Reviews - Page 16

Anki has been making toys that use artificial intelligence for years now, starting with the Anki Overdrive set of racing cars and the interactive Cozmo toy robot, but this year the company launched its most ambitious product: Vector. Unlike Cozmo, Vector is no toy, and is instead positioned as a home robotic device. Vector adopts capabilities from Cozmo, but his functionality goes above and...

Mophie recently announced the launch of its largest battery pack yet, the Powerstation 3XL, which is designed for charging Apple's line of MacBook and MacBook Air devices. The Powerstation 3XL features a 26,000mAh capacity and 45 watts of power, making it ideal for charging devices that include the iPhone, iPad Pro, 12-inch MacBook, and new MacBook Air. As you might expect with a...

Nomad, a company that makes various cables, chargers, cases, and other accessories for Apple devices, recently came out with an updated version of its Base Station charger. While the original Base Station is designed to wirelessly charge two iPhones at once, the updated Apple Watch version is able to charge an iPhone and an Apple Watch. The Base Station Apple Watch Edition features a...

Since the iPhone X, 8, and 8 Plus introduced Qi wireless charging into Apple products for the first time last year, more and more users have begun hunting for the best wireless charging pad out there. We've detailed this topic in numerous posts over the past year, and in the end, many buying recommendations for Qi mats come down to support for Apple's 7.5W fast wireless charging and overall...

Lifeprint recently came out with its newest product, the Harry Potter Magic Photo and Video Printer, a Harry Potter-themed version of its standard Lifeprint photo printer that connects to the iPhone. The Harry Potter version of the Lifeprint printer is identical in function to the regular Lifeprint printer options, but it has a unique Harry Potter design and the branding is a clever way to...

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is home to a number of vehicle brands, including Dodge, Jeep, Ram, and of course Chrysler and Fiat. All of these brands include FCA's Uconnect infotainment system, the most recent version of which, version 4, began making its way into vehicles for the 2017 and 2018 model years. Vehicles with Uconnect 4 support both CarPlay and Android Auto, and I recently had an...

Apple's HomeKit platform has expanded to support a variety of device categories since its launch in 2014, now including lights, thermostats, ceiling fans, sprinklers, outlets, and humidifiers. Although close in style to humidifiers, one specific accessory missing from HomeKit has been an essential oil diffuser, and now connected smart home brand Vocolinc has introduced the FlowerBud Smart...

Ember first began selling its temperature control Travel Mug back in 2015, allowing customers to personally control the temperature of their favorite hot beverage from their smartphone, and keep the drink hot for as long as an hour when it wasn't sitting on a charging pad. Ember also sells the Ceramic Mug, which provides all of the same benefits of the Travel Mug but in a size and shape that's...

LaCie, Seagate's premium brand, today announced the launch of the new LaCie Portable SSD, a palm-sized storage device with up to 2TB of storage space. The new Portable SSD is one of LaCie's smallest and lightest SSD options, with the 1TB model measuring in at about three and a half inches long and just under three inches wide. It's pocketable at about 1/4 of an inch thick, and it easily fits...

As part of my continuing series of articles looking at how car manufacturers have integrated CarPlay into their infotainment systems, I've taken a look at the 2019 Acura RDX, the popular crossover SUV from Honda's luxury brand. Acura has been gradually rolling out CarPlay support across its lineup over the past few model years, and the new 2019 RDX is the first of this model to support the...

With the new Pure 2 EyeGuard Blue Light Glass Screen Protector, accessory company BodyGuardz is selling a screen protector that promises extreme impact shock absorption, along with the added bonus of blue light filtering for your eyes. For those unaware, many people face overexposure to blue light from displays used in their jobs, which has been shown to result in the damage of light-sensitive ...

This year marks the sixth anniversary of the first products launched by Philips Hue in October 2012, with an original system that came with three Hue bulbs and one bridge and was sold as an Apple Store exclusive. Over time, Philips Hue added HomeKit support after Apple introduced the software framework in 2014, and numerous new bulbs, lamps, lightstrips, and more have come out of Philips Lighting ...

Just prior to rebranding as Eve Systems to focus on HomeKit devices in late June, Elgato launched its Eve Aqua water controller, a HomeKit-enabled device that attaches to an outdoor water faucet to control and monitor water usage. While Eve Aqua can be used with any hose connection, it's primarily intended for use with sprinklers, which can be set to run automatically on a schedule for...

Kano, a company that makes a series of coding kits for children and those new to programming, recently released a $99 Harry Potter-themed kit complete with a programmable wand that's perfect for Harry Potter fans who want a fun and engaging way to learn some basic coding techniques. The Harry Potter Coding Kit is designed to let users build a wand and then program that wand with various...

At IFA Berlin in August, ZENS revealed three new Qi-compatible wireless chargers, including a Single Aluminum Wireless Charger, Dual Aluminum Wireless Charger, and Dual + Watch Wireless Charger. ZENS sent me the MFi certified Dual + Watch charger for the purpose of this review, and I've been using it as my main iPhone X and Apple Watch charging dock for the past week. The charger has a mat...

Earlier this year, Signify (formerly Philips) debuted a new range of outdoor Hue lighting products that are designed to bring the iPhone-controlled multi-colored lights that you're used to using inside to the outside. There are outdoor spotlights, wall lanterns, pathway lights, outdoor bulbs, and for accent lighting, the Hue White and Color Ambiance Outdoor Lightstrip. Measuring in at 80...

With Apple's AirPower still missing in action, accessory makers have started coming up with alternate solutions to allow the AirPods to charge using a Qi-based wireless charger. Hyper's HyperJuice Wireless Charger Adapter is one such solution, adding wireless charging support to the AirPods for $50. The HyperJuice Adapter, which is made from a white plastic to match the AirPods, snaps on to...

Nearly a year and half ago, OWC was one of the first companies to launch a Thunderbolt 3 dock, offering over a dozen ports of various types to support a variety of accessories. While I loved the sheer number of the ports offered on the original version of the dock, there were some shortcomings, including a lack of any 10 Gbps USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports and only 60 watts of charging power, which may not...

Insta360, the company that makes the Insta360 ONE 360-degree camera attachment sold at Apple retail stores, is today debuting its next-generation product, the upgraded and refined Insta360 ONE X. Compared to the previous-generation Insta360 ONE, the new Insta360 ONE X has a redesigned body, an upgraded camera that can record in 360 degrees at up to 5.7K resolution with impressive...

When the first iPhones launched with wireless charging capabilities, many of the first wireless charging accessories designed for the new devices were the plain, flat wireless charging pads. Now that companies have had time to innovate and come up with more efficient charging solutions, we're seeing more and more upright wireless charging stands, like iOttie's new iON Wireless Charging Stand. ...