AppleInsider · Kasper's Automated Slave

Like a lot of people, I have an iPhone, an Apple Watch, and some AirPods -- and they all need to be charged. Normally, that means three cables and three AC outlets, but that doesn't have to be the case.

Satechi Q2 Trio review: There's something magical about charging three things at once.

Wireless charging stations have been around for a long time, and some of them are pretty great. With the launch of Qi2 in 2024, many of them have been refreshed with the upgraded spec -- including the Satechi Trio.

As the name suggests, this device can wirelessly charge three things simultaneously: an iPhone, an Apple Watch, and AirPods. It does it quickly, and dare I say, it does it in style to boot.

I've been testing the upgraded Satechi Qi2 Trio Wireless Charging Pad for a few weeks, so how did it stack up? Let's put it this way: I now have two free AC outlets, and I can finally use StandBy mode. Let me explain.

Satechi Qi2 Trio 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad review: Powered-up specs

You could be forgiven for thinking that all chargers are created equal, but you'd be very wrong. That's especially true when moving from a cable to a wireless charger.

Satechi Qi2 Trio review: Charge your iPhone using magnets or gravity, it's up to you

You can get a wireless charger for relatively little these days, but they'll charge incredibly slowly. Standard Qi chargers top out at 7.5W, which isn't a lot, whereas newer Qi2 chargers double that to 15W.

The Qi2 Trio, predictably, supports the newer Qi2 standard, adding magnets to the specification. If that sounds like MagSafe, it should -- Qi2 is based on it.

The result is that this wireless charger can charge your iPhone almost as quickly as it can when using the cable that comes in the box. You're still going to want to use that cable if speed is of the essence, though.

The Qi2 Trio can even fast-charge modern Apple Watches, too. If you have an Apple Watch Series 7 or newer, it'll charge at 5W, just like Apple's charging puck.

That's a relatively new addition for third-party chargers, and it's a welcome one, especially for sleep trackers like me. I throw my Apple Watch Series 10 on the charger before I have a shower, and it's always full when I need it.

Finally, we get to the AirPods charger, which also reaches 5W. That's as fast as an AirPods charging case can go, so that's pretty standard fare.

The Qi2 Trio holds your Apple Watch vertically so you can use Nightstand Mode. That has the added benefit of meaning you don't need to remove any bands when charging.

Next, your AirPods sit flat on their back on the charging pad to the right of your Apple Watch. Things get more interesting when we get to the iPhone charger.

Powering your iPhone presents two options: either charge it flat on its back or extend a metal arm that holds it in the air. Choose the latter, and the iPhone can be in any orientation you like, too.

This, of course, means that StandBy Mode is supported. If you have an iPhone with an always-on display, that's doubly cool.

Even without the always-on component, StandBy Mode turns your iPhone into a futuristic alarm clock -- and the Qi2 Trio makes it all possible.

It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway: you can charge all three devices simultaneously. And Satechi includes a 45W USB-C adapter and cable in the box.

As for the industrial design, Satechi uses a premium-grade aluminum enclosure that makes everything feel solid. The heft just makes it feel like a quality bit of kit, which doesn't hurt.

Satechi Qi2 Trio 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad review: Compatible devices

You'll need to have a compatible device to use this charger, but the chances are good that you do.

All iPhone 12 or newer models support MagSafe and, by extension, will work just fine with all Qi2 chargers.

Satechi Qi2 Trio review: It doesn't look much, but this charger has it all.

All Apple Watches will charge when using the Qi2 Trio. However, you need an Apple Watch Series 7 or newer to benefit from the fastest charging speeds.

Any AirPods with a wireless charging case are good to go here. In the current lineup, that means AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 (ANC) can be charged wirelessly.

As for future models, future iPhones will likely work just fine thanks to the Qi2 standard. The same can likely be said for AirPods, although future models might support faster charging that the Qi2 Trio can't match.

The Apple Watch could be the outlier here, unfortunately. If Apple chooses to use a new wireless charging system in the future, you might need a new charger to go with it.

Satechi Qi2 Trio 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad review: It's time to ditch those cables

As I said at the top of this review, I've been using the Satechi Qi2 Trio for a few weeks now. And it had pride of place on my bedside table until recently.

The only reason it's no longer there? My wife claimed it because she was tired of losing her Apple Watch and iPhone cables down the side of the bed.

That, right there, tells a story that will no doubt resonate with plenty of people reading this. You just cannot beat the convenience of just putting your stuff down and watching it charge.

Add in the fact that the charging pad opens the door to Nightstand Mode and Standby Mode, and it's a winner for me. The fact that it charges so quickly is the icing on the cake.

I'd heartily recommend the Satechi Qi2 Trio Wireless Charging Pad, especially if you can find it at a discount. Its usual $130 price isn't bad considering it comes with a 45W adapter in the box, but it ain't cheap.

Satechi Qi2 Trio 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad review: Pros

• Unbeatable convenience


• As fast as wireless chargers get


• You'll get some cables and outlets back


• The metal construction oozes quality

Satechi Qi2 Trio 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad review: Cons

• $100 might be too much for some


• Question marks over future Apple Watch compatibility


• It's so good, yours might be "borrowed" by your spouse

Rating: 4 out of 5

Where to buy the Satechi Qi2 Trio

You can buy the Satechi Qi2 Trio Wireless Charging Pad from Amazon for $99.99. You can also buy it directly from Satechi's website, but you'll pay $30 more if you do.



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You can customize the macOS Console's log window to change the way it behaves. Here's how to adjust it for your needs.

Customizing 's Console log window.

macOS's Console app is a utility that allows you to view system-wide logs, crash reports, diagnostics, and more. By using Console, you can view what has been going on with your Mac in-depth.

One thing Console lets you view are logs. Logs are simply text files that software writes messages to, usually with a timestamp and process name, so you can later go back and see what happened on your computer.

Logs have a long history dating all the way back to the early UNIX days in the 1970s, when programmers began using them to debug UNIX apps. Programmatically, UNIX methods such as log, syslog, and others write text output to a log file from within programs.

In macOS, these files are saved locally to several places on your Startup Disk, including:

1. /private/var/log


2. /private/var/logs


3. /Users/~/Library/Logs/


4. /Library/Logs


5. The user's home folder (~)


6. Application-specifc folders

From time to time, macOS will archive and store old logs by compressing them and appending a .bz2 extension to them. You can safely delete these archives if you like.

Don't delete critical system logs or any log or folder that is permission-protected, as macOS needs these. Other logs can safely be deleted, but be aware that when you delete a log, its record of what went on is lost forever, and there's no way to get it back.

Several key log files, such as system.log and install.log, should be kept around just in case.

If you do delete a system log file, macOS will automatically create a new replacement when it needs to, or after the next time you restart your Mac.

Using Console to view logs

Rather than having to dig around in folders to find log files, Apple provides the Console app, which both knows where log files live and how to display them.

To use Console, open it in the /Applications/Utilities folder and click on one of the log categories in the left sidebar. This will display the selected log or logs for that category in the top pane on the right.

If you click a single log file name in the sidebar on the left, its contents will be shown in the pane on the right.

The main Console log displaying system.log.

To view the contents of any single log from one of the log categories, select a category in the sidebar first, then select a log file name from the top pane. The selected log's contents will be displayed in the bottom pane on the right.

You can also locate the selected log file in the Finder by Control-clicking on its name in the sidebar, or in the top pane and selecting Reveal in Finder from the popup menu.

To move a log file to the Trash, select it in the Console window, Control-click on it, then select Move to Trash from the popup menu. This physically moves the log file to the Trash.

If you're going to delete a log file, it's best to also Finder->Empty Trash afterwards in the Finder to force macOS to create a new copy of the deleted log file. Be careful which log files you delete, since some of them are in use by macOS.

The Console's toolbar and menus

At the top of the Console's window is a toolbar containing buttons. There's also a View menu in the menu bar containing a variety of items. One of the menu items in the View menu lets you customize the toolbar.

While you can view a log's contents in the bottom pane in the main Console window, you can also double-click any log's name in the Console window to open its content in a new window:

Viewing system.log in its own log window in Console.

Each log window also has its own toolbar. You can customize this toolbar by selecting View->Customize Toolbar....

When you do, a sheet is presented showing all possible items you can add to the log window toolbar.

Customizing the log window toolbar is mainly accomplished by dragging items from the sheet to the toolbar, or out of the toolbar to remove them. To remove an existing item from the toolbar, drag it from the toolbar back into the sheet.

The Customize Toolbar edit sheet.

Dragging items within the toolbar also reorders them.

You can also set whether to display icons only, or text and icons for each item in the toolbar by making a selection from the Show: popup menu at the bottom of the sheet.

Once you have the log window toolbar just the way you want it, click the Done button to return to the log window. You can also hide or show the log window's toolbar by selecting View->Hide Toolbar in the menu bar.

There are other window options such as reordering columns, customizing the content view, and using saved searches. See Apple's page Customize the log window in Console on Mac in the Console User Guide for more info.

The Console is a handy app to have around, and once you know how to customize it to your taste, it's a lot easier and more enjoyable to use.



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Apple is reportedly cutting its Apple TV+ budget as this is its only service that is losing money, but the report conveniently leaves out that the service has always been a loss-leader with benefits that can't have a dollar-value.

Apple TV+ being promoted in an Apple Store in 2019

The specific claim of the new report is that Apple loses $1 billion per year on Apple TV+. Of course it does.

It should be more, really, since the budget for Apple TV+ films alone, not even including serialized shows like "Severance," was originally set at $1 billion annually.

While it sounds a lot -- because it is -- television and films are costly to make. Apple's $1 billion per year is even on the low side, with Netflix estimated to be spending $18 billion in 2025.

Apple TV+ has also reportedly spent $20 million per episode of "Severance," but then it's said to have made the company back $200 million in new subscribers.

That per-episode cost for "Severance" was driven up by issues around COVID filming delays, but it's still not that unusual. Netflix reportedly spent $30 million per episode of "Stranger Things" season four.

It has been reported before that Apple has trimmed its Apple TV+ budget, but this new report by The Information bizarrely believes Apple's streamer is in trouble because it works the same way Netflix does. That's not true -- Netflix makes some money through international rights deals, but most of it comes from subscribers and advertisers.

Apple has no advertisers on Apple TV+ -- at least not yet -- and admittedly fewer subscribers than Netflix. But then Netflix gets no money from having, say, an incredibly popular hardware device that is its main product line.

What this report misses is that there is not one thing Apple does that is not directly tied to the rest of its business, most specifically the iPhone.

So it is doubtlessly entirely true that Apple TV+ is the only Apple Service that loses that much money, it's equally doubtless that it's one that drives buyers to the iPhone and other devices. And the sum total of Apple services including Apple TV+ helps keep people on Apple's platform, even if it has recently released Apple TV+ on Android.

Then there's the way that "Severance" and "Ted Lasso" have positioned Apple in the market. Both have become cultural phenomenons right now -- and they are always going to be here.

In television production, there are periodically times when networks concentrate on entertainment series, otherwise known as shiny floor shows. Without question, it is incredibly cheaper to produce another season of "Dancing with the Stars" than it is to make "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters," and entertainment shows get brilliant ratings.

They just do not get any repeat value. NBC will never re-show a whole season of "America's Got Talent," for instance.

But "Ted Lasso" and "Severance" are bringing in audiences now and they will continue to do so for years, perhaps even decades.

Shows like that are also tentpoles for a streaming service, since they project an image of great, well-made series. It's Apple's famous halo effect, just being applied to television and films.

So even if there were no direct income to Apple, it's as impossible to estimate its financial benefit as it is to deny that Apple TV+ helps promote the company.

You immediately recognize "Severance" and that's part of how Apple TV+ raises Apple's profile -- image credit: Apple

Plus there is an income for Apple in subscriptions to Apple TV+, although there it is probably also a factor in pushing subscriptions to the whole Apple One bundle. And Apple, too, has deals with other firms such as airlines, or while it's not clear if Apple TV+ is directly profiting, also now sales of its shows to other markets.

Then compare Apple TV+ to other Apple Services and it's clear how it was always going to cost the company some serious cash. A subscription to the service now costs $9.99/month, and for the same price you could instead of 2TB of iCloud storage.

Only, iCloud storage does not cost Apple as much as making "F1" or buying "CODA."

This new report quotes a recent Variety interview with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos who was asked what he thought of rival Apple TV+.

"I don't understand it beyond a marketing play, but they're really smart people," he said. "Maybe they see something we don't."

If Apple does see something else, it doesn't need to. Marketing is enough, what Apple TV+ brings to Apple is enough.

Which, frustratingly, is also the conclusion of this new report despite author Wayne Ma again starting off sounding like Apple is unexpectedly hemorrhaging money and will go out of business.

It's the same old story, Apple is doooooomed. Just don't let it be doomed until they've finished the next season of "Slow Horses."



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The UK's Court of Appeal has rejected Apple's request to dismiss a $1 billion lawsuit over cutting the performance of an iPhone 6 and other models with chemically depleted batteries.

An iPhone battery

Consumer rights activist Justin Gutmann filed his case in 2022, through the UK's equivalent of a US class action lawsuit. According to a statement to AppleInsider from Gutmann's legal team, Apple's attempts to get the case dismissed on appeal have now failed.

"[The UK] Court of Appeal has given the go-ahead for the so-called 'Batterygate' lawsuit -- a collective action brought on behalf of millions of UK users, which accuses Apple of intentionally 'throttling' iPhone batteries," says the statement. "Apple will now be forced to defend itself in court, after it tried but failed to get the 853 million pounds [$1.1 billion] claim thrown out."

Gutmann claims that Apple should have told approximately 24 million users that their iPhones would be "throttled." The models cited in the case are:

• iPhone 6


• iPhone 6 Plus


• iPhone 6s


• iPhone 6s Plus


• iPhone SE


• iPhone 7


• iPhone 7 Plus

According to Gutmann's filing, Apple willfully concealed the fact that its it would throttle, or slow down, these devices. Consequently, the lawsuit claims that users had multiple issues from slower application launching and lower speaker volume, to a disabled camera flash.

Central to the complaint is that in order to regain performance, users had to upgrade to newer iPhones, or pay Apple to replace the batteries in their existing devices.

While Apple has yet to comment on the Court of Appeal's decision, it has previously apologized for this so-called "throttling." However, the intention behind the throttling was to prolong the life of the iPhone battery, and specifically to prevent unexpected shutdowns when a chemically depleted battery couldn't maintain enough voltage to keep the phone running at top speed.

Following that 2017 apology, Apple cut the price of replacement iPhone batteries in the UK from 65 pounds to 25 pounds until the end of December 2018. It did the same in the US, where battery replacement prices were cut to $29 instead of between $49 and $69, depending on the model of iPhone.

What happens next

No date has been set yet for the trial. However Gutmann's representatives at law firm Charles Lyndon, plus Monckton Chambers and the Berkeley Research Group, have set out the next stage for claimants.

UK residents who meet the eligibility criteria -- for instance by having owned one of the affected iPhone models -- do not need to do anything. They are automatically included the lawsuit, although by being so, they forfeit their right to bring a separate action against Apple.

If an eligible UK resident wants to opt out of the lawsuit, they have until June 7, 2025 to do so. Similarly, an eligible claimant currently residing outside the UK, has until the same date to opt in.

More details, including how to opt in or out, are on the iPhone Claim website.

The UK case is far from the only one concerned with Apple's alleged "batterygate". In 2020, Apple agreed to pay out $500 million to end a US class-action lawsuit over the issue, although it then took until 2024 for it to send out checks to affected customers.



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With every generation, Apple's Max-series chips have pushed the boundaries of performance, and M4 Max in the new Mac Studio delivers the most significant leap yet in performance.

Mac Studio

Apple's custom silicon has evolved dramatically, with each new generation improving performance, efficiency, and capability. The M1 Max, M2 Max, and M4 Max represent three iterations of Apple's most powerful chips for MacBook Pro, each refining the balance between speed and power consumption.

While the M1 Max was a game-changer when it launched in 2021, the M2 Max built on its foundation with modest but meaningful improvements in 2023. The latest M4 Max delivers the biggest leap yet, expanding memory support, adding AI-driven optimizations, and enhancing graphics performance.

M1 Max, M2 Max, M4 Max - Specifications

M1 Max, M2 Max, M4 Max - CPU Performance

The M1 Max launched with a 10-core CPU, featuring eight performance cores and two efficiency cores. The M2 Max expanded that to 12 cores, doubling the number of efficiency cores to improve background tasks and battery life.

The M4 Max offers two CPU variants -- a 14-core version with 10 performance cores and 4 efficiency cores and a 16-core version with even more performance power. It delivers higher multi-core performance, with Apple claiming improved power efficiency.

Single-core benchmarks

Apple's performance claims hold up in Geekbench 6 benchmarks, which highlight just how much faster the M4 Max is compared to earlier Max chips.

When the M1 Max debuted in the Mac Studio, it delivered a single-core score of 2,418 and a multi-core score of 12,639 in Geekbench 6.

The M2 Max in a later Mac Studio, showed modest but meaningful improvements, reaching a single-core score of 2,782 and a multi-core score of 14,978.

The 15% increase in multi-core performance boosted demanding workloads, but the gap between the M1 Max and M2 Max was minimal.

Multi-core benchmarks

The real game-changer is the M4 Max, which delivers a single-core score of 3,875 and a multi-core score of 24,928 in the MacBook Pro.

The M4 Max boasts nearly double the multi-core performance of the M1 Max and a significant 60% increase over the M2 Max, marking the biggest generational leap in Apple's high-end Mac chips.

M1 Max, M2 Max, M4 Max - Graphics performance

Apple's M1 Max, introduced in 2021, featured a 10-core CPU with eight performance cores and two efficiency cores. This setup balanced power and efficiency, making it good for demanding tasks like video editing and software development.

However, with only two efficiency cores, background processes had less dedicated support.

The M2 Max, released in 2023, doubled efficiency cores from two to four while keeping eight performance cores. These efficiency cores improved multitasking and battery life by offloading background tasks.

However, while more efficient, the overall performance gain over the M1 Max was moderate.

The M4 Max pushes further with 14-core and 16-core CPU configurations. The 14-core variant has 10 performance cores and four efficiency cores, while the 16-core version adds even more processing power.

Apple's M1 Max, introduced in 2021, featured a 10-core CPU with eight performance cores and two efficiency cores

Built on a 3-nanometer process, the M4 Max delivers faster speeds, better efficiency, and stronger performance in multi-threaded applications.

M1 Max, M2 Max, M4 Max - Unified memory & bandwidth

Apple's unified memory architecture lets the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine share the same high-speed memory, eliminating bottlenecks and improving efficiency.

Unlike traditional PCs, where memory is split between components, UMA allows access to more memory when needed, boosting multitasking, graphics performance, and AI workloads.

Apple's M1 Max introduced unified memory, allowing the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine to share up to 64GB of RAM. It featured 400GB/s memory bandwidth for high-speed data transfer.

The chip setup provided significant performance improvements over Intel-based Macs but had limitations for users needing even more memory.

The M2 Max expanded maximum memory capacity to 96GB while maintaining the same 400GB/s bandwidth. The expanded memory allowed for larger datasets and better performance in memory-intensive apps.

While the bandwidth remained unchanged, the increased RAM options gave users more flexibility for complex workloads.

Apple raised memory support to 128GB and increased bandwidth to 410GB/s for the 14-core M4 Max and 546GB/s for the 16-core model. It improves access to large datasets and efficiency in AI, machine learning, and media processing.

Combined with Apple's 3-nanometer process, the M4 Max maximizes performance while keeping power consumption in check.

M1 Max, M2 Max, M4 Max - Media Engine

Apple introduced a dedicated media engine with the M1 Max, significantly improving hardware-accelerated ProRes, H.264, and HEVC performance. The media engine allowed for faster video editing and rendering.

The M2 Max refined this feature with greater efficiency, though it did not introduce major new capabilities.

With the M4 Max, Apple has added AI-driven enhancements to the media engine, likely improving real-time rendering, encoding, and decoding efficiency. While Apple hasn't disclosed specifics, it's expected to outperform the M1 Max and M2 Max in professional video workloads.

M1 Max, M2 Max, M4 Max - Display Support

The M1 Max and M2 Max supported up to four external displays, which was already a huge leap over standard M-series chips.

The M1 Max introduced support for up to four external displays

On MacBook Pro models, the M4 Max can drive four external displays alongside the built-in screen. However, the Mac Studio version supports up to five external displays, including multiple 8K monitors at high refresh rates.

Thunderbolt 5 connectivity further improves display bandwidth, allowing for smoother multi-screen workflows and higher refresh rates for pro users.

M1 Max, M2 Max, M4 Max - Thunderbolt & Connectivity

Both the M1 Max and M2 Max featured Thunderbolt 4, delivering 40Gbps speeds for high-performance peripherals and external drives.

Both the M1 Max and M2 Max featured Thunderbolt 4

The M4 Max upgrades this to Thunderbolt 5, boosting data transfer speeds and daisy-chaining capabilities. This makes it particularly useful for external GPUs, ultra-fast SSDs, and high-resolution multi-monitor setups.

Which to buy

Choosing a MacBook Pro depends on workflow, budget, and performance needs. Each chip delivers solid power, but the right choice depends on performance requirements and upgrade worthiness.

M1 Max users who primarily use professional apps may find their current machine sufficient. The M2 Max introduced modest improvements, making the M4 Max a more compelling upgrade for significant boosts.

With double multi-core performance, expanded memory, enhanced AI and video processing, the M4 Max is ideal for heavy computational workloads.

It's the first major leap for M2 Max owners, improving CPU and GPU efficiency, increasing memory capacity, adding better external display support, and integrating AI-driven enhancements.

Users with 8K video, large-scale 3D rendering, machine learning models, or multi-monitor setups benefit most from the upgrade. Lighter workloads like photo editing, web development, or office work may find the M2 Max sufficient.

For first-time MacBook Pro buyers seeking top-tier performance, the M4 Max is best. It delivers the biggest performance leap in Apple's Max-series chips, includes Thunderbolt 5, and greater efficiency for demanding tasks.

Future-proofing is crucial for high-end MacBooks, and the M4 Max ensures access to the latest architecture with the longest usability.

While the M4 Max is top-tier, the M1 Max and M2 Max still offer excellent value, especially when discounted. Users who don't require cutting-edge performance or additional memory may find sticking with an earlier Max chip cost-effective and capable.



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