Today's Hardware Pulse
Nvidia driver hints at next‑gen DLSS 5 work
Nvidia’s GeForce Game Ready driver 610.47 adds three new profile options—Enable DLSS NR override, Enable DLSS NR SL override, and Override DLSS NR presets—suggesting continued development of DLSS 5 neural‑rendering technology. The earlier DLSS 5 reveal had sparked debate over AI‑driven image alteration, and the new driver hints at a quiet but ongoing effort.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Cyient Semiconductors raises $30M Series A
Lilbits: Next-Gen Surface Pro & Laptop, Google’s Next Pixel Laptop, and Goodbye Kindle for PC (Kind Of)
Microsoft is gearing up to release new Surface Pro tablets and Surface Laptop models powered by the latest Intel and Qualcomm Snapdragon processors, with select laptops featuring OLED displays. Pricing is expected to stay premium as RAM and storage costs remain elevated. Meanwhile, Amazon announced it will retire the Kindle for PC app in June, replacing it with a Windows 11‑only Kindle app, a move likely tied to anti‑piracy efforts. The company is also rumored to be shifting its Fire TV Stick platform to a Vega‑based OS to further deter piracy.
Wayve Secures $60 Million From AMD, Arm and Qualcomm to Accelerate UK Robotaxi Push
London‑based Wayve announced a $60 million (≈£44.2 million) investment from chip leaders AMD, Arm and Qualcomm Ventures. The funding follows a $1.2 billion round that valued the company at $8.6 billion and is aimed at expanding its embodied AI driver across multiple vehicle compute...
Personalized Bioelectrodes Improve Brain Signal Monitoring and Compatibility
Penn State researchers have created 3D‑printed hydrogel bioelectrodes that are customized to an individual’s brain geometry using MRI‑derived models. The honeycomb‑inspired, stretchable design conforms to cortical gyri and sulci far better than conventional stiff, one‑size‑fits‑all probes, delivering higher‑quality electrical signals....
The Coway Airmega Mighty2 Feels Like a ‘Full Service’ Air Purifier
The Coway Airmega Mighty2 upgrades the original Mighty with larger filters, a built‑in laser AQI sensor, and smart‑mode fan control. It can cover rooms up to 1,800 sq ft, clearing the air in about an hour on turbo mode while staying under...
A Lot of You Panic-Bought PCs to Avoid RAMaggedon 2026
Global PC shipments rose 3.2% year‑over‑year in Q1 2026, reaching 63.3 million units as consumers rushed to buy before anticipated memory‑price hikes. The surge was driven by pre‑emptive purchases and Microsoft’s Windows 10 support ending, prompting upgrades. Apple posted an 11% sales...
Nomad Makes a Better, More Discreet Wallet-Tracking Device Than Any AirTag
Nomad’s Tracking Card Pro is a slim, credit‑card‑shaped Find My tracker that blends seamlessly into a wallet. It offers a 16‑month battery life and magnetic MagSafe charging, far exceeding the one‑year endurance of Apple’s AirTag. Priced at $39, the device adds...
Hive Digital Technologies Shares Drop 12% After $75 Million Note Offering
Hive Digital Technologies (HIVE) saw its shares tumble nearly 12% on Thursday after the miner disclosed a $75 million senior‑note financing. The capital raise, aimed at buying GPUs and expanding data‑center capacity, sparked concerns over dilution and the company’s cash‑burn trajectory.
Netgear Secures FCC Exemption, Keeps Wi‑Fi 6E Routers on U.S. Enterprise Market
Netgear has been granted a conditional exemption from the FCC’s ban on foreign‑made routers, letting the company sell its Wi‑Fi 6E Nighthawk and Orbi models to enterprise customers through Oct. 1 2027. The decision preserves a key supply line for businesses and telecom...
NVIDIA Unveils Sub‑millisecond Always‑on Facial‑recognition Chip
@NVIDIA has a new chip that can detect human faces in less than a millisecond and can remain on at all times. https://spectrum.ieee.org/face-recognition-nvidia-chip-soc
Flexible Capacitive Pressure Sensor Gains Sensitivity Under Increasing Load
Researchers at Zhejiang University unveiled a flexible capacitive pressure sensor whose sensitivity increases with pressure, a reversal of the typical decline seen in conventional designs. The 3‑D cage‑like architecture, created via buckling‑guided assembly and laser cutting, delivers a peak sensitivity...
ENERMAX Platimax II 1200DF PSU, More Compact Than It’s Rather Long Name
Enermax has launched the Platimax II 1200DF, a 1200‑watt ATX 3.1 power supply that carries an 80 PLUS Platinum rating. The unit measures 150 mm × 150 mm × 86 mm and uses a 135 mm fan, Japanese‑sourced Rubycon and Unicon capacitors, and a single 12V‑2×6 connector. It ships with a 13‑year...
Omdia Releases First Estimate for Q1 PC Unit Shipments
Omdia’s first Q1 2026 estimate shows global PC shipments reaching 64.8 million units, a 3.2% year‑over‑year rise. Notebooks accounted for 50.8 million units, up 2.6%, while desktops grew 5.4% to 14.0 million. Apple outperformed the market, expanding its share at roughly double the industry...
Best Bluetooth FM Transmitters for Cars, Tested
Road & Track tested a range of Bluetooth FM transmitters to identify the best options for adding wireless audio to legacy cars. The Wyyhaa BC17 emerged as the top pick, offering Bluetooth 5.0, dual USB ports, a remote, and solid sound quality. Close runners...
Secure Content Distribution: A Key Focus For New ATSC 3.0 Receivers
A new generation of ATSC 3.0 receivers is set to debut at the 2026 NAB Show, with the ATSC 3.0 Security Authority (A3SA) leading promotion for three flagship devices. These receivers embed next‑generation encryption and digital rights management to protect...
Rio Tinto, Suppliers Innovate for ESG Goals
Rio Tinto is collaborating with Cohda Wireless, Spectrum FiftyNine, Roobuck and Maptek to upgrade a proximity detection system at its Oyu Tolgoi underground mine in Mongolia. The new smartTag, miniaturized to fit cap lamps, can be detected through bends and pinpointed...
IPhone Strength in China Continues to Grow as Apple Prioritizes Market Share Gains
Apple’s iPhone shipments in China jumped 20% year‑over‑year in Q1 2026, with sales up 23% in the first nine weeks, outpacing local rivals. The surge stems from Apple’s ability to keep prices stable while competitors raise costs to cover soaring...
Amazon's New Fire TV Sticks No Longer Support Sideloading
Amazon announced a new Fire TV Stick HD that runs on its proprietary Vega OS instead of Android. The device will block sideloading, allowing only apps from the Amazon Appstore, a restriction highlighted on some preorder pages with a security...
T-Mobile Will Give You an iPad for $99 when You Sign up for a New Line - Here's How
T‑Mobile is offering the latest iPad A16 for $99 when customers activate a new Tablet Unlimited Plus line. The promotion requires a 24‑month commitment to the Tablet Unlimited Plus plan, which starts at $60 per month, and provides $400 in bill credits. If...
Quantifi Photonics Focuses on Scalability as AI Drives Optical Interconnect Growth
Quantifi Photonics is tackling a looming bottleneck in AI‑driven data‑center growth by scaling manufacturing test for optical interconnects. Analysts forecast the market could ship 1 billion units annually by 2028, but current test setups are costly and slow. The company’s 100 G...
Telos Alliance Introduces Four New Products at the 2026 NAB Show
Telos Alliance used the 2026 NAB Show to unveil four new broadcast‑audio products: the Omnia XII flagship FM/HD/DAB processor, the compact Axia Pulsar AoIP console surface, the upgraded Infinity IP Intercom MK2, and the Infinity VIP SE studio‑essential unit. The company also announced major upgrades, including...
NuPhy Node 100, A White Collar High Profile Wireless Keyboard
NuPhy has launched the Node 100, a full‑size high‑profile wireless keyboard aimed at professionals who want mechanical quality without the typical gaming aesthetic. The board features muted mechanical switches, a programmable touch strip, and extra keys for office productivity. It supports...
$25,000 Buys Plenty of Used EVs: Here Are some Options
The used‑electric‑vehicle market now offers a robust selection in the $20,000‑$25,000 price range, despite the Trump administration’s repeal of the used clean‑vehicle tax credit. A Deloitte report notes that EV residual values lag behind expectations, but this depreciation translates into...
I Use a Thunderbolt Dock without a Laptop, and It’s More Useful than You’d Think
Technology journalist Brady Snyder explains how a Thunderbolt 4 docking station transforms his Mac Mini M4 and Windows 11 mini PC into a fully connected workstation. By routing all peripherals—monitors, audio gear, MIDI keyboards, SD card readers, and more—through the Ugreen Revodok Max 313, he...
AI Restores Voices Through Microscopic Neck Movements
Researchers at POSTECH have unveiled a soft multiaxial strain‑mapping sensor that reads microscopic neck movements to reconstruct speech in real time. The wearable device pairs a miniature camera with AI algorithms to translate subvocal muscle activity into the user’s own...
AI Could Transform SNDK Into High‑Growth Memory Leader
Is $SNDK a cyclical memory stock, or will AI make memory a stable grower? $SNDK +2,838% 1Y 🚀 +234% YTD 🟢 - Weak Margins - Weak Growth since 2022 - INSANE Outlook from AI - 157% 2028 FCF CAGR - Reasonable Valuation - 1% Above Consensus Price...
ASUS Chromebook CX14 Plus Drops Below $250
Simple, snappy, and now under $250 — the ASUS Chromebook CX14 Plus is a deal you can't ignore if you want an affordable laptop for work and everyday use. https://t.co/eMpKagB2gu
Why People Are Paying $700 for a Phone That Does Less
A new wave of minimalist phones is reshaping the mobile market, offering e‑ink screens, physical keyboards, and stripped‑down software to curb doomscrolling. Prices span from $299 for the Punkt MP02 to $699 for the premium Light Phone III, with options like...
Custom Chips Threaten True Openness of AI Models
If the most performant AI models are going to be those that are being run on a custom-tailored chip architecture (for that model) for inference, does that mean that "open source" means less than meets the eye, since most users...
Blink Announces New Wired Doorbell, Battery Model Pending
One or two new Blink Video Doorbell cameras on the way fwiw. One wired for sure, one possibly battery. Tho it seems soon for another battery unit, unless they want to offer something a little less massive.
I Had Low Expectations for Apple's $499 Laptop, Then I Ran the Benchmarks
Apple’s new $499 MacBook Neo, powered by the iPhone‑grade A18 Pro chip, posted a 3,477 single‑core Geekbench 6 score that surprisingly outperformed the higher‑priced 2023 MacBook Pro with an M3 Max. In multi‑core tests it reached 8,584, still trailing the M3 Max but beating most...
Aventon Expands Sale with Aventure M Mid-Drive All-Terrain E-Bike at New $2,699 Low, Anker Eufy Exclusive Solar Security Deals, More
Aventon has broadened its Spring Sale by adding the premium Aventure M mid‑drive all‑terrain e‑bike at a new low price of $2,699. Anker’s eufy brand is running an Earth Day promotion that cuts the eufyCam S3 Pro 2‑camera solar security...
Can We Disrupt the Data Center Designs?
The surge in data creation—projected to reach 181 zettabytes by 2025—has pushed data centers to consume 4‑5% of U.S. electricity and massive water volumes for cooling. Companies are experimenting with renewable power, nuclear PPAs, ocean‑water cooling, and even floating or offshore...
Handheld Game Console Maker AYN Responds to RAMageddon with Price Hike, Storage Downgrade
Handheld maker AYN announced a two‑pronged response to soaring RAM and storage costs. The premium AYN Thor configuration, previously $449, now costs $549, while a new 16 GB/512 GB Thor model is priced at $469. Simultaneously, all Odin 3 units and every Thor...
Credo and Molex Shore up Their CPO Positions
Credo and Molex are strengthening their co‑packaged optics (CPO) capabilities through proposed transactions with DustPhotonics and Teraverse, respectively. The moves aim to broaden each company’s product portfolio and capture a larger share of the fast‑growing CPO market. In parallel, Openreach...
Intel’s New Wildcat Lake Chips Take Aim at the MacBook Neo with AI as the Differentiator
Intel unveiled its Core Series 3 "Wildcat Lake" processors on April 16, positioning them as AI‑enabled alternatives to Apple’s $599 MacBook Neo in the budget‑laptop market. Built on the 18A node, the chips combine two performance cores, four efficiency cores, Xe3 graphics and...
Permitting Hurdles and Labor Shortages Threaten AI Data Center Timelines
Almost 40% of U.S. data‑center projects face schedule risk, and 60% of those slated for next year haven’t broken ground, according to satellite‑based analysis by SynMax. Executives cite permitting bottlenecks, local opposition, and shortages of labor, power and equipment as...
Why This Sub-$300 Drone Might Be Enough for Most Creators
Skyrover introduced the S1, a sub‑$300 drone that matches the DJI Mini 4 Pro’s 4K/60 fps specs while adding a 48 MP sensor, 40‑minute flight time, and stronger AI‑assisted vertical tracking. The Mini 4 Pro, priced at $815, retains its premium edge...
Review: Movmax Blade Arm + Pocket Controller
Movmax has expanded from heavy‑duty cinema rigs into creator‑focused gear with the Blade Arm and Pocket Controller for DJI's Osmo Pocket 3. The Blade Arm uses a spring‑loaded dampening arm and an electronic suction cup that auto‑re‑pressurizes, eliminating the need for...
AI Redefines TSMC’s Capacity and Global Strategy
In other words, TSMC is no longer dealing with a normal semiconductor cycle. It is dealing with a structural reallocation of capacity. AI is reshaping the logic of semiconductor capital spending, extending the lifecycle of leading-edge process nodes, and even changing...
First Take on CadenceLive and Its AI Agent Stacks for EDA
Cadence Design Systems used its CadenceLive 2026 conference to unveil a hierarchical AI agent stack for electronic design automation (EDA). The stack features a central orchestrator that directs domain‑specific "super agents" to accelerate chip and system design workflows. Cadence’s senior...
Verizon Will Give You a Free iPad or Apple Watch with Your Next iPhone - How the Deal Works
Verizon is bundling a free iPad or Apple Watch with any iPhone purchase for customers who add a new line on its Unlimited Ultimate ($50/month) or Unlimited Plus ($40/month) plans. The promotion also covers Android shoppers, offering a Samsung tablet...
Secure Content Distribution At Heart Of New ATSC 3.0 Receivers For Consumers And Broadcasters
The ATSC 3.0 Security Authority (A3SA) is unveiling a new wave of secure NextGen TV receivers at NAB 2026, highlighting how over‑the‑air (OTA) broadcasts can be protected while delivering premium picture quality. More than 18.5 million U.S. households already own A3SA‑enabled...
Anker Solix Unveils 7 kWh Plug‑In Battery for Rooftop Solar
Anker Solix launches 7 kWh plug-in battery targeting rooftop solar retrofits #energysky -- via pv magazine global: https://t.co/Pd8whB8AAq
SmallSat Europe Speaker Focus: Martin Langer, OroraTech
OroraTech secured a €20 million ($22 million) contract with Greece in 2025 to launch the first national wildfire early‑warning system, followed by a Can$72 million ($53 million) deal with the Canadian Space Agency for the 2029 WildFireSat mission. The Munich‑based startup designs its own...
Samsung Says Galaxy Z TriFold’s ‘Limited Run’ Is Now ‘Completely Sold Out’
Samsung announced that its limited‑run Galaxy Z TriFold is now completely sold out after a final restock on April 10. The three‑pane foldable, launched only months earlier, featured dual hinges and a 10‑inch inner display that set it apart from other devices....
Best Steam Deck Accessories 2026 - Our Top Gear for Any Gaming Handheld
The 2026 guide ranks the top Steam Deck accessories, from a sub‑$25 Jsaux 5‑in‑1 docking station to a budget‑friendly LG 24‑inch 144 Hz monitor. It highlights upgrades such as the TeamGroup MP44S NVMe SSD, Samsung Pro Plus microSD cards, and an Anker...
Single Switch High Gain DC-DC Quadratic Boost Converter for Renewable Energy Applications
Researchers Chakraborty et al. introduced a single‑switch quadratic boost converter that achieves high voltage gain for renewable energy systems. The prototype, rated at 200 W and 380 V input, delivers an 11.17× gain with only a 28 % duty cycle and reaches 96 %...
MGHPCC Powers Breakthroughs in Biomedical Research with High-Performance Computing
The Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center (MGHPCC) is powering data‑intensive biomedical research across the state. Harvard’s Huttenhower Group leverages its massive compute capacity to parse terabytes of gut microbiome sequences, while Yale’s O’Hern Group runs high‑resolution simulations of breast‑cancer...
ASRock Expands AIO Cooling Lineup with Challenger LCD and Pro Series Models
ASRock announced a nine‑model expansion of its all‑in‑one liquid CPU cooler lineup, slated for release on April 24, 2026. The new Challenger series includes Digital variants with a 3‑inch 480×480 LCD that displays temperature, clock speed, and pump data, while the Challenger...
NVIDIA Revives RTX 3060 as Budget GPU Strategy Shifts in 2026
NVIDIA is set to revive its GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB graphics card, marking a shift in its entry‑level GPU roadmap for 2026. The move comes as the anticipated RTX 5050 9 GB, built on the newer Blackwell architecture, faces production delays. By leveraging the RTX 3060’s...