Mobile Tech & Gadgets

NATO classified networks

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The one that is involved in the United States with AI and the Government is one of father and dear sir. In just a few days, Anthropic’s AI has ceased to be the best friend of the Pentagona integrated into your systemsfor become an “AI Woke”“The Trump Administration is thinking put it on a blacklist, but another company has taken its place: OpenAI. And it is not enough for OpenAI to have ChatGPT within the systems of the United States Department of Defense. Now he wants to be in NATO’s classified networks. Action. We have already told the story. When the Department of Defense was looking for an AI to work closely with Palantir systems, Anthropic offered its Claude for the symbolic price of one dollar. That led to million-dollar agreements, but to something more important: they were becoming a vital company for the security of the United States. However, Claude has been programmed with red lines that the United States wanted to skip. Trump gave Anthropic an ultimatum: either give them unrestricted AI… or they had better prepare for the consequences. The company did not give in and what had to happen happened. The Government is working to remove all traces of Claude from its systems. And who was there first to pick up the baton? Sam Altman. With restrictions similar to those of Claude, but without having maintained a fight with Trump, OpenAI has won the new contract with the Department of Defense. Reaction. It’s funny because hours before he showed his support for Anthropic, but business is business and, as my colleague Javier Pastor says, Altman has been saying one thing and doing another for years. Users have responded with dozens of messages on Reddit and other social networks calling for a boycott, which translated on Saturday into 295% more uninstalls of the ChatGPT app in the United States… and a flood of users in Claude. It is always curious to see how humans react and how the Pentagon, which has tried to turn Anthropic into the bad guy, has now managed to make it seen as the defender of ethics. Go for NATO. There are already reports that Pentagon systems are beginning to implement OpenAI solutions. It makes sense if we take into account the importance that AI is having in modern operations, such as capture of Nicolás Maduro or the bombing of Iran last Saturday. But Altman has other ambitions. How do they count in The Informationthe CEO of the AI ​​company has commented in an employee meeting in which he has had to defend the position of being so linked to the Government that he is considering a contract for OpenAI to also integrate into NATO classified networks. An OpenAI spokesperson then clarified that Altman was wrong and did not mean “classified networks,” but rather “unclassified networks.” He has not given more details, but this Thursday he will give a conference and it will surely be one of the points of the day. At least one of the questions that attendees will ask. Danger. At Xataka we do not usually cover rumors and leaks of this style, no matter how good the media like the ones that have let the hare loose – The Information and Wall Street Jorunal-, but in this case we are talking about something tremendously important. It’s about how private companies are creating tools that we see are already being used for mass spying and can communicate with other software for military actions. It’s not science fiction. In fact, one of the clashes between Trump, the Secretary of Defense and Dario Amodei -CEO of Anthropic- has to do with the desire of the former to use AI to unleash to autonomous weapons systems. And even more dangerous than a world in which Entrepreneurs have the reins of something so powerful: United States is proving not to be a reliable allyand for an American company with deep ties to that country’s government to join NATO is giving too much power. In Xataka | The German chancellor did not come out to defend Spain in the White House for one reason: 127 billion dollars in weapons

Is the newest the best for you? We compare the Xiaomi 17 Ultra against the Xiaomi 15 Ultra to see which is a better buy in 2026

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There is a lot left to decide what is the best mobile phone of 2026but the new Xiaomi 17 Ultra He has all the ballots to be one of the candidates. The new top of the range from the Chinese manufacturer comes with changes compared to the previous Xiaomi 15 Ultra (the 16 does not exist, remember) and even with a launch offer. But, Is it worth paying more for the new model? We are going to analyze what the main differences between the two are to be able to decide more easily. Differences between the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Xiaomi 15 Ultra The screen makes you fat, the body loses weight Xiaomi, as Samsung has also done with their new Galaxy S26remains the same design, although refined. Xiaomi’s new mobile phone is its lightest and thinnest Ultra to datesomething quite impressive if we take into account the size of its battery (we will talk about that a little later). There is a fairly important difference between the two: 9.4 millimeters thick and 226 grams of the 15 Ultra compared to 8.29 millimeters and 218 grams of its successor. That means that we are going to have orLess sensation of “huge” in handsomething that is appreciated if we take into account that it is a mobile that measures 16 centimeters high. And the screen? In this case, it happens just the opposite: the Xiaomi 17 Ultra comes with a slightly larger 6.9-inch screen (compared to 6.73 for the 15 Ultra). This is how it is equal in inches compared to the Galaxy S26 Ultra. Beyond the size, it is also worth noting that the new Xiaomi also increases the maximum brightness level, ideal for those moments when we are on the street and the sun shines directly on the mobile. More performance thanks to its new processor At the hardware level, the expected improvement. Both phones have a Qualcomm processor: on the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s side, the Snapdragon 8 Elite; of the new model, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. We cannot talk about real figures because we have not tested the new Xiaomi phone, but with the data in hand, yes we can say that it will have better performance. At the end of the day, the new generation of Qualcomm’s processor is one of the best chips out there. As far as memory is concerned, point for Xiaomi: Both phones start with 512 GB of storage and 16 GB of RAM. As an alternative, in both cases we have an additional configuration that increases the capacity up to 1 TB (although in exchange for paying 200 euros more). There is a significant jump in battery size The Xiaomi 15 Ultra arrived in Spain with a 5,410 mAh battery, different from the one the same mobile phone had in China (which was 6,000 mAh). Although it already offers great autonomy, the Xiaomi 17 Ultra wants to catapult it with a 6,000 mAh battery that this time we can enjoy. It is an important battery size, even more so if we take into account that the thickness of the mobile has been reduced. And what about fast charging? There is no change there. Both devices have 90W fast wired charging and 50W wireless charging, so no matter which one you choose, you won’t find any difference in how fast your battery charges. The main difference is in the cameras One of the main strengths of the Xiaomi Ultra is in its cameras. The main camera, as with the 15 Ultra, is once again one inch, has 50 megapixels and is signed by Leica. A priori, there may not be much difference between their performance. Nor in the ultra wide angle, which is 50 megapixels in both cases. We cannot say the same about the telephoto lens. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra came with two different 50-megapixel telephoto lenses. Simply put, the phone’s camera jumps from one to the other depending on the zoom distance we want to use when taking the photo. What happens with the new 17 Ultra? That this uses a single 200 megapixel sensor with variable aperture, so the zoom is continuous and does not hit those “jumps”. Therefore, the result is better. Which one to choose from the two depending on what you are looking for or your needs In which cases is the Xiaomi 17 Ultra worth the most? The new top of the range comes with quite interesting improvements and changes, especially when it comes to battery and cameras. Now, as always, you have to weigh whether it is worth paying the price. The good news is that it comes out with a launch promo, so we now have it with a 250 euro discount. In that sense, this mobile is recommended if: You are looking to have a top of the range Xiaomi with the greatest possible autonomy. You want to have a more manageable mobile phone with a larger screen. You really like taking photos and you think you are going to put the improved telephoto lens to good use. In which cases is the Xiaomi 15 Ultra worth the most? In 2026, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra is still a very good phone. The problem here is that perhaps it is difficult to find it at a good price: the cheapest we have found has been at 1,179 eurosjust 70 euros less than what the Xiaomi 17 Ultra costs. At that price it is difficult to put it above, but things change if we look for it reconditioned or if we find it around 200 or 300 euros less. With a price like this, it would be recommended in case: Looking for a top photography experience without spending so much. You like big phones and you don’t mind that extra weight. You want a top-of-the-range Xiaomi mobile and you don’t mind looking at the previous generation. And what happens with the base models? This price difference that we talked about a few … Read more

It’s been going up for days and we already have queues at the low cost

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The conflict between the US, Israel and Iranand its consequent tension in the rest of the Middle East countries has been generating uncertainty in the energy markets for weeks. The barrel of Brent has risen nearly 30% so far this year, 8% this Monday alone. Goldman Sachs has revised its forecasts upwards and prices at Spanish gas stations have already chained five consecutive increases. In Spain, we are preparing for a gradual rise in price of gasoline. So much so that already long queues have been detected at service stations in some parts of the country. One of the most striking examples has been this Costco in Sevillewhere his gas station is flooded by a flood of cars. A scenario that recalls, with important nuances, what happened in 2022 with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. what’s happening. At the end of 2025, the price of fuel was giving some relief to drivers throughout Spain. Just like they count From El Motor, 95 gasoline had fallen by about 3.5% and diesel by more than 5% since November. However, this trend has ended in the most devastating and undesirable way possible: with another war. Image: Dieselogasolina.com (data extracted from the Ministry of Ecological Transition) According to the data from the Dieselogasolina web portal extracted from the Ministry of Ecological Transitionthe average price of 95 gasoline in the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands stands at €1,557/l this March 4, compared to €1,531/l the previous day. Diesel has gone from €1,492/l to €1,539/l in the same day. Five consecutive increases that coincide with the escalation of war in the Middle East. A bottleneck. As you’ve probably heard or read, most of the problem has to do with the Strait of Hormuz, which has stopped its traffic due to this escalation of war and which is where approximately 20% of the world’s production of crude oil and liquefied natural gas transits. The barrel of Brent reached close to $80 in the first days of March, after accumulating nearly a 30% increase so far this year, as share The Vanguard. Europe does not import Iranian crude oil directly (90% of Iran’s exports go to China), but the blockade of the Strait affects the global reference price, and that price does reach European suppliers. What the experts say. Goldman Sachs this week revised upwards its forecast for the second quarter of 2026, in which it expects Brent stands on average at 76 dollars per barrelten dollars more than his previous estimate. The bank warns that risks are “significantly skewed to the upside,” as share the WSJ. And the bank points out that if exports through the Strait of Hormuz remained restricted for five more weeks, Brent could reach $100. Àngel Hermosilla, general secretary of the Col·legi d’Economistes de Catalunya, points out told La Vanguardia that the energy market is “very volatile and very sensitive to any political action,” and that the impact could be felt at the pumps in a matter of days. And so it is, for now. On the other hand, the engine shared the words of Nacho Rabadán, spokesperson for the Spanish Confederation of Service Stations (CEEES), who explained to Trece that the suppliers have already communicated to the stations “an extra cost of between 10 and 12 cents per liter for the delivery tanks this Wednesday.” That is the purchase price for the gas stations, not the final price to the driver, but it anticipates that the increases will end up being passed on. Rabadán remembers what happened in 2022 with the start of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, at which time some stations held prices when the liter was around 1.80 euros, assuming losses, but then replacing the product “cost them up to 3,000 euros more per tanker.” On the other hand, the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) esteem that, if Brent stabilizes around $80, a rise of between 8 and 10 cents per liter could be expected in the coming weeks. Beyond the deposit. Eduard Conti, specialist in personal finances, counted La Vanguardia that when fuel prices rise, this affects all economic sectors, including food transportation, airline tickets, industrial manufacturing, etc. Conti points out that in Spain, inflation is currently around 2.3%, but the CPI has accumulated a 23% rise in the last five years. For his part, Philip Lane, member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, recognized in an interview with the Financial Times that “the magnitude of the impact and the implications for inflation in the medium term depend on the extent and duration of the conflict.” It hasn’t really gone up yet. Prices, although on the rise, are still far from the historical highs recorded by the Ministry of Ecological Transition: 95 gasoline reached €2,152/L and diesel reached €2,106/L. “I hope that we do not reach two euros, although the truth is that the oil market has been very strange for years. The only thing I can say is that for us, the fact that it is only the fifty-third highest increase in history is already good news,” counted Rabadan. Cover image | engin akyurt and Juan Carlos Toro In Xataka | The US has launched its most ambitious weapon against Iran in the last decade: a missile that does not need fighters or warships

Google wants you to spend more time in its app store. So he’s going to turn it into TikTok

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At the end of 2023, Google warned: at some point the discovery of applications through short videos in the Play Store would be enhanced. A pilot test began in the United States under the name “Play Report”, giving maximum prominence to certain selected applications through short videos in vertical format. What began as a pilot test appears to have worked successfully. The company just announced a package of news that will come to Android and, among them, is this type of videos. The fact that. Google is going to introduce Google Play Shorts. Their name does not deceive: they are short format videos in which we will be shown the content and operation of the applications. As soon as we open the application, we will see them playing, so the first question we ask ourselves is whether it will be possible to eliminate its autoplay to save data. Because. Google is not hiding, it wants us to be able to check how an application works without having to leave the Play Store. Until now, if we wanted to consult about any app we used to close the store, look for information in another source, and return to download it. The objective of the Play Shorts is that we have enough hook with the video, and we go on to download the application directly. As. The videos will be integrated into the apps section itself, they will not have an independent section. Or, in other words, a priori they seem inevitable. We will open the Play Store and at the beginning we will have these Play Shorts. They will be integrated into the app files themselves but, to boost downloads, there will be an installation button in the video itself. When. “Soon.” The key here is that the function has come out of pilot testing and will soon arrive on Android. Over the next few weeks, and through a server update, these new ads will progressively appear. TikTokizing Play Store. While the European Union puts infinite scroll in the spotlightGoogle has just added it to its most used application. Once we enter Play Shorts, we can slide down to see more and more applications, a format identical to that of TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. Image | Google In Xataka | The science of “doomscrolling”: how technology hacked psychology so we can’t let go of our phones

Apple has only found one option to make a cheap laptop: make it a mobile

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The new MacBook Neo It costs 699 euros because it has the iPhone 16 Pro chip inside. Not the M4 from a couple of years ago, neither the M3 nor the M2. The A18 Pro: the same processor as many people have in their pocket. Apple has solved the price problem by doing something that until recently would have been unthinkable in its own mental architecture: reuse a mobile chip in a laptop. They put it in an aluminum case with a keyboard and hinge, gave it a new name, and sold it as if it were a different category. It is not. It is something more similar to an iPhone without a touch screen, with a trackpad and keyboard, and with macOS on top. For years, Apple has maintained (implicitly but consistently) that the Mac and iPhone were worlds apart, with different chips, for different uses. ARM architecture unified the foundation six years ago, but the M family and the A family followed separate paths: one for the desktop, the laptop and the tablet; another for mobile. That separation has sustained an entire product hierarchy. The Neo just killed it. Apple is admitting that the mobile chip is sufficient for most customers’ laptops. It is a recognition that has more implications than the price. If the iPhone chip is good enough for a Mac, what exactly the hell were we paying for before? The answer is… Apple’s margin. And the name. And the feeling that a Mac was something qualitatively different from a mobile phone with a keyboard. Now that feeling has a reference price: 600 euros difference between the cheapest MacBook and the most expensive iPhone. And the Neo’s USB-C ports don’t support Thunderbolt because the A18 Pro It doesn’t support it, so that’s not a product decision, it’s an original limitation that Apple has accepted as sufficient. The Neo isn’t exactly a strategic bet either. It’s more like an admission.. Apple had spent years without anything really competitive below 1,000 euros and it knew it, which is why sold the M1 in the United States for $700 as an emergency maneuver. On this side of the Atlantic, the empire of reconditioned and second-hand goods was taking away too many sales. The iPad with keyboard did almost the same thing as the entry-level MacBook Air and cost less, with the disadvantage of iPadOS but with greater versatility due to the touch screen and the option of using it undocked. The only way down was to cross the internal borders that Apple itself had built between its chip families. And there is what the Neo leaves in the air, more interesting than any specification: if the mobile chip is already sufficient for the work laptop of the majority, the convergence between both categories is not a future hypothesis. This is what Apple just put in its window for 699 mutts. In Xataka | Apple made a splash with its cheapest iPhone. And the iPhone 17e is coming to repeat the play Featured image | Apple

Meta’s glasses record everything we see. Some gentlemen in Kenya are also looking at it to train AI

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Meta is competing in two races. On the one hand, that of the artificial intelligence. On the other hand, finding the “new smartphone.” In this sense, your total bet is on glasses with AI. Devices like Ray-Ban Meta 2 They have the potential to record everything we see. And within that “everything” is getting naked in a fitting room, having sexual relations or entering the bank password into our cell phone. And someone in Kenya is watching all of this with one goal: training artificial intelligence. In short. Before we delve deeper, let’s get the context. The Swedish media Svenska Dagbladet has published a report in which they explain how Meta’s artificial intelligence is being trained. At least, to the AI ​​that gives life to your smart glasses. For this training, Meta collects our data such as conversations, photos and videos, which are sent in massive packets to companies that break them down and then ‘shot’ the information into the training software. One of those companies is Sama. It is located in Kenya and some of its employees have revealed to Swedish journalists what type of information they see every day, recounting some cases that are still everyday actions that we all do. The problem is that we do them in privacy. That said, we are going little by little because there is a lot. Ray-Ban Meta. The glasses need no introduction and, in fact, we tested the second generation a few weeks ago. In our analysis of the Ray-Ban Meta 2 We already said that they were part of that post-smartphone vision thanks to a very decent camera and sound, but with disappointing AI. That is precisely the point on which Meta had to work more and it does so thanks to the images it collects from each user. What we give up. In the investigation of the Swedish environment, and it is something that we can see in the terms of use of Meta AI services, details a situation where it appears that we have significant control over data such as images or voice recordings. The document notes that certain data can be saved and used to improve Meta products if the user gives their consent, but there is a side B: for the AI ​​assistant to work, voice, text, image and video must be provided. According to these conditions, “in some cases, Meta will review interactions with the AI, including the content of conversations or messages to the AI. This review may be automated or manual.” In addition, it is also established that the user should not share information that they do not want the AI ​​to use or retain, such as “information on sensitive topics.” The problem is that, if you do not accept, you cannot use Meta AI. Training AI manually. When the data review is manual, that is when the problem begins. The article states that one of the analysis centers is located in Kenya. It is called Sama and it is a company hired by Meta to carry out a task known as “labeling.” The data leaving the device goes through a cleaning process that blurs faces and private data, but then workers perform some manual actions on the images. An example of labeling For example, selecting outlines of people, naming objects such as “lamp”, “car”, “book”, “computer”, registering traffic signs and, in short, everything we see. Then all that correctly labeled is organized into data packets that are ‘launched’ to the artificial intelligence training systems. Because if an AI “knows” that a ‘STOP’ sign is a ‘STOP’ sign, it is because it has been taught before with real images. The goal is to improve, precisely, what we criticized in our analysis: artificial intelligence and its connection with the world. When the system fails. For the analysis, they have contacted former Meta employees in labeling centers in the United States. They assure that the system automatically anonymizes faces and sensitive data, but “the algorithms sometimes get lost. Especially in difficult lighting conditions, certain faces and bodies are perfectly visible.” And that’s where the problem begins. The workers at the labeling center that has been put under the microscope are not there watching what I will detail below for pleasure or voyeurism, but because they are labeling to train the AI. The problem is… what you supposedly see in the images. nothing is private. An employee at the Kenyan data center explains that “in some videos you can see someone going to the bathroom or taking off their clothes. I don’t think they know, because if they didn’t, they wouldn’t record.” But going to the bathroom is not the only thing they have seen at that labeling center. Everyday scenes in a Western room followed by others in which sexual relations take place. Recording another person naked by mistake (when your partner gets out of the shower, for example), or leaving your glasses on a surface in the room to record how your wife changes without her knowing. Transcripts about protests, “very dark things” crimes or topics such as the description of a woman by a man who argues that he would like to have relations with her are also analyzed. “We see everything and Meta has that type of content in its database. People can record themselves in the wrong way and not know they are doing it,” says one of the workers who assures that, if the clips are leaked, it would be a “huge scandal.” “I think that if they knew the extent of the data collection, no one would dare to wear the glasses” What if I don’t record? Svenska Dagbladet has not done this report for two days. They point out that they have been working on the information for months, meeting with the parties and asking both the opticians where the glasses can be purchased and Meta itself. Regarding retailers, they claim that they have no idea where the data goes. Others point out that “everything is … Read more

Shahed drones are spreading terror in the Gulf. Ukraine has offered the solution, and the price to pay has a name

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In the last four years, a flying device barely twelve feet long has gone from being a little-known Iranian military experiment to becoming a one of the protagonists of several simultaneous conflicts. Its design is so simple that it can be assembled in a few hours and its cost is thousands of times lower than the systems that try to take it down. That combination has changed the way many militaries understand air defense. The buzz that changed war. Since 2022, the sound of a small motorcycle-like engine was the alarm signal which preceded many explosions in Ukrainian cities. That metallic and persistent noise belongs al Shahed-136a cheap, relatively simple Iranian kamikaze drone designed to attack pre-programmed targets at long range. With about 3.5 meters in length and the capacity to transport an explosive charge of about 50 kilos, these devices have become one of the symbols of modern warfare because they combine two factors that are difficult to counteract: their low cost and the possibility of mass producing them. The jump between conflicts. After four years of war in Europe, these drones have reappeared in force in another scenario. Iran has launched hundreds of devices against Gulf countriesreaching military bases, airports, refineries and urban areas in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait or Qatar. The attacks seek less physical destruction than psychological and economic pressureforcing the attacked countries to activate expensive defense systems to intercept weapons that can cost only about $50,000. Although many of the aircraft are shot down, even a small percentage that manages to penetrate the defenses is enough to cause damage to critical infrastructure or generate fear among the population. A strategy perfected by Ukraine. The pattern of these attacks is clearly reminiscent of the tactics Russia has employed since 2022 against cities and infrastructure Ukrainian energy companies. Moscow turned the Shahed into the center of a strategy of attrition and terror based on launching large drone waves together with missiles to saturate air defenses and increase the probability that some projectiles reach their target. The mass production has been key in that strategy: Russia not only imported thousands of Iranian drones, but also raised an own factory to manufacture them on a large scale, which allowed hundreds of devices to be launched in a single night against power plants, ports or residential neighborhoods. The anti-drone laboratory created in kyiv. This constant pressure forced Ukraine to become one of the countries more experienced of the world in the fight against these types of threats. After facing tens of thousands of Shahed, kyiv has developed a defense system in layers that combines radarselectronic warfare equipment, anti-aircraft missiles, mobile units and even interceptor drones capable of shooting down attackers in mid-flight. The result is an improvised network but extremely effective which has allowed most of the attacks to be neutralized despite the massive scale of the waves launched by Russia. Terror reaches the Gulf. That knowledge has now acquired a new strategic value. The Gulf countries, which were not used to facing constant drone attacks, have discovered how difficult it is to protect entire cities against weapons that fly low, are difficult to detect and can appear from multiple directions. Even advanced systems designed to intercept ballistic missiles can be overwhelmed by swarms of cheap drones. The recent attacks They have hit airports, refineries, ports and military bases, demonstrating that even critical infrastructures of highly protected economies can be exposed to this new form of air warfare. Zelensky’s offer. In this context, Ukraine has launched an unexpected proposal: share your experience to help Gulf countries neutralize the Shahed. President Volodymyr Zelensky has offered to send his best anti-drone defense specialists along with a group of experienced operators to reinforce regional defenses, but, of course, with one clear condition, a name. kyiv wants Middle Eastern governments to jointly use all his influence on Moscow to pressure Vladimir Putin and achieve at least a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine. If you like, it is an offer that mixes military cooperation and diplomatic calculation: one where Ukraine presents itself as the country that knows the enemy best, and there is not much doubt about that, asking in return help to stop the war which made him precisely that expert. Image | Kyiv City State Administration,X, National Police of Ukraine In Xataka | The US has launched its most ambitious weapon against Iran in the last decade: a missile that does not need fighters or warships In Xataka | It is not that Iran is resisting US attacks, it is that it has room to take the conflict to an explosive scenario.

This is how he is making his leap towards premium

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There are conversations that are worth more than statements. Nelly de Navia He has been directing Xiaomi’s marketing in Spain for years, which is not just any market for the company: it is its European laboratory, the place where it tests how far it can stretch its identity before exporting the experiment to the rest of the continent. Europe is, in turn, a very special continent: it is its large international market and its premium sales opportunity since the United States continues to be impossible for the orange brand. Nelly and I sat down to talk during the MWC in Barcelona, ​​in the noble area of ​​the stand of Xiaomi, and what he said draws more clearly than any official presentation the exact moment in which the brand is. With a 17Ultra of 1,500 euros and a Leica Leitzphone to 2,000, I asked him how much weight the intention of raising image versus selling volume had in the strategy with those products. “Now we’re maybe 60/40,” Nelly said. 60% dedicated to building aspiration. 40% dedicated to moving units. For a brand that was born with volume as the only argument, that proportion is a statement of intent as striking as the hypercar parked in the stand that will never reach production. The twist has also changed the language. “I’m not talking to you about specifications anymore,” De Navia said. “I make it more aspirational, more experiential.” A leap that has been notable for some time. For years, Xiaomi sold in the language of engineers: megapixels, milliamps, gigahertz… and price, of course. It was the language of bargainwhich allowed the buyer to justify himself rationally. “My Xiaomi does the same thing in half” was a meme-phrase that defined a stage. Now Xiaomi organizes photowalks night trips with FotoEspaña and set up immersive experiences in your showroom. It is a language more similar to that of Apple and four-figure Samsungslearned with the conscience of someone who arrives late but with Chinese determination. And there is a subtle sign that the change is serious: this year there have been no free televisions or aggressive promotions alongside the launches, such as knockdown discounts or included headphones. “The mobile phone costs what it costs because I am offering you the best technology,” he explained. “I’m not going to mess it up with a promotion.” The word chosen is not neutral: dirty. The low price, which for years was the heart of Xiaomi’s argument, has become a threat for the brand they want to build. The thing about Spain deserves its own paragraph because De Navia tells it with a frankness that is unusual in the sector. “We use Spain at Xiaomi as a gateway, as a market to try new things.” The white range (washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners…) was tested here before expanding because there were doubts about whether it would work in a country like Germany, more conservative with its brands, with strong national manufacturers and with purchasing power that takes the quality-price factor out of the equation. Spanish consumers, loyal since the days of the Redmi at 150 euros, are the testing ground where Xiaomi measures how far it can stretch its identity without breaking it. It is a compliment with nuances: the market that was a natural starting point for a price brand is now the first guinea pig of a brand that wants to be something else. The underlying identity conflict, however, does not disappear no matter how much the language changes. Redmi and Poco are still, in De Navia’s words, where the real volume is. The total ecosystem that Xiaomi is building (from mobile to home to car) requires both worlds to coexist without one contaminating the other, and managing that coexistence is probably the most complex challenge that the brand faces. “Many users have continued this path hand in hand,” he said about those who have been with Xiaomi for years since its cheap beginnings and continue walking alongside them. But attracting the buyer who never considered it precisely because it was cheap is a different, slower and more expensive task. And they are there. There is one answer that explains it better than any other. I asked him What KPIs will she look at in three months to determine if the 17 Ultra has been a success?. He did not say market share in premium or units sold of the Ultra, which are the most obvious answers. He said: “I think it’s going to be the effect it has on the T.” The T series, which Xiaomi will launch a few months later at more affordable prices, is where there is a greater volume. The Ultra exists, in part, so that when the T arrives people will have already recalibrated what they expect from Xiaomi. It’s exactly the same logic as Vision GT (behind Nelly in the photo that crowns this article) applied to mobile phones: the unattainable product as a lever to sell the product that you will buy. Luxury as a commercial argument for what is not luxury. Back to big brother, eol Xiaomi 17 Ultra It is a beast that at no time appeals to quality-price or to give you “the same or almost the same” as an iPhone or a Galaxy at half the price. Its price is the same or even higher because effectively Xiaomi is convinced that it is delivering something superior. After testing the Xiaomi 17 Ultra these days, it is impossible not to think that it has things that its range rivals do not have. Their cameras are on another level. Luxury works by accumulation of credibility. And that accumulation has no shortcuts, no matter how much the stand of the MWC try it. In Xataka | Leica is teaching Xiaomi everything it knows: when the student no longer needs the teacher, the agreement will have fulfilled its function Featured image | Xataka

How Trump’s threat is the bitterest reminder of our fossil dependence

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The spark that set the White House on fire was Pedro Sánchez’s refusal to participate in the offensive against Tehran, under a speech that evokes the popular sentiment of 2003: “No to war.” Sánchez defends that Spain’s position is consistent with its actions in Ukraine or Gaza, seeking to avoid a spiral of global violence. However, Trump’s anger was not born yesterday. According to official documentsSpain had been discreetly blocking the transit and export of weapons to Israel for months, denying ship stops and vetoing dozens of military operations. Added to this is Trump’s historic reproach for Defense spending: the American president demands 5% of GDP, while Spain barely exceeds 2%. Trump’s response has been withering, mentioning for the first time the word “embargo”, a tool that the US usually reserves for “enemies” like North Korea or Venezuela, not for NATO allies. A life preserver that can sink. The threat of cutting trade ties is not a minor issue. In January 2026, the United States consolidated itself as the leading supplier of natural gas to Spain, accounting for a historic 44.4% of the total imported (15,259 GWh), far surpassing Algeria, how to collect Europa Press. Spain has spent a decade reinforcing its energy dependence on the US market to replace Russian gas after the invasion of Ukraine. In 2025, the US supplied 30% of our gas and 15% of our oil. Strategic companies like Naturgy have critical exposure, with 40% of their LNG contracts linked to plants in Texas and Louisiana, according to The Independent. If Trump turns off the tap, Spain loses its main gas resource. The collapse of the Gulf, can we look the other way? Faced with the American threat, the Spanish Government is trying to send a message of calm. Minister Sara Aagesen maintains that the supply is “broadly diversified” and that only 2% of our gas transits through the conflictive Strait of Hormuz. Spain has seven regasification plants, which allows us to bring ships from almost anywhere in the world. However, optimism collides with a suffocating global reality. The Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil and gas passes, is experiencing a technical closure due to war tension. QatarEnergy declared for the first time “Force Majeure” after suffering attacks on its LNG plants. This creates a domino effect: if Asia loses gas from Qatar, it will compete fiercely against Europe for the few ships available from the US or the African continent. As the expert Ignacio Urbasos explains in it The Countrythe market is interconnected; Although the gas does not pass through Hormuz, the price we will pay is decided there. 12 euros more per month. The impact of this perfect storm already has figures. According to the calculations of the Roams platform, The gas bill in Spain could increase by up to 18% and the electricity bill by 17%. An average household would go from paying about 50 euros for gas to almost 60, while the electricity bill could rise by about 12 euros per month, as he also explains The Newspaper. Natural gas in the Netherlands TTF market has already been triggered almost 80% in just two days. Furthermore, gasoline is not far behind: experts predict increases of up to 8% at the pump, placing a liter of gasoline above 1.58 euros. This is not just energy; It’s inflation. The European Central Bank warns that a prolonged conflict could bring inflation in Spain to 3%, forcing interest rates to remain high for longer, directly affecting variable mortgages. The dilemma of the “energy island”. The point is that Spain has plenty of regasification infrastructure to help Europe, but it lacks interconnections (pipes to France) to pump that gas to the heart of the continent. Furthermore, our gas reserves they are at 59%a figure notably lower than 72% last year, because companies did not fill warehouses waiting for lower prices that never arrived. The only consensus between analysts and the Government is that this crisis accelerates a lesson learned hard: the vulnerability of depending on foreign fossil fuels. As Alison Candlin points outof the think tank Ember, until we complete the shift to a renewable-based system, we will always be hostage to these price shocks. In Spain, the effort to scale wind and solar power has already reduced the influence of expensive gas on the price of electricity by 75% in the last six years, but the road ahead is still long and, now, is full of diplomatic mines. Image | Hannes Grobe Xataka | The EU has a perfect plan to suffocate Russia. The problem is that now it needs its oil to survive

You can now reserve the new iPhone 17e, but be careful because the 16e is already dropping a lot in price

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The iPhone 17e can now be pre-purchased in many stores, so before doing anything we should stop and think about whether that extra money is worth what we are looking for. Especially considering that his previous generation, the iPhone 16ecan be found on sale in stores like MediaMarkt. In its eBay outlet, for example, right now you can buy for 512.10 euros in white and others 512.10 euros in black. In both cases we are talking about a brand new mobile phone that has not been used. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The previous generation drops in price He iPhone 17e It has an official price of 709 euros and the iPhone 16e right now it is found 512.10 eurosare 196.90 euros differencewhich is not little money. Do we find differences between the two generations? Yes, the main ones being the processor, A18 and A19 respectively, and the minimum storage configuration, which has increased twice as much for the new generation. This is really one of the most attractive points, and one that I personally advise taking more into account when choosing one model or another. The iPhone 17 starts with 256 GB of internal storage while the iPhone 16e starts with 128 GB. If we are looking to have more storage, the 256 GB iPhone 16e costs 729 euros. With this we have to: He iPhone 16e 128 GB is cheaper, so if you have this storage left over, I would go for this generation. He iPhone 17e 256 GB is cheaper than its previous generation with the same storage, so if you want to take a lot of photos or videos, I would choose this mobile. With all this, there are not too many differences between both generations. The MagSafe arrives in this range and orn more year of software updates which, on Apple phones, is not so noticeable, since they are usually updated for many years. The iPhone 16e, for example, will be updated until 3031For example. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: iPhone 16e offer today ✅ THE BEST It’s much cheaper: If you are only looking for a good price, the iPhone 16e costs almost 200 euros less than its new generation. Few changes between generations: Beyond the storage or the processor, we are talking about two very similar mobile phones. ❌ THE WORST Oh, the storage: In 2026, 128 GB of storage could be very tight, so if you usually take a lot of photos or videos, it is better to opt for a mobile phone with at least 256 GB. 💡 BUY IT IF… You want to make the jump to the Apple ecosystem without spending too much money, or if you want it for what it is: calling and accessing some apps, without pretensions to taking a lot of photos or videos, unless, in that case, you prefer to pay for a cloud service to have more storage. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You are looking for a mobile phone that allows you to save many photos, videos or files locally, without having to pay a subscription to a cloud service in a short time to have more storage. You may also be interested Apple AirPods 4, Wireless Headphones, Bluetooth, with Custom Spatial Audio, Water and Sweat Resistant, USB-C Charging Case, H2 Chip and up to 24 Hours of autonomy The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Apple Watch SE 3 GPS with 40 mm Star White Aluminum Case and Star White Sports Band – Size S/M. Training and sleep monitors, Heart rate monitor, Always-on screen 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 | Ricardo AguilarApple In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | Best wireless headphones. Which one to buy and 21 models from 15 euros to 470 euros

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