GoKawiil
Tech News
Footage circulating online shows workshops in China desoldering GB202 GPUs and GDDR7 memory from new GeForce RTX 5090 cards, then rebuilding them with blower-style coolers for server racks. The operations reportedly process both custom partner cards and Nvidia Founders Edition units, repackaging them for shipment to data centers or AI labs.
Apple launched its first foldable phone, the iPhone Duo, globally on Friday, with scalpers outside the Sanlitun flagship store in Beijing offering buyers roughly 3,000 yuan ($448) above retail price for their newly purchased units. One scalper, Alex Wang, said he expects to resell the devices at a markup for about two weeks due to limited supply. Customers, including one who arrived at 6 a.m. to join a line of about 100 people, said they were eager for Apple to finally enter the foldable category.
Counterpoint Research reports China's overall smartphone shipments fell 10% year-over-year in Q3 2026, marking a 14-year low. Apple's share rose 4.8 percentage points to 19.5%, moving it from sixth to second place behind Huawei, which gained 5.3 points to lead with 21.3%. Vivo, OPPO, Xiaomi, and HONOR all lost share during the quarter.
Israeli security firm Lava says it identified 32 Nvidia Blackwell Ultra B300 chips operating inside the network of state-owned China Telecom, despite these chips being barred from export to China under U.S. controls. Lava says it detected the chips using Nvidia's own DCGM Exporter monitoring tool, though it cannot confirm exactly where in China Telecom's infrastructure they reside. Nvidia did not dispute the finding but said diversion of controlled chips remains statistically insignificant.
OpenAI has dismissed three staff members following internal suspicions that they leaked information, according to reporting. Details on what exactly was leaked or to whom have not been fully disclosed.
TSMC has reportedly begun asking its equipment suppliers whether they can build factory automation machinery using motors that avoid rare-earth materials, according to a Reuters report citing people familiar with the matter. The move targets electric motors in TSMC's fabrication plants that typically rely on permanent magnets made from elements like neodymium, dysprosium and terbium.
The US government has prohibited the use of DeepSeek, the Chinese AI chatbot, on government devices and networks. The move cites national security and data-privacy concerns tied to the app's Chinese ownership.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has directed federal civilian agencies to strip DeepSeek and any third-party products built on its technology from their IT systems, according to a notice dating from late July that was made public this week. The order also bars agencies from procuring DeepSeek products going forward, citing concerns that the Chinese company's servers could expose sensitive U.S. data to Chinese authorities. Beijing responded through Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, who said China would defend its companies' rights and accused Washington of politicizing technology issues under the guise of national security.
The Department of Homeland Security has directed U.S. federal civilian agencies to stop buying and to remove products and services built on Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI, citing national security risks from data that could be accessed by Chinese authorities. The ban extends beyond DeepSeek's own tools to third-party products built on its technology, though agencies may seek exceptions. China's Foreign Ministry criticized the move as politicizing trade and technology issues.
The Department of Homeland Security has directed US federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek's AI products from government systems and barred future purchases, including third-party tools built on DeepSeek's models. The order, dated late July but disclosed publicly on October 19, cites the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018 and concerns about DeepSeek's China-based servers and potential vulnerabilities. China's Foreign Ministry called the move a politicization of trade and technology.
The Department of Homeland Security publicized a directive requiring US federal civilian agencies to strip DeepSeek-related technology from their IT systems and halt future procurement of its products and services, including third-party tools built on the Chinese company's technology. Issued July 24, the order covers agencies like Treasury, State and Justice, but exempts the Pentagon, which already restricts the AI models.
Nature's latest career survey of nearly 4,000 researchers, published October 13, found that scientists in the US, Germany and the UK expressed less optimism about their career futures compared with the 2018 and 2021 surveys. Meanwhile, researchers in India (70% optimistic) and China (55%) reported more positive outlooks, both above the global average of 52%, compared with Germany (38%), the UK (33%) and the US (34%).