Christian de Looper
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Articles by Christian de Looper
Google takes its TPUs outside Google Cloud
0 In sum – what to know: A wider distribution model – Google has gone from selling TPUs to a select group of customers to letting Oracle, the first rival hyperscaler, resell them from 2027. Anthropic-heavy demand – Anthropic’s IPO filing commits it to at least $114.5 billion of spending with Google through July 2033, and it underpins the $63 billion financing package.
Sonos Ace Ultra Review: A Classy Rival to Sony and Bose Headphones
I'm happy to see that the Ace Ultra follows the design language of the original Ace pretty closely. It's a clean, modern-looking pair of over-ear headphones with a reinforced headband and plush rebound-foam cushions on the earcups. It comes in four matte finishes—Black and Soft White are widely available, while Agave and Sand are sold through Sonos and select retailers.
Direct-to-device leaves the lab as Orange, Skylo and Kyivstar sell continuity
2 Continuity over capacity – Orange found demand for always-on satellite messaging even in territories with near-complete terrestrial coverage, and resilience after this summer’s fires outranked the original business case. The stack, end to end – Skylo’s NB-NTN service runs through Orange’s core, billing and provisioning up to the Pixel handset, with the customer relationship explicitly staying Orange’s.
Sonos Beam Ultra Review: Immersive Audio Without the Extra Speakers
The Sonos Beam is going Ultra. The Beam (Gen 2) has long been one of the best soundbars at the $500 price point, for those who want a blend of solid audio, smart features, and a sleek design. Now, there’s a new model that offers a little more Beam. The Sonos Beam Ultra ($699) gives those who want a Sonos soundbar a new option if they're willing to spend a little more for better sound, but who don’t want to shell out the $1,099 for the Arc Ultra.
Introducing the Anker Eufy Video Doorbell S4 – A Review
If you buy through our links we may earn a commission. It never changes what we recommend.Learn more › If you already have doorbell wiring and you want the widest field of view available in a video doorbell without committing to a monthly subscription, the S4 is absolutely worth considering. Tested Anker has been building up some of the better security cameras and smart doorbells through its Eufy brand, which is now being pulled into the new unified Anker name.
Bose Sport Open Earbuds (2026) Review: Open-Ear Audio for Athletes
Bose already makes some of the top open-ear wireless earbuds you can buy with the $299 Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen), but those lean toward everyday listening rather than exercise—which is one of the best uses of open earbuds in general. The $199 Bose Sport Open Earbuds bring the concept to runners and gym-goers who want music without sacrificing awareness of their surroundings.
Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) Review: Premium Sound Without Shutting Out the World
The original Bose Ultra Open Earbuds helped popularize the cuff-style open-ear category when they launched in 2024, offering personal audio without plugging your ear canals and letting you hear the outside world around you. The category has gotten a lot more crowded since then, with cheaper clip-on alternatives such as the Anker Soundcore C30i ($69.99) and the Nothing Ear (Open) ($149.99). Now, Bose is back with a new model: the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen).
Monetizing 6G: sensing first, gigabits second
2 A sensing-first revenue path – Keysight’s Stephen Douglas said integrated sensing has probably become the dominant early use case, with a subscription service planned for 2027. Named the customer first – Ericsson’s Preeti Nagarajan and BT’s Rana Kamill argued operators should establish the problem and who pays for it before setting network requirements.
Philips Ambilight 7985 TV Review
Pros No Ambilight setup required Roku is easy to use Good value Cons Image quality is average Underwhelming audio About the Philips 7985 Series Ambilight TV Dimensions (65-inch, with stand): 56.9 x 35.3 x 11.8 inches (W x H x D) Weight (65-inch, with stand): 33.5 pounds Resolution: 4K (3,840 x 2,160) Display type: QLED (quantum dot) LCD with direct-LED backlight Panel type: VA HDR support: HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision Native refresh rate: 60Hz Smart platform: Roku OS HDMI: 4x HDMI 2.0, with...
Sony WH-1000XM4C Review: A Familiar Favorite, Still With Superb Sound
Sony is bringing back a legend. The Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones were some of the most beloved in the series. With prices of newer models rising, it seems Sony is ready to bring them back, and for less cash. The Sony WH-1000XM4C headphones aren't an exact reproduction of the original XM4, but they're pretty close.
6G ISAC pushes channel modeling past statistical averages
1 Two different questions – Standardized stochastic models benchmark a class of environments, while an RF digital twin predicts how a system behaves at one real site. ISAC raises the bar – Sensing turns multipath into data, adding detection, range, velocity, angle and tracking metrics that must stay physically consistent. Field trials get leaner – Validated twins and emulation let engineers test more scenarios earlier, leaving field measurements to confirm rather than discover.
Google Fitbit Edge Review: No-Frills Health Tracking Original
Google Fitbit Edge Review: No-Frills Health Tracking Christian de Looper/BGR Slowly but surely, Fitbit is becoming part of the Google family. Google purchased Fitbit in 2021 for $2.1 billion, and since then, it has integrated new Fitbit devices deeper into Google Health, slowly phasing out the standalone Fitbit services.
Brave the Outdoors and Save 30% Off the Rugged Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra
Smartwatches are likely the handiest bit of bling you own, especially when you can just glance at your wrist instead of your phone when a notification pops up. They can also help you navigate new city streets or help you get your bearings on a hike. And if you do spend a lot of time out in the wilderness, the rugged Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is here to be your new adventure companion. Over at Best Buy, you can grab it for $454.99 right now.
Nvidia commits billions to expand AI substrate, packaging and test capacity
0 In sum – what to know: Six partners, four chokepoints – Nvidia’s agreements with Amkor, IBIDEN, KYEC, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, SPIL and Unimicron span substrates, advanced packaging, testing and co-packaged optics. Front-loaded commitments – Supply and capacity commitments on Nvidia’s books reached $279 billion as of July 26, up from $119 billion one quarter earlier.
Defense panel puts ISAC ahead of the 6G standards clock
1 Wide-area gaps – Weiss said the DoD wants ISAC to track RF-dark targets across broad domestic areas for critical infrastructure protection, not to replace existing radars. Heroic self-interference – An ISAC tower must cancel roughly 140 dB of its own transmitted signal to see small drones returning -10 dBsm echoes. Systems before standards – Anderson argued working deployments should come first, with 3GPP codifying what works while operators need a sensing-as-a-service market to fund it.
6G ubiquity means service on demand, not broadband everywhere
1 Service over bandwidth – Autonomous systems may need reliable kilobits per second rather than gigabits, so different applications should drive different KPIs. Integration over architecture – Legacy infrastructure rules out a single common 6G design, leaving common interfaces, orchestration and AI as the practical path. Unsettled economics – No killer 6G application has emerged, and the business case for covering remote areas still hinges on users willing to pay.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 Review: Iteration Overshadowed By Innovation Original
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 Review: Iteration Overshadowed By Innovation Christian de Looper/BGR It's been a big year for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold line, which was treated to a whole new form factor to compete with the iPhone Duo. The same can't be said of the Galaxy Z Flip. Instead, Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 8 follows much the same formula as the Z Flip devices before it. That's not to say that it doesn't bring some improvements, of course.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 Review: Iteration Overshadowed By Innovation
11 hours ago The Galaxy S26 Ultra is down to $945 in one colorway on Amazon, with S Pen support, Galaxy AI, and a 4.6-star Amazon rating. Add Android Authority on Google: Preferred SourceGoogle Discover The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has dropped to $945 on Amazon, which is a big cut from its $1,399.99 recommended …
NTN’s unsolved problem: proving seamless connectivity on the device
2 Policy-driven handoff – Verizon said seamless NTN means attaching to the right network on cost, capacity and throughput rather than just holding any connection, with enterprise customers demanding more. Standards gaps remain – 3GPP Releases 17 through 20 lock in the NTN architecture for 6G, but roaming and load-sharing between multiple satellite providers still has no standard and depends on non-standard integrations.
Alexa Tablet 12 Pro Review: Amazon Comes Out Swinging At The iPad Original
Alexa Tablet 12 Pro Review: Amazon Comes Out Swinging At The iPad Christian de Looper/BGR Amazon appears ready to fundamentally change how it approaches tablets. The Fire Tablet line has long been known for being dirt cheap, so much so to where it's commonly recommended to parents who want something for their children. That's not a bad thing, of course.
Regulators look to WRC-27 to settle direct-to-device spectrum rules
1 Provision 4.4 – Today’s direct-to-device systems are notified as operations not in conformity with the treaty, so they are unprotected and can be ordered shut down. Three national approaches – Ofcom enabled D2D early, the FCC opened terrestrial bands by order in 2024, and Spain is awaiting WRC-27 before licensing operators with incumbent protection.
6G architecture is looking like 5G made smarter, not a clean slate
1 Standalone first – Panelists agreed 5G standalone, not non-standalone, should anchor 6G, though only about 20% of commercial 5G deployments have gotten there. A new AI domain – 3GPP Release 20 is studying a dedicated AI domain in the 6G core that processes intents from devices and third-party agents alongside a deterministic packet-switched domain.
Alienware 39 5K OLED Gaming Monitor (AW3926QW) Review
Pros Crisp resolution Versatile size and features More affordable than its competitor Cons Brightness is a bit lacking Refresh rate could be better Can reflect some background light Stand can be wobbly depending on adjusted height About the Alienware AW3926QW Price: $1,099.99 Display size: 38.9 inches Resolution: 5,120 x 2,160 pixels Refresh rate: 165Hz native, 330Hz dual mode (2,560 x 1,080) Peak brightness: 1,300 nits HDR support: HDR10, Dolby Vision, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 Color...
NTN is scaling faster than its business case
2 Non-terrestrial networks have moved from proprietary islands to early commercial direct-to-device services in dozens of countries in the space of a few years — and the economics have not kept pace. Operators under pressure to find growth beyond a maturing 5G cycle, consumers and governments that now expect coverage everywhere, falling launch costs and a 3GPP roadmap that has absorbed satellite access are all pulling satellite connectivity in the same direction.
Samsung HW-Q990H Review: The Best-Sounding Soundbar System You Can Buy Right Now
The general design of the HW-Q990H isn't much different compared with last year's model, the HW-Q990F (also $1,999.99). But in this case, that's not a bad thing because you're getting more for the same price. The soundbar, subwoofer, and rear speakers come in an unobtrusive Titan Black finish with metal grilles across the front and top. You do need to plan for the system's size.
Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 Review: Premium Sound, Now With Replaceable Batteries
The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 5 ($299.95) earbuds are priced similarly to the previous generation while adding a slimmer design and a few new features—most notably, user-replaceable batteries in both the earbuds and the charging case. Of course, they're up against some serious competition, including the $329.99 Sony WF-1000XM6, and our two Editors' Choice winners, the $249 Apple AirPods Pro 3 and the $299 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen).
Microsoft unveils Maia 300 and plans multi-gigawatt inference rollout
0 In sum – what we know: Memory-first design – Maia 300 packs 288GB of HBM4 at 18 TB/s across a chiplet layout, matching Nvidia’s Blackwell Ultra while trailing AMD’s 432GB MI455X. A 2027 ramp – Production starts next year with a claimed 40% gain in tokens per megawatt, though Maia 200 only recently expanded beyond two US data centers.
Created by RCR Wireless News. Telecom Industry editorial excellence since 1982
0 In sum – what we know: Same interface, more speed – HBM4E keeps HBM4’s 2,048-bit width and pushes per-pin rates to 14 to 16Gbps for about 3.6TB/s per stack. No standard yet – As of October 2026 the published specs cover HBM4 and SPHBM4, leaving HBM4E a vendor-defined generation with no independent benchmarks. Sold out before it ships – Samsung says 2026 HBM4 volume is effectively sold out, and Micron has much of its 2027 supply locked in at higher prices.
Asus Googlebook 14 Review: For Android, By Android Original
Asus Googlebook 14 Review: For Android, By Android Christian de Looper/BGR Google has been building laptops for a long time now, both through its own hardware and through the incredibly popular ChromeOS operating system that has found success, particularly in education. Now, however, the company seemingly wants to move on from ChromeOS. Recently, it took the wraps off Googlebook OS, a new operating system that's designed to essentially be Android on a laptop, much more so than ChromeOS ever was.
The Best Anker Prime Day Deals Still Available on Chargers, Power Stations, Projectors, Speakers, and More
Anker, one of the biggest and most reliable names in tech has slashed prices on some of their most popular items. From portable power stations, to phone chargers, you can save now on awesome items during and now after Amazon's Big Deal Days.
AI financing is turning fast-moving chips into collateral
0 In sum – what we know: One recurring name – Apollo Global Management is reportedly in discussions on all three financings, alongside Goldman Sachs, Blackstone and banks. Debt outlives the edge – Oracle stretches server useful life to six years while frontier hardware loses its competitiveness in two to three. Custom silicon as collateral – The Broadcom/OpenAI 10-gigawatt program, with Jalapeño still on engineering samples, broadens what lenders are being asked to underwrite.
Mac Mini (M6) Review: Still Great, But A Tougher Sell
Apple 16 hours ago Everything we expect from Apple's Mac and iPad event on October 27 Cult of Mac - Ed Hardy • 16h Apple reportedly has a second major product launch event planned for this month, and this time the spotlight will be on the Mac lineup. The star of the show, supposedly set for October 27, will be the first-ever MacBook Pro with a touchscreen.
Mac Mini (M6) Review: Still Great, But A Tougher Sell Original
Mac Mini (M6) Review: Still Great, But A Tougher Sell Christian de Looper/BGR The Mac mini has been an easy recommendation ever since it adopted Apple Silicon, but the last-generation model, which came with a redesign and an M4 chip, took that to the next level. At $599, I found it to be the perfect option for anyone who wanted a macOS desktop and didn't need the performance on offer by the Mac Studio.
Deutsche Telekom says AI traffic will not drive more mobile uplink capex
2 A narrower “no” – DT isn’t dismissing AI traffic, but says any uplink needs can be absorbed inside its existing RAN-modernization roadmap rather than new spending. Data, not panic – Ericsson finds uplink now outgrows downlink at 43 of 55 operators measured, but credits collaboration apps and cloud storage, not AI, as the drivers. AI spend, different bucket – At its AI Investor Day, DT held its capex guidance while targeting €800 million in B2B AI revenue and €2.5 billion in savings by 2030.
TSMC’s 2nm node arrives, with efficiency as the AI payoff
0 TSMC has begun scaling its first 2nm-class process after entering volume production late last year, turning the shift from FinFET to nanosheet transistors into a commercial reality. N2, as TSMC calls it, is the company’s first production node built around gate-all-around (GAA) transistors — a fundamental change in how the gate controls current through the channel, replacing the FinFET architecture that carried the industry through 3nm.
AI-RAN’s payback is real, but it lives in network operations
2 Where the payoff sits – Energy optimization, alarm-storm root-cause analysis and AI-assisted planning are where operators and vendors see measurable value from AI-RAN today. The forgotten costs – None of the panelists named hardware as the underestimated line item, pointing instead to the skills gap, legacy system integration and lifecycle management.
1Finity says operators should build AI-RAN where a customer is already paying
2 The performance gap – Hughes accepts that ecosystem work is delivering “substantial improvements” in areas like cell-edge uplink throughput, but says operators still struggle to fund a build on those gains alone. Priority before profit – Running enterprise AI alongside the RAN requires policy-driven orchestration that reserves capacity for the network first, then partitions, monitors and bills what’s left.
Nokia sees 2x spectral efficiency by 2028, but Orange is focused on what has to work first
2 A software path to 6G – Nokia said an operator deploying its AI RAN today could reach 6G through a software upgrade alone, without a hardware refresh. Three ways in – The vendor is offering an AirScale capacity card, cloud AI-RAN on off-the-shelf servers, and a standalone accelerated node, all running the same anyRAN software.
General Compute signs multi-year deal to deploy Cerebras wafer-scale inference
0 In sum – what we know: A multibillion-scale commitment – General Compute calls the Cerebras agreement its largest single hardware commitment to date, with customer capacity expected in Q1 2027 and no contract value, system count or power disclosed.
Samsung signs AI-RAN contracts with KT and SK Telecom for Korea’s Hyper AI Network
2 Samsung Electronics has signed contracts with both KT and SK Telecom to participate in South Korea’s government-backed Hyper AI Network program, a two-year initiative designed to test whether private 5G networks and edge AI can support robots doing real industrial work. Samsung says it will serve as the sole global vendor for KT’s project and a main vendor for SKT’s, with field pilots slated to begin in October 2026.
Watch Out, This Oura Ring 4 Is Now 40% Off With Today's Deal
As much as I love a good smart watch, they can sometimes be difficult to wear in certain situations, such as sleeping. The bulkiness of it interferes with my sleep, but I found smart rings to be a great alternative. Not only are they sleeker, but track many of the same metrics that smart watches do. Plus, they're more lowkey if you're looking to pull off a more inconspicuous look. Over at Best Buy, the Oura Ring 4 is on sale for $239.99, down from its $399 price tag.
Dell’Oro sees RAN market flat through 2030, but the mix is shifting
2 Flat to 2030 – Dell’Oro’s base case has worldwide RAN revenue essentially flat in nominal dollars through the forecast period, with no sustained expansion. A narrow growth set – AI RAN, massive MIMO and cloud RAN grow within a stable top line, but only private wireless brings genuinely new enterprise capital. 6G stays a question – Dell’Oro’s base case is that 6G is “just another G,” though slowing traffic growth and machine-driven demand could change that math.
I tested the newest Snapdragon chip, and Qualcomm is keeping pace with the iPhone 18 Pro
Qualcomm has taken the wraps off of its latest and greatest processors — the chips that will power many of the flagship Android phones for the next year. The new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 , and more interestingly, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, look to be Qualcomm's most significant updates in some time. Both are built on TSMC's 2 nm process, which is a first for Snapdragon chips.
I Tested The Newest Snapdragon Chip, And Qualcomm Is Keeping Pace With The iPhone 18 Pro
I Tested The Newest Snapdragon Chip, And Qualcomm Is Keeping Pace With The iPhone 18 Pro Christian de Looper / BGR Qualcomm has taken the wraps off of its latest and greatest processors — the chips that will power many of the flagship Android phones for the next year. The new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, and more interestingly, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, look to be Qualcomm's most significant updates in some time.
Apple Watch Series 12 Review: Better Health Tracking Makes This A Worthwhile Upgrade
Apple Watch Series 12 Review: Better Health Tracking Makes This A Worthwhile Upgrade Christian de Looper/BGR The Apple Watch arguably hasn't gotten a major revamp in a while. Each year, a new sensor or feature gets added, the chip gets a modest bump (sometimes), and the design stays recognizable. The $399 Apple Watch Series 12 follows that playbook on the surface — it looks almost identical to the Series 11, and the battery life hasn't budged from its 24-hour rating.
Apple Watch Series 12 Review: Better Health Tracking Makes This A Worthwhile Upgrade
The Apple Watch arguably hasn't gotten a major revamp in a while. Each year, a new sensor or feature gets added, the chip gets a modest bump (sometimes), and the design stays recognizable. The $399 Apple Watch Series 12 follows that playbook on the surface — it looks almost identical to the Series 11, and the battery life hasn't budged from its 24-hour rating. Underneath the familiar exterior, though, Apple has made the most consequential internal changes to its smartwatch in years.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 splits on-device AI into two tiers
0 In sum – what we know: A two-tier split – Qualcomm ships the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 in standard and Extreme versions, both on a 2nm process with the same Oryon CPU. On-device model headroom – A new Element Accelerator and a precision range spanning INT4 through FP16 target the local AI workloads heading to phones. What the Extreme adds – Matrix cores and 50% more NPU shared memory are exclusive to the Extreme, aimed at larger on-device models and agentic features.
Rebellions NPUs now run four SK Telecom AI services
1 Production, not pilot – Rebellions’ ATOM-Max NPUs now power four commercial SK Telecom services, from call summarization to streaming text-to-speech, contact center processing, and fraud detection. 14 million daily requests – The four services process roughly 14 million real-time requests and more than 4 billion tokens a day under a shared “NPU farm” that pools hardware across workloads.
Created by RCR Wireless News. Telecom Industry editorial excellence since 1982
0 In sum – what we know: A narrow 30× – The efficiency figure is measured at 160 tokens per second on DeepSeek V4 Pro, a model already phased out in favor of DeepSeek V4.1 Flash. A systems benchmark – AgentX replays real recorded coding-agent traffic and measures serving throughput per megawatt, not raw GPU FLOPS or output quality. A vendor claim – The 30× is Nvidia’s figure on an open framework, with independent confirmation from SemiAnalysis still pending.
Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) Review: The Ultimate AI Workstation Original
Mac Studio (M5 Ultra) Review: The Ultimate AI Workstation Christian de Looper/BGR The new M5 Mac Studio feels like a very different machine than the M3 Mac Studio I reviewed last year. It's not that different, of course — it's still Apple's performance-focused desktop computer, and this generation gets a solid performance boost over the last one. The things that make it feel different, though, are somewhat external.
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