Technologies
It’s About Darn Time: Apple Will Finally Screen Your Calls and Messages
Commentary: The new feature could come in time to help prevent AI voice clone scams.
There’s one big feature I’m looking forward to in iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and MacOS Tahoe 26, and it’s one that Apple should have added ages ago: call and text screening. It could do more than keep me from talking to strangers — it could keep me safe from scammers looking to steal my information or my identity.
Similar to features from Google and Samsung, Apple’s Call Screening vets unknown callers by checking what they want before sending them your way. The company announced the capability at its Worldwide Developers Conference 2025 keynote.
This could help curb the threat of AI voice clone scams, which allow scammers to create AI voice clones with just 3 seconds of recorded voice. These call and message screening features may come years after many of Apple’s competitors have already implemented them, but it’s an easy W for Apple nonetheless.
There’s also a new text message filtering capability that places messages from unknown senders into a separate folder for you to review or ignore. This could help limit the number of people who fall for job, toll or other text phishing scams.
I get two, maybe three of these text messages a week. Having them on their own little island may not stop the frequency at which they’re sent, but it will certainly provide some peace of mind that I won’t accidentally click a scam link or fall for an AI phishing scam. Plus, a less cluttered inbox is always nice.
Apple’s new features come at a good time, too. A recent CNET survey showed that 96% of Americans receive at least one scam message from email, phone calls or texts each week. While Apple may be late to the party, anything that helps fewer scams reach you is a welcomed addition.
Technologies
The Black Friday Gaming Deals You Want Are Already Here, Including PlayStation, Xbox and Alienware
Technologies
The Black Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Is at a Record $443 Off at Amazon for Black Friday
A Galaxy Z Fold 7 price war between Amazon and Samsung gives us a record-low deal for one color.
If you’re looking for a foldable iPhone, you’re gonna need to wait until 2026, but if you’re looking for the best foldable phone of 2025, there are great deals on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 right now at both Amazon and Samsung, with the former dropping the black version of Samsung’s foldable phone to a record-low $1,557. All other models are $1,600 at both Amazon and Samsung, a $400 discount.
Samsung’s unique foldable phones had an awkward adolescence, but after getting her hands on the new lineup, CNET reviewer Abrar Al-Heet confirms that the latest Z Fold 7 «just feels right.» For one, it’s incredibly sleek at just 8.9mm thick when closed or 4.2mm thick when open, which is so thin you may even forget that it’s foldable.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.
Despite weighing just 215 grams, this foldable features some serious hardware. It has a 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch interior display with a fluid 120Hz refresh rate. It’s equipped with a cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and 12GB of RAM to support tons of helpful AI features and functions, and comes with Android 16 and Samsung One UI 8 right out of the box.
The camera system is also pretty impressive, boasting a 200-megapixel rear camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide shooting and a 10-megapixel front camera on both the cover and interior screens. Plus, it’s equipped with a 4,400-mAh battery for all-day use.
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Why this deal matters
With an unbelievably sleek design and cutting-edge hardware, the impressive Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is our favorite foldable phone on the market. But it also comes with a staggering $2,000 price tag, and if you’re hoping to get your hands on one, this $443 discount is a way to rack up some serious savings and help cushion the blow of its considerable cost. Just be sure to get your order in soon, as we doubt this deal will remain live for long.
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Technologies
I Almost Missed This Deal Within a Deal for Baseus’ Bose-Infused Headphones and Earbuds
Baseus’ new Inspire XH1, XP1 and XC1 models with Sound by Bose are 23% to 33% off for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But Baseus throws in its BC1 clip-on earbuds or other «free» bonus items to make the deal even sweeter.
I gave CNET Editors’ Choice awards to Baseus’ Bose-infused Baseus Inspire XH1 headphones and Inspire XP1 earbuds because they’re well designed and sound decent for what they cost. I also liked Baseus’ Inspire XC1 clip-on earbuds, which have dual- drivers and earned a spot on CNET’s best clip-on earbuds list.
Last week all three models were selling for around $110 (though they have higher list prices), but they’re now discounted to around $100 for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. That’s a deal I’d highlight on its own, but if you click through to any of those models’ Amazon product pages an look closely you’ll see that each is eligible for «one free item» with purchase.
Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2025
You have to click the «how to claim link» and then add one of the three products to the your cart. Once one of the headphones or earbuds is added to your cart, you can click a button on the left side of screen (above the stars for average ratings) that switches the view from «qualifying items» to «benefit items.» You can then add Baseus’s BC1 clip-on earbuds, which list for $40, to your cart as a free item. Baseus’ step-up Basues MC1 Pro ($48 for Black Friday) and Inspire XC1 clip-on buds sound better, but the BC1 are fine for casual use.
If the BC1 earbuds option doesn’t thrill you, there are other freebies you can opt for. Just go back to the Amazon product page for the Inspire XH1, XP1 and XC1 and you’ll see options for one free item with $100, $90, $51 and $46 purchases. The $90 benefit item is a 30W dual-port fast charger (list price $20), which is decent, and the $51 benefit item is a retractable USB-C cable ($19 list) that’s useful. Don’t bother with the $46 benefit item.
You can read my full reviews of the Inspire XH1 headphones here and the Inspire XP1 earbuds here. And here’s my quick take of the Inspire XC1 earbuds:
Like Baseus’ noise-isolating Inspire XP1 earbuds that I rated highly, the Inspire XC1 feature «Sound by Bose» and a more premium design than earlier Baseus earbuds. The XC1 don’t sound as good as the XP1, but they sound good for open earbuds and are equipped with dual drivers, one of which is a Knowles balanced-armature driver that helps improve treble performance. While they don’t produce as much bass as noise-isolating earbuds like the Inspire XP1, their bass performance is better than I expected. The buds’ sound is pretty full, especially in quieter environments, though they do better with less bass-heavy material (I did notice a bit of distortion at higher volumes with certain tracks with harder driving bass).
While I prefer the design and fit of Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds (as well as the design of their case) and think the Bose buds sound more natural and a tad better overall, the much more affordable Inspire XC1 fit comfortably and offer top-tier sound for clip-on open earbuds (and they play louder than the Bose), as well as decent voice-calling performance with good background noise reduction.
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Read more: Best Black Friday headphones deals
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