Blogs
Apple TV in the smart TV era
I recently wrote about the death of the Apple TV device in a text about the Samsung Q60R smart TV, which in addition to AirPlay 2 support (i.e. wireless sending of video and audio from a Mac, iPhone or iPad to the TV), also offers a native Apple Music app. Apart from the obvious, because already well visible in the above sentence, naming problem, which causes a lot of confusion, Apple has another, in my opinion, very serious problem with this device. It is becoming more and more unnecessary in the times of omnipresent smart TVs.
HyperDrive SLIM 8-in-1 USB-C Hub
Users of 12-inch MacBooks, the latest lineup of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air know that without an adapter or a move, users of 12-inch MacBooks, the latest lineup of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, know that without an adapter or a move, users of 12-inch MacBooks, the latest lineup of MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, are able to do so. Depending on the version, these computers have one to four USB-C ports. This is a universal solution, because it can charge your computer and connect virtually any accessory or peripheral, but still has one disadvantage. This standard is still not popular enough to do without the already mentioned adapter or hub. The latter also allows you to connect many more devices to your computer than there are ports available in it. There are many such hubs on the market. I have already tested several of them myself. Without a doubt, however, one of the best is the HyperDrive SLIM 8-in-1 USB-C Hub.
Samsung Q60R, Apple Music and death of Apple TV
Last year I described QLED smart TV from Samsung Q60R. It was one of the first with a pre-installed Apple TV application, giving access to the movie library in iTunes Store, and from November to Apple TV+ service. I wrote then that in my opinion it was just a TV like Steve Jobs once thought. I also mentioned that smart TVs with access to the iTunes collection and Apple TV apps could mean the death of the apps with this name. Recently all Samsung TVs, including my Q60R, have also gained the Apple Music app. It has become even more doubtful for me to own an Apple TV or buy another model (e.g. Apple TV 4K or the newer one announced).
BMW i3s
BWM i3 is probably one of the most recognizable electric cars. Manufactured for almost 7 years, it has lived to see a lift in i3s version. The differences, however, are in my opinion small compared to the REx model described on MyApple. BMW designers should really be praised for the fact that despite the passage of years this car still looks futuristic and eye-catching. I had a chance to drive the i3s model for the last few days.
Philips Brilliance 272B7QUBHEB
A good office monitor is quite a key issue for many. It's not just about browsing the web or working in a text editor or spreadsheet, although in both cases it's also a big deal. A good office monitor is also a key issue for programmers who spend hours staring at lines of code written in one language or another. For me, who does both, it is of great importance. It is also important that such a monitor can be easily placed on your desk according to your needs and that it offers something more than just displaying an image. For the last few months my desk horse was a Philips Brilliance 272B QUB monitor.
New WD MyPassport SSD
Western Digital, a well-known storage manufacturer, has developed a new portable SSD from the popular My Passporrt series.
Audio Pro A26
Sweden has been associated with good sound for years and I don't only mean rock and metal music (for which, apart from Abba, this country is famous), but also music and audio equipment. I've been even more convinced of this in the last few weeks. I had a chance to test a set of active Audio Pro A26 speakers with multi-room function.
Mini Motorways
Among the productions available in Apple Arcade you will find many so-called casual games, which are usually played to kill time, e.g. by train, bus, streetcar or subway, or as a passenger of a car, during rush hours when all vehicles are in traffic jams. It seems that there is nothing better for this occasion than the latest game "Mini Motorways" from the Dinosaur Polo Club studio, known from a similar game for iOS - "Mini Metro".
Logitech MX Keys
Recently I wrote about Logitech mouse- MX Master 3. This company has also prepared a new keyboard model, which together with that mouse will make a set. We are talking about MX Keys. But is this model completely new? In my opinion, no, and why I think so, I will explain later in this text.
Soon in Apple Arcade: The Survivalists
A new title, The Survivalists, has appeared on the list of game announcements that will be available in the coming weeks in Apple Arcade.
Sonos Play:5
Sonos brand products are regularly featured on the pages of MyApple. After the Sonos One and portable Sonos Move speakers, the time has come for the largest speaker in this manufacturer's offer. Model Play:5.
Setapp - my programmer's toolkit
Setapp has been on the market for several years now. During this time the number of applications available in this service has significantly increased. Currently, there are already a hundred and several dozen of them, all for $9.99 a month. For all the applications available in Setapp that I currently use, I would pay as much as for a four-year subscription for this service. There are actually so many of them that the time has come to describe them all and dispel the doubts of skeptics who get goose bumps on the word "subscription".
Mini Cooper Se
It is amazing how the Mini Cooper story went. After all, it was a very cheap, common car for the British - on the day of its premiere it cost only 500 British pounds, which translates into the current 47500 PLN. This budget vehicle quickly became an object of cult. No wonder that it is no longer a budget car, but a premium car. The newest electric Mini Cooper Se, which has been available in Poland since April, clips the history of this brand. This small car was created as a response to the fuel crisis related to the blockade of the Suez Canal.
Spaceland
Among the games available in Apple Arcade, there was also a space shooter combined with turn-based RPG. Such a game is "Spaceland". The plot is quite simple and refers to the first two films from the "Alien" series. From the base located on a distant planet a warning signal is sent (like from a ship in the movie "Alien, the eighth passenger of Nostromo"), which is received by a team of star guards. After their landing, it turns out that the whole base is controlled by alien life forms. The player's task is to clean it up and save a few of its crew members still alive.
Logitech Craft
I have already written several times about the keyboard in the new MacBooks Pro or 12-inch MacBooks. It's not only about the dust and dust resistant or different particles resistant butterfly mechanism of the keys, which I preventively blow with compressed air every week, but also about the size of the keys and their jump. Large size and small stroke make typos happen to me much more often than other keyboards, not to mention unbreakable spaces, inserted by accidentally pressing left CMD together with Space (I'm a freak who has been changing ALT and CMD keys since the beginning of my adventure with Macs). No wonder that for some time I've been looking for an optimal keyboard where I could write longer texts. In recent weeks I had a chance to test another Logitech product, the universal wireless keyboard Craft.
TCL 55EC78
It is not an art to buy a very expensive TV. It is definitely more interesting in the middle price range, the one available to virtually all customers. There is more going on here and the differences in quality are also significant. One of the important players on the market is TCL, whose latest 55-inch 55EC78 TV I had the opportunity to test recently.
Logitech Rugged Folio for iPad 10.2"
Apple has long convinced us that iPad is a computer. However, for an iPad to be such a computer, you need a keyboard. Apple offers its models, but there is strong competition on the market in the form of products well known to the readers of MyApple by Logitech. For many years Logitech has been supplying some of the best accessories, from mice to keyboards. The latter category also includes iPad cases equipped with a keyboard. In recent weeks, I have had the opportunity to test one of the brand's latest products. Rugged Folio case for iPad 10.2" (7th generation) equipped with a keyboard.
Philips Brilliance 329P9H
Monitors equipped with a USB-C socket with Power Delivery function allowing to charge the computer with one cable are becoming more and more common. However, not all monitors are compatible with every computer. Sometimes even the presence of a USB-C connector does not guarantee that you can connect it to your MacBook Pro with just one cable to transfer an image and charge your computer. Then you need to use a Display Port or HDMI adapter. So I appreciate those monitors that actually allow me to connect only one USB-C cable to my MacBook Pro and not to worry about anything else (of course I'm exaggerating here), and I had the opportunity to test it for the last two months. It was Philips Brilliance 329P9H.
Thule Crossover 2 Boarding Bag
Thule travel accessories have been on my blog for years. Their hallmark is a very nice minimalist design, functionality and durability The backpacks I described five years ago still look like new. What's more, Thule has bags and backpacks for virtually every circumstance, I found that out recently when I was looking for something that I could conveniently pack my entire set of devices I use in my school programming lessons.
Sonos Move
Sonos speakers are well known to MyApple readers, recently we have described, among others, the Sonos One models. Recently the company presented its latest product, the Sonos Move speaker, which I had the opportunity to test intensively in recent weeks.
One, or rather two - two Sonos One speakers paired in stereo
I recently had the opportunity to test two Sonos One speakers connected in a stereo pair.
Steelseries Nimbus+
Since last year, Apple has been quite strongly focused on games available on almost all devices, i.e. iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. This is evidenced by the Apple Arcade service, in which, within the framework of a monthly subscription, users have access to a constantly expanding list of games. Currently, it is already 128 titles. There are a lot of games among them, which are more addictive for a longer time and which are much better played with the use of a controller. There are quite a few of them, and one of the brands that should be well known to players playing on Apple devices is Steelseries. A few weeks ago, the successor of the popular controller of this brand, Nimbus+, was released. I had the opportunity to test it intensively playing games not only with Apple Arcade on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.
LG NanoCell 55SM9010
Last year I had the opportunity to test two LG smart TVs equipped with AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support. These were: top shelf model - 55C9PLA - equipped with OLED screen and definitely cheaper, directed to people with much thinner wallets, model with NanoCell SM86 screen. Both models offered quality and capabilities adequate to their price. However, they had a certain "flaw", they lacked the Apple TV application, allowing access to both films and series offered in the Apple TV+ service, as well as to the iTunes store and user's library of films bought there. This has fortunately changed at the beginning of this year and LG TVs now have virtually everything that Apple can offer them. I found out about this by testing a mid-range TV in recent weeks when it comes to NanoCell LCD models. We are talking about the 55SM9010 model.
Logitech MX Master 3
Logitech mice are the best, and basta are the best - this kind of statement is not an idle talk thrown to the wind, although of course there will be those who do not agree with it. For years, however, the accessories of this company are often chosen by professionals who spend long hours at the computer. They are simply comfortable and very functional. One of the most popular are MX Master mice. Last year Logitech presented its third generation - MX Master 3. I had a chance to test it for the last two weeks.
Overland
One of the darkest and most interesting titles currently available in Apple Arcade is "Overland". It's a kind of American road tale, where a group of random people often drive through the United States, or rather what's left of them. "Overland" is a game with a post-apocalyptic climate.
Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Old Realm
"Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas" is one of the best - in my opinion - adventure games that have been created. Inspired by the classics (Legend of Zelda), the game was created for iOS, macOS, tvOS, Android, PS4, Xbox One, Windows and Nintendo Switch. The player played the role of a boy who, trying to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance, has to defeat the beasts living in the ocean, including the title monster - Oceanhorn. The action of the game took place on the islands of the archipelago formed after the fall and absorption by the ocean waters of the kingdom of Arcadia. "Oceanhorn 2: Knights of the Old Realm" is the prequel of this story, because it presents events a thousand years earlier.
Apple Watch five years later. It's still a great smart watch after all
Five years ago, in April, I got up very early in the morning. It was probably two o'clock when I got into the car. My goal was Berlin, and more precisely a certain exclusive boutique in the center, where the day after the official premiere, you could still buy a new revolutionary Apple product - the watch. The journey from Łódź to Berlin took me about six hours. Another four I stood in the queue to buy - as for communes - what they gave - Apple Watch 42 mm with an aluminum case and a silicone strap, i.e. sport version.
Sonos Arc
The Sonos brand does not need to be introduced to MyApple readers. It's one of the manufacturers of the best, in my opinion, multi-room systems, with compact speakers such as One or larger Play, portable Move (all described on MyApple) or subwoofer Sub. The offer also includes soundbars, the older Beam (which is also being reviewed) and the latest Arc, just being introduced to the market, being the first Sonos device with Dolby Atmos surround sound technology support. I had the pleasure to test it a few weeks before its market launch.
Growing up with computers behind the Iron Curtain
Last month Steve recalled growing up with computers in United States. Each of you has his or her own memories of the past and your first time with a computer, especially a Mac. And of course, I have mine. Well, they are a bit different to Steve's, due to two important factors. First, when he graduated from high school I was born (1974). Second, I was growing up in a bit different reality, about 5,300 miles away to the east and behind the Iron Curtain in communist Poland.
The Wizard versus Muggles
There was a lot of pre-release speculation and rumors about the iPhone 6s camera. As usual, some of them turned out to be true, while others were just wishful thinking and perhaps ideas of the functionalities of the next Apple smartphone generation. As a photographer, I decided to see for myself what its camera was really like and for the first time I bought the newest iPhone — the iPhone 6s — on its launch day.