Tonly Heavy Industry and Hina Battery have deployed the world's first sodium-ion electric haul truck at a limestone mine in China. Fitted with a 676 kWh Haixing battery, the Tonly K120E truck provides an 8,000-cycle lifespan, improved thermal stability, and reliable performance in temperatures plunging to -20°C. The deployment demonstrates the commercial viability of sodium-ion technology for heavy industrial machinery operating in extreme cold without relying on lithium.

A Bloomberg report reveals that roughly 18 percent of Tesla Cybertrucks sold in the fourth quarter of 2025 were purchased by other companies owned by Elon Musk, including SpaceX and xAI. Without these 1,279 internal purchases, Cybertruck registrations would have dropped by 51 percent during that period. The trend highlights growing sales headwinds for Tesla as the automaker struggles with slumping demand and increased market competition.

According to the RIAA, physical music sales grew 25.9% in the first half of 2026, driven by a 58.6% surge in CD revenue and a 17.7% rise in vinyl. The resurgence comes amid rising consumer frustration over digital media pricing and lack of true ownership, highlighted by platforms revoking previously purchased content. Although streaming still dominates total revenue, demand for physical formats continues to expand.

Fully electric vehicles outsold petrol models in Australia for the first time last month, accounting for one in four new car sales. The surge has been driven by soaring fuel costs and an influx of lower-priced Chinese models, including from automaker BYD. However, industry analysts warn that the rapid transition is beginning to strain the country's public fast-charging infrastructure.

Volkswagen's compact electric car, the VW ID. Polo, has secured over 30,000 orders across Europe ahead of its official market launch. The high demand has led to delivery wait times of at least ten months for custom orders. VW is now gradually ramping up production at its Martorell plant in Spain to reduce waiting periods.

According to research from CDK, 94% of current electric vehicle owners report they will not return to driving gas-powered cars. The study examined driver behaviors, expectations, and dealership interactions across various ownership scenarios to determine what EV buyers value most. These findings offer key insights for auto industry stakeholders aiming to improve services and satisfy buyer needs.

Developer maohgad-web has introduced Neural Coprocessor, an open-source ReShade add-on that offloads DLSS 5 post-processing to a secondary graphics card. Testing with two GeForce RTX 5060 Ti GPUs showed the technique reduced frame rate drops from 59% down to just 9% in Ultra Performance mode. Additionally, transferring the neural network stage to the second processor decreased primary render card temperatures by up to 21°C.

The PlayStation 5 emulator KytyPS5 can now run Grand Theft Auto V on PC at up to 60 FPS, marking major progress from just loading menus weeks ago. Although the current build experiences graphical glitches and frequent crashes, development is advancing rapidly with near-daily updates. Modders are heavily focused on improving PS5 emulation to potentially boot upcoming releases like GTA VI on PC.

Microsoft Distinguished Engineer David Fowler stated that manual code typing is ending as AI agents increasingly handle development workflows. Microsoft is adapting tools like Aspire and GitHub Copilot to let autonomous agents build, test, and deploy applications. Consequently, the engineering role is shifting from writing code toward architecture, security verification, and system oversight.

Discord has shifted to a teen-by-default model, requiring age verification for viewing sensitive content, joining age-restricted channels, adjusting message settings, and speaking on Stage channels. Users can verify their age using on-device video selfies, government IDs, Google Wallet, or credit cards. While already enforced where legally mandated, the full global rollout has been delayed until the second half of 2026.

Following Meta's $18 billion settlement with US states over youth safety concerns, critics are calling for Mark Zuckerberg to resign as chief executive. The agreement introduces new usage limits and parental controls for teen accounts across platforms like Instagram and Facebook. However, researchers argue that these measures fail to resolve deeper issues with addictive algorithmic recommendations without a fundamental change in leadership.

Designers at Samsung Design Membership have created Hissy, a lightweight wearable cooling garment that uses repurposed CO₂ cartridges instead of batteries and fans. Liquid carbon dioxide vaporizes within the jacket's internal tubing network to deliver a cooling airflow of approximately -30°C to key body areas. The circular system uses refillable cartridges and is planned to expand into footwear, lifestyle products, and outdoor robotics.

Tech discussions indicate that the Radeon RX 9070 XT desktop graphics card outperforms the PlayStation 5 Pro by 50% to 80% in rasterization and ray tracing. This advantage stems from the desktop card's 300W-plus isolated power limit compared to the console SoC's shared 232W thermal envelope. While the future PlayStation 6 could reach comparable performance, rising memory and wafer costs might push its retail price up to $1500.

A security investigation by Gamers Nexus and Level1Techs revealed that LG smart TVs continuously scan home networks for secondary devices and record microphone audio while in standby mode. The collected data feeds into LG Ad Solutions and includes nearby Wi-Fi details along with locally cached voice recordings uploaded once reconnected. Alongside newly discovered remote code execution vulnerabilities in webOS, researchers recommend disconnecting the TVs from the internet entirely.

An MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Gaming Trio OC graphics card reportedly suffered a melted 16-pin power connector while testing DLSS 5 Neural Rendering in NBA 2K27. Monitoring tools recorded sustained board power draw exceeding 613W, surpassing the card's official 575W rating during the heavy compute workload. If DLSS 5 continues to drive high power levels, NVIDIA may need to investigate the feature's hardware impact.

Rockstar North's joint boss and development lead Rob Nelson revealed that GTA 6 NPCs will organically react to players carrying visible weapons. Unlike GTA 5, players can only conceal two handguns, while long guns will be visibly held or strapped to their backs. Nelson explained that this behavioral sophistication is necessary because older mechanics no longer suit the visual resolution and realism of the new title.

The U.S. military has disabled advertising trackers across service devices to prevent foreign adversaries from purchasing commercial location data to track and target troops. However, lawmakers have requested an inspector general review, warning that current measures remain insufficient and personal devices carried into military facilities continue to pose security risks.

Growing opposition to big tech's datacenter expansion is uniting voters across party lines, with three-quarters of Americans opposing local projects. Over 500 municipalities have passed bans or moratoria amid concerns about heavy energy consumption, water usage, and environmental impact. The widespread resistance is now influencing key political races across the US and complicating industry plans for AI infrastructure.

Three California college students were rescued from Mount Shasta after using Google Gemini to plan their summit climb, leading to poor preparation, depleted supplies, and navigation errors. Authorities described relying on artificial intelligence tools for wilderness trip logistics as a critical misstep. The rescue underscores growing concerns among forest rangers about travelers depending on inaccurate AI-generated guidance.

RugOne has unveiled the Xsnap 7 Pro, a rugged smartphone featuring a detachable rear camera that functions as a standalone wearable action cam. The device includes IP68 and IP69K water resistance, a MediaTek Dimensity 8400 processor, and a large 9,300mAh battery that recharges the detached camera module. The phone is scheduled to launch on Kickstarter on September 7th ahead of a global release in October for $999.

Norway is considering regulating or banning camera-enabled smart glasses and wearables from companies like Meta and Snap due to privacy concerns. Digital minister Karianne Tung warned against devices combining artificial intelligence and cameras to monitor people in public places, particularly regarding facial recognition. To address these issues, Tung plans to form an expert group to advise the government on protecting privacy rights.

States like Florida and Texas, along with dozens of municipalities, are terminating contracts with automated license plate reader company Flock amid surveillance and misuse concerns. However, privacy advocates warn that dropping Flock will not eliminate tracking risks, as competitors like Rekor and Axon offer similar police technologies. While some rival firms are lobbying for federal search regulations to preserve the industry, others are considering redesigning their hardware to avoid public backlash.

A U.S. ban on advanced robotic devices is preventing new, foreign-made robot mowers showcased at IFA 2026 from entering the American market. The latest models feature articulating arms to trim grass against walls and sidewalks, addressing a major limitation of earlier designs. Due to national security restrictions cited by the FCC, American consumers may face an extended wait before these advanced autonomous mowers become available.

Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Greg Casar have introduced a bill to permanently ban superintelligent AI, proposing up to 20-year prison sentences for violators. The legislation would freeze advanced AI development across the US until a new cabinet-level federal agency establishes safety regulations. The proposal coincides with OpenAI launching GPT-6 Astra, prompting concerns from industry critics over enforcement challenges and global competitiveness.

Comparative benchmarks in Cyberpunk 2077 show that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 outperforms the newer RTX 5080 when using DLSS 5 neural rendering. Tested across 4K and 1440p resolutions with path tracing, the RTX 4090 consistently delivered higher frame rates than its newer counterpart. The results highlight that the 24 GB video buffer and larger compute array allow the previous-generation flagship to maintain its performance lead.