Let’s face it: The green plastic band I have for my Apple Watch Sport is useful and comfortable, but it’s not classy. I wear it to the gym with no reservations, but a night out on the town? Maybe if I were an adolescent.
When I strap Nomad’s new Italian leather replacement band to my wrist, however, I finally feel like a grownup. This is one beautiful Apple Watch strap.
I have a gadget-friendly family. We’ve all got an iPhone, a few of us have iPads, and I’ve got an Apple Watch. All of these devices require charging, and all of them need a place to hang out when they’re not being used.
The AllDock is a gorgeous wooden universal charging station that lets me store and charge all the family devices in one location with ease, making it simple to grab any device and use it at a moment’s notice.
The Zagg Pocket Keyboard is for anyone desperate to carry the bare minimum. Well, the bare minimum would be to skip the keyboard altogether, but if you are looking for the convenience of an external keyboard without the hassle of carrying one, look no further.
Who needs 3 feet of rugged Lightning cable? Anyone who spends any time at all on the road, that’s who.
Damn, I love Bluetooth.
Crap, I hate Bluetooth.
Bluetooth is the Jekyll and Hyde of technology. One minute it is your best friend and confidante; the next it is the most evil of evils. Actually, it is the other way around. As you are trying to find the device, and pair the device, and make sure the device stays paired, Bluetooth is some super-annoying technology. Then, once your devices have made nice, the relationship is repaired.
It happened again yesterday: My beautiful, coveted iPhone 6 Plus found itself airborne, tumbling through time and space. I think it knew where it was headed — I certainly did. I could hear the horrifying noise even before it happened. The inevitable bone-chilling sound of my iOS 9 goodness coming in Force Touch contact with the tile.
I do this often enough to know my cat is running short on lives. This time I lucked out again, but I know the shatter is inevitable. So I’ve turned to the grandfather of iPhone protection: Otter Box and its almost-bombproof Defender series.
After kicking off the “phablet” trend in 2011, the Galaxy Note series has become the bigger and better smartphone in Samsung’s lineup every year — and usually the best phablet on the market. But with this year’s Note 5, a lot has changed.
Samsung has snubbed a number of popular features to take a gamble on the new design language it first introduced with the Galaxy S6 earlier this year. It makes the Note 5 far prettier than its predecessors, but does it make for a better handset overall?
You bet your S Pen it does!
I just leveled up while I was driving to pick my kid up from school. I set up a digital battle using my iPhone while sitting in my driveway, hit “Go,” and then just put my iPhone down on my dashboard while I drove to get him.
I’ve been calling these types of games “auto-battlers” for their central feature: letting you skip tedious, grinding gameplay that tends to be a feature of traditional role-playing games. I don’t have time to micromanage my iPhone; chances are neither do most people, which explains the rise of casual gaming over the past five years or so.
Here are three fun mobile games that let you experience more depth than a typical Flappy Bird clone, but still don’t require too much input to enjoy.
These tiny guitar effects pedals from GMF Music will fit on any pedalboard or stage setup thanks to their unique, top-loading design. Sure, they’re small, but boy do they pack a powerful punch.
All four Bullseye pedals feature a fully shielded steel case (to minimize that hum you’ll hear at most live shows) crammed with some serious circuitry that makes it super-easy to dial in the perfect guitar sound.
It’s true: Power strips are the least-sexy of gadgets to talk about. This Satechi Aluminum Power Strip with USB, however, is as gorgeous as it gets in this admittedly prosaic product category.
Two things about me as a photographer: I hate tripods and I will never tell another photographer what they must carry with them. Both changed when the Pakpod arrived in the mail.
Weighing 15 ounces, the PakPod has legs that can quickly extend and lock in crazy asymmetrical positions with the turn of a single knob. Legs extend and lock with the push of a button or can be anchored to the ground or even the ocean floor with flip-out stakes at the feet.
Every now and then, I need to FaceTime with someone. Holding my iPhone still is kind of a challenge when I’m chatting, plus I can’t gesticulate wildly when I’m keeping the iPhone upright with my hands. The folks at Kanex have me covered thanks to this slickly designed aluminum dock for iPhone 6 or 6 Plus (and I’m pretty sure it will work with the newer “s” models, as well).
Nobody likes a blurry picture. And while smartphone snappers might think they don’t miss a viewfinder, holding an old-school camera close to the face allowed photographers to use their arms against their torsos to steady things.
With a smartphone, which is held out in front of our bodies, there’s far more risk of shake and blur. Luckily, the Grip&Shoot is a simple solution that will steady the hand.
iPhone 6s is a mirror image of its predecessor at first glance, but thanks to improved internals and innovative new technology, it’s very much a different beast.
With Apple’s latest A9 processor, a new 12-megapixel iSight camera, Live Photos, and 3D Touch, this is much, much more than just an “incremental” iPhone upgrade. It’s the iPhone that will change the way you use your iPhone. It’s Apple most exciting smartphone in years.
If you’ve braved a line (or just waited impatiently for your mail or a delivery from your local courier) and finally have your hands on an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus of your very own, you may be wondering what do do with your new precious. Sure, you could call all your friends and tell them you’re speaking to them through your shiny new gadget, like I did with my Apple Watch.
And I’m here to tell you that everyone loves that.
But you’re probably looking for some cool apps to play around with, and it may be hard to know where to start — especially if this is your first iPhone. So here are a bunch of apps that should be at the top of your list.
Your personal hero now has an S on its chest and, behind it, are some new superpowers. Behold, the iPhone 6s.
But wait: There’s still some money to be spent on a new suit of armor and some other accessories to exploit the talents of the latest hardware out of Cupertino.
Cult of Mac has drawn up a shopping list for you. You could probably squeeze the 6s into the same case and carry on with your current set of headphones, but hey — a new iPhone only comes around once a year.
Forecast Bar brings all the features you love about awesome weather app Dark Sky to a Mac app. Not only does it look similar to Dark Sky, but it’s powered by the same Forecast API, which means you’re getting the same accurate weather predictions.
Forecast Bar also works the way you want it to. Keep it in the menu bar or let it sit in your Dock. Enable certain notifications and display a three-day, five-day or seven-day forecast — up to you. With its detailed weather and range of customization options, it should very quickly take your Mac by storm.
iOS 9 won’t shock you with a bunch of whiz-bang new features or a drastic new look, but in many ways, Apple’s latest mobile operating system is more important than its two immediate predecessors. While iOS 7 and iOS 8 laid a foundation that embraced the future of mobile design, iOS 9 is making all those changes worth a damn.
Apple drops iOS 9 today, bringing a more intelligent UI, better built-in apps, a smarter Siri and much more. Our iOS 9 review shows how the new software makes everything you do on your iPhone or iPad easier — and far faster — than ever before.
There’s been a disturbance in the Force: a free-to-play Star Wars game has arrived for iOS and Android, and it’s surprisingly damn good.
Star Wars: Uprising is the first video game that’s actually canon to the new Star Wars Universe, taking place between Return of the Jedi (VI) and the upcoming The Force Awakens (VII).
That alone merits a download, but once you start playing, you’ll find a really well-written storyline, some deep customization options, and an addictive gear collecting and upgrading system that will keep you going back for more. Check out the trailer below for some glorious Star Wars action.
A connected home security system that you can run right from your iPhone sounds like a fantastic idea. But which system should you pick up?
We’ve taken a look at the Skylink Alarm System Starter Kit to see what it can do. It includes a security hub, various window and door sensors, and a slick Wi-Fi-connected camera that you can set up and use from your iPhone no matter where you are in the world.
Check out our fun video review of this iOS-controlled home security system below.
Each month, Lust List rounds up the gear that makes it so we can't feel our faces. This time around we're loving hot music machines, cool photo accessories and more.
Earlier this summer, Search and State released its version of the ugly-ass Hawaiian shirt in the form of a bicycle jersey. I stared at it for weeks wondering if I could pull off the look while riding in the Oakland hills. While I contemplated my fashion boldness, Search and State apparently sold every last one of those jerseys. I decided I need to get my hands on one of the company's tamer garments to see what the Midtown Manhattan manufacturers have going on.
What they are doing is making beautiful bicycle attire in the heart of what was once New York's garment center. The $140 S1-A bicycle jersey is impeccably sewn and has an understated appearance even the most fashion-challenged can deal with. Nice choice on the zipper, too. — Jim Merithew
Buy from: Search and State
One way I can often determine if an app is worth my time is by putting it through a specific test. If I get so sucked into an app that I forget I’m actually supposed to be gathering thoughts to write up a review, it’s because that app is generally pretty awesome. I had this somewhat rare experience with Recolor, a new coloring book app for adults on iOS.
I’m anxiously awaiting Lara Croft’s next outing on consoles this fall with Rise of the Tomb Raider, but in the meantime, developer Square Enix is tiding us over with Lara Croft Go, a miniaturized adventure starring the iconic graverobber and dinosaur fighter. It’s out now for iPhone and iPad (reviewed version), and like its predecessor, Hitman Go, it’s more about strategy than all-out action.
This game diverts slightly from Hitman, however, doing away with the board game/diorama theme and just sticking our hero into an ancient, turn-based ruin. But that doesn’t diminish its charm or fun at all.
Now that we’re in the era of the portable Bluetooth speaker, it’s hard to justify spending money on a stereo that just sits on a shelf at home.
That perception is exactly what this tiny stereo system from German audio giant Thonet and Vander aims to fight, though. The Rätsel brings old-school stereo sensibility to the modern age, with an absolutely room-filling sound in a tiny, tiny package. Why not have something that sounds this great right there on your shelf?
Home automation, specifically Apple’s HomeKit framework and its compatible accessories, is the latest Thing We’re Supposed to Get Excited About™. And it has a lot of promise for convenience, time-saving, and just generally feeling like you live in the future.
The first HomeKit-compatible smartplug is upon us, courtesy of iHome. The ISP5 SmartPlug is a $40 device that plugs into your wall outlet and lets you run whatever you plug into it from your iPhone, using either Siri or the companion app.
It does everything it says it will: You can set up rooms and zones, and control individual appliances or whole groups of them with a tap or quick voice command. It also lets you build “rules” to make your stuff turn on and off without your input. All of this is cool, but when you actually have one, you might struggle to think of useful ways to use it.