Hardware Tech News.

Emberos, a Los Angeles-based AI brand management startup, raised $5.5 million in seed funding, bringing total funding to $6.7 million. The round, backed by strategic angel investors, will accelerate development of CreatorGraph, which maps creators and communities to shape AI recommendations across systems like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

Microsoft confirmed its August update preview prevents personalization settings from loading on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, forcing affected desktops to a default black background. Users cannot manually restore customized settings, and Microsoft is working on a resolution for a future Windows update.

Plex urges users to update to Plex Media Server 1.43.3 and Plex Desktop 1.115.0, which patch multiple undisclosed security flaws. CVE identifiers have been requested for the issues. Over 360,000 devices expose the Plex Media Server web interface, according to Censys data.

The Galaxy Watch 9 is Samsung's first smartwatch with seamless updates, letting firmware install in the background during use. The roughly 193MB first update carries the August 5, 2026 security patch. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 may share the architecture, pending its first update.

Mogu IoT, a Guangzhou-based industrial AI company, closed its Series C C1 and C2 rounds, raising nearly 200 million yuan. Yunhui Capital led the round, with Yuanhe Origin participating. The funds will develop the Lingzhi AI model and physical AI agents for energy efficiency.

Zack Bartel built Tether, an open-source project integrating Apple Continuity features with Linux. It sends iMessages, syncs clipboards, and shows iOS notifications on Linux via secure local network communication and a custom Bluetooth stack.

Google Cloud's us-central1-b region suffered severe network degradation on September 1 after an engineer unplugged visible fibers. The incident, lasting from 07:41 to 11:52 PT, caused 100% traffic flow drops, unreachable virtual machines, and elevated packet loss.

Garmin's flagship Fenix 9 costs AU$1,599, pushing users toward Amazfit's affordable wearables. Amazfit launched in Australia in July, offering lower prices and strong colleague ratings for fitness tracking. The Dutch brand's devices cover runs, hikes, and swims at a fraction of Garmin's premium cost.

Volkswagen's Supervisory Board approved eliminating roughly 50% of its model lineup by 2035. Rumored cuts include Audi and Porsche crossover coupes, the Taycan, ICE 718 Boxster and Cayman, Cupra Raval, Skoda Fabia, Volkswagen Jetta, and Taos. The automaker has not confirmed which vehicles will be dropped.

A Chevrolet Bolt driver paid $418 for a 44-minute session at an EVgo charger on a Hyundai dealership lot in Macomb Township. The charger charged $5 per kWh plus $5 per minute, set deliberately to deter outsiders. EVgo refunded $405.

The redesigned Kia Sportage, spotted without heavy camouflage, adopts a boxier, Telluride-inspired look with upright front styling and slab-sided bodywork. The hybrid powertrain is expected to improve to 242 hp, up from the current 232 hp. Kia sold 18,723 Sportage units in August, an all-time record.

Apple's new Mac mini lineup pairs the M6 chip in the $899 model with the M5 Pro in the $1,699 model. The M6 offers newer 2nm silicon and a Dual 16-core Neural Engine, while the M5 Pro provides up to 18 CPU cores, 64GB memory, and Thunderbolt 5.

Motorola's $350 Moto Watch Ultra, announced at IFA 2026, runs Wear OS 6 with LTE, a 1.5-inch OLED screen, and a Snapdragon W5+ Gen 1 chip. Battery life drops to two days with the always-on display off, versus 13 days on the prior Moto Watch.

Apple's next MacBook Neo will use the A19 Pro chip, also in the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air, with a 5-core GPU. It will offer 12GB of RAM and support Apple's more powerful on-device AI model. Release is slated for 2027.

Used Mellanox ConnectX-4 cards now sell for about $27, making 10 GbE affordable for home networks. Nvidia's WinOF-2 driver supports ConnectX-4 through ConnectX-6 on Windows 11, eliminating old driver headaches. A 10 GbE switch still costs $150 or more, and SFP+ cables may need replacement.

vivo will unveil OriginOS 7.0 at its Dev Conference on September 16, alongside BlueOS 4 for wearables and IoT. The Android 17-based skin adds liquid glass UI, Storage Compression 2.0 freeing 20GB, and claims 14% faster graphics rendering.

Ultrahuman raised $70 million from Qualcomm Ventures, Labcorp, Alpha Wave, and Blume for next-generation AI wearables. The funding will develop future rings with gesture control for devices like Meta Glasses, plus expand its Blood Vision testing service.

Anker's Soundcore Space 2 Pro headphones use the Thus AI chip for clearer calls. They offer 60 hours of battery life, personalized sound profiles, and wear detection.

Lenovo unveiled the 14-inch Project AeroBlade Concept at IFA 2026, a ThinkBook under 10mm thick and 830 grams, cooled by Frore's AirJet solid-state technology instead of fans. It runs on an Intel Lunar Lake chip with Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 7, and OLED display.

Lenovo unveiled the IdeaPad Vibe at IFA 2026, competing with Apple's MacBook Neo at a similar price. The Vibe offers more processor choices, customizable designs, OLED displays, and a wider selection of ports and expansion options.

Lenovo announced the Yoga Pro 9n and Yoga 9n 2-in-1, its first Nvidia RTX Spark laptops, at IFA 2026. The Pro 9n offers up to 128GB unified memory and a 15.3-inch OLED display, while the 2-in-1 features a 16-inch OLED screen and haptic ForcePad with pen support.

Anthropic PBC launched Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1, its most capable large language models to date. The launch follows a $35 billion cloud deal with Nvidia-backed Lambda for a 350-megawatt Hut 8 Texas data center, plus a $45 billion Nscale agreement.