Razer Debuts $170 ‘Mechanical Keyboard Case’ for 12.9-inch iPad Pro
Razer today launched a new top-tier mechanical keyboard peripheral for Apple’s 12.9-inch iPad Pro, which packs in PC-like mechanical switches for typing on the tablet (via The Verge). The $169.99 accessory — which uses Bluetooth to connect to the iPad Pro — also doubles as a protective case for the tablet when closed, and has a kickstand to perch the device open when the keyboard is in use.
The “ultra-low-profile mechanical switches” used in the keyboard case replicate the feel and responsiveness of a full-fledged mechanical keyboard, according to Razer, but with the slimmer profile needed for a mobile tablet accessory. The keys are even individually backlit for typing in the dark, and come with 20 levels of illumination power to cycle through depending on the light needed.
This revolutionary technology with slim chiclet keycaps raises the bar for ultra-mobile keyboards. Featuring optimized actuation and reset points and an actuation force of 70g, the world’s first low-profile mechanical switch delivers the exact same performance and feel as a full-fledged mechanical keyboard.
Optimized for multiple viewing angles, Razer noted that the Mechanical Keyboard Case’s metal kickstand is “detachable and not limited to a fixed angle,” letting users find the perfect position for every typing environment. Concerning battery life, the company claimed that the case gets 10 hours on one charge at the highest-intensity level of keyboard brightness, with the possibility to extend that all the way up to 600 hours by turning the backlight off completely.
Razer has posted more information about the Mechanical Keyboard Case on its website, and anyone interested can purchase it from the company for $169.99.
Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Tag: Razer
Buyer’s Guide: 12.9″ iPad Pro (Neutral)
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Apple Releases Updated Version of iOS 9.3.2 for 9.7-Inch iPad Pro
Apple today released a new version of iOS 9.3.2 that’s specific to the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, presumably resolving an issue that caused some iPad Pro devices to become bricked after installing the original iOS 9.3.2 update.
The new version of iOS 9.3.2, build 13F72, can be downloaded over-the-air on any 9.7-inch iPad Pro that has not previously been updated to the latest version of iOS 9.
iOS 9.3.2 was originally released to the public on Monday, May 16, but shortly after it came out, we began receiving complaints that the update was bricking some 9.7-inch iPad Pro devices with an “error 56” message.
Later in the week, Apple pulled the iOS 9.3.2 update for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro and advised customers who had been affected by the error to contact Apple support. No simple fix was available, and some users who were impacted by the bug had their iPad Pro devices replaced by Apple.
Alongside the removal of the iOS 9.3.2 update, Apple said it was working on a fix and would release a new version of iOS 9.3.2 “as quickly as possible.”
The launch of a new version of iOS 9.3.2 suggests the issue is now resolved, and with a fix in place, the next version of the iOS 9.3.3 beta may also be seeded to 9.7-inch iPad Pro users. Released earlier last week, the first iOS 9.3.3 beta was not available for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, presumably because the bug had not yet been fixed.
Related Roundups: iPad Air 2, iPad Pro, iOS 9
Tag: iOS 9.3.2
Buyer’s Guide: 9.7″ iPad Pro (Buy Now), 12.9″ iPad Pro (Neutral)
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Apple Pulls iOS 9.3.2 Update for 9.7-Inch iPad Pro After Bricking Complaints
Amid a growing number of complaints over iOS 9.3.2 bricking some 9.7-inch iPad Pro models, Apple yesterday pulled the iOS 9.3.2 update. 9.7-inch iPad Pro users who have not installed iOS 9.3.2 no longer see the update, with iOS 9.3.1 now listed as the most current version of iOS 9 available for download.
Shortly after iOS 9.3.2 was released, MacRumors began receiving reports that the update was causing an “Error 56” message on some 9.7-inch iPad Pro devices. Not all iPad Pro users were affected, but those who were saw their devices rendered unusable. The error message instructed users to plug their devices into iTunes to restore, but restoring did not fix the problem, leaving the iPad Pros bricked.
An iPad Pro bricked after installing iOS 9.3.2. Image via Twitter.
Since then, MacRumors has heard several reports suggesting Apple is replacing iPad Pros bricked by the update, with no other simpler fix readily available. Users who are affected should contact Apple Support for assistance.
Apple has said it is looking into the issue, but did not offer details on what was causing the problem. The iOS 9.3.2 update will remain unavailable on the iPad Pro until a fix is found.
Update: Apple told iMore it is working on a fix and plans to issue an update soon.
We’re working on a fix for an issue impacting a small number of iPad units that are receiving an error when trying to update the software. We’ll issue an update as quickly as possible.
Related Roundups: iPad Pro, iOS 9
Tag: iOS 9.3.2
Buyer’s Guide: 12.9″ iPad Pro (Buy Now)
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9.7-Inch iPad Pro Crashing Issues Persist for Some Users on iOS 9.3.2
Over the past six weeks, a number of 9.7-inch iPad Pro early adopters have reported sporadic crashing issues that result in the tablet soft rebooting to the Apple logo start up screen and prompting Touch ID or passcode verification.
The bug has afflicted a wide range of 9.7-inch iPad Pro models since the tablet launched on March 31, regardless of storage capacity, color, and Wi-Fi or cellular capabilities. Both iOS 9.3.1 and iOS 9.3.2 appear to be affected.
Based on crowdsourced information from the Apple Support Communities and MacRumors discussion forums, it appears that Safari, while not necessarily the root cause of the problem, may be triggering the crashing and reboot cycles.
MacRumors reader jekjones1558 writes:
I have started getting random reboots. Today for the first time my 9.7-inch iPad Pro froze on the Apple screen during reboot. It seems to happen most when switching between Mail and Safari. I had to hold the on/off button to get it unstuck.
Apple Support Communities user MangoSoda experienced similar behavior:
My 9.7-inch iPad Pro (32GB) is less than 15 days old and has exhibited this behavior at least twice now. I’m up to date on iOS. […] Last time [it crashed] I was looking at […] images on Safari. I also had 5-6 apps running in the background.
Various related discussion topics have amassed over 30,000 views and 500 comments, indicating more than a few isolated users are affected.
The actual underlying problem remains unknown, but it is likely rooted in software and should be addressed by Apple in a future update if warranted, in the same vein as iOS 9.3.2 fixed iPhone SE Bluetooth issues and multiple other bugs. Most affected users report seeing “bug type 298” under Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & Usage > Diagnostic & Usage Data.
Apple has not officially commented on the matter, but some customers that have contacted support claim the company is aware of the issue and working on a fix. In the interim, some customers have had their iPad Pro swapped out for a new model at an Apple retail store; however, for some, the problems persist. We will update this article if and as new information becomes available.
Related Roundup: iPad Pro
Tags: Safari, iOS 9.3.1, iOS 9.3.2
Buyer’s Guide: 12.9″ iPad Pro (Buy Now)
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iPad Pro Outsells Microsoft Surface in Launch Quarter
The latest numbers from market research firm IDC‘s Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker show that Apple remains the largest vendor in a declining tablet market, shipping 16.1 million iPads in the fourth calendar quarter of 2015. While the iPad continues to be the best-selling tablet, its worldwide market share remains only 24.5 percent despite the all-new iPad Pro launching in early November.
iPad shipments declined 24.8 percent compared to the year-ago quarter, when they totaled 21.4 million for 28.1 percent market share. The stagnant iPad sales during the holiday shopping season may be more attributable to the lack of an iPad Air refresh in 2015, however, as the iPad Pro outsold Microsoft Surface tablets in its debut quarter in what IDC describes as a “successful” launch.
“Despite lukewarm reviews, the iPad Pro was the clear winner this season as it was the top selling detachable, surpassing notable entries from Microsoft and other PC vendors,” said Jitesh Ubrani, Senior Research Analyst with IDC. “It’s also important to note that the transition towards detachable tablets has presented positive opportunities for both Apple and Microsoft. However, Google’s recent foray into this space has been rather lackluster as the Android platform will require a lot more refinement to achieve any measurable success.
Samsung continued to be the second largest tablet vendor with 9 million tablets shipped in the fourth quarter for 13.7 percent market share, an 18.1 percent year-over-year unit decline. Amazon, Lenovo, and Huawei rounded off the top five, with 5.2 million, 3.2 million, and 2.2 million global tablet shipments in the fourth quarter respectively. All other tablet vendors had a combined 45.8 percent market share.
iPad sales have declined for eight consecutive quarters year-over-year due to, among other reasons, longer tablet refresh cycles compared to smartphones. Apple is rumored to introduce a new iPad Air 3 at a March media event, which could help combat the decline alongside the iPad Pro and iPad mini 4, but most of those sales will fall within the second calendar quarter of 2016.
Overall tablet shipments in 2015 totaled 206.8 million, down 10.1 percent from 230.1 million in 2014.
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iOS 9.3 Beta 2 Allows iPad Pro’s Smart Connector to Update Accessory Firmware
The second beta of iOS 9.3, which was seeded to developers on Monday and the public earlier today, includes a new feature that allows the iPad Pro’s Smart Connector to update accessory firmware. The new feature was first spotted by German developer Stefan Wolfrum (via Cult of Mac) when he plugged his Logitech Create keyboard case into his iPad Pro.
In the past month, several users in the MacRumors forums have noted that the Create keyboard case suffers from lag and dropped keystrokes. Forum member iwill424, who also reported that his Create keyboard had its firmware updated when plugged into an iPad Pro running iOS 9.3 beta 2, said that both issues were resolved by the firmware update.
MacRumors was able to recreate the steps that led to the update by updating our iPad Pro to beta 2 and connecting the keyboard. When the keyboard is connected, a pop-up is displayed alerting users to an “accessory update”, asking whether they want to update the “Smart Connector Accessory”. If a user chooses to update, the pop-up stays on the screen and displays the update progress. Once progress hits 100 percent the dialog box disappears; the update took 30 – 40 seconds. However, there was no dialog or indication of what the update changed once the process was complete.
The Smart Connector’s ability to transmit both data and power at the same time has been on full display with keyboard accessories like the Smart Keyboard and Logitech Create, but it was unknown whether the port could be used to update firmware for accessories. It’s unclear whether the new iOS beta housed the firmware update or whether it quickly pinged a server to download the update before applying it.
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iPad Pro’s A9X Chip Rivals Performance of Intel’s Low-End Core M Processors
AnandTech today published an in-depth iPad Pro review with detailed hardware and software analysis, including an interesting performance comparison between the tablet’s dual-core A9X chip and Intel’s Core M processors.
The test was conducted to determine to what level Apple’s custom ARM chips have caught up to the performance of Intel’s Core M lineup, given Apple’s continued advancements in architecture and manufacturing, compared to Intel’s slower rate of growth over its last few generations of Core processors.
The review pitted the iPad Pro’s A9X chip against various Core M devices, including the Broadwell-based 12-inch Retina MacBook with a low-end Core M chip and ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi with a high-end Core M chip, and Skylake-based ASUS ZenBook UX305CA with a base-tier Core m3 CPU.
The SPECint2006† benchmark results reveal that the iPad Pro is competitive with the Retina MacBook and Asus ZenBook UX305CA in certain tests, winning half of the benchmarks against each device, but the tablet lags behind in overall performance. Meanwhile, the high-end ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi unsurprisingly beat the iPad Pro in every category.
Evidently, Intel’s Core M lineup continues to lead in overall performance, but Apple is quickly closing the gap.
A9X can compete with both Broadwell and Skylake Core M processors, and that’s something Apple couldn’t claim even a generation ago. That it’s only against the likes of Core m3 means that Apple still has a way to go, particularly as A9X still loses by more than it wins, but it’s significant progress in a short period of time and I’ll wager that it’s closer than Intel would like to be, especially if Apple puts A9X into a cheaper iPad Air in the future.
Apple’s progress is notable given multiple rumors that suggest the company may release ARM-based Macs in the future.
In this scenario, Apple would replace the Intel chips it currently uses in Macs with custom designed A-series chips, allowing the company to better time processor upgrades with new product launches. On multiple occasions, Apple has had to hold off on updating its Mac lineup while waiting for Intel’s latest generations of processors.
In January 2015, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo projected that Apple could begin launching ARM-based Macs within one or two years based on its custom chip designs. As these A9X benchmarks show, however, the use of A-series chips in Macs would very likely be limited to lower-end devices like the 12-inch Retina MacBook at first.
In May 2014, French website MacBidouille reported that Apple has prototyped several ARM-based machines, including an iMac, Mac mini and 13″ notebook with 4-8 64-bit ARM quad-core processors, and new keyboards with large-format Magic Trackpads, but many doubted the feasibility of moving forward with such a plan.
Nearly two years later, the prospect of Apple releasing ARM-based Mac remains questionable, especially for high-end Macs, but the A9X chip is evidence that Apple’s A-series processors are increasingly rivaling the performance of Intel’s entry-level offerings. At the very least, it gives Apple options moving forward.
† SPECint2006 is a CPU-intensive cross-platform benchmark that tests processors based on a wide range of real-life usage scenarios, ranging from video compression to PERL execution to AI. For a detailed technical explanation of the SPEC CPU benchmark and its 12 sub-benchmarks, read the full review.
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Apple Now Allowing Personal Pickup for Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard
Stock of the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard remains low, but Apple is now allowing customers to use its Personal Pickup feature to order the devices online and arrange to pick them up in a local Apple Store. Enabling Personal Pickup may make it easier for customers hoping to get an Apple Pencil or Smart Keyboard to locate one nearby, as it lists retail stock that’s shipped to stores each day.
Both the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard were unavailable on the day the iPad Pro launched, with the earliest November 11 buyers receiving their accessories a week or two later. Those who were not lucky enough to order right at midnight when the iPad Pro launched were stuck with delivery estimates that ranged into late December. Orders placed today list a delivery estimate of mid-January.
Though it’s impossible to get an Apple Pencil or Smart Keyboard online, Apple has been sending small shipments of the accessories to its retail stores each day, allowing some lucky customers to purchase in store. Prior to today, the only way to get an Apple Pencil or Smart Keyboard was to show up shortly after a shipment was received, as there was no way to track supplies online. With Personal Pickup, it’s now possible to see exactly which stores have which devices in stock in the United States and other countries.
It appears that the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard are not available in many stores across the country at the current time, with stores in many of the major cities we checked listing it as “Unavailable for Pickup.” A couple of MacRumors readers have been able to purchase an Apple Pencil for pickup, so stock levels may just be fluctuating based on the retail shipments received.
The Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard are priced at $99 and $169, respectively, and are designed to work solely with the iPad Pro, Apple’s most powerful tablet device.
(Thanks, Noire!)
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Apple Says iOS 9.2 Fixes Unresponsive iPad Pro Issues
Apple has confirmed that iOS 9.2 should prevent an issue that caused some iPad Pros to become unresponsive after charging from continuing in the future.
Shortly after the launch of the iPad Pro, some early adopters began complaining about an issue that caused the 12.9-inch tablet to become unresponsive after charging, requiring a hard restart to restore functionality.
Apple acknowledged the problem in a support document on its website, stating that it was “investigating” the issue, and has now updated that support document to reflect that “iOS 9.2 or later” should prevent the issue from occurring again.
The issue affected both 32GB and 128GB iPad Pros on iOS 9.1, including Wi-Fi and LTE models, and some users speculated that restoring from an iCloud backup during setup may have contributed to the freezing issues.
iOS 9.2 was released on Tuesday alongside OS X 10.11.2, tvOS 9.1 and watchOS 2.1.
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Apple Releases Lightning to SD Camera Reader With USB 3.0 Speeds on iPad Pro
Apple has released a new Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader with support for up to USB 3.0 speeds on iPad Pro, and USB 2.0 speeds on all other iPad and iPhone models, as spotted by iDownloadBlog. The dongle retails for $29 on the Apple Online Store in the U.S. and is available to ship for delivery within approximately one week.
Last month, it was discovered that the iPad Pro’s Lightning port supports USB 3.0 transfer speeds, allowing for data transfer speeds upwards of 60MB/s to a theoretical max of 625MB/s. All other iPads and iPhones can only transfer data at USB 2.0 speeds of around 25 to 35MB/s, since only the iPad Pro has the necessary hardware — a Fresco Logic FL1100 4-port USB 3.0 Host Controller.
Apple has not updated its Lightning to USB Camera Adapter or other accessories to support the iPad Pro’s USB 3.0 speeds, but multiple sources have previously confirmed that adapters are in the works. It remains unclear, however, if Apple plans on introducing new Lightning cables that will enable USB 3.0 speeds when transferring files from a computer to an iPad Pro.
Apple’s new Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader is also available for £25 in the U.K. and $35 in Canada. Prices vary in other countries.
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