Innehållsförteckning för #741 från Techlife News

Volvo has unveiled key technical details for the upcoming EX60, an all-electric midsize SUV that the automaker describes as one of its most important launches of the decade. The vehicle is positioned as a core family model in Volvo’s lineup and is intended to address two of the most persistent concerns among electric vehicle buyers: driving range and charging time. According to Volvo, the EX60 is expected to deliver an estimated driving range of up to 400 miles on a full charge, depending on configuration and testing standards. The company also says the vehicle will support DC fast charging at speeds of up to 400 kilowatts, allowing it to recover a substantial amount of range in a short period under ideal conditions. ADDRESSING RANGE ANXIETY AND CHARGING HABITS Volvo says…

Xbox has officially confirmed its next Developer_Direct showcase, scheduled for January 22 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET, marking the first Developer Direct presentation of 2026 and part of the company’s broader 25th anniversary celebrations. The event will feature extended, developer-led gameplay segments focused on a smaller slate of upcoming titles, continuing a format Xbox has increasingly favored for deeper, more technical previews. The January broadcast will be pre-recorded and streamed across official Xbox channels, with studios themselves walking viewers through gameplay, systems, and creative direction rather than relying on rapid-fire trailers. Xbox said the approach is designed to give players a clearer sense of how games will actually play ahead of their releases later this year. FIRST GAMEPLAY REVEAL FOR FORZA HORIZON 6 One of the central…

The familiar ritual of flipping through TV channels, once thought obsolete, is returning. As streaming fatigue sets in, Apple is reshaping entertainment, this time by fusing the shared simplicity of traditional TV with the power of its ecosystem. Having transformed computing and mobile, Apple is now aiming for a third act: a more unified, immersive, and social TV experience that blends old-school viewing habits with the possibilities of spatial computing. THE STREAMING WARS The streaming wars, once a gold rush of subscriber sign-ups and prestige dramas, have devolved into a battlefield of churn and fatigue. With over a dozen major platforms vying for eyeballs, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, and Apple's own TV among them, consumers are drowning in choice. According to recent Nielsen data, the average household now manages…

Apple is preparing to move its next entry-level iPhone into mass production, according to supply-chain claims circulating from China, with manufacturing expected to begin shortly after CES. The device, referred to as the iPhone 17e, is positioned as a lower-cost alternative within Apple’s 2026 lineup and is expected to retain a $599 starting price in the U.S. The latest details come from the leaker known as “Smart Pikachu,” who says production is set to ramp this month. If the timing mirrors last year’s cycle, the schedule would point to a late-February launch, similar to the rollout of the iPhone 16e. Apple has increasingly separated its budget-oriented iPhone releases from the fall flagship cycle, and the reported production window aligns with that strategy. DESIGN SHIFTS AND DISPLAY QUESTIONS According to the…

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang used his keynote address at CES to confirm that the company’s Vera Rubin NVL72 platform is now in production. The announcement marks a transition from preview to manufacturing for Nvidia’s latest datacenter-focused AI system, positioning it as the next step beyond the company’s current generation of large-scale computing platforms. Huang described the start of production as a milestone in Nvidia’s roadmap for accelerated computing, noting that the platform has been designed to address rising demand for large-model training and inference workloads in datacenters. The confirmation places Vera Rubin NVL72 on a deployment path that aligns with Nvidia’s cadence of introducing new architectures as AI models grow in size and complexity. The production status also signals readiness for broader customer adoption. Nvidia has increasingly emphasized end-to-end…

Foxconn reported record fourth-quarter revenue, posting a 22.07 percent increase year over year, underscoring how artificial intelligence infrastructure has become a central growth driver for the company as it enters 2026. The results highlight the shifting balance inside the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, where AI-related hardware is now contributing meaningfully alongside its long-established consumer electronics business. Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, said the surge in quarterly revenue was driven primarily by strong demand for AI servers and associated components. The company is a critical manufacturing partner for global technology firms and plays a key role in assembling both advanced computing systems and mass-market devices at scale. AI SERVERS DRIVE MOMENTUM BEYOND SMARTPHONES The latest quarter reflects a continued change in Foxconn’s revenue mix. While the company…

Google has begun rolling out a new set of artificial intelligence features in Gmail, positioning the email platform as a more proactive personal assistant for users. The update makes several previously paid AI tools available at no cost to personal Gmail accounts in the United States, extending Geminipowered capabilities to a user base that now exceeds three billion people globally. The rollout starts this week for U.S.-based personal accounts, with Google confirming that broader international and language expansion is planned in the coming months. The move reflects Google’s continued effort to embed its Gemini models more deeply across consumer products as competition intensifies in the generative AI market. GEMINI INTEGRATION EXPANDS ACROSS GMAIL The new Gmail features are powered by Google’s Gemini AI platform, part of a broader product strategy…

Apple veterans behind some of the core technology that powers Face ID are stepping into the robotics spotlight with a new startup aimed at redefining how machines see and understand the world. The company, called Lyte, emerged from stealth this week with roughly $107 million in funding and an ambition to provide what its founders describe as a “visual brain” for robots. Based in Mountain View, California, Lyte was founded in 2021 by Alexander Shpunt, Arman Hajati, and Yuval Gerson, all of whom previously worked at Apple on depth-sensing and perception systems central to Face ID. The financing round drew backing from major institutional investors including Fidelity Management & Research, Atreides Management, and Exor Ventures, alongside Key1 Capital, VentureTech Alliance, and private investors led by Israeli entrepreneur Avigdor Willenz. FROM…

Apple is preparing to introduce a new, lower-priced MacBook in early 2026, according to a recent report from TrendForce. The research firm said the laptop is expected to debut in the spring, positioning it as an entry-level to midrange option with pricing designed to sit below the current MacBook Air lineup. In a press release published this week, TrendForce indicated that the upcoming MacBook will feature a 12.9-inch display and target consumers looking for a more affordable macOS laptop. While the firm did not disclose extensive technical details, its report aligns with earlier supply chain indications pointing to a MacBook powered by Apple’s A18 Pro chip, the same processor used in the iPhone 16 Pro. A MACBOOK POSITIONED BELOW THE MACBOOK AIR If released as described, the new model would…

Apple is expected to introduce 200-megapixel rear camera sensors to the iPhone lineup in 2028, according to a research note from Morgan Stanley. The change would begin with Pro-level iPhone models and reflect a broader adjustment in Apple’s camera supply chain, aimed at balancing technological capability, supplier diversification, and long-term cost control. The note, cited by AppleInsider, suggests that Apple will not move to 200MP sensors as early as some prior rumors indicated. While earlier expectations had placed such a transition around the iPhone 18 generation, Morgan Stanley’s researchers now point to the iPhone 21 as the first model to feature the higher-resolution camera hardware. SUPPLIER DIVERSIFICATION DRIVES TIMING One of the main reasons cited for the later timeline is Apple’s approach to supplier diversification. According to the analysis, Apple…

Nvidia used CES 2026 to outline a new phase of its autonomous driving efforts, unveiling Alpamayo, a family of AI models designed to support decision-making in self-driving vehicles. The system is positioned as part of Nvidia’s broader “Physical AI” strategy, which focuses on applying large-scale artificial intelligence models to machines operating in real-world environments, where uncertainty, safety, and edge cases remain persistent challenges. Alpamayo is built around a 10-billion-parameter architecture and is intended to improve how autonomous vehicles interpret complex situations on the road. Nvidia said the model is trained on extensive real driving data and is designed to make its decision processes more transparent, an area that has drawn growing attention from regulators, automakers, and safety researchers. The announcement reflects Nvidia’s continued effort to move beyond supplying hardware alone,…

DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup often compared with OpenAI, is seeing accelerating adoption across developing economies, particularly in regions where access to Western AI platforms is limited. The trend, outlined in a new report from Microsoft, points to a shift in how generative AI tools are spreading globally and which providers are shaping that expansion. According to the report, global adoption of generative AI tools reached 16.3 percent of the world’s population in the three months ending in December, up from 15.1 percent in the prior quarter. While overall usage continues to rise steadily, researchers highlighted uneven regional dynamics, with locally developed or open models gaining traction where U.S.- and Europe-based services face regulatory, political, or technical barriers. STRONG POSITION IN CHINA AND BEYOND DeepSeek is reported to hold…

Apple’s long-rumored foldable iPad took a quiet but notable step closer to reality at CES 2026, where next-generation foldable display technology surfaced in a brief, unscheduled appearance. Samsung Display showcased a new foldable OLED panel that appeared to eliminate the visible crease that has long defined foldable devices, a development closely aligned with Apple’s reported requirements for its first foldable products. According to observers who viewed the booth before it was removed, the new panel showed no visible crease even under angled lighting, a contrast to current foldable screens that still reveal a fold line under certain conditions. While the demonstration was short-lived, it offered a tangible indication of how far foldable OLED engineering has progressed and why Apple has waited years before committing to a foldable form factor. THE…

Hyundai Motor Group and Boston Dynamics used the CES stage in Las Vegas to publicly demonstrate Atlas, a humanoid robot designed for industrial environments. The life-sized prototype walked onstage during the presentation, marking one of the most detailed public showcases of the robot since Boston Dynamics began repositioning Atlas as a platform aimed at real-world factory work rather than research demonstrations alone. Hyundai, which acquired a controlling stake in Boston Dynamics in 2021, framed Atlas as a central element of its long-term manufacturing strategy. Company executives said the robot is intended to support automation in physically demanding and higher-risk tasks, particularly in automotive production facilities where repetitive lifting and awkward movements remain common despite advances in industrial robotics. The appearance at CES signals a shift from experimental development toward production…

xAI, the artificial intelligence company founded by Elon Musk, has secured $20 billion in a Series E funding round, surpassing its initial $15 billion target. The financing places xAI among the largest private capital raises in the AI sector to date and comes during a period of unusually large investments across the industry in 2025. According to the company, the round includes strategic participation from Nvidia and Cisco through their investment arms, alongside other institutional backers. Industry estimates cited by investors place xAI’s post-money valuation at roughly $230 billion, reflecting the aggressive pricing seen in late-stage AI financings over the past year. xAI said the new capital will be directed primarily toward expanding its computing infrastructure and further developing Grok, the chatbot integrated into the social platform X. The company…

With the release of iPadOS 26.2 and macOS Tahoe 26.2, Apple has updated Wi-Fi behavior on a range of recent Macs and iPads, enabling wider channel use on 5GHz networks for devices that support Wi-Fi 6E. The change appears in Apple’s platform deployment documentation and alters how eligible hardware connects to common wireless networks that remain prevalent in homes and offices. The update allows supported devices to use a 160MHz channel width on 5GHz Wi-Fi networks, matching the maximum theoretical bandwidth previously reserved for 6GHz connections. Before this release, the same devices were capped at 80MHz on 5GHz, even when routers supported wider channels. This adjustment does not introduce new hardware requirements, nor does it change which devices support Wi-Fi 6E. Instead, it removes a software limitation that had constrained…