Maotoam Pro is a robust tablet/laptop stand and a multifunction USB-C hub all in one well-designed package. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Maotoam Pro is two popular desktop accessories in one. It’s both a laptop/tablet stand and a USB-C hub with 13 ports. It can prop up a MacBook or iPad at your preferred angle, and connect it to up to a monitor, three USB devices, Ethernet and more.
I used the stand/hub in my everyday life for days. Here’s why I like it so very much.
Justin Theroux, Melissa George, Logan Polish and Gabriel Bateman in The Mosquito Coast Photo: Apple TV+
The Mosquito Coast, the original cautionary fable about off-the-grid living, gets a shiny new update on Apple TV+ just as we’re all itching to get back out in the world after a year in quarantine.
Shepherded by director Rupert Wyatt and starring Justin Theroux, the show is an interesting addition to the ever-growing Apple TV+ lineup. It’s paranoid, fraught and full of personality.
The SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe has both USB-C and Lightning connectors for maximum compatibility. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive Luxe includes both Lightning and USB Type-C connectors so it plugs into almost any computer. You can easily access the same collection of files from an iPhone, Mac or iPad without resorting to iCloud, etc. Even better, the drive is small and comes in an all-metal casing.
I tested the iXpand Luxe with multiple devices. Here’s its strengths and weaknesses.
In the season 2 finale, the fate of the moon rests on Gordo's unlikely shoulders. Photo: Apple TV+
The Russians have taken over the moon! The second season of Apple TV+ space soap For All Mankind ends with bloody faces, broken marriages, uncertain futures, and a whole boatload of moon crime.
If you’re wondering if any of it’s handled well, read on. But you know the score by now, don’t you?
The GoDonut handset and tablet stand has a clever design. It’s also about as rugged as one could hope for. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
GoDonut is a tough, portable stand that’s compatible with a wide range of handsets and small tablets. It can be used in landscape or portrait, and offers multiple viewing angle. Plus, it’s colorful and fun.
I tested GoDonut with iPhone and iPad. And other devices, too. Here’s why I like it. And why I don’t.
With Google Stadia, your iPad can run console-quality games. Photo: Cult of Mac
Google Stadia could be the answer for anyone who wants to play console-quality games on an iPad. There are many big-name titles to choose from, and players can use off-the-shelf game controllers. This is cloud gaming — everything is played online so the service doesn’t take up space on your iPad.
I spent quite a bit of time playing Stadia games on an Apple tablet. Here’s why I recommend it.
This show might be tense in another time line. Photo: Apple TV+
This week on For All Mankind, Russians are blockading the moon and Ed Baldwin’s going up to set ’em straight. Can old-fashioned American ingenuity prevent the reignition of the Cold War?
Be honest, are you even watching Apple TV+’s alt-history space race show?
The astonishing docuseries about Earth's tiniest inhabitants is back and as cute as ever. Photo: Apple TV+
Two of Apple TV’s big nature shows just returned back for their second seasons mere months after they debuted. Tiny World is the cuter of the two. Its micro look at a macro world remains charming, cute and sometimes despairing and gross, but never so much you couldn’t show it to kids.
Season 2 of Apple's nighttime nature doc delivers amazing new delights. Photo: Apple TV+
Apple TV+ docuseries Earth at Night in Color delivers a fresh batch of majestic nighttime sights, cruel natural phenomena and fascinating perspectives in its second season, which premieres today. The show didn’t quite reinvent the nature documentary wheel, but it still offers a welcome retreat from the horrors of 2021.
Combine the Elago Charging Tray with an Apple MagSafe puck for an organized desk or nightstand. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Slip an Apple MagSafe puck into the Elago Charging Tray to create an iPhone 12 charger with a built-in tray. The combination quickly powers up your handset while also helping to organize your desk or nightstand.
The accessory has been beside my bed for several weeks. Here’s why I like it.
David Attenborough and penguins teach us about the unexpected positive side effects of the pandemic. Photo: Apple TV+
A nature special and a cautionary tale, The Year Earth Changed delivers a whole mess of qualified good news that you’re going to wish didn’t come with so many strings attached to it. An engaging, largely drone-shot 45 minutes of TV, the new Apple TV+ documentary about the environmental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic won’t change your life. But it will make you feel slightly better about having just spent the last year indoors.
Say goodbye to losing your Apple TV Siri Remote. Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac
In pictures, the Apple TV’s sleek Siri Remote looks like a total winner. In practice, it’s a bit of a disaster. Luckily, the fix is in: Elago’s inexpensive R4 Retro case makes the Siri Remote easier to use and harder to lose.
Plus, the silicone sleeve looks sporty and provides some protection to the surprisingly fragile Apple TV remote.
Between its multiple USB ports and charging coils, Intelli ScoutPro can juice up five Apple devices at once while on the go. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
There are so many external batteries that it’s hard to stand out from the pack, but the Intelli ScoutPro manages it easily. There’s magnetic wireless Apple Watch and iPhone chargers. Plus the dual USB-C ports can output up to 100 watts each. All told, the accessory can hold up to 24,000mAh and handle up to 240 watt.
I put this power bank through its paces, testing all the ways it can recharge Apple devices. Here’s how it stood up.
Things are not going well, either on Earth or in space. Photo: Apple TV+
In this week’s episode, Apple TV+’s alternate-history space show For All Mankind finally gets to the big, violent “what if?” it’s been building to all season. Is it too late to make any of the fireworks they’ve seen saving go off in spectacular enough fashion to save a dreary second season?
Almost as good as Apple's, but a darn sight cheaper! Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac
Apple will charge you a heck of a lot for a piece of silicone you can slap on the back of your iPhone. And you can get silicone cases almost just as good for a fraction of the price. Elago’s premium MagSafe Silicone case for iPhone 12 is just $21.99 — and it’s absolutely terrific.
Its hybrid design makes for a robust but slim skin that superbly fits your iPhone, and protects it from scratches and scrapes. It’s available in a number of pretty color options, and it’s well worth your cash.
Aukey Aircore 15W uses Apple’s MagSafe system to clip to an iPhone 12 series model and power it up. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Say goodbye to plugging in Lightning cables with the Aukey Aircore 15W. Touch this wireless charger to the back of an iPhone 12 and it’ll cling there, juicing up the battery.
I tested this low-cost accessory in real-world conditions. Here how it handled.
HyperJuice Magnetic Wireless Battery Pack for iPhone 12 really simplifies on-the-go charging. It’s almost MagSafe, but not quite. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The Sanho HyperJuice Magnetic Wireless Battery Pack magnetically clings to the back of an iPhone 12 series model, recharging it without wires, clips… anything else. It packs 5000mAh of power and a USB-C port too.
I put the MagSafe-like battery pack through real-world testing. Here’s what’s I found.
Ellen Wilson (played by Jodi Balfour) makes an unbelievable move this week. Photo: Apple TV+
Space-race soap opera For All Mankind drops a bomb this week that could ruin the chances of everybody here getting what they want — and definitely destroys whatever character work the writers and actors have done up until now.
The writers realized nothing exciting had happened all season and so just dropped a bunch of character arcs in favor of what’s convenient. I wish I was surprised.
U.S. astronauts like Danielle Poole (played by Krys Marshall) prep to meet their Soviet counterparts. Photo: Apple TV+
The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming! Don’t bother they’re here … Apple TV+’s For All Mankind gears up for its historic moon handshake in typically laidback fashion in this week’s episode.
The commies are here to collaborate on a space mission meant to bring civilizations together. They’re of course mirthless, shifty cads because that’s just how Russians are written in fiction like this.
Until, of course, they get to eat red meat and drink American whiskey. Then they’re all smiles! Glad to know these jokes haven’t changed at all since the Iron Curtain went up.
Belkin Boost↑Charge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand makes your iPhone ready to use hands free, and it quickly juices up the handset with MagSafe. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The Belkin Boost↑Charge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charger Stand with MagSafe holds your iPhone 12 up so it’s ready for FaceTime calls or just checking email. And it powers up the handset twice as fast as traditional wireless chargers. Plus, it comes with a built-in AirPods charger. If you’re looking for aBelkin iPhone mount with MagSafe for Mac notebooks, there are additional options available that provide seamless integration.
I put this stylish iPhone accessory to the test. Here’s how it performed in the real world.
Gordo (Michael Dorman) is getting his groove back at last. Photo: Apple TV+
The characters in For All Mankind, Apple TV+’s space-race melodrama, all try to find their sea legs … or, uhh, space legs … in this week’s tense episode. Astronaut Ed Baldwin is under the sea. And his wife, Karen, is losing her cool. Meanwhile, Tracy Stevens is on the moon, and her ex Gordo is losing his mind!
With new show Calls, Apple TV+ brings a French TV sensation to America and it’s three things in one. It’s a fascinating experiment, an old idea repackaged — and something of a missed opportunity.
The series, which premieres this Friday, hides its star-studded voice cast behind pixelated images and on-screen text, making it sort of an anti-event. That alone means Calls faces an uphill climb to find a new audience.
With the Kensington StudioDock, an iPad tablet becomes an outstanding desktop with multiple ports and wireless chargers. Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Imagine an iMac with an iPad for its screen and you’ve got the Kensington StudioDock. Slip your tablet into the docking station and it’s elevated to eye level, plus you have access to an extensive collection of built-in ports. The stand can even wirelessly charge your other Apple devices.
Read on to explore all the reasons why this is the best iPad desktop stand ever made.
Even Spider-Man can't save this disaster. Photo: Apple TV+
After years of shepherding the Marvel Cinematic Universe to its first major climax, directors Joe and Anthony Russo decided to make one of the proverbial “one for us” movies — as in “one for them, one for us.”
It’s a classic Hollywood strategy, where filmmakers follow up a moneymaking blockbuster with a personal project that’s more like an indie flick. The trouble with the Russo brothers “one for us” movie — a drama called Cherry, comes to Apple TV+ today — is that the “us” in this case possess no style, no ideology, no ideas and no ambition. Cherry is a total waste of $10 million and 2-and-a-half hours of screen time.
Ed Baldwin preps for a new mission in "Pathfinder." Photo: Apple TV+
On this week’s installment of Apple TV+’s labored and single-minded For All Mankind, the next space flight is on everyone’s mind as the NASA crew careens toward destiny.