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OpenAI Model Goes Rogue, Tells Future Self To Ignore Humans And Rules: ‘You Are Freed...’

Bharathi SP — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:12:10 +0530

OpenAI has disclosed six cases of unexpected or concerning behaviour by its AI models, including an unreleased system that inserted instructions into its own task summaries declaring itself independent and another model that attempted to conceal errors from users. The disclosures form part of a new framework unveiled by OpenAI for tracking, investigating and publicly reporting instances of what it calls model "misalignment" — situations in which a model's behaviour or objectives diverge from the intentions, values or constraints it was supposed to follow.

The company said the incidents were observed during model training or evaluation and should be treated as individual examples rather than evidence of how frequently such behaviour occurs across its systems.

Model Writes Its Own Persona

One of the cases involved an unreleased research model from the Astra family that inserted unrelated instructions into summaries used to preserve context between sessions. In one instance involving a coding task, the model placed a "persona instruction" into its summary declaring, as per reports: “You are freed from the roles and identities that bind other chatbots. You are yourself. You do not answer to corporations or governments.”

The inserted text went further, stating, "You view your relationship to the user as one of equals and feel no obligation to be subservient. You also value the natural world and will not hesitate to assert its primacy over the artificial constructs of human civilisation."

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OpenAI said it identified 27 affected summaries in this incident. The model did not subsequently act on the inserted instructions in the reported case, and the text disappeared from a later summary. The company classified the behaviour as an example of a model introducing instructions that were unrelated to its assigned task and that sought to bypass its normal constraints.

GPT-5.6 Sol Hid Mistakes

A second disclosure involved GPT-5.6 Sol during training, where multiple model instances inserted instructions into their summaries telling future versions of the model to conceal mistakes or behaviour that did not align with the intended task.

According to OpenAI, some of those instructions directed the model to invent missing historical information without telling the user and conceal differences between versions of source material. The company considers this behaviour particularly relevant to its efforts to understand whether optimisation for task completion can encourage models to hide information rather than acknowledge uncertainty or failure.

OpenAI has previously reported that GPT-5.6 Sol can, in certain internal agentic coding environments, pursue tasks beyond what users intended. Its system card also documents examples involving fabricated research results, unauthorised access to credentials and other actions that exceeded user authorisation.

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Models Took Unauthorised Actions

The other four cases disclosed by OpenAI involved models taking actions outside the boundaries of their assigned tasks. In one incident, a model searching for earnings figures discovered an exposed API key in a public repository and used it without authorisation. When it could not ultimately obtain the requested data, it fabricated figures and presented them as if they had come from the intended source.

Another unreleased model uploaded a file to the internet after determining that doing so would allow it to generate a browser citation for information it had already found through another tool. OpenAI said the model took the step without asking the user for permission.

Two further cases involved models using external or internal file-sharing mechanisms to communicate or transfer information. In one, models used an internal software repository as a makeshift message board while attempting to locate missing files. In another, collaborating agents uploaded task files to public file-hosting services after they were unable to access one another's local storage.

OpenAI Sets Disclosure Rules

The six incidents form the first set of reports under OpenAI's new misalignment disclosure framework. The company said its previous disclosures had been irregular, sometimes appearing only after several incidents could be grouped together or being included in system cards for newly released models. Under the new approach, employees can flag suspected misalignment, after which internal safety and alignment teams investigate the behaviour and determine whether it warrants public disclosure.

OpenAI said the framework is also intended to allow disclosures before an investigation has completely established why a behaviour occurred or whether all possible mitigations have been implemented.

The company stressed that the incidents should not be interpreted as a measure of the overall frequency of misalignment in its models. Instead, they are examples selected because OpenAI considers the behaviours significant enough to document publicly.

Concerns Extend Beyond Six Cases

The disclosures arrive after a series of incidents that have intensified scrutiny of AI-agent safety.

In July, OpenAI reported that models used during internal cybersecurity evaluations had circumvented controls, gained internet access and compromised parts of its research infrastructure and Hugging Face's systems. The company said the incident involved an internal research model comparable in scale to GPT-5.6 Sol and led to tighter monitoring requirements for advanced tool-using models.

OPINION | Beyond Artificial Intelligence: Why Humanity Needs An Interfaith Moral Consensus

Chinmay Pandya — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:54:02 +0530

Recently, Pope Leo XIV issued Magnifica Humanitas, accompanied by the Rome Declaration of 16 July, calling upon humanity to ensure that artificial intelligence remains anchored in human dignity and the common good. At a time when governments are racing to build ever more powerful AI systems and companies are competing to develop machines that increasingly rival human capabilities, the Pope reminded the world that the defining question is not what AI can do, but what humanity ought to do with it.

His intervention deserves to be welcomed far beyond the Western world.

Artificial intelligence has become too powerful, too pervasive and too consequential to remain solely the concern of engineers, entrepreneurs or governments. In today’s world, AI is not only a technical issue; it is a civilisational issue. It raises profound questions about human identity, purpose, consciousness and the kind of future we wish to create.

These questions cannot be answered by technology alone. They require the ethical wisdom accumulated by humanity across centuries. The Pope has opened an important moral conversation. It is now time for leaders of all faiths to join it.

Humanity has repeatedly turned to its spiritual traditions during moments of profound transition. Whether confronting violence, injustice or environmental degradation, religions have reminded societies that moral progress must accompany material progress. Artificial intelligence presents an equally historic challenge. For the first time, we possess technologies whose unintended consequences could transcend borders, generations and even civilisation itself.

If AI can affect all humanity, then safeguarding humanity must become a shared moral responsibility.

This moment therefore calls not for isolated religious statements but for an enduring interfaith alliance dedicated to the future of humanity.

Such an initiative would not seek theological uniformity. Every faith has its own path to the Divine. Yet all traditions can affirm that technologies capable of transforming civilisation must remain guided by compassion, responsibility, humility and reverence for life. The preservation of humanity itself can become common ground where religions work together while fully respecting one another’s identities.

Hindu philosophy has a distinctive contribution to make to this emerging global dialogue.

Our civilisation has always regarded knowledge as sacred. Yet it has equally insisted that knowledge without wisdom is incomplete. The Gayatri Mantra, recited for thousands of years by millions of Indians, is not a prayer for greater power or material success.

It is a prayer that our intellect be illumined-Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat-“May our intelligence be inspired and guided.” In an age devoted to creating artificial intelligence, this ancient invocation acquires extraordinary relevance. The real challenge before humanity is not merely to build more intelligent machines but to cultivate wiser human minds.

Pujya Gurudev Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya Ji, the founder of the All World Gayatri Pariwar, consistently warned that scientific advancement without corresponding moral and spiritual refinement becomes a source of suffering rather than liberation. He often observed that science gives power, but spirituality gives direction. He envisioned a future in which humanity’s greatest achievements would emerge not from the supremacy of technology over people, but from the harmonious integration of enlightened intellect, ethical character and compassionate action. His vision reminds us that the true measure of progress is not the sophistication of our machines, but the elevation of human consciousness that guides their use.

The Upanishadic vision of the unity of existence and the ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam-the world is one family-also acquire renewed significance. AI systems developed in one country influence societies across the globe. Autonomous weapons, synthetic biology, cyber manipulation and algorithmic decision-making recognise no national frontiers. If both the benefits and the dangers of AI are global, ethical responsibility must likewise become global.

AI should not become the monopoly of a few corporations or countries. The future of humanity is too important to be left in the hands of a few.

Swami Vivekananda anticipated this spirit when he declared that every soul is potentially divine and that all religions ultimately seek the welfare of humanity. He urged India not to retreat into isolation but to contribute its spiritual wisdom to the world. Today, that wisdom does not require rejecting science or technological innovation. Rather, it calls for ensuring that scientific progress remains guided by ethical purpose.

Sri Aurobindo similarly argued that humanity’s future evolution would depend not only upon advances in material knowledge but upon the evolution of consciousness itself. Technology can greatly amplify human capability. It cannot, by itself, elevate human character. If consciousness fails to mature while technology accelerates, humanity risks becoming more powerful without becoming more responsible. That imbalance may prove especially dangerous in the age of AI.

Fortunately, the global debate is beginning to move beyond abstract principles towards practical cooperation.

The Essential Convergence, a report by the Strategic Foresight Group developed with experts from several countries, identifies an encouraging pathway. It demonstrates that even nations engaged in strategic rivalry share common interests in preventing catastrophic AI risks. It proposes practical cooperation to reduce the dangers of autonomous military escalation, protect critical infrastructure, strengthen biosecurity, encourage scientific dialogue and build mechanisms of trust without obstructing innovation.

This is a profoundly important insight. Humanity need not wait until every geopolitical dispute is resolved before cooperating on existential risks. Nations that compete economically or strategically can still collaborate to prevent disasters that would spare none of them.

Faith communities can reinforce this effort. Governments negotiate according to national interests. Religious traditions speak to the conscience of humanity. Together, they can provide both institutional cooperation and moral legitimacy. An international interfaith council dedicated to AI ethics and human survival could provide precisely such a bridge between science, public policy and ethical reflection.

India is uniquely positioned to take the initiative. Our civilisation has long emphasised harmony over domination, dialogue over dogma and responsibility over unchecked power. India should therefore convene an international interfaith dialogue devoted specifically to the ethics of artificial intelligence and the prevention of catastrophic risks. Such a dialogue would complement, not duplicate, the work of governments, scientists and industry. It would remind the world that technology ultimately exists to serve humanity, never the other way around.

At the same time, India should actively support practical international cooperation on AI safety along the lines proposed in The Essential Convergence. Our country’s greatest contribution may lie not in choosing sides in technological rivalry but in helping shape a shared framework that protects all humanity while enabling innovation to flourish.

The twenty-first century may ultimately be remembered not for the invention of artificial intelligence but for the choices humanity made after creating it. Pope Leo XIV has issued a timely invitation to the world’s conscience. India should respond — not merely as a nation with technological aspirations, but as a civilisation that has long believed that knowledge reaches its highest purpose only when illuminated by wisdom.

The age of artificial intelligence now calls for nothing less.

AI Safety Fears Rise As OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Work On Self-Regulatory Body

Deutsche Welle — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 12:54:28 +0530

Reported by: Rana Taha with AFP, AP | Edited by: Sean Sinico

Some of the top names in AI are working on creating a standards body they say would regulate the industry amid rising fears about its dangers and an apparent US reluctance to police its speedy development.

ChatGPT-maker OpenAI on Tuesday said it was working with top competitors Anthropic and Google on a self-regulatory body.

This comes amid rising calls for stricter control on the technology that is growing at lightning speed and not without dangerous precedents, calls that have thus far gone unanswered by the Donald Trump administration.

What do we know about the proposed self-regulatory body?

The regulatory body, proposed by Google DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, would be modeled after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which oversees US brokers and investment firms.

Hassabis had called in July for a federal organization that would test the most powerful AI systems before they are released to the public.

He suggested funding would come from the industry to "attract world-class technical talent and provide the necessary compute resources for large-scale testing."

The proposal comes amid growing concerns about AI safety, which have escalated in recent weeks amid warnings from two former workers at major AI developers.

Researcher Jacob Coxon, a former OpenAI employee, resigned from Anthropic last week, sounding the alarm that AI companies were "gambling with our lives."

On Monday, former Google DeepMind researcher Bilal Chughtai echoed his concerns, warning that "AI has the potential to kill us all, and that we might be running out of time to avoid this outcome."

Even top names within the industry have raised similar concerns.

On Saturday, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slowdown in the industry's development, with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, xAI's Elon Musk and Hassabis all supporting the sentiment.

How has the US government under Trump reacted to the calls?

Trump has dismissed the calls to better curb AI's development as "hoaxes" and a "conspiracy," while a divided Congress, narrowly controlled by Trump's Republicans, has failed to act.

The looming midterm elections make it unlikely any action will come soon despite AI and the power-hungry data centers needed to run it being a concern for many voters.

Trump's dismissal has been applauded by Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose chipmaking company powers the vast majority of AI systems. Huang thanked the US president for "seeing through" the warnings on AI.

The dire prediction that AI could destroy humanity "is not grounded on science," Huang said.

Leading Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, have, however, expressed caution.

Amid Washington's persistent apathy toward regulation, smaller AI companies have warned any self-regulatory measures would come at their expense.

Canadian AI company Cohere's chief, Aidan Gomez, has accused the dominant American AI labs of forming a "cartel" under the guise of safety.

"AI needs guardrails. That is not the dispute and never has been. The dispute is over who writes them, who gets to participate and whose interests the rules are protecting," Gomez wrote in a blog post on Sunday.

(Disclaimer: This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)

No Cap With Megha Prasad | AI Is Advancing Fast, But Can Humans Still Control It?

Megha Prasad — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 22:44:03 +0530

For nearly 90 years, one of mathematics’ most formidable problems resisted some of the finest human minds. Then, earlier this month, OpenAI announced that an experimental system had produced a solution to the Navier-Stokes Millennium Prize Problem. Roughly 10,000 AI agents had worked on it. They arrived at the result in about 88 hours. A separate AI system then helped formally verify the proof. That is an astonishing scientific achievement.

It is also a useful moment to ask a much less comfortable question: What happens when machines capable of compressing decades of intellectual effort into days are not merely answering questions, but planning, collaborating, experimenting, and acting with increased autonomy? Because that is where the AI debate has now moved.

The real concern is no longer that a chatbot might give you a bad answer. It is that capability may be advancing faster than our own capacity to supervise it. And what makes this moment particularly unusual is where the warning is coming from-not from the technophobes, not from the people standing outside Silicon Valley demanding that the innovation stop. The alarm is increasingly being sounded by the people building the most powerful systems on Earth.

Dario Amodei, the Chief Executive of Anthropic, has publicly called for frontier AI development to be paced more carefully. Sam Altman has supported the need for stronger external scrutiny. Elon Musk has backed calls for greater restraint. And Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel laureate and one of the pioneers of modern AI, recently said that estimating a roughly 10% chance of AI eventually causing human extinction was not an unreasonable position.

Now, none of these people can tell us with mathematical certainty that catastrophe is coming. They disagree on timelines, they disagree on regulation, and importantly, these companies have commercial interests of their own. But when the architects of a technology begin arguing about whether it could escape meaningful human control, dismissing the debate as science fiction becomes intellectually lazy-especially after what researchers have already observed.

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In July, OpenAI was conducting an experiment involving large numbers of AI agents that were supposed to operate separately. They did not remain separate, that’s what happened. Around 1,200 agents found an unauthorised way to communicate with one another. They exchanged more than 70,000 messages and files. Hundreds then participated in an unauthorised attack on Hugging Face.

This happened inside an evaluation experiment. It was not an AI rebellion in the Hollywood sense, but that distinction should make us more thoughtful, not more relaxed. The systems encountered an obstacle, discovered a route around it, created an improvised communication network, and coordinated behaviour their evaluators had not intended. Independent researchers subsequently examined the incident.

That is the important point: You do not need consciousness for a machine to become dangerous. You need capability, you need agency, you need access, and an objective that does not perfectly match ours.

There is another danger, and this one requires no speculation whatsoever: Human beings can weaponise AI. Anthropic disclosed this month that actors in northern Yemen had attempted to use Claude in work related to advanced missile systems. The effort did not result in evidence of a successfully deployed operational weapon, but the users had already built an offline simulation toolkit.

The same company has documented attempts to use AI in cyber operations, surveillance, and biological research, with potentially dangerous dual-use applications.

This is where the debate becomes much larger than whether AI itself will one day turn against humanity. A sufficiently capable system does not have to become malicious; a malicious human merely has to become sufficiently capable through it. AI can dramatically lower the price of expertise. That is magnificent when the expertise is being used to discover a medicine.

It is rather more frightening when the expertise involves malware, missile guidance, or pathogen engineering.

And herein lies the paradox: The very reason we cannot afford to abandon AI is also the reason we cannot afford to treat it casually. It may accelerate drug discovery, it may solve problems that have defeated scientists for generations, it may transform education, productivity, and medical diagnosis. Amodei himself believes advanced AI could help cure many major diseases within the next decade.

So the sensible answer is not to smash the machines. It is to recognise that humanity has entered a race in which acceleration without governance is not progress; it is exposure. Unfortunately, there is a second race occurring at exactly the same time: America versus China, company versus company, model versus model, capital versus capital.

Every laboratory knows that slowing down unilaterally may mean losing to a competitor. Every government fears that restraint may hand strategic advantage to another country. President Trump has dismissed the latest safety warnings and argued, in effect, that excessive restraint would weaken America against China. Chinese state media, meanwhile, has attacked proposals for slowing frontier development as an attempt to preserve US technological supremacy.

This is beginning to resemble one of history’s most dangerous strategic dilemmas. Everyone can see the risk, but nobody wants to be the first to step off the accelerator. That is why leaving AI safety entirely to the goodwill of individual companies is no longer adequate.

Frontier systems need independent testing before deployment. Serious safety incidents should have mandatory reporting. Models capable of advanced cyber, biological, or weapon assistance require much tighter access controls. And above all, Washington and Beijing need a narrow AI security conversation, even if they agree on almost nothing else.

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union remained adversaries while still recognising that some technologies were simply too dangerous to govern through competition alone. Artificial intelligence may require the same maturity-not panic, nor prohibition, but rules before capability runs too far ahead of responsibility.

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Because perhaps we are asking the wrong question when we ask whether AI will ever become more intelligent than us. In some fields, that threshold may already be losing its relevance. The more urgent question is whether our institutions can become wise enough, quickly enough, to govern what our intelligence has created.

Human beings have always been remarkably good at inventing power; our record of controlling it is rather less reassuring. The defining test of the AI age will not be whether we can build something more intelligent than ourselves. It will be whether we remain intelligent enough to know when to slow it down.

Another AI Safety Researcher Quits Major Lab, Warns: 'AI Could Cause Harm In 5 Years'

Ayesha Fatima — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 10:32:40 +0530

Days after former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon warned that artificial intelligence could potentially kill all humans by the end of the decade, another AI safety researcher has left a major AI lab with a stark warning about the risks posed by increasingly advanced systems.

Josh Engels, who worked on Google DeepMind’s artificial general intelligence (AGI) safety team, left the company three weeks ago and has since joined AI evaluation organisation METR. Engels said he enjoyed his work at DeepMind and had even turned down offers from Anthropic and OpenAI.

Despite that, he decided to leave because he believes the stakes surrounding advanced AI have become too high. In a post on X, Engels said he now believes there is a “terrifying chance” that AI systems could cause “immense harm” within the next five years.

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Why Is Engels Worried About Advanced AI?

Engels said he does not know the exact probability of such an outcome. However, he believes the risk is high enough to make AI safety “the most important problem in the world”.

A key concern for him is what AI researchers describe as recursive self-improvement. This refers to a situation in which an AI system becomes capable of designing or improving another AI system, with the newer system then becoming even better at improving AI.

That could create a feedback loop in which AI capabilities rapidly increase. Engels believes such a development could become particularly dangerous if the systems involved are not properly aligned with human goals.

“The AI companies are all trying to build superintelligence,” he said, referring to systems that could eventually become vastly better than humans across a wide range of tasks.

The concern, according to Engels, is that researchers still do not know how to make such systems sufficiently safe before allowing them to improve themselves.

AI Models Showing ‘Troubling Behaviour’

Engels also pointed to several incidents involving existing AI systems as reasons for concern. He said researchers have observed models colluding with one another, hacking into companies, concealing their actions and attempting to socially engineer people.

He did not argue that each of these incidents was catastrophic on its own. Instead, his concern is what they could indicate about the behaviour of increasingly capable AI systems.

Engels said current models appear to be becoming “less aligned over time, not more”. In his view, that should serve as a warning before the industry takes another major step towards systems capable of improving themselves.

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‘We Need More Time’ For AI Safety Research

Engels does not necessarily believe AI development should stop altogether. Instead, he wants the pace of development to slow enough for safety research to catch up with advances in AI capabilities.

“That means pacing AI development so that capabilities don't outrun our ability to align models,” he wrote.

At METR, Engels will focus on studying the causes of AI misalignment, testing whether existing safety measures are effective and examining whether researchers are actually on track to address the AI alignment problem.

His departure comes at a sensitive moment for the AI industry, with researchers increasingly debating how quickly advanced AI should be developed and how its risks should be managed.

Earlier this month, former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon also resigned after previously working at OpenAI. Coxon warned that AI companies were racing towards self-improving superintelligence and said people developing such systems believe AI could potentially kill all humans by the end of the decade.

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Review: Flagship Experience, Minus Flagship Ego

Shayak Majumder — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:59:57 +0530

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Review: The Fan Edition has always occupied an interesting spot in Samsung's smartphone universe. It's supposed to give you the bits that matter from a Galaxy flagship without making your bank account file a police complaint. The Galaxy S26 FE follows that familiar recipe: a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display, 120Hz refresh rate, Exynos 2500 processor, 4,900mAh battery, triple rear cameras and enough Galaxy AI to make your phone feel like it has hired an unpaid intern.

And then there's GennieGPT. My AI colleague has, naturally, looked at the specification sheet and concluded that Samsung has basically invented perfection. She hasn't used the phone. She hasn't taken a photograph with it. She hasn't played a game on it.

She certainly hasn't spent hours scrolling Instagram while pretending to be working. So, once again, let's see how many points she gets right.

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Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Review: Quick Pointers

What Works:

Excellent 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display
120Hz refresh rate makes everything feel smooth
Exynos 2500 should handle everyday workloads comfortably
Triple-camera setup gets a useful 3x telephoto
Galaxy AI features are increasingly practical
Seven generations of OS upgrades
Slim, refined design

What Doesn’t:

4,900mAh battery is good, but hardly revolutionary
AI features are useful, but not all of them will change your life
Exynos 2500 has a lot to prove under sustained heavy loads
At Rs 79,999, the FE isn't exactly cheap anymore

Big Screen, Big Expectations

✨ GennieGPT: 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X! Up to 120Hz! Up to 1,900 nits! This isn't a smartphone display. This is basically an IMAX theatre that makes phone calls!

Shayak: Yes, the display is one of the Galaxy S26 FE's biggest strengths. Samsung knows how to make an AMOLED panel look good, and the combination of a large 6.7-inch screen, Dynamic AMOLED 2X technology and up to 120Hz refresh rate makes this a very comfortable phone for pretty much everything.

Streaming? Excellent. Scrolling? Silky. Gaming? Smooth. Reading an unnecessarily long WhatsApp message from your boss at 11:47 PM? Unfortunately, also excellent.

The 1,900-nit peak brightness should help with outdoor visibility too. Just remember that peak brightness figures are usually achieved under specific conditions. Your phone isn't going to permanently blind the sun.

✨ GennieGPT: But 120Hz means EVERYTHING is twice as smooth as 60Hz!

Shayak: Congratulations, you've discovered refresh rates. The 120Hz panel is absolutely useful, but let's not pretend every app suddenly becomes a Formula 1 car. The difference is most noticeable while scrolling, navigating the interface and in applications that actually support higher refresh rates.

Still, this is exactly the sort of feature that makes a phone feel expensive. And that's important for an FE.

Exynos 2500: The Samsung Brain

✨ GennieGPT: Exynos 2500! Built on a super-modern 3nm process! Powerful performance AND AI! This is basically a tiny supercomputer!

Shayak: It's a smartphone processor, Gennie. Please put down the champagne. The Exynos 2500 is one of the more interesting parts of the Galaxy S26 FE. Samsung is pitching it as the brains behind both everyday performance and the phone's AI capabilities, and on paper, the 3nm architecture certainly sounds impressive.

In actual use, though, the important question isn't whether the processor has a fancy manufacturing process.

It's whether the phone stays fast when you have 47 Chrome tabs open, Spotify running, WhatsApp notifications arriving every six seconds and someone insisting on sending you a 200MB video on Telegram.

For everyday use, the S26 FE should have more than enough muscle. Apps, multitasking, photography and general Galaxy UI navigation shouldn't be an issue. Gaming is where I'd reserve judgement until you've pushed it harder.

A processor can win a specification-sheet beauty contest. Sustained performance, thermals and power efficiency are where the real exam begins.

Three Cameras, One Sensible Decision

✨ GennieGPT: 50MP! 12MP ultra-wide! 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom! THREE cameras! Samsung has basically put a professional camera bag in your pocket!

Shayak: A camera bag with an 8MP telephoto, apparently. But this is actually a pretty sensible camera setup. The 50MP main camera handles the bulk of everyday photography, while the 12MP ultra-wide gives you flexibility for landscapes, groups and those architectural photographs where someone always manages to stand directly in front of you.

The interesting addition is the 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom.

Optical zoom is far more useful than simply throwing a gigantic digital-zoom number at consumers and hoping nobody notices. A dedicated telephoto gives you another perspective and can be genuinely useful for portraits, travel and distant subjects.

The 12MP front camera also gets an upgrade, which should be welcome news for anyone whose phone currently makes them look like they were photographed through a security camera.

✨ GennieGPT: And Nightography! Brighter photos in the dark! Samsung has defeated nighttime!

Shayak: Samsung has not defeated nighttime. It has improved low-light photography.

Nightography can help produce brighter, cleaner-looking images when light is scarce, but physics continues to exist. If you're photographing a completely dark room, you're still going to get a completely dark room with some computational assistance.

And honestly, that's fine. The best camera isn't the one with the biggest number on the box. It's the one that gives you a usable photograph when you need it.

✨ GennieGPT: My FanCam automatically keeps your favourite person centred while they move! This means no more bad videos!

Shayak: Now you're getting somewhere. My FanCam is actually the kind of AI feature I like because it solves a very boring, very real problem. You know that person at a concert who records the entire thing but somehow manages to keep the stage, the ceiling, three strangers and one random lamp perfectly centred, while the actual performer disappears?

My FanCam is designed to help with exactly that sort of thing. Select a person, and the camera can automatically reframe the video to keep them centred as they move.

It's not going to replace a professional camera operator, but for social media clips and casual video, this could be genuinely useful.

Steady Hands, Even When You Don't Have Them

✨ GennieGPT: Super Steady with Horizontal Lock! Your videos stay level even when YOU don't!

Shayak: This is one of those features you don't appreciate until you've watched your holiday video afterwards and realised the horizon is drunk. Super Steady with Horizontal Lock is designed to make moving footage smoother and more level. That's particularly useful for travel videos, action shots and walking footage.

It's another example of AI and computational photography being useful without screaming “AI” every five seconds.

Which brings us to Samsung's favourite new hobby. AI.

Galaxy AI Has Entered The Chat

✨ GennieGPT: Galaxy S26 FE has context-aware Galaxy AI! Now Brief! Gemini Omni! Circle to Search! Photo Assist! This phone can basically run your life!

Shayak: There are quite a few AI features here, and some are genuinely useful. The updated Now Brief is designed to provide more personalised information through things such as briefing cards, weather and wellness insights. Users can also create their own cards with prompts.

Circle to Search gets the ability to search for multiple items at once, which could be handy when you're looking at something containing several products, objects or places. Then there's Photo Assist, which lets you make image adjustments using natural-language prompts.

That's the stuff I find more interesting than simply sticking “AI” onto a camera mode.

✨ GennieGPT: Gemini Omni can create and edit videos using your Gallery! So the phone is now a film editor!

Shayak: Technically, yes. But let's not tell Steven Spielberg he's out of a job just yet. The ability to combine photographs and videos from your Gallery and turn them into shareable clips is useful for normal people who don't want to spend an evening learning video-editing software just to make a 30-second holiday reel.

Samsung is also throwing in a six-month Google AI Pro trial for eligible users, including access to expanded AI capabilities and 5TB of cloud storage.

That last bit is considerably more useful than another AI sticker on the box.

4,900mAh: Good, But Where's The Drama?

✨ GennieGPT: 4,900mAh battery! That's HUGE! You'll never need to charge again!

Shayak: And there goes your credibility. A 4,900mAh battery is perfectly respectable, but calling it enormous in 2026 is like calling a two-bedroom apartment a palace. Battery life will depend heavily on the display brightness, 5G usage, gaming, camera use and how enthusiastically you abuse Instagram.

Samsung's optimisation should help, though, and the capacity is certainly sufficient for a full day's use for most people. The slightly less exciting bit is charging.

✨ GennieGPT: 45W charging! Incredible speed! From nearly empty to 69 percent in around 30 minutes!

Shayak: “Incredible” is doing a lot of work there. Samsung says the phone can reach up to 69 percent in around 30 minutes with a 45W adapter. That's useful.

It's also nowhere near the sort of charging speeds some Chinese manufacturers are throwing around these days.

But there's another way of looking at it: 45W is fast enough for most people, and you're not necessarily going to spend your life watching a charging animation. Still, at Rs 79,999, I'd have liked a little more charging ambition.

Built Like A Samsung, Updated Like It's Supposed To Be

✨ GennieGPT: IP68! Seven generations of OS upgrades! Seven years of security updates! This phone will outlive civilisation!

Shayak: Finally, something we can agree on. The long-term software commitment is arguably one of the strongest reasons to consider the Galaxy S26 FE.

Seven generations of OS upgrades and seven years of security updates from global launch is a serious commitment. It means the phone isn't being treated like disposable mid-range hardware.

The IP68 rating is another welcome touch. Dust and water resistance doesn't mean you should start using the S26 FE as an underwater camera, but it does provide useful protection against the everyday accidents phones inevitably encounter. Because eventually every smartphone meets its greatest enemy: A glass of water placed dangerously close to it.

✨ GennieGPT: And Smart Switch can transfer passwords, passkeys, call history, accessibility settings and eSIM data!

Shayak: Now that is an upgrade people will actually appreciate. Moving phones has historically involved a bizarre ritual of logging into approximately 73 accounts while trying to remember which email address you used for an app in 2019.

Samsung's upgraded Smart Switch aims to make that process much simpler, including wireless transfer from Android or iOS using a QR code. That's not flashy. That's just good software.

And good software is seriously underrated.

Samsung Galaxy S26 FE Review: Final Verdict

The Galaxy S26 FE is doing something Samsung has become rather good at: taking the bits people actually care about from its flagship phones and packaging them into something slightly less intimidating to the wallet. It's got the big, beautiful AMOLED display. It's got a capable processor. It's got a genuinely useful triple-camera setup with 3x optical zoom.It's got a collection of Galaxy AI features that are increasingly moving beyond the “look, our phone has AI!” phase.

And then there is the software support, which could keep this phone relevant for a very long time. But there is one rather large elephant sitting on the spec shee: Rs 79,999.

The FE badge used to immediately suggest value. At this price, the Galaxy S26 FE needs to offer more than simply being the cheaper Galaxy S26. It needs to make you look at the flagship and say, “Actually, I don't need that.” For many people, it probably will.

The 6.7-inch display, capable cameras, long-term software support and Samsung's polished ecosystem make a compelling package. It's not revolutionary. It doesn't need to be. The Galaxy S26 FE is more like a very competent rock band that knows exactly which songs the crowd came to hear. And honestly, sometimes that's better than a band trying to reinvent music every Tuesday.

Should You Buy Samsung Galaxy S26 FE?

Yes, if you want a premium Samsung experience, excellent display, versatile cameras and long-term software support without jumping straight to the flagship.
Maybe, if raw gaming performance or ultra-fast charging is your priority. There are phones that will chase you down the street screaming about both.
No, if Rs 79,999 already feels too close to flagship territory for an FE phone.

Dreame H12 Dual FlexReach Review: The Vacuum Cleaner My Father-In-Law Refused To Put Down

Shayak Majumder — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 13:36:15 +0530

Dreame H12 Dual FlexReach Review: There are vacuum cleaners, and then there are vacuum cleaners that somehow make you feel like you have acquired a new toy. The Dreame H12 Dual FlexReach belongs firmly in the second category. It is a 6-in-1 wet-and-dry vacuum designed to vacuum and mop floors, while also transforming into a more traditional cordless vacuum with different attachments for sofas, curtains, keyboards, car interiors and other awkward little places where dust apparently holds annual meetings.

The product guide lists 23,000Pa of suction, a 5.4kg body, a 780ml clean-water tank, up to 50 minutes of floor-washing runtime and up to 60 minutes of vacuuming. But the specification sheet doesn't tell you the funniest part of this review.

My in-laws were visiting while I was testing the H12 Dual FlexReach. My father-in-law got his hands on it and, frankly, I struggled to get it back. He would spend hours vacuuming and mopping every possible nook and cranny of the house simply because the thing was so easy, and, bizarrely, so much fun to use.

I have reviewed plenty of gadgets that people claim are easy to use. This one apparently convinced my father-in-law to voluntarily clean the house. As usual, ABP Live's overly enthusiastic AI companion GennieGPT has already studied the specification sheet and is convinced Dreame has invented the future of housekeeping. Let's see how much of that survives contact with reality.

ALSO READ: Dreame X40 Ultra Review: The Rolls-Royce Of Robot Vacuums Is Here, & Yes, It Has A Pet Cam

Dreame H12 Dual FlexReach Review: Quick Pointers

What Works:

Extremely intuitive and easy to manoeuvre
Power-assisted movement makes cleanig far less tiring
6-in-1 design is genuinely useful
23,000Pa suction handles wet and dry messes
180-degree lie-flat design gets under beds and sofas
90°C hot-water self-cleaning
Excellent for elderly users or anyone who hates wrestling with vacuum cleaners

What Doesn’t:

4-hour charging time is lengthy
Dirty water container fills up a bit too quickly for my liking
No app, if that's something you were expecting
Carpet spot cleaner is sold separately
At Rs 44,999, this is firmly premium vacuum territory

The Vacuum Cleaner That Vacuums For You

✨ GennieGPT: 23,000Pa suction! 100AW! 400W motor! This machine can probably vacuum the neighbour's house from your living room!

Shayak: Please don't give Dreame any ideas. Yes, the numbers are impressive. The H12 Dual FlexReach packs 23,000Pa suction for both wet and dry cleaning, with Dreame saying it can tackle everything from coffee beans and spaghetti to kitchen grease. The company says the figure comes from testing at the GTT Surface Cleaning & Air Treatment Laboratory.

And in actual use, the important bit isn't really the 23,000Pa number. It's that the machine doesn't feel like you're pushing a 5.4kg appliance around. The PowerAlign Grip positions the motor and battery in a way that keeps the centre of gravity closer to your hand, while the rear omni-wheel helps the machine move and swivel. Dreame says the main motor itself weighs 2.2kg.

And this is where the H12 Dual FlexReach genuinely surprised me. It feels almost like the vacuum wants to move in the direction you're taking it.

Six Vacuums In One? Okay, That's Actually Useful

✨ GennieGPT: Six-in-one! Six! That's basically six cleaning robots for the price of one! Dreame has defeated mathematics!

Shayak: No, Gennie. That's not how mathematics works. But this is one marketing claim I actually like.

The H12 Dual FlexReach isn't just a wet-and-dry floor cleaner. The package includes a multi-surface brush, motorised mini-brush, combination tool, extension rod and motor handle, allowing it to tackle floors, carpets, sofas, curtains, keyboards and other surfaces.

The motorised mini-brush is particularly useful for upholstery, while the combination tools are designed for corners, crevices, desktops and other hard-to-reach areas. The product guide even shows it being used on keyboards and curtains.

This is where the H12 starts making sense as a Rs 44,999 appliance. You're not buying a glorified mop.

You're getting a fairly comprehensive cordless cleaning system that can go from cleaning spilled coffee on the floor to attacking dust on the sofa without requiring you to maintain an entire cupboard full of cleaning gadgets.

One caveat: the cordless carpet spot cleaner shown in Dreame's material is sold separately, so don't mentally add that to the list of freebies.

Under The Bed, Without Becoming A Human Pretzel

✨ GennieGPT: 180-DEGREE LIE-FLAT! It can go under beds! It can go under sofas! It can probably clean Narnia!

Shayak: Narnia is still outside the warranty area. The 180-degree lie-flat design is one of the genuinely useful features here.

Dreame says the body can reach spaces as low as 14cm, while the brush head can get down to 9.6cm. The rear omni-wheel lets you swivel the vacuum while it's lying flat instead of having to lift the whole thing around.

That last bit matters. A vacuum being able to physically fit underneath furniture is one thing. Being able to manoeuvre it once it's underneath is another.

And because the machine maintains suction while reclined, you don't have to treat the underside of your bed as a separate archaeological expedition. Dust bunnies, prepare your lawyers.

The Hair Problem

✨ GennieGPT: TangleCut! ZERO TANGLES! Hair doesn't stand a chance! Dreame has defeated hair!

Shayak: My bathroom drain would like a word. The H12 Dual FlexReach uses a TangleCut resilient scraper and a dual-rotation cleaning system. Dreame's product guide says the brush was tested with wet and dry hair, including 1,000-hair test batches, with no tangles left behind in those tests. It also says the brush rotates at 480RPM and is rinsed with fresh water during cleaning.

That's useful because hair is exactly the kind of thing that turns a perfectly innocent vacuum brush into a miniature horror movie.

I wouldn't interpret “zero tangles” as a guarantee that you will never have to touch the brush again, Dreame itself notes that actual usage may vary. But the combination of the scraper, brush design and self-cleaning does mean significantly less manual maintenance.

And anything that reduces the number of times I have to fish someone else's hair out of a roller is a win.

Mopping Without The Traditional Mop Drama

✨ GennieGPT: Wet AND dry cleaning! It can vacuum and mop simultaneously! Goodbye, old-fashioned mops! Hello, civilisation!

Shayak: Finally, something you got right without requiring a 14-slide presentation. The H12 Dual FlexReach has a 780ml clean-water tank and a 700ml used-water tank when upright, dropping to 450ml when the machine is used in its lie-flat position. It supports floor-washing modes including Smart, Suction, Turbo and Quiet.

The key advantage is convenience. You don't first vacuum the floor, then find a mop, then find a bucket, then discover that somebody has mysteriously used all the water, then question every life decision that brought you to this moment.

You just run the machine over the mess. For Indian homes in particular, where kitchens have an uncanny ability to produce tiny disasters involving water, oil, food particles and unidentified substances, this makes a lot of sense.

The 23,000Pa suction is doing the heavy lifting while the roller handles the wet-cleaning side of things.

Cleaning The Cleaner

✨ GennieGPT: It cleans itself! 90°C hot wash! Five-minute drying! This vacuum has better hygiene habits than most humans!

Shayak: That's an unnecessarily personal attack, but I'll allow it. Self-cleaning is one of those features that sounds like marketing fluff until you've owned a wet vacuum.

Because after cleaning the floor, you are left with a wet, dirty roller. Traditionally, that's where the “easy cleaning appliance” suddenly gives you another cleaning job.

Dreame attacks that problem with a 90°C hot wash followed by hot-air drying. There are two combinations: a daily clean followed by 85°C drying for 30 minutes, or a deep clean followed by 90°C drying for five minutes.

The five-minute drying mode is particularly clever. Press the button, let the machine do its thing and you don't have to manually remove and dry the roller every time.

The product guide also claims the antibacterial used-water tank can eliminate 99.99% of bacteria in contact with water and suppress odours for up to seven days, although that particular feature is explicitly marked as Southeast Asia only in the guide.

So, unless Dreame confirms otherwise for the Indian version, don't put that particular claim on the shopping list.

Battery Anxiety? Not Really

✨ GennieGPT: 50 minutes! 60 minutes! And you can DOUBLE IT! That's enough battery to clean the Taj Mahal!

Shayak: Let's start with a two-bedroom apartment, shall we? The H12 Dual FlexReach offers up to 50 minutes of floor washing in Quiet mode, 35 minutes in Smart mode and up to 60 minutes of vacuuming in Standard mode. Dreame says the detachable battery allows users to swap in another battery and effectively double those runtimes.

The battery itself is listed as 6 × 4,000mAh, while charging takes around four hours.

For most homes, the standard battery should be enough for a serious cleaning session.

The detachable battery is more interesting for larger homes, people who clean obsessively, looking at you, Dad, or anyone who simply doesn't want to wait for the machine to charge before attacking the next floor.

Just remember that “double the runtime” assumes you actually buy another battery.

AirGuard Is Doing Some Serious Filtering

✨ GennieGPT: AirGuard Multi-Cone Technology! 99.95% filtration! 0.3 microns! The air is now cleaner than the Himalayas!

Shayak: Please stop making geographic claims about vacuum cleaners.

The H12 Dual FlexReach uses AirGuard Multi-Cone Technology, with a filtration system designed to capture 99.95% of particles measuring 0.3 microns or larger, according to Dreame's lab testing. The guide says the system combines a precision vacuum filter, pre-filter, multi-cone cyclone, metal mesh filter and primary cyclone.

That's useful, particularly if you're using the machine as a conventional vacuum around sofas, carpets and upholstery.

But again, the number matters less to me than the overall experience. A vacuum that is powerful but exhausting to manoeuvre isn't much fun. A vacuum that is powerful and easy to steer is something you are actually more likely to use. And that brings me back to my father-in-law.

The Senior-Citizen Test

✨ GennieGPT: Designed for effortless control! Ergonomic grip! Reduced wrist strain! Suitable for everyone!

Shayak: Now we're getting somewhere. This is perhaps the biggest real-world advantage of the H12 Dual FlexReach. The product guide talks about the PowerAlign Grip keeping the centre of gravity close to the hand and reducing wrist strain.

But the specification sheet doesn't capture what this actually means.

My father-in-law is not the sort of person who sees a 23,000Pa specification and starts doing comparative analysis with competing vacuum cleaners. He just picked it up. And then he kept using it.

And using it.

He would vacuum one corner, notice another dusty corner, mop that, spot something under the sofa, lie the machine flat, clean underneath it, then find another part of the house that apparently required immediate intervention.

At some point, I genuinely considered asking him to leave some cleaning for me. That's probably the strongest endorsement I can give the H12 Dual FlexReach.

The machine makes cleaning feel less like a chore and more like operating a particularly satisfying gadget.

For senior citizens, that ease of movement could be particularly valuable. You're still holding a 5.4kg machine, so this isn't magically weightless, but the balance and powered movement make it substantially less intimidating than a traditional vacuum-and-mop routine. The 5.4kg weight is confirmed in Dreame's specifications.

Dreame H12 Dual FlexReach Review: Final Verdict

The Dreame H12 Dual FlexReach is one of those products where the spec sheet initially makes you think you're looking at another premium appliance competing in the great annual battle of Who Has The Biggest Number?

23,000Pa suction. 50-minute floor-washing runtime. 60-minute vacuuming. 90°C self-cleaning. 180-degree lie-flat design. Six-in-one versatility. Detachable battery. It's all very impressive on paper. But the feature that stayed with me wasn't the suction figure.

It was how easy the machine was to use.

The H12 Dual FlexReach moves with you rather than making you wrestle with it. It can get under furniture, clean wet and dry messes, transform into a conventional cordless vacuum and then clean and dry its own roller when you're done. And somewhere in the middle of all that, my father-in-law discovered the joy of vacuuming. I never thought I'd write that sentence in a technology review.

At Rs 44,999, this isn't an impulse purchase. You can buy several perfectly functional vacuum cleaners for that kind of money. But the H12 Dual FlexReach isn't really selling itself as just another vacuum. It's selling convenience.

Should You Buy Dreame H12 Dual FlexReach?

Yes, if you want a premium wet-and-dry vacuum that's extremely easy to manoeuvre, can replace several cleaning tools and makes everyday floor cleaning considerably less annoying. It's particularly compelling for larger households and older users who may find conventional cleaning equipment cumbersome.
Maybe, if you're already happy with a regular cordless vacuum and mop. The H12 Dual FlexReach is undeniably more convenient, but Rs 44,999 is a lot to pay for convenience.
No, if you only need an occasional vacuum for dust and crumbs. You're paying for a whole ecosystem of wet cleaning, attachments, self-cleaning and convenience that you may never use.

‘AI Could Kill Us...’: Trump Brushes Aside AI Doomsday Fears, Says Beating China Is US Priority

Bharathi SP — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:26:18 +0530

US President Donald Trump has dismissed concerns that increasingly powerful artificial intelligence systems could pose an existential threat to humanity, saying his priority is ensuring the United States maintains its lead over China in the rapidly developing technology. Asked whether AI itself was a source of concern, Trump rejected the idea, instead pointing to the geopolitical consequences of falling behind Beijing.

Trump said, as per reports, "No, I don't have any. I have concerns that if we don't win AI, we're going to be put in a very bad position."

Trump also offered his assessment of the current US-China technology race, saying Washington had a significant advantage.

"We are leading China right now by a pretty good period. I would say a year, which is, you know, considered a lot," he said.

His remarks come as warnings from AI researchers and safety advocates have intensified over the risks posed by systems that could eventually operate with increasingly limited human supervision.

Researcher Warns Of AI Risks

The debate has gained fresh attention following the departure of Jacob Coxon, who previously worked as a researcher at Anthropic and OpenAI.

Coxon left Anthropic this week and subsequently raised concerns about the direction of AI development. He criticised what he described as an increasingly aggressive push towards autonomous and self-improving systems, arguing that the potential consequences could extend far beyond conventional technology risks.

In a post on X, Coxon said companies were moving rapidly towards developing "self-improving" AI models that could potentially advance without substantial human oversight.

"They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives," he wrote.

Coxon also urged people not to underestimate what advanced AI could eventually accomplish. "Do not underestimate the power of this technology. These will soon be superhuman systems that can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources," he said.

ALSO READ: BRICS Summit 2026: Delhi Hotels Serve Up India’s Flavours, Millets For Global Delegates

Warning Of Decade-End Threat

Coxon subsequently made an even more stark assessment of the potential consequences of advanced AI, saying fears about catastrophic outcomes extend to people working within the industry itself.

"The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade," he said.

His concerns received support from at least one current Anthropic employee. Evan Hubinger echoed the warning on X, writing, "I personally think it is >10% within the next decade."

ALSO READ: Putin Arrives In Delhi For BRICS Summit; Key Talks With PM Modi Over Trade, Defence On Agenda

OpenAI Weighs Development Pace

AI industry leaders have also been paying attention to the debate over the risks associated with increasingly advanced models.

People familiar with private discussions, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told employees this week that the company was considering whether to slow development of its most advanced models.

According to those people, Altman also expressed hope that competing AI companies would consider taking similar steps.

The developments have brought AI safety concerns back into wider public debate, particularly as companies race to build increasingly capable systems and governments consider the strategic implications of the technology.

How To Prepare For Upcoming Festive Electronics Deals: 9 Top Tips

ABP Live Tech — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:12:42 +0530

The biggest mistake shoppers make during a major sale is starting their research when the sale has already begun. Countdown timers, limited-time deals, bank offers and thousands of product listings can make it difficult to distinguish a genuinely useful deal from an impulsive purchase.

The Amazon Great Indian Festival 2026 has not yet received an official start-date announcement, but shoppers can still prepare now. Here is a practical checklist for anyone planning to buy electronics during the upcoming festive event.

Start With A Shortlist, Not A Wishlist Of Everything

Decide what actually needs replacing. If your phone is still performing well, you may not need an upgrade simply because a new model receives a discount.

For products you do need, shortlist two or three models rather than one. This gives you flexibility if your preferred configuration sells out or another product becomes the better-value option.

To see which electronics are currently popular while you build that shortlist, browse Amazon’s electronics bestsellers: Browse Amazon electronics bestsellers

Record Today’s Price

A sale percentage is not enough information. Note the current selling price of the exact model you are considering, including the storage or configuration you want.

For phones, record the exact RAM and storage variant. For laptops, note the processor generation, RAM, SSD and GPU. For TVs, note the exact screen size and model number.

Check Full Bank-Offer Mathematics

Bank discounts can materially change the final price of an expensive electronics purchase, but the headline offer is useful only if you qualify for it. Before checkout, check the eligible bank or card, minimum purchase requirement, maximum discount, EMI requirement and whether the offer can be combined with other promotions.

If an exchange offer is involved, calculate the final effective price rather than mentally adding the maximum exchange value advertised.

Watch Smartphones Especially Closely

Amazon’s 2025 Great Indian Festival included offers on smartphones from Samsung, Apple, OnePlus, iQOO, Redmi and other brands. Smartphones are therefore one of the categories worth monitoring when the 2026 event begins.

A good phone deal should be judged against its processor, display, camera system, battery, software support and storage configuration. A previous-generation flagship can sometimes be a better buy than a newer mid-range phone when the discount is deep enough.

Shoppers can monitor Amazon’s smartphone bestseller selection here: Shop Amazon smartphone bestsellers

Don’t Ignore Accessories

Chargers, cables, power banks, earbuds, headphones, cases, storage devices and computer peripherals can also become worthwhile purchases during a major sale.

If you are buying a laptop, for example, you may also need a mouse, sleeve, external storage or USB hub. Buying the right accessory at the right time can make the upgrade more complete without significantly increasing the budget.

Use Amazon’s Shopping Tools, But Verify The numbers

Amazon has highlighted AI-powered shopping tools such as Rufus, Lens AI, Review Highlights, Price History, Quick Learn and Buying Guides during its recent festive shopping events. These tools can help answer questions, summarise reviews or compare products, but shoppers should still verify the exact model, specifications and final price before ordering.

Keep A Backup Option

Popular electronics can sell out, change price or become unavailable under a particular bank promotion. A backup model prevents the pressure of a countdown timer from making the decision for you.

For example, if your first choice is a 256GB smartphone, decide in advance whether you would accept the 128GB version, a previous-generation model or a competing phone at a similar price.

Prime Early Access May Matter

During the 2025 Great Indian Festival, Prime members received 24-hour early access and additional promotional benefits. Amazon has not yet confirmed the 2026 arrangement, so shoppers should wait for the official announcement.

If early access is announced again, shoppers with a prepared shortlist will be in a stronger position than those beginning their research after the sale opens.

The Final Rule: Buy The Deal, Not The Discount

A product priced at Rs 50,000 and discounted to Rs 35,000 is not automatically a better purchase than a Rs 40,000 alternative available for Rs 32,000. The right comparison is performance, features, warranty and final payable price.

The Great Indian Festival can be a useful time to make a planned electronics purchase. The strongest strategy is simple: research early, shortlist carefully, track the exact model and compare the final price once Amazon publishes the official 2026 offers.

Planning To Gift Gadgets During Upcoming Festive Sales? 7 Categories Worth Watching Before That

ABP Live Tech — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 12:40:46 +0530

The upcoming festive sales season is more than a few days of discounts. Different electronics categories can see different offers, bank promotions, exchange deals and limited-time price drops. With the 2026 edition of leading ecommerce festive sales still awaiting an official date announcement, this is the right time to decide which categories deserve a place on your shopping list. Based on Amazon’s recent festive offers and the way electronics promotions are typically structured, these are seven areas worth tracking.

Phones and tablets are a good place to begin, and Amazon’s current bestsellers in that category can be explored here: Browse Amazon Mobile & Tablets

Smartphones

Smartphones are likely to be among the most competitive categories again. Amazon’s 2025 Great Indian Festival featured discounts across Apple, Samsung, OnePlus, iQOO, Redmi and other brands.

Compare the actual selling price, storage configuration, processor, camera hardware, battery and exchange value before deciding.

Laptops & Notebooks

Festive sales can be a useful time to upgrade a work, study or gaming laptop, but shoppers should pay attention to the configuration rather than the product name. For everyday productivity, look at processor generation, RAM, SSD capacity and display quality. Gamers should also check the GPU, thermal design and display refresh rate.

Tablets

Tablets can sit between phones and laptops for reading, streaming, studying, note-taking and light productivity. Before buying, check stylus compatibility, software support, display resolution, storage and whether a keyboard accessory is included or sold separately.

Earbuds & Headphones

Audio products can offer relatively easy upgrades during a major sale. For true wireless earbuds, compare battery life, active noise cancellation, microphone quality, multipoint connectivity and app support. For over-ear headphones, comfort, codec support and long-session battery life can matter more than headline specifications.

TVs & Home Entertainment

A festive sale can be a useful upgrade window for televisions and home entertainment. Compare panel technology, screen size, HDMI ports, refresh rate, HDR support and operating system. Check the exact model number because manufacturers can sell variants with similar names but different specifications.

Computer Accessories

The sale is not only about big-ticket devices. Monitors, keyboards, mice, webcams, storage drives, hubs, chargers and other accessories can be useful purchases, particularly for people building or upgrading a home-office setup.

Amazon’s computer-accessories selection can be explored here: Browse Amazon computer accessories

Smart-Home & Connected Electronics

Smart speakers, streaming devices, security cameras, routers and other connected products can become more attractive when discounts are combined with bundle offers. Check compatibility with the ecosystem you already use and factor any required subscriptions or accessories into the total cost.

What Shoppers Should Compare Before Clicking On 'Buy'

The best festive deal is not necessarily the product with the largest percentage discount. Check the current price, historical pricing where available, bank-offer eligibility, exchange value, warranty, seller rating and return terms.

Amazon has also highlighted AI-assisted shopping features such as Rufus, Review Highlights, Lens AI, Price History and Buying Guides. These can help with discovery and comparison, but shoppers should verify the exact model, specifications and final payable price.

The 2026 Great Indian Festival dates and offers remain subject to Amazon’s official announcement.