Gadgets & Tech – Spoken Edition

Back in 2017, Apple was hit with a class-action lawsuit claiming that updates to iOS had throttled iPhones and negatively impacted performance. And now, after a prolonged legal battle, Apple has agreed to settle the lawsuit by paying out up to $500 million.

No amount of caffeine, sugar, or Doritos can get around it: Even the most die-hard gamer is going to have to eventually abandon their sweet gaming setup and climb into bed for some rest. But that doesn’t necessarily mean gaming has to be put on hold, thanks to Bauhutte’s new Gaming Beds. It’s a creation straight out of dystopian predictions of mankind’s future.

Facebook’s redesign for its Messenger app proves two things: 1) Facebook’s leaning hard into its Stories format after the feature’s success on Instagram; and 2) Yes, those cha tbots really were the worst. Facebook’s ditching the Discover tab, a hub for various business tools and games, among other updates to help streamline the private messaging app’s design.

Android users with active Apple Music subscriptions now appear to have the option to link the app with Shazam, delivering an integration that’s previously been available for Spotify. Android Police first reported a beta test of the feature was accessible on Android from the Library page of the Shazam settings menu.

On Friday, the House of Representatives approved new legislation that bans the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products. The bill was contentious among the Democratic caucus this week but ultimately passed with a vote of 213-195. The bill will now advance to the Senate but the Trump administration warned in a notice on Thursday that the President may veto the legislation if it makes it to his desk in its current form.

Apple really, really wants you to consider the iPad a MacBook replacement, so after adding cursor support in the latest version of iPad OS, the company reportedly has a reimagined Smart Keyboard with a built-in trackpad on deck. According to a new report from th e Information, Apple is getting ready to release the new keyboard alongside a refreshed iPad Pro this fall.

When we think about companies “harvesting our data,” chances are we’re thinking of The Big Tech Names doing that harvesting. But sometimes, even these companies get taken for a bit of a ride.

Scientists studying kea, New Zealand’s alpine parrot, revealed that the famously mischievous birds could understand probabilities, an impressive mental feat.

The pair of researchers put six birds through a series of trials to see how they made decisions when faced with uncertainty. When prompted to choose, the kea generally opted for scenarios where they were more likely to earn a reward. This work is further evidence of some birds’ general intelligence, according to the paper published in Nature Communications.

The famed DIY rocketeer “Mad” Mike Hughes, who in 2018 successfully launched himself more than 1,800 feet into the sky in a homemade rocket, died on Saturday in a tragic accident. To the end though, it can be said that he passed doing what he loved to do: launching rockets. According to CNN, the 64-year-old died during an attempt to launch another homemade rocket on Saturday.

Nintendo is known for its excellent customer service, but now and then the company will go above and beyond the call of duty for special cases.