O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: pen

  • Apple Pencil Pro added to the U.S., Canadian Refurbished Apple Store inventories

    Apple Pencil Pro added to the U.S., Canadian Refurbished Apple Store inventories

    You can’t argue with a good refurbished price on an Apple Pencil Pro.

    As of Friday, the Apple Pencil Pro surfaced in Apple’s online refurbished store in the U.S. and Canada. The event marks the first time the styles, which debuted in May 2024, has been offered at discount.

    In the U.S., the refurbished Apple Pencil Pro is available for $109, down from $129 brand new. That is a roughly 15 percent discount, which is typical for Apple’s refurbished products.

    Apple has stated that all of its refurbished products undergo “full functionality testing,” and any defective modules identified in testing are replaced. The products are also stated to go through a “thorough cleaning process and inspection,” before being repackaged.

    The key features of the Apple Pencil Pro include the following:

    • The ability to squeeze the accessory to bring up a tool palette
    • A gyroscope that allows users to roll the Apple Pencil Pro for precise control of shaped pen and brush tools,
    • Haptic feedback for certain actions
    • Find My support

    The Apple Pencil Pro is compatible with iPad Pro models with the M4 chip, iPad Air models with the M2 chip or newer, and the iPad mini with the A17 Pro chip.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via MacRumors and the Apple Refurbished Store (U.S., Canada)

  • Blender announces plans to bring a full-featured, native app to iPad Pro, other devices

    Blender announces plans to bring a full-featured, native app to iPad Pro, other devices

    If you’re a Blender fan, you’re going to like this.

    Over on its developer blog, the Blender team outlined early plans on Monday to bring the 3D creation suite to the iPad Pro as a native application. It didn’t stop there, the team also suggesting that the app could make an appearance on other devices, like the Microsoft Surface, Huawei MatePad, and Wacom MovinkPad.

    The first version will focus on sculpting and basic object manipulation, with hopes of bringing tools like the Grease Pencil and storyboarding later.

    The current mockups present a single-window workflow that highlights screen real esate and quick access to tools via floating UI elements and contextual overlays. Menus are collapsed by default, and the usual Tool Settings header has been replaced with floating panels tailored to pen input.

    The team also cited a long-term goal of bringing a fully native experience to touch-first platforms, complete with multi-touch gestures, AirDrop, and iCloud support on iOS, and new input handling features.

    Blender says a live tech demo will be shown at SIGGRAPH 2025 in Vancouver, with follow-up discussions and design workshops planned for Blender HQ and the Blender Conference later in 2025. The company also encourages developers with experience in tablet and iOS design to reach out.

    The project is still in very early-stage plans, and Blender did not offer a timeline for public release as to the native app.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider and code.blender.org

  • Adobe Photoshop app for iOS updated, support for Curves, Apple Pencil sensitivity adjustments, now present

    If you’re a fan of the Adobe Photoshop app for iPad, it just got better.

    Following the app’s release in November, when Adobe promised to provide regular updates to add missing features that are available on the desktop version, the company on Tuesday released a hefty update that offers Curves and Apple Pencil sensitivity adjustments.

    Curves are designed to allow ‌iPad‌ Photoshop users to make adjustments to the color and the tone of the image, editing contrast, exposure, saturation, highlights, shadows, and color balance in a non-destructive way. The initial version of the Curves tool includes adjustments of total curves for all channels, multi-node selections, and a feature that lets the app recognize when you want to tap and drag a node or select it.

    The updated Apple Pencil support allows for more precise brushing and effects when using brush-based tools. A new pressure sensitivity slider provides greater pressure values applied with less force at the end of the range and greater force for maximum pressure at the higher end of the range.

    Adobe Photoshop for iPad is available for all Creative Cloud plans that include Photoshop access. The app requires iOS 13.1 or later to install and run.

    If you’ve tried the updated version and have any feedback to offer, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via MacRumors and the App Store