The Latest from Gadget Hacks: Page 5

Samsung's new Galaxy Z8 lineup set a preorder record in South Korea, and the standard Fold8, not the pricier Ultra, carried most of it. That's the story behind the Samsung Galaxy Z8 preorder record set this week: Samsung said the lineup drew more than 1.44 million preorders in South Korea during the seven-day window that ended Monday, Aug. 3, the highest preorder total for any Galaxy phone the company has ever released, foldable or not, according to The Korea Times.

Google has confirmed a Pixel 11 static noise video fix is on the way, addressing the crackling and static bursts that have been marring recordings on the Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL. In a statement to 9to5Google, the company said it has "identified the cause and developed a software fix that will rollout to users in the coming weeks via the Camera app."

Parallels recently announced Parallels Desktop 27, adding a Metal-based graphics driver that brings hardware-accelerated OpenGL 4.3 to Windows virtual machines on Apple silicon Macs. The company describes the capability as unique among Mac virtualization tools, though that comparison comes from Parallels itself rather than independent testing.

Two days after Google's Pixel 11 launch event, buyers are discovering a second Google Play Store Pixel 11 discount tucked inside the Play Points program. 9to5Google describes it as a discount worth up to $175, "hidden just beneath the surface" of the Play Points perks menu (9to5Google, today). Reports describe this as a separate offer from the pre-order codes Google emailed to select buyers before the show, and it covers the entire Pixel 11 family plus the Pixel Watch 5.

The Apple smart home display release date has already slipped past two internal targets, and the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman only widens the window rather than narrowing it. Apple's first screen-equipped home device remains on track for a launch before the end of 2026, Gurman reported last week, per MacRumors. That's a looser timeframe than the September target cited in earlier coverage, and it lands in a different window than the October-to-early-2027 range Cult of Mac reported...

Microsoft has turned Copilot in Excel from a chat-based advisor into a tool that edits workbooks directly. For anyone relying on Copilot in Excel collaborative workbooks, that shift, paired with a set of new controls meant to make those edits visible, is what changed, according to Microsoft's Excel blog, published in April 2026.

Open Google Clock on two different phones and you might not recognize it as the same app. The redesign rolled out across Android last year, but the new timer UI that actually changes how a running timer behaves, not just how it looks, has reached only Pixel owners running Android 16 (9to5Google; 9to5Google).

Ask three different people what "Microsoft Copilot" does, and there's a good chance you'll get three different answers, and all of them will be partially right. That's the problem. Microsoft Copilot isn't one product. It's a family of surfaces, and each one sees a different slice of your data. Mixing up Copilot Chat with Microsoft 365 Copilot, or a Teams meeting assistant with the standalone Researcher agent, is a common reason people asking how to use Microsoft Copilot for research end up with...

Pixel 11 Pro XL Extreme Charging mode can be activated from the phone's Battery and charging settings, the lock screen when eligible, or Quick Settings after the feature has been activated once.

Samsung has reportedly ordered motherboards for a Galaxy S27 Ultra Exynos 2700 variant, according to MoneyToday. If that plan survives to launch, it would mark the first time an Exynos chip has powered Samsung's Ultra flagship since the Galaxy S22 Ultra in 2022, a stretch covering four straight years of Snapdragon-only Ultra models (SamMobile).

Wallpaper Engine isn't available on macOS. Its developers currently support Windows and Android and say they have no immediate plans for a Mac version.

A newly reported One UI 9 Call Brief time zone feature shows the other person's local time before an international call even connects, according to Android Authority's hands-on report published yesterday. The outlet tested the feature directly on a Galaxy Z Fold 8, watching the recipient's local time appear while dialing an international number, before the call went through.

Google began rolling out Gemini 3.5 Live Translate in Google Translate three months ago, a new audio model built to translate speech continuously as someone talks rather than waiting for them to pause, according to Google. The company frames the goal as a phone-and-headphones setup that functions like a personal interpreter riding along in a conversation.

An Apple-commissioned Omdia study, based on 1,500 conversations with enterprise tech leaders and practitioners, found that 57% of enterprise AI models run under 10 billion parameters, small enough for a MacBook Air or entry-level MacBook Pro to handle. That number describes model size, not proof that most enterprise workloads are ready to leave the cloud. Concurrency, uptime, and integration requirements never entered the measurement. Still, it's the kind of stat fueling a real question for...

Microsoft announced Project Zenith this week, a preconfigured Windows 11 setup built for developers who want to run 30B+ parameter AI models locally, according to Microsoft's announcement. Microsoft Project Zenith Windows 11 targets developers trying to cut recurring cloud-token bills, not casual users hoping for a free feature drop.

Samsung is reportedly validating the Galaxy S27 series against Qualcomm's unreleased SM8975 chip, expected to launch as the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, according to a leaked Qualcomm project-portal screenshot obtained by Notebookcheck three days ago. The screenshot names the Galaxy S27 series broadly. It does not single out the Galaxy S27 Ultra, Pro, or base model.

Google began rolling out the Pixel Watch 5's first software update on September 1, moving the build from CD5A.260611.008 to CP3A.260905.002 while keeping Wear OS 7 based on Android 17. The changelog for this Pixel Watch 5 first update headlines Gemini features like offline AI, Gemini Personalization, and improved GPS route accuracy, but there's a catch worth knowing before you go hunting for something new on your wrist.

Samsung has started rolling out the Galaxy S25 One UI 9 Beta 2 update to the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra in South Korea, and it brings four Galaxy AI features that previously showed up on newer Samsung hardware: Call Brief, Custom Cards in Now Brief, Now Nudge, and My FanCam (SamMobile; Android Authority). The build is a modest 643.16MB and runs firmware S93xNKSUCZZI4 (Android Authority).

Most Galaxy tablet problems, freezing, laggy apps, a screen that stops responding, don't need a factory reset. A restart, either a normal one or a forced one depending on what the screen is doing, often clears temporary freezing or app stuttering without touching a single photo or file (Asurion). Learning how to reboot a Samsung Galaxy tablet the right way, and recognizing the smaller set of cases where a restart genuinely isn't enough, keeps you from wiping a tablet that didn't need it.

iOS 27 lands as a free software update on Monday, September 14, Apple confirmed yesterday, and the biggest of the new iOS 27 features by far is Siri AI: a rebuilt assistant Apple says can read what's on your screen, dig through your messages and photos, and pull live answers from the web.