Information Technology

NordVPN / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET’s key takeaways NordVPN can detect a scam call before you answer it.The Scam Call Protection is only for NordVPN Premium Android users.Future features include caller ID for legitimate calls and an option to report.Your phone rings, but the call is from an unknown number. Should you pick it up? It could be important. Or it could be a scam call. You’re not sure what to do. Well, a new tool from the folks at NordVPN could help you decide.Scam Call ProtectionNow baked into the NordVPN Android app (in the US only for now), a new feature named Scam Call Protection tries to determine the nature of a call before you answer it. Also: Warning: Protect your phone from choicejacking before it’s too late – here’s howDesigned for NordVPN Premium users, the protection analyzes a call’s metadata without accessing the content of the call. If the call is deemed to be spam, the tool will flash a warning message next to the phone number so you don’t have to waste time picking it up. How to set it upTo set up Scam Call Protection, download and turn on the NordVPN app on your Android phone. In the app, head to the Threat Protection screen and turn on the feature. You’ll then be directed to your Android settings to complete the setup. Also: The best mobile VPNs of 2025: Expert tested and reviewedFollow the instructions to enable all the required settings. Go back to the NordVPN app, and the protection will now be in place. More

Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus <!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus is on sale right now for $549. It’s a slam dunk tablet with a brilliant display, great speakers, and comes with a keyboard, case, and stylus. In laptop mode, it’s better for simpler tasks. more buying choices Lenovo’s Yoga Tab Plus–> is […] More

Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images ZDNET’s key takeaways Zuckerberg unveils his vision for personal superintelligence. But his unclear definition leaves product and impact ambiguous. Superintelligence may disrupt jobs despite efficiency promises. Another day, another vague reference to the promise of superintelligence. On Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared a video address and accompanying letter […] More

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET ZDNET’s key takeaways Google is implementing a new AI-powered age verification method.Machine learning will analyze your activity (mostly on YouTube) to guess your age.If AI guesses wrong, you’ll need to go through a verification process.A day after announcing AI-powered age verification on YouTube, which we explained in more detail yesterday, Google is launching it on a larger scale, and again it’s on you to sort out any problems if AI guesses wrong.Also: Google Chrome for iOS now lets you switch between personal and work accountsIn a post announcing “a safer online experience for US kids and teens,” Google says it’s introducing new technology to distinguish between older and younger users. This technology will analyze your online activity and make an attempt at guessing your age. If it thinks you’re under 18, your account will be restricted until you can prove you’re older. This process has been in testing in other markets, and Google says it worked well. How Google estimates your age Google says its age-estimation model uses machine learning to interpret “a variety of signals.” It notes that these signals are already associated with your account and that it’s not gathering any new information. These signals include the types of information you search for on YouTube, the categories of videos you watch, and the age of the account itself. Also: You can ask Gemini AI anything directly in Google Chrome – here’s how and why you shouldEven though the age restrictions apply to multiple Google products and services, it seems like YouTube is the only potential source of age information for now outside of how long ago you created your account. More

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

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

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

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 <!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is an excellent upgrade over its predecessor, thanks to its slim and light design, a strong hinge and a wider coverscreen. It’s very expensive at $2,000 for the starting configuration. But you’ll dig the improved hardware, especially if you’re familiar with […] More