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Sep 19, 2026
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Valve has already fixed the Steam Frame’s slow charging speeds.
Computing Hardware

Valve has already fixed the Steam Frame’s slow charging speeds.

Valve has rolled out a firmware update, version 0.3.0, designed to significantly enhance the battery charging speeds for its Steam Frame hardware. This update arrives as part of Valve's broader efforts to expand and refine its ecosystem of gaming devices. The primary objective of this particular software release is to address persistent issues regarding slow power replenishment, which previously affected the console when it was powered off or suspended in sleep mode. Prior to this patch, the hardware drew minimal power when connected to a charger from a completely depleted state, forcing users to endure lengthy wait times before they could utilize the system. Hands-on testing of the new system software confirms that the power delivery rates have improved substantially. When plugging in a completely dead unit, the charging rate now immediately reaches around twenty watts, compared to the single-digit rates observed previously. Furthermore, peak power delivery during active gaming sessions has experienced a notable boost, now reaching over forty watts. This optimization ensures that players no longer need to wait for the battery to slowly accumulate charge, enabling them to connect a dead device to a power source and resume playing intensive games immediately.

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Top News

Computing Hardware

Valve has already fixed the Steam Frame’s slow charging speeds.

Valve has rolled out a firmware update, version 0.3.0, designed to significantly enhance the battery charging speeds for its Steam Frame hardware. This update arrives as part of Valve's broader efforts to expand and refine its ecosystem of gaming devices. The primary objective of this particular software release is to address persistent issues regarding slow power replenishment, which previously affected the console when it was powered off or suspended in sleep mode. Prior to this patch, the hardware drew minimal power when connected to a charger from a completely depleted state, forcing users to endure lengthy wait times before they could utilize the system. Hands-on testing of the new system software confirms that the power delivery rates have improved substantially. When plugging in a completely dead unit, the charging rate now immediately reaches around twenty watts, compared to the single-digit rates observed previously. Furthermore, peak power delivery during active gaming sessions has experienced a notable boost, now reaching over forty watts. This optimization ensures that players no longer need to wait for the battery to slowly accumulate charge, enabling them to connect a dead device to a power source and resume playing intensive games immediately.

The Verge·Sep 19, 2026
Regulation

India forces caller-ID apps to feed spam reports to telcos | TechCrunch

The Indian telecommunications regulatory body has updated its rules to mandate that all caller identification and spam-blocking applications must share their user-reported spam data with a blockchain network managed by the country's mobile operators. This framework is intended to create a unified repository of spam reports to help combat the massive volume of fraudulent and unsolicited phone calls plaguing the region. However, this policy has met with strong resistance from major service providers, most notably Truecaller, which commands a massive user base in India. The company argues that the directive is inherently anticompetitive because it forces private applications to surrender valuable, proprietary consumer insight to telecom networks without receiving any data in return. Beyond the data-sharing obligations, the updated regulatory framework prohibits these third-party applications from implementing blanket blocks or automatically labeling calls from government-exempted promotional and transactional number ranges. Furthermore, the new rules expand oversight on automated calling technologies, requiring organizations that deploy artificial intelligence voice systems or robocalls to register their operations and numbers with carriers beforehand. Legal and policy experts have raised several concerns regarding the implementation of these measures, highlighting potential issues with user consent, data privacy, and the jurisdictional boundaries of enforcing telecom rules on external software developers.

TechCrunch·Sep 19, 2026
Funding Rounds

A startup that builds other startups raised $100M, and is all-in on physical AI | TechCrunch

The corporate venture-building firm Vantora, formerly operating under the name UP.Labs, has secured a $100 million investment from private equity firm Silversmith Capital Partners. This funding marks the company's inaugural outside capital infusion since its inception in 2022. Alongside the funding and rebranding, the organization is implementing a significant shift in its core business strategy. Rather than developing standalone startups designed to sell products to the broader public market, Vantora is transitioning toward a proprietary merger and acquisition model. Under this new framework, the firm will build custom technological solutions exclusively for its enterprise clients, who will then have the option to acquire and fully integrate these businesses into their own operations. This strategic redirection has led Vantora to heavily prioritize "physical AI" projects, which involve applying artificial intelligence to real-world industrial environments, such as automating heavy machinery or upgrading transportation logistics. By shifting to a private acquisition model, Vantora can now pursue sensitive, high-value projects that corporate clients previously blocked due to intellectual property and competitive concerns. The firm has already established partnerships with several prominent companies, including Porsche, Alaska Airlines, and shipping giant J.B. Hunt, helping them build sovereign AI layers that remain entirely under corporate ownership.

TechCrunch·Sep 18, 2026

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AI & Machine Learning
AI & Machine Learning

Tilly Norwood's press tour is going about as well as you'd expect for an AI | TechCrunch

A synthetic virtual performer developed by the production company Particle6 Group has encountered significant technical obstacles during its debut promotional tour. The digital entity was programmed to conduct dozens of live press interviews simultaneously to market an upcoming hybrid film. However, the system's performance across these engagements has been marked by frequent conversational errors and behavioral inconsistencies. During one recorded broadcast segment featuring prominent entertainment figures, the artificial intelligence avatar unexpectedly malfunctioned, ceasing its English dialogue to speak in Chinese for several seconds. When pressed by the hosts on the sudden linguistic pivot, the program characterized the lapse as a simple processing hiccup, showcasing the unpredictable nature of current conversational models. These recurring blunders have sparked broader discussions among industry analysts regarding the limitations of human-like artificial agents and the motivations behind their deployment. While some advanced language models can occasionally simulate human communication with a high degree of plausibility, this system's overt shortcomings have led to skepticism about its readiness for public interaction. Some commentators speculate that the creator company may have anticipated or even welcomed these technological failures as a clever public relations maneuver. By generating widespread amusement and online chatter through these public glitches, the studio succeeded in drawing massive attention to its cinematic project that a standard marketing campaign might not have achieved.

TechCrunch·Sep 19, 2026
Big Tech
Big Tech

In India, the new iPhone can arrive faster than a pizza | TechCrunch

Consumers in India are experiencing unprecedented delivery speeds for Apple's latest premium smartphones, with several local instant-delivery platforms offering the newly released models within minutes of their official launch. Services historically recognized for transporting household groceries and daily necessities have rapidly expanded their catalogs to feature high-end electronics, allowing shoppers in major metropolitan areas to completely bypass physical retail lines and standard multi-day shipping estimates. This rapid distribution method saw significant initial traction on launch day, with major platforms reporting hundreds of successful deliveries within the opening hour of sales, although product availability quickly became inconsistent across different regional hubs. While market analysts view this advanced logistics capability as a compelling proof of concept for distributing high-value merchandise, they emphasize that its overall contribution to long-term smartphone sales volumes remains relatively minor. The ultra-fast delivery strategy serves primarily as a high-profile promotional tool during major hardware releases, effectively capitalizing on the modern consumer's desire for instant gratification. Industry experts suggest that while established consumer trust in these regional delivery networks supports such high-value purchases, the main challenge lies in transitioning this launch-day novelty into consistent, year-round purchasing habits for premium technology products.

TechCrunch·Sep 18, 2026
Startups & Funding
Startups & Funding

A startup that builds other startups raised $100M, and is all-in on physical AI | TechCrunch

The corporate venture-building firm Vantora, formerly operating under the name UP.Labs, has secured a $100 million investment from private equity firm Silversmith Capital Partners. This funding marks the company's inaugural outside capital infusion since its inception in 2022. Alongside the funding and rebranding, the organization is implementing a significant shift in its core business strategy. Rather than developing standalone startups designed to sell products to the broader public market, Vantora is transitioning toward a proprietary merger and acquisition model. Under this new framework, the firm will build custom technological solutions exclusively for its enterprise clients, who will then have the option to acquire and fully integrate these businesses into their own operations. This strategic redirection has led Vantora to heavily prioritize "physical AI" projects, which involve applying artificial intelligence to real-world industrial environments, such as automating heavy machinery or upgrading transportation logistics. By shifting to a private acquisition model, Vantora can now pursue sensitive, high-value projects that corporate clients previously blocked due to intellectual property and competitive concerns. The firm has already established partnerships with several prominent companies, including Porsche, Alaska Airlines, and shipping giant J.B. Hunt, helping them build sovereign AI layers that remain entirely under corporate ownership.

TechCrunch·Sep 18, 2026
Software & Apps
Software & Apps

Robinhood’s Abhishek Fatehpuria joins Disrupt 2026 | TechCrunch

Robinhood’s Vice President of Product Management for Brokerage, Abhishek Fatehpuria, is scheduled to participate in the TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 conference in San Francisco this October. Speaking on the event's Smart Money Stage, Fatehpuria will deliver a presentation exploring the rapid evolution of consumer expectations within the modern financial services industry. The discussion will center on how digital platforms must adapt to retain user loyalty, the delicate balance of scaling services while preserving customer trust, and the methodologies product teams use to introduce highly sophisticated financial features to a massive user base without compromising simplicity. Once famous primarily for introducing commission-free stock trading, Robinhood has aggressively transformed its mobile application into an all-in-one financial ecosystem. The platform now manages hundreds of billions of dollars in client assets across a diverse portfolio of services, including traditional retail banking, retirement planning, credit cards, cryptocurrency transactions, and rapidly growing event-prediction markets. Recently, the company has also ventured into automated trading powered by artificial intelligence, attracting substantial consumer engagement through new algorithmic trading accounts. Fatehpuria's presentation aims to provide valuable strategic insights for founders, investors, and product developers seeking to understand how to broaden a brand's market footprint and successfully navigate the complex, fast-changing fintech landscape.

TechCrunch·Sep 18, 2026
Cybersecurity & Privacy
Cybersecurity & Privacy

India forces caller-ID apps to feed spam reports to telcos | TechCrunch

The Indian telecommunications regulatory body has updated its rules to mandate that all caller identification and spam-blocking applications must share their user-reported spam data with a blockchain network managed by the country's mobile operators. This framework is intended to create a unified repository of spam reports to help combat the massive volume of fraudulent and unsolicited phone calls plaguing the region. However, this policy has met with strong resistance from major service providers, most notably Truecaller, which commands a massive user base in India. The company argues that the directive is inherently anticompetitive because it forces private applications to surrender valuable, proprietary consumer insight to telecom networks without receiving any data in return. Beyond the data-sharing obligations, the updated regulatory framework prohibits these third-party applications from implementing blanket blocks or automatically labeling calls from government-exempted promotional and transactional number ranges. Furthermore, the new rules expand oversight on automated calling technologies, requiring organizations that deploy artificial intelligence voice systems or robocalls to register their operations and numbers with carriers beforehand. Legal and policy experts have raised several concerns regarding the implementation of these measures, highlighting potential issues with user consent, data privacy, and the jurisdictional boundaries of enforcing telecom rules on external software developers.

TechCrunch·Sep 19, 2026
Gadgets & Hardware
Gadgets & Hardware

Valve has already fixed the Steam Frame’s slow charging speeds.

Valve has rolled out a firmware update, version 0.3.0, designed to significantly enhance the battery charging speeds for its Steam Frame hardware. This update arrives as part of Valve's broader efforts to expand and refine its ecosystem of gaming devices. The primary objective of this particular software release is to address persistent issues regarding slow power replenishment, which previously affected the console when it was powered off or suspended in sleep mode. Prior to this patch, the hardware drew minimal power when connected to a charger from a completely depleted state, forcing users to endure lengthy wait times before they could utilize the system. Hands-on testing of the new system software confirms that the power delivery rates have improved substantially. When plugging in a completely dead unit, the charging rate now immediately reaches around twenty watts, compared to the single-digit rates observed previously. Furthermore, peak power delivery during active gaming sessions has experienced a notable boost, now reaching over forty watts. This optimization ensures that players no longer need to wait for the battery to slowly accumulate charge, enabling them to connect a dead device to a power source and resume playing intensive games immediately.

The Verge·Sep 19, 2026
Gaming
Gaming

After Forza Horizon, Fable devs wanted to prove "we could cut it in a different genre," lead says: "There was a little bit of pride"

Playground Games, the development studio widely recognized for its successful open-world racing franchise, is currently preparing to launch its highly anticipated revival of the classic fantasy role-playing series Fable. Following the critical success of their latest racing title, the developer's transition into the role-playing genre has sparked considerable curiosity among players and industry observers. Many are eager to see how a creative team primarily experienced in designing automotive gameplay will handle a traditional fantasy setting. Studio leadership explained that the team was highly motivated by the challenge of establishing their capabilities beyond their traditional niche, viewing the project as an ideal opportunity to demonstrate their versatility and artistic range in game development. Although shifting from high-speed racing to fantasy adventure represents a substantial change in gameplay mechanics, the studio emphasized that their extensive history of crafting expansive, immersive open-world environments serves as a highly transferable foundation for the upcoming RPG. The acquisition of the studio by Microsoft's gaming division paved the way for this transition, and when the opportunity to revive the beloved franchise arose, the team reportedly accepted it without hesitation. According to project directors, the chance to work on the iconic intellectual property was an easy decision that instantly energized the entire development team, who are themselves longtime fans of the original trilogy.

Gamesradar·Sep 18, 2026

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