Jeff Benjamin

Running a visionOS beta on your Apple Vision Pro and wishing to revert to a stable release? In this hands-on tutorial and video, I show you how to downgrade visionOS on Apple Vision Pro. The downside? Downgrading requires the $300 Apple Vision Pro Developer Strap, but at least it’s possible.

Watch our hands-on video as I walk you through the entire process, and be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple Vision Pro coverage.

On this week’s edition of 9to5Mac Overtime, Fernando and Jeff discuss their hands-on Apple Vision Pro impressions, including their top 5 best features, top 5 surprises, and top 5 worst features. Plus, Fernando answers the question: will he keep his Apple Vision Pro?

9to5Mac Overtime is a weekly video-first podcast exploring fun and interesting observations in the Apple ecosystem, featuring 9to5Mac’s Fernando Silva & Jeff Benjamin. Subscribe to Overtime via Apple Podcasts. You can also watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more.

Last week, Apple released its first new accessory for the Vision Pro since its launch, a $299 Apple Vision Pro Developer Strap only available for registered Apple Developers. Although Apple notes clearly on the back of the box that it’s not for resale and only intended for developers, anyone who coughs up $299, plus the yearly $99 fee to become a registered Apple Developer, can get their hands on this accessory.

The Apple Vision Pro Developer strap replaces the device’s right Audio Strap. It arrives in a small box that resembles an Apple Watch box, and includes the Developer Strap, over-designed eject tool, and documentation. The Developer Strap has several noticeable differences compared to the right Audio Strap that it replaces. The most obvious difference is the addition of a USB-C input that allows you to connect Apple Vision Pro directly to your Mac. Let’s take a closer look at the Apple Vision Developer Strap inside.

Talented GBA4iOS, AltStore, and Delta emulator developer Riley Testut joins us to provide his insightful thoughts about sideloading, alternative app stores, new iOS 17.4 changes to allow app marketplaces in the EU, emulation, and the future of the App Store. Fernando and Jeff also discuss their thoughts on the new iOS 17.4 changes, including features that make their way to all users in all regions.

The initial iOS 17.4 beta was released to developers today, and the big news surrounding the update involves all of the changes to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act. However, iOS 17.4 also includes an update to Stolen Device Protection, a feature first appearing in iOS 17.3. Now, users can choose to always require a security delay when changing security settings.

Yesterday, Apple released iOS 17.3 with the headlining Stolen Device Protection feature. This feature, which helps protect your device from being compromised by thieves, makes updating to iOS 17.3 a no-brainer. But additional features, like Apple Music Collaborative Playlists and Emoji Reactions, make this release even sweeter.

Watch our full hands-on video as Jeff breaks down the ins and outs of Stolen Device Protection and walks through the other new iOS 17.3 changes and features. If you haven’t already, subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more videos.

On this week’s episode of Overtime, we discuss our experience with Apple Vision Pro pre-orders, and discuss various aspects of the device’s technical specifications. We’re also excited to invite 9to5Mac Editor-in-Chief Chance Miller to discuss his second Vision Pro hands-on, this time in NYC. To wrap things up, Connect The Watts’ Colin Jenkins joins us to discuss the potential of the Vision Pro as a fitness companion.

9to5Mac Overtime is a weekly video-first podcast exploring fun and interesting observations in the Apple ecosystem, featuring 9to5Mac’s Fernando Silva & Jeff Benjamin. Subscribe to Overtime via Apple Podcasts. You can also watch this episode on YouTube and subscribe to our YouTube channel for more.

Fernando and Jeff discuss Apple Vision Pro Preorders, Dough Spectrum 4K 144Hz Monitor, Nando’s Journal app walkthrough and massive iPad getting started guide, and Jeff waxes poetic about the polishing cloth.

9to5Mac Overtime is a weekly video-first podcast exploring fun and interesting observations in the Apple ecosystem, featuring 9to5Mac’s Fernando Silva & Jeff Benjamin. Subscribe to Overtime via Apple Podcasts and our YouTube channel for more.

I first learned about the newest version of the Dough Spectrum One from an email sent to me by the company’s CEO, Konstantinos Karatsevidis. The email contained the subject line: Is This the Studio Display Killer for Gamers and Mac Users Alike?

I was intrigued and took the company up on the offer. A few weeks later, the newest Dough Spectrum One and its corresponding stand arrived in my mailbox, but not before being ravenously opened and inspected by customs agents. So, while my unboxing experience was less than ideal, thankfully, the Gorilla Glass-covered display arrived without a scratch.

But is this, as Dough conjectures, a Studio Display killer, or is it altogether something else? Watch the hands-on video walkthrough, and subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more videos.

Fernando and Jeff discuss iOS 17.2, Journal app, 17.3, Apple Vision Pro, and more.

9to5Mac Overtime is a weekly video-first podcast exploring fun and interesting observations in the Apple ecosystem, featuring 9to5Mac’s Fernando Silva & Jeff Benjamin. Subscribe to Overtime via Apple Podcasts and our YouTube channel for more.

After months of testing, Apple released iOS 17.2 on Monday afternoon. The release, which has shaped into a noteworthy update, comes bundled with many new changes and features. In this post, I’ve distilled the over 50 new features into a small batch of five of my favorites.

Final Cut Pro 10.7 has several noteworthy additions, but automatic timeline scrolling is hands-down the headline feature in this release. Automatic timeline scrolling does just as its name implies – moving the timeline automatically as playback commences. However, this new feature involves much more than just timeline scrolling.

As you’ll see in my hands-on video walkthrough, there’s much more to consider here, including that both clip previews and audio waveforms are generated in real-time during playback, the timeline intelligently pauses when performing clip adjustments, and you can quickly toggle the feature with a keyboard shortcut. Watch my latest video, and subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Final Cut Pro content and tutorials.

As promised, Apple has released major new versions of Final Cut Pro before the end of the month, with Final Cut Pro 10.7 now available for Mac and version 1.3 now available for iPad. Both platforms gain new features that users will find beneficial, headlined by a long-desired automatic timeline scrolling feature with real-time waveform updates.

If you already own Final Cut Pro for Mac, today’s 10.7 update is free. The iPad version, which is available for a $4.99 monthly subscription, is also available for download today. We’ll be conducting a full video walkthrough of the new features on our YouTube channel, so be sure to subscribe. In the meantime, take a look at the release notes inside.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Final Cut Pro Creative Summit – the first such event since 2019 – which included an invite to Apple Park. While visiting its campus, the next version of Final Cut Pro was revealed for the first time. Apple pre-announced its forthcoming update to Final Cut Pro for Mac, version 10.7, noting that it will be released later this month, presumably sometime this week if that timeline sticks.

The update includes one key feature that many Final Cut Pro enthusiasts have been wanting for well over a decade, along with several other enhancements that will help users stay organized and potentially speed up H.264 and HEVC exports. Personally speaking, I’m pumped to finally have these features, but as always, there will be a contingent that feels like Apple needs to do more…

Apple has released iOS 17 to the public, and as noted, it’s a massive release with tons of new updates. To illustrate how jam-packed this iOS release is, I previously did a two-hour iOS 17 hands-on that meticulously stepped through everything new. In this latest hands-on video walkthrough, I discuss and showcase my favorite iOS 17 top changes and features for iPhone users.

This update covers what I believe to be the 20 core items that should convince everyone to make the jump from iOS 16, as if the batch of critical security fixes wasn’t enough.

Sponsor: Special thanks to Bellroy for sponsoring 9to5Mac! Get an exclusive 10% discount off the entire Bellroy range of cases and accessories.

Apple recently released four new models in its iPhone lineup: the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Like all iPhones that Apple sells these days, with the exception of the iPhone SE 2, it features an “edge to edge” display, and lacks the physical Home button that iPhones were associated with for years.

For modern iOS devices, you’ll utilize the Volume buttons and Side button to facilitate actions like force restarts, entering recovery mode and DFU mode, etc. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for the details, and be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more videos.

Apple announced its next-generation iPhone lineup today, and unsurprisingly, it marks the end of the road for Apple’s long-running Lightning connector in favor of USB-C. Not only does USB-C further streamline the wired cable connections across Apple’s vast product lineup, but it also brings faster USB 3 speed capability, alongside other special features, to the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

On September 12, Apple will reveal the iPhone 15 and transition from its long-running Lightning connector to USB-C. When a similar switch was made from the 30-pin connector to Lightning over a decade ago, it resulted in a firestorm among Apple faithful who had invested money in cables and accessories designed for the 30-pin connector.

Nearly a dozen years later, and we’re on the precipice of another I/O shift with the move to USB-C – but there will be no firestorm this time, or at least there shouldn’t be…

In our first as-of-yet-to-be-named podcast, Fernando and Jeff discuss Apple’s September 12th Wanderlust event, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, USB-C, iOS 17, and more.

9to5Mac Overtime is a weekly video-first podcast exploring fun and interesting observations in the Apple ecosystem, featuring 9to5Mac’s Fernando Silva & Jeff Benjamin. Subscribe to Overtime via Apple Podcasts and our YouTube channel for more.

Sonnet’s latest and arguably greatest dock became available to the masses a few weeks ago, and we got an opportunity to put its Echo 20 Thunderbolt 4 SuperDock to the test. Does it live up to its mouthful of a name? In this video, we break down how the SuperDock lets users add a bevy of I/O options to their Mac via a single Thunderbolt cable.

After using macOS Sonoma on a day-to-day basis for the last month and a half, I’ve been able to distill its many new changes and features down to just 10 of my favorites. In this hands-on review, I’ll discuss my the best 10 new features in macOS 14. Watch our hands-on video for the details.