TECHNOLOGY

With the 2025-26 NBA regular season wrapped up and the playoffs set to begin, the race for the 2026 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player award has narrowed to an unusually deep field of five candidates, each making a compelling case in what analysts have called one of the league's most competitive chases in years.

LOS ANGELES — Sony's next-generation PlayStation 6 remains unannounced, but leaks, insider reports and official hints paint a clear picture of a powerful console targeting a 2027–2028 launch window amid industry-wide component challenges. Here are the 10 key things gamers need to know about the PS6 as development accelerates.

SEOUL — South Korea has rolled out the first production model of its KF-21 Boramae fighter jet, marking a stunning achievement in military aviation: moving from concept to series production in roughly a decade. Experts are hailing the indigenous 4.5-generation platform as a potential game changer for middle-power nations seeking advanced combat capability without the massive costs and delays that plague traditional fifth-generation programs.

Windows is the world's most widely used desktop operating system, which also makes it the most targeted. Hackers, ISPs, data brokers, and surveillance systems all treat Windows machines as prime territory.

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Apple is preparing to enter the foldable smartphone market with its long-rumored iPhone Fold, expected to debut in fall 2026 as one of the most significant redesigns in the iPhone's history. Supply chain reports and analyst predictions point to a book-style device that unfolds from a compact 5.5-inch outer screen to a spacious 7.8-inch inner display, potentially rivaling an iPad mini in productivity while fitting in a pocket when closed.

NEW YORK — Snap Inc. shares climbed Monday to $4.98, up 16 cents or 3.42%, as the Snapchat parent company drew fresh investor interest from a deepened partnership with Qualcomm Technologies to power future generations of its augmented reality Specs, even as the stock trades near multi-year lows ahead of first-quarter earnings.

ESPOO, Finland — Nokia Oyj shares skyrocketed nearly 9% Monday in Helsinki trading to €8.74 as investors piled into the Finnish telecom equipment maker ahead of its first-quarter earnings, following a bullish upgrade from Bank of America that highlighted strong growth potential in optical networks fueled by exploding AI data traffic and hyperscaler spending.

NEW YORK — Intel Corp. shares advanced nearly 3% in early trading Monday to $64.17 as investors bet on the chipmaker's accelerating foundry momentum, potential billion-dollar advanced packaging wins with hyperscalers and a broader turnaround under new leadership, even as the company prepares to report first-quarter results later this month.

NEW YORK — Eos Energy Enterprises Inc. shares jumped more than 10% in early trading Monday to $6.21 as the zinc-based long-duration energy storage specialist extended gains from last week's surge, fueled by preliminary first-quarter 2026 revenue that exceeded analyst expectations and signs of improving manufacturing efficiency in its push to challenge lithium-ion dominance in grid-scale batteries.

NEW YORK — Palantir Technologies Inc. shares rose more than 3.5% in early trading Monday to $132.68, rebounding from last week's sharp sell-off as investors appeared to refocus on the company's strong artificial intelligence platform adoption, robust government contracts and ambitious 2026 growth guidance amid a broader recovery in tech names.

NEW YORK — Microsoft Corp. shares climbed more than 1.6% in early trading Monday to $377.01 as investors showed renewed optimism in the software giant's artificial intelligence and cloud leadership despite a challenging start to 2026 that has seen the stock lose more than 20% year-to-date.

NEW YORK — CoreWeave Inc. shares surged more than 9% in early trading Monday to $111.31 as the specialized AI cloud provider continued to ride momentum from a string of blockbuster customer contracts and financing moves that underscore explosive demand for high-performance GPU infrastructure.

BOSTON — Fidelity Investments faced a wave of customer complaints Monday as users reported widespread issues accessing the brokerage's mobile app and website, preventing many from viewing accounts, executing trades or monitoring portfolios during a busy trading session marked by swings in major indices.

NEW YORK — Oracle Corp. shares climbed more than 5% in early trading Monday, reaching $145.41, as investors appeared to embrace the company's accelerating artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure growth amid a broader market recovery and fresh product announcements that underscore its push into enterprise AI applications.

BOCA CHICA, Texas — declared "Engineering is real magic" Sunday after posting a cinematic video of SpaceX's Super Heavy booster being caught midair by the launch tower's giant mechanical arms, a feat once dismissed as impossible that has become central to the company's push for reusable rockets.

SAN FRANCISCO — OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's San Francisco residence came under apparent attack for the second time in less than 72 hours early Sunday, when surveillance footage captured a vehicle stopping near the property and a passenger firing shots, authorities said.

NEW YORK — As Sony continues to ride strong sales of the PlayStation 5 and its Pro variant, speculation about the PlayStation 6 release date has intensified, with rumors pointing to a potential launch window ranging from late 2027 to as late as 2029 due to an ongoing global shortage of memory chips driven by artificial intelligence demand.

CUPERTINO, California — Apple's iPhone 18 Pro Max is shaping up as one of the most significant upgrades in years, with rumors pointing to a larger battery, the company's first variable aperture camera and a cutting-edge 2nm processor as the device prepares for a September 2026 launch alongside a new foldable iPhone.

Elon Musk, the billionaire CEO of Tesla, SpaceX and xAI, posted a rare note of gratitude on X late Sunday, calling it "such an honor to work with so many amazingly talented people." The comment came in reply to a widely shared video clip of venture capitalist Marc Andreessen praising Musk's intense, truth-seeking leadership style and comparing it to Steve Jobs' approach at Apple.

WASHINGTON — SpaceX's Starlink constellation, with nearly 10,000 operational low-Earth orbit satellites and more than 9 million subscribers worldwide, continues to dominate the satellite broadband market in 2026. Yet growing competition is emerging from both legacy geostationary operators and ambitious new low-Earth orbit projects aiming to erode Starlink's lead in speed, latency, pricing and global reach.

SAN FRANCISCO — As the foldable smartphone market matures in 2026, all eyes are on Apple's long-awaited entry into the category. Rumors suggest the company's first foldable device — potentially dubbed the iPhone Fold or iPhone Ultra — could launch in September or December alongside or shortly after the iPhone 18 lineup, directly challenging Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8, expected in July.

TOKYO — Sony is preparing to launch its next flagship smartphone, the Xperia 1 VIII, in May or June 2026, continuing its tradition of spring unveilings while introducing the most significant design overhaul in years for the premium lineup that emphasizes professional-grade camera features, a 4K display and audiophile elements.

CUPERTINO, Calif. — Leaker Sonny Dickson has shared the first physical dummy units of Apple's long-awaited foldable iPhone alongside models of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, giving the world its clearest look yet at the unconventional proportions of the company's first book-style foldable device set to arrive later this year.

SAN FRANCISCO — Elon Musk's social media platform X is preparing to launch a standalone messaging app called XChat on April 17, 2026, according to its App Store listing, marking the latest step in Musk's long-promised vision of transforming X into an "everything app" with secure, encrypted communication at its core.

SEOUL, South Korea — In a bold clash between cutting-edge artificial intelligence and human esports excellence, Elon Musk has challenged League of Legends legend Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and his T1 team to face xAI's Grok 5 in an exhibition match scheduled for 2026, sparking global excitement over whether machines can outplay the sport's greatest player.

WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. — The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, the world's most advanced and expensive stealth bomber, continues to demonstrate unmatched penetrating strike capability as the U.S. Air Force deploys the aircraft in Operation Epic Fury against hardened targets in Iran.

NEW YORK — Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: AMD) remains a favored pick among Wall Street analysts in April 2026, with a consensus "Buy" or "Moderate Buy" rating from more than 40 firms and average 12-month price targets suggesting 10-20% upside from current levels near $245.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Midcontinent Communications, known as Midco, faced scattered but significant service disruptions Saturday, with numerous customers across South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska reporting internet, TV and phone outages despite the company's official outage map showing mostly normal operations.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — As artificial intelligence infrastructure spending surges into 2026, the rivalry between NVIDIA Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. intensifies, with NVIDIA maintaining overwhelming dominance in AI accelerators while AMD gains ground through aggressive product launches and cost-effective alternatives.