Amazon's Alexa+ AI chatbot is now available to everyone in the US, with a catch‎

Amazon's Alexa+ AI chatbot has been available only to those enrolled in Early Access so far, but that changes today. Now, everyone in the US can access Alexa+. The catch is that those who subscribe to Amazon Prime get free and unlimited use. If you aren't a Prime member, you can either pay $19.99 per month for it, or use the Alexa+ Chat, which is " a text-based chat interface to get quick answers, plan, research, and explore new topics". This is free, but Amazon says it "will be limited based on use", without going into any further detail. Alexa+ is powered by large language models...

Apple starts selling refurbished iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max‎

Today Apple has started selling officially refurbished versions of the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. Their prices are discounted by 12% to 22% compared to the company's current new pricing (for the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, which are still offered as new), or compared to the original pricing for the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, which have both been discontinued. The exact prices are in the table below, where you can compare each device's launch price in September of 2024, the current pricing for new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus units, and the cost...

Google officially shows the Pixel 10a, reveals its launch date‎

After seemingly dozens of leaks and rumors, today Google has finally acknowledged the Pixel 10a. The company has released a very short teaser video, which you can see embedded below. The video portrays the phone from a lot of angles, and reveals that the full announcement will be taking place on February 18. That is also when Google will start taking pre-orders for the Pixel 10a. In the meantime, you can head to Google's teaser site for the Pixel 10a and register your email. If you do so, you will get an exclusive offer on the Pixel 10a from the Google Store - provided you haven't...

Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 5G review‎

More details on ChromeOS's planned phase out emerge‎

Google is preparing a shakeup of its operating system landscape and ChromeOS is getting the short end of the stick. According to recently surfaced court documents from the US vs. Google antitrust case obtained by The Verge, Google is planning to phase out ChromeOS completely by 2034. Why that year specifically? Well, Google’s last major ChromeOS hardware platform release was in 2023 and that means it will have to honor its ten-year support obligation through 2033-2034. The new development comes from a transcript from the case where Google lawyers confirmed that their client was looking...

Pixel 10a official render leaks‎

The Pixel 10a is nearing its launch, and we've got yet another look at the phone. The few press renders come courtesy of Evan Blass and seemingly show the Pixel 10a in Lavender, one of the new colors. As a reminder, solid leaks suggest that the Pixel 10a will come in Lavender, Obsidian, Berry, and Fog. Those are different from the Iris, Obsidian, Peony, and Porcelain of the Pixel 9a. Colors aside, the Pixel 10a will be nearly indistinguishable from the 9a. It's said to pack the same Tensor G4 as the 9a, and not the G5 in the Pixel 10. The Tensor G4 is packaged with 8GB of RAM,...

Xiaomi's detachable micro four-thirds camera module reportedly enters mass production‎

Last year at the MWC, we got some hands-on time with a curious prototype – the Xiaomi Modular Optical System. Xiaomi described it as a research project, so its future was uncertain. However, Digital Chat Station now reports that this device is going into mass production and will be available commercially early this year (exact date is to be determined). In case you missed it, this is a detachable camera module with a 100MP micro four-thirds sensor with a 35mm f/1.4-f/11 lens and a manual focus ring. The sensor offers native 2x zoom with pixel binning. What sets this apart from previous...

vivo V70 Elite runs Geekbench confirming its first-in-line chipset‎

The vivo V70 Elite has purportedly been spotted in the Geekbench online database today with the model number V2548. The prototype in question had 12GB of RAM, and ran Android 16. The V70 Elite is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 SoC, which is rather significant since this will be the first vivo V-series handset to be powered by a Snapdragon 8-series chipset. The V70 Elite is expected to be unveiled later this month alongside the 'vanilla' V70, followed by the V70 FE at some point in the future. The V70 Elite will come in Passion Red, Sand Beige, and Authentic Black. It will...

Huawei sets a product announcement event for February 26‎

Huawei is hosting its first product launch event of the year on February 26. The event is set to take place in Madrid, Spain and while Huawei did not specify the exact product(s) that will be unveiled at the event, all signs point to a new smartwatch. The accompanying event tagline “The race starts here” and #NowIsYourRun suggest we’ll see a new sports-focused smartwatch with an emphasis on running. This could very well be a new addition in its Watch GT Runner series which hasn’t seen a new entry since 2021’s Watch GT Runner. Huawei Watch GT Runner from 2021 Huawei...