Accessories

Get the Hermès and Nike+ watch faces on your Apple Watch with this tweak

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated September 10, 2020

Apple limits some of their watch face designs to certain Apple Watch models. For example, the Hermès and Nike editions of Apple Watches offer their own unique faces that can’t be accessed on any other Apple Watch. Or at least, not without an iPhone jailbreak…

iOS developer Ayden Panhuyzen has been trying to port these faces to other models of the Apple Watch for quite some time, and he appears to be demonstrating success in his endeavors. As a result, the jailbreak tweak dubbed SpecialFaces is now in beta. If you're wondering how to get the Hermès and Nike+ faces on your Apple Watch, this is how.

Now that Apple has stopped discounting USB-C accessories, check out these cheaper alternatives

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 1, 2017

It was fun while it lasted: the age of Apple's discounted USB-C adapters and dongles is over as of today. But don't you worry as we just updated our roundups of cheaper USB-C adapters and USB-C cables from third-party vendors that you may need for your new MacBook Pro.

Following complaints from customers regarding the need for various dongles, Apple temporarily discounted many USB-C peripherals sold in its stores as a way to assuage their concerns. The limited-time deals were supposed to end on December 31, 2016 but the company extended the price cuts until March 31, 2017.

Speck’s Presidio Show reveals your iPhone’s finish through the back of the case

Anthony Bouchard ∙ March 24, 2017

Speck unveiled the new Presidio Show case at CES 2017, introducing an effective way to protect your sleek new iPhone while still enabling you to get a good look at the incredible industrial design of your handset that would normally be hidden by the protective materials that make up most impact-resistant cases.

The Presidio Show's bezels are colored to match the iPhone finish of your choice, but the back plate of the case is fully transparent to act as a window to the other side. In this review, we’ll show you the version made to go with the Black or Jet Black finish of the iPhone 7/7 Plus.

The best smart scales

Cody Lee ∙ Updated December 27, 2019

Whether you're looking to track your progress on the way to a weight goal, or you just simply want to be a little healthier, smart scales are useful tools. They're accurate, provide valuable data, and sync up with your smartphone so you can easily log and share your results.

There's a lot to consider when shopping for a smart scale including price, features, app compatibility, and customer ratings. To help you make the right decision, we've decided to put together a roundup of what we think are the best smart scales on the market right now.

This minimalist case turns your iPhone jet black (or jet white)

Sébastien Page ∙ March 17, 2017

Besides a redesigned camera bump, one of the main differentiator between the iPhone 7 and its predecessor was the new jet black colorway. It’s beautiful and sexy, but as Apple was quick to point out, it’s also incredibly prone to micro abrasions.

The solution offered is to put it in a case, which clearly defeats the purpose of having a jet black iPhone to begin with. And that's where the folks at Totallee come in with the Scarf, their incredibly light and thin case, now available in jet black and jet white.

Upcoming tweak will bring new features to your AirPods

Anthony Bouchard ∙ March 10, 2017

AirPods are a hot commodity among iPhone users these days. In fact, they’re so popular that Apple can’t even keep up with the incredible demand they’re receiving from consumers.

That aside, users will soon have the ability to use their jailbreak to customize the way their AirPods work. iOS developer LaughingQuoll is currently working on a new jailbreak tweak called Siliqua that's specifically designed for using your AirPods in a bevy of new ways.

Protect your AirPods case with PodPockets

Jim Gresham ∙ Updated May 7, 2018

If you are lucky enough to own a set of AirPods, you love them, you take them everywhere, you show them to everyone, you run back into the house if you forget them. You are constantly grabbing and going these little wizards, which by most standards, are the best technology forward product Apple released in 2016. With all Apple products, I want to keep them safe and sound, but the high polish white plastic does not hold up very well against scratches.

Within about two days, my AirPods case was scratched and ruined. I use ruined fairly loosely, but any scratch on my Apple products is a total travesty. Thankfully, I stumbled across PodPockets, which now safely cradle my AirPods case.

Alto makes a top-contending leather case for most iPhone models

Anthony Bouchard ∙ March 9, 2017

Over the last few weeks, we have shown you a number of the top leather case brands for iPhones, but another that we feel deserves attention is Alto.

Hand-crafted with fine Italian leather, Alto cases are subtly formed out of what feels like surreal perfection. If you’re one to judge products closely, and every bit of quality matters to you, then Alto’s attention to detail is likely to impress.

The best sleep tracking apps for Apple Watch and iPhone

Steffen Reich ∙ Updated April 10, 2020

Tracking your sleep routine can often lead to insights into all sorts of habits or quirks detrimental to a good night’s sleep. Before Apple Watch, apps promising to analyze your nightly resting patterns and devise remedies to improve on them were already plentiful. Yet after the release of the wrist-worn gadget, a new surge in the category ensued for its ease of use on watch and enhanced precision in measuring body movements at night.

In order to single out the creme de la creme of applications, we have put through their paces both standalone sleep trackers on iPhone and an array of apps requiring the assistance of Apple Watch.

No matter if you rock iPhone and Apple Watch together or solo, find out below which sleep trackers are worthwhile your time and money.

Poll: do you own any HomeKit products?

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 2, 2017

Do I have any HomeKit accessories in my home? No, not yet, but that's because I currently live in a rented apartment. I'll be getting smart home gadgets when I buy my own house, that's for sure. Until that day arrives, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for prices of HomeKit products to continue dropping.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of how HomeKit brings these appliances together in the Home app with support for scenes, Siri voice control, remote management via Apple TV and other perks. I also like it a lot how HomeKit products are required to use hardware encryption for security purposes. It's just that outfitting my home with these smart gadgets would represent too sizable an investment for my budget, that's all.

So, what about you? Do you own any HomeKit-certified accessories? Cast your vote and meet us in comments if you'd like to share your thoughts about the HomeKit platform or any HomeKit devices you already own, or may be planning on buying.

Nomad’s PowerPack is a rugged battery pack that you can track with Tile

Anthony Bouchard ∙ February 24, 2017

Battery packs are a hot commodity these days because it seems like our mobile devices never want to last as long as we’d like them to. They bring us out of the dark ages, where we used to have to sit by a power outlet and wait for our handsets to charge, and are advantageous because they allow you to charge on the go, no matter how far away from civilization you might be.

On the other hand, people who are always on the go have a tendency of misplacing things, and sometimes that means losing their battery packs. That’s why Nomad came up with the PowerPack, a trackable battery pack you can keep tabs on with your mobile device, even when you’ve forgotten it somewhere or misplaced it.

Distil Union’s Wally Ether wallet case provides credit card storage on a budget

Anthony Bouchard ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

With leather wallet iPhone cases being a hot commodity, we’ve recently shown you several from brand names. Another little-known contender in the market is Distil Union, a company that integrates their unique quick-release technology into the card slot of their cases.

In this review, we’ll be showing you the Distil Union Wally Ether for the iPhone 7 Plus. It's a wallet case alternative with stitched leather flavor that has been designed for minimalists who need to carry a card or two on them anywhere they go.