Moving the blog

We had a bit of server downtime last week and during that time I began thinking a bit about WordPress. 8 months ago I moved my personal blog, https://beardystarstuff.net to micro.blog. I’ve decided to do the same for this blog. I’ve imported the site and going forward all new posts will be here: https://denny.micro.blog/categories/apple/ and the RSS feed is here: https://denny.micro.blog/apple/feed.xml.

What’s wrong with WordPress? In my opinion it just feels overly complicated and bloated. The editing interface is too much for what I need. I’ve used it for years for a couple sites and blogs but I’ve never really liked it. I suppose I’m spoiled by the simplicity of my small, hand coded html sites with a folder for images and a folder for css. No concerns there about the security and updating of plugins, templates, the installation files, databases, backups, etc.

So, for now, at least, future posts will be available at the above links. There’s a new post today about WWDC2023, Apple Vision Pro and iPadOS17

. If you’re following along I hope you make the move with me!

A screenshot of the Shortcuts app on an iPad Pro. The Shortcut is used for processing images for a website

iPad Workflow- Using Shortcuts to process images for the web

Convert image or pdf, resize, save, rename and extract alt text with two taps

One of my regular tasks is updating the front page of our regional library website, either adding upcoming events or removing finished events. Our front page is a grid of event flyers with an expandable accordion under the flyer that contains a text description of the event, usually very similar to the flyer itself. A staff member emails the flyer with the accompanying text.

The gist of my process is to have Mail and Textastic open side-by-side for easy copy/pasting. The attached flyer images are a mix of pdf, jpg or png. In the past I would have saved to Photos then selected them all and used a Shortcut to export to the website’s folder in Files, converting them all to jpegs at a preset size and quality. Quick and easy. But in recent months I’ve added a new step to the shortcut to extract the text of the flyer and add it to the clipboard. Now I can paste the text into the image alt tags. I’m not sure why I didn’t add that step in earlier.

The only downside is that I can only do one image at a time which isn’t too bad as the typical email only has 2 to 4 such files. I now just select the file in Mail, select share then use the Shortcut which saves the image to the site images folder, renames it from the original but with no spaces then copies the new name and the extracted text to the clipboard. Then I tap to Textastic and paste. I still have to spend a minute there to move the file name text to the correct location in the html and clean-up any errors in the text extraction but it works pretty well and the whole process only takes a few seconds after I paste.

Shortcuts is a fantastic timesaver for repetitive tasks and it’s an app I keep finding new ways to use.

An iPad Pro in a Logitech Combo Touch case is sitting on a small circular, glass top table. On the screen of the iPad are multiple app windows being used in Stage Manager.

An iPad Pro Revival

I don’t often speculate about upcoming Apple announcements but I’m going to make an exception with this post. And it’s nothing complicated, just putting a few pieces together. Most of it is probably pretty obvious to folks who have been paying attention Apple news over recent months. Before I continue, for anyone not familiar with my blog, I’m a full-time, very satisfied iPad Pro user. I’m not someone who struggles with the iPad, not someone who longs for macOS on the iPad. For me, iPadOS sings and my interest is in seeing what Apple does to refine the iPad experience rather than any hope of a macOS to iPad face-plant, er, transplant.

May 29, 2023. We’re a week past the release of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the iPad. Apple first announced the release on May 9th and it took everyone by surprise. It’s always fun when they can still surprise everyone! Boom. And, interesting that such a significant announcement is done by a press release a month before WWDC. For the most part the reviews have been very positive. The two most repeated critiques of FCP for iPad: No round tripping to and from the Mac and no editing off of external hard drives. But given this is the initial release, it seems reasonable to expect that these two features will be added before long.

We’re one week away from WWDC 2023. The rumors of a VR/AR headset have been buzzing for the past year. In recent months it’s been rumored that the headset would be running many of Apple’s apps in an iPad-like form. Many assume the headset is now a certainty that will be announced at WWDC 2023.

While much of the excitement about WWDC 2023 has centered on speculation about the headset, it’s OS and features, I’m curious about the connection that might exist between the headset and the iPad or, more specifically, the potential commonality between the two operating systems.  Given the rumor that the headset will, essentially, be running iPad apps, this seems a relevant question to consider. Given the need for energy efficiency, it would make sense that the OS running the headset would be more like iOS or iPadOS than macOS. If true, well, then there is now a new category of hardware that runs on the iOS family.

Another rumor, discussed far less, is a larger iPad Pro, perhaps 15 or 16″. With the release of FCP and Logic Pro for iPad, a larger iPad Pro would make a lot of sense. And of course with these new pro apps, it also starts to seem inevitable that Xcode for the iPad will be released. We’ve seen some big improvements to Swift Playgrounds in the past couple years but still no Xcode.

Last year we saw quite a few improvements to iPadOS and the stock iPad apps. Much of this was overshadowed by a few prominent pundits that disliked the implementation of Stage Manager. I’m not going to dwell on that other than to say that the negativity around the feature is greatly overblown. Though not what some wanted, many of us use it and actually like it. It’s certainly made my iPad experience much better, allowing me to use 3-4 apps at once. It’s been a real and measurable productivity boost for the work I do. At the very least, it is Apple’s first step towards an improved multitasking experience on the iPad.

But looking at the improvements brought to iPadOS over the past 2 to 3 years, we have an OS that is has steadily matured. The Files app has had many previously missing features added and is now fully functional, nearly on par with the Mac Finder. Stock apps like Notes, Mail, Safari, Reminders have all seen significant improvements.

Putting the puzzle pieces together
If the rumors are true it would seem that Apple has also been developing the headset and its OS for awhile. For several years they’ve been publicly promoting Augmented Reality and LiDAR with new hardware and software features on the iPhone and iPad. Tim Cook has been outspoken of his support of AR during that time.

In a week Apple will begin to provide more details about where this journey is going and how they expect these devices to work together. Given previous years development of the larger Apple ecosystem, it seems likely that not much has been left to chance. Apple has a well thought out plan that it’s been following. It would seem a given that the time and energy put into the development of LiDAR and AR in iOS and iPadOS has been a part of the process of developing the OS and hardware for the headset.

Of particular interest to me: how will the features and technology put into the headset OS overlap or come back to iPadOS?

My expectations and hopes for the iPad in 2023 and 2024 is that Apple will continue to fill out and refine the OS and the default apps. I think most of this list is just an obvious continuation of what we’ve already seen.

What I’m hoping or expecting to see in terms of iPadOS and apps:

  • Files: More customizable tool bar, more complete indexing of file contents for better search results, more column options in list view
  • Improved or added support for smart lists, saved searches in apps like Files, Mail, Notes, Reminders, Contacts
  • Improved Safari bringing it ever closer to the full desktop experience
  • Improvements for Stage Manager and multitasking
  • Improvements to virtual memory and background tasks for apps like Final Cut Pro
  • While Pages, Numbers and Keynote are all excellent apps, there’s more to do to bring them fully in-line with the Mac apps
  • As the new app in the Apple ecosystem, Freeform could use some big improvements. This app should really shine on the iPad.
  • FCP: To start I’d expect to have the above mentioned missing features addressed: round tripping to and from the Mac, editing from external storage
  • Xcode. I’d guess that in 2023 Swift Playgrounds will again be improved but that we’ll also see Xcode for iPad. First to what will be described as Xcode lite and then to something closer to the full version.
  • Improved Lock Screen that will bring last year’s iPhone Lock Screen improvements to the iPad
  • Improved widgets, perhaps with new options for interaction

An iPad Pro 15 or 16″. Along with this I’d hope/expect to see other iPad accessories as Apple broadens the iPad platform. A new version of the Magic Keyboard. The iPad Pro needs better battery life, I’m hoping we’ll see this in the form of a new Magic Keyboard with an integrated battery that can charge the iPad. I imagine the Brydge form factor but with more ports. I can imagine this combination being the iPad Studio. Larger iPad, FaceTime camera moved to the long side, M3, detachable Magic Keyboard that boosts the iPad to 20 hours of battery life. I’d expect it to have the same battery life as a MacBook Pro but weighing in a bit more as it would be 2 batteries. Also, maybe a redesigned Magic Keyboard for the current line of 13″ iPad Pro and a new M3 13″ iPad Pro.

In short I expect that Apple will double down on its commitment to the iPad platform: hardware, iPadOS, Pro apps and accessories.

Last, a few words on the larger Apple Ecosystem and the new headset as the new TV

  • iCloud Pro?
  • More sharing, collaboration and development of the iCloud and app ecosystem into a more complete social network.
  • Whatever is happening with the headset I’d expect Apple to market it as the new TV. Talking to family members that all have iPhones, I’ve recently become more aware of their media consumption habits. It’s more individualistic than I realized. It occurs to me that the long-term vision of the headset might simply be the new TV: Movies, shows, sports and as a general purpose computer. I’d speculate that Apple hopes that in 5 years homes with iPhone users will have 1 or more headsets that have replaced flatscreen tvs.
A screenshot of Apple's Final Cut Pro for iPad page. The headline says: Bring your entire studio to your shoot.

Pundit fact check: Final Cut Pro and iPadOS

Yet another installment of an “Apple pundit ignores the facts to write a clickbait story about the limitations of iPadOS”. It’s a bummer that they just make stuff up to fit their preferred narrative. Filipe Espósito over at 9to5Mac in his work of fiction, Final Cut for iPad highlights iPadOS limitations:

This week, Apple finally released Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the iPad – two highly anticipated apps for professionals. While this is a step in the right direction, these apps highlight the limitations of iPadOS.

I tried using Final Cut for the iPad, but…
I wasn’t expecting the iPad version to have all the features available on the Mac in version 1.0. However, the limitations go beyond what I was expecting. And some of these limitations are due to how iPadOS works.

The “limitations” he attributes to iPadOS:

  • That FCP does not allow editing off of an external SSD is true but it’s a limitation of FCP. LumaFusion and DaVinci Resolve both have this feature
  • The lack of some keyboard shortcuts in FCP has nothing to do with iPadOS
  • The interaction of FCP with Stage Manager is critiqued but again, this is how Apple has implemented FCP. I’ve not used DaVinci Resolve but LumaFusion has no problem with Stage Manager on the iPad screen or full screen on an external screen. It’s excellent.
  • Round-tripping a FCP project from iPad to Mac and back. Again, this is likely a limitation of FCP not iPadOS.

An iPad is connected to an external display. The app LumaFusion is full screen on the display.

Using LumaFusion on the iPad with an external display

Okay, background export of a movie. To some degree this is a limitation of FCP but also I suspect iPadOS. Certainly Apple made it a choice to not allow it. Using an M1 iPad Pro with 8 GB of memory it’s possible to do a background export with LumaFusion. I just did it. That said, it does fail if I try to do many other tasks with LumaFusion in the background the whole time. I can hop to Notes or Mail or Safari with no problem. But if I were to leave an export in the background and try to hop from Notes to Mail to Safari then back to the export it will have failed. I’d guess that an iPad with 16 GB of memory would do better. And I’d guess that more could be done with iPadOS to allow for apps to be given priority for such background tasks.

Espósito concludes, “And with all these limitations, I’ve given up using Final Cut on the iPad. I’m sure a lot of first-time video makers will have a great time using Final Cut on the iPad. But for those professional users, having a Mac is still the way to go. Hopefully, iPadOS 17 can put an end to some of these limitations.”

He seems to consider himself a “professional” but I would think a professional journalist would have more regard for the truth. Ignoring or distorting the facts to fit a narrative doesn’t make much of a case that one’s journalism is professional.

A graphic depicting a classic Mac with a sad face

Why are Mac users so unhappy with their Mac?

For at least a couple years the Apple pundit mantra has been “the iPad isn’t pro unless Apple brings its pro apps to it”. Well, Apple has begun that process last week with the announcement of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for iPad. As I expected the primarily Mac using pundits are moving the goal posts. Here’s one example that popped up today from Dan Moren in his Stay Foolish column at Macworld, Final Cut Pro changes everything and nothing about the iPad:

This past week, Apple once again took a step towards the idea of the iPad as the modern-day computer replacement with its long-awaited announcement of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the platform–but is it too little, too late?

“Is it too little, too late?” See, right off, it’s not enough. For long-time Mac users nothing Apple does with the iPad will ever make it explicitly a Mac and so the goal posts will always be shifting. Moren mentions Xcode as another missing pro app. In recent years Apple has added new features to Swift Playgrounds, making it a more capable app and I suspect that Apple will, eventually, bring Xcode to the iPad which will move the iPad closer to being complete. But that won’t be enough either.

Hopefully Apple will add the audio input/output features podcasters like Federico Viticci have been asking for. But that’s a very tiny group of users and while it will satisfy that particular need, again, it won’t be enough. The goal posts will move again and again.

Jumping right to the end of Moren’s article, he suggests an iPad that shifts over to being a Mac when connected to a keyboard:

The idea of a device that works as a Mac while connected to a keyboard and an iPad while detached might seem like an unholy Frankstein’s toaster fridge to some, but after 13 years of the iPad, I’d argue that people are pretty comfortable with going back and forth between two (or more) separate devices with different interfaces. Why not find a way to consolidate them?

This is really is what Mac users want. They want a touch screen Mac and evidence thus far seems to indicate that they’ll never be happy with iPadOS. Which is totally fine, it’s not for them. But perhaps they should just move along and be happy with their Macs. And yet, they continue to linger on the iPad. It’s almost as if their Macs are incomplete, not quite enough for them. But they seem stuck between devices that they’re not quite happy with.

Moren writes:

What we’re all looking for, ultimately, is the right tool for the job.

Mac users contend that that tool is the Mac, that it is the more complete computer. My suggestion and hope for them is that they can just accept the Mac and move on. Be happy with your Mac. When you need a portable touch screen be happy with your iPhone. Or add in an iPad Mini for your content consumption. Not every device is for you.

I’ve written here many times about my gradual transition to being a full time iPad user. It was gradual and complete. I learned iPadOS and became comfortable with it. With each new iteration of iPadOS I’ve been more satisfied as new features were added. But throughout that time I’ve generally been satisfied, no, delighted by the iPad. I don’t spend my time longing for the iPad to have Mac features or to have it be a Mac. I wish the same for Mac users, that they can learn to be satisfied with what they have in the Mac and not spend so much time wishing for a different computer.

A screenshot of Apple's Final Cut Pro for iPad page. The headline says: Bring your entire studio to your shoot.

A few thoughts on FCP-Logic on iPad…

I’m generally not big on hot takes so gave myself a few days to consider before attempting a blog post. As for the news of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro for the iPad, well, fantastic! Personally, I don’t do much video editing. I’ve currently got a personal/family project going in LumaFusion. My next project might be in FCP just for the fun of learning it. Way back around 2001 -2005 I spent some time doing video work and learned FCP but I’ve not had much use for it since then. I’m looking forward to giving it a go.

But to the larger question of the apps, the platform and the response thus far, as I’ve written about before the loudest complaints about the lack of Apple Pro apps for the iPad seems to come from Apple/tech focused pundits, podcasters, and YouTubers. Some in the first two categories have already admitted in their hot takes on the new release that the don’t actually use those two apps so… 🙄 I expect they’ll keep complaining about the lack of Xcode even though most of them also do not use that.

As for the Apple/tech YouTubers I predict that it will shake out like this: those that have very expensive FCP desktop set-ups will keep using those most of the time for most of their work. Why wouldn’t they if they already have invested so much in a desk-top based workflow? But many of the folks that prefer a mobile workflow away from the desk will try out FCP for iPad and many will use it, prefer it. And of course there will be those that loudly share how it’s not good enough or how it’s still held back by iPadOS. 🙄

Other categories of users: iPad first folks that have been happily using LumaFusion. Some of them will switch over to FCP but others will stay with LumaFusion because it allows editing projects using media from an external drive. LF is pretty feature rich and I suspect many of its users will remain with it.

Then there are the DaVinci Resolve users. It’s relatively new on iPad and I suspect it’s user base consists of folks that were/are also serious users of the desktop version of DaVinci Resolve. They’ll stay with DaVinci Resolve. And some are probably LumaFusion users that are trying out DR as an experiment. They’ll probably also try out FCP and some of them will end up switching. I’m guessing these folks are kind of up in the air at the moment.

FCP/Logic on the iPad don’t seem to be “lite” versions but full versions with a touch-adapted interface. Some features are missing from FCP like round-tripping and editing from files on an external drive will likely be added in an update. But also, these apps seem to be aimed at younger users that are focused on creating for social media like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube. I suspect that there will be some solid adoption there.

In it’s first promo video Apple is touting fast turn-around, quick production on the iPad using it as both camera and editor. For some this will be attractive.

But thinking about the Continuity camera feature that allows for an iPhone to be used with a Mac for live FaceTime calls, I can imagine a new feature with iOS 17 where such live video allows for capture from iPhone to an iPad running FCP. This would seem to be a pretty attractive feature in certain scenarios. But the point is this is just the first shoe to drop in FCP for iPad, new features will come and given Apple’s track record of ecosystem integration, I can imagine we can expect to see them offer up features like the above.

I’d guess it won’t be too long before we see a new version of FCP for Mac that further leverages the hardware ecosystem with round tripping from iPad to Mac and adding in the iPhone as a live camera feed for Mac FCP as well. Again, just my speculation.

I’m glad to see Apple deliver these apps if for no other reason then it might dampen some of the continued complaining from the primarily Mac using pundits. It also boosts the notion that Apple is committed to the iPad as a platform. Mac users not happy with the iPad should just move on. Those that want to use the iPad as their computer can continue doing so but with added assurance that Apple continues to take the iPad seriously.

A few related links of note:

iJustine actually had some hands on time: her video

Dylan Bates, a Final Cut Pro YouTuber offers his thoughts FCP for iPad. Not surprisingly, there were several FCP using YouTubers offering their takes based the above linked promo video and Apple’s website.

And Jason Snell at Six Colors offered his thoughts

Apple Notes for Journaling and Blogging?

As is common with many Apple nerds, I like to play with text apps. My primary purpose is blogging which has also served as a journal of sorts.

For quite a long time I used ByWord for this. Then Ulysses then iA Writer. iA Writer stuck longer than almost anything else. Then a brief dalliance with Obsidan, Taio, and Notebooks. I’ve spent the past few months with Notebooks which has served pretty well. Review here. The only problem there is that it continues to be somewhat wonky. It’s a great app but often feels buggy. So I’ve been using it as a partner with iA Writer. Where Notebooks shines is in adding images for blog posts. I can copy a single or multiple images from Photos then insert into a Notebooks draft. Not only does the app downsize from full quality but inserts each as a Markdown link. If I move the file to a folder it also moves the images to a corresponding sub folder. It works fantastically.

So, why mess with it if it’s working? Yesterday in the Mac Break Weekly podcast Andy Ihnatko recommended Day One for journaling. I’d never tried it. There’s a free option so I downloaded it. My thought being, hmm, perhaps I could have a private journal in addition to blogging? Okay, will try it. Then thought, hmmm, I could also use this for blogging. I always gravitate to blogging.

I spent an hour with it and loved it. All except for the fact that using the arrow keys while writing/editing text does not move the cursor up or down, left or right, but navigates the files. Ugh. Well, that’s a show stopper. No setting I could find to change it. But so much to like about the app other than that.  Edit to add that upon trying this again today, well, it works as expected. Unless it was something wonky with my keyboard I’ll have to say it was user error. 😬

The free version does have other limitations such as no sync between devices, only one image per post, only one journal. So, with these things in mind I started thinking again about Apple’s Notes app.

In the past I’d thought to try to make Notes work as a part of my blogging process. It didn’t quite take. So, this morning, I’ve spent a couple hours tinkering. I whipped up a Shortcut to create a new note with a template similar to the default Day One posts. Basically, just the date, weather and a default Journal hashtag. Also spent more time really looking at the organizing possibilities of Notes. It’s not that complicated but I’ve never given it a proper go.

Step two, then, was to set up some proper organization in Notes. A mix of folders and smart folders. I’d already tried tags which works well. So, I’ve added a few. I’d like to try the journaling thing as a sort of foundation or addition to the longstanding practice of blogging. In theory, I’d like the journal to contain everything the blogs have with additional private text. So, a dedicated Journal folder. Going forward most new notes will get tagged as Journal. For text that I intend to post to one of my two blogs, those will get additional tags appropriate to the blog. Initially I think everything will go into the Journal folder. If I want to see the blog posts on their own I’ll use a Smart Folder based on the tag. I can always move these later into actual folders if that’s the choice.

My tentative workflow will go something like this. Run a shortcut to start new Journal entries using the template. For blog items, I might just start a new note or, if I’m sharing a link from Safari as I often do I’ll use a Shortcut that converts the article to Markdown and creates a new note. What about blog posts with photos? Well, as it turns out, notes with images can be shared to Notebooks via the share sheet.

Any post, with or without a photo can be easily shared from Notes to Notebooks. So, once I’ve got a post ready for sharing I’ll just send it to Notebooks, hop over to iA Writer which has direct publishing to Micro.blog and WordPress and which has access to my Notebooks folder. With a tap I’ve got the post open then another tap to publish. So, this workflow starts in Notes, ends in iA Writer and I have a copy in the Notes app as well as a discrete Markdown file in iCloud. Exactly what I want.

Downsides? Notes does not have built-in support of Markdown. Apps that do have that support provide convenient one-click formatting or keyboard shortcuts. But it’s not all that hard to type the Markdown code when needed as it’s designed to be simple. Notes tries to do fancy preview links which are nice but not what I want. I don’t think there’s an option to turn that off. But just pasting a url  works.

Editing to add that after originally posting this to the blog someone on Mastodon chimed in that Everlog is another nice journaling app with Markdown support. I’m trying it out and it is excellent and doesn’t have the flaws that Day One has. Now that I’ve got this handy-dandy Notes based system I’m not sure though that I want to abandon it.

Moft Snap Case and Snap Float Stand Review

Several months ago I decided to try out a couple of iPad accessories from Moft. They have a series of products called the Snap System  that are designed to work  together. I bought the Snap Case and the Snap Float Stand. The various items can be purchased separately or in bundles. Their website is a little confusing when trying to create bundles.

An image of an iPad Pro sitting on a lap desk. The images is from the side showing that the iPad is propped up with a kickstand attached to the back. A keyboard is in front of the iPad.

Of the various iPad accessories I’ve tried over the years I think this pair is my favorite. While I spend some time at a desk I’m often on a futon/beanbag and this combination works great in both places. In both situations it works well to be propped up at various angles in the horizontal or portrait positions. The float stand is also a kickstand that can be used in so many different orientations that it is basically without limit. And it’s very stable on a pillow in my lap.

A fairly typical configuration over the course of a day:
An iPad Pro is sitting on a pillow.
An iPad with an adjustable kickstand attached to the back via a magnet. The iPad is resting on a pillow.iPad propped up in horizontal position, Pencil attached at bottom. This is nice as it keeps the bottom of the screen up off of the pillow and accessible for swiping.

An iPad propped up in horizontal position, Pencil attached at top, front viewFlipped, the pencil on top.
An iPad propped up in horizontal position, Pencil attached at top, rear view showing standiPad propped up in horizontal position, Pencil attached at top

An iPad propped up in portrait mode, photo of backside showing the stand
An iPad propped up in portrait modeiPad propped up in portrait mode

I find that with this case and stand I’ve been using the iPad as a tablet far more because I like having it propped up but without a keyboard in the way. If I want a keyboard I can just reach over and grab it. If I want a keyboard/trackpad I can attach it to the Magic Keyboard which is also nearby.

Because the stand and case are magnetic the stand pulls away easily. I did find that the embedded magnets in the Snap Case were not as strong as I wanted them and I was getting accidental detachments when readjusting the stand angles. Moft includes an extra sticky metal plate with the stand so I attached that to the case as it provides a much stronger connection that never comes off accidentally.

The Snap Case is really thin and Apple’s Magic Keyboard attaches just fine to the Snap Case and closes too though it bulges a bit with the added thickness. That said, because the case is so thin it’s not going to provide much protection in a fall though it does provide a bit protection in terms of daily wear along the edges and back-side.

A few last notes. First, the case also has a convenient spot for the Pencil. If you have a Pencil and like keeping it close by this is a nice addition. It also serves as an extra place to hold the iPad. Second, while the case provides access to the 3 buttons on the outer edges of the iPad it makes it fairly difficult to actually press those buttons.

In terms of durablity, I’ve been using the stand for most of the past  7 months and it’s held up very well. The hinges are as solid as the day I started using it.

An iPad Pro in the Magic Keyboard sits below an external display. Affinity Publisher is the active window on the iPad. Several app windows are visible on the external display.

Affinity Publisher for iPad Review

Back in November I published a mini-review of Affinity Publisher for iPad.. At the time I’d only had a week to work with it but was happy with the app. It’s now been four months and I thought I’d offer an update. Serif have released 4 small bug fixes but most of the larger bugs have yet to be fixed. In my experience there have been just three bugs that have been a bit of a bother. The first, some fonts show up in Chinese characters instead of being displayed in English. Second, sometimes the app stops taking input from an external keyboard, restarting the app fixes the issue. The third really isn’t a bug at all because it’s specifically a problem related to using the app on an external display which Serif have said is not yet a supported feature. For now using the app on an external display is useless because the the right side context toolbar disappears anytime a tool is changed using the left side toolbar. Technically Stage Manager isn’t supported at all but I’ve found the app works fine with Stage Manager turned on.

In general the app has been very stable and usable in my four months of use. And to be clear, it’s not just usable, it’s smooth and responsive on the M1 iPad, 8GB of memory. Being able to work with touch, Pencil and trackpad is a real pleasure.

The foundation of Publisher was put down in 2019 with the desktop version of the app. It was a solid foundation offering excellent performance and a well rounded feature set.

Where Publisher really shines is in multi page documents and it has not disappointed in that role. Newsletters, reports, brochures, magazines or anything of that sort. I’ve also been using it for all my single page documents as it has linked text boxes and text wrap, two features not found in Affinity Designer which is what I would have used for single page designs previously.

A screenshot of Affinity Publisher on the iPad. The screenshot shows a document page being designed and is highlighting the top toolbar that is active when the text tool is selected.

The usual tools one expects to have with this kind of app are on the left toolbar. As you would expect, as you change tools the top toolbar changes to reflect the options associated with the selected tool. On the right side is a vertical stack called the context toolbar represented by icons that allow for the full range of options you need for whatever tool might be selected. So, for example, when you’re working with text you’ll see the most common tool options in the top tool bar but most of the options are only visible when you click to the text tool button on the right side context toolbar. Note all of the disclosure > icons on the right side. Tap into each one for another menu of text related options. Just as they did with Affinity Designer and Photo, Serif have done an excellent job translating the desktop interface to the iPad.

A screenshot of Affinity Publisher on the iPad. The screenshot shows a document page being designed and is highlighting the Text context toolbar.

A powerful app like Publisher, by definition is more complicated than many other apps. I’ve seen people complain that Pages is too complicated and, well, Publisher does far more than Pages. This isn’t an app you’re going to open for the first time and suddenly understand. It can take some time to learn and remember all of the options. It took me several days of repeated use to remember which sub menus in the text tools contained which options. But as you use it you’ll see that the submenus are organized with purpose. For example, when I tap into the Leading disclosure triangle the resulting submenu is appropriately titled Spacing and it’s here that I can change the spacing around paragraphs and other options.

A screenshot of Affinity Publisher on the iPad. The screenshot shows a document page being designed and is highlighting the submenu for spacing text.

A word of advice if you’re just getting started, the built in help is also available on the web and it can be useful to have that open as it allows you to bounce back and forth between the app and the help while you’re working. The built in help system is located within the main app home page and unfortunately it’s not possible to access the help while working on a file In addition to the help Serif has also posted quite a few Publisher tutorial videos on their YouTube channel and these are worth checking out.

A screenshot of Affinity Publisher on the iPad. The screenshot shows a document page being designed and is highlighting the submenu for character and paragraph titles.

Another submenu while working in the text context sidebar is character and paragraph styles

For many iPad users Apple’s Pages app is all that’s needed. That app has also had many features added over the years and is quite capable for laying out documents. I used it for years designing a wide variety of reports, newsletters and brochures. Affinity Publisher is a competitor to Adobe’s InDesign. It will open InDesign IDML files as well as pdfs for conversion to Publisher files.

Unlike Adobe’s various iPad apps, Publisher on iPad is the full app with the full feature set. Should you want to edit a Publisher file shared by someone or share to someone using Publisher on a Mac or Windows, it’s no problem as long as the file will be opened with version 2 of the app on those platforms (Files created by Publisher 2 or any of the Affinity 2 apps are not backwards compatible so cannot be opened by the version 1 apps. If you’ll be sharing a file with someone else be sure to confirm that they’ve updated to version 2 of the app).

Not only are files cross compatible between iPad, Windows and Mac, but all three apps of the suite can open files from the other apps. So, for example, it’s no problem to open a Designer or Photo file in Publisher. The file can continue to be edited and saved in its original format.

A screenshot of Affinity Publisher on the iPad. The screenshot shows a document page being designed and is highlighting the Photo persona with different photo oriented tools in the sidebars.

Notice the Publisher icon in the top left has been replaced by the Photo icon. Also the sidebars reflect the tools found in Affinity Photo.

The last feature I’ll mention is perhaps one of the best. StudioLink, allows me to open up an a vector graphic in Designer or an image in Photo without actually leaving the Publisher app. It’s an amazing feature though it does require that you have all three apps installed to work. From within the Publisher app the other two apps are referred to as “Personas”. Open them up as needed by tapping the Publisher icon in the top left of the window where you’ll see a dropdown menu showing the other two apps. Choose the other app you need and the Publisher toolset will instantly change to the tools and features found in the other apps. Make adjustments to images from the Photos Persona, create advanced vector graphics or edit embedded vectors from within the Designer Persona. You have the full range of the tools found in the app you’ve “switched” to. When finished just tap back to the Publisher Persona to return to page layout. The transition is seamless and instant.

Serif has set a high bar with the Affinity apps on the iPad and Publisher allows all three to work together seamlessly. And at a time when Apple pundits continue to doubt the potential of the iPad as a powerful tool for creative work, Serif demonstrates what is possible.

If only those pundits could occasionally step away from the churning the rumor mill for a bit they might actually discover there are still innovative developers working hard to create valuable tools used by real people in the real world.

Serif’s Affinity 2 apps continue to be a fantastic bargain. Buy single apps or buy the universal license and use the Mac, Windows or iPad apps, no subscription, these are a one time purchase.

Apple Pundit: The iPad is Doomed

Apparently debunking iPad misinformation has become one of my hobbies. Sometimes I’m able to just walk away but the lure of “someone is wrong on the internet” is strong, so, here I am. The latest is Michael Gartenberg at Business Insider. Of course, it begins with a pure link-bait title: I Was a Die-Hard Apple iPad Fan. Not Anymore — Here’s Why. . It’s behind a paywall but you can use Safari’s Reader Mode to get around that. Not that I encourage you to give them the click. I’ve got full quotes below.

The article came to my attention when I was browsing the iPad hashtag on Mastodon. I found Michael’s post via another user’s response. I engaged him but, like the article, found his responses lacking substance. These articles really are just filler text for clicks, all repeating the same narrative and offering little in the way of actual thought. And they get paid for this.

Let’s get this over with.

I still own an iPad Pro, but I hardly ever reach for it. It’s a cool device and significantly better than what was introduced in 2010. At the same time, it’s a jack-of-all-trades but master of none, so I can no longer justify its existence as part of my ecosystem.

Okay, Michael admits that he hardly uses his iPad. In my exchange on Mastodon I pointed to this as evidence that, perhaps, if he’s not regularly using the device it’s also possible that he’s not keeping up with the new features. Other Apple Pundits often complain about missing features that are not actually missing and are often easy to find if given minimal effort. But he assured me that he’s very familiar with iPadOS.

Also note his mention of it being a “jack-of-all-trades” but master of none. In this context it would seem he’s referring to the iPad as a general purpose computer to which I would respond: Yes, exactly. We’ll get back to this later but he’s not really clear on what he actually means here.

One of the iPad’s biggest issues is that its hardware is increasingly overpowered relative to the apps available for the device. With each new iteration, the iPad has gotten faster and more capable, but the quality and quantity of iPad apps have not kept pace, despite Apple’s promises of “desktop class” apps for it.

I believe he’s referencing last year’s WWDC when Apple introduced iPadOS improvements that would enable new options for the toolbar in apps. Apple’s own apps such as Pages, Keynote, and Numbers now take advantage of this as do some third party apps. It’s up to developers to add these new features to their apps.

So iPad users, like myself, are paying a premium for hardware that is far more advanced than the software we are able to run on it.

I’d be curious to know what apps Michael actually wants to use that are unavailable. What I see of Apple pundits is that many seem to earn their living writing or talking into a microphone. Are they also film editors, audio engineers and app developers on the side?

But really, it’s become a Apple pundit trope. It’s the exact same for all of these types of articles and it’s not true that pro-level apps are not available.

For writers like Michael there is a wide range of word processor apps. For general office work there are Apple’s own iWork offerings as well as Microsoft’s Office and lots of other excellent text and markdown apps.

Later in the article in further mentioning “pro” apps that are on the Mac but not the iPad he writes: “everything from Adobe’s creative applications to Microsoft’s Visual Studio, or for that matter, Apple’s own app-development platform, Xcode.”

See, these are probably not apps Michael needs at all. And I’d guess that it’s a very small group, proportionally, that needs Xcode or Visual Studio. The same for Final Cut Pro or Logic. Remember, the headline of this article is all about why Michael had to give up the iPad. He never actually says anything at all about his personal use case. This is really more about doing a hit piece on the iPad because that’s a popular thing to do.

But let’s play along a little further. He specifically calls out Adobe as missing. Weird. I’ve got the App Store open and Adobe Illustrator for iPad has 26,000 ratings with an average of 4.6. Photoshop has 52,000 ratings, average of 4.4. There’s also Lightroom with 31,000 ratings, 4.8 average, Premiere Rush, 107,000 ratings, 4.6 average and Fresco 30,000 ratings, 4.7 average. Also available is Adobe Acrobat for editing pdfs (there are lots of pdf editors). Wow, if only Adobe had some iPad apps maybe we could get something done over here.

Now, to be clear, I don’t use these apps and from skimming reviews these apps are not yet equal to their desktop counterparts. Even so, they have many thousands of reviews with a decent average rating. So, it would appear at least some out there find them useful. And in the end it’s on Adobe to develop these apps.

But what Michael does not acknowledge anywhere in the article is the fact that over the past several years many third party developers have worked very hard to bring pro level apps to the iPad. Before Adobe got in the game Serif brought Affinity Designer and Photo to the iPad several years ago. And with their most recent 2.0 update they’ve also brought Publisher into the suite for iPad. It’s a full on, fully capable competitor to Adobe’s InDesign and one of my most used apps.

Another noticeable pro-level app is DaVinci Resolve, a well regarded video editor was recently released for the iPad and another high quality video editor is LumaFusion which has been available for several years. Very well regarded video editing apps but ignored by Michael. Not surprising given that the existence of all these apps (and many, many more) are counter to the Apple Pundit narrative that there are no pro-level apps available for the iPad.

But he jumps into another popular meme which is less about the iPad and more about Apple’s supposedly terrible relationship with developers. That goes beyond the scope of post but I did want to point out that to make his argument Michael cites a Twitter post by a developer who’s having issues with a game:

If Apple plans to make the iPad a truly capable device with first-class apps, it’s going to need to take developer relationships a lot more seriously. Developers should not have to appeal on social media to get Apple’s attention on highly subjective App Store rules and whims.

So, to be clear, the App Store and developer relations are an iPad problem and the one anecdote he points to, citing “first-class apps”, is a game.

Let’s move on.

Another major issue is that the user interface, based on iOS, has become increasingly complicated over time. With each new release of iOS, Apple has added features and functionality, making the operating system more powerful but more complex. This has made it more difficult for users to find the features they need, leading to confusion and frustration.

Okay, now we’re getting into the complaints of iPadOS. A common complaint from primarily Mac using pundits is that iPadOS too limited, too simple. But here Michael is suggesting that it’s too complicated, with too many features and too much functionality. My head is spinning and I think I’ve got whiplash. How is iPadOS simultaneously too basic and not powerful enough and yet it is too complicated with added features and functionality.

And remember, by his own admission, Michael hardly ever touches his iPad. And yet he expects to know how to use the new features? Is this supposed to happen via osmosis when he touches his iPad? Look, if you want a more powerful, more capable OS you will have to take at least a little time learning those new features as they are added. Some actual effort is needed to learn how to use a more complicated, powerful device.

You know what else requires a new user to spend some time learning? A Mac. A new Mac user has to take time to explore and become familiar with the features. As iPadOS becomes more capable users that want to take advantage will have to do the same.

Some users will just use the more basic functionality that’s been present in the iPad for the past 13 years. My parents, both iPad users, have no idea that split screen exists, they’ve never used that feature. Using two windows of the same app side by side? Not a thing for them. What’s multi-tasking? They just happily use the very simple iPad. That’s the balance Apple continues to maintain for different users.

Michael then discusses yet another “problem” of the too simple, too complicated iPad: gestures. Yes, it’s true, the iPad started life as a touch screen computer! That meant learning gestures. 13 years ago they were simpler and over the years more have been added. Does Michael expect that a new user should just be able to pick up the iPad and by virtue of touching it they would know all of these gestures?

Here are just a few examples. The iPad supports a wide variety of gestures, including swipes, pinches, and taps, that can be used to navigate and interact with apps. But many users find these gestures hard to learn, and they are not apparent without some explanation or guidance beyond what the iPad offers.

Let’s be clear, these are all the same gestures that one uses with an iPhone but we don’t see an outcry about how hard the iPhone is to use! So weird that it’s only a problem on the iPad.

Somehow, my 80 year old granny who’s only computer use prior to her iPad was playing solitaire on an old Windows PC was able to manage her iPad within a couple hours of practice sitting next to a family member. Within a few days she was happily sending email, posting to Facebook, getting games, sending messages. The same for several others in my family that had never used a desktop computer. Did they pick up their iPad and suddenly know how to use it? Actually, those that had iPhones did. They got it instantly. Others needed a little guidance in the first few hours. But all became proficient in the basic, essential gestures within their first day or two.

But you know, for anyone that might need some tips or reminders going forward, there’s the internet. A search for iPad gestures yields this page from Apple.

Ever forward, we must push forward. We’re getting close to the end.

While the iPad is highly customizable, the process of customizing settings and preferences is more than a bit arcane. Configuring things like the “dock,” the “control center,” and your notifications can take some time to figure out, and the options are buried levels deep under settings.

Yeah, this isn’t the problem it’s being made out to be. This is called learning something new and it’s not specific to the iPad. Again, everything Michael mentions here is also true of the iPhone. Certainly, diving into the more powerful features of iPadOS, should a user want them, does require more effort, more time to explore and learn. Just as they might need to do on the Mac.

But at this point these “problems” of the iPad are greatly exaggerated and in some cases, not at all specific to the iPad. But, you know, juicy headline and all that.

Stage Manager, the iPad’s new showcase feature for multitasking, isn’t even turned on by default. It’s hidden away — and for good reason. It’s difficult to use, and I would need to write a full-length review to describe just how truly awful my experience with it has been.

It is off by default. Again, Apple sides with simplicity to cater to the larger pool of users that likely don’t want or need Stage Manager and probably have not even learned of its existence. That’s good. The “pro” users will have learned of Stage Manager (advanced users are those that pay attention to Apple-related news, Apple’s website, WWDC announcements, etc). They will have learned about Stage Manager and will turn it on when they’re ready to check it out.

But hard to use? No, it’s not. It’s really not. Is it more complicated than the previous windowing offered on the iPad. Of course, by definition, yes. It’s a new feature that does more, has more options. So yes, it does require at least a little effort, a little practice. But again, this is an advanced feature for advanced users. It should be expected that some effort will be involved. I’m not special, no super powers. I turned on Stage Manager and got the basics within minutes. With a little practice I was comfortable and having no problems other than the instability and oddities that came with running a beta. By the time of the final release it was vastly improved and much more usable.

An in-depth review from MacStories’ Federico Viticci tells you all you need to know: He spends most of it venting about his inability to get the feature to work without crashing his whole system.

No. No, his review does not tell us all we need to know. Look, Federico is known as the iPad guy. It’s a part of his online brand and how he earns his living. It’s beyond the scope of this post but it’s become a meme that the largely Mac-using Apple Punditry point to Federico as the exception to the rule. The stubborn guy who has to work extra hard to make the iPad work for him. “You can’t get real work done on an iPad” is a decade old meme and Federico is the most known Apple pundit fighting that fight. All the while being told: Just get a Mac! It’s become a part of the iPad story for those that listen to Apple/tech podcasts or read the websites.

There’s a lot to unpack with Federico, his role of championing the iPad in this sphere and his current take on the iPad. Again, not really the subject of this post so I’ll leave it.

The specific point I’d make is that Michael calls forth Federico as the sole authority who’s opinion is all we need to know and that’s ludicrous. I’ve got a news flash for Michael, there are likely many thousands of iPad users who are not Federico, who are not podcasters, who do not have his tastes or preferences and those users might well be very happy with Stage Manager. I know I am.

Okay, winding down with the last bit of the article in which Michael worries about the future of the iPad should Apple make a touch screen Mac.

A touchscreen MacBook would kill the iPad

Presumably, it would arrive as a touchscreen-keyboard situation, a form factor that’s more familiar and traditional for laptop users. This would make the iPad practically obsolete. Virtually anything one could do on an iPad would now be possible on a Mac, while the reverse would not be true.

Again, spoken like an Apple pundit who apparently has no family members that are not just like him. Does it really not occur to him that maybe some of the users of hundreds of millions of iPads that have been sold over the past 13 years would be better served by an easier to use iPad than they would a Mac? Mr. Gartenberg I’d like to introduce you to my granny, my aunt, my uncle, my mom, my dad, my sister… all of them iPad users, none of them Mac users.

Speaking for myself though, I don’t want a laptop. Some Mac users seem to find it hard to comprehend than some of us using the iPad do not want a laptop. Sometimes I do want a laptop like experience and that’s when I dock my iPad to a keyboard. That’s it, laptop mode achieved. But other times I want my iPad just a screen to be hand held or propped up on a kickstand. Nor do I want macOS. I used the Mac from 1993 till 2016 at which point I came to prefer the iPad.

So, no, I don’t think a touchscreen Mac (only a rumor at this point) will kill the iPad.

Apple pundits, please, please, do some original thinking and stop with the clickbait. If you feel that drawn to write about the iPad how about doing some quality tech journalism that harkens back to the late 90s when we could get real reviews of software instead of this stream of despair and outrage.