News without the noise
Hardware and devices: chips, phones, computers and the companies making them, from launches to supply chains.
267 articles · page 4 of 6
Intel's next-generation Core Ultra 400-series 'Nova Lake' platforms have passed USB and PCIe compliance testing, with chipsets now listed by both the USB Implementers Forum and PCI-SIG, a standard step taken in the months before a product launch.
AMD has released full pricing for its EPYC 9006 'Venice' server processors, with a 256-core flagship priced at $14,904 and a wide range of SKUs from eight to 256 cores starting at $700, according to a list obtained by StorageReview.
Google has confirmed it will end ChromeOS software support in mid-2034, effectively truncating the 10-year update promise for new Chromebooks by two years. In a support document aimed at Chrome Enterprise and Education customers, the company says it is committed to helping users transition to its new Googlebook OS, but has provided no specific device eligibility lists or migration timelines.
· 4 sourcesThe U.S. Navy and Royal Navy jointly launched a 3,700-pound Mk 48 heavyweight torpedo from an uncrewed drone submarine, the XV Excalibur, on September 13 in Scotland, marking a historic first for autonomous undersea warfare under the AUKUS partnership.
A Reddit user claims PNY refused to honour the warranty on his melted GeForce RTX 5090, stating that damage caused by non-PNY power cables is not covered — even though the card was connected using the native cable from his power supply, and no list of approved cables appears to exist in PNY's documentation.
Nvidia has released version 2.0 of its RTX Mega Geometry SDK, introducing streaming support for continuous level-of-detail clusters that enables ray-traced scenes to exceed a graphics card's video memory budget without crashing or constant swapping.
Intel's chief technology and operations officer Naga Chandrasekaran told investment firm KeyBanc that the company's upcoming 14A (1.4nm-class) process will deliver performance 'within 5%' of TSMC's A14 node — a characterization that leaves open whether Intel will be 5% faster or 5% slower than its rival.
Testing by Korean outlet QuasarZone has found that Nvidia's GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition can peak at nearly 650W of power draw when running DLSS 5, with the 16-pin 12VHPWR power connector reaching temperatures above 90 degrees Celsius — exceeding the GPU die temperature and raising longstanding concerns about connector reliability.
Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon Sound Elite Gen 2, its first audio chip to integrate micro-power Wi-Fi 6E, promising wireless earbuds and audio glasses that can stream high-quality lossless audio directly over home Wi-Fi networks – a capability that would free users from having to keep their phone nearby.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a recall of Inmo Air3 smart glasses after the left temple was found to overheat during extended use, posing a burn hazard. Ten users have reported a burning sensation to the face and ear, prompting the recall of over 1,600 units sold in the US and Canada.
Four months after its debut, the Lisuan Tech LX 7G100 — China's premier homegrown gaming graphics card — continues to underperform, with fresh benchmarks revealing it rivals only the nine-year-old AMD Radeon RX 580 and trails Nvidia's seven-year-old RTX 2060 by as much as 35%. The results, published by German outlet PC Games Hardware, confirm that the card originally pitched as an RTX 4060 competitor still has a long road ahead to catch up with mainstream Western offerings.
A faulty firmware update pushed by Samsung to smart refrigerator customers in South Korea has left thousands of appliances inoperable, causing food spoilage and ruining preparations for the Chuseok holiday, according to local reports and user complaints on Samsung's official forum.
Meta has unveiled a new virtual reality device that looks like a pair of thick black sunglasses rather than a traditional headset, aiming to make VR more approachable for everyday use. Called the Meta VR Glasses, the device sits on the ears like ordinary eyewear and relies on a separate computing puck kept in the user's pocket, offering immersive displays for entertainment, gaming, and productivity.
Meta's annual Connect conference kicks off Wednesday with CEO Mark Zuckerberg's keynote expected to focus on AI and wearables, including a rumored camera-free pair of smart glasses that could be among the biggest announcements of the show.
· 4 sourcesAMD has detailed the architecture of its upcoming Venice Epyc processors in a whitepaper released late last week, laying out what The Register calls the chipmaker's biggest CPU design shift since Rome in 2019 — and a product stack aimed squarely at Nvidia's Vera CPUs.
Microsoft has announced refreshes of its Surface Pro 12-inch and Surface Laptop 13-inch devices, upgrading them with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Plus chips while increasing starting prices by $350 and $300 respectively.
Sony has launched the INZONE M10S II, a 27-inch OLED gaming monitor with QHD resolution and a 540 Hz refresh rate, scaling to 720 Hz at HD resolution, according to an in-depth review published by Tom's Hardware. The monitor features a matte anti-reflective coating, wide DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, and support for both FreeSync and G-Sync Adaptive-Sync technologies.
Google has unveiled five new Googlebook laptops in partnership with major PC makers, positioning them as a premium alternative to Apple’s MacBook Neo and Air. With aluminum and carbon-fiber construction, Intel Core Ultra 5 or Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processors, and a baseline of 16GB RAM, the devices start at US$899 and range up to $1,299. However, the software remains ChromeOS, limiting native app compatibility to browser-based and Android apps.
Google is entering the premium laptop market with Googlebooks, Android-powered devices set to launch October 4. Preorders for five models from various OEMs begin today, with prices starting at $899 — a significant step up from the company’s budget Chromebook line.
Chinese memory manufacturer CXMT, whose products Apple has reportedly evaluated for use in iPhones, announced on Sunday that it has begun mass production of DRAM chips using a fifth-generation process that doubles memory density, putting it on par with rival memory makers.
Apple has increased the price of all iPhones by £100, including older models, attributing the rise to a severe shortage of memory chips and other critical components – a crunch industry observers are calling ‘RAMageddon’ that has reversed decades of declining electronics prices.
Researchers at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands have built a lightweight whisker-based tactile sensor that allows tiny drones to navigate purely by touch, according to a report in TechXplore. The system is designed for autonomous robots weighing under 100 grams, enabling them to operate in dark, dusty, or smoke-filled environments where conventional sensors such as cameras and LiDAR struggle.
Petlibro has introduced the Granary 2 series of automatic feeders, a lineup that uses artificial intelligence and built-in scales to track how much each cat actually eats, rather than simply dispensing food on a schedule. The series includes four models priced between $129.99 and $249.99, with the top-tier versions capable of recognizing individual cats and adjusting portions accordingly.
· 2 sourcesChinese retro-hardware maker FunnyPlaying has unveiled the FPGB Mini, a compact handheld that plays original Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges and ROMs, undercutting the pricier Analogue Pocket at a discounted $69.99. The device is only slightly wider than a Game Boy cartridge, making it one of the most portable options for classic Nintendo libraries.
ASML, the sole manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, is sticking with its established laser-produced plasma (LPP) light sources and has no plans to adopt free-electron laser (FEL) technology — a method endorsed by Elon Musk — according to a recent JPMorgan analyst note cited by industry newsletter Semi Doped. The decision underscores the enormous engineering challenges of generating sufficient EUV power for next-generation chipmaking.
A modder named MAAN has reportedly gotten Nvidia's DLSS 5 neural rendering working inside a web browser by reimplementing it with WebGPU compute shaders, according to a report by VideoCardz and Tom's Hardware. The demo, hosted on Cloudflare Workers, works on macOS and runs on non-Nvidia GPUs, but each frame takes roughly two seconds to render, far slower than real-time use.
The US Department of Energy has announced the Quantum Genesis Q Competition, seeking to spur the creation of a first-generation fault-tolerant, scientifically relevant quantum computer (SRQC) by 2028. With up to $215 million in milestone-based funding tied to congressional appropriations, the initiative aims to drive progress in quantum computing but offers relatively little upfront capital for early stages.
Huawei has unveiled its next-generation Ascend 960DT AI accelerator at its annual Connect conference, promising performance far beyond any Nvidia chip currently available in China. The chip, scheduled for Q1 2027 release, delivers up to 4 petaFLOPS of FP4 performance and 288 GB of custom HiZQ memory—double the capacity of its predecessor—though it still trails Nvidia's Rubin and AMD's MI455X in raw compute density.
Apple has launched new smartphones under the name 'iPhone Duo,' according to a newsletter from The Verge. The newsletter's author mentioned 'devouring every iPhone Duo video I can find,' linking to Apple's product page. No further specifications or pricing were provided in the brief mention.
Preorders for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are now open, with the devices set to arrive on Friday, September 18. Announced at Apple's September 2026 'Sunrise and shine' event, the upgraded handsets feature a faster A20 Pro processor with enhanced GPU and neural cores for AI tasks, a variable aperture camera system, a smaller Dynamic Island, and four new color options.
· 2 sourcesApple's A20 Pro system-on-chip, likely destined for the next iPhone generation, has posted a Geekbench 7 single-thread score of 4,006 points — the highest ever recorded for any processor — outperforming desktop CPUs from Intel and AMD by as much as 32%, according to an early submission to the Geekbench browser.
Just weeks before Meta's annual Connect conference, leaked images purportedly showing the design of Meta's 'Project Phoenix' headset have emerged, hinting at a new device that could compete with mixed reality glasses from companies like Xreal and Viture.
Desktop discrete graphics card shipments surged to 12.5 million units in Q2 2026, the highest since early 2022, with Nvidia capturing 90% of the market, according to Jon Peddie Research. The sales spike came despite record-high prices and falling desktop CPU shipments, driven by consumers rushing to beat further price increases linked to geopolitical tensions.
The death toll from the MV June Aster ferry fire off the coast of Palawan, Philippines, has climbed to 35 after coastguard teams recovered 30 bodies from the charred vessel on Friday, officials said. Dozens more passengers remain missing as search operations continue.
· 10 sourcesApple has announced the iPhone 18 Pro, an iterative update that introduces a variable camera aperture for greater user control over image capture, alongside the A20 Pro chip — the company's first processor built on a 2nm process, promising significant performance gains.
Apple today unveiled the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max alongside its first foldable device, the iPhone Duo, at its 'Surprise and Shine' event – the first major product launch under new CEO John Ternus – while notably skipping the base iPhone 18 and raising prices on remaining older models by $100.
· 6 sourcesApple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 are now shipping to customers, with initial reviews praising the new Health Sensing System that delivers the most accurate heart rate tracking in a wearable to date. The watches, announced at Apple's 'Surprise and shine' event, are powered by the S11 chip and are preparing for a smarter Siri AI assistant expected with watchOS 27.
· 10 sourcesApple has revamped iOS 27 with new controls and app layouts specifically for its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, borrowing heavily from iPadOS to deliver a multitasking experience the company describes as 'as natural and intuitive as iPad.'
· 4 sourcesApple has officially entered the foldable smartphone market with the iPhone Duo, a $1,999 device that marks the most dramatic redesign of its flagship product since the iPhone X in 2017. Announced at the company’s first major event under new CEO John Ternus, the Duo features a 7.6-inch inner Retina display when unfolded, a 5.4-inch outer screen, and will be available for preorder starting October 16, with in-store sales beginning October 23.
· 13 sourcesApple will host its ‘Surprise and shine’ launch event on September 9th at 1PM ET / 10AM PT, where it is expected to announce the first phones in the iPhone 18 lineup, including the company’s first foldable device, the rumoured ‘iPhone Duo’. The event will also be the first major keynote for John Ternus, who became Apple’s CEO on September 1st after taking over from Tim Cook.
Apple is holding its first iPhone keynote under new CEO John Ternus today, with strong indications the company will finally unveil a foldable iPhone — a product that could define a new era for the tech giant. The event, which also promises updates to Apple Watch, AirPods, and operating systems, marks a pivotal moment as Ternus steps into the spotlight following Tim Cook's retirement.
· 3 sourcesA startup called Besxar is working with SpaceX to develop an orbital semiconductor factory, using the vacuum of space to produce cleaner materials for advanced chips. The company, founded by former OpenAI staffer Ashley Pilipiszyn, has raised nearly $14 million and successfully completed its first test flights aboard a Falcon 9 booster in July.
Nintendo has announced the first special edition of its Switch 2 hardware: The Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Edition, priced at $519.99. Pre-orders went live immediately following a Nintendo Direct on September 9, 2026, with the console scheduled to ship on October 29. The edition does not include a game, but a matching Pro Controller ($99.99) and carrying case are also available.
Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. have announced plans to adopt ASML's latest high NA EUV photolithography machines, which cost up to $400 million each, and have agreed with Intel on a crucial technology change that could increase chip production on the new machines by 40 percent, according to Bloomberg reports.
TSMC has announced plans to begin using High-NA EUV lithography for high-volume manufacturing in 2030, likely starting with its A10 or A11 fabrication technologies. The company, which had previously avoided public commitments to the expensive $400 million scanners, now expects to progressively increase the number of layers processed with High-NA EUV as transistor architectures become more complex.
Intel is reportedly preparing a 10% price increase across its CPU lineup, according to a Digitimes report citing supply chain sources, marking the third such hike in under two years as the company seeks higher gross margins amid a shrinking PC market. The report also indicates Intel plans to launch "major annual products" in March 2027, with AMD expected to follow with its own launches between June and July 2027.
· 2 sourcesA German scammer has defrauded two buyers out of a combined $5,000 by selling them hollow GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards — cases stripped of the GPU silicon and memory chips, rendering the cards non-functional. The incident highlights a growing trend of phantom hardware scams targeting high-demand components.
A New York Police Department counterterrorism memo has warned officers about the potential misuse of Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, citing risks of secret recording inside police facilities and possible aid to acts of terrorism. Documents obtained by The Guardian show that officers from Maine to California share similar concerns about the camera-equipped eyewear.