createrio

Well, all that power won’t be harnessed for longer pro tasks until there is a great cooling system. Lately I’ve been using an iPhone 8 with Lightroom as my main camera while traveling. LR camera does some quite heavy computational stuff, for example making HDR RAW DNGs (so actually blending RAW files on the fly, leaving the fully editable result) or long exposure shots, where it blends dozens of shots into a single image, again leaving an editable RAW file. While the results are lovely, when taking few shots in succession the app queues them because it takes quite a while to process each one and after a few minutes the phone overheats and starts to trottle heavily, crawling to a halt, while also force dimming the display untill all the shots are processed (which starts taking forever due to the throttling). On a recent trip to a hot-ish place I had to periodically get in the car and hold the phone, without a case, against the airco vent and that helped immensely. I know this is a somewhat rare and extreme usage scenario, but not out of this world extreme, especially for a product touting its technological superiority in a big way.

I’ve been using Wacom tablets since 1997 and have never found a viable alternative, quality and precision wise. I currently use a medium sized Intuos Pro with a 32” monitor and nothing can match that combo. But I have been itching for a portable travel alternative which doesn’t involve packing a Wacom in addition to my laptop and iPad. I had high hopes when Apple released the Pro with the Pencil, but I couldn’t get used to work with Astropad / Luna / Duet, as it involves looking at the second display (at least most of the time), unlike Wacom’s blind workflow, which I personally find much more precise for photo retouching (the stylus never covers any portion of the display etc.). Plus, while great, Apple Pencil can’t match Wacom’s pressure sensitivity. So I might get the small Intuos Pro after all.

netrox said:

I am getting a red decal so I can make my watch look more expensive despite lacking cellular. It's about presentation.

I wonder if someone will come up with a "display notch" decal, so we can also make our old iPhones look like the X.

New MacBook Air makes so little sense, since the 12" MacBook is already even airier; I find it strange all these "analysts" are so stuck on it. If they do release a replacement, it might be simply a larger MacBook, possibly 13.3" to replace both the old Air and the non-touch bar Pro. Which I would be interested in since I'm so over the iPads (been using a 10.5" Pro since the release). I need a light traveling companion that can handle some photo work, but iPads are still too limited, even with all the advancements.

Dead_Pool said:

RIP, iPad. The simplicity and elegance is gone. Thumb drives? Those things were outdated during Obama’s first term. Steve Jobs’ dream is dead.

Superficial, trigger happy comment. It will support external drives in general, which is huge. Quote Apple website: "Connect an external hard drive, SD card reader, and, yes, even a USB drive."

I wonder if there will finally be a native and seamless support for wired external storage drives? (Seeing the introduction of 1TB option, not very likely). If so, I might upgrade from my current pro. If not, I’m going back to laptops for another cycle or two.

I really wanted to make the iPad my main travel computer, but for photography and video work it’s still an excercise in frustration when trying to manage large files. A cloud-only backup option just doesn’t cut it as soon as you move out of more developed parts of the world, with spotty internet speeds. And the wireless drives are still too slow, complicated and unreliable.

But perhaps I’m getting it all wrong – perhaps it’s a machine aimed squarely at creatives who reside in NYC?