There is no shortage of multiport USB-C chargers with 140W or higher output, but Ugreen’s latest Nexode Pro 160W stands out with its built-in customizable display, compact design (for the power it can deliver), and ability to charge up to four devices at once.
As if that’s not enough, the charger even packs Wi-Fi connectivity and supports firmware updates — features I never expected to talk about in a power adapter.
November 4, 1997: Apple unveils its plan to open small “store within a store” areas inside CompUSA outlets around the United States. Apple-trained employees will staff these mini-stores and sing the praises of the Mac and other Apple products.
The move gives Cupertino more control over the way its products are displayed and demoed to consumers. While ultimately disappointing, Apple’s CompUSA experiment paves the way for the flagship Apple Stores that will launch four years later and become the world’s most profitable retail outlets.
The first iOS 27.3 developer beta, which Apple released Tuesday, brings lots of big changes to the iPhone.
Some of the new stuff — like the redesigned Health app and the Apple Watch’s Audio Intelligence features (which work with watchOS 27.3 beta 1, also out now) — we’ve heard about before. But other additions come out of the blue. And Siri AI takes another step toward greatness as Apple ramps up its capabilities.
Here’s everything new in the iOS 27.3 beta (and the related releases, iPadOS 27.3 and watchOS 27.3).
November 3, 2017: Apple releases the iPhone X, a sleek device with a futuristic feature called Face ID. The innovative biometric security system lets a user unlock the iPhone X just by looking at it.
Powered by the iPhone X’s new TrueDepth camera system, Face ID also lets users authenticate and pay using their devices. The technology offers a great leap forward over the fingerprint scanner in previous iPhones. It makes using iPhone X feel incredibly seamless.
November 2, 2012: The first iPad mini goes on sale, shrinking both the size and the price tag of Apple’s groundbreaking tablet computer.
With a reduced screen size of 7.9 inches – instead of the then-standard 9.7 inches – the original iPad mini is the fifth iPad to be released by Apple. Critics hail Apple’s most affordable iPad ever, although some people complain about the tablet’s lack of a Retina display.
★★★★★
Don’t let the modest appearance of the HomePod mini 2 fool you. The audio quality is excellent for a speaker in this price range and size. It’s even better than its predecessor. And the speaker is useful for more than music or podcasts. It really is smart — though not as clever as it will be after the arrival of a future software update that will bring support for Siri AI.
As a longtime HomePod mini user, here’s what it’s like using the second-generation version.
November 1, 2007: Six months after Steve Jobs showed it off, the original iPhone becomes Time magazine’s “invention of the year.”
The iPhone stands out from the rest of 2007’s gadget pack, which includes the Nikon Coolpix S51c digital camera, the Netgear SPH200W Wi-Fi Phone and the Samsung P2 music player. Remember those? (Yeah, we thought not.)
October 31, 2005: Less than three weeks after launching video downloads with iTunes 6, Apple reveals that it has already sold more than 1 million music videos.
Apple’s dive into the online digital video market — with 2,000 music videos, Pixar short films and a selection of hit TV shows for $1.99 — looks like the logical next step after selling individual songs on iTunes. Passing the 1 million download benchmark so quickly suggests the plan is a roaring success.
Apple’s iPhone Duo uses Touch ID instead of Face ID to unlock the device. The fingerprint scanner isn’t as convenient as having the handset simply recognize your face, but there are actually three ways to speed up the process.
One involves cutting out a step in signing in with Touch ID, while another lets you skip Touch ID entirely. The third is… odd.
October 30, 2009: Two years after launching in the United States, the iPhone finally goes on sale in China, giving Apple a chance to reach the world’s largest market.
Regulatory hurdles previously blocked Apple’s access to China. With those problems solved, Apple offers the iPhone 3GS to the country’s 1.3 billion people, most of whom do not yet own smartphones.
Apple’s latest little smart speaker is now available to buy in person. The HomePod mini 2 reached store shelves on Friday, giving customers their first chance to pick it up since the announcement a few weeks ago.
The new model builds on the success of the original HomePod mini, which became a popular option for people who wanted Apple’s smart-speaker experience without paying for the full-size HomePod. The sequel brings a new generation of hardware while retaining the compact design that made the original so appealing.
★★★★☆
The Obsbot Tiny 3 is a small webcam with a sensor as large as the one in the iPhone 17 Pro’s main camera. And, frankly, it delivers a ridiculous leap in image quality over standard webcams.
I spend a lot of time in online meetings — a couple of hours every other day. While I never paid much attention to image quality, I knew that my Creative 4K webcam was not really up to the task. So I tried the Obsbot Tiny 3. It’s great, but at $349, it costs a lot more than a regular webcam. Is it really worth it?
October 29, 2012: Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president of iOS software, is fired from the company after the disastrous Apple Maps launch. After Forstall’s ouster, Apple divvies up the roles he previously handled among other high-level execs.
Design chief Jony Ive assumes leadership of the Human Interface team. Craig Federighi becomes head of iOS software. Eddy Cue takes control of Maps and Siri. And Bob Mansfield “unretires” to lead a new technology group.
Apple just added a long-overdue feature to the HomePod: You can finally set it to be the default speaker for your Mac.
Previously, you could send audio from a Mac to the smart speaker over AirPlay, but the connection was temporary. No longer — the HomePod can be the computer’s default speaker with a persistent connection.
Here’s how to set it up.
The MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display just announced by Apple will be remembered for many years… for good or ill. Users will undoubtedly love the beautiful OLED display and the lighter weight, but only time will tell whether its touchscreen will catch on — there’s a great deal of pre-launch resistance to a touch-enabled Mac.
The device is thinner and lighter, and includes a Dynamic Island in place of the screen notch and even a glowing Apple logo. But the eye-watering price is also likely to draw criticism.
Apple is very upbeat about the device, of course.
“The new MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is a monumental step forward for the Mac,” said Johny Srouji, Apple’s chief hardware officer, in a statement. “PROLED XDR is the world’s best laptop display. It pairs state-of-the-art tandem OLED technology with advanced algorithms in our display engine to deliver the kind of visual fidelity pros have been dreaming of. And with the magic of Touch coming to MacBook Pro, combined with the game-changing performance of M5 Pro and M5 Max, we’ve created a whole new way for pros to interact with their content, taking their workflows to a completely new level. The new MacBook Pro is the result of the deep integration between Apple silicon, hardware, and software, and there’s simply nothing else like it.”
October 28, 2012: More than a year after Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ death, the luxury yacht he commissioned launches from a shipyard in North Holland. It’s the world’s first look at Venus, the distinctive-looking yacht that was one of Jobs’ big personal projects during his final years.
As Jobs told biographer Walter Isaacson, “I have to keep going on it. If I don’t, it’s an admission that I’m about to die.”
Sadly, Jobs never lived to see the finished vessel.
October 27, 1999: Dell Computer overtakes Apple in the educational market, stealing Cupertino’s crown as the top company selling computers to U.S. schools. Dell’s cheap Windows PCs make sense for schools looking to buy computers without breaking the bank.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, still struggling to rebuild Apple after its near-collapse in the mid-1990s, faces heavy criticism for ignoring one of the company’s strongest markets.
★★★★☆
The Jsaux VoidJoy SkyLark S1 Pro game controller packs an impressive assortment of features into a portable and lightweight design.
A highlight is extreme flexibility. It connects to Mac, iPad and iPhone, as well as a Nintendo Switch 2, Android or PC. And connections can use Bluetooth, 2.4GHz wireless or USB.
I put the very affordable gamepad to the test and came away generally pleased. Here’s what I like and what I don’t.
Apple just dropped the basic version of its new M6 processor into the entry-level version of the MacBook Pro. This is a traditional “chip-and-ship” upgrade, not a redesign, so the faster processor is the major change to the notebook.
“The 14-inch MacBook Pro is the pro laptop of choice for a wide range of users — from college students, to business professionals across every industry, to multidisciplinary creators doing it all on one device,” said Shelly Goldberg, Apple’s vice president of hardware engineering, in a statement on Tuesday. “With the powerful M6 chip, we’re taking performance to the next level, with a boost in CPU speed and graphics and even more powerful capabilities for on-device AI. With its amazing battery life, remarkable Liquid Retina XDR display, and even faster connectivity, the new 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 delivers a fantastic combination of performance, capability, and value.”
With the iPad mini 8, Apple is giving its smallest iPad its biggest upgrade ever. It not only gets a new display technology, but also a faster chip, a thinner chassis and updated connectivity options.
But all these upgrades also come with a $100 higher starting price. So, does the OLED iPad Mini 8 come with enough changes to justify this price hike?
iOS 27.2 is here as the first major update for iOS 27. Released Monday, iOS 27.2 addresses a few annoying bugs while also adding several new features and improvements to the iPhone experience.
Here’s everything you can try after updating to iOS 27.2.
October 26, 2004: Apple debuts the iPod Photo, a device capable of putting not just 15,000 songs in your pocket, but also 25,000 photographs. The new device “lets you take your entire music and photo library with you wherever you go,” Apple says.
It is the first iPod to offer a color screen and the ability to display digital images and album cover art. The iPod Photo represents a big step forward in the functionality of Apple’s iconic music player.
Apple introduced the first iPad mini with a larger OLED display on Monday. The upgrade delivers better contrast and richer colors than the LCD screen in the previous model.
In addition, the redesigned tablet features a faster A20 processor, improved water and dust protection … and a considerable jump in price.
“iPad mini is beloved for its fantastic portability, performance, and display by a wide range of users, from creators and small business owners to doctors, field service workers, and gamers,” said Dave Pakula, Apple’s vice president of hardware engineering, in a press release. “With a remarkably thinner and lighter design, a stunning new OLED display, the incredibly powerful A20 Pro, and water and dust resistance, the new iPad mini is a huge leap forward for users who love having the full iPad experience in the palm of their hand.”
October 25, 2003: Mac OS X Panther arrives on Macintosh computers, bringing several useful new features and making Apple’s Safari web browser the default for the first time.
The new Exposé feature in Panther (aka Mac OS X version 10.3) lets Mac users instantly view all open windows at once. And the new iChat AV allows people to talk with audio and video as well as text.
We’re apparently just days away from Apple launching a touchscreen-enabled MacBook Pro. And that’s not the only major change — this is the most significant revamp of the MacBook line since 2021. It’ll set the pattern for macOS models for years to come.
Here are five reasons to get excited about the touchscreen MacBook Pro expected to launch at Apple’s “Pro and Tell” event on Wednesday.
