Technology News
Latest technology news and updates
Total: 1454
Meizu Pauses In‑House Phone Hardware Development, Bets on AI and Third‑Party Partners
Meizu has halted in‑house development of new domestic smartphone hardware projects due to fierce competition and soaring memory prices, and is seeking third‑party hardware partners while pivoting toward AI‑driven software centred on its Flyme OS. The shift reflects broader cost pressures and consolidation trends in China’s smartphone industry.
Meizu Retreats from In‑House Phone Hardware to Focus on AI and Flyme Ecosystem
Meizu has halted in‑house R&D for new domestic smartphone hardware and will seek third‑party manufacturing partners while shifting strategy toward AI‑driven software built around its Flyme platform. The move reflects mounting cost pressure and market contraction that favour software and ecosystem plays over standalone hardware efforts by smaller vendors.
Anthropic Backs Away: Safety Pledge Softened as Competition and Policy Uncertainty Bite
Anthropic has watered down its 2023 Responsible Scaling Policy, dropping a blanket pledge to pause model scaling when safety cannot be proven and replacing it with conditional delays tied to competitive position. The change reflects commercial pressures, a fragmented U.S. regulatory landscape and an intensifying race among leading AI developers.
Alibaba’s Qianwen to Debut AI Glasses at MWC 2026 as the Company Pushes Deeper into Hardware
Alibaba’s Qianwen plans to launch AI glasses at MWC 2026, opening reservations on March 2, and will follow with AI rings and earphones later in the year for global sale. The move signals Alibaba’s push to turn its AI models and cloud capabilities into a consumer hardware ecosystem, though global regulatory and product challenges remain.
Meizu Denies Bankruptcy Rumours as Smartphone Sector Faces Fresh Credibility Test
Meizu has publicly denied viral online claims that it is bankrupt, halting operations, or withdrawing its phones from sale, and said it will seek legal action against rumour‑mongers. The rebuttal aims to stabilise partners and customers but does not resolve the structural commercial pressures facing mid‑tier Chinese handset makers.
Rockchip Apologises After GitHub Freeze of MPP Media Framework; Replaces Code and Engages FFmpeg
Rockchip apologised after its MPP media framework repository was temporarily frozen on GitHub over licence compliance issues. The company says it has replaced the problematic code with internally developed, licence‑compliant code and has actively engaged with FFmpeg and GitHub to resolve the matter. The incident highlights licence‑compliance and supply‑chain risks for hardware vendors that rely on open‑source multimedia components, and it will likely spur stricter governance and tooling across the semiconductor ecosystem.
Google’s Nano Banana 2 Halves Image Costs and Pushes AI Visuals from Toy to Tool
Google’s Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash Image) lowers the cost of AI image generation to about $0.067 per image while improving text rendering, multi‑panel consistency and real‑time reference via web search. The model consolidates Flash‑level speed with many Pro‑class features, positioning it as a production‑grade tool for enterprises, even as open‑source and lower‑cost competitors press on price and deployment flexibility.
Broadcom's 3.5D Gamble: Stacked 2nm SoCs and a Push for a Million AI Chips by 2027
Broadcom has started shipping a custom 2nm compute SoC built on a hybrid 3.5D stacking platform and aims to sell at least one million stacked chips by 2027. The XDSiP approach combines 2.5D interposers with face‑to‑face 3D bonding to boost bandwidth and energy efficiency, offering customers an alternative to monolithic node scaling.
Memory Shortage Threatens to Shrink Global Smartphone Market — IDC Predicts a 2026 Downturn
IDC has reduced its 2026 smartphone shipment forecast to about 1.1 billion units, warning that a memory chip shortage and steep price rises could drive a record 13% market contraction. The shortage is forcing OEMs to cut low‑end models and push consumers toward higher‑priced devices, a structural shift that IDC expects will persist until at least mid‑2027.
Google Pushes Pro Image Capabilities Down the Stack with Nano Banana 2 — Faster, Cheaper, Default in Gemini
Google has launched Nano Banana 2 (Gemini 3.1 Flash), a faster, cheaper image-generation model that brings many Pro-tier capabilities to the baseline offering and is now the default in Gemini, Search and Flow. The release reduces per-image costs by roughly half, broadens access to advanced features previously reserved for paying subscribers, and tightens Google’s grip on the creative AI stack while raising moderation and policy challenges.
Memory Shortage Could Trigger a 13% Collapse in Smartphone Shipments in 2026, IDC Warns
IDC has cut its 2026 smartphone shipment forecast to about 1.1 billion units, forecasting a roughly 13% decline driven by a memory/storage chip shortage. The disruption favours large OEMs and major memory manufacturers, risks higher prices and delayed product launches, and could lengthen replacement cycles for consumers.
China Overtakes US in AI Calls as Four Homegrown Models Dominate Global Top Five — Experts Point to Inference-Efficiency Strategies
NetEase reports that China’s aggregate AI API call volume has surpassed the United States for the first time, with four Chinese large models filling four of the global top five usage slots. Experts attribute the surge largely to engineering choices that reduce inference costs, enabling mass deployment across consumer and enterprise services.