plan

the EU’s plan to survive China’s mineral blackout

by

The clock of global geopolitics has begun to count down the minutes for the European Union. In an unprecedented move that certifies the end of frictionless globalization, Brussels is finalizing the details of what will be its first major strategic “bunker” of critical minerals. As advanced Reutersthe EU has already selected the materials that will inaugurate this joint reserve: tungsten, rare earths and gallium. Magnesium, germanium and graphite could soon be added to this initial list. A firm step. The initiative of the community bloc is not a coincidence; It is its last great asset to shield its economy against the crushing dominance of Beijing in the production of elements that today are the oxygen of modernity. We are not talking about simple raw materials; We talk about vital components for the defense industry, semiconductors and the energy transition. In fact, almost all of these minerals—with the exception of magnesium—are on the list of the 12 elements. considered critical by NATO for military production. Without them, it is impossible to manufacture everything from armor-piercing ammunition that uses tungsten, to the latest generation radars and combat aircraft that depend on gallium arsenide and gallium nitride. The urgency lies in the data. According to a wrecker report of the European Court of AuditorsEurope is addicted to Chinese minerals: the Asian giant supplies 97% of the magnesium consumed by the EU, refines more than 80% of the planet’s rare earths and controls an overwhelming 98% of the world’s gallium refining capacity. The level of dependency is such that Europe flagrantly fails to comply with its own security threshold, which establishes not depending on a single country for more than 65% for the processing phase. But why step on the accelerator now? The response is dated on the calendar: June 15, 2026. As explained Xinhuaon that day the new regulations of China’s Mineral Resources Law come into force. These regulations will give Beijing absolute power to determine total production caps, restrict which entities can operate mines and, most worryingly for the West, subject any foreign investment in the sector to national security reviews. So how will this logistics shield be built? Moving from intent documents to operational reality requires massive infrastructures. As confirmed Reutersthe European Union is already in advanced talks with large logistics centers to store these industrial treasures. The main candidate is the port of Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, the largest in Europe. A spokesperson for the port authority has confirmed the ongoing talks, underlining the full readiness of its facilities to assume this strategic role and contribute to European goals. But the bunker will not be centralized in a single point. Italy’s Industry Minister Adolfo Urso revealed that EU officials recently visited Porto Marghera, near Venice, to assess its viability as a storage hub. The port of Trieste is also competing to become the great logistics node of the Mediterranean. However, in this deployment there is a big elephant in the room: financing. Acquiring and maintaining these reserves will require a monumental financial muscle whose origin and distribution mechanisms among Member States are still unknown. The bath of reality. Storing minerals is not like storing natural gas. While rare earth oxides are relatively stable materials, processed gallium metal or certain forms of graphite require highly controlled environmental conditions, a technical challenge that has yet to be resolved. This bunker is just a patch. How an analysis of Rare Earth Exchangestrategic inventories can cushion the impact of a sudden supply outage, but they do not replace an industrial ecosystem. Europe has a deep structural problem, since it is useless to have tons of rare earths stored in Rotterdam if the continent lacks the capacity to refine these materials, convert them into metal and manufacture magnets on a large scale. China has been building this complex ecosystem for decades, while Europe is just beginning to take stock of its own dependence. Added to this deficit is a paralyzing bureaucracy: the few European mining projects are stuck for years in a tangle of administrative permits, making this warehouse an even more desperate measure. The new industrial cold war. While Europe strives to design this defense mechanism against the clock, its rival continues to move chips. China is not only legislating to restrict exports, it is accelerating the construction of its own strategic reserve sites, shielding by law that its resources remain within its borders for a minimum of five years. The creation of this European bunker marks a point of no return. These maneuvers demonstrate that Western governments have definitively abandoned the supply model driven by the free market to embrace deeply interventionist industrial policies. The ambitious goals of the EU Critical Raw Materials Law for 2030 – extracting 10% and processing 40% of what it consumes in its own territory – today seem like an unattainable mountain. The Rotterdam mineral bunker will not solve Europe’s industrial orphanhood, but in the new era of resource geopolitics, it is the only lifeline left to buy the time it so desperately needs. Image | Unsplash Xataka | The condemnation that afflicts China: after decades of manufacturing a competitive desktop processor, it is six years behind

Aragon’s great plan to fill its reservoirs with solar panels has just collapsed due to a bureaucratic oversight

by

There is an image that sums up our times: reservoirs covered in solar panels floating like technological water lilies. It was the Government’s great bet to squeeze clean energy without consuming soil. However, that landscape has just collided head-on with the Supreme Court. According to the national climate roadmapBy 2030, Spain has to achieve a renewable penetration of 42% in final energy consumption and 74% in electricity generation. Swamp water, free of conflict over agricultural or forest land use, seemed the ideal setting. But the legislative rush has truncated the plan. The Supreme Court agrees with Aragón. The Fifth Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court has declared null Royal Decree 662/2024, of July 9. It has done so by upholding an appeal filed by the Autonomous Community of Aragon. The ruling annuls the regulations by operation of law and condemns the State to pay the procedural costs. The Aragonese regional executive had full legitimacy to appeal, since, as the court confirmed, the execution of this decree directly affected its powers in territorial planning, the environment, tourism and hydroelectric development. But what did it consist of? Published in the Official State Gazettethe objective of the text was to develop the regime to which the installation of these plants in state-managed reservoirs should be subject. The preamble of the standard strongly defended the technology, ensuring that these systems have better energy performance due to the cooling effect of water, reduce evaporation by casting shade, and slow down the growth of phytoplankton in waters at risk of eutrophication. To put order in this deployment, the Government articulated a strict system of temporary concessions that limited the exploitation of the plants to a maximum of 25 years, including extensions. The regulatory text also imposed space limits according to the ecological state of the waters. Likewise, the conditions required the promoters to provide a provisional bond of 4,000 euros per megawatt (MW) installed only for the application – which became up to 12,000 euros per MW to respond for damage to the public domain -, all conditional on the presentation of environmental studies, monitoring of invasive species and a continuous monitoring program to evaluate water quality. The legal stumbling block: legislating without asking. The central problem was not the content of the norm, but how it was approved. The Government omitted the process of prior public consultation with affected citizens and groups. This is a procedure that the ruling considers inexcusable, and its omission has been the nail in the coffin of the decree. The State tried to justify this legal shortcut in the courts with two arguments that the Supreme Court has dismantled. Firstly, the State Attorney’s Office alleged that there was an extraordinary situation of public interest due to the increase in energy prices due to the war in Ukraine. The High Court rejected this premise, recalling its own doctrine: to skip public consultation, it is not enough that there is urgency; the rule must also be of a purely organizational or budgetary nature, something that does not happen in this case. Secondly, the Government tried to rely on an “urgent processing” route. The response of the magistrates It was forceful.: “In this case, the aforementioned procedure cannot be dispensed with because there is no declaration of urgency nor was the procedure developed on that legal basis.” There was no agreement from the Council of Ministers that supported the rush; therefore, the shortcut was illegal. Why it matters: form, not substance. There is a crucial nuance that changes the reading of this news. The Supreme Court has not ruled that putting solar panels on water is a bad idea or that it is harmful. In fact, it rejected the rest of the complaints presented by Aragón, resolving that the text did not violate the principles of good regulation or legal certainty. We are facing what jurists call a formal procedural defect. The law falls only because the Government did not listen to the parties involved before acting. It is especially ironic that the Council of State itself I would have already warned to the Executive during the draft phase that this matter was going to need, in the medium term, a much more complete and systematic regulation. And now what? The renewable energy sector, which saw floating platforms as an unbeatable alternative to avoid the controversy over the consumption of agricultural land, is left in limbo. All the regulations of the decree disappear, including the modification of the Regulation of the Public Hydraulic Domain of 1986 that articulated these concessions. Meanwhile, in the affected territories, caution is already a reality. The Ebro Hydrographic Confederation, for example, had previously vetoed the installation of these floating plants in the Cinca swamps. The legal basis that allows these facilities continues to exist in the Water Law. What has fallen is the regulatory development, so the Government can go back to square one and draft a new regulation. But he will have to do it by scrupulously complying with the steps that he ignored this time. It has been shown that the rush in the energy transition has a high legal cost. The decree that was going to order solar panels on water has been shipwrecked. For not having listened before. Image | RawPixel Xataka | Europe throws away 16 billion a year in electronic waste. Spain has just turned on the first oven in Europe to recover them

Star Catcher has raised $88 million to build the first space power grid. Their plan is to recharge satellites with lasers

by

As the pace of space launches increases and missions beyond Earth become more abundant and varied, it is important to look for new ways to obtain energy so that these ships can travel to their destinations. Fuel is not infinite, so there comes a point where it runs out. Therefore, there are three main proposals. One is to resupply the ships directly in orbit. Another option is to resort to nuclear energy. In fact, There are already several agencies working on it. Finally, there is the option of solar energy. Unfortunately, this has some limitations, but the American company Star Catcher wants to solve them through the world’s first energy network located in space. A good economic injection. Star Catcher just announced which has received 65 million dollars in a series A financing round. With what they already had in their coffers, the company has 88 million dollars. Enough to date its first release to the end of this year. Different ways to “squeeze” the Sun. The solar energy we are used to is obtained through plates with photovoltaic cells installed directly on the Earth. However, there are already companies that want to bring it directly from the Sun, even at night. Its goal is to use mirrors that reflect sunlight at will anywhere on Earth, whatever the time and whether the weather is good or not. The problem is that these companies They are being criticized a lot for posing risks such as great light pollution. On the other hand, what Star Catcher wants to do is slightly different. They will also take solar energy directly into space, but they will not direct it to Earth, but to the spacecraft that need it. It will be like a kind of space solar power plant. Optical beaming. Star Catcher will be based on a phenomenon known as optical beaming. This consists of extracting solar energy and using it to power a multispectral optical laser, with which it will be redirected to satellites from which it can be distributed at will to the ships that need it. To do this, they hope to be able to put a constellation of 200 satellites into low Earth orbit. Previous records. Last year, this company broke the world record for wireless electricity transmission by delivering 1.1 kW of power to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Now, they want to transmit directly to space. It also has limitations. Although this company does not have the same limitations as those that want to redirect sunlight to Earth, it involves placing an immense number of satellites in orbit, with the risk that this entails. Many experts warn that, in the same way that could happen with Elon Musk’s Starlink constellation, this type of infrastructure increases the risk of Kessler syndrome. That is, it could happen that one or more fragments of space debris collide with them, deteriorating and launching pieces into space that would become more space debris, which in turn would collide with more satellites or more debris. Thus, a very dangerous domino effect would be generated for satellites, ships and space stations that are in space at that time. Even more risks. On the other hand, the launches of the ships that will place the satellites into orbit are also a great source of pollution. In fact, recently has been published a study that warns of the large amount of polluting substances that these types of launches leave in the upper layers of the atmosphere, where, otherwise, the pollution would be residual. In short, this company will bring us great advances, but it will have to maneuver carefully so as not to bring even more problems. Image | Star Catcher In Xataka | Starlink’s dominance in space begins to move: another company already has permission for a constellation of 4,000 satellites

The ‘Chinese Netflix’ has designed a plan for AI to generate the majority of its content within five years. It sounds risky

by

iQiyi, China’s largest video streaming service with more than 400 million monthly active users, announced in its annual content presentation in Beijing which expects AI to generate most of its movies and series within five years. Its founder and CEO, Gong Yu, summed it up before a room of producers and directors with a succinct phrase: “It’s a once-in-a-decade opportunity. We have to go with the tide.” Why is it important. iQiyi is not a minor platform betting on a trend. It is the subsidiary of streaming of Baidu, shares with Alibaba and Tencent the online video oligopoly in China, and operates in the streaming largest in the world by number of users. Whether it decides to pivot towards content generated entirely by AI affects how the rest of the platforms that tend to follow in its footsteps will produce, distribute and monetize audiovisual entertainment. The context. iQiyi has been losing audience for years to Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok owned by ByteDance. Short video has cut into the time that Chinese users spend on long video platforms. The result is that its revenue has fallen by 13% in the first quarter of 2026. The company, listed on Nasdaq, has also applied for a second listing in Hong Kong seeking closer capital. The announcement of the pivot towards AI comes from a certain pressure. In detail. The center of the plan is Nadou Proa suite of AI tools that the company presented on April 20 and that, it says, can manage practically the entire film production process: script, storyboardvideo generation and final assembly. The software does not work with its own models, but rather integrates those of several direct competitors: Alibaba, ByteDance and Kuaishou for the domestic market; Seedance 2.0 and Google I Spy 3.1 for the international version. iQiyi has also launched a library of virtual assets and “signed” talent for third-party creators to generate new content using the platform’s characters and universes. The incentive strategy to attract these external creators involves… An extra 20% on advertising and subscription revenue for those who produce content with Nadou Pro. An inaugural catalog of 16 AI-generated films, in science fiction and anime. A public goal: release a commercially successful AI-generated film before the end of summer 2026. Yes, but. The question that remains to be seen is whether anyone will want to pay to see that. Recent history does not invite optimism. AI-generated video has shown some traction on TikTok and Instagram, where the cost of user attention is practically zero and the scroll Erase any disappointment in a tenth of a second. That this tolerance is transferred to a two-hour feature film for which someone pays a monthly subscription is another story. Between the lines. Gong Yu has said that iQiyi will continue investing in professional production, but in the same sentence he has clarified that this type of content will reduce its relative weight on the platform. The direction is quite clear. The risk is that viewers of C-dramas and the anime Koreans who have made iQiyi great are exactly the type of audience that has the least tolerance for ‘AI slop‘. Main loser? The producers and directors who filled that room in Beijing when Gong Yu announced the pivot. iQiyi has designed a system where independent creators can use Nadou Pro to generate content and earn a percentage of the advertising revenue. It’s the same model that YouTube has applied for years with human content, now transferred to AI. In this scheme, professionals in the sector go from being the protagonists of the production chain to being, in the best case, supervisors of a process that they no longer control. In Xataka | In China, 470 series made with AI are produced per day. 99.9% of them do not reach anyone Featured image | iQiyi, Xataka with Mockuuups Studio

China is neither nor does it want to be in the 2nm war between TSMC, Intel and Samsung. Your plan to win is different

by

“Many people believe that competition in the semiconductor industry comes down to the advanced nodes and that we will only achieve success when we reach 2 or 3 nm. This is a misunderstanding“. This statement was made by Richard Chang Rujing, the founder of SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp), the largest Chinese semiconductor manufacturer with a global market share of about 5%. Rujing has spoken these words with a very clear intention: he wants China to strengthen its supply chain and its position in the global integrated circuit market by developing its manufacturing capacity for mature chips. Currently the most advanced integration technology that SMIC has in production is 7nm photolithography due to their inability to access equipment extreme ultraviolet lithography (VVE) of ASML. And there is no doubt that it and other Chinese chip manufacturers would benefit greatly from having the capacity to produce 5, 3 and 2 nm semiconductors. In this way they could compete on equal terms with TSMC, Intel and Samsung. However, there is something very important that we should not overlook: advanced nodes represent less than 20% of the world market of integrated circuits by product volume, while more than 80% of demand It comes from the segments of mature nodes and specialized processes. Rujing wants SMIC and the other Chinese chipmakers to invest more in their mature nodes, and it makes sense. After all, this is the strategy that is allowing China resist US pressure. Mature chips are the medicine the Chinese industry needs During the first two months of 2026, China exported integrated circuits worth $43.3 billionwhich represents an increase of 72.6% compared to the same period in 2025. This information comes directly from Chinese customs records, so it is presumably reliable. However, the most astonishing thing is that this country’s exports as a whole have grown by 21.8% during January and February, so it is evident that the semiconductor industry has been stimulated with much more intensity than other sectors. More than 80% of demand comes from the mature nodes and specialized processes segments Domestic demand has stimulated the growth of the Chinese chip industry in recent years, but the figures I have collected in the previous paragraph show that external demand is also very strong. In this context it is reasonable for us to ask what type are integrated circuits that Chinese manufacturers are mass producing. And the answer is very revealing: these are chips derived from mature integration technologiesusually 28 nm or less advanced. After all, the semiconductors that we mostly find in electronic devices, household appliances or cars, among other products, have been produced using them. Many Chinese chip manufacturers, such as Hua Hong Semiconductor, China Resources Microelectronics or Guangzhou ZenSemi, are manufacturing 28 nm integrated circuits or with even more mature technologies. And the Beijing Yandong Microelectronics (YDME) company is going to build a 4.6 billion dollar plant expressly to produce 28nm semiconductors on 300mm wafers. It is evident that these companies would not focus on the manufacturing of mature chips in this way if it were not a profitable strategy, and, above all, necessary to sustain the Chinese integrated circuit industry at a time as critical as the current one. Image | TSMC More information | SCMP In Xataka | China is preparing for the worst scenario: it fears that the US will prevent TSMC from delivering chips for cars and smartphones

the radical plan for buyers to take control

by

The world faces “the greatest threat to energy security in history.” As warned by the International Energy Agency (IEA)Europe has aviation fuel reserves for only “about six weeks.” Along the same lines, countries like Pakistan or the Philippines are days away from running out of gasoline at their pumps. The war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have caused the largest oil supply disruption ever recorded in history. According to Maurizio Carulli, analyst at Quilter Cheviot in statements to Euronewsthe prolonged closure of this key corridor has removed about 12% of the world’s oil supply from the market, an impact far greater than that of the Yom Kippur War or the invasion of Kuwait. For 65 years, the global dynamic has been immutable: the producing countries, grouped in OPEC, have dictated the volumes and the rules of the game. However, the magnitude of this crisis is prompting economists to propose a radical paradigm shift in which the balance of power changes sides. “OPEC in reverse” To address this market suffocation, University of Massachusetts Amherst economist Gregor Semieniuk and his colleague Isabella Weber propose a revolutionary idea: create an “OPEC in reverse.” As detailed Fortuneit would be a global coalition of oil-importing and consuming countries that would act as a bloc. Instead of controlling production volumes as the traditional OPEC does, this consumer club would set a purchase ceiling or maximum price. As explained on the financial portal Reelfinancialthe primary objective is to stop a bidding war in which rich nations monopolize the energy supply, raising costs to the point of expelling lower-income countries from the market. It is not an idea without historical foundations. The experts themselves remember that the IEA, founded in 1974, was born precisely as an institutional counterweight of the consuming nations against OPEC. Since former US President Ronald Reagan removed oil price controls in 1981, the system has been governed almost exclusively by free trade. However, Eswar Prasad, a professor at Cornell University, explains in Fortune that the international economy has stagnated in a “zero-sum game.” Prasad compares the current energy crisis to the hoarding of vaccines and medical supplies by rich countries during the pandemic, leaving poorer nations with shortages. The roadmap according to the experts To materialize this plan, Semieniuk points out that the United States is in the ideal position to lead the new coalition of buyers. Being a net exporter and registering an energy trade surplus close to $100 billion in 2024, Washington has the financial and geopolitical muscle necessary to force change, explains Fortune. In addition to coordinating price caps, economists advocate implementing taxes on windfall profits (windfall taxes) on giants like ExxonMobil or Chevron, companies that continue to profit considerably from the rise in crude oil prices. The mechanics of this strong state intervention are justified by the seriousness of the situation. Faced with an unprecedented military blockade, governments must take a much more active role to ensure fair access to energy, making it clear that, in times of war, the free market cannot be the only response mechanism. This consumer proposal comes at the exact moment when the historic producer cartel is collapsing. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) have made their departure from OPEC official prioritizing their “national interest.” The impact of this divorce is tectonic. In an opinion column published by Reutersanalyst Ron Bousso warns thatAfter the Gulf blockade, OPEC’s global market share had already plummeted to 26% in March. The cartel is rapidly losing its ability to dominate and stabilize the markets. The OPEC crisis is not purely economic; Its roots are deeply political and territorial. Analyst Robin Mills explains that OPEC obliged the UAE to limit its production to 3.2 million barrels per day, despite the fact that the country had invested billions to reach a real capacity of 5 million. Added to this quota tension is an evident diplomatic fracture in the Gulf. Emirates has felt betrayed and abandoned by its Arab allies after having to absorb the impact of almost 2,800 Iranian drone and missile attacks alone. Consequently, the geopolitical chessboard is being rapidly redrawn. Joe DeLaura, energy specialist at Rabobank, underlines in the magazine Intelligencer that the world is heading towards fragmented blocks. The UAE is strategically pivoting toward the United States in exchange for protection for its shipping, and DeLaura anticipates that countries like Kazakhstan could be next to rebel against OPEC quotas. In his opinion column for Le MondeStéphane Lauer summarizes the great historical irony of this collapse: OPEC, created in the 1960s out of an iron desire for national sovereignty against Western powers, is fracturing today “in the name of that same sovereignty”, with each state seeking its own salvation. The dawn of a new era OPEC, as we knew it for more than half a century, has fractured. As explained by Jorge León from Rystad EnergySaudi Arabia has been left practically alone to bear the enormous cost of stabilizing supply, which anticipates an era of extreme volatility. While the old cartel is bleeding due to internal divisions and the weight of the war, an unprecedented window of opportunity opens for importing countries to finally take control of the market. History has already shown for 65 years that an organized coalition of nations can shape global energy markets. The big question now is whether the consumer world will have the courage and political will to do exactly the same. Image | Magnificent Xataka | Iran has responded to the US plan to liberate the ships in Hormuz with another approach: one with drones, missiles and burning ships

This is the new Movistar Plus+ plan that you can even share with a friend

by

The more options a company gives us, the better. Movistar Plus+ has been offering all its content for a monthly or annual subscription for a long time, although just a few weeks ago it added its Free Plan. Did it seem like little to you? Well, a new option has just been released: it is a plan that we can subscribe to for only 4.99 euros. Without permanence and whatever operator you are. Monthly subscription to Movistar Plus+ – Cinema and Series The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Less than five euros without permanence and regardless of which operator you are This streaming platform is one of the most complete that we can choose today. The reason for this is that, in addition to offering a lot of movies, series or documentaries (many of them original and exclusive to the platform), it also broadcasts football and other sports in general. But, What if you don’t like them? Well that’s where this new plan comes in. What exactly does it offer? This plan, which, remember, only costs 4.99 euros per month, remove sport from the equation. In other words, it gives you access to movies, series and documentaries of all kinds, as well as more than 70 television channels. In addition, it maintains three key attributes of the 9.99 euros per month: we can subscribe regardless of the operator, it has no permanence and we can share it with a friend without problems. And you only need a card and an email. There is a lot to do with this plan. For example, if we focus on cinema, there are films awarded at the Goya (such as ‘Sundays‘ or ‘Dinner’) or Oscar winners (such as ‘The Sinners‘ either ‘Weapons‘). And series? There’s the newcomer ‘I always sometimes‘, as well as ‘Empathy’ or the final season of ‘Outlander’. Furthermore, the good thing is that this plan does not replace the one that the platform was offering. If you prefer to have matches like the next Bayern Munich-PSG or the Clásico next weekendyou will also be able to see them on Movistar Plus+ for 9.99 euros per month. In this case, you also have the option of taking the annual plan (which is worth 99.90 euros) and save two months. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Movistar Plus+ In Xataka | Movistar Plus+ activates its Free Plan with complete programs and a lot of content, regardless of which operator you are In Xataka | Movistar Plus+ for non-Movistar customers: what it is, how much it costs, channels, additional services and how to contract it

With the Find X9 Ultra, OPPO has an ambitious plan to conquer the heart of Spain. And its CEO has told us what it is

by

From the offices of OPPO In Madrid, at the top of a building very close to Plaza de Castilla, you can see an old water tank from the Canal de Isabel II. It is a huge concrete structure inaugurated in the middle of the last century that today, no longer in use, functions as one of the visual “landmarks” of the square. It is very big, about 40 meters high, but it is very far away. I take one of the OPPO Find X9 Ultra that’s on the table, I open the camera, zoom in 10x and take a photo. The result is impressive. The camera returns an image full of details: the contours of the concrete, already worn, the advertising signage that floods its dome, the brutalist curves that the tower draws. All this from inside an office and interrupted by a large window. I look towards the back of the room, where there are some boxes of snacks and pastries ready for breakfast. There are tiny inscriptions on the side, so I repeat the process: I open the camera, zoom in 10x and take another photo. The sharpness is extraordinary. There is no pixelation or noticeable distortion or digital zoom artifacts in the drawing of the letters, nor a great chromatic distortion with respect to what my eyes see. “What we want to do with the Ultra is not just another incremental improvement, we want it to be an alternative to your professional camera,” he explains to me. Kevin ChoCEO of OPPO in Spain since last summer. “It would be like buying a camera with a built-in phone and not the other way around, right?” I ask him. “That is, camera firstmore than a phone with an interesting camera.” Looking at the wide range of tools on the table, it’s hard not to agree. The launch of the Find X9 Ultra in Spain marks a milestone for OPPO: for the first time, the company launches its top-of-the-range phone in Europe, something reserved until now for Chinese consumers. OPPO has not spared any details: the Ultra incorporates an ambitious 300 mm teleconverter equivalent in 35 mm and 13x format that is attached to the phone’s gigantic lenses to multiply the camera’s possibilities. Why has OPPO made such a determined bet for photographyWithout a doubt the most notable aspect of a Find X9 Ultra full of attractive features and specifications? “There is a very marked polarization in the market,” explains Cho. “Around 30% or 40% of buyers continue to opt for devices under 200 euros, or even second-hand, but what we are also seeing is an expansion of the premium segments. It is the same trend month after month: premium sales are growing.” (Xataka) Cho introduces a key word: “premiumization.” The market polarization of the mobile phone is neither new nor surprising for anyone who has paid attention to the dynamics of recent years. Many consumers tend to hold on to their devices for longer, as a result of the large investments they must make, which is why they demand more performance and quality from their products. This gap, also present in markets such as the car, has forced almost all brands to recalibrate their strategies. OPPO’s ambitious plan “We don’t want transactional volumes,” Cho continues, “you know, competing on price. We want to make sure we bring products that can create value for the consumer.” According to Cho, OPPO is facing its second wave of expansion in the European market: after a consolidation of the brand and sales in recent years, it is time to grow not so much through raw numbers as through loyalty in the segments. more exclusive of the market. And for that you need a product up to the task, hence the arrival of the Find X9 Ultra. A landing that, however, has required adaptations. Since his arrival in Spain, Cho has promoted a change in OPPO’s methodology, especially regarding the consumer: “We are doing studies to understand consumer preferences and to define our strategies.” Refers to focus group and surveys with more than 4,000 respondents, a very large sample that exceeds those that the brand was doing until then. Cho is clear that the only way to compete in the premium segment is by going to the user, or, in his words, “winning the heart and brain of the consumer.” (Xataka) The approach is ambitious, as are its objectives. When I ask him where he would like to see OPPO in five years in Spain, he answers without much hesitation: “As the number one brand.” The Find X9 Ultra is the first stone of a long road ahead, a way to “test the roof” of OPPO in Europe. His first steps have consisted of relearning and readapting the lessons of the chinese marketwhere OPPO is a brand with a lot of penetration and experience in the premium segments, for Spain and Europe. Before the launch on the old continent, OPPO has had to make some adjustments in terms of operating system and memory to adapt them to local needs and preferences. Given the constraints of such a competitive segment Like the premium one, OPPO has two other arguments to win over the consumer: its operating system, ColorOS, and the battery. Cho boasts leadership in the second area and widespread user satisfaction in the first: “In China, our operating system has consistently been our main selling point for the past three years.” In Spain, the Ultra works on Android, like the rest of the market, but Cho highlights the interoperability and customization of OPPO: “We have been working on inter-device and inter-ecosystem interoperability for some time, so that you can use the phone with a Windows computer or a Mac.” (Xataka) Camera, battery, operating system… The elephant in the room that needs to be addressed is AI. Is there the definitive angle for a mobile phone brand to be more attractive than its competition? Cho’s answer is not direct but clear: OPPO’s strength is … Read more

NASA’s plan to capture a falling telescope before it burns up in the atmosphere

by

After more than 20 years carrying out their work to perfectiona NASA space telescope is about to fall to Earth and burn up in its atmosphere. This would be very serious, both because of the possibility of uncontrolled debris being generated and because of the loss of the valuable work that this instrument is carrying out. For this reason, the US space agency has already teamed up with a private company to launch a ship into space capable of hunting the telescope and sending it to a safer orbit. Key dates. The protagonist of this story is the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. According to the latest measurementscarried out in November 2025, there is a 50% risk that this telescope will leave its orbit and fall to Earth in June 2026. In addition, the risk rises to 90% before 2027. For this reason, NASA has granted $30 million to the company Katalyst to develop a robotic spacecraft capable of capturing the telescope and raising it to a safer orbit. The ship is called LINK and its development is going from strength to strength, although there is still no launch date. The biter bit. Neil Gehrels Swift was sent to space in 2024 to capture and study the explosions of gamma rays. Since then it has provided very useful information; But unfortunately, this could change soon. A subdued atmosphere. The problem lies in the attenuation of the Earth’s atmosphere. When we travel to space, this does not disappear suddenly, but rather fades little by little. Such a weak atmosphere has the ability to slow down spacecraft and send them into a lower orbit. If solar storms are added to this, capable of swelling the atmosphere, great aerodynamic resistance is produced. We are currently in a cycle of high solar activity, which reached its peak in October 2024. This possibly pushed the telescope to its limits, placing it in an unstable orbit, from which it could leave at any time. Work against the clock. NASA and Katalyst are working around the clock to launch the LINK spacecraft on time. But in the meantime, the telescope must hold on. For this reason, some of its instruments have been turned off and their operations modified, in order to minimize their energy consumption. This has made it possible to reposition its solar panels and, thereby, reduce their resistance. Sooner or later this will not be enough, but at least it can buy some time until the LINK launch can take place. In the absence of ground platforms, it is a good plane. In order to hunt this telescope in the orbit in which it is located, a launch configuration is necessary that is not available on any of the platforms available to NASA. Therefore, it is planned to launch the ship directly from an airplane. Thus, the trajectory can be adjusted much better. In short, this will be a unique event in history. A telescope has never been caught on the fly. For now we will have to wait, but we will be very attentive to the release dates. Image | POT In Xataka | Exactly 100 years ago we began to understand how the world works. Quantum physics has radically changed our lives

The best technology offers from the MediaMarkt Renove Plan, today May 2

by

MediaMarkt opens a month of May full of offers through its new campaign Renew Plan. Are you looking for a television, a surveillance camera or the Nintendo Switch 2 itself? Well, be careful with what the store has to offer for a few days, since the campaign ends on May 10. Samsung Galaxy Watch7 by 151.05 euros When you log in to the store, a great watch to measure physical activity or carry on a daily basis. Samsung TQ65QN1EFAUXXC by 599 eurosa good TV to enjoy the World Cup in style. nintendo switch 2 by 479 eurosa new pack that once again includes a video game and a keychain. Marshall Acton III by 199 eurosthe perfect speaker to take your favorite music anywhere this summer. TP-Link Tapo TC71 by 20.99 eurosa good camera with night vision to have your home a little more protected. Nintendo Switch 2 + Super Mario Bros. Wonder + keychain The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung Galaxy Watch7 It may not be the most recent model, but for what it costs Samsung Galaxy Watch7 Yes, it is one of the most attractive: by logging into MediaMarkt you will be 151.05 euros (before 179 euros). We are talking about an excellent watch that comes with WearOS as an operating systemwhich means there is a wide variety of apps to download. It includes sensors such as optical or electrical cardiac biosignal and its design is ideal if you are looking to use it for sports and also for everyday use. Samsung Galaxy Watch7 (BT, 40mm) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung TQ65QN1EFAUXXC If for the next World Cup you have thought about giving a radical change to your living room by changing the TV, be careful about the price of the TV. Samsung TQ65QN1EFAUXXC because it stays in 599 euros (before 859 euros). It is a TV with a Neo QLED panel and a 65-inch screen. Its refresh rate of up to 144 Hz is ideal for video games and sports, it is compatible with HDR10+ and works with both Alexa and Google Assistant. Samsung TQ65QN1EFAUXXC (65 inches) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links nintendo switch 2 New month, new pack. MediaMarkt has set up another combo of the nintendo switch 2 and this time it comes with the video game ‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder‘ and a ‘Mario Kart World’ keychain (the same one included in the previous packs). The good thing is that if you buy this pack it costs you 479 euros10 euros more than if you buy only the console. This way, you get a video game to use on the Switch 2 as soon as it arrives home. Nintendo Switch 2 + Super Mario Bros. Wonder + keychain The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Marshall Acton III Now that the weather is nice, we are starting to look forward to the “swimming pool” season. If facing summer you are already thinking about the music that you are going to take with you anywhere, you cannot miss a good Bluetooth speaker like the Marshall Acton IIIwhich is also now on sale for 199 euros (before 229 euros). It is quite powerful thanks to its 30W speakers, it includes a generous button panel to control many audio parameters and its design… there is little to say about it except that it maintains the particular design of the brand that makes it so attractive. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links TP-Link Tapo TC71 On the other hand, if you want to have the house a little more monitored and are looking for a good, pretty and cheap camera, MediaMarkt has the TP-Link Tapo TC71 for alone 20.99 euros. It has a format that allows the camera to be rotated 360º, offers a maximum resolution of 2K, has night vision, has motion detection and sending of notifications, incorporates a light and sound alarm and also comes with two-way audio. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Image | MediaMarkt and Compradicción (header), Samsung, Nintendo, Marshall, TP-Link In Xataka | Best smartwatch in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and seven recommended models In Xataka | Best Bluetooth speakers in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models

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.