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Google AI Plus is losing Pro models. A subscriber email shared by a Reddit user says Gemini's Pro model selection will disappear from the $4.99-a-month plan starting November 13, 2026, and 9to5Google reported on the message two days ago.

Saying "stop" to Gemini for Home used to be a gamble. Sometimes it killed whatever was playing; sometimes it just ended the back-and-forth while an alarm kept blaring in the background. Google's October 14 release notes for the Google Home app describe a fix for that: say "stop" now, and Gemini immediately ends the active listening session without a follow-up response, and it's supposed to correctly halt active music, a timer, or an alarm instead of just wrapping up the conversation. That's the...

Amazon introduced two new Bee AI devices on October 15, 2026: the $74.99 Bee Frontier wearable, available now, and the $99.99 Bee Eclipse magnetic phone attachment, which Amazon says will arrive soon with no confirmed ship date (CNBC; About Amazon). It's the first hardware update since Amazon bought the startup in July 2025, and the Bee Frontier vs Bee Eclipse choice comes down to one practical question: something worn on the body, or something stuck to the back of a phone (CNBC).

Open the Together tab in Samsung Health and spot a string of asterisks where a friend's name should be, and the first thought is usually that something broke. But Samsung Health friends shown as asterisks can be the result of a privacy feature introduced in version 7.1, rather than a glitch or missing contact.

Google may be preparing a new Phone Unlock feature that lets an already-unlocked Android phone unlock a nearby Googlebook automatically. Strings discovered in Android 17 QPR3 Beta 1 describe the feature, along with setup screens showing a Googlebook laptop. However, Google hasn't announced Phone Unlock or confirmed when it might become available.

Google Maps can now take a specific craving, match it to a restaurant, and help you start an order through a partner service, all inside the same conversation. That capability runs through Ask Maps, which uses Gemini to analyze photos, reviews, and menus to work out what you want to eat.

Google is reportedly redesigning how business conversations appear inside Google Messages, pairing rounded-square icons and verification checkmarks with tools for identifying and deleting promotional RCS chats. That sounds like progress against Google Messages ads clutter, but visual identification addresses only part of the problem. Recognizing a marketing message doesn't necessarily explain why it arrived or how future contact will be handled.

Samsung's Galaxy S26 FE and Google's Pixel 11 offer two different routes to a flagship Android experience, with roughly $100 separating their 256GB models in the United States. The Galaxy S26 FE costs $799.99 at its regular retail price, while the Pixel 11 starts at $899. Choosing between them comes down to more than the price difference.

Nvidia RTX Spark Windows laptops become available from OEM partners starting tomorrow, October 16, 2026, and preorders are already open (Nvidia). Nvidia and Microsoft are marketing this hardware heavily around local AI agents and large language models that run without a cloud connection. That pitch is the least interesting part of the story.

Google rolled out a new, Gemini-powered tier of scam protection for Google Messages yesterday, and it isn't landing on every Android phone at once. The list of Google Messages scam detection supported phones for this upgraded tier is much shorter than the list of devices that already run the feature's standard version, according to Google's security blog.

A new leak claims the Samsung Galaxy A58's rear camera setup will carry the same megapixel counts as the Galaxy A57: a 50MP main sensor, 12MP ultrawide, 5MP macro, plus a 12MP front camera, according to GSMArena, citing a report published yesterday. The claim traces back to Dutch outlet GalaxyClub and has since been relayed by GSMDome and Tech Advisor.

Google Play's Gamer DNA feature is now official. Google announced the AI-powered Game Finder on Oct. 13, turning an earlier code discovery into a personalized game recommendation tool that's rolling out to US users. The feature analyzes gaming activity and stated preferences to suggest titles that match how people actually like to play.

Samsung's Galaxy S27 lineup is reportedly expanding from three phones to four, and that expansion is tangled up with a chip decision Samsung hasn't made yet. Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra rumors have picked up through industry reporting out of Korea rather than leaked spec sheets this time, covering a new display material, a camera shake-up, and an unresolved fight over which processor powers the phone. Samsung's next top-tier device is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2027.

Does Windows Update include BIOS updates? Sometimes, yes, but there's no blanket rule guaranteeing your specific machine will receive one alongside a routine monthly patch. Windows Update can deliver system BIOS/UEFI firmware updates to supported PCs. Whether you get one depends on your PC maker, the exact model you own, its firmware-update capabilities, and whether the manufacturer publishes a compatible package through that channel.

Samsung's intelligent eyewear, widely referred to in reports as the Galaxy Glasses, just got its most detailed leak yet, and the headline number is weight. The glasses reportedly weigh about 41g with standard lenses, making them among the lightest AI glasses expected to hit the market this year.

WhatsApp says it is introducing guest calling, a feature that lets people without a WhatsApp account join a voice or video call through a shared link, the company announced yesterday. Guests open the link in a computer browser, type in a name, and wait for the host to let them in. No app install, no sign-up.

Nothing began rolling out the stable Nothing OS 5.0 update on October 12, but so far only the Nothing Phone (3) is in the current wave. Nine more phones across Nothing and CMF have tentative rollout windows extending into mid-January 2027, according to Nothing's published roadmap and subsequent reporting.

Global smartphone shipments fell 20% year-over-year in the third quarter of 2026, the weakest Q3 total since 2012, according to preliminary estimates from Counterpoint Research's Market Monitor service. That's the headline behind the global smartphone market decline, but the number that matters more if you're holding a phone right now is what's happening underneath it.

Netflix is cutting roughly 6% of its global workforce, about 1,000 jobs, in its steepest reduction since 2022. Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters told staff in an internal memo that the greatest impact falls on the company's product, technology, legal, and HR teams.

If the Google Maps speedometer on your Android Auto display is missing and you haven't touched a single setting, you're not alone, and you're not stuck. The most consistently reported fix is to set a destination and start navigating, a workaround several affected drivers say brings the speedometer right back (SlashGear, yesterday). That fix addresses one specific version of the feature, though. It won't help if what's actually missing for you is the newer, always-on display that works without a...

One Android Authority reviewer switched from an Apple TV 4K to Google's $100 TV Streamer and got a full-screen Taco Bell ad, complete with a QR code, planted on the home screen. Scroll further and a Target-sponsored March Madness section sat in the "For You" feed, next to promos for shows on Prime Video, Peacock, and Disney Plus. That screenshot keeps resurfacing whenever the Apple TV 4K vs Google TV privacy debate flares up online, and it's worth figuring out what it actually proves.

Apple's biggest smart home expansion in years is taking shape, with a new touchscreen hub, upgraded speakers, a more powerful Apple TV, and a collection of cameras, locks, and thermostats. But while the hardware is arriving over the next few months, some of its most anticipated AI features won't be available to everyone on launch day.

Apple and Xiaomi introduced their first passport-style foldables within two days of each other, and anyone running an iPhone Duo vs Xiaomi 18 Fold comparison right now will notice how closely the hardware converges.

Apple is preparing to make its next move in the smart home market. The company has confirmed a "Welcome home" event for October 13, 2026, in New York, where it is widely expected to introduce its first dedicated smart home display, reportedly called HomeView.

The first wave of Samsung Galaxy A38 5G leaks shows a phone moving steadily through certification, but the only concrete hardware detail attached to it so far is a letdown. Two battery cell model numbers tied to the device turned up in India's BIS database this week, SammyGuru reported, confirming Samsung is actively developing the phone even as separate reporting suggests it could ship with a noticeably dimmer screen than its predecessor.

Microsoft is reportedly reshaping Copilot Notebooks from a source-grounded question-and-answer tool into something that can act on notebook content: delegating tasks, running recurring automations, and editing Office files directly inside a notebook, according to Neowin. Only one piece of that Copilot Notebooks October 2026 update actually carries a dated entry in Microsoft's own release tracking, though. Audio Overview is listed in the Microsoft 365 Message Center archive with both a preview...

Apple is holding a private 'Welcome home' experience in New York today, with announcements expected for a new Apple TV 4K, a refreshed HomePod mini, and a new smart home hub called HomeView, according to MacRumors. The most notable report heading into the event involves a new Apple TV built-in microphone: Apple has tested an Apple TV 4K with a built-in mic for hands-free Siri requests, a feature MacRumors describes as tested, not confirmed for the shipping device.

Apple home devices with Siri AI are rolling out on two different timelines this fall, and the split is catching buyers off guard. The newest announced product, HomePod mini 2, ships October 30 without the feature, while the brand-new HomeView hub gets Siri AI on November 13 in beta, according to Apple's announcement, and the fourth-generation Apple TV 4K joins it the same day. If you're buying any Apple home device specifically for Siri AI, the model name and generation number matter more than...

A new rumor claims the Galaxy S27 Pro and Galaxy S27 Ultra could introduce DC dimming, a technology no Samsung flagship has used before, according to Android Central. If the claim holds up, Samsung Galaxy S27 Ultra DC dimming would make the phone the first Samsung smartphone to ship with the technology, according to GSMArena, which reported on the same rumor two days ago.

A lower phone bill is welcome; a discount that lasts beyond the first year is worth a closer look. Visible's five-year offer gives eligible new customers $5 off monthly service, bringing its advertised Visible+ price to $30 and Visible+ Pro to $40.

Tax season turns up the pressure on paperwork, and the fastest fix is already sitting on the home screen. Here's how to scan documents on iPhone without downloading a single app: Apple built a scanner directly into Notes and Files, and it works on any iPhone running iOS 13 or later. Point the camera at a W-2, a receipt, or a lease agreement, and the scanner finds the page edges, straightens the angle, and saves a flattened PDF in a few taps (TechnoWifi, two months ago).

Apple Maps lets you request that your house be obscured in Look Around, its street-level photo feature. The available sources describe this as an imagery request, not an address-listing request: they document what happens to the Look Around photo but don't establish whether approval changes search results, map pins, place cards, or driving directions tied to your home. That distinction is worth settling before walking through how to blur your home on Apple Maps.

The Glowbar, the light strip built into the lid of Glowbar-equipped Googlebook laptops, normally just reports battery level and flashes when Gemini is active (Android Authority, just over two weeks ago). A hidden system app called Glowbar Disco turns that same strip into a customizable, music-reactive light show instead, and figuring out how to find Glowbar Disco on Googlebook means digging past the regular app launcher into the system settings menu (9to5Google, 3 days ago).

Getting locked out of Windows 11 because a PIN won't work is a different problem than losing an account password, and it calls for a different fix. This guide walks through how to reset a forgotten Windows 11 PIN, starting with the safest built-in option and working toward backup routes for when the standard reset screen won't cooperate. Which method applies depends on one thing first: whether the device signs in with a Microsoft account or a local account, since the two paths split almost...

TextExpander launched a free-forever plan this week that needs no credit card and syncs the same snippet library across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Windows, and Chrome, according to 9to5Mac and TextExpander's own site. The TextExpander free plan gives individuals a genuine no-cost entry into cross-device text expansion, not a stripped-down trial that pushes a sale.

Microsoft has started testing a Windows 11 Search overhaul that turns the taskbar search box into a command tool. Instead of digging through Settings, typing a phrase like "switch to dark mode" or "dim my screen" now carries out the action directly from the search box, according to the Windows Insider Blog.

Start with one question: did tap-to-pay ever work right on this phone, or did it work fine for weeks and then suddenly quit? That answer determines whether you're dealing with a setup problem you can fix yourself or a newly reported bug that no amount of settings-tweaking will touch. Working through that distinction first is the fastest way to fix Google Wallet not working on Pixel without wasting time on steps that don't apply to you.

Google's new Android sideloading restrictions took effect on September 30, 2026, bringing developer verification requirements to four countries. But Android users can still install apps outside Google Play, and the first round of enforcement is more limited than the broader policy might suggest.