Macworld Apple’s Vision Pro headset, unveiled at WWDC earlier this month, is only the first step on the company’s journey into the mixed-reality market, and it clearly isn’t perfect. It’s understood that Cupertino’s design team recommended that the project be pushed back until the available technology caught up with the sort of product they wanted to make, but CEO Tim Cook overruled them and insisted on announcing something this year. Real artists ship, after all. One of Vision Pro’s obvious physical limitations at this stage of evolution is its relatively high weight, which some early testers have suggested is likely to make it uncomfortable when worn for long sessions. But Apple is aware of this issue, and working to solve…

The Astropad Darkboard is a new lightweight, ergonomic drawing surface for iPad that gives artists a place to rest their arm while working. (via Cult of Mac - Tech and culture through an Apple lens)

Apple’s latest Mac Pro targets professionals with highly demanding computing workloads. But we talked to those professionals, and they don’t want it — because Apple’s other computers are just too good. Apple’s latest Mac Pro was finally revealed at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference as a machine for the most power user of power users. The video discussed audio engineering, color grading, and video transcoding. Apple’s product page mentions code compiling, animation, compositing 8K scenes, 3D rendering, and “analyzing enormous datasets.” This isn’t just for pros, Apple seems to claim; it’s for capital-P Pros. Exactly who these pros are and why the Mac Pro is the perfect device for them remains somewhat unclear to me, even after testing the new…

Macworld Apple’s Vision Pro headset, unveiled at WWDC earlier this month, is only the first step on the company’s journey into the mixed-reality market, and it clearly isn’t perfect. It’s understood that Cupertino’s design team recommended that the project be pushed back until the available technology caught up with the sort of product they wanted to make, but CEO Tim Cook overruled them and insisted on announcing something this year. Real artists ship, after all. One of Vision Pro’s obvious physical limitations at this stage of evolution is its relatively high weight, which some early testers have suggested is likely to make it uncomfortable when worn for long sessions. But Apple is aware of this issue, and working to solve…

Macworld At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsWide range of functionsFamiliar operationCheaper than PhotoshopConsNot quite as comprehensive as PhotoshopNo AI-supported functionsOur VerdictFor beginners, hobby graphic artists and photographers Affinity Photo is an incredibly attractive alternative to Adobe Photoshop, which hardly differs from the class leader in terms of essential functions.Affinity Photo is now so similar to Adobe‘s software that a move to the former should be smooth, although beginners will need to spend some time getting to know the interface before they can fully exploit all the possibilities of Affinity Photo.With all that Affinity Photo offers, the software is a real bargain at $69.99/£67.99. Adobe Photoshop is for image editing like Microsoft Office for the office: absolutely dominant and in a professional…

If you open up Spotify's desktop app on a Mac or PC today, things should look a lot more "mobile." That's because the company has redesigned the "Your Library" and "Now Playing" interfaces to make them more aligned with Spotify's smartphone app. "Your Library" is now located in the sidebar to let you access saved music and podcasts. Spotify says its research has shown that the new library helps users save time by providing a better overview, while making it easier to switch between playlists. Users can also now move and pin the playlists in the Library, as well as drop songs into the editable listed playlists. Elsewhere, the "Now Playing" view takes up the right-hand side of the app,…