The last time I tried to use touchscreen gloves, I had made the decision to just never use my phone outdoors in the dead of winter. The damn things just weren’t warm.
I’m recalling this from my home in Minnesota, where this week’s lows are forecast to dip below zero for the first time this winter and I am wearing touchscreen gloves.
The latest iPad Pro includes the most significant changes Apple has made to its tablets in years. There’s USB-C instead of Lightning, Face ID instead of Touch ID, and the device is more portable. In some ways it’s better than a MacBook.
But that’s not to say Apple got everything right. The 2018 iPad Pro has problems noticeable enough to leave me questioning whether I made the right decision buying one.
Even a 15-inch MacBook Pro screen feels cramped when compared to a big desktop display. Too bad toting around a second screen for your laptop isn’t practical.
But maybe it is. Luna Display is a tiny wireless adapter that lets an iPad act as an external display for a Mac. We tested this accessory to see how well it lives up to its promise of a hassle-free way of extending our MacBook screen when on the go. Read on to find out how it did.
Our bedside table is lousy with chargers. My wife and I have separate chargers for our iPhones (Qi charging mats), my Apple Watch (a cool but bulky stand), and a new iPad Pro (a repurposed Android phone charger with USB-C). There is barely room for stacks of books and magazines, a bedside lamp, a Sonos speaker, earplugs, sleep masks, reading glasses, sleepy-time CBD tincture and other bedside junk.
Time to consolidate!
With Apple’s AirPower charging mat still AWOL and possibly dead forever, the Dual+Watch Aluminium Wireless Charger is a great three-device charger you can buy now.
Made by respected Dutch company Zens — an expert in wireless charging — the Dual+Watch charging mat fast-charges two iPhones, plus your Apple Watch. And it’s available now from the Cult of Mac Watch Store.
In German, the boy’s name “Yohann” means “gift of god.” The same could be said about the Yohann MacBook stand, a sculptural walnut base divine in both look and function.
You may want to say a little prayer when you place your MacBook Pro on this elevating perch for the first time, though. You will wonder how this thing can support your rather expensive machine.
The new iPad Pro is arguably the most powerful, most familiar, most versatile, and most fun computer you can get today. Yes, you read that correctly. I said computer.
For the past week, I’ve been testing out Apple’s latest 12.9” iPad Pro. I’ve used it around the house, and at work, in the kitchen, and in bed, at the coffee shop and on the couch – and it’s been great. I actually look forward to using it, and it has replaced both my MacBook and my iPhone for a lot of my most common situations.
Buoy Tags, in a nutshell, are labels for cables. Apparently, some of us could use them.
I didn’t know this until my little box of Buoy Tags arrived. But once I saw the little clip-on tags, I could see how they might solve a common problem in households with multiple devices, or in communal offices where everyone plugs into power strips.
Since I got an new 2018 iPad Pro on launch day last week, I’ve used it exclusively. I haven’t touched my aging, decrepit Mac all week. I’ve used the iPad for work, and for play, so I’ve given it a pretty good workout. The short review is: It’s fantastic, and better in almost every way.
The long review? There are still plenty of annoyances.
If you buy a new iPad on launch day, and you want a cover or case, you’ll probably have to buy one from Apple. The first-party covers are great, but the prices are absurd. After using a Smart Cover on my old 1st-gen 12.9-inch iPad Pro for a few years, I swore to myself that I’d wait it out this time, until good third-party cases went on sale, instead of wasting cash on a Smart Folio Cover.
But, after just a couple of hours with the new iPad Pro, I realized there was no way to carry it in my bag without a case. So I put it back in its box, walked to the Apple Store, and gave Apple another 120 euros (or $136 at current exchange rates). Was it worth it?
Anyone planning to use a 2018 iPad Pro for business probably needs an add-on keyboard. Apple’s own offering in this category is the Smart Keyboard Folio, which wraps tightly around this new tablet, both protecting it and providing the text input method so many of us depend on.
Because it’s made by Apple, nearly everyone who buys an iPad Pro considers getting this accessory, but the price will give you reason to pause.
We put one through extensive testing to help you decide if it’s right for you.
