A new wearable, noninvasive brain-computer interface (BCI) system that uses artificial intelligence has been designed to help people with physical disabilities.
The University of California, Los Angeles, developed this new BCI where an AI acts as a “co-pilot.” It works alongside users to understand their intentions and help control a robotic arm or computer cursor.
The system can potentially create new technologies to improve how people with limited mobility, like those with paralysis or neurological conditions, handle objects.
“By using artificial intelligence to complement brain-computer interface systems, we’re aiming for much less risky and invasive avenues,” said Jonathan Kao, study leader and an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering.
“Ultimately, we want to develop AI-BCI systems that offer shared autonomy, allowing people with movement disorders, such as paralysis or ALS, to regain some independence for everyday tasks,” Kao added.
Interpreting the user’s intent
Until now, the most advanced BCI devices required risky and costly neurosurgery. The advantages of the technology were often outweighed by how invasive the procedure was.
Wearable BCIs, while safer, often lacked the reliability needed for practical application.
This new system pairs an electroencephalography (EEG) cap with a camera-based AI platform, which records brain activity.
The team developed special algorithms to decode brain signals from an EEG cap.
A camera-based AI platform then takes over, interpreting the user’s intent in real time to guide actions such as moving a computer cursor or a robotic arm.
The trials were conducted on a group of four participants, which included three individuals without motor impairments as well as one who was paralyzed.
Faster completion of the task
In a test with two tasks — moving a cursor to eight targets and using a robotic arm to move four blocks — all participants finished much faster with AI assistance.
The paralyzed participant was a key example; he could complete the robotic arm task in roughly six and a half minutes with the AI’s help, a task he couldn’t do on his own.
“Next steps for AI-BCI systems could include the development of more advanced co-pilots that move robotic arms with more speed and precision, and offer a deft touch that adapts to the object the user wants to grasp,” said co-lead author Johannes Lee, a UCLA electrical and computer engineering doctoral candidate advised by Kao.
“And adding larger training data could also help the AI collaborate on more complex tasks and improve EEG decoding itself,” Lee added in the press release.
This system sets a new standard for noninvasive BCI performance.
It holds potential for individuals facing paralysis or neurological conditions, offering a path to regaining independence in daily tasks.
In recent years, the advancement of the brain-computer interface system has been happening rapidly.
Recently, an investigational brain-computer interface system developed by the University of California, Davis, has allowed a patient with ALS to communicate in real time. This technology is designed to enable faster, more natural conversation for those with the neurological disease, which causes a loss of muscle control.
The new findings were published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.
Vejle, Denmark — Rhombico Games announces today the release of Consumption Line, a free experimental indie game available on Steam. Designed as a tightly scoped, 30 minute long experience, “Consumption Line” places players on a soup assembly line where daily routines gradually unravel into a commentary on food systems, advertising, and capitalism.
At its core, the game is simple: operate two machines (one for broth, one for noodles), meet your quota, and go home. But as days pass, ingredients change and machines accelerate. The familiar shifts into the uncanny.
“Games have a massive advantage over other forms of media,” said Federico Casares, founder of Rhombico Games. “When you watch a film or read a book, you can always say the character made the choice. In a game, you made the choice. That’s why I believe games are fantastic conversation starters, and tools for reflection and empathy. With Consumption Line, I wanted to explore how through repetition and subtle changes we can make players reflect about some of the aspects of modern life.”
Consumption Line is 100% free, ad-free, microtransaction-free, and playable in one sitting.
DONGUAN, China, Sept. 01, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Dongguan Xintai Instrument Co., Ltd. (Xintai Instruments), a specialist manufacturer of industrial measuring instruments, will unveil a new lineup of five advanced thermal imaging products at the China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE 2025), the world’s premier event for the optoelectronics industry. The event is scheduled from September 10-12, 2025, at the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center. Attendees are invited to visit Booth 8B63 at Hall 8 for a first look.
The new collection covers various applications, from handheld monoculars to versatile sights, designed to meet diverse user needs. Highlights of the new product lineup include:
A220 Four-in-One WiFi Infrared Sight: Featuring a high infrared resolution of 640×512 and a 1024×768 HD display, the A220 offers a crisp, detailed image. It boasts a detection range of up to 3125 meters, a high-performance 12μm sensor, and a rugged IP67 rating, making it ideal for outdoor exploration and security surveillance.
AT-225 & AT-225L Three-in-One WiFi Infrared Sights: The AT-225 is built for reliability with a 1280×1024 OLED screen, 1000Gs shock resistance, and 1-meter drop protection. The AT-225L version enhances this platform by integrating a precise laser rangefinder with a reach of up to 1200 meters.
S3-635 & S3-635L Handheld WiFi Thermal Monoculars: The S3-635 sets a new standard for long-range observation with a powerful 640×512 infrared resolution, enabling an impressive detection distance of 4375 meters. It features multiple scene modes, dual-band WiFi, and offers expandable storage via a TF card slot. The S3-635L version adds a laser rangefinder, perfect for scenarios requiring high-precision measurement.
All new models come equipped with a high frame rate of 50Hz, advanced features like hotspot tracking and picture-in-picture, and a battery life of over 6 hours.
Visitors to Booth 8B63 can experience live demonstrations of these new products and consult with the company’s technical team about OEM/ODM opportunities.
About Dongguan Xintai Instrument Co., Ltd.
Xintai Instruments is a professional manufacturer specializing in a wide range of measuring instruments, including thermal imagers, digital manifolds, and gas detectors. The company provides one-stop services from design to mass production, fulfilling customer ODM, OEM, and OBM requirements. All products are CE and RoHS certified and adhere to a strict quality control system to ensure customer satisfaction.
Media Contact
Company Name: Dongguan Xintai Instrument Co., Ltd.
Telephone: 400-887-8328
Email: xintai2023@xintest.com.cn
Website: https://www.hti-meter.com/en/
Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:
Google released the Android 16 update in June with a number of new features, including Live Updates and Auracast audio sharing and a phased rollout of Material 3 Expressive design. However, the new update has also brought with it a fresh problem that is now troubling many Pixel users.
The issue was pointed out by a user on Google’s Issue Tracker, first reported by Android Authority. As per the user, there is a problematic notification issue in Android 16 where the new OS does not play any sound when receiving a notification. This issue, as per the user, only occurs when there is a notification already in the notification shade.
The user states that their phone does not ring in such instances, even when the volume is set to maximum and the Do Not Disturb (DND) overrides are enabled.
“When testing notifications, we realized that subsequent notifications are not playing any sounds, even when volume has been set to the MAX volume, as well as Do-Not-Disturb override permissions are granted (although this issue exists both when DND mode is on and off),” wrote the user.
“Upon dismissing the notifications, the next notification WILL play a sound,” they added.
Several other users in the comment section reported facing similar issues with their Pixel devices, including owners of the Pixel 6, Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and even the Pixel 9 Pro XL.
Google promises fix for notification issue:
Thankfully, Google has not only acknowledged the problem but stated that it has been fixed internally and will be included with the next update.
“Thanks for reporting this issue. It’s fixed internally and will be included in the next quarterly release,” the company wrote in response to the user.
It’s worth noting that users as late as August 28th report that the issue has not been fixed and the promised patch was not rolled out with the August 2025 update.
One user, while confirming that a fix hasn’t been rolled out with the August update in a post on Reddit, wrote, “Android 16 has a bug where notification cooldown appears to be active despite it being turned off in the settings. This is causing people to miss notifications and they might not even know it’s happening. This started with the release of Android 16 and the August update hasn’t fixed it.”
Prime Intellect, a San Francisco AI startup, has launched the Environments Hub, an open platform for building and sharing reinforcement learning (RL) environments. The aim is to counter the closed systems built by major AI labs.
Prime Intellect calls interactive training environments a critical bottleneck for the next wave of AI progress. In these environments, AI agents learn by interacting with rule-based worlds, receiving new states and rewards for their actions. Reinforcement learning only makes sense, the company argues, when models face dynamic situations – otherwise, it’s “just math.”
Prime Intellect sees a trend where large AI labs pour millions into developing and acquiring proprietary RL environments. This push toward privatization, the company says, makes it harder for open-source efforts to build competitive AI models.
The Environments Hub is positioned as an open alternative. The company wants to build open platforms and models, not locked behind the walled gardens of big labs.
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Crowdsourcing RL environments for INTELLECT-3
Over time, Prime Intellect plans to use the Environments Hub as a data engine for its next big open-source model, INTELLECT-3. The company describes INTELLECT-3 as a “fully open, state-of-the-art agentic model” trained on data from contributed RL environments.
To drive the creation of targeted environments, Prime Intellect has posted a list of bounties with cash rewards. They’re looking for environments to evaluate code quality, support long-running tasks with filesystem integration, and enable creative writing. The goal is to not only build a more capable model but also lower infrastructure barriers for developers.
Prime Intellect was founded by CEO Vincent Weisser and CTO Johannes Hagemann. Weisser previously worked in decentralized science (DeSci), while Hagemann scaled LLM training at Aleph Alpha. The company is committed to decentralized AI, pooling compute resources, training models across distributed systems, and sharing results with the community.
Prime Intellect says it has raised $20.5 million from investors including Founders Fund, Andrej Karpathy, and Hugging Face CEO Clem Delangue. Earlier this year, the company released the decentralized INTELLECT-2 model.
SpaceX’s Starship — the world’s most powerful rocket — roared into the skies last week on a flawless 60-minute test flight, drawing applause well beyond Texas, where it blasted off from. After a string of high-profile failures, the successful launch was celebrated worldwide as a turning point for space exploration.
For NASA, it was more than a spectacle: Starship is central to once again landing astronauts on the Moon in 2027 under the Artemis programme and, ultimately, to realising its bolder ambition — establishing a sustainable human presence on Mars.
NASA’s Christyl Johnson
But as one of NASA’s top leaders made clear at the TechBBQ conference in Copenhagen last Thursday, rockets alone will not decide the outcome. The future of space will be shaped by technologies far more familiar to enterprise innovators: artificial intelligence, digital twins, robotics and immersive reality.
“AI, VR, gaming, medical devices — these all have roles to play in space,” Dr Christyl C. Johnson, deputy associate administrator at NASA, told delegates: “We need every great innovation from every country so that we can move fast and keep humans safe.”
Why Mars, why now?
NASA’s argument for urgency is both scientific and existential. Mars once looked like Earth, with rivers and volcanoes, before becoming barren. Understanding why could provide vital clues about the fragility of our own planet. “Earth is an analogue to Mars,” Johnson explained. “If we see this happening here, we can make plans to move elsewhere.”
The Moon is the stepping stone — close enough to support but harsh enough to test the systems required for survival further afield. “It’s our objective to get to Mars by 2040,” Johnson explained.
The scientific mission is also layered with geopolitics. NASA has rallied 56 nations behind the Artemis Accords, which set out shared principles for exploration. China, however, has not signed — and is pressing ahead rapidly.
“Other nations who have not signed the accords are moving so fast that they want dominion in space — and it will not be democratic,” Johnson warned.
At the heart of the race is water. Ice at the lunar poles and beneath the Martian surface could be transformed into oxygen, drinking water and rocket fuel. In the 1960s space race, prestige was the prize. Today, the resource base of the solar system is at stake.
The legal landscape is contested. The 1967 UN Outer Space Treaty prevents national ownership of celestial bodies, but the US has since passed laws allowing private industry to extract and sell resources. With commercial enterprises now in the mix, the “who owns the Moon” question has become unavoidable
What NASA needs from Tech
NASA’s needs will sound strikingly familiar to anyone in enterprise technology. Reading out her shopping list of requirements to the TechBBQ audience, Johnson said that AI was needed to manage energy distribution and predict system failures; Digital twins could create full physiological models of astronauts, enabling Earth-based teams to test treatments virtually before applying them in space.
She added that extended reality and gaming systems will help crews to endure nine-month journeys to Mars, countering isolation and even vitamin deficiencies. Autonomous robotics will be essential for 3D-printing habitats and performing surgery without human intervention. Food technology must reinvent nutrition for space — appealing, sustainable, and oven-free.
Navigation meanwhile will require pulsar-based alternatives to GPS, while advanced analytics must track and mitigate dangerous solar flares.
Johnson stressed that none of this is science fiction. “Some of the technologies you are working with — AR/VR, gaming, medical devices — we need help,” she said. “Innovation for space always brings benefits back home.
NASA supported the design of Speedo’s LZR swimsuits used in 2008 Olympics
NASA’s history of cross-industry innovation is long. Algorithms built for the James Webb Space Telescope now underpin Johnson & Johnson’s eye-mapping systems. Shuttle fuel pumps became life-saving micro-pumps for children awaiting heart transplants. Even Speedo’s record-breaking swimsuits drew on NASA’s expertise.
“With impossible goals you come up with tech that improves quality of life back on Earth,” argues Johnson.
Commercial opportunities
The European Space Agency (ESA) is equally bullish on enterprise involvement. The space economy is estimated at $500 billion according to fellow TechBBQ panellist Stefan Gustafsson, ESA’s commercialisation officer. “More than 80% is downstream — satellite navigation, communications, Earth observation,” he adds.
ESA’s commercialisation officer, Stefan Gustafsson
The space expert argues that AI is transforming access to this data. “In the past, observation data was too complex. Now AI lowers the barriers so many more companies can use it for valuable purposes.”
For deep-tech firms, microgravity environments open opportunities in pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
Filip Stern Cedell, CEO of Sweden’s Pythom Space, went further: “All revolutions are driven by reducing costs. The only reason SpaceX dominates is because they lowered the cost of launch.”
Lower costs could enable industries as diverse as off-planet data centres, using abundant solar power and vacuum cooling to slash energy use and emissions. “Operating costs could be 97% lower in space than on Earth,” Cedell claimed.
Who pays?
Budget pressures in Washington are perhaps forcing NASA to lean harder on industry. The Trump administration has proposed slashing NASA’s 2026 budget by nearly 25%, the steepest reduction in its history, with science missions facing cancellation.
Pythom Space’s Filip Cedell, wants to launch a European rival to Space X
Johnson insisted NASA’s core goals remain intact. “NASA is fortunately apolitical — we’ve enjoyed support of both parties. But it is truly a space race now. It’s about getting there first.”
To accelerate innovation, NASA is launching Nexplore 2040, publishing 187 unsolved technological “shortfalls” and offering up to $2m for promising solutions.
According to Johnson, the pilot for this initiative is due to launch on 11 September this year, and universities and start-ups alike are being invited to collaborate across disciplines — from engineering and medicine to design and business — and to attract private capital alongside public funding.
“We’ve got to move fast,” Johnson said. “If you have ideas for those 187 technologies, let’s have a conversation and get investors on the table.”
However, Gustafsson and Cedell warn that Europe risks lagging. While China can issue a launch licence in three months, approvals in Europe take 18. “That’s why China has 17 companies that have launched into space, and Europe has none,” Cedell added.
For Gustafsson, the challenge is to foster competition: “It cannot just be SpaceX. Monopoly is never good for innovation. Europe is strong in machine tools — we export globally. Why not use those capabilities to build satellites and launchers?”
Downstream dividend
Ultimately, the greatest rewards may not be in space itself. From climate monitoring to AI-powered navigation, from cancer therapies to micro heart pumps, the dividends are already reaching Earth. For Johnson, that is the point:
“We need every great innovation to make sure we can survive in space. And every time we solve an impossible problem there, we improve life here.”
The race to Mars may be geopolitical. But for enterprise technologists, the message is commercial: the Moon and Mars are not just new frontiers of exploration — they are new markets waiting to be built.
Skills NASA Wants Now:
AI & Predictive Analytics – managing energy, logistics, maintenance
Digital Twins – modelling astronaut health at cellular level
Extended Reality (XR/VR) – immersive environments for long-duration missions
We wouldn’t think many aspects of iPhone user interface design could be more straightforward than the time picker in the alarm function – but it appears we would be wrong …
Macworld spotted a tweet by someone who found that neither hours nor minutes are loops, but are instead very long lists with a definite end.
When the hour passes 23 (or 11pm if you’re that way inclined) and returns to 00, it isn’t actually returning to zero, it’s moving on to a new one. Similarly, when the minutes pass from 59 to zero.
I tested this out and can confirm the claim. If you’re interested, the hours list starts with an 01 and ends, slightly randomly, with a 16, while the minutes list runs from 00 to 39 (with many, many full cycles in between). It took me roughly 30 swipes to get from the beginning to the end of each list.
The site speculates that this just may be a more efficient way to program it, but if anyone has any better theories, please let us know in the comments!
This isn’t the end of the discoveries waiting to be made in Apple’s pickers. The question of how far into the future the calendar goes currently lies beyond the limits of present-day scientific knowledge. Macworld’s David Price went as far as the year 6888, while a Redditor went as far as 10005, but neither reached the end.
Is there an end? Is there a final hidden calendar entry? The world awaits a fearless explorer to reveal the truth.
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Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) continues to be a significant occupational and consumer health issue, with new cases emerging from both industrial and everyday exposures. Two recent case studies, 1 involving a pipe relining worker sensitized to acrylates and another involving nickel exposure from a cosmetic applicator, demonstrate how ACD arises in unexpected contexts.1-2 Recent research on titanium allergy further broadens the conversation, underscoring that even metals once thought biologically inert may pose underrecognized risks.3 Together, these findings provide timely lessons as Labor Day draws attention to worker and consumer safety.
Case 1: Acrylate Allergy in Pipe Relining
A 56-year-old technician with over a decade of experience in pipe relining developed recurrent facial erythema, eyelid edema, and vesicle formation shortly after his company transitioned from epoxy-based to acrylate-based resins. Researchers stated patch testing confirmed sensitization to multiple acrylates and methacrylates, and to epoxy resin at higher concentrations. Despite personal protective equipment, contamination of gloves and clothing led to repeated facial exposure.1
The presentation initially suggested type I hypersensitivity, according to the study, but the delayed onset of symptoms and strong patch test responses confirmed ACD. Ultimately, the severity of his reactions required sick leave and cessation of work. This case highlights the diagnostic complexity of occupational dermatitis and the rising relevance of acrylate allergy in industrial settings, particularly as acrylate-based systems become more widely adopted.
Case 2: Nickel in Cosmetic Applicators
A 41-year-old woman developed eyelid dermatitis after using an eye cream packaged with a metal applicator. While the cream itself tested negative, patch testing confirmed sensitization to nickel, and repeated open application testing implicated the applicator tip as the source. This novel route of exposure underscores how cosmetic packaging, not just product formulation, can trigger ACD.2
The case emphasizes gaps in regulatory oversight: while the EU Nickel Directive restricts nickel release in jewelry and accessories, cosmetic packaging remains largely unregulated. As metal applicators and rollers gain popularity, researchers behind the case study suggested clinicians should consider packaging materials as potential hidden allergens.
Emerging Evidence: Titanium Allergy
Titanium has long been considered a safe and biocompatible metal, widely used in aerospace, automotive, and medical industries. Titanium dioxide (TiO₂), its most common form, serves as a physical UV filter in sunscreens and cosmetics, and titanium alloys are the standard material in orthopedic and dental implants due to their strength, corrosion resistance, and ability to integrate with bone. It is also marketed as “hypoallergenic” in jewelry for patients with nickel allergy.3
Traditionally, titanium was considered non-allergenic, as TiO₂ does not penetrate skin or gastrointestinal barriers. However, emerging research demonstrates that titanium ions and salts released from corrosion products can activate immune responses. A recent retrospective study from Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre evaluated 255 patients patch tested with a metal series between 2012 and 2024. Titanium oxalate hydrate elicited positive reactions in 5% of patients, while titanium nitride did not. Most sensitized patients were women, often with co-sensitization to nickel, cobalt, or vanadium.
Clinical presentations included localized dermatitis on the hands or face, but researchers noted 2 patients developed generalized rashes after implant placement, including 1 case of bullous pemphigoid following hip replacement surgery. These findings suggest titanium-induced sensitization may play a role in implant failure and systemic skin disorders, although the diagnosis remains controversial due to variability in patch test reagents and interpretation.
Skin Safety Across Work and Life
Together, these cases and research findings illustrate the evolving nature of ACD in both occupational and consumer settings. For workers, acrylates represent a growing hazard in industries adopting new resin systems, with contamination risks persisting even with protective equipment. For consumers, nickel in cosmetic packaging demonstrates that allergen exposure extends beyond workplace environments, often in ways overlooked by existing regulations. The titanium data highlight the need to remain cautious about materials assumed safe, particularly as medical device use expands worldwide.
On Labor Day, when worker protections and occupational health come into focus, these examples remind clinicians and policymakers alike that skin safety is integral to overall safety. Comprehensive patch testing, including patient-specific materials, remains the diagnostic gold standard, though additional methods such as lymphocyte transformation assays may provide adjunctive value. At the regulatory level, stronger oversight of both industrial and consumer materials could help prevent emerging sources of sensitization.
Conclusion
ACD reflects the intersection of industrial progress, consumer trends, and clinical vigilance. The relining worker’s acrylate allergy, the consumer’s nickel exposure from a cosmetic applicator, and the expanding evidence on titanium sensitization all demonstrate the wide range of risks modern workers and consumers face. As industries evolve and new products enter the market, clinicians must remain alert to novel sources of allergen exposure. Labor Day offers an important reminder that protecting skin health—whether in the workplace or at home—is essential to safeguarding overall well-being.
References
Szumniak J, Dahlin J, Antelmi A. Occupational allergic contact dermatitis resembling angioedema induced by acrylates in a pipe relining worker. Contact Dermatitis. 2025. doi:10.1111/cod.70023
Sukakul T, Dahlin J, Svedman C. Eyelid allergic contact dermatitis caused by nickel from a surprising source: An illustrating case of illuminating eye care. Contact Dermatitis. 2025. doi:10.1111/cod.70009
Daniely D, Zemser-Werner V, Gilon-Omer R, Bar J, Slodownik D. Titanium: An unusual allergen With various presentations-A retrospective cohort study. Contact Dermatitis. Published online August 26, 2025. doi:10.1111/cod.70021
Solid-state drive (SSD) prices per gigabyte (GB) have headed sharply upwards over the past two quarters.
Meanwhile, on the spinning disk front, SAS hard disk drive (HDD) prices increased in price and SATA stayed stable, to leave an increased gap between the two.
SSD prices had been predicted to increase as manufacturers slowed production in an ongoing effort to raise prices that had dropped away during a long period of surplus production.
Meanwhile, SAS drive prices also increased while SATA spinning disk price per gigabyte stayed steady. The net effect is for the SAS side of the scissors to move upwards and away from SATA.
Possible causes include a similar situation of oversupply that is now working its way out as manufacturers cut back on production. Also, SAS is the more performant of the two HDD types and may be in greater demand for large-scale data storage for artificial intelligence (AI).
During the past two quarters, Flash drive prices (MLC, TLC and QLC) increased from $0.079/GB to $0.086/GB, an 8.8% increase. If we take QLC out of the equation – because of a low sample size in the data (see below) – that rises to $0.093/GB and a 17.7% increase. The reality probably lies between the two.
Also, during the past two quarters, SAS spinning disk prices per gigabyte rose from $0.049 to $0.051, an increase of just over 4%. Across the year, however, the increase has been from $0.041 to $0.051, nearer 25%.
SATA drive prices – the less performant of the two protocols – have remained steady. SATA price per gigabyte six months ago was $0.035 and is now $0.036.
The reason for the big increase in SAS prices also lies in a recent history of overproduction being throttled back to help the price by manufacturers, and likely higher demand for performance-hungry AI applications.
It must be noted that HDD is still the dominant medium in data storage in 2025.
Flash prices hit a ceiling in late 2023 and early months of 2024 when manufacturers slowed production to try to raise prices and boost profitability. SSD prices per gigabyte reached an average of $0.095 in April 2024, which was a rise of 26.67% from autumn 2023.
At the time, many thought SSD prices would achieve even greater highs in 2024, but while production increased, customer demand did not, and prices decreased.
These figures are from exclusive analysis by Computer Weekly that gathers drive prices aggregated by Diskprices.com (see graph) every week from Amazon.com. Since March 2023, more than 84,000 drive prices and specs have been gathered, with averages calculated every week for TLC, QLC and MLC/unspecified flash drives, as well as SAS and SATA spinning disk.
Disk prices from April 2023 to September 2025
Diskprices.com aggregates new drive prices that it takes from Amazon.com, with more than 700 disk prices and specifications processed every week. Data is then filtered by flash and spinning disk type, and the average price per gigabyte calculated.
The analysis is based on Amazon.com prices, which are mostly aimed at consumers and SME customers, and therefore lacks, for example, much representation of QLC flash, which is aimed at use cases that require predominantly sequential access and offer greater density.
Having said that, the volume of data gathered helps to show trends in drive pricing. We use it here as a proxy for drive prices because of the absence of price data from enterprise drive and storage array makers.
Price per gigabyte is a major consideration for customers, but total cost of ownership over a drive’s lifecycle is also important, with purchase cost, energy usage and maintenance costs key among them.
Data gathered covers drives that range in capacity from less than 1TB (terabyte) up to 30TB for HDDs and up to 12TB for SSDs.
SSD costs more per drive to buy than spinning disk, but maintenance costs are often lower. Cloud storage provider Backblaze publishes reliability figures for the 300,000-plus drives in its estate. It found its SSD annual failure rate (AFR) to be 0.9% in mid-2023. There have been no AFR stats for SSDs from Backblaze since, but for HDDs, the figure for 2024, reported in February 2025, was 1.57%.
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Rokid Glasses are a competitor to Meta Ray-Bans but offer several more advanced features.
The company launched a pre-order marketing campaign via Kickstarted and raised over $1 million in pre-orders in the first 3 days.
The AI glasses are likely to appeal to tech early adopters who value features over multiple style selections.
The popular Meta Ray-Bans smart glasses are about to get a lot more competition, including from big tech companies like Samsung and Google. However, Rokid Glasses are shaping up to be one of the up-and-coming products to watch in this space. On August 26, Rokid launched a Kickstarter campaign to try to nail down $20,000 in pre-orders for its smart glasses by October 10. Less than 72 hours later, Rokid Glasses had already cleared over $1 million in pre-orders.
I’m not sure anyone in the tech industry is all that surprised.
The Rokid Glasses combine the three best features of Meta Ray-Bans — convenient photography, ear buds-like audio, and a quick-access AI assistant — with a head-up display like the ones you’ll find in AR glasses such as the Even Realities G1 and Brilliant Labs Halo.
Rokid Glasses heads-up display.
Rokid
Beyond just the heads-up display, the Rokid Glasses also offer several other upgrades over the Meta Ray-Bans:
Support for 89 languages (compared to 4)
Shoot photos in horizontal or vertical mode (rather than just vertical)
210 mAh battery (compared to 154 mAh)
Native ChatGPT support (compared to the Meta’s Llama AI model)
Audio Memo for notes and reminders (no equivalent feature)
Magnetized pop-in lenses (compared to traditional lenses)
With all of that tech inside, the Rokid Glasses weigh 49g — the same as Meta Ray-Bans — and have a very similar physical footprint to the flagship Wayfarer style of Meta Ray-Bans in black.
Also: 5 Meta Ray-Ban upgrades I want to see on September 17
The Rokid Glasses will retail for $599, compared to $299 to $379 for Meta Ray-Bans, $299 for Brilliant Labs Halo, $599 for Even Realities G1, and $399-$499 for the more recent Meta Oakley smart glasses. But for the Kickstarter, Rokid is offering the first 2,000 backers a 20% discount at $479. Rokid says it will ship the final product in November 2025.
To be clear, this is more of a pre-order marketing campaign than a Kickstarter campaign. Rokid is a Chinese company with a presence in Silicon Valley and has been building smart speakers and smart glasses since 2014. More recently, the company has been focused on more bulky and full-featured AR glasses such as the Rokid Max 2 and partnering with over 200 museums in China to integrate immersive digital content. The company has been giving demos of the Rokid Glasses since CES in January 2025, where ZDNET first tried them.
ZDNET spoke with Liang Guan, Rokid’s US General Manager based in Redwood City, California and Irene Long, Head of Global Operations based at the company’s headquarters in Hangzhou, China. Guan said that globally the company has already received orders for over 300,000 units of the Rokid Glasses. Since the US Kickstarter campaign only has about 1,900 orders as of September 1, the vast majority of the pre-orders are likely from partners and retailers.
Guan mentioned that there are different versions of the product for different markets, and that includes some different features as well. For example, the version for the Chinese market will include a wireless payment feature while the version for the US and global markets will include turn-by-turn navigation. Rokid expects both features to be very popular in their respective markets. Most of the other features are the same or similar across markets.
Rokid Glasses navigation in heads up display.
Rokid
Long said, “At CES in January, our glasses were more like a prototype, and now they’re ready. And so mass production begins in October.”
Meta has said it will unveil its next smart glasses products at its Meta Connect event at its Silicon Valley headquarters on September 17. The company is expected to launch its “Hypernova” glasses that will reportedly include a small color screen in one eye, a neural wristband to enable hand gestures, and will cost $800. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said Meta is preparing to sell 150,000 – 200,000 units of these Hypernova glasses over the next two years.
Also: Report: Samsung’s tri-fold phone, XR headset, and AI smart glasses to be revealed on Sep 29
However, Meta is also reportedly going to launch a successor to its audio-only Meta Ray-Ban glasses at Meta Connect with a number of upgrades — likely to match or exceed the capabilities of the Meta Oakley smart glasses released in summer 2025. The 3.o version of Meta Ray-Bans are expected to retail between $300-$500.
So the Rokid Glasses would sit right in between the two Meta products — more capable than the audio-only glasses but not quite as advanced as Hypernova. They also won’t have the brand power of Ray-Bans, the wide retail distribution in the US, or offer the variety of different styles that the Meta Ray-Bans do. Nevertheless, among tech early adopters who want the most advanced features, Rokid Glasses are likely to be very competitive.
