Google’s first attempt at making a smartwatch, i.e. the Pixel Watch, has had its fair share of problems, be it the lacklustre battery life or the limited fitness options. Now, in a recent and rather surprising development, Google has confirmed that it will not provide official repairs for Pixel Watch displays, leaving consumers to fend for themselves.
This report comes after many users took to social media platforms like Reddit to express their frustration about Google’s lack of repair options. One user stated, “After just two months of using my watch, I noticed a cracked screen, and I have no idea how it happened. But apparently, there are no repair options. I spent almost $400 on this watch, and Google is telling me that my only recourse is to buy a new one?”
Why doesn’t Google offer repairs?
Apparently, the crux of the issue lies with the company’s stance on Pixel Watch repairs, as they do not provide replacement screens for this wearable, and currently, there seem to be no viable third-party solutions available in the market. This means that if you accidentally damage your Pixel Watch screen, you’ll have to either repair it yourself or search for a suitable third-party repair store in your area.
Speaking on the matter, Google’s spokesperson, Bridget Starkey, stated, “At this moment, we don’t have any repair option for the Google Pixel Watch. If your watch is damaged, you can contact the Google Pixel Watch Customer Support Team to check your replacement options.”
While this statement may offer a glimmer of hope, the experiences of users have been less than satisfying, as many of them have voiced their frustrations with Google’s support staff, who often provide vague and uncertain responses when it comes to potential solutions.
Is repairing the watch even possible?
Despite Google’s lack of official repair options, repairing the Pixel Watch is entirely feasible, according to iFixit. They suggest that while accessing the screen may not be straightforward due to the unique circular domed glass display, the device does show potential for future repairability. Furthermore, the fact that iFixit also offers a guide on how to replace a cracked, broken, or non-functional screen raises some serious questions about Google’s commitment to its customers.
Best Buy is still running its back to school sale, and right now you can pick up the Apple MacBook Air for just $899. That’s going to save you $200 off of its regular price (technically, $300 off of its original price). Making this a really great deal, since this is the most recent version with the M2 chipset.
The MacBook Air M2 is the redesigned MacBook Air. So you’re getting a more flat-looking laptop, instead of the wedge-shaped that Apple used for so many years. It’s still pretty thin and lightweight, with some pretty incredible battery life. Thanks to the M2 chipset, Apple is promising about 18 hours of battery life here. And as someone who uses this laptop everyday, I can attest to that.
Along with the M2 inside, Apple has also included 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. It’s not a lot, but for most people, it should be sufficient. The MacBook Air also has two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports and then the MagSafe port for charging. Though you can technically charge off of all three ports. The opposite side of the laptop has a headphone jack. Surprisingly, that is still around.
While there’s a lot of talk about the M3 chips coming out pretty soon, there’s nothing wrong with getting an M2 MacBook Air. It’s plenty powerful, and very power efficient. And we’re not expecting a crazy performance gain on the M3 MacBook Air when that launches in the coming months. So you might as well save a few hundred bucks and grab the M2 MacBook Air. And this Midnight color is incredible.
You can pick up the M2 MacBook Air from Best Buy today by clicking this link below. This sale is not going to last long, so you’re going to want to be quick here.
UGREEN has just announced a new MagSafe charger, just in time for the new iPhone 15 to come out. It’s the UGREEN Nexode 100W Charger with MagSafe. And it does basically everything you want or need it to do.
First up, it does MagSafe charging on the top. And the top can also tilt, making it useful for iOS 17’s StandBy feature. Since it is MagSafe, you can use it to charge your iPhone as well as your AirPods.
Now, on top of that, it also has two USB-C and a USB-A port on the front. Both of the USB-C ports are able to do 100W, but only if that is the only port that is being used. When you use both ports, it’ll be 65W and 30W. While the USB-A port is 22.5W. As usual, the more ports you use, the slower each port will get, since this does 100W total.
The additional USB-C ports will work for plugging in your Apple Watch charger, or any other charger that you want to use to charge. Which includes using it to charge your laptop. Which is really cool, and perfect for a desk.
It’s expensive, but seemingly worth the price
The UGREEN Nexode 100W Charger with MagSafe is pretty pricey, it’s coming in at $179 as its regular price. However, right now it is on sale for $139. So it’s a pretty nice discount for launch, it’s unclear how long it’ll be discounted.
At $179, it does sound very pricey, but think about it. If you’re traveling, you can just take this and it can charge everything. Your phone, laptop, earbuds and your watch, all in one charger. And of course, something as powerful as this is going to be pretty pricey.
You can pick up the UGREEN Nexode 100W Charger with MagSafe from Amazon at the link down below.
Anker is pretty well-known for its battery and other smartphone accessories. And the company has gotten into doing some really cool battery packs as of late, with GaN technology and adding displays to their batteries. Now the Anker Nano Power Bank is the latest in that lineup.
This power bank was announced back at IFA in August, and is a really useful battery pack. It has an embedded USB-C cable, which is really useful now that the iPhone 15 series has USB-C. It does also have USB-C and USB-A ports available, and can charge at up to 30W. So it’s not a super powerful battery pack, but for its size, that’s okay.
All of Anker’s most recent battery packs and chargers have been using Gallium Nitride inside, instead of silicon. Gallium Nitride or GaN for short, is able to keep the battery cooler with less space. Allowing the battery pack to be pretty small. You might not believe it, but this is a 10,000mAh capacity battery. A few years ago, this would have been the size of a 5,000mAh capacity battery.
It does come in a slew of colors, like black and Ice Lake Blue. This green color that I have is apparently not available just yet. But it does look pretty cool and is similar in color to the iPhone 15 green.
Adding a display to a power bank is genius
There are some things that companies do that really just feel like they are gimmicks. At first, I thought adding a screen to a power bank was one of those things. But it’s quite the opposite. This battery pack has a screen on the front, which is hard to see since it blends in so well, until you press the button on the top.
This screen will show you the current charge of the battery pack. So no more guesstimating the charge level from a handful of LED lights. It also shows you how long it can charge whatever it’s charging, or how long until it is fully charged. Two metrics that are also very useful.
And that’s about it. That’s really all that it needs to do though. This is already super useful. But the one downside is that it is pretty slow to turn on. Pressing the button on the top, it sometimes takes up to 30 seconds for the screen to actually turn on. So keep that in mind here.
Embedded USB-C port means packing fewer cables
Having an embedded USB-C cable on this power bank is really nice, as it means that you can pack just this, and not another cable. You will need to bring a wall charger though, to recharge it. That’s because that USB-C cable is able to do input and output. Talk about convenience. So you can pack this and a wall wart, and be good to go.
And because it is using USB-C, it means it can charge any Android phone and the new iPhone 15 models. So you can share your battery pack with your friends, with ease.
Should you buy the Anker Nano Power Bank?
For iPhone users, I’d recommend getting Anker’s MagSafe battery pack, or another brands as well. Those are even easier to take on the go with you, and no wires needed. But something that is super versatile, this is what you want. Since this can charge my iPhone, my MacBook and even my Pixel Fold.
Sure the charging speed is a bit on the slow side, but I’d take the capacity over faster charging here. You can pick up the Anker Nano Power Bank from Amazon using the link below.
The MidgeDropper malware variant is a new and sophisticated threat that targets Windows users.
The malware is delivered via phishing emails that contain an RAR archive with two files: a PDF and an executable file.
The PDF file contains an error message that is designed to trick users into opening the executable file.
The executable file drops several other files, including a renamed version of a Microsoft application and a malicious DLL file.
The malware uses sideloading to execute the malicious code in the DLL file.
Fortinet customers are protected from the MidgeDropper malware variant.
Researchers urge users to take precautions against phishing attacks, such as training end users on internet threats and using the best AV tools to detect threats timely.
FortiGuard Labs’ James Slaughter and Shunichi Imano have written a detailed blog post explaining the mechanisms of a newly discovered medium-severity MidgeDropper malware variant specifically targeting Windows-based systems.
In their report published on 12 Sep 2023, Slaughter and Imano noted that this is a previously unseen dropper variant with a rather complex infection chain featuring a range of capabilities such as sideloading and code obfuscation, making it a novel malware.
Researchers claimed that the malware’s initial infection vector is yet unknown to them, but they suspect it to be a phishing email as they gained access to a RAR archive (!PENTING_LIST OF OFFICERS.rar). This seems like an attachment included in the email. In this archive, there are two files titled:
“Notice to Work-From-Home groups.pdf”
“062023_PENTING_LIST OF SUPERVISORY OFFICERS WHO STILL HAVE NOT REPORT.pdf.exe”
The PDF file contains an error message image indicating that this document has failed to load. This is a decoy to diver the recipient’s attention to clicking on and executing the second file, which is fairly large (6.7MB). Given that Windows hides file extensions, the recipient won’t notice that it is an executable file and will click on it, considering it another PDF. This file serves as the dropper for different infection stages and drops the following files:
“IC.exe”
“power.exe”
“power.xml”
“Microsoft Office.doc”
By accessing this address “hXXp://1852256837/jay/nl/seAgnt.exe”, the dropper file also fetches “seAgnt.exe.” IC.exe obtains the infection’s next stage and also downloads another file, “VCRUNTIME140_1.dll,” from this URL “1852256837.” Moreover, power.exe and power.xml are dropped together by the executable where power.exe decodes and processes power.xml. The most crucial task of these files is launching “seAgnt.exe.”
It is a renamed version of “GameBarFTServer.exe,”, a Microsoft application, and is a background process for the Xbox Game Bar that runs on Windows devices. SeAgnt.exe seems benign, but it depends upon VCRUNTIME140_1.dll (a legit DLL file) for executing the malicious code inside the DLL. The file VCRUNTIME140_1.dll is designed with the malicious version of the Microsoft Visual C++ runtime package.
This is where the malware designers have used the sideloading technique. Since DLL files don’t exist as an independent executable, another application is used to load the code into the memory for execution and seAgnt.exe serves as that application. Researchers couldn’t investigate the final payload because the infection chain links were taken down just when they started analyzing.
In its report, FortiGuard states that Fortinet customers are protected from this malware. Nevertheless, researchers suggest employing all necessary preventive measures to detect and mitigate phishing threats. This includes training end users on internet threats and using the best AV tools to detect threats timely.
Genchin Impact launched back in 2020, and it took the world by storm. Well Hoyoverse, the company that developed that game, launched a title this year called Honkai Star Rail. It’s available on mobile now, but according to a new report, Honkai Star Rail is making its way to the PS5.
If you don’t know about this game, then you deserve a reward for avoiding trends. This game was pretty much everywhere when it first hit the market back in April. Since it’s a Hoyoverse game, you can expect the graphics (and the characters) to be very pretty. While the aesthetic is similar to Genshin Impact, certain aspects like its setting and gameplay are very different.
This game takes place in the distant future; spells and wizardry are replaced by lasers and robots. Also, the combat is turn-based in Start Rail. So, right off the bat, there are some major differences. If you’re interested in playing this game on your phone, you can get it now. Just know that it’s a bit of a graphically intense game. You can turn the graphic down to suit less powerful hardware, however.
Honkai Star Rail is making it to the PS5
Porting this game over to the PS5 is a smart move, as this is a popular platform. If you get the game on this console, it will support cross-play and cross-progression. This means that your progress will be synced across different devices. Hoyoversy announced that Star Rail is going to make it to Sony’s flagship console on October 11th. That’s almost four weeks away, so there’s still quite a bit of time to wait.
If you don’t want to wait that long, then here’s some bittersweet news for you. There’s a pre-order bundle that you can pick up to get your hands on the game early. If you get this bundle, you get some bonuses like two Star Rail passes, 150,000 credits, 80 Adventure Logs, and more.
However, if you want to get your hands on the game early, it’ll cost you. The pre-registration fee is $9.99. Otherwise, waiting for the regular release will not cost you any money.
Just as pre-orders opened for the iPhone 15 series today, a new, rather interesting leak came from Majin Bu on X. It appears that he has been able to obtain some interesting information on the iPhone 16, and it looks like it’ll use a 120Hz display.
This has been a big point of contention in the tech world over the last couple of weeks, that a $799 iPhone 15 is still 60Hz. This would be good news, but still a bit hard to imagine happening, unless Apple rebrands it. As they currently refer to 120Hz as “ProMotion”, and it’s hard to see them adding a “pro” feature to a non-Pro iPhone.
The reason why we are calling this a “sketchy leak” is because Majin Bu gains this information from surfing different websites, including Weibo. And the information he posts is not always correct. A big one was the color-matching USB-C cables for the iPhone 15 series. So it’s important to take this all with a grain of salt.
Additionally, Ross Young has stated that ProMotion would come to the standard iPhones in 2025. That means the iPhone 17 would get 120Hz, and not the 16. And given Young’s track record, that is likely more accurate.
Do consumers care that iPhone 15 is 60Hz?
No. Most consumers don’t care that the iPhone 15 is only 60Hz, instead of 120Hz. In fact, a good number of them don’t even know what “hertz” are. It’s really just the tech community that is up in arms about a phone costing $799 and still sporting 60Hz.
However, seeing 120Hz moving to all of its displays would be a big deal. It would definitely help with the supply chain, as that’s the main difference between the displays right now. The refresh rate. And Apple is really good about optimizing its supply chain to keep prices the same, and maximize profits.
The iPhone 15 Pro Max is likely going to be the best-selling iPhone 15 model this year. Analysts are expecting it to take up about 40% of all iPhone 15 shipments for this cycle. So with that said, there are a ton of great cases that you can pick up from different retailers for your new iPhone 15 Pro Max.
This new iPhone has a lot of great features, like the new telephoto camera, which is actually a tetra-prism camera. It is able to do 5x telephoto, and up to 25x digital zoom. Which is a first for any iPhone. So it’s not hard to see why many are looking to grab this phone over the others.
With that said, here are the best cases you can buy for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. This list will be continuously updated throughout the year, as new cases come out.
CASEKOO Translucent Phone Case
CASEKOO has a really cool case for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and it’s actually one that I’ve been using on the iPhone 14 Pro for the past year. This Translucent case is about $35, so it’s not too expensive. But what’s really cool with this one, is that it has a stand built into it. Basically, it uses the magnet for MagSafe and made it into a nice kickstand. So that ugly MagSafe magnet that needs to be there, pulls double duty.
It also comes in three colors: black, blue and gray. Which should match the different colors that the iPhone 15 Pro Max is available in.
ZAGG has a number of great cases available for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, but the Milan Snap is definitely a looker. This one has a cool Galaxy design available, which is going to look incredible on the natural titanium iPhone 15 Pro max. It does cost $49.99, so it’s not the cheapest case out there.
This is a pretty rugged case though, with drop protection up to 13-feet. Which is impressive, and thanks to ZAGG using Graphene in its cases this year.
This year, the ZAGG Luxe Snap might be one of the best cases you can pick up this year. It comes in a boatload of colors, and is only $39.99. This case is also durable, thanks to the new Graphene material that ZAGG is using this year. It has drop protection up to 10-feet and it’s still lightweight with support for MagSafe.
Perhaps even more important than that, the Luxe Snap also has a textured finish on the back. Which is going to give it a unique look, but also make it easier to hold onto. Which is definitely important here on the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
ESR has been a pretty popular brand as of late, for iPhone accessories and their Classic Case for the iPhone 15 Pro Max is here for just $26. This case is available in clear, and a few other other colors: Clear Black, and Frosted black.
This case is pretty interesting, as it has all the usual things like having military-grade protection and such. But what’s cool here is that there is a kickstand around the camera module. So it blends in, but it’s still great for watching content on the go.
Wanting a nice clear case for your new iPhone 15 Pro Max? ZAGG has you covered with its $54.99 Crystal Palace Snap. This is a clear case, which means you will see the magnet for the MagSafe charging there. But that also means it works with MagSafe wireless charging.
Like a lot of the other ZAGG cases here, the Crystal Palace Snap does have 13-feet drop protection, making it a really nice and durable case. This is thanks to it being made of Graphene this year.
Looking for a cheap, and clear case? Spigen has you covered here. The Spigen Ultra Hybrid is available for $19, and is usually on sale too. Now this is a clear case, but it also comes in a slew of other colors, if you prefer a colored case.
This case from Spigen does have air cushions in the corners and on the sides, so that when your phone does get dropped, it is going to be protected. It also has long-lasting clarity. So this clear case is going to stay clear, for a long time. Instead of starting to yellow.
The Spigen Liquid Air Armor is a really great case for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and it costs just $15. This comes in three colors: Matte Black, Abyss Green and Navy Blue. It also has a nice textured back, making it easier to hold onto, while also being fairly thin. That means that it won’t add a lot of bulk onto your phone, which is also important here.
Spigen has included military-grade protection and uses its Air Cushion technology here, for anti-shock protection, and to keep your iPhone nice and protected if you should drop it.
Apple, this year, has decided to declare war on Leather, stating that it’s bad for the environment. And is moving to this FineWoven case, for the environment. This is made of durable microtwill which has a suede-like feel. So it still feels like leather, sort of, but it may not age like leather. It’s definitely gonna look really good on the new iPhone 15 Pro Max. It costs the same as the leather cases did, at $60.
This case is available in five colors: Taupe, Mulberry, Evergreen, Pacific Blue and Black. Which look really good, and it’s good to see Pacific Blue back in the mix.
The Caseology Nano Pop Mag is a really great case for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, because it is quite colorful, and grippy, while still being pretty cheap. It’s just $19 right now.
This case is a silicone case, but it’s much more grippy than what Apple offers, and doesn’t hold onto the dust like Apple’s own cases. It also has a MagSafe magnet built-in, making it easier to use on MagSafe chargers and accessories.
The Nomad Modern Leather case is a fantastic case, and it’s actually one that I’ve used on my iPhone for the past two years. This is going to cost you $50, or if you want Horween Leather, it’ll be $70. This does come in a few colors, including black, brown and English Tan. Important to note that the English Tan is not available in Horween Leather.
So what makes this case better than Apple’s older leather cases? Well, for one, the leather doesn’t wrap all the way around the case. The sides are made of plastic. It’s a soft-touch plastic, so it still feels pretty high-end, but it keeps the leather looking good. And as expected, the leather is also going to age after some time – Horween Leather will take longer to show it’s age, however.
The Spigen Optik Armor MagFit is one of Spigen’s more premium cases for the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and it comes in two colors: black and abyss green. It’s also just $26.
This case has reinforced camera protection, and even a slide-over cover to protect them when not in use. It also has support for MagSafe here, making it great to use with different wireless chargers. And finally, it has military-grade protection with Spigen’s own Air Cushion Technology here.
The Incipio Duo is a classic case that’s now available for the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Which is just $44.99. Incipio is offering this case in three colors: Black, Clear and Crimson/Black.
The Duo is a really good case because it’s a dual-layer case that has a soft layer, followed by a hard case on the outside. This is going to protect your phone if you drop it. And the outside it still soft-touch, making it easier to hold onto.
Right now, Google is one of the major players in the generative AI space. The company showed off Bard along with other powerful AI tools this year to keep up with ChatGPT, and it’s not slowing down. Along with Bard, the company has been working on another bot named Gemini. Well, according to The Information (via Yahoo Finance), Google Gemini could be nearing a release.
This might be confusing to most people who only know about Bard. Bardis the company’s insanely powerful chatbot meant to rival ChatGPT. However, while it’s powerful, Gemini is meant to be the next generation. Bard can generate text and answer questions as humanly as possible.
Gemini, on the other hand, is meant to be more powerful. This bot will also be able to generate images. It’s going to be an all-around generative AI product that will fill more needs.
Google Gemini could be nearing its release
As you can imagine, training a massive AI tool like Gemini takes time; a lot of time. Gemini will be a more robust platform than Bard so, while the latter is already out in the open, the former is still in the womb.
However, according to the report, Google is distributing Gemini to a small group of developers to help test it out. The news says that the version that it’s giving them is a large version of the product, but not the largest.
So, since Google has moved onto this stage of testing, we can guess that a public release shouldn’t be too far off. We’re not sure how many developers gained access to this early build, and we also don’t know how long this testing stage is going to be. Only time will tell.
When it hits the public, we expect the company to make an announcement about it. If testing takes several months, who knows if Google will announce it during Google I/O next year? However, that remains to be seen.
One thing that we do know is that Gemini will be offered through its Cloud Vertex AI platform.
Samsung‘s 2024 flagships won’t charge faster than its 2020 phones. The Galaxy S24 series will support a maximum charging speed of 45W, with the base model topping out at 25W. The confirmation comes courtesy of a certification listing in China.
According to the 3C certification agency, the Galaxy S24 features a 9V/2.77A power rating, which equates to 25W fast charging. The Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra will both support up to 45W sharing speeds (9V/2.77A). This listing pertains to the Chinese versions of the phones bearing model numbers SM-S9210, SM-S9260, and SM-S9280. However, the new Samsung flagships will ship with the same power rating globally.
As expected, Samsung won’t provide a charging adapter in the retail box. If you don’t have one lying around in your home, you’ll have to purchase it separately. Thankfully, if you’re upgrading from an older Galaxy model, there’s little chance that you’ll be missing out on faster charging. As said earlier, the Korean firm hasn’t increased the charging speeds of its flagship phones since the Galaxy S20 series in 2020.
For the first couple of years, Samsung kept 45W charging reserved for the Ultra model. The other two models maxed out at 25W. The company upgraded the Plus model to 45W with the Galaxy S22+ in 2022. Unfortunately, the base model will stay at a maximum charging speed of 25W for at least one more year. Some competing or even more affordable phones boast almost ten times its charging speed.
There have been rumors about Samsung considering offering up to 65W of charging on the Galaxy S24 series, at least the Ultra model. However, it seems to have decided against the idea. The company is sticking to 45W, which should fully charge all three models in about an hour. That isn’t bad, but Samsung will certainly face some criticism for it because of the wild charging speeds offered by its Chinese rivals.
The Galaxy S24 and S24+ will feature bigger batteries
Samsung may not be increasing the charging speeds of its flagship phones, but it’s increasing the battery capacity of the base and Plus models for two years straight. Certifications have revealed that the Galaxy S24 will pack a 4,000mAh battery, while the Galaxy S24+ will get a 4,900mAh unit.
This comes after Samsung increased the battery capacity of the Galaxy S23 from 3,700mAh to 3,900mAh, and the Galaxy S23+ from 4,500mAh to 4,700mAh last year. The Ultra model, meanwhile, has had a 5,000mAh battery since the Galaxy S20 Ultra in 2020. Next year’s Galaxy S24 Ultra will also feature a 5,000mAh battery. The new Samsung flagships are expected to arrive in January 2024.
