Author: News Room

That $100 phone you were going to grab for your kid’s first device, or hand down to grandma, could become a dream in a while. AI’s hunger for memory chips just made the entire budget phone category borderline impossible to build. So how bad are we actually talking? According to research firm Omdia, memory costs for phones priced under $100 are set to surge 400% in the third quarter of 2026. If that happens, the bill of materials for the most common configuration will jump from just $14 a year ago to roughly $70 (via South China Morning Post).  Omdia’s…

If the phrase “future-proof desktop” means never worrying about running out of RAM again, Lenovo may have just built the ultimate machine. The company is preparing to launch its new ThinkCentre X workstation desktop in the US after making it available in several international markets. Built for AI workloads, professional content creation, and demanding enterprise applications, the desktop can be configured with up to 256GB of DDR5 memory, Intel’s latest Core Ultra 9 processor, and support for dual GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB GPUs. A workstation built for serious workloads The ThinkCentre X isn’t aimed at gamers looking for their…

Buying your next Apple device could soon look like leasing a car. Apple is launching its new Apple Upgrade program on Tuesday, July 28, replacing new enrollments in the long-running iPhone Upgrade Program with a lease-based option that covers iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches. Backed by Klarna, the program is designed to lower the upfront cost of Apple’s premium devices, but it is also raising questions about whether you’ll actually own what you’re paying for. How will the new Apple Upgrade work? The new program will reportedly launch first in the United States through Apple’s retail stores and online…

There is a moment early in Halo: Campaign Evolved where I stopped thinking about the remake as a game for a second. I was watching one of its newly rebuilt cutscenes. Master Chief, Captain Keyes, Cortana, the Pillar of Autumn, and the enormous scale of everything around them suddenly appeared a lot more cinematic than ever before. I played the original Halo: Combat Evolved in the early 2000s, and in my head, this was exactly how it looked and felt. The first Halo title introduced intergalactic war to me long before Star Wars, and the cinematic tastefully adds enough minor…

Waiting for a massive Game Pass download to finish could soon become a little less painful. Microsoft has begun testing a new Smart Download Client as part of the latest Xbox Insider Alpha Skip-Ahead update. The feature is designed to speed up game installs and updates by automatically connecting users to the fastest available content server. While it’s currently limited to Xbox Insider testers, early reports suggest the improvements are also making their way to the Xbox PC app, potentially solving one of the platform’s longest-standing frustrations. How the Smart Download Client works According to Microsoft’s latest Xbox Insider release…

Apple could unveil its first smart glasses at WWDC in June 2027, followed by a consumer release toward the end of the year, according to Bloomberg. The device, internally codenamed N50, had reportedly been scheduled for an introduction in late 2026 and a launch in early 2027. Part of the delay reportedly stems from Apple’s engineering and marketing teams spending more time refining the product and deciding how to address the privacy concerns that come with putting cameras on someone’s face. Privacy is said to be the top priority for the teams working on the glasses. Meta has already shown…

A phone stand is one of the smallest purchases on any back-to-school list, but it’s also one of the easiest to get wrong, especially since there are dozens of options available on Amazon. A good phone stand is one that does its job well and, more importantly, doesn’t put much of a dent in your budget. This is one of those product categories where you don’t need to spend big, unless a MagSafe dock or a multi-device charging stand is genuinely useful for your desk or dorm setup. That is why this list begins with the most affordable options and…

Magnetic gaming keyboards and lightweight mice are hardly unusual anymore, but Lenovo is trying to push both ideas a little further with its latest Legion peripherals. The new lineup includes the Legion R7 RT75 keyboard and Legion Y7MG mouse, and both support an 8,000Hz polling rate for players who want every input delivered to their PC as quickly as possible. Of course, Lenovo has styled these peripherals to be as bold and eye-catching as possible without getting in the way of practicality. The keyboard has a hefty metallic design with translucent keycaps and RGB lighting. Compared to that, the mouse…

Finding an empty outlet on campus can require more patience than registering for a popular class. Common spaces like libraries or lecture halls rarely have sockets in the right places. So a good power bank gives you far more freedom. It gives you the option to choose the quiet corner of the library, work outside between classes, or even finish an assignment without worrying about your laptop’s battery. The right model depends on what you carry, since a phone needs far less power than a MacBook or gaming laptop. I picked four Anker power banks that cover everything from everyday…

Asus has introduced a new AMD-powered version of the Zenbook 14 Air 2026, combining a bright OLED display and a large battery inside an 11mm-thick chassis. It weighs 1.19kg, keeping it firmly in ultraportable territory despite the 77Wh battery inside. The Zenbook 14 Air 2026 itself is not entirely new. Asus launched an Intel configuration powered by the Core Ultra 9 386H in China back in January. The latest version switches to AMD’s Ryzen AI 7 H 445 and is priced at CNY 9,999, or around $1,477. (via Notebookcheck) The OLED screen is easily the highlight The 14-inch OLED panel…