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

Cargo Elevator System Using XG5000 PLC Programming
The XG5000 PLC program implements a three‑floor cargo elevator that moves one floor at a time using up and down push‑buttons. Limit‑switch sensors on each floor provide position feedback, while a latched SYSTEM_ON memory bit keeps the controller active after the start button is pressed. The ladder logic uses SET and RESET coils to energize outputs for each travel direction, ensuring the motor stops when the target floor’s limit switch is triggered. Dedicated rungs handle start/stop, floor‑1 → 2, floor‑2 ↔ 3, and floor‑3 → 2 operations.
Tower Semiconductor and Xanadu Industrialize Silicon Photonic Quantum Stack
Tower Semiconductor and quantum‑computing startup Xanadu have broadened their partnership to industrialize a silicon‑photonic quantum stack. Leveraging Tower’s PH18 200 mm silicon photonics platform, the joint effort will transition Xanadu’s low‑loss SiN waveguide and integrated photodiode designs from prototype to high‑volume...
AQT Integrates IBEX Q1 Trapped-Ion QPU Into Scaleway Sovereign Cloud
Alpine Quantum Technologies and Scaleway have integrated AQT’s IBEX Q1 trapped‑ion quantum processor into Scaleway’s sovereign Quantum‑as‑a‑Service platform. The QPU, featuring all‑to‑all qubit connectivity and high gate fidelity, is accessible via open‑source frameworks without reservation during set time windows. Hosted...
ROM-Etched AI Weights Deliver 50× Performance, Slashing Cost
Taalas etches AI model weights in ROM with big SRAM memory, claims 50X more performance at 1/50th the cost per token with 1/36th the latency of a GPU – at 1/6th the energy. https://t.co/S4eyD94p5X
Red Hat OpenShift 4.21 Brings Kubernetes to Oracle Database Appliance
Red Hat OpenShift 4.21 now officially supports Oracle Database Appliance, extending enterprise Kubernetes to Oracle’s engineered on‑prem system. The integration lets organizations run containerized workloads directly on ODA, combining Red Hat’s orchestration with Oracle’s optimized database hardware. By unifying the application and...

Emerging Chiplet Designs Spark Fresh Cybersecurity Challenges
Chiplet technology is reshaping semiconductor design by allowing modular, mix‑and‑match silicon components, accelerating AI data‑center and autonomous‑vehicle development. However, the distributed manufacturing model creates new supply‑chain vulnerabilities, as a single compromised chiplet can introduce hardware Trojans that affect entire systems....
GOOD Conference Program Highlights Innovations of Global Open OnDemand Community
The second annual Global Open OnDemand (GOOD) Conference will run March 9‑12, 2026 at the University of Utah, gathering developers, users, and contributors from the worldwide Open OnDemand community. Organized by NumFOCUS and funded by the NSF, the event features...

Our All-Time Favorite Xbox Gaming Headset with "Immaculate Sound and a Cavernous Soundscape" Is on a 25% Discount — and...
The Turtle Beach Stealth 700 Gen 3 gaming headset, praised for its 60 mm Eclipse drivers and 80‑plus hour battery, is now discounted 25 % to $149.99 on Amazon and other retailers. It offers multi‑platform wireless connectivity, dual‑USB switching, Bluetooth 5.2, and a memory‑foam cushion for comfort....

Intelligent Networks: Power, Reliability, and Maintenance in Telecom — Webinar Preview
The upcoming webinar "Intelligent Networks: Power, Reliability, and Maintenance in Telecom" will explore how telecom operators can leverage AI, real‑time analytics, and automation to tackle rising energy costs, ensure ultra‑reliable service, and modernize maintenance. It highlights the shift toward cloud‑native,...
Amazon Just Shared Great News for This AI Chipmaker (Hint: Not Nvidia)
Amazon announced a $200 billion capital‑expenditure plan for 2026, a $70 billion jump from the prior year, with a sizable portion earmarked for AI‑focused data‑center capacity. AWS’s custom‑chip business now runs over $10 billion in revenue and is expanding at triple‑digit rates, driven...
Google’s Tensor G6 Rumored to Be Paired with New Titan M3 Security Coprocessor
Google is reportedly developing a third‑generation Titan M security coprocessor, dubbed Titan M3, for its upcoming Tensor G6 chipset, internally codenamed “Google Epic.” Leaked internal listings reference firmware named “longjing,” suggesting the chip is in early development. The move appears aimed at narrowing...
Kollmorgen Introduces AKME Series Servo Motors for Hazardous Locations
Electromate has launched the Kollmorgen AKME Series Servo Motors, specifically engineered for hazardous environments with Zone 2 and Zone 22 certification. The new line spans IEC frame sizes 2 through 7, operates from 48 Vdc to 400 Vac, and reaches speeds up to 5,000 rpm...

MWC 2026: What We Expect to See at Mobile World Congress This Year
Mobile World Congress returns to Barcelona from March 2‑5, 2026, gathering the mobile industry's biggest players. Samsung, Google, Xiaomi, Honor, Tecno, Qualcomm, MediaTek and many others will showcase new smartphones, wearables and AI‑focused hardware. Highlights include Samsung’s Galaxy S26 hands‑on, Google’s Android 16...

Razer Unveils$500 Flagship Gaming Keyboard — Huntsman Signature Edition Built From CNC-Machined Aluminum, Featuring 8,000 Hz Polling and Snap Tap
Razer has introduced the Huntsman Signature Edition, a $499.99 flagship keyboard built with a CNC‑machined aluminum chassis and a PVD‑finished back plate. It retains the Huntsman V3 Pro internals, featuring Razer’s Gen 2 optical switches that deliver an 8,000 Hz polling rate. The...

Galaxy Buds 4 Dummy Leaks Downplay AirPod Comparisons with New Metallic Finish
Samsung previewed its upcoming Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro through dummy units sent to stores ahead of the Galaxy Unpacked event. Both models feature a brushed metallic stem intended to distance the design from Apple’s AirPods, addressing prior criticism of visual...
I Repurposed My Old Android Phone as an Always-On Bedside Assistant
A tech writer transformed an unused Pixel 5 into a dedicated bedside assistant, leveraging its OLED always‑on display, wireless charging, and low standby draw. By installing a minimal home screen, enabling Bedtime Mode, and adding the Sleep as Android app, the...

Scale Computing Expands Edge Portfolio with Adaptiv Networks Deal
Scale Computing announced the acquisition of Canadian SD‑WAN and SASE provider Adaptiv Networks, integrating its cloud‑native networking stack into Scale’s SC//AcuVigil managed services. The deal, terms undisclosed, adds built‑in connectivity and centralized orchestration for distributed sites, targeting retail, hospitality and...

The 'USB-C' Label on Flash Drives Is a Trap: How Manufacturers Hide Ancient USB 2.0 Speeds
USB‑C flash drives often carry a premium price, yet many still operate at legacy USB 2.0 speeds, misleading buyers. The article stresses that only drives with genuine USB 3.2 Gen 1 or Gen 2 support deliver the advertised performance, and that capacity, NAND quality,...

How AI Is Forcing Storage Back Into the Enterprise Conversation
Early enterprise AI projects allocated most budgets to compute, treating storage as a leftover expense. As AI moves from experimentation to production, organizations discover that data readiness and storage performance, especially for retrieval‑augmented generation and inference, are the real constraints....
Creality K2 Pro Combo, 3D Printers Continue to Evolve
The episode reviews Creality's K2 Pro Combo 3D printer, highlighting its high-speed capabilities of 600 mm/s and 30 mm/s² acceleration, along with an enclosed heated chamber that reaches 65 °C and a bed that heats to 120 °C. It notes the printer's ability to...

I Played Microsoft Flight Simulator with This Revolutionary Joystick Disguised as a Controller — and I'm in Love with It
The Honeycomb Echo Aviation Controller is a compact, PC‑only flight‑sim peripheral that packs authentic aircraft controls into a travel‑friendly package. Priced at $149.99, it features a Hall‑Effect thumbstick, interchangeable levers, and a rugged carrying case, while allowing deep customization of...

NHPBS Readies For ATSC 3.0 Service With Assistance Of Heartland Video Systems
New Hampshire PBS (NHPBS) has completed a statewide air‑chain upgrade to support ATSC 3.0, with Heartland Video Systems delivering design, hardware, and remote commissioning. The project replaced legacy ATSC 1.0 encoders with Harmonic XOS units, added HEVC‑DASH capable equipment, and installed a...
AMD Zen 6 Desktop CPUs Rumored: 6 to 24 Cores and 12-Core CCDs
AMD is rumored to launch Zen 6 desktop CPUs featuring a 12‑core CCD, enabling dual‑CCD configurations that could reach up to 24 cores. This would be the first time the mainstream Ryzen line exceeds the 16‑core ceiling that has persisted since...

MIT Researchers Develop Miniaturized Breast Ultrasound Wearable
MIT researchers have created a miniature ultrasound system roughly the size of a smartphone and costing about $300, capable of capturing real‑time three‑dimensional breast images. The device uses a square‑array probe with CODA geometry, reducing transducer elements from 1,024 to...
From Software to Robots: Making Automation Affordable and Deployable
🎙️ Evan Beard is the co-founder and CEO of Standard Bots , building AI-trained industrial robot arms designed to automate real factory work, not demos: In this episode, Evan shares a founder path that started in software startups and Y...

Memory: From Overlooked to Industry’s Hot Topic
Went deeeeepp on the memory industry in this report. No one used to want to cover memory, and now it is all the industry/supply chain wants to talk about. Some juicy stats 😀 https://t.co/QSHAd1OxK2 https://t.co/dbC4xNxVte

Flaw in Grandstream VoIP Phones Allows Stealthy Eavesdropping
A critical stack‑buffer overflow (CVE‑2026‑2329) was discovered in six Grandstream GXP1600 series VoIP phones, receiving a CVSS score of 9.3. The flaw resides in an unauthenticated web API endpoint that lets attackers overflow a 64‑byte buffer, gain root privileges, and...

5 Powerful Command Line Tricks Every Raspberry Pi Owner Should Know
Raspberry Pi owners can boost reliability and efficiency by mastering five essential command‑line tools. Monitoring temperature with vcgencmd prevents throttling, while cron automates routine scripts. htop offers real‑time insight into CPU and memory usage, and SSH enables headless remote control. Finally, nmap...

Integrated Safety Vs. Standalone Safety Controllers
Integrated safety controllers using industrial Ethernet dominate complex automation, offering reduced wiring, scalable diagnostics, and deterministic communication. However, standalone safety controllers remain preferable for simple machines, multi‑vendor environments, and retrofit projects due to their independence and ease of validation. Dedicated...
Luminus Leverages APC Partnership to Enhance Energy-Efficient LED Lighting Solutions
Luminus Devices and APC Electronics have formed an exclusive partnership that couples Luminus’s high‑brightness LED modules with APC‑E’s silicon‑carbide (SiC) power semiconductors. The integration promises up to 15% efficiency improvement in high‑power luminaires and a 50% reduction in power‑supply size...

Japan: Nintendo Switch 2 Sells 57K Units and Switch Family Sells 26K Units
Nintendo’s second‑generation console, the Switch 2, topped Japan’s hardware sales for the week of 9‑15 February, moving 57,779 units. The broader Switch family—including OLED, Lite and the original model—added another 26,481 units, bringing total weekly hardware shipments to over 84,000. PlayStation 5 titles...

MedStar Health, Withings Bring Connected Devices to Concierge Medicine Program
MedStar Health is scaling its Signature concierge primary‑care program by partnering with Withings Health Solutions to supply patients with cellular blood‑pressure cuffs and scales. The collaboration leverages MedStar’s existing telehealth and remote‑patient‑monitoring infrastructure to collect real‑world physiologic data outside the...
Indium Oxide Semiconductors Rise in 3D Integration Race
As the semiconductor industry gets serious about monolithic 3D integration, indium-based oxide semiconductors are drawing more and more attention. https://t.co/TCRHH3C2p6 #semiconductor #3Dintegration @ieee_iedm #indiumoxide #BTI #IGZO
Taalas Chip Excels at Llama3.1, but Lacks Flexibility
AI chip startup Taalas @taalas_inc is showing off a chip that can do 16,000 tps/user on Llama3.1-8B, many multiples of its nearest competitor. The catch? The chip ONLY runs Llama3.1-8B, and a model like DeepSeekR1-671B would need 30 separate tapeouts: https://t.co/IJuprQZqaE

Hands On With The Bambu Lab P2S Combo, Part 1
Bambu Lab has launched the P2S Combo, its latest desktop 3D printer that supersedes the popular P1S. The machine retains the 256 mm cubic build volume but adds a rigid steel frame, 600 mm/s peak speed (practically 300 mm/s), and a 40 mm³/s material...
MCNEX and Valens Unveil QHD Automotive Cameras Using VA7000 Chipsets
South Korean module maker MCNEX and Valens Semiconductor have launched a new family of automotive front‑ and rear‑view cameras that deliver quad‑high‑definition (QHD) video using Valens’ VA7000 A‑PHY chipsets. The cameras transmit high‑resolution video over unshielded twisted‑pair (UTP) or low‑cost...

Sawmill Systems Test Assets Intangibly
Comact has deployed Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk Logix Echo to emulate 48 ControlLogix 5580 processors, expanding its testing capacity far beyond the limits of physical hardware. The virtual environment costs roughly one‑tenth of traditional PLC racks, delivering a scalable, cost‑effective platform for sawmill...

Samsung Nearing One UI 8.5, New Bixby Release with Its Latest Beta Update
Samsung has begun rolling out One UI 8.5 Beta 5 to Galaxy S25 owners in the United States, following earlier releases in the UK and India. The beta introduces a single change: an upgraded Bixby version that leverages Perplexity’s large‑language‑model capabilities. While the...

Connected and Compromised: When IoT Devices Turn Into Threats
The proliferation of consumer and enterprise IoT devices continues unchecked, yet most lack basic security controls such as passwords and encryption. Research presented by Mattia Epifani at RSAC 2026 shows that devices—from Amazon Echo to smart refrigerators—store unprotected audio, credentials, and personal...

Valve Steam Deck Mistakes to Avoid for a Simpler, Smoother Setup
Poladr0id’s guide warns Steam Deck owners that over‑customising the handheld can destabilise the system and diminish enjoyment. The author stresses that a few purposeful tweaks—like controller remapping—outperform a clutter of plugins. Cheap accessories such as low‑grade chargers and cases often...
Energy Storage Group Emtel Energy USA Rebrands as Syntropic Power
Energy storage specialist Emtel Energy USA has rebranded as Syntropic Power and introduced three stationary‑storage product lines—GridSurge, GridSpan and Tenet. The systems employ sodium‑ion batteries that have passed UL 9540A fire‑safety testing and are undergoing third‑party validation at Rochester Institute of...

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra: Release Date, Price, and Final Leaks
Samsung announced the Galaxy S26 series, debuting on Feb 25, 2026, with three models: S26, S26 Plus, and S26 Ultra. The Ultra flagship features a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, a 6.9‑inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display at 120 Hz, up to 16 GB...

UGREEN Expands Its NAS Lineup with New AI-Powered Flagship Series, Signaling the Era of the Smart Private Cloud
UGREEN unveiled its AI‑powered NAS flagship iDX series, positioning the devices as smart private‑cloud hubs that process data locally with on‑device large language models. The top‑end iDX6011 Pro packs an Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU, 96 TOPS of AI compute, 64 GB LPDDR5X memory...

Dell Launches New Budget 1080p Gaming Monitor with an Ultra-Fast 240Hz Refresh Rate for Less than $130 — New 27-Inch...
Dell introduced the SE2726HG, a 27‑inch 1080p IPS gaming monitor priced at $129.99. It delivers an ultra‑fast 240 Hz refresh rate and claims a 0.5 ms response time in extreme mode, paired with AMD FreeSync Premium. The unit includes two HDMI 2.1 ports...
Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 & Ultra 2: The ‘Dual-Chip’ Upgrade That Changes Everything
Samsung is set to launch the Galaxy Watch 9 and Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 in July, introducing a dual‑chip 3‑in‑1 bioactive sensor and AI‑driven health analytics. The Watch 9 targets mainstream users seeking reliable performance, while the Ultra 2 aims at premium fitness enthusiasts...

Just when I Thought Android Handhelds Couldn't Get Any Weirder, Here Comes the Pocket Super Knob 5000
GameMT unveiled the Pocket Super Knob 5000, an Android gaming handheld distinguished by a physical knob replacing the traditional second thumbstick. It runs on a MediaTek Helio G85 processor, features a 5‑inch 1080p display, and includes a Hall‑effect thumbstick for...

This Little-Known Camera Trick Makes Using an Android Flip Phone Worth It
Android Central highlights the Camcorder mode built into Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Motorola's Razr Ultra 2025. The feature activates when the device is folded halfway and rotated to landscape, splitting the screen between a live viewfinder and thumb‑controlled video tools....

StorONE Arrays Adopt External Flash JBODs in Flash Program
StorONE introduced a 9x ROI on Flash program that pairs its S1 disk‑drive array with external SSD JBODs, creating an automatic two‑tier system that places hot data on flash and warm or cold data on HDDs. The solution leverages the...
Blecon Launches Agent to Transform Zebra Devices
Blecon has introduced the Blecon Agent, software that activates the built‑in Bluetooth radios on Zebra Technologies frontline devices, turning them into an autonomous tracking network. The solution delivers continuous asset visibility without deploying new infrastructure or paying for cellular connectivity,...

LUBIS EDA: Addressing the Verification Bottleneck in Modern Chip Design
Verification has become the primary bottleneck in modern chip design, as simulation struggles to cover the exponential state space of AI, HPC, and automotive processors. Formal verification offers exhaustive proof of design properties but traditionally required manual assertions and specialist...