Reviews - page 63

Anyone who’s ever spent a half hour searching for the TV remote can understand the appeal of the Tile Sticker. Glue it to anything relatively flat and you’ll never misplace that item again, as your iPhone can have this tiny tag play a loud alarm. Or put one on the headphones you can never find, or maybe the back of your ID badge.

There are also improved versions of the Tile Pro, Tile Mate and Tile Slim out today to help with finding your keys or wallet. Just don’t get lost in our reviews of all four new item trackers.

This is the Livboj, an inexpensive but hard-to-find Qi charging pad from Ikea. Last week, I visited my local Ikea to stock up on frozen cinnamon buns. I got lost, and found a stack of these amazing devices instead.

Despite its dirt-cheap price tag of 5 euros ($5.50), the Livboj is pretty great. So far I’ve experienced none of the problems other people report from far-more-expensive Qi pads. You should snap up one of these elusive chargers — if you’re lucky enough to spot one next time you’re at Ikea.

The OWC USB-C Travel Dock has five ports to extend the capabilities of your MacBook or iPad Pro, including HDMI and dual USB-A. Wrapped around these is a casing of aluminum and plastic thick enough to stand up to the kind of punishment many of us subject our gear to. Yet it still looks professional.

We used this multiport hub on several business trips. Here’s how it came through.

A solar-powered battery should be part of any disaster-preparedness kit, and the myCharge Solar PowerFold can keep an iPhone up and running just by sitting in the sun for a few hours.

We tested the ability of this very portable device to capture the thermonuclear power of our nearest star. Here’s how it went.

During the past week with Apple Watch Series 5, I’ve been testing the device. Once again, I took a new watch on my family vacation to Disney World, using it whenever possible to make my life easier.

So does the Series 5, with its always-on display, live up to the hype? And is it worth the upgrade if you’re on an older version? Watch our video review, or read our full Apple Watch Series 5 review, to find out if the new watch is right for you.

If you want to stand out in a darkened classroom, Inateck has the iPad keyboard case for you. The outside is professional-looking, and there’s an Apple Pencil slot. But the standout feature is the keyboard backlights, which can be set to more than 100 color combinations.

This affordable case believes in business on the outside and party on the inside. Is it right for you? Find out in our Inateck Stellarie KB02006 review.

In iPadOS, the old Today View has shuffled over a little, and now lives right on the Home screen. You can pin widgets there, and they will be permanently shown on the left edge of the Home screen (in landscape, at least — in portrait they will act more like a temporary Slide Over panel).

This changes how we use widgets. Instead of being temporary, quick-info panels, or shortcuts for app functions, widgets are now always visible, and always available to tap. A weather widget can be checked with a single glance, for instance. Ditto countdown timers. And — best of all — Shortcuts can be triggered with a single tap.

Let’s take a look at some great widgets for the iPadOS Home screen.

This thing is a beauty. The first thing you notice is the glass back. The frosted matte finish makes it semi-translucent, giving it a weirdly illusory depth. It looks great. Not even the controversial, compound-eye camera bump can spoil its good looks. The iPhone 11 Pro Max is the best-looking iPhone to date, and I love it.

But don’t be fooled by the familiar design. This year’s refresh makes almost everything about Apple’s most expensive handset better than ever.

It’s faster, stronger and more water-resistant. It packs the best display you’ll find in a phone, and the best camera you’ve ever used. The battery lasts forever. Is it worth its hefty price tag? Absolutely.

Find out more in our full iPhone 11 Pro Max review.

An endless runner with gorgeous hand-painted graphics, in which you sprint on the backs of enormous flying dragons? Welcome to the world of EarthNight, one of the plentiful launch titles for Apple Arcade.

Put on your running shoes and let us race you through its features in our EarthNight review.

Everyone shopping for a 2019 iPhone faces a conundrum. The new Pro models come loaded with top-of-line features, but they cost much, much more than the 6.1-inch iPhone 11. Is it really necessary to pay $1,000 or more to get a great iPhone?

No, no it isn’t. In our iPhone 11 review, we’ll tell you why it’s Apple’s best new smartphone for most people.

One of the highlights of the just-launched Apple Arcade is Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm from Cornfox & Bros. It’s a familiar dungeon crawl through a bright world to solve a noble quest, and it provides hours of fun.

Buckle on your sword and run through this game with us.

You can write off being productive for the rest of the day because Apple Arcade just launched. This all-you-can-play gaming service brings dozens of titles in a variety of genres. The monthly cost is fairly low, and games can be played on almost every type of Apple computer.

Thanks to early access, I’ve been enjoying Apple Arcade for several days. Here’s why I think you’ll like it too.

iPadOS 13 brings some real game-changing new features, plus a lot of excellent comfort tweaks that make using it much easier. And iOS 13 is no slouch.

Today I’ll list my favorite new features in iOS 13 and iPadOS, along with a few changes I’d be happy to live without.

Fitness tech startup Form launches its first product today: augmented reality swimming goggles.

You might think AR sounds like a bit of a gimmick for swimmers. I certainly did. My Apple Watch already does a pretty good job of logging my swimming workouts, so I didn’t see the need for yet another gadget.

But after testing a pair of Form Swim Goggles for the past month, I’m so impressed that I’ll never use my Apple Watch in the pool again.

The Apple Store has just two USB-C hubs with multiple types of ports, and one of them is made by Satechi. This offers USB-A and HDMI ports, as well as dual memory card readers, but so do many other accessories. What makes the Aluminum USB-C Multiport Pro Adapter so good that Apple picked it from all the other USB-C hubs on the market?

Read our review to find out.

Wireless charging stands hold your iPhone up so you can easily see the display while the handset is getting power. Belkin has a model that improves on the whole concept: it can charge your device when it’s propped up in either portrait or landscape mode.

Apple liked the design enough to add it to the Apple Store. See what we think in our review.

Wall chargers made with gallium nitride (GaN) transistors can be considerably smaller than ones that use silicon instead. An outstanding case in point is the Anker PowerPort Atom III Slim, which is tiny but can still put out 30W to quickly power up an iPad Pro or even a MacBook.

We tested this svelte USB-C battery charger in the field. Read on to see how well it lives up to its promise.

Hello, my name is Erfon Elijah, and for the last seven years, I’ve hosted The CultCast, America’s favorite Apple podcast™. In that time I’ve tried a whole lot of podcasting gear, all in an effort to sound better and make the show easier to produce.

Now, I’m offering you the fruit of all that hands-on experience — the end result of years of podcasting hardware testing and tinkering. Good audio gear doesn’t come cheap, but I think I’ve found a great mix of value and quality in the products I use. If you utilize these podcasting hardware recommendations and podcasting tips, you won’t break the bank. And your podcast will sound as majestic as mine!

Andiamo means “Let’s go” in Italian, and Tivoli Audio’s Andiamo is a very stylish speaker to take on the go. It has a cylindrical design wrapped in a leather carrying strap, and provides satisfactory sound.

Lend us an ear for a review of this Bluetooth speaker designed for listening wherever.

The Powerstation Hub is a powerbank with an extra trick: wireless charging. There’s no reason to leave the convenience of wireless power at home when you can take it with you anywhere. This accessory also sports USB-C and dual USB-A ports, plus there are built-in AC power prongs for easy recharging.

We kicked the tires on this mobile battery. Come see how it performed in our tests.

The Shield charging cable from Fuse Chicken is literally wearing stainless steel chainmail. It seems designed to survive battle with orcs, or at least the dangers it might run into on a job site. Amazingly enough, this company’s Titan cable is even more rugged, being wrapped in two layers of flexible steel.

There are Lighting and USB-C versions of both, and we took them into battle to test their mettle. Actually, we towed a car with one, and hit the other with a hammer. Read on to see how they survived.

USB-C hubs with a profusion of ports are hot now, but Sanho’s HyperDrive Power is far sleeker than any of its rivals. And it doesn’t sacrifice connectivity options for its svelte profile, offering a trio of USB-A ports, dual memory card readers, HDMI, a headphone jack and even Ethernet.

Our review involved testing all nine ports, which took a while. Read on to see if the HyperDrive Power deserves a place in your gear bag.

A credit card is a departure from Apple’s usual computers and accessories, but the Apple Card is just as gorgeous and the associated software every bit as easy to use as an iPhone or Mac.

I’m among the first cardholders, so here’s what it’s like to carry an Apple Card.

The ZMI PowerPack 20000 is the most useful backup battery you can buy. It packs a huge, 20,000mAh battery that can power a MacBook and two other devices at the same time. Plus, you can quick charge it via USB. And it can even work as a USB data hub.

This 14.29-ounce (405 gram) brick might be overkill for daily juicing of your iPhone, but for everything else it’s amazing.

Like the AirPower charger Apple wasn’t able to deliver, the Courant Catch:2 can wirelessly send power to multiple devices placed anywhere on its charging mat — there’s no need to carefully arrange them. Plus, this accessory truly looks like the luxury product it is, with a handsome leather exterior.

Power through my review of this just-released product, which I tested with recent and older iPhones.