Rob LeFebvre
(He/Him)
As seen in:
Medium,
MSN,
MSN Canada,
Yahoo Life,
Yahoo Singapore,
Engadget,
Yahoo Finance,
Entrepreneur,
Flipboard,
International Business Times (U.S.)
and
Covers:
Technology, gaming (mobile, console, PC), education, music
Freelance Writer & Managing Editor
Formerly @LifewireTech, @Engadget, @GamesBeat
Adult-onset gamer, guitarist, singer, lover. he/him, INFP
Articles by Rob LeFebvre
LPDDR6 RAM is here, and its biggest advantage isn't what you'd expect
When LPDDR RAM was announced, I expected it to be a story about speed. Every new RAM standard is pitched with bigger and bigger numbers. Then the first phone shipped with it, and the speed didn't bump up very much at all. What did change is how much power the memory burns doing the same jobs as before, and that matters more for the phones we carry around all day.
I tested Lenovo's Googlebook 15, and it's an easy laptop to like
The first time I opened the Lenovo Googlebook 15 at home, people in my house said "ooh" before I'd even signed in. After working with it for a while, I get the reaction: it's light, sharp, and easy to like. Googlebook OS is Google's successor to ChromeOS, built around Android apps and Gemini AI, and Lenovo angles its Googlebook 15 as a natural partner for Android phone owners. There's a lot here to like, along with a few catches worth knowing before you spend $1,099 on one of your own.
I stopped chasing Wi-Fi 7 once I saw what my Wi-Fi 6 gateway actually delivers
Wi-Fi 7 promises up to four times the speed of Wi-Fi 6, and Xfinity already offers Wi-Fi 7 gateways in some areas. Before requesting one, I measured what my current Wi-Fi 6 gateway was actually delivering. My laptop and phone already support Wi-Fi 7, but the speed gains only show up when the router does too, and my Xfinity XB7 is a Wi-Fi 6 gateway that hides its channel and channel-width controls (so I can’t switch on Wi-Fi 6’s wider 160MHz channels).
Please stop disabling this Windows feature to “protect” your SSD
Some SSD guides and forum threads still repeat the same advice: open Optimize Drives and switch off the schedule. The logic seems sound, as the tool still has "defragment" in its name, defragging an SSD performs extra writes for no speed gain, and every write chips away at the drive's lifespan. On a modern Windows PC, though, switching it off is one of the few tweaks that can make your drive slower. That name is misleading: on an SSD, the tool mostly does something else entirely.
I tried the aluminum foil Wi-Fi trick everyone swears by, and here's what actually happened
When I went to install some security cameras in my driveway a while back, I found that the Wi-Fi signal strength wasn't powerful enough to make them work. Then I heard about this aluminum foil trick, where you add regular kitchen foil to your router setup, that could help with my problem. Of course, I went to check it out. I measured three spots in my house, my computer desk, my bedroom, and the garage spot I'd had trouble with.
My old MP3 collection finally has a home on Android Auto
I'm old enough to have a fairly decent MP3 collection, back from when we were burning our CDs to our hard drives and collecting them on our iPods (or Zunes, I guess). I wanted to play some of these in the car, without the extra hassle of making sure my iPod is charged and that I have some sort of adapter to allow it to play through my sound system. Streaming is very convenient, of course, but it comes with a price.
My old MP3 collection finally has a home on Android Auto
Super Mario 13 hours ago Programmer ports Super Mario 64 to Microsoft’s Zune HD media player tomshardware.com - Shane Downing • 13h The Nintendo 64 game Super Mario 64 has come to the Microsoft Zune HD, Hackaday reports, through a project that runs natively on the device’s hardware … Technology 2 days ago I’m Still Convinced the iPod Was the Perfect Gadget WIRED - Steven Levy • 2d Apple’s original music player got many things right. Chief among them: It didn’t connect to the internet.
This $299 engraving tool should be great for newbies, but needs some software polish
When Creality sent me its consumer-level engraving unit, the Falcon A1C, I was excited to try my hand at personalizing things for gifts and items around the house. The company sent along blanks for stone coasters, commemorative coins, metal wallets, and wood blanks that can be engraved and even cut out. As I used the A1C to create, I found the hardware impressive, especially at this price point. What I didn't love was the software, though the desktop version was easier to use than the mobile app.
I installed malware test files on my Galaxy Z Fold 8 to test Security Brief but it didn't catch any of them
My Galaxy Z Fold 8 has had two sideloaded apps on it for over a week, and One UI 9's new Security Brief was already switched on. Samsung says it flags exactly that kind of app, but I haven't seen any report. Security Brief is one of the headline privacy features in One UI 9, and Samsung pitches it as an early warning for malware, apps from unknown sources, and unnecessary permissions. If it works, people who sideload get a passive safety net without digging through settings.
I jumped from the Apple Watch Series 7 to the Series 12, and these 7 upgrades made it worth it
My Apple Watch Series 7 did its job for almost five years. It tracked my workouts, helped me set timers, and notified me about messages I should've ignored. Then Apple's watchOS 27 update left it off the supported list, and it had a horrible battery health score that led to it being on the charger more often than I needed it on my wrist, and it was time to upgrade. So I bought the Series 12. On paper, it's the same rounded square with a slightly bigger screen, for sure.
Your streaming setup is probably down-mixing Dolby Atmos, and here's how to stop it
Whether it's a movie or a playlist, streaming Atmos passes through your plan, your hardware, and an app setting before it reaches your speakers or headphones. Any of them can drop it to 5.1 or stereo, and you might not even notice at first. Dolby Atmos is a surround format that lets mixers place each sound in three-dimensional space, overhead included.
I tried 4 iPhone Duo fold animations on my Galaxy Z Fold 8, and only one worked
I got my Z Fold 8 weeks before Apple's keynote, and the one iPhone Duo feature I envied turned out to be software. I figured it might be fun to try and recreate it on my Samsung phone, so I went out looking for a solution. The animation effect on the iPhone Duo demos went pretty viral, and Reddit user moomanjohnny got something like it on the Fold 8 by mapping hinge readings to animation frames. Developers have since created installable versions.
I tried 4 iPhone Duo fold animations on my Galaxy Z Fold 8, and only one worked
1 day ago The next wave of Mac releases will center on the Apple Silicon M6 chipset. Apple debuted it in the M6-powered Mac Mini, announced on Aug. 25, 2026 and going on sale Sept. 22, 2026. The MacBook Pro family is next. Apple’s MacBook portfolio, while not as regular as the iPhone, still offers a guide to …
I shoot at 24MP instead of 50MP on my Samsung, and it saves me more storage than I expected
I left my Fold 8 on 50MP for its first weeks because more pixels felt like a better choice. Then I checked my storage and realized it was eating up a lot of the space on my phone. The higher MP count does for sure pull in great detail, especially in good light. Since Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 doesn't have a telephoto lens, the extra resolution can double as a way to counteract crop zooms. That's the main reason I defaulted to the mode in the first place.
Bluetooth stays on even when you turn it off, and it's costing you battery life
As my phones get older, I notice the battery dropping faster and faster. Even my newer Samsung Galaxy devices can benefit from a small limit on background scanning. Your smartphone has a ton of features that listen for nearby devices, from smart home gadgets and earbuds to other phones. There are location accuracy scans, one-tap pairing scans, file-sharing beacons, crowdsourced finder networks, and app-level device permissions.
Bluetooth stays on even when you turn it off, and it's costing you battery life
AirPods Pro 3 hours ago AirPods Pro 3 and more just got new firmware update in beta 9to5Mac - Ryan Christoffel • 3h Apple has new beta firmware rolling out now for AirPods Pro 3, AirPods Pro 2, and select other models. Here are the details. Apple releases new AirPods beta firmware for select models If your AirPods have an H2 chip, there’s new beta firmware rolling out now for early testing.
Technics put its best earbud tech into over-ears, and I'm not going back
I spent over 13 hours on two planes wearing these new Technics EAH-A1000 over-ear headphones, and I have to say they're some of the best I've ever worn. With a 45-hour battery, fast charging capabilities, and a host of audio technology that comes from Technics' long line of hi-fi expertise, the A1000 headphones perform at the top of their game.
I disabled 6 Apple Watch features for battery life, and only the obvious one mattered
I've got an older Series 7 Apple Watch, and I noticed it just didn't seem to stay charged as long as it used to. When I opened up the Battery Health Setting on the watch itself, I got some bad news. "Important Battery Message," it said. "The battery's capacity is significantly reduced.
I can't wait for Android Auto's full redesign, with widgets, 3D maps, and Gemini
I've been checking my car's dashboard after every Android Auto update since May, hoping to see the redesign Google showed off at I/O. At I/O, Google promised Android Auto a full-screen interface, real widgets, 3D maps, video while parked, and a smarter Gemini. Version 17.8 is rolling out now without any of it, according to autoevolution, but Google still says these features arrive "later this year." Here's what's coming, what's already trickling out, and which phones get left behind.
I decluttered my Z Fold 8's cover screen with One UI 9's widgets and stopped unfolding it out of habit
I've had my Galaxy Z Fold 8 for about a month, and for most of that I opened the phone to do things the cover screen could easily handle. It's not that it made logical sense to use the larger screen, just that a new fancy folding phone just got me used to opening it. It wasn't that the cover screen didn't work but rather that my layout wasn't optimized. I cleared the apps off my second cover-screen page and rebuilt it around four widgets, including One UI 9's new combined search bar.
Your Pixel can do 4 new things it couldn't do last week
I install every Pixel update as soon as I can, and most months I have to go hunting for what changed. September was different: three of the four changes showed up in places I use daily. Google's September update started rolling out on September 15 to every Pixel from the Pixel 6 to the Pixel 10 series, along with the Fold and Tablet.
These tiny 3D prints take minutes to make and are the ones I actually use
I don't always have hours to wait on a print, so I keep a short list of things that finish in minutes. I needed a guitar pick the other day, and instead of running to the music store, I was able to print a fairly functional pick in just a little over 10 minutes. When I needed a quick AirTag holder for an expensive set of in-ear monitors, I was able to print one in about 15 minutes, no Amazon order required.
These tiny 3D prints take minutes to make and are the ones I actually use
iPhones 9 hours ago Apple settlement offers eligible iPhone owners up to $95. Here is how to file a claim. CBS News - Mary Cunningham • 9h The claim window is now open for an Apple settlement announced earlier this year, giving certain iPhone users the chance to get up to $95.
The best Windows 11 update in years is mostly Microsoft undoing itself
In October 2021, Microsoft shipped a Windows 11 taskbar that could only live at the bottom of your screen. Nearly five years later, you can finally park it on the top, left, or right edge again, just like Windows 10 did. That's the main change in KB5124008, the September 2026 Patch Tuesday update, and it isn't the only thing Microsoft is giving us back.
Thingiverse isn't where the good 3D models are anymore
I still have a Thingiverse login. I can't tell you the last time I actually searched it first. Somewhere between the dead thumbnails, the search results full of reposted junk, and the AI-generated files nobody asked for, I started going everywhere else — and in February, Thingiverse's new owner basically admitted I was right to. On February 12, 2026, MyMiniFactory announced it had acquired Thingiverse, saying the platform needed saving from AI-generated models.
Your Galaxy phone is hiding a setting that locks down USB debugging and here's how to unlock it
When I connected my Galaxy Z Fold 8 to my laptop to pull some screen recordings, I found USB Debugging in Developer Options completely grayed out with no explanation. While this setting is built for developers, everyday users often need it to transfer files smoothly, recover data from a broken screen, or run advanced backup tools. After some digging, I realized Samsung's Auto Blocker setting was the culprit. Disabling it immediately unlocked the USB debugging toggle.
Your Galaxy phone is hiding a setting that locks down USB debugging and here's how to unlock it
1 day ago RoboCup’s humanoids have played their first 11-a-side match. This October, some of the same problems — balance, vision, autonomy and plenty of debugging — come to Maker Faire Rome. This summer, twenty-two humanoid robots walked onto a football pitch in Incheon, South Korea. Eleven against eleven. No …
Razer squeezed a full controller into something that fits in your pocket
I unfolded the Razer Prio for the first time expecting the same compromise every mobile controller makes: full-size comfort or pocket-sized portability, never both. Closed, it's roughly the footprint of a credit card with a central rotation disk locking the halves together. Snapped open to its full length, it reveals full console-style controls: a tactile 4-way D-pad, silent face buttons, dual bumpers, analog triggers, and capacitive thumb sticks.
I cancelled Spotify, Audible, and Kindle Unlimited for apps my library already pays for
Spotify, Audible, and Kindle Unlimited can run well over $400 a year, more if you're on Spotify's Duo or Family tier, and every single thing they do, streaming music, audiobooks, and ebooks, is also covered by two apps my library already pays for. Libby and Hoopla exist because libraries license digital content directly from publishers and studios, funded primarily through local property taxes along with state and federal support.
I spent a week with Lenovo's most powerful laptop, and the RTX 5080 changes everything
I've spent a week gaming, benchmarking, and working with Lenovo's new Legion Pro 7i, and it's one of the most capable laptops I've tested this year. The RTX 5080 inside barely breaks a sweat, the OLED panel is stunning, and the build quality feels like it costs every bit as much as it does.
I turned my Android phone into a real Linux machine with Debian Original
I put a genuine Debian Linux install on my Pixel 9, and once it was running, I started working through everything it could actually do. Google's Linux Terminal app isn't a sandboxed emulator like Termux, of course. Instead, it's a real Debian virtual machine running on my own Pixel hardware through the Android Virtualization Framework. I'm not a developer, so instead of the usual dev-tool checklist, I went looking for what this thing is capable of for everyone else. Here's what I found.
The Galaxy S26 FE looks like a $1,200 phone and costs $700, but the catch is the chip inside
There's nothing wrong with Samsung's latest Galaxy S26 FE handset. There's nothing super exciting about it either. It's a good phone, does most things well, and looks and feels good in your hand. It takes good photos, has some solid video stabilization features, and falls solidly between Pixel 10 and 11 in terms of CPU performance. It definitely earns a place in your pocket if you need a solid phone for a decent price.
Ten taps for secret Android Auto developer menu unlocks sideloaded apps and the wireless toggle Google buried
Ten quick taps inside Android Auto’s About menu bypasses Google’s strict app restrictions and unlocks a buried dashboard designed specifically for developers. Buried behind Android Auto's About screen is a developer settings menu. While it isn't new, it became essential for everyday drivers after Google pulled the wireless Android Auto toggle out of standard settings and tucked it away in this menu.
My TV looked way too dark for months, and the fix took 10 seconds
For months, I kept prodding the backlight and brightness sliders on my LG TV, certain the panel itself had gone dim, before I found the actual culprit buried three menus deep. Luckily, the issue wasn't my TV. LG's energy-saving features are spread across a picture preset, a power-limiting slider, and a light sensor. They were doing exactly what they're designed to do, which is to make the TV dimmer to save power.
Samsung Notes' new AI features work just fine with your finger, and no stylus required
TheGalaxy Z Fold 8 is my first Galaxy phone ever, so when I opened Samsung Notes a few weeks ago, I had no history with the app and no idea what had just changed with One UI 9: a redaction tool, a new pen style, and, less happily, a dead OneNote sync feature. A week of actually using it later, I get why longtime Samsung people call this an underrated app, and I got there without any of the baggage (or the S Pen) that usually comes with that opinion.
Samsung Notes' new AI features work just fine with your finger, and no stylus required
Apple Intelligence 4 hours ago How Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro Will Change Smartphones Forever Forbes - Ewan Spence • 4h Update, Sunday Sept. 6: This article has been updated with details on changes to the App Store that will impact iPhone 18 Pro users and beyond. This week, Apple CEO John Ternus will introduce three new iPhones at its Surprise and Shine event on Sept. 9.
I've used premium Macs for years, but this Lenovo all-in-one won me over in two weeks Original
I didn't expect a Windows PC to make me miss the flat, colorful iMac Apple redesigned a few years back, but here we are: the Lenovo 31.5" Yoga AIO i Aura Edition All-in-One has been sitting on my desk for weeks now, and I keep reaching for it over my MacBook Air M5 without even thinking about it. That's not something I say lightly. I've been an Apple person for a long time, and "I'd rather use the Windows machine" isn't a sentiment I expected to have in 2026.
These awesome Linux distros run completely in RAM and barely touch your SSD
You can't install Windows 11 on any machine with less than 4GB of RAM, but there's a whole slew of Linux distros that not only run comfortably within those constraints, but they load entirely into memory and keep running after you've removed the USB drive or CD they booted from. Linux distributions built around "copy to RAM" boot modes decompress the entire file system to a RAM disk on boot, then run every read against that memory instead of your storage for the rest of the session.
I gave Samsung DeX a full workout on One UI 9, and it finally feels ready
Samsung has rebuilt DeX three times in the last year, and I've believed "it's finally good" after each one — so this time, instead of just poking around the settings menu, I plugged my Galaxy Z Fold 8 into a monitor and tried to do my actual job, while researching this article. I'm also writing this piece on my Samsung via our CMS (though I needed to go to a computer when trying to add photos — the CMS didn't like it). One UI 9's DeX is the third era of a rebuild that started with One UI 8.
Samsung finally made the Quick Panel customizable enough in One UI 9
Samsung spent two straight updates (One UI 7 and One UI 8/8.5) promising a Quick Panel you could rearrange, but both times, there were limitations to the ways you could customize the panel. One UI 9 is the first version where that's no longer true, offering full customization for the Quick Panel. ̌Samsung itself confirms the sound toggle is finally separate from the volume slider, the sliders got a visual overhaul, and the system-level cap on resizing (from One UI 8.5) is out of there.
This Samsung phone's feature costs so little battery, it's worth keeping on
Turning off Samsung's Offline finding feature is supposed to save you battery life, but when I tested it, it barely made a difference. A Samsung Community thread listing ways to squeeze out more standby time puts turning off device offline finding right next to disabling Nearby device scanning, treated as another small win alongside a dozen others. Thinking I'd found another way to save battery life, I ran offline finding on and off on my Galaxy Z Fold 8 to see what it really costs.
This Samsung phone's feature costs so little battery, it's worth keeping on
Apple Card Now Apple Card keeps getting better, here’s everything new 9to5Mac - Chance Miller • 46m Apple Card launched seven years ago this month, and it keeps getting better. There are new features, perks, rewards, and more. Plus, there’s one major change looming. Here’s everything new with Apple Card lately. iOS 27: Recurring transactions As my colleague Ryan highlighted last month, iOS 27 adds a … iPhone 17 Pro 11 hours ago iPhone 18 Pro vs.
This HP laptop might just be the ultimate executive convertible
Most business execs and road warrior types are looking for a convertible laptop with a ton of battery life, solid productivity performance, legitimate security options, and fluid digital ink capabilities. HP's latest convertible, the EliteBook X Flip G2i, checks all of those boxes, and adds a couple more.
I copied a real object with my phone and turned it into a printable 3D model in under 5 minutes
The holy grail of 3D printing is here; just grab a photo of a real-life item with your phone and convert it to a 3D printing file. Send that to your printer, and boom, you have a 3D printed copy. After a few tries with some less-than-successful apps, I found one that actually works as advertised, super easily and with very little effort. The only issue is that it costs and it uses AI, but with those two caveats, Meshy AI is the way to go.
Samsung renamed Adaptive Battery to hide it, and it could cost you notifications
Over the last couple of weeks, I've missed a few notifications for package deliveries, some Slack pings, and a doorbell notification on my Pixel 9. Tracking this down, I found out that while turning off Adaptive Battery is one way to make sure you don't miss any notifications, Samsung has moved and renamed the setting, making it even harder to find.
The man who invented the web could have owned it, but he gave it away instead
; ; ; ; Continue reading More for You Continue reading More for You
The man who invented the web could have owned it, but he gave it away instead
Tim Berners-Lee invented the tech underlying every website you visit, and in the more than 30 years since, neither he nor CERN (the European physics research lab based near Geneva, Switzerland, where he worked) has ever charged a cent to use it. The web wasn't the only hypertext-based system competing for the top spot in the early 1990s, and it wasn't even the most well-engineered.
The QR code conquered the world because its inventor chose not to cash in
Denso Wave has owned the patent on the QR code since 1994, the same one now scanned billions of times a day, and it has never once charged anyone to use it. What most people never think to ask about QR codes Photo by RODNAE Productions on Pexels In 1992, Denso (a Toyota-group auto parts maker) had a problem. Standard bar codes held about 20 alphanumeric characters, but a single auto part needed 5-10 separate barcodes to match the number of characters needed to identify it.
5 things your Roku can do that have nothing to do with streaming shows
I'll be honest with you; I had no idea any of these features existed, but now that I do, I feel like I have a whole new Roku. I've switched my Backdrops on and set the photos I want to see on it (with the occasional drop into the art collections so it feels like an art TV). I've found my remote when it dropped down between the bed and the nightstand, and I've finally been able to get rid of the TV remote itself.
4 prints that tell you exactly what’s wrong with your 3D printer
Modern 3D printers are really good at catching problems and solving them before you end up wasting filament on a ruined print. But regardless of how many sensors you shove in a printer, some problems can sneak by, and that's exactly where diagnostic prints come in handy. These are small tests you can print out to test your printer's capability, calibrate your filament, and dial in your settings.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Rob
Contact Rob, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack