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Latest by V. Vivek

New smart fabric that can track your blood pressure being worn

Forget smartwatches, your clothes could soon track your health

A new smart fabric powered by your phone has the potential to quietly replace wearable health trackers as we know them.
Samsung Galaxy Book 6 Edge Spotted in a recent listing

Samsung’s new Snapdragon-powered Galaxy Book isn’t the MacBook Neo rival I was hoping for

A Snapdragon X2 Elite chip and AMOLED screen sound great, but Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Book 6 Edge may not land where I thought it would.
Oppo Find X9 Ultra Back

Oppo is building camera phones like the smartphone race never ended

The Find X9 Ultra just dropped, and it is a reminder that flagship camera phones can still be bold, excessive, and genuinely exciting.
OnePlus Nord 6 in hand

I used the OnePlus Nord 6, and now most flagship batteries just feel underambitious

After using the OnePlus Nord 6, most flagship batteries just look like bad excuses that normalize compromise for far too long.
Xbox Game Pass Banner Featured

Xbox Game Pass could get more pocket-friendly with Discord tie-up

Discord Nitro subscribers may soon get access to an Xbox Game Pass Starter Edition bundle with over 50 games and limited cloud streaming.
Steam Machine with Steam Controller

Steam Machine feels like the gaming PC evolution I actually want — because of Windows

The new Steam Machine has my attention because Valve is building it around an operating system that treats gaming as the main event.
Avatr 06T Smart Sports Sedan in two colors

This sleek electric sedan costs under $32,900 and pips Tesla with over 770-mile range

This new Avatr sedan brings luxury looks, a price under $32,900, and a range-extender setup rated for more than 770 miles of CLTC driving.
The Xpeng LAC air module is displayed at CES 2025.

One of China’s buzziest EV makers hopes to deliver flying cars next year

Xpeng is eyeing large-scale production of its flying cars next year, with more than 7,000 orders already on the books and aviation approvals still in progress in China.
Faces in a grid generated by Gemini.

AI has turbocharged the worst form of abusive content on the internet and guardians can’t keep up

Watchdog data show generative AI is making child sexual abuse imagery faster to create, harder to police, and far more difficult for regulators to contain.
Playing shooter game on OnePlus 15.

OnePlus 16 could spoil your eyes with a buttery-smooth 240Hz screen

A fresh leak says the OnePlus 16 could arrive with a 240Hz screen, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, and a battery upgrade big enough to matter.
Control protagonist Jesse Faden using her powers

Control Ultimate Edition just landed on iPhone and iPad, and I highly recommend it

Control Ultimate Edition has arrived on iPhone and iPad with a mobile-specific interface, touch controls, and universal purchase support, and it remains one of the easiest action games to recommend.
Haptic Pillow Sleeve that improves sleep quality and awareness

This smart pillow ensures you never sleep through an emergency alarm, or even a phone call

Researchers at Nottingham Trent University have developed a vibrating smart pillow sleeve that alerts deaf users to fires, burglar alarms, and phone calls at night
Apple executive leadership

Apple’s new CEO promises exciting AI progress while sticking to design focus

Apple’s incoming CEO John Ternus says the company sees huge upside in AI, but he is also making it clear that design and Apple’s core values are not being pushed aside in the process
Astronaut Frank Rubio on the ISS

Astronauts on the ISS are getting a laptop upgrade from HP

The ISS crew is preparing for a computer refresh, and the new HP laptops headed into service sound a lot more capable than the aging machines they are replacing.
Jennie wearing the new Beats Solo 4 JENNIE Edition headphones

Beats x Jennie headphones are so slick even K-Pop haters will thirst for them

Beats and Jennie have teamed up for a special-edition Solo 4 release, and the result is a surprisingly sharp blacked-out design with custom details.
Electronics, Phone, Mobile Phone

Motorola just launched a slim mid-ranger with a seriously chunky battery

The Motorola Edge 70 Pro is now official in India, pairing a slim 6.99mm design with a massive 6,500mAh battery, while a wider European rollout looks likely to follow.
Nothing Warp in action.

Nothing Warp is back, but you’ll need to jump through hoops to actually use it

Nothing has revived Warp after a short takedown, but since the app is no longer on the Play Store, users now have to install it manually from Nothing’s community site.
Foldable iPhone

Wide foldables sound like a fix to so many problems and I can’t wait for Apple to take stab at it

The more I look at wide foldables like Huawei’s, the more convinced I am that Apple’s first foldable could fix some of the format’s most annoying compromises.
Phone in hand showing YouTube logo

YouTube is coming for celebrity deepfakes with new AI likeness detection tech

YouTube is expanding its AI likeness detection technology to talent agencies, managers, and celebrities to help identify and remove deepfakes
Galaxy S26 with the side bar open.

Some of Galaxy S26’s new tricks are heading to older Samsung flagships and foldables

Samsung is bringing select Galaxy S26 AI features to older Galaxy flagship phones and foldables through One UI 8.5
Google Gemini now supports Continued Conversation

You can finally have human-like conversations with Google’s smart home Gemini

Google is adding Continued Conversation to Gemini for Home, letting Nest and Google Home users ask follow-up questions without repeating the wake phrase every time.
Oppo Find X9 Ultra in hand

Oppo Find X9 Ultra lands with camera chops that Apple and Samsung won’t dare attempt

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is here, and while the usual flagship basics are all present, its absurdly ambitious camera hardware is the real reason Samsung and Apple should feel a little uncomfortable.
Gmail icon on a screen.

How to find archived emails in Gmail and return them to your inbox

Gmail doesn’t use a dedicated archive folder, but finding archived emails and moving them back to your inbox only takes a few quick steps.
Samsung Galaxy Enhance-X App running on the Galaxy S26.

Samsung quietly dropped a loaded editing upgrade for Galaxy users

Samsung’s Galaxy Enhance-X app just got a big redesign, along with new plugin-based effects, stronger document tools, and batch editing for photos and videos.
Crucial Memory and SSD

AI’s chip hunger could keep memory prices painfully high for years

A top semiconductor executive says the global wafer shortage may persist until 2030, raising the risk of continued pressure on memory prices, and the cost of gadgets you buy.
The Motorola Razr 2024's selfie screen.

Motorola just opened Android 17 beta to more Razr and Edge phones

Motorola is widening Android 17 beta access to more premium phones, adding two Razr models and the Edge 50 Ultra across various regions.
Mercedes-Benz Steer-by-wire yoke-style steering wheel Featured

Your swanky Mercedes EV could soon run on Samsung battery cells

Samsung SDI will supply high-nickel NCM battery cells for Mercedes-Benz’s next-generation EVs, marking the Korean battery maker’s first electric-vehicle battery deal with the automaker.
Honor Win H9 Gaming Laptop Teaser

This wild gaming laptop wants to fight motion sickness at 300Hz

Honor’s WIN H9 gaming laptop pairs a 300Hz display with what it calls “3D Game Anti-Dizziness” tech, alongside an RTX 5070 Ti and an unusually aggressive six-fan cooling system.
Microsoft is offering freebies with Windows 11

Microsoft’s new Windows 11 freebies are useful, but they also feel a little desperate

Microsoft is suddenly being a lot more generous with Windows laptops, and the timing is kind of hard not to notice. If you’re an eligible US college student, buying a Windows 11 PC can get you a year of Microsoft 365 Premium, a year of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and a custom Xbox Wireless Controller […]
Copilot

AI has blocked out Windows laptops in the race against the MacBook

Windows laptops finally got interesting, but AI turned into the wrong selling point at the exact wrong moment.
Moto Book 60 Pro in PANTONE Bronze Green

You won’t believe it, but Motorola actually makes a terrific head-turner of a laptop

The Moto Book 60 Pro is stylish enough to turn heads, but the real surprise is how much laptop you get for the money.
iPhone 17e rear camera.

The MacBook Neo made me realize Apple still doesn’t know how to do a truly great cheap iPhone

The MacBook Neo proves Apple knows how to build a great entry product, which only makes the iPhone 17e feel more frustrating.
Geely Galaxy Starshine 7 Promo Image

Volvo’s parent just launched a $16,000 EV that looks shockingly luxurious

Geely has opened presales for the Galaxy Starshine 7 in China, an electric sedan starting at around $16,000 with upscale styling and dual-motor performance
Xiaomi SU7 EV in blue

Xiaomi makes dirt-cheap gadgets, but its CEO just ruled out cheap EVs

Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun says the company has no plans to launch ultra-cheap EVs below 100,000 yuan, arguing that advanced intelligent vehicle tech makes that price point too hard to hit.
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced leak hints at a launch just weeks away

Ubisoft’s long-rumored Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag Resynced is reportedly set for a July 9 launch, with the official reveal reportedly pushed back by just a week.
Student using MacBook Neo in classroom.

AI triggered a RAMmageddon so bad that Apple looks like the sensible choice

I did not expect 2026 to be the year Apple looked reasonable on laptop pricing, but the rest of the PC industry left me no choice.
Metro 2039's new protagonist

Metro 2039’s eerie post-apocalyptic world looks darker, weirder, and more eldritch this Winter, and I’m already sold

Metro 2039 looks less like another post-apocalyptic shooter and more like a full-on descent back into the strange, supernatural dread that made the series special.
A screenshot from a Google video showing its smartglasses in action.

Google is making smart glasses with Gucci, and they’re landing next year

Google and Gucci are reportedly working on AI-powered luxury smart glasses, with Kering now saying the product could arrive as early as next year.