The concept of portable battery packs that stack up one on top of the other for recharging isn’t new. But Otterbox’s new OtterSpot system appears to be the first that brings a wireless charging element to the mix. Priced at $130 for a base unit and one charge pad — no, it’s not cheap — you …

Wireless carrier Verizon and Wi-Fi provider Boingo are bringing 5G Ultra Wideband Service to indoor locations, like airports, stadiums and office buildings, Verizon said in a statement Thursday. Verizon describes the effort as “working together to architect a hyper-dense network.” Getting reliable 5G indoors has been an issue. The millimeter wave, or “mmWave,” spectrum that Verizon uses offers higher capacity but …

IT research firm Gartner released a forecast Thursday projecting revenues from worldwide 5G network infrastructure will reach $4.2 billion by 2020. That would amount to an 89% revenue hike from the firm’s 2019 projections of $2.2 billion. The firm expects overall 4G revenues to dip from $19.32 billion in 2019 to $18.28 billion in 2020, with similar drops in 3G …

Adding to its new line of multiroom wireless audio speakers, Bose has announced the Portable Home Speaker, a battery-powered smart speaker that has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa voice assistants. Available in black and silver on Sept. 19 for $349 (£370, $AU 500), it looks a little like Bose’s Bluetooth-only SoundLink Revolve Plus, …

Apple will unveil its 2019 iPhones next month. As we get closer to September, rumors continue to pour out about the iPhone 11, as well as possible updates for the iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods and HomePod speaker.  Apple’s next iPhones are expected to look a lot like the current ones, but the new high-end models may get a matte finish in …

Still shopping for a school laptop? Lenovo has just about the best deal I’ve seen yet, thanks to not only a discounted price, but also a couple great bundled extras and an unexpected extra savings. Here it is: For a limited time, and while supplies last, the Lenovo Yoga C630 two-in-one laptop is $660 (plus tax where applicable) with promo code …

LG’s new K50S and K40S phones, which will be unveiled next month at IFA 2019 in Berlin, will feature improved cameras, better displays and bigger batteries, the company said Thursday.  The LG K50S has three rear cameras: a 13-megapixel with phase detection auto focus (PDAF), a 5-megapixel for super wide angle and a 2-megapixel lens with depth sensor, which creates …

After a month of silence, DoorDash announced Thursday the specifics of how it’s changing its tipping policy for delivery workers. Now the workers will get all the tips customers add to their bills. This new pay model is slated to begin next month. The move comes after DoorDash received backlash for putting customers’ tips for delivery workers into its own pockets. …

Before you start complaining about your new titanium Apple Card losing some of its luster, Apple wants you to know up front that, yes, it’s possible to clean it wrong. If for some reason you like to clean things with leather, don’t. Apple posted a support page on Wednesday that explains the proper way to clean and store your new …

Google’s Chrome team on Thursday proposed a “privacy sandbox” that’s designed to give us the best of both worlds: ads that publishers can target toward our interests but that don’t infringe our privacy. It’s a major development in an area where Chrome, the dominant browser, has lagged competitors. Browsers already include security sandboxes, restrictions designed to confine malware and limit …

As a general rule, I don’t care for modular products, which are often disproportionately expensive and/or more hassle than they’re worth. But the SwitchLok phone-mount system is an exception; I didn’t expect to like it, but it won me over by deftly solving three key problems: protecting my phone, mounting my phone in my car and mounting my phone on …

Google removed 210 YouTube channels earlier this week as part of its effort to combat misinformation. The channels were “coordinated influence operations” related to the ongoing pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, the company said Thursday in a blog post. The decision follows Twitter suspending 936 accounts from China on Monday that attempted to undermine the protests in Hong Kong, and …

It’s the social media hoax that won’t die. Since the beginning of the week, celebrities, politicians and everyday folks have fallen for a ruse about supposed changes coming to Instagram’s privacy policies. The practical joke declares IG is implementing a “rule where they can use your photos.” Though the head of the Facebook-owned service has debunked the hoax post, people …

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G comes out on Friday, and tech repair site iFixit has already revealed the inner workings of the new flagship phone in its latest teardown. While most of the components are the standard fare for a phone, the Korean tech company made some interesting design changes with this 5G phone, including one alteration that takes …

The rising costs of phones and carrier plans mean people are now waiting almost three years to upgrade to the next new smartphone, and younger people are staying on family plans longer. Or at least that’s what two consumer surveys indicated Thursday. Research from Strategy Analytics found that more people are keeping their smartphones longer, while researchers at Let’s Talk …