Batteries that don’t burn: Lithium batteries are super efficient and occasionally super explode-y. But researchers just made a version that stops itself from catching fire. When the battery gets too hot, built-in flame retardants release chemicals that shut down the reaction before it becomes a fireworks show. No flames. No smoke. No 30,000-gallon fire truck cameo. EVs really need this pronto.
Folding phones, unfolding regrets
ChatGPT
I would love a foldable phone. It’s fun to imagine strutting into a coffee shop, flipping open your phone like you’re Batman calling Alfred.
But now Samsung’s dropped the seventh-gen Galaxy Z Fold and Flip, Google threw in the Pixel Fold, Motorola whipped out retro with the modern Razr+, and I’ve got questions.
It all sounds exciting until you start looking closer.
🛠️ How they work
Foldable phones use ultrathin flexible glass over OLED displays, combined with a mechanical hinge system. The tech allows the phone to physically bend while still displaying a full-resolution screen.
The hinges are engineered to survive hundreds of thousands of folds, which maths out to up to a decade of opening and closing more than a few times a day.
📱 Big screens, big prices
The Galaxy Z Fold 7 opens like a book, giving you a tablet-size 7.6-inch screen inside and a 6.2-inch screen outside.
The Flip 7 folds vertically like a compact mirror that’s a 6.7-inch screen when open and a 3.4-inch mini display on the outside. Perfect for glancing at texts and ignoring people in real life.
Google’s Pixel Fold offers a wider front screen and a slightly smaller inside display.
They’re eye-catching, no doubt. But here’s the part that usually gets glossed over: The Fold 7 starts at $1,899 and the Pixel Fold at $1,799. The Flip 7 and Motorola’s Razr+ are slightly more “affordable” at around $999, but still a serious chunk of change.
These phones are bulkier, more fragile and harder to protect than the slab you already own.
Your phone is spying on you
ChatGPT
Your phone keeps all your secrets. Where you’ve been. What you’ve typed. Even which sketchy Wi-Fi you used in 2017. It’s got the memory of an elephant and the self-restraint of a toddler with a drum set.
Let’s just call your phone “Sir Veillance.”
$500 million
That’s the deal Apple just signed with MP Materials, which operates a rare-earth mine in the U.S. The company will soon produce magnets for iPhones and other high-tech gear. Why? Apple wants to cut back on communist China’s grip controlling about 70% of the world’s critical minerals.
🛜 Full bars, slow internet? Those little Wi-Fi bars only show your connection to the router, not your internet speed. So even if they’re full, apps can run slower than a Monday morning. When in doubt, run a speed test and check if your download, upload and ping match what you’re paying for.
💾 Old PCs, new problems: If you’re using an older Intel PC with a Gigabyte motherboard, heads up: There’s a new vulnerability that could mess with your system memory. Gigabyte’s pushing out BIOS updates to fix it, but only for certain models. If your board’s too old, their advice is basically “call someone.” Start backing up. And updating. Immediately.
📺 Your TV isn’t a tablet: Here’s a simple rule. Take your TV’s size in inches and multiply it by 1.2 to get the best viewing distance. For example, if you’ve got a 50-inch screen, sit about 60 inches (or 5 feet) back. Now you can binge without straining your eyes.
⚾ Robo-umps at bat: MLB’s All-Star Game is testing robo-umps, and pitchers are having an existential crisis. It’s not C‑3PO calling the game. There’s still a human ump, just with an earpiece feeding real-time calls. Each team gets two ball/strike challenges. Basically a high-tech cheat sheet with zero patience for bad takes.
Stop poking your Echo: Say, “Alexa, volume up” or “volume down” to adjust the sound. Want more control? Say “Alexa, set volume to 5.” The range goes from 1 to 10, so you can dial it in for podcasts (like The Kim Komando Show), playlists or whatever you’re playing.
🔌 Belkin bricks tech: Say goodbye to 27 models of its Wemo smart home devices, including some sold as recently as 2023. After January 2026, they’ll lose app access, Alexa integrations and cloud features. Warranty users might get partial refunds. Everyone else? Straight to e-waste. Your “smart” hardware’s about to get real dumb.
Battery boost: If your phone’s nearly dead and you’ve only got 20 minutes, plug it in and switch on Airplane mode. This shuts off Wi-Fi, cellular and Bluetooth, basically all the stuff that quietly drains power. With fewer background processes, your phone can focus on charging faster.
Print, click, bang: Wired just rebuilt a 3D-printed gun tied to a CEO murder plot, and yeah, it works. Despite some federal and state bans, making an untraceable firearm (paywall link) at home is shockingly legal (and easy) in much of the U.S.
✈️ I hate slow Wi-fi on planes: But times are changing. Starlink is now on over 1,000 airplanes worldwide, giving millions of passengers access to high-speed internet in the air. Airlines like Qatar, Hawaiian and United use it. But how fast? Tests show over 100 Mbps. SpaceX says 2,000 more planes are coming soon.
👶 Heartbeat in your hand: This is cool if you’re pregnant. A new AI-powered app lets you feel your unborn baby’s heartbeat by translating ultrasound data into phone vibrations. It’s giving “skin-to-skin” a low-latency, Bluetooth-enabled twist. It’s also $96/year, not FDA-cleared, but pretty neat at womb temperature.
“Full self-driving” debunked: A Tesla owner just got his $10K back after proving “Full Self-Driving” isn’t even close. The car never qualified for FSD beta, and turns out the hardware can’t handle autonomy anyway. It’s “Full Self-Driving” the way LaCroix is “juice.”
📱 The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is here: It’s thinner than ever at 8.9mm closed (compared to the Fold 6’s 12.1mm). You get an 8-inch inner screen and a 6.5-inch outer. There’s also a 200MP main camera, 10MP selfie, up to 16GB of RAM and storage from 256GB to 1TB. The catch? It starts at $2,000. Yikes.
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Perplexity launches Comet: Their new AI browser has smart search summaries and a built-in assistant that can read your emails, check your calendar and answer questions about the page you’re on. The kicker? For now, it’s only available on their $200/month Max plan. FYI: You’ll also need to give up a lot of private data, like your Google account.
Phones keep vanishing: TSA bins are the Bermuda Triangle for your electronics. A travel pro’s now-viral advice? Never put your phone straight into the tray. Thieves can (and do) swipe them while you’re still retying your shoes. Instead, zip your tech into a bag pocket unless an agent tells you otherwise.
Drones, stand down: Personal drones are jamming up rescue ops during deadly floods in Texas, just like they did during the LA fires and Hurricane Helene. It’s not heroic, it’s borderline criminal. Some folks hear “no-fly zone” and take it as a challenge. Morons.
ChatGPT, take the wheel: In a simulated space mission, researchers handed ChatGPT the controls of a spacecraft, and it didn’t crash into a moon. In fact, it placed second (behind math), beating several AI systems trained like actual astronauts. Translation: A chatbot that forgets what you just said five seconds ago can still land a spaceship. Allegedly.