HeyWhatsNew: SpaceX Finally Goes Into Orbit, and Nvidia Just Reached an All Time High Market Share
Hello there, Heyuppers. Welcome back to HeyWhatsNew, your weekly roundup of tech news headlines. Here’s what went down in the world of tech in the week beginning 03/06/2024.
Nvidia Is Now Worth $3 Trillion, More Than Apple
Back in 2002, Nvidia was worth more than Apple, and both companies were valued at under $10 billion. At that time, Apple had yet to release the iPhone, and Nvidia was already the most valuable semiconductor company, and that was the last time the chip company was worth more than Apple. Now, Nvidia is the first chip company to be worth $3 trillion.
This week, its stock price rose by 5.2% to a record $1,224.40, making its market value over $3 trillion and surpassing Apple’s value. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, the company’s CEO Jansen Huang’s wealth rose to an astounding $107.4 billion when this happened, and Bloomberg reports that the company shows no signs of slowing down.
Nothing CEO Carl Pei Hints About the Nothing Phone (3)
Carl Pei, the founder and CEO of Nothing, announced that the Nothing Phone (3) will launch in 2025, not next month as many of us would have expected. Unlike other companies that rush to release phones with AI features, Nothing is reportedly taking more time to create a unique and personalized user experience by integrating AI deeply into their system.
The Nothing Phone (2) was released in July last year, so you might have expected the next model soon, but it’s not coming for a while. GSM Arena suspects that the delay is also related to the sales of the Nothing Phone (2), which weren’t as high as expected.
Sony No Longer Claims That PlayStation 5 Supports 8K
It remains unclear if the PS5 ever truly supported 8K. Sony has removed the “8K” label from the new PlayStation 5 boxes, and this may mean they no longer see a reason to promote 8K or that they are saving the feature for a rumored PS5 Pro coming later this year.
The original PlayStation 5 FAQ had stated that the PS5 would be compatible with 8K displays at launch, and would support 8K output after a future software update once 8K content became available. However, that update never happened. The 2023 slim-edition PS5 boxes still have an “8K” and “4K at 120 Hz” sticker, and you may still find these older boxes in stores, but on PlayStation Direct or GameStop, the “8K” sticker is missing.
SpaceX Ran Its First Successful Test This Week
SpaceX successfully launched its Starship megarocket on an uncrewed test flight to orbit and back, hitting several key milestones for the first time. The rocket lifted off at 8:50 a.m. ET from SpaceX’s Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas. This was the spacecraft’s fourth test flight and the first time it completed the full journey from liftoff to splashdown.
The nearly 400-foot rocket is the most powerful ever developed, and SpaceX plans to make it fully reusable for missions to the moon and eventually Mars.
The Samsung Union Is Conducting a Strike for the First Time in 55 Years
Samsung has been negotiating with unions over pay since January to no avail, and the workers have officially had enough. For the first time, staff at Samsung Electronics, a leading smartphone and high-end semiconductor manufacturer, have taken industrial action as part of a six-month campaign for better pay.
Al Jazeera reports that the head of the National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU), which represents tens of thousands of employees, said that workers were simultaneously taking their paid leave on Friday to disrupt the company’s operations.
Meta Is Bringing an AI Assistant for Businesses to WhatsApp
Meta, which bought WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion, is looking for more ways to make money from the app. The company is now adding new artificial intelligence features to WhatsApp, including an AI assistant for businesses to connect with customers, answer questions, and sell products through chat. WhatsApp will test this new assistant with businesses in India and Singapore first, then Brazil.
While WhatsApp already has an AI assistant for regular users, these new features are designed for businesses managing customer service. Over 200 million businesses use WhatsApp to communicate with customers.
That concludes this week’s edition of HeyWhatsNew. Join us again at the same time next week to unpack the hottest tech news and updates.
