HeyWhatsNew: Nvidia Is Undoubtedly the Best in the Game, and Samsung Finally Gives Us the Galaxy Watch FE
What’s good HeyUp crew? We’re slap bang in the middle of the year, and the new tech just keeps on coming. Let’s take a look at how the tech world has changed in the week beginning 11/06/2024.
Japan Follows the Lead of the EU, Implementing Laws of Fair Trade
Apple has always said that allowing third-party app stores on iPhones and Apple products would be a security risk. However, they complied with the EU’s rules to allow competition. Now, Japan’s parliament has passed a law requiring Apple and Google to let third-party app stores and payment providers on their devices. The law will take effect after the Cabinet approves it, which could happen within the next 18 months.
Lawmakers argue this change is needed because the smartphone market is dominated by a few companies, making it hard for new competitors to enter and innovate. Existing antitrust laws were deemed insufficient for regulating this market.
Apple Intelligence Announced at Apple WWDC
9to5Mac reports that on one of Apple’s biggest days of the year, the company unveiled the highly anticipated Apple Intelligence network, a new suite of AI features coming to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia.
The WWDC presentation highlighted five key pillars of Apple Intelligence that set it apart from other AI tools which include the promise to be truly useful, easy to use, built into the core of Apple devices, and designed with privacy as a priority.
Samsung Galaxy Watch FE Officially Revealed
After weeks of leaks, Samsung has introduced the Galaxy Watch FE, a 40mm smartwatch that brings some features from its premium models to a more affordable price point. Notably, the Watch FE includes the body composition tool from the Galaxy Watch 4, allowing users to scan and estimate their body fat, muscle, and bone mass.
TechRadar reports that the Galaxy Watch FE comes in three colors: Silver, Pink Gold, and Black. The Bluetooth-only version will be available in the US from June 24, with the LTE version arriving later in the year. Meanwhile, anticipation builds around the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Ring.
The Price of DVD’s, CD’s, and Blu-Rays Is Surprisingly Going Up
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Blu-Ray and DVD prices have surged nearly 29% compared to last year. Prices peaked in March with a record 14.7% increase and continued to rise in April by 1.9%.
CDs and VHS tapes are fetching high prices too: Beyonce’s “4” sold for $54.44 on CD, and Avril Lavigne’s “Under My Skin” went for $53.55. While most VHS tapes aren’t extremely valuable, one seller made $16,000 in November 2023 for a VGA 80+ copy of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” though eBay likely took a significant cut of the sale.
New Benchmarks Reveal That Nvidia Has No Competition
Nvidia has always faced competition from chip makers like Intel, Advanced Micro Devices, and startups such as Graphcore. However, Nvidia continues to dominate the field of neural network training. According to ZDNET, recent benchmark tests of speed indicate that Nvidia has no meaningful competition in this area, solidifying its leadership in the industry.
In a test to fine-tune Meta’s Llama 2 70B, Nvidia completed the task in just a minute and a half using 1,024 H100 GPU chips, which are widely used in AI workloads. Nvidia’s chips claimed the top twenty-three results, while Intel’s Gaudi AI accelerator trailed in twenty-fourth place.
It’s been an interesting week in technology. Join us again next time to learn all about the latest developments in the industry that are changing the way we experience the world.
