Technologies

I Learned to Pilot a 9,000-Pound Mech Suit

Exosapien’s Prosthesis is a human-powered exosuit powerful enough to flip a car. I took a crash course in learning how to drive it.

I can barely move a muscle. My feet, tied into cycling shoes, are locked behind me. My hands are clenched around metal grips, while my chest is pressed against a padded support bar.

«Go ahead and press Cowboy,» my instructor Jonathan says.

I release one hand from its grip and reach out to tap «Cowboy Mode» on the tablet that’s suspended a few feet from my face. With the sound of motors whirring to life, everything starts vibrating.

«The mech is yours.» Jonathan shouts.

The mech is an 18-foot-tall, 9,000-pound human-driven exosuit called Prosthesis. It can scale hills, cross rivers and flip cars. Jonathan is Jonathan Tippett, the co-founder of Exosapien Technologies. He spent more than a decade designing and building Prosthesis and is the self-described world’s leading mech pilot.

«I wanted to make a machine that captured that age-old pursuit of human skill and mastery but combined it with supermodern technology, and in a novel way that was not automated.»

We’re at a ranch that belongs to a friend of Jonathan’s east of San Francisco, where he’s agreed to give me a crash course in piloting Prosthesis.

I ask him what makes a good mech suit pilot. «People with good body awareness. Gymnasts, snowboarders, mountain bikers.» he says. «Having good rhythm. If you’re a good dancer or you play a musical instrument, that seems to help because there’s a rhythmic element to the kinematics of the machine.»

Pilots control Prosthesis’ four identical limbs with their own human limbs. Their arms operate the two outside legs, and their real legs operate the two mechanical legs on the inside. It sounds pretty simple. Spoiler alert: It isn’t. In fact, almost no one manages to take an actual stop on day one. Watch the video above to see my experience.

Though anyone can book a training session with Prosthesis (lessons start at $1,500 for 90 minutes), Jonathan envisions mech suit piloting as a competitive sport with pilots racing obstacle courses and solving puzzles. «Picture American Ninja Warrior meets monster trucks,» he says.

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The Apple Watch Series 11 Brings High Blood Pressure Alerts

Apple’s newest flagship watch can detect possible signs of hypertension.

The Apple Watch Series 11 made its debut at Apple’s «awe dropping» event in Cupertino, California, on Tuesday, vying for a spot on your wrist with a mix of fresh updates including new hypertension notifications, sleep score analysis, 5G connectivity and increased battery life.

With a decade of upgrades and refinements, the Series 11 represents a big move for Apple as it leans further into its health and fitness features across its Apple Watch lineup. Alongside the Series 11, Apple also unveiled the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Apple Watch SE 3, along with the new iPhone 17 lineup (including the brand new iPhone Air), and the latest generation of AirPods (Pro 3).

Both the Series 11 and the new Ultra 3 will ship with WatchOS 26, which Apple previewed at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. The update brings a cleaner «liquid glass» UI, live translation for text messages, a redesigned Notes app for your wrist and Workout Buddy; Apple’s new AI-powered companion that offers real-time motivation based on your personal metrics during certain workouts.

Pricing and availability

The Apple Watch Series 11 is available for preorder now and will hit stores on September 19. Pricing starts at $399 (£369, AU$679) for the 42mm aluminum Wi-Fi model, while the LTE version of the same watch runs $499. The titanium LTE version of the 42mm model is priced at $699.

New health features

The biggest addition is a feature that can notify you when you’re showing signs of hypertension or high blood pressure. The Apple Watch will send alerts if it notices consistent patterns over a 30-day period that could warrant a follow-up with a doctor, and then allow users to log their blood pressure on the Health app (from a cuff) to confirm.

Another health upgrade is the new Sleep Score, which grades your sleep session on a scale of 1 to 100 or low to excellent. The watch doesn’t just hand you a number with no context; it breaks down your score and shows you factors that may be contributing like bedtime, sleep interruptions and duration, highlighting specific factors that may have impacted your sleep.

Design updates

Visually, the Series 11 looks much like the Series 10, with the same thin profile and edge-to-edge display. But there’s a subtle, practical upgrade: the aluminum model now uses stronger, more scratch-resistant glass, making it more durable for everyday wear.

Connectivity and battery

For the first time, the LTE model of the Series 11 supports 5G connectivity, which Apple says is not only faster but also more efficient at conserving battery life when in use.

Battery life has also received a bump. The Series 11 now promises up to 24 hours on a charge, compared to the 18 hours of the Series 10. Apple tends to be conservative with its battery claims. In real-world use, we may see it stretch beyond the official promise as I’ve consistently been able to stretch out the Series 10 claim to almost 30 hours.

This is a developing story. Follow all of CNET’s 2025 Apple Event coverage for live updates, hands-on impressions, and more announcements as they’re revealed.