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As Nintendo’s ultra-popular Wii demonstrated back in 2006, adding motion sensors to a remote control can be fun — and dangerous for your TV when you start swinging the controller around during gameplay. Since the fourth-generation Apple TV supports games and its new Siri Remote includes motion sensors, Apple came up with its own safety solution: the Remote Loop, not surprisingly sold separately as a $13 accessory.

Our galleries below show what you can expect from the Remote Loop, including its packaging, the metal spikes it uses to grip the Siri Remote’s Lightning port, and the earlier Apple inspiration for its choice of fabrics….

Remote Loop’s most interesting feature is its metal tip. Similar in size and shape to a Lightning plug, it has two triangular spikes sticking out of its sides, retractable using buttons hidden on the edges of the plastic grip underneath. The spike idea originally debuted in Apple’s Dock Connectors a long time ago, but disappeared as Apple worked to shrink the size (and price) of the connector housings.

The back of the box shows the Remote Loop in white — probably for illustrative purposes — but it’s currently only available in black. Apple notes that it’s “Compatible with Siri Remote and Apple TV Remote,” indicating the different names for the new Apple TV’s remote in countries with and without Siri support. No instructions or warranty details are to be found in the box; the back points you to Apple’s web site for more information.

Beyond the Wii’s fabric remote strap, Apple’s inspiration for the Remote Loop was clearly the iPod touch Loop, a somewhat flimsy-feeling pack-in that enabled some fifth-generation iPod touches to be wrist-carried like cameras. The Remote Loop appears to be made from the same material, but it’s a little thicker, and more substantial-feeling thanks to the plastic and metal connector at the top. It clicks into place when connected to the Siri Remote, and doesn’t feel like it’s coming loose unless you press the release buttons inwards.

If the Wii controller provides any guidance, it shouldn’t be too long until we see rubber cases for the Siri Remote… oh, wait, they already exist (Griffin’s Survivor Play and Ozaki’s O!Coat), and sell for $20 each. Because of course they do.

More From This Author

Check out more of my editorials, How-To guides, and reviews for 9to5Mac here! I’ve covered a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users. I’ve recently discussed how to safely prepare and wipe your iPhone for resale or trade-in, and how to get the best iPhone trade-in price to help buy an iPhone 6s, amongst many other topics.

Filed under: Apple TV Tagged: Apple TV, Nintendo Wii, Remote Loop, Siri Remote

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What do you think? Discuss “Hands-on with Apple’s Remote Loop, the $13 HDTV protector for your Apple TV Siri Remote [Photos]” with our community.

It’s the very definition of a first world problem: you’re lazing on the couch watching Netflix on your iPad, your arms get tired from holding it and your attempts to balance it on your knees have not been overly successful. It’s this issue that led industrial designer Sean Kieley to develop the TStand.

It’s a Kickstarter project, but has already tripled the modest $10k goal needed to hit bulk order requirements, so you should be able to be confident of receiving one if you back the project …

Look & feel

The TStand isn’t iPad-specific: it’s a generic tablet stand designed to accommodate most devices. I tested it with an iPad Air 2, but it contracts enough to hold an iPad mini too.

The TStand model I tested was a prototype, but one that should be pretty reflective of the production model. I generally greatly prefer metal to plastic, but this is one case where I’ll admit plastic is the better choice: as it’s designed to be something you rest on your body, the aim was to make it as light as possible. The silver version does, though, quite a good impersonation of anodised aluminum until you touch it (it’s also available in black).

The iPad is held in place by a strong spring mechanism. The slots that hold it have rubber coatings, to avoid risk of scratching it. The strength of the spring is such that there appears no risk at all of the iPad falling out.

In use

In use, it works well. The curved leg sections wrap around your torso, making it stable when lying on a couch or bed. It does, of course, move as you breath, but didn’t ever feel like it was in any danger of falling over.

The angle is infinitely adjustable, so you can set it to your taste.

You can also use the TStand as a desktop stand, but while the set-back position is good for movies, it’s not so ideal for active use – which is why it’s designed to flip all the way around, bringing the iPad to the front.

It’s equally stable when used this way up, and the height means that it also works as a monitor stand with a Bluetooth keyboard. Personally, I prefer the compact form of my Brydge keyboard, but if you’re using the iPad in the office, I can see the benefit of the raised position.

Pricing

Retail pricing is set to be $79 for black or $84 for silver, which I’d have to say is probably a little on the steep side for a little laziness. But at Kickstarter pricing, it’s a much better deal. Super early bird backers were able to pre-order for $32. Those were soon snapped up, but you can currently get the early bird deal of $37 for gloss black or $42 for matte silver. At that price, I’d say it’s worth it for the couch use alone.

Shipping is estimated for December. The company says that it has two weeks slack in its schedule, but admits that any delay could make it tough to deliver by the holidays, so you probably shouldn’t order one as a holiday gift. But if it’s just for you, and you’re as lazy as I am, the TStand is a nice little treat.

The TStand is a (fully-funded) Kickstarter project. At the time of writing, Early Bird deals were available from $37. Jeremy did a roundup of other stands earlier this year, and there are of course many more to choose from on Amazon.

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: iPad, iPad Stand, Tstand

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Angela Ahrendts, SVP Retail and Online Stores, is the latest Apple executive to make a public conference appearance this fall. Bloomberg announced today that Ahrendts is set to speak at its third annual ‘The Year Ahead’ business summit happening next week. Michael Bloomberg will open the two-day event on Monday, November 9, in New York City. Angela Ahrendts’s appearance follows the next day at Park Hyatt where Apple’s evolving retail strategy is likely to be a focus of the conversation.

Angela Ahrendts’ appearance as a speaker at Bloomberg’s business summit is especially notable as the retail chief has taken on a less public-facing role at Apple compared to her time as CEO of Burberry — save for a few LinkedIn blog posts — something many have pointed out in recent months.

Apple hired Ahrendts away from Burberry in late 2013 (officially joining in 2014) where she left her chief executive position at the fashion company for a senior vice president role at Apple. During her tenure, Ahrendts has overseen the Apple Watch launch and store changes required to support the new product as well as several new store openings including Dubai and Abu Dhabi most recently.

Last week during Apple’s quarterly earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook shared that has plans to open or replace some 30 to 40 retail stores in 2016 with the total number of locations in China reaching 40 by mid-year.

In addition to Angela Ahrendts’ upcoming summit talk, Tim Cook recently appeared at the annual WSJD conference where he shared Apple Music subscriber numbers. Apple Pay head Jennifer Bailey also made news at her recent Code/Mobile appearance where she shared news of new retailers planning to accept the mobile payment service.

Filed under: AAPL Company Tagged: Angela Ahrendts, Apple, Apple Retail, Apple Store, Bloomberg, Michael Bloomberg, The Year Ahead, The Year Ahead: 2016

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John Legere took to Twitter in a surprisingly short and subdued Tweetstorm just a short while ago to announce a new move the ‘Uncarrier’ is making this week. Ahead of its Uncarrier X event, T-Mo’s extraverted chief announced that the wireless carrier is now offering a personal 4G LTE CellSpot to any Simple Choice customer who wants one…

Unlike the current ASUS-made CellSpot router, the 4G LTE CellSpot actually creates an LTE network in your home or work place and can apparently cover up to 3,000 square feet:

Like the ASUS router, customers can get the device for free as long as they pay a $25 deposit, and T-Mo claim’s it’s just “plug and play”. As long as you have an Internet connection at home, you can plug the 4G LTE CellSpot in and it’ll create an LTE signal right in your home. T-Mobile now offers three different network boosting devices. For those confused about how the new one differs from the older products, the company put together a short list:

• Wi-Fi CellSpot Router: Announced at Un-carrier 7.0 in September 2014, this Internet-connected router provides customers with Wi-Fi coverage for calling and texting beyond the reach of any cellular network;
• 4G LTE CellSpot Signal Booster: This signal booster amplifies T-Mobile’s 3G, 4G and/or LTE signal throughout a home or business without an Internet connection; and,
• 4G LTE CellSpot: Announced today, this 4G LTE tower delivers a strong, reliable wireless 4G LTE signal for customers with or without an indoor cellular signal on compatible 3G, 4G and LTE handsets for up to 16 callers at one time anywhere a customer has broadband Internet and T-Mobile wireless spectrum.

It’s interesting/weird to see T-Mobile opt for actual LTE mini-towers when it already offers Wi-Fi calls and texts with virtually any router across the globe. Every device it sells now is equipped with Wi-Fi calling functionality, meaning none of its customers should ever struggle to make a call or send a message. However, there are perhaps those few who bring unlocked devices, or buy them elsewhere which don’t have Wi-Fi calling baked in. Older iPhones, for instance, don’t have Wi-Fi Calling baked in even with the latest software loaded.

It could also, perhaps, be a response to customers complaining about the quality and consistency of Wi-Fi calling. It has been known to be unreliable, particularly if there are more than one person trying to use it at once. Having a device which copes with up to 16 simultaneous callers/users could be a big improvement.

Regardless of our views as to its purpose of existence, the 4G LTE CellSpot operates on 10×10 LTE in Band 4 and UMTS in Band 2 spectrum, and will be available in T-Mobile brick-and-mortar stores or through Customer Care from November 4th.

Filed under: Tech Industry Tagged: CellSpot, cellular, indoor coverage, iPhone, LTE, T-Mobile

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Facebook’s chief product officer Chris Cox is insisting that an unspecified but substantial number of staff switch from iPhone to Android, in order to have an experience of the service more typical of that in emerging markets, reports Wired.

“I am mandating a switch of a whole bunch of my team over to Android, just because people, when left up to their own devices, will often prefer an iPhone,” said Chris Cox, who said the move is “so that they can be reporting bugs and living in the same experience that most Facebook users experience today” … 

The initiative follows on from ‘2G Tuesdays,’ where each Tuesday employees are asked to allow their Facebook app to behave as if it were on a slow 2G network for one hour, giving them an appreciation for what the service is like to use in many developing countries.

Both moves reflect the fact that with 1.5 billion users to date, and near saturation point in most markets, Facebook’s future growth depends on countries where technological development is at a much easier stage.

Unlike 2G Tuesdays, which are voluntary, the wording of Cox’s announcement on Android suggests that the move from iPhone to Android is not. Among the things staff will miss out on when they give up their iPhones are the Notifications the company recently introduced to the iOS app.

Via TNW, photo Digiday

Filed under: iOS Devices, Tech Industry Tagged: Android, Facebook, iPhone

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Apple gave up on optical drives several years ago. Citing Blu-ray Disc licensing issues and the growing popularity of Internet streaming, the company was able to leave CD, DVD and Blu-ray drives out of new Macs without suffering any drop in sales. Today, except for a single MacBook Pro model that hasn’t been updated since 2012, Macs are physically too thin to accommodate optical drives, and that’s not going to change any time soon.

But optical disc technology has soldiered on, adding new features to hook serious video and photo fans. “BDXL” Blu-ray Discs can now store up to 128GB of data, and Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs can hold full-length movies for 4K Ultra HDTVs. Separately, Millenniata debuted M-DISC, an archival disc technology that lets anyone burn DVDs or Blu-ray Discs guaranteed to last “centuries.” While M-DISCs must be written using new burners, they can be read by traditional DVD and Blu-ray players, ensuring broad compatibility.

OWC’s new Mercury Pro ($78/$135) external drives are designed to help Mac owners burn M-DISCs. The basic $78 model burns less expensive, lower-capacity M-DISC DVDs, while the superior $135 version can also burn higher-capacity M-DISC Blu-rays, as well as burning and playing regular Blu-ray Discs. Each version of Mercury Pro comes bundled with a heavy-duty Mac-matching external enclosure, cables, and software, while the Blu-ray model also includes two blank BD-R discs to get you started…

About M-DISC

Even if the name’s not familiar, M-DISC is based upon fundamentally sound technologies. Unlike most recordable CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays, which store data by making microscopic color changes to their rings, an M-DISC writing surface becomes physically pitted with real grooves during the burning process. While the chemically-induced color changes in standard recordable discs wear off over time, M-DISC’s pits — like vinyl records and professionally-mastered optical discs — remain intact so the disc can continue to be read for years. Millenniata, the developer of M-DISC, boldly promises that “your data will be safe for centuries,” and notes that the discs have withstood “rigorous testing by the U.S. Department of Defense,” resisting “extreme conditions of light, temperature, humidity and more.” As blustery as the claims may sound, independent tests have subsequently demonstrated their superior resistance versus standard recordable optical discs. M-DISCs will certainly survive much longer, and much harsher conditions, than typical recordable discs.

There are currently three types of M-DISCs. The first are 4.7GB DVDs; these are the only M-DISCs that work with the entry-level $78 Mercury Pro, and sell for $2-$3 each. Next are 25GB Blu-ray Discs, which is enough capacity that eight discs could fully back up the average person’s most precious photos. These 25GB discs work with the $135 Mercury Pro Blu-ray burner, and can be had for under $5 each in bulk; OWC sells them in 3-packs for $14.97 or 15-packs for $67.50. There are also 100GB M-DISCs, which sell for $20-$25 per disc, and are not compatible with either Mercury Pro, as they require a BDXL M-Disc burner.

The New Mercury Pro

Measuring 6.6″ wide by 8.3″ deep by 2.2″ tall, the new Mercury Pro is a large and solid-looking external drive, using a Mac-matching sandblasted finish on the front, sides, top, and bottom, except for a large stripe of brushed metal on the centers of the top and bottom surfaces. A subtly convex button on the front right side manually opens and closes the disc tray, though your Mac can eject a disc in software.

Located alongside power and USB 3.0 ports on the back, a rear power switch turns the drive on and off. Should you want to secure the drive in an office, there’s a slot for a Kensington-style lock above the power switch. Four clear rubber feet keep the metal from scuffing against your desk’s surface.

Every Mercury Pro arrives with a thick, shielded USB 3.0 cable and a small external wall adapter that’s required to maintain stable power; both parts speak to a desire to guarantee error-free, interruption-free burning, a prerequisite for disc mastering. Because of its physical size, and the requirement of external power, Mercury Pro is clearly meant to be set on a desk and left there, rather than carried in a bag and used on the go. As previously noted, the Blu-ray version of Mercury Pro comes with two blank BD-R discs. OWC notes that some resellers will also offer a further step-up version of Mercury Pro bundled with Roxio’s Toast 14 Titanium and Blu-ray-burning software.

Using Mercury Pro

Connecting Mercury Pro to a Mac is as simple as plugging in a USB cable and flipping on the power. Without further software assistance — no driver is required — OS X can use it to burn or read traditional DVDs and CDs, just like Apple’s $79 external USB SuperDrives. The $78 Mercury Pro’s M-DISC DVD writing support doesn’t require special software unless you want to fine-tune the contents of your disc image before mastering it.

Mac users also get two free apps in the bundle: Prosoft Engineering’s Data Backup 3 and Smile Software’s Disc Label. (A PC app called NovaStor NovaBackup is also included for Windows users.) There’s no delicate way to say this: the free apps are old. Data Backup carries a 2007 copyright and appears to have last been modestly updated to version 3.1.9 a year ago. But despite some graphical glitches, it runs under OS X El Capitan, enabling you to create first-time and versioned backups of your hard drive (or preferred folders) to optical discs. You choose a source, pick a destination type (volumes or CDs/DVDs), then tell it whether to split large files into chunks that will fit on individual discs. Depending on what you’re backing up, it will create chunks of data that can be reassembled using multiple discs, optionally including subsequent discs containing only files changed since the last backup.

Similarly, Smile Software’s Disc Label hasn’t been updated since late 2010, and speaks to the end of the era when (some) people were actively printing disc labels and jewel case inserts (remember those) with their inkjet printers. The app still loads under El Capitan, and includes dozens of different templates for making these sorts of things, assuming you have a use for them. But it looks like a relic from the past. Last but not least, the PC version of NovaBackup is listed as compatible with Windows 7; make of that what you will.

The optional app Toast 14 Titanium, aided by the Toast HD/BD Plug-In, is all but mandatory to take advantage of Mercury Pro’s Blu-ray mastering features. Having been polished years ago for optical disc mastering, video conversion, and pretty much every related function you can imagine, Toast 14 Titanium has just been updated to version 14.1 with full El Capitan support. During my testing, I used it to burn M-DISC archival-quality, Blu-ray-filling collections of home photos and videos — really, the key things I’d want to keep backed up for decades — and everything worked just as expected.

If there’s one complaint about the overall performance of the Mercury Pro and Toast 14 combination, it’s a primarily hardware-related limitation: speed. The Mercury Pro I reviewed is the Blu-ray version, based on LG’s WH16NS40, and although it’s billed as a “16X” drive, it writes M-DISC Blu-ray Discs at 4X maximum speeds. Similarly, the DVD version is based upon LG’s GH24NSC0B, which is a “24X” drive that writes M-DISC DVDs at 4X. In other words, you can expect to spend about an hour burning and verifying each M-DISC, though write speeds with regular BD-R and DVD-R discs may be significantly faster, and read speeds for discs — including M-DISCs — are much faster.

It’s also worth a brief note that Apple’s lack of participation in the Blu-ray standard means that commercial Blu-ray Disc playback continues to require separate software. This video explains how to make Blu-Ray Discs work using the free app VLC.

Prior to testing the new Mercury Pro, I had been out of the optical disc market for years, and had only the faintest idea what M-DISC was. But as I’m always on the lookout for ways to preserve my collection of digital photos and home movies, it’s truly interesting to see optical discs re-emerging as a viable alternative — particularly discs that focus on storage quality, not just quantity. There’s obvious long-term appeal in a drive that’s capable of creating long-lasting, archival copies of precious memories, easily viewable on common DVD and Blu-ray Disc players. If that’s something you’re looking for, each of OWC’s Mercury Pro bundles offers a nice drive and basic software to get you started.

More From This Author

Check out more of my editorials, How-To guides, and reviews for 9to5Mac here! I’ve covered a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users. I’ve recently discussed how to safely prepare and wipe your iPhone for resale or trade-in, and how to get the best iPhone trade-in price to help buy an iPhone 6s, amongst many other topics.

Filed under: Mac, Reviews Tagged: Blu-ray, Blu-Ray player, M-DISC, Mac, Mercury Pro, OWC

Check out 9to5Mac for more breaking coverage of Mac, Mac, and Reviews.

What do you think? Discuss “Review: OWC’s new Mercury Pro lets your Mac burn archival M-DISCs and play Blu-rays or DVDs” with our community.

With Apple not allowing us to delete its pre-installed iPhone apps, may of us take to hiding them away inside a folder on the ‘back’ screen where they at least don’t get in the way. But a report in the WSJ suggests there’s another reason you may want to hide the Stocks app: using it too often can lead you to make poor investing decisions.

The report references a phenomenon known as myopic loss aversion, in which people are likely to sell stocks when they see frequent downward movements – even if the long-term trend is up.

When people are frequently told how their investments are doing—say, if they are given a daily update on their long-term investments, by smartphone or any other digital device—they are more likely to make poor financial decisions and possibly sell at the wrong time.

The reason frequent checks are risky is that the more often you look, the greater the chance you’re going to see a drop in the price. And that has nothing to do with the stock’s performance, it’s just stats.

If you check every single day, there’s a roughly 47% chance that the market will have gone down, based on its past movements. But what happens if you check once a month? The numbers will start to look a little better, as the market will only have gone down 41% of the time. Years are better still, as the S&P generates a positive return seven years out of every 10. And if you check once a decade, then you’re only going to get bad news about 15% of the time.

So if you want to make the best investment decisions, it seems the smart money is on leaving the Stocks app well alone.

Apple has come under criticism for continuing to offer a 16GB iPhone in 2015, but defended the decision on the basis of cloud storage and app thinning.

Filed under: Apps Tagged: investment, iPhone, shares, Stocks, Stocks app

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Popular drawing app Procreate has today released version 3 of their iPad app ($5.99) with a whole host of new features. This includes new brushes (including quick brush previewing before committing to canvas drawing), motion blur and perspective blur, simplified tap gestures and much more.

Perhaps the most significant change is the addition of iPad Pro and Apple Pencil integration. Procreate now create images with up to 16,0000 x 4000 resolution on Apple’s latest hardware, due to be released later in the month. Existing Apple hardware can also benefit, with the iPad Air 2 now capable of creating 8000×4000 resolution images.

Apple has been using Procreate as a demo app for the Apple Pencil and its clear why: the company has integrated all the Pencil features into their drawing app with full support for the tilt, azimuth and pressure-sensitivity of the stylus. They’ve included a set of Artistic brushes to show off the Apple Pencil’s capabilities.

Procreate has also used the latest iOS 9 technology to get super-fast touch response and input latency, which should minimise drawing lag and make the iPad and Apple Pencil feel as close to a physical pad and paper as possible.

Get Procreate 3 on the App Store for $5.99.

Filed under: Apps, iOS, iOS Devices Tagged: drawing app, iPad Pro, Procreate

For more information about iOS Devices, Apps, and iOS continue reading at 9to5Mac.

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The new Apple TV has been available for three days now, with response to the product generally strong with seemingly good sales, based off some talks with Apple Store employees. A big part of the appeal of Apple TV is the tvOS App Store. What you see above is Apple’s press image for the store: in reality the Top Charts and Categories are currently unaccessible. Developer Steve Troughton-Smith has worked around this by accessing the web chart data directly, by spoofing the Apple TV headers when making the request. He has posted the Apple TV US Top Paid, Top Free and Top Grossing charts as of yesterday. There’s some interesting trends in the data ….

Perhaps unsurprisingly, games dominate both Top Paid and Top Grossing charts with Beat Sports, Galaxy on Fire, Lumino City and Alto’s Adventure achieving high rankings. An outlier is the presence of SimpleX, a third party Plex client, in the #2 position for Top Paid and #5 for Top Grossing. Apple TV owners are clearly itching for a way to use Plex on their devices. Although Plex is releasing an official client, it has not yet been approved so SimpleX is your best option.

Other ‘utility’ apps start to appear in the 10-20 positions, with AirVideo and Carrot Weather featuring as standout successes. On Top Free, there’s a bit more of a contest between the $0 games (like Crossy Road and Rayman) and video apps (like HBO Now, Nat GEO TV, Fox and Netflix) vying for placement.

A big trend is that the pricing on the non-free apps is significantly higher than the iOS equivalents. Pricing in the range of $5-$10 for AAA titles is the norm with very few apps priced at the iPhone App Store trademark 99 cent price point. I’ve listed the top ten paid apps to highlight the current tvOS pricing equilibrium. Only 1 of the Top 10 paid apps (remember, this data is as of sometime yesterday) is priced at $0.99.

Apple TV US Top Paid

1. Beat Sports ($9.99)
2. SimpleX ($2.99)
3. Galaxy On Fire ($5.99)
4. Lumina City ($4.99)
5. Alto’s Adventure ($2.99)
6. Does not Commute ($2.99)
7. Battle Supremacy ($4.99)
8. Geometry Wars 3 ($9.99)
9. Shoot The Zombies  ($0.99)
10. Oceanhorn $(8.99)

That’s how the Apple TV App Store stands right now (remember Troughton-Smith’s data is a snapshot and will not live update).  It will be interesting to see if developers can sustain the higher pricing tiers. The current situation harken back to the 2008 launch of the App Store, when most titles cost $9.99. Obviously, on iPhone, that did not last and apps took the race to the bottom to $0.99 or freemium. Sales characteristics are likely to change significantly once tvOS app discovery is improved.

Without Top Charts or Categories, customers are hard-pressed to find apps and games other than those featured by Apple on the front page. The PR image for the App Store does depict the existence of these pages, so it’s assumed to be coming soon. It may also simply be a case of waiting for more Apple TV apps to enter the market; estimates suggest 1000 tvOS apps are currently on sale.  Having the App Store show more content overall will help even up the balance of power between all apps on the store, which will likely influence pricing as competition increases.

Filed under: Apple TV Tagged: App Store, App Store sales, Apple TV, categories, top charts, Top Paid, tvOS

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In this week’s episode of The Logic Pros, we are looking at Space Designer, Logic’s flagship reverb plug-in. Much like the Delay Designer we detailed last week, Space Designer is highly customizable with various shaping tools and the ability to create your own impulse responses.

Reverb plug-ins are basically the emulation of the way instruments sound in a particular room or space. This effect is used commonly in music production to add life to various instruments in a mix, simulate the sound of each instrument having been recorded in the same room and for a number of other creative purposes. Logic Pro X provides several options in the reverb department, but today we will be focusing on the flagship convolution reverb: Space Designer.

Convolution reverb uses data of recordings of actual sounds reflecting in certain spaces to provide realistic reverb to producers in the studio. Space Designer can do both convolution and synthesized reverb sounds, which is a great place to start when it comes to going over the UI and designing our own reverb sound:

Firstly, Space Designer has two main modes of operation: IR Sample and Synthesized IR. The two options can be found/selected on the top and bottom of the Impulse Response Parameters circle (IRP circle in our case). As explained above, both options offer different tonal qualities when it comes to shaping our reverb sounds. We can load up various samples of different spaces (or Impulse Responses) from the small pull down menu along the top of the IRP circle, or start with one of the many excellent presets Apple provides.

Also in the IRP circle, we can set the length of the reverb tail and choose the sample rate. The length of the reverb (in seconds) determines how long of a tail or reflection your sound will have. Keep in mind, in IR Sample mode you can only choose a length as long as the sample you have chosen or lower. In most cases you will want to keep the sample rate slider at its highest, but as always, experimenting with the warmer low rates can result in some desirable effects.

Much like Delay Designer, most of the action takes place in the LCD looking display in the middle of the UI known as the Main Display, with most controls (along with a few extras) doubled up in the light blue Parameter bar below. We have the Volume Env(elope), Filter Env(elope), Density Env(elope), EQ, and Reverse features. All off which are represented in the colored Button Bar along the top of the display.

The Volume Env(elope) or overall shape of the reverb sound has basic attack and decay time/level settings. You’ll likely be spending most of your time in here shaping the actual tail of your reverb sound, but there are also some very interesting possibilities when experimenting with slow, sweeping attack times and more.

Note: The Reset button in the Button bar will reset the currently selected control’s parameters back to default or that of the currently selected preset. The All button right next to it will do the same thing for the all the parameters in the Button Bar.

Filter Env(elope) allows us to chose how much the filter effects various portions of the reverb sound and by how much. You’ll notice the actual multi-mode filter can be controlled in the bottom left corner of the UI. There is 6 and 12db low pass filters, a band pass and a high pass option, along with a resonance control for each. Simply tapping the Filter Env(elope) in the Button Bar will enable the filter, but you can bypass it again from the on/off button in the bottom left corner as well.

The EQ panel is just what it sounds like: a handy little built-in 4-band (low shelf, 2-bands and a high shelf) equalizer to shape the tone of our reverb sound.

The Reverse tab is also exactly what you would think. Get creative here, as it can offer some pretty amazing results on everything from drum sounds to pulsing synth leads and lush pad sounds. Keep in mind, that when reversing an IR Sample, you are essentially using the tail end of the sample and may need to adjust the IR Start time (more on this below).

We have left the Density Env(elope) feature for last, as it is only available to you when in Synthesized IR mode. The Density Env(elope) essentially allows you to shape and build your own impulse response from scratch, in a way making up for some of the built-in data that comes with Impulse Response samples. It might be considered a 2-phase envelope with level and timing controls to shape the overall sound of the synthesized reflections.

Outside of the the usual wet and dry output controls on the right hand side of the UI, just below that we have the Pre-delay, IR Sample start time, and Spread controls. The Pre-delay determines the amount of time it takes for your reverb sound to begin after Space Designer has detected the incoming signal. IR Start determines at which phase of the IR Sample recording the reverb sound starts at.

The Spread controls are only available in the Synthesized IR mode. The Spread knob is basically a typical stereo-width spreader effect determined by the crossover frequency set on the Xover knob directly below it. All frequencies below the set value are spread across both the left and right channel, with the rest staying more towards the center (which is typically what happens in actual acoustic spaces).

And those are the main controls for the entire UI and more than enough to get you going on getting some great reverb sounds specifically tailored to your songs and creations. Like we mentioned above the categorized presets Apple has provided offer some amazing options for realistic room tones and even some wacky spacial effects. And here is one last tip:

Create your very own Impulse Responses and spacey synth sounds. Creating a custom made Impulse Response is as easy as dragging an audio file from the Finder directly on to the Main Display or loading one from the pull down menu on the IRP circle. In most cases, for realistic reverb tones the professionally recorded provided options will be much better, but you can get some crazy rings and even some downright impressive synth sounds this way.

The Logic Pros is a regular series exploring all of the most interesting gadgets and software for making music on your Mac/iOS devices. If there is any gear you would like us to take a closer hands-on look at, let us know in the comments section below or shoot us an email.

More The Logic Pros:

• Creating precise multi-tap delay/echo patterns with Delay Designer
• Getting the most out of Logic’s built-in MIDI Arpeggiator
• Creating custom-made, tempo flexible Apple Loops
• Routing 101 – creating multi-track FX Sends and Submix groups
• Kontrol S-series keyboards give you Komplete control of NI’s world-class instrument library
• A look at Logic’s new heavy weight sample manipulation synth Alchemy
• Moog Sub 37 is one of the best hardware synths for the money
• iPad/Mac synths still can’t quite capture the experience of this $1,000 Moog
• How-to connect MIDI controllers wirelessly over Bluetooth to iOS or Mac w/ puc+
• Time compression and pitch correction with Logic’s built-in Flex tools
• Automate tedious MIDI edits into a single-click with Logic’s Transform feature
• How to use MIDI hardware synthesizers in Logic w/ External Instrument plug-in
• How to create custom sampler instruments using any audio file with EXS24
• How to create Retro Synth patches with custom wavetables and multi-voice stacking
• How to customize Logic’s Drummer, beat-by-beat
• 6 powerful new features you may have missed in Logic 10.1
• How to control anything in Logic using your hardware MIDI controller
• How to create multi-layered synth patches & drum sounds with Track Stacks
• Turning iPad into a virtual pedalboard using Logic Remote
• TE’s new pocket-sized synths & how to sync them up with your Mac

Filed under:
How-To, Tips and Tricks Tagged: EQ, filter, High Pass, how to, How to Space Designer, Logic Pro X, Low Pass, LPX, reverb, reverse, Space Designer, the logic pros

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With the post-launch dust now settled for the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPad mini 4, two accessory makers have released four batteries designed to fuel Apple’s latest devices. While they carry significant price premiums over top-rated batteries we’ve covered, both vendors have received Apple’s seal of approval for device compatibility.

Mophie has officially released Juice Pack Reserve for iPhone 6s and iPhone 6 ($60), officially guaranteeing compatibility with both versions of the 4.7″ iPhone. Juice Pack Reserve is a form-fitting battery case promising over 60% extra battery life with an 1,840mAh integrated cell. It features built-in button protectors and a very small “chin” for audio and charging. Power Reserve 1x ($35) is a device-agnostic, 2,600mAh battery shaped like a large pack of gum, reliant on a self-supplied Lightning cable to charge your iOS device. Each Reserve battery is available in 5 soft touch rubber colors, and comes with a micro-USB to USB cable for recharging.

U.K.-based TechLink has launched Recharge 5000 ($90) and Recharge 12000 ($120), Lightning cable-equipped batteries for the iPhone 6s Plus/6 Plus and iPad mini/iPad Air, respectively. While each battery works with other Apple devices, the partially aluminum Recharge 5000 is specifically pitched at iPhone 6/6s Plus users, as it’s bundled with a leatherette carrying case that holds both the slim 5000mAh battery and either 5.5″ iPhone, promising a 1.2X recharge. Made entirely from plastic, the dual-port Recharge 12000 has iPad-ready 2.4-Amp power and a really nice built-in stand that holds an iPad on a recline while it’s charging. Capable of delivering at least one full recharge to any recent iPad, the 12,000 mAh battery also includes a zippered carrying case. Each has a micro USB cable for recharging.

Filed under: General, iOS Devices Tagged: battery, iPhone 6, iphone 6 plus, iPhone 6s, iphone 6s plus, Lightning, Mophie, TechLink

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It’s certainly not the only connected-security camera, but following Google’s acquisition of popular security cam maker Dropcam last year, the company has just launched a second-generation product with new features. The new product was re-envisioned by Google’s Nest team— the people building smart home accessories like the Nest thermostat and fire alarm— and in the process dropped the Dropcam branding and gained a few notable enhancements.

But is the new Nest Cam worth an upgrade from your current Dropcam setup? And how does the product compare to the other connected home security-cam and all-in-one security devices on the market? We’ve been testing out Nest Cam since its release a few weeks back to find out.

Installation/Setup:

Setup is painless with the usual Wi-Fi accessory configuration process for iPhone users. Download the app, connect to your Wi-Fi network, and a few minutes later your cam is connected and ready to live stream and record. But that also means you can expect a few hiccups or necessary restarts if your network happens to not be playing nice at the moment. You have to plug in the camera, so you’ll want to have an outlet relatively close by (it comes with a 3 meter USB cable and wall adapter for power), but the design gives you a few options for positioning and mounting.

The base is magnetic and comes with a screw-on wall mount or can optionally sit upright on a desk or other flat service. It also unscrews from the base for moving on to a standard tripod mount of your own if desired. The arm of the camera is mounted on a swivel so you can position it upright or laying flat for the various mounting options, and the camera itself can be repositioned 360 degrees for example on the base, so it’s possible to adjust what the camera is capturing without having to remount the entire unit.

How does that compare to the competition? Some use batteries, which makes them portable, but for a home setup and the benefit of always on recording (more on that below), dealing with the power cable on Nest Cam is worth the trade-off. And when it comes to build quality, Nest Cam is as solid as it gets. It’s a tank, and that’s certainly a feature I appreciate in a security camera.

Using Nest Cam:

The features are quite basic when compared to some of the more all-in-one home/security products on the market, but you get everything you need for a solid security camera setup: a 1080p HD camera with a 130º wide­-angle view and zoom, a built-in mic for yelling at robbers or your pets or listening in, and access to video history with the ability to create clips, edit footage, and share videos with others. You can also setup rules for having the camera turn on and off based on your schedule. 

The camera includes night vision LEDs that give you a great view in the dark compared to not such a great experience with cameras that instead just add a spotlight or don’t include night vision features at all. Some of the competitors on the market have opted to include other sensors for things like measuring air quality, for example, but the Nest Cam keeps quite bare-bones with just what you need for security camera purposes.

I quite enjoyed the software experience when testing out the Nest Cam, although there were a few annoyances and what I’d consider missing features…

On mobile you can’t record or share a clip and navigating the timeline for recorded footage is clunky at best, making it difficult to pinpoint a specific moment when browsing over a long period of recorded video. 

It’s better with the web app on desktop where you can quickly and easily make clips for sharing purposes, but I still found the UI for navigating the timeline a bit cumbersome. Clips can be an hour in length, and you can store up to 3 hours of clips, otherwise they’ll get turned into time-lapse videos. I didn’t have any break-ins during my review unfortunately, so I shot some time-lapse videos instead:

And for those that are already using the Nest apps for managing other Nest devices, like the thermostat or fire alarm, having the convenience of accessing the Nest Cam from the same place is an added bonus, and you can set up rules to have Nest Cam kick on and off related to activity from other Nest devices.

I found the motion detection feature of the camera effective, but it has the same issues as other security cameras. It doesn’t do as great of a job at filtering out background noise as Nest’s marketing claims. Mix in the fact that I personally have a house full of pets, and live in a noisy development, the motion detection feature would wake up the camera too often for it to be useful in detecting threats, at least in my personal environment. The motion detection caught all the movement in the videos above, for example.

But in some cases you can benefit from the ability to set up activity zones to limit the motion detection to certain areas (only from the web app):

Streaming quality issues can depend a lot on your network, but I had no complaints in that regard. Nest makes recommendations for streaming requirements and bandwidth usage on its website.

Pricing/limitations:

You get a free 30-day free trial, but after that you’ll need a 10-day video history plan for $10/month or $100/year, or a 30-day video history plan for $30/month or $300/year. You’ll be able to view a live stream for free, but access to video history after your free trial requires a paid plan, and it’s required for other features as well like creating and sharing clips from your past video history. The pricing is quite competitive, although many competitors offer 24 hours for free or at least some amount of free access to video history. I’d imagine this would be a much easier buy for many people if they could somehow tap into their existing Google storage, or if Google bundled it into a paid Google storage plan.

What it needs:

HomeKit support is the big omission from this Apple user’s experience. While we’d expect the majority of other products to add support (Apple just added support for security systems with iOS 9), Google could be the one major, notable holdout if it decides to push its own home automation platform instead and keep it totally separate from Apple’s HomeKit framework. Nest would likely go along for the ride, although technically it’s now its own company under Alphabet and not necessarily tied to everything Google does.

It’s not that there is something key to the experience that HomeKit would add to Nest Cam on its own, but the decision to leave it out will definitely be a major consideration for consumers that are heavy Apple device users, and for those that plan on using HomeKit as the central location for controlling home automation products. Having one or more Nest products that exist completely outside of HomeKit doesn’t seem to make much sense in that scenario.

And beyond HomeKit, there is also a big opportunity to make Nest Cam more than just a security camera. Live streaming features is one example, something that has been a trend with apps like Periscope. I think the company that makes a home security camera with social features, making it fun to use outside of its security features, will have an easier time convincing people they need these products.

Some users have also pointed out lack of IFTTT support and some missing features compared to the old Dropcam app, like a geofence feature that triggered the camera on and off as you come and go.

And lastly, it would be nice if Google added a bit of onboard storage to cover us for the to-be-expected Google server outages and downtime.

Should you buy it?

I never really considered a security system for my apartment (we don’t lock our doors in Canada), but new Wi-Fi connected products like Nest Cam make the experience of owning and setting up cameras at home much more accessible than ever before. While there are a lot of alternatives to consider, any of Nest’s shortcomings wouldn’t make me pick a competitor for at least my own, admittedly modest purposes. For those that have already bought into the Nest and Google ecosystem and enjoy the experience, the choice will be easy. But for those hoping to build a HomeKit-connected household, lack of a promise from Nest to support the platform might be enough to hold off for now or opt for a competitor.

Nest Cam is available to buy now as low as $189. 

Filed under: Reviews Tagged: Nest

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