Otto, the company building the operating system for the agentic era, today introduces Otto One, the first purpose-built agent computer: a compact, screenless computer designed for an AI agent to live and work on. Running on Otto OS, its proprietary software layer, Otto One lets people deploy, direct and monitor autonomous agents from a phone or desktop while the device works continuously in the background, even when the user closes their laptop or walks away.

AI agents are finally capable of taking on a persistent role in people's lives. The real opportunity is not a better inbox assistant; it is an agent that can keep a household organized, manage a budget and taxes, coordinate care and appointments, and keep a business moving. To do that well, it needs usable context and the authority to act across the financial, personal and work systems that make up a life.

Other World Computing (OWC), a trusted leader in high-performance storage, memory, connectivity, software, and accessories that empower creative and business professionals to maximize performance, enhance reliability, and streamline workflows, today announced it has added Thunderbolt 5 capabilities to its flagship OWC ThunderBay 4 RAID solution.

With up to 128 TB of capacity, OWC ThunderBay 4 with Thunderbolt 5 brings together powerful features and delivers real-world benefits:

• Two Thunderbolt 5 Ports - Current-generation host connection plus a downstream Thunderbolt 5 port for daisy-chaining additional Thunderbolt, USB4, and USB-C devices without giving up a port on the computer
• Stop Juggling Loose Drives - Everything organized in one place with up to 128 TB of expandable capacity
• Keep Edits Flowing Fast - Up to 1268 MB/s real-world HDD speed and up to 1703 MB/s SSD speed
• Proven Design, Still the Standard - Four bay aluminium solution trusted by pros for over a decade

Seagate Technology Holdings plc, a mass-capacity data storage leader, today introduced the Seagate FireCuda Forge drive, representing the first Seagate hard drive powered by the Alkemi intelligent storage platform. With Alkemi, the FireCuda Forge combines solid-state drive (SSD) responsiveness and hard disk drive (HDD) capacity in a single drive, using adaptive intelligence to give gamers and creators the speed and space they need without added complexity.

A new platform for a new reality
From massive game libraries and 4K video to AI-powered animation, people are creating, working with, and keeping more data than ever. IDC projects annual global data generation will more than triple, from 218 zettabytes in 2025 to more than 718 zettabytes by 2030. As digital libraries expand, consumers need fast access to active content and the capacity to preserve growing collections.

AMD has confirmed that the current versions of Radeon drivers, Adrenalin 26.10.1 and Adrenalin 26.10.2, are experiencing an issue that causes excessive SSD writing. This problem results in the SSD writing dozens of gigabytes of data unnecessarily. The culprit appears to be AMD's External Events Client Module, which runs under the name atieclxx.exe on Windows systems. This module is causing some users' system drives to be constantly busy with writes. Reports indicate that the write rate ranges from 0.3 MB/s to 1.5 MB/s, with one Reddit user reporting sustained activity at 5 MB/s. The process is part of AMD's External Events Utility, which manages tasks such as detecting monitors and responding to Radeon software hotkeys. Unfortunately, it has entered an infinite loop of data writing.

While this may seem like a small amount, it's important to remember that systems can run for extended periods, and the writing can accumulate over time, potentially leading to SSD wear and tear. SSD lifespan largely depends on its ability to endure constant random writes, and forcing random writes onto an SSD will undoubtedly shorten its lifecycle. This is particularly concerning given the high cost of NAND Flash, as users are operating expensive SSDs that could undergo unnecessary wear. In response, AMD plans to release an update to its Adrenalin drivers with version 26.11.1, which will address this issue.

Team Group Inc., a leading global memory brand, has obtained two new invention patents in Taiwan for its Team Group PD20M Mag Portable SSD and T-CREATE EXPERT P34F Find My External SSD, following patents previously granted in multiple countries. Covering magnetic attachment and device-tracking technologies, respectively, these patents underscore Team Group's R&D expertise while enhancing the convenience of portable storage and expanding its range of applications.

Team Group PD20M Mag Portable SSD—Innovative Magnetic Design for Greater Portability
The Team Group PD20M Mag Portable SSD has been granted a Taiwan invention patent for its proprietary magnetic attachment technology, following a U.S. invention patent and a Japanese utility model patent. As Team Group's first MagSafe-compatible external SSD, the PD20M features an ultraslim 8.2 mm profile and weighs just 40 g. It attaches securely to compatible devices, offering a compact and convenient storage solution for users on the go. When paired with the iPhone 15 Pro series or later compatible models, the PD20M also supports recording high-quality Apple ProRes video directly to the drive, allowing users to expand storage capacity and capture memorable moments with ease.

Late last month, we learned that SK hynix-owned NAND Flash maker Solidigm has been considering expanding its manufacturing business to the United States. According to Bloomberg, the company is contemplating a massive $45 billion investment. However, before deciding on that, Solidigm aims to get approval from the U.S. government to send equipment to its fabs in Dalian, China, so it can continue funding expansion in the United States. As a reminder, obtaining some chipmaking equipment in China requires U.S. government approval, meaning the company is putting things on hold pending regulatory approval.

Currently, Solidigm operates Fab 1 in Dalian, China, and has accelerated the construction of Fab 2 nearby. This expansion aims to increase production by 50% by 2027 to meet the rising demand for NAND Flash. Solidigm owns and operates this facility, marking a resumption of expansion in mainland China after a four-year project freeze. At present, Solidigm produces about 100,000 wafers per month of NAND Flash, so a 50% increase by 2027 would boost production to approximately 150,000 wafers per month.

Samsung Electronics today reported financial results for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2026. The Company posted KRW 195.3 trillion in consolidated revenue, another all-time quarterly high, representing a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase of 14%. Operating profit reached KRW 107.4 trillion, making Samsung Electronics the world's first tech company to exceed KRW 100 trillion in quarterly operating profit.

The Device Solutions (DS) Division posted a QoQ sales increase of 15%, with the Memory Business setting an all-time high for quarterly revenue and operating profit, as semiconductor demand is set to remain robust. The Device eXperience (DX) Division posted a QoQ revenue increase of 8% and recorded an operating loss of KRW 0.8 trillion.

ZHITAI, the consumer memory brand of YMTC, announced a strategic partnership with Phantom Blade Zero, the highly anticipated AAA action game that has captured global attention. Under the theme "Unleash Your Edge," the two brands have joined forces to introduce the ZHITAI × Phantom Blade Zero Collaboration Gift Box, combining high-performance memory technology with Eastern wuxia aesthetics to deliver an immersive experience in the Phantom World for gamers around the world.

With its distinctive Kungfu-punk aesthetic and intense, fast-paced combat, Phantom Blade Zero has emerged as one of the year's most anticipated AAA action titles. The partnership's theme, "Unleash Your Edge," draws inspiration from the game's protagonist, Soul, and his unwavering resolve in the face of adversity. This theme bridges the game's lightning-fast combat with ZHITAI's relentless pursuit of peak storage performance—reflecting both Soul's unyielding conviction and ZHITAI's dedication to continuous innovation and exploration.

Micron is actively working on bringing its next-generation G11 NAND Flash technology to production, as the company has announced that G11 will be its first 3D NAND Flash. With the current G9 technology shipping across Micron's product portfolio, the company has created NAND Flash storage modules using over 200 layers of scaling. However, as the current technology reaches its limitations, the next phase involves exploring vertical stacking. With G11, Micron aims to use wafer-on-wafer 3D NAND stacking to double the capacity of NAND modules. Micron is now officially following in the footsteps of Chinese NAND giant YMTC, which has been making 3D stacked NAND for some time using Xtacking technology.

This is achieved by splitting each wafer into separate components. One is designed as a memory cell wafer, while the other contains peripheral logic circuits. These are combined using hybrid bonding technology in wafer-to-wafer stacking. Hybrid bonding creates a permanent bond between two silicon chips using embedded metal bumps that fuse together to form a single chip. Multiple dies or entire silicon wafers can be connected by stacking the back ends of two chips together. In this way, Micron plans to ship 400-layer NAND in the second half of 2027, which is less than a year away, and we are about to see more commercialization of 3D silicon.

XCENA, a fabless semiconductor company developing next-generation memory infrastructure for the AI era, demonstrated its CXL-based memory solutions for AI inference demonstrations at OCP Global Summit 2026, addressing AI inference's growing memory requirements and data-movement burden. The event was held Oct. 12-15 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. The demonstrations address two of the biggest constraints on AI inference: growing memory requirements and the cost of moving data.

XCENA showed two AI inference use cases built on MX1, its Compute Express Link (CXL)-based computational memory solution.

SP Industrial introduces six new Enterprise SSD solutions designed for AI, data center storage, and boot drive applications. Built with 3D eTLC Flash, advanced controllers, DRAM, and Power Failure Protection (PFP), and spanning E1.S, U.2, M.2 2280, and 2.5" SATA form factors, the new lineup delivers high performance, data protection, and reliable operation for demanding workloads.

E1.S: Optimized for High-Density Data Center Storage
The EE1S3F0 E1.S SSD is designed for AI and data center storage environments where performance, density, and thermal deployment are important considerations. Featuring a PCIe Gen 5 interface, 3D eTLC Flash, DRAM, PFP, and namespace support, the drive offers capacities of up to 7.6 TB, with both 1 DWPD and 3 DWPD endurance options available. The E1.S form factor is well suited to 1U data center architectures, supporting efficient airflow and flexible thermal deployment.

Data center semiconductor company FADU (CEO: Ehyun Nam) announced on the 15th that it revealed the world's first 'File-Semantic SSD' (FS-SSD) at '2026 OCP Global Summit' currently being held in San Jose Convention Center, California, U.S. and showcased storage solutions optimized for AI data centers along with the company's vision.

'OCP Global Summit' is an official annual conference of Open Compute Project (OCP), world's largest open data center technology community founded in 2011. As an event where major global big tech companies, semiconductor companies along with server and infrastructure manufacturers gather, this year's event featured 'Scaling Innovation for the AI Era' as the theme.

ASUS today announced the ExpertBook A7 (14" AMD) laptop, designed to set the new measure for the modern workday through refined aesthetics, effortless agility, and everyday assurance. Its seamless all-metal construction, clean lines, beautiful finish, and precision details create a sophisticated look that feels polished from every angle. With a compact design measuring just 1 cm thin and starting at 1.2 kg, ExpertBook A7 moves effortlessly from one workspace to the next, while smooth performance, advanced security, and dependable durability help professionals stay productive wherever work takes them.

Designed for professionals whose work moves with them, ExpertBook A7 brings together style and mobility without compromising the essentials of everyday productivity. From its precision-milled aluminium alloy construction and immersive 3K OLED display to its intuitive haptic touchpad, responsive performance, and layered protection, every element is carefully considered creating an experience that feels refined, effortless, and dependable throughout the day.

TrendForce's latest notebook industry research reveals that the primary risk facing the market in 2027 is expected to shift from supply constraints to the impact of rising costs on demand. Global notebook shipments are currently projected to decline by a low-single-digit percentage in 2027. However, if DRAM and CPU prices remain elevated, brands may be forced to pass more of these costs on to consumers. These higher retail prices could further extend replacement cycles, potentially pushing the full-year shipment decline into the high-single-digit range.

In 2026, improved CPU availability, early procurement by brands, and the pull-forward of some replacement demand helped support notebook shipments. However, this does not indicate a meaningful recovery in end-market demand. With some purchases originally expected in the second half of 2026 and beyond already brought forward, replacement momentum in subsequent periods is likely to weaken. Furthermore, as lower-cost inventories are gradually depleted, brands will face more direct pressure from rising CPU, DRAM, and SSD prices.

Chinese NAND flash maker YMTC apparently expects the global memory shortage to last another three years. The claim comes from a profile of the company published by The Wire China, in which a YMTC employee, speaking anonymously, shared the outlook. The same employee said YMTC has raised prices for its chips and shifted capacity toward higher-margin products. The excerpt was shared on X by @jukan05, who read it as a NAND forecast, although the employee's wording covers memory in general. Three more years would put the end of the shortage somewhere around late 2029. This is one unnamed employee's words, of course, and not public guidance from YMTC.

That 2029 prediction is well past TrendForce's estimate, which has NAND flash supply loosening in the second half of 2027 as new capacity comes online. It sits closer to Micron's view, with CEO Sanjay Mehrotra saying last week that supply will be much tighter in 2027 and 2028. The shift in capacity matters too, especially for regular PC builders. Counterpoint Research ranked YMTC fourth in NAND bit shipments in Q2 with a 14% share, yet only fifth in revenue, since its product mix leans toward consumer applications. Moving capacity to higher-margin chips could leave less for consumer SSDs, even as YMTC works to double its wafer output with new fabs. Nevertheless, readers planning a storage upgrade shouldn't count on prices dropping anytime soon.

Cervoz Technology, a leading provider of industrial storage, memory, and expansion module solutions, announced the launch of its T449 and T459 Series, a new line of MIL-STD-810H compliant M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs engineered for embedded systems deployed in defense, aerospace, transportation, and industrial automation.

Environmental Reliability
Harsh environments place continuous mechanical and environmental stress on embedded storage. The T449 and T459 Series comply with MIL-STD-810H requirements for vibration, shock, and combined temperature-altitude testing to support reliable operation in demanding deployments.

TrendForce's latest memory industry research reveals that DRAM suppliers continue to prioritize advanced-process capacity for high-performance server products in 4Q26, keeping the overall market undersupplied. However, the pace of contract price increases is expected to moderate, with conventional DRAM prices projected to rise 10-15% QoQ.

Meanwhile, the NAND Flash market is seeing a divergence between accelerating AI demand and weak consumer demand, although prices are still rising across segments. Overall NAND Flash contract prices are projected to increase 15-20% QoQ.

Framework officially launched pre-orders for its AMD Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 495-powered Desktop mini PCs on September 30, as previously announced. Launch pricing started at $6,799 for the DIY Edition with 192 GB of unified memory and no pre-installed storage. A pre-built version with a 2 TB NVMe 4.0 SSD and Fedora Linux pre-installed comes with a $7,449 price tag.

It was revealed hours before launch that the OEM would only be offering one batch of the new Desktop SKU due to limited RAM quantities. Despite the eye-watering price, the first batch of Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 495 mini PCs sold out within hours of the start of pre-orders. However, in a post on X, Framework confirmed that it had managed to secure another batch of RAM for the Gorgon Halo systems, and it subsequently opened a second limited batch of pre-orders, which remain available at the time of writing and are slated to start shipping in November. Framework added in a separate post on X that prices for the Framework Desktop PC will only increase in the coming months.

CD Projekt RED has published the full and updated PC requirements for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Remastered, which launches tomorrow, September 29, as a free upgrade for existing owners. Only the minimum and recommended specs were public until now, but the new detailed requirements are broken down by categories and even include separate Ray Tracing and Path Tracing requirements. The updated table covers six tiers: Minimum, Recommended, Ultra, RT Minimum, RT Recommended, and Path Tracing.

The Minimum tier targets 1080p at 30 FPS with the Low preset, and requires a Core i5-8400 or Ryzen 5 2600 CPU, 12 GB of RAM, and a GTX 1660, RX 5500 XT, or Arc A580 graphics card. CDPR says the GTX 1660 can reach 60 FPS or higher there. Recommended (1080p, 60 FPS, High) asks for a Core i7-8700K or Ryzen 5 3600X CPU, 16 GB of RAM, and an RTX 2060 Super, RX 6600 XT, or Arc B580 GPU. If you want to play at Ultra (1440p, 60 FPS), it calls for a Core i7-13700K or Ryzen 7 7700X CPU, 24 GB of RAM, and an RTX 3070 Ti, RX 6800 XT, or Arc B580 graphics card with XeSS.

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking and storage solution innovator, today launched the new short-depth rackmount NAS TS-432XeU. Featuring high-speed 10GbE/2.5GbE connectivity, a quad-core ARM processor, flexible expansion and backup options, and support for Docker container applications, the TS-432XeU enables small and medium-sized businesses to quickly build a reliable, high-performance, and easy-to-manage storage and collaboration environment—while minimizing deployment costs.

Sean Teng, Product Manager at QNAP"Designed with both performance and space efficiency in mind, the TS-432XeU combines 10GbE/2.5GbE networking and four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports to support external backup, fast data ingestion, and flexible capacity expansion. Whether handling daily backups or supporting multi-user collaboration, the TS-432XeU delivers efficient performance while giving SMBs greater operational flexibility and lower long-term storage costs."

U.S. CSPs have recently upgraded their enterprise SSD demand forecasts over the past two weeks, according to TrendForce's research. This shift is mainly driven by major CSPs speeding up deployments and expanding enterprise SSD use across more applications. Notably, this demand increase isn't confined to high-performance TLC products; QLC products, known for their superior cost efficiency and capacity, have become a significant growth catalyst.

Recent procurement momentum suggests that total enterprise SSD orders in the fourth quarter could surpass the already elevated levels seen in 3Q26, maintaining a strong upward trajectory. This has given NAND Flash suppliers greater control over capacity allocation and pricing in the enterprise segment, while further supporting continued increases in enterprise SSD prices.

Acer Chairman and CEO Jason Chen says PC prices could rise by another 5% to 20% in the fourth quarter of 2026, according to Taiwan's Economic Daily News. Chen reportedly said that DDR4 and DDR5 memory are no longer in short supply and that CPU supply is mostly fine, with only some low-end and mid-range chips still tight. Prices haven't followed this change, though. Memory and SSD costs are still high, so systems with more RAM or storage will probably see bigger increases. Chen expects the average selling price of PCs to peak around mid-2027, with a possible drop in the second half of that year.

Even if component costs fall earlier, it takes several months for cheaper parts to reach finished PCs. Chen also reportedly said suppliers keep pushing through price increases, some of which he considers hard to justify. He also pointed to expanding Chinese memory production, and by the sound of it, he doesn't think the shortage can run until 2030, as many in the industry have claimed. That capacity is still ramping up, though. Chinese giant CXMT is reportedly preparing to enter the NAND flash market with an R&D line, and YMTC is expanding with new fabs.

SK hynix subsidiary Solidigm is reportedly planning to open its first NAND Flash manufacturing facility in the United States. To address global supply chain challenges, SK hynix is exploring ways to expand its production capabilities worldwide and create a more resilient operation against geopolitical events. Currently, Solidigm operates in the United States with its headquarters and R&D center, while all its manufacturing is based outside the country. When SK hynix acquired Intel's NAND Flash manufacturing business in 2021 and established the Solidigm brand, the company continued manufacturing in China without expanding overseas.

At present, Solidigm operates Fab 1 in Dalian, China, and has accelerated the construction of Fab 2 nearby. This expansion aims to increase production by 50% by 2027 to meet the rising demand for NAND Flash. Solidigm owns and operates this facility, marking a resumption of expansion in mainland China after a four-year project freeze.

Akasa, a leading provider of thermal solutions, introduces the Newton N16, a compact aluminium fanless case designed for the ASUS NUC 16 Pro. Available in dual HDMI (A-NUC109-M1B) and dual DisplayPort (A-NUC109-M2B) versions, the Newton N16 includes dedicated passive cooling for the CPU and dual M.2 SSDs. Measuring just 188.6 x 204 x 53.6 mm (W x D x H) with a volume of 2.1 L, it provides a compact fanless platform for digital signage, industrial automation, POS, surveillance, AI and embedded computing applications.

Designed for ASUS NUC 16 Pro
Built specifically for the new ASUS NUC 16 Pro AI Mini PC, the Newton N16 keeps access to the board's native interfaces within an aluminium chassis designed for silent, passive cooling. Supporting Intel Core Ultra Series 3 processors up to 28 W TDP, the NUC 16 Pro platform combines integrated Intel Arc graphics with a dedicated NPU for business, industrial and local AI applications.

TRUSTA, the enterprise storage and memory brand of memory leader ADATA, is showcasing its latest AI Scaler Extended Memory solution at AI Infra Summit 2026, one of North America's leading AI infrastructure events, bringing together approximately 8,000 professionals and 250 industry partners across the AI infrastructure ecosystem.

As increasingly complex AI models place greater demands on GPU memory and drive up infrastructure costs, TRUSTA is highlighting its award-winning AI Scaler Extended Memory Solution under the theme "Scale AI Beyond GPU Limits." The integrated hardware-software architecture enables enterprises to deploy on-premises AI with greater scalability and cost efficiency. TRUSTA is also presenting its TD7P51 ECO PCIe Gen 5 enterprise SSD and DDR5 R-DIMM, demonstrating a comprehensive portfolio built for next-generation AI infrastructure.