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Adobe Fresco: A Fun and Powerful iPad Drawing and Painting App For Pros and Novices

I’m not an artist by any stretch, so when I started poking around Adobe’s Fresco, the drawing and painting app for the iPad and iPhone, I approached the app with trepidation. I shouldn’t have.

Fresco is undeniably a ‘pro’ iPad app. The app has a deep set of sophisticated features and integrations with Adobe’s other Creative Cloud apps and services. However, the app is also designed to scale with its users, meeting them where they start and growing with them, whether they are absolute beginners or seasoned pros.

Adobe accomplishes this in a couple of ways. The first is with Fresco’s business model. I’m sure many people who see an app of Fresco’s caliber assume it must be part of an expensive subscription, but it’s not. The app is free, and although there are benefits that only come with a Creative Cloud subscription, their absence from the free version of the app doesn’t detract from its core experience. You can go a long way with the free version, which makes it excellent for beginners and a good way for Adobe to attract new users.

Free is powerful, but it only goes so far. The second reason Fresco works for a broad spectrum of users is the app’s design. From the spot in the app to which every user is taken when they open their first canvas to the many ways to learn and draw inspiration from experienced users, Fresco’s thoughtful design provides a focused approach to drawing and painting that works for users at all levels.

Ultimately, it’s Fresco’s design that convinced me that this was a review I should write. I’m as guilty as the next person of assuming apps like Fresco are only for pro users. I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that that’s not true for Fresco. So let’s dive into what makes Fresco such a good place to start if you want to try drawing and painting with your iPad and iPhone.

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Apple Launches Kid-Friendly Podcast Collections

Apple has partnered with Common Sense Media to curate collections of podcasts for kids in the US. The shows are picked by Common Sense Media, an organization whose editors have a long history of helping parents and educators find age-appropriate media for children.

The shows currently highlighted in Apple Podcasts’ new collections are from a wide variety of creators like Tinkercast, American Public Media, Gen-Z Media, Pinna, Tumble, Highlights, WNYC Studios, Rebel Girls, and Nickelodeon. The collections will be updated monthly and will feature podcasts organized by age groups and themes. Currently, there are four themed collections available:

  • Common Sense Media Picks, a collection of some of the organization’s all-time favorite podcasts
  • One More!, a collection of mysteries and action-packed stories
  • Kids Know Best, shows picked by kids themselves
  • Story Time, which includes stories designed to spark kids’ imaginations
Some of the shows spotlighted in the One More! collection in Apple Podcasts.

Some of the shows spotlighted in the One More! collection in Apple Podcasts.

With the large number of podcasts available today, the guidance provided by these new collections is a terrific resource for families. There are a lot of shows here that I know my kids would have enjoyed when they were younger.

DEVONthink: Get Organized to Conquer the World [Sponsor]

DEVONthink is the one-stop, comprehensive solution for all your document and information management needs on the Mac and iOS. With DEVONthink, all of your documents, snippets, bookmarks, and more are available in one place, paired with powerful tools for organizing, managing, and searching it all. And right now, MacStories readers can purchase DEVONthink for 10% off.

The Mac app takes advantage of integrated artificial intelligence to assist you with filing new materials finding them with the app’s powerful search. Advanced Boolean operators and smart groups of saved searches make it easy to create refined searches that you can return to whenever you need them.

Managing your collection of documents and information is easy with DEVONthink smart rules and flexible reminders system too. Instead of manually managing everything, set up rules once and let DEVONthink take care of filing, renaming, imprinting PDFs, and other repetitive tasks. It’s surprising how leveraging just a few rules can automate the process, keeping your database organized.

DEVONthink also includes built-in OCR, so every PDF you save, whether it’s user manuals or a personal database of academic research papers, is fully text-searchable. Combined with DEVONthink’s powerful search capabilities, it’s the perfect solution for collections of reference materials of all kinds regardless of their size.

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There’s never been a better time to bring order to your documents, webpages, bookmarks, and everything else. Visit devontechnologies.com/macstories right now to learn more about how DEVONthink can help you gain the upper hand on your data and take advantage of a special 10% discount for readers.

Our thanks to DEVONthink for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Men’s Health Goes Behind-the-Scenes at Apple’s Fitness+ Studio→

Men’s Health was given a behind-the-scenes tour of Apple’s 23,000 square foot Fitness+ studio in Santa Monica, California. The publication also interviewed Jay Blahnik, Apple’s senior director of fitness for health technologies, and COO Jeff Williams for the story.

From the story’s photographs and description of the studio, it’s clear that Apple has put a lot of effort and money behind the Fitness+ classes:

“We want these workouts to be magical. We’re creating a piece of art, a piece of inspiration, a piece of motivation,” says Blahnik. “Many people might not think about the importance of lighting a cycling class differently than a yoga class, but we think it makes a difference.” Blahnik’s worked in fitness for more than 30 years. He developed fitness devices and apps at Nike in the mid-2000s, and he’s also a rowing instructor. “Fitness+ creates incredible workout experiences that are also beautiful.”

Classes are shot with a sophisticated setup that allows Apple to create videos tailored to each type of workout:

Seven cameras and three trainers might seem like overkill, but there’s a method to this muscle-building moviemaking. Apple shoots with high-end Super 35–format cinema cameras, in high definition. Mounting the cameras on robotic arms enables smooth movement, creating an elegant and intimate feel. “We built the studio in a way that would allow shooting all the angles to make the right choices to show just the right angle at just the right time,” says Blahnik.

There are a lot of interesting insights about how the classes are created by Apple’s team of instructors and fitness experts, too, so be sure to check out the full article.

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Apple Has Apparently Pulled the Plug on the iMac Pro

Apple hasn’t made an official announcement the iMac Pro’s future, but the Mac’s product page speaks volumes. As first reported by MacRumors, the configurable models of the iMac Pro are no longer available for purchase. The only remaining iMac Pro on Apple’s online store is the $4,999 base configuration, which Apple notes prominently at the top of the page will only remain available ‘While supplies last.’

Available 'While supplies last.'

Available ‘While supplies last.’

The iMac Pro was introduced by Apple at the end of 2017. The model has received minor updates over the past three years, but the hardware configuration has remained mostly unchanged. With the advent of the new Mac Pro and Apple’s M1 SoC Macs, speculation has been widespread that the iMac Pro might not survive the transition, which now appears to be the case.

With the iMac Pro gone, it will be interesting to see what becomes of the rest of Apple’s desktop Mac lineup. Will a more powerful M1-based iMac take its place, or will Apple introduce something entirely new like a smaller G4 Cube-inspired Mac Pro that Mark Gurman has said is coming? If Apple’s spring event schedule of the past few years is any indication, we could find out as early as the end of this month.

Update: Since this story’s original publication, Apple has confirmed to MacRumors that the iMac Pro has indeed been discontinued.

MacStories Unwind: A New Note-Taking Research App for the Mac, Spotify’s List of New and Upcoming Features Continues to Grow, and It’s Now Easier to Move Your iCloud Photo Library to Google Photos

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This week on MacStories Unwind:

MacStories

Club MacStories

  • MacStories Weekly
    • Federico’s Home Screens
    • Alex on MagSafe chargers
    • John with GoodTask Tips and a shortcut for extracting URLs from long Craft documents

AppStories

Unwind

Apple Clarifies Ability to ‘Set Default’ Audio Apps in iOS 14.5→

Earlier today, Apple provided TechCrunch with a fascinating clarification regarding the ability in iOS and iPadOS 14.5 to pick “default” audio apps for music, podcast, and audiobook playback.

From Sarah Perez’s article:

Apple has clarified that the iOS 14.5 beta is not actually allowing users to select a new default music service, as has been reported. Following the beta’s release back in February, a number of beta testers noticed that Siri would now ask what music service they would like to use when they asked Siri to play music. But Apple doesn’t consider this feature the equivalent to “setting a default” — an option it more recently began to allow for email and browser apps.

Instead, the feature is Siri intelligence-based, meaning it can improve and even change over time as Siri learns to better understand your listening habits.

For example, if you tell Siri to play a song, album or artist, it may ask you which service you want to use to listen to this sort of content. However, your response to Siri is not making that particular service your “default,” Apple says. In fact, Siri may ask you again at some point — a request that could confuse users if they thought their preferences had already been set.

On the surface, it appears as if Apple’s argument boils down to semantics. Because iOS 14.5 will not offer a proper page in Settings to configure “default” audio apps (like you can for browsers and email clients, as I argued on yesterday’s episode of Connected), then it’s not correct to say you’ll be able to change the default music app on your iPhone or iPad. We could debate why Apple is not building a page in Settings for this but still allowing Siri to integrate with third-party streaming services and apps (competitive advantages vs. antitrust concerns?), but that’s besides the point. What I find more interesting is that Apple explains this feature is actually doing more than just sticking to a default option:

The audio choice feature, of course, doesn’t prevent users from requesting a particular service by name, even if it’s not their usual preference.

For instance, you can still say something like “play smooth jazz radio on Pandora” to launch that app instead. However, if you continued to request Pandora by name for music requests — even though you had initially specified Apple Music or Spotify or some other service when Siri had first prompted you — then the next time you asked Siri to play music without specifically a service, the assistant may ask you again to choose a service.

From this perspective, given the dynamic nature of this functionality, I understand why Apple may be uncomfortable comparing it to the ability to switch default browser and email apps. At the same time, I want to mention how I’ve been using iOS 14.5 for the past month, and after an initial configuration, Siri continued to default to Spotify and never prompted me to pick another one again. I’m giving Apple’s explanation the benefit of the doubt, but I’m curious to see how this feature will work in the final release of iOS 14.5.

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Eve Systems Announces That Its New Eve Energy Smart Plug and Eve Weather HomeKit Devices Will Support Thread

Source: Eve Systems.

Source: Eve Systems.

Ever since I got a glimpse of what Thread could mean to home automation by pairing a Nanoleaf A19 bulb with a HomePod mini, I’ve been excited about the technology’s future. We’re still in the early days of adoption by device manufacturers. However, today, Eve Systems announced a significant expansion of its Thread-compatible lineup of HomeKit products, giving the technology a substantial boost.

Eve had already added Thread to its window and door sensors and EU-compatible smart plugs. Today, however, the company said that US and UK-compatible versions of its Eve Energy smart plugs would be coming soon and that it will also release a weather sensor called Eve Weather. Eve is also updating its existing $99.95 Eve Aqua outdoor sprinkler controller to add Thread via a firmware update.

Thread, which I covered in-depth as part of my HomePod mini review is a wireless communication protocol that has the advantage of extended range, longer battery life, and security. Devices that implement it don’t require a separate hub either because devices like the HomePod mini act as a border router coordinating communications among devices and the Internet.

Source: Eve Systems.

Source: Eve Systems.

The new Eve Energy smart plug will be available in the US on April 6th and the UK on May 4th according to The Verge and will cost $39.95 in the US. In addition to working with Apple’s HomeKit technology, Eve Energy benefits from having a constant power source, which allows it to act as a border router like the HomePod mini, further extending the reach of Thread devices throughout your home.

Eve Weather, which has an IPX3 water resistance rating, tracks the outdoor temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. The device will cost $69.95 and be available in the US and Canada beginning on March 26th.

I’m glad to see more Thread-enabled products hitting the market. The promise of Thread has been difficult to test with so few devices available, but with the products announced by Eve Systems today and Nanoleaf’s existing lighting products, I expect that we’ll soon have a better idea of whether the promise lives up to the hype.