io9Toys & Collectibles

Playmobil’s Ghostbusters Toys Now Come With Floating Holographic Ghosts to Trap

The first wave of Playmobil’s Ghostbusters was an all-encompassing effort that transformed nearly every last character and vehicle into a wonderful line of toys. As a follow-up, the German toymaker is now turning to the film’s sequel, Ghostbusters II, for a new series of figures that use your smartphone to help bring ghosts to life. … Continued

ScienceHealth

Study: Being a Teen Sucks Now

Today’s kids are better behaved than ever. They’re having less sex (and more safely when they do), committing less crime, and doing fewer drugs. But research has also started to show they might be unhappier than previous generations of youths. A new study published today in Emotion adds more support to a leading theory on … Continued

Tech News

South Korean Prosecutors Are Investigating Apple Over the iPhone Throttling Controversy

Prosecutors in South Korea’s capital of Seoul said on Friday that they plan to investigate allegations tech giant Apple deliberately slowed down older models of iPhone to push customers towards purchasing pricier newer versions, the Korea Herald reported. According to the Herald’s report, Seoul-based Citizens United for Consumer Sovereignty filed a complaint against Apple CEO … Continued

Tech NewsPrivacy & Security

OnePlus Says Hack Exposed Credit Cards of Up to 40,000 Customers

Data breaches are now commonplace, but that doesn’t make them any less serious. So when a number of users reported seeing suspicious activity on their credit cards after buying something from OnePlus’ online store, the company launched an investigation to find out what really happened. Now the results are in, and it’s not looking good. … Continued

Tech News

Tim Cook Promises to Let iPhone Users Turn Off Throttling Soon

It only took a scandal blowing up in its face and getting hit with more than 20 different lawsuits, but it seems at long last, Apple will finally give people the option to disable the performance throttling that was slowing down older iPhones. This news was revealed in an interview between Apple CEO Tim Cook … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

OnePlus Shuts Down Credit Card Payments After Reports of Suspicious Transactions

Recently, OnePlus was on a roll. The OnePlus 5T is easily the best phone the company has ever made, and just before CES 2018, OnePlus released a rather attractive white color variant for its latest mid-range phone. However, things got derailed last week when OnePlus customers started reporting they were seeing unknown transactions hit their … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

Sony Mobile Could Be Making a Comeback

There was once a time when Sony’s Xperia phones were some of the slickest, most fashionable Android phones out there, thanks to their stylish, minimalist designs and trend-setting features like water-resistance way back in 2013. Somewhere along the line, the company got stuck in a rut, and despite having phones with impressive specs, Sony’s inability … Continued

Tech News

Now the Senate Wants Answers About Apple’s iPhone Throttling Controversy

The fallout over Apple’s decision to throttle the performance of older models of iPhone with degraded batteries has continued to mount despite the company’s apologies, with Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee chair Sen. John Thune asking the company to give Congress more information. Per Reuters, Thune sent a letter on January 9th asking Apple … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

At $100, This Super-Tall Phone Will Be Super Cheap

The biggest trend among smartphones in 2017 was extra-wide 18:9 aspect ratio displays. Samsung and LG got things started back in the spring, and even Apple hopped on the trend earlier this fall with the iPhone X. But if you’re looking for budget handsets with one of those super-tall screens, the best you can do … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

Report: AT&T Cancels Plans to Sell Phones From Chinese Tech Giant Huawei

AT&T has reportedly backed off from a proposal to sell Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei’s devices in the U.S. at the last minute, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. It wasn’t immediately clear why AT&T bounced on its deal with the Shenzen, China-based manufacturer just one day before it was expected to announce the U.S. … Continued

Tech NewsCommerce

Amazon’s Next Big Thing Could Be Serving You Ads on the Go

Rumors Facebook is always secretly recording you have long refused to die, but it turns out Amazon may be the first tech giant to achieve the age-old dream of a total advertising Panopticon. On Friday, Amazon released the new Alexa Mobile Accessory Kit, which is intended to help developers integrate the company’s personal smart assistant … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

Here Comes CES 2018, the Biggest Gadget Show in the World—What to Expect

In just a few days, upwards of 175,000 industry insiders, exhibitors, and members of the media will once again descend upon Las Vegas in attempts to set the pace of tech for the next 12 months. Not only will some of the world’s largest and most influential companies such as Samsung, LG, Ford, and others … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

All the Ways Your Smartphone and Its Apps Can Track You

The little pocket supercomputers we all constantly carry around with us aren’t just supplying us with useful information, they’re also collecting a host of data on us and our habits, all of the time. Here’s a guide to what gets collected by your smartphone and the apps running on it, and how you can take … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

One of the Best Midrange Phones Is Even Better in White

Just in time for the eastern seafront to get assaulted with a bomb cyclone carrying blasts of snow and freezing temps, OnePlus has released a frosty new color variant of the 5T. On the inside, the white OP5T is the same as the black model I reviewed a few months ago, so I’m not going … Continued

Tech News

Apple Will Sell You a $29 Replacement Battery Even If You Don’t Need One

After Apple admitted to slowing down older iPhones, the company tried to calm frustrated customers by dropping the price of out-of-warranty battery replacements from $79 to $29. Unfortunately, even that discount came with a catch, because unless your phone’s battery failed a diagnostic test at the Genius Bar, you wouldn’t actually be eligible for a … Continued

Tech News

Apple’s iPhone Throttling Apology Tour Continues With Slash in Battery Replacement Price

Apple has slashed the price of replacement batteries for out-of-warranty iPhone models the company throttled earlier than expected, lowering the price from $79 to $29. Apple had originally throttled the phones as part of a solution to degraded batteries leading to iOS crashes, but their lack of transparency on the issue enraged many customers (and … Continued

Tech News

You Have 10 Seconds to Guess How Fucked Up HQ Trivia Will Get When It Launches on Android

HQ Trivia, the alarmingly popular trivia app which increasingly threatens to take over our reality, has been iOS-only since its mid-October launch. The result has been that 12 times a week, iPhone owners have been swarmed by everyone else trying to get a slice of that sweet, addictive trivia. The good news: Soon all those … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

14 Useful Apps to Install on Your New Phone

You’re staring down at your shiny, unwrapped, brand new smartphone—so what do you do next? Where do you start with the hundreds of thousands of apps at your fingertips? These are the apps we always install first on any new iOS or Android device. We’ve focused on utility apps and tried to steer clear of … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

Smartphones Might Get Super Exciting Again in 2018

Let’s face it, even though phones continue to get faster and companies continue to cram even more tech into people’s pocket computers, you wouldn’t be wrong if you said smartphones have gotten a little boring to the casual consumer. Much of the time, it seems people are much more concerned with making sure there’s a … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

10 Tips for Making Journeys Faster with Google Maps and Apple Maps

It’s no exaggeration to say map apps like Google Maps and Apple Maps have transformed the way we get from A to B, replacing paper maps, guesswork, and friendly strangers with the power of our smartphones. But if you’re using these apps in default mode, you may not be getting to your destination as quickly … Continued