Reviews - page 2

Apple’s new flagship desktop display, the Studio Display XDR, is what you get out of a blender when you combine a mini-LED with the high adaptive refresh rate of a MacBook Pro and the 27-inch 5K screen size of the regular Studio Display. 

It’s a brilliant combination. Starting at $3,299, it’s significantly cheaper — and unfortunately a little smaller — than the Pro Display XDR, the $5,000-plus monitor it replaces. However, it supersedes its high-end predecessor in all other specs. Apple made incredibly smart choices about what to include and what to cut.

Ironically, now the $1,599 regular Studio Display is the bunk product in Apple’s monitor lineup. It misses out on the Studio Display XDR’s top new feature — 120 Hz Adaptive Sync. And it’s about twice as expensive as competing monitors from Asus, BenQ and ViewSonic. 

Now, the Studio Display XDR stands in a class of its own. And for, like, half as much money as Apple’s previous top monitor. 

The MacBook Neo exceeds all expectations and defies all logic. It’s a $599 computer that’s not slow. The cheap laptop sports a light aluminum unibody with exceptional fit and finish, along with a gorgeous, bright Retina display. It runs on an iPhone chip, yet it’s incredibly fast with unbelievable battery life.

The name itself, Neo, reminds you that this is not a computer made out of spare parts. It’s a bespoke industrial design with a brand-new display and feature set. That feature set excludes things that longtime members of the cult consider quintessential Mac features — a backlit keyboard, an ambient light sensor and a MagSafe connection.

Nonetheless, the MacBook Neo will be a lot of people’s first exposure to the Mac. I wanted to know what their experience will be like — and I think they’ll be very happy.

When my iPhone battery needs a quick boost, the Twelve South PowerCapsule is ready to keep it going for the rest of the day. It conveniently clings to the handset magnetically so no cable is needed.

As a bonus, the accessory looks great. It closely matches the look of my iPhone 17. And it fits easily in a pocket.

I tested the PowerCapsule in my home and on the go. Here’s how it stands up in real-world use.

The 11-inch Apple M1 iPad Air (5th generation) I used for the past few years was a great device — fast, light, capable and well-integrated into the Apple ecosystem. Yet after just a couple days with the 13-inch iPad Air powered by Apple’s M4 chip, I can say this trade-in for an upgrade isn’t just incremental. It’s the kind of shift that quietly changes the way I use a device.

The Espresso Lite 15 portable monitor includes a gorgeous LCD for work or entertainment when you’re away from your usual desk. It’s a more affordable option from a company previously known for premium screens, but it keeps up the quality.

It comes in a range of vibrant case color options, which really helps it stand out from its rivals. Plus, there’s Stand+, a brilliant ergonomic stand that can hold the 15.6-inch, 1080P LCD above your laptop.

I tested the Espresso Lite 15 in my home office and on the road, and came away quite pleased. Here’s why.

Apple: The First 50 Years by David Pogue is a comprehensive retelling of the most influential tech company in history and the people behind it. The book covers the early hobby projects of teenage Steve Wozniak to Apple Intelligence, and the lifetime’s worth of everything in between, in about 600 pages.

It’s just the right amount of detail and depth to tell the whole story of Apple’s rocketing rise to power, years of tumult and insanely great turnaround. It’s an easy and highly entertaining read. You don’t need a technical or nerdy background at all. And there are hundreds of full-color pictures. 

Apple: The First 50 Years is now the definitive all-encompassing book I would recommend for anyone interested in the company that changed the world … at least three separate times. 

The Belkin UltraCharge 3-in-1 Foldable Magnetic Charger quickly juices up your iPhone, plus it can power up your Apple Watch and AirPods at the same time. And with a folding design, it can stay on your desk or go on vacation.

I put the multidevice charger to the test in my home office. Here’s how it stood up in real-world use.

The Anker Nano Charger (45W, Smart Display, 180° Foldable) — that’s its actual name — is the smartest wall charger I’ve ever used. It recognizes my iPhone and iPad when I plug them in and even displays the device’s current battery level.

I can set it to quickly or slowly juice up my device, helping to protect its battery. Or order it to slow charge my handset overnight.

Here’s why I love Anker’s tiny new charger after testing it for several weeks.

I switch between apps on my Mac dozens of times every hour. For years, Command-Tab seemed good enough, but then I started using rcmd, a fantastic alternative app switcher for Mac.

This nifty piece of software completely changed how I move between apps on my Mac. It made the process faster, more precise, and far less disruptive to my workflow.

The Belkin iPhone Mount with MagSafe for Mac Desktops and Displays, despite what its lengthy product name may imply, is a simple and straightforward product that does one thing remarkably well. It mounts your iPhone to a desktop display with MagSafe.

It’s straightforward to set up; it’s easy to plop your phone on and pull it off; it’s well made and feels nice in the hand. It’s great for Continuity Camera. The Belkin iPhone Mount with… no, I’m not writing all that out again. The Belkin iPhone display thing is an easy recommendation.

The GameSir X5s is a great and affordable way to upgrade your mobile gaming. Your phone, whichever model you have, slides right in the middle, and suddenly you have console-quality physical controls. It’s lightweight, ideal for traveling, and comes with a simple plastic travel case. 

It even works with the Nintendo Switch — its ergonomic grips are far more comfortable than the flat Joy-Cons. There’s also a matching accessory, the FX5 cooler, that adds active cooling to your iPhone. It’s great for high-performance pro gaming over long periods of time. 

All in all, the GameSir X5s is a great way to take mobile gaming to the next level, whether you’re playing full 3D games or 40-year-old ROMs in Delta. 

The Belkin BoostCharge Power Bank 10K with Integrated Cable is an absolutely simple product that does one thing very well. It charges an iPhone or other device without the user needing to worry about a separate USB-C cable.

I tested it with my iPhone and iPad, looking for problems. Here’s what it’s like in real-world use.

The Ohsnap Mcon doesn’t just rethink the mobile gaming controller — it practically throws the old playbook in the trash, delivering one of the most flexible and genuinely portable ways to play on the market today.

Even better, you can easily use it with your iPhone, but also your iPad and Mac.

I spent many hours playing games with the innovative controller — here’s why I love it.

Stop connecting your Mac to TVs with a cumbersome cable. The Belkin ConnectAir Wireless HDMI Display Adapter saves you from needing to stretch a wire across your living room, classroom or conference room.

All it takes is plugging one component into the USB-C port on your Mac, iPad or iPhone and the other component into the HDMI port on any TV. Now you’re ready to watch a movie.

I put the new accessory to the test, including its promise of plug-and-play connectivity. Here’s how it performed.

In the crowded landscape of spy shows and movies, Apple TV’s Tehran cuts through the noise with a visceral intensity few titles can match. This Israeli thriller, which started airing season three on January 9, doesn’t just tell a spy story. It grabs you by the throat from the first frame and doesn’t let go until the credits roll.
For anyone who’s ever found themselves disappointed by the too-fast or too-slow pacing or predictable plotting of typical spy dramas, Tehran, now streaming season three (with a fourth on the way), offers a masterclass in sustained tension and genuine surprise. That makes it easy to forgive the subtitles, which most people will need for the Farsi (Persian) and Hebrew spoken on the show. 

The way I type on my Mac hasn’t changed in years. But then, I started using Wispr Flow — an AI-powered voice-to-text app for Mac. It has reshaped how I write on my Mac, making me more efficient and faster.
It’s not just about typing faster. Using your voice for typing also feels more natural in many cases. Here’s how Wispr Flow has changed how I write on my Mac, and why I can’t go back. 

Apple just launched the long-awaited new version of its AirTag. The upgraded tracking tag is easier to find, with much longer range when using either a Bluetooth or Ultra Wideband connection from your iPhone. It also includes a louder, shriller speaker.

I put the improvements in the AirTag (2nd generation) through real-world testing for this hands-on review.

Stop feeling frustrated that Apple Pencil works with iPad but not iPhone. The Tinymoose Pencil Pro Ultra supports Apple tablets and handsets.
Beyond iPhone support, the stylus offers iPad users palm rejection, zero lag, Scribble support, magnetic attachment to the tablet and more.
I tested the affordable accessory with both iPad and iPhone — here are the results.

The Blip file transfer app is a delightful utility that lets you move extremely large files and folders quickly across the internet — directly from your computer to somebody else’s.
With Blip, there’s no middleman uploading to and downloading the file from a cloud, and no pesky web app to sign into. It’s like beaming your files onto someone else’s computer.
It’s the easiest, most straightforward way to send someone large folders of files or complex projects from your Mac, iPhone, PC or Android device. And best of all, it’s totally free and secure. You can get it from blip.net.

With the ever-growing number of devices on my desk, a charging station has become a non-negotiable accessory. Instead of juggling multiple chargers, cables and adapters, a charging station can keep everything organized.

That’s where Acefast’s 6-in-1 80W foldable GaN charging station shines. Despite its compact size, it can charge up to six devices simultaneously, all while reducing the clutter and chaos on my desk. 

After the purported dimensions of the first folding iPhone leaked a few weeks ago, it didn’t take long for mockups to hit MakerWorld, a popular site for people with 3D printers to share their models. I got my hands on one of those models, and I have lots of thoughts. If the rumored folding iPhone looks anything like this, it’ll be weird.

For one thing, it’s almost as short as the original iPhone, but wider than the widest iPhone ever. Lots of design questions remain unanswered, too. Where will the volume buttons go, since there isn’t any room on the left side? Will it only have one speaker, like the iPhone Air? Will the two cameras arranged horizontally across the back mean the camera sensors are in landscape, not portrait?

I’ve been fiddling with a 3D model of the first folding iPhone all week. Here are my thoughts and observations.

The Kingston Dual Portable SSD brings up to 2TB of storage to anyone in the process of transitioning from the old USB-A to the smaller USB-C standard. It’s small enough to easily carry around, and fast enough to quickly handle large files.

I ran tests on the drive to see how the portable SSD fares in real-world use. Read on to see how well it performed.

Update: Anker renamed the Soundcore Work AI Voice Recorder reviewed below as Soundcore Work AI Note Taker to more directly reflect the main use of the product, the company said Tuesday. Its listings tend to put it down now as “note taker/voice recorder.” Soundcore also noted the problem I had with Find My functionality should be fixed now on production units. 

Original review: In an ecosystem where seamless integration matters most, the new Soundcore voice recorder and note taker arrives with a compelling proposition for Apple users. As this Soundcore Work AI Note Taker review finds, the coin-sized device promises to transform how iPhone and Mac users capture, transcribe and organize voice recordings.

After examining its features through an Apple-centric lens, here’s what you need to know about whether this $159.99 recorder deserves a spot in your productivity arsenal.

If you love YouTube but hate YouTube ads, Vinegar is the best Safari extension you can download. It can block YouTube ads on your iPhone and Mac and restores many native system features like playing videos in the background, picture-in-picture, and more.

YouTube ads are freaking insufferable. But if you don’t want to plunk down the dough for YouTube Premium (currently $13.99 per month), you can pay a one-time fee of just $1.99 to buy Vinegar and block YouTube ads on all your Apple devices.

If you ever watch YouTube, Vinegar is life-changing. Get it now on the App Store for iOS, iPadOS and macOS.

It’s the new year! I have three apps that’ll help your New Year resolutions, to make sure you don’t break your streak within the very first week. 

Whether you’re trying to exercise more, work more efficiently or change your daily habits, these three apps will help you make a better 2026. Apple Fitness+ is a truly excellent service that serves up slick, highly produced videos that will help you work out. Toggl Track can help you stay focused at work, with running timers you can tag with projects and native calendar integration. And Goal Streak Calendar can help you achieve something new or break a nasty old habit, with daily reminders and streaks.

Check out our list to see how you can transform your 2026 with just three apps.