★★★★☆
Apple TV+ murder mystery Now and Then draws to a simmering close this week.
Pedro has lost his campaign, but there’s always more to lose. Ana is ready to turn on him. Sofia’s troubles catch up with her. Marcos suspects his father. Flora suspects her best friend. Hugo suspects Sofia. And there’s only an hour to wrap things up.
It’s been a marvelous bit of sensationalism from start to finish. If we get a second season of this bilingual thriller, it will be a welcome development.
★★★☆☆
Apple TV+ alt-history hit For All Mankind makes all the right moves this week, then immediately blows a 26-point lead in the last inning.
For once, the dramatic arcs thrown at Margo, Karen, Dev, Aleida and Kelly all seem pretty satisfying and not at all cheap or hyperbolic. Then the writers ensure we won’t see how any of that plays out, instantly turning this from one of the show’s best episodes into its most frustrating yet.
But hey, at least we’re going to Mars, I guess.
★★☆☆☆
This week on Apple TV+ aerobics opera Physical, its star self-help guru buys a whiteboard and the show itself backslides. After a promising showing last week, Physical reverts to its worst tendencies.
Danny is still unbearably pretentious and selfish. Sheila is still a misanthropic jerk to absolutely everybody. John is becoming more desperate by the minute. And Greta indulges in a threesome. None of this constitutes real news or development on this show. But since Physical doesn’t really know what it wants to say, this is just how it goes most weeks.
★★★☆☆
In new Apple TV+ comedy Loot, Maya Rudolph plays a billionaire playgirl who must grow up and discover a conscience when she realizes that her public behavior casts her charitable foundation in a bad light.
Surrounded by misfits, she must tailor her wild lifestyle to more humble settings. Otherwise, she risks turning the one good thing in her life into a joke.
★★★★☆
With Hyper’s HyperDrive USB4 Mobile Dock, you’re ready to connect to either HDMI or DisplayPort monitors at 4K or even 8K. The USB-C hub also includes dual USB-A ports, Ethernet and more. Plus, it’s the right size to use in your office or on the road.
I put the dock through a battery of tests to see how it stands up on real-world use. Here’s how it did.
★★★★☆
Ever have an earbud fall out of your sweaty ear at the gym? I lost a somewhat pricey product that way once. And if you lose one of them, you’re probably not going to use the other one, even if it’s designed for occasional solo use.
The new Soundcore Sport X10 True-Wireless Earbuds, released Tuesday, aim to put an end to wayward earbuds.
Anker sent me a pair of the earbuds to try, along with instructions for using the Soundcore app for them in beta. Below, I’ll get into why I found the new product to be an excellent value at $79.99.
★★☆☆☆
In the season finale of Apple TV+ spy drama Tehran, Peyman is dead — and everyone is guilty.
Milad and Tamar need to patch up their frayed relationship if they have any hope of escaping the country and certain death. Marjan and Faraz must make sure they don’t look guilty as the investigation into the “accidental” death of the son of the head of the Revolutionary Guard commences.
And there’s still the matter of Peyman’s father, Qassem, whom Tamar swore to kill. Now, she has next to no shot at getting near him. It’s a lot of ground to cover in 43 minutes. And there’s still the more difficult task of making any of these people compelling enough to want to see them in a third season.
★★★★☆
Line ’em up, it’s Election Day on Now and Then, the Apple TV+ telenovela about the fallout from a 20-year-old murder case.
Pedro and Ana wait with bated breath to see if he won the mayoral election, while Ernesto gives him an ultimatum and Francis offers her a job. Marcos and Sofia plot their escape, Flora schedules a surgery, Hugo’s awake from his coma, and Sullivan’s been keeping secrets from everybody.
The plot is thick and the drama delicious this week.
★★☆☆☆
Apple TV+ documentary series Home returns Friday for a second season of wonky architecture and human interest stories. The streamer is banking on the beauty of accessibility as spectacle and drama to bring audiences back for more feel-good TV.
The houses the series showcases look glorious, to be sure. But the stories are meant to be as much of a hook as the sight of impossible angles and cozy nooks nestled in wondrous corners of the earth.
★★☆☆☆
For All Mankind heads to Mars a little sooner than expected this week — and with a surprise guest in the cockpit.
Danielle and Ed, then Molly and Margo, fall out. Karen and Ed fall into business together. Aleida worries about her family from the moon. And Danny Stevens is still a little psychopath.
It’s business as usual on Apple TV+’s frustrating space-exploration soap. The highs of last week’s TV movie of the week detour are already forgotten.
★★☆☆☆
Apple TV+’s Physical, about a would-be fitness guru in California, heads to a funeral this week to rethink its priorities. Sheila’s finally cracking up, John’s lies catch up with him in a sad way, Bunny is at the end of her tether, and a vengeful mother gets her hooks into two generations of women.
A couple of standout performances lift this week’s episode out of the usual doldrums. Rose Byrne is allowed to stretch a bit beyond the usual limitations of her role as Sheila Rubin — and the result is a glimpse into a better version of what this show could be.
☆☆☆☆☆
Only moments ago Cooper Raiff was a niche figure, someone you could avoid with a little effort. But now, he is the filmgoing public’s problem, thanks to Cha Cha Real Smooth, which premieres Friday on Apple TV+.
Writer/director/actor Raiff’s excruciating 2020 feature debut, Shithouse, captured enough viewers and earned enough praise to garner him a second chance to waste our time with the equally galling and charmless Cha Cha Real Smooth.
Apple TV+ paid an absurd amount of money for this garbage film. Unfortunately, the big gamble on this “Sundance hit” landed the streaming service an indifferently directed trifle starring a weaselly narcissist.
This definitely isn’t the first time we’ve talked about Overcast here at Cult of Mac. But since I’ve been spending time rounding up my must-have apps as part of our Awesome Apps series, it makes sense to tell you why Marco Arment’s podcast client is the best podcast app out there.
It’s actually a great time to introduce anyone unfamiliar with Overcast to the app, since it recently received its biggest redesign ever. Part of this change includes a new home screen with some smart features. I love Overcast for a number of reasons, but the app’s home screen is probably chief among them.
★★★★★
The Lululook Foldable Magnetic iPad Stand is ready to help turn your tablet into a small desktop computer. Your iPad attaches to it magnetically, and you can easily adjust the height and viewing angle. Or switch between portrait and landscape.
Just as importantly, when you don’t need it, the desktop stand folds up so you can carry it with you or easily put it out of the way.
This is absolutely one of the best iPad Pro or iPad Air stands I’ve ever used. Here’s why I love it.
★★★☆☆
After trending toward fewer and fewer ports for a while, Macs have added some back lately, offering better connectivity for the latest laptops and desktops. But it never hurts to have a dock to connect additional devices, share files and distribute power — and now you can get one with an informative display.
DockCase has shaken up the fairly boring world of USB-C docks with its new series. The company sent me its 7-in-1 USB-C Smart HD Display Dock Pro to take for a spin. DockCase said it’s the first to offer such a dock with an HD display.
There’s more to iPadOS 16 than floating app windows. The Files app gets some significant improvements in the upcoming upgrade. There’s a Weather app and great new features in the Mail and Messages apps. Plus, you can hand off a FaceTime call between your Apple computers.
These enhancements are available to every iPad that supports iPadOS 16, which is currently in developer beta. So don’t think there’s nothing coming this fall for tablets without an Apple M1 processor. That’s just not true.
Another week has passed, and even more of you have come through with your app recommendations and suggestions! This week, a bit of a grab bag of new apps, new features, and new discoveries. From a shopping app to simplify your life to an excellent replacement to Apple’s infuriating TV app, we’ve got some awesome apps for you. And as always, if you have an awesome app to share, email your suggestion or tweet them to me!
★★★★☆
The Arylic A50+ Wireless Multiroom Stereo Amplifier lets you wirelessly send music to wired speakers from computers and phones. It uses Apple’s AirPlay, which has multiple advantages over Bluetooth, though it offers that too. And DLNA, Spotify Connect and more.
It pumps out 50W*2 with 4Ω passive speakers at 24V, with Sub Out for powered subwoofers.
I tested the capabilities of this digital stereo amp with the help of a friend who’s a bit of an audiophile. Here’s what we found out.
★★★☆☆
Apple TV+ period drama The Essex Serpent draws to an orderly close this week after five episodes of disorderly conduct, serpents (both metaphorical and real ones), love, death, betrayal, discovery and friendship.
The miniseries ends on a note that’s a bit of a letdown for how nicely it treats its pack of sinners, but I guess sometimes you have to give “the people” what they want. Ultimately, a great old-school tale of adventure and lust settles for neatness. Though that’s a hair upsetting to me, it was well worth the time it took to get here.
★★★★☆
Now and Then, the delightfully trashy Apple TV+ series about guilty friends committing new crimes to cover up old ones, heads straight into the gutter of desperation this week.
Sofia’s loan is due. Marcos’ wife is leaving him. Pedro’s lover is in jail, and he wants to throw the campaign. Ana is watching her future slip away. Hugo’s still in a coma. And Flora is off the case.
No one’s coming to these poor sinners’ rescue.
Bored of looking at the same old Apple Watch on your wrist? Give yours a makeover by adding a brand-new band or bumper case. There are a wide range of awesome Apple Watch accessories available at surprisingly affordable prices.
We’ve rounded up some of the best that are currently priced at $40 or less to help you out. Check out all 15 right here!
★★☆☆☆
Physical, Apple TV+’s series about a fitness pioneer and the collection of damaged people in her orbit, hits the fairgrounds for a protest, a demonstration and a cat fight this week. Dramatic stasis and some awkward meetings fill a rootless episode of the enervating drama.
Unfortunately, there’s just no getting around the hollow center of this show: Aerobics don’t make good TV.
★★☆☆☆
This week on Tehran, the Apple TV+ spy thriller narrows its options until there’s only one thing remaining: Mossad agent Tamar and Revolutionary Guard leader Faraz, face to face, heading to a party to carry out an assassination.
If she fails, dozens of people will die. If she succeeds, her target will be dead — but so will Faraz (and probably his wife).
The season’s penultimate episode rests on a climactic car race, with Tamar’s boyfriend Milad making life-or-death decisions and her hands tied. This slightly dodgy second season still time to straighten itself out.
★★★☆☆
Apple TV+ alt-history space saga For All Mankind splashes down in the go-go ’90s in its not-really-merited third season. After another decadal jump, Nirvana is king, Bill Clinton is running for office, and we’re apparently going to Mars.
This show’s absurd single-mindedness has not been softened by its premature renewal for a fourth season, by which point presumably we’ll be traveling to the sixth dimension on a rocket sled while Avril Lavigne runs for Congress. Anyway … let’s rip off this Band-Aid.
There’s a lot to like in iOS 16, so I couldn’t resist installing the first beta to test the best new features. Here’s my hands-on experience with the new Lock Screen, improvements in the Messages and Mail apps, and more. These are just my favorites from the couple of days I’ve had to test the initial beta.
Plus, the next version of iOS adds other features that might be great — when Apple gets them working right.