Welcome to Tech Beat, your daily look at the stories shaping our digital world.
Apple's iPhone eighteen Pro Max has a clear rival in the Android space, according to Engadget, which this week laid out the strongest case yet for which device comes closest to matching it. The comparison matters because for millions of users, the choice between ecosystems is genuinely consequential, and the gap is narrower than ever.
Shifting from devices to connectivity, Starlink's satellite internet is quietly making its way onto commercial flights, but the rollout is uneven across airlines. Engadget has a guide to checking whether your specific flight will have it before you board, which is useful given how dramatically the experience varies depending on which carrier you're flying.
And rounding out today's hardware news, the new two thousand twenty six iPad mini has a slightly smaller battery than its predecessor, coming in at four thousand nine hundred milliamp hours. That sounds like a downside, but Apple has managed to maintain the same real-world battery life, suggesting meaningful efficiency gains under the hood, and EU disclosure rules are the only reason we know the number at all.
Keep surfing. Tech Beat out.
