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Apple is widely expected to celebrate the 20th iPhone anniversary in 2027 by launching a special iPhone 20 design. Apple did the same thing with the iPhone X in 2017, which marked the iPhone’s 10th birthday. Like the iPhone X, the iPhone 20 should introduce a few design elements and features that Apple then might use across its iPhone lineup. The iPhone X introduced OLED panels with thin, uniform bezels and a notch at the top that housed the Face ID authentication system. All these features were then used in the iPhone generations that followed. Previous reports said the iPhone 20 would introduce an all-glass design with the screen curving along all four edges. The handset might not feature a Dynamic Island cutout at the top. Instead, the Face ID and selfie camera components will be placed under the display.

A new report on Tuesday reveals another key design detail for the iPhone 20 model. A leaker said on Weibo that Apple will move forward with solid-state button technology, planning to introduce it with the iPhone 20 in 2027. According to Instant Digital, Apple has completed tests for solid-state buttons and plans to use the technology for all the iPhone 20 buttons, including the power button and Camera Control button on the right side and the Action button and volume keys on the left side.

Speaking of the Camera Control button (seen below in use), the report also notes that Apple plans to simplify it for next year’s iPhone 18 series. Apple will reportedly eliminate the capacitive sensing layer but keep the pressure-sensitive tech that allows users to perform different actions depending on how they press the button.

What is solid-state button tech and why does the iPhone 20 need it?

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Apple fans who follow iPhone rumors closely might remember the various solid-state button rumors that appeared online in the past three years. In October 2022, almost a year before the iPhone 15 launched, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said the Pro models would feature solid-state buttons with additional Taptic Engines providing the vibrations. By April 2023, Kuo revised his prediction, saying Apple had abandoned the plan due to unresolved technical issues. Some reports said the feature would be postponed until 2024, but the iPhone 16 series did not feature solid-state buttons.

The technology refers to buttons that don’t actually move when you press them. Solid-state buttons don’t make a click when tapped, with the Taptic Engine providing the sensory experience. Apple has already used this button technology in the iPhone. The Touch ID home button on the iPhone 7 and other models was a solid-state button. The MacBook’s trackpad features similar technology. The trackpad doesn’t travel when pressed, it just simulates clicks.

The advantages of having solid-state buttons on the iPhone mainly concern durability. Buttons that don’t travel when pressed require fewer parts. They might not break as easily. Moreover, solid-state buttons might help Apple improve water ingress protection. There are disadvantages as well. Solid-state buttons will require power to work. Also, the buttons need to work when the iPhone is placed in a case. If Instant Digital’s information is accurate, Apple might have already solved any issues that prevented it from shipping the technology before the iPhone 20.

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Adobe

Adobe on Tuesday unveiled several new tools for its suite of apps at the Adobe Max conference, including new AI capabilities that should improve the workflow of creators, whether it’s images, video, or sound. The Adobe Firefly app received a significant update, including a new Firefly Image Model 5 AI tool that’s available in beta, and a few new features that can turn Firefly into the go-to app for video creation, from ideation to editing. The company also updated other popular products, including Creative Cloud, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Premiere, with new AI tools, and introduced a few AI agents (assistants) meant to help creators with repetitive tasks during the creative process.

Artificial intelligence has been the focus of the Firefly app, with Adobe updating it regularly in the past few years. Tuesday’s announcements make Firefly an even more powerful creation tool. Adobe describes the app as an all-in-one home for the entire creation process, from ideation to production, covering video, audio, images, and AI integration. Speaking of AI, Firefly will continue to offer users access to the latest generative AI tools from Adobe (Image Model 5) but also from various partners, including Google, OpenAI, ElevenLabs, Topaz Labs, and others.

Firefly Image Model 5 and new video-editing tools

Adobe

Firefly Image Model 5, now in public beta, lets you generate photorealistic 4-megapixel images. The new Firefly Custom Models (also in beta) let creators fine-tune the AI to create content in their own style. The new Prompt to Edit feature lets users describe edits in plain language, and the AI will handle the requests. The feature is generally available to users. An Image Model 5-powered Layered Image Editing feature is in development for a future release.

Adobe

Tuesday’s update gives Firefly users new tools for video editing, which are available in private beta before a wider rollout next month. Generate Soundtrack is an AI feature that lets users create studio-quality audio. Generate Speech generates high-quality voice for video. A new multitrack timeline-based AI video editor lets users edit and generate clips.

The new Project Moonlight (below) in Firefly provides users with a conversational interface featuring agentic AI features. Creators can describe via text what they want to create, and the AI assistant will help generate the desired content. Project Moonlight is available in private beta and will roll out to more users in the coming months. Separately, a Firefly Creative Production feature (in private beta) gives creators an AI-powered tool to edit thousands of images at once.

Adobe

While most of the new Firefly features announced at Adobe Max are launching in beta, Adobe said that Creative Cloud Pro and Firefly plan subscribers will get unlimited image generations with Firefly and partner models and unlimited video generations (Firefly Video model) through December 1.

The new AI assistants

Adobe

Project Moonlight isn’t the only agentic AI experience unveiled at Adobe Max. Adobe also unveiled AI assistants for other apps, including Photoshop and Express, to help creators save time by helping with repetitive tasks. Photoshop AI Assistant is a new tool that allows users to chat with an AI agent in Photoshop for the web. The feature is available in private beta and requires signing up on a waitlist. Adobe Express gets its own AI Assistant that supports creative workflows via natural conversation. The new Adobe agentic feature will be available in ChatGPT in the future.

Adobe

Adobe also updated various AI features in its Creative Cloud apps. Generative Fill now works with partner models, including Google’s Nano Banana. Generative Upscale enhances the resolution to 4K quality with the help of Topaz Labs’s AI in Photoshop. Harmonize is an AI feature that lets Photoshop users integrate people and objects into environments realistically, by matching the light, color, and tone.

Premiere supports a new AI Object Mask feature that can identify and isolate people and objects in video frames. The app will also support a few precision tools for isolating specific areas of a video, including Rectangle, Ellipse, and Pen Masking. All these features will be available in public beta initially. Lightroom gets a new Assisted Culling feature (also in public beta) that lets creators identify the best images in large collections, with filter support for different parameters.

Adobe

Finally, Adobe and YouTube announced a partnership that will let creators use the free Premiere mobile app to create content for YouTube Shorts and publish it directly to the platform.

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Valve’s Steam Deck has been the king of the castle in the portable handheld PC gaming space since its launch in 2022. The new and niche gaming market that the Steam Deck helped build has seen all manner of competitors enter the arena, but none has quite managed to crack Valve’s over 50% share.

With the Steam Deck being the top dog, those who purchased one get a lot of benefits that aren’t always available on other portable PC handhelds. From custom plugins that can improve your battery life to a larger userbase that provides tips, tricks, and support for each other, and even community mods and accessories that expand the Steam Deck’s capabilities, being popular comes with perks.

But this can also become a bit of a double-edged sword. Being popular also means more companies want in on the Steam Deck accessory market, but not all of them have the same focus on quality. Thankfully, we can look to Amazon to see what users are saying to help us find which Steam Deck accessories people swear by and have the highest average user reviews.

1. JSAUX 2-Pack Screen Protector

A screen protector is an essential accessory for any Steam Deck owner from day one. Nothing is more important than protecting your screen, and a good screen protector will help keep your investment safe from damage for years to come. JSAUX offers an impressive 4.6-star-rated screen protector kit on Amazon with over 8,000 positive reviews.

The JSAUX 2-Pack Screen Protector pack for the Steam Deck is not only highly rated but also incredibly affordable. With 99.99% transparency, you’ll be hard-pressed to even notice a screen protector is in use. With a 9H hardness rating, you’ll be assured that your Steam Deck’s screen is protected. JSAUX notes that their screens are five times more durable than competitors’.

One really nice feature is that the JSAUX 2-Pack Screen Protector kit comes with a guiding frame, which makes installing the screen much easier and ensures a perfect fit. The protectors also feature an anti-fingerprint oleophobic coating, keeping your device looking much cleaner. Picking up the JSAUX 2-Pack Screen Protector kit should probably be at the top of the list for any new Steam Deck owner.

2. Spigen Rugged Armor Case

Creating a case for any gaming handheld is a simple process. The difficult part is making a great case that disappears into the background, so the user doesn’t even know it’s there. Spigen, a maker of high-quality smartphone cases, has brought its expertise to craft one of the best cases for the Steam Deck. While it may lack a number of connectors and accessories like others, Spigen has created a case that looks like part of the Steam Deck itself.

The Spigen Rugged Armor Case features a 4.7-star rating, with over 2,000 reviews. Owners claim this case blends into the Steam Deck, making you forget that it’s even there while still offering high-end protection. Reviews state that it hugs the Steam Deck without getting in the way of any buttons or ports, making it an excellent option for those who don’t want to add bulk to their device.

You might assume that you would be paying an arm and a leg for such precise and quality craftsmanship, but the Spigen Rugged Armor Case will only set you back $30. This is a pretty small price to pay to help keep your Steam Deck safe from damage while also looking darn good in the process.

3. tomtoc Arccos-G47 Steam Deck Travel Bag

The Steam Deck is essentially a computer in your hands that’s meant to be used while on the go. This means that you are probably going to be throwing it in some sort of backpack when you aren’t getting in more time in Baldur’s Gate 3. A lot of people wouldn’t be comfortable simply tossing their Steam Deck into a standard backpack, risking damage as it bounces around.

This is where a good carrying case comes into the picture. The tomtoc Arccos-G47 Steam Deck Travel Bag is designed for the Steam Deck and other portable handheld consoles. This carrying case features a removable W-shaped EVA structure that helps keep your Steam Deck safe while keeping the case soft.

The soft case format makes the Arccos-G47 less bulky than a traditional hard case, and it weighs only 1.1lbs on average. It also features ample room for all of your Steam Deck accessories and still has room left over for bringing along a mouse and more. You’ll find many reviews that consistently highlight its high quality, spaciousness, and stylish design.

4. Antank Magnetic Power Bank

The Steam Deck makes PC-level gaming on the go a reality. But one thing that lets the device down is its battery life, with the Steam Deck LCD getting just over an hour of battery life when playing an AAA title. The OLED version of the Steam Deck fares better, but with less than two hours of game time, many will feel it’s not enough for most serious gamers.

This is where Antank comes into the picture with their Antank Magnetic Power Bank. This PD 45W battery pack features a large 20,000 mAh capacity and a removable magnetic mount that lets it clip to the back of your Steam Deck. The clip is specifically designed so as not to block the Steam Deck’s fan, making it the perfect companion to keep with you.

And because this is a USB-C battery pack, you can use it with more than just your Steam Deck. This makes it an invaluable accessory that can keep you gaming while also helping to keep your phone, tablet, and more charged. Reviews note that it can keep you gaming between 4-5 hours, much longer than on battery alone. Some reviewers even say that they get 15 hours of game time with less demanding titles before the battery pack dies.

5. PlayVital Back Button Enhancement Set

A lot of the Steam Deck’s accessories focus on protection and battery life, but what about one that enhances the gaming experience? The PlayVital Back Button Enhancement Set is intended to improve your grip while providing extra protection for the back buttons of the Steam Deck.

The set comes in two sizes, low-thickness and high-thickness, depending on your needs and personal preference. They add a tactile feel while providing an anti-slip covering to keep you in the game without your fingers slipping off during heated gameplay. The kit also shortens the interval between presses, making you quicker on the draw in fast-paced games.

The honeycomb hexagonal pattern is also aesthetically pleasing, and coming in several colors means that you can even customize the look of your Steam Deck. Reviews on Amazon highlight how good the Back Button Enhancement Set feels in use, while noting that it slightly enhances the ergonomics of the Steam Deck’s back buttons. Others note that the kit makes the back buttons more comfortable to use and easier to locate while gaming. Serious Steam Deck gamers may want to consider this kit to help get the most out of their device.

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Following a nine-month investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has designated Google’s provision of its mobile platform with strategic market status (SMS). The CMA stated that Google’s substantial market power in the provision of its mobile platform is entrenched – Apple has also been designated with SMS.

Google’s business in the UK is estimated to be worth between $10bn and $20bn annually. Earlier this month, the CMA announced that Google search and search advertising had been categorised as SMS. The SMS categorisation for its mobile service means the regulator will now be looking closely at the openness of the company’s mobile platform. 

“Apple and Google’s mobile platforms are used by thousands of businesses right across the economy to market and sell products and services to millions of customers, but the platforms’ rules may be limiting innovation and competition,” said Will Hayter, executive director for digital markets at the CMA.

The CMA further stated in its final decision filing: “Given the important role Google’s mobile platform plays as an essential gateway for UK mobile users accessing digital content and services, and for UK businesses developing and distributing digital content and services for mobile, it is imperative that these groups are treated fairly and have trust and confidence in their ability to use it.”

By designating Google and Apple with SMS in relation to their mobile platforms, the CMA said it can now consider whether it is necessary and appropriate to introduce proportionate, targeted interventions to ensure that UK app developers and innovators developing and distributing content via Google and Apple’s mobile platforms are able to innovate and grow their businesses.

The CMA said that SMS designation is not a finding of wrongdoing and does not introduce any immediate requirements. However, it enables the CMA to consider actions to ensure that mobile platforms are open to effective competition.

Following the CMA’s decision, our mobile business in the UK faces a set of new – and, as of yet, uncertain – rules. The CMA’s next steps will be crucial if the UK’s digital markets regime is to meet its promise of being pro-growth and pro-innovation Oliver Bethell, Google

However, Oliver Bethell, senior competition director at Google, was critical of the CMA’s SMS designation for its mobile platform, given the Labour government’s appetite for pro-growth and pro-innovation regulation.

“Following the CMA’s decision today, our mobile business in the UK faces a set of new – and, as of yet, uncertain – rules. The CMA’s next steps will be crucial if the UK’s digital markets regime is to meet its promise of being pro-growth and pro-innovation,” he said.

“Android and Chrome were built on the idea of creating more choice, not less. Anyone, including our competitors, can customise and build devices with the open source Android operating system – for free. And while Google Play helps people download apps on their devices, if you don’t find the app you’re looking for, you can download apps from a rival store or directly from a developer’s website – something the majority of Android users actually do, and something other mobile platforms restrict.”

Bethell also noted the CMA’s acknowledgement that Google does not use its position as an operating system or mobile browser engine to favour Chrome.

He said Android generates over £9.9bn in revenue for UK developers and supports more than 457,000 UK jobs. However, the CMS noted that while developers can offer their software on third-party app stores and users have the ability to side-load apps directly onto their Android devices, these methods of app distribution only provide a limited competitive constraint on the Play Store.

It is unclear yet what steps the CMA will take to ensure competition, given the SMS designation of Google’s mobile platform, but it has already been looking into some possible ways to proceed.

In July, the CMA published a roadmap that calls for a fair and transparent app review process and app store rankings to give UK app developers certainty, which would enable users to make purchases outside of app stores. According to the CMA, this could potentially drive innovation and financial savings for developers.

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Digital IDs in mobile wallets and apps are becoming more commonplace. You can add everything from your driver’s license to your school or work ID, or even a passport, to a mobile device. Pull it up on screen, scan it, or show it to an agent or guard to verify your identity and gain entry.

Does this mean you can leave your physical ID at home? Not necessarily. While you might not need to show it, it’s important that you still have it on you, just in case. If you’re asked for it and you don’t have it, this could lead to additional screenings, delays, and, in a worst-case scenario, denied entry into a state or onto a flight.

The ability to present digital IDs as a form of ID depends on location, but they are accepted in a growing number of places. This includes the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which is now accepting digital IDs loaded onto an Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet, or other state-issued apps as a form of personal identification. These IDs are accepted at more than 250 airport checkpoints.

How to set up and use a digital ID

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When using a digital ID on an Android phone or Apple iPhone, the TSA agent will only see the information that is necessary for them to identify that you are who you say you are. This can help speed up travel, reducing wait times and annoyingly long line-ups.

It’s easy to sign up and load the ID into a TSA-approved digital wallet on your mobile phone or tablet. This can include a state-issued REAL ID-compliant or Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) or driver’s license or other accepted ID card, like an Enhanced ID (EID), U.S. passport or passport card, DHS trusted traveler card, U.S. Department of Defense ID, permanent resident card, border crossing card, Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC), and a few other accepted forms of identification.

If you present this in digital form, the TSA agent may take a facial scan and compare it to the one on the digital ID. The photo is optional, and it is deleted once your identity is verified. The TSA confirms that your image is never used for law enforcement, surveillance, or shared with others.

Why you still need your physical ID

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We’re well into a digital world, but physical back-ups are still necessary, and that includes your ID as well. Even with a digital ID, you still need your physical ID in case an agent requests it as a secondary form of verification. It’s also useful if your phone dies or becomes lost, or is damaged.

Further, not all states accept all forms of digital ID. If you don’t verify eligibility beforehand, you might have a digital ID that a state does not accept. For example, Arizona, Colorado, and Georgia all accept Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, and Samsung Wallet digital IDs, while Hawaii, Ohio, and Puerto Rico are only set up to accept Apple Wallet. 

Certain locations only accept a specific form of digital ID. In Utah, for example, you must use a digital ID in the GET Mobile app. Digital IDs will likely expand over time, but for now, use a digital ID as a primary method and a physical ID as a backup. You may never be asked to show your physical ID. But knowing you have it on you upon request, and that the TSA can ask for it as part of its ever-changing rules, will provide you peace of mind and hopefully a smoother trip.

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Apple introduced its AirTag accessory for locating lost or misplaced items back in 2021. There are rumors that a new AirTag 2 version will be coming in late 2025, but the original AirTag remains a fantastic accessory. You can connect it to items like your keys, purse, luggage, or wallet, or even place in your car, on a pet collar, or in a child’s backpack.

When the item is nearby, like keys in an unchecked pocket or a wallet underneath the car seat, you can use Siri or the Find My app to make the AirTag play a sound. With Precision Finding, you can get navigational directions right to it using the app.

AirTags can work from even further distances, like if you left your keys on the patio table of the local coffee shop, or in the gym locker. Using the expansive Find My network around the world, you could even find your luggage if it somehow ended up in another country. Essentially, you can track AirTags up to about 30 feet away using Bluetooth (potentially longer outdoors), but virtually infinite distances using the network of Apple device owners.

Using an AirTag to find items close by

It’s important to set up Apple’s Find My network when you get an iPhone so you can locate both the phone, and as many as dozens of items by logging into the app on any other Apple device. Ring a misplaced iPhone, display a message on screen so it can be returned to you, or even remotely lock or erase a lost or stolen iPhone by using Find My. 

Link items to the Find My app, like AirTags and third-party accessories that use the Find My network. For example, I have a Satechi Passport Cover connected to my Find My network, so I never lose that essential document. I once left it at a counter at the airport and was able to find it!

If the item is within the 30-foot Bluetooth range, you can see its location and use sounds to find it. When using an iPhone 11 and up, Precision Finding (which leverages Ultra Wideband technology from the U1 chip) can lead you right to it, providing turn-by-turn directions. It uses the phone’s camera, ARKit, accelerometer, and gyroscope to guide you along to the AirTag’s location like you’re on a scavenger hunt.

Apple AirTag’s near infinite range

How does it work if the AirTag is miles away? Apple’s Find My network, made up of the network of more than 2.35 billion active Apple devices out in the world, uses those devices in tandem to find yours. When someone with an iPhone or other Apple device (with Bluetooth turned on) comes within at least 30 feet of your AirTag, the AirTag will “ping” the device with its location. You can then see approximately where it is via the app’s map.

The person who comes across the AirTag can tap their iPhone or any NFC-capable device to the AirTag, and it will open a website that shows your contact phone number if you provided it in Lost Mode setup. From there, the good Samaritan can call or text to let you know they found your item and make arrangements for a safe return. The experience is protected by end-to-end encryption, so it remains private and secure.

The rumored AirTag 2 is expected to boast improvements like a thinner design, upgraded Ultra-wideband chip with longer Precision Finding distance, and improved privacy. So, you might want to wait to see what the new version has to offer.

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A year and two generations after introducing the Camera Control functionality on the iPhone, it seems Apple is getting ready to simplify this feature. According to Weibo leaker Instant Digital, the company plans to remove the capacitive sensing layer of the Camera Control, leaving it with pressure sensing recognition only.

This change would be on par with what other smartphone makers offer, like Oppo and Vivo. These brands use a single-sensor approach that can recognize taps, presses, and even sliding gestures. While this could mean Apple is readying to phase out the Camera Control, as many people have mixed feelings about it, it could also mean the company is trying to find a way to cut costs.

With that, even if Apple makes the Camera Control simpler, it would still have the ability to recognize different types of pressure and sliding gestures. More interestingly, for the 20th anniversary of the iPhone, Apple could use piezoelectric ceramics for haptic feedback, as the company is rumored to finally switch to solid-state buttons.

Apple should remove the Camera Control functionality

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Even though Apple is currently planning to simplify the manufacturing process of the Camera Control, the company would be better off without Camera Control. After testing this feature for a year on the iPhone 16 Pro Max and continuing to have it on the iPhone 17 Pro Max, it only feels valuable for opening the camera quicker or using Visual Intelligence, which is something I rarely use.

While the latter can be pretty useful, and Apple continues to expand on Visual Intelligence features, I honestly challenge the necessity of having this extra button. Like the Action Button, it can be pretty useful if you can add a shortcut to improve a task you do repeatedly — or it can be just a dead button for your mute switch.

Since Apple has always been a company pushing customers to the future, it seems very un-Apple what it has done in the past few years with the Action Button and the Camera Control. However, the ongoing rumors that solid-state buttons are coming might give us a glimpse of the company’s old dream of a button-less and port-less iPhone.

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When Apple introduced the first iPad back in 2010, few people knew what to make of it. While Apple has always denied drawing inspiration from science fiction, many of us couldn’t resist drawing the comparison between the iPad and the Newspads from Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey.” It was an almost paper-thin slab of glass and metal that sat neatly between a smartphone and a laptop, perfect for watching movies, checking emails, and reading on the go.

At the time, it wasn’t the powerhouse it is today. The iPad was more of a companion than a full-fledged computer — something you reached for when your laptop felt too bulky or your phone too small. Over the years, though, Apple quietly pushed it further, crafting a capable tool for writing, designing, sketching, and even video editing. Many people now use it as their main device for both work and creativity.

That shift really took off with the introduction of Apple’s M-series Mac chips — the same ones found in MacBooks. Suddenly, the iPad became a portable powerhouse. And when paired with the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil, you realize it’s no longer a stretch to call it a true laptop alternative. So, let’s find out what it really takes to replace your laptop with an iPad.

Pair it with a Magic Keyboard or Smart Keyboard Folio

Typing on a touchscreen works fine for quick notes or short replies, but once you’re drafting an email or editing a document, it starts to feel limiting — especially when you consider the iPad’s screen size. After all, there’s a reason the Apple Pencil is favored for taking notes. If you plan to use your iPad for real work, a physical keyboard makes a huge difference. Apple’s Magic Keyboard and Smart Keyboard Folio are two of the best options because they take your iPad a third of the way to becoming a laptop.

Both attach magnetically and draw power directly from the iPad, so there’s no pairing or charging to worry about. The Magic Keyboard is the more premium option, with a strong floating hinge, a responsive trackpad, and backlit keys that make late-night typing easy. The Smart Keyboard Folio, on the other hand, focuses on portability. It’s thinner, lighter, and comes with a strong case that handles travel and everyday use quite well.

Whichever one you choose, you’ll feel the difference immediately. Typing feels more natural, multitasking becomes easier, and your iPad starts to feel like a productivity driver instead of a glorified tablet. Once you’ve used one of these keyboards for a while, switching back to typing on glass feels almost impossible.

Use a Bluetooth mouse or trackpad

Once you’ve paired a keyboard with your iPad, the next step is adding a mouse or trackpad. Touchscreens are great for scrolling or quick taps, but when you’re working on a spreadsheet, editing a photo, or tweaking a design, you’ll want more precision. Many Apple keyboards already come with a trackpad, but an external mouse may be more comfortable for you. Naturally, you’ll want one with Bluetooth connectivity, since there are only so many devices you can attach to the iPad’s charging port.

Connecting it takes less than a minute. Turn on your Bluetooth mouse or trackpad, open your iPad’s settings, and pair it. iPadOS recognizes most Bluetooth accessories right away, giving you a full desktop-like cursor experience. You can scroll, drag, highlight text, and switch apps effortlessly. Apple’s Magic Mouse and Magic Trackpad offer the smoothest integration, but plenty of third-party options perform just as well.

Once you connect a mouse or trackpad, you’ll quickly notice how it changes the way you use your iPad. You stop stretching for the screen every few seconds, and switching between multiple apps feels more fluid. This upgrade seems like a no-brainer, but you can’t truly appreciate the difference until you’ve tried it for yourself.

Master windowed apps, Split View, and Stage Manager

Multitasking on the iPad keeps getting better with every update. With iPadOS 26, Apple upgraded multitasking features in a big way, introducing full windowed apps that let you open, resize, and arrange multiple apps anywhere on the screen. You can even launch multiple windows for some apps — like two Safari tabs side by side, or a pair of Notes for comparing ideas. Swipe upward to get a quick overview of everything you have open, and bring back an app into focus with a single tap. What’s even better is the three-button control derived from macOS, which lets you close, minimize, and zoom in/out windows.

If you haven’t updated yet, or your iPad doesn’t support the new windowing system, Split View and Stage Manager still offer plenty of flexibility. Split View lets you run two apps side by side — just open one, swipe up to show the Dock, and drag another app alongside it. Stage Manager takes it a step further, allowing you to resize and overlap multiple apps while keeping others docked on the side for quick access.

Store files with iCloud Drive and external storage

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A lot of people still think switching to an iPad means sacrificing control over their files, but that idea couldn’t be further from the truth. Between iCloud and external storage support, managing files on an iPad feels just as flexible as using a laptop. You can organize projects, back up important documents, and move large files around without running into the limits that older iPads have.

iCloud Drive does most of the heavy lifting. Your files stay backed up online and accessible from almost any device, not just Apple’s. If you’re on a Windows PC, you can log in through the iCloud website or install the iCloud for Windows app to browse and edit files as if they were stored locally. This makes it easy to start a project on your iPad, continue on another device, and come back later without missing anything.

When you’re dealing with large media files or need offline access, connect an external SSD or flash drive to the iPad’s USB-C port. You can drag, drop, and organize content directly in the Files app, just like on a laptop. The Crucial X9 1TB Portable SSD is a great starting point, offering plenty of storage for videos, photos, and documents. It has USB-C connectivity, 1050MBps data transfer rate, and is just under $100, so you can extend your iPad’s storage without breaking the bank.

Install desktop-grade apps

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If the iPad is going to replace your laptop, it needs to run the same kind of apps — and these days, it can. Apple has spent years working with developers to bring full desktop-grade tools to iPadOS, and the results are impressive. You can now use apps like Microsoft 365, Adobe Photoshop, DaVinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro, with nearly the same functionality as a MacBook. They’re just as fast, reliable, and designed to take full advantage of the iPad’s power and touch interface.

These apps feel right at home in the iPad ecosystem. They support multitasking, Apple Pencil, and keyboard shortcuts, so you can edit a document, retouch an image, or color-grade a video without feeling like you’re missing out on desktop features. Most even sync seamlessly through iCloud, OneDrive, or Google Drive, letting you start something on your iPad and finish later on another device.

Considering that the iPad uses the same M-series chips as the MacBook, the hardware easily doubles as a gaming device. Many mobile titles, like “Call of Duty: Mobile” and “PUBG Mobile,” run smoothly with a connected controller. And in recent years, developers have started bringing full AAA experiences to iPadOS. Games like “Resident Evil 2” and “Assassin’s Creed Mirage” are optimized for iPads, showing just how much power the tablet can push.

Invest in a power bank for extended battery life

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When using your iPad as a laptop, chances are you’ll be on it all day — meetings, edits, calls, maybe even an external display. Apple still quotes around 10 hours of battery life, but real-world use often falls short once you start multitasking or running resource-heavy apps. That’s why a power bank isn’t just a backup anymore, but part of your setup.

The Anker Zolo Power Bank is one of the best portable chargers you can go for right now. It packs a 20,000 mAh capacity, delivers up to 45W of output, and even has built-in dual USB-C cables so you don’t have to carry extras. At roughly 12.85 oz, it’s light enough to keep in your bag without noticing the weight. That kind of output gives you enough power to keep an M-series iPad running through long editing sessions or external-display work without slowing down.

A good power bank does more than extend screen time; it keeps your workflow steady. You can plug in your iPad, charge your phone, and stay productive whether you’re commuting, flying, or spending the day away from a wall outlet.

Use the Apple Pencil for note-taking and editing

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The Apple Pencil is one of those accessories you don’t realize you need until you’ve used it for a while. At first glance, it seems like something only artists would care about, but that’s not really the case anymore. You’d agree that the Pencil signs e-signatures better than a mouse, or that jotting down notes feels more natural than typing with a keyboard — but there’s more to it than that. 

For anyone who sketches, edits, or brainstorms visually, the Apple Pencil is pretty much an extension of your hand. It’s precise enough to trace shapes, smooth out photo edits, or take clean handwritten notes without lag. Apps like GoodNotes, Notability, and Freeform make the experience even better, turning the iPad into a proper notebook and art canvas. Once you’ve spent some time with it, you start reaching for the Pencil almost without thinking.

Take advantage of Universal Control and Sidecar

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If you own both a Mac and an iPad, you already have one of the best productivity setups you could ask for. Universal Control and Sidecar connect your devices so smoothly that they start to feel like parts of the same machine. That’s how powerful Apple’s ecosystem is — it creates a single, fluid workspace that feels straight out of the future.

With Universal Control, you can use your Mac’s keyboard and trackpad on your iPad as if it were another screen. Move the cursor, drag a file across, or copy and paste text between devices without setting up anything complicated. As long as both devices share the same Apple ID and Wi-Fi network, it just works. On the other hand, Sidecar turns your iPad into a touchscreen MacBook. You can either extend your desktop for extra space or mirror your Mac screen for presentations.

Both apps work seamlessly with the Apple Smart Keyboard or Magic Keyboard for iPad, as well as any connected mouse or trackpad. When using Sidecar, you can draw, edit photos, and manipulate objects on your iPad while seeing real-time updates on your Mac.

Optimize battery and performance settings

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Your iPad is already designed to balance power and efficiency, but with a few small adjustments, it can run cooler with better performance, and last longer between charges. First off, update to the latest software. Each new version of iPadOS usually comes with small but vital improvements to speed and battery efficiency.

Next, tap on the Battery section in Settings. Turn on Low Power Mode when you’re away from an outlet to limit the display refresh rate (on compatible models) and disable mail syncing. Reducing screen brightness, disabling Bluetooth or Wi-Fi when you don’t need them, and closing apps that constantly update in the background all help stretch your battery life. If you’re using an external keyboard or display, unplug them when you’re done. These accessories quietly draw more power than most people realize.

These small changes take less than a minute but make a big difference in daily use. You’ll notice important apps run much smoother, fewer low battery alerts, and longer sessions before you need to plug in the charger.

Connect to an external display for desktop-like setup

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A laptop is nice, but have you ever worked on a desktop setup? If you’ve never tried connecting your iPad to an external display, you’re missing one of its best tricks. Hooking it up to a monitor or smart TV’s USB port gives you the breathing room you could only get on a laptop or desktop. Suddenly, you’re no longer squinting at the screen when editing, studying, multitasking, or gaming.

Connecting it is straightforward. If you’re using a USB-C monitor, simply plug your iPad directly into it. For HDMI displays, a USB-C to HDMI adapter works just fine. But if you want the best setup, use the Apple-recommended USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter. That way, you can charge your iPad while it’s connected to an external display and still have extra ports for accessories like a mouse, SSD, or flash drive. Prefer going wireless? AirPlay lets you mirror or extend your screen to an Apple TV or compatible smart TV without a single cable.

With Stage Manager or the new windowed apps mode in iPadOS 26, your workspace expands even more. You can drag windows across both screens, keep your main apps on the larger display, and manage secondary tools on the iPad itself. Once you’ve tried it, it’s hard to go back to using the iPad alone.

From tablet to full workstation

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If we’re being honest, turning an iPad into a full workstation isn’t cheap. By the time you add a Magic Keyboard, an Apple Pencil, and maybe a dock or external display, you’re well into laptop territory. But the difference is what you get for it. You’re not just replacing a laptop; you’re building an all-in-one entertainment, productivity, and creative hub.

And the iPad’s future makes that flexibility more attractive. Apple’s new M5 chip in the latest iPad Pro models pushes performance even further, with faster processing for on-device AI, hardware-accelerated ray tracing for better graphics, and Wi-Fi 7 for faster, more stable connections. These improvements signal a future where the iPad comfortably handles desktop workflows, advanced creative tasks, and AI-powered productivity, while remaining portable.

So while the cost might make you pause, the payoff clearly outweighs it. You don’t need both a laptop and an iPad. You just need one device that’s powerful, portable, and ready for any kind of day you’re having.

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Using something like the Heroic Launcher to play non-Steam games on the Steam Deck works great for Epic Games, but it doesn’t work as well for Xbox games. If you want access to the Xbox Cloud Gaming service, you have a few options. You can install Microsoft Edge on your Steam Deck, which will give you access to the Xbox Cloud Gaming service through the browser, but it lacks a number of features. Or you can go with Better xCloud, an open-source alternative designed to address what the stock Edge experience lacks. 

One of the most notable features Better xCloud provides that isn’t available through Edge alone is the ability to play your Xbox games remotely from other browsers, such as Google Chrome. In addition to alternative browsers, Better xCloud reduces lag and supports 1080p streaming resolution for games. You can even stream when on another network, making it a fantastic way to gain access to your collection of Xbox games while on the go.

Players can also tweak a multitude of settings that aren’t available through the traditional Xbox Cloud Gaming experience inside the Edge browser. Those who subscribe to Game Pass can adjust the bitrate of their stream, configure the renderer being used, and even play around with several clarity boost features. 

Better xCloud gives you more control

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Additional Better xCloud tools allow for fine-tuning and adjusting visual elements such as sharpness, saturation, and more. One feature that may make it a must-have for gamers is the native mouse and keyboard support, giving you more ways to play. The plugin even provides access to touch screen support and screenshot capabilities, which are lacking through the stock Edge experience.

With Better xCloud, you get a ton of features and settings that make Xbox Cloud Gaming a much more robust experience on the Steam Deck, and the best part is that it’s totally free. The application gives you some impressive granular control, something great for those who love to tinker with their settings in order to get every ounce of speed and power from their device. 

Because this is all done through a browser plugin, Better xCloud works on more than just your Steam Deck. You can install it on Android boxes, Meta Quest VR headsets, Apple phones and laptops, and more. It’ll even work on LG TVs with webOS 22 or higher, making it a great option for sets like the LG B4 OLED. With all the games you’ll now be able to play, you might want to look into ways of extending the battery life of your Steam Deck. 

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The UK government is being pressed for a response as to why a major, multi-hour Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage in the US disrupted UK-based organisations, including HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) and Lloyds Banking Group.

The outage, which AWS confirmed started just before 8am UK time on 20 October, originated in AWS’s US-East-1 datacentre region in North Virginia, and caused large-scale disruption to a host of companies across the world, including in the UK.

The US-East-1 region is renowned for being Amazon’s first and flagship cloud region, as well as its largest, and is often the place where the public cloud giant rolls out new services to customers first.

For this reason, it is not unheard of for service issues with the US-East-1 region to blight overseas users of the firm’s cloud technologies.

But with concerns mounting in the UK (and other geographies) about the public and private sector’s over-reliance on US-based big tech platforms, the outage has led to renewed calls for greater transparency about the resiliency of the nation’s hosting arrangements.

“The narrative of bigger is better and biggest is best has been shown for the lie it always has been,” Owen Sayers, an independent security architect and data protection specialist with a long history of working in the public sector, told Computer Weekly. “The proponents of hyperscale cloud will always say they have the best engineers, the most staff and the greatest pool of resources, but bigger is not always better – and certainly not when countries rely on those commodity global services for their own national security, safety and operations.

“Nationally important services must be recognised as best delivered under national control, and as a minimum, the government should be knocking on AWS’s door today and asking if they can in fact deliver a service that guarantees UK uptime,” he said. “Because the evidence from this week’s outage suggests that they cannot.”

Government use of cloud under scrutiny

AWS has vowed to publish a detailed “post-event summary” detailing the causes of the outage and the steps it had to take to bring services back online.

In the meantime, and in line with Sayers’ recommendations, HM Treasury is already being asked to account for why it has not used powers conferred on it earlier this year to ensure suppliers like AWS are up to the job of delivering resilient cloud services to organisations in the financial services sector.

The chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Meg Hillier, published a letter she has written to the economic secretary, Lucy Rigby, that appears to have been penned during the AWS outage.

The letter calls on Rigby for clarification about why, despite having the power to do so since January 2025, the Treasury has apparently so far neglected to add AWS to its Critical Third Parties (CTP) list of suppliers.

This designation, which was introduced through changes made to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2020 in November 2024, is intended to provide the UK’s financial regulators with the means to include third-party suppliers to the sector within their supervisory scope – the idea being that doing so might help better manage any potential risks to the stability and resilience of the UK financial system that might arise as a result of a third-party supplier suffering from service disruption, as happened on 20 October with AWS.

As stated in Hillier’s letter, it appears the Treasury is yet to call any suppliers into the scope of the CTP regime, including AWS, which is known to be a supplier to a large number of UK financial services institutions.

“In light of today’s major outage at Amazon Web Services … why has HM Treasury not designated Amazon Web Services or any other major technology firm as a CTP for the purposes of the Critical Third Parties Regime,” asked Hillier, in the letter. “[And] how soon can we expect firms to be brought into this regime?”

Hillier also asked HM Treasury for clarification about whether or not it is concerned about the fact that “seemingly key parts of our IT infrastructure are hosted abroad” given the outage originated from a US-based AWS datacentre region but impacted the activities of Lloyds Bank and also HMRC.

On the latter point, Hiller asked: “What work is HM Treasury doing with HMRC to look at what went wrong, and how this may be prevented in future?”

Computer Weekly contacted HM Treasury for details of its response to Hillier’s letter, and to seek clarification on whether it has plans to imminently add AWS to the CTP list. It also asked if the Treasury has concerns about parts of the UK’s banking infrastructure being hosted overseas, in the wake of the outage.

A spokesperson for the government department did not directly answer the questions posed by Computer Weekly, but did provide the following statement in response:

“We know the threat cyber attackers present, which is why we are working with regulators to establish a Critical Third-Party regime, so we can hold firms providing these services to the same high standards as other financial services institutions,” the Treasury statement read.

UK reliance on overseas clouds

Hillier’s question to the Treasury about whether it has any concerns about key parts of the UK’s IT infrastructure being hosted overseas is being echoed by other UK cloud market watchers and stakeholders in the wake of the outage.

“We should be asking the obvious question: why are so many critical UK institutions, from HMRC to major banks, dependent on a datacentre on the east coast of the US?” said Mark Boost, CEO of London-based cloud services provider Civo. 

“Sovereignty means having control when incidents like this happen – but too much of ours is currently outsourced to foreign cloud providers. The AWS outage is yet another reminder that when you put all your eggs in one basket, you’re gambling with critical infrastructure.

“When a single point of failure can take down HMRC, it becomes clear that our reliance on a handful of US tech giants has left core public services dangerously exposed,” he said.

AWS has operated a UK datacentre region since 2016, with a key selling point of these facilities being that it would allow UK-based organisations to access locally hosted versions of its public cloud services.

This adds further weight to Boost and Hillier’s line of questioning about why a US outage impacted UK-based organisations when, presumably, these organisations should be relying on the UK region to access AWS services.

When Computer Weekly put this question to AWS, citing the disruption caused to HMRC during the outage as an example, a company spokesperson advised the publication to direct that comment directly to the government tax agency.

Shared responsibility model

That response (or lack thereof) potentially speaks to the notion of the “shared responsibility model” that AWS subscribes to, whereby the organisation considers security, compliance and the resilience of its customers’ cloud environments to be something of a shared burden.

As detailed on the company’s Shared Responsibility Model reference web page, this setup is designed to “relieve” AWS customers of the operational burden of running their own cloud infrastructure, but they remain responsible for whatever data they choose to host in it.

“Customers should carefully consider the services they choose [to host in AWS] as their responsibilities vary depending on the services used, the integration of those services into their IT environment, and applicable laws and regulations,” said AWS.

“The nature of this shared responsibility also provides the flexibility and customer control that permits the deployment.”

Speaking to Computer Weekly, Brent Ellis, principal analyst at IT market watcher Forrester, said the fact the outage originated in the AWS US-East-1 region and impacted UK organisations suggests “at least some part” of the HMRC and Lloyds setups had a dependency on that region.

“That would have been an architecture choice by those companies, but not necessarily a fault of AWS,” said Ellis. “That dependency could also have been introduced by a nested SaaS [software as a service] component for the organisations involved.

“Generally, I think this shows how complex and interconnected modern cloud-based infrastructure is, and that is a problem from a resilience perspective, especially if you do not have visibility into the nested dependencies that underlie your business technology stack.”

Regulatory intervention

Because of the impact such dependencies can have, Ellis is of the view that the AWS outage may prompt calls for regulatory intervention to prevent a repeat of it, in a similar vein to what Hiller and her colleagues on the Treasury Select Committee are calling for. “I do think it gives fodder to the greater push for sovereign cloud,” he said. “It also will probably spur regulation to increase visibility into dependencies and fault domains for critical sectors like finance.”

What users of hyperscale cloud services, such as AWS, need to know is what services and capabilities within their chosen suppliers’ extended portfolios are hosted in the UK, and how resilient they are, added Sayers.

To highlight why this is important, he cited the findings of a series of investigations into Microsoft’s cloud hosting arrangements in the Scottish policing sector that he worked with Computer Weekly to make public.

That work resulted in an initial disclosure from Microsoft that it could not guarantee the sovereignty of UK policing data stored and processed in its M365 platform.

This was later followed up with further revelations that policing data hosted in the Microsoft cloud could be processed in more than 100 countries, without users explicitly knowing about it.

“We already know Microsoft do not have a UK-based capability for all their services, but we need to know exactly what the [overseas hyperscalers] can deliver in the country and how resilient that actually is,” said Sayers. “We need to properly understand their points of failure and how they can be engineered around.”
 
Some of the hyperscalers have sought to evade answering questions on this point, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, he continued. “That’s not a defence we can tolerate anymore,” said Sayers. “These services are increasingly friable, increasingly complex and increasingly hidden from our view. If we are to rely on them, we need to know they are reliable, and if they aren’t then we need to pivot – at least for critical services.”

Customer-created issues

Ellis’s colleague, Dario Maisto, is a senior analyst at Forrester, who told Computer Weekly that AWS is aware that customer-created, cross-region architectural dependencies are part of a “bigger sovereignty problem” facing its European customer base.

“[AWS] is about to launch a perfect replica of its services [in Europe] under the AWS EU [European Union] sovereign cloud offer, with the first isolated [sovereign] region in Germany,” he said.

“In fact, the only way a client can be sure that its data and workloads do not suffer from any dependency from infrastructure abroad is physical and logical isolation of the cloud regions the client uses [so that it] must not be possible at all that the client is able to make any choice that creates a dependency on foreign infrastructure.”

Achieving this outcome, continued Maisto, means all of the services the customer needs must be hosted within the isolated region as the only ones the client can access. “A data boundary or a commitment to the market cannot guarantee what only a precise architectural construct of the client’s cloud environment can grant,” he added.

AWS is far from the only cloud provider to suffer an outage, and any cloud company an enterprise entrusts their data to could suffer a similar fate at some point in their existence.

However, Civo’s Boost said the incident highlights why enterprises should be looking to diversify their pool of cloud providers, but also why governments and regulators need to be taking a closer look at how much of the world’s infrastructure runs on a relatively small number of hyperscale cloud platforms.

“The more concentrated our infrastructure becomes, the more fragile and externally governed it is,” he said. “If Europe is serious about digital sovereignty, it needs to accelerate its shift towards domestically governed and diversified infrastructure. Governments and regulators have a responsibility to create the conditions for real competition. That means rethinking procurement, funding sovereign alternatives and making resilience a baseline requirement.”

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