But do You Really Want a 16-inch iPad?

We’ve had lots of talk recently about the blurring of the lines between tablet and laptop by Apple, and rumors of a 16-inch Pad Pro Max. Over at Wired, Craig Grannell argues that this would confuse the product line and provide little value for users. I’m inclined to agree.

The 16in crowd nonetheless bangs on that bigger is always better and appears to divide into two distinct camps. The first includes designers and artists who – perfectly reasonably – love bigger canvases they can directly interact with. But on talking to such people, you quickly realise their dream isn’t a mere 16in, but something closer to an A3 iPad Pro (as in, a 20in model) – or bigger. They’re driven by the idea of a Wacom Cintiq that would have the elegance and simplicity of, well, an iPad. But expand the iPad’s dimensions by too much and it ceases to be portable, meaning you cannot use it to be creative anywhere you please. It stops being a consumption device, thereby eroding its versatility. And it becomes colossally expensive, making the device far less viable. In short, it would no longer be an iPad in any meaningful sense, being too niche to be broadly useful – to the point hardly anyone would buy one.

Merino Wool Felt and Leather iPad Pro and iPad Air Sleeve: $79.99

We have a deal on the Hampshire iPad Pro (11″) and iPad Air (10.9″) sleeve. This sleeve is made from Merino Wool felt and leather, and it features a pocket and a loop for your Apple Pencil, too. It’s also designed to hold the Magic Keyboard with your iPad, and the front flap closes with a magnetic clasp. It’s $79.99 through our deal.

Using an M1 iPad Pro for Photography

Photographer Austin Mann recently published a review of the M1 iPad Pro, specifically in how it can be used in photography.

As any photographer knows, one of the most time-consuming parts of the photo creation process is culling through thousands of images, making selects, and editing the images. Thanks to the M1 chip, faster internal storage, and a few other improvements, the new iPad Pro with M1 is the fastest image sorting tool I’ve ever used.

Emulating Mac Plus, Mac II, and Mac 128K on iOS

Ex-Apple Technology Evangelist Matt Sephton tweeted a photo of painting on an iPad Pro in the style of Mac OS 7, otherwise known as System 7. He shared a way to do this via software emulation. A tool on GitHub called Mini vMac lets you emulate Mac Plus, Mac II, and Mac 128K on your iDevice. It requires iOS 9 or later, a ROM image from one of the three systems, and disk images with Mac software.

Satechi Releases USB-C Multi-Port Adapter

Satechi announced on Thursday the launch of a USB-C multi-port dock. It has USB-C PD charging, HDMI and VGA display ports, USB-A data ports, SD card slots, and Gigabit Ethernet, with two detachable USB-C cables – perfect for on-the-go or docked at your desk. Compatible devices include: 2020/2019/2018/2017/2016 MacBook Pro, 2020/2018 MacBook Air, 2020/2018 iPad Pro, 2019/2017 iMac, iMac Pro, 2015/2016/2017 MacBook, Microsoft Surface Laptop 3/Surface Pro 7/Go, Google PixelBook Go, ChromeBook, Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro S, HP Spectre Convertible, Razer Blade, Huawei Matebook and more USB-C devices. It costs US$99.99 but with the code MULTIPORT20 you can get 20% off. Valid until March 15.

In-Game Video Returning to MLB Dugout iPads, but MLB.TV Off Apple TV Third Gen

In-game video is set to return to iPads used by MLB team dugouts when the season starts on April 1. However, AppleInsider noted this is happening at the same time the MLB.tv has been removed from third generation Apple TVs.

Major League Baseball will be allowing teams to watch video of the game in progress once again, following a period of absence. As part of its changes for the 2021 season, MLB is once again allowing video to be piped through to teams on iPads in each dugout. The league has extensively used iPads in the past, providing the tablets to staff and players for performance examination and analytics. Following a ban until 2015, the program started in 2016, and ran smoothly for a number of years, with the iPad Pro initially the tool of choice… While players will be able to watch the game from the dugout, owners of the third-generation Apple TV won’t be able to do the same on their devices. Support for the app was pulled late in February, preventing it from being used on the older video streaming device.