iPod

Apple:

> Apple today introduced an all-new iPad Air — the most powerful, versatile, and colorful iPad Air ever. Now available in five gorgeous finishes, iPad Air features an all-screen design with a larger 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, camera and audio upgrades, a new integrated Touch ID sensor in the top button, and the powerful A14 Bionic for a massive boost in performance, making this by far the most powerful and capable iPad Air ever made. The new iPad Air will be available starting next month.

First off, this one’s a screamer, performance-wise. The fastest chip Apple has put into any device. Presumably, this same chip will power the iPhone 12 and, maybe, the new Arm-based Mac. This is no small thing.

And that Touch ID sensor seems a huge move. Just imagine if Apple added that sensor to the iPhone 12. Best of both worlds, especially when you are wearing a mask. That’s pure speculation on my part, not even likely, but I think it’d be a great solution.

From Logitech’s official Crayon specs page:

> Using the same technology found in Apple Pencil®, Logitech Crayon delivers sub-pixel precision, lightning fast responsiveness, and dynamic tilt to bring new dimensions to learning.

Not quite the same as Apple Pencil. No pressure sensitivity. But it also sells for $49 versus the Apple Pencil’s $89 (since Crayon is only sold through Education market, makes sense to compare to Apple Pencil education price). For students, I suspect the Logitech Crayon will be just fine.

> iPad has palm rejection technology that ignores any touch that doesn’t come from Logitech Crayon, so students can stop worrying about their hands and just focus on the task at hand.

And:

> A flat shape prevents Logitech Crayon from rolling off desks or getting lost.

Hmm. I wonder why Apple doesn’t consider this.

> Logitech Crayon has almost 8 hours of writing time between charges — enough for a full school day. Additionally, a fast charging option provides 30 minutes of battery in 90 seconds.

Lots of good stuff here. One important thing to note: The Crayon does not use Bluetooth. Its wireless frequency is specific to the iPad announced yesterday. Just as Apple Pencil will not work with an iPhone, Crayon will not work with other iPads.

All told, this seems a great solution for the education space. And the way I read this, looks like Crayon is only available through the Apple Education channel.

The iPod turned 15 yesterday. The Verge takes you on a visual tour of all of them, from the FireWire port, rotating click wheel first version through the so-called sixth generation with the A8 chip and 8MP iSight camera you can still buy today.