Foldable phones from Samsung, Google, Motorola and Chinese brands still make up only 1.6% of global smartphone shipments despite years of hinge and display improvements, with 19.6 million units shipped last year according to Counterpoint Research. A commentator argues that Apple's expected entry into the foldable market will finally push the category into the mainstream, much as it did with smartwatches and wireless earbuds.
Poco has unveiled its F9 Pro and F9 Ultra flagship phones, continuing its Bose audio partnership for a second year. The F9 Ultra features an upgraded 2.1 Bose sound system with a glowing LED ring around its subwoofer, plus a 6.9-inch OLED display rated at 10,000 nits peak brightness and a 185Hz refresh rate aimed at gamers.
JBL unveiled the Cove series, a new line of three Wi-Fi connected speakers designed for whole-home audio setups. The lineup includes the $229.95 Cove M1, the battery-powered $399.95 Cove P1 with Dolby Atmos, and the flagship $449.95 Cove X1, all launching September 13th in black or white. Speakers link via Wi-Fi and the JBL One app, supporting Spotify Connect, AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Roon Ready, and Alexa Plus voice control.
Tim Cook has ended his 15-year tenure as Apple's chief executive, handing the role to hardware chief John Ternus. Cook took over from Steve Jobs in 2011 and oversaw major shifts including the expansion of Apple's services division and the move from Intel processors to Apple's own custom silicon in Macs.
Roland has launched the FP-40 digital piano, notable for including built-in Wi-Fi rather than the more common Bluetooth connection found on rival instruments. The piano pairs with a new companion app called Piano Sphere, which delivers real-time feedback, song libraries, and courses, while the piano itself logs practice history and flags when a player is struggling. Roland also equipped the instrument with its Piano Reality Sound Engine and weighted, triple-sensor hammer-action keys aimed at mimicking acoustic piano feel.
TP-Link showed off its first Wi-Fi 8 devices, the Archer 8 Ultra router and Deco 8 Ultra mesh system, ahead of the IEEE 802.11bn standard's finalization. The Archer 8 Ultra promises up to 19Gbps wireless speeds with 18 antennas, while a three-pack Deco 8 Ultra mesh setup can cover nearly 9,800 square feet and handle over 200 devices. Pricing remains undisclosed, but preorders for the Archer 8 Ultra begin September 30th in select regions, with the Deco 8 Ultra and other Wi-Fi 8 accessories arriving in early-to-mid 2027.
Dyson has released the CameraJet, an electric toothbrush priced at $499 that embeds a tiny camera in the brush head to livestream footage of your mouth to a paired smartphone over Wi-Fi. An AI system called Gap Optical Targeting analyzes 28 images per second from that camera to spot gaps between teeth and fires a targeted mouthwash spray to clean them within milliseconds, effectively flossing while you brush.
TP-Link unveiled its first consumer Wi-Fi 8 router, the Archer 8 Ultra BN19000, at IFA 2026, with pre-orders opening September 30. The tri-band router promises 19Gbps aggregate speeds, 18 antennas, and coverage for a 3,600-square-foot home, alongside a mesh sibling called Deco 8 Ultra rated up to 22Gbps for larger properties. TP-Link plans additional Wi-Fi 8 models in early-to-mid 2027, but has not confirmed whether any of these devices will reach the US market.
Canadian auto parts maker Magna International is investing an additional $35 million into Yuma Energy, a Bengaluru-based battery-swapping startup spun out of Yulu in 2023. The new funding raises Magna's stake beyond the 51% it held since the joint venture began, diluting Yulu's share, though the exact new split wasn't disclosed. Yuma has completed over 60 million swaps and has roughly 100,000 batteries deployed for electric two- and three-wheelers.
JBL unveiled three new Wi-Fi speakers under the Cove name: the $230 Cove M1, the $400 portable Cove P1, and the $450 Dolby Atmos-equipped Cove X1. All three connect via the JBL One app for synced multiroom playback and can double as rear speakers for JBL's Bar Series MK2 soundbars, with availability starting September 13 in black and white.
Tailscale has launched tailcat, an open-source Go package and CLI tool that lets developers move data between two points using the company's underlying network technology—WireGuard encryption, NAT traversal, and DERP relay servers—without any of Tailscale's account system, control plane, or administrative layer. It functions like the classic netcat utility but routes traffic through Tailscale's magicsock networking stack, and can run entirely independent of Tailscale as a company if users host their own DERP relay server.
A hobbyist project called RotaryCell adds internal electronics to an unmodified rotary telephone, letting it place calls over LTE using an ESP32-S3-based LilyGO board, a battery, and the AG1171 ringer chip, while keeping the original handset, dial, and hook intact. The current release is a documented, hand-wired working prototype on firmware v0.10.4, with new integrated PCBs already ordered from JLCPCB but not yet assembled or validated.
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