Author: Geek Planet

Just weeks ago, the mood among marketers was one of mild crisis. The prospect of a TikTok-less future — unthinkable yet suddenly plausible — had them sketching out fallback plans, hedging bets and recalibrating campaigns. But as the April 5 deadline looms, when TikTok must find a non-Chinese buyer or risk being banned on national security grounds, the panic has curiously subsided.In its place is something more measured: a composed, almost serene confidence, bolstered, perhaps, by recent meetings with TikTok reps who are still standing. Despite a noticeable thinning of the app’s advertising ranks in recent weeks, those who remain…

Amazon is giving Alexa+ a bit more personality. The company has introduced new chat styles that let you change how the voice assistant responds to you, ranging from calm and friendly tones to something a little bolder. One of the new options can even throw in censored profanity, adding a cheeky edge to conversations with your smart speaker. What are the new chat styles on Alexa+? Last month, Amazon rolled out three new personalities for Alexa+ that can change how the assistant talks. A Brief style focuses on short, direct responses without extra commentary. Chill delivers answers in a more…

Retail media’s moment in the advertising spotlight continues — both for better and for worse. Concern is growing among marketers about transparency in retail media negotiations, and no one quite knows who should control retail media budgets. But at the same time, marketers keep spending in the channel. This is according to Digiday+ Research surveys of marketer professionals conducted every six months. Retail media still has room to grow compared to other ad channels. It came in third place among marketer pros who identified where the highest portion of their marketing budgets goes and which channels they’re most confident drive…

Samsung has launched its first magnetic wireless power bank. Dubbed the Magnet Wireless Battery Pack, the device is specifically designed to address the Galaxy S26’s lack of built-in magnets, a gap that is quite frustrating for users, especially those who prefer wireless charging.  Talking about the power bank’s specifications first, it sports a 5,000 mAh battery that delivers up to 15W wireless or 25W wired charging via USB-C. You can use it to charge two devices at once, but I sincerely don’t recommend doing that, especially if you’re looking for complete recharges rather than quick top-ups. Is the hardware good…

Samsung’s top-end phones, like the recent Galaxy S26 series, are some of the most talked-about Android mobiles out there… but they’re not the company’s most successful. Year after year, the company’s affordable Galaxy A phones smash the Galaxy S ones in terms of sales (according to Counterpoint Research), being trumped only by the iPhone family in terms of overall sales each year. This all goes to show that affordability trumps feature-set for most buyers: fancy tools like the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display may turn heads, but wallets are won by condensing Samsung’s coolest ideas into a more affordable package.…

I used to be of the opinion that MacBooks are relatively safer than other laptops, but I have been proven wrong. Embarrassingly and demonstrably wrong. A new report from Sophos X-Ops has spared no effort in rubbing my nose in it.  Researchers at the firm tracked three separate attack campaigns between November 2025 and February 2026, all of which targeted macOS users with something called the MacSync infostealer. For those catching up — it’s a type of malware that quietly rifles through your passwords and saved credentials, acting like a digital pickpocket.  So, how does it actually work? The malware…

With influencer marketing budgets steadily rising, more multinational brands are partnering with influencer agencies as the industry becomes more complex.The World Federation of Advertisers released a report today showing that some 54% of multinational brand marketers plan to boost influencer marketing spend in 2025, with 61% agreeing that influencer marketing will become more important in the future. However, due to ongoing challenges navigating the space, like issues with disclosures and transparency on creator campaigns, more brands are employing the help of agencies that play a role in influencer marketing. “Budgets will reflect this as will the increased usage of partners…

Smartphone enthusiasts like me will never forget the time when modular phones were about to change everything. Whether it was Google’s canceled Project Ara or the more popular Moto Z series, nothing really panned out as well as the Fairphone, but even it isn’t as mainstream as some other brands.  So, most users just live with their non-modular smartphones on a day-to-day basis, having already grieved about the idea that once raised plenty of hopes. Well, about that, an upcoming foldable could change that conversation entirely.  What exactly is Xiaomi cooking? I’m talking about the Xiaomi Mix Fold 5. Early…

Uncertainty around TikTok’s future in the U.S. led many advertisers to slam the brakes on their advertising there. Others treated the turmoil as a green light.  Walmart, Coca-Cola, Comcast, PepsiCo, Warner Bros Discovery, Google and Amazon have increased their U.S. social media spend on the platform by two percentage points, on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter of 2025, according to Sensor Tower.  Those seven brands were also some of TikTok’s top spending U.S. advertisers in 2024, per the market intelligence firm. However, PepsiCo and Amazon declined to comment on this, while the other five companies did not respond…

A fresh Windows 11 bug is causing serious headaches for some PC owners, and Samsung laptop users appear to be bearing the brunt of it. Microsoft has confirmed reports that certain devices running recent Windows 11 builds can suddenly lose access to the system drive after installing a February 2026 security update. When the issue triggers, users see the error message “C: is not accessible – Access denied”, effectively locking them out of the drive where Windows and most applications reside. The company says it is actively investigating the issue and working with Samsung to determine the root cause. For…