Julio Ojeda-Zapata
Julio Ojeda-Zapata is a technology reporter and blogger at the Pioneer Press in St. Paul, Minnesota. He has written books about Twitter, the iPad, and mobile productivity. Keep up with him at ojezap.com.
Eggtronic’s Power Bar cuts down on clutter by charging all your Apple mobile devices in one tidy location. It’s a power bank with a USB-C port for MacBook and iPad charging, and it has wireless charging pads for an iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch.
The Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro is Apple’s first iPad cover with an integrated trackpad, and it also features a revised keyboard, a rugged hinge with a built-in USB-C charging port, and a new docking system that holds the iPad in the air. It makes the iPad Pro into more of an alternative to a laptop than ever before.
Office workers have left their fancy standing desks behind as they work out of their homes due to the pandemic. Luckily, low-cost alternatives exist. Julio Ojeda-Zapata tested two affordable tabletop computer stands.
Baked into iPadOS 13.4 is full-featured support for trackpad and mouse input, with a few twists. Apple has tailored the traditional technology to the iPad with a cursor that looks nothing like you’ve seen on a computer.
Don’t waste precious time manually repositioning and resizing macOS windows. You can automate that task to a large extent using native macOS controls, and third-party utilities give you even more power. Julio Ojeda-Zapata looks at two of the top window-wrangling apps.
Step counting is a good way to ensure you’re staying active, and if you don’t have an Apple Watch, your iPhone can keep track of how many steps you take every day. Apple’s Health app includes step counting among its fitness metrics. Better yet, try a third-party pedometer app such as ActivityTracker Pedometer or Pedometer++.
Apple has expanded upon its hit AirPods with new AirPods Pro models. They fit and sound better, courtesy of silicone ear tips, and add audio features like noise cancellation and a “transparency mode." The previous generation AirPods aren’t going anywhere, though.
AstroHQ’s Luna Display dongle can transform one Mac into a secondary display for another Mac. This is similar to what Apple’s Target Display Mode does, but that feature works only with iMacs of a certain vintage as a second display. Luna’s Mac-to-Mac Mode works with a wider range of Mac pairings, such as side-by-side MacBooks.
Want to use an iPad as a secondary Mac display? Apple built that capability, called Sidecar, into macOS Catalina for those using newer Macs and iPads. It’s free, unlike third-party alternatives. Julio Ojeda-Zapata liked Sidecar enough to continue using it, but he also found glitches.
AirPods aren’t Apple’s only earbuds. The PowerBeats Pro buds, a product of the Apple-owned Beats by Dre brand, have features in common with their little white cousins yet differ in many ways. Which should you pick? Julio Ojeda-Zapata walks you through your options.
Apple’s AirPower was supposed to revolutionize wireless charging for Apple users, but Apple killed it before it saw the light of day. However, lots of other wireless—and wired—chargers brim with personality and versatility. Some, as AirPower promised, can even charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods wireless case simultaneously.
Apple has revamped its notebook line, mostly on the low end. Its 12-inch MacBook is no more. Meanwhile, it has overhauled its entry-level MacBook Pro, adding a Touch Bar and other hardware features, while providing minor MacBook Air tweaks along with a decent price drop.
With watchOS 6, Apple has made the Apple Watch more self-reliant and more versatile. It gains an App Store with a library of apps that are, in some cases, iPhone-independent. As a health device, it helps protect users’ hearing and assists women in their menstrual and fertility tracking.
When Julio Ojeda-Zapata went to his local Apple Store for a look at Mac monitors, a staffer offered him something unexpected: the 23.7-inch LG UltraFine Display. This monitor is so new there is little public information about it—it’s not even listed on Apple’s Web store. How does it compare with LG’s 21.5-inch UltraFine 4K Display and 27-inch UltraFine 5K Display?
Reeder has long been a favorite among news junkies wanting an attractive, capable RSS reader. The just-released Reeder 4 for Mac and iOS provides several new interface and feature enhancements while preserving the program’s minimalist aesthetic.