Flying cars, AI and blockchain: These are the top tech trends in Gartner’s 2018 Hype Cycle August 20, 2018 Artificial intelligence (AI), self-driving cars and distributed ledger technology – otherwise known as blockchain – are among this year’s emerging technology trends, though some have moved closer to the so-called trough of disillusionment. Research firm Gartner’s annual hype cycle, which tracks where tech trends are on their journey from an idea to mainstream usage, today determined driverless [...]
The Asus Zenfone AR is the first augmented reality focused smartphone, but is the software there to back it up? August 16, 2018 Whether or not you give two flying toots about virtual and augmented reality, the complex hardware needed to power the perpetually re-emerging technology has, over the last few years, fallen into alignment with that of high-end phones. Neither Samsung’s Gear VR nor Google’s Daydream headsets come with their own displays built in. Instead they’re built [...]
Bad Apple: Erdogan threatens iPhone boycott after spat with US August 14, 2018 Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a boycott of iPhones and other American electronic products yesterday as tensions between the two countries escalated. Erdogan remained defiant amid what he called an “economic war” with the US after Washington imposed punitive sanctions on Ankara. “Whatever we buy from abroad we are going to produce here in [...]
City deals spurred by record year of South Korean investment August 12, 2018 South Korean investors have pumped record levels of cash into London’s commercial property market over the last six months in fresh evidence of burgeoning Asian demand for City buildings. Office investment into the UK from South Korea reached £1.1bn in the first half of 2018, doubling last year’s total level of £530m in the whole [...]
The Galaxy Note 9, a smart speaker, and a partnership with Spotify: Here’s what happened at Samsung’s Unpacked event | City A.M. August 9, 2018 A new phone, a new watch, a new speaker. Samsung unveiled some fresh shiny things for you to spend your money on at its Unpacked event in New York this afternoon, and here’s a breakdown of the bits you need to know. The Galaxy Note 9 So the 6.4-inch Galaxy Note 9 underwhelmed most Samsung [...]
Samsung to plug $160bn into new technology in major growth push | City A.M. August 8, 2018 Samsung will boost its investment into tech businesses by $160bn (£123.6bn) over the next three years, in an effort to prop up South Korea’s place in industry while advancing its profit. Samsung Electronics will primarily fund $22bn of that investment to underpin research into artificial intelligence (AI), 5G connectivity, electronic components for automotives and biopharmaceuticals. [...]
Last Week in the City: Trade fears re-emerge August 3, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (30 July to 3 August 2018). Interest rates were raised in the UK for the second time since the financial crisis, but the move was widely expected. The earnings season continued. Growth in all regions was [...]
AirPods, iPhones and Apple Music: Here’s what to expect from Apple’s results out tonight | City A.M. July 31, 2018 Apple’s so-called boring quarter could prove to be not so dull, with the whole world watching to see signs of new tech products and a potential share price boost that could make it the first US trillion-dollar company. The springtime months are often Apple’s lowest in terms of iPhone sales as everyone holds off in [...]
Samsung profit growth slows in second quarter from ‘sluggish’ smartphone sales | City A.M. July 31, 2018 Mobile phone giant Samsung posted its slowest quarterly profit growth in more than a year today on the back of weak sales on its Galaxy S9 smartphones and tough competition. The figures Profit rose by 5.7 per cent to to 14.87 trillion won (£10.12bn) compared with last year, but took a dive from 15.64 trillion [...]
Facebook suspends another data analytics firm over surveillance concerns | City A.M. July 21, 2018 Tech giant Facebook has suspended another analytics firm during its own investigation into data sharing and collection on the social media platform. Crimson Hexagon, a US company offers “consumer insights” and works with government agencies around the world. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the firm had contracts “to analyse public Facebook data for [...]