Author: zppiot
Catch up with China 1. Sam Altman’s plan for a $7 trillion-worth semiconductor empire includes building dozens of chip fabrication plants with money from Middle East investors, then having the Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC run them. (Wall Street Journal $) 2. A former TikTok executive is suing the company for unlawfully firing her due to what they called a lack of “docility and meekness.” (Financial Times $) 3. If he’s reelected, Donald Trump is promising a 60% tariff on all Chinese imports. If that actually happens (big if), it would almost wipe out all imports from China by 2030. (Bloomberg $)…
Last month at Samsung’s Unpacked event, the Korean tech giant dropped the Galaxy S24 series and also introduced a bunch of new AI features under the Galaxy AI tag, like Live Translate, Circle to Search, Note Assist, Photo Assist, and more. Now, Samsung is spreading the AI love to some of its existing products.As spotted by tipster Ishan Agarwal (via Android Police), Samsung is pushing out a firmware update for Galaxy Buds 2, Buds 2 Pro, and Buds FE users. With this update, users can now dive into the AI-based live translation feature when hooked up to a Galaxy S24…
Running a giant, intergalactic corporation may be fun at times, but it also means you’ll spend a lot of time in courtrooms. Well, not you personally, but your lawyers.Amazon, for example, has been hit with two more lawsuits these days – one is regarding its Buy Box feature, the other – the Prime Video ad fees.Reuters reports that Amazon is being sued in a proposed U.S. class action accusing the giant of violating a consumer protection law by “steering hundreds of millions of shoppers to higher-priced items in order to earn extra fees”.According to the filed complaint in a federal…
Want a phone with decent specs and a price tag that won’t break the bank? Well, grab the budget-friendly Moto G Power 5G 2023 on Amazon now while it’s still enjoying the 33% discount we reported a while back. Yep, that’s right! You can still save $100 on this already pretty budget-friendly smartphone if you take advantage of this deal right now while it’s up for grabs! As a budget smartphone, the Motorola Moto G Power 5G 2023 is no heavy lifter by any means. However, its MediaTek Dimensity 930 chipset, complemented by 6GB of RAM and 256GB of storage…
On February 15 it’s expected that the Honor Choice Watch will be unveiled officially.It’s looking somewhat like the Apple Watch, but it’s either that or the round shape – so there isn’t much choice for the designers out there, is it?Ahead of the launch that’s set to take place in India, the brand has confirmed the key specifications and features of the upcoming device and here’s what to expect from it (via Gizmochina).The Honor Choice Watch packs an “ultra-thin” AMOLED panel that measures 1.95 inches with a 75 percent screen-to-body ratio, a 60Hz refresh rate, a resolution of 410 x…
According to a leaker with the user name “Landsk” posting on a Naver blog, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are going to have some changes compared to the 2023 Pro models. For some time now we have been expecting the iPhone 16 Pro to get a hike to a 6.3-inch screen from the 6.1-inch display on the iPhone 15 Pro. Likewise, the iPhone 16 Pro Max display will get a .2-inch hike to a 6.9-inch OLED panel. These will be Micro Lens Array (MLA) OLED panels which offer improved brightness and improved viewing angles.Both models will…
Mobile phones have been around for quite a few decades now. We went from using numpads, through physical keyboards, to now touch screen keyboards, but the bottom line is – we’ve always written text into those little bricks, using our fingers.Any futurist will tell you that writing text in order to communicate with each other online can be seen as archaic. In today’s fast moving world – just plain not optimal.You may have heard tales of the development of brain-implanted devices that are supposedly going to let people communicate instantly, by essentially reading thoughts, but let’s face it – this…
The discussion over whether Apple should be forced to make iMessage work with rival messaging apps in the E.U. has now reached its conclusion. The European Union has formally chosen not to classify iMessage as a “gatekeeper” under the new Digital Markets Act. Additionally, Microsoft’s Bing search engine, Edge browser, and advertising network are also not held accountable.The E.U.’s decision was announced via a blog post today (via The Verge), putting an end to this long investigation, where Apple has emerged as victor. Based on this decision, Apple and Microsoft will not be required to make iMessage, Bing, and other…
What do you get when you combine an iPad with a HomePod? It appears that we are about to find out as 9to5Mac says that it has seen references to an unreleased Apple device with a screen in the recently released third tvOS 17.4 developer beta. There has been speculation about Apple offering a new HomePod smart speaker equipped with a 7-inch screen.Inside Apple, the company has reportedly been tinkering by running tvOS on a modified iPad mini to test how a HomePod with a built-in display would work. The code in tvOS 17.4 beta 3 shows the existence of…
A couple of days back, a report indicated that Google’s next in-house chip, the Tensor G4, might disappoint. It’s too soon to draw conclusions though as the Pixel 9, which will likely be the first phone to feature the chip, is months away and the chipset is a work in process right now. Still, the leaked benchmark results were not a good early look, but one leaker has assuaged any fears that the chip will be a letdown.X leaker @OreXda claims that the Tensor G4 will be based on the Exynos 2400. Past Tensor chips were also based on Samsung’s Exynos…
It’s that time of the year again when you might want to act like you don’t care but deep inside you are pretty excited. I am, of course, talking about the impending Android 15 Developer Preview release. What else would I be talking about? If you have something else on your mind, well I don’t know what tomorrow holds for you, but I can assure you that your forever bae Amazon is going to make you very happy (if you let it).While the consumerist in you might be nagging you to blow your hard-earned cash on top 2024 smartwatches, we…
Looking to test their vision, iPhone users went into the App Store to install an app named Kimi. The description of the app said, “Compare and click on the two pictures to easily improve your observation skills.” But as it turned out, what those who installed the app were observing were popular television shows and movies that they had illegal access to thanks to the app. As recently as this morning, the app remained in the App Store but was kicked out by Apple following a report by The Verge. The app was number 8 on Apple’s list of free…
Google is a bit behind schedule on the release of the first Developer Preview of Android 15, but it looks like the company won’t keep you waiting much longer. Maybe makes sense to wait until Android V will be available? Its first Developer preview is scheduled for Feb 15While this by no means is an official confirmation that the first Android 15 preview will drop the day after tomorrow, it seems more likely than not. After all, the latest Android Easter egg suggested that Android 15 was around the corner and Android 14’s first preview arrived on February 8 last year, so…
According to PerfectRec (via BGR), early customer reviews for the recently released Galaxy S24 flagship series have been outstanding with high levels of customer satisfaction. The reviews are so good that for the first time, satisfaction rankings for the latest Galaxy S models top those of the most recently released iPhone series. The reviews from customers show 91% giving the Galaxy S24 base model five stars. The Galaxy S24 Plus received five stars from 84% of customers, and 88% gave the top score to the Galaxy S24 Ultra. The trend is clear as more Galaxy S24 series reviews give the…
Do you have around $400 to spend on a new mid-range phone right now and can’t decide between the likes of Google’s Pixel 7a and Samsung’s Galaxy A54 5G? If you like to stand out and turn heads with your conventional gadget choices but don’t want to splash the cash on the high-end Nothing Phone (2), it might be a good idea to wait a few more weeks before making your next Android buying decision.Of course, there’s no way to verify the information spilled on Elon Musk’s social media platform earlier today, but for the most part, this corroborates or…
Oh, the weather inside (the freezer) is frightfulBut the battery’s charge is so delightfulAnd since we’ve no place to beLet it freeze, let it freeze, let it freezeIt’s February, so half the planet is enjoying the winter. What am I even saying. Not everybody – and certainly not everything – is enjoying the winter and freezing temperatures that go with it.Like the batteries we use daily in our beloved smartphones. They hate cold.Recently, a freezing battle between the Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Honor Magic 6 Pro was conducted – the point was to check and see which one offers a…