How-To: Take better photos, videos, and selfies with the 9.7-inch iPad Pro
If you consider your iPhone 6s to be a very good camera, then the 9.7-inch iPad Pro should equally be considered an acceptable camera in terms of quality. Both have 12‑megapixel iSight cameras on the back with True Tone flashes, 5-megapixel FaceTime HD cameras on the front with Retina Flash, and Live Photos on both sides, plus 4K video capture.
The only difference is obviously the form factor of each device: the iPhone’s candy bar shape makes it look like a digital camera, whereas the iPad may only be socially acceptable as a camera if no one realizes you’re actually taking photos. That’s kinda the trick for me; shoot with the iPad if I’m already using it for something else, otherwise go for the iPhone first.
That context is mostly around the house where no one can see (read: judge) me, but seriously using the 9.7-inch iPad Pro as a convenient camera has made me realize the iPad’s Camera app has a few drawbacks compared to the same app on the iPhone. Part of it is size, but there are some software tricks too that you’ll want to keep in mind to better utilize the newly improved camera system…
Filed under:
How-To, iOS Devices Tagged: 9.7-inch iPad Pro
Facebook Live update brings ability to go live in Groups, interactive features, more
It was perhaps unimaginable just a few years ago, but live streaming has become particularly popular thanks to apps like Meerkat and, most notoriously, Twitter-acquired Periscope. Not to be left out, Facebook joined the race last summer — albeit initially only for public figures via the dedicated Mentions app — and then pushed beyond earlier this year with the open introduction of “Facebook Live” in the US, a feature within the mobile app that allows anyone to live stream to their friends.
The experiment seems to be working well, and with the app update — which begins its rollout today — Facebook is adding a variety of features to enhance the Facebook Live experience; according to the company, adding a dedicated tab for finding live as well as archived video will “give you more ways to discover, share, and interact with live video, and more ways to personalize your live broadcasts”…
Filed under: Apps Tagged: Facebook Live
Happy Hour Podcast 061 | iPhone SE + 9.7-inch iPad Pro impressions, purple Safari, macOS & more
This week Zac and Benjamin get into their first impressions of Apple’s iPhone SE and 9.7-inch iPad Pro. Are either of these new devices worth the money? The Happy Hour podcast is available for download on iTunes and through our dedicated RSS feed.
Filed under: Happy Hour Tagged: Happy Hour
Apple releases first tvOS 9.2.1 + OS X 10.11.5 betas to developers
Just moments after releasing the first betas of iOS 9.3.2 and watchOS 2.2.1, Apple this afternoon has pushed fresh developer betas of tvOS and Mac OS X. The latest tvOS version released to developers today is 9.2.1, while OS X El Capitan has been bumped to 10.11.5.
Filed under: iOS Devices
Apple releases first iOS 9.3.2 + watchOS 2.2.1 betas for developers
Google Chrome experimenting w/ native Mac OS X Notification Center support, here’s how to enable it
9to5Toys Lunch Break: iPad Pro 12.9″ 128GB $760, MacBook $990, Milanese Loop Apple Watch Bands $16, more
Keep up with the best gear and deals on the web by signing up for the 9to5Toys Newsletter. Also, be sure to check us out on: Twitter, RSS Feed, Facebook, Google+ and Safari push notifications.
TODAY’S CAN’T MISS DEALS:
Apple iPad Pro 12.9-inch Wi-Fi 128GB in all colors: $760 shipped (Reg. $949)
Apple 12-inch Retina MacBook 1.1GHz/8GB/256GB: $990 shipped (Reg. $1,299), more
Apple 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro (Newest Version) 2.2GHz/16GB/256GB: $1,600 shipped (Reg. $1,999)
What if I told you that you could get a great Apple Milanese Loop knockoff for a tenth of the price ($16 Prime shipped)?
Apple Watch 42mm Space Gray Milanese Loop Band + Aluminum Dock: $27 Prime shipped (Reg. $35)
iPhone SE and Galaxy S7/Edge cases in a variety of styles/colors from $3 shipped
Walmart launches iPhone SE $100 discount, other Apple/Samsung devices too!
Apple TV 4th gen: 32GB $109 (Reg. $149), 64GB $154 (Reg. $199) w/ VISA Checkout
Transistor action RPG for iOS matching its lowest price ever: $3 (Reg. $10)
App Store Free App of the Week: CHOMP interactive storybook goes free for the first time ($3 value)
Apple offers Day One 2 iOS journal app for free ($10 value)
MORE NEW GEAR FROM TODAY:
Smartphone Accessories: Bose SoundLink Bluetooth Speaker III $249 shipped (Reg. $300), Aduro 2-Outlet USB Surge Protector $10, more
- Timbuk2 Spire Backpack for 15-inch MacBooks: $67 shipped (Reg. $99)
- Storage: WD My Passport Ultra 1TB USB 3.0 Portable HDD $50 (Reg. $60), more
- Learn to build amazing apps with the Apple TV Developer Course: $19 (Orig. $199)
- Games/Apps: Rainbow Six Siege $30, COD Black Ops 3 $31, more
- Amazon Gold Box – 40% off Citizen Watches: Eco-Drive Stainless Steel $185, more
- Daily Deals: Onkyo Dolby Atmos 7.2-Ch Network A/V Receiver w/ AirPlay $285, more
- Up to 50% off Rachio smart home sprinkler systems: 8-zone $130 or 16-zone $150
- Grab a free Kindle download of Jane Austen’s ‘Mansfield Park’ w/ Audible Narration
MORE DEALS STILL ALIVE:
Lifeproof FRĒ SERIES Waterproof Case for iPhone 6/s Plus: $41 Prime shipped (Reg. $65)
AT&T buy 3 accessories, save 20%: iPad Pro Smart Keyboard $143 (Reg. $169), Apple Pencil $87 (Reg. $99), more
- You can now live stream an MLB game every day for free courtesy of Yahoo
- Home Theater: Pioneer 4K 3D AirPlay A/V Receiver $400, more
- UE BOOM 2 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker in all colors: $150 shipped (Reg. $200)
- T-Mobile offering $200 off any iPad when you buy an iPhone on installment plan
- Green Deals: Collapsible Solar Lantern $14, more
- Start programming with the ‘Learn Python 3.0 Visually’ Kindle eBook for $1 (Reg. $10)
- Mizuno Wave-series running shoes for men and women: Rider 18 $50 (Reg. $65+), more
- The classic-style Doom and Destiny RPG games drop to just $1 each on iOS (Reg. $3 ea)
- Game Dev Story for iOS now matching its lowest price ever: $1 (Reg. $5)
- Amazon’s popular Kindle e-readers are up to 37% off w/ prices starting at $50 shipped
- iTunes gift cards w/ free email delivery: $100 for $90, $50 for $45, more (10% off)
- Amazon Fire TV 4K Streaming Media Player $85 (Reg. $100), more
- Amazon is giving Prime members up to 3 magazine subscriptions for free: Wired, GQ, more
- Green Deals: Etekcity 3-pack of Remote Outlet Switches $17 (Reg. $25), more
- Browse the web anonymously: $60 (Orig. $80)
- Samsung 48-inch Smart UHDTVs: 3D 120Hz $925 (Reg. $1,200+), Curved 60Hz $629 (Reg. $830)
- Smartphone Accessories: Poweradd Solar 10000mAh Dual 2.1A USB Battery/light: $12, more
- Here’s how you can get a 90-day membership to BJ’s Warehouse for free
- Final Fantasy XV gets a new playable demo, now available for free on PS4 and Xbox One
- Green Deals: WORX WG156 2-in-1 Electric Trimmer/Edger $80 shipped (Reg. $107+), more
- Kindle First eBook freebies for April: Golden Age, The Secret Healer, Blood Defense, more
- Google Play Metal Albums for $0.99: Trivium’s Silence In The Snow (Orig. $11), more
Buy a refurbished Apple AirPort Express Wi-Fi router w/ 1-yr warranty for $49 shipped (Orig. $99)
NEW PRODUCTS & MORE:
Roku introduces a new quad-core streaming stick with a slimmed down design
Apogee releases its most affordable full-featured Mac recording interface yet
- The Yecup 365 travel mug uses your iPhone to heat or cool your drink
- ROAM-e follows you around in the sky and takes selfies on demand
- Sprint customers can now (but probably shouldn’t) pay monthly for Amazon Prime
- Seagate unveils the “world’s first” USB-powered 8TB desktop hard drive
- Sony’s new RX10 III digital camera goes big with a 24-600mm lens and 4K capabilities
- Unboxing the awesome, pricey C-3PO and Stormtrooper Bluetooth speakers [Video]
- QWERKYWRITER is a mechanical Bluetooth keyboard that takes us back to simpler times
- Build an Alexa-enabled device using a Raspberry Pi
- Review: Fitbit Alta pairs smart fitness tracking with a small and beautiful design
- The Kuvée smart wine bottle brings the Internet of Things to grapes near you
- This Kickstarter project allows up to 10 people wirelessly listen to nearly any source
- TCL’s new 4K Roku-enabled UHDTVs hit every price point
- The Tovala iOS-connected oven scans and automatically prepares your dinner
Filed under: Tips and Tricks Tagged: 9to5Toys, Amazon, app deals, Best Buy, Daily Deals, free apps, Gold Box, video games
Longtime RFK Human Rights supporter Tim Cook joins group’s board
Tim Cook has long been a support of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights nonprofit organization, and today the Apple CEO has officially joined the group’s board. Cook has specifically voiced that Robert F. Kennedy is among his personal heroes; the Apple CEO has also raised money for the group in the past through charity auctions. This past December, Tim Cook was the recipient of the nonprofit organization’s Ripple of Hope Award where he voiced his beliefs on the refugee crisis dominating the headlines at the time as well as education and social equality in America. Read the full announcement below:
Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, Tim Cook
iTunes metadata suggests ability to hide stock apps on iPhone and iPad coming soon
A very common complaint from iOS users is that unused stock apps cannot be hidden or removed from the Home screen, so ‘less useful’ apps like Tips or Stocks have to be hidden in a folder somewhere to get them off the Home screen. As noted by AppAdvice, the internal App Store JSON data source has added a couple of new interesting keys in the last few weeks, which suggests that Apple is in fact adding the ability to hide stock apps soon …
Filed under: iOS Tagged: Apps, how to delete apps, how to delete stock apps, iOS, iOS 10, leak, Metadata+, stock apps
Opinion: The three things I think Apple needs to do to unlock the full potential of Touch ID
I mused recently about the limited support for 3D Touch, not just from third-party developers but even by Apple itself. That’s not something I consider a huge deal: the novelty appeal of 3D Touch soon wore off for me, and I decided I could happily live without it when switching from the iPhone 6s to the iPhone SE. It was just something that struck me as odd.
But exactly the same issue exists with Touch ID, and that’s something I do think is a big deal.
Passwords are horrible. They were fine way back in the days when we only needed a handful of them, but these days you need a password to do everything from transferring photos from a camera to an iPad through to ordering a pizza. We probably each have hundreds of the darned things.
And passwords are especially horrible on iOS devices – where we have to switch an on-screen keyboard between letters, numbers and symbols multiple times to type a single password. That’s a problem that ought to have been almost completely solved by Touch ID – yet that’s not the case …