Amazon is selling the 256GB Galaxy S26 Ultra for $961, a 26% cut from its $1,299.99 list price, though the discount currently applies only to the Cobalt Violet color option. The phone has a 4.6-star rating and this is the lowest price seen outside of Prime Day.
Apple has abandoned its plan to shift Hide My Email addresses from the @icloud.com domain to @private.icloud.com. The company confirmed Monday that masked email addresses will stay on @icloud.com, reversing an earlier decision announced this year.
An Android Authority reader poll of nearly 1,600 Pixel 10 Pro owners found that 58% intend to keep their current phone rather than buy the newly released Pixel 11 Pro. Only 29.2% said they're upgrading to the Pixel 11 Pro, while smaller shares are switching to another Pixel 11 model or a rival Android device.
Nintendo announced two new Switch 2 bundles: a refreshed Mario Kart World package for $550 and a new Nintendo Switch Sports Resort bundle for $530, both including a 90-day individual Switch Online membership. These arrive as the Switch 2 console price rises to $500 starting September 1, up from $450.
Sony has released the Xperia 10 VIII, a midrange Android phone that keeps most hardware from last year's Xperia 10 VII, including its 6.1-inch OLED display, Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip, 8GB RAM, 5,000mAh battery and dual-camera setup. The main changes are a brighter screen, louder speakers, a translucent back panel and a quick-payment shortcut, yet UK pricing jumps to £549, about £150 more than the previous model. The phone launches in September in three colors, though it remains unavailable in the US.
Apple has launched an updated version of its Polishing Cloth on its online store, with U.S. pricing dropping to $9 from the previous $19. It's still unclear whether the new cloth differs in size or material beyond the price change, but Apple says it remains a soft, nonabrasive cloth safe for all Apple displays, including nano-texture screens.
Thunderbolt 5 upgrades on Thunderbolt 4 by offering up to 120Gbps in one direction and 40Gbps in the other, compared to Thunderbolt 4's symmetric bandwidth, while also supporting 240 watts of power delivery. Both standards share USB-C connectors and support data, video and power over the same cables, and Thunderbolt 5 remains backwards compatible with Thunderbolt 4, 3 and USB4 devices.
Researchers from the Zoological Society of London used underwater microphones and AI software to track blast fishing near Indonesia's Spermonde Archipelago, detecting over 3,500 explosions in 3,600 hours of recordings. They estimate more than 8,000 underwater detonations occur annually in the region, as fishers use homemade explosives to stun and kill fish for local markets.
Zach Witkoff, CEO of Trump-linked World Liberty Financial, said USD1's trading volume and adoption prove the stablecoin has genuine utility unrelated to political favoritism. He cited over $4 billion in circulation and daily trading volumes exceeding $1 billion, dismissing suggestions the token could be used to funnel money to the Trump family.
Apple has released a new Mac mini lineup powered by its M6 chip and M5 Pro chip, replacing the previous M4 and M4 Pro models. The M6, built on a 2nm process, brings a 12-core CPU, 12-core GPU, and dual 16-core Neural Engine, while the M5 Pro offers up to an 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU. Both versions also gain higher memory bandwidth and increased maximum RAM configurations.
At the Hot Chips conference, OpenAI released the first benchmark results for Jalapeño, its custom AI inference chip built with Broadcom. On SemiAnalysis' InferenceX test, the chip beat current Nvidia Blackwell systems in tokens served per user and throughput per kilowatt of power. OpenAI plans small-scale deployment by late 2026, with broader rollout in 2027.
A Portland-based remote worker converted his home office plans after finding Autonomous.ai's prefab office pods would cost nearly $30,000 once shipping, assembly and HVAC installation were included. He instead chose to build a backyard office by converting a shed frame, aiming for a cheaper solution with proper heating and cooling that didn't require a home purchase or long-term commitment.