This week is a blend of Apple once again insisting the iPad Pro really means business this time, Amazon giving its most expensive E-Ink device a touch of personality, a surprisingly restrained Pebble comeback, and a new pocket-sized reader that quietly questions whether bigger screens were ever the goal in the first place.
Apple Creator Studio: the iPad Pro really is ‘pro’ this time … promise!
Apple has just announced Apple Creator Studio, a new subscription bundle that pulls together Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, and a handful of supporting apps across macOS and iPadOS.
What’s interesting isn’t just the bundle itself, but how clearly Apple is positioning the iPad Pro alongside the Mac. And not in the way of just being a complimentary device.
On the iPad side, the focus is obvious: Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and—crucially for me—Pixelmator Pro. Apple is no longer talking about these as lightweight companions to the Mac versions. The language being used suggests proper, native, full-fat experiences designed to stand on their own.
That distinction matters. There’s a big difference between a scaled-down app and one that can genuinely hold its own.
The apps will still be available to buy outright, so you’re not forced into a subscription. But Apple isn’t being subtle about where the future investment is going. Advanced features, deeper cross-app integration, and ongoing updates will live inside the subscription versions. You won’t be locked out entirely, but you may be missing the parts Apple now cares about most.
Pixelmator Pro on iPad is where this gets personal for me.
I use Pixelmator on my iPad Pro every single week for thumbnails and image editing, and for years it’s been oddly limited—missing basic functionality that even Apple’s own Photos app manages without complaint. Since Apple acquired Pixelmator last year, this always felt like a ‘when, not if’ situation.
From what Apple is showing, the iPad version finally looks closer to its desktop counterpart. That’s a big deal if you do regular graphic work and have even flirted with the idea of using the iPad Pro as your main machine.
I’m still cautious. The gap between announcement slides and real-world use can be wide. But if Apple has genuinely closed some of the long-standing usability gaps that have forced creatives back to a Mac, then yes—this subscription suddenly becomes a lot more tempting.
Whether anyone wants another subscription is another question entirely. But this does feel like Apple leaning harder into the idea that the iPad Pro shouldn’t just orbit the Mac. It should stand on its own two feet.
Amazon adds a little personality to the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft
Amazon made a quieter announcement this week—one I didn’t even realise needed making.
When the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft was first revealed, it appeared in two colours: graphite and fig. What I hadn’t clocked was that US buyers couldn’t actually get the fig version. That changes on 28th January, when the deep red-purple finish finally goes on sale.
There is, of course, a catch.
The fig colour is only available on the 64GB model, which keeps it firmly in premium territory at around $630 (and yes, roughly the same number in £s). Nothing else changes. Same colour E-Ink display. Same writing experience. Same features.
This is purely cosmetic—but Amazon doesn’t usually do this without reason.
Colour E-Ink devices are expensive and niche. Offering a more expressive finish suggests Amazon wants the Scribe Colorsoft to feel less like a specialist tool and more like something people choose because they like it, not just because they necessarily need it.
Pebble is no longer square!
One of the more unexpected stories from CES this year was the return of a name I genuinely didn’t expect to hear again.
Pebble is back.
The new Pebble Round 2 sticks remarkably close to what made the original Pebble watches appealing in the first place. This isn’t nostalgia wrapped in modern excess. It uses a circular E-Ink display, runs an open-source OS based on Pebble OS, and deliberately avoids the ‘everything and the kitchen sink’ approach of modern smartwatches.
No heart-rate sensor.
No aggressive fitness tracking (though it does do fitness).
No attempt to become a tiny phone strapped to your wrist.
Instead, the focus is on readability, battery life, and simplicity. The same principles that made Pebble stand out over a decade ago. I should know—I backed the original Kickstarter back in 2012.
It’s also impressively thin at around 8.1mm, which is noticeably slimmer than most Apple Watch or Wear OS models. That thinness isn’t just aesthetic; it’s the natural result of using E-Ink and stripping out hardware many people don’t actually need.
Battery life should stretch into days, possibly weeks, depending on use. E-Ink only draws power when the screen changes, which makes it ideal for a device you glance at rather than constantly interact with.
This is a watch for people who want a watch—funny that! Shows minimal notifications clearly and doesn’t demand nightly charging.
Whether that audience is large enough in 2026 remains to be seen—but it’s refreshing to see someone even try.
A pocket-sized E-Ink reader that knows what it is
Finally, there’s a new E-Ink device coming out of CES that sits in an interesting middle ground.
The DuRoBo Krono isn’t a phone. It isn’t a tablet. It’s closer to a digital paperback that happens to run Android.
It uses a 6.1-inch E-Ink Carta display, includes 128GB of storage, and is designed to live in a pocket. That’s the entire point. This is an always-with-you reading device, not a productivity slab or a phone replacement.
There’s no emphasis on stylus input, multitasking, or document workflows. It’s not trying to replace an iPad—or even a larger E-Ink tablet. It’s about comfort, portability, and focus.
At around $279, it sits above basic Kindles but below most Android-based E-Ink tablets, which quickly climb past the $400 mark once you add size and pen support.
What’s interesting is the wider trend this reflects.
After years of chasing bigger screens and more features, parts of the E-Ink market seem to be reassessing what people actually enjoy using day to day. Comfort. Battery life. Focus. Devices that are pleasant to live with.
Rather than seeing this as a retreat, I see it as a correction.
Not everything needs to be a slab.
That’s all folks!
If you’ve spotted any other E-Ink or iPad stories I’ve missed, I’d love to hear about them. Leave a comment or email me directly at markfromthespark@gmail.com, and I’ll consider it for the next edition.
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