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
Ubiquiti Introduces UniFi Dream Machine Beast with 25G Networking and NVR Support
Ubiquiti unveiled the UniFi Dream Machine Beast, a rack‑mount gateway that combines routing, security and storage for enterprise‑grade networks. Powered by an 8‑core Arm Neoverse N2 CPU, 16 GB RAM and a 128 GB SSD, the Beast delivers up to 25 Gbps of IPS/IDS throughput. It supports more than 7,500 clients, 750 UniFi devices and up to 100 HD surveillance cameras, with 14 high‑speed ports including 2×25 G SFP28. Priced at $1,499, it targets large‑scale deployments that need centralized management and built‑in NVR capability.
Tesla Launches Basecharger for Semi, Reveals $188,000 Megacharger
Tesla unveiled a "Semi Charging for Business" program offering two chargers: the ultra‑fast Megacharger, priced from $188,000 for a pair of 1.2 MW posts, and the lower‑power Basecharger, starting at $40,000 and delivering 125 kW for depot or overnight use. The Megacharger...
McKinsey Study Says 2026 Marks Quantum Computing’s Commercial Turning Point, Europe Leads Adoption
McKinsey & Company's new Quantum Technology Monitor 2026 finds that 2026 will be the year quantum computing shifts from a research promise to a strategic business priority. Global investment in quantum start‑ups hit $12.6 billion in 2025 and revenues topped $1 billion,...
Biwin M350 2TB SSD Review: A Better Budget Alternative?
Biwin’s M350 SSD positions itself as a budget‑friendly PCIe 4.0 drive, offering up to 5.2 GB/s sequential reads and strong random‑read performance while consuming modest power. The drive uses Micron’s 232‑layer QLC flash and a DRAM‑less SM2268XT2 controller, which limits sustained write...
How Meta Is Strengthening End-to-End Encrypted Backups
Meta has upgraded its end‑to‑end encrypted backup infrastructure for WhatsApp and Messenger with a hardware security module (HSM) based Backup Key Vault. The vault stores recovery codes in tamper‑resistant HSMs, keeping them inaccessible to Meta or cloud providers. New features...
TSMC to Invest $56B in Fabs This Year, and It’s Still Not Enough
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced a 2024 capital‑expenditure plan of $52‑$56 billion, underscoring a record‑breaking first‑quarter profit surge of 58% and 41% revenue growth. The company’s revenue mix has flipped, with high‑performance computing now contributing 61% versus 26% from smartphones....
This 4TB SSD Hits 7,000MB/S Read Speeds, Perfect for PC Gaming — I Can't Believe It's $914 CHEAPER than Normal...
Western Digital’s Black SN7100 4 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD has slashed its price to $499 at Best Buy, a $914 discount from its usual $1,414 list price. The drive delivers up to 7,000 MB/s sequential reads and 6,700 MB/s writes, matching flagship performance levels....
Nintendo's Latest Viral PSA Could Be the Difference Between Your Switch 2 Living or Dying
Nintendo issued a viral public‑service announcement urging Switch 2 owners to charge the console at least once every six months. The guidance targets lithium‑ion batteries, which can become permanently unusable if left fully discharged for extended periods. The advice mirrors the...
ITECH Launches IT8100A/E DC Electronic Loads with 1.8 MW Parallel Capacity and 150 A/Μs Slew Rate
ITECH has introduced the IT8100A/E series of DC electronic loads, capable of scaling to a combined 1.8 MW when paralleled. Each 3U rack delivers 7.2 kW, and the system can expand to 86.4 kW in a 37U cabinet. The loads feature a 150 A/µs...
MXene Plasmonic Sensor Reveals Faint Molecular Fingerprints in Ultrathin Films
Researchers have demonstrated an acoustic MXene plasmon (AMP) sensor that uses a 10 nm Ti₃C₂Tₓ film coupled with gold nanodisks to concentrate infrared light inside ultrathin analyte layers. The device delivers broadband surface‑enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spanning roughly 5000 cm⁻¹, reaching into...
PRACE Publishes 4th Edition of Its Scientific and Innovation Case for HPC in Europe
PRACE has released the fourth edition of its Scientific and Innovation Case, mapping the state of high‑performance computing (HPC) in Europe through 2034. The report documents progress on pre‑exascale and exascale systems and adds new chapters on artificial intelligence, quantum...
A New Type of Optical Chip Cuts Static Power While Enabling Electrical Reprogramming
Researchers at the University of Washington and MIT have created a programmable photonic integrated circuit called NEO‑PGA that eliminates static power consumption by using phase‑change materials. The chip can be electrically reprogrammed, retains its state without power, and is fabricated...
Axon Vision Completes Operational Assessment of EDGE ClearSky
Axon Vision announced that its EDGE ClearSky drone‑detection system has successfully completed operational demonstrations focused on countering first‑person view (FPV) drone threats. The AI‑driven solution uses thermal sensors and real‑time processing to detect, identify and cue interception on armored platforms....
How AI Is Transforming the Factory Floor
AI and edge computing are reshaping factories, giving robots and autonomous systems real‑time vision and decision‑making capabilities. The International Federation of Robotics reported 4.66 million industrial robots in operation in 2024, a 9 % increase, with Asia responsible for 74 % of new...
EU-Funded HiPower 5.0 Project Developing GaN-Based EV On-Board Chargers
The EU‑funded HiPower 5.0 project, led by Fraunhofer IZM, is creating a 22 kW gallium‑nitride (GaN) on‑board charger (OBC) that occupies only 4 L—about one‑third the size of today’s average 12 L units. By using monolithic bi‑directional GaN switches supplied by Infineon, the charger...
Walmart Rolls Out ABB A400 EV Fast Chargers at Seven Sites in Metro Phoenix
Walmart is installing ABB e‑mobility A400 All‑in‑One DC fast chargers at seven Phoenix‑area stores, part of a broader rollout that will bring 38 chargers to nine locations. Each unit can deliver up to 400 kW, either 200 kW to two cars simultaneously...
Cloud Spend Crosses $500B Run Rate Due to AI Surge
Synergy Research Group reports global enterprise cloud infrastructure spending topped a $500 billion annualized run rate in Q1 2026, driven by a surge in generative AI demand. Quarterly revenue reached $128.6 billion, a 35% year‑on‑year increase and the fastest growth since late‑2021. Amazon...
Learn Quantum Impact by Hacking with Quantum Village at Defcon
In my opinion, the greatest way to learn the realities of the impact of things quantum to our world is to engage with quantum hackers. Thanks to the @quantum_village there are opportunities to do that throughout the year (but...
Coatue's Next Frontier Secures Land for AI Data Centers
Coatue doesn’t just want to back the hottest AI companies. It wants to get in at the ground level—literally. Its new venture, Next Frontier, is buying land for data centers. Among its first projects is a JV with Fluidstack to build...
Can a $300 Baby Sleep Device Get Parents Back Into the Office? Owlet Hopes So.
Owlet, the Utah‑based maker of the $299 Dream Sock baby monitor, is rolling out an employer‑benefits program that lets companies subsidize the device for new‑parent staff. The company argues that sleep‑deprived parents are less productive, so offering the monitor can...
Semiconductor Industry Surge: New Tools, Capacity, and Shortages
Latest: Free Arm toolkit; Google’s TPUs now for sale; 2/3nm capacity; memory shortage widens in 2027; mega-earnings; Intel seeds universities; liquid cooling for adv. packages; MIT-IBM tool for estimating power.. https://t.co/rxOxABPlBJ #semiEDA
Industry Shifts Boost Intel’s Momentum
For a brief moment. Honestly, this is wild. A lot of momentum and specific industry dynamics are starting to swing in favor of $INTC. https://t.co/32eDESc5Yf
Aurzen’s Tiny Trifold Projector Is Almost 40 Percent Off Right Now
Aurzen’s Zip tri‑fold portable projector is on sale for $259.99 on Amazon, a $140 discount that brings the price down to roughly 40% off its $399.99 list price. The compact 720p device delivers up to 100 lumens and about 80...
Mini LED Vs. OLED: I've Tested Dozens of TV with Both Display Types, and This One's Better
ZDNet’s Adam Breeden compares Mini LED and OLED TVs, highlighting price, brightness, and burn‑in differences. Mini LED panels, built on backlit LCDs with thousands of tiny LEDs, deliver up to 5,000 nits and cost roughly half of comparable OLEDs. OLEDs, with self‑emissive pixels, provide...
I Replaced My Cloud Storage Subscription with a NAS and the Setup Took One Afternoon
Tech writer Robin John swapped his recurring cloud storage subscription for a Synology BeeStation Plus NAS paired with an 8 TB drive, completing the setup in a single afternoon. The plug‑and‑play unit offers straightforward physical installation, Plex integration, and mobile apps for...
This Chart Shows Why the RAM Shortage Has Become a ‘Mageddon’
A sharp 26% month‑over‑month rise in DRAM export prices between March and April 2026 highlights a deepening RAM shortage. The surge is driven by exploding AI workloads that outpace the capacity of DRAM and NAND manufacturers to scale production. Samsung...
Cobra's New Sub-$200 Radar Detector Is a Pleasant Surprise
Cobra has launched the RAD 490i, an upgraded radar detector priced at $169.95, keeping the product under the $200 threshold. The new model promises up to 15% longer detection range and roughly 22% fewer false alerts compared with the long‑standing RAD 480i....
Spectacular Cash Generator Sandisk Generates Spectacular Pile of Dollars
Sandisk smashed its $4.8 billion outlook for Q3 FY2026, posting $5.95 billion in revenue—a 251% year‑over‑year surge driven by NAND price spikes and data‑center demand. GAAP net income rebounded to $3.62 billion from a $1.93 billion loss, while gross margin jumped to 78.4%. The...
AMD Posts HDMI 2.1 FRL Patches For Their AMDGPU Linux Driver
AMD has submitted a series of patches to add HDMI 2.1 Fixed Rate Link (FRL) support to its open‑source amdgpu Linux driver. While the update does not yet provide the full HDMI 2.1 feature set—such as variable refresh rate or DSC—it introduces...
Some of Xteink’s Credit Card-Sized E-Readers Are Losing Their Best Feature
Xteink has begun blocking third‑party firmware installations on certain X4 and X3 credit‑card e‑readers, a move first reported by a Reddit user who bought the devices on Taobao. The company says the restriction prevents crashes, screen damage and warranty voids,...
192: Your Tech Questions Answered
In this 44‑minute MacRumor Show episode the hosts answer a flood of listener tech questions, covering Apple hardware rumors such as silicon‑carbon batteries for the iPhone Air 2, the potential iPhone Fold versus iPhone Ultra, OLED and ProMotion adoption in...
Chart: How ROHM, Toshiba, Mitsubishi Tie-Up Could Reshape the Power Sector
ROHM Semiconductor, Mitsubishi Electric and Toshiba have signed an MOU to explore merging their power‑semiconductor divisions, which together hold about 11% of the global market. The combined entity would become the world’s second‑largest supplier of power devices, trailing only Infineon’s...
Prices Hikes Have Arrived for OnePlus 15, Nothing Phones, More
OnePlus has raised the Indian price of its flagship OnePlus 15 and 15R models by roughly $25‑$50, pushing the 12 GB/256 GB variant from about $880 to $940 and the top 16 GB/512 GB version from $964 to $1,036. Nothing followed suit, increasing its 4a...
That Old Phone in the Kitchen Drawer Could Save an Industry
Secondhand smartphone sales are set to rise 12% year‑on‑year in 2026, while new‑device shipments are projected to plunge 12% to under 1.1 billion units. Inflation, AI‑driven component costs and longer consumer replacement cycles are driving the slowdown in the flagship market....
Qualcomm Developing Custom Silicon with Unnamed Hyperscaler as Company Continues to Plot Data Center Comeback
Qualcomm announced a partnership with an unnamed hyperscaler to develop custom silicon for data‑center servers, with first shipments slated for December 2026. The move follows the company’s FY26 Q2 earnings, where revenue rose to $10.6 billion and profit surged to $7.37 billion....
Proactive Planning Can Mitigate Quantum Migration Failures
Healthcare IT leaders face an imminent shift to quantum computing that could overwhelm existing infrastructure and compromise patient data security. Mike Nelson, field CTO of digital trust at DigiCert, urges a coordinated migration timeline to avoid care disruptions as organizations...
Engadget Podcast: Is the Valve Steam Controller Worth $100?
Engadget’s latest podcast examines Valve’s newly released Steam Controller, which retails for $100. The episode features host Jessica Conditt testing the controller’s ergonomics, dual‑trackpad layout, and deep Steam integration. While the device is praised for its innovative design, the price...
Apple May Take "Several Months" To Catch up to Mac Mini and Studio Demand
Apple’s Mac mini and Mac Studio are facing prolonged shortages, with many configurations marked “currently unavailable” and some orders taking months to ship. CEO Tim Cook attributed the gap to unexpectedly high AI‑driven demand and limited capacity at TSMC’s advanced...
AI Processing of Earth Images Can Now Run In Space
Planet Labs has demonstrated the first successful run of AI image processing on a satellite, using its Pelican‑4 platform to automatically detect and box more than a dozen aircraft at an Australian airport. The onboard NVIDIA Jetson ORIN GPU analyzes a...
Microsoft Updates Xbox Smartphone App and Xbox Ally Handhelds with New Features
Microsoft has refreshed the Xbox smartphone app on iOS and Android with Wishlist Alerts, notifying users of new releases, pre‑installations, DLC drops and sales. At the same time, Asus ROG Xbox Ally handhelds now automatically route gameplay to a TV when docked,...
Blu-Ray – No Way
NEC and Toshiba have jointly submitted an alternative blue‑laser DVD specification to the DVD Forum, directly challenging the Blu‑ray format endorsed by a consortium of major electronics firms. Their proposal emphasizes backward compatibility with existing DVD production lines and eliminates...
NAB Rewind: Lawo’s Andreas Hilmer on the Power of the Edge One AV Stagebox
At NAB 2026, Lawo unveiled the Edge One AV stagebox, a compact device that merges video and audio interfacing, DSP processing, and compression into a single unit. The box offers up to eight SDI/XLR connections, four HDMI ports, two MADI,...
Cramer Dismisses Intel Bear Case After 16% Post‑Earnings Rally
Jim Cramer announced on X that he has "NO bear case" on Intel after the company reported Q1 2026 revenue of $13.6 billion, a 7% year‑over‑year rise that topped consensus by $1.3 billion. The earnings beat sparked a 16% after‑hours rally and...
Apple Flags Rising Memory Costs Threatening iPhone and MacBook Neo Supply
Apple warned that sharply higher memory component prices will pressure iPhone and MacBook Neo output in the June quarter. CEO Tim Cook said the company will evaluate pricing and supply options as the memory crunch deepens, while CFO Kevan Parekh...
"I Found a Project that Completely Solves This": PS5 and DualShock Controllers Get Full Wireless Features on PC Thanks to...
A GitHub project called DS5Dongle lets PlayStation 5 DualSense controllers work wirelessly on Windows PCs with full adaptive‑trigger and haptic support. The hack uses a $7 Raspberry Pi Pico 2W as a Bluetooth bridge, making the PC think the controller is wired. The latest...
Linux Support Coming For The ASUS ROG RAIKIRI II: A $160 High-End Gaming Controller
ASUS has announced mainline Linux support for its premium ROG RAIKIRI II wireless gaming controller, priced around $160. The controller offers 1 kHz polling, TMR joysticks, dual‑mode triggers, and multiple connectivity options, including a PC/Xbox mode switch. A patch adding the necessary...
Xbox Hardware Revenue Plunges 33% as New Boss Asha Sharma Confronts Sales Slump
Microsoft disclosed that Xbox hardware revenue fell 33% year‑on‑year in Q3 FY2026, the steepest decline since the Series X launch. New Xbox chief Asha Sharma acknowledged the shortfall, promising a refocus on core fans and upcoming hardware under the Project...
FARO Expands Lévis Service Center for Canadian Customers
FARO, an AMETEK business, is expanding its Lévis, Québec service center to cover the full FARO product line for Canadian customers, including articulated arms, laser trackers and laser scanners. The upgraded hub will act as the primary logistics entry point...
The Buying Rule for Your Personal AI Computer (and How to Skip the $5,000 Mistake)
In this episode, the host explains how AI agents are reviving the importance of the personal desktop computer, reversing a 15‑year trend toward cloud‑only workflows. They outline a buying rule for a "personal AI computer," warning listeners to avoid overspending...
Elite Robots Unveils RoboBarista, Autonomous Coffee Cobot for High‑Traffic Venues
Elite Robots announced RoboBarista, a fully autonomous coffee station that can produce up to 60 cups per hour and create latte art with dual‑arm robotics. The kiosk, showcased at NAMA Show 2026, targets hotels, offices and transit hubs, marking a...