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The M1-iPad Edition Wednesday, April 21, 2021

New iPad Pros Announced With The M1 Chipset, Thunderbolt, 5G, New Cameras, And A Liquid Retina XDR Display On The 12.9” Model, by John Voorhees, MacStories

Apple today announced an all-new iPad Pro featuring the same M1 chip found in the company’s latest Macs along with several other new features, including a Thunderbolt-compatible port, 5G connectivity on cellular models, updated cameras, and on the 12.9” model, a Liquid Retina XDR display that shares many of the specs as the company’s Pro Display XDR.

M1 iPad Pro Selfie Camera Can Automatically Pan And Zoom To Keep You In Frame During Video Calls, by Sami Fathi, MacRumors

While notably spec and feature upgrades on paper, the Ultra Wide camera enables a new feature that Apple calls "Center Stage." Thanks to the TrueDepth camera's wide viewing angle, the ‌iPad Pro‌ can now use machine learning to automatically detect people in the frame, and pan and zoom to ensure they’re always visible.

New M1 iPad Pro Features 8GB Or 16GB Of RAM Depending On Storage Configuration, by José Adorno, 9to5Mac

The company also introduced a new storage option with up to 2TB. With that, Apple officially highlights the amount of RAM each iPad can have.

The iPad Pro Is A Killer Machine But Its Software Is Killing Me, by Jason Snell, Macworld

How are we supposed to interpret this? That Apple’s hardware team thinks the iPad is a vehicle into which incredible, cutting-edge features should be built, but that the teams responsible for Apple’s own professional-focused apps don’t think the iPad is worth the effort?

[...]

We know what the M1 and Thunderbolt are capable of. Now that the new iPad Pro has been announced, the spotlight is firmly on the next version of iPadOS, due to be announced in June at Apple’s developer conference.

Apple Now Offers iPad Pro Magic Keyboard In New White Color, by Tim Hardwick, MacRumors

As part of its new iPad Pro unveiling, Apple today also announced the availability of the Magic Keyboard in a new white color.

Logitech Announces Cheaper Magic Keyboard Alternative Alongside New iPad Pro, by Sam Byford, The Verge

The Combo Touch is a case with a Microsoft Surface-style kickstand and a detachable backlit keyboard with a trackpad. It connects over the iPad Pro’s Smart Connector.

iMac

Apple Shows Off New M1 iMacs In Beautiful, Vibrant Colors, by John Voorhees, MacStories

The new iMacs are the biggest design departure for an M1 Mac yet. The M1 requires less cooling, which is what enables the new thin profile that reduces the computer’s volume by 50%. The aluminum case comes in seven bright colors for the 8-core GPU model: green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue, and silver and houses a thin 24” 4.5K Retina display with 11.3 million pixels, 500 nits of brightness, and more than one billion colors. The 7-core GPU is limited to blue, green, pink, and silver. The display has an anti-reflective coating and supports Apple’s True Tone technology that adjusts color temperatures to fit your surroundings too.

Apple’s New iMac Finally Gets An Actually Good Webcam, by Darrell Etherington, TechCrunch

The hardware is impressive, but one of the biggest improvements for everyone’s Zoom-heavy life might be the webcam. Apple said it’s the “best camera ever in a Mac,” which honestly wouldn’t take much, but its specs suggest it actually is a big upgrade.

New Magic Keyboard Brings Touch ID To All M1 Macs, by AppleInsider

Unveiled alongside a revamped 24-inch iMac on Tuesday, the Magic Keyboard is Apple's first wireless Mac peripheral to incorporate Touch ID authentication for logging in to macOS, purchasing items with Apple Pay, interacting with third-party apps and more.

Notes On The M1 iMac, by Jason Snell, Six Colors

Put it all together and that’s not just seven new iMac colors, it’s 18 keyboard variations and 14 pointing-device variations. While at launch Apple will only be providing the color-matched accessories with an iMac purchase, if history is any indication they will eventually be available for anyone to purchse. Given how many Apple Watch bands there are, Apple seems to have gotten very good at managing product inventory with a whole lot of variations. Good thing!

The Chin, by Stephen Hackett, 512 Pixels

I am sure there a million reasons for this design choice that we will never know, but there’s one that I think we do:

iMacs have chins.

Apple TV

Apple Announces New Apple TV 4K, by Dan Seifert, The Verge

Apple has just announced a new Apple TV streaming box, replacing the Apple TV 4K that came out in 2017. The new model retains the name of the prior model but comes with a more powerful A12 Bionic chip that lets it play HDR video at higher frame rates. It’s also powerful enough to support 60FPS Dolby Vision playback over AirPlay from a compatible iPhone.

Apple Unveils Redesigned $59 Apple TV Remote With Physical Buttons, No Glass, by Benjamin Mayo, 9to5Mac

The circular D-Pad region doubles as a trackpad so you can do the same swipe gestures you learned (or hated) on the old Siri Remote. For users that aren’t interested in gesture control, you can simple press the arrow buttons.

You can also move your finger in a circular motion to navigate up and down lists, a throwback to the iPod click wheel.

The New Siri Remote, by Benjamin Mayo

One let down is the lack of Find My integration, or even a simple beeper so you can make it ping if you misplace it. The omission of this functionality was made only more stark by the fact Apple chose this same event to sing the item-finding praises of the long-rumoured AirTag tracker.

AirTag

Apple Announces $29 AirTag, A New Tile-like Item Tracker, by Tom Warren, The Verge

Dubbed AirTag, the small circular tag will allow you to track items within Apple’s “Find My” app on iOS. Much like Tile, Apple’s AirTags will be useful for tracking items like keys or wallets, and you’ll be provided with notifications when you’re separated from your item.

Time To AirTag: Apple And Hermès Go Luggage Tracking, by Nick Foulkes, Financial Times

The way Pierre-Alexis Dumas, creative chief of Hermès and scion of the owning family, sees it, the latest collaboration between the French luxury marque and Apple announced yesterday can be traced back 43 years. “In 1978, when I was 12 years old, my parents took my sister and me for a road trip from Miami to New York. The most exciting thing was that we flew from Orly with Pan Am. We arrived in Miami and, after two hours waiting for luggage, we found out that our bags had been sent to Australia by mistake. My first experience of the US was that we went straight to a mall where my mother dressed me as a young American from head to toe.”

AirTags Tidbits: Battery Life And Replacements, Water Resistance, More, by Chance Miller, 9to5Mac

The battery inside is a CR2032, which is a standard coin cell battery.

Your AirTag Can’t Say Horseshit But It Can Say Shit Horse, by Ian Carlos Campbell, The Verge

But before you preorder the Mentos-esque pucks, there’s something you should be aware of: if you want to engrave your AirTags, you can’t combine a horse and poop emoji in that order.

Apple Podcasts

Apple Unveils Podcast Subscriptions And A Redesigned Apple Podcasts App, by Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

At the company’s spring event this afternoon, Apple unveiled its plans for a podcasts subscription service which would allow listeners to unlock “additional benefits,” like ad-free listening, early access to episodes and the ability to support favorite creators. The service will be available as part of Apple’s newly updated Podcasts app where free podcasts are also found.

Apple Reveals Program For Podcasters To Make Subscription Shows, by Neil Hughes, AppleInsider

The company has launched a new Apple Podcasts for Creators website, which is similar in principle to its Apple Music for Artists app. Podcast producers will be able to manage their shows and get performance metrics.

To access the site, producers must enrol in the new Apple Podcasters Program. It costs $19.99 per year to be enrolled in the program and creators can join now from the Apple Podcasts Connect site.

Apple Card

Apple Announces Apple Card Family, by Alex Guyot, MacStories

Apple Card Family accounts will have merged credit lines so that all members can build their credit equally on shared purchases. The feature ties into Apple’s Family Sharing feature, and is available for sharing Apple Cards with children as well.

Spring Colors

Apple Launching iPhone 12 And 12 Mini In New Purple Color On April 30, by Joe Rossignol, MacRumors

iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini in the new purple color will ship with iOS 14.5, according to Apple.

Apple Debuts New Spring Colors For MagSafe iPhone Cases And Wallets, by Parker Ortolani, 9to5Mac

The new collection of cases include silicone models in Capri Blue, Pistachio, Cantaloupe, and Amethyst. The leather case now comes Arizona while the sleeve and wallet now come in a Deep Violet.

Apple Debuts A Wide Variety Of New Apple Watch Band Colors And Designs, Including New Woven Textile Hermès Band, by Parker Ortolani, 9to5Mac

The new Spring colors span across many of Apple’s current band styles, but there is also a completely new Hermès woven textile band.

iPad Smart Folios And Smart Covers Refreshed With Two New Spring Colors, by Parker Ortolani, 9to5Mac

These new colors are “Electric Orange” and “Mallard Green.” They are available for all current iPad models.

Stuff

Apple Silently Updates M1 Mac Mini With Optional 10 Gigabit Ethernet Port, by Filipe Espósito, 9to5Mac

The company has quietly updated the M1 Mac mini with an optional 10 Gigabit Ethernet port, which was previously only available on the Intel version of the Mac mini.

HomePod Mini Launching In Three More Countries In June, by José Adorno, 9to5Mac

Austria, New Zealand, and Ireland customers will be able to purchase the HomePod mini in a few months from now.

iOS 14.5, iPadOS 14.5 Coming 'Next Week,' Apple Says, by Mike Peterson, AppleInsider

Apple has announced that iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 will become available to the public in the last week of April, ahead of the launch of new products announced Tuesday, including new iPad Pros and AirTag tracking accessories.

Develop

Apps Must Adhere To App Tracking Transparency Rules And Be Built With iOS 14 SDK Starting April 26, by Juli Clover, MacRumors

Apple says that apps must start using the AppTrackingTransparency framework on Monday, April 26, 2021.

Notes

Apple’s $64 Billion-a-year App Store Isn’t Catching The Most Egregious Scams, by Sean Hollister, The Verge

Situations like these make it harder than ever for Apple to justify its constant rhetoric about how the App Store is safe, secure, and defended, or that it’s necessary for Apple to be solely in charge, something that has already been in question for years due to the company’s arbitrary enforcement of its rules and recent App Store cash grabs.

And we’re starting to hear from Apple insiders, too, that the company’s claims about App Store security are overblown.

Apple Targeted In $50 Million Ransomware Hack Of Supplier Quanta, by Kartikay Mehrotra, Bloomberg

The ransomware group REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, published a blog on its darkweb site early on Tuesday in which it claimed to have infiltrated the computer network of Quanta Computer Inc. The Taiwan-based company is a key supplier to Apple, manufacturing mostly Macbooks.

Bottom of the Page

Never pay upfront for a product based on what the developer promises you stuff that are 'coming soon'. Similarily, don't buy the new M1 iPad Pro, thinking that Apple gotta have something fantastic with the iPadOS this coming WWDC. If you can wait, maybe wait to see what Apple do promises in June. (Even then, Apple can still pull features later in the beta-cycle.) If you cannot wait, judge the value of the iPad Pros with what it can do today, not what it can potentially do in the future.

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I really hope the next iPadOS for the iPad Pro can run macOS apps.

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The next iPhone will have an M1-based Apple Silicon chip inside too, right? From what I can see, there's really no good reason not to include the M1.

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What? No HomePod minis for Singapore yet? No Flower-Power iMacs yet?

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Thanks for reading. Happy Shopping!