Ted Lasso’s second season brings more of the aw-shucks charm and positivity that made the show the biggest hit on Apple TV+.

I didn’t find the show’s concept — a cornball U.S. football coach gets hired to lead a U.K. soccer squad — all that intriguing when the show debuted last year. But Ted Lasso’s relentless optimism won me over. And I’m not alone: The upbeat show definitely struck a chord with pandemic-weary viewers all over the world.

The show might be too sappy for Cult of Mac reviewer Scout Tafoya, who’s apparently not a sports fan. (He’s more of a Schmigadoon! kind of guy.) But even he grudgingly admits Ted Lasso is “handsomely produced and well-acted.”

And really, the show isn’t about sports … it’s about life, leadership and the transformative nature of teamwork.

Scout’s Ted Lasso season 2 review is the cover story of this week’s free edition of Cult of Mac Magazine. Download it now to read on your iOS device of choice. Even if you’re not into sports, or Apple TV+, you’ll find the mag’s stocked with plenty of Apple news, reviews and how-tos.

You’re on a plane, binge-watching your favorite show, but your laptop is running out of battery. With two hours left before you land, you kick yourself for not being prepared. “That’s it,” you think to yourself, “as soon as I land, I’m getting a powerful battery pack.” Well, this week’s giveaway is for you.

ZMI is giving away two powerful portable chargers valued at nearly $230 to two lucky winners. The top prize is the $149 ZMI PowerPack No. 20, which puts out a massive 210W and can recharge a 16-inch MacBook Pro and two other devices simultaneously. This good-looking battery pack won a prestigious design award from Red Dot.

Second prize is the more portable ZMI PowerPack 20K Pro, which puts out 65W max and is valued at $80. Enter this week’s giveaway for your chance at winning one of these two battery packs.

Anyone can snap a picture on their phone, but learning to become a photographer requires dedication and practice.

It’s not just learning how to take a good picture, but what a good picture is for different purposes. Taking photos for a wedding is different from capturing a landscape, which is different from travel photography, and so on. You can start learning what’s what with the 2021 Ultimate Learn to Become a Photographer Bundle — and it helps that it’s on sale for $30.

The new Accell Power UV Sanitizer with Wireless Charging promises to kill 99% of common germs and bacteria on your devices with UV light. And of course you can also use it to power them up.

Add Facebook to the list of companies offering a gaming service for iPhone. There’s a lengthy list of titles available on day one, including strategy, role playing, trivia and other types of games.

But don’t look for these in the App Store — Apple’s stringent rules on gaming services caused Facebook Gaming to be introduced as a web app instead.

Smart home accessory maker Aqara’s new gadget for HomeKit lets you monitor air quality in your house. As pollution rises from wildfires and other causes — depending on where you live — you may find it handy to glance at the Aqara TVOC Air Quality Monitor to know whether you need to do something about the air you breathe.

This iPhone buyback post is brought to you by Gadget Salvation.

Thinking about upgrading your iPhone this fall, but not sure what to do with your older iPhone XR? Selling it is a great option. Not only will that put a few extra bucks in your pocket, but it is also environmentally friendly.

Here are five reasons to sell your preowned iPhone XR.

iOS and iPadOS 15 make it easier than ever to keep track of web links that are shared with you in Messages by putting them all in one place inside Safari.

Here’s where you can find them — and how to view them all on iPhone and iPad.

Satechi, known for an array of iPad and iPhone accessories, has released a trio of GaN wall chargers to help you keep all your Apple devices powered up.

A Kickstarter campaign promises a new iPhone wireless charger with a zirconia ceramic body and interior mechanics designed for easy repairs and upgrades. That means it bucks the “planned obsolescence” trend and begs longterm — and even permanent — use. The product’s name? Biscuit.

Redditor N3oPuff drew some attention on the social media platform with a setup photo that flaunts mind-blowing gear not so much as it does natural beauty. It definitely brings to mind the old real estate maxim: “location, location, location.” But an M1 Mac mini always helps.

In fact, it could be the perfect Setup for a summer Friday.

The 2021 iPad mini will be Apple’s next tablet with a mini-LED display, according to information leaking from a component supplier. This type of screen looks better than the standard LCD used in many current iPads.

But an display industry expert claims there’s no truth to this report.

Even so, Apple allegedly won’t reserved the display tech for tablet much longer. mini-LED displays will also supposedly be used in upcoming MacBook Pro models.

Jetpack Joyride+ launched on Apple Arcade Friday, allowing subscribers to play the classic game without the hassle of in-app purchases.

Strap on a jetpack and fly through an endless runner. Or ride a mechanical dragon or giant mech while wearing a crazy costume — the game offers all these modes.

Create a masterpiece on your Mac with up to $50 off the highly rated Wacom Intuos graphics tablet. You can draw, design, and paint with more precision than ever before — and for a lot less.

If you’re like us, your iPhone, Mac and iPad are jammed with precious digital files that took years to collect, but can take just a moment to get hacked. To keep that from happening, you can avail yourself of the Lifetime Backup and Security Subscription Bundle.

It includes everything you need to ensure you always have a backup of all your files — and that your internet connection is safe and secure.

YouTube channel ChargerLAB got its hands on Apple’s new MagSafe Battery Pack and gave it the teardown treatment to see what secrets it contains.

The video, which you can check out below, shows off the magnetic battery pack’s dual-cell design. It looks like it essentially contains twin iPhone batteries — providing a total power output of 11.13Wh, based on two 3.82 volt batteries (7.62 volts combined).

The big American heart in the body of the United Kingdom is beating again. Ted Lasso is back for another season of relentless positivity, and fans of the hit Apple TV+ comedy can rest easy. They know exactly what they’re getting.

The title character, played by Saturday Night Live alum Jason Sudeikis, returns for more unorthodox soccer coaching with his deep bench of homespun aphorisms intact. In short, if you liked the first season — and who didn’t? — you’ll enjoy this one as well.

Apple’s new MacBook Air with 13.3-inch Mini-LED display will debut in mid-2022, says respected TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo in a new note to clients, seen by Cult of Mac.

Kuo had previously said that a MacBook Air with Mini-LED screen would arrive sometime next year. However, he had not narrowed this down to a particular time of the year. Kuo is one of the more accurate (although not infallible) Apple analysts/reporters. According to AppleTrack, he has an accuracy rating of 76.6%.

Treat yourself to one of Apple’s newest iPhone models at its lowest price yet. Woot is now offering “grade A” iPhone 12 mini refurbs from just $579.99 today only. They’re all unlocked and ready to use on any network.

Apple’s AirPods 3, the third iteration of its standard issue wireless earbuds, could make their debut in September alongside the iPhone, Digitimes reported Friday.

According to the report, the new AirPods — which are rumored to receive a redesign in line with the AirPods Pro, minus the active noise cancelling feature — will “remain price-friendly.” The current AirPods launched in March 2019 at $159 with standard charging case or $199 with wireless charging case.

This PDF e-signing post is in collaboration with Smallpdf.

When you sign up to use Smallpdf’s eSign PDF tool, you can create signatures and initials, sign documents electronically, and invite other folks to sign them as well. It takes all the pain out of dealing with e-signatures.

It’s a crucial tool for working with PDF files, and it’s just one of many useful tools Smallpdf offers.

Ikea and Sonos unveiled their latest collaboration recently — a Symfonisk Wi-Fi speaker embedded in a picture frame that blends into your home’s decor. But sorry, you won’t be slipping your oil painting of Steve Jobs in there. It’s not actually a picture frame.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games officially kicks off on Friday, June 23, and you can enjoy it all on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad and Mac. We’ll guide you through who’s hosting the action, and which apps you’ll need to watch it.

OWC built Thunderbolt into the new Envoy Pro SX to make the portable drive fast and reliable. And don’t worry if you spill coffee on the SSD — it can take the punishment.

It’s available with up to 2TB of storage, isn’t bulky, and requires no fan.

Following the release of its 12-port Thunderbolt 4 dock in June, Anker is now rolling out a new addition to the PowerExpand range, the PowerExpand 9-in-1 USB-C PD Dock. It keeps a slimmer profile than Anker’s beefier docks in the range, some with a 12 and 13 ports.