“It’s Resolutionary” Apple says of the new iPad, and we have to agree. We’ve just grabbed some hands-on time with the new Retina Display iOS 5.1 tablet, and the difference from the iPad 2 – which, remember, stays on sale alongside it – is vast. The pixels in the 2048 x 1536 display are, at regular arm’s length, completely indistinguishable: it’s only when you get up close that you can make them out.
Physically, the device feels nearly the same in hand as the previous model. Though it does have a slight bump in thickness, the difference is nearly unnoticeable. Since the design hasn't dramatically changed, there's not much to note in the casing department, and though there are improved cameras present, the general seating and size of the sensors seems unchanged.
There's no doubt that this here tablet feels every bit like a $500 product, oozing quality from edge to edge and being as delightful as ever to use. Is it the second coming of the tablet? Of course not, but if we've learned anything from the iPhone 4S, it doesn't need to be. Apple just put an insane amount of real estate in the hands of crafty developers, and frankly, we can't wait to see what they cook up.
Thursday September 17, 2026 4:17 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
In iOS 27, available now, CarPlay gets its biggest update in years, but some features depend on what type of car you have rather than your iPhone model. Some of the biggest additions won't do anything in the vast majority of vehicles on the road today. Here's how the new features pan out.
Works in Any CarPlay Vehicle
Custom widgets: In iOS 27, CarPlay is no longer limited to Apple's handful ...
Wednesday September 16, 2026 8:53 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The new Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 have hardware changes that allow for faster charging, but you will need to use the new version of the Apple Watch Magnetic Fast Charger included in the box in order to achieve this boost. If you need extra ones for your own charging stands or travel or so forth, Apple released the new version of the charger on its online store last week, with...
Wednesday September 16, 2026 1:32 pm PDT by Juli Clover
The iOS 27.2 beta that Apple released today adds a feature that reminds you it's your anniversary when you call someone, as long as you've added the date in the Contacts app.
On the date of your anniversary, when you go to call the person, you'll see a reminder that it's an important day so you don't forget to say something. The anniversary alert uses Call Context, a feature Apple added in...
Such a gorgeous screen and an amazing update this year.
What's amazing to me is that you can blow through your entire monthly data plan in fifteen minutes. What happened to all those unlimited data plans that were going to allow Apple's iCloud to become a serious storage platform? In an era of ever increasing resolutions and ever shrinking data plans, why are we expected to settle for local storage that is less than a tenth of what the PC era gave us? Each of us has different expectations as to what makes a great tablet, but I don't recall reading post after post and thread after thread about how bad the resolution was or how slow the processor is. So why is Apple so busy fixing what isn't even broken and yet so hesitant to address (or even acknowledge) what people are actually upset about?
