The best iPhone and iPad accessories

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. Read the full article here.

A huge ecosystem of accessories surrounds the iPad and iPhone, with options to handle pretty much any need. At The Wirecutter, we spend dozens of hours (at least) on each of our reviews to find the best gear for all parts of your life. Here are some of our favorites for your iOS devices.Slideshow-321013

This guide may have been updated by The Wirecutter/The Sweethome. To see the current recommendations, please go here.

New USB-C Batteries to Charge Retina MacBooks at Full Speed

Apple’s Retina MacBook uses a brand new USB-C connector for power, which means that it’s able to be charged by external USB battery packs much like an iPhone or an iPad. But because of its higher 29 watt power requirements, there aren’t any current battery packs that pump out enough power to charge the MacBook at full speed. Instead, most USB battery packs used with the MacBook today just keep the battery steady, without adding additional power. That’s set to change, however, as companies are starting to debut accessories and battery packs that will let the Retina MacBook charge at its full 29 watt rate.

As of today, Hyper, known for its line of external battery packs designed for Apple’s notebooks, is launching a Indiegogo project for the HyperJuice Magic Box. Available in two varieties, the Magic Box is an adapter that allows the 12-inch Retina MacBook to be charged at a full 29W speed using HyperJuice battery packs, or up to 12W using regular USB battery packs.

The 29W Magic Box adapter cable, which converts the DC output of a HyperJuice battery pack to a USB-C connection, uses a smart IC to enable “fast and safe” 29W charging, refilling the MacBook’s battery just as its 29W Power Adapter would. The 12W Magic Box is a USB to USB-C adapter that will let any existing USB battery pack work with the new MacBook, but it won’t be as powerful as a HyperJuice battery pack paired with the 29W adapter.

If you need faster charging at the same 29W speed as the original Apple USB-C Power Adapter, use Magic Box 29W adapter together with HyperJuice batteries. Only HyperJuice can safely and efficiently provide up to 29W (or even 100W) power via USB-C. This is something that regular USB battery packs cannot do.

The 29W Magic Box will be available for $35 while the 12W version is available for $25. Both can be ordered through Hyper’s Indiegogo page, which also includes other purchasing options for Magic Box and external battery back combos at discounted prices, plus options that will make HyperJuice battery packs compatible with both MagSafe-based Macs and the Retina MacBook.

Hyper’s existing HyperJuice battery packs can also be ordered from the Hyper website, with prices that range from $169.95 to $449.95. Ranging from 16,000 mAh to 61,000 mAh, the HyperJuice external batteries can add anywhere from 14 to 53 additional hours of battery life to a MacBook.

In the near future, there will also be other USB-C external battery pack options for the MacBook. At the end of this month, Maximas will introduce a crowdfunding campaign for the XTRON, a 13,400 mAh power bank (for 8 hours of extra battery life) designed specifically for USB-C devices like the MacBook.

The XTRON external battery pack, coming soon from Maximas
It includes 4.2A USB charging ports that are compatible with both USB-C and USB-A so it can be used to charge multiple types of devices simultaneously, and though it’s 13,400 mAh, it’s able to fit in the palm of a hand. It will be available for $69 when the Indiegogo project launches.

Another company previously announced a similar product, the Reach Go battery pack. The Reach Go’s original specs claim to have 15,000 mAh, offer two standard USB ports, and a single USB-C port, and cost $99. This battery has also not yet shipped, but the website claims an October, 2015 arrival.

New ‘Steve Jobs’ TV Spot Calls Upcoming Movie a ‘Must-See’

Universal just released the second official trailer for the new Steve Jobs movie last week, and over the weekend it began debuting the newest TV spot for the film. The new 30-second ad features some of the same glimpses of Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet as Steve Jobs and Joanna Hoffman, but it’s the first to showcase a sampling of lines from the reviews of some critics who have already seen the film. Also worth mentioning, one of the most interesting aspects of the new spot is the Mac’s startup chime that’s used to overlay and punctuate the short commercial.

The commercial cites reviews from places like Indiewire and The Playlist, which called the new movie “must-see one-of-a-kind cinema” and “a rush of blood to the head,” respectively. Although a handful of critics have been able to see the film thanks to its premiere at Telluride, more and more will be adding their opinions in the coming weeks as the movie makes its Centerpiece debut at the New York Film Festival, and opens wider throughout October.

Overall, the first impressions of the movie have been largely positive, with praise landing on Fassbender’s portrayal of the former Apple CEO, leading to some early Oscar buzz for the movie. Still just under a month from its theatrical debut on October 9, the movie currently sits at a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes with nine positive reviews to one negative.

Check out the rest of the TV spots released by Universal in the playlist above.

iPad Mini 4 Display Has Improved Color Gamut and Lower Reflectance

DisplayMate has tested the iPad mini 4 display and found that its colors and color accuracy are on par with the iPad Air 2, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, with an improved 101% color gamut. All previous iPad mini models had 62% color gamut with poorer color saturation, according to the company’s analysis.

iPad mini 4 also has a record-low 2% screen reflectance, compared to 6.5% reflectance for the iPad mini 3 and and 9% reflectance for the original iPad mini. This gives the iPad mini 4 a contrasting rating in high ambient light of 225, which in layman’s terms means the tablet has improved readability in real-world viewing conditions.

DisplayMate Technologies President Ray Soneira:

But in terms of real-world viewing conditions, the record low 2.0% screen Reflectance actually makes a bigger visual difference for the image colors and image contrast that you actually see because ambient light washes out and degrades the displayed images and reduces screen readability – so [the iPad mini 4’s] record low Reflectance actually makes a bigger difference!

DisplayMate says the iPad mini 4 has between 2.5x and 3.5x higher contrast in ambient light than the iPad mini 3 and most other tablets, which mainly fall in the range of 5.0% to 6.5% screen reflectance. iPad Air 2 was the previous record holder with 2.5% screen reflectance, but the iPad mini 4 was 36% better per this test.

DisplayMate will provide in-depth analysis of the iPad mini 4 display when the iPad Pro launches in November.

Apple removes malware-infected apps from Chinese App Store

Last week we reported how a number of malware-ridden apps were found on the Chinese version of Apple’s App Store. The iPhone-maker has since confirmed the offending apps have been removed. The malicious apps were reportedly created using a bogus version of Xcode (the developer tool for iOS apps) that snuck hidden, malicious features into genuine apps with a program called “XcodeGhost”. Curiously, a tactic also considered by the CIA at one point. Exactly how many apps were affected is unclear, but popular titles in the country like WeChat, and car-hailing app Didi Kuaidione are reported to be on the list. Security firm Qihoo360 Technology is reporting at least 344 were removed from the store.

What’s less clear is the impact to any users that were unlucky enough to download one of the infected apps while they were available. Palo Alto Networks Director of Threat Intelligence Ryan Olson claims the impact was likely negligible, with no reports data theft, or “other harm.” Olson also points out, perhaps the real concern is that this attack demonstrates that Apple’s App Store, and its famously rigorous approval process are far from immune to vulnerabilities, especially given that developers had no idea this was going on.

Via: The Guardian

Source: Reuters