Tech & Mobile 24-Hour Briefing
×Tech & Hardware
Last updated: October 18, 2026, 10:40 PM ET
GPUs & Graphics
Daniel Blanco's DLSS-NR on AMD techpowerup.com project has grown well beyond its original scope, and Radeon owners can now run nearly every DLSS feature through a fan-made mod. Separately, a developer known as Panchovix has released three tools techpowerup.com that let users edit and load modified VBIOS files on GeForce RTX cards without flashing.
Hardware Pricing
Dell's monitor division has reportedly issued an internal notice raising shipping prices techpowerup.com by 3.5% this month, with entry-level models spared from the increase.
Consoles & Next-Gen Hardware
Driveclub, Evolution Studios' 2014 PS4 racer, now runs natively on Windows techpowerup.com through a fan-made recompilation. A new Sony patent application points to the company's own frame generation technology techpowerup.com for the PlayStation. Microsoft has also posted a job listing techpowerup.com suggesting physical Xbox games may stick around.
Legacy Hardware & Benchmarks
Overclocker Luumi has taken the top spot techpowerup.com on the Cinebench R11.5 leaderboard with an Intel Core i5-4670K, 13 years after the chip's launch.
AI Oversight
Anthropic has granted an outside AI watchdog arstechnica.com employee-like access, and the watchdog can publish its findings without Anthropic's approval.
Gaming Week
This week's AAA release techpowerup.com arrives alongside a busy slate of new games.
Mobile News
Last updated: October 18, 2026, 10:40 PM ET
Apple and iPhone
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro introduces a variable aperture gsmarena.com camera, the first iPhone to adjust its lens opening, and a side-by-side comparison gsmarena.com against the iPhone 17 Pro shows how much has changed. On the software side, iOS 27 brings new CarPlay features engadget.com, but only newer iPhone models can use them. Apple's Image Playground engadget.com image generator also received noteworthy updates this fall.
Foldables and Samsung
Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 is discounted gsmarena.com as Apple's rumored iPhone Duo arrives, and users troubleshooting app scaling problems engadget.com on the device have a fix to try. Engadget traces the evolution of foldable phones engadget.com from the Royole Flex Pai onward, arguing the iPhone Duo signals a broader market shift toward foldables. Samsung's Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra gsmarena.com drew reader comments that its pricing makes laptops look reasonably priced.
One Plus
The OnePlus 16 gsmarena.com launched in China with a 9,000mAh battery, and GSMArena asked readers in a weekly poll gsmarena.com whether they would buy one if they could.
Privacy and Connected Devices
Engadget reports that Alexa devices engadget.com rely on always-on microphones, and that smart TVs engadget.com track viewing habits through automatic content recognition. TikTok reportedly banned ads engadget.com for an Elon Musk documentary ahead of its wider US release, citing political content rules.
Home Networking and Hardware
Engadget's guides cover router light meanings engadget.com, the difference between routers, modems and gateways engadget.com, and why upload speeds lag engadget.com behind downloads. The site also advises against flat Ethernet cables engadget.com and joining two Ethernet cables engadget.com with a coupler.
Gaming and Entertainment
An Xbox Series X engadget.com can now run PlayStation 5 games through an emulator, with caveats, and Inscryption engadget.com is finally coming to mobile after five years. Engadget also highlights six sites engadget.com for replaying 2000s Flash games.
Tips and Explainers
Engadget explains what the orange dot engadget.com on a Galaxy Watch means, when capping FPS engadget.com makes sense in games, and why your drive engadget.com shows less storage than advertised. Other guides cover Google's SynthID detector engadget.com, Windows phone calling engadget.com, and damaged external drives engadget.com. Engadget also warns that laser pointers engadget.com can damage security cameras.
Automotive
Slate's electric truck receives software updates engadget.com without built-in infotainment, relying on the owner's smartphone to deliver them.
Coming Up
Samsung's Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra gsmarena.com and the iPhone Duo gsmarena.com are both part of the foldable and tablet launch cycle now underway.
Apple News
Last updated: October 18, 2026, 10:40 PM ET
Product Launches & Upcoming Hardware
Apple is reportedly lining up a run of releases, with a touchscreen MacBook 9to5mac.com possibly debuting on November 6. A retail store reset appleinsider.com scheduled for the same day strongly hints at the upcoming OLED MacBook Pro. Separately, Apple may release new products macrumors.com on four consecutive Fridays, with MacBook Pro models featuring OLED displays among them.
Smart Home
Apple's HomeView appleinsider.com smart home display is drawing attention as an experimental product. A larger HomeView Max macrumors.com with a 9-inch, 360-degree screen is reportedly in development. A robot arm follow-up appleinsider.com is rumored for a 2027 launch.
iPhone Duo
Apple has published the battery capacity macrumors.com of the iPhone Duo through an EU energy label. Analyst Mark Gurman says Apple made a major mistake macrumors.com with pre-orders, given the device faces severe supply constraints.
Wearables & Software
The Apple Watch Series 12 9to5mac.com is praised as an excellent upgrade, though the reviewer misses one software feature found elsewhere. Apple is also improving the Phone app 9to5mac.com, with several features worth enabling now.
Deals
Amazon has Mac mini discounts macrumors.com of up to $149 and Mac Studio savings of $200. The 2026 Mac Studio appleinsider.com is available for $2,299 after the discount.
Retail Security
A crime blotter appleinsider.com report describes a man arrested for damaging a Macau Apple Store, an armed robbery in Florida tied to an iPhone transaction, and an iPad theft in Vermont.
Coming Up
Apple's touchscreen MacBook could debut on November 6 9to5mac.com, the same day as the scheduled store reset. Four consecutive Friday product launches are expected to begin macrumors.com soon.