Foldable phones are reshaping the mobile industry, with Samsung and Apple leading the charge. Both companies are focused on solving one of the most persistent challenges in foldable technology: eliminating visible creases in displays. The Galaxy Z Fold 8 from Samsung and Apple’s anticipated iPhone Fold represent the latest advancements in this field, each employing […]
The post iPhone Fold vs. Galaxy Z Fold 8: One of These Just Solved the Biggest Foldable Flaw appeared first on Geeky Gadgets.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has sent a cease and desist letter to xAI, days after his office launched an official investigation into the company over reports that Grok was generating nonconsensual
If you’ll recall, xAI and Grok have been under fire for taking images of real individuals and putting them in revealing clothing like bikinis upon random users’ requests.
Bonta’s office demands that xAI immediately cease and desist from creating “digitized sexually explicit material” when the depicted individual didn’t consent to it or if the individual is a minor. It also demanded that xAI stop “facilitating or aiding and abetting the creation… or publication of digitized sexually explicit material” of nonconsenting individuals and persons under 18 years of age.
X changed its policies after the issue broke out and prevented the Grok account from being able to edit images of real people into revealing clothing. xAI also moved Grok’s image-generating features behind a paywall and geoblocked paying users’ ability to edit images of real people into bikinis, but only in regions where it’s illegal.
In his announcement, Bonta said xAI developed a “spicy mode” for Grok to generate explicit content and used it as a marketing point. The California AG also said that Grok-generated sexual images are being used to harass both public figures and ordinary users. “Most alarmingly, news reports have described the use of Grok to alter images of children to depict them in minimal clothing and sexual situations,” Bonta’s announcement reads.
“The actions above violate California law, including California Civil Code section 1708.86, California Penal Code sections 311 et seq. and 647(j)(4), and California Business & Professions Code section 17200,” it said. The state’s Department of Justice now expects to hear from xAI on the steps it’s taking to address these issues within the next five days.
xAI has been producing deepfake nonconsensual intimate images used to harass women & girls across the internet.
— Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) January 16, 2026
This is unacceptable. We’re demanding immediate answers on their plan to stop the creation & spread of this content.
We’ll use all tools at our disposal to keep… pic.twitter.com/2elGTV0wRq
AirPods work most smoothly with Apple hardware, but they also connect reliably to Android phones, Windows laptops and other Bluetooth devices. The pairing process depends on the platform in use although the basics remain the same. Once the AirPods are placed in pairing mode, most devices detect them quickly and handle the remaining steps in the background. The guide below explains how to pair AirPods with Apple products, how the process differs on newer iPhones that support H2 features and how to connect them to non-Apple devices.
Apple builds AirPods to pair almost instantly with devices in its own ecosystem. Opening the charging case near an unlocked iPhone or iPad usually brings up an on-screen prompt. Tapping Connect links the earbuds to the device and to every other Apple product signed into the same iCloud account. After that, switching between devices is automatic. Audio output follows the active device as long as each product is using updated software and is signed in with the same Apple ID.
If the pairing prompt does not appear, there are a few simple checks that help things move along. Opening the Control Center and selecting the audio output menu confirms whether the AirPods already appear as an available device. If they are listed there, choosing them establishes the connection. If they do not appear, opening the Settings app and checking Bluetooth usually reveals whether the AirPods are in range or already recognized. Opening the case while viewing the Bluetooth menu often triggers the pairing card once more.
The process is similar across Apple Watch and Mac. When the AirPods are already linked to an iPhone, they tend to show up automatically on a paired Apple Watch. On Mac, opening System Settings and viewing the Bluetooth section reveals the same device list seen on an iPhone. Selecting the AirPods from that list completes the connection and also syncs the pairing status back to every other Apple device using the same account.
Some newer iPhones support features enabled by the H2 chip used in newer AirPods models. With compatible AirPods, models such as iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max and the iPhone 16 lineup tend to deliver a faster and more responsive setup experience. When an AirPods case is opened near one of these phones, the device quickly detects the earbuds and displays the pairing card with little delay. This also tends to speed up transitions between devices and improves reliability when switching audio sources.
If the fast pairing prompt does not appear on a newer iPhone, reopening the case while the phone is unlocked is usually enough to reinitiate the process. It also helps to confirm that Bluetooth is turned on. Placing the AirPods back in the case for a few seconds and trying again will often reset the pairing state if the earbuds were connected elsewhere.
Every AirPods model supports a manual pairing mode. This is essential when linking the earbuds to devices outside the Apple ecosystem, or when the automatic prompt fails to appear on an iPhone or Mac. On older AirPods models, pairing mode is activated by opening the lid and pressing and holding the setup button on the back of the case until the LED light flashes white. Newer models, including AirPods 4 and AirPods Pro 3, use a touch-based method instead. With the lid open, tapping the area near the LED light places the earbuds into pairing mode. Leaving the lid open keeps the AirPods discoverable for nearby devices. Closing the case ends the process and requires it to be repeated if the device fails to detect them.
Pairing mode does not remove any previous connections. It simply makes the AirPods available to new devices, which is helpful when switching between ecosystems. However, connecting to a new device usually takes priority. If the AirPods are already linked to something else that is nearby, turning off Bluetooth on the previously connected device prevents interference and helps the new device detect them more easily.
Although AirPods are designed for Apple hardware, they function like any other Bluetooth earbuds on Android. Opening the case and placing the AirPods in pairing mode allows Android phones to detect them through the standard Bluetooth menu. The earbuds appear in the list of available devices and selecting them initiates the connection. Once paired, AirPods work for calls and media playback. Some features, such as automatic ear detection and battery status indicators, may require a third-party app on Android and are not supported at a system level. Features such as spatial audio and device switching remain exclusive to Apple’s ecosystem but day-to-day performance is consistent on Android.
If the AirPods fail to appear, refreshing the Bluetooth device list on the Android phone usually helps. Making sure the earbuds are still in pairing mode is essential since the white LED indicator stops flashing after a short period. Reopening the case and holding the button again, or tapping on the front for newer models, restores discoverability.
Windows 11 handles AirPods as a regular audio device. Opening the Bluetooth and Devices menu in System Settings displays a list of nearby accessories. With the AirPods in pairing mode, the laptop should detect them and display them as an audio device. Selecting them completes the process and adds the earbuds to the device’s known accessories. Windows generally reconnects to AirPods automatically on future sessions as long as Bluetooth remains enabled.
If the earbuds do not appear in the list, toggling Bluetooth off and back on helps the system refresh the device scan. Checking whether the AirPods are already linked to a different device is another useful step. Windows sometimes struggles to take over a connection when the earbuds remain in range of a previously paired phone so disabling Bluetooth on the other device often resolves the issue.
Most pairing problems come down to the AirPods not being in discoverable mode or being connected to another device nearby. Resetting the earbuds solves many problems. On AirPods models with a setup button, placing the AirPods in the case, leaving the lid open and holding the button until the LED turns amber then white restores the factory pairing state. On newer models without a physical button, place the AirPods in the case, close the lid for about 30 seconds, then open it and quickly tap the front of the case three times. The status light should then flash amber and then white, to indicate that the reset is complete. This clears previous connections and makes the AirPods behave as if they are new out of the box.
Low battery levels can also interrupt pairing. Ensuring both the earbuds and the case have enough charge prevents unexpected disconnections during setup. Interference from other wireless accessories affects pairing on crowded networks. Moving to a quieter spot or turning off surrounding Bluetooth devices helps the AirPods stand out when scanning.
AirPods are built to pair quickly with Apple devices but they also integrate smoothly with other platforms. Keeping the earbuds in pairing mode and confirming that Bluetooth is enabled on the device in use ensures a smooth setup every time. Once connected, the AirPods tend to remember the device and reconnect whenever they are nearby which keeps day-to-day use simple regardless of the platform.
What if you could take the chaos of scattered research, endless documents, and overwhelming data and turn it into something clear, actionable, and even inspiring? Grace Leung walks through how NotebookLM, Google’s innovative AI platform, is reshaping the way professionals approach productivity and creativity. Imagine uploading dozens of files, PDFs, spreadsheets, or overviews, and seeing […]
The post Plan, Learn & Present Faster with NotebookLM and Gemini 3 Together appeared first on Geeky Gadgets.
I came out of my CyberGhost review with a positive opinion, feeling it had earned its spot in my best VPN roundup. However, even an expert review is subjective, and there's a chance CyberGhost will not work for you. If that’s the case, here's how to cancel your subscription.
Cancelling your CyberGhost subscription won't end it right away, unless you delete your account or get the refund (I'll explain how to do both of those later). Instead, the way to cancel CyberGhost is to stop your subscription from renewing at the end of each billing period. Once you've done that, you can keep using CyberGhost until your current period ends.
The following steps will cancel auto-renewal if you got CyberGhost through its website. If you bought it through an app store instead, see the next section.
Open your browser and go to cyberghostvpn.com.
At the top-right of the screen, click the box labeled My Account. Enter your username and password if you aren't logged in already.
Look at the top-right corner of the new screen and click the CyberGhost logo next to your email address. From the drop-down menu, select Subscriptions.
Find the subscription you want to cancel and select Cancel Subscription.
When prompted, click Continue to Cancel.
This will turn off automatic billing for your account. The next time you would have been billed, your subscription will expire. You can resubscribe by purchasing another term. If you're within the refund period — 14 days for a monthly subscription and 45 days for all others — you can now request your money back.
When you subscribe to an app through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, the store handles the billing; the app provider doesn't process the money itself. If you bought CyberGhost through an app store and want to cancel, you'll have to ask the app store in question, not CyberGhost. Here's how to do it.
If you subscribed through the Apple App Store, you'll need to cancel through your Apple ID. Here are the steps.
Open the Settings app on your home screen.
At the top of the Settings menu, you'll see your name. Tap it.
In your Apple Account menu, tap Subscriptions.
Scroll until you find your CyberGhost subscription, then tap on it.
Tap the words Cancel Subscription, then follow the prompts.
Here's what to do if you subscribed through the Google Play store. Similar to the Apple process, you'll go through the list of subscriptions on your profile.
Open the Google Play Store app.
Tap the circle in the top-right corner with the first letter of your name.
Find the Payments & Subscriptions menu and tap on it. On the next menu that appears, tap Subscriptions.
Scroll down until you find your CyberGhost subscription. Tap on it, then click Cancel Subscription.
Follow the prompts to complete cancellation.
Before you set out to delete your CyberGhost account altogether, make sure you've cancelled auto-renew first by following the steps in the previous section. If you don't, you might still be charged for the subscription you're not using, and it's a huge hassle to end that without an account.
Once you've done that, log into your account on cyberghostvpn.com and click on your account profile at the top-right, just like when you canceled auto-renewal. Below the username/password window and the message about an activation key, you'll see the words Delete My Account in tiny letters.
Click on them. On the page that appears, select Delete My Account again. Follow any more prompts you're given to annihilate your username for good (note that you can't use it again afterwards).
To get a refund on your CyberGhost subscription, you have to be inside the window for the plan you chose. With a monthly plan, the refund period is 14 days. For all other plans, it's 45 days. If this time has elapsed, there's unfortunately no way to get your money back.
If you are within the refund period, you can get your money by sending a request through customer support. You can email support@cyberghost.ro, submit a ticket through this link or open a live chat conversation by clicking the Live Chat button at the bottom-right of any page on cyberghostvpn.com. No matter what method you choose, the conversation will go faster if you have your order number on-hand — check your inbox if you don't know it.
If you went through an app store, you'll need to request your money back from that platform instead. Apple and Google Play handle their own monetary transactions, which means they also process refunds.
After you've cancelled and/or deleted CyberGhost out of your life, you still need a VPN; the benefits of masking your IP address and changing your virtual location don't go anywhere. You can check out my best list (linked at the top) or best free VPN roundup for ideas, or check out the review for my favorite service, Proton VPN.
Proton VPN is my top choice because of its focus on user freedoms and attention to quality in everything it does. If you're willing to pay a bit more for extreme simplicity and total reliability, ExpressVPN is ideal for beginners. If you're a speed demon and just want to keep your downloads fast, go with Surfshark.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/how-to-cancel-cyberghost-and-get-a-refund-130000311.html?src=rssOne thing that the world has been learning the past few years is that people deal with grief differently. That’s why we can never judge how people react to death of loved ones, beloved pets, other living creatures, and even life changes. Artists and creative people in particular sometimes have profound ways of honoring whatever it is that they have lost.
When a 65-year-old oak tree in Steve Parker’s front yard died from a fungal disease called oak wilt, he wanted to create a tribute to this tree that served as a refuge for migratory birds in their area. What he created was a sound sculpture, a record player that could play actual discs with bird songs, a fitting honor to the life and legacy of the tree.
Designer: Steve Parker
Parker cut the trunk of the diseased tree into “wood cookies” or cross-sectional slices. He then carved grooves directly into the discs to create playable records. He then built a victrola or record player that is specifically designed to play the wooden records. This player is placed on a pedestal and the round tree slices are displayed on the walls behind it.
What plays on the wooden records is equally special. He etched the songs of migratory birds that once nested in the oak tree. You hear a scratchy, wooden sound which actually reminds you of that branch that would hit the side of an old farm house, which can be nostalgic or creepy depending on your experience of it.
Creating these wooden records wasn’t easy. Live oak is notoriously difficult to work with because it cracks as it dries, and many woodworkers avoid it entirely. But Parker saw those imperfections as part of the piece’s authenticity. Those cracks and warps in the sound aren’t flaws, they’re features that honor the tree’s natural character even in death.
But the wooden records are only part of “Funeral for a Tree.” Parker also created a companion sculpture called “Sheng Shrine”: a plant-like, valve-driven instrument built from salvaged brass valves from euphoniums and trumpets, copper tubing, and breathing bags. What makes this piece particularly moving is what animates it: CPAP machines and ventilators, the same medical equipment used to help people breathe when they’re ill.
These breathing machines give life to discarded Chinese shengs (mouth organs). The sheng is traditionally associated with the phoenix, and the word itself means life, voice, and sound in Mandarin. Parker collaborated with sheng virtuoso Jipo Yang, who interpreted the bird calls and performed short compositions around them. The sounds you hear include the clicks of tiny relays, the grunts of air pumps that almost sound like snores, and the wheezing as air pushes through the reeds. It’s mechanical yet deeply emotional.
There’s another layer to this work that makes it even more poignant. Parker realized that his grief for the tree echoed the loss of his father to cancer. Both were slow, inevitable declines where care could not prevent loss. When his father was really sick, Parker’s family monitored his breathing to assess his comfort and sense where his body was going. Those CPAP machines and ventilators in “Sheng Shrine” carry those memories. They’re devices associated with life support, transformed into instruments that give breath to dead instruments playing songs for a dead tree.
What makes “Funeral for a Tree” so powerful is that it’s not Steve Parker performing a requiem for the tree. It’s the tree performing its own memorial service. The wood itself becomes the instrument, the bird songs it once sheltered become the music, and the breath that once rustled through its leaves is replaced by mechanical breathing that keeps the dirge alive.
In transforming something most people would haul away as waste into a functioning musical instrument, Parker reminds us that grief doesn’t have to be silent or passive. Sometimes the most profound way to honor a loss is to let it speak for itself, to give it voice and breath and let it tell its own story. In doing so, he’s created something that transcends the personal: a meditation on memory, loss, and the ways we try to hold onto what’s gone.
The post An Artist Carved His Dead Oak Into Records That Play Bird Songs first appeared on Yanko Design.
Welcome to our latest roundup of what's going on in the indie game space. Several neat-looking games arrived this week, we got release dates for several others that I'm really looking forward to and a brand-new Steam festival was announced.
The Love, Romance, and Heartbreak Debutante Ball is said to be the first Valentine's Day-themed Steam festival. It'll run from February 13 to 20 and feature more than 100 games, including discounts and demos. A showcase will take place on February 13 at 1PM ET on the Sunny Demeanor Games YouTube channel too.
Organizers say the festival includes a wide variety of games about love, including RPGs, puzzle games and (naturally) visual novels. You might play as a cat or someone trying to fish an engagement ring out of a claw machine, as a secret agent or a couple that's run off to another planet. I'm intrigued! There will be some NSFW games involved, for what it's worth.
Quarantine Zone: The Last Check seems like a 3D version of Papers Please but with zombies. At a checkpoint amid a zombie outbreak, your mission is to screen survivors for signs of infection. If you're unsure of their status, you can send an individual to quarantine for further observation or a lab for additional screening. Otherwise, you can let them in or send them to "liquidation." Get things wrong and it could spell disaster, but at least you have a sidearm (and a weaponized drone) to help you deal with sticky situations.
It looks like there's a lot going on in Quarantine Zone: The Last Check, which is from Brigada Games and publisher Devolver Digital. There are base and resource management aspects as well. It's out now on Steam (usually $20, but there's a 10 percent discount until January 26) and PC Game Pass.
Air Hares seems to draw inspiration from classic top-down shoot-'em-ups. But instead of simply blowing up countless ships, your mission is to restore farmland. You'll fire seeds and water to turn barren land into fertile carrot fields. There are still enemies to contend with — you (and perhaps a co-op partner) can dodge and ram them as you try to protect the land. Expect boss battles, too.
I really like the aesthetic here. It has a '90s-style cartoon look (I suddenly really want a modern Bucky O'Hare game). Also, the song from the trailer is going to live in my head for weeks.
Husband-and-wife team Tim and Megan Bungeroth created Air Hares over six years with the help of several contributors. According to a press release, the game is "inspired by the creators’ personal journey with infertility and the idea of creating life rather than destroying it."
Air Hares is out now on Steam. It typically costs $9, but there's a 20 percent discount until January 28.
Luckshot Games' Big Hops looks like my kind of 3D platformer: joyous and playful. As a young frog who has been kidnapped, you'll try to find airship parts for a raccoon who has promised to help get you home.
There are tons of movement mechanics here, and Hop's tongue plays a major role in those. You can use it to swing across gaps, hookshot your way to higher platforms and solve puzzles.
Big Hops is out now on Steam, Nintendo Switch and PS5 for $20. The Switch and Steam versions have a 10 percent launch discount until January 19.
Cassette Boy is a pixel-art game that might appear to be a 2D exploration puzzler, but there's more going on here. You can rotate the world to discover new secrets and hide enemies and hazards from view so you can move past them. If you can't see something on your screen, it doesn't exist. There's a bit of a Fez influence here, it would appear.
Wonderland Kazakiri and publisher Pocketpair are behind this one, which I'm looking forward to checking out when I have a chance. Cassette Boy is available on Steam, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S for $13.
I really enjoyed the demo for Aerial_Knight’s DropShot (as well as Aerial_Knight’s previous games). I'm for sure going to be playing the full game when it hits PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Steam and Epic Games Store on February 17.
This is a single-player first-person shooter in which you're skydiving with finger guns. You compete with four enemies to grab the only available parachute as you're falling through the air. Rounds are fast-paced too, generally lasting under a minute.
Point-and-click adventure Earth Must Die has been on my radar for a while and we'll all get a chance to try it soon. It's designed to be a playable cartoon (with a runtime of about eight hours) and it has an art style to match.
The cast is pretty stellar, with Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Hades II), Joel Fry (Our Flag Means Death) and a whole load of British comedy figures on board. There's a demo available on Steam now and the full game — from Size Five Games and publisher No More Robots — will land on January 27.
Let's wrap things up for this week something very silly-looking from Monster Shop Games. Pie in the Sky is a Tony Hawk's Pro Skater-inspired action arcade game in which you play as a magpie that terrorizes bystanders. You can knock people off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, ram kids off of scooters, actually go skateboarding and, uh, cause havoc from above. In classic THPS-style, there are hidden areas too.
This looks like a fun distraction from [gestures at everything]. Pie is the Sky will swoop onto Steam on February 2.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/papers-please-but-with-zombies-a-farming-based-shoot-em-up-and-other-new-indie-games-worth-checking-out-123000437.html?src=rssThe Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, set to debut on February 25, 2024, at the Samsung Unpacked event in San Francisco, represents a significant evolution in Samsung’s flagship smartphone lineup. By combining refined design elements, innovative hardware, and thoughtful software enhancements, the Galaxy S26 Ultra aims to deliver a device that balances innovation with everyday usability. […]
The post Everything You Need to Know About the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra appeared first on Geeky Gadgets.
What if accessing innovative AI didn’t have to break the bank? In a bold move to make advanced artificial intelligence more accessible, OpenAI has officially launched ChatGPT Go worldwide, and it’s already making waves. As highlighted by the host in a recent YouTube breakdown, this new subscription tier is priced at just $8 per month […]
The post ChatGPT Go Goes Worldwide, with GPT-5.2 Instant, Clear Ad Labels, and Extended Memory appeared first on Geeky Gadgets.
Apple is reportedly preparing to launch the M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pros in late January 2026, possibly on the 28th of January. This announcement follows the quiet release of the base M5 MacBook Pro in October 2025. The upcoming models are expected to introduce a modular chip design, allowing users to customize configurations […]
The post Apple’s January Surprise: M5 Pro & M5 Max MacBook Pros Rumored for Jan 28 Launch appeared first on Geeky Gadgets.