For the past few months, I’ve been using the NordicTrack 2950 treadmill and it’s the first connected treadmill that I actually enjoy using. After using a Peloton Bike for most of 2020, I was excited to be able to experience a connected treadmill but also experience what iFit brings to the table.
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The Smartta SliderMini 2 is a portable, motorized, iPhone-controlled version of a piece of film-making kit that is usually none of those things. It can be used with anything from an iPhone to a mirrorless camera to a DSLR …
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Nanoleaf debuted its latest smart light panel system this year with Shapes. The first option was Shapes – Hexagons and Triangles and Mini Triangles have arrived as well. As you’d hope, all three of the Nanoleaf Shapes light panels work together to make a flexible system that lets you get really creative. And just like Nanoleaf’s other products, Shapes are HomeKit compatible with no hub needed.
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Zendure likes its beefy power banks, like the 100W one I tested back in the summer, but the Zendure SuperBase 500 has got to be the ultimate one. As the name suggests, it offers a huge 500Wh of capacity (518Wh to be precise). It provides both AC and DC power and can cope with up to a massive 600 watts of simultaneous output.
Of course, that kind of capacity requires a huge battery, so this thing isn’t small or light– but it is a fair bit smaller than the competition …
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One of the headline features of the two iPhone 12 Pro models is the LiDAR scanner. Night mode Portrait photos had already impressed me, and an app to create 3D scans of your home has now done so, too.
Canvas is an iPhone app that you can use to scan your rooms, and then pay a modest fee to have them turned into professional CAD models that can be used to help remodel your home. You may have spotted that it was featured in the iPhone 12 launch…
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When I saw that Flic HomeKit-compatible smart buttons were available, I had to take them for a spin.
Expand Expanding CloseSecond-generation Flic smart home buttons now have HomeKit compatibility, along with multi-color LEDs to indicate the status of the device they control.
The original Flic buttons from Shortcut Labs could control a reasonably wide range of devices — including Ikea, Nanoleaf, Lifx, Lightify, Philips Hue, Sonos, Spotify, and WeMo — but HomeKit support now makes them suitable for a much wider range of smart home products…
One of the industries I started paying attention to more in 2020 was the world of robot vacuums. After picking up a Neato D7 and Roborock S6 Max earlier this year, I’ve decided that I am finished with regular vacuum cleaners, and automated ones are the future for my family. Since August, I’ve been testing out the 360 S9 Robot acuum, so read on to see how it compares to the ones I already use.
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Has the transition from Intel to Apple silicon on the Mac surpassed all expectations? Watch our hands-on video as we discuss what makes Apple’s M1 MacBooks so special in our MacBook Air and MacBook Pro review.
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In my recent Top Features video walkthrough showcasing the iPhone 12, I didn’t yet have the iPhone 12 mini in hand, so I was only able to provide commentary on Apple’s large 6.1-inch baseline smartphone. Now that the iPhone 12 mini has arrived, I’ve been able to examine both smartphones in light of Apple’s entire flagship lineup. Watch our hands-on iPhone 12 & 12 mini review video for the details.
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Today Apple sells three Apple Watch models — the three-year-old Apple Watch Series 3 starting at $199, and the just-released Apple Watch SE and Apple Watch Series 6 models, which start at $279 and $399 respectively.
With these options in mind, which Apple Watch should you buy? Should you go all out and spring for the Apple Watch Series 6, or should you take the more cost-conscious route with the Series 3 or SE? Watch our hands-on video walkthrough as we explore Apple’s wearable lineup as it stands today.
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August has been a household name in the smart lock industry for many years, serving as one of the most popular options for people who want the benefits of a smart lock without replacing their existing lock.
Over the summer, August unveiled its new Wi-Fi Smart Lock that is significantly smaller than its previous smart lock products and features integrated WiFi connectivity. There’s also HomeKit support, which is a must-have for any smart home accessory I use nowadays. Read on for more.
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When I deployed the 2020 MacBook Air to the teachers at my school earlier this year, it became immediately apparent that everything was better on this computer versus our previous ones except for one thing: the camera. For whatever reason, the 2020 MacBook Air webcam is considerably worse than the webcam on our old ones from 2017. Because our teachers were doing so much with virtual learning, I got several complaints, and I wanted a cheap option for teachers to upgrade their camera. We settled on the Papalook PA552, and it’s a great low-cost option for a webcam upgrade.
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If you follow my HomeKit Weekly series, you know that I am a sucker for anything I can make “smart.” In my never-ending quest to have an app for everything in my house, I now have a Bluetooth enabled toothbrush from Quip. I’ve been using Quip for a couple of years after I heard a podcast ad for them, and now every member of my house is using one of them. I recently got an email about a new ‘motor’ for their existing toothbrushes that adds Bluetooth support, so I jumped on to add it.
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My Apple Watch is so much a part of my life now that I don’t even notice I’m putting it on. The Withings ScanWatch is a very different type of smartwatch – which was why I thought it would be interesting to try one.
It’s a more sophisticated version of the Withings Steel, and is available in Europe now, but awaiting FDA clearance to go on sale in the US. It’s a predominantly analog watch, with a small digital display. And unlike the Apple Watch’s 1-2 day battery life, it claims a battery life of 30 days – with a further 20 days in reserve mode, where it switches off the digital display while continuing to tell the time and measure activity …
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I normally decline power-bank reviews on the grounds that, for the most part, when you’ve seen one, you’ve seen ’em all. The Zendure SuperTank Pro was an exception thanks to its ability to double the battery-life of a MacBook Pro, while the Chargeasap Flash 2 (just Flash from now on) is a rather neat travel solution more geared to iPhones, iPads, and – unusually – the Apple Watch.
That’s not to say that the Flash can’t power MacBooks too: it definitely can. It can output a total of 210W, which gives it the same ability as the Zendure to charge or power two MacBook Pros at the same time. But this one has a lower capacity, while its USP is an integral wireless charging pad that can charge not only an iPhone, but also an Apple Watch …
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TextSniper is a new Mac app I wish I’d had years ago. It takes text in a graphic or non-selectable PDF and turns it into actual text using Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Using it is as easy as taking a screengrab and then pasting.
One of the more annoying aspects of my work is when I need to quote some text that is provided in graphic form. Company statements on Twitter are a common example, where they get around the character limit by posting an image of the statement…
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SleepPhones are headphones specifically designed to be worn in bed. They were originally created for use by those who have difficulty falling asleep, so they can listen to white noise, rain sounds, or similar.
But my interest was rather different. I tend to go to sleep later than my girlfriend, and while I mostly read before sleep, I sometimes like to listen to podcasts or watch videos …
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PhraseExpress is a Mac app that does the same thing as TextExpander, which I reviewed back in 2017. Both apps can be thought of as autocorrect on steroids. You type a macro shortcut of your choice, and the app replaces it with a full block of text – with can be multiple paragraphs.
TextExpander has been a game-changer for me, but it’s a subscription app, something about which I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I do appreciate that recurring revenue is good for app developers, and increases the likelihood that an app will continue to be supported and improved. On the other, multiple app subscriptions can easily stack up to a hefty annual amount …
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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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Robot vacuums have been around for several years, but they’ve advanced in quality and intelligence quite a bit in recent years. My wife and I tried several lower-cost models years ago, but we weren’t impressed with their intelligence as they frequently miss items. They were suitable for midweek cleanups, but they weren’t good enough to get rid of your full-size vacuum cleaner. In the past year, I’ve added two Robo vacuums to our house. We have a Neato D7 on our main level that I picked up to test Siri Shortcuts. For the past few months, I’ve been testing the Roborock S6 MaxV in our upstairs, so I wanted to write a review to discuss the pros and cons of the product.
HomeKit doorbells are like unicorns. Mythical and make-believe, yet they still hold a place in our imagination. But what if they were real? HomeKit doorbells, not unicorns, that is. Turns out they do exist, and they’re as magical as any HomeKit enthusiast would expect. Especially if you’ve been waiting for years to get your hands on one.
Yobi B3 is the star of the HomeKit doorbell category. With an affordable price tag and a consumer-friendly design, Yobi is made to fill the massive gap left by Ring and other popular smart doorbells.
I have previously confessed to being a bagaholic. Show me a bag that is stylish, well-thought-out, and beautifully made, and I’ll be almost as happy as when discovering a new gadget. The Waterfield Muzetto I reviewed last year ticked all the boxes for me, so I was keen to try the company’s latest addition to its range: the Waterfield Outback Duo.
This is a slim laptop bag designed to reflect the fact that, for all the convergence we’ve seen, MacBooks and iPads remain distinct devices with their own strengths and weaknesses. That being the case, it’s not at all unusual for people to need to carry both …
I have absolutely no business reviewing the Livescribe Symphony digital pen. As regular readers of my iPad Pro Diary will know, I Do Not Do Writing. Or drawing. I haven’t handwritten anything substantive for about three decades. If I’m writing anything more than a few lines, I’ll use a keyboard. If it’s shorter, I’ll generally dictate to Siri.
I did eventually find a vague excuse to buy an Apple Pencil, but even that was a bit of a stretch and I still don’t use it for anything else. All of which doesn’t make me an obvious candidate for a digital pen designed for use with paper …
My inside dog became a part-time outside dog earlier this year when we completed our backyard fence. Apollo was over-the-moon happy to expand his playground, but as a dog owner I had mixed feelings. What if my dog dug a hole under the fence or one of the kids left the gate open and he escaped?
I’ve been testing the Fi smart dog collar for the last few months to help ease that anxiety. Fi is like an Apple Watch for dogs with features like location sharing, alerts for unexpected location changes, and even step tracking.
Fi relies on GPS and LTE-M to make sure your dog is safe, and the experience is managed from iPhone or Android. Here’s how Fi works.