9to5Mac Reviews

Apple’s iPhone 6s is finally here and it comes along with a new feature that you may not be familiar with. Today we’re checking out the best 3D Touch features. Some of you are probably thinking, how is this any different from a long press, right? Well its uses may not be very different at the moment, but the technology that makes this possible is a very different thing.

3D Touch will sense the amount of pressure your finger applies to the screen and trigger various actions. So instead of a short press or a long press, 3D Touch enables a soft press and a hard press. So you can “tap” on the display, but then you can go even further (quite literally) and press into the display at multiple levels. Once you’ve reached the amount of pressure to trigger an event, the iPhone will provide slight haptic feedback to let you know. So what can 3D Touch actually do?

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STM is a relatively well-known Australian company that makes great quality, but slightly pricey bags and cases for your gadgets. What I’ve always loved about the company is that most of its bags don’t look anything like the typical accessories you’d associate with consumer tech. They just look like regular bags, except they’re not. Nowhere is that more clear than with the STM Drifter; a well-made, lightweight, spacious and durable back pack with enough pockets and compartments to carry virtually anything…

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Pico projectors — video projectors small enough to fit in pockets or bags — are handy if you need to carry a tool that can display videos on a surface much larger than your iPhone’s screen. And if you’re willing to step up from an iPhone 6 Plus-sized footprint to a projector that’s still smaller (in two dimensions) than an iPad mini, there are benefits: larger projectors can hold more powerful lightbulbs, better speakers, and bigger batteries, amongst other features.

AAXA’s P700 ($450) demonstrates what you can expect if you jump from a pocket-sized projector to one that fits in a bag or briefcase. It adds around 50% more physical volume to AAXA’s $299 ST200, which I reviewed and liked five months ago, leveraging the extra space to offer over 4 times the light output, noticeably stronger audio, and slightly longer battery life. If you’re looking for a way to display Mac, Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, or iPod content on up to a 150″ surface, you’ll want to see what P700 offers…

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The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus launch is right around the corner and today we’re taking a closer look at Apple’s new Leather Case and Lightning Dock. These accessories are about as simple as it gets, but keep that Apple vibe going on if that’s what you’re going for…

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Pioneer’s flagship <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-AVIC-8100NEX-Navigation-Capacitive-Touchscreen/dp/B00SKJHIY4/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1&ie=UTF8&keywords=pioneer%2Bnex%2B8100&tag=n003f1-20&qid=1442933054" target="_blank">AVIC-NEX8100</a>

Until Project Titan develops into an actual Apple Car and hits the road, Apple will award “the best iPhone experience on four wheels” title to its CarPlay infotainment feature which it says offers “a smarter, safer way to use your iPhone in the car.” Available on a growing number of vehicles from select manufacturers, CarPlay lets you connect your iPhone to your car for using Siri and an on-screen interface optimized to let you safely access apps while driving.

CarPlay relies on intelligence from your iPhone, using car hardware like microphones and built-in displays for input, so annual iOS updates mean the feature can learn some new tricks just like your iPhone and iPad. So what’s new with CarPlay in iOS 9 and how has the feature changed since my initial review a year ago? Let’s take a look:
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The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are launching in just four days time and right on schedule the embargo on reviews have been lifted. Apple is touting the new phones as major updates over the 6 and 6 Plus, with 12-megapixel camera and 4K video recording, ‘3D Touch’ pressure-sensitive display to enable quick actions across the OS, Live Photos and more. We’ve already seen an early hands on with the iPhone 6s thanks to an early delivery but now the official tech reviews are live.

So what’s the verdict? We’ve rounded up the highlights below from those lucky enough to get the phones early …

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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we thought it was time to look at the Komplete Kontrol S-series controller keyboards from the folks over at Native Instruments. While NI already offers a wealth of software powered controller gear for DJs, the stellar Maschine systems and more, the Kontrol keyboards bring deep hardware integration for the company’s best-in class software instruments/effects into a more familiar form factor then ever before.

We have spent some hands on time with the Kontrol S49 model alongside Komplete Ultimate 10, the latest version of the company’s flagship software bundle. It is time to see how deep and user friendly the hardware/software integration goes, how well it gets along with Logic Pro X, and whether or not it warrants the comparably steeper price tag…
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This wasn’t discussed much in the official announcement, but the iPad mini 4 is a pretty nice step above its predecessor with enhancements in a few key areas that definitely make a difference. The major things you need to know about with this iPad mostly falls in line with Apple’s upgrade patterns: thinner, lighter, faster. Though there are some performance differences at play as well…

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I’ve been interested in iBeacons — proximity-based wireless transmitters — ever since they were first announced by Apple alongside iOS 7 at WWDC in 2013. The idea of walking into a store, restaurant, or other public space and receiving (opt-in) wireless notifications based on proximity to a Bluetooth sensor struck me as a potentially compelling next step forward for both retailers and smartphone users. Even more exciting was the opportunity to receive incentives, such as coupons or free apps, just for being in proximity to the store. iBeacons have been added to Apple Stores, Macy’s, MLB baseball parks, and even bars, offering giveaways of free apps and magazines, as well as everything from locations of products to seating directions.

In a twist, iBeacons aren’t being sold directly by Apple. The name is being used across a variety of third-party products that meet an Apple specification, and sold by different companies throughout the world. When I heard that a European developer named Beaconic was dropping its prices on iBeacons to levels any small retailer could afford — around $107 for two “Power” beacons or $141 for four “Retail” beacons, each with an unlimited software license — I reached out to the company so I could see what the retailer and customer experience was like. Here’s what I learned…

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One of my absolute favorite Bluetooth speakers got a huge update today. The UE Boom 2 is an upgraded version of the iconic portable Bluetooth speaker from Logitech’s Ultimate Ears division. Originally released in 2013, the Boom set a new standard for Portable Bluetooth speakers with its “cupholder friendly” and colorful design, great acoustics, and iOS/Android apps.

In recent months UE has released a much bigger, more expensive MegaBoom and a much smaller, cheaper UE Roll. Both are waterproof and extremely rugged and if you’d had to have guessed, you’d be right in assuming the Boom would get these same features.

And it has. IPX 7 waterproofing means you can not only take it with you into the shower but you can drop the Boom 2 in the pool or bathtub without damage. It is also more powerful with a 100-foot wireless range, 15 hour battery life, and 25% louder and better sound than its predecessor. The UE Boom 2 also now includes a new tap control that allows you to start, pause and skip songs, without needing to have your phone in-hand.

I’ve been using the UE Boom 2 for the past week and I think this speaker is a big deal…
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If you don’t want to spend $50 for a case every time Apple announces a new device, you still have great options: cases with comparable quality are available for much less money if you do your research. One of the best brands for that is Poetic, maker of an Apple Watch stand we loved, and today the company has released brand new, sub-$20 iPhone 6s and 6s Plus cases called Revolution and Affinity.

They are both available to order now in anticipation of the new iPhone launch later this month. Here’s the rundown…
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Apple’s AirPlay wireless audio protocol didn’t really take off in standalone speakers, but that doesn’t mean every company has abandoned it. Moshi’s Spatia, which recently launched after first being unveiled at CES 2015, relies on AirPlay for wirelessly streaming and playing audio from iTunes and iOS devices. Spatia packs five dedicated drivers and two amplifiers behind a fabric speaker cover to deliver impressive sound within a standout design. AirPlay has some well-known benefits and issues, so is it worth investing $399 in a speaker that depends on Apple’s sometimes-shaky technology?
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By now, Nest’s story is quite well known: founder Tony Fadell left Apple after co-inventing the original iPod, founding Nest to re-imagine neglected home devices with modern designs and features. Nest started with the Nest Learning Thermostat, which made HVAC programming and remote management easy — really for the first time — then released the Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, and after acquiring Dropcam, the Nest Cam home security camera. Now owned by Google, Nest has closely followed Apple’s strategy of refined iteration upon past designs, releasing the Nest Learning Thermostat 2nd Gen and Nest Protect 2nd Gen as modestly but meaningfully tweaked sequels to address rough edges and omissions.

Yesterday, the company announced and released the Nest Learning Thermostat 3rd Gen ($249), which looks familiar at first glance. Still shaped like a metal-clad circle, Nest’s latest Thermostat is a hint thinner than its predecessors, yet sports a larger, higher-resolution screen that can optionally be used as an analog or digital clock. As a satisfied user of the 2nd Gen Thermostat for my home’s downstairs heating system, I bought the 3rd Gen Thermostat to replace the old control panel I had upstairs. Here are my thoughts on Nest’s latest product…

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I keep a box with around 20 iPad styluses next to my desk, so every time a new stylus arrives, I can easily compare it against its predecessors and rivals. There hasn’t been much functional innovation in the category for a couple of years, but stylus form factors, batteries, and buttons have changed, generally getting simpler and smaller after each generation. Even so, Adonit’s new Jot Dash ($50) surprised me. It comes less than 6 months after the release of Jot Script 2 (reviewed here), but looks and feels a lot different from its predecessor. Jot Script 2 costs $25 more, feels fairly thick, and uses Bluetooth 4 for (somewhat iffy) palm rejection. Jot Dash cuts both its price and size by dropping the Bluetooth hardware, while keeping the 1.9mm fine writing tip that made Script special.

Why would Adonit simplify its prior electronic styluses by removing Bluetooth? Perhaps because relatively few developers have been willing to add Bluetooth stylus support to their apps. Today, a stylus would be considered to have “good” software support if 30 of the 1.5 million iOS apps included hooks for its special features; Jot Script 2 lists just under 20 fully supported apps. So, like the $60 Lynktec Rechargeable Apex I recently reviewed, Jot Dash doesn’t require special software support — it has a simpler feature set that works with all apps and all iPads, including the iPad Air 2. It similarly includes a rechargeable battery, which gets topped off with any available USB port. The differences are the $10 lower price, and the fact that it feels a lot more like a standard-sized pen…

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Belkin’s three latest products in its Wemo line of Wi-Fi connected, smartphone-controlled products for the home include a white bulb starter kit, a versatile strip light, and garden lights for outdoor use. The last two are both tunable to thousands of colors and all three connect to Belkin’s Wemo ecosystem and companion app for remote control from your iPhone. All three of the products are through a partnership with OSRAM SYLVANIA, who provided the lightning products that Belkin has integrated into its Wemo platform. We took the three new starter kits for a test drive to get a second look at the growing Wemo platform and see if they are worth the investment before support for Apple’s HomeKit…

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A lot of Apple Watch owners who splashed out on a nice charging stand must have been swearing at Apple when watchOS 2 was announced. Most existing charging stands out there position the watch vertically, which was the obvious thing to do at the time – but then along came watchOS 2, with Nightstand mode one of its headline features.

Nightstand mode allows the watch to serve as a bedside clock while charging – but only when on its side, with the buttons on top. Bad news for anyone who already laid out the cash for a vertical stand, and worse news for manufacturers whose stock was effectively rendered obsolete overnight.

For those who haven’t yet bought a stand, the good news is that manufacturers have been quick to respond. Zac Hall reviewed Spigen’s low-cost Apple Watch Night Stand, and now FŪZ Designs has launched a similarly-priced alternative in the form of the FŪZ Dock for Apple Watch … 
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Email apps are dime-a-dozen these days, and every single one claims it brings some incredible new tool to the table that will change the way you do email forever. Usually this just means you can attach images from Dropbox or some other otherwise unremarkable feature.

Geronimo is the latest in a long line of email clients for the iPhone, but unlike many others, it actually does manage to introduce a new management paradigm to the decades-old communication platform. Keep reading for details on its creative new inbox view and gesture-based management message management system.

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