Hasta La Gadget!

Last year, Logitech leaped into the content creator market by acquiring Loupedeck, which makes control surfaces for apps like Adobe Lightroom. Now, the company has unveiled its first Logitech-branded control panel, the MX Creative Console, a $200 device that includes a keypad, dialpad and plugins for popular Adobe apps like Premiere Pro.

Logitech is fighting rivals like the TourBox Elite controller and even its own Loupedeck CT, but its new offering is cheaper than the latter and sleeker than the former. The MX Creative Console features a modern design and a pair of slick control dials, along with dynamic display keys that change depending on the app and page you’re looking at.

I’ve tested a number of control panels going back to the original Loupedeck in 2017. To me, it always comes down to one main thing: Is this easier and faster than just using a keyboard and mouse? After over a week with the MX Creative Console, I found it to be powerful in some cases and too limited in others.

Hardware

The console comes in either pale gray or darker graphite and takes up very little space on your desk (3.8 x 3.1 inches for the keypad and 3.6 x 3.7 inches for the dialpad). A stand that angles the keypad or dialpad about 45 degrees toward you is also included. I prefer it flat on the table for speed, but the stand makes it easier to see the controls. The keypad has nine display keys, with the content changing based on the page and app you’re using. There are two regular buttons below to change the pages and a USB-C port on the bottom.

Steve Dent for Engadget

Meanwhile, the dialpad’s centerpiece is a large “contextual dial” since its function changes depending on the action selected. Plus, there’s a scroll wheel in the right top corner, two buttons on the top left and two buttons on the bottom in each corner. The bottom right button activates the dialpad’s “Actions Ring,” an on-screen circular display that gives you another way to tweak things like colors and text.

The keys require a light touch and have a smooth, clickless feel. The wheel on the dialpad has a nice amount of friction for precise work and lets you easily move frame-by-frame in Premiere Pro, or shuttle quickly through a timeline. It doesn’t have any haptic feedback, though, like the TourBox Elite. There’s a Bluetooth pairing switch on the bottom and a power switch on the back. It can connect to your computer either via LT Bluetooth or Logitech’s Bolt dongle also used on its mice and keyboards (not included).

Logitech says that the products are made with 72 percent post-consumer recycled plastics, low-carbon aluminum, micro textures instead of paint and FSC-certified responsible packaging. However, the dialpad uses AAA cells, either disposable or rechargeable. They’ll last a couple of months, according to Logitech, but it’s an odd choice for a product meant to be environmentally friendly.

Setup

Steve Dent for Engadget

The MX Creative Console is plug and play for Adobe apps so you can start twiddling the dials out of the box. It’s also customizable, letting you tweak settings within apps, create custom profiles and more. To set it up, I installed the Logi Options+ app on my PC (and Mac, I tested it with both), then connected the keypad via USB-C. I installed the dialpad separately by connecting it to my computers over Bluetooth.

Once the devices are recognized, clicking on “All Actions” installs the Adobe plugins. It also has direct support for apps including VLC media player, Spotify Premium, Capture One and Ableton. You can even use it to control apps without plugins like your browser for system volume, YouTube videos, emojis, screenshots and more. I found this useful just for the system volume alone (hello, terrible Windows 11 audio control).

Changing the default settings is about as easy as it gets. When you open the customization page, it shows the devices to the left (dialpad, keypad and Actions Ring), while all the possible settings are to the right. To change or add a new setting, just grab the one you want from the list and drag it over to the virtual keypad on the left. Keys can be rearranged on the same page, but it’s not easy to move a setting from one page to another.

As a Premiere Pro user, the first thing I did was create a new keypad page and add buttons to switch between the source, program and timelines to avoid a mouse click for those actions. That was relatively easy to do, thanks to the search function and intuitive drag-and-drop interface. If you’d rather not futz around with customization, Logitech has a plugin marketplace in the Logi Options+ app. I wasn’t able to use that ahead of launch, but it’s supposed to allow users to purchase or share plugins, profiles and icon packs.

Operation

Logitech

I primarily work on Lightroom Classic and Premiere Pro while occasionally making use of Photoshop and After Effects. All of those apps are supported natively by the MX Creative Console on Mac and PC.

I started with Premiere Pro, testing it on both Windows and Mac. After some pondering, I placed the keypad to the left of the keyboard and the dialpad on the right between the keyboard and mouse. That worked well visually and let me finetune edits and do adjustments with my right hand and press buttons with my left — much as I already do with a keyboard and mouse.

At first, I didn’t think the console would speed up my workflow in editing mode since I’ve memorized most of Premiere’s keyboard shortcuts. I was also worried that I’d be constantly jumping between the dial and the mouse. After playing around a bit, though, I noticed that scrubbing through the timeline with the dial offered finer and faster control than the keyboard and mouse, especially when using the scroll wheel to scale the timeline (I’d like to see faster scrubbing when I’m zoomed out though, Logitech).

Building on that, I added the split function and other click-free mouse tools I hadn’t touched in awhile. With that, I could work nearly as quickly as with a keyboard and mouse depending on the task, despite my previous fears. Though I’d be hesitant to use it myself for editing, I could see this being a good workflow for new Premiere Pro users as it visually shows actions so newbies don’t need to memorize shortcuts.

The MX Console is especially useful for color correction in Premiere. With a clip selected, you can click the bottom right dialpad button to activate the Actions Ring, move your mouse to one of the actions (exposure, contrast, whites, saturation, etc.) and turn the dial to adjust that setting. To avoid the mouse, you can also program major color adjustments into the keypad. Then, just hold the button on that setting while turning the dial.

Steve Dent for Engadget

Then it was on to Lightroom Classic. This app makes the most sense for the console, as you’re primarily performing actions (color correction, cropping etc.) on a single image. Quick keys include Develop mode, White Balance Selector, Auto White Balance, Auto upright and rating tools. Once you’ve imported images into your library, you can jump into Develop, shuttle between images using the dial and then tweak colors using the Actions Ring as with Premiere. Again, if you’d rather keep your hands on the MX Console, you can program common functions (temperature, saturation, highlights etc.) into the keypad.

The MX Console also has keys for copying and pasting Develop settings, before and after views, as well as cropping and opening images in Photoshop. A Lightroom power user could add more shortcuts to further boost efficiency. That makes it nearly as fast as the popular Loupedeck+ panel, but jumping between pages in the keypad can slow you down a bit.

Unfortunately, I found the MX Creative Console to be the least useful for Photoshop. Control panels are best for single-purpose tasks like color correction and audio adjustments, but Photoshop is designed for more complex operations. That meant I was forever taking my hands off the keypad and dialpad and putting them on the mouse and keyboard, making me less efficient, if anything. It could have been useful in Photoshop’s Camera RAW utility (which has Lightroom-like controls), but Logitech said that tool has no API and doesn’t support plugins.

Wrap-up

Steve Dent for Engadget

The MX Creative Console’s main competition is the $268 TourBox Elite, which has three dials and ten buttons. Designed to work in concert with your keyboard and mouse, it’s powerful for experienced editors, but looks a bit cheap. By contrast, Logitech’s MX Creative Console is more polished, and the visual interface its keypad provides makes it better for novices. It’s also worth noting that Elgato’s similarly priced Stream Deck+ recently added an Adobe Photoshop plugin, despite mainly being designed for live streaming. It promises easy access to Photoshop tools and adjustments via four dials and eight display keys.

Other options are more expensive, like the $529 Loupedeck CT, $395 DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor, $499 DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel and $595 Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve Editor Keyboard. Those are more powerful and look more professional, but will obviously cost you more.

Logitech’s MX Creative Console is a quality device with a fair amount of utility for apps like Premiere Pro and Lightroom Classic. Its usefulness will no doubt increase as Adobe adds more supported apps and the Logi Marketplace grows. However, it simply doesn’t have enough buttons and dials to perform tasks in many Adobe apps without falling back to the keyboard and mouse. If you do use apps where it works well, like Lightroom, it could provide a boost to your productivity and look cool doing it. It ships next month for $200 and Logitech includes a free three-month subscription to Adobe’s Creative Cloud. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/logitech-mx-creative-console-review-an-affordable-entry-point-into-edit-panels-070101321.html?src=rss

The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the high-end option in the company’s smartwatch lineup, meaning it costs a pretty penny. Ahead of October Prime Day, however, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 has dropped to a record-low price of $689, down from $799. The 14 percent discount is available on models with a Rugged Titanium Case for small to large wrists. This includes watches fitted with the Blue Alpine Loop, Indigo Alpine Loop, Orange Ocean Band and more. 

Apple released the Ultra 2 in 2022 and, despite rumors, has yet to announce a successor. Our review gave the Ultra 2 an 85 thanks to features like its long battery life. It lasts for about 36 hours, letting us easily use it for three days without a recharge. Apple also claims it can get to about 60 hours with Lower Power Mode enabled, a setting that turns off the Always On Display and features like cellular connections and heart rate notifications. 

We named the Ultra 2 the best Apple Watch for adventurer due to its sizable battery life, compass app, water temperature gauge and loud onboard siren in case you get in trouble. Plus, it can set waypoints and offers the Wayfinder watch face in Night mode. One of our quips about the watch, though, was that it was too easy to accidentally press the action button instead of the crown. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice in the lead up to October Prime Day 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-apple-watch-ultra-2-drops-to-a-record-low-price-ahead-of-october-prime-day-133416959.html?src=rss

Apple’s macOS updates have been so dull lately, the most interesting part of last year’s macOS Sonoma ended up being widgets. Widgets! Thankfully, macOS Sequoia has a lot more going on — or at least it will, once Apple Intelligence rolls out over the next few months. For now, though, Sequoia delivers a few helpful features like iPhone Mirroring, a full-fledged Passwords app and automatic transcription in the Notes app. At the very least, it’s got a lot more going on than widgets.

iPhone mirroring changes everything for Macs

Heading into WWDC earlier this year, I was hoping that Apple would let Vision Pro users mirror their iPhones just as easily as they can mirror their Macs. Well, we didn’t get that, but iPhone Mirroring on macOS Sequoia is close to what I’d want on the Vision Pro. Once you’ve got a Mac (with an Apple Silicon chip, or one of the last Intel models with a T2 security chip) running the new OS, as well as an iPhone running iOS 18, you can easily pair the two using the iPhone Mirroring app.

Once that connection is made, you’ll see a complete replication of your phone within the app. It took me a few minutes to get used to navigating iOS with a trackpad and keyboard (there are a few new hotkeys worth learning), but once I did, I had no trouble opening my usual iPhone apps and games. If you’re spoiled by the 120Hz ProMotion screen from an iPhone Pro, you’ll notice that the mirrored connection doesn’t look nearly as smooth, but from my testing it held a steady 60fps throughout games and videos. I didn’t notice any annoying audio or video lag either.

Apple

While it’s nice to be able to launch my iPhone from my Mac, I was surprised at what ended up being the most useful aspect of this feature: Notifications. Once you’ve connected your phone, its alerts pop up in your Mac’s Notification Center, and it takes just one click to launch the app it’s tied to. That’s useful for alerts from Instagram, DoorDash and other popular apps that have no real Mac options, aside from launching their websites in a browser.

iPhone Mirroring is also a sneaky way to get in a few rounds of Vampire Survivors during interminably long meetings or classes. (Not that I would ever do such a thing.) While many mobile games have made their way over to the Mac App Store, there are still thousands that haven’t, so it’s nice to have a way to access them on a larger screen. Not every game works well on Macs — it’s just tough to replicate a handheld touchscreen experience with a large trackpad — but mirroring is a decent option for slower-paced titles. I didn’t encounter any strange framerate or lagging issues, and sound carried over flawlessly as well.

I typically always have my phone within reach, even when I’m working at a desk. But picking it up would inevitably disrupt my workflow — it’s just far too easy to get a notification and find yourself scrolling TikTok or Instagram, with no memory of how you got there. With iPhone Mirroring, I can just keep on working on my Mac without missing any updates from my phone. It’s also been useful when my iPhone is connected to a wireless charger and I desperately need more power before I run out the house.

If you’re the sort of person who leaves your phone around your home, I’d bet mirroring would also be helpful. The feature requires having both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on, and the connection range is around 50 feet, or what I’d expect from Bluetooth. Thick walls and other obstructions can also reduce that range significantly. In my testing, I could leave my iPhone in my backyard and still be able to mirror it in my living room 40 feet away. Naturally, the further you get, the choppier the experience.

Sure, Apple isn’t the first company to bring smartphone mirroring to PCs. Samsung and other Android phone makers have been offering it for years, and Microsoft also has the “Phone Link” app (formerly Your Phone) for mirroring and file syncing. But those implementations differ dramatically depending on the smartphone you’re using, they don’t seamlessly integrate notifications and simply put, they would often fail to connect. Once you set up iPhone Mirroring, getting into your phone takes just a few seconds. It just works. And after testing the feature for weeks, I haven’t run into any major connection issues.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Better window tiling, finally!

It’s 2024 and Apple has finally made it easier to position Mac windows around your monitor. Now you can drag apps to the sides or corners of your screen, and they’ll automatically adjust themselves. It’s allowed me to quickly place a browser I’m using for research alongside an Evernote window or Google Doc. Similar to Stage Manager in macOS Ventura, the tiling shortcuts are a significant shift for Mac window management.

And, of course, they’re also clearly similar to Windows 10 and 11’s snapping feature. Given that much of Apple’s UI focus is on iOS, iPadOS and VisionOS these days, it’s easy to feel like the Mac has been left behind a bit. I don’t blame Apple for cribbing Microsoft’s UI innovations, especially when it makes life easier for Mac users.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

Slick video conferencing background replacement

Apple has offered lighting adjustments and portrait background blurring in video chats for years, and now it’s using that same machine learning technology to completely replace your backgrounds. Admittedly, this isn’t a very new or exciting feature. But it’s worth highlighting because it works across every video chat app on your Mac, and since it’s relying on Apple’s Neural Engine, it looks much better than software-based background replacements.

Apple’s technology does a better job of keeping your hair and clothes within focus, but still separated from artificial backgrounds. And best of all, it doesn’t look like a cheap green screen effect. You can choose from a few color gradients, shots of Apple Park or your own pictures or videos.

Other highlights of macOS Sequoia

Here are a few other upgrades I appreciated:

• The Passwords app does a decent job of collecting your stored passwords, but it’s clearly just a first attempt. It’s not nearly as smart about plugging in my passwords into browser fields as apps like 1Password and LastPass.

• The Notes app now lets you record voice notes and automatically transcribes them. You can also continue to jot down text during a voice recording, making it a useful way to keep track of interviews and lectures. I’m hoping future updates add features like multi-speaker detection.

• Being able to jot down math equations in Notes is cool, but it’s not something I rely on daily. I’m sure it’ll be very useful to high school and college kids taking advanced math courses, though.

• Messages finally gets rich text formatting and a send later option. Huzzah!

Finally, a macOS update worth getting excited about

You’d be forgiven for completely ignoring the last batch of macOS updates, especially if you haven’t been excited about Stage Manager or, sigh, widgets. But if you’re a Mac and iPhone owner, Sequoia is worth an immediate upgrade. Being able to mirror your iPhone and its notifications is genuinely useful, and it’s stuffed with other helpful features. And of course, if you want to get some Apple Intelligence action next month, you’ll have no choice but to upgrade. (We’ll have further impressions on all of Apple’s AI features as they launch.)

Sure, it’s a bit ironic that Apple’s aging desktop OS is getting a shot of life via its mobile platform, but honestly, the best recent Mac features have been directly lifted from iOS and iPadOS. It’s clear that Apple is prioritizing the devices that get updated far more frequently than laptops and desktops. I can’t blame the company for being realistic – for now, I’m just glad it’s thoughtfully trying to make its devices play nice together. (And seriously, just bring iPhone mirroring to the Vision Pro already.)

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/macos-sequoia-review-iphone-mirroring-is-more-useful-than-you-think-140008463.html?src=rss

Google’s A-series Pixel phones are an excellent option for those looking for an upgrade on an older device without breaking the bank. It’s a particularly good time to snap up the Google Pixel 8a as it’s on sale just ahead of Prime Day. The Android phone has dropped to $399, which is $100 off and a new record low price.

The Pixel 8a is actually our pick for the best midrange smartphone you can buy right now. We gave it a score of 90 in our review in May. It has some excellent hardware for a phone in this price range, including terrific cameras, a 6.1-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and great battery life (it lasted for 20 and a half hours on our video rundown test).

What’s more, the Pixel 8a runs on the Tensor G3, which is the same chipset found in the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro. As such, it can run the same AI features as the flagship handsets, including Magic Eraser and other camera trickery, web article summaries and narration via Google Assistant, wallpaper generation and faster Face Unlock.

Elsewhere, features like IP67 dust and water resistance are very welcome. On the downside, the bezels are a little thicker than some may like. Qi wireless charging is slow too at a rate of 7.5W. Still, those are minor quibbles for an otherwise great midrange phone.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice in the lead up to October Prime Day 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-google-pixel-8a-falls-to-a-record-low-of-399-ahead-of-prime-day-144717038.html?src=rss

It’s Meta’s turn to step up to the plate and host a developer conference. This year’s Meta Connect takes place on September 25 and 26. While the bulk of the event will focus on how developers can get the most out of Meta’s products, most of the actual news is likely to come from the opening keynote and developer keynote, which run back to back on September 25 starting at 1PM ET.

How to watch Meta Connect

You’ll be able to watch the keynote live on Facebook on the Meta for Developers page. There’s also the option to drink in the keynote in Horizon Worlds, in “a virtual experience inspired by the Meta campus in Menlo Park.” Meta has also shared the keynote on its YouTube channel in previous years, but only after Connect is over, so it’s unlikely to livestream the event there.

What to expect from Meta Connect

The Connect keynote will feature Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussing advancements in mixed reality, AI and wearables. The company is also promising a look at new products and features. Those may well include a pair of augmented reality glasses codenamed Orion that executives have been teasing for quite some time.

We’re also expecting to see a less-expensive version of the Quest 3, dubbed the Quest 3S. Leaks suggest that this could sell for $300, which is significantly less than the $500 Quest 3. The Quest 3S could make it easier for Meta to finally ditch the Quest 2, which debuted in 2020 and is significantly less powerful than the Quest 3.

Elsewhere, Meta may announce an update for the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses at Connect. Meta and Ray-Ban owner EssilorLuxottica recently renewed their partnership, so there’s more to come from that pact, either now or in the future.

In addition, there will likely be lots of talk about AI in the developer keynote starting at 2PM ET. It’s likely that we’ll learn more about how it’s being used across Meta’s headsets and smart glasses. As a result, the open-source Llama large language model is expected to be a topic of discussion.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/how-to-watch-meta-connect-2024-163643686.html?src=rss