Latest News - Page 232

Apple's biggest form of revenue is the iPhone, and this year the company will be unveiling its new range, which will have the biggest redesign the iPhone has seen in half a decade.

On September 9, Apple will showcase its latest iPhone generation. As the company lags behind in AI-powered software, it's focusing on hardware changes in its latest devices as a major draw. The iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and Pro Max are all pegged to be redesigned devices, with the backs of each being overhauled with a new design that moves the cameras into a pill-shaped bar.

In addition to the redesigned traditional iPhone line-up, Apple will also be introducing what Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has been calling for quite some time, the iPhone 17 Air, an ultra-thin device that will replace the iPhone Plus. The iPhone 17 generation is just the first of Apple's three-year plan to redesign the iPhone, as there is currently a foldable iPhone in the works, along with a 20th anniversary iPhone pegged for 2027. The foldable iPhone is meant to be announced next year.

Battlefield 6 developers have showcased the Assault Ladder, which was a big moment from the Battlefield 6 trailer, but wasn't available for use during the open beta weekends.

The Assault Ladder was one of those "wow" moments from the Battlefield 6 trailer as it showcased a group of soldiers scaling up a few stories on the outside of the building and then busting through a window in slow motion. The moment was highlighted by several viewers, but when the open beta weekend rolled around, the mechanic wasn't available within the Assault class. Why? Well, Battlefield developers simply wanted to save it for the full release of the game.

On the official Battlefield X account, a video has been posted showcasing how players can use the Assault Ladder, and I can already say, this mechanic is going to make the Assault class even stronger, as players are now capable of reaching high ground by simply placing down the ladder and sprinting up it.

OpenAI has reportedly signed a deal with US semiconductor firm Broadcom in a long-term plan to reduce its reliance on NVIDIA GPUs.

OpenAI, the creators of the famed AI chatbot ChatGPT, have reportedly entered into a partnership with Broadcom to make custom AI accelerators slated to go into use next year. The report comes from The Financial Times and Reuters, which states OpenAI is looking to move away from NVIDIA's expensive AI GPUs for training future models and wants to create their own custom chip to reduce expenditure.

NVIDIA has become the global wholesaler for AI GPUs, with the company's data center division generating $115.2 billion last year - more than AMD and Intel's entire company revenues combined. NVIDIA's dominance in the market has been a result of AI companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI requiring more GPU horsepower to train more sophisticated AI models. However, the AI GPU prices are extremely expensive, and with more horsepower required it means larger investments.

The Trump administration has made it clear that it wants chip manufacturers to invest heavily within the United States, and to convince them, the administration is planning to implement "a very substantial tariff, not that high, but fairly substantial."

To incentivize chip manufacturers who want to sell chips to customers within the United States, the Trump administration says it will be introducing trade tariffs, or increased taxes on chips from outside countries, essentially forcing companies to decide whether they want to eat into their profits or invest in the US by constructing their own chip manufacturing line on US soil.

The Trump administration is exploring these tariffs under Section 232, with the President saying companies that aren't willing to invest in the US could be hit with tariffs as high as 100%. However, it isn't all doom and gloom for chip companies outside of the US, as there is a list of companies that will be exempt from the tariffs. Notably, those companies include TSMC, Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron, and many others that are crucial parts of the supply chain.

Half-Life 3 is still heavily under development, with Valve reportedly pushing into optimization, changes to gameplay mechanics, new features, and more.

In a new video by Valve leaker Tyler McVicker, we have an update on Valve's codename "HLX" project which is said to be the elusive, and heavily-anticipated Half-Life 3. McVicker provided some information on every update made for HLX inside of the latest update to Counter-Strike 2.

There have reportedly been no major changes to Half-Life 3 so far, but a considerable amount of work has been done on the project, with the expansion of the vehicle system, a new particle system made specifically for HLX that would handle liquids, a friction system, and a new system that would work out when an enemy part gets destroyed.

MAINGEAR has just unveiled its new high-performance 16-inch gaming laptop co-developed with CLEVO, designed inside of a slim chassis with up to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU. Check it out:

The new MAINGEAR Super 16 gaming laptop features up to the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, the RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU (140W) with Max-Q technology, inside of a 16-inch display with a native 2560 x 1600 (16:10 aspect) resolution, a huge 300Hz refresh rate, NVIDIA G-SYNC support, and a sub-8ms response time.

MAINGEAR CEO Wallace Santos explains: "Super 16 delivers the performance and quality MAINGEAR is known for, now in a more accessible and portable form. Despite its thin chassis, it's packed with high-performance specs, delivering a fantastic gaming and entertainment experience in today's most popular gaming laptop size".

Fed up with having to manually switch between light and dark modes in Windows 11? It seems there'll soon be a way to have your PC do this automatically based on the time.

That said, this isn't something Microsoft is bringing directly to Windows 11, but the functionality will arrive via PowerToys.

Windows Latest noticed that Microsoft posted about its plans for the next version of PowerToys, which is v0.95 - v0.94 has just been released - revealing that one of the features in the pot is a "new utility that can automatically switch between light and dark mode based on your schedule".

It's looking increasingly likely that Valve's next-generation all-in-one, Meta Quest-like VR headset is nearing an announcement and release. The headset, which we've previously referred to as Valve Deckard (its codename), will probably be called the Steam Frame when it launches sometime in Q4 2025.

Assuming there are no delays, the recent Steam Frame trademark by Valve, the renaming of SteamVR "Overlays" to "Frames," recent reports of the headset entering the manufacturing stage of its development, and finalized drivers for the Steam Link VR USB Dongle all point to the hardware being ready for launch.

Also, the updated 'Valve Roy' controllers for the Steam Frame are no longer marked as prototypes in drivers. And with the new controllers already in SteamVR, we can see a render of the left-hand controller recreated in Blender below.

Brightness is an integral part of a projector's specifications because it determines the type of environment and conditions in which it excels. And with a reflected projector image not being as bright as their light-generating TV counterparts, they're often associated with darkened rooms or cinemas.

In recent years, the overall brightness of projectors has improved. With XGIMI announcing a trio of stylish-looking 'Horizon 20' 4K home theater projectors, the flagship Horizon 20 Max features an impressive (and frankly jaw-dropping) 5,700 ISO lumens brightness rating. To put that into perspective, this is over double the brightness of the XGIMI Horizon Pro 4K Projector we reviewed a couple of years ago. This makes it bright enough to be used during the day in a standard living room.

Of course, brightness isn't an indicator of image quality, fine detail, and color accuracy. Still, the specs also note that it supports 110% BT.2020 color coverage and a 20,000:1 contrast ratio alongside IMAX Enhanced, Dolby Vision, and HDR10. However, it's the Horizon 20 Max's gaming features that sound just as impressive as its overall peak brightness.

Star Wars fans with a few extra million to spare will probably want to take note of this auction, which is ending soon. Darth Vader's Lightsaber, the actual prop used in both Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983), is currently bidding at $1.2 million, with an estimated value of up to $3 million.

This iconic movie prop was constructed using a retro English camera flash bulb attachment from the 1950s, items from an old digital calculator, and other various bits and pieces. Although multiple Lightsabers, or "laser swords," were created for characters like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker for filming, the version we see was a dueling variant specifically designed for the iconic scenes between Darth and Luke from the original trilogy.

As a dueling variant, it features a blade attachment, and images from Propstore Auction indicate that it has suffered some wear and tear, including scuff marks, over the years. Still, the actual Lightsaber wielded by Darth Vader from The Empire Strikes Back has to be one of the most impressive props from the original trilogy.

A few months ago, we reported on two of the biggest entertainment studios in Hollywood, Disney and Universal, suing the AI company Midjourney for copyright infringement. The lawsuit didn't pull any punches, with the entertainment giants calling Midjourney and its AI-powered image and animation generation tools a "copyright free-rider" and "a bottomless pit of plagiarism."

We can now add Warner Bros. Discovery to the list of entertainment companies suing Midjourney for copyright infringement. "Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, and Scooby-Doo," the complaint reads. "These are some of the most popular and valuable fictional characters ever created, and they (and many other characters) are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery," it continues, adding that only Warner Bros. Discovery has the right to create content and build a business around copyrighted characters.

The complaint is similarly strongly worded as previous lawsuits filed against Midjourney, stating that "Midjourney thinks it is above the law" and that the company could "easily stop its theft and exploitation" of its intellectual property.

Wi-Fi 7 is the latest standard for at-home wireless networking, offering a significant improvement over Wi-Fi 6E while maintaining backward compatibility with all existing Wi-Fi technologies. ASUS's new TUF Gaming BE9400 Tri-Band WiFi 7 Router has been designed to tap into the next-gen wireless speed of Wi-Fi 7, while also providing gaming-friendly features like a dedicated wired 2.5G LAN port that is "optimized for smooth online gaming."

Which is great to see; however, the TUF Gaming BE9400 is the sort of router you'd want to pair with the latest motherboards that support the new wireless standard. With Wi-Fi 7's 320 MHz wide channels, that's triple the bandwidth compared to Wi-Fi 6E's 120 MHz. With 4K-QAM and Multi-Link Operation (MLO) technologies, you also gain increased traffic speed and efficiency, covering a large area.

For the TUF Gaming BE9400 Tri-Band WiFi 7 Router, that's 9400 Mbps of tri-band throughput across 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz bands, with a coverage area of 2,500 square feet. The router also includes three 2.5G LAN ports (with one specifically optimized for gaming) and one 2.5G WAN port. As an ASUS wireless router, it also features AiProtection-powered security features alongside pre-installed VPNs.

NVIDIA has confirmed its next-gen Vera Rubin AI AI platform isn't delayed, and that it's on track for release in the second half of 2026, with all 6 of its chips taped out at TSMC already.

According to JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur who attended an investor group meeting with Toshiya Hari, the VP of AI and strategic finance at NVIDIA, walked away with an upbeat view on the demand profile for NVIDIA's current-gen AI GPUs and the upcoming production cadence of its next-gen Vera Rubin AI platform.

NVIDIA is pumping out its new Blackwell Ultra GB300 AI GPUs and AI servers, with Sur noting that the ramp-up of Blackwell AI chips: "we believe NVIDIA's 12-month forward order book continues to outstrip supply". He reinstates his previous "overweight" rating on NVIDIA stock, lifting his price target 26% from $170 to $215.

Flash memory and SSD technology are now the standard for high-capacity internal and external storage solutions. What sets TEAMGROUP's new T-CREATE EXPERT P34F Find My External SSD apart from the pack can be found in its name. According to the company, it's the world's first external SSD with built-in location tracking.

However, it's an external SSD designed for Apple devices and users, as its seamless location tracking is compatible with the Apple 'Find My' app. When paired with a compatible Apple device, you can get "precise location tracking and audible alerts" for the T-CREATE EXPERT P34F to pinpoint its exact location. This makes it an excellent choice for Mac, iPad, and iPhone users who require additional on-the-go storage.

A very cool design touch for the T-CREATE EXPERT P34F Find My External SSD is that it also has a small internal speaker that "emits sound alerts within range." TEAMGROUP notes that adding location tracking to an external SSD not only reduces the risk of loss but also enhances security.

NVIDIA hasn't slowed down with progress on its cloud gaming service GeForce NOW, with its RTX 5080 upgrade dropping on September 10 supporting up to 5K @ 120FPS.

The new RTX 5080 upgrade for GeForce NOW will support 5K resolutions at both 60FPS and 120FPS, as well as 1440p @ 240FPS and 1080p @ 360FPS. NVIDIA is opening up the ray tracing floodgates on GeForce NOW with gamers able to turn on full ray-tracing support in games with Neural Rendering and Multi-Frame Generation, all at the same $19.99 per month cost of GeForce NOW Ultimate.

NVIDIA said: "On Wednesday, September 10, NVIDIA Blackwell RTX is coming to GeForce NOW. To celebrate, next week's GeForce Now announcements will come a day earlier to usher in the Blackwell era of GeForce Now".

Samsung has just unveiled two new tablets, the Galaxy Tab S11 and the new flagship Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, which will compete against the Apple M4 iPad Pro.

The new Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra measures in just as thin as the 13-inch OLED iPad Pro powered by Apple's new in-house M4 processor, at just 5.1mm thick. Samsung packs in a bigger 14.6-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, with a smoother 120Hz refresh rate, an anti-reflective coating, and peak brightness of 1600 nits.

Inside, Samsung is powering its new Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra with a competitor's processor, not using an in-house Exynos processor. The new Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is powered by the Dimensity 9400+ chip joined by 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage, which is also upgradeable through a microSD card slot up to a bigger 2TB of storage.

Chinese tech companies are willing to pay $24,000 for each of NVIDIA's new China-specific B30A AI GPUs, and are eager to have their H20 AI GPU orders processed ASAP.

In a new report from Reuters, the outlet reports that its sources said Chinese tech companies like Alibaba and TikTok parent company ByteDance are eager to have their H20 AI GPU orders processed, and are willing to pay $24,000 for NVIDIA's next-gen China-specific B30A AI GPU.

Chinese AI developers in all sizes with small and medium-sized businesses continue to prefer NVIDIA AI GPU offerings as they provide better software integration and performance in chip clusters, even in the midst of the Chinese government aggressively pushing local companies to rely on domestic AI chips, going as far as mandating government clusters to feature at least 50% domestic AI chips.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is a "AAAAA" game and nothing will come close to it says the co-founder of Devolver Digital, it's bigger than anything else in terms of scope and scale, and the cultural impact that GTA 6 will have when it releases in 2026.

In a new interview with IGN and Devolver Digital co-founder Nigel Lowrie, we find out how hyped Nigel is for GTA 6, where he said: "I mean, there are AAA games and then there's AAAA games and I'd argue that Grand Theft Auto is potentially the AAAAA game; it's just bigger than anything else both in the scope and scale of the game and the kind of cultural impact that it has and the attention it demands".

Ubisoft called Skull & Bones a "AAAA" game which saw many-a-meme and jokes made about it, but Lowrie's new comments on GTA 6 are quite interesting. Lowrie discussed GTA 6 against the backdrop of Devolver Digital considering if it would delay some of its games to get out of Rockstar's way for GTA 6 when it due out in 2025. He said that GTA 6 is "blinding" when it comes to the calendar, but the developer hasn't delayed any of its games... so far.

Ghost of Yotei's new gameplay footage gives a quick glimpse at the brutal two-handed odachi greatsword in action.

The fearsome odachi is one of the weapons that Atsu will wield in her bloody quest for revenge in Ghost of Yotei. Although colossal in size, the odachi is lethal and graceful in Atsu's well-trained hands as she delivers a whirling dance of death and dismemberment. The footage shows multiple dodges as well as a block-parry that delivers a lethal slice, highlighting the weapon's versatility and surprising speed.

Combat with the odachi looks fluid, punishing, and satisfying, delivering a mix of high-damage attacks and strikes with quick slices and a lot of block range. There's a whirlwind spinning attack where Atsu charges up power for a devastating kill strike, and some multi-step combo attacks. We even get to see Atsu do a pre-emptive attack into the enemies, leaping off her horse and in an explosive pommel strike.

The Switch 2 debuted in the middle of Summer, an unconventional timeframe for a major console launch, and new reports indicate this timing was due to multiple hardware delays.

The Switch 2 could have launched sooner than it did (analysts also believe it could've been cheaper, too). Nintendo apparently pushed back the Switch 2's launch more than once, but for good reason.

Sources tell Bloomberg's Takashi Mochizuki that Nintendo was asked multiple times by its internal development teams to delay the system, chiefly so that they'd have enough time to make the games look and feel faultless on the new hardware.