If you’ve been on “tech” social media over the past few days, you’ve probably noticed an old debate resurfacing: Would you consider buying a car that doesn’t support CarPlay or Android Auto? As the popularity of new car brands like Tesla and Rivian continues to rise despite using in-house software and no smartphone mirroring, it’s reasonable to wonder if these features are real dealbreakers. For my money, I really need CarPlay in my car at this point. While Tesla and Rivian have excellent in-car interfaces, and I understand there are business reasons for keeping things in-house, CarPlay and Android Auto are way ahead of the average automaker interfaces. The industry as a whole just hasn’t kept up with Apple and Google here.

At How-To Geek, we focus primarily on computers and smartphones. But there are plenty of ways to fly your geek flag, whether it’s through board games, book series, TV shows, bird watching, or something else. What’s your favorite way to geek out?

While there are always exciting new tech gadgets to buy and try out, many of you probably use old items or electronics on a daily basis, like an old TV or early iPad models. But what else do you have lying around? Do you still enjoy playing games on the original Nintendo Switch from 2017 or streaming Netflix on a Shield TV from 2015? What is the oldest tech gadget you still use on a daily basis, and why?

These days, many Android phones come with Google Messages by default, even though there are tons of excellent SMS apps out there. I’m talking about Textra, Samsung Messages, WhatsApp, and more. Recently, Samsung announced that the Flip 6, Fold 6, and upcoming Samsung phones will ship with Google Messages instead of its own option. This is likely in preparation for cross-platform RCS support with Apple. So, which Android SMS app is your favorite and why?

For a long time, smartphones were really only available in one color: black. Slowly, white and silver started to enter the conversation. Thankfully, many phones now come in a variety of colors. The newly announced Pixel 9 series comes in black, gray, off-white, green, and pink. The iPhone 15 series comes in black, blue, green, yellow, pink, white, silver, and navy. That’s a lot to choose from, but which color is your first choice? Or does it not matter at all given the need for a case?

These days, most of us use multiple streaming services so we can watch all of our favorite shows, movies, and live events without the frustrations of cable TV. But if you had to choose just one streaming service, which would it be?