Technology News
Latest technology news and updates
Total: 510
Apple Slashes Prices in China: iPhone Air Sees Record RMB 2,500 Cut in Tmall New‑Year Blitz
Apple has initiated a major New‑Year promotion in China via its Tmall flagship, cutting up to RMB 2,500 from the iPhone Air’s launch price and offering discounts across Macs, iPads and accessories. The sale — timed for Lunar New Year and supported by limited stock allocations — signals aggressive channel management and highlights the Chinese market’s growing price sensitivity and the role of eSIM adoption in Apple’s local strategy.
Apple Slashes iPhone Air Prices in China — Official Cut Plus State Subsidy Cuts Up to ¥2,500
Apple has cut the iPhone Air price in China by up to ¥2,500, combining a ¥2,000 official discount with a national subsidy to bring the starting price to about ¥5,499. The unprecedented promotion reflects weak smartphone demand and intense competition in China, and raises questions about Apple’s premium positioning and margin strategy in its largest overseas market.
Honor’s Porsche‑Design Magic8 RSR Sells at Record Pace, Signalling Appetite for Ultra‑Premium Phones in China
Honor’s Magic8 RSR Porsche Design model recorded the highest first‑day sales revenue among the brand’s Porsche‑branded phones. Priced from RMB 7,999 and featuring Qualcomm’s fifth‑generation Snapdragon 8 platform, up to 24GB RAM and CETC satellite chips supporting Tiantong and BeiDou, the handset highlights demand for premium, domestically integrated devices in China.
Baidu Bundles Documents and Cloud Storage into a ‘Personal Super Intelligence’ Unit to Fast‑Track AI Growth
Baidu merged its Wenku document repository and Wangpan cloud storage into a single Personal Super Intelligence Business Group led by Wang Ying, reporting directly to CEO Robin Li. The consolidation aims to leverage document and personal‑file datasets to accelerate consumer AI products, drive new monetisation and tightly integrate generative features into Baidu’s ecosystem while navigating privacy and regulatory risks.
Blue Arrow Aims for Rocket Returns, 30-Launch Annual Cadence to Speed China’s LEO Build‑out
Blue Arrow Aerospace has announced a three‑phase plan to make its Zhuque‑3 rocket partially reusable, achieve a rocket return and reflight this year, and scale production to 20–30 launches annually to support Chinese LEO constellations. The company also plans a Zhuque‑3A upgrade with multiple recovery modes and new 100‑ton‑class engines to lift recovered payload to about 18 tonnes.
Tencent Revives QQ Show — A Nostalgia-Fueled Play for the Avatar Economy
Tencent announced the return of QQ Show, its legacy avatar and virtual-goods feature, on January 24. The move leverages nostalgia and the growing avatar economy, but success will depend on design updates, monetization choices and navigating China’s regulatory landscape.
Musk’s $0.20-a‑Mile Robotaxi: Tesla’s Cybercab Stakes a Claim to Crush Ride‑Hailing Costs
Elon Musk has announced that Tesla’s Cybercab robotaxi could operate for as little as $0.20 per mile — about half the projected cost of Waymo’s next‑gen vehicles and far below current ride‑hailing and private‑car costs. The target rests on energy efficiency gains, an ‘unboxed’ manufacturing approach that trims parts, and the elimination of driver labour, but faces production, regulatory and safety hurdles before it can reshape urban mobility.
Chinese Materials Firm Says Its Low‑Dielectric Glass Fiber Is Being Used in High‑End 5G Phones and RF Parts
International Composite Materials told investors that its domestically developed low‑dielectric glass fibre for 5G has found use in high‑end phones and wave‑transparent parts for high‑frequency communications. The product, part of the firm's electronic cloth range used in PCBs, underscores China's push to domesticate advanced materials for RF hardware, though the company did not disclose scale or customer names.
China’s Humanoid-Robot Race Enters a Reality Check as Shipment Figures Spark Debate
A public clash over 2025 shipment figures between Chinese humanoid-robot maker Yush Technology and independent research firms highlights a sector moving from prototype to production. Discrepancies stem from differing definitions and data sources, but both industry reports and company statements point to rapid volume growth and a critical 2026 inflection point focused on real-world deployment, paying customers and robot ‘brains’.
IMF Chief: AI a 'Tsunami' for Jobs — Young and Entry-Level Workers Face the Brunt
IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva warned at Davos that AI will act like a ‘tsunami’ for labour markets, affecting an estimated 60% of jobs in advanced economies and 40% globally. She said young people face the greatest disruption because many entry-level roles are being eliminated, and stressed that governance has not kept pace with technological change.
TikTok’s U.S. Deal: ByteDance Keeps the Algorithm, Washington Gets Oversight
TikTok unveiled a two-company U.S. structure that places data and content oversight in a new joint venture controlled by U.S. managers, while ByteDance retains control of the high‑value parts of the business and ownership of the recommendation algorithm. The arrangement aims to balance U.S. security concerns with ByteDance’s desire to keep its core technology and revenue streams, but it will face continued regulatory and political scrutiny.
Chinese Portable Battery Maker Says Its Units Powered Multiple Domestic Rocket Launches — A Sign of Maturing Support Industry
Huabao Xinneng says its Dian Xiao Er portable power units have supplied off‑grid electricity for multiple Chinese rocket launches and related operations and are compatible with Starlink‑type satellite terminals. The announcement underlines the growing importance of specialised ground‑support equipment as China’s commercial space activity expands, though the claim is promotional and not independently verified.