9to5Mac Reviews

A few years ago I replaced my 2005 Honda Civic from high school with a 2017 model. The car itself felt twelve years newer in every way but one.

My old car stereo was replaced with an aftermarket Wireless CarPlay head unit. The tenth generation Honda Civic included standard CarPlay, and I wasn’t interested in replacing the stock entertainment system in a brand new car.

Three years later, it’s now possible to add both Wireless CarPlay and Qi charging for around $200 — all without replacing any hardware.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The 13-inch MacBook Pro (2020) edition is a noteworthy release for a variety of reasons. The most compelling reason to take note is that it’s finally transitioned from the oft-maligned butterfly keyboard to the much-improved Magic Keyboard.

Indeed, with the release of this MacBook Pro, the butterfly keyboard is no more. Should you consider upgrading? Watch our hands-on video for the details.

Expand
Expanding
Close

As I noted in my initial hands-on impressions with the $999 MacBook Air, this base model MacBook Air is a good option for Mac users in search of a no-frills laptop experience. If you’re the type who primarily uses a laptop for everyday tasks like web browsing, writing, spreadsheets, and other things of that ilk, then the MacBook Air is more than capable of handling such needs.

Should you consider the 2020 MacBook Air? Should you upgrade if you’re coming from one of the last two updates? Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for the details.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Two days ago the Magic Keyboard for the 11-inch iPad Pro landed on my desk. I’ve been using it constantly since it first arrived, and although it’s not perfect, I absolutely love it.

It’s so good that I can easily say that this is the best iPad accessory in the 10-plus year history of the device, and that includes the Apple Pencil.

Watch our hands-on video as I walk through the top Magic Trackpad for iPad Pro features. I’ll talk about features I like, and things that I don’t like. If you want the details about the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, then this is the video for you.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Yesterday I got my hands on the newest iPad 7 keyboard case offering: the Logitech Combo Touch Keyboard Case with Trackpad. This $149.95 case features a built-in trackpad to take advantage of the new cursor control in iPadOS 13.4.

If you own a 7th-generation iPad (review), this is one of the most useful accessories you can purchase outside of the Apple Pencil. Logitech also sells a version of its new keyboard case for the iPad Air 3. Be sure to subscribe to 9to5mac on YouTube, and watch our full hands-on review inside for the details.
Expand
Expanding
Close

The Denon Home 150 is the latest speaker aiming to compete with Apple’s HomePod.

Denon has an impressive track-record in audio products, dating back to gramophone players in 1910, and created its own range of multi-room speakers back in 2014. At the time, it decided to create a sub-brand for those: HEOS. With its latest Home models, however, it has returned to Denon branding …

Expand
Expanding
Close

At the time of its release back in 2018, the Mac mini had the designation of being the most versatile Mac in Apple’s entire desktop lineup. With the release of the Mac Pro, that designation now belongs to Apple’s professional-oriented desktop machine with PCIe expandability.

But the Mac mini remains one of the most value-laden Macs that Apple currently sells, and it’s the second most versatile Mac next to the Mac Pro. Watch our latest episode of The Rewind as I take another look at Apple’s diminutive Mac.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Satechi launched its latest multi-device USB-C charger at CES back in January and it comes with the most ports and power you’ll find in pretty much any option on the market. Read on for our full review of Satechi’s 108W USB-C PD Desktop Charger.

Expand
Expanding
Close

The Danalock has filled the last remaining hole in my smart home armory: a smart lock.

You could say I’m something of a home automation fan. I had near-withdrawal symptoms when briefly forced to live without it for a while after moving home back in 2017. Getting things back up-and-running was a great relief!

Lights and smart sockets were followed by window blinds (later given HomeKit compatibility), smart(ish) heating (though more on that another day), and even a control panel.

But I’d avoided a smart lock for three reasons …

Expand
Expanding
Close

If you’re looking for a leather MacBook Pro sleeve, the official Apple $199 one is beautiful-looking, but our review found that it had two drawbacks.

My biggest gripe with the MacBook Pro Leather Sleeve, outside of the obvious cost factor, is that it’s not designed to be used in concert with a USB-C charging cable […] Even if you go against the grain (heh) and put the MacBook Pro inside the sleeve “backwards”, the USB-C ports would still be recessed too far inside the case to connect to a USB-C charging cable while completely inside …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Scosche’s BaseLynx modular charger offers a compelling solution to create the exact wireless and wired charging setup you need for your pretty much all your Apple devices including iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, and even MacBooks. Read on for our full review of BaseLynx that lets you charge over ten devices at once and easily reconfigure the setup at any time.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Today PolarPro launched its LiteChaser Pro photo and video kits for the iPhone 11 with special introductory pre-order pricing. The kits feature a specialized case that can accommodate a detachable grip, along with either a circular polarizer or variable ND filter.

If you currently use or aspire to use your iPhone for serious photography or videography, then these kits might come in handy. Watch our hands-on video walkthrough for more details.
Expand
Expanding
Close

The Nixplay Smart Photo Frame is the latest and smartest digital photo frame from the company that claims to be the most popular brand in the US, with over 2 million units sold.

It’s smart because it can be updated in a bunch of different ways: manually, with the smartphone app; by voice, with Alexa or Google Assistant; and automatically, by linking it to Google Photos…

Expand
Expanding
Close

The iPad 7, the latest generation entry-level iPad for the masses, is one of the best deals in tech at only $329, and often found for much less on sale. It’s the first entry-level iPad to feature Smart Connector support, allowing users to conveniently connect a Smart Keyboard. It also features a larger display with more on-screen real estate.

In this hands-on review, I discuss why the iPad 7 is indeed the best iPad for most people, and why it’s $329 entry-level price point is a steal given the amount of features packed inside this slab of aluminum and glass.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Logitech sent us its new $169.99 StreamCam in September to review before its Logitech Capture for Mac software was even ready. Something happened and the project got pushed out a few months until today, but I started using it for the Electrek Podcast in September. Logitech got back to us this week and told us the project was back on and the Mac software was ready.

So this is kind of a weird “first look” at a product I’ve been using for almost a half year…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Portal is billed as an iPhone and iPad app designed to help you focus, relax, or sleep. It was last year selected by Apple as App of the Day and is a demo app in Apple Stores.

I’m not quite sure I buy the ‘focus’ part of the claim – I personally find silence the best thing for that – but it does tick the relaxation and sleep boxes for me…

Expand
Expanding
Close

There was a day when you bought a decent pair of headphones and speakers and could look forward to using them for decades to come. That’s far more difficult today, as technology develops at a faster rate. The TMA-2 HD Wireless headphones aim to solve that problem.

Made by the impossible-to-pronounce-but-well-respected Danish audio company AIAIAI, the TMA-2 is a modular headphone system essentially supplied in kit form…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Earlier this month, popular accessory maker Nomad unveiled its latest premium wireless charger: the Base Station Stand. Featuring an aluminum and leather design, the Base Station Stand packs a premium charging experience with two 10W charging coils, USB-C, and more.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Glyph, perhaps better than any other external drive maker, has a knack for creating solidly-built SSDs that do a great job of passively dissipating heat. These factors are what made me a fan of the original Glyph Atom, and it’s what continues to make me a fan of the company’s latest external SSD offering: the Glyph Atom Pro SSD. Watch our hands-on video review for the details.

Expand
Expanding
Close

If you’re looking for a secure external drive that meets both US military and government security standards, there are a number of encrypted external SSD options around. I reviewed one approach a couple of years ago, the iStorage diskAshur 2, which has a built-in PIN pad for entering a seven- to 15-digit code to unlock the drive.

The SecureDrive BT is a similar idea, but instead of a PIN pad, you unlock it via Bluetooth. Specifically, when you plug the drive into your Mac, you can use Face ID on your iPhone to unlock it…

Expand
Expanding
Close

Not everyone needs 4-bay RAID solutions like the Promise R4i, and not everyone needs ridiculously-fast RAID SSD setups like the Sonnet M.2 4×4 PCIe Card. Enter the Promise Pegasus J2i.

The Promise Pegasus J2i is a two-bay SATA enclosure with a pre-installed 3.5-inch 8TB HDD that fits inside the Mac Pro. Should you consider it? Watch our hands-on walkthrough for the details.
Expand
Expanding
Close