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Zagg folio case offers the keys to unlock iPad Pro productivity [Updated review]

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Zagg Slim Book Go review
With the Zagg Slim Book Go your iPad Pro becomes a 2-in-1 tablet/notebook.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

An iPad Pro is powerful mobile computer. Add a Zagg Slim Book Go and you get a genuine MacBook competitor.

We typed our way through a full review of this keyboard folio case for Apple’s latest pro tablet, so dive in to see if it’s the add-on your iPad has been looking for.

When to expect redesigned MacBooks with speedy Apple M1 chip

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An M1 MacBook Pro might not look ike its predecessors.
An M1 MacBook Pro with 14-inch screen would give professionals more options.
Photo: Apple

The second wave of MacBooks with the just-announced Apple M1 processor will have an “all-new form factor,” according to a trusted analyst. And there’ll supposedly be a new size option.

That’s likely to please anyone who was disappointed that the first M1-based MacBook Air and MacBook Pro are nearly indistinguishable from their predecessors.

Helpsters returns for more of the adorable same [Apple TV+ review]

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John Lutz and the Helpsters
Shut up, Lutz! The Helpsters are back for a second season.
Photo: Apple TV+

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” has long been the Sesame Workshop’s modus operandi, and the second season of Apple TV+ kids show Helpsters is living proof that the strategy works.

The educational show, created by Odd Squad and Adventure Time writer Timothy McKeon, with music by longtime collaborator Paul Buckley, is long on charm and star power and short on filler.

Season two of Helpsters, which arrived on Apple TV+ Friday, is likely exactly what your kids need while you finally get around to doing the laundry. And you’ll laugh, too, at the litany of guest stars and the occasional elegant joke.

Top picks from the Cult of Mac Store

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Cult of Mac Store's hottest products
Don't miss out on these awesome new accessories.
Photo: Elago

Looking for some great accessories for your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch or Mac? The Cult of Mac Store is full of them, and we’re adding new ones all the time that you won’t want to miss.

This week’s top picks include a terrific wireless charging stand from Zens, must-have MacBook protection from Elago, an ultra-cool protective sleeve for your Apple TV remote, and more!

Keep your iPhone at the ready with Laut’s stunning necklace sleeve

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Laut Prestige Necklace Sleeve for iPhone
Never miss another call, or that perfect photo opportunity.
Photo: Laut

Laut’s super-stylish Prestige Necklace Sleeve lets you wear your iPhone 11 Pro or iPhone XS Max so that it’s always ready to go. It’s made from high-quality leather, looks terrific, and keeps your iPhone protected.

Bag yours today from the Cult of Mac Store for just $34.99.

Strapa band for Apple Watch puts fine Italian leather on your wrist [Review]

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Strapa band for Apple Watch
A leather band that doesn't disappoint.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

If you want a leather Apple Watch band that feels great, looks spectacular, and is built to last you years, you should really do yourself a favor and check out the wonderful Ingenium band from Strapa.

It’s made using leather sourced from one of the finest tanneries in Italy, plus 316L surgery-grade stainless steel buckles and adapters. I’ve been using one for months now, and I highly recommend it.

7 stellar Apple Watch charging stands for under $30

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AW-charging-stands
Give your Apple Watch a great place to rest.
Image: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

Your beloved Apple Watch deserves more than to be slapped on top of its included charging cable every night. Treat yours to an actual charging stand without breaking the bank and give it a better place to rest.

Here are seven stellar options, handpicked by Cult of Mac, for $30 or less.

Apple News Today is an Apple News+ promo disguised as a peppy news podcast [Review]

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Apple News Today review: A daily news podcast with zero partisan rage.
Apple News Today is a news podcast with zero partisan rage.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Apple News Today, the breezy new podcast showcasing the day’s top news stories, sounds perfectly peppy and polished. Maybe too perfectly polished, in fact — you won’t find a single rough edge on this slickly produced daily news report, which Apple unleashed last week with iOS 13.6. You will endure no energized, partisan rants, either. These straight-down-the-middle reports won’t get your blood boiling while you make your morning coffee or tea. If you’re tired of partisanship, this is the antidote.

What you will find in the weekday audio show is steady promotion of the Apple News app, and of Apple News+, the company’s reportedly struggling subscription news service. This upbeat and earnest free daily news briefing basically functions as a Trojan horse for getting in the ears of potential Apple News+ subscribers.

iOS 13 eats away at battery life, but iOS 14 offers hope

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iOS 13 battery life eroded. But iOS 14 offers better.
Reversing a trend, iOS 14 battery life could be noticeably longer than iOS 13.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Tests done on a range of iPhone models running the just-released iOS 13.6 reveal that it slightly reduces the battery life of all these handsets when compared to the previous version. And, generally speaking, that has held true for the last six iOS 13 updates.

But there’s good news. Tests with an early iOS 14 beta showed this upcoming version brings a significant increase to battery life.

Greatness Code proves Apple TV+ is in the relationship business [Apple TV+ review]

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Greatness Code
What is the code for greatness? No one in the documentary series Greatness Code is going to tell you.
Photo: Apple TV+

There’s a reason this review only has one image in it: Apple TV+ doesn’t have any more press pictures for this show. Why? Because why should it? This paper-thin passel of hagiographies isn’t worth promoting.

Greatness Code, which debuts July 10, isn’t a show so much as it’s an investment in the big star athletes being interviewed. To say no to the project would have meant scuttling potential relationships with some of the biggest names in sports. But to admit it’s worth your time seems a bridge too far.

This $27 tool helped me ID the Ethernet cables in my wall [Under Review]

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Elegiant Wire Tracker: This $27 tool will quickly identify Ethernet cables buried in your wall.
If you can't tell which Ethernet cable goes where, this inexpensive tool can help.
Photo: Lewis Wallace/Cult of Mac

Under Review on The CultCast The Elegiant Wire Tracker looks unassuming, but it helped me solve a frustrating problem: identifying the Ethernet cables buried behind the walls of my house. The inexpensive kit consists of a little plastic probe about the size of a Polish sausage and an emitter about the size of an iPhone (only it’s an inch or so thick).

It’s made of blue plastic, so it doesn’t pack that heavyweight “pro” feel, but it seems fairly durable. And if you need to figure out which Ethernet cable goes where, it gets the job done.

Who on earth is Dads for? [Apple TV+ review]

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Dads review: Glen Henry and his daughter, one of many subjects in the enthusiastically weightless Apple TV+ documentary Dads.
Glen Henry and his daughter, one of many subjects in the enthusiastically weightless Dads.
Photo: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ secured another handsomely produced, blandly pleasant, absolute mediocrity when it purchased Bryce Dallas Howard’s feature documentary debut, Dads. What’s Dads about, you ask? Why dads, of course. Next question.

Up until now, Apple TV+ hasn’t been the most cautious content provider. Apple execs lavished money on a lot of utter nonsense with enormous price tags because they seemed to aesthetically fit in with the rest of the company’s design scheme. HomeCentral Park, See — none of them are good television, but they’d look good testing TVs on a showroom floor, which seems to be the prevailing ethos for a lot of the Apple TV+ purchases.

Dads, released Friday just in time to remind you to forget Father’s Day, is much the same and quite a bit less.

Oceanhorn 2 Golden Edition makes Apple Arcade’s best RPG even better [Review]

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Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm involves battling robots with swords.
Oceanhorn 2 looks and plays better with a significant update released Friday.
Screenshot: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

Every fan of role-playing games should try Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Lost Realm. Especially now that Cornfox & Brothers released a big update with new levels, better graphics and other enhancements.

I devoted many hours to the original version, and got early access to The Golden Edition, which launched for everyone on Apple’s gaming subscription service on Friday. The update improves on what was already an outstanding title.

Defending Jacob turns over its final card in penultimate episode [Apple TV+ review]

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Defending Jacob review: The Apple TV+ crime drama hurtles toward its horrible end.
The Apple TV+ crime drama hurtles toward its horrible end.
Photo: Apple TV+

Defending Jacob closes in on its shocking and horrible conclusion this week. It’s been clear for a while that things will never get straightened out fully for the Barber family after Jacob’s murder trial. Whether the teen lands in jail or not, things will end badly.

The Apple TV+ crime drama’s seventh episode, titled “Job,” proves this in spectacularly agonizing fashion.

Turn your iPad into a mini iMac with this elegant stand [Review]

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Wiplabs Slope iPAd stand
Slope is a stunner!
Photo: Leander Kahney/Cult of Mac

Now that iPadOS supports mice and trackpads, it’s a better time than ever to turn your iPad into a mini iMac. To do that, you need the Slope: a nice-looking stand that props up your iPad at the perfect angle for working. Just slide a keyboard and trackpad underneath, and you have something that resembles Apple’s new Magic Keyboard, but at a fraction of the price.

Made from anodized aluminum, the Slope looks good in the kitchen, on your desk or at bedside. It keeps your iPad out of the muck when cooking, or at the perfect angle for watching videos.

Using the Space bar for Push to Talk makes Zoom calls bearable

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filthy spacebar zoom push to talk mute
Would you touch this Space bar?
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Zoom is the world’s favorite app during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite its flagrant privacy abuses, and a history of startlingly bad security holes, people are using the videoconferencing service for remote teaching, conference calls and virtual get-togethers.

If you — or your boss or a stubborn family member — insist on using this software rather than one of the safer Zoom alternatives, this Mac tip will save you a lot of trouble. Using the Push to Talk feature will make your Zoom life a lot easier.

Flick on your iPad’s keyboard to type numbers and symbols

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wooden hand on yellow background keyboard flicks
Flick your keyboard.
Photo: Charles Deluvio/Unsplash

One of the disadvantages of smaller iPads’ software keyboard is the lack of a numbers row. The 13-inch iPad displays a full keyboard with a numbers row and separate Caps Lock and Tab keys. But to type numbers on smaller iPads — the 10.5- and 11-inch models, and the mini — you first hit the symbol/number shift key to convert the top row of letter into numbers.

It’s a minor inconvenience, but if you do a lot of number entry on your iPad, then it becomes a major usability problem. The good news is that there’s an excellent workaround: keyboard flicks.

Satechi makes the best Apple Watch travel charger we’ve seen [Review]

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Satechi USB-C Magnetic Charging Dock for Apple Watch review
Satechi Charging Dock for Apple Watch is about the same size as Apple’s wearable.
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac

The Satechi USB-C Magnetic Charging Dock for the Apple Watch is more portable than Apple’s own. And because it uses USB-C, it’s easier to use with a MacBook or iPad Pro — just plug it straight in.

I put the Satechi USB-C Magnetic Charging Dock for Apple Watch through a battery of tests. Here’s how it stood up.

How to make your own hand sanitizer

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You don't need a lab to make your own hand sanitizer. Your kitchen will do just fine for DIY hand sanitizer capable of killing COVID-19 coronavirus.
You don't need a lab to make hand sanitizer -- your kitchen will do just fine.
Photo: Hans Reniers/Unsplash

It seems that the best way to keep your hands clean and virus-free is to wash them properly with soap and water. But if you can’t get to a sink, hand sanitizer will do to the trick (again — if used properly). Hand sanitizer remains in high demand, so you might want to whip up a batch on your own.

And if you can get your hands on the common ingredients needed, it’s really easy to make DIY hand sanitizer.