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
ESP32-C5 Mini USB-C Board Supports 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz WiFi 6, up to 14x GPIO Pins for IoT Projects
Espressif's ESP32‑C5 Mini is a compact development board that adds dual‑band Wi‑Fi 6, Bluetooth 5 LE, and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter. It uses the ESP32‑C5HF4 SoC with a single‑core RISC‑V CPU, 384 KB SRAM and 4 MB on‑chip flash, and offers up to 14 GPIO pins via two 9‑pin headers. The board includes both a built‑in antenna and an IPEX connector, but omits PSRAM and external flash, keeping the bill of materials low. It retails for about $4.93 on AliExpress, making it one of the cheapest dual‑band Wi‑Fi 6 IoT platforms.
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Seagate reported Q3 2025 revenue of $2.16 billion, up 31% year‑over‑year but down 7% sequentially due to temporary supply constraints. Non‑GAAP gross profit rose 81% YoY, with gross margin expanding to 36.2% and operating margin reaching a historic 23.5%. The company...
Fiber Frenzy
Comcast has begun connecting the first residents of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, to its multi‑gigabit symmetrical fiber network. The rollout will eventually serve more than 6,000 addresses across Bloomsburg, Hemlock Township and Scott Township, with full deployment targeted for 2027. Meanwhile, Archtop...
Eager for Steam Controller, Disappointed Valve Overlooked Me
That steam controller looks so good. I’m not usually one to be sad to miss out on review copies, but i am bummed valve skipped over me for this one. Can’t wait to get one. I do wish the sticks...
Review: Walmart’s New Onn 4K Google TV Stick (2026 Model) Delivers Strong Value in a Compact Package
Walmart has launched the 2026 onn 4K Google TV Stick, a $39.98 HDMI stick that upgrades the previous puck design with a slimmer form factor and USB‑C power. The device runs a polished Google TV interface, adds Gemini AI voice...
Can the UK's Data Centre Boom Go Green?
The UK’s data‑centre sector is expanding rapidly, with capacity expected to double by 2030, raising concerns about its electricity demand. Analysts argue that the growth can be aligned with the nation’s net‑zero goals if power‑intensive facilities are powered by renewable...
Galaxy XR Boasts Solid Hardware, Needs Better Software
I know a lot of people have been waiting on my full assessment on Android XR and the @samsungus Galaxy XR. Well, here you go, its a long one: https://moorinsightsstrategy.com/research-notes/samsung-galaxy-xr-headset-a-strong-hardware-foundation-waiting-on-software/
Players Are Suing Nintendo over Switch 2 Accessory Price Hikes After Ruling that Companies Are to Be Issued Tariff Refunds
Nintendo’s Switch 2 launched at $499.99 amid controversy over steep accessory price hikes tied to U.S. tariffs. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Trump administration lacked authority to impose those tariffs, prompting Nintendo to sue the government for a full refund...
Steam Controller Price Comparison: Here's How Valve's Controller Measures Up
Valve announced the Steam Controller will ship on May 4 for $99, positioning it between mainstream gamepads and premium offerings. The price sits above the Xbox Wireless Controller ($65) and PlayStation 5 DualSense ($74) but well below elite models like the Xbox...
Building a Z590 I7-11700K Rocket Lake System with Strix Mobo: Questions About a TPM Module
A user with an ASUS Strix Z590‑E motherboard and an Intel i7‑11700K Rocket Lake CPU discovered that Windows 11 still requires a separate TPM 2.0 module, despite the processor being on the OS’s eligibility list. The board’s documentation notes the TPM is...
Can Your HDMI Cable Output 4K? Here's What To Look For
Not every HDMI cable can deliver true 4K resolution; only cables meeting HDMI 1.4 or later specifications can. The cable’s speed rating—High Speed, Premium High Speed, or Ultra High Speed—signals support for HDMI 1.4, 2.0, or 2.1 respectively, dictating maximum refresh rates....
AR Glasses Turn Phones Into Real‑World Wall Hack
Wall hacks in real life using augmented reality. New mad science experiment -- I used $300 Meta RayBan glasses and an iPhone to recreate EagleEye's "see-through-walls" tracking. The answer was visual positioning tech to build a shared spatial map. Code on...
These High-Tech 'Smart Scopes' Could Be America's Best Answer To Enemy Drones
The U.S. Marine Corps is fielding the SMASH 2000L, an Israeli‑developed smart scope that attaches to M4 carbines to counter drone threats. Awarded a $13 million contract in June 2025, the device uses AI‑driven image processing to detect, lock, and track hostile...
Govee Launches Wild, Colorful and Pixel-Dense Ceiling Light Ultra
Govee unveiled the Ceiling Light Ultra, a 21‑inch disk‑shaped panel packed with more than 600 ultra‑dense LEDs that can display AI‑generated scenes, music‑sync visuals, and over 100 lighting effects. The unit supports sunrise‑sunset scheduling and can render custom images, turning...
Noctua Releases Official 3D CAD Models for Its Cooling Fans
Cooling‑fan specialist Noctua has made official 3D CAD models of its entire fan portfolio available for download on its website. The models faithfully reproduce external dimensions and mounting points, while internal impeller geometry is slightly altered to protect IP. Noctua...
Lessons From an Upgrade to VCF 9
In this episode, host Pete Fletcher and co‑host John Nicholson interview Michele Collatto, a senior IT leader at a New York‑based financial institution, about their migration from VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 5.2 to VCF 9.0 across four global data centers....
BIG AI Cluster Little Power the 8x NVIDIA GB10 Cluster
In April 2026 the team assembled an eight‑node NVIDIA GB10 (Grace Blackwell) cluster, surpassing NVIDIA’s official support of two‑node DAC and later four‑node topologies. The build leverages a 400 GbE MikroTik CRS804 DDQ switch for RDMA‑enabled ConnectX‑7 networking, a Cisco Catalyst C1300‑12XT‑2X for 10 GbE...
Qualcomm Surges 7% on AI Partnership as US Indexes Dip on Iran Tensions
Qualcomm stock jumped 7% on Monday after announcing an AI partnership, defying a broader sell‑off in US equities triggered by stalled Iran talks and higher oil prices. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.30%, the S&P 500 held flat to lower, and...
U.S., Philippines and Japan Launch Luzon Economic Corridor and Pax Silica Hub
The United States, the Philippines and Japan unveiled the Luzon Economic Corridor and Pax Silica initiative, establishing a 4,000‑acre industrial hub in New Clark City. The project, backed by $15 million in private‑sector funding, aims to reroute semiconductor, AI and critical‑mineral...
Glow Beyond the Frame: Light and Texture on the OPPO Reno15
OPPO launched the Reno15 FS 5G in Poland in January 2026 as a design‑focused sibling to its Reno15 line. The phone features a precision‑etched "Dancing Aurora" back that reflects ambient light, a Velvet‑glass texture that repels fingerprints, and a Dynamic Stellar Ring that...
Lightmatter Appoints Roy Kim as VP of Product to Scale Photonic Interconnects
Lightmatter announced Roy Kim as its new Vice President of Product. Kim, who spent over 15 years leading AI infrastructure at Google, AMD and NVIDIA, will steer the company’s Passage™ photonic interconnect and Guide™ VLSP light engine toward volume production...
Sencore’s VB440 Monitoring, Analysis Tool Debuts at NAB Show
Sencore unveiled its VB440 high‑density monitoring and analysis platform at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, alongside the MRD 8000 receiver‑decoder, AFN Platform, OmniHub series, and TXS 3800 transcoder. The VB440 is NMOS‑certified, supports up to 80 Gbps of simultaneous SMPTE 2110/IPMX streams,...
Taipei’s Scooter Market Accelerates Toward Full Electrification in 2026
Gogoro announced 665,000 battery‑swap subscribers as Taipei’s two‑wheel market pushes toward full electric adoption in 2026. Sales data shows electric scooters climbing to about 8% of the 1.4 million‑unit fleet, while legacy manufacturers scramble to adapt.
GenusPlus Wins $200 MW Battery Contract in South Australia, Boosting Renewable Grid
West Australian construction firm GenusPlus has been awarded the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract for the 200 MW, four‑hour Koolunga battery energy storage system in South Australia. The project, developed by Singapore‑based Equis Development, will add firm capacity, create up...
OPPO Unveils Watch X3 Smartwatch with Titanium Case and Up to 16‑Day Battery
OPPO introduced the Watch X3, a premium smartwatch built from aerospace‑grade titanium that is 13.4% lighter and 6.3% thinner than the Watch X2. The device promises up to 16 days of battery life thanks to a dual‑chip architecture and a...
Off-Piste – Brother 2170w Printer (2009 Vintage)
The 2009 Brother 2170w laser printer, bought for $80, is still printing reliably nearly two decades later, delivering about 25 pages per minute with a drum that remains 73% functional after 15 years. It runs on third‑party toner cartridges costing...
Memory Bandwidth, Not GPUs, Drives AI Speed
When people say "AI is about GPUs," they are usually pointing at the wrong bottleneck. If you have ever wondered why one machine feels like you are talking to the model and another feels like it is thinking through molasses, @om...
Developer Requests 5‑level Page Tables From Apple
Oh geez, can I please haz 5-level-page-tables, Apple? Pretty please. I promise I can do something cool with them. https://t.co/3WUawowOcr
Near-Zero-CTE Dielectric Targets 224 Gb/S AI Links
Advanced Chip and Circuit Materials, Inc. introduced two new PCB dielectric materials, Celeritas HM50 and HM001, targeting AI and high‑speed digital designs. HM50 features a negative coefficient of thermal expansion (‑8 ppm/°C) while HM001 is engineered to be near‑zero CTE, both...
GetD GSPro Smart Glasses Lack Real AI
The GetD GSPro Smart Glasses are advertised as "AI Glasses", but does the inclusion of a microphone and a custom app really imbue them with artificial intelligence? I slip a polarized pair on to find out: https://t.co/C2XA3Xw0tJ #GetD #smartglasses #aiglasses...
Oracle, BorderPlex Deploy Bloom Fuel Cells for 2.45 GW AI Microgrid
Oracle and BorderPlex tap Bloom Energy (BE) fuel cells to power 2.45 GW AI data center microgrid in New Mexico $BE $ORCL
APEC 2026: Infineon Addresses AI Data Center Power Density Challenges with TLVR Quad-Phase Module
At APEC 2026 Infineon unveiled the TDM24745T, a TLVR‑based quad‑phase power module designed for AI server point‑of‑load applications. The 9 × 10 × 5 mm³ device delivers up to 320 A peak current with a current density over 2 A/mm², integrating power stages, a TLVR inductor and...
Are We Computing Quantum in the Wrong Base? With Ivan Deutsch
In this episode, host Sebastian Hessinger talks with quantum information pioneer Ivan Deutsch about the historical development of quantum computing, especially the shift from ion‑trap to neutral‑atom platforms and the foundational role of optical lattices and Rydberg blockade. Deutsch recounts...
Advantest Posts FY2025 Profit Surge, Projects 26% Revenue Rise for FY2026
Advantest Corp. announced FY2025 earnings that beat expectations, with net income soaring to ¥375.4 billion and revenue reaching ¥1.13 trillion. The company also guided FY2026 revenue to rise 25.8% to ¥1.42 trillion and net income to ¥465.5 billion, signaling robust demand for its semiconductor...
Rugged Tablet Packs Power, Storage, and Built‑In Projector
The Ulefone Armor Pad 5 Ultra is a truly rugged tablet design with plenty of power, memory storage and even a DLP projector. https://t.co/osoAtjhs9Z
RADV Vulkan Driver Adds Memory Protection Using AMD Trusted Memory Zone
The Mesa Radeon Vulkan driver RADV now supports protected memory by leveraging AMD's Trusted Memory Zone (TMZ) hardware. This capability, exposed through Vulkan’s protectedMemory flag, arrives in the Mesa 26.2 merge request and targets newer Radeon GPUs. It allows applications...
AI Is Confronting a Supply-Chain Crunch
AI adoption surged in early 2026 as developers engaged in “tokenmaxxing,” driving a four‑fold rise in weekly tokens processed on platforms like OpenRouter. This unprecedented workload increase exposed a chronic shortfall in GPU and accelerator supply, with manufacturers unable to...
Self-Powered Fibers Can Spot Oil Contamination and Heat Buildup Within Milliseconds
Researchers at National Taiwan University unveiled a self‑powered fiber sensor that instantly detects oil contamination and rising temperatures. The fiber generates distinct electrical signals when contacting water versus oil and intensifies output as it heats, changing color from blue to...
This Eufy Robot Lawnmower Is 59% Off Right Now
Eufy’s Robot Lawn Mower E15 is on sale for $949.99, a 59% discount from its $2,299.99 launch price. The mower uses camera‑based Pure Vision navigation instead of boundary wires or an RTK antenna, allowing hands‑free mapping of up to 0.2...
This LG Portable Projector Comes with a Free Soundbar - and We Highly Recommend It
LG’s CineBeam Q portable projector is now offered at $800 after a $500 discount, and includes a free LG S40T soundbar valued at $170. The 3‑lb device delivers 4K resolution, HDR10, Dolby Atmos and runs LG’s webOS with access to...
Learn How You Can Easily Connect and Control Your Nikon ZR With This Portkey’s Touchscreen Monitor
The Nikon ZR, Nikon’s first cinema camera born from its RED acquisition, offers 6K60 video, 32‑bit float audio, and over 15 stops of dynamic range. A new tutorial shows how to pair it with the Portkeys LH7C, a 7‑inch 1,000‑nit...
Clicks Confirms Launch Plans for Compact Smartphone with Keyboard
Clicks has confirmed that its Communicator smartphone, a compact 4‑inch device with a built‑in QWERTY/QWERTZ keyboard, will begin production in Q4 2026 with deliveries slated for the end of the year. The phone retails for $499 plus taxes and shipping,...
World ID Makes Case for Enterprise-Scale Authentication, but some Aren’t Buying It
World ID, the iris‑scanning identity platform co‑founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, announced new enterprise‑grade features and partnerships with Zoom, DocuSign, Shopify, Okta, Tinder and VanEck. The upgrade adds multi‑key support, account‑based architecture, key rotation, recovery and session management to...
Laifen P3 Pro Review 2026: A Tiny, Powerful Shaver That Happens to Look Good
The Laifen P3 Pro electric shaver, priced at $180, offers a premium aluminum unibody that rivals higher‑priced rivals like Panasonic’s Series 900S. Its dual‑drive linear motors provide 100 minutes of runtime and USB‑C fast charging, a rarity in the shaver market. In real‑world use...
Images of Samsung's Rumored Smart Glasses Have Leaked
Samsung’s first smart‑glasses, codenamed “Jinju,” have been spotted in leaked images, showing a sleek design with a 12MP camera, Snapdragon AR1 chip, and bone‑conduction speakers. The device runs on the Android XR wearables platform and integrates Google’s Gemini chatbot, with...
Nikon’s APDIS MV5X Laser Radar Sets a New Standard
Nikon Corp. has launched the APDIS MV5X, the newest model in its laser‑radar metrology line. The MV5X delivers up to six times faster scanning than the prior MV4x0 series while weighing less than 12 kg, making it portable and suitable for...
Experts Call for Halt of AI Chip Exports to China After White House Distillation Warning
The White House warned that China is running industrial‑scale campaigns to distill U.S. frontier AI models, prompting advocacy group Americans for Responsible Innovation to call for an immediate halt to U.S. exports of advanced AI chips. The letter specifically targets...
Some iPhone 17 Devices Won't Turn on After Their Batteries Run Out
Reports are emerging that certain iPhone 17 models, including the Air and Pro Max, will not power on after the battery is fully depleted. Users on Reddit and iFixit describe phones remaining dead despite being connected to a charger for...
Russian-Chinese Irtysh 32-Core CPU Runs The Witcher 3 at 30+ FPS — Heavyweight Chip Still Imposes CPU Bottleneck Despite Impressive...
The Russian‑Chinese Irtysh C632, a 32‑core LoongArch processor licensed from China’s Loongson, was shown running *The Witcher 3* at roughly 22‑32 FPS on ultra settings and 25‑38 FPS on low settings at 1080p. Despite its high core count and 2.1 GHz clock, the chip...
Students Build Giant ENIAC Replica in Classroom
Arizona students construct full-scale ENIAC replica, turning classroom into a whale-sized tribute to early computing history. https://t.co/ztjihSRVnK