making

The board game that was removed for making children steal food rations from Titanic survivors

by

There have always been games with a morbid theme, but they are certainly not a thing of today. Already in 1975, board game creators were racking their brains to come up with the darkest and most impactful idea for the whole family. And what better way to spend an afternoon of harmless fun in the company of loved ones that one of the greatest tragedies in the history of modern locomotion. It sinks. When in 1975 Ideal Toy Corporation put on the shelves ‘The Sinking of the Titanic’the slogan printed on the box left no room for imagination (or interpretation): “Play while the ship sinks… and then face the dangers of the open sea.” From 8 years and older, be careful. The controversy, of course, was immediate, the game was withdrawn from the market, and although it was reissued under different names, today it is a sought-after piece for collectors of classic board games. How to play. The game has two phases. First, players are ship’s officers who must navigate the cabins of the Titanic rescuing passengers and stocking up on food and water rations as the ship sinks. In the second phase, with the liner already under water, survivors in boats race to reach the rescue ship. The first to arrive with two passengers, two rations of food and two of water wins. What does it look like? The board is cleverly articulated into two pieces joined by clips. Every time someone rolls a 1 or 6 with the dice, the board “sinks” into the bar, and more and more squares of the ship’s hull disappear under the water. If an empty lifeboat touches the water, it is removed, and if the player cannot find a place in any boat, he loses. In 1975, the idea was very ingenious: a board that is transformed. Ideal itself had already explored these possibilities with a previous success, ‘Mouse Trap‘, in 1963. Storms and cannibals. But the real morbidity (and, let’s face it, the distancing from historical facts) came with the modifying cards that threw the players against “violent storms, cannibals, the cruel sea and each other,” as the instructions. Actually, the game has little to do with what happened on the Titanic, and in that sense it is quite modest: there are no mention of real passengers and the tropical islands with cannibals have nothing to do with the frigid North Atlantic where the real ship sank. The controversy. Ideal received criticism for turning tragedy into entertainment. The game was withdrawn from the market and re-released under the name ‘Abandon Ship’, with all references to the Titanic eliminated, something not difficult because as we have said, the game had few authentic elements, except perhaps the unmistakable silhouette of the cruise ship on the box. Because of this, the original version of ‘The Sinking of the Titanic’ has been revalued and It is easy for it to reach approximately 150 euros on websites like eBay. Too soon. The Titanic sank in April 1912 and Ideal recovered from the tragedy 63 years later. What is significant is that the remains of the ship, located by oceanographer Robert Ballard in 1985, had not yet been found. The 1,500 bodies that lay four kilometers deep certified, with bodies included, the magnitude of the tragedy. But ten years before, after the sinking of the Titanic, there were only ghosts missing in the sea, a myth about the unfathomable dangers of the ocean. In 1975 you could still make a board game about it. In Xataka | AI is so good at chess that it is changing something: the way humans play it

American refrigerator or 70 cm Combi? Be careful with making mistakes when buying liters that you may not be able to use

by

I don’t know about you, but when I go to the grocery store, it often feels like I’m preparing for a catastrophe. Many of us live at home and I don’t like going shopping every other day, so I try to put in the cart what I need for at least a week. What’s happening? Then you need space at home to store it.. I have plenty of cabinets and drawers, but my kitchen refrigerator doesn’t have as much space as I would like. Even though I don’t have a kitchenettethis whole situation has made me consider more than once about jumping into an American refrigerator (you know, the ones with two doors with a left-right distribution). But, Is it really worth it compared to a wide combi? Let’s see which one can fit best in your kitchen and your needs. Bespoke AI American Refrigerator 178cm 659L Class E Inox RS70F65QETEF The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Choosing an American refrigerator If you start browsing stores looking for an American refrigerator, you will see that they all have a very large capacity measured in liters. This is something that cannot take us by surprise, although it has a certain “trick”, since it adds the space of the refrigerator to the freezer. What not many people notice is that, although these refrigerators are very large, the reality is that they are also narrow. And that’s where it comes in the pizza box test. There’s not much science to it, it’s just what you think: since the shelves are narrower, a pizza box does not fit horizontally. This is the most visual example, but you can take it to other everyday things that you are more likely to keep in your refrigerator. There we can include food trays, cakes, large tupperware or even watermelons if they are large. Now, what you lose in width you gain in height. This is ideal if you are one of those who practices batch cooking and you cook in one sitting for several days, so you can stack the tupperware without any problem. In addition, you can also take advantage of the more vertical distribution of the refrigerator to your advantage, placing the things you use most at the top and the things you use least at the bottom. More things to keep in mind about these refrigerators. First, the best thing they have: the freezer. The left-right distribution means that we have plenty of room to freeze things of all kinds and have them very well organized. Not only that, but its more vertical distribution also means that we can have a lot of space at eye level and not have to bend down every time we want to check what we have frozen. All this has a price (and never better said), since American refrigerators have higher energy consumption. There is also the issue of the water and/or ice dispenser that these types of refrigerators normally come with. It depends on the model, but there are those that need a water intake to make this workalthough there are others that have a tank that we can fill without the need for installation. And, speaking of installation, be careful with American refrigerators: they are deeper. This can make them stand out from the line of the furniture, something that aesthetically does not look very good. Choose a wide combi The vast majority of vans in stores are about 60 centimeters wide. We would not put one of these to compete in capacity with an American, but things change if we add 10 centimeters to the formula. It seems like very little difference, but from 70 centimeters wide, the combi gains a lot more capacity. And, of course, without taking up as much space in the kitchen as an American refrigerator. These pass the pizza box test without breaking a sweat, since its shelves are much wider. Now, the extra total capacity they gain is not enough to beat the American refrigerators. Not through the refrigerator, but through the freezer. There they clearly lose out, so if you have a freezer full of food, it may not be worth it to go for a combi. There is also the issue of consumption. It will depend a lot on the model we choose, but as a general rule, one of these wide combis It will consume less energy than an American refrigerator. It will not be a consumption figure large enough for us to rule out the Americans, but it will be something to take into account. The good and the bad of both options, face to face American refrigerator wide combi THE GOOD 🟢 Plenty of space to freeze and stack tupperware in the fridge You can have frozen products at eye level so you don’t have to bend down all the time Much more horizontal capacity for large containers and takes up less space Less electricity consumption THE BAD 🔴 Uses more light and has less horizontal space to store large things The “aisles” of the refrigerator are narrow, so if you put something bulky you won’t see what’s behind it Your freezer doesn’t do much, so you may have to juggle if you freeze a lot of food. Ideal for: Kitchens with a lot of space and for large families who need a huge freezer Smaller kitchens and for storing very wide trays or containers without a problem In summary: 👉 Choose an American refrigerator if: You have plenty of space and if you prioritize maximum capacity in your freezer. 👉 Choose a wide van Yeah: You prefer to have wide shelves and you want a large refrigerator, but not gigantic. Recommended models American refrigerator: Bespoke AI RS70F65QETEF As an American refrigerator option, we have this one from Samsung. Here we are talking about a refrigerator with a total capacity of 659 litersdivided into 239 liters for the freezer and 420 liters for the refrigerator. The refrigerators from this … Read more

There is a Basque company that is making a fortune with an unexpected business: ripening bananas from the Canary Islands

by

100 million euros of turnover ripening bananas. It is the objective of Musanorte, a company with Canarian roots and headquarters in Vizcaya that has turned a niche as specific and far from the focus as the controlled ripening of fruit into an economic engine for the Orozko region. Your task is not to grow, but what happens after the harvest. In their facilities, the Canarian banana arrives green and comes out ready to eat. Controlled maturation. What Musanorte does with bananas is a process that much of the fruit goes through that we see in supermarkets. So that the bananas arrive at the stores at their peak, with that bright yellow tone without darkening, they are placed in chambers in which the temperature and ethylene is applied to them. Ethylene is what is known as maturation hormone and it is released by vegetables naturally. By adding it artificially, the process is accelerated. The company. Musanorte is a subsidiary of Mercamusa, a company dedicated to the marketing of fruit that also has a ripening plant in Alicante. In 2017, Mercamusa was purchased by Eurobananaa Canarian company that sought to eliminate intermediaries and thus better control quality while saving costs. Production takes place in the Canary Islands and the peninsular offices are dedicated to ripening and packaging. Capacity and investment. With more than 21 ripening chambers and two packaging lines, Musanorte has the capacity to manage 40,000 tons of bananas per yearwhich are added to the 30,000 tons of capacity of the Alicante plant. The Musanorte plant has been operational since 2020, but it was not until recently that it received an investment of 24 million euros that has allowed it to increase its capacity. They hope to reach 100 million euros in turnover and also have announced the creation of 100 new jobs in the region. The banana crisis. In 2025 the price of Canary Islands bananas skyrocketed, reaching 7 euros per kilo. In September we talked about the crisis that the banana production sector was going through: Producing them cost more than what the farmers, who survived thanks to aid from the European Union, ended up receiving. The situation has improved, but not enoughand currently production costs remain very highwhich strains the profitability of producers. Image | Wikipedia In Xataka | Neither patting nor waving them in the air: the science of choosing a good melon in the supermarket

The biggest oil crisis is not making them blink for a second in the stock market

by

We have been immersed in what can now be cataloged like the Third Gulf War. Since the United States and Israel offensive against Iran began at the end of February, the world has faced the greatest disruption of energy supply of its history. We are talking about a crisis that has paralyzed 20% of the world’s crude oil, sequestering about 20 million barrels a day They cannot cross the Strait of Hormuz. Missile falls, drones setting fire to infrastructure and thousands of deaths in the region. The impasse. Any basic economics textbook would dictate that financial markets should be in complete panic. However, the opposite occurs. It is enough for the White House to hint at a rapprochement or a vague ceasefire for the stock market to skyrocket, ignoring the physical fundamentals of a war in full swing. Wall Street lives in a parallel reality: the biggest oil crisis does not make them blink for a second. A virtual collapse in the face of a real war. This same week, the markets experienced 48 hours of unprecedented volatility. As detailed oil priceoil prices fell sharply in the Asian session on Wednesday, falling more than 5%. Brent crude oil, the reference in Europe, pierced downwards the psychological barrier of $100, while the US WTI fell to $87.51. The reason for this relief? According to the agency Reutersthe United States would have sent a 15-point peace proposal to Iran through intermediaries in Pakistan. US President Donald Trump boasted to the media that “productive” negotiations were moving toward a resolution. The screens of the traders were automatically dyed green: the European STOXX 600 index rose 1.2% and London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.1%. As Amelie Derambure explainedfrom the manager Amundi, the market simply launched itself to buy the idea of ​​a relief rally (a surge of relief) at the possibility of a temporary ceasefire. The bombs keep falling. However, there is no ceasefire; This should be clear. How to collect ReutersEbrahim Zolfaqari, spokesman for Iran’s joint military command, publicly addressed Trump on state television with these words: “Has the level of your internal struggle reached the stage of negotiating with yourself? We will never make a deal with you.” At the same time, military reality contradicts stock market optimism. The Pentagon prepares the deployment of elements of the 82nd Airborne Division to the region, a drone attack just hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, and Israel is deeply skeptical of any concessions Washington might make to Tehran in the shadows. Investors “bewitched” by the algorithm. To understand this disconnection you have to delve into the psychology of the market. An analysis published by FortunePaul Donovan, chief economist of UBSclaims that Wall Street is “spellbound” by the good news. “Markets do not react to information, they generally react to social media posts and headlines, even if they are fake news or contradictory,” says Donovan. Investors suffer from a cocktail of loss aversion and confirmation bias. They desperately want the war to end, so they embrace any story that confirms that desire and ignore negative news. Added to this, the “TACO” phenomenon (Trump Always Chickens Outor “Trump always cows”), a belief rooted in the New York trading floor that the tenant of the White House will end up backing down from the economic pain of a prolonged conflict to protect financial stability. Narrative as a weapon of war. Added to this is what energy expert Javier Blas defines in his column Bloomberg as jawboning (verbal intervention). The White House is winning the narrative battle in the markets without moving a single physical barrel. Trump’s constant messages in Social Truth promising a quick resolution—and even lifting sanctions on countries like Russia to flood the market—have managed to stop the panic. Blas sums it up perfectly: “Instead of being a sign of weakness, TACO is playing in Trump’s favor. No one knows for sure when or if he will try to end the war, which has been enough to prevent the traders skyrocket the price of oil.” The desperation to cling to any positive headline is such that it generates episodes of extreme volatility and information chaos. He Financial Times reported in his coverage how crude oil suffered wild fluctuations (Brent fell 11% to rebound shortly after) after a tweet by the US Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright, stating that the Navy was already escorting oil tankers through Hormuz. The message was deleted minutes later and denied by the White House itself, but the effect on the algorithms had already occurred. The bath of physical reality. While Wall Street plays a game of guessing the next tweets from the Oval Office, the physical reality of oil is stubborn. A report from Bloomberg puts his finger on the sore: The physical market continues to deal with shortages, and the war has demonstrated the absolute control that Iran exercises over the Strait of Hormuz. Although Tehran informed the International Maritime Organization that “non-hostile” ships can transit, the route remains effectively closed and reports circulate about the presence of dozens of naval mines Iranians in the area. The mathematics of disaster, detailed by Reutersthey are chilling. After 25 days of conflict, the world has stopped receiving 500 million barrels (the equivalent of five full days of global supply). The logistical desperation is such that Saudi Arabia has boosted its exports from the port of Yanbu, on the Red Sea, to avoid Hormuz. To compound the crisis, Russia has suspended cargoes at its Baltic ports following a vicious Ukrainian drone attack, adding more uncertainty to the global market. Larry Fink, CEO of the management company BlackRocksummed it up bluntly in statements to the BBC: “If Iran continues to be a threat to Hormuz and oil settles between $100 and $150 per barrel, we will have a global recession.” Collateral damage. The narrative chaos has even reached gold, which has lost their protection status. According to Financial Timesthe price of the precious metal has plummeted 16% since the start of … Read more

One of the biggest mistakes we are making as a society is assuming that living tired is normal.

by

Spain is one of the European countries where the most workers They link their psychological discomfort to work and, in fact, sick leave due to mental disorders have more than doubled since 2016. That’s the bad news, the good news is that we’re starting to know why. Although that, if we are honest, if we think about it, it is not such good news either. we have become accustomed We have normalized being exhausted… According to the OSH Pulse 2025 survey of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work40% of Spanish workers link their stress, anxiety or depression directly to work. The European average, to contextualize the problem, is 29%. Only four countries (Greece, Finland, Cyprus and Poland) surpass us. …and we know exactly why it happens. In 1993, Bruce McEwen and Elios Stellar developed the idea of ​​’allostatic load’. That is, the physical and psychological ‘wear and tear’ that the body pays for adapting again and again to chronic or repeated stress. It is not a small price: the cardiovascular, metabolic, immune and neuroendocrine wear and tear is enormous and has consequences. A 2021 systematic review makes clear that a high allostatic load is related to increased all-cause mortality, cognitive impairment, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and psychiatric disorders. It is logical: when stress mediators (cortisol, adrenaline, etc…) remain chronically activated, the brain gets used to it, the body begins to work above its capacity and the systems suffer. Furthermore (and this is very curious) it seems that chronic stress deteriorates the same brain areas that allow us to realize that we are wrong. The (not so great) Spanish paradox: Our country not only has some of the worst work stress data in Europe, but the preventive resources They are among the lowest on the continent. That is, we have a problem, but we are not spending too much money to solve it. And it’s just a question of money. According to the same survey, 54% of Spanish employees fear that revealing a mental health problem will harm their career. And how do we solve it? Normally, experts understand that there is an individual approach, a union approach and a health approach. In Spain (and here the media is very much to blame) we tend to focus on the individual who, furthermore, is the one who less evidence of systemic efficacy has behind. So maybe the only thing we can do is start taking it seriously. Image | Luis Villamil In Xataka | Only one in four Spaniards has rested on vacation. The culprits: work anxiety and the inability to disconnect

how to look at them on your PC or your mobile before making the declaration this 2026

by

Let’s explain to you how to access and review your tax dataso that you have the option of checking that the information that the Treasury has about your last fiscal year is correct. Because the declaration we make in 2026 corresponds to the last fiscal year, and that is why the campaign claims to be that of 2025. This is one of the most important previous steps of the Income calendar 2025and it is vital that you review it before accessing the draft. In fact, we’ll start by reminding you why tax data is so importantand then we will tell you how to access them. What are your tax data for? The tax data is the information that the Treasury has about you. In this information you will find everything from basic information such as your name and home address to more advanced information on everything related to your taxation. You will be able to see information about your open bank accounts, your personal capital, your capital gains, the donations you make during the year, what job you have and what your salary is, or your Social Security contributions. These are the data that the Treasury uses to generate your draft for the income tax return. If you see that everything is fine in the draft, you will be able to present it directly when it can begin to be generated in April. But these drafts are not made by a person, but are generated automatically. And there is always the possibility that the Treasury incorrectly collects some data in its databases. If your draft has incorrect data and you present it it will be wrongand this will mean that if the Treasury detects it you will receive a fine. This is true even if the draft is generated by the Tax Agency itself, because it is your responsibility to review the tax data and the draft and make the necessary corrections. That’s why It is important that the data is up to date and that they are all correct. And that is why this step is also vital before filing the declaration, because by making sure that your tax information is correct you will then be able to file the declaration much faster from the draft. You will not be able to modify the tax data with this procedurewhich is purely informative. The data They are only modified after generating the Income draft. Of course, you will be able to use them for things like taking tests in the Income Simulator. But doing this preliminary work You will already have located the errors to change them later when you have the draft. This way, all the verifications you have to carry out can be done beforehand, and when you receive the draft the process of changing everything will be much faster. How to see your tax data on the web To access your tax data through the browser, you must enter the Income 2025 campaign website of the Tax Agency. Your address is headquarters.agenciatributaria.gob.es/Sede/Renta.html. in here, click on the option Tax data what’s in the box Featured actions that will appear at the top. You will enter the page where you have to choose a method to identify yourself as a person in the tax agency. You will be able to do this using your digital certificateincluding the FNMT certificate and that of DNIethe PIN code and other Mobile Key methods, or the reference number. Use the method that is easiest for you. After logging in, a window will be displayed where you have to indicate whether you are acting on your own behalf to obtain your own data, which is the option checked by default. You simply have to click on Confirmbut this is a step you must do so that those acting on behalf of other people can indicate it. Now, first you will go to a screen where you can ratify your tax address. Your data will be seen and you will only have to click on Ratify or in Continue. This is so if you have changed homes. And after finishing ratifying your address, you will go to the page where you can now see all your tax data. On this page, all you have to do is go reviewing them and looking for possible errors to check that everything is correct. And if there are errors, you will then have to knowingly rectify them in the draft of the Income Tax. How to see your tax data on your mobile You can also check your data in the Tax Agency appavailable for Android on Google Play and for iOS in the App Store. In it, after identifying yourself, click Rent from the main menu, and when you are inside click on the option Income 2025 that appears at the top, and is where you can make the arrangements for the declaration that you will make in 2026. This will take you to a screen where you have the procedures available for the next Income campaign. In it, click on the option Tax data. By doing so, you will go directly to the screen where you can ratify your tax address and then access all your tax data. In Xataka Basics | Ramadan Calendar 2026: the best apps for Android and iPhone

30 years later he leaves without making a sound and that is the worst of all

by

The alarms went off when the model could not be chosen in the configurator on their website, but it now seems that there is no turning back: Audi has closed orders for the A8 in Germany. Which means that the manufacturer is going to stop marketing them, at least for the moment. It is the end of an era for its flagship. More than 30 years giving the call. Since 1994 it has been Audi’s reference in the large luxury sedan segment, competing directly with the Mercedes S-Class and the BMW 7 Series. The fact that it is going to disappear from the market has its reason, but above all it responds to a trend that we have been experiencing for years: people are moving from sedans in the premium segment: they want an SUV. What exactly happened. On February 18, Audi stopped accepting configurations of the A8 in its German domestic market. The brand’s website now redirects interested parties to second-hand alternatives. Motor1, which was the media that confirmed the news, received a response The manufacturer is vague about its availability: “it depends on inventory levels and other factors,” said a spokesperson for the brand. The A8 is currently still active in the UK and US configurators, where it starts at $95,100, but everything indicates that once stock runs out in each market, the Audi A8 will say goodbye. The D5 generation I was on my way to 10 years. The current model arrived in 2017 and received a facelift in 2021, falling short of standing up to its rivals. While Mercedes has renewed the S-Class with around 50% new or redesigned components, according to they count from Autoblog, they already point to the next big leap planned for 2029; and more of the same for BMW, which is already preparing new features for the 7 Series. In this context, the A8 has aged without being able to catch up. On the other hand, according to they counted in October from the German media Automobilwoche, the Euro 7 regulations would make a new restyling of the D5 unfeasible without a prohibitive cost. A segment in retreat. The A8 does not fall alone. Lexus said goodbye to the LS after 37 years, and brands such as Jaguar, Maserati, Cadillac, Lincoln and Infiniti have already abandoned or drastically reduced their presence in this segment. And the numbers of the A8 itself throughout its history say it all: the first three generations sold between 150,000 and 200,000 units each worldwide. The current D5 generation, presented in 2017, has not reached 50,000 units in its entire life cycle, according to they count from Motor News. The door is not completely closed. Audi spokesman Marcel Bestle dropped to Motor1 that the brand “will communicate more details about a possible successor at a later date.” Maybe we’re not going to say a definitive goodbye, but it seems that Audi is going to have to rethink things a lot to go back to betting on the A8. Maybe make the jump to pure electric? In this context, they still have to give it some time, but being left without a representative sedan for longer than necessary can end up damaging the brand’s image. Meanwhile, it seems that Mercedes and BMW have free rein to continue accumulating more market share in this segment. Cover image | Audi In Xataka | If you have a 1991 car and you are registered in Madrid, the City Council has a message for you: do not throw it away

The Iran war is making the best possible advertisement for Chinese renewables. And China knows it

by

Oil has skyrocketed again. Brent has crossed 90 dollars, WTI is around 87, and the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil transits, has reduced its traffic from 138 ships a day to just two. The most interesting thing here is not the price of crude oil but who wins when that happens. Why is it important. Each shock oil is, for China, a free advertisement on a planetary scale of its energy value proposition. Solar panels, electric cars and batteries do not rise in price when there is a war in the Persian Gulf. Natural gas and gasoline, yes. For countries that have been buying Chinese clean technology for years, this week has been the practical demonstration that they got it right. For those who have not yet done so, it is the best sales argument that China could wish for, and on top of that it has not involved a direct expense. The contrast. The US economy is structurally more vulnerable to the shocks of oil than China. The oil intensity of US GDP, that is, how much oil is needed to generate each dollar of economic activity, is notably higher than that of China, the EU or Russia. When crude oil soars, the blow is felt harder by the American consumer, who fills the tank of his car with gasoline, than by the Chinese consumer, whose fleet of vehicles is already almost 50% electric in new sales. In November 2025, electric cars They exceeded 60% of total sales in China. It is not a country in energy transition: it is a country that has already changed fuel in its largest vehicle fleet. And that is without counting the traffic of motorcycles, all electric for many years in several of its large cities, and with much greater volume than in other countries. Between the lines. China produces more than twice as many solar panels as the world is capable of absorbingand its batteries and electric cars are already reaching Western Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. When oil rises, the economic equation for those exports improves automatically, without your government having to lift a finger. An energy crisis in the Gulf acts as an indirect subsidy to its clean industries: it makes everything China sells more attractive and everything it doesn’t sell more expensive. In figures. The clean energy sector already represents 11.4% of Chinese GDP, according to The analysis published by Carbon Brief last month. Without those industries, China would have grown 3.5% in 2025 instead of the 5% recorded. Electric cars and batteries explain 44% of the economic impact of that sector. China installed 315 GW of solar and 119 GW of wind in 2025, more than the rest of the world combined in both categories. Yes, but. China also imports oil, a lot. It remains one of the world’s largest buyers of crude oil, and the conflict over the Strait of Hormuz complicates its short-term supply. In fact, in recent weeks China has increased its oil imports by almost 16% due to uncertainty. That said, In September it already began to make an unusual collection. What changes the long-term equation is not that China is immune to the shocks oil producers, but each crisis accelerates the internal conversion towards renewables and reinforces the export argument against third countries. It is a temporary pain that finances a structural advantage. Furthermore, this scenario leaves a question in the air: whether the world, by purchasing Chinese clean technology, is ultimately exchanging an energy dependency for a technological dependency. In both the United States and Europe this will end up becoming a question as uncomfortable as it is inevitable. In Xataka | On the roof of the world, China is building the largest solar park on the planet Featured image | Nuno Marques

This is how he is making his leap towards premium

by

There are conversations that are worth more than statements. Nelly de Navia He has been directing Xiaomi’s marketing in Spain for years, which is not just any market for the company: it is its European laboratory, the place where it tests how far it can stretch its identity before exporting the experiment to the rest of the continent. Europe is, in turn, a very special continent: it is its large international market and its premium sales opportunity since the United States continues to be impossible for the orange brand. Nelly and I sat down to talk during the MWC in Barcelona, ​​in the noble area of ​​the stand of Xiaomi, and what he said draws more clearly than any official presentation the exact moment in which the brand is. With a 17Ultra of 1,500 euros and a Leica Leitzphone to 2,000, I asked him how much weight the intention of raising image versus selling volume had in the strategy with those products. “Now we’re maybe 60/40,” Nelly said. 60% dedicated to building aspiration. 40% dedicated to moving units. For a brand that was born with volume as the only argument, that proportion is a statement of intent as striking as the hypercar parked in the stand that will never reach production. The twist has also changed the language. “I’m not talking to you about specifications anymore,” De Navia said. “I make it more aspirational, more experiential.” A leap that has been notable for some time. For years, Xiaomi sold in the language of engineers: megapixels, milliamps, gigahertz… and price, of course. It was the language of bargainwhich allowed the buyer to justify himself rationally. “My Xiaomi does the same thing in half” was a meme-phrase that defined a stage. Now Xiaomi organizes photowalks night trips with FotoEspaña and set up immersive experiences in your showroom. It is a language more similar to that of Apple and four-figure Samsungslearned with the conscience of someone who arrives late but with Chinese determination. And there is a subtle sign that the change is serious: this year there have been no free televisions or aggressive promotions alongside the launches, such as knockdown discounts or included headphones. “The mobile phone costs what it costs because I am offering you the best technology,” he explained. “I’m not going to mess it up with a promotion.” The word chosen is not neutral: dirty. The low price, which for years was the heart of Xiaomi’s argument, has become a threat for the brand they want to build. The thing about Spain deserves its own paragraph because De Navia tells it with a frankness that is unusual in the sector. “We use Spain at Xiaomi as a gateway, as a market to try new things.” The white range (washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners…) was tested here before expanding because there were doubts about whether it would work in a country like Germany, more conservative with its brands, with strong national manufacturers and with purchasing power that takes the quality-price factor out of the equation. Spanish consumers, loyal since the days of the Redmi at 150 euros, are the testing ground where Xiaomi measures how far it can stretch its identity without breaking it. It is a compliment with nuances: the market that was a natural starting point for a price brand is now the first guinea pig of a brand that wants to be something else. The underlying identity conflict, however, does not disappear no matter how much the language changes. Redmi and Poco are still, in De Navia’s words, where the real volume is. The total ecosystem that Xiaomi is building (from mobile to home to car) requires both worlds to coexist without one contaminating the other, and managing that coexistence is probably the most complex challenge that the brand faces. “Many users have continued this path hand in hand,” he said about those who have been with Xiaomi for years since its cheap beginnings and continue walking alongside them. But attracting the buyer who never considered it precisely because it was cheap is a different, slower and more expensive task. And they are there. There is one answer that explains it better than any other. I asked him What KPIs will she look at in three months to determine if the 17 Ultra has been a success?. He did not say market share in premium or units sold of the Ultra, which are the most obvious answers. He said: “I think it’s going to be the effect it has on the T.” The T series, which Xiaomi will launch a few months later at more affordable prices, is where there is a greater volume. The Ultra exists, in part, so that when the T arrives people will have already recalibrated what they expect from Xiaomi. It’s exactly the same logic as Vision GT (behind Nelly in the photo that crowns this article) applied to mobile phones: the unattainable product as a lever to sell the product that you will buy. Luxury as a commercial argument for what is not luxury. Back to big brother, eol Xiaomi 17 Ultra It is a beast that at no time appeals to quality-price or to give you “the same or almost the same” as an iPhone or a Galaxy at half the price. Its price is the same or even higher because effectively Xiaomi is convinced that it is delivering something superior. After testing the Xiaomi 17 Ultra these days, it is impossible not to think that it has things that its range rivals do not have. Their cameras are on another level. Luxury works by accumulation of credibility. And that accumulation has no shortcuts, no matter how much the stand of the MWC try it. In Xataka | Leica is teaching Xiaomi everything it knows: when the student no longer needs the teacher, the agreement will have fulfilled its function Featured image | Xataka

Nobody wants to take up weapons, but they are making money selling them

by

Europe has accelerated your spending in defense up to levels that had not been seen since the end of the Cold War, driven by conflicts on its borders and a growing strategic uncertainty. The reflection has been a global arms market that is experiencing one of its more expansive cycles in decades, with long-term contracts and industrial chains that work at full capacity. In this context of rearmament and international repositioning, some countries face to a reality that goes beyond the numbers. For example, Spain. An industry that shoots record numbers. They counted this week in Spanish that, at the end of 2024 (last year for which official data is available), the Spanish defense industry touched 7,000 million of euros in exports, 10.6% more than the previous year, consolidating a model in which almost 70% of the sector’s sales depend on the foreign market. Three large companies (Airbus, Indra and Navantia) concentrate more than 70% of international business, and if Rheinmetall Expal and ITP Aero are added, five companies account for more than 80% of exports. According to the Ministry of Defense, the bulk comes from international programs such as the A400M or the Eurofighter, with the aeronautical subsector representing almost two-thirds of the total, while conventional weapons and missiles are growing strongly. Spain maintains ninth place in the world as an exporter, with 3% of the global marketand although it has lost positions compared to competitors such as Italy or Israel, its absolute numbers continue to increase. Ukraine as a showcase and accelerator. The war in Ukraine has been a catalyst. Since 2022, Spain has authorized more than 910 million euros in sales of defense material to kyiv, with a special weight of ammunition and projectiles, including more than 130,000 155 mm. Added to this are battle tanks, armored vehicles, missiles and direct donations that include everything from Harpoon systems to medicalized armored vehicles. Only in 2023 exports to Ukraine represented more than 150 millionand in the first half of 2024 they exceeded 130 million, increasing the relative weight of kyiv within the export group. In other words, Spain not only participates politically in the European effort, but has become a relevant supplier in a high-intensity conflict that consumes ammunition at an industrial rate. The paradox of the empty uniform. It we count this week. While the factories work at full capacity and the international contracts multiply, the interest of the Spanish population in joining the Armed Forces does not live his best moment. The social distance from the military profession, demographic aging and competition in the civilian labor market contrast with the strength of the defense industrial complex. Those 7 billion of euros summarize an uncomfortable reality in Spain: because there may be a lack of hands to take up weapons, but they are making money selling them to the rest of the planet. The country participates in fighters, produces radars, large-caliber ammunition or naval systems for third parties, while the internal debate revolves around vocations, working conditions and professional attractiveness. A model with recruitment on the other hand. The analysis of Defense in Spain indicates that the strength of the sector does not rest on the size of the national army, but rather on its integration into consortia Europeans and global supply chains. Ukraine, India, Saudi Arabia, France, the United States and Germany are among the main destinations for Spanish material, which shows a geographic diversification that cushions any internal fluctuation. The industry acts as a technological engine and generator of qualified employment, but also as an actor fully inserted in a global market that is experiencing a rebound sustained by conflicts and geopolitical tensions. Between industrial power and social debate. Spain thus finds itself facing a strategic duality. On the one hand, it consolidates its role as a relevant actor in world trade of weapons and strengthens its position in key international programs. On the other hand, face a domestic debate about the link between society and defense that is not resolved with accounting balances. The paradox is no small thing: a country that escalates million-dollar contracts abroad while dealing with the need to make more attractive the uniform at home. And in this tension between global market and national commitment is drawn one of the quietest dilemmas of Spanish defense policy. Image | Seko Photography In Xataka | Europe has asked its military experts how to become independent from the US for the next war. The answer is déjà vu: the F-35 In Xataka | Spain’s main problem is not weapons, fighters or drones: it is the number of hands it lacks to use them

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

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

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

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