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Aqara, known mainly for security sensors, revealed a broad new smart lighting range at IFA 2026 covering indoor lamps, LED strips, and outdoor lighting. The lineup includes a multicolor standing lamp with 18 controllable zones, a table lamp, a low-ceiling downlight, a dense LED strip, and both string and permanent weatherproof outdoor lights. Pricing and release dates were not disclosed.
Rockstar's 27-minute 'Extended Look' at Grand Theft Auto VI premiered on Netflix on August 27 and racked up over 31 million views in four days, topping viewership charts in 87 of 93 countries. The clip also pulled over 20 million views on YouTube after its Netflix exclusivity window ended, while Sensor Tower data showed Netflix's website traffic jumped 125% and mobile app usage rose 50%, briefly crashing the site.
A hobbyist electronics resource describes a low-cost, COM-port based AVR programmer used to flash ATmega and other AVR microcontrollers, alongside comparison notes on image sensors for the CHC5 open camera system. The programmer can function both as a dongle for standalone chip programming and as an in-circuit tool for programming AVR chips already installed in a target device.
Ahead of Apple's September event, reports point to three key upgrades for the Apple Watch Series 12: an updated S-class chip built for AI features like Siri, an always-on heart rate sensor enabling continuous health tracking, and a returning ceramic case option in white and dark gray. The watch will launch alongside Apple Watch Ultra 4.
MapQuest announced it would not rename Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' despite a Trump executive order directing federal agencies to update the name. Following the decision, MapQuest's iOS app jumped to No. 4 among all US App Store apps and became the top-ranked navigation app, with hundreds of thousands of new downloads and usage climbing to 50 times normal levels.
Rockstar Games released a 26-minute gameplay preview of Grand Theft Auto VI, ahead of its November 19th launch, drawing nearly 10 million YouTube views in a day. The footage also aired on Netflix, where traffic was so heavy some viewers hit error messages, and Twitch reported bandwidth strain from fans reacting to the clip. Sensor Tower estimates the game already has roughly 4.6 million preorders.
Researchers at MIT, led by Saransh Sharma with senior authors Giovanni Traverso and Anantha Chandrakasan, developed an ingestible capsule that measures body temperature to within 0.01°C. The device runs on a coin-cell battery and uses backscattering to shift most power demands to an external antenna, resulting in what they call the smallest ingestible temperature sensor yet built.
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.
OpenAI now offers a cheaper ChatGPT Go tier worldwide for users who no longer need premium features, while also retiring GPT-4o from ChatGPT on February 13, 2026 despite earlier restoring it due to user demand. Separately, a Defense Department deal to deploy OpenAI's models on a classified network triggered a 295 percent single-day spike in US app uninstalls, prompting OpenAI to amend the agreement to bar domestic surveillance uses.
WIRED highlighted the Dreo Air Purifier Tower Fan MC710S as a standout multiuse home appliance, priced around $330 on Amazon. The unit combines a 99.97 percent HEPA filter with a fan that can run independently, controllable via remote, the Dreo app, or voice assistants like Alexa and Google Home.