Samsung Races Apple with New Trifold Phone Reveal

Samsung’s folding game is leveling up — again.

At its flashy Unpacked event in New York Wednesday, the company revealed it plans to launch its first trifold smartphone later this year.

Yes, that’s a phone that folds not once, but twice — like origami, but make it $2,000.

TM Roh, the brand’s mobile boss, says they’re racing to beat Apple to the foldable punch and catch up to Huawei, who already showed off its Mate XT trifold.

No official name yet, but you can bet it’ll sound futuristic and expensive.

Reuters

Apple Preps Massive 2026 Launch to Reignite Growth, Bloomberg Says

Apple is preparing a massive product wave for early 2026, with a new iPhone 17e, refreshed iPads, MacBook Pros and Airs, and even a new external display — Bloomberg reported citing people with knowledge of the company’s plans. The goal: reignite growth after two rocky years and solidify its mobile ecosystem dominance.

The low-end iPhone 17e will pack an A19 chip, matching its premium cousins. iPads get M4 upgrades, while MacBooks will get M5 chips — the last to feature current designs before Apple shifts to OLED displays.

A new smart home hub and Studio Display successor round out the lineup — all part of an effort to sync Apple’s mobile, desktop, and home devices in one seamless platform.

Bloomberg  TradingView

xAI Launches Grok 4 After Hitler Post Cleanup, Faces Turkey Ban

Elon Musk’s AI startup xAI has unveiled Grok 4, its latest chatbot Musk claims is “smarter than almost all graduate students, in all disciplines.”

The launch follows xAI removing antisemitic posts praising Adolf Hitler made by the previous Grok version on X, with the company taking steps to ban hate speech.

Musk emphasized, “we need to make sure that the AI is a good AI.”

The rollout comes as xAI faces criticism from governments — including Turkey threatening to ban X over inappropriate content — and leadership upheaval, with X CEO Linda Yaccarino resigning the same day.

Meanwhile, xAI is burning through $1 billion a month competing against giants like Google and OpenAI in the race for AI dominance.

CBS  Guardian  Bloomberg

Internal Strife and Demotion Pushed X CEO Yaccarino Out

Linda Yaccarino’s resignation as CEO of X wasn’t sudden — it followed months of internal tensions with Elon Musk.

Despite helping to stabilize X’s battered ad business and revive its valuation, she struggled with Musk’s erratic leadership style, shifting priorities, and pressure to move faster.

Her role was further sidelined after Musk merged X with xAI, effectively demoting her.

The break became inevitable as her influence diminished and frustrations grew behind the scenes.

Bloomberg CNN

Meta Offers Ex-Apple AI Star $200M to Join “Superintelligence” Team

Meta offered ex-Apple AI engineer Ruoming Pang over $200 million to join its new “superintelligence” division, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the deal.

Pang led Apple’s AI model team and is one of several high-profile recruits, including ex-GitHub CEO Nat Friedman.

Most of Pang’s package is in Meta stock, tied to performance targets and multi-year loyalty.

The eye-popping figure reflects Meta’s aggressive push to dominate frontier AI, following a wave of hires from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic.

Bloomberg  Business standard

Apple Bids for F1 Rights, Plans AR-Enhanced Racing Experience

Apple is bidding for the U.S. broadcast rights to Formula 1, taking on ESPN in a deal that could supercharge its Apple TV+ platform and reshape sports streaming on mobile.

The move follows the blockbuster success of Apple’s Brad Pitt-led F1 movie, which grossed $300 million and drew a younger, more diverse audience to the sport.

With 1.3 million average U.S. viewers per race and a ballooning media rights market, Apple’s aiming to lock F1 into its services juggernaut—already worth over $100 billion a year.

If Apple wins, F1 could become a native experience across iPhones, iPads, and Vision Pro—blending live racing, behind-the-scenes access, and in-app perks like driver tracking or AR overlays.

Reuters

Nvidia Soars Past $4 Trillion, Leaves Microsoft and Apple Behind

Nvidia has become the first company in history to hit a $4 trillion market valuation, with shares jumping 2.8% on Wednesday to $164.42.

The stock has soared over 1,000% since 2023, now making up 7.5% of the S&P 500 Index.

The rally is fueled by relentless AI spending from tech giants like Microsoft,

Meta, and Amazon, who are projected to pour $350 billion into capex this fiscal year.

Analysts say more upside could come in earnings season, with Nvidia potentially beating and raising guidance — something it’s done repeatedly.

Despite the rise, its valuation remains below its 10-year average.

Nvidia’s meteoric climb leaves Microsoft and Apple trailing at $3.7 and $3.1 trillion, respectively

Reuters

US Government Cloud Discounts Could Shake Up Industry Pricing

Big Tech just gave Uncle Sam a massive markdown. Google, Oracle, Salesforce, and others are slashing cloud prices for U. S. federal agencies—part of a sweeping renegotiation drive led by the General Services Administration.

Oracle is offering up to 75% off software and cloud contracts; Google cut Workspace costs by 71%. Microsoft and Amazon are expected to follow.

The shift isn’t just financial—it’s political. With Trump applying pressure and past retaliation fresh in memory, tech giants are eager to cooperate.

The goal: modernize aging government systems, boost AI and mobile integration, and save billions.

But there’s a catch—these deep discounts may ripple into commercial pricing. For the mobile ecosystem, where cloud powers everything from apps to AI models, lower federal margins today could reshape costs—and competition—across the board.

Reuters

US Space Safety at Risk as Funding Slashed for Traffic Coordination

Hundreds of US space companies are warning of dangerous consequences as Congress plans to slash funding for America’s first space traffic coordination system — by nearly 85%.

The cut threatens the Office of Space Commerce’s TRACSS platform, which aims to prevent satellite collisions as mega-constellations like Starlink, Kuiper, and China’s planned fleets jam low-Earth orbit.

With over 35,000 commercial satellites expected, experts say private players aren’t yet equipped to take over.

The OSC was months from launch, but Washington now claims industry can handle the job.

SpaceX, Blue Origin, and 450 others disagree, saying the risk is rising, the system isn’t ready, and US leadership in orbital safety is on the line.

No control, no command — just cosmic chaos.

Datacenter Dynamics

OpenAI’s AI Browser to Challenge Google Chrome, Reuters Reports

OpenAI is set to shake up the browser world with a new AI-powered web browser launching soon, directly challenging Google Chrome’s market dominance — Reuters reported during the week.

Built on Chromium and integrating ChatGPT-style AI agents, this browser lets users book appointments and fill forms without leaving the page.

This hits at the heart of Google’s $300 billion ad business, which relies heavily on Chrome’s user data.

With 500 million ChatGPT users potentially onboard, OpenAI gains a major foothold in how people browse and how ads are targeted—right as Google faces antitrust scrutiny. In the mobile ecosystem, this could redefine user control and ad dynamics.

Reuters