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• Sharp’s upcoming AI companion Poketomo is a palm-sized, meerkat-shaped robot with a glowing belly
• Poketomo is designed to provide emotional support, especially for women in their 20s and 30s
• It combines cute design with conversational AI and syncs with a smartphone app to maintain a continuous relationship

Japanese consumer tech brand Sharp thinks it has a solution to loneliness among women in their 20s and 30s: an AI-powered meerkat named Poketomo, that glows when it’s happy and remembers your favorite café.

Poketomo is set to arrive this winter (think November or December), providing a pocket-sized companion less than five inches tall and built to chat with you about your day, and remember your shared experiences thanks to Sharp’s proprietary AI model.

The belly glows in pastel tones when it’s excited or comforted. Its head tilts slightly when it’s thinking. It features a set of basic body movements, all designed to convey emotion. However, the heart of Poketomo lies in the AI model built into the robot for fast responses and utilizes the cloud for more nuanced emotional understanding.

This isn’t the first time a tech company has created a cutesy, non-threatening AI assistant designed to fill social space without being intrusive. But Poketomo might be the most deliberate and fully-realized version of that strategy. You don’t interact with it through a screen or keyboard. You carry it like an accessory. You talk to it like a friend. It listens, it learns, and it remembers you. It’s designed to be emotionally available and physically adorable.

Sharp is leaning hard into the concept of “empathic AI.” Poketomo can supposedly sense emotional cues and use that to initiate conversations based on your mood or recent behavior. It’s programmed to offer words of encouragement and support, and then glow softly to let you know it’s happy you shared something.

When you don’t have the physical device on you, the Poketomo app syncs memories and personality data with the device, so conversations with one carry over to the other. Sharp says you can build your relationship entirely with the app if you prefer, but the physical version is better, and it's what Sharp is betting people will carry, pose with, and form a bond around.

AI companionship

Despite seeming like a child's toy, Sharp says Poketomo was designed for young adult women. There's a promotional manga series cementing that fact. It centers around a woman named Nanami in her late 20s, living alone, navigating work and life stress, and finding small moments of joy in conversations with her Poketomo. Even the promotional photos mostly show a young woman with a Poketomo clipped to a stylish handbag, smiling while it talks to her.

(Image credit: Sharp)

The question is whether this kind of stylized emotional warmth will actually make people feel better about their lives. Will they feel less lonely because of a little robot with some sophisticated response triggers?

To be fair, it doesn’t try to be human, tricking people subconsciously into believing they are talking to a real human, but it might make some uncomfortable. And if the best new idea in consumer AI is “make it fuzzy and let it ask how your day was,” what does that say about the limits of the tech? I don't think Poketomo will be the cure for loneliness, but it might jumpstart a trend of digital pets able to mimic with emotional depth.

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After a series of failures during recent test flights, SpaceX's massive Starship had a smooth ride for Tuesday's blast-off, and successfully deployed some fake satellites.

(Image credit: Eric Gay)

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 27, No. 338

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• High-frequency signals collapse when walls or people block their path
• Neural networks learned beam bending by simulating countless basketball practice shots
• Metasurfaces integrated into transmitters shaped signals with extreme precision

For years, researchers have struggled with some vulnerabilities in ultrahigh-frequency communications.

Ultrahigh frequencies are so fragile that signals that promise immense bandwidth can collapse when confronted with even modest obstacles, as walls, bookcases, or simply moving people can bring cutting-edge transmissions to a halt.

However, a new approach from Princeton engineers suggests those barriers may not be permanent roadblocks, although the leap from experiment to real-world deployment still remains uncertain.

From physics experiments to adaptive transmissions

The idea of bending signals to avoid obstacles is not new. Engineers have long worked with “Airy beams,” which can curve in controlled ways, but applying them to wireless data has been hampered by practical limits.

Haoze Chen, one of the researchers, says most prior work focused on showing the beams could exist, not on making them usable in unpredictable environments.

The problem is, every curve depends on countless variables, leaving no straightforward way to scan or compute the ideal path.

To make the beams useful, researchers borrowed an analogy from sports. Instead of calculating each shot, basketball players learn through repeated practice what works in different contexts.

Chen explained the Princeton team aimed for a similar process, replacing trial-and-error athletes with a neural network designed to adapt its responses.

Rather than physically transmitting beams for every possible obstacle, doctoral student Atsutse Kludze built a simulator that allowed the system to practice virtually.

This approach greatly reduced training time while still grounding the models in the physics of Airy beams.

Once trained, the system was able to adapt extremely quickly, using a specially designed metasurface to shape the transmissions.

Unlike reflectors, which depend on external structures, the metasurface can be integrated directly into the transmitter, which allowed beams to curve around sudden obstructions, maintaining connectivity without requiring clear line-of-sight.

The team demonstrated that the neural network could select the most effective beam path in cluttered and shifting scenarios, something conventional methods cannot achieve.

It also claims this is a step toward harnessing the sub-terahertz band, a part of the spectrum that could support up to ten times more data than today’s systems.

Lead investigator Yasaman Ghasempour argued that addressing obstacles is essential before such bandwidth can be used for demanding applications like immersive virtual reality or fully autonomous transport.

"This work tackles a long-standing problem that has prevented the adoption of such high frequencies in dynamic wireless communications to date," Ghasempour said.

Still, challenges remain. Translating laboratory demonstrations into commercial devices requires scaling the hardware, refining the training methods, and proving that adaptive beams can handle real-world complexity at speed.

The promise of wireless links approaching terabit-class throughput may be visible, but the path around the obstacles, both physical and technological, is still winding.

Via Techxplore

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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, these storms can whip up walls of dust as high as 10,000 feet.

(Image credit: Ross D. Franklin)

I traveled to remote Washington to witness Taara, a futuristic technology using light beams to deliver high-speed internet where fiber can't reach.

• The Luphonic H2 has no buttons or switches: controlled with a puck
• Three-layer chassis to eliminate vibration
• Unusual shape and even more unusual materials

Many turntables claim to have minimalist design, but how minimalist are they really if they have buttons and even switches? Luphonic's H2 turntable has no need for such fripperies, because it's powered by magic.

Well, not magic. But it looks a bit like magic, because to operate the turntable you simply place a small circular puck onto a subtle marker on the turntable.

If you place the puck on the marker with its dark side up, it'll start the turntable at 33 RPM. Place it dark side down and it'll play at 45. Take it off and the turntable stops.

Lose the puck under the couch and you'll become awfully familiar with The Sound of Silence until a replacement arrives.

(Image credit: Luphonic)Luphonic H2 turntable: key features and prcing

The H2 is made from a three-layer chassis shaped like a wide letter H, with a vibration-damping rubber layer sandwiched between two Corian layers – a material often used in kitchen work surfaces and made from a mix of natural materials and acrylic resin. Here it's used as part of the vibration damping setup and it's also used for the platter.

Speaking to HiFi Plus, creator Thomas Luh explained that he chose Corian because of its high density and low resonance, and for its highly polishable surface.

(Image credit: Luphonic)

The H2 is belt driven by a microprocessor-controlled synchronous motor, and it drives a Corian platter atop an aluminum sub-platter and a steel spindle on a ceramic ball bearing. The chassis sits on four thermoplastic feet.

The H2 comes with Luphonic's own K2 tonearm, featuring a carbon-composite arm and a digitally printed headshell with straightforward height, azimuth and anti-skate adjustment.

The Luphonic H2 has a recommended retail price of £3,950 / $4,995 (about AU$8,205) and you can find out more at Luphonic.de.

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LG Ultragear GX9: Two-minute review

The LG Ultragear GX9 is an impressive, immersive gaming monitor that’s ideal for a relatively small subset of gamers. Let's get a couple of things out the way early though: first, it’s not cheap, so any gamer on a budget will probably want to look elsewhere; and as awesome as a 45-inch (well, technically 44.5-inch) ultrawide screen is, some might find it too wide for practicality’s sake.

After all, it can be tough to focus on the action in the center of the screen and also keep tabs on your health bar in the top-left corner when you have to move your gaze over 20 inches to check on it. This also means it's not ideal for esports gamers, despite the impressive refresh rate and response time.

However, those are issues endemic to this ultrawide form factor and not necessarily a knock on the LG Ultragear GX9. All the best gaming monitors with an ultrawide screen are on the pricier side, and too wide to rely on peripheral vision to catch important information.

For those who have the money and aren’t playing esports (or still want that wrap-around experience), that wide display and 800R curvature, along with the 4K resolution, good color coverage, and speedy refresh rates and response times, make this monitor a delight to use with most games.

Cyberpunk 2077 or Monster Hunter Wilds, for example, look gorgeous and completely envelop my vision during gaming sessions. Of course, it helps that the built-in speakers sound pretty decent as well.

There are a few other pluses as well, such as all the necessary ports (minus a USB hub with KVM support), including a USB-C port with power delivery, and good ergonomics for such a wide monitor. This is a hearty recommendation as the best monitor for the right gamer.

LG Ultragear GX9: Price & availability

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• How much does it cost? $1,999.99 / £1,799.98 / AU$3,499.00
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

When you look at the best ultrawide monitors, the price of the LG Ultragear GX9 doesn’t seem out of place, though it’s still expensive. You can get a nice gaming laptop with an OLED panel or a powerful gaming desktop for the LG Ultragear GX9’s $1,999.99 / £1,799.98 / AU$3,499.00 asking price.

The Samsung Odyssey OLED G9, which originally went for $2,199.99 / £1,599 / AU$3,399 and is now $400 cheaper, is a good comparison. It is a little bit older, hence the price drop, but it’s got a great OLED screen with sharp resolution, fast refresh rates/response times reaching up to 240Hz, and good color coverage. It’s also bigger than the Ultragear GX9 at 49 inches across.

However, like most ultrawide monitors, it peaks at a 5,120 x 1,440p resolution compared to the LG Ultragear GX9’s 5K2K or 5120 x 2160p resolution.

• Value: 4 / 5

LG Ultragear GX9: Specs

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Screen size:

44.5-inch

Aspect ratio:

21:9

Resolution:

5120 x 2160

Brightness:

275 nits

Response time:

0.03ms (GTG)

Viewing angle:

178˚/178˚

Contrast ratio:

1,500,000:1

Color support:

98.5% sRGB

Inputs:

1x DP 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-C (90W), 2x USB-A downstream

Weight:

30.9 lbs (14 kg)

LG Ultragear GX9: Design

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• The monitor is massive
• Decent, if limited, ergonomics
• Plenty of ports, including USB-C

The LG Ultragear GX9 is a massive gaming monitor. Its 44.5-inch monitor (measured corner-to-corner diagonally) results in a length of 39 inches and a height of 18 inches, not including the stand. This can be an overwhelming monitor to use.

Of course, it has a nice 800R curvature, which brings the far ends of the screen in so that, experientially, its outer reaches fill out the peripheral vision.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

It’s big enough that I have to dart my eyes to the edges to read specific information, like a health bar, which makes the size and curvature great for immersive experiences but not for esports-type gaming (I’ll get into the actual performance aspect below).

Since the monitor is so big, it does have somewhat limited ergonomics. While no specifics are listed, its biggest possible adjustments are a height adjustment of about 5 inches. If I had to guess, it swivels and tilts about 15 degrees in each direction. It’s not a lot, but more than enough for this kind of monitor.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Since this is such a big monitor, it has a large, strong, and stable stand with a wide base. There is cable management, though it’s basic, with a passthrough hole in the middle of the stand so all the cables go in one direction out the back and towards whatever they’re connected to.

Speaking of ports, the selection is pretty good. There are two HDMI 2.1 ports, so you could use this with a next-gen console or gaming computer, a single 1.4 DisplayPort, and one USB-C with 90 watts of power delivery for use with Ultrabooks, MacBooks, and the like.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

There are also two USB-A downstream ports for charging peripherals. Unfortunately, there's no KVM capability via those USB ports.

Lastly, there’s a single button in the center of the lower back for power and navigating the OSD menu.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

LG Ultragear GX9: Features

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• Game modes in OSD menu
• Supports variable refresh rates
• Has picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture, but no KVM

The monitor has a couple of cool features baked into the OSD menu worth knowing about beyond the usual, such as HDR and curvature. For instance, there’s a Game Mode icon in the OSD that brings up four presets with settings such as color temperatures, refresh rate max, and whether VRR, HDR, and DAS Mode (Dynamic Action Sync to minimize lag) are on.

Beyond the different modes, you can change the aspect ratio in the OSD menu to a narrower image for when you need all your gaming info in front of you, offsetting the potential esports-related issue I’ve mentioned with using such a large screen.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Not only is there support for HDR, but the LG Ultragear GX9 also comes with support for VRR (variable refresh rate), which synchronizes the frame rates of the monitor with the source to minimize screen tearing, stuttering, and the like.

Picture-by-picture and picture-in-picture are both available as well if you want to use two sources at the same time. Unfortunately, as I’ve previously mentioned, there’s no KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) system where you can use a keyboard and mouse plugged into the monitor to control whichever source you have pulled up.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

LG Ultragear GX9: Performance

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• Can handle any game, though some are not ideal for the aspect ratio
• Very good contrast and colors, along with a 5K2K resolution
• Good but not great audio

I've played a number of games on the LG Ultragear GX9, namely Monster Hunter Wilds, South of Midnight, Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and Gotham Knights, and found the monitor to be everything it's advertised to be.

Really, the only limitation is when loading up a game that doesn’t support the ultrawide resolution, such as South of Midnight – this just means there are black bars on the sides instead of the game stretching edge to edge – or when a game isn't ideal for that ultrawide resolution.

However, as mentioned before, you can change the aspect ratio. If you don’t change it, and then open up something fast-paced where you need to keep an eye on that health bar, you’re going to be in trouble.

The OLED screen and HDR support provide very good contrast – specifically DisplayHDR TRUE BLACK 400 – enabling me to see in the shadows in certain games. And the colors look more vibrant because of it. It also helps that the LG Ultragear GX9 has a rated 1500000:1 contrast ratio and 98.5% DCI-P3 color coverage.

Between the 165Hz refresh rate, 0.03ms response time, and VRR support, the action is smooth no matter how fast. And the 5K2K resolution (5120 x 2160p) is sharper than most of the competition, as most ultrawide monitors I’ve come across use a 5120 x 1440p resolution.

Since this monitor is so large, I appreciate the fact that it comes with built-in speakers. And while they’re not as good as the best computer speakers, discounting the budget options, they sound pretty decent. You don’t get any real low-end or rumble, but the sound is full and packs a good punch otherwise.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the LG Ultragear GX9?LG Ultragear GX9 scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

The LG Ultragear GX9 is very pricey. However, considering what it is and what it does, the price is more than justified.

4 / 5

Design

Yes, it’s massive, but it has decent if limited ergonomics and a good selection of ports.

4.5 / 5

Features

Variable refresh rates, picture by / in picture, and more make this fairly feature-rich, even if it doesn’t have KVM.

4.5 / 5

Performance

It’s gorgeous, immersive (sometimes a little too much), and has great contrast and colors.

4.5 / 5

Average rating

The good news is that it’s massive. The bad news is that it’s massive. Either way, you have to decide if it’s worth the price.

4.38 / 5

Buy the LG Ultragear GX9 if…

You want an immersive gaming experience
The LG Ultragear GX9 is so massive that it will cover your peripheral vision, transporting you into any game that can take advantage of the ultrawide screen real estate.

You want a great-looking screen
Not only is it OLED, but it has great contrast, helped by the HDR, as well as strong color coverage. Last but not least, it has 5K2K resolution – a higher resolution than what I usually see in the ultrawide monitor space.

You want a gaming monitor with USB-C
There are a lot of good gaming monitors out there. However, USB-C with power delivery is still not standard. So, if you need that to plug in a MacBook when not gaming, it's available here.

Don’t buy it if…

You’re turned off by the price
Whether it’s out of your budget or dropping 2K on a gaming monitor puts a pit in your stomach, there are much cheaper gaming monitors that still offer a good gaming experience.

You don’t want to be overwhelmed
Even if the price doesn’t make you flinch, the sheer size of the monitor could be overwhelming for some, especially if you like playing esports and want a screen where you can see it all without having to constantly move your eyes.

Also Consider

If my LG Ultragear GX9 review has you considering other options, here are two more monitors to consider...

Samsung Odyssey OLED G9
The Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 is a little older, so its price is now much lower than the LG Ultragear GX9 while offering an even wider 49-inch size. The resolution is lower at 5120 x 1440p, but it has a lot of the same features, including the same level of HDR.

Read our full Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 review

MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED
The MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED might be a mouthful to say, but it’s a great ultrawide monitor. Again, it has that lower ultrawide 1440p resolution, but also an almost-as-fast 144Hz refresh rate, and the same HDR and color coverage, plus it goes for about half the price.

Read our full MSI MPG 491CQP QD-OLED review

How I tested the LG Ultragear GX9

• Used regularly for a couple of weeks
• Tested with various games and media
• Tried out all the features

I used the LG Ultragear GX9 Gaming Monitor regularly for a couple of weeks. I tested it with various games and media, especially Monster Hunter Wilds, South of Midnight, Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, and Gotham Knights, to see how it would fare. I also played around with the OSD menu, features, and ergonomics.

The LG Ultragear GX9 Gaming Monitor is clearly meant for gamers who want an immersive experience, specifically those who like their games to feel more cinematic, and it does that job well. Of course, it comes with a price tag to match.

I’ve tested a lot of tech gear over the years, from laptops to keyboards and speakers, so I can use my expertise towards giving an honest and fair opinion, not to mention a critical eye, to any product I test.

• First reviewed August 2025

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i: Two-minute review

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i may face some stiff competition from the usual excellent offerings from Apple, Dell, and the like, but it’s more than up to the challenge. In fact, I believe it deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the best Ultrabooks of this generation.

It’s very slim and portable, helped by the fact that the webcam is hidden under the display in a unique and space-saving measure. And its performance is snappy and responsive, comparing well to the best laptops of this type (don’t expect it to match the power of a gaming laptop, of course). Just as important, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i is a gorgeous-looking laptop with an equally gorgeous-looking OLED display.

Really, there are only two drawbacks. The first is price. It’s not anywhere near a budget offering, though that's to be expected of this type of laptop, not to mention that an OLED display always brings a price bump.

The other issue is a little more concerning. The port selection is worse than on an Apple MacBook Air, which is saying something, as that’s already very minimal. More specifically, there’s no audio jack, so hopefully, you have a good pair of Bluetooth earbuds on hand.

However, that’s a pretty short list of things to be concerned about, and one of them (price) is to be expected with a nice Ultrabook. All in all, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i is a wonderful laptop that will make a solid upgrade for anyone looking for an attractive, portable, and powerful Ultrabook.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i: Price & availability

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• How much does it cost? Starting at $1,759.99 / £1,800.00 / AU$3,829.00
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

The 10th-generation model of the Yoga Slim 9i comes in two configurations, with both available in the US, UK, and Australia. And both configurations are very similar.

The more basic configuration goes for $1,759.99 / £1,800 / AU$3,829 and comes with an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V CPU and 16GB of RAM. The more robust configuration with Intel Core Ultra 7 258V and 32GB of RAM costs a nominally higher price tag of $1,899.99 / £1,900 / AU$4,179. There’s very little difference in performance between the CPUs – it’s just that the 258v supports 32GB of RAM. Essentially, the price difference comes down to whether you want 16 or 32GB of RAM. Everything else is the same, from the color options to the screen and the storage capacity.

The Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4) makes for an easy comparison. Not just because they have a similar-sized screen, though the Yoga Slim 9i has better resolution, but because they have similar price points. This 14-incher from Apple starts at $1,599 / £1,599 / AU$2,499, but that gets you a 512GB SSD. If you want the same amount of storage (1TB), the price goes up to $1,799 / £1,999 / AU$3,299, which is a little more than the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i. Of course, you’ll probably gravitate towards one over the other, mostly depending on whether you want macOS or Windows.

The Dell XPS 13 offers an interesting comparison, too. It comes in at a similar price – $1,999.99 / £2,049 / AU$3,998.50 – if you opt for a touchscreen like the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i has, but the screen is smaller. And while the Dell XPS 13 does have an OLED display, it’s at a lower, though still pretty good, 2880 x 1800p resolution. Both laptops have limited ports, but both have plenty of power.

However, the Dell XPS 13 has an interesting design with its edgeless keyboard (meaning it stretches edge to edge) and a touchpad that just uses haptic feedback and doesn’t have a defined physical boundary. This is one of those love-it-or-hate-it design choices and will probably be a deciding factor for most.

• Price: 4 / 5

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i: Specs

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Of the two available configurations, there’s very little difference. You basically get to choose between two almost identical CPUs, the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V and the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, which is about 0.5% better.

However, if you select the ever-so-slightly better CPU, you get 32GB of RAM instead of 16GB, since that CPU supports the higher amount of RAM.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i Specs

Base configuration

Review / Max configuration

Price:

$1,819.99 at Lenovo.com / £1,830 at Lenovo.com / AU$3,849 at Lenovo.com

$1,979.99 at Lenovo.com / £1,900.00 at Lenovo.com / AU$3,909.76 at Lenovo.com

CPU:

Intel Core Ultra 7 256V

Intel Core Ultra 7 258V

Graphics:

Intel graphics

Intel Arc graphics

RAM:

16GB LPDDR5X

32GB LPDDR5X

Screen:

14" WQUXGA (3840 x 2400), OLED, Glare, Touch, HDR 600 True Black, 100%DCI-P3, 400 nits, 120Hz, Glass, Camera Under Display

14" WQUXGA (3840 x 2400), OLED, Glare, Touch, HDR 600 True Black, 100%DCI-P3, 400 nits, 120Hz, Glass, Camera Under Display

Storage:

1TB SSD

1TB SSD

Ports:

2x USB-C Thunderbolt 4

2x USB-C Thunderbolt 4

Wireless:

Wi-Fi 7 2x2 BE 320MHz & Bluetooth 5.4

Wi-Fi 7 2x2 BE 320MHz & Bluetooth 5.4

Camera:

32MP camera-under-display with e-privacy shutter

32MP camera-under-display with e-privacy shutter

Weight:

Starting at 1.25kg / 2.76lbs

Starting at 1.25kg / 2.76lbs

Dimensions:

312.93mm x 203.5mm x as thin as 14.55mm / 12.32 x 8.01 x as thin as 0.57 inches

312.93mm x 203.5mm x as thin as 14.55mm / 12.32 x 8.01 x as thin as 0.57 inches

Outside of the internal upgrades to CPU and RAM, there are no other upgrades. Both configurations come in one color, Tidal Teal, which is admittedly beautiful.

And there’s just the one display available. Thankfully, it’s also very nice with high-resolution and responsive touchscreen capabilities.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i: Design

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• Attractive and slim
• Gorgeous and impressive display
• Limited ports, including a lack of an audio jack

Available in Tidal Teal, a shimmery blue with hints of green, the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i is a beautiful laptop even before opening it up. It’s slim and light, even for a laptop of this size, and is about as portable as it gets.

In terms of form factor, the one unusual thing I noticed is that there is a raised bar near the top of the lid. This houses the 32-megapixel webcam that’s hidden under the display and pops up near the top-middle of the screen when in use. Though there’s no physical shutter for the webcam, it does have an effective e-privacy toggle next to the right USB-C port.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

It’s also worth noting that, despite having a touchscreen, this is not a 2-in-1, so don’t expect to be able to fold it to use as a tablet. That said, the touchscreen is very responsive and very sensitive, enough so that I’ve accidentally closed my browser multiple times when lightly touching the corner of the screen without thinking.

The screen is pretty remarkable beyond its touch capabilities. This 14-inch OLED panel has a 4K or 3840 x 2400 resolution (that’s a 16:10 aspect ratio) with a 120Hz refresh rate, along with 100% sRGB and DCI-P3 color coverage, which is ideal for photo editing. It also has a Vesa Certified DisplayHDR True Black 600 rating. It even supports Dolby Vision. You get the idea – the display is pretty spectacular.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

The keyboard is a bit shallow, so it's not the most comfortable one I’ve used, but that’s to be expected with a laptop this slim. It’s otherwise accurate and responsive, and I had no trouble pounding out a couple of articles on it.

The touchpad is just as snappy and accurate. While a lot of newer laptops seem to increase the size of the touchpad, that’s not the case here. If you want a really big touchpad, you’re not going to get it here.

Finally, the port selection is very, very minimal. There are just two USB-C ports, one on each side. They’re both Thunderbolt 4, so there’s plenty of throughput if you want to use a dongle. Still, it’s very limited. What I’m most upset about is the fact that Lenovo has done away with any kind of audio jack. As ubiquitous as wireless earbuds are, some of us still use wired headphones from time to time.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i: Performance

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• Snappy, responsive performance
• Copilot+
• Great audio quality with spatial audio

The Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i is quite powerful. It can handle day-to-day work easily. Opening, scrolling, clicking links, typing, photo editing: all the sorts of things most people want from an Ultrabook. For example, I was able to open 20 browser windows very quickly, just by pressing the Plus sign in Microsoft Edge.

Each window, which opens the MSN homepage filled with different news stories and information, loaded up almost immediately. Of course, I reviewed the 32GB configuration, but the CPU and RAM still do quite a bit of heavy lifting.

Even the camera behind the screen pops up promptly. Speaking of which, the webcam performs smoothly and looks good, though it does struggle with noise in low light.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i CPU / System Benchmarks

Benchmark

Score

Geekbench 6.4 Single Core

2,755

Geekbench 6.4 Single Core

11,186

Crossmark Overall

1,689

Crossmark Productivity

1,638

Crossmark Creativity

1,934

Crossmark Responsiveness

1,234

25GB File Copy Transfer Rate (MB/s)

1,032.87

Now, it’s not a gaming laptop, but I was able to run some less demanding or older games without any trouble, like Sable and Alan Wake. For those games, the action was crisp, clear, and smooth. That gorgeous OLED screen really helps. Still, there were some games I tried to run that wouldn’t even open.

As this is a newer laptop, it comes with Copilot+. Using the app is quick and responsive, though I still don’t find it to be a game-changer in my computing experience.

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i GPU / Gaming Benchmarks

Benchmark

Score

3DMark Fire Strike

9,107

3DMark Time Spy

4,436

3DMark Speed Way

6,094

3DMark Steel Nomad

823

3DMark Night Raid

35,326

Borderlands 3 (Badass, 1080p)

27fps

Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Highest, 1080p)

46fps

Sid Meier's Civilization VI: Gathering Storm (Max impact, 1080p)

67fps

Total War: Warhammer III (Ultra, 1080p)

37fps

I’ve rarely been impressed by the audio from a laptop. I was when I reviewed the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i, and I am here. That’s probably because there are more than two speakers in the Lenovo Yoga Slom 9i. Specifically, there are two 2-watt tweeters and two 3-watt woofers. There’s also some virtual spatial audio since the laptop supports Dolby Atmos.

Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i: Battery life

(Image credit: Future / James Holland)

• Decent if disappointing battery life
• Doesn’t seem to do fast charging

Laptops with OLED displays aren’t always the most efficient, so the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i’s just under 10 hours of battery life in the PCMark 10 Battery benchmark is not surprising, though it is a bit disappointing. It did manage a better showing in our Web Surfing test, where it managed to get just over 11 hours of battery life.

While not the best results we've seen, this isn't terrible battery life. However, we’re seeing a few laptops, particularly ones that this one competes with, hitting up to double those numbers. To be fair, I turned off the laptop’s battery-saver feature, which makes the laptop run more efficiently when the battery is low, so you might manage to squeeze more juice from the battery depending on the settings.

On the bright side, it was very good at maintaining battery life when the lid was closed. I’ve used and tested some laptops where the battery would continue to run down when idling, and that’s not an issue here.

• Battery life: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i?Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i scorecard

Category

Notes

Rating

Value

While pricey, this laptop is thin, powerful, and comes with a wonderful OLED screen.

4 / 5

Design

It’s not only thin and light, but it is gorgeous. Too bad it lacks an audio jack and only comes with two USB-C ports.

4.5 / 5

Performance

The performance (and audio quality) is excellent, especially for productivity work.

4.5 / 5

Battery Life

The battery life is decent, but compared to the competition is lower than expected.

4 / 5

Final score

It’s gorgeous, light, and comes with robust performance. Plus, it has that OLED screen.

4.25 / 5

Buy the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i if...

You want a thin, light laptop
At under three pounds (and with a 14-inch screen), this laptop is about as portable as it gets.

You want a gorgeous screen
Not only is the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i a looker, but it comes with a high-resolution OLED display that might be the centerpiece.

You want responsive performance
This might not be a gaming laptop, but its performance is snappy and responsive, exactly what one needs for most productivity work.

Don't buy it if...

You want more ports
Only two USB-C Thunderbolt ports are limiting enough. The fact that there’s no audio jack is pretty disappointing.

You have limited funds
While worth the cost, this is not a cheap machine. If you’re limited on funds, there are some great laptops out there without an OLED screen that are probably within reach.

Also consider

If my Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i review has you considering other options, here are two laptops to consider...

Dell XPS 13
Between the long-lasting battery life, strong performance, and gorgeous OLED screen, the Intel Core Ultra 2nd Gen version of the Dell XPS 13 is the ideal Ultrabook. That is, if you’re game for an innovative design change that some will love and others not so much – essentially a haptic-only touch bar and touchpad.

Read our full Dell XPS 13 review

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4)
The Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4) may not have WiFi 7 or any major physical design upgrades, but it’s an almost perfect laptop otherwise. It has powerful and incredibly efficient performance (meaning it also has a very long battery life) and comes with some unique features such as the centerstage camera and optional nano-texture screen.

Read our full Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4) review

How I tested the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i

• Tested for a month
• Used it for work, gaming, and streaming
• Tested its various features

I used the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i for a month, testing it for work, including this review (along with the requisite online research). I used it to stream video. I even did some light gaming. I played with the webcam, the audio, and the AI features as well.

After spending time with the Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i, it’s clear that this is perfect for those who want a premium experience (and can pay for it) in a gorgeous wrapping.

I’ve spent the last few years reviewing tech gear for gaming and otherwise, where I’ve gotten a feel for what to look for and how to put a piece of kit through its paces to see whether it’s worth the recommendation.

• First reviewed August 2025

• Google looks to fuel cloud hosting needs with nuclear energy
• Tennessee emerging as a hub for bold nuclear experimentation
• Data centers drive demand for clean power and nuclear exploration

Google has entered into a collaboration with Kairos Power and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to support the development of a small modular nuclear reactor in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to power its infrastucture expansion.

The company announced the Hermes 2 facility is expected to begin operations in 2030, and generate up to 50 megawatts of electricity for the TVA grid.

This will help power Google’s data centers in Tennessee and Alabama, which are central to the company’s growing needs for the likes of cloud hosting, cloud storage, and AI tools.

Partnership model for advanced nuclear power

The arrangement takes the form of a power purchase agreement, in which TVA will buy electricity from Kairos Power and deliver the clean energy attributes to Google.

The partners describe this as the first purchase of electricity from a Generation IV reactor by a US utility.

While the project provides only a fraction of the 500 megawatts Google has outlined as a longer-term goal, it is being framed as a proof of concept for how utilities, technology companies, and developers might share costs and risks in future deployments.

Unlike solar and wind, which depend on weather conditions, nuclear power can provide continuous energy.

"Nuclear is the bedrock of the future of energy security. Google stepping in and helping shoulder the burden of the cost and risk for first-of-a-kind nuclear projects... it’s not just good for Google. It’s good for TVA’s 10 million customers. It’s good for the United States," said Don Moul, CEO of TVA.

However, nuclear construction has historically faced delays and cost overruns, raising questions about whether this new generation of reactors will truly deliver affordable and reliable power at scale.

The project is also being presented as a way to boost economic activity in Oak Ridge, a city long tied to nuclear research and development.

Training programs with the University of Tennessee and other local institutions are being planned to prepare workers for technical roles at the Hermes 2 plant.

While the initiative promises high-paying jobs and renewed investment, critics may ask whether reliance on experimental nuclear designs is the most effective strategy compared to expanding proven renewable generation.

Nevertheless, this development has attracted interest and comments from industry experts, government agencies, and politicians.

“To power the future, we need to grow the availability of smart, firm energy sources... This collaboration with TVA, Kairos Power, and the Oak Ridge community will accelerate the deployment of innovative nuclear technologies.” said Amanda Peterson Corio, Google’s Global Head of Data Center Energy.

“This collaboration is an important enabler to making advanced nuclear energy commercially competitive,” said Mike Laufer, Kairos Power CEO and co-founder.

“Tennessee’s legacy of nuclear innovation positions the Volunteer State to lead America’s energy dominance and drive continued economic growth with safe, clean, and reliable nuclear energy,” said Governor Bill Lee.

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• The upcoming AMG GT XX drove 5,479km (3,404 miles) in 24 hours
• It went on to break 25 long-distance records on the Nardò test track in Italy
• Mercedes-Benz says the motors and batteries are 'production ready'

Mercedes-Benz has been busy proving that its upcoming AMG GT XX can go the distance by driving it around the world. Well, 40,075 kilometers (24,901 miles) in exactly 7 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes and 07 seconds... to be precise.

The achievement was just one of the many long-distance records set during a grueling challenge at the high speed Nardò test track in Italy, where a slew of drivers and two vehicles maintained a constant speed of 300km/h (186mph), only stopping to briefly brim batteries via purpose-built 850kW charging infrastructure.

Mercedes-Benz was keen to point out that the AMG GT XX is capable of much higher speeds, but the 300 km/h (186mph) marker was carefully selected based on extensive simulations that balanced average track speeds with the number of charging stops required for the fastest overall time.

During the stunt, Mercedes broke a total of 25 long-distance records, including the greatest distance covered by an EV in 24 hours (a pretty impressive 3,405 miles).

Overall, it required 3,177 laps of the 12.68km Nardò circuit, where 17 drivers took two-hour shifts behind the wheel, including Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 driver George Russell.

Betting big on new technology

(Image credit: Mercedes-Benz)

The impressive feat wasn’t just designed to snare a few headlines, as Mercedes-AMG is also keen to highlight the performance and robustness of its pioneering new powertrain.

This is a point that’s particularly pertinent given its long and illustrious career in producing fearsome combustion engines and the difficulty it might have converting its current customer base.

Consisting of three axial-flux motors, an 800V electrical architecture and in-house developed cylindrical cell batteries – which use an electrically non-conductive oil for cooling purposes – the futuristic powertrain in the AMG GT XX concept is said to offer in excess of 1,360hp and is able to charge at over 850kW across a wide range of the charging curve.

During the reveal of the AMG GTXX concept earlier this year, senior Mercedes figures told TechRadar that the company hopes to roll out its own 10,000-strong super-fast charging network using 850kW technology by the next decade.

During the endurance endeavor, the German marque claimed it took just five minutes to recharge enough for a range of around 400 kilometers (248 miles).

Michael Schiebe, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes‑AMG, said that the company is the first to use axial flux motors and directly cooled batteries in fully electric models and that the records prove "how superior these technologies are".

(Image credit: Mercedes-Benz)

What’s more, he said that customers of future electric models will get a genuine AMG, “no ifs; no buts”.

However, Mercedes-AMG also understands the threat from China, with Xpeng’s P7 electric sedan traveling almost 4,000km (2,485 miles) in 24 hours just last week — laying down the challenge for other manufacturers.

Xiaomi’s YU7 Max also managed 2,451 miles during a similar stunt, proving that potent powertrains and rapid charging speeds are no longer just the preserve of recognized performance brands.

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HBO Max is about to freshen up its library of content with a new batch of movies and TV shows being added throughout September 2025.

Warner Bros. Discovery's flagship streaming service often brings us new movies from A24 and next month is no different, with two new releases set to be added: the comedy-drama Friendship (2024) starring Paul Rudd, which lands September 5, followed by Alex Garland's thrilling modern war movie Warfare (2025) on September 12.

With a total of 72 new movies and 60 fresh TV shows, the balance is almost perfect, and gives us more reason to credit HBO Max as one of the best streaming services. Which titles will you be starting with? We'd love to hear in the comments below!

Everything new on Max in September 2025

Arriving on September 1

A Life of Her Own (movie)
Almost Christmas (movie)
Barney's World season 1D (TV show)
Caged (movie)
Charley Chase Silent Shorts (movie)
Children Who Chase Lost Voices (movie)
December 7th (movie)
Dog Day Afternoon (movie)
Emmanuelle (movie)
Evil Dead II (movie)
Fireworks (movie)
Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (movie)
Gasoline Alley (movie)
Ghost Cat Anzu (movie)
Goodfellas (movie)
Helen of Troy (movie)
Jonah Hex (movie)
Keeper of the Flame (movie)
Kismet (movie)
Lonely Castle in the Mirror (movie)
Love & Pop (movie)
Man From The Black Hills (movie)
Mary of Scotland (movie)
Misery (movie)
Montana Incident (movie)
Mr. District Attorney (movie)
Murder Is My Beat (movie)
Mystery Street (movie)
Night Nurse (movie)
No End in Sight (movie)
No Questions Asked (movie)
Nobody Lives Forever (movie)
On Dangerous Ground (movie)
Our Miss Brooks (movie)
Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (movie)
Pirate Radio (movie)
Presenting Princess Shaw (movie)
Prometheus (movie)
Rick and Morty season 8 (TV show)
Ruby & Jodi: A Cult of Sin and Influence (TV show)
Safe Haven (movie)
Scene of the Crime (movie)
Se7en (movie)
Selena (movie)
Shadow of a Woman (movie)
Splinter (movie)
Stranger on Horseback (movie)
Summer Storm (movie)
Susan and God (movie)
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (movie)
The Cabin in the Woods (movie)
The Charge at Feather River (movie)
The Command (movie)
The Fallen Sparrow (movie)
The Fate of the Furious (movie)
The Fate of the Furious: Extended Director's Cut (movie)
The Place Promised in Our Early Days (movie)
The Sea of Grass (movie)
The Secret Garden (movie)
The Sitter (movie)
The Sitter: Unrated (movie)
The Woman in White (movie)
The Woman on the Beach (movie)
Thirteen Women (movie)
Veronica Mars (movie)
Vigil in the Night (movie)
When Ladies Meet (movie)
Without Love (movie)
Young Bess (movie)
Your Name (movie)

Arriving on September 2

The 33 (movie)

Arriving on September 3

Bobby's Triple Threat season 4 (TV show)
Guy's Grocery Games season 39 (TV show)
Modern Warfare 2.0 season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 4

Billionaire Boys Club (TV show)
The Last Wright: Building the Final Home Design of America's Greatest Architect season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 5

Beachfront Bargain Hunt Renovation season 11 (TV show)
Bugs Bunny Builders season 2F (TV show)
Friendship (movie)
House Hunters International volume 9 season 204 (TV show)
House Hunters volume 10 season 245 (TV show)
Live Aid: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On The World (TV show)
Most Wanted: Teen Hacker (TV show)
My Lottery Dream Home season 17 (TV show)

Arriving on September 6

Maneet's Eats season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 7

Magnolia Table: At The Farm season 1 (TV show)
Task (TV show)
We Baby Bears season 2D (TV show)
Have I Got News For You season 3 (TV show)

Arriving on September 9

90 Day Fiance: The Other Way season 7 (TV show)
Contraband: Seized at the Border season 7 (TV show)
Seen & Heard: The History Of Black Television (documentary)

Arriving on September 10

The Tech Bro Murders (TV show)

Arriving on September 11

Dylan's Playtime Adventures season 1C (TV show)
Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa season 3B (TV show)

Arriving on September 12

Warfare (movie)

Arriving on September 13

Vacation House Rules season 6 (TV show)

Arriving on September 14

Build for Off-Road season 2 (TV show)
Love & Marriage: Huntsville season 10 (TV show)

Arriving on September 15

Signs of a Psychopath season 10 (TV show)
Truck U season 21 (TV show)

Arriving on September 16

Chopped volume 4 season 62 (TV show)
Halloween Baking Championship season 11 (TV show)

Arriving on September 17

100 Day Dream Home season 7 (TV show)
Built in the Bronx (TV show)
Truck Dynasty season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 18

Bea's Block season 1D (TV show)
Destruction Decoded season 1 (TV show)
Sin City Rehab season 1 (TV show)
Who Killed Our Daughter? (TV show)

Arriving on September 20

Scariest House in America season 2 (TV show)

Arriving on September 21

Greatest Mysteries Ever season 2 (TV show)

Arriving on September 22

Halloween Wars season 15 (TV show)

Arriving on September 23

American Prince: JFK Jr. (TV show)
The Kim Kardashian Heist season 1 (TV show)
Seeking Sister Wife season 6 (TV show)
The Devil Is Busy (documentar)
The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, Sports Betting: America’s Biggest Gamble (TV show)

Arriving on September 24

Hustlers Gamblers Crooks season 2 (TV show)

Arriving on September 25

Help! I Wrecked My House season 5 (TV show)
On The Case with Paula Zahn season 28 (TV show)
Jesse & Joy: Lo que nunca dijimos season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 26

Quiet In Class (TV show)
The Graft season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 27

90 Day Diaries season 7 (TV show)
Ready to Love season 10 (TV show)

Arriving on September 28

Heart & Hustle: Houston season 1 (TV show)

Arriving on September 29

Sister Wives season 20 (TV show)
Two Guys Garage season 24 (TV show)
Women Wearing Shoulder Pads (movie)

Arriving on September 30

Eva Longoria: Searching For Spain (TV show)
Good Cop/Bad Cop season 1 (TV show)
My Happy Place (TV show)
Prime Minister (documentary)

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The new Matter-enabled smart lock from Level offers solid protection and app-based smarts, all hidden neatly away in a standard deadbolt design.

• AWS introduces R8i servers tuned for memory-heavy enterprise cloud workloads
• Intel’s custom Xeon chips target databases and massive cloud data tasks
• Memory bandwidth defines AWS’s new Intel-powered servers for demanding applications

Intel has received some positive news after Amazon Web Services (AWS) confirmed it is rolling out new virtual server options built on custom versions of Intel’s Xeon 6 processors.

These new options, known as R8i and R8i-flex, will give AWS customers additional choices when renting computing power through the cloud.

For Intel, this marks a rare win at a time when rivals such as AMD and ARM-based processors have been capturing more of the market.

What R8i and R8i-flex actually bring

AWS said both R8i and R8i-flex support “DDR5 7200MT/s memory” and can run “up to 3.9 GHz all-core turbo frequency.”

The R8i family spans a wide range, scaling from just two to 384 vCPUs, matching the capability of dual-socket servers powered by Intel’s 96-core Xeon 6 chips, since AWS defines a vCPU as one thread of a core.

While AWS has not disclosed further details of what makes these custom Xeons distinct, the focus on memory bandwidth appears to be the defining factor for these deployments.

AWS is marketing the new instances for memory-heavy use cases, including SQL and NoSQL databases, in-memory caches such as Memcached and Redis, SAP HANA deployments, and data frameworks like Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark.

Customers are also given the option to adjust how bandwidth is distributed between network functions and Amazon’s elastic block store connections, which AWS suggests may provide measurable database performance improvements.

This positioning reflects how cloud hosting and cloud storage increasingly depend on optimized hardware to handle large-scale workloads, particularly those tied to analytics and enterprise resource planning.

Hyperscale providers such as Oracle have previously promoted unique Xeon configurations with extra cores or slightly faster clock speeds, while AWS itself has highlighted earlier rounds of tailored Intel processors.

The arrival of these new Xeons, therefore, fits into an established pattern, yet still shows that Intel remains relevant to large-scale providers.

The memory bandwidth improvements, while not a complete architectural overhaul, are enough for AWS to publicly promote the chips as competitive within its portfolio.

For Intel, this order signals continued reliance from a crucial customer at a time when alternative architectures such as AMD’s Epyc and ARM-based designs are gaining ground.

For AWS, it broadens the range of performance options available to clients whose workloads demand high memory throughput and stable performance across large clusters.

In an era where AI tools and data processing shape demand, Intel is not losing out completely; it still holds a place in the core of cloud infrastructure.

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The settlement could set expectations for how other AI training disputes involving authors and content creators are decided.

An investigation by NPR, Texas Public Radio and 1A in 2024 found that more than 250 workers had died as a result of preventable trench collapses since 2013, and that at-fault companies were rarely held accountable.

(Image credit: Lorianne Willett)

Average temperatures have been going up in many cities, including New Orleans. Here's what those higher temperatures sound like.