Apple's next product event is happening on September 9, and while the company hasn't technically dropped any hints about what's coming, anyone with a working memory and a sense of object permanence can tell you that an Apple event in the month of September means next-generation iPhones.

Apple's flagship phones have changed in mostly subtle ways since 2022's iPhone 14 Pro added the Dynamic Island and 2023's refreshes switched from Lightning to USB-C. Chips get gradually faster, cameras get gradually better, but Apple hasn't done a seismic iPhone X-style rethinking of its phones since, well, 2017's iPhone X.

The rumor mill thinks that Apple is working on a foldable iPhone—and such a device would certainly benefit from years of investment in the iPad—but if it's coming, it probably won't be this year. That doesn't mean Apple is totally done iterating on the iPhone X-style design, though. Let's run down what the most reliable rumors have said we're getting.

The iPhone 17

Apple's vanilla one-size-fits-most iPhone is always the centerpiece of the lineup, and this year's iteration is expected to bring the typical batch of gradual iterative upgrades.

The screen will supposedly be the biggest beneficiary, upgrading from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches (the same size as the current iPhone 16 Pro) and adding a high-refresh-rate ProMotion screen that has typically been reserved for the Pro phones. Apple is always careful not to add too many "Pro"-level features to the entry-level iPhones, but this one is probably overdue—even less-expensive Android phones like the Pixel 9a ship often ship with 90 Hz or 120 Hz screens at this point. It's not clear whether that will also enable the always-on display feature that has also historically been exclusive to the iPhone Pro, but the fluidity upgrade will be nice regardless.

Aside from that, there aren't many specific improvements we've seen reported on, but there are plenty we can comfortably guess at. Improved front- and rear-facing cameras and a new Apple A19-series chip with at least the 8GB of RAM needed to support Apple Intelligence are both pretty safe bets.

But there's one thing we supposedly won't get, which is a new large-sized iPhone Plus. That brings us to our next rumor.

The “iPhone Air”

For the last few years, every new iPhone launch has actually brought us four iPhones—a regular iPhone in two different sizes and an iPhone Pro with a better camera, better screen, faster chip, and other improvements in a regular size and a large size.

It's the second size of the regular iPhone that has apparently given Apple some trouble. It made a couple of generations of "iPhone mini," an attempt to address a small-but-vocal contingent of Phones Are Just Too Big These Days people that apparently didn't sell well enough to continue making. That was replaced by the iPhone Plus, aimed at people who wanted a bigger screen but who weren't ready to pay for an iPhone Pro Max.

The Plus phones at least gave the iPhone lineup a nice symmetry—two tiers of phone, with a regular one and a big one at each tier—but rumors suggest that the Plus phone is also going away this year. Like the iPhone mini before it, it apparently just wasn't selling well enough to be worth the continued effort.

That brings us to this year's fourth iPhone: Apple is supposedly planning to release an "iPhone Air," which will weigh less than the regular iPhone and is said to be 5.5 or 6 mm thick, depending on who you ask (the iPhone 16 is 7.8 mm).

A 6.3-inch ProMotion display and A19-series chip are also expected to be a part of the iPhone Air, but rather than try to squeeze every feature of the iPhone 17 into a thinner phone, it sounds like the iPhone 17 Air will cater to people who are willing to give a few things up in the interest of getting a thinner and lighter device. It will reportedly have worse battery life than the regular iPhone and just a single-lens camera setup (though the 48 MP sensors Apple has switched to in recent iPhones do make it easier to "fake" optical zoom features than it used to be).

We don't know anything about the pricing for any of these phones, but Bloomberg's Mark Gurman suggests that the iPhone Air will be positioned between the regular iPhone and the iPhone Pro—more like the iPad lineup, where the Air is the mid-tier choice, and less like the Mac, where the Air is the entry-level laptop.

iPhone 17 Pro

Apple's Pro iPhones are generally "the regular iPhone, but more," and sometimes they're "what all iPhones will look like in a couple of years, but available right now for people who will pay more for it." The new ones seem set to continue in that vein.

The most radical change will apparently be on the back—Apple is said to be switching to an even larger camera array that stretches across the entire top-rear section of the phone, an arrangement you'll occasionally see in some high-end Android phones (Google's Pixel 10 is one). That larger camera bump will likely enable a few upgrades, including a switch from a 12 MP sensor for the telephoto zoom lens to a 48 MP sensor. And it will also be part of a more comprehensive metal-and-glass body that's more of a departure from the glass-backed-slab design Apple has been using since the iPhone 12.

A 48MP telephoto sensor could increase the amount of pseudo-optical zoom that the iPhone can offer. The main iPhones will condense a 48 MP photo down to 12 MP when you're in the regular shooting mode, binning pixels to improve image quality. For zoomed-in photos, it can just take a 12 MP section out of the middle of the 48 MP image—you lose the benefit of pixel binning, but you're still getting a "native resolution" photo without blurry digital zoom. With a better sensor, Apple could do exactly the same thing with the telephoto lens.

Apple reportedly isn't planning any changes to screen size this year—still 6.3 inches for the regular Pro and 6.9 inches for the Max. But they are said to be getting new "A19 Pro" series chips that are superior to the regular A19 processors (though in what way, exactly, we don't yet know). But it could shrink the amount of screen space dedicated to the Dynamic Island.

New Apple Watches

New iPhone announcements are usually paired with new Apple Watch announcements, though if anything, the Watch has changed even less than the iPhone has over the last few years.

The Apple Watch Series 11 won't be getting a screen size increase—the Series 10 bumped things up a smidge just last year, from 41 and 45 mm to 42 and 46 mm. But the screen will apparently have a higher maximum brightness—always useful for outdoor visibility—and there will be a modestly improved Apple S11 chip on the inside.

The entry-level Apple Watch SE is also apparently due for an upgrade. The current second-generation SE still uses an Apple S8 chip, and Apple Watch Series 4-era 40 and 44 mm screens that don't support always-on operation. In other words, there's plenty that Apple could upgrade here without cannibalizing sales of the mainstream Series 11 watch.

Finally, after missing out on an update last year, Apple also reportedly plans to deliver a new Apple Watch Ultra, with the larger 46 mm screen from the Series 10/11 watches and the same updated S11 chip as the regular Apple Watch. The current Apple Watch Ultra 2 already has a brighter screen than the Series 10—3,000 nits, up from 2,000—so it's not clear whether the Apple Watch Ultra 3's screen would also get brighter or if the Series 11's screen is just getting a brightness boost to match what the Ultra can do.

Smart home, TV, and audio

Though iPhones and Apple Watches are usually a lock for a September event, other products and accessory updates are also possible.

Of these, the most high-profile is probably a refresh for the Apple TV 4K streaming box, which would be its first update in three years. Rumors suggest that the main upgrade for a new model would be an Apple A17 Pro chip, introduced for the iPhone 15 Pro and also used in the iPad mini 7. The A17 Pro is paired with 8GB of RAM, which makes it Apple's smallest and cheapest chip that's capable of Apple Intelligence. Apple hasn't done anything with Apple Intelligence on the Apple TV directly, but to date, that has been partly because none of the hardware is capable of it.

Also in the "possible but not guaranteed" column: new high-end AirPods Pro, the first-ever internal update to 2020's HomePod Mini speaker, a new AirTag location tracker, and a straightforward internals-only refresh of the Vision Pro headset. Any, all, or none of these could break cover at the event next week, but Gurman claims they're all "coming soon."

New software updates

We know most of what there is to know about iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS 26, and Apple's other software updates this year, thanks to a three-month-old WWDC presentation and months of public beta testing. There might be a feature or two exclusive to the newest iPhones, but that sort of thing is usually camera-related and usually pretty minor.

The main thing to expect will be release dates for the final versions of all of the updates. Apple usually releases a near-final release candidate build on the day of the presentation, gives developers a week or so to finalize and submit their updated apps for App Review, and then releases the updates after that. Expect to see them rolled out to everyone sometime the week of September 15th (though an earlier release is always a possibility).

What’s probably not happening

We'd be surprised to see anything related to the Mac or the iPad at the event next week, even though several models are in a window where the timing is about right for an Apple M5 refresh.

Macs and iPads have shared the stage with the iPhone before, but in more recent years, Apple has held these refreshes back for another, smaller event later in October or November. If Apple has new MacBook Pro or iPad Pro models slated for 2025, we'd expect to see them in a month or two.

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Posted Saturday 6 September 2025 at 1:18 pm AEST (my time).

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OpenAI is set to produce its own artificial intelligence chip for the first time next year, as the ChatGPT maker attempts to address insatiable demand for computing power and reduce its reliance on chip giant Nvidia.

The chip, co-designed with US semiconductor giant Broadcom, would ship next year, according to multiple people familiar with the partnership.

Broadcom’s chief executive Hock Tan on Thursday referred to a mystery new customer committing to $10 billion in orders.

OpenAI’s move follows the strategy of tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Meta, which have designed their own specialised chips to run AI workloads. The industry has seen huge demand for the computing power to train and run AI models.

OpenAI planned to put the chip to use internally, according to one person close to the project, rather than make them available to external customers.

Last year it began an initial collaboration with Broadcom, according to reports at the time, but the timeline for mass production of a successful chip design had previously been unclear.

On a call with analysts, Tan announced that Broadcom had secured a fourth major customer for its custom AI chip business, as it reported earnings that topped Wall Street estimates.

Broadcom does not disclose the names of these customers, but people familiar with the matter confirmed OpenAI was the new client. Broadcom and OpenAI declined to comment.

Tan said the deal had lifted the company’s growth prospects by bringing “immediate and fairly substantial demand,” shipping chips for that customer “pretty strongly” from next year.

The prospect that custom AI chips will take a growing share of the booming AI infrastructure market has helped propel Broadcom’s shares more than 30 percent higher this year. They rallied almost 9 percent in pre-market trading in New York on Friday.

HSBC analysts have recently noted that they expect to see a much higher growth rate from Broadcom’s custom chip business compared with Nvidia’s chip business in 2026.

Nvidia continues to dominate the AI hardware space, with the Big Tech “hyperscalers” still representing a significant share of its customer base. But its growth has slowed relative to the astronomical figures it saw at the start of the AI investment boom.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has been vocal about the demand for more computing power to serve the number of businesses and consumers using products such as ChatGPT, as well as to train and run AI models.

The company was one of the earliest customers for Nvidia’s AI chips and has since proven to be a voracious consumer of its hardware.

Last month, Altman said the company was prioritising compute “in light of the increased demand from [OpenAI’s latest model] GPT-5” and planned to double its compute fleet “over the next 5 months.”

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Posted Saturday 6 September 2025 at 3:37 am AEST (my time).

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Every September, hundreds of thousands of visitors descend upon Berlin for IFA, one of the largest trade tech conferences in Europe. IFA heralds the unofficial start of Techtember, when companies launch products in anticipation of the holiday shopping season. For over 100 years, companies, financiers, and journalists have crossed the Spree and eaten cold liver sausage for breakfast, just to check out the latest innovations in consumer electronics.

This year, those attendees include me and Gear editor Verity Burns. Here are some of the new gadgets and trends, and the funniest things we’ve found.

Table of Contents

• Samsung's Flagship Tablet Eyes the iPad Pro
• Lenovo's Twisty Laptop
• Technics Unveils Its First Bluetooth Turntable
• Fresh New Android Features
• TCL's Gargantuan Phone Is Easy on the Eyes
• The Vacuums Are Inside and Out
• RGB LED TVs Are Getting Smaller
• Dolby Vision 2 Arrives
• AI-Powered Wearables Are Here to Stay
• Philips Hue Partnered With Sonos
• Anker’s Merges a Projector and Party Speaker
• Anker Has a Crazy Docking Station
• Tado and Panasonic Help People Switch to Heat Pumps
• Scosche Thinks You Lose Your Car Charger
• Reolink Uses AI to Find Red Cars and Black Hoodies

Samsung's Flagship Tablet Eyes the iPad Pro

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra

Photograph: Julian Chokkattu

 

Don’t let your tablet dreams die—if you’re an Android user, there’s now an iPad Pro for you. At IFA 2025, Samsung launched the next-gen Galaxy Tab S11 and Tab S11 Ultra, which match Apple's iPad Pro in one regard: thinness. Both Apple and Samsung’s top-tier tablets are a mere 0.20 inches thick. That's sort of been the theme for 2025, especially with the upcoming iPhone 17 Air. The Tab S11 and S11 Ultra Android 16 out of the box, have 120-Hz AMOLED displays, and can hit a peak brightness of 1,600 nits. The company also announced a fifth Galaxy S25 phone, the Galaxy S25 FE. This $650 Android phone offers similar specs to the Galaxy S25+, but cuts some corners here and there to bring the price down.

 

You can read more about Samsung’s new tablets and phones here. —Adrienne So

Lenovo's Twisty Laptop

Lenovo debuted a concept laptop that can manually swivel from the standard landscape mode to portrait mode; it’s called the ThinkBook VertiFlex, and it’s perfect for when you need to switch from browsing the web in landscape mode to writing in a document or responding to coworkers in Slack in portrait mode. It’s not currently on sale, but it could be.

 

Lenovo had several announcements at IFA, like new Android tablets, fresh spec bumps and colors for existing laptops, and even a new gaming PC. But the most notable, outside of the twisty laptop, is pricing and availability news for the hyped up Legion Go 2. Originally teased at CES 2025, this Windows-powered gaming handheld is larger than its predecessor, sports an OLED panel with a 144-Hz refresh rate, has a bigger battery, and Hall effect joysticks. It'll be available in October for $1,049, a $449 price bump from the original.

 

You can read more about Lenovo’s IFA announcements here. —Julian Chokkattu

Technics Unveils Its First Bluetooth Turntable

Photograph: Verity Burns

 

Technics has been producing turntables for decades, but it has generally catered them towards audiophiles and DJs. However, as the popularity of vinyl among a much broader audience shows no sign of stopping, the company has decided to incorporate convenience into its decks: The SL-40CBT is its first turntable with built-in Bluetooth.

 

Technics hasn't said what Bluetooth codec is supported in the turntable, but did acknowledge the compression that would take place by listening in this way. It's clearly not the best way to listen to your records, but it does add some flexibility to existing setups, or those with limited space to place speakers close to their turntable.

 

The SL-40CBT is also beginner-friendly thanks to a built-in phono stage, making it ready to connect with active speakers right out of the box. This can be bypassed if you prefer, giving buyers an upgrade path to add a separate phono stage or use the one included in their amplifier. The new turntable features an S-shaped aluminum tone arm, Audio-Technica AT-VM95C cartridge, aluminum platter, and minimalistic MDF chassis. It'll launch this month in a choice of black, gray and terracotta for $899. —Verity Burns

Fresh New Android Features

Courtesy of Google

 

Android users, you're getting a few new AI-powered features. First up is AI writing tools baked into Gboard, Google's default keyboard on many Android devices, including Pixel phones. AI-assisted writing features are fairly common now, and now it's a button on your virtual keyboard, ready to revise your tone, improve your grammar, or proofread your copy before you hit send. Google says this data remains on device and is private.

 

Another cool addition is Audio Sharing, allowing you to pair two LE Audio devices, which use the next-gen Bluetooth standard, to your phone so you and a friend can listen to the same music (or watch the same movie) together via one screen. Sharing audio in general is going to be easier thanks to a new QR code system. You can create a private broadcast, and folks can join by scanning your code.

 

Google is also deploying its Material 3 Expressive user interface to Pixel 6 phones and newer, now that it's been available on the latest Pixel 10 phones for the past week. (You can read more about it here.) Finally, Google has a fun new tool called Androidify that lets you build your own Android robot by using a selfie and a prompt. It's powered by a mix of Gemini 2.5 Flash, Imagen, and Veo 3 to understand the prompt and caption the photo, generate the bot image, and animate it. Every Friday in September, Google will let you animate your bot into an 8-second video. You can use Androidify via the web or an app. —Julian Chokkattu

TCL's Gargantuan Phone Is Easy on the Eyes

Courtesy of TCL

 

The biggest phones today top out around 6.9 inches, but TCL thinks that's child's play. Its new Nxtpaper 60 Ultra smartphone has a gargantuan 7.2-inch display. Remember phablets? Yeah, this is basically a phablet; it even comes with a stylus!

 

The highlight of this phone is TCL's Nxtpaper 4.0 technology. The company has been on a crusade for several years, prioritizing a display technology that's easier on the eyes. Nxtpaper screens are matte, anti-glare, and paper-like—I had a pleasant experience with the recent 60 XE Nxtpaper 5G. The 60 Ultra is the first deployment of Nxtpaper 4.0, and it ups the ante. The company claims that the light waves emitted from the phone rotate in a circular motion to mimic natural light, and it's anti-glare, doesn't show reflections, has zero flicker, and reduces blue light. The brightness of the screen can drop as low as 2 nits if it detects dim lighting, and the screen tone will shift to warmer hues as night arrives. All of this is meant to help reduce eye strain and potentially improve sleep.

 

The 60 Ultra costs €499 (around $582) and will eventually make its way to the US. It's an upper midrange phone, and one of the few at this price with a triple-camera system where one of the cameras is a 50-megapixel 3X zoom telephoto. Also a part of TCL Mobile's announcements was the Nxtpaper 5G Junior, a phone for teens that uses similar Nxtpaper display technology with a Digital Detox Mode to cut out distractions. It costs €249 and goes on sale in Europe this October. —Julian Chokkattu

The Vacuums Are Inside and Out

Photograph: Adrienne So

 

Roborock, makers of our favorite robot vacuum, launched a few new products under the theme “Rocking Life, Inside and Out.” Roborock’s craziest new robot vacuum, the Saros Z70 with an automated, extendable robotic arm, debuted earlier this year, but the latest is an iteration on one of my personal favorite robot vacuums in the QRevo line. The QRevo Curv 2 Pro's dock has a distinctive curved dome that belies its powerful 25,000 Pa suction, and the vac has a new lifting chassis that helps it get over small obstacles and adapt to different carpet pile heights. (I also appreciate that it’s one of the slimmest robot vacuums on the market.)

 

The new F25 Ultra is Roborock’s first handheld vacuum that features both steam and hot water cleaning modes, and the company also launched a line of new robotic lawn mowers—the RockMow Z1, RockMow S1, and RockNeo Q1. All three navigate with Roborock’s AI-enabled Sentisphere system, which uses both real-time satellites as well as localized VSLAM (which takes into account relational navigational data, like how many times the wheels have spun) to get under trees and power lines when satellites fail. In my testing, I’ve found Roborock’s navigational systems to be top-tier, and I’m excited to see how they work in a more complicated environment involving trees, power lines, and pet toys. US pricing and availability are still unconfirmed as of the time of launch.

 

 

Eufy and Ecovacs, which also make some of WIRED’s favorite robot vacuums, also launched new models, but the most startling one is not currently available. Every year, we say there’s a new robot vacuum that can climb stairs, but the Eufy MarsWalker can actually do it. Well, it's not really a robot vacuum, more like a stairlift for your existing robot vac. Let's say you pair it with the new Eufy Omni S2 vacuum; when it's time to go upstairs, the Omni S2 climbs aboard the MarsWalker, which unfolds its skinny legs for balance and uses its wheels to motor up the stairs, like a mobile, miniature car ramp. We don't have many other details, but it's slated to arrive next year. Expect to learn more at CES 2026.

 

Photograph: Adrienne So

 

Neither my colleague Simon Hill nor I have had very much luck with testing the Switchbot as a robot vacuum—Hill found that while the robot vacuum is compact and adorable, it flings itself downstairs, and my tester dragged dog poop all over my house—so it makes sense that the company would try to pivot into a positively bizarre set of product launches. In addition to a new, soft-bodied AI robot pet that recognizes your family members and shows emotions, it also announced the AceMate Tennis Robot. It uses dual cameras, advanced algorithms, and AI to simulate rally play and coach you with performance insights.

 

Finally, Sir James Dyson was at IFA to announce a new, updated Dyson lineup at IFA 2025. The PencilVac came out earlier this year, but for 2026, Dyson will also have the AI-powered Spot+Scrub robot vacuum that will also mop, a new air purifier, and updates to its flagship line of handheld stick vacuums. The new V16 Piston Animal can detect what type of flooring it is on and has a swappable wet roller head with a wipe-clean mechanism, similar to technologies that we’ve seen before in the Wash G1 and the Dyson Submarine. You can read more about Dyson's new launches here. —Adrienne So

RGB LED TVs Are Getting Smaller

Photograph: Verity Burns

 

RGB LED, RGB Mini LED, even Micro RGB TV … whatever you call it, the latest TV tech that was announced by numerous brands at CES has been very much the talk of IFA too, as it creeps closer to a more mainstream launch. In a behind-closed-doors demo, Sony showed us more of the impressive prototype that we got to see in Japan earlier this year. Once again, it showed off the huge proposed benefits—much higher peak brightness, a wider color gamut, reduced blooming, and improved viewing angles. We saw it up against W-OLED, QD-OLED, and Mini LED, and it certainly appeared to blow them out of the water.

 

While Sony wasn’t ready to talk numbers, sizes, or very much at all outside of a 2026 launch date, it was keen to highlight the scalability of the tech—and not just to the huge screen sizes we’ve seen demoed so far, but hopefully to something the majority of people can actually imagine having in our homes.

 

Hisense was ready to show off the start of that, with an 85-inch RGB LED TV on display—the smallest screen we’ve seen yet demoing the tech. We were told to expect a 2026 launch for that one, but if you can squeeze a 100-inch screen into your living room, that now has a release date of October and a price of $20,000, to complement the already available 116UX.

 

Although announced a couple of weeks ago, Samsung’s 115-inch Micro RGB screen officially launched at the show, and is set to join the current lineup of Samsung TVs before the year is out—just expect prices of around $30,000 when it does. Its big claim is to cover 100 percent of the BT.2020 color space, a huge claim and a world first if true. —Verity Burns

Dolby Vision 2 Arrives

High Dynamic Range (“HDR”) standards aren’t probably what you lie awake at night thinking of, but they have been important stepping stones to the ability for TVs, cell phones, and computer screens to display vivid modern color gamuts in a way that isn’t constantly wonky.

 

Dolby Vision has been a popular standard when it comes to helping TVs in particular (except Samsung models, which inexplicably never embraced it) look better than ever when showing premium content. Announced earlier this week, Dolby Vision 2 aims to also include motion handling in addition to color, as well as employ what Dolby calls “Content Intelligence” to tweak settings based on content. It can utilize ambient light detection sensors in supported TVs to, say, up the brightness when you’re watching dark shows in the daytime. Not to remind folks of a show they’ll probably never rewatch, but standards like this mean we may never have a “Battle of Winterfell is too dark” problem again. —Parker Hall

AI-Powered Wearables Are Here to Stay

Photograph: Adrienne So

 

Everyone in the wearables space is acutely aware that Apple’s hardware event is in just a few days. There’s a palpable rush to launch new wearables before the next iteration of the category-defining Apple Watch. Earlier this week, Polar announced the Polar Loop, a screen-free fitness tracker wearable that looks remarkably (and unfortunately) like the Whoop MG. Unlike the Whoop, it doesn’t require a pricey monthly subscription, but the health metrics are quite limited (no Afib, no blood pressure monitoring). Garmin also announced the new Fenix 8 Pro, which is the first Garmin watch with satellite communication (that also costs a cool $2,000).

 

At IFA, Withings launched the next version of the ScanWatch 2, a long-time WIRED favorite for its long battery life, classy analog good looks, and comprehensive health tracking. The upgraded ScanWatch 2 has a new operating system, HealthSense 4, with advanced algorithms that will use predictive AI to anticipate health events, like getting sick or when your period is coming. The best of these new features will be paywalled behind the monthly Withings+ subscription, which also includes the AI-powered, personalized Health Assistant and Cardio Checkup. Budget brand

 

Amazfit also announced a new fitness tracker, the T-Rex 3 Pro, which is now on sale for $399. The latest iteration of the company’s outdoor sports watch now has, in addition to dual-band GPS and a sapphire glass screen, a Garmin-like flashlight, and a built-in speaker and mic. —Adrienne So

Philips Hue Partners With Sonos

Courtesy of Philips

 

Philips Hue, makers of some of our favorite smart lighting, had a host of announcements at IFA this year. The long-awaited Philips Hue Bridge Pro has arrived to deliver faster performance, more device support, and Hue MotionAware to enable existing Hue lights (95 percent of the range) to work as motion sensors. (You need at least three lights for this feature to work.) The Bridge Pro supports Ethernet but can now operate over Wi-Fi, and you can migrate your existing devices and settings from an old bridge.

 

The new Philips Hue Essential range is simpler and more affordable, and the refreshed Ambiance range includes A19 bulbs with Matter and Thread support (though Hue remains committed to Zigbee), several new lightstrips for indoors and outdoors, and the headlining Philips Hue OmniGlow Strip Light, which goes up to 900 lumens per meter and features a spot-free gradient with densely packed LEDs.

 

Photograph: Verity Burns

 

The Hue Secure range gets a new Hue Secure Video Doorbell, Smart Chime, and a new 2K wired camera. The doorbell offers 2K video, can act as a motion sensor to trigger Hue lights, and has two-way audio. The Smart Chime plugs into any outlet and offers a siren to scare intruders away. Most significantly for loyal Sonos fans—and hot on the heels of Sonos parting ways with Ikea—Philips Hue announced a partnership with the home audio brand, so you can now use Sonos Voice Control to turn lights on and off and adjust brightness.

 

Photograph: Verity Burns

 

Another favorite smart light maker, Govee, has recently launched a new line of outdoor smart lighting. The IP68-rated Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Prism is designed to be permanently fixed to your home, ideally under the eaves, and features three LEDs on each point, empowering you to light up your home with the exact color, gradient, or animated lighting effect you want. You can remote control them from the feature-packed Govee app on your phone, and they can be cut, spliced, and extended to cover your roofline precisely. We loved the original version of these, and they are ideal for the holidays, saving you from the peril of climbing that ladder to hang your Christmas or Halloween lighting. —Simon Hill

Anker’s Merges a Projector and Party Speaker

Photograph: Verity Burns

 

Anker’s Nebula X1 Pro has to be one of the most fun things I've laid my eyes on at the show. It converts the superb portable Nebula X1 projector into a 30-inch-tall party speaker, with removable surround sound speakers and a 160-watt subwoofer.

 

Those satellites come in two pairings—a pair of 80W speakers that fold out to the left and right of the speaker in a “soundbar” mode, but can also be removed and placed where you want around the room, while a pair of 40W speakers work as rears. The placement of these can all be configured and perfected in the Anker app, and when you’re done, they store away in the speaker itself—as does a remote and two karaoke mics.

 

The Nebula X1 Pro will launch on Kickstarter at the end of this month, with an expected launch date of March 2026. Prices haven't been confirmed, but expect it to cost around $5,000. —Verity Burns

Anker Has a Crazy Docking Station

Photograph: Adrienne So

 

Many of the best power banks are made by Anker, but the company is not resting on its laurels. The new Prime Power Bank offers a total maximum output of 300 watts, with a whopping 26,250-mAh capacity that brings it in just under the limit for flights. This power bank can also recharge fast with a dual port input, enabling it to hit 80 percent in just 35 minutes. There’s also a crazy Prime Docking Station that has 14 ports in one and can connect three displays at up to 8K, 4K, and 4K resolution. Anker also showed off a 160W charger that’s perfect for a MacBook, iPad, and iPhone, and a new 3-in-1 that supports Qi 2.2 for up to 25-watt wireless charging, and has spots for an Apple Watch and AirPods. —Adrienne So

Tado and Panasonic Help People Switch to Heat Pumps

Courtesy of Tado

 

With many European governments pushing for a switch to heat pumps instead of fossil fuel heating, anything that makes them easier to install, cheaper to run, and longer-lasting is a boon for adopters. Tado’s partnership with Panasonic aims to do exactly that by offering Panasonic Aquarea customers potential savings on their bills, room-by-room control, and a hydraulic balancing system that doesn’t require valve replacement or plumbing work.

 

Tado makes a heating control system that allows you to set schedules and heat individual rooms by fitting radiator thermostats and a central hub to heating systems. I tested its previous system, Tado Wireless Smart Thermostat V3+, with my gas central heating and found it very handy. The new and improved Tado X system brings more to the table.

 

The new optimization feature, Aquarea Sync, is free for Panasonic customers and allows for up to 10 percent reduction in flow temperatures, a decrease in short cycling, and the ability to boost heat in the rooms that need it. It’s available now for folks with a Tado Heat Pump Optimiser X connected to a Panasonic heat pump.

 

From November, Tado is also rolling out hydraulic balancing, which aims to ensure that heat reaches every room that requires it by dynamically adjusting radiator valves. Currently, many large heating systems have radiators that heat up quickly, and some at the end of the piping system that never get particularly warm because the water has already cooled down by the time it gets there. Hydraulic balancing combats this and is a mandatory requirement for folks to claim government subsidies in countries like Germany, though not in the UK. It will also be free for Panasonic Aquarea and Tado X customers and available as part of Tado’s Auto Assist subscription (£4 or 4 euros per month) for everyone else. —Simon Hill

Scosche Thinks You Lose Your Car Charger

Accessory maker Scosche had a few nifty releases. The new Scosche MagicMount supports the very latest Qi2.2 standard, enabling phones like Google’s Pixel 10 Pro XL to connect magnetically and charge wirelessly at a faster 25-watt rate (the previous limit was 15 watts), and the unlosable FoundIT Car Charger has built-in tracking functionality by supporting both Apple Find My and Google Find Hub. It plugs into your car charging port and sports a three-month battery, alongside USB-A (12W) and USB-C (20W) ports. —Simon Hill

Reolink Uses AI to Find Red Cars and Black Hoodies

Reolink makes some of the best outdoor security cameras, and the Reolink TrackFlex Floodlight WiFi Camera packs tons of features. This is a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera that must be hardwired, and it boasts adjustable dual floodlights that can go up to 3,000 lumens, with a white light temperature of 3,000K to 6,000K.

 

The dual-lens camera combines a wide-angle lens that goes up to 4K with a telephoto lens offering 6X hybrid zoom. It can also track subjects 360 degrees and boasts a passive infrared (PIR) sensor with a 270-degree detection zone, enabling it to rotate to track any action even when it’s not in frame. You can insert a microSD card (up to 512 GB) for local recording, use Reolink’s NVR or Home Hub, or configure your own NAS server (RTSP and ONVIF are supported).

 

The company also unveiled new features for its recently announced ReoNeura AI engine, which enables AI video search for your recorded footage, so you can search terms like “man in black hoodie” or “red car,” potentially saving time. Smart detection can identify people, animals, vehicles, bikes, and parcels, and enables you to track deliveries. There’s also video captioning to offer natural-language summaries of your videos, so you don’t always have to watch them. —Simon Hill

 

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Posted Saturday 6 September 2025 at 3:16 am AEST (my time).

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I’ve been following the development of Borderlands since the series was revealed as a realistic-looking looter-shooter in Game Informer almost 20 years ago. Long before the cel-shaded look we’ve come to know and love. Needless to say, I’m a fanatic.

I absolutely love this franchise. So, imagine my surprise when I played Borderlands 3; I felt a growing emptiness inside me the longer I played.

I wouldn’t even say it started strong; it was more or less mid. The humor was overdone, the pace felt weird, and the mechanics didn’t evolve into something over anything I hadn’t seen before.

Enter Borderlands 4

Reuters reports that Google has been slapped with a $425 million fine in a class-action lawsuit that was opened back in 2020. Although the lawsuit covered 98 million people using 174 million Android devices, and was seeking $31 billion in damages, the fine is still a win for the plaintiffs of the class-action lawsuit. The reduced fine is due to the jury's verdict which indicated that Google had not intentionally acted maliciously.

The lawsuit alleged that Google collected data across third-party partner apps like Uber and Venmo for over eight years, even when customers had disabled the "Web & App Activity" feature. Google's argument was that this data was "nonpersonal, pseudonymous, and stored in segregated, secured, and encrypted locations", and was primarily utilized for better and more personalized user experiences.

The jury clearly found this to be a weak defense, and found Google liable on two of the three counts presented in the lawsuit. Google is obviously not pleased with the verdict, with a spokesperson telling the media outlet that users knew what they were agreeing to and knowingly consented to have their data collected:

This decision misunderstands how our products work. Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalization, we honor that choice.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs expressed their pleasure at the outcome, but Google plans to appeal the verdict at some point.

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Posted Friday 5 September 2025 at 3:23 am AEST (my time).

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Borderlands 4 is just around the corner, and there's been a wave of exciting new updates. Today, I want to share something especially cool: the inclusion of what Gearbox is calling "Dynamic Events." I had the pleasure of sitting down with Associate Creative Director Grant Kao. In just half an hour, his enthusiasm for the feature was infectious, which only added to my own admiration for the team.

Adding to the excitement in the room, a newly minted edition of Game Informer's first new issue featured Borderlands 4 on the cover. I made sure Grant could see it, reinforcing my fandom of the studio he represented. After numerous fan-driven off-topic questions that I'll cover later, I asked him if there was anything he was especially eager to share about the new system.

"I love the dynamic events because it's a feature that helps augment all the things about the seamless world that we want, from storytelling to the reactive gameplay whenever a player does things to [Borderlands 4] and also just providing emergent things for players to do on the fly."

In Borderlands 4, variety will matter

This is only the second piece of DLC to hit the game since its launch last year, with the Paths to Power scenario pack landing in March. This upcoming release is focused on adding a brand-new command ship class, bringing one unique vessel for each faction available. At the same time, the DLC introduces faction-specific win conditions, offering players new options when they plan out their endgame scenarios.

The new ships are described by the developer below:

• TEC Enclave – Takadaran Command Fortress: A massive support platform doubling as a mobile cruiser-scale shipyard, capable of producing TEC cruisers in the field.
• TEC Primacy – Khevarkov Modular Battleship: A high-speed strike vessel with customizable hardpoints for railguns, missiles, or hangar bays.
• Vasari Alliance – Sularkon Tyrant: A city-ship fortress with an integrated Phase Gate, designed to lock down entire sectors.
• Vasari Exodus – Anarkrul Wanderer: A colossal refugee-carrier turned warship, bristling with defenses and heavy strikecraft support.
• Advent Wrath – Oblivia Dreadnought: A heavily armored frontline warship wielding a devastating Super Heavy PsiKinetic Lance.
• Advent Reborn – Justicia Dreadnought: A vertical dreadnought that grows deadlier as allies fall, culminating in catastrophic retaliation.

"The Reinforcements DLC isn’t just about adding bigger ships—it’s about giving players entirely new ways to think about victory," said Brian Clair, Executive Producer at Stardock. "From unleashing faction-defining command ships to achieving lore-driven win conditions, every match can now end in a way that feels true to your chosen empire."

The new win condition for the Vasari has them building Arkships before escaping the sector through a star. The Advent can deploy a mass conversion wave using planetary structures to bring in more territory. Lastly, the Trader Emergency Coalition can build a Novalith cannon that can destroy planets to enforce peace throughout systems.

Sins of a Solar Empire II Reinforcements DLC launches on September 25 across Steam and Epic Games Store with a $14.99 standalone price tag. Owners of the game's Premium Edition or the Content Pass will gain access to the DLC for no extra charge. Following this, Stardock has the Harbinger and Times of War expansions planned for the title as well.

Disclaimer: Neowin's relationship to Stardock

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Posted Thursday 4 September 2025 at 4:32 am AEST (my time).

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Here's the summary of the judgment:

• DOJ wanted Google to be barred from signing exclusive contracts with Apple, OEMs, publishers, etc.
  • This request was granted in part. Google is barred from entering or maintaining any "exclusive" contracts relating to the distribution of Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, or the Gemini app. Also prohibited are agreements that:
    • Tie Play Store licensing to the distribution/placement of Search, Chrome, Assistant, or Gemini.
    • Condition revenue-share payments for one app on distributing another.
    • Condition revenue-share payments on keeping Search, Chrome, Assistant, or Gemini on devices for more than a year.
    • Prevent partners from also distributing rival search engines, browsers, or GenAI products.
• DOJ wanted possible Android divestiture and mandatory Chrome divestiture.
  • The court ruled against the divestiture of Android or Chrome. The court found that Google did not use these assets unlawfully.
• DOJ wanted Google to be barred from paying billions to Apple or OEMs to remain the default.
  • Google can continue payments for preloading/placement of Search, Chrome, or GenAI apps. The court said banning payments would harm distribution partners, related markets, and consumers. Mozilla, for example, cannot survive without its Google search deal.
• DOJ wanted Google to share its search index, ranking signals, query understanding, ads data, and user/ad data for 10 years with rivals.
  • The court ruled that Google must share certain search index and user-interaction data with “Qualified Competitors.”
  • Ads data need not be shared.
• DOJ wanted Google to share data related to its ad business to enable rivals to compete.
  • The court ruled that Google must offer Qualified Competitors search and search-ads syndication services on commercial terms, consistent with its current practices.
• DOJ wanted Google to be barred from acquiring or investing in companies working on search, ads, or AI.
  • The court ruled that no investment reporting or acquisition restrictions are required.

You can read the complete judgment here. Overall, Google must be very happy with the ruling, as it does not change the status quo in any meaningful way. Google’s stock is already up 7% after hours because of this decision. Several rivals, such as DuckDuckGo, have publicly expressed their dissatisfaction with the outcome.

A statement from our CEO on the US v Google remedies:

"We do not believe the remedies ordered by the court will force the changes necessary to adequately address Google’s illegal behavior. Google will still be allowed to continue to use its monopoly to hold back competitors,…

 

— DuckDuckGo (@DuckDuckGo) September 2, 2025

While the decision prevents Google from locking partners into exclusive agreements, it still allows the company to pursue default placement deals. It remains to be seen whether the DOJ will appeal this judgment in the days ahead.

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 5:39 pm AEST (my time).

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Interestingly, other than the usual split between minimum and ultra, the studio has even offered separate specifications for desktop and laptop players.

The desktop PC requirements come first, which want rather tame hardware for running the game at 1080p 30FPS:

Next lands the laptop PC requirements, which helpfully even detail the specific GPU wattage required to hit the minimum targets:

Techland also confirmed that the PC version will ship with raytraced global illumination and reflections. Support for ultra-wide monitors, HDR, and dynamic resolution will be available too. Moreover, FSR 4, DLSS 4, and Intel XESS 2, all their frame generation options, as well as latency reduction tech like AMD Antilag 2, Nvidia Reflex 2, and Intel XE Low Latency, will be present as optimization features at launch.

Dying Light: The Beast launches across PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 on September 19. An Xbox One and PlayStation 4 launch is also planned for later.

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 5:36 pm AEST (my time).

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Dolby Vision 2 builds upon HDR tech, and even goes beyond it, according to Dolby Laboratories. It features a revamped image engine which will make multimedia content that utilizes it on compatible displays look even better. Dolby has decided to throw its hat in the AI ring too, through a feature called Content Intelligence which contains various modes that dynamically fine-tune your viewing experience based on the content and your environment.

Precision Black will improve the clarity of images that are too dark, Light Sense will control quality through ambient light detection and "new reference lighting data", while Sport and Gaming Optimization sport white point adjustment and motion control. Dolby Vision 2 also takes advantage of bi-directional tone mapping which enables content creators to take advantage of higher brightness, sharper contrast, and deeply saturated colors.

Dolby Vision 2 introduces Authentic Motion too, which empowers creators to leverage motion control tools that make their content appear more authentic. John Couling, Senior Vice President, Entertainment at Dolby Laboratories, noted that:

We've reached an inflection point where TV technology has dramatically changed while artists continue to demand even more innovative toolsDolby Vision 2 redefines how we think of Dolby Vision to unleash the full capabilities of modern TVs while giving artists unprecedented opportunities to push their creative boundaries further than ever before.

The new tech will be available in two variants: Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby Vision 2 Max. The standard version will be available for mainstream TVs and include Content Intelligence and the new image engine, while the "Max" variant will power high-end TV displays with "additional premium features" that have not been disclosed yet.

Hisense will be the first brand to integrate Dolby Vision 2 into their premium RGB-MiniLED TVs, with French media group CANAL+ being a content partner. However, details about timing and availability of this hardware are currently unknown.

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 3:48 am AEST (my time).

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No Man’s Sky can’t seem to stop defying expectations. After its rocky 2016 launch on PlayStation 4 and PC, the game has pulled off what many call a miracle comeback.

Since then, it has received 35 named updates, steadily expanding into something far bigger than its original vision. Along the way, it arrived on Xbox and Nintendo Switch, and joined Xbox Game Pass in 2020, where it’s still available today.

Now, with the new Voyagers update live, there’s never been a better time to jump in.

Voyagers introduces buildable Corvettes

The Anno 117: Pax Romana demo is available from September 2 through September 16. It is now live across Steam, Epic Games Store, and Ubisoft Connect platforms. However, the demo does use a time limit to stop players from advancing too far into the game, offering just enough gameplay to experience the first two population tiers in Latium and Albion in Sandbox Mode.

As for the time limit, every save game that players begin will only offer one hour of play. Players can restart with new saves as much as they want before September 16 comes around though.

"You will be able to settle new island, do research and build all the buildings of the available population tiers," says Ubisoft, explaining the limitations. "While you can meet and interact with NPCs, you will not be able to declare and wage war. The demo also features only a limited selection of items to use in your villa and ships."

The difficulty and what NPCs will be present will be locked to one preset, with only the starting province being a custom option in this demo. Moreover, co-op and PVP play are not here, and saved games will also not carry over to the full game. As for good news, there isn't an NDA, so any new information and footage from the demo can be shared freely this time.

Anno 117: Pax Romana is slated to hit Steam, Ubisoft Connect, Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 on November 13, 2025. Ubisoft+ subscribers will also receive the title as a day-one drop.

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Posted Wednesday 3 September 2025 at 3:39 am AEST (my time).

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The Microsoft Surface team also joined the celebrations by giving away 50 special-edition Microsoft Surface Laptops created specifically for the anniversary. Microsoft recently sent us one of these laptops, which features several differences from the standard Surface Laptop currently available on the market. We’ll be posting our detailed hands-on soon, but here’s our first look at the device.

The special-edition Surface Laptop comes with a welcome card, a classic Microsoft logo on the keyboard palm rest, a 50th anniversary wallpaper, and a new anniversary logo in the boot menu. The device also features a gold-colored Microsoft logo on the lid and arrives in exclusive 50th anniversary packaging, which includes a short message printed on the back of the box.

Apart from these cosmetic differences, this is a standard Surface Laptop 7 with a 13.8-inch display, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. The laptop features an all-aluminum chassis made with recycled alloy and rare-earth metals. It feels rigid and resists flex, offering a premium, minimalist aesthetic in its moody black finish.

Interestingly, during the first startup, the device experienced a blue screen error. However, it recovered automatically and has been running smoothly since then.

This special-edition Surface Laptop serves as a stylish collector's item, celebrating a significant milestone in Microsoft's history. It’s a testament to Microsoft's five-decade journey, blending modern hardware with a touch of nostalgia.

Gallery: Surface Laptop 50th Anniversary Edition

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Microsoft also released the following special content to celebrate its 50th anniversary:

• macOS 26 Tahoe stock wallpapers
• Windows 95 Setup wallpaper in 4K
• More 50th anniversary Microsoft wallpapers
• Immersive Hues wallpaper collection
• Fluid Textures wallpaper collection
• Exclusive Windows 365 Link wallpapers
• Windows 365 Wallpapers

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Posted Tuesday 2 September 2025 at 5:24 pm AEST (my time).

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Borderlands 4 is set to launch on September 12, 2025, on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Steam, and Epic Games Store. Gearbox Software, the studio behind the series, wants players to stick around long after the credits roll.

In a new blog post, it detailed the game’s endgame systems, giving fans a closer look at how Borderlands 4 plans to keep Vault Hunters busy well beyond the main campaign.

There’s a lot to look forward to once you’ve finished the story. They also showcased post-launch content plans in another blog post, which is definitely worth checking out.

Ultimate Vault Hunter Mode

Potentially disappointing for those with higher-spec PCs, Battlefield 6 won’t include ray tracing at launch. The decision may sound surprising to some, but the reasoning behind it makes sense once you hear it.

Battlefield 6 is set to release on October 10, 2025, following an extremely successful beta that ran across a couple of weekends. Thousands of players queued in the menus waiting for the servers to go live, showing just how much anticipation there is for the series to make its return.

The developers have since explained why standout graphical features like ray tracing won’t be part of the experience.

Why Battlefield 6 is skipping ray tracing

According to Apple's website, these are the products that the company has marked vintage or obsolete:

• MacBook Pro 15-inch (2017)
• MacBook Pro 13-inch (2017, Four Thunderbolt 3 Ports)
• MacBook Air 11-inch (Early 2015)
• iPhone 8 Plus (64GB, 256GB)

Apple labels a product as obsolete after seven years from when its sale was discontinued. It means that the company will no longer offer any hardware or software support for the specified product. A catch here is that a MacBook may be eligible for battery-only repairs for up to 10 years after its sale ended, subject to parts availability.

Apple introduced the 11-inch MacBook Air in 2010, featuring a tapered unibody design alongside its larger 13-inch sibling. It refreshed the tiny laptop almost every year with new specifications and upgrades until 2015, and discontinued it in the following year.

MacBook Pro models, which have gone obsolete, were a follow-up to the major redesign Apple introduced in 2016. These MacBooks featured the now-defunct Touch Bar, an OLED strip at the top of the keyboard to replace the function keys with digital controls.

These obsolete MacBook Pro models also serve as a reminder of Apple's infamous Butterfly Keyboard controversy. It was one of Apple's biggest tech failures, resulting in a $50 million class-action lawsuit.

That said, Apple has added one of its smartphones to the vintage product list: the iPhone 8 Plus (64GB and 256GB). This happens after Apple stops selling a product for more than five years but less than seven years.

Vintage Apple products are still eligible for repairs at Apple Stores and Apple Authorized Service Providers, subject to parts availability. However, these devices stop getting new OS updates and features from the company.

Note that the Product Red versions of the iPhone 8/8 Plus, iPhone 8 (64GB, 128GB, 256GB), were already included in the vintage list. Apple launched the iPhone 8 series in 2017, but continued to sell the 64GB and 256GB models of the iPhone 8 Plus until the launch of the second-generation iPhone SE in 2020.

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Posted Tuesday 2 September 2025 at 2:26 am AEST (my time).

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It's been a long time coming, but after its official reveal in 2019, Hollow Knight: Silksong is finally going to be released on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC platforms later this week, on September 4, 2025.

To build up hype for this hotly anticipated Xbox title coming this week, Team Cherry has revealed new information on when exactly Hollow Knight: Silksong will release in multiple time zones and how much its retail price tag will be.

Under Twitter's previous rules, verification was granted to accounts deemed active, authentic, and notable. That programme has now been wound down. Unless legacy-verified users subscribe to X Premium, they no longer retain the badge. The new approach is part of X’s push to “democratise the platform,” allowing any account with an active Premium subscription and that meets eligibility criteria to display the blue checkmark. Importantly, X stresses that the badge does not signal endorsement of a user’s views.

To obtain (or keep) the badge, subscribers must pass X’s verification criteria. An account must be complete, meaning it has both a profile photo and a display name. It also needs to be active, with recent activity within the past 30 days, and secure, which requires a confirmed phone number. Finally, the account must not be deceptive: there should be no recent changes to the profile name, photo, or @handle, nor any signs of misleading behaviour, spam, or platform manipulation. Once these conditions are met and reviewed by X, the checkmark will appear on the account.

The blue badge is not permanent. X may remove it at any time for breaches of its Terms of Service or X Rules. Temporary removal can also occur if users change their profile photo, display name, or @handle, until the account is revalidated. In more serious cases, accounts found to be deceptive, manipulative, or in violation of platform rules risk not only losing the checkmark but also suspension. Additionally, individuals restricted by international trade compliance laws are not permitted to purchase X Premium.

The blue checkmark has undergone a dramatic shift in meaning. Once a marker of authenticity reserved for public figures, officials, and notable voices, it can now be obtained by anyone willing to pay for X Premium. While the subscription model does make the badge more accessible, it risks blurring the line between verified authenticity and paid status. Even the European Commission raised concerns, noting that X’s approach risks deceiving users and enabling malicious actors to exploit the system.

With the checkmark no longer serving as a guarantee of credibility, the potential for misleading accounts to masquerade as "authentic" has grown.

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Posted Monday 1 September 2025 at 12:41 pm AEST (my time).

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Quick links:

1. Windows 10 and 11
2. Windows Insider Program
3. Updates are available
4. Reviews are in
5. Gaming news

Windows 11 and Windows 10

Here, we talk about everything happening around Microsoft's latest operating system in the Stable channel and preview builds: new features, removed features, controversies, bugs, interesting findings, and more. And, of course, you may find a word or two about older versions.

Microsoft released this month's non-security updates for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Windows 10 received KB5063842, while Windows 11 version 23H2 received KB5064080. As for Windows 11 version 24H2, it received KB5064081 with a redesigned Windows Hello, improved Task Manager, more modern Settings UI elements, and a lot of other changes. Additionally, Microsoft finally released an out-of-band update for a Windows Server issue that has been open since 2022. All these updates also patched an annoying Event Viewer bug that Microsoft previously told you to ignore.

Speaking of quality updates, Microsoft announced that Windows 11 can now automatically install quality updates for certain users during the initial setup or OOBE. The change applies to systems running Windows 11, version 22H2 or later on an Enterprise, Pro, Education, or SE SKU. It should be Entra-joined or Entra hybrid-joined, configured with Microsoft Intune, and have a Windows Autopilot Enrollment Status Page (ESP) profile.

Do you remember that Windows 11 bug corrupting users' SSDs? Phison issued a statement, claiming that a 4,500-hour-long test showed no issues. The company could not reproduce the problem, and no partners or customers have reported that the issue affected their driver. Microsoft claimed the same in its statement, saying that the August 2025 update has nothing to do with SSD issues.

If you feel like Windows 11 is not doing a good job of playing audio over Bluetooth, Microsoft has some good news for you. The company promised to make Bluetooth audio much better in future updates. Additionally, Microsoft wants OEMs to build proper USB Type-C notifications in Windows 11 so that users better understand their hardware and its capabilities.

Microsoft is working on open-sourcing Windows 11's user interface framework, which is known as WinUI. While the company is quiet there, it shared details about the first phase of the process, which involves posting more information on WinUI's GitHub repository.

If you have a PC that is not compatible with Windows 11 and you feel like bypassing the requirements, the latest update for the Flyoobe app offers a smarter way to remove bloat and an updated user interface.

Windows Insider Program

Here is what Microsoft released for Windows Insiders this week:

The latest preview builds introduced a couple of neat keyboard shortcuts that should make life easier for those who type a lot. Microsoft now lets you type the em dash and en dash using the Win + Minus shortcut.

Updates are available

This section covers software, firmware, and other notable updates (released and coming soon) delivering new features, security fixes, improvements, patches, and more from Microsoft and third parties.

An odd thing happened to uBlock Origin in the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store. Users discovered that the original extension was replaced with the one based on Manifest V3. However, it turned out that that was an accident, and the original uBlock Origin was restored in no time.

The next PowerToys update will bring an important feature with the next update. The app is finally getting a proper search bar, allowing you to find features, modules, and various settings in the sea of available tools. According to GitHub, PowerToys search will arrive as part of the upcoming update version 0.94.

Microsoft is changing how document saving works in Word. The company announced that its word processor will start saving documents to the cloud by default. Microsoft says this approach offers a few benefits, including better security and compliance in enterprise environments, no fear of lost progress, flexible storage options like SharePoint and OneDrive, which also enable sync capabilities across other devices, and more online collaboration options.

August 2025 is over, which means Microsoft published recaps of everything it added to its Office apps, such as Excel, Teams, Microsoft 365, and more, so check out those recaps to stay in touch with all the changes coming to your favorite productivity apps.

Later this year, Microsoft will end Windows 10 support, and with it, Office 2016 and 2019 will go six feet under, forcing users to upgrade to newer versions. However, if you are not ready to leave those apps behind, you can opt for a third-party patching solution, 0patch. The company behind this product revealed its plans to provide paid security updates beyond what Microsoft offers.

If you have a Mac and you want to run Windows 11 on it, Parallels has a new solution for you. This week, the company launched Parallels Desktop 26, which introduced official Windows 11 version 25H2 support (macOS 26 Tahoe is now supported as well) and a few new features, such as improved disk space reporting.

Mozilla released a small Firefox update under version 142.0.1. It addressed several bugs with dragging multiple tabs, the text cursor appearing in the wrong locations, crashes when using a gamepad, and more.

Finally, this week's Copilot news includes Microsoft bringing Copilot for Azure to Visual Studio and Samsung TVs, for some reason, and a bunch of new tricks that are coming soon.

Here are other updates and releases you may find interesting:

• A popular tool for skipping Windows 11 hardware requirements received a new update with a bunch of useful features.
• Microsoft announced the VM Conversion tool.

• Microsoft's DocumentDB is now part of the Linux Foundation.

• Microsoft: The future of work is Desktop as a Service.

• Microsoft rolls out Surveys Agent to handle survey creation from start to finish.

• Microsoft revealed two in-house AI models: MAI-Voice-1 and MAI-1-preview.

• Microsoft is retiring some Graph components.

• Microsoft is ending support for a registry key in Windows DCs next month.

• Microsoft is killing off the Mobile Plans app in Windows.

   

Here are the latest drivers and firmware updates released this week:

• Intel 32.0.101.7028 non-WHQL with support for Hell in Us and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.
• Nvidia 581.15 WHQL with optimizations for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: The Order of Giants and Wuthering Waves.

Reviews are in

Here is the hardware and software we reviewed this week

We had a bunch of gaming reviews this week. Pulasthi Ariyasinghe reviewed Gears of War: Reloaded on PC, discovering its eye candy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of headaches, which contributed to a rather low score of 6.5.

Also, Pulasthi published a hands-on preview of The Outer Worlds 2, Obsidian's next RPG, which promises fantastic looks and gameplay.

On the gaming side

Learn about upcoming game releases, Xbox rumors, new hardware, software updates, freebies, deals, discounts, and more.

Microsoft announced some updates to its Xbox Cloud Gaming Service. It is no longer a perk that is exclusive to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Subscribers. Now, Xbox Game Pass Core and Standard subscribers can play games from the catalog in the cloud. For now, however, this perk is only available to Xbox Insiders, but it should not take too long to become publicly available.

Microsoft also released the Xbox August 2025 Update, which introduced improved controls for the Xbox app on PC, cross-device play history, and other useful changes.

If you live in the UK, Valve now has a new age verification system. Gamers in the UK now must verify their age first to access any game store page or a community hub with mature content.

Hello Games keeps on pumping new updates for No Man's Sky. The latest update, called Voyagers, introduces custom-made multicrew ships, spacewalking, the new Corvette-class starship, DLSS 4 multi-frame generation on Nvidia's latest RTX graphics card, and PSSR on the PlayStation 5.

Mojang announced the next Minecraft update. The Copper Age will be available soon with plenty of content focused on copper. Look forward to copper tools, copper armor, copper chest, and even copper golems.

Battlefield 6 is about a month away from its public release, and if you plan to buy this game, you better check your PC and its specs. EA published system requirements for its upcoming shooter game, and, as expected, they are pretty heavy.

Nvidia announced the next game drop for its GeForce NOW cloud gaming. You can now play Gears of War: Reloaded, Among Us 3D, Knightica, Gatekeeper, Make Way, and other games that you already own.

Finally, here is this week's Weekend PC Game Deals article covering discounts across various game stores, including two new freebies from the Epic Games Store.

Other gaming news includes the following:

• Skate Early Access is coming next month for free, 15 years after the original release.

• Helldivers 2 is taking the fight to Terminid caves in the next major update.

• Bethesda is planning a Starfield space gameplay revamp to make it more rewarding.

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Posted Monday 1 September 2025 at 5:39 am AEST (my time).

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Obsidian Entertainment is determined to be the MVP of Xbox this year, with three high-profile releases on its plate. The third and arguably most important of the year is The Outer Worlds 2, coming in a few short months with some adequately ambitious promises for an open-world, sci-fi RPG. And it's coming to Xbox Game Pass at launch.

I leapt at the opportunity to preview The Outer Worlds 2 at home, and while I was disappointed by the scope of the preview build provided to me, I still got a good enough feel for this upcoming Xbox game to be properly excited about the full release. Obsidian rarely misses, and fate isn't set to be challenged by this sequel.

If you're thinking to yourself, "I wasn't a big fan of the first game, I wonder if the second will win me over," though, then I still suggest some caution. Obsidian is sticking to its guns with The Outer Worlds 2 — I argue for the better, but certain RPG fans will claim it's for the worse.

One area, four characters, and a whole lot of bodies left behind

The opening cinematic looks pretty slick.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

You're an agent of an organization dedicated to fighting tyranny wherever it exists in The Outer Worlds 2.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

The beginning mission is your introduction — and the scope of my preview.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

This mission does a good job easing you into the world.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

The area in which this mission takes part looks great, if pretty standard for The Outer Worlds.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Full dismemberment is here in force. I was actually taken aback when this fine gentleman exploded.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Environments are more detailed this time around, and there's a lot to see if you look for it.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

This game absolutely still rocks a cartoonish vibe, but it's more refined now.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Little animations for things like reloading weapons and interacting with machinery looks great, too.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

The sneak attack can get messy.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Something may have blown up. Something big.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

It may have been this thing.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

This may be that thing after the explosion.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

I had hoped my The Outer Worlds 2 preview would be similar to my Avowed preview from late last year, in that I’d be given mostly unrestricted access to the first major area of the game with a chunk of that area’s story.

 

Sadly, this preview was far more limited, only allowing me to play through the initial hour or so of the game — effectively the tutorial prologue. So, I decided to play through this singular mission four separate times to get a feel for TOW2’s branching gameplay options.

I really wish I had been given more of The Outer Worlds 2 to explore, but being able to replay the prologue level still gave me plenty of insight.

My first character was a snarky and sneaky renegade, able to stealthily dispatch all their foes with a sassy quip at their lips. Next, I played as a violent and reckless ex-convict, using their talent for brutality to pursue the most straightforward path forward — regardless of the consequences.

 

My third run was in the shoes of a sickly but intensely capable professor, whose intellect and versatile kit of abilities more than made up for their subpar combat skills. Finally — and even though this preview didn’t give me any opportunity to interact with companions — I played as a charismatic and well-spoken lawbringer, aiming to talk rather than shoot my way through every obstacle.

 

No matter which path I took, though, there were quite a few bodies; don't expect to play The Outer Worlds 2 without shedding blood, unless you're a fan of punishing yourself.

 

I created my first character more-or-less how I did in the first game.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

At this point, I didn't know how big the preview was.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Once I did, I came back for repeat playthroughs using different backgrounds and traits.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

There are a lot of actions and paths you can only take if you have the right character build.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

I like how many options there are, but it does leave you with a sense of "I can never do everything."

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

This path was interesting. The right ingredients of skills and interactions with my squad gave me the 

ability and information to disable a security system.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

The "Observation" skill can highlight hidden secrets you otherwise can't find, which is interesting.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

I really did need a character with the right charisma and speech skills to get through to this paranoid guard.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

There are four different ways to interact with doors, containers, and machines, each requiring different skills.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

Despite only being able to explore such a modest section of The Outer Worlds 2, I managed to get a good feel for the core gameplay loop and how much flexibility players will have in how they approach different missions and quests.

 

My initial run as a knife-wielding renegade is how I tend to play most RPGs — a lone wolf that sticks to the shadows. It also felt very familiar to my original The Outer Worlds playthrough, although it highlighted something crucial — how much better movement feels now.

 

Your character still has proper weight in the world and to their movements, but The Outer Worlds 2 feels more responsive and fluid overall, with upgraded traversal and smoother animations. I had fun stealth-ing my way through this branching area.

Thanks to this preview, I know what my final character will look like: a crazy person who definitely hit the mad science books way more than the evil gym.

My fourth playthrough as a charismatic leader is how I initially believed I'd end up playing The Outer Worlds 2, but now I'm not so sure. On one hand, I was able to successfully talk my way through multiple obstacles — and that was incredibly satisfying. On the other hand, I never had a chance to actually play with any of the new companions, giving another playthrough a chance to impress me.

 

That would be the nerdiest of the bunch, whose varied skillset opened up a lot of avenues for me, including hacking the area's entire droid security system, rigging explosives to wipe out a squadron of enemies, and translating obfuscated research notes into usable information.

 

Being able to uncover so many new mysteries on my third go around more than made up for my diminished combat abilities, and I can already see how having a companion at my back would further bring out those positive qualities.

A deeper and more refined RPG, but still "The Outer Worlds"

I had a lot of fun with this basic combat, but I never got to play with the more advanced weaponry or abilities.

(Image credit: Windows Central)

 

I was only able to sink a handful of hours into The Outer Worlds 2 (for now), but I'm decently confident Obsidian has another win on its hands here. Visually, the game retains the cartoonish artistic style of its predecessor but with superior cinematics, animations, and environmental details.

 

Story-wise, writing feels like it has gone up a notch, and I'm more intrigued by the blossoming narrative than I was with the first game. Gameplay is familiar but more polished, buttressed by improved movement, satisfying audio design, and even more dynamic environments.

 

I'm curious if the character creator I had access to is the complete version planned for launch, as it felt a little light on customization features for your character's appearance and traits. I'm also conscious of performance and stability in the final release, as I only played a small slice (and while I didn't encounter any bugs, I did notice some framerate drops and brief freezes at times).

The moral of the story, though, is that this is still The Outer Worlds.

The moral of the story, though, is that this is still The Outer Worlds. It's a colorful concoction of morbid themes and goofy humor, with intentionally "heavy" gameplay where your player skill, character, companions, story decisions, and the world itself all play major roles. So far, The Outer Worlds 2 feels like more of the first game, but with years of refinement layered on top and the promise of a bigger, bolder universe and narrative.

 

I can't tell you quite yet just how well The Outer Worlds 2 delivers on that promise, but I can say I'm very excited to play more. The Outer Worlds 2 officially releases on Oct. 29, 2025 for |S, Windows PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Game Pass, and you can expect a full review on Windows Central around that time.

 

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Posted Monday 1 September 2025 at 5:34 am AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of August): 4,048

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Paul's Hardware (1.53M subscribers)

August 31, 2025

Video length: 11m 43s

AMD’s Best Next-Gen GPU - Tech News Aug 31

0:00 Welcome to Paul’s Tech News - Aug 31, 2025 

1:32 Possible AMD RDNA5/UDNA GPU Configs - 96, 40, 24, 12 CU Dies 

4:11 Intel Nova Lake-S CPU with 28 cores listed in shipping manifest 

6:05 What comes after Nvidia Blackwell? 6 3nm Rubin Chips Now In Production 

TECH BRIEFS 

7:49 AMD’s CPU Roadmap revealed - Gator Range and Medusa Point 

9:01 Next-Level Datacenter Water Cooling by Google 

10:03 FADU’s PCIe6 SSD Controller: Up To 28.5 GB/s & 512 TB Capacity

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Posted Sunday 31 August 2025 at 6:15 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of July): 3,458

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Gearbox Software seems to be doing everything right with Borderlands 4. The studio has taken on board many of the complaints fans, myself included, had with Borderlands 3.

With Borderlands 4 set to launch on September 12, 2025, on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Steam, and Epic Games Store, Gearbox has recently announced its post-launch plans. From what’s been revealed, fans are in for a treat.

Pre-Order Bonus: The Gilded Glory Pack

Gamers Nexus (2.5M subscribers)

AMD is still launching AM4 CPUs, which is awesome since the socket is now nearly 10 years old. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500X3D CPU is for the Latin America market and builds upon the AM4 X3D CPU lineage with a lower frequency 6-core, 12-thread part that has the same vertically stacked cache as the 5600X3D, 5700X3D, and 5800X3D style of CPUs, just on a lower-end part. The 5500X3D likely takes fallout from the manufacturing process and then respins it as a new model, allowing AMD to salvage silicon while theoretically dropping the price in specific markets. AMD has previously done this with the 5600X3D, which was a Micro Center exclusive in the US due to low intended volume.

00:00 - AMD R5 5500X3D CPU Review 

01:40 - Basics 

03:26 - CPU Price Update 

05:34 - 5500X3D Specs vs 5600 and 5500 

06:55 - Frequency Validation: All-Core 

07:36 - Frequency Validation: Single-Core 

08:39 - Stellaris Simulation Time Benchmarks 

09:39 - Dragon's Dogma 2 Best CPUs 

10:40 - Baldur's Gate 3 CPU Comparison 2025 

11:22 - FFXIV Dawntrail Benchmark 1080p 

12:20 - FFXIV Dawntrail Benchmark 1440p 

12:37 - F1 24 R5 5500X3D vs 5800X3D 

13:19 - Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty CPU Tests 

14:13 - Starfield 5500X3D vs 9800X3D 

14:51 - Production Blender Benchmarks 

15:53 - File Compression Performance 

16:34 - File Decompression Benchmarks 

17:07 - Code Compile Best CPUs for Programming 

17:34 - Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, DaVinci Resolve Benchmarks 

18:18 - Conclusion

Video length: 23m 06s

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Posted Saturday 30 August 2025 at 5:45 pm AEST (my time).

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Although AMD Ryzen CPUs are fairly decent in terms of performance and bang for your buck, even they can crumble under intensive workload. This is what Torbjörn Granlund, author of the GMP open-source library which offers "arithmetic without limitations", found out in these past few months while running extensive tests.

Apparently, the GMP author has "fried" two Ryzen 9950X CPUs in the past few months, one in February, and the other in August. While Granlund admits that the hardware setup wasn't ideal, it does seem like the CPUs got overworked while running intensive GMP tests. In both cases, the author observed discoloration covering around 25mm² on the pin side, also noting that the CPUs were running under maximum workload when they gave out.

Granlund says that the ambient room temperature was fairly low at 20°C (68°F), and he suspects that the compute-intensive MULX instruction running in a loop could be blamed too. It is important to note that none of the CPUs died suddenly, instead, they failed after months of high workload, which indicates that there was a gradual degradation until failure. Interestingly, the author's AMD Ryzen 7750X runs the same same load and is built with a similar configuration, but it seems to be running quite stable for a "long time" now.

In a statement to The Register, AMD confirmed that it is looking into these reports and have reached out to Granlund to get more information to aid their investigation process. AMD recently told media outlets that reports of AM5 socket burnouts are likely due to manufacturers not complying with the recommended specifications, but in this case, the company has not highlighted this as a potential cause. Seeing that GMP is a very compute-intensive library and the author was running maximum workloads on the AMD Ryzen CPU for months, it is unlikely that other customers with regular workloads will experience the same failure. That said, it is still good that AMD is investigating the matter out of abundance of caution.

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Posted Saturday 30 August 2025 at 5:43 pm AEST (my time).

News posts... 2023: 5,800+ | 2024: 5,700+ | 2025 (till end of July): 3,458

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