Laptops

2015 MacBook Pro banned from some flights worldwide

Free battery replacement program still ongoing

Published

August 15, 2019

Luigi Leonardo

Back in June, Apple announced a global recall for potentially malfunctioning MacBook Pro units shipped from September 2015 to February 2017. The aging device carried a faulty battery that can overheat and catch fire. Since then, the company has offered free battery replacements for affected units.

Haven’t we all heard this story before? In 2016, Samsung experienced a similar controversy with the exploding Galaxy Note 7. The issue caused a massive wave of calamity for the South Korean company. Airports even banned the smartphone from flights. Thankfully, an airport ban hasn’t happened to Apple yet. Until now, that is.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has recently banned the affected MacBook Pro units from American flights. Thanks to Samsung’s 2016 brouhaha, Apple will follow the same safety guidelines. The faulty MacBook Pro units can’t go on flights in both check-in and carry-on baggage.

In contrast, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a more lenient ruling. Instead of a total ban, passengers can bring a faulty MacBook if it remains switched off during the whole flight. Regardless, some European airlines — like Air Italy — have still banned the model from their flights.

Naturally, fixed units are exempt from the ban. Unfortunately, none of the regulating groups have explained the enforcement procedures. Unlike the blatantly obvious Note 7 design, affected MacBook Pro units declare their identities using their serial number. Enforcers must cross-check the serial numbers from Apple’s own database. Enforcing the ban might turn into a nightmare.

Regardless, Apple invites affected users to turn in their units as soon as possible. You can check your unit’s status on this link. If your unit is faulty, sign up for a free battery replacement as soon as you can.

Computers

Rewind: WWDC 2026

The Siri Update We’ve Been Waiting For?!

Published

June 10, 2026

GadgetMatch and Michael Josh Villanueva

At WWDC 2026, Apple unveiled Siri AI, a smarter version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, with personal context, onscreen awareness, deeper app integration, and a brand-new experience across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro.

Apple also announced new Apple Intelligence features, Google Gemini-powered foundation models, smarter photo editing tools, improved parental controls, faster performance across iPhone and iPad, and the next version of macOS: Golden Gate.

In this WWDC 2026 Rewind, Michael Josh breaks down the biggest announcements, what actually matters. And, whether Apple finally delivered on the promises it made last year.

Computex 2026

Here’s all the RTX Spark notebooks announced at COMPUTEX 2026

We got notebooks from ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, and MSI.

Published

June 5, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

There’s been much ado about the NVIDIA RTX Spark. By now, you’ve probably heard a lot about the upcoming reinvention of PCs. But, as a regular consumer, it’s hard to visualize just how this revolution looks like. Thankfully, in NVIDIA’s demo suites, a few manufacturers got to showcase their take on an RTX Spark notebook. And all of them are coming out in the fall.

ASUS ProArt P14 and P16

ASUS ProArt P16

ASUS ProArt P14

Dell XPS 16 Creator Edition

HP OmniBook X 14 and Ultra 16

HP OmniBook X 14

HP OmniBook Ultra 16

Lenovo Yoga Pro 9n

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra

MSI Prestige N16 Flip AI+

Unfortunately, none of these brands could share comprehensive details about their laptops beyond a promise for raw power. All of these models aren’t the final version yet.

However, just from what we can tell, these notebooks do feel different from the standard fare of laptops today. For one, they are deceptively heavier. Though all of the OEMs promise a much thinner profile, they’re either packing a lot of tech inside or are using denser materials for their chassis. But again, these are engineering units, so who knows how heavy these things will actually be?

Secondly, based on NVIDIA’s demos, they can do a lot of heavy lifting. NVIDIA says that these superchips are meant for developers and creators, but gamers will also find joy in their performance. DLSS 4.5, in particular, feels like a true revolution in terms of graphics.

Thankfully, fall isn’t too far away. If you can wait, the next evolution of PCs is just around the corner.

Computers

ASUS at COMPUTEX 2026

NVIDIA RTX Spark ProArt laptops, Zenbook 14, ROG XBOX Ally X20 Bundle, and more!

Published

June 3, 2026

GadgetMatch and Michael Josh Villanueva

ASUS had a packed COMPUTEX 2026.

in this video we’re taking a look at our favorite announcements from the show: the ultra-portable and colorful Zenbook 14 all the way to the practical Vivobook S series.

There are also some cool new stuff including the debut of NVIDIA RTX Spark-powered ASUS ProArt laptops. PLUS, ROG’s 20th Anniversary!

To celebrate that, they announced a whole bunch of Edition 20 collection — including the nostalgic yet futuristic ROG XBOX Ally X20 with a bundled XREAL R1 Edition 20 Gaming AR Glasses.

Check them out here: