★★★★☆
The new Soundcore Space A40 True-Wireless Noise Cancelling Earbuds came out Thursday alongside their sibling Space Q45 over-ear headphones.
Upon release, both products made a lot of noise about strong active noise cancellation (ANC) and massive battery life. And like the headphones, which I already reviewed, the earbuds don’t disappoint.
While their marquee qualities are strong ANC and lengthy play time, the A40 buds also sound good and feature lots of opportunities for audio customization.
Apple introduced its second Impact Accelerator class Thursday. It’s made up of leaders from 16 minority-owned businesses that work in environmental services. They’ll be trained and mentored to help grow the businesses, which may end up partnering with Apple.
And at the same time, they’ll advance “a shared goal of creating a greener world,” Apple said.
Tired of slumming it with just a regular ol’ expensive Apple Watch? Well, you could dress it up a bit if you fork over $15,000 for an Apple Watch case smothered in more than 400 diamonds.
I mean, you deserve a special treat now and again, don’t you? A company called Golden Concept thinks so.
TP-Link just flipped the switch on a new lineup of smart LED light strips and light bulbs, some of which you can use with HomeKit or other home-automation systems.
The main selling point here is budget-friendliness. Prices range from $25 to $50, so you won’t break the bank lighting up your space.
★★★★☆
With Thursday’s release of the new Soundcore Space Q45 Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones and sibling Space A40 earbuds, Soundcore began replacing its Life series of sound products. The company sent me both products to test. This review covers the Q45 cans (my A40 review will appear tomorrow).
I’ve spent a couple weeks with the Q45 over-ear, closed-back headphones. Soundcore pushes two main selling points: strong noise cancellation and long battery life. And with the Q45 headphones, the company has hit it out of the park on both counts.
And they sound good for the price, too.
Users who aren’t ready to to take the plunge into full home-automation system like HomeKit and related accessories have another option to make a dumb lock smarter.
SwitchBot recently launched a new version of SwitchBot Lock. The company said it’s the best way to make a door lock smart without refitting, so users can lock or unlock their door via devices like iPhone or Apple Watch.
Better yet, right now you can get 15% off on Amazon, or about $15 off the $100 price.
Known for camera-rig and lighting hardware, SmallRig released its new, portable Forevala W60 wireless microphone system this week.
That gives podcasters and other content creators a new option for quality audio on the go.
A new interactive website called Design the Next iPhone lets you have a laugh by making whatever monstrosity you want out of Apple’s market-leading handset, due for a major refresh with the iPhone 14 series on September 7.
And each time you make a new design, Apple CEO Tim Cook pops up with some encouraging marketing-speak.
Everybody knows a leather Apple Watch band is a timeless and elegant accessory, just as it has been for watches in general for decades. But not all leather bands are equal.
Laut, for example, offers its Prestige Leather Apple Watch Band made from premium Saffiano leather. It finishes your look in style.
And you can get it right now in the Cult of Mac Store for just $49.99.
Some people care deeply about cable management, with nary a cord to be seen in their computer setups. Others couldn’t care less about it, leaving wire-spaghetti all over the place. And folks in the middle want to do it right, but meh, maybe next week, and maybe only somewhat.
Today’s featured MacBook Pro and iPad Pro setup stakes out much of the ground described above. Cable management is in play, but it’s done in a way that drove some neatniks crazy while others applauded the controlled mayhem.
Steelseries, known for gaming headsets, has jumped into the desktop speakers pool with a big splash. Its new Arena line of desktop speakers is the company’s first product of that type.
And it includes what the company calls the world’s first 5.1 surround sound speakers you can run with a single USB connection to a Mac, PC, gaming console or TV.
This post on iPhone boot loops is brought to you by iToolab FixGo.
iPhones are justifiably well-known for reliability, but problems can come up. Sometimes malware’s the culprit. Other times a software update doesn’t end well and jams up your handset.
On those rare but incredibly frustrating occasions when your iPhone can’t get past the Apple logo and keeps rebooting — known as getting stuck in a “boot loop” — or freezes up for any reason, iToolab FixGo can help.
The Mac app can fix all kinds of operating-system problems with iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.
In the first trailer for upcoming docuseries Gutsy, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton take part in animated discussions with strong and accomplished women who inspire them.
The list of participants in the series, which premieres September 9 on Apple TV+, is truly varied. It includes famous names from different walks of life, including Kim Kardashian, Gloria Steinem and Jane Goodall.
This post on how to download YouTube videos is brought to you by YT Saver.
When you love to download videos, audio and playlists from YouTube and other popular websites, it helps to have a solid video downloader that can handle browsing, downloading, converting and securing content all in one place.
YT Saver Video Downloader does the trick, whether you use Mac or Windows. We’ll focus on Mac and show you how the video downloader and converter works.
Casetify, known for pop-culture imagery on its iPhone cases and other accessories, plans to mark the 35th birthday of classic game franchise Street Fighter with a slew of products featuring imagery from it.
The products will include iPhone 13 cases and MagSafe chargers, according to a new report.
Dell rolled out its new Dell Pro Webcam over the weekend, offering a less-expensive alternative to the UltraSharp 4K webcam it brought to market last year.
The new one shares some high-end features but also lets go of some others to get the price down.
Sometimes you see one thing that seems quietly radical about a computer setup, only to find out it’s full of even weirder tweaks.
Today’s featured setup is a good example. It hides a Mac mini behind a display. But in front of the display, a wildly split mechanical keyboard surrounds a Magic Trackpad turned backward — on purpose!
Apple pledged Monday to donate $10 to the National Park Foundation (NPF) for many Apple Pay purchases. If you buy via Apple Pay on apple.com, in the Apple Store app or at a U.S. Apple Store through August 28, you’re helping national parks.
Cupertino said it’s a way to celebrate 106 years of the U.S. National Park Service. And you can also enjoy special content and collections on Apple Maps, Apple Podcasts and more.
BenQ unveiled its new TH690ST short-throw 4LED projector Friday, calling it “the world’s first 4LED video party projector with preset game modes for bringing big entertainment to any gathering.”
You connect it to any gaming console or other video source with an HDMI cable to get the party started. Oh, and don’t forget to have a wall to project on.
Accessories maker Moft offered a new folding wallet Thursday that magnetically sticks to your iPhone 12 or 13, but also acts as a stand whenever you need one.
Carry your license and another card with your handset. Set the stand to take a video call or watch a YouTube video. What’s not to like?
Well, some folks might not like the two-card maximum, but that could work fine for others.
Imagine buying a massive new ultra-wide, curved monitor to display what you do on your Macs in style. But once you get it all set up, the monstrous thing won’t stop wobbling.
Today’s featured M1 MacBook Pro and Mac mini setup suffers just that problem, despite the use of a recommended monitor arm attached to a solid standing desk.
Check out the advice the user got and all the gear in play below.
Apple bought the popular music-recognition app Shazam, which can name any song you hear, in 2018. Friday marks the app’s 20th birthday. And this week it officially surpassed 70 billion song recognitions, Cupertino said.
That’s a lot of people in bars wondering what the tune is.
Ever wonder what song is the most “Shazamed” of all time? Well, Apple provided that nugget and many other factoids, and referred to a lot of interesting music you may want to check out.
Three new colors of Beats Fit Pro wireless earbuds — a collaboration between Beats and celebrity Kim Kardashian — went on sale at Apple online Tuesday and promptly sold out. But now you can get them on Amazon, too.
The three new “neutral” colors are designed to blend in more than most earphones. Following Tuesday’s launch at Apple.com/Kim, they went on sale Wednesday at select Apple Stores and resellers.
If you’re thinking of starting a podcast — better hurry up, every single person on earth has one, it seems — you need a good USB microphone.
And now you can get a good deal on a popular one, as Amazon has knocked 30% off the regular price of a Blue Yeti Nano USB Microphone.
That’s a savings of $30 on what was already a pretty affordable mic for podcasters and streamers.
Apple TV+ offered a first look at upcoming drama series Shantaram this week in the form of a photo of star Charlie Hunnam (Son of Anarchy) in character, plus a rundown of the cast and plot of the adventure-romance, set to premiere October 14.
And speaking of drama and adventure, the production ran into big trouble on the way to becoming a reality.