iPad Archives - Jonathan Wylie

Which iPad Can Use the Apple Pencil?

The Apple Pencil is perhaps the most popular accessory you can buy for the iPad. It was originally billed as a tool for artists but has since evolved into a versatile tool that anyone can use for notetaking, navigation and more.

Most newer iPads support the Apple Pencil, but not all iPads do. To make things more confusing, there are two different versions of the Apple Pencil and dozens of third-party alternatives.

In this post, I will show you which one is best for your iPad and give you some handy tips on how you can use the Apple Pencil to get the most out of your tablet.

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Craft: A Next-Generation Note-Taking App

I think the value of a good note-taking app has been underestimated, despite the fact that there is no shortage of options. OneNote, Evernote, Apple Notes, Simplenote, Google Keep, and countless others are well-known for their note-taking abilities, but for the most part, they kind of all do the same thing. That makes it hard to choose one over another.

In 2021, I became a big fan of Workflowy. It had a simplicity that the others lacked, and an organizational scheme that complimented the way my brain thinks. So, I moved all my notes from OneNote to Workflowy and I haven’t looked back since. I’m still really happy with it, but every so often I see an app that makes me do a double-take. Craft is one such app.

What’s New: Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education

Screenshots of the Adobe Creative Cloud Express platform on an iPad and mobile phone.

Adobe has launched a new suite of creative tools for schools called the Adobe Creative Cloud Express for Education. You can access it online at adobe.com/express. It was designed to replace Adobe Spark, at least on the web, and is completely free for teachers and students. You will be able to use it on all your devices and take advantage of premium features at no cost to you or your school. Here’s a look at some of the new features you can take advantage of.

Why Live Text in iOS 15 is Great for Schools

hand holding a space gray iPhone — Photo by Bagus Hernawan on Unsplash

In its annual update for its mobile devices, Apple has prepared a buffet of new features for iOS 15. There are lots of innovative ideas here, but the one that stood out the most for me is the new Live Text feature. I think it could be a great option for schools and anyone else that is looking to extract text from an image. In this post, I will show you how it works and why it could be a bigger deal than some people have given it credit for.

How to Play Xbox Game Pass on iPhone and iPad

Did you know that you can now use your iPhone or iPad to play Xbox Game Pass games? Microsoft has been talking to Apple about this for years. They wanted to release an app, similar to what they have on Android, where iOS users could browse through the Game Pass catalog and then stream the games they want to play. However, Apple has steadfastly refused to allow that format on the App Store. They said it was a store within a store and that all games had to be listed separately. So, Microsoft found a workaround. Here’s how it works.

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How to Use AirPlay Without an Apple TV

When iPads and MacBooks started to work their way into classrooms, so did the Apple TV. Why? It was an easy way for teachers to project their devices wirelessly to a projector using AirPlay. The Apple TV could sit, unnoticed, on top of an LCD projector and remain idle until it was needed. The only problem was the cost. At $149 for an Apple TV HD, it was not an insignificant outlay, particularly if you were buying 50 or more for all the classrooms in your school. However, an Apple TV isn’t the only way to use AirPlay in your classroom. You can use a Roku instead.

How to Edit Live Photos to Make Videos, GIFs & More!

Live Photos are a great way to add life to moments of joy that you capture with your iPhone or iPad camera. When a photo isn’t enough, but a video is overkill, the Live Photo is exactly what you need. They are enabled by default on all iOS devices, but they are easy to turn off by mistake. In this guide we will look at how to enable, edit and convert live photos so that you can take full advantage of this fun file format!

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How to Translate Websites on iPhone or iPad with Safari

Image of mountains. Text reads, translating websites on mobile devices.

The release of iOS 14 brought hardly any changes to the Safari web browser, but it did include one notable feature that Apple is sure to build on in future releases. Website translation is now possible when you visit sites that were written in one of seven different languages. This is useful if you are trying to see how news is reported in different countries, or if you are traveling and want to keep up with the latest information in that region. In this post, I am going to show you how that works, and give you some options on what else you can do if you are looking for a language outside of the seven that Apple currently supports.

Loom for Education: Free for Schools

Loom for Education is a free premium tool for teachers and students at K-12 schools, universities, or educational institutions. It can be used for screencasting or video messaging and is an increasingly popular alternative to Screencastify or Screencast-o-matic. Loom is available as a desktop app, Chrome extension, and a mobile app for iPhone and iPad. Here’s why you might want to take a look at this great free screencasting tool.

How to Set Chrome and Gmail as Default Apps in iOS 14

iPhone on a table. The iPhone is unlocked and a variety of apps can be seen on the home screen.

If you have an iPhone or an iPad then the chances are high that at some point in time, you have wished for the ability to set default apps. It’s easy to do on an Android device, but it always seemed like a glaring omission on iOS, and it never seemed to be much of a priority for Apple. The release of iOS 14 changed that because you can now set your default email client and web browser. This means Chrome, Firefox, or DuckDuckGo could be your default browser, while Gmail, Outlook, or Spark Mail could be your default email client. If you don’t want to use Safari or Mail, you don’t have to.

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