TechCapsules

Final screen tests for the next James Bond are underway, with Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, and Josh O'Connor confirmed as finalists by Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter. A fourth contender remains unnamed, though Jack O'Connell is ruled out and Jacob Elordi is not testing. Actors will be evaluated on stunts, dialogue, and camera presence, with an announcement expected in November or December. Denis Villeneuve will direct the film, which may begin production next year and aim for a late‑2028 release. [...]

A federal judge in Australia has ordered Apple to allow iPhone users to install apps from third‑party stores and websites by March 1, 2027, following a 235‑page antitrust ruling. Apple must comply or seek an extension until May 3, 2027. The decision cites Apple’s market power in iOS app distribution and payment systems, and requires the company to lift restrictions on alternative payment methods and app installation. Apple will appeal the order.

SEMI’s latest silicon wafer shipment forecast projects an 11.8% rise in 2026, reaching 14,420 million square inches (MSI). Shipments are expected to climb to 17,034 MSI by 2029, marking consecutive record highs. Growth is driven by robust AI demand, which fuels advanced epitaxial wafers for cutting‑edge logic and polished wafers for memory, including HBM, server DRAM, and enterprise NAND flash. Recovering mature‑node utilization and reduced inventory adjustments also support the uptick. The forecast reflects input from the [...]

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War IV unveiled comprehensive gameplay footage, detailing its cinematic single‑player campaign across four factions—Space Marines, Adeptus Mechanicus, Orks, and Necrons—spanning 70 missions with branching paths. The trailer outlines core RTS mechanics: base building, resource capture, and fast‑paced skirmishes with cinematic kill animations. It introduces new modes, including Last Stand, competitive multiplayer, and the Painter customization tool. The release promises varied faction playstyles and extensive post‑launch updates.

Apple’s first foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, has sparked global crowds as stores open days before its launch. Fans line up at Apple locations worldwide, including Macau and New York’s Fifth Avenue, despite Apple’s warning of limited retail stock. Preorders are already shipping, with some customers receiving delivery notifications for October 23. The Duo, unveiled at Apple’s “Surprise and Shine” event on September 9, starts at $1,999 and sold out within minutes.

Security firm FoxIO revealed that a remote attacker can crash HTTP/3 servers by sending a small batch of compressed headers that expands into thousands of times more memory, causing a denial‑of‑service. The flaw, rooted in QPACK’s header‑compression handling, affects several popular stacks, including quic-go, Cloudflare quiche, lsquic, and Wireshark, while Bun, the h3 Rust library, and aioquic remain unpatched. FoxIO’s proof‑of‑concept code demonstrates up to 4,000‑fold memory amplification, and fixes are already available for most libraries. [...]

Black Kite has launched Quantum Readiness controls within its Cyber Rating platform to evaluate third‑party vendors’ preparedness for post‑quantum cryptography. The new checks scan for hybrid key exchange, certificate signature readiness, and assets lacking migration plans, and feed results into the SSL/TLS Strength category. The feature aims to help organizations identify supply‑chain gaps, track vendor progress, and meet looming regulatory deadlines such as NIST’s 2030 deprecation of RSA and EU’s 2026 cryptographic roadmap.

Joel Franey earned a Bachelors in Creative Writing and Games Design from Brunel University in 2017, followed by a Masters in Creative and Critical Writing from Sussex University. While studying, he freelanced across gaming roles—design, PR, reviews, and features—before joining USgamer and ReedPop’s guides team in 2019. Since then, he has contributed to Gfinity Esports, Eurogamer, VG247, Dicebreaker, RPS, Jelly Deals, and GamesRadar+, writing guides, news, features, reviews, and SEO content. He also authors fiction and co‑hosts [...]