First Apple Pencil Orders in the U.S. Now ‘Preparing for Shipment’
Though the iPad Pro has been widely available in Apple retail stores since its launch last Wednesday, supplies of the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard have been much more limited. At launch, there were no Apple Pencils or Smart Keyboards available for purchase in the U.S. with in-store pickup, and the first online orders listed delivery dates of November 19 at the earliest, more than a week after the iPad Pro became available.
As of today, pre-order customers with some of the earliest upcoming estimated delivery dates are seeing some movement with their orders, receiving notifications that their Apple Pencils are now preparing for shipment. MacRumors reader Jose‘s Apple Pencil is preparing to ship with an estimated delivery date of November 20 to November 24, and there are a few other reports of Apple Pencil shipment changes on Twitter.
With orders already preparing for shipment, it’s likely customers who managed to pre-order right around midnight on November 11 will start receiving their shipments later this week. A few customers in the United Kingdom have already received their Apple Pencil orders.
Customers who order an Apple Pencil online right now will not be able to receive the device until mid-to-late December, and the same goes for the Apple Keyboard, which is equally scarce. After the iPad Pro’s midnight launch, delivery estimates for the Apple Pencil and the Smart Keyboard quickly slipped from late November into December.
Some Apple retail stores around the country have been receiving small Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard shipments on a daily basis, but as Apple is not allowing in-store pickup for the Apple Pencil, it’s not possible to use Apple’s website or app to determine which stores have stock. Instead, customers hoping to get an Apple Pencil before December are having to visit their local Apple Stores on a daily basis hoping to get lucky with shipment timing.
The Apple Pencil, which enables pressure sensitive drawing on the iPad Pro, retails for $99. The Smart Keyboard is priced at $169.
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Some iPad Pros Unresponsive After Charging, Requiring Hard Restart
A growing number of users on the Apple Support Communities, MacRumors discussion forums and social media have reported issues with the iPad Pro becoming unresponsive after being charged for a lengthy amount of time, forcing affected users to perform a hard restart to turn the device back on.
MacRumors forum member “BizzaroClark” claims that, on multiple occasions, his iPad Pro has “appeared frozen” and “will not wake” after being charged. After hard resetting the iPad Pro, he said the device has 100% battery life. Dozens of users have shared similar experiences over the past five days.
At least twice I have left my iPad Pro plugged in, once over night, and once during work. When I returned to my iPad it appeared frozen. Black screen, screen will not wake. I had to do a hard reset twice to get the thing to work again. After the hard reset the battery was 100%.
Apple blog Mac Kung Fu pointed us towards Apple Support Communities and Reddit topics about the issue with nearly 5,000 views and 200 comments combined, indicating the problem is rather widespread. iPad Pro user “darkfire.shadows” shared his experience in the Apple Support Communities:
At night it was down to 40% so I charged it and went to bed. When I woke up it was “dead”. It wouldn’t wake up. I needed to perform a hard reset to get it to come to life. Worked on it for a couple of hours and had to run an errand. Plugged it back in as I was going to need a full charge later that day. Came back to it, same thing. Dead.
MacRumors confirmed the issue has affected one of our iPad Pros since last Wednesday.
The issue has affected both 32GB and 128GB iPad Pros on iOS 9.1, including Wi-Fi and LTE models. It remains unclear if the problem is rooted in hardware or software, but some users speculate that restoring from an iCloud backup during setup may be contributing to the freezing issues.
Apple’s support team has provided customers with mixed solutions, ranging from restoring the iPad to factory settings using iTunes to force restarting the device by holding down the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons simultaneously for at least ten seconds, until an Apple logo appears on the screen.
Last month, we reported that some iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone 6 users have experienced similar issues with their smartphones randomly powering off, even when left unattended and with sufficient battery power, indicating this could be a broader iOS 9 issue. Apple has not officially commented on the matter.
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Tim Cook Says Apple Won’t Create ‘Converged’ Mac and iPad
While the iPad Pro further bridges the gap between iOS and OS X, and notebooks and tablets as a whole, Apple CEO Tim Cook recently told the Irish Independent that Apple is not interested in creating a “converged Mac and iPad.”
“We feel strongly that customers are not really looking for a converged Mac and iPad,” said Cook. “Because what that would wind up doing, or what we’re worried would happen, is that neither experience would be as good as the customer wants. So we want to make the best tablet in the world and the best Mac in the world. And putting those two together would not achieve either. You’d begin to compromise in different ways.”
Instead, Cook said Apple wants to create the best possible Mac and iPad, suggesting that both products have a strong future. The chief executive is “bullish” about the reverse of declining iPad sales in recent quarters.
“It’s true that the difference between the X86 [personal computer] and the A-series [Apple iPad architecture] is much less than it’s ever been,” says Cook. “That said, what we’ve tried to do is to recognize that people use both iOS and Mac devices. So we’ve taken certain features and made them more seamless across the devices. So with things like Handoff we just made it really simple to work on one of our products and pick it up and work on the next product.”
Last week, Cook rhetorically questioned why anyone would buy a PC anymore — excluding the Mac, which he says is not the “same” — and said the iPad Pro will serve as a replacement for a notebook or desktop computer for “many, many people.”
“I think if you’re looking at a PC, why would you buy a PC anymore? No really, why would you buy one?” […]
“Yes, the iPad Pro is a replacement for a notebook or a desktop for many, many people. They will start using it and conclude they no longer need to use anything else, other than their phones.”
Many early iPad Pro reviews described the tablet as a powerful creative canvas, but not quite a true PC replacement. Benchmarks found the iPad Pro delivers MacBook Air-class CPU performance and MacBook Pro-class GPU performance.
MacStories editor Federico Viticci, as someone who uses iOS as his main computing platform, felt otherwise. “I don’t see myself using a Mac as my primary computer ever again,” he wrote in his iPad Pro review.
Cook also provided a non-comment about Apple’s rumored electric vehicle plans, emphasizing “a need for a focus on user interface.”
“I don’t have anything to announce about our plans,” he says. “But I think there’s some significant changes in the automobile industry over the next several years with electrification and autonomous driving. And there’s a need for a focus on user interface. And so I think there’s a lot of changes that will go on there.”
Follow our iPad Pro and Apple Car roundups for the latest news about each topic.
Tags: Tim Cook, Mac
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Apple Highlights iPad Pro-Enhanced Apps and Games In New Featured Sections in App Store
As the new iPad Pro makes its way into the hands of customers, Apple has debuted two new featured sections in the App Store to highlight apps and games that are either enhanced for the device or take advantage of its larger screen.
The first section, “Amazing Apps for iPad Pro, is split into five subcategories: Enhanced for Apple Pencil, Desktop-Class Apps, Powerful Multitasking, Unleash Your Creativity, Bigger with a Bigger Screen and Immersive Experiences. Apple says the section includes Apple’s favorite apps “that take advantage of its expansive Retina display and astounding experiences.”
The second section, “Great Games for iPad Pro”, is split into three subcategories: Gorgeous Games, Fantastic Sounds and Big Screen, Big Fun. Apple says the section will help iPad Pro owners “get started with games whose breathtaking graphics, spectacular sound, and immersive features create incredible experiences.”
Limited quantities of the iPad Pro are available at Apple Retail Stores in multiple countries with Personal Pickup available in U.S. locations. Online, 32 GB variants in any color are available for delivery on Monday while other configurations are available for delivery in late November. Smart Covers and Silicone Cases are well stocked in Apple Stores, but the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard are out of stock or in very limited quantities in stores and are a 4 – 5 week wait online.
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iPad Pro’s Lightning Port Supports USB 3.0 Transfer Speeds, New Adapters in the Works
Apple’s larger-screened iPad Pro includes a Lightning port that’s capable of supporting USB 3.0 speeds, according to both an iFixit teardown and several sources that have spoken with Apple. When taking apart the iPad Pro, iFixit discovered a Fresco Logic FL1100 4-port USB 3.0 Host Controller, pointing towards support for USB 3.0 transfer speeds.
In its recent iPad Pro review, CNET also mentioned the tablet will support “USB 3-level speeds with forthcoming adapters,” which reviewer Scott Stein confirmed was information that came directly from Apple. Photographer Jeff Carlson also claims a source has told him the Lightning port on the iPad Pro is capable of transferring data at USB 3.0 speeds.
Support for USB 3.0 speeds is notable because the Lightning port on current iPads and iPhones can only transfer data at around 25 to 35MB/s, which is USB 2.0 speed. At USB 3.0 speeds, data transfers would be upwards of 60MB/s and up to 625MB/s. USB 3.0-style speeds for data transfers over Lightning have been rumored to be coming to Apple devices for several years now, but have thus far not materialized.
Both Stein and Carlson have pointed towards the upcoming release of new adapters that will enable the faster file transfers, but a release timeline is not yet clear. It is also not known 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.
Tests conducted by readers on the MacRumors forums and on Reddit with existing Lightning cables and accessories are only transferring files to the iPad Pro at USB 2.0 speeds, indicating new hardware is required to take advantage of the iPad Pro’s updated Lightning Port.
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iPad Pro Videos: 4K Video Exporting, Cases and Apple Pencil Tracking
Apple launched the iPad Pro yesterday online and in stores, and early adopters are now receiving their deliveries around the world. The trio of videos below provide a closer look at the iPad Pro, Smart Cover and Silicone Case accessories and a comparison between Apple Pencil and Surface Pen tracking.
YouTube creator Jonathan Morrison shared a video called My First Day with the iPad Pro, proving how powerful the iPad Pro’s A9X processor and 4GB of RAM are by exporting 30 seconds of 4K video in around only 38 seconds. He also provided a quick rundown of the 12.9-inch tablet’s tech specs, benchmarks and camera.
Despite his 4K video test, Morrison concludes that the iPad Pro’s hardware is mostly unutilized, due to the lack of true professional apps like Final Cut Pro X that take advantage of the processing power. Those apps could arrive in the future, but in the meantime the iPad Pro is essentially a bigger and better iPad Air 2.
YouTube channel DarGadgetZ went hands-on with the new Smart Cover and Silicone Case for the iPad Pro, available for $59 and $79 respectively in Charcoal Gray and White. The Smart Cover has its usual magnetic hinge and doubles as a stand, and can be paired with the Silicone Case for full front-and-back coverage.
The last video is an Apple Pencil vs. Surface Pen tracking comparison shared with us by GforGames. The 15-second test, slowed down from 120 FPS, shows the Apple Pencil has slightly less input lag compared to the Surface Pen on the Surface Pro 4 when sketching swirls with each stylus.
Limited quantities of the iPad Pro are available at select Apple Retail Stores in multiple countries, with Personal Pickup available at U.S. locations. Smart Covers and Silicone Cases are well stocked, but the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard are out of stock or in very limited quantities at most stores.
Also read our iPad Pro reviews roundup, tidbits and timeline for the latest news about the 12.9-inch tablet.
Tags: Apple Pencil, Surface Pen, Silicone Case, Smart Cover
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iFixit Teardown Reveals iPad Pro’s Four Speaker Design Eliminates Up to 50% of Potential Battery Space
iFixit is in the process of tearing down the iPad Pro, providing a closer look at how Apple organized the internals of the larger iPad. While the majority of the internal layout is similar to the iPad Air 2, there are some significant differences, including the inclusion of a brand new four-speaker audio setup.
Each corner of the iPad Pro has a speaker driver sitting next to a capped resonance chamber. Each speaker is designed identically, as the iPad Pro shifts the speaker’s function depending on the orientation of the device. The two speakers on top provide higher frequencies while the bottom speakers provide lower frequencies.
Once it removed the speaker drivers, iFixit uncapped the volume chambers, which Apple says gives the iPad Pro’s speakers 61 percent more “back volume” than previous iPads. Underneath the carbon fiber caps are enclosures filled with foam, which are used to amplify the speaker’s sound. However, iFixit notes that the speakers take up space that could have been used to increase battery capacity by 50 percent. Previous iPads, due to the lack of premium speakers, were able to dedicate more space to battery capacity.
One of the first changes the team at iFixit noticed was that the logic board has moved to the center of the device, unlike previous iPads where it was off to the side. Additionally, the logic board’s shielding had to be removed before iFixit was able to remove the logic board itself, unlike previous iPads.
The teardown also found that the iPad Pro uses the DP695 Timing Controller, which may be an iteration of the DP665 LCD timing controller found in the 5K Retina iMac. However, as noted by iFixit, the iPad Pro’s timing controller is likely modified to better use the display’s refresh rate. Also, the teardown experts found that Apple has added adhesive pull tabs under the iPad’s batteries, making them easier to remove.
Finally, iFixit’s teardown offers physical confirmation that the iPad Pro includes 4 GB of RAM, which was confirmed by Apple’s own Xcode tools in mid-September.
iFixit’s teardown is ongoing, and this post will be updated if any other significant discoveries are made.
Update: iFixit has discovered that the iPad Pro has a 10307 mAh battery.
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iPad Pro Tidbits: A9X Outperforms MacBook, Apple Pencil is Weighted, T-Mobile Financing and More
Apple released the iPad Pro on the Apple Online Store and at select Apple Retail Stores and resellers earlier today, and we have rounded up some interesting facts and news announcements surrounding the 12.9-inch tablet.
iPad Pro Delivers Notebook-Level Performance
Geekbench results show that the iPad Pro’s A9X processor is a dual-core chip running at about 2.25 GHz, as reported by Ars Technica.
The A9X chip had a 3,233 single-core score and 5,498 multi-score score in browser-based CPU tests, outperforming the iPad Air 2 and other recent iPhones and iPads by a significant margin.
iPad Pro also outperformed the 12-inch Retina MacBook, equipped with an Intel Core M dual-core processor clocked at 1.1 to 1.2 GHz, but the A9X chip’s CPU performance falls short of devices like the 2015 MacBook Air and Surface Pro 4 with Intel’s latest Broadwell or Skylake U-series processors.
Ars Technica also shared iPad Pro CPU performance results
The iPad Pro’s GPU performance is much more impressive, with GFXBench OpenGL test results showing the A9X chip outperformed the 2015 15″ Retina MacBook Pro with Intel Iris 5200 integrated graphics, in addition to the 12-inch MacBook, 2015 MacBook Air, 2015 13″ Retina MacBook Pro, Surface Pro 4 and all recent iPads.
We’re looking at MacBook Air-class CPU performance and MacBook Pro-class GPU performance, so the iPad Pro ought to be able to handle more multitasking features with aplomb as Apple sees fit to add them. Professional 3D apps like AutoCAD and the Complete Anatomy app Apple showed off in September all seem to run just fine, too.
Apple Pencil is Weighted
Lauren Goode of The Verge shared an interesting anecdote about the Apple Pencil in her iPad Pro review:
But the Pencil is just plain fun. It is indeed Apple white, and there are Apple-y things about it — for example, the fact that it is weighted, and won’t roll away on a table top, and always stops rolling with the word “Pencil” facing upward on its metal band.
Read our iPad Pro review roundup.
T-Mobile Financing for iPad Pro
T-Mobile has announced the iPad Pro will be available November 18. Eligible customers can finance their iPad Pro purchase through the carrier’s JUMP! On Demand program, starting at $199.99 upfront with $34/month payments.
T-Mobile has a sign-up page to receive an email alert when orders can be placed. Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard will also be available on T-Mobile for $99 and $169 respectively starting November 18.
Apple Store Availability
iPad Pro launched today with limited in-store stock at select Apple Retail Stores in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and some other countries. Personal Pickup is available in U.S. stores.
Most Apple Stores have not received stock of the Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard, while online shipping estimates currently range between 3-4 weeks in the U.S. and many other countries for the accessories.
Tim Cook Calls Microsoft’s Surface Book “Deluded”
The Irish Independent has published an interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook about the company’s plans to expand in Ireland, iPad Pro and more, with his comment about Microsoft’s new Surface Book drawing some attention:
Mr Cook had some sharp words for competitors. Despite saying that Apple’s relationship with Microsoft as “really good”, he described the software giant’s new Surface Book laptop as “deluded”.
“It’s a product that tries too hard to do too much,” he said. “It’s trying to be a tablet and a notebook and it really succeeds at being neither. It’s sort of deluded.”
Follow our iPad Pro timeline for the latest news about the 12.9-inch tablet.
Tags: T-Mobile, Apple Store, Geekbench, A9X chip, Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard
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Jony Ive on Apple Pencil: A ‘Natural’ and ‘Familiar’ Extension of Traditional Drawing Tools
Alongside today’s launch of the iPad Pro and its Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard accessories, Apple design chief Jony Ive shared his thoughts on the new stylus accessory with The Telegraph.
Addressing the device’s strong resemblance to an actual pencil, Ive stresses that a familiar and natural feel is key to the user experience.
“We hoped if you are used to spending a lot of time using paintbrushes, pencils and pens, this will feel like a more natural extension of that experience – that it will feel familiar,” he says, carefully. “To achieve that degree of very simple, natural behaviour, was a significant technological challenge.”
Ive notes how that natural feel increases with usage to the point where the user forgets they are using a piece of technology and is able to simply focus on the task at hand. As an example, he points to his design team, which has experimented with tools other than traditional sketchbooks over the years but is finally finding the iPad Pro with Apple Pencil a natural combination.
“Many of us in the design team have worked together for 20 plus years. We’ve always drawn in our sketchbooks, and for the first time – despite flirting with some alternatives a couple of years ago – I’m seeing people starting to use the iPad and Apple Pencil. Our personal experience has been that there are definitely affordances and opportunities now that you have a much more natural and intuitive environment to make marks, there are clearly things you can do sketching and writing on the iPad which you could never dream of doing in the analogue world.”
The Apple Pencil is a $99 accessory sold alongside the iPad Pro, although early customers may need to wait a bit to get their hands on one. While the iPad Pro is in some cases available for in-store pickup as early as today, the earliest Apple Pencil orders are taking a few days longer to start shipping out and shipping estimates for new orders have quickly slipped to 3-4 weeks.
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iPad Pro Review Roundup: Powerful Creative Canvas, but Not Quite a PC Replacement
Apple released the iPad Pro online and in stores earlier today, and the embargo has now lifted for hands-on reviews of the new 12.9-inch tablet.
The consensus opinion is that the iPad Pro is an excellent device for content creation, with powerful hardware for intensive apps and multitasking, but not quite a PC replacement due to its iOS limitations. The tablet’s experience will be better realized once more developers update their apps to take advantage of the larger canvas.
From left to right: iPad mini 2, iPad Air 2, iPad Pro (Image: WSJ)
iPad Pro reviews praised its large display, which at 2,732×2,048 pixels has a higher resolution than the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display, and most early adopters claim the tablet meets or exceeds its advertised 10-hour battery life. The new Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard also received positive reviews.
Ars Technica – Andrew Cunningham
It’s best to think of the iPad Pro as a starting point, especially for iOS 9. These multitasking features are still brand-new, and there’s a lot of low-hanging fruit to pick in future iOS 9 revisions and into iOS 10. My biggest gripes with the iPad Pro are with the software rather than the hardware, and that means that most of them can be fixed given enough time and enough feature requests. It took Microsoft three tries to really nail down the Surface Pro concept, and given a couple of iOS updates the iPad Pro has room to grow into a more versatile laptop replacement without necessarily giving up the things that people like about iOS.
For the rest of us, there’s still the Mac.
CNET – Scott Stein
I want the iPad to eat the Mac, the way the iPhone ate the iPod. This iPad has already crept up to become as large as a Mac. But iOS needs to fully change with it. I need to connect to my old files and Web tools better, because that’s what I need as a pro. I want it to become as flexible as a computer should be. The iPad needs to bridge the gap.
The iPad Pro feels like the top half of a new futuristic superpowered laptop. I want the bottom half, too.
MacStories – Federico Viticci
The iPad Pro is positioned as a more productive take on the iPad for those who need to get work done on it. My recommendation couldn’t be more straightforward: if iOS is your main computing platform, or if you plan to turn an iPad into your primary computer, you’ll want an iPad Pro. Its powerful hardware, multitasking interface, and extensible nature are superior to every other iPad. I don’t see myself using a Mac as my primary computer ever again.
Mashable – Lance Ulanoff
It certainly has some impressive benchmark numbers. Its Geekbench single-core (3,218) and multi-core (5,455) numbers blew away virtually everything else (in the mobile space), including the A9 chip in the iPhone 6S/6S Plus. It even outperforms the new MacBook’s Intel Core M processor (2,367 and 4,489 for single-core and multi-core, respectively). What’s more, the iPad Pro’s single-core score rivaled desktop performance on the Microsoft Surface Book (beating the sixth-gen Intel Core i5 and coming close to a sixth-gen Intel Core i7). The multi-core scores lagged behind both systems, but not by the margin you might expect.
TechCrunch – Matthew Panzarino
…iPad Pro absolutely, 100% could be the central computing device for a home. […] But there is a certain (sorry) norm-core computing demographic that could very well end up with an iPad Pro as the ’enhanced’ component to their smartphone, which is their real computer. Somewhere on the same level as other use-case-based devices like wearables and an interconnected home.
The Verge – Lauren Goode
But even this split-screen mode isn’t enough for lots of the “laptop” things I need to do on a daily basis. This is still a mobile OS we’re talking about. It’s nice that it’s at least familiar feeling, unlike the foreign hybrid OS that Microsoft introduced with the first Surfaces. But I can’t manipulate more than two app windows at a time on the iPad Pro. I can’t control things with a trackpad. I can’t run Final Cut Pro on the iPad Pro. Entering data into cells in the Google Sheets app on the iPad Pro is still onerous. There’s no way to hand over the iPad to someone else and let them quickly log in as a “guest” user.
The Verge – Walt Mossberg
You can get a lot more done with iPad apps than with the paltry selection of tablet / touch-first apps available for the Surface. But, because Apple hasn’t made a great keyboard, the iPad Pro isn’t a complete replacement for a great laptop like the MacBook Air — even for a tablet guy like me.
The iPad Pro will no doubt make a lot of Apple users happy, especially if they use it for graphics. But I won’t be buying one, and I don’t recommend that average users do so either.
The Wall Street Journal – Joanna Stern
The Pro may seem wedged between iPads and MacBooks, but it will be your main computer in the future. As our phablets push smaller tablets into retirement, the big tablet and its accessories will do the same for our traditional computers. For now, however, it may be easiest to step back and see the Pro as a… really good, really big iPad.
More Reviews: Bloomberg, Daring Fireball, Fast Company, TechRadar, The Telegraph, Wired
Tags: reviews, Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard
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