Samsung has pumped a huge amount of money into its US chipmaking facility. Apart from its already existing facility, Samsung has announced a $17 billion project in 2021 for a semiconductor plant in Texas. The company is said to kick off mass production of chips later in 2024.

The US government seems to be focusing on the local chipmaking industry. The company is also giving other firms subsidies worth billions of dollars in return for setting up new facilities in the US. Samsung has also managed to secure some of these subsidies and has increased its total investment to over $44 billion.

Also Read: HMD Announces Nokia 6310, Nokia 5310, And Nokia 230 Feature Phones

Samsung Boosts Its Investments In US Chipmaking Business

Samsung has already pumped in over $20 billion to develop chips in the US. Recent reports have hinted that it’s now boosting that investment to $44 billion. Samsung will reportedly build an additional semiconductor plant, alongside a chip packaging plant, and a chip R&D space in Texas.

Samsung is said to be receiving a $6 billion grant from the US government under the CHIPS ACT to develop enhanced chip facilities in the US. However, Samsung isn’t the only company to receive funding under this act. Intel received around $20 billion, while TSMC managed to raise $11.6 billion. And now, Samsung is getting $6 billion as well as loan awards on top of the funding.

Samsung is now said to officially confirm this $44 billion investment soon. The company will be announcing Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. An official announcement will kick off the diligence period during which the final terms of this agreement will be made between Samsung and the Commerce Department. The funds will later be released as the project crosses production milestones.

Also Read: Google Chrome Will Soon Have A Paid Version With Better Security

US Trade Commission Asks Samsung To Stop Unfair Practices

The US Fair Trade Commission has asked Samsung to put a halt on unfair business practices in the US. The antitrust regulator said that Samsung shouldn’t demand retailers to offer it retail prices for its products. The company has been doing it for over six years before it faced a probe for the agency.

It was reported that Samsung asked its authorized retailers to provide the company with the retail prices of the products. The company continued doing so from January 2017 to September 2023 before a probe was ordered against it.

The company managed to get the prices of 15,389 products from 159 agents in the US by 2020. These products included washing machines and refrigerators. Now, Samsung won’t be able to demand the retailers to offer them retail prices, because it’s a trade secret. The company was using the retail price to evaluate the performance of its agents.

Chinese smartphone maker Realme has confirmed the launch of its next flagship smartphone, the Realme GT 7 Pro, in China soon. The smartphone is said to come with the much-anticipated Qualcomm flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 SoC, which could be renamed as Snapdragon 8 Elite.

Realme China’s President, Xu Qi Chase, confirmed through a new post on Weibo that the upcoming GT 7 Pro will be launched this month in China. Chase also mentioned that the device will have Snapdragon’s top flagship chipset and a periscope telephoto lens. Another leak by known Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station hints that it will come with a 6,500mAh battery with 120W fast charging support.

Also Read:

Realme GT 7 Pro Smartphone Expected Features

Speaking of the expected features, the Realme GT 7 Pro is said to come with a Samsung quad micro-curved display with DC dimming. It is said to include a 50MP IMX906 primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, and a 50MP Sony IMX882 telephoto lens at the back.

Users can also expect the smartphone to get IP69 dust and water resistance with an in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. Realme has also confirmed that it will launch its Android 15-based Realme UI 6.0 this month.

The GT 7 Pro is also said to run the same operating system out of the box. Users can also expect the Realme GT 7 Pro to launch globally next month, with an Indian release at a similar timeline.

Also Read:

Realme Launches P1 Speed Smartphone, Wireless Headphones

Recently, Realme also announced the launch of the Realme P1 Speed in India. The company also introduced its first headphone model dubbed Techlife Studio H1. These wireless headphones come with Hi-Res Certification. Speaking of the smartphone, it comes packed with the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 Energy 5G chipset and sports a 6050 square stainless steel VC cooling area for heat management.

The Realme P1 Speed is available in 8GB RAM + 128GB Storage: Rs 17,999 and 12GB RAM + 256GB Storage: Rs 20,999. The company is initially offering a Rs 2,000 discount on both versions. Meanwhile, the Realme Techlife Studio H1 headphones are priced at Rs. 4,999. It will be available at Rs 4,599 as an introductory offer. The Realme P1 Speed 5G will be available on Realme’s website and Flipkart, starting October 20. The headphones will go on sale on October 21.

The Realme P1 Speed 5G runs Android 14, wrapped under Realme UI 5.0. It features a 6.67-inch Full-HD+ Samsung E4 OLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate. The smartphone comes with a 5,000mAh battery with 45W charging support. Speaking of the optics, the device comes with a dual-camera system with a 50MP AI camera and a 2MP camera. Upfront, there is a 16MP lens for selfies.

Samsung has launched the industry’s first 24GB GDDR7 DRAM, which features the highest capacity and speed. This breakthrough memory solution is designed to cater to the demands of next-generation applications, such as data centers and AI workstations.

By employing advanced process nodes and PAM3 signaling, the GDDR7 achieves an impressive speed of 40GB per second, surpassing its precursor by 25%. Moreover, Samsung has incorporated power-saving technologies from mobile products to boost efficiency and reduce unnecessary power consumption by over 30%.

Also Read: Samsung Starts Pre-Reserve For Its Next-Gen Galaxy Tabs In India

Samsung’s New Chip To Power Next-Gen AI Systems

To make sure operations are stable at high speeds, the GDDR7 incorporates power gating design techniques to minimize current leakage. Samsung plans to start validating this groundbraeking memory solution in next-gen AI computing systems from major GPU customers later this year, with commercialization expected in early 2025.

Commenting on this, YongCheol Bae, Executive Vice President of Memory Product Planning at Samsung Electronics, said:

“After developing the industry’s first 16Gb GDDR7 last year, Samsung has reinforced its technological leadership in the graphics DRAM market with this latest achievement. We will continue to lead the graphics DRAM market by bringing next-generation products that align with the growing needs of the AI market. The 24Gb GDDR7 utilizes 5th-generation 10-nanometer (nm)-class DRAM, which enables cell density to increase by 50% while maintaining the same package size as the predecessor.”

Also Read: Samsung Planning To Launch Rollable Phone In 2025

Samsung Could Start Charging For Certain Galaxy AI Features

The Galaxy Tab S10 series and S24 FE saw the daylight recently and the Galaxy AI suite was one of the dominating features on the marketing side. While all of the new AI features are currently available for free, Samsung once again hinted that it might not be the case for too long.

One of the footnotes in the official press release for the new Tab S10 series and S24 FE explicitly mentions that “Fees may apply to certain AI features at the end of 2025.”

Samsung previously confirmed that “Galaxy AI features will be provided for free until the end of 2025 on supported Samsung Galaxy devices,” so it is safe to assume that Samsung’s AI suite, or certain parts of it, will, in fact, require a payment starting 2025.

The same day Apple launched its new iPhones, Samsung brought the latest version of its OneUI and new Galaxy AI features to customers across the globe. One UI 6.1.1 went live for the Galaxy S24 series on September 5, and just four days later, the update is making its way to Galaxy S24, S24+, and S24 Ultra owners across the world.

Apple has announced the launch of the new iPad mini for the Indian market. Apple’s smallest iPad comes powered by the A17 Pro chip, which means it is capable of running Apple intelligence features.

The company’s latest offering comes in blue, purple, starlight, and space grey color options. It starts at a price of Rs 49,900 for the Wi-Fi mode, and Rs 64,900 for the Wi-Fi + Cellular model. The new iPad mini starts with 128GB storage, which is double the storage of the previous generation.

The new iPad mini is also available in 256GB and 512GB configurations. Consumers can pre-order the new iPad mini today, with availability starting October 23.

Also Read: iPhone 17 Air To Reportedly Launch In 2025 With New OLED Display

Apple iPad Mini Under The Hood

The iPad mini features an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display. Apple notes that the A17 pro processor delivers a huge performance boost for even the most demanding tasks, with a faster CPU and GPU, a 2x faster Neural Engine than the previous-generation iPad mini, and support for Apple Intelligence.

Apple iPad mini also supports the Apple Pencil Pro. Besides, users will get a 12MP wide back camera with support for Smart HDR 4. Leveraging the powerful 16-core Neural Engine, the new iPad mini uses AI to automatically identify documents right in the Camera app and can use the new True Tone flash to remove shadows from the document. There’s also a 12MP Ultra Wide front-facing camera.

The new iPad mini features all-day battery life, according to the company. The new iPad mini supports Wi-Fi 6E, which delivers up to twice the performance of the previous generation, so users can download files, play online games, and stream movies faster than before.

Also Read: What To Expect From Thrid-Gen Apple AirPods Pro Headphones

Apple Could Launch Cheaper Version Of Vision Pro In 2025

Apple seems to prepping to launch a more affordable version of its Vision Pro headset as early as next year. At least that’s what Bloopberg’s Mark Gurman suggested in his Power On newsletter.

As per a report from 9To5Mac, the upcoming headset is said to be priced around $2,000, significantly lower than the premium Apple Vision Pro, which launched earlier this year at $3,499.

Reportedly, Apple’s move to fast-track the development of a cheaper headset stems from the hefty price of the first-generation headset, which has limited its appeal and accessibility to a much wider audience. Previous reports suggested that the company had paused Vision Pro development to focus on this lower-cost variant, which remains Apple’s priority.

As per the report, the affordable version of the headset could pack downgraded components, including a less powerful processor and cheaper materials. 

Dell has unveiled its late XPS 13 laptop in the Indian market. The new XPS is powered by Intel’s latest Core Ultra processor Series 2. Apart from that, it comes with a dedicated NPU with up to 48 TOPs that aim to enable AI-powered features offered by the Windows 11 OS such as text and image creation.

Moreover, Dell has also included MyDell software that optimizes audio, video, battery life, and overall system performance to make it an ideal case for professional and working professionals.

Dell has launched the XPS 13 at a starting price of Rs 1,81,990. The laptop will be available for purchase starting October 16 via Dell Exclusive stores and selected large-format retail and multi-brand outlets. Besides, the laptop will also become available on Dell.com starting October 18 onwards.

Also Read: Dell Joins Forces With Qualcomm, Microsoft To Bring Copilot+ AI PCs

Dell XPS 13 Laptop Under The Hood

Dell XPS 13 is powered by Intel Core Ultra Series 2 processors and it comes with Intel AI Boost NPU, making it compatible with AI-powered features like Microsoft Studio Effects during video calls, and Copilot+ PC experience.

The laptop comes with Intel Arc GPU for added graphics performance and more versatility to the system. The laptop packs Wi-Fi 7 features with 4.8x faster throughput for better connectivity while sharing files, video calls, and online collaboration. It weighs 1.2 kg and the company claims it is the slimmest XPS laptop ever produced.

The new Dell XPS 13 comes with a 13.4-inch InfinityEdge display with tandem OLED technology for higher brightness and reduced power consumption. It offers true blacks and vivid color contrast, enhanced by Dolby Vision and Eysafe technology. The 120Hz variable refresh rate ensures smooth performance and better battery backup.

Also Read: HP Unveils Victus Special Edition Laptops With Nvidia RTX 3050

Dell XPS 13 9350 Laptop With Intel Lunar Lake Chipset Launched

Dell XPS 13 9350 has been announced by the company as one of the first laptops to come packed with the newly launched Intel Core Ultra 200V ‘Lune Lake’ chipsets. The new laptop will go on sale alongside the XPS 13 (9345) and XPS (9340) models that come equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and Intel's older Meteor Lake chipsets.

The new XPS model from the company runs Windows 11 Home and is backed by up to 32GB of RAM along with up to 2TB of storage. As for the pricing, the Dell XPS 13 (9350) price is set at $1,400 for the base 16GB+512GB RAM and storage model with an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V processor. 

The laptop is also available in other variants with Intel Core Ultra 7 256V, Core Ultra 7 258V, Core Ultra 7 268V, or Core Ultra 9 288V processors. Users can configure these models with up to 32GB RAM and 2TB storage.

Instagram has rolled out a new feature for creators that will make it easier for them to share their profiles with others. They will now be able to create a two-sided digital card on the Meta-owned social media platform which matches their style, thanks to multiple customizable options.

This feature comes after Meta brought a song-on-profile feature that enables users to further customize their profile by allowing them to add a song that matches their current mood or personality on their profile.

Also Read: Threads To Soon Start Showing Instagram Comments

How Do The New Profile Cards Work On Instagram

According to Instagram, the new Profile Card provides users with an option to create a more personalized and animated digital card that can be shared with others. Apart from the QR code linked to the profile, the feature also comes with an option to add bio information, links to pages, music that describes the personality, and other elements. Users can also change the background color, and add a selfie or an emoji as the page background.

While one side of the card is shareable, the other side has a QR side, which can be scanned by others to visit the profile. The company claims that it can be a fast way for creators to share their profiles with brands during collaboration. While the ability to share profile cards has been available on the platform for a few years, it was only limited to QR codes.

To share the profile cards, users are required to navigate to the profile section of Instagram and tap on the Share Profile option. They can further change the card by choosing the edit icon and adding the desired information. In addition to sharing stories, Instagram’s profile cards can also be shared on other platforms.

Also Read: Instagram Working On Adding New Features For Your DMs

Meta Launches AI-Powered Ads On Instagram And Facebook

Meta seems to trying out something new with AI-driven video editing features, allowing advertisers to animate static images and extend the borders of video content. This new tool is aimed at providing brands with more creative control and flexibility when creating ads for Instagram and Facebook, providing better ways to engage users with dynamic visuals.

Moreover, Meta has launched new AI-powered tools that enable advertisers to transform static images into dynamic videos. The AI can also expand existing videos by generating additional pixels, enlarging the content without compromising on the quality.

These features are being pushed to users in a gradual manner, with plans for wider availability in 2025. The tools aim to enhance creative options for advertisers on Facebook and Instagram.