Author: News Room
Mario Kart World was the Switch 2’s big launch title, finally providing a sequel to the biggest Mario Kart game of all time. However, today Nintendo updated Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, originally released in 2017, enhancing its Switch 2 support with some added features. It’s a surprising move, as one might assume Nintendo would have fully moved on to the newer game, but 8 Deluxe is the best-selling Switch game of all time, and many still prefer it to World, so it’s a welcome improvement.The most impactful change for most is the addition of more players to local multiplayer. Previously,…
There are plenty of smartwatches that can tell you how many steps you’ve taken, how well you slept, and whether your heart rate is doing something unusual. Then there’s the Huawei Watch D3, which looks at all of that and essentially asks: “That’s nice. But what’s your blood pressure?” I’ve been wearing the Watch D3 for a handful of days now, and it’s quickly become one of the more interesting smartwatches I’ve tested in a while. Not necessarily because it does everything better than the competition, but because it is trying to solve a very different problem. This is a…
Released in 2002 for the PlayStation 2, the original Stuntman was a great concept that, for me anyway, proved far too challenging to be fun. Perfection was demanded, and extreme specificity was required for progress. It took all the fun out of controlling a car in a video game, which I imagine is how movie stunt drivers probably really feel after the fifth take of the same sequence, so in that way maybe it was a perfect simulation of the stunt driving experience.But I have always remained enamored with the fun concept. Who wouldn’t want to drive a stunt car…
Acer has announced several new gaming monitors at IFA 2026, led by the Predator XB253Q U1, a 24.5-inch esports display capable of running at 1920 x 1080 and 1,000Hz. It follows LG’s UltraGear 25G590B, which became the first gaming monitor to reach a native 1,000Hz refresh rate without dropping below Full HD resolution. Acer previously announced the Nitro XV273U F5 with a 1,000Hz mode, but that monitor has to lower its resolution from 1440p to 720p to reach the four-digit refresh rate. Acer now has a native 1080p 1,000Hz monitor The Predator XB253Q U1 uses a 24.5-inch IPS panel with…
Acer has found a way to make gaming handhelds even more ambitious: turn one into a miniature laptop. The company has unveiled Project DualPlay Mini, an unusual concept that switches between a handheld gaming device and a tiny productivity machine. Showcased at IFA 2026, the prototype combines an 8-inch display and built-in gaming controls with a flip-and-swivel mechanism that reveals a physical keyboard. Acer is positioning the device as both a portable gaming system and a Windows-style PC, although it has not announced detailed specifications or a release date. The concept isn’t entirely new. Companies such as Ayaneo, OneXPlayer and…
Acer is giving PC gamers another handheld to consider, and this time it’s going smaller. The company has announced the Predator Atlas 7, a more compact sibling to the 8-inch Predator Atlas 8 it introduced earlier this year. The idea is straightforward: squeeze much of the performance and hardware of the larger machine into something easier to throw into a bag and, more importantly, hold for a long gaming session. At its heart is a 7-inch Full HD touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate, variable refresh rate support, and up to 500 nits of brightness. Acer has stuck with a…
After introducing five new models in July, iRobot has returned at IFA 2026 with another pair: the Roomba Max 875 and Roomba Plus 678. They cost $1,200 and $900, respectively, and both arrive with the specs we’ve increasingly come to expect from high-end robot vacuums. That starts with suction. The Max 875 tops out at a hefty 35,000Pa, while the Plus 678 isn’t far behind at 30,000Pa. Both also use what iRobot calls SealForce Vacuuming Technology, which the company claims delivers three times deeper carpet cleaning than its robot vacuums that don’t use the system. But suction is only part…
Smart home devices have become pretty affordable. However, the subscriptions attached to them? Not always. Shelly is taking a slightly different route with its first security camera. The new Shelly Camera costs $49.99, but unlike many connected cameras that put their most useful features behind a monthly payment, you can use this one without signing up for another recurring bill. That doesn’t mean Shelly has abandoned subscriptions entirely. There is still a paid plan for anyone who wants more advanced features, but the important difference is that the camera remains genuinely useful without one. The Shelly Camera will be available…
Poco started out by making phones that delivered flagship-level performance without flagship-level prices. The new Poco F9 Ultra and F9 Pro show just how much that formula has changed, with both phones now sitting firmly in premium territory. Poco has launched the two phones for global markets, including Europe, but neither is officially coming to the U.S. That is unfortunate because the F9 Ultra in particular has some hardware that is unusual even among expensive Android flagships. The Poco F9 Ultra uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, while the F9 Pro gets the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 V…
Physical ID cards might be on their way out. From driver’s licenses to national ID cards, more of our identity documents are moving onto our phones, and Google wants to make sure that shift happens safely. The company has just announced an expansion of its hardware security program to make digital IDs on Android phones more trustworthy. What is changing? Google is renaming and expanding its Android Ready SE program into the Android Digital Credential Alliance. The original program, launched back in 2021, brought chip makers together to build a secure hardware foundation for digital credentials on Android devices. The…