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Tech News
Apple hardware is heavily discounted as part of Amazon and Best Buy's Labor Day 2026 sale, with under 24 hours remaining. Deals include AirTag 2 at $20, AirPods Pro 3 at $50 off, AirPods Max 2 at $100 off, a $150 cut on the M5 MacBook Air, record-low pricing on the new M6 Mac mini ahead of shipping, and Amazon lows on iPhone 17 Pro models.
A software engineer reflects on how years of routine coding work and constant smartphone distractions have dulled their thinking and reading habits compared to their more intellectually demanding early career and university years. They describe attempting to counter this decline by deliberately unplugging and cutting back on short-form content, games, and other low-effort entertainment during a recent vacation.
A CNET survey found 55% of US adults say a lower price would push them to upgrade their phone, while 52% cite longer battery life and 38% want more storage. Only 12% said AI features would motivate an upgrade, and just 13% said a new form factor like a foldable would sway them. The findings come ahead of Apple's Sept. 9 event, where the company is expected to unveil its first foldable iPhone alongside new iPhone 18 Pro models.
Singaporean startup Lingverse unveiled iKairos at IFA Berlin, a modular AI gadget built around a circular 'neural core' that can be worn as a necklace pendant or plugged into a small desktop robot body. The core module features a display with cartoon eyes and a hidden camera that slides open only when needed, letting it record photos or video. Lingverse says the device ambiently tracks conversations, surroundings and habits to log memories and offer personalized suggestions.
Apple currently allows iPhone and iPad users to change Siri's voice and accent through Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > Voice, with new options downloading over WiFi or cellular. Users can also adjust how Siri communicates—aloud, quietly, or via on-screen text—through separate settings menus, ahead of a more comprehensive Siri redesign expected with iOS 27 in September.
Xiaomi has released the Xiaomi 18 Fold in China, its first wide-format foldable, featuring a 5.38-inch cover screen and a 7.58-inch inner display with a 2:1 aspect ratio, both running at up to 120Hz and 4,000 nits brightness. The phone runs on Xiaomi's own XRing 03 chipset, up to 16GB RAM, 1TB storage, and a 6,000mAh battery with 67W wired and 50W wireless charging, starting around $1,639 with no confirmed global launch yet.
Yugoslav manufacturer Iskra Delta built its Partner microcomputer in the 1980s by assembling widely available components rather than designing everything in-house, following the industry shift pioneered by minicomputers and cemented by the IBM PC. The report traces the Partner's case specifically to a UK design origin, illustrating how even locally branded machines relied on components and designs sourced from elsewhere.
Security firm Sansec has detected active exploitation of an unpatched vulnerability, dubbed StyleSmuggler, affecting all versions of Magento and Adobe Commerce. Attackers inject PHP code through the platform's template system by triggering a fake failed-payment email, which then installs a Rust-based backdoor disguised as a legitimate Linux process and sets up a cron job for persistence. Adobe has confirmed it is working on a patch but has not given a release date.
Apple's Certified Refurbished program provides devices with new shells, new batteries, full Apple testing, complete accessory sets, and a full one-year warranty at roughly 15% off, typically appearing about three months after a product's launch. By contrast, Amazon Renewed items are inspected by third-party sellers, may include used shells and batteries rated to at least 80% capacity, possibly non-Apple accessories, and only a 90-day warranty, with cosmetic condition split into three tiers. Walmart Restored offers less transparency about condition standards compared to both Apple and Amazon.
Developer Marcelo Guibout built a ReShade-based tool called MGPU Bridge that offloads Nvidia's DLSS 5 Neural Rendering step to a second GPU, letting one card handle game rendering while the other applies neural post-processing. Demonstrated on Cyberpunk 2077 and The Blood of Dawnwalker using two RTX 5060 Ti cards, the setup reportedly boosted neural-rendered frame rates by up to 127%, though it requires a second monitor and adds display latency. The project is available on GitHub for others to test.
Apple is holding its 'Surprise and Shine' fall event, where the company is expected to reveal its first foldable iPhone alongside the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, updated Apple Watches, and new AirPods. Gizmodo is live-covering the announcements as they happen.
Because Windows runs across countless third-party manufacturers rather than one vertically integrated maker like Apple, laptop quality and battery life vary widely depending on the model chosen. Budget Windows machines often use plastic builds and x86 chips with weaker battery life, while premium options like the Dell XPS 13 or Asus Zenbook A16 rival MacBooks in build quality, and ARM-based Windows laptops from Qualcomm and MediaTek now close the battery gap, though at the cost of software compatibility.