Jeff is the head of video content production for 9to5. He joined 9to5Mac in 2016, producing videos, walkthroughs, how-tos, written tutorials, and reviews. He takes pride in explaining things simply, clearly, and concisely. Jeff’s videos have been watched hundreds of millions of times by people seeking to learn more about today’s tech. Subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube to catch Jeff’s latest videos.
iOS Decoded is Jeff’s flagship video series that breaks down what’s new in iOS betas, including behind-the-scenes deep dives into undiscovered features and exclusive details on the iOS roadmap.
Jeff also produces a weekly podcast, alongside co-host Fernando Silva, entitled 9to5Mac Overtime. A video-first podcast, 9to5Mac Overtime airs weekly on our YouTube channel, but can also be enjoyed in audio form via Apple Podcasts, or your podcast app of choice.
iOS 13 beta 4, released last week, brings 3D Touch back to supported iPhones closer to the way it used to be. Now you can perform proper peek and pop gestures, and continue your gesture motion to select menus similarly to how you could prior to iOS 13. To be clear, it’s still not perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction.
There are quite a few additional noteworthy changes and features to be found in iOS 13 beta 4 as well. Watch our brief hands-on video walkthrough for the details. Expand Expanding Close
Yesterday I received a special package in the mail from China. The package contained three new iPhone 11 dummy models representing Apple’s upcoming iPhone lineup.
Included inside the package were dummy models of the upcoming iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Max, and iPhone 11R. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we explore these well-made mockups. Expand Expanding Close
Last week Apple pushed out a couple of updates to the entry-level MacBook Pro and the MacBook Air. The MacBook Air update included a new lower $1099 starting price along with True Tone Display support.
The MacBook Air update was nice, but the refresh to the entry-level MacBook Pro, which hasn’t received an update since 2017, was far more compelling. The new entry-level MacBook model comes with refreshed internals, Touch Bar and Touch ID support, and features the same $1299 base price.
Touch Bar support is nice, but the most impressive thing about this refresh is its speed, thanks large in part to the 8th-generation quad-core CPU that replaces the dual-core CPU on the previous iteration. The update makes the entry-level MacBook Pro well worth considering, even for those who felt the previous model was too underpowered for their needs.
Watch our hands-on video walkthrough inside for the details.
HyperCube is a brand new product from Sanho’s Hyper brand that automatically backs up your iPhone to microSD or USB storage while you charge. The product is available now for a 40% off special preorder price for a limited time ahead of a launch scheduled for next month. Expand Expanding Close
Features like Dark Mode, and improved multitasking made headlines when iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 were revealed back in June, and rightfully so. That said, I find that many of the smaller, under-the-radar features lend a measurable improvement to the user experience as well. Watch as I discuss my five favorite sleeper features in iOS 13 in this latest hands-on video walkthrough. Expand Expanding Close
The Apple Watch receives a huge update with watchOS 6, bringing more independence to Apple’s wearable device than ever before. Among the watchOS 6 changes is a brand new App Store app that allows you to manage and download apps directly to the Apple Watch, a new Software Update provision that lets you perform updates, and a new Enhanced Siri voice assistant that’s much more capable than before.
Of course, there’s also many new watch faces, complications, and additional changes and features to enjoy in watchOS 6. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we step through dozens of new watchOS 6 changes and features. Expand Expanding Close
Yesterday Apple released its latest developer beta updates for iOS 13 and iPadOS 13. As expected, developer beta 3 brings about a substantial amount of new changes and features. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we step through what’s new in iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 beta 3. Expand Expanding Close
Creating a bootable macOS Catalina USB install drive is an effective way to generate a clean installation of macOS on your Mac. This hands-on tutorial will work with both the macOS Catalina developer beta, the macOS Catalina public beta, and the final version of macOS Catalina scheduled to launch later this fall. Follow our easy-to-use step-by-step video tutorial for the details. Expand Expanding Close
After going hands-on with iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, it’s now time to lend attention to macOS Catalina top features. This latest Mac software update is headlined by the dissolution of iTunes in favor of three new standalone apps for Music, Podcasts, and TV.
macOS Catalina, which checks in at version 10.15, also adds the ability to authenticate passwords with an Apple Watch and use an iPad as an external display. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for a look at the top macOS Catalina features, and be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more hands-on videos. Expand Expanding Close
After going hands-on with over 250 new changes and features across both iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, I set out to distill the list down to 13 of my favorite new features. What stands out the most amongst so many changes? Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for the details and be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more iOS 13 coverage. Expand Expanding Close
Two of the headlining changes involving Photos in iOS 13 were missing in action in the initial beta, but today’s second beta release makes the new features available to beta testers. A new High-Key Mono effect in the Camera app’s Portrait Mode panel is now available, along with the ability to edit and control Portrait Lightning via a new Portrait Lighting Control section in the Photos app editing interface. Expand Expanding Close
One of the big new additions to the Files app in iOS 13 is the ability to connect to a server via SMB. In the initial iOS 13 beta, attempting such a connection resulted in an error, but in iOS 13 beta 2, you can now successfully connect to a server wirelessly. Expand Expanding Close
In this iPadOS 13 video walkthrough, we go hands-on with lots of new iPad features. Items covered include new Home screen enhancements, huge multitasking updates, Apple Pencil improvements, and much more. Watch our full video inside for the details, and don’t forget to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more video walkthroughs like this. Expand Expanding Close
In this video walkthrough, we go hands-on with tons of new iOS 13 beta 1 changes and features. Items covered include Dark Mode, amazing new iOS photo and video editing features, a hugely-improved Files app, and much, much more. Watch our full video inside for the details, and don’t forget to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube to get future videos. Expand Expanding Close
Today Serif, creator of Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo, has released version 1.7 of its popular illustration and photo editing apps on Mac. The updates are headlined by enhanced GPU compute acceleration, HDR monitor support, and a new memory management system. Both Affinity Photo and Affinity Designer 1.7 are available for download on the Mac App Store today. Expand Expanding Close
Today Apple launched a brand new high-end reference-grade LCD HDR display alongside the newly redesigned Mac Pro. The new monitor, which Apple is calling the Pro Display XDR is a 32-inch LCD display with a 6016 x 3384 6K native resolution and over 20 million pixels. Expand Expanding Close
Yesterday I received a special package in the mail all the way from Shenzhen, China. Inside were three prototype cases for Apple’s upcoming 2019 iPhone lineup.
These new iPhones, possibly to be called the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Max, and iPhone 11R, will feature a new camera array on the rear according to reports from multiple sources.
How do the new iPhone 11 cases compare to current-generation iPhone models like the iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR? Watch our brief hands-on video walkthrough for the details. Expand Expanding Close
Earlier this week the iPod touch received a modest upgrade, arriving with little fanfare via an Apple press release. The new 7th-generation iPod touch has little in the way of new features, but it does receive a CPU spec-bump that takes it from an iPhone 6-era Apple A8 to an iPhone 7-era A10 Fusion chip, not to mention double the RAM of the previous generation.
The new hardware upgrades make it so that iPod touch users can enjoy Augmented Reality (AR) apps along with Group FaceTime capability for the first time. There’s also a new 256 GB flash storage tier, another first for the iPod lineup. It means that in 2019, there’s finally an iPod that bests the 160GB iPod Classic in terms of storage space.
While the iPod touch isn’t the mass market item that earlier members of the product line once were, Apple believes that there continues to be a viable audience for such a device. Not only is it ideal for storing large music libraries locally, but with the upcoming launch of the new Apple Arcade subscription gaming service, Apple continues to position the iPod touch as a handheld gaming option.
All of that said, should you consider buying this new iPod touch? Watch our hands-on video review for the details. Expand Expanding Close
In light of the ongoing keyboard issues, it would be all too easy to criticize Apple for releasing yet another MacBook with a slightly-modified butterfly key switch design. The criticism is well-deserved given the history of the keyboard issues, but I also think it’s worth looking at the positive aspects of this release.
Just because its brand new fully-redesigned MacBook Pro hardware with a rethought keyboard isn’t ready, doesn’t mean that Apple has left the existing MacBook Pro lineup to stagnate — something it would have had no problem allowing to happen in the past. Instead, Apple continues to issue updates as they become available from key partners.
After discontinuing the smaller 21.5-inch UltraFine Display, LG has released a new larger 24-inch UltraFine-labeled monitor in its place at the same $699 price point. If the launch of the new display flew under your radar, that’s probably because much of the spotlight was centered on Apple’s new 2019 MacBook Pro models, which launched alongside LG’s new display.
This new UltraFine Display is like a combination of the UltraFine 5K and the older UltraFine 4K Display, and for the most part that’s an okay thing. The biggest feature is the inclusion of not just one, but two Thunderbolt 3 ports. That’s an improvement over LG’s previous Apple-centric displays, as you’ll see in our hands-on video review. Expand Expanding Close
This was around the same time that consumer mesh networks were really beginning to gain in popularity, but unfortunately, Synology didn’t offer a mesh networking solution at the time. The good news is that Synology now has a mesh router in its repertoire in the MR2200ac. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for more details. Expand Expanding Close
Today Samsung introduced two all-new designer finishes for the T5 SSD — Rose Gold and Metallic Red. The new colors join the existing Deep Black and Alluring Blue finishes to round out the lineup. Expand Expanding Close
Recently Apple provided long-awaited updates to its iMac lineup, and although there are no cosmetic changes to be found in the 2019 iMac, these machines feature noteworthy CPU and GPU improvements under the hood. In fact, CPU options now start at 6-core processors for the base 27-inch model, a notable boost over the strict 4-core configurations from the previous refresh. If you desire more processing power, then the new iMacs, with their updated Intel CPUs and AMD GPUs provide a substantial performance upgrade.
Given the new upgraded processor options, it’s no wonder why people are quick to compare the 8-core model to the entry-level iMac Pro. But as you’ll see in this video, there’s more than just processor performance that makes the iMac Pro the beast that it is. On this latest episode of the Back to the Mac, we discuss five takeaways from Apple’s 2019 iMac refresh. Expand Expanding Close
