TechCapsules

The article discusses how recent adaptations—Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil film and the second season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners—demonstrate that faithfully recreating a game’s setting can succeed where character‑centric retellings often fail. Both projects anchor new narratives within the original worlds of Raccoon City and Night City, preserving iconic locations and visual cues while introducing fresh protagonists. The approach has earned praise from fans and developers, suggesting a viable model for future game‑to‑screen adaptations. [...]

Ultium Cells LLC, a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution, announced plans to produce lithium‑manganese‑rich (LMR) prismatic battery cells at its Spring Hill, Tennessee plant. The move would make Ultium the first global manufacturer of this next‑generation chemistry, offering 33% higher energy density than current lithium‑iron‑phosphate cells while maintaining comparable costs. Construction and upgrades will begin later this year, with completion slated for 2028, creating 500 new jobs and expanding the facility’s workforce to [...]

Apple’s upcoming iPhone Duo, weighing 254 g and 11.3 mm thick when closed, features a 4,883 mAh battery—larger than the Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The capacity was confirmed via an EU energy label, a rare disclosure for Apple. While the battery size is not record‑breaking for foldables, it surpasses competitors, reinforcing Apple’s advantage in power and ecosystem integration. Pre‑orders for the Duo are delayed until 2027.

NVIDIA and the Jülich Supercomputing Centre executed a 104‑qubit fault‑tolerant quantum simulation on JUPITER, Europe’s first exascale machine, during GTC Berlin 2026. The simulation modeled magic‑state cultivation under realistic hardware noise, validating a protocol that cuts physical qubit overhead by up to 90% versus traditional cascade distillation. The work, detailed in NVIDIA’s technical report, complements Google Quantum AI’s cultivation theory and demonstrates the CUDA‑Q platform’s scalability across European supercomputing hubs. It marks the first exascale‑level validation of [...]

Capcom’s Resident Evil 7 shifted from a planned Call of Duty‑style approach to a narrative‑driven design inspired by Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us. Producer Miguel Corti explained that the team sought critical acclaim and a stronger story, mirroring the success of The Last of Us. The result was a cleaner, scarier entry that revitalized the franchise, leading to subsequent titles and re‑issues, despite sales falling short of the 2013 hit.

The Carlota copper mine in Arizona is experimenting with bio‑leaching, using acid‑tolerant microbes from Denver startup Endolith to extract copper more efficiently from low‑grade ore. The method mixes microbes with sulfuric acid, spraying the solution over rock piles to dissolve iron and sulfur, freeing copper. The mine currently yields only a third of its former output, and improved yields are critical to avoid closure by the decade’s end. The article also notes rising temperatures in Longyearbyen, Norway, [...]

Google has begun replacing detailed support articles with AI‑generated summaries on its Help portal, starting with Google Account Help pages. The new “Ask Google Help” feature presents a concise version of the article and lets users ask Gemini for next steps. A “View Sources” button still links to the original content, but direct article links now default to the AI experience. The change is currently limited to select topics, with some sections like Pixel Help still showing [...]

The UK Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade and UK Research and Innovation announced a £78 million package to boost quantum sensing, networking, and skills under the National Quantum Strategy. The funds include £50 million for commercial sensing and positioning, £20 million for quantum networking supply‑chain components, and £8 million to expand the QuEST Apprentices Programme. The package supports the UK’s aim to lead globally in quantum sensing by 2030 and complements a £17 million EPSRC call for AI/HPC integration. [...]