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Qualcomm Partners with Google and Samsung to Build Smart Glasses
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
The global tech company Qualcomm is working with Google and Samsung to build new smart glasses. Qualcomm’s CEO, Cristiano Amon, told the news channel CNBC during an interview on Thursday, that they are working on a new device that can connect to the smartphone with a mixed-reality technology.
“It’s going to be a new product, it’s going to be new experiences,” said Amon. “But what I really expect to come out of this partnership, I want everyone that has a phone to go buy companion glasses to go along with it.”
According to the CEO, the experience of wearing the new smart glasses will be very similar to wearing sunglasses or regular eyeglasses, only that it will be listening and “seeing” everything the users see and do. The company is not working on XR headsets for this project as rumored among experts and users in the industry, and as other companies like Apple are doing—with its Apple’s Vision Pro.
“I think we need to get to the point that the glasses are going to be no different than wearing regular glasses or sunglasses. And then with that, we can get scale,” said Amon.
Qualcomm has also been developing chips that can run AI and has been incorporating them into multiple devices, allowing the company to experiment with generative AI, mixed reality technology—virtual and augmented reality— and mixed ways to process information.
“AI is going to run on the device. It’s going to run on the cloud. It’s going to run some in the glass, some in the phone, but at the end of the day, there’s going to be whole new experiences,” explained Amon.
The tech company has also been developing similar products with Meta and Rayban and using AI assistants powered by Meta’s LLM Llama.
According to Reuters , Qualcomm is also interested in buying and using Intel technology—which recently announced a downsizing plan —to develop its AI chips.
Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash
Chinese Tech Company Honor Launches World’s Thinnest Foldable Phone
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
The Chinese tech company Honor launched its new foldable smartphone, the Magic V3, this Thursday to the international market. The phone is powered with AI technology and has been recognized as the thinnest foldable phone on the market.
According to CNBC , the device has already been available for weeks in China. Honor expects to sell Magic V3 in Europe, including Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, and also include the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific in the expansion plan.
The new smartphone comes with an AI feature called Magic Portal, which opens on multiple screens and allows users to easily exchange information across apps, like an address from a chat to Google Maps.
Compared to its rivals, Magic V3 is the thinnest foldable smartphone, measuring 9.2 millimeters when closed. As a comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold6 measures 12.1 millimeters, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold 10.5 millimeters when folded.
According to The Verge, the new device won’t be for sale in the United States, but it can be purchased in other countries like the United Kingdom starting at £1,699 —around $2240.
“The Honor Magic V3 is the best book-style folding phone I have used. The daring design is impossibly slim and light, there are some interesting AI features, and it ticks all the traditional flagship boxes with a versatile camera, long battery life, and fast charging,” wrote reviewer Simon Hill for Wired .
The demand for folding phones has been growing in the past few years, and more companies have joined the trend. Google recently announced its few foldable Pixel phones, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold , Apple could present its first foldable iPhone next week, and Samsung keeps developing its foldable phone technology.
Huawei has gone a bit further recently with its new tri-folded device , which is expected to be featured and fully revealed during the company’s upcoming tech event on September 10th.
