Linked List: May 9, 2024

Thursday, 9 May 2024

Logitech Announces Keyboard Cases for New iPad Air and iPad Pro Models ★

Juli Clover, MacRumors:

The Combo Touch for the 11-inch iPad Air is $200, while the Combo Touch for the 13-inch model is $230. The iPad Pro versions are priced at $230 and $260, respectively, for the 11-inch and 13-inch models. The keyboards can be purchased from the Logitech website.

Apple itself charges more for everything with the iPad Pro models — e.g. it costs $200 to add cellular to an iPad Pro, but only $150 to add cellular to other iPads — but I don’t think there’s any difference between Logitech’s Air and Pro models other than the depth of the case.

Update: The Combo Touch cases for the new iPad Pro models are not yet available to order.

The New iPads No Longer Include Stickers ★

Chance Miller, reporting for 9to5Mac:

In a memo distributed to Apple Store teams on Tuesday and viewed by 9to5Mac, Apple explained that Apple stickers will not be included in the box for the new iPad Pro and iPad Air. The company says that this is part of its environmental goals, as it strives to ensure its packaging is completely plastic-free.

Apple Stores, however, are receiving shipments with a limited quantity of Apple logo stickers that can be distributed to customers who buy a new iPad Pro or iPad Air, but only upon request. So, if you buy an iPad Pro or iPad Air from an Apple Store, you can request an Apple sticker at the time of purchase.

When Apple Stores run out of their supply of stickers, they can order more from Apple.

Boo hiss. The fun of those stickers outweighs their environmental impact. Seriously, who thinks including a couple of stickers in the box is hurting the environment?

Apple’s ‘Let Loose’ iPad Event Was Shot on iPhone — With Panavision Lenses ★

Stu Maschwitz, writing at Prolost:

After Apple released a behind-the-scenes video about the production of “Scary Fast,” the Internet did its internet thing and questioned the “Shot on iPhone” claim, as if “Shot on iPhone” inherently means “shot with zero other gear besides an iPhone.” These takes were dumb and bad and some even included assertions that Apple added additional lensing to the phones, which they did not.

But for “Let Loose,” they did.

“Let Loose” was shot on iPhone 15 Pro Max, and Apple informed me on background that for several shots where a shallow depth-of-field was desired, Panavision lenses were attached to the iPhones using a Panavision-developed mount called the “Lens Relay System.” This rig is publicly available for rent from Panavision today, although not currently listed on their website.

Nice scoop. Also:

In fact, “Let Loose” is the first Apple Event finished and streamed in HDR, pushing the iPhone’s capture abilities even further than “Scary Fast.”

‘Goodbye to Apple’s Smart Keyboard Folio’ ★

Chris Welch, The Verge:

Then there was the fact that the folio keyboard was so damn light. It kept the iPad Pro feeling like an iPad in my bag. That has never, ever been the case with a Magic Keyboard attached. When it goes on, you’ve entered MacBook weight territory. I’m not saying there’s any problem with that, but with the Smart Keyboard Folio, there was something special about toting around such a powerful combo that always stayed so airy on my back.

At best, Apple is being somewhat stubborn in assuming that every iPad Pro buyer wants the tablet to feel like a laptop (and be a similar weight to one) whenever a keyboard is attached, which is what the Magic Keyboard gets you. If you want to view it with more pessimism, the company is intentionally doing away with what was a compelling, more affordable accessory — one that was easy to take anywhere — in hopes that more people will cave and fork over $300 for the only first-party keyboard that’s available for the new Pro.

I suspect if it had been more popular, Apple would have made new ones for the new iPads. But I know Welch is not alone in his affinity for it. The textile-covered keyboard was far from ideal for typing feel, but the whole point of the Smart Keyboard Folio was to be a “good enough” keyboard when you need it — and the nature of that sort of keyboard made it perfect for use in a kitchen, with wet or dirty fingers. It was a keyboard cover you could just leave on your iPad all the time — and the Magic Keyboard isn’t that.

Is the ‘Crush’ Backlash a Dead Canary in the Apple Brand Coal Mine? ★

David Heinemeier Hansson:

This should all be eerily familiar to anyone who saw Microsoft fall from grace in the 90s. From being America’s favorite software company to being the bully pursued by the DOJ for illegalities. Just like Apple now, Microsoft’s reputation and good standing suddenly evaporated seemingly overnight once enough critical stories had accumulated about its behavior.

It’s not easy to predict these tipping points. Tim Cook enthusiastically introduced this awful ad with a big smile, and I’m sure he’s sitting with at least some sense of “wtf just happened?” and “why don’t they love us any more?”. Because companies like Apple almost have to ignore the haters as the cost of doing business, but then they also can’t easily tell when the sentiment has changed from “the usual number” to “one too many”. And then, boom, the game is forever changed.

Ever since this controversy regarding the “Crush” ad erupted yesterday, I’ve been wondering the same thing. As I wrote yesterday, when I first saw the ad during the keynote, I didn’t think twice about it. It didn’t strike me as particularly clever, but I didn’t suspect for even a second that it might prove even slighty controversial. It just didn’t strike a nerve for me. But clearly it struck a nerve for many, evoking negative emotional responses — which for a brand like Apple’s, makes it ipso facto a failed ad.

But Apple could have used this exact same concept for any previous “thinnest ever” iPad. They could have used this exact same commercial for the original iPad in 2010 — a device that doesn’t seem thin or light by today’s standards but was rightly considered remarkably thin and light at the time it launched. You can paint, you can draw, you can edit photos and video, you can make music, you can play games — all in this single incredibly thin device. That’s not a new message for iPads.

Would this exact same commercial have evoked the same collective response in 2010? I’m going to say no, it would not have. What about in 2018? I’m going to say ... probably not? Something has changed. Part of it is that our culture has changed. I don’t think many people 10 or 15 years ago would have seen dissonance between Apple’s oft-professed sustainability ideals and a commercial celebrating the destruction of artistic tools and objects. And the bigger change is the recognition that computers are eating the world. In 2010 it was seen only as cool that computers were doing more and more stuff. Today there’s widespread uncomfortableness, perhaps outright concern, that the digital world is consuming the analog one. It plays differently today than a decade ago to emphasize that an iPad can replace a veritable truck-full of artistic tools and toys.

But part too is that Apple’s position in our culture has changed. They’re no longer, and never again will be, the upstart. They’re The Man now. They’re part of the firmament of our entire society, not just the tech world. When you’re on top, everyone guns for you.

Apple Apologizes for ‘Crush’ Ad: ‘We Missed the Mark With This Video, and We’re Sorry’ ★

Tor Myhren, Apple’s VP of marketing communications, in a statement to Ad Age:

Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world. Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry.

Not just an apology, but an apology attributed to a person. That’s how you do it.

The standard shouldn’t be never to make a mistake. It’s to make as few mistakes as possible, but quickly recognize, acknowledge, and address the ones you do make.

(Via 9to5Mac, which helpfully quotes Myhren’s entire statement. Ad Age’s paywall offers zero free page views.)

Crushed-Into-a-Handheld-Gadget Commercials ★

Andy Allen found a 2008 LG phone commercial that’s pretty much the same concept as Apple’s new “Crush” ad. And here’s a 1998 Nintendo commercial in which a bus full of Pokemon get smushed into a Game Boy.

Quinn Nelson on the New iPads and iPad Peripherals ★

Lots of nerdy details on both the tandem OLED “Pro XDR Ultra Max Plus Extreme” display technology (I think that’s the marketing name?) and TSMC’s next-gen 3nm process used to fabricate the M4 chips.