commitment

Carlos Li, CEO of TCL Europe, on the commitment to giant TVs to conquer the high-end

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TCL is in an enviable moment in the television market. In 2025 managed to sell 20% more TVs while other of its competitors such as Hisense fell. Even Samsung, world leader in sales, fell slightly and the separation with TCL, its most direct rival, is already barely 1% share. The striking thing about this growth of TCL is in which segment it has occurred: the high-end. Nobody dispatches more MiniLED TVs than them right now and giant screens (85 inches or more) take up more than 22% of the global market. ​ The coup de effect was the recent announcement of alliance with Sony. The agreement, which is expected to come into operation in April 2027 at the earliest, is the most eloquent sign of how far a company has come that, until not long ago, was seen as good value for money and that’s it. With all this context, we were able to chat with Carlos Li, CEO of TCL Europe, who explained to us the company’s next steps to continue growing in televisions, but also in other segments such as household appliances. TCL has conquered the market thanks to a very good quality-price ratio and now I suppose the challenge is the high-end segment. What is your strategy to convince the European consumer to invest three or four thousand euros in a TCL X955For example? “We are focused on technology and also on giant screens. We believe that bigger, especially if we want to motivate consumers to return to the living room to watch television more often as a family. It takes a good experience to watch games or movies and differentiate itself from other devices, such as phones or tablets. We simply offer bigger screens and better image and sound quality. For more premium products, we are working on improving the experience, both in audio and video, to create an immersive cinema or gaming environment. That’s it which motivates consumers to pay premium prices to get a better product for their daily use.” Do you see this being a trend across Europe or just in some countries? Is it also happening here in Spain? “Yes, it has been proven and has been very successful in many markets. First years ago in China, and now in the United States, Europe, emerging markets, Latin America and also in the Middle East. We see this trend because, thanks to better products and larger screens, people are buying more televisions than before, especially high-end products with higher prices. We think we are very competitive in that area.” The recent news about the manufacturing deal with Sony has generated a lot of buzz. Beyond the volume of business, do you feel that the fact that a brand as demanding as Sony trusts its subsidiary CSOT serves as a definitive validation of TCL’s engineering and all its experience in this field? “First of all, the possible cooperation between TCL and Sony is still in the phase of a memorandum of understanding (MOU). We are still in the process of migrating from the MOU to a contract, so there are many things under discussion. But the good thing is that both Sony and TCL see the synergy that we can create together due to our capabilities in the industry, especially in the supply chain, R&D, resources in terms of CSOT panels, and our continuous investment in new technological innovations. This creates the synergy. perfect between the two companies for a new joint venture. Everything is still in process, but I think it is good proof that both parties see good added value in the other for the business portfolio.” I know everything is under discussion right now and it may take time to talk things out, but is there a tentative date to operate together? “It is a long-term bet, we are at an early stage and the two companies really need to get involved in the new strategy. There will be contracts later, so we do not expect to have an immediate impact on the market in 2026. It is more of a medium-term impact, like five or ten years.” There is a lot of talk about mini RGB or RGB mini LED as the technology that will surpass OLED and even traditional mini LED. What is TCL’s vision regarding this technology? “We have been developing Mini RGB technology for years, although we did not announce it before. We believe that SQD is a better display technology with better quality in terms of brightness and contrast. In the end, RGB is a type of mini LED TV with red, green and blue, but it has a higher cost because instead of a single LED light, you need to have three. This technology is not new for us, we have been developing it for eight years, which is why we are also launching our RGB mini LED TV. However, along with that, we will strongly push our “SQD because it is a unique technology in the industry, very robust and linked to our CSOT panel technology. For the moment, we reserve the SQD technology exclusively for our TCL brand, which creates a much better image quality compared to a Mini RGB. So the Mini RGB will be just one of the products in our portfolio.” Will they prioritize SQD then? “We believe that SQD will be the main trend for the future. We think it is a better solution as a display technology, which can really surprise the end user while maintaining the original price, and that is why we propose this.” Appliances, glasses and other areas where TCL also wants its piece of cake Carlos Li during the inauguration of the new TCL office in Madrid Many people know TCL for their televisions, but they also have appliances and we are seeing a lot of movement from other manufacturers in this segment. What is TCL’s next move in Europe regarding home appliances? “In home appliances, and together with air conditioners, we are … Read more

Lenovo’s commitment to differentiate itself in a market saturated with chatbots

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Less than a year ago, Lenovo’s AI teams worked in silos, on islands independent of each other. The Motorola engineers did not talk to those of the ThinkPad. Those with the tablets were doing their thing. And the AI ​​experiences that were coming to market “They didn’t look the same, they didn’t communicate with each other, they didn’t use the same technologies“, acknowledges Jeff Snow, Head of AI Product of the company. It was the diagnosis of a company that had arrived late to realize something: having hardware in all segments is of no use if the software does not unite them. The answer was to create the AI ​​Ecosystem Group, a cross-functional organization that Snow describes as the missing piece: “Luca (Luca Rossi, head of the Intelligent Devices Group) said that everything had to be put together. “We took everyone working in AI, from phones to PCs to tablets, and brought them together.” The result has its own name: lenovo Qira, formerly known as Kira during internal development, a layer of intelligence which is beginning to be deployed on more than twenty company devices: ThinkPad, Yoga, Legion, IdeaPad…And that in 2026 it will make the leap to Motorola. The value proposition is seemingly simple, but difficult to execute: that the AI ​​knows who you are, what you are doing and where you are doing it, without that information leaving your devices. “If you use ChatGPT, any interaction you have with it is in the cloud, and that’s very risky. People sometimes don’t realize that if they share personal information with an LLM, that information is free and open in the cloud,” Snow says. Lenovo wants to play on the other side: small models, specific for specific tasks, executed locally. The practical demonstration has some understated magic. You drag a PDF to the Qira icon on your laptop, tell it to remember it, and the system vectorizes the document and indexes it locally. From that moment, you can ask questions about that document from your mobile. The file has never left the PC’s hard drive. “It’s like making a call and asking someone something,” explains Snow. “You only get the answers to what you ask. You haven’t asked him to tell you his entire life at once.” Example mentioned by dragging a file to the Qira icon, in the upper area of ​​the monitor, so that it is vectorized and retains its information so that it can be consulted from another device without leaving the computer disk. Image: Xataka. The document in the previous image being consulted indirectly (through a specific question) from a Motorola. Image: Xataka. This balance between personalization and privacy is the core of Lenovo’s differentiating argument against its competitors. At MWC there were many brands that added AI by pasting a layer of OpenAI or Gemini on top of their interface. Snow puts it forcefully: “We want to be the ones who make AI experiences feel native on devices, not just an app that has everything in the cloud.” The bet is that the most useful AI is not the most powerful, but the one that knows the most about you, and that to know about you without betraying you it needs to live where you live: on your hardware. The robot that Lenovo presented at the stand (the AI ​​Work Companion, a physical desktop device with presence and audio sensors) illustrates how far they want to take this concept of ‘ambient AI’. The AI ​​Work Companion robot can project an image, capture what we physically write down on it, outside the monitor; and then print both the image and the annotations. Among other things. Image: Xataka, Snow is the first to acknowledge that the device itself is a prototype. “The important thing is not the device, but the sensors and the proactive nature it has,” he clarifies. The robot detects when two people are talking and can offer to take notes without being asked. He sees that someone has taken a pen and is drawing something, and asks if he wants to save that sketch. It is an AI that observes the context instead of waiting for instructions. There is, in fact, the direction towards which the entire strategy points: agentic AI. Snow defines it as the state they want to reach with Qira: a system that not only answers questions, but understands a user’s patterns (what they research, what they buy, what they are interested in) and acts autonomously on their behalf. “If you are a student, you will have different issues than if you are a mother taking care of her family. Based on interactions, you understand the issues and build agents that help you in a more autonomous way.” It is a vision that sounds familiar because it is the one that is being sold, with different nuances, by practically all the players in the sector. The difference is that Lenovo comes into this race with an advantage that OpenAI and Anthropic don’t have: a gigantic installed base of heterogeneous hardware.. PCs, laptops, tablets, Motorola phones, wearables… If you get that Qira truly work seamlessly across all those devices (Windows and Android, x86 and ARM, on-premises and cloud) you will have built something that your pure software competitors can’t easily replicate. The risk, of course, is that “if he succeeds” is a very loaded conditional. The history of the sector is full of ecosystems promised and never delivered. For now, Qira is beginning to be deployed in six languages ​​and nine regions, with Spanish among them, and integration with Motorola is still a promise for the coming months. Snow talks about foundation, starting point, direction. Great AI stories always have that structure: we are building something that doesn’t quite exist yet, but in whose direction it is worth believing. What does already exist is competitive pressure. At MWC 2026, the framework of the interview with Snow, AI stopped being differential and became mandatory. Each manufacturer has his cape, his assistant, his … Read more

This is DLSS 5 and its commitment to neural rendering

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If you play on PC, it is very likely that you have already come across three letters that are increasingly repeated in the graphic settings of games: DLSS. In recent years, this NVIDIA technology has become one of the pieces that best explains why GeForce cards can offer more performance or more resolution without requiring the same effort from the hardware. Now the company has decided to go one step further. Within the framework of GTC 2026, it has presented DLSS 5, a new evolution of its technology that, as explainednot only seeks to improve performance or image rescaling, but also transform how the final image is generated on screen using what it describes as a real-time neural rendering model. The advertisement. DLSS 5 goes one step further than what we have seen so far in this family of technologies. The company describes this new version as a neural rendering model that adds photorealistic lighting and materials to the scene. To achieve this, the system analyzes the data generated by the game itself in each frame, such as color and motion vectors, and applies a trained artificial intelligence model to understand the semantics of the scene. This training allows the system to interpret complex elements, from the behavior of light on hair or fabrics to effects such as light scattering on the skin, while maintaining the original structure of the game’s 3D world. A change of focus in DLSS. Until now the conversation around this technology has almost always focused on performance. The usual thing was to activate it to gain frames per second or to be able to play at higher resolutions without demanding so much from the GPU. With the announcement of DLSS 5, NVIDIA introduces a different nuance. The company explains that its new neural rendering model is not limited to reconstructing the image generated by the game, but can modify its visual appearance by incorporating more complex lighting and materials, with the intention of bringing real-time graphics closer to a level of fidelity that was traditionally associated with cinema visual effects. The role of AI. The DLSS 5 proposal is based on an artificial intelligence model trained to interpret the semantics of the scene that appears on the screen. NVIDIA explains that the system takes as input the color and motion vectors of each frame and, from there, generates lighting and materials that remain stable between frames and are anchored to the game’s original 3D data. This training allows the model to recognize complex elements of the scene, from the interaction of light with hair or fabrics to effects such as light scattering on the skin. At the same time, the company points out that developers can adjust parameters such as intensity, color grading or the areas where these improvements are applied, and maintains that all of this can be executed in real time up to 4K. The big question. If you follow NVIDIA news closely, it is likely that this announcement has raised an immediate doubt in your mind. Let us remember that DLSS 4.5 was presented at this year’s CES. Now, shortly after, DLSS 5 appears. What we see here is not necessarily an immediate replacement, but rather a new commitment by NVIDIA to take its graphics technology to another field. Regarding the calendar, NVIDIA places the initial deployment of DLSS 5 in autumn 2026. The company assures that the technology will have the support of several large studios and publishers in the sector. Images | NVIDIA In Xataka | If the question is “how does Nintendo make money” the answer is not video games: it is a much more ambitious emporium

36 new models until 2030, more electrification and a commitment to new markets

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Renault will present all the details in an event that can be followed online in the morning, but it has already confirmed its new future plan, its name and its objectives. The company was complying with the schedule with Renaulutiona project that Luca de Meo devised upon his arrival with the clear objective of renewing the range, making it more attractive and presenting new electric cars that could attract the public for more than just their own technology. With the departure of Luca de Meo, François Provost, CEO of Renault Group, wanted to mark his line for the future and today presents futuREAdy, the company’s new strategic plan. Bigger, much bigger Growth. The new strategic plan of the Renault group is based on that word. In a press release sent by the company, they define futuREAdy as a project that is based on four pillars: Growth-ready: 36 new models by 2030. Tech-ready: Accelerate “all key technologies” (Renault has been defending a multi-energy future and not just electric) Excellence-ready: improve the competitiveness of the company by seeking better results and operational performance. Trust-ready: commitment to the distribution network and worker maintenance plan The plan proposal is ambitious. Renault talks about wanting to become “the leading European car manufacturer on a global scale”, based on the four areas above. Growth-ready The first point that Renault wanted to insist on is its product offensive for the coming years. Taking advantage of the three brands of their group, they want to put 22 new models on the market in Europe, of which 16 will be completely electric. In addition, they want to expand the bet with another 14 models on an international scale. It must be taken into account that the company has already announced models with a clear premium focus to compete outside Europe, in markets such as South Korea and the Middle East or Mexico. To do this, they foresee a roadmap that is based on its three brands: Renault: they aspire to launch 12 new products in Europe, maintaining hybrid options beyond 2030 but with a 100% electric offer with a new platform. Another 14 cars will be launched outside Europe with the aim that by 2030 the brand will sell more than two million cars (half outside Europe) of which 100% will be electrified on our continent to a greater or lesser extent and 50% of sales outside Europe. Dacia: the commitment to “the most competitive product combining price, cost and value for the customer” is maintained. Its electrification is accelerating, with two-thirds of the proposal electrified by 2030. Efforts will continue to be made for the C segment and for 4×4 and gas-powered vehicles. 25% of its cars will be electric from 2030. Alpine: A new generation of the A110 based on the Alpine Performance Platform (APP) will be launched. They aspire to attract new customers with the Alpine A290 and A390 but they will also keep the Alpine A100 R Ultime alive, which they will take advantage of to put limited series on the market with greater exclusivity and customization. They also point out that the objective is to improve the customer experience by making greater efforts throughout the entire product life cycle, from purchase, financing and after-sales service. The goal: a loyalty rate of 80% in 2030. Tech-Ready Renault has been one of the companies that has insisted the most on keeping hybrid technologies alivecombustion engines and the commitment to parallel alternatives such as hydrogen or LPG, beyond the mandatory European electrification. In this sense, its partnership with Geely and the Horse co-brand They are being key to the development of new engines and hybrid schemes. Among the objectives, they point out a new generation of electric vehicles in the C segment as a clear priority. The company has based its strategy until now on smaller vehicles, with the launch of the new Renault Twingo, Renault 5 and Renault 4. Now, the objective is to make the leap to a higher level and they will do it with the new RGEV Medium 2.0 electric platform. This platform will arrive with 800 volt architecture and “fast charging of up to 10 minutes by 2030”, although they do not clarify charging powers. They hope that it can cover cars from the B+ segment to the D segment and saloon, SUV and minivan bodies. They will use a “cell-to-body” design in which the battery cells themselves are attached to the chassis. This allows greater autonomy and the use of fewer parts. They believe that they will be able to put options on the market with 750 kilometers of electric autonomy according to the WLTP cycle and up to 1,400 kilometers in extended range versions with emissions less than 25 gr/km of CO2, what will be key from 2030. These cars capable of charging “in 10 minutes” will do so with chemical batteries with higher energy density. On the contrary, the most affordable versions will opt for 400-volt architectures, with 20-minute charges in 2030, designed for the AB segment. The electric motors will use a wound rotor without rare earths that aim to improve consumption by 20%, one of the points with which Renault has suffered the most in the first electric cars that it has launched on the market. These developments will be made in Europe and for Europe. This platform will take advantage of Google technology to be the digital heart of the vehicle. Renault assures that they will have the first carOS, “the operating system for vehicles, co-developed with Google’s partner, based on Android.” This development will not only remain in the infotainment system, it will also reach the ADAS and chassis modes to improve automated driving functions. This entire electric strategy will be supported by hybrid technology, with versions of less than 150 HP starting in 2030 focused on a non-European audience. Excellence-Ready The other great leap that Renault aspires to is the improvement of its production systems to achieve better operational results. Renault talks about … Read more

25 million dollars and a commitment to Greenland

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Ironies of history, it is more likely that Donald Trump’s wish incorporating Greenland into the United States will be more surprising to us, the citizens of 2026, than to those of a century ago. The reason: by then Americans and Danes were more than used to reading news about the sale of overseas territory from the European kingdom to Washington. Of course, more than a century ago the focus was not on Greenland, but on much warmer waters and with a strategic value that the Arctic island completely lacked at that time. The land in dispute was Virgin Islands. Nothing new under the sun. The protagonists, the context, even the tone change, but not the background. Although the Europeans of 2026 will be shocked expansionist plans of Trump and his desire to seize Greenland from Denmark (well through a “purchase”pulling a checkbook, or asserting its military power) the truth is that it is not the first time that both countries have been involved in a dispute for Danish territory to remain under American control. It actually happened not so long agobetween the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, although the focus at that time was on the warm waters of the Caribbean. The Danish Western Islands. To understand it you have to travel to the other end of the Atlantic and go back to late 17th centurywhen Denmark took control of a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Over time its domain extended to the insulas of Saint John, Saint Thomas, Saint Croix and dozens of islets and cays that formed what was called Danish Western Islands. Although the archipelago in question was thousands of kilometers from Copenhagen, for a time its domain represented a lucrative business based on two big legs: slaves and sugar plantations. From good business to heavy burden. That changed over time. In 1848 the territory lived a revolt which ended up leading to the abolition of slavery in the colony, which added to other economic factors (such as the fall in the price of sugar) made the archipelago less attractive. At least in the eyes of the metropolis, which continued to face the costs of its administration. That was the situation when in 1867 the US Secretary of State, William H. Sewardknocked on the door of Denmark interested in the ownership of the islands. A long tug of war. “After the Civil War it was time to consider strategic conditions in the Caribbean and Seward focused on both the annexation of Mexico and possible expansion into the Caribbean,” explains to BBC the historian Hans Christian Berg. In principle, the winds were favorable for Washington: Denmark’s power was declining and the US faced a new stage, convinced that it had to reaffirm its regional power and erase European influence. For a time the pact to acquire the Danish Western Islands seemed to go ahead, crystallizing in a treaty that contemplated the sale in exchange for 7.5 million of dollars in gold. However, both parties were left wanting. The agreement ended up foundering in the US Senate. The reason actually had little (or nothing) to do with the Virgin Islands. The controversy over the recent purchase of Alaska and Seward’s support for the president Andrew Johnson took their toll on the operation with Denmark, which did not achieve the necessary political support. It wouldn’t be the first time. In 1900 both countries signed a new treaty which also went to waste when it did not obtain the endorsement of the Danish Upper House. It took a global conflagration for that to change. The fateful RMS Lusitania. Things changed at the beginning of the 20th century, during the First World War. To be more precise (and as you recognize the US State Department itself) the turning point was the wreck of the RMS Lusitaniaa British ship that was torpedoed by a German U-Boat submarine while traveling from New York to Liverpool. That episode not only influenced American public opinion regarding the First World War, it also made it understand how much was at stake in controlling the Caribbean Sea. “The purchase of the Danish West Indies once again became an important issue in US foreign policy. The president W.Wilson and Secretary of State Lansing feared that the German Government might annex Denmark, in which case the Germans could secure the West Indies as a naval or submarine base from which to launch attacks against shipping in the Caribbean and Atlantic,” explains the US Department of State Archive. By hook or by crook. No sooner said than done. In 1915 Lansing sounded out Denmark to facilitate (once again) the purchase of the Caribbean archipelago. The new attempt did not go down well in the European metropolis, leading Washington to adopt a tone reminiscent of that assumed by Donald Trump today: “Concerned by recent events and Danish reluctance, Lansing suggested that if Denmark was not willing to sell, the US could occupy the islands to avoid their confiscation by Germany,” remember the file. It was enough for Copenhagen to agree to the sale, which crystallized in a treaty signed in New York in August 1916. The agreement received the blessing of the Lower Houses of both countries and months later it was submitted to a Danish plebiscite (note, not in the Danish Virgin Islands, affected by the decision). Once all the procedures were closed and with the approval of Cristian X, the archipelago was under the control of Washington in March 1917. To this day the renowned US Virgin Islands remain a “unincorporated territory” from the USA. 25 million dollars… and something more. In exchange, the US paid Denmark 25 million dollars in gold coins, which would be equivalent, according to Bloomberg estimatesto 630 million today. In the last days there are who has remembered However, another point of the pact signed by Copenhagen and Washington. As remember the BBCthe US promised not to interfere with Denmark extending “its political and economic interests” … Read more

Netflix’s commitment to its Christmas fireplaces is such that it physically records them and already has several themed ones

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It’s not Christmas until they turn on the lights in Vigountil Mariah Carey doesn’t give us permission and until the Netflix fireplaces. What began, in other formats and on other channels, as a programming filler in a difficult time for small channels, has today become a powerful promotional tool. Let’s see what we warm up to this year. This Christmas. Netflix premieres today three hour-long virtual fireplaces set in the universes of ‘Stranger Things‘, ‘Wednesday‘ and ‘The k-pop warriors‘. Three digital chimneys that recreate iconic scenes from the platform’s three indisputable last bombs. A maneuver whose origins at Netflix date back to 2013, when they created ‘Fireplace For Your Home’, a three-hour loop that accumulated millions of views. What started as an alternative for homes without a real fireplace evolved into a holiday tradition. Differentiated experiences. Each of the fireplaces has its particularities, and even, in an attempt to expand the possibilities of the format, Easter eggs. The one from ‘Stranger Things’ includes the iconic wall with the illuminated alphabet that Joyce used to communicate with Will in the first season. There are six easter eggs hidden, from Demogorgons to Steve Harrington’s spiked bat. Particularities. In ‘Wednesday’, the scene is in Principal Weems’ office inside Nevermore Academy. Thing makes a surprise appearance, and all with the series’ original soundtrack. In ‘The K-pop Warriors’ we go to the lair of the demon Gwi-Ma, where the Saja Boys perform their most recognizable song. There will be instrumental versions of songs from the movies, so that the fireplace takes on an authentic karaoke tone. How it was done. Netflix’s Product and Design teams developed these virtual fireplaces with a level of detail unusual for content of this type. According to what they tell us from the platform, the process included recordings in real physical settings instead of depending exclusively on digital effects. According to Netflix, it collaborated with the showrunners of each series to guarantee fidelity to the original narrative universes. Later, digital artists integrated fantastic elements such as the Demogorgons or the violet flames characteristic of the ‘Wednesday’ universe. Therefore, except for these special effects, the fireplace props are authentic, coming from the original sets or recreated with the intention of maintaining aesthetic continuity. Fireplace: Origins. These fireplaces recover a television tradition created in 1970 by the New York network WPIX-TV, which broadcast a virtual fireplace for the first time on December 24 as a Christmas greeting. That 17-second loop, filmed at the New York mayor’s residence with music by Nat King Cole, also allowed the canal workers to celebrate Christmas Eve with their families. After disappearing in the nineties, it returned by popular demand, spawning imitators that marketed VHS and DVD-ROM versions for decades. In Xataka | There is a reason why Vigo is announcing its Christmas in Japan. And it has little to do with Japanese tourists

his commitment to photography

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A few days ago we celebrated Xataka Awards 2025. As always, we reward the best devices of the year and, as almost always, talking about super high-end mobile phones is talking about the current Samsung Galaxy – the S25 Ultra this year – and the corresponding iPhone – the iPhone 17 Pro Max-. In this edition we did not see any surprises in this aspect, but we did see a third place that was won by a brand that had never been among the winners: I live with his Vivo X200 Pro. And much of the credit goes to a camera that my partner Ricardo described as “FUN, with capital letters.” ZEISS is the visible face, behind it there is much more Having placed himself as one of the best phones of the year It is not something that can be achieved overnight, especially in a range as competitive as that of mobile phones over 1,000 euros. Many factors come into play in a segment in which the competition is brutal, but much of the weight of that third place is carried by the camera. The beginning of the Spanish journey in the high range: the X51 5G | Photo: Xataka This is something they have been working on for five years. It was in 2020 when Vivo landed in Spain with the X51 5Ga model that did not stand out for its processor and other technical characteristics, but for itsa very ambitious camera. Angle, wide angle and two telephoto lenses: a 2x portrait lens and a longer one with 5x optical lenses. They have already started flirting with digital 60x. A year later they raised the bar with the Vivo X60 Pro. Better screen, better processor, more RAM and three cameras instead of two, but with something that has accompanied them until today: the collaboration with Zeiss. The alliance with this historic brand of objectives translated into photographic modes, but also into agreements to improve main camera lens (with an anti-reflective treatment, for example). With the X60 Pro the Zeiss label was introduced | Photo: Xataka With the X70 They returned to the four cameras (two of them telephoto lenses) and the big news was the personalized image chip, the Vivo Imaging Chip V1. Of the style of MariSilicon X by OPPOhelped with image processing and, although the marks they have ended up abandoning them because MediaTek and Qualcomm ISPs are enough, it is a sign of the ambition of the Chinese brand. We saw the change of nut with the Vivo X80 Pro. Here they answered the question of “How much technology do we put in this mobile” with a “yes”with a special emphasis on the photographic section. The play was repeated in the X90in it X100 and in this third place of the Xataka Awards, the Vivo X200 Pro. The X80 Pro with its four lenses is still a beast, despite the years | Photo: Xataka Something that all these models have in common is that the Chinese company has focused on photographic capabilities, but without destroying the advances of previous generations. Hardware and, above all, software, have evolved generation after generation. When other companies turn around every generation or two, Vivo has gone a little on his way being, in addition, one of those with the best shooting speed in the Android universe. They have also gone their own way when it comes to processing, a little exaggerated for our taste in certain scenarios, but remaining constant in something that, for many years, was the measuring stick of mobile photography: the portrait. Vivo X200 | Photo: Xataka In the analysis of the X200 Pro we commented that “it is a camera that you can trust to, In practically all situations, you have a good result”, and it is something that could be said of all the high-end Vivos since the brand’s arrival in Spain. Innovation and fun Curiously, the one that has won the award is not the last Vivo. Just after voting closed, two mobile phones with very similar characteristics appeared on the market: the OPPO Find X9 Pro and the Vivo X300 Pro. The two have a similar approach on camera and both will surely give a lot to talk about for next year. The Vivo X200 Ultra was a sign of the company’s emphasis on mobile photography innovation | Photo: Xataka The reason? Their telephoto kits. The one on the Vivo is better resolved because it allows you to use the main sensor – something that the OPPO does not – but the idea is the same: a camera that allows you to attach a telephoto lens that takes advantage of the smartphone’s tele sensor. To achieve a very long focal length, extremely wide camera modules would have to be created, but with this approach, we have a versatile camera always on us and an attachment that we can use whenever we want. “It is a camera that you can trust so that, in practically all situations, you will have a good result” It is an addition, a way to give the user more tools and that They already tried it with the Vivo X200 Ultrabecause the X300 builds on the same as the X200 and lor that Vivo has been building for five years: processed with personality, versatility, filters that really add up and a special focus on portraiture. And, above all, with a word that different editors have used to describe the camera in each of the analyzes of a mobile phone of this brand: Fun. It is what is truly special and differentiating. Because the technical characteristics are extremely similar in phones in the same price range, but it is in the cameras where they allow themselves to provide something that differentiates them from the others. Photos | Xataka In Xataka | We asked eight photographers what their secret is to taking better photos with their mobile. This has been answered

the Franco-Italian commitment to automated nuclear energy

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The growth of artificial intelligence has skyrocketed global electricity consumption and put governments before an urgent question: where will the energy come from to sustain it? In an unorthodox alliance, France and Italy believe they have part of the answer with automated nuclear microreactors. Slow down. At first it sounds very grandiose, but here we are going to unpack it. The French startup NAAREA has announced a strategic partnership with the Italian company Fluid Wire Robotics (FWR), specialized in robotics for extreme environments. The agreement seeks to integrate FWR’s robotic systems in the handling, maintenance and dismantling operations of the XAMR microreactors, that NAAREA has been developing since 2020. According to the official statementthe XAMR is a fourth-generation fast neutron and molten salt reactor, capable of producing 40 megawatts of electricity and 80 megawatts of thermal power. Its particularity is that it works by “burning long-term nuclear waste” from spent fuel from other plants, transforming a storage problem into an energy source. The answer lies in robotics. Fluid Wire has designed a system that allows robotic arms to operate without vulnerable electronic components within radioactive zones. The motors and sensors are located in a remote, armored unit, from where they transmit movement through a hydrostatic system. This prevents radiation from damaging the electronics and allows precise manipulation, with force feedback, even underwater or in temperatures up to 180°C. In addition, the system supports radiation levels of up to 1.5 MGy and can work both in remote mode (controlled by humans) and in automatic mode, with programmed sequences for production or maintenance. Thanks to this, NAAREA will automate key steps in fuel production, carry out robotic inspections and carry out assisted dismantling, reducing the exposure of human personnel to a minimum. One more step of automation. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been promoting the use of drones and robots to improve safety at power plants for years. According to the organizationthese technologies already contribute to reducing risks and increasing efficiency, even in operating plants. The agency has highlighted the development of walking, flying and even aquatic robots that are already used for inspections, emergency response and post-incident evaluation. robotics, experts sayis ceasing to be a promise and becoming an everyday tool in nuclear energy. Japan: an extreme example. Last year, the Telesco robot went in to recover molten fuel from Fukushima reactor 2 for the first time. The operation, directed by TEPCOoffers unprecedented information on the degradation of materials after thirteen years of radiation and residual heat, and confirms the essential role of robotics in environments impossible for humans. Energy for a world hungry for chips. The NAAREA-FWR alliance is also part of an underlying energy crisis. The growth of artificial intelligence and data centers has skyrocketed global electricity consumption. As my colleague’s article warnedgenerative AI systems and training large models require amounts of energy that are already straining power grids in several countries. In this context, nuclear microreactors like those from NAAREA can offer a stable, clean and localized supply alternative, especially for industries with high energy demand – such as data centers or semiconductor production. In fact, in another reportwe detail how companies like Google and Microsoft are exploring agreements with nuclear energy companies to power their AI infrastructures. Atomic energy, previously associated only with giant and military reactors, is being rediscovered as a strategic engine for the new digital revolution. Robots at the service of the atom. For NAAREA, the collaboration with FWR represents a step towards a replicable and safe nuclear industrialization model. The robotic arms designed in Pisa and the microreactors assembled in France could become a symbol of a new era: miniature, autonomous plants, connected to industries or data centers, and maintained by robots that operate where no human could. In a world where artificial intelligence needs more energy than ever — and where humans seek to reduce risks and emissions — the atom is once again the protagonist, but this time with mechanical help. Image | FreePik Xataka | When we thought we had seen all kinds of rehearsals for an invasion, China makes science fiction: robots taking over an island

Spain steps on the accelerator in its particular chip race. And it does so with a total commitment to integrated photonics

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The Council of Ministers has approved the award of 4.4 million euros to the IMDEA Networks institute within the european program of Integrated Photonics. It may not seem like a lot of money compared to the fortunes invested by the technology giants, but be careful: it is the last element of an eye-catching strategy. Fifth successful bidder. The IMDEA Networks institute thus joins four other entities that were awarded last July in the same call. The aid granted by the Government is then matched by the European Union, which causes the budget to double in all cases. Thus, we have: Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO): 23.1 million euros were awarded, it will receive 46.2 million in total Polytechnic University of Valencia: 16.5 million awarded, will receive 33 million in total National Microelectronics Center (CNM): 15 million awarded, total investment of 30 million University of Vigo: 7.5 million euros awarded, 15 million total investment IMDEA Networks Institute: 4.4 million euros awarded, 8.8 million in total 133 million for integrated photonics. With this new award, the Government and the EU will invest a total of 133 million euros to “promote research and development of faster chips with lower energy consumption, thanks to the use of light (photons) instead of electrons.” Integrated photonics? This technology focuses on using photons (light) instead of electrons to transmit and process information within chips. With this it is possible to obtain higher data transmission speeds and lower consumption and heat dissipation. What integrated photonics seeks is to take advantage of optical components (such as lasers, modulators and detectors) with traditional electronic circuits to combine the advantages of both components. Technological sovereignty. Although the figure may seem modest in the context of global mega-investments, it is part of an ambitious strategy focused on the research and development of disruptive technologies. The ultimate objective is to promote a key sector for Spanish economic and digital sovereignty, and here the commitment is total to integrated photonics, which is seen as the future of data processing. The PERTE is still there. The importance of this investment goes beyond research. It is a fundamental pillar for the PERTE of Microelectronics and Semiconductors (PERTE Chip), the strategic plan endowed with more than 12,000 million euros to try to position Spain as a relevant actor in this value chain. This investment is framed not in chip manufacturing, but in scientific capacity and design strategy. The idea is to ensure that Spain has its own talent and technology to develop new generations of components. Competence centers. To those 4.4 million awarded to IMDEA Networks another 3.9 million euros are added to create two competition centers co-financed by Europe through the JU Chips (Joint Undertaking). The ‘PIXSpain Competence Centre’ will receive one million euros and the MicroNanoSpain Competence Center will receive three million. Both will provide Spanish companies in the sector – especially SMEs – with access to technical knowledge and experimentation spaces. To compete with TSMC or NVIDIA, nothing. This is not about Spain going to start creating chip factories that can compete with TSMC, far from it. The idea is not to try to create a Spanish-style NVIDIA either. In both cases the resources needed would be astronomical. What is sought is a leadership position in a niche with high added value, which is photonic interconnection technologies. Goodbye to copper cable. By focusing on integrated photonics, Spain aligns with the work of giants like Intel, TSMC or Ciscowhich have been investing heavily in this technology for some time to solve the challenge of interconnections in data centers. Everything indicates that integrated photonics could end up replacing copper cables in high-speed communications in the next decade. In Xataka | “They lead and AI follows”: seven Spanish universities tell us how they are implementing AI in class

Qualcomm Buy Arduino. It is a striking commitment to the future of the Hardware Open Source

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In a special event held today, Qualcomm has announced the acquisition of Arduino. Although the financial terms of the agreement have not been revealed, those responsible for both companies have made it clear that Arduino will continue to operate independently. We are facing one Singular Qualcomm Bet For Open Source philosophy that they have always defended in Arduino, both in the development of their hardware solutions and that of their software. Careful: It is not the only movement that Qualcomm has made In this sense in recent years. Not only that: although with this Qualcomm agreement it becomes a logical option to offer some of its chips in the future catalog of Arduino solutions, those responsible for this firm have clarified in an online meeting with journalists that this will not change its way of designing their solutions. Thus, they will continue to opt for chips from other manufacturers as they have always done to raise the hardware solutions that best fit their objectives. For Arduino this is a absolute trust vote in his project and philosophy. Qualcomm gives diversification and a gateway to the community of developers, enthusiasts in this segment and that industrial electronics market that can help diversify your business. Arduino, more and more “pro” This agreement also reinforces a increasingly professional orientation and industrial of Arduino’s solutions, a transition that has been in progress for some years and that from the business point of view seemed inevitable. Arduino was born as an academic project and very oriented to electronics enthusiasts. Soon became Referent of the Maker Movement: Limited but easy but easy to use microcontrollers were used, which allowed a large community of developers to adopt its open approach to popularize and boost the development of the development of the development of the development of the development of the developers. Open Source electronics. Little by little, the project was growing and raising its leap to industrial applications. Of its application for rapid prototype creation was passed to the development of 32 -bit chips plates with greater processing and memory capacity that gave maneuver for more ambitious uses. There began to popular models for IoT and connectivity since 2016 began to strengthen the development of models with industrial applications. Own Arduino launched the Arduino Porta family as part of that new “Arduino Pro” division aimed at industrial automation solutions. These new solutions have not made the original spirit disappear: the solutions for the communities of electronic fans continue to renew, and in fact we have with us a first fruit of that acquisition of Arduino by Qualcomm. Arduino one Q: a full -fledged minipc The announcement of this operation has coincided with the launch of a new plaque they have called Arduino one q. We are facing a singular product that represents an important qualitative leap in the Arduino family. And it does it above all because the new Arduino plaque is based on a striking combo. On the one hand, the microcontroller (MCU) STM32U585. On the other, the microprocessor (MPU) Qualcomm Dragonwing QRV2210. This microprocessor that has A CPU Quad-Core with Cortex-A53 nuclei Up to 2.0 GHz, 2/4 GB of RAM, 512 kB of L2 cache, but also an Adreno 702 to 845 MHz monitors and audio devices. This plate allows for example to develop and work with AI applications, making a camera connected to this plate can be used for image and people recognition. To develop all this type of customs solutions It has its appa specifically oriented development environment to create applications in a simple way for these plates. This little minipc is in fact just that: a team that can operate in a totally autonomous way. Although we can use the Arduino one that connected to a laptop or desktop PC to work with this plate, also We can use it as if it were a PC itself. Just connect it to a monitor, keyboard and mouse to interact with your Debian Operating System and with Lab app to develop applications directly in this minipc. We are thus facing a product that makes a remarkable leap in benefits and also maintains the same original principles: both hardware —esquemas and design – and software —app Lab, Cli, Bricks have a GPL3 and MPL license – continue to be Published with Open Source licenses. Qualcomm may have bought Arduino, but the essence of this project that democratized the electronics next to Raspberry and others seems to remain intact. In Xataka | Google believes to have the key to compete with Windows, Linux and macOS in laptops. That key is called Android

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