GoKawiil
Tech News
Apple discontinued the iPhone mini line, but a community of users is reportedly still holding onto their devices rather than upgrading to larger current models. Owners describe accepting tradeoffs like degraded battery life, limited storage and overheating in exchange for keeping the smaller form factor.
Amazon is selling Anker's Soundcore Liberty 5 wireless earbuds at a 37% discount, saving buyers $47 off the regular price. The earbuds feature adaptive active noise cancellation, Bluetooth multipoint connectivity, and up to 48 hours of total battery life with the charging case.
The Garmin Venu 3S smartwatch is now selling for $319.99 on Amazon, matching its lowest recorded price. The device offers up to 10 days of battery life along with wellness and fitness tracking features.
Google's new Fitbit Air fitness tracker, praised for its lightweight design, 7-day battery and subscription-free pricing, carries only a water-resistant rating rather than being fully waterproof. It can withstand sweat and swimming sessions but is not built to be indestructible against water exposure.
Amazon is selling the Samsung Galaxy Book 6, a 16-inch touchscreen laptop, for $1,360, a price cut described as 50% off its usual cost. The device includes Copilot+ AI features and is rated for up to 24 hours of battery life.
A tech writer who has used the iPhone 18 Pro for a month reports strong satisfaction with three features: battery life that often leaves 60% charge at day's end, a variable-aperture Main camera that consistently produces sharp Auto-mode photos, and a new vapor chamber cooling system that keeps the phone responsive in hot, sunny conditions. The reviewer contrasts this year's Main camera upgrade with recent years, when Apple focused more on Telephoto, Ultra Wide, and Front camera improvements.
Amazon has discounted the Marshall Major V Wireless headphones by 44%, bringing the price down to $89.99. The headphones feature a lightweight, foldable design and are rated for over 100 hours of battery life.
Amazon commits to at least four years of security updates for Kindle devices, but its Kindle Updates page shows some models, like the 2024 Paperwhite and first-gen Colorsoft, are slated for coverage through 2030. Earlier this year Amazon fully cut off devices as old as the 2007 original Kindle and other pre-2012 models from downloading, purchasing or borrowing new books, though previously downloaded titles remain readable.
Amazon is selling the Sony WH-1000XM5 noise-cancelling headphones for $198, matching the lowest price the model has reached. The headphones include active noise cancellation, roughly 30 hours of battery life, and multipoint Bluetooth connectivity.
Garmin has unveiled the Enduro 4, a rugged smartwatch rated for up to 320 hours of battery life on a single charge. The watch shares the health and fitness tracking features found in Garmin's Fenix 9 Pro line.
Battery capacity refers to the maximum energy a battery can store, measured in mAh for phones and power banks or Wh for laptops, while battery life describes how long a device runs on a charge, usually in hours. Battery health is a separate percentage figure showing how much of the original capacity remains after repeated charge cycles. Google's Pixel 8a and later models are rated to retain 80 percent capacity after 1,000 full charge cycles.
Android Authority ran a reader poll asking how often people upgrade their smartwatch, offering options ranging from yearly upgrades to waiting until the device stops working. With seven votes recorded so far, 57% said they upgrade only when their smartwatch malfunctions, while 43% said they replace it every three to five years; no respondents chose annual, biennial upgrades, or not using a smartwatch at all.