https://techxplore.com/rss-feed/consumer-gadgets-news/ en-us Tthe latest news on consumer electronics, electronic gadgets and electronics. The Australian government has announced it is "doubling down" on social media platforms that aren't complying with age restrictions for under-16s. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-social-media-bigger-penalties-platforms.html Internet Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:00:09 EDT news701952121 At the Eurobike trade fair, hopes are high that smart and AI-enabled bicycles can revive an industry that has been dealing with years of flagging sales. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-industry-smart-bikes-boost-sales.html Consumer & Gadgets Sun, 28 Jun 2026 11:22:49 EDT news701864551 What if your smartwatch could tell when you were struggling emotionally and offer support before you even thought to ask? That's the idea behind a new AI-powered system developed by researchers at the University of Ottawa, one that could change how people access mental health care outside a clinical setting. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ai-smartwatches-speech-text-distress.html Consumer & Gadgets Sat, 27 Jun 2026 11:40:01 EDT news701698660 Despite European legislation, many commercial websites still fall short when it comes to meeting the WCAG accessibility standard, Dante Göbbels has found. Göbbels investigated the barriers website visitors encounter, including inaccessible forms and poor contrast, missing alt text for images (important for blind and visually impaired users), and keyboard-unfriendly navigation. His main recommendations are greater awareness, more training, and more enforcement. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-digital-barriers-visitors-dutch-websites.html Internet Sat, 27 Jun 2026 08:00:08 EDT news701523215 Sony is halting sales of its robotic puppy "aibo" in Japan, the company said, eight years after the latest model of its interactive android pet became an instant hit. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-sony-discontinues-japan-sales-robot.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 26 Jun 2026 04:05:35 EDT news701665518 Apple on Thursday announced an increase in prices for Macs and iPads, citing a memory chip shortage brought on by the artificial intelligence boom. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-apple-prices-macs-ipads-blaming.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:32:42 EDT news701620332 AI shopping assistants are popping up all over the internet, changing how we browse, compare and discover products. However, these helpful tools appear to have a serious security flaw. According to a paper published on the arXiv preprint server, a single manipulated web page can trick an AI assistant into promoting a fake product to unsuspecting customers. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-fake-web-page-ai-bots.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 25 Jun 2026 13:00:02 EDT news701609352 Manufacturers have traditionally relied on sales figures to understand where they stand with consumers, but by the time those numbers arrive, consumers' buying decisions have already been made. A study co-authored by UC Riverside business professor Hai Che offers a way to capture what consumers are thinking while they are still weighing options, comparing products and deciding whether to buy at all. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-tracking-consumers-buy.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 24 Jun 2026 10:40:04 EDT news701515862 Meta on Tuesday launched a new line of smart glasses priced slightly lower than its Ray-Ban-branded glasses, as competition heats up in the AI-powered wearable tech space. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-meta-glasses-wearables-competition.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 24 Jun 2026 03:53:06 EDT news701491960 The Dutch government is considering making it illegal to use children younger than 16 in paid social media content. The government argues such online content featuring children—designed to sell goods to child consumers—basically involves them in child labor. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-kidfluencers-social-media-australia-netherlands.html Internet Tue, 23 Jun 2026 20:40:05 EDT news701440228 Brands seeking attention on social media outlets such as Instagram may benefit from keeping the colors in their posts visually consistent, according to research published in the International Journal of Mobile Communications. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-instagram-users-harmonious-brand-content.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 23 Jun 2026 13:40:02 EDT news701438761 A new study co-authored by USC Marshall's Miao "Ben" Zhang is among the first to show that generative AI is delivering significant productivity gains outside the workplace—and that a growing digital divide threatens to leave older and lower-income Americans behind. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-reveals-ai-boosting-productivity-home.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 22 Jun 2026 14:00:10 EDT news701353833 ChatGPT was quickly framed as a potential "Google killer" in online shopping. A new study by Frankfurt School of Finance & Management paints a more nuanced picture: For complex purchase decisions, ChatGPT can already be a relevant channel. Across broader e-commerce, however, its actual role remains much smaller than expected. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-chatgpt-online.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 22 Jun 2026 12:40:03 EDT news701350741 University of Adelaide researchers have developed a wearable glove that uses heat, touch and physical objects to transform data into a sensory experience. The prototype, called ThermoPhy, was developed as part of a remote internship run by the Australian Research Center for Interactive and Virtual Environments (IVE) at the University of Adelaide. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-wearable-glove-personal-insights.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:00:07 EDT news701012248 Have you ever said "thanks" to ChatGPT, or "please" to Claude? Maybe you're just being polite, showing some civility to a helpful and eloquent conversational partner. You may even consider politeness a safe choice, just in case machines someday reveal that they were conscious all along and decide to take revenge on those who were rude to them. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-intelligent-conscious-ai-chatbots.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:49:32 EDT news700994831 Snap, the parent company of social network Snapchat, on Tuesday launched its Specs augmented reality glasses, a major bet by a struggling company to stake out ground in the post-smartphone era. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-snap-ar-glasses-smartphone.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 16 Jun 2026 17:00:09 EDT news700845772 The UK government's decision to introduce restrictions on children's access to social media marks a significant moment in the evolution of online safety policy. For supporters, it represents a long-overdue response to growing concerns about children's well-being. For critics, it raises questions about effectiveness, enforcement and unintended consequences. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-uk-social-media-tech-restrictions.html Internet Tue, 16 Jun 2026 12:40:03 EDT news700831381 Dr. Naser Pourazad, senior lecturer in marketing at Flinders University's College of Business, Creative Arts, Law and Social Sciences, has examined how video game fans express their brand advocacy through online forums—and this reveals distinct consumer engagement patterns that challenge traditional marketing approaches. "This isn't just about games," says Dr. Pourazad. "As brands try to build passionate fan bases, our study shows the traditional marketing playbook is broken." https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-harsh-critics-loyal-fans-video.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 16 Jun 2026 10:20:05 EDT news700823522 Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, is an important form of Japan's Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) that fosters creativity, mindfulness and aesthetic sensitivity. Also known as "Kado," or way of the flower, ikebana offers people living in metropolitan areas a way to escape the hustle and bustle of the city and connect with nature, which significantly benefits mental well-being. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ar-japanese-beginners-home-mindfulness.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 15 Jun 2026 14:00:07 EDT news700747889 A new AI system can convert social media discussion about a product into a new design that takes into account user needs more accurately than earlier approaches, according to research published in the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ai-consumers-emotional-reactions-product.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 15 Jun 2026 11:20:03 EDT news700739702 In the famous French play Cyrano de Bergerac, the brilliant but insecure Cyrano lends his eloquence to the handsome, tongue-tied Christian to help him woo his lover. Today, a remarkably similar scene is playing out among millions of dating app users, with the role of the lovelorn poet played not by a human but by AI. New research from Constructor University professor Dr. Lennart Ante analyzes the growing impact of dating app users outsourcing the delicate work of courtship—from the witty opening line to the flirtatious reply—to AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini or even specialized "wingman" apps like Rizz and Winggg. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-prompt-ai-courtship-rewriting-online.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 15 Jun 2026 11:20:01 EDT news700739761 Opponents of new developments often argue that more construction will bring more traffic, frequently convincing developers to reduce the scale of their projects or seek out less densely populated areas to build. Although such compromises may lead to less congestion on the road, they don't necessarily reduce driving and driving's associated environmental effects. But what if how much a community actually drives provides a better measure of how a new development stands to affect a neighborhood? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-vehicle-miles-imperfect-traffic-metric.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:40:08 EDT news700738022 In a recent editorial published in Science, Microsoft's chief scientific officer, Eric Horvitz, and researcher Robert West from the School of Computer and Communication Sciences at EPFL in Switzerland issue a stark warning about AI. They say the advancement of AI systems rapidly being woven into our everyday lives is beginning to outpace our understanding of them. At the same time, AI's understanding of human behavior is expanding. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-human-ai-advancement.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 12 Jun 2026 11:56:38 EDT news700484077 You're browsing a major online marketplace for a warm winter jacket when a sponsored listing catches your eye: a black, fleece-lined jacket, prominently priced at A$18.99 each. It's just what you want, so you click through, ready to grab a bargain. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-baitandswitch-sales-click-online-bargains.html Consumer & Gadgets Fri, 12 Jun 2026 10:40:10 EDT news700476782 A research team at the University of Tsukuba reported that 43.3% of Japanese esports players were classified as having poor subjective sleep quality, according to a cross-sectional survey. In particular, poor sleep quality was common among individuals who engaged in esports play between 3:00 a.m. and 8:59 a.m. The study also identified differences in sleep patterns according to competitive level: Professional players were more likely to have later bedtimes and wake-up times, and amateur players tended to report a shorter total sleep time. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-high-prevalence-poor-quality-japanese.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 11 Jun 2026 18:00:06 EDT news700403173 What's it like to play a physical game with or against a robot that both looks and behaves like a person? That's what NTNU researchers wanted to find out when they conducted a controlled laboratory experiment with Pepper, a social robot designed to interact with humans. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-pepper-robot-good-playmate.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:00:06 EDT news700397162 For nearly 25 years, GoPro cameras have gone underwater, glided with parachutes and slipped down ski slopes, allowing the adventurous to record images of their experiences. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-competition-threaten-gopro.html Consumer & Gadgets Thu, 11 Jun 2026 05:40:02 EDT news700370658 Many AI systems answer questions in a matter of seconds—and, in the process, often prevent people from doing exactly what learning is all about: thinking for themselves. Machine learning expert Jakub Mačina is therefore developing models that don't provide pupils with finished solutions, but rather help them develop their understanding step by step. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-ai-chatbots.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 10 Jun 2026 21:40:02 EDT news700296754 Researchers at UNSW Sydney have harnessed the power of ultrasonic sound waves to make espresso-strength coffee with room-temperature water, cutting energy use by up to 75%. That morning coffee kick from a shot of espresso needs boiling water and high pressure—equaling plenty of energy consumption, right? https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-espresso-coffee-world.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 10 Jun 2026 11:23:22 EDT news700309384 It's no secret that the last few years have seen a massive explosion in the use of artificial intelligence for general information-gathering. An even more recent trend, though, is how large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are increasingly being used for verifying and consuming news. Reports from the Pew Research Center over the last year found that 1 in 5 U.S. teens regularly use LLMs to get their news, while 1 in 4 young adults have reported using them for that purpose at least once. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-06-consequences-ai-accurate-news.html Consumer & Gadgets Wed, 10 Jun 2026 10:03:53 EDT news700304501