I spent most of yesterday taking the new iPad Mini for a spin and watching my daughter have a blast with it. Now it’s time to focus on the new iPad Air. Where the Mini felt almost foreign because I haven’t used one for so long, the new Air still feels quite familiar. Even though I didn’t hang onto it, I tried the 10.5″ iPad Pro when it was released in 2017. I really liked it, but the 12.9″ still won out, in the end.
I got the new Mini 5 unboxed and set it up to load my backup yesterday before bed so it would be ready to roll today. When I got up this morning, it was fully restored and my first gen Apple Pencil was charged and ready.
Ever since the first iPad Pro was released, Apple’s tablet lineup have been kind of a jumbled up mess. You had models that were too close together in price and specs, like the iPad Air 2 and original iPad Pro. You had the iPad Air 2 on closeout while Apple was selling the new 9.7″ iPad Pro. The two tablets looked exactly the same and were only separated by Pencil support and a few other specs.
Apple held its public shareholder’s meeting at the Steve Jobs Theater Friday, giving major investors the opportunity to ask Tim Cook and the executive team some direct questions. While a resolution regarding the diversity of the board dominated the discussion and the headlines afterward, there were a few interesting notes regarding current and upcoming products and services that also came out of the event.
There was an amazing deal on overstock 10.5″ iPad Pros last week that had the base 64GB WiFi model on sale for a very low $429. Unfortunately, that deal has expired, but there is another one this week that’s nothing to sneeze at.
With its changes to the lineup and to iOS over the last two years, Apple has been able to stop the bleeding and reverse the fast downward sales trend that the iPad had been stuck on previously. However, the end result has been stabilizing iPad sales rather than growing them in a significant way. The way Apple did this was by introducing a less expensive, but still capable, standard iPad and making the iPad Pros more compelling as high-end devices. While sales of the less-expensive iPad propped up unit sales numbers, they also caused the average sale price of the iPad category to fall.
The NFL has had an exclusive agreement with Microsoft to use its Surface Pros for all on-field tech assistance for a while now. This was initially a source of scorn for Microsoft, as announcers and TV studio personalities routinely referred to them as iPads until corrected. However, the deal eventually became a positive for them as solid reviews from coaches and players came in and the increased visibility on NFL sidelines helped to get the Surface name out in the public eye.
It’s been a while since a crowdfunding project got my attention enough to make me part with some cash. However, I came across the HyperDrive last week and figured it was worth a go. This is the best looking expansion solution I’ve seen that is specifically geared toward the iPad Pro so far, so I decided to give it a shot.
While I love a leather case, there are times when device protection comes first. If you take your iPad Pro with you to work every day like me, this may be the case. In my case, sometimes using my iPad Pro at work means putting it in harm’s way. That has a way of changing your priorities when it comes to cases.
One of the reasons that I’ve been a fan of Urban Armor Gear for a few years now is because their cases offer great protection at a reasonable price. However, it goes further than just taking great care of your devices. UAG’s cases also manage to do it with style and good design, as well.
It took long enough, but Apple has finally done some explaining about the reported bending issues with the latest iPad Pros. In a new support page entitled iPad Pro unibody enclosure design, Apple cleared the air a bit about the device’s design, manufacturing process, and the line where warranties and returns kick in. Again, it took them LONG ENOUGH.
While I am more of a leather fan when it comes to cases, there are others who prefer the feel of a good book. Pad and Quill is a master of such materials, as I had occasion to discover this past Summer when I reviewed their Journal Notebooks. The linen-covered books were well-made and felt just like a fine hardback in the hand. When I hold the Contega case for the new 11′ iPad Pro, I get that same impression. While the cover has a rougher, more durable texture, it still feels like your iPad Pro is contained within a fine book.