Logitech’s Craft keyboard comes with one very neat extra — a knob hanging off the corner of its slim body. Called the Crown, this knob can control all kinds of things in different apps. Plus, it works as a handy brightness or volume knob in regular use.
This week on The CultCast: Why Apple’s making an iPhone Pro, a tech-packed cutting-edge phone that will showcase what Cupertino is capable of. Plus: Genius Bar jackpot! (Or, why Apple sometimes replaces your old, broken gear for a brand new model.) And stick around for a super-powerful electric long board, a HomeKit-enabled ceiling fan, and a pro-level keyboard case for your iPad Pro in an all-new Under Review.
Our thanks to Squarespace for supporting this episode. It’s simple to accept Apple Pay and sell your wares with your very own Squarespace.com website. Enter offer code “CultCast” at checkout to get 10 percent off any hosting plan.
Welcome to Tech Travel Tips, a week of travel tips for vacationers. This week we’ll show you how to keep your devices safe while traveling, what apps to download before you go, what settings you should change before leaving the house and — kicking off the week — the best travel gadgets to take with you. Let’s get started!
Update: A software update in September 2017 made Logitech Circle 2 HomeKit compatible.
Major upgrades to Logitech’s Circle cam — including HomeKit compatibility coming “soon” through a software update — turn it from a cute desktop camera into a bona fide indoor-outdoor security device.
Circle 2 packs a 180 degree wide-angle lens and brings 1080p HD streaming, night vision and two-way talk and listen. The updates come in the form of new, better power options and a handful of accessories that make the Circle 2 more useful in more environments than its somewhat limited predecessor.
Good cable management is harder than it looks. I should know: Both my home office and my work office are a mess of wires, despite trying to sort things out numerous times.
Unlike my failed attempts, this week’s three iSetups submissions get it down to a fine art. iSetups is our new show that highlights the best Apple-centric setups submitted by our viewers. (You’ll also get plenty of tips and tricks for how you can improve your own setup.)
Logitech’s neat little Pop buttons, which bring simple controls to your smart home devices, now work with Apple HomeKit.
The latest Pop kit, available exclusively from the Apple store and Apple.com, comes with the bridge device you’ll need to integrate Pop buttons into your network.
Whether you received the gifts you wanted over the holidays, or had to return something and treat yourself, you’ve probably gotten the Apple gadgets you want by now. Take this time to accessorize the ones you’ve got.
We found cases, keyboards and more for this week’s roundup best Apple deals.
Look alive, everyone! November is finally here, and that means Black Friday is on the way. However, you won’t have to wait until the 26th to start saving. Now that Apple has unleashed its new tech lineup, prices are falling for iMacs, and refurbished Apple products are making a comeback. Logitech is even getting a headstart on Black Friday sales with an $80 discount on their premier gaming headphones.
There is virtually nothing you can’t buy on the internet, but finding the best tech at the lowest prices can take some major research. That’s why today we’re doing the work for you, and delivering this week’s best tech deals from around the web. Check it out.
SAN FRANCISCO — You might call Logitech’s latest peripherals the mice that didn’t roar. Or rather the mice that don’t click or swoosh or make that annoying ratcheting sound that triggers you to fantasize about strangling your fidgety-fingered co-worker.
This new breed of pointing device is as quiet as the proverbial church mouse, without sacrificing precision or tactile “click” — and apparently that’s a bigger deal than you might imagine.
Logitech’s awesome Create keyboard case is now available for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, and it’s everything you need on the move. In addition to a full backlit keyboard with function keys, there’s a space for your Apple Pencil and all-over protection for your iPad.
Micro Center comes out swinging this week with a pair of all-time lows on Apple devices (although you’ll need to find them at a store near you). Or, you could grab the best price we’ve ever seen for a new, unlocked iPhone 6s.
See these hot Apple deals and more in this week’s roundup of the best bargains on Apple gear.
While the anticipated MacBook Pro revamp is grabbing all the headlines, we’ve got an iMac deal that should be getting your attention.
Get the details on this hot buy, plus the lowest prices we’ve ever seen on a premium MacBook and a handy iPad accessory, in this week’s roundup of the best Apple deals.
Not one, not two, but three devices, all commanded by a single keyboard.
Three Bluetooth presets on one thoughtfully designed, battery operated, portable input device.
I’ve been using the Logitech K380 for a little while and I still can’t get my head around why someone would need to hook up a keyboard to three different devices at the same time. However, if you do, this keyboard is a no-brainer.
Logitech wants to help keep your home safe — and push devices like the Nest Cam out of it.
Its new Circle smart camera, which is being launched under the new Logi brand, delivers real-time HD video that lets you monitor your home remotely from an Android or iOS device.
The last universal remote we bought cost $20 from Walgreens. It was a big, ugly hunk of plastic, but it controlled the TV and VCR just fine.
These days, things have gotten a little more complicated. Now we have an HDTV, three set-top boxes, two game consoles and Sonos, as well a Nest thermostat and a bunch of Bluetooth-connected lightbulbs.
Logitech’s new Harmony Elite is a universal remote that controls all these devices and more. It’s price is listed at an eye-popping $350, but this is much more than a TV remote. It’s a smarthome hub for just about every connected device in your house, designed to give HomeKit and Siri a run for their money.
Wow, that was fast – Logitech, purveyor of fine Apple accessories for a long time, has just pulled the curtains from around its new Create Keyboard Case, made to work with the iPad Pro just announced this morning. The case is an alternative to Apple’s also just-announced Smart Cover.
Perhaps its even more telling that Logitech worked with Apple to get its new Create keyboard to market on day one; something that never happened in the past at Apple. If the mothership is helping third-party companies ahead of new products, consumers will ultimately win out with more day-one options for all their magical Apple gear.
SAN FRANCISCO — To make its mouse of the future, Logitech looked to the past. The MX Master, a reboot of a classic Logitech mouse that brings back a long-lost feature while adding significant modern upgrades, is perfect for the port-deficient new MacBook.
The MX Master resurrects the nifty scroll wheel that was a killer feature of the MX Revolution, which Logitech released in 2006. The Revolution’s clever scroll wheel seemed to shift gears on the fly, going from slow to speedy and letting you zip through long webpages and documents. The feature helped turned the Revolution into a hit, but the scroll wheel went away in subsequent Logitech mice, causing fans to weep for their loss when their beloved mouse finally crapped out.
The MX Master brings back the innovative scroll wheel with a vengeance.
Trying to find air for your tires in San Francisco can be a nightmare. Half the pumps are broken at any given time and if you do locate one that works, you'll need to feed it a bunch of quarters if you're not buying gas. All of that makes keeping your tires properly inflated a royal pain in the butt — unless you have your own source of pressurized air.
If you don't own or need a regular air compressor, the PowerStation PSX-2 is a great way to keep your tires pumped up. It's not lightweight, but the 20-pound rechargeable tool is still totally portable and will get your rubber ready for the road far more quickly than the typical 12-volt gadgets you plug into your cigarette lighter.
Oh, and did I mention it will also jump-start your car or motorycle when your battery's dead? And provide an emergency worklight and 12-volt DC outlet to charge your gadgets in a pinch? Yeah, it's super-useful in situations that otherwise might stress you out.
Costco members might find a PSX-2 in the automotive aisle for about $75; otherwise, Amazon's got a newer model PowerStation PSX-3 for $129. Buy one now, before you need it, and you (and your thankful neighbors) will find yourself leaning on this automotive lifesaver repeatedly. — Lewis Wallace
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac
If you’re looking for a good keyboard for your iPad Air 2, Logitech has just announced three new beauties, including a pair of sleek keyboard cases.
Many of us use a Bluetooth keyboard with our Mac or our iPad, but using the same keyboard with multiple devices can be a real pain in the neck, since Bluetooth doesn’t elegantly let you pair one accessory with multiple devices.
For a little while now, Logitech has been trying to massage away that pain with a series of keyboards that can switch between being paired with a Mac and iOS device, but Logitech’s new Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard K480 makes it easier than ever. And it has a built-in stand for your iPad or iPhone to boot.
An iPad case should:
The Logitech Hinge manages the first three of these, and were it not for the failure on point No. 4, it would be my new favorite case. As it is, the cool Logitech Hinge is my favorite case for using around the house.
Seven years after the Apple TV launch, Google has announced Android TV software that will work with hardware from companies like Sony and Logitech. But how does the current Apple TV stack up to the new Android TV platform?
Today’s video shows off key features of Google’s latest attempt at ruling the living room, including some advances that might spur Apple to innovate once again when it comes to television. For those interested in watching Apple TV on Android, this shift could mean more accessibility and competition in the streaming space.
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Logitech’s updated Ultrathin Keyboard Cover for iPad Air replaced its predecessor mere months after the original’s launch. The most obvious difference between the two is the flip-out hinge that joins the keyboard to the iPad like a cover to a book, but in reality the two devices are completely different.
Is the new one better? In one way yes. In others? Nope.
I’m writing this review on a regular, full-size USB keyboard plugged into the Mac. That should be a warning sign right there — after all, this is a review of an iPad keyboard case. But that’s not the whole story. For instance, the case part of the Moshi VersaKeyboard is fantastic — so good that I’ve been using it as my main iPad case since it turned up for testing.
They keyboard is good, too, with keys as responsive as those on Logitech’s Ultrathin keyboard covers. So what’s the problem? Why am I not typing this review on the Moshi? Size.