Future Technology[Hardware Weekly] Nvidia just made Intel and AMD very nervous
Nvidia just did the most aggressive thing it has done in years, and it has nothing to do with graphics cards. The company walked straight into the PC processor business, and by the end of the day Intel, AMD and Qualcomm had all lost ground on the stock market. That is the headline this week. The smarter buy, though, might be a pair of headphones that costs half what the new flagship does.
The Big 3
Nvidia walked into the PC chip market, and the whole industry flinched
For years Nvidia made the graphics and let everyone else build the processor beside it. Not anymore. The new RTX Spark Superchip puts a 20-core CPU and a Blackwell GPU with 6,144 cores on one piece of silicon, sharing memory so it can run big AI models and serious games without breaking a sweat. The market reaction said it all: shares in AMD, Intel and Qualcomm all dropped the day Nvidia confirmed the plan. The catch is timing. The first machines, from Dell, Lenovo, HP and Microsoft, do not arrive until the autumn, and nobody has independent benchmarks yet.
Should you care: Nothing on the shelf today changes. But if you like to wait for the genuinely new thing before upgrading, this is the launch to watch into 2027.
Microsoft's 2026 Surface is its best in years, and its priciest
OLED screens, new haptic touchpads, and a choice of Intel Core Ultra Series 3 or Snapdragon X2 chips. After a run of safe updates, this is an ambitious Surface refresh. The problem is the bill. The Surface Laptop 8 starts at 1,599 US dollars, the 13-inch opens at 1,499, and an across-the-range price hike means a Surface now costs more than a comparable MacBook in several configurations. Microsoft is shipping to business buyers first, with Intel models in the first wave and the longer-lasting Snapdragon versions following about a month later.
Should you care: If you want an OLED Windows machine and you live in the Microsoft world, this is the one. If you came to Surface for value, that reason just evaporated.
Sennheiser's Momentum 5 outclasses headphones costing twice as much
Here is the value story of the week. The Momentum 5 Wireless arrived at 329 pounds, or 399 US dollars, with 57 hours of battery life on a single charge with noise cancelling switched on. Sony's WH-1000XM6 manages about 30. Reviewers praise a warm, wide, bass-forward sound, with the only real gripe being slightly soft treble you can EQ back in. The kicker: Sony's new 1000X The ColleXion flagship costs 550 pounds, or 649 dollars, and plenty of reviewers reckon the cheaper Sennheisers simply sound better.
Should you care: If you were about to buy the Sony for the badge, stop. For most people the Momentum 5 is the better all-rounder, and it saves you a couple of hundred pounds. Read more → or check the price on Amazon.
Quick Hits
Soundcore put an AI chip inside your earbuds. The new Liberty 5 Pro Max uses a dedicated AI processor for its Adaptive ANC 4.0, the kind of upgrade that usually lands first on buds costing double. Anker's track record on cheap-but-good noise cancelling makes these worth a look. Read more → or see it on Amazon (3 min read)
The Redmi Turbo 5 is a two-day phone. A 7,560 mAh battery dwarfs the 4,000 to 5,000 mAh in most flagships, with 100W charging and a Dimensity 8500 Ultra to keep the price sane. Cameras are mid-range, but that is not the point. Read more → (2 min read)
Qualcomm wants to be more than your phone chip. It is in talks to buy AI startup Tenstorrent for up to 10 billion dollars and has launched a Snapdragon Reality Elite platform for smart glasses with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica. More competition for Nvidia is good for everyone's wallet. Read more → (4 min read)
Intel's comeback hits a real checkpoint. Its 18A-P process entered risk production, with Apple and Google reportedly interested and a new UMC partnership taking aim at TSMC. None of it ships this week, but the foundry behind your future phone chip is being decided now. Read more → (3 min read)
Pick of the Week
Logitech Mobi Fold, 79.99 euros (about 70 pounds / 80 US dollars).
Logitech's first foldable mouse folds flat enough to pocket, then pops into a proper shape when you actually have work to do.
For you if you work from cafes, trains and hotel desks and you are sick of hunching over a trackpad. It pairs with three devices and runs on Windows, macOS, ChromeOS, Android, iPadOS and Linux.
The honest caveat: it is a travel mouse, not a gaming one, so do not expect a fancy sensor or a wall of programmable buttons. Read more →
Worth Waiting For
If AR glasses are on your radar, hold fire. The ROG Xreal R1, the first smart glasses to project a 240Hz virtual screen, are up for preorder at 849 US dollars with availability from July 2026. That is a lot to spend on a first-generation product, so let the early reviews land before you commit. The price alone is reason enough to wait and watch.
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