Author: zppiot
If you’re a hardcore Apple fan who was delighted to hear about Samsung’s inability to return its stagnant mobile business to growth even as both the Galaxy S23 and S24 families appear to be selling like hotcakes, today’s news may arrive as a welcome reminder that negativity often comes back to bite you.Just in case it wasn’t already abundantly clear that the entire mobile industry is in a bad place right now, word from a South Korea-based investment banking firm suggests that Apple had an even worse beginning of 2024 than its aforementioned arch-rival, which didn’t stop the Cupertino tech…
*Header image – Fold 6 leaked renderIn recent weeks, we’ve had plenty of leaks about Samsung’s yet-unannounced Z Fold 6, and we’re getting more hyped as time goes on. Now, another interesting rumor, from a trusted tipster, claims that Samsung is prepping a Galaxy Z Fold 6 Ultra to come alongside a regular Fold 6 (instead of a Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE as rumored earlier). This had me thinking… how could Samsung differentiate between the ‘regular’ Fold and the Ultra-branded one? And could the Fold 6 Ultra bring something that the regular Fold 6 won’t have? Let’s talk about it!Of…
In an age where connectivity has become as vital as the air we breathe, satellite smartphones might become more and more desired. Unlike their terrestrial counterparts, these devices promise to keep you connected in the most remote corners of the world, from the icy expanses of Antarctica to the secluded beaches of a deserted island. But what exactly are satellite smartphones, and why are they causing such a buzz? What available options do we have to stay connected even when out of range? At this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, our team had the chance to peek at the…
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, with the Tesla founder alleging they violated the artificial intelligence company’s original mission statement by putting profits over benefiting humanity. The lawsuit, filed Thursday in San Francisco, comes amid a larger debate over the potential impact of AI, such as that it could produce misleading or harmful information. In the lawsuit, Musk alleges breach of contract and fiduciary duty, among other claims, against OpenAI, Altman and OpenAI President Greg Brockman.Musk, who helped found OpenAI in 2015, cites the lab’s founding agreement that the company would use its technology to benefit the public and…
1 AI is unleashing a data center goldrushIt could rise from 2% of the global data center footprint to 10% by 2025. (NYT $)+ AI’s carbon footprint is bigger than you think. (MIT Technology Review)2 Emissions reached a record high in 2023A big driver of that increase was extreme drought, which cut hydropower production in some countries. (Bloomberg $)+ And forecasters predict we’re in for a very hot 2024. (The Verge)+ ExxonMobil is suing investors who want quicker climate action. (NPR)3 GoFundMe donations to campaigns in Gaza keep being frozenLegitimate concerns over money laundering and terrorist financing are blocking desperate civilians from getting aid. (The Verge)4 Can…
A few weeks back, Amazon released its first-ever more substantial discount on the hot new Galaxy Tab A9+, landing it at $30 off its price tag for both the 64GB and the 128GB versions. In case you missed jumping on the discount train when it left the station, know that the promo is still live and up for grabs.The Android 13 slate was released just a few months ago, so it’s not so surprising that it’s just now gaining pace in Amazon’s Deals section. Plus, even though the current $30 price cut might seem a bit insufficient, we must remember…
Asus introduced the ROG Phone 8 series nearly two months ago, but the company’s gaming-oriented flagships only appeared in the United States this week. Unfortunately, even if you order one today, it will take about a month to get your hands on the phone.If you’re going to the vanilla model, the ROG Phone 8 is now available for just $999.99, which includes a $100 pre-order discount. The ROG Phone 8 Pro model that comes with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage costs $1,199.99, while the ROG Phone 8 Pro Bundle (24GB/1TB) is priced to sell for no less than $1,499.99.The ROG…
It’s not just medicines. A dizzying number of personal care products also end up in the sewers—coconut shampoos and hydrating body washes and expensive face serums and … well, the list goes on and on. Wastewater treatment facilities were never designed to deal with these so-called micropollutants. “For the first 100 years or so of wastewater treatment, you know, the big thing was to prevent infectious diseases,” Wackett says. Today, many wastewater treatment plants mix wastewater and air in a tank to form an activated sludge—a process that helps bacteria break down pollutants. This system was originally designed to remove…
In case you’re struggling to find a premium set of wireless Bluetooth headphones under $200, we might just be able to help you out. We found none other than the high-end Beats Studio Pro at deeply discounted prices over at Amazon. At $150 off across almost all available colors, these are once again a dream come true for (almost) every music fan. The $150 price cut is indeed quite generous, for it’s not something you can see on a daily basis. Granted, during the Black Friday frenzy, we witnessed even steeper discounts for the Beats Studio Pro. Then again, the…
Gympass, the complete corporate wellbeing platform, has just inked a partnership with Apple that will add more benefits to its subscribers. Starting this week, Apple Fitness+ is available in the Basic Plan and above to millions of Gympass subscribers in select countries.According to Gympass, its subscribers on the Basic Plan and above in the US, UK, Germany and on the Silver+ Plan and above in Brazil can now access their Apple Fitness+ subscription through the Gympass app.Gympass more than doubles the number of employees engaged with wellness, thanks to the breadth of our global partner network and the attractive prices…
Are you excited to hear the first whispers about a possible release of “standard” Galaxy Buds 3 alongside an ultra-high-end Galaxy Buds 3 Pro variant… at some point down the line? Don’t want to wait however long it might take Samsung to unleash new and improved AirPods alternatives onto the wireless audio industry and are instead dying to pick up an affordable pair of earbuds with as advanced as possible capabilities right now?The oldie but goodie Galaxy Buds 2 are once again available at a hefty discount for your bargain-hunting pleasure, this time from Best Buy in a classy “Phantom…
As expected, Oppo introduced its new smartwatch, the Watch X, a faithful copy of OnePlus’s Watch 2. Announced just a few days apart, the smartwatches look awfully similar and even feature the same specs.I think it’s safe to say that the Oppo Watch X is a rebranded OnePlus Watch 2, although it’s hard to say which was the original since Oppo and OnePlus merged their R&D divisions nearly three years ago.The only thing that will be different is availability and possibly price. The new Oppo Watch X will be launched in several Asian countries initially, but it will eventually go…
Hainikoye hits Accept and a young woman greets him in Hausa, a gravelly language spoken across West Africa’s Sahel region. She has three new cows, and wants to know: Does he have advice on getting them through the lean season? Hainikoye—a twentysomething agronomist who has “followed animals,” as Sahelians refer to herding, since he first learned to walk—opens an interface on his laptop and clicks on her village in southern Niger, where humped zebu roam the dipping hills and dried-up valleys that demarcate the northern desert from the southern savanna. He tells her where the nearest full wells are and…
T-Mobile is ending February with a big announcement for customers in Puerto Rico. The Un-carrier is expanding 5G Home Internet to Puerto Rico, thus allowing customers with an eligible address and qualifying voice line to sign up for the service for just $50 a month with AutoPay through their retail store.Arguably the fastest growing home internet provider in the United States, T-Mobile now offers customers in Puerto Rico a handful of benefits when going to its 5G Home Internet service.A flat, monthly price: T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is $50 a month with AutoPay and a voice line and that’s it.…
Shipments of Pixel handsets made up 3% of all phone shipments in North America during the fourth quarter of 2023. The data comes from Counterpoint Research which said that Apple had the largest market share on the continent during the final three months of last year with a massive 62% slice of the pie. Samsung was second with 18% followed by Motorola at 8%, and Google at 3%. T-Mobile’s REVVL brand captured 2% of the North American market in Q4 tying with HMD.Worldwide, Apple overtook Samsung in the fourth quarter as its shipments rose 2% while Samsung’s declined 9%. The…
WhatsApp, the popular messaging app, is gearing up to open its doors to other messaging platforms. This has been in the works for some time now, but thanks to some evidence found in the latest beta version of the app, we now have more information on how the feature will work and how far along it is in its progress.The need for WhatsApp to add this functionality comes in direct response to the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to break down barriers between tech giants and increase competition in the digital space. WhatsApp’s upcoming “chat interoperability” feature…