LG Display has unveiled what it is calling “the world’s first stretchable display,” a screen capable of elongated up to 50 percent, “the highest rate in the industry.” At LG Sciencepark in Seoul this month, the company demonstrated the new panel at a meeting of more than 100 South Korean industry, academia and research stakeholders involved in a stretchable display national project. The free-form prototype has a 12-inch screen that can be folded and twisted and stretched up to 18 inches while continuing to deliver resolution of 100ppi and full RGB color by using a silicon substrate and special wiring structure. Continue reading LG Says Its New Flexible Screen Can Stretch Up to 50 Percent

Samsung is releasing a Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition that will initially debut in South Korea on October 25 at a price of roughly $2,000. This thinner, lighter new Z Fold sports larger displays and a superior 200MP camera system, an AI-friendly 16GB of RAM and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, though by the time it debuts in the U.S. it may have the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite, which Qualcomm says will start showing up in products by the end of this year. Samsung is positioning the exclusive limited run as “a thank-you” to local customers. There are rumors of a possible China release forthcoming. Continue reading Samsung’s New Galaxy Z Fold Releasing Only in South Korea

Samsung Electronics saw net profit rise sixfold in Q2, surging 46 percent — to $7.11 billion — compared to Q1. The buoyant results for the South Korean electronics manufacturer were driven by its semiconductor business and the demand for advanced chips needed to fuel the global boom in artificial intelligence. Although the company is the world’s top smartphone manufacturer, more than half of the quarter’s operating profit came from chip-making for the latest reporting period. Revenue for the April through June quarter resulted in a 23.42 percent increase year-over-year, while profit soared 1,458 percent. Continue reading Demand for Advanced Semiconductors Drives Samsung Profits

Perplexity is a year-old AI startup whose conversational “answer engine” has gained attention as a potential challenger to conventional search. Two months ago the venture raised $73.6 million in Series B funding from investors including Nvidia and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos via his Bezos Expeditions, resulting in a valuation of about $520 million. Now the company is said to be finalizing another cash infusion that is predicted to double its valuation to roughly $1 billion. The current financing round is reportedly being led by former Y Combinator partner Daniel Gross through his own investment fund. Continue reading AI Startup Perplexity Targets $1B Valuation with New Funding

Apple has been fined $1.95 billion by the European Union after the bloc’s executive body, the European Commission, found the iPhone maker in violation of antitrust law by using its App Store market dominance to stifle music streaming competition. The EC found that Apple suppressed the ability of app developers to communicate with iOS users about alternative music subscription services available outside the App Store. The fine stems from a 2019 complaint from Spotify that triggered an investigation into Apple. Spotify hailed the result as a win for consumers and “an important moment in the fight for a more open Internet,” while Apple has vowed to appeal. Continue reading Apple Fined $1.95 Billion by EU for Music Streaming Antitrust

In the parade of attention-grabbing items queueing up for CES 2024, LG Labs’ “retro-futuristic concept speaker” is generating early buzz. The DukeBox combines old-timey vacuum tubes with a transparent OLED display that can be used to view programing or provide ambient imagery (of, say, a crackling fireplace that lets the tubes ghost through thanks to the OLED’s adjustable transparency). Also showcasing at the CES LG Labs zone: a biped robot equipped with AI, the Gram Fold 17-inch foldable OLED laptop and the CineBeam Qube 4K projector that displays up to 120-inch images. Continue reading LG DukeBox Speaker Touts Vacuum Tubes and OLED Display

Canon has made a breakthrough it says can help manufacture the world’s most advanced semiconductors. The company’s latest nanoimprint lithography (NIL) system challenges Dutch firm ASML, to date the leader in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology. ASML creates tech used in TSMC’s chips made for Apple iPhones. Canon says its FPA-1200NZ2C nanoimprint semiconductor manufacturing equipment can produce chips equivalent to a 5-nanometer process, the current state of the art, and with further improvement expects to enable circuit patterning corresponds to 2nm nodes. The new equipment is also energy efficient, Canon says. Continue reading Canon Litho Breakthrough May Advance Global Chipmaking

LG Electronics has unveiled a plan to increase global revenue from 2022’s $51 billion to about $79 billion by 2030 as it transitions to a “smart life solution company.” A big part of that will be through subscriptions to add-on services for its TVs and home appliances. The South Korean tech giant’s CEO William Cho said the idea is to get the LG smart system, webOS, onto more third-party brands. Cho outlined plans for a “platform-based service business model that continuously generates profits, such as content and services, subscriptions and solutions” across all product categories. Continue reading LG Unveils Plans to Turn webOS into Media and Ad Platform

YouTube has adjusted the requirements for its Partner Program (YPP), making it easier for creators with smaller followings to earn money. The Google subsidiary has cut in half — to 500 — the minimum number of subscribers required for creators to monetize across paid chat, shopping, tipping, channel memberships and more. Other thresholds have also been lowered, with valid watch hours reduced to 3,000 (from 4,000) and Shorts views cut to 3 million (as opposed to 10 million). The new parameters are initially effective in the U.S., Canada, UK, Taiwan and South Korea. Continue reading YouTube Lowers Monetization Threshold to Attract Creators

The European Parliament on Wednesday took a major step to legislate artificial intelligence, passing a draft of the AI Act, which puts restrictions on many of what are believed to be the technology’s riskiest uses. The EU has been leading the world in advancing AI regulation, and observers are already citing this developing law as a model framework for global policymakers eager to place guardrails on this rapidly advancing technology. Among the Act’s key tenets: it will dramatically curtail use of facial recognition software and require AI firms such as OpenAI to disclose more about their training data. Continue reading European Union Takes Steps to Regulate Artificial Intelligence

Sam Altman continues to call for coordinated international regulation of artificial intelligence. The OpenAI co-founder and CEO visited Seoul this past weekend to meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who issued a statement saying it is important to act “with a sense of speed” in establishing international standards or face unwanted “side effects.” Altman also virtually delivered a keynote address to Chinese AI researchers at an annual conference hosted by the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence, calling on China to participate in global rulemaking. Continue reading Altman Calls on China to Participate in Global AI Rulemaking

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos met with South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol during the Asian dignitary’s U.S. visit this week, prompting the company to commit a cool $2.5 billion toward the creation of Korean series, films and unscripted shows over the next four years. The amount is twice what Netflix has invested in the Korean market since it began streaming there in 2016. Netflix’s Korean partnership has produced global hits including “Squid Game,” “The Glory” and “Physical: 100.” “We have great confidence that the Korean creative industry will continue to tell great stories,” Sarandos said after meeting with Yoon in Washington, D.C. Continue reading Netflix Planning to Invest $2.5 Billion in South Korean Content

Taiwan’s TSMC, the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world, is seeking $15 billion in U.S. subsidies to help build two chip factories in Arizona, but is pushing back against terms that include sharing detailed information about its stateside operations and possibly profits. Some South Korean semiconductor firms are also said to have raised objections. The White House contends the criteria are in place to protect American taxpayers and ensure the subsidies are being spent as intended. TSMC has pledged $40 billion of its own funds for the project. Continue reading TSMC Seeks $15 Billion in U.S. Incentives to Build Foundries

Japan decided last week to join the U.S. and Netherlands in limiting exports of chipmaking gear to China. As early as July, suppliers of 23 types of chip technology will need a government sign-off to export to countries including China, which has been struggling to build a domestic chip industry. Japanese companies impacted by the restrictions include Tokyo Electron, Lasertec, Nikon Corp. and Screen Holdings, according to the Japanese trade ministry. The central goal of the clampdown is to make it harder for Chinese firms to produce advanced chips for artificial intelligence. Continue reading Japan, U.S., Netherlands Seek to Limit China’s Chip Industry

In what the White House says is a precedent-setting move, President Biden has signed an executive order prohibiting use by the U.S. Government of “commercial spyware,” powerful cyber technology used by state actors to spy on journalists, dissidents and human rights activists. The White House defined the class of apps as “sophisticated and invasive cyber surveillance tools sold by vendors to access electronic devices remotely, extract their content, and manipulate their components, all without the knowledge or consent of the devices’ users,” explaining such technology “has proliferated in recent years with few controls and high risk of abuse.” Continue reading Biden Restricts the Government Use of Commercial Spyware