There has been a lot written this week about the new 10th generation iPad and the 2022 versions of the iPad Pro. Here is my overall take on everything that has been written. The new iPad is very good if you don't plan to use the Apple Pencil. If you do plan to use the Apple Pencil, you are better off getting the iPad Air to use the much better Apple Pencil 2 as well as take advantage of the other improved features. And the 2022 versions of the iPad Pro are essentially just minor speed bumps from last year's model, but that's a good thing. That's the take-away if you just focus on the specific models. When you step back and look at the iPad platform as a whole, that's where things start to look weird. You would think that professional users who gravitate towards the iPad Pro have a greater need for a front-facing camera on the top for video-conferencing, but that feature is only available on the low-end iPad. You would think that a function row on a keyboard, including an escape key, would be most useful to those same professional users, but that function row only appears on the new Magic Keyboard Folio, which only works with the low-end iPad. And while the low-end 10th generation iPad is great, at a starting price of $449 it is also rather expensive, forcing Apple to continue selling the inferior 9th generation iPad. If Apple could have had its way, my sense is that the current iPad lined up would not look like this one. But after years of COVID, component shortages, workforce shortages, etc., it's not possible to have the ideal iPad lineup for 2022, and instead we get what we get. Fortunately, there are still very nice iPads available for sale, even if they don't yet have all of the new features that we would want. And now, the news of note from the past week.
- Jason Snell of Six Colors reviews the new iPad and iPad Pro models, noting that he has mixed feelings.
- "Mixed signals" is the phrase that Federico Viticci of MacStories uses in his review of the iPad and iPad Pro models.
- John Gruber of Daring Fireball has a good take on the 2022 iPad.
- The Apple Pencil 2 is only $89 on Amazon right now. That's $40 off the regular price, and the lowest price I've ever seen for this fantastic product. If you have been on the fence about whether to get one, I strongly encourage you to take advantage of this sale. I use my Apple Pencil 2 every day.
- It's pretty rare for Apple to reveal details of future, unannounced, products, but Amber Neely of Apple Insider reports that Apple executive Greg Joswiak confirmed that Apple will replace the Lightning connector on the iPhone with USB-C to comply with European regulations. Not much of a surprise given the EU requirements, but still.
- Live Activities is one of the more interesting new features of iOS 16.1, especially if you have an iPhone 14 model with the Dynamic Island as a place for these notifications to show up. Attorney John Voorhees of MacStories is starting to collect some of the more interesting apps with Live Activities, and his first set is featured in this post.
- If you have purchased a MagSafe accessory from Apple or another manufacturer, you know that they have historically featured a white circle. Andrew O'Hara of Apple Insider reports that Apple has changed its guidelines, so we should start to see MagSafe accessories in different colors soon.
- Andrew O'Hara also prepared a nice video review of the new Level Lock+, a HomeKit-compatible door lock that works with the new Home Key function.
- Bradley Chambers of 9to5Mac reviews the Meross Smart WiFi Essential Oil Diffuser, just in time for the holidays.
- If you own a Mac and update to the new macOS Ventura operating system, you can use the Continuity Camera feature, which allows you to attend video conferences using the high-quality camera on your iPhone instead of the built-in webcam on your Mac. This article on the Apple website explains how Continuity Camera works.
- Chance Miller of 9to5Mac reviews the new Clean Energy Charging feature of iOS 16.1.
- Benjamin Mayo of 9to5Mac reports that Apple is raising the price of Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple One. Most services go up $1 or $2 a month. The highest-end Apple One bundle, AppleOne Premier, goes up $3 to $32.95/month.
- Elyse Vitale of Hour Detroit reports that a 12-year-old girl's life was saved when her Apple Watch noticed an abnormally high heart rate, eventually leading to the early discovery of a rare tumor.
- And finally, if you are looking for something good to watch on Apple TV+, I recommend checking out Black Bird. It came out a few months ago, but I just watched it last weekend, and I thoroughly enjoyed all six episodes. It is based on a true story about a man who finds an interesting option for trying to get out of prison earlier. The Rotten Tomatoes score is excellent: 97% and 95%. Great acting. I posted the trailer below, but my recommendation is that you don't watch the trailer, just start watching the show. It won't take long to figure out if this is the type of show that you like, and that way you won't spoil anything.
