Business Articles

SpaceX asks those chosen to test its newest Starlink Gen 3 router with Wi-fi 6 connectivity to pay US$200 for the privilege, indicating the standalone price of the router. Designed to work with the new V2 Starlink satellite generation, the router has two extra Ethernet ports on the back.

Stellantis CEO, Carlos Tavares, has made some interesting comments about the future of Tesla in its recent semi-annual results presentation. The CEO specifically made reference to Tesla's recent dip in profitability as it starts to contend with legacy carmakers in a highly competitive market with aggressive pricing and tight manufacturing requirements.

A special report claims that Tesla knowingly programmed its electric vehicles to reflect woefully optimistic range figures while the battery was above 50%. The company also allegedly established a special team to shut down customers who complained about inaccurate range estimates, closing service tickets in an effort to save the company time and money.

With a list price of US$149.99 on Acer's website and US$169.99 on Amazon, the 27-inch SB272 Ebi monitor is now down to a mere US$119.99 thanks to a 29% discount from the world's largest online retailer. The highlights of this FHD IPS monitor include a 100 Hz refresh rate, 1 ms VRB response time, as well as AMD FreeSync support.

Sporting one USB-C and dual Thunderbolt 3 connectors, as well as one HDMI port, the SanDisk Professional G-RAID 2 dual-drive storage system with a capacity of 36 TB (model number SDPH62H-036T-NBAAD) and hardware RAID is now 25% off on Amazon. Thanks to this discount, it can be acquired for US$1,199.99 instead of US$1,599.99.

The BenQ LK935 4K Laser Conference Room Projector has been revealed. The device has been designed for video conferencing, with a wide 21:9 aspect ratio and up to 5,500 lumens brightness. Other features include specific Video Conferencing and Presentation Modes, 3D keystone correction and a built-in speaker.

Elon Musk has announced that the site heretofore known as Twitter will "bid adieu" to its former brand identity, iconic blue bird avatar included. Company CEO Linda Yaccarino has touted the announcement as a pivotal stage in the social media platform's evolution into an "everything app" that integrates payments as well as multimedia messaging.

Apple's rumored OLED iPad Pros are not even here, yet are now already credited with the ability to boost demand of other panels made of the same popular screen material made for the tablets or laptops that will be released to compete with them. The resulting growth of their segment is now projected to outpace that of the OLED market in general over the next eight years.

The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max will debut soon. Word on the grapevine has claimed in the past that Apple could launch the phones with a price hike versus their predecessors, and a new report from Bloomberg seems to indicate that possibility as well.

Mere days after CEO Elon Musk announced that more Tesla price cuts were expected, the prediction has come true, with the Model 3's price now discounted to a whopping US$37,940. These prices can be slashed even further to just over US$30,000 when US tax incentives are applied.

Samsung seems nearly ready to move on in terms of its budget Android smartphone offerings already, with a Galaxy A05 apparently poised to take over from the A04 soon. A device by this name has shown up on an independent testing database even though it has yet to launch, suggesting that it might be ready to lead a new generation of Galaxy A handsets into 2024.

Lenovo's latest Legion-brand product event has introduced a new version of the Y9000X laptop to the Chinese market. It has become a lighter and slimmer PC, if anything, in this generation, yet still boasts gaming credentials such as RTX 4000-series graphics to drive a 3.2K 165Hz display. It also boasts 140W charging for a 99.9kWh battery.

Ford's inventory of electric vehicles has consistently grown over the last few months, with some calling it a sign of the US carmaker's failure to sell its EVs. Ford, on the other hand, sees growing inventory in dealer lots as a return to normal thanks to an increase in production capacity. This response comes after Ford outpaced Tesla's Q2 2023 EV sales growth and drastically cut prices on its F-150 Lightning electric pickup.

Tesla has announced that it is recalling upwards of 15,000 of its Model S and Model X EVs after the company found that the front-row seat belt fasteners could have been improperly tightened after repairs. So far, neither Tesla nor the NHTSA have connected any deaths or injuries to the potentially loose hardware.

Toyota has announced that it will be recalling over 12,000 of its bZ3 sedans in China that it built in cooperation with BYD. The reason for the recall comes down to faulty rear door handles that occasionally stop working or, even worse, randomly open while driving. The issue is so severe that Toyota has asked owners to immediately stop driving the vehicles, citing safety concerns.

After shelving Bitcoin as a payment method due to criticism over environmental concerns, it appears that Tesla may start accepting the cryptocurrency as payment for its electric vehicles in the near future. The site's code also makes mention of Dogecoin, which is Elon Musk's favourite crypto flavour. The company has not announced any intentions to resume Bitcoin payments just yet.

Nissan is the latest electric vehicle manufacturer to adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard hardware. Just like other manufacturers that have made the switch, Nissan will ship NACS-to-CCS adaptors in 2024, and all electric vehicles from 2025 onwards will have NACS ports built in. Nissan has big plans for its electric future, with 19 new electric models planned between now and 2030.

In a surprising move, Tesla has announced that it plans to license its Full Self-Driving hardware and software to other electric vehicle manufacturers, adding that the company is already in talks with one other OEM to include FSD technology. Tesla will also allow existing FSD subscriptions to be transferred to new registrations through the end of September 2023.

Tesla has given us a sneak peek at the dimensions of the Cybertruck during the company's latest investor update, confirming a six-foot bed and a more compact body than any other full-sized double-cab pickup truck on the market. The company also confirmed that deliveries for the electric pickup will start later in 2023.

In another move aimed at strengthening its position in the AI market for business customers, Microsoft has started testing Bing Chat Enterprise. This service is a combination between the popular AI-backed chat and commercial data protection, so all business information is not used to train models or exposed to third parties.

With a generous resolution of 3,440 X 1,440 pixels and comprehensive connectivity options (USB, USB-C, HDMI, DP), the 34-inch Samsung ViewFinity S6 carrying the model number LS34A650UBNXGO is now down by a solid 44% on Amazon. Thanks to this discount, it can be acquired for US$394.93 instead of US$699.99.

Designed with next-generation systems that could hit the market later this year, the industry's first GDDR7 DRAM has now completed the development stage. According to Samsung, the new GDDR7 design sports a 32 Gbps boosted speed per pin while being 20% more efficient and having 1.4 times the bandwidth of its predecessor.

The NHTSA casts an eye towards Tesla's Model 3 electric sedan after a fatal crash in California on July 5. The accident resulted in the death of the other driver and a three-month-old involved in the impact, and it is suspected that Tesla's Autopilot or other driver assistance technology was enabled at the time of the incident.

This specific mid-range configuration of the Lenovo ThinkPad P14s is further equipped with an Intel Core i5 Tiger Lake processor, 16GB of partly soldered RAM and a basic 1080p IPS display with 300 nits of peak brightness but just 45% coverage of the NTSC color space.

Game Pass Core has been announced as a new way to access Microsoft's Xbox multi-player network for less than US$10 a month. The new Pass is only compatible with a limited and specific range of games, however. It will become active later in 2023, and will also supplant the Xbox Live Gold account type from day one.

Three new workstation laptops with AMD Ryzen CPUs are coming out: The new Lenovo ThinkPad P14s Gen 4 and P16s Gen 2 will feature Ryzen 7040U, while the bigger Lenovo ThinkPad P16v combines Ryzen 7040HS with the Nvidia RTX 2000 Ada.

New and interesting features are nice to see, but the changes to the Latitude 9440 almost feel like a beta test when compared to the more reliable physical buttons and clickpad of the Latitude 7440.

A lawsuit against Tesla's board members over the board's compensation has resulted in a settlement that requires CEO Elon Musk and other board members to repay upwards of US$735 million in stock and cash. The lawsuit, which was levelled against Musk and a multitude of other Tesla board members by the Police and Fire Retirement System of Detroit in 2020, ended in a settlement in order “to eliminate the uncertainty, risk, burden, and expense of further litigation.”

Several Nikon Z8 users have reported failing or loose camera strap lugs. This is the second issue the Z8 has had since its inception — one of which was also an issue with the Z9 previously and resulted in a recall in both cases. Nikon has yet to issue a recall regarding the loose strap lugs on the Z8, but repeated build quality issues may tarnish Nikon's reputation as a hardware manufacturer.

Ford has cut the price of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, citing a drop in raw materials prices and improvements in scale production. The new starting price of the F-150 Lightning Pro is US$49,995. The timing of the price cuts is suspiciously close to the launch of the upcoming Tesla Cybertruck, as is the new pricing, which shines the F-150 Lightning in a positive light compared to its competition.

JLab has augmented its Epic series of products with an accessory that can connect to smartphones, tablets or PCs - however, it is for typing on them rather than listening to their audio in this case. The Epic Wireless Keyboard aims for a premium experience with a metallic build that incorporates a physical media dial and "soft touch" keys (that can be shared between up to 3 user devices), yet has been priced at well under US$100.

Sustainability is a big trend topic in tech. For laptops, one of the most interesting aspects is the repairability and modularity. The Framework laptop has proven that even a slim laptop can be modular, and Dell's Concept Luna has showcased that the big mainstream manufacturers are also exploring this topic. Lenovo's Project Aurora seems to be a similar effort.

A new report says TSMC's 3 nm node has yields of just 55%. On the other hand, Samsung Foundry is faring much better at 60%. AMD is rumoured to use Samsung Foundry for some of its upcoming parts.

One of Tesla's biggest victories has been its high safety ratings across the board. Now, NIO has achieved the same feat, scoring five-star Euro NCAP ratings with both the ET5 and EL7 electric sedan and SUV. Crucially, NIO is the first carmaker to get a five-star rating since the safety organisation updated its testing standards for 2023.

According to a well-respected and typically accurate source, Apple will launch a second generation of the Watch Ultra later in 2023. This top-end wearable will still have parts made of titanium - however, they may be manufactured in a whole new way. The cutting-edge technique is said to make it cheaper and easier for the Cupertino giant to make its latest flagship smartwatch.

Microsoft has had some things to say about the so-called Nintendo Switch 2 in recent Federal Trade Commission vs. Microsoft and Activision Blizzard court filings. There have been at least two intriguing references made to the next-generation Nintendo console, which appear to offer some credibility to the latest Switch 2 rumors.

Reports of a future Tesla India manufacturing plant have resurfaced, stating, with some credibility, that the US EV maker is in talks with the Indian government to build a new plant in the country. This new facility would largely be dedicated to production of the upcoming Model 2 compact car, which is slated to be announced sometime in 2024 or 2025 as a ~US$24,000 affordable EV for the masses.

Broadcom is now awaiting approval from the US FTC and the UK CMA, after receiving the green light from the European Commission. In the event of a successful acquisition, VMware would boost Broadcom's software side to account for 50% of its sales.

Intel has confirmed plans to end 'direct investment' in its Next Unit of Compute (NUC) business. While Intel will continue to support NUC 13 systems, it has no plans to offer any new NUC mini-PCs or white-label laptops directly.

Business Korea has heard from industry insiders that Samsung Foundry has massively improved yields on its 4 nm and 3 nm nodes. AMD supposedly plans to use the former for some of its AI hardware.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been denied an injunction against Microsoft’s proposed US$68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The district judge dealing with the case appeared to be satisfied with the commitments offered especially in regard to the Call of Duty franchise. The UK’s Competition and Markets Agency (CMA) has now made a new agreement with Microsoft.

MediaTek has introduced the Dimensity 6100 Plus (or 6100+) as the latest option in processors to help mobile device OEMs "democratize" historically high-end features such as up to 120Hz displays. It also purports to bring power drain on 5G down compared to its competitors - then again, it seems MediaTek has decided that the actual SoC specs needed for these potential advantages are hardly brand-new.

Thanks to the in-house developed Copilot, Canary Mail now provides AI-powered email writing capabilities to its users across the supported platforms, which include Windows, Android, macOS, and iOS. Those who need pinned emails, a built-in calendar, end-to-end encryption, and other premium features can get them starting at US$20 per year.

Featuring a curved 1500R 4K UHD display with an accurate size of 31.5 inches and a set of features that includes a blue light filter and 3D capabilities, the Samsung ViewFinity UR59 office monitor is now down by 22% on Amazon. Thanks to this discount, its list price of US$449.99 is now down to a more affordable $349.99.

Introduced over a decade ago as a free way to upload recent photos, My Photo Stream lost the ability to upload content at the end of last month as Apple will shut it down on July 26th. Thankfully, all users can easily switch to iCloud Photos or even various third-party alternatives.

Featuring 512 MB cache memory, the gargantuan 22 TB WD Red Pro mechanical hard drive was designed with NAS and server use scenarios in mind. Its highlights include a yearly workload rate of 300 TB and NASware 3.0 error recovery. Thanks to a 23% discount, it is now down from US$599.99 to US$459.99.