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Making iPadOS finally live up to the iPad’s overachieving hardware

Apple AI features | Existing iPad Pro boxes shown

Every time a new iPad Pro is released, the reviews repeat the same narrative: powerful hardware, hamstrung software. The M4 reviews have been no exception.

This gap isn’t because of a lack of effort on Apple’s part. The company has continually developed and pushed iPadOS forward in the nine years since the iPad Pro debuted. But the general consensus among reviewers is that there’s still a lot of work to do.

But what, exactly, would that work look like? How might the iPad’s software finally make good on the potential of its hardware?

Federico Viticci at MacStories has attempted to answer exactly those questions.

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$7B in attempted App Store fraud blocked by Apple, says the company

App Store fraud | Logo against hazard tape

Apple is continuing its PR offensive to promote the official App Store as the safest place to buy iPhone apps, after antitrust cases forced it to open up its platform to competition. It said that it has blocked more than $7B’s worth of attempted App Store fraud.

The company says that the “potentially fraudulent transactions” were detected and blocked over a four-year period from 2020 to 2023 …

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This app brings Dashboard-style web clip widgets to Apple Vision Pro

With Mac OS X Leopard, which was released in 2007, Apple added a feature called “Web Clip” to Dashboard. This allowed users to turn any part of a website into a live widget that could then be added to Dashboard and would update in real-time.

While Dashboard on the Mac is dead, a new app this week brings the Web Clip idea back to life – this time on Apple Vision Pro.

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Look, this is the definitive answer to what ‘Air’ in iPad Air really means

Remember when Apple discontinued the original HomePod and still sold the HomePod mini? The question at the time was “mini compared to what?” Apple later revived the HomePod with a second-gen model, restoring balance to the universe.

Now the iPad lineup is in a similar situation. Apple blasted the M4 iPad Pro with its Super Galactic Thinnifier 3000 Ray Gun, leaving the M2 iPad Air thicker than its pricier companion. In a world where Air means thin, the question is then “thin compared to what?” 

The answer exists in the annals of etymology.

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iPad 10th Gen hits all-time low at $334, Studio Display $300 off, Apple Watch SE 2 from $160, much more

While just about everyone’s focus is on the new M4 Pro and M2 iPad Air models ahead of delivery tomorrow, Apple did slash the price on the entry-level 10th gen tablet and now it’s even lower than that – check out our M2 iPad Air vs iPad 10 feature too. Next up, we are once again tracking straight up $300 price drops on Apple’s gorgeous 5K Studio Display as well as a series of deals on the entry-level, carbon-neutral Apple Watch SE 2 starting from $160. All of that (and some deals on the new iPads too) is waiting down below in today’s 9to5Toys Lunch Break.

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AT&T outshines T-Mobile and Verizon for customer satisfaction but this MNVO beat them all

In addition to revealing the latest customer satisfaction for smartphones, the 2024 ASCI study reveals how Americans feel about their wireless carrier. In an interesting twist, AT&T beat out T-Mobile and Verizon to claim the top spot again for major carriers. However, a value MVNO carrier handily beat them all.

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What Meta glasses lack is what most excites me about Apple Glasses

What Meta glasses lack | Range of styles shown

When I tried Ray-Ban Meta glasses last week, I described the AI features as largely a gimmick at this point, but still making me feel excited for a future Apple Glasses product.

Several commenters noted that the glasses do somewhat better when given follow-up questions, and I tried out this feature on another walk, to reveal a mix of hits and misses. But what’s really missing at present is integration …

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Streaming bundle of Apple TV+, Netflix and Peacock announced, ‘vastly reduced’ price promised

The trio of Apple TV+, Netflix and Peacock are to be packaged in a new streaming TV bundle option, as teased by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts at a conference today.

More details about the bundle offering will be revealed later this month, but Roberts promised a “vastly reduced” price compared to buying the three services separately.

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Amazing iPad AI tutor demo points to an incredible new world for students

iPad AI tutor demo | GPT-4o

If you haven’t yet watched yesterday’s OpenAI event, I highly recommend doing so. The headline news was that the latest GPT-4o model works seamlessly with any combination of text, audio, and video.

That includes the ability to ‘show’ the GPT-4o app a screen recording you are taking of another app – and it’s this capability the company showed off with a pretty incredible iPad AI tutor demo …

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Apple @ Work Podcast: Pull requests are welcome

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In this episode of Apple @ Work, I talk with Mike McNeil from Fleet about their new maintenance windows feature.

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Here’s how much lighter the iPad Pro’s new Magic Keyboard actually is

New iPad Pro demand | Seen here with Magic Keyboard

Update: The 11-inch iPad Pro’s new Magic Keyboard weighs 580 grams, according to a user who received theirs early. This is down from 601 grams for the previous model.

When Apple announced the new iPad Pro lineup last week, it also unveiled a new Magic Keyboard accessory that it touted as being “thinner and lighter” than its predecessor.

While Apple doesn’t share official weight specifications for iPad accessories, the first reviews of the M4 iPad Pro today confirm that the new Magic Keyboard is noticeably lighter.

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Apple explains why it hasn’t released a touchscreen Mac (yet?)

The first iPad Pro reviews are here, and as we rounded up earlier today, they focus a lot on the new OLED displays, the M4 chip, and the limitations of iPadOS as a platform. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple marketing executive Tom Boger explained how the iPad compares to the Mac, and touched on whether Apple might ever release a touchscreen Mac.

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First M4 iPad Pro reviews praise OLED display, ‘the best kind of overkill’

M4 iPad Pro working in pro app

Apple last week announced a new generation iPad Pro with the M4 chip, which is now available for pre-order. While the company says the new iPads will be officially launched on Wednesday, May 15, the press has already got their hands on the new iPad – and the first reviews praise the new OLED display but at the same time criticize things like price and software.

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