Accessory maker Plugable began selling on Thursday a compact USB-C hub that will address a problem many PC users have experienced: more peripherals than ports. The TBT4-HUB3C hub, which sells for $189, includes three connections for storage systems, external monitors and other peripherals and a fourth connection to link to your computer. The hub supports …

Expanding its paid services push, browser maker Brave on Wednesday launched a videoconferencing service called Brave Talk designed to protect privacy better than existing options like Zoom. It’s free, though a premium option costing $7 per month adds features like recording video and supporting groups of three or more. Videoconferencing use has exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic as school, work, …

Now that Microsoft lets you ditch your passwords for Outlook.com, Xbox Live and other online accounts, you might want to consider taking the jump. Dumping your logins can improve security and convenience. Ditching your password can improve security, if only because it means you don’t have to rely on your memory to get into your accounts. We all have too …

Better iPhone cameras and faster chips are great, but one of the biggest improvements Apple could make on the iPhone is adding a USB-C port. That’s why I was cheered this week to see signs Apple might someday make that change. Apple introduced the iPhone 13 on Tuesday with the same old Lightning port the company has used since 2012. Lightning …

With its new iPhone 13 models, Apple has added notable new camera features to get an edge in the smartphone photography market. Cinematic mode, on all iPhone 13 models, uses AI and computational photography to change focus from one subject to another, a technique you’ll often see in the movies. And macro photography on the iPhone 13 Pro lets you …

Microsoft already convinced 200 million of us to enable passwordless authentication so we can get to Outlook.com, Xbox Live, OneDrive and Skype. Now it’s letting those who want to do so dump the passwords altogether. On Wednesday, the company opened up a new option to delete your password authentication. That means your sole means of logon will be using some …

Apple on Tuesday revealed its iPhone 13’s processor, the A15 Bionic, a chip with 15 billion transistors and new graphics and AI abilities. Transistors are the core circuitry elements that process and store data on chips, and the count this year is significantly higher than the 11.8 billion on the A14 chip that powers iPhone 12 models introduced in 2020. …

If you’re enthusiastic about your mobile gadgets, you may have a wireless charging pad where you plop your phone for a battery top-up. A host of companies, though, hope for a more liberating technology that beams power through the air. One of them, GuRu Wireless, is powering a wireless charging station that Motorola demonstrated on Wednesday. And another, Ossia, just cleared a regulatory hurdle …

Here’s a good reason to upgrade to Windows 11: Your laptop won’t be able to take advantage of the full range of speed and battery features in Intel’s new Alder Lake processor without Microsoft’s latest operating system. Windows 11 arrives on Oct. 5, the same time of year as the first PCs using Alder Lake, Intel’s successor to its 11th …

Apple wants to hire a programmer who knows about RISC-V, a processor technology that competes with the Arm designs that power iPhones, iPads and newer Macs. The company’s interest emerged in a job posting for a “RISC-V high performance programmer” that Apple published Thursday. It’s not clear exactly what Apple’s plans are for the technology. Apple didn’t respond to a …