Eliana Willis

The USB 2.0 data connectivity standard was introduced in April of 2000, with a data transfer rate of 480Mbps. Lightning, the connector standard used from the iPhone 5 to the iPhone 14, and the USB-C connector on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, use USB 2.0 signaling protocols and data transfer rates.The USB 3.1 data connectivity standard was introduced in July 2013, and the USB Type-C connector was finalized by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) in August 2014. USB 3.2 was introduced in September 2017, replacing, absorbing, and renaming the USB 3.1 specification.However, USB 3.1 Gen 2 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 data connectivity standards are the same, also known as SuperSpeed+, delivering 10 Gbps. Products labeled under either specification should work on the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone Pro Max at native speeds, especially if they are USB-IF certified.Thunderbolt is a proprietary technology owned by Intel and co-developed with Apple. It is a hardware interface for connecting external peripherals to a computer (a PC or a Mac). Thunderbolt version 3 is the basis for the USB4 specification, supports up to 40Gbps throughput, and is backward compatible with USB 3.2 Gen 2, which the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max are compatible with. USB Power Delivery (USB PD) is a fast charging standard delivered over USB-C cables, supporting up to 100W with Standard Power (SPR) and up to 240W with Extended Power (EPR) provided the cable and device support it. With USB PD, The cable “listens” to the device’s wattage needs and adjusts its energy flow accordingly. So, if you connect an 18W iPhone 15 to a cable that can support up to 240W, the charger brick and cable with USB PD support will throttle down to 18W maximum charge rate. More

A smartwatch is an excellent way to access cutting-edge technology directly at your fingertips (or about 7 inches away from your fingertips if we’re being literal). Smartwatches allow you to screen calls, check and send messages, and keep an eye on health and wellness metrics without needing to take out your phone. Unfortunately, such a versatile tool can come at a steep price. But as smartwatch tech has risen in performance, prices have dropped, meaning a smartwatch doesn’t have to cost a fortune to include excellent features. Also: The best Android smartwatches: Expert testedWhat is the best cheap smartwatch right now?We tested some of the top budget-friendly smartwatches that are still extremely high performers. Every watch in this list is a capable smartwatch that can be paired to your smartphone–and can be found for under $300. While the Apple Watch Ultra 2 More

Jason Hiner/ZDNETWhat’s the deal?Best Buy has slashed the price tag on each Sony Bravia X90L size option. The 55-inch display has gone from $1,170 down to $900 More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETDuring Samsung’s Unpacked event, Google announced that the new Galaxy S25 devices and the latest Pixel 9 phones will support Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) Audio. This feature isn’t exactly new for Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy phones, as the Pixel 8 and Galaxy S24 already supported LE Audio, but the added benefit is still worth noting.Also: Everything announced at Samsung Unpacked 2025: Galaxy S25 Ultra, AI features, and moreCompatibility with LE Audio makes the phones function better when paired with the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro earbuds, and other Auracast-enabled Bluetooth speakers, headphones, earbuds, and hearing aids. Here’s what else you gain from the free upgrade.Broadcast audio from one device to many othersThe LE Audio Bluetooth protocol includes Auracast, a Bluetooth feature that allows users to broadcast audio from one device to many other devices. For example, if you’re watching a YouTube video on your Galaxy S25 smartphone through your Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, a nearby friend can listen to it with their Auracast-enabled headphones.Also: Is Samsung’s new upgrade program for the Galaxy S25 worth it? Here’s the breakdownGalaxy S25 users can also tune into Auracast broadcasts with their Galaxy Buds. In this instance, your smartphone acts as a broadcast assistant, allowing you to connect to a broadcast, such as a silent TV in a sports bar or gym. Connect your Galaxy Buds to your smartphone, and the earbuds act as the broadcast receiver, allowing you to listen to the broadcast privately. More

ZDNETTexts are an important facet of mobile life. We use texts for myriad purposes, and knowing they are there, waiting for you to respond or simply to fondly review what someone has said or sent, brings comfort.But sometimes, we accidentally (or intentionally) delete a text that we shouldn’t have. We’ve all done it. When that happens, you might not realize you needed to keep that text around, but eventually, you might realize that, yes, a certain text was necessary to have and to hold. Also: 5 hidden Android features that can simplify your lifeWhat do you do? Although it is possible that the text is gone for good, there is also a chance that you can retrieve it. In fact, there are three ways to retrieve a recently deleted text. Let’s explore.How to retrieve your recently deleted texts on Android devicesMethod 1: From ArchivesWhat you’ll need: For this method, you’ll need an Android device connected to your Google account. This method depends on how you removed the message. If a message was deleted, it cannot be retrieved this way. Because of that, I suggest you customize the swipe actions in Messages (Messages > Settings > Swipe Actions) so that swiping right archives and swiping left deletes. Once you’ve done that, make sure to archive messages instead of deleting them. You can then delete the archive after a given period. More

ZDNETT-Mobile customers should be happy to know that the Uncarrier was crowned the mobile speed king based on a new report from Speedtest app provider Ookla. Analyzing and comparing mobile performance among the three top US carriers from July to December 2024, Ookla found that T-Mobile provided the fastest speeds across all types of connections and specifically for 5G.Led the packBased on data from users running Speedtest, T-Mobile delivered a median download speed of 212.77 Mbps, outscoring AT&T at 95.08 Mbps and Verizon Wireless at 86.23 Mbps. The Uncarrier also led the pack for the median upload speed at 11.45 Mbps and the lowest latency at 49 ms.Also: T-Mobile customers can score a new Galaxy S25 series smartphone for free. Here’s howOn the 5G front, T-Mobile was clocked at a median download speed of 281.52 Mbps and a median upload speed of 13.39 Mbps. Those numbers helped it win top grades for the fastest 5G network and the best 5G gaming experience. In second place, Verizon recorded a median download 5G speed of 199.1 Mbps, followed by AT&T at 140.09 Mbps. But Verizon did eke out a win here for the best 5G video experience.Consistent network performanceSpeed doesn’t do much good without consistent performance. And here, T-Mobile also came out on top. The company recorded the best network consistency in the US with more than 85% of its data samples meeting or surpassing a threshold of 5 Mbps for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads. T-Mobile also led for consistency and availability in 5G performance.Further, the Uncarrier was rated as the top US mobile provider by customers with a score of 3.7 out of 5, ahead of Verizon at 3.29 and AT&T at 3.12. Overall, T-Mobile took home a speed score of 222.63, followed by Verizon with 113.2, and AT&T with 111.07. The speed score is a combination of download and upload performance that takes into account modern chipsets so as not to penalize older and slower devices.Why was T-Mobile able to outperform the other two major US carriers?”T-Mobile has built a sizable lead on 5G performance, thanks mainly to early deployment in mid-band spectrum,” Mark Giles, lead industry analyst at Ookla, told ZDNET. “It continues to advance its performance, with the introduction of 5G Standalone, despite both Verizon and AT&T seeing significant improvements thanks to their deployments in C-band spectrum.” More

ZDNETThe idea of querying a remote LLM makes my spine tingle — and not in a good way. When I need to do a spot of research via AI, I opt for a local LLM, such as Ollama.If you haven’t yet installed Ollama, you can read about it my guide on how to install an LLM on MacOS (and why you should). You can also install Ollama on Linux and Windows, and, given that the Firefox extension works on all three platforms, you can be sure that whatever desktop OS you use will work.Also: My 5 favorite web browsers – and what each is ideal forUsing Ollama from within the terminal window is actually quite easy, but it doesn’t give you such obvious access to other features (such as LLM/Prompt selection, image upload, internet search enable/disable, and Settings).The free extension I will point out works on Firefox, Zen Browser (one of my favorites), and others.Let’s get to that extension.How to install the Page Assist extension in FirefoxWhat you’ll need: To make this work, you’ll need Ollama installed and running, as well as the Firefox browser. That’s it. Let’s make some magic. More