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    in Information Technology

    This thermostat mistake was costing me hundreds: 3 tips to get the best temperature control

    Maria Diaz/ZDNETHave you ever found yourself in a thermostat tug-of-war? One room feels like a sauna, another like an icebox, all while your trusty thermostat claims your home is at a perfectly average and comfortable 72 degrees?The truth is, you’re probably not imagining things, and the culprit could be hanging right there on your wall. As it turns out, where your thermostat is located can make a world of difference to both your comfort and your energy bills.Also: How to disable ACR on your TV (and why doing so makes such a big difference)Chances are, your thermostat is not located in the sweet spot for accurate whole-home temperature readings. In a way, your thermostat is the brain of your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. It senses the air temperature and tells your system when to kick on and when to take a break. But what if it’s getting a skewed version of reality? According to experts, this is a common scenario, and it’s likely costing you money. Here are some tips for where to avoid installing your thermostat, and the best places to do it instead. More

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    in Information Technology

    This hidden Pixel camera setting gave my photos the pop they’ve been missing

    Kerry Wan/ZDNETOne reason why the Pixel phones are so popular is the camera. There’s a depth, a level of clarity, and brilliant/accurate colors that most phone cameras cannot match.Also: How to clear your Android phone cache (and why it greatly improves performance)Google is always trying to one-up itself by improving the Pixel camera with every iteration. Back with the Pixel 8, Google introduced the P3 wide gamut capture feature that came along with the Ultra HDR format of Android 14. The Display P3 wide gamut capture makes photos seriously come alive with color.What is Display P3?Display P3 is a color space that combines the following:DCI-P3 color gamutD65 white pointsRGB gamma curveFor those who didn’t sit at the popular photography club table at lunch, Gamma is a nonlinear operation used to encode and decode luminance in photos and videos. An even easier-to-understand definition is that gamma defines the relationship between a pixel’s numerical value and its luminance. Without gamma, your photos wouldn’t capture color as your eyes see it.Also: I changed 12 settings on my Android phone to significantly improve the battery lifeWhite point (aka white balance) helps a camera avoid tint in colors and light. Think of it in terms of color temperature. Are you filming in daylight or warm indoor light? With an incorrect white point, your photos could come out with a blue or amber cast.Color gamut is a range of colors within a color space that can be reproduced by a device.Display P3 (also known as DCI-P3) is a color space created by the Digital Cinema Initiatives and Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers to try and standardize colors used in the film industry. P3 targets what you see in the cinema. There’s even a chart of the coordinates for the red (x = .68, y = .332), green (x = .265, y = .69), blue (x = .15, y = .06), white point (x = .134, y = .351).Also: I replaced my Pixel 9 Pro with the 9a for a month – here’s my buying advice nowP3 offers a much wider range of colors than sRGB, so anyone looking to up their mobile photography game should consider using Display P3. If you’re a Google Pixel 8 or 9 user, you’re in luck because all of the smartphones in that range support P3.Let me show you how to enable it. More

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    in Information Technology

    Android Auto not connecting? This one setting tweak fixed things for me

    Google / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETA few months ago, I bought into the Jeep cult. One bit of fanciness with this vehicle is its ability to connect to Android Auto. I was excited because I’d never owned a car that could connect to my Android phone and actually make use of it.Of course, the biggest reason I wanted to use Android Auto was for the Spotify connection. My previous auto would allow me to connect my phone, but I had to control the music from the phone itself, which I wouldn’t do while driving (Drive safe, everyone.) Also: How to clear your Android phone cache (and why it greatly improved performance)Now that I can do all of that via the vehicle’s touch screen or steering-wheel controls, I’m actually using my phone’s Spotify app every time I get in the car. However… Android Auto slowly started either failing to connect or taking minutes to do so. It became frustrating. My phone instructed me that it was a problem with the cable, so I switched it out. Same problem, so I switched to another cable. I was using high-speed, high-quality cables, so that was not the issue.(I would recommend you purchase a high-speed, high-quality USB cable for this More

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    in Robotics

    I replaced my iPad with this $100 Android tablet – and it was pretty dang close

    Tabwee T20 tablet <!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways Tabwee’s 10-inch tablet with Android 15 is available on Amazon for $110. It features a large 5,000mAh battery for decent runtime, and comes with a folio case, keyboard, stylus, and a mouse. The hardware has its limitations for more demanding tasks. –> It amazes me just how much […] More

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    in Robotics

    This rumored Pixel 10 feature puts Google above Samsung and OnePlus for me – here’s why

    Kerry Wan/ZDNETThere’s been no shortage of Pixel 10 leaks leading up to its expected August launch event — even Google has taken part in it. While early renders and marketing imagery point to a family of phones that look nearly identical (if not the same) as the last generation, the biggest feature upgrade with the Pixel 10 series may actually be hidden in plain sight.Qi2 certificationI’m talking about Qi2 certification, the wireless charging standard introduced at CES more than two years ago that has yet to gain widespread market adoption due to material costs, lack of user demand, and other reasons, according to brands. At the time of writing, only recent iPhone and Samsung models and the HMD Skyline are considered Qi2‑ready. That’s it. Also: The next big wireless charging leap is coming soon: What Qi2 25W means for Android phonesIf the latest rumors are true, the Pixel 10 series will join that list, while also surpassing the likes of Samsung for one key reason: magnets. More

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    in Robotics

    Your Apple Watch is getting a big upgrade for free – 8 WatchOS 26 features I’m using now

    Jason Hiner/ZDNETYour iPhone, Apple Watch, and other Apple-owned devices are getting a big overhaul. The best part? You won’t have to pay a dime for them — just update your software. Several new features are coming to WatchOS 26, and the public beta software is now available for interested users to try now, if you don’t want to wait until the official launch later this fall. Reddit users in the r/Apple Watch subreddit are already digging into the latest update and commenting on their most and least favorite features. The features touch everything from Fitness to Messages, and include a major design update across Apple’s platforms for a more unified look and naming mechanisms that reflect the year the software debuts. Also: The best Apple Watch of 2025: Expert tested and reviewedIn addition to WatchOS updates, Apple also introduced AI feature developments, like Live Translation and on-screen Visual Intelligence, like Hold Assist for phone calls and Polls for Messages. If you want to try it out, make sure your Apple Watch supports WatchOS 26, and be sure to back up your device beforehand. Here are the features we’ve enjoyed using on WatchOS 26 now that the public beta is live.  More

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    in Robotics

    These ultra-thin AI glasses make the Meta Ray-Bans look outdated (with 3X the battery)

    Brilliant Labs/ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysHalo smart glasses might be the first true AI wearable.The agent can remember names, and even vibe code.They are available for $299 and will ship later in 2025.Smart glasses are an ideal form factor for AI assistance. They give AI access to everything you hear and see from your POV, making the handoff between you and the bot as effortless as possible. Now, the latest AI glasses from Brilliant Labs seem ready to take AI-enabled assistance to the next level. The Halo glasses, launched Thursday, weigh just over 40 grams, about the same weight and look as traditional eyeglasses. Yet, they also pack in other features: a full-color display, made possible by a tiny optical module built into the frame; an optical sensor used for multimodal tasks; bone conduction speakers; a microphone array; and 14 hours of battery life for daily intelligence.Also: Should you buy XR glasses for work and travel? This discounted pair made me a believerWhile these specs are impressive on their own, they all work together to support their core purpose — being a true AI wearable that can see and listen to what you do all day and assist you with anything you need at a later date.AI at the coreWith the Halo AI glasses, the company says users can have near real-time conversations with Noa, the device’s AI agent that was created to feel as intuitive and natural as speaking to a real person. According to Brilliant Labs, part of the fluidity of the experience can be attributed to the fact that Noa can see and hear what you see using the mic array and optical sensor.Also: I took a walk with Meta’s new Oakley smart glasses – they beat my Ray-Bans in every wayThis contextual data isn’t only used for immediate responses. Rather, through Brilliant Labs’ long-term agentic memory feature called Narrative, Noa can also create a personalized knowledge base for the user that analyzes life context for future questions. “There’s a ton going on when it [the agent] receives unstructured audio and video and other related contextual bits of data that it’s working autonomously in the background to connect those data pieces together,” Bobak Tavangar, CEO at Brilliant Labs, tells ZDNET.Also: Xreal wants you to dump your Meta Ray-Bans with this trade-in deal – here’s how it worksBeyond regular AI assistance, Noa can perform a series of tasks on your glasses, such as muting your microphone and camera. The AI can also help users vibe code with a new experimental feature called Vibe Mode. Using this feature, users can create new apps using natural language voice commands, which, according to the company, takes seconds. Users can then see and run the application on the display, share it with others, and remix existing generated apps.  More

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    in Robotics

    You can use Claude AI’s mobile app to draft emails, texts, and calendar events now – here’s how

    Anthropic / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETZDNET’s key takeawaysClaude’s mobile app now drafts emails, texts and events.You get editable templates, but you must review before sending.Integrations include Google Workplace and third-party connectors.Anthropic has made it a little easier to communicate and organize plans with other people using Claude, the AI startup’s proprietary chatbot.Also: Anthropic’s Claude dives into financial analysis. Here’s what’s newThe company announced in an X post on Wednesday that all users of the Claude mobile app on iOS and Android can now prompt the chatbot to draft and send emails and text messages and create calendar events. The announcement is somewhat misleading, as Claude can only generate templates of messages and calendar events; users still need to take some key steps. How to send emails and texts and create events with Claude After prompting Claude with an overview of the message you’d like to send (including details about the intended recipient), users are presented with the option to open a particular app, like Gmail, Slack, or Messages — and the chatbot will directly transfer the requested message; they just need to review and click Send.  Also: Claude might be my new favorite AI tool for Android – here’s whyIn other words, Claude generates a template of a message, which you can then either use or adjust with further prompting. More