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Intel's fabs may at long last be worth all those billions of dollars
Intel's market capitalization has surpassed $300 billion for the first time since October 2000, driven by advancements in its foundry business and deals with major tech companies. This growth contrasts with competitors like Texas Instruments and Qualcomm, indicating a strong resurgence for Intel in the semiconductor industry. The company's dominant processor market share, despite AMD's gains in server chips and PC gaming, is a key factor in investor confidence.
The Morning After: Amazon pledges its satellite internet starts this year
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced that its satellite internet service, Leo, will begin service by mid-2026, promising download speeds up to 1Gbps. The company aims for faster speeds, lower costs, and integration with other Amazon products. Separately, Greece will ban social media for children under 15 starting in 2027, and Amazon is discontinuing support for older Kindle and Fire tablet models.
Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite reviews are in, but these second-gen Windows-on-Arm chips still aren't grabbing me as…
Reviews for Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 Elite chips indicate strong CPU performance, often matching or exceeding Intel and AMD competitors, and even rivaling Apple's M5 MacBook Air in some benchmarks. However, gaming performance is inconsistent, with some titles like Cyberpunk 2077 running well, while others such as Dota 2 suffer from significant frame rate drops. While the chips show promise for Windows on Arm devices, they are not yet a complete replacement for traditional gaming rigs.
ASUS ZenBook A16 review: A surprisingly light and powerful 16-inch ultraportable
The ASUS Zenbook A16 is a surprisingly light and powerful 16-inch ultraportable laptop featuring a new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip. It boasts a stunning 3K OLED display, a comfortable Ceraluminum chassis, and impressive battery life, making it a strong contender in its price range despite some compatibility concerns with older applications and certain anti-cheat software.
Apple turns 50 today: here's what it does better than PC (no foolin')
Apple celebrates its 50th anniversary, highlighting its strengths in silicon design and integrated hardware-software ecosystems, particularly with its M-series chips. While PC gaming remains a weak point, advancements in Arm architecture and translation layers suggest a growing potential for gaming on Apple devices.
The RAM crisis is Apple's best chance in decades to capture the PC market
The global RAM crisis presents Apple with a unique opportunity to significantly increase its market share in the PC sector. While competitors face rising component costs and production challenges, Apple's integrated hardware and software, along with its strong profit margins, allow it to potentially offer competitive pricing and performance with its MacBook Neo. This situation could shift the balance of power away from Windows-based manufacturers.
Monado becomes the open source foundation for various OpenXR (VR) vendors
Collabora's open-source XR runtime, Monado, has become the foundational technology for numerous vendors in the VR and AR industry, including Google's AndroidXR, Hololight Stream, NVIDIA CloudXR, Pico, PortalVR, and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Spaces. Monado's modularity, quality, permissive licensing, and lower barrier to entry are cited as key advantages for its widespread adoption.
High-end systems dominate booming gaming PC sales according to new report that also claims Arm chips are coming to the…
A new report from Jon Peddie Research indicates that gaming PC sales are surging, driven primarily by high-end systems. The report also forecasts significant growth for Arm-based gaming PCs, projecting the market to reach $1.5 billion by 2028, though this will still represent a small fraction of the overall gaming PC hardware market.
Nothing Phone 4a Pro review: A midrange phone that rivals the Pixel 10a
The Nothing Phone 4a Pro offers a premium metal unibody design and a refined camera system for $499, positioning it as a strong competitor to the Pixel 10a. It features a brighter 6.83-inch AMOLED display, improved performance with the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 processor, and a 24-hour battery life, though it lacks wireless charging and has a less playful Glyph Matrix than previous models.
Clair Obscur and Dispatch lead BAFTA Game Awards 2026 nominations
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Dispatch lead the BAFTA Game Awards 2026 nominations with 12 and nine nods respectively. A total of 42 titles received nominations across various categories, with Ghost of Yotei, Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and Arc Raiders also securing multiple nominations. The awards ceremony is scheduled for April 17, 2026, in London.
OnePlus Nord 6 Launch Window Leaks Along With Key Specifications
Leaks suggest the OnePlus Nord 6 smartphone will launch in early April with hardware upgrades similar to the OnePlus Turbo 6. Expected features include a 1.5K 165Hz AMOLED display and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor. The device may also feature a 50MP rear camera and a 16MP front camera, with battery capacity and charging speeds still unconfirmed for global markets.
OnePlus Nord 6 Launch Window Leaks Along With Key Specifications
Leaks suggest the OnePlus Nord 6 smartphone will launch in early April with hardware upgrades similar to the OnePlus Turbo 6. Expected features include a 1.5K 165Hz AMOLED display and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor. The device may also feature a 50MP rear camera and a 16MP front camera, with battery capacity and charging speeds still unconfirmed for global markets.
Microsoft teams up with Nvidia, AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm to share 'our dream of bringing console-level GPU…
Microsoft has announced a significant update to DirectX, introducing new tooling features aimed at bringing console-level GPU developer tools to Windows. The company collaborated with GPU hardware partners AMD, Intel, Nvidia, and Qualcomm on this release, which includes new DirectX dump files for debugging and a shader explorer for analyzing compiled shaders.
Samsung Galaxy S26 review: The smartphone status quo
The Samsung Galaxy S26 offers iterative upgrades over its predecessor, including a slightly larger screen, brighter display, increased battery capacity, and more base storage. While performance is strong with both Exynos and Snapdragon variants, the Exynos model shows slightly shorter battery life. The camera system sees minor improvements, and AI features are expanded, though some integrations like Perplexity are still in early stages.
Google and Samsung built a tool to boost the gaming experience on your phone
Google and Samsung have collaborated to create Sokatoa, a new GPU profiler tool designed to help Android game developers identify and fix performance issues. The tool utilizes multi-frame GPU profiling to detect subtle rendering problems that traditional single-frame tools miss, aiming to improve game stability and reduce rendering headaches for developers. Sokatoa supports various GPUs and has received positive feedback from early testers like Supercell and Unity.
Gaming on ARM: Can Windows 11 Finally Make It a Reality?
Windows 11 is improving the viability of ARM processors for PC gaming through enhanced emulation and cloud gaming integration. While challenges like game compatibility and GPU power remain, ARM laptops offer potential benefits such as longer battery life and lower costs, making them a promising option for casual gamers.
Texture pop-in may be about to pop-out of existence thanks to even faster asset streaming ushered in by new Zstandard…
Microsoft has detailed improvements to its DirectStorage 1.4 technology, focusing on enhanced GPU decompression algorithms like Zstandard (Zstd) to speed up asset streaming and reduce texture pop-in. Several GPU manufacturers, including AMD, Nvidia, Intel, and Qualcomm, are collaborating to optimize Zstd decompression for their hardware, with driver updates expected in the latter half of 2026.
iPhone Fold rumors: Everything we know right now, including the leaked design, upgrades, price and more
Rumors suggest Apple is targeting a fall 2026 launch for its foldable iPhone, tentatively named the iPhone Fold, potentially alongside the iPhone 18 lineup. The device is expected to feature a book-style design with a 7.7-inch internal display and a 5.5-inch external display, utilizing Samsung Display's crease-less OLED technology and a Liquidmetal hinge. It is anticipated to cost between $2,000 and $2,500 and may include an under-display camera and Touch ID integrated into the power button.
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is an incredible all-rounder, but some other gaming phones have it beat
The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a powerful smartphone with an excellent display, cameras, and software features, making it a strong all-rounder. While it performs admirably in mobile gaming, its battery life is a notable drawback, and dedicated gaming phones offer superior processing power and higher refresh rates for a lower cost.
The Morning After: The new iPad Air M4 is Apple's best overall tablet
Apple has released the M4-powered iPad Air, its third iteration in less than two years, featuring the same chip found in the 2024 iPad Pro. Despite improvements, the display remains unchanged from previous models, and the device still lacks Face ID. The article also touches on other tech news including Qualcomm's new AI-focused Arduino board and a potential delay for Apple's smart home display.