quarter, about the size of a half-dollar coin. It is almost as thick as an iPhone in the middle, but it seems much thinner because of the curved side and the fact that it weighs almost nothing. It feels like a button on a jacket.
The point of an AirTag is to have it attached to, or somehow part of, an item that you might lose. For something that has a compartment like a purse, briefcase, or backpack, you can just slip an AirTag into a compartment, and you are done. I think that an AirTag is too thick to fit into a typical wallet that goes into a back pocket, but perhaps there are some wallets out there (or in development now) that could fit an AirTag.
I suspect one of the most misplaced items for many folks is keys, so adding a AirTag to a key ring makes perfect sense. You simply need a case for the AirTag that can attach to a key ring. Apple sells a $35 leather key ring case that comes in three colors.
Instead of the Apple key ring and loop, I purchased versions sold by Belkin, which only cost $12.95. Both come with the same holder, two pieces of plastic (black, blue, or pink) in which you place an Air Tag in one half, place the other half on, and then twist the two parts to lock. The Belkin key ring product comes with a key ring to connect to the holder. The Belkin strap simply fits through the loop at the top of the holder and doubles around itself.
Creative folks are coming up with many other ways to attach an AirTag to an item. For example, Moment has a Stretch Fabric Mount that uses an adhesive that attaches to any fabric. Elevation Lab makes a waterproof case for an AirTag. And I'm sure that we will soon see many more products that work with an AirTag.
For those who don't mind paying top-dollar for a luxury item, Apple has long had a partnership with Hermès, and that partnership continues to the AirTag. For example, Apple itself sells a $349 Hermès Key Ring and a $449 Hermès luggage tag. And if you buy directly from Hermès, you can get a $699 travel tag:
A luggage tag that costs more than the luggage itself is certainly extravagant, but the point is that you can find a wide variety of products to connect an AirTag to an item.
Once you figure out how you are going to associate an AirTag with an item, put an AirTag close to your iPhone and you will be given the option to claim the AirTag as yours and give the AirTag a name and an icon. Once an AirTag is affiliated with your Apple account, another person cannot pick it up and start using it with their account.
Note that the AirTag contains a standard CR2032 battery. Apple says that the battery should last about a year. I see that Amazon currently sells a 6-pack of Energizer CR2032 batteries for $7.99, so they are inexpensive to replace.
How to Find an AirTag when it is not in your vicinity
Each AirTag works with the Apple Find My service, which you can tap into using the Find My app. I discussed the history and current version of that app almost a month ago in this post, and I recommend that you start with that post if you are thinking about getting an AirTag.
Each AirTag has a Bluetooth radio in it, which means that it can talk to other Bluetooth devices that are within the vicinity (typically about 30-50 feet). The AirTag sends out a number, that changes from time to time, and if another iPhone passes within Bluetooth range of that device, it will notice the AirTag number and notify Apple that a certain AirTag number was seen at a certain place and time. That way, if you use the Find My app to search for an item, you can get the location if another iPhone has passed by it. With over a billion iPhones now in active use, hopefully there is a good chance that an iPhone will pass by your AirTag.
For example, this past Saturday, I attended a championship middle school track and field meet with my daughter. (She did very well, including getting first place in one of her events!) I took the key fob for my car but left the rest of the key ring including the AirTag in my car. About four hours after I last saw my keys, I asked the Find My app to find them. It did so quickly, letting me know that another iPhone had passed by them just six minutes earlier — I presume someone else walking to their car in a parking lot who passed by my car, where my keys were in the glove compartment. The app then gave me directions for getting to my keys.
If multiple AirTags are in the same location, you will see the icons associated with the first two AirTags, and then an indication of how many more are also located there. Thus, when I was in my office in downtown New Orleans with four AirTags with me, here is what I saw:
The Find My system will not work 100% of the time. If an item with an AirTag attached is located in a remote location such that no other iPhone would ever be anywhere near it, then the AirTag won't be found. The alternative would be to use a tracking device with GPS so that it could always be tracked, but this is more expensive and the tracking device needs to be somewhat larger. For example, T-Mobile has just introduced a GPS tracking device called the SyncUP TRACKER. You need to pay $5/month for the TRACKER service, and then you pay $60 ($2.50/month) for 24 months for each SyncUP TRACKER. (It is unclear to me if you own the device after paying $60 or if you need to continue paying $2.50 every month.) And perhaps most annoying, the SyncUP TRACKER only lasts for a few days before it needs to be recharged.
How to Find an AirTag when it is in your vicinity
What if you are reasonably close to an AirTag that you are trying to find, either because you found it on a map and then got close to it or because you know that the AirTag is somewhere close — such as in your own house — but you just don't know exactly where it is located?
First, you can make the AirTag play a sound. (This tweet from Apple includes a short video with examples of all of the AirTag sounds.) If you can hear it, hopefully you can find it.
Second, when you are within Bluetooth range of your own AirTag, your iPhone can direct you to the precise location of the AirTag using a large arrow. This only works if you are using an iPhone with a U1 Ultra Wideband chip, such as the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro Max that Apple released in 2019 as well as most of the more recent iPhones.
Using one or both of these approaches, you should able to find your item with the AirTag, even if it is in a somewhat hidden location in your house or another location.
You cannot use an AirTag to find the precise location of your luggage on a luggage carousel because an AirTag needs to be in a fixed position for Ultra Wideband chip to work.
You can use an AirTag to confirm that your luggage made it to the same airport as you.
You can use an AirTag to determine the precise location of your luggage if someone has taken it off of a carousel and moved it to a specific location, which often happens after you go through customs and immigration.
Putting an AirTag inside of luggage versus using a strap and putting it outside of the luggage did not make a difference for range or tracking accuracy.
I'm sure we will see more reports like this in the coming weeks and months.
Lost Mode
If you have lost an item connected to an AirTag and cannot find it using the Find My app, you can put the AirTag in lost mode. Once in this mode, if another iPhone passes near the AirTag, you will receive a notification that the AirTag was located. You can also choose to leave a phone number and a message so that if someone else finds the AirTag, they can hold it close to an iPhone or Android device to see the message. Hopefully, this person will contact you and help you to recover your lost item.
This is the same system that Apple has used for years for a lost iPhone or iPad. There are no guarantees that someone will find it and contact you, but at least with the AirTag you have a chance of recovery.
Conclusion
Do you have an item that you don't want to lose, and are you willing to spend $25 to guard against that? Then the AirTag may be right for you. The hope, of course, is that you will never have a need to use an AirTag. But if you ever do need it — either because an item is lost inside of your own house or is lost somewhere in the outside world — you'll be glad that you have it.
This past weekend, I was delighted to give a short presentation as a part of a seminar with speakers from around the world hosted by two large organizations for lawyers in the Philippines: Legal Hackers Manila and Abogadong Pinoy. The title of the seminar was More Than Word: Apps and other Legal Technology Tools for the Modern Lawyer. The seminar was streamed on Facebook Live, and the recording is still available to watch. Many of the topics of this seminar would be of interest to any lawyer, no matter where in the world you practice law. For example, after I spoke about the iPhone and iPad, legal technology consultant Brett Burney of Apps in Law also gave some advice for mobile computing, and then two speakers talked about a product that uses artificial intelligence in contract negotiations.
The speakers and topics (with the approximate time-stamps if you want to jump to a particular section) are as follows:
0:00:00 — Welcome remarks by Joan de Venecia-Fabul (Manila), PLDT Deputy Chief Counsel and Vice President
0:01:55 — Results of Filipino legal technology survey of by Jeifan-Ira Dizon (Manila), Dizon + Ross
0:09:53 — Speaker introduction by Quito Nitura (Manila), ACCRALAW
0:10:27 — iPhone and iPad Tips for Lawyers by Jeff Richardson (New Orleans), Adams and Reese • iPhone J.D.
0:33:32 — Mobile Apps in a Legal Practice by Brett Burney (Ohio), Apps in Law
1:01:43 — Artificial Intelligence in Contract Negotiations by Tracy Van Heer (Melbourne) and Mike Alford (San Francisco), LexCheck
1:28:27 — Digitization and Innovation in the Legal Services Industry by Alain Charles Veloso (Manila), Quisumbing Torres - Baker McKenzie
1:59:15 — Closing Remarks by Mars Veloso (Manila), Legal Hackers Manila • Apptitude
Thanks to all of the great folks with Legal Hackers Manila and Abogadong Pinoy for the invitation!
