9to5Mac Reviews

One thing is for sure: accessory makers are pulling out all of the stops when it comes to decorative HomeKit lighting accessories. Back in May, we took a look at the Lifx Beam accessory, which offers smart lightning in a neon tube-like format.

Now, Lifx is back with its Tile accessory, which is seemingly its more direct competitor to the Nanoleaf Aurora. Unfortunately, where the Aurora excels, the Lifx Tile often seems to fail…

Expand
Expanding
Close

While the tech industry is still in the middle of a transition to USB-C, it can be easy to wind up with lots of various charging bricks and adapters. Leviton’s Type A & Type C USB Charger/Receptacle caught our eye as a way to simplify our digital lives, so we went hands-on with the handy wall outlet.

Expand
Expanding
Close

I like to keep a clean desk. That’s helped enormously by being paperless, but another key is what I refer to as my OCDesk: a custom-built desk with a rear undershelf to hold all the power-strips, power bricks, external drives and so on. That keeps all the mess out of sight. (I’ve since had a new one created, but I’ll get to that in a future Smart Home Diary.)

But if your desire for tidiness doesn’t quite extend to having a custom desk created for you, a rear shelf for an iMac or Apple Thunderbolt Display can be a good way to keep things tidy …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Wireless chargers are a dime a dozen nowadays, with a slew of companies attempting to hop on the bandwagon now that Apple has rolled out Qi support to its latest iPhone models. In the past, we’ve taken a look at options from companies like Aukey, Nomad, and many more.

Now, popular accessory maker iOttie is out with its latest products for the iPhone 8 and iPhone X. The company has released a pair of wireless chargers dubbed the iON. Read on for our thoughts…

Expand
Expanding
Close

I tend to like my headphone designs much like my audio quality: neutral. But if you prefer something a little more visually interesting, you will often find yourself being forced to choose between audio quality and looks. That’s a problem V-Moda set out to solve with its Crossfade 2 Wireless Codex Edition headphones …

Expand
Expanding
Close

If you want to raise your iMac or Apple Thunderbolt Display to eye-level, there’s no shortage of ways to do it – at every price level.

Search for iMac stand on Amazon and you’ll find everything from ugly plastic ones for around 20 bucks through some nice-looking aluminum ones around the $70 mark to a clever Twelve South version for $130 (review of an earlier incarnation) …

Expand
Expanding
Close

I love music, and am perfectly happy to pay for good-quality audio – but $279 for a speaker which delivers only ok audio quality doesn’t sound like a great deal.

However, music isn’t what the Humu Augmented Audio Cushion is all about …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Saddleback, left; Brooks, right; 2016 15-inch MacBook Pro for scale

My name is Ben Lovejoy and I’m a bagaholic.

I admit it: I’m a sucker for bags. I seem to have a particular problem with backpacks – I couldn’t even begin to count the number I’ve had over the years. Some of them chosen for special features, like the anti-theft Riutbag and the easy-access Wolffepack, while others were chosen for more mundane layout reasons, especially when it comes to camera bags.

But whether clever or simply well-organised, few backpacks are beautiful. Most use the same Cordura nylon fabric, and a large majority of them are black. So my eye was caught by two leather backpacks made by premium leather companies, the Saddleback Thin Front Pocket, and the Brooks Piccadilly …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Alongside the new MacBook Pro launch and Blackmagic eGPU, Apple also released a new Leather Sleeve for its flagship laptop, albeit to significantly less fanfare and/or controversy. The MacBook Pro Leather Sleeve follows in the footsteps of similar leather-based offerings for the 12-inch MacBook and iPad Pro.

Comprised out of high-quality European leather, the MacBook Pro Leather sleeve is available in one of three colors for both 13- and 15-inch models. Should you consider dropping $179 (13-inch) or $199 to protect your MacBook Pro in style?
Expand
Expanding
Close

Early standing desks didn’t really get much traction. Few people wanted to be standing all day, so it was only when adjustable sit-stand desks came along that they increased in popularity.

Apple is so committed to them that it is ensuring that every employee at its new Apple Park campus has one, a discreet button moving them between sitting and standing positions.

We’ve reviewed a couple of sit-stand desks, but nice ones aren’t cheap – a problem Dutch company Upstaa set out to solve …

Expand
Expanding
Close

It doesn’t seem that long since we had a choice to make when it came to external drives: we could opt for spinning metal drives if we wanted high capacities at affordable prices, or SSD if we wanted fast transfer speeds, were willing to compromise on capacity and were prepared to pay the substantial premium. But that’s beginning to change …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Many years ago, I used a desk striplight with a clamp. I clamped it to the back of my desk, then adjusted the angle arm so it was just above and in front of my monitor. That way, it lit the desk, didn’t cast any light onto my monitor, and effectively took up no space.

It took some time to find a suitable light, and a fair amount of messing around with clamp positions and angles until I had what I wanted. Now BenQ has created a product that achieves the same result in a really neat fashion: the ScreenBar …

Expand
Expanding
Close

It’s usually me making the case for new smart home gadgets, but when it came to a robot vacuum cleaner, it was my partner, Steph, who suggested it. Unusually hot weather in London causing our cats to moult more than usual may have been the triggering event!

I’d looked at them when they first came out, and wasn’t that impressed by what I saw and read. Early models tended to wander randomly about the home, didn’t cope well with obstacles, and their battery-powered vacuum motors weren’t very powerful.

But it had been quite a few years since then, so it seemed a good time to check out whether today’s robot vacuum cleaners are gimmick or genuinely useful home appliance …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Lume Cube, the high-powered portable photography light, is now available in an exclusive kit at Apple Stores country-wide. The Lume Cube Creative Lighting Kit includes a number of accessories with the compact flash to refine the photography experience.

The team at Lume Cube had recently reached out to us asking if we’d like to take a look at what the small cube could do. As I’ve been getting more and more into mobile photography, a portable lighting system piqued my interest. After having received a review unit from Lume, I set out to see what all the fuss was about.

Expand
Expanding
Close

We took our first look at the unique jimmyCASE approach to wallet cases over a year ago. Now we’ve been putting the company’s latest offering for iPhone X to the test. Just like earlier models, the new Slim Classic Wallet Case uses a mix of great materials including mahogany, silicone, and high performance elastic that provide a sharp blend of function and form. Read on for our full review and why jimmyCASE is a distinct and flexible choice for iPhone X.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Since the iPhone 8 and iPhone X were introduced last year (and long before), wireless chargers have become a dime a dozen. With so many options available on the market, it takes a lot for one to stand out from the crowd.

Earlier this year, Nomad released its versatile, travel-oriented wireless charger for iPhone 8 and iPhone X, joining the company’s range of high-end accessories. Since it was released, we’ve been using it day in and day out. Read on for our thoughts on how it compares to the rest of the crowded wireless charger market…

Expand
Expanding
Close

HomeKit adoption has grown swiftly over recent years, with lights of all shapes and sizes adopting the platform for smart control. In 2016, we took a look at the popular Nanoleaf Aurora light panels, and now Lifx is looking to enter the HomeKit accent lighting market with its new Beam accessory…

Expand
Expanding
Close

If you are like me, Spring means biking season and I want to tell you about two great bike helmets that connect to your iPhone via Bluetooth to not only make your ride more safe but also more fun too. For over a year, I’ve had the Coros LINX helmet which uses bone conducting conduits to safely send audio signal to your eardrums without blocking natural sound.

A few weeks ago I peeped the new $179.99 Lumos Helmet at the Grand Central Apple Store touting bright lights and a turn signal activated from your phone.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Twelve South is best-known for its BookBook cases for MacBooks and iPhones, but subsequently expanded into a wide range of stylish accessories for Apple kit – they have products for MacBooks, iMac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and more.

Its latest product, launched earlier this month, is a Bluetooth transmitter designed to let you use AirPods or other wireless headphones with in-flight entertainment systems or other equipment with a 3.5mm headphone socket: AirFly …

Expand
Expanding
Close

Case-Mate released its Power Pad Qi wireless charger last month and we’ve been testing it out for the last few weeks. With a unique design that allows it to stand or lay flat while in use, Power Pad is worth checking out. Read on for our full review.

Expand
Expanding
Close

For the last year or so I’ve been on the fence about picking up a new router. But along with moving into a new house, I decided to finally retire my Time Capsule. After a lot of deliberation, I landed on TP-Link’s deco mesh Wi-Fi system and I’ve been really impressed with the features it offers, such as the app, performance, and price. Read on for our full review.

Expand
Expanding
Close