The Latest from Gadget Hacks: Page 5

Looking at Apple's latest leaks feels like watching a perfectly orchestrated symphony of speculation come together, only this time, we are dealing with more than just rumors. Between FCC documents accidentally revealing hardware identifiers and YouTubers unboxing devices that are not supposed to exist yet, we are getting an unprecedented peek behind Apple's curtain. Cue the popcorn.

OnePlus is taking a bold step into the AI-powered smartphone era with its upcoming OxygenOS 16, and the integration with Google's Gemini is shaping up to be a game-changer. OxygenOS 16 will feature tight integration with Google's Gemini, allowing it to access OnePlus' Mind Space function and many more first-party built-in OnePlus apps. This is not just another AI feature tossed into the settings. It is a plan to make your phone actually work with your personal data. OnePlus introduced the AI...

Reviewed by Meg Flores

When someone offers you a "free" TV, your first instinct should be to check for the catch, because there's always one. I've covered the streaming industry for years, and the shift I've watched up close now shows up in the numbers: 81% of viewers consider ads a fair trade for free or cheaper content. That acceptance has unleashed a sophisticated business model that is reshaping how we watch.

Reviewed by Meg Flores

Prime Day is wrapping up, but there’s still time to snag one of the year’s most compelling smartphone deals. Amazon’s October Prime Big Deal Days event launched on October 7th, bringing significant discounts to Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S25 lineup (Mashable). Several Samsung Galaxy models even hit their lowest prices of the year during this window (Mashable). Unlocked versions are the sweet spot, full carrier flexibility without plan strings attached (Mashable).

Apple's latest strategic pivot tells a fascinating story about reading the market and knowing when to change course. Bloomberg reports that Apple has paused work on a cheaper Vision Pro headset to focus on smart glasses development, following the slow uptake of Vision Pro with limited content and a $3,499 price tag.

Nothing's latest widget creation feature is making waves in the Android community, and for good reason. Nothing Phones now lets you make your own widgets, and here's the kicker: you can use them not just on Nothing Phones, but on any Android device.

Google has been making waves in the tech world with a significant expansion of its AI-powered photo editing capabilities. Google has just announced that it is rolling out conversational editing to other Android phones in the U.S., marking a major step forward in making advanced photo editing accessible to a broader audience. This feature leverages Gemini's sophisticated AI capabilities to transform how we interact with our photos, allowing anyone with an eligible phone to make AI edits within...

Looking at the sticker price for American Express's Platinum card, you'd expect some pretty impressive perks when you're shelling out nearly $900 annually. Free airport lounge access? Absolutely. Hotel upgrades and solid dining credits? You bet. What you probably wouldn't expect is that one of the "premium" features you're paying for is the ability to make your mobile app a slightly darker shade of blue.

Apple finds itself in hot water over delayed AI features, but the company isn't backing down. Apple filed a motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit targeting its Apple Intelligence rollout delays on Thursday. The company says two missing Siri features do not justify sweeping legal claims. The twist, and it is a big one, is how this fight spotlights the stakes of the AI arms race and the risk when Apple's famously polished marketing collides with the messy reality of shipping AI.

Reviewed by Meg Flores

Apple's Visual Intelligence just got a major upgrade in iOS 26, and honestly, it's about time. The original feature launched in iOS 18.2 as a Camera Control button that could describe your surroundings and translate text. Now Apple has extended Visual Intelligence in iOS 26 to work with content that's on your iPhone. Not a minor tweak, a shift in how you act on what you see, from shopping finds to event planning.

When two tech giants like Intel and Apple start talking investment, you pay attention. Intel has reached out in hopes of securing an investment from Apple Inc., a move that could shape the next chapter of semiconductor history. The timing is a twist worth savoring. Apple was a longtime customer of Intel before developing its own in-house chip in 2020. Now the old partners might reunite, only with Intel in the supplicant seat rather than the supplier chair. Intel's stock rose about 6.4%...

Since the DMA entered into force on Nov. 1, 2022, and began to apply from May 2, 2023, Apple isn't pulling any punches. The company claims regulators have created a mess that's hurting the very people the law was supposed to help. It argues that the DMA is forcing "concerning changes" to how it designs products, while Samsung currently leads European smartphone shipments and, unlike Apple, was not among the Commission's first designated DMA gatekeepers (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta,...

Reviewed by Jame Jimenez

Google's latest legal maneuver is a last-ditch bid to avoid a rewrite of Android. Google has petitioned the US Supreme Court for emergency relief to halt sweeping changes to its Android app store after losing its antitrust fight with Epic Games. The company asked the court to decide by October 17 whether to pause the order, and it is planning to file its appeal to the Supreme Court by October 27. The stakes reach beyond one platform or one lawsuit, straight into how digital marketplaces are...

When tech giants flex their app store muscles, whole communities feel it. The recent removal of ICE-spotting applications from both Apple and Google's platforms was not just another moderation call, it put the collision of technology, civil liberties, and corporate responsibility on center stage.

Every September, Apple drops the familiar line about the "best iPhone lineup ever." Most years, that is marketing gloss on small tweaks. This time, with the iPhone 17 series, it actually lands. 9to5Mac notes that Apple has made four fantastic new iPhone models, and every new iPhone this year is a winner. The numbers agree, analysts reported pre-order demand was about 25% higher than the iPhone 16 series a year prior. Here is why this lineup feels like a real reset of Apple's iPhone hierarchy.

You know that feeling when you see something so impossibly thin you almost can't believe it's real? That was me when I first held the iPhone Air's remarkable 5.6mm profile. Then came the wild part, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that next year's iPhone Fold could measure just 4.5-4.8mm when unfolded. Let me put that in perspective. We are talking about a foldable phone that is potentially a full millimeter thinner than Apple's thinnest device ever.