that of quantum chips

Manufacture a qubit, the physical device that implements the minimum unit of information in the quantum computersit is not at all a piece of cake. There are several types: superconductors, ion traps, neutral atoms or ions implanted in macromolecules, among other variants. Not all of them are equally complex, but until just two years ago it was not possible to manufacture any of these qubits in an industrialized way that opened the door to large-scale production. This scenario changed in March 2024. Intel and QuTech, the research institute specialized in quantum computing that belongs to the Technical University of Delft, in the Netherlands, they managed to manufacture for the first time a qubit in an industrial way, and, what is even more important, using the same processes and the same technology that is currently used to manufacture semiconductors. It was a very important milestone for a crucial reason: this innovation opened the door to the massive scaling of qubits that can be integrated into a quantum computer. Now GlobalFoundries has decided to follow in Intel’s footsteps. Semiconductors open the door to universal quantum computers The qubit that Intel and QuTech researchers managed to manufacture using industrial procedures is, as we can guess, a semiconductor qubit. The most obvious advantage of this type of qubit is that it benefits from the development that integrated circuit production technology has undergone for decades, so it is presumably easier to produce a semiconductor qubit than one that uses an ion trap or a neutral atom. Furthermore, it is evident that Intel is well versed in the processes involved in chip manufacturing. Quantum Motion has recently opened an office in San Sebastián “It’s kind of like we started writing with calligraphy and suddenly switched to using a printer.” This statement belongs to Anne-Marije Zwerver, the QuTech researcher who led this project, and emphasizes the possibility of using this technology to manufacture semiconductor qubits on a large scale. Furthermore, according to Intel, the performance they have achieved using this manufacturing process is 98%. This simply means that 98 out of every 100 semiconductor qubits produced with this technology work correctly. GlobalFoundries has embarked in a project very similar to that of Intel, although it has not done it alone; It has done so with Quantum Motion, an emerging company specialized in the development of semiconductor quantum bits. An interesting note: this last company has recently opened an office in San Sebastián (Spain). Their plan is to demonstrate that it is possible to manufacture qubits using CMOS technology, which is commonly used in the integrated circuit industry. However, GlobalFoundries’ strategy goes further: it wants to adapt its 12 and 22 nm nodes to the manufacturing of quantum chips without having to reorganize its plants from scratch. An interesting note: the materials used by Intel to manufacture its semiconductor qubits are similar to those currently used to produce transistors, such as silicon oxide. However, everything is not done yet. Intel and QuTech have demonstrated that it is possible to manufacture semiconductor qubits using industrial processes, but now need to refine and improve the quality of its multi-qubit spin control system. Whatever they have achieved, it is very important and invites us to look once again towards the future of quantum computers with optimism. Image | Intel More information | GlobalFoundries In Xataka | They are called giant super atoms and they are going to be crucial for something: the future of universal quantum computers

one recommendation for each price range

In recent months, Samsung has been launching a new batch of mobile phones, so the brand now has a selection of models that is wide (and renewed) enough to choose from depending on our budget. Which ones do we recommend the most? We are going to discuss it in this article. For less than 200 euros Samsung Galaxy A17 If what we are looking for is a mobile phone that is capable of calling, sending messages and little else, the Samsung Galaxy A17 It is the most interesting based on its quality-price ratio. And it is a phone that 180 euros It stands out above all for its screen AMOLED with 90 Hz refresh ratewhich means that in addition to seeing the content well, it will look very fluid. And pay attention to another detail: the basic model only has 128 GB of storage, but this mobile has microSD card slotsomething that we do not see in the mid-range or high-end. Samsung Galaxy A17 (128GB) – LTE The price could vary. We earn commission from these links For less than 500 euros Samsung Galaxy A26 He Samsung Galaxy A26 It does not fit within the previous price range by very little, and right now it can be found for a price of 207.99 euros. Here we notice a big change with respect to the previous Galaxy A17: it comes with more RAM (6 GB specifically in the minimum configuration), your processor is better and the screen has a higher refresh rate, 120 Hz in this case. Samsung Galaxy A26 (128GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Galaxy A36 Entering fully into the mid-range, the Samsung Galaxy A36 It does not evolve too much compared to its previous generation, but it continues to offer practically the same good value for money. Here we have a battery that supports 45W fast chargingwhich reduces the time it takes to charge. Its price in this case is 269.99 eurosso right now it is not much more expensive than the Galaxy A26. Samsung Galaxy A36 (128GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Galaxy A56 If your previous mobile phone falls short, the Samsung Galaxy A56 It is one of the best in this price range. And it is because 339.99 euros We are talking about a mobile phone that, despite having some similarities with the Galaxy A36, Its processor is a little faster and its cameras are better. Samsung Galaxy A56 (128GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Galaxy A37 If what we want is to make the leap to the latest generation, the Samsung Galaxy A37 It just arrived and is now available for a price of 379 euros. As we saw with the arrival of the Galaxy S26, the brand is once again betting on its processor for the Galaxy A37, which is none other than the Exynos 1480. For everything else, the mobile is very similar to its previous generation. Of course, one of the strong points is artificial intelligence, offering a good assortment of functions. Samsung Galaxy A37 (128GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Galaxy A57 The same thing happens a bit with the Samsung Galaxy A57 (459 euros), since it does not vary too much with respect to its previous generation. What does change is the Exynos 1680 processor, which is more current than that of the Galaxy A56. It is also a slightly lighter mobile and its screen offers a FullHD+ resolution. Like the Galaxy A37, this phone also comes with many artificial intelligence features. Samsung Galaxy A57 (128GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links For less than 1,000 euros Samsung Galaxy S24 and Samsung Galaxy S24+ If we move on to the high-end range of the brand, there is a lot of fabric to be cut here because some mobile phones from a few generations ago are still selling, and at very good prices. It happens with the Samsung Galaxy S24 (569 euros) and Samsung Galaxy S24+ (732.99 euros), two very similar brothers but with some differences: The screen of the Galaxy S24+ is larger (6.7 inches) than that of the Galaxy S24 (6.2 inches). The battery of the Galaxy S24+ is larger (4,900 mAh) than that of the Galaxy S24 (4,000 mAh). The RAM of the Galaxy S24+ is 12 GB, while that of the Galaxy S24 is 8 GB. Beyond these two particularities, in essence we are talking about the “same mobile.” They come with a good processor such as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3they have a very good construction and the cameras are at a good level. Samsung Galaxy S24 (128GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Galaxy S24+ (256GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra However, the most complete of its generation is the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. It is currently at a price of 629 euros Reconditioned and stands out for many things. First of all, it comes with the largest battery of the Galaxy S24 reaching 5,000 mAh, its screen is also the largest at 6.8 inches, the processor is the same as in its smaller brothers and the set of cameras is much superior to these offering a very interesting photographic experience. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (256GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Galaxy S25 and Samsung Galaxy S25+ One generation ahead we have the Samsung Galaxy S25 (739 euros) and Samsung Galaxy S25+ (899 euros), two mobile phones that also look similar but have certain differences: The screen of the Galaxy S25+ is larger (6.7 inches) than that of the Galaxy S25 (6.2 inches). The battery of the Galaxy S25+ is larger (4,900 mAh) than that of the Galaxy S25 (4,000 mAh). Internally, both incorporate the Snapdragon 8 Gen Elitethe best processor for Android phones in … Read more

The European Union is very determined that batteries are removable in 2027. And Apple is very determined that they are not

The European Union has detailed your plan so that phone batteries are removable starting in 2027. A regulation that will arrive in the midst of the greatest revolution in battery capacity in recent years: the democratization of silicon-carbon and the commitment to 100% models eSIM. For years, the industry has abandoned removable batteries for technical reasons. The unibody design has improved water and dust resistance, optimized internal space and increased structural efficiency. It is something that has not been enough for Europe. What’s going to happen. Europe has reconfirmed its plan to make phone batteries be removable by law in 2027. It is a hard blow for many manufacturers, who have been creating a “unibody” design industry for years to improve their resistance to water and dust, as well as a more efficient internal structure (every millimeter inside a smartphone is key). That the batteries have to be removable dynamites the plan that manufacturers have been following for almost a decade, since it is required by law that they be “easily removable.” What does this mean. The novelty in the text has to do, precisely, with what the European Union understands with this concept. The manufacturer will no longer be able to glue the batteries to the plate, something that required them to be removed using a heat gun to remove the adhesive. If a specialized tool is required to remove the battery, it will be provided by the manufacturer itself. The manufacturer will need to include clear instructions on battery removal and replacement. The software will not be able to hinder the process or block phone functions if the replacement has not been done at an official service. Hardware availability must be at least five years. The cost of batteries must be “reasonable and non-discriminatory” in price. Although there are many questions in the air and, as usual, few specificities, what is clear is that starting next year there will be a very powerful change at the industry level. And then, China arrived. China is leading a paradigm shift in smartphone battery technology: the arrival of silicon-carbon. This type of battery allows much higher energy densities in the sizes we already know. Or, in other words, that in the usual batteries we have more capacity than ever. Thanks to China, phone batteries are skyrocketing to cases 10,000mAh. The problem? European restrictions on the transport of high-density batteries are very strict, which is why many of the phones that are marketed in China with enormous batteries end up landing in Europe with noticeably smaller cells. And that, for the consumer, is a problem. Europe moves the industry, but China does not plan to stop. Europe is an important enough market that big technology companies have to completely rethink the hardware of their devices. The best example is Apple, which had to bend to USB-C in all territories of the world due to EU demands. An especially painful move, considering that it was the only manufacturer with its own charging port standard. The mandatory nature of removable batteries will, once again, lead to a change in the industry. But China faces the dilemma between slowing its progress with carbon silicon batteries (something it does not seem willing to do) to give in to European regulations, or assuming the extra cost of manufacturing a model for each region. The latter has been doing so for years and, in fact, pushes some consumers to opt for more complete versions from China. not so fast. Although the headline goes to the return of the removable battery, there is an exception for which manufacturers like Apple have been protecting themselves for years. Commission Communication C/2025/214, which develops and interprets article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1542, contemplates an exit for durability: if the battery retains at least 80% of its capacity after 1,000 charge cycles (or 83% after 500 cycles) and the phone meets an IP protection standard, the manufacturer may be exempt from the requirement for user replacement. It is no coincidence that, two years ago, Apple will double the number of cycles of its batteriesgoing from 500 to 1,000. Thanks to this exception, both Apple and many manufacturers will be able to continue selling a good part of their phones as we know them today. Summing up. The smartphone industry is on the verge of chaotic change. The cheapest mobile phones seem to be forced to give up the unibody design, China has hit a wall to continue innovating in batteries that can leave the country (it is not easy to continue growing sizes and maintain cycle capacity), and the high-end seems that it will be able to escape if it maintains batteries that maintain 80% of their capacity after 1,000 cycles. A soap opera whose ending we still do not know, but for which the manufacturers will have to start writing the next chapter. In Xataka | How to charge your mobile phone to maximize battery life

two decades of success with the most stable audiences on television

The same week in April 2006 that La Sexta premiered broadcasts, ‘El Intermedio’ began its career as one of the channel’s flagship programs and Antena 3 launched the current stage of ‘La roulette de laluck’. Two decades later, both programs celebrate their anniversary (one with special panels, the other with Pedro Sánchez wearing borrowed suspenders) and stand out as true anomalies on a grid in eternal motion. The luck of roulette. ‘The roulette of luck’, a word guessing contest broadcast at two in the afternoon, manages to almost double the share of its own network. In the 2025-2026 season The program presented by Jorge Fernández registers a 21.6% screen share, with an average of 1,564,000 viewers and more than 3.1 million unique viewers. Antena 3, as a network, has averaged 12.4% of share. Its main rivals in that range, ‘Mañaneros 360’, is around 12%, and ‘El Precio Justo’ is timidly approaching 9%. It is not punctual: the format has four consecutive years above 20% and maintains a uninterrupted monthly leadership since May 2020. Poor beginnings. When the current stage of the contest started in 2006, it returned to the small screen with a 26.9% share and 1,318,000 viewers: promising figures that deteriorated in the following years. However, its number of viewers skyrocketed when it began to occupy the 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. slot that ‘The Simpsons’ had until then had, where television consumption is significantly higher. Curiously, ‘La roulette’ has seen its viewer base decrease since the 2020/2021 season, but the share has gone up. The explanation is that linear television as a whole loses audience, but ‘La roulette’ loses it less than its rivals. Not just business days. The robustness of the format also extends to weekends. Since 2020, Antena 3 has been broadcasting reruns of the contest on Saturdays and Sundays, and the program also leads in that slot: in the current season it reaches a 17.8% share and 1,258,000 viewers. All for a proposal that, born in the United States, has had some 60 international versions since 1975, and that arrived in Spain in 1990 with the birth of Antena 3, living a brief stage in Telecinco between 1993 and 1997 and a subsequent hiatus until Jorge Fernández took over the baton in his current stage. The ‘El Intermedio’ case. The satirical news program draws a different, but equally striking curve. In 2026, it averages about 848,000 viewers and reaches between 6% and 7% share (common data in the modest Access Prime Time of La Sexta). All this with specific increases such as the 20th anniversary special broadcast last Thursday, April 16, with which it scored its best quota since February 2022 (10.2%), in an unusually long delivery of more than two hours, and which brought together active politicians (several ministers, Gabriel Rufián or Pedro Sánchez himself) and musicians such as Kiko Veneno, Ana Belén and Víctor Manuel. A complicated hour. ‘El Intermedio’, unlike ‘La roulette’, has never moved from its original space, perhaps the most hostile strip of the entire schedule: the moment in which the viewer chooses where to spend the night. It has ‘El Hormiguero’ on Antena 3 and ‘La Revuelta’ on La 1 as its last direct competitors, but Wyoming has been resisting for two decades. According to a analysis of Barlovento Comunicaciónin 2012 La Sexta designed a strategic positioning of “vertical programming” focused on political and social news. The programs created then (‘The Intermediate’, ‘Al Rojo Vivo’, ‘Better Late’ or ‘Saved’) had the objective of providing street-level information about current events. The Atresmedia umbrella. The two programs share something more than the year of birth: both are from Atresmedia, and both operate in time slots where at least part of the competition cannot find alternatives. In the case of ‘El Intermedio’, the Wyoning program has seen in these twenty years how ‘El Hormiguero’ went from competitor to ally‘First Dates’ on Cuatro took shape as a more stable competitor during the last decade and finally, ‘La revuelta’ appeared, which notably politicized the strip. The numbers. Atresmedia closed 2025 with revenue of 1,002 million euros and maintained its hegemony on television for the fourth consecutive year, with a screen share of 26.1% and a historical advantage of 1.7 points about Mediaset. Antena 3 was once again the most watched channel of the year. These two anniversaries are indicators that the strategy of cheap programs, with rigid structures and a loyal audience continues to be profitable. ‘La roulette’ produces five days a week with a small team and ‘El Intermedio’ works with daily news as raw material, which reduces content development costs. And two decades of holding on. In Xataka | The “audience war” with ‘La Revuelta’ has been very good for ‘El Hormiguero’. Eight million euros of good

The Congo River has been an insurmountable barrier for the two closest capitals in the world for decades. Until now

For decades, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been living in a peculiar situation: although they have the nearest capitals at the geographical level of the entire planet (with the exception of the Vatican and some cases special, like Nicosia), both metropolises live behind each other’s backs. At least as far as communications are concerned. Today to travel from Kinshasa (RCD) to Brazzaville (Congo) you need get on a ferry to cross the river that separates both countries or even a plane which covers the journey as long as it takes you to have a coffee and read the headlines in the newspaper. Now that’s about to change. Capitals just a stone’s throw away. The story of the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the former Zaire) has been anything but quiet. This has ultimately contributed to both nations sharing a particular condition, beyond the similarities between their names: their capitals are a stone’s throw away. Between Brazzaville (RC) and Kinshasa (DRC) there are a handful of hundreds of meters and a river, the Congo. Depending on the reference we take, between both metropolises there is between one and three kilometers in a straight line. If we except the even more peculiar relationship between the Vatican and Rome (and some curiosities historical), Brazzaville and Kinshasa are often considered the closest capitals. However, despite this proximity, those who want to travel from one city to another right now do not have it easy: they must take a ferry that covers the journey in half an hour or even (if they are in a hurry… and more money), fly over the limited airspace that separates both capitals. What if we build a bridge? The situation is sufficiently anomalous that the authorities have considered on several occasions building a bridge between both banks. The idea can date back at least to the 90s and has been rescued several times since then. Without much success. Whether for political or budgetary reasons or simply because the fear As infrastructure reduces commercial traffic in some influential ports in the DRC, the Kinshasa-Brazzaville viaduct has failed to make it past paper. Coming out of the box. That could change soon. In February the finance ministers of the DRC and the CR reached a bilateral agreement to establish a special tax regime that clears the future of the construction of the viaduct. It may seem like a minor issue, but the infrastructure is expected to be subject to a toll and, beyond the traffic of individuals and tourists, every year moves trucks loaded with thousands and thousands of tons of merchandise. “We have a harmonized tax and customs framework. We also have a bilateral pact, which will allow us to relaunch the call for tenders,” celebrated after the technical meetings Caddy Ndala, from the Brazzaville delegation. An agreement… and something more. If the bridge seems to see (finally) the light at the end of the tunnel, it is not only because of the tax agreement between both countries. The project has also attracted the attention of Africa50an investment platform founded by the African Development Bank (ADB) and African states. The entity is presented in fact as the “main promoter” selected by the DRC and RC to drive the public-private partnership that will shape the infrastructure. Global Highways precise that part of the investment to shape the viaduct will also come from the ADB, which has already financed the feasibility studies. And what will the viaduct be like? The main infrastructure will consist of a short bridge more than 1.5 km which will pass over the Congo River and allow the passage of vehicles and railways. It will also have sidewalks and border control posts. The idea is that the viaduct connects further with the roads that already exist in both countries, facilitating communication between the capitals. “The idea dates back to the mid-19th century,” recognized years ago the president of the ADB, Akinwumi Adesina. To clear its roads, the technicians have selected the narrowest point on the border. In an attempt to put an end to the misgivings that the infrastructure arouses in several commercial ports in the region, it has also been agreed to carry out complementary works of improvements in them. Hunting for goods. The bridge won’t exactly come cheap. In 2017, the ADB estimated that the project would require 550 million dollars, an estimate that has since risen to exceed 700 million. In return, the structure promises to completely change the relationship between both capitals. In 2020 the Africa Investment Forum pointed out that the forecasts involve both triggering the flow of people and goods: the former (people) would go from 750,000 annually now to more than three million; As for the latter (merchandise), it would rise from 340,000 to two million tons. Images | Google Earth and Africa50 In Xataka | A 2.5 billion-year-old geological wonder: Zimbabwe’s Great Dam seen by NASA from space

Anthropic has not raised the price of Claude. He has invented something better: token inflation

“Don’t worry, it costs the same.” That was Anthropic’s message to announce the launch of its new AI model, Claude Opus 4.7. In that statement they made it clear that “the price remains the same as Opus 4.6: $5 per million entry tokens and $25 per million exit tokens“There was, however, fine print, because the model is better but to achieve it it reasons more, and that means one thing: more tokens. And the more tokens you consume, the more the AI ​​bill goes up. Anthropic already warned. It should be noted that in that official announcement Anthropic did not hide the facts. In one of the paragraphs he clearly explained how Opus 4.7 “thinks more” and that has a direct impact on token consumption (we highlight the difference in bold): “Opus 4.7 is a direct update to Opus 4.6, but there are two changes worth keeping in mind as they affect the use of tokens. First, Opus 4.7 uses an updated tokenizer that improves the model’s processing of text. This means that the same input can generate more tokens (approximately 1.0 to 1.35 times moredepending on the type of content). Second, Opus 4.7 performs deeper analysis at higher effort levels, especially in the later phases of agent scenarios. “This improves its reliability on complex problems, but also means generating more output tokens.” Or what is the same: when it responds, Opus 4.7 uses significantly more tokens than its predecessor, and that is important because the output tokens are much more expensive than the input ones. In the specific case of Opus 4.7, five times more expensive ($5 versus $25). What is a tokenizer and why does it matter?. Large language models (LLMs) do not process text directly, but rather convert it into units called tokenswhich are fragments of words, symbols or characters. The tokenizer is the mechanism that makes that conversion. Anthropic has decided to update the tokenizer in Opus 4.7, arguing that its new system improves how text is processed. The direct consequence: the prompt that previously generated 1,000 tokens now generates up to 1,350. And since it is billed per token, the effective cost rises even though the price per token has remained the same. Confirmed by third parties. Simon Willison, a well-known analyst and popularizer in this field, created a tool to measure the difference in token consumption with the Claude Opus 4.6 and 4.7 API. He took the official Opus 4.7 ‘system prompt’ and ran it through both models: With Opus 4.6 it generated 5,039 output tokens With Opus 4.7 it generated 7,335 output tokens This represents a growth of 1.46x tokens between Opus 4.6 and Opus 4.7, even greater than that indicated by Anthropic (1.35x). For images the difference is even more extreme since the token consumption is up to 3.01x. There is an important clarification here, because there is support for images of up to 3.75 Mpixels and that higher resolution causes consumption to increase significantly. Bill Chambers, another X user, published another tool called Tokenomics that also allows you to compare token consumption between both models with any prompt. The aggregate ranking of all users who have tried this tool shows that the average increase is 38.6%, very much in line with what Anthropic points out. And also think more. As we said, this new model applies two changes in its way of acting. The first is the aforementioned tokenizer: the same input is converted into more input tokens. The second is the fact that the model now “thinks more” before responding, which means more token consumption. Opus 4.7 arrives with a new “effort” level called xhigh, located between high and max. Anthropic has decided that now the default effort will be precisely xhigh for all plans, so both mechanisms contribute to this higher token consumption. As Anthropic itself indicates, “Opus 4.7 thinks more about high effort levels, particularly in later turns in agentic settings. This improves its reliability on difficult problems, but it does mean that it produces more output tokens.” Criticisms on networks. The reaction of users has been clear and there are various examples on networks such as X or Reddit in which said users criticize the changes. On Reddit a thread titled ‘Opus 4.7 is a serious regression, not an improvement‘It already has 3,200 votes and 800 comments that sum up that this new model ignores instructions, hallucinates and lies, It’s “dumber”has become too complacent or even lazyand “talks too much”, which also contributes to the cost of each consultation. Many complain that their Pro and Max paid limits are running out faster than before due to these changes. Some users claim that Opus 4.7 is the first sign that Anthropic may has gone too fast for the first time when launching a new model. Anthropic reacts. Criticism about the cost and behavior of the model has made those responsible for Anthropic try to clarify things. Borys Cherny retweeted a message from the company in which was spoken how the “/usage” parameter in Claude Code allowed us to show what kind of things our API or usage plan is spent on. This same engineer, who is the person most responsible for the development of the aforementioned Claude Code, also indicated that since his new model now uses more tokens, in Anthropic they had increased the fees of use of the models, although without giving specific details. The pattern that repeats. For weeks now the user community he complained about what noticed a “regression” in the behavior of Opus 4.6. Although it is impossible to verify or validate it, there were many users who complained on networks about how the performance of the model had gotten worse in your tests. Now they have just launched a model that promises to be better than the previous one, but that ends up costing more to use if you are not careful. Both events draw a pattern: that Anthropic is increasing its revenue without announcing price increases as such. What users … Read more

deeply dependent on natural gas

China leads global lithium battery production. If we stick to electric cars in this Asian country manufactures 80% of the batteries who use these vehicles. CATL and BYD are the largest lithium battery manufacturers on the planet with a market share in February 2026 of 42.1% and 13.4% respectivelyaccording to the consultant SNE Research. Its leadership position is the result of several factors. On the one hand, China is the world’s largest producer of lithium and rare earthwhich are the main raw materials used in the manufacture of batteries. In addition, it controls the processing of these materials and is capable of producing batteries on a large scale and at a very competitive price. However, in this recipe there is one more ingredient that we cannot overlook: BYD and CATL lead the global battery industry thanks to their capacity for innovation and adaptation. Both companies demonstrated this by betting before their competitors on lithium iron phosphate batteries (known as LFP by its English name). However, they have a weak point: they are deeply dependent on fossil fuels. The natural gas paradox Chinese battery manufacturers, and especially CATL and BYD, face a crossroads: their plants depend on natural gas to carry out thermal processes, making them vulnerable to geopolitical instability, such as that triggered by the iran war. Several thermal processes are involved in the production of a battery that require maintaining a constant and high temperature. One of them is the coating of the electrodes with a liquid mixture of active materials. And another involves the evaporation of solvents inside gigantic ovens. Battery factories have been designed around gas boiler and pipeline systems This last phase consumes an enormous amount of thermal energy, and currently gas boilers are the most efficient and economical way to produce the steam and heat that are necessary for these drying tunnels to fulfill their function. CATL has increased the use of wind and solar energy drastically, but the problem it has encountered is that electricity has not yet achieved effectively replace natural gas in processes in which large-scale heat production is involved. And this gas delivers an amount of heat that is difficult to match using electrical resistance on an industrial scale. In addition, current factories have been designed around gas boiler and pipe systems, so changing the entire production infrastructure to an alternative that dispenses with natural gas and relies on electricity requires a huge investment that would force manufacturers to increase the price of batteries. In this scenario, their competitiveness would suffer. As I mentioned a few lines above, the deep dependence that CATL and BYD have on natural gas exposes them to the instability of the global energy market. In fact, the increase in the price of gas as a consequence of the war in Iran is having a direct impact on the production cost per kWh. CATL is already working in a solution to this problem. Currently it appears that the best alternative to gas boilers is drying by directed infrared radiation, although gas today continues to provide much more energy than all the renewable and hydroelectric plants combined in the Chinese manufacturing ecosystem. Image | BYD More information | Volt Insight In Xataka | Xi Jinping’s “made in China 2025” plan is becoming a reality: this is how he is conquering the key technologies of the future

The question is not whether the eSIM will replace physical SIM cards. The question is when

We have been telling you for years how technology eSIM It is gaining ground little by little, so much so that today it is normal for smartphones to include these chips as a complement to physical SIM cards. It is a technology with its advantages and disadvantages, But it is increasingly clear that the idea is not that both technologies coexist, but that the eSIM ends up making physical cards disappear. At least that is the direction in which the industry seems to be heading if we look at the steps of recent years. This makes the question no longer whether it will happen, but when will it start to happen. There are no dates or calendars set for this technological change, but there are data and projections that seem to point to the next decade. The slow but sure adoption of the eSIM Evolution of SIM cards. Source: Thalesgroup Since their creation in 1991, SIM cards have become smaller and smaller. SIMs began to become MiniSIM, and then they became MicroSIM, and then the NanoSIM that the vast majority of mobile phones currently use. The next evolutionary step was eSIMan internal chip of the mobile phone where the data that has always been on the SIM cards can be downloaded and installed. This opens the door for you to have on your mobile not only the data of your operator, but also that of other third-party services specialized in cheap eSIM such as Saily of NordVPN and the like. Saily eSIM in +200 destinations, prepaid and with an extra level of security The price could vary. We earn commission from these links eSIM chips were created in the last decade, and over the years they have also been miniaturized to take up less and less space. But one thing is the existence of technology and another its implementation on commercial deviceswhich has been slow. First they began to arrive at smart watches like the Samsung Gear S2 Classic 3G of 2016, being a solution to give them connectivity without having to spend space in a physical card slot. And in 2017 the first compatible smartphones began to arrive, such as the Pixel 2 from Google (although it was only compatible with Google Fi) and since then they have been reaching more and more mobile phones. Until recently, the eSIM has been implemented as a complementary alternative to the SIM. Almost all users continue to use the SIM, but if you went abroad and needed a data card it was easier to contract an eSIM. There were also the most curious users starting to test this technology. Since then, the eSIM has begun to reach other devices such as home automation products, and even laptops. Some manufacturers like Apple have taken risks to promote the eSIM. First it was in 2022 with the iPhone 14which would be sold without a SIM card slot in the United States, and in 2025 launched the iPhone Aironly with eSIM in the United States, although in Spain it still has a physical slot. But currently this remains a rarity in Europe. The eSIM in Spain It already has the support of almost all operators. Besides, There is research that points Because in 2024, 70% of new mobile phones had support for this technology, and 10 to 15% did not have a physical SIM slot, numbers that will gradually grow. What are the benefits of the eSIM The main benefit of the eSIM is that you no longer have to request cards when contracting a service. And if you port, you won’t have to wait for a card to be sent to you either, although this will always depend on the method the operator uses to synchronize the eSIM, since sometimes you will need to receive documentation. Of course, you should know that activating an eSIM can take hours, or even a couple of days, until they send you the necessary keys. Furthermore, in all ports you will be asked for your identification by law, and depending on the operator you may even need to physically go to a store, something that is to avoid fraud. You won’t need to order duplicate SIMs either. if you want to use your data or phone number on multiple devices. In addition, there will be more facilities for using more than one data or calling rate on a single mobile phone, since there is support for storing the profiles of different operators and changing them as needed. There are also other advantages such as greater security. No one will be able to remove your SIM and steal it, because it is integrated and cannot be accessed. Besides, manufacturers save space physically inside their phones as they do not have this slot, something they can take advantage of, for example, to give their batteries more capacity. However, eSIMs also have some disadvantages. The main thing is to change your mobile phone can be somewhat more cumbersome, since it requires an extra process to migrate the data from the digital card. If you change to another mobile phone with the same operating system it is relatively easy, but changing from Android to iPhone or vice versa can be complicated. The eSIM will coexist quite a bit with the SIM No, the physical SIM is not going to disappear overnight. It’s going to be quite a long process. It will probably take more than a decade.although this is something that can always change depending on how manufacturers push in that direction. According to CCS Insight forecasts in 2025 collected by the BBCat the end of 2024 there were 1.3 billion smartphones with eSIM in use, and the figure is expected to reach 3.1 billion in 2030. Therefore, we are going to have sustained growth in mobile phones with eSIM. But this does not mean that traditional SIMs are going to stop being used at the same rate, but rather that most mobile phones will continue to use both technologies for … Read more

In which communities it can be done and how to do it in the 2026 declaration

We are going to explain how and where you can deduct expenses on prescription glasses and contact lenses in your 2025 Income, which is what we do in 2026 to account for the last fiscal year. You can now request and submit your draft online and from the mobilebut first it is advisable to pay attention to this. We have already explained to you the most important boxes which you should pay attention to in your declaration, but it is also important to know the regional deductions. We have already taught you to deduct your home insurance, veterinary expenses and gym feebut now we are going to tell you how to deduct your glasses and contact lenses and in which autonomous communities you will be able to do it. And the latter is important, because not all of us can deduct these expenses from our income, depends on the autonomous community in which we live. But beyond that, before we also start listing them all, we are going to tell you other general requirements that you need to know. Requirements in addition to the community where you live In order to correctly deduct the expenses on glasses and contact lenses without ending up receiving a request from the Treasury for having done it wrong, you must meet the following requirements: Products that do enter: You can deduct expenses on prescription glasses, contact lenses, and maintenance or cleaning solutions for contact lenses. Some communities also include the frames, but others only the prescription lenses. Products that do not fit: You will not be able to deduct expenses for unprescribed sunglasses, nor the aesthetic part of the glasses. Products covered by public aid or medical insurance do not enter into the part that is already subsidized. Expenses from January 1 to December 31 from 2025: If the declaration we make in 2026 is called “Income 2025” it is because it corresponds to the last fiscal year. Therefore, only the expenses you have made throughout 2025 count, neither those before nor after. Traceable payments: It is not advisable to make payments in cash. It is better to make payments traceable by the Treasury so that it can be verified correctly. Therefore, payments you have made using debit or credit cards, bank transfers, Bizum or direct debit receipts. In cases of accounts with multiple owners, marital money or shared payments, each community has specific rules for distributing the deduction between spouses. Invoices with complete data: A ticket from the optician is not enough. You need a complete invoice with all your information, such as your ID, full name, and the tax information of the optician. This invoice must clearly break down the concept (prescription glasses, contact lenses or maintenance solutions), and you must keep it throughout the duration of the campaign in case the Treasury asks for it to verify that they are real expenses. Deductions for each autonomous community Community Deduction Annual limit Key requirements Canary Islands 12% €500 (individual) €700 (joint) Taxable base less than €46,455 (individual) or €61,770 (joint). If you exceed it, the limit drops to €150. Includes mounts. Valencian Community 30% €100 Taxable base less than €60,000 (individual) or €78,000 (joint), with a proportional reduction between €54,000-60,000. Only prescription lenses and prescription lenses with frames not pre-mounted. Requires optional report. Murcia Region 30% €100 Only for children under 12 years of age for whom the taxpayer applies the minimum for descendants. We start with this table where we summarize the autonomous communities where you will be able to deduct the expenses of glasses, contact lenses and contact lens maintenance products, as well as the deduction and the annual limit that you can deduct. This way, you will have everything clear at a glance. Deduction for glasses and contact lenses in the Canary Islands In the Canary Islands there is a 12% deduction of expenses for purchasing prescription glasses and contact lenses, as well as accessories. This is so when these can only be used to compensate for physical deficiencies, not for aesthetic reasons. The deduction falls within the deductions section of “Illness expenses” from the Canary Islands. This deduction has an annual limit of 500 euros in individual taxation and 700 euros in joint taxation, the highest of all the communities. To be able to apply it, the sum of your general tax base and savings cannot exceed 46,455 euros in individual taxation or 61,770 euros in joint taxation. If you exceed those limits you can still deduct the glasses, but then the limit will be 150 euros per taxpayer. In addition, the limits are increased by 100 euros in individual taxation if you are over 65 years old or have a disability equal to or greater than 65%. It is the only one of the three communities that allows frames to also be included, since the standard speaks of “devices and accessories” without being limited to prescription lenses. The base of the deduction is reduced by any public aid received that is exempt income, and payments cannot be made in cash. Deduction for glasses and contact lenses in the Valencian Community In the Valencian Community the deduction is 30% of what you have spent on prescription glasses, prescription lenses with non-pre-mounted frames, contact lenses and solutions for their maintenance. The deduction is part of the “For amounts paid for certain health expenses” of the Valencian Community. This deduction has a maximum limit of 100 euros annually per taxpayer. Come on, that is the maximum amount to deduct. To be able to apply it, the sum of your general taxable base and savings (boxes 0500 and 0510) cannot exceed 60,000 euros in individual taxation or 78,000 euros in joint taxation. Be careful because here we are talking about the taxable base, not the taxable base as in the Canary Islands. Valencia also stands out in two important aspects. On the one hand, leave out pre-assembled framesso you can only deduct prescription lenses from glasses and prescription lenses with … Read more

They say things get worse before they get better. The RAM crisis teaches us that they can always get worse

The current situation in which hyperscalers have made all the hardware manufacturers produce almost exclusively for them is leading us to a curious scenario. Apart from the huge RAM and SSD crisis that affects everything –and everyone– Changing from one technology to a newer one no longer depends so much on the needs of a company but on what is barely available on the market. AND The Elec points to a movement by Samsung that represents a new thrust for mobile phones, computers and everything that has soldered RAM. No more LPDDR4 modules. LPDDR4 LPDDR5. They stand for Low-Power Double Data Rate, the low-power version of the RAM tablets that we can buy when building a PC, for example. Unlike conventional RAM pickups, LPDDR memory is soldered to the boardachieving very high speeds with a minuscule energy cost. That is why it is the preferred one for smartphones, tablets and ultrabooks, but it is also ideal for some miniPCs that have become popular in recent months. The downside is that it cannot be expanded or replaced, but its features make it the only option for certain devices. The most powerful versions mount LPDDR5 and LPDDR5Xbut there are still many devices that have the fourth generation versions for cost savings reasons. The turn comes when, according to the South Korean media The Elec, Samsung has begun to cut off the supply of LPDDR4 and LPDDR4X modules to its customers. Translation. Although they are memories with a decade behind them, mid-range and entry-level mobile phones, as well as many other devices, continue to have these versions to keep prices low. At a time when the market is more volatile than evermaintaining those competitive prices by mounting memories that are still interesting in certain ranges was a strategy that made a lot of sense. However, as the media points out, Samsung seems to want to focus on the production of LPDDR5 and LPDDR5X memories. By converting the output lines of the LPDDR4 memories, they will be able to manufacture more new generation RAM, but the price to pay will be that mobile manufacturers will have to switch to that LPDDR5. Mid-range and entry-level smartphones will be faster, but also more expensive. The price to pay. A few weeks ago we already said that the impact was evident. memory represented 20% of the bill of manufacturing an entry-level mobile phone, being one of the most expensive components. And, at that time, the figure was expected to reach 40% by the middle of this year. With this reconversion of Samsung’s lines, we will see where the percentage increase is in a year in which it is already estimating a drop of more than 10% in mobile shipments. The calculations They are tremendous: In the entry range – increments of 30 dollars per unit. In the middle range – from 60 to 80 dollars per unit. In the premium – from 100 and 150 dollars per unit. Samsung itself is not spared. Here you can think that Samsung has a lever to eat the mobile market. That is to say, if it is one of the three that controls the memory production segment and, in addition, has its line of mobile phones and tablets, it can give preferential treatment to its ‘brothers’ to maintain the price in the midst of the crisis. Well no. They already commented that this was not going to happen and, furthermore, it is already flirting with the idea thats Galaxy A17 be an example of this movement. The company’s entry-level mobile has the Exynos 1330 SoC that supports both LPDDR4X and LPDDR5 memories. When the supply of LPDDR4X runs out, they will move to the new generation, which will mean that there will be two different A17s, one of them being one with 50% faster memory than the other. They go direct with HBM. But, as two pieces of news are better understood together, at the same time that the abandonment of the LPDDR4 production lines is pointed out, we have confirmation that Samsung is going to press ahead with the development of HBM memories. These are high-bandwidth memories that are packaged in AI training and inference platforms, and have been reported that Samsung has managed to reduce the HBM memory development cycle from two years to one. It’s a necessary boost to continue being both NVIDIA and AMD’s preferred choice for AI hyperscalers. Shortage. Putting all this together, the result is that there is a RAM crisis for a while. The bottleneck of the industry is enormous and that only three companies –SK Hynix, Micron and Samsung– are the ones who call the shots, and all have opted to satisfy the demands of AI, does not help the situation return to normal. Although there is Chinese companies that may have their opportunity In this scenario, the reality is that the estimate is that all the production of the large It will barely cover 60% of the memory demand until 2027. These companies, of course, are doing great. An example is that, in three months of 2026, Samsung earned more than in all of 2025. But for users and the consumer industry itself, the reality is different. And the worst thing is that there is no realistic date when we will start to see a recovery. NVIDIA has taken the lead, AMD tooand it is no longer just the US and China that need memory: Europe also wants its share of the pie. There are voices that They aim for 2028 as the year of recoverybut other forecasts they go above 2030. What is clear is that there is a crisis ahead In Xataka | TSMC’s only problem was that it was in Taiwan. So the United States has decided to get her out of there

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