#hardware
- Why You Still Can't Buy a Graphics Card at a Normal Price
AMD and Nvidia GPUs are still selling 70%+ above MSRP, and a new TSMC price hike means relief isn't coming soon.
- Get Ready to Fight for a Console This Holiday Season
PS5, Xbox Series X, and the incoming Switch OLED are all chasing the same scarce chips, and analysts say the holidays will be brutal.
- Wear OS Just Got a Second Chance
Samsung's Galaxy Watch4 debuts on the unified Google-Samsung Wear OS platform, raising the question of whether it can finally challenge the Apple Watch.
- Why ARM-Based Laptops Are Suddenly Interesting
The M1 proved ARM laptops can beat x86 on performance-per-watt, and now Qualcomm and Windows OEMs are scrambling to catch up.
- The Chip Shortage Has Officially Escaped the Gaming Aisle
The global semiconductor shortage is no longer just a GPU and console problem — it's now delaying laptops and idling car factories.
- The Switch OLED Preorder Scramble Nobody Should Be Surprised By
Nintendo's $349.99 Switch OLED Model is selling out at preorder despite offering no performance bump — and that's the whole story.
- Samsung Bets Big on Foldables (and Finally Kills the Note)
Samsung's Unpacked event brought the Z Fold3, Z Flip3, and a new unified Wear OS smartwatch lineup — and no Galaxy Note.
- Eight Months Later, Buying a PS5 Is Still a Blood Sport
The PS5 and Xbox Series X remain nearly impossible to buy at MSRP as the chip shortage drags on, with Sony warning demand will outpace supply into 2022.
- Why You Still Can't Buy a Reasonably Priced GPU
Chip shortages and crypto-mining demand keep RTX 30-series and RX 6000-series cards selling for double or triple MSRP.
- PS5 and Xbox Restocks Are Still a Scalper Bot Free-for-All
Nine months after launch, PS5 and Xbox Series X restocks still vanish in minutes, and AMD says the underlying chip shortage will likely run into 2022.
- Apple's $81.4B Quarter Shows the Chip Shortage Isn't Slowing Everyone Down
Apple posted a record fiscal Q3 with $81.4B in revenue, but warned supply constraints will bite harder next quarter.
- ZTE's Axon 30 Might Be the Truest 'Full Screen' Phone Yet
ZTE's new Axon 30 packs a second-gen under-display selfie camera, pushing the industry closer to a phone screen with zero interruptions.
- Under-Display Cameras Are (Almost) Here — Is the Notch Finally Dying?
ZTE's second-gen under-display camera on the upcoming Axon 30 hides the selfie camera with no cutout at all, and the pressure on Samsung and Apple is mounting.
- The Smartwatch Wars Are About to Heat Up
Google and Samsung's Wear OS/Tizen merger and early Apple Watch Series 7 leaks are setting up a busy second half of 2021 for wrist wear.
- AMD's Ryzen 5000G APUs Might Be the Sanest GPU-Shortage Purchase You Can Make
AMD's Zen 3 Ryzen 5000G APUs land August 5 with respectable Vega graphics baked in, offering a real 1080p gaming option while discrete GPUs stay scarce and overpriced.
- OnePlus Locks In July 22 for the Nord 2 5G
OnePlus confirms a July 22 unveiling for the Nord 2 5G, with early teasers pointing to a Dimensity 1200 chip and Hasselblad-tuned cameras — but no US launch.
- Nintendo's New Switch Has a Screen Upgrade, Not a Power Upgrade
Nintendo unveiled the Switch OLED Model with a bigger 7-inch screen, 64GB storage, and a LAN-equipped dock, launching October 8 for $349.99.
- The Chip Shortage Isn't Going Anywhere, and Here's Why It Still Stings
Why GPUs and next-gen consoles remain nearly impossible to buy at retail, and why AMD says the pain could stretch into 2022.
- Scalper Bots Are Still Winning the GPU and Console War
Bots keep flipping PS5s and RTX 30-series cards at double MSRP, and retailers' queue systems aren't fixing it.
- Windows 11 Is Here, and Microsoft Is Betting on a Fresh Coat of Paint
Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 11 today, with a redesigned interface, Android app support, and stricter hardware requirements slated for Holiday 2021.
- AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution Just Went Live, and It's Open to Everyone
AMD launched FSR today, an open-source upscaling tech that boosts frame rates and works across GPUs, not just its own RDNA cards.
- Six Months In, the Chip Shortage Still Owns Your Wish List
AMD, Intel, and Nvidia all say silicon supply won't normalize soon, and PS5s and RTX 30-series cards remain nearly impossible to buy at MSRP.
- The RTX 3070 Ti Is Here, and Good Luck Finding One at $599
Nvidia's RTX 3070 Ti launched at a $599 MSRP, but the ongoing chip shortage and mining demand mean real prices are far higher.
- The Budget 5G Phone Wars Have Officially Arrived
OnePlus, Poco, and iQOO are all shipping sub-$350 5G phones this week, and it says a lot about how fast 5G silicon is trickling downmarket.
- Nvidia's RTX 3080 Ti Lands as Computex Turns Into a Chip-Shortage Confessional
Nvidia launched the $1,199 RTX 3080 Ti at Computex while AMD teased 3D V-Cache and every vendor admitted the shortage isn't ending soon.
- Console Wars 2021: The Exclusives Drought Nobody Wants to Talk About
Seven months into the PS5/Series X era, Sony and Microsoft are both light on first-party exclusives, and each is compensating differently.
- Arm's Armv9 Is the Biggest Architecture Shift in a Decade
Arm unveiled its Armv9 CPU lineup — Cortex-X2, A710, and A510 — pointing at 2022's flagship phone chips.
- The GPU Shortage Isn't Your Imagination — Miners Are Buying a Quarter of the Supply
Crypto miners reportedly bought about 25% of all GPUs made in early 2021, worth roughly $500 million in Q1 alone, deepening the gamer GPU drought.
- Google I/O's Wearable Surprise: Wear OS Gets a Fitbit-Powered Reboot
Google detailed a rebuilt Wear OS made with Samsung and infused with Fitbit health tracking, aiming squarely at Apple Watch.
- Nvidia's New GPUs Are Deliberately Bad at Mining. That's the Point.
Nvidia's new Lite Hash Rate RTX 3080, 3070 and 3060 Ti cards cut Ethereum mining speed in half to try to get GPUs back into gamers' hands.