ArsTechnica

VisionQuest trailer kicks off Disney's D23 fan event https://arstechnica.com/culture/2026/08/visionquest-trailer-kicks-off-disneys-d23-fan-event/ Also: Ahsoka S2 teaser, Doomsday trailer, news about MCU's X-Men and Star Wars: Starfighter

Ukraine strikes major Russian rocket factory with cruise missiles https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/ukraine-strikes-major-russian-rocket-factory-with-cruise-missiles/ "Flamingo missiles were used. A good achievement."

So much solar: Digging into the list of every US power plant that went online this year https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/so-much-solar-digging-into-the-list-of-every-us-power-plant-that-went-online-this-year/ Utility-scale solar leads by a mile, followed by batteries. Fossil fuels, not so much.

Policy experts: Europe stuck between "rock and a hard place" on launch https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/policy-experts-europe-stuck-between-rock-and-a-hard-place-on-launch/ It turns out that the economics of rocket reuse are pretty, pretty good.

Ars Live recap: How can we stop publishers from killing their own games? https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/08/ars-live-recap-how-can-we-stop-publishers-from-killing-their-own-games/ The Stop Killing Games movement faces an uphill battle.

Judge gives Google one week to fix "anticompetitive" app store download in Google Play https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/08/google-ordered-to-make-it-easier-to-download-alternative-android-app-stores/ Third-party app stores are about to become more visible in Google Play.

R-rated director's cut of X-Files film restores Chris Carter's original horror vision https://arstechnica.com/culture/2026/08/r-rated-directors-cut-of-x-files-film-restores-chris-carters-original-horror-vision/ Chris Carter chats with Ars about the film he originally wanted to make—and why it's more relevant than ever.

Taylor Farms' connections to Trump admin spurs probe into Cyclospora response https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/08/taylor-farms-connections-to-trump-admin-spurs-probe-into-cyclospora-response/ Senator Warren questions whether Taylor Farms' influence swayed Trump admin.

OpenAI and Anthropic in price war as Chinese AI rivals gain ground https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/08/openai-and-anthropic-in-price-war-as-chinese-ai-rivals-gain-ground/ US groups release cheaper models after new challenges to their trillion-dollar ambitions.

Rocket Report: Rocket Lab shows off its flexibility; Blue Origin's two-pad plan https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/rocket-report-rocket-lab-shows-off-its-flexibility-blue-origins-two-pad-plan/ "We’ve never seen launch capacity so constrained."

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra review: The ultra foldable with an ultra price https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/08/samsung-galaxy-z-fold-8-ultra-review-the-ultra-foldable-with-an-ultra-price/ Samsung didn't have to change much this year because its hardware is just that good.

Organic-looking brake assemblies debut on new Czinger 21C Spyder https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/08/czinger-debuts-topology-optimized-brakes-with-21c-spyder/ Czinger used topological design and additive manufacturing to make the brakes.

US wait times for cancer surgeries are getting longer and longer https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/08/us-wait-times-for-cancer-surgeries-are-getting-longer-and-longer/ Study finds wait times for cancer surgeries hit 10-year high.

The new Instagram logo is the perfect embodiment of AI slop https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/08/the-new-instagram-logo-is-the-perfect-embodiment-of-ai-slop/ Opinion: Some remarks about the new wordmark accidentally being perfectly awful.

Google announces Gemini 3.7 Flash just three weeks after previous release https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/08/google-announces-gemini-3-7-flash-just-three-weeks-after-previous-release/ Gemini 3.6 Flash debuted just 3 weeks ago, but Google says 3.7 has "substantial improvements."

Rivian's 2027 changes include its No. 1 most-requested feature https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/08/rivian-tweaks-its-r1-range-for-model-year-2027/ Pricing hasn't changed, and now you can get captain's chairs for the R1S.

Anthropic could be worth $2 trillion when it goes public https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/08/anthropic-could-be-worth-2-trillion-when-it-goes-public/ Rapid revenue growth fuels hope Claude maker's IPO is the biggest listing in history

We've flown a radiation-blocking vest to the Moon and back, and it worked https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/08/weve-flown-a-radiation-blocking-vest-to-the-moon-and-back-and-it-worked/ Let's shield the astronauts instead of the spacecraft.

Claude's new Scarlet Letter watermark is invisible — for now https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/08/claudes-new-scarlet-letter-watermark-is-invisible-for-now/ The mark flags anything Claude processed, even human writing it only edited.

Trump sued over "brazen" scheme to sell Truth Social API access for $100K a month https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/08/trump-sued-over-brazen-scheme-to-sell-truth-social-api-access-for-100k-a-month/ With Truth API, Trump is "selling priority access to news he himself generates."