Business Articles

Volkswagen has announced a collaboration with Lucasfilm/Industrial Light & Magic to promote its latest e-vehicle, the ID. Buzz, in conjunction with the upcoming Disney+ series, Obi-Wan Kenobi. It consists of promotional material co-created with the studio, as well as new Star Wars-themed special editions of the new minibus.

Earlier reports claimed that Samsung could be ditching Exynos for the Galaxy S23 and S24 lineups in favor of a truly custom SoC on the Galaxy S25. New information, however, now reveals some early details of the Exynos 2300 that could power the Galaxy S23 next year, potentially calling those aforementioned reports into doubt.

Lenovo now claims to have ended its latest fiscal year (on March 31, 2022) with US$10 billion more in terms of revenue compared to the last. The company has also declared net profits of just over $2 billion (or 72% more year-on-year (YoY)). It attributes this success to pretty much all areas of its business, particularly its enterprise-focused and services arms.

ZOTAC's latest addition to the ZBOX Q line has a mini-PC form-factor; however, with its NVIDIA RTX A4500 graphics and Intel Core i7-11800H processor, the OEM also now asserts that it qualifies as the "world's thinnest professional workstation" at the time of its launch. It boasts Thunderbolt 4 (albeit via just 1 port), Killer 10/100/1000/2500 Ethernet and dual HDMI 2.1 ports.

Asus launched a new ExpertBook B9 version today with internals upgraded to Intel Alder Lake vPro. The company claims that the 33 Whr battery SKU of the ExpertBook B9 weighing 880 g is the world's lightest 14-inch business laptop. The device offers a military-grade magnesium alloy construction and enterprise-grade security.

Word on the grapevine now indicates that the upcoming Apple AirPods Pro 2 is likely to remain equipped with Lightning charging, instead of USB-C. In addition, production of the premium earbuds is set to begin shortly, with Apple to move most of its production to Vietnam.

Rumors of Sony's next-gen alpha 7r- (or α7r-) series camera have just gathered speed thanks to a new alleged leak from the blog PhotoRumors. It purports to spill a comprehensive list of specs for the upcoming full-frame unit. They point to updates in terms of the camera's sensor, processor, thermal management, as well as signature features such as Eye AF.

Xiaomi has now officially announced its partnership with German camera giants, Leica, on an upcoming smartphone. While the smartphone isn't named, it's almost definitely the Xiaomi 12 Ultra and has now also been confirmed to debut in July.

The AppGallery is Huawei's in-house version of something like Apple's App Store that the OEM has been obliged to establish after it lost access to the Google Play Store. A developer claims that it has exhibited a vulnerability that might let users circumvent the theoretical paywall in front of the premium version of apps on the market. However, Huawei allegedly did nothing about the situation for "weeks" after the report.

Acer has upgraded the TravelMate lineup of business laptops with the latest Intel 12th gen vPro and AMD Ryzen 6000 Pro processors. The TravelMate P2 is available in 14-inch and 15.6-inch versions while the TravelMate P4 and TravelMate Spin P4 come in 14-inch and 16-inch variants. All TravelMate models are Microsoft Secured-core PCs built with a focus on security and durability while using sustainable construction and packaging materials.

The HP Envy 16 business laptop is now official with 12th-generation Intel Alder Lake processors, Nvidia/Intel GPUs, 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, Wi-Fi 6E, and a 83 Wh battery. Worldwide sales start on May 9 starting at US$1,399.

HP has unveiled the HP Spectre x360 two-in-one laptop featuring an Intel Core i7-12700H/Core i7-1280p, Intel Arc 370M GPU, 32 GB of DDR4 RAM, 2 TB storage and a UHD+ touch-enabled 4K panel. Prices start at US$1,650.

Volkswagen has finally announced a date on which pre-sales for the ID. Buzz and Buzz Cargo will begin. The first-gen electric mini-bus will be available to configure and order later in May 2022, albeit in European countries such as Germany to start off with. The marque has also indicated how much one of the vehicles will cost for the first time.

The Tab 510 (and its Enterprise variant) is Acer's latest tablet with Chrome OS. It also features stylus support, up to 11 hours of battery life and has 4G/LTE-capable SKUs thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 platform. The OEM has also equipped it with a slightly rugged build for resistance to the rigors of everyday casual or business use.

With its MIL-STD 810H-rated metallic chassis, Wi-Fi 6E/Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity and USI stylus-compatible display options, Acer touts the Chromebook Spin 714 as an exceptionally premium example of its device category. It even has dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, thanks to its 12th-gen Intel processors - however, all this makes its starting prices pretty steep in Chromebook terms.

Acer has introduced the Vero PD2325W, an inexpensive projector that outputs at up to 1,920 x 1,200 pixels. The projector can also reach 2,200 ANSI Lumens and features 50% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic.

Acer's SpatialLabs division aims to bring a 3D stereoscopic experience back in a major way in 2022. To this end, it has brought this technology to portable monitors in the form of the View and View Pro. They are both 4K and weigh under 1.5kg (3.3lb); however, the Pro variant is pitched more strongly at enterprise use-cases with a retail-friendly design and support for popular rendering and editing programs.

The high-end convertible ThinkPad X1 Yoga G7 is one of the first business devices featuring Intel's new Alder Lake-P CPUs. The implementation still reveals some issues, but some of the problems are caused by the high power consumption of the CPU.

Schenker has refreshed the Apex 15 laptop of early 2020 with updated processors and a high-refresh-rate screen. This new 15 MAX variant is also touted as a desktop replacement, thanks to platforms that top out at the Ryzen 9 5950X. It is available to order from now.

With the ThinkPad C14 Chromebook, Lenovo expands its line of ChromeOS Laptops with another ThinkPad. Different from last year's ThinkPad C13 Chromebook, the new C14 is a traditional clamshell laptop.

Porsche has announced that the 718 Cayman GT4 ePerformance is a test vehicle for its Mission R all-electric concept car. The 718 has a peak output of 800 kW (1,088 hp), and its battery can charge from 5 to 80% in 15 minutes. Porsche will demonstrate the vehicle at various events across the summer.

Krafton has posted Q1 2022 financial numbers for PUBG in its latest earning report. Per the developer, PUBG: Battlegrounds enjoyed 17.8% growth in quarterly revenue, resulting in the best quarter for the game. PUBG going free-to-play in January 2022 was the primary contributing factor to the growth.

Apple is a major electronics OEM also now linked to the launch of its very first Car in the next few years. Now, the Cupertino giant is said to further those ambitions through a buyout of Canoo, a start-up in the same space. It may be a saving grace for the fledgling company, although it seems Apple may not exactly want it for the innovation it purports to offer.

TCL CSOT brought its latest developments in display technology to preview at the Society for Information Display's (SID) San Jose, California expo. They include a new "360-degree" panel for foldable devices, a new "Real RGB" solution for new virtual reality (VR) products, and an 8K inkjet-printed OLED of unprecedented size. The OEM also announced its new 34-inch curved mini-LED display aimed at professional gamers.

According to the NPD Group, a retail research group based in the United States, the Nintendo Switch has now outsold the PlayStation 4 in terms of lifetime sales in the U.S. This pushes Nintendo's hybrid console into fourth place as the highest-selling console in the United States.

The UK's Royal Mail has unveiled plans to introduce 50 new postal routes flown by up to 200 drones. Currently restricted to remote communities, Royal Mail hopes to expand its drone fleet to 500 units once it receives Civil Aviation Authority approval.

Unihertz has just announced the latest in its line of Android phones with many more physical buttons than usual. The OEM asserts that this one, the Titan Slim, is its thinnest such device yet. It has launched via Kickstarter, where it has already smashed its funding goal.

Volkswagen has revealed plans to revive the Scout brand with two new EVs. The manufacturer will produce pickup and rugged SUV models in 2026, with prototypes due next year. Rumors suggest that the SUV could rival the Rivian R1S, with prices starting at around US$40,000.

Renault has revealed that over 99% of batteries in the Zoe E-tech vehicles sold since 2013 are still fully functional. The company claims its success is due to the lithium-ion batteries and intelligent battery management technology used in the EVs. Plus, a priority list was opened in the UK for the Megane E-Tech 100%, an EV with a 450 km (280 miles) range.

Tesla is having to recall 130,000 of its vehicles to address an issue that forces their touchscreens to work improperly. Apparently, the cause of the issue is AMD's Ryzen APU, which features integrated RDNA 2 graphics. While modern Tesla's may match the performance of a Sony PlayStation 5, they cannot adequately dissipate waste heat.

Namco Bandai's earnings report states that Elden Ring sold over 13.4 million copies by March 2022, just a month after its release. That figure is over three times of the company's projected sales figure of 4 million

IDC has released its report on the smartphone business' fortunes in the major market of India during the first quarter of 2022 (1Q2022). It shows that all the country's top 5 Android brands have experienced a drop in shipments - except for Realme, with a growth of about 46% year-on-year (YoY). The OEM might thus be inclined to trumpet this success during its upcoming Narzo 50 5G launch event.

After using 108 MP cameras on the S20 Ultra, S21 Ultra, and S22 Ultra, it appears Samsung may finally be gearing up for an upgrade. This upgrade will take the shape of a new 200 MP sensor, the ISOCELL HP3, that has yet again been tipped to feature on the Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Asus' latest European-market launch has unleashed a number of OLED-screened laptops on this region, of which some newly-announced special-edition PCs are no exception. These new SKUs of the Vivobook 13 Slate OLED come with everything necessary to make them look like they truly belong to either of the 2 creators who have worked on these convertibles.

Windows 11 has been officially available for half a year now. Many PC users worldwide do not need to do much to acquire this upgrade; however, for those somehow in more difficulty, physical copies have recently been spotted as another options. Therefore, anyone who has ever wanted the latest stable version of Microsoft's omnipresent OS in a box can spend their money on one now.

Apple currently engages a number of companies to supply it with the screens for new units of its iPhone 13 flagship series of mobile devices, BOE included. However, the Chinese display specialist has reportedly been obliged to hit pause on fulfilling its order from the Cupertino giant, as it has taken issue with an unauthorized change made to the components in question.

Embracer Group has confirmed that it plans to acquire the IP of a plethora of games, Tomb Raider and Deus Ex included, not to mention the relevant studios, in a deal worth US$300 million to Square Enix. These proceeds are slated to become sunk into the latter's new-found enthusiasm for areas such as "blockchain, AI, and the cloud".

TCL has just released its financial report across all of its operations, its consumer display and audio divisions included, for 2021. It concludes that the OEM's net profits went up by over 100% compared to 2020, ending the year with such takings of US$2.59 billion. TCL also notes that sales of its mid-to-top-end TVs (such as those with mini-LED panels) exhibited "significant" year-on-year (YoY) growth.

The Google Pixel 6a will make its debut soon as a Tensor-powered mid-range phone. While it's unknown when exactly the 6a will be announced, the rumor mill claims the phone has now entered production in Asia, which could indicate wider availability.

Qualcomm has been said to have ambitions to launch the Plus version of its 2022 flagship mobile SoC earlier in the year compared to that of 2021. However, global circumstances may have disrupted these plans. Therefore, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 series might fail to exhibit an accelerated product cycle as projected.

A new directive by CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) significantly changes how VPN services will operate in India. Companies will now be forced to store a treasure trove of user data, including email/IP addresses, names, contact numbers and addresses for up to five years, even after a user has terminated their service.

Canalys' latest report on the PC market concludes that its shipments dropped during the first quarter of 2021 (1Q2021), albeit only by about 3%. When broken down by type, the research suggests that Chromebooks were responsible for this contraction. Then again, there were some positive signs, such as tablet sales that took off in Asia-Pacific during the quarter.

Qualcomm touts its latest additions to the Networking Pro series of components as the go-to solutions to complete the next generation of routers, gateways, access points and so on. This is because they are the first of their line to support Wi-Fi 7. They are available in tri- and quad-band variants, and are pitched at OEMs planning their next premium consumer- to enterprise-grade wireless equipment.

XPG pitches its latest Atom 50 M.2 2280 SSDs at those planning PC builds for their creative or professional output; then again, the ADATA brand also hints one might be ideal as new backups for their PlayStation 5 (PS5) storage. The drives are rated for NVMe 1.4 and PCIe Gen4 x4 for potentially blazing maximum read and write speeds, and come with a 5-year warranty in their new markets.

Samsung has just previewed the latest in its storage solutions for hardware such as smartphones, tablets. The OEM has indicated that these new chips could help these devices use and transfer data up to twice as fast as their predecessors, while using as little as half the power. These new UFS 4.0-compatible chips could also boost portability in these products, not to mention their compatibility with more demanding use-cases, perhaps even VR/AR.

The future R1T and R1S electric trucks by Rivian may be manufactured in Georgia, as the state's governor Kemp just announced a huge incentives package for Rivian's factory there. It includes a new interchange for Interstate 20, as well as land and tax breaks, amounting to a total package of $1.5 billion.

As Elon Musk continues to work on his blockbuster US$44 billion acquisition of Twitter, the tech visionary has once again utilized the influential social network to heavily criticize Apple's large cut on App Store purchases by calling it a "30% tax on the internet".