The Best Magsafe Products in 2021 – how I use them and why – in depth editorial

March 6, 2021accessories, Apple, Tech NewsBest MagSafe products 2021Gavin Fabiani-Laymond

MagSafe is Apple’s solution to fast wireless charging along with the use of some nifty accessories. After many months of using MagSafe and buying many products, below are the ones that I use now every day and why. All the products mentioned below are ones that I have bought. None were sent as review samples either, so my honest opinions are below.

MagSafe Duo

I originally reviewed this on my YouTube Channel in November 2020, but it still sits proud on my office desk. Covid has meant I haven’t gotten to use it for one of its intended purposes and that is a travel companion. It charges my iPhone 12 Pro Max, AirPods, AirPods Pro and Apple Watch with ease. The phone section also charges my other Qi devices. With the iPhone 12 range, the magnets firmly attach to the back of the iPhone to charge quickly. I also like that when covid restrictions finally lift and I can travel more, I will simply fold it half for travel. When you fold it it simply snaps together. What has surprised me is that I don’t have this on my bedside table. That’s because I am using my Apple Watch for sleep tracking at night, so its best to charge it when working in my office at my desk.

In case you missed my video review of this, its below.

Now this has been out for a few months, the price is being discounted. For the latest price on Amazon, click HERE.

Apple Leather Wallet

You can see the Apple Leather Wallet attached to my iPhone 12 Pro Max on the photo at the start of the article. This is one item that I had expected not to keep, yet after many months of using it, its a firm keeper. I have noticed that the leather becomes slightly more grippier after a while of using it, and leather on leather helps too. The leather wallet first all of the iPhone 12 range, including the 12 Mini. I have managed to get 3 cards inside it too. What I have to do to enable to slide the cards out, is make sure that the bottom card has the numbers facing the finger slide cutout to give me some extra grip to slide them out. Whenever I have gone out, I attached the leather wallet and it has never fallen off. Not once. I find it great to have such a small and removable item on my phone. It is expensive, but then when is anything by Apple cheap! However, it is built extremely well and the leather and leather stitching is high quality.

Latest pricing on the Apple Leather Wallet on Amazon with all the different colours, click HERE.

Moft Snap-on MagSafe Wallet and Stand

This is an absolute genius of a product offering more functionality than the Apple Wallet and for half the price nearly. It fits the entire iPhone 12 range from the 12 Mini to the Pro Max. It holds 3 of my cards and then can be used as a stand in either portrait or landscape. Comes in 4 different finishes.

Moft Magsafe Wallet and Stand, latest pricing on Amazon, click HERE.

Apple MagSafe Charger

I have two of these. You can see one of them in the photo at the top integrate into the Elago MS1 stand and below into the Spigen Mag Fit. So after several months, I realised these are handy, the cable could have been longer and is not detachable, but it does provide 15w wireless charging for your iPhone 12 Pro Max. I have also realised, it is better when added to some low cost accessories as below.

Apple MagSafe charger on Amazon, click HERE.

Spigen Mag Fit

I have this one my bedside table. You put Apple’s MagSafe charger inside the rubberish cover. It has a nanotac surface underneath that attaches to the table. If you reposition the stand, it can be stuck back down. I love this. So low cost too. Now when I life my iPhone the charger part stays on the table. And as it uses Apple’s MagSafe charger, I get all the same benefits. It is also a lot easier to remove.

Spigen Mag Fit on Amazon – latest pricing click HERE.

Elago MS1 Charging Stand

If you look at the photo at the top of the page, this is behind my iPhone. It comes in 4 colours. I choose black. In hindsight, I think white might have looked better. Again, it uses the official MagSafe charger and has enough weight to be sturdy on my desk. You can swivel the iPhone around so its in landscape as well as portrait. Or anything inbetween. The magnets hold it nicely.

Elago MS1 latest pricing on Amazon, click HERE.

Conclusion

And there you have it, my favourite MagSafe products so far from 2020 and 2021. Come back in a few months time as I am sure to have added a few more products to this article. If you have come across a really good item, please share it below in the comments.

Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch review – HiFi grade True Wireless Earphones!

March 5, 2021Audio, Headphone, Reviews, Tech NewsCambridge Audio Melomania Touch wireless earphones reviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the Cambridge Audio Melomania Touch earphones that retail for £129.

The Key Features

Bluetooth 5, class 2
Triple core processor architecture
Qualcomm QCC3020 & Kalimba DSP
APT-x, AAC and SBC
Low latency
7mm Graphene enhanced dynamic driver
9 hours continuous battery life
2 hours to charge from 0 to 100%
MEMS mics with cVc noise cancellation
Siri or Google Assistant
IPX4 – case and earphones
Each earbud weighs 5.4g

Within my video review I show you how to setup the headphones, all the companion apps features and settings, discuss the audio quality, the HiFi audio and call quality. Video latency is discussed as well as the fit and finish. Finally, I compare these to AirPods and AirPods Pro.

Video Review

Conclusion

A truly cracking set of true wireless earphones with an excellent companion app. Highly recommended 9/10.

Useful Links

Latest pricing and more info on the Melomania Touch on Amazon – click HERE.

Huawei Mate 40 Pro review

March 4, 2021Android, Reviews, Tech NewsHuawei Mate 40 Pro reviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the Huawei Mate 40 Pro. This is a flagship phone from Huawei costing over £1,000.

Key Features/Specs

6.76 inches, OLED, HDR10, 90Hz, 1344 x 2772 pixels,
256GB Storage, 8GB RAM, NM (Nano Memory), Up to 256GB Card slot (uses shared SIM slot)
Android 10, EMUI 11 with Huawei AppGallery (No Google Play Services), Kirin 9000 5G (5 nm), Octa-core (1×3.13 GHz Cortex-A77 & 3×2.54 GHz Cortex-A77 & 4×2.05 GHz Cortex-A55), Mali-G78 MP24

In my time with the Huawei Mate 40 Pro, I really loved the feel in the hand, the hardware overall was a joy to use. I was able to use Huawei’s new Petal Search and Huawei’s App Gallery to find a number of apps that I used as well as a few alternatives to those found on Google Play. But the experience is ruined on the software side by this struggle for apps. However, some might be ok with the options available, Facebook and many others can be installed with ease. So check out my video for more info on the app situation and my overall review of this phone.

Video Review

Conclusion

The Huawei Mate 40 Pro is an incredible piece of hardware with very capable cameras. If only it had Google Mobile Services out of the box, it would be an easy recommendation. As it doesn’t, for anyone in the UK it can only get a 6.5/10 as a consequence. If ever Huawei get GMS re-instated, and the phone’s firmware is updated to add this back, the 6.5/10 would jump to an easy 9/10.

Useful Links

More info & latest pricing on Huawei Mate 40 Pro on Amazon Click HERE.

iFi micro iDSD Signature review

November 19, 2020Audio, Reviews, Tech NewsiFi micro iDSD signature reviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the iFi micro iDSD signature which retails for £649.

The Key Features

Dual Core Burr Brown True Native chipset supports all hi-res audio formats up to PCM 32 bit / 768kHz, DSD512, and MQA
4000mW headphone amplifier with balanced topology and 4.4mm pentacon output
XBass+, 3D+, and iEMatch create an immersive and personalized headphone or speaker listening experience
USB A, S/PDIF digital and optical audio inputs; 6.3mm and 4.4mm headphone outputs, RCA line outputs
Rechargeable battery provides 6-12 hours of listening, or play while charging

Review

A wide range of over the ear headphones and IEMs were used for the review, from Fiio FH7, Fiio FA9, HiFiMan Sundara and Ananda as well as headphones from Sennheiser and Sony.

Below are the music tracks used to test the iFi micro iDSD signature.

Roxy Music – True to Life (Remastered)
Leonard Cohen – In My Secret Life
Massive Attack – Unfinished Sympathy (2012 Mix Master)
Eric Clapton – Layla (Acoustic Live at MTV Unplugged)
Axel F – From Beverly Hills Cop
Natalie Ophelia – Ophelia
CeeLo Green – Bright Lights Bigger City
Stevie Ray Vaughan – Tin Pan Alley
K.D. Lang – Constant Craving
Nigel Kennedy – The New Four Seasons
Hans Zimmer – Mountains

Video Review

The iFi micro iDSD Signature is an absolute delight to use. Music comes alive with any pair of headphone or IEM that you care to throw at it. The musical experience feels like the headphones disappear on your head, leaving just the music floating around you. Bass is fast, tight and controlled. Mids and exquisite. Treble is excellent too. Superb soundstage.

Conclusion

The iFi iDSD micro signature is my personal favourite headphone amp DAC. 9.5/10.

Useful Links

iFi micro iDSD Signature on Amazon

Best Cases for iPhone 12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max & iPhone 12 Mini

November 7, 2020accessories, Tech Newsbest iphone 12 casesGavin Fabiani-Laymond

It is time to look at a range of cases for the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Mini.

There are various styles and different types of protection.

Useful Links

iPhone 12 cases on Amazon UK

Realme 7 Pro Review

October 19, 2020Android, Reviews, Tech NewsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the Realme 7 Pro which retails for £279.

Key Features

Battery Performance – The Realme 7 Pro comes with 65W SuperDart Charging. This can quickly power up the 4500mAh massive battery, while keeping the phone cool. 4500mAh battery can be charged to 100% within 34 mins. And only in 12mins, it can charge nearly 50%. Even while heavy gaming, the 65W SuperDart Charge can charge up to 43% in just 30 minutes. Only 3 mins, Realme 7 Pro can be charged to 13%, The Realme 7 Pro also supports 18W PD/QC charge, making it even more versatile. In reality, the phone lasted about 2 days on a single charge, but it was easier to top the battery up at the end of each day. Normally 20 mins was all that was required. The phones recharges so fast!

Processor – Snapdragon 720G. It is also equipped with Kryo 465 CPU with two high-performance Cortex-A76 cores at up to 2.3GHz and six high-efficiency Cortex-A55 cores at up to 1.8GHz, along with a new Adreno 618 GPU.

Display – 6.4-inch Super AMOLED Full Screen with 180Hz sampling rate. The display comes with 20:9 ratio, 2400x1080P FHD+ resolution, 90.8% screen-to-body ratio, 600nits peak brightness, 98% NTSC color gamut.

Cameras – The main rear sensor uses a Sony IMX682 Sensor which is 64MP . In addition there is an 8MP 119° ultra wide-angle, and a 2mp macro lens and a 2mp B&W portrait lens. The Sony IMX682 Sensor has incredible light-sensing ability, and comes with 1/1.73″ super large size sensor, 64MP super high pixels, supports Quad Bayer, pixel size up to 1.6μm. The front camera is 32mp.

The video review below includes a range of photo and video examples from the camera, a run through of the camera app interface and features. The photos are stunning, so it is well worth seeing these to understand just how good the camera is on this phone.

Video Review

Conclusion

An extremely impressive phone at budget pricing that offers a great screen, super fast charging with a decent camera. Highly recommended 9/10.

Useful Links

Realme 7 Pro latest pricing on Amazon UK – Click HERE.

Google Pixel 5 – Camera Review Part 1

October 15, 2020Android, Reviews, Tech NewsGoogle Pixel 5 camera reviewGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to Part 1 of my Pixel 5 camera review. This includes

– photos front, rear, ultra wide and normal
– video front and rear and all 4 stabilisation modes
– slow motion
– my verdict so far

Useful Links

The Google Pixel range and latest deals on Amazon UK Click HERE.

Samsung Galaxy M51 review – The Phone with a 7,000mAh battery!!

October 5, 2020Android, Reviews, Tech NewsGavin Fabiani-Laymond

Welcome to my review of the Samsung Galaxy M51 which retails for £330. The main feature of the phone is its huge 7,000mAh battery.

Key Features

7,000mAh battery with 25w fast charging, 115 mins to full recharge, reverse charging
FM Radio
Snapdragon 730g
Dual sim plus a third slot for a micro SD card
Weight 213g
6.7 inch super amoled screen 1080p
Gorilla glass front, plastic back,aluminium frame
64mp rear camera, 13mp ultra wide, 5mp macro, 5mp depth. 32mp front camera
Side mounted fingerprint sensor
3.5mm headphone jack

Video Review