Mobile Tech & Gadgets

features, price and technical sheet

by

Chinese mobile companies have set a goal for this beginning of 2026: get muscle. But wildly, too. If Vivo presented a few weeks ago the Vivo X300 Ultranow it is the turn of an Oppo that also has a new offspring with that same surname. Next, we go with all the features of an Oppo Find X9 Ultra which, like the Vivo, intends to turn the mobile photography segment upside down. Oppo Find X9 Ultra technical sheet oppo find x9 ultra SCREEN 6.82-inch AMOLED panel QHD+ resolution 144Hz frequency HBM brightness of 1,800 nits 3,600 nits peak PROCESSOR Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 RAM 12GB STORAGE 512GB FRONT CAMERA 50 megapixels REAR CAMERAS Main 200 megapixel f/1.5 200 megapixel f/2.2 3x telephoto 10x telephoto 50 megapixel f/3.5, shift sensor 50 megapixel f/2.0 wide angle BATTERY 7,050 mAh 100W charging 50W wireless charging OPERATING SYSTEM Android + ColorOS 16 Others IP69 certification PRICE 1,699 euros Hasselblad takes control Unlike the Vivo model, Oppo wanted to break with the rest of the X9 family if we talk about design. If he Oppo Find X9 Pro opted for a more discreet camera module than that of competing mobile phones, the X9 Ultra mounts a round and enormous module that, as we will see when we talk about cameras, has its reason for being. That glass circle is the main protagonist of a rear in which another proper name stands out: Hasselblad. They have been collaborating for a while, but putting the name of the camera brand on the same level as that of their own brand is a declaration of intent. The ‘Hasselblad orange’ is present both in the customization touches of the camera app and in the extra button that we find on the right side. On the front, things remain the same as seen in the Pro model. Same design, taking great advantage of the edges to create an all-screen experience, HBM brightness of 1,800 nits and a slightly larger panel than that of the Find X9 Pro, going from 6.78 inches to 6.82 inches with 144 Hz refresh rate instead of 120 Hz. Snapdragon to the latest and battery to match Inside, things also change. Of the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 that surprised us with its performance on the Find X9 Pro, we move on to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. It is the ‘almighty’ of Qualcomm and a processor that will star in the guts of the vast majority of premium mobile phones in 2026. It is accompanied by 12 GB of RAM, a curious change compared to the 16 GB of its ‘brother’, but which can be explained by the current component crisis we are in (and from which it will take us a while to get out). To feed the beast, the mobile has a silicon carbon battery 7,050 mAh with 100 W fast charging and 50 W wireless charging. Cameras, many Until now, one more premium range mobile. Where Oppo reflects all the ambition of this model is in the photographic section. As in the case of Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultrawe have four rear cameras, two of them focused on the telephoto for very different uses. main camera. It has a huge 1/1.12″ 200 megapixel sensor. The focal length is 23mm and the aperture is f/1.5. 3x Telephoto. Another large sensor (1/1.28″) that also has 200 megapixels for a focal length of 70 mm. It aims to be a spectacular portrait lens thanks to the focal length and aperture f/2.2, but it also has a focusing distance of only 15 centimeters to function as a macro. 10x telephoto. The sensor on this one is 50 megapixels and the size is 1/2.75″. The aperture is f/3.5 because it is much more designed for outdoors and something interesting is that it has stabilization in the sensor. wide angle. 50 megapixels with an f/2.0 aperture that is not usually conventional. The front camera It is 50 megapixels. Apart from the Hasselblad-type controls and color filters in collaboration with the brand, another extra of this model is the teleconverter. This is the second generation of Oppo (we already tested the first with the Oppo Find X9) and it goes from a focal length of 230 mm to 300 mm (a 13x, wow). Oppo points out that it offers up to 690 mm of optical quality (30x) thanks to the cutouts in the sensor and it is another of those points in which Chinese companies are looking to differentiate themselves. Also, another change is that the adapter for the teleconverter is easier to place, since on the X9 Pro it was a bit of gibberish that left the rest of the lenses useless. Oppo Find X9 Ultra price and availability Given the features, let’s move on to the price. The Oppo Find X9 Ultra will be available starting today, April 21, at a price of 1,699 euros. This time there is no “from” because there is only one RAM and storage configuration. Until April 29, however, it can be purchased with extras included in the price. On the one hand, a magnetic case. On the other hand, the photographic kit or other device to choose: Hasselblad Limited Imaging Kit (valued at €599) Oppo Pad 5 (valued at 399 euros) Oppo Watch X3 Titanium (valued at 379 euros) Oppo Enco Clip 2 (valued at 179 euros) 100 W charger (valued at 59.90 euros Images | Oppo In Xataka | The mobile phones with the best camera 2026: next level photography in your pocket

features, price and technical sheet

by

Oppo has launched at the end of April with a complete renewal of a good part of its line of devices. The most powerful is an Oppo Find Next, we go with all the details of the new Oppo tablet that wants you to start writing with its new ‘pen’. Technical data sheet of the Oppo Pad 5 oppo pad 5 SCREEN 12.1 inch panel Resolution 2.8K 7:5 aspect ratio PROCESSOR RAM STORAGE FRONT CAMERA REAR CAMERAS BATTERY 10,500 mAh 33W charging OPERATING SYSTEM CONNECTIVITY OTHERS Oppo Pencil 2R Four speakers PRICE 399 euros Design without surprises. Expanded ecosystem If mobile phones are a segment in which innovation is complicated in many aspects beyond the technical characteristics, when we talk about tablets, things get complicated. It is a very closed format and the Oppo Pad 5 does not break with this. We have a large tablet, 12.1 inches with a 7:5 format screen. Oppo aims for some more paper-like dimensionssomething they want to promote in this generation. The resolution is 2.8K and it is TÜV Rheinland Intelligent Eye Care 4.0 certified to reduce eye fatigue during prolonged use. For entertainment consumption, it has Dolby Vision certification, as well as a four-speaker system, but Oppo has focused the announcement heavily on two aspects. One is the ecosystem, or the interconnection between ecosystems, rather. Oppo, and other brands in the group such as Realme, have been focused on blur the barriers not only with other Android/Windows devices, but with the Apple ecosystem. The Oppo Pad 5 has the possibility of exchanging videos, documents and photos with an iPhone or iPad. For multi-ecosystem people, it is a very important point. The Pencil 2R The other strong point that Oppo pushes is the Pencil 2R, a new generation of its ‘pen’ that is supported by software to be able to convert our quick strokes (and, sometimes, with regular handwriting) into something readable directly in the Notes application. In addition, it incorporates an AI system that can make summaries, reduce noise in recordings, transcribe roles in real time and summarize meetings. Another function to take advantage of both the pen and the AI ​​system are the automatically generated mental maps to structure the points of those meetings that we want to summarize. That focus on productivity is something that is pushing the tablet segment. Price and availability of the Oppo Pad 5 Once the features of the Oppo Pad 5 have been detailed, it is time to address the price. The tablet can be purchased from today, April 21, at a price of 399 euros. It comes in only one color (black or ‘StarlightBlack’). Images | Oppo In Xataka | Best tablets in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and seven recommended models

look at the OPPO Watch X3

by

Today is a big day for OPPO. Taking advantage of the launch of its new flagship, the Find X9 Pro, the company has presented two most interesting devices: its new OPPO Enco Clip2 headphones, and its OPPO Watch X3 smart watch. The latter is the brand’s most advanced smartwatch to date, one that lands in Spain to compete with some of the best rivals in its segment. We tell you all the specifications and features of this OPPO Watch X3, a watch whose predecessor managed to conquer us in a few daysand now it comes looking even more wonderful. OPPO Watch X3 technical sheet OPPO Watch dimensions and weight 47.70 x 47.0 x 11mm 43 grams (without strap) screen 1.5 inch LTPO AMOLED Resolution 466 x 466 pixels 310 DPI Refresh rate: 60 Hz Maximum brightness: 600 nits HBM: 1,500 nits Peak brightness: 3,000 nits 2D sapphire crystal processor Snapdragon W5 Gen 1 ram memory 2GB internal storage 32GB 4GB eMMC for RTOS Sensors Acceleration sensor Gyroscope Optical heart rate sensor Optical pulse oximetry sensor Geomagnetic sensor light sensor Barometer Temperature sensor on wrist Battery 648mAh VOOC fast charging Autonomy Up to 16 days in saving mode connectivity WiFi 2.4/5GHz Bluetooth 5.2 endurance MIL-STD-8710H 5ATM IP68 buttons Side action button rotating crown compatibility Android 9.0 or higher operating system Wear OS 6.0 with Color OS OTHERS Auto Brightness AoD mode Heart rate monitoringSleep monitoringSpO2 monitoringStress monitoring Electrocardiogram Vascular health Fall detection NotificationsMusic control More than 100 sports modes Google Play PRICE 379 euros A familiar face, with better hardware than ever The OPPO Watch X3 has a design quite similar to the one we saw in the previous generation. It stands out mainly for being finished in aerospace-grade titanium alloy, resistant to corrosion and even tighter in weight this generation: only 43 grams without strap. Specifically, it is 13.4% lighter and 6.3% thinner, without losing any of its premium finish. The screen repeats with 1.5 inches, with LTPO AMOLED technology and a noticeably higher brightness than the last generation. How much? No less than 3,000 nits of peak brightness and 1,500 nits of typical brightness. Specifications higher than many high-end mobile phones. It also improves its battery, which it repeats with the silicon-carbon but now it goes up to 646mAh. One of the main advantages of this technology is that manufacturers can increase the gross capacity of the battery without increasing the physical size of the battery. In other words, although this watch is much thinner than the previous one, it will have better autonomy. Wear OS performance accompanies. The most complex operating system is responsible for moving the Snapdragon W5 Gen 1but the OPPO Watch OnePlus Watch 2). The Snapdragon is joined by a BES2800BP, an ultra-low consumption SoC that drives an RTO system. What is this paraphernalia for? So the coprocessor can handle daily low-power operations while the performance chip handles the heavy lifting. For everyday and the most extreme use The OPPO watch is not just a pretty face, it is also an ideal health and sports accessory. It has more than 100 sports modes, integrates certified ECG function, SpO2 monitoring, general health check mode in just 60 seconds… Being a watch with WearOS, we can download Google Pay, Google Maps, and all the apps optimized for Google’s wrist operating system. Despite the careful design, it is a watch with MIL-STD-8710H grade resistance, being water resistant up to 5 ATM and withstanding both bumps and scratches (without going overboard, of course). OPPO Watch X3 price and availability The OPPO Watch X3 will be sold in Spain at a price of 379 euros, available in two colors: Misty Titanium and Obsidian Black. It can be purchased both at the official OPPO store and at the main distributors in the country. In addition, from April 21 to May 31 we can get it with an offer of 40 euros off. In case this was not enough of a discount, you will get some Enco Air4Pro as a gift. Image | OPPO In Xataka | The foldable that comes closest to the perfect screen avoids all problems except one: the OPPO Find N6 points the way forward

In London someone has paid 310 million for the most expensive house in history. It is proof that the luxury market has no ceiling

by

In the world there are expensive houses (increasingly), very expensive houses and then houses within reach only of the greatest fortunes on the planet, like the one that has just been sold in London for a whopping 270 million poundsabout 310 million euros at the exchange rate. The figure is shocking in itself (it is the same that has been paid in other parts of Europe to build a stadium), but it becomes even more interesting when another detail is known: everything indicates that it is the most expensive home sold to date in an operation of that type, focused on a single residence. To get the keys, its new owner, an influential British businessman, had to beat three royal families from the Middle East. What has happened? that the real estate market premium has just reached one of those milestones that sound almost like science fiction, at least among ordinary mortals. The British press has revealed that a wealthy businessman in the country has closed the purchase of the most expensive home sold to date. And “more expensive” can be understood in a literal sense. Although it is not easy to talk about world records in a sector in which properties do not always go on the market nor are operations advertised, the Bloomberg agency slide which is probably the largest sale in history centered on a property of its type: a single single-family home. It is not crazy if you take into account that the transaction was signed for 270 million pounds, about 310 million euros. Some sources raise the figure to more than 315 million. What is the housing like? The property is called Providence House (formerly Gordon House) and is a huge 19th century mansion located in the Chelsea neighborhood of west London. The plot once housed the residence of the British Prime Minister Robert Walpolebut for years it has belonged to Nick Candya London businessman linked to the brick sector and the Reform UK party. Beyond its privileged location, in the heart of one of the most expensive cities on the planet, the house surprises with its figures: the house stands on a plot of two acres (just over 8,000 m2) with a lake and swimming pool and Georgian style decoration. Media like Financial Times they need which has a private cinema with IMAX screen, greenhouse and the second largest garden from the center of London. It is only surpassed by the one surrounding Buckingham Palace. Who bought it? The buyer is Sunel Setiya, co-founder of Quadrature Capitala trading firm that according to Bloomberg data obtained a profit of 411 million pounds in the financial year ending January 2025. Although with Providence House he has broken all the molds, this is not the first time that Setiya has made headlines for his taste for luxury homes… and his enormous generosity in paying for them. In his day he already paid 110 million pounds for a penthouse in One Hyde Park. And that the property, of around 1,300 m2lacked interior divisions and required works. The Times details which on this occasion has had to pay more than 31 million pounds for property tax alone. The operation certainly marks a before and after in the British real estate market. The most expensive house sold in the United Kingdom before Setiya took out his checkbook was the mansion known as 2-8A Rutland Gate, awarded in 2020 for £210 million to Hui Kan Yan, founder of the Chinese developer Evergrande Group. Click on the image to go to the tweet. And who sold it? Nick Candy, another British tycoon who shares Setiya’s taste for exclusive homes. In fact, he has a penthouse in the same complex that is also for sale for around £175 million. Nick and his brother Christian are known in the sector for the development of the complex One Hyde Parkmade up of 86 apartments and duplexes in the heart of Knightsbridge. Beyond their taste for luxury homes, Setiya and Candy are at opposite poles on an ideological level. The first (Setiya) is a important donor of the Labor Party and dedicates large sums of money through his company to fighting climate change. Nick Candy however is a prominent figure of Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s far-right party. Have there been more interested parties? Ideological differences do not seem to have been an obstacle to closing the operation. In fact, to become the new owner of Providence House Setiya had to prevail over three Middle Eastern royal families also interested in the luxurious London mansion. Given its characteristics (and amounts), the operation was carried out outside the market. The operation represents a lifeline for the luxury residential market in London, which, as remember Five Daysis not going through its best moment. According to LonRes, 2025 was the second time since 2011 that no sales of more than £50 million were closed and in February transactions worth five million (or more) suffered a year-on-year drop of 55%. The puncture coincides with a tax change that directly affects properties. Image | Jaanus Jagomagi (Unsplash) In Xataka | If the question is whether house prices will rise forever, London has the answer. And it is a warning for Madrid

The CEO of logistics gives way to the CEO of engineering

by

Tim Cook has announced that will step down as Apple CEO on September 1. will replace you John Ternusits senior vice president of hardware engineering. This long-awaited generational change represents an important change in the DNA of the leadership of one of the most valuable companies in the world. Why is it important. Cook was a genius of logistics, supply chain and business diplomacy. Ternus is very different: we are talking about a mechanical engineer who has spent 25 years (half of his life) designing, testing and manufacturing Apple products. Apple goes from a leader who optimized how products are made and sold to one who decides how they are conceived and built. The sign that anticipated everything. In January 2026 we say that Cook had put Ternus in charge of Apple’s design teams. The move was not officially announced, but Mark Gurman made it public in Bloomberg. It was the definitive signal and Cook’s succession had been on the agenda for some time… and Ternus was the number 1 favorite. Until then, design at Apple had functioned as an independent fiefdom, a direct inheritance from the Jony Ive era. That it became dependent on hardware engineering meant that in Ternus’ Apple, technical execution rules over aesthetics. It’s not that design stops mattering. He is no longer the king as he once was. What Ternus has achieved and what he hasn’t. Its footprint is on practically all of Apple’s current hardware catalog: Apple Silicon on the Mac. Intel’s transition to its own chips has probably been Apple’s most important technical decision in the last decade. In chip architecture, the main merit is attributable to Johny Srouji, Ternus’ replacement. In product execution (a MacBook Air without a fan, sustained performance, record autonomy, coherent integration with the SoC…), the credit goes to Ternus. We are possibly in the best Mac cycle in history. iPhone. Not everything in the iPhone is yours, but the build quality, thermal management, choice of materials, and internal integration are. iPad, AirPods, Apple Watch. He has participated in the launch of several new generations and product lines. What is not his fault is the stagnation of the iPad as a platform. That is a software and strategy problem, not the hardware, which is excellent, so we have to ask Craig Federighi and Tim Cook about it. Between the lines. The best comparison we can make here is not so much between Cook and Ternus but between Cook and… Steve Ballmer. Steve Ballmer was a sales and operations CEO who multiplied Microsoft’s revenue but missed the mobile revolution. Cook has been an operations and services CEO who has multiplied Apple’s revenue, but whose tenure has not produced a game-changing new product on the level of the iPhone or iPod. The Apple Watch took several generations to find its place, AirPods are a resounding success almost ten years later, but conceptually they are not a new category. The Vision Pro are in a limbo from which we will see how they emerge. Ternus arrives with a profile closer to the product. And that, in a product company, matters. Besides, Apple has appointed Johny Srouji as Chief Hardware Officera new position that unifies hardware engineering and hardware technologies under his command. It is important for two reasons: Srouji was about to leave. Months ago it was learned that he had informed Cook that he was seriously considering leaving the company. Apple has retained him with more power and responsibility. Confirms that Apple Silicon is the central strategic bet. Ternus’s first big decision as incoming CEO has been to shield his most valuable piece. Yes, but. Ternus inherits a company with pending tasks that cannot be resolved with good hardware alone: AI. Apple Intelligence has arrived with a notable delay (in various senses) with respect to Google, Microsoft and OpenAI. AI is fundamentally software, models and services. Ternus comes from iron. Regulation. The App Store is more controlled than ever and not only in the EU. Commissions, alternative payments and third-party stores are going to define a good part of the coming years. Tariffs and supply chain. The manufacturing structure in China that Cook has built and optimized for many years is now threatened by the Trump administration’s trade policy. The need to surprise. Apple hasn’t launched anything that evokes the ‘effect’ for a while. wow‘so common in the Jobs era. And now what. Cook, as has happened several times with the old guard, is not leaving completely. He will be executive president, focused on the relationship with governments and regulators: the same diplomacy that he has managed with reasonable success for 15 years remains in his hands. Apple does not lose Cook. It relocates it where it can provide the most value now. Ternus is 51 years old. Cook was 50 when he took office.. If Apple maintains its pattern of long tenures, Ternus may be at the helm for a decade or more. Apple’s commitment is to believe that its difference compared to Google, Microsoft and OpenAI will not be in the most powerful AI model, but in how it integrates AI into hardware that people touch, carry and use every day. That’s where Ternus has an advantage that no one else has. If that bet is correct, Apple has chosen the perfect CEO. If the AI ​​battle is won in the cloud and in models, you may have a problem. In Xataka | The foldable iPhone is getting closer every day: this is everything we know about it so far Featured image | Xataka

How to measure the distance between two points in Google Maps on PC and mobile

by

Let’s explain to you how to measure distances in Google Mapsso that you can have better references of how far away the points that interest you are. It is not about measuring distances on roads or paths, for that you can make routes on Google Mapsbut to draw a line between two points and know their physical distance. You will be able to do this to measure streets, roads, or anything you want on the map. A virtual ruler will be generated telling you the distance. We are going to teach you how to do both on the Google Maps website and in the application. Measure distances on the Google Maps website If you are using the Google Maps website, you have to do right click on one of the points of the measurement you want to make. This will open a context menu, where you have to click on the option measure distance that will appear at the bottom. Now all you have to do is click on another point on the map. Come on, you right click on the starting point, and then when you choose the option, click on the final click. This will generate a ruler that will show you the distance between these two points. Now you can continue marking new points that will be joined with the previous ones, and you will be able to see the distance between each of the points. Besides, At the bottom you have a local distance indicator which will tell you the total of the sum of all the distances. Measure distances in the Google Maps app Distance measurement is different in the Google Maps app, since it only shows you the total distance and not point by point. But the way to do it is quite similar. The first thing you have to do is click with your finger on the place on the map that you want to be the starting point. This will open a menu with many options, and in it you must click on the option measure distance that you will have inside at the bottom. Now, there will be an aiming point in the center of the screen, and with your fingers you will have to move until you go pointing to where you want to add new points. When you do, click on the button Add pointand everything will stay the same so you can add new points. At the end, you also have an indicator at the bottom left where it will tell you the total distance that all the points add up. In Xataka Basics | Google Maps: 45 functions and tricks to get the most out of both your website and your mobile app

Amazon is clear about its strategy for the AI ​​war: if you can’t beat your enemy, invest in them

by

Just two months ago Amazon announced a astronomical investment of $50 billion in OpenAI. Today he made a movement very similar to the announce which will invest $5 billion in Anthropic and could invest an additional $20 billion “tied to certain commercial milestones) in the future. There are counterparts and some circular financing, of course, but also a clear pattern: Amazon has no winning horse in the AI ​​race, so it is betting on its competitors. More circular financing. Amazon now has alliances in the form of active investment with the two leading AI companies in the world. In return, both OpenAI and Anthropic commit to huge spending on their services on AWS. There is a lot of circular financing here: me I lend you the money so that you spend it on me. Those houses of cards that OpenAI and Anthropic are building have clear risks, but the industry is totally immersed in that maelstrom. In Xataka OpenAI is making the tech industry unite its destiny with yours. For the sake of the global economy, it better work Analysts warn. There are concerned analysts here and others who defend this type of agreement. M. Mohan asked in X why regulators are not on top of these types of financially dangerous agreements: the domino effect if OpenAI or Anthropic fall could be terrible. For others like the well-known Jim Cramer this is not circular financing. According to him, circular agreements are designed to inflate profits, and here no one’s profits are being inflated. Their argument is that Amazon has real computing, Anthropic needs real computing, and the value of the investment is genuine. History repeats itself. The same debate occurred in January with OpenAI, and the conclusion was the same then: the image of circular financing is there but it does not necessarily imply fraud, it implies that Amazon has found a way to monetize the AI ​​​​craze without betting on any particular model. Or for the two who seem to be winning the race. But everyone is doing it. The numbers of the agreement with Anthropic. Amazon puts up $5 billion immediately, taking advantage of the company’s current valuation of $380 billion. It is also committed to investing up to an additional $20 billion linked to “certain commercial milestones” that have not been specified. In exchange, Anthropic commits to using Amazon technology, and specifically its Trainium and Graviton chips, for the next decade. No less than 5 GW of computing capacity is secured, which is more or less the capacity consumed by New York City. This is perfect for Anthropic. He Anthropic statement about the agreement contains an interesting paragraph. In it, the company admits that the demand for AI by companies, developers and users is generating “inevitable tension” in its infrastructure. Or what is the same: they can’t do everything, so they are resorting to measures that “penalize” the excessive use of their AI models. They restrict session limits during peak hours, change the pricing model in companies to a “pay as you go”, or change the level of effort of their models and they sign up for token inflation. The agreement with Amazon makes it possible to mitigate the problem of computing shortages. The race for gigawatts. The truth is that Anthropic has been moving for months to try to avoid more and more problems with the computing capacity they can access. In a few weeks we have seen how Amazon’s 5 GW have been secured and also “multiple gigawatts” computing teams contracted with Google and Broadcom. What Amazon is actually building. Viewed as a whole, Amazon’s strategy is simple and elegant. You don’t need to win the AI ​​modeling race, which is unpredictable and extraordinarily expensive. It only needs that whoever wins it depends on it and its infrastructure. By investing at the same time in two rivals like Anthropic and OpenAI and securing massive spending contracts from both, it achieves something striking. Turn uncertainty into an asset: it doesn’t matter who wins, because she will end up getting paid. This also reinforces the relevance of its Trainium and Graviton chips, something that validates its commitment to its own chips. {“videoId”:”xa4n2g8″,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”An initiative to secure the world’s software ｜ Project Glasswing”, “tag”:””, “duration”:”349″} Win-Win. The agreement seems perfect for both parties. Amazon ensures, as we say, consumption in its infrastructure for the next ten years, and Anthropic achieves an investment that increases its market value again. The same happens with OpenAI, and in both cases these agreements and financial support only reinforce expectations about their imminent IPOs. Image | Fortune Brainstorm TECH In Xataka | OpenAI and Anthropic have proposed the impossible: lose $85 billion in one year and survive (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news Amazon is clear about its strategy for the AI ​​war: if you can’t beat your enemy, invest in them was originally published in Xataka by Javier Pastor .

If the question is what differentiates Samsung from its competition, Charlie Bae, Samsung’s product director, is clear: ecosystem

by

The television market is more contested than ever and traditional brands they no longer monopolize sales like they used to. As happens in other areas such as the automotive or smartphones, Chinese manufacturers They have stopped competing only on price and now they also do it in benefits. Hisense reached the second place worldwide in the premium segment with a share of 24% in the third quarter of 2024. TCL, for his partsurpassed Samsung in the television segment of 80 inches or more during that same period: it maintained a share of 23% compared to Samsung’s 19%. Both Chinese brands arrived at CES 2026 presenting their own technologies based on the evolution of its MiniLED panels:Hisense with your RGB MiniLED evo capable of exceeding 110% of the BT.2020 standard, and TCL with its SQD MiniLED as an alternative to OLED. The war is no longer about inches or prices. Now the dispute it’s in the quality. In this context of reconfiguration in the mid- and high-end market, we have had the opportunity to speak with Charlie Baeresponsible for Samsung’s television division in Europe. From volume to value: Samsung’s new scenario When asked about Samsung’s two decades of leadership in the global TV market, Bae doesn’t resort to triumphalism. Aware of the change that is occurring in the market, his reading is more nuanced, almost concerned about what is coming. “The market is transforming: it is going from being driven by volume to being driven by value,” he explains. “Due to the current economic situation, people are more conscious of what they spend. During COVID they spent a lot on changing their televisions, but now, when they consider renewing their TV, they are more cautious and think about the practical side.” That consumer caution is, in Bae’s opinion, both a challenge and an opportunity. A buyer who thinks twice is not necessarily a lost buyer; He is a buyer who can be convinced with solid arguments. And Samsung wants to be the brand that gives it to them. One of Bae’s most compelling arguments in his defense against Chinese rivals is not technological, but mathematical. According to the Samsung manager, a cheap television lasts on average between three and five years. A Samsung television, he tells us, lasts more than seven or eight years on average. “Think about it like this: if your TV lasts three or four years, you can only watch one World Cup. With Samsung, you can watch two.” Added to this is the commitment of seven years of system updates operational. “Even if you bought your TV last year, you’ll still be able to use the new AI features we launch. We want people to buy with the peace of mind that their TV is a long-term investment,” says Bae. Samsung’s response to competitive pressure with Chinese brands has a key piece: artificial intelligence. “15 years ago we introduced the Smart TV and no one imagined that it would become the standard. Today no one conceives of a television without applications, without being able to watch what they want when they want. That change led us to AI. Without a doubt the era of ‘AI TV’ will continue to develop over the next five years,” he concludes. However, Bae is careful to separate the hype widespread surrounding this technology of the actual content. “Previously, AI focused on optimizing the image and sound quality of the television,” he admits. “But now it’s visible and you can ask the TV questions about recommendations, travel plans, anything. The TV is something you can talk to, not just something you watch.” According to the manager, what differentiates Samsung products is that they apply this technology in a way that is useful to users, using as an example the Football Mode with AI included in their televisions, which allows something hitherto unthinkable: silencing the noise of the stands in a football match, without turning off the sound of the commentators. “If you’re watching the game at night and don’t want to turn up the volume, you can simply mute the stands and still hear the commentary clearly,” explains Bae. Beyond AI: OLED, MiniLED and MicroRGB In addition to the revolution in sales, television display technologies have stepped on the accelerator with the democratization of MiniLED panels for mid-range televisions, the gloss enhancement and color volume What QD-OLEDs offer or the new generation of MicroRGB screens. In this sense, Bae rejects the idea of ​​a screen technology that monopolizes the entire television market. “Technology continues to evolve, and I do not think that a single one is going to dominate the market. We do not focus on a single technology; we work on all of them in parallel, because each one responds to different user needs,” says Samsung’s product director. Samsung, its manager assures, works on all fronts: from the transparent Micro LED exhibited at CES to the 130 inch Micro RGBpassing through the high-brightness OLED. But also in formats that no one expected. In fact, Bae not only assures that Samsung will continue developing its catalog to offer different screen technologies, it is also committed to the flexibility of screen sizes and formats. All this in a context of televisions with increasingly larger diagonals, and living rooms with increasingly less square meters. “There are consumers who prefer small screens. We have The Movingstylea 27-inch touch screen that you can move around the house. In Europe, the number of single-person households is growing and homes are getting smaller, so you may be interested in a small, portable screen, not one with many inches,” insists the executive. In addition to the new panel technologies that are arriving in the brands’ catalogues, Samsung also highlights the arrival of other innovations that contribute to improving the visual experience, such as Glare Free technology, the anti-reflective system developed by Samsung that eliminates reflections and glare from windows and lights on the television screen. “Spain is a country with a lot of sun, so if you are … Read more

35% of its chip manufacturing machines are already of Chinese origin

by

Foreign lithography and wafer processing equipment manufacturers are selling less and less in China. In 2024, the country led by Xi Jinping represented 41% of ASML revenuebut in 2025 this figure dropped to 33%. And presumably in 2026 will contract up to 20%. Something very similar has happened to the American wafer processing machine manufacturer Applied Materials: its sales in China have gone from 37% of its total sales in 2024 to 30% in 2025. In addition, sales in China of the American companies Lam Research and KLA, and the Japanese Tokyo Electron, also have decreased during 2025 compared to those they obtained in 2024. This obvious trend is the consequence of two factors. On the one hand, US sanctions prevent US and allied manufacturers of lithography and wafer processing equipment from delivering their most sophisticated machines to their Chinese clients. The Dutch company ASML is most likely the most affected in this scenario. On the other hand, in response to pressure from the US, the Chinese Government is supporting the adoption of machines of Chinese origin in its integrated circuit factories. In fact, in 2025 the national tools represented 35% of the equipment in use in semiconductor plants, and Xi Jinping’s Government aims to reach 50% in new factories during 2026. Its purpose is clear: China’s chip industry needs to achieve technological independence as soon as possible in its fight with the United States. China has made great progress, but lithography remains its weakest point The resources that the Chinese Government is allocating to its designers and manufacturers of wafer processing equipment are bearing fruit. And they already compete face to face with foreign companies in the field of deposition, thermal processing, etching and cleaning of wafers. However, there are still no extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photolithography machines of Chinese origin in Chinese IC factories. Presumably they will arrive before this decade endsbut this is for the moment China’s real Achilles heel. One of the Chinese companies worth keeping track of is Pulin Technology. This organization has opted, like Naura Technology, AMEC (Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc. China) or Piotech Inc., to develop your own cutting-edge photolithography machines. And the achievements are coming little by little. In mid-2025 Pulin sent one of his clients your first cutting-edge equipment using nanoimprint lithography technology (known as NIL for its English name NanoImprint Lithography). In mid-2025, Pulin sent one of its clients its first cutting-edge equipment NIL technology is not new. The Japanese company Canon has its own commercial NIL solution for yearsand presumably its operating principles are essentially the same as those of the machine designed by Pulin. On paper, NIL photolithography equipment is an alternative to printing machines. extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE) designed and manufactured by the Dutch company ASML, although no to the high aperture version of these teams. The latter are currently the most sophisticated and expensive that exist. Very broadly speaking, the production of silicon wafers in the latter requires very precisely transporting the geometric pattern described by the mask to the surface of the silicon wafer using ultraviolet light and extremely refined optical elements. NIL lithography, however, allows the pattern to be transferred to the wafer without the need for intervention in the process. an extremely complex optical system. This strategy is simpler and cheaper, but it also involves the execution of several sequential processes that make it slower than UVE and UVP lithography. Canon assures that its nanoimprint lithography equipment can be used to manufacture integrated circuits comparable to the 5nm chips that TSMC, Samsung or Intel produce with ASML’s UVE machines. And in the future, with the refinements that will arrive, they will be able to manufacture 2nm chips. In addition, a NIL equipment costs ten times less than an ASML EUV machine: 15 million dollars compared to the 150 million dollars that the Dutch company asks its clients for an EUV machine with numerical aperture 0.33. We still don’t know how much each Pulin NIL machine costs, but it is reasonable to predict that at most it will have a cost comparable to that of the Canon machine. Image | Naura Technology More information | Tom’s Hardware In Xataka | Japan wants to end the Netherlands’ leadership in lithography equipment. This is your plan to get it

Who is Johny Srouji and why this great unknown has just become the second most powerful person at Apple

by

For those who have been following Apple for a long time, Johny Srouji is no stranger. For the rest of the world yes, but after the appointment of John Ternus as CEO of Applethis Israeli engineer has become the second most powerful person in the company. The question is obvious: who is Johny Srouji? Who is Srouji and why does he matter?. Born in Haifa, Israel, in 1964 to a middle-class Christian Arab family, Srouji studied computer science at the Israel Institute of Technology (Technion) and graduated Summa Cum Laude in both his engineering and master’s degrees. He worked at Intel and IBM before Apple hired him in 2008 with a very clear assignment: to design the company’s first chips. He did much more than that. The revolution made chip. That first chip designed by Srouji was the Apple A4, which debuted in 2010 in the original iPad and the iPhone 4. From there, Srouji forged one of the most prestigious hardware careers in the recent history of the technology industry. The A7 of 2013 was the first SoC in using 64-bit architecture, and then there would come the revolution of the Apple M1 with which the company definitively got rid of dependence on Intel in its Macs. But his work goes beyond. His official title until now was senior vice president of hardware technologies, but it did not reflect the real scope of his work. Srouji not only led the chip design. Also that of batteries, cameras, storage controllers, sensors, displays, cellular modems and other critical components of the entire family of Apple devices. Almost everything that makes these products work the way they do is largely due to the work of Srouji and his team. With the new position, his responsibility expands and he will now control the entire cycle: not only the hardware itself, but also the physical design. It’s a colossal challenge, but if anyone seems prepared to take it on, it’s Srouji. He was about to leave. In December 2025 Bloombeg reported that Srouji had informed Tim Cook that he was seriously considering leave Apple in the near future. Two days later, Srouji himself published a message to his team denying the newsbut the damage was done. For Apple to lose Srouji would have been a disaster, and it is very likely that this new position is in part Apple’s response to that alarm signal. Textbook talent retention, but raised to maximum power. New position, new structure. In it internal communication that Srouji has sent to team employees, the engineer detailed how he will organize the division into five areas: Hardware engineering: led by Tom Marieb, an Intel veteran who joined Apple in 2019. Siilicio: it will be directed by Sri Santhanam, a manager with a long career at Apple Advanced Technologies: Supervised by Zongjian Chen Platform architecture: led by Tim Millet Program management: will be managed by Donny Nordhues In that message, Srouji acknowledges that this “represents a significant change” but believes it will work thanks to the entire team. It seems that you are very clear about how you want to work with your team. A fusion with a lot of historical sense. The reunification of hardware engineering and the hardware technologies division under the same leader is not entirely new. It is the structure that Apple had for years under the direction of Bob Mansfield, former head of hardware. until 2013 and? then he took charge of the failed Project TitanApple’s car. That’s when those two areas were divided, something that allowed both Ternus and Srouji to progress in their domains, but also caused some structural tensions between teams that had to collaborate. Bringing them back together is a clear commitment to strengthening that collaboration. The great cover-up of Ternus’s appointment. It is normal that the vast majority of headlines go to Ternus, who will decide the future of the company from now on, but Apple is above all a hardware company. That Srouji now becomes his leader makes this engineer a person with enormous power within the company. The change is promising in terms of promoting that facet of the product that both he and Ternus dominate, and without a doubt interesting times await us at Apple. Image | Apple In Xataka | John Ternus, vice president of Apple: “The iPhone Air had been in development for years, but we had to say ‘no’ until now”

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.