This was another busy week in tech, with Plex rolling back part of its big redesign, more bad news for Windows 10 computers, Google merging Chromebooks and Android, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.
The Big News
Plex Is Reversing an Unpopular Part of Its App Redesign
Plex says that it’s bringing music and photos functionality back to its core video streaming app. This is a major reversal of the multi-app approach that Plex announced about 10 months ago, though the company notes that Plexamp and Photos will still be offered as optional standalone apps. Continue reading…
You Might Want to Disable T-Mobile’s Two New ‘Privacy’ Settings
Like most carriers and big companies, T-Mobile loves to collect personal data. While that’s typically done for targeted ads and other marketing, it still gives many users pause. And now, it looks like T-Mobile has fired up two more collection processes, which are enabled by default. Continue reading…
Microsoft 365 Will Restrict Updates if You’re on Windows 10
Microsoft has confirmed that it will be halting new feature development for Office apps (Microsoft 365) on Windows 10 starting in August 2026. Fortunately, you’ll still get security updates for your Office apps on Windows 10 until October 2028, but nothing else. Continue reading…
Android And Chromebooks Will Eventually Merge
Google running two different, seemingly independent operating systems might be a weird strategy for some people. But now, it looks like Google might actually merge Android and ChromeOS, the operating system running on Chromebooks, at some point down the road. Continue reading…
Calibre eBook Manager Now Has Better Kindle Support
Calibre 8.7 is officially here, bringing with it a whole host of improvements and fixes for your favorite eBook manager. This new version, codenamed “Eclipse,” keeps up with the regular updates we’ve come to expect, and it’s got some really cool features, especially if you like Kindle books. Continue reading…
Your Switch 2 Could Get a Nintendo Ban if You Buy Used Games
Nintendo is cracking down hard on game piracy, but this is accidentally affecting people who own legitimate, secondhand Switch 1 game cartridges. So if you bought a secondhand cartridge, even from GameStop, you might want to read this before you put it on your Switch. Continue reading…
PC Games Won’t Stick Around on Windows 10
Square Enix has announced that official support for Final Fantasy XIV on Windows 10 will end on October 14, 2025. This lines up with Microsoft’s own decision to stop providing security updates and support for Windows 10 PCs after that date, and more games will likely follow in the coming months. Continue reading…
IntelliJ IDE Gets New Free Features With Edition Merge
JetBrains IntelliJ, the popular integrated development environment for Java and Kotlin, is finally combining its separate Community Edition and Ultimate Edition. The free version is also getting new features, and a fully open-source IDE will be available in the future. Continue reading…
YouTube Music Finally Gets This Much-Needed Sync Feature
Have you ever wished YouTube Music would know when you hit pause on a song and resume playback on another device, like going from a smart speaker to your phone or car? If so, we have good news. This small but meaningful feature has been missing for years, and now it’s finally here. Continue reading…
Peacock Is Increasing Its Prices… Again
Here we are again. Another wave of price hikes on our subscriptions is landing. Yesterday, it was Google’s Nest Aware subscriptions, which saw a pretty significant price jump. And if you thought that meant hikes were coming to streaming services, turns out you were right—and Peacock is getting the party started. Continue reading…
This Tiny PC Has an Intel Core Ultra 9 and 64GB RAM
We love tiny PCs. But a lot of them are on the weaker side specwise, and that’s understandable—there’s not a lot of space inside to put high-end parts, and even if there was, thermals are also an issue. This one, however, doesn’t seem to skimp on anything. Continue reading…
Razer’s Pokémon Mouse, Keyboard, and Mousepad Arrive in the US
Razer has just released its Pokémon Collection in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. This comes after the popular debut of this same line in Asia, complete with a mechanical gaming keyboard, gaming mouse, and mousepad. Continue reading…
Universal Chat App Beeper Just Fixed Its Biggest Problem
You might be familiar with Beeper. The app made a name for itself by offering Android users a pathway to accessing iMessage, and while that’s now gone, it’s still a pretty useful app that offers the ability to keep all chats from all your apps in one place. Now, it’s becoming even better, and fixing one of its biggest problems—but it’s also leaving its other biggest problem unsolved. Continue reading…
Spotify Will Finally Let Family Members Listen to Audiobooks
Spotify added audiobooks back in 2022, and it’s been a sneakily great feature for book-lovers who already pay for a Premium subscription. However, the free hours of listening each month have been restricted to the plan manager on Family and Duo plans. That’s finally changing. Continue reading…
Samsung Fixed a Flaw That Let Anyone See Inside the “Secure” Folder
You would rightfully assume the apps and photos in the “Secure Folder”—emphasis on Secure—on your Galaxy phone were safe. Well, a sneaky little flaw allowed anyone with physical access to your device to peek at your hidden treasures. Samsung is finally addressing this with the One UI 8 update. Continue reading…
Google’s Nest Aware Subscription Is Going Up In Price
It’s rare these days for a subscription service not to increase its price. It’s sadly all too common—from streaming services to other useful subscriptions. Google’s Nest Aware subscription, which is a boon for those in the Google smart home ecosystem, is the latest victim to this increasingly common phenomenon. Continue reading…
Deako’s New Smart Switch Has a Built-in Light Bar and More
Smart lighting manufacturer Deako just announced its latest smart light switch, which features a built-in light bar, magic pairing, and a redesigned app. The new 2nd Gen Smart Switch promises to be easy to configure, use, and see. Continue reading…
Google Chrome Is Saying Goodbye To More Old Macs
Apple’s yearly releases mean that older OS updates get deprecated a lot more quickly. Now, Google Chrome is dropping support for what used to be a pretty popular macOS release—and it could mean trouble for some older Macs. Continue reading…
AMD’s Latest Budget Laptop CPU Is Actually Pretty Cool
AMD’s recent Strix Point launch was one of its most solid ones in recent memory, and we’ve already seen a few Strix Point laptops making the rounds. If you don’t need the absolute best and most powerful, AMD is also launching a budget CPU that might catch your eye. Continue reading…
Google’s Pixel 10 Reveal Event Finally Has a Date
Google has finally confirmed that its next Pixel launch event will take place on August 20, 2025, in New York City. Google sent out invites that tell attendees to expect the latest updates to the Pixel Portfolio. Continue reading…
Steam Is Giving You a Week to Save Your Hacked Account
Steam has rolled out a new “Trade Protection” feature, and it’s going to make it much harder for hackers to steal your valuable in-game items. This new system is designed to help you out if your account ever gets compromised due to malware, hacking, or phishing. Continue reading…
Say Goodbye to Google Assistant on Your Smartwatch
Are you ready to say goodbye to the Google Assistant on your Android smartwatch? Google’s been laying the groundwork for replacing the Assistant with Gemini for months, and it’s finally happening. The transition started with the Pixel Watch, and now more WearOS devices are getting Gemini. Continue reading…
Copilot on Windows Can Now See Your Screen
Microsoft is rolling out a big update to its Copilot Vision for Windows Insiders that lets the AI tool see everything on your screen. This is a pretty significant change, as it could only look at two apps at a time before. Copilot will see your desktop, or a specific browser or app window. Continue reading…
Your PC Can Now Stream Your Xbox Games, Too
For a while now, your couch has not been the only place to play your Xbox games, thanks to the magic of streaming. If you’d rather play them on your PC, though, that surprisingly has not been an option. Until now, at least. Continue reading…
Windows 11 Will Soon Describe Images to You
Microsoft has pushed generative AI features into every corner of Windows 11, but most of them aren’t actually useful to most people, and some of them are actively distracting or harmful. Thankfully, the latest addition is actually great: a ‘Describe image’ feature. Continue reading…
Razer Made a New Thunderbolt 5 Dock and External GPU Enclosure
Razer has just released two new docks for Thunderbolt-capable PC laptops. The Razer Thunderbolt 5 dock adds more connectivity options and multi-monitor support to your laptop over a single cable, while the Core X V2 is a new external graphics card enclosure. Continue reading…
Satechi Made a USB-C Cable You Can Wear
Satechi has released the OntheGo 67W Slim Wall Charger and the OntheGo USB-C Lanyard Cable for its travel-focused OntheGo Collection. The charger is built for difficult-to-reach wall outlets, and the lanyard is a creative way to keep a charging cable with you. Continue reading…
Google Maps Is Coming to Rivian EVs, With a Twist
Rivian owners are getting a huge upgrade to their navigation system with the integration of Google Maps. This update is rolling out to all Rivian owners starting today, so make sure to check your system settings in your car before taking off. Continue reading…
Google Messages Reverses Course on Latest Design Change
Google Messages has received a lot of changes and new features over the last six months, but not all of them have been positive updates. Thankfully, the company just hit the “undo” button on a recent design change, and I couldn’t be happier to hear the news. Continue reading…
Linux Mint 22.2 Is Going to Work Better on New PCs
The developers of LInux Mint in a short blog post this week previewed what’s coming, including a new default kernel and a new version of LMDE. The kernel is going to make it easier to use brand new, cutting edge PCs and peripherals when you install Mint on your PC. Continue reading…
Nintendo Is Cracking Down on eShop Spam Games
Nintendo might have finally realized the Switch eShop has a lot of garbage. The company quietly rolled out a new set of publishing guidelines for developers looking to put their games on the Nintendo Switch 2 eShop in Asia, but it’s not clear if the same rules are coming to other regions. Continue reading…
Android Could Soon Get a Parental Controls Upgrade
It’s no secret that the internet and social media apps aren’t the best places for kids to hang out. But in today’s digital world, exposure to those things is inevitable. While smartphones already have some safeguards or parental controls, Google’s latest developer preview build of Android 16 kicks things up a notch. Continue reading…
YouTube Music Adds Two Small but Helpful Changes
Your summer playlist sessions on YouTube Music are about to get a lot better, and that’s because YouTube just made two small but meaningful changes to the experience. The company finally improved the visual indicators for when music is in shuffle mode or repeat, and there’s an easier way to start a radio and instantly jam out. Continue reading…
One of the Best Alexa+ Features Has Been Delayed
Earlier this year, Amazon announced a revamped and upgraded assistant experience called “Alexa+.” This “smarter, more conversation, more capable” assistant is free for Prime subscribers, but you’ll need to wait a bit longer for one of its best features. Continue reading…
Windows 11 Has a New Way To Fix Itself
Windows 11 25H2 is shaping up, and it’s going to be one big feature-packed update with a lot of stuff. We’ve seen a lot of it, but new things are still popping up. And now, it’s getting something actually useful—and for once, not related to customization. Continue reading…
The Other Stuff
Apple is deeply protective of its secrets, and now the company has filed a lawsuit against Jon Prosser for leaking aspects of the iOS 26 update, before it was made public in June. The lawsuit also names Michael Ramacciotti, who worked at Apple and had an iPhone with the prototype software. Apple alleges that a friend of Ramacciotti took the phone and showed it to Prosser over a video call.
Speaking of lawsuits, Google is suing the owners of the BadBox 2.0 botnet, which the company says “compromised over 10 million uncertified devices running Android’s open-source software.” The infected Android devices were then used to “conduct large-scale ad fraud and other digital crimes.” Google has already updated Play Protect to detect and block the malware on Android devices.
Finally, if you use Bluesky, there’s a new Bluesky client under development worth checking out: Longhorn Bluesky. It’s designed to match the visual design of Windows Vista, complete with period-appropriate transparency and gradient effects. Ironically, it doesn’t work (yet) on Vista: you need Windows 7 or newer.
