News

PLDT Home launches ‘PH’s fastest’ 10,000 Mbps service

Coming to Metro Manila in December

Published

November 20, 2021

GadgetMatch

PLDT Home launched the first-ever 10,000 Mbps fiber-optic service in the Philippines, a history-making move towards the future of even better home connectivity.

The internet speed of the new service offered by PLDT now puts the country next to first-world nations such as South Korea, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Italy, New Zealand, and the United States.

The broadband internet service provider will pilot its 10,000 Mbps service in Metro Manila this December and will then implement further expansions in other key cities outside Metro Manila like Cebu and Davao come 2022.

The future of smart homes

The planned rollout for the 10,000-Mbps service is said to be the culmination of PLDT Home’s year-long network expansion program in 2021 which aims at providing Filipino homes with even stronger internet connections.

Leading market and consumer data provider Statista.com defines “smart home” as a private household controlled, monitored, and regulated through networked devices.

Statista predicted a household penetration rate in the Philippines of 7.5 percent for 2021 and 14.2 percent — or about 3.4 million active “smart homes” — by 2025.

To help grow the number of smart homes in the Philippines, PLDT Home’s new Fiber Plan comes with a WiFi 6 Mesh System that will guarantee ultra-fast WiFi speeds covering an area of over 550 square meters.

Free upgrades for the holidays

As a treat for consumers this holiday season, PLDT’s newly-launched Fiber plans automatically give PLDT Home Fiber subscribers free upgrades of as much as three times their subscribed internet speeds.

This allows the telco giant’s customers to enjoy the fastest and most superior internet speeds to power their smart home devices and cover their homes with seamless whole-home wifi connectivity.

Committed to its goal of delivering powerful broadband services to Filipinos, PLDT added 324,000 new fiber subscribers to wrap up the third quarter of 2021 with a market-leading count of 2.77 million fixed broadband customers.

The company has delivered fixed broadband connectivity to an estimated 12.7 million homes as of September 2021.

PLDT also made it a four-peat at the prestigious Ookla Speedtest Awards for the first and second quarters of 2021, recording an overall speed score of 46.25 Mbps.

Know more about PLDT Home products and services by visiting www.pldthome.com.

News

Apple reportedly gives up on the Vision Pro

But Apple will continue to sell the current model.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

When they unveiled the Vision Pro in 2023, Apple touted the wearable as the next big thing after the iPhone. Now, almost three years removed from the launch, the Vision Pro hasn’t really taken over the coveted spot occupied by the iPhone. Apple, according to a report, is allegedly canning the short-lived wearable.

According to MacRumors, Apple has reportedly given up on making the Vision Pro a thing. The team handling the wearable has supposedly been subsumed by other teams within Apple.

If true, the wearable’s end is unfortunate but not surprising. Despite being out for years, the Vision Pro has sold only a little more than half a million units with numerous returns from customers. Most recently, Apple updated the wearable with the M5 chip, but the move hasn’t revitalized the device’s status in Apple’s lineup.

Most of the complaints about the device stem from its exorbitant price or its cumbersome battery pack. Besides costing a whopping US$ 3,499, the Vision Pro is also difficult to move around with, especially because of its total weight and a battery pack that can get in the way.

To be clear, Apple has not officially discontinued the Vision Pro yet. The company continues to sell the version with the M5 chip. Apple can also restart development in the future.

However, the meantime retirement on future development does coincide with the recent restructuring inside the company. Tim Cook recently decided to step down as CEO with John Ternus as his replacement. Canning the Vision Pro might be Ternus’ first step in redefining Apple according to his plans.

Apps

YouTube makes picture-in-picture mode free for everyone globally

The update is rolling out globally now.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Picture-in-picture (or PiP) mode is a godsend for multitaskers. The feature lets users watch videos in a tiny floating window while doing other tasks. However, the feature isn’t readily available for all users. Or wasn’t, at least. YouTube is now rolling out PiP mode for free globally.

Previously, PiP mode was exclusive to YouTube users who pay for Premium or Premium Lite. It was also exclusive to the United States.

Now, YouTube is making the feature completely free for users all over the globe. It will be available for both iOS and Android versions of the app.

There’s still a catch, though. The free version is available only for “longform, non-music content.” The same goes for Premium Lite subscribers. Music is still an exclusive feature for those who pay for the regular version of Premium. Basically, there is no change for paying users or users in the United States.

Using PiP mode is simple. All you need to do is load up a video you want to watch in the background. Then, just exit the YouTube app and go about your other tasks. The video will be inside a floating, resizable window while you look at other things.

There’s no timeline on when the update will reach your device. However, YouTube has promised that it will roll out globally within the coming months.

Enterprise

OnePlus has reportedly merged with realme

Both brands were previously rumored for restructuring early this year.

Published

April 30, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

OnePlus has a problem. For a while now, rumors have swirled about the company’s dissolution. For their part, the company has continued to deny the reports, citing business as usual. Likely to their dismay, the reports just keep coming. Today, sources have hinted that OnePlus has merged with realme.

Back in January, it was rumored that OnePlus would be closing up shop this year. Since the company very quickly denied the rumors, the report hardly made waves. However, a suspected merger with realme is more difficult to debunk.

For one, realme is itself in a very interesting position. Also back in January, realme was reportedly moving back into being a sub-brand of OPPO. Coupled together with the OnePlus debacle, all this internal restructuring seems par for the course.

According to Digital Chat Station on Weibo, OnePlus and realme have already concluded the merger. The two brands have reportedly united their Chinese and international operations under one roof. Likewise, their marketing will be the same. Pete Lau will still be the main head for this new division.

As with anything of this nature, take this with a grain of salt. OPPO, OnePlus, and realme have not issued any official statements concerning a merger or a shutdown for any brand.