Author: News Room

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…

Apple is nudging developers to finally leave Intel behind. The company started emailing developers today, letting them know that universal macOS apps on the Mac App Store that require macOS 13 or later can now drop support for Intel-based Macs. In the email, obtained by 9to5Mac, Apple says: “We’re reaching out to let you know that universal macOS apps on the Mac App Store that require macOS 13 or later can now remove support for Intel-based Mac computers. By removing support for Intel-based Mac computers, you can simplify your development and optimize your download and on-device size. To remove Intel…

Labor Day sales are packed with smart home gear, but a discount alone doesn’t make something worth adding to your house. I narrowed the current Amazon and Best Buy sales down to six deals covering security, climate control, and everyday convenience. eufy Smart Lock E31 A smart lock is one of those upgrades that can make sense even if the rest of your home isn’t particularly smart. Best Buy has the eufy Smart Lock E31 for $124.99, down from $209.99. It offers fingerprint unlocking, keypad access, app controls, and Matter support, so it works with the major smart home ecosystems…

Razer just announced the Prio, a new mobile gaming controller built entirely around one idea: your phone is already in your pocket, so your controller should be too. We have all been there, killing time in a waiting room or stuck between classes with nothing but a phone screen for company. Razer wants to turn those dead moments into real gaming sessions, without asking you to carry around a bulky controller. Small enough to disappear in your pocket The Prio’s whole pitch rests on its folding design. Collapsed, it is small enough to slide into a pocket without you noticing…

Qualcomm and HUMAIN unveiled a new AI PC called Horizon Ultra at LEAP 2026, and the pitch is pretty simple: run more AI tasks directly on the machine instead of sending everything to a server online. HUMAIN and Qualcomm Technologies spent over a year building this together. The first version runs Microsoft Windows, which should make the PC familiar to most users thinking of buying one. HUMAIN also confirmed its own operating system, HUMAIN OS, is coming to this same hardware line in 2027. What’s powering Horizon Ultra? The laptop runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite chip, which packs an…

Sony has announced three new speakers for its ULT Power Sound lineup, ranging from a $450 portable option to a $1,500 monster built for genuinely large gatherings.  All of them will be available to purchase starting this month via Sony’s official website, Amazon, and Best Buy.  How do the three new speakers differ? The new ULT Tower 5 is the entry point into the lineup. Priced at $450, it’s the most compact of the three, yet somehow, Sony manages to pack in up to 300 watts of output. With a 20-hour battery life and an IPX4 splash resistance rating, you…

Anthropic has introduced two upgraded AI models for Claude that promise faster coding, better performance on complex tasks, and lower costs for developers. The company has launched Claude Fable 5.1 for general use and Claude Mythos 5.1 for trusted organizations working in areas like cybersecurity and life sciences. Alongside the model upgrades, Anthropic is cutting Fable cache read pricing by 75%, making it significantly cheaper for developers to run repeated workloads while keeping the same API pricing for standard usage. Claude Fable 5.1 is built to tackle bigger coding projects Claude Fable 5.1 focuses on improving software development and other…