News and Updates from Gadget Hacks: Page 2

Satya Nadella opened Microsoft's annual Build developer conference this week by leading with Windows. Not Azure. Not Copilot. Not Teams. The Verge noted it couldn't remember the last time Build kicked off that way. The Microsoft Build 2026 Windows AI strategy, as the keynote framed it, rests on a specific claim: Windows is no longer the legacy platform Microsoft tends while building elsewhere. It's the on-device layer of Microsoft's AI stack, the place where local agents run, where developer...

Google announced last month that Gboard is getting a Gemini-powered feature called Rambler, which the company says will filter out filler words, self-corrections, pauses, and repetition as you speak, so only cleaned-up text lands in the input field. That's a specific claim, and it matters because Gboard already has tools that correct dictated text after it appears. If Rambler genuinely processes speech before transcription is committed, it addresses a real gap in how voice input works today. If...

Google launched two targeted updates to its payments platform yesterday, and the split between them is worth understanding clearly. Google Pay direct checkout brings saved Google Wallet payment credentials directly into a retailer's checkout page, cutting out the separate Google-hosted flow that currently pulls shoppers away from the merchant's site. The second update, a revamped Secure Payment Authentication (SPA) system, replaces SMS one-time passwords and bank redirects with a biometric...

SwitchBot's Standing Circulator Fan launched last month with a combination that makes it worth attention this summer: a built-in battery, three height configurations from desk to full standing, and Matter support that puts it in Apple Home. It's available now in the US, UK, and EU starting at $99.99, discounted from a $129.99 MSRP, according to SwitchBot's announcement.

A $199 USB adapter now lets owners of select Cadillac, Chevy, and GMC electric vehicles run Android Auto and Apple CarPlay on their factory screens. No tools, no panel removal, no dealer visit. EV Play claims the whole setup takes about two minutes, according to the company. The catch is that EV Play acknowledges in its own FAQ that GM could disable the adapter via an over-the-air software update. That's not a hypothetical. GM has already applied exactly that kind of pressure against a...

At MWC 2026 in Barcelona, Samsung Display was on the show floor with a phone that slides upward to reveal more screen. Back home, Samsung's product division was shipping a phone that unfolds twice. Both devices exist. Only one is for sale. That gap between what Samsung's display engineers can demonstrate and what its product team will actually commit to defines the current state of the Samsung rollable phone.

Android AirDrop-Style Tap to Share Expands, Most Users Still Waiting

Aulumu M10 3-in-1 MagSafe Battery: What the Listing Doesn't Tell You

Recent leaker and supply-chain reports point to Apple developing a Samsung-developed micro-curved OLED panel for its 20th-anniversary iPhone, targeting a bezel that effectively disappears from the user's line of sight rather than simply measuring smaller.

OpenAI iPhone Killer Rumors Explained: Why the Speaker Comes First

iPhone 20 Curved Screen Explained: What Quad-Edge Really Means

Apple's AirPods hearing health suite reached the Philippines in March 2026, the latest addition to a rollout that now spans more than 100 countries and regions. Apple's broader hearing health suite covers three distinct capabilities: a Hearing Test, a Hearing Aid mode for mild to moderate loss, and active Hearing Protection, though availability varies by feature and region.

Apple's satellite feature started as a lifeline for people genuinely stranded, no signal, no road, no one nearby. Three years on, it lives inside the standard Messages app and lets you text a friend from a trailhead. The iPhone 18 Pro, if current rumors hold, could push iPhone 18 Pro satellite messaging further still: toward a connectivity layer that operates in the background rather than a special mode you consciously invoke when things go sideways.

MacStories creator Federico Viticci recently launched Shortcuts Playground, a free, open-source plugin for Claude Code and Codex that takes a plain-English description and returns a signed .shortcut file ready to import into Apple's Shortcuts app. No drag-and-drop builder.

Spotify and Universal Music Group recently announced a licensing deal that clears both master recording and publishing rights for AI-generated music, allowing the company to launch a tool letting Premium subscribers create covers and remixes of songs from participating UMG artists. The tool will cost extra on top of a standard Premium subscription. No price and no launch date have been set so far.

Apple just filed a certiorari petition with the Supreme Court, asking the justices to take up two questions arising from the company's contempt finding in its long-running legal fight with Epic Games. The petition, confirmed by 9to5Mac, marks Apple's third attempt to get the Court involved in this dispute. For the developers caught in the middle, the outcome determines whether App Store payment competition is real or cosmetic.

Apple Ultra products: two devices, two very different tests

Samsung Galaxy S27 Camera Redesign Tipped to Enable Native Qi2

Spotify Guided Workout Experiences Launch: Features, Limits, and Access

Apple has expanded Apple Watch sleep apnea notifications to more than 150 countries and regions, with India among the most recent additions, while the AirPods Pro hearing test and hearing aid features now reach over 100 countries.