Author: Geek Planet

I really didn’t want to believe it, but here we are. Apple is now looking like the sensible laptop brand. Not the cool underdog. Not the affordable alternative. Apple, in 2026. The reason is not that the company suddenly became generous, but rather the rest of the competition has suddenly become so deranged that a MacBook lineup starting at $599 feels weirdly grounded. Apple’s MacBook Neo starts at $599, while Microsoft’s own 13-inch Surface Laptop now starts at $1,199 after this month’s price hikes. This isn’t a small gap that you can ignore. Meanwhile, Apple’s MacBook Air with M5 starts…

Getting an Apple Education discount in the United States used to be as simple as claiming you’re a student or a teacher; it didn’t need a formal verification. That era is officially over.  Starting May 8, 2026, Apple now requires formal identity verification for all Education Store purchases in the US, ending the informal honor system that was in place for years (via MacRumors).  What does the new verification process involve? Apple has partnered with UNiDAYS to handle the Education Store eligibility test. To avail the Education Store discount, students and teachers must create a UNiDAYS ID and verify their…

I have tried AI photo editing tools on a bunch of phones by now, and most of them follow the same pattern. They look great in a demo, seem useful in theory, and then become wildly unpredictable the moment you use them on an actual photo you care about. My issue with AI erasers and other editing tools was how inconsistent they were. But the Galaxy S26 is proving to be different. I have been trying Samsung’s AI editing tools on a few real photos, and the thing that stood out was not some wild, unrealistic image-generation trick. It was…

Anthropic has introduced a new AI-powered design tool called Claude Design, aimed at helping users create visual content such as prototypes, presentations, and marketing assets through simple conversational inputs. The product, developed under Anthropic Labs, is currently available in research preview for paid Claude subscribers and is being rolled out gradually. Claude Design is powered by the company’s latest vision model, Claude Opus 4.7, and is positioned as a tool that bridges the gap between technical design expertise and everyday creative needs. A New Approach To Design Workflows The core idea behind Claude Design is to simplify the process of…

Google is officially pulling the plug on the Fitbit app, replacing it with the new Google Health app on May 19, 2026. It is quite ironic, as the company just announced a new Fitbit Air screenless fitness tracker, but the change will take place via an OTA update.  This is happening after Fitbit’s fifteen-year run, wherein it gathered millions of fitness-focused users and provided them with various health trackers and meaningful insights via its software.  What’s new in Google Health? The most significant addition is multimodal logging. Google Health users can log food, workouts, and health data by typing, speaking,…

Google is officially entering the AI health coach race, and this one has been a long time coming. The company has announced the Google Health Coach, a Gemini-powered personal wellness assistant baked into a rebranded Google Health app. It will track your workouts, analyze your sleep, read your medical records, and adapt to your life in real time. Think of it as having a fitness trainer, a sleep expert, and a nutritionist on call 24/7 for just $9.99 a month. Here’s everything you need to know about Google’s play to become your go-to health companion. Same coach, new name The…

If the never-ending loop of swiping left and right sounds exhausting, Bumble finally agrees with you. In an interview with Axios, CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd confirmed Bumble is scrapping the swipe entirely, replacing it with something she calls “revolutionary for the category.” She didn’t say what that is exactly, but the change rolls out in select markets starting Q4 2026. Along with ditching the swipe, Bumble is also dropping its women-go-first rule, which required women to message first within 24 hours in heterosexual matches. Wolfe Herd says no gender will be forced to go first, though the spirit of that…

Sony’s Xperia phones have rarely looked boring, but they’ve often felt too reserved for their own good. The latest Xperia 1 VIII leak changes that, with official-looking images showing Sony’s next premium phone in shades that actually want attention. In a crowded high-end Android market, the first impression now has to work harder. Sony’s next phone still needs the usual flagship strengths, but a sharper visual identity gives it a better chance of standing out. The leaked images, shared by Sumaho Digest, reportedly show the Xperia 1 VIII in Graphite Black, Iolite Silver, Garnet Red, and Native Gold. There’s still…

Holograms on your iPhone sound like science fiction. But according to a fresh leak, Apple may actually be working on it. A leaker on X known as “Schrödinger” claims Apple is developing a “Spatial iPhone” with a holographic display, reportedly being built by Samsung. The display is codenamed “MH1” (Mobile Holographic 1), and the details being floated are quite wild. You should take all of this with appropriate skepticism, though, as none of it is officially confirmed. How would a holographic iPhone screen work? The rumored screen pairs advanced eye-tracking with a technique called diffractive beam-steering, which uses microscopic structures…

Spotify is expanding its popular DJ feature to more listeners worldwide. The company is rolling out its AI-driven DJ to Premium users in new markets, including Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, South Korea, and Switzerland, bringing the total to over 75 countries where the feature is available. Alongside the market expansion, DJ is also getting four new languages: French, German, Italian, and Brazilian Portuguese. So what exactly is Spotify DJ, and what can it do? If you haven’t tried it yet, Spotify DJ is an AI-powered feature that works like a personal radio host living inside your app. It…