With the iPad Pro now being available for pre-order ahead of general availability at Apple Retail Stores tomorrow, reviews of Apple’s largest iPad yet tell a familiar tale. Over at Daring Fireball, John Gruber’s review of the iPad Pro says that the larger screen means the iPad Pro is a device that’s designed for everyone, whether they’re doing graphic design or just working through their YouTube playlists. But the iPad Pro might not be a true laptop replacement just yet, thanks to mediocre keyboard support and the need to interact with the display via touch all the time.
As always, if you are planning to order an iPad Pro, please do so via the AppleTalk Apple Store affiliate link. If you’ve already got your pre-order in you’re all set, otherwise all models deliver starting Monday next week — or you can try your hand at your local Apple Store this Friday, where you’ll also be able to pick up accessories such as the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard if you saw they shipped later than the iPad Pro itself.
Even as a self-acclaimed “tablet lover”, Walt Mossberg writes that the iPad Pro can’t totally replace your laptop. Despite epic battery life, incredible performance, and the best stylus implementation of any tablet yet, the iPad Pro doesn’t have the same kind of flexibility that a laptop does. There’s also the small fact it costs a lot in Australia; something I feel is particularly overlooked in reviews where they’re able to compare the device to similarly-priced Surface Pros and whatever else.
The Verge says Logitech is first out of the gate with an iPad Pro compatible keyboard. The Logi Create comes with backlit keys where Apple’s own Smart Keyboard does not, and can even support the iPad Pro at two angles compared to the Smart Keyboard’s one.
MacStories has an in-depth look at three iPad Pro accessories. The Apple Pencil might not be designed as the primary input method for the iPad Pro, but using it with the only device it’s compatible with is an absolute joy due to how responsive the Pencil is to use. The Smart Keyboard is mostly OK, but minor flaws prevent the Logi Create from being the default recommended option.
IMore asks the most pertinent question of the day, which is: should you be buying an iPad Pro or a MacBook? Gruber points out the MacBook has lower performance than the new iPad Pro while also having the distinction of being more expensive, and the same is true in Australia. But if you want a “traditional computing experience” or your needs are more than just email or web browsing, the MacBook may be the better Apple portable.
Apple is planning a series of Apple TV Tech Talks. Held in various cities around the world and running from December through to February 3, Sydney is once again a location on the list for developers to register for and attend, if creating apps for tvOS is something they are interested in.
Apple and Google have both removed the third party Instagram app InstAgent, after it was found to be stealing the Instagram passwords of hundreds of thousands of users, according to The Verge.
Popular blue light removing app f.lux has posted instructions on how to sideload a beta version of its iOS app via Xcode and your Apple developer account.
Guitar Hero may be out on the Apple TV, but 9to5Mac says you have to buy the guitar controller accessory to play the game. That seems to contradict Apple’s own Apple TV App Store submission guidelines, but I’m someone looked the other way when Guitar Hero went through the submission process.
Originally published at: http://appletalk.com.au/2015/11/thursday-morning-news121115/