News
- Lenovo quietly launches powerful Strix Halo mini PC with AI focus in China
- Ryzen AI Max+ 395 delivers 126 TOPS performance in compact size
- 128GB RAM and 4TB storage mean it will suit both creative and AI workloads
Lenovo has introduced a compact new system powered by AMD’s most powerful consumer APU to date, the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 “Strix Halo.”
Part of the LCFC AI Mini PC lineup, this machine, now on sale via JD.com in China, combines workstation-class specs with a desktop-friendly footprint that targets AI developers, content creators, and power users.
At the device's core is AMD’s new Ryzen AI Max+ 395 APU, featuring 16 Zen 5 CPU cores, 32 threads, and an RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 8060S integrated GPU with 40 Compute Units. It also includes a dedicated NPU delivering up to 50 TOPS. Taken together, the CPU, GPU, and NPU provide up to 126 TOPS of AI performance, which is enough to run LLMs and other AI workloads locally.
China-only for nowDesigned for AI tasks, creative workflows, and high-performance gaming, the LCFC system features 128GB of LPDDR5X-8000 memory, which is more than you'll find in many full-sized gaming rigs, and supports two M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 SSDs, each with up to 2TB capacity, for a total of 4TB of high-speed storage.
Although it’s described as a mini PC, at roughly 9.7 x 7.4 x 3.8 inches, it’s firmly in the SFF (Small Form Factor) category; compact enough for tight workspaces while still offering powerful internals.
Connectivity includes a 1GbE Ethernet port and built-in Wi-Fi, although it does not appear to support Wi-Fi 6. The I/O selection includes one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, two USB 2.0 ports, one USB Type-C, HDMI 1.4, and DisplayPort 1.4.
While the DisplayPort is useful, the HDMI 1.4 output is a drawback, as it lacks support for 4K at 120Hz, something expected in modern high-end systems.
The LCFC AI Mini PC is reportedly priced at ¥13,989 in China, which converts to approximately $1,946. That places it in the high-end category, although it's still competitively priced given its workstation-grade specs and AI abilities.
Given the rising demand for compact PCs capable of running AI models locally, there's likely to be international interest should Lenovo decide to make its new system more widely available. For now, however, it appears to be exclusive to the Chinese market.
Via TweakTown
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- A huge dataset has been discovered unsecured online by researchers
- This contained roughly 4 billion records - including personal information
- The data could potentially be part of a surveillance effort targeting Chinese citizens
An open instance containing "billions upon billions” of exposed records has been discovered online by cybersecurity researchers - and millions of people could be at risk as a result.
Researcher at Cybernews worked with cybersecurity researcher and owner of cyber risk and data protection site SecurityDiscovery.com to uncover a huge database without a password, leaking 631GB of information, equating to roughly 4 billion records.
The dataset primarily consists of Chinese customers and users from a range of different sources, in what the Cybernews research teams believed is a “meticulously gathered and maintained” database designed to build “comprehensive behavioral, economic, and social profiles of nearly any Chinese citizen.”
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A surveillance effortThis could be part of a surveillance project, researchers argue, and there are plenty of ways that a threat actor could exploit this information, such as social engineering attacks, identity theft, fraud or even blackmail.
“The sheer volume and diversity of data types in this leak suggests that this was likely a centralized aggregation point, potentially maintained for surveillance, profiling, or data enrichment purposes,” the team observed.
The instance was “”quickly taken down” after it was discovered, but it’s not known how long it was open for. Unsurprisingly for suspected surveillance data, the information contains PII like full names, dates of birth, and phone numbers, as well as financial data like card numbers, debt and saving information, and spending habits.
The largest collection of records most likely came from WeChat, a Chinese alternative to WhatsApp, with over 805 million records exposed.
Close behind was a collection of residential data “with geographic identifiers” with 780 million, and a collection named “bank” of 630 million records, primarily with financial and personally identifiable information.
If this data breach is as large as it seems, it contains over a billion records more than the National Public Data breach, which was recently reported as one of the largest data breaches ever.
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- Billions of credentials were stolen from businesses around the world in 2024
- Google’s Gemini 2.5 Pro is getting an update to improve its coding
- The update fixes previous issues with formatting and coherence
- The model is expected to become Gemini Pro’s first official stable release
Google's rapid rollout of new models of Gemini is continuing apace, but the latest version of Gemini 2.5 Pro has some notable improvements that the company claims will put it in play for a while as the first “long-term stable release.” The upgrade also patches up some of the issues that might currently frustrate Gemini Pro users.
For now, the model is still in beta, unlike its friskier sibling, Gemini 2.5 Flash. Gemini Pro 2.5 has reportedly taken longer and dealt with some complicated issues around regressions in conversation that made the AI model seem somewhat underpowered as a brain. Those issues have apparently been resolved, with Google bragging about the coding capabilities of the new model in particular. It's outscored rival models on the Aider Polyglot benchmark, a multi-language coding test popular for measuring AI model software composition.
The updated model also offers developers what Google calls “configurable thinking budgets.” These are essentially a way to fine-tune how much computing power Gemini uses to answer complex queries so that you don't use up all of your credits building an app in one go. It’s already available through Google AI Studio and Vertex AI, and will likely become part of Gemini as a whole in the near future.
Gemini Pro powerAnd it's not just a technical whiz. Gemini Pro has faced complaints of lacking the same creative and conversational flair of its fellow Gemini models, failing to impress outside of technical tasks. The writing and formatting could get sloppy, and long-form responses tended to ramble or circle back on themselves. Google says it’s fixed that issue, with correct formatting, more nuanced writing, and no trailing off mid-response.
All of those upgrades lead to why Google has declared this version of Gemini Pro to be a long-term, stable model, at least for now. For developers and enterprise users, that kind of certainty is valuable in its own right, just as much as regular upgrades.
The new model will have an impact on Gemini users outside of the office, too. The same improvements to formatting, memory, and contextual understanding will likely be incorporated into the public-facing version of Gemini just to keep things neat. And it fits with Google's strategy to embed Gemini everywhere and encourage everyone to use it for any of their AI needs. Gemini Flash is the default option for those not paying a subscription fee for Gemini. Gemini Nano handles AI for Android devices, but Gemini Pro is intended to be the flagship model, the one that impresses everyone.
Google will definitely try to live up to that vision with the new model, but the competition has hardly gone away. OpenAI, Anthropic, and even Apple are all racing to be on top of the AI model game. Gemini 2.5 Pro proves Google won't be falling behind any time soon, at least now that it's stopped regressing.
You might also like- Unihertz Titan 2 brings back the QWERTY keyboard with an impressive 512GB upgrade
- The Titan 2 is not for everyone, but that’s exactly its strongest selling point
- This phone brings back business-class typing and storage in a tank-like body
Unihertz has announced a Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming rugged smartphone, the Titan 2.
In a 16-second ad released by Unihertz, the company said, “We are getting ready for our Kickstarter in June,” offering a first look at a device that feels both familiar and ambitious.
The ad reveals the Titan 2 follows the original Uniherz Titan and the Titan Slim, continuing the brand’s focus on rugged smartphones with physical QWERTY keyboards.
A familiar form factor with rugged credentialsWith its square screen and hardware keys, the Titan 2 clearly echoes the BlackBerry era, when such designs were synonymous with business productivity and communication.
The new model appears to be a wider, flat-edged version of the Titan Slim, lacking the curved top and bottom design found on the original Titan.
Though detailed specifications remain scarce, Unihertz confirmed to TechRadar Pro that the commercial version of the Titan 2 will offer a substantial 512GB of internal storage.
This marks a significant upgrade from previous iterations, particularly the 2019 Unihertz Titan, which shipped with 128GB of storage, 6GB of RAM, and a MediaTek Helio P60 processor.
The original Titan was notable for its 4.5-inch 1440x1440 display, global LTE support, NFC capability, and 6,000mAh battery, all packed into a bulky 305g chassis with IP67 water and dust resistance.
The Titan and Titan Slim were never aimed at mainstream users. Instead, they targeted those seeking something unconventional.
The Titan 2 now seems poised to build on that lineage, with greater storage and a refreshed design, while remaining firmly rooted in the company’s niche aesthetic and utilitarian philosophy.
This business smartphone does not appear to be a contender for mass-market dominance. However, its physical QWERTY keyboard could appeal to professionals who value tactile input for communication-heavy workflows.
That said, this device is undeniably a niche product, and physical keyboards have long fallen out of fashion.
The Titan 2 will need to prove that nostalgia and rugged durability can coexist with modern expectations, otherwise, it will remain a niche offering.
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- Seagate NVMe HDDs may unify storage protocols, but don’t expect speed records
- Enterprise systems might love NVMe HDDs, but gamers and creators won’t benefit anytime soon
- NVMe brings storage consistency, but SAS still holds its ground in raw performance terms
Seagate Technology demonstrated a prototype hard drive at Computex 2025 that utilizes NVMe, a storage protocol typically found in SSDs.
According to PCwatch, the demonstration featured a combination of NVMe SSDs and HDDs using NVMe-oF (NVMe over Fabrics) to communicate over Ethernet.
While the hybrid interface showcased potential for data centers, it remains unclear whether this shift will be feasible for personal computers.
NVMe integration marks a shift in storage interfaces, not performanceColin Pressley, Seagate's Head of Customer Success, noted, “We have already natively integrated PCIe into our HDD controllers,” signaling a major architectural shift.
The prototype drive supports both NVMe and SAS connections, offering flexibility during what could be a lengthy transition.
However, Pressley was quick to manage expectations: “There are almost no benefits in terms of performance. The latest SAS provides sufficient performance, and just because it becomes NVMe doesn't mean that there is a major improvement.”
For consumers searching for the best HDD, or even the fastest external HDD, NVMe support offers little immediate benefit.
The real promise lies not in speed, but in unification. With SSDs already running on NVMe, bringing HDDs under the same protocol simplifies driver requirements and software architecture.
Importantly, the NVMe-compatible HDD is not based on a proprietary standard. Instead, it follows a formalized version of the NVMe specification, which now includes commands tailored to mechanical drives, such as spin-up protocols.
This adherence to open standards increases the likelihood of broader industry adoption, especially in enterprise environments where consistency is crucial.
However, NVMe HDDs are unlikely to become available to the general public anytime soon. According to Pressley and Seagate, it may take five to ten years for hard drives to fully transition from SATA/SAS to NVMe.
That timeline mirrors previous transitions, like the shift from IDE to SATA, where new standards gradually replaced legacy interfaces.
While this progression seems inevitable for data centers, consumer desktops and laptops are a different story.
Most consumer systems today still rely on SATA for bulk storage, often pairing the largest HDD available with a faster SSD for boot and application performance.
Until motherboard chipsets eliminate SATA support altogether, a shift not expected for at least another decade, NVMe HDDs are unlikely to become mainstream in home PCs.
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- Death Stranding 2: On the Beach got a new trailer at Summer Game Fest
- The trailer featured actors Luca Marinelli and Alissa Jung portraying their characters
- The game is set to release on June 26, 2025
Ahead of the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach later this month, Kojima Productions has shared a brand new look at the game.
During the Summer Game Fest 2025 broadcast, Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima took to the stage alongside host Geoff Keighley to showcase an exclusive scene from the upcoming game.
The cutscene featured two new characters, Neil, played by Luca Marinelli, and Lucy, played by Alissa Jung. It's difficult to determine the context of the scene, but Neil can be seen attending a meeting with Lucy, as if strangers, before it's revealed that the pair share a past.
According to Kojima, Neil and Lucy share a "deep connection" that will play out throughout the story.
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is set to launch on June 26, 2025, for PlayStation 5.
There's also a brand new limited edition DualSense Wireless Controller inspired by Death Stranding 2, which will release alongside the game.
You might also like...- Nvidia ditches the main floor but hijacks the spotlight with Grace Blackwell-powered AI machines
- Nvidia DGX Spark delivers 1,000 TOPS in a mini PC that targets serious AI developers and coders
- Nvidia DGX Station boasts a 72-core CPU and 288GB HBM3e GPU memory
At Computex 2025, Nvidia took a somewhat unconventional route by sidestepping the main exhibition floor and instead hosting its own “GTC Taipei” event at a nearby hotel.
There, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivered a trio of keynote speeches at the event, unveiling new AI-focused hardware. Among the biggest announcements were two devices: the DGX Spark, a compact mini PC aimed at AI developers, and the DGX Station, a more powerful workstation-class system.
Though Nvidia-branded units were showcased, the real surprise was the range of OEM partners joining the initiative, with 11 models expected across the Spark and Station lines.
Nvidia DGX SparkImage 1 of 7(Image credit: PCWatch)Image 2 of 7(Image credit: PCWatch)Image 3 of 7(Image credit: PCWatch)Image 4 of 7(Image credit: PCWatch)Image 5 of 7(Image credit: PCWatch)Image 6 of 7(Image credit: PCWatch)Image 7 of 7(Image credit: PCWatch)The DGX Spark is built around the new Nvidia GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip, which combines a 20-core Arm CPU co-developed with MediaTek (featuring 10 Cortex-X295 and 10 Cortex-X725 cores) and a GPU based on Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture.
Designed for developers, the device delivers up to 1,000 TOPS (FP4/sparse) of performance and ships with a Linux-based DGX OS, Nvidia’s AI development suite also used in its data center platforms like Blackwell and Hopper.
Several partners, including Acer, Asus, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo, and MSI, had models on display. At first glance, however, the only visible differences were in the external design.
No internal teardowns were permitted during the event, raising a valid question: how different are these OEM versions beyond aesthetics?
While the DGX Spark promises to be a strong contender for the title of best mobile workstation for AI development, potential buyers may want to wait for detailed reviews before making a purchase.
Nvidia DGX StationImage 1 of 4(Image credit: PCWatch)Image 2 of 4(Image credit: PCWatch)Image 3 of 4(Image credit: PCWatch)Image 4 of 4(Image credit: PCWatch)The DGX Station, aimed more directly at professionals needing high-end workstation PCs, features the GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra Desktop Superchip.
It comes equipped with 288GB of HBM3e memory on the GPU and a 72-core Neoverse V2 CPU paired with 496GB of LPDDR5X RAM, making it far from an ordinary desktop.
Like the Spark, it runs on DGX OS and supports Nvidia’s full AI development stack.
The DGX Station board shown at the exhibition was a mockup, though the actual product was displayed during a separate session.
Still, questions remain about how finalized the systems are, especially since full availability isn't expected until late 2025.
Notably, the DGX Station will only be available through OEMs, with Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and Supermicro leading the rollout.
This fragmented distribution model could introduce variation in build quality and thermal performance, critical factors for users seeking the best workstation PC.
Via PCWatch
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The presence of AI in music is on the rise, and there are plenty of questions about whether that's a good thing or not. Of course, the music business is a business, so the real question is whether it can be a success, not whether the quality matches human artists. The incredibly successful musical artist and producer Timbaland is going to find out for himself.
Timbaland has signed an AI pop act named TaTa to his new company Stage Zero, according to Billboard. The first performer for an AI-powered music genre he's named “A-Pop,” TaTa was created in a partnership with AI music platform Suno, a company Timbaland has worked with before. According to a statement to Billboard, Timbaland thinks of TaTa as far more than just a more complex auto-tune tied to a chatbot. TaTa is “a living, learning, autonomous music artist.”
I get the appeal of AI for someone like Timbaland. He’s a producer. His talent allows him to hear the possibilities for a song or artist before they are fully formed. And AI tools like Suno and its various rivals, like Udio, can generate catchy melodies, layered harmonies, and even full songs in just a few minutes. What took days now takes hours, and what took months now takes days. AI music production is fast, consistent, and never a diva about its lunch order.
But, so what? That might be fine for elevator music or background music in a million insurance commercials, but that's not what Timbaland is pitching. Music that people listen to for fun or for the feelings may have been created in a burst of inspiration and a dream, like "Let It Be" was for Paul McCartney, but far more often, an album is the result of a lot of hard work, experiments, failures, and emotion. Consistency is what you want from fast food, but music shouldn't be that way. Sometimes a song is amazing, and sometimes it's bad, but that's better than dully competent.
It's like with AI writing. Usually it's very competent and accurate, but supremely dull and lacking imagination. Sure, a good set of prompts can provoke something more imaginative, but even that's ultimately from the prompt; the AI just stitches together the rest from whatever good idea appeared in the prompt.
It's not like AI music is always going to be bad. Timbaland is keen to point out that TaTa is not just an avatar, but a model able to learn. But, say TaTa has twenty thousand great pop songs to learn from. It may perform something that sounds just as good, but really will be exactly the average.
I think we often confuse technical ability with artistry. AI can write lyrics and generate beats and melodies. But it doesn’t understand what it's writing, and I think you can tell in the best music the intention behind the singing. It’s the difference between cooking from a recipe and cooking from memory. Both result in a nice meal, but one has a story behind it to enhance the flavor.
AI PopI think AI has a place in music. I really like how it can help the average person without technical or musical skills produce a song. Anyone with an idea can make a song without a whole team or a record label behind them. But, ultimately, it's the idea and the person providing it that make or break a song. AI should be a tool, even a collaborator, but I don't think it should be the whole act. That's not helping humans make better music; that's just replacing them. We’re replacing them with algorithms and calling it progress.
Timbaland says TaTa is the first of a new generation of musical acts. That might be true, as there's certainly a lot of AI-generated music on streaming platforms now. We may soon see AI artists on half of the Top 40, all optimized for TikTok loops. But I question how many of them will be considered the best music around.
Even as AI keeps getting better, more convincing, and more nuanced, I think real voices and songs will stand out. Timbaland could make a lot of money from TaTa, because he's that talented a producer. But I’d rather hear what he does collaborating with a young artist who's come up with a great hook and lyrics for a chorus.
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