While there are lots of excellent iPad Pro hubs to choose from out there, most of them aren’t designed to also be iPad stands. Even this one from Satechi, which we do still appreciate the looks and build quality of, doesn’t reach the viewing height or connection ports of the Anker 551 hub + stand.

Anker’s version is equipped with eight ports total:

• USB-C Power Delivery input (up to 100W)
• 4K@60Hz HDMI port
• 2 USB-A data ports
• 3.5 mm AUX port
• microSD card slot
• SD 3.0 card slot

Whereas the Satechi supports pass-through charging speeds that top out at 60W max, Anker’s hub stand can pass upwards of 100W (with 45W minimum required) to your connected iPad or tablet, and to power such a setup, we’ve written about several chargers that meet or exceed that capability — even in the car, if that’s a concern for you.

The Anker’s added height also grants some flexibility in how you angle the device for the most comfortable viewing and/or work usage:

Both hubs can revolutionize your iPad’s (or other USB-C tablet’s) productivity levels, but the Anker stand has just a bit more versatility over the Satechi in my opinion.

As of September 8th, 2024 you can get it for $80 on Amazon (down from $100).

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While the Files app on iOS does offer limited support for opening and creating ZIP files, it doesn’t cover the entire gamut of file compression types out there, nor does it give you very much control over the compression/decompression process itself.

This is where a third-party app like Keka shines beautifully. Just to give you a comparison on file types between the two:

Files supports…

• Compressing ZIP files
• Uncompressing AR, BZIP2, CPIO, RAR, TAR, TGZ, or ZIP files

Keka supports…

• Compressing 7Z, ZIP, TAR, ZSTD, GZIP, BZIP2, and Apple Archive files
• Uncompressing 7Z, ZIP, RAR, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, AAR, XZ, ZSTD, ISO, LZMA, EXE, CAB, MSI, PAX, JAR, APK, APPX, XPI, IPA, CPGZ, CPIO, CPT, XIP, and more

Files looks pretty lame in comparison, right?

In case that alone isn’t enough to convince you, Keka also lets you encrypt (AES-256) and password-protect the 7Z and ZIP files you create with it, as well as split them into multiple volumes of specific size. With several of the other file types, you can also choose a compression “speed” to control the level of compression it can accomplish.

Whether you’re extracting or archiving — both of which can be paused and resumed at your leisure — the app lets you choose exactly where the file will go in your Files directory. You can set it to always point to a specific folder (it uses Keka’s own folder by default) or have it ask every time.

If you’re needing more control and capability over your file extracting and archiving on iPhone and iPad, Keka is the app I’d recommend. It’s just $4 on the App Store and supports a wide variety of languages around the world.

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A month ago I discovered via Reddit that the indie game Cassette Beasts would soon be coming to mobile, with no release date announced at the time. There wasn’t much news in the meantime, until a few days ago when the dev team (Bytten Studio) tweeted that the game is coming to the App Store on June 4th!

In case you’re unfamiliar, Cassette Beasts is an open-world monster collector/turn-based battle RPG à la Pokémon, but with a couple of twists on the formula: Rather than capturing and storing a creature in a ball, you record its essence onto special cassette tapes, which you later ‘play back’ to transform into that monster yourself.

You also get to meet and form relationships with partner characters who can join you on your travels and take part in dual battles with you.

But the real fun comes when you start fusing monsters together. Any two monsters (i.e. you and your partner after transforming) can be merged into a unique and fully animated new fusion battler that combines of all the original creatures’ types, states, and movesets.

It’s like a temporary evolution for any given battle rather than a permanent change from leveling, and there are thousands of potential combinations to experiment with.

Watch the original trailer to get a feel for what the retro vibe of the game is like:

You can pre-register to auto-download Cassette Beasts when it releases on June 4th. The download itself is free but the full game unlock will be $7, with another $3 IAP for the ‘Pier of the Unknown’ DLC pack.

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Razer has once again released a new addition to their popular “Kishi” family of mobile gaming controller grips: the Kishi Ultra, which boasts a truly full-sized form factor and more pro-grade console features than its relatively compact predecessors.

This larger size allows the Kishi Ultra to accomodate a wider variety of devices than ever, including small tablets:

• iPhone 15
• iPhone 15 Plus
• iPhone 15 Pro
• iPhone 15 Pro Max
• iPad Mini (6th gen)
• Android phones running Android 12 or higher (and have a USB-C port)
• Android tablets up to 8″ (also with a USB-C port)

Even without a device cradled in it, the Kishi Ultra can be used as a standalone low-latency controller by wiring it to a laptop or iPad via USB-C, in which case you’ll still have support for haptic vibrations and 3.5 mm audio.

Whatever platform you decide to play on, you’ll appreciate the console-sized Hall Effect triggers backed by additional bumpers for greater control, the full-sized pro-grade analog thumb sticks made of medical-grade rubber and with anti-friction rings, programmable L4 and R4 multifunction buttons, and the high amount of customization you have over haptic strength, button remapping, RGB light effects, and more.

Get the Razer Kishi Ultra for $150 on Amazon and enjoy a true console gaming experience on mobile.

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I’ve always been something of a digital packrat. I’ve gone through all manner of apps and websites and bookmarking systems over the years — from Evernote to Pinboard to Huffduffer to Instapaper to Simplenote to Bear and beyond — that help me keep things organized since my brain can’t handle all of it.

When it comes to capturing my favorite quotes though, my old go-to was Lickability’s Quotebook, which I last wrote about a decade ago and once reviewed on my own blog. Unfortunately, they pulled the plug in 2016 and while I can technically use the app today, it doesn’t quite function the way it used to :(

But it seems that developer Jay Hickey realized there was still a need for this kind of app, so he made one: Quotify for iOS.

Quotify similarly lets you save and organize quotes from just about anywhere — even if it comes from an audio source. If you’re listening to a podcast in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, or Castro, you can have Quotify take a snippet of it (based on timestamps you select) and it’ll convert the audio quote into text on the fly!

You can also have quotes displayed in widgets on your home screen:

Now, I should note that there are several features tucked behind a modest “Premium” subscription, including backup and sync across devices, the ability to save unlimited quotes (only 25 are allowed by default), daily quote notifications to keep you inspired, and the ability to automatically attach source info to quotes sent from other apps.

Quotify is free to download and use, and the Premium subscription is something you can either pay $1/month for indefinitely (and it includes a one-week trial before you commit), or you can opt for the $20 lifetime unlock.

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Although I grew up playing console games exclusively, I’ve been a big proponent of mobile gaming for years now, particularly on iPhone and iPad. However, I can’t deny there are still times when you could practically cook an egg on the back of the device after playing a while. They’re just not built with the right amount of ventilation the way consoles are.

A number of companies out there have realized this and started making phone coolers to solve the problem. The MagCooler 3 Pro by Black Shark is my top choice, personally.

This clever little magnetic cooler is kind of like sticking an ice pack onto the back of your phone, tablet, or other device. It combines a thermoelectric cooling chip with a heatsink and a 7-blade fan to offer super fast active cooling to whatever it’s attached to, so you can use your device longer without worrying that it’s going to overheat.

Not only is this cooling effect awesome for gaming sessions, it’s also useful for running GPS directions on long drives, watching movies, or simply using the device while it’s charging.

The integrated magnet allows it to work with MagSafe iPhones out of the box, and a magnetic sticker is included so it can work with just about anything else — tablets, laptops, Android devices, older iPhones without MagSafe, the Nintendo Switch, etc.

Moreover, you can pair the cooler with a companion app to customize its RGB lighting effects and fan speed.

Get the MagCooler 3 Pro for $56 on Amazon in your choice of black or white.

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A few years ago, if you’d told me Netflix would be the best competitor to Apple Arcade and are in fact doing an arguably better job these days of building a library of compelling mobile games, I wouldn’t have believed it. And yet here we are, with a whole bunch of awesome titles available to subscribers, including…

• The classic Grand Theft Auto trilogy (i.e. GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas)
• OXENFREE II
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
• Into the Breach
• Before Your Eyes
• Dead Cells
• Laya’s Horizon

And now they’ve landed probably their best exclusive yet: Hades by Supergiant Games!

In case you missed the last time I wrote about the game, Hades is a Greek mythology-inspired action-RPG — technically classified as a ‘roguelike’ — wherein you play as the rebellious and immortal son of Hades who seeks to finally break free of his father’s clutches and escape the Underworld.

But battling out of hell is no easy feat, as you discover in short order. As you send the protagonist into fierce hack-and-slash battle through a series of randomly generated dungeons — each run different from the last — he will die a LOT, each time being returned to his room in Hades’ palace to try again…and again…and again…

With each respawn however, you’ll have the chance to spend your hard-won earnings on new skills and weapons so you can handle threats more easily. You’ll also unravel more of your character’s mysterious history and begin drawing the support of other Olympian gods who, as you develop stronger bonds with them, will grant you various boons to aid you in your escape attempts.

To port the game to mobile, developer Supergiant Games teamed up with Secret 6 to bring along everything you loved about the original game — the lush visuals, pumping soundtrack, wonderful character interactions, and top-notch voice acting — with the addition of all-new, highly customizable touch controls. You can also use a Bluetooth controller if you prefer.

Hades for iOS is free to download for all Netflix subscribers.

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One of the reasons I’ve been iPad-only for so many years is that it’s such a minimal and lightweight setup that still offers plenty enough power to suit my workflow. A good case to protect the thing should reflect those ideals, and for my money, the Woolnut Leather Folio is it.

This slim-profile leather folio is designed to fit the 12.9″ iPad Pro with the Magic Keyboard attached, or if you don’t mind leaving a bit of room inside, the 10.9″ iPad Air (fifth gen) with its equivalent Magic Keyboard. In either case, you can also fit the Apple Pencil in there — either attached to the iPad itself to charge or using the dedicated stylus holder loop — but pretty much nothing else. Which is exactly how I like it.

The outside of the folio is made from Scandinavian full-grain leather that ages beautifully, while the interior is lined with 100% natural German wool felt to keep the iPad nice and snug as you carry it about.

They’ve employed a high-quality YKK zipper around the outer edge, and cleverly added a small leather strip just behind it to keep your iPad from getting scratched:

@BasicAppleGuy (y’know, the famous wallpaper maker) wrote a positive review about this leather folio back in 2021:

The built quality is impeccable, with no defects or areas where I would worry about the case breaking down over time. The material choices – from zipper to leather to wool – all feel premium. The leather had no imperfections across it and is poised to develop a beautiful patina over time.

You can get the Woolnut Leather Folio Case for $159 on Amazon in your choice of Cognac or Green colors.

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Way back in 2012, a much simpler time, a team of developers at Impending released a to-do list app called Clear, which had a delightfully and addictively simple-to-use interface. There were no buttons, no complicated filing structures, no tagging elements… only touch gestures like swiping and pinching (and typing, of course) and that signature “heat map” color gradient.

It was almost magical.

Unfortunately, the app was mostly abandoned after a few years, with only sporadic updates and an increasingly broken sync protocol based on outdated code.

Then in May 2023, the app’s co-creator Phill Ryu sent out an email newsletter inviting people to test a brand-new beta version of Clear!

Thank you, truly and from the bottom of our hearts, for your interest in Clear’s future and love for our little listing app. We’re still shocked we’re writing our first newsletter email to over ten thousand of you!

We’re feeling fired up right now to ship something deserving. Something that only further distills and expands on our app’s charmingly simple and joyful take on listing.

The new Clear must excite you for it to have any chance at all in today’s App Store, and while we have some work ahead of us to wrap it up for release, we’re shooting for something love worthy… swoon worthy even. It has to confidently re-secure its place on your iPhone’s home screen for the next decade to come.

I eagerly followed along with the beta’s development as updates dropped over the next several months, up until about a week ago when the new version was officially released on the iOS App Store.

With Clear 2 I feel like I’ve gone back in time, in the best way. Just about everything I loved about the original app is here — minus cloud sync for the time being, which I’m okay with since I mainly interact with it on iPhone alone — and I’m having a great time making simple lists like the old days.

Left: “Luminova” theme

Right: “Heatmap” theme

As always, Clear is ideal for to-dos, grocery lists, and random things you want to keep track of. It’s not a productivity app per se, just an easy way to jot down thoughts and tasks, then mark them off as needed (or don’t).

Longtime users will notice how much more customizable the app is now, with a ton of new color palettes, icons, and sound packs to play around with, some of which were automatically unlocked for early adopters and the rest of which will come from the in-app shop, where each theme will run you $3.

Left: “Tasty Taffy” theme

Right: “Cotton Candy” theme

These paid themes are how the app now intends to support its existence. There’s no monthly subscription, no app download fee…in fact, Clear is now free for everyone to use, with the cosmetics being optional purchases you can make to help the devs keep going. ☄️☑️

Download (Free)

Earlier this month, ZAGG released their new Pro Stylus 2, an update to the original Pro Stylus that’s designed to work with all iPads 2018 and newer. It’s a dual-ended stylus that has an active fine tip on one end (for sketching and precisely marking up documents) and a rounded universal-capacitive tip (for scrolling/swiping pages) on the other.

Much like an analog clicky pen, that rounded backend tip is what you press to power on the Pro Stylus 2, and the device turns itself off after 15 minutes of inactivity. The stylus offers up to 6.5 hours of use before needing a recharge, which can be done either with the included charging cradle or by placing it on a Qi wireless charger.

When not in use, it attaches magnetically to the iPad Pro (11″ or 12.9″) just like an Apple Pencil.

While it doesn’t offer pressure sensitivity as a feature, it does have tilt recognition and palm-rejection technology, so for most doodlers and note-takers, it should do the job just fine.

The Zagg Pro Stylus 2 comes in your choice of dark gray, blue, white, pink, or yellow.

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Toying around with third-party web browsers is something the 10-years-ago version of me would’ve enjoyed and cared about, but today me? Nah. I’m mostly fine with the default Safari.

…That is, except for one thing. All I wanted to do was grab my App Store purchase data from Apple so I could import it into AppRaven. Sounds simple, right? But no, Apple — the company who created the iPhone and iPad that are my only two computing devices, along with the Files app itself — seems to think that downloading .zip files on mobile is some kind of impossibility:

🤔🤔🤔

So what did I do? I turned to iCab Mobile, a web browser for iOS that lets you change your user agent (or “Browser ID”) to just about anything you want: Firefox 50/75/107 for Mac or Windows, Internet Explorer 6/8/9/10/11, Opera 88/Mini, Chrome 74/103 for Mac/Windows/Linux, etc. Heck, you can even pretend you’re browsing from a PlayStation 3 if you want.

With iCab Mobile set to appear to Apple’s servers as Firefox, I got the files I wanted, no problem. And why they think mobile Safari isn’t capable of this? I’ll never know.

So yeah, that’s my whole sales pitch for iCab Mobile. Easiest $3 I ever spent, because it saved me a trip to a local library to use one of their computers. And if you do happen to care about a bunch of nerdy configurable stuff in your web browser, there’s plenty of that to be found as well:

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Compared to the still-hyped-to-this-day Final Fantasy VII and darling favorite Final Fantasy IX, there’s never been quite as much love (at least to my knowledge) for the other mainline entry in the PS1 holy trinity: Final Fantasy VIII.

I wouldn’t exactly call it the black sheep of the three or anything, but it certainly was the most different in terms of visual aesthetics, along with its rather divisive “Junction” magic system that turned spells into consumables that tied to specific character attributes (i.e. using spells came with stat reductions) and had to be tediously re-accrued from specific places/enemies once spent.

However, there’s no denying the game had style. The locales, character designs, monsters, effects, and cinematic sequences throughout are all a vibrant feast for the eyes, and there was so much to explore in the vast and grandiose world the developers created.

It also had some of the best soundtrack music in the series — seriously, it’s arguably Nobuo Uematsu’s finest work — and the Triple Triad trading card mini-game you could play with NPCs was as addictive as any mobile game today.

Anyway, I already gushed about the game two years ago so I’ll stop now and let you know that as of August 8th, 2023, FF8 is on sale for just $10, down from its usual $21. This is the lowest the price ever goes, so if you’ve ever thought about snatching it up, now’s the time. It’s controller supported too!

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For fans of city-building simulator games, the dream of recreating the classic SimCity experience on mobile has been something of a mixed bag. Loads of titles have been released on the App Store, but a lot of them are IAP-ridden money sinkholes, including the official game.

The popularity of the original Pocket City ($3) by indie developer Bobby Li showed that there was a robust interest in this sort of thing, especially the bit where you pay an upfront price and get access to the full game — no sneaky unlocks or microtransactions required.

Now he’s outdone himself with the release of its sequel, Pocket City 2.

Where the first game was played purely from a top-down perspective, this one takes place in a fully 3D where you can actually zoom down to street level with your customized mayor avatar and freely roam and explore your town, enjoy a bunch of interactive mini-games, become a homeowner yourself, and have a hand in various events like hosting block parties or surviving natural disasters.

Take a couple minutes and watch the trailer to see what I’m talking about:

Like the previous title, everything in Pocket City 2 is unlocked purely by playing the game, not nickel-and-diming your bank account. Simply completing quests, finding loot, and competing against rival towns is how you will progress. There’s not a single in-app purchase to speak of beyond the initial $5 price point. Value, baby!

Your five bucks goes a long way too, given the amount of depth in the game. You’ve got a day/night cycle, changing seasons, the ability to create different zones (residential / commercial / industrial) to boost your city’s economy, mega-projects to invest in, and plenty of metrics to track and optimize:

(For some city design inspiration, check out these winning contest submissions by various game players, all of which can be accessed in-game!)

Moreover, you can invite a friend to collaborate on your city in real-time, get creative in the Sandbox Mode, and play in either landscape or portrait orientation. I’m honestly a bit surprised it doesn’t cost more than it does.

Get Pocket City 2 for $5 on the App Store or from the Google Play Store. Happy city-building! ️

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One of the great things about carrying an iPad is that it allows you to be productive wherever you go, without taking up much room in your bag or requiring much table space in a coffee shop. However, there are still times when you may need to expand on the device’s capabilities, and that’s what Twelve South’s ultra-slim StayGo mini USB-C hub is designed to do.

This smaller, four-port variant of the original eight-port StayGo gives you an HDMI port for connecting an external display, a USB-A port for plugging in an external or thumb drive, a headphone jack, and a USB-C passthrough power jack.

Here’s a handy graphic they put together to show the differences between the two models:

And in this short video, they demonstrate how useful the included desk cable is, especially if you have a case on your iPad that would otherwise make the connection difficult:

Of course, the hub also works with Type-C MacBooks that can occasionally use a few extra ports.

Get the StayGo mini for $60 on Amazon.

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It’s been ten years since the release of the original Ridiculous Fishing game for iOS. It’s a classic that I believe would have stood the test of time if the developers had continued updating it for new devices and iOS versions. Sadly, the last update it got was five years ago, and it’s essentially been gathering dust ever since.

That is, until a few days ago when a completely remastered version of the game called Ridiculous Fishing EX hit Apple Arcade!

It's o-fish-ally here! ⚓️
We’ve been working with the Original Fishermen, @Vlambeer @aeiowu @helvetica, to bring you Ridiculous Fishing EX! With new visuals, fish, and a Pro Fishing mode, you’ll be hooked!

Ex-clusively on @AppleArcade https://t.co/vhvdJI5BSV pic.twitter.com/VFX4y8HCqJ

— KO_OP 🦕 GOODBYE VOLCANO HIGH ☄️ ➡️ COMING AUG.29 (@KOOPMode) July 14, 2023

The game has been completely rebuilt from the ground up by the original team of collaborators, and it not only recaptures the magic of the first title, but also features all-new 3D graphics that actually work on the latest iPhones. (The UI scaling on the old edition is totally broken, making it impossible to purchase items from the in-game store, shoot fish, read any text, or successfully navigate menus.)

Eirik Suhrke’s charming original soundtrack — which was always one of my favorite parts of the game — has even been refreshed by game composer Riley Koenig and sounds fantastic.

There are other fun little touches too, like the in-game video shorts app (“BikBok”) that replaces the old game’s pseudo-Twitter app (“Byrdr”). There are also more fish to catch/destroy, Game Center leaderboards and achievements, and an endgame “Pro Fishing” mode. They really nailed every aspect of this rebuild, and I’m enjoying playing it all over again.

If you’re an Apple Arcade subscriber, you can download and play Ridiculous Fishing EX now.

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