Technology

• Dbrand made a Companion Cube case for the Steam Machine
• It was a tribute to the Companion Cube from Portal, and a popular idea
• Unfortunately, Dbrand went ahead and made this product without any permission from Valve, and so had to withdraw it from sale today

Dbrand has announced that its fancy case for the Steam Machine that made Valve's gaming PC look like a Companion Cube from Portal has been pulled from sale.

Why? Because, rather unfathomably, as Dbrand explained on Reddit, it didn't ask permission from Valve to make and sell this creation.

Dbrand said: "We launched around 3am on Monday, June 22nd. Overnight, it [the Companion Cube case] became the second-fastest selling product in our 15-year history, behind only the Switch 2 Killswitch."

"Shortly after, Valve's legal team reached out. They stated that the Companion Cube is Valve intellectual property, for which Dbrand does not have a license. They requested we take down the product and launch film immediately. This was entirely within their rights, and they were direct, fair, and respectful throughout."

Dbrand complied, while launching an appeal to Valve to see if there was "any way to keep the project alive: properly licensed, with their blessing, on their terms".

The short response was no, although Dbrand concedes: "Given our backwards approach of building first and asking permission later, it was a fair answer."

And that is the story of a $130 hard-shell Steam Machine case ($99 for the 'poverty' version) that was never meant to be. Refunds are being issued today, June 29, 2026, for anyone who ordered a Companion Cube case.

Analysis: permission denied

(Image credit: Shutterstock / aslysun)

This whole episode is suitably baffling considering that Dbrand apparently put over a thousand hours of engineering into making the Companion Cube, ensuring the Steam Machine fit into it perfectly, and developing 44 sets of injection-molding tools in the process. Not to mention hiring out a university campus as the set for the launch video.

Dbrand says: "By the end, we were losing money on every $99 Poverty Cube sold, but it didn't matter. This had turned into a passion project for the entire organization."

As you can imagine, there are a lot of bemused (or indeed amused) gamers on the Reddit thread calling Dbrand stupid, which the company freely admits is true. One Redditor says: "You had two jobs! Ask Valve, and make the thing."

Another asks: "How on Earth did you think you would be able to sell this thing without getting permission from Valve...???"

Well, yes. It's a good point. Some argue that Dbrand might have wanted to build up some publicity and show off all the pre-orders to persuade Valve to be more likely to say yes, but that theory falls apart because the company forgot to ask Valve – at all.

Amidst the (rightfully) withering criticisms are more than a few disappointed punters who are actually canceling their Steam Machine (they say) because they won't be able to put the gaming PC in Dbrand's enclosure.

Obviously that's a subjective matter, but I'm not seeing the appeal at all personally. The Companion Cube made the Steam Machine a good deal chunkier (when the idea is that it's a low-profile, unobtrusive living room PC), and while very nicely made by all accounts, it pushed the price up even further. And, despite ventilation obviously being considered in the design, I do wonder about the effect on the Steam Machine's cooling system on a hot day.

Still, those are all moot points now. Dbrand said this one is a "hard lesson to learn publicly," and, indeed, hopefully the company will take it to heart. It's not the first time that a Dbrand product has come off the rails like this, though. You might recall Sony sending a cease-and-desist letter, which canceled Dbrand's 'Darkplates' (faceplates for the PS5) because of the way they replicated a "protected product design". A Darkplates version 2.0 was launched with changes to address this, and it remains on sale today.

When the Darkplates were first revealed by Dbrand, it was with the prescient slogan 'Go ahead, sue us', so you've got to wonder whether this particular lesson taught by Valve is going to stick.

• Fitbit devices have a new fitness coach powered by Gemini AI
• But the AI seems to be giving people extremely questionable advice
• Users have voiced their dissatisfaction with the feature

Fitbit recently introduced a new fitness coach powered by Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence (AI), and it’s safe to say that it’s received a lot of flak from Fitbit users. Complaints have been flooding in, but surely few have been as bizarre as one recently posted to Reddit that involved some truly “unhinged” advice from Gemini.

Posting on Reddit, user bitteroldladybird started off by claiming that “The coach suggested I ditch my dog.” If that didn’t raise your eyebrows, what comes next surely will.

They continued by explaining that, “I’ve been walking my dog twice a day her whole life. Including the last year and a bit when I’ve had my Fitbit.”

But after that preamble, things start to get weird: “Recently the AI coach has been giving me feedback on my walks and it asked why my pace was so slow. I answered that I walk with my dog. This slows me down because she stops and sniffs and pees etc. Coach said it understood. Today it asked if I could ditch the dog to speed up my walks.” The user then opened the floor and asked fellow Redditors: “Has the coach given you weird or unhinged advice?”

Funnily enough, bitteroldladybird was far from the only person to relate a story like this. User KateJ95 recounted how “I got told to ditch my toddler … Turned coach off after that.” Individual_Sun2060, on the other hand, said “My coach incessantly tells me to rest, and has probably suggested I take the day off EVERY SINGLE DAY.”

User vemailangah, meanwhile, had a helpful suggestion for Fitbit’s next update: “coach sends AI robot to get rid of the dog to help you improve your walks.”

TechRadar’s own Matt Evans has had a similarly bizarre experience with Fitbit’s AI coach, explaining that it developed an obsession with a minor cold and wouldn’t let the issue go. After Evans didn’t wear his Fitbit for one day — and therefore logged zero steps or workouts — the AI chimed in with: “yesterday was a full recovery day with minimal movement.”

As Matt explained, it seemed that Gemini “really thought I spend 12 hours lying perfectly still, like a mummy in a sarcophagus.”

Latching onto any context

(Image credit: Fitbit)

Judging by the feedback from people on Reddit and here at TechRadar, it seems that Fitbit’s AI coach is tuned a little too strongly towards fitness efficiency and improvement. If it detects any sort of “hindrance” that it feels is slowing you down, it suggests jettisoning it at the earliest opportunity — even if that means ditching your beloved pup.

TechRadar’s Evans points out that this behavior could be because Gemini “just kind of latches on to any context you give it, and is designed to improve your health — occasionally to its detriment when it comes to subtlety and context.” Because you know far more about yourself than Gemini does, the chatbot has to take any cue it can in order to build a picture of your wellbeing. And if you mention something tangentially relevant in your life, Gemini has a few other resources for context.

Aside from creating the kinds of bizarre situations that we’ve seen here, this issue limits the fitness coach’s utility. Another thread on Reddit asked “Does anyone actually use the AI Coach?” and was filled with replies from people who have lost patience with the feature. “When the trial ends, I’m out. Coach is garbage,” said flanga, while realManTing shared that “I find myself yelling at it over text and I cannot wait for my trial to end.”

As the original poster in that thread put it, the coach “constantly gives me long walls of text that are either obvious, outdated or just not useful. I don’t want to read an essay every time I open the app — I just want short, actionable insights.”

It therefore seems clear that Gemini’s AI coach is not particularly popular among Fitbit users and has a worrying tendency to offer questionable advice and to irritate them. Hopefully Google can make some rapid improvements before it suggests anyone else dump their dog to record a slightly faster walk.

Google and Back Market’s $3 ChromeOS Flex USB Kit helps older PCs avoid e-waste, but availability remains limited after early demand.

The post Google Restocks $3 ChromeOS Flex USB Kit Following Early Sellout appeared first on TechRepublic.

Microsoft’s biggest hardware releases of 2026 include new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro business models, lower-cost Surface configurations, and Project Solara.

The post Microsoft’s Biggest Hardware Releases of 2026 So Far: Surface Laptop, Surface Pro, and More appeared first on TechRepublic.

• AMD has 'relaunched' three processors that use legacy cores to address demand at the lowest end of its mobile and desktop CPU offerings
• The CPUs range from 2 to 8 cores and leverage its older Zen+ and Zen 2 core technology as the chip designer grapples with memory and storage shortages to serve an increasingly cash-strapped budget segment
• All three processors support Microsoft Windows 11 and leverage cheaper DDR4 memory as manufacturers aims to 'hold the fort' in the face of rising AI demand creating challenges for entry-level PC buyers

AMD's latest Ryzen CPU offering might not be one that most of its performance-centric consumers would appreciate in 2026.

The company is looking to reintroduce three budget-centric mobile CPUs that were last seen over half a decade ago, using legacy Zen+ and Zen 2 cores.

The move comes at a time when assemblers and consumers alike are grappling with increasing chip, memory and storage costs, even as lower-end options continue to grow increasingly limited for price-conscious users.

A Dual-core CPU in 2026?

AMD is reintroducing the Ryzen 3 3100U, Ryzen 5 3501U, and Ryzen 7 4700LE to consumer markets, according to reports. The CPUs offer dual, quad, and octa-core options.

While the Zen 2-based desktop-class Ryzen 7 4700LE has a listed launch date of 25th March 2026, the other two SKUs were launched more recently, in June 2026, according to AMD's own listings.

The Ryzen 3100U and the 3501U both use AMD's legacy Zen+ architecture on a 12nm process node, making them less power-efficient than the 7nm-based Ryzen 7 4700LE.

In an emailed statement to PC World, AMD stated, "The Ryzen 3100U and Ryzen 3501U are additional SKUs based on AMD’s existing Picasso architecture that were developed to support specific OEM requirements in the value segment. These processors are intended to address targeted customer demand for lower-cost solutions and will be available in limited volumes through select OEMs".

As OEM components are made directly available to laptop assemblers, AMD does not disclose prices for these models, even as rival chipmaker Intel seems to be taking a similar route.

What might rankle some users in particular is not the fact that the 3100U and the 3501U are rebadged CPUs that will still lag behind pretty much even the most basic laptop CPUs available in the last few years, but the fact that AMD might be thinking it is acceptable to offer a 2-core, 4-thread CPU in 2026 as a baseline for new, entry-level laptops.

The Ryzen 3 3100U is getting considerable ire, as Redditors are already drawing unfavorable comparisons to current-generation Athlon CPUs. While it offers the same iGPU (Vega 8), TDP (15W), and memory configuration (DDR4-2400), along with the same socket (FP5) as its quad-core sibling, it is noticeably weaker than most, if not all, recently launched mobile CPUs.

Unsurprisingly, it does make the cut for Windows 11 by offering support for fTPM, allowing for secure boot, and just pulling ahead of Microsoft's stated requirements for its OS (1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with 2 or more cores), even as most users will struggle to do anything but the bare minimum on a laptop sporting a CPU essentially rebadged from 2019.

AMD's move, however, is predicated on the fact that rising RAM, SSD, and cutting-edge silicon prices all create a void that must be addressed for the foreseeable future, even as its target audience seems to be getting an increasingly short end of the stick as part of the solution.

Now 40% off, this fast-drying and lightweight hair dryer will be the only one you reach for.

Another month; another bumper crop of great tech. Over the past four weeks, we've tested dozens of new gadgets and appliances, and between our editors, testing team, and trusted freelancers, we've awarded 21 products 4.5- or 5-star ratings. I've rounded them all up below, for easy browsing — hit the 'View details' button for a summary of each one's main pros and cons, plus a link to read the full review.

In the full-marks camp, we have the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool, a tiny-but-mighty handheld fan that provides up to 6.5 hours of cooling per charge, and might have just saved our Home editor's sanity during our recent UK heatwave. There's also the JBL Xtreme 5, a beast of a Bluetooth speaker that delivers, according to our tester, "mesmerizing bass, impressive clarity, and thunderous power". Finally, we were blown away by the Philips Café Aromis espresso machine, which "doesn’t just brew excellent coffee — it makes the process fun as well". Plus, it doesn't require barista-level experience to deliver professional-quality brews.

Scroll down for more winners from this month, across all our physical product categories, including everything from flawless cameras to standout earbuds to top TVs. Note: only the products that are available in your region will display as cards.

5-star products Philips Cafe Aromis 8000 Series Bean to Cup Coffee Machine

Read our full review

Pros

• Gorgeous design
• All components feel solidly made
• Consistent brewing results
• Prepares hot and cold drinks
• Detailed customization options
• Excellent mobile app experience

Cons

• Ground coffee hatch has a tendency to steam up
• Needs to cool down completely before preparing cold drinks

Dyson HushJet Mini Cool Fan

Read our full review

Pros

• Powerful concentrated airflow
• Runs for up to 6.5 hours on a single charge
• Stylish, unusual design
• Significantly cheaper than closest competitor

Cons

• Air intake holes are easy to cover with your hand when holding

JBL Xtreme 5 Bluetooth speaker

Read our full review

Pros

• Amazing audio with exceptional bass output
• Impressive clarity and detail, especially using USB-C
• Phenomenally sturdy and waterproof
• Great value despite fairly high price

Cons

• Bulkier than its predecessor
• No mic for hands-free calls
• Battery life isn’t class-leading

4.5-star products

Insta360 Luna Ultra vlogging camera

Read our full review

Pros

• Clever detachable touchscreen simplifies and expands solo vlogging possibilities
• Two lenses with two distinct perspectives boost versatility
• Crisp video quality and attractive color profiles
• Excellent audio features and supporting accessories

Cons

• Larger than DJI rivals
• Vertical video capped at 3K
• Subject tracking performance could be refined
• Much pricier than single-lens alternatives

Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool fan

Read our full review

Pros

• Premium performance and feature-packed
• Impressive 350-degree oscillation
• Quiet operation and smooth airflow
• Control it with the remote, app, or your voice

Cons

• There are cheaper alternatives
• No vertical oscillation adjustment
• Only one colorway: white & gold

Ninja AutoBarista Pro Fully Automatic Espresso Machine

Read our full review

Pros

• Makes coffee and espresso beverages to your specifications
• Very easy to use
• Grind iQ takes the guesswork out of your settings
• Create up to two user profiles
• Two separate bean hoppers
• Chute for pre-ground coffee

Cons

• Fairly expensive
• Big and heavy
• Coffee isn't super hot
• You have to do regular maintenance

Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2

Read our full review

Pros

• Stunning, pro-looking design
• High-end, sturdy accessories
• Smart features augment but don’t replace manual coffee making
• Extracts delicious, consistent coffee

Cons

• Undeniably expensive for a manual machine
• CoffeeSense only useful for Meraki beans

Ninja French Door Air Fryer and Countertop Oven

Read our full review

Pros

• 10 cooking modes cover just about any needs
• Fast and easy to use
• Glass doors so you can keep an eye on your food
• Very fast preheating

Cons

• You do need to watch your food
• Fairly pricey

Panasonic Lumix L10 compact camera

Read our full review

Pros

• No shortage of features
• Comfortable handling
• Good overall image quality

Cons

• Slightly aggressive noise reduction
• A bit on the 'plasticky' side
• Price a little too high

Leica SL3-P mirrorless camera

Read our full review

Pros

• Outstanding image quality
• Exceptional build quality and styling
• Handy top-plate display
• Excellent battery life

Cons

• Very expensive
• Tilt-only rear screen
• Heavy with a serious lens mounted

LG B6 OLED TV

Read our full review

Pros

• Brighter, bolder picture than the B5
• Excellent gaming features
• webOS 26 is a great smart TV platform

Cons

• Green tint more of an issue than on B5
• Average sound quality
• LG C6 is a bigger upgrade and isn't much more expensive

Khadas Tea Pro Magnetic Headphone Amplifier

Read our full review

Pros

• Premium look and feel
• Wide compatibility
• Compelling audio

Cons

• A little fiddly
• Display text is tiny

PowerA Protection Case for PS Portal

Read our full review

Pros

• Highly durable exterior
• Padded screen-protector provides peace of mind
• Cable passthrough feature for easy charging

Cons

• Handle could be higher quality
• May be a touch bulky for some

UGreen Qi2 25W wireless power bank

Read our full review

Pros

• Reliable performance
• Great build quality
• Integrated cable and USB-C port add flexibility

Cons

• Can get a little hot
• Price may be a turn-off

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion

Read our full review

Pros

• Fantastic-looking screen
• Premium design
• Giant, long-lasting battery

Cons

• Bluetooth woes
• Some software issues
• Only three years of updates

Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro earbuds

Read our full review

Pros

• Strong noise cancellation
• Rock-solid fit
• Fun, bassy sound

Cons

• Charging case on the bulky side
• Could do with a discount
• Touchscreen can be unresponsive

Shokz OpenDots 2 open-ear buds

Read our full review

Pros

• Powerful, bassy sound
• Good battery life
• Stable enough for runners
• Customizable EQ modes

Cons

• Prone to dislodging on contact
• Expensive
• Not suitable for helix piercings

Denon Home 400 speaker

Read our full review

Pros

• Great app support for control and multi-room audio
• + Customizable sound modes that reveal layers in spatial audio mixes
• Premium build quality

Cons

• Expensive for a single speaker
• Full spatial experience depends on well-encoded Atmos source material
• No Alexa or Google Assistant

Apple AirPods Max 2 headphones

Read our full review

Pros

• Even better active noise cancellation
• Live Translation that's easier to use than on Apple's earbuds
• Adaptive Audio means meatier, punchier sound than the originals
• Even head-tracked Spatial Audio feels more accurate and crisp

Cons

• Battery life hasn't been improved
• That flimsy 'headphone bra' case remains
• Still very iOS-only (Android owners need not apply)
• No wireless hi-res codec support still

Sonos Era 100 SL wireless speaker

Read our full review

Pros

• Precise, detailed sound
• Bass seems less muddy
• Same strong design as Era 100
• More affordable

Cons

• Room correction not Android-compatible
• Unimpressive stereo
• No voice control

Klipsch The Nines II speakers

Read our full review

Pros

• Immersive and full sound
• Lots of connectivity
• Wi-Fi streaming

Cons

• Issues with Dirac Live
• Weight can make setup cumbersome

• Connected Car ruling will come into effect in 2027
• Anything with a link to China or Russia is in the spotlight
• Volvo has managed to avoid the same fate

North American fans of beautifully minimal Scandinavian design will no longer be able to purchase one of Polestar’s innovative and stylish EVs as of next year, as a new Connected Vehicle Rule can prohibit the sale of items with a “sufficient nexus” to China or Russia in the US.

The final decision falls to the Bureau of Industry and Security, part of the US Department of Commerce, which declined to grant Polestar authorization to sell vehicles in the US from model year 2027, according to Electrek.

The rule, which was instituted during the final days of the Biden administration but kept under the Trump administration, centers around national security concerns, particularly with those brands controlled by, or subject to, the jurisdiction or direction of China or Russia.

Polestar, which has its headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, is majority owned by one of the largest automakers in China, Geely Auto, which also happens to own Volvo.

However, its Swedish sibling was granted a waiver in May to continue its sales in the US.

“Companies from these countries may be compelled to share data or allow remote access to connected vehicles in the United States,” the notice of the rule said, according to CNN.

But to add insult to injury, none of the Polestar models that are on sale in North America are assembled in China, with the Polestar 3 built in a Volvo plant in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Polestar 4 built in South Korea.

The company has said that it will keep its 32 US-based dealerships open to continue offering aftercare and support to existing customers, as well as to clear any remaining inventory.

A statement released by the brand said existing Polestar owners and lease customers will “continue to receive the same level of support and access to service as they do today”.

Analysis: Causing more confusion for the EV market

(Image credit: Polestar)

Polestar likely won’t take the ruling to heart, seeing that the majority of its sales come outside of the US anyway, but the Department of Commerce’s decision to ban Polestar and not Volvo remains baffling.

Both brands share much of their basic platform and electrical architecture, while Polestar and Volvo’s infotainment systems are only really discernible by the fonts and graphics they use on-screen.

What’s more, both these brands run Android Automotive Operating Systems and have Google Maps installed natively for navigation, both of which were originally developed by US tech giants.

While the rule appears to have national security at its heart, it also just adds further confusion to a global automotive market that is struggling to keep up with the constantly-moving goalposts, both in terms of shifting emissions rulings and global trade legislation.

• Russian Intelligence are targeting Signal accounts of officials based in Ukraine
• They pose as Signal support services and ask users to submit their Backup Recovery Keys
• Using these keys, the hackers can hijack the users account and any other accounts created using the same mobile phone number

The FBI has warned Russian Intelligence Services are posing as commercial messaging application support services in order to steal Backup Recovery Keys belonging to targets of high value in the military and government of the US, Europe, and Ukraine.

In a joint warning alongside the CISA and the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), the FBI outlined the new phishing campaign which seeks to access messaging accounts in order to perform intelligence gathering of secret information.

Specifically, the FBI provided sample phishing lures targeting users of the Signal messaging app. If the hackers successfully lure a victim into sharing their Backup Recovery Key, they can access the account's message history, private and group messages, and fully take over the victim's account.

Russian Intelligence pose as Signal support services

In the FBI warning, the phishing techniques are further detailed. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) are targeting government officials, military personnel, political figures, journalists, and key officials from the US and Europe located in Ukraine.

The attackers send emails that appear to be automated messages from Signal, asking users to turn on their message backup using their Backup Recovery Key. Victims are provided with false instructions that instead send the Backup Recovery Key to the attacker, who can then use the key to take over the victim’s account.

Example phishing messages used by Russian Intelligence to obtain Backup Recovery Keys (Image credit: FBI)

In order to establish urgency and trust that the message is legitimate, the attackers posed the phishing message as a protection against recent hacking attempts from “Iran and post-Soviet countries.” In another sample message, the attacker's message says that the victim’s account data “is at risk of permanent loss due to a sync issue.”

If a victim shares their unique Backup Recovery Key, it allows the attacker to hijack their current Signal account alongside any subsequent accounts made with the same phone number.

For users who may fear their Backup Recovery Key has been compromised, users are instructed to use Signal settings to create a new Backup Recovery Key. This new key will invalidate all previous Backup Recovery Keys and prevent account takeover if the previous key was leaked.

In order to avoid falling victim to phishing messages, there are several ways to stay safe:

• Support services will generally only communicate with users via an official company email address. Always carefully check communications from the legitimate email address.
• Customer support will never request that you supply your Backup Recovery Key via the application
• You will never be asked to verify or restore your account via an automated customer support message

In order to further protect your Signal account, or other accounts, against phishing, users should consider the following:

• Use a passkey wherever possible. This will use your device’s built in biometric verification methods to authenticate your login.
• Use phishing resistant multi-factor authentication where possible
• Always double check messages and emails are legitimate, and are using an official company email
• Never supply your Backup Recovery Keys unless you are actively attempting to regain access to your account via a legitimate service

Google says Android Earthquake Alerts warned millions in Venezuela before powerful quakes, showing how phones can support early warnings.

The post Android Phones Warned 11.4M People Before Venezuelan Earthquakes appeared first on TechRepublic.

CNET's latest data shows our readers prefer two providers that avoid hefty fees and lengthy contracts.

AI has given cybercriminals a big advantage in attacking organizations, which they are using to go after weaknesses on edge devices

The post AI-Driven Identity Attacks Are Surging, PwC Warns appeared first on TechRepublic.

The move follows the media giant's spin-off of Versant as a separate business.

SpaceX is reportedly considering a Starlink mobile service for US consumers, but spectrum and ground-network costs could complicate the plan.

The post SpaceX Eyes Starlink Mobile Service for Consumers, Challenging Verizon, AT&T appeared first on TechRepublic.

SentinelOne says macOS.Gaslight uses prompt injection to mislead AI-based malware analysis, steal data, and use Telegram for C2.

The post North Korea-Linked macOS Malware Uses Prompt Injection to Evade AI Analysis appeared first on TechRepublic.

YouTube's subscription hub expands with this latest addition.

Italy probes Microsoft 365 pricing after Copilot AI rollout, raising questions over renewals, non-AI options, and user choice in EMEA.

The post Italy Investigates Microsoft 365 Price Hike Tied to Copilot appeared first on TechRepublic.

• Android's earthquake warnings reached 11.4m Venezuelans last week
• The feature is now installed on 2.5 billion Android phones
• If you live in a country covered by the feature, it should be enabled by default

Since 2021, Android phones have come with a built-in earthquake detection feature — and according to Google's figures, it was able to give 11.4 million people advance warning of the devastating double earthquakes that hit Venezuela on June 24.

That number comes from the New York Times, with the early alert arriving up to two minutes before the earth started trembling. The first alerts were dispatched just nine seconds after the earthquake started underground, according to Google.

The system works by using the accelerometers built into Android phones to detect faster, milder seismic waves known as p-waves. This data is automatically anonymized and reported in the background to Google, and once there are enough matching reports, an alert gets pinged out to all Android users who might be affected.

Phones have to be stationary to qualify as earthquake detectors — measurements from phones on the move aren't counted — and the earthquake has to be a magnitude 4.5 or greater to trigger a warning. For more densely populated areas, with more Android phones in them, the alerts get pushed out more quickly.

In three specific US states — California, Washington, and Oregon — the Android warnings rely on actual seismic monitoring data from a network of 1,675 sensors that make up the ShakeAlert system, run by the US Geological Survey.

How to enable earthquake warnings

Safety information is also included (Image credit: Google / Future)

The Android Earthquake Alerts System is enabled by default on modern Android phones: to check from Settings, tap Safety and emergency then Earthquake alerts. You do need to be in one of the 98 supported countries though, listed by Google here, which include Australia and the United States.

How close you are to the epicenter affects the alerts you see in the event of an earthquake. The most serious warnings will break through any Do Not Disturb settings you've got in place, take up the full screen, and play a loud sound. If less serious shaking is expected, you might just get a normal pop-up notification.

As of last year, Google says the Android Earthquake Alerts System has detected more than 18,000 earthquakes worldwide, and sent out over 2,000 alerts. The feature means that at least 2.5 billion people worldwide have access to an earthquake early warning system, even if nothing is in place at the government level.

This isn't something you can currently get on iPhones however, not even with a Google app. What iOS can do is pass on official warnings from authorities, including for earthquakes: From Settings, tap Notifications, and you'll see toggle switches for Extreme Alerts and Severe Alerts.

It's not clear how many deaths or injuries may have been prevented by the Android warning system in the case of the Venezuela quake, but it seems millions got alerts at least a few seconds in advance that something was about to happen.

• Mullvad VPN's co-founder Daniel Berntsson donated 5M SEK to the Örebro Party
• Mullvad confirms the donation "is not part of Mullvad's values or mission"
• Örebro party's leader, Markus Allard, is known for controversial views

Daniel Berntsson, co-founder and co-owner of Mullvad VPN, has donated 5 million Swedish kronor (around $514,000) of his personal funds to the controversial populist Örebro Party.

First reported by local news outlet Flamman, the 2025 donation accounted for 72% of the party's total income last year.

"This is a donation from me personally," Berntsson told reporters, saying that he supports the party's anti-corruption stance. In a post on social media, Mullvad confirmed that it was a "private donation," which "is not part of Mullvad's values or mission."

The disclosure has sparked backlash online, with some users threatening to switch VPN providers. The Örebro Party and its leader, Markus Allard, are known for controversial populist stances, particularly regarding "remigration" policies.

Mullvad's response

Speaking to TechRadar, Mullvad co-CEO Fredrik Strömberg confirmed that neither Mullvad VPN AB, its parent company Amagicom AB, nor its sister company Tillitis AB played any role in supporting the political party.

"Speaking for myself, I don’t like that he made this donation, and I know this view is shared by many of my colleagues. Speaking as the co-CEO of Mullvad, we will continue to protect the universal right to privacy," Strömberg said.

The firm also addressed the controversy publicly. In a statement posted to X, the team reiterated that Mullvad operates as a "political company" dedicated to fighting for freedom of speech, freedom of information, and the universal right to privacy.

Mullvad is a political company. We fight for freedom of speech, freedom of information and the right to privacy. These are firmly held values of the founders of Mullvad.Mullvad protects the right for people to express things we don't agree with. We protect the right of everyone…June 27, 2026

"We also live these values by being tolerant in our daily work," the post continues. "No matter what their other opinions are and no matter whether the founders or anyone else in Mullvad dislike them. The founders themselves fundamentally disagree on several important issues."

Mullvad said it would "gladly refund" any customers who choose to cancel their subscriptions or switch to another provider due to philosophical disagreements.

The news has attracted criticism, in fact.

One Reddit user said they "deeply regret recommending Mullvad to people over Proton," adding that they will personally switch to Windscribe.

Asked about users thinking of dropping their Mullvad subscription, Strömberg told TechRadar that people should feel safe using Mullvad regardless of their political affiliation.

Why is the donation so controversial?

Defining itself outside the traditional left-right spectrum, the Örebro Party began as a local party in Örebro before launching its parliamentary election campaign this year.

Berntsson's donation appears to have been vital in elevating the party's campaign capabilities ahead of the upcoming election.

According to data collected by DonationWatch, 2025 was the most lucrative year in the party’s history, netting a total of 5.58 million SEK. For comparison, the party received just 202,000 SEK in total donations throughout 2024.

While tech founders are entirely free to hold personal political affiliations, this incident raises broader questions regarding the growing influence of tech wealth in political campaigns. It also forces a conversation about whether privacy-focused firms should be entangled with political groups—regardless of where they sit on the ideological spectrum.

Ultimately, the number of users who choose to cancel their Mullvad subscriptions in protest will serve as a strong indicator of how deeply the privacy-conscious community values neutrality.

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