It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the team at Squirrels LLC. First they released DropStream, a new app designed for fast, easy streaming of video, music and photos from Mac to Apple TV or Chromecast. Today, the company has release the latest version of Reflector, its utility that turns a Mac or Windows PC into an AirPlay receiver. Reflector 3 will be priced at US$14.99, but the company will have an $11.99 introductory price in play for a while as well as discounts for existing users of Reflector 2.
We had an opportunity to test Reflector 3 prior to release. Probably the biggest thing I personally noticed was how responsive the new version is. With earlier versions, I always felt that there was a slight lag in operation over a Wi-Fi network — doing something on an iOS device was reflected on the Mac just a fraction of a second later. Now there’s no visible lag at all, making the app perfect for just about any situation you might want to use the app for.
Me? I’m planning on using Reflector 3 when I teach my next iOS classes in the spring. I’ve been connecting an iPad directly to a projector to do the class, but that forces me to stay in one place near a podium. Now I’ll run Reflector 3 on my MacBook Pro, easily switching between Keynote and doing demos while walking around the room.
Some of the new features of Reflector 3 include the ability to take full-resolution screenshots of any connected device. This actually helps in situations where it’s otherwise impossible to take device screenshots — when trying to get a screenshot of the iPhone X shutdown screen, for example (see image at right). I actually needed to do this for my post on the iPhone X UI and it’s impossible to do using the regular iPhone X screenshot gesture. Not so with Reflector 3!
Speaking of the iPhone X, Reflector 3 is able to display the edge-to-edge iPhone X screen complete with a frame, perfect for demonstrating features to others or doing video podcasting. I found the new version much easier to use as well; all of the major things you’ll want to do like snapping a screenshot or grabbing a screen video are now done through a pop-up that appears above the iOS device display.
All in all, Reflector 3 is a very solid upgrade to this venerable screen mirroring app. Anyone currently using Reflector should upgrade ASAP, and if you’ve been looking for a better way to capture iOS device operation on a Mac, then Reflector 3 is the best choice out there.
