Hxyume/Getty Images In recent years, Apple has added several new listening modes to its AirPods. And while the obvious benefit is that each addition gives users more options to improve the listening experience, the downside is that the myriad of listening options can leave new users a little overwhelmed, or even downright confused. Indeed, even seasoned AirPods users may not be fully aware of the difference between listening modes like Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), Transparency Mode, Conversation Awareness, and Adaptive Audio. The good news, however, is that each of these…
Author: Amelia Scott
Apple’s 20th anniversary iPhone lineup could feature slightly larger screens than the iPhone 18 Pro models, if a new leak shared on Weibo is accurate. The prolific Chinese Digital Chat Station claims that the initial display specifications of the iPhone 20 Pro include a 6.41-inch display with a resolution of around 2,686 × 1,236 pixels, while the iPhone 20 Pro Max is said to have a 6.96-inch display with a resolution of around 2,912 × 1,340 pixels. For comparison, the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are 6.27 inches (rounded to 6.3 inches) and 6.86 inches (rounded to…
Some new Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Apple Watch Series 12 owners are reporting their devices restarting unexpectedly, and diagnostic logs suggest the crashes are related to the Apple Neural Engine. Reports have been published in the Woozad forums since the launch of the new models on Friday. Users describe their watches suddenly displaying the Apple logo and restarting while they interacted with the device, using Siri AI, changing watch faces, opening Maps or the App Store, starting phone calls, and recording workouts. Some restarts even occurred while the watch was apparently inactive. Notably, at least four owners shared “panic”…
Richard Newstead/Getty Images Almost everyone has a personal computer, but it’s the servers that keep their modern services running. Do you pay a subscription for a streaming application? The servers host all the shows and movies you watch. Do you play games like “Final Fantasy XIV” and “Fortnite”? All your progress and your ability to communicate with other players depends on the servers. However, not all servers are built the same, and the differences are best illustrated by comparing data centers and crypto mining operations. The differences start with the…
Pornanun/Getty Images Conventional wisdom says that a typical hard disk drive (HDD) should last about five years. This was recently challenged by a study by Secure Data Recovery, which analyzed more than 5,000 failed hard drives and found that the median drive only survived 8,687 hours under stress. It’s been almost 362 days; less than a fifth of its expected lifespan. In total, 49.8% of drives failed with less than a year of constant use. However, it is important to place this study in context. It only considered hard drives…
ZikG/Shutterstock We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. When it comes to beautiful TVs, one of the best brands on the market is LG. Perhaps best known for its OLED technology, LG also offers an impressive range of LED LCD models. Most of these TVs offer impressive picture quality and built-in streaming apps, but can an LG TV also be used as a second monitor for your daily PC tasks? The short answer is yes, although you may need additional equipment to make it all work. Allow…
In May, Apple agreed to pay $250 million to settle a class-action lawsuit in the United States over the delayed launch of Siri AI, and the settlement website is now live. Apple will pay approximately $25 per eligible iPhone to eligible customers, who can submit a claim through the settlement website between September 21 and December 21 of this year. The exact payment may be more or less than $25 depending on the total number of valid claims submitted and other factors, with the maximum amount being set at $95. Apple denies all allegations made in the lawsuit. Apple agreed…
By Vic Hood September 20, 2026, 10:17 p.m. EST Photography APN/Shutterstock If you are a beginning audiophile, you may have read articles or forum posts recommending purchasing an external DAC to improve the sound quality of your audio system or device. But what exactly is a DAC and does it really improve your audio quality? A DAC is a digital-to-analog converter that serves as a bridge between digital music files and analog audio systems. In other words, it’s the essential component that converts digital audio data, like that found…
Jusun/Getty Images We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Subscriptions are becoming a first world problem and are often not worth it. Music and video subscriptions dominate users’ bank accounts, and now large AI language models (LLMs) do too. Free versions of big chatbots can get the job done, but if readers find their sensitive and personal data circulating in data centers disturbing, there is another solution. Power AI users need more tokens or unlimited usage for agent features, reasoning models, image/video generation, but the average user…
Radowitz/Shutterstock Are you looking for a pair of wireless headphones? You probably don’t even know where to start, other than maybe choosing between different versions of Apple AirPods. That said, what really matters is just knowing what features you want and then going from there. If you’re looking for the best headphones for making phone calls or conferences, we’ve seen recent buyers recommend two brands in particular: Huawei’s FreeBuds Pro 5 and Anker’s Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro. Simply put, people don’t recommend Apple or Bose as the best for phone…