iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura arrive on October 24th

You’ll finally be able to get your hands on iPadOS 16 next Monday, October 24th, Apple announced this morning. The new OS includes support for Apple’s Stage Manager multi-tasking feature, which should make it easier to move between multiple apps on your iPad. That feature is also headed to macOS Ventura, which launches on the same day. iPadOS 16 is landing alongside Apple’s new iPad Pro, equipped with an M2 chip and Wi-Fi 6E, and will also later arrive on the revamped (and more expensive) standard iPad. You’ll need a fifth-gen iPad or iPad Mini, any iPad Pro, or a third-gen iPad Air to install the new OS.

In our preview of iPadOS 16, we found that Apple is doing a better job of marrying it’s excellent hardware with better software. It’s no wonder the new iPad also has a redesigned Magic Keyboard Folio—iPad OS 16 will make Apple’s tablet a far better laptop replacement for some users. As for macOS Ventura, it’s a more significant update than last year’s OS, though Stage Manager will likely be a controversial feature for some users. Personally, I found it better than moving between icons on the macOS dock, and I appreciated that it was easy to turn Stage Manager on and off as necessary.

Apple announces an M2-powered iPad Pro with WiFi 6E

Apple has unveiled its latest iPad Pro, which is powered by the company’s M2 silicon chipset. The tablet will offer faster connectivity thanks to WiFi 6E support and it has a new “hover” experience for Apple Pencil. The M2 offers up to 15 percent …

Apple’s redesigned entry-level iPad has an A14 chip and USB-C charging

The rumors were true — Apple has unveiled a redesigned version of its entry-level iPad. The new model borrows the thin-bezel form factor of higher-end models, including the switch to USB-C, no headphone jack and a fingerprint reader built into the slee…

The Apple Watch Ultra is on sale for the first time

Apple only just released the highest-end version of its smartwatch a few weeks ago, but you can already get a discount on the device — albeit a modest one. You can get $20 off the Apple Watch Ultra, which usually costs $800, if you’re willing to plump for a specific model. This one has a titanium case with a green alpine loop band and cellular connectivity. The discount only applies to the small version of the wristband. It’ll fit those with a wrist measuring 130mm to 160mm (5.1 inches to 6.3 inches). While this model, nor the device in general, obviously won’t be suited to everyone, it’s still notable that the Apple Watch Ultra is on sale for the first time.

Buy Apple Watch Ultra at Amazon – $780

The device is all about outdoor activity. Apple baked in more refined navigation and compass-based features, such as the ability to set waypoints and guidance for retracing your steps should you get lost. There’s a new depth gauge and dive computer too. So, the Apple Watch Ultra may be a good fit for hikers and divers.

There are also features geared toward endurance athletes, such as more accurate route tracking and pace calculations, thanks to the dual-frequency GPS. You can expect all the health features from other Apple Watch models too — such as sleep tracking, temperature sensing and electrocardiogram readings — along with functions like messaging, audio playback and Apple Pay. Apple promises up to 36 hours of battery life as well (and up to 60 hours with an upcoming low-power mode).

On the downside, the Apple Watch Ultra has a chunky (though rugged) case that you may not find comfortable to wear to bed. Moreover, the positioning of the action button is a little awkward, because it’s right where many people will go to steady the Apple Watch Ultra with one finger while they press the digital crown or side button. In the end, we gave the Apple Watch Ultra a score of 85 in our review.

Adobe Photoshop update adds refined selections and AI photo restoration

Adobe’s annual design and technology conference begins today, so the company is making updates across much of its software lineup as part of the fall event. When it comes to Photoshop, Adobe has a host of new features for desktop and iPad as well as an update on the progress of the web version. With additional tools for selections, Neural Filters, collaboration and working on a tablet, there could be something to make everyone’s workflow a bit easier in the latest releases. 

First, Adobe has refined the Object Selection tool to improve the accuracy of automatic selections and expanded the list of items that Photoshop can recognize on its own. This builds on the selection abilities the company first brought to the app in 2020, allowing you to hover over an item in an image while Photoshop automatically detects and then selects it. With this update, Objection Selection can now recognize complex things like sky, buildings, water, plants, flooring and the ground — even mountains, sidewalks and streets, according to Adobe. There’s also a new one-click delete and fill shortcut (Shift + Delete) that combines Object Selection with Content-Aware Fill for those items the app can automatically detect and highlight in photos. 

Adobe also introduced Neural Filters in 2020, using AI to handle major edits in seconds. The technology allows for things like smoothing skin, changing facial expressions and transferring styles from famous works of art. This time around the company is adding a Photo Restoration filter that leverages machine learning to revive old or damaged photos. The AI can recognize and fix “scratches and other minor imperfections,” Adobe says.

Photoshop on iPad
Adobe

For Photoshop on iPad, Adobe is once again bringing more desktop tools to the tablet version of the app. With one tap, you can now Remove Background or Content-Aware Fill. Using the same tech that powers Select Subject, Photoshop on iPad can quickly isolate the main item or person in an image and apply a layer mask automatically to nix the background. Content-Aware Fill works just like it does on the desktop, removing unwanted objects or people, only this time you can do with with a single tap. Additionally, Adobe has improved Select Subject for portrait images and added one-tap Auto Tone, Auto Contrast and Auto Color editing options to the Filters and Adjustments panel. 

Lastly, Adobe says its still working to expand the abilities of Photoshop on the web. This version that launched last year is still in limited beta, but the company plans to add tools like Object Selection, Remove Background, Adobe Camera Raw edits and Content-Aware Fill to the browser-based app. Photoshop on iPad was extremely limited when Adobe first introduced it, sparking a huge backlash that the company has worked to rectify since. That app is now full of powerful features, so it’s probably best that Adobe fine tune the web version with limited participants for a while. Creative Cloud subscribers can try it by visiting the beta section of Creative Cloud home. 

Adobe announces the first cameras to support Frame.io direct RAW uploads

Eighteen months ago, Adobe announced the “Camera to Cloud” (C2C) feature for its Frame.io cloud collaboration platform that would allow users to upload videos and photo directly from cameras. Now, it’s unveiled the first cameras to support the feature, the RED V-Raptor cinema camera for RAW video, and Fujifilm’s new X-H2S mirrorless camera for RAW photos. 

Frame.io is a cloud service that can handle large files, giving subscribers instant access to photos and video on TVs, mobile devices and PCs. The C2C service allows users to transfer those files directly from a camera, rather than having to wait until the material is physically transferred to a computer.

Until now, you needed third-party hardware to upload content from supported cameras. Now, the C2C integration is built directly into the cameras, with “no additional hardware and no hard drives required,” Adobe said.

With the RED V-Raptor and V-Raptor XL, users can directly upload 8K RAW files to the cloud from the camera (this requires access to high-bandwidth WiFi or ethernet networks, of course). With the system in place, “[Video] files can be automatically delivered right to production offices… for immediate editing,” Adobe wrote in its blog. 

In addition, RAW video audio files can be synced, color corrected and transcoded in the cloud, allowing for “proxy” workflows. Translated to English, that you could transfer small, easy-to-send video files around the world, then link those automatically to much higher-quality RAW video for the final output. Adobe demonstrates this (above), by automatically transmitting an 8K RAW file, proxy, audio and color correction “LUT” file, all at once.

On the photo side, C2C will soon work (nearly) directly with Fujifilm’s $2,500 X-H2S camera, as well. You will need to buy Fujifilm’s $1,000 FT-XH file transmitter that supports 802.11ac wireless and 600Mbps wired connections. With that connected, photographers will be able to send high-resolution RAW files straight from the camera, letting a photographer transmit breaking news photos directly to an agency, for instance.

The new system is aimed at professionals, but it could also let YouTubers send content directly to an editor for a quick turnaround. Adobe isn’t the only company doing this, as Blackmagic Design’s DaVince Resolve 18 includes a suite of collaboration tools that allow editors, colorists, VFX artists and audio engineers to work together in real time on the same project. The new features will arrive to RED’s V-Raptor lineup by the end of 2022, and come to the Fujifilm X-H2S in spring 2023.

 

The Xbox Elite Series 2 controller is now customizable in Design Lab

Just over three years after Microsoft debuted the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 (and a month after releasing a white version), the company is now helping players fully customize the look of the gamepad. You can personalize nearly every external part of the peripheral in the Xbox Design Lab.

Players can choose different colors for the body, back case, D-pad, bumpers, triggers, thumbsticks, buttons and, for the first time in the Design Lab, the thumbstick base and ring. Other customization options include a choice between a cross-shaped or faceted D-pad and a laser-engraved message of up to 16 characters on the rear.

What’s more, you’ll be able to swap in different components. You might opt to have metallic paddles or thumbsticks with different shapes and sizes. The thumbsticks also have adjustable tension. In addition, you can remap the buttons and change the color of the Xbox button light in the Xbox Accessories app. Microsoft says the controller has up to 40 hours of battery life on a single charge and it should easily pair with an Xbox console or Windows PC, as well as smartphones and tablets.

An Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 that you customize in Design Lab will start at $150. You can also buy personalized accessory packs. A bundle of the controller and all Elite components will run you $210. You’ll be able to customize an Elite Series 2 controller in any market where Design Lab is available, including the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand and other countries in Europe and Asia Pacific.