This was another busy week in tech news, with a big change on the way for Google Chrome, the arrival of Fedora Linux 43 and the new Affinity Photo app, more carriage disputes with YouTube TV, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.

The Big News

Affinity Is Now a Free Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator Alternative

Affinity Photo and the other Affinity apps have a popular alternative to Adobe software, especially since they didn’t require a subscription for access. Canva, the new owner of Affinity, has revealed a revamped version that is completely free to access. Continue reading...

Credit: Affinity

Google Is Readying a Big HTTPS Change for Chrome

Most of the web is now encrypted in transit with HTTPS, which has been a substantial improvement for privacy and security over regular HTTP websites. Now, Google Chrome is gearing up to take the next step: warning people when they try to visit non-secure websites. Continue reading...

Fedora Linux 43 Is Now Available. Here’s What’s New

Fedora 43, after a week-long delay, is out of beta today. It includes several updates to the community fork of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and all of its derivative distributions. Namely, GNOME got a version boost, there’s a new installer, and several packages have been upgraded. Continue reading...

Your Old Pixel Phone Now Has a Weird Limitation

Find Hub trackers are getting better... As long as you have one of just a handful of phones. See, as long as your phone supports UWB, you should be able to track a tag way more easily and with pointers in the right direction. Even if you do have UWB, though, it might not work. And this is what Pixel 6 Pro and Pixel 7 Pro users are now encountering. Continue reading...

Home Assistant Is Partnering With Yet Another Smart Home Brand

ELTAKO is officially joining the Works with Home Assistant program, bringing its relay switches and the first Matter relays to join the program. You may not immediately recognize the name, but ELTAKO’s little blue devices are used for smart building control across Europe. Continue reading...

Credit: Corbin Davenport / How-To Geek | Home Assistant

Your Samsung Galaxy S20 FE Just Got Its Last Security Update

The Galaxy S20 FE was a very popular phone. It was a cheaper alternative to the Galaxy S20 series that still had some flagship qualities, but at a considerably lower price. Now, though, it has officially reached the end of its lifespan. Continue reading...

Disney+ is Getting a Sweet Upgrade on These TVs

Samsung TV owners are about to be very happy, as the South Korean electronics giant announced yesterday that Samsung TVs will be the first to add support for HDR10+ on Disney+ and Hulu titles. Continue reading...

Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek

Outlook Finally Has Better iCloud Support

Microsoft Outlook has never supported Apple iCloud synchronization all that well, but that’s finally changing. There’s now better support for iCloud Mail, Calendar, and Contacts across most Outlook apps… with one exception. Continue reading...

Credit: Corbin Davenport / How-To Geek / Microsoft

The 1st and 2nd Gen Nest Thermostat Are Dead

One of the downsides of owning smart home tech is the possibility that it can become useless. It’s always a risk with devices that rely on cloud services. That’s exactly what’s happening to the first and second-generation Nest Thermostats—at least partially. Continue reading...

Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek | Google

YouTube TV Just Lost 20 Channels, and It Won’t Be the Last Time

Due to another round of ongoing negotiations, YouTube TV just lost access to all Disney-owned content, including channels like ESPN and ABC, among others. If you fire up the TV and realize YouTube TV is missing 20 stations, just know that they’ll likely be back soon, and this won’t be the last time it happens. Continue reading...

Nova Launcher May Have Just Received Its Final Update

Last month, one of Android’s most iconic home screen launchers announced its unfortunate demise. Nova Launcher’s death was a long time coming, but it turns out the team had one more update up its sleeves. However, this unexpected update has some pretty big asterisks. Continue reading...

Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek

GM drops Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in new vehicles

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto aren’t just “nice-to-have” tech—they actually make driving safer. Seeing the same apps and layouts you know from your phone on your car’s screen keeps things familiar, cutting down on distractions. Continue reading...

Credit: Chevrolet

AMD Just Told Us Exactly When to Expect Zen 6 Chips

Zen 5 chips have been out for a while, but the next big thing is already in development, as you might have been able to tell by the countless leaks and rumors. We know some things already, but nothing official. That is, at least, until now. Continue reading...

Credit: AMD

Another Google App Got Pulled From Wear OS Smartwatches

The difference between Wear OS skins is not as evident as it is between Android skins, but it’s there. Now, though, it’s increasingly getting more marked, as Google is slowly but steadily removing its apps from third-party watches. The latest one is Google Clock. Continue reading...

Credit: Josh Hendrickson / How-To Geek

Google Maps Is Testing an Ultra Power Saving Mode

Google Maps is an extremely useful tool that millions rely on for driving and navigation instructions, but if your phone runs out of battery, you’re in trouble. Smartphones have several battery-saving modes users can take advantage of, but now it sounds like Google’s busy building its own ultra-low-power mode specifically for Maps. Continue reading...

Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek

Windows 11 Can Now Extend Your Desktop to a Meta Quest Headset

If you have a Meta Quest headset, you can now use it as a multi-monitor setup for a Windows PC without third-party software. The app Mixed Reality Link is now available for most Windows 11 PCs. Continue reading...

Credit: Microsoft

You Can Now Fix Your iPhone 17 Yourself

The iPhone 17 has been out for a little over a month now, and for some people, that’s enough time to break their phones. If you already broke yours, the good part is that Apple is finally selling parts for these new phones. And in a pretty quick span, all things considered. Continue reading...

T-Mobile Just Made Paying Your Bill More Difficult

T-Mobile is making a major change to how customers can manage their bills when they fall behind, and it’s forcing everyone onto its app. Starting today, T-Mobile will no longer allow customers to set up a payment arrangement over the phone, in a retail store, or through the automated phone system. Continue reading...

Here’s Every Smart Speaker That’s Getting Gemini

Google is finally starting the rollout of its all-new Gemini for Home voice assistant to its lineup of smart speakers and displays. The big promise here is that Gemini is far more conversational and capable than the current Assistant, and if you have a compatible speaker, you can use it. Continue reading...

Credit: Google

Buying Things in Android Apps Is About to Look Different

The way payments work through Android apps from the Play Store is changing, and it’s all thanks to a court ruling. If you’re an Android user in the US, you now have access to more flexibility and potentially cheaper apps, but it won’t be immediately obvious where to look. Continue reading...

The Samsung Internet Browser Is Now Coming To Your PC

Samsung Internet, Samsung’s mobile browser on Android, is actually pretty good. One of the few Samsung apps that are available for other Android phones, as a matter of fact. Now, it’s coming to your PC. It’s not exactly new—more on that later—but it’s not bad. Continue reading...

The Fairphone 6 Finally Arrives In the United States

We recently reported on the release of the Fairphone 6. I really like Fairphones, but like every other phone that’s not from Samsung, OnePlus, or Apple, they’re not really sold in the United States. Now, that’s changing. Kind of. Continue reading...

Credit: Fairphone

Android Auto Is Getting Home Screen Widgets

Widgets are an essential part of the Android phone experience, but you’ve probably never thought about using them on your Android Auto display. Google appears to be working on exactly that, and it could be more useful than you might think. Continue reading...

TrueNAS 25.10 Arrives With Significant Performance Gains

TrueNAS, a popular operating system for home servers and NAS systems, just released its big 25.10 update. This version makes storage fast, simplifies management, and unifies storage in a way that’s more user-friendly than ever before. Continue reading...

NotebookLM Just Got A Massive Memory Upgrade

Google is rolling out a massive upgrade to NotebookLM. You can expect a whole new level of performance, including an 8x larger context window and 6x longer conversation memory, which were probably the most glaring issues with the app. Continue reading...

Credit: Google

Bazzite’s Fall Update Adds Support for More Handhelds

The developers of Bazzite, a gaming-focused Linux distribution based on Fedora, have announced a major fall 2025 release. It rebases Bazzite to the newly released Fedora 43 and adds support for a few new gaming handhelds and other peripherals. Continue reading...

YouTube Will Add ‘Super-Resolution’ to Some Videos

YouTube has videos dating back 20 years, and while it currently supports videos up to 8K, this wasn’t always the case—we used to not even have HD. Likewise, some newer videos uploaded today might still be under 720p. If you’ve ever come across one of these, thankfully, there’s a new option for you, which might either make things better or way worse. Continue reading...

Gboard’s Newest Feature Helps You Type Faster

On-screen keyboards are pretty great these days thanks to gesture typing and all sorts of autocorrect and next-word suggestion features. Things can always improve, which is why Google Keyboard, also known as Gboard, just got a nifty feature that’ll help you type faster. Continue reading...

Credit: Cory Gunther | Google

Excel for Windows Gets a Feature That Could Save You Hours

Microsoft has announced that Formula by Example, an intuitive tool that generates formulas based on patterns in your Excel spreadsheet, has arrived in Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows. Before now, this feature was only available in Excel for the web, so it’s a welcome extension if you prefer using the desktop version of the spreadsheet software. Continue reading...

Disney Gobbles Up Fubo TV in New Partnership

Disney and Fubo have officially completed a new deal that combines Fubo and Hulu + Live TV into one powerhouse. This should help the company better compete with YouTube TV and other rivals. Continue reading...

PNY’s Latest NVMe SSD Is Really, Really Fast

PCI Express Gen 5.0 is really, really fast, and where that’s most visible is in SSDs and their read-write speeds. Now, PNY just launched its latest PCIe Gen 5 SSD, and it’s really fast. Continue reading...

Credit: PNY

You Won’t Have to Take These Smart Lights Down for Years

GE Lighting just released its Cync Dynamic Effects Outdoor Smart Light Strips and new Cync Dynamic Effects Outdoor Smart Eave Lights. These are designed to give you DIY-friendly options to light up the outside of your home year-round. Continue reading...

Credit: Dynamic Effects

F-Droid Says Google Is Lying About the Future of Sideloading on Android

One of the biggest benefits Android has always offered is the freedom to own your device truly. Now, with a new developer decree, that freedom is in jeopardy—but Google claims that isn’t the case. Not everyone agrees. Continue reading...

Samsung Might Backtrack On The Z Fold 7’s Only Bad Change

The Galaxy Z Fold 7 launched two months ago, and yet, for all the improvements it’s packing, it’s also lacking a key thing: S Pen support. Now, though, its successor might pack a notable improvement in this aspect. Continue reading...

Credit: Justin Duino / How-To Geek

New Google Messages Feature Might Save Deleted Texts and Chats

Have you ever accidentally deleted a text message, or even worse, an entire conversation, and wished you could retrieve it from the trash? Apparently, Google Messages could be getting exactly that, as we see signs of a trash folder that’ll store messages or chats for a set amount of time. Continue reading...

Kensington’s Legendary Trackball Mouse Just Got an Insane Upgrade

Kensington just revealed the Expert Trackball Mouse TB800, a redesigned and upgraded version of the legendary Expert Trackball Mouse K72359WW. Available later this year (so, in like a month or two), the TB800 features a slimmer design than its predecessor, plus a wealth of new buttons and scroll wheels. Continue reading...

Credit: Kensington

Jellyfin’s Android TV Update Has a Big Upgrade for Music

Jellyfin for Android TV has officially released its latest update, version v0.19.0, and it brings some fantastic changes, especially if you’re a music lover. This time around, the music player finally lets you fast forward, rewind, or manually seek through your playing tunes. Continue reading...

Your Original Google Pixel Watch is Getting Its Last Update

Are you the proud owner of an original Google Pixel Watch? If so, we have some good and bad news. After rolling out the October 2025 update to the Pixel Watch 2 and Watch 3 earlier this month, Google is finally embracing its original model. Unfortunately, this is likely the last update your watch will get. Continue reading...

Credit: Joe Fedewa / How-To Geek

Samsung Showed Off Its Elusive Tri-Fold Hardware

Samsung’s foldable lineup is getting a new member. Eventually. At some point. Samsung’s tri-fold hardware has been so elusive you’d be forgiven for thinking of it as vaporwave despite the rumor mill and Samsung itself confirming it’s coming. Now, it has been officially teased, though we still don’t know much about it. Continue reading...

Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek | Samsung

You Might Actually Use Pro Mode With This Galaxy Camera Update

Samsung Galaxy phones have some of the best cameras on the market, and if you know what you’re doing, Pro Mode can take your photos to the next level. However, that’s the problem—not everyone knows what they’re doing. The controls are not exactly user-friendly, and Samsung is working on something that could make it better. Continue reading...

Credit: Justin Duino / How-To Geek

The WiiM Sound Is Here to Kick Out Your Amazon Echo

WiiM is finally jumping into the smart speaker game with the launch of the Sound, its first-ever smart speaker. It has a few impressive features compared to your average Google or Alexa speaker, including a 3.5mm audio jack and touchscreen controls. Continue reading...

Credit: WiiM

Google’s Gemini-Powered Health Coach is Rolling Out

Google first teased its new AI-powered Health Coach feature during the launch of the Pixel 10 and Pixel Watch 4 in August, and now it’s ready to roll out as a limited beta. Starting tomorrow, October 28th, Google will open the first public preview of its Gemini-powered Personal Health Coach for select users in the United States. Continue reading...

Your Next Hotel Stay Might Have Google TV

Have you ever wished the TV in your hotel room was better, had a more user-friendly interface, or was similar to what you have at home? If so, you might be in luck. Your next hotel stay might have a TV worth using thanks to DirecTV, which has partnered with Google TV to overhaul its platform in hotels starting in 2026. Continue reading...

Samsung’s Smart Home Hub 2 Runs Automations Without Internet

Samsung just released the Aeotec Smart Home Hub 2, and the best part is that it’s designed to keep your smart home running even if your internet drops out. Aeotec has made sure that your automations can continue operating as long as they don’t require the internet itself. Continue reading...

Credit: Samsung

Spotify on Apple TV Just Got a Huge Overhaul

The main issue you run into when you go for a more uncommon operating system, in general, is app support—the selection of apps is thinner, and the apps that do exist are not as feature-complete as they would be on other platforms. Spotify on Apple TV is finally becoming as decent as it is on other platforms. Continue reading...

Your Samsung Fridge’s New Update Gives You Ads While Tracking Your Food

Samsung is rolling out a new software update to owners of its Family Hub refrigerators. This will bring cool features like an upgrade to Bixby and smarter food tracking with AI, but it comes with curated advertisements on the cover screen. Continue reading...

Credit: Samsung

The OnePlus 15 Has Next-Level Water Protection

The year 2025 hasn’t even ended, and OnePlus has already been hard at work teasing what’s going to be its next phone, the OnePlus 15. Now, it’s launching in China, with lots of surprises. Continue reading...

Credit: OnePlus

No One Uploaded a Death Certificate To Your LastPass Account

For some scammers, phishing is an art. As people catch up on schemes, they need to come up with new and fresh ways to get people to fall into their schemes. This latest one, targeting LastPass users for the most part, is actually pretty clever. Continue reading...