Technology

Samsung and South Korean carrier SK Telecom have announced the Galaxy Quantum 2, Samsung’s second phone that features built-in quantum cryptography technology for increased security. It’s the follow-up to last year’s Galaxy A Quantum. The Quantum 2 includes a chip developed by a company called ID Quantique, which says it’s the world’s smallest quantum random number generator (QRNG) at 2.5mm square. It works by capturing random noise with an LED and a CMOS image sensor. According to SK Telecom, the QRNG chip “allows smartphone holders to use services that require security in a more safe and secure manner by generating unpredictable and patternless true random numbers.” Quantum cryptography RNG is considered to be extremely challenging to hack without extensive physical access to a given dev...

Intel could start producing in-demand semiconductors for car companies within six to nine months, CEO Pat Gelsinger said in an interview with Reuters, commenting that the chipmaking is already being discussed with companies that design chips for cars. “We’re hoping that some of these things can be alleviated, not requiring a three- or four-year factory build, but maybe six months of new products being certified on some of our existing processes,” Gelsinger told Reuters. “We’ve begun those engagements already with some of the key components suppliers.” Even if Intel is unable to meet that six to nine month goal, the news highlights the importance that Intel is placing on its new business as a producer of chips for other companies. “We’ve begun those engagements already with some of the key ...

The Epic Games Store gives away free games every week — often good ones — and yet the company has never explained how it’s managed to dole out 749 million copies without going bankrupt. Until now. New documents published as part of the legal discovery process for Epic’s major antitrust lawsuit against Apple were published last week, and between those and a series of tweets from Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, we’re getting our best look yet at how the company’s not quite throwing billions of dollars away. It’s not spending as much as you’d think According to Apple’s “proposed findings of fact” document (credit to Eurogamer for spotting some of this over the weekend), Epic Games is losing cash — hundreds of millions of dollars in “minimum guarantees” it pays many developers to give away their games a...

The PC market had a great first quarter, despite the global shortage of semiconductor chips. Research firm Gartner estimates that shipments of “traditional PCs,” meaning laptops and desktops, are up by 32 percent compared to Q1 2020 (via CNBC). IDC puts the number even higher, estimating 55 percent growth year-over-year. This seems to be the continuation of a trend — the PC market had a great 2020 as well. Both firms agree that the growth is atypical — Gartner says that the growth is the fastest it’s seen since it started tracking the market in 2000, and IDC says that the drop in shipments from Q4 to Q1 is the smallest it’s seen since 2012. The raw numbers are also impressive — Gartner estimates that just under 70 million PCs were shipped, while IDC estimates around 84 million. The return ...

Samsung’s next Galaxy Z Fold folding phone might have a slightly smaller screen than its previous models, feature a smaller battery, and quite possibly launch in July alongside a new Galaxy Z Flip, The Elec reports (via XDA Developers). The Galaxy Z Fold 3 will reportedly have a 7.5-inch main tablet screen and a 6.2-inch screen on the front cover of the phone, The Elec writes, which would be virtually the same as the Fold 2’s 7.6-inch main display and 6.2-inch cover display. The Elec says these screen sizes come with the added benefit of “zero bezels,” so even though the screens may be the same size, the third Fold could feel slightly smaller because the actual body of the phone might shrink. In comparison to the Fold 2’s 4,500mAh battery, the Fold 3 will reportedly make do with a slightly...

Airbnb is attempting to put the kibosh on disruptive post-vaccine summer parties by launching its “Summer of Responsible Travel” plan, focused on offering more support to hosts and their neighbors, and adjusting its policies to prevent Airbnbs from being used for things other than calm, socially distanced stays. Airbnb’s most noticeable change is a ban on one-night or last-minute stays on the Fourth of July, at least for those guests who don’t have a history of receiving positive reviews from Airbnb hosts. The company is targeting the Fourth because it says the holiday is viewed as a “reopening date” for the US and potentially an occasion for large gatherings that could spread COVID-19. Airbnb already has a 16-person limit on gatherings As the policy stands now, there are still some loopho...

The first trailer for Exposure — the upcoming, Samsung-branded reality TV show from Hulu that’s one part photography competition, one part Galaxy S21 Ultra advertisement — is here. But for a show that’s been paid for by Samsung explicitly to highlight the power of the cameras on Samsung’s phones, it’s almost suspiciously light on Samsung branding. If you just gave Exposure a cursory glance (or, more likely, stumbled across it on Hulu one night) there’s nothing about it that immediately betrays its status as Samsung branded content. There’s no Samsung logo on the title card, no mention of the Galaxy S21 Ultra or its 108-megapixel camera system, or the various software add-ons that help Samsung’s smartphone stand out from the rest. [embedded content] In fact, Exposure’s trailer just gives th...

The Google Play Movies and TV app will no longer be available on any Roku set-top box or any Samsung, LG, Vizio or Roku smart TV starting July 15th, Google has announced (via 9to5Google). If you have movies or TV shows purchased or rented through the service, you’ll still be able to access them through the “Your movies and shows” section of the YouTube app on those devices. This change will also affect you if if you used the Movies and TV app to access Movies Anywhere, the service that allows you to redeem codes from DVDs and Blu-rays so you can access your media digitally. Google has confirmed to The Verge that users who relied on Play Movies and TV to access that content will be able to do so through YouTube. There are a few other caveats to note in the transition to YouTube. Your Watchl...

A robotic spacecraft from Northrop Grumman latched onto an old communications satellite in deep orbit and extended its lifespan by five more years. The Mission Extension Vehicle-2 (MEV-2) marked Northrop’s second successful docking of an object in space. The mission is part of the company’s efforts to kickstart an industry of life-extension services for dead, dying or errant satellites. MEV-2 launched in August last year from French Guiana in South America. It spent six months raising its orbit to rendezvous with Intelsat’s 17-year-old communications satellite in geosynchronous orbit, more than 22,000 miles from Earth. That satellite was running out of fuel and was getting old; it had operated far beyond its expected lifespan while still providing broadband communications to three continen...

We’ve barely heard a peep out of Nvidia on the CPU front for years, after the lackluster arrival of its Project Denver CPU and its associated Tegra K1 mobile processors in 2014. But now, the company’s getting back into CPUs in a big way with the new Nvidia Grace, an Arm-based processing chip specifically designed for AI data centers. It’s a good time for Nvidia to be flexing its Arm: it’s currently trying to buy Arm itself for $40 billion, pitching it specifically as an attempt “to create the world’s premier computing company for the age of AI,” and this chip might be the first proof point. Arm is having a moment in the consumer computing space as well, where Apple’s M1 chips recently upended our concept of laptop performance. It’s also more competition for Intel, of course, whose shares d...

Gundam is about to make the jump to live action in a big way — Legendary Pictures is working on a feature film version of Sunrise’s incredibly popular mech suit anime for Netflix, set to be directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (best known for his work on Kong: Skull Island.) Legendary was first announced to be working with Sunrise on the live-action Gundam film in 2018, although today’s news doesn’t shed too much light on the upcoming project, which only has a working title at this point. Netflix hasn’t announced details on who might be cast or what the plot will be (or even if the movie will be adapting any of the dozens of different anime arcs, series, and films that already exist in Sunrise’s franchise). Brian K. Vaughan is attached to the project as a writer and executive producer, too. Gra...