Business Articles

New leaks have now thrown more light on Apple's plans for the iPhone SE 4, iPhone 15, and iPhone 15 Plus—particularly in terms of their displays. The vanilla iPhone 15 models, for example, look geared to arrive with 60 Hz displays again.

Recent media reports said Samsung planned to restart the development of custom CPU cores. The company refuted the rumours in a statement and said it merely hired new talent for its existing teams.

Counterpoint Research's latest BoM analysis has now revealed an informed estimate of how much exactly the Google Pixel Watch costs to make. This figure only considers hardware costs and totals up to US$123, effectively 35% of its MSRP.

Apple has already devoted over US$1 billion to the establishment of a Silicon Design Center located in Munich, Germany. Now, the Cupertino giant has announced that it intends to approximately double this investment in expanding the facility into new buildings with significantly more lab space and "cutting-edge design". The initiative is intended to enhance R&D on on projects such as next-gen processors and wireless technologies at the Center.

Lenovo US has announced the start of its annual sale today (March 3, 2023), an event with savings of up to 75% on a range of ThinkPads, reducing one model in particular to just under US$250 in price. However, despite this attractive prospects a potential customer might be advised to consider whether the PC in question is really the best new machine for the home or office. Then again, there are others on offer that might be.

At MWC, we were able to get a hands on with the newest 2023 gen ThinkPad laptops. Highlights are the new ThinkPad Z series and the ThinkPad X13 G3, but we also received some interesting information about the new ThinkPad T series.

With a list price of almost US$1,900, the Dell XPS 15 9520 laptop with Intel Core i7-12700H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, and 16/512 GB of memory/storage is now down to US$$1,499. While Dell US provides this generous 21% discount, Amazon has no discount for this setup, which is listed for US$1,743.99.

Qualcomm asserts that drivers and passengers will be just as connected and entertained as they would be at home in a oneday car powered by its second-gen Snapdragon Auto 5G modem. It integrates a multi-core CPU as well as potentially enhanced bandwidth so that it can run apps independently for applications such as gaming or streaming. The new modem also boasts satellite connectivity and C-V2X for greater assurance in terms of positioning and safety.

AGM Mobile asserts that its latest 5G smartphone can handle applications beyond most devices of its rugged class - possibly even those of a search-and-rescue nature - thanks to its new and apparently ground-breakingly long-range thermal camera. The G2 Guardian also boasts relatively premium features such as a 120Hz display, Wi-Fi 6 and up to 12GB of RAM.

At MWC, Lenovo is introducing the second generation of its ThinkPad Z series. ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2 and Z16 Gen 2 both look a lot like their predecessors, but they receive a new haptic trackpad made by Sensel. This marks the first time that Sensel provides their complete technology stack for a laptop trackpad.

Insiders familiar with the matter revealed that at least 200 Twitter employees were laid off on Saturday night. Since the company had about 2,000 employees last week, this would account for about 10% of its remaining workforce. Back in October, when Elon Musk took over, about 7,500 people were working at Twitter.

Lenovo asserts that it offers a range of generationally improved Chromebook functions with this new IdeaPad Slim 3 variant. It boasts a potentially color-accurate FHD display, front-firing speakers and up to 13.5 hours of battery life. The new PC supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2, and starts under the equivalent of US$380.

Lenovo's fourth-gen range of larger ThinkPad L-series laptops have made their MWC debut with up-to-date processors in both Intel and AMD flavors. Either option comes in relatively lightweight, cost-effective packages - although the new L14 and L15 have made some potential compromises to attain their attractive starting prices.

At MWC, Lenovo is announcing most models of the new ThinkPad lineup. One of the main highlights are the classic models of the ThinkPad T series. T14s Gen 4, T14 Gen 4 and T16 Gen 2 are updates of last years models, but they still bring a few new features.

The ThinkPads of the X series are the smallest, most mobile ThinkPad laptops for the enterprise market. In 2023, Lenovo is completely redesigning the X13 and its convertible counterpart ThinkPad X13 Yoga.

The emerging screen manufacturer BOE will reportedly miss out on a chance to contribute the OLED with which next-gen iPad Pros are said to launch. The latest word is that Apple has gone with long-time partners Samsung and LG as suppliers for these upcoming flagship tablets' potentially upgraded displays instead.

MediaTek and Motorola have teamed up in a bid to shoulder Apple, Qualcomm and SpaceX aside in terms of consumer-grade mobile devices with satellite-phone features. The 2023 Defy Series' new solution promises potentially critical advantages over existing services, running in the foreground and improved connectivity included.

Volkswagen has hinted at the possibility of a new class of electric vehicle to be at least part-assembled alongside the existing ID.3 at the marque's major Wolfsburg plant in Europe. 22,000 of the facility's production crew will receive the training necessary to do in the course of a one-day session that incorporates in-house, escape room-based techniques.

A first-generation Apple iPhone from 2007 has been sold at auction for a whopping US$63,356.40. This particular original iPhone was still in a factory-sealed state, with its box and wrapper in pristine condition. Other sealed iPhone 1 models have previously sold for around US$35-39,000, so this latest auction demonstrates the growing demand and value for iconic tech products.

SpaceX is testing a truly worldwide Starlink satellite Internet service subscription that would work anywhere on land there is coverage. The new Starlink Global Roaming service will be available for US$200 a month with one-time equipment cost of US$599 and is only priced in US dollars for now with import duties on top of the Starlink Kit price.

In a move supposed to help users protect themselves from impersonation and to gain direct access to customer support, Meta Verified is rolling out this week to increase security across the brand's services. Australia and New Zealand will be the first countries to get it, for a monthly price of US$11.99 (web) and US$14.99 (iOS).

LG has launched a new projector, the BU70QGA. The laser projector, designed for business and commercial use, has up to 7,000 ANSI lumens brightness from a laser light source. Features include auto zoom, autofocus and auto keystone. Plus, it is the first projector from the company to feature the LG webOS Signage 6.0 platform.

Apple has been said to unleash its inaugural mixed-reality headset as early as March 2023. However, according to a famed tech correspondent, these plans have now fallen through, and the Cupertino giant will settle for debuting the first-gen hardware during its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June instead. Then again, it is possible that this might be the better option.

Telefónica has just launched services based on its recently-secured mmWave 5G spectrum, and that it has made it consumer-ready with the help of technology from Ericsson and Qualcomm. The partners will demonstrate their achievement at MWC 2023. They assert that mmWave is the ideal solution for high-performance connectivity for densely populated areas.

While the crypto market continues to struggle, Japanese authorities are planning to test the use of an official digital coin. The country's central bank revealed that a digital yen will be tested starting in April. Last year, China completed the first test of its e-CNY central bank digital currency (CDBC).

Samsung has now released its new top-end, Dynamic AMOLED 2X-equipped Galaxy Book3 Ultra laptop to pre-order in the US. The new 6-inch PC has landed alongside its Book3 360, Pro and Pro 360 siblings, with special offers such as complimentary storage upgrades and trade-in offers. It allows 1TB SKUs series to debut for just under US$1,100 in their new market.

Meta is now slated to forge ahead with successors to the Quest Pro headset. The OEM is said to equip them with custom displays with microOLED from leading supplier LG Display. According to industry sources, SK Hynix may also contribute parts for these next-gen VR headset components.

Samsung's latest Galaxy S23 series of Android flagships have been available to pre-order in their native South Korea for about 2 weeks now. In that time, they have surpassed their S22 predecessors in these terms - and to a reportedly record-breaking extent, too. The top-end S23 Ultra is estimated to have amassed the majority of the reservations in question.

The PC market slowdown has severely affected motherboard sales according to a new report from DigiTimes. The report reveals that Taiwanese motherboard makers ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE, and ASRock have suffered a combined sales loss of 10 million units in 2022 as compared to 2021.

MediaTek has indicated that the updated Helio G36 SoC will be the one to bring specs such as 50MP rear cameras and 90Hz displays to the new budget, 4G/LTE-only smartphones of the near future. It also boasts a GPU optimized with the OEM's HyperEngine 2.0 Lite features for potentially enhanced gaming at this tier; then again, some on-chip specs remain unchanged compared to its predecessor.

Customers in four additional countries now have to pay an additional fee for sharing their Netflix account with someone outside their household. Unfortunately, one of Netflix' steps against password sharing could also affect frequent travelers and VPN users who don't even share their account.

New iPhones are finally slated to drop proprietary connectors from their 2023 "15 series" onward. However, Apple fans looking forward to enjoying the universal appeal of USB type-C may be disappointed to learn that the Cupertino behemoth allegedly intends to impose its current MFi system on its version of the port. The rumored restrictions might be enforced using similar hardware that keeps the Lightning port in the same walled garden at present.

Those with their hearts set on a 13-inch MacBook Pro with Apple's first ever in-house M-series processor and a Touch Bar may find that it is available as a renewed model more often than not. OWC's Valentine's Day sale includes just such a unit at nearly 50% of its starting price, described as a factory-sealed refurbished unit from the OEM in an as-new condition.

An Android device calling itself the Nokia G22 has rolled up onto the Geekbench database for the first time. However, the alleged 2023 device's appearance might cast a dark cloud over hopes for significant upgrades in this round of HMD Global-brand smartphones, not to mention those for software support in the existing G21.

Announced in December 2022 with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600U processor and integrating a 2.5k HDR webcam, dual speakers, as well as a dual microphone array, the Minisforum Mars MC560 is now up for sale. However, the processor used is the slightly faster AMD Ryzen 5 5625U. The early bird prices are US$399 (16/512 GB) and US$458 (32/512 GB).

Samsung's plans for its future chipsets, the Exynos 2300, Exynos 2400, and Exynos 2500 have since been shrouded in mystery. That may have changed now, however, with a Korean leaker now providing insight into the subject, with an ambitious "Exynos 2500" seemingly set to mark Samsung's return to the flagship SoC space in 2025.

The large, 16-inch business laptop in our test offers a fast AMD APU, while still remaining cool and quiet. Despite its smaller battery option and high-resolution WQXGA display, it has a long battery life. On the other hand, you have to make do without USB 4 and all of the LPDDR5-6400 RAM is soldered in.

Hisense now claims to have shipped the most units of any brand in the global TV market. These figures, which apply to the month of December 2022, have also apparently helped propel the brand to #2 in terms of market share over the past year. Hisense also attributes its success to its sponsorship of the recent FIFA World Cup event.

Lenovo sells its ThinkPad P16 mobile workstation with a range of options, including the graphics chips. The RTX A2000 from Nvidia is one of them - but hardly worth it.

SK Hynix might be best known for its RAM or storage modules - however, it also makes the CMOS image sensors (or CIS) found in smartphones. The company is rumored to have ambitions to challenge the dominance of other companies such as Samsung in this arena with new sensors that target the top end of the market.

The Sharp NEC PA1405UL and NEC PA1705UL projectors have been revealed ahead of ISE 2023. The devices, designed for educational, work and leisure spaces, have a peak brightness of 17,000 lumens. A key feature of the projectors is their quiet operation noise, but the company still need to specify a figure.

Nothing CEO Carl Pei claimed the Nothing Phone (2) wasn't set to launch "anytime soon" a while ago but the OnePlus co-founder has now confirmed that it will, in fact, debut later this year. Unlike the Phone (1), however, it'll be released in the US and as a more premium device than its predecessor.

Christie has announced a new product in its HS Series, the 4K22-HS laser projector. The gadget has up to 22,500 ISO lumens brightness and can throw images with a 4K UHD resolution with a 60 Hz frame rate. Features of the device in blue BoldColor+ and Christie Twist technologies.