Dwight Silverman

Surprise! Apple makes a big leap with the iPhone 14 Pro Max

When Apple unveils the annual iteration of its flagship smartphone, the company’s honchos tout it the same way: It’s the best iPhone, ever. That’s actually an easy claim to make. The iPhone advances by inches and feet most years, and it’s always at…

Google Fi is a cell-service plan with plenty of options, and a couple of gotchas

Few chores are as annoying and confusing as picking a smartphone data plan. While carriers have tried to simplify the process, it remains one that rivals paying taxes and seeing the dentist on the I’d-Rather-Not Procrastination Scale™. I last…

Alas, poor Dark Sky! I knew it well.

If you’re an iPhone user who downloaded and installed iOS 16 after its release on Monday, take some time from learning to configure those nifty customizable lock screens and tap on the included Weather app. On the surface, it looks a lot like the…

Hate the iPhone’s notch? You may love its new Dynamic Island

When Apple introduced the notch atop the display in 2017’s iPhone X, most folks hated it. Many felt it marred an otherwise dramatic redesign that also did away with the home button and introduced a nearly edge-to-edge screen. The adjective “hated”…

Missing Boot Camp for running Windows on the latest Macs? Parallels Desktop 18 for Mac to the rescue!

When Apple launched its Mac computers built around its own processors, it was considered a landmark as its Apple Silicon chips outperformed the Intel-based CPUs the company had used since 2005. The first round of chips, dubbed M1, ran cooler,…

The iPhone 14 is coming. Should you buy one?

We’re approaching iPhone Season, that autumnal ritual in which a storm of rumors coalesces into reality, and Apple’s biggest dog-and-pony show of the year burps forth its latest flagship device. Indeed, Apple announced last week that its next product…

Samsung’s foldable smartphones reach for the mainstream

Samsung debuted its first folding smartphone almost three years ago, and since then the category has been pigeonholed as an overpriced niche, cool in concept but expensive and sometimes clunky in execution. But the South Korean electronics maker has…

What I did on my social media vacation

As do many people who use social media, I have a love/hate relationship with its various platforms. I use all the major services, and for the most part, they serve me well and I enjoy them. But there are times when they annoy, upset and even anger…

Houston Matters: Broken headphones, broadband and social media vacations (Aug. 11, 2022)

Plus Dwight Silverman answers listener questions. Starts at about the 26-minute mark.

Silverman: Finally, an Android phone to call my own: Google’s Pixel 6 Pro

Regular readers know I’m a longtime iPhone user, one who’s all-in on Apple’s ecosystem. But I’ve long been Android-curious, and have reviewed smartphones running Google’s mobile operating system since the very first one, the HTC Dream, was released…

‘Stray’ brings beauty, feline realism to the game

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate There’s a moment early on in the new video game “Stray” when you realize just how quickly you’ve become emotionally bonded with the character you’re playing — an orange tabby cat lost in…

Help an iPhone user pick an Android phone [Updated]

Anyone who reads my columns regularly knows that I’m a die-hard iPhone user. Over the years, I’ve flirted with Android (and even Windows Phone!) from time to time. But at this point I’m neck-deep in Apple’s ecosystem lock-in, and as far as I’m…

Do you have broadband internet? Under proposed a FCC standard, maybe not.

How fast is fast internet supposed to be? Most consumers would likely say “fast enough for me to do what I want online without waiting.” But there’s an official set of numbers to determine what constitutes high-speed, or broadband, internet in the…

These headphones cost about $50. Should they be durable?

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate Because I love my lovely wife very much, I keep a set of Bluetooth, over-the-ear headphones on the end table next to my perch on the sofa. Our entertainment tastes are similar, but there…

Affluent fans of bands like KISS, Pantera chase pricey new thrills through Houston auction company

In January 1999, an ecstatic David Montgomery scored front-row tickets to the reunion tour of Black Sabbath, but the legendary heavy metal band was not the act he had come to see. Instead, he was there for Pantera, a Texas band and metal legend in…

This Week in Tech: More Data Than Sense

Musk bails on Twitter, Europe's big data laws, China's big data hack Elon Musk tries to walk away from the Twitter deal. Twitter will sue Elon Musk for calling off his $44 billion takeover. Elon's out, and his bid to buy Twitter was likely a joke.…

5G wins T-Mobile best network crown in U.S., Houston but competitors are catching up

Each year, reporters working for PCMag hit the road to test the quality and speed of America’s cellular data networks. Houston is usually one of the cities visited, and this year the winning national network also took the crown locally. T-Mobile…

OnePlus’ Nord Buds earbuds and 10 Pro 5G phone will surprise you for the money

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate In my search for cheap wireless earbuds that don’t sound cheap, my column last week explored two models that list for over $100. This week, I continue my quest with a pair that sells for…

You don’t have to overpay for great wireless earbud audio

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate My daughter recently needed to replace her Apple AirPods, but she didn’t want to pay AirPods prices. She settled on a $25 model from a company called Tozo. They do exactly what she needs —…

A surprising number of Apple products get kicked to the curb at WWDC

Apple announced a slew of updates for its various operating systems earlier this week as CEO Tim Cook et al kicked off the company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference. As usual, Macs, iPhones, iPads, Watches and Apple TV boxes will get new,…