Jeff Benjamin

Apple has been pushing out new software updates at a blistering rate, with the latest such update being a new iOS 14.2 developer beta. This beta update comes with several notable changes, including a redesigned now playing music interface in Control Center. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we explore new iOS 14.2 beta 1 changes and features.

Yesterday Apple released the seventh iOS 14 beta, and it comes bundled with a couple of noteworthy updates. Watch our brief hands-on video walkthrough as we explore new iOS 14 beta 7 changes and features.

Making a bootable macOS Big Sur USB drive is a quick and clean way to install a fresh copy of macOS on your Mac. This hands-on tutorial is valid for both the public and developer beta versions of macOS Big Sur, and will also work with the final version of Big Sur upon its release later this year. Simply follow our step-by-step guide for the full details.

The original Keychron K2 was, and still is, one of my favorite third-party Mac accessories. Keychron K2 version 2 subtly builds on the original’s legacy. Watch our hands-on video for the details.

This week, Apple released the sixth beta for iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, and like last week’s beta 5 release, beta 6 includes several new changes and features. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for a look at what’s new.

After going hands-on with the base model 2020 iMac last week, today I finally got the chance to take the nano-texture glass display for a test drive. Should you consider this $500 option when configuring your 2020 iMac? Watch our brief hands-on video walkthrough for the details.

Today Level takes the wraps off of its latest HomeKit-enabled smart lock, Level Touch. Similar to the Level Bolt, which we reviewed earlier this summer, Level Touch is designed to be inconspicuous thanks to a design that tries hard not to bring attention to itself.

As its name alludes, Level Touch is touch-enabled, allowing users to lock their doors upon leaving the house with just a touch. Level Touch is available to purchase now for $329, and except for a screwdriver, comes with all of the necessary installation hardware. Read on to learn more about the newest smart lock option to arrive on the scene.

In the past when I’ve covered my experience with Synology NAS products, it’s usually been from the perspective of using one of Synology’s more powerful offerings as a media server for Final Cut Pro X libraries. Today, I’d like to flip the script and talk about Synology’s entry-level NAS, the compact DS220j. I’d also like to begin regular discussions of more common needs for the everyday Mac user, such as Time Machine backups, private cloud storage, etc.

Being an entry-level model, the DS220j is marketed as a personal cloud solution for data sharing and backup, and I find it to be a good fit for those applications. In this first hands-on video, I’ll walk you through what it takes to set up the DS220j as a Time Machine backup solution for your Macs.

Yesterday Apple released the fifth developer beta for iOS 14. Included in this latest beta are several new user-facing features, including an enhancement to the ability to hide specific photos in the Photos app. Watch our brief hands-on video walkthrough for the details.

Earlier this week I got my hands on what is will possibly be the last noteworthy iMac refresh before Apple transitions from Intel to its own silicon. If that ends up being the case, we can say that Apple’s all-in-one, with its Intel CPU and current design, went out with a bang. Watch my 2020 iMac review, and I cover my hands-on experience with the $1,799 base model.

This past week Apple released what could be the swan song for the current design of the 27-inch iMac. With Apple Silicon-based Macs on the horizon, it’s possible that we’ve seen the last of the current iMac’s design, and with it the end of user-accessible memory that makes it easy to upgrade iMac (2020) RAM.

The current 5K iMac design is unique, because it’s the only Mac machine that Apple sells outside of the $6000 Mac Pro that features user-upgradable memory. Thanks to a special door just above the power socket on the rear of the 27-inch iMac, users can quickly gain access to the machine’s four SO-DIMM slots to upgrade the RAM.

Not even the iMac Pro provides users with such a cost-saving luxury, which makes the 5K iMac a value-packed machine. And with the 2020 iMac now officially supporting 128GB of RAM in build-to-order configurations, users can purchase third-party RAM and save lots of money, up to $2000. Watch our hands-on step-by-step tutorial for the details, and be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more iMac content.

As we inch closer to iOS 14 GM release, we can expect less new features and changes in each beta release, and more focus on stability and refinement. That’s not to say that there won’t be any new changes found in this and forthcoming beta releases, however. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we explore a handful of iOS 14 beta 4 changes and features.

Today, Apple announced updates to the iMac lineup. While there were small bumps to the 21.5 inch iMac and the iMac Pro, most of the love was saved for the 27-inch iMac, which starts at $1799.00. Although the new 10th-generation CPUs, 1080p webcam (finally), and nano-texture display options have stolen the headlines, the new 7 nm AMD Radeon Pro 5000 Series GPU options are a pretty big deal as well.

The iOS 14 beta comes with no shortage of high profile changes and features, but there are also quite a few hidden elements that help make up our list of the top iOS 14 sleeper features.

Needless to day, iOS 14 is loaded with tons of big standout features like the compact call interface, App Library, and Widgets, but there are many hidden iOS 14 features that deserve recognition as well. In this hands-on video walkthrough, we’ll explore 10 of our favorite iOS 14 sleeper features.
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Sony just took the wraps off its highly-anticipated Alpha 7S III video-oriented mirrorless camera, and it’s safe to say that it’s taken the camera world by storm. Not only is this a worthy followup to the A7S II, but it looks like the best new camera in 2020. In addition to its vast feature set, Sony can add Apple’s ProRes RAW capture capability to the list of bullet points thanks to a partnership with Atomos.
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Now that the iOS 14 beta has been available for a month, I’ve had enough time to identify my favorite features. As I showed you in our initial hands-on look at the iOS 14 beta, it is filled to the brim with new features, but some items stand out above the rest. Watch our latest iOS 14 video walkthrough as we consider the 10 best iOS 14 features.
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Earlier today Apple released the third iOS 14 beta to developers, and as expected, it comes bundled with several new changes and features. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we explore what’s new in iOS 14 beta 3 and iPadOS 14 beta 3. After watching, leave a comment with your thoughts, and be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more videos related to all of the upcoming Apple software releases.
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With iPadOS 14 the iPad gains access to additional refinements that help push it further as a do-it-all device. Alongside all of the changes that are shared with iOS 14, this update focuses heavily on transforming the Apple Pencil into a tool that’s useable in more ways throughout the OS.

The update also adds needed refinements to help take advantage of all of the extra screen real estate available on iPad. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we discuss noteworthy changes and features found in the iPadOS 14 beta.
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When testing out beta versions of macOS, I rarely install them on my main Mac volume containing the current version of macOS. Instead, I prefer to simply create a second volume dedicated to the beta. This option has been available since the release of macOS High Sierra, and makes it extremely easy to install multiple copies of macOS without having to deal with disk partitioning, sizing, etc.

By simply creating another APFS volume on the existing APFS container, you’ll have a dedicated spot for the  macOS Big Sur beta to live. With this method, I can easily keep my production system separate from the beta, and just as easily switch between the current version of macOS and the beta version. In this brief video tutorial, I’ll show you how easy it is.
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Traditional Boot Camp installations can take up a lot of storage space on your Mac. Considering that many Macs out there have relatively minuscule amounts of onboard storage, installing Boot Camp to run Windows isn’t always a feasible option. With this in mind, setting up an external Windows drive on your Mac might prove to be handy.

In this video walkthrough, I show you step-by-step how to deploy a Windows installation using Boot Camp drivers on an external drive connected to your Mac. Be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more handy tutorials like this.
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Yesterday’s release of iOS 14 beta 2 isn’t as packed with features as past beta 2 follow-ups to major iOS releases, but it is filled to the brim with subtle improvements and changes. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we step through over 50 new changes and features in iOS 14 beta 2.
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