9to5Mac Reviews

Regular readers will know that I’m a sucker for wooden products. I’ll take hardwood flooring over any other surface, a real wood desk over glass, metal or anything else you can offer me. Decking over a lawn. And so on.

Over the years, I’ve tested quite a few wooden products, including a Mac dock, a number of iPhone cases, Watch charger, Airplay speaker, USB charger and even an iPad sleeve. So when I was offered the chance to try out a wooden keyboard and trackpad, no surprise that I accepted …

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It’s been a week since Apple announced the new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, and the early reviews are now in. While reviewers do express a few reservations along the way, the overwhelming tone is positive.

Phrases like ‘Apple pays off its future-of-computing promise’ and ‘the biggest step forward the category has made yet’ suggest that tech writers are finally taking seriously Apple’s claim that an iPad is for many a realistic replacement for a PC.

There is disagreement about just how far that claim stretches, and eyebrows raised over the all-in price of a device that makes little sense without a Smart Keyboard and Apple Pencil, but those are the only real reservations found …

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When Apple unveiled the 2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, I wasn’t so sure I was ready to go all-in on USB-C. I’m not against using dongles, but the idea of having to carry multiple around was not appealing.

After spending a week with the Satechi Type-C Pro Hub, it has quickly become a staple accessory for me. With its functionality, design, and construction, Satechi built a hub I would expect out of Apple.

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One of my complaints about HomeKit devices is that too many of them look like what father-of-the-iPod Tony Fadell once described as ‘ugly white plastic crap.’ My Philips Hue switches and motion sensors, for example, work well, but they are undoubtedly both white and plastic – and while I wouldn’t go so far as to call them ugly, they are certainly not beautiful.

This is an issue Elgato’s latest HomeKit offering aims to address. The Eve Degree is a standalone room thermometer capable of measuring both temperature and humidity, reporting it back to your iPhone.

With an anodized aluminum surround and black front, it aims to look rather more Apple-like than your average HomeKit accessory …

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Logitech has today announced the latest generation of its popular MX Master mice alongside an intriguing software feature called Flow. The MX Master and Anywhere 2S introduce a handful of hardware upgrades in a familiar package.

I was a huge fan of the previous generation models, so I was anxious to go hands-on with the latest rendition. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been able to spend some time using both new models and the Flow feature as a part of my daily routine. Full details on both devices as well as my thoughts on each can be found below.

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Autocorrect can be a mixed blessing. We’ve all experienced times where it’s a hindrance rather than a help, insisting on turning our perfectly valid words into something entirely unrelated – so much so that entire websites have been devoted to its alleged failings (even if most of them are made up).

But one of its real strengths is the ability to save typing effort. We can create our own abbreviations that then expand out into the full phrase or sentence. TextExpander is a cloud-based service that uses the same concept, but is, to borrow a phrase, insanely powerful …

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After the success of having partnered with multiple companies for its modular case system, OtterBox is ready to add another household brand to its roster. Available today, OtterBox is introducing mophie’s charge force battery technology to the uniVERSE case system.

I spent the past week with the new charge force battery and charge force adapter to see how well the two companies were able to integrate their products.

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Regular readers will know I’m a big fan of Scrivener, having used the app to write three novels, two novellas and a travel guide. But when I accidentally found myself working on a screenplay for a comedy series, I thought I’d try the industry-standard software for the job: Final Draft.

Final Draft comes highly recommended, used by all the top studios and praised by such screenwriting talents as Aaron Sorkin, James Cameron, JJ Abrams, Sofia Coppola and more. Ben Stiller said that ‘Final Draft is the only screenwriting software I have ever used, and it is the only one I ever will use.’

But priced at a hefty $250 for the Mac app and another $20 for the iPad companion app, it’s not a trivial investment for most of us. So what does it do to earn such praise and justify the cost … ?

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From 9to5Toys:

As soon as I saw FluidStance’s decks with beautiful designs, materials and a goal to bring motion to standing desks and other settings, I knew that I wanted to give them a try. For the last week I’ve been using two of the three models they offer, and without a doubt, I’m totally hooked.

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Just in time for spring adventures, Logitech’s Ultimate Ears has launched the latest addition to their speaker line, the Wonderboom. Gaining a reputation in previous years for their compact and well-designed speakers, UE’s Wonderboom is gunning to become the new no-fuss choice for portable speaker shoppers. We got to go hands-on with the company’s new pint-sized speaker offering.

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We’ve heard quite a lot about iBeacons over the years, but to date they don’t seem to have made much of an impact. We’ve seen adoption from a small number of high-profile brands, such as Condé Nast, Disney, Hudson’s Bay Company and SXSW, but it’s rare to see much sign of iBeacon presence even in major shopping centers in large cities.

Which is odd, when you consider the evidence of their value. One trial, back in 2014, found that they boosted purchase intent by twenty times. Another found a similar increase in product interaction, and found that users were much more likely to keep a retailer app installed if they received iBeacon notifications through it.

But it’s of course a chicken-and-egg problem: retailers are reluctant to invest much in a technology few consumers even know exists, and consumers don’t know about iBeacon technology because hardly anyone’s using it. It’s a particular stretch for small businesses to invest.

There are, though, a few companies aiming to allow even the smallest business, or non-profit, to begin using the technology. We looked at the Beaconic system some 18 months ago, and I’ve been playing with Live Beacon, a system which may be more appealing for reasons I’ll get to shortly …

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Bluetooth speakers are so ubiquitous that, to be honest, my eyes have a tendency to glaze over at the mention of yet another one. The Soundcast VG1, however, caught my attention because its earlier – and more expensive – Melody speaker got rave reviews.

The VG1 looked, on paper, to be the holy grail of highly-portable outdoor speakers, claiming good sound quality, decent volume, long battery-life and true IP67 waterproofing at a relatively affordable $150. The question was: could it deliver in practice … ?

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The ExoLens PRO system is set to take your photography to new levels thanks to its ZEISS optics. I went hands-on with the impressive wide-angle lens kit to see how the household name would improve my iPhone photography. Follow along after the break for side by side comparisons with and without the lens and how this kit works in real-life use.

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I’ve always liked the idea of using a battery case, but with a phone like the iPhone 7 Plus, a lack of battery life isn’t a problem that I encounter regularly enough to warrant the extra bulk. I also like the idea of a wallet case to help keep up with my driver’s license and credit cards, but with a phone as large as the iPhone 7 Plus, I find such a setup to be a tad unwieldy.

The folks over at Nomad have come up with a solution that seems to address both of my issues, and depending on your needs, it might be a worthwhile solution for you as well.

The company’s Bi-fold and Slim Leather Wallet give you a place to keep all of your credit cards, identification, and other necessary items in a standalone form factor. In other words, it’s a traditional wallet setup that’s completely independent of your iPhone. But the kicker here is that the Nomad wallets feature an integrated portable battery with a hideaway Lightning cable for charging your iPhone on the fly when you happen to need it.
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For the last few weeks I’ve been using jimmyCASE for iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 6/6s. This iPhone case has a unique mix of materials including mahogany, silicone, and high performance elastic that work well together both aesthetically and functionally. Keep reading after the break to learn more and why jimmyCASE is worth picking up.

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Life can be remarkably circular at times. Back in the day, people used Polaroid instant cameras to take a photo and then get an instant print. These days, we all have a camera in our pocket that allows us to instantly view our photos on a bright, hi-res screen – but people do sometimes still want instant prints, leading to the creation of Polaroid-style instant printers.

Polaroid make their mobile printer, the ZIP, at around $130. This is a thermal printer, meaning there’s no ink to worry about, printing instead onto special Zink paper. The Prynt uses the same technology and paper, but with an added twist: when using the app, people can view your prints as Live Photos …

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