Figuring out ways to indulge a tech habit while being mindful of environmental impact is tricky, but looking for more energy-efficient options is a great place to start — and opting for a solar-powered device means you could avoid wasting any previous resources when recharging.
Sustainability Week 2026
This article is part of a series of sustainability-themed articles we’re running to observe Earth Day 2026 and promote more sustainable practices. Check out all of our Sustainability Week 2026 content.
For gadgets designed for outdoor use, solar power makes a lot of sense. That Ring doorbell that sits on your wall? You can get a solar-paneled surround that’ll keep it charged up using the energy of the sun, so you won’t need to worry about forgetting to replace the batteries. The same goes for external security cameras — we’re particular fans of the Baesus Security S2, which has a solar panel that rotates throughout the day to follow the sun on its journey across the sky.
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One area where solar power has really been embraced is the world of smart adventure watches. Opt for the Solar version of the likes of the Garmin Fenix 8 or Instinct 3, and — provided you’re adventuring in sunny enough conditions— you’ll unlock unlimited battery life. That’s invaluable if you’re using your watch to keep you on the right track.
Of course, it isn’t practical or logical to integrate solar panels into every kind of gadget (and some ostensibly solar-powered gadgets have underwhelmed us in our tests). But there are plenty of excellent power stations with compatible solar panels, which will efficiently juice up whatever you care to plug into them. These can be a practical solution for campervan-travelers and festival-goers. Scroll down for our pick of some of the best solar-powered gadgets to get started with.
For decades, playing a video game was like following someone’s elaborate script. Every character and branching path was meticulously created by a developer. While impressive, these environments were ultimately finite and predictable. They had boundaries, not just on the map, but in their very code. Modern reality has changed it. Artificial intelligence is transforming the virtual world from static landscapes to dynamic systems with no pre-written steps. The gaming environment is becoming smart, and the players enjoy total immersion and engagement in the process.
Beyond the script: creating characters that think
The most noticeable impact of AI falls on the inhabitants of these virtual worlds, Non-Player Characters (NPCs). We’ve all seen a classic city guard who repeats the same line of dialogue endlessly or an enemy running along a predictable path. Modern AI leaves these simplistic automatons behind.
Instead of a rigid script, today’s NPCs perceive and react to the world around them. They utilize complex algorithms to navigate difficult environments, find cover, or coordinate group attacks. More impressively, they learn from player behavior. Imagine an enemy that notices you always use stealth and begins setting traps. This creates a much more engaging experience, the world feels less like programmed challenges and more like intelligent agents with their own goals.
Dynamic pathfinding: Characters don’t follow predefined routes. They can analyze the environment in real time and figure out the best way to the destination point. Remarkably, they cope with that even if the terrain changes suddenly.
Behavioral trees: Developers apply complex decision-making models. This allows NPCs to choose from a wide range of actions based on current situations, making them highly unpredictable.
Machine learning: Some advanced systems train NPCs by having them observe human players. This allows them to adopt effective strategies that a developer might never have programmed manually.
Worlds without end: the magic of procedural generation
Creating a whole world where gamers will learn to survive takes much time and effort. Building every tree or mountain manually is a rigorous task. AI-driven Procedural Content Generation (PCG) turns out to be a solution here. Designers, technical artists, and engineers use the PCG as a toolset of helpful components. The framework creates game content automatically and generates believable environments.
AI technologies allow designers to avoid manually scattering random trees if they need to depict a credible forest landscape. Instead, the AI algorithm learns the rules of a forest ecosystem. The combination of realistic views and the engineer’s initial intent in the setting captures players and makes them enjoy the game. For example, No Man’s Sky used PCG to create a virtual galaxy with billions of planets. Planets have their unique flora and fauna. Players can fight with alien species or trade with them to get necessary resources or equipment. The game fosters a sense of exploration and impresses with its scale. The future of AI in GameDev lies in this ability to create believable worlds.
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A game that knows you: the personalized experience
It is interesting to play a game as long as it is unpredictable. AI allows for tailoring playing experiences to individuals. This is possible due to the AI analyzing the skill levels, performance, and preferences of players. The game adapts to your style of playing and makes subtle adjustments to the game in real time. This is far more than just a simple “easy, normal, hard” difficulty setting.
Dynamic difficulty adjustment: The system detects your performance and adjusts the game levels accordingly. For example, it might slightly reduce enemy numbers or provide more resources. Vice versa, if you’re doing well, the algorithm keeps the challenge.
Personalized content: It’s great to know your decisions impact the storyline of the game. AI might notice you prefer a certain weapon type and start dropping more powerful versions of it. In narrative games, it can alter future plot points based on the choices and emotional reactions it observes from the player. Besides, the system might adapt in-game rewards to players’ preferences. For example, you can receive new gear, abilities, or characters.
Social customization: AI may suggest players with the same skill levels to keep the competitive environment. At the same time, it may also offer personalized NPCs, which adds to the general immersive experience.
Conclusion
To summarize what was mentioned before, AI allows for never having the same gaming experience twice. This makes gameplay exciting for gamers, yet the development process becomes challenging and demands high competence from the specialists. Therefore, game studios partner with a specialized AI development company in the United States to create unforgettable playing grounds. And the amazing news is that it is only the beginning. AI continues to develop and inspire improvements in all the spheres where it is applied.
Whether you are in the cyber field or not, skills in security have a range of benefits that can empower virtually every career.
The cybersecurity space is endlessly evolving as new technologies, protocols and systems demand heightened security measures. Unfortunately, malicious people can circumvent cybersecurity tech almost as quickly as it is invented, so it takes time and commitment to stay on top of skills in this space.
Upskilling in cybersecurity shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg, nor should it be inconvenient to your day-to-day life. With that in mind, SiliconRepublic.com has created a list of some of the most interesting cybersecurity courses designed to suit almost every lifestyle and budget, whether you are a novice, a student or a veteran professional.
Cisco Networking Academy
Cisco Networking Academy is running an Introduction to Cybersecurity course. The free, six-hour, self-paced course covers the basics and aims to give students and professionals the skills needed to protect their personal digital life and gain insights into the biggest security challenges facing companies, governments and educational institutions. There is also a paid option that is instructor-led and may be better suited to a student or professional looking for additional structure.
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There is also a three-hour Cybersecurity Landscape course that will give learners a greater understanding of cybersecurity core concepts, risk management and what it takes to develop a career as a SOC analyst. The academy noted that this is the first course in its Cybersecurity Defense Analyst Career path.
Coursera
Education platform Coursera has dozens of free, inexpensive and slightly more pricey courses open to professionals and students looking to advance their cybersecurity knowledge. For example, there is a CompTIA Security course for people at an intermediate level. At 10 hours a week, the flexible course roughly takes two weeks to complete, enrollment is free and areas covered include cyberthreat intelligence, incident response, risk management, governance and cryptography, among others.
There is also a Certified Cloud Security Professional course. Similarly it is for people at an intermediate level, can be undertaken in 10 weeks and is free to take part in. Skills gained from the various modules include, IT security architecture, cloud technologies, cybersecurity, computer science and encryption.
There are also a range of options that, if you are unsure about what you are looking for, offer free trials. Consider courses such as Introduction to Cybersecurity Essentials, Google Cybersecurity, IBM Cybersecurity Analyst and Cybersecurity for Everyone.
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EdX
Learning resource EdX has plenty of courses for cybersecurity students to avail of, including an IBM Beginners Guide to Cybersecurity course, Cybersecurity Basics: Tools and Cyberattacks course and the Launch your Cybersecurity Career course.
Advanced professionals have options such as Cybersecurity Fundamentals and Cybersecurity Risk Management. Both courses take eight weeks on average to complete, with a commitment of roughly 10 to 12 hours per week and come with a certificate to show you are now qualified, provided you pass the course.
TryHackMe
TryHackMe is a gamified, hands-on cybersecurity training platform designed for people of all skill levels. The browser-based resource offers users guides, challenges and learning content for complete beginners as well as seasoned hackers.
Students and professionals can enroll in programmes such as Cyber Security 101, Pre Security, Jr Penetration Tester, Soc Level 1, Web Fundamentals and AI Security among others. Many of the initial courses are free and for more advanced options there are monthly payment options. Users can also benefit from a wide community of peers with a common interest and take part in group challenges to advance skills and knowledge.
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Udemy
Educational platform Udemy has a plethora of learning opportunities. The Stay Secure: Modern Information Security Awareness course can help users learn cybersecurity skills to prevent cyberthreats, avoid phishing scams, strengthen passwords and stay safe online. The course is for beginners, is free and consists of 15 lectures.
There is also an SOC Analyst Essentials: Introduction to Cybersecurity programme, where learners explore SOC basics, cybersecurity tools, threat detection, malware analysis and core skills for aspiring SOC analysts. There are 20 lectures and will take, on average, an hour and a half to complete.
Additional courses include Cybersecurity Defence Fundamentals Encryption and OS Security, Cybersecurity Fundamentals: Don’t get Hacked, and Cybersecurity at Work: Stay Safe Online For Employees.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
The Samsung Galaxy A57 5G nails the basics with a slim, premium-feeling design, a bright 6.7-inch AMOLED display and dependable all-round performance for everyday use. Its weak points are easier to forgive at this price, but middling cameras, average battery life and a steep jump for extra storage stop it from being a true standout.
Lightweight and thin design for a phone of its size
Brilliant, big display that’s great for media
IP68 water and dust resistance
Fingerprint sensor is slow and unreliable
Battery life not as strong as expected
Not the smoothest, fastest performance around
A bump in storage costs a fortune
Key Features
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Review Price:
£529
Slim, lightweight build
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The Galaxy A57 measures in at 6.9mm thick and just 179g, an impressive combination considering its large screen.
Premium-looking screen
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The 6.7-inch AMOLED screen looks more premium than ever, with slimmed down, (nearly) symmetrical bezels.
Full dust and water resistance
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The Galaxy A57 is the first in Samsung’s A-series to offer full IP68 dust and water resistance.
Introduction
For the right person, a mid-range phone can be the perfect balance of features and cost. It’s a delicate balance, because you’ll inevitably lose out on something when you compare it to more expensive phones.
Samsung walks that tightrope every year, focusing on a couple of key parts of the experience while compromising on a few others to bring the price down to a more palatable level.
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The Samsung Galaxy A57 is the latest in a long line of mid-market phones, and while not perfect, it hits the mark in a few areas. Let’s get into it.
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Design
Premium metal and glass build stands out
Lightweight design
A bit of a fingerprint magnet
There are both good and bad elements in the design department, but for the most part, the A57 does a really good job of disguising the fact that it’s not one of the more expensive phones. There’s no plastic to be found anywhere, with both front and back adorned with Gorilla Glass Victus+.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
I really like how Samsung’s played with glass finishes to add some visual contrast. The dark, glossy back plays off nicely with the slightly opaque, frosted finish on the camera island, making it look better than the more expensive Galaxy S series in some ways.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
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At least, it is until you actually pick it up and use it, because that glossy, dark finish on the back is a proper fingerprint magnet. One touch, and smears will appear. It’s the reason so many more expensive phones now use a frosted, matte glass finish. This tends to hide fingerprints much better. Perhaps then, a case of giving with one hand and taking away with the other.
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It’s a similar thought when looking at the aluminium frame and the front of the phone. Because I do really like that raised area on the right edge where the volume and side buttons live. It makes that aluminium edge less boring somehow, but then, there’s a bit of a chin in the bezel, where Samsung hasn’t quite managed to give us a uniform bezel on all four sides and corners around the display.
Still, it comes across as a well-thought-through and purposeful design. The thing I noticed first when I unboxed it was how thin and lightweight it seemed. For a phone with such a large display, it has a nimbleness that belies the numbers on a spec sheet. Still, it’s slightly thinner and lighter than the Galaxy S26 Plus, and considerably more so than the Galaxy S26 Ultra.
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It’s obviously still a way off being as skinny as the S25 Edge, but at the same time, when you realise it’s packed in a battery that’s the same capacity as the larger and heavier S26 Ultra, it’s impossible not to be impressed.
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It shares the same water and dust resistance rating as its more expensive cousins too. So if you happen to like walks in the rain, it should cope just fine.
Display
6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED display
A fantastic panel for the price
Optical fingerprint sensor is hit-and-miss
Just like its design and build, the display is a highlight on the A57. Using it to watch movies or game on, I was never left with a sense that I was using an inferior display, even though technically I was.
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It doesn’t quite reach the same brightness levels of the S26 series, but it’s still very bright, vivid and colour-rich, making it a joy to stream videos and get hooked into social media feeds on. The fact that it’s 6.7 inches diagonally helps too. It’s an expansive canvas with few noticeable weaknesses.
Any weaknesses it does have only show in other areas. As an example, it can hit 120Hz refresh rates, meaning it can ramp up to be super smooth and sharp, even with quick animations. However, because it’s not an LTPO panel, it can’t adapt those refresh rates at small 1Hz increments like the top-tier phones.
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You might not notice it at all while watching video or even gaming, but you might notice it when moving quickly from a static page to a moving one. Like when you swipe quickly to go to the Home Screen from a browser page. Going from not moving, to moving, the display often leads to the odd frame drop and stuttering animation. It’s not horrendous, and maybe not even noticeable if you’re not used to the most premium devices on the market.
This lack of ultra-adaptive refresh rate also affects the battery life. But I’ll get more into that later on. The short version of that takeaway is that the less efficient display means that if you use your phone a lot, you’ll drain the battery faster than you would with a more expensive Galaxy S-series phone.
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One other weakness in the display has nothing to do with the display itself, but rather with the fingerprint sensor built into it. Unlike the more premium models, it doesn’t have an ultrasonic sensor, but uses an optical one. And it’s not a great optical sensor, in my experience. It takes a comparatively long time to set up, and you have to hold your finger on it for a second or two before it registers. Plus, in my experience, the first attempt fails fairly frequently.
There’s a possibility I’ve just become too accustomed to the high-end ultrasonic scanners on more premium devices, but I’ve also used mid-range devices with optical scanners that aren’t as slow and finicky as this one.
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Despite the minor compromises, however, I will say this: if your time is spent mostly on social media, YouTube and video watching or casual games, I think you’ll struggle to find a better display than the A57’s for that. It’s a really wonderful canvas for just about everything.
Software
OneUI 8.5 based on Android 16
Smattering of AI features, but not full Galaxy AI support
Six years of OS upgrades
There’s not a huge amount to cover on the software side that hasn’t already been addressed in our other recent Samsung reviews. The One UI 8.5 version of Samsung’s Android skin is largely the same as what you’ll find on the Galaxy S26 series.
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That includes a smattering of AI features built into apps like the Gallery app for editing photos using voice dictation, or getting Bixby (Samsung’s oft-neglected built-in assistant) to change your phone settings for you.
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It does lack some of the features that require more power, though. You’re not going to get DeX, Samsung’s desktop-like interface for external monitors, as an example. The more proactive and pervasive system-wide AI features are also missing. Elements like ‘Now Nudge’ can remind you of upcoming appointments, but they lack the agentic feel of the built-in AI tools.
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Cameras
Three cameras, but includes a junk macro lens
Solid performance, but can struggle with HDR processing
No telephoto lens for zoom, but digital zoom is solid
It’s in the camera department that you start to see the obvious signs that we’re dealing with a mid-range phone. There are three cameras, as is fairly typical, but one of those is a low-resolution macro camera, which effectively acts as a backup lens for close-up photography. You do get an ultrawide lens as well as the main camera, alongside that macro camera.
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How well this camera serves you will likely depend on when you usually take photos, and in what conditions. Outside in bright daylight, it does a pretty good job of delivering sharp, bright and vibrant photographs.
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There’s a little over-sharpening and contrast boosting in the processing that makes images ‘pop’ on screen. Being critical, it can often appear overexposed, particularly in the brighter parts of the image, but that’s being quite nitpicky.
It struggles at times with scenes where there’s bright backlighting and HDR needs to kick in, often leaving the shadowed foreground object a little too dark. On that note, there are times when shadowed areas in not-so-well-lit indoor scenes, or even grey clouds in the skies, can be a little grainy and noisy.
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One of the plus points is that the main sensor is large enough and pixel dense enough that you can punch in to 2x zoom and still get a pretty decent image that doesn’t obviously lack in sharpness.
It makes up for the lack of a dedicated zoom camera slightly, but putting it side-by-side with the Galaxy S26, with its 3x zoom camera, the A57 does struggle with anything beyond 2x zoom. Image quality falls away quite rapidly once you go above that 2x mark and, in my testing, really not worth going anywhere beyond 5x zoom.
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Indoors, away from super bright light sources, it does a decent job of capturing colour and detail. You will probably start seeing that aforementioned noise and grain in darker parts of the image, and see the camera struggle a bit with focusing, especially moving objects like Richard Parker – my pet cat.
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At night time, launching into the dedicated night mode can result in some bright, in-focus images. The primary camera is definitely stronger than the ultrawide, which can sometimes struggle to contain details in brighter parts of the image. But it’s hard to be too critical. The important thing to note is that regardless of the conditions, it’s possible to get a good enough image that you’d be happy to share on social media.
Of course, it’s not as strong or versatile as phones that cost twice as much, but as I suspect anyone buying this will be happy enough with the results.
As a video maker, the lack of 4K recording at 60fps was a tad disappointing. Shooting 4K at 30fps is okay, but I often found the footage a little grainy, lacking in sharpness and smoothness. Particularly when panning across a scene, there was some stuttering and a rolling shutter-like effect. Having to jump down to 1080p to get 60fps means you effectively have the choice between sharp footage or smooth footage; you can’t have both. So I’d say it’s definitely not the phone for wannabe content creators.
Performance
Mid-range Exynos 1680 power
Can handle most daily tasks just fine
Not quite powerful enough for high-res gaming
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Performance, like cameras, is another area where you’ll see a difference between these mid-range phones and the top-tier models. But, just like the camera department, whether or not it’s got enough juice depends very much on what you do.
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For the most part, the experience of using the A57 is fluid and smooth. As mentioned when I was talking about the display, there’s a little bit of stutter and frame-dropping in the user interface when going between static and moving content on screen, but once it’s going, it’s responsive and quick.
Image Credit (Trusted Reviews)
Inside, the phone has the Exynos 1680, which is a very middle-of-the-road type of processor. That said, it’s got enough grunt that it’ll handle most of your casual tasks easily enough.
Casual games aren’t a struggle at all, but I did notice it would often drop the resolution in some games to keep gameplay smooth. Mario Kart Tour, which has long been my go-to game on mobile, didn’t look as sharp as it does on more powerful phones. But, crucially, the gameplay isn’t hampered by frame-dropping at all, and so it feels pretty smooth.
It’s a powerful enough chipset that it can also handle quite a lot of the AI-based tasks on the phone. Using Bixby to call up settings options wasn’t as snappy and instant as the S26, but it wasn’t too much of a hindrance either.
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As is always the case, tempering expectations is advised with performance. You’re not going to be able to play the highest fidelity games in their highest settings. If you did, you’d soon find the phone chugging to a halt. But if your game time mostly involves games like Block Blast, Mario Kart or something more casual, the A57 has more than enough grunt for those.
Battery Life
Same 5000mAh battery as S26 Ultra
One day for most users, but can squeeze more out
Full charge in 75 minutes
Tempering expectations is also advised with the battery. Samsung advertises this phone as having a two-day battery, and whether or not that’s achievable very much depends on your screen time and the type of phone user you are. But, for busy power users, I think you’ll get one full day, not two.
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When the screen’s on, even playing the casual games I mentioned before, the battery seems to drain a little quicker than the more powerful S26 models, even the smallest one, which has a smaller battery. My suspicion is that because it can’t drop as low as 1Hz on static pages, and is at a minimum of 60Hz all the time, it uses a lot more energy to power that display. Especially considering how bright it is.
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On my lighter days (I’m a pretty light user already) I could make it last two days. But that’s true of most phones these days. It’s very conservative with battery use in standby mode with the always-on display disabled, so if your screen use is 2-3 hours a day and mostly low-intensity tasks, I think two days might just be possible.
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Charging speeds when empty are fast enough to be convenient, but not market-leading. A full charge takes about 75 minutes, but you can get 50% topped up in 25 minutes in those times when you’ve run empty and you’re in a rush to get out again. You just need to make sure you have a compatible 45W charger to get those speeds.
Should you buy it?
You want a premium-feeling mid-ranger
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With its combination of aluminium frame and glass rear, the A57 5G doesn’t feel as cheap as most mid-range phones.
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You want great performance
The Exynos chipset inside the A57 is fine for day-to-day tasks, but it can’t compete with the most powerful mid-rangers around.
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Final Thoughts
On the whole, Samsung’s Galaxy A57 shares many of the same strengths as previous models. It’s a capable phone with a brilliant display built into a big phone that’s remarkably lightweight and thin-feeling.
Any compromises, like imperfect cameras, performance and battery life, are largely expected at this price point. Costing just over £/$500 for the base model is about on par with what you’d expect for this phone from Samsung.
What’s a little harder to accept is that if you want more storage than the 256GB base model, you’re going to need nearly £/$200 more to get it. And at that price, you can get a much better phone from just about anyone.
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How We Test
We test every mobile phone we review thoroughly. We use industry-standard tests to compare features properly and we use the phone as our main device over the review period. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
Used as a main phone for over a week
Thorough camera testing in a variety of conditions
Tested and benchmarked using respected industry tests and real-world data
FAQs
How many OS upgrades will the Galaxy A57 get?
Samsung has committed to six years of OS upgrades and security patches.
Does the Samsung Galaxy A57 come with a charger?
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No, despite offering 45W fast charge support, you won’t get a charging brick in the box in most regions.
Engineers took the existing flagship and completely overhauled it to create the 2027 BMW i7, which uses the brains and brawn from BMW’s most recent electric vehicles. This resulted in two all-wheel drive versions that will roll into showrooms late next year, with production kicking off this July at the German factory in Dingolfing.
Designers gave the front end a nip and tuck, as the kidney grille is now thinner and illuminated with beautiful clean LED strips, while the headlights now form a single neat band across the front; the actual beams are now tucked away lower in the bumper to keep things appearing minimalist. You can still get the sleek crystal lenses if you want to add some sparkle when the lights come on. Meanwhile, at the back, the taillights are zipped in tighter towards the middle and have a smoked finish to sharpen the overall look, and just for fun, there’s a new light bar that projects animated patterns onto the ground beside the doors when you’re getting in or out, using a tidy 200K pixels and available in three moods.
BMW MODEL CAR KIT – Racing enthusiasts can fuel their imaginations with the LEGO Technic BMW M4 GT3 EVO Race Car (42226) building set for boys and…
AUTHENTIC DETAILS – This race car playset features iconic BMW detailing and is equipped with a working steering function, a detailed 6-cylinder…
BUILD, PLAY & DISPLAY – Kids can enjoy assembling their model car and racing it down an imaginary track, then display it on a shelf or table to…
All models now have dual motors, with the base i7 50 xDrive producing 449 horsepower and accelerating from 0 to 60 in 5.3 seconds while reaching 130 mph. If you want a little more power, the i7 60 xDrive is the way to go, with 536 horsepower under the hood and a 0-60 time of 4.6 seconds; it is also electronically limited to 149 mph. Both versions employ cutting-edge motor technology that eliminates the need for rare earth magnets and is combined with silicon-carbide inverters to provide the smoothest, quietest ride imaginable.
The battery size is approximately 113 kilowatt-hours, thanks to the new sixth-generation cylindrical cells, which pack 20% more energy into the same space as previously. The top model can now travel over 350 miles on a full charge, which is a significant improvement over the previous model. To make things even better, the engineers reduced the wiring weight by 30% and shortened the harness by 2,000 feet using the new zonal electrical setup, which feeds a central computer with twenty times the processing power. That extra brain aids with over-the-air upgrades and smarter route planning, which automatically includes charging stops and heats the battery in advance.
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Charging can get you to 80% in 28 minutes if you plug into a compatible station, and every car has a North American Charging Standard (NACS) port built right in, so you don’t need a special adapter for that. The regenerative braking system is quite sophisticated, as it determines how much energy to take back in based on what you’re doing, traffic lights, and traffic circumstances, resulting in that pleasant one-pedal feel when you want to slow down.
Step inside, and all of the information you need appears instantaneously on the long glass strip of screen that runs pillar to pillar at the base of the windshield. Speed, range, and navigation are right in front of you, in your natural sight line, while the media and AI’s avatar hang out above the new 17.9-inch touchscreen in the center. The front passenger has access to a 14.6-inch screen for personal enjoyment while driving. And in the back, those who want to go all out may purchase an optional 31.3-inch movie screen that descends down from the roof with 8K quality, as well as a built-in camera for video conversations, streaming, and games to play while parked. Music enthusiasts can select an audio system with up to thirty-six speakers that are fully calibrated for the immersive Dolby Atmos experience.
The seats are still extremely luxurious, and for those seeking even greater comfort, there are executive lounge chairs and footrests that can even slide out of the seat in front. Materials such as leather, wood, crystal, and metal combine to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. Four-zone climate control and a panoramic glass roof are standard features, and adaptive air suspension with electronic dampers ensures a smooth ride regardless of the road conditions. Furthermore, twenty-two inch wheels are available as an option, a fresh new dimension not before provided on this model.
Prices begin at roughly $106,200 for the i7 50 xDrive and $124,700 for the i7 60 xDrive before destination fees, and you know what? That’s not a bad deal, especially given the additional technology and range. With these changes, the already fantastic luxury electric vehicle just became even better, as you can now travel even longer on a single charge, charge up much faster when you need to stop, and with all of the screens and sound, every mile seems like a great treat.
Apple has released updates for iOS 26.4.2 and iPadOS 26.4.2, as well as version 18.7.8 for older devices, providing bug fixes and security updates to all users.
Apple’s new update can be applied to all current-gen iPhones.
Incremental updates for Apple’s operating systems provide some much-needed bug fixes, security updates, and performance improvements between major updates. On Wednesday, Apple issued the second incremental update of version 26.4, bringing iOS and iPadOS up to 26.4.2. The previous incremental update, for iOS 26.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.2, landed on April 8. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
Google announced two new tensor processing units (TPUs) for the “agentic era,” with separate processors dedicated to training and inference. “With the rise of AI agents, we determined the community would benefit from chips individually specialized to the needs of training and serving,” Amin Vahdat, a Google senior vice president and chief technologist for AI and infrastructure, said in a blog post. Both chips will become available later this year. CNBC reports: After years of producing chips that can both train artificial intelligence models and handle inference work, Google is separating those tasks into distinct processors, its latest effort to take on Nvidia in AI hardware. […] None of the tech giants are displacing Nvidia, and Google isn’t even comparing the performance of its new chips with those from the AI chip leader. Google did say the training chip enables 2.8 times the performance of the seventh-generation Ironwood TPU, announced in November, for the same price, while performance is 80% better for the inference processor.
Nvidia said its upcoming Groq 3 LPU hardware will draw on large quantities of static random-access memory, or SRAM, which is used by Cerebras, an AI chipmaker that filed to go public earlier this month. Google’s new inference chip, dubbed TPU 8i, also relies on SRAM. Each chip contains 384 megabytes of SRAM, triple the amount in Ironwood. The architecture is designed “to deliver the massive throughput and low latency needed to concurrently run millions of agents cost-effectively,” Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent Alphabet, wrote in a blog post.
Vampire Survivors developer Poncle has big plans for the future, according to an interview the company’s chief strategy officer Matteo Sapio. It’s opening two new studios in Japan and Italy and has over 15 games in active development. That’s a lot of action for a company primarily known for one franchise.
Sapio says the company is developing three basic types of games. There are spinoffs to Vampire Survivors, like this week’s . Poncle is also making original IPs and says there are two games set in new universes coming down the pike.
Finally, it’s working on some roguelites with similar mechanics to Vampire Survivors, but using other IPs. We already know about one of these, a roguelite set in the Warhammer 40K universe . It’s set to land on Steam sometime this year. To assist with these plans, Poncle has developed an engine that can turn pre-existing IPs into games that play like Vampire Survivors.
If you’re wondering if there are enough fans for multiple top-down roguelites with simple controls and bullet hell mechanics, let me point you to Halls of Torment, Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor and Soulstone Survivors, among many others. This has become a popular genre in recent years, likely due to the continued success of Vampire Survivors. To that end, the original game .
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Poncle has, however, paused all of its third-party publishing plans after releasing a couple of games last year. “It was a learning experience,” Sapio said. “But we found that we weren’t able to give the right support.” The company could revisit third-party publishing in the future.
This is great news for Poncle and fans of the Vampire Survivors franchise, but there’s always risk when a company tries to grow like this. Remember Embracer Group? It went on a massive buying spree beginning in 2019, .
However, this isn’t a AAA game development studio. Poncle makes indie titles and the new studios will be lean operations, with “little teams of people.” Sapio said this organizational structure will help keep the company “agile and flexible.”
I personally have high hopes for this endeavor. This is because the just-released spinoff Vampire Crawlers is so very good, which proves to me that Poncle isn’t a one-trick pony. It plays like a mix of Slay the Spire with a first-person dungeon crawler like Etrian Odyssey, all while successfully capturing the vibe of Vampire Survivors. If Poncle can keep up this level of quality, gamers could be in for a long-term treat.
The allegation, first pushed by Iranian state media and later by foreign outlets and Chinese publications, centers on hardware failures said to have occurred even while Iran remained largely cut off from the global internet. Read Entire Article Source link
Meta has introduced a new “live chats” feature to Threads, enabling people on the platform to participate in real-time conversations about live events they’re interested in. Live chats can be hosted within Threads communities, the topic-specific social spaces that Meta last year.
The new feature sounds a bit like Threads’ take on Instagram’s broadcast channels, but the latter only allows for one-way messaging. Live chats can be hosted by select creators, including Community Champions — users highly engaged within specific communities — and media personalities. Once a chat is launched or scheduled, the host chooses who is invited to contribute and can then share the link publicly.
You can post photos, videos, links and emoji reactions as well as text-based messages. If you’re unable to send messages in a live chat that is at capacity, you can still watch it, react to others messages and vote in polls. Live chats remain open to view after they’ve ended, and you don’t need to be part of a community to join.
Meta is debuting its new social feature in the NBAThreads Community during the Playoffs, with Malika Andrews, Rachel Nichols, Trysta Krick, David Rushing and Lexis Mickens named as hosts. Live chats will appear at the top of the NBAThreads Community feed, and can also be shared in a post that might appear on your main feed in Threads. You’ll also see a red ring around a host’s profile photo when they’re live.
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Meta says live chats will gradually be rolled out to more communities on Threads, with features like co-hosting, lock screen widgets and the ability to quote and share messages from a chat on your feed coming soon.
Meta has been steadily expanding its X rival’s features since it launched in 2023. It started small with (note: not hashtags) and , before rolling out communities last year. It also started long-form text posts and just gave Threads a long-overdue facelift on web. Back in October, the company that its text-based social media platform now has 150 million daily users.
New York has banned state employees from using insider information to trade on prediction markets. In an executive order signed today and viewed by WIRED, Governor Kathy Hochul forbade the state’s government workforce from using “any nonpublic information obtained in the course of their official duties” to participate on prediction market platforms, or to help others profit using those services.
“Getting rich by betting on inside information is corruption, plain and simple,” Hochul said in a statement provided to WIRED. “Our actions will ensure that public servants work for the people they represent, not their own personal enrichment. While Donald Trump and DC Republicans turn a blind eye to the ethical Wild West they’ve created, New York is stepping up to lead by example and stamp out insider trading.”
The order was not spurred by any specific insider trading incidents involving New York state employees. “There are no known instances of this behavior to date,” says New York State Executive Chamber deputy communications director Sean Butler.
This is the latest in a wave of initiatives meant to curb insider trading on prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, the two most popular of these platforms in the United States. California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a similar executive order last month, banning Golden State employees from prediction market insider trading. Yesterday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker followed suit.
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In addition to these executive orders, Congress has also introduced several bills intended to curb market manipulation and corruption in the industry, including legislation barring elected officials from participating in prediction markets. Some individual politicians are discouraging or outright barring their staff from buying event contracts on those platforms. According to CNN, the White House recently warned executive branch staff not to trade on prediction markets. When WIRED asked the White House about its policies on these markets earlier this year, it pointed to existing regulations prohibiting gambling activity but did not respond to requests for clarification on whether it considered prediction market participation to be gambling.
The Commodity Exchange Act, which covers derivative markets, does already prohibit insider trading, which means that both public servants and people in the private sector are breaking the law if they enact insider trades on event contracts. Rather than establishing new rules, the New York executive order serves primarily to underline the state’s commitment to enforcing existing laws and to clarify how these laws and its Code of Ethics for employees apply to prediction markets.
However, with so many high-profile examples of suspected insider trading on Polymarket focused on geopolitical events, from the capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to strikes in the ongoing Iran war, many onlookers—including prominent lawmakers—see this as such a combustible issue. They’re racing to write laws and orders restating and emphasizing existing rules.
“This makes sense, and we already do this. At Kalshi, insider trading violates our rules, and we enforce them when we catch insiders,” Kalshi spokesperson Elisabeth Diana says. “Government employees should be aware that trading on federally regulated markets using material nonpublic information violates the law.” (Polymarket did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
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Facing backlash, Polymarket and Kalshi have recently announced new initiatives to combat insider trading.
In February, Kalshi publicized its decision to suspend and fine two individuals for violating its market manipulation policies; the company also confirmed that it had flagged the cases to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the federal agency overseeing prediction markets. In March, it rolled out a beef up market surveillance arm, preemptively blocking political candidates from trading on markets related to their campaigns.
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