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News

Complaints Pile Up for 2 Popular Meal Kit Services Amid Missing Ingredients and Poor Customer Service - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 17:28
Unhappy customers told CNET they’ve experienced missing ingredients and lack of customer service, from the well-rated meal kit service.
Adobe Photoshop Adds a Whole New AI Editing Mode - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 17:45
The new AI Assisted Editor is another AI tool for Adobe’s image editing software.
Human, Beware: The Secrets We Tell AI Chatbots Aren’t Private - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 18:08
A recent DuckDuckGo survey finds that people are sharing intimate details with chatbots without knowing all the privacy risks.
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope Is About to Start Its Cosmic Survey - Thursday, June 11, 2026 - 13:24
The new space telescope will work in tandem with the Hubble Space Telescope to uncover more secrets of the universe.
1 in 6 VPNs Track Your Location, According to New Report From Proton - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 19:45
According to the report, 64 VPN apps on Apple’s App Store and Google Play contain trackers that collect your sensitive data; the exact opposite of what a VPN is supposed to do.
What Meta’s All-New Social Media Guidelines Promise to Change for Teen Users - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 20:10
A major lawsuit has led Meta to change the rules again for young users on Instagram and Facebook. Here’s exactly what’s changing.
Nvidia wants to buy Hugging Face in $13 billion blockbuster AI deal - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 05:12
  • Nvidia is reportedly preparing to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9bn
  • A 2023 investment round valued the company at $4.5bn
  • Nvidia is on a roll of investing heavily in other companies

Nvidia has reportedly spent the past couple of weeks actively engaging with Hugging Face to explore an acquisition deal worth an estimated $12.9 billion, according to Business Insider reporting, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

To date, the companies are yet to reach an agreement, but with the current valuation speculations, it would make a Hugging Face acquisition one of Nvidia's largest acquisitions to date.

Importantly, this wouldn't be the chipmaker's first run-in with Hugging Face – it took part in a $235 million funding round in 2023. At that time, Hugging Face's valuation was around $4.5 billion - making today's valuation nearly three times higher.

Nvidia and Hugging Face

While this may be one of Nvidia's biggest acquisitions to date, it's just one of a growing number, as the company recently admitted it had $18 billion committed to equity investments for the rest of the financial year, and it already holds $47.9 billion in private company stock.

However, there's still a shadow over the potential Nvidia acquisition, with Hugging Face previously turning down a $500 million Nvidia investment over concerns that a single shareholder could have such a big influence.

The high valuation also makes the prospective acquisition a costly one – at around 86x Hugging Face's annualized revenue ($150 million), Nvidia would be paying a premium for the platform's strategic position and existing relationships, against a backdrop of ongoing investments in models and development tools.

Regulator scrutiny might also question whether competing chipmakers and cloud service providers could be put at a disadvantage, particularly if Nvidia imposes hardware and software restrictions on the platform after a takeover.

Neither Nvidia nor Hugging Face responded to requests for comment.

Power Through Any Storm With the Jackery HomePower 1000 Plus V2 - Friday, August 28, 2026 - 05:11
Pick up this early bird deal and keep an extra $130 in your pocket.
Time for gamers to upgrade to Windows 11? Nvidia GPU driver support for Windows 10 ends in two months — here's what you need to know - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 07:42
  • Nvidia GPUs are about to run out of road in Windows 10
  • Game Ready Driver support finishes in just two months
  • With the last such driver coming in October, you need to bear in mind issues around game performance optimization and fixes – but you'll still get security updates

Gamers running Windows 10 need to be aware that if they have an Nvidia GPU, they're only two months away from that graphics card running out of road for support with drivers.

VideoCardz reminded us that Nvidia's deadline for ditching Windows 10 support is now nearly upon us, with the final Game Ready Driver that supports the older operating system arriving in October 2026.

Does that mean you need to be thinking about upgrading to Windows 11 if you have an Nvidia graphics card?

No, it doesn't – well, not necessarily, although there is a major downside to remaining on Windows 10 after October of this year. In case you're at all unsure, let's dive into the exact ins-and-outs of what's happening here – as well as touching on the subject of whether Nvidia might just have a change of heart here.

You'll still be secure with an Nvidia GPU

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The key point to remember is that while the Game Ready Driver that comes out in November 2026 won't support Windows 10, Nvidia will still provide security updates for your graphics card. As Team Green explained in a short FAQ: "Windows 10 driver support will transition to a quarterly security update for a period of three years where critical bug fixes will be delivered to end users through October 2029."

That means Windows 10 users will get an update every three months to fix any critical bugs or security flaws with the Nvidia drivers. This will continue for another three years, so effectively to the end of the decade.

At that point, when 2030 is about to roll around, you will then potentially be risking exposure to a vulnerability as any driver security holes will no longer be patched. But that's still a good long way off.

So what does the end of Game Ready Driver support really mean?

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Dean Drobot)

After October, Windows 10 PCs will only get the benefit of these quarterly security updates, and they won't be covered by Nvidia's regular Game Ready Driver packages. That means as new games come out, Windows 10 users won't get the performance optimizations that these driver releases contain – or bug fixes for these titles.

As time goes on, then, more and more PC games will be left out in the cold in terms of that tweaking and optimization. That's bad news, of course, although it doesn't mean those games will be somehow unplayable. In fact, in many cases they might be just fine – but there are no guarantees, and you may get subpar frame rates (indeed, that's quite likely to be the case to some extent).

Of course, existing games will continue to run just as they always have, and you shouldn't run into any issues on that score.

Could there yet be a reprieve from Nvidia?

(Image credit: Future)

If you're not happy about the idea of not getting the latest patches, tweaks, and optimizations for new PC games, then you'll have to seriously start to think about planning your upgrade to Windows 11.

Assuming you have an upgrade path, that is, because your PC may not meet the hardware requirements of the newer OS. (Although bear in mind that a simple BIOS tweak may be all that's needed to ensure compatibility with the TPM requirement). If you're looking at a major PC upgrade, or an entirely new rig, that's a painful prospect given the RAM crisis and all the price hikes around that.

As one Redditor puts it: "'This is terrible news considering PC prices."

However, as another gamer on that Reddit thread observes, there may yet be a glimmer of hope of a reprieve from Nvidia. If you recall, just a couple of months ago, Microsoft quietly extended consumer support for Windows 10 for a further year, through to October 2027.

Now, when Nvidia announced the end of driver support for October 2026, which happened last year, as far as Team Green was concerned, it was aligning the curtailment of Game Ready Driver releases for Windows 10 with Microsoft's original consumer support extension. But now Microsoft has pushed out extended support for another additional year to October 2027 – could Nvidia mirror this move?

It doesn't seem likely, in all honesty, and I'd think Nvidia would have announced this already if it was the intention. Concrete driver plans are likely already in place that can't be changed. That said, you never know – and we can't fully rule out the notion of a last-minute reprieve. Watch this space.

Samsung just blew me away at Gamescom with its ridiculously-fast 1100Hz OLED monitor - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 07:44

Samsung took to its own stage at Gamescom today to announce a slew of new Odyssey OLED gaming screens for 2027, including some very tasty world firsts.

Top of the new range is the Odyssey OLED G6 G60H, which boasts a 1440p Fast IPS panel, complete with a 600Hz refresh rate.

If that ridiculous refresh speed isn't enough, you can dial down the resolution to HD and benefit from 1100Hz, making this Samsung screen the fastest we've ever seen in that respect.

It also features AMD FreeSync Premium Pro VRR and is Nvidia G-Sync compatible.

If you want something bigger, the Odyssey OLED G7 marks the world's first 42-inch curved gaming screen in a classic 16:9 aspect ratio. It's a 4K OLED panel with up to a 165Hz refresh rate and an aggressive 1000R curve for an immersive finish.

For reference, Samsung says the G7 is some 72% larger than a typical 32-inch curved panel in its range for greater immersion, so it can fill even more of your field of vision.

(Image credit: Future)Bigger and better?

The new Odyssey OLED G8 is stacked with cool-sounding features – a 32-inch 4K tandem OLED with a 360Hz refresh rate that features Samsung's latest fifth-gen QD-OLED panel with its Penta Tandem tech and an RGB stripe sub-pixel layout for greater power efficiency, longevity, and sharper text.

The G8 also supports 'triple mode', so 4K/360hz isn't your only option. Drop down to 1440p, and the screen yields a 520Hz refresh rate. Or, if that's not enough, then Full HD output at 680Hz is possible.

Port-wise, Samsung has kitted it out with DP 2.1 UHBR20, two HDMI 2.1 ports, a USB-C with up to 98W of power delivery, plus a USB hub with two downstream ports and KVM support.

For ultrawide fans, the new Odyssey OLED G9 offers a 49-inch panel with a 5120 x 1440 resolution and up to 360Hz. It also has dual-mode power with 720Hz at 'dual HD' (2560 x 720) and a fifth-gen QD-OLED panel with Penta Tandem tech.

Samsung says the Odyssey OLED G9 offers up to 1300 nits of peak brightness at a 4K resolution in a 3% window for some punchy output.

Alongside the slew of new screens, it also reaffirmed its commitment to glasses-free 3D tech, with wider support mentioned for some of the biggest titles and the presence of HDR10+ gaming in some big releases, including the new Call of Duty, and upwards of 20 games supporting the standard by the first half of 2027.

Boston Scientific says cyberattack is causing a ‘global disruption’ to medical device operations - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 08:05
  • Boston Scientific confirmed a cyberattack disrupting global operations and IT systems
  • Incident response activated; SEC filing notes ongoing impact on order processing and shipping
  • Nature of attack undisclosed, but disruption suggests ransomware; no group claimed responsibility yet

Boston Scientific, a US-based global medical technology company, has confirmed it was the target of a cyberattack which disrupted operations worldwide and disrupted its IT systems.

In a new 8-K form filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Boston Scientific said it detected an intrusion and activated its incident response protocols. It called in third-party cybersecurity experts to assist in assessing and containing the threat, as well.

Boston Scientific builds devices used to diagnose different health issues. It was founded in 1979, headquartered in Massachusetts, and operates in more than 100 countries around the world. Its core business areas include cardiology, endoscopy, urology, and peripheral interventions. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is considered as one of the world’s largest medical device manufacturers, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Medtronic, Abbott, and Johnson & Johnson MedTech.

Causing disruptions

In the 8-K form, the company said the incident “caused, and is expected to continue to cause, disruptions and limitations to access to certain of the company’s information systems and business applications that support aspects of the company’s operations, including the ability to process and ship customer orders.”

It did not discuss the nature of the attack, or the identity of the attackers, but this kind of disruption is usually only caused by a ransomware infection. Ransomware operators are known for encrypting entire networks and rendering them useless until either a decryption key is applied, or it gets restored via a backup.

Businesses also sometimes shut down parts of their infrastructure to stop data exfiltration efforts, which are an indispensable part of ransomware attacks.

“While the company is working diligently to restore affected functions and systems access, the timeline for a full restoration is not yet known,” it stressed in the form.

So far, no hacking groups claimed responsibility for the attack and there is no evidence of any stolen data.

Via The Register

My 12 top Amazon Tech Week deals for home offices and small businesses in the surprise sale - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 08:28

I spend a lot of time working with laptops, accessories and other hardware, so I know exactly how much difference the right tech can make to a home office or small business setup.

Amazon has launched a surprise Tech Week sale in the UK, and I've picked out twelve unmissable deals that can make working from home easier, improve an existing setup or provide a useful upgrade without spending a fortune.

My picks cover everything from printers and laptops to webcams and SSDs from the likes of Dell, Epson, Logitech, and Crucial. There's something here for almost any home office or small business.

My top 12 must-buys in Amazon's surprise Tech Week sale

MX Master 3S Performance Wireless Mouse: was £78.05 now £68.99
Logitech's wireless mouse features silent clicks, MagSpeed scrolling, a thumb wheel, an 8K DPI optical sensor, programmable buttons and Easy-Switch, with Bluetooth connectivity and compatibility across multiple operating systems.View Deal

Ecotank ET-2861 Ink Tank Printer: was £239.99 now £129.99
This cartridge-free Ink Tank prints, copies and scans, with Wi-Fi connectivity, borderless photo printing, a 100-sheet paper tray and up to three years of ink included in the box.View Deal

This is one of our favourite productivity-boosting gadgets. The compact Elgato Stream Deck Neo features eight customisable buttons so you can open up key software at the push of a button. View Deal

2TB X9 Portable External SSD: was £219.99 now £177.99
This compact 2TB portable SSD delivers read speeds up to 1,050MB/s over USB-C, with plug-and-play support for PCs, and Macs, plus drop, shock, vibration and temperature resistance.View Deal

6+ mesh Wi-Fi router: was £229.99 now £169.99
This two-pack Wi-Fi 6 mesh system covers up to 280m², supports 75+ devices and gigabit speeds, with 160MHz channels, dual Gigabit Ethernet, TrueMesh technology and a built-in smart home hub.View Deal

Shipping Label Printer: was £79.99 now £59.99
This Bluetooth thermal printer handles 4 x 6-inch shipping and postage labels, works with major selling platforms and UK couriers, and includes 25 labels to get you started.View Deal

Height Adjustable Monitor Stand: was £12.59 now £10.7
For anyone working at their desk all day, a monitor stand or riser is, to my mind, essential for maintaining good posture (and preventing the neck ache as I suffered from looking down at my laptop all the time). An absolute home office essential. View Deal

15 Laptop: was £899 now £499
This 15-inch laptop combines a 13th-gen Intel Core i7 processor with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, alongside a Full HD 120Hz IPS display and Windows 11 Home.View Deal

C920S HD Pro Webcam: was £84.99 now £42.49
An upgrade on arguably the best webcam in its price range - we rated the C920 4.5-stars in our review. This full HD camera features built-in mics, HD light correction, and a physical privacy shutter. View Deal

27-Inch WQHD Monitor: was £149.99 now £93.98
A business monitor under £100 is well worth a look, especially a 27-inch WQHD HDR10 model from a brand like Philips. This one doubles as a gaming display, too, with 180Hz refresh rate and 1ms response times. View Deal

Evolve 65 TE Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Headset With Mic: was £119.39 now £98.99
We're big fans of Jabra's business headset line - our hardware editor has used his daily for several years now. Expect crisp audio quality on video calls and a comfortable, lightweight design. View Deal

K400 Plus Wireless Touch Keyboard: was £39.99 now £27.99
As a lover of interesting office gear, this budget keyboard from Logitech stood out to me for including a touchpad for use across a range of devices.View Deal

Why I recommend these products

I recently bought the Epson EcoTank ET-2861 printer for my home office, and definitely recommend it. The refillable ink tanks mean I don’t have to keep buying ridiculously expensive ink cartridges, which I had to do with my previous HP printer (especially since yellow kept running out and I couldn't print without it). Wireless printing, scanning and copying cover pretty much everything I need day to day.

For anyone looking to replace an aging computer, the Dell 15 Laptop packs a Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD and it's currently under £500. It pairs those specs with a 15-inch Full HD 120Hz display, making it a solid everyday machine for work.

The Logitech MX Master 3S mouse is another straightforward home office upgrade. Silent clicks keep noise down, while the MagSpeed scroll wheel, thumb wheel and 8K DPI sensor make navigating documents, spreadsheets and large screens easier.

If you run a small business that regularly sends out orders, the Munbyn thermal label printer could save you time and hassle. It prints 4 x 6-inch shipping labels without ink or toner and supports major selling platforms and UK delivery companies including Royal Mail, DPD and Evri.

The 2TB Crucial X9 Portable SSD is my storage pick because it combines plenty of capacity with read speeds of up to 1,050MB/s. I have a few of these SSDs and they are great and work with PCs and Macs.

Finally, the Amazon eero 6+ two-pack tackles one of the more frustrating home office problems: unreliable Wi-Fi. It can cover up to 280m², handle more than 75 connected devices and uses mesh technology to reduce dead zones. I live in an old house with very thick walls, and this is the perfect solution to the problems that causes me.

They’re very different products, but between them they cover computing, printing, storage, networking, navigation and shipping — the everyday technology that can dramatically impact a home office or small business.

This Acer Aspire Go 15 laptop deal has an absurd 48GB RAM — and a massive $325 discount - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 08:43

I've spent a long time warning people to avoid cheap 8GB laptop deals. In 2026, 16Gb is the baseline for multi-tasking, while 32GB gives you considerably more breathing room. But I've found a laptop deal that's even better.

Right now, the Acer Aspire Go 15 with a huge 48GB DDR4 RAM is down to $675 (was $1000) at Newegg. That's a welcome surprise in the middle of an ongoing memory crisis.

That 48GB memory paired with an eight-core AMD Ryzen 7 5825U processor and 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD. You also get a 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display, Wi-Fi 6 and Windows 11 Home.

The Acer Aspire Go 15 combines an eight-core Ryzen 7 5825U processor, 48GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD, 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display, Wi-Fi 6 and USB-C connectivity.View Deal

Why we recommend it

In his four-star review of the Aspire Go 15, our expert Lewis called it a "snappy performer," and said it was: "very good, handling light productivity and entertainment workloads with speed."

He added that it's "quite thin and light, which makes it easier to carry around than expected. The light silver finish and minimal aesthetic also imbue the Aspire Go 15 with some style."

The standout feature here is that this laptop comes with 48GB of DDR4-3200 memory. It's made up of 16GB plus a 32GB Lexar module, giving you substantially more headroom for heavy multitasking, content creation, and other memory-intensive work than you'd normally get at this price.

The Ryzen 7 5825U is an older processor, but its eight cores still make it a capable choice for everyday workloads. There's USB-C with DisplayPort and 65W Power Delivery, three USB-A ports, HDMI 2.1 and Gigabit Ethernet, plus Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.1.

There's even a second M.2 slot so you can add additional storage which you'll need when you start nudging the limits of the 512GB SSD it comes with.

For more top picks, see our guide to the best business laptops we've tested.

Price context & historical value

Newegg currently lists this particular 48GB/512GB configuration at $674.99, down from $999.99. That's a $325 saving, or 32%, which is its lowest price for the laptop in the past 30 days.

There's some useful additional context here. The same listing was $714.99 very recently, so the latest reduction takes another $40 off.

For more savings, these are the best business laptop deals we've found this week.

Should you buy it?

Buy the Acer Aspire Go 15 if...

If you want a Windows laptop with lots of memory for work, heavy multitasking or running numerous applications simultaneously, $674.99 is a really good price. The combination of 48GB RAM, Ryzen 7 processor, Full HD IPS display and upgradable storage gives you plenty to work with.

Skip the Acer Aspire Go 15 if...

If GPU-heavy creative work or maximum battery efficiency are priorities, I'd look elsewhere. The integrated Radeon graphics and older Ryzen architecture make this much more of a productivity machine than a performance laptop.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

48GB RAM is excellent, but it's DDR4 rather than DDR5, the graphics are integrated rather than discrete, and the Ryzen 7 5825U dates from an older AMD generation. The 15.6-inch display is also a straightforward 1920 x 1080 non-touch IPS panel rather than a high-resolution or premium OLED screen.

At 3.92lb, it's portable enough, but there are much lighter laptops available.

Exclusive: ‘The point isn't that it never misunderstands; it's that the user stays in control’ — Plaud tells us why its new AI earbuds want to do more than record your meetings - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 09:00
  • Plaud One records and transcribes calls and conversations, but its broader agent capabilities will arrive in a future update
  • High-stakes actions require approval, while recording is manually triggered, and users are responsible for obtaining consent
  • It features built-in 4G connectivity at no additional cost

It’s certainly an interesting time for AI wearables, with smart glasses in particular attracting a lot of attention — and raising privacy concerns around the potential for users to video people without their permission.

Announced for pre-order today, Plaud One Explorer Edition is a new wearable AI device, primarily aimed at professionals, that's designed to capture your conversations, so that it can produce actions and reports based on the discussions you’re having during your working day

Worn as earbuds or used through its standalone case, Plaud One can capture calls and in-person conversations. Recordings are uploaded automatically for transcription and summarization as they happen, so (in theory at least) you’ll never need to write anything down again.

Plaud One also has agentic capabilities that Plaud says can take actions across tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, Notion and Slack based on your conversations. However, when we quizzed Plaud about exactly what will be available at launch it told us: “Explorer Edition is the complete Plaud One hardware, but broader new Plaud Intelligence agent capabilities will be available in a future update.”

That caveat pushes the agentic features further into the future. So what agent abilities will work at launch, rather than arriving later in App 4.0? I spoke to the Plaud team to find out.

They told me that, “At launch, users can press and hold the Agent Button and speak to the agent. Hands-free 'Hey Plaud' activation through the earbuds is coming in a future firmware update.”

Privacy concerns

Given the obvious privacy concerns, I asked the team if recording is manually triggered, and how other people know it is happening.

“Yes, recording is manually triggered with the press of a button,” they told me. The team didn’t mention any audible or visible indication that recording is taking place, instead placing responsibility on the wearer to inform the people around them: “Plaud encourages users to follow local laws and best practices for recording consent," they added. "Where consent is required, users should inform participants before recording.”

Plaud Agent uses the context of your conversations to identify possible actions, such as preparing a follow-up email after a client meeting or producing a finished report based on a discussion. But can it actually send an email, post to Slack or create a calendar event without confirmation from the user?

“It depends on what the action is”, said the Plaud team. “Anything that changes something or leaves your environment, the agent pauses and asks you first. For example, editing or deleting your files, sending an email on your behalf, pulling in outside data — those always need your approval. Reading and querying your own data inside Plaud is different. That's a closed, trusted environment, so the agent can do that on its own. That's what makes it actually useful. If it had to ask permission to look something up in your own notes, it wouldn't feel like an agent at all.”

What happens when the agent misunderstands a decision?

“The design assumes a misunderstanding can happen, so it's built to be caught before it turns into a wrong action," the team told me. "All higher-stakes actions — changing or deleting internal files, sending an email externally, or calling external data — require the user to approve them manually. So if you spot something the Agent got wrong, you can fix it yourself before it goes anywhere, or ask the Agent to revise it. Nothing high-stakes acts on its own

"On top of that, the Agent's outputs are grounded, not guesswork — they're built from the context the user actually provides, the real transcripts and recordings, so they trace back to what was genuinely said and a misread is easy to spot.

"And as with any AI, we're clear that important outputs should be checked before they're used — the same principle behind the 'AI can make mistakes, please verify' note you see across these tools. The point isn't that it never misunderstands; it's that the user stays in control, and the work stays grounded, reviewable, and correctable.”

That approval system is only one part of how Plaud says the agent will work. To handle different kinds of tasks, Plaud Agent draws on a library of workflows known as Skills, alongside curated collections designed for particular professional roles called Plugins. As well as agentic actions, Plaud Agent can also generate finished work products, from emails to documents and presentations.

Independent of your phone

Interestingly, Plaud One is designed to work independently of your phone thanks to a built-in eSIM and 4G LTE connectivity. That immediately raises another question: will the eSIM require a separate subscription?

The Plaud team told me it will not: “No, Plaud One comes with a built-in eSim, which is provided at no extra cost to the consumer.”

I also asked whether users can inspect, correct and delete the information Plaud retains about them, and the team told me: “Users retain full control over their data. Plaud processes user data to deliver core product functionality, and users can access, correct, export, and delete their data — and withdraw consent — at any time through the Plaud App.”

Finally, I asked if these are fully functional music and calling earbuds, or primarily recording devices, and the team explain that, “The earbuds are recording devices first, capturing what you hear and say, so they can be used for calls. The earbuds also have High-Res LDAC audio, however, Plaud One is first and foremost an AI notetaker.”

Availability

Plaud One is priced at $249.99 / £229 and includes $200 / £150 in Plaud credits; pricing and availability for Australia is TBC. That made me wonder exactly what those credits buy — and how much continued use will cost once they've been spent.

The team did not disclose the ongoing costs, but explained that, “credits are used for the new Agent capabilities across Plaud Intelligence: agent tasks, Routines, Skills and Plugins, and the Artefacts the Agent produces. Everything else about Plaud One works out of the box.”

Pre-orders are open now in the US and UK with shipping of the Explorer Edition expected in Q4 2026.

Forget the IKEA x Xbox collection — you're all sleeping on IKEA's existing cheap gaming range - Thursday, August 27, 2026 - 09:00

The new IKEA x Xbox collection is the talk of Gamescom, and while its absurd thumbstick stool and D-pad cushion might be head-turners, if it's affordable and actually useful gaming kit you're after, then I'd suggest looking at the existing IKEA range. The Swedish homeware titan already makes dozens of gaming-friendly products, including affordable furniture, clever storage solutions and quirky accessories.

I've rounded up my favorites below. I'm a big fan of the Malomrade desk with its built-in monitor arms, straps to stash your peripherals neatly on display, and sit-stand functionality to keep your back happy. In terms of functional storage, standouts are the Brannboll basket with its hinged arms that can turn into a stand or a handle, and the shelving unit from the same range, which has spots for all your kit and can be wheeled to exactly where it's needed.

Scroll down for more excellent gaming gear to tide you over until the official Xbox range drops at the start of October.

IKEA gaming gear — US

Jump straight to the UK range

IKEA Brannboll Shelving Unit on Castors

IKEA Malomrade Sit/stand Gaming Desk w/ Monitor Arms

IKEA Skaftsarv LED Decorative Light

IKEA Brannboll Gaming Lounge Chair

IKEA Huvudspelare Gaming Chair

IKEA Mojlighet Headset/tablet Stand

IKEA Brannboll Gaming Mouse Pad

IKEA Brannboll Inflatable Gaming Lounge Chair

IKEA Brannboll Side Table on Castors

IKEA Brannboll Gaming Easy Chair

IKEA Huvudspelare Gaming Desk

IKEA Brannboll Basket

IKEA Lanespelare Ring Light With Phone Holder

IKEA Loparbana Gaming Chair - Vissle Green

IKEA Lanespelare Accessories Stand

IKEA Kabbleka LED Lighting Strip With USB

IKEA Styrspel Gaming Chair

IKEA Övning Multifunctional Ergonomic Footrest

IKEA gaming gear — UK

IKEA Skaftsarv LED Decoration Lighting

IKEA Huvudspelare Gaming Chair

IKEA Brannboll Basket

IKEA Loparbana Gaming Chair

IKEA Brannboll Shelving Unit on Castors

IKEA Fredde Gaming Desk

IKEA Brannboll Gaming Lounge Chair

IKEA Blaskata Gaming Mouse Pad

IKEA Brannboll Side Table on Castors

IKEA Styrspel Gaming Chair

IKEA Mojlighet Headset/tablet Stand

IKEA Matchspel Gaming Chair

IKEA Huvudspelare Gaming Desk

IKEA Lanespelare Ring Light With Phone Holder

IKEA Brannboll Inflatable Gaming Lounge Chair

IKEA Malomrade Sit/stand Gaming Desk w/ Monitor Arms

IKEA Lanespelare Accessories Stand

IKEA Brannboll Gaming Mouse Pad

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