Technologies
AT&T Subscribers Just Got a Significant 5G Speed Boost Due to New Spectrum
The carrier’s recent purchase of spectrum licenses from EchoStar broadens AT&T’s 5G capacity.
AT&T announced Monday that it has improved 5G performance across its network in the continental United States by activating wireless spectrum — the frequencies used for data transmission — that it acquired in a $23 billion purchase from EchoStar in September. If you’re an AT&T customer who owns a 5G-capable phone or subscribes to AT&T Internet Air home internet, you might already be seeing a boost.
The company says customer download speeds can increase 80% when connected to the wireless network in areas with the upgraded spectrum. For AT&T Internet Air subscribers, the speed increase could be up to 55%. The new increased capacity opens up more possibilities for gaming, streaming content and accessing other high-data applications, as well as connecting rural customers who don’t have access to home fiber internet options.
The upgrade is also arriving — at least so far — without a price increase for existing customers. Verizon and T-Mobile instituted three-year and five-year price guarantees in 2025, so hopefully AT&T’s improved infrastructure doesn’t trigger higher rates. Based on the company’s announcement, though, the expanded spectrum also benefits AT&T internally, making its network more efficient, reducing the need to build new cellular towers and encouraging customers to subscribe to both mobile and home internet services.
It also boosts the capabilities of AT&T’s FirstNet program, which enables first responders to have guaranteed communications even when capacity is restricted, such as during a natural disaster.
Over a period of «a few weeks,» the company has deployed hardware to 23,000 cell sites that enables midband (3.45 GHz) spectrum in more than 5,300 cities across 48 states, according to AT&T.
What’s the significance of midband? 5G networks work across a swathe of spectrum frequencies. High-speed millimeter-wave signals offer the highest speed and performance, but have limited range and don’t work well with obstructions, such as buildings. Low-band 5G offers the slowest speeds but works over a broader area. Midband is a balance of the two, offering faster speeds than low-band with larger coverage.
From the customer’s perspective, this should translate into faster, more consistent network access. If you’re an AT&T subscriber, you’ll see «5G+» in the status bar of your phone when connected to a millimeter wave or midband network, or «5G» in a low-band area. (You might also see «5GE,» which is actually 4G LTE and not 5G.)
To give you a single data point, I was sitting in my home office in Seattle using an AT&T-connected phone with full bars and «5G+» displayed. I ran Ookla’s Speedtest app and got download speeds of nearly 500Mbps and upload speeds of around 80Mbps. That’s comparable to many home internet speeds (and echoes the performance I got on a recent United Airlines flight using onboard Starlink Wi-Fi).
(Disclosure: Ookla is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis.)
Technologies
How to Turn Off AI Features on Your Samsung Galaxy Smartphone
Too much AI on your Galaxy phone? Here’s how to disable it.
Samsung is known for throwing virtually every feature imaginable into its smartphones, whether or not you intend to use them. There are countless additional customizations and apps in Galaxy phones that make it a bit overwhelming to figure out what you actually need.
Every new generation of Galaxy phone seems to gain more and more AI features that you may not find useful. Luckily, you can remove nearly anything you don’t want on your Samsung phone.
Whether you just want to turn off some of the AI features on your Galaxy smartphone or you want to disable them completely, we’ll show you how to do that below.
Read more: The 8 Biggest Announcements from Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2026 Event
How to turn off Galaxy AI services
Some of the features that smartphones can do using AI are undeniably cool. If you like some of them but don’t want AI everywhere, Samsung will allow you to pick and choose what to take advantage of.
To turn off AI for individual services:
- Go to Settings.
- Tap Galaxy AI.
- Select the service to disable.
- Tap the toggle to Off.
You’ll see a list of the services that form Galaxy AI. You can choose the apps for which you want to turn AI on or off from here.
If you’re more privacy-minded but still want to take advantage of Galaxy AI features, there’s a toggle at the bottom of this screen that will limit AI from sending anything to the cloud and keep data processing on your device only. Going for this option will disable some AI features altogether that require the internet to process, and the results may be less useful.
Goodbye, Bixby
Bixby, the Samsung digital assistant that you may not even realize is on your phone, is something that you’ll want to disable if you’re trying to tame the AI on your Galaxy device.
Luckily, Samsung has a way for you to replace Bixby with another voice assistant of your choosing. For all intents and purposes, Google Assistant will be your best bet, even if it will eventually be replaced by Google’s advanced AI assistant somewhere down the road.
It’s likely already installed on your phone, but you may need to redownload the Google app if you uninstalled it or never had it.
- Go to Settings.
- Tap Apps.
- Tap Default apps.
- Tap Digital assistant app.
- Tap Google.
That’s it. Now, when you trigger your voice assistant, you’ll be greeted by Google Assistant instead of the AI-powered Bixby.
Technologies
How to Watch the February 2026 Pokemon Presents Livestream
Celebrate Pokemon Day with the latest and greatest announcements from the world of pocket monsters.
We are just a day away from the annual celebration of all things Pokemon. The Pokemon Day event starts tomorrow morning and should be chock full of free goodies and exciting game reveals for creature-collecting fans across the world. Considering the juggernaut franchise is celebrating its 30th anniversary, it’s safe to assume there will be juicy information included in the next Pokemon Presents stream.
There’s plenty of excitement leading up to the main event. Pokemon TCG Pocket just released the Paldean Wonders card set expansion, and The Pokemon Company revealed that FireRed and LeafGreen are getting Switch ports with Pokemon Home compatibility. Now the stage is set for The Pokemon Company to reveal new mainline Pokemon games for the Switch and Switch 2.
Here’s when The Pokemon Company goes live with its first Pokemon Presents stream of the year, setting audience expectations for what we can expect to see from the world of pocket monsters in 2026.
What time is the Pokemon Presents stream on Pokemon Day?
The first Pokemon Presents livestream of the year takes place tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 27. The show begins bright and early for American audiences, so you’ll have to avoid sleeping in if you want to keep up with the latest announcements.
Here’s when Friday’s Pokemon Day livestream begins in your time zone:
ET: 9 a.m.
CT: 8 a.m.
MT: 7 a.m.
PT: 6 a.m.
How to watch the February Pokemon Presents livestream
The Pokemon Company is responsible for the Pokemon Presents livestreams, which means you can view the announcement through any of its social media channels.
While I recommend watching the stream on The Pokemon Company’s YouTube or Twitch channels, you can also keep up with the announcements on TikTok. Regular updates will also be posted to the company’s Instagram account throughout the event.
What will be announced on Pokemon Day 2026?
It’s safe to assume that the February Pokemon Presents livestream will feature some long-anticipated reveals, since 2026 is a big year for the Pokemon brand.
The livestream marks the 30th anniversary of Pokemon Red and Pokemon Green (the original Pokemon games for the Game Boy) releasing in Japan. We know the stream will be roughly 25 minutes long, making one of the longest Pokemon Presents showcases ever.
I suspect the livestream will serve as a victory lap celebrating Pokemon’s cultural impact before pivoting to the future and showing fans what’s coming next.
And what treats are in store for tomorrow’s event? I expect to see updates and freebies for Pokemon mobile games first, since these are some of the big moneymakers. If this Pokemon Day presentation mirrors the one from last year, we’ll be treated to some goodies in Pokemon Go, Pokemon Masters EX, Pokemon Cafe ReMix and Pokemon TCG Pocket. We might also see an announcement for a special Pokemon Scarlet and Violet raid event and Pokemon Legends: Z-A Mega stone distributions.
After celebrating the currently released games, it’s likely that the presentation will pivot to what’s coming next. We’ll almost certainly get a reminder that Nintendo Switch ports of Pokemon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen are available starting on Pokemon Day. I expect the biggest news will be a concrete release date for Pokemon’s big new competitive game, Pokemon Champions, which is slated to come out in time for the Pokemon World Championships 2026.
If we’re really lucky, we might even hear about the 10th generation of mainline Pokemon games. While Game Freak has unmoored itself from a consistent release schedule, we’re certainly due to see the rumored Pokemon Wind and Wave. While the infamous Teraleak hints toward what the development studio might show off next, it’s high time we get a glimpse of what the next big Pokemon games are really all about.
Technologies
Only Hours Remain to Grab the Skullcandy Push 720 Open Earbuds for 40% Off
That drops these earbuds to under $100, a hard-to-beat bargain.
Until the end of the day, you can pick up a pair of the Skullcandy Push 720 open-earbuds for a nice $60 discount. That’s just $10 more than the previous record low, and this deal is available at both Best Buy and Amazon. Best Buy has labeled this deal as ending tonight and we except Amazon to follow suit. Grab yours now before the deal expires.
The Skullcandy Push 720 Open earbuds are designed to keep you connected to your audio and the world at the same time. The open-ear clip-on design delivers directional sound. But since they’re open, you’ll still be able to hear the outside world, making them great for commuting, workouts and more. The buds are lightweight and comfortable in your ear as they are built for all-day wear. They have an an IP67 rating for sweat- and water-resistance, so you can confidently take them on outdoor runs, gym sessions and through rainy weather.
The buds use precision directional speakers so your audio stays personal without disturbing people nearby. The over-the-ear fit is one-size-fits-all, and it’s made to stay secure through any kind of activity. They have a decent 30-hour battery life. But with rapid charging you’ll be back up and running in no time, and the carrying pouch has a built-in charger for on the go convenience.
HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK
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$248 (save $152)
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$170 (save $181)
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$398 (save $62)
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$200 (save $250)
Why this deal matters
These open-ear earbuds are great for anyone that’s active. Whether you’re running in the gym or playing sports, these headphones will comfortably clip onto your ears. Previously, we saw these buds come down to $80. Considering this is only $10 more, it’s not worth waiting to see if the price will drop back to $80. Best Buy says there’s only hours left for this deal. We think the Best Buy and Amazon deals will expire together, so act fast.
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