Month: November 2021

In my recent review of the Anker Nano Pro (4oW), I explained why USB-C chargers are becoming increasingly valuable.  More and more devices support USB-C, and the connector provides much more power than regular USB.  After researching the best multi-port USB-C chargers, I recently purchased the $75 Satechi 108W USB-C 3-Port GAN Wall Charger.  I’ve been very happy with this device.  In a relatively small amount of space, this charger can support three simultaneous USB-C cords.  Better yet, it can provide a lot of power to each of those ports, going beyond the 20W that you get with that Anker Nano Pro and many other chargers.

For many years, iPhones, iPads, and similar devices were charged with a small 5W charger.  But as the power requirements of these devices have increased, chargers have also become more powerful.  However, more power can mean more heat, so chargers traditionally use internal circuits to control the flow of energy.  Many chargers use silicon chips for these circuits, just like the iPhone itself.  But a relatively new alternative to silicon is gallium nitride, known as GaN.  This material can conduct higher voltage for a longer period of time than silicon, and can do so more efficiently.  Greater efficiency means that the size of the charger itself can be smaller.  And the larger power means that devices can charge more quickly.  Put this all together, and you can use GaN chargers to provide more power in a smaller package to charge your devices more quickly.

The Satechi 108W USB-C 3-Port GAN Wall Charger is a compact GaN charger that can charge up to three devices at one time.

I have been using this device next to the desk at my office for the last few weeks.  Satechi says that this device works with the 2020/2019/2018/2017/2016 MacBook Pro, 2020/2018 MacBook Air M1, 2021 iPad Pro M1, 2020/2018 iPad Pro, 2020 iPad Air, iPhone 13 Pro Max/13 Pro/13 Mini/13, iPhone 12 Pro Max/12 Pro/12 Mini/12, iPhone 11 Pro Max/11 Pro/11, XS Max/XS/XR/X, and most USB-C devices.  At my desk, I use one port to charge my iPad Pro, one to charge my iPhone, and one for an Apple Watch charger.

Although I didn’t purchase this as a travel charger, I may end up using it for that.  The plug flips down, making it easy to carry this charger with other items in a briefcase, purse, or other bag.

[UPDATE 11/29/2021:  We took a family trip to the beach over Thanksgiving and I did use the Satechi 108W charger as my travel charger.  It was fantastic, and the only charger that I needed for my entire vacation.  I disconnected this from the outlet in my office, put down the prongs, and wrapped my three USB-C cords around it (one of which is an Apple Watch charger).  When we got to the place we were staying, I plugged this in next to a nightstand and used the three cords to charge on my nightstand my Phone, my iPad, and my Apple Watch.  It was a fantastic combination, and it was great to be able to charge every device at full speed.]

Thanks to the GaN technology, this charger is only slightly larger than a regular Apple 2oW or 29W Type-C charger, and unlike those Apple chargers, you can three devices at one time with a total of 108W available.

I don’t own an Apple 96W USB-C charger, but this Satechi device is smaller and does much more.

How much power you get for each port depends upon how many items if you have plugged in.  If you plug in just one item, this charger can give it up to 100W, enough to power a large number of computers.  If you plug in two items, if the first item can handle up to 88W then the charger provides 20W to the second port.  if the first item can handle up to 60W, then the second port gets 45W of power.

If you plug in three devices, the three possible configurations are 45W + 30W + 30W, 58W + 30W + 20W, or 65W + 20W + 20W.  The device that you plug in first will get the most power.  In other words, this adapter is first come, first served.

I don’t own an Apple laptop, so the most power-hungry device I use is my 12.9″ iPad Pro.  The normal iPad Pro charger is 18W, but that device can support up to 30W for faster charging.  I’ve seen reports that the iPhone 13 Pro can support up to 27W charging for faster charging.  The Apple Watch Series 7 supports fast charging with an 18W charger, and while you can plug it into more powerful chargers, I’m not sure if it ever takes advantage of more than 18W.  But what I do know is that when my iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch are also plugged in to this Satechi charger at the same time, they are getting the maximum power that they can handle so they charge as fast as possible.

In a comment to my recent review of the Anker Nano Pro (4oW), “Ernie” wrote a comment to note that whenever you plug in an additional device into any GaN charger, the charger will reconfigure its outputs, dropping power for a fraction of a second.  Thus, he warns that if you have a travel router plugged in to one port and then you plug something into a second port, the travel router will reboot.  Because I have only been using this Satechi charger with an iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch, I haven’t noticed this.  Dropping power for a split second also wouldn’t be an issue for a laptop computer because of its built-in battery.  But keep this in mind if you plan to plug in a device that requires a constant stream of uninterrupted power such as a router.

Conclusion

The Satechi 108W USB-C 3-Port GAN Wall Charger uses only one power outlet, so it is easy to find an outlet that you can use.  And while it doesn’t take up much more space than other single chargers, it provides a ton of power to three USB-C ports at the same time.  If you have multiple devices that can take advantage of faster charging via USB-C, this is a fantastic wall charger.  And as a bonus, it can also serve as a powerful travel charger for up to three devices.  This device has been perfect for my needs, and I recommend it.

Click here to get the Satechi 108W USB-C 3-Port GAN Wall Charger ($74.99 on Amazon).

As we enter the holiday season, if you are looking for a great present for yourself or for one of your friends or family, one of the best ways to improve the Internet experience at a home is to upgrade to a good mesh router that can spread the Wi-Fi at the best possible speed to every room in the house.  Last year, I wrote a glowing review of the eero Pro 3-pack, which cost me $499 and was a major improvement to the Wi-Fi in my house.  It works incredibly well, and it is also very easy to use thanks to the iPhone app that explains everything.  Before the eero, I had high-speed cable Internet coming into my house, but I couldn’t appreciate it throughout my house.  Since I installed three eero Pro units, every single room in my house (and all of my backyard) has fantastic, high-speed Internet.  My only regret is that I didn’t upgrade sooner.

I mention this today because Amazon (who makes the eero) is having the best sale I’ve ever seen for this product.  First, you can get the same eero Pro 3-pack that I purchased last year for $499, but from now until November 29, you pay only $349. 

Second, you can get the more advanced eero Pro 6 3-pack for only $449. which is still less than I paid for the prior generation product.  The main advantage of the eero Pro 6 over the regular eero Pro is that the eero Pro 6 supports Wi-Fi 6, which is also called 802.11ax.  If you have very fast Internet, such as Gigabit Internet, you can better take advantage of that speed throughout your house with Wi-Fi 6.  If I was buying something today, I would probably get the eero Pro 6 just to get the latest and greatest, but to be honest with you, the regular eero Pro works incredibly well with the Gigabit Internet I have at my house.

I like the Pro models of the eero because they include Ethernet ports on the back, which is useful when you want to plug something directly into the network, and they provide a higher speed to a wider area.  Having those ports is also useful if you want to have a wired connection for part of your Wi-Fi system.  (In my home, two of my eero Pros on different ends of my house are connected to each other with an Ethernet cable, and the third one has a normal wireless connection.)  But if those features are unimportant to you, you can also save lots of money on the regular eero units.  The eero 6 is $77 (normally $129).  For multiple eero devices (which is what you really want to take full advantage of a mesh network spreading Wi-Fi throughout your house) you can get a 3-pack with three routers (which means that they all have Ethernet ports) and that eero 6 3-pack is $209 (normally $349).  Or you can get a 3-pack with a single router (with the Ethernet ports) and two extenders (without ports) for only $167 (normally $279). 

Whether you are getting one for yourself or for someone else as a gift, I highly recommend eero and eero Pro products.

Episode 28 of the In the News podcast is now available for your listening and viewing pleasure.  Brett and I start by discussing 13 years of iPhone J.D., including how far the iPhone has come during that time.  Then we discuss the differences between the Microsoft Word app on the iPad and the Microsoft Office app on the iPad — which includes Word.  We finish up with a discussion of the Right to Repair movement and Apple’s new Self Service Repair program, followed by a short discussion of third-party Twitter apps including Tweetbot.

In our In the Know segment, Brett discusses using AirServer on a Mac or PC to give a presentation from your iPad.  I discuss all of the information that you can now see and edit for each of your photos in the Photos app.

Click here to listen to the audio podcast.  Or you can watch the episode on YouTube:

Microsoft Word is one of the most useful apps for attorneys on the iPhone and iPad.  There are currently two ways to use Word.  You can use the app called Microsoft Word, or you can use the app called Microsoft Office which contains Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and more in a single app.  The core features are identical, but there are some things that you can do in one but not the other.  Brett Burney, my co-host on the In the News podcast, put together an informative (and high-quality) video to explain these differences along with lots of other useful information for using Microsoft Word on the iPad (and iPhone).  If you use Word on your iPhone or iPad, you should check out Brett’s video.  And now, the news of note from the past week:

• Apple released a minor update for the iPhone this week, iOS 15.1.1.  It fixes a problem with dropped calls on iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models, as noted by Chance Miller of 9to5Mac.  I know that Apple is also doing a lot of testing of iOS 15.2 and I expect that to come out soon.
• Apple also released a minor update for the Apple Watch this week, watchOS 8.1.1.  It fixes an issue with charging on the Apple Watch Series 7 that has been experienced by some users.  Josh Centers of TidBITS offers more details.
• One of the nice new features of the Apple Watch Series 7 is fast charging, if you use the cord that comes with that Apple Watch along with a USB-C charger.  It works really well.  Chance Miller of 9to5Mac reports that Belkin launched a new 3-in-1 MagSafe charger this week that can charge an iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch at the same time, and it supports fast charging, along with a stand-alone fast charger.  I’m thrilled to learn about these products because they show that third party manufacturers can take advantage of fast charging on the new Apple Watch.
• Corey Gaskin of Ars Technica reviews the Apple Watch Series 7.
• Victoria Song of The Verge shows you you can control an Apple Watch without even touching the screen using the Assistive Touch feature.
• Apple’s new iCloud Private Relay and Mail Privacy Protection systems are not part of watchOS 8.  Jason Cross of Macworld explains why this might make a difference to you.
• If you  own an LG smart television but you don’t own an Apple TV device, you can still watch the Apple TV+ channel using an app on the television.  As reported by William Gallagher of Apple Insider, this week, LG added an Apple Music app so that Apple Music subscribers can listen to songs on an LG television, either using the built-in speakers or whatever external speakers you have hooked up to the LG television.  Unlike the Apple TV 4K, the LG app doesn’t support spatial audio, but for the circumstances in which it makes sense to use your television without a streaming box, it is nice to have this feature.
• Dan Moren of Six Colors describes a new service announced by Apple this week, the Self Service Repair program.  Users of Apple products will be able to purchase official parts and tools directly from Apple to repair their own devices.
• John Gruber of Daring Fireball offers some additional thoughts on Apple’s new Self Service Repair program.  He notes that it may be great news for independent repair shops and the people who like the service advantages that come with those shops.
• Jason Snell of Six Colors describes another new service announced by Apple this week, the Business Essentials program.  The program offers small businesses Mobile Device Management (MDM) tools along with an AppleCare+ service that can serve as tech support along with iCloud storage.  I can see this being useful for many small businesses.
• Tweetbot is my favorite app for using Twitter.  As Federico Viticci of MacStories explained, that app got lots of new features this week, in part because Twitter is now letting third-party apps do even more with the Twitter service.
• Jason Ciprani of CNet shares some useful but somewhat hidden features of iOS 15.
• And finally, Apple released a silly and fun Shot on iPhone video this week called A Dozen Eggs by Michel Gondry.  Yes, that Michel Gondry, the Academy Award-winning French director and screenwriter known for films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.  It features clever special effects and … well, I’ll just stop there so I don’t spoil it.  It’s only a minute long, so just go ahead and watch it and see for yourself.

New survey results indicate that a record number of attorneys are using an iPhone in their law practice:  80% of all attorneys in the United States.  These numbers come from the ABA Legal Technology Resource Center, which has conducted a survey every year since 1990 to gauge the use of legal technology by attorneys in private practice in the United States.  If you want to know what legal technology lawyers are using, this is one of the best sources for that information.

The 2021 report (edited by Sasha Goncharov) was just released, and as always, I am particularly interested in the statistics on mobile technology.  For many years, the ABA reported on smartphone use every year, but for the last few years that data only comes out every other year.  This is one of those years, and this is the twelfth year that I have reported on this survey.  (My reports on the prior ABA surveys are located here:  2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010.)

80% of all U.S. attorneys use an iPhone

When the ABA started asking lawyers about smartphone use in 2011, only 31% of attorneys were using an iPhone.  But that use has increased every year, and in 2021, a record 80% of all attorneys in the United States are using an iPhone.  The only other player in 2021 is Android, which is used by 19% of attorneys.  (About 1% or less of all attorneys use both.)  This year, the percentage of attorneys not using any smartphone in their law practice is 2%, which is frankly higher than I would have expected. 

I traditionally show a pie chart to make it easy to see what smartphones are in use.  That probably isn’t necessary at this point with only two platforms in use, but for the sake of tradition, let’s do it anyway.

80% is the overall number, and iPhone use is even higher in larger firms.  In firms with 100 or more attorneys, 86% of all attorneys used an iPhone in 2021.  On the other extreme, 61% of solo attorneys reported using an iPhone in 2021.  In firms with 100 or more attorneys, 13% use Android, whereas 33% of solo attorneys use Android.

I always find the trends over time more interesting than the data from any one year.  Back in 2011, when the ABA first started to ask attorneys what type of smartphone they used, the BlackBerry was still on top at 40%, but that was a decrease from prior years. The iPhone was at 31% in 2011, and it has increased just about every year since then.  In 2012, the iPhone overtook the BlackBerry.  In 2013, iPhone use crossed the 50% mark at 57%.  In 2019, iPhone use crossed the 75% mark at 79%.  And this year, it increased even more to 80%.

Android use started at 15% in 2011, increased to a high of 25% in 2018, and has been around 18%-19% since 2019.

Who is making the decision to use the iPhone or Android platform?  For the most part, it is the individual attorneys.  Over 80% of attorneys say that they are allowed to select their own brand, model, and type of smartphone.  That percentage decreases somewhat as firm size increases, hitting 71% for law firms with 100 or more attorneys.

You cannot use a smartphone without paying a monthly service fee.  Overall, 47% of attorneys say that their law firm fully pays the cost of the mobile phone service, and another 20% get some sort of stipend.  But those numbers vary widely based on firm size.  For example, only 34% of large firms (100 or more attorneys) pay the full cost, but that percentage increases as firm size decreases to a high of 67% for solo attorneys. 

A smartphone is particularly useful for checking email, and this year, 53% say that their smartphone is the primary way that they access email while out of the office.  That’s down from 70% when this question was asked in 2019.  This year, 28% say that their work laptop is their primary way used to access email while out of the office.

Attorney tablet use

Before 2019, the ABA also asked about tablet use.  From 2013 to 2018, about half of all attorneys reported using a tablet, and for those who did, between 80% and 90% reported using an iPad.  But starting in 2019, the ABA stopped asking a direct question about tablet use.

In the 2021 survey, tablet use is addressed in a few questions.  For example, the survey asks whether tablet devices are “available for use” at the attorney’s law firm.  I interpret that question as asking whether the law firm purchases tablets for attorneys to use, which would not capture individual attorneys buying their own iPad to use in their law practice.  Whatever that question means, the percentage is 38% in 2021.  In 2017, the answer to that question was 61%, and it has declined every year since then.  But again, I don’t think that question really captures how many attorneys are using an iPad or other tablet device because of the way it is worded.

Another question asked what type of devices are used to regularly conduct legal research while away from the office.  The top seven answers are:

1. Laptop computer — 67%
2. Home desktop computer — 32%
3. Smartphone — 21%
4. Tablet device — 14%
5. E-book reader — 1.6%
6. AI assistant – 1.5%
7. Smart wearable — 0.4%

The first two responses are not surprising.  The next two responses also make sense to me because while I think that it is easier to do legal research on an iPad than an iPhone, I suspect that the number of attorneys who use an iPad is about half the number who use an iPhone, and that alone would account for those percentages.

As for the sixth and seventh items on that list, I have a lot of questions.  1.5% of attorneys are using something like Siri to do legal research?  I have an image of an attorney saying “Hey Siri, can you please Keycite or Shepardize this case” and that seems wrong.  I’m having an even harder time wrapping my brain around the last response.  There are over a million attorneys in the United States, so a 0.4% answer means that over 4,000 attorneys are somehow doing legal research on their Apple Watch?  If any of those folks are iPhone J.D. readers, I’d love to hear what in the world you are doing, because this doesn’t seem like it would work for me:

The number on the newest iPhone is “13” and now this website has hit 13 as well.  Thirteen years ago today, on November 17, 2008, I took a picture of the front of my iPhone on a legal pad to create a banner for this website, and I published the first post.  I guess that means that iPhone J.D. is now a teenager.  There have been over 2,100 posts here since 2008, and while lawyers are still using iPhones, so much of what that means has changed so much since 2008. 

A milestone always seems like an appropriate time to step back and take a look at where you have been, so let’s do that.

Popular posts this year.  Every year on the birthday of iPhone J.D. (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12), I find it interesting to look back and see which posts over the prior 12 months were the most popular.  The fact that these posts were so popular often sheds some light on what has been on the minds of attorneys and other folks using an iPhone or iPad.  Here, in order, are the top ten most viewed posts published in the last 12 months:

1. Review: Apple iPhone 12 leather case — slim case to protect your iPhone.  I would never have guessed that an iPhone case review would be the most-viewed post of the past year, but that’s what the numbers say.  I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised because I’ve always been a huge fan of the leather iPhone case sold by Apple over the years.  It is slim, it feels good, and of course, it fits perfectly.  And because it supports MagSafe, it is even more useful.  I’ve been buying versions of this $59 case every year with every new iPhone for as long as I can remember.  Because of the flat-edge design of the iPhone 12 and now the iPhone 13, I no longer use the case all of the time.  I find that it is easier to slip an iPhone in and out of a pocket without a case, and the flat edge makes it easier to get a good grip on the iPhone when it is in my hand.  But many times a week – and always when I travel — I use Apple’s leather case to get a better grip on the iPhone.
2. How to make your Apple Watch speak the time out loud — or not do so.  I always enjoy sharing a good tip.  Indeed, one of the things that I love about the weekly In the News podcast that I do with Brett Burney is that we always end with our “In the Know” segment in which we each share a tip, and I often learn something new from Brett.  In this post, I explain how to enable the talking clock feature of the Apple Watch that you trigger by putting two fingers on the display, and also how to turn it off if you are worried about triggering it by accident. 
3. Review: Solo Loop band for Apple Watch.  I’m glad to see that this review got so much attention because I love the Solo Loop band.  In fact, when I recently upgraded to an Apple Watch Series 7 and had to select a watch band to go with it, I knew instantly that I would get a different color of the Solo Loop.  Because this band has no buckle, it is incredibly secure.  It is also incredibly comfortable and easy to keep clean because you can just wipe it off.  I have a lot of different Apple Watch bands, but this is one of my all-time favorites. 
4. 20 iPhone tips for lawyers in 2020.  Technically, this post was not from the past year because it was posted the day before my 12th anniversary post.  But so many folks read this one during the past twelve months that it is worth mentioning here.  A year ago, I was invited by the Monroe County Bar Association in Rochester, NY to team up with the fantastic New York attorney Nicole Black, the Legal Technology Evangelist with MyCase law practice management software, to share some iPhone tips.  We had a great time doing that presentation and I shared many of our tips in that post.  Those tips are just as useful today as they were a year ago, so be sure to take a look at that post if you missed it last year or just want a refresher.
5. Review: Foam Masters Hybrid Silicone-Memory Foam Ear Tips for AirPods Pro — comfortable replacement tips that fit.  As much as I love my AirPods Pro, the built-in tips are not great for my ears.  I vastly prefer using these replacement ear tips.  I see that the version that I purchased and reviewed has now been replaced with a new 3.0 version for $24.99, which uses upgraded memory foam, has new brackets, and has a new “NanoWeb Ultra-thin Membrane” that “coats each Foam Tip to improve hold in ear, sweat resistance, and drastically improves durability.”  I may have to check those out.  For the past few weeks, I’ve actually been testing a different replacement tip for the AirPods Pro:  the COMPLY Foam Apple AirPods Pro 2.0 Earbud Tips.  So look out for a review of those at some point soon.
6. iPad tip: download a YouTube video using the a-Shell app.  This was a complicated tip that involved using a terminal window on the iPad.  For me, the most interesting part was just that it worked at all.
7. Review: LIT SUITE — powerful iPad litigation apps.  Lit Software has been producing top-notch iPad apps since 2010.  Earlier this year, the company switched to a subscription model, and I used that post to explain what it all means.
8. Review: iPhone 13 Pro — better cameras, better screen, better battery life.  It’s been about six weeks since I wrote my formal review of the iPhone 13 Pro.  I started that review by mentioning the new 3x telephoto lens, and that remains one of my favorite features.  I’ve also found the Macro camera very useful.  I wrote in that review that I hadn’t had enough experience with battery life to comment on it.  I can report now that the additional battery life is real and is very nice.  The only time I’ve had to be concerned about iPhone battery life is when I’ve filmed a lot of 4K video.
9. Reivew: SongPop Party — compete to quickly name that tune.  I don’t play a lot of games on my iPhone or iPad, and that’s why I rarely discuss games on this website.  But I did enjoy SongPop Party quite a bit this past summer.  And after typing that last sentence, I just played the game again.  It’s still fun.
10. Subscription services that are worth paying for.  This post gave me an excuse to talk about a lot of apps and services that I enjoy using so much that I consider them to be worth paying for, every month.

Visitors to iPhone J.D.  Every year, I use this post to share some statistical information on iPhone J.D. visitors, to the extent that I can figure it out using the tools at my disposal — specifically, the Google Analytics service.

Google Analytics reports that, during the past 12 months, about 52% of readers visited from a smartphone, and 90% of those were iPhones.  It also reports that 44% of readers visited from a desktop computer and 4% visited from an iPad, but I think those numbers are wrong.  As the Safari browser on the iPad has gotten more sophisticated over the years, I think that Google is assuming that some iPads are desktop computers.  Across all devices, the most popular browser is Safari (62%), followed by Chrome (30%) and Firefox (4%).

I know that lawyers around the world use the iPhone and iPad.  About 53% of iPhone J.D. visitors during the past year were in the U.S., which is the lowest percentage I ever remember seeing.  Over 10% of readers are in the U.K.  Canada (6%) and Australia (4%) make up another 10%.  I’ve never before seen many iPhone J.D. visitors from China, but for the first time this year, China was the #5 country to visit this website.  China is a huge and growing market for Apple, so I suppose it should come as no surprise that many iPhone and iPad users in China who can read English (or use translation tools) would be visiting sites like iPhone J.D. for tips and product reviews.

Every year, I also look at the top cities for the folks who visit iPhone  J.D.  New York has been #1 every year, except for 2015 and 2020 when London was on top.  And this year, London is back on top for the third time, just barely beating out New York.  But the most notable change is to see cities in China on this list for the first time:  Tianjin and Beijing, two of the largest cities in the world.

1. London
2. New York
3. Singapore
4. Tianjin
5. Los Angeles
6. Sydney
7. Beijing
8. Chicago
9. Dallas
10. Melbourne

Other cities that have previously made the Top 10 list, but did not this year, include Toronto (#11 this year), Houston (#12), Atlanta (#13), and San Francisco (#14).  I live in New Orleans, which was #41 this year.  Salt Lake City was #100, Coral Gables was #250, Naples was #1000, and Beverly Hills was #4000.  A number of cities had only a single visitor to iPhone J.D. last year, such as Powerview-Pine Falls, a town in the Canadian province of Manitoba with a population of 1,294.

Apple released the AirTag earlier this year, and for the reasons I explained in my review, it is a great device for finding lost items.  When Apple designed the AirTag, it also thought about the possibility that they would be misused as a way to stalk someone.  For example, have been incidents in the past in which tracking devices made by other companies had been hidden in a car or other object owned by a victim.  I learned a little about how this system works when my wife recently took a trip and used a piece of luggage on which I still had one of my AirTags.  Here is what happened.

Only a few minutes after I dropped off my wife at the New Orleans airport, I got an alert that my “Luggage” AirTag was no longer with me.  (And that was the first time that I remembered that it was on the luggage.)  If I had left my luggage behind by mistake, this would have been a useful reminder to go back and get my luggage.

I received that notification because in the FindMy app, I turned on an option to notify me when an item is left behind.  Of course, I wouldn’t want to get an alert every time I left home without my luggage.  Fortunately, you can also create exceptions so that you won’t get a notification if you are separated from your AirTag and it located at a specific location, such as your house.

When I got home, I could see in the FindMy app that my Luggage AirTag was at the airport.

Later that day, after my wife’s plane had landed, my wife’s iPhone gave her an alert that and AirTag belonging to someone else had been moving with her.  The alert said:  “The location of this AirTag can be seen by” and then it provided my Apple ID email address.  When she tapped that alert, the FindMy app gave her a Safety Alert.  It showed her a picture of an AirTag and then explained that the owner of the AirTag could see her current location:

The FindMy app also told her that an AirTag belonging to my Apple ID email address was first seen with her at a specific time — which was that moment that I left the airport with my Luggage AirTag near my wife and not me.  It also gave her the option to play a sound on the AirTag, which would have helped to locate the AirTag if it had been in a hidden location.  As Apple explains on this page of its website, the FindMy app can also be used to turn off AirTag detection notifications and to get directions on how to disable the AirTag.

What if a stalker places an AirTag near a victim who does not have an iPhone?  After a period of time, the AirTag will start to play an alert beep.  If the AirTag is held close to a smartphone that supports NFC — even an Android phone — the smartphone will provide additional device about the AirTag.

A dedicated stalker may be able to find ways around some of these protections, but it is nice to see that Apple designed the AirTag with privacy in mind.

Click here to get an AirTag from Amazon ($29, or four for $99).

I dress up, and Brett dresses down, for episode 27 of the In the News podcast, which is now available.  Brett and I cover a lot of interesting topics this week.  We start by discussing these fascinating charts prepared b y Jason Snell of Six Colors, which show where Apple is making its money, and which — I believe — provide lots of insight into what Apple is doing.  Then we discuss the latest scams that hackers are using to try to hack you, an update to the Scanner Pro app, AirPods for only $89, Apple holiday templates for Keynote cards, and two SciFi shows that Brett and I are watching right now (Foundation and Dune). 

In our In the Know segment, we discuss two useful apps:  VoiceDream Reader and When Did I…?

Click here to listen to the audio podcast.  Or you can watch the episode on YouTube:

When Apple introduced the third generation AirPods and said that it would continue selling the second generation AirPods for $129, I wrote last month:  “That makes me think that those will eventually go on sale for under $100.”  And sure enough, as reported by Christine McKee of AppleInsider, Walmart is now selling the second generation AirPods for only $89 as part of an early Black Friday sale.  That is a fantastic price for a beloved product.  The second generation doesn’t support Spatial Audio and lacks the longer battery life that you get with the $179 third generation AirPods, but they are only half the price.  Whether you want to get AirPods for yourself or you are looking to get a great stocking stuffer, this Walmart price is a very good deal.  And it wouldn’t surprise me to see similar holiday sales offered by others over the next few weeks.  And now, the news of note from the past week:

• Apple announced this week that Alex Gorsky, the CEO and chairman of Johnson & Johnson, was joining Apple’s Board of Directors.  As John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes, this is further evidence that “Apple sees health as a major new frontier.”
• Gorsky is joining Apple when it is at an all-time high.  A great way to see this is to look at graphs charting Apple revenue over the past 20+ years that were created by Jason Snell of Six Colors.  
• The first graph shows that Apple revenue in fiscal 2021 was considerably higher than ever before.  And the graph showing iPad revenue over the years is particularly interesting because the iPad hit a peak in 2013, then revenue dropped, and now it is back up again and better than ever.
• Scanner Pro, my favorite app for scanning documents with an iPhone, added a new Smart Categories feature this week to make it easier to find something that you scanned in the past.
• Mike Fleming, Jr., of Deadline reports that Finch, the new Tom Hanks movie on Apple TV+, is the most-watched movie on the service.  My son and I watched the movie last weekend, and we both loved it.  I recommend it.
• Speaking of shows on Apple TV+, every week that I watch the Sci-Fi show Foundation on Apple TV+, I like the show more and more.  It looks as good as any big-budget movie, and while it took me a few episodes to get engrossed in the story, now I’m loving it.  Episode 8, The Missing Piece, came out last week and it is probably my favorite episode so far, and there are two more episodes to go.
• If someone calls you and asks you for your two factor authentication code, of course you should not provide it to them.  But as John Gruber explains in this report, which is based on a report by Joseph Cox for Motherboard, there are sophisticated bots that might trick you into doing just that.  Be careful out there.
• Oliver Haslam of iMore explains another scheme that iPhone thieves are using to trick you into helping them disable Find My after they steal your iPhone.
• Jeff Benjamin of 9to5Mac reviews the HomePod mini, now that it comes in colors.
• Josh Centers of TidBITS explains in detail how to use the new FaceTime features:  screen sharing and SharePlay.
• I’ve never thought of using Keynote to create a greeting card, but Apple did.  If you visit the page on the Apple website dedicated to holiday gifts and scroll down to the Today at Apple section, you can download a Keynote template to “[m]ake a unique holiday card.”  Given how easy it is to create shapes and add images to a Keynote presentation, it actually makes perfect sense to me to use that app to create cards.
• And finally, here is a new “mobile phone” that you might want to purchase that is being sold by Fisher-Price.  Yes, that’s right, I said Fisher-Price.  The first telephone that you ever used now includes Bluetooth to work with your current iPhone.  And of course, it still has the eyes and the wheels.  This introduction video is cute, and you can get more information on the Fisher-Price website:

USB-C is becoming an increasingly important charging technology for Apple devices.  Many devices, like the iPad Pro, have a USB-C port.  Other Apple devices, such as the HomePod mini, come with a cord that has a USB-C connector on the end that connects to a power adapter.  And some Apple devices that work with either USB or USB-C charge faster with USB-C.  Apple calls this fast charging, and is requires a power adapter than can output 18W or more of power.  For example, as I noted in my recent review of the Apple Watch Series 7, the cord that comes with that product has a magnetic charger on one end and USB-C on the other end.  While you can use the older USB cord to charge it, you can charge the watch over twice as fast if you use the USB-C cord and a USB-c power adapter.

As a result, I’m seeing less of a need for USB chargers in my life and a greater need for USB-C chargers.  And I know that I’m not the only one — even just in my own household.  We recently gave my son an Apple Watch SE for his birthday, and even though that device doesn’t support fast charging, the charging cord included with the Apple Watch SE has a USB-C connector.  All of this has resulted in me recently purchasing two new USB-C charging adapters, and today I’m focusing on the first one:  the Anker Nano Pro (40W).  I purchased that one for my son, but I can see anyone finding it valuable.  (The other charger that I bought recently, which I will reviewing in a future post, is the Satechi 108W USB-C 3-Port GaN Wall Charger.  Here is my review of that device.)

Nano

When Anker came out with the original Anker Nano, the elevator pitch was to have a charger that was about the same size as the 5W USB charger that Apple used to always include with the iPhone, but it supported 20W USB-C.  Anker still sells the Anker Nano for $16.99, but it is being replaced by the 19.99 Anker Nano Pro, which does a better job of doing the same thing because Anker says that the Pro version intelligently monitors the temperature and output power to increase safety, and says that this device is perfect for the new iPhone 13.

Nano nano

Instead of purchasing the Anker Nano, I purchased the $35.99 Anker Nano Pro (4oW), which I’ve also seen called the Anker Nano Pro (Dual Port).  It is a little bit larger than the Nano Pro, but it can provide 20W of power to two different USB-C ports.  Thus, you can provide a fast charge to two different devices at the same time.

The Nano Pro is larger than Apple’s traditional 5W USB charger, but of course, these are two very different products.  One provides 5W to a single device.  the other provides 20W each to two devices.

A more appropriate comparison is to the 18W/20W USB-C adapter that Apple sells and has included with many of its USB-C products — although Apple is starting to move away from that practice so that you have to purchase a power adapter separately.  The size is similar.  The Anker product is more tall and less wide — which is an advantage because it hogs up less space on a horizontal power strip — but the overall volume is similar, even though the Anker Nano Pro (40W) provides twice as much power and can handle two devices instead of just one.

You can purchase this Anker charger in white, black, lavendar, or blue.

The Anker Nano Pro (4oW) works well.  In just a small amount of space, you can use your own USB-C cords to recharge two different devices. 

Unlike some competing products, the prongs don’t fold down, so this is a little less suitable for travel, although it is so small that you probably won’t mind the prongs.  Also keep in mind that each port only provides 20W of power.  That’s no different than the 20W charger that Apple provides with many of its products, like the iPad Pro.  However, many Apple devices can charge faster when given additional watts.  For example, the iPad Pro with a USB-C connector can use up to a 30W charge, so you can charge somewhat faster by using a charger that outputs more wattage.  An iPhone 13 Pro Max can reportedly take up to a 27W charge.  Apple has confirmed that an Apple Watch Series 7 can connect to up to a 96W USB-C Power Adapter, although I suspect that you don’t see much of a speed improvement after around 30W.

Conclusion

The Anker Nano Pro (40W) is a nice product for charging two Apple devices that support USB-C while taking up the minimal amount of space.

Click here to get the Anker Nano Pro (4oW) from Amazon ($35.99).