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Thoughts and First Impressions on the New iPad Pros from Apple’s Event in London

The new 13" iPad Pro.

The new 13” iPad Pro.

I just came back to my hotel from the media event Apple held earlier today in London at their Battersea Power Station headquarters. I had high expectations for the new generation of iPad Pros that Apple unveiled today – some of which were exceeded by reality (hardware), and others that were, regrettably but unsurprisingly, faced with the reality of the iPad platform (software).

What follows is a loose collection of notes and impressions from the event, where I was able to try both iPad Pro models multiple times and spend some quality time with their accessories.

Let’s dive in.

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Every App Tells a Story Worth Preserving, Even Warren Buffet’s Paper Wizard

You're Warren, and your job is to deliver newspapers.

You’re Warren, and your job is to deliver newspapers.

Apple anniversaries come and go. Some mark important milestones in the company’s history. Others celebrate products that have had outsized impacts on the world. Both have their place, but I prefer Door Number 3: Weird Apple Anniversaries.

That’s why today, on its fifth anniversary, it’s worth taking a moment to solemnly reflect on the legacy of one of Apple’s least culturally significant software releases ever: Warren Buffet’s Paper Wizard. I regret to say that I didn’t cover Warren Buffet’s namesake paper-tossing arcade game in 2019. So, to make amends, let’s take a look back at this gem that dropped out of nowhere five years ago today.

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Hands-on With France’s Digital ID App on the iPhone: Not as Digital as Digital Can Be

Almost three years ago now, Apple announced that it would support adding state IDs and driver’s licenses to the Wallet app on the iPhone and the Apple Watch, with the feature first rolling out to a handful of US states. Today, digital IDs in Wallet still haven’t materialized in most of the states that committed to support the feature back in 2021, and Apple hasn’t announced any expansion of the feature beyond the US.

Here in France, the government has long pledged to offer the ability to get a digital ID for all holders of the redesigned national identity card that started rolling out in 2021. The new ID card format was to be smaller than the old one (finally reaching the size of any standard credit card), but more importantly, it would feature an RFID chip that would enable contactless interactivity with, say, a dedicated terminal or any NFC-enabled smartphone. Fast-forward to today, and with this new ID card now widely in the hands of French citizens, France’s government has released France Identité, an app that allows any French ID card holder to get a digital version of their ID or driver’s license on their smartphone.

While the app was publicly made available earlier this year on iOS and Android, I have been using the beta for close to a full year now. France Identité is a strange, frustrating mix of physical and digital that says a lot about the privacy concerns and technical issues that inevitably get raised when a state wants to take their IDs digital.

Let’s take a look at the app, what it can do, and how it differs from Apple’s vision for digital IDs.

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How to Load Your Game Boy Games Onto the iPhone to Play in the Delta Emulator

So, you’ve probably seen the (totally justified) hype surrounding the Delta emulator’s launch on the App Store and downloaded it because, why not, it’s free. You may have also recalled that, like a lot of people, you have a box of old Game Boy cartridges stored somewhere that are gathering dust. Or, like me, maybe you spent way too much money on second-hand videogame sites during the COVID lockdown. Regardless of your Game Boy cartridge origin story, today I’m going to show you a simple way to breathe new life into those games by bringing them, along with your save files, to your iPhone.

The GB Operator. Source: Epilogue.

The GB Operator. Source: Epilogue.

The easiest way I’ve found to pull the game files from a Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance cartridge is with a little USB-C accessory called the GB Operator by Epilogue, or as I like to call it the Game Boy Toaster. That’s because the device looks like a top-loading transparent toaster that takes game cartridges instead of bread. If you have a big collection of game cartridges, the GB Operator is a great investment at $50 because it allows you to both play and back up your games using a Mac.

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HomeKit Gadgets: The MacStories Team Collection

John: Everyone on the MacStories team is deep into HomeKit devices. For me, smart home gadgets tick all the boxes:

  • Hardware
  • Software
  • Automation

It’s really as simple as that.

However, as fun as HomeKit devices can be, they can also be frustrating. The best accessories fit comfortably into your household, making life a little easier but falling back gracefully to a simple solution for anyone in your home who isn’t interested in automation. It sounds easy, but it’s a tough balancing act that few companies get right.

We’ve all tried our share of HomeKit and other smart home devices. Some have worked out, and others have fallen by the wayside as failed experiments. Today, we thought we’d pool our collective experience and share with you the MacStories team’s favorite smart home gadgets.

We have a lot of ground to cover, so this story will focus on indoor gadgets. Soon, we’ll shift our focus to the great outdoors.

[table_of_contents]

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Single-Space Challenge: Trying to Manage My macOS Windows All in One Virtual Desktop

A couple of weeks ago, in a members-only special episode of the Accidental Tech Podcast, John Siracusa went in-depth on his window management techniques on the Mac. This was absolutely fascinating to me. I strongly recommend checking the episode out if you can. One of the many reasons it captivated me is the fact that John Siracusa uses macOS in only a single space (the system’s name for virtual desktops) and lays out windows in a very specific way to take advantage of his entire display.

This is completely opposite of the way I’ve been managing and arranging windows on my Mac for the past ten years. To work on my Mac, I always heavily rely on having at least three spaces and switching between them on the fly depending on the task at hand. Moreover, I rarely keep more than two or three windows open at a time in each space.

However, since I’m always up for an experiment and shaking things up, I thought I would try going back to a single space on my Mac for a full week. I approached this by drawing inspiration from John Siracusa’s window management techniques and digging up an old Mac utility that helped me with the transition. I’ve learned a lot from this challenge; even more surprisingly, it has sparked in me a newfound interest in Stage Manager on the Mac.

Let me tell you how it went.

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Vision Pro Chronicles: My Custom ‘Dual Knit Open’ Setup for Maximum Comfort and Awareness

My custom Vision Pro setup. [This is the stand](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1679187530/dock-for-apple-vision-pro-apple-vision) I'm using.

My custom Vision Pro setup. This is the stand I’m using.

Vision Pro Chronicles is a MacStories series about our journeys with the Vision Pro. In this series, we’ll explore the potential of visionOS as a brand new platform in our workflows and personal lives, share how we’re using the Vision Pro on a daily basis, and cover interesting apps and accessories for the device.

You’ll be shocked to learn that I’m not using the Vision Pro in any of the default Apple configurations.

After two months spent testing a variety of different options for bands, straps, and other “mounting” solutions, I’ve found my ideal setup. It looks somewhat ridiculous at a glance, and it’s not for everyone, but it allows me to use the Vision Pro for longer sessions.

Most importantly, it helps me enjoy the Vision Pro more.

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Understanding the DOJ’s Antitrust Complaint Against Apple

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice, 15 states, and the District of Columbia sued Apple for alleged federal and state antitrust violations. Apple issued an immediate response, and before anyone had time to read the DOJ’s 88-page complaint, the Internet was overrun with hot takes.

However, the thing about lawsuits – and especially big, sprawling, high-stakes ones like the DOJ’s – is that they’re the proverbial tortoise to the Internet’s hare. Barring a settlement among the parties, the case against Apple isn’t likely to go to trial anytime soon. Add to that appeals, and this process is going to take years, not months.

So, since we have plenty of time, I thought I’d kick off our coverage at MacStories with a look at the DOJ’s complaint and its legal underpinnings, along with some observations on what’s going on and what you can expect to happen next.

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