The Satechi 4-Port USB-C Hub adds a quartet of useful USB-C ports to your Mac or iPad. The days of struggling along with too few ports are over — you can finally connect as many accessories to your computer as you need.
I put Satechi’s new hub through some real-world testing. Here’s how well it works.
The Twelve South StayGo mini helps remedy the limited number of ports on the iPad Pro and Air. The adapter takes the single USB-C port and converts it to USB-A, HDMI and a headphone jack.
It fits snugly to the tablet but comes with a cable so it can be easily connected to a Mac.
Accessories maker Hyper rolled out new HyperDrive 6-in-1 and 5-in-1 USB-C hubs today to expand what you can do with your 2021 24-inch iMac. And they look pretty good doing it, too.
The two new hubs don’t just add connectivity options with a variety of ports. They also clamp right onto the bottom of your iMac and feature faceplates in seven colors to match your machine.
Recently, power supplies purveyor Bluetti added five new charging products to its fleet — two new portable power stations, two “industry first” battery modules and a DC-charging tool that adds capacity to most of the company’s products.
And, with Bluetti Power Week running between August 20 and August 30, many of the company’s other products are deeply discounted. Plus, you can take advantage of some freebies.
Connectivity supplier Cable Matters rolled out two USB-C dual video adapters for your work-and-play video needs. The two USB-C video adapters offer 8K and dual 4K 60Hz resolution support for displays. In the case of Macs, that’s all 4K, but other users can go for 8K.
Accessories maker Twelve South has rolled out its new PlugBug Slim 20W USB-C charger. It’s a small but potent addition to the company’s charger lineup that could be particularly useful for travel and for those times when spacing is cramped around an electrical outlet.
Electronics powerhouse JVC jumps on the MagSafe bandwagon this week with an interesting new charger, the Wireless Power Bank. Its design and array of power outputs make it stand out.
Satechi, known for an array of iPad and iPhone accessories, has released a trio of GaN wall chargers to help you keep all your Apple devices powered up.
Following the release of its 12-port Thunderbolt 4 dock in June, Anker is now rolling out a new addition to the PowerExpand range, the PowerExpand 9-in-1 USB-C PD Dock. It keeps a slimmer profile than Anker’s beefier docks in the range, some with a 12 and 13 ports.
Australian outfit Chargeasap is back on crowdfunding site Indiegogo with new high-capacity power banks for charging gadgets on the go. The Flash Pro works for Android and the MagSafe-compatible Flash Pro Plus is designed for Mac.
Though cloud storage has made drive-based storage seem a little like an also-ran, local, portable, physical storage still has a place. So it’s good companies still try to improve it. TeamGroup has released three speedy new USB-3.2 flash drives, including one that carries the name “Extreme Speed.”
Anker’s new Apex Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station, available July 1, sports a familiar design but packs an usually high number of ports for the maker’s typical consumer wares — 12. They include a 90-watt power pass-through slot and legacy options.
You may be used to simply recording audio on your mobile device for those endless cat-video voiceovers of yours. But if you want clearer, more-focused audio for your content creation, a small microphone like Sennheiser’s new XS Lavmic will usually do a better job.
A significantly redesigned iPad mini 6 could drop its Lightning port in favor of USB-C, according to a new unconfirmed report. And a smaller Apple Pencil could be produced for it.
The tablet already drew quite a bit of attention because it’s expected to offer a nearly edge-to-edge screen, dumping the hefty bezels in the current version.
Plugable’s USBC-Vameter voltage and amperage meter shows how much power is moving through a USB-C connection. It helps users see what’s happening when their devices are charging… or not charging.
On Tuesday, Plugable released a new version of the tiny multi-meter with an easier-to-read OLED screen and other improvements.
Highly respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo can find no evidence that Apple plans to remove the iPhone’s Lightning port for charging and data transfers. It won‘t be replaced by USB-C. And a portless model isn’t coming, either.
A reliable source says Apple is considering stripping the Lightning port from future iPhone models and replacing it with … nothing. Hopefully, it’s not too late to stop this terrible, terrible idea.
A portless iPhone is possible. And there are even a few advantages. But the significant drawbacks make the idea something that should be dropped like a burning bag of poo.
Plugable decided to stand out in the crowded market for USB-C multiport adapters with a low-price offering. On Tuesday, it unveiled a 7-in-1 Hub that comes in at a significantly lower cost than many of its rivals.
Even so, it can connect to multiple legacy USB-A accessories, a external monitor and removable memory cards.
Intel unveiled the specs for Thunderbolt 4 on Wednesday without bringing dramatic changes to this connectivity standard built into most Macs. Still, any computer running the new version has to offer an upgraded set of specifications, including the ability to handle a pair of 4K monitors.
Update: Apple promised to build Thunderbolt 4 into future Macs. “We remain committed to the future of Thunderbolt and will support it in Macs with Apple silicon,” an Apple spokesperson told The Verge.
The Samsung T7 holds an amazing amount of data considering its svelte design. This Solid State Drive isn’t much bigger than a business card but holds up to 2TB. And it can be passed around between multiple computers — it’s compatible with Mac and iPad Pro, as well a wide variety of other devices.
I loaded up this recently-released SSD with a variety of files and put it through some real-world testing. Here’s how it stood up.
Adding Ethernet to your MacBook or iPad Pro is as simple as attaching the Plugable USB-C to Ethernet Adapter. This cuts your dependence on WiFi, instead bringing the security, reliability and speed of a wired connection.
I tested this very affordable and portable accessory, and bring you the results in this hands-on review.
The fourth-generation iPad Air will reportedly come with a USB-C connector instead of the Lightning connector of previous models, claims a Mac Otakara report, citing sources in the Chinese supply chain.
USB-C is a data and charging port that first landed on iPad with the iPad Pro in 2018. However, since then it has remained only on that series of iPads, rather than being adopted for other models. That could be about to change, however. At least, kind of.
Apple ditched Lightning for USC-B on the iPad Pro in 2018, but you shouldn’t expect a similar move for this year’s iPhone 12 refresh, according to an Apple leaker.
A Monday tweet by Fudge, aka @choco_bit, suggests that the iPhone 12 will come with a Lightning port. The reliable tipster says Apple will continue to use the proprietary Lightning until the iPhone goes all-in on wireless charging.
The Samsung T7 isn’t much bigger than a business card, but the portable Solid State Drive (SSD) is available in sizes up to 2TB. And USB-C brings compatibility with a wide variety of Apple computers, as well as other devices.
Designed to be used on the go, a solid aluminum cases makes it shock resistant from drops up to 2 meters.
Does your brand new MacBook Pro go into meltdown when it’s plugged into power? Do the fans spin up into a blast of white noise, while the heat makes your hands sweat as you type? Is your kernel\_task pegged using 100% of the CPU when you check things out in the Activity Monitor app?
If so, don’t worry — it’s not your Mac’s fault. It’s you. You’re charging it wrong.
Yes, if you plug your USB-C power cable into the left-hand side of your MacBook Pro, you might make it overheat.
