Reviews - page 60

You probably need a keyboard. If you have an iMac, then you already have the one Apple included the box. If you have an iPad or a MacBook, then you should have that thing up on a stand at eye level, with a keyboard and mouse/trackpad attached so you don’t kill your neck/back/wrists. And if you want a clicky keyboard that works great with all three, then pretty much your best (and only) option is the Keychron K2, a beautiful, solid little device that can work with just about any device you have.

The holidays are near, and the season of gift-giving is here. Finding that perfect something for your loved ones can be tricky, but sometimes it’s the little things that really make the difference.

Whether it’s a stocking stuffer, a secret Santa gift or you just need something quick and easy, these are five excellent gift ideas to point you in the right direction.

Forget your frustrations with the minimal number of ports on your MacBook or iPad Pro. The Brando 11-In-1 Hub Type-C Docking Stand lets you connect virtually any peripheral to your computer. There’s a trio of USB-A ports, Ethernet, HDMI and an SD card reader. And that’s only the start.

Get the full list, and see how well this multi-port stands up to real world use, in this review.

Another week, another new show on Apple TV+. This time it’s Truth Be Told, a crime series featuring a podcasting investigator digging up a murderous past.

Is it the new Serial or just a bowl of boring oatmeal? Here’s my review of the first episode.

While the 100+ games on Apple Arcade are designed for touchscreens, many of them are more fun with a physical controller. That can be one from an Xbox or Playstation, but the Rotor Riot Wired Game Controller is a better option for iPhones because of its built-on phone stand and Lightning connector.

I tested this surprisingly-affordable MFi controller with some of the best titles on Apple’s gaming service. Read on to see why I’m so impressed by it.

If you’re buying for an Apple fan who loves their Mac, there are loads of awesome gifts you should consider. We’ve rounded up the best to make your holiday shopping a little easier.

We’ve picked out the best headphones, mice, keyboards, and more so that you don’t have to spend hours hunting down the perfect purchase. And many of them are on sale today for Cyber Monday.

Now all you have to do is break out your wallet.

Life on the road can be a hassle, even with an iPhone, but there’s a lot the RAVpower FileHub Travel Router can do to make it easier. It’s a battery, a hub with a USB port and SD card reader, and (naturally) a travel router.

I road tested every feature of this accessory. Read on to see if it deserves a place in your travel kit.

It couldn’t be easier to buy holiday gifts for loved ones who own an Apple Watch. There are so many wonderful accessories out there for the best-selling smartwatch on the planet.

And Cult of Mac can help you find the best. Our Apple Watch gift guide includes our favorite bands, charging stands, wireless headphones, and more. Any many of them are now on sale for Black Friday.

Now you have no excuse to leave your holiday shopping until the last minute.

A spooky nanny. A creepy baby. And a whole bunch of crazy plot twists. It can only be Servant, M. Night Shyamalan and Tony Basgallop’s psychological horror series for Apple TV+.

The series debuted on Thanksgiving, and I’ve already hungrily snarfed down the first 30-minute episode. While I’m not yet sure if it’s enjoyable junk food or a balanced, healthy meal, I liked it a whole lot. Check out my episode one Servant review.

Black Friday is upon us, which means it’s a great time to start your holiday shopping. Don’t worry if you don’t know what to buy — Cult of Mac is here to help you choose the best gifts for the iPad lover in your life.

You’ll find the best headphones, speakers, game controllers, and keyboards in our iPad gift guide for 2019. And there’s something to suit every budget.

So, when you’ve finished scoffing down that turkey, check out the roundup below.

With so many iPhone accessories available today, it’s hard to know where to start when buying holiday gifts for the iPhone lover in your life. But Cult of Mac can help.

We’ve rounded up some of the best accessories out there for iPhone owners. We’ve got great cases, superb headphones, gorgeous charging stands, and more.

Prices start at just $25, and many of the products are currently on sale for Black Friday. Snap them up while they’re cheap!

Whether you’re buying for yourself or a friend or family member, there’s no shortage of great books about Apple. But with so many millions of words written about the Cupertino company over the years, which books most deserve your time?

Allow Cult of Mac‘s gift guide to fill you in on the 10 Apple books that deserve space on your shelf.

For the longest time, winter gloves had one job: Keep our hands warm. When smartphones came along, things got complicated for gloves.

Consumers demanded a fabric conductive enough for our gloved hands to work our touchscreens. Simple enough — except, of course, on really cold days, when fingers inside those typically thin touchscreen gloves felt like icicles.

There’s a great Steve Jobs story that somehow seems relevant in a 2019 MacBook Pro review. You probably know it, but I’ll tell it anyway. After the iPad launch, Jobs supposedly walked into a meeting with the Mac team, carrying an iPad. He woke up the iPad, which happened instantaneously. Then he woke up a Mac, which took a while to come out of sleep. Then he asked something like, “Why doesn’t this do that?”

Today, he might take the iPad Pro, and the brand new top-of-the-line MacBook Pro, start them both editing a few images, and wait for the fans to spin up on the Mac. While it cranks up to leaf-blower levels, he’d point at the silent iPad, and make some scathing quip.

The new 16-inch MacBook Pro is an incredible computer that’s let down by the red-hot Intel chips inside. Apple’s cool, fast, super-powerful A-series ARM chips can’t come to the Mac soon enough. Using this Intel machine after using an ARM-powered iPad for several years, the Mac feels like there’s something wrong with it. And yet, barely 24 hours into owning one, I absolutely love it.

Combining your iPhone case with your wallet is an easy way to simplify your life. Take the OtterBox Strada for the iPhone 11, which offers slots to hold multiple cards, while also wrapping around the front, back and sides of your handset. A leather exterior gives it a luxurious look and feel.

I used an OtterBox Strada for weeks — here’s how it stood up in daily use.

Your shiny new 16-inch MacBook Pro arrives this week, and of course you want to deck it out with all the latest accessories. What you need will depend on what you use your computer for, but almost everyone will want a case, a keyboard and a mouse. And there are plenty of other MacBook Pro accessories you might need to get the job done.

Check out our guide for dongles, cables and even battery packs that will help you get the most out of your new MacBook Pro.

The combination lock you used in school is a dinosaur now. It’s been replaced with much smarter versions like Tapplock One+. This has a fingerprint scanner, and a Bluetooth connection to your iPhone. It’s a padlock with no key to lose or combination to memorize.

Unlock the details in our in-depth review.

Speed and techno-pop blend in Sayonara Wild Hearts, one of the best titles on Apple Arcade. Ride a motorcycle, fly or battle opponents to the beat of the music.

Read on to see why everyone with a subscription to Apple’s gaming service should be playing this new offering.

A year ago, when Apple introduced the latest iPad Pro models, I called the tablet the computer for everywhere. To this day, I still think the 2018 iPad Pro, complete with Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard Folio, is an incredible setup for tons of situations. At the same time, it’s anything but cheap, starting at $1,107 for an 11-inch model with keyboard and Pencil.

Then there’s the Mac laptop lineup. Apple’s current cheapest offering is the MacBook Air, also starting at $1,100. Fortunately, you don’t have to drop over a grand to get an incredibly versatile, powerful, and portable budget laptop made by Apple.

The Mophie Juice Pack Access for the iPhone 11 extends the battery life of Apple’s latest handset while also protecting it. This hard case leaves the iPhone’s Lightning port available, while also letting you charge you phone with your MacBook’s cable.

Discover if this is the right iPhone 11 battery case for you in our hands-on review.

Anyone who’s all-in on Apple has an iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch. Recharging that combination every night can be a hassle, but the Mophie 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad can handle them all at the same time.

Apple likes it enough to put it on the Apple Store, so take a look to see if you need one on your nightstand.

The latest iPad Pro comes with a proper USB port, in the shape of USB-C. Now, as long as you can find the right cable or adapter, you can plug in pretty much anything short of a printer, and it will work as expected.

But you still need to find the right cable, or resort to a USB hub (none of which are really designed to work well with a tablet). In the past, that meant buying lots of USB-C to microUSB, USB-C to miniUSB, USB-C to USB-B cables, and so on.

If only I’d discovered this USB-C adapter first.

The Courant Carry is a lightweight and sleek phone powerbank that holds 8,000mAh. Even better, it’s wrapped in pebble-grain Italian leather so it looks outstanding, which is very important for an accessory intended to be carried everywhere.

It can wirelessly charge every iPhone released since 2017. And the Carry itself can be charged without cables.

Does the functionality of this external battery live up the the appearance? Read on to find out.

Sorry, cows: I love leather iPhone cases. They add a layer of warmth on top of the iPhone’s cold metal-and-glass construction that can’t be beat. And, unlike most thermoplastic polyurethane cases, a good leather case looks sophisticated and, dare I say it, grownup.

Woolnut’s leather iPhone 11 Pro case takes things a step further, adding a pebbled look that reminds me of vintage gear from the ’60s. It’s so freaking manly I can almost smell the English Leather and Old Spice.

A futuristic post-apocalyptic world in which a virus has robbed humanity of its eyesight and reduced the human race to a few million people. Even speaking of sight in this world is heresy. Add in muscular man mountain Jason Momoa and a Game of Thrones budget and you’ve got See.

What did I make of the first episode of Apple TV+’s fantasy series? Read on to find out….