9to5Mac Reviews

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

If you’re looking for the fastest SSD available for the Mac Pro, then this may be the solution for you. When paired with the right SSDs, the Sonnet M.2 4×4 PCIe Card produces speeds of the bonkers variety.

During benchmark tests with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test utility, I was getting write speeds in that easily surpassed 6,000 MB/s, and read speeds that eclipsed 7000 MB/s.

For comparison’s sake, Apple’s fastest 8 TB SSD produces speeds “only” up to 3400 MB/s, so this setup is capable of running circles around the Mac Pro’s fastest built-in SSD for less money. Watch our hands-on video review for the details.
Expand
Expanding
Close

I have a very strange memory. I can forget my wife’s dinner order when picking it up from a restaurant, but I can remember the most random details from years ago. One of those is knowing every router I’ve ever used. The first one was a Microsoft 802.11b router, followed by the classic WRTG54G, onto a Netgear 802.11n model, followed by two 802.11ac AirPort Extremes, and finally the previous generation Google Wifi. I recently got a chance to try out the new AmpliFi Alien router, so I was excited to put some of its features (including Wi-Fi 6 support on iPhone 11 Pro) to the test.
Expand
Expanding
Close

As a happy owner of a Promise Pegasus3 R6 external RAID enclosure, I was excited to try the new Promise Pegasus R4i internal RAID MPX Module, a unit that’s been specifically designed for the Mac Pro.

The Promise Pegasus R4i is a four-drive hardware RAID array that can easily slide into your Mac Pro thanks to its MPX form factor. Adding the R4i to your Mac Pro instantly gives you a ton of on-board storage via four 8TB drives set up by default in a RAID 5 configuration.

Does the Promise Pegasus R4i produce good performance results? Is it easy to install? Does it stay relatively quiet? How does it compare to a standalone Promise Pegasus? All of these questions and more are answered in our hands-on video review.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Earlier this week the highly-anticipated Mac Pro finally touched down on my desktop after several years of anticipation. In this initial hands-on video, I take a look at the top 2019 Mac Pro features and explain why even the base model Mac Pro might be the best system for you if expandability is at the top of your list.
Expand
Expanding
Close

I reviewed Woolnut’s previous-generation MacBook Pro Sleeve last year and concluded that it was at least as good as the official Apple one – better in a couple of ways – for half the price. The latest version, the MacBook Pro leather Folio, improves on the protection via a two-sided zip closure but costs more…

Expand
Expanding
Close

In this 16-inch MacBook Pro review, we discuss Apple’s new top-of-the-line successor to the now discontinued 15-inch model, headlined by its transition away from the maligned butterfly keyboard.

The 16-inch MacBook Pro bears a resemblance to the outgoing version, but along with the keyboard update, there are changes that make this year’s high-end MacBook Pro the most compelling portable Mac computer that Apple has released in years.

We already published our first-look video discussing the new 16-inch MacBook Pro’s top features. Today, after a solid few weeks of usage, we’re publishing our hands-on video review. Be sure to subscribe to 9to5Mac on YouTube for more videos, and read on for the details.
Expand
Expanding
Close

The Mac mini, while a great device, has lacked some essential I/O since the 2018 refresh. The SD card slot in particular has been missed on this latest-generation mini. Thankfully, Satechi has designed a sleek and functional USB-C Hub for the new Mac mini.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Ekster wasn’t on my radar until just about a month ago when I got to test out the company’s smart wallets and I’ve found myself very impressed with the design, build quality, and functionality of the offerings. Read on for our full review of Ekster’s smart wallets and what sets them apart from the rest of the market. And, yep, the company is also doing a Black Friday promotion with a 40% off deal.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Fuse first made a name for itself with a clever reel called the Side Winder to tame messy MacBook chargers/cables and offer a seamless user experience. Now the company has launched a fresh product lineup that covers every Apple device from iPhone and iPad chargers and Lightning cables to EarPods and Apple Watch, as well as USB-C MacBook chargers and even cables from other companies. Follow along for a look at all these handy cable tamers. And the company is also doing a 30% off launch/Black Friday promo.

Expand
Expanding
Close