Smartphone Sales Uptick in 2024; Biden Proposes Export Controls on GPUs; Apple Watch SE Gets Refresh; Government Turns Down Tesla Big Rig Charge Station Money Request

Posted: January 13, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The year 2024 showed a sales uptick in smartphones after a tough 2023. Smartphone sales overall grew by 4% year over year. Androidauthority.com reports that Chinese maker Xiaomi had the top growth, increasing market share by 1%. Both Apple and Samsung saw their 2024 market share drop by 1%. Xiaomi does not have a footprint in the US, either, which makes the increase more notable. Samsung and Apple still lead the smartphone market globally…Samsung with 19% market share, and Apple with 18%. Apple sales in China were apparently hurt by the lack of AI features in that country on the iPhone 16 Pro models. Counterpoint Research sees Generative AI capabilities being on some 90% of smartphones that sell for over $250 by the year 2028.

The Biden administration has revealed what it is calling its ‘AI diffusion rule,’ which is intended to restrict the export of GPUs that are most coveted for AI applications. Although it does not mention the nation by name, it’s widely viewed as a means to prevent China from outpacing the US in AI development. According to engadget.com, there are 3 licensing tiers. The first is unrestricted, and that’s for the US domestic market and 18 strategic allies. The second tier will have caps on computing power, and that will be for most countries. The third tier includes China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. The government will effectively bar sales of the most powerful GPUs in those nations. The Semiconductor Industry Association objects to the rule making, as does AI chip industry leader NVIDIA. It’s not clear that the incoming Trump administration will let the rule survive. 

Apple will launch an updated SE Watch later this year with an updated look. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that it is likely that the design may be more in line with  the 2021 Watch Series 7…but it is possible it will be completely different…Apple is apparently considering a plastic case for the Watch SE…which could be available in a rainbow of bright colors. Think of the old iMac computers. The Watch 11 and Ultra 3 models will keep the present look but will get some upgrades. The Ultra 3 will probably get satellite connectivity and both the 11 and the Ultra 3 will likely get high blood pressure detection..not exact numbers, but just a warning to the wearer. The blood pressure feature was supposed to be out for the Watch 10, but was delayed. 

The Department of Transportation has turned down a request by Tesla for $100 million in funding for big rig EV charging. Techcrunch.com reports that $636 million in funding will be split by 49 applicants for EV charging infrastructure. Tesla has only produced a small number of electric big rigs in Texas, and is building out their facility in Nevada to make the electric trucks…which they first showed 8 years ago in 2017. The company wants to build 9 semi-truck charging stations between its former headquarters in the Bay Area and its present one near the southern border of Texas. There will probably be a third round of funding released from the bipartisan infrastructure law, which originally allocated $2.5 billion in funds for charging infrastructure. Presumably, the incoming Trump administration will want to dole out more money to Tesla.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

New Smart Glasses at CES-Project Screen Not on Lenses; Open AI Moving to ‘Superintellegence’; Samsung Galaxy S25 Leak; United-Tests Starlink on Flights Starting in Feb.

Posted: January 6, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Most smart glasses or goggles display on the lenses. Now, a startup at CES is showing something a bit different. Halliday is planning to start shipping their new smart glasses by the end of the first quarter of 2025. These glasses actually project a 3.5 inch ‘screen into the wearer’s upper right field of view.’ Bgr.com reports that there is a tiny projector in the frame. This allows viewing the screen with minimal interference and without needing specific lenses. The system works for people with or without prescription lenses, and is allegedly visible even in bright sunlight. The glasses feature Halliday’s built in AI. You control them with voice commands or buttons built into the frame. They also plan to ship a ring-like track pad you can wear on your finger to control them. They will launch on Kickstarter, and the glasses will retail for $489.

Open AI CEO Sam Altman has posted to his personal blog that he believes OpenAI “know[s] how to build [artificial general intelligence]” as it has traditionally understood it — and is beginning to turn its aim to “superintelligence.” According to techcrunch.com, Altman continued with “We love our current products, but we are here for the glorious future,” Altman wrote in the post, which was published late Sunday evening. “Superintelligent tools could massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation well beyond what we are capable of doing on our own, and in turn massively increase abundance and prosperity.” That all sounds amazing, but a lot of us would love to see actual artificial intelligence, not the artificial stupidity we get in answers a lot of the time from these products. You have to give it to Sam, though…he doesn’t lack for confidence in himself or in OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Samsung has never been known for its tight grip on information when it comes to products in the works, and now we have a couple more leaks describing the upcoming Galaxy S25…which should bow later this month. Androidpolice.com says that like the Google Pixel 9 Pro, the Galaxy S25 series will include a free Gemini Advanced subscription. The handsets will also have new blue colors and some MagSafe-type case options. The colors are reportedly ‘Icy Blue’ for the Galaxy S25 Plus and ‘Titanium Blue’ for the S25 Ultra. The latter is a lighter shade of blue. As for the wireless charging, the case images show a MagSafe-line ring, but word is the Galaxy S25 won’t natively support Qi2 charging, but will rely on external accessories to do so. This is also true with other Android lines…they rely on cases for the charging abilities. 

United is going to start testing out Starlink satellite connectivity on flights next month. Engadget.com notes that UA announced a partnership with SpaceX back in September. If the testing goes as expected, United plans to have the first commercial flight with Starlink to be in place by later this spring. It will start out on an Embraer E-175. The rest of the airlines ‘two-cabin regional fleet’ should have Starlink installed through 2025, with the first mainline Starlink-enabled plane in the air before the end of 2025. Starlink will be free to all members of United’s Mileage Plus program. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Chinese Government Hackers Hit US Treasury Office; Meta-Plans to Flood Social Media with AI Generated Users and Content; Tesla Deliveries Drop-First in a Decade; Samsung A16 Launches in US for $199

Posted: January 2, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Over the holiday, we found out that Chinese government hackers targeted the very sensitive sanctions office for the US Treasury. Techcrunch.com reports that the hackers were able to access employee workstations and unclassified documents. The situation, which happened in December, was called ‘a major cybersecurity incident’ by the Treasury. A third party software provider called Beyond Trust, that provides identity management tools, tipped off Treasury about the attacks. The US Treasury Department has had no further comment so far. 

From the ‘whoever thought this was a good idea’ department…Meta plans to flood Facebook and other social media platforms with AI powered user profiles. According to Siliconangle.com, Connor Hayes, VP of product of Generative AI said in an interview with Financial Times “We expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do. They’ll have bios and profile pictures and they’ll be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform. That’s where we see all of this going.” Hey, they want to see some return on the billions they are pumping into AI…so brace yourself.

Tesla had its first drop in yearly deliveries in a decade. Yahoo.com says that the EV maker got 495,570 vehicles to customers in the last quarter, missing estimates of 503,269 which meant a 1.1% drop year over year. This all according to 15 analysts polled by LSEG. The stock is down over 100 from a high of 486 December 17th to 379.70 as of this report on January 2nd. 

One thing Samsung does well that Apple can’t or won’t master is maintaining a line of cheap Android phones in addition to their more state-of-the art and therefore pricy phones. 9to5google.com reports that Samsung has started 2025 with the US launch of its budget Galaxy A16 phone…for $199! The phone is no dog…it has a 6.7 inch screen and runs an Exynos 1330 system. The A16 also rocks a big 5,000 mAh battery. Where it does lack is in memory…only 4 gigs. It does have a 50MP rear cam and a 5 MP ultra wide, as well as a 2 MP macro cam. The Selfie cam is 13 MP, so you aren’t going to get top notch photos with this…but hey, $199! It comes with 6 major Android updates too. You can get it in black or blue starting January 9th from Samsung.com and many retailers and carriers.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Lower Priced Galaxy Flip Rumor; Bluesky Passes 20 Million Users; GrayKey Police Hack Having Trouble With iOS 18; Starlink Back to Waitlisting Some Places

Posted: November 20, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Folding phones are growing more popular, especially with a less noticeable crease on the screens, but they are still really expensive. Now, bgr.com reports that we may be seeing a relatively cheap Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE sometime in 2025. In addition, Samsung is reportedly working on a thin Z Flip 7 SE. If the rumors are true, Samsung may field 4 Galaxy Z foldable in 2025: the regular Flip 7 and Fold 7, and the cheaper Flip SE, and ultra-thin Fold 7 SE. If they keep making the crease less visible, and can drop prices, folding phones may become relatively mainstream. Since Apple is reported to be working on a folder, you can expect they will join the party just as that mainstreaming occurs!

Bluesky, the app that would replace old Twitter, has now blown past 20 million users. It is now gaining on Meta owned Threads, as well as X, which continues to bleed users. TechCrunch.com notes that Threads still has a massive lead at 275 million monthly active users, but up to the election they had 5 times more daily users than Bluesky. That has not been cut to 1.5 times! Even with the recent exodus from X, the Musk-owned app still has 10 times the users of Bluesky for now. Bluesky has been #1 at the US Apple App Store since the election, while Threads is now #4, and X has ominously dropped to #41!

You may have heard of Graykey…we’ve reported on it here…it’s something law enforcement and government agencies can use to break into locked iPhones. Now, macrumors.com says officials are having issues trying to hack into phones running iOS 18 and 18.01. Apparently, the product can ‘partially’ unlock some phones…in fact iPhone 11 models can be unlocked in full. Newer iPhones are more hack proof. Magnet Forensics, maker of Graykey, had no comment, but Israel-based Cellebrite reportedly can’t unlock iPhones running iOS 17.5.1 and later. Apple has said that the idea is to make the phones worth less and less of a theft item since a locked phone you can’t hack into is not worth much. For some, the fact that governments and police agencies can’t get in either is a plus. 

Only about a year after dropping waitlisting, Starlink is back to ‘sold out’ in parts of the US. Arstechnica.com reports that the areas you’ll be waiting in include the areas around Seattle, Spokane, Portland, San Diego, Sacramento, and Austin, Texas. There are also some sold-out areas in parts of Colorado, Montana, and North Carolina. Worldwide, there is still little availability in Africa. If you are so inclined, you can jump the wait list by subscribing to the pricier Starlink Roam tier. Be aware though, that they may block Roam service in specific areas due to lack of capacity. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Twitter Vanishes from Mac App Store; Samsung Markets Galaxy Z Flips as Cop Body Cams; Feds Propose Deepfake Law; Android Malware-Steals Cash Then Wipes Your Device

Posted: August 1, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s a good bet there will be some angry Tweets from Elon Musk…and yes, I’m still calling them Tweets. X can no longer be accessed in the Mac App Store, and that may mean it has been officially delisted. Techcrunch.com reports that searches for both ‘Twitter’ and ‘X’ on Apple’s platform no longer surface the app. The URL no longer works either…you get a pop up saying it is unavailable. X has not confirmed that the app was delisted. 

Here’s an interesting idea you might not have thought of, but Samsung has. Apparently, Samsung is marketing its Z Flip phones as a body cam to police agencies. According to engadget.com, Samsung started doing this a couple years ago as a pilot program with some police in Missouri.  The program was the first time a foldable device was used by police as a body cam. After the end of the pilot program, two more police departments signed on to use the Flip devices as body cams. The solutions from those pilot tests are also being extended to 25 metro police departments in five states. 

The US government has formed an Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Consortium, and now there is a bipartisan law proposed that would outlaw the use of deepfakes. 9to5mac.com notes that one of the biggest concerns about AI is the ease with which deepfakes can be created. These are convincing-looking photos, audio, and video recordings of real people made to look like they are doing or saying completely fake things. The law was introduced yesterday in the Senate. Called the No Fakes Act, it would hold individuals and companies liable for damages for producing, hosting, or sharing a digital replica of an individual performing in an audiovisual work, image, or sound recording that the individual never actually appeared in or otherwise approved. The Actor and Broadcast union SAG-AFTRA backs the bill, and so do I…I approve this message. I don’t want some voice clone doing mortuary or male enhancement commercials, to name just a couple categories I would nix. 

A very nasty piece of malware for Android has been uncovered. Researchers at Cleafy Labs are calling it BingoMod. Bgr.com reports that the victim is tricked into installing the bad boy app posing as legit antivirus software. Right after that, the app asks for access to Accessibility Services. As soon as you do that it unpacks and executes its malicious payload. It goes after credentials using key logging and SMS interception. Once that’s done, hackers take over your device and start money transfers. But wait…there’s more. When you are cleaned out, they can wipe your device by remote command! Stick with main brand antivirus software and get it from the actual maker…don’t take a chance.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.

Samsung All In With Google Messages; CrowdStrike Mess-Delta Cancels 1,000 More Flights; Astronomers Find New Way to Spot AI Deepfakes; EVs-New Battery Tech is 50% Lighter

Posted: July 22, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung will stop pre-installing Samsung Messages on Galaxy phones, and just go with Google Messages. 9to5google.com reports that…starting with the Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, you will just get Googles Messages. RCS will be enabled by default on the phones in the Google Messages app. The Samsung app will still be available for download at the Galaxy Store, but with a note that ’some features will be excluded.’

Although it’s been since Thursday, some users are still dealing with the aftermath of the corrupt CrowdStrike download that screwed up what Microsoft claims was a little over 8 million computers. Microsoft says that is about 1% of the installed base. That noted, according to engadget.com, Delta has had to cancel over 1,000 more flights…it’s a total of about 5,000 flights cancelled now, and around 1,700 delayed. That amounts to around a third of Delta’s scheduled flights. Delta was the worst hit US airline, with United a distant second…at 266 flights cancelled on Sunday. At first, United and Delta told stranded travelers that they wouldn’t cover bills since the CrowdStrike crash was out of their control. However, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg later stepped in and said that he considered the situation self-inflicted, so carriers would need to cover food, transportation and lodging costs for any delays longer than three hours as required by law. Secretary Pete also said don’t let them talk you into a credit…you can get the cash back…that’s the law!

In an interesting application of one tech to another, astronomers and researchers at the University of Hull have shown a novel way to detect AI Deepfakes. Arstechnica.com says it involves analyzing the reflections in human eyes. The technique was shown at the Royal Astronomical Society meeting last week. It utilizes tools used by astronomers. A pair of eyes being illuminated by the same set of light sources will normally have similarly shaped light reflections in each eyeball. Most AI deepfakes so far don’t account for eyeball reflections, so they show up inconsistently between the eyes. Some differences can be detected with the naked eye…like when one eye has white lights and the other red, but the astronomical tools can detect automatically and much faster…and with detail that a person can’t match. One down side…the technique requires a clear, up-close view of the eyeballs to work. It isn’t 100% yet…there are a few false negatives and false positives…but it’s a new tool in the battle against deepfakes.

A Swedish firm, using research from Chalmers University of Technology, has developed carbon fiber-based structural batteries that not only store energy but also become an integral part of a product’s structure. Their possible span of energy density is said to be around 25-50% of a conventional lithium-ion battery at current technology level. Bgr.com notes that by integrating the batteries into the actual structure of the car (or aircraft), these batteries could lighten the weight of the vehicle by up to 50%! This tech is the first that has given good mechanical strength plus good electrical properties. Previous tries have had one or the other, but not both.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.

YouTube Shorts Adds Text to Speech Narration; Samsung Live Translate-Available on 3rd Party Apps; Apple Opens Mobile Payment System-EU Compliance; Tesla Robotaxi Event Delayed to October

Posted: July 11, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

YouTube Shorts is getting a new text-to-speech narration, something of an artificial voiceover like TikTok has. Theverge.com reports that after you write some text, you can tap the ‘add voice’ icon’ in the upper left corner and pick out a voice you want. For starters, YouTube has 4 voices…TikTok has numerous ones. YouTube is also rolling out auto-generated captions so you don’t have to leave the platform or use an app to add them. There is a selection of fonts and colors, just like the manual text overlay feature. Another new feature is a new set of Minecraft effects, and a mini game called Minecraft Rush. The mimicking of TikTok appears to be giving YouTube Shorts a real boost. 

Samsung announced Live Translate yesterday at Unpacked, and mentioned that it would be available on third party apps. Now, according to Mashable.com, one of the apps supported will be the widely used WhatsApp. Initially, 16 languages will be supported, with that growing to 20 by the end of the year. Samsung underscores that the translation takes place entirely on device, so your data is more secure. It is available on Galaxy S24 devices, and now S23 and S22 as well…and also the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 and newer. 

Approximately two weeks from now, European Union iPhone users will be able to use any mobile wallet they wish as a ‘Tap and Go’ payment method, with the ease of using the native Apple Pay. Arstechnica.com says this is part of a settlement with the European Commission over Apple’s shutting out rivals from their NFC tech. NFC is not an Apple tech in the first place, and it has been free to developers. Now, Apple has agreed not to charge developers fees to provide NFC on Apple devices. 

Tesla won’t be doing a big reveal of its robotaxi in August. The event has been kicked down the road to October now. Bloomberg reports that after the announcement that the August 8th date had been cancelled, Tesla shares dropped over 6%. Back in April, Elon Musk said Tesla was dropping their next-gen car platform for a $25,000 cheaper Tesla in favor of accelerating the robotaxi project. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Samsung Unpacked Recap; Google One ‘Dark Web Reports’ Coming to All; Microsoft Boosting Xbox Gam Pass Ultimate Prices; Apple Hopes AI Will Boost iPhone Shipments 10% in 2024

Posted: July 10, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Covering Samsung Galaxy Unpacked events is so different from covering Apple’s. With famously secretive Apple, there is always a lot to reveal. Samsung, on the other hand, tends to leak like a sieve. Anyway, here are some high lights. The titanium Galaxy Ring bowed, loaded with an accelerometer, PPG sensors to measure blood flow, and skin temperature detection. According to engadget.com, It can track metrics such as sleep score, movement during your slumber, heart rate, respiratory rate and menstrual cycles. Samsung will give you an overall Energy Score to help give you a snapshot of your overall health, and it will offer some suggestions on how to improve things. There’s no subscription required. The ring should run 7 days on a charge, and it is priced at $400. It will ship July 24th. The foldable get a fresh coat of paint, so to speak. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 have a better folding edge to support the dual rail hinge…and they claim the crease is less noticeable. Both have Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for durability. Both rock a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip set. Both the folders got a price bump with the Z Fold 6 starting at $1900 and the Z Flip 6 at $1100. Preorders are open, and they ship July 24th. Samsung rolled out a Galaxy Watch Ultra as a companion to its Galaxy Watch. Like the Apple Ultra Watch, it is aimed at outdoor activities and extreme sports. The Ultra is 47 mm in size, and will set you back $650.00. The Galaxy Watch 7 comes in 40 mm and 44 mm sizes, and it starts at $300. It is also open for preorders, with shipping July 24th.

Google has had ‘Dark web reports’ for Google One subscribers for a while now. With the Google One VPN shutdown in June, Google says the feature will become available to all Google Account holders starting in late July. 9to5google.com reports that after setting up a profile, Google monitors the dark web so you are aware if your personal data has been found in data breaches and leaks. At the time of writing, these reports are available in 46 countries. Instead of requiring the application or login to the Google One service, this information will now be integrated into the “Results about you” section to help you stay aware of any personal data breaches.

Microsoft is goosing up the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in September…it will go to $19.99, up from the present $16.99. Theverge.com says Redmond will also roll out a new ‘standard’ subscription that doesn’t include day-one access to first-party Xbox games for less money. The price hike will hit on September 12th. This all comes as Microsoft is going to add Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and some other big first-party games later this year. The Standard subscription will set you back $14.99 a month. 

Apple is shooting for shipping at least 90 million iPhone 16 models in 2024. That’s according to macrumors.com, citing a Bloomberg report. This would be 10% growth over 2023, when Apple shipped 81 million iPhone 15’s. Apple believes that Apple Intelligence will boost demand for the iPhone 16 models, and shore up sales in China, where Xiaomi and Huawei have AI features already, that has helped those brands to cut into iPhone sales there. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Microsoft Outage Took Down Copilot, ChatGPT, DuckDuckGo-Now Over; Spyware Found on US Hotel Check-in Computers; AI Disclosure Required in Campaign Ads-FCC; Leaked Samsung Repair Contract-Privacy Concerns

Posted: May 23, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

An outage linked to Bing’s API took down search for ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, DuckDuckGo, and other platforms starting at about 3AM Eastern was finally resolved by 11 this morning East Coast time. Theverge.com reports that Bing’s own search engine was also affected. The outage primarily affected users in Asia or Europe, but also hit the US to a lesser degree. If you were caught in a maddening loading loop and were unable to load search results earlier today, now you know why. As of this webcast, Microsoft was still trying to isolate the root cause…but at least service is restored. 

It’s always a bit rattling to come across something like this: a consumer grade spyware app has been found running on the check-in systems of at least three Wyndham hotels across the United States. According to techcrunch.com, the app is called pcTattletale, and it covertly captured screen shots of the hotel booking systems…including details about guests. It gets worse…due to a security flaw in the spyware, the screenshots are available to anyone on the internet! A security researcher has alerted pcTattletale of the bug, but they apparently haven’t responded. The manager of one of the hotels didn’t know the spyware was on their system…others have not responded. Wyndham Hotels are a franchise, so hotels are independently owned and operated. Just one more way for people’s data to get grabbed and misused. 

The FCC Chairwoman is proposing a rule requiring disclosure of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in political ads on radio and TV. Reuters says that the Commission is to vote on the proposed rule….which it should be pointed out just requires disclosure in candidate or issue ads…it does not ban AI content. Also worth noting—the rule would require on-air and written disclosures and cover cable operators, satellite TV and radio providers, but the FCC does not have authority to regulate internet or social media ads or streaming services. The Commission has already acted to battle misuse of AI in political robocalls.

Samsung has been selling self-repair kits for its latest handsets like the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5. That’s cool, but apparently Samsung is demanding customer info from repair shops before they can get the genuine parts. Androidpolice.com notes that lots of people like to use third party repair shops. The info Samsung is allegedly requiring under a contract with shops includes the customer’s name, contact information, phone identifiers like an IMEI number, alongside details of the customer’s complaint. Channeling Ron Popiel, ‘but wait…there’s more!’ Samsung requires shops to “immediately disassemble” devices brought to them that have been repaired using aftermarket parts in the past, and “immediately notify” Samsung about it. If a third-party repair shop doesn’t do its part, it gives Samsung grounds to terminate their agreement, essentially leaving the shop without easy access to the tech giant’s repair parts. So far, Samsung hasn’t clarified this situation…does the customer get a partially disassembled phone back…or get it back at all? This is not cool. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Samsung Retakes Top Smartphone Sales Spot; US Gives Samsung Billions for Chip Factory in TX; Tesla Lays off 10% Plus of Workforce; Super-Creepy Face Detecting AI Camera-Repeller

Posted: April 15, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung has grabbed back the top spot in the worldwide smartphone race, passing up Apple. 9to5google.com reports that Samsung shipped 19.69 million smartphones first quarter, eclipsing Apple’s 17.41 million. Samsung is now reporting 20% market share, with Apple at 18%. Samsung had been the top smartphone maker for quite a while until being passed up by Apple. As Samsung comes out with new phones again this summer and then Apple in September, we’ll see if Cupertino can claw back the #1 spot. 

We reported last week on the over $6 billion the US has given TSMC for their chip plants in Arizona and $8.5 billion to Intel for chip production here. Now, the feds have ponied $6.4 billion to Samsung for its facilities it is building in Texas. Samsung is investing $45 billion in the facilities over the next 10 years. All the funds are from the 2022 Chips and Science Act. 

With sales softer first quarter, Tesla is now laying off over 10% of its workforce. Emails started going out yesterday. Engadget.com says that Tesla had over 140,000 employees as the end of December 2023. Elon Musk wrote in a memo “As part of this effort, we have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10 percent globally.” It is notable that Tesla had doubled its headcount since 2020, and in fact added 10% in 2023 alone. Deliveries were down 8% year over year, and now are expected to continue to be soft. Tesla announces first quarter earnings April 23rd. 

The first thing that came to mind when I saw this is ‘lawsuit waiting to happen.’ Thenextweb.com reports that a startup in Slovenia has made an AI powered home security system. It has Via computer vision tech that works day and night. Owners can designate guests as friends or foe using an app…even designate pets. That’s all well and good, but this rig goes further. If someone unknown or listed as a foe comes on the property, a speaker warns them they have 5 seconds to leave. If they don’t, it shoots paintballs or tear gas at them. The system also records video. The Paintcam, as it is called, launches April 23rd…no pricing yet.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.

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