Snapdragon’s latest flagship processor is a scorching performer in more ways than one. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset delivers blazing-fast performance for 2026’s Android flagships, but early tests show it also runs extremely hot. With great power comes great heat: some benchmark stress tests pushed this chip to a searing 56°C internally, which is far too hot to hold comfortably. While everyday tasks won’t reach such extremes, heavy gaming or rendering can turn your phone into a hand-warmer and even trigger emergency cooldown measures. Here’s what you need to know about the 8 Gen 5’s thermal issues and what they mean for you.

Blistering Temperatures in Stress Tests

A clear example comes from the Red Magic 11 Pro, a gaming phone built specifically for sustained performance. According to testing reported by Android Authority, the device shut down during a 3DMark stress test despite using an active cooling fan and a dedicated thermal system. This result shows that even phones designed for gaming struggle to control the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 under maximum load.

Standard flagship phones fare worse. In testing of the Nubia Z80 Ultra, reported by PhoneArena, surface temperatures exceeded 50°C, making the phone uncomfortable to hold. Without active cooling, the device was forced to reduce performance quickly to prevent further heat buildup. These results highlight how difficult it is for passive cooling systems to handle this chip during sustained workloads.

Big Performance Drops Under Load

Excess heat leads directly to thermal throttling. In GPU stress tests, some Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 devices saw performance drop by more than 50 percent from the start of the test to the end. In extreme scenarios, sustained heat forced the chip down to less than one third of its peak performance.

By the end of prolonged tests, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 was running slower than the previous generation flagship processor. While the chip excels at short bursts of speed, it struggles to maintain those levels without aggressive cooling. In long gaming or rendering sessions, older chips that generate less heat can sometimes deliver more consistent performance.

Gaming Phones Help, But Only to a Point

Gaming phones still handle the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 better than standard flagships. Larger vapor chambers, liquid cooling systems, and internal fans allow devices like the RedMagic 11 Pro to sustain performance for longer periods. However, testing confirms that even these phones can suffer shutdowns or severe throttling during extreme workloads.

This points to a wider issue across the industry. Cooling systems are struggling to keep up with the power demands of modern flagship processors. Raw performance gains are increasingly limited by how effectively heat can be removed from the chip.

Daily Use Is Mostly Fine

For most users, these thermal issues will rarely appear. Reports from long-term daily use show no noticeable overheating or throttling during common tasks. Web browsing, messaging, navigation, video streaming, and casual gaming do not push the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 close to its limits.

Heat problems mainly occur during sustained high-load scenarios. Extended gaming sessions, graphically demanding titles, emulation, and heavy rendering workloads are where performance drops become noticeable. Casual users will experience fast and smooth performance, while power users may see dips during long sessions.

Looking Ahead: Cooling Tech to the Rescue?

Thermal challenges like these have phone makers and chip designers looking for new solutions. Interestingly, Samsung has developed a “Heat Pass Block” (HPB) technology that could help tame hot chips in the future. HPB essentially adds a tiny heat-sink layer directly on top of the processor to dissipate heat more effectively. It first appeared in Samsung’s Exynos 2600, where it delivered about a 16% improvement in thermal resistance thanks to a copper layer that helps draw heat away from the silicon. Rumor has it Qualcomm might adopt this Heat Pass Block tech in the next Snapdragon 8 Gen 6 processor to help rein in temperatures. If true, that could allow next-gen phones to run cooler or at least sustain peak performance longer than the 8 Gen 5 does.

In the meantime, expect smartphone brands to get increasingly creative with cooling. We’re already seeing bigger vapor chambers in devices (Apple even added one in the iPhone 17 Pro for the first time), and some gaming phones include mini internal fans. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 shows that cooling is now as critical as raw performance. For everyday use, it remains a powerful and reliable chip. Under sustained workloads, however, heat management has become the defining challenge for flagship smartphones.

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(Sources: Android Authority, PhoneArena)

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Realme has announced a new colour option for its 2025 Breakthrough Best Seller smartphone, the Realme Narzo 90x 5G. The new finish is called Valentine’s Special Maroon. It joins the existing Nitro Blue and Flash Blue options and becomes the third colour variant available for the device.

The Valentine’s Special Maroon version will go on sale starting 14 February 2026 at 12 PM. It will be available through Amazon India and the Realme India website. The company has not confirmed pricing yet, but it is expected to match the current colour variants. Since this is only a new colour option, there are no changes to the hardware or software. Realme may announce launch-day offers or limited discounts, which should be detailed once sales begin.

The Narzo 90x 5G originally launched on December 16. It features a 6.8-inch LCD display with a 1570×720 pixel resolution. The screen supports a 144Hz refresh rate, a 180Hz touch sampling rate, and up to 1,200 nits of peak brightness. Display protection is handled by DT-Star D+ glass.

The smartphone is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 processor. The chipset includes two Cortex-A76 cores clocked at 2.4GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores running at 2GHz, paired with a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU. It comes with 6GB or 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB of eMMC 5.1 storage. Storage can be expanded up to 2TB using a microSD card.

For cameras, the phone features a 50MP Sony IMX852 rear sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and an 8MP front camera with an f/2.0 aperture. Both cameras support 1080p video recording at 30fps. Other features include a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, a single bottom-firing speaker with 400 percent Ultra Volume, an IP65 rating, and MIL-STD 810H certification.

The Narzo 90x 5G packs a 7,000mAh battery with support for 60W fast charging. It measures 166.07×77.93×8.28mm and weighs 212g. Connectivity options include 5G SA and NSA bands n1, n3, n5, n8, n28B, n40, n41, n77, and n78, along with dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi ac, Bluetooth 5.3, and a USB Type-C port. The phone runs Android 15 with realme UI 6.0.

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OnePlus has started rolling out OxygenOS 16.0.3.500 for users in India. The update is now available for the OnePlus 11 and the OnePlus 12R. As with previous updates, this is an incremental OTA and will first reach a small number of users before expanding to a wider rollout over the next few days.

For the OnePlus 11, the update focuses on small usability changes and security improvements. In Drawer mode, app categorization has been improved with the addition of two new categories called Office and Finance. These categories are meant to make it easier to find work-related and finance apps without scrolling through long app lists. The update also includes the February 2026 Android security patch, which fixes known security issues and improves overall system safety.

Privacy-related features have also been updated on the OnePlus 11. Users can now browse files stored in Private Safe by sliding the side slider. It is also possible to search for files directly within folders inside Private Safe. In addition, files stored in Private Safe can now be shared without moving them to another location, making secure file handling quicker and more practical.

The OnePlus 12R receives a different set of changes focused on charging and battery use. OxygenOS 16.0.3.500 adds a new bypass charging feature. When the phone is used for gaming, video streaming, live streaming, navigation, or other high-load tasks, users can connect the charger and enable bypass charging. This allows the phone to draw power directly from the charger instead of the battery, which helps reduce heat and battery wear during heavy use. The OnePlus 12R also receives the February 2026 Android security patch.

Like the OnePlus 11, the 12R gains the same Private Safe improvements. Users can browse files using the side slider, search for files within Private Safe folders, and share files directly from Private Safe.

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Audio-Technica has introduced the ATH-WP900SE, a limited-edition over-ear headphone designed to accurately reproduce the sound of string instruments, with a clear emphasis on guitars.

The ATH-WP900SE features solid ash wood earcups, a material widely used in electric guitars and basses. Each unit is finished in a three-tone sunburst lacquer inspired by classic guitar designs. The lacquer work is carried out individually by Japanese guitar manufacturer Fujigen, resulting in visible wood grain and a deep gloss similar to that found on musical instruments. This is the first time Audio-Technica has applied a guitar-style lacquer finish to its headphones.

At the core of the headphones are newly developed 53 mm dynamic drivers created exclusively for this limited edition. The acoustic structure has been tuned specifically for string instruments. A redesigned voice coil improves linear motion and control, while uniform airflow behind the driver helps reduce unwanted resonance and uneven vibration. Audio-Technica has also optimized the acoustic port shape to deliver tighter bass. The company says this setup allows clear reproduction of guitar contours, strong low frequencies, and natural sustain.

The ATH-WP900SE offers a frequency response range of 5 Hz to 50 kHz, a sensitivity rating of 98 dB/mW, 37 ohms of impedance, and a maximum power input of 1,000 mW. Despite the large driver size, the headphones weigh around 235 grams without the cable.

Comfort features include low-resilience memory foam used in both the headband and ear pads, wrapped in artificial leather to support long listening sessions. The earcups swivel flat, making the headphones easier to store in the included pouch.

Audio-Technica uses its A2DC detachable connector system for stable signal transmission. The box includes two 1.2 m cables: a 3.5 mm unbalanced cable and a 4.4 mm balanced cable for use with compatible headphone amplifiers and high-resolution audio players. Additional accessories include a Fujigen cleaning cloth for the lacquered wood housing and a handwritten serial number card.

Pricing & availability

The ATH-WP900SE is available for pre-order in Japan and is priced at 110,000 yen, or about $750. The official release date is February 20, 2026.

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ASUS Republic of Gamers has announced the ROG Strix Aiolos SSD Enclosure, a high-performance external SSD enclosure designed for users who need fast data transfers, stable thermals, and easy storage management. The enclosure is built for next-generation NVMe M.2 storage.

The ROG Strix Aiolos uses a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 Type-C interface and supports transfer speeds of up to 20Gbps. This allows quick movement of large game libraries, raw video files, and backups. The enclosure supports M.2 PCIe NVMe SSDs in 2280, 2260, and 2242 form factors, as well as M.2 SATA SSDs with B+M key support. This dual compatibility allows users to install both newer NVMe drives and older SATA M.2 SSDs without needing a separate enclosure.

ASUS includes the ROG SSD Dashboard for storage management. The software provides real-time information on SSD status, performance levels, and key metrics through a dedicated interface designed for ROG enclosures. This gives users a clear view of drive health and operation without relying on third-party tools.

Thermal control is handled through a dual-layer cooling design. Inside the enclosure, a high-efficiency thermal pad pulls heat away from the SSD to help prevent performance drops during sustained workloads. The exterior is coated with a heat-resistant liquid silicone rubber layer that protects the enclosure from dust and smudges while keeping it cool to the touch during extended use.

The ROG Strix Aiolos also features customizable Aura RGB lighting, which can be controlled through a web-based interface. The tool-free push-to-open design allows quick SSD installation and removal. For portability, the enclosure includes a metal hook with a fabric tag that offers five times the tensile durability of the hook used on the ROG Strix Arion. ASUS also bundles an ROG strap and a braided cable for added durability.

The enclosure measures 115.5 x 46 x 15.12 mm and weighs 139 g. It supports Windows 10, Windows 11, and macOS 14.4 or later. Power is supplied via 5V DC. The operating temperature range is 0°C to 40°C, while storage temperatures range from -40°C to 60°C. ASUS has not yet announced pricing or availability details for the ROG Strix Aiolos.

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Discord will begin rolling out new teen safety features globally in early March, placing all new and existing users into a teen-appropriate experience by default unless they verify they are adults. The update introduces stricter content controls, limited access to age-gated spaces, and new communication rules designed to reduce unwanted contact while keeping user privacy intact.

Under the new system, sensitive images and videos will remain blurred unless a user is age-assured as an adult. Only verified adults can access age-restricted channels, servers, and app commands, speak on stage in servers, or change message request settings. Direct messages from people a user may not know will go into a separate inbox by default, and users will see warning prompts for friend requests from unfamiliar accounts.

To unlock adult features, Discord requires age verification through one of several methods. Users can choose facial age estimation using a video selfie that is processed entirely on their device, or submit a government ID to Discord’s verification partners. Identity documents are deleted quickly, usually immediately after age confirmation. Discord is also deploying an age inference model that runs in the background to help determine whether an account belongs to an adult, without always requiring manual verification. Some users may be asked to complete multiple steps if more information is needed.

Once verified, users receive confirmation via Discord’s official account. Age status is private and cannot be seen by others, and users can view or appeal their assigned age group at any time in account settings.

Discord previously tested this “teen-by-default” approach in the UK and Australia. The company says the global rollout builds on those results. Savannah Badalich, Discord’s head of product policy, said the goal is to give teens stronger protections while allowing verified adults more flexibility, adding that teen safety remains central to Discord’s product design.

Public reaction to the change has been mixed. Some users support tighter controls around messaging and content for teens. Others are concerned about privacy and mandatory age checks. Critics note that recent security incidents show Discord has struggled to keep user data safe. A breach of a third-party support provider in late 2025 exposed government ID photos and personal information for tens of thousands of users when attackers accessed age verification and support ticket data. Discord says about 70,000 users had their ID photos exposed and that it cut off the vendor’s access and is working with law enforcement, but some reports suggest the stolen data could be much larger. Users on social forums have expressed frustration that verification photos, said to be temporary, were still stored and then leaked, raising doubts about how secure the process really is.

The update follows similar moves across the industry. Instagram already places teens into stricter content and messaging settings by default. Snapchat keeps teen accounts private and limits how they can be discovered. TikTok has expanded AI-based age detection to flag underage users. Discord is also launching a Teen Council made up of 10 to 12 users aged 13 to 17 to advise on future safety features, policies, and tools.

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Ayaneo has revealed key specifications and features of the NEXT 2, its latest Windows handheld gaming device. Like many other handhelds on the market, this upcoming device will also be powered by an AMD Ryzen AI APU and will offer premium features like an OLED display, advanced cooling, and TMR joysticks.

Ayaneo NEXT 2 features

The NEXT 2 offers two AMD processor options: the Ryzen AI Max 385 for the base model and the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 for premium configurations. Ayaneo claims the Max+ 395 delivers discrete graphics-level performance. RAM and storage vary by processor, with other hardware specifications remaining consistent across models.

Display specifications include a 9.06-inch OLED panel with 2400 × 1504 resolution in landscape orientation. The screen features a high refresh rate for enhanced responsiveness during gameplay. Audio output comes through front-facing speakers, while navigation includes an 8-way D-pad and dual smart touchpads flanking the display.

Controls represent a key differentiator. The NEXT 2 introduces TMR joysticks with adjustable torque, a feature Ayaneo claims as industry-first for Windows handhelds. Hall Effect joysticks and Hall linear triggers with dual-mode locks provide additional input precision. Four programmable rear buttons enable ten-finger control configurations. A dual-fan cooling system manages thermal performance during intensive gaming sessions.

Pricing & availability

Pricing starts at $1,799 for early backers purchasing the 32GB/1TB Ryzen AI Max 385 model, increasing to $1,999 at retail. The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 configuration with 64GB RAM and 1TB storage costs $2,299. The flagship model featuring 128GB RAM and 2TB storage carries a $3,499 early bird price, jumping to $4,299 at retail launch. All versions ship exclusively in Polar Black.

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