Author: Geek Planet

Researchers at MIT Media Lab have found a genuinely jaw-dropping use for the LiDAR sensor sitting inside your iPhone and iPad Pro. It can detect and track objects that are completely outside the camera’s field of view. Yes, that means seeing around corners. This kind of imaging, called non-line-of-sight (NLOS) imaging, is not a new concept. But past demonstrations relied on powerful, expensive lab-grade lasers with little application in the real world. What makes this research exciting is that the MIT team pulled it off using the same low-power LiDAR sensor already embedded in our smartphones. How does it work?…

Want to know what the world is searching? Google is bringing its revamped Google Trends experience to mobile, making it easier to check trending topics and dig into search data wherever you are. The update builds on a redesigned interface powered by Gemini, which now surfaces connected queries and comparisons automatically instead of making you hunt for them. It’s aimed at anyone trying to understand what’s gaining traction online, from casual users to creators and researchers. At its core, the mobile push tackles a familiar frustration. Google Trends has always been powerful, but getting a full view of a topic…

For a few strange hours, the Sonos app effectively disappeared from Apple’s App Store ecosystem, leaving users unable to download or update it on iPhones and Macs. And honestly, given Sonos’ recent software history, the timing could not have looked worse. Users first noticed that the app’s App Store listing had vanished entirely. Opening the direct App Store link reportedly led to an error page stating the content could not be found, while manual searches for the app returned nothing. At the same time, Sonos acknowledged the issue on its system status page, warning users that they could experience problems…

A fresh batch of leaked protective cases for the iPhone 18, iPhone 18 Pro, and iPhone 18 Pro Max has surfaced, and they are painting almost the same picture we saw from the previous leaks.  This year, the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are not getting any major redesign, sporting the same unibody aluminum design with a huge camera island. This was expected as Apple generally reuses the same design for at least two years.  So what’s changing? The leaked case images, which we saw thanks to MajinBuofficia, suggest that the iPhone 18 Pro lineup will be slightly thicker…

This republished article first appeared in New English Review The atheist Karl Marx—whose belief in moral autonomy and non-belief in Hell was his opium—said that religion was the opium of the people. But nowadays, it seems technology, consumerism and opiates have replaced that for many. When we see more and more people today behaving like clones of one another, it’s tempting to ask ourselves: Are we entering the darkest night in history? Just like the children in the movie Village of the Damned, most young adults, not all, seem to be in a trance, void of any spiritual dimension or intellectual…

Intel and Nvidia’s growing partnership could reach an exciting turn in a few years. A fresh leak from tipster Jaykihn (via wccftech.com) claims that Intel’s upcoming Serpent Lake chipset could fundamentally change what laptop processors can do by integrating Nvidia’s RTX-class graphics directly onto the chip.  Serpent Lake refers to Intel’s purported hybrid chip that could combine the Tital Lake CPU architecture with Nvidia’s RTX Rubin graphics chiplets (based on TSMC’s 3nm fabrication technology). What exactly is Intel’s Serpent Lake chip? On the CPU side, the design reportedly packs eight performance and sixteen efficiency cores, drawn from Intel’s Griffin Cove…

Google is sharpening its focus on mental health safety with a key update to its Gemini platform, introducing a “one-touch” crisis support feature designed to connect users with real-world help faster. The move is part of a broader push to ensure AI tools act responsibly in sensitive situations, especially when users may be experiencing distress. At the core of this update is a redesigned safety mechanism that activates when Gemini detects signals of potential mental health crises, including self-harm or suicidal thoughts. Instead of continuing a standard AI conversation, the system shifts toward immediate intervention. Users are presented with a…

A silly story to honor March Madness AI Assistance Disclosure: The author used artificial intelligence in the development of this story. At six foot six, Liam O’Donoghue had spent much of his life disappointing strangers. They saw the height first and the rest later. In airports, grocery stores, church parking lots, and restaurants, people always asked, “You play basketball?” Liam always gave the same answer. “No.” The more accurate answer would have been: not successfully. He was twenty years old, broad-shouldered, long-armed, and naturally unathletic. He could dribble only as the ball directed him. He could not pivot without risk…

If you use Gemini regularly, you already have dozens of chats scattered across the sidebar, covering everything from work research to weekend trip planning. Finding an old chat can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. This is why Google is currently testing a new feature in Gemini called Projects, which would let you organize your chats into dedicated folders, much like how ChatGPT already handles this with its own folder system. The feature has started appearing for a small group of users, though it is not fully functional just yet. How does Gemini’s Projects feature work? A…

I was bouncing between retro games on my Anbernic RG353V when I realized I missed something I didn’t expect to miss: gadgets that looked cheap. I don’t mean bad tech, broken tech, or some misty-eyed claim that everything was better when batteries leaked and screens had the viewing angle of a bank receipt. I mean devices that looked obvious. The controls announced themselves. The plastic shell didn’t pretend to be jewelry. The ports were right there, not hidden inside some seamless little mystery coffin. That’s exactly why I brought this Game Boy Color revival. It’s not going to win design…