Hasta La Gadget!

On Monday, HONOR announced that it will unveil its new strategic initiative, the “HONOR ALPHA PLAN,” at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2025 and showcase its latest AI innovations.

The term ‘ALPHA’ carries significant meaning across various domains, symbolizing leadership, excellence, strength, and innovation. As a symbol, it represents the pioneering spirit that pushes boundaries and explores new frontiers. In the realm of achievement, ‘ALPHA’ denotes peak performance and the pursuit of excellence. Structurally, it embodies core strength, acting as a fundamental driving force. In market terms, while ‘beta’ signifies steady, market-following returns, ‘alpha’ represents exceptional performance that exceeds benchmarks through active innovation and strategic foresight.

According to HONOR, the multifaceted meaning of ‘ALPHA’ aligns with its vision and mission. As a mobile technology industry leader, HONOR aims to drive innovation forward to ensure its commitment to excellence. Within the AI device ecosystem, HONOR leverages its core strength to develop innovative solutions to redefine the future of smart technology.

In this transformative era of artificial intelligence, HONOR has introduced the ‘HONOR ALPHA Plan’ to position itself at the forefront of AI-driven innovation. This strategic initiative aims to build an open and collaborative AI ecosystem, working with global partners to unlock unprecedented possibilities for AI-integrated devices. The company is focused on shaping the next generation of intelligent technology by fostering cooperation while pioneering new solutions.

As part of this ALPHA plan, HONOR invites industry leaders, partners, and technology enthusiasts to join its upcoming event, where the future of the AI ecosystem will be unveiled. Attendees will have the opportunity to experience firsthand the groundbreaking AI technologies that will redefine the way we interact with smart devices.

HONOR Announced HONOR ALPHA PLAN, to Be Unveiled at MWC 2025

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WhatsApp may face greater regulation in the European Union thanks to an increase in users on its open channels. The platform announced Friday that these feeds for news sources, public figures and more averaged approximately 46.8 million users in the EU during the last half of 2024. This increase in users means WhatsApp’s open channels, akin to a social network, now qualify as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).  

The DSA uses the labels very large online platform or search engine when the entity has more than 45 million monthly users in the EU. These designations allow the European Commission greater regulatory power around transparent advertising, content moderation, an annual independent audit, data sharing with the EU and more. Relevant online platforms must also mitigate and assess the risk of damaging and illegal content. 

WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, is already designated as a VLOP (and not happily), alongside ByteDance, Amazon, Google and more. The European Commission will now need to determine whether to give WhatsApp the designation. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/eu-might-impose-further-regulation-on-whatsapp-152832935.html?src=rss

Owners of a Volvo EX90 or Polestar 3 may soon be able to unlock and start their electric vehicle with a Samsung Galaxy phone. Samsung is rolling out Digital Key support for Polestar’s SUV in North America, Europe and Asia starting this month. EX90 drivers in those regions and Latin America will get access to the feature in the coming days too. Samsung says it will support more models from each automaker in the future.

You can use the Digital Key to lock, unlock and start a paired car using a supported Galaxy device (S20, Z Fold 2, Z Flip 5G and later). It’s possible to share a key with family and friends if they need access to your car, and you can remotely lock or delete a Digital Key from a lost or stolen Galaxy phone. Samsung uses biometric and PIN-based authorization to help make Digital Key use secure.

The company started rolling out Digital Key in 2021 (a similar function is available on recent Google Pixel devices and Android phones). BMW, Genesis, Hyundai, Kia and Mini are among the other brands that support the feature.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/samsungs-digital-key-technology-now-works-with-volvo-and-polestar-evs-160357150.html?src=rss

In 2018, Nintendo introduced Gold Points, which were earned when you purchased Switch games, either physical cartridges or digitally from the Nintendo eShop. While you needed many purchases to redeem something substantial, you still saved a few dollars regardless if you get a cheaper title or something more expensive. Unfortunately, Nintendo announced that you won’t be able to earn Gold Points after 9:30 PM PDT on March 24 if you buy digital copies of games.

All eShop purchases made after that time won’t earn Gold Points anymore, though pre-orders for content made before then will still earn Gold Points as long as the pre-order is put in before the deadline. The points will be awarded within the day after each processed transaction.

It’s more tricky for physical releases. If you buy a game released on or before March 24, you still earn Gold Points even after that day, but only for games bought within a year of their release dates. Naturally, physical versions of games released after March 24, 2025, won’t let you earn any Gold Points. It’s also worth noting that Nintendo awards significantly fewer Gold points for physical purchases.

Most people are likely unaware, but you can earn Gold Points by shopping at the Nintendo New York store. This will remain the case until March 24, and the rules for physical releases mentioned above apply after checkout.

Nintendo’s decision to end the Gold Points loyalty program is possibly due to the Switch 2’s upcoming announcement and release. It’s unknown whether Nintendo will have a new loyalty program, but we’ll probably find out after the April 2 Nintendo Direct where we’ll finally get more details on the long-awaited console.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-is-killing-its-gold-points-loyalty-program-161123232.html?src=rss

The Nokia Lumia 1020 is back, well, sort of. An enterprising tech enthusiast (and Redditor) has stuffed the innards of an Apple iPhone SE 3 into a Lumia 1020 case to create something called the “NokiApple LumiPhone 1020 SE.” This is a fully-functioning smartphone that, more importantly, looks really awesome.

It’s more than just an iPhone SE wrapped in a Lumia case. Redditor OceanDepth95028 kicked the project up a few notches by ensuring that the iPhone internals work with a fingerprint reader on the back of the device. They also added a custom SIM card slot and made the Lightning port look like a micro-USB port, as originally reported by 9to5Mac.

Not only does this phone function, it even supports 5G. It also receives OTA updates, which makes sense considering that it’s, essentially, a working iPhone SE 3. The maker had to move some buttons around to get everything to fit and they took liberties with the camera button, which can now act as a volume key switch or a shutter button.

The iPhone SE 3 uses the A15 Bionic chip, so this frankenphone is capable of running modern apps. The gadget’s designer says, despite being a one-off project, this device could be used as an everyday smartphone. The only caveats? The Redditor couldn’t get Apple Pay or wireless charging to work. But still, look at this thing! It’s very pretty, thanks to the design of the original Lumia 1020.

For the uninitiated, the Nokia Lumia 1020 came out in the latter half of 2013. It was one of the more popular phones that ran the now-defunct Windows Phone OS, thanks to its signature look and the fantastic camera system. The iPhone SE is Apple’s budget smartphone and, lo and behold, a new entry is reportedly headed our way in the near future.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/someone-squeezed-an-iphone-se-3-into-a-nokia-lumia-1020-and-it-looks-amazing-162705983.html?src=rss