Microsoft isn’t the only company eyeing an AI native operating system, even if some users are pushing back on the concept. Google has its own grand plans to release a more robust version of Android that will eventually supplant ChromeOS, according to a recent job posting.
The company was on the hunt for a Senior Product Manager for Android, 
Alienware Area-51 Gaming Laptops: As tested, $3349 (16) and $4099 These new Area-51 laptops aren't a mild refresh, but a whole new design philosophy, delivering top-shelf performance and show-stopping aesthetics. Gorgeous Exterior Aesthetics Top-Tier Gaming Performance Impressive Expansion Options Restrained Noise, Solid Thermals Excellent... 
Memory prices have skyrocketed recently and brick-and-mortar retailers are converting to "spot pricing" or "market pricing" for RAM kits, which means pricing is determined at the point of sale based on current market conditions. The most egregious example we've seen is from u/CassTexas showing blocked-out DDR5 price tags at MicroCenter with Pico's 2026 headset will have 4K micro-OLED displays and a dedicated R1-style passthrough chip, a ByteDance executive reportedly said.
The Chinese news outlet STAR Market Daily reports that during the 2025 ByteDance Scholarship Award Ceremony, ByteDance Vice President of Technology, Yang Zhenyuan, described key details of Pico's next-generation headset.
We first heard that ByteDance's Pico was working on a high-end headset two years ago, when The Information reported that Pico 5 had been canceled in favor of a short-term Pico 4 refresh and a longer-term Apple Vision Pro competitor.
That short-term headset arrived last year as Pico 4 Ultra, while the Vision Pro competitor seems to be what Zhenyuan described.
UploadVRDavid Heaney
According to STAR Market Daily, Zhenyuan said that the headset will feature "custom" micro-OLED panels with 4000 pixels per inch (PPI). That would match the pixel density of the 4K micro-OLED panels in Samsung Galaxy XR, Play For Dream MR, and Shiftall MeganeX.
Zhenyuan also reportedly said that the new Pico headset will have a self-developed dedicated chip for passthrough, handling real-time processing of the color cameras and delivering frames in less than 12 milliseconds.
The only headsets we've seen yet with a dedicated chip for passthrough are Apple's Vision Pro series, which feature the company's R1 chip for this.
The news, if accurate, suggests that Pico is looking to deliver best-in-class passthrough quality, exceeding competitors like Samsung that only use the ISP of the Qualcomm XR2 Gen 2 series chipset.
UploadVRHenry Stockdale
We should note that earlier this year, The Information reported that Pico is working on an ultralight headset resembling a pair of goggles, with a tethered compute puck (similar to Meta's next headset).
That report also noted that ByteDance was working on an R1 chip equivalent, but it's unclear whether the 2026 headset Zhenyuan described is the same as the ultralight headset, or whether Pico plans a range of high-end options with different form factors.
We'll keep a close eye on Pico in 2026 for any signs of a new headset announcement.
Godot now supports Vulkan foveated rendering on Android, Application SpaceWarp, DirectX 12, and OpenXR render models, and can build a universal OpenXR APK.
If you're unaware, Godot is a free and open-source alternative to Unity and Unreal Engine. It's technically controlled by the non-profit Godot Foundation, but all development takes place in the open.
Since last year, Meta has been funding a group of Godot veterans to improve the engine's support for OpenXR and Quest feature extensions, as well as to build high-quality samples and documentation.
Uniquely, Godot is also available standalone on Quest 3 and Quest Pro. To be clear, that means the editor itself runs as a 2D Android app within Horizon OS, including the ability to build APKs on-device.
OpenXR render models API on Meta Quest 3 in Godot.
Godot 4.5, released in September, brought a number of important new XR features and improvements:
Crucially, Godot 4.5 also delivers support for building a universal OpenXR APK that can, in theory, run on any Android-based standalone headset that supports OpenXR. This rectifies the problem of having to maintain multiple device-specific builds for each headset, the antithesis of the "core promise" of OpenXR.
UploadVRDavid Heaney
Godot 4.6 is now in public testing, and it's set to bring even more XR features and improvements, including an upgrade to OpenXR 1.1.
The engine will also add support for the OpenXR spatial entities extensions, released earlier this year. The spatial entities extensions standardize how developers leverage the environment tracking capabilities of headsets and glasses to build experiences that interact with the user's physical environment, a class of capabilities that until now have been handled by vendor-specific extensions or SDKs.
This includes persistent spatial anchors, plane tracking, and marker tracking.
UploadVRDavid Heaney
Godot says it also plans to improve its frame synthesis support, providing runtimes with depth buffers and motion vectors to improve the quality of output of features like Application SpaceWarp.
Today we look at a budget power supply from well known PC case maker Sharkoon. The Rebel P15 range of power supplies are their newest units and they have released a 650w, 750w and 850w version at the end of 2025. These units are Cybenetic Gold rated, are ATX 3.1 compatible and ship with a quiet hybrid fan. The 750W unit we look at today is priced at only 65 euros so they are set to target a mass audience of enthusiast user on a limited budget.
Sharkoon are targeting these units very aggressively, with prices set at 60 euros, 65 euros and 70 euros for the 650w, 750w and 850w respectively. We know Sharkoon are working with OEM Andyson on these units – we have found this OEM to be pretty decent in the lower end of the market, so we have high hopes the unit will perform to a reasonable standard, even with a very aggressive price point.
Features:
Black Friday has brought sweeping discounts across Nvidia’s range of RTX 50‑series graphics cards. If you are shopping around for your next gaming upgrade, we've compiled some of the best deals for you to check out.
The high‑end RTX 5090 has seen notable cuts, with Scan listing the MSI GeForce RTX 5090 Vanguard SOC bundled with a 1250W MSI MPG A1250GS PSU at £2,399.99, down from £2,549.99. Overclockers UK is also running deals, including the Asus GeForce RTX 5090 ROG Astral OC at £2,599.99, reduced from £2,689.99.
For those eyeing the RTX 5080, Scan has the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 Expert OC at £969.98, down from £1,159.99, while Overclockers UK counters with the Gainward GeForce RTX 5080 at £949.99, reduced from £1,049.99. Further down the stack, Scan is offering the MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Gaming Trio OC at £499.98, cut from £634.99, while Overclockers UK lists the Asus GeForce RTX 5070 TUF Gaming OC at £487.99, down from £529.99.
Entry‑level buyers can also find savings on the RTX 5060 Ti, with Overclockers UK pricing the Zotac Twin Edge and Palit Infinity 3 models at £379.99, reduced from around £400. Scan’s MSI GeForce RTX 5060 VENTUS 2X OC rounds out the deals at £229.98, down from £274.99.
KitGuru Says: Are you planning on picking up a new GPU during the Black Friday sales this week?
The post Nvidia slashes RTX 50 GPU prices for Black Friday first appeared on KitGuru.Black Friday has once again brought deep discounts across PC hardware, and NZXT is among the brands making a strong showing this year. Known for its clean case designs and popular Kraken coolers, NZXT’s lineup sees prices cut across cases, PSUs, AIOs, and peripherals.
On the case front, the popular NZXT H series cases are all discounted. For someone looking to build a Micro ATX rig, the H3 Flow mATX case is a solid option at £49.99, while the larger H5 Flow is also available at the same price if you are looking to build a full mid-tower system. If you are after an AIO cooler, the Kraken Plus 240 V2 is now down to £99.99, while the flagship Kraken 360 Elite can be found for £199.99.
If you are putting together a full new rig then you are also going to need a reliable power supply. The NZXT C-series Bronze 750W unit is currently down to £47.40 at Amazon. If you are after a fully modular unit, then the NZXT ATX 3.1 850W 80 Plus Gold model is the way to go, now priced at just under £105.
If you are looking to refresh your desk with some new peripherals, NZXT has some good options there too. The Capsule Mini standalone microphone is now down to just £19.99, while the bigger Capsule Elite (white edition) is down to £34.99. The Lift Elite wireless gaming mouse can be found for £29, while the Lift 2 ERGO is £19. On the keyboard front, the Function 2 Full-Sized keyboard is down to £39.99, packing optical switches. If you don't need a numpad taking up valuable desk space, then the TKL version of this keyboard can be found for £29.99.
There are many more NZXT deals to be found across Amazon, Currys and Scan, so if you are after a specific product not listed here, chances are you will find it on sale at one of those retailers.
KitGuru Says: Are you planning on taking advantage of any of NZXT's Black Friday deals?
The post NZXT Black Friday deals cut prices across cases, coolers, peripherals and more first appeared on KitGuru.Sharkoon is making its return to the wireless headset market with the new SKILLER SGH40W, packing large 53mm drivers for balanced audio with plenty of volume.
The SGH40W supports both 2.4GHz wireless and wired TRRS connections, making it suitable for a wide range of platforms. An included adapter cable ensures compatibility with devices that require separate mic and audio jacks. Inside, 53mm drivers provide a frequency response of 20Hz to 20kHz, with an impedance of 32 ohms and sensitivity rated at 110dB.
Weighing approximately 325 grams, the SGH40W is built for extended sessions without fatigue. Hybrid ear pads combine breathable fabric with synthetic leather for a balance of cooling and noise isolation. The omnidirectional microphone includes a pop filter to reduce background noise and can be detached when not needed. Battery life reaches up to 35 hours, and charging is handled via a USB‑C connection.
The Sharkoon SKILLER SGH40W is available starting this month, priced at €69.90.
KitGuru Says: Are you in the market for a new gaming headset?
The post Sharkoon returns to wireless headset market with SKILLER SGH40W first appeared on KitGuru.AOC China has unveiled the Q27G4SMN, a new 27-inch VA monitor with a Mini LED backlight. The display features a native QHD resolution and a 300Hz refresh rate, a much higher refresh rate than we've typically seen in Mini-LED monitors
The Q27G4SMN employs 1152 Quantum Dot (QD) Mini-LED zones to achieve DisplayHDR 1000 certification and a peak brightness of 1200 nits. This level of local dimming control should significantly boost the native 5000:1 contrast ratio of the Fast VA panel. A 1 ms G2G response time, 10-bit colour depth, 97% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour space, and colour calibration with a Delta-E value of less than 2 are other specs worth mentioning on this monitor.
Connectivity is solid, if slightly limited on the PC front. The monitor includes two HDMI 2.1 ports, but only one DisplayPort 1.4 connection. This DP 1.4 connection is likely necessary for the full 300 Hz refresh rate at 1440p resolution. The display supports FreeSync to eliminate screen tearing and features a motion-blur reduction mode.
Ergonomics are pretty decent, featuring a stand that supports height adjustment (130mm), tilt, swivel, and pivot. While the AOC Q27G4SMN has been detailed for China, pricing and availability information for the West are still unknown. However, it's quite common to see AOC China monitors appear in the West, even if they end up being named differently.
KitGuru says: How much would you be willing to pay for a monitor with these specs?
The post AOC China reveals 300Hz QHD Mini-LED display first appeared on KitGuru.
We reported last week on some leaked details for Intel's upcoming Arrow Lake Refresh processors. As a refresh, these new chips don't seem to do much to differentiate themselves from the extant Core Ultra 200S family, but one small upgrade mentioned in that leak was a move to DDR5-7200 memory as standard. Now, we have confirmation on that direct ENDORFY has expanded its lineup of ATX 3.1‑ready power supplies with three new additions – the Vero L6 750W, Vero L6 650W, and Vero L6 550W. All three units are equipped with a fixed 12V‑2×6 cable to support current and future generation RTX graphics cards, a Stratus 120mm fan co‑developed with Synergy Cooling, and high‑quality capacitors rated for operation at up to 105°C.
The series is certified for efficiency and low noise, with Cybenetics Silver and 80 PLUS Bronze ratings across the range. Cybenetics also rates power supplies for noise, with the 750W and 650W models achieving a Standard ++ rating in the noise test, while the 550W model achieves an A- score. For those who don't know, a Cybenetics Standard++ noise rating means the fan runs between 30dB and 35dB, while the A- rating means the fan operates under 30dB. Each unit also carries the Cybenetics ATX 3.1 Pass badge, confirming compliance with the latest specification.
Cooling is handled by the Stratus 120mm fan mounted on an FDB bearing, designed to deliver smooth airflow and quiet operation. Internally, the units use a double‑sided PCB manufactured through an automated process to improve heat dissipation and overload resistance. Electrical and thermal protections are included to safeguard against overloads, voltage spikes, short circuits, and overheating.
The new Endorfy L6 series power supplies will be available soon. Exact UK retail pricing is still to be confirmed but previous L5 series units sold between £50 and £75, so we should expect prices in a similar range for these newer units.
KitGuru Says: Are you planning on building a new PC soon?
The post Endorfy launches trio of budget-friendly Vero L6 PSUs first appeared on KitGuru.The latest AOC Gaming monitors have been announced with some very impressive specs. The U27G4XM is a 27‑inch MiniLED display with Dual Hz mode, giving you the best of both worlds with a 4K/160Hz mode and a 1080p/320Hz mode for competitive gaming. If you want an even higher refresh rate, then the 25G4KUR boasts an impressive 420Hz refresh rate.
The U27G4XM features a Fast IPS panel with MiniLED backlighting across 1152 local dimming zones. This allows the monitor to achieve DisplayHDR 1000 certification, with a peak brightness of 1200 cd/m². It offers wide colour coverage at 151.8% sRGB and 98% DCI‑P3, making it suitable for both gaming and content creation. A key feature is Dual Frame Mode, which allows users to switch between 4K resolution at 160Hz for detailed visuals and Full HD at 320Hz for faster‑paced competitive play. Connectivity includes HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4, ensuring compatibility with modern graphics cards and consoles, including 4K/120Hz support for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
The 25G4KUR is built around a 24.5‑inch Fast IPS panel with a native 400Hz refresh rate, overclockable to 420Hz. It delivers response times of 1ms GtG and 0.3ms MPRT, with DisplayHDR 400 certification and 121% sRGB coverage. The Full HD resolution ensures high frame rates are achievable on a wider range of hardware, while NVIDIA G‑SYNC Compatible and Adaptive‑Sync support ensure you won't have to deal with screen tearing. The monitor includes Low Input Lag mode, Shadow Control, Game Color optimisation, and an ergonomic stand with height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustments. Consoles haven't been left behind here either, with support for 120Hz modes as well.
The AOC GAMING U27G4XM will be available in January 2026 at £399.99, while the AOC GAMING 25G4KUR is scheduled for release this month, priced around £209.99.
KitGuru Says: Which of these two monitors would you choose for your desk?
The post AOC launches two new esports-grade 320Hz and 420Hz gaming monitors first appeared on KitGuru.NVIDIA has added four titles to its DLSS lineup this week. Project Motor Racing, Prologue: Go Wayback! and Whiskerwood now support DLSS, while Eclipse Glow Games has released a new gameplay trailer for Tides of Annihilation, which will debut with full DLSS 4 support.
Tides of Annihilation is a single‑player action‑adventure set in a warped version of modern London, transformed by an otherworldly invasion. The latest four‑minute trailer showcases combat and exploration, with GeForce RTX users set to benefit from DLSS 4 features including Multi Frame Generation at launch.
Project Motor Racing, developed by Straight4 Studios and GIANTS Software, launches with 28 tracks, more than 70 cars and 13 racing classes. Players can compete in a single‑player career or online, with RTX 50 Series GPUs supporting DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation, RTX 40 Series cards enabling DLSS Frame Generation, and all other users able to activate DLSS Super Resolution for improved image quality.
Prologue: Go Wayback! is the latest project from Brendan Greene and PLAYERUNKNOWN Productions. The open‑world survival roguelike generates a new 64km² wilderness each playthrough, challenging players to reach the distant Weather Tower. Released into Early Access with a year of updates planned, it supports DLSS 4 on RTX 50 Series GPUs, DLSS Frame Generation on RTX 40 Series, and DLSS Super Resolution across other hardware.
Whiskerwood, from Minakata Dynamics and Hooded Horse, is an Early Access city builder where players manage industrious mice under the rule of cat overlords. A free demo includes DLSS Super Resolution for higher frame rates and DLAA for maximised image quality.
Nvidia is also running two giveaways to end the year. If you have the Nvidia App installed, you can now grab a free weapon skin for Battlefield 6. In a much more substantial giveaway, Nvidia is also offering up an RTX 5090 graphics card – you can find details on that giveaway HERE.
KitGuru Says: Will you be keeping your eye on any of the newly announced DLSS-supported titles? Tides of Annihilation sounds pretty interesting, although it won't be releasing until sometime next year.
The post Four more DLSS-supported games have been announced first appeared on KitGuru.With the Golden Joystick Awards concluded and The Game Awards candidates announced, the annual awards season is in full swing. The Steam Awards 2025 have officially opened for nominations, giving PC players the chance to champion their favourite titles across 11 categories.
Finalists will be revealed on December 18th, coinciding with the launch of the Steam Winter Sale. The final winners of the 11 public-voted categories will be announced before the sale concludes, on January 3rd at 18:00 BST.
The Steam Awards nomination process is currently active for all 11 categories: Game of the Year, VR Game of the Year, Best Game You Suck At, Best Game on Steam Deck, Labor of Love, Better With Friends, Outstanding Visual Style, Most Innovative Gameplay, Best Soundtrack, Outstanding Story-Rich Game, and Sit Back and Relax.
All categories work the same (any game released this year on Steam can be nominated), except for Labor of Love, which is for older games (released at least a year ago) still receiving significant developer support. All titles released before last year's Autumn Steam Sale are eligible, except previous winners such as Warframe, Grand Theft Auto V, Counter-Strike 2, Terraria, Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Elden Ring.
To participate in the nominations, users must have a non-limited Steam account that has spent at least $5 in the store. Those who participate will receive a Steam Badge that can be leveled up by completing tasks such as nominating a game for every category, playing a nominated title, and writing or updating a review for a nominated game. Each level achieved awards an additional 25 XP.
KitGuru says: Have you already voted for this year's Steam Awards? What games are your nominees?
The post Steam Awards 2025 voting begins first appeared on KitGuru.Acer UK is cutting prices across its Predator and Nitro gaming laptop ranges this Black Friday, with discounts of up to £400 on selected models.
Amazon lists the Predator Helios Neo 16 AI at £1,599, down from £1,899.99. It combines an RTX 5070 Ti GPU with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU and a 240Hz WQXGA display, delivering smooth performance for AAA gaming. The Predator Helios Neo 14 is also reduced at Amazon, priced at £1,499.99 down from £1,799.99. This compact 14-inch model houses an Intel Core Ultra 7 255H, an RTX 5070 and a 120Hz OLED display.
If you want a larger model, then the Nitro 18 AI can be found at Currys for £1,499, down from £1,899.99. This model swaps out the Intel CPU for an AMD Ryzen AI 9 processor, paired with an RTX 5070 Ti GPU and a 165Hz QHD display.
The Nitro V 15 is the most affordable of the group, dropping from £999 to £849 at Currys. Pairing an Intel Core i7 with RTX 5060 graphics, along with a 1080p 165Hz display. This particular unit is capable of up to 150FPS in games like Call of Duty, so you will be able to make good use of that refresh rate.
KitGuru Says: Are you planning on picking up a new laptop during the Black Friday sales this week?
The post Acer cuts Predator and Nitro gaming laptop prices by up to £400 for Black Friday first appeared on KitGuru.Thermal Grizzly has introduced a new specialised tool for PC builders – the TG Caliper, designed to make measurement tasks easier when planning out a custom liquid cooling loop.
The TG Caliper is constructed from high-hardness, rust-resistant ABS plastic, making it lightweight and dust- and splash-resistant (IP54). It features an ergonomic thumbwheel and an LCD readout that displays values in both metric (0.1 mm resolution) and imperial (0.01 inch resolution) units. The measuring range is up to 150 mm (6 inches), and a zero function makes comparative measurements easy.
This device is particularly useful for a few applications. For water cooling, it allows builders to accurately verify the inner and outer diameters, as well as the wall thickness, of soft and hard tubes. This is critical for custom loops where imperial-to-metric conversions often lead to frustrating rounding errors.
It's also useful for thermal Pads, as it allows measuring used thermal pads for replacement. The device must be used carefully to avoid compression. Thermal Grizzly advises users to use the flat backs of the jaws over a wide area and apply only light pressure, averaging the results from multiple points to ensure accuracy. Another example is for screws and components, where the caliper can be used to measure lengths, distinguishing between countersunk screws (measured total length with the outside jaws) and cylindrical-head screws (measured depth with the depth gauge).
The Thermal Grizzly TG Caliper is now available for $11.58/€9.90.
KitGuru says: Would you eventually like to see a complete Thermal Grizzly toolkit?
The post Thermal Grizzly launches TG Calliper for DIY PC builders first appeared on KitGuru.
Skyrocketing memory prices are threatening the PC gaming landscape, as building a new rig from the ground up is suddenly a bigger challenge than it had been. The timing is especially frustrating because we've finally the market for modern generation graphics settle down. The solution? Either wait it out and hope that things improve, or consider 
In 2026, Voyager 1, humanity's farthest reaching Energizer Bunny of a probe, will travel toward an almost comprehensible benchmark: being a full light-day away from Earth. According to NASA's data, the milestone is projected to occur around November 15 next year.
To call the distance vast is an understatement; one light-day translates to 
Early whispers are suggesting that Apple’s first foldable iPhone could debut at a cost that will either push the loyalty of Apple fans or turn the phone into a sales dud. Currently referred to as the iPhone Fold, the phone will effectively sit in the luxury side of the mobile world, costing around $2,400, which is $500 more than a Galaxy Z 
If you're not feeling a pair of Xbox-themed Crocs this holiday season, then what about a new Android phone? Don't worry about asking for Santa to come through because with a bunch of Black Friday discounts on Samsung Galaxy and Google Pixel devices in play, you're better off buying your own phone and asking for something bigger from the holiday 
Microsoft is once again collaborating with Crocs on a custom themed pair of clogs (just as Nintendo did earlier this year), with the latest abomination creation taking inspiration from the Xbox brand. It's as if an Xbox controller and a pair of Crocs made a baby in what can only be described as an unholy union. Unless, of course, you're a POOLS brings the eerie walking simulator to PS VR2 today with native 120Hz support, and a free VR-supported demo is now live.
Developed by Tensori, POOLS is an eerie walking simulator where you wander through these strange swimming pool environments looking for the exit. Originally released as a flatscreen PC game last year, you may recall it received PC VR support in May's free update. Now, it's launching on PS5 with optional PlayStation VR2 support and the Chapter 0 expansion.
Speaking to UploadVR before today's release, Tensori informed us that it's been “very pleased” with the reception to the PC VR release. Stating it focused heavily on performance to ensure things ran smoothly, this pushed the team to learn more about its tools and then apply these same principles to the PlayStation VR2 release.
“We applied the same principle to the PS VR2 version. We actually went so deep that we had to rebuild most of the visual aspects of the game from the ground up to get our target performance. We wanted the foveated rendering to work as best as it could, and in order to do that, we needed to create a custom solution for our water visuals. To do that, we’ve learned a ton about shader programming. It was a serious amount of work, but we feel it was worth the effort.”
Delving into specifics about the PlayStation VR2 edition, Tensori confirmed this work means POOLS runs at native 120Hz. However, the developer warns there might be a few frame rate drops in larger areas if you're using a standard PS5 console. Performance will benefit naturally from the PS5 Pro's improved specs, though dedicated Pro enhancements are planned as a post-launch update.
While today's release uses eye-tracking for foveated rendering, Tensori informed us that more “advanced” use of the headset's haptics isn't available at launch. Though it didn't elaborate on what they specifically are targeting for improvements, the studio confirmed that “we are planning to include improved haptics soon-ish in a future update.”
Finally, given that POOLS has made its way to iOS, can we expect to see it reach Apple Vision Pro, or other VR platforms like Quest? Tensori didn't commit to further platforms yet, though it's not ruling them out either.
“We are always looking to bring POOLS to as many players as we can. If it’s a platform that we feel we can create a great experience on, then we will have a look and see if it’s something we can do. We’re huge fans of Apple Vision Pro and the Quest, so we will definitely have a look and see if POOLS can make its home on these platforms.”
POOLS is out now on PC VR and PlayStation VR2. Free VR-supported demos are available on both platforms.
UploadVRK. Guillory
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