usatoday24, Author at usatoday24

The satellites already see it over Andalusia and Extremadura

July 27, 2026 by usatoday24

The large forest fires that devastate the center of the Peninsula, especially in the Community of Madrid and the province of Ávilaare leaving a mark that goes far beyond the charred area. And if you have left home and thought there was a fire nearby, the most plausible possibility is that the smoke and ashes come directly from the center of the peninsula, despite being hundreds of kilometers away. The view from space. Feeling the presence of smoke in municipalities in the south of Castilla-La Mancha, Jaén or Extremadura is being seen at satellite level. It was AEMET itself that confirmed through satellite images how the immense column of smoke is being pushed by the winds aloft. The plume has crossed a large part of the Iberian Peninsula, traveling south and southeast until it appears over the Mediterranean arc. This massive displacement is causing a general deterioration in air quality along its path, loading the atmosphere with suspended particles derived from the combustion of the forest mass. Chain notices. As the smoke advances, the regional emergency services have had to react to the alarm of citizens who, suddenly, see the cloudy sky and detect an intense burning smell, thinking that a new fire has started in their area. In Castilla-La Mancha, the INFOCAM fire extinguishing service has reported a “significant presence of smoke” that covers a large part of the province of Toledo. Faced with this situation, the authorities have been clear with their recommendations, pointing out that it is vital to avoid intense outdoor exercise and, if the concentration is very high, close the windows of your homes. It goes further. The journey of the particles has not stopped in the Tagus. The smoke has already reached Extremadura, and in the south, the Andalusian authorities have issued preventive warningssince it is already easy see the presence of smoke in the north of Jaén right at the Despeñaperros pass. It’s a problem. Given the appearance of smoke and the smell of burning mountains, emergency services are making an effort to convey a fundamental message to prevent the collapse of the switchboards by announcing that the presence of smoke does not imply that there is a fire nearby. The main risk for the population in these smoke-receiving communities is not the fire itself, but the health consequences of breathing contaminated air. The impact is due to the irritation of the respiratory tract caused by fine particles and, although for the healthy general population it may only cause discomfort or a slight itching of the throat and eyes, the worsening of air quality has a critical impact on vulnerable people, such as people with respiratory pathologies. An improvement is expected. As the Andalusian Forest Fire Extinguishing Service has pointed out in its X account, is expected that at least in this region of Spain this smoke begins to disperse due to the entry of easterly winds. Image | AEMET In Xataka | In the face of the fires that devastate Madrid, Ávila and Toledo, Starlink supports free with its satellite internet service

two very little-known parameters that change everything with AI

July 27, 2026 by usatoday24

ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek and others artificial intelligences (AI) seem simple: we write, we give them our request or question and we receive a response. However, behind this simplicity of use there are two parameters that greatly determine the quality of the response that we get. And they often go unnoticed. We cannot manipulate the temperature and response length directly from the conventional chat. In fact, they are only touched from the API or using advanced tools, but the good news is that we can simulate their effect by resorting to the prompt appropriate. Temperature affects the creativity of the response. And the length to which the AI model extends. The important thing is that by combining them we can completely transform the result of the same question. What these two parameters actually do The language models we currently use do not “know” the answers to our questions. They actually calculate, roughly speaking, word by word which is the most likely next word. This is all. In this context, the temperature decides to what extent the model deviates from that most probable option. A low temperature (and therefore close to 0) almost always chooses the predictable. A high one, however, allows for less probable options, with more variety, but also with more risk of detours. Be that as it may, there is no “correct” temperature: depends on the task. To summarize a contract, explain a concept or translate a text, we want it to be low. But to search for names, write an e-mail or propose ideas, we are interested in just the opposite. Almost no interface in AI applications allows us to touch this parameter directly, but we can simulate its effect using explicit instructions. If we write in Claude or ChatGPT: “Give me a very conservative and literal answer, without speculating or adding your own nuances” In practice we are asking for a behavior equivalent to a low temperature. If instead we write: “Be as original as you can. I prefer unconventional, even risky, ideas over the most obvious ones” The model will behave much more like it would with the temperature at maximum. Something similar happens with response length, although the mechanism is different. The model generates text until it decides to stop or until it reaches a limit of tokens fixed in advance, and a longer answer does not equal a better answer. It almost never is. The solution is simple: just include an explicit extension instruction in the ‘prompt’ Without instructions, most models tend to extend with nuances that we do not always need. On the other hand, if we are looking for in-depth development, a short answer will remain half. The problem does not lie in the model: it is that we have not indicated how much space it should occupy. The solution is simple: just include in the prompt an explicit extension instruction, from “answer me in a single sentence” to “develop it as deeply as possible.” And the two parameters are also combined: a low temperature and a short response give surgical responses, ideal for technical purposes. However, a high temperature and generous length enable an AI that expands and takes risks, perfect for generating new ideas. Know both parameters, even if it is indirectly through the itinerary that we mark for the model in each promptallows us to ask exactly what we need instead of settling for what AI delivers by default. Image | Generated by Xataka with a prompt created by Gemini and submitted to ChatGPT In Xataka | ChatGPT blocking mode: what it is, what it is for, who can use it and how to activate it In Xataka | AI is replacing one of the most hated jobs in the world: the tailcoat collector

Renfe is already facing a complaint for the lack of air conditioning on its trains

July 27, 2026 by usatoday24

Tired of “traveling in overcrowded carriages that have become veritable saunas.” This is how users feel according to Acusval, the latest consumer association to denounce the lack of air conditioning on Renfe trains. This time, specifically, in the Madrid Cercanías trains where, they say, there is a “risk to public health.” What has happened? That the Renfe trains in the Madrid Cercanías service are having serious air conditioning problems, an inconvenience that multiplies the effects on travelers just when they coincide with a heat wave and works on a multitude of lines and means of transport. At least that’s what denounce from the Association of Consumers and Users of Valdemoroa town south of Madrid that many workers take to go to their jobs every day. They claim that medical interventions have been carried out on trains for lipothymia or anxiety attacks among passengers, although they do not have specific data in these cases. What do they ask for? First, an audit of the state of the air conditioning systems and Renfe maintenance protocols, as well as imposing the corresponding sanctions because “serious violations regarding the protection and safety of travelers” are occurring. In addition, Acusval requests the immediate immobilization of trains whose air conditioning does not work during episodes of high temperatures. And it is that to questions of Xatakathe association is clear: “the right to safe transportation is being violated.” What does Renfe say? In Xataka We have contacted the company, who assure us that line C-3 (the one that connects Valdemoro and Madrid) uses the most modern trains in the fleet and that the proper functioning of the air conditioning is not compromised. They claim that they are only aware of two incidents “associated with air conditioning problems in the last two months.” They point out, however, that they are carrying out the necessary maintenance work. Likewise, Renfe has stressed to us that they have 970 vehicles to offer their public services and that the older series may have problems when the temperature exceeds 36ºC, values that were taken into account at the time of their manufacture, far from the 40ºC registered in recent weeks. But, in addition, they have launched what they call the Renfe Air Conditioning Improvement Plan. This plan includes actions on the trains to improve the efficiency of the air conditioning at times of high temperatures, more exhaustive maintenance for the change of parts such as the replacement of filters and a new configuration of the equipment to increase the temperature at which they can work. In the specific case of Cercanías Madrid, a specific plan for cleaning and reviewing the trains has been activated since their age is greater than that of other regions. What happens now? Asked about what this implies, the association confirms that what they have done was report Renfe SA to the General Directorate of Commerce and Consumer Affairs of Madrid. This means that now the office will have to initiate an investigation to find out how the company is acting and, if they consider it appropriate, sanction the company for putting into operation trains in which the air conditioning fails. “A risk”. The constant heat waves have put train cooling in the spotlight. Last week, Renfe assumed that the trains between Madrid and Badajoz are making the journey, on some occasions, with carriages where the air conditioning did not work. According to the company, this was because the heat was so intense that the cooling system could not cope and the system protected itself, redirecting the air conditioning to the train’s critical systems to keep it running. In this case, the company has not given us a conclusive answer about the Madrid situation but the matter is more complicated if we take into account that works on the city’s railway network They are saturating the trains that are in operation. To this we must add the multiple works in the alternative options like the Madrid Metro or the conditions on the roads, from the ring roads like the M-50 at main entry arteries such as the A-5. Is it useful for anything? That’s what we have left to see. According to the association, this goes one step further than the complaints that travelers can make. And if a private customer files a complaint, it remains up in the air what decision the company is going to make. In some cases, yes, money has been returned to customers although been years late. This route is more direct and should produce an in-depth investigation of what happened. What is certain is that the European Union requires that the public transport service be comfortable and have the minimum required safety measures, as stated in the Regulation on the rights and obligations of railway passengers. Renfe has always defended that they work to improve the service with high temperatures and that, as in the case of medium distance services, they work on a specific plan to face high temperatures. Photo | Galandil In Xataka | In its expansion of the Cercanías, Madrid is considering something unusual in Spain: launching a new line to Villaviciosa

AOC presents the first monitor in the AGON 7 series that promises to be fully optimized for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S

July 27, 2026 by usatoday24

AOC has presented its new gaming monitor, the first in the range AGON 7 which undoubtedly has a very attractive technical sheet for users looking to get the most out of their computers and even consoles. Its price, however, starts from the recommended 899 euros (on the official website), while it is currently sold out in supplier stores such as Amazon or MediaMarkt. Now, let’s take a look at its specifications. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A monitor with Dual Frame Mode The AGON PRO AGP277QKDC is a monitor clearly oriented towards gaming that comes with a 26.5-inch diagonal and a panel with technology Tandem WOLEDpromising colors with good depth. In practice, this is attractive especially for cinematic video games. The interesting thing about its panel is that it has Dual Frame Mode technology, which allows you to select between two modes in which we will find a variation in hertz and resolution. In this way, we have: Dual Frame Mode 540 Hz and QHD resolution. Dual Frame Mode 720 Hz and HD resolution. In any case, we are talking about two quite attractive modes, especially when it comes to the refresh rate. Additionally, the brand promises that the monitor reaches a brightness of up to 1,5000 nits and it is fully optimized for both PlayStation 5 as for Xbox Series X/S. It is also worth noting that, as AOC mentions, the monitor offers a response time of 0.03 ms, an ideal figure for competitive games. It is compatible with technology Nvidia G-Sync to avoid image cuts or other image problems and comes equipped with a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports, a DisplayPort 2.1 port and a USB-C port with 65W power. Furthermore, it is also important to mention that this monitor is compatible with VESA mountsalthough it includes its own base that offers a height adjustment of 150 mm, tilt and swivel configuration and 90º rotation. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: AGON PRO AGP277QKDC ✅ THE BEST Your screen: It offers very good quality and promises to have a good level of brightness. Its dual mode to choose the refresh rate and resolution. Its HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C ports. ❌ THE WORST Its price and stock: It is an expensive monitor and is sold out in stores like MediaMarkt and Amazon. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are looking for a good gaming monitor for competitive video games that stands out above all for its refresh rate, as well as its ports. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You don’t want to play competitive video games, since there are cheaper models that, despite having more modest specifications, also offer a great gaming experience. You may also be interested Philips EVNIA 27M2N8500 Gaming Monitor 27″ QHD, 360Hz, QD-OLED, 0.03 ms GtG, HDR400 Trueblack, Adaptive Sync., G-Sync Compat., Speakers, Adjustable Height (2X HDMI 2.1, 1x DP 1.4, USB-Hub) White The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 G93SD 49″, DQHD, 5120×1440, 240Hz, 0.03ms(GTG), 32:9, 1,000,000:1, FreeSync Premium Pro, 250 CD/m², HDMI, HDR10, Pleated, LS49DG934SUXEN 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 | Linus Mimietz in UnsplashA.O.C. In Xataka | Best ultrabooks (2026). Which one to buy and 11 recommended light laptops from 500 to 2,000 euros In Xataka | Best gaming laptops in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models

Europe wants to pay without depending on Visa or Mastercard, and Lidl has just taken a key step to achieve this: with Wero

July 27, 2026 by usatoday24

Lidl has started to accept werothe payment system promoted by banking in Europe, in its German online store. Even at first it may not tell us much, but a supermarket of the stature of Lidl that adds one more payment method is part of a much broader movement: an attempt by Europe to stop depending on Visa and Mastercard for something as everyday as online payments. We tell you all the details. Wero, “the European bizum”. According to the chain itself has confirmedLidl is the first large supermarket in Germany to integrate Wero into its online payments. Lidl.de customers who have an account in one of the 18 banks that already support the system will be able to pay directly from their current account, in real time, and without the card or any US payment network intervening in the operation. How it works in practice. The process is simple, since it is enough to activate the Wero function once in the bank’s app, similar to the way Bizum works in Spain. From there, when completing the purchase on Lidl.de, the customer can confirm the payment from their own bank (the website automatically redirects them to the app) or scan a QR code with their mobile phone. The money comes directly from the bank account, and in case of return, it returns the same way. There are no card intermediaries involved. Why Lidl and why now. According to collect According to The Paypers, the deployment begins in Germany, but Lidl and the European Payments Initiative (EPI), the entity that manages Wero, already plan to extend its adoption to online stores in Belgium and France throughout 2026, and also incorporate payment in physical stores before the end of the year. Nicola Bracht, head of Schwarz Payment Solutions (the payments division of the Schwarz group, parent of Lidl), explained to the media that the decision responds “to the search for a fluid customer experience” and “data protection and security criteria aligned with European standards”, and has announced that the group expects Wero to continue growing as a transversal payment method across different channels. A European alternative to Visa and Mastercard. wero born in 2023 as a trademark of the EPI, an initiative founded in 2020 by fifteen European banks (including BBVA, Santander, Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas) with the aim of building their own payment alternative that reduces dependence on Visa, Mastercard and PayPal, all of them of American origin. Its name plays on the words “we” (us) and “euro.” The system was first launched for transfers between individuals in Germany, France and Belgium, and has since expanded its scope, first to payments between individuals and companies, and now to electronic commerce. Between the lines. What makes Lidl’s incorporation relevant is not so much the gesture itself as what it represents, since Wero’s arrival in high-volume e-commerce is, precisely, the land where Visa and Mastercard get a good part of their business most profitable in Europe. Until now, Wero moved mainly in the field of transfers between individuals, something similar to what Bizum offers in Spain. That a chain with the scale of Lidl begins to accept it in its online store is a step towards that other field, that of commercial payments, where the dispute with the card networks is really played out. Lidl has not been the only one to announce a similar move. And Decathlon will also accept payments through Wero in Germany on its website, as has confirmed the chain. Economic sovereignty. This advance by Wero also comes at a time when the European payments ecosystem itself is reorganizing to another level. Bizum, together with the Italian Bancomat Pay, the Portuguese SIBS, the Polish Blik and the Nordic Vipps MobilePay, has promoted the creation of a joint company based in Madrid that seeks to make all these national systems interoperable under a common infrastructure with Wero. The president of the Spanish Banking Association, Alejandra Kindelán, counted A few months ago “when we talk about payments, we talk about economic sovereignty, competitiveness and Europe’s ability to decide its future”, and payments have gone from being a simple infrastructure to becoming a question of sovereignty. And now what. The calendar managed by EPI points to Wero reaching more online stores in France and Belgium throughout 2026, and payments in physical stores (via QR and NFC) before the end of the year. We will have to wait to know if with so much alliance and momentum from the banking sector, Wero can end up becoming a real alternative to Visa and Mastercard in Europe. Cover image | Jonas Leupe and VLADISLAV BOGUTSKI In Xataka | Mistral is very far in the AI race. Samsung doesn’t care about that and plans to invest a fortune in it

DeepSeek CEO explains how he has transformed the chip shortage into his strategic alibi

July 27, 2026 by usatoday24

One of the many battles that China and the United States are fighting is technological, specifically one related to artificial intelligence. US business spending on AI It’s astronomicalbut in China the ambition is no less and the Government wants it to be one of the pillars for the country to be the first world power in the short term. One of the conversations surrounding Chinese AI compared to American AI has to do with efficiency. Very capable models, higher in some cases to the Americans, but with a much lower price and, above all, trained in record time. There are controversies about it, such as theft accusations by giants like Anthropic and OpenAI, but the reality is that if you don’t want to use the AI of an American company, they are there alternatives like DeepSeekKimi or those from Zhipu AI. But, speaking of Deepseek, the company’s CEO is clear that there is a Huge difference between Chinese AI Big Tech and American counterparts: computing capacity. He gives a fact to illustrate it: four Huawei chips are equivalent to one from Nvidia, and that opens the door for the US to have even more arguments to continue putting pressure on the Chinese technology industry. The bottleneck is power, nothing more Liang Wenfeng He is the CEO of DeepSeek and, like so many in his position in recent weeks, he has had the presentation before investors. These types of events are very interesting because they allow us to learn more about both the companies and their plans, and in this case it has been revealing to listen to the head of one of the most relevant AI companies today. They are not official statements, since they are the leak of the almost four-hour meeting published by Tencent Tech, but among its many phrases, we can extract very interesting ideas. The first is what we mentioned: for the boss, the main gap is money and resources. “There is no gap in personnel, since it is basically the same group of people. Talent is not the bottleneck: resources are the biggest bottleneck,” says Liang. The CEO continued to point out evidence, stating that “more cards are always better” and that, at a reasonable price, they buy as many as they can because “converting money into Nvidia cards is definitely better than leaving that money in the bank.” And the Nvidia cards stand out for a fact that is also very interesting: how many Huawei cards are equivalent to one Nvidia card. “Our price offers a reasonable profit: we buy a batch of equipment and they pay for themselves in about ten months” – Liang Wenfeng Assures that the relationship is four to one, or what is the same: if they wanted to train a model with 800,000 million active parameters like the main American AI models, they would need 50,000 Nvidia GB300 cards or 200,000 Huawei 950 cards. That It doesn’t seem to leave Huawei in a very good place.which are those that the Chinese industry and the Government itself is trying to promotebut Liang affirms that Nvidia is digging its own grave in the Chinese market, that the CUDA ecosystem is eroding quickly and that Huawei supernode 950 It can completely replace Nvidia’s GB200 and GB300 in both performance and price. Although the 4:1 ratio between the chips seems alarming for the domestic company, Liang did not specify the workload or whether it measures raw performance, training performance or inference. The US looks closely One detail that Liang points out is that this computing power gap will end up closing as Huawei launches solutions and that, although he does not dare to guess when it will happen, it is something that will end up arriving. But of course, when the competition between the US and China is, in part, in that power of AI, the United States is not in the least interested in closing the gap. In recent months we have seen how pressure has continued to prevent Chinese companies from accessing Western hardware that is key to the development of the semiconductor industry. ASML Extreme Lithography Machines are an exampleand more recently the White House accused Chinese startup Moonshot AI from acquiring servers equipped with Nvidia chips that they should not be able to access. The case of Moonshot AI has been quite popular because a few days ago we told you about that amazing Kimi K3 model that, according to the Americans, would have been trained in Thailand with Nvidia GB300 chips to avoid United States export regulations. And they go further, arguing that Kimi K3 had ‘drunk‘the model Anthropic Fable. Deepseek Strategy Beyond politics, and returning to Liang, although right now it seems that China is not on par in terms of computing power, DeepSeek has a long-term strategy that has less to do with having the most powerful model currently. As we read in SCMPLiang commented that they are setting prices “to make only a reasonable profit, not to maximize revenue.” And that is the key that the company apparently pursues, since they are keeping prices low for users with the aim of their service being increasingly used in the hope of increasing the possibility of achieving artificial general intelligence. So while other companies prioritize immediate profits and capturing market share, Liang is focusing on “increasing the probability of achieving AGI“because it will be that AI that will have great commercial value. And that is what they do seek to exploit. In Xataka | While most oppose AI data centers, there is one group enthusiastic about them: merchandise thieves

The solar eclipse on August 12 is approaching and your prescription glasses can complicate your plan: this is how you can solve it

July 27, 2026 by usatoday24

The time for the solar eclipse has arrived. You have taken all necessary precautions and you have bought some approved glassesbut you go to put them on and discover how uncomfortable it is to wear them over your prescription glasses. If you wear prescription glasses and think you can live this story next August 12, do not leave the issue of approved glasses to the last minute. At some observation points they will be given to attendees, but if you have not tried them in advance you may discover that they do not fit your eyes well and, therefore, are neither comfortable nor protective. It is better to bring your own protection and also test it in advance. Let’s see some ideas. The cardboard gives a lot of itself. In addition to to reduce costs manufacturing, the frames of glasses approved for eclipses are usually made of cardboard to fit well to any face. As a result, they can often be worn over prescription glasses without any problem. You may have to hold them by hand; but, as long as you make sure they cover your field of vision well, there is no problem. There are also glasses that, without being made of cardboard, are deliberately large to accommodate other glasses underneath. It is the case of these that show in an article of The Country. However, not everything is going to be big glasses. There are other options too. Clips are a good option. There are some clip options with filters approved for solar eclipses that fit the lens of almost any glasses. They are generally sold in opticians. or specialized stores and, since they are much more exclusive, they have slightly higher prices than typical cardboard frame glasses. Still, they are a great option if you don’t want to gamble. Ask your optician what they recommend. Yes indeed. Even if they are made as universal as possible, they may not fit your glasses specifically well. Always try them first. You can wear contact lenses. If you usually wear contact lenses, now is a good time to do so. Thus, the approved glasses you use will fit your face better. Remember what is important. It doesn’t matter if you use approved glasses or clip-on filters. The important thing is that you make sure they have the certificate EN ISO 12312-2:2015 and that both the seal of the European Community and the instructions for use are indicated on the packaging. Additionally, you should make sure that the filters are not scratched, as this would decrease the level of protection. And, of course, remember that neither x-rays nor photo negatives are valid. They are myths that have damaged many retinas along the way. Image | Magnific/NASA In Xataka | The trio of eclipses that await Spain on the horizon: an unprecedented and historic chain between 2026 and 2028

“Inheriting a home is usually better than receiving it while alive”

July 27, 2026 by usatoday24

Every year, thousands of parents see how their children have difficulties accessing housing, while they have a second residencean empty apartment or some savings that could help them with. How could they help their children without the tax bill skyrocketing? Aitor Fernandez and Alina Dragostax advisors TaxDownhave been solving these doubts for Spanish families for years. His advice, after reviewing hundreds of real cases in his office, leaves no room for doubt: “Inheriting a home is usually better than receiving it while alive.” The “surplus value of the dead”. The main argument of tax advisors is that when someone dies and their house passes to their heirs, the capital gain that the property has carried since it was purchased suddenly disappears for the Treasury. This is what is known as the “dead man’s capital gains“. That difference between the original purchase price and the current value of the property is excluded from taxation by law. Obviously, the deceased does not have to declare this increase in assets as would happen if he or she sold or donated the same property while alive. Since the heirs barely pay Inheritance tax Because they are subsidized between parents and children, this revaluation is almost tax-free. The donation generates personal income tax for the parents. With the donation of that same property during life, the tax landscape changes completely. The property comes out of the parents’ estate and, for all purposes, the Treasury treats it as if it had been sold. If the home is worth more today than when it was purchased, you must declare that difference in your income tax return. And that quote is unavoidable even when, being a donation, nothing has been charged in exchange. As Dragos highlighted: “The donation of housing is always more burdensome than the donation of money. Many times it is an apartment bought decades ago and the parents do not bear the (fiscal) bill that arrives later.” Donate while you are alive: it depends. Despite everything, donating doesn’t always go wrong. Tax experts assure that “if the donation is cash, the father can save on personal income tax.” Communities like Madrid exempt up to 250,000 euros when the purpose of the donation is to buy the child’s habitual residence. Extremadura has a similar advantage for average income. Both Fernández and Dragos emphasize that the donation route also compensates when the parents themselves are over 65 years of age and donate their home to their children. The law exempts the gain in the transfer of assets of that home from that age onwards. Of course, everything must be documented before a notary and with notification to the Treasury, even if the settlement is zero euros. Fernández remembers that the most expensive mistake continues to be “not documenting” anything. Treasury monitors especially closely the hidden donations. In Xataka | There is a less painful solution so that an inheritance does not become a ruin for the heirs: renounce it Image | Unsplash (Jakub Zerdzicki)

two foldings that look the same on the outside but are very different on the inside

July 27, 2026 by usatoday24

A few days ago, we brought you a comparison between the Galaxy Z Flip8 and its predecessortwo very similar mobile phones, although with differences in certain key aspects. But, How does this new folding phone from Samsung compare to the competition? For this reason, today we are going to compare it directly with one of its main rivals this 2026 (so far): the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra. Technical specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 and the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8 motorola razr 70 ultra Dimensions and weight Folding: 75.4 x 85.7 x 13.1mm Displayed: 75.4 x 166.9 x 6.1mm 180 grams Folding: 73.99 x 88.12 x 15.69mm Displayed: 73.99 x 171.48 x 7.19mm 199 grams folding screen 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X FullHD+ resolution (1,080 x 2,520 pixels) 400 pixels per inch 3,000 nits Refresh rate: 1-120Hz Vision Booster 6.96 inch LTPO AMOLED Resolution 1224 x 2992 22:9 format 10-bit color Refresh rate: up to 165 Hz Peak brightness: 5,000 nits Dolby Vision secondary / main screen 4.1-inch Super AMOLED Refresh rate: 60/120 Hz Resolution 948 x 1,048 pixels 4 inch OLED 10-bit color Refresh rate: up to 165 Hz Peak brightness: 3,000 nits processor Exynos 2600 Snapdragon 8 Elite Ram memory and storage 12/256GB 12/512GB 16/512GB main camera 50 MP wide angle, dual pixel AF, OIS, f/1.8, FOV 85º 12 MP wide angle, f/2.2, 123º FOV 50 MP wide-angle, 2.0 um Quad Pixel, f/1.8, Dolby Vision 50 MP wide angle, Quad Pixel, 122°, f/2.0 front camera 10 MP, f/2.2, FOV 85º 50 MP, 1.28 um Quad Pixel, f/2.0 battery Dual 4,300 mAh (typical) 25W fast charging 15W wireless charging PowerShare Reverse Wireless Charging 5,000 mAh 68W fast charging 30W wireless charging 5W reverse charging operating system Android 17 One UI 9 Seven years of updates Android 16 Three years of updates (OS) Four years of security updates price From 1,299 euros From 1,399 euros Many differences to analyze here, since, although they are two phones with the same type of fold and format, they change in practically every aspect. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip8, 256GB The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Motorola Razr 70 Ultra, 512GB The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Design: heading towards an increasingly thinner and thinner folding This type of folding mobile is characterized by being compact and very manageable, both open and closed. In that sense, both proposals are right and have similar dimensions and weight. In fact, Motorola repeats regarding the Razr 60 Ultrasince the new phone measures and weighs the same. Samsung, however, has slimmed down his new foldable. If we talk about exact figures, the Galaxy Z Flip8 brings a reduction of 0.4 millimeters in thickness and 8 grams in weight with respect to Galaxy Z Flip7. It is not a huge evolution, but it does represent a quite notable difference if we compare it with the Motorola foldable, since there is a difference of more than a millimeter in thickness and 19 grams in weight. Screen: Motorola is committed to 165 Hz and a very high maximum brightness If we talk about the screens, when it comes to size, there are very few differences (you have the exact figures in the table above). Now, there is a lot to analyze because the Razr 70 Ultra has two points where it is placed one step above the Z Flip8 at this point. One of them is the refresh rate, which is 165 Hz on both screens. This is something that will give us more fluency and that we will notice especially in video games or when reading text. The other is maximum brightness. Samsung has improved the brightness level of its internal screen (which has gone from 2,600 to 3,000 nits), but that of the Motorola Razr 70 Ultra reaches 5,000 nits maximum brightness. This will make it look better outdoors, especially on those days where sunlight hits the screen directly. We cannot yet talk about how noticeable (or not) the hinge of both devices is, although both manufacturers promise an evolution in that sense. Two high-end processors with lots of RAM Both devices have two processors that we have already seen in other high-end Android phones. The Z Flip8 bets on the Exynos 2600a processor from Samsung itself manufactured in 2 nanometers that we have already seen in the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+. Motorola, however, mounts on its device the Snapdragon 8 Eliteso on paper we can expect more performance from it. And what happens with RAM? Samsung’s foldable is available in two configurations, but in both it has 12 GB of RAM. The Razr 70 Ultra can only be purchased in one configuration and it has 16 GB of RAM memoryso it should perform better with multitasking, with many applications open and even running artificial intelligence tools locally. More battery and fast charging for the Motorola foldable Both devices have made a leap in terms of battery capacity compared to their predecessors, but Motorola’s Razr 70 Ultra is ahead in terms of battery capacity. Specifically, we are talking about 5,000 mAh compared to the 4,300 mAh that the Galaxy Z Flip8 has. It is true that optimization and other aspects also influence when talking about the autonomy of a device, but point for the Motorola foldable. We can also talk about another point if we focus on the charging of the devices. Both folding devices have wireless charging, although the Motorola one offers 30 W compared to the 15 W of the Z Flip8. Something similar happens if we talk about cable charging, since the Razr 70 Ultra reaches up to 68 W fast charging and Samsung’s stays at 25 W. Two similar, but not identical, camera systems These two foldables have three cameras: two on the back and one on the inside of the device. Focusing first on the first, both devices dispense with a telephoto sensor to mount a 50 megapixel main camera and … Read more

Apple is preparing glasses to respond to Meta’s Ray-Ban. The problem is a wall called ‘privacy’

July 27, 2026 by usatoday24

John Ternus is the new CEO of Apple and, although he will officially take office next September 1 coinciding with the presentation of the iPhone 18 Procomes to office with a task. On the one hand, the highly rumored foldable iPhone that we should see next to the iPhone 18 Pro and that it would have a very similar format to what was seen in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8. On the other hand, the new Apple glasses. We are not referring to a new version of the VisionProbut rather one more product to carry on a daily basis with which they will compete, directly, against the Ray-Ban by Meta. However, there is a major challenge with this product: privacy. Because Meta’s glasses have been sailing seas of controversies with privacyuser recordings that They are not so private either the use that is made of this type of device, and if a company does not want to have anything to do with controversies, and even less related to privacy, that is Apple. All of this is forcing them to think very hard. What strategy do you want to follow with these glasses? that can pay for the losses of another team: the AI team. Let’s go with the story because it’s pretty cool. Apple glasses and the privacy problem A few months ago, our colleagues at Applesfera already said that reputable sources from both the sector in general and Apple in particular they pointed to a delay in the apple glasses. Mark Gurman, in Bloombergassures that the device was planned for sometime in 2026, but in the end it will end up arriving at the end of 2027 with a presentation at WWDC 2027. That extra time will allow developers to create apps for a new type of wearable that aspires to be an Apple Watch, but in the form of glasses. It will also give more time for the company itself to deal with the privacy issue. We have recently seen several controversies related to Meta glasses in this area and, although Meta has not responded to some of those controversies, yes he has taken measures patching user manipulation and preventing the glasses from recording if they detect that the LED that works as a ‘snitch’ when we record is altered. According to Gurman, the glasses are codenamed ‘N50’ and Apple has put several of its teams to work (engineering and marketing among them) to refine not only the product, but the message around the privacy of the new device. It is, according to the Bloomberg journalist, Apple’s main priority for these glasses due to user concerns and the public and legal scrutiny in this regard. Distrust has already led both states and private entities to prohibit them in some spaces (such as swimming pools, gyms or schools, for example) and, although cell phones capture images of higher resolution and quality, wearing a camera on glasses feels more stealthy, like a quieter capture device. Apple knows that many eyes will be on this issue when it introduces the device, so it is working to emphasize not only the areas in which its glasses differ from the rest, but also why the user (and society itself) can trust it. The idea is that this device is a mix between AirPods and Apple Watch with access to Sirimusic playback, calls and information, and Gurman points out that a solution to the privacy issue would be to eliminate cameras or directly prevent the user from capturing content. Smart glasses without a camera is not that strange. Xiaomi has some and there are brands with products like this that, precisely, rely on this improvement in privacy as a marketing weapon. Bloomberg claims that Apple would be proposing glasses without a camera, but also one with cameras and sensors, but that they would only be used for the AI to see the world around the user and obtain information about objects and places that would later be transferred to the user through Siri. There are two problems. The first is that, if privacy were not an issue and in an ideal world, glasses with a camera are extremely useful for recording family moments and creating hands-free content, so eliminating cameras would send those who want that to the competition. The second is that Gurman claims that Apple does not currently trust its AI enough for that to be the main selling point for a totally new product. Obviously, It is a thorny and difficult issue to address. for an Apple that is about to enter a period of celebration (with the rumored 20th anniversary iPhone), but that has several hot potatoes as potential price increases (even more) due to RAM crisis and totally new products for them like these glasses or the foldable. Many possible crises to face if something goes wrong, so it is logical that they want to tread carefully. In Xataka | With the Vision Pro, Apple created a product with revolutionary potential. He then abandoned him to his fate.

Log In

Sign In

Forgot password?

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections