The Latest from Gadget Hacks: Page 15

Apple ID Payments Russia: Why Mobile Top-Ups Were Blocked

Motorola Razr 70 Colors Leak Shows Fabric and Carbon Textures

TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro: A Deep Dive Into E-Paper Display Technology

M5 Pro vs M4 Pro MacBook Pro: What We Know So Far

The M5 MacBook Air has arrived, and early reviews paint a picture of meaningful upgrades paired with a price reality check that has Apple fans doing some mental math. With enhanced performance capabilities, faster storage speeds, and expanded base configurations, this latest iteration represents more than just an incremental update. However, the $100 price increase has sparked conversations about value propositions in an increasingly competitive laptop market.

The PSP may be gone, but its incredible library lives on through Android emulation. With original hardware becoming scarce and expensive, PPSSPP and other Android emulators have become the go-to solution for experiencing Sony's portable classics. Modern emulation actually surpasses the original experience in many ways—we're talking instant save states, HD upscaling that makes these games look better than they ever did, and full controller support for those who want that authentic feel.

CarPlay's split-assistant design reveals Apple's Siri strategy

Apple Sports 2026 FIFA World Cup Teams: How to Follow and Track

Samsung Bespoke AI Washer Update Issue: Symptoms and Fixes

Engineer adds Lightning port to iPhone 17 Pro: how it works

Can You Restore a System Image to a New Hard Drive: Full Guide

macOS 27 Time Capsule Support: Why It Ends and How to Replace It

As of this writing, the version number iOS 26.4.1 is circulating online, but Apple hasn't published anything that backs it up. No beta seed, no build number, no release note. What the public record does contain is a clear picture of how Apple has maintained iOS 26 since launch, and that pattern is worth understanding before treating a rumored version number as confirmed news.

Researchers digging through Play Store version 48.7.17-31 found dormant code strings labeled "Search reviews" and an inactive flag called AllReviewsPage__enable_search_bar, the clearest sign yet that Google is building a keyword search tool for the consumer-facing reviews page. Android Authority first reported the discovery in November 2025, and Android Police independently confirmed the same strings that same month. Neither outlet could activate the interface.

A company called Tiny Corp claims Apple has approved a driver letting AMD and Nvidia GPUs in external enclosures perform compute tasks on Apple Silicon Macs. That's a notable claim, because Apple's own documentation still says it isn't possible. If accurate, it represents a real exception to a firm architectural boundary. But the story rests on a single report, Apple has made no public announcement, and "compute tasks" is not what most people picture when they hear the words "Apple Silicon eGPU...

A Rome court recently ruled that Netflix illegally raised prices on Italian subscribers and ordered the company to issue refunds, reduce current bills, and inform former customers to inform them of their rights. The headline figures are striking up to €500 for long-term Premium subscribers. The reality is narrower, and none of it is final.

Apple seeded the first iOS 26.5 developer beta on March 30, a week after shipping iOS 26.4, and the tight turnaround tells you something: this is a maintenance cycle, not a marquee release. But iOS 26.5 beta 1 has more going on than the cadence suggests.

Pixel's Now Playing feature is recognizing music reliably again for many users, a meaningful turnaround after more than a year of widespread failures that had owners reaching for Shazam. The March 2026 Pixel Drop is responsible, but it arrived packaged with a platform transition that has quietly broken the lock screen experience for a portion of users who never got an explanation from Google about why.

In June 2007, Apple sold roughly 300,000 iPhones in a single weekend. That device had a 3.5-inch screen, a 2-megapixel camera, 2G EDGE data, and no App Store. By 2024, that single starting point had multiplied into 47 distinct iPhone models (ts2.tech, July 2025). The iPhone 17, launched September 2025, extends the lineup further, with a standard model starting at $799 and 256GB of storage, and a Pro Max topping out at 2TB for the first time.

Apple dropped the iOS 26.5 public beta this week, and the most useful way to read it is not as a feature checklist but as a map of three things Apple is working on simultaneously: a long-overdue privacy fix in Messages, an ad expansion into Maps, and platform-opening changes in the EU that regulators, not Apple, are driving. Most of what's here isn't ready for public use yet. That's the actual story.

Oppo launched the Find X9 Ultra today with a camera feature no rival has shipped in three years: a native 10x optical zoom camera built directly into the phone. No accessory required, no software simulation. The phone starts at 7,499 yuan ($1,099) in China, per Digital Trends; UK pricing lands at £1,449 ($1,959) with a May 8 launch date, Engadget confirmed. No U.S. launch has been mentioned in any of the confirmed coverage.

President Trump told companies Tuesday they would be "brilliant" to walk away from tariff refunds on duties a Supreme Court ruling struck down as unlawful. Then he added: "If they don't do that, I'll remember them." He named Apple and Amazon directly. The stakes are not small: more than 330,000 importers paid the duties in question, and companies are collectively seeking roughly $166 billion back from the government, Reuters reported earlier this month.

The Redmi K90 Max gaming phone launched in China today with a claim that shouldn't hold up on paper: a built-in spinning cooling fan paired with IP66, IP68, and IP69 water and dust resistance ratings. Phones with active airflow openings aren't supposed to be waterproof. Redmi says it engineered around that. Open sales began today, with the base 12GB/256GB model starting at CNY 3,199 (approximately $469), per GSMArena. No international launch has been announced.

Google is actively investigating a Pixel battery drain issue that first appeared with the March 2026 update and became significantly more visible after the April release. No fix exists yet. The bug has generated nearly 600 comments on a single Google Issue Tracker thread in under ten days, according to 9to5Google, and there is nothing users can directly do to fix it themselves.

Apple's latest Liquid Glass interface redesign has sparked heated debates across the tech community, but if there's one thing we know about Cupertino, it's that they rarely make major design shifts without a long-term vision in mind. While users are split on the new aesthetic direction, the real story here isn't about immediate user satisfaction—it's about where Apple is positioning its entire ecosystem for the future.

The streaming wars just got a major shakeup, and it all happened on Hollywood's biggest night. Warner Bros just pulled off something that hasn't been seen since the days of Ben-Hur and Titanic—they swept the 2026 Oscars with a record-tying 11 Academy Awards. But here's what makes this particularly fascinating: it's happening right as the studio is in a pending massive $111 billion acquisition deal with Paramount. More importantly for streaming subscribers, these Oscar wins demonstrate exactly...

Google Messages has spent years tormenting Android users with one surprisingly basic limitation: you couldn't easily copy just part of a text message. You know exactly what I'm talking about—you need to grab a verification code or tracking number from a longer message, but the app forces you to copy the entire thing or nothing at all. It's the kind of daily annoyance that makes you question how such a fundamental oversight survived this long in a major app.

Google Maps just received one of the most significant recent AI updates. The integration of a new conversational feature powered by Gemini, often referred to as 'Ask Maps,' is a major shift from traditional keyword-based searches to natural, conversational queries.

The latest MacBook teardown from iFixit has revealed something remarkable: Apple has delivered the most repairable MacBook battery system we've seen in over a decade with MacBook Neo. This is a turning point in how Apple approaches device serviceability, potentially signaling broader changes across its entire laptop lineup.

Android acting up? Your phone freezing, crashing, or running slower than usual? Before you panic or rush to the repair shop, there's a built-in diagnostic tool that might solve your problems: Safe Mode. This feature temporarily disables third-party apps, helping you identify whether a recently installed app is causing havoc with your device's performance.

If you've been using your Pixel recently and something about the Recents screen felt... off, you're not losing your mind. Google's March update has quietly stripped away one of Android's most useful multitasking shortcuts, and it's the kind of change that hits you right in the daily workflow.

Ever wondered what it's like to have the exclusive accent colors from Apple's newest devices on your own Mac?

If you've been following Android's beta releases closely, you might have noticed something significant in Android 17 Beta 2. Google is testing a major security enhancement in Android 17 Beta 2.

The tech world has been buzzing with questions about Apple's latest MacBook Pro models and their ability to handle Windows virtualization. With devices now powered by Apple silicon and ARM architecture, many users wondered whether their favorite Windows applications would still be accessible through virtual machines. The answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no, and understanding the implications could save you from making a costly mistake.

Apple has been steadily building its "Ultra" brand across different product categories, but recent industry reports suggest the company's premium hardware strategy is about to get more complex. While we've seen the Ultra designation transform everything from the Apple Watch to Mac processors, Bloomberg's latest reporting via AppleInsider indicates that Apple's 2026 roadmap includes several high-end devices that won't carry the Ultra moniker at all.

The rumor mill has been buzzing with whispers of Apple's potential entry into the budget laptop market, and the MacBook Neo concept has captured imaginations across the tech community. At a widely speculated but unconfirmed ~$599 price point, this would represent Apple's most affordable laptop in over a decade, potentially reshaping how we think about accessible Mac computing.

The foldable phone revolution has been brewing for years, but there's one persistent question that keeps consumers hesitant: will these innovative devices actually survive daily life? Samsung has been working overtime to change that narrative, and their latest efforts reveal just how seriously they're taking durability concerns. The company isn't just making claims about tougher screens—they're putting their foldable displays through increasingly rigorous testing protocols to prove their point.

The MacBook Neo's arrival brings an unexpected twist to Apple's design story. You might be surprised to learn that this new laptop is actually one of the most repairable MacBooks in over a decade, according to teardown reports, with potentially lower repair costs than recent MacBook Air models, based on component-level replacements

The streaming wars just took an unexpected turn. While Disney has long been synonymous with media dominance, a new giant has emerged as a leading media company by ad revenue. YouTube's meteoric rise to become the world's largest media company by advertising revenue signals a fundamental shift in how we consume, create, and monetize content in the digital age.

The battle against text-based scams is intensifying, and Google is deploying sophisticated multi-layered defenses to protect Android users from increasingly clever criminal tactics. Even though most of us have moved beyond basic SMS to more advanced messaging platforms, text phishing remains a persistent threat that continues evolving to circumvent existing security measures.