Month: January 2026

It is alive, it grows and repairs itself

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There are many reasons to look for a cement substitute, but one of the most important is that your industry is responsible. 7% of global CO2 emissions. Thus, we have already seen moderately viable solutions with ecological mortar and even with shellsbut the Federal Polytechnic School of Zurich has been looking for its replacement in nature for some time. Better said, in living materials such as bacteria, algae and fungi. And he has found it precisely in cyanobacteria. It sounds strange, but it has more advantages than it seems. The challenge of replacing concrete. In an industry that revolves around classic materials such as steel, concrete or cement (which, after all, is part of the cement recipe), the search for a replacement entails great implications in terms of infrastructure and costs. Assuming that the minimum expected is that it has similar mechanical characteristics, the search for an alternative involves a material that is better, since the manufacture of traditional concrete consumes a large amount of resources, the pollution is very high and it also degrades over time. This concrete is alive. Literally. The research team has managed to stably incorporate cyanobacteria into a printable gel to develop a living photosynthetic material that nourishes, grows and removes carbon dioxide from the air in the process, as detailed. in Nature magazine. This material can be molded with 3D printing and requires sunlight, nutrients from artificial seawater, and carbon dioxide to grow. The matrix is ​​a water-rich hydrogel composed of cross-linked polymers with a geometry such that it facilitates the transport of light, carbon dioxide, nutrients and water. That is, so that cyanobacteria live longer and better. 3D printed structure. ETH Zurich From passive material to carbon sink. Concrete is also a passive material, that is, once fixed in the structures it stays there, degrading over time. So ETH Zurich has proposed a paradigm shift in which buildings go from being an inevitable source of emissions to becoming an active organism that can clean the atmosphere, something like a plant. Thus, the biotechnological system is made up of cyanobacteria integrated into the matrix of the material, so that its structure protects them while they perform their function. On the one hand, by minimizing the use of cement, you reduce process emissions. On the other hand, it not only stops emissions: this system sequesters atmospheric carbon permanently in its structure. And it is no small thing: according to Yifan Cui, one of the two main authors of the study, “the material can store carbon not only in the form of biomass, but also in the form of minerals, a special property of these cyanobacteria.” However, cyanobacteria are one of the oldest forms of life on the planet and are extremely efficient at photosynthesis. Mineralized carbon dioxide in the structure. ETH Zurich The “magic” equation of photosynthesis. When microorganisms absorb carbon dioxide with sunlight, a biomineralization process is carried out by which this dioxide turns into calcium carbonate, reinforcing the structure of the material with this mineral, which also has the ability to store carbon dioxide in a more stable way. In its laboratory tests, in 400 days the material was able to store 26 mg of CO₂ per gram of material, notably more than the 7 mg of CO₂ per gram of recycled concrete. A concrete that “heals” itself. This generated mineral becomes a glue that holds everything together, improving its structural integrity over time. Something that is inevitable about concrete is that it cracks, but in this case, when microcracks appear, the entry of moisture and oxygen reacts to the bacteria, which secrete this mineral to seal it. In short, it heals itself. This healing capacity is an asset in terms of maintenance costs, minimizing corrosion of reinforcing steel in hybrid structures. There is already cyanobacteria concrete. Moving from the laboratory to the real world is a critical process that this project has already successfully overcome: in the Venice Architecture Biennale Several large blocks can be found (the largest is three meters high) in the exhibition. Be careful because, as they detail, each of these blocks is capable of storing up to 18 kilograms of carbon dioxide per year, rivaling with an adult tree. And now what? As explains Mark Tibbit, Professor of Macromolecular Engineering at ETH Zurich, Mark Tibbitt, in the future want to study “how it can be used as a façade cladding to capture CO₂ throughout the entire life cycle of a building.” For it to go from being a laboratory project with samples in exhibitions to reality, challenges such as scalability and costs, as well as mechanical properties and the survival of the bacteria, will have to be faced. In Xataka | We had been looking for an alternative to cement for decades. We just found it in seashells In Xataka | In our battle against plastic, we have centrifuged bacteria. And its cellulose is postulated as the ideal substitute Cover | ETH Zurich

The first step to achieve this is a megamine in Sweden

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In world geopolitics, having oil, gas or rare earths (let us remember that They are neither earth nor are they rare) is the equivalent of starting a game of mus with several kings in hand. And if we talk about rare earths, this map of the world’s (known) reserves It shows that China has the best possible hand. Finding rare earths in your territory is very good, then you have to know how to extract them and create an industry around them. This is neither easy nor quick nor cheap. The good news is that the European Union could cover 18% of its lanthanide needs. The not so good thing is that first he has to launch a megaproject: the Per Geijer supermine, in Kiruna (Sweden). Per Geijer has never been just any mine. In fact, it is the underground iron mine largest in the world (the underground surname is important in that the Brazilian Carajás Complex produces more but in the open pit and the Australian Hamersley Ranges has a larger deposit) and also the most ambitious and complex metal mining project that the European Union has faced in decades. The mine is operated by the state through the public company Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara Aktiebolag (LKAB). That it has rare earths makes it special, but how they are present is also particular: it is not a pure lanthanide mine, but a high-grade iron deposit with significant concentrations of phosphorus and rare earth oxides. How much? Early 2026 LKAB estimates 2.2 million tons of rare earth oxides, more than double what I thought about 2023. Mine in Kiruna. LKAB Why is it important. As noted in the intro, because China processes about 90% of the world’s rare earths and taking into account the mine’s estimates, if these rare earths could be extracted for use, the European Union could cover 18% of its needs. according to LKAB estimates. Own resources instead of having to buy them, which leads to dependencies on third parties, market fluctuations and diplomacy. In mining, the time between discovery and the first ton of commercial around between 15 and 20 years old. But the European Union has considered it as a strategic project, so it is on the “fast track” thanks to the Critical Raw Materials Law (CRMA). under the microscope. The presence of these oxides in a high-grade iron mine like Per Geijer hides a couple of aces up its sleeve: processing synergy and phosphorus, another strategic element (but less so). And the cost of extracting rare earths is more profitable when there is already an operation to extract iron. On the other hand, these lanthanides are trapped in apatite, which is essentially calcium phosphate. Through magnetic separations for iron and chemicals, two high-value products emerge: one is the rare earth concentrate and the other is phosphoric acid, essential for fertilizers. The northern triangle. Although the site is located in Kiruna, the project is actually an industrial ecosystem made up of three points: Kiruna for extraction, Malmberget for concentration and Luleå is in charge of separation. Thus, the Kiruna deposit provides the mineral from a new deposit of iron, phosphorus and rare earths discovered next to the current mine, about 700 meters away. Malmberget provides the volume of rare earths from the already operational iron mine from apatite waste and also from what will be extracted. Finally, Luleå provides chemical technology with a processing center in charge of separating the rare earths from the rest using hydrometallurgical technology. The schedule until it is operational. Although the normal thing would be to have to wait almost 20 years, we have already seen that the EU has stepped on the accelerator. Tunnels are currently being built to connect the current Kiruna iron mine with the new deposit. In 2026, Malmberget plans to have permits to open a new plant to treat apatite, and the Luleå plant is expected to be operational by the end of this year. However, for the large-scale commercial plant to be commercialized, estimates point to the 2030s due to the series of permits and environmental evaluations that must be successfully passed. It won’t be easy. Despite the importance of rare earths in the EU plans and the apparent profitability of the process, the megaproject faces several challenges beyond the technical and the inherent waste generated. Without going any further, the city of Kiruna itself is sinking and its citizens have to move, literally, building by building, to allow mining expansion, as picks up CNBC. Furthermore, there is conflict with the indigenous Sami peoplesince the site is located on reindeer grazing routes. In Xataka | Spain has a plan to become a rare earth powerhouse and stop depending on China: you will recycle In Xataka | Europe wants to be competitive in the rare earths market. Its enemies are old acquaintances: China and Europe itself Cover | LKAB

the real money is in customizing them

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Supercar and luxury car brands they know their clients very well and they know that an expensive car is no longer enough: they want something exclusive that no one else can have. For this reason, extreme customization has become a very profitable business within the luxury segment, to the point that custom programs compete in importance with the mass production of the models themselves. ​Customers are no longer satisfied with choosing a certain color or finish of the upholstery. You want unique craftsmanship that turns each car into a unique piece that reflects the personality of its owner. In this context, Porsche makes its customers’ wishes come true with Sonderwunsch, which could literally be translated as “special wishes.” Its name already suggests what that department of the Porsche factory in Zuffenhausen, north of Stuttgart, is dedicated to. Sit down with Porsche to design your car A little over two years ago, practically only Bentley and Rolls-Royce offered their customers the possibility of customize down to the last detail the design of their cars. However, currently the brands themselves recognize that the turnover from their artisanal customization workshops is a lucrative business that can double the price of their supercars. According to the official dataFerrari made a profit of 1,525 million euros in 2024. Some 1,300 million euros of those profits were billed from units that had gone through the Ferrari Atelier. Now, and given its recent drop in salesit is Porsche that gives an additional push to its artisanal customization department with more options for its customers. Have you always wanted to have a Porsche? We do it for you just as you dreamed of. That’s what Sonderwunsch offers, Porsche’s program for customers who want to go beyond the configurator options and create something truly personal. Porsche customization goes in layers Porsche has designed a layering system based on the customization requirements of its customers. The first level, the most basic, begins with the brand configurator. Here you can choose a certain range of colors, finishes and equipment defined by the brand. The second level of customization goes through the program Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur for more advanced (and expensive) customization options such as designing special colors that are not available in the configurator range or unique finishes. The last layer is Sonderwunsch, which fulfills requests that no one else can fulfill. The brand explains that Exclusive Manufaktur already allows deep customizations, such as exclusive metallic paints or upholstery with custom prints, but Sonderwunsch takes everything to another level with one-off projects or limited series. Porsche 911 GT3 (992) Le Mans Tribute 1985 With these extreme customization options, the German brand wants its customers to create the cars they have always dreamed of in close collaboration with its design and manufacturing experts. Alexander Fabig, Vice President of Individualization and Classics at Porsche, explains that “Since the beginning, we have constantly increased our personalization offering and made it more attractive to our customers.” Sonderwunsch allows its wealthiest clients to do things the brand configurator will never offer: color schemes created from scratchspecific wheel designs, body or interior modifications with hand-picked materials for a single car. Porsche 911 GT3 RS (992) The most ambitious projects, the so-called “one-off factory”, are conceived as unique pieces with its own approval, a process that can involve hundreds of employees for more than two years. Fabig admits that “most of our Sonderwunsch customers are absolute Porsche experts” and know the products “in and out.” The Sonderwunsch trip begins with the owner’s visit to the Porsche factory museum in Zuffenhausen, where he will sit down with a team of brand specialists who will listen to his initial idea and launch a technical, legal and economic feasibility study of the project. As and how they stand out in DiaryMotoronly the previous study requires an advance payment of 150,000 euros to demonstrate that the client is serious. Dreams come true, but they are not free. Porsche 911 Speedster 993 by Luca Trazzi ​Some of the most representative examples that Porsche shows is that of Luca Trazzi, who created a 911 Speedster 993 in “Otto Yellow” color, inspired by his dog Otto, who sports a unique yellow and black checkered interior made specifically for him. A one-off of these characteristics can cost millions and take more than two years, but the result is an approved and unique car. A KM0 Porsche is another story Porsche is not limited to the extreme customization of new cars or the creation of debut works in its artisan workshops. The brand has developed, within the Sonderwunsch umbrella, a kind of time machine with which cars that left the factory decades ago can be used again. As and how do they count in Mortor1the “Zero Miles” program allows cars to be restored from the factory to the point that, legally, their odometer can read zero kilometers again so that customers can return to release a historic supercar. This program only applies to three very special models for the German brand: Carrera GT, 959 and 918 Spyder. The process is exhaustive since the car is revised to the millimeter, all the parts that need it are restored or the necessary components are manufactured again, without forgetting the customization of details such as color, upholstery or even certain dynamic aspects to improve your behavior. When this process is finished, Porsche offers the customer the same warranty with which the car originally left the factory because, technically, the car is new again…even if it stopped being produced a couple of decades ago. In Xataka | Bill Gates was so obsessed with driving a Porsche 959 that he managed to change the laws that prevented him from doing so Image | porsche

some need chips and others need power

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Under such a reflex (and common, in my case) act of taking out the cell phone and opening Gemini or have a browser tab open with ChatGPT There is a huge infrastructure behind it. I am a free user of both models, but AI is a long-distance race that is worth a lot of money. Hence, companies with a solid ecosystem such as Google or Meta can better endure this initial phase of expansion and that OpenAI already has it on its roadmap. put advertising. I have mentioned two products that I use daily and that are competitors, but on a global stage they are on the same team: the United States. On the other side of the ring, China. Because the other power that has entered the race is China (Europe is still finding its feet). In fact, his government has outlined a detailed plan to dominate it by 2027. While in China the push for artificial intelligence is led by the government, in the United States it is the private sector. Two different ways of understanding the business that constitute the tip of the iceberg of two routes that, despite having a common goal, increasingly diverge. Different investment approaches. If we talk about investment, the difference is abysmal: in the United States, a venture capital investment of 175 billion dollars was made, according to data from China International Capital Corp. If we look for a figure from a reference entity within the US, signatures like PitchBook up the ante up to 222 billion (brutal: of every 3 dollars invested in startups in the US, 2 go directly to AI) and Crunchbase estimates it at 168 billion dollars. In any case, light years ahead of China, which is around 6 billion dollars, according to the Stanford AI Index Report. Focusing on business, the range narrows: American big tech companies invested six times more than their Chinese counterparts, according to with data from Pitchbook and FactSet. And if we combine public and private, too: in China the sum amounts to 165,000 million dollars in recent years, well behind the 563,000 million coming from companies and the US government. An obvious thing: state and private capital have different expectations in terms of profitability, investment horizons and target sectors. A concrete example: China has just launched its first LLM aimed at agriculturea strategic sector for the state that is surely not among the first interests of the US private sector. And this is key to understanding their divergent growth trajectories. Where does each one invest?. In China, money is flowing into underlying technologies, with advanced semiconductors leading the way. as explained by CICC. In the United States, on the contrary, the absolute priority is the construction of data centers, a slow and full of so many obstacles that until they consider the spaceand energy infrastructure able to meet the demand. And it makes sense, as each one’s case is particular: China is facing a technology blockade that has made it have to dig in its heels and step on the accelerator to achieve self-sufficiency and thus address the scarcity of resources derived from its restricted access to latest generation chips. In the case of the United States, the combination of aging energy infrastructure and strong growth in electricity demand has reactivated its search for new energy sources, with significant geopolitical effects, and has returned prominence to industries such as nuclear. What if it’s a bubble? In the midst of the growth phase of the sector and with countries putting all their efforts into action, it is inevitable to think that sooner or later the bubble could burst. For the Nobel Prize winner in Economics Michael Spence, we are facing a “rational bubblethus justifying the investments: “The cost of coming in third place in the competition is much greater than the losses derived from overinvestment or inefficiency” he explained in the Taihu World Cultural forum. At last month’s FII Priority Asia forum in Tokyo, SoftBank Group founder and CEO Masayoshi Son attempted to allay fears explaining that “if AI were to generate 10% of global gross domestic product in the long term, it would more than offset trillions of dollars in AI spending.” In any case, there are surveys that give food for thought. In Xataka | The race for AI has placed China in an unthinkable scenario: forcing the United States to leave its comfort zone In Xataka | Europe is discovering right now that the US is not the partner it thought. And that is a problem in AI. Cover | Gemini

the “death bloom” of Ceylon palm trees

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There are plants that are born and die in a year, but every rule there is an exception, with species that spend decades in silence, accumulating energy for a single, spectacular final act. This is the case of Corypha umbraculiferabetter known like Ceylon Palmwhich has flourished again in the Palmetum from Santa Cruz de Tenerife. An event that is historical because it occurs once every 30 or 60 years and that, on the European continent, can only be witnessed here. A special variant. The Corypha umbraculifera It’s not just any palm treesince it has the largest inflorescence in the world, with a branched structure that sprouts at the top and can reach between 5 and 7 meters in height. To give us an idea, only “the flower” is as tall as a two-story house. This specimen of the Palmetum, planted in 1997, began its reproductive process in October 2025 and after months of preparation, now in January 2026, the spectacle is fully visible from the so-called “Red Route” from the Tenerife botanical garden. A unique phenomenon. This is a species that has ‘monocarpy’, a scientific term to define the botanical suicide that this palm tree faces. In this way, the plant dedicates all its energy accumulated over decades to producing millions of flowers and, later, fruits. Once its reserves are exhausted, it dies. And it is something unique, since the Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the only garden on the continent that has managed to see this species bloom on two occasions (the previous one was a different specimen years ago). And its origin is not in the Canary Islands, but comes from Southeast Asia, where its leaves were historically used as paper for religious manuscripts. Why so much? The fact of having to wait 30 or 60 years to flower is something that responds to an evolutionary strategy of the species. In this way, by flowering only once in such an explosive way, it produces such a quantity of fruits that local predators such as rodents are unable to eat them all. Thus, the palm tree ensures that, even if it dies, thousands of its descendants manage to germinate. The process we are seeing now in Tenerife is the final phase of its life. According to the official records of the Palmetum and local media as Notice Diarythe process is slow, but unstoppable, since during the next few months, the flowers will give way to fruits and, gradually, the structure of the palm tree will wither until its final collapse. The Palmetum. This event is not just an aesthetic curiosity; It is a triumph for the Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This space, which is technically a botanical garden built on an old landfill, has established itself as the best collection of palm trees in the world in an urban environment and the truth is that it has managed to grow anything. For botany and photography enthusiasts, this is an opportunity that is unlikely to be repeated on European soil for decades. The “wonderful death”, as some local media already call it, is a reminder that nature has its own times, sometimes slow, but always relentless. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | Finding a partner for the “loneliest plant in the world” has been one of the great challenges of botany. Now AI wants to solve it

The richest people in the world in 2026, grouped in a single graph

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If 2025 has left us anything, it has been a concentration of wealth in a few hands that had never been observed before. a report Oxfam Intemón estimates the growth of these great fortunes at 16% in 2025, this represents growth three times faster than the annual average of the last five years. The joint assets of the 20 largest fortunes in the world adds a total of 3.8 trillion dollarswhich represents a figure higher than GDP of most countries of the planet. That is, the fortune of the people who occupy the top 20 on the Forbes list would equal in wealth what countries like France (with a GDP of 3.36 trillion dollars and 68.6 million inhabitants), Italy (with 2.54 trillion dollars and 59 million inhabitants) produce in a year. To show the dimension of these fortunes in a more visual and easy to understand way, in Visual Capitalist have created a graph of the 20 richest people in the world of 2026 based on data extracted from the Forbes list of millionaires. The graph allows us to see a clear pattern: the AI is making gold to whoever touches it. The unbeatable Musk If there is something that stands out at first glance, it is the enormous wealth difference that separates the largest fortune in the world from the second. As of January 6, 2026, the date on which the “photo finish” was made to create this graph, Elon Musk’s estimated net worth was $714.2 billion. If we go back just five years ago, in 2020 the richest person was Jeff Bezos with a net worth of $145 billion. That is, the Musk’s current fortune is five times what it was in 2020 just five years ago the richest person in the world. That It’s not the only record that has marked Musk’s fortune in 2025. The businessman of South African origin has been the first person to have exceeded 700,000 million dollars, and is among the most likely candidates to become the first billionaire in history. Musk’s fortune in 2020 was “only” $24.6 billion, in a year in which the millionaire began to reap the benefits of the good sales results that the Tesla Model 3 were beginning to give, which had already surpassed your production problems. That represents a capital growth of 2,804% in just five years. Artificial intelligence: King Midas of the 21st century Five years ago, the “Top 10” of the largest fortunes was dominated by the founders of social networks, electronic commerce platforms and, among them, the undaunted Warren Buffett. On the other hand, today, the wealth of the world’s biggest millionaires is determined by their involvement in the development of AI. A good example is found in the leading role in that negotiation of the millionaires who occupy the first six positions. Leaving Musk aside, in second position is Larry Page, co-founder of Google and its parent company Alphabet, which thanks to the latest movements in the industry, have turned Gemini into the Apple native AI and in one of the models most influential in the industry. In 2025, Alphabet shares have appreciated by 63%which has had a favorable impact on the fortunes of the company’s founders. His partner, Sergei Brin, occupies fifth position, although in recent days he has climbed to third position. Given such a wealth boost, Jeff Bezos he had no choice He had to give up positions, leaving his 251.7 billion in third position in the ranking, although the recent boost in the fortune of Google’s founders has dragged him to fourth position, which to date was occupied by Larry Ellison, with an estimated fortune of 242.6 billion dollars. Ellison’s rise to the top of this list as one of the biggest fortunes of 2026 is another example of the level of enrichment and power that has provided AI to these millionaires. To put it in context, in just a few days, the founder of Oracle increased his fortune at 102 billion dollars. The arrival of AI caught Meta immersed in the metaverseand his latest decisions have not been the most applauded by investors. This has caused Mark Zuckerberg’s personal fortune to fall to $226.5 billion in 2026. However, if we look at it with perspective, the founder of Facebook had a net worth of $68.8 billion in 2020, so its increase has been 229% in just five years. Special mention in this section dedicated to AI goes to Jensen Huang, who occupies eighth position on the list of greatest fortunes thanks to the price of NVIDIA shares. However, Huang’s case is especially revealing of the link between AI and wealth growth of its main architects. In 2020, the CEO of NVIDIA declared $4.7 billion. In 2025, That fortune is estimated at 162.5 billion dollars. At the current value of his company, Huang stands to lose the equivalent of his fortune in 2020. in a single morning. There are millionaires beyond AI We have to reach seventh position on the list of the biggest fortunes in the world in 2026 to find the first millionaire who, at least a priori, is not involved with AI. This is Bernard Arnault, who since losing his throne as the richest person in the world in 2023 has lived a real roller coaster of rises and falls in the valuation of his fortune due to the crisis of LVMH’s luxury liquor and spirits divisions and the drop in sales in China of his Louis Vuitton flagship brand. In ninth position we find Warren Buffett, a veteran investor who has been able to read the markets to surf the wave of stock market swings to remain at the top of the list of the greatest fortunes in the world during the years. last 20 years. However, and to the envy of the S&P 500, the profitability of his fortune in the last five years has been 98.5%, going from $73.4 billion in 2020 to the $147.5 billion at which his current fortune … Read more

There is an unexpected victim of the rise in RAM memory prices: the very modern connected cars

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Which what’s happening with the RAM memories is making one thing clear: the best time to buy memory modules is yesterday. The price increase is so extraordinary which is already affecting other classic components of our PCs such as SSD units or graphics cards. However, the crisis that these components are generating goes further. Much further. Data centers devour memory. The AI ​​fever, we already know very well, has generated a voracious hunger not only for cutting-edge AI chips, but also for RAM and HBM memories that accompany these chips. As indicated in The Wall Street Journaldata centers (both conventional and those dedicated to AI) will consume more than 70% of the high-end memory chips that manufacturers produce in 2026. And if they could take more, they would take them. This is not (only) about PCs or mobiles. It is evident that the first affected by this problem are conventional desktop and laptop computers, as well as our mobile devices. Hundreds of millions of them are sold every year and they all have a certain amount of RAM that is now more expensive than ever. The shock wave is already causing other components such as SSD drives or graphics cards affected, but in reality memory chips are everywhere. And above all, in one. From TV to car. The frenetic rise in memory prices is certainly going to affect other segments that we had not thought about soon. Of course it will do so on other consumer electronic devices, and this certainly includes Smart TVs, which They have their own processor, memory and storage to offer us its functions. But the problem may be even more critical for cars, which for years were already computers with wheels and which are now even better and more powerful computers (and with more memory) with wheels. Memories of all kinds. Although car electronic systems have traditionally used RAM, the latest in most cases was not needed. But that was in the cars of a few years ago, because the arrival especially of the electric car and the fever for screens in our vehicles has made these needs different. Now our cars need various types of memory, but in some cases those modules are as good (or better) than the ones we have in our cell phones and computers. The ECUs. A modern car makes use of so-called ECUs (Electronic Control Units) for issues such as controlling the transmission, the airbag system or the engine itself. It is normal for them to have between 50 and 150 of these control units or microcontrollers, and almost all of them contain RAM for temporary data and a ROM for firmware and software. Infotainment systems. The most obvious component that surely comes to mind as that “car computer” is the infotainment system, which usually consists of a touch screen, navigation functions, support for CarPlay and Android Auto systems, and voice assistants. Although in many cars these systems use 1 GB or 2 GB of DRAM memory, there are more modern cars that They reach 4 GB and even 8 GB of LPDDR4 memory. And if we talk about some manufacturers like BYD or NIO, there are models in which They use 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory. The Ford SYNC 5 system, for example, is based on a Qualcomm SoC with 16 GB of RAM. Driving assistance requires memory. In addition to these components, there are others that also require the use of RAM. Advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS) allow you to activate functions such as adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, automatic emergency braking or parking assistant. And to achieve this they use RAM with high bandwidth, which allows working with real-time images and processing of sensor signals. Samsung knows this well and in fact manufactures modules specifically oriented to this market. Tesla’s well-known autopilot hardware, Hardware 4 (currently used) makes use of 16 GB of RAMFor example. Micron already warned. In December 2023 Micron already indicated that “a car needs more memory than a (space) rocket.” The firm, an absolute protagonist in the field of RAM memory module manufacturing, indicated how in 2023 the average vehicle used 90 GB between RAM and NAND, but in 2026 that figure was estimated to be 278 GB and would reach 2 TB in high-end vehicles. That was good news for it and other manufacturers, and even then it pointed to how “generative AI is transforming automotive.” What they probably didn’t realize is that this revolution was going to need many data centers, and those data centers were going to need a lot of memory. And this is where we are. In Xataka | “Not a phone, it’s a car”: Volkswagen believes that screens in cars are going too far

The fundamental trick to perfectly control the car’s temperature is a (not) forgotten button on the dashboard

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Although with the fury of bringing screens to cars There are fewer and fewer buttons, we still find a lot of old-fashioned controls scattered around the steering wheel and the dashboard of the car. However, there is usually a small element (sometimes shaped like a circular knob, which may or may not protrude) that usually looks like a button that goes unnoticed due to its location: it is far enough away that it cannot be easily operated. Spoiler: if you touch it nothing happens. And nothing happens simply because it is a solar sensor or solar load sensor (if we get more technical, a phototransistor), a piece little known to the general public but of great importance as it is the element that the automatic air conditioning uses to regulate the temperature correctly. It is essential to control the temperature of the car More specifically, is located at the bottom of the dashboard and in the central area, attached to the front window. It usually has the speaker grille or the air outlet grille nearby to defog the window. Hence it neither looks good nor is it comfortable to touch. That position makes all the sense in the world: it is one of the best areas inside the cabin to capture sunlight from outside. Precisely the reason for the sensor, since the sunlight that enters a car can reach represent up to 60% heat load that the air conditioning system has to overcome in the search for comfort. A good everyday example: the temperature difference between parking in the same place on a summer day when the sun is shining overhead or doing so at night or when it is cloudy. This solar load sensor It is actually a photodiode which measures the intensity of solar radiation in order to be able adjust climate controlwhich includes the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. On that hot day in the example, the air conditioning will have to work as hard as possible to cool the cabin as soon as possible. But if it’s night or cloudy, you won’t need to blow as hard. At a technical level, its mechanism is simple: the photodiode moves in an operating range between 0 and 5 Volts, offering more resistance as the light intensity increases, so that the sensor signal decreases as the solar load increases. This signal is what then reaches the control, which gives orders to the system to adjust the speed and intensity. The solar load sensor is not the only one responsible of the operation of the air conditioning, since the vehicle integrates more sensors such as the sensor to measure the interior temperature. And they also have other sensors to turn the lights on or off or configure the mode of the screens and dashboard depending on the exterior lighting. By the way, in some cars there is not only one solar charge sensor, but there are two, one on each side of the dashboard and in that same area adjacent to the front window: they are models that have dual zone air conditioning. In Xataka | The triangles on the plane window are not for decoration: they are a quick way to check that the flight is going well In Xataka | Few people know what the red balls on high-tension cables are for: they are a simple way to save lives Images | Skoda, Opel and SEAT

The best technology offers at El Corte Inglés, today January 24

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El Corte Inglés has launched one of its best campaigns and it will be available until tomorrow, Sunday. In it Save VATthere are many discounts, so in this article we are going to review the best technology deals that are found both in said campaign and in individual offers. Garmin Fenix ​​7 Pro Solar Sapphire by 454.51 eurosa very complete sports watch that has solar charging. Samsung The Freestyle (2023) by 429 eurosa smart projector with WiFi that stands out for its portability. Sony WH-1000XM5 by 198.99 eurosone of the best Sony headphones. nintendo switch 2 by 479 eurosa console pack that includes a video game. Oppo Find X9 by 825.57 eurosa mobile phone with a 7,025 mAh battery. Garmin Fenix ​​7 Pro Solar Sapphire For the most sporty and demanding of smart watches, the Garmin Fenix ​​7 Pro Solar Sapphire has dropped in El Corte Inglés to 454.51 euros. It is a solar-charged sports smartwatch that comes with a huge assortment of sensors and sports activities; such as skin temperature or heart and respiratory rate sensors or activities such as multisports and indoor and outdoor running. Garmin Fenix ​​7 Pro Solar Sapphire The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung The Freestyle (2023) If you love watching movies and series and are looking for a different experience than what the television gives you, in the store we can find the Samsung The Freestyle by 429 euros. We talk about a smart projector with WiFi and Bluetooth connection whose operating system is Tizen. It is quite compact and also incorporates a microHDMI port. Samsung The Freestyle (2023) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Sony WH-1000XM5 If we go to the territory of Bluetooth headphones, right now we can find the best offer in the Sony WH-1000XM5 in its version with a soft carrying case, the price of which is 198.99 euros. It is one of the best headphones of the brand, they have a very good active noise cancellation and its battery is excellent. Sony WH-1000XM5 (soft case) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links nintendo switch 2 The Nintendo Switch 2 has received many offers in recent months and, although the one El Corte Inglés has right now is not the best, it is attractive because it is the pack with ‘Mario Kart World‘. Its price is 479 euros and it remains above the console without a game which, in this case, costs 469.90 euros. In this way, we could say that the video game would cost us 9.10 euros. Nintendo Switch 2 + Mario Kart World The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Oppo Find X9 Although we have one of the best telephone offers in the Google Pixel 10 (630.46 euros), is not too far from the price we have been seeing in recent weeks. Therefore, it is more attractive Oppo Find X9 that, for 825.57 euroswe are talking about a mobile with 7,025 mAh batteryMediaTek Dimensity 9500 processor, 512 GB of internal storage and an excellent 6.59-inch panel with 1.5K resolution. Oppo Find X9 (12GB, 512GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | El Corte Inglés and Compradicción (header), Garmin, Samsung, Sony, Nintendo, Oppo In Xataka | Best wireless headphones. Which one to buy and 21 models from 15 euros to 470 euros In Xataka | Best home theater projectors. Which one to buy and five recommended models from 299 to 18,000 euros

The arrival of NVIDIA processors is imminent and brings 8 laptops under its arm

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When the river sounds, it carries water. And rumors of NVIDIA launching its own processors for home computers have been around since at least a couple of years ago. Well, the arrival of Jensen Huang’s company in this segment is imminent and represents a total challenge to the hegemony of Intel and AMD and the x86 architecture. What’s more, it points to a paradigm shift in how we will understand Windows personal computers in the coming years. Bottom line: think Apple Silicon. The context. To date, Intel and AMD have divided the Windows laptop pie and ARM architecture It was intended either for more or less affordable and basic computers with Chromebook and MediaTek or for an expensive MacBook. It is true that already is there a powerful laptop with Qualcomm Snapdragon under the hood that runs Windows, but the arrival of NVIDIA chips this first quarter of 2026 wants to be the definitive push. Thus, these ambitious and powerful teams will not equip an NVIDIA GPU with an Intel CPU as we have been seeing for years, but rather they will have an NVIDIA SoC (actually, there are two models: N1 and N1X). Simply put, NVIDIA takes care of two essential pieces of hardware. Why is it important. NVIDIA wants to do with Windows what Apple has achieved with its M chips, an ecosystem where the processor and graphics are integrated and understood wonderfully, which is noticeable in issues such as battery consumption, efficiency or performance itself. The blessed convergence. For years, if you wanted a powerful computer for gaming or work, you had to choose between Intel or AMD and the x86 architecture, but NVIDIA enters a china shop like an elephant with the ARM architecture and its advantages: more efficiency, less heating and longer battery life. Until now, finding a reliable gaming device to play with was a pipe dream, but the N1X chip with the Blackwell architecture of the RTX 50 wants to change it. And furthermore, you could do it on more stylized equipment. On the other hand, these chips use unified memory (up to 128 GB LPDDR5X), which means fewer bottlenecks in demanding tasks such as gaming, local AI or video editing. What has escaped. A leak from Lenovo has revealed that the company has manufactured six laptops with the N1 and N1X processors, including a 15-inch gaming device. An X/Twitter user has published the list of the teams. The user’s profile is completely anonymous, not that it does not inspire much confidence, but there is more: this page updates The Legion control software already shows the existence of a “Legion 7 15N1X11” laptop where the “N1X” is precisely the NVIDIA SoC. Besides, The Verge has discovered already indexed and protected Lenovo content that refers to products with these processors. And not just Lenovo: Dell has also missed a premium device with NVIDIA N1X on its website, such as another X/Twitter user swiped. just a couple of days ago Digitimes gave to date: It will be this spring, although more devices will arrive this summer. After suffer a delayit seems that they will finally become a reality and will not stop here: the company already has the N2 and N2X on its roadmap for the end of 2027. Product descriptions with NVIDIA SoCs already appear on the Lenovo website The processors. There is little information about these components beyond a Geekbench leak that must be taken with tweezers. We know that the most powerful and aimed at models with more muscle is the N1X and rumors suggest that it has a 20-core CPU and an integrated GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores (with Blackwell architecture). However, the CEO of NVIDIA already confirmed than the N1 and the superchip GB10 They are practically the same. The N1 is simply a more modest chip focused on thermal efficiency and battery life and aimed at ultrabooks and mid-range. The first laptops with NVIDIA chips. The leaked devices that will debut with SoC from the company led by Huang will be eight: a Lenovo Legion 7 (15N1X11) gaming laptop with the N1X chip, the Lenovo Yoga 9 and Yoga Pro 7 convertibles with two versions to choose between N1X and N1, the IdeaPad Slim 5 in 14 and 16-inch versions with the N1 chip and the Dell “Premium 16”, probably XPS or Alienware, with an OLED screen and chip N1X. NVIDIA is not new to this. Lenovo is the largest PC manufacturer in the world (as collects Statista) and that it launches several models of its most important families means that it has strong reasons to trust that the performance of NVIDIA chips is up to par. However, NVIDIA’s ARM PC chips have been a long time coming, but that does not mean that it is a newbie in the sector, it is worth remembering that the switch It has a Tegra SoC and that this line has previously been the brain of tablets and even the Microsoft Surface or the Shield for TV. It is the beginning of a new cold war. And if confirmed, Microsoft’s desire would be fulfilled: the Windows on arm as a real alternative to Apple’s Macbook. The first quarter is not only the launch date, it can become a before and after between NVIDIA, Apple, AMD and Qualcomm for control of the computers of the future. In Xataka | The new thing from NVIDIA is called DLSS 4.5 and it seems like witchcraft: it can multiply the performance of the GeForce RTX 50 by six In Xataka | The US plan to stop China’s AI is failing. Huawei is becoming the “Chinese NVIDIA” Cover | Hillel Steinberg

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