Newsstand - page 63

The whole point of the new Mac Pro is to make it easy to add more stuff inside it. Well, that, and to keep everything cool without sounding like a washing machine on spin cycle. The modular, standard nature of the Mac Pro’s design also means that you don’t have to pay Apple’s prices for RAM and storage upgrades. You can just buy them from somewhere like OWC or Crucial, and pop them in yourself. And I mean “pop.” It’s hard to imagine how adding RAM to the new Mac Pro could be any easier.

In fact, the hardest part might be unplugging all the cables on the back, so you can lift off the lid.

iOS 13 (and iPadOS) fixed the frustrating text-selection tools on the iPhone and iPad, but only if you know how to use them. Selecting a single word or sentence is still way easier on a Mac, because you have a mouse and keyboard permanently attached. On the iPad, though, you can still find the text selection slipping and jumping like an oiled fish.

Use these iPhone and iPad text-selection tips to highlight words and paragraphs the easy way in iOS.

The post-holiday tech fest that is CES shutters its doors today for another year. This week’s event has been as weird and as wonderful as any other, giving us a glimpse of all kinds of innovative gadgets on the way in 2020.

Better AirPods alternatives. Wireless chargers that achieve what Apple couldn’t. iPhone cases you can throw on the compost heap when they’re no longer needed. Here are the biggest trends from CES 2020.

Overnight Apple has chopped estimated trade-in values on a variety of products. It means that users will get less money for their old products when they try and trade them in with Apple.

Note to Cupertino: When people talk about wishing that Apple would cut prices on their products, this isn’t what they generally mean!

Belkin’s latest version of its Wemo smart plug with HomeKit support is significantly smaller than its predecessor, making it less obtrusive on wall sockets.

The company also unveiled at CES 2020 the Wemo Stage, a remote than can be used to launch HomeKit scenes with the punch of a button.

There are several ways to check the remaining battery life on your AirPods and AirPods Pro. You can flip open the AirPods’ case, and wave it near your iPhone or iPad to see a pop up battery screen. Or, if the AirPods are currently connected to your iPhone, you can swipe to the batter widget in the Today widget screen. But did you also know that you can check your AirPods’ battery from your Apple Watch?

A large white room filled with row upon row of just about every Apple computer you can imagine, all in pristine condition. On the walls are framed copies of Apple’s black-and-white “Think Different” ads. Sunlight streams through the large windows, giving everything a warm glow.

Is this heaven? The world’s greatest Apple Store? Nope, it’s Dubai, actually. Home to Jimmy Grewal, a collector of vintage Apple computers and one of the most impressive collections you’re likely to find anywhere.

This week’s Consumer Electronics Show brings a range of security devices that support Apple’s HomeKit home-automation system, including the August Wi-Fi Smart Lock.

Other notable announcements are new security cameras from Abode, and a smart lock and pair of cameras from ADT.

JBL used CES this week to introduce an AirPlay 2-ready soundbar with Dolby Atmos support and a unique take on wireless rear speakers.

Instead of cables running through the room or wireless speakers plugged into the wall for power, the JBL Bar 9.1 uses wireless, battery-powered rear speakers.

Tech accessory maker Satechi announced Wednesday its 108-watt Pro USB-C PD desktop charger which can power multiple devices simultaneously without needing to share power between ports.

The unit simultaneously charges four devices and includes two USB-C PD (90W, 18W) and two USB-A (a total of 12W) ports.

The number of Apple products with wireless charging support keeps growing. Accessory makers responded by unveiling multi-device chargers at CES 2020 that can send power to iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch and other accessories all at once, with no wires needed.

Both Satechi and Pitaka unveiled wireless multi-device chargers at this trade show, going on now in Las Vegas.

Buried in a press release with nothing from the manufacturers themselves, Apple revealed Wednesday its Apple TV+ app is coming to Sony and Vizio smart televisions “later this year.”

The additions join Samsung, which added the app to some of its TVs in December 2019. LG also announced this week it would be adding the app to its units later this year.

Apple has made its return to CES for the first time in 28 years, as a representative of the world’s biggest tech company appeared on-stage at the world’s biggest tech conference.

Apple wasn’t showing off new products, however. Instead, Jane Horvath, Apple’s senior director of global privacy, participated in a panel Tuesday titled “Chief Privacy Officer Roundtable: What Do Consumers Want?” The panel also included representatives from Facebook, Procter & Gamble, and the FTC.

Mophie parent company Zagg Brands is preparing to release a wireless charger sometime this year similar to that of Apple’s canceled AirPower, according to a published report.

A company spokesman told Bloomberg on Tuesday that it is developing a wireless charging mat with the capabilities to power wireless devices, something Apple attempted to devise in the now-aborted AirPower.

PopSockets was a wildly successful brand that was in danger of losing its grip.

Wireless charging is becoming a standard feature in smartphones and the stick-on PopGrip it created for reducing drops suddenly looked like an unintended battery barrier.

But the company finally figured out a way forward in the emerging wireless world with a round wireless charging pad with a hole in the middle.

Razer wants to make your mobile gaming experience even better with its brand-new Kishi controller for iPhone, revealed today at CES.

The device puts controls on either side of your handset, making it look a little like a Nintendo Switch, and it offers everything you would want in a modern iPhone controller — including clickable analog sticks.

What makes the Kishi really special is its ultra-low latency technology that makes it ideal for game streaming.

Moshi, maker of stylish tech accessories, rolled out new products at CES Monday night along with a new warranty program that seems to discourage upgrades.

It sounds counterintuitive for a tech company. But Moshi, in announcing a 10-year global warranty program on all new products, says it wants to avoid producing cheap gadgets that add to mounting piles of tech garbage.

Given what a ridiculously massive hit the AirPods have been for Apple, it’s no shocker that other companies are keen to jump aboard the wireless earbuds train with their own rival versions. This one, from America audio company JBL, looks highly reminiscent of Apple’s AirPods.

The main differences? It comes in a range of colors, and costs just $99.95. That makes it a cheap and cheerful alternative to Apple’s premium version.

Those with the 10.2-inch iPad launched last year will soon have significantly more case options, thanks to announcements made today at CES 2020. Zagg unveiled a collection of three keyboard cases, while its Gear4 subsidiary added two protective cases.

It’s finally possible to protect your iPhone from drops without adding extra plastic to our overflowing landfills.

Incipio, one of the largest smartphone case makers on the planet, is backing the plant-based plastics with its slim new iPhone 11 cases made out of Organicore, a 100% compostable material that can decompose in a compost pile in just six months.

A slew of smaller wall chargers with better charging speeds are soon to hit the market and two companies – Griffin and Aukey – used the Consumer Electronics Show on Monday to show off their newest units.

Aukey’s Omnia and Griffin’s PowerBlock lineup are made from gallium nitride, or GaN, a next-generation semiconductor material with 100-times the speed of old silicon technology. They are well-suited for high-power transistors capable of operating at high temperatures. As a result, components are smaller, lighter and faster to charge, up to 70% faster than standard chargers.

With the advent of more verticle videos on social media platforms, Samsung is introducing its Sero pivoting TV in the U.S. with Apple AirPlay 2 support.

Samsung showed off its new Sero TV at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Sunday with plans for its release in the second half of this year. No specific price was revealed, but Samsung launched the 4K display in South Korea for roughly $1,640 last May.

LG Electronics used the CES 2020 stage this morning to flaunt a 2020 lineup of more than a dozen new televisions with 4K and 8K displays along with a new Apple TV app.

Imagine watching your Apple TV+ shows on an 88-inch 8K OLED smart TV that is just a penny shy of $30,000.

It’s easy to mock smart toothbrushes, but most people don’t have very good dental hygiene. High-tech solutions like Colgate’s Plaqless Pro or Oral-B iO might be able to help by giving users feedback with an iPhone application.

Both toothbrushes were honored at CES 2020, with Colgate’s even earning the Best of Innovation award for Health and Beauty.

The holiday shopping season is behind us, but demand for AirPods Pro still exceeds supply. Orders placed on Apple.com won‘t ship before early February.

But those who live in a large metropolitan area have an option that could get them Apple’s new in-ear headphones much sooner.