A leaked Samsung Magnetic Wireless Powerbank suggests the Galaxy S26 series will fully embrace Qi2, offering built-in magnets, 15W wireless charging, and a kickstand.
The post Samsungโs leaked Qi2 wireless powerbank offers a 5,000 mAh capacity for a steep price appeared first on Digital Trends.
Thinner lithium sulfur batteries may be closer thanks to a foamed, protein-based binder that forms microchannels inside the cathode. A new report says those pathways survive calendering, even after heavy compression.
The post Thinner lithium sulfur batteries could fit your devices without bulky packs appeared first on Digital Trends.
A new phone leak shows a mini rear display beside the camera, letting you frame selfies with the main sensor. Big battery and Android 16 are listed, but price and launch regions are still missing.
The post This new phone puts a mini screen next to the camera for your selfies appeared first on Digital Trends.
Nissan's 2026 Murano and Pathfinder debut Qi2 magnetic wireless charging in the U.S., bringing stronger alignment, faster power delivery, and fewer charging failures.
The post Get ready to ditch the cables as Nissan fixes the in-car wireless charging conundrum appeared first on Digital Trends.
Twelve South just announced a new modular wireless charging tray. Here are all the details on this.
The post Twelve South Announced A New Modular Wireless Charging Tray first appeared on Redmond Pie.
By the time we hit Kelso, it was clear my familyโs post-Christmas EV adventure was hitting the skids.
After departing from Seattle, we stopped in Olympia for lunch and a little recharge for our recently purchased 2024 Mach-E โ the electric Ford Mustang. But the Level 2 charger found via Google Maps offered a paltry boost and we had 115 miles to our Portland destination.
No problem. Weโd make a second stop at a Tesla Supercharger in Kelso, a small city off of Interstate 5 formerly known for logging and smelt fishing. The Mach-E sucked up electrons from the DC fast charger, hitting 80% charge in about 20 minutes.
But when we went to unplug, the third-party adapter that allowed us to charge our non-Tesla EV wouldnโt budge. We were trapped, tethered to the station via a high-powered cable, late on a Saturday afternoon. All-knowing YouTube offered a fix: use a really big pair of pliers called channel locks to force the button to give. My husband went off on foot to a nearby farm supply store seeking the device.
Our 17-year-old daughter, in the meantime, had run out of TikToks and patience. She began wrestling the adapter herself and through a combination of finesse, strength and desperation she disengaged the charger. It was a giddy moment โ but a brief reprieve as we continued driving south.
Wintry temperatures and dinner in the brilliantly named Portland suburb of Scappoose left the Mustang battery unnervingly low. More map searching near our hotel led us to a nearly empty parking garage that promised charging on the eighth floor. After circling to the roof we found one broken charger and another being used by a couple in an embrace outside their electric truck, inexplicably kissing in the cold.
The charging mishaps had left us tired, frustrated and anxious โ with only ourselves to blame.
Historically, Iโve been largely indifferent toward cars, owning a series of forgettable Toyotas and Hondas โ safe, reliable cars that got me from point A to B with reasonable fuel efficiency. I had wanted to go electric in 2017 when shopping for my previous car, but the Chevy Bolt was underwhelming and Tesla too swanky. A Toyota Prius it was.
Then on a sunny afternoon last October, a driver mounted a steep hill in Seattleโs Ballard neighborhood, failed to brake at a stop sign, and smashed into my Prius. I was rattled but largely unscathed, and so was the other driver and his passenger. Both cars, however, were totaled.
Their insurance covered the loss and we searched for a replacement. My husband genuinely likes cars and took the lead in shopping with my one condition in mind: it had to be an EV.
We landed on the Mach-E, which startled friends and family alike who knew my milquetoast automotive track record. But despite its relative machismo and flash, the Mustang was the practical choice โ good real-world range at about 240 miles, great value, and the roomy interior of a crossover-style vehicle.
One spin behind the wheel and I was smitten. I love the car. It handles nicely. Itโs comfortable. The fact it can go from zero to 60 in 4 seconds doesnโt really impact my reality, but pleases me all the same. I size up exhaust-spewing muscle cars next to me at stoplights and imagine smoking them.
When the holidays arrived, I was cruising in my Mach-E and imagined that our Portland trip would be as easy as traveling via gas power.
After all, the EV market share had hit more than 20% in Washington in 2024, and charging stations were cropping up at grocery stores and along highways. I didnโt want to spend the time figuring out which of the many available apps was best for finding charging sites. I didnโt want to download and create accounts with the many charging service providers. I just wanted to tap the accelerator.
But that wasnโt realistic. Energy infrastructure takes time to deploy. For decades after the internal combustion engine reigned supreme, drivers still needed to map out gas stops on lengthy road trips. Things improved for EVs in general when Tesla began opening its Supercharger network to non-Tesla drivers in 2023. (A GeekWire story the year before recounted the headaches faced by an electric Mustang road tripper without that access.)
The EV charging network, however, is still lagging and faces new challenges under the Trump administration, which has imposed policies to remove incentives and slow EV infrastructure deployment.
In most ways, Iโd found the switch to an EV surprisingly convenient. Weโre fortunate to have off-street parking at home, and itโs super satisfying to simply click a Level 1 slow charger into the car and walk away. The device uses a regular outlet in our garage and generally provides the vehicle enough power for work, errands and local day trips.
We drove the Mustang on an overnight trip to Bellingham, Wash., in November and easily found power at clearly marked, city-owned parking spots with free electrons. On a separate outing to hike near the tulip capital of Mount Vernon, I simply plugged in afterwards at an EVgo fast charger near my house to quickly refill.
We were lulled into complacency and unprepared for longer EV travel. After botching Portland, I checked in with Seattle-area experts for charging tips, which left me feeling sheepish for my self-inflicted ignorance.
I got feedback from Matthew Metz, founder of Coltura and CEO of EVQ, a startup supporting EV purchases; Scott Case, founder of the EV data platform Recurrent; and Grace Reamer and Jay Donnaway, who are respectively current and past leaders of the Seattle Electric Vehicle Association, or SEVA.
My takeaways:
EVQ and Recurrent also have their own terrific sources for essential information:
Despite our rookie mistakes, panic and wasted time, we did have a nice trip to Portland (I highly recommend Casa Zoraya for amazing Peruvian food and my body literally aches for a return to Dragontree Spa). To finish the trip and get home to Seattle, we used EVgo fast chargers outside of downtown Portland and in Chehalis, Wash., that worked quickly and without hiccups.
Looking ahead, weโll undertake our next road trip with a full charge, a better plan and a car I still love.
Phone batteries may have peaked. Weโve been hovering around the 5,000mAh mark in Android phones for years, and thereโs no magical technology on the horizon to increase that. High charging speeds are almost as good, and thatโs increasing by leaps and bounds with devices like the new OnePlus 11. The latest device from Chinese smartphone maker Realme leaves everyone else in the dust. The new Realme GT Neo 5 supports incredible 240W fast charging, making it the fastest-charging phone in the world.
The GT Neo 5 has a 4,600mAh battery, which the company claims can go from zero to 100 in just nine and a half minutes. If you donโt even have that long, a moment on the charger will ensure your phone has all the juice it needs before you head out the door. GSMArena reports it can charge to 80% in just 80 seconds and 50% in four minutes. You could plug in your totally dead phone while you put on your shoes and have enough charge to last the better part of a day.
Realme is a subsidiary of BBK Electronics, the Chinese megacorportation that also owns Oppo, Vivo, and OnePlus. Oppo showed off a 240W charger in 2022, and we assume this device uses the same technology. Realme says the 240W charger takes advantage of the latest USB power specification, which was updated in 2021 to add support for charging at 240W. It has yet to appear in any Oppo or OnePlus phone, but that might be on the way.
The Realme GT Neo 5 has only been announced for China, and itโs unlikely it will make it to many international markets. Realme doesnโt operate in the US at all, and even if it did release the GT Neo 5, it wouldnโt charge as fast. China uses 220v electricity, but many other markets, like the US, have 110v. That makes it harder to reach extremely high charging wattages. For example, the OnePlus 11 charges at 80W stateside but 100W in China.
Aside from the charging, thereโs not much that sets the GT Neo 5 apart from other high-end Chinese Android phones. It has last yearโs Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, a 6.74-inch 1240p OLED with 144Hz refresh, and an underwhelming triple-camera array with a 50MP main, 8MP ultrawide, and 2MP macro. It also has some LED lighting on the back that can act as a notification alert.
For those in China, the Realme GT Neo 5 starts at 2,599 yuan ($380-ish), but that version only supports 150W charging. To get the worldโs fastest charging, youโll have to spend 3,199 yuan (about $470) on the 240W version. The more expensive SKU doubles the RAM from 8 to 16GB, but the cheaper one actually has a slightly larger 5,000mAh battery.
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