Today's Consumer Tech Pulse
Apple rolls out AI‑powered tools at WWDC 2026
Apple introduced a suite of AI features at its WWDC 2026 event, including the Spatial Reframe tool that converts 2‑D images into 3‑D scenes and a revamped Siri that rivals leading chatbots. The announcements also added tighter child‑online safety controls and reinforced Apple’s privacy‑first stance.
I Played Microsoft Flight Simulator with This Revolutionary Joystick Disguised as a Controller — and I'm in Love with It
The Honeycomb Echo Aviation Controller is a compact, PC‑only flight‑sim peripheral that packs authentic aircraft controls into a travel‑friendly package. Priced at $149.99, it features a Hall‑Effect thumbstick, interchangeable levers, and a rugged carrying case, while allowing deep customization of sensitivity and profiles for Microsoft Flight Simulator. Reviewers praise its immersive feel and build quality but note the absence of Xbox support and a slightly awkward hat‑switch placement. The Echo aims at mobile enthusiasts and newcomers seeking a step up from a standard gamepad without the bulk of full‑size rigs.
Google Chrome Adds Split View and PDF Annotation with Drive Upload
Google Chrome 145 introduces three desktop productivity upgrades: Split View for side‑by‑side tabs, PDF annotation tools for highlighting and note‑taking, and a Save to Google Drive button that uploads PDFs directly to a designated Drive folder. Split View is accessed via...
Amazfit Debuts T-Rex Ultra 2 Watch with Biotracking, 30-Day Battery
Amazfit, Zepp Health’s flagship wearable brand, launched the T‑Rex Ultra 2, a rugged GPS smartwatch aimed at extreme‑environment users. The device combines comprehensive biotracking—heart rate, SpO₂, sleep, breathing, and stress metrics—with 30‑day battery life, 100‑metre water resistance, and a Low Temperature...
5 Powerful Command Line Tricks Every Raspberry Pi Owner Should Know
Raspberry Pi owners can boost reliability and efficiency by mastering five essential command‑line tools. Monitoring temperature with vcgencmd prevents throttling, while cron automates routine scripts. htop offers real‑time insight into CPU and memory usage, and SSH enables headless remote control. Finally, nmap...
Windows 7 and Windows 8 Are Losing Their Last Web Browser
Mozilla announced that Firefox 115 will be the final version supporting Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, with security patches ending in March 2026. Microsoft stopped security updates for those OSes in January 2023, and other major browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Vivaldi have...
Google Blocked over 1.75 Million Play Store App Submissions in 2025
Google reported that in 2025 it blocked more than 1.75 million app submissions and denied 255,000 apps access to sensitive user data on the Play Store. The company also banned over 80,000 developer accounts and added 10,000 new safety checks powered...
Japan: Nintendo Switch 2 Sells 57K Units and Switch Family Sells 26K Units
Nintendo’s second‑generation console, the Switch 2, topped Japan’s hardware sales for the week of 9‑15 February, moving 57,779 units. The broader Switch family—including OLED, Lite and the original model—added another 26,481 units, bringing total weekly hardware shipments to over 84,000. PlayStation 5 titles...
MedStar Health, Withings Bring Connected Devices to Concierge Medicine Program
MedStar Health is scaling its Signature concierge primary‑care program by partnering with Withings Health Solutions to supply patients with cellular blood‑pressure cuffs and scales. The collaboration leverages MedStar’s existing telehealth and remote‑patient‑monitoring infrastructure to collect real‑world physiologic data outside the...
YouTube Tests ‘Conversational AI’ on TV Apps
Google is piloting a conversational AI feature on YouTube TV apps, letting users ask questions about videos through a remote‑mic or dedicated button. The tool, branded “Ask,” leverages the Gemini model to generate real‑time answers and mirrors functionality already on...
Strava Expands Activity Tracking Beyond Endurance with Five New Sport Modes
Strava has rolled out five new sport modes—padel, basketball, volleyball, cricket and dance—expanding its activity catalog to over 50 categories. The update follows the recent Instant Workouts feature and targets users who log non‑endurance activities via Mobile Record. By offering...
Samsung Nearing One UI 8.5, New Bixby Release with Its Latest Beta Update
Samsung has begun rolling out One UI 8.5 Beta 5 to Galaxy S25 owners in the United States, following earlier releases in the UK and India. The beta introduces a single change: an upgraded Bixby version that leverages Perplexity’s large‑language‑model capabilities. While the...
Connected and Compromised: When IoT Devices Turn Into Threats
The proliferation of consumer and enterprise IoT devices continues unchecked, yet most lack basic security controls such as passwords and encryption. Research presented by Mattia Epifani at RSAC 2026 shows that devices—from Amazon Echo to smart refrigerators—store unprotected audio, credentials, and personal...
Valve Steam Deck Mistakes to Avoid for a Simpler, Smoother Setup
Poladr0id’s guide warns Steam Deck owners that over‑customising the handheld can destabilise the system and diminish enjoyment. The author stresses that a few purposeful tweaks—like controller remapping—outperform a clutter of plugins. Cheap accessories such as low‑grade chargers and cases often...
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Release Date, Price, and Final Leaks
Samsung announced the Galaxy S26 series, debuting on Feb 25, 2026, with three models: S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra. The Ultra flagship features a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, a 6.9‑inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display at 120 Hz, up to 16 GB...
UGREEN Expands Its NAS Lineup with New AI-Powered Flagship Series, Signaling the Era of the Smart Private Cloud
UGREEN unveiled its AI‑powered NAS flagship iDX series, positioning the devices as smart private‑cloud hubs that process data locally with on‑device large language models. The top‑end iDX6011 Pro packs an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU, 96 TOPS of AI compute, 64 GB LPDDR5X memory...
Dell Launches New Budget 1080p Gaming Monitor with an Ultra-Fast 240Hz Refresh Rate for Less than $130 — New 27-Inch...
Dell introduced the SE2726HG, a 27‑inch 1080p IPS gaming monitor priced at $129.99. It delivers an ultra‑fast 240 Hz refresh rate and claims a 0.5 ms response time in extreme mode, paired with AMD FreeSync Premium. The unit includes two HDMI 2.1 ports...
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 & Ultra 2: The ‘Dual-Chip’ Upgrade That Changes Everything
Samsung is set to launch the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 in July, introducing a dual‑chip 3‑in‑1 bioactive sensor and AI‑driven health analytics. The Watch 9 targets mainstream users seeking reliable performance, while the Ultra 2 aims at premium fitness enthusiasts...
Just when I Thought Android Handhelds Couldn't Get Any Weirder, Here Comes the Pocket Super Knob 5000
GameMT unveiled the Pocket Super Knob 5000, an Android gaming handheld distinguished by a physical knob replacing the traditional second thumbstick. It runs on a MediaTek Helio G85 processor, features a 5‑inch 1080p display, and includes a Hall‑effect thumbstick for...
Claude 4.5 vs GPT 5.2 vs Gemini 3 Pro : Different Coding Workflows Explored
The guide pits Claude 4.5, GPT 5.2, and Gemini 3 Pro against each other across pricing, coding depth, web‑design quality, and workflow integration. Claude 4.5 delivers the most detailed outputs and fastest long‑running tasks but at a premium price. GPT 5.2 balances affordability with customization, offering...
This Little-Known Camera Trick Makes Using an Android Flip Phone Worth It
Android Central highlights the Camcorder mode built into Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Motorola's Razr Ultra 2025. The feature activates when the device is folded halfway and rotated to landscape, splitting the screen between a live viewfinder and thumb‑controlled video tools....
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Now Available, $5 Upgrade
Nintendo launched Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, offering a $4.99 upgrade for current owners and a full-price digital version at $64.99. The Switch 2 version runs at up to 60 fps and supports 4K resolution when docked, delivering smoother...
IPadOS 26.4 Beta 1: Game-Changing Features You Need to Know
Apple unveiled iPadOS 26.4 Beta 1, delivering a suite of customization and productivity upgrades across core apps. The update adds an App Exposé shortcut with smoother animations, reorganizes the Wallpaper Gallery into downloadable collections, and refreshes the Music app with dynamic backgrounds and...
Combine Google Gemini 3 & NotebookLM for Superpower Productivity
Google Gemini, a multimodal large‑language model, now integrates with Notebook LM’s citation‑rich knowledge bases. The partnership grounds Gemini’s creative outputs in verifiable sources, dramatically reducing hallucinations. Users can cross‑reference multiple notebooks, enabling seamless research, content creation, and personalized AI assistants. This...
Nothing Is the only Brand Taking the Counterfeit Tech Problem Seriously
Nothing has publicly tackled the surge of counterfeit tech in India, revealing a joint effort with CMF and local authorities that recently seized more than 1,100 fake items. The company showcased counterfeit earbuds, phones and accessories that closely mimic official...
The only Oral-B Electric Toothbrush Upgrade You Need Is at Its Lowest-Ever Price on Amazon
The Oral‑B iO2 electric toothbrush, praised for its three brushing modes, pressure sensor, and long battery life, is now available at a record low price on Amazon. After an initial four‑star review, the device is discounted 60% to £39.99, down...
This Smart Ring Pays You Crypto for Working Out
CUDIS unveiled its second‑generation Sporty Series smart ring, a 3‑gram titanium device that tracks over 30 sports, offers AI‑driven health coaching, and pays users in $CUDIS cryptocurrency for meeting wellness goals. The ring features interchangeable silicone bands in 12 colors...
IOS 26.4 Adds Five Features, Still No New Siri
iOS 26.4 will bring these 5 upgrades to your iPhone, but there’s still no sign of the new Siri https://www.techradar.com/phones/ios/ios-26-4-will-bring-these-5-upgrades-to-your-iphone-but-theres-still-no-sign-of-the-new-siri
Memory: From Overlooked to Industry’s Hot Topic
Went deeeeepp on the memory industry in this report. No one used to want to cover memory, and now it is all the industry/supply chain wants to talk about. Some juicy stats 😀 https://t.co/QSHAd1OxK2 https://t.co/dbC4xNxVte
Fans Uncover Strongest Evidence yet that Monster Hunter Wilds Is Coming to Nintendo Switch 2
Datamined files from Monster Hunter Wilds reveal a tutorial image that displays local multiplayer support for the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2. Earlier this year a PC update contained text strings referencing Switch 2 wireless features, which were later removed, adding weight to the...
Gemini Adds Map‑based Prompts for Local Discovery
First look: Here's how Gemini will use Google Maps to become a chatty local guide A new Gemini feature will soon let you attach a map area to your prompts for enhanced local discovery. ✅ Details and screenshots - https://t.co/PNNZqlIQL6 https://t.co/SKF5XSykLb
Google Keep Gets New FAB in Material 3 Refresh
Google Keep gets ready to follow Drive and Docs with this new FAB Keep looks next in line for this Material 3 Expressive refresh. ✅ Details and screenshots - https://t.co/020O9ACdAD https://t.co/otLH4ufK4W
Game Pass Adds 5 New Retro Classics for Subscribers on All Tiers
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass Retro Classics update for February 2026 adds five vintage titles – two Infocom Zork adventures and three Atari 2600 games – to the subscription catalog. The new releases are instantly available to all Game Pass tiers in regions...
7 Smart Home Devices You Need to Know About in 2026
The 2026 smart‑home rollout showcases seven ready‑to‑ship devices that move beyond simple connectivity toward genuine utility. Highlights include Lockin V7 Max’s battery‑free infrared charging lock, Roborock Saros Z70 vacuum with an object‑clearing arm, and Amazon Alexa+’s generative‑AI voice assistant that...
Mozilla Firefox Issues Emergency Patch for Heap Buffer Overflow in Firefox V147
Mozilla released an out‑of‑band update, Firefox v147.0.4, to fix a high‑severity heap buffer overflow in the libvpx video codec (CVE‑2026‑2447). The flaw, discovered by researcher jayjayjazz, could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code by delivering crafted VP8/VP9 video streams. Parallel patches...
TV Set Is Most Popular Way to Watch YouTube in UK, Study Finds
A Barb Audiences review shows that TV sets now capture more than half of all YouTube viewing on UK home Wi‑Fi networks, overtaking laptops, tablets and smartphones across every age cohort. The transition unfolded gradually, with over‑55s leading in October 2023,...
Japan To Ban Power Bank Use Inflight From April 2026
Japan’s transport ministry will ban the use and charging of power banks on all domestic and international flights operating to, from, or within Japan starting April 2026. Passengers may still bring up to two power banks, each capped at 160...
Roy Morgan Survey Reveals 2.5M Young Aussies Watch YouTube
Roy Morgan’s Young Australian Survey finds that 2.5 million children aged 6‑13 – roughly 89 percent of the cohort – regularly watch YouTube. Gaming and animation dominate the platform, with 1.33 million viewers for gaming and 930,000 for animation. Boys drive gaming and sports...
JioHotstar, OpenAI Launch ChatGPT Content Search
JioHotstar announced a partnership with OpenAI to embed ChatGPT‑powered voice discovery into its streaming app. The new multilingual cognitive search lets users speak natural language queries to receive context‑aware recommendations for both on‑demand and live sports content. The assistant also...
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One More Spitball Idea for Apple’s March 4 Media Event ‘Experience’: Immersive F1 on Vision Pro?
The FIA has published the official start times for the 2026 Formula 1 season, a 24‑race calendar that runs from the Australian Grand Prix in early March to the Abu Dhabi finale in early December. The schedule spans five continents and introduces...
Smashing Security Podcast #455: Face Off: Meta’s Glasses and America’s Internet Kill Switch
In episode 455 of the Smashing Security podcast, host Graham Cluley and journalist James Ball examine the growing threat of tech sovereignty, questioning whether the United States could effectively shut down Europe’s internet by leveraging Gmail, cloud services, and critical infrastructure. They also...
Tech Firms Must Remove ‘Revenge Porn’ in 48 Hours or Risk Being Blocked, Says Starmer
The UK government will amend the Crime and Policing Bill to require tech platforms to delete non‑consensual intimate images, including AI‑generated deepfakes, within 48 hours of notification. Enforcement will be handed to Ofcom, which can levy fines up to 10%...
When Electronics Become Flexible: Atom-Thin Materials for Future Devices
IISER Pune researchers have demonstrated large‑area bismuth oxyselenide (Bi₂O₂Se) nanosheets only a few atomic layers thick, grown by fine‑tuning temperature, gas flow and precursor ratios. The nanosheets were integrated onto a Kapton substrate to create microscopic flexible electronic devices. Even after...
AI Helped Me Pick the Perfect Perfume for My Wife
I used AI to find the right perfume for my wife and I don’t regret it https://www.techradar.com/ai-platforms-assistants/gemini/i-used-ai-to-find-the-right-perfume-for-my-wife-and-i-dont-regret-it
ThinkPad X1 Beats Gamer Laptops for Game Development
I have been using a Thinkpad X1 for almost a year, and it hasn't fallen apart yet, unlike the "gamer-class" laptops of the past few years that fall apart hardware-wise, and never even get to a working state software-wise. Though this...
System76 Preparing To Introduce Redesigned Thelio Hardware
System76 announced a ground‑up redesign of its Thelio desktop and workstation chassis, signaling the next generation of its Linux‑focused hardware line. CEO Carl Richell highlighted ten months of engineering, more than 16,000 durability tests, and over 250 hours of thermal...
COT Shift Signals Changing Custom ASIC Customer Landscape
Important commentary here on COT on the $CDNS call last night. Called out this trend last year. It will be important for $AVGO $MRVL $MTK customer dynamics in custom ASICs. https://t.co/lgWuwvj4oB
Linux 7.0 Brings Several Enhancements For Modern Laptops
Linux 7.0’s merge window delivered a suite of x86 platform‑driver updates aimed at modern laptops. The AMD Platform Management Framework now surfaces detailed Ryzen AI NPU metrics, while ASUS, HP, and Lenovo WMI drivers gain enhanced backlight, fan, and hardware‑monitoring controls....
Apple in Europe: How Many iPhone Switchers Are Addressable in the Near Term?
Apple’s Q4 2025 results reveal Europe generated $38.1 billion in net sales, a 12.7 % year‑over‑year rise that now makes the continent a larger revenue source than Greater China. The growth stems largely from the iPhone 17 lineup, yet Apple’s earnings calls continue to...
MKBHD’s Meticulous Thumbnails Showcase Pixel 9a, 10a
::chefskiss:: to @MKBHD for this attention to detail on the Pixel 9a and 10a hands on thumbnails.
Early Leak Now Rolling Out; Official Announcement Imminent
We spotted it first last month and it's finally rolling out to some users. An official announcement may be near. https://t.co/xeKzdGKdsD