HeyWhatsNew: South Korea Pushes Chip Production, US Cracks Down on Foreign EVs and Loud Streaming Ads, and GTA 6 Goes Disc-less
Hi there, Heyuppers! In the last week, a lot has happened in the tech and gaming world, so let’s get the gist of it today, starting 29/06/2026.
Samsung and SK Hynix Invest in South Korea’s Chip Ambitions
South Korea recently unveiled plans to partner with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix in a sweeping industrial strategy centred on semiconductors and artificial intelligence expansion. President Lee Jae Myung described the initiative as a "great leap forward," centred on the "triple axis" of semiconductors, physical AI and data centres.
Samsung and SK Hynix will invest 800 trillion won (US$ 518.30 billion) to build two new chip fabrication sites each in South Korea's southwest region, according to Reuters. Industry minister Kim also said the country will double dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) output within five years by bringing forward construction of fabs in the Seoul metropolitan area to the mid-2030s
South Korea is quickly emerging as a major winner from the surge in global AI investment, driven by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix's commanding position in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips essential to advanced AI processors.
California Law Banning Loud Streaming Ads Takes Effect Soon
For the residents of California, streaming might become a lot less noisy soon. In 2025, the US state passed a law banning streaming services from showing ads “louder than the video content.” Now, it’s set to take effect on Wednesday, July 1. While existing legislation already imposes similar volume restrictions on broadcast and cable TV commercials, streaming services have not shared additional details about how they plan to comply with the law.
The law’s state sponsor, Senator Thomas Umberg, said it was inspired by “every exhausted parent who’s finally gotten a baby to sleep, only to have a blaring streaming ad undo all that hard work.” Industry groups, including the Motion Picture Association of America and the Streaming Innovation Alliance, have since opposed the bill, claiming streamers were already working to address the issue, and noting the challenge of dealing with a variety of output devices, including TVs, tablets, and phones.
GTA 6 Physical Copies Won’t Have a Disk
With everyone psyched about the Grand Theft Auto 6 pre-orders finally going live, Rockstar developers had to announce that customers who opted for the physical edition would just get a box that just contained a code for a digital download instead. While the game isn’t the first to go disc-less for physical copies, it did ruffle a few feathers with people questioning the future of physical media.
On the upside, the physical copies will be available from November 12, in advance of the game's actual launch on November 19. This earlier date is also when GTA 6 pre-loading will become available, allowing anyone with a physical copy or digital pre-order to get the game downloading.
Apple Prices Skyrocket as Component Prices Surge
Prices on Apple’s online store seem to have jumped up across a wide range of products. While the hikes seem to exclude iPhones, they have affected the base models of the MacBook Air, MacBook Neo, MacBook Pro, iPad Air and iPad Pro. We're also seeing price increases on all HomePods and Apple TV (4K).
In a statement to CNET, Apple confirmed the higher prices, blaming a surge in demand for memory and storage, driven by the rapid expansion of AI data centers. “We have never seen a component price increase this much, this quickly," Apple said in the statement. "We have now reached a point where we need to begin raising prices on a number of products, including today's increases for iPad and Mac."
US Bans Polestar From Selling EVs in the Country
According to the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security, automaker Polestar will not be allowed to sell its 2027 models and beyond in the US. This comes after sales were banned over concerns about Chinese-made connected technology.
Polestar is owned by Volvo, whose parent company is the China-based Geely. In a release, the company maintained that it would continue to sell existing stock of its Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 vehicles in the US and to support customers through its service network.
A representative for Polestar told CNET in an email that, because of the Commerce Department's decision, the company has no plans to sell new cars in the US from model year 2027 onward, including the planned Polestar 7.
US Samsung Messages Platform Officially Stops in July
Months ago, Samsung announced that its US Samsung Messages platform would be discontinued. Now, users have until July to migrate to Google Messages. While the process is mostly straightforward, Samsung users in the US should still go through the company’s guide to switching to Google's Messages app.
Samsung has historically included its own Messages app on Galaxy smartphones, but began transitioning toward Google Messages as early as 2021. To encourage people to switch to Google Messages, Samsung's instructions list the new features that users may enjoy, including high-quality images, typing indicators, and easier group chat functions. Google's Messages app also has AI-powered spam detection and filters, multi-device access to messages, and some built-in Gemini AI features.
That’s all for now, Heyuppers! Thank you for tuning in for the latest updates. We’ll be back with more news on the latest and greatest tech developments in the industry soon.
