Top 5 weekly: Intel’s survival plans, a coin-sized DIY handheld console, and more

With the fall now upon us, it’s time to put the summer clothes away, grab the sweaters and scarves, and get ready for all the upcoming holidays and special events that are on the horizon. However, while the mercury fell over the last few days, the tech news still burned as hot as ever. So, let’s dive in and see what happened in the last week of summer.

It’s a tough time for the CPU giant

After Intel lost 30% of its stock in one night, the processor company hasn’t been in the best shape. Previously, we heard rumors that the company was planning to split in two: the logistics side would continue working purely for Intel, while the manufacturing side (Intel Foundry) would be allowed to take on third-party projects to help raise funds. The CEO of Intel then made a post confirming these rumors, and also stating that they plan to turn the company’s position around.

It seemed par for the course, but then further rumors appeared claiming that Qualcomm approached Intel during its troubled times and offered to buy it up. Given how Intel made its post about keeping its head above the water, there’s a very good chance that it rejected Qualcomm’s offer; however, this likely won’t be the last time we hear of a company stepping forward to own a large player in the CPU market like Intel.

Save the environment

Source: Chris Doel

Disposable vapes have lithium-ion batteries in them, so why throw the empties out when you can find a new use for them? That’s exactly what YouTuber Chris Doel set out to do when they took 35 disposable vapes, removed their batteries, and then made a power bank with them. The results were impressive; the bank could hold a charge of 15,000 mAh, not including the electricity lost as heat during the conversion. It could super-fast charge his phone and his laptop, and was built so that the cells could be replaced when they stopped working.

Surprise! It wasn’t out yet

Source: Apple

Apple released the macOS 15.1 public beta this week, which caused some of us at XDA to say “Wasn’t it released already?” It turns out that Apple had kept people on the dev branch a little longer than usual, and now the beta is ready for people to use. This beta contains the first Apple Intelligence features, and it’s well worth a try if you want a sneak peek into what the company is planning with its AI tools.

Truly “pocket size”

How small can a handheld go? If you’re thinking of anything bigger than the size of a Euro coin, then this DIY project has something to show you. Everything here ticks the boxes needed to become a handheld; it has buttons, a screen, and changeable cartridges that let you swap out the game you’re playing. Sure, the games are limited to Pong and Snake, but it’s not like you can squeeze anything else onto such a tiny display.

Spread the signal

Finally, we round it off with a new world record in the Wi-Fi scene. Morse Micro managed to smash its previous record by sending a Wi-Fi signal just under 10 miles, delivering a 2Mbps connection to a receiver on the other end. Granted, there were no obstacles between them to block the signal, but this technology is best used in empty rural areas where cellular companies won’t find it profitable enough to put up antennae. Nice work, Morse Micro!