Welcome to the latest edition of Jeremy’s 5, my latest roundup of 5 interesting little things that aren’t big enough for full articles, but are still worth sharing with you.
This week, I’m sharing some thoughts on Just Mobile’s latest iPhone and Apple Watch docks, iOS’s mysterious Error 53, experiences integrating Apple products into a small business, and Apple Pay…
Several brand-new iPad and iPhone accessories I’ve been testing recently aren’t necessarily worthy of full standalone reviews, but because they come from some of our readers’ and editors’ favorite companies, they’re still worth knowing about. Four of the five are sequels to prior products I’ve covered, while one is totally new — though similar to an earlier design.
Today, I’m taking a quick look at Anker’s PowerCore+ 10050 ($33) and PowerPort 2 ($14), Just Mobile’s AluPlug ($30), and Mophie’s “new” Powerstation 2X ($60) and Powerstation 8X ($150). The names may sound familiar, but each of these power accessories is actually different from what came before, and better…
Early in the life of the Apple Watch, offering a single, nicely-designed stand was enough for most developers; our guide to the best Apple Watch Stands compiles many such options. Just Mobile’s first entry was the aluminum, tube-shaped TimeStand, which I reviewed last month, and now the company’s back with a second and entirely different stand called the Lounge Dock ($40). Lounge Dock addresses TimeStand’s most conspicuous omission, adding support for watchOS 2.0’s upcoming Nightstand Mode, while adapting Just Mobile’s classic iPhone and iPod stand Lounge for a smaller Apple device.
Unlike TimeStand, which machined a single piece of aluminum into a tube-like stand, Lounge Dock is a multi-piece design connecting a silver metal base to a silver metal arm and a black plastic Apple Watch holder. Just Mobile’s primary pitch is that the plastic holder pivots, letting you adjust the Apple Watch’s screen angle for easier viewing while charging. If that’s appealing to you, or you want to use your Apple Watch as a small bedside clock with Nightstand Mode, you might like this new design…
If you want an Apple Watch stand, you can choose from three major materials: plastic, wood, or metal. The universally affordable plastic options tend to look a bit cheap when paired with the Apple Watch — particularly non-Sport models — while the pricey wood ones are somewhat polarizing, sparking a roughly equal mix of “love” and “hate” responses. From what I’ve gathered from readers, metal is the most popular Apple Watch stand option, with options starting at $20 and climbing sharply; most of the best metal stands are hovering around the $60 mark. For months, I’ve felt that the sweet spot for a nice metal Apple Watch stand was right in the middle of that range, but there hasn’t been a worthy option to test the viability of the $40 price point.
That’s part of the reason Just Mobile’s TimeStand ($40) feels inevitable. It was merely a matter of time until the metal masters at Just Mobile weighed in with their take on an Apple Watch stand, and given their design history, it’s no surprise that the result is an elegant little desktop sculpture. TimeStand is machined from a single piece of either silver or black anodized aluminum with a weighted, rubber-padded base, distinctly modern and substantial, yet $20 less expensive than options I’ve previously reviewed from Mophie and Nomad. Moreover, TimeStand’s unique shape offers compatibility with all Apple Watch bands, though there are some small caveats you might want to be aware of…
Up until recently, Apple accessory makers were unable to make Lightning cables with plugs as thin as Apple’s — they were required to use thicker plugs that sometimes had problems connecting to cases. At the 2015 CES, Just Mobile showed AluCable LED ($25), which uses newer Apple connectors to create the thinnest metal-jacketed Lightning cable yet, removing case compatibility issues while adding metallic style. Markedly improved over the prior AluCable at the same price, the new gold version matches the latest iPhone and iPad colors, as well.
The USB plug notably has a MagSafe-style LED built in that shifts color to indicate charging status, just like Apple’s laptops. Photos of that feature, plus details on a new reversible USB car charger, a new iPhone battery pack, and a golden version of Just Mobile’s iconic Encore stand, are all below…
The secret to understanding USB battery pricing is that you tend to get what you pay for: cheap batteries lose their charges faster and can bulge and leak over time. Other companies specialize in selling atypically nice batteries that last longer and work better. Just Mobile is a leader in quality batteries: for the past six years, its Gum series (shown below) has spanned every Apple device type, size, and speed, but it has never built a Lightning cable into a battery before. That changes with the January release of TopGum ($80), which advances the company’s prior state-of-the-art Gum++ model in two ways: an authentic Lightning cable’s integrated into the battery’s left edge, and a matching magnetic battery charging dock is included.
Of course, these features – and a choice of gold or gray metal exteriors – come at a premium over typical all-plastic batteries, so if you don’t need the cable or dock, you’ll be equally well-served with the company’s earlier batteries. Read on for the full story.
My first post for 9to5Mac is on a topic near and dear to my heart: best-of-breed Apple products and accessories. Why should you trust me? I’ve been a professional product reviewer for 23 years and an Apple user for 28 years. Last week, I finished an 11-year stint running the editorial side of iLounge, the leading Apple product review site, where I tested literally thousands of Apple accessories from every major company on the planet. Readers have praised my reviews as accurate and insightful, and I always put my readers’ needs first when testing new products.
As we have previously noted, Just Mobile sells a variety of premium accessories primarily for Apple products that are made out of aluminum. These designs and materials are similar to what Apple makes for its own products, so Just Mobile’s accessories are popular items for fans of Apple’s product design. For the past few weeks, we have been testing out some of Just Mobile’s latest iPhone accessories: the AluFrame and the AluCup Grande. You can find our full reviews below:
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Just Mobile is known for making accessories built from high quality materials, like aluminum, that nicely match the designs of Apple’s recent hardware products. However, some of their products seemed to have focused on function over form, rather than a mix of both. However, over the past few weeks, I have been using their AluDisc accessory for the Apple Thunderbolt Display, LED Cinema Display, and iMac, and I have found the accessory to be a nice, helpful addition to any workspace with those large Apple screens.
The AluDisc is a high-quality, seemingly well-built pedestal that allows you to easily and quickly rotate your display. During my daily workflow, I need to consistently pull USB and Thunderbolt cables out and in of the back of my Thunderbolt Display. Usually, to accomplish this task, I need to manually rotate my display. This is not a truly complex task, but the AluDisc actually makes this process extremely quick and easy. The disc can spins 360 degrees, making it simple to rotate my display.
As we previously noted, Just Mobile sells a series of accessories, mainly for Apple products, made out of carefully crafted aluminum designs. These designs and materials are akin to what Apple builds for its own products, therefore Just Mobile accessories are at the top of the wish lists for many Apple product design fans. For the past few weeks, we have been testing out Just Mobile’s latest accessories. Find our reviews below:
