Software

Microsoft is testing a new Windows 11 feature that lets users reserve portions of unified memory for graphics and AI workloads. It could be especially useful on systems such as AMD Strix Halo and Nvidia RTX Spark, where very large shared-memory pools can already be allocated to the integrated GPU.

Garmin has started rolling out a new stable update to many of its popular smartwatches. Available globally, the new update aims to improve display responsiveness when using gestures.

Garmin has released its first update for one of its new wearables. Rolling out globally, the new update is said to improve heart rate monitoring in multiple areas.

You switched off "Improve the model for everyone" under Data Controls and assume that settles it. The toggle does exactly one thing, and only from the moment you flip it. Memories, connected apps, uploaded files and the safety checks carry on regardless. One gesture even sends a whole chat into training anyway.

YouTube now counts a view the moment playback starts, with no minimum watch time, across Shorts, long-form videos and live streams. Public view counts will climb faster without more people actually watching. Earnings are unaffected, and the stricter number lives on as engaged views in YouTube Analytics.

OpenAI has switched on Computer History in the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK. On a Mac it turns your app and website activity into a timeline and into memories. It stays off until you turn it on, and OpenAI's own documentation flags three things worth reading first.

Garmin has started rolling out a new update to several of its latest flagship smartwatches. Rolling out as a free download globally, the new update is said to improve gesture responsiveness on Fenix 8, Fenix 8 Pro and Tactix 8 smartwatches, as well as other smartwatches.

Another attempt at a live-service game, Riot's tag-team fighter is heading into maintenance mode before its first birthday. The move comes after it failed to build a player base large enough to match other Riot-owned Free-to-Play titles.

If you were hoping your indie passion project would pay off your mortgage, this study has some bad news for you since the top 1% of all games on Steam take up a mammoth 84.5% of total revenue.

China plans to drop Windows earlier than planned in favor of Linux for some government bodies. The move comes as part of China's broader push to reduce dependence on foreign products and services, especially those of US origin.

OpenAI switches on ChatGPT Ads in 31 European markets on 24 August. Only Free and Go users see them, and in the EEA and Switzerland there is no personalization at launch, so there is nothing to consent to yet. The free plan still hides an ads-free option that costs you messages and tools.

Employees who once planned to retire at Bethesda say Microsoft's ownership brought something the studio had never had before: annual layoffs. The revelation comes as Microsoft indicates it plans to axe another 3200 positions linked to its Xbox business.

Garmin has delivered a new update for many of its popular mid-range smartwatches. Rolling out globally, the new update aims to improve connectivity across the Forerunner series in a specific area.

Activision has released detailed system requirements for the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 Beta. Along with the minimum and recommended system requirements, the publisher has also announced a new shader pre-loading feature to go with its TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot requirements for anti-cheat software.

Adobe is significantly expanding its generative creative platform Firefly by making three key audio tools available to all users. Firefly can now generate music, voices, and sound effects from simple prompts. All audio content is explicitly cleared for use in commercial video projects. The company is also adding leading models such as Google's Gemini.

A new software update for Amazfit smartwatches introduces enhanced map rendering, smoother navigation, and expanded compatibility with the screenless Helio Strap (Pro).

Samsung ships a security patch every month. It does not renew the preinstalled browser, which gets its updates through the Play Store and the Galaxy Store instead. And which Chromium base it builds on there is something Samsung has not published for Android in more than two years. What researchers found on a Galaxy S25, and how to check which build is running on your phone.

More than 16,000 games have already been released on Steam in 2026, according to SteamDB. With almost 70 titles arriving per day on average, independent games publications are applying their own editorial criteria to the rapidly growing catalogue.

Android 17 is getting tougher on memory-hungry apps, with new per-app RAM limits designed to prevent a single app from slowing down the entire phone. Apps that exceed their limits could be compressed or eventually terminated.

Researchers kept asking Microsoft Copilot why it could not run a command on its own. Mid-refusal, the assistant named the undocumented parameter that made it possible. One click on a link was then enough to read a victim's inbox, calendar and cloud storage. Microsoft closed the critical flaw on 18 August.

Google has quietly shipped custom vibration patterns on the Pixel 11 series, letting owners pick separate haptic patterns for ringtones and notifications and assign a specific pattern to individual contacts. Options include Heartbeat, Gears, Rattlesnake and Pulse

Google has unveiled a first look and its roadmap regarding the future of Android sideloading and how the new system, termed “advanced flow”, works. It has also clarified that it aims to question the developer's authenticity, not the app or its source.

Garmin has issued a new update to many of its current flagship smartwatches. Available globally as a free download, Beta Version 23.26 contains multiple improvements from recent builds as Garmin works towards issuing a major stable software release.

Samsung is rolling out a worldwide firmware update for the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro. Users can install version R630XXU0AZG2 via the Galaxy Wearable app, while a similar update for the standard Galaxy Buds 3 remains unconfirmed.

Garmin has released a new update globally. Available on several of its recent mid-range smartwatches, the new update is said to contain several security improvements for the Forerunner 570, Forerunner 970, the Venu X1 and a few other cheaper options.

ChatGPT for Teens went live on August 18. OpenAI now estimates your age from the topics you discuss, the times you use the app and how old your account is. Guess wrong and an adult account picks up teen restrictions. Here is how to check yours and get them lifted.

The official game charts in Germany and on Steam have produced several surprises. The new action RPG from the creators of Pokémon failed to claim the top spot on PlayStation 5, while two inexpensive new releases priced below $20 climbed Steam's bestseller rankings.

RPCS3 is arguably the best PS3 emulator on the planet. It can play a vast majority of PS3 games on Windows, Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD. So, it is only natural that gamers would want more emulators from the team behind RPCS3. The official RPCS3 account on X has now commented on the issue.

Microsoft is merging its two Copilot apps. Account migrations start on August 18, 2026, and three features do not survive the move: Deep Research, Podcasts and group chats. The replacement for Deep Research is Researcher, and that one sits behind Microsoft 365 Premium at $19.99 a month.

A Geekom mini PC user reports that a driver package available on the official site contains malware. The executable in question is in the LAN driver folder, and it’s the same one for several AMD models from the brand, including the A7, A8, AE8, AE7, and AX8 Pro. Update: Geekom responded.

Garmin has launched a new stable update to several of its latest high-end smartwatches. A departure from recent software releases, System Software 22.43 should introduce various improvements aimed at refining security on both the Fenix 8 and Fenix 8 Pro.

Less than a year after launch, Microsoft is moving its animated AI companion, Mico, from the chatbot to the classroom. The move coincides with a merger of the consumer and Microsoft 365 Copilot apps, which begins rolling out on August 18.

WhatsApp is testing an AI that detects scam messages directly on your phone. No message content leaves the device, and the encryption remains intact. The catch lies in Meta’s own description: It only checks who isn’t in your contacts. That’s exactly where the most dangerous scams lie.

Garmin has released a new update aimed at many of its recent high-end smartwatches. Not only has the new update left owners in the dark about the changes it contains, but it is also said to contain many of the same well established bugs found in older software.

OpenAI has switched on Computer History in the ChatGPT app for macOS. It records clicks, keystrokes and app switches, then turns them into a timeline and memories. OpenAI's own documentation says the files are not encrypted and that other programs on your Mac may be able to read them.

Xiaomi has recently announced the HyperOS 4 beta program in China, and a handful of devices are set to receive the test Android 17 firmware in August and September 2026. The company has now shared that the first rollout has begun.

Garmin has released a new update to several of its recent smartwatches. A major release, the new update targets bugs present in older software while improving the user experience in other areas, too.

A Windows kernel flaw was already being exploited by Lazarus hackers before Microsoft's August patch shipped. See which CVEs to prioritize this Patch Tuesday.

Garmin is now offering a new update to many of its latest high-end smartwatches. Available globally as a free download, the new update addresses several outstanding issues and includes improvements specific to the Fenix 8 Pro and Tactix 8.

HyperOS 4 is now official, and as usual, Xiaomi will carry out beta testing with the firmware first. Among all, eight devices are set to receive the Android 17 update on August 14, 2026, and the company has also revealed the other eligible models for the first batch.

Garmin has issued a new update for one of its recent mid-range smartwatches. Available for beta testers, the new firmware is said to make over a dozen changes and improvements from an update that arrived only a few weeks ago.

Garmin has released a new update to one of its thinnest smartwatches. Available globally, the firmware contains over a dozen fixes that should improve the overall user experience in multiple areas.

A new update has arrived for one of Garmin's cheaper mid-range smartwatches. Exclusive to the Beta Program for the time being, the update contains almost a dozen changes, including ones that should improve Morning Report and Incident Detection functionality.

Flairy is a free macOS app that replaces the identical default folder icon with more than 50 themed alternatives spanning design, AI, finance and games. There is no account, no subscription and no tracking, but it does need macOS 26 Tahoe or later.

Microsoft's support page names four AI components inside a Copilot+ PC. Its own delivery list has nine, among them Semantic Analysis, Content Extraction and Image Search. Exactly one can be removed since late July, and Microsoft only turned it into a separate package on that very day. What really goes, what only switches off and what stays.

Garmin is now rolling out a new update to some of its popular smartwatches. Available globally as a free download, the new firmware contains more than a dozen improvements over its predecessor, including multiple aimed at fixing bugs that caused device resets and crashes on older firmware.

A U.S. court has rejected Apple's attempt to pause the App Store fee proceedings in its legal battle with Epic Games. Apple now has 24 hours to submit and justify its proposed commission for purchases made outside the App Store.

Microsoft says a software update fixing the bug behind a 16-hour Xbox outage in late July is now rolling out and will become mandatory for all users by August 17, 2026. Xbox chief technology officer Scott Van Vliet said the outage was caused by a failure in a shared external licensing service compounded by a bug in the Xbox client software stack

Microsoft releases Windows 11 August 2026 Patch Tuesday (KB5121003). Explore new features for builds 26100.9165 and 26200.9165, including Windows Hello ESS support, File Explorer upgrades, and security fixes.

Meta has released Muse Glimmer, a language model with roughly 30 billion parameters under an Apache 2.0 license. It runs entirely on your own machine, with no internet connection and no subscription. The catch: you need 24 GB of video memory, so an RTX 5090, an RTX 4090 or a Mac with an M4 Max. The weights are free on Hugging Face.