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One of the best keyboards money can buy for iPad Pro now comes with a built-in trackpad. The Brydge Pro+ is one of the first to truly embrace mouse support in iPadOS. And it costs a lot less than Apple’s official Magic Keyboard, which won’t debut until May.

Like almost every other Brydge keyboard I’ve used, this one delivers a terrific typing experience that you can rely on every day. It feels superbly comfortable, and it’s brilliantly designed. It makes your iPad feel like a MacBook in the most elegant way possible.

Despite all that — and my appreciation for Brydge as a company — it’s really hard for me to recommend the Pro+. It gets so many things right, but completely misses the mark where it really matters. Here’s my full Brydge Pro+ review after several weeks of use.

UPDATE: February 25, 2021: Brydge is currently preparing a big firmware update for the Pro+ that promises to eliminate its trackpad issues for good by adding native multitouch gestures. That means the Pro+ will soon offer exactly the same functionality as Apple’s own Magic Keyboard.

We have yet been able to test that firmware update, but we have heard that it lives up to Brydge’s promises. Bear that in mind before reading the rest of our original review below.

Apple reportedly will roll out a major refresh to its top-of-the-line iPhones in the fall that will see the addition of 5G and a re-design of two models with a slimmer, sleeker design. Sources said the company also plans to release a smaller, less expensive HomePod and an electronic finder technology to monitor the location of anything from keys to a purse.

Apple and Google revealed Friday that they’re teaming up to take on one of the most colossal tasks in the fight to stop the spread of COVID-19: contact tracing.

If you’re like me, you probably hadn’t heard about contact tracing until the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it’s proven to be an important tool in countries that have seen a drop in their reported cases of the coronavirus.

With a little background, here are the basics of contact tracing and what you need to know.

In a rare moment of collaboration, Apple and Google said Friday they have teamed up to create a contact-tracing program that uses smartphones to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The privacy-focused solution created by the companies will use anonymous Bluetooth “chirps” from phones as a way to tell where an infected person has been and who they’ve come in contact with.

Apple is working on a totally re-designed, wireless charging pad with the ability to route power to exact areas to prevent overheating, according to Front Page Tech analyst Jon Prosser.

Prosser reported Friday that engineers on Apple’s Sharing and Proximity team and working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic recently received prototype units of something called “C68”. AirPower isn’t mentioned by name, but descriptions and details appear to match Apple’s failed charging mat.

This week on The CultCast: A tipster says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro is right around the corner! We’ll tell you what we know. Plus: Apple is readying its secret over-the-ear headphones, and a mysterious little product called the AirPods X. We discuss! And we wrap up with a USB-C charger that can charge it all, Logitech’s new StreamCam and a double-duty iPhone/Apple Watch stand in an all-new Under Review.

A cyber-security firm in the United Kingdom has identified 32 iOS apps that it dubs “fleeceware” for subscriptions and in-app fees that amount to a form of online fraud.

More than 3.5 million iOS users installed the apps, most of which were image editors, QR and barcode scanners, horoscope and fortune-telling apps and face filters for selfies. Two astrology apps making the list are among the first 20 in top-grossing iPhone apps in the UK.

Whether you’re working from home, hanging out with friends on group FaceTime, or attending events remotely, you’re probably using video calling a lot more than you ever have before. While you probably make the effort to present yourself well in real-life meatspace, on Skype, Zoom or FaceTime, I bet you look terrible.

Fear not. Today we’ll see five ways to make sure you look great on a video call.

iOS 14 will reportedly be able to run part of third-party applications, giving users access to some of their features without them needing to install the entire app on their iPhone, according to a published report. How much of each application would be available in these “Clips” would be up to that app’s developer.

Some of the most anticipated iOS 14 features that allegedly leaked though an early beta build of the upcoming software are on full display in a fresh iOS 14 concept that’s full of stuff like widgets on the home screen, list view for apps, new call alert screen and more.

The new iOS 14 concept created by Jack Phillip imagines how Apple’s planned mentions feature for iMessage would work, while also tossing in some new ideas, like a list view in Calendar, a Habits app, an overhaul of the Music app’s UI and so much more.

These are our favorite features:

True-ish crime show Home Before Dark, about an intrepid cub reporter who’s always late to class, is the latest Apple TV+ streaming option available to quarantined Americans. Is it any good?

Here’s a quick guide to the pleasures of the show.

Face ID is great, as long as your iPhone can see your face. A mask — like the ones we all should be wearing to slow the coronavirus pandemic — blocks the iPhone’s Face ID sensor from seeing your face. That means you either need to remove the mask (bad) to unlock your iPhone, type in your passcode every time (annoying), or disable the passcode entirely (a terrible idea).

But, according to in-depth research from China’s Tencent Xuanwu Lab, you can train Face ID to work while you’re wearing a mask. It needs some careful setup, but once it’s done, it works reliablly and quickly. You can even wear glasses.

Apple is shipping out replacement AirPods buds with unreleased firmware that makes them unusable for now.

Some users have been holding onto new AirPods that they cannot use for more than a week. They will remain useless until Apple makes its version 2D3 AirPods firmware available to the public.

The Magnetic Wireless Charging Case from Xvida protects your iPhone from drops and blows, but that’s just the start. Magnets set into its back allow it to easily attach to a range of other accessories made by this company. That includes a wireless charger that adds hours of use to the handset.

I’ve tested both the Xvida Magnetic Wireless Charger Portable Battery Pack and the protective case that it pairs with to see how they stand up to real-world use.

A ventilator simulator app for iPad and Mac is helping medical workers quickly learn how to use the life-saving machines during the coronavirus pandemic. The software, originally developed for classroom use, is now being used to train doctors on the fly as demand for ventilators — and professionals who can operate them — soars due to COVID-19.

The free simulator software looks and operates just like the Hamilton-C6, a state-of-the-art ventilator sold by Switzerland-based Hamilton Medical AG, one of the world’s largest medical ventilator manufacturers. Much like a flight simulator for pilots, the iPad app allows medical professionals unfamiliar with mechanical ventilators, or simply rusty after years of not using them, to practice adjusting settings without endangering lives.

“You don’t want to practice on a real patient, so that’s why we developed this simulator that basically provides that interaction,” Alexander Starcevic, director of marketing at Hamilton Medical AG, told Cult of Mac. “It provides you with a real interface that you have on the real ventilator. In addition, you have behind this a patient model that actually responds to what you’re setting.”

If you’re a stuck-at-home musician, or just someone who would like to learn to make music with their Mac, then maybe you’ve just downloaded the generous, lockdown-era, three-month free trial of Ableton Live. And if you’re a GarageBand (or Logic Pro X) user, you may be feeling a little lost.

Fear not. I did the same thing last year. At first I was overwhelmed just trying to do basic stuff, like routing my guitar into Ableton or trying to work out why the app offers at least three record buttons.

So, as a relatively fresh Ableton user, I thought I’d make a list of handy tips for new users coming from Apple’s music apps.

I wore a tubular scarf to the grocery store the other day, and spent most of the time breathing shallowly so my glasses wouldn’t steam up. On the bike it was fine, because the wind kept everything clear. But as soon as I stopped, the mask funneled my hot, moist breath onto my specs, and I couldn’t see.

Luckily, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department knows a thing or two about keeping your spectacles clear while you wear a mask. Here’s how to do it.

A new support document gives a detailed look at the face shields Apple designed for medical workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic. In true Apple design fashion, the shields are minimalist yet highly functional.

Apple says the shields are fully adjustable and can be assembled in just two minutes. That means workers can spend less time fussing with protective gear and more time helping COVID-19 patients.

Apple is readying new over-ear headphones and “AirPods X” for 2020 as it plans to slowly “phase out Beats,” a tipster claimed Tuesday.

We could see the company’s new over-ear headphones during the online-only Worldwide Developers Conference this June. However, the company’s sportier take on AirPods is expected to come in the fall. Currently, Apple is supposedly working to clear out Beats inventory.

You’ve probably made more video calls in the last few weeks than you’ve made in the previous few years combined. And if they were on your iPhone or iPad, then they probably sounded great. But what if you’re using a Mac, with its prehistoric mics¹?

No worries. Through the magic of technology, you can use a better mic with your Mac’s Skype or FaceTime. (As a bonus, it also might make you feel more comfortable during videoconferences.)

The Satechi USB-C Magnetic Charging Dock for the Apple Watch is more portable than Apple’s own. And because it uses USB-C, it’s easier to use with a MacBook or iPad Pro — just plug it straight in.

I put the Satechi USB-C Magnetic Charging Dock for Apple Watch through a battery of tests. Here’s how it stood up.

By DP Spender

The launch of the new 2020 iPad Pro brought a plethora of articles from tech journalists asking, “Is this Apple’s laptop replacement?” That question is so open-ended, it might as well be an infinite loop. It’s like asking a toolmaker, “Is your new hammer a suitable replacement for last year’s wrench?”

It is in many ways a pointless question — and one that in my opinion totally misses the point. The question should be, “Does the 2020 iPad Pro get your job done?” To which my answer is yes, but then so did the 2018 model.

Amazing Stories’ season finale “The Rift” serves as a case study into the rebooted show’s highs and lows. With its five-episode run complete, the ways in which the Apple TV+ anthology series succeeded — and the ways it failed to cohere — become more obvious than ever.

“The Rift” was directed by Mark Mylod and written by Don Handfield and Richard Rayner (co-creators of History Channel’s Knightfall). However, the episode takes more cues from executive producer Steven Spielberg than nearly any of the preceding entries, to both its detriment and its occasional benefit. The real MVP of the piece, however, is the perpetually underrated Kerry Bishé.

A group of U.S. Senators is requesting assurances from CEO Tim Cook that Apple has privacy protections built into the company’s new COVID-19 screening app and website.

Senators Kamala Harris, Richard Blumenthal, Bob Menedez and Cory Booker sent a letter addressed to Cook on Friday voicing concerns about the private health data of Americans.

Do you need a coronavirus mask? The World Health Organization still says no, unless you are caring for someone with COVID-19 or carrying the virus that causes it yourself. But perhaps The WHO isn’t as impartial as we’d like to think. As health experts’ opinions on the subject evolve, a DIY homemade mask looks increasingly enticing.

Perhaps wearing a mask when you take the subway or visit a supermarket is a good idea after all. Whatever, none of this changes the fact that you cannot buy a mask anywhere. But you can make your own. Check out the Ragmask, a homemade mask deign from Loren Brichter. Yes, that Loren Brichter — the former Apple employee who went on to develop Tweetie and was dubbed the “high priest of app design” by The Wall Street Journal.