Lenovo made waves at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, debuting a transparent laptop that is evoking science fiction metaphors and, some say, pointing to a new direction in computing. Lenovo hailed the concept ThinkBook product as an “industry first,” complete with a borderless 17.3-inch MicroLED transparent display, providing a “see-through” experience. Lenovo also touted its AI-powered portables, including a new ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 and ThinkBook 14 2-in-1 Gen 4, both featuring Intel Core Ultra processors “for the next wave of personalized business computing.” Continue reading Lenovo Unveils Transparent Laptop and AI Portables at MWC

Qualcomm raised the curtain on a variety of artificial intelligence, 5G, and Wi-Fi technologies at Mobile World Congress Barcelona, which runs through Thursday. The San Diego-based chip designer unveiled an AI Hub it says will help developers create voice-, text- and image-based applications using pre-optimized AI models. Qualcomm’s flagship AI chips — the mobile Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and the PC-centric Snapdragon X Elite — were announced last year. With the first splash of products now heading to market the company is promising to push the boundaries of 5G and 6G. Continue reading MWC: Qualcomm Unveils AI Hub and Promotes 5G, 6G Tech

GlobalFoundries has been selected to receive the first major grant in the Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act program to reinvigorate U.S. chip production. The $1.5 billion in grants will be used to construct and expand facilities in Vermont and New York. Additionally, the administration plans to make available $1.6 billion in federal loans. The grants are estimated to triple GlobalFoundries’ New York state production capacity within the next 10 years. Chipmakers including Intel, Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics and TSMC have submitted grant applications for government assistance in building new or updating existing facilities. Continue reading GlobalFoundries Receives $1.5 Billion in First U.S. CHIPS Grant

In the wake of the recent Vision Pro launch, mostly positive reviews, and (reportedly) selling out of its modest 200,000 unit initial production run, Apple seems to have reignited its appetite for innovation. The company is said to be considering the release of a foldable iPhone after quietly developing the technology since 2018. A sticking point for the design-oriented firm may be the “ubiquitous foldable crease,” which has pundits speculating that Apple’s debut entry won’t hit the market before 2026. Early reports suggest the company is pursuing a clamshell form factor that folds lengthwise. Continue reading Is Foldable iPhone What’s Next for Apple After the Vision Pro?

Qualcomm reported revenue of $9.9 billion for the quarter ending in December, a 5 percent increase year-over-year. The company tallied $6.69 billion in sales of handset chips during the three-month period, up 16 percent over the prior year’s $5.7 billion, marking a turnaround after two years of declines. The quarter marked the beginning of shipments of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, designed for mobile generative AI, and its adoption by OEMs and manufacturers including Samsung for its new Galaxy S24 lineup. Qualcomm also announced it will continue selling 5G modem chips to Apple. Continue reading Qualcomm Earnings: All-In on XR, Smartphone Chips Rebound

Canon is gearing up to begin shipping its new nanoimprint lithography chipmaking machines, possibly this year. The equipment — which uses a stamping process Canon says will be cheaper and more energy-efficient than ASML’s light-based extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology — could be a disruptor in a market dominated by the Dutch company. Such machines, essential in manufacturing semiconductors, imprint circuitry onto silicon wafers in patterns that can be thousands of times thinner than the width of a human hair. Foundries TSMC, Samsung Semiconductor and Intel rely on ASML’s EUV machines in the manufacture of high-end chips. Continue reading Canon Could Begin Shipping Chip Stamping Machine in 2024

New York has become the first city in the nation to designate a public health crisis with regard to use of social media by young children. In a State of the City address, Mayor Eric Adams name-checked TikTok, YouTube and Facebook, calling them (and “companies like” them) “addictive and dangerous.” Adams referenced last week’s advisory from the city’s Department of Health as “officially designating social media as a public health crisis hazard in New York City.” The advisory urges adults to establish “tech free times” for kids, and delay smartphone access until age 14. Continue reading New York City Classifies Social Media a ‘Public Health Threat’

The Asus ROG Phone 8 series — demonstrated at CES 2024 in Las Vegas last week — is generating excellent reviews for its gaming capabilities and additional praise for its functionality as a smartphone. The devices start at $1,100 and tick up to an entry level of $1,500 for the ROG Phone 8 Pro. Asus calls the ROG Phone 8 series “the biggest redesign in its history,” and says it has evolved from just a gaming phone into a device suitable for streamers and content creators. At the heart of that is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform, supported by 8,533 Mbps LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage. Continue reading CES: The Asus ROG Phone 8 Series Highlights Mobile Gaming

During this week’s Unpacked event, Samsung introduced Galaxy AI, a suite of artificial intelligence tools designed for the new Galaxy S series smartphones — the Galaxy S24, Galaxy S24+, and Galaxy S24 Ultra. “AI amplifies nearly every experience on the Galaxy S24 series,” including real-time text and call translations, a powerful suite of creative tools in the ProVisual Engine and a new kind of “gestural search that lets users circle, highlight, scribble on or tap anything onscreen” to see related search results. The AI enhancements are largely enabled by a multiyear deal with Google and Qualcomm. Samsung also debuted a wearable accessory, the Galaxy Ring. Continue reading Unpacked: Samsung Intros Galaxy AI with Next Gen S Phones

Google and Samsung have joined forces to make file sharing between Android devices easier and quicker. The companies have unified Google’s Nearby Share and Samsung’s Quick Share, “bringing the best of our sharing solutions together into a singular cross-Android solution under the Quick Share name,” and introducing the new utility across the entire Android ecosystem. “We’ve integrated the experiences and created the best default, built-in option for peer-to-peer content sharing across all types of devices in the Android and Chromebook ecosystems,” Google said at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. Continue reading CES: Google and Samsung Simplify File Sharing with Android

Xreal, the Chinese XR company formerly known as Nreal, debuted its Air 2 Ultra AR glasses at CES 2024 this week in Las Vegas, with the $699 item scheduled to ship to U.S. buyers in March, crowding the February 2 release date Apple just announced for its $3,500 Vision Pro mixed reality headset. Though currently aimed at developers, who can preorder now, the Air 2 Ultra will be available for purchase online from Xreal to anyone in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the UK, in addition to China and the United States. Continue reading CES: Xreal Offers Spatial Computing with Air 2 Ultra for $699

Seattle-based tech firm Ixana is at CES 2024 demonstrating its Wi-R communication chip, which “reduces energy consumption by 100x compared to radiative wireless technologies like BLE, Wi-Fi, cellular, Zigbee and Z-Wave, enabling a paradigm shift in wearable technology,” according to the company, which nabbed a CES Innovation Award. The 4Mbps YR22 Wi-R chip offers “continuous charging-free body-worn health monitoring, video streaming for extended reality, and intuitive human-computer interaction,” Ixana says, explaining it works via algorithms that run via distributed computing on battery-powered devices. Continue reading CES: Ixana Transforms Human Body into Networked Receiver

Volkswagen’s CES press conference on Monday gave us a window into what we expect to see during this week’s CES 2024. The presentation centered entirely around artificial intelligence. VW has partnered with Cerence to speed the integration of AI tech into their vehicles’ in-cabin experience. The implementation touches on combining AI with spatial web capabilities. And VW has worked to make the in-car experience seamlessly compatible with AI-enhanced in-home and mobile device experiences that consumers are embracing. Not once during the presentation did they mention anything about car design or performance other than how it relates to AI implementation. Continue reading CES: VW Press Event Emphasizes a Future Transformed by AI

Satellite television pioneer Charlie Ergen has reunited his empire, having on December 31 completed the merger of Dish Network Corp. and EchoStar Corp. Ergen co-founded both companies and served as chairman of each prior to the merger. He now becomes executive chairman of the combined operation. Former EchoStar chief Hamid Akhavan was named president and CEO of the two companies in November and continues as operational head. Ergen feels his satellite infrastructure is well-situated for 5G. He plans to move the unified firm away from pay TV and into wireless services, competing with Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T. Continue reading Ergen Completes Dish Merger with EchoStar for 5G Moonshot

Samsung Display has revealed plans to begin mass production on a new type of monitor with ultra-high-definition resolution of 3840×2160 pixels. Samsung says this is the highest pixel density and UHD resolution among available OLED monitors, and that the display also offers super-fast response speed to thrill gamers. The new QD-OLED monitors will initially be offered in two sizes: 32 inches and 27 inches. Typically, 30-inch QHD monitors offer 2560×1440 pixels, which Samsung says is fine for “general-purpose” use, adding that “consumers who enjoy gaming and high-definition video content will have a strong preference for UHD products.” Continue reading Samsung’s New QD-OLED Monitor Called a ‘Game Changer’