The Latest from Gadget Hacks: Page 2

When Bethlehem High School in Upstate New York banned students' cellphones and started offering analog entertainment, it sparked a culture change you could notice even with your eyes closed. "Our cafeteria is loud again," social studies teacher David Rounds observed. Then it got interesting. Students did not just accept these bans, they adapted in ways few predicted. Young people are turning to legacy technology such as MP3 players and cassette players to fill the digital void. A simple policy...

You know how your Gmail inbox has basically turned into a chaotic dumping ground for every Amazon order confirmation, shipping notification, and delivery update? Same. Gmail's new Purchases tab is finally here to rescue us from that mess, and Google’s timing shows it understands just how overwhelming email has become. Google announced a couple of additions to Gmail that make it easier to keep track of your purchases and potential savings, including a tab that corrals all your incoming...

When Apple calls the iPhone 17 lineup the "biggest leap ever for iPhone," they're backing up that claim with hardware that pushes the boundaries of what's physically possible. The iPhone 17 Air replaces the Plus line as Apple's boldest design statement yet, measuring just 5.6 millimeters thick and representing a decisive step toward what CEO Tim Cook describes as their ultimate vision of a "singular piece of glass."

Google's latest move might surprise you. It fits a bigger pattern across the tech landscape. Google is shutting down Tables, its ambitious Airtable rival that launched on September 22, 2020. The platform, which let users create database tables and design custom views through kanban boards, offered 100 tables with 1,000 rows each for free. Here's the twist, Tables has been discontinued in favor of Google AppSheet, marking another chapter in Google's complex relationship with productivity tools.

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

If you thought the smartphone chip wars were competitive before, Apple's A19 Pro just rewrote the entire playbook. We're talking about a mobile processor that's literally outperforming desktop CPUs, and when I say outperforming, I mean the A19 Pro is leaving AMD's flagship Ryzen 9 9950X eating dust in single-thread performance. After years of covering chip launches and testing countless devices, I can tell you this is not an incremental improvement, it is a fundamental shift in what mobile...

Apple's latest extension of free satellite messaging is not just another routine announcement, it is a strategic move that shows the company's long-term vision for this technology. When Apple announced that it's extending free satellite service into 2026 for iPhone 14 and 15 users, it marked the second time the company has pushed back its original timeline. Not a coincidence. For many industry watchers, it reads like confirmation of what they suspected all along.

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Android 16 QPR2 is finally polishing desktop mode. Android Authority spotted a new Universal Cursor toggle that lets you decide whether the mouse can cross between displays, preventing those moments when the pointer hops to the wrong screen while you are trying to work. Found in the first QPR2 beta, this addition gives users tighter control over Android's DeX-like desktop experience (Android Authority).

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Apple just dropped the AirPods Pro 3, and honestly, the timing couldn't be better. Three years after the Pro 2 hit the market, we're finally getting meaningful upgrades that go way beyond a minor spec bump. The standout feature? Those new foam-infused ear tips that come in five different sizes, including a brand-new XXS option that wasn't available before. Apple claims these changes, combined with improved computational audio and design tweaks, deliver twice the active noise cancellation of the...

So you've heard about the iPhone Air and its ridiculously thin 5.6mm profile, and now you're probably wondering the same thing everyone else is asking: what's the deal with the battery life? We're talking about a phone thinner than most credit cards, a metal bookmark of a device, so it is fair to assume something had to give. Right?

Four years. That's how long Spotify users have been waiting since the streaming giant first announced its Hi-Fi tier in 2021. Meanwhile, Apple Music rolled out lossless audio support in 2021, and Amazon Music made its lossless streaming free after launching a paid HD tier in 2019. But here's what you need to know: Spotify is finally making good on that promise, and the rollout is happening right now.

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

The first benchmark results for Apple's A19 Pro chip have finally surfaced, and the numbers hint at where iPhone performance is headed. MacRumors reports that early Geekbench 6 entries show up to 15% faster multi-core CPU performance compared to the A18 Pro, while the full 6-core GPU variant posts up to 40% faster graphics. Apple has also shuffled the deck across the iPhone 17 line. The iPhone Air gets a custom 5-core GPU version, and it still outpaces last year’s flagship by 15%.

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Apple's latest partnership with GlobalFoundries isn't just about manufacturing, it's about control. GlobalFoundries announced a deeper collaboration to advance semiconductor technologies and strengthen U.S. manufacturing, with Apple accelerating investments at the Malta, New York facility to build a more resilient onshore supply chain. Here's the real play, Apple is systematically replacing every wireless component in the iPhone with its own silicon, and the implications reach far beyond raw...

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Apple's next iPhone generation is bringing some serious selfie game to the table. The iPhone 17 series is reportedly jumping from the current 12MP front cameras to a robust 24MP sensor across all four models. But here's where it gets interesting: this isn't just about cramming more pixels into your selfies. The enhanced sensor, combined with what appears to be a 6P lens design, could change how we capture group photos and video calls, no awkward phone flipping required.

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

Apple's been teasing us with Center Stage on iPads for years, and now it's finally making the leap to where we actually need it most, our iPhones. The iPhone 17 introduces a new 18-megapixel Center Stage front camera, which sports a sensor that's twice the size of the one in the previous iPhone. But here's what makes this particularly exciting: Apple didn't just port over the iPad feature and call it a day. It reimagined how a smartphone camera sensor should work.

Reviewed by Corey Noles

Apple's latest AirPods Pro 3 announcement has tech enthusiasts buzzing, and for good reason. Apple brings real-time, in-ear translation to AirPods Pro 3, a leap forward in how we communicate across language barriers. This isn't just another incremental upgrade. It is a glimpse of a future where language differences fade into the background. Apple Intelligence parses what someone nearby says and plays the translation back in your preferred language, so you can order coffee in Paris or ask...

Apple Watch Series 11 has officially arrived, and it's bringing some serious health upgrades to the table. Apple announced its latest generation smartwatch with features that could genuinely change how we monitor cardiovascular health. The standout addition, hypertension detection that'll be available in over 150 countries pending regulatory approval. The twist, this year's model is incredibly similar to last year's Series 10, so Apple is betting on meaningful refinements over flashy redesigns.

Apple's latest Ultra 3 represents the biggest leap forward for the company's premium smartwatch line since the original Ultra launched. The numbers tell a compelling story: 42 hours of battery life and satellite connectivity that transforms this from just another wearable into a genuine wilderness companion. After years of incremental updates that left outdoor enthusiasts struggling with dead batteries on multi-day trips and zero connectivity in remote areas, Apple has finally delivered what...