Today's Hardware Pulse
Nvidia driver adds DLSS 5 profile options, hinting at next‑gen AI rendering
Nvidia's GeForce Game Ready driver 610.47 introduces three new profile settings—Enable DLSS NR override, Enable DLSS NR SL override, and Override DLSS NR presets—suggesting continued development of its upcoming DLSS 5 neural‑rendering technology. The earlier DLSS 5 reveal sparked debate over AI‑driven image alteration, after which Nvidia fell silent on the feature.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Cyient Semiconductors raises $30M Series A
Microchip Now Certified to IEC 62443-4-1 ML2 Standards
Microchip Technology announced that its product development process has earned IEC 62443‑4‑1 Maturity Level 2 certification from UL Solutions. The certification confirms that Microchip follows a secure‑by‑design lifecycle covering threat modeling, design, implementation controls, verification and long‑term patch management. By meeting this globally recognized standard, Microchip provides audit‑backed assurance that security is embedded from silicon through firmware. The move helps customers meet emerging regulations such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act.
Expensive $20K Setup Delivers MiniMax M2.7
$20,000 setup, but it is nice. MiniMax M2.7 200K running on 4x DGX Sparks and OpenCode frontend by @TheAhmadOsman
Step Aside Samsung and Apple, I'm Already Testing 2026's Best Phone Camera
Oppo announced that its Find X9 Ultra will launch in the UK and broader European markets, positioning it as the most advanced smartphone camera of 2026. The handset packs a quad‑camera system with two 200‑megapixel sensors for main and zoom,...
India Increases Use of Foreign Players to Move up Electronics Value Chain
India is accelerating the entry of foreign electronics manufacturers through partnerships and government‑backed incentive schemes. The strategy aims to lift the sector from low‑margin assembly toward higher‑value activities such as design, testing and component production. Companies like Japan’s TDK and...
Hong Kong Bets on 36-Fold Surge in Computing Power to Join Top Global AI Hubs
Hong Kong announced a plan to boost its AI supercomputing capacity 36‑fold, targeting 180,000 petaflops by 2032. The city currently runs 5,000 petaflops after launching the Cyberport AI Supercomputing Centre in late 2024. Chief Executive John Lee presented the roadmap...
Homture Magic Frame Smart Photo Display Integrates Generative AI and 60 GHz mmWave Radar (Sponsored)
Homture unveiled the Magic Frame, the world’s first smart photo display that blends generative AI video with a 60 GHz mmWave radar. The 10.1‑inch Full HD touchscreen can transform static images into animated scenes and reacts to motion within two meters, making...
Helium Shortage Exposes Hidden Bottleneck Threatening Chip Production
A looming global helium shortage, sharpened by recent Strait of Hormuz tensions, is constraining ultra‑high‑purity helium supplies essential for semiconductor fabs. The bottleneck threatens to slow chip output at TSMC, Samsung and other makers, potentially driving up technology prices.
FAA Launches $12.5 B Radar Modernization, Targeting 612 Outdated Systems by 2028
The Federal Aviation Administration announced a $12.5 billion program to replace 612 legacy radar systems by the end of 2028, awarding the core contract to RTX and Spain’s Indra. The effort, already funded with $6 billion, aims to eliminate aging copper wiring,...
Samsung Rolls Out One UI 8.5 Beta and AirDrop‑Like Quick Share for Galaxy S26
Samsung has launched the One UI 8.5 beta and introduced native AirDrop‑style sharing via Quick Share for its Galaxy S26 lineup. The 870 MB update adds a “Share with Apple devices” toggle, aiming to cut friction for users who juggle iOS...
Apple Tests Four Smart‑Glass Designs Ahead of 2026 Reveal
Apple is testing four distinct smart‑glass designs, ranging from large rectangular Wayfarer‑style frames to smaller oval options, with multiple color finishes and a vertically oriented camera. The prototypes, internally codenamed N50, are slated for a public reveal by the end...
Scientific Magnetics Ships 20th Quantum Computer Magnet as UK Pledges $3.2 Bn Boost
Scientific Magnetics (SciMag) of Abingdon shipped its 20th superconducting magnet for quantum‑computing applications, a milestone that aligns with Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £2.5 bn (about $3.2 bn) investment in the UK’s AI and quantum sectors. The delivery underscores the growing demand for high‑field...
UK Quantum Strategy Faces Component Shortage Risk, Analysts Warn
A guest‑post analysis warns that the United Kingdom's £3.5 billion (≈$4.5 billion) quantum programme could falter because the country lacks a domestic supply chain for compound semiconductors. Without reliable sources for photonic chips and lasers, the UK may miss its goal of...
I Never Travel Internationally Without This Epicka Adapter That Charges 6 Devices Anywhere in the World
The Epicka TA-105 Universal Travel Adapter, priced at $23, earned Men’s Journal’s 2026 Travel Awards title for best adapter. It features four interchangeable plugs that work in over 200 countries and can fast‑charge up to six devices simultaneously via USB‑C...
NSW Planners Approve Foresight’s 150MWh BESS; Banpu Submits 1GWh Development to Australia’s EPBC Act
The NSW Independent Planning Commission approved Foresight Group Australia's 75 MW/150 MWh Hume North battery near Albury, a AU$120 million (≈US$84 million) project slated to start construction in early 2026. The facility will connect to the Transgrid 132 kV line and create up to 50...
PLI 2.0 Calls Ring Louder: India Eyes 35% Global Mobile Output, $130 Billion Production
India’s electronics sector is lobbying for a second Production‑Linked Incentive (PLI 2.0) programme running 2026‑2031 to lift its share of global smartphone manufacturing from the current 15% to 30‑35%. The plan envisions annual output of $110‑130 billion and exports of $55‑70 billion, roughly...
TinyGPU Driver Lets Mac Mini Use External AMD/Nvidia GPUs for AI Workloads
TinyGPU, a driver from TinyCorp, received Apple’s official approval, enabling external AMD and Nvidia GPUs to accelerate AI models on Mac Mini and other Apple Silicon Macs. The move expands AI compute options for developers without compromising macOS security.
Volkswagen's MOIA and Uber Launch Autonomous ID. Buzz Robotaxi Tests in Los Angeles
Volkswagen subsidiary MOIA America and Uber have started on‑road testing of self‑driving ID. Buzz electric minivans in Los Angeles. The pilot, announced on April 8, 2026, targets commercial robotaxi service by the end of 2026 and a fully driverless fleet of...
SoftBank Forms AI Subsidiary with NEC, Honda and Sony to Build Japan’s Sovereign AI Platform
SoftBank announced the creation of a domestic AI unit in Tokyo, backed by eight corporate investors including NEC, Honda Motor and Sony. The consortium will build Japanese‑language large‑language models and a dedicated GPU infrastructure to keep AI development and data...
India Launches First Indigenous Open‑Access Quantum Computers at SRM University
On World Quantum Day, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu will inaugurate India’s first indigenous, open‑access quantum computers—Amaravati 1S and 1Q—at SRM University. The launch positions Amaravati as a nascent quantum valley and signals India’s push to join the global...
Galaxy Z Fold7 Beats Fold4’s Thinness Record
It's still so crazy how thin the Galaxy Z Fold7 is Here it is compared to the Z Fold4 which is already thin at 6.3mm
Test Battery Health and Optimize Samsung Galaxy Power
Does your @Samsung Galaxy S phone seem to have lost most of its battery capacity? It might be the apps you have or your configuration. Here's how to test your battery health and the easiest changes to maximize battery life......
UniX AI Deploys First Mass‑Produced Humanoid Robot Panther in Private Home
UniX AI announced that its third‑generation humanoid robot Panther has been installed and operated in an unmodified private residence, marking the first large‑scale home deployment of a mass‑produced service robot. The milestone moves humanoid robotics out of labs and into...
Software Outpaces Hardware: Compute Shortage Limits Progress
Not enough compute is the correct take IMO. Which has quite a lot more implications if you think about it and play that out to its logical conclusion. Software still burdened by hardware’s inability to keep up. Maybe software is...
First PC Upgrade Since 2018: Custom Build Wins
my first PC upgrade since 2018! got a good deal for a 5080-powered custom build from @PowerGPU. using the Kojima keyboard by @higround and the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro controller which is the best pro pad i’ve used so far...
Meiko Investment in Vietnam Set to Break US$1 Billion Mark- #BeltAndRoad #Economy #Infrastructure
Japanese printed circuit board leader Meiko Electronics is on track to invest nearly US$1 billion in Vietnam, adding six new production plants to its Southeast Asian footprint. The expansion cements Vietnam’s role as a key node in Meiko’s global supply chain...
10 Years with My I5-6600K & GTX 1070 FTW – Maintenance Vs. Upgrade Advice?
A decade‑old PC built around an Intel i5‑6600K and GTX 1070 remains thermally stable, with GPU temps under 75 °C and CPU temps near 72 °C during stress tests. The owner is weighing maintenance actions—such as replacing aging Arctic Silver 5 paste and tweaking...
Indonesia Sets Out 2029 Digital Infrastructure Expansion Roadmap
Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs unveiled a roadmap to expand digital infrastructure through 2029, emphasizing fibre‑optic network growth, broadband penetration, and open‑access principles. The plan aims to raise sub‑district fibre coverage from 72.5% in 2025 to 90% by...
Opinion on Upgrading GPU's
A user is weighing an upgrade from an AMD XFX 7900 XT to a 9070 XT, with three options: XFX Mercury ($1,179), Sapphire Nitro ($1,240) and Gigabyte Triple‑fan ($899). The forum replies note the 9070 XT is a side‑grade that improves driver stability,...
Power, Permits, Scale: Only Utah and Alberta Qualify
I’ve looked at over 20 potential sites for large-scale data centers and only two actually work. It all comes down to power, permits, and scale. That’s why we’re building in Utah and Alberta, where the infrastructure can support what the future demands. This...
How Good Is Windows on Arm With Snapdragon X?
Qualcomm has introduced the Snapdragon X2 chipset, the first high‑performance ARM processor certified for Windows 11 on ARM. Microsoft has invested heavily in compatibility layers, allowing most users to spend 90% of their time in native ARM applications. The Prism...
STMicroelectronics Unveils Lower-Cost PMICs With Reduced Power Rails
STMicroelectronics introduced two lower‑cost power‑management ICs, the STPMIC1L and STPMIC2L, aimed at STM32 microprocessor families. Both chips trim the number of power rails and shrink the package footprint, cutting the STPMIC1 price by about 21% to $1.34 and the STPMIC2L...
Honor Magic V6 Review, PWM Dimming, Silicon-Carbon Batteries, LG Rollable Teardown, Moto G Stylus 2026, OnePlus Nord 6, and More...
In this episode, host Mariam Joir and Android Central’s Nick Sutrich dissect the Honor Magic V6 foldable, comparing it to Oppo’s Find N5/N6, Samsung’s Z Fold 7, and other upcoming devices. They highlight the V6’s slimmer crease, brighter anti‑reflective display,...
Your Next CPU Doesn’t Need to Be New — These Older Chips Are a Smarter Buy
The article argues that buying a few‑year‑old processor can deliver near‑top gaming performance at a fraction of the cost of current flagship chips. It highlights several AMD and Intel models—such as the Ryzen 5 3600, Ryzen 5 5600X, Intel i7‑4770, i7‑8700K, i5‑12600K and Ryzen 7 5700X3D—available...
AI Data Centers Outspend Interstate Construction Weekly
The AI data center build-out is the largest privately-funded infrastructure program in American history. The Interstate Highway System took 35 years to build at an average of approximately $18.8 billion per year in 2026 dollars. The AI data center build-out is...
Broadcom Posts Record $19.3B Q1 Revenue as AI Chip Sales More Than Double
Broadcom announced a record $19.3 billion first‑quarter revenue, driven by AI semiconductor sales that jumped 106% year over year to $8.4 billion. The earnings surge underpinned a $10 billion share‑repurchase program and reinforced the chipmaker’s 14‑year dividend‑growth streak.
Japan Adds $4 B to Rapidus R&D, Aiming for 2‑nm Chip Production by 2027
Japan’s industry ministry approved an additional 631.5 billion yen (about $3.96 billion) for Rapidus, bringing total government R&D support to roughly $15 billion. The funding is aimed at accelerating the company’s 2‑nanometre logic‑chip line, slated for mass production in fiscal 2027, and at...
Qualcomm CEO Amon Says Edge AI Will Win the AI Race, Backed by $45 Bn Design‑Win Pipeline
Qualcomm chief Cristiano Amon told investors that edge AI – AI running on phones, cars and robots – will determine the overall AI competition. He highlighted a $45 billion design‑win pipeline and a $1.1 billion automotive revenue run‑rate as proof the chipmaker...
Consumer Skepticism Is Just Resistance to Innovation
"Consumers don't want this," one of the repies to @markgurman said this morning in response to his post about Apple's glasses plans. Now this is something I've actually studied deeply, doing consumer research in many places around the world while writing...
Automated GPU Health Monitoring with NVIDIA NVSentinel on the Rafay Platform
GPU clusters cost tens of thousands of dollars per unit, and hardware faults can halt AI training and inference, jeopardizing service‑level agreements. NVIDIA’s open‑source NVSentinel adds continuous health monitoring, automatic quarantine, and self‑healing to Kubernetes‑managed GPU fleets. Rafay integrates NVSentinel...
Windows Wrap: Snapdragon X PCs Are the Latest Victims of Lazy Takes and Willfully Ignorant Tech Journalists
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 processor powers the newest wave of Windows 11 on Arm laptops, including the ASUS Zenbook A16. Microsoft’s enhanced Prism emulation now runs most legacy apps with minimal slowdown, and major software like Chrome and Adobe work natively. Despite these...
CEO Interview with Dr. Hardik Kabaria of Vinci
Vinci, led by founder‑CEO Dr. Hardik Kabaria, has deployed the first production‑grade physics foundation model that continuously computes thermal and mechanical behavior directly on semiconductor geometry. The deterministic, solver‑accurate platform replaces episodic simulation with an always‑on engine, delivering up to...
Thin GeekBook X14 Pro Impresses with 32GB RAM, 2TB Storage
Sick of your boat anchor? I put a shockingly thin and light GEEKOM GeekBook X14 Pro Windows 11 Pro Laptop through its paces, and I'm not going to lie, I was impressed. Did I mention 32GB of RAM and 2TB...
SMIC Overcame Unprecedented Hurdles to Reach 7nm
Steady progress. Remember, no company in the world has had to do what SMIC has had to to get to commercial 7 nm production....
Mac Mini and Mac Studio Go Out of Stock – Is It the RAM Crisis or an M5 Refresh?
Apple’s US online store listed high‑RAM Mac mini (32 GB, 64 GB) and Mac Studio (128 GB, 256 GB) configurations as unavailable on 11 April 2026, with no delivery dates. The shortage follows a March removal of the 512 GB RAM option for Mac Studio and a 25% price...
Power Grid, Not Algorithms, Becomes AI Bottleneck
Hyperscalers will spend $700 BILLION on data centers in 2026 alone. Amazon: $200B. Google: $185B. Meta: $135B. AI data centers now represent 70%+ of all new grid interconnection requests in the US. The bottleneck isn't the algorithm anymore. It's the power line.
Mirror Windows PC to TV via Chromecast, No Chrome Needed
Want to mirror your Windows PC display onto a big television? Skip Miracast; you can easily connect with almost every brand using Chromecast, even if you don't have Google Chrome installed. Here's how, step by step, with a @Vizio TV......
Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Impresses: Fast, Bright Tablet Experience
AT&T sent me a Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE 10.9" Android Tablet to evaluate, and I'm darn impressed. It's fast, has a crisp, bright screen, and makes reading the news, an ebook, or playing games way more fun than on...
FCC Bans Foreign Routers, Households Stuck with Insecure Devices
FCC rules restrict new foreign routers, leaving ISP-controlled households stuck with existing devices despite security concerns and no immediate replacement options https://t.co/IRSztufKkU
Samsung 2026 TV Launch Triggers $1K Off Older Models
Samsung's new 2026 TVs are live on its site, which means you can score record-low prices on older model TVs, including over $1,000 in savings on 4K, QLED, and OLED displays. https://t.co/66XdmpWZH1
Budget MusiBaby Speakers Cost Less than Fast Food, Sound Average
The MusiBaby Portable Bluetooth Speaker costs less than a burger and fries at your local bar, but does it sound good? I checked out two - a stereo pair - and found them middling, but typical for their very budget...