Gadget Hacks

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.

Microsoft is turning Windows Search into a more capable control center, allowing users to type commands like "turn on Bluetooth" or "dim my screen" and execute them directly from search results. The redesigned experience began rolling out to Windows 11 Insiders on Oct. 7, with the goal of completing everyday tasks without opening another app or navigating through Settings.

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.

Apple's "Welcome Home" event on Tuesday introduced nine product lines in one announcement: three core devices (HomeView, HomePod mini 2, Apple TV 4K) and a six-piece Home Collection built with LG and Schneider Electric (The Verge, 2 days ago). Sort through all of that with a renter's eye, and most of it isn't something you can buy, use, and box up when the lease ends.

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.

A Samsung Galaxy phone can meet every obvious requirement, Bluetooth enabled, signed into the same Google Account, Wi-Fi connected, and still refuse to show up as an option under ChromeOS's Connected devices setup. If a Samsung Galaxy phone won't connect to Chromebook despite checking those boxes, a sensible first check is to update both devices before assuming it's a deeper Bluetooth or account problem.

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.

Apple lists Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K among the compatible devices for its current remotes, but the compatibility entries hinge on tvOS version, not just device name (Apple Support, 2024). That distinction is the whole ballgame for anyone trying to sort out Siri Remote compatibility with older Apple TV hardware before spending money.

Google is testing a new Google Nest speaker firmware update, version 3.79.550760, but for now the rollout is limited to people enrolled in Google's speaker Preview Program. The build currently covers four older speakers, the original Google Home, Home Mini, Nest Mini, and Nest Audio, according to 9to5Google, which reported the test yesterday. The supplied reporting does not include a Google announcement describing the update.

Microsoft began removing Publisher from Microsoft 365 subscriptions on October 1, 2026, with access ending on or shortly after that date as removal updates roll out. Anyone sitting on a folder of old newsletters, flyers, or brochures saved as .pub files now has one real question: can you convert Microsoft Publisher files with LibreOffice instead, and will the results actually hold up? Devaland ran 25 real .pub files through LibreOffice's free converter earlier this month and found the text...

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.

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.

Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra pairs Nvidia's RTX Spark SoC with up to 128GB of unified memory and up to 1 petaflop of AI compute. The company has confirmed a $2,599.99 starting price, with preorders open ahead of its Oct. 16 release.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

Chrome is building a Save Video Frame feature for its desktop Global Media Controls panel, a button meant to grab the active video frame as a clean image rather than a standard screenshot. Digital Citizen first reported the feature in April 2026. Chromium subsequently implemented it in July and enabled it by default in September. The feature has also been observed working in Chrome 155 builds, although availability across the stable channel remains unconfirmed.

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.

For apps that show an active Uninstall command, Settings is the supported path to remove them in Windows 11: open the three-dot menu, click Uninstall, done. Try that on certain preinstalled apps, though, and Uninstall is grayed out, replaced by a listing under "System Components" instead. Learning how to remove system apps in Windows 11 starts with understanding that label, because it usually means removal isn't offered through the normal path for that particular app.

A failed WinRE servicing update, a reagentc /enable error, or an INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE message after Reset this PC can trace back to several different root causes: an undersized recovery partition, a BitLocker or Device Encryption block, or a storage driver missing from the recovery image. A developer who built a self-healing recovery tool reports these conditions often overlap on the same machine rather than point to one isolated cause (ElevenForum, "Built a self-healing WinRE manager,"...

Microsoft built a version of Windows 11 it calls Project Zenith, and the company says it "represents Windows at its best": tips switched off, account notifications silenced, a quieter File Explorer and Start menu (PCMag, 2 days ago). Right now, the only confirmed way to get Project Zenith factory-installed is to buy a PC built around AMD's Ryzen AI Halo chips.

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).

Samsung's next flagship smartphone lineup could introduce a Galaxy S27 Pro, giving buyers another premium option — and potentially another reason to pay attention to which version of a phone they're buying. New reports suggest Samsung is expanding production of its Exynos 2700 processor, which could power several Galaxy S27 models in some markets while other regions receive Qualcomm Snapdragon chips.

Apple's smart home plans could include someone to help install the equipment. A rumored arrangement with ADT raises that possibility ahead of Apple's Oct. 13 "Welcome home" event, but neither company has announced a deal.

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...

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.

Disney's October 2025 price increase reshaped the math on its streaming bundles, and the trade-off still holds nearly a year later: the Disney+ Hulu bundle price hike pushed the ad-supported bundle to $12.99 a month while leaving the $19.99 ad-free Premium bundle untouched. That gap made the ad-supported bundle $6 cheaper than a single ad-free subscription to either app alone, Variety reported last year.

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).

Some Pixel owners have been stuck in a bootloop since installing the March Android 16 QPR3 update, with phones hanging on the Google logo or failing to boot at all, according to a report from XDA Developers earlier this year. The reports span models from the Pixel 6 through the Pixel 10 and have surfaced across several Reddit threads, per the same report.

Apple Intelligence turns itself on the moment an eligible device updates to version 27.0 across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS, provided the language and region are supported (Apple Support, three weeks ago). Nobody flips a switch for it. That automatic rollout is exactly why a growing number of Mac owners are now searching for ways to disable Apple Intelligence on Mac and claw back the storage it quietly claimed.