News and Updates from Gadget Hacks

MagSafe charging has changed how we power our iPhones, and the latest Anker Zolo Wireless Charger nudges that shift forward. It is Qi2 certified, it layers in safety, and it aims for the kind of efficiency iPhone owners keep asking for. Magnetic wireless charging keeps maturing, bringing us closer to a cable-free routine that does not surrender speed or reliability.

The toy industry just got a serious shake-up, and I'm genuinely excited about what Netflix has cooking. The streaming giant recently announced something that caught my attention in a big way. Partnerships with both Hasbro and Mattel to create merchandise based on their breakout animated hit "KPop Demon Hunters." Before you roll your eyes at what might seem like another licensing cash grab, hear me out. This feels different, and it could reshape Netflix's entire business model.

Google's Chrome browser just made filling out online forms a whole lot easier, and potentially a bit more controversial. The search giant has quietly rolled out an expansion to its autofill capabilities that now handles some of your most sensitive personal information, including driver's licenses, passport numbers, and vehicle details. Not another ho-hum update. Chrome is stepping into territory that makes both convenience fans and privacy hawks sit up.

When streaming services suddenly lose major channels, subscribers often find themselves caught in the middle of corporate disputes. Blink, and a favorite channel vanishes. YouTube TV users felt that whiplash when Disney pulled over 20 popular channels from the platform on October 30, 2025, according to Android Central. ESPN, ABC, FX, and National Geographic disappeared, leaving millions without the programming they rely on.

Apple just flipped a big switch in its entertainment strategy, and it's more significant than it looks. The company has officially transformed its streaming service from Apple TV+ to simply "Apple TV," according to MacRumors. This is not just cosmetic. It arrives with a full visual makeover, a custom sound experience, and rainbow-colored branding that signals Apple's growing confidence and its readiness to go toe to toe with Netflix and Disney+.

When Mint Mobile drops the price of Google's flagship phone by $600 just weeks before Black Friday, you know something special is happening. This isn't your typical pre-holiday discount. It's a deal that makes the premium Pixel 10 Pro XL more accessible than ever before. Mint Mobile is currently offering a massive $600 discount on the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, according to Android Authority. The timing couldn't be more strategic, as TechRadar reports the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL is priced to move...

Google's Pixel 10 series is making serious waves in the smartphone market, and the numbers finally back that up. September marked Google's highest-ever monthly smartphone sales in the US, according to Counterpoint Research. US Pixel sales jumped 28% year over year, as reported by Counterpoint. Even more striking, Google's share of the $600-plus segment has grown from almost nothing three years ago to more than 6%, based on industry data. No small feat.

Samsung's dominance in the foldable market is about to face its biggest test yet. The company controls a significant portion of the US market largely due to limited competition, and Samsung has officially confirmed development of what could be its most ambitious device to date, the Galaxy Z TriFold. This isn't just another incremental update, the TriFold represents a tablet-sized 10-inch display that folds down to phone dimensions, opening up possibilities we simply haven't seen before in the...

When you think about Apple's place in the AI landscape, it's easy to get caught up in the dramatic headlines. There's Elon Musk filing multi-billion dollar lawsuits, internal Apple executives calling their own AI efforts "embarrassing," and critics arguing the company has fallen hopelessly behind. But here's what's really happening. Apple has never played the same game as everyone else, and their approach to artificial intelligence shows how they are repositioning for what they believe is the...

Let me be honest right up front, this is the kind of tech news that makes you do a double take. Apple, the company that has built its entire identity around doing everything in-house, is about to hand over the keys to Siri's future to its biggest competitor. That's right: Apple is preparing to launch a completely redesigned Siri in early 2026, and this time, it won't be powered by Apple's own technology alone, it will lean heavily on Google's Gemini AI model.

Apple's rugged smartwatch fans have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade, and that moment finally showed up. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 just hit a headline price, it's now available for just $699, a clean $99 off its standard $798 retail price.

Apple just dropped the M5 MacBook Pro, and the tech world has good reason to be buzzing. The first M5 Mac, that sleek 14-inch MacBook Pro, made its debut last month, officially kicking off what looks to be Apple's most ambitious silicon rollout yet. But here's the thing: this is just the opening act.

After years of Android users watching iOS get privacy features first, the tables are finally turning. Google is currently testing a private search mode for its Android app that mirrors functionality iOS users have enjoyed for some time, according to Android Authority. Here is the twist: this long-awaited feature arrives just as incognito mode faces fresh scrutiny over what it actually protects, and what it does not.

Samsung's mixed reality headset finally breaks cover today, and it is bringing serious firepower to challenge Apple's Vision Pro. After months of teasing and prototype demos, Samsung is officially revealing Project Moohan, its Vision Pro competitor, at its Galaxy Event, and early hands-on writeups say the device might deliver on its big promises. Samsung let tech writers try prototypes while keeping key details under wraps, according to reports. The twist, Samsung is framing it as an...

If you’re a T-Mobile customer feeling fed up with your service, you’re not alone. Recent data points to a pattern of dissatisfaction that goes far beyond one-off complaints. It looks like a broader crisis is pushing people to shop around in record numbers.

Samsung's making bold moves with the Galaxy S26, and the tech world is buzzing about what could be their biggest chipset comeback story yet. Recent reports suggest the entire Galaxy S26 lineup might ditch Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors in favor of Samsung's own Exynos 2600 chip, according to Tech Advisor.

Apple's Vision Pro has been stirring up the spatial computing world, and the latest M5-powered iteration aims straight at the original headset's pain points. It brings significant performance improvements, real comfort upgrades, and developer tools that could change how we think about mixed reality computing. Mixed reality that keeps up with you, not the other way around.

Disney just learned the hard way that subscriber loyalty hangs by a thread. When the entertainment giant suspended Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show for a week in September, it saw roughly 1.7 million cancellations across its streaming platforms. A stark reminder of how fast a single corporate call can turn into real money on the line.

When you look at Apple's financial strategy in 2025, you can't help but notice something fascinating happening in Silicon Valley. While the tech world seems obsessed with building massive AI data centers, Apple has taken a dramatically different approach, one that is raising eyebrows and generating heated debates among investors and analysts alike.

Here's the thing about Apple's latest financial results. They're not just impressive, they're downright historic. Apple just achieved something no company has done before, crossing the $100 billion revenue mark in a single quarter for the first time ever. How big is that? We're talking about $102.5 billion in total quarterly revenue, an 8% year-over-year increase driven by the newly launched iPhone 17 lineup and robust Services growth.

So you're telling me a modular, repairable smartphone is finally hitting American shores for $899, and instead of rolling my eyes at another "premium" price tag, I'm genuinely excited? Same here. The Fairphone 6's arrival in the US through Murena feels bigger than another Android drop. It is a phone built around a different philosophy, one where sustainability and repairability actually take priority over the upgrade-every-two-years treadmill we've all been running.

Mobile scams are getting frighteningly sophisticated. With fraudsters stealing over $400 billion globally each year through increasingly clever schemes, it feels like whack-a-mole against fake job offers, romance scams, and investment pitches that target billions of users. So, a twist. Google just shared data suggesting Android users might finally be edging ahead in this digital arms race.

Apple's stock hitting an all-time high this week was not just another line on a ticker, it was a statement. After months of lukewarm iPhone sales and delays in AI integration, the iPhone 17 launch delivered what even the optimists did not quite see coming. Research from Counterpoint shows the iPhone 17 series outsold the iPhone 16 by 14% during the first ten days across both the U.S. and China. That is not incremental. That is the kind of momentum that can change a company’s trajectory.

When you open the Google Play Store today, it does not feel like the marketplace from a few months ago. Google has been quietly changing how we find and judge apps, and the biggest shift is the one that saves time: AI-powered review summaries that are now rolling out broadly across the platform.

Apple's latest Q4 FY2025 earnings tell a compelling story about a company hitting its stride at just the right time. Surpassing Wall Street expectations, the company posted quarterly revenue of $102.5 billion and earnings per share of $1.85. Tim Cook called it a "September quarter revenue record." All this while navigating trade tensions and supply constraints that would challenge any tech giant.

Apple just announced their latest AirPods Pro 3 at this week’s event, and while they are impressive with enhanced noise cancellation and heart rate monitoring features, the real story is what comes next. The current AirPods ecosystem has stretched into a full lineup at multiple price points, according to 9to5Mac. It looks like Apple is setting the stage for its most ambitious expansion to date.

Imagine your fitness tracker could predict health problems before symptoms appear. That's the ambitious vision behind Oura's latest platform transformation, and it goes far beyond step counting into medical monitoring territory. The company's comprehensive update brings enhanced stress tracking and new blood pressure research, positioning the smart ring as a serious health assessment tool rather than just another wearable gadget.

Apple just posted numbers that snapped heads on Wall Street, and the story behind them says more about Apple’s strategy than the headlines alone. Quarterly revenue hit $102.5 billion, an 8% year-over-year jump that set a September quarter record and an all-time annual revenue record of $416 billion, according to Apple's Q4 2025 earnings call transcript. What really popped, they topped expectations across several metrics, with earnings per share at $1.85 versus the $1.77 estimate, as reported by...

When these CAD renders first surfaced, I'll admit my initial reaction was "Wait, is this just the Pixel 9a with a different name on the back?" The leaked design images show a device that's remarkably similar to its predecessor. Probably not an accident. According to Android Authority, these fresh CAD-based renders reveal a phone that borrows heavily from the Pixel 9a's design playbook, a sign that Google is prioritizing manufacturing efficiency and cost control over visual reinvention.

When you think about Apple's incredible business transformation over the past decade, it's hard not to be impressed by the numbers. The company has quietly built what might be the most successful services business in tech history, and now that it's reached the $100 billion annual milestone, we're seeing just how powerful this shift really is.

The OnePlus 15 has officially arrived, and let me tell you, it's got the tech world talking for all the right reasons, and some of the wrong ones too. This is not just another incremental update. OnePlus has positioned this flagship as a serious performance monster that directly challenges established players like Samsung and Apple, shifting the value equation in premium smartphones.

When Microsoft pushed out its October 28 preview update for Windows 11, users expected the usual mix of improvements, a redesigned Start menu, new battery icons, and various under the hood fixes. What they didn't expect was for Task Manager, the very tool designed to help manage system processes, to start multiplying like digital rabbits every time they tried to close it.

When Microsoft revealed its Q1 earnings for fiscal year 2025, the numbers told a story that Xbox fans probably didn't want to hear. Xbox hardware revenue dropped by 30 percent year-over-year for the quarter ending September 30, according to Yahoo News. Now here's the thing: the slide says more about Xbox's position than a bad quarter ever could.

Apple's latest quarterly results tell a story of remarkable resilience, but they also reveal storm clouds gathering on the horizon. While the tech giant managed to exceed financial expectations for the July-September period, there's a massive tariff-shaped challenge looming that could reshape the company's entire cost structure. Tariff-related expenses hit $1.1 billion in the past quarter, and here's what really caught my attention: Apple's CFO is projecting an additional $1.4 billion impact...

Smartphone photography just took a wild turn. The Oppo Find X9 Pro introduces something we’ve never seen before: a detachable Hasselblad zoom lens that reimagines what is possible with mobile photography. Not just another incremental camera update. A phone with a lens you click on and off? Yes. The device features a sliding attachment system that transforms your phone’s built-in telephoto into something approaching professional camera territory, according to Wired. The device launched globally...

The Oppo Find X9 Pro has arrived, and this isn't your typical flagship upgrade. It makes bold moves in smartphone cameras and pairs them with battery capacity most manufacturers can only dream of. The centerpiece is a 200-megapixel telephoto lens developed in partnership with Hasselblad, according to Wired. What really sets it apart is a detachable lens system that nudges your phone closer to a pro setup. Then there is that massive 7,500 mAh silicon-carbon battery, as reported by Wired, which...

If you've been keeping an eye on the electric vehicle landscape, you've probably noticed how charging infrastructure remains one of the biggest barriers to widespread adoption. It still trips up road trips and daily commutes alike. Here's where Toyota's latest announcement gets interesting. Their integration with Apple Maps EV routing is not just another tech partnership, it is a strategic move that shows how automakers and tech companies can actually solve real problems for drivers. According...

When two tech titans collide in the flagship smartphone arena, sparks fly. Two titans. One showdown. Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra, expected to launch in January 2026, represents the cutting edge of what's possible in premium Android technology. Meanwhile, Google's Pixel 10 Pro XL has already made its mark as one of the hottest new Android phones right now, launching in August 2025 with a mix of computational photography prowess and AI-driven features.

Microsoft's Teams platform hit a snag when its text-to-speech functionality went sideways, leaving businesses scrambling for quick fixes. the outage landed at the worst possible moment — and it piled pressure on organizations that lean on automated voice responses to keep the day moving.

Apple's announcement about bringing US passport support to the iPhone Wallet app marks a pivotal shift in how we think about digital identity. After years of watching driver's license support crawl along state by state, Apple is now preparing to expand beyond state boundaries with federal passport credentials. A federal passport path avoids the need for 50 state-by-state issuer agreements (though implementation still requires agency/airport integration and approvals). Jennifer Bailey, VP of...