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The AI ​​microdrama industry is going so fast that the platforms themselves let you create (and monetize) your own series

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The microdrama industry is growing steadily. And of course, those generated by AI grow much faster. So much so that the demand is already leading to the creation of tools that allow the viewer to generate their own programs. The StoReel platform has built a tool designed exactly for that, and it already pays whoever uses it. The results are not yet perfect, but it is inevitable to wonder what will happen when anyone (in theory) can be showrunner. Choose your own microdrama. At the end of June, StoReel presented Canvasa tool that turns a microdrama script into a complete series: characters, settings, voices and editing generated by artificial intelligence from start to finish. The web TheWrap tried it firsthand with a parody of the Prime Video series ‘Off Campus’: four episodes, four days of work and 288 credits ($150) just to generate the characters, with additional payments every time one did not fit the desired look. How things turned out. The result was half convincing, it seemed. There are very competent shots and others with that artificial point that reveals the synthetic actor: strange pauses between phrases, glances that are held too long, some jumps raccord where a character changes position without the camera justifying it… And even with those flaws, StoReel does not sell it as a mere experiment: it has just closed a financing round of 34 million dollars and builds its business model around what it calls PUGC, that is, professional user-generated content. Anyone can produce a series and charge for it if StoReel decides to distribute it. The first successes. The numbers used by the company itself help to understand the bet. Its ‘OMG! My Snowwhite Is a Man’, produced entirely with AI, reached a cost per installation (what the company pays in advertising, crossed with each new download) of $4.63 compared to the usual $8-10 for its live-action series. And its catalog of more than 80 series generated with AI retains 22% more audience after a week than its traditional productions. These are figures from StoReel itself, so you have to take them with a grain of salt, but they perfectly explain why the company prefers to pay its audience rather than expand its staff of scriptwriters. Origins of the micro. Microdrama, one- to two-minute episodes designed to be watched in one go on a mobile phone, is a type of digital content that was born in China under the name duanju and now has been conquering markets outside of Asia for more than a year. Sector figures vary greatly depending on who calculates them. Phylicia Koh, partner at Play Ventures and investor in StoReel, estimates the global market at $14 billion and compares it to the disruption that ‘Roblox’ caused in video games. Axios, on the other hand, calculated that the business outside of China had a turnover of $3 billion in 2025, almost triple that of the previous year. This appetite also explains movements of much larger platforms: Disney+ is going to start experimenting with its own vertical videos to retain an audience that no longer wants to sit for two hours in front of a screen. StoReel, however, goes further: it wants to turn its own audience into a staff of scriptwriters. It’s not the first. StoReel is not the only company that has brought artificial intelligence into the writers’ room. Holywater, the Ukrainian company behind My Drama, launched its own tool more than a year ago: My Muse turns stories from its book catalog into series with the help of models like Midjourney or Runway, but the process is in the hands of filmmakers specialized in AI selected by the company itself. StoReel’s tool boasts even greater openness, although with nuances: the tool refused to generate characters with the exact faces of the ‘Off Campus’ actors when TheWrap asked it to, a limit that StoReel presents as a safeguard against lawsuits over image rights. The system, however, did not raise any objection when the script generated for the experiment reproduced Elle Kennedy’s novel ‘Immune to You’ (third in the saga on which Prime Video is based) almost scene by scene.’ At some point in the process the last name of the author mentioned on screen changed, from Steinbeck to Steinberg, without TheWrap being able to explain whether it was a model error or an attempt to avoid rights problems. In Xataka | One-minute episodes, crazy plots and millions of views: welcome to the era of microdramas

“We fear we are not fast enough to adapt”

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Few companies are putting as much money on the table as Meta in the AI ​​race: it failed miserably with the multiverse, so it changed its goal and directed all its efforts to artificial intelligence. In fact, to win it invested more than 14 billion last year alone of dollars in one operation. However, it is not where I expected. This situation is not to the liking of Mark Zuckerberg, who has been self-critical regarding the pace of advances in agentic AI. What’s happening. The CEO of Meta acknowledged to his staff in an internal meeting last Thursday that the profound restructuring that the company has carried out is not going as well as they thought. The reason? AI agents have progressed as quickly as expected, according to a recording seen by Reuters. Zuckerberg acknowledged that the company’s reorganization had not been as “clean” as he had hoped and that executives misjudged the timing of the changes, intended to fund investments in AI infrastructure and capitalize on efficiency gains from AI-assisted work. This restructuring plan began to take shape at the beginning of the year and at that time, Meta’s main managers had a concern: “Not acting quickly enough to adapt” to the advantages of agentic AI. Why is it important. Because Meta is one of the most aggressive companies when it comes to betting on AI agents as a driver of corporate restructuring, with large layoffs and internal reassignments justified precisely by that transition. That its own CEO publicly admits that results are not coming clearly calls into question the industry’s widespread narrative about the quality and speed of the “agent revolution.” One fact: at this moment big tech companies are spending more than 700 billion dollars. Context. The Meta thing is being a drain: at the beginning of the year it fired 10% of its staff: about 8,000 people said goodbye to the company. Likewise, also relocated 7,000 workers to AI teams. We knew what the objective of this movement was (not very “clean”, in their own words) and now we have discovered its motivation: the fear of managers of being left behind by the competition. The reason for his optimism at the time was an external tool with enormous potential: Anthropic’s Claude Code. In detail. Of those more than $700 billion that big tech companies are investing in AI, Meta plans to invest up to $145 billion in AI infrastructure this year alone. And Zuckerberg predicts that the reward is just around the corner: according to ReutersMeta expects to realize significant benefits from these investments within three to six months. While this arrives, the human layer is dealing with friction: in the upper echelons, with frustration and uncertainty and a rarefied atmosphere in the workforce (some They say they work “in the gulag”) Yes, but. First of all, this is a leak of a recording obtained by Reuters and Meta has not yet made any statements. On the other hand, Mark Zuckerberg recognizes the delay, but remains optimistic about the account it brings him: he maintains that it is a matter of time and continues to defend stratospheric investments. That is to say, despite this attempt at self-criticism towards this way of releasing ballast, there is no going back in spending or strategy. In Xataka | Meta spent at least $14 billion to win the AI ​​race. It’s been a year and it’s still exactly where it was. In Xataka | Meta moves to the other side of the AI ​​counter. You are going from buying computing to selling it Cover | Goal, Unsplash

“When things move fast, people make mistakes and it costs them money”

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Next to the Fiorano track, the small circuit inside the Maranello factory on which Ferrari tests its F1 cars every winter, the noise is deafening. “When things move too fast, people make mistakes,” he explains. Bogdan Botezaturesearch director of bitdefenderone of the largest cybersecurity companies in the world. Botezatu could refer to the sports cars that, right at that moment, are spinning around the circuit without stopping. But he’s actually talking about something else. Last month, Bitdefender released its first Cybersecurity Grand Prix Fan Threat Indexan elaborate study of the risks and threats that spectators of sports around the world, including F1, face every weekend. The purpose of the investigation is simple: to show the multiple tools that hackers have around them to violate the privacy of viewers and, in the most extreme cases, raid their bank account. “Frauds are evolving. Last year, cybercrime had a turnover of around 9 billion (trillion in English) of dollars globally. Of those 9 billion, only 1 billion came from the scamming“explains Botezatu. His index aims to monitor how scams evolve. In the middle of the Soccer World Cupwith millions of viewers glued to their mobile phone screens every day, the phenomenon is more current than ever. Bitdefender, however, focuses on another area: motorsports. For years, the company has collaborated closely with Ferrari, whom it sponsors and offers cybersecurity solutions for its F1 team. This is no small matter: Ferrari, like all other F1 teams, jealously protects its technical findings. Industrial espionage has always been the order of the day in a competitive environment. With Bitdefender, Ferrari aims to limit damage in today’s highly digitalized environment. “If you look at what happens to large companies, they are constantly being attacked by ransomwareintellectual property theft, infiltrations… But they are protected, they have their own cybersecurity teams, they can protect their perimeters, they can service their infrastructure, they have agreements with companies like Bitdefender. They are protected,” Botezatu points out. We are not, he implicitly suggests. “Things at home are fundamentally different,” he continues, “spectators watching F1 or other motor sports don’t have these safety nets, they aren’t even aware of the risks of cybercrime.” When we sit in front of the television to watch an F1 race or a soccer match, we focus on sport. The only problem is that on the other side of the screen there is a army of scammers and hackers trying to take advantage of the show. To take it out at our expense. The range of tools available to scam us is wide. From merchandise from smuggling (fake t-shirts, accessories, jackets, caps; in the case of football teams, t-shirts) to fraud in the purchase of tickets (often with juicy and pompous “last minute” offers), passing through the ecosystems of streaming. Much of Bitdefender’s talk emphasizes this last aspect. How it works The order of the factors is almost always the same: before a big event, such as an F1 GP or a football tournament, there is an uptick in fraud due to illegal tickets, in addition to a growth in fake advertisements. merchandising. During the celebration of the event, the numbers increase exponentially. streaming malicious, in most cases disappearing at the end of the show. After the race or the game, the scam in the form of highlights or surveys that give rise to abuse. “In the case of motorsports, its ecosystems are dominated by speed. You have to sell or buy tickets quickly, you have to find a service streamingyou have to find legitimate stores merchandising. If there are mistakes, they cost money,” Botezatu reasons. “And there is also an emotional investment during the weekends,” he adds, pointing to the impetuous, nervous and effusive aspect of the sports fan. It’s not just about watching an F1 race or a soccer match: you want be part of itso decision making is sometimes conditioned. Bogdan Botezatu. One of the advantages of protecting users during sporting events is that the behavior of cybercriminals is predictable. The scammers They know that the activity is concentrated during the weekends on Telegram or Discord channels and on streaming unofficial. There are suspicious VPNs, aggressive ads, fake subscriptions and a long list of mechanisms to capture our attention and surprise us. Its operation, in the case of streamingis always the same: First there is amplification on social media: Telegram channels, Facebook groups, Discord servers and Reddit discussions. Then direct monetization is sought: unlock payments, force interactions with ads, redirect users, push notifications push. He streaming of the race is secondary. And finally, the infrastructure is disposable: domains that appear and disappear just before and after the race often use the “cc” domain. Another problem identified by Bitdefender is the services of streaming of Android. We talk about applications like Playfy TV and Cricfy TV. According to them, they require installing APKs and are risky. At the same time, all this It is related to the “streaming boxes” offered by Chinese companies, specifically BADBOX 2.0. They put malware on Android, phones, tablets and much more. Its impact is very high, they seek compromise devices before even reaching the consumer. Using this technology we open our devices to the enemy, according to Botezatu, who specifically focuses on this mechanism. He streaming sports is fundamentally based on Discord servers, Telegram channels and communication systems. backup They work by invitation. The references of streaming They are deleted after the races, the servers are migrated and there is a very high link rotation that makes it impossible to chase them or protect against them effectively. For all this, the Bitdefender expert insists, it is very important to be aware of the risks involved. His summary is very simple: if you have to install something, a bad sign. Given the location of the talk, in the heart of a racing circuit, and the orientation of Bitdefender, sponsor of an F1 team, it is natural to suspect that his efforts are aimed at motor sports fans. and your Fan Thread Indexin … Read more

The Government confirms that 90% of main roads already have fast charging nearby

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In recent years, we have seen how Spain has been updated in terms of the number of vehicle chargers. What a good part of them don’t work It’s a different story, but the truth is that infrastructure is taking on a different tone in the country. This same issue is what the Secretary of State for Energy, Joan Groizard, has recently focused on, during the opening of the Electric Vehicle Fair in Madrid (VEM) has taken stock of the state of the charging infrastructure. The data on which it has placed the most emphasis is that nine out of every ten kilometers of the main road network already have a charging point of at least 100 kW less than 60 kilometers away. Why does this data matter? The European Union approved the AFIR regulation (Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation) to force member countries to ensure that their main transport corridors have high-power chargers at sufficient distances. The specific objective for 2030 is for there to be points of at least 150 kW every 60 kilometers on these roads. What has confirmed Groizard is that Spain is already close to that threshold in coverage, although there is still room to reach the power required by European regulations. Moves Corridors. The main tool to achieve these objectives is the program Moves Corridorspromoted by the Ministry for the Ecological Transition. On June 3, the IDAE published the definitive resolution proposal of its first call: 337 fast and ultra-fast charging projects, with powers of at least 150 kW, will receive just over 97 million euros in public aid, of the 200 million that the program had allocated. The remaining amount (more than 102 million euros) will be added to other items planned to finance a second call, expected in 2027, according to Administration sources. consulted by La Tribuna de Automoción. Shadow areas. The selection criterion for the projects in this first call has not been to install chargers where there was already infrastructure, but rather The so-called “shadow areas” have been prioritizedstretches where there were hardly any alternatives for those traveling by electric. And the problem with the charging network in Spain is not the points that there are in total, but in which places they were positioned. Accumulating chargers in large cities does not solve a long trip in the rest of the country. The market is also changing sides. Groizard also took advantage of his intervention at the fair to highlight the number of registrations last May. According to ANFAC data (Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers), diesel reached just 3.7% of sales, while pure electric cars reached 11%, a historical monthly record in Spain. Adding plug-in hybrids, electrification already exceeds 20% of the market. “The excuse of recharging has its days numbered,” warned Groizard. There are currently more than 55,000 public charging points in operation (more than gas stations in Spain). Of course, 69% of all of them It is made up of slow chargers with up to 22kW of power. The remaining 31% looks like this: 2,253 charging points between 22 and 50kW. 9,015 charging points between 50 and 150 kW. 3,206 charging points between 150 and 250 kW. 2,469 points of 250kW or more. Which still doesn’t quite add up. The progress in coverage is real, but the state of the network still has cracks. And it is that according to the organization’s data As of the first quarter of 2026, more than 17,000 charging points were still out of service, 24% of the total. The causes range from breakdowns to installed points that are not yet connected to the network. Communities such as the Balearic Islands (45.5% of inoperative points) or Galicia (39.5%) have the worst records. What’s coming now? According to share from La Tribuna de Automoción, in the coming weeks, the Ministry for the Ecological Transition will submit to public consultation the National Action Framework (MAN), a document that will take stock of the state of the charging infrastructure at the end of 2025 and will set the roadmap for 2026 and 2027, including the next call for Moves Corredores. It will also be the first official and updated photograph of where Spain really is in this deployment. Cover image | Andrew Roberts In Xataka | In February, historic rains broke the roads. Málaga has just received the go-ahead to repair the A-7 and A-45

“Neither jogging nor walking fast, just taking a grandpa walk five days a week will burn 78,000 calories a year”

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He has put words to it Hector Leiro in it podcast from ADH Fitness Talks, but the numbers are clear and solid. It is true that caloric expenditure is somewhat inflated and that the annual count somewhat distorts its real impact. However, the underlying message is good: in exercise, consistency is better than intensity. So we’ve asked ourselves, are we valuing walking less than we should? What do the coaches say? Leiro’s message was quite clear and sensible: “I’m not saying jogging or walking fast, but taking a grandpa walk five days a week (…) that translates into 78,000 calories a year, or what is the same, ten kilos of fat.” “The important thing is to build the habit. Not (…) a superhuman effort, it is a habit.” In the same line, insisted the fitness instructor Susane Pata in Infobae that “walking 30 minutes seven days a week generates 700–1,400 kcal per week.” And what do the figures say? To begin with, the accounts are a little inflated if we take into account that energy expenditure not only takes into account intensity and time, but also weight. The more weight, the more expense. This, translated into manageable figures, means that for a 70 kilo person, an hour of “grandfather’s walk” produces an expenditure of between 140 and 200 calories. It is far from the 300-350 that Leiro manages to reach 78,000. To achieve that we would have to go at a more intense pace or weigh more (about 120 kilos). These are estimates, of course, but it allows us to get an idea of ​​what exactly we are talking about. But let’s admit 78,000 calories, what does that mean? Not too much, really. If we look at it in perspective, we are talking about something like three pieces of fruit a day. By “annualizing” it, the expense appears larger than it really is. It is not a problem in itself, of course: as with the famous milestone of 10,000 steps a day, they are ’round’ figures that help guide goals (as long as we know that they are not ‘exactly’ true). Okay, but 78,000 calories are 78,000 calories. “We’ll lose some weight, right?” And the answer is curious. The problem is that the body is not a piggy bank. The Hadza, an indigenous people of about 1,300 people living in northern Tanzania, They do not burn more calories than any Western office worker despite walking 12 km a day. It is a good example because they are one of the last hunter-gatherer societies left in the world and they allow us to get a different idea of ​​what we are talking about. 78,000 calories a year continuously does not translate into 10 kilos of fat. It is true that in certain contexts it could happen, of course. But stating it cheerfully can generate excessive expectations. So, why walk daily? Because weight is not the only (nor the most important) thing that is gained through the practice of andurrear. And walking daily improves cardiovascular health, glycemic control, bone density, mood and reduces mortality. As I said at the beginning, consistency matters more than intensity. And that is an excellent message. Image | Juliane Liebermann In Xataka | Twenty years ago, researchers got a group of young women to walk together. And they discovered something unexpected

The advanced chip business is growing so fast that it cannot keep up

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ASML, the Netherlands-based company that makes the most advanced integrated circuit production machines, had planned to hire 600 new employees in Taiwan this year. Finally she was forced to revise upwards your hiring plan. In 2026 they will arrive at their facilities on this Asian island 1,000 new additions. Grace Wang, the vice president and general manager of ASML in Taiwan, has declared that this change has been brought about by the insatiable demand for chips for artificial intelligence (AI). ASML does not manufacture semiconductors, but its equipment extreme ultraviolet photolithography (UVE) are being used by TSMC, SK Hynix, Samsung, Intel and Micron to produce the advanced integrated circuits that data centers demand. Especially CPU, GPU and HBM type DRAM memories (High Bandwidth Memory or high bandwidth memory). In fact, this company alone occupies the first link in the global chip manufacturing chain because it is the only one that produces EUV lithography machines. Be that as it may, Grace Wang’s declaration of intent responds to an unappealable reality: Taiwan is the industrial heart of this Dutch company. ASML manufactures components on this island and assembles UVE lithography equipment which it subsequently delivers to its local customers. These operations are also carried out in the Netherlands, but there are two compelling reasons why Taiwan is enormously relevant to ASML’s business: its best customer and its biggest focus on its global customers reside there. TSMC is ASML’s largest customer A determining factor that is promoting ASML’s expansion in Taiwan is its close relationship with TSMC, the largest manufacturer of integrated circuits of the planet. The operations of this company on the island currently generate 8.3 billion eurosa quarter of ASML’s global revenue. And much of that money comes from the coffers of TSMC, which is building new advanced semiconductor production plants in Taiwan, Japan, Germany and the US. ASML is building a facility in New Taipei that costs about $954 million. However, ASML’s Taiwan branch is not just hiring more staff (it currently has 4,500 employees on this island); is also building a new facility in New Taipei that costs about 954 million dollars. Their plan is for this plant to begin operating before the end of 2026 and to house about 2,000 employees in its initial phase. We still don’t know for sure what this factory will do, but it will probably combine component production, EUV machine assembly, and technical support to customers, primarily TSMC. ASML’s infrastructure in Taiwan is distributed between two cities with very specialized functions. Linkou is responsible for reconditioning chip manufacturing equipment, producing grating manipulators for deep ultraviolet (DVP) machines, and cleaning UVE collectors. Tainan, however, serves as a large global customer service center. And in a few months, as we have just seen, the New Taipei plant will be ready. The future of ASML is promising even though US sanctions They prevent it from selling its most sophisticated machines to its Chinese customers. Image | ASML More information | DigiTimes Asia In Xataka | The chip of the future comes from Japan: it is 1,000 times faster than current semiconductors and does not heat up

Paying more for a very fast NVMe SSD is wasting money if you only save PDFs, but it is the only option if you are also going to work from it

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Like me, you have probably also at some point faced the purchase of a new storage unit, internal or external, for your desktop PC or portable. Something that, until a few years ago, was quite simplified: either you chose a 5,400 rpm HDD (revolutions per minute), or you chose one of 7,200 rpm. End of story. To something else. But since SSDs came onto the scene, purchasing (and usage) possibilities have changed a lot, making opting for one type or another is not so simple. Today, taking into account the price differences between HDDs (the “old” mechanical disks) and SSDs (the “modern” solid state drives), the choice is clear: SSDs win by a landslide, offering wide capacities and much, much higher speeds. Although well, the current context of AI surcharges It changes the film a little and, whatever purchase we make now, it will entail a greater outlay. But this shouldn’t last forever and, under normal conditions, SSDs are still the best value for money purchase option for general use. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links So, well, you already have one thing clear: to expand capacity, in general terms, the ideal in 2026 is to go for an SSD. However, the choice is not so simple because different technologies and different models come into the field of SSDs, each with a series of advantages and disadvantages. All of them, valid for any use you plan to give them, be careful. But not all of them cost the same and, depending on what you need your new unit for, Smart purchasing will tip the balance on one side or the other. And your pocket, of course, will thank you for choosing carefully. In other words and to give them first and last names: in a scenario in which you need more space for your PC or portable and you have to go through the checkout to expand it using an SSD, you will have to choose between an NVMe SSD or a SATA SSD (which are the main types of SSD that are generally sold). The first, more expensive and faster. The second, cheaper and slower. AND each one, in its proper context, shines with its own light. Next we are going to see how they differ and why they are a better purchase option compared to their rival, depending on the context. And thus pay more if the situation requires it or save as much as possible if you are not going to take advantage of its full potential. SATA SSD: not as fast but cheaper When SSDs burst onto the scene, they did so in a format we know as SATA. In units of different sizes (although also ostensibly more compact than mechanical HDDs) that are still commonly marketed in 2.5-inch models. If you have a laptop or desktop PC from a couple of decades ago, probably contains one of these. These SSD units were, at the time, night and day compared to mechanical HDDs. What used to take you half an hour to wait was suddenly completed in minutes. And also, without noise. The “problem” is that today, with much more modern and faster units (spoiler: NVMe), this type of SSD have been relegated more to pure storage than as devices for daily work. That is to say: what we once stored on HDDs, we now do on these SSDs. A digital storage room that, in any case, is much faster and makes it easier (and faster) to move large amounts of data and copy and paste files. In addition, the SATA SSD is probably the only option when it comes to somewhat “old” laptops: today, practically all models come with an M.2 connector (where the NVMe are installed), but if you have a laptop that is a few years old (around 2018 or earlier) it will probably not have said connector and the 2.5-inch SATA SSD is the one you will have to use. If you are also using a mechanical HDD, the change will be spectacular. Does this mean they are a bad choice? Not at all, they’re still great in 2026… but especially for what I’m doing: storing. Because if what you need is a “hard drive” on which to install the operating system, applications and games, or on which work intensively on tasks that require constant writing and reading of data (such as video editing), then you will be limited. This leads us to the next model: NVMe SSD. NVMe SSDs: faster and more expensive While SATA SSDs are somewhat larger and slower (but cheaper), NVMe SSDs are a rocket. The quickest and most direct way to describe them is: speed, speed, speed. While the former would become a one-lane national highway, the latter become a highway with eight lanes in each direction. This means that if a sporadic car (some file, such as PDFs) is going to pass through these “roads”, SATA is enough for you; If you need several heavy trucks moving at the same time (video editing, for example, with thousands of MB of data moving at full speed) then That national highway will collapse and there is no choice but to drive on the highway.. NVMe SSDs also stand out in design: they are compact, stylish and very small. The inseparable companion of any current desktop or laptop PCbut also in video game consoles by offering better performance in all types of tasks and taking up less space (something vital, for example, in the case of consoles). In fact, this is the type of SSD that the PlayStation 5, the Steam Deck… come with in the M.2 connectors that they incorporate. Connector that, by the way, has been present on practically any desktop or laptop motherboard for a few years now. This type of SSD is more expensive than its SATA relatives, but that extra financial effort is worth it if, in addition to storing data as such, you plan to work on them. … Read more

Ten years ago, we were afraid of fast charging. The 10,000mAh batteries are going the same way

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The world of smartphones is divided in two: a Chinese market betting on gigantic silicon-carbon and some “traditional” manufacturers who do not dare to take the leap. This weekend, the controversy was sparked by YouTuber Marques Brownlee, after publishing a video that has surpassed one million views in less than 24 hours. what has happened. “The problem with smartphone batteries”is the title of a video that has spread like wildfire among the community tech. In it, he explained some of the problems that silicon-carbon batteries supposedly suffer from, a technology that China is betting on to boost the capacity of its phones. above 10,000mAh. The problems. Silicon-carbon batteries are not a new technology, but they have been starting to be implemented in smartphones for just two years. During this time, there are several concerns on the table. Possible swelling due to the expansion of silicon: with each charge, a battery contracts and expands. Silicon can triple its volume, generating greater internal stresses in the battery. At the same time, there are fears that this expansion-contraction cycle could cause cracks and leaks in the battery. Need for reinforcement in battery compartment (such as small steel cages) to contain swelling. Long-term reliability not yet demonstrated in smartphones. Yes, but. Concerns about whether silicon-carbon batteries are safe or not are legitimate. Just as, back in the day, we were worried that a mobile phone with “fast” charging like the OnePlus 3 in 2016 (those times when Dash Charge was 30W) could explode. Today there are already mobile phones with 120W. The first commercial mobile phone to incorporate this type of battery was the Honor Magic 5 Pro in its Chinese version. No cases of the slightest problem have been reported to date in its more than two years of life. Manufacturers do not go crazy. Manufacturers are more than aware of the possible dangers that these types of batteries can have, and equip their phones with specific chips to control the charge in real time if excess heat is detected. Some brands, like Honor, go so far as to create microscopic tunnels in their batteries so that lithium ions can reduce chemical friction. Because yes, although carbon silicon batteries are called that, they are not made of pure silicon, they are a natural evolution of lithium batteries themselves. It’s not that easy. The next challenge after the introduction of silicon-carbon batteries has been to take advantage of their ability to store greater energy in a smaller size to achieve barbaric capacities: 7,000mAh, 7,500mAh, 10,000mAh. Energy densities notably higher than those that large manufacturers, such as Samsung, Apple and Google, currently mount in their high-end phones. Here an extra degree is added to the uncertainty: not only do we have more modern and not so tested batteries, but we also have capabilities that make their behavior even more unpredictable. Go deeper. The war for high-capacity batteries adds, apart from doubts about their reliability on the part of some manufacturers, logistical and economic challenges. They are more expensive batteries, and some manufacturers They are not taking them out of China yet. for that same reason. Added to this is that although the spec sheet tells us about milliamp hours, the main measure to determine the energy capacity of a battery is watt hours (Whr). Europe does not like batteries with more than 20 Whr, and they require longer and more expensive transport and authorization protocols. If the RAM crisis threatens to skyrocket the price of smartphones, thinking about incorporating significantly more expensive batteries does not seem like a viable plan to maintain the current margins of large manufacturers. Image | Apple In Xataka | We already know why mobile phones with 6,000mAh are not arriving in Europe: there is a clear person responsible

Hyundai imagines factories full of humanoid robots. A Korean union has said ‘not so fast’

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Hyundai has been building a very specific story for months about the future of its factories, one in which humanoid robots go from being a distant promise to a real industrial tool. The image is powerful and connects with a global race to automate increasingly complex processes, but in South Korea that discourse has already found its first limit. Even before robots enter production lines, the union has come forward to make its position clear and warn that any changes that impact employment will have to be negotiated. A clear warning. Hyundai Motor Union has made it clear that “Without an agreement between the company and workers, not a single robot can enter South Korean plants,” stressing that any decision with an impact on employment must go through the negotiation table. The message connects directly with the current collective agreement, which requires all measures that affect work to be subject to debate and joint approval. With this positioning, the introduction of humanoids is emerging as one of the possible reasons for friction between worker representatives and the Asian corporation. Fear that South Korea will lose prominence. The union links automation to a broader movement of industrial reorganization, marked by the growth of manufacturing in the United States. As they explain, the planned increase in capacity at the US plant could end up subtracting volume from factories in South Korea, and they maintain that two centers would already be suffering from a lack of workload. In this context, humanoids are interpreted not only as a technological tool, but as an element that can accelerate job adjustments if it is not accompanied by clear guarantees regarding the maintenance of employment. The starting point of the discussion. This comes after Hyundai introduced Atlas, the humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamicsas a key piece of its medium-term industrial strategy. The firm assured that it plans to progressively integrate it into its global network of factories starting in 2028. It also explained that these robots are designed to take on general industrial tasks and work alongside people, with the aim of reducing physical effort and taking on potentially dangerous jobs. Of course, he avoided specifying how many units he will deploy in the first phase or how much the project will cost. First in the United States. The manufacturer has already begun to draw how it wants to industrialize this bet. The group has explained that it will build a specific plant in the United States for the production of robots, a factory dedicated to producing Atlas on a large scale in the coming years. The first operational destination would be at the Georgia plant, known as HMGMAwhere humanoids would initially be used in very specific tasks, such as classifying and sequencing parts for the assembly line. The small labor print. Hyundai’s commitment is part of a much broader race to bring humanoid robots to the industry. Companies such as Tesla, Amazon or the Chinese manufacturer BYD have announced similar plans, although with different degrees of maturity. Some projects have already gone from demonstration to real work, such as the robot Figure 01 in a BMW plantwhere he performs support tasks autonomously. These are still limited and highly supervised experiences, but sufficient to show that the leap from the laboratory to the factory has already begun. Images | hyundai In Xataka | 100% autonomous factories where it is not necessary to turn on the light: China is already considering manufacturing cars only with robots in 2030

There is an invisible chip in every USB-C cable that decides whether your phone charges fast or slow: almost no one knows it exists

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There is a small and notable chip in our USB-C cables. This is the so-called “e-Marker”, which is especially important. The reason is simple: when we connect a cable to a device, it is responsible for indicating to those devices whether the cable supports more or less transmission or charging speed, for example. USB-C chaos is a little less chaos. USB-C connectors completely dominate the market, especially after European regulations that require them to be used to charge mobile phones and other devices. Although they have become the Swiss army knife for connecting all types of devices and peripherals, it is not easy to know what we can do with a cable when we connect it to our mobile phone or laptop, for example. And that’s where the e-Marker chip (Electronically Marked ID chip) comes in, a fundamental yet invisible component of the connectivity of our devices. In Xataka We criticize the EU a lot with its obsession with regulating Big Tech. There are at least two examples that justify this obsession A chip to identify everything. The official specification of the USB-C standard clearly indicates the mission of this chip, which is responsible for showing what capabilities the cable in question has. The document that talks about this chip is the one dedicated to USB Power Delivery, the power delivery function through these cables. Specifically, the identification data includes: Manufacturer and model of the cable. Signaling protocol: that indicates the maximum transmission speedthat is, if it is a cable with USB 2.0 support, or USB 3.2 of one generation or another (Gen 1, Gen 2, etc.). Active construction (in long cables there may be chips that regenerate data signal to act as a kind of repeater) or passive construction (they do not alter the data signal). How much power does the VCONN pin (intended to power accessories) consume? Whether the cable can support 3A (standard) or 5A (required for powers from 100 W to 240 W). Latency (signal delay over the cable). RX/TX directionality (how the high-speed cable pairs are configured). SOP Controller Mode: Whether the cable controller can communicate independently with the charger or device Hardware/firmware version. One of the sections of the USB Power Delivery specification that talks about this chip. Source: USB.org An active safety mechanism. The e-Marker is not only official, but is a mandatory part of the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) specification dictated by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). This chip acts as an active safety mechanism, and during the power negotiation phase, the chip tells the charger “I am a cable certified to support up to 100W” (for example). If the charger does not receive that digital confirmation, it will assume that the cable is basic and cheap, restricting the flow of power or data transmission. Does your phone charge slowly or is the transfer using pedals? In fact, if a USB-C cable does not have an e-Marker chip, most device drivers will automatically treat it as a USB 2.0 cable. That means that even if the cable is physically capable of more, the speed will be limited to 480 Mbps maximum, and charging will also be slower. With 3A you can reach 60 W at 20 V, so even so this section is not so affected and it also depends on the charging capacity of the charger. {“videoId”:”x8dmqaj”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”One USB-C TO RULE THEM ALL- the European Union approves a single charger for mobile phones”, “tag”:”webedia-prod”, “duration”:”54″} The rails. High-speed cables (USB 3.2, USB4, Thunderbolt) have multiple pairs of copper wires designed to transmit data in parallel. The e-Marker tells the device “I have all the threads necessary to activate dual lane mode.” If this confirmation does not arrive, the transfer speed is again limited. The e-Marker on long cables. Another function of the e-Marker, as we said, is to identify the length of the cable. At high transmission speeds the signal degrades very quickly, and the e-Marker is responsible for notifying you, allowing the device (mobile phone, computer) to adjust the signal strength to compensate for potential data loss. Support for alternative video modes. Another option that this chip enables is to indicate what video connection standards the USB-C cable in question supports, and if, for example, it has the necessary bandwidth for 4K or 8K resolutions. There are “readers” of the information provided by the e-Marker chip, although they are not cheap: this one from ChargerLAB costs about 140 euros. Two key pins. The “brains” of a USB-C connector are located on two specific pins known as the configuration channel (CC). These pins (CC1 and CC2) allow, for example, the orientation or reversibility to be detected. Since the connector is reversible, the device needs to know which side you inserted the cable to activate the appropriate data pins (TX/RX). When connecting it, the side will be identified, and based on that the rest of the pins are switched for transmission. The other pin of the configuration channel becomes Vconn to power the e-Marker chip. In Xataka | Mobile phone manufacturers first stopped including the charger with every purchase. Your next threat is clear: the USB cable (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news There is an invisible chip in every USB-C cable that decides whether your phone charges fast or slow: almost no one knows it exists was originally published in Xataka by Javier Pastor .

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