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If your current Kindle is getting long in the tooth and you’re thinking that buying a new one is the best course of action, hold that thought until you read this. Instead of shelling out cash for a new Kindle, you can invest a few bucks in your current one and make it feel new again.

Back in the day, Android phones were a lot more daring. Companies experimented with all kinds of wild designs, features, and even pricing. Among all the phones that tried to stand out over the past decade, one captured the enthusiast fanbase like no other: the coveted OnePlus One.

The promise of open-source software sure sounds good because it tends to be powerful, community-driven tools that are completely free. It feels like a great move from the costly, restrictive subscription model that giants like Adobe force on you. However, even after months of using these tools and getting totally comfortable with them, I still miss some things Adobe offers.

We all have an old smart TV somewhere that's been replaced by a newer model, or is simply starting to show its age. But the great thing about smart TVs, compared to older television sets or other devices like smartphones, is that they tend to have a much longer lifespan.

Whether you’ve got an Android TV or Google TV streaming device, the home screen is something you see a lot. That’s exactly why it’s stuffed with recommendations and ads. I got tired of all the junk and cleaned things up with a free launcher.

Whether you have a fancy all-SSD NAS or you've turned an old PC into a makeshift backup solution, you've probably set it up, in part, to keep your files safe. But many of us, in our effort to protect our backups, forget about a much more important aspect of it all: protecting the NAS itself.

Xiaomi's Ultra line of phones has always been about one thing: Peak camera performance. The new Xiaomi 17 Ultra, launched ahead of MWC 2026 in Barcelona, pushes the boundaries once more, though it suffers from similar setbacks as its predecessors.

Note that there was no Xiaomi 16 Ultra; the company decided to skip that number and go straight from the Xiaomi 15 and 15 Ultra to Xiaomi 17 and 17 Ultra, likely to "catch up" with Apple, whose latest models also bear the number seventeen. Despite the change, the new Xiaomi phones are very much an evolution of last year's flagship models.

SEE ALSO: MWC 2026: What to expect at the world's largest phone show

On the phone side of things, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra is an extremely capable Android smartphone, with a 6.9-inch, 120Hz OLED display, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, 16GB of RAM, 512/1024GB of storage, and a 6,000mAh battery with 90W fast charging and 50W wireless charging. It comes in three colors: Black, White, and the sparkly Starlit Green (Xiaomi sent me a black unit, but the Starlit Green looks way cooler).

The 6.9-inch OLED display is excellent. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Where the Xiaomi 17 Ultra differs from the regular Xiaomi 17, which also debuted here in Barcelona, is mainly in screen size (6.9 vs. 6.3 inches), and the camera. The Ultra's got a massive, Leica-branded camera array on the back, with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 200-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, coupled with a 50-megapixel selfie camera on the front.

At 8.29mm thickness and 218 grams of weight, it's the thinnest and lightest Xiaomi Ultra phone ever. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The 200-megapixel, 75-100mm telephoto camera gives this phone otherworldly zoom capabilities, with up to 17.2x of "optical-level zoom." I've tried it out, and was able to take usable photos at 100x zoom or more, far beyond in the distance than what my naked I could see.

Left: This is what the XIaomi 17 Ultra's telephoto camera can do. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Right: Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Venture that far out, and AI takes the reins quite heavy handedly, which you'll see in the way the system recreates the letters of a sign you took in the distance. Still, if you like the idea of having a camera that can take sharp photos of a flower that's a hundred yards away, this is the phone to do it with.

Left: Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Right: The zoom on this phone is so good, it's worth providing another example. It's like having a set of binoculars. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

To add an exclamation point to the phone's camera capabilities, Xiaomi also sells two optional photography kits which consists of two different cases that turn the phone into something that really looks like a compact camera, and add a few buttons, visual details, and battery life to the mix. The smaller Xiaomi 17 Ultra Photography Kit makes more sense to me as the phone still retains somewhat normal dimensions; the two-part Xiaomi 17 Ultra Photography Kit Pro makes it a bit too big for my taste.

The photography kits look cool, but they make the phone a lot bulkier. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The kits, as cool as they may be, illustrate the most obvious drawback of this phone: it's too much of a camera. It's top heavy, has a smaller battery than the regular Xiaomi 17, and – due to its massive camera bump on the back – doesn't support Xiaomi's wireless, magnetic battery. Don't get me wrong, this is one powerful phone, but it's primarily aimed at photography enthusiasts. Kudos to Xiaomi for making the Ultra lighter than ever, though at 218 grams it's still not exactly lightweight.

If you want your Xiaomi 17 Ultra to be a little more...Leica, there's a special version just for you, shown as a surprise announcement during Xiaomi's big unveiling in Barcelona. Called the Leica Leitzphone, it shares most of the specs with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra, but has a somewhat retro design which calls to mind classic Leica cameras, and a couple of Leica-specific photography modes.

This one is for the Leica fans. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

It also has one extra feature: The ring surrounding its camera bump can be rotated to increase or decrease zoom. I've tried it out, and it appears to be quite precise, though you do have to be careful not to place your fingers in front of the lens while shooting.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra starts at 1,499 euros in Europe; there's no info on U.S. availability yet. The Leica Leitzphone is starting at a hefty price of 1,999 euros, and it will be available in select markets and locations.

Xiaomi's strategy when it comes to phones, tablets, and accompanying accessories, appears to be pretty simple: Make it as Apple-like as possible, while still using the best that the Android ecosystem has to offer.

The company's new Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro, launched during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, is no different. It's a powerful, 11.2-inch tablet with slim black bezels, a metallic unibody frame, and a set of accessories that can turn it into a compact, portable computer, including a pen and two different keyboards.

The Xiaomi Magic Keyboard Pro Focus. Sounds pretty familiar, doesn't it? Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Inside, you'll find a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, a 9,200mAh battery, 8/12GB of RAM, 128/256/512GB of storage, and quad speakers with Hi-Res audio and Dolby Atmos support. The 50-megapixel main camera on the back coupled with a 32-megapixel selfie camera sounds like overkill for a tablet, but then again, why not?

SEE ALSO: MWC 2026: What to expect at the world's largest phone show

All tablets look similar. But having spent some time with the device I can tell you that the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro really wears its influence on the sleeve. Its dimensions are nearly identical to the 11-inch iPad Pro, down to the thinness and weight (Xiaomi: 5.75mm and 485 grams, iPad Pro: 5.3mm and 444 grams), and Xiaomi's Magic Keyboard Pro Focus is a dead ringer for Apple's Magic Keyboard (XIaomi also offers a more portable version called the Xiaomi Magic Keyboard Pro). Heck, even the Xiaomi Focus Pen Pro looks pretty much exactly like Apple Pencil.

There's an optional pen, and another, lighter keyboard on offer as well. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The good news is that Xiaomi's tablet and accessories all quality-made, so if you don't mind the similarities with Apple, you don't have to worry about them not being good. In other words: It's not just a cheap knock-off.

In fact, Xiaomi's tablet beats its competitors in several regards. Both of its cameras are pretty amazing for a tablet. It has fast 67W charging. The 3.2K display is as crisp as they come. Battery seems to lasts forever if you're browsing or reading, or even using it as a secondary display (yes, you can do that even if you have a Mac). Sure, the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro not an absolute powerhouse like the iPad Pro, as it has a smartphone chip, but I think the vast majority of users don't need their tablet to be more powerful. For what it's worth, I've found Xiaomi's Pad 8 Pro to be very snappy in common everyday tasks.

Xiaomi's HyperOS software could use some work, though. It, too, is extraordinarily similar to Apple's iPadOS, down to the icon design. But sometimes you can tell it's an adaptation of a smartphone OS. For example, I was frustratingly enable to set up even the simplest of widgets the way I wanted them on the screen, as the widgets take up tons of empty space for no good reason. AI is baked in, of course, in the form of Google Gemini; you can invoke the assistant with a long press of the power button.

You can get the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro in Blue, Gray, and (pictured) Pine Green. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Depending on which keyboard you choose, you'll either get a slightly bulkier tablet that feels more like a tiny laptop, or a truly portable tablet that also happens to have a decent keyboard. I'd probably opt for the bulkier Magic Keyboard Pro Focus, simply because it has a touchpad.

Despite the fancy keyboards, this thing is not a great replacement for a laptop, but neither is the iPad. Instead, the Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro is a pro-looking Android tablet that will excel at things tablets are for: Browsing, reading, gaming, and some light work.

Xiaomi's ecosystem of gadgets is expanding.

As is customary, the company brought its new flagship phones to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, including the Xiaomi 17 and the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.

Xiaomi also launched a new smartwatch called the Xiaomi Watch 5, a new pair of earbuds called the Redmi Buds 8 Pro and, for the first time, an AirTag-like tracking device called the Xiaomi Tag.

SEE ALSO: Xiaomi 17 Ultra hands-on: The cameraphone with a monstrous zoom Xiaomi Tag is here to compete with AirTag

Xiaomi Tag is as simple as they come: A white puck that you can attach to your keys and track via your phone. But the big deal with this one is that it works with Apple Find My, making it a very real competitor to Apple's AirTag. Xiaomi sent me one to test, and I can confirm that it's trackable via Find My just like any other Apple gadget (you don't get Apple's Precision Tracking, though).

Yes, Xiaomi brought a lot of new gadgets to Barcelona this year. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable Xiaomi Watch 5 is ready for your wrist

Xiaomi's new Watch 5 was launched in December 2025 in China. It's a round smartwatch running Xiaomi's HyperOS 3, with a 1.54-inch AMOLED display inside a stainless steel frame, a Qualcomm Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 chip inside, and a 930mAh battery.

SEE ALSO: MWC 2026: What to expect at the world's largest phone show

Xiaomi also has a different line of smartwatches called the Redmi Watch, and these are square and very resemblant of Apple Watch. The Xiaomi Watch 5 is more of a successor to 2024's Watch S4, which had a slightly smaller display, and a battery that was half the size.

The Xiaomi 5 Watch is a hefty, sturdy looking device that's more of a dress watch than a sports watch. It does, of course, come with various health and activity tracking features, including an EMG sensor and an ECG heart rate sensor.

Xiaomi Redmi Buds 8 Pro are packed with features

Launched a few weeks back, Redmi Buds 8 Pro are a pair of sleek-looking earbuds with hi-res audio support, active noise cancellation, and up to 36 hours of battery life.

The Buds 8 Pro also have a noise reduction system that should make calls clear in extremely noisy scenarios (up to 95dB of external noise), as well as very windy environments.

Other features of note include Dolby Audio support, dynamic head tracking, and IP54 dust and water resistance.

Xiaomi 17 brings all the megapixels Xiaomi 17 has a crisp, 6.3-inch display, and is just the right size for my hand. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

Finally, the star of the show is the Xiaomi 17. It's Xiaomi's no-nonsense flagship, a powerful Android smartphone that sets its sights on Apple's non-Pro iPhone. It has a 6.3-inch, 120Hz OLED display, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, 12GB of RAM, 256/512GB of storage, and a hefty 6,330mAh battery with 100W fast charging (and 50W wireless charging).

On the back, you'll find a Leica-branded, triple camera system that consists of a 50-megapixel main camera, a 50-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera. There's also a 50-megapixel selfie camera on the front, hidden inside a punch-hole cutout at the top of the display. Yes, Xiaomi just slapped a bunch of 50-megapixel cameras onto this one, and we don't mind it one bit.

Having had some time with both the Xiaomi 17 and the 17 Ultra, I can say that I actually prefer the "regular," Xiaomi 17 variant, even though it has a less powerful camera system. It has a very clean design with glass on both front and back, and I love the Venture Green color my unit was in, as it covers both the back and the sides of the phone (other colors on offer are Black, Alpine Pink, and Ice Blue).

The Xiaomi 17 has a triple, 50-megapixel camera system on the back, and a 50-megapixel selfie camera on the front. Credit: Stan Schroeder/Mashable

The phone sits in the hand perfectly as it's not top heavy like its Ultra brother. Xiaomi includes a see-through case which isn't bad, but the phone's color and feel is so nice that wrapping it up in plastic is a shame.

Other features of note are an in-display fingerprint sensor, Hi-Res audio support, and IP68 dust and water resistance. Xiaomi also offers a very simple and super-thin magnetic battery which wirelessly charges the phone when attached. Interestingly, it only works with the Xiaomi 17; the Xiaomi 17 Ultra has such a massive rear camera bump that the magnetic battery doesn't fit.

If you’re thinking of spinning up a Plex library, let me save you a few headaches. I’ve been running my own media server for the better part of a decade, and, over the years, I’ve learned a lot of things that you shouldn’t do.

In terms of a private media server, Plex is one of the best options on the market. Many users enjoy using Plex to store their personal media, including movies and television shows, in one spot. In addition to its storage opportunities, Plex offers plenty of free content thanks to its ad-supported streaming television.

For many people, smart light bulbs are their first introduction to the world of smart home tech. They're simple to set up and use, but there's a lot more you can do with smart bulbs than just lighting your home.

This was another busy week in tech news, with Samsung finally revealing the Galaxy S26 series, Android 17's second beta release, big updates for Home Assistant and Excel, and much more. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed.

FREE BOOKS: The latest Stuff Your Kindle Day takes place on Feb. 28. Indulge in the Darkness, hosted by The Book Club Fest, is offering free dark romance books for your e-reader.

Another Stuff Your Kindle Day is dropping, merely days after the Sapphic Shelf Explosion. We're certainly not complaining. It's very much a case of "the more the merrier" with Stuff Your Kindle Day. We're always greedy for more.

Indulge in the Darkness, hosted by The Book Club Fest, is offering participants the chance to download dark romance books without spending anything. Everything that you download is yours to keep forever, so there's no need to hold back. Dive into the world of dark romance with this limited-time event.

SEE ALSO: I tested the best Kindles to help you find the perfect e-reader

Looking to make the most of the latest Stuff Your Kindle Day? We've lined up everything you need to know about this popular event.

When is Stuff Your Kindle Day?

Indulge in the Darkness takes place on Feb. 28. This free giveaway only runs for 24 hours, so you'll need to act quickly to pick up all the titles on your list.

Which ebooks are free?

Indulge in the Darkness offers free dark romance books from a number of sub-genres. Fortunately, The Book Club Fest has created a helpful hub page with links to everything on offer:

• Contemporary

• Poly/Why Choose/Reverse Harem

• Paranormal/Sci-Fi/Fantasy

• MM or FF

Anyone can participate in Stuff Your Kindle Day. Kindle and Kobo readers can download these dark romance books for free.

Is Stuff Your Kindle Day the same as Amazon Kindle Unlimited?

Everything you download on Stuff Your Kindle Day is yours to keep, and there's no limit on the number of books you can download. Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads don't count towards the 20 books that Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow at the same time.

The best Stuff Your Kindle Day deal Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Kindle (16GB) + Kindle Unlimited (3 Months) $109.99 at Amazon
  Get Deal Why we like it

These popular e-readers let you take your entire library on the go. With weeks of battery life and an anti-glare display, you can read anywhere and anytime with the Kindle. Plus, you can get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free with your purchase.

Are you sick and tired of being used as a pawn in a never-ending data mining race? Instead of putting your data in the cloud where random companies can profit from it, you really need to take control of your own data. There’s only one way to enjoy privacy in the cloud era—own your own data.

TL;DR: Live stream India vs. West Indies in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free on ICC.TV. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The 2026 T20 World Cup action concludes this weekend with an absolutely huge game between India and West Indies. The winner of this fixture will progress to the semi finals. The loser will be dumped out. It's a winner-takes-all knockout game. It really doesn't get much bigger than this.

India and West Indies both suffered defeats to the impressive South Africa in this tricky group. They also both beat Zimbabwe to set up this all-important clash at Eden Gardens. The stadium is going to be electric.

If you want to watch India vs. West Indies in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

When is India vs. West Indies?

India vs. West Indies in the 2026 T20 World Cup starts at 8:30 a.m. ET on March 1. This game takes place at the Eden Gardens.

How to watch India vs. West Indies for free

India vs. West Indies in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup is available to live stream for free on ICC.TV.

This free live stream on ICC.TV is only available in select regions (see full list of territories here), but anyone can live stream the T20 Cricket World Cup for free with a VPN. These helpful tools can hide your IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server in a location with free access. This simple process bypasses geo-restrictions so you can live stream on ICC.TV from anywhere in the world.

Live stream India vs. West Indies in the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in a location with access

4. Visit ICC.TV

5. Watch the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup for free from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Month Plan) $12.99 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to free live streams without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it does give you time to watch every game from the 2026 T20 Cricket World Cup before recovering your investment.

If you want to retain permanent access to free streaming platforms from around the world, you'll need a subscription. Fortunately, the best VPN for live sport is on sale for a limited time.

What is the best VPN for ICC.TV?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport on ICC.TV, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

• Fast connection speeds

• Up to 10 simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A two-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $68.40 and includes an extra four months for free — 81% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee. Alternatively, you can get a one-month plan for just $12.99 (with money-back guarantee).

Watch the 2026 T20 World Cup for free with ExpressVPN.

If your NVMe SSD suddenly disappears, it doesn't mean that it vanishes out of existence. It just means that your OS has lost track of it. Sure, physically it's there, but it might as well not be if your PC can't connect to it.

The latest entry in the Jurassic World franchise has a new streaming home. Jurassic World Rebirth is now available to stream on Netflix. The dinosaur adventure starring Scarlett Johanssonfirst went to Peacock following its impressive theatrical run. Now, it will reach an even wider audience on Netflix.

3D printers allow you to create objects that solve problems, improve on products you own, and above all, make you smile. But they can also be used to create items that improve the printer itself, and these are often the best first prints to make.

So, you're getting into software development, and one elemental name keeps coming up: Rust. After experiencing that myself, I looked into the increasingly popular programming language. Here's what I learned about it, plus the steps it took to start writing Rust programs myself.