Author: Geek Planet

For ad tech bosses, the IPO dream is no longer just a late-night fantasy, it’s starting to look like a real possibility. “Look” being the operative word. Nothing’s guaranteed but there is momentum. MNTN’s splashy debut on the New York Stock Exchange last week didn’t just grab attention, it lit a signal flare. Priced at $16 a share on May 21, the company hit the market with a $1.2 billion valuation – right at the top of investor expectations. By Friday, it was already at $28. On Tuesday, it was around $26. “This could be a meaningful moment for the CTV advertising…

Manus is adding Manus app publishing, a feature meant to turn an app you build by description into something you can install on your phone. The goal is simple, get from idea to a real mobile build without setting up Xcode or Android Studio. In its Help Center, Manus lays out a store-facing workflow for Android and iOS. Manus handles the build packaging step, then you finish distribution through Google Play Console or Apple’s App Store Connect and TestFlight. For Android, Manus says it produces an Android App Bundle file and sends you into Google Play for upload and release.…

For 2026, the comparison between baseline iPhone and Android flagships comes down to two phones that are closer than they’ve ever been — the Galaxy S26 at $899 and the iPhone 17 at $799. Same form factor, same screen size, very different philosophies. We’ve broken down everything that actually moves the needle — design, display, performance, cameras, battery, and software — because the right phone isn’t the one with the longer spec sheet. It’s the one that fits how you actually use it. Price and availability The iPhone 17 kicks off at $799 with 256GB baked in from the start…

This is the third installment in Digiday+ Research’s 2025 CMO Strategies series that analyzes key marketer strategies and challenges across leading marketing channels, including ad-supported streaming, retail media, display advertising and social media. Display advertising remains big business in the U.S. and its growth shows no signs of stopping. In 2024, digital display ad spending in the U.S. totaled $74.3 billion, up 12% from $66.1 billion the year prior, according to Statista. Similarly, Digiday’s first-quarter 2025 survey of marketing professionals found that a larger percentage of respondents (79%) said that they currently use display ads compared with those who said…

Foldable phones have been around for years, but one of the biggest design frustrations has been the visible crease along the internal display. Thankfully, that may finally be fading into history sooner than many expected. Two upcoming devices, the Honor Magic V6 and the OPPO Find N6, are both teasing creaseless inner screens, apparently pushing display technology toward a smoother experience before Apple’s rumored first foldable or Samsung’s next-gen models do. The crease has long been a sore point for foldables. Even though modern book-style designs like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold series have dramatically reduced it compared with early devices,…

First unveiled at CES 2026, Razer is previewing Project Ava, a 5.5-inch 3D hologram desk companion that’s built to sit beside your keyboard and stay involved. It’s meant to handle everyday tasks, help with work, and step into games as a training partner. Ava’s hardware leans on sensors and a wired link, including dual far-field microphones, an HD camera with an ambient light sensor, and a USB-C port for data and power delivery. It’s designed for Windows, with a direct USB-C connection that supports “PC Vision Mode” so it can analyze what’s on your screen with minimal latency. Razer is…

Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 4 have quietly introduced a feature that could put them ahead of Apple’s AirPods in one key area: high-resolution wireless audio. The new earbuds support Ultra High Quality (UHQ) audio up to 24-bit / 96 kHz, a spec that edges into the territory traditionally reserved for wired headphones and dedicated hi-fi gear. On paper, that is a big deal. Most wireless earbuds compress audio heavily due to Bluetooth bandwidth limits. Apple’s AirPods, for example, still rely on the AAC codec, which prioritizes stability and efficiency over lossless playback. Samsung’s UHQ feature, meanwhile, aims to deliver higher-resolution audio…

Fine dining and globe-trotting travel have been displacing mere objects as consumer status symbols ever since Instagram first arrived on the app store way back in 2010.It’s a shift that brand marketers have long sought to connect with. Few have been as persistent as Mastercard, though. The payments brand first began marketing around “experiences” almost 10 years back, according to CMO Raja Rajamannar; it first unveiled its “Priceless.com” loyalty platform in 2016. A recent survey by research firm Dynata of 15,000 European consumers appears to validate that strategy. Despite the hairy economic circumstances facing shoppers across the continent, 70% said…

It’s only been six months since Perplexity launched its ad business, but advertisers are already hungry for it to grow up fast and prove it’s more than just another shiny object.Six media buyers Digiday spoke to say they want to see more from the AI-powered search engine, which has been tested by the likes of Indeed, Whole Foods, Universal McCann and PMG since November, when they signed up as the first brand and agency partners to the platform. The ads, tucked beside answers and marked “sponsored” are subtle but the expectations are anything but. Marketers are curious, the buyers said,…

If you’re thinking about upgrading to Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 series, you don’t have to wait until the release date and drop serious cash to get a feel for what it’s like. Samsung is letting you get a taste of its next-gen flagships with a new web-based interactive experience. This clever virtual try-before-you-buy tool is for curious buyers who want hands-on familiarity before pulling the trigger on the pricey upgrade. What is TryGalaxy and how does it work? The TryGalaxy platform from Samsung isn’t a full emulator or downloadable app. It is just a mobile-optimized web experience designed to run…