The everyday tech stories our desk judged worth your time, written so anyone can follow them.
Oukitel's WP63 rugged phone has a pop-out heating coil that can light paper and dry leaves, plus night vision and a 20,000 mAh battery. It is $339 for now.
Read more: A rugged Android phone has a built-in fire starter and night visionEU regulators say TikTok's recommendation system can lead users into loops of harmful videos, putting the app one step closer to a new fine.
Read more: EU says TikTok's feed pushes users toward harmful videosWhatsApp now lets you send recent group messages to someone new, so they are not lost on day one. Admins can switch the option off.
Read more: WhatsApp lets you share recent chat history with new group membersAndroid Authority still calls the Apple Watch Series 12 superb, but says Google's rival watch has closed the gap, which gives shoppers a real choice.
Read more: Apple Watch Series 12 is still great, but Google's watch has caught upGoogle's $180 Fitbit Edge is a comfortable everyday tracker, but a Tom's Guide reviewer found its button, workout tools and GPS battery use fall short.
Read more: Google's $180 Fitbit Edge tracker has a button that does very littleTesla will reportedly wind down the Cybertruck at its Texas plant as Elon Musk turns the company toward robotics and AI. Owners and buyers should take note.
Read more: Tesla plans to stop making the Cybertruck at its Texas factoryThe Los Angeles County Sheriff says scammers use AI to copy voices and faces of people you trust, so a familiar voice asking for money is no longer proof.
Read more: Sheriff warns scammers now fake voices and videos of people you knowSpotify is testing a separate Pins shelf in its mobile app, which could cut scrolling for people with big libraries. It is only a test for now.
Read more: Spotify is testing a separate shelf for your pinned musicChainalysis says an AI-driven attack exposed names, usernames, password hashes and live tokens for every user, and key services are offline.
Read more: Chainalysis says hackers got every customer's login detailsGoogle fixed a daylight saving time bug that threw off schedules on some Nest and Lenovo smart devices. A quick check can confirm yours is back on track.
Read more: Google fixes daylight saving bug on Nest and Lenovo smart devicesA UK survey finds only 49% of recent texts came from someone people know, and many adults are deleting real messages from friends by mistake.
Read more: Fewer than half of our texts now come from people we knowThe Fitbit Edge's GPS can last about 25 hours instead of about eight with one setting change, and a test found accuracy held up. You just need your phone.
Read more: A hidden Fitbit Edge setting can triple GPS battery lifeThe Enough Phone has a 5.3-inch screen and a swappable battery, and it offers a mode that blocks social media, games and web browsers. Price and date are unknown.
Read more: The Enough Phone is a small, calm phone for people tired of big screensNews18 published a guide to spotting a hijacked WhatsApp account, and a takeover can put your friends, family and customers at financial risk.
Read more: How to tell if your WhatsApp was hacked and get it backMark Cuban says Facebook knowingly runs AI deepfake scam ads. Documents cited in the story reportedly show $16 billion in fraud-linked revenue.
Read more: Mark Cuban says Facebook knowingly profits from deepfake scam adsThe 2026 iPad mini swaps in a bigger OLED screen and a faster chip, but it now costs just $50 less than the larger iPad Air.
Read more: Apple's new iPad mini gets a brighter, bigger screen and a higher priceUniversities in Australia are giving more students access to ChatGPT and building AI into classes, so new graduates may arrive at work already used to it.
Read more: Australian universities are bringing ChatGPT to more studentsFraudsters are calling people across Canada from what looks like the real Stephenville RCMP line, claiming you are a fraud victim. Here is how to spot it.
Read more: Scam callers are posing as Stephenville police using the real numberChatGPT's Images 2.6 update turns a photo into an animated GIF from a plain request, and it can remember a favorite picture so you do not have to upload it again.
Read more: ChatGPT can now turn a photo into an animated GIFFake Windows warnings, served through ads on real websites, tell people to call a scam number. The same kit reached users at 80 organizations since March.
Read more: Fake Windows virus warnings on trusted sites push people to call scammersResearchers found proxy software moving traffic through the White House network. The same hidden apps can turn your TV, router or free VPN into a tool for strangers.
Read more: Hidden Apps Let Strangers Borrow Your Internet Address, Even at the White HouseThinking Machines' new Inkling 2 Small scores like a Google model in one AI test but costs far less to run. It is not widely available yet.
Read more: New AI model from Thinking Machines matches a Google rival at a lower costBluesky logged its highest daily posts, replies and likes of 2026 on election night, a sign of where people go when big news breaks.
Read more: Bluesky had its busiest day of 2026 on election nightHumble Robotics raised $51 million to build driverless electric trucks with no cab, aiming at short routes that carry most US freight by weight.
Read more: Startup raises $51M for driverless electric trucks with no cab
