If you blinked this week, you might have missed a whirlwind of tech news. From foldable phones to smartwatches, chip architecture to social media policy, the industry kept us on our toes. Here’s your one-stop catch-up on the seven biggest stories that dominated the conversation.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8: Leaks Point to a Slimmer, More Powerful Foldable
Samsung’s next-generation foldable is already generating buzz, even before its official announcement. Rumors suggest the Galaxy Z Fold 8 will feature a significantly thinner and lighter chassis, addressing one of the main criticisms of previous models. The device is expected to sport an upgraded 7.8-inch internal display with a higher refresh rate and under-display camera, along with a 6.3-inch cover screen that finally feels like a proper phone when folded. Under the hood, the Exynos 2500 or Snapdragon 8 Gen 4 chipset is likely, paired with 16GB of RAM and a 7,000mAh battery. Camera improvements include a 200MP main sensor with enhanced zoom capabilities. Leaks indicate an August launch, with pre-orders starting shortly after.
Garmin Cirqa: A Premium Fitness Smartwatch with AMOLED Display
Garmin expanded its lineup with the Cirqa, a sleek fitness-focused smartwatch that targets both athletes and everyday users. It features a vibrant 1.5-inch AMOLED screen, 5ATM water resistance, and built-in GPS. The device boasts over 100 workout modes, advanced sleep tracking, and SpO2 monitoring. A standout feature is the new “Body Battery” 2.0 algorithm that provides real-time energy level insights based on heart rate variability and stress. The Cirqa also supports offline music storage from Spotify and Amazon Music, plus Garmin Pay for contactless payments. Battery life is estimated at 14 days in smartwatch mode, with up to 36 hours in GPS mode. Priced at $450, it competes directly with the Apple Watch Series 9 and Fitbit Sense 2.
Apple M4 Chip: A New Era for Mac Performance
Apple has officially unveiled the M4 chipset, marking a generational leap in performance and efficiency for its Mac lineup. Built on a 3nm process, the M4 features up to a 16-core CPU, including 12 high-performance cores and 4 efficiency cores. The 32-core GPU promises 50% faster graphics performance compared to the M3. Additionally, the Neural Engine has been upgraded to 24 cores, enabling advanced machine learning tasks on-device. Apple claims the M4 delivers up to 2.5x the performance per watt of comparable Intel chips. Early adopters will see the M4 first in the new MacBook Pro and iMac models, with benchmarks showing substantial gains in video editing, 3D rendering, and AI workloads. This marks Apple’s continued transition away from Intel and toward fully custom silicon.
Meta AI: Llama 3 Goes Open Source and Integrates Into Instagram
Meta made waves by releasing Llama 3, its latest large language model, as open-source software. Developers can now access the model’s weights and code, enabling custom fine-tuning and deployment. Llama 3 comes in two configurations: 8 billion and 70 billion parameters, with a 400-billion version reportedly in training. In parallel, Meta started rolling out its AI assistant across Instagram and Facebook, allowing users to generate stickers, edit photos with text prompts, and get recommendations directly in DMs. The assistant is powered by Llama 3 and runs on Meta’s custom AI accelerators. Early reviews highlight impressive creativity and contextual understanding, though concerns about misinformation and bias remain. Meta also announced plans to integrate the assistant into Ray-Ban smart glasses later this year.
PlayStation 5 Pro: Sony Confirms Mid-Generation Upgrade for Late 2024
Sony officially confirmed the existence of the PlayStation 5 Pro, a mid-cycle hardware refresh set to launch in November 2024. The console is rumored to feature a much faster AMD-based processor with a custom GPU capable of 45 teraflops, supporting 8K output and stable 60fps at 4K with ray tracing enabled. The internal SSD is doubled to 2TB, and the drive will use standard M.2 NVMe slots for expansion. A dedicated AI upscaling chip similar to Nvidia DLSS is also included, promising smoother rendering. Sony emphasized backward compatibility with all PS5 games, plus performance patches for select titles. Pricing is expected to be around $599, with pre-orders starting in September. The Pro is seen as a direct competitor to the rumored Xbox Series X refresh from Microsoft.
Twitter/X: New Verification Tiers and Long-Form Posts
Twitter, now rebranded as X, introduced several significant changes this week. The platform rolled out a three-tier verification system: Basic (blue check for $8/month), Professional (gold check for businesses at $15/month), and Organization (check for companies with multiple accounts at $50/month). Each tier provides varying levels of analytics and priority in replies. Additionally, X now allows posts up to 100,000 characters, effectively turning the platform into a hybrid social network and blog publisher. The new long-form format supports inline images, videos, and polls. CEO Linda Yaccarino stated that this is part of the mission to create an “everything app.” However, advertisers remain cautious due to ongoing content moderation concerns.
Google Pixel 9: First Render Leaks Reveal a Complete Redesign
Google’s next flagship smartphone, the Pixel 9, has been the subject of detailed leaks. Renders show a complete design overhaul, moving away from the camera bar to a unified camera island similar to the iPhone 15. The device is expected to feature a 6.7-inch LTPO OLED display with 1-120Hz refresh rate, under the new Tensor G5 chip built on TSMC’s 3nm process. The triple-camera system includes a 50MP primary sensor, a 48MP ultrawide, and a 48MP periscope telephoto with 5x optical zoom. The Pixel 9 is also rumored to debut a new “Pixel Stand” with fast wireless charging support. Software features include Android 15 out of the box, with seven years of OS updates. A launch event is expected in October.
Source: TechRadar News