Author: Press Room

HBO has given us many iconic series over the years, from The Sopranos to The Wire to Sex and the City and beyond. An embarrassing number of HBO shows have become modern classics, but some have largely been forgotten despite being just as good, and maybe even more influential. Case in point: Rome, a two-season historical epic that aired between 2005 and 2007. This show has sky-high ratings on Rotten Tomatoes, where audiences come close to giving it a near 100% fresh rating with critics not far behind. And yet, it’s been criminally forgotten when people discuss the HBO canon.…

I’m going to preface this column by noting something that’s really quite important, given the headline: I can be comically bad at making tech predictions. Some years ago, at the dawn of my tech-writing career, I was quoted in MacUser arguing that the iPod wouldn’t be a hit. In hindsight, I foreshadowed Steve Ballmer’s infamous iPhone take. “I said that is the most expensive phone in the world and it doesn’t appeal to business customers because it doesn’t have a keyboard,” he chortled. I was similarly all “this thing is very expensive and no one will want it”. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. What I’d…

Dolby Atmos is everywhere. I’ve seen wireless speakers and soundbars with Dolby Atmos support. I’ve used streaming services touting spatial audio powered by Atmos. Most recently, the new Motorola phone I’m reviewing has Dolby Atmos speakers. Frankly, I think Dolby is playing too loose with the Atmos brand. If the catchy name is on basically every audio product and streaming service, it’s hard to know what seeing the Dolby Atmos logo actually tells you. The one thing you should know about Dolby Atmos is that not all Atmos content is the same quality. There are many misconceptions about Dolby Atmos,…

Thinking about upgrading your phone? You’ve come to the right place. With so many models to choose from, it can be tricky to know which one’s worth your money. That’s why we’ve put together this guide, highlighting our top picks based on the things that matter most day to day. Whether you’re drawn to a big-screen Android or Apple’s latest iPhone, these are the handsets we think stand out. We don’t just look at spec sheets – we test phones in real life. That means streaming shows to see how long the battery lasts, snapping hundreds of photos in different…

The Android world was quick to turn sci-fi folding displays into tech reality. Samsung, Google, Motorola, OnePlus, Xiaomi… almost every brand has a flip-style or book-style foldable on their slate – or is about to, looking at Stuff’s list of upcoming smartphones. And indeed – one of the key things we are expecting from Apple this fall is a foldable iPhone. The launch of one has been long-rumored, which is no surprise given other manufacturers’ penchant for them. It would be a big departure for Apple, though. It’s been a long-held assumption the company wouldn’t take the plunge until it found…

Severance is a sci-fi series about people with a very unique take on work-life balance: when they’re at work, they remember nothing about their life outside the office. And when they’re home, they remember nothing of what they did at work. They voluntarily underwent the “severance” procedure offered by Lumon Industries, which basically means that there are multiple people living inside their heads, and never the twain shall meet. That leads to all kinds of strange complications that have made Severance one of the best sci-fi shows on Apple TV+, not to mention one of the most popular. Unfortunately, it’ll…

When the MoonSwatch dropped in 2022, it broke the internet, and resulted in long queues outside Swatch boutiques. Now, the watch world is buzzing again, and this time the stakes might be even higher. It looks like a collaboration between Swatch and Audemars Piguet, inspired by the legendary Royal Oak, is imminent. By now you’ve probably seen the AI renders flooding your Instagram feed or caught a headline or two. You’ve also probably seen the words “Royal Pop” more times than you care to imagine… If you’ve lost track of what’s real and what’s not, here’s every leak, official detail,…

Instant granules might be the definition of convenient coffee, but even the most expensive stir-in stuff can’t rival the results you’ll get from one of the best coffee machines. Whether you’re a casual morning sipper or a dedicated home barista, investing in the right coffee machine can completely transform your daily brew. If you’re keen to kick your caffeine routine up a gear, from espresso makers and bean-to-cup machines to drip filters and pod coffee makers, these coffee machines make it easy to brew up better batches at home. They all deliver café-quality results without the café price tag –…

Science fiction has been warning us about robots for decades, albeit rather dramatically. Uprisings, existential crises, mankind enslaved by its own creation. But here, we’re considering a quieter takeover: a human alone, emotionally and physically bonding with a humanoid that never argues about whose turn it is to do the dishes. As AI sex robots become more sophisticated — learning your preferences, mirroring your emotional language, offering inexhaustible responsiveness — we asked neuroscientists and psychologists for their opinions on what they could be doing to the human brain and what happens when intimacy becomes frictionless (no pun intended).  The reward loop…

One of the biggest complaints users have with Google TV is the default home screen. It’s cluttered with ads, suggested content, and distracting sections that constantly compete for your attention. And it’s not something you can easily ignore either. Even when you know what you want to watch, you still have to navigate through all that noise just to get there. Thankfully, you’re not out of options. An easy way to get around this is to replace the default experience with something like Arc Launcher. It’s a free, open-source launcher that gives your TV a minimal, customizable interface. Related How…