Hardware News and Headlines
Hardware News and Headlines
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Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
Amazon has slashed the price of Alronly’s portable USB‑C/USB 3.0 CD‑DVD writer by 30%, dropping it from $29.99 to $20.98. The device reads and writes CDs at up to 24× and DVDs at up to 8×, while also offering a 2.5‑inch SATA dock, full‑size SD and microSD slots, and dual USB‑A plus a USB‑C port. Weighing just 0.75 lb and measuring 0.9 inches thick, it targets users who need occasional access to legacy media or external drives. Compatibility spans Windows, macOS and Linux, though it excludes iOS, Android and ChromeOS.
German data‑center operator Hetzner announced price increases of up to 37 % on its cloud, dedicated‑server, storage and load‑balancer offerings effective 1 April 2026. The hikes affect both new orders and existing subscriptions across its European, U.S. and Singapore sites, with cloud instances...
Cobalt Digital will unveil a suite of new end‑to‑end IPMX and SMPTE ST 2110 solutions at the 2026 NAB Show, including the blueCORE 1RU processor family, upgraded PACIFIC ULL‑DEC decoder with dual SDI/ST 2110 output, a factory‑installed DVB‑S/S2 demodulator, and hybrid satellite‑internet...
Fibox Enclosure Systems, with four decades of experience, designs UL‑listed, NEMA‑rated polycarbonate enclosures that protect electrical components in harsh, chemical‑laden or high‑impact environments. The company pioneered injection‑molded polycarbonate in 1966 and now operates manufacturing sites in Finland, Korea and China,...
Rising RAM prices, driven by AI‑related demand, are inflating component costs for PCs, consoles and handhelds. The shortage has left Steam Decks repeatedly out of stock and forced manufacturers like Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to contemplate price hikes. A recent...
Woot is offering Corsair’s 32 GB Vengeance DDR5‑6000 kit for $329.99, the lowest price in months. The discount follows a recent dip from $344 in January but remains far above the $92.99 price seen in early 2025. The price pressure stems...
Taara, a spin‑out from Google’s X lab, unveiled Taara Photonics—the world’s first wireless communication platform built on an optical phased‑array integrated circuit—and its inaugural product, Taara Beam. The beam‑sized device delivers up to 25 Gbps at low latency across distances of...
AFD Systems secured a £20,000 Made Smarter grant to acquire a high‑precision 3D laser scanner, launching a dedicated metrology and reverse‑engineering team. The new capability integrates scanning data into design, simulation and additive‑manufacturing workflows, enabling faster part development. AFD aims...
Technics unveiled its new SL‑1500CS turntable, priced at £1,099 and slated for a March 2026 release. The model brings high‑end features such as the proprietary ΔΣ‑Drive, a built‑in phono equaliser, and an aluminium die‑cast chassis that dampens vibrations. By incorporating...
Automation Alley’s Project DIAMOnD has opened its Digital Transformation Center to companies outside its membership. The DTC now offers fee‑based access to industrial‑grade polymer and metal 3D printing technologies, including powder‑bed fusion, large‑format FFF/MEX, and directed energy deposition. SMEs can...
Motive introduced the AI Dashcam Plus, an edge‑AI device powered by Qualcomm’s Dragonwing QCS6490 processor that runs over 30 neural models simultaneously. The dashcam fuses stereo vision, audio, telematics, GPS and motion sensors to deliver real‑time risk detection with reduced latency and...
Samsung announced the U.S. launch of its Galaxy Book 6 laptop series on March 11, with three models priced from $1,049 to $2,449. The lineup, revealed at CES 2026, features a slimmer design, Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors, and an Nvidia RTX 5060 GPU in...
After three decades of gradual adoption, cloud providers are now offering CPU‑only HPC instances that can compete with on‑premise clusters. Amazon Web Services introduced the HPC8a family, built on AMD’s latest Turin EPYC 9R15 processors and delivering 192 physical cores across...
Variable frequency drives (VFDs) are gaining rapid adoption due to energy savings, but their compact electronics generate heat that can overheat sealed enclosures. Pfannenberg introduced simple rule‑of‑thumb calculations: 75 BTU/h of active cooling or 4 CFM of passive airflow per horsepower, based...
At the PDAC conference in Toronto, Epiroc will unveil its latest drilling safety innovations, highlighted by the new Uphole Brake. The brake integrates into the drill head and automatically stops a free‑falling inner tube when overspeed occurs, protecting personnel and...
A rapid AI‑driven memory boom has pushed DRAM prices up nearly 100% in 2025 and an additional 60% in early 2026, while NAND storage rose 70% in the same period. The surge squeezes console hardware margins, prompting platform holders to...
A joint effort by TU Wien and Chinese researchers has demonstrated a heralded quantum logic gate that operates on two photons each encoded in four distinct quantum states, or qudits. The gate leverages the photons' orbital angular momentum rather than...
Stanley Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office disclosed a 13F filing that shows it exited Sandisk (SNDK) just before the memory‑chip maker posted a blockbuster earnings beat. Sandisk’s fiscal Q2 2026 revenue jumped 61% YoY to $3.03 billion, while GAAP EPS surged 615%...
Qualcomm has filed a request with the FCC to secure dedicated spectrum for its 5G sidelink technology, aiming to support mission‑critical communications for first responders. The company plans to leverage device‑to‑device links that operate independently of traditional cellular infrastructure, enabling...
Telos Alliance announced a software update (v3.32.47) for its Linear Acoustic AERO series to incorporate the latest Nielsen watermark encoding library and fix a timestamp reset issue that would affect data reporting after Jan 1, 2027. The update covers current AERO models—including...
AMD announced that its first rack‑scale AI system, code‑named Helios, will ship engineering samples in the second half of 2026 and enter volume production by early 2027. The platform will use the Altair MI400 series GPUs—including MI455X, MI430X and MI450—offering...
Sceye announced the SceyeCELL antenna, a custom HAPS payload that merges ground‑cell flexibility with LEO satellite precision. The antenna is built for long‑duration, high‑altitude missions that can blanket large swaths of the Earth. It is intended to bolster network resilience...
Yole Group released its 2026 status report on compound semiconductors, projecting the combined substrate and open‑epiwafer market to surpass $5 billion by 2031 with a ~14 % CAGR. The analysis highlights strong demand from electrification, AI infrastructure, and next‑generation connectivity, with SiC...
Intel announced its next‑generation “Unified Core” architecture, dubbed Hammer Lake, slated for a 2028 launch after the 2027 Razor Lake refresh. The roadmap shows Xeon 7 will ship on the Panther Cove micro‑architecture rather than the rumored Lion Cove, while Diamond Rapids (DMR)...
Socionext and Innatera unveiled a joint human‑presence detection solution that merges Socionext’s compact 60 GHz FMCW radar with Innatera’s ultra‑low‑power spiking neural processor. The system delivers over 99 % detection accuracy, even for stationary individuals, while consuming sub‑milliwatt power, extending battery life...
Fox ESS has launched the H3‑Pro series, a line of five three‑phase hybrid inverters targeting commercial photovoltaic installations. The models handle 30‑50 kW PV input and 15‑30 kW AC output, support up to 200% PV oversizing, and can be paired with two CQ6...
A February 2026 forum thread suggests AMD could become the first company to deploy a custom HBM solution, likely HBM4e, using a bespoke base die (b‑die) for a next‑gen GPU dubbed MI455X. Contributors highlight development costs exceeding $100 million and significant...
Rohde & Schwarz and Broadcom are unveiling the first public Wi‑Fi 8 RF signaling tests at MWC Barcelona 2026 using the CMX500 multi‑technology tester. The demo validates a Broadcom prototype and showcases Wi‑Fi 8’s new PHY/MAC features such as distributed resource units, unequal modulation and...
Epson announced that its m‑Series thermal receipt printers are now embedded in LaunderPay's all‑in‑one laundry POS platform, targeting wash‑and‑fold, delivery and dry‑cleaning operators. The integration delivers compact, high‑performance printing for receipts and bag tags while offering customizable receipt length to...
Rohde & Schwarz has introduced the QPS Walk2000, a millimeter‑wave walk‑through scanner that uses AI and machine learning to detect both metallic and non‑metallic threats in real time. The system allows passengers and staff to walk through at a normal pace...
Qualcomm Technologies and Tata Electronics have signed a partnership to produce Qualcomm Automotive Modules at Tata's new semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) facility in Assam, India. The $3 bn greenfield plant will integrate Snapdragon Digital Chassis system‑on‑chips into ready‑to‑deploy automotive modules...
Mesa 25.3.6 has been released as the final bug‑fix update for the 25 driver series, signaling the end of active maintenance for that branch. The patch addresses regressions in radeonsi, Venus, and ANV drivers, including a GL_FEEDBACK coordinate bug and...
Marvell Technology is localising its global semiconductor portfolio for the Indian market, establishing R&D centres in Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. The company is collaborating with Indian academia—IITs, NITs and IIITs—to build a talent pipeline and shape semiconductor curricula. Marvell’s data‑centre...
Vodafone’s Network‑as‑a‑Sensor (NWaaS) program is now operating pan‑European, using thousands of microwave backhaul links to turn the carrier’s infrastructure into a distributed weather‑monitoring platform. The service can infer rain, fog, humidity and, with added mast‑mounted sensors, air‑quality data, delivering near‑real‑time...
Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra 5G design was leaked ahead of the company’s Unpacked event scheduled for February 25, 2026. The leak, posted by YouTuber Sahi Karoul, shows a high‑end device priced at AED 12,000 (approximately Rs 296,000) before official release. The...
Q3D Sensing announced the AuraGO, a compact add‑on LiDAR scanner that attaches to smartphones and tablets. The device promises centimetre‑level accuracy and a working range of 0.5 m to 30 m, delivering roughly 100 times the coverage of built‑in phone LiDAR. AuraGO...
A Reddit user from the UK discovered that 28 TB Seagate IronWolf Pro hard drives were priced nearly double in Britain compared to the United States. The US price was $609.99 versus about £980 (≈$1,200) in the UK, creating a $370...
Creative has refreshed its popular Sound BlasterX G6 external gaming DAC/amp by introducing a USB‑C version (model SBX‑G6UC) while retaining the original’s design and feature set. The update swaps the legacy micro‑USB connector for a modern USB‑C port, simplifying daily...
Dell's Tower Plus EBT2250 pre‑built incorporates a mechanically locked 12V‑2x6 power connector for the GPU, securing the plug with metal hardware to eliminate movement. The design uses Amphenol‑sourced components and an adapter cable that terminates in standard PCIe 8‑pin leads...
Intel has teased a new architecture called Xe Next, positioned after the Xe3P “Crescent Island” accelerator. The video from Intel’s AI VP indicates Xe Next will serve both the GPU line and the Jaguar Shores training family, suggesting a shared foundation across product...
Roku has launched the Pro Remote 2, a $29.88 upgrade for existing Roku TVs and players. The new controller swaps the old micro‑USB port for USB‑C, adds motion‑activated backlit buttons, and introduces a dedicated Guide button for instant access to OTA...
Enphase Energy reported Q4 2025 revenue of $343.3 million, with U.S. sales representing 89% of the total and a 13% sequential decline in U.S. revenue and a 29% drop in Europe. Gross margins fell to 46.1% non‑GAAP and 44.3% GAAP, largely...
Canaan Inc. posted Q4 2025 revenue of $196 million, up 30.4% quarter‑over‑quarter and 121.1% year‑over‑year, marking its strongest quarter in three years. Product revenue surged 39.1% to $165 million, driven by large North American orders, while computing power sold hit an all‑time high...
Ultra Clean Holdings reported Q4 2025 revenue of $506.6 million, essentially flat year‑over‑year, while gross margin slipped to 16.1% from 17%. The company’s global cleanroom capacity is 65% utilized, enough to support up to $3 billion in revenue, and it plans to...
Costco’s Kirkland alkaline AA batteries have been shown to match or exceed Energizer’s standard and Max alkaline models in independent tests while costing significantly less. Consumer Reports and YouTube reviewers such as Project Farm and Lumencraft recorded longer runtimes for...
After years of frustration with sluggish smart‑TV platforms, the author replaced the native interface on a Hisense set with an Apple TV 4K (3rd gen). The $170 streaming box delivered markedly faster app launches, cleaner navigation, and seamless integration with existing Apple devices....
Modern PC builders often splurge on high‑end motherboard features that they never actually use. The article highlights common over‑investments such as extra PCIe lanes, 18‑phase VRMs, dual BIOS, multi‑gigabit Ethernet, and quad M.2 slots, explaining why mid‑range boards usually suffice....
Researchers have developed a flexible triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) using a sodium bismuth titanate (NBT) and chitosan composite film paired with PDMS. The lead‑free ferroelectric NBT particles enhance dielectric properties, delivering a peak voltage of 162.5 V, current of 4.1 µA and power...
Researchers demonstrated that stochastic resonance can trigger synchronous polarization switching in a thin‑film lead zirconate titanate (PZT) capacitor using sub‑coercive voltage pulses. By tuning the noise level to satisfy the Kramers‑time condition, the device switches reliably at half the signal...
Ultra‑Wideband (UWB) smart door locks can detect a user’s approach within 10 cm and unlock automatically, eliminating the need to pull out a phone. The first UWB‑enabled models – Aqara U400 and Ultraloq Bolt Mission – launched in January 2026, priced at $270 and $300...
