Category: 4. Technology

NYX Professional Makeup Beauty Bestie 2.0 has been developed by the brand with an augmented reality (AR) try-on experience in mind to help consumers find the right look and products for them. The AR experience is available on Snapchat and leverages artificial intelligence (AI) technology alongside pro-makeup artistry to help users pinpoint the right shades for them. The try-on experience harnesses advanced technology to analyze the skin tone of the user as well as their hair and eye color for personalized looks inspired by the customer’s season.

NYX Professional Makeup Beauty Bestie 2.0 has been debuted by the brand to support its latest launch — the Smushy Soft Matte Tinted Lip Balm — and also features color testing to help users explore new looks.

New MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Spotted in Apple Code

Apple is developing a MacBook with the A18 Pro chip, according to findings in backend code uncovered by MacRumors. Earlier today, Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reported that Apple is planning to launch a low-cost MacBook powered by an iPhone chip. The machine is expected to feature a 13-inch display, the A18 Pro chip, and color options that include silver, blue, pink, and yellow. MacRumors…

Your router is the gateway between your Local Area Network (LAN) and the wild west of the Internet, and it should be your first line of defense for your privacy. But routers, even custom ones running OPNsense, are set up to get you online, not for your privacy. Even going through a basic checklist of security fixes will get your network more secure, but it only goes part of the way towards making your browsing more private.

For that, there are a few things I like to change every time I set up a new router. The biggest of these is to set up a self-hosted DNS server that enables encrypted DNS. Otherwise, your ISP (or Google) can see what your DNS requests are and use that data for targeted advertising, and nobody likes the thought of that. Some overlap with good security measures, and there are also things you can do on your devices to protect your privacy, like turning off telemetry and using a privacy-focused browser.

4

I host my own DNS server

Privacy by design with no ISP snooping

It should come as no surprise that your ISP is spying on you, as is Google, MSN, and probably every website you visit. It’s concerning, to say the least, how easily our private information is being used for targeted advertising and other things. However, by knowing that, you can plan countermeasures to minimize the amount of identifying information leaked while you use the internet.

That’s why the first thing I change on any router is the DNS servers, specifically to a DNS server that I’m self-hosting. This could be Unbound, Technitium, or Pi-hole set up with DNSCrypt, but it’s non-negotiable because encrypted DNS requests stop the ISP from snooping. If you have an Eero mesh, Eero Secure also gives you encrypted DNS records (that filter all outgoing DNS requests, even those not pointed at the Eero DNS server), but you have to be okay with Amazon being in charge of that, and that’s a dealbreaker for many.

You don’t have to use DNSCrypt; DNS-over-TLS and DNS-over-HTTPS also work if your DNS server supports them. You’ll also want DNSSEC support so your DNS resolver can trust the results it gets back. Without it being encrypted, everyone on your local Wi-Fi network, your ISP, and transit providers can all see the data contained in your DNS queries and responses, which include the UDP port used, the IP addresses and URLs involved, if any HTTPS traffic happened (indicated visiting other pages on that URL), and more.

Unencrypted DNS queries can be hijacked, which is often done by ISPs to redirect users to advertising pages or block content they don’t want them to see. Any firewalls along the route could also intercept, block, or modify DNS traffic, so keeping it encrypted with DoT or DoH is essential for privacy on the web. Services like Cloudflare DNS and Quad9 support encryption while having no-logging policies, so your identity is kept private. And since you’re running the DNS resolver, you can block known trackers, malware domains, and even ads.

3

Disable UPnP, NAT-PMP, and WPS

These vulnerable features could mean your network is no longer private

I don’t know about you, but privacy to me also means not leaving the proverbial door open for attackers to look around. Unfortunately, many consumer routers have features enabled by default that make it trivial for anyone to invade the privacy of your home network, and those are also on my list of things to change.

Thankfully, Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) doesn’t exist on most newer devices. However, it’s still available and makes an easy way for an attacker to crack your Wi-Fi password, because a six-digit PIN code is several orders of magnitude easier than a long password. Turn that off, then turn off UPnP and NAT-PMP (if your router supports it), because those make it easy for any IoT device inside your network that might have been pulled into a botnet by malware able to open ports to the internet.

2

Isolate the guest network

It shouldn’t be able to talk to the rest of my network or devices

Even if you aren’t running a VLAN for your IoT devices so they can’t access the data on your main computers, you should still be running a guest network for any visitors who may want to use your internet. It’s part of being a good host, but you don’t have to sacrifice your privacy by giving out the password to your Wi-Fi network.

For this to be truly effective, you’ll want to enable Client or AP Isolation (depending on how your router manufacturer names it), so that any of these guest devices won’t be able to see your devices or connect to each other. The guest network is simply so they’re not running down cellular data caps while at your home, and you can add bandwidth limits to ensure all your guests get passable service, and remove the network once everyone goes home, so they can’t connect to your network unless you know they’re using it.

1

Turn off legacy device support

If it’s insecure, I don’t want it on my network

Wi-Fi has evolved substantially since its inception, and your home network isn’t private if you still have legacy devices connected. These legacy protocols include WEP, WPA, and TKIP, and they shouldn’t be used on your home router. The best Wi-Fi security you can use is WPA3 with AES, which you should look for when you next plan a router purchase.

However, it’s also important to look for any devices you may have that cannot use WPA3. Anything that uses WEP or TKIP encryption lulls you into a false sense of security because Wi-Fi cracking tools can brute-force these in minutes. WPA3 includes features that eliminate the way attackers can figure out passwords based on handshake data or force devices off the network to continually get the handshake data they need.

Enabling WPA3 on any new Wi-Fi router is one of the first things I’ll do, and it’s easy to handle because it’s done at the same time as adding Wi-Fi passwords and which wireless bands are being used. I’ll also turn off support for 802.11a/b/g/n because almost every device on my network uses Wi-Fi 5 or newer, and I’ve replaced most of the devices that only use 2.4GHz. That doesn’t make it more private, but it does show me which older devices I really should replace, as they’re often using insecure methods that slow down the rest of my network.

These steps are just the start of keeping your information private online

Keeping your data and network private is a never-ending task as companies and individuals create new ways to access our data. It’s essential to know the why behind turning off default settings or installing new software, as the tools change, but the basic tenets don’t. Encryption is good, but it needs to be used in every part of the chain, from web browsers to DNS requests, and every network segment in between. Physical privacy methods also have digital counterparts, and finding the ones that work for you is more important than using the most popular options. And above all, regular check-ins to see if new digital fingerprinting methods have been developed and how to outwit them.

The Magic V5’s thinness is made possible by innovations in its silicon-carbon battery, which stacks cells just 0.2 millimeters thick to create a battery that’s as thin as a bank card. The new phone is also light: At just 217 grams, the Magic V5 weighs less than the iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Behind these innovations is a “massive” amount of research and development, Hope Cao, Honor’s product expert on foldables, told Fortune ahead of the Magic V5 launch.

Honor invested 1 billion Chinese yuan ($139 million) towards researching its silicon-carbon battery technology. The company invests over 10% of its total revenue towards R&D each year.

“In terms of materials, structure, craftsmanship…everything is extremely costly from an R&D perspective,” Cao said. 

Foldables represent a small but rapidly expanding segment of the Chinese smartphone market. Sales in this category grew by 27% last year, according to Counterpoint Research. Book-type foldables, which open along the longer edge to create a larger screen, are particularly popular.

Cao suggests this aligns with Chinese consumer preference for versatile devices for both work and entertainment. A larger screen means more space for productivity apps, meaning users can do their work on a foldable smartphone rather than a laptop. The rise of “short dramas”—soap operas designed to be watched on a phone and easily shared on social media—are also pushing shoppers to invest in larger displays.

Honor was once Huawei’s budget smartphone division. U.S. sanctions forced the Chinese tech giant to offload the company in late 2020. The company had a 13% share of China’s smartphone market in the first quarter of 2025, according to Counterpoint, close behind Vivo, Oppo and Apple. 

China’s budget brands are now venturing into the premium market, seeking growth from selling higher-value phones, rather than a larger volume of cheaper models.

Still, the return of Huawei to the smartphone market in 2023 is weighing on Honor’s business. Counterpoint Research puts Huawei in first place in China’s smartphone market, alongside Xiaomi. 

Huawei’s success is also weighing on Apple, whose iPhone once dominated the Chinese market. Local smartphones now offer designs and features that Apple’s tried-and-true iPhone is struggling to match. Apple plans to release a book-style foldable phone in 2026, The Information reported last year. 

The iPhone maker is also struggling to launch its AI services in China. Earlier this year, Alibaba announced that it was going to be Apple’s local partner to offer Apple Intelligence to users. Yet the deal has reportedly drawn scrutiny in both Washington and Beijing. 

AI is quickly becoming a key differentiator for Chinese smartphones, including those designed by Honor. The Chinese company is experimenting with on-device AI, or services that run on the phone as opposed to the cloud. Honor plans to invest $10 billion over the next five years to develop AI for its product lineup, which it hopes to expand to include PCs, tablets and wearables. 

Marshall is introducing the second iteration of its Middleton portable Bluetooth speaker, the Middleton II, which boasts extended play time of up to 30+ hours per charge.

Available with 360° True Stereophonic multidirectional sound, the Marshall Middleton II can not only run for more than a day, it can also recharge in just 20 minutes. You get deeper bass and more refined performance at maximum volume, says Marshall. It’s also compact enough to be thrown into a bag and durable enough to be taken anywhere with an IP67 dust and water-resistance rating.

It also has a built-in microphone for making speakerphone calls and offers support for LE audio. Control playback using the multidirectional control knob: twist or press to play, pause, skip tracks, adjust volume, or answer calls. It can also double as a portable power bank.

The Marshall Middleton II will be available in Canada through Erikson Consumer in Q3 and sell for $399.98.

eBay Marketplace has kicked off its own eBay 4th of July Sale with a limited time 20% off coupon code “JULYFINDS” that works on hundreds of products across tech, home, apparel, and more. eBay is one of the best places to score great deals on both new and used products and even outpaces the Amazon Memorial Day sale on tons of items. Just because you’re leery of buying from a private seller doesn’t mean you should shy away from this marketplace. Most of the major retailers that you’ve heard of – including Dyson, Bose, Roborock, and Ecoflow – as well as authorized resellers have their own seller accounts and offer discounts that you can’t find elsewhere else.

Bose 4th of July Deals on eBay

The best Bose headphones and soundbars offer exceptional sound quality through a range of in-ear and over-ear headphones as well as best-in-class active noise cancellation. Paying extra attention to aesthetics, comfort, build, and audio, Bose is the go-to headphone brand if you want immersive sound that will block out external distractions. The official Bose eBay Store carries certified refurbished products with the same 1 year warranty as buying new as well as an additional 2 year AllState warranty that runs concurrently.

Roborock 4th of July Deals on eBay

Roborock is one of the largest robot vacuum brands in the world. Its products offer more features than Roomba at a more attractive price point. That doesn’t mean they are lower quality. I’ve owned both Roborock and Roomba models and my current Roborock has lasted longer, performed better, and costs less to maintain than any of the Roombas I’ve owned in the past. The Roborock eBay Store carries certified refurbished units of their entire lineup of robot vacuums and mops, They carry a 6 month warranty, which is less than the 12-month warranty for new units. Fortunately, eBay is also offering its 2 year Allstate warranty that runs concurrently.

Dyson 4th of July Deals on eBay

Dyson is one of the most well known household brands around, and its name is synonymous with quality, but usually that quality comes at a premium price. Fortunately, Dyson has its very own Dyson eBay store with huge markdowns on their certified refurbished products. Dyson offers a 6 month warranty on refub vacuum cleaners and fans and a 12 month warranty on their refurb beauty products and eBay also includes a 2 year AllState warranty that runs concurrently.

Ecoflow 4th of July Deals on eBay

Ecoflow is one of the largest and most well-known manufacturers of portable power stations. Their products are solidly built with a lot of practical features at an affordable price point. Product support after the purchase is generally pretty good, and firmware and software updates are consistently rolled out. Ecoflow sells certified refurbished power stations through its official Ecoflow eBay store. It offers the same warranty on refurbs as brand new products, which is anywhere from 24 months to 60 months depending on the model you choose.

4th of July Gaming Monitor Deals on eBay

Take advantage of some big discounts on some of the best gaming monitors, from high-end monitors with OLED panels, up to 480Hz refresh rate, and 4K resolution to perfectly capable 1080p 144Hz gaming monitors that fall well within the tightest of budgets

4th of July Samsung The Frame TV Deals on eBay

Samsung’s “The Frame” TV itself apart from all other TVs with its seamless aesthetics. It features an Art Mode that showcases your choice of fine art so that your TV looks more like a frame piece of artwork than a big blank TV screen. You can display art purchased from the Samsung Art Store or your own personal collection of NFTs, personal photos, and artwork collection. The built-in motion sensor allows the TV to display art only when someone is nearby. Several 2024 and 2025 models are on sale with the 20% off Memorial Day coupon. Buydig is an authorized Samsung reseller.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

When journalists Lily Canter, a contributor to the South China Morning Post, and Emma Wilkinson started running together in ultra races – ones that take six hours or more to finish – in 2020, they noticed that there were few women. Those women that did take part, though, did remarkably well.

When the pair started to look into it, they realised this was true for other endurance sports, too.

In their new book Ultra Women: The Trailblazers Defying Sexism in Sport, they delve into the science of sporting performance to explore the differences between the sexes.

They ask questions like: could fat stores and muscle type give women an edge over men in ultra distances? And what roles do pace, preparation and motherhood play?

Speaking to elite athletes and scientists, they reveal the largely unknown past of female endurance.

The book introduces poverty-stricken Greek mother Stamata Revithi, who sneaked into the 1896 Athens Olympics marathon; 1980s swimming pioneer Lynne Cox – who crossed the world’s coldest oceans in just a swimsuit; and Jasmin Paris, a British veterinarian who ran almost non-stop to win a 268-mile (431km) mountain race, the 2019 Montane Winter Spine Race along the Pennine Way in the UK – while breastfeeding.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 is back at Moscone West in San Francisco this October 27–29, bringing together 10,000+ startup and VC leaders to dig into what’s next in tech. And when it comes to artificial intelligence, the conversations aren’t just technical — they’re creative, cinematic, and boundary-pushing. That’s why Nikola Todorovic is headed to the AI Stage.

A visual effects veteran turned AI entrepreneur, Todorovic is the co-founder of Wonder Dynamics, now an Autodesk company. Alongside actor and producer Tye Sheridan, he helped launch Autodesk Flow Studio (formerly Wonder Studio), a groundbreaking AI platform that allows creators to seamlessly integrate 3D characters into live-action scenes. The platform uses cloud-based tools to automate complex processes like lighting, animation, and composition, giving filmmakers a radically faster and more accessible path to high-end visual effects.

Todorovic’s journey to this moment wasn’t traditional, but that’s exactly the point. As an award-winning filmmaker and VFX supervisor, he spent years working at the intersection of storytelling and technology. That experience led to Wonder Dynamics, where the mission has always been to empower artists, not replace them. The company’s acquisition by Autodesk in 2024 marked a major validation of that vision, and now Todorovic is helping shape the future of creative AI inside one of the industry’s biggest ecosystems.

At Disrupt, he’ll join other AI industry leaders for a wide-ranging panel on what’s coming next — from generative tools to ethical design to the future of creator workflows. Stay tuned to the fast-growing Disrupt agenda page for the latest updates. Expect a conversation in Todorovic’s session that spans beyond buzzwords and dives into the real-world impact of AI in media and beyond.

Join 10,000 other tech and VC leaders on the AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 to hear from Nikola Todorovic and other top voices driving the future of artificial intelligence. It’s all happening October 27–29 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Lock in your spot today and save up to $675 before prices go up.

When you’re not using your iPhone, the Lock Screen is what you see most often. Liquid Glass is everywhere in iOS 26, and it starts right when you pick up your device. The Lock Screen got a Liquid Glass overhaul, plus a few other new features.

Here’s what you’ll see first when you upgrade to ‌iOS 26‌.

Liquid Glass

The two customizable control buttons on the Lock Screen are larger and have a floating, glass-like appearance like the other Liquid Glass interface options in ‌iOS 26‌. The clock has a frosted glass appearance with the new “Glass” option, using lighting effects to make it look like glass in the real world.

Glass can be selected for any of the clock fonts, and you can choose a color to tint the glass. Apple has multiple preset options, or you can select your own.

When you tilt your ‌iPhone‌, light reflects and glints with the movement, for a realistic glass effect.

Notifications that are on your Lock Screen have a Liquid Glass aesthetic with a frosted glass look that leaves your wallpaper visible behind them.

Clock

In addition to having a Liquid Glass aesthetic, the clock can be resized to better match your ‌iPhone‌’s wallpaper using a new adaptive feature. When you’re customizing your Lock Screen, you can grab the corner of the time and drag it down to expand it.

Adjusting the size of the time only works with the first font option, and only with the standard Arabic, Western numbering.

With photo wallpapers, the time can automatically expand to fill in missing space, and it can change based on the image if you have Photo Shuffle set. The subject in photo wallpapers is meant to always be visible, and can overlap the time in unique ways in ‌iOS 26‌.

There is a Photos watch face for the Apple Watch that also supports time that changes size and position based on the wallpaper.

Wallpaper

There is a new default wallpaper that was designed for ‌iOS 26‌. It’s multiple shades of blue, with the same floating glass aesthetic that the rest of ‌iOS 26‌ features. The wallpaper can subtly shift with ‌iPhone‌ movement.

It’s a small detail, but the icons for selecting different wallpaper categories have been updated to better match the Liquid Glass design.

Spatial Scenes

Aside from the Liquid Glass time, Spatial Scenes are the biggest change to the Lock Screen. 2D photos that you set as wallpaper can be turned into 3D spatial images that separate the subject of the photo from the background using depth information.

When you move your ‌iPhone‌, Spatial Scenes shift and move along with it, making the images feel alive. Spatial Scenes is a feature in the ‌Photos‌ app too, and it can be added to any image that you’ve taken with your ‌iPhone‌, including older ones.

Tap on the small icon with a mountain and a sun to activate the Spatial Scenes setting when choosing a photo wallpaper.

Lock Screen widgets can be placed on the top of the display under the time, or at the bottom of the display. In earlier versions of iOS, you could only put widgets at the top of the screen. With the adaptive clock and new wallpaper options, widgets can also shift down automatically to ensure the subject of an image is always visible.

Apple Music

Apple added a new Lock Screen widget for Apple Music search, but there are no other new Lock Screen widget options. What is new, though, is a new full screen Now Playing interface that shows album art. Artwork expands and animates right on the Lock Screen.

Read More

We have a dedicated iOS 26 roundup that goes into detail on all of the new features that are available in the update.