The $50 AI bracelet that remembers your entire life

Plus: Samsung Galaxy S26 launch date, TikTok goes local and watching the Super Bowl up in the air.

Hey there, and thanks for opening up my newsletter.

All I can say is last weekend was quite the journey.

I had the wild idea of taking my entire family to New Jersey to be there for my dad’s milestone birthday dinner. I really wanted to be there, so we headed to the airport for a red eye. And then… delay after delay. We finally took off about four hours late. Not ideal, but I kept reminding myself it was a little inconvenience for a lot of benefit.

We made it to New Jersey, where it was absolutely frigid. I’m talking the coldest I think I’ve ever experienced. Negative temperatures.

But it was all worth it. We pulled off a surprise party for my dad with the whole family, and it turned out great. The funniest part was that we were staying at his house, so how do you explain your entire family suddenly showing up for the weekend? I told him I was doing my radio show from his place.

Either he played along, or he truly didn’t suspect a thing. Either way, it worked.

A Super Bowl at 30,000 feet

Oh, and did I mention we flew home on Super Bowl Sunday? The plan was to get back to Los Angeles in time to watch the game at home so everyone could be back at work and school in the morning.

The plane we were on didn’t have Starlink yet, and it also didn’t offer live TV. So I took a chance. I downloaded the Peacock app and paid for a month. Remember I told you I bet a lot of people would be doing that? Then, I fired up my VPN on the plane’s Wi-Fi.

Lo and behold, we were able to watch the entire game with barely any glitches.

I’ve got to say, it was the first time I’ve ever watched the Super Bowl on an airplane.

Samsung sets Galaxy S26 launch date

Samsung finally gave us a solid date for the unveiling of the Galaxy S26 series. It’s happening Wednesday, February 25th in San Francisco. The company isn’t saying much about the phone yet, but you can expect a big focus on AI. It’s also expected to support faster wireless charging and include the privacy screen Samsung has been teasing.

For what it’s worth, the Galaxy S25 Ultra was probably my second most-used phone of 2025, right behind the iPhone 17 Pro Max. It’s a fantastic device. If you really nitpick, there are a few areas Samsung could improve. The camera could be better with action shots and low-light photos, and the video could be improved to match the iPhone. They could also bump the memory, trim some weight, improve the battery tech and add magnets to the back.

We’ll see how many of those changes actually show up.

If you register your interest now on Samsung’s website, you’ll get $30 toward accessories and up to $900 in trade-in credit. Samsung usually offers its best trade-in values right at launch, and there’s also up to $150 off when you pre-order through its site.

As usual, Samsung is first out of the gate with new phones this year. We’re also expecting a cheaper Pixel from Google, new Samsung foldables, a foldable iPhone, and possibly another budget iPhone, as well as the standard iPhone models, before the year is over.

TikTok’s new Local feed

If you’re not a TikTok fan, you can probably skip this one. People either love it or hate it. But the company just introduced a new feature that I think is a real game changer. I’ll admit, I watched more TikTok today than I probably ever have, just because of this.

It’s called TikTok Local.

Here’s the idea. It gives you a feed of content that’s happening around you. We’re talking restaurants, local businesses, events, news, and everyday happenings in your area.

So instead of searching for things to do, you just open the app and scroll. You’ll discover cool places, interesting events, and hidden gems nearby. And when you’re traveling, it becomes a quick way to find unique spots wherever you are.

Influencers already cover just about every restaurant and destination out there. This just surfaces it in one place without you having to look for it. I found it surprisingly interesting and ended up scrolling for about an hour, which is more TikTok than I think I’ve ever watched.

Of course, there’s a trade-off. To serve up those local videos, TikTok wants access to your precise GPS location. You don’t have to give it that. The feature will still work using approximate location based on your IP address, and there’s a setting to turn off precise location. It’s not enabled by default.

If you’re curious, open TikTok and look for the “Local” tab at the top to try it out.

The AI bracelet that remembers your life

You might remember that during CES I told you about a new AI wearable called Bee.

It’s a wristband you wear that captures the audio of your day, 24/7. It’s mainly listening for your voice, transcribing what it hears, and then using AI to analyze it for patterns, insights, reminders, and to-dos. You can even chat with an AI that essentially has a running memory of your life.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a brave new world. We’ve all carried phones that can record at a moment’s notice, and covert recorders have existed for years. But this is different. It’s a bracelet you wear all day that, for better or worse, captures the moments of your life automatically.

I found it fascinating to wear for a couple of weeks. I also felt a little guilty at times, especially if I didn’t tell people what it was. The bottom line is, though, we’re about to see a wave of these kinds of devices. We’re entering a world of 24/7 data capture.

One salesperson even emailed me to say they bought it after hearing me mention it. They love being able to recall key details from almost every conversation. That’s the upside. The downside is it also captures things you may not want to remember and it doesn’t always get all of it’s insights right.

If you’re curious, check out my full story. The Bee costs about $50, and the battery can last up to two weeks.

Great audio picks at every price

Looking for a new pair of earbuds, headphones, or even over-the-counter hearing aids?

I recently chatted with my pal Lauren Dragan, who reviews audio gear for a living at Wirecutter, and I had her bring over some of her favorite picks across different categories.

We covered great options for everyday earbuds, noise-canceling headphones at a range of prices, open-ear designs, and even over-the-counter hearing aids.

Tech tidbits

YouTube arrives on Vision Pro - Apple’s pricey Vision Pro headset finally has an official YouTube app.

Google expands “Results about you” tool - Google’s Results About You feature now lets you search for even more sensitive data, including driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, and Social Security numbers. The catch: you have to enter that information into Google so it can look for it. And if it finds it, Google removes the search result, not the original webpage. Still, it’s a useful first step for privacy.

T-Mobile adds live voice translation - T-Mobile is building a new voice translation feature directly into its network. The idea is that you’ll be able to have phone calls across about 50 different languages, with no special phone or app required.

Radio show, podcast, or TV show? Here’s the difference

Are you listening to my podcast? There’s been a lot of confusion between the radio show, the podcast, and the weekly TV show, so here’s a quick breakdown.

My radio show is live Saturdays on KFI AM 640 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific time. It originates out of Los Angeles and airs on stations across the country throughout the weekend, wrapping up with WOR 710 in New York City starting at 5 p.m. Pacific on Sunday night.

The best way to listen is live, but it also becomes a podcast. It’s the same show, just available on demand. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or whatever audio app you like. You can also ask Siri, Alexa, or Gemini to “play the Rich on Tech podcast,” and it should come right up.

Then there’s the weekly TV show on KTLA+. It’s a half-hour program that premieres Sundays at 11 a.m. It features the first 10 minutes of my radio show, along with expanded versions of my TV sements.

Q&A: Can AI glasses help with vision loss?

James writes:

Hi Rich, my daughter recently lost her vision and her retina doctor suggested we look into the Meta AI glasses. He thought they might help her move around the house on her own. I wanted to ask you if that’s really possible and whether this is something worth trying.

Hey James, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this, but I’m glad you’re looking into solutions.

The Meta AI glasses are impressive, and a lot of people in the accessibility community really like them. They can describe what the camera sees, but it’s not necessarily real-time. In most cases, the glasses take a picture and then use AI to describe what’s in front of you. That can still be very helpful for things like reading labels or identifying objects.

They do also integrate with the Be My Eyes service, which lets you connect to a live volunteer who can describe what they’re seeing through the camera in real time.

You may also want to look at some of Apple’s built-in accessibility tools. The iPhone has a feature called VoiceOver Recognition with live scene descriptions that can explain what the camera is seeing, like a door, people and objects in real time.

There are also purpose-built solutions from companies like eSight and Envision, but those can be very expensive.

Another app worth checking out is OKO, which uses AI to identify pedestrian walk signals and give audible feedback.

And if you want to see what’s new in this space, the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference is one of the biggest events each year showcasing tools designed for the accessibility community.

Hope that helps!

Feedbag

Marty in Fullerton writes…

Hi Rich, I tried your tip about teaching ChatGPT what kinds of wines my girlfriend Julie and I like. We went out to dinner, I snapped a photo of the wine list, asked ChatGPT for help picking a bottle, and it nailed it. We’ve got a new favorite wine now. Thanks for the tip. I listen live and on the podcast. You are da man.

Thanks, Marty. Glad you enjoyed a great sip thanks to that tip.

That’s going to do it for this newsletter. Thanks so much for reading. Please share it with a friend, or forward it to someone you think might enjoy learning something new.

Rich