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- Best gifts for travel
A numbskull relative of mine recently left for a big trip they’d been planning for months, only to realize at the airport they’d forgotten their passport!
This absolutely would not have happened if they’d owned a wallet tracker to stash with their passport — like Ugreen’s great FineTrack Slim Smart Finder, a credit card-sized tracker compatible with Apple’s Find My network. It would have popped up an alert if they’d left home without it.
And whenever I travel with my family, I’m the one who has to bring all the charging devices, cords, power bricks, cables, backup batteries, ANC headphones and sundry other electronic gear. Last time we went on a big trip, I had half-a-ton of devices in my carry-on.
That was a few years ago, and since then, chargers and other travel accessories have gotten smaller, lighter and even better.
If you’re heading anywhere nice this summer, or have friends or relatives who are (and who might also be forgetful knuckleheads) we have a roundup of the best gifts for travelers (or yourself).
Also in this edition of The Weekender:
If anyone sends you money via the Messages app, it’ll go into your Apple Cash account. But it’s not super easy to get that money out. If you want to spend it, the best way is by a virtual debit card, which you can create yourself. Here’s how.
Two big news stories this week. Macworld got hold of the actual Pantone color codes for the entire upcoming iPhone 17 lineup, including a new orange hue for the iPhone Pro Max, which looks pretty sweet.
And Apple leaker John Prosser is being sued by Cupertino for spilling details of iOS 26. The details of how he allegedly got the info is one of the most bonkers thing I’ve ever read about in the Apple news business.
Bad news if you were hoping to upgrade to a nice new M5 MacBook Pro this fall. Looks like they’re not coming this year after all. Booo!!!
And there’s lots of other new Apple hardware coming next year; we discuss what to expect new products-wise on the CultCast. Sorry for all the blinking!
The Apple Watch SE is a perfectly great device for kids, seniors or anyone getting started with a smartwatch. This 30% off deal brings the low price even lower. The budget entry-level iPad — a fab device, and relatively cheap too — is also on sale for its lowest price ever.
Don’t miss our review of a new Find My-compatible tracker that’s we think is better than Apple’s AirTag in just about every way.
We also reviewed a crazy cool but pricey RollerMouse Red Wireless input device. It replaces mouse and wrist rests in an attempt to avoid RSI — we think it’s pretty amazing once you get used to it.
David Snow, who reviewed the RollerMouse, also wrote about how it fits into his work-from-home setup. He’s got some recommendations about all-important ergonomics.
— Enjoy your weekend!
Leander Kahney, EIC
