Perhaps I’m wearing rose-colored glasses, but it seems to me that chargers used to be a lot simpler.
Apple’s boxy little white charger — a marvel of electronic engineering, btw — had you covered for a lot of things.
It charged your iPhone and a bunch of other USB gadgets besides. At just 5W, it’s horribly underpowered by today’s standards, but it was small, easy to carry, and didn’t block other outlets.
And if you were an Apple user of any standing, you likely had half a dozen around the house.
But these days, you need a beefier charger for iPhone — and even more powerful ones for iPads or MacBooks.
And get this: The charger that comes in the box with new iPads is seriously underpowered! It delivers only half the power iPads are capable of receiving.
But what’s a better charger than the one in the box? Personally, I have no clue!
However, Cult of Mac writer Ed Hardy, an iPad power user, does — and he compiled a rundown of the best alternatives.
Also in today’s newsletter:
I genuinely LOL-ed at the trailer for Apple TV’s The Family Plan 2, but skipped the movie because I knew it’d be dreadful — turns out I was right! We put together a definitive list of the worst shows on Apple’s streaming service, and The Family Plan 2 sits at the top of the heap.
I have hundreds of notes saved in my Notes app and not one is organized, tagged or otherwise categorized. This is a big mistake that limits the app’s potential. If you’re like me, you could be getting far more out of it.
🔥 DEAL OF THE DAY: Moment is having a rare sale offering "best prices of the year" on iPhone lenses. Save $25 off T-Series lenses. This doesn’t happen often. #affiliate
As we noted earlier in the week for Apple’s 50th birthday, many of the company’s products were slow burners: They only took off on the second or third try. Not so the first iPad: It became a hit right out of the gate.
There’s always a huge disconnect between marketing photos of Apple gadgets and reality. In the marketing pics, there are no cables, whereas IRL, there’s a nest of them. If cables drive you batty, here’s some inspiration for getting rid of them — or, at least, hiding them.
On this week’s Cult of Mac podcast: Apple turns 50, and Mac Pro turns dead!
The results from yesterday’s poll are very interesting: What will dominate the next 50 years of Apple? See below.
— Leander Kahney, EIC.
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Cult of Mac podcast: Apple turns 50! — and Mac Pro turns dead
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One more thing ...
When you grow up, you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader.
Today’s poll
What kind of charger do you prefer?
Results from yesterday’s poll: What will dominate the next 50 years of Apple?
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