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MacworldThe Apple Vision Pro is a perplexing piece of hardware. Its a technological marvel that stuns the senses but it lacks the killer app and content needed to overcome the initial cost of investment and awkward ergonomics. Im fascinated by its potential and was brave enough to hold on to the Vision Pro beyond the return window.When I use it, I am reminded of its unique abilities, such as its Mac Virtual Display feature. Bringing a boring real world experience to a hybrid virtual one sounds good on the surface, but the original Mac Virtual Display was limited and didnt offer much of a benefit. But in visionOS 2.2, Apple added the ability to support a wide or ultrawide monitor, making the feature much more useful. It was one feature Ive been anxiously waiting for.Im a big fan of using a three-display setup for my Mac, but does the updated Mac Virtual Display provide a superior experience? Could it be the killer Vision Pro feature that weve been clamoring for? The answer is not so simple. Lets dissect the experience of the Mac Virtual Display on Apple Vision Pro to see if it makes the $3,500 investment worthwhile.What the wide and ultrawide upgrade meansThe Vision Pro operating system uses its Mac Virtual Display feature to mirror a Macs display within a virtual environment. Its a way to stay grounded to the Mac but it opens new possibilities. You can have the Mac screen front and center and pin various app windows all around you, including the various Vision Pro apps. The experience feels like something youve seen in a sci-fi movie.During its first iteration, Mac Virtual Display was a neat feature but lacked any wow factor. What it needed was a larger display option and thankfully, Apple included it in visionOS 2.2. You can now work away from your desk in private with a large wide or ultrawide display that travels with you virtually anywhere.My main Mac workstation is a triple monitor setup. This includes two Apple Studio Displays on the left and right, and an Apple Pro Display XDR front and center. It takes up a substantial footprint to the point that it needs two connecting desks to fit all the monitors comfortably. By comparison, with a Vision Pro, you simply need a small Mac and the device itselfthats an attractive alternative. A Mac Pro with an Apple Pro Display XDR surrounded by two Apple Studio Displays.Thiago TrevisanHow the Mac Virtual Display feature makes it possibleTheres more nuance to the Mac Virtual Display update in visionOS 2.2 that makes it more functional than simple wide and ultrawide display support. (visionOS 2.4 is the current version, which finally brought Apple Intelligence support.)Mac Virtual Display wide modes are simple to activate. With the Vision Pro connected to your Apple silicon Mac, youll find a drop-down menu on top of the Mac Virtual Display screen with the new wide and ultrawide options.A drop-down menu allows Vision Pro users to change the screen ratio settings.Thiago TresvianThe first setting, Standard, has a 16:9 aspect ratio and can display up to 5K (5120 by 2880) resolution. The next option is Wide, which is 21:9 and can do a resolution up to 6720 by 2880 pixels. The last option is Ultrawide and can do 10240 by 2880 pixels in a 32:9 aspect ratio.Your Mac inputkeyboard, trackpad, and/or mousealso works smoothly to control Vision Pros interface. Thats important in this situation where your Mac environment blends with the Vision Pro. The gestures embedded within visionOS are great for many things, but for true productivity, I prefer a physical input device.Vision Pro offers some flexibility with Mac Virtual Display, which can be adjusted by a pinch and drag gesture on the lower left. This allows you to change the size of the Virtual Display and move it farther away or closer. The resolution can also be adjusted to improve your experience overall. Its also simple to blend your environment at different levels to see how you feel during usage, depending on the amount of external light you want to enter your workspace.Another good feature is that now you can route the audio straight from your Mac to the Vision Pro speakers. This helps to keep the sound closer to you and simplifies your connection. In theory, the Mac Virtual Display capabilities of the Vision Pro sound a lot more appealing than a large, clunky three-monitor desk setup. In practice, the results are not so clean-cut.The big problem that software cant fixHeres the catch with the Vision Pro (and other headsets): it becomes uncomfortable after a while. Sure, a lighter Vision Pro would help, but fatigue always sets in eventually. Then theres the disorientation felt after using the Vision Pro; Apple has baked in different levels of background immersion and isolation for this very reason. Complete immersion may be great for a short period or certain use cases. The passthrough feature helps, but it still creates only the illusion of awareness.With its crisp resolution and wide/ultrawide support, you can be very productive with the virtual environment of the Vision Pro and its seemingly endless customizability that works beautifully. But it doesnt matter if the user cant get comfortable. The Vision Pro is unreasonable for me to work for anything longer than short bursts.In my physical multi-monitor setup, I can work for hours with minimal fatigue, and theres the ability to freely move in the workspace and interact with the surroundings. Spatial computing is simply not as natural as the standard setups that human senses are accustomed to.The major issue with the Apple Vision Pro is that it becomes uncomfortable over time.Thiago TresvianThis experience is significant in that it shows that spatial computing has future potential and visionOS can continue to improve, but it comes down to the hardware that can provide a more seamless, natural fashion. That may be difficult to successfully do, at least in the short term. Many hurdles and friction exist for Vision Pro to reach the pantheon of importance which is the iPhone.Its simply not ready for prime timeViewed in a bubble, the Vision Pro is an excellent device thats capable of wowing its users and even helping with many productivity tasks. This bubble quickly fails to maintain its buoyancy in real-world use, however. Its uncomfortable, its expensive, and instead of any real killer feature it offers solutions for niche cases.This creates a problem for Apple. Vision Pro doesnt have anywhere near the sales and enthusiasm that was forecasted for the device. That causes Apple to not be incentivized to provide content and attention to the existing Vision Pro user base. What can Apple do to make the Vision Pro and spatial computing more appealing? A reduction in weight and pricing is a good start, but these changes alone do not make the device useful. Vision Pro needs to feel natural and seamless for the user, who then can transfer the activities that are typically done on the iPhone to this device. Thats easier said than done and is likely a tremendous engineering feat that will take years to fully develop.For now, we can enjoy the Vision Pro for what it is. While it is a beautifully done piece of technology, the wide and ultrawide options only slightly change its usability. Its a niche enthusiast product, which even Tim Cook admits. Theres nothing wrong with that, and it will either face better versions in the future or the eventual cancellation by Apple if its deemed unworkable. Lets hope they figure it out since the underlying idea is worthy of the effort.

MacworldWhile the iPad update schedule is somewhat unpredictable, Apple has established an 18-month cycle with the iPad Pro, and the current M4 iPad Pro was released in May 2024. Several reports state that Apple is scheduled to release an M5 iPad Pro in the fall, which would be right on schedule.That means were going to start seeing more reports about the new iPad Pro as the release date approaches. This article keeps track of all the rumors so you can keep up with whats going on and make a proper decision if youre in the market for a new iPad Pro.M5 iPad Pro: When will the new iPad Pro be released?The M5 iPad Pro is expected to arrive in September 2025 or later in the yearOn March 31, Bloombergs Mark Gurman reported that the M5 iPad Pro is on schedule to ship in the second half of the year.In January 2025, Bloombergs Mark Gurman reported that the M5 iPad Pro wont ship until late 2025 or early 2026. In December 2024, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that the M5 iPad Pro will enter mass production in the second half of 2025.Heres when the past five iPad Pro models have launched:M4 iPad Pro: May 2024iPad Pro (6th gen): October 2022iPad Pro (5th gen): April 2021iPad Pro (4th gen): March 2020iPad Pro (3rd gen): October 2018M5 iPad Pro: How much will the new iPad Pro cost?Prices are likely to stay the same, starting at $999/999 (11-inch) and $1,299/1,299 (13-inch), butWith the M5 iPad Pro, Apple increased the price by $100/100 across the different storage configurations. (Apple redefined the M5 iPad Pro base model with 256GB of storage, instead of 128GB that was in the M4 iPad Pro. When comparing prices, we start with the 256GB models.)Apple rarely increases prices two years in a row, but there are ongoing talks by the Trump administration in the U.S. of implementing tariffs on chips not made in the U.S. Apples M5 chip is made in Taiwan by TSMC, and could be subjected to a tariff. Should it go into effect, it could raise the price of the M5 iPad Pro in the U.S.The M4 iPad Pros 12MP camera with a LiDAR scanner will carry over to the M5 iPad Pro.Brady Snyder / FoundryM5 iPad Pro tech specs: What upgrades will the new iPad Pro have?An M5 chipThats about itOn March 31, Mark Gurman reported that the M5 iPad Pro will be a chip and ship product. That means it will get the new M5 chip and no other new features.The M4 iPad Pro from 2024 had several major upgrades to components and features that dont typically change from generation to generation, including:New OLED displaysAn option for nano-texture glass ($100/100)Moving the front-facing camera to the longer sideUpgrade to the main camera to 12MP with True Tone flash and a LiDAR scannerEliminating the 128GB storage option and setting the base level to 256GBThose features arent expected to change with the M5 iPad Pro, so the only major component to change will be the chip from the M4 to the M5. Apples new C1 modem is unlikely to make an appearance until a model with mmWave arrives, likely in 2026.Well keep updating this article as more information becomes available. Until then, you should check out our best iPad Pro deals to see if you can bag yourself a bargain on the current range.

Google has introduced a new end-to-end encryption (E2EE) feature in Gmail, enabling organizations to send encrypted emails that even Google cannot read to other Gmail users. Later this year, the feature will be expanded to allow the sending of encrypted emails to any email users, including those from other providers.E2EE differs from encrypting email communication in transit between email servers, which is already achieved with TLS (transport layer security), or at rest when stored in Googles data centers. E2EE allows users to encrypt sent messages in a way that only the intended recipients can decrypt and read them.Continue reading on CSO.

A new rumor says that Apple has not forgotten the idea of solid-state buttons for the iPhone, but there are a number of issues to solve before it can happen.Render of a possible iPhone with solid-state buttonsBefore the launch of the iPhone 15 Pro in 2023, there were many, many rumors about it having a solid-state button. That would mean that instead of physical buttons like the volume control, it would have touch-sensitive areas that gave haptic feedback so that they felt like real buttons.That didn't happen with the iPhone 15 Pro, or the iPhone 16 Pro, nor is it now expected with the iPhone 17 Pro. However, a solid-state button should be more reliable than a physical one and, even if only fractionally, they would require less space within an iPhone. Rumor Score: Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has released a report on the quality of US infrastructure. Titled The 2025 Report Card of Americas Infrastructure, the report provides a snapshot of how infrastructure systems are faring and offers solutions for improving the performance of each category.The grading scale for the report ranges from A to F. An A constitutes exceptional, fit for the future while a B represents good, adequate for now. A C constitutes mediocre, requires attention while a D represents poor, at risk. There is no E grade in the system, with an F constitutes failing/critical, unfit for purpose.Overall, the grade of US infrastructure improved from a C- in 2024 to a C in 2025. The ACSE notes that recent federal investments have positively affected many of the infrastructure sectors Americans rely on every day with almost half of the 18 categories assessed seeing an improved score over 2024.This is promising momentum, but sus...

Bjarke Ingels Group has been selected to design the new Hungarian Natural History Museum, set within the historic Great Forest of Debrecen. The 247,000-square-foot facility will replace the museums current home in Budapest, supporting a national strategy to position Debrecen as a cultural and educational hub by 2030.

The Nintendo Switch 2s new Joy-Con 2 offers many improvements over the original, but the most stand-out is its mouse functionality. Similar to ARMS, a new title was revealed that focuses purely on utilizing the Joy-Con 2 as a mouse. Say hello to Drag x Drive, launching this Summer for the Switch 2.Its a 3v3 competitive basketball title starring competitors in wheelchairs with sleek gear, but the controls set it apart from the crowd. In the mouse position, players must drag both Joy-Con 2s downward to move and flick the controllers to shoot the ball. They can also set up for some impressive slam dunks.As simple as the concept may appear, the mouse functionality adds an interesting wrinkle. The question is whether Drag x Drive will offer more content beyond competitive play (which requires Nintendo Switch Online to square up against other people). Stay tuned for more details and updates, along with a proper release date in the meantime.