Latest News - Page 77

Apple's foldable iPhone, likely called the "iPhone Ultra," has hit a major roadblock with its hinge design, stalling trial production as the company struggles to meet its own quality control standards.

The issue centers on the hinge's durability under high-frequency use, a critical flaw that could delay the device's launch. Leaker "Instant Digital" revealed that the hinge is failing to maintain structural integrity over time, leading to mechanical wear that Apple deems unacceptable.

The company is reportedly using Liquid Metal (also known as metallic glass) in the hinge for the first time in a major component, a material known for its resistance to deformation and improved durability. Despite this, the hinge remains the primary bottleneck in the foldable's development.

Microsoft is pulling the plug on a controversial security flaw in Edge after a researcher exposed how it was storing user passwords in plaintext in RAM, raising security concerns and subsequent backlash that followed after the discovery.

Starting with version 148 of the browser, Edge will no longer load saved passwords into memory in cleartext at startup, effectively removing the risk of malware or malicious insiders siphoning credentials with minimal effort. The issue came to light when Norwegian security researcher Tom Jøran Sønstebyseter Rønning demonstrated that all stored Edge passwords were decrypted and loaded into memory as soon as the browser launched, even if they weren't actively being used.

Other Chromium-based browsers don't behave this way, and Rønning found Edge to be the only browser among those he tested that kept all passwords in plaintext at once. Microsoft initially defended the behavior, calling it a deliberate design choice. But with the public outcry and the potential for real-world exploitation, the company has seemingly reversed its course.

For small businesses, designers, and creators, creating and maintaining a professional brand identity can be difficult, costly, and time-consuming. But it doesn't have to be. Whether you're running a local coffee shop or bakery, a restaurant, a fashion label, a bar, or creating and selling handmade goods, Zawa AI is a free, powerful, and professional Creative AI Agent built for all things branding.

From logo design to generating marketing materials, everything is simple, intuitive, and in-depth. Built specifically for small businesses, Zawa AI leverages the latest, powerful AI models to create a fully formed AI agent that can act as your business's very own graphic design, public relations, and marketing department.

And this is evident in Zawa's AI Logo Generator, which does much more than help you create a brand logo and visual identity through a simple process that takes your business name, industry, and style preferences into account. With a deep well of modern design trends, colors, layouts, and expertise, Zawa's AI Logo Generator delivers multiple professional options in minutes.

Microsoft has finally admitted that faulty drivers have been silently draining Windows 11 battery life and hurting performance for years, and now the company is taking the steps to fix the problem.

At WinHEC 2026, Microsoft announced a complete overhaul of its driver evaluation process, shifting from a crash-only focus to one that also penalizes poor performance, power consumption, and heat generation. This change addresses a long-standing blind spot in Windows, where drivers could be labelled "stable" even if they caused battery drain or system lag without outright crashing.

Essentially, Microsoft has admitted that faulty third-party drivers have been slowly killing Windows 11 battery life for years, and the company is now implementing a more rigorous evaluation process that will focus on the aforementioned areas in order to reduce brain drainage.

Sony's recent annual earnings report shows that physical media is still going strong at PlayStation, although the numbers are indeed decreasing year over year.

Sony's FY25 results highlight the games industry's long-running trend of digital-first earnings. Sony's games division earns most of its money from digital thanks to the potent combination of microtransactions and full game sales. Despite digital's dominance, the group is still shipping tens of millions of game discs every year.

Last year, Sony recorded that there were 69.9 million PlayStation game discs shipped throughout FY25. That's a reduction of 2.9 million from FY24 (down nearly -4%), but still representative of strong demand for physical media.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has once again confirmed the release date for Grand Theft Auto 6, amid ongoing concerns about the game's development timeline and if fans will have to endure yet another delay announcement from Rockstar Games.

In a recent interview, Zelnick explained that GTA 6 is approximately 18 months behind its original internal target, but still on schedule for a late 2026 release. This reaffirms the company's continued confidence in the launch window, even as rumors of delays, speculative pre-order dates, and intense price estimations bubble online.

The confirmation comes as Take-Two continues to manage expectations around Rockstar's flagship title. Zelnick's remarks align with previous statements that the company is prioritizing quality over speed, ensuring that the game meets the high standards Rockstar has set for its open-world experiences.

GTA 6 pre-orders are live in Italy, but the timing and availability have raised many questions as to whether it's a genuine early leak, or simply an opportunistic retailer looking to take advantage of hype surrounding the latest GTA rumor.

Recently, rumors began flying that Rockstar was preparing to open pre-orders for Grand Theft Auto 6, and since the developer and the publisher, Take-Two Interactive have not dismissed the rumors, hype began to build. Now, Italian retailer ShowGame is listing GTA 6 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X at €69.99, the same price as what would be considered a typical AAA game. However, the ShowGame listing states GTA 6 pre-orders are currently sold out.

The listing, first spotted by a Reddit user, shows the game as available for pre-order, with shipping options limited to Italy, another red flag in my book. The price aligns with early rumors and speculation, but the sudden appearance of a pre-order page amid some of the hottest pre-orders rumors for GTA 6, and that pre-order page only being locked to Italy, causes intense speculation.

Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-order speculation has exploded again, with a newly spotted Walmart backend edit recently adding more fuel to the theory that Rockstar is preparing to open the floodgates to pre-orders quite soon.

The latest rumor comes from users on Reddit and GTAForums, who claim Walmart now has a backend listing tied to Grand Theft Auto 6. The key detail is a product ID that reportedly continues to surface as GTA 6 even when the visible URL text is changed, suggesting it may be attached to an actual Walmart database entry rather than a simple search result.

This comes only days after a separate Best Buy affiliate email suggested GTA 6 pre-orders could begin on May 18, with PC Gamer noting that multiple creators claimed to have received the same message. However, there are conflicting reports.

AOC's U27V6RL/WW is a 27-inch dual-mode monitor that delivers 4K resolution at up to 80 Hz for productivity and Full HD at 310 Hz for competitive gaming.

The display leverages BOE Circular Polarization technology to reduce glare and eye strain, a feature typically found in high-end professional screens. The monitor is built around a dual-mode concept, allowing users to toggle between resolutions and refresh rates depending on their workload.

This flexibility positions the U27V6RL/WW as a hybrid solution for users who need both high-resolution detail and fast response times in one device. The BOE tech is said to mimic natural light to improve visual comfort over long sessions, and this isn't the first time AOC has implemented the technology into a display, as we saw it with the Q27G4SL/WS, a 27-inch 1440p Fast IPS gaming monitor with a 320Hz refresh rate.

In a cheekily titled new YouTube video, 'Year of the Linux Desktop,' which refers to the longstanding meme that everyone will ditch Windows for Linux, Discord announced a comprehensive, massive update to the popular social platform for PC gamers. As the name suggests, it's all about improving Discord on Linux with official support by adding much-needed overhauls and upgrades.

As part of the update, targeting Debian, Fedora, and Arch distributions, dedicated hardware video encoding is now supported on AMD, Intel, and NVIDIA graphics cards. In addition, there's Gamescope Vulkan support, developed by Valve and popularized on the Steam Deck, for screenshot and gameplay capture, which significantly reduces hardware costs. Best of all, the app now feels native on Linux with automatic updates.

In the video, Discord makes special mention of the Steam Deck, citing the new update as improving handheld performance and battery life, and reducing overhead when using Discord's various chat, video, and capture features. The Steam Deck, which runs a custom Arch Linux SteamOS build, is widely viewed as the gold standard for PC gaming on Linux, thanks to its robust console-like interface and ability to run full-featured apps in desktop mode.

We got the chance to try out ASUS's ROG XREAL R1 Gaming AR Glasses at CES 2026 earlier this year. We were immediately impressed with its micro-OLED technology and ability to project a massive 171-inch virtual screen with a 240 Hz refresh rate and 0.01ms response time. This week, ASUS announced that global pre-orders for ROG XREAL R1 Gaming AR Glasses are now open, with current pricing at $849.99 on Best Buy.

ASUS notes that since their debut at CES, the ROG XREAL R1 Gaming AR Glasses have undergone "months of meticulous optimization" and are now positioned as a device offering "universal compatibility" with the gaming handheld market, including the ROG Ally lineup. When paired with the right gear and software, you've got intuitive controls and the ability to manage multiple PC, console, and handheld inputs via the included ROG Control Dock.

Some of the coolest features we got to experience at CES 2026 have also made their way into the final retail model, including the ability to anchor the virtual screen in an environment, making it feel more like a large physical display. On top of this, you've got the sort of direct control you'd expect from a premium display, with the ability to adjust brightness, screen size, aspect ratio, tint levels, and more, in real-time.

PC gamers playing the latest titles will be more than aware of shader compilation, a process that can take a few minutes to complete, and one that's a requirement before you can jump into the action. Microsoft's Advanced Shader Delivery, part of the DirectX ecosystem, is designed to remove this requirement by creating hardware-specific profiles that download and install alongside a game, reducing initial load time by up to 95%.

In addition, like the shader compilation process, it eliminates shader stutter for a smoother gaming experience. In partnership with AMD, Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) was first deployed and available for ROG Xbox Ally handheld gamers in preview form, and this week that partnership is expanding to Windows 11 PCs with discrete Radeon GPUs. And it's already available for Forza Horizon 6.

Microsoft notes that on compatible GPUs, it reduces initial load times by up to 95%, getting you into that first race in seconds rather than minutes. "With Advanced Shader Delivery, Forza Horizon 6 loads in 4 seconds, as compared to almost 1.5 minutes - that's an overall 95% time savings," the announcement confirms, noting that this refers to running the game on a Radeon RX 7600 GPU.

MSI has unveiled a new gaming monitor first, with the MSI MAG OLED 271QPX32 being the world's first 27-inch WQHD QD-OLED with five-layer or Penta Tandem panel technology. This represents a notable evolution in Samsung's QD-OLED technology and includes five stacked blue-emitting layers that improve brightness, efficiency, HDR performance, and panel lifespan.

With its advanced 4th-generation QD-OLED panel with Penta Tandem technology, the new MSI MAG OLED 271QPX32 sports impressive specs, with a 2560x1440 (WQHD) resolution, 320 Hz refresh rate, VRR support, and 0.03ms (GtG) response time. With its 60-degree viewing angle and 83% brightness, it joins MSI's full QD-OLED lineup in receiving QuantumView verification from UL Solutions. MSI notes that this is a big improvement over the 44% luminance retention on conventional OLED monitors.

Other notable certifications include VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 and VESA ClearMR 15000, which basically mean you're getting uniform brightness with excellent shadow detail alongside MSI's DarkArmor Film technology for additional enhancements like a 40% improvement to "pure black levels" and better scratch resistance on the screen.

The Resident Evil franchise breaks 200 million cumulative sales as the franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary, highlighting one of gaming's best-selling series of all time.

The iconic Resident Evil franchise is one of the most enduring mainstays of the gaming world, helping define multiple console generations across the last three decades. As the series celebrates 30 years of terror this year, Capcom has announced that Resident Evil has now crossed over 200 million copies sold, with the major sales threshold broken by the highly successful RE9 Requiem.

Capcom's latest earnings report gives an update on its top sellers, including Resident Evil, which is now at 201 million driven by the strong sales performance of the franchise throughout FY25. According to the numbers, the publisher sold 26.76 million Resident Evil games in the period, and a quarter of the franchise's total-year sales alone were from the ninth game, Requiem.

AMD launched the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition in March 2026 to mixed reviews. While reviewers and enthusiasts appreciated the technological achievement of the dual 3D cache design, it was not a significant upgrade over the regular 9950X3D in gaming tasks, and it was way more expensive. Carrying a hefty $900 price tag, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 is not a cheap processor to buy, so you can imagine how one would feel if you got shortchanged for a 9950X3D instead.

That is what happened to one Personality-Pleasant over on Reddit, who claims to have bought a Ryzen 9 9950X3D2 Dual Edition from Amazon, only to get a Ryzen 9 9950X3D in the box instead. The redditor posted on the r/GamersNexus subreddit that they can clearly see through the packaging that the CPU's heatspreader says "AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D." This leaves them with a CPU that is currently $200-$250 cheaper.

What's more important in the poster's story is that the box was fully sealed, yet the processor was not correct. This leaves us with three possibilities. One: an error was made in the packaging of the CPU at AMD, which put a 9950X3D in a 9950X3D2 box. Two: an error was made in engraving the heatspreader, and that is indeed a 9950X3D2 CPU. Third, and by far the most likely, the CPU inside was replaced after removing and carefully reapplying the factory seal.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is probably the most anticipated game of the decade, and it's hard to think about a comparable piece of media that has had such a cultural and social impact. We recently covered the rumor that GTA 6 pre-orders might open on Monday, May 18th. However, new information has recently surfaced about the GTA 6 early access process and the game's marketing cycle.

The gaming industry saw three major game leaks this year, with Forza Horizon 6 likely the most impactful. The game leaked online a whole 10 days before release, and something similar happened to Subnautica 2 and PRAGMATA as well. Although the source of the leak has not yet been confirmed, Playground Games suspects an insider, while it is widely speculated that the source of the leak for these games was a third-party reviewer.

With these developments in mind, it looks like Rockstar Games is about to change the review and early access cycle for Grand Theft Auto 6. According to a Brazilian journalist with a solid track record, Rockstar Games will not send any review copies to journalists, media, or content creators ahead of the GTA 6 launch. The early review process will instead take place on-site, with Rockstar sending creators to a specific physical location to play GTA 6.

Final Fantasy XI celebrates its 24th anniversary by making it easier than ever for new players to try it out.

Square Enix's original Final Fantasy XI MMO launched on the PS2 way back in 2002 in Japan, making it the first such game to launch on the PlayStation 2, and the first-ever cross-play MMORPG.

Now the publisher is marking the 24-year anniversary with a major promotion that extends FFXI's free trial in perpetuity. With the free trial, users can play the base game for free up until level 75.

Google was very stingy with information about the new Googlebook series of laptops, said to be designed around the Gemini AI model. The company did not unveil much about the hardware at all; instead, it focused on a few new features, such as the Magic Pointer and Widget Creator. Then, Intel officially announced its partnership with Google on the hardware powering the new Googlebook. Thanks to an old shipping manifest, we may have a hint about what CPU lineup will actually be used in Googlebooks.

Last year, a shipping manifest surfaced mentioning a Chromebook laptop with Intel's Panther Lake 12 Xe3 CPUs. This Chromebook, "Felino," was spotted in the manifest before Panther Lake was even officially unveiled, which makes it rather interesting. The code on the manifest is PTL 12Xe, which corresponds pretty well with Panther Lake as we know it today. Furthermore, this "Chromebook" had this CPU months before anyone knew about Googlebook.

We do not know which Panther Lake CPU is specifically mentioned, but all Core Ultra 300-series CPUs with 12 Xe3 cores are high-end SKUs, with up to 16 cores. Therefore, this laptop was a high-end model, probably targeting a premium segment. Looking back, this high-end Chromebook was either scrapped or, more likely, it will be repurposed into a top-end Googlebook variant. Of course, Panther Lake was delayed multiple times, so this laptop might have been released with a different CPU.

Intel's Wildcat Lake is finally making its retail debut, with the first wave of laptops hitting shelves in China tomorrow. Honor is among the first out of the gate with its MagicBook X14 2026. Though the company is keeping the official price sticker under wraps, the storefront's installment calculator suggests a sharp ~$650 entry point for the mainstream 16GB/512GB model.

Honor's MagicBook X14 is part of its thin-and-light, affordable Windows laptop series. For now, listings remain exclusive to Honor's Chinese storefront, with sales expected to go live tomorrow, May 18th. A larger variant, the MagicBook X16, should follow in short order as well, being among the teased models at the Wildcat Lake launch.

As it stands, we've seen only one global listing for Wildcat Lake: HP's Omnibook 5 at an eye-watering $1,229. In any case, Intel has a sizeable list of partners with an international presence, including Lenovo, MSI, Acer, ASUS, and Dell. It is projected that Google's forthcoming Googlebooks may also be powered by these chips.

As AI continues its meteoric growth, security and privacy concerns are rising along with it. On a massive video-sharing platform such as YouTube, these concerns are doubly important, since AI-generated content can not only misappropriate someone's likeness in photographic form but also "deepfake" a person into saying and doing things they would never have. Thankfully, YouTube is now taking steps to minimize the threat posed by deepfakes to its creators.

According to a post on the community page by Team YouTube, the platform is giving all creators over 18 access to a deepfake detection tool that can determine whether their face or likeness has been used in other AI-generated videos across the platform. This is a major security and privacy feature that can help creators stay alert about whether their face has been used in other users' content without their permission.

Team YouTube states that the goal behind this initiative was to provide its creators with "peace of mind" by giving them early access to the unauthorized content if it is detected. The creators can then request the removal of said content if an unauthorized likeness is detected. YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon told The Verge that anyone can use the tool, even though it is technically only available to creators.