The Latest from Gadget Hacks

If you’ve ever wondered whether your smartphone could be more ruthless about getting you out of bed, wonder no more. The mobile app landscape now includes alarms that refuse to snooze until you prove you are awake. Alarmy, nicknamed "Sleep If You Can," is one of the boldest versions, asking you to finish tasks before silence returns. Here is the kicker, research shows that wake-up tasks are tied to completing target behaviors and trimming the time it takes to feel truly awake. Task-based alarms...

Samsung's latest leak drops a clear hint. While we're all waiting for the Galaxy Tab A11 and A11 Plus to hit the market, the Plus variant looks set to outmuscle its smaller sibling. The Galaxy Tab A11 and A11 Plus aren't available quite yet, but the leaked specs sketch a gap budget shoppers should know about. Both tablets have a display with a 90Hz refresh rate. After that, the roads diverge in ways you will feel day to day.

Microsoft is shaking up the productivity playbook. Free Copilot Chat features are rolling out to Office apps for all Microsoft 365 business users. Not a tiny tweak, a line in the sand to democratize AI-powered productivity across Microsoft’s business ecosystem.

Apple's latest macOS release is here, and it's bringing some serious changes to your Mac experience. MacRumors confirms that macOS Tahoe is the latest version of macOS, set to launch this fall with a complete visual overhaul called Liquid Glass. This is not just another incremental update. We are looking at what MoneyControl calls "the boldest macOS update in over a decade," and they are not wrong.

You've probably been there: you hop in your car, connect your phone to Android Auto, and suddenly the media player looks... off. Maybe the icons are faded, unresponsive, or just plain weird-looking. If you're scratching your head wondering what's going on, you're not alone. Recent reports show users dealing with faded Android Auto icons that won't respond to touch, while Google continues to address bugs on the platform. And yes, Android Auto's media player has undergone significant changes...

Google's smart home landscape just shifted dramatically, and it's been a long time coming. The Google Home Spring 2025 update is not another incremental improvement, it is a transformation of how we interact with connected devices. Previous updates added individual features; this one reimagines the control paradigm. The standout feature is a new automation editor that brings YAML scripting to the masses, giving users serious control over their setups.

When YouTube TV announced its latest price hike to $82.99 per month in December 2024, many subscribers felt that familiar sting of yet another streaming service getting more expensive. But here's the thing. While that increase was supposed to hit existing subscribers on January 13, 2025, I've managed to dodge it completely. And I'm not alone.

Two titans step into 2025 with swagger, long memories, and sharper elbows. Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Max chases higher performance and smarter cameras, while Samsung's Galaxy S25 Ultra arrived earlier this year packing the Snapdragon 8 Elite and an S Pen for serious note takers. The iPhone 17 Pro Max starts at $1,199, the Galaxy S25 Ultra at $1,299.99.

When it comes to Android file managers, one name keeps popping up in conversations among tech enthusiasts: CX File Explorer. While Files by Google has become the go-to choice for many users with its clean interface and smart cleanup features, readers still love this legendary Files by Google alternative, and there’s good reason for that loyalty. What keeps CX File Explorer in the rotation in a market full of shiny newcomers? And does it still deserve a spot on your Android device in 2025?

When Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Z Fold 7, something felt different. This was not just another iterative update with minor tweaks and marketing fluff. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 has achieved the highest pre-order numbers of any Galaxy Fold device in the United States, and frankly, it is about time. After years of Samsung playing it safe with foldables that felt more like expensive tech demos than practical daily drivers, the Z Fold 7 shows what happens when a company finally tackles the barriers that...

There's something magical about picking up exactly where you left off in a game, regardless of which device you're playing on. After months of frustration with GameHub's save sync issues, GameSir's latest update finally delivered what cross-platform gaming has been promising all along. Now I'm seamlessly jumping between my Android phone and PC while exploring the highly anticipated world of Hollow Knight: Silksong. No fiddling. No second guessing. This is how gaming should work everywhere.

Something truly groundbreaking just happened in the Android gaming world. Android Authority reports that Eden Emulator has become the first Nintendo Switch emulator to land on the Google Play Store, a milestone that felt impossible just months ago. This is not just another emulation story. It is a shift that could reshape how we think about mobile gaming and platform boundaries. Eden is a fork of one of the most successful and infamous Switch emulators, now available for devices running Android...

Google's making some serious moves in the wearable weather space, and honestly, it's about time. Google is phasing out its Weather app for Pixel smartwatches and replacing it with a new Pixel Weather app, and this is not just your typical app shuffle that leaves users frustrated. The key change is blunt: any watch running Wear OS 6 and newer versions will no longer be able to download Google's built-in Weather app, a shift in how we check the forecast on our wrists going forward.

Apple's Sleep Score feature in watchOS 11 is a step change in how we read our nights. Competitors like Samsung, Garmin, and Fitbit have offered sleep scoring for years, but Apple's take lands differently. The feature assigns a single-number score from 0 to 100 to your sleep each night, built on over 5 million nights of sleep data from Apple's Heart and Movement Study and guidance from leading sleep organizations.

With Apple's September event now in the rearview mirror, the tech world is buzzing about what comes next. The iPhone 17 series just made its debut alongside new Apple Watches and AirPods Pro 3. Still, Apple's product pipeline is far from empty. Recent developments point to another major moment before the year wraps, and the breadcrumbs look convincing.

The mobile industry is shifting in a way that could change how we think about phone service forever. We used to walk into carrier stores or dial customer support to set up plans. Now apps can activate mobile service on the spot, no carrier visit required. Carrier billing and e-wallets will be worth $60 billion globally in 2025, and superapps are multifunctional platforms that integrate messaging, payments, e-commerce and more. Put those together and you get a new ecosystem where your next phone...

Apple's latest iPhone 17 lineup has revealed its repair fee structure, and honestly, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Apple recently disclosed its out-of-warranty repair fees for all of the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air models, ahead of their anticipated launch. What's particularly noteworthy is that Apple's battery replacement fees did not increase for the latest iPhone models in the U.S. Apple is charging a flat $119 to replace the battery inside an iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, or iPhone Air. That...

Samsung's latest security update isn't just another routine patch, it's an emergency response to a critical zero-day vulnerability that attackers are actively exploiting right now. Samsung has rolled out its September 2025 security update, tackling a flaw so severe that it's already being used to execute remote code on Galaxy devices in the wild.

Breaking my own personal iPhone upgrade ritual for the first time in years wasn't a decision I made lightly. As someone who's built a career analyzing the latest tech trends, I've always been among the first to get my hands on Apple's newest offerings. But here's the thing: recent data shows I'm not alone in this shift. A Morgan Stanley survey found that 51% of iPhone owners are "extremely likely" to upgrade in the next 12 months, an all-time high that's 18 percentage points higher than any...

Apple's online store is showing that familiar "Be right back" message, a sign that something big is about to drop. The Apple Store is down ahead of iPhone 17 preorders, which are set to begin Friday, September 12th at 5AM PST. The ritual is predictable, still exciting. It signals that Apple has officially lifted the curtain on the iPhone 17 lineup, including the highly anticipated iPhone 17 Air model.

Apple's sprint toward the future just tripped in one of its biggest markets. The iPhone Air, Apple’s boldest design statement so far, is facing an unusual delay in China that puts innovation and regulation on a collision course.

When Steve Jobs was ousted from Apple in 1985, who guessed his next venture would become the tech that later saved the company he co-founded? After a boardroom power struggle he walked out, then invested $12 million of his own money to create NeXT, Inc. The paradox that followed is hard to beat, a company that would struggle to gain traction in the market yet ultimately become the startup that brought Jobs back to Apple and powered its biggest breakthroughs.

The iPhone 17 series is making waves among Android enthusiasts, and for good reason. After years of watching Android phones pioneer features that Apple later adopted, the pattern is still alive with the upcoming iPhone 17 lineup. The twist, Apple’s silicon advantage still matters, with chips topping efficiency tests year after year according to AnandTech and Geekbench. The platforms are also loosening frictions between themselves, with USB-C finally arriving and Apple embracing the GSMA's RCS...

The wearables market is having a moment, just not the kind Apple might have hoped for. While IDC data shows Apple secured a 17.9% market share in Q2 2024, making them a top-five player globally, the story under those numbers is messier. The global smartwatch market rebounded with 4% growth in Q2 2024 after six straight quarters of decline. Yet Apple’s sales velocity lagged competitors that rode the recovery more aggressively.

Looking at the chaos that is about to hit our inboxes this holiday season, Google has stepped up with something that might actually save us some sanity. Google's rolling out a significant Gmail update that introduces a dedicated "Purchases" tab, perfectly timed for when your inbox is about to explode with order confirmations and shipping notifications. This is not just another minor tweak, it is a rethink of how we manage our digital shopping lives. About time.

Reviewed by Julianne Ngirngir

The streaming world has changed dramatically in the past five years, but nothing illustrates that transformation quite like Apple TV+'s remarkable Emmy journey. When the service launched in 2019, skeptics wondered if a tech company could really compete with Hollywood's established players. Fast forward to 2025, and Apple TV+ has earned a record-breaking 81 Emmy Award nominations across 14 titles, a clear signal that Apple's unique approach to content creation isn't just working, it is reshaping...

When Netflix's $320 million sci-fi epic The Electric State crashed and burned with a 30 Metacritic score and 14% on Rotten Tomatoes, it was not just another streaming flop, it was a wake-up call about a distribution strategy problem. The film's dismal reception sparked industry confusion about Netflix's filmmaking efforts, and the confusion is justified. Here is a streaming giant that can make genuinely great films like The Irishman, Roma, and All Quiet on the Western Front, yet the typical...

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