cameras Archives

What’s replacing your smartphone? Here’s what’s coming next

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Let’s be real: Smartphones are getting out of hand, literally.

We traded pocket space for bigger screens, better cameras and more power. Some of these glass bricks are the size of a paperback novel and about as easy to use one-handed.

Even Marty Cooper, the man who invented the cell phone, told me directly that the future of communication is a chip embedded behind our ears. No screen to crack. Just an invisible little whisper bot baked into your skull. Sounds crazy, but so did the idea of Instagram in your pocket, 30 years ago.

The phone is evolving, fast. Here’s what’s trying to eat its lunch:

⌚ Wearables that actually do stuff

Your Apple Watch or Pixel Watch can already handle calls, texts, payments and your resting heart rate. One tap, and you’re checking vitals or pausing a playlist. Smart rings (Oura, Samsung, etc.) are slowly taking over, too. Congratulations, you’re engaged to your biometric data.

And yes, we have real-life Star Trek-style comms badges coming. Beam me up, notification settings.

🤖 AI wearables … flopped

The Humane AI Pin promised screen-free, voice-first living. Reality? It was glitchy, sluggish and hotter than a toaster. Humane’s now offloading its tech to HP.

The Rabbit R1? Same idea, different shape. Still clunky. Still not your phone’s final boss.

The only intelligent thing was your decision not to buy one.

🕶️ Smart glasses are plotting

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Insurance rates rising, here’s what you can do

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My car insurance just jumped 32%. No, I didn’t get into an accident or rack up a few speeding tickets. Since 2020, car insurance rates have skyrocketed by 37%, and in 2024 alone, they climbed another 16.5%. Some states saw hikes of over 50%!

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Stuff I use a lot and like

Help! My cart is overflowing!

I wear this weighted vest (20% off) when walking to burn more calories and increase my bone density. Pro tip: Order one that’s 10% of your body weight.
I love to make a pot of soup and freeze it in this silicone container. I have lunch for the whole week.
This whitening toothpaste (20% off, $12) is my absolute favorite. Keeps me sparkly for the cameras.
I use these inexpensive blades to shape my eyebrows and get rid of the fuzz on my face, along with those hairs that pop up out of nowhere.
The bristles of this cleaning pen ($9.48) get into every crevice of your rings and necklaces to make diamonds and other gems sparkle.

🛌 I love sliding into fresh sheets. If yours have seen better days, these crazy-popular cooling sheets are extra soft and on sale right now (41% off, $30).

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

🎞️ Look better in pics: Don’t face the camera straight on. Instead, position your body at a far more flattering 45-degree angle. Put your weight on your back foot and lean your torso slightly forward. This tip was brought to you by 20 years of broadcasting and looking fabulous each time … well, most of the time!

TikTok sale won't stop the spies

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The deadline for TikTok’s new buyer is tomorrow, but Chinese-made drones, vacuums, and cameras quietly continue collecting data.

🛒 Check yourself: Say goodbye to all traditional and self-checkout lanes at Sam’s Club’s nearly 600 stores. Instead, you’ll use “Scan & Go” on their app. Then, AI-powered cameras and sensors will check your cart as you walk right out. Shoplifting? No. Shop-glitching? Maybe.

Carmakers fight a rule that could save thousands of lives

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I want you to stay ahead of the tech stories the mainstream media won’t touch. The other day I watched a Waymo speed up to run a red light. No matter how safe the autonomous car industry says they are, I still won’t get in one. I’d rather trust my own eyes.

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Weird things on Google Earth

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I spent the first 10 years of my life in New Jersey. I still remember when I knocked out my front tooth on the swings and the time I threw a snowball at a police car and hit the cop inside on the head. That was bad.

Seeing the house on Google took me back. Yup, click that link to see where I grew up. And while you’re at it, take yourself on a walk down memory lane, too.

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🤖 Robocop is real: Thailand just showed off the Cyborg 1.0, and yes, it’s a bot dressed in full police gear. This thing has 360-degree cameras for eyes, facial recognition to spot suspects and the ability to detect weapons. The creepiest part? Its AI can analyze CCTV and drone footage from anywhere so it can keep tabs on everything. Coming soon near you, there’s a robot dude with WALL-E eyes and a badge.

🌲 Moose on the loose: A Swedish TV station is livestreaming moose as they cross the Ångerman River to warmer spots for summer. Over 30 cameras show peaceful forests and rivers (with night vision, too). Sometimes a moose strolls by. Sometimes … nothing happens for hours. It’s like Netflix for people who breathe essential oils. Watch it here.

👀 Smile, you’re on 15 different cameras: A journalist drove 300 miles across rural Virginia, then filed public records requests to see how often his car was caught on surveillance. The short answer: a lot, proof that even on the quiet backroads, Big Brother is watching and judging your late-night Taco Bell runs.

🛒 Aisle see you: I want to try this! Instacart will pay you to video store shelves while you shop. It’s called Store View. This is just the start. Their Caper Carts will one day update stock levels every hour with built-in cameras.

iPad cracks the case: London police just solved a six-year-old case after finding an iPad in the bottom of the Thames River. It led the forensics team to Amazon and eBay purchases used in an attempted murder plot. Three clowns are behind bars, pointing fingers at who threw the iPad in the water thinking it would be gone for good. Meanwhile, a ton of permanent facial recognition cameras just went up in London.

All it takes is a few hundred bucks: Sites like China’s Temu sell cheap drone accessories that can turn them into DIY weapons. We’re talking AI-guided cameras that recognize people and vehicles, and cargo holders that can carry explosives. Seriously frightening.

😱 This is horrifying: A mom says she’ll never let her daughter go to another sleepover again. Why? Her 11-year-old found cameras in her friend’s bedroom. The parents said they were “for security” but turned off. Except … the light was on. So she covered them with a shirt. The parents came in, removed it and that’s when she called her mom to pick her up.

Beam me up, Kimmie: By the end of this year, Google and HP are set to make video calls freakishly realistic. Their new tech uses AI and multiple cameras to create real-time 3D images, making it look like the other person is right in front of you. Yup, think “Star Trek”! No price yet (paywall link).

Don’t look up: Chinese scientists built a surveillance camera that can see your face from space. In a ground test, it locked onto a target 62 miles away and picked up tiny details with scary accuracy. It’s supposedly “100 times” better than today’s top spy cameras and lens-based telescopes.

6 signs your vacation rental is a scam

It’s that time of year when so many of us are planning vacations and booking a rental. Sadly, scammers are very aware of that, and they’re always changing their tricks to fool people out of their money, rentals — or worse.

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America’s most surveilled city

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The average U.S. city has six cameras recording for every thousand people. Think that’s a lot? Atlanta takes it to another level. Plus, why I’m not surprised people are saying no to new cars and a chilling AirTag stalking story you need to hear.

Amazon’s shutting down Prime Try Before You Buy: It’s all over at the end of this month. Now, they’re pushing AI features like Virtual Try-on AR, which lets you see 3D renders of shoes on your feet, for example, using just your smartphone camera.