Author: News Room
For the last couple of years, the mid-range smartphone pitch has been simple: offer a rounded package without making the obvious compromises. A good screen, solid battery life, and decent performance go a long way. That’s why the iPhone 17e vs Pixel 10a matchup is a bit spicy. Google’s Pixel 10a still seems like a sensible pick; familiar, practical, and easy to recommend. But Apple’s iPhone 17e is doing something disruptive, which is making the “budget iPhone” feel like the real deal. And that’s what makes the Pixel 10a look worse. The 128GB era isn’t dead, but Apple just made…
After months of leaks and speculation, Apple has officially unveiled its latest budget iPhone today. As expected, the iPhone 17e looks largely the same as its predecessor, but introduces a handful of meaningful upgrades while keeping the price unchanged. The iPhone 17e packs Apple’s A19 chip, the same processor powering the flagship iPhone 17, delivering a significant boost in performance and efficiency over last year’s model. The device also features the C1X modem, which Apple claims is 2x faster than the C1 modem found in the iPhone 16e. Apple addressed one of the biggest complaints users had with the iPhone…
After expanding Samsung Wallet’s digital car key support to two new Porsche EVs last year, Samsung is now bringing that same convenience to your home. The company today introduced a new feature that lets you unlock compatible smart door locks using your Galaxy phone. Built on Aliro, the open smart lock standard from the Connectivity Standards Alliance, Digital Home Key is designed to improve interoperability across brands and ecosystems, giving users a seamless way to access their homes directly through Samsung Wallet. Once a compatible smart lock is set up in the SmartThings app, users can add their home key…
The Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise has emerged as one of the unlikeliest of success stories in the video game adaptation space. Originally a laughing stock thanks to its now-infamous original character model of the series’ star, the team reworked the character model and doubled down on action, comedy, and heart to deliver one of the biggest ever film franchises based on a video game. Following the success of Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which introduced Keanu Reeves as Shadow and grossed nearly $500 million at the worldwide box office, series director Jeff Fowler has shared that Sonic the Hedgehog 4…
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Adobe We optimize our morning routines, our fitness regimens, and our investment portfolios, yet many of us still approach tax season like a frantic scavenger hunt. If your income streams are diversified: balancing a standard W-2 with 1099s from freelance contracts, brand partnerships, or tracking the overhead expenses for a small business, the paperwork multiplies exponentially. The friction of tax season doesn’t actually come from the math; it comes from the sheer disorganization of the documents. This year, Adobe Acrobat is offering a streamlined, AI-powered system designed specifically to turn…
TCL is taking another swing at making phone screens easier on the eyes. At MWC 2026, the company unveiled the next generation of its Nxtpaper display technology, this time built on an AMOLED panel. It delivers the rich colors and contrast people expect from OLED displays while maintaining the paper-like viewing comfort that Nxtpaper screens are known for. TCL says this upgrade reduces eye fatigue during long reading, browsing, or streaming sessions on smartphones. Inside TCL’s next-gen Nxtpaper AMOLED display NXTPAPER began as TCL’s answer to the problem of screen fatigue. Earlier versions appeared mainly on LCD-based devices. But the…
Thieaudio’s new flagship over-ear headphones bring premium materials, versatile sound tuning, and magnetic pads to Kickstarter, offering limited Early Bird pricing and marking a major expansion for the brand. Thieaudio, the brand known for redefining the IEM space with models like the Monarch MKIV and Valhalla, is now stepping confidently into the world of premium over-ear headphones. And instead of a traditional retail launch, the company is introducing its new flagship dynamic driver over-ear headphones on Kickstarter with an exclusive Early Bird window that opens on March 2 at 8:00 AM PST. This marks a new milestone for Thieaudio and…
There’s no bigger event for mobile tech enthusiasts than the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. While CES in January has seen fewer major mobile announcements over the years, MWC remains the go-to event for major breakthroughs in the mobile industry. In 2026, the show will take place from March 2 to March 5 at Fira Barcelona Gran Via, once again bringing the biggest names in mobile together for one of the year’s most important tech events.
The Call of Duty franchise has long been synonymous with competitive shooting, but in recent years, it’s also elevated to become a major player in the ascendant battle-royale genre. Today, Treyarch and Activision announced Black Ops Royale, an original take on the genre inspired by the series’ first battle-royale mode, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout.Black Ops Royale serves as a return to the Blackout style of battle royale gameplay within the existing Warzone infrastructure. “There are clear influences from the core Blackout experience — like bullet drop and weapon handling, as well as the armor system and use…
Qualcomm is preparing the next wave of smartphones and connected devices for faster wireless technologies, announcing new platforms that bring Wi-Fi 8, Bluetooth 7, and 5G Advanced closer to commercial reality. At MWC 2026, the company unveiled its FastConnect 8800 mobile connectivity system alongside a new lineup of Dragonwing Wi-Fi 8 networking platforms, while separately introducing the Qualcomm X105 5G Modem-RF system aimed at powering the next phase of cellular networks. Together, these announcements highlight how Qualcomm is evolving device connectivity to handle higher speeds, longer wireless range, and increasingly AI-driven network workloads. Wi-Fi 8: faster speeds and AI-optimized networks…