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Easily control Abode’s DIY security system with iPhone and HomeKit [Review]

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Abode Iota review
Abode Iota includes a camera, motion sensor and supports HomeKit home automation.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Abode Iota is a do-it-yourself security system that’s one of the very few with support for Apple’s HomeKit home-automation platform. That means it’s a breeze to control from your iPhone. It includes a camera, motion detector and windows/door sensor. Additional sensors can be added.

I installed the Iota Starter Kit and have extensively tested it. Read on to see whether it’s the right solution to secure your home or business.

Add a one-tap AirPods connect button to your Home screen or Dock

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airpods connect
This sticker is just one way to speed up AirPods connections.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you own multiple iOS devices, then AirPods are supremely convenient. As soon as you connect them to one device, they automatically pair (and remain paired) to all your other devices. So, if you have a Mac, an iPhone, an iPad, and an Apple Watch, then all you have to do is tap connect on whichever device you want to use.

The problem is that the connect button is hidden, and a pain to reach. You have to swipe to open Control Center, then tap the AirPlay icon, then tap your AirPods in the list. And then wait a few seconds to see if it worked. Admittedly, this is a small inconvenience, but we can make it better. How about adding a button to your iPhone Home screen or Mac Dock that connects the AirPods with one tap?

Constantly charge your iPhone with Xvida case and clip-on battery [Review]

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Xvida Magnetic Wireless Charging Case and Portable Battery Pack review
Combine the Xvida Magnetic Wireless Charging Portable Battery Pack with the Charging Case to make an iPhone battery case.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Magnetic Wireless Charging Case from Xvida protects your iPhone from drops and blows, but that’s just the start. Magnets set into its back allow it to easily attach to a range of other accessories made by this company. That includes a wireless charger that adds hours of use to the handset.

I’ve tested both the Xvida Magnetic Wireless Charger Portable Battery Pack and the protective case that it pairs with to see how they stand up to real-world use.

Add wireless charging to your AirPods with this $25 Elkson case [Review]

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Elkson wireless AirPods bumper case
Elkson's Bumper Case adds wireless charging to your 1st and 2nd generation AirPods.
Photo: Elkson

One of the nicest features of the latest AirPods is the ability to charge them wirelessly. Just plunk them on top of a Qi-compatible charger and you’re good to go. But what about the original AirPods, which didn’t come with a wireless charging case?

Well, now you can add Qi charging for just $25, thanks to Elkson’s Wireless Charging and Bumper Case.

Everything you need to know about disinfecting packages

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disinfecting packages
Do you need to disinfect deliveries? And how do you do it?
Photo: RoseBox/Unsplash

Your home is clean and sanitized. You wash and moisturize your hands regularly, and you haven’t left the house in days. By all measures, you’re pretty sure that your home is an oasis from the pandemic outside your door. But then the new MacBook Air, or that emergency delivery of tea leaves from Amazon, arrives. You have just accepted a potential COVID-19 virus carrier into your home. What do you do?

You sanitize it, that’s what. Just like you’ve sanitized the surfaces in your home.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is as bloody brilliant as ever on iOS [Review]

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Castlevania- Symphony of the Night
The classic PlayStation vampire game finally arrives on the iPhone.
Photo: Konami

Classic video game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night landed in the App Store last week and, boy, is it great!

The 23-year-old side-scroller pits Dracula’s half-son Alucard against the evil count himself. The game, widely regarded as one of the best video games of all time, has made its way onto various games platforms over the years. Now you can finally play it on your iPhone. Frankly, that’s the best news I’ve heard in ages.

Androids lose resale value twice as fast as iPhone

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iPhone resale value beats Android year after year.
After a few years, it’s hardly worth the hassle of reselling an Android.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

There’s an area where Android is much faster than any iPhone: losing value. A gadget trade-in service tracked the depreciation of Apple and Android handsets and found that after a year the iPhone had held on to far more of its resale value.

Best wireless chargers for your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch too

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Best wireless chargers for iPhone
There are plenty of good wireless chargers, but here are Cult of Mac’s favorites.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Wireless charging can really help keep your iPhone topped off and ready to go. Every model since the iPhone 8 supports it, and Cult of Mac brings you our list of the best wireless chargers available today.

This includes multi-device models too, for everyone who needs power up an Apple Watch or AirPods too.

This charging system works better than AirPower would have [Review]

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Scosche BaseLynx Modular Charging System review
Scosche BaseLynx is one system, but it lets you mix and match the types of chargers you need: iPhone, Apple Watch, etc.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Scosche BaseLynx can quickly charge every Apple device you have — AirPods to MacBook Pro — either wirelessly or via cable. And this system is modular so you can get just the components you need and not the ones you don’t.

I’ve used it to power my Apple Watch, iPhone and iPad. Here’s how it survived real-world use.

Finally — a YouTube download shortcut for iOS that actually works

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download youtube shortcut
In the olden days, we had to download videos through our eyes, and we couldn't even save them.
Photo: Sven Scheuermeier/Unsplash

I’ve made several attempts at creating/repurposing iOS shortcuts that download YouTube videos and save them for offline viewing. The problem is, most of the shortcuts broke after a while, or proved so unreliable that I gave up on them. And, judging by the responses I get via Twitter, you folks are also very interested in downloading YouTube videos.

Well, this weekend I finally found a way to make it work reliably. And because it uses a third-party service to locate the downloadable video link, it means that someone else is making sure that it all keeps working. Hopefully. For now. Fingers crossed.

Why Apple should celebrate its history with an Official Apple Archive [Opinion]

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Why Apple should celebrate its history with an Official Apple Archive [Opinion]
It was great while it lasted!
Photo: Unofficial Apple Archive

Apple took a proverbial sledgehammer to the Unofficial Apple Archive, an online collection of more than 15,000 classic Apple ads and assorted other materials, last weekend. Cupertino’s legal team issued a slew of takedown notices to Vimeo and the Unofficial Apple Archive’s host provider, Squarespace, resulting in thousands of vintage Apple ads vanishing in the blink of an eye.

While I understand the reason for the takedowns, I really, really wish Apple hadn’t tried to wipe the ads off the internet. Fortunately, Apple could set things straight — by embracing both its past and its most ardent fans.

Doqo turns iPad Pro into MacBook with 7 ports [Review]

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Doqo keyboard with 12.9-inch iPad Pro
The Doqo keyboard with 12.9-inch iPad Pro has advantages even over a MacBook.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Anyone who longs for the days when MacBooks came with tons of ports can look to the Doqo, an iPad Pro keyboard case that includes a pair of USB-A ports, HDMI, memory card readers, and more. There’s also a trackpad and full-size keyboard. This could be the touchscreen laptop you’ve been hoping for.

I’ve extensively used the Doqo keyboard with a 12.9-inch iPad Pro, and explore its advantages and problems in this review.

Lepow portable display is a perfect companion for your MacBook [Review]

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Lepow 15.6-Inch USB-C Portable Monitor
Photographing a display is difficult, so the Lepow 15.6-Inch USB-C Portable Monitor looks better than this.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

MacBooks are wonderfully portable but a laptop display can be cramped for getting serious work done. The Lepow 15.6-Inch USB-C Portable Monitor is so slim and light it can easily go with you and double your available screen space.

I fully tested this surprisingly affordable USB-C monitor. Read my review to see how well it performs in the real world.

How to run iOS shortcuts from your Mac

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Shortcuts on Mac.
Shortcuts on Mac — kinda.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

While it is possible to get the Shortcuts app running in macOS Catalina via Catalyst, you can’t do much with it. But what about the next best thing? How about selecting something on your Mac, then tapping a shortcut on your iPhone, and then having the result show up back on your Mac?

I’ve been doing this for the past few weeks, and it’s not only a workaround, but a genuinely useful — and reliable — way to “run” iOS shortcuts on the Mac. Let’s get right into it.

Tapplock One+ biometric padlock easily secures your valuables [Review]

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Tapplock One+ review
Open a gate or unlock your bike at just the press of a finger with Tapplock One+.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

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.

How to share an Apple TV+ subscription with your family

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Share Apple TV+
Apple hopes the package will boost subscriber numbers.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Apple TV+ has turned out to be pretty good. Certainly, it’s a lot better than critics claimed. So, you may even want to share the shows with your family. And, thanks to Apple’s Family Sharing, this is not only possible, but easy.

You can all watch different shows at the same time, or you can just enjoy the lazy convenience of catching the latest episode of The Morning Show on whoever’s device is nearest. Let’s see how to share your Apple TV+ subscription with your family.

How to give away your old AirPods

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Unpair airpods
New AirPods? Why not give your old AirPods away?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

You’ve got your amazing new AirPods Pro, and now you have a set of perfectly good (if a little waxy) AirPods Normal just taking up mental space.

Should you keep them as spares? I guess that’s the safe route (just in case you misplace the Pros). But how about giving them away to a friend or family member? Today we’ll see how to unpair AirPods from your iCloud account so you can do just that. (Plus how to clean them before you pass them along.)

With the holiday season approaching, maybe you could make someone very happy.

How to use AirPods Pro Ear Tip Fit Test to make them sound their best

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Ear tip fit test airpods pro
The AirPods Pro come with three pairs of tips.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

If you ever sat with a pair of earbuds, and a handful of interchangeable silicone tips, and felt a sense of apathy and confusion creep over you, then you’re going to love the new AirPods Pro Ear Tip Fit Test. This clever new feature uses the AirPods Pro’s own microphones to test how well the variously sized silicone tips fit in your ears.

It works really well. The only problem is, the results could be bad news.

How to set up noise alerts on your Apple Watch

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Noise alerts
Things might get loud.
Photo: Jonny Caspari/Unsplash

In watchOS 6, your Apple Watch can monitor the noise levels around you, and warn you when things get too loud. This is an essential tool to help people who work in noisy environments avoid hearing damage, but it’s also a handy safeguard against excessive noise for anyone.

Here’s how to set up Apple Watch noise alerts.

Contemporary leather cuff makes Apple Watch ultra-comfortable

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Monowear-leather-cuff-1
And it's surprisingly affordable.
Photo: Monowear

Look no further than this contemporary leather cuff if you want an Apple Watch band that’s super-stylish and insanely comfortable.

It’s Monowear’s most comfortable band yet, and it’s available now from the Cult of Mac Store in two terrific color options. The cuff is compatible with all versions of Apple Watch in all sizes. Order yours today!

New Tile Sticker will help you find anything [Review]

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Tile Pro, Tile Sticker, Tile Mate and Tile Slim
The round Tile Sticker is the new model, but there are also updates to Tile Pro, Tile Mate and Tile Slim.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

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.

Access your App Store updates from the iOS 13 Home screen [Pro Tip]

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iOS 13 app updates
The quickest way to see your app updates in iOS 13.
Photo: Cult of Mac

Pro Tip: This to-do list hack turns your tasks into questions iOS 13 did away with the old Updates tab in the App Store, and replaced it with Apple Arcade. That’s pretty bad news if you don’t want to use Apple Arcade. But on the plus side, you can access your app updates from the Home screen using 3D Touch. And the good news is that, in iOS 13, you can also use this trick on the iPad.