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Jon Peddie Research reports desktop discrete graphics card shipments reached 12.5 million units in Q2 2026, the highest quarterly total since early 2022, even as prices climbed to record levels. Nvidia shipped about 11.25 million of those units for roughly 90% market share, while AMD shipped around one million cards for about 8%.
Google has released a native Gemini AI desktop application for Windows, following a similar Mac app launched in April. The app offers image generation via Nano Banana, video generation through Gemini Omni for eligible subscribers, and access to multiple Gemini model tiers depending on a user's Google subscription, all launchable with an Alt+spacebar shortcut.
Windows admins report that this month's cumulative updates for Windows Server 2019, 2022, and 2025 are breaking Remote Desktop Services, with servers working fine for a few hours before connections begin to fail. Existing sessions can get stuck unable to disconnect, new logins hang and time out, and in many cases only a hard reset restores service. Some administrators say uninstalling the September patch is the only reliable fix so far.
Microsoft has resolved a bug that made desktop wallpapers turn solid black and reset mouse settings on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 devices. The issue stemmed from the KB5120998 preview update released in August 2026, and Microsoft says installing the KB5124008 update from September 8 fixes it.
Sony has begun pushing Android 17 to the Xperia 1 VIII, with the update also arriving for the Xperia 1 VII and Xperia 1 VI. The release adds a Desktop mode for connecting phones to external displays like a PC, along with new wallpaper and icon customization, a redesigned Quick settings panel, and upgraded screen recording that captures full-screen or single-app video with audio. The Xperia 1 VIII also gains the ability to save and name up to three custom looks in its AI Camera Assistant.
At IFA 2026, Singapore's Lingverse introduced iKairos, a device that functions as a desktop AI companion but can be removed from its robot base and worn as a neck pendant. The device gathers contextual data from both settings and feeds it into Lingverse's LifeOS to generate personalized suggestions, such as recommending activities based on recurring conversation topics.
A leaked slide reportedly sourced from an OEM or motherboard partner outlines Intel's production and launch plan for its Nova Lake-S desktop chips, showing mass production starting in Q4 2026. Only a 28-core unlocked model would debut in Q1 2027, with the flagship 52-core chip pushed to later in the year, possibly between May and September 2027. Unlike Intel's usual practice of leading with flagship parts, the top-tier 52-core SKU appears positioned above a normal flagship, aimed more at HEDT-style users.
Microsoft has acknowledged that its optional KB5120998 preview update, released August 27, 2026, causes desktop backgrounds to reset to solid black on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 devices. The company says the bug prevents desktop settings like wallpaper, slideshow options, and contrast themes from loading correctly, and affected users cannot manually restore their previous customizations. The same update was already flagged a day earlier for resetting mouse settings with similar restoration problems.
Plex is urging all users to immediately update Plex Media Server to version 1.43.3 and Plex Desktop to version 1.115.0, both released earlier this year, to fix multiple unspecified security vulnerabilities. The company emailed affected customers directly and said CVE identifiers have been requested but not yet published, though the flaws are known to impact Media Server v1.43.2 and earlier.
A ZDNET writer describes setting up Tailscale, a free service that links home computers—two physical machines and four virtual ones—into a secure private network called a tailnet. The setup allowed remote desktop access to all machines from abroad without configuring router settings or firewall rules, using tools already familiar to the user like Remote Desktop clients.
Microsoft has begun testing a feature in Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26340.9233 that lets users control camera, microphone, and precise location access separately for each desktop application. Previously, these permissions were governed by a single device-wide toggle covering all desktop apps at once. The new controls are accessible via Settings > Privacy & security, with individual switches for each app.
Parallels Desktop 27 introduces a new Metal-based graphics driver enabling hardware-accelerated OpenGL 4.3 for Windows virtual machines running on Apple Silicon Macs. This unlocks professional Windows applications like ArcGIS Pro, ZWCAD, and Blender 4.3 that previously required this graphics baseline to function. Parallels also touts faster AI workload performance and new enterprise management tools aimed at IT departments.