New redesigned thinner MacBook Air rumored for mid-2016, perhaps including a 15 inch model

by | Nov 30, 2015 |

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2015 isn’t over yet but the rumor mill is now churning for Apple’s 2016 product pipeline. According to a somewhat-sketchy report from Economic Daily News, the MacBook Air will be getting a major upgrade in mid 2016. The new design will be thinner and lighter with substantial internet component changes, as per the report. In terms of rough timeframe, the product could be announced at WWDC 2016, around June. The MacBook Air has not seen a significant hardware change since 2010, so a major update is certainly due.

The fate of the MacBook Air has been in question for some time, with the early 2015 Retina MacBook seemingly taking center stage in Apple’s thin and light laptop range, albeit priced slightly higher than the respective Air. Perhaps most interestingly in the Economic Daily News story is that Apple is considering a ’13 inch and 15 inch MacBook Air’ bringing the Air into the 15 inch screen size form factor for the first time.

The report also says Apple has not decided whether to keep the 11 inch model, arguably superseded by the Retina MacBook, in the lineup. With the iPad Pro and MacBook encroaching on the same space (in terms of both features and price) of Apple’s computer offerings, it is very possible the 11 inch model will go away. Although the report claims the next-generation MacBook Air will include new batteries, cooling modules, chassis and more, Apple is expected to stick to the same supply chain manufacturers, namely Quanta.

There’s plenty of time between now and June next year for a sketchy Chinese report to be invalidated, so don’t get too excited just yet. Purely speculatively, however, the five-year gap between a major refresh would signal Apple must be preparing a big change for the product regardless. Let us know in the comments … what do you want to see in a new MacBook Air?

Filed under: AAPL Company, iOS Devices, Mac Tagged: 15 inch macbook air, iPad Pro, Mac, MacBook, MacBook Air

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The Logic Pros: Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals – MIDI keyboards, Lightning/USB mics, iOS synths, plug-ins, more

by | Nov 29, 2015 |

The Logic Pros-Black Friday Cyber Monday-MIDI-keyboards-plug-ins-sale

In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we will be taking a short break from the usual routine to stock up on discounted iPad synth apps, plug-ins for Logic, keyboard controllers and more as we transition from Black Friday to Cyber Monday. We have been tracking all the deals to be had over the holiday weekend on 9to5Toys, so we thought a roundup of the best music production and home recording gear/software was in order for this week’s episode:

Along with Amazon’s Black Friday/Cyber Monday music gear deals, large (near) sitewide sales can be had at Musician’s Friend, Guitar Center, ZZSounds, B&H and many more. We have have spotted some solid deals on Mac/iOS compatible keyboard controllers, rare price drops on manufactured refurbished Apogee interfaces and the popular Blue USB/Lightning mics (great for home recording and podcasting). You’ll also find some headphones still available from Audio Technica and some handy storage options for backing up your sessions or storing sample libraries below. Last but not least, we have a laundry list of price drops on the App Store from Moog and Korg, along with some amazing deals on plug-ins for Logic from Native Instruments, UAD, Waves, SugarBytes, SoundToys, XLN Audio and many more:

Novation MK2 Launchkey USB MIDI Keyboard Controllers (25-61 Key)-sale-01

MIDI/DJ/Keyboard Controllers:

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Interfaces:

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Mics:

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iOS apps:

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Software:

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More:

If you have spotted any sweet music gear or plug-in/apps deals that we have may have missed, let us know in the comments below.

The Logic Pros is a regular series exploring all of the most interesting gadgets and software for making music on your Mac/iOS devices. If there is any gear you would like us to take a closer hands-on look at, let us know in the comments section below or shoot us an email.

More The Logic Pros:

Filed under:
How-To, Tips and Tricks Tagged: Black Friday, Black Friday plug-in deals, Cyber Monday, Cyber Monday Native Instruments, Logic Pro X Black Friday, microKEY, MIDI keyboards, Native Instruments, SoundToys, SugarBytes, the logic pros, UAD, Waves, XLN

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How-To, and Black Friday.

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Amazon Instant Video app to launch on tvOS ‘within a few weeks’

by | Nov 28, 2015 |

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Since the new Apple TV launched last month, one notably missing app has been Amazon Video. There’s been a lot of speculation as to what the reasoning for the unexplained absence, with some accusing Apple of blocking Amazon from launching the app on tvOS and others accusing Amazon of not developing for the platform as to encourage users to use its own Fire TV products. Now, however, it looks like Amazon is planning to release a tvOS app after all…

Engineer Dan Bostonweeks reached out to Amazon via its feedback system and asked the company about the lack of tvOS support. Bostonweeks received a response from the company in which the customer service representative says that its technical team is currently developing an app for tvOS. “As we have already succeeded in developing an app for iPhone and iPad, we hope to make an app separately for Apple TV,” the company said.

As far as a release date goes, Amazon says it “hopefully” plans to release the app within a “few weeks span.” For those unfamiliar, Amazon Video will allow those with a Prime membership to instantly stream movies and TVs from Amazon’s catalog, as well as rent and purchase titles.

Amazon Video has never been available on Apple TV, so the company’s tvOS app will certainly be welcomed by customers. While it’s always possible that the specific customer service rep who responded to Bostonweeks’ claim was misinformed, it seems more than likely that we’ll see the app sooner rather than later.

Filed under: Apple TV Tagged: Amazon, Amazon Video, Apple TV, Prime

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The Best Black Friday Games/Apps Deals: 2Do, MacID, Pixelmator, Infinity Blade, Kingdom Rush, Parallels, many more

by | Nov 27, 2015 |

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This year’s Black Friday games and apps deals are now in full swing. We have rounded up all the best console bundles, games/amiibo and packed our daily roundups full of some of the best deals of the year. Along with the new Free App of the Week, Apple has now launched a 50% off holiday apps sale and we have been seeing very notable price drops on popular titles all week long. So we thought we would bring all the best deals into one helpful roundup.

Below you’ll find all the best freebies/discounts that we have seen on the App Stores thus far, plus a few more notable sales on Mac games and productivity apps:

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iOS Apps:

iOS Universal: 2Do: $8 (Reg. $15)
iOS Universal: MacID for iOS: Free (Reg. $4)
iOS Universal: Pixelmator: $2 (Reg. $5)
iOS Universal: GuitarToolkit: $1 (Reg. $3)
iOS Universal: Deliveries: a package tracker: $3 (Reg. $5)
iOS Universal: Awesome Calendar: $3 (Reg. $7)
iOS Universal: Clear Day – Weather HD (formerly): $2 (Reg. $4)
iOS Universal: Jump Desktop (Remote Desktop) – RDP / VNC: $8 (Reg. $15)
iOS Universal: iTranslate Voice – translator & dictionary: $3 (Reg. $7)
iOS Universal: Videoshop – Video Editor: $1 (Reg. $2)
iOS Universal: PDF Forms: $5 (Reg. $9)
iOS Universal: PDF PROvider: $4 (Reg. $8)
iOS Universal: PDF Printer: $3 (Reg. $6)
iOS Universal: Filtatron: $2 (Reg. $6)
iPhone: Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop for iPhone & iPod – Personal: $1 (Reg. $2)
iPhone: Animoog for iPhone: $2 (Reg. $6)
iPhone: Mobile Mouse Remote: $1 (Reg. $2) – also on Apple Watch

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iPhone: Fantastical 2 for iPhone – Calendar and Reminders: $3 (Reg. $5)
iPad: Fantastical 2 for iPad – Calendar and Reminders: $5 (Reg. $10)
iPad: MagicalPad: Notes, Mind Maps, Outlines and Tasks – All in one: $1 (Reg. $5)
iPad: KORG iMS-20: $15 (Reg. $30)
plus many more Korg iOS apps on sale here.
iPad: Disney Animated: $3 (Reg. $10)
iPad: Noteshelf – Take Notes, Sketch, Annotate, Evernote Sync: $4 (Reg. $7)
iPad: Splashtop 2 Remote Desktop – Personal: $1 (Reg. $5)
iPad: Magellan: $10 (Reg. $15)

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iOS Games:

iOS Universal: Infinity Blade: FREE (Reg. $6)
iOS Universal: Threes!: $1 (Reg. $3)
iOS Universal: Lara Croft GO: $3 (Reg. $5)
iOS Universal: Transistor: $3 (Reg. $10) – also on Apple TV
iOS Universal: Surgeon Simulator: $2 (Reg. $5)
iOS Universal: Thomas Was Alone: $2 (Reg. $5)
iOS Universal: To-Fu Fury: FREE (Reg. $2)
iOS Universal: Phase 10 – Play Your Friends!: $1 (Reg. $2)
iOS Universal: Skip-Bo™ – The Classic Family Card Game: $1 (Reg. $2)
iOS Universal: R.B.I. Baseball 14: $1 (Reg. $5)
iOS Universal: R.B.I. Baseball 15: $1 (Reg. $5)
iPhone: Kingdom Rush Frontiers: $1 (Reg. $3)
iPhone: Kingdom Rush Origins: $1 (Reg. $3)
iPad: Kingdom Rush Frontiers HD: $3 (Reg. $5)
iPad: Kingdom Rush Origins HD: $3 (Reg. $5)

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Mac Apps:

Mac: Parallels $79.99 Black Friday Bundle: Free 1Password, Evernote, Camtasia, Snagit, more
Mac: Pixelmator: $15 (Reg. $30)
Mac: 2Do Productivity Manager for Mac: $25 (Reg. $50)
Mac: Deliveries for Mac: $3 (Reg. $5)
Mac: Macphun up to 85% off Creative Kit 2016: 6 apps & extras for $89 (Reg. $630)
Mac: A bundle of Mac App Bundles: more than 50 total apps over 90% off
Mac: VMware Fusion Pro – $119  40% off ,VMware Fusion 8 – $55.99 30% off

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Mac Games:

Mac: Transistor: $5 (Reg. $20)
Mac: Deus Ex: Human Revolution – Ultimate: $10 (Reg. $20)
Mac: Hitman: Absolution – Elite Edition: $10 (Reg. $25)
Mac: Clear Day® – Weather HD formerly: $5 (Reg. $10)
Mac: BioShock Infinite: $7.50 (Reg. $30)
Mac: Mac GameStore Black Friday flash sale: BioShock, Borderlands, many more
Mac: Steam Exploration sale: thousands of titles up to 85% off

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Console Gaming:

Filed under: Apps, iOS, Mac, Tips and Tricks Tagged: 2Do, Black Friday iOS, Black Friday Mac deals, deliveries, Free App of the Week, Infinity Blade, Kingdom Rush, lara croft go, MacID, Parallels, Pixelmator, Threes

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Report: Apple plans to nix 3.5mm port on iPhone 7, require Lightning for wired headphones

by | Nov 27, 2015 |

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Citing a reliable source, a report from Japanese blog Macotakara claims that Apple plans to remove the 3.5mm headphone port from the upcoming iPhone 7, helping to achieve a “more than 1mm” reduction in thickness compared to the iPhone 6s. While the screen shape and radius will remain similar, the device will once again become Apple’s thinnest iPhone ever, albeit with a new restriction: headphones will only be able to connect over Lightning or Bluetooth…

Macotakara says that the 3.5mm port “can hardly be thinner because it is the world standard,” which is accurate, though the current-generation iPod touch is 1mm thinner than the iPhone 6s despite having a 3.5mm port inside. It should be noted that Apple actively contemplated switching to the smaller but less popular 2.5mm headphone port standard many years ago, abandoning the plan after users complained about the original iPhone’s recessed 3.5mm port. Instead, the company opted to wait until alternate headphone connection technologies became more popular, producing every iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Mac with a 3.5mm port. Apple introduced Lightning headphone specs last year, though very few actual Lightning headphones have been shown or shipped.

The report claims that Apple will bundle Lightning connector-equipped EarPods with the next iPhone, incorporating a tiny DA (Digital to Analog) converter into the connector. To insure iPhone 7 compatibility, third-party wired headphone makers will need to include either Lightning cables or 3.5mm to Lightning adapters with their headphones. Bluetooth headphone makers will have no such issues.

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: 3.5mm, Bluetooth, EarPods, Headphone Jack, headphone port, iPhone 7, Lightning

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Review: Apple’s iPad Pro is a giant expensive tablet w/ a couple of pricey accessories [Video]

by | Nov 27, 2015 |

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Meet Apple’s largest Netflix display ever: iPad Pro. I’ve been using it for a little while now and have gathered some thoughts regarding its functionality, uses, and even the accessories like Apple Pencil and the new Smart Keyboard. Is it all worth the hype? Let’s go ahead and find out…

I detailed the iPad Pro in our unboxing video recently, so we’re not getting too in-depth with specifications. First off, this is an iPad. The word “pro” may be in its name, but that’s nothing more than a marketing gimmick. It’s a bigger iPad Air with a few changes that will cost you…

Check out our iPad Pro, Apple Pencil, and Smart Keyboard review video below:

The display measures 12.9-inches diagonally and it’s seriously massive. Like shockingly large. But by itself, it’s no more of an iPad than any other model. Make no mistake though, it’s a fast iPad and the 4GB of RAM and A9X processor packed in really helps out in that department. It also features a total of four speakers, with two on each end. They sound pretty nice as well, which is huge for anyone looking for a solid media experience. There’s also an 8-megapixel camera on the backside (but ain’t nobody got time for that) and a 1.2-megapixel camera around the front for video calls.

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Of course it’s running iOS 9 and with that you’re getting all of the multi-tasking power available like running two apps at once, but because of the large display and resolution of 2732 x 2048, you aren’t compromising app real estate as the iPad Pro can run two full-size apps in portrait mode side-by-side, which is nice. So there’s a nice advantage to the screen size here, but then again you could easily do this on a MacBook. What really makes the iPad Pro stand out are its accessories.

Smart Keyboard

There’s the Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil. Apple’s Smart Keyboard is a pretty nifty invention which conveniently fits a keyboard within the boundaries of a traditional Smart Cover, but scaled to fit the iPad Pro, with some added thickness of course. It connects to the iPad Pro through the Smart Connector located on the side and easily folds out to reveal the keyboard, while using the remainder of the cover to prop it up as a stand. As far as the typing experience goes, it’s not the greatest.

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I feel like this keyboard has even less travel than Apple’s 12-inch MacBook and the material on the top feels weird. Along with that, coming in at $169, it’s pretty pricey. Logitech has a keyboard case for iPad Pro as well, but it’s much nicer as it features a back-lit keyboard, special function keys and controls, along with traditional chicklet style keys. It’s pretty bulky though and turns that “I’m using an iPad” vibe into “I might as well have brought along my MacBook.” But it is $20 cheaper than Apple’s solution and offers much more. The good news is that neither of these keyboards are battery-powered. So no charging required. All power is provided by the iPad’s Smart Connector.

Apple Pencil

Moving along, next we have the Apple Pencil. Now let’s be clear, I’m far from an artist so this accessory may not be for me. That being said, it is pretty cool, has a nice weight to it (much like one of those fancy pens), and a glossy finish with a hard plastic/rubber tip on the end that can be replaced when it wears over time (it also comes with a single replacement tip). It pairs up with the iPad Pro through the Lightning port, which is also how you awkwardly charge it. Yep… accident waiting to happen. Also, to reveal that Lightning connector, you’ll be removing the small cap at the top of it, which is secured with a magnet but I won’t be surprised if you see a lot of cap-less Apple Pencils in the wild over the next year.

Screen Shot 2015-11-27 at 11.26.30 AM

There’s basically zero latency when using it to draw though and depending on the angle it’s used at will change the stroke from the brush or tool you’re using in a compatible app. The charging method is absolutely stupid, but at least the $99 you spend on it will get you an adapter that allows charging with a standard Lightning cable. And according to Apple, the Pencil will last you up to 12 hours on its battery and with just a quick 15 second will get you 30 minutes of use. Again, I may not be the best person to review the Apple Pencil, but I figured I’d give my opinion about it briefly. See also our full review and stylus comparisons.

Verdict

Overall, the iPad Pro is great at a few things, but everything “Pro-level” is much better on a MacBook. Media consumption is fantastic with the large display, quad-speaker setup, and fantastic battery life, which has easily made it to the 10-hour range with my use. The Apple Pencil is nice if you’re the type of person that can really take advantage of its feature set, and the Smart Keyboard is nice for keeping that slim iPad feeling, but not super practical from a pricing standpoint especially when you consider that with the purchase of an iPad Pro and Smart Keyboard, you’re pushing MacBook pricing territory.

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It’s a tough sell for sure, but if you have money burning a hole in your pocket, it’s a fun gadget to have around. Otherwise, just buy a MacBook Air or a 12-inch MacBook. It’s still an iPad at the end of the day and definitely not one for pros, unless you’re a pro artist who will pay extra for an Apple Pencil. Otherwise, it’s just a giant expensive iPad.

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: Apple Pencil, iPad Pro, review, Smart Keyboard, video

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Here’s how Apple Pencil beats other iPad styluses, and your best alternate picks

by | Nov 27, 2015 |

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As mentioned on an earlier Happy Hour podcast, I have a giant collection of iPad styluses, having tested dozens of them since the first iPad debuted in 2010. Earlier this week, my colleague Zac Hall reviewed the best (and most expensive) iPad stylus, Apple’s brand-new $99 Apple Pencil, which is hard to find in stores, and only works with the 12.9″ iPad Pro.

Since the Apple Pencil is two to six times as expensive as some other options, I wanted to spotlight its key strengths and weaknesses relative to rivals, all of which are more broadly compatible and readily available to purchase. During testing, I discovered that the Apple Pencil actually benefits from a surprising little Apple software cheat to make an ultra-fine first impression…

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Apple Pencil: Fantastic If You’re Willing to Spend $99, Give Up Buttons, And Recharge Often

Once you’ve used the Apple Pencil, you’ll have no doubt that Apple’s first iPad stylus was worth the (very long) wait. Despite the fact that it’s unapologetically and almost entirely plastic, it’s unusually long and perfectly weighted to feel great in an adult hand, benefitting from excellent palm rejection so you can write or draw naturally as your wrist rests on the iPad’s screen. While including pressure and orientation sensors that help the iPad determine how forcefully and on what angle it’s being used, Apple has completely stripped it of buttons, removing the need to manually power it on. And rather than demanding disposable batteries or a charging cable, it has a hidden Lightning plug that lets it recharge directly from the iPad Pro it’s used with. Even if you (reasonably) question the wisdom of some of Apple’s design decisions, they collectively make the Apple Pencil a dead simple writing and drawing tool to use… assuming it has a battery charge.

The iPad Pro screenshot below shows how writing with the Apple Pencil (in Apple’s Notes app) differs from other styluses. What you can easily see is the tighter, thinner, and more detailed writing Apple Pencil delivers, but less obvious are the added hand comfort delivered by palm rejection, or the impact of pressure sensitivity, which makes some of the Apple Pencil writing look darker or lighter based on the way the stylus was gripped. These features are found in a handful of rival styluses, but rarely supported by third-party apps.

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Apart from the price tag, which is higher than almost every other iPad stylus, Apple Pencil’s key limitations are in run time and buttons. Apple promises 12 hours of battery life per charge, which isn’t terrible in concept, but becomes a more serious issue than with other styluses because there’s no way to manually turn the Pencil off. Additionally, the iPad Pro’s Bluetooth remains on to maintain communication with the Pencil, modestly impacting its battery as well. Add to that the Pencil’s lack of control buttons — say, an undo or eraser button — and it’s clear that Apple has left room for improvement.

There are four broad categories of iPad stylus alternatives out there, differentiated by two factors: the presence/lack of a fine-point electric writing tip, and the presence/lack of Bluetooth support. Some styluses have both a fine-point electric tip and Bluetooth, while others have one feature or the other, and many have neither. Here’s how the Apple Pencil compares to each category.

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1. Apple Pencil Versus Adonit’s Jot Dash (And Other Electric-Tipped, Non-Bluetooth Styluses)

Shorter by an inch but otherwise wonderfully designed, Adonit’s Jot Dash ($40-$50, color-dependent) can be had for under half the price of the Apple Pencil, and is easy to recommend as an alternative for earlier iPads. Made from anodized aluminum instead of plastic and built with a shirt clip, Jot Dash has an electronically-powered 1.9mm fine tip and a very subtle but wonderfully implemented button — on the back, in the same place as the retracting mechanism of a ballpoint pen, you can press down to turn Dash on or off, conserving its battery. So while it promises 14 hours of run time, those hours don’t evaporate while Dash is actually sitting unused, which happens with Apple Pencil. Dash also includes a magnetic USB recharging base, and works with multiple iPads, through it seems to have sensitivity issues with the iPad Pro.

From a real world use perspective, Jot Dash has three primary disadvantages relative to Apple Pencil. First, it doesn’t have palm rejection, which in most cases means that you’ll need to hover your hand over the screen to write with it. Second, while the tip has really nice accuracy when writing on the screen in an app such as Notes, Apple cheats a little, giving Pencil a thinner version of whatever pencil or pen other styluses (such as Dash) are using. That makes Pencil’s output look crisper — a difference Apple might attribute to increased pixel-level confidence in Pencil’s location compared with other styluses. In other apps, the results of Dash and Apple Pencil look far more similar. Third, Dash doesn’t use Bluetooth, and so can’t share pressure sensitivity or orientation data with the iPad. As developers start to support these features in Pencil, the gulf between Pencil and rivals will grow.

Jot Dash is noteworthy because it’s so small and wonderfully designed, but there are a bunch of other capacitive non-Bluetooth styluses out there. The Joy Factory’s AAAA-batteried Pinpoint ($30) and rechargeable Pinpoint X1 ($50) work with pre-iPad Air 2 models, while Lynktec’s Apex Rechargeable ($55) is a little larger, but works with all iPads and is micro-USB rechargeable. Just Mobile’s AluPen Digital ($49) has one of the nicest designs but is thick to accommodate a AAA battery. Overall, Jot Dash wins this batch.

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2. Apple Pencil Versus Wacom’s Intuos CS2 (And Other Electric-Tipped Bluetooth Styluses)

Several of Apple Pencil’s super powers are attributable to its use of Bluetooth hardware, which enables the stylus to communicate tip pressure and angle data directly to the iPad Pro. Thus far, this data can be used to make writing look light, medium, or dark depending on how hard you’re pressing, or make thicker pen strokes, or simulate how the edge of a drawing tool adds bars of color when raking across a surface. Apple Pencil isn’t the first iPad stylus to offer these features, but earlier rivals had to lobby third-party developers to support their tools, individually. App support barely materialized for third-party styluses, an issue the Apple Pencil certainly won’t have to worry about.

Perhaps the best-known of the electric-tipped Bluetooth styluses is Wacom’s Intuos Creative Stylus 2 ($61), sequel to the earlier, rubber-tipped Intuos Creative Stylus ($17-$22). Both Creative Styluses make a great first impression as they arrive in hard plastic boxes with replacement tips and power accessories, sporting pressure sensitive tips, side shortcut buttons, and the promise of palm rejection support in software. Stylus 2 added a micro-USB 22-hour rechargeable battery and finer tip to the original model. But less than 20 apps were compatible with each of the new Styluses, some only supporting one or two of the Bluetooth-enabled features.

Adonit’s Jot Script ($35) and Jot Script 2 ($65) start with the 1.9mm capacitive tip of Jot Dash, but add Bluetooth 4 support to provide tip angle and palm rejection-assisting location data. Script is AAA-powered; Script 2 has a 20-hour rechargeable battery. The hitches are that the palm rejection and angle features are only supported by a handful of apps, and many people have found the palm rejection to be of limited value — in my testing, it’s certainly not as good as the Apple Pencil’s, and in most cases, not close. Adonit also makes a step-up model called Jot Touch with Pixelpoint ($75-80) that includes a 3.18mm capacitive, pressure sensitive tip and two shortcut buttons — compatible with a few apps — but unfortunately, Jot Touch doesn’t work properly with the iPad Air 2.

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3. Apple Pencil Versus Ten One’s Pogo Connect 2 (And Other Non-Electric-Tipped, Bluetooth Styluses)

Perhaps the best known examples of Bluetooth styluses with non-electric tips are Ten One Design’s Pogo Connect 2 ($40) and Adonit’s Jot Touch 4 ($60). Both are sequels to earlier Bluetooth styluses, sporting data-driven features: Pogo Connect 2 includes pressure sensitivity, palm rejection, and a location beacon to help you find it if it gets lost. The software features all depend on third-party app support, which with just over 50 apps (with variable levels of feature support) is stronger than most Bluetooth styluses. Jot Touch 4 debuted as a palm-rejecting, pressure-sensitive, and twin shortcut button-laden version of Jot Pro (discussed below), but has vanished from Adonit’s site. It promised support from under 20 apps, the status of which is presently unclear. Pogo Connect 2 is clearly the better pick overall.

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Pogo Connect’s other special feature: it actually supports replaceable magnetic tips, including finer-point rubber nubs and paintbrush tops, all sold separately. It’s going to be interesting to see whether Apple “borrows” this feature for the Apple Pencil in the future.

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4. Apple Pencil Versus Hundreds Of Non-Electric-Tipped, Non-Bluetooth Styluses

The easiest sort of stylus to make is one with a non-electric tip and no Bluetooth functionality; almost always rubber-domed, these styluses have been flooding the market for years. Their major differentiators are the material used for the shaft of the stylus (typically metal), whether or not they have a shirt clip (most don’t), and their length (most vary from around 3″ to 5″). In terms of accuracy, you might as well be using your finger to write or draw with one of these, but if you use your iPad with gloves on in cold weather, or prefer to hold something rather than using a fingertip, these aren’t terrible options. They are also compatible with all iPad apps, and all iPad models, with no restrictions.

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Lynktec’s TruGlide Pro ($15) is the rare stylus of this sort with a mesh rather than rubber tip; it doesn’t wear down as fast but requires a little extra pressure. Nomad Brush’s FleX ($30) and Compose ($32) are even rarer variants, with capacitive synthetic paintbrush heads that can be used in painting apps; FleX has one head, Compose two, while a Mini 2 ($34) version has a retractable brush on one end and a dome on the other. The other standout is Adonit’s Jot Pro ($22-$30, color-dependent), which uses a special pivoting hard plastic and metal tip rather than rubber; some people love (and continue to rave about) the accuracy of this tip, but I’ve never been a huge fan.

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My Advice

Thanks to the Apple Pencil’s release — and complete incompatibility with all iPad models besides the iPad Pro — the stylus market will be changing over the next couple of years. If you have an iPad Pro and are thinking of getting a stylus, don’t hesitate to (try and) get the Apple Pencil; it delivers the best overall experience, even though it’s certainly not cheap, and regrettably difficult to find in stores.

For non-Pro iPads, my personal suggestions would be Adonit’s Jot Dash if palm rejection and pressure sensitivity aren’t important to you, Ten One Design’s Pogo Connect 2 if you need those features (with respectable app support), or a more basic non-powered stylus such as Jot Pro if you need the slightly improved writing precision you’d get from holding a pen-like tool. Their prices are all reasonable at this point, so you’ll certainly get your money’s worth from any stylus you use while the dust from Apple Pencil is settling.

More From This Author

Check out more of my reviews, How-To guides and editorials for 9to5Mac here! I’ve published a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users, as well as a great holiday gift guide for iPhone users, a detailed holiday gift guide for Mac users, and a separate holiday gift guide for Apple photographers.

Filed under: iOS Devices Tagged: Apple Pencil, digital stylus, drawing, handwriting, iPad Pro, stylus, Tablets, Writing

For more information about iOS Devices, iPad Pro, and Tablets continue reading at 9to5Mac.

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Black Friday: The best deals on iPhone/iPad/Mac accessories + software deals and more

by | Nov 27, 2015 |

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Black Friday is upon us and there is a long list of great deals on accessories, software and more for all of your Apple devices. Below we’ve collected some of the best we’ve seen, and check back often throughout the weekend as we update with more finds. Below you’ll find some significant discounts on popular iPhone, iPad, and Mac accessories, as well as some deals on rarely discounted software:

Black Friday9to5Toys Specials 15 % off sitewide

Accessories & Gear:

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Pad & Quill EXCLUSIVE sitewide stacking discount of 20% (using code: Mac95 at checkout drops discount from 15% to 20%) Some Standouts:

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Otterbox – Up to 40% off + free shipping (U.S. Only)

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Incase up to 50% off (almost) site wide

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12South has 50% off 9 big products including their popular BookBook iOS device case line, BaseLift for MacBook, BassJump 2 and Compass 2.

***Note you can grab a BookBook case at Amazon for $20 Prime shipped which is 67% off.

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Lifeproof – Up to 40% off + free shipping (U.S. Only)

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Casetify – 30% off sitewide + free shipping with  code 9TO5MAC30

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Zagg – Buy one get one free for Invisible Shield products for Black Friday, 50% off site-wide for Cyber Mondanomad2015

Nomad Black Friday Sale: Apple Watch Stand $40 (Reg. $60), Lightning cable carabiner $15 (Reg. $30)

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Griffin – Save 30% with code BLACKFRIDAY

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Nodus – 25% off Nodus Collection cases with promo codes Black25 and Cyber25 for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Software:

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Macphun offers Black Friday savings up to 85% off

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Parallels Black Friday Bundle — Buy or upgrade to Parallels 11 for Mac this weekend and get premium Mac apps free including Evernote, 1Password, Camtasia, Pocket, PDFPen, SnagIt and more.

More Mac Bundles with 50 apps over 90% off

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VMware Fusion Pro – $119  40% off ,VMware Fusion 8 – $55.99 30% off

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Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac – $100, ($50 off), $10 off subscriptions (also at Amazon)

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Pixelmator for Mac and  iPhone – $1.99, 50 percent off

Fantastical for iPhone or iPad  – $2.99, 40% off and $4.99, 50%off

Black Friday console deals: Xbox One Gears of War + $60 gift card $300, Playstation 4 bundles under $300, Wii U, 3DS, more

Black Friday game deals: Bloodborne $20, Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze $30, AC Syndicate $35, MGS V $35, and many more

Games/Apps: Nintendo 3DS XL + Super Mario 3D $129, Mortal Kombat X $25, $60 Xbox Gift Card for $53, freebies, more

 

 

 

 

Filed under: iOS Devices, Tips and Tricks Tagged: Accessories, Apple, Black Friday, Deals, discounts, Incase, iPad, iPhone, Macphun, promo code, roundup

Check out 9to5Mac for more breaking coverage of iOS Devices, Apple, and iPhone.

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Mini Review: Mu Classic collapsible plug, a neat portable plug for Brits

by | Nov 27, 2015 |

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British plugs are very safe, being earthed and generally also having their own fuse, but there’s no denying that they are chunky things. Not a problem in the home, but less than convenient when you want to carry one with you for charging in a coffee shop.

Fortunately, a few different companies are changing that. One of them was Apple, of course, supplying UK Apple Watch owners with an extremely neat plug with flip out pins. Another is the Oneadaptr collapsible UK plug, currently on Kickstarter. A couple of commentators there drew my attention to a third option, the Mu Classic, so I gave one a try.

Having tried both this and the Apple Watch one, there are pros & cons. The Apple version is undeniably slicker in use: just lift the earth pin and the other pins lever out at the same time. It’s an extremely easy mechanism.

The Mu plug doesn’t have that same one-touch flip action – it’s very much manual, and definitely feels clunky in comparison – but is a slimmer unit. Much as I love the Apple mechanism, the Mu one is no hardship to use, and the reduced size is a win, so that’s the one I’m going to carry with me.

The Classic is a 1-amp version suitable for an iPhone, while the Mu Tablet is a 2.4-amp model designed for the iPad. Finally, there’s a Duo version with two USB sockets.

I’ll add the Oneadaptr plug to the comparison once it’s available, and then give a final verdict.

The Mu Classic is £14.95, and is available in a range of colors. The Mu Tablet is normally £24.95 but currently available for £19.75. The Mu Duo is available for the same price, down from £22.95.

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: collapsible plug, Mu Classic, Mu Classic review, Mu collapsible plug

For more information about Reviews, Mu collapsible plug, and Mu Classic review continue reading at 9to5Mac.

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9to5Mac’s HomeKit Holiday Gift Guide: Lights, switches, sensors and more for the Siri + smart home lifestyle

by | Nov 27, 2015 |

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The idea of a smart home is a long running meme in technological circles. Apple has made the biggest stride recently with HomeKit and there is now a significant ecosystem of lights, switches, and other accessories to buy for your home. That being said, smart home accessories are still novelties and quite pricey: they aren’t must-have purchases. However, this makes them great gifts for the holiday season — uncommon presents that are fun to play with and have some long-lasting usefulness. We’ve rounded up our favorite HomeKit accessories below …

1. Philips Hue Lights

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One of the most well-known, as well as one of the best, smart home accessories is the range of Philips Hue products. These multicolor lights make great party pieces. Who doesn’t want a mini-disco in their home? They also just help you live your life by setting up triggers that can automatically turn on or turn off lights at particular times of day, as you enter the room or even more esoteric stuff like flashing the nightlight when you get a new tweet. These are a lot of fun to play around with even if you end up using them as standard lights that you can control with an iPhone. They make great gifts. Philips added HomeKit support to its new bridge earlier in the year, so you can even control your lights with Siri voice actions. You can also try out some less standard smart bulbs from Philips like the Lightstrip, for varied blooms and spotlighting.

2. Elgato Eve Room

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The Eve Room replaces your house thermometer with its own digital reader that you can view using an app on your iOS device. It also includes several other sensors, like humidity. In combination with other HomeKit accessories, you can even setup smart actions. For instance, when the temperature drops below 10 degrees, turn on the fan heater. The Eve Room also includes full HomeKit compatibility, so you can ask Siri what’s the temperature indoors even if you are not at home. It’s a great accessory that you can fire and forget almost. It may not be the most exciting thing, but it’s a great geeky gift that has long-lasting utility for most people. There are variants of the hardware suitable for indoor and outdoor measurements.

You should also checkout the Elgato Eve app for controlling all your HomeKit accessories, including smart home stuff not made by Elgato. There are a variety of HomeKit apps available and Elgato’s is a good free option that lets you organize rooms, zones and trigger for the complete HomeKit setup.

3. iHome SmartPlug

The most basic of HomeKit accessory is the smart plug. Turn on and off any arbitrary electrical device that connects to a power socket using your iPhone and Siri. It’s a quick and easy way to make accessories ‘smart’ that you already own. Essentially, it’s an adapter plug that acts as an intermediary switch control between the appliance and the socket. I use this in combination with a HomeKit-compatble temperature sensor … my desk fan turns on automatically when the room is warm. As with a lot of HomeKit, setup is fiddly and frustrating. Once you get everything going, though, you can do some pretty advanced stuff with your existing appliances and electronics. Check out our full review of the SmartPlug here.

4. Lutron Caseta Wireless Smart Lighting Dimmer Kit And HomeKit Bridge

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Philips Hue lights are the most convenient to install but another option is to setup HomeKit light switches. This is what Lutron offers with the Wireless Smart Lighting Dimmer Kit. You have to affix these to your walls and connect them to your electrics, but then it offers a very well-integrated smart dimmer. Change the brightness of the room through HomeKit and Siri.

In addition, if you have a Nest thermostat, or certain Honeywell Wi-Fi models, then you can use the included Lutron bridge to connect those devices into the HomeKit ecosystem. The bridge will also connect a myriad of other Lutron accessories that did not ship with HomeKit support, so it works with other lights, sensors and more. The bridge can handle up to 50 connected smart devices, which should be plenty as you build out your smart home.

5. Apple AirPort Express

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This isn’t a HomeKit device, but it does integrate tightly with iOS. Connect your home theater speaker system to the AirPort Express and it unlocks a huge world of convenience and smart entertainment. Although AirPlay has bugs, I greatly prefer it to Bluetooth because it can span the range of your entire home Wi-Fi network and you don’t have to bother with pairing if friends come over. The speakers appear in Control Center, so with one tap, your iOS device streams music straight to the speakers. I have these setup for speakers in the kitchen and living room and love it. The older generation works just as well for music streaming, especially if you are tight on budget.

These are my five favorites but the smart home world is huge. There’s plenty more products to try. Although Philips Hue is known for its lights, the company has a wide range of smart home tech. I’d also like to give an honorable mention to the coming soon HomeKit August Smart Lock. These are more of a pain to set up but they are super-cool — who doesn’t want an iPhone controlled front door?

Happy holidays!

Filed under: HomeKit, iOS, iOS Devices, Tech Industry Tagged: Gifts, Holidays, homekit, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Siri, smart home

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