I’ve been traveling quite a bit recently, and I tell you what — there’s nothing worse than having to deal with hotel TVs. Will they let me cast from my phone to the screen? Will they have an accessible HDMI port? Will they even have any channels tuned in that I can zone out in front of?
It’s a lottery, and though features like AirPlay and Chromecast support were supposed to make beaming shows and movies to compatible TVs simple, you’re still at the mercy of the hotel Wi-Fi even if the support is there.
Which is why I wish I’d had the foresight to bring Hyper’s new HyperDrive Connect USB-C to 4K HDMI Displays cable with me on my travels. Provided you’ve got a newer Apple device, and you can get to a HDMI port, it makes going from a mobile display to a big screen experience a plug-and-play job.
The hotel hopper's favorite cable
Available now and priced at $29.99, Hyper’s cable has one job and does it very well. Simply plug the USB-C end into your device of choice, and the HDMI end into your TV, and… voila! Instant video mirroring. No need for adapters or docks — just a single quick cable connection to get your big screen fix.
It’s an ideal partner for when traveling with a USB-C-equipped iPad or iPad Pro, or any iPhone 15 model, with the range finally bringing a USB-C port to Apple’s smartphones. Thank God we’ve finally got the do-anything port on iPhones, with cable accessories like this showing just how useful and flexible USB-C can be.
Provided your device supports DP Alt Mode, this cable should work a treat — so that means we’re not just talking about iPhones and iPads, but, say, an M2 or M3 MacBook Air which otherwise lacks a full-size HDMI port, or even a handheld games console like the Steam Deck.
The cable is nicely constructed too, with an 8ft (2.5m) braided cable built to withstand 25,000 bends. The cable can output at 4K/60Hz with HDR10 support — so not the highest of refresh rates, but plenty fast enough for watching a film, showing off a presentation, or playing all but the most competitive of games. If there’s one downside, it’s that the HDMI end of the cable is a chunky guy, with rigid casing protruding about an inch from the connector itself. This may make plugging it into TVs that sit flush with a wall a little difficult. But that’s my only complaint.
If you’ve ever found yourself twiddling thumbs, unable to get an iPhone video onto a big screen, check it out. I can’t wait to use it to bore my folks with holiday snaps.
Check it out at the Hyper website.
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