Business Articles

It has been reported that workers in some Apple stores in the US have been making secret plans to form a union. The main issue is pay, with complainants feeling they deserve more in return from the world’s most valuable company. Those involved in the unionization movement have been putting their iPhones to the side and communicating via Android smartphones.

After reports claiming so surfaced a while ago, BlackBerry license holders OnwardMobility have now announced a complete shutdown. That, of course, means that the promised 5G BlackBerry phone will no longer see the light of day.

The ExpertBook offers a 5G modem, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a 14-inch touchscreen display (1920x1200 pixels) with a 16:10 aspect ratio. You can operate the screen through touch input as well as with the included Asus Pen.

Intel has published its first CPU roadmap in years, having recently presented Alder Lake-P processors. Apparently, we can expect Intel to deliver four new architectures between now and 2025, starting with Raptor Lake, which has 24 cores and 32 threads.

It appears that Xiaomi has impressed its fans with the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition, its latest gaming smartphone. Purportedly, Xiaomi sold anywhere from 70,000 to 85,000 units within one minute of trading. The Redmi K50 Gaming Edition is expected to launch globally as the POCO F4 GT.

Yesterday, Ukraine legislators voted in favor of legalizing cryptocurrencies. The goal of this move is to reduce corruption risks and to prevent fraud. This is the second attempt in five months, as the early October bill that had a similar goal was vetoed by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Intel is among the U.S. companies that believes Israel could be the next major semiconductor hub and is now growing its presence in the region with the acquisition of Tower Semiconductor. The move also helps Intel increase the production capacity as related to the IFS initiative.

Mobile workstations are primarily supposed to be reliable companions for professional users and offer a lot of performance at the same time. The ZBook Fury 17 G8 basically meets these criteria, but we think HP wastes a lot of potential in terms of GPU performance.

The latest, cloud-based Amazon Web Services (AWS) are based on AMD's server-grade silicon and is rated to run even the high-performance computing (HPC) necessary for scientific research on a cloud. The company asserts that its latest and Milan-enhanced instances, or virtual servers, can deliver improved cost-effectiveness, high bandwidth and the use of up to 192 virtual processors, to its customers.

A new leak has now claimed that Apple will upgrade standard RAM on the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max from the 6 GB on their predecessors, to match what is widely available on current Android flagship phones.

UserBenchmark has confirmed that the EliteBook 835 G9 will ship with AMD Ryzen PRO 6000U processors, potentially up to the Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U. The EliteBook 835 G9 should be available in April alongside other EliteBook refreshes.

A number of Rivian executives in charge of production and battery development have visited Korea recently to prepare for a pilot production run in local facilities. After the battery development and production partnership with Samsung fell through, Rivian was reportedly still left with Korean suppliers as the only option to gain know-how and speed its American battery factory plans.

After launching the Redmi K50 Gaming Edition with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 in China yesterday, Xiaomi already has its sights set on three other models in the series that will arrive with powerful chipsets. The trio could make their debuts as soon as next month.

As of February 15 2022, AMD is commanding a total market cap of US$197.75 billion helped by the Xilinx merger, whereas Intel's market cap is now sitting at $197.24 billion. AMD's share price also spiked to US$121, while Intel's share price dropped to US$48.

Nintendo has now confirmed that the Wii U and 3DS eShops will cease operations after March 2023. The company will gradually be disabling features such as ability to use credit cards and gift cards from May this year. What's probably more disheartening is that Nintendo actually removed a Q&A section that indicated Virtual Console games will not be available in any other manner and users will have to contend with the paltry selection available via Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

Unlike Nvidia that was recently forced to terminate the ARM deal, AMD managed to get all the needed approvals and successfully finalized its Xilinx acquisition deal for US$30 billion. AMD CEO Lisa Su announced that the first HPC processors to combine x86 cores and Xilinx programmable engines should be launched in 2023.

Telstra has revealed its AU$100 million deal to outfit Intellihub's smart meters with IoT SIMs. Telstra proposes that this plan will enable better energy management as well as provide insight and remote monitoring of the energy network. The company also posits that its IoT SIMs will provide Intellihub with price certainty over the next 10 years.

GoPro has now released its financial report for the final quarter of the past year (4Q2021). It has enabled the household name in action-cams to add up its total revenue for the year and come up with a sum well over US$1 billion. Its average street prices (ASP) per camera and cash on hand have also hit new heights in 2021.

The freshly-launched Galaxy Tab S8 series has proven so popular that two-thirds of its variants have "sold out" on Samsung.com in the US. Well, not exactly: the OEM has announced that it is "pausing" their pre-order event while it deals with the demand for the tablets, which of course includes their new, top-end 14.6-inch SKU.

Any hopes the world's remaining BlackBerry fans had of a new device under this name are officially dead - according to a relevant forum's founder, at least. Kevin Michaluk of CrackBerry claims that Onward Mobility, the company that had teased this updated, 5G- and physical keyboard-enabled, smartphone several times over has now ceased operations.

The Galaxy S22 series already appears to offer excellent value for money relative to other premium phones and Samsung will be hoping to spice up sales with an attractive trade-in program that allows Galaxy Note 20 Ultra owners to upgrade to the Galaxy S22 Ultra with just US$599.

Intel's new energy-efficient accelerators for cryptomining are intended to prepare the company for the era of the metaverse and Web 3.0, while gamers probably hope that these new chipsets could potentially ease the continuous GPU shortage.

At the start of the year, OnwardMobility reiterated its commitment to delivering a 5G BlackBerry smartphone with a physical keyboard. It appears that promise may go unfulfilled, as a new report claims that the company has now ditched the project in its entirety.

Thanks to a strong performance in the server and gaming console segments, AMD has now bested its previous CPU market share record which has been set during the old glory days of 2006. However, Intel posted gains in the all-important desktop and mobile processor markets in part due to the recent release of its Alder Lake chipsets.

The content stalwarts Discovery and Warner Media are to form one content platform soon, as the former has now acquired the go-ahead to buy the former from US regulators. The merger could lead to a singular mega-streaming service that offers channels such as Animal Planet as well as those such as HBO. Then again, the prospective parent company has yet to confirm its direction once it has made its acquisition.

Apple has announced that a new feature by which merchants will be able to take in-person payments using nothing more than their iPhone, using these devices' NFC modules. Although it is not to become available until later in 2022, its launch has led to speculation that it will also unlock the ability to buy using cryptocurrencies via the new system. Either way, the new ability will only be available in the US on its release.

Qualcomm has just announced that it has become a Premium Partner in Scuderia Ferrari's campaign for the 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship. This new agreement will also see much more Snapdragon technology in the classic Italian marque's next generation of road cars as well. Qualcomm will also become involved in the brand's eSports concerns.

The midrange 6 nm MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC will power the new smartphone alongside 2x2 Wi-Fi 6, an optional orange leather option, and a "Golden Portrait" feature which Infinix claims is the equivalent of a 2x optical zoom.

NVIDIA and SoftBank have brought an end to the acquisition of ARM because of 'significant regulatory challenges'. SoftBank will now look to float ARM before the end of the financial year to March 31, 2023. ARM has also replaced its CEO with Rene Haas, who worked at NVIDIA until he joined ARM in 2013.

Ahead of Unpacked, Samsung's press release for the Galaxy Tab S8 series has leaked, revealing the company's plans to deliver four major OS updates to its current flagship phones, with five years of support in total. The Galaxy Z Flip3 and Galaxy Z Fold3 will, for example, receive Android 15.

The Galaxy S22 series will make its debut on February 9. Ahead of launch, however, a new report brings information that will gladden the hearts of expectant Indian fans. Supposedly, the trio of flagships will ditch the Exynos 2200 in favor of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 when they come to India.`

From solid-state battery investments to hitting a production capacity for 600,000 electric vehicles by 2023, Ford wants to be the "true EV leader" in the U.S. In order to achieve this, Ford will invest up to US$20 billion more on top of its US$30 billion EV commitment by 2030, spearheaded by an ex-Tesla and Apple Car executive.

RJ45-Ethernet is not common anymore in laptops meant for consumers, Wi-Fi is the norm nowadays. Meanwhile, in the world of corporate laptops, a wired internet connection is sometimes still an important feature. This status-quo seems to be rapidly changing however: Ethernet was still standard on many 2021 ThinkPads, but in a recent update, Lenovo has made it an optional feature on many corporate models, including the popular ThinkPad T14.

Tesla lost US$101 million on its crypto investments in 2021, reveals its latest SEC filing, as Elon Musk's buoyant $US1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase saw some writedowns throughout the year and towards the crypto price crash at its end. Tesla previously profited from a March sale of some of its Bitcoin holdings, and now holds US$1.99 billion worth of bitcoins.

To no will of their own, the identities of the co-creators of the popular Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection have been revealed. The doxxed Florida men are behind one of the most coveted and celebrity-endorsed NFT kits in recent memory, with Justin Bieber spending nearly US$1.8 million on two Bored Ape NFTs in the span of a week.

The European Union Court of Justice (or CJEU) has implemented a new law by which data pertaining to users in its jurisdiction has to stay there. Meta has taken issue with this, indicating that the measures are incompatible with the way it deploys Facebook and Instagram within the bloc. Therefore, the EU just might become more of a Meta-free zone soon.

The iPad Air 5 and iPhone SE 5G—or iPhone SE 2022—are both expected to be unveiled at a spring event. According to a new leak, that event is scheduled for March 8 specifically. Those two devices may be joined by a new iMac Pro as well.

Word on the Xiaomi 12 Ultra has been extremely conflicting so far. It appears, though, that Xiaomi is preparing a phone that will sit above the Xiaomi 12 Pro in its pecking order, and a leak has now provided a first look at what to expect from that device.

GoPro has confirmed to investors that it plans to expand its camera offerings this year. Currently, the company sells two camera ranges, HERO and MAX. However, it will release two additional cameras in 2022, along with new HERO and MAX cameras.

IdeaCentre may be one of Lenovo's more business-like lines, yet still has a Gaming version of its desktop that it has released over the years as of late. According to a new leak, the latest variant with 12th-gen Intel processors and a variety of graphics options (RTX 3060-series cards included) may be released soon. A new case design with subtle RGB accents might also be involved.

Samsung's upcoming flagship, the Galaxy S22 Ultra, will be a powerhouse of a phone. The physical package is unlikely to thrill, though, as a leaked image of the Galaxy S22 Ultra's box contents reveals sparse contents.

Last year, Xiaomi promised three major OS updates for the Xiaomi 11T Pro, 11T, and Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE. It's unclear if the company is trying to renege on that but its website currently lists the three phones as eligible for just two OS updates.

According to a report published by Newzoo, mobile gaming racked in a revenue of US$93.2 billion (€81.5 billion) in 2021. The revenue figure represents 52% of the total gaming revenue for last year. Consoles and PCs, on the other hand, brought in US$50.4 billion (€44.07 billion) and US$36.7 billion (€32.07 billion) respectively.

A new leak has now provided the most thorough look yet at Samsung's upcoming mid-range phone, the Galaxy A53 5G, with a host of renders, specs, and even pricing information. The Galaxy A53 5G is tipped to play host to Samsung's Exynos 1200 SoC.

The US Government has drafted a bill that would force Apple to open up its devices to third-party app repositories. Apple has petitioned the Senate judiciary committee to reconsider it, citing privacy and security concerns.

Google has now provided information on the sales performance of the Pixel 6 series. While the company doesn't give actual numbers, by all indications, the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro duo has sold considerably well.

The TravelMate P4 scores points with long battery life, relatively low emissions, and a Thunderbolt 4 slot. Windows 10 Pro serves as the operating system. A plus: Acer grants the laptop a three-year warranty.