Reviews - page 74

Breathe new life into your existing Apple Watch or customize your new Series 3 with a cool, contemporary nylon band inspired by the original NATO strap of the 1970s. Best yet, these bands compare in quality to Apple’s nylon offering, and cost ten bucks less.

Nyloon started with the goal of making high-quality versions of the NATO straps created by the British Ministry of Defence in 1973. The result is a line of sporty, versatile and easily interchangeable nylon bands that sell fast.

Check out Watch Store’s full lineup of Nylon bands for Apple Watch, and read on to learn more about Nyloon’s must-have strap.

iOS 11’s neat Split View and Drag and Drop implementation has spawned a new class of apps, for iOS at least: shelf apps. These apps provide a slide-out shelf, or junk drawer, into which you can drag items for temporary storage.

This proves useful for all kinds of reasons. You may want to gather up a whole bunch of files for different places before dragging them into an email. You may want to have oft-used files, or snippets of text, or URLs close to hand, or you may like to use a shelf to organize a project, keeping everything together.

However you use them, you can find several shelf apps on the App Store so far, with more arriving all the time. Here’s a look at the Cult of Mac pick for best shelf app (along with a few other options that offer different features).

Apple TV has finally caught up with the 4K revolution.

It may be late to the game, but Apple’s newest set-top box pulls out all the stops to be the best on the field. It’s packing incredibly powerful new hardware that leaves competitors in the dust, and a much-improved tvOS platform that is years ahead of its rivals.

It may seem pricey starting at $179, but with amazingly sharp videos and great apps and games all rolled into one, Apple TV 4K is well worth the upgrade.

Watch our Apple TV video review:

Early reviews of the Apple Watch Series 3 are now dropping ahead of its official debut on Friday, September 22. If you’re still in two minds about whether you should upgrade, they should help you make that all-important decision.

The general consensus is that LTE is a great addition to Apple’s wearable lineup. Just don’t expect a drastically different experience, and prepare yourself for some early teething troubles.

The iPhone’s camera is good enough that it can be most people’s only camera — including professional photographers. The iPhone is a multi-purpose computer, though, not just a camera, so it can sometimes do with a little help when it comes to ergonomics, or to adding a little extra reach with a telephoto lens. These are the iPhone 8 camera gizmos you should buy:

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus may cost as much as the top-end iPhone X, but that certainly doesn’t mean you don’t want to protect your new iPhone.

You’ll find a range of cases on the market. Ultra-thin “skins” will to protect your iPhone 8 from scratches without changing its appearance much. Heavy-duty armor will save it from concrete smashes. And wallet-style cases let get organized. Here are our top picks for the iPhone 8/8 Plus cases you need to know about.

IOS 11 is a huge update to Apple’s mobile operating system, but only if you’re using an iPad. While the iPhone gets its fair share of tweaks and polish, the iPad is transformed into a different machine. When you install iOS 11, your iPad will be transformed from a big iPhone, into a slick mobile computer. It has completely changed how I use my iPad, to the extent that I probably never need to buy another Mac again.

The headline features are drag-and-drop between apps, a new Mac-like Dock, a Finder-like app named Files, and a radically re-thought Control Center that echoes the one found in — you guessed it — the Mac. IOS 11, then, brings many of the Mac’s best features to the iPad, but redesigned to suit the touch screen.

What does this mean for daily use? It means that Mac and PC users can switch to the iPad without having to relearn how to do everything, and existing users will no longer feel like they have their hands tied while trying to do the simplest tasks.

Lumu Power light meter for iPhone

The iPhone democratized photography and disrupted the video and camera industry. Now a new product that plugs into the iPhone’s Lightning port aims to replace an important photographer’s tool — the handheld light meter.

The Lumu Power light meter is a small, plug-in photodiode that looks like a pingpong ball cut in half. The light meter, a product of Lumu Labs from Slovenia, rose out of a Kickstarter campaign in 2015. It’s won favorable reviews from photographers and photo websites as the company works to improve the companion app.

Best List: BUBM gadget and cord organizer by ATailorBird

Pulling your charging cord from your shoulder bag or backpack can resemble that gag where you think you’re opening a can of peanuts and get surprised by springy snakes. Your bag’s other contents can catch on your cords and fly out.

The BUBM cord and gadget organizing case offers just one surprise. The mundane task of organizing your cords and other small accessories turns out to be fun and satisfying.

I’ve never been one to wear a camera bag with the shoulder strap going across my body. I put all the burden on my right shoulder and, as time wore on, I wore out my shoulder.

The TurnStyle V2.0 sling bag by Think Tank Photo changed the way I carry my camera gear. For one, I now carry it more comfortably.

Best List: Commuter Satchel by Toffee

After years of depositing my MacBook into an oversize, freebie laptop bag, it was time. Time to forego the ugly, embrace the new and, most importantly, get some real protection for my Mac.

The Commuter Satchel by Toffee arrived at the request of one of my colleagues. He, too, recognized the deplorable excuse of a laptop bag I was lugging around.

I can’t emphasize how much I love this sleek and stylish satchel.

Best List: Nerve Black messenger bag by booq

Most messenger bags would look out of place slung over the shoulder of a leather-clad Harley rider. Not the Nerve Black by booq: It exhibits a transcendent cool, whether paired with a business suit or motorcycle chaps.

There’s no cowhide on this bag. Yet the water-repellent tarpaulin flap looks a lot like leather and makes a striking first impression.

This Apple Watch clone costs more than an Apple Watch Edition, but comes with zero apps. The H. Moser Swiss Alp Watch Zzzz might look like it’s straight outta Cupertino, but it’s actually an old-fashioned luxury timepiece.

Would you pay $26,900 for an Apple Watch clone without all the smart functionality? See our video review for more on this completely bonkers Swiss watch.

If you’re looking for a way to lose a few hours later today, you could do a lot worse than Groovebox, a free music-making app for iPhone and iPad. It’s simple enough to start making music as soon as you launch it, but offers enough depth (and enough in-app purchases) to keep you going for quite a while.

Ever since Apple released the first iOS 11 beta to developers, I’ve run each version on my primary iPhone 7 and my 9.7-inch iPad Pro. While iOS 11 doesn’t bring a radical redesign, it’s been great, with several extremely useful new features (especially for iPad).

To get the full rundown on what I like, what I don’t like, and my general thoughts on iOS 11 after a month’s use, watch the video below.

A wristwatch is so much more than a means to tell time these days. It’s also the opportunity to accessorize and bump up one’s style with a unique, wonderfully constructed strap.

Heeding the call to individual style is OleksynPrannyk’s made-to-order and ultra-sharp Double Tour Apple Watch Band — the reasonably priced alternative to the ridiculously priced Hermès band. The Double Tour and all of OleksynPrannyk’s bands are completely customizable with more than five adapter colors and 14 thread colors from which to choose.

Best yet, the entire collection is available now in Cult of Mac’s Watch Store. Trust me, you will love this band.

All this week on Cult of Mac, I’ve been reviewing the best running apps for Apple Watch.

Over the past three months, I’ve run more than a thousand kilometers testing these apps in real-world running conditions, and now it’s time to reveal which one earns pride of place on my sweaty wrist.

It’s Runner’s Week at Cult of Mac. All this week, I’ve been reviewing the best Apple Watch running apps. So far we’ve looked at Nike+ Run Club, Runkeeper, Strava, Runtastic and MapMyRun.

Today, it’s time to put Apple’s built-in Workout app through its paces. Let’s see how it measures up against the competition.

Welcome to Top Tech under $100. Each month, Cult of Mac rounds up some of the best tech products and accessories we come across that cost less than a C-note. This month we’ve got cases, MacBook expansion cards, tech for sleep and much more. Check out the video below to see this month’s selections — and don’t forget to enter our giveaway!

It’s Runner’s Week at Cult of Mac. Every day this week, I’m reviewing a different running app for Apple Watch in an effort to help you decide which one you want to accompany you on your sweaty asphalt-pounding sessions.

Yesterday I reviewed Runtastic. Today, it’s MapMyRun’s turn.

It’s Runner’s Week at Cult of Mac. Every day this week, I’m reviewing a different running app for Apple Watch in an effort to help you decide which one belongs on your wrist to log all your sweaty miles.

Yesterday I reviewed Strava. Today, it’s Runtastic’s turn.

A friend emailed me with an iPhone crisis. The storage capacity on her iPhone 6 was full and she was unable to shoot pictures or videos. She needed space fast.

I walked her through the steps on how to purchase additional space on iCloud. But I also said I had a few devices that plug into the phone and allow her to quickly offload their data. She asked that I stand by.

It’s Runner’s Week at Cult of Mac. Every day this week, I’m reviewing a different running app for Apple Watch in an effort to help you decide which app belongs on your wrist to log all your sweaty miles.

Yesterday I reviewed Runkeeper. Today, it’s Strava’s turn.

Little Snitch, from the maker of the sublime LaunchBar, just got updated with a new Silent Mode that makes the app about a million times better to use, especially the first time you install it. Little Snitch is a network monitor that tattles on every other bit of software on your Mac, telling you when an app connects to outside servers.

That’s pretty much its only function, but Little Snitch Version 4 packs a ton of neat touches that tell you everything about how your Mac is connecting to the outside world. I’ve been using it for the past week or so, and it makes keeping your Mac safe far less annoying.

Choosing an Apple Watch running app can prove exhausting. So let Cult of Mac Runner’s Week help get you off the starting blocks.

Every day this week, I’ll review a different running app for Apple Watch. Yesterday I reviewed Nike+ Run Club. Today, it’s Runkeeper’s turn.