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Spring is coming, and with it comes many opportunities to put your earbuds in and go on a sunny walk reminiscent of a movie montage. If you’re looking for an updated pair that won’t cost too much, there’s good news: The second-generation Apple AirPods Pro are currently on sale for $190, down from $249. The 24 percent discount brings these earbuds back to their record-low price.
Apple
Apple released its second-gen AirPods Pro in late 2022, and while they’re certainly not a budget wireless earbud, they offer a lot for under $200. We gave them an 88 in our initial review thanks to several internal updates from their predecessor, such as the ability to swipe for volume control (handy if your device isn’t nearby). Apple also added Adaptive Transparency, Personalized Spatial Audio and an H2 chip that improves noise canceling. Externally, Apple shrunk the ear tip for a better fit.
Even the case got an upgrade, with a built-in speaker that will ping if you need to find it and a hook for a lanyard (of course, the string is available separately). Speaking of locating it, the second-gen AirPods Pro case also got a U1 chip that powers Precision Finding in Find My.
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As every month, Hulu has a list of movies and shows leaving the platform during March, so now is your chance to catch some of the best Hulu movies before they go.
Judas and the Black Messiah is on the list disappearing this month, as is The Banshees of Inisherin which is set to leave Hulu on March 12. Both have been well-received by critics and even earned Oscar nominations, so don’t miss your chance with them.
The good thing is that most of Hulu’s movies and shows will leave the platform on March 31, so you some time before they vanish. But it’s not all loss, of course – here’s everything new on Hulu in March 2024 to replace the shows below.
Cillian Murphy picked up the best actor award for his portrayal of Oppenheimer.Credit: Landmark Media/Alamy
Oppenheimer won big at last night’s Oscars, scooping 7 awards out of 13 nominations, including best picture. The film has been lauded for its accurate portrayal of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer’s life, and its examination of both the human and scientific toll of the Manhattan Project, the research programme that developed the atomic bomb in the 1940s at Los Alamos in New Mexico.
To ensure the film was as accurate as possible, director Christopher Nolan turned to several science advisers for information on Oppenheimer and his life, and the project itself, which culminated in the Trinity Bomb nuclear test on 16 July 1945 and the subsequent bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, bringing the Second World War to a close at immense human cost.
Nature spoke to three of those advisers for some behind-the-scenes insight into the film’s creation.
Why Oppenheimer has important lessons for scientists today
Robbert Dijkgraaf, a theoretical physicist and currently the Dutch minister for education, was the director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, from 2012 to 2022, a job Oppenheimer had also held, from 1947 to 1966. Kip Thorne, a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, is a close friend of Nolan’s and had worked with him on a number of previous projects, including the depiction of the gargantuan black hole in the film Interstellar (2014). And David Saltzberg, a physicist at the University of California, Los Angeles, worked as a scientific consultant for other productions, such as The Big Bang Theory, before applying his expertise to Oppenheimer.
What was your involvement in Oppenheimer?
Dijkgraaf: In 2021, Nolan wanted to come and visit, to see the place where Oppenheimer had lived and worked for almost 20 years. I also lived in that house and, for 10 years, worked in the same office that Oppenheimer once used. We had a long discussion about Oppenheimer, but also about physics, which I loved.
Thorne: I spoke with Cillian Murphy about his portrayal of Oppenheimer for the movie. I knew Oppenheimer when I was a graduate student at Princeton, from 1962 to 1965, and a postdoc from 1965 to 1966, so there was some discussion about Oppenheimer as a person.
Saltzberg: I was called in to help out with the production in scenes that were filmed in Los Angeles. I worked mostly with the prop manager. That involved things like deciding what was on the chalkboards, or what equations Oppenheimer handed to Einstein to show whether the atmosphere would catch fire.
Tell us about some of your interactions with the director and cast
Dijkgraaf: Nolan visited Princeton twice to tour the premises. I remember we walked from the house to the institute. It’s this beautiful walk with nice trees. I remember telling him it’s the perfect commute, because Einstein and [Austrian physicist] Kurt Gödel always walked along that path. In the movie, Lewis Strauss meets Oppenheimer and he points out the house and says “it’s the perfect commute”. I thought, ‘wait a moment — this is a very familiar scene!’
I was struck that Nolan was really, really interested in what it means to be a physicist.
I also remember he really appreciated the pond at the institute. Quite a few of the scenes in the movie are shot near the pond — it’s a favourite place for many people there. It’s a place to think and contemplate.
Saltzberg: I sometimes had to explain the physics of a line of dialogue to the actors, enough that they knew the emotional truth of the line and why they were saying it. There was one particular line in the script which was incredibly complicated, about off-diagonal matrix elements and quantum mechanics. Even when I read it I had trouble understanding exactly what it was saying. Cillian really wanted me to explain it to him. We got there, I think, but it was difficult.
A similar thing happened with Josh Hartnett, who played [American nuclear physicist] Ernest Lawrence. Every time he had a spare moment, he would come and talk to me about physics. It was uncanny because he was already in makeup and costume. I never met Lawrence, but I’ve seen plenty of pictures, and it was just eerie. He looked like Lawrence walking around the room.
What did you make of the science in the movie?
Saltzberg: It was wonderfully accurate. It’s really amazing. Christopher Nolan clearly understood the science.
There’s a scene in which Oppenheimer is writing on the chalkboard explaining that nuclear fission is impossible, when Lawrence walks in and says “well, [American physicist Luis Walter] Alvarez just did it next door”. So I had some equations put on the board that Oppenheimer might have had that proved fission is impossible. Most of the audience wouldn’t recognize that, but it made me feel good.
Dijkgraaf: It was really well done. I loved that the movie consistently looks through the eyes of Oppenheimer. The physics discussions were very good — the right equations were on the blackboards!
What was Oppenheimer like as a person?
Thorne: He was just a superb mentor, extremely effective. He had enormous breadth and an extremely quick mind. He had this amazing ability to grasp things very quickly and see connections, which was a major factor in his success as the leader of the atomic bomb project.
Dijkgraaf: He was both a scientific leader and a government adviser. At that time, Einstein, who was quite crucial in starting up the atomic bomb project, really turned into a father of the peace movement. A character who wasn’t in the movie, [Hungarian-American mathematician] John von Neumann, wanted to bomb the Soviet Union, so he was completely on the opposite side. Oppenheimer was trying to walk the reasonable path between those two extremes, and he was punished for it. So I often feel his character generates these mixed feelings. It’s a fascinating example for anyone who wants to be a scientist and play a role in public debate.
Is it satisfying to see a science-based film get such recognition at the Oscars?
Thorne: It’s wonderful it’s got this level of attention. It’s a film that has messages that are tremendously important for the era we’re in. Hopefully it raises the awareness of the danger of nuclear weapons and the crucial issue of arms control.
Dijkgraaf: We often complain there’s no content in popular culture. For me, the biggest surprise was that this difficult movie about a difficult topic and a difficult man, shot in a difficult way, became a hit around the world. I feel that’s very encouraging. The hidden life of physicists has become a part of popular culture, and rightly so.
Apple has reversed its decision to ban Epic Games’ developer account after it emerged that European Union officials were investigating the issue. And the EU is currently fining Apple for almost two billion dollars, so it’s probably wise to pay attention.
This means Epic can bring its own app store to iPhones and iPads in the EU. “Following conversations with Epic, they have committed to follow the rules, including our DMA [Digital Markets Act] policies,” an Apple spokesperson told Engadget.
Earlier last week, Apple killed Epic’s developer account, claiming Epic was unlikely to abide by contractual agreements and even describing Epic as “verifiably untrustworthy.” Now, nearly four years after its disappearance, the publisher can more easily bring Fortnite back to those devices in the bloc.
Yes, Fortnite was last (officially) on iOS four years ago.
— Mat Smith
The biggest stories you might have missed
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And the first is coming back to theaters this summer.
Nintendo and Illumination are releasing a second animated film for the Super Mario franchise, and it’s expected to come out April 3, 2026. The news comes from series creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, who tweeted it from the Nintendo of America X account on Sunday as part of the ongoing Mario Day shopping push celebrations. Based on his description, it doesn’t seem like it will be a direct sequel to the first, though. To kill time until 2026, you can play some Mario game remakes and make Mario Kart Lego sets.
Continue reading.
Apple and Netflix were nearly shut out.
Despite combining for 32 nominations, Netflix and Apple TV+ were nearly shut out of the 2024 Oscars, with Netflix winning just a single award for Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Best Live Action Short Film). Netflix scored six prizes last year. The big surprise was Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (Apple TV+) not gaining a single award. Oppenheimer claimed prizes for Best Picture, Best Director, editing, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Original Score and Cinematography.
Continue reading.
Thanks to a company that owns the rights to her likeness.
ABG
At SXSW on Friday, Soul Machines unveiled Digital Marilyn, an AI chatbot designed to look and talk just like Marilyn Monroe. It was made in a partnership with Authentic Brands Group, which owns the rights to Monroe’s likeness and those of numerous other dead and living celebrities, including Elvis Presley and Shaq.
Soul Machines introduced its Marilyn Monroe AI to the public in an International Women’s Day Instagram post. Notably, all of the other AI celebrities the company currently offers chats with are men who are alive, and who can weigh in on their inclusion.
An Apple Car was never officially on the way, but a couple of weeks ago we heard that Apple had decided to abandon the project. Now we’ve got a few more details about what the Apple Car was looking like in the early stages of its development.
As per Mark Gurman in his Power On newsletter – usually a reliable source for Apple info – the long-rumored car would have “wowed consumers” and really stood out in terms of its design. Apparently it wasn’t too dissimilar to the Canoo electric SUV.
Gurman mentions darkened windows with an adjustable tint, an all-glass sunroof, a completely white exterior, and whitewall tires with a black center. Oh, and both ends of the car had the same contours, apparently – so there was no ‘front’ or ‘back’ in that regard.
Matching previous leaks, this latest info dump suggests that Apple was aiming for full self-driving capabilities, so-called Level 5. The “contoured bubble” of the vehicle would take you from A to B with no manual driving required.
Private jets and limousines
A next-gen CarPlay experience is coming (Image credit: Car and Driver)
According to Gurman, the interior of the Apple Car changed several times, but the idea was to be as minimalist as possible. Seats like those of a private jet or a limousine would have been included, with four people comfortably accommodated.
A giant screen in the center of the vehicle was planned in some iterations, for showing videos and (of course) making FaceTime calls. In other variations, this display was closer to the size of an iPad (or a Tesla dashboard). There was even a custom air conditioning system.
Gurman suggests that several different model designs were worked on, with one looking like a 1950s Volkswagen microbus, and another like the Volkswagen ID Buzz. The most recent design of the Apple Car came with gull-wing doors, apparently.
By the end, Apple had scaled down its ambitions in terms of the autonomous driving capabilities, and had fitted a steering wheel and pedals back into the car. It seems that we’ll never get to see an Apple Car now – so we’ll just have to make do with the next-gen CarPlay experience that’s due to arrive sometime this year.
Karin Kirk is a freelance science journalist who has built a career on icy ground. She lives in Bozeman, Montana, a corner of the northwestern United States known for its snow-capped mountains and vast wilderness areas. There, she balances her work as a science writer and climate educator with her job as a skiing instructor and ridge guide — a professional with the expertise to guide skiers through trails beyond the ski lifts, accessible only by hiking.
Kirk tells Nature how she finds a balance between her two interrelated careers.
How did you get started on your multidimensional career path?
I was teaching undergraduates at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York — one of my first jobs after graduating in geology from Montana State University in Bozeman — and there was a nearby ski area that had night skiing. I found I could teach geology during the day and teach skiing at night. Ever since then, I’ve never let go of either of those pieces of my career. It’s an ongoing struggle,but my motivation to keep the right balance between work and life has been really strong. If someone right now offered me the ultimate dream writing job, but it was full time and it meant I couldn’t ski or go out and do all these other things I do, I don’t think I would accept it.
I feel really fortunate. Building a career is hard for everyone, but it’s harder for people in minority groups, first-generation university students and people who cannot afford to take big financial risks like going freelance. I am incredibly lucky that my husband and I could float for a bit and live on a reduced income when I started freelancing.
What challenges have you faced in maintaining that balance?
In science, I’ve had colleagues who really don’t know what to make of the fact that I have serious professional commitments that are not to do with research. Not everyone appreciates that, and some people see me as uncommitted. It was a theme more when I was in academia, because people are very used to the total dedication to that path.
Probably the hardest thing for me was getting started as a freelance science writer once I left academia. Going out on one’s own is exhilarating and terrifying in equal measure. You have moments of triumph. But then you have a lot of setbacks and moments that make you doubt yourself. Those first few years were a battle.
How did you navigate the leap into the unpredictable world of freelancing?
At first, I expanded my ski teaching, which helped financially and restored my energy and optimism when I needed it most.
The overall solution that worked for me was to find outlets for which I could be a regular writer, rather than chasing one-off assignments. After a couple of years I developed a nice rotation of writing about climate change, geology and skiing. Switching between topics kept me fresh and productive, and it was enough to pay the bills. Building relationships with editors also gave me space to explore ideas without having to prove myself with each new article, plus the pay was predictable so I could meter out my time accordingly. That’s when I felt like I’d found my groove, and everything became fun rather than scary.
When do you feel most successful in your science-communication work?
My personal priority is to reach as wide an audience as I can and talk to people in all different circumstances. I am super happy when I see my work reach an audience way outside my peers and colleagues. For example, some of my writing and infographics around electric-vehicle efficiency, which were published by the news service Yale Climate Connections, got picked up by MotorTrend magazine and referenced in two articles. I’m not the person who’s going to go and pitch to an automotive magazine, but for them to find my work, write about it and then recommend my article to their readers was awesome. It connected with a way different audience than I expected.
Karin takes notes after navigating glaciers in Greenland.Credit: Karin Kirk
In what ways is your work in geoscience complementary to your work as a skiing instructor and ridge guide?
As a guide here at Bridger Bowl Ridge, I love to talk about the geology of the mountain range and the intricacies of the rock. The summit is made of Mississippian-age Madison limestone (that’s around 325 million years old), the same rock I studied for my master’s thesis. It has brachiopod fossils and collapse breccias and fabulous chert lenses. At the crest of the range, the rocks have been uplifted to a near-vertical position, forming sheer walls of limestone that are a total rush to weave through on skis or a snowboard. My goal, as both a skiing instructor and a geoscience communicator, is to help people feel comfortable. Skiing is a scary sport. It’s important to see where a person is, understand what they’re feeling, and work with that. Fear can be paralysing. But when you feel comfortable, you can do amazing things. That’s where everything overlaps for me.
The other obvious overlap is climate change — the future is grim for the ski industry. But to me, that’s a very minor consequence of climate change: it doesn’t really matter, compared with other consequences. Skiing’s really fun, and it’s a way of life if you live near a ski area. But I’m more concerned for the water in the snowpack than my ability to play on the snowpack, and so is everybody here. Snow has a really special role in the hydrological cycle, because it stores water and releases it slowly. The way snow reflects sunlight is also integral to nature.
I think the best thing the ski industry can do, when we have guests up in these Alpine environments, is to be service educators. We need to say, “Skiing on snow is fun, but here are all the ways that snow is important in this ecosystem.”
What advice would you give scientists who want to communicate their work effectively?
We’re in a golden age of communication, but it can also be a media minefield. There’s this insatiable hunger for information, so the opportunities for science communication have never been greater. There are also so many venues for communicating science, whether you do it formally and you want to make a career out of it, or informally as part of another job. You can do it as a community leader — I’ve gone out and had hundreds of conversations about climate with voters, and I’ve been training others to do the same. If you can bring your science into your hobby, the way I’ve done with skiing and geoscience, you can use a shared passion to start conversations with people. My advice would be to try different lanes. Continue to iterate, and if you start to get some resonance with an audience, a topic or a method, then cultivate that.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Intel NUC 11 offers great value and performance with its 11th-generation i7 CPU, 32GB RAM, and 1TB storage, making it a good option for office work and gaming at a reasonable price point. The mini PC is simple inside, easy to work with, and supports up to 32 gigs of RAM and two terabytes of hard drive space. Intel NUC 11 Mini PC runs Chrome OS Flex, Windows 11 Pro, and Fedora Linux, with decent performance, but is not a speed demon. It is amazing for office tasks, software development, and generally as a work station. Where it loses steam is professional video editing and demanding gaming, but most gaming enthusiasts are not looking for a mini PC anyway. The integrated Iris X GPU offers a huge performance improvement over Intel’s prior integrated GPUs, which were known for barely being able to handle the fundamentals.
Powerhouse in a tiny package
While it may not match the graphical and gaming prowess demonstrated by the NUC 11 Enthusiast Kit, given its significantly smaller size and cost—less than half—its performance is quite impressive, particularly in the realms of daily productivity and handling multiple displays. This device is a prime illustration of Intel’s current strengths in the mobile and small-form-factor (SFF) PC sector.
The larger models can fit a 2.5-inch SATA hard drive SSD or more potent Hardware, providing flexibility for different storage and hardware options. The Intel NUC11 Mini PC offers a wide range of connectivity options, including Thunderbolt 4 and USB 3.2 ports. The Mini PC supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5, providing fast and reliable wireless connectivity options. The NUC 11 is snappy and responsive, making it a perfect and underrated option for productivity apps and web browsing.
You can get this petite powerhouse for 10% off if you use the following promo code “techradar11” for all TechRadar readers. The code is valid until April 1, so hurry and grab your Mini PC for $445.5 instead of the standard price of $495.
Back in October, Google and Yahoo unveiled a pivotal update to their bulk sender guidelines.
Launching February 1, these new regulations, which impact both bulk emailers (those sending over 5,000 emails daily to Gmail accounts) and general Gmail users alike, introduced authentication requirements and defined thresholds for spam complaints. Specifically, they defined a spam complaint threshold of 0.3%.
Our preliminary analysis of the announcement was that this 0.3% threshold wouldn’t be a major problem for most email marketers. In fact, for large companies with established customer bases and large inbound lists, this update would probably help those companies. They likely have low existing complaint rates and can more easily and safely expand their outbound efforts.
However, the smaller, less established companies, specifically, those in the B2B space that may be using more aggressive outbound email marketing strategies or have been leaning on ABM to establish their brand, would likely be in trouble.
And it turned out that we were right.
Larry Kim
Spam complaint rates across the B2B space
To better understand how these new sender guidelines would impact outbound marketing and sales, particularly in the B2B space, we studied spam complaint rates across various industries.
Our findings showed that complaint rates were well beyond the 0.3% threshold laid out by Google and Yahoo. In fact, it wasn’t even close! The average spam complaint rate across the B2B space was 2.01%, with a range between 1.1% and 3.1%.
Even worse, for the top 9 spammiest verticals, we couldn’t find a single sender that was able to score below the 0.3% threshold. When you break it down by industry, it becomes ever more clear who the top offenders are:
B2B Software: Spam complaint rates peak at 3.2%, with a range of 1.3% to 4.3%.
Political Issue & Electioneering Communications: Rates hover around 2.9%, ranging from 1.5% to 3.4%.
Sales and Marketing Services: Experience a 2.8% rate, with a broad spectrum from 2.0% to 5.3%.
Recruiting: Faces a 2.1% rate, ranging between 1.7% and 3.1%.
Retail and E-Commerce: Encounter a 2.3% rate, with variations from 0.5% to 2.9%.
Real Estate: Deals with a 1.9% rate, spanning 1.5% to 3.4%.
Education and Training Providers: Show a 1.7% rate, within a range of 0.4% to 2.1%.
Financial Services: Encounter a lower rate of 1.1%, ranging from 0.7% to 1.9%.
Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals: Have the lowest rate at 0.9%, with a range of 0.7% to 1.4%.
This data isn’t entirely surprising when you think about it. B2B software companies and sales and marketing companies tend to do a lot of outbound. Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals on the other hand are beholden to pretty strict laws and regulations around communication.
B2B sales & marketing teams must adjust quickly
This data signals a critical issue for B2B outbound marketing. For businesses that rely heavily on outbound emails for lead generation and sales, this is a significant hurdle. Meeting the new sub-0.3% threshold appears daunting, if not impossible. The good news is there are strategies to mitigate these hurdles:
Boost transactional email volume: If we want to reduce the spam complaint rate %, we may want to increase total emails sent and optimize email volume. Increase the volume of non-spammy, transactional emails such as order confirmations, tracking updates, or purchase follow-ups. These are less likely to be flagged as spam and can balance out your overall email metrics.
Prioritize warm leads: Focus your emails on high-intent users (think those who visited your pricing page or added something to their cart). Tools for website visitor identification can be invaluable here.
Provide clear & numerous unsubscribe options: The unsubscribe option should be easily accessible and in multiple places. Hidden or hard-to-find unsubscribe links increase the likelihood of being marked as spam.
Utilize intent-based email lists: In some instances, there is no getting around cold emails. What you can do however is use intent-based email lists that can help you create more appropriate messaging that will resonate with prospects. The more you know about what your audience is interested in, the more personalized messaging you can create.
For B2B companies, adapting to these new guidelines is crucial. While outbound isn’t gone, it is more challenging. The good news for users is that this new complaint rate threshold should improve the email marketing and outbound space as a whole.
These new guidelines will force B2B marketers to evolve their outbound strategies and build better campaigns. For users this means less spam and more relevant emails. For marketing and sales teams, this should mean better targeting, more personalization, and less laziness.
The result? Improved sales to lead time. At the end of the day, large email providers like Google and Yahoo are focused on creating a better user experience and this means less spam. For B2B teams, the answer is simple…don’t be a spammer.
This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro
Regardless of if you have an older iPad or a new iPad Pro, it’s a good idea to protect it with a case. That will be even more crucial if you use your iPad as a laptop replacement, or if you have kids constantly trying to steal the slab from you to binge-watch Bluey. While it’s impossible to protect your gear from every kind of hazard, you can give your iPad a stronger shell with which to protect itself against accidental drops, dings and falls. This is a crowded space — there are dozens of iPad cases available today, some of which focus more on aesthetics than protection. But sussing out which will provide you the right level of protection you need along with extra features like a built in keyboard and folio can be tricky. Here are the best iPad cases we’ve tried that will suit a variety of needs.
ProCase
Look no further than ProCases’ iPad covers if you want a solid dupe for Apple’s own Smart Cover. ProCase has a lot of different designs, but its Thin Hard Protective Smart Folio will be a great option for anyone that just wants a bit of extra protection for their tablet. Plus, it helps that it’s compatible with all current iPad models and even a few old-school versions, too. A thin layer of hard plastic encases your iPad while the front flap magnetically closes over the screen to protect it. And for iPad models that support the second-generation Apple Pencil, the case leaves a cut out on the edge where the stylus can sit when you’re not using it. They may not be quite as substantial as Otterbox Symmetry cases, but ProCase’s accessories make up for that in price: you can pick one up for as low as $13, and we’ve seen some go on sale for even less than that.
$9 at Amazon
OtterBox
Otterbox is an expert when it comes to protection, as seen with their phone cases, but its Symmetry Series 360 series shows that it has design chops, too. Symmetry cases look similar to Apple’s Smart Cover, but the clear, scratch-resistant back is sturdy without adding a lot of weight to the iPad. Plus, the edge protection is substantial, so you won’t have to worry about damage from the inevitable, accidental bumps your tablet takes. The extra flap Otterbox added keeps the iPad screen cover closed and holds the second-generation Apple Pencil to the side of the iPad Pros. Symmetry Series 360 cases are available for most iPad models, and there’s a new offshoot of the lineup called Symmetry Folio, which includes a dedicated sleeve for your Apple Pencil on the front cover.
$92 at Amazon
OtterBox
If you’re not messing around with your iPad, look no further than Otterbox’s Defender series of cases. The company has these rugged covers for tons of different devices, and Defender cases for iPads provide some of the best protection and functionality you could ask for. In addition to passing more than 24 shock, abrasion and drop tests, Defender cases have a built-in screen protector and covers for the single port on all of the latest iPad models. You can also detach the Shield Stand and use it to prop up your iPad for better viewing. It may be on the bulky side, especially compared to other cases on this list, but we think that’s a fair tradeoff for the extra protection.
$60 at Amazon
Apple
It’s hard to get much better than Apple’s own Magic Keyboard if you want a case that will turn your tablet into an acceptable laptop replacement. iPads magnetically attach to it, hovering above the keys and trackpad, while allowing you to angle it from 90 to 130 degrees to get the right viewing position. It feels surprisingly sturdy, and the keyboard itself is great to use for long periods of time. It doesn’t have the same stability a standard laptop would if you’re using it on your lap, but you won’t feel like your setup will collapse at any moment either. The glass trackpad is another standout — it’s wide enough for gestures and generally a breeze to use, even if it’s noticeably smaller than one you’d get on a full-sized MacBook.
There are two major drawbacks to the Magic Keyboard: it doesn’t provide a ton of drop protection, and it’s expensive. The edges do not wrap around the iPad, so this is not the best buy if you’re particularly prone to dropping things. Also, the Magic Keyboard costs $300 to $350, depending on the size of your iPad. Without a doubt, it’s the most luxurious iPad case on this list, but those who want to make their iPad as functional as possible will get a lot of use out of it.
$299 at Walmart
Logitech
Logitech is known for solid accessories, and the Combo Touch keyboard case is no exception. Think of it as a more versatile (and more affordable) alternative to the Magic Keyboard. The case wraps securely around your iPad and has a built-in kickstand that lets you adjust your viewing angle for whatever you’re doing, be it typing, watching videos, sketching or reading. The backlit keyboard is pretty spacious and includes a multi-touch trackpad for more precise on-screen control. There’s also a spot for your Apple Pencil, so it’ll be close at hand when you need to mark up a document or doodle an idea in Apple Notes. It’ll probably be harder to balance Logitech’s kit on your lap than the Magic Keyboard, but that’s a small price to pay for an otherwise stellar keyboard case. We also like that Logitech offers the Combo Touch in various sizes that fit the latest iPad, iPad Air and iPad Pro models.
$113 at Walmart
FAQs
Should you keep your iPad in case?
It’s almost always a good idea to keep your iPad in a case so it’s protected against hazards and accidents. The best iPads are expensive — even the most affordable model will set you back nearly $300 — so you’ll want to safeguard your gear as much as possible.
What is the difference between an iPad case and an iPad cover?
All iPad covers are cases, but not all iPad cases are covers — yes, it’s a bit confusing, but allow us to explain. Most iPad covers are cases that surround the back of your tablet and have a flap that covers the screen, so it provides protection for the body as well as its display. Plenty of iPad cases also have screen covers, but you don’t have to get one with that feature. Instead, you could just get a case that hugs the back of the tablet and nothing else. Those accessories will be marginally thinner and lighter than their cover-toting counterparts, and give your iPad a more svelte profile.
How often should I charge my iPad?
How often you charge your iPad will depend on how often you use it. Most iPads will last at least a regular work day with frequent usage, which is one of the reasons why many have opted to use their iPads as laptop replacements. But with heavy usage, like constant video streaming or gaming, will come more rapid battery drain. A good rule of thumb is to charge your iPad when you go to sleep each night, that way you’ll have a topped-up device waiting for you in the morning.
The best sleep hygiene tips tend to encourage giving things up: don’t use your phone in bed, don’t drink coffee in the afternoon, don’t eat at night… While good advice, it can make the bedtime routine feel like a chore. But it’s time to flip that thinking. By saving your favorite activities for the evening, settling down for bed becomes something you actually look forward to.
Social media is big on the idea of romanticizing your life; when you find new ways to see joy in the daily routine. When it comes to bedtime, that means more than adding cozy cushions to your best mattress. It means keeping your favorite activities exclusively for the wind-down, so you feel encouraged to put away your phone and make the most of the evening.
Not sure where to get started? I picked up this advice while attending the Sleep Charity‘s Sleep Conference, and the experts there provided me with some great tips on how to develop an evening routine that’s both sleep-friendly and fun.
Why save special activities for the evening?
Swapping doomscrolling for reading might seem like an obvious choice before bed, but actually making that change isn’t quite so easy. It can be very hard to pull away from the quick enjoyment of compulsive social media scrolling, even when we know that the blue light and stimulating content might end up keeping us awake.
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But by keeping some of your favorite but low-key hobbies until just before bed, the wind-down routine becomes something you look forward to. This is the time when you can finally finish the next chapter of your book, or break out that new face mask, or get stuck into the Lego set that was a bargain on Black Friday. In comparison, your phone starts to look boring. So instead of damaging your sleep with procrastinating social media scrolls, you’ll prepare yourself for bed while doing something you love.
How to choose your evening activities
First of all, you have to pick activities you actually enjoy, not just hobbies you think sound relaxing. Coloring books are calming, but I don’t look forward to doing them, so I wouldn’t be convinced to put down my phone and pick up the pencils. While sleep-friendliness is a key consideration, if it takes priority over enjoyment, you’ll lose what makes this trick successful.
That’s not to say you can’t explore new things. If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at calligraphy, it might be the perfect activity to save for the evening. Just if, after a few weeks, you realize it’s not for you, put down the quill and pick up a new hobby.
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And don’t be afraid to get physical. Light exercise before bed can help you sleep, so try yoga or some gentle pilates. Mindful meditation can also help you feel calm before bed, and combined with light stretching, will help your body and brain wind-down.
Finally, don’t pick anything that gets you stimulated or alert, even if it sounds like it should be relaxing. Reading before bed is often recommended as the ideal low-key activity, but not if you’re sucked into the latest thriller. Sudoko might help you switch off, but if crosswords keep you up, stick to the numbers. There’s no one-size-fits-all choice, so really consider what works for you.
Get started with a bedtime box
Using a bedtime box can make these relaxing activities feel special and encourage putting down the phone. Originally developed for kids learning about sleep routines, bedtime boxes are useful for anyone who wants to add structure to their evening.
Bedtime boxes contain the essentials for your pre-bed wind-down, and that includes whatever you need to get stuck into the hobbies you’ve set aside. When you reach for the bedtime box, it signals you’re preparing for sleep. And it takes out the hassle of getting ready – instead of searching the house for your yoga mat, sketchbook, half-finished book, you simply have to grab the box.
