Author: Eternity Lab

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The average price of a pair of hearing aids is $2,694, according to a January 2026 survey from HearingTracker, a significant drop from $4,672 in 2018. Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, priced at an average of $502 per pair, may be one factor behind this decrease. But people with mild to moderate hearing loss can pay about $160 for refurbished Apple AirPods Pro 2 or $249 for a new set of AirPods Pro 3, and use a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved Apple hearing aid solution that can be set up at home. 

Interestingly, the AirPods Pro models do not appear in HearingTracker’s report, even though Apple’s Hearing Aid Feature (HAF) was authorized in 2024. The authorization came about two years after the FDA announced a new OTC hearing aid category, which is intended to make hearing devices more accessible. According to the agency, some 30 million American adults have various degrees of hearing loss, but only about a fifth of them may use hearing aids. This AirPods Pro health feature was the first FDA-authorized OTC hearing aid software when it was released.

The AirPods Pro retain features such as Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) and media playback while working as hearing aids. They offer a customizable fit thanks to various included ear tip sizes, and ANC can isolate background noise when listening to content or when the earphones are used as hearing aids. Comparatively, background noise reduction isn’t a guaranteed feature for medical-grade hearing aid models, which tend to be more expensive than the AirPods Pro.

Testing your hearing with AirPods

Apple’s Hearing Aid Feature is intended for people over 18 who have mild to moderate hearing loss, and requires an iPhone or iPad paired with the AirPods Pro 2 or AirPods Pro 3. Users have to wear their AirPods Pro to perform the hearing test, which requires going into Settings on the iPhone or iPad, tapping the AirPods Pro model, and selecting Hearing Assistance. There is a Take a Hearing Test option in here, or users can upload an audiogram from a previous test via the Use a Prior Test Result option. 

The AirPods hearing test can be performed at home, without medical supervision, and repeated as needed. Medical-grade hearing aid products, on the other hand, typically require an appointment with a medical professional for this test. Then, hearing aid providers will perform fittings for the affected ears. The devices may need adjustments and tuning in the future. As for estimated costs, HearingLife notes that the average price of its professional hearing aids ranges between $1,500 and $4,350 over the course of three years, a period that matches the product’s warranty. 

Apple recommends performing the AirPods Pro Hearing Test in a quiet environment to reduce external noise. The iPhone or iPad display uses moving visuals to indicate that the test is in progress even if you don’t hear sound. Users are asked to tap the screen when they do hear tones, and at the end, will receive hearing scores for each ear, an audiogram, and suggested next steps.

How to use the AirPods Pro as hearing aids

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Once enabled as hearing aids, users can adjust the audio parameters on their AirPods to improve the listening experience, including amplification, tone, and balance, in the AirPods Pro settings or Control Center on other Apple devices. Conversation Boost is another AirPods health feature that helps detect face-to-face conversations and focus on the person speaking to you. It can found in the Settings menu on iPhones, iPads, and Macs under AirPods Pro. 

There is also a Media Assist feature that leverages your hearing test results to improve listening experiences with music, video, calls, and FaceTime. With the Hearing Aid Feature, you can expect up to 10 hours of battery life in Transparency mode on the AirPods Pro 3. Apple does note that people with more severe hearing loss should see a doctor, and if the AirPods Pro can’t improve hearing, you may need to buy more expensive hardware. 

Medical hearing aids may not be as easy to set up as AirPods, but they do have a few advantages, like all-day battery life, behind-the-ear designs — versus the in-ear style of the AirPods Pro — and the ability to work with Android phones. In addition to improving hearing, professional hearing aids are often setup to assist with tinnitus. The iPhone’s Background Noise feature minimizes distractions to help with tinnitus, but it’s unrelated to the AirPods hearing aid functionality.

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Immersive home theater sound doesn’t have to mean you’ve outfitted your living room with a massive armada of speakers and subwoofers. Many of the best soundbars on the market are fully capable of delivering an engulfing 5.1 experience or better, and one of the go-to brands for this level of power and sonic details is Sonos. Since the release of the Sonos Playbar in 2013, the prolific audio company has revolutionized the way we watch our favorite movies and shows, and that was after it revolutionized how we listen to wireless music.

Nowadays, Sonos’ soundbar lineup includes heavy hitters like the Sonos Arc Ultra for the biggest home theater footprints. There’s also the Sonos Beam (Gen 2) for small to medium-sized rooms, and even the Sonos Ray if you’re interested in giving your guest room TV a boost in sound quality. But as you may have guessed, Sonos isn’t the only celebrated soundbar maker on the market. There’s plenty of competition, and many of the best options tend to dip under the radar.

We’re talking audio titans like Nakamichi and JBL, along with a couple of other names in the premium AV sector. For your research purposes, we went ahead and picked out four underrated soundbar brands that can give Sonos a run for its money.

Nakamichi

While soundbars may not deliver the same level of immersion as a proper surround sound, Sonos gets pretty close, and so does Nakamichi. The latter may actually be a stronger option when it comes to cinematic details and pure power, and systems like the Nakamichi Shockwafe Ultra 9.2 eARC Soundbar are a testament to the brand’s home theater prowess. Delivering up to 1,300 watts, this monster soundbar bundle comes with two 10-inch subwoofers and four surround speakers.

It’s the kind of 360-degree audio that a bar like the Sonos Arc Ultra does a decent job with, but the Shockwafe has more discrete channels and increased speaker separation. In most rooms, this should translate to a wider soundstage with convincing rear and spatial effects. It also costs more to purchase a comparable Sonos Arc Ultra bundle with a Sonos Sub 4 and just two Era 100 speakers ($2,311 versus $1,900 for the Shockwafe). Unfortunately, $1,900 is toward the lower end of Nakamichi’s pricing, and there are a few tradeoffs, too.

While the Shockwafe Ultra 9.2 has three HDMI 2.0 inputs, digital optical, and a few other physical ports you won’t find on the Arc Ultra, it doesn’t support Wi-Fi. You’ll still have access to Qualcomm aptX HD via Bluetooth, but you’ll be missing out on features like multi-room audio, AirPlay, and ecosystem controls (e.g., Alexa, Google Home). Still, we’d be hard-pressed not to mention Nakamichi in a Sonos competitor roundup.

Sennheiser

While Sennheiser may best be known for its premium microphones and headphones, the German manufacturer also makes a handful of soundbars that can go toe to toe with the Sonos arsenal. Unlike Nakamichi, Sennheiser soundbars focus a bit more on surround virtualization, leaning on up-firing and side-firing drivers built into the bar to create a three-dimensional audio experience.

Systems like the Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Plus are more expensive than Sonos’ cinematic Arc Ultra ($1,800 vs. $1,100), but the former has more physical connectivity, including two HDMI inputs, an LFE output for a dedicated subwoofer, and stereo L/R audio out. Not only are these inputs and outputs that can be hard to come by on a home theater soundbar, but the entire Ambeo lineup can be connected to the internet, too. That means native support for platforms like AirPlay, Spotify Connect, and Google Chromecast, as well as built-in Alexa support.

There’s also the sub-$1,000 Ambeo Soundbar Mini, a smaller version of the Plus with fewer speakers and connections, but still enough room for two built-in woofers. Similar to the Sonos app, Sennheiser’s Ambeo OS software also gives you access to expanded features and settings, including a room calibration tool for shaping the bar’s performance to best match your theater space.

Klipsch

Klipsch has maintained a consistent presence in the home theater sector for decades. Revered for its signature horn drivers that double down on treble clarity, Klipsch carries this engineering over to many of its soundbars, making these systems particularly great for crisp, clear dialogue and vocals. But soundbars like the Sonos Arc Ultra and Sonos Beam (Gen 2) are just as good at spoken-word articulation, so what else can Klipsch soundbars do that Sonos should be worried about?

For starters, the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 5.1.2 Sound System (the Arc Ultra competitor) is the only soundbar on the market to feature Onkyo’s Dirac Live room correction software. Using sound-correcting algorithms to analyze speaker placement and theater footprint, Dirac Live ensures your Flexus Core theater is as immersive as possible. Every bar in the Flexus Core lineup supports Dolby Atmos, too, and the Core 300 also supports DTS:X.

The Klipsch Connect Plus app is robust companion software that gives you access to music-streaming platforms like Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, AirPlay, and more. You’ll even gain access to EQ presets, Night Mode, Dialogue Boost, and other advanced customizations. And should you want to build out your Klipsch soundbar experience, you can add Flexus Surr 100 speakers and a Flexus Sub down the line.

JBL

Portable audio has always been a strong point for JBL, an audio brand perhaps best known for its wide range of Bluetooth speakers. Over the last several years, JBL has been experimenting more with home theater gear, including soundbars and AV receivers. Our focus will be on the former, as systems like the JBL Bar 1300XMK2 are exceptional in more ways than one, while challenging Sonos in several key categories.

For $1,700, the XMK2 features JBL’s PureVoice 2.0 and MultiBeam 3.0 audio tech for enhanced dialogue clarity and a wide, immersive soundstage. The system supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, whereas the Sonos Arc Ultra only supports Atmos, and the bar comes bundled with a powerful 12-inch subwoofer. While not as multi-room-friendly as the Sonos family, the XMK2 has a unique portability feature: Its battery-powered surround speakers are removable and can be connected to a Bluetooth device for music playback.

The XMK2 also has Wi-Fi support for access to services like AirPlay, Spotify, and Tidal, as well as room correction capabilities and built-in HDMI switching. If $1,700 is a bit too much, JBL sells lower-cost soundbars, too, including the $900 JBL Bar 700MK2, a 7.1 system that also has removable, battery-powered speakers.

How we chose these underrated soundbar brands

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Multi-room audio is one of the main perks of a Sonos system, whether you’re buying one of the brand’s flagship soundbars or a single Era 100 speaker. We knew right off the bat that it would be a challenge to find competitors that could do whole-home audio better than Sonos, so we decided to focus on other important criteria, namely, price and overall performance.

We also stuck to reliable audio brands with proven track records. Each of the products we chose scored 4 stars or higher on Amazon or on the manufacturer’s site, and we made a point to compare them against recognizable Sonos products like the Sonos Arc Ultra and Sonos Beam (Gen 2).

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Costco offers several ways for customers to save on different items. From monthly sales that see deep discounts on items to rolling deals on items that the company plans to stop carrying, there’s almost always something on sale at the warehouse store. You can even sometimes find better deals at Costco compared to other sites. However, finding the best tech deals isn’t always easy. If you go into the store, then you have to walk around and manually verify how the deals compare by searching online as your browse the aisles.

The same can be said for the website, too. While Costco often has sections on its site for big deals, sorting through the variety of options can be tedious. Plus, it might not always translate to an actual deal being available. That’s why one good option for tracking tech deals that we’ve seen pop up on Reddit and in browser extension stores is Price Lasso.

The extension is available to Chrome, Firefox, and Safari users and works across various stores like Costco, Amazon, Target, Walmart, and more. One reason users might want to try Price Lasso is because it also allows you to set price drop alerts which let you easily keep track of when tech you’re looking to buy goes on sale.

You can use Price Lasso to search for deals on items you actually want

Unfortunately, Price Lasso doesn’t offer a way to sort through deals before adding them to your list. Instead, the primary way that you’ll search for deals is to be proactive and know what you’re looking for. To start tracking deals on specific items, all you need to do is navigate to Costco’s website after installing the extension in your browser of choice. Keep in mind you will need an account for Price Lasso, but the account creation process is fairly quick and free.

Once the extension is enabled, an Add Price Alert option will appear on the item listing page. Once you click this, it’ll add the item to your price alerts page on the Price Lasso website and you can select a See your alerts link where the Add Price Alert option used to be. On this page, you can through your alerts, as well as look at the price history for that particular store (Costco in this case).

You can also customize what kind of deal you’re looking for (10% off, 20% off, etc.) to help narrow down what kind of alerts you receive. And, the listing that you set up will even show which store you can get it at for that particular price, so you always know if Costco is offering the best deal or not. 

Why users recommend Price Lasso

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While it might not be as handy as a tool that automatically aggregates the latest tech deals, Price Lasso has received a lot of positive reviews from users across its various extension offerings. One user says, “Everyone who shops online should have this app,” noting that they would give it at least ten stars if they could.

Other users on the Firefox add-on store noted that they had some issues getting Costco tracking to work initially, but that upon reporting it, the developer reached out quickly and had a new update to fix that issue pushed out within a short time. The user then said they’d continue using it, as the developer was on top of pushing out fixes.

Even still, other users of the extension have noted that it is easy to use and simple to set up, and that it makes tracking potential deals on the items they’re looking to buy much easier than looking them up individually each time, especially for those who believe everyone should always buy their tech from Costco.

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Apple has turned user privacy (and the security that goes with it) into a top priority for its products over the years, whether hardware or software. It wasn’t just a marketing message. Many Apple devices and several key Apple apps are end-to-end encrypted. Apple also offers ways to reduce online user tracking via apps and services on the iPhone and iPad and in the Safari browser. The company has built tools that reduce location data collection over the years, and it has developed a method to offer private cloud-based AI services. Finally, the company has a strong, device-level tool that can strengthen the protections against malware and spying attacks, improving user privacy in the process.

Apple’s relentless pursuit of privacy has indirectly benefited people who do not use Apple devices or services. The company has pressured some of its main competitors to adapt, especially Google, which has improved the privacy features in its Android operating system over the years to narrow the gap with iOS privacy features, despite Google’s direct interest in collecting user data for its advertising business. Even so, Google has not matched Apple’s privacy features perfectly, taking longer to adapt some of them.

Everything is encrypted, even iCloud backups

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Apple uses end-to-end encryption (E2EE) at various levels across its products. iPhones are encrypted as soon as the user sets a lock screen passcode, with Face ID offering faster authentication. The Face ID data (and Touch ID before it) is also encrypted in the Secure Enclave inside the custom Apple A-series chip. Consumers who have multiple Apple devices can enjoy the same encryption on their iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, including Touch ID on MacBooks. The Vision Pro spatial computer also comes with an iris scanner called Optic ID that offers security similar to Face ID and Touch ID.

E2EE protects key apps on the iPhone and other devices, including iMessage chats, FaceTime voice and video calls, and the Health, Home, Find My, and Keychain apps. The iMessage app is a particular highlight here, as the default iPhone messaging app has always offered E2EE. Third-party apps like WhatsApp and Signal offer similar encryption, but Google needed a longer time to bring end-to-end encryption to the main Android messaging app. Google Messages, which has switched to the RCS standard in recent years, received E2EE support a few years after Google embraced the standard. RCS-to-iPhone messages have yet to receive E2EE support, but the feature is in the works and will launch with iOS 26.5.

iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection is another unique Apple privacy feature when it comes to encryption. The feature is optional, allowing iPhone users to encrypt iCloud apps (Photos and Notes) and iPhone backups. The feature is strong enough that Apple was forced to remove it for U.K. consumers following pressure from the government to add a backdoor to the cloud data. Google One backups for Android don’t offer end-to-end encryption for certain data, including photos and videos stored in Google Photos.

The limits on location data access

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Location information can be valuable for advertisers, which may explain why Google has been tracking users in the past even when they thought they disabled location tracking. Those allegations led to a class action suit against Google, which the company settled for $391.5 million. Later, Google turned the Timeline history feature in Google Maps into an on-device repository, rather than hosting that data in the cloud as before. But while Google was dealing with its location-tracking privacy issues, Apple was building strong privacy protections to limit location data exposure. Apple Maps uses random identifiers and minimizes data collection as personal data is encrypted and stored on devices.

iOS 14 brought users the ability to share approximate location data with apps instead of precise information in 2020. The same release added camera and microphone indicators that informed iPhone users when apps used these iPhone hardware components. Google added similar indicators to Android in 2021. iOS 26.3 brought a new Limit Precise Location setting that allows users to limit what location data they share with cellular networks. The feature only works with iPhones that use Apple’s C1 and C1X modems, like the iPhone 16e, iPhone Air, iPhone 17e, and the M5 iPad Pro on specific carriers.

Apple also guards the location data built into the Find My network with end-to-end encryption. This means Apple product users can track their products (including iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch), people, and AirTag-connected devices privately. The location of these items isn’t shared with any third party. Google has similar anti-stalking and tracker-alert protections for its trackers, and Apple and Google have collaborated on a standard technology that prevents stalkers from using trackers to follow the movements of their targets.

User tracking prevention on iPhone

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It’s not only location data that advertisers want from internet users. They also want to be able to track people online across the apps and services they use, to serve more targeted ads. Meta and Google are examples of such companies, with the distinction that Google also owns Android, which means Android faces pressure to match iOS privacy capabilities. In 2020 and 2021, Apple released iOS 14 updates that featured two major privacy features unseen on rival products: App Privacy Labels and App Tracking Transparency.

App Privacy Labels forced developers to disclose up front what type of data their apps would collect from the user. The privacy disclosures had to be made directly on the App Store listing for a specific app. More disturbing for companies like Meta was the App Tracking Transparency (ATT) feature that forced all iPhone and iPad apps to ask for permission from users to track them online. Meta started a big campaign against Apple at the time, initially claiming that Apple’s new privacy features would hurt small businesses. The ATT feature was later said to have reduced Facebook’s revenue by about $10 billion in 2022. Google has never matched these features on Android. The company added a “Data safety” label to Play Store listings, but it never matched the ATT feature that’s still available on iPhone and iPad.

iOS 15 added other anti-tracking features, including Mail Privacy Protection, iCloud Private Relay, Hide My Email, and App Privacy Report, to limit cross-app, email, and web tracking. Safari offered its own Intelligent Tracking Prevention, launched in 2017, to prevent cross-site tracking on Apple devices.

Private Cloud Compute in Apple Intelligence

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Apple unveiled its vision for generative AI features on iPhone and other products at WWDC 2024, when Apple Intelligence was the main highlight of the event. Apple announced various AI features for the iPhone, including tools that would process user data on the device, and more advanced features that required cloud processing. These practices were not foreign to users, as existing AI products already used the cloud to process user data, including ChatGPT and Gemini. What Apple did differently was to focus on on-device AI and to announce a private cloud architecture that would ensure the privacy of user data processed in the cloud.

Called Private Cloud Compute, the feature doesn’t have an equivalent from rivals. Google introduced a Private AI Compute feature in November 2025 for certain Gemini features, but it’s not clear how widespread the use of Private AI Compute is for Gemini data processing. The worry with AI tools is that companies may use information from chats to train future AI products, unless users opt out.

That said, Apple has fallen behind rivals when it comes to AI features on iPhones, with Apple Intelligence failing to deliver the AI vision Apple laid out at WWDC 2024. Apple is still recovering from the setback, reportedly having tasked Google with delivering a custom version of Gemini that Apple will use to power the revamped Siri. It’s unclear how Apple’s version of Gemini will work, but it should protect user data with the help of Private Cloud Compute. The ChatGPT-like Siri version is reportedly expected to be unveiled at WWDC 2026.

The ultimate security: Lockdown Mode

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Taken together, the privacy features mentioned above are designed to protect user privacy at various steps. All Apple products can be encrypted, and several apps offer end-to-end encryption. iPhone users can lock apps with passwords and hide them. As we explained, consumers can use the built-in privacy features to block advertisers from tracking them online and reduce the exposure of location data. Apple Intelligence features on iPhone and other devices should also be private by design. But if an iPhone user is a high-value target, like a politician, dissident, journalist, celebrity, or other prominent figure, hackers may target them with sophisticated malware meant to extract data from users. That’s where Apple’s Lockdown Mode feature can be useful.

The purpose of Lockdown Mode is to prevent malware attacks by making it much harder for malicious software to get into the iPhone (and other devices). The feature will also reduce the functionality of the iPhone and may lead to a more frustrating experience, but that’s a compromise people may want to make rather than have attackers target them with spyware. Lockdown Mode can be considered one of Apple’s strongest optional privacy and security protections in Apple’s software, a security layer that can be enabled and disabled on specific devices when such protections are needed.

Lockdown Mode was launched in 2022, part of iOS 16, iPadOS 16, and macOS Ventura. Google brought a version of Lockdown Mode to Android called Advanced Protection Mode. The feature was released in 2025 as part of the Android 16 rollout, but devices that won’t get the software update will not benefit from it.

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Late screenwriter and producer Gene Roddenberry (whose ashes are now in space) revolutionized science-fiction as we know it when he created the “Star Trek” series and universe in 1964 — which went on to premiere in 1966. While Roddenberry’s legacy is tainted by accusations of misogyny and antisemitism, the original “Star Trek” TV series featured a diverse cast, a look towards a more positive, utopian future than we’d seen before, and discussions rarely seen on TV at that time about slavery, racism, and warfare.

“Star Trek’s” unique offering led to the series developing a passionate, vocal fan base that continues to thrive for more than six decades. The original series kickstarted a franchise that has gone on to produce 12 TV series and 13 films — and inspiring real scientific discoveries like real-time translation. However, not all of Roddenberry’s creations were quite as successful.

Back in 1972, the renowned screenwriter wrote a screenplay for “Genesis II,” a concept he hoped to develop into another hit sci-fi TV series. However, “Planet of the Apes” scuppered his plans.

What is Genesis II?

A made-for-TV science fiction film, “Genesis II” follows NASA scientist Dylan Hunt (played by “Stagecoach’s” Alex Cord), who wakes up after 154 years of suspended animation to find himself in a post-apocalyptic world that’s torn between two factions: the pacifistic citizens of PAX and the totalitarian Tyranians — both of which want Hunt to join their cause. To find out whom he sides with, you’ll have to watch it for yourself.

But Gene Roddenberry never intended for “Genesis II” to be a one-off film. Shot in late 1972 and early 1973, it was also to act as a TV pilot, with the screenwriter lining up as many as 15 additional scripts in preparation for his creation to be turned into a TV series.

According to David Alexander’s Gene Roddenberry biography, “Star Trek Creator,” Roddenberry once said: “As a pilot for a potential science fiction series, I think it probably offered a range of stories quite similar to ‘Star Trek.’ We had the series tentatively sold to CBS.” “Genesis II” aired on CBS on March 23, 1973, and was well received. However, the pilot’s future as a series met an unlikely obstacle in the “Planet of the Apes” TV series in 1974.

How Planet of the Apes impacted the Genesis II TV series

Following CBS’s airing of “Planet of the Apes” — which overtook “Genesis II” as the network’s highest-rated Thursday night TV movie of the year — the “Star Trek” creator began receiving memos from network executives. They were asking if apes could be integrated into “Genesis II,” with one junior executive even suggesting the inclusion of an evolved, hind-legged species of talking dog.

According to Alexander’s biography, Roddenberry sarcastically replied that he had something better in mind, a turtle-man creature that would give the show “an underwater dimension.” “I knew it was all over when they were taking that suggestion seriously,” Roddenberry said. Ultimately, “Genesis II” never became a series, and CBS debuted the short-lived “Planet of the Apes” TV show in 1974.

Roddenberry went on to create a second, revamped pilot for “Genesis II,” called “Planet Earth,” replacing Alex Cord with “Black Christmas'” John Saxon — but this TV movie also wasn’t picked up as a fully-fledged series. While “Genesis II” may not have made it as a TV show, producer and screenwriter Robert Hewitt Wolfe used some of Roddenberry’s notes for “Planet Earth” and “Genesis II” for the TV series “Andromeda,” including the name of the protagonist, Dylan Hunt.

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As long as your router has not reached its end of life (EOL), the manufacturer will push firmware updates to it regularly. If you don’t update it, the network may begin to behave poorly over time. Issues you will notice include slower internet speeds, devices randomly disconnecting (or not connecting at all), reduced compatibility with devices using newer Wi-Fi standards, or the router starting to overheat. But probably the worst thing about not updating your router is that it becomes a sitting duck for hackers who know how to exploit vulnerabilities in old firmware.

For instance, in April 2026, the FBI issued a warning that a group of Russian military hackers called GRU (also known as APT28, Fancy Bear, and Forest Blizzard) had been taking over vulnerable routers, including EOL TP-Link routers, and changing their DNS and DHCP settings to allow them to steal sensitive information from individuals and organizations. In 2025, SecurityScorecard released a report about Operation WrtHug, a wide-scale hacking operation where over 50,000 EOL ASUS routers in the U.S., Taiwan, and Russia were used to spy on people and organizations worldwide.

The FBI advised that updating your router’s firmware is one of the best defenses against these hacks. On top of that, don’t use the router’s default username and password, and if your router has reached EOL status, you should upgrade it. The Bureau also advised that you disable the remote management interfaces on your router to prevent access from someone outside your home network.

The security risk of a router that never updates

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Hackers will always find new ways to bypass router security, which is why manufacturers are staying on top of it by pushing firmware updates to their routers on a regular basis. A common security vulnerability that is patched with firmware updates is remote code execution (RCE), where the hacker takes control of the router and runs malicious code on it. This code can often steal sensitive information, install malware, or add the router to a botnet. An example is CVE-2025-9377, which is a type of RCE that exploited a vulnerability in the Parental Control page of two EOL TP-Link routers: Archer C7 and TL-WR841N/D.

Another common one is an authentication bypass attack, which exploits a flaw in the router’s firmware to circumvent the need for login credentials. Netgear issued a warning in 2024 that some of its routers, such as RAX35, RAX38, and RAX40, were affected by this vulnerability. Users were at risk when a hacker obtained their Wi-Fi password or connected to a device on their network using an Ethernet cable.

These are just two examples, but in both instances, the manufacturer had to release a firmware update to address them. TP-Link was forced to do it even though they had stopped supporting the routers. They then advised their customers to upgrade to supported routers afterward. Generally, it’s good practice to upgrade your router every three to five years.

Should you turn on automatic updates or update your router manually?

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Modern routers usually come with automatic updates enabled. This works by downloading the update during the day and then installing it sometime during the night when you’re asleep, so you don’t experience any downtime. Perhaps the biggest advantage of automatic updates is that they ensure you don’t forget to update your router, meaning it will always have the latest firmware when it’s available. The biggest disadvantage is that you can experience bugs on day one if the manufacturer pushes a broken update. But if you’re a set-it-and-forget-it type of person, keep automatic updates on or enable them if they’re off.

Manual updates, on the other hand, ensure that you have full control over the firmware update process. You can effectively eliminate inconveniences caused by downtime (e.g., if you’re working or online gaming late at night, and the router decides to update). It also means that you have time to see how an update performs in the wild before you apply it to your router, avoiding frustrating bugs it may introduce. Manual updates are ideal if you’re a remote worker, gamer, or power user who can keep up with the updates by, for example, checking for notifications in the router’s app or admin panel and installing them when available. But you run the risk of forgetting or getting update fatigue, missing a critical update that patches a vulnerability in response to a new threat.

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Mini-LED TVs have become a common sight in the television market over the last few years. All major smart TV manufacturers offer mini-LED TVs as part of their product portfolio, and the technology has trickled down to some of the most affordable TVs. If we zoom out and look at the overarching display types like LCD, OLED, and QLED, mini-LED TVs are very similar to modern LCDs. However, instead of relying on regular LEDs for backlight, they use even smaller LEDs, which gives them better localized dimming control and boosts their overall brightness. Some of the best mini-LEDs offer serious competition to their OLED counterparts, which are known for their impressive picture quality.

Despite the several benefits offered by mini-LED technology, mini-LED TVs aren’t without notable disadvantages, such as narrower viewing angles and blooming, which can impact your overall visual experience. It’s important to understand these drawbacks if you’re shopping for a new smart TV and don’t want a rude surprise once you unbox your brand-new television.

Blacks can appear gray

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An inherent drawback of the mini-LED TVs (or any TV with an LED-based backlight system) is that they rely on LED backlighting to illuminate the visuals you see on the screen. The lack of self-emissive pixels, such as those found in OLED TVs, forces them to leverage local dimming to turn off the backlighting in parts of the screen to try to approximate true black. However, because even the most expensive mini-LED TVs have significantly fewer dimming zones than the available pixels, they are unable to offer pixel-perfect light control to produce the inky blacks you get with OLED panels. As a result, parts of a scene, which should be dark or pitch black, can often have a grayish tint.

More importantly, the quality of this black performance can vary depending on the number of dimming zones and a manufacturer’s dimming algorithm. While the more expensive mini-LED TVs typically have thousands of dimming zones managed by superior algorithms, the budget models may only have a few dozen or a few hundred. Consequently, blacks will appear much deeper in more expensive mini-LED TVs than on their affordable counterparts. As the black performance is a primary driver of a TV’s contrast ratio, the visual “pop” and color depth you experience will depend heavily on the local dimming zones in the TV you pick.

Blooming and black crush are notable concerns

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Another mini-LED drawback that stems from the presence of a backlight is blooming. It’s basically a display artifact in which the backlight shining on the back of the isolated bright objects “bleeds” into the surrounding darker areas. The reason for this is simple: because mini-LED TVs have a finite number of local dimming zones, they aren’t able to precisely target light to an individual pixel without it spilling over to the darker surrounding areas. It’s most noticeable with small, bright highlights in a scene, and also appears around subtitles, as those are often bright white against a black background.

The severity of blooming can vary depending on the number of dimming zones, with a higher number of zones resulting in tighter light control and less light bleed. While too much blooming can be distracting, you won’t typically notice faint blooming when you are engrossed in a piece of content. By contrast, there is no blooming on OLED TVs, as they can precisely target illumination at a pixel level.

Moreover, some manufacturers, in an effort to curb blooming, sometimes aggressively turn off the backlight in some darker areas of a scene. While this reduces blooming and results in deeper blacks, it can cause some shadow details to become less visible as they don’t get sufficient backlighting. This is referred to as black crush, and results in the loss of subtle textures in dark environments.

Poor viewing angles

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Most mini-LED TVs have VA (vertical alignment) type LCD panels, which are favored for their relatively high native contrast ratio but are notorious for poor off-axis viewing. Essentially, if you aren’t looking at them head-on by sitting directly in front of the screen, colors can look washed out and contrast degrades. This makes mini-LED TVs with a VA panel less ideal for a group setting, as some members of the group or family seated at the ends of the sofa won’t get the best visual experience. While some mini-LED TVs come with an IPS (in-plane switching) type panel, which offers superior viewing angles, these are relatively rare, as IPS panels have a lower native contrast ratio than their VA counterparts.

To alleviate this problem, some manufacturers — like Samsung — include a specialized wide-angle layer in their mini-LED TVs to improve the viewing angles of VA panels. However, even with this enhancement layer, they still can’t match the impressive off-axis viewing of an OLED. If you are concerned about viewing angles because you often watch TV with friends or family and want the best experience, it’s better to invest in a TV that either has a wide viewing angle layer or, better yet, an OLED panel. Keep in mind, however, that OLED TVs have their own disadvantages. 

Slower response time while gaming

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Although mini-LED TVs are generally a good choice for gaming because of their high peak brightness and low input lag, they can suffer from slower response times compared to OLED TVs. Because the liquid crystals in an LCD panel take time to physically shift and the backlighting needs to sync with the on-screen action, the transitions aren’t always instantaneous. This can result in ghosting or smearing in extremely fast-paced games, like first-person shooters, racing titles, and multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) games.

However, for most content, this is not a dealbreaker. In fact, this can actually be helpful and a hidden advantage while consuming certain types of content. Although the faster response time helps with the overall clarity of a scene, it can cause stutter in low-frame-rate content, such as movies, because each frame is so sharp and instant, the jump between them becomes noticeable and can be jarring for the viewer. In these cases, the blur caused by a mini-LED TV’s slower response time can actually make the action in 24 fps content look smoother and more natural.

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Google surprised Android users in late November 2025 by enabling Quick Share to work with Apple’s AirDrop feature on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Quick Share and AirDrop are both device-to-device wireless sharing features, but Apple’s implementation may have inspired Google’s Quick Share. Before last November, Quick Share and AirDrop were not compatible, which meant that quickly sharing photos and videos between Android phones and iPhones was impossible. Google’s latest updates didn’t immediately fix the problem, as the feature was limited to Pixel devices. Pixel 10 owners could use Quick Share to AirDrop functionality, and the feature expanded to Pixel 9, Pixel 10a, and Galaxy S26 devices in early 2026, but a recent Google announcement brings good news for more Android users.

Google held a livestream on May 12 to announce several new features coming to Android devices in anticipation of next week’s Google I/O 2026. In addition to unveiling new Android 17 features, including Gemini AI features, and a major redesign of Android emojis, Google also announced that more Android phones will be able to share content with iPhones via the new Quick Share-AirDrop feature. Not all Android phones currently in use are compatible with AirDrop, but Google did announce a workaround for devices that aren’t: a new Quick Share feature that lets users generate a QR code and share files with iPhone users via the cloud. WhatsApp for Android will also support sharing files via Quick Share in the future.

Which Android devices will support AirDrop?

In addition to Pixel devices, Google mentioned several partners that will support the Quick Share-AirDrop functionality, including Samsung, Oppo, OnePlus, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Honor, indicating that select devices from these vendors already support the feature, or will get it this year. The Samsung Galaxy S26, Google Pixel 10, Pixel 9, and 8a,Oppo Find X9 and N6,and Vivo X300 Ultra already support the feature

What’s curious about the Pixel devices on the list is that the Pixel 8 series is absent, even though the Pixel 8a is included. As for the Pixel 9 series, the Pixel 9a won’t get AirDrop support, according to a previous Google announcement. It’s unclear whether the Pixel 8 series will support the feature, as the devices aren’t included in the “coming soon” list of devices, which consists of:

• Samsung: Galaxy S25 series, Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy Z Flip 7, Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Z Fold 6, and Galaxy Z TriFold
• Oppo: Find X8 series
• OnePlus: OnePlus 15
• Honor: Magic V6, Magic 8 Pro

Why isn’t AirDrop support coming to all Android phones?

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Google’s announcement doesn’t say which limitations may be preventing a broader rollout of the interconnectivity feature. It’s likely that more Android devices will support AirDrop in the future, especially phones released in the coming months and years, but that’s just speculation. Max Weinbach and 9to5Google explained what may be preventing Google from bringing AirDrop support to the wider Android ecosystem.

Google reportedly uses Apple Wireless Direct Link (AWDL) technology, which requires a “chiplet-level networking tweak,” according to Weinbach. Android devices will need a flagship chip to support the feature, so entry-level and mid-range Android phones are not expected to get it. 9to5Google further explained that Google’s solution needs to ensure that both Quick Share and AirDrop work on supported Android devices. An Android user who owns one of the devices above should be able to share files with both Android users (via Quick Share) and iPhone users (via the Quick Share-AirDrop feature) simultaneously.

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Apple Maps may seem like the natural navigation choice for iPhone users, given that it’s an Apple app, but it’s not the only option. Google Maps is another alternative, and one of the most widely used navigation apps in the world.

Like Apple Maps, Google Maps also works in CarPlay, extending the navigation experience to the vehicle’s display. But Google Maps is about to gain a useful new feature in CarPlay, according to recent discoveries in the code of the app’s iOS version made by MacRumors. Google will seemingly soon integrate Gemini support in Google Maps for iPhone, bringing a hands-free navigation experience to CarPlay. Talking to an AI assistant about your surroundings and asking it to handle navigation is a safer option than manually tapping the screen to search for places and set a route.

Google added Gemini support to the iPhone’s Google Maps app in early 2026, bringing an Ask Maps feature to the app. However, the Ask Maps rollout was limited to U.S. and India users. Separately, Apple added support for voice-based conversational apps to CarPlay via the iOS 26.4 update released earlier this year. The update means apps like ChatGPT can work in CarPlay, though they won’t replace Siri as the default voice assistant in CarPlay. Instead, users would have to open an app before being able to interact hands-free with a different AI. The same experience is now likely coming to Google Maps in CarPlay.

The Gemini experience in Google Maps for Apple CarPlay

Google hasn’t announced the new Gemini features in Google Maps for CarPlay, but Aaron Perris and MacRumors have reported similar code findings in the Google Maps for iPhone app. A screenshot shared by Perris appears to indicate that Gemini will be available in Google Maps after the user agrees to new terms of service. The code strings also suggest that users will be able to interact via voice with Gemini, issuing navigation-related commands to the AI. It’s unclear how the voice chat will start, but it may mimic the iPhone experience for Gemini in Google Maps.

After opening the Google Maps app on the iPhone, users can tap the Gemini icon to start a voice chat, or use a “Hey Google” command. Opening the app is a key action, as Google can’t offer system-wide support for Gemini on a platform that it doesn’t control. Still, this would be a useful addition to CarPlay, potentially offering Google Maps fans a richer navigation experience than the current version.

However, conversing with an AI chatbot about navigation needs and points of interest on the map involves sharing personal data with Gemini, including location information. That’s probably why the feature will require the user agreeing to a new set of terms of use. It’s too early to tell how the Gemini-related data in Google Maps will be handled, but it’s something CarPlay users should keep in mind. As a reminder, AI companies may use chatbot data for training future models.

The Gemini navigation experience in Android

The Google Maps code Perris and MacRumors mentioned doesn’t reveal the full functionality of Gemini in CarPlay. It’s too early to tell whether Google will be able to match the Android/Android Auto experience in CarPlay. Google released a major Google Maps update in November 2025, which brought several Gemini-powered features to the navigation app for Android. Google showed off the new hands-free driving experience in Google Maps with the help of a few videos, like the clip above.

The user can ask Gemini about points of interest along the chosen route, and the AI will respond. In the video, the user wants to know whether there’s a restaurant nearby with vegan options, and then asks the AI whether there’s parking available. Once the user decides to go there, the AI updates the navigation route to include the new location. Drivers can also use Gemini voice chats to report traffic incidents via conversational language.

The conversation goes deeper on Android, where Gemini can integrate with other apps. The driver in the video above asks the AI to add a Calendar event, which has nothing to do with navigation tasks. That sort of cross-app experience will likely not be available on the iPhone and CarPlay, where Gemini interactions will probably be limited to the Google Maps app. Gemini can also be used in Google Maps on Android to share ETA with friends, another feature that may not be available on iPhone.

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Whenever you install an app, it requests some permissions, such as access to the camera, microphone, accessibility features, contacts, messages, and network. Some of these permissions are critical to the app’s functioning, while others could be unrelated. If you are in the habit of allowing every permission the app requests, you could be risking your phone’s privacy and security.

Some Android app permissions are dangerous — potentially allowing malicious apps to monitor your activity, capture images, record audio, track your location, display fake login screens, read and delete stored data, and even install other third-party apps. It’s not that these permissions are difficult to manage or revoke. But many people simply ignore them, assuming Android will automatically handle the permissions.

Keep in mind that not every app requesting these permissions is malicious. Even safe ones require a certain set of permissions to run effectively on your smartphone. For instance, a scanner app needs access to the camera, and that’s something you will need to allow. But if a calculator requests the same, it’s a cause for concern, because that particular permission isn’t related to the app. It’s not about denying every permission, but about identifying the ones that are unrelated. At the same time, there are some permissions that need to be handled more cautiously, because with access to these, a malicious app can exploit data on your phone or potentially turn it into a tracking device.

Accessibility access

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Accessibility features on Android are designed to help people with disabilities interact with their smartphones. For instance, reading on-screen text aloud falls under this category, and it’s useful for a few apps. But for others, especially those with malicious intent, these permissions can prove dangerous. An untrusted app with accessibility access can monitor the on-screen activity, identify taps, read messages, and interact with other apps. This means it may allow the app to hack your passwords as you type, perform transactions on your behalf, make purchases, and even change device settings. Additionally, with such permissions, you are allowing malware to spread on your device without detection, as the untrusted app can approve changes without explicit user approval.

That said, it’s important to realize that some apps do need these permissions to streamline your Android experience, especially for people with hearing difficulty or low vision. But these permissions should never be granted to apps that don’t help you with accessibility needs, say a game, or any app that you don’t trust or recall installing. To check which apps have accessibility access, open your Android Settings, go to Accessibility, and tap Installed apps or Installed services. Check the list of apps and services, and if you find any that shouldn’t ideally have accessibility access, tap the app, and disable the toggle for it.

Overlay or Appear on top

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Another app permission you should be really cautious about is overlay access. Depending on your smartphone, it can be called “Appear on top,” “Display over other apps,” or “Draw over other apps,” but it’s all the same. The permission allows apps to place content over another active application. It isn’t inherently dangerous, but when handled carelessly and allowed for suspicious apps, it becomes a major risk.

For instance, a messenger app will use overlay access to show chat bubbles on top of active applications. Similarly, an Android music app for audiophiles may use the overlay functionality to place controls over other apps. All that’s fine. Problems begin when a harmful app gets access to the overlay functionality, as this allows it to place fake login screens on top of your banking or social media app. It could also place transparent overlays, tricking the user into downloading malware-ridden files, granting other critical permissions, or sharing sensitive data. So, it’s important that you don’t grant overlay access to untrusted apps.

To verify apps that currently have overlay permissions, open Settings, go to Apps, tap the ellipsis near the top right, choose Special access, and tap Appear on top (or as it’s called on your phone). Now, look through the list, identify any app you don’t trust, and disable overlay permissions for all such apps.

Install unknown apps

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One of the things you should never do on your Android phone is install apps from unknown sources, unless you know where you downloaded the APK file from. It’s a major security risk, according to CISA. That’s why the functionality is disabled by default. But Android includes a permission that allows apps this privilege and lets them install unknown applications. When enabled, the app can install applications from sources other than the Google Play Store. This could threaten your smartphone’s security and privacy and compromise stored data.

Even if it’s not malicious, letting apps install other applications from unknown sources isn’t the smartest idea. First, it may add apps you don’t even need, taking up a significant share of storage and system resources on the smartphone. Additionally, when an app is installed via this route, it can often be challenging to wipe all traces of it later on. So, it’s best that you avoid that, at least for apps and sources you don’t trust. To check these permissions, go to Apps under Settings, tap the ellipsis, select Special access, and then choose Install unknown apps. If any app has access to this functionality, revoke its permissions.

Usage data access

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Usage data access is another risky app permission you should pay attention to. When an app has this permission, it can identify your service provider and language settings. Additionally, it can monitor your activity, including the other apps you use, how frequently you use them, and how much time you spend on each. While this may not sound alarming at first, the permission lets apps build a profile of you, revealing your habits and daily routine.

For instance, the application will know when you open banking apps, which parts of the day you spend on social media platforms, and when you typically use e-commerce services, along with how much time you spend on each. This information can then be sold to advertisers and data collection companies to deliver targeted ads.

To check which applications have usage data access, open Settings, then Apps, select Special access from the ellipsis menu, and tap on Usage data access. Look through the list for apps that shouldn’t ideally be collecting such data, and disable the functionality for them.

Contacts and SMS access

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Allowing apps access to contacts and SMS can lead to serious privacy risks. Let’s start with contacts. These are not merely phone numbers but also names, email addresses, and relationships. It’s sensitive information that shouldn’t fall into the wrong hands. When you let apps access contacts, they can harvest that data and sell it to third parties. Many loan apps also use this information to harass and extort money from victims.

SMS also contains sensitive data that shouldn’t be shared with random apps, say a photo editing application. SMS messages contain everything from personal conversations to banking OTPs, which can be misused by apps. For instance, a harmful app can intercept OTPs from your bank to process unauthorized transactions. Also, if a malicious app somehow becomes the default messaging app, it’s all the more dangerous. So, you have to be extra careful with app permissions on Android.

To check which apps have access to contacts and SMS, open Apps under Settings, tap the ellipsis, select Permission manager, then go through the Contacts and SMS sections, and disable any untrusted apps on the list. Lastly, remember that not all permissions are inherently dangerous. It always comes down to the individual app that’s requesting the permission or already has it. The same permission that’s perfectly alright for one app can be a major risk when granted to another. So, make it a habit to only grant permissions that match the app’s core functionality. Everything else is best avoided.

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