Cell

I thought that in 2026 I could buy a cheap cell phone without worrying about anything. big mistake

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I have spent half my life being especially critical when analyzing phones and, on the only occasion that I have decided to stop being so, I have hit a wall. We are in 2026, a year in which one might think that at this point in the game practically any phone newly launched on the market must work well. Mistake, big mistake. So I want to tell you how the component crisis in the technology sector and, to be honest, a certain apathy on the part of manufacturers, continues to make choosing an affordable mobile phone complex in 2026. Either we look closely at what we buy, or it may turn out to be a failure. The objectives. A mobile to send and receive WhatsAppsliterally. I wanted a phone whose main use was to manage communication with clients in one of my projects and, taking advantage of the fact that I had a new purchase, use it as GPS when I ride a motorcycle. The demands were minimal, there were practically no requirements other than that the cell phone worked decently. The expectation was not high either: I know that a low-end mobile phone does not work like a high-end one, not even like a mid-range one. I was just looking for something functional and simple. The search. I started the search, with phones over 100 euros. For that price it was practically impossible to access basic phones like the LITTLE M7which at least has a Snapdragon 685 (a processor, mind you, from 2023), so I had to continue lowering the bar. I ended up finding a 199 euro phone on sale for 89 euros on Aliexpress. One with 8 GB of RAM, 256 GB of internal memory… and a Helium G100 Ultra. the drama. The Helio G100 Ultra is an entry-level processor launched in 2024, relatively modern, and should have enough capacity to run basic applications. That’s what I thought. It’s been a while since I’ve tried an entry-level model. I thought that in 2026 things would be a little better, and I couldn’t be more wrong Almost two seconds to open the camera, lag in the launcher with the mobile newly configured, constant freezes and a performance that, after having tried other cheap mobile phones of a similar price (without offer), was simply unacceptable. And no, I’m not going to tell you the model so as not to draw blood, but it is one of the most popular mobile phones in Spain. Blind. One of the supposed advantages that it has brought us the semiconductor race is all about performance. For some time now, in certain ranges, my recommendations when asked which mobile phone to buy for The same does not happen with the entry ranges. Processors like Helium G99Helio G100, and even some Snapdragon 600 series (or Gen 6) are still barely moving basic apps. And the worrying thing is not how the phone performs right out of the box (which already performs poorly), it is how it will perform in a few years with some hardware degradation, system and app updates. big horse. At this point in the game there is something that is very clear to me, something that I have always defended: the processor It is much more important than we can think as average users. It is the heart of our mobile: The Gross Performance Manager The person in charge of the modem who will make us have better or worse coverage The element behind photo quality and camera performance The one that allows the final audio quality to be better or worse The one that helps to manage energy consumption more or less efficiently And here, even though the chip race continues at its pace, the high-end processors from a few years ago are noticeably superior to the entry-level ones. So between that high end of 2024 full of chicha and that newly released entry range… I’m clear about what I should have done. Image | Xataka In Xataka | Best mobile phones in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and nine recommended models

We have all suspected that our cell phone is listening to us. The company that sold this technology has just recognized that it was a lie

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There are many people who are convinced that cell phones listen to everything we say. We have all had the same disturbing feeling when we see an ad for something we recently talked about with a friend or family member, but have never searched for on the internet. The most solid proof that they really listen to us was a leak from a company that sold a technology called “active listening” and it did exactly what you’re thinking. Well, it was all a big lie. what has happened. They count in Wired that the US Federal Trade Commission (FCT) has fined Cox Media Group $880,000 for deceiving its customers with its active listening technology. They have also fined two other companies, MindSift and 101 Digital Networks, $25,000 each. In total, $930,000 will be used to compensate businesses that were affected by this deception. What they sold. Cox Media Group claimed that its technology could capture conversations from cell phones, smart speakers, televisions and other devices. Then, using AI, they segmented the advertising based on what people said and also based on their location, which they also claimed to be able to obtain. Their excuse was that users had already agreed to be recorded by accepting the terms of service. The company didn’t have many scruples, just look at the slogan they used to sell the product: “Is it scary? Sure. Is it great for marketing? Without a doubt.” What it really was. According to the FCT, it was all a hoax. They were not able to listen through all those devices, nor could they know the location of people. What they did was buy generic email lists from data brokers and resold them for a price much higher than their real value. The FCT also notes that agreeing to generic terms of service does not constitute explicit consent to something as invasive as these recordings. Why it is important. We are surrounded by technology that has the potential to spy on us with microphones, not only mobile phones but speakers, headphones and even smart watches. Today has not been proven that cell phones listen to everything we say, but it is a very widespread belief and these companies decided not only to feed the conspiracy theory, but also to profit from it. The answer. When the cake was revealed, Cox Media Group attempted to place the blame on an unknown third-party vendor. Speaking to Wired, a company spokesperson said that “Our local marketing team relied on marketing materials provided by a third-party vendor about their product. We quickly removed the materials and stopped use of the product.” All three defendant companies admitted fault and agreed not to make false statements about their products in the future. Image | Xataka with Gemini In Xataka | Yes, the V16 beacons transmit your position in the event of an accident. No, the DGT cannot “spy” on you with them

They detect if you are wearing your seat belt, if you are on your cell phone or if you make illegal turns

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Pamplona is going to significantly strengthen its traffic surveillance system starting next June. Although we recently knew the setup of the new section radar of the AP-68which by the way is the second longest in Spain with more than 30 km of distance covered, now the Pamplona City Council will launch four radars with AI capable of hunting down practically any driving violation, from carrying your cell phone in your hand to driving without a seat belt, jumping a red light or changing lanes improperly. Automation. Until now, these types of violations depended on traffic officers. The arrival of these radars automates this surveillance and, above all, it will work as a pilot test in the country, because if they end up giving good results, it is reasonable to think that we will see this technology spreading to other Spanish cities and roads in the coming months. What do they detect?. The new devices incorporate a color camera and a license plate reading system that, combined with AI technology, identify a whole range of illegalities while driving. According to the City Council, they will be able to detect: Use of mobile phone while driving. Drivers without seat belts. Traffic in the opposite direction and prohibited turns. Improper lane changes. Running a red light. Do not respect zebra crossings or stop in yellow-marked areas. Added to all this is a speed control system, with a range that goes from 10 to 320 km/h. The objective according to the City Council is to “monitor compliance with traffic rules, regulate speed and avoid accidents in the city”, as share from Navarra News. What are they like?. The gray cabins are something that has been left behind on these new radars. These are mounted high on staffs, medians or gantries, and withstand temperatures between -30 and 70 degrees without the need for a protective casing. Another important novelty is that they cover several lanes at the same time and bidirectionally (both approaching and receding vehicles) and allow different speed limits to be configured for each lane. Where will they be installed?. Although the idea is that rotate between the eleven cabins that are spread throughout the city, the first planned locations are Army Avenue, Gipuzkoa Avenue next to the Oblatas Bridge, Sadar Street and Paseo de Santa Lucía. The fact that they rotate is precisely designed so that the driver never knows for sure if the cabin in front of him is working or not. Between the lines. Each radar It has cost the City Council 20,000 euros (VAT apart), an investment that the City Council considers justified by the number of infractions that a single device is capable of detecting. In addition, it should be taken into account that a device of this type can fine for behaviors that previously required the presence of an agent or were easier to avoid. So it is quite likely that they will end up recovering the investment based on fines in a short time. Before starting to operate, the radars must pass the approval process of the Spanish Metrology Center, a step that the City Council hopes to resolve in time to activate them during June. Cover image | Google Maps In Xataka | In its plan to make Citroën relevant, Stellantis has confirmed the rumors: a new Citroën 2 CV is arriving

Singapore achieves an almost invisible solar cell that generates energy even in the shade

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The windows of a car parked in the sun or the lenses of smart glasses can be future charging points for a battery. And the technology has already reached that point thanks to scientists from the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore (NTU) who have just published in ACS Energy Letters a new type of transparent, ultra-thin solar cell based on perovskite, a semiconductor material with compositional versatility that conventional silicon cannot match. In short. The team, led by Associate Professor Annalisa Brunohas managed to manufacture cells just 10 nanometers thick. To have an even greater dimension: a human hair measures about 70,000 nanometers, that is, if that hair were the Eiffel Tower, this film would be a sheet of paper placed next to it. However, there is an even more revealing piece of information from the study, since the natural roughness of the surface on which the cell is deposited—about 2.8 nanometers according to microscopy measurements of the paper itself—represents almost a third of its total thickness. But the milestone is not in its form. The real paradigm shift proposed by this technology is the end of exclusive dependence on direct sun. Unlike conventional silicon panels, these perovskite devices generate electricity under indirect light and diffuse light conditions, making them especially useful in high-density urban environments where vertical facades and frequent cloud cover limit direct solar exposure. “Buildings consume about 40% of the world’s energy, so we urgently need technologies that turn their facades into energy generators,” explains Bruno. According to the team’s initial calculations, if we covered the glass façade of a large skyscraper (such as those in the Marina Bay financial district) with this technology, we could theoretically generate hundreds of megawatt-hours per year. We are talking about covering the annual consumption of about 100 four-bedroom apartments. These are preliminary figures, of course, but the potential is there. The secret is in evaporation. How do you keep a window looking like a window while generating energy? The answer is that these cells are semitransparent and neutral in color, with no apparent dye that reveals their presence. To manufacture them, the team used a vacuum thermal evaporation process: the base materials are heated in a vacuum chamber until they evaporate and are deposited on a surface forming an ultrathin and uniform film. Without toxic solvents, without the usual defects of solution methods. What distinguishes this work from previous attempts — and there have been many, the study compares its results to decades of studies — is that it is the first time ultrathin perovskite cells have been made using entirely vacuum processes, from start to finish. That is not a minor detail because vacuum processes are already used by the large-scale semiconductor industry, which considerably shortens the path to industrial manufacturing. The data, but with nuances. Let’s get to the numbers, which is where this technology really comes into its own. In their completely opaque versions, these sheets manage to transform 7%, 11% and 12% of the light they receive into energy, using minimum thicknesses of 10, 30 and 60 nanometers. What if we want the window to remain a window? The 60 nanometer semi-transparent model allows 41% of visible light to pass through and maintains a non-negligible efficiency of 7.6%. According to the researchers, it is the best that has been seen to date with this type of materials But here the real tension of this type of engineering appears: the more transparent, the less efficient. The study identifies the 30 nm cell as the one that best balances both variables—it has the highest potential for combined light utilization efficiency—but allows less visible light to pass through than the 60 nm cell. There is no perfect solution; There is a compromise that each application will have to negotiate according to its priorities. But what about stability? This is where any perovskite technology has to prove its maturity. The data from the study itself shows that 100 nm cells last projected for about 15,400 hours before degrading to 80% of their initial performance. The 60 nm ones, 5,800 hours. The 10 nm ones, 4,100 hours. These are figures that speak of a laboratory, not of a window exposed to rain, temperature changes and years of use. Professor Sam Stranks, from the University of Cambridge, sums it up precisely in a separate commentary on the study– The balance between transparency and generation is promising, but the next critical tests will be long-term stability, durability and performance on large surfaces. The roofs are already occupied. The next frontier of urban solar energy is the millions of square meters of glass that cover our buildings, cars and devices, surfaces that until now were passive by definition. The progress of the NTU team, already patented through NTUitive and in conversations with companies to validate the process, points in that direction. There is still a way to go, especially in real durability. But for the first time, that path has an industry-compatible manufacturing method, cells that operate with a fraction of the available light and a thickness that makes the word “invisible” not a marketing metaphor, but a technical description fairly close to reality. Image | ACS Energy Xataka | Coal is back in fashion in many countries. The problem is that it is clouding the sky from the solar panels

We believed that eating with our cell phone in our hand was harmless. Science warns that it is “hacking” our satiety

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Today, a fairly everyday scene is to see how, at meal time, in addition to the plate on the table, there is also the illuminated mobile screen is next to it while playing a TikTok video or an Instagram reel. The habit of eating by doing scroll on social networks, reading news or answering messages has become normalized to the point of becoming invisible. However, scientific literature has been warning for years that this disconnection between the plate and the brain has measurable consequences. The hijacking of satiety. The fact of eating while looking at the mobile screen makes us eat much worse, and this is what is known in the literature as mindless eating, which can be translated as “eating unconsciously.” Something that makes a lot of sense because when we are looking at something that interests us, we don’t even realize what we are putting in our mouths, going into automatic mode. And this is very important, because science is quite clear that the fact of feeling full of food is not something that depends only on the gastric process, but also involves our consciousness. In this way, when we eat while paying attention to something else, we damage the episodic memory of food. in the brain there is no adequate record of the textures, flavors or amount of food that has been put in the mouth. As a result of this “food amnesia”, the signals that indicate that the stomach has become full and that one should stop eating more become blurred. This causes us to eat more at that moment, and also, since we do not have a solid memory of having been full, we tend to eat more calories at lunch or snack. The data. This lack of active attention during eating can be extrapolated to specific figures, and something that has been repeated a lot is that cell phone use can increase caloric intake by 30%. Although this is an extreme limit derived from the sum of several disconnection factors, since studies point to somewhat lower figures. a study published in 2019 showed that eating with a mobile phone increases caloric intake by around 15% compared to people who are completely aware of their food. Furthermore, we do not eat more of everything but rather the nutritional profile worsens by tending towards a noticeably higher intake of fats. In the long term, we have a studio published in 2025 by Kyoto University where regular cell phone use during meals was associated with more marked weight gain in adults. But in the case of adolescents, it is associated with a greater consumption of sugary drinks and a higher BMI attributed to multitasking with the mobile phone. That is why it is best to always eat without any type of distraction that diverts attention from the task at hand, because otherwise there are several risks to our own health. Images | drobotdean in Magnific In Xataka | Eating in front of a screen is not a modern mania: it is the new social ritual

There is a physical limit to what a cell phone camera can do. OPPO is pushing that limit further than anyone else

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Standing out in the mobile showcase is a war that is fought on many fronts at the same time and mobile photography is the most decisive, especially when we enter the super high range with mobile phones that easily exceed 1,000 euros. Until recently, the fight was between the iPhone, the Pixel and the current Galaxy, but things have changed a lot and Chinese companies have advanced to the right. One of those companies is OPPO with its OPPO Find X9 Ultraone of those who is undoubtedly a candidate for the throne of mobile photography. We were in China for the launch of its new flagship, where we were able to visit its new campus in Shenzhen and speak with Jie Liu, Senior Imaging Product Manager at OPPO, who told us more details about the camera. Taking good photos is no longer enough, we want versatility We are at a point where any mobile phone in this price range takes excellent photos. Quality is presupposed, that’s why the battle has shifted to versatility: offer from an ultra wide angle to a superzoom, maintaining uniform quality throughout the range. The OPPO Find X9 Ultra has a 200 megapixel main sensor that allows us, through cropping, to simulate a 2x zoom. It is accompanied by a telephoto lens of another 200 megapixels that is equivalent to a 3x zoom and, again, by cropping it allows us to simulate a 6x. And the big news: a third 50 megapixel sensor equivalent to a 10x optical zoom or 230 millimeters. Of course you can’t miss the ultra wide angle (0.6x), which also in this generation increases the size of the sensor to improve quality. Left: 1x main sensor. Right: 10x telephoto One of the things that caught our attention is how they have integrated a telephoto with that focal length into the body of a mobile phone since, although the camera module protrudes quite a bit from the chassis, it is still not enough for such a long zoom. Jie told us that “to make the module small enough we used a telescope structure, with a new technology called quintuple reflection. This configuration reduces the physical length of the system while maintaining the focal length.” This is the structure of the 10x telephoto. Image: OPPO It is a structure of different prisms that reflects light five times until it reaches the sensor. The problem with this is that the light must travel a longer distance, which results in images with more noise and lower luminosity (the aperture is equivalent to f/3.5). “We have used technologies to reduce the noise caused by these multiple reflections, such as a layer of air between the prisms that reduces noise and loss.” The Teleconverter Claim OPPO has already started the path of teleconverters with the OPPO Find X9 Pro and raise the bar with the Ultra model. This is a photography kit that is sold separately and includes a 300 millimeter objective which attaches to the mobile phone thanks to a special case that also has a handle. It is a strategy copied from the one that Vivo has followed, first with the Vivo X300 Pro and then with him Vivo X300 Ultra (both companies belong to the same parent company, BBK Electronics). When we attach the teleconverter, we can take spectacular photos from very far away, with stunning bokeh that we can only achieve with a lens of these characteristics. This lens is attached to the 200 megapixel telephoto lens, so we can do the cropping “trick” again to achieve a 30x zoom, equivalent to 690 millimeters. The results speak for themselves: Photo with the teleconverter at 690mm or 30x At the moment, OPPO has launched two teleconverters, 200 millimeters in the Pro model and 300 millimeters in the Ultra, two fixed focals. The problem is that they only work with the model with which they were launched, meaning that we cannot use the 200 millimeter teleconverter of the Pro in the Ultra. During the meeting, we asked Jie Liu if the brand has considered launching more lenses in order to expand the range of available focal lengths, and even if there is the possibility of launching a lens with a variable focal length, for example a 200-400 millimeters: “It is a good suggestion and it is our direction of evolution, but this entails many technical obstacles. The solution we have now is temporary to ensure image quality, adding new focal lengths is a consideration for the future.” Teleconverter 300 mm or 13x OPPO wants to replicate in a mobile phone the focal versatility that any camera user takes for granted. The problem is that, although they have managed to integrate a 10x telephoto, the chassis of a phone has physical limits and there comes a point where no more optics can fit inside; andThe natural step is to complement with accessories. While its competition continues to depend exclusively on the integrated sensor, OPPO is already building that ecosystem, although still quite timidly. The photographic kit works more as an attraction, a “look what we know how to do”, and not so much as an accessory for the general public. The OPPO Find look what we know how to doand not so much as an accessory for the general public. The soul of photography Until recently, many Chinese phones suffered from overly aggressive and artificial image processing, but that is changing. One of the things I liked most about the OPPO Find X9 Ultra camera is the image processing, quite natural and realistic in general. Of course, there is AI processing, but Jie told us that it is applied in a controlled manner “always seeking coherent aesthetic results. It is applied to correct unfavorable lighting conditions, reducing artifacts and noise, improving exposure and dynamic range in complex situations.” AI is also used to improve the results of the 10x zoom “to optimize detail and stability.” Portraits are incredible, even at night (taken with 200MP telephoto, 6x). … Read more

There is a product prepared so that we can stop taking our cell phone out of our pocket. The glasses: Crossover 1×44

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We have been wanting to find a replacement for our cell phone for years. We believed that smart watches could be a good alternative, but in reality they have ended up becoming a useful complement, without more. However with the smart and connected glasses things promise to change, especially because it is a product with a very striking formatfeatures that can be truly remarkable and a current state that promises a lot in the short term. The question is whether glasses can process everything that smartphones can do today. They may not be prepared for our current consumption of video or networks – there the mobile touch screen continues to win for the moment – but their possibilities in terms of voice and visual interaction with AI They are very interesting. There is here a first clear challenge with privacy. We already saw how Google Glass could not fight against that stigma, and suspicions have continued to appear with Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The other, that of miniaturization: can technology integrate everything necessary into these glasses that weigh just 50 grams to ensure that the experience and performance achieve their results? What we have seen seems to point to yes -the chinese manufacturers They are surprising a lot in this area—but we will have to see how it advances quickly. We talk about all this in this new episode of Crossover, so we hope you enjoy it and find it interesting. On YouTube | Crossover In Xataka | Going to an exam with AI glasses and passing it by cheating is now possible. And Valencia wants to avoid it

Sterilize your cell phone in the dishwasher and eat steaks that last 10 days in the refrigerator: Haier redefines household appliances

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It would never have occurred to me to put a cell phone in a dishwasher, but that is just one of the things he proposed to us. Haier at a press event yesterday in Madrid. It sounds crazy, but it is not, and it joins other surprising and above all very practical ideas with which this manufacturer surprised us. Be careful, household appliances can also be eye-catching technological products. The dishwasher that looks like an operating room. One of the stars of the Haier catalog is the I-Pro Shine Series 7 dishwasher, a dishwasher equipped with technology Biovitae. This system uses visible light of multiple frequencies to sterilize without the need for water or extreme temperatures. dry sterilization. The “dry” program is designed specifically for those objects that we constantly touch such as cell phones, keys or the TV remote, eliminating bacteria and viruses in a cycle that before it was unthinkable and that it was more typical of operating rooms or dental clinics. For these segments, so-called autoclaves based on high-pressure water and high temperatures are used to achieve this sterilization, but the Haier dishwasher takes advantage of this unique technology. Three drums, one wash. While the dishwasher takes care of our devices, the Candy Multiwash solves the traditional logistical puzzle that many have with the washing machine and clothes. Integra three independent drums on a single chassis and allows the 10kg cycle to be used on the main drum for daily laundry while, simultaneously, two small onekg drums handle silk or baby clothes by UV sterilizing them. This appliance is capable of managing water, energy and detergent in the three drums independently and you can activate one, two or all three at the same time. This washing machine is now somewhat larger than the conventional standard of 60 cm, but they are already working on a model of this size to launch at the end of the year. Three better than one. Haier vacuum cleaners arrive. The firm enters the hyper-competitive vacuum cleaner segment for the first time and does so by attacking the floor cleaning market, until now dominated by robotics specialists. Its ace in the hole is Double Roller, a technology that replaces the traditional roller with two synchronized cylinders that rotate in opposite directions. The Z5 model is a wet&dry system that reaches 25,000 pascals of suction and is capable of cleaning and drying its own roller with water at 74º to prevent the proliferation of mold. There are also new robot vacuum cleaners like the v3, which is a wireless model for cleaning and disinfecting mattresses. My refrigerator is bigger than yours. The Cube 90 Water Tank Auto Ice refrigerator solves one of the big problems when installing American models in Spain: plumbing installation. It has a capacity of 706 liters, and incorporates an internal tank for the water dispenser and automatic ice production, eliminating the need to connect tubes to the general network of our house. This makes it possible to place the multi-door refrigerator in any corner of the kitchen. This model maintains the ABT Pro technology to eliminate 99.9% of bacteria, but the efficiency also rises to category C, something that represents notable energy savings. Or what is the same: a more affordable electricity bill. Magnetic fields for steaks. Every year on average a European citizen wastes 130 kg of food, but Haier has proposed a really striking solution to mitigate the problem. It is about NutriBanka technology with Haier’s own patent that, through the application of a harmless electromagnetic field, is capable of preserving the texture and nutrients of meat and fish at zero degrees without freezing them. According to the company, this system keeps 95% of the nutrients intact after ten days, so one can buy these products and keep them much longer without freezing before consuming them. This is not just about preserving, but about taking advantage of a financial tool to protect that part of the purchase that we usually spend on meat and fish. Dry pants, wet pockets? Anymore. The new Horizon range washer and dryer tower reduces the height to 160 cm so that the screen is much more accessible, but the real innovation is inside. Unlike the conventional dryers that use contact sensors, this model employs a “3D humidity scanner.” It is able to detect if the pocket of thick pants is still wet even if the surface appears dry, adjusting the drying cycle in real time. In addition, the dryer intelligently preheats 15 minutes before the end of the wash to save time and energy. I’ll tend when I can. The dryer also has symmetrical rotation, which allows drying to be active in both directions, and has another striking practical improvement: when one finishes doing the washing machine, one usually has to hang it up immediately to avoid or minimize wrinkles, but this washing machine has a system that keeps the clothes spinning and that “ventilates” them for up to 12 hours after finishing the washing cycle so that we can take them out at any time as if that cycle had just ended. Ovens that puncture food. in the ovens Series 4 Flesh Flavor Steam Air tanks of up to one liter are used to inject steam precisely depending on the type of food. Some models have the Preci Probe thermal probe that can accurately monitor the internal temperature of the dish and adjust the heat applied to ensure that the exterior is crispy and the interior is hydrated. The hON application, which already connects millions of Haier devices, is capable of notifying when the food reaches the exact point. In Xataka | The Dishwasher Door Problem: What Manufacturers Recommend to Do When the Wash Cycle Ends

The world will run out of memory for AI chips until 2027. And cell phones and cars are already paying the price

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The big bottleneck in the artificial intelligence industry has nothing to do with AI models, GPUs, or data centers. It has to do with memory, and for months we are immersed in a crisis of which now the manufacturers give us more information. Three companies—Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron—control 90% of global production, but current estimates indicate that between the three They can only cover about 60% of expected demand through 2027. That’s terrible news not only for AI, but also for everything non-AI. The era of memory scarcity. These three manufacturers have prioritized HBM production for AI accelerators because these memories leave better margins. The direct consequence is the shortage of DRAM memories, which are used in PCs and mobile phones, and since October 2025 we have seen how this market has skyrocketed in price. Betting everything on one segment has left the other dangerously neglected. Samsung will have new factories. According to indicate In Nikkei, Samsung plans to launch its fourth memory manufacturing plant in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, in 2026, although mass production will not begin until 2027 or later. Furthermore, not only memories will be manufactured in that plant. There is a fifth plant under construction on that same technology campus, but it will be dedicated to HBM chips and will not begin operating until at least 2028. The South Korean giant has another ace up its sleeve: the United States. HBM to power. SK Hynix is ​​the only one of the three that has a concrete supply improvement for 2026, because it has already started manufacturing HBM chips at its Cheongju plant in February. It is also accelerating construction of a plant in Yongin, near Seoul, with the goal of completing it by February 2027. Micron also asks for patience. Meanwhile, Micron, the American company, has the goal of starting production of HBM chips in Idaho and Singapore in 2027, and will build a factory in Hiroshima that will theoretically come into operation in 2028. It has also just purchased a plant in Taiwan from Powechip, but the chips that come out of it will not be available before the second half of 2027. This is not enough. The consulting firm Counterpoint Reserach estimates that in order to resolve the current DRAM crisis, an industry-wide production increase of 12% annually until 2027 would be required. However, current plans add up to a growth of 7.5%, which makes it clear that these expansions by these three manufacturers are not enough. For Counterpoint analysts, the consequence is clear: the balance between supply and demand will not be normalized until 2028. SK Hynix is ​​already talking about supply limitations for AI chips could last until 2030, and the truth is that all the forecasts only confirm that this problem will still last for years. We consumers pay the price. Memory is an absolutely transversal product that is everywhere. 80-90% of current memory chips go to computers, mobile phones and servers, and the rest to cars and industrial equipment. The most direct impact is already in the mobile market entry-level: memory already represented 20% of the manufacturing bill for one of these smartphones, but that figure is expected to reach 40% by mid-2026. That gives manufacturers few (or no) options, which will impact that cost on the price of these devices. And so with everything. IDC esteem that mobile sales will fall by 13% in 2026 due to this circumstance. The danger of cycles. The memory industry has a history of cycles in which the rise and fall of memory prices is traditional. In 2023 there was a collapse in prices after post-pandemic demand for PCs faded. Several manufacturers recorded historic losses, and learned the lesson of overproducing to meet demand. Now that we need more production, manufacturers are being much more cautious when it comes to increasing their production or investing in new factories. For them, by the way, the crisis is going great: Samsung has earned in three months of 2026 what it earned in all of 2025. China to the rescue. Although South Korea and the United States dominate global memory production, there are several Chinese manufacturers that are gradually gaining relevance. YMTC and CXMT They have been growing significantly in production for some time and that is making now have a golden opportunity to gain market share over competitors that they seemed unattainable. Image | Liam Briese In Xataka | The situation with RAM prices is so desperate that there are already those who build their own memory at home

Our brain is “rotting” based on infinite scrolling. Someone has left their cell phone for 14 days to see if there is a way back

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Today it is a reality that most of us live glued to a screen, and this is something that is documented in studies that point out, for example, that on average we review an average of 200 times the phone throughout the day, which is equivalent to looking at it approximately every five minutes. In fact, 46% of users consider themselves “dependent” on the device and 53% say they have never spent more than 24 hours without it. But what really happens in our heads if we decide to cut corners and return to the analog era? A test. To answer this question, CNN journalist Bill Weir decided to test this premise to commemorate Apple’s 50th anniversary. In this way, for 14 days Weir kept his iPhone in a box and replaced it with a basic phone like the ones we had 15 years ago, with which we could only send SMS with a non-touch keyboard and a low-resolution camera. From here the sensations he had were observed, but a group of scientists behind him were also monitoring his brain through brain scans. The results. After two weeks of disconnection, the journalist’s reaction times improved by 23%, and his brain activity also increased significantly, causing his brain connectivity to become more coordinated and organized. Subjectively, Weir experienced a much better recovery in his ability to concentrate and also noted a sharp decrease in the need to consume social media after the first week. The changes. It is no coincidence that the term “brain rot”, translated as brain rot, was crowned the neologism of the year in 2024 for the Oxford dictionary, since it is a concept closely linked to be swiping all the time with your mobile. And clearly the excessive use of smartphones and all the applications they contain is leaving a physical mark on our brain anatomy. It’s proven. MRI-based research, including a National Library of Medicine publication in 2023, they point out that problematic smartphone use is associated with a reduction in gray matter in the brain. And if we go into something more specific, it was seen that there was a smaller volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, the orbitofrontal cortex, the fusiform gyrus and the striatum. These areas are fundamental for emotional regulation, decision making and impulse control, making these alterations similar to those observed in addictions to harmful substances such as drugs. And supported. A study published in 2025 analyzed individuals for 72 hours without a mobile phone using functional magnetic resonance imaging, and the results indicated that withdrawal triggered brain activations identical to those of addictive withdrawal syndromes, followed by notable cognitive improvements. Digital amnesia. Beyond anatomy, our daily cognitive abilities are in free fall, and science suggests that the average attention time before an interruption has gone from about 2.5 minutes to about 47 seconds, blaming the accelerated digital pace here. And the culprit again is the smartphone, since a study published in 2017 analyzed to 520 participants and demonstrated that the simple presence of the smartphone on the table, even face down, consumes and exhausts our cognitive attention resources. This is why we should opt for better control of the time we dedicate to social networks or the smartphone in general, since the benefits of quitting are many. Images | freepik In Xataka | Smartphones are destroying our memories. The big question is whether we should care

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