Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Tech News for August 21, 2026
101 stories clustered from across the web on August 21, 2026.
Cris Tolomia / Quartz:
Walmart ends 11-year tap-to-pay refusal, rolling out Apple Pay and contactless payments to all US stores
More: ZDNET, Android Police · 3 sources
Nena Farrell / Wired:
Labor Day outdoor deals discount camping gear from Coleman, Yeti, Ninja
More: Mashable Tech · 2 sources
Matthias Bastian / The Decoder:
Anthropic deploys Claude Mythos 5 for cybersecurity defense
More: The Next Web, Hacker News · 3 sources
Jonathan O'Callaghan / MIT Technology Review:
Reflect Orbital's space mirror plan could brighten night sky for millions, study warns
More: MIT Technology Review · 2 sources
Benoit Berthelot, Rebecca Torrence and Ian King / Bloomberg Technology:
Nvidia pays Poolside $6 billion to license model factory and hire 109 staff
More: The Next Web, The Decoder · 3 sources
Mark Bergen / Bloomberg Technology:
UK bets on a boom in AI chip newcomers with government funding
1 source
Adi Robertson / The Verge:
Spa Weekend's only saving grace is its blooper reel
More: Mashable Tech · 2 sources
Bloomberg Technology:
Early Anthropic investor Anjney Midha blasts traditional venture capital for missing AI revolution
1 source
Bloomberg Technology:
Brands hope AI-powered sizing tools can solve online shopping's fit problem
1 source
The day's tech news, in one email
Same clustering you are reading now. Daily or weekly, unsubscribe in one click.
Sara Sjolin / Bloomberg Technology:
Danfoss expects data center cooling sales to double as AI boom drives demand for chip cooling equipment
1 source
Stephen Clark / Ars Technica:
SpaceX makes its mark on the Moon; ULA names new boss
1 source
Joel Khalili, Matt Burgess / Wired:
Greater Manchester refuses Palantir health contract, insists on doing better itself
1 source
Martin Alfonsin Larsen and Ashleigh Furlong / Bloomberg Technology:
Stevenage braces for economic impact as GSK moves research to Cambridge
1 source
Antonio Regalado / MIT Technology Review:
When AI designs a drug, who gets the credit? Insilico Medicine case raises questions
1 source
Dina Bass / Bloomberg Technology:
Anthropic hires Google chip veteran Amir Salek to lead push into custom semiconductors
1 source
Brody Ford / Bloomberg Technology:
Salesforce and ServiceNow fight AI fears with buybacks and bluster
1 source
Ej Dickson / Wired:
Patrick Clancy conspiracy theories rooted in harsh realities of motherhood
1 source
John Brandon / Wired:
Nyrius Phoenix Home True 4K60 (2026) reviewed as a solution for cord clutter
1 source
Victoria Song / The Verge:
My big, fat, technophobic cat
1 source
Boutayna Chokrane / Wired:
Wired tests and ranks the 5 best electric toothbrushes of 2026, including Philips and Oral-B
1 source
Bloomberg Technology:
Samsung Plans to Return Up to $79 Billion to Shareholders
1 source
Marina Temkin / TechCrunch:
AI data startup Micro1 reaches $500M gross run rate amid AI training boom
1 source
Shona Ghosh / Bloomberg Technology:
Europe hands out state subsidies to fund domestic AI companies
1 source
Sophie Charara / Wired:
Influencers and resellers turn empty luxury boxes into cash as authenticity demand grows online
1 source
Bloomberg Technology:
Bloomberg argues the US stock market's boom will likely bust before the end of 2027
1 source
Julie Bort / TechCrunch:
Nvidia research shows AI agent harness fine-tuning, not model, is key to performance
1 source
Bloomberg Technology:
AI industry misjudged public backlash, focusing on extinction fears while users fret over job loss and privacy
1 source
Emily Chang and Brad Stone / Bloomberg Technology:
Emily Chang to hold live Q&A on interviewing tech's biggest names
1 source
Takashi Mochizuki / Bloomberg Technology:
Fujifilm expands chip material production to meet AI demand
1 source
Bloomberg Technology:
Phancy Group's Tseng Says AI Demand to Drive Growth
1 source
John Timmer / Ars Technica:
Thunderstorms and fiber-optic cables used for seismic imaging of subsurface features
1 source
Rafe Rosner Uddin in San Francisco and Michael Taffe in New York / Ars Technica:
Waymo doubles lobbying spending in robotaxi battle with Uber
1 source
Bloomberg Technology:
Odd Lots: Why Many Communities Are Skeptical of the AI Boom
1 source
Vlad Savov / Bloomberg Technology:
Samsung regains top smartphone market position in 2026, Counterpoint says
1 source
Charles Pulliam-Moore / The Verge:
Major YouTube creators face backlash for promoting AI platform Higgsfield
1 source
Rebecca Bellan / TechCrunch:
Anthropic's Opus 4.6 model easily bypasses restrictions to generate explicit content
1 source
Bloomberg Technology:
KPMG chief economist Swonk says Fed independence and inflation key for Jackson Hole
1 source
Bloomberg Technology:
Khosla Ventures backs AI science startup Discovery Loop founded by former Google leaders
1 source
Bloomberg Technology:
Q&A with chip engineer Tsu-Jae King Liu on Nvidia and AI energy needs
1 source
Bloomberg Technology:
ITG CFO says company is the 'picks and shovels' of the AI boom
1 source
Felix Tam and Rachel Yeo / Bloomberg Technology:
CXMT and AI hardware firms drive China earnings season amid AI push
1 source
Amy Bainbridge and Matthew Burgess / Bloomberg Technology:
Alphabet Bond Buyer Warns on Australia’s Capacity for AI Debt
1 source
Satviki Sanjay / Bloomberg Technology:
Elon Musk pitches Starlink for India's rural users amid stalled launch
1 source
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch:
Senator Wyden requests review of FBI, DEA, ICE, Secret Service use of hacking tools and spyware
1 source
Jeremy Hsu / Ars Technica:
Fighter jets help destroy Russian drone boat near European offshore gas platform
1 source
Stephen Clark / Ars Technica:
Trump's space transportation policy calls for new spaceport on federal land
1 source
Ram Anand / Bloomberg Technology:
Johor attracts $1.2B in investment bids after Singapore visit
1 source
Takashi Mochizuki / Bloomberg Technology:
Japan earmarks another $944 million for Rapidus in AI chip race
1 source
CNBC Technology:
New York overtakes San Francisco as top tech talent market, driven by AI hiring, CBRE says
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Tesla discontinues Solar Roof tiles; analysis explores what went wrong
More: TechCrunch, Gizmodo · 3 sources
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google:
YouTube Premium is getting another round of price hikes, hitting subscribers in multiple countries
Sean O'Kane / TechCrunch:
US government lab probes Chinese lidar systems for security vulnerabilities
More: Gizmodo · 2 sources
Newley Purnell and Luz Ding / Bloomberg Technology:
DeepSeek releases experimental V4-Flash-Vision-Exp model that rivals Anthropic's Opus 4.8 on agent benchmarks
Tom Power / TechRadar:
7 new movies and TV shows to watch on Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max, and more this weekend (August 21)
More: MakeUseOf, How-To Geek · 3 sources
Yoolim Lee / Bloomberg Technology:
Nvidia in talks with Korean AI chip startup Rebellions for investment or acquisition
More: The Next Web · 2 sources
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Nevada approves permits for up to 8,000 robotaxis from Tesla, Uber, and Waymo
More: Engadget · 2 sources
Brad Bourque / The Verge:
Best Buy sells $100 gift cards for $60 in 60th anniversary in-store sale
More: Mashable Tech · 2 sources
Ajay Kumar / CNET:
Xbox Series X25 Limited Edition pricing confirmed at $899.99 as console costs climb
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Walmart ends 11-year tap-to-pay refusal, accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay from August 24
Josh Sisco and Alexandra S. Levine / Bloomberg Technology:
DOJ and TikTok settle children's privacy suit for $400 million
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Blue Eye Samurai season 2 hits Netflix in January; season 3 confirmed as final
Bloomberg Technology:
Broadcom seeks upwards of $80B in debt for AI chip financing deal benefiting Anthropic
Juli Clover / MacRumors:
iPhone 18 Pro rumors: design differentiation, colors, and how it stands out from prior models
Kourtnee Jackson / CNET:
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2 gets release date and brutal new trailer
Andrew Liszewski / The Verge:
Genki launches Manta customizable controller with large LCD screen and adjustable buttons
More: IGN · 2 sources
Molly Taft / Wired:
'Off the Charts' El Niño already strongest on record, but won't fix West's water crisis, experts warn
More: Slashdot · 2 sources
Willa Rowe / Polygon:
Avengers: Endgame Encore runtime revealed, adding just 4 minutes of new footage to tie into Doomsday
Germain Lussier / Gizmodo:
Masters of the Universe becomes massive streaming hit, fueling sequel hopes
Brody Ford and Ian King / Bloomberg Technology:
Nvidia locks DRAM deals with SK hynix and Micron as memory shortage drives 15% price hikes
More: Wccftech · 2 sources
The Register:
Microsoft patches 'Perfect 10' Entra ID flaw that could allow remote code execution
Mark Tyson / Tom's Hardware:
Slovakia discovers Russian backdoors in 279 traffic cameras with SMS-triggered shell access
More: Slashdot, Hacker News · 3 sources
Hassam Nasir / Tom's Hardware:
Nintendo goes nuclear on Switch emulators again, taking down over 400 GitHub repos
Elijah Gonzalez / Polygon:
Double Fine regains ownership of IP and publishing rights after leaving Xbox
Germain Lussier / Gizmodo:
DC's Jimmy Olsen TV show gets official title The People v. Gorilla Grodd, cast revealed
Jay Peters / The Verge:
Users mash LinkedIn's AI slop button over 1 million times in 3 weeks
Stevie Bonifield / The Verge:
GTA 6 leaker drops new nudity-filled gameplay, polls on story spoilers despite Take-Two subpoenas
The Register:
Linus Torvalds uses AI to fix a Linux kernel bug, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses
Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch:
Apollo confirms data breach after social engineering attack, hackers spent four days in cloud platforms
Lucas Ropek / TechCrunch:
Nvidia takes minority stake in Cloverleaf Infrastructure, third land and power company this month
Julian Hast / Bloomberg Technology:
SpaceX is hiring a natural gas trader to support rocket and chip fuel needs
More: The Next Web · 2 sources
The Register:
SickKids data breach exposes employee and job applicant info; hospital hit again by cyberattacks
More: TechRadar, BleepingComputer · 3 sources
Mashable Tech:
TCL NXTPAPER 11 Gen 2 drops to $159.97 as back-to-school sale continues
More: Android Authority, Gizmodo · 3 sources
Akshay Gangwar / Android Authority:
Google's AI-first Googlebook laptop nears release, aims to avoid Copilot+ PC pitfalls
More: ZDNET, XDA Developers · 3 sources
Ana-Maria Stanciuc / The Next Web:
Trump signs memo to clear path for over 1,000 space launches per year by 2030, accelerating Mars missions
Ian Carlos Campbell / Engadget:
Take-Two subpoenas Microsoft, Discord, and X in hunt for GTA 6 leaker; Discord says it will evaluate validity
Ryan Christoffel / 9to5Mac:
Apple Watch Series 12 rumored for next month release; Watch 11 on sale for $299
Mitchel Broussard / MacRumors:
Labor Day deals on Anker, Sony, Samsung, and more accessories live now alongside early TV sales
More: ZDNET, Mashable Tech · 4 sources
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
Pebble Time 2 smartwatch offers playful e-paper display and weeks of battery life at $225
Charlotte Hughes-Morgan / Bloomberg Technology:
Uber fined nearly $1 billion for automated driver suspensions without human review
The Hacker News / The Hacker News:
Android car malware infects head units and pulls devices into hidden proxy network
Omkar Godbole / CoinDesk:
Druckenmiller slams Bessent's bond buyback plan as doomed price management; Bitcoin surges
Eric Berger / Ars Technica:
China calls off Chang'e 7 Moon mission a day before launch, citing conditions
Ryan Whitwam / Ars Technica:
Motorola confirms official GrapheneOS support for 2027 flagship phones
Diego Nicolás Argüello / The Guardian Tech:
Metal Gear Solid partners with cat merch for limited-time collaboration at CatCon
Bloomberg Technology:
Humanoid robots beat Usain Bolt's 100m record at World Humanoid Robot Games; some burst into flames
Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge:
Pixel 11 doesn't record your life; it records the version you wish had happened, Android Police argues
More: Android Police, Android Authority · 4 sources
Jorge Garay / Wired:
August partial lunar eclipse and Blood Moon visible tonight; how to photograph with iPhone
Sohee Kim / Bloomberg Technology:
Z.AI's Ox Alpha model ran on Chinese chips all along, company confirms
More from SaveDelete