Author: Geek Planet

Somewhere out there is a person who still quietly mourns the death of the physical keyboard. They’ve mostly come to terms with their touchscreen. They’ve adapted, like everyone else. But every now and then, mid-fumble on a glass slab, the feeling comes back. The Clicks Communicator is being built for that person, and after months of dummy units and carefully managed hype, it finally has a timeline worth taking seriously. The BlackBerry faithful never really left The Clicks Communicator is born from grief, the specific lingering grief of people who genuinely loved physical keyboards and watched the entire industry abandon…

If you’ve been holding out for a new Surface, you might need to hold out a little longer. According to leaker Roland Quandt, Microsoft has pushed back the launch of its upcoming Surface hardware by roughly a month, and if early pricing signals are any indication, the wait might come with some sticker shock. What’s actually coming? The Surface Laptop 8 and Surface Pro 12 are still in the pipeline, and the lineup’s general shape hasn’t changed. Both devices are expected to arrive with a choice of Intel or Qualcomm processors, giving buyers the option to go either the performance-focused…

Samsung is facing a fresh legal challenge that could put a big red “Stop” sign for its foldable phones in the US. Lepton Computing LLC has just filed a lawsuit in a Texas federal court, accusing the South Korean tech giant and its US arm of infringing multiple patents related to foldable phone technology. If the legal action escalates, it could impact sales of Samsung’s Galaxy Z lineup, which includes the Fold, Flip, and new TriFold models. What the lawsuit claims In the legal filing, which was later covered by The Biz, Lepton alleges that Samsung is using patented technologies…

If you’ve ever downloaded an app on a tablet only to find out that it has a phone-shaped interface that occupies only the centre of the screen, surrounded by black bars on both sides, Google has finally acknowledged your pain.  An upcoming Play Store update (version 51.2) introduces a new badge system that will clearly mark apps built to utilise large screens, saving tablet and foldable users time by letting them quickly see which apps actually look right on their devices.  What does the new badge actually tell you? The new badge appears on an app’s Play Store listing. It…

If you’ve ever accidentally raised your hand mid-meeting on Microsoft Teams, you know the pain. Suddenly, everyone’s looking at you, and all you can do is scramble to unmute and awkwardly clarify that it was a mistake. Microsoft has finally decided to do something about it by moving the raise hand button away from the main toolbar. The company is also planning a significant redesign of the Teams meeting toolbar, which is likely to roll out on desktop and macOS in June 2026. How will Microsoft Teams fix the accidental raise hand issue? The update, listed on the Microsoft 365…

Google’s vision for Gemini has always been an AI assistant that works for you proactively, without being summoned, and that vision is finally taking shape. A deep dive into the latest Google app beta, by 9To5Google, uncovers code for a feature called “Proactive Assistance.” As the name suggests, the feature is designed to deliver personalized suggestions when you need them the most, without you typing a single word or summoning Gemini.  How does Proactive Assistance actually work? The feature doesn’t just let Gemini loose on your digital life. During setup, users can select the apps the AI assistant can access.…

For the longest time, Motorola has existed in a strange space. It wasn’t irrelevant, but it also wasn’t really competing. Its phones were decent, sometimes even likable – but rarely serious contenders. That’s what makes the Motorola Signature feel different. For once, this isn’t a “good for Motorola” phone. It’s just… good. And that’s both refreshing and slightly frustrating. That being said, this isn’t a revolution. It’s something arguably more important for Motorola: a correction. A correction that will probably define its future smartphones. Build Quality That Reflects Engineering Discipline The first thing that stands out about the Motorola Signature…

In his op-ed, “AI-Lawyers Will Have Fools for Clients”, economist and AI-critic Gary Smith takes issue with Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman’s hyper-optimistic claim that “professional-grade AGI” will achieve “human-level performance on most, if not all professional tasks”, including law, “within the next 12 to 18 months.” Smith argues that full automation of the legal profession faces significant roadblocks. These include persistent overextrapolation (“hallucination”) in generative large language models (LLMs), leading them to cite fictitious case law, and their difficulty handling probability estimation tasks, as shown in Pournemat et al.’s recent work. Overall, he presents a compelling case. A reader…

Google is finally making Gemini for Home feel a little less like a voice assistant that forgets what you said two seconds ago. In a new post on the Google Nest Community, the company announced that Continued Conversation is now rolling out to Gemini for Home. This feature basically lets users ask follow-up questions without having to say “Hey Google” again and again, which makes back-and-forth interactions on Gemini on Nest speakers and smart displays feel much faster and more natural. Google is rolling out Continued Conversation for Gemini for Home early access users, and the feature is available without…

Nothing has quietly fixed one of the most annoying aspects of Essential Space. The company has enabled cloud backup for content stored in the feature, meaning it is no longer tied to a single device.  It will now travel with you, should you choose to switch from one Nothing or CMF device to another, synced via your Nothing account.  What exactly is backed up? Everything you’ve ever captured with the Essential Key is eligible for backup. This includes your audio recording, quick screenshots, saved images, email or document summaries — essentially the entire Essential Space content library. The feature also…