Gadget Hacks

A Redditor has released an open-source project called TVport that recompiles Nintendo Switch games to run natively on Apple TV hardware rather than emulating the console, according to 9to5Mac. The developer, who goes by FloatingFalafel, built TVport as a fork of nxnative, a separate project that already runs Switch games on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, per Kod.ru.

A leaker claims OPPO is testing its unannounced Find X10 Ultra with MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro, then says a Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 version is now more likely (Android Central, today). The OPPO Find X10 Ultra MediaTek Dimensity 9600 Pro rumor is still just that: a leak, not a product announcement. OPPO hasn't confirmed the phone exists at all, so there's no official chipset, camera hardware, price, or release date to weigh against anything.

At $899, Apple's M6 Mac mini looks like a bargain beside the new $1,499 iMac. That's $600 saved before you've even turned either computer on. But there's a catch: the Mac mini doesn't come with a screen, keyboard, or mouse, and buying those separately can eat into the savings.

Google confirms that blood-pressure and insulin-resistance trend tracking are included free with Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, while the same two tools require a Google Health Premium subscription on Fitbit Air and the newly released Fitbit Edge.

Samsung's U.S. support page has a gap where cheaper screen repair used to sit. Crack the inner display on a Galaxy Z Fold8 today, and the only listed fix is a $579 "Screen Module Replacement" bundling the screen, bezel, and battery together, because the narrower repair tier Fold7 owners can still choose for $449 isn't offered on the new phone (AndroidPure, two months ago). That number is the clearest data point in the Galaxy Z Fold 8 vs iPhone Duo cost debate right now: one phone carries a...

The Galaxy A15 5G One UI 9 update in India is reportedly live, carrying firmware build A156EDXUAFZJC and CSC A156EODMAFZJC, according to Phoonomo, published yesterday. The report says the build runs on Android 17 and matches the prefix tied to the SM-A156E model sold in India.

A claim of a Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold $250 off Amazon discount is not verifiable from the reporting reviewed for this article. No live listing, seller name, SKU, or timestamp backing that price cut turned up anywhere in that reporting. That gap doesn't prove the deal is fake, it just means there's nothing yet to check the claim against.

Ask Play, Google Play's AI-powered search feature, can now generate side-by-side comparisons between apps alongside its existing conversational recommendations.

macOS Golden Gate's touch-oriented interface isn't limited to the new PROLED MacBook Pro. Testing in the macOS 27.3 and iPadOS 27.3 developer betas shows the same macOS Golden Gate touch features also work through Sidecar with an iPad, and on one of two third-party touchscreen monitors tested, AppleInsider reports.

Google has confirmed to Android Authority that a fix for Android Auto not connecting after the One UI 9 update is already rolling out. The company frames it as a broader "Android 17 / One UI 9" issue rather than a bug tied to one specific phone.

A Gartic Phone Halloween party game only works if the host plans around one detail: most guests will be drawing monsters with their thumbs on a six-inch screen, not a tablet or laptop. Gartic Phone works in iOS Safari and Android Chrome with touchscreen drawing built in, but a guide covering the game's mechanics says detailed drawing is harder on a phone than on a larger screen.

Samsung launched the W27 in China this week, a China-exclusive, dressed-up version of the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra priced from CNY 18,999 (roughly $2,852) to CNY 21,999 (roughly $3,303), according to SamMobile and Android Headlines. That pricing already lands above what's been reported for Apple's iPhone Duo in China, according to Android Headlines.

Google Photos has replaced its old shortcut grid with a layout users can actually control, giving people a real way to rearrange the Collections tab instead of relying on shortcuts the app picked for them, according to Android Authority and Android Police.

Google has confirmed that Find Hub will add Left Behind notifications, alerting users when a tracked device separates from their phone, but the only hardware with a committed launch date so far is Pixel Tag, Google's own tracker arriving November 11 for $29 solo or $99 for a four-pack.

Start with one question: did tap-to-pay ever work on this phone, or did it work fine for weeks and then suddenly stop? That answer helps determine whether you're dealing with a setup problem you can fix yourself or an intermittent issue that ordinary troubleshooting may not resolve.

The new Shortcuts features in iOS 27.2 arrived this week, covering automation triggers, actions, and editor tools documented in Apple's release notes. Several of these Shortcuts improvements also extend to iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS, which received their matching 27.2 updates on October 26.

There's still no confirmed Samsung Galaxy T1 earbuds release date, price, or official product name. But the unannounced SM-R545 has now cleared wireless certification in two countries within about a month, evidence that the product is moving through Samsung's regulatory pipeline rather than sitting idle, according to SammyGuru.

A Galaxy tablet owner asked Samsung Community how to reorder "the first 6 buttons" on their Quick Panel, and the reply pointed to a setting called Edit top quick settings. Samsung now documents that option in its official support materials for newer Galaxy devices, although the exact menu layout can vary by software version and model. For One UI 7 users, the key distinction is between editing the full Quick Panel and customizing the shortcuts shown in the combined notifications view.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate got cheaper this year, but figuring out how to get the most out of your subscription takes more than glancing at the new price. Starting April 21, 2026, Ultimate dropped from $29.99 to $22.99 a month, with PC Game Pass falling from $16.49 to $13.99, according to Microsoft. Prices vary by region, so those US figures might not match what appears on your bill.

The Samsung Galaxy A37 has worn three different price tags in about six months, and that's the central question of this Galaxy A37 review. The hardware hasn't changed.

Google's program is scheduled to become available on December 1, 2026, on devices running Android 17 QPR2 or later in the countries listed in Google's official eligibility FAQ, provided a third-party store has completed registration and received approval.

A blue indicator has started showing up in the status bar on Samsung Galaxy phones running One UI 9, and it has one job: flagging when an app is actively accessing your location.

Yes, a laser pointer can damage a phone camera sensor, but the outcome isn't a single fixed result. Research on camera sensors shows effects ranging from temporary overexposure that clears on its own to permanent dead pixels or a sensor that stops producing usable images altogether. None of the studies cited here support the blanket claim that any laser pointer aimed at any phone will wreck the camera. The risk depends on the laser's power, wavelength, exposure duration, and how much energy...

Google wants Android users in parts of Canada to check their phones before Nov. 1, the day several provinces and territories stop turning clocks back.

Samsung's unreleased Exynos 2700 reportedly scored around 13,000 in a Geekbench 6.5 multi-core benchmark test against roughly 11,000 for Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, a lead of nearly 20%, according to industry sources cited by The Korea Herald on Oct. 25.

Samsung has started pushing a second Galaxy S26 October 2026 update, and so far only phones in South Korea have been reported receiving it, according to Android Headlines and SamMobile. The update covers the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra, weighs about 580.37MB, and arrives without a public changelog explaining what it does.

Got an Apple TV Siri Remote and a Mac nearby? Here's how to use a Siri Remote with a Mac: pair it over Bluetooth, and macOS immediately recognizes a small set of built-in commands with no extra software required. The clickpad won't move your cursor or navigate apps on its own, though. Apple built this remote for tvOS, not macOS, so getting more out of it means installing something extra (AppleInsider, today).

Samsung has started rolling out One UI 9.0 based on Android 17 to the Galaxy A16 5G on Verizon.

Apple's current support page lists up to 25W MagSafe charging for iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro Max, while iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro are rated for up to 22.5W. An independent Techtest report also found faster charging with a third-party Qi2.2 pad after updating an iPhone 16 Pro Max to iOS 26.

Creating a password-protected ZIP on Android starts with choosing a file manager that supports encrypted archives. Files by Google can create ordinary ZIP files, but its documented compression workflow doesn't include a password option. That's a limitation of Files by Google, not Android as a whole.

Google revised its privacy policy on Oct. 16 to say that data shared between Gmail, Google Photos, or Drive and certain other Google services may now be used to personalize content, including ads. The update adds an exception to language that previously ruled out using content from those apps for ad personalization, according to The Verge and Ars Technica.

A fork of an open-source project called nxnative has reportedly got Mario Kart World, a Switch 2 exclusive, running on a Mac, with developer Will Faust posting video footage of the game on Oct. 27.

If Microsoft Teams won't open on Windows 11, first check whether your PC is managed by an organization or fully yours. That determines which fixes you can safely try. Most of the troubleshooting also applies to Windows 10, although some Settings menus differ.

So, how much are old Samsung phones worth? In an Oct. 23 snapshot, a like-new 256GB Galaxy S23 Ultra could bring a top cash buyback offer of $291, compared with a reported average completed sale price of $404 on Swappa, before fees. That's a $113 difference for handling the sale yourself instead of accepting a buyback offer, according to Engadget.

Apple shipped tvOS 27.2 for Apple TV 4K this week, and tucked inside that release is the first expansion of Apple TV profiles to iPhone and iPad. The mobile side rides on a separate iOS and iPadOS 27.2 update rather than tvOS itself, and it matters most for anyone who shares a phone or tablet with family, kids, or roommates and wants a Continue Watching list that doesn't fill up with someone else's shows.

iOS 27 introduces a change to how iPhone handles sound: alarms, ringtones, and notification alerts no longer have to share one volume slider. Owners can now turn down a ringtone or text alert without quietly lowering the alarm that's supposed to wake them up. That's the practical answer to a question a lot of iPhone owners have been asking for years: how to set separate alarm and ringer volumes on iPhone without one setting dragging down the other.

OnePlus has already started rolling out Android 17-based ColorOS 17 ahead of its original Oct. 29, 2026, schedule.

Samsung's latest Galaxy Watch 7 update isn't packed with new features, but it targets parts of the smartwatch experience that owners use throughout the day. Watch faces, the always-on display, and Quick Settings are among the areas receiving attention in the fifth One UI 9 Watch beta.

Passports, birth certificates, and Social Security cards don't fit inside a Bluetooth tracker, but Google's Find Hub now gives them a place anyway. Its new Remembered tab lets you tell Gemini where you stored a document, then ask for that location later, whether you're digging through a closet or preparing for a trip.

A Samsung Galaxy phone can meet every obvious requirement, Bluetooth enabled, signed into the same Google Account, and fully updated, and still refuse to show up as an option under ChromeOS's Connected devices setup.