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Diamonds, Crescents and Wildcats: Intel shows off its hardware for the next generation of agentic AI workloads

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 19:40
  • Intel shows three agentic AI architectures at Hot Chips 2026: the 256-core Diamond Rapids Xeon, the Crescent Island inference GPU, and the already-shipping Wildcat Lake client SoC
  • Diamond Rapids matches AMD's EPYC Venice on cores and bandwidth but arrives in 2027 with half the threads, while Wildcat Lake's 17 TOPS NPU falls short of Copilot+'s 40+ TOPS certification
  • Intel's Crescent Island will support up to 480 GB via third-party partner cards, but the Intel-branded variant will be limited to 160 GB, even as it currently does not publish the memory bandwidth that determines its token economics.

Intel used its slot at Hot Chips 2026 to lay out three architectures it says will carry agentic AI from the rack to the laptop.

The already-shipping Wildcat Lake Core Series 3 SoC is for mainstream client and edge machines, Crescent Island is an inference-optimized data center GPU, and Diamond Rapids is its next-generation enterprise-class data center CPU that can be configured with up to 256 cores.

Pushkar Ranade, Intel's chief technology officer, said in a statement accompanying the announcement that agentic AI is changing how the company designs computing from the transistor upward.

Plenty of compute promises, sans some GPU numbers

Intel's Diamond Rapids, which it plans to brand as Xeon 7, is where the chipmaker provides the most information, unsurprisingly, in an industry that plans purchases and upgrades years in advance.

Its flagship offering can encompass as many as 256 cores, backed by 1.28G of fast last-level cache, 16 memory channels, 128 PCIe 6 lanes, and CXL 3.0. ServeTheHome reported that the maximum configuration uses 16-core chiplets, built on Intel's 18A-P process node.

Rival chipmaker AMD also offers a 256-core trim: the EPYC 9996, built on TSMC's 2nm node, keeps hyperthreading in play, effectively doubling its thread count versus Intel's flagship.

Its Crescent Island GPU is arguably the most interesting design of the three, but the least detailed: a 350W air-cooled PCIe card built on its Xe3P GPU architecture, with 32 cores feeding 256 third-generation XMX engines and 32 MB of unified L2 cache. It surprisingly uses LPDDR5X rather than HBM, but the choice seems rationalized to offer capacity at a power and cost profile that lets Intel compete meaningfully with Nvidia and AMD.

Interestingly, the 480GB figure Intel touts in its press release isn't what it will ship; Intel-branded cards cap at 160GB, and 480GB is a ceiling available to ODM partners building their own configurations. Intel also remains mum on memory bandwidth specifics and told Chips and Cheese it won't disclose the figure; this is crucial for many AI applications, as memory bandwidth determines decode throughput, and decode throughput essentially determines token economics.

Of the three architectures that Intel talked about, Wildcat Lake is the only one you can pick up off a shelf (as a miniPC or laptop) today; it launched as Intel's Core Series 3. Intel stated that it replaced the Foveros packaging used in Panther Lake with an organic multi-chip package, eliminating the base die and, with it, assembly cost and yield loss. Compute die area fell by 38 percent, and I/O tile area by 15 percent.

The 17 TOPS NPU available to such CPUs sits well below the 40 TOPS Microsoft requires for Copilot+ certification. The 40 TOPS Intel cites is a platform total across CPU, GPU, and NPU, which arguably can be met elsewhere, but it's a sticking point for the chipmaker's AI push, which has otherwise been concentrated on capturing enterprise and hyperscale customers.

Categories: Technology

‘Decent visuals, useful satellite speakers, and handy portability’ — testing the Soundcore Nebula P1, I’ve been impressed how many quality features it offers for its modest price

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 19:00
Soundcore Nebula P1: One-minute review

The Soundcore Nebula P1 is a fun product. It takes some of the cool ideas the brand had with the Nebula X1 and boils them down into a much cheaper projector.

The result is a $799 / £699.99 / AU$1,299.99 1080p projector with a modest 650-lumen output. This makes it a bit limited, as you’ll need a dark space and can’t shine too big an image. But for pop-up movie nights and fun little setups in the backyard, it’s up to the task. It even has slight waterproofing to protect against unforeseen weather.

Its wireless satellite speakers are the Nebula P1’s big party trick, giving it a nice, wide soundstage that most of its competitors simply can’t match. That said, anyone who already owns a pair of Bluetooth speakers with a stereo mode probably can work something out themselves.

The Nebula P1 is a good package, but it relies on the whole package to drive home that value. It’s not far off from the Hisense M2 Pro, and the JMGO N1S Pro 4K has seen some sales that put it dangerously close in price to the P1, and both of those have far superior projection. But where portability and outdoor-worthiness count, the P1 still has an advantage.

(Image credit: Future)Soundcore Nebula P1 review: Price & release date
  • Release date: October 2025
  • Price: $799 / £699 / AU$1,299

The Soundcore Nebula P1 launched in late 2025 with an initial price of $799 / £699 / AU$1,299. Since then it has seen occasional discounts, which are fairly common for products in this category. These have lowered it to around $700 several times and gone as low as $639. Deals like these are worth watching out for, as they’ll save you a considerable amount and help the Nebula P1 stand clear of some of its tougher competition.

Soundcore Nebula P1 review: Specs

Screen sizes supported

<180 inches

Brightness (specified)

650 Lumens

Optical technology

3 Laser DLP

Smart TV

Google TV

Connections

1x USB-A, 1x 3.5mm audio out, 1x HDMI 2.1 (with eARC), 1x USB-C power

Dimensions

4.9 x 5.1 x 11.2 inches / 124 x 130 x 284mm

Weight

5.3 lbs / 2.4kg

(Image credit: Future)Soundcore Nebula P1 review: Design & features
  • Integrated gimbal stand
  • Detachable Bluetooth speakers
  • USB-C power

The Soundcore Nebula P1 takes some of the lessons the company learned with the Nebula X1 and pairs it with some of the tricks designed for the Nebula X1 Pro. But it's shrunk all of this down and simplified it to fit in a smaller, more portable, and (chiefly) more affordable package.

The Nebula P1 weighs 5.3 lbs / 2.4kg compared to the Nebula X1 Pro $4,000+ behemoth, takes up less than 300 cubic inches / five liters of space, and still combines a projector with a wireless sound system, albeit only a 2.0-channel one.

It’s a funky little projector. The whole unit comes together in a little column just about five inches / 127mm wide and deep and under a foot / 300mm tall. The actual projection unit sits within a frame and swivels vertically to untuck, revealing its lens in the front and its HDMI, USB-A, and 3.5mm ports on the rear. It keeps power separate, coming through a USB-C port at the base of the frame via an included Anker power brick (it can also work with separate power adapters of high enough wattage).

(Image credit: Future)

The top of the projector holds two small speaker units. These are rather loosely secured with small clasps at each corner controlled by a small switch on the back of the unit. They haven’t fallen loose during testing, but they might if you tried to carry the projector by the speakers. Fortunately, with its built-in carrying strap, the Nebula P1 is easy to tote.

Once you've plunked the Nebula P1 down, you just aim the projection where you want it, and then grab the wireless speakers and set them in ideal positions for quality stereo audio — something that's sorely lacking in this kind of projector despite claims otherwise.

The projector has Google TV built in, so it doesn’t need to rely on an external HDMI source. And the 20-hour battery life of the speakers should get you through some epic binge watching. With IP33 protection on the projector and IP54 on the speakers, you can even set up outdoors without worrying about a few stray raindrops ruining the show, though you’ll still want to guard your power source.

When you’re done watching, the projector can fold back up. The speakers can plop back onto the top where they’ll charge via pogo pins, and you’re good to go. Also, as the speakers automatically sleep when the projector shuts down, they won't just die if you ever forget to put them back on the charging pad. They also have USB-C charging ports as a backup. And, yes, they still work if they’re on top of the projector.

Unfortunately, they do slowly drain over time and the pogo pins aren't perfectly reliable. After letting them sit for a longer time on top of the projector, I came back to watch something and found that one of the speakers had not recharged and was dead.

(Image credit: Future)

There are a few small gripes with the design of this system. For one, it makes a common mistake of gimbal-mounted projectors: ignoring other necessary corrections. It’s easy to aim the projector vertically, but if it’s sitting on a sideways slant, however subtle, there are no feet to adjust and correct this.

The frame also stands in the way of being able to point the projector straight up at ceilings. Putting the HDMI port on the back of the projection unit rather than the frame, while likely done to simplify internal circuitry, means the cable can push on the unit and shift its angle. The speakers also don’t clearly indicate when they’ve securely latched back into place.

Aside from the gimbal and focus, the Nebula P1 relies on digital image adjustments. That is to say, if you need to make corrections like keystone, zoom, or rotation, you’ll be forced to crop the projection.

The Nebula P1 supports fairly extensive adjustments, but since they reduce usable pixels, it’s best to find a setup that requires as little adjustment as possible. While a lot of projectors will try to do extensive correction and framing automatically with a front-facing camera, the Nebula P1 only does keystone and focus, relying on a user’s phone camera and app connection for any further automatic correction.

A compact little unit, the Nebula P1’s remote control offers standard Google TV controls and shortcuts to YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Video. Conveniently, it has a motion sensor that illuminates many of its face buttons automatically, which really helps in the kind of dark environment you'll be using a projector.

  • Design & features score: 3.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Soundcore Nebula P1 review: Picture quality & performance
  • Decent picture with the right setting
  • Intelligible audio with a (potentially) wide soundstage

The Soundcore Nebula P1 may not have the specs to compete with the movie theaters, but it serves up a respectable picture for some fun at-home watching or outdoor movie night setups.

It’s not super bright, so it really calls for dim or completely dark spaces for the best experience, but you can get by watching bright and colorful content even with some ambient light in the room. HDR content can even pop in a dark environment. The projector’s color is solid and most things look lifelike without oversaturation. It doesn’t match the range covered by triple-laser projectors, but it’s not altogether disappointing. For a projector of its price, the Nebula P1 performs pretty well.

Perhaps its biggest setback is its 1080p resolution, which is exceedingly common in projectors under $1,000. If you go too large, much past about a hundred-inch image, you can start to see the gaps between the pixels with a screen door effect that is all the more prominent on bright pictures. But as long as you don’t project too big an image or sit too close, that’s also a setback that’s easily avoided.

(Image credit: Future)

By default, the projector has a few regrettable behaviors, but these can be tamed. Firstly, almost every picture profile has poor-looking motion interpolation enabled. While this usually looks bad enough, it’s especially bad here because the processing isn’t quite up to the task of quality interpolation. Films and animation immediately look better with this disabled.

The projector also shows a tendency to over-sharpen to make up for its 1080p resolution. This isn’t always apparent, but when the projector displays scenes with lots of fine details — building textures, hair strands, and the like — there’s a lot of visible and distracting aliasing. Dialing down the sharpening to level ‘4’ thoroughly improved this without creating too soft a picture.

The NebulaMaster picture preset might seem like it should be the ideal one, but it has a knack for taking the issues I found and wrapping them all into one. The projector performs much better in the Movie setting.

Unfortunately, the contrast isn't stunning. Black levels don't sink to a pitch black or even close to it. You'll just see a hazy gray in large black areas, which makes dark, night scenes look a fair bit poorer than brighter ones. That’s not uncommon for budget projectors, and even premium models can struggle with black levels.

(Image credit: Future)

Gaming performance is also mixed. Using the projector’s special gaming picture mode, input latency is very low, making it easy enough to play fast-paced games like Hades without issue. That said, the game mode doesn’t allow for digital image correction, and thus undoes any keystone and zoom. In any other picture mode, correction is allowed, but input lag is plain as day and won’t make for a good experience outside of games that don’t require quick reaction.

Moving onto sound, the speakers focus highly on the mids, which helps ensure speech is intelligible. But explosive bass depth is off the cards, and music lacks fullness, while the sound profile can be a bit harsh sometimes with a little extra sibilance. On the plus side, thanks to the ability to spread the speakers out as much as you want, it’s possible to get a very wide soundstage. The speakers can also operate sitting atop the projector, but then you’ll miss out entirely on decent stereo.

  • Picture quality & performance score: 4/5
Soundcore Nebula P1 review: Value

While the Nebula P1 serves as something of a small analog to the Nebula X1 Pro, it doesn’t quite break the bank in the same way at just $799 / £699 / AU$1,299. This puts it on the affordable side of the market, and it does a fair bit for a model in this range. With serviceable brightness, a neat audio trick that avoids being gimmicky, and useful portability, it brings plenty to the table for the money.

Ultimately, the portability and sound are what help pull it away from other competitors that can do more in delivering a solid picture without costing much more.

JMGO has a fleet of projectors that have been enjoying steep discounts, making a projector with 4K visuals, the wide color gamut of RGB lasers, and substantial brightness all attainable for $1,000. But the easy portability, ability to run on USB power, and wide soundstage possible from wireless satellite speakers set the Nebula P1 apart.

  • Value score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Soundcore Nebula P1?Soundcore Nebula P1 Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design and features

The Nebula P1 is nifty with the way it integrates all its little elements. It’s not too sparing on features, and it’s conveniently portable. A little sleeve to carry the charger and remote and to better protect the whole unit on the move would have been a plus, as would a strong clamp for the wireless speaker.

3.5/5

Picture quality and performance

The Nebula P1 offers a good level of brightness, satisfying color, and a sharp enough picture for casual viewing at up to 100 inches. For the money, it’s quite respectable. The picture benefits from some quick adjustments, as the defaults have glaring issues, but there’s not too much fuss.

4/5

Value

The Nebula P1 brings a lot to the table for $799 / £699 / AU$1,299, and even more when considering frequent discounts. With decent visuals, useful satellite speakers, and portability, it’s a nice little bundle.

4/5

Buy it if...

You want wide stereo everywhere you go
The wireless speakers of the Nebula P1 are more than a gimmick. They really make shows and movies more immersive than typical projector speakers. Plenty of projectors offer portability, but few have this trick for quality stereo sound.

You want an on-the-go system with flexibility
With its carrying handle, wireless speaker system, and the ability to run on various USB-C power sources, the Nebula P1 is a more compelling on-the-go projector than a lot of its competition.

You might get caught in the rain
While there are a lot of projectors that can compete with the Nebula P1’s visuals, not a lot of them are as ready to risk a few raindrops. The Nebula P1 has enough water protection to let you relax a little bit while watching outside even when the forecast calls for a chance of rain.

Don't buy it if...

You want a massive, stunning picture
With limited brightness and 1080p resolution, the Nebula P1 just isn’t ready to drop jaws displaying a large picture. For that, you’ll likely want more than double the brightness and 4K resolution.

You already have decent speakers
A lot of Bluetooth speakers will let you link them into a stereo pair, and if you’ve already got a good set, there’s a good chance they’ll be competitive with the P1’s speakers. In that case, you can put your money toward a projector that’s more focused on quality visuals and less on sound.

You’re planning on a permanent, indoor setup
The Nebula P1 has put a lot of effort into its portability and outdoor worthiness. If you’re not looking to take advantage of that, your money can go further with a different projector.

Soundcore Nebula P1 review: Also considerComparison: projectors

Soundcore Nebula P1

JMGO N1S

Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen

JMGO N1S Ultra 4K

Price

$799 / £699 / AU$1,299

$999 / £799 (around AU$1,130)

$799 / £649 / AU$1,302.85

$1,999 / £1,478.70 / AU$2,999

Screen sizes supported

Up to 180 inches

40 to 180 inches

30 to 130 inches

85 to 180 inches

Brightness (specified)

650 lumens

900 lumens

230 ANSI lumens

2,400 ANSI lumens

HDR support

HDR10

HDR10

HDR10+, HLG

HDR10, HLG

Optical technology

4-LED DLP

3 Laser DLP

LED DLP

RGB Laser DLP

Smart TV

Google TV

Google TV

Tizen

Google TV

Connections

1x HDMI 2.1 ( with eARC), 1x USB-A , 1x 3.5mm

HDMI 2.1 ( with eARC), 1x 3.5mm

Micro-HDMI, USB-C (power)

HDMI x2 (x1 eARC), USB-A (power), 3.5mm

JMGO N1S
If you already have speakers you like (or a pair of stereo-capable Bluetooth speakers), you can get a more exciting picture from the JMGO N1S. It’s a bit brighter and looks all the more gorgeous thanks to its RGB laser projection, even if it's still just 1080p. That said, finding one is hard, and a 4K version with a bunch of other enhancements is also available for under $1,000 (see below).

Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen
Samsung has shown a knack for flexibility, and The Freestyle 2nd Gen is good in that regard. But the Nebula P1 takes the lead on brightness, sound, and easy-of-use, even if it won’t be so easy to power off a battery. Read our full Samsung The Freestyle 2nd Gen review

JMGO N1S Ultra 4K projector
This is the real threat to the Nebula P1. While the JMGO N1S Pro had a $1,999 price when it launched, it has seen that price drop by over 50%. At that price, it’s wild to see bright, RGB laser projection and a 4K picture. It’s not as portable since it requires AC power, but it does include a carrying case. And for image quality, it’s leagues better. Read our full JMGO N1S Ultra 4K projector review.

(Image credit: Future)How I tested the Soundcore Nebula P1
  • Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions
  • Presented the display with a variety of media and formats
  • I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade

I tested the Soundcore Nebula P1 at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome.

The projector was tested both against a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with streamed content, HDR and non-HDR, and PC gameplay.

My testing evaluates the projector’s performance with respect to its price and competition from other models colleagues at TechRadar and I have tested.

I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.

Categories: Technology

The US Navy wants its next drone-mounted torpedo to be able to glide silently through the air

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 18:20
  • This torpedo could glide through the air before quietly entering the ocean
  • Silent Anvil must enter the water at angles between 45 and 90 degrees
  • Its glide phase could extend submarine hunting far beyond torpedo range

The US Navy is weighing two paths toward a new class of Silent Anvil Air-Launched Torpedo (SAA-LT) meant to enter the water quietly and track threats beneath the surface.

One route involves building an entirely new torpedo designed from the ground up to glide toward its target before submerging.

The alternative approach would attach a glide kit onto a torpedo already in service, extending its reach without a full redesign.

Weight and size requirements

Officials have set strict limits on the weapon's physical dimensions, capping it at 268 pounds with a maximum length of 70 inches and a diameter reaching up to 7.5 inches.

These figures place Silent Anvil in a similar weight class to existing torpedoes, though officials have not disclosed how far the weapon must travel before impact.

By comparison, the Mark 54 torpedo currently in Navy inventory carries a range of roughly 5.7 miles, giving industry a rough benchmark even though exact figures for the new system remain undefined.

"The Government is seeking industry input on the maximum standoff glide range achievable," the Navy said.

Officials have also outlined specific launch conditions, requiring the weapon to operate across three distinct speed bands measured at Mach 0.25, 0.50 and 0.85.

Altitude requirements stretch from as low as 10 feet to as high as 60,000 feet, a ceiling that exceeds the operational limits of the P-8 Poseidon aircraft.

That upper range instead aligns more closely with the capabilities of the MQ-4C Triton, a high-altitude surveillance drone already flying missions for the fleet.

Strict water entry requirements

Engineers must also account for how the weapon behaves once it approaches the ocean surface, since prolonged airborne travel offers a stealth advantage.

"SAA-LT shall maximize aerial flight endurance while minimizing aquatic immersion time, restricting water residence strictly to the minimum duration required for successful mission execution," the Navy said.

Under the glide-kit configuration, the torpedo would need to strike the water somewhere between 45 and 90 degrees, moving at a velocity ranging from 40 to 120 feet per second.

Development is expected to move quickly once a contract is finalized, with a working prototype required within 18 months of any award.

Should that early test succeed, the program would then scale toward 180 additional units built within three years.

This effort unfolds as China has been steadily enlarging its submarine fleet in recent years, adding vessels with far greater technical capability than before.

Among these additions are unmanned underwater vehicles engineered to operate effectively across great distances without needing any human crew aboard.

In response, the US Navy is also developing a separate weapon known internally as the Long-Range Antisubmarine Warfare system, still early in testing.

That system would let torpedoes launch from tubes built into ship decks and strike enemy submarines from a much greater distance.

Via Defense News

Categories: Technology

'The best way to predict the future is to invent it' — quote of the day by physicist Dennis Gabor on the nature of innovation

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 17:00

Dennis Gabor was a Hungarian-British physicist who's widely credited with inventing holography, a photographic technique that can record and reconstruct three-dimensional images. This is an invention for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971. But his legacy extends to his philosophy on the nature of innovation

Go your own way

Gabor wrote this iconic passage in his now-extremely rare book 'Inventing the Future', in which he sketched out an optimistic vision for the future.

Quote of the day

This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here.

At the core of his belief was that there was no need to any longer passively predict what may come to pass in the years ahead. Instead, the influence and strength of science and industry was such that mankind could forge its own future.

The comments also focused on that pivot point of the industrial revolution, before which the possibilities of the future were fairly limited, in his view. As each wave of innovation comes to pass, the possibilities continue to expand.

Charting a path

There's no understating the influence that Gabor had in modern science and industry. His comments were routinely quoted, and even adopted, by others. Chief among the figures that took this philosophy to heart was Alan Kay, described as one of the true luminaries of personal computing.

Kay, whose career spanned stints at Apple and HP among other industry titans, used this idea of inventing, not predicting, the future as a core maxim from 1971. He used the phrase to inspire his work in pioneering elements like the graphical user interface and laptops many years before they were realized.

Although Gabor was a very influential figure in the technology world, his predictions weren't always on the mark. In 1962, for instance, he said sending documents via telephone wires was possible, but only in principle. That's because the equipment required was so expensive that he didn't see a world in which they'd be cheap enough for the technology to become practical.

Categories: Technology

Ukraine has built its own jet-powered drone interceptor — and it'll easily fit in the back of a pickup truck

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 16:10
  • Ukraine has deployed a turbojet interceptor specifically designed to hunt Russian attack drones
  • The compact aircraft can return home when an interception attempt fails
  • Multiple warhead options allow the interceptor to tackle different aerial targets

Ukraine's defense ministry has confirmed a new turbojet-powered aircraft built to shoot down Russian attack drones has now entered military service.

Dubbed Alexa Spatium, the compact v-tail craft was engineered domestically to intercept small aerial and surface threats across the battlefield.

It was built chiefly to engage Russia's Geran-3, Geran-4 and Geran-5 kamikaze drones, together with the frequently deployed Shahed-131 loitering munition.

Built for speed and reuse

The aircraft measures 1.5 by 1.7 meters and is fired from a portable catapult stationed close to the front line.

If it fails to strike anything on a given mission, the interceptor is designed to fly back toward its own launch point.

It can be fitted with thermobaric, shaped-charge, fragmentation or high-explosive warheads, depending on the kind of threat it aims to destroy in the air.

Guidance comes either from coordinates loaded before launch or through direct operator control once the aircraft is already flying toward its objective.

Detection relies on an electro-optical camera paired with an infrared sensor, allowing it to spot enemy aircraft even in low visibility conditions.

As of the time of writing, Kyiv has not officially revealed the interceptor's top speed, and a statement from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence left several performance figures undisclosed.

A wider race against faster threats

Ukraine is not the only country fielding this kind of weapon, since Britain introduced a comparable system earlier in the year.

Known as Skyhammer and built by Cambridge Aerospace, it also runs on a turbojet engine and hunts down Shahed-style drones.

It relies on a nose-mounted radar seeker and a fragmentation warhead built to disable rather than fully destroy its objective.

Neither weapon, however, offers real protection from ballistic missiles, which travel far faster than any propeller or jet drone can manage.

This gap matters a great deal for Ukraine, whose stock of American-supplied Patriot missiles has thinned after years of steady combat use.

Ten European countries, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, formed an Anti-Ballistic Missile Coalition in July to help Ukraine close the gap.

During a Kyiv visit marking Ukraine's independence anniversary, held every August 24th, the U.K.’s Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed its desire to help Ukraine.

London cleared MBDA, the joint European missile maker, to hand over classified data on the Storm Shadow's internal components to Ukrainian engineers.

The move should let Ukraine begin producing its own version of the joint British and French cruise missile domestically.

Even so, none of these interceptors solve the core problem, since drones and missiles remain two very different categories of threat entirely.

Whether new missile production can scale quickly enough to matter will likely depend more on politics than on engineering alone.

That question, more than any single weapon unveiled this month, may ultimately decide how well Ukraine's skies are defended through the coming winter months.

Via The Register

Categories: Technology

Russia says it will start selling its 'suicide drone' to foreign nations — but won't name them

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 14:50
  • Russia is offering the Garpia-A1E to foreign military customers
  • The drone can reportedly travel up to 1,000 kilometres
  • Garpia-A1E carries over 50kg payload and endures for over six hours

Moscow has begun marketing a long-range loitering munition built by a state defense manufacturer to foreign militaries.

The weapon, known as the Garpia-A1E, has drawn interest from buyers abroad following a series of live demonstrations.

Officials confirmed the export plan, but declined to name which countries have expressed interest so far.

A weapon built for distance

Unlike drones designed for repeated missions, this class of weapon flies toward its programmed coordinates and detonates on arrival, destroying itself in the process — a one-way flight profile that has earned the informal label "suicide drone."

The aircraft spans 3.4 meters in length, carries a takeoff weight of 250 kilograms, and stretches 3 meters across its wings.

Engineers built the airframe around an existing gasoline-powered munition design, relying on a tailless layout and a rear-mounted propeller to strike fixed coordinates set before launch.

It tops out near 170 kilometers per hour, can remain airborne for more than six hours, and operates at altitudes ranging from 50 to 2,500 meters.

"Today, the Garpia-A1E is the only loitering munition on the global market with a range of up to 1,000 kilometers," said Alexander Mikheev, general director of Rosoboronexport.

The payload capacity exceeds 50 kilograms, and the system's accuracy keeps errors within four meters of the intended point of impact.

Prospective buyers overseas have already shown interest following a round of live testing, the director added.

Rosoboronexport remains open to negotiating direct sales agreements, along with arrangements to manufacture the drone inside countries considered friendly toward Moscow.

Meanwhile, the drone's maker, Almaz-Antey, has expanded output at its production facilities, supporting the defense sector's ability to fulfill international orders on competitive timelines.

Domestic orders come first

Any commercial arrangement involving Russian military hardware must account for existing domestic commitments before new contracts move forward.

However, it seems Russia’s domestic needs will not be a problem because the company has since expanded production.

Almaz-Antey has now reached a production capacity sufficient to meet foreign orders within competitive delivery windows.

That balance between domestic obligation and export ambition now defines Russia's approach to marketing kamikaze drones internationally.

"When conducting contract and supply work regarding Russian military products, Rosoboronexport primarily considers the need for the manufacturer to fulfill its obligations to the Russian Ministry of Defence," said Alexander Mikheev, general director of Rosoboronexport.

“Almaz-Antey has mastered the series production of the Garpia-A1E system and reached a level that enables it to fulfill contracts with foreign customers…without compromising the country’s defence capability.”

Loitering munitions have grown into one of the defining weapons of current conflicts, prompting analysts to closely track their battlefield influence and cost.

As of the time of writing, no delivery timeline has been disclosed publicly, though analysts expect pricing and rival systems to shape eventual contract decisions.

Via The Drone Front

Categories: Technology

12 Mac mini alternatives for Windows I'd actually buy

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 14:05

I've hand-picked my 12 favorite Mac mini alternatives for Windows, from budget picks to high-end content creation stations. There's no denying Apple's newly unveiled Mac mini with M6 chip is a seriously cool piece of hardware, but fixed memory and limited port selection mean it's definitely not for everyone.

If you want upgradable RAM and additional connectivity like USB4 for hooking up an external GPU, these are the Windows Mac mini alternatives I really like. I've included top-tier compact machines from brands we've reviewed highly during our mini PC testing, including Beelink, Geekom, GMKtec, Minisforum, and Asus. Whether you need a cheap mini PC for the office or a high-performance powerhouse for heavier workloads, these are the machines I recommend.

My top 12 Windows mini PCs

Geekom A8

Minisforum UM890 Pro

Beelink SER9 Pro

GMKtec EVO-X1

AceMagic K1

Kamrui E3B

Geekom A8 Max

GMKtec NucBox G10

Asus Nuc 15 Pro

Peladn HO5

Bosgame P3 Lite

Acemagic X3

Why I chose these mini PCs

I had three key areas of focus when selecting these mini PCs — performance, connectivity and value for money.

Performance was obviously high on my list, which is why I've included mini PCs powered by some seriously capable AMD Ryzen and Intel Core processors. The Beelink SER9 Pro ranked as our best mini PC for business.

I also wanted plenty of memory and storage, although upgradeability obviously varies considerably between these machines.

There are some particularly well-connected choices among my top 12, too. The Minisforum UM890 Pro has two USB4 ports, OCuLink for connecting high-speed external hardware, dual 2.5GbE ports and enough display connections to drive four screens simultaneously.

The GMKtec EVO X1 also combines USB4 and OCuLink with dual 2.5GbE networking, alongside HDMI and DisplayPort outputs.

Price was important as well, so I tried to include options for different budgets rather than filling the list with flagship machines. We rate Acemagic's K1 as our best mid-range mini PC, and at under $290, GMKtec's G10 Mini PC is a very affordable choice.

For more options, check out the best mini PCs we've tested, and for more savings, see our round-up of this week's best mini PC deals.

Categories: Technology

7 of the coolest turntables of 2026 — including a superbly tacky anniversary edition, and an ode to Rammstein

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 14:00

Fancy getting into vinyl, or upgrading your existing setup? This year has delivered some especially interesting new turntables, ranging from the classy to the tacky, and from the practical to the surely-just-for-show. I've rounded up some of our favorites below.

Oxblood is clearly in vogue, because we have not one but two decks in the moody hue: Technics' Friz Hansen turntable with a matching lamp, and Pro-Ject's ultra-minimalist Debut Evo 2.

Looking for something less understated? Rammstein fans should gear up to grab one of respected turntable brand Clearaudio's limited-edition themed decks when they finally become available in October. The brand's love letter to the German metal gods isn't simply a band logo slapped onto an existing turntable either — it was created in collaboration with Rammstein as a "fully independent model" featuring a metallic lacquer finish and dimmable LED lighting.

If you think that's bold, wait until you see Technics' other notable 2026 release. This limited-edition turntable is based on the SL-1200 model, and designed to mark its 55th anniversary. The inner workings remain largely untouched compared to the base model, but the exterior is altogether flashier: the theme here is gold, and lots of it. Everything from the tonearm to the controls to the platter has had the Midas touch applied — it even has a gold slip mat.

Scroll down for a closer look at all these decks and more — and hit the More details button for links to additional info.

Top turntables

Fluance RT87 turntable

View at Fluance

Technics Direct Drive Turntable System 55th Anniversary Edition

Read more: Technics' classic SL-1200 turntable is getting a 55th anniversary edition — and the big upgrade is 'lots of gold'

View at Technics

Goldring GR3

Read more: Goldring's GR3 turntable is all about style and convenience, but there's one aspect I wish I could switch off...

View at Goldring

Pros
  • Detailed, rhythmically adept and confident sound
  • Excellent pre-fitted cartridge is part of its plug-and-play convenience
  • Great standard of build and finish
Cons
  • Can sound slightly insubstantial at the top of the frequency range
  • Phono stage really should be defeatable
  • Not short of competition

Philips Fidelio FT1 (UK only)

Read more: I tested the Philips turntable with a CD player squirreled away in its plinth and honestly, for this money it's hard to argue with the versatility

View at Philips

Pros
  • +Energetic and quite communicative sound
  • Specified like a music centre of the old school (with some wireless stuff thrown in too)
  • Tremendous flexibility where partnering equipment is concerned
Cons
  • Splashy treble response
  • Low frequencies sound slightly remote
  • Quieter when physically connected than when using Bluetooth

Technics Limited Edition Fritz Hansen Turntable

Read more: 'Music is an art of time. Time flows without form': Technics releases a burgundy turntable, ties itself in knots over a matching 1930s lamp collab, we're all confused (but secretly I love it)

View at Technics

Sony PS-LX5BT turntable

Read more: It ain't heavy, but Sony's new budget Bluetooth turntable is still a winner eight days a week

View at Sony

Pros
  • Energetic and forward, but not unsubtle, sound
  • aptX Adaptive compatibility = lossy 48kHz wireless connectivity
  • Integrated phono stage and fully automatic operation
Cons
  • Little issues at either end of the frequency range
  • Construction feels a little insubstantial
  • Fixed counterweight

Pro-Ject Debut Evo 2

View at Pro.ject

Clearaudio Rammstein turntable (available Oct 2026)

Read more: Clearaudio just unveiled a stunning Rammstein turntable and truly, ich will!

Categories: Technology

The Garmin Enduro 4 was a no-show at the Fenix 9 launch — but a fresh leak suggests the mega-battery smartwatch could be imminent

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 14:00
  • The Garmin Enduro 4 might have appeared in a new leak
  • Details emerged in Indonesian regulatory filings
  • The device might arrive before the end of 2026

We’ve barely had time to catch our breath after the Garmin Fenix 9 and Fenix 9 Pro announcement, but here comes news of another high-end Garmin watch looming over the horizon. Only this time, it’s not an official announcement that has shone a light on the device, but instead an intriguing leak that Garmin would probably rather you didn’t see.

The leak in question first appeared in regulatory filings from Indonesia (via Garmin News). There, listings mentioned an unnamed Garmin device bearing the model number A05197 in the “Outdoor Product” category.

Other details are pretty thin on the ground, but there is reason to believe it could point towards the unreleased Enduro 4. For one thing, Garmin News reports that Garmin uses the Outdoor Product category for “almost all of its high-end multisport smartwatches during testing phases, including past Fenix, Tactix, and Enduro generations.” That could therefore be an indicator that this mystery device belongs to one of those product families.

Then there’s the issue of previously leaked code references. We’ve already seen mention of the Enduro 4 in code contained within the Garmin Connect app, suggesting that the wearable is in development at the very least. Combine that with the new Indonesian regulatory filings and an Enduro 4 launch is looking increasingly likely.

A battery champ

(Image credit: Garmin)

Prior to the Fenix 9 Pro announcement, we had hopes that the Enduro 4 would also appear at Garmin’s launch event. That never came to pass, but it hasn’t dampened our expectations that the device exists and is on the way.

Interestingly, the unnamed Garmin device was granted regulatory approval in Indonesia on August 25 — the same day as the Fenix 9 event. Garmin News notes that it can take one to three months for a Garmin device to be unveiled after it is approved, suggesting that we could see the Enduro 4 — or whatever this unknown wearable is — before the end of 2026.

If and when that happens, it should be good news for fans of the best Garmin watches who want a device with phenomenal battery life. After all, as our Garmin Enduro 3 review noted, this line of watches “puts battery first.” We can expect the Enduro 4 to continue that tradition.

Categories: Technology

Well it's about time - McKinsey report says AI is 'on the road to ROI' at last

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 13:45
  • McKinsey report into the state of AI finds more businesses are deploying agentic solutions
  • 20% of organizations have been constrained by operating costs but plan to increase investments into AI
  • However some are still concerned about job cuts due to AI replacement

More companies are adopting agentic AI solutions, but are also facing difficulties in making the technology pay for itself, according to new research from McKinsey - however, there is good news on the horizon, with reports of an encouraging financial impact attributed to AI use.

Several cost-saving advantages of AI adoption have been found, with almost 33% of respondents saying they had moved away from software procurement in favor of developing in-house solutions with agentic coding tools.

Interestingly, the survey has found that while AI use for organizations at large seems relatively muted, it is boosting the performance of individual employees. But on the downside, 39% of those who responded expect a decline in the size of their organization’s workforce due to AI.

Reshaping businesses

Many organizations have explored AI, with 40% of those surveyed with annual revenues of more than $1 billion are scaling AI agents, an increase on last year’s survey which recorded 27%.

In smaller organizations, just 22% reported scaling, a figure that hasn’t improved notably since the previous survey. It’s a figure that suggests – unsurprisingly – that the larger organizations are more suited to exploring AI and scaling agentic applications. This is something that is highlighted in McKinsey’s report.

“Organizations’ conviction in AI is growing faster than the immediate financial returns they can attribute to it,” McKinsey said. “More expect AI to reshape their business over the next three years than did a year ago, and they continue to plan to invest more.”

So, the EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Taxes) factor, where at least 5% goes into AI, may seem low, and seems pretty flat with just 6% of respondents, but it has not declined, which at this stage is vital.

The downside of agentic AI

This survey reveals some significant trends, however, that could be seen as challenging for any business putting their eggs into a basked marked “AI.”

A key challenge is proving to be the token cost, with 20% reporting reduced use of AI due to operating costs. However, while 80% have reported that increases in “individual productivity” and 50% have claimed improved decision making, the use of AI seems to be making the changes that many observers have predicted over recent years.

The survey’s respondents are not optimistic on the impact of AI on the size of their workforce. 39% expect workforce declines caused by AI over the coming 12 months. This is up from 32% in McKinsey’s previous report, although it is important to note that 43% expect no AI-related decline or increase.

Categories: Technology

Analysts say getting GTA 6 to run at 60fps is 'extremely unlikely on console hardware,' as Rockstar confirms 30fps limit

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 13:00
  • Digital Foundry says getting Grand Theft Auto 6 to run at 60fps on current-gen consoles is "extremely unlikely"
  • The tech experts say the 30fps footage from the Extended Look was "the most impressive example of real-time game rendering" they've seen
  • It says the eventual PC version running at 60fps would be "genuinely challenging"

Tech analysts have suggested that getting Grand Theft Auto 6 to run smoothly at 60 frames per second would be a massive challenge on console.

After Grand Theft Auto 6's Extended Look, which finally offered a deep dive into Rockstar's biggest game yet running on the base PS5, reports confirmed that the game will run at 30fps on PlayStation and Xbox, with the possibility of 60fps being added post-launch.

That's no surprise considering the scale and how hyper-realistic GTA 6 looks, but according to the tech experts at Digital Foundry, it may be impossible for current-gen consoles to even hit 60fps.

Speaking about last night's extended look footage, the folks at Digital Foundry said it looks like "the most impressive example of real-time game rendering" they've ever seen; the gameplay shown is "relatively stable and well-paced 30fps output, with only very occasional single frame drops (though the nature of the 30fps asset means there could be more, unseen)."

It's believed that, while 30fps might seem low for a current-gen title such as GTA 6, Rockstar appears to be targeting this level to maximize the game's level of visual detail.

"It's clear that the focus was absolutely maximizing the level of visual detail at a fixed 30fps frame rate on all platforms," Digital Foundry wrote. "The rendering, simulation and presentation have all been tuned around that constraint — and the result is an unprecedented level of density, material quality and world coherence, with trade-offs landing primarily in image quality and animation smoothness rather than systemic scale or fidelity."

It continued, "The evidence suggests that the game maintains its 33.3ms cadence with care, and Rockstar has clearly spent immense effort balancing CPU and GPU workloads to fully saturate the hardware."

For this reason, Digital Foundry believes "a 60fps version extremely unlikely on console hardware — there's no way to regain enough GPU and particularly CPU time to make a 16.7ms update rate work without compromising the world."

It also suggests that the game could look better on PS5 Pro, thanks to the console's powerful GPU with PSSR upscaling, but Rockstar has yet to reveal official gameplay running on the hardware.

As for the eventual PC release, which hasn't been announced yet, "some level of caution is required" as while the platform could allow higher resolutions and benefit from upscalers like Nvidia DLSS, the CPU demand of GTA 6's complex world could "make hitting 60fps genuinely challenging in a way we don't often see, and will likely require a high-end CPU like a recent Ryzen X3D to avoid bottlenecks."

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Series S, and Rockstar has confirmed that the game can take up to 80 hours to beat.

Categories: Technology

X says it found and took down a Chinese bot farm posting anti-AI data center content to thousands of followers

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 12:05
  • An X investigation just found 200k Chinese bot accounts, including 200 posting anti-AI content
  • The posts were targeting and amplifying legitimate US citizen concerns about data centers
  • Is this part of a Chinese effort to slow down American innovation, to race ahead?

X's Global Government Affairs account has revealed it "identified a bot farm of approximately 200,000 accounts," 200 of which "posting in a manner that could manipulate a legitimate debate about American AI and energy policy."

Some of the narratives that these 200 accounts were promoting included that: AI data centers are pushing up household electricity prices, rapid data centre construction is placing excessive strain on the US grid, and ordinary households are subsidising wealthy AI and data center companies.

Among the post types were visual, cartoon-like illustrations depicting data center operators getting rich, while consumers picked up the cost.

X Chinese bot accounts

X described the activity as an attempt to interfere with what it explicitly acknowledged as "legitimate debate" about American AI and energy – many of the underlying concerns about electricity demand and consumer bills are indeed supported by genuine data, but the platform worries these accounts could skew public discourse.

The company now says it's suspended the accounts that violate its authentication policy, stressing that while it wants X to remain an "open and authentic platform," fake accounts and bots are not welcome.

The post describes the offenders as "suspected Chinese inauthentic accounts," but no further detail was shared about the operators, the ties to China, engagement and reach figures, and what the other 199,000+ accounts were doing.

Is China targeting US AI?

In a similar vein, OpenAI also recently uncovered a similar operation, implying this X case isn't alone. The ChatGPT maker called that earlier operation a 'Data Center Bandwagon', when it banned a cluster of likely Chinese accounts using ChatGPT to produce propaganda-like material and other similar social media content criticizing US AI data centers.

According to the company, the accounts responsible prompted in Simplified Chinese, often requested English outputs and used VPNs to avoid the restrictions placed on mainland China.

More broadly, Axios previously reported pro-AI organizations were worried that China-linked bot campaigns were promoting opposition to US data centers, possibly in a bid to slow America's ability to build out its AI infrastructure while buying China time to get ahead.

"Industry, governments, civil society and the public should remain alert for similar attempts to scale these messages and foreign interference activities," OpenAI warned in its June 2026 report.

Together, these two cases imply that China-linked operators are deliberately experimenting with ways to boost American opposition to AI infrastructure using existing concerns, but what sort of an impact these accounts are actually having on public perception is not yet so clear.

"We take seriously any attempts to undermine the integrity of the global town square and suspend accounts that violate our Authenticity policy," X wrote.

Categories: Technology

I tested the new Hard Boiled 4K Blu-ray, and this long-awaited classic is a new reference showcase for what Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos is capable of

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 12:00

Since I started my monthly Blu-ray Bounty column in November 2024, I’ve tested more than 100 4K Blu-rays. In that time, as well as finding that a lot of highly anticipated discs — such as Fight Club — lived up to the hype, there have also been some pleasant surprises, including the reference-quality Speed Racer and the spectacularThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie. The latter two are now part of the selection of discs I use to test the best TVs and best soundbars.

While I haven’t managed to test every disc I’ve wanted to (and certainly not every 4K disc released), one has remained frustratingly elusive: Hard Boiled. One of John Woo’s most iconic films, it's a cornerstone of Hong Kong action cinema, and I'd been keen to get my hands on the 4K release.

After failing to snag the Limited Edition, released in March 2026 in the UK, and every subsequent restock, I was starting to wonder if a Hard Boiled was destined to stay on my testing wishlist. July saw the arrival of a standard edition — and it shot to the top of my July 2026 most anticipated 4K list. After yet more courier delays, Hard Boiled finally made it into our testing lab — so, at long last, I was able to give it a spin to see whether the 4K disc is worth all the hype.

Awesome Atmos audio

Hard Boiled's numerous chaotic shootouts sound superb thanks to its engaging and immersive Dolby Atmos soundtrack (Image credit: Arrow Video / Future )

There are three soundtrack options on this disc: Cantonese Mono, Cantonese Dolby Atmos, and English Mono. I primarily used the Cantonese Dolby Atmos, to see how effective the upscaled audio track would be, although I was impressed by the clarity of the Cantonese Mono.

There're no shortage of action-packed scenes in Hard Boiled, in particular a number of gunfights, and the disc's Dolby Atmos soundtrack makes the most of them. During testing, I used a Samsung HW-Q990C 11.1.4 channel soundbar system, and the Atmos mix really came alive. As bullets tear through the room, ricocheting bullets can be heard bouncing off walls with impressive detail and precision. In the opening gunfight, as sprays of bullets from sub-machine guns fly, the trajectory of these bullets was precisely mapped to the rear channels, and as the camera moved around the room, the sound of the bullets moved with it.

While bullets generate impact, it’s the big explosions that deliver the meaty bass. While these explosions didn’t always resonate from the Q990C’s subwoofer (down to the older mix), there was still plenty of oomph to each one. The Atmos soundtrack also displays great balance and range. As Tequila and Ah Long are caught in a shootout with one another, the sound of bullet casings hitting the floor is audible in the loud gunfire, which is in turn well balanced with raised voices and the often-lively score.

4K picture wins again

The 4K Blu-ray delivers excellent colors, giving Hard Boiled a lively and rich picture (Image credit: Arrow Video / Future )

Arrow Video’s 4K discs are among the strongest when it comes to restoration, and this remains true with Hard Boiled. Textures have been finely restored, with details such as skin taking on a remarkably natural, almost 3D quality. In some scenes, the movie looks like it could have been shot only a few years ago rather than in 1992. Close-up shots reveal an impressive level of refinement, too, from the texture of a gun to the tiny details of a bullet. Having recently visited Silver Salt Restoration, which occasionally works with Arrow Video, I know just how much hard work goes into restoring films to such a standard.

Elsewhere, this 4K disc showcases bold, vibrant colors that really pop off the screen. The neon signs of downtown Hong Kong have a gorgeous richness to them, while restaurant interiors benefit from punchy yet natural-looking hues – such as a vivid green door in the opening gunfight. And then there's the blood — of which there is plenty in Hard Boiled — that displays real vibrancy, but in some scenes, also appears deep, rich and convincingly realistic. It really highlights the disc’s color reproduction.

This scene really shows off the 4K disc's contrast, but also the bright sparks looked great on the LG G6, showcasing its strong HDR highlights Arrow Video / Future The dimly lit jazz club shows lifelike contrast that looks fantastic on the G6Arrow Video / Future

Throughout the movie, there are plenty of scenes that, displayed on the right TV, really highlight the 4K disc’s excellent contrast. In the dimly lit jazz club during the opening credits, the dim surroundings contrast well with the wall and stage lights. A later scene of a parade of motorcyclists escorting a car along the docks also show deep black tones, which balance nicely with the headlamps from the vehicles.

Finally, there are plenty of moments that can give a good TV a chance to shine, too. Throughout the movie, bright sparks fly from car collisions, showers of bullets and explosions, and on the LG G6 I used for testing, they really showed off the G6’s strong HDR highlights. The film grain has also been cleaned up. There’s still enough to satisfy cinephiles, but the clean-up job gives Hard Boiled a more contemporary look without stripping away any character.

My 4K Blu-ray love grows

(Image credit: Arrow Video / Future )

I’ve written plenty about how much I love what 4K Blu-ray can do for more classic movies, with titles such as 1938’s Captain Blood, 1944’s Double Indemnity and 1950’s Sunset Boulevard from Hollywood’s Golden Age all given a new lease of life. Even "more recent" thrillers such as To Live and Die in L.A. — also from Arrow Video — have received stunning 4K makeovers, while remaining crucially faithful to the original, filmmaker-intended look.

Hard Boiled is just the latest in a series of titles I’ve tested that showcase just what 4K Blu-ray can do. It retains the movie’s iconic look, both of early-'90s Hong Kong cinema and John Woo’s distinctive style, while also giving the movie a new coat of paint. The superb new Atmos soundtrack adds another layer, bringing out a wealth of intricate detail and making the explosive action even more immersive. It's yet another fantastic 4K Blu-ray release that I’ll be adding to my now bursting 4K Blu-ray shelves.

Categories: Technology

Rockstar reveals it built a GTA 6 team that focused solely on creating more realistic NPCs with over 600,000 animations — twice as many as Red Dead Redemption 2 had

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 12:00
  • Grand Theft Auto 6's hand-crafted NPCs have over 600,000 animations
  • Rockstar North co-head Aaron Garbut says Rockstar established a new team that art-directed every single NPC
  • Garbut says every single room and the NPCs inside them were hand-crafted

To achieve the grand scale and realism we witnessed this week in Grand Theft Auto 6's extended look, the development team went above and beyond, according to Rockstar.

In an interview with The New York Times about the game's development, Rockstar North co-head Aaron Garbut revealed that the studio established a new Los Angeles-based team of writers, directors, and producers to focus solely on realizing non-player characters (NPCs).

"We art-directed each individual one of them," said Garbut, revealing that GTA 6 has over 600,000 animations, compared to GTA 5's 55,000 and double Red Dead Redemption 2's 300,000 animations.

"Every room in the game, somebody thought about this," Garbut said. "Who's sitting where, what they're drinking, the marks that are left on the table. The pictures on the wall will have the people that are in that room, with their tattoos on their arms and their family behind them. That whole thing has been made, and built, and photographed, and placed in this random room in a random building in a huge city, in a world."

Rob Nelson, the head of development and co-studio head at Rockstar North, also emphasised that the game is "an evolution" of what the studio achieved with Red Dead Redemption 2 and its impressive gameplay systems.

"Once we managed to accomplish that level of interactive fidelity in a more sparsely populated version of America 100 years ago," Nelson said, "we were already imagining what it would be like if we could do that at the scale and density of a modern environment."

GTA 6 launches on November 19 for PS5, Xbox Series X, and Series S, and a new report has confirmed that the game will run at 30fps on consoles at launch.

Categories: Technology

How does Sony's new Bravia 6 OLED TV compare to the LG C6 and Samsung S90H? Here's what we know

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 11:50
  • Sony unveils cheaper Bravia 6 OLED TV, available in sizes from 48 inches to 83 inches
  • It has four HDMI 2.1 ports, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos
  • Prices start from $1,300 (about £957 / AU$1,805), putting it against Samsung and LG's mid-range model, but its unclear if performance will match

Sony has launched a new mid-range OLED TV, the Bravia 6. As the numbering suggests, it sits below the Bravia 8 and Bravia 8 II OLED TVs and the Bravia 7 II and Bravia 9 II RGB LED TVs in Sony's 2026 TV range.

The Bravia 6 comes in five sizes, ranging from 48 to 83 inches, and includes the MediaTek Pentonic 800 chip, which means it has four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 120Hz and variable refresh rate — unlike Sony's higher-end TVs, which only have two HDMI 2.1 ports each due to a quirk of chip choices. The Bravia 6 also supports Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, auto low latency mode and HDMI eARC.

The strapline for Sony's marketing is "OLED essentials, now within reach", and with prices ranging from $1,300 to $4,000 in the US (international pricing is coming soon) the Bravia 6 is priced to fight it out with the LG C6 and the Samsung S90H. So how do they compare?

(Image credit: Sony)Sony Bravia 6 vs LG C6 vs Samsung S90H: key features

As you'd expect from a new Sony, the Bravia 6 runs Google TV. LG has its webOS system, and the Samsung runs Tizen. There's essentially universal disagreement in the TV community over which of these is better, but they all support every major streaming service.

The Bravia 6 will come in five sizes: 48, 55, 65, 77 and 83 inches. The LG C6 and Samsung S90H are both available in six: 42, 48, 55, 65, 77 and 83 inches.

Samsung's model has HDR 10+ while the Sony and LG have HDR 10 and Dolby Vision; all three have Dolby Atmos audio but the Sony also has DTS:X.

For gamers, the Sony has variable refresh rate based on the standard HDMI 2.1 spec; the LG has HDMI-spec VRR, plus, Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium; and the Samsung has HDMI-spec VRR, G-Sync and FreeSync Premium Pro.

All three TVs support at least 120Hz 4K, but this is where it gets interesting. The Sony only supports 120Hz at 4K, while the LG and Samsung both support 4K 165Hz maximum.

This suggests that the Sony is using a different panel to the other models, despite being the same kind of price. We don't have official confirmation yet, but multiple outlets are have reported that the Bravia 6 uses the new, more affordable OLED SE panel, which is also used in the LG B6.

But what's odd is that the OLED SE panel is capable of hitting 144Hz, so the Sony being limited to 120Hz doesn't actually confirm anything about its panel either way.

If it is using the OLED SE panel, the LG C6 and Samsung S90H have a clear advantage in terms of the brightness and color reproduction of the panel itself. We loved the performance of the LG C6, and our first impressions of the Samsung S90H were that its display came very close to the C6, though our full review is coming soon.

TV enthusiasts will be very interested in Sony's processing, however, rather than just the panel. Sony's built a reputation for offering extremely good motion handling and upscaling, and producing fantastic levels of accuracy in its pictures. However, this often comes with a dimmer-looking picture than the competition even when using the same panel, and Sony might be using a dimmer panel to start with here…

The LG B6 (right) has less vibrancy and brightness compared to the LG C6 (center) or the LG G6 (left) — and the Sony Bravia 6 may use the same panel as the B6 (Image credit: Future)

At $1,300, the Sony Bravia 6 is priced to compete with the LG C6, which has fallen to a regular price of $1,299, while the Samsung S90H is available for $1,199 at the time of writing.

The 48-inch version of the LG B6 is available for just $799 at the time of writing, and if the Sony TV does use the same panel, that's quite a start difference.

The mid-range OLED market is going to be a tough one for Sony to crack — the company is pretty cautious about discounting, but LG and Samsung are very aggressive with it. If the Bravia 6 has the performance to match the price, then it could be the cinephile's choice — but it could all depend on that panel.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

Categories: Technology

You can get an RTX 5070 gaming laptop with 32GB RAM for under $1,500 right now — finally, a deal that's not a complete rip-off

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 11:49

It's getting tougher and tougher to find decent gaming laptop deals these days, but every now and again, I still spot the odd gem. One such example has to be this Gigabyte Aero X16 gaming laptop for $1,339 (was $1,499) at Best Buy.

It's a pretty pricey laptop, no doubt, but it's a rare example of a machine that features both an RTX 5070 graphics card and 32GB of RAM for under $1,500. I've spotted quite a few 'cheap' RTX 5070 laptops recently, but they've all come with a rather measly 16GB of RAM.

Since RAM is so expensive these days, getting 32GB right out of the box is a real selling point for this Gigabyte Aero X16. You shouldn't have any issues getting great performance here, even if you do have to pay a little extra versus the cheaper RTX 5060 laptops that are quite common in this price bracket.

If you're headed off to college, then I could see this one being a particularly fine choice, too. It's powerful enough to handle the applications you'll need, while also doubling as a great tool for gaming in your downtime. With a decent AMD chipset, this one should see you through all of college with no problem.

Today's best gaming laptop deal

Aero X16 Gaming Laptop: was $1499.99 now $1339.99
Graphics card: RTX 5070
Processor: AMD Ryzen Al 7-350
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB

Genuine gaming laptop deals are rare these days with such high component prices. This Gigabyte Aero X16 at Best Buy, however, is a listing that's almost bucking that trend. Not only is it an RTX 5070 gaming laptop for under $1,500, but you're also getting 32GB of RAM right out of the box. In short, this is a really great bang-for-the-buck option currently - even if it is still pretty pricey. View Deal

This particular deal is one of the highlights of Best Buy's 'back to school' section, which includes plenty of laptops and gaming laptops of all shapes and sizes. I don't think any listing quite matches this one for value right now if you're looking for a higher-end gaming laptop.

If it's not what you're looking for, however, it's worth checking in regularly at the retailer as we'll almost certainly see some Labor Day specials over the next week or so. Best Buy has already launched a big appliances sale, and tech is sure to follow shortly.

Categories: Technology

'The writing tablet of my dreams': I love my reMarkable devices more than my Moleskine collection — and Amazon just cut up to £100 off all of them

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 11:26

I'm a big fan of reMarkable's line of digital handwriting tablets, having used them for years now. They genuinely offer the closest feeling of writing with pad and pen that I've ever experience. And right now, the whole line has up to £100 off.

Topping the list is my daily driver, the reMarkable Paper Pro Move, now £399 (was £499) at Amazon. I use this notebook-style E Ink tablet every day professionally and personally, and it rarely leaves my side.

For those who need extra screen space that's more similar to writing, sketching, and drawing in an A4 pad, the reMarkable Paper Pure is down to £375 (was £399) and the color reMarkable Paper Pro is down to £599 (was £699), too.

Today's best reMarkable tablet deals

Paper Pro Move with Marker Plus and Basalt Book Folio: was £499 now £399
I absolutely love my Paper Pro Move, a notebook-sized colour tablet with front-light. This is the reMarkable I use daily for work now. In our 5-star review, we called it "the writing tablet of my dreams."

In the US: now $469 (was $569)View Deal

Paper Pure With Marker Plus and Ocean Blue Sleeve Folio: was £399 now £375
The Paper Pure is reMarkable's entry-level tablet. But while it lacks a colour screen or front-light, I found the writing to offer "a flawless pad-and-pen experience" in my 4-star review.View Deal

Paper Pro With Marker Plus and Basalt Book Folio: was £699 now £599
The Paper Pro is reMarkable's top-end colour E Ink handwriting tablet. It's a thin, lightweight 11.8in device with a front-light. In our 4-star review, we found it snappy, and "It feels like writing on real paper, not writing on a laggy screen." I completely agree with that sentiment.

In the US: now $679 (was $779)View Deal

2 With Marker Plus: was £429 now £345.68
I used the reMarkable 2 daily for years, and I still love the writing experience - it's smoother and softer than the new line of tablets. It's been discontinued in place of the above models, and while it's the slowest of the bunch, for pure writing it's perfect. At the time, our review noted that it had "the best writing and sketching experience." View Deal

Why I recommend them

I'm a prolific hoarder of notebooks. So, before I first took the plunge on an E Ink writing tablet all those years ago, I spent months researching and trying different models to find one that gave me the same tactile experience I get from writing with a pad and pen.

The reMarkable 2 won hands-down, and won me over in a matter of seconds once I got started. Since then, I've used the whole line - with the Paper Pure and Paper Pro Move both in my tech stack.

Beyond the minimalist, distraction-free ethos, the handwriting recognition is one of the stand-out features here. So long as you write relatively legible, the device can turn those handwritten notes into useable text. Other pro features I like include the ability to highlight and annotate documents.

For a distraction-free writing experience, reMarkable's surpass any other device out there. I've used the Kindle Scribe a fair amount (my wife swears by it). And while it comes close, it doesn't quite match that scratchy pen-to-paper feel you get from the reMarkable tablets.

Which should you buy?

✅ Buy the reMarkable Paper Pro Move if...

You want a pocket-sized notebook-style digital handwriting tablet. I love mine, and it's genuinely useful for taking notes at work. It easily replaced my beloved Moleskine.

✅ Buy the reMarkable Paper Pro if...

You need the largest canvas offered by reMarkable, and a colour screen is important to you. It's good for professional graphs and documents, as well as epubs like graphic novels.

✅ Buy the reMarkable Paper Pure if...

You just want the cheapest distraction-free tablet in the reMarkable line, and can live without a colour screen or frontlight.

✅ Buy the reMarkable 2 if...

You want a slightly cheaper model than the Paper Pure that replaced it, and don't mind the fact that this slower tablet has been discontinued (although accessories like the pen tips are still widely available)

Price context & historical value

As a bit of a reMarkable fan-boy, I'm always on the look out for deals on these tablets, and they don't come around nearly as often as I'd like. £100 off the Paper Pro and Paper Pro Move bundles, which come with a protective folio and the Marker Plus (you can turn it upside-down to delete your writing like it's a pencil with an eraser on the end).

The Paper Pure is the newest addition to the line-up, and I didn't expect to see a discount so soon - even if it is relatively small. I put it down to being a device that's tailor-made for the back-to-school season.

And frankly, any discount on the reMarkable 2 is welcome, as it's been discontinued so prices may rise as stock runs dry.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

These aren't iPads. They're not even a Kindle. reMarkable's tablets are focused on being as distraction-free as possible. So, while you can integrate certain workplace apps like Slack, OneDrive, and Google Drive, it's not built for streaming movies or reading eBooks from Amazon's store. The central idea here is to use the tablet for writing and sketching.

Categories: Technology

Best Buy's Labor Day appliance sale is live, and the retailer says 'we won’t be beat on appliance pricing' — 45% off Samsung, LG, GE and more

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 10:37

It's a good day to visit Best Buy. Online and in-store, Best Buy has launched its official Labor Day appliance sale, and it's also running a 24-hour tech sale on its best-selling gadgets.

I'll first start with its appliance sale, because it's very impressive this year. The retailer is not only offering big savings, up to 45% off, but it's promising that 'we won’t be beat on appliance pricing,' and that is backed by their price match guarantee. That means if you find an appliance that's cheaper at an online or local competitor, Best Buy will match it.

• Shop today's top deals at Best Buy

The retailer's Labor Day appliance sale offers a wide range of appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers and ranges from brands like LG, Samsung, GE and Whirlpool. Best Buy also offers free shipping on all major appliances and free installation on qualifying products.

If you're also in the market for a new tech gadget, Best Buy has a 24-hour flash sale today, and I've listed the top deals further down the page, including OLED TVs, AirPods, cheap laptops and more.

Best Buy's Labor Day appliance sale

Best Buy Labor Day appliance sale: save up to 45% off, plus free delivery
Best Buy's Labor Day appliance sale is live, with up to 45% off major appliances, including fridges, dishwashers, ranges, and microwaves from Samsung, LG, Whirlpool, and GE. The retailer is also offering free shipping, and you can price match to ensure you're getting the best deal.View Deal

Shop more of today's top Best Buy deals

Fire TV Stick 4K Select: was $49.99 now $17.99
Amazon's newest 4K streaming stick is now $17.99 at Best Buy. Since it's only a few bucks more than the cheaper HD version, you might as well pay for the upgrade and get higher-resolution streaming—as long as you have a 4K TV. It lacks a few premium features found in the more expensive Plus and Max models, such as improved Wi-Fi and Dolby Atmos, but that is more than enough for everyday use.View Deal

WH-1000XM5: was $398 now $248
Quite simply, the best in Sony's class-leading wireless over-ear lineup. The older XM4 headphones were outstanding, the XM3 cans before it were excellent, and it'll come as little surprise to know that Sony's XM5 proposition is also incredibly hard to beat – especially with a whopping $150 off. They don't fold up like the XM4, but, as a quick glance at our Sony WH-100XM5 review proves, there's not much else to pick fault with. View Deal

AirPods Max 2 (USB-C): was $549 now $529
The over-ear headphones now include Apple's H2 chip, which delivers adaptive audio, personalized volume, and improved voice isolation for superior sound. You're also getting up to 1.5x more Active Noise Cancellation and 20 hours of battery life.View Deal

iPad 11-inch (A16, 2025): was $449 now $399
Apple's latest base iPad is $50 off at Best Buy, bringing the price to $399. The biggest upgrade over the previous generation is the newer A16 chip for faster performance, and you'll also get double the standard storage (128GB instead of 64GB). Other features include a sharp 11-inch Liquid Retina display and solid 12MP front- and rear-facing cameras, making this iPad the best for casual streamers and scrollers.

Read our full 11-inch iPad A16 reviewView Deal

Processor: MediaTek Kompanio 540
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 128GB

You don't always find a laptop with 8GB of memory for under $300, so this Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook really stands out in Best Buy's latest sale. Other components are good for light use, but that bump to 8GB of RAM will really help with everyday performance and load times. It's still a fairly basic laptop, but with enough extra power to avoid dramatic slowdown when multitasking.View Deal

Chromebook Plus 516: was $479 now $399
Display - 16 inches
Processor - Intel i3
RAM - 8GB
Storage - 128GB

This version of the Acer Chromebook Plus offers a solid amount of power for the price. It includes 8GB of RAM and an Intel i3 processor, boosting performance, boot times, and load times. The 128GB storage is a bit underwhelming, but you get a large, bright IPS display and decent battery life of around 12 hours— more than enough for a full workday. At a little under $400, it's a smart buy for school or college, or just as a home laptop for light use and everyday tasks.View Deal

15.6-inch 2K Touchscreen Laptop: was $849.99 now $449.99
This 15.6-inch touchscreen laptop combines an Intel 13th Generation Core i5 1334U processor, 8GB DDR5 RAM, 512GB PCIe SSD, Full HD IPS display, Wi-Fi 6, USB-C, and Windows 11 Home.View Deal

MacBook Pro 14.2-inch (M5): was $2499 now $2299
Apple's M5 chip (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU) is paired with 16GB of unified memory and a 1TB SSD, in a 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with up to 24 hours of battery life. Today's deal from Best Buy shaves $200 off the retail price.View Deal

55-inch F70 Series 4K QLED Mini-LED Fire TV: was $699.99 now $299.99
Insignia's F70 Series QLED TV boasts Mini-LED and Quantum Dot technology, delivering bold, vibrant colors and lifelike images. You also get Dolby Atmos Audio, smart capabilities with the Fire operating system, and a voice remote with hands-free Alexa, so you can use your voice to control your TV.View Deal

QD50 58-inch Hi-QLED 4K TV: was $399.99 now $209.99
I can't speak too much about the overall quality of this TV given we haven't had extensive testing time, but I can't deny that it's a super low price for a TV of this size. It also sports the budget version of Hisense's QLED tech, which offers superior brightness and more vivid colors, although it's not as powerful as the premium displays. Still, this is a big and cheap TV that will be ideal for general everyday viewing and streaming for someone who isn't too bothered about getting the very best picture possible.View Deal

75-inch C350 4K Fire TV: was $729.99 now $369.99
If you're looking for a cheap big-screen TV, Best Buy has the popular 75-inch Toshiba C350 4K Fire TV for an incredible $369.99. Toshiba's C350 is a 4K TV with HDR support, delivering solid picture quality for everyday viewing. Access streaming apps easily with the Fire TV OS, which puts Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and more at your fingertips. It's not as powerful as many premium options, but if you're on a tight budget and want a big display, this is an excellent option.View Deal

75-inch S5 4K LED Fire TV: was $649.99 now $419.99
The TCL 75-inch S5 4K LED TV supports Dolby Vision, HDR10 Plus, HDR10, and HLG, while there’s Dolby Atmos sound and a built-in subwoofer. It also has a dedicated Game Mode for lower input lag and latency, and Motion Rate 240 technology for smoother motion. It’s all wrapped up in a highly attractive price tag for a screen of this size.View Deal

77-inch B5 OLED 4K Smart TV: was $2999.99 now $1499.99
The LG B5 is this year's best budget OLED TV, and Best Buy has a massive 50% discount on the 77-inch model. Released last year, the LG B5 is TechRadar's best budget OLED TV and was awarded four and a half stars in our review. The LG display delivers an exceptional picture with brilliant colors and sharp contrast. You also get excellent gaming features, thanks to the four HDMI 2.1 ports and new AI tools, including AI Search, AI Concierge, and an improved AI Chatbot.

Read our full LG B5 reviewView Deal

Hero 13 Black: was $479.99 now $409.99
Here's a super-tempting low price on one of the best action camera bundles on the market right now. The camera delivers an impressive 5.3K video resolution in a rugged, fully waterproof body. A sweet deal for your remaining summer or upcoming fall adventures.View Deal

See more of today's best Labor Day sales
Categories: Technology

US government alcohol and firearms agency ATF declares ‘major incident’ after ransomware gang claims cyberattack

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 10:10
  • Ransomware group Qilin lists Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) among new victims, claiming a “major incident”
  • ATF confirmed breach of a standalone system holding investigation target data, not core networks
  • Systems were disconnected, DOJ notified; Qilin is Russia‑linked, known for past Synnovis attack

The US Government's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has suffered a “major incident” in which it appears to have lost sensitive information.

Notorious ransomware operators Qilin added a handful of new names to their data leak site: Northern Leasing Systems, Metal Conversions, California Truck Equipment, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and WireCo.

The attackers did not say what kind of data they stole, or how much of it they have. They have also not posted any samples of the stolen files, which is not that uncommon these days.

ATF investigations

Shortly after appearing on Qilin’s data leak site, ATF confirmed the news via a press release published on the agency’s website. In the announcement, ATF said it was responding to an incident, “affecting a standalone system”.

“The impacted system operates separately from the ATF enterprise network, and there is no indication that the incident has affected the ATF enterprise network, the ATF eForms system, or any other ATF system,” the press release reads. While the press release does not mention the name of the targeted system, a spokesperson told The Register it contains information about targets of ATF investigations.

The ATF usually investigates federal crimes such as illegal firearms trafficking, violent crime and gangs, explosives, arson and bombings, organized crime, illegal alcohol and tobacco trafficking, and firearms dealers and manufacturers.

After spotting the attack, ATF disconnected the affected systems, engaged cybersecurity experts, and notified relevant authorities, including the Department of Justice. “Senior Department officials have designated the event a “major incident” under applicable federal guidelines, and required notifications have been completed,” ATF added.

Qilin is a relatively old, known ransomware threat actor. It is being tied to Russia and is best known for its attack on the pathology provider Synnovis, which happened back in 2024.

Categories: Technology

Gen Z workers now see themselves as part of a global workforce — but AI remains a major concern

Fri, 08/28/2026 - 09:05
  • 82% of young American knowledge workers now consider themselves global employees
  • The 'American Dream' is more about career opportunities, wherever they may be
  • Social networks and leadership are far more important than AI, for Gen Z

New research from Pebl has claimed Gen Z workers in the US actually see themselves as global employees, not American employees, as hybrid and remote work continues to spread across the world.

In fact, more than half (54%) said that achieving the 'American Dream' doesn't actually mean they have to remain in the US – just that they purse the best career opportunities possible.

Consequentially, 53% would choose to work for the world's best company over America's best company, with four in five (82%) already considering themselves part of a global workforce.

Young workers see the career landscape as global

It seems that workers are also keen to interact with colleagues from other countries, with benefits including broadening perspectives (73%), improving leadership skills (71%) and improving problem-solving abilities (68%).

But even though other studies have pointed toward remote working being a non-negotiable for many young workers, they're still keen to work internationally, whether that's in person or remote. Two in five (41%) envisage careers involving work across two or three different countries, and two in three (64%) would be very or extremely interested in temporary work opportunities in another geography.

"Gen Z is not just more open to international careers – they increasingly see global experience as essential to becoming stronger leaders," CEO Francoise Brougher explained. "If companies want globally minded leaders tomorrow, they need to start creating globally minded careers today."

Ongoing return-to-office mandates have also placed a big emphasis on in-person collaboration, and it's clear that younger workers agree. Building strong and professional networks (28%) and gaining experience in leadership and management (26%) ranked much more highly than developing AI skills (11%) among the 1,022 US Gen Z knowledge workers surveyed. Pebl explained AI's role as a human skill amplifier, not a replacer.

Ultimately, after years of major upheaval across both in-person/remote working routines and AI/automation, young workers are still very optimistic about in-person relationships and new career opportunities.

Categories: Technology

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