The rules for transport of batteries are based on the size of the cell rather than the size of the battery package in total.

That sounds like an obvious loophole?

Isn’t it the one that shoots black holes?

I think it would be more correct to say that quality control in Chinese science is very poor. I have seen top quality research, and I have also seen crap that should not have been published at all. But the sheer quantity of output means that the next big discovery in <insert field> will be from China.

OSTP is focused on removing regulations to science and tech bc they argue they are slowing us down in the AI race against China.

I don’t work on AI, but in my field I have seen the insane speed and scale of Chinese research. Now I’m from a developing country; the US can probably give better funding than we can, but I am inclined to agree that Chinese science does benefit from easier and better funding and a faster administrative process.

AI data in China is very poor likely bc of the lack of regulations

The big problem for AI research in China seems to be a shortage of high-end GPUs due to the trade wars. China is very strong in maths and comp sci, and they are finding workarounds, but it is still a pretty hard barrier.

Amazon/Bezos is probably getting some sweet federal kick backs

I think it’s more a threat against employees. The robots can be used as scabs.

which, until Jan. 2025, was one area that the U.S. had unquestionably dominated China

China had more scientists and papers well before this year. And China dominates particularly in fields like maths, computer science and manufacturing.

they are indeed going to try to replace scientists with robots

I can actually think of a lot of uses for robots in research. And, of course, there are a lot of robots in labs already; they just don’t look like humans.

but 6nm without EUV?

I read elsewhere that 5nm was already done (in the lab, not on industrial levels), and they’re planning on 3nm by 2026.

The workaround seems to be to use particle accelerators instead of EUV machines. More expensive and with lower yield, but it’ll do the job.

I don’t get it. 3900mAh battery and 25 charging is not okay for a flagship costing over 1 lakh. If the aim is to make a light phone, why not use a weaker SoC and make it cheaper as well? This is neither here nor there. Who even is the target audience?

I only use my phone for phone calls and messaging and the occasional web browsing.

Why not use a feature phone, then? Cheaper, more repairable, and the Nokia ones will also last longer.

Look man I like Xiaomi but their UI is a meme.

Android is supposed to be a (mostly) open-source OS. Users shouldn’t have to worry about Google.

This looks horrible.

It depends on your definition of ‘deGoogle’. You can disable the Google apps on most Android phones. They’ll take up storage space, but won’t run.

If you’re getting a second-hand phone and want to completely deGoogle it, you can check if (1) the bootloader is unlockable and (2) custom ROMs are available online (e.g. Lineage OS compatible devices). In general, Xiaomi, Motorola and Pixel devices have unlockable bootloaders, but not all their models have custom ROMs.

The best photo smartphone of 2024 comes with Android

Yeah bro, this isn’t the 90s. You don’t need to insert stacks of DOS floppys.

It could be a different stratum of society. Maybe like politicians and businessmen. They say ~5% of Indians have iPhones, but I only know two people with iPhones (and one was second-hand).

I don’t think SMIC refuses to sell to non-Chinese companies. Nokia mostly uses Unisoc chips, which are made in China (not sure if by SMIC).

But if they did, it would be a pretty serious problem, since I don’t think SMIC even has a viable competitor in the entry-level smartphone chip market.

They have microSD, audio jack, okay chip (Snapdragon 4 Gen 2) and RAM (4-8 GB), replaceable batteries and screens, and HMD has pledged spare parts for seven years. That’s a good start, but it’s a bit overpriced for its specs and currently only available in Europe, so it probably won’t sell very well.

Apple is leading in a lot of countries despite Android being the dominant OS, because the Android userbase is divided among different manufacturers. See China, for example.

I mean, the biggest (or rather, only) reason I still use WhatsApp is that it works with (other people’s) WhatsApp.

Oh right, some of their assets were frozen, due to non-payment of tax. I thought you meant freezing all assets and kicking them out of the country, like what happened to Huawei.

To some extent, these might be routine tax evasion investigations. But there is definitely a pattern of certain Indian companies getting favourable treatment over foreign competitors. Whether this is a deliberate move, or just politicians shaking up businesses for hush money, I do not know.

It could just be small sample size giving a wrong result. These are based on website hits, not official sales figures.

Grey is ‘I couldn’t be arsed to look up this country; it’s tiny so I hope no one notices’.