Top Stories

This week’s top stories: New iPad Pro and MacBook Air, iPhone 9 Plus rumors, iPadOS 13.4, more

Chance Miller | Mar 22 2020 - 6:59 am PT

In this week’s top stories: Apple unveils a new MacBook Air and a new iPad Pro lineup, plus there’s a new Magic Keyboard accessory as well. We’ve also got more exclusive details on what to expect from iOS 14, the iPhone 9, and more. Read on for all of this week’s biggest news.

Apple this week officially unveiled a new MacBook Air, which finally replaces the unreliable butterfly keyboard. The new MacBook Air features Apple’s scissor switch Magic Keyboard design, which made its return with the 16-inch MacBook Pro last fall.

In addition to the new keyboard, Apple also gave the MacBook Air a performance boost. The MacBook Air now features the latest 10th-generation Intel processors. The base model packs a 1.1GHz Dual-Core Core i3 processor, but you can configure it with up to a quad-core 1.2GHz i7 CPU.

Apple has also doubled the base model’s storage, going from 128GB to 256GB. In conjunction with that, the entry level price has dropped from $1199 to $999. Find out more details in our full coverage right here.

Next up, Apple announced an all-new iPad Pro lineup. The new iPad Pro models feature a more powerful A12Z processor inside, while each model also packs 6GB of RAM. There’s also a new LiDAR camera array on the back of the iPad Pro, which measures the distance to surrounding objects up to 5 meters away.

In addition to the LiDAR scanner, the new camera array on the iPad Pro features a 12MP Wide camera, as well as a 10MP Ultra Wide camera. Read more about the new iPad Pro lineup here.

For the iPad Pro, Apple also announced a new Magic Keyboard with trackpad folio case. Apple describes the new Magic Keyboard as having a “floating design with smooth angle adjustment.” It attaches magnetically to the iPad Pro and features “unique cantilevered hinges” that allow it to adjust up to 130 degrees.

The Magic Keyboard with trackpad will be available in May. It will cost $299 for the 11-inch iPad Pro and $349 for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. Apple also said that iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4 will be available on March 24th. This update will bring full trackpad support to the iPad for the first time, which we covered in detail earlier this week.

Elsewhere, 9to5Mac exclusively reported this week that Apple is working on an “iPhone 9 Plus” to go alongside the oft-rumored iPhone 9. That would make sense considering that these iPhones should replace the iPhone 8 lineup, which features the 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch versions.

We also reported that Apple is planning major upgrades to Apple Maps, including more details about Apple Stores, specific information about places with discounts for children, IMAX theaters, and more. For CarPlay, iOS 14 will bring the ability to set custom wallpapers for the first time.

These and the rest of this week’s top stories below.

iOS | tvOS |

iPhone |

Apple Watch |

iPad |

Mac |

Apps |

Work From Home |

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This week’s top videos |

iPhone 9 preview — will it live up to the popular iPhone SE? [Video]

9to5Mac Daily |

Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Sponsored by OWC: Get the new OWC memory and Accelsior 4M2 SSD for the 2019 Mac Pro now. Enter the Mac Pro Rack giveaway here.

9to5Mac Watch Time episode #17 |

Many of us know Casey Liss from Accidental Tech Podcast, Analog(ue), and apps including Vignetteand Peek-A-View, but how much do you know about Casey’s experience with running and the Apple Watch? This week we explore just that.

Sponsored by:

FlickType Keyboard: FlickType allows you to effortlessly respond to messages from your Apple Watch using a real keyboard. Download FlickType Keyboard on the App Store to get started.

9to5Mac Watch Time is a podcast series hosted by Zac Hall. In this series, we talk to real people about how the Apple Watch is affecting their lives. 9to5Mac Watch Time is available on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, and your favorite podcast player through RSS.

Happy Hour Podcast #269 |

Benjamin and Zac unpack new releases from Apple including a cheaper and improved MacBook Air, Mac mini storage upgrades, the new 2020 iPad Pro model, iOS 13.4 and trackpad support coming to iPad, the new Magic Keyboard coming in May, Beats Powerbeats debut, and more.

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9to5Mac Happy Hour is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play Music, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Stacktrace Podcast 075 |

The new iPad Pro, native mouse pointer support in iPadOS, tips on working from home, app architecture and system design, picking the right technologies and dependencies for a project, and top tips on indie app development from Kaya Thomas, Casey Liss and Curtis Herbert. It’s the longest, most action-packed episode of Stacktrace that we have ever made!

Sponsored by:

Setapp: Try Setapp with over 170+ Mac apps completely free for the first week

Stacktrace by 9to5Mac is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

Apple @ Work and Making the Grade |

Apple @ Work is a weekly series from Bradley Chambers covering Apple in education. Bradley has been managing Apple devices in an education environment since 2009. Through his experience deploying and managing hundreds of Macs and hundreds of iPads, Bradley will highlight ways in which Apple’s products work at scale, stories from the trenches of IT management, and ways Apple could improve its products for students.