Robotics

Roku is a popular streaming platform for people looking for an affordable smart TV or a way to turn a “dumb” TV into one that’s capable of easily streaming movies, shows, and music. TCL and Hisense were among the biggest brands that partnered with Roku to provide a streaming platform to customers, but in 2023, Roku began to produce its own TVs, while TCL and Hisense moved to Google TV for their platforms. If you’re willing to pick up a slightly older model, you can still find Roku-based TCL and Hisense models, but your best luck will be a Roku-branded Pro, Plus, or Select Series TV. What is the best Roku TV right now? At ZDNET, we’ve tested and researched some of the best Roku TVs to help you choose the right one. The Roku Pro Series More

Maria Diaz/ZDNETYour Roku TV is getting a slew of updates to make finding something to watch easier — including one for your favorite purple city.Also: Should you buy a Roku streaming stick in 2025? Here’s my buying advice after testing oneAt an event in New York City last month, Roku introduced its new TVs and streaming devices, smart home products, and TVs, but it also announced some new additions that will be coming to all existing Roku TVs.Here’s what’s on the way.What’s coming to all Roku TVsRoku understands the struggle of finding something to watch, it says, so it’s rolling out several ways to make content more personal. These include: “Coming Soon to Theaters,” a row that shows you what’s currently in theaters. If you’d rather wait until you can watch it at home, you can add a movie to your saved list and Roku will alert you when it’s available.Short-form content rows are headed to the All Things Food and All Things Home tabs, letting you browse videos like recipes, home cleaning hacks, and more one after the other (essentially TikTok or Reels for your TV). A personalized highlight row in the Sports Zone lets you follow the latest action from your favorite teams and players. You can also get notifications when it’s gametime for your favorite teams.If you want to see the best of the best, watch for Roku’s new badges that will identify award-winning films.Missing your favorite purple-hued cityscape? Instead of having to wait for your set to go idle to visit, you can now head to Roku City with one click with a dedicated tile. This fake city, complete with its own mass transit, homes, restaurants, and even a city hall, has become a fan-favorite over the past few years, and now it’s even easier to pay a visit.Hardware updates On the hardware side, new versions of the Roku Streaming Stick and Roku Streaming Stick Plus are on the way. The new models are so power-efficient, Roku says, that they are powered directly by your TV — meaning no more hanging cables. The new sticks are also getting a sleek redesign that ensures they don’t block neighboring HDMI ports. The classic Roku Streaming Stick is also getting a voice remote. More

Lance Whitney / Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETGoogle Gemini users who’ve been patiently waiting for an official iPad version of the AI now finally have one. On Wednesday, Google rolled out a new flavor of the app designed to take advantage of the tablet’s larger real estate.Sure, you’ve always been able to run the Gemini iPhone app on an iPad. As with any app developed only for the iPhone, doing so runs it in compatibility mode. That means it can appear either in a scaled-down, iPhone-size screen or in a larger, slightly blurry window. Both options look bad, feel clumsy, and can’t tap into the power of the iPad. Also: Gemini for kids is rolling out, and it comes with 3 warnings from GoogleNow available in the App Store, the free Gemini iPad app eliminates the limitations of the iPhone version and offers all the skills of Google’s AI. Gemini Advanced subscribers and free users alike can perform any of the following tasks: Type or speak your request at the promptLaunch Gemini Live for natural back-and-forth conversationsGenerate images and videosAnalyze photos, documents, and other filesRun Deep Research to get a detailed report based on online sourcesUse Canvas mode to write and revise code and documents in real timeAccess Audio Overview to create an AI-hosted podcast on any topic More

Manuel Breva Colmeiro / Getty Images While businesses are powered by technology – email, texts, video calls, file-sharing, communications platforms, and the telephone – they remain driven by humans. That means human error can be the weakest link in cybersecurity. Last year, data breaches cost businesses across the world an average of $5 million, according […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Goldemate 1000 Pro UPS is available now on Amazon for $199. With a Lithium battery that can last for nearly two hours, this UPS is hard to beat at the price. There’s no means of communicating to a PC for a graceful shutdown, should power go out. –> For as […] More

Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images More AI chatbots now offer a deep research option, through which they can investigate a topic for you. Acting as autonomous AI agents, the bots will surf the web on your behalf, find the right online sources, and then present you with a detailed report based on their findings. The goal is […] More

Kerry Wan/ZDNETGoogle is rolling out its Pixel Update for May 2025, and it includes a critical security patch. Here’s what you can expect from the company’s latest update. What’s in the May Pixel update?The update bundles a fix for a bug that causes degraded microphone recording quality in certain apps, a fix for a problem that causes issues with Bluetooth pairing to certain smartwatches, and a fix for a glitch that causes quick settings menu items to appear in a secondary language. Then there are the security patches.Nearly 30 security fixes are a part of this update, but the most important is one called CVE-2025-27363, which Google says “may be under limited, targeted exploitation.” In other words, it’s a vulnerability that’s being actively exploited by people with bad intentions. Also: 6 rumored Android 16 features that are making this loyal Pixel user ecstaticGoogle didn’t offer any more details about what this exploit is or how it’s being taken advantage of, but the fact that Google named it specifically in the patch notes shows it’s critical. Google says this update also includes a bootloader update that prevents your device from being rolled back to a previous, vulnerable version of Android. Once you install this update, your phone won’t be able to go back to an earlier build.What devices are getting the May Pixel update?All supported Pixel phones and tablets (the 6a and beyond) running Android 15 will get this update, Google says. Rollout will start today and continue over the next week in phases, depending on your carrier and device. You’ll get a notification once the update is available.You can always check your Android version manually, too. To see if an update is available, open Settings, scroll down, and tap on “Security and privacy.” Tap “Check for updates” under “System & updates” and follow the prompts.Get the morning’s top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter. More

NurPhoto / Getty Images If you’ve been a loyal T-Mobile customer, you might have a free line coming your way. According to documentation from The Mobile Report, the carrier is offering a free line to select accounts. The new line will be available today, and eligible customers will receive an automated text soon to let […] More