Derek Wise

The Apple Watch Ultra has just started arriving in customers’ hands, and unlike previous Apple Watches, it has four exposed screw heads on the bottom of the device. I like taking a look inside my tech, whether to add a thermal pad to an M2 MacBook Air to improve performance or just to see what’s inside making the tech work. The moment I saw the screws on the bottom of the Apple Watch Ultra, I knew I wanted to take a peek inside. But I probably shouldn’t have …

Apple just expanded its self-service repair program to include M1 MacBook Air and MacBook Pros. You can get replacement screens, batteries, and even logic boards, but don’t expect to be able to upgrade your laptop, as you can only purchase the exact same main board that originally came with your device.

Apple announced yesterday that it would add replacement parts for its M1 MacBook Air and Pro laptops. Now, the store is back online after a brief period of maintenance, and now it offers replacement trackpads, displays, batteries, and more parts to fix your own computer.

The moment people started to get their hands on the M2 MacBook Air, overheating and thermal throttling were big topics of discussion. While the performance of the M2 Air is more than enough for most people using the laptop for general work, the existing cooling system can be augmented with a simple $13 change that will improve the MacBook’s performance during heavy and sustained workloads.

The M2 MacBook Air brings a totally refreshed design and new chip to Apple’s entry level laptop. But at an increased price with a slower SSD and possible overheating, is it worth it to choose the M2 Air over the cheaper M1 Air?

Following WWDC, Apple released the first developer betas for macOS Ventura, WatchOS 9, and iOS 16, but one unexpected release was a new beta firmware for AirPods. This is only the second time that a beta AirPods firmware has been released. Here’s how to give it a try (not that we would recommend it).

iOS 16 brings with it a much-improved dictation experience – one that lets you seamlessly switch between typing and speaking. I’ve already found it to be a massive improvement from iOS 15, but how does it compare to Google’s Pixel 6, which was unveiled last year with a new ‘assistant voice typing’ that brought similar hands-free typing and editing features?

iMessage is pretty great, there’s no denying that, but adding RCS support to the app would make a better user experience for everyone – iPhone users and Android users alike. While Apple seems unlikely to ever add support willingly, if Apple has the courage to put user experience just a bit ahead of monetary decisions, RCS would be the first step.

Apple has launched its self-service repair website, where you can order parts and tools for recent iPhones and access repair manuals. It’s a nice move to see, and the ability to buy original parts is something right-to-repair advocates have been asking for for a while, but some users seem disappointed by the limited offerings and see it as too little, too late. Let’s take a look at what’s there, what isn’t, and what it takes to get your iPhone fixed using genuine parts.

HomeKit’s ecosystem is fantastic, but the directly compatible devices can get expensive – especially if you already have incompatible devices at home that you need to replace. $25 for a smart plug, $40 for a door sensor – it really adds up quickly. There are plenty of other smart home devices available on Amazon, from $6 smart plugs to $25 cameras, outside the HomeKit ecosystem. Thankfully, many of these otherwise unsupported devices can be brought into HomeKit with the use of Homebridge software.

DockCase is back with its latest product, a USB-C M.2 SSD enclosure. The device packs some great SSD protection and monitoring features into a sleek metal and glass enclosure with a small screen to keep you updated on your SSD’s health. But are these features worth the $99 price (only $69 on Kickstarter), or are you better off looking elsewhere?

Amazon Echos are very common smart home devices. The smart speakers provide convenient access to music, control over smart home devices, and quick answers to questions – they can be quite helpful. But these devices are far from perfect, as illustrated by an Alexa device encouraging a ten-year-old to participate in the penny challenge, where you use a penny to touch the prongs of a plug connected to a wall outlet.

MKBHD is back once again for the 2021 smartphone awards. After the blind camera test last week, where the iPhone 13 Pro was beaten by the $399 Pixel 5a, he is back picking the best phone in nine different categories, ending with the overall ‘Phone of the Year.’

MKBHD is back again this year with another blind smartphone camera test. Putting the latest smartphones from all the major brands to the test, this year’s contenders include the iPhone 13 Pro, Pixel 6 Pro, and more.

In just the second round, the $1,000 iPhone 13 Pro was beaten by Google’s $399 Pixel 5a.