Eliana Willis

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETApple finally rolled out a new entry-level phone in the iPhone 16e More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETThere it was: the unreleased Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge hanging on wires at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) show floor. Going into the morning of the Barcelona trade show, I knew I had to make a beeline to the Samsung booth to avoid yet another crowded photo-op with the upcoming Galaxy phone. So I got my badge, skipped to Hall 3, whipped out the DSLR, and started shooting.Also: Best of MWC 2025: The 7 most impressive products you shouldn’t missWith a phone as thin as the S25 Edge — it’s rumored to measure around 6mm — there’s one golden shot that every photographer tries to capture. It requires a steady hand, a bit of waiting for passersby to leave the frame, and just the right amount of focus on that sliver of side railing. The result? The essence of Samsung’s most innovative hardware update to the S line in years, pictured above.I’ll admit: even without holding the S25 Edge, I was ready to give up everything then and there. My Xiaomi 15 Ultra, suited in its photography kit, was already dragging down one side of my jacket. A lighter, thinner, more burdenless-to-carry phone wouldn’t have hurt. More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra is available for up to $800 off with a trade-in credit. This 14.6-inch tablet is a productivity powerhouse, packed with a strong processor and Galaxy AI tools perfect for work and play. The Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra isn’t super portable: it’s large and the keyboard […] More

ZDNETThere are several blood pressure monitors on the market, but few reliable smartwatches with that functionality. Chinese tech brand Huawei’s Watch D2 could change that.Huawei’s Watch D2 includes an ambulatory blood pressure monitoring device, the first wrist-based device of its kind. The wearable is certified by China’s National Medical Products Association and the EU’s Medical Device Regulation. According to Huawei, the device is one-fifth the width and 1/25th the volume of a traditional electronic blood pressure monitor, designed with portability and continuity in mind. The smartwatch is not for sale in the US.Also: The best blood pressure watches of 2025: Expert testedThe smartwatch can measure blood pressure at pre-set intervals for 24 hours to calculate averages and BP rhythms, supplemented by its TruSense System for improved speed and accuracy. This sort of blood pressure monitoring occurring over a day can help those with hypertension and cardiovascular issues get a clearer picture of their blood pressure for longer than a typical doctor’s visit. Several smartwatches have blood pressure monitor capabilities but require extra equipment. For example, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 can track your blood pressure with the help of the Samsung Health Monitor app; however, to use the feature, you need to calibrate it with a cuff-based blood pressure monitor. Samsung’s wearable also hasn’t received FDA approval as a BPM, so it can’t be used for diagnosis or treatment. The Apple Watch can aggregate your blood pressure data in its device but can’t take measurements itself.  More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways A premium quality pocket tool with a good selection of tools for under $30 All the tools are nice and sharp when new, and retain their sharpness even after extended use Because this is a pocket tool, don’t expect pliers or a lifetime warranty. –> For decades, I’ve been a big […] More

ZDNETFirst things first: ArcoPlasma (which is a spin of ArcoLinux) isn’t best suited for those with little to no Linux experience. I had a few issues with the distribution (such as the db.lck file blocking updates — which was an easy fix if you know what you’re doing), so keep that in mind as you read on. Even with those issues, I found ArcoPlasma to be a pretty groovy desktop OS. What are ArcoLinux and ArcoPlasma? ArcoLinux is an Arch Linux-based project focused on education and customization. ArcoLinux offers multiple ways to install the operating system, including 17 different ISO options catering to various user preferences and skill levels.  Also: How to install Arch Linux without losing your mindArcoLinux doesn’t assume anything about the user and offers both easy and advanced routes to installing the OS. The advanced installation is quite an impressive feat and allows you to select everything — from the kernel used all the way up to the desktop environment (and everything in between). ArcoPlasma is a specialized version of ArcoLinux that delivers a polished, feature-rich KDE Plasma desktop environment. Thanks to KDE Plasma, ArcoPlasma offers users a sleek, elegant interface that is intuitive and highly customizable. When all of that combines together, you wind up with a pretty impressive desktop operating system. What makes ArcoPlasma special? Also: 10 Linux apps I can’t do without — and whyIt’s all in the details… and the Arch Linux Tweak Tool. Tweaking ArcoPlasma I could go on and on about KDE Plasma, but needless to say, it’s beautiful. ArcoPlasma delivers the usual KDE Plasma elegance that is sure to please and impress everyone. The big-ticket item, however, is called the Arch Linux Tweak Tool. The Arch Linux Tweak Tool (ATT) is a powerful application that was designed for customizing ArcoLinux but eventually expanded to other Arch-based distributions, including vanilla Arch Linux, EndeavourOS, Manjaro, and several others.  Also: Bluestar Linux is a gorgeous MacOS-like take on KDE Plasma that’s easy to useArch Linux Tweak Tool is to ArcoLinux (and ArcoPlasma) what YaST is to openSUSE. Think of it as the Settings tool for the system. With ATT, you can configure things like auto-start, themes, which desktop to install, fastfetch information, fixes, grub (bootloader), login, mirrors, packages, pacman, privacy, services, shells, terminals, terminal fun, and more.  For those who only want to customize the desktop, use the default tool for that purpose (such as KDE Plasma System Settings). For everything else, use ATT.  More

Maria Diaz/ZDNETRight now, you can get a Ring Stick Up Cam Pro More

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETThe launch of ChatGPT sparked a generative AI craze, igniting a tech revolution that has forced companies to rapidly innovate to stay competitive in this evolving landscape. Although Apple was late to the AI race, its launch of Apple Intelligence promised a transformative overhaul, putting Siri at the center of the Apple ecosystem as a context-aware personal assistant. However, a new Bloomberg report suggests this vision may take longer to materialize than expected.When can you expect the AI-improved Siri?In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg correspondent and Apple watcher Mark Gurman reports that people within Apple’s AI division believe that the fully upgraded, conversational version of Siri won’t reach consumers until iOS 20 — which would place the release at around 2027. When Apple originally showed off the concept at WWDC last June, it was marketed as a personal assistant that seamlessly integrates into a user’s existing device ecosystem to provide meaningful behind-the-scenes help. Additionally, it would finally make Siri more conversational, enabling more human-like conversation, a highly requested upgrade.Also: I replaced my iPhone 16 Pro with the 16e for 24 hours – here’s everything I learnedHowever, since then, the company has rolled out only a handful of Apple Intelligence features, most of which have low helpfulness value. For example, users with eligible phones can now access Genmoji, Image Playground, notification summaries, writing tools, voicemail transcriptions, Visual Intelligence, and a ChatGPT integration. Ultimately, all of these features have fallen short, not adding much to the everyday smartphone experience. Apple Intelligence also continues to trail behind competitors. Just last week, Amazon launched Alexa+, a conversational voice assistant with agentic capabilities that allow it to perform everyday tasks for you. It also uses your personal context and habits to provide better assistance and is coming to Alexa-enabled products already in people’s homes. Two workaroundsBefore Amazon’s Alexa+ launch, Google and ChatGPT each unveiled their own AI-powered conversational assistants, Gemini Live and Advanced Voice Mode. These assistants understand your prompts in natural language, meaning you can speak to the AI as you would a friend. They also have multi-turn conversations, so you can keep the conversation going as long as you’d like without losing prior context.  More