Base Power, a company making rechargeable batteries for homes, has just raised a billion dollars to build more of them and help solve power shortages. When many people's home batteries work together, they can act like a giant power station, feeding electricity back to the grid during peak hours and taking pressure off the system. Worth knowing: if your electricity bills spike during certain times of day, home battery systems like these could eventually help smooth out those costs, though they're still an investment to consider carefully.
# Your Next Headphones Should Connect to Multiple Devices at Once
Bluetooth multipoint lets your headphones or earbuds stay connected to two devices simultaneously—say your phone and tablet—so you don't have to manually disconnect and reconnect every time you switch between them. If you spend your day moving between devices, this feature saves you from the annoying pairing dance and means you won't miss a call on your phone while watching something on your tablet. Worth knowing: before you buy new headphones, check the product specs or ask the salesperson whether they support multipoint connection, since many models still don't offer it despite being quite popular.
Samsung has decided to remove apps from its smart TVs that accidentally reveal your internet connection details to other people on the internet, a security weakness that hackers could potentially exploit. If your TV's apps aren't properly protected, someone could theoretically discover information about your home network without you knowing, which is a privacy risk many people would rather avoid. Worth knowing: when you update your Samsung TV in the coming months, some apps may disappear—this is actually Samsung protecting you, so you don't need to worry if a few apps vanish.
# Smartwatch vs Smart Ring for Health Tracking
Smartwatches show information on a visible screen and cost $200-400, while smart rings are tiny devices you wear on your finger that cost $250-500 and send data to your phone instead. Smart rings are better at tracking sleep and heart health because they sit closer to your skin, though smartwatches let you see your steps and messages at a glance without reaching for your phone. You can try wearing a basic fitness tracker for a week or two before spending money on either option, since the best choice really depends on whether you prefer checking a wrist screen or prefer something completely hidden.
The wireless earbud market is crowded with choices, but tech reviewers have narrowed down the best options worth considering. For someone thinking about upgrading their audio setup, picking a trusted recommendation saves time and money rather than guessing among dozens of similar-looking products. You can start by reading full reviews of the top-rated models to see which features matter most to you—things like battery life, comfort for all-day wear, and how well they block out background noise.
# How to Stop Your Phone from Overheating in the Car
Your phone can overheat quickly on hot days—especially when sitting in a car—because the sun heats the screen and the battery, which can damage the device permanently. Overheating also drains your battery faster and can shut down important features like navigation or emergency calls when you need them most. Worth knowing: keep your phone in the glove compartment or under a seat rather than on the dashboard, avoid using it while it's charging in the heat, and if it does get hot, turn it off for a few minutes to let it cool down naturally.
# Your Apple Watch Can Look Exactly How You Want It
Apple Watch faces are fully customizable—you can choose from dozens of pre-made designs and then add information like the weather, your calendar, or fitness rings that matter most to you. Making your watch face personal means you'll actually use the information displayed there rather than having generic details you don't care about. Worth knowing: you can long-press the current watch face to edit it, and swipe left or right to try different options until you find one that suits your style and needs.
Digital health tools that actually stick around are the ones that solve real problems and become as natural as brushing your teeth—not the flashy ones that lose your interest after a few weeks. For people in your age group, this means the health apps and devices worth using are those that genuinely simplify something you do regularly, like tracking medications or monitoring blood pressure, rather than those that promise miracles. Worth knowing: before downloading a new health app, ask yourself whether it fits into something you already do daily, or whether you're being asked to build an entirely new habit from scratch.
When a humanoid robot that uses gestures and facial expressions makes mistakes in conversation—like interrupting or giving bad advice—people become noticeably more suspicious of it than they would be of a silent, motionless robot making the same errors. Researchers discovered this by measuring people's brain activity and hormone levels while they chatted with a robot called Pepper, finding that expressiveness actually backfired when the robot got things wrong. Worth knowing: if you ever interact with robots designed to seem friendly and engaged, remember that their lifelike expressions don't make them more trustworthy—in fact, when they mess up, that human-like behavior can make the mistake feel worse.
Samsung has discovered that some apps on its smart TVs were quietly sharing users' internet connections with strangers without proper permission, and the company is now removing these apps from its devices. This matters because your internet connection can be used to hide someone else's identity online—potentially for harmful purposes—and you'd unknowingly be helping them while using your own bandwidth. Worth knowing: check your smart TV's app permissions (usually in Settings) and uninstall any apps you don't recognize or trust, especially ones that ask for unusual access to your network.
Modern car headlights have become dramatically brighter and whiter over the past few years, creating an unpleasant—and sometimes dangerous—glare for drivers in oncoming vehicles, even when high beams aren't deliberately turned on. Manufacturers have been competing to make headlights more powerful and efficient, which helps drivers see better but can temporarily blind people coming the other way, making nighttime driving more stressful and risky for everyone. You can try adjusting your mirrors to reduce glare and keeping your own headlights clean and properly aimed, but it's worth mentioning this problem to your eye doctor or optometrist if bright headlights are bothering you during evening drives.
# Chromebook Android Apps: Beyond the Play Store
Chromebooks can now run Android apps that aren't available in Google's official app store, giving you access to a wider selection of programs. This matters because some useful or specialized apps you might want simply aren't offered through the standard store, so having this option gives you more choice and flexibility. Worth knowing: installing apps this way requires downloading files from outside Google's ecosystem, so stick to trusted sources and be cautious about where you get these apps from.
