Jason Snell on the New iPad mini→

Jason Snell, in his review of the new iPad mini:

I’ve always preferred using a Kindle to read books, but I have to admit that the iPad mini is a pretty great size if you’re primarily planning on using it to read books, newspaper apps, and websites. The screen may feel a bit cramped when using productivity apps, but switching to the iPad mini from the 12.9-inch iPad Pro was like going from a coffee-table book to a trade paperback. Reading from apps while holding the iPad mini in vertical orientation in one hand was easy and pleasant.

However, the increased screen density of this device means you’ll probably need to crank up the default text size in your apps and in the Text Size setting in the Display & Brightness section of the Settings app. As on previous iPad minis, everything’s just a bit smaller, and unless your eyes are particularly keen (and young) you’ll need to slide that text size up a notch or two in order to get it back into comfortable territory.

While the 12.9” iPad Pro is my main work iPad, in December I bought a base model of the 11” version that I use exclusively as a media device to read books and articles, watch videos via Plex and YouTube, and play iOS games. I love the design and gesture-driven UI of the new iPad Pros, but I’m also intrigued by the extreme portability of the new iPad mini. I don’t plan on switching because I value the design and better screen of the Pro, but I definitely want to go to an Apple Store and play with the new mini for a bit. As someone who used to work on an iPad mini years ago, I’m glad Apple brought this product back.

See also: John Gruber’s review and Rene Ritchie’s video on the new iPad mini.

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Google Announces Stadia, a Video Game Streaming Service Designed to Change the Way Games Are Enjoyed

Google wants to change the gaming landscape, and it’s not hard to understand why. After all, the game industry rivals Hollywood in size by some measures.

At a packed keynote event at the Game Developers Conference this week, Google unveiled Stadia, a new game streaming service coming later this year that seeks to put an end to expensive consumer hardware, large game downloads, patches, and other frustrations that accompany consoles by moving to a cloud-based system. The company also thinks it can enhance the gaming experience by bringing gamers and YouTubers closer together. The goals are ambitious and streaming feels like the future of gaming, but Google’s presentation left as many questions unanswered as answered.

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Moleskine Flow Review: An Elegant, Accessible Digital Notebook for iPad and iPhone

One strength of an analog notebook is its simplicity. The times in my life when I’ve used a notebook regularly, I would always keep a pen attached to the notebook so that the process of writing involved just two simple steps: open the cover, and press pen to paper. Many digital notebook apps forfeit this simplicity due to overly complex interfaces and toolsets.

Moleskine’s new app, Flow, is a digital notebook that understands what it takes to succeed as a notebook replacement – giving you the tools to customize your experience to your own preferences. It’s available on both iPad and iPhone, and offers an elegant balance of convenience and flexibility that make it my favorite digital notebook to date.

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Connected, Episode 235: Stephen’s Hellish Nightmare of Dates→

The boys take some time to mark National Ravioli Day, then dive into Apple’s new iPads and iMacs before making predictions for the company’s upcoming media event.

On this week’s episode of Connected, we share our predictions for next week’s Apple event – with a special twist that involves our future WWDC predictions. You can listen here.

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Apple Introduces New Lineup of Watch Band and iPhone Case Colors

Alongside the release of the new AirPods, Apple has released a new lineup of spring Apple Watch bands and iPhone cases that span several different band models and case types.

For the Watch, Apple has introduced new versions of its Sport Band, Sport Loop, and Leather band. There are also new versions of the Nike Sport Band, Nike Sport Loop, and Hermès Leather bands.

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Apple Announces New AirPods with ‘Hey Siri’ Support, New H1 Chip, Wireless Charging Case Option

In a surprise announcement following a string of daily releases this week, Apple today announced a major update to AirPods, the company’s wireless earbuds. As widely speculated over the past several months, the new generation AirPods come with support for hands-free ‘Hey Siri’ activation, feature improved performance over the original AirPods (which launched in late 2016), and support wireless charging (using the Qi standard) via an optional case.

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Instagram Announces In-App Checkout Feature

Instagram has announced a new in-app checkout feature that will allow consumers to purchase items from brands they follow from within the app.

In a press release, Instagram explains that when you tap on a product from a participating brand, you’ll see a new ‘Checkout on Instagram’ button that displays options like colors and size when tapped. After any necessary selections are made, the app advances to a payment view where you enter billing and shipping information.

You’ll only need to enter billing and shipping information once. Instagram says it will store that information securely to make future checkouts faster. The new feature also tracks the progress of shipments from within the app itself providing alerts about status changes.

The advantage to Instagram and retailers is obvious. It will be easier for brands to make a sale if users don’t have to leave the Instagram app, which, of course, is in Instagram’s interest too. Currently, Instagram lists 23 brand-partners including companies like Nike, Prada, Zara, Michael Kors, H&M, Adidas, Burberry, Dior, and Warby Parker.

Instagram says the checkout feature is currently in closed beta and limited to the US Instagram users. The company hasn’t provided a launch date or indicated when it might be available in more countries.

The New 21.5 and 27-inch iMacs: The MacStories Overview

Today, Apple has updated its online store with improved iMacs. Although the iMac Pro models were updated in December 2017, the non-Pro version hadn’t seen an update since June 2017, the longest time ever between iMac revisions according to MacRumors. The new iMacs, which were announced via a press release, include new base models and custom-build options for the 21.5 and 27-inch models that will allow customers to configure an iMac that rivals the specs of the lower-end iMac Pro models.

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