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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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Today Logitech is releasing Mac-flavored iterations of a few of its most popular peripherals. The MX Master 3 for Mac is the latest iteration of the popular wireless mouse for creative professionals, sporting a Mac-friendly space gray exterior and USB-C to USB-C cable for easy recharging. MX Keys is a wireless keyboard with Mac-centric keys and built-in person-sensing backlight. It too comes with a space gray exterior and is the perfect companion for the MX Master 3.
Both devices retail for $99 and are available today. In addition, Logitech is also launching a $39.99 Mac-flavored version of its minimalist K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard that you can quickly pair with an iMac, MacBook, iPhone, or iPad.
For more specifics related to all three new Logitech products, check out the full post and corresponding video walkthroughs.
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Today, after several years of research and standardization, the Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute announced the official release of the successor to H.265 HEVC, appropriately named H.266/Versatile Video Coding (VVC). What does that mean for the future of video on Apple devices?
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After going in depth with iOS 14 earlier this week, today we focus on macOS Big Sur. The biggest takeaway from my hands-on time with the follow up to macOS Catalina is that Apple’s latest OS is clearly being designed with the future in mind.
Although it’s unmistakably Mac, Big Sur is a departure from previous versions of macOS in terms of aesthetics. Everything, from the dock, to the menu bar, to window chrome, icons, and even sounds have been updated.
Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we discuss over 85 macOS Big Sur changes and features, and be sure to subscribe to 9to5mac on YouTube for more videos.
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I’ve been testing out the iOS 14 beta for the last week, and I’ve been impressed by its relative stability and the vast amount of features packed inside. The sheer ridiculous amount of changes and features aside, I’m most impressed by the number of quality of life improvements found in iOS 14.
In our first hands-on iOS 14 video, we’ll step through over 250 changes and features, including all of the aforementioned QOL improvements such as Picture in Picture, Widgets, App Library, Compact call interface, and more.
In every iMac review that I’ve produced in the last few years, there has been one common complaint among them all: after maintaining the same general look for the past decade, the iMac looks old and outdated.
Yes, it’s high time for the iMac to receive a substantial makeover, and it looks like we’re finally on the precipice of such a change actually happening. In this episode of Back to the Mac, I discuss this exciting development.
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Yesterday Apple released a new developer beta for iOS 13.6. This release is a follow up to last week’s release of an iOS 13.5.5 beta to developers and public beta testers. Apple renamed the beta and is henceforth referring to yesterday’s release as iOS 13.6 beta 2.
Naming strategies aside, this new iOS 13.6 beta 2 release comes bundled with a few user-visible changes and features. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for the details.
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Recently I got my hands on the Level Lock, a HomeKit-enabled connected home product that allows you to convert your existing deadbolt into a smart lock. The premise of Level Lock is extremely simple, and might be a good choice for those that want to keep the look of their existing hardware, while benefiting from smart features like HomeKit support.
Should you consider the Level Lock? Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for the details.
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Although I love using the 16-inch MacBook Pro as my primary workhorse, one of the most frustrating things about using an Apple laptop is how easily the display gets dirty. For years I used to struggle with cleaning my MacBook Pro display, but over the past few years I like to think I’ve finally perfected the screen-cleaning technique.
If you’re looking for the best way to clean your MacBook display, then look no further than this tutorial. In the end, I think you’ll agree, there’s simply no reason to tolerate using a MacBook with a dirty screen.
In this hands-on video walkthrough, I’ll show you my go-to method for keeping my MacBook Pro screen clean, and the products involved to make it happen.
Update: I updated this tutorial to remove the part about spraying cleaner directly on the display. Several commenters (rightly) called this out, and I adjusted the video and post accordingly. Thank you for your feedback.
