9to5Mac Reviews

While no one has managed to match the magic of AirPods in the almost two-year period since they hit the market, there is one Apple-endorsed pair of wireless earbuds that arguably fits the slot where theoretical AirPods Pro could exist.

Bose SoundSport Free Wireless are truly wireless, offer 5-hour battery, and include a protective charging case like Apple AirPods. SoundSport Free Wireless also adds water resistance with an IPX4 rating, in-ear sport tips for delivering louder sound and natural noise cancellation, and a higher retail price.

Bose hasn’t quite captured the wireless-without-compromise balance that Apple struck two years ago, but SoundSport Free Wireless includes a few significant features that may be worth the trade-off with AirPods in some situations.

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The Twelve South Journal for MacBook Air and Pro was launched earlier this week as a kind of updated version of the company’s much-loved BookBook case. Both models are designed for the current MacBook range with USB-C ports. The 13-inch is suitable for the MacBook Air or Pro, while the 15-inch is designed for the larger MacBook Pro.

We first looked at the BookBook case back in 2011. The one we looked at then was for the MacBook, but Twelve South offered them for all MacBook models – I even had one for my 17-inch MacBook Pro – before adding iPad and iPhone versions.

The BookBook combined three features …

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AmpliFi announced its new mesh WiFi solution last month with the headline feature of a two-minute set up process. AmpliFi Instant also comes with a built-in touchscreen display like its popular predecessor, the AmpliFi HD. Read on for our full review of this great mesh router option.

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Started by three former Mophie executives, Nimble is a new company taking a fresh approach on making accessories like power banks and wireless chargers. With the mantra, “Tech for Good” Nimble thinks users should know where products come from, how they are made, and the impact they have on the environment.

We recently got to test out Nimble’s full lineup of thoughtful new accessories, read on for our full review.

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We’ve previously taken a look at iOttie’s iON wireless charging lineup, and now we’ve gotten a chance to test out the latest offering in the iON series. The iON Wireless Stand Charger comes with the same sharp design as its siblings and features support for wirelessly charging in both portrait and landscape mode. It’s also compatible with everything from iPhone 8 up to iPhone XS Max.

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If you’re looking for a sleeve to protect your MacBook Pro inside a bag, or just when carrying it around on its own, you have plenty of options, starting from around ten bucks.

Materials include felt, neoprene and polyurethane. But if you want a real luxury look and feel, there’s no substitute for leather.

If money’s no object, you could opt for Apple’s own Leather Sleeve. But despite its $199 price-tag for the 15-inch version, our review found that it’s still not a perfect option, with two problems …

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As you’d expect of an Apple-focused tech writer, I do have one or two pieces of Apple kit. The current tally comprises my 15-inch MacBook Pro, Apple Thunderbolt Display, 11-inch MacBook Air (only really kept as an emergency backup these days), 10.5-inch iPad Pro, iPhone X, Apple Watch Series 4 (as of later today) and three HomePods.

But there’s one Apple product I dismissed as soon as I tried it: AirPods. That’s not to say I hate them. I love the idea of something that portable. I adore the pairing system. The battery-life is great. There’s a lot to love about them. But not, to my ears, the audio quality …

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Most MacBook stands on the market fall into one of the few aluminum-based styles that have become commonplace. That’s why we jumped at the chance to go hands-on with Yohann’s MacBook and MacBook Pro Stand that breaks the mold with both its material choice and striking design. Follow along for a closer look at this beautiful way to elevate your MacBook.

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Standing desks are rapidly gaining in popularity as concern grows about the health impacts of spending long periods sitting down. Apple CEO Tim Cook has even described sitting as ‘the new cancer,’ with all Apple Park employees getting height-adjustable sit-stand desks.

We’ve reviewed a few different products, from full-on sit-stand desks to a simple conversion option for laptop users. Flexispot has gone one step further with a couple of its products, however, combining a desk with an exercise cycle …

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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…

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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.

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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 …

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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…

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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 …

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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) …

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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 …

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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 …

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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?
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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 …

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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 …

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