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22% of the electric cars we buy in Europe are produced in China. It’s just the tip of the iceberg

May 20, 2026 by usatoday24

One in five electric cars purchased in Europe are Chinese. Chinese of origin, but it does not mean that their manufacturers are Chinese. However, it is a fact that does not explain the entire story. Chinese companies continue to gain ground in Europe and tariffs are clearly not slowing down their expansion. 22%. The data is brought Benchmark Mineral Intelligence in a report explaining how much ground Chinese manufacturers are gaining in Europe. According to them, 22% of the electric cars that have been purchased in Europe between January and April 2026 come from China. The figure is striking because it grows compared to the 19% that was registered last year. But, above all, because it grows by 27% compared to the same period in 2025. In the first four months, 400,000 electric cars from China were sold in Europe. Chinese and non-Chinese. As we said, the data includes all the electric cars that we have bought in Europe arriving from China. This is relevant because the European Union imposed tariffs to the cars that came from there alleging that the Chinese manufacturers are financially doped and that they do not compete on equal terms. But those trade barriers They also prevailed over European manufacturers who bring their cars from China. Tesla also suffers from it with every Tesla Model 3 sold in Europe. The consequences of these policies have been especially harmful for Seat SAwith a Cupra Tavascan that has barely been sold and that has had to eat the tariffs to be able to have a competitive price. Duty? As we pointed out, the European Union already imposed a 10% tariff on all cars that arrive from China to our market. Defending that many of the brands that came to play on price, They imposed new specific trade barriers for each brandpunishing more those who, in their opinion, had received the most aid from the State or had collaborated the least with the investigation. Rodhium Group shows that they have had a limited deterrent effect over time. When they were lifted in October 2024, China had exported 44,000 electric cars to Europe in a single month. Immediately, the figure plummeted but in February the same sales level was reached again in Europe. But, in addition, the number of plug-in hybrids has skyrocketed. While the sale of purely combustion cars from China has grown, the plug-in hybrid has experienced brutal growth, going from 7,000 units in October 2024 (when the tariffs were applied) to 26,000 units in February 2026. Among the best sellers. In addition to these general market figures, some Chinese manufacturers have managed to make a breakthrough in the markets where they have the most hope. They collect in Autovista24 that BYD was the fourth company in Europe that sold the most electric cars between January and March 2026. Its market share in this space reached 6.8% and is only surpassed by Volkswagen, BMW and Tesla (the latter with 7.3% and BMW with 7.4%). BYD is also, of course, the one that is growing the most, marking 154.7% more sales than last year in the same period. Among the 10 best-selling electric cars in Europe, the Leapmotor T03 It also sneaks into the list. If we look at plug-in hybrids, BYD has the best-selling model. The BYD Seal U is the car with this mechanic that has placed the most units on the market between January and March 2026 with 21,494 units. He is followed by Jaecoo 7 with 17,434 units. And BYD manages to place Atto 2 as the tenth best-selling plug-in hybrid in Europe. The market share. In global terms, S&P Global points out that in 2025 the market share of Chinese manufacturers in Europe was 5.8%. But Automotive News points out that last March, when Chinese manufacturers broke their export record to Europe in terms of volume, the market share already shot up to 9.41%. If we talk about quota, the record from December 2025 (9.48%) still stands. The vast majority of analysts assure that these figures will continue to grow over the years. In S&P Global They believe that by 2035 the market share of Chinese manufacturers will reach 15.5%. Because? What we are seeing, according to analysts, is the tip of the iceberg. BYD is a good reflection of how China has discovered a loophole through which to enter Europe. The brand came with the idea of bringing only electric cars, it tried the BYD Seal U in its plug-in hybrid version and has discovered that it is a success. The Chery Group has not hesitated to bet on this technology. Geely has also come up with a plug-in hybrid upon arrival. And the same thing happens with Deepal, from Changan. These cars have no tariffs and it allows them to gain market share because they can push their prices much higher. In addition, it allows them to give a relatively easy exit to cars that are overproduced for the Chinese marketwhich has slowed down and is beginning to see itself unable to assimilate more growth in its sales. Without forgetting that more and more companies are looking for produce in Europe or Türkiye to skip tariffs. BYD will manufacture in Hungary and in this last country. The Group Chery already operates in Barcelona. Leapmotor will also do it in Spain and everything indicates that the number of models will increase destined for our country. Xpeng already uses factories in Austria. And one fact: S&P Global It anticipates that 44% of the Chinese cars we buy in 2035 will be manufactured in Europe or Türkiye. Photo | In Xataka | The plug-in hybrid is China’s Trojan horse: we looked at the electric car and its great weapon was the combustion engine

from 2,700 to 1,300 euros

May 20, 2026 by usatoday24

When looking for the highest quality in the television market, the debate usually comes down to a couple of brands, but Sony always plays in its own league thanks to its image processing. If you were waiting for the ideal moment to make the leap to premium OLED without paying the starting price, this Fnac offer will interest you. Now, you can take the Sony BRAVIA 8 (model K55XR80PAEP) with a brutal reduction of 52%. Specifically, it has gone from costing 2,699 euros to 1,299 euros. You can even pay it in installments, from 43.30 euros per month in 30 installments and if you are a Fnac member you get a check for 64.95 euros for your next purchase. Sony BRAVIA 8 OLED 55″ – 4K HDR TV with Dolby Vision Atmos The price could vary. We earn commission from these links XR processor and a brightness that defies the mid-range The great asset of this model is not only that it uses OLED technology (which guarantees pure blacks and infinite contrast), but how Sony manages each pixel through its chip XR Processor. In addition, the panel is brighter than previous generations, which will allow you to enjoy content in HDR10 and Dolby Vision in rooms where natural light enters. If you are one of those who still watch DTT channels or old content on a streaming platformthe Sony processor is one of the best clean image noise and redefine the edges to make it look like native 4K. The operating system under which it works is Google TV and as far as sound is concerned, it has the technology Acoustic Surface Audio+. This consists of the screen itself vibrating invisibly to act as a speaker, ensuring that the actors’ voices come out exactly from the place on the screen where they are located. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: offer for the Sony Bravia K55XR80PAEP smart TV today ✅ THE BEST Design with adjustable legs: The bases can be placed in various positions, allowing the TV to be raised so that a sound bar can fit underneath. Google TV integrated: It is a fluid, fast operating system with full support for profiles, Google Assistant and all streaming apps. ❌ THE WORST Only two HDMI 2.1 ports… Of the four ports it includes, only two support making the most of the new generation consoles. Peak brightness lower than QD-OLED… Although it has improved, it does not reach the extreme brightness of ultra-high-end QD-OLED or MiniLED panels. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are a movie buff and enjoy watching movies in the dark and value color accuracy above all else. Also if you have a PS5, since being a product of the Sony ecosystem, it has exclusive automatic HDR tone mapping functions for this console, optimizing the image of the games without you having to configure anything. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You are on a tight budget, as it is still a considerable investment. If you’re just looking for a big screen to watch TV in the background while cooking or cleaning, there are LED options for a third of the price. Other cheaper OLED TVs that may interest you LG OLED55B56LA – TV 55″, OLED 4K The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung TV 48 Inch OLED S93F 4K Smart TV with Vision AI 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 | Webedia and Sony In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended models from 140 euros

Gemini Intelligence promises to be Google’s AI revolution. The problem is that almost no one will be able to use it.

May 20, 2026 by usatoday24

Updates have always been Android’s Achilles heel, but for several years we have seen how manufacturers are pushing to offer up to seven years of updates on your mobiles. It is good news for users and regulators. The problem is that AI threatens to introduce a new form of fragmentation: having an updated mobile phone no longer guarantees access to the most important functions, even if it is high-end. What has happened? A few days ago, during the Android Show, Google announced the new star feature coming to Android: Gemini Intelligence. We are no longer talking about specific functions, but rather about a layer of AI that covers everything, making the mobile phone act autonomously within the system and the apps. It sounds great, what doesn’t sound so good is the list of requirements. Hardware requirements. Google has detailed the minimum requirements for a mobile phone to run Gemini Intelligence and it is quite not encouraging. We are talking about devices with 12 GB of RAM and that mount recent “flagship” processors. These requirements directly leave out the majority of the current vehicle fleet, but also at the current time with the memory crisis raising pricesthe high-end is going to become even more unattainable. The real problem. If the RAM and the processor already leave out many mobile phones, the software requirements are even worse. This is where Google makes the real difference since, to run Gemini Intelligence, compatibility with Gemini Nano V3, the local language model for mobile phones, is necessary. If we look at the current compatibility list, it is no longer that it affects cheap phones, it is that it also leaves out phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 which was launched in the summer of 2025 and cost 2,109 euros, or the Xiaomi 17 Ultra which has just been launched for almost 1,500 euros. It is not clear that the list is definitive, since it is possible that there are changes because they allow it to be updated later, but for now the outlook is bleak: The list of devices compatible with Gemini Nano v2 and Gemini Nano v3. Image: Xatakamovil There is still more. The software requirements don’t end here. Google has also put several additional conditions for a device to have Gemini Intelligence. The device must receive at least five years of operating system updates and six years of security patches, in addition to meeting a series of quality requirements regarding stability, failure rate and multimedia, among others. The privilege of AI. “The best of Gemini in our most advanced devices” is the phrase we find in the Gemini Intelligence official websiteso Google already warns us from the beginning. That updates or more advanced functions reach the most expensive phones is something we are used to, but with AI we are seeing the bar rise even higher. Furthermore, it is not a specific function as it was ARCorewe are talking about the central axis of the proposal, a new way of interacting with the mobile that only a small percentage of users will be able to test, including those who have a Google Pixel. Cover image | Google In Xataka | Android 17 news: list with a summary of everything that will arrive in this version of the operating system

All experts agree that introducing bison into Spain is a bad idea. And yet we’re doing it

May 20, 2026 by usatoday24

Nine European bison have been grazing for four months in the Guadalajara municipality of El Recuenco, in the heart of the Alto Tajo. And the only really relevant question is why. I mean, we know why. They are there because the Rewilding Spain foundation and the town council itself have placed them in what has become the first case of bison in public forests in Spain. In fact, as long as we pay attention to what its promoters say, it is not only a renaturalization initiative, it is “a tool against forest fires.” The thing is, none of that explains why anyone thinks any of this makes sense. There have never (as far as we know) been European bison in Spain. Yes, yes. I know that one of the most iconic Spanish images is that of the painted bison of Altamira, but that animal was not a Bison bonasuswas a Bison priscus. A species that became extinct 9,000 years ago just when the habitat (the mammoth steppe) that welcomed it did. There is no conclusive paleontological evidence to say that there was ever a European bison on the peninsula. In fact, in 2020, MITECO commissioned a report that unanimously denied that this animal could be defined as an “extinct species in Spain”. Does that mean that it is proven that there was not? No, one thing does not imply the other. At any time we can find remote proof that there were. In fact, in February 2026 was announced that a skeleton about 4,000 years old had been found in Navarra that could be from a Bison bonasus. It is a matter of time before a genetic test confirms it (or not). Be that as it may, no one seems to care: the nine bison are in Guadalajara. And there are up to two doctoral theses that will examine fecal samples, stress levels and diet to study the adaptability of these animals and their effect on vegetation. The latter is interesting because, as I said, the second objective of all this has to do with vegetation. With its control and management. There it is, despite the skepticism of many expertswhere there may be a future. But it is not a simple future. To begin with, because the species cannot be the subject of an official reintroduction program. The nine specimens from El Recuenco (and the other 160 in the country) are not protected wildlife, but are classified as livestock or zoological nucleus. This requires them to be controlled, geolocated and monitored. But, above all, that forces us to ask ourselves many things and “do we have any capacity to control our country?” It is perhaps the most important. For years, people have been releasing beavers into the main Spanish rivers without anything happening. What’s more, in Spain have been detected more than 200 invasive species. The debate is not ‘bison yes or bison no’. Above all, because it is not a strictly Spanish debate. The United Kingdom reintroduced bison to Kent, the Netherlands did it decades ago… European rewilding is being done, to a large extent, outside the usual channels of conservation. And El Recuenco is just the local version of a deeper debate: that of what nature we want to exist in the future. Image | Oskar Jablonski In Xataka | We are reforesting Europe with trees that will not survive by 2100. If pests don’t kill them, climate change will.

This is what the new Dreame X60 are like

May 20, 2026 by usatoday24

If there is a product category that has evolved a lot in a matter of a couple of years, it is, without a doubt, that of robot vacuum cleaners. From robots with a brush and a regulating mop we have moved on to robots with arms, retractable sensors, rotating mops and bases that clean, disinfect and even replace said mops. The high range has become really interesting and Dreame He is clear that he wants to conquer her. Their weapons are the new robot vacuum cleaners that make up the Dreame X60 seriesthree devices called Dreame X60 Pro Ultra Complete, X60 Pro Ultra Matrix and X60 Pro Master that, although they share many of the characteristics, have their particularities. Let’s go in parts. Diagram of operation of double-jointed arms | Image: Dreame Dreame X60 Pro Ultra Complete, aka the base. The first model is the one from which all the others start, so understanding it will help us see the others better. The first key to this robot is its double-jointed arm. While it is true that robots with extendable parts are not new, Dreame’s proposal goes one step further. The name of this system is UltraExtend and, basically, it allows the side brush to extend 12 centimeters and the mop up to 18 centimeters. The mop and brush arms have two joints: the first is like a shoulder and folds out to the side, while the second is a kind of swinging forearm. What allows that? That the mop can draw an angle of 146º and the brush 125º, reaching corners, furniture legs or baseboards that were previously inaccessible. Dreame X60 Pro Ultra Complete | Image: Dreame Navigation. The device mounts the OmniSight 3.0 AI system, a very fancy to refer to a dual camera system with 120º field of view and AI (for object recognition). According to the company, the robot recognizes 320 types of obstacles with a size of up to 10 millimeters in 0.1 seconds. In addition, it incorporates a blue light system to detect transparent stains, something typical of certain liquids. Also, importantly, the robot is capable of overcoming obstacles of up to ten centimeters. Cleaning and scrubbing. The Dreame Something interesting is that the mops are washed in real time with water at 100ºC and apply a downward pressure of 15N, so, at least in theory, they should not have problems with embedded stains. The Matrix model stores the mops inside the station and exchanges them depending on the type of floor | Image: Xataka Dreame X60 Pro Ultra Matrix, aka the one that changes the mops. While the standard Dreame That is, it is capable of removing the mops from the robot, cleaning them with specific products and exchanging them for others depending on the floor to be mopped. There are three types: Nylon bristle scrubbing pads for kitchen grease. Water retention sponge pads for baths. Thermal pads for the rest of the rooms. The base of the Master model can be hooked to a water inlet and outlet | Image: Dreame Dreame X60 Pro Master, aka the one you forget about. Just like him Dreame X50 MasterThe X60 Pro Master model has a base with automatic filling and emptying that connects to the water installation. This allows you to forget about emptying the dirty water and filling it, since it does it automatically. The problem is that it requires professional installation (or that you are a handyman, of course). The CyberX, aka the robot that climbs stairs. Although the company has not given new details of the robot vacuum cleaner with four legs and tracks that climbs stairs, that is, the CyberXhas confirmed that it is no longer a concept. It is an official device that will be launched soon. Versions and price. The company has not yet revealed the price or availability of these three products, although it has scheduled us on May 27 to discover them. Images | Dreame In Xataka | Dreame started as a supplier to Xiaomi. Eight years later it wants to be the next Samsung and has paid 10 million to prove it

Samsung Odyssey G8 G80H, features, price and technical sheet

May 20, 2026 by usatoday24

To what extent does the monitor matter when we talk about gaming? Much more than it seems when one looks only at the processor, graphics or console. The screen is the last link in that entire chain: there the power is translated into images, fluidity, detail and response. Samsung has made a move with a proposal that draws attention from the first piece of information: a Odyssey G8 which the company presents as “the industry’s first 6K gaming monitor.” The protagonist of this release is the G80HSthe 32-inch version of the Odyssey G8, a product that comes with a particularly ambitious technical sheet. The resolution is 6144 x 3456 pixels, with a density of 224 dpi. The format remains at 16:9, the panel is flat and the technology chosen is IPS, a base that seeks to combine sharpness, viewing angle and response. Samsung Odyssey G8 G80HS technical data sheet Samsung Odyssey G8 32″ (G80HS) Panel 32-inch Fast IPS 16:9 aspect ratio HDR10+ HDR10+ Gaming Resolution 6144 x 3456 pixels (6K) 3072 x 1728 pixels (3K) MAXIMUM REFRESH FREQUENCY 165Hz (6K) 330Hz (3K) typical brightness 350 nits contrast ratio 1,000:1 response time 1 (GTG) VIEWING ANGLES 178°(H) 178°(V) Color support sRGB 99% Up to 1 billion colors connectivity 1 x Display Port 2 x HDMI 2.1 1x USB-B upstream 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 Headphone output dimensions 714.5 x 595.4 x 263.9 mm (with base) weight 7.4 kilos (with base) price Unannounced The Odyssey G8 that stands out for its jump in resolution We talk about higher resolution, but does this always mean a better experience? The reality is that to really notice it content is missingdistance of use and equipment capable of moving the games. That said, the G80HS’s bet goes in a clear direction: offering a cleaner image, with finer contours and more room to work on the desktop. It is a very current approach, because many users no longer buy a monitor just to play: they are looking for a screen that can be used to edit, write, view content and then return to the game. The other half of the proposal is speed. Samsung proposes two paths: use the monitor in 6K at 165 Hz or go down to 3K to reach 330 Hz through Dual Mode. The refresh rate indicates how many times per second the image can be updated, so a higher number can translate into smoother movements. It makes sense that there are two modes, because not all titles ask for the same thing: a narrative game can benefit more from the detail, while a competitive one usually appreciates every extra fluidity. The chosen panel also helps to understand where the G80HS is going. Samsung talks about “Fast IPS“, a technology that seeks to combine good color reproduction, wide viewing angles and a quick response, three important points when the monitor is not always used from the front or only for gaming. The firm mentions 178 degrees of horizontal and vertical vision, support for up to 1 billion colors and 99% coverage of the sRGB space. The image is completed with HDR10 and HDR10+ Gaming, a set of compatibilities designed to improve the treatment of brightness and contrast. HDR10+ Gaming, remember, optimizes values in real time to make details more visible in dark areas and brightly lit parts of the scene. In a game, this can make very specific differences: distinguishing an opponent better in a shadow, reading a nighttime environment more clearly, or better preserving the reading of a brightly lit area. On a screen with these characteristics, connectivity is also part of the experience. The G80HS includes DisplayPort 2.1, two HDMI 2.1one USB-B upstream port, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 and headphone output. In practice, this allows you to set up a desktop with a PC, other gaming devices and peripherals without depending so much on external adapters, although it is worth keeping one detail in mind: does not include speakers. Samsung also includes an ergonomic stand with height, tilt, swivel and pivot adjustment, plus VESA 100 x 100mm mounting support. It should be noted that the G80HS does not arrive alone, and that also helps to understand the breadth of Samsung’s launch. The new Odyssey family includes other models, such as a 27-inch G8 with 5K resolution at 180 Hz or up to 360 Hz in QHD through Dual Mode, in addition to OLED proposals such as the Odyssey OLED G8 and the Odyssey OLED G7. The company has also renewed the ViewFinity S8 line, more aimed at professional environments. Odyssey G8 G80H Price and Availability Samsung talks about the launch of its new generation of Odyssey and ViewFinity monitors, but in the information provided the price does not appear of the Odyssey G8 G80HS nor a specific date of commercial availability in Spain. What the company does indicate is that it is now possible to register on its website to discover the new Odyssey G8 line, the Odyssey OLED G7 and the ViewFinity S8, in addition to accessing the launch promotion. Images | Samsung In Xataka | First impressions of the TCL RM9L with RGB MiniLED: the alternative to OLED for large format screens

The Canary Islands have just turned on the first platform that generates electricity by “boiling” the ocean

May 20, 2026 by usatoday24

They have been promising us for decades that the ocean would be the battery of the future. The difference now is that someone has finally plugged in the cable. The British company Global OTEC has installed in the waters of the Canary Islands the world’s first floating platform capable of extracting energy directly from the heat of the sea. It is not a concept. It is not a simulation. It is there, in the Atlantic, working. The end of intermittency. Unlike wind or solar energy, which are dependent on weather conditions, the ocean offers a constant and reliable source 24 hours a day. It’s what experts call “base load power.” Until now, Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) technology had been tested in terrestrial environments. Until now, the main obstacle to bringing this technology to a full scale was infrastructure. The terrestrial prototypes needed huge pipes to pump cold water from the depths to the coast: kilometers of installation, exorbitant costs. For this reason, Global OTEC’s commitment has been to move the platform directly to the sea, eliminating that route. The result: 80% less pipe. And a model that, for the first time, seems truly scalable. A closed circuit that “recycles” the liquid. The system literally takes advantage of the temperature difference that exists between the surface of the sea and its dark depths. The mechanism is an extremely ingenious closed circuit: Evaporation: The warm water on the surface heats a special liquid that, due to its chemical characteristics, boils quickly. Generation: When boiling, this liquid is transformed into steam, which pushes a turbine that, when rotating, generates electricity. Cycle recycling: For the system to never stop, the vapor needs to return to its liquid state. This is where the newly installed deep pipeline comes into play, sucking in very cold water from the deep sea to cool the vapor and restart the cycle. In addition to generating energy completely free of carbon emissions, the installation takes up little space and is silent. It even offers an invaluable additional benefit to island ecosystems: freshwater desalination. An ecological lifesaver. The project was not born thinking about feeding large continental electrical networks. Its objective is more concrete and, in some ways, more urgent. The European consortium PLOTEC, which finances this development, is targeting Small Island Developing States, the so-called SIDS. These are regions that today depend on polluting and expensive diesel generators, and that also fit squarely in the hurricane belt. That is why the platform has been specifically designed to withstand extreme tropical storms. The Canary Islands, the great laboratory of Europe. That this world milestone has occurred in Spain is no coincidence. The platform has been installed on the Canary Islands Ocean Platform (PLOCAN). As explained by Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universitiesit is an infrastructure managed by a consortium financed in equal parts by the State and the Government of the Canary Islands. This enclave has become a true focus of international technological attraction. According to a statement from PLOCANits waters not only host thermal projects, but at the end of 2026 they will also host the European WHEEL project, led by the Spanish engineering company ESTEYCO. This floating offshore wind energy demonstrator reinforces the role of the Canary Islands as a strategic enclave and positions the region as one of the main European poles for the development and validation of technologies. offshore. Next stop: the commercial jump. With the ocean platform already installed and technical validation underway in the Atlantic, the horizon for this technology seems clear. “This is the moment when OTEC technology moves away from controlled environments and into the real world,” says Dan Grech, founder and CEO of Global OTEC. Its next objective is to install the first commercial energy module in Hawaii, an island market with all the conditions that this technology needs. The company estimates that there are more than 25 GW of diesel capacity on tropical islands that could be candidates for this transition. Although it is important not to lose sight of the fact that going from prototype to commercial scale has historically been the valley of death for many promising energy technologies. The learning curve that Grech compares to that of solar or wind took decades to lower costs to competitive levels. That being said, the platform is in the water. And that, in this sector, is already a lot. Image | Global OTEC Xataka | Every year millions of birds die because of wind turbines. The solution: paint them like poisonous snakes

Gemini Omni wants to do with video what Nano Banana did with images: Google is aiming very high

May 20, 2026 by usatoday24

Creating an image with AI is no longer as surprising as before. What begins to make a difference is the ability to modify it, give it continuity and turn an initial idea into something more elaborate without losing the thread along the way. In video, that challenge is much greater: there is movement, time, physics, and characters that must continue to appear coherent. Gemini Omni comes with the promise of addressing this problem and making editing a much easier task. Google DeepMind itself asks to think of Gemini Omni as in Nano Bananabut for video. The reference makes sense because Nano Banana was Google’s image generator that took visual creation with AI to a very striking scale. The first version, released in August 2025, added 13 million users in four days and had generated more than 5 billion images by mid-October. Google now introduces Gemini Omni Flash as the first model in the Gemini Omni family. According to the company, it is designed to create content from any entry. The idea is that the user can combine images, audio, video and text as a starting point to generate high-quality videos supported by Gemini’s real-world knowledge. A video generation model that is committed to coherence The most interesting part is how Google describes the editing process. It is not only proposed as a tool to generate a clip from scratch, but as a system capable of working on a scene using chained instructions. The company talks about changing specific elements or completely transforming a starting video, adjusting aesthetics, action, environment, angle, style or specific details. It also promises to maintain character consistency, preserve scene continuity, and offer more coherent physics. In his note, he shows how Gemini Omni can start from a scene and modify it with direct instruction, whether to change the material of an object, alter an action, or turn a complex idea into a visual explanation. Let’s look at some examples of prompts. “Make the sculpture out of bubbles” “When the person touches the mirror, make the mirror ripple beautifully like liquid, and the person’s arm turns into reflective mirror material” “Claymation explainer of protein folding, everything is made out of clay, no hands, stop motion, accurate” At Xataka we have done orna first test with a recognizable image: Puerta de Alcalá, in Madrid. The starting point was a static photograph and the prompt we used was the following: “Create a video from this image. Cars are moving forward and people are walking.” (Create a video from this image. Cars move forward and people walk.) The idea was to see to what extent Gemini Omni could turn a real scene into a small moving clip. In the video above you can see precisely that attempt to animate the original imagewith cars moving forward, pedestrians walking, and ambient sound that fits the scene. It also appears to retain some visible branding elements on the vehicles, especially the Mercedes-Benz logo, although in other cases, such as Fiat, the result is less clear. Let’s talk about availability. Google ensures that Gemini Omni Flash begins to reach Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra subscribers through Gemini and Google Flow, while its deployment at no cost in YouTube Shorts and YouTube Create App launches this week. In our test with a corporate account, however, we found ourselves with a fairly tight limit: after generating three videos, the system warned us that “we had reached our video generation limit until May 20 at 7:59 p.m.” It is not too surprising if we think about what is happening below: creating video with AI requires a lot of resources, so everything indicates that Google would be dosing access, at least in this first phase. When we talk about video generation with artificial intelligence, it is likely that one of the first names that comes to mind is sora. It arrived like one of the great promises of OpenAI for this terrain. The route, however, ended up being much shorter than that initial ambition suggested. Its website and app were no longer available at the end of April 2026.although the API will continue to work until September 24. Images | Google | Xataka In Xataka | There is a battle to have the AI model that programs best. And a good, pretty and very cheap rival has appeared in it: Cursor

China just gave them a much more ambitious mission

May 20, 2026 by usatoday24

Every time we ask something of an AI, the scene seems almost invisible: we type a sentence, receive a response, and move on. But behind that apparent lightness there are buildings full of servers, cooling systems running tirelessly, and an electricity demand that does not stop growing. The cloud, no matter how much we call it a cloud, has ground, cables, heat and consumption. And precisely for this reason an idea that not so long ago sounded like a strange experiment is beginning to make sense: removing part of that infrastructure from land and taking it to the sea. China is already taking it to the commercial field. MERICS notes that the country has presented the first commercial underwater data center in Hainan and a module powered by offshore wind energy in Shanghai, two movements that point in the same direction: to see if this architecture can stop being a technical oddity and become a usable piece within its digital deployment. The novelty is not only in submerging servers, but in presenting them as a possible response to three tensions that already weigh on the AI infrastructure: energy, cooling and land. Hainan is the first piece of that leap. Pilot testing of the Hainan underwater data center began in 2023, first with storage services for the island’s free trade port and telecom operators, before expanding to cloud and AI companies. The project does not play in the league of large terrestrial data centers, but it does have sufficient scale to stop being a simple model: each cabin is located 35 meters under water, has 24 racks and can house up to 500 servers. Its value is precisely there: demonstrating that China is trying to turn an experimental idea into real commercial infrastructure. Shanghai as an energy showcase. If Hainan represents the commercial leap, Shanghai adds the piece that makes the story more ambitious: direct integration with offshore wind energy. This project is facing Lingang, where CGTN places an underwater platform already operational and directly connected to a nearby offshore wind farm. The total planned investment is 1.6 billion yuan, about 235 million dollars according to that source, and the installation is based on a pilot phase of 2.3 MW, while the complete project is planned to reach 24 MW. Refrigerate without fighting against the environment. That is the technical promise that explains much of the interest in these underwater data centers. The Chinese state media recalls that terrestrial facilities can dedicate up to 40% of their electricity to cooling, a problem that is especially visible when we talk about increasingly dense racks. Under the sea, the idea changes: take advantage of water as a natural heat sink. In Shanghai, for example, the average sea temperature is around 15 degrees Celsius. The other half of the equation is energy. The Shanghai center is connected by a photoelectric composite cable to a 200 MW offshore wind farm, with more than 50 turbines, and more than 95% of its electricity comes from renewable energy. If the project reaches full scale, it is estimated that it could save 61 million kWh per year and significantly reduce its carbon emissions. There are challenges too. MERICS warns that these data centers pose significant challenges: sealing modules, dealing with seawater corrosion, operating in a high-pressure environment, and assuming that maintenance may require bringing entire modules to the surface. This is no secret. Accessing submerged hardware in the event of a failure is one of the most sensitive points. Microsoft had already tried the path. The best known antecedent is Project Natickan initiative with which Microsoft submerged a data center off the Orkney Islands, in Scotland, and recovered it in 2020 after two years of operation underwater. The test served to demonstrate that the idea could work technically.but it did not end up becoming a commercial line. Reading is not a magic solution. As we can see, China is trying another way of dividing up the pieces of the problem. Hainan shows attempt to bring underwater data centers into commercial arena; Shanghai adds a broader ambition, connecting them with offshore wind energy and directing them towards increasingly demanding loads. Undersea data centers seemed like a technological oddity. Now, at least in China, they are beginning to look like an industrial bet with a much more ambitious mission. Images | Shanghai Hailanyun Technology In Xataka | There is a battle to have the AI model that programs best. And a good, pretty and very cheap rival has appeared in it: Cursor

The joint mission between Europe and China is already in space. The really important thing comes now

May 19, 2026 by usatoday24

Finally, despite the postponement last April, SMILE has been launched successfully. The mission that unites China and Europe To study how the solar winds interact with the Earth’s magnetosphere, it departed from the Kurú Space Port, in French Guiana, at 03:52 GMT (05:52, Spanish peninsular time). He has at least 3 years of work ahead of him, but before starting his work he must take some preliminary steps. Journey to final orbit. During the first 25 days of the mission, SMILE You must start your engines 11 times. This will allow it to gradually lengthen its orbit around the Earth’s poles, until reaching 121,000 km above the North Pole and 5,000 km above the South Pole. Once in its final orbit, around June 13, it will be time to tune up all its instruments. The final deployment. Remotely, from Earth, mission engineers will check that all SMILE instruments are working properly. For that, some must change their conformation. Specifically, it will be necessary to deploy the magnetometer arm and open the X-ray camera shutter and the UV camera cover. Each of these points is essential for the proper development of the mission. The first images. Once the experiments have been verified, SMILE will begin its work. The first images will be sent to Earth for analysis three months later. The mission. SMILE will study the interaction of solar activity with the shield that the Earth uses to protect itself from it. Although other missions have carried out similar tasks, it will be the first time that global images of this interaction have been taken, both in X-rays and ultraviolet. This will give us better knowledge than we currently have about solar storms and how they affect our planet. And not only They draw us beautiful auroras in the sky. They can also affect telecommunications, sometimes worryingly. It is important to understand them and know how to predict, as far as possible, the harmful effects they could cause. At least three years. The nominal duration of the mission will be 3 years. This means that it is designed to achieve your main objectives in this time. The economic investment of the European and Chinese space agencies has focused on guaranteeing this duration. However, that does not mean that within three years the ship will be deorbited or that all its instruments will be turned off. If it continues to function properly, its useful life could be greatly extended. The case of Cluster. Cluster it was a mission ESA whose objective was also to measure the Earth’s magnetic environment. In a way, it could be considered a predecessor of SMILE. It was launched in 2000 and remained active until 2024. However, Its nominal duration was initially 2 years. Once the retirement date arrived, it was found that Cluster was completely fit, so it was decided to invest in it for much longer. Maybe something similar will happen with SMILE. For now, we will have to go step by step. To begin with, it must reach its operational orbit. Once there, the magic begins. Or rather: science. Image | THAT In Xataka | The Webb and Hubble telescopes simultaneously observed Jupiter’s auroras. The problem is that they didn’t see the same thing

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