Apple's big (but uneventful) week

October 22, 2022

Apple didn't hit us with the virtual event we anticipated, but a barrage of new product launches nevertheless gave us plenty to talk about this week.

The redesigned iPad. The slightly more powerful iPad Pro. The surprisingly low-priced Apple TV 4K. The interesting Magic Keyboard Folio. And, yes, the much-ridiculed USB-C to Apple Pencil Adapter.

All in all, not a bad bunch of new gear, with quite a few surprises. Wonder why Apple pulled the plug on the event?

Maybe it was the dongle ...

-- Lewis Wallace, managing editor

P.S. If you're already up on all the latest news, don't miss our look back at one of Apple's most-overlooked products of all time.

News and opinion

Apple gave the 2022 version of the basic iPad a larger screen, USB-C, a faster processor and other enhancements. And the Home button is gone. But along with the new features comes a huge 36% price increase.

Plus, more on the new iPad:

The new high-end tablets will disappoint anybody hoping for wireless charging or additional ways to connect.

The new streaming box runs on the same A15 Bionic chip found inside the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 series. And it's a shocking $50 cheaper than the previous model.

Here comes Stage Manager and other features! Are you ready?

Plus, more updates coming soon:

New Macs are “highly likely to launch before the calendar turns into 2023," according to a recent report. But what can we expect soon — and what’s on the roadmap?

The decision to make the all-new iPad compatible with the original Apple Pencil looks likely to go down as one of Apple’s most ridiculous design decisions. And Apple fans aren't pleased.

On the anniversary of the PowerBook 100 series launch, a computing veteran explains why these Apple laptops proved as groundbreaking as the original iPhone.

The fourth-gen iPhone SE might be a blast from the past: Leaked renders of the upcoming budget handset show it greatly resembling the iPhone XR.

Three years after the influential Jony Ive vacated the role of hardware design chief at Apple, it’s opening up again.

Apple reportedly plans to release an iPad cradle with a built-in speaker. The device will function as a HomePod smart speaker, and when a tablet is placed in it will become a smart home hub with a touchscreen.

How-tos

The much-anticipated Apple October event never happened. Apple took the rare step of unveiling the latest iPads and Apple TV via underwhelming press releases. But the company apparently did preliminary work to hold an event that would have been called “Take Note,” you can watch it.

Deals

Your creative and work projects can never sound professional enough. Micmonster‘s AI-powered voiceovers can give your projects a polished sheen, anywhere and anytime you need it. Micmonster features hundreds of voices, in multiple languages, and gives you tools for tweaking the resulting voiceovers to your heart’s content.

This trustworthy app shows you how to tap into macOS’s Unix underpinnings to deliver under-the-hood tweaks and customizations that will make your Mac life simpler.

From office work to home maintenance, personal obligations have a way of getting between you and a good reading session. Fortunately, advanced book-summary service Four Minute Books created a new approach to staying entertained and informed from anywhere, even with limited free time.

Around 37 million Americans snore regularly, but that doesn’t make it any easier for folks who sleep a bit worse because of it. If you want to try to stop snoring, give the Hupnos Anti-Snoring Sleep Mask a whirl.

Reviews and recommendations

In aimless new dramedy Raymond & Ray, Ethan Hawke and Ewen McGregor play half-brothers who must bury their father — and decades of trauma — over the course of a long, late-summer day.

Plus, more Apple TV+ recaps:

The Logitech MX Mechanical Mini is a keyboard optimized for Mac. It features low-profile mechanical switches and backlighting, and can be paired with up to three computers.

There’s nothing like leather to add stylish protection to your iPhone. For whichever iPhone 14 model you have, you can find eight Mujjo leather and leather-wallet iPhone 14 cases in the Cult of Mac Store.

Connect the Plugable USBC-VAmeter to the power cable running to your Mac, iPad or iPhone to see the voltage, wattage and amperage.

Setups

Maybe you can’t be bothered to fuss over cable management. But some tricks for a cleaner-looking computer setup are so easy anybody can pull them off with minimal effort.

As winter shambles coldly toward us, feast your eyes on a beautiful, custom-built backyard shed housing a hot Mac mini computer setup. It doesn’t even need heating because it’s in California. Jealous yet?

Once you shell out a couple thousand bucks for a marvelous Mac Studio desktop machine, how do you add an ultra-wide display without running up your already-tortured credit cards? By going back in time!