Author: Dawn Solano

Apple introduced a suite of AI-powered editing tools for the Photos app at WWDC26, bringing Apple Intelligence-powered features to iOS 27 that allow users to enhance and rework photos directly on their iPhones.PhilSTAR Tech listed some of the biggest additions coming to Photos in iOS 27: 1. Upgraded Clean Up tool Apple is upgrading its existing Clean Up feature while introducing a new tool called Enhance. Clean Up allows users to remove unwanted objects and distractions from a photo, such as people in the background, clutter or other elements that may draw attention away from the main subject. The updated…

Apple unveiled a dedicated Siri AI app during its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2026, transforming its longtime voice assistant into a standalone artificial intelligence (AI) experience capable of maintaining conversations, accessing personal information across devices and completing tasks across apps. This is Apple’s biggest overhaul of Siri since its debut as the company pushes to compete more directly with AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Here are some of the biggest changes coming to Siri: 1. Conversations can continue across devices Apple says Siri AI can carry conversations across supported devices, including the iPhone, iPad and Mac. The…

For this review, I wanted to structure the piece around four photos I took with the Xiaomi 17T Pro during my time in Taipei and at a friend’s concert. The phone’s Leica-powered camera system can be measured through specifications—megapixels, apertures, focal lengths, shutter speeds, and ISO values. Those numbers tell part of the story, but they don’t always explain why a photograph works or what made me stop and press the shutter in the first place. These four images represent four moments where the camera encouraged me to look a little closer. 97mm: Closing the distance after dark By dusk,…

Xbox is turning back the clock as it celebrates its 25th anniversary, unveiling a limited-edition console inspired by one of the most recognizable designs in the brand’s history. During the Xbox Games Showcase 2026, Microsoft introduced the Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition, a special version of its flagship gaming console featuring a translucent green chassis that pays homage to the original Xbox era of the early 2000s. Through the semi-transparent green casing, users can see internal design details, while the console’s illuminated green accents further reference the look that helped define Xbox’s identity when it launched in 2001. Microsoft said…

Acer is expanding its presence in the growing handheld gaming market with the launch of the Predator Atlas 8, a new portable gaming PC powered by Intel’s latest Arc G-Series processors. Displayed at its booth in this year’s Computex in Taipei, Taiwan, the Predator Atlas 8 marks the entry of Acer’s premium Predator gaming brand into the handheld segment, following the company’s earlier Nitro Blaze handheld devices.Atlas 8, combines PC-level gaming performance with a portable form factor designed for gamers who want to play beyond the desktop setup. The handheld runs on Windows 11 and supports Xbox Game Pass, allowing…

When I was younger, I used to think a large laptop meant serious work. We carried chargers, accessories and other external drives that made our backpacks bulky. However, as time passed, I see how productivity was changing alongside the way we work. Work no longer happens in just one place (What a time to be alive, indeed.) For me, it happens in airports, hotel lobbies, convention halls, and the trickiest place of them all—in the middle of the commute. I carried this mindset while using the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro for a few days. Somewhere between writing articles, I began…

The University of the Philippines campus is a good place to test a camera.There are cyclists weaving through the Academic Oval, students rushing between classes as joggers shared the road with cars. Sunlight filtering through rows of acacia trees. In a span of a few minutes, you can go from bright outdoor scenes to shaded walkways and crowded streets. So instead of heading to a studio, I brought the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 to UP with my friend Ruth, who happens to make photography her hobby. Ruth already has an eye for visual storytelling. Even casually, she naturally notices movement…

Chinese tech giant HUAWEI is proposing a new approach to semiconductor development that could help it compete in advanced chipmaking despite ongoing US trade restrictions. In a recent announcement, HUAWEI introduced what it calls the “Tau (τ) Scaling Law” and a chip architecture design known as “LogicFolding,” which the company said could improve chip performance without relying solely on shrinking transistor sizes. For decades, the semiconductor industry followed Moore’s Law; the idea that chip performance improves as manufacturers pack more, smaller transistors into processors. However, as chips approach physical and engineering limits, further shrinking them has become increasingly expensive and…

Short-form video editing platform CapCut is adding more artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities through a partnership with Gemini, Google’s flagship AI model. The ByteDance-owned app teased the collaboration in a post on X. The partnership is expected to bring AI-assisted tools for script generation, captions, creative prompts and automated editing workflows.”As creative workflows become more connected and seamless, we believe the future of creation will be more conversational, intuitive, and intelligently integrated across tools and experiences,” it wrote. Prior to the partnership, Capcut already offers automated subtitles, AI avatars, text-to-speech functions, background removal and template-based editing designed for social media creators.As…

Music streaming platform Spotify is introducing a new feature that gives select listeners early access to concert tickets based on how much they engage with an artist on the platform. Called “Reserved,” the feature was unveiled during Spotify’s 2026 Investor Day presentation.The feature will begin rolling out in the United States between June and August this year for eligible Premium subscribers aged 18 and above. The company said expansion to more countries is planned later on. The system works by identifying what Spotify describes as an artist’s “top fans” using listening behavior and engagement signals. This includes streams, saves, playlist…