Minister of Business Innovation and Employment will conduct an independent investigation into matters raised. Read...

A survey reveals 81% of business leaders want AI tools that enhance teamwork, as current individual-focused AI limits collaboration and ROI globally. Read...

As digital risks grow in Australia, 2026 will see adaptive identity become vital for securing every access point against advanced threats, including AI-driven attacks. Read...

From no-mow trials in public parks to soft plastic recycling, Carterton council is adopting sustainable practices across its business units. Read...

We liked pretty much everything about the Nuki Smart Lock, a compact retrofit model that came out earlier this year, except for one thing: the monthly fee to use its Wi-Fi features.  Yep, that’s right: Nuki wanted its customers to pay $5.90 a month for Nuki Premium, a subscription plan that was required to access the Nuki Smart Lock remotely via Wi-Fi. The alternative was either Bluetooth connectivity, meaning you’d need to be physically near the lock to control it, or patching the Thread-enabled lock into your local network via Matter.  That charge for Wi-Fi access always seemed a little nuts, and indeed, Nuki never actually imposed the fee, instead pushing it off until September and then again to December. Now, the Austria-based company tells TechHive it will drop the fee for Nuki Premium entirely, essentially ditching the Wi-Fi paywall.  There is a slight catch, however: While the Nuki Premium fee is gone, Nuki is raising the price for its smart lock to $199, a $40 price hike. It is also raising the price for its Smart Lock + Keypad 2 bundle, which will now cost $269, a $40 increase.  A Nuki spokesperson confirmed that Nuki Premium will be free for both new and existing smart lock users.  “With Nuki Premium, we aimed to create a sustainable business model that, in our opinion, reflects the value we deliver to our users,” said Nuki CEO and co-founder Martin Pansy in a statement. “However, we had to realize that the market isn’t yet ready for that. That’s why we’re returning to a one-time pricing model—without putting key smart features behind a paywall.”  Aside from dumping the Nuki Premium fee, Nuki is introducing a Guarantee Plus, which gives Nuki Smart Lock users a three-year extended warranty for $29.  Subscription fees are common in the smart home security market, but they’re generally reserved for security cameras, including cloud video storage as well as access to AI-powered detection functionality.   Nuki’s plan to charge a subscription fee to access its smart lock via Wi-Fi was unusual—a little too unusual, as it turned out.  This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart locks. Read...

The AI boom has claimed another victim: Crucial, Micron’s consumer storage brand that the company says will wind down in 2026 to focus on its enterprise businesses. Micron said that it will close Crucial in February 2026, though it will continue to support Crucial products and provide warranty support. (The company did not say for how long, however.) If this feels familiar, it should. AI hyperscalers have sucked up the available supply of many components that also feature inside the PC; two of those are DRAM and storage, both of which Micron’s Crucial business sold to consumers. Black Friday may have been literally the last chance for deals on DRAM and SSDs, as prices in DRAM are skyrocketing and SSD prices have begun to increase as well. Some PC makers are warning that they will increase prices later in December because of rising component costs. Meanwhile, many of those same components are in high demand by enterprise AI businesses. The logic is simple: Either compete to sell those same products at the lowest margin for consumers, or sell memory and storage at whatever prices well-funded enterprise businesses are willing to pay to build out their own AI deployments. “The AI-driven growth in the data center has led to a surge in demand for memory and storage,” Sumit Sadana, executive vice president and chief business officer at Micron Technology, said in a statement. “Micron has made the difficult decision to exit the Crucial consumer business in order to improve supply and support for our larger, strategic customers in faster-growing segments. Thanks to a passionate community of consumers, the Crucial brand has become synonymous with technical leadership, quality and reliability of leading-edge memory and storage products. We would like to thank our millions of customers, hundreds of partners and all of the Micron team members who have supported the Crucial journey for the last 29 years.” “By concentrating on core enterprise and commercial segments, Micron aims to improve long-term business performance and create value for strategic customers as well as stakeholders,” Micron added, implying that there is more value in selling to businesses than consumers. Micron will continue to sell Micron-branded products to enterprises, it added. Micron’s decision means that there’s some small, faint hope that retailers might discount the company’s products to clear their own shelves and expand relationships with competitors, such as Kingston. Still, Micron’s decision reflects the reality of the business right now: Selling into consumer PCs simply won’t make as much money for component makers as relationships with hyperscalers will, and we’re all going to pay the price. Read...

A Christchurch business is making waves in the swimming pool industry nationwide, with claims of massive delays, unfinished work and unpaid bills. Read...

Hyland appoints Eric Snow as Senior VP of Corporate Communications to boost global brand leadership and align messaging with business outcomes. Read...

In 2026, choosing a BPO partner means valuing AI adoption, orchestration skills, compliance and proven business benefits over just cost savings. Read...

Founders Ralph Bungard and his wife, Brigid Casey has sold the business to their head brewer, Damien Treacher, and his business partner, Jason Bass. Read...