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Samsung has announced that its next Galaxy Unpacked event will be held on February 25 in San Francisco. The company is expected to reveal the Galaxy S26 series, including the S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra. Pre-reservations are already available in several markets.  

The event starts at:  

1. 10 am PT  

2. 1am  

3. 1pm ET  

4. 7pm CET  

5. 7pm WAT  

You can watch the live stream on Samsung’s website or YouTube channel.  

Galaxy AI Still At The Center 

Artificial intelligence is once again central to Samsung’s strategy. The company has described the new Galaxy devices as built to simplify everyday interactions and to make Galaxy AI seamlessly integrated from the moment it is at hand.  

A standout rumored feature is a privacy display expected on the Galaxy S25 Ultra. This will let users hide sensitive parts of the screen, like notifications from others nearby, adding extra visual privacy.  

Processor Choices: Snapdragon or Exynos. 

Samsung seems likely to keep using two types of processors:  

• In the US and China, the Galaxy S26 Ultra will likely use Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chip.  

• In most other regions, the Galaxy S26 and S26+ are expected to use Samsung’s own Exynos 2600 chip.  

Snapdragon processors have usually performed better than Exynos chips in benchmarks and heat management, but recent versions are closing the gap.  

Battery and Charging Details. 

Leaks suggest the Galaxy S26 models will have similar battery sizes as before, with small improvements in charging speed:  

• Galaxy S26: 4300 mAh battery  

• Galaxy S26+: 4900mAh battery  

• Galaxy S26 Ultra 5000 mAh to 5100 mAh battery, depending on the final version, with wireless charging, positioning it competitively in the premium flagship segment.  

Camera and Hardware Changes. 

Banner resolutions will likely stay the same, but reports say the Galaxy S26 Ultra may get better lenses with larger apertures for improved low-light photos. The S26 and S26+ are expected to keep their screen sizes the same as before and will come with 12 GB of RAM as standard smartphones. Samsung is also likely to introduce the Galaxy Buds 4, featuring an updated design following comparisons between the previous generation and Apple’s AirPods.  

Pre-Registration and Special Offers 

Samsung is now taking pre-reservations before the launch. In some markets, customers can get early access by paying a small refundable fee. In the US and parts of Europe, signing up gives you a $30 credit, and if you pre-order, you could get up to $150 in credit without needing a trade-in.  

What’s Coming on February 25 

As most specs have already leaked, the February 25 Galaxy Unpacked event will probably highlight software updates, AI features, and Samsung’s plans for its wider ecosystem.

Source: Samsung Galaxy S26 Launch Set for February 25 with New AI and Privacy Features 

With new developments from Bio-Techne in early 2025 and into 2026, the Leo System is changing the way protein analysis is done. It brings high-throughput lab-quality Western blotting out of specialized labs and into more accessible, faster workflows. The Leo System uses automated capillary separation and advanced multiplexing to quickly and accurately analyze up to 100 samples in about three hours.  

How The Leo Systems Redefines Protein Analysis 

The Leo system works like a lab-in-a-box for protein analysis, providing features that previously required time-consuming manual work.  

• High throughput: The system can process up to 100 samples in a fully automated 3-hour run, delivering up to 4x the throughput of earlier technologies, such as the JESS system.  

• Multiplexing and precision: The system uses dual-channel fluorescence (NIR and IR) and chemiluminescence to detect up to 24 targets. At each time point, its inter-instrument coefficient of variation is less than 10%, ensuring highly reproducible results.  

• Low sample use: The system requires only 3 μL of lysate, allowing researchers to obtain more data from small, valuable, or rare samples.  

• Automation and speed. The system removes the necessity for manual washing and blotting, enabling hands-free operation around the clock.  

Key Impacts on Personal Health and Research (2026) 

Although the Leo system is mainly used for clinical research and drug development, right now, its speed and accuracy are helping to bring advanced lab work into more everyday settings in several ways:  

• Faster Drug Discovery: In 2026, the platform will help accelerate the development of new treatments, especially for cancer, by enabling rapid, precise, and sensitive protein identification.  

• Connecting research and diagnostics: Lio offers high-precision protein measurements similar to ELISA to regular research labs. This helps speed up the discovery and validation of biomarkers.  

• High-volume biomarker testing: Its high throughput makes it easier to study complicated signaling pathways in large groups, helping move lab findings more quickly into personalized treatments for patients.  

The Lio system is making high-end proteomics more accessible, cutting the time needed for some processes from days to just hours.  

Bio-Techne Corporation announced today that it has started shipping the Leo System, which utilizes simple Western technology. Leo builds on simple Western platforms by improving sample throughput and increasing protein quantification reproducibility. It matches the throughput and precision of the standard ELISAs in a fully automated Western blot assay, making it useful for bioanalytical workflows from discovery to commercialization.  

Leo can process up to 100 samples at once in a 3-hour run. This is 4 times the throughput of the Jess simple western system and 5 times faster than the Sally Sue and Peggy Sue systems. Leo also delivers the size, precision, and reproducibility required for reliable analytical-grade protein quantitation, which is important for regulatory submissions. The system includes an improved Compass for Simple Western software, offering advanced analysis tools and better support for 21 CFR Part 11 compliance.  

With Lio, scientists can reach their development goals faster and more efficiently, finishing studies with fewer runs, operators, and instruments. Said Will Geist, president of Bio-Techne’s Protein Sciences segment. Lio will help our customers speed up their research and bring new therapies to market sooner.  

Early users have been excited about what LEO can do. Beta testers have praised its excellent performance, high-quality data, and broad applicability across:  

• Targeted protein degradation  

• Clinical biomarker studies  

• Gene therapy potency assays  

• Quality control release assays  

• Recombinant protein expression  

Source: Bio-Techne Begins Shipping Leo – A Next Generation High-Throughput Simple Western System

Apple has added Agentic Coding to Xcode 26.3, bringing built-in support for AI coding agents from Anthropic and OpenAI. With this update, AI can now take on complex development tasks directly in the IDE.  

Main Details of the System Integration 

• Autonomous operation: in Xcode 26.3, AI agents do more than suggest code; they can act as a virtual developer that plans, writes tests, and debugs code from natural language prompts. For example, they can turn a request like “Add a weather feature” into a series of steps.  

• Deep IDE access: The agents can use many of Xcode’s features. They can search Apple documentation to review project files, change build settings, run tests, and check UI code with Xcode previews.  

• Model Context Protocol (MCP): This implementation uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) created by Anthropic. While Cloud Agent and OpenAI’s Codecs work out of the box, developers can also use other AI agents that support this standard.  

• Availability: Xcode 26.3 is now a release candidate for Apple Developer Program members. A public release on the Mac App Store is coming soon. To monitor potential risks, developers can observe the AI’s process in real-time, intervene, and use automated checkpoints to roll back changes if the results are unsatisfactory.  

This update marks a major step toward AI-driven software development. Apple hopes that Deep IDE integration will make vibe coding both safe and productive for building apps across all Apple platforms.  

Xcode 26.3 introduces Agentic coding for developers. They can now use coding agents like Anthropic Cloud Agent and OpenAI’s Codex directly in Xcode. These agents help handle complex tasks independently, speeding up app development.  

Xcode 26.3 now supports Agentic Coding, which lets developers build apps with coding agents like Anthropic, Cloud Agent, and OpenAI’s Codex. Xcode can work more independently to help a developer achieve their goals, from decomposing tasks to making decisions based on the project’s structure and using built-in tools.  

Building on the intelligence features introduced in Xcode 26, which included a new coding assistant for Swift, this update gives coding agents even more access to Xcode’s tools. Now, agents like Cloud Agent and Codex can help throughout the whole development process; they can streamline workflows, speed up iteration, and help bring ideas to life. Agents can search documentation, review structures, update project settings, and visually check their work by capturing Xcode previews and working through builds and fixes.  

At Apple, our goal is to make tools that put industry-leading technologies directly in developers’ hands so they can build the very best apps: Said Susan Prescott, Apple’s Vice President of Worldwide Developer Relations. Agentic Coding Super Changes Productivity and Creativity, Improving the Development Workflow so that Developers Can Focus on Innovation.  

With easy access to Claude Agent and Codex, developers can use advanced reasoning from these models in their app-building process. This setup combines the strengths of these agents with Xcode’s built-in features, helping developers get the best results for Apple platforms. And, choose the model that fits their project.  

In addition to these built-in integrations, Xcode 26.3 also supports the Model Context Protocol, an open standard that lets developers use any compatible agent or tool with Xcode.

Source: Xcode 26.3 unlocks the power of agentic coding 

The competition for 2nm chips is between Intel’s 18A, expected in 2025, and Japan’s Rapidus 2HP, planned for 2027. Rapidus is aiming for a higher logic density of 237.31mm2, compared to Intel’s 18A at 184.21 MTr/mm2, and is challenging TSMC. Intel is ahead in timing with its RibbonFET and PowerVR technologies, while Rapidus is using IBM and IMEC technology to move directly to advanced GAA and aims to double production speed.  

Key Comparison: Intel 18A vs Rapidus 2HP 

• Timeline and production: Intel 18A is expected to begin high-volume production in late 2025, while Rapidus plans to start mass production in 2027.  

• Logic density: report indicates that the Rapidus 2HP node may reach 237 MTR/mm2, which could be higher than the reported 184 MTR/mm2 for Intel A and similar to TSMC’s N2 node.  

• Tech highlights: Intel users RibbonFET (GAA) and PowerVR for backside power delivery. Rapidus 2HP users gate all around (GAA) transistors and are likely to feature a unique, single-wafer process to reduce production time significantly.  

• Strategy: Intel is focusing heavily on performance per watt and utilizing 18A for internal and foundry customers early. Rapidus is a state-backed collaborative effort supported by Toyota, Sony, and NEC, aiming to skip legacy nodes and go straight to TNM to regain Japanese competitiveness.  

Race Dynamics 

• Rapidus Agility: With its all-single-wafer process, Rapidus aims for a 50-day turnaround, much faster than the industry standard of about 120 days.  

• Intel’s early start: By aiming for 2025, Intel will have a significant lead in the 2nm class, also known as the angstrom era, compared to Rapidus.  

• 2nm competition: Both Intel and Rapidus are competing with TSMC’s N2 node, which is also expected to launch in 2025.  

To summarize, Intel 18A will reach the market first, but Rapidus 2HP could offer higher or at least very competitive logic density when it launches in 2027.  

WCCFTech reports that Rapidus is working on its cutting-edge 2nm node called 2HP. This new technology is expected to match the logic density of TSMC’s N2 and surpass Intel’s 18A.  

According to the report, Rapidus 2HP is expected to reach a logic density of 237.31 MTR/MM2, which is very close to TSMC’s N2 at 236.17 MTR/MM2. Both nodes use high-density (HD) cell libraries with a 138-unit cell height and a G45 pitch. These setups are designed to maximize logic density and suggest similar transistor counts.  

Intel’s 18AN node, despite using a smaller node size, is reported to have a logic density of 184.21 MTR/mm^2, which is lower than that of Intel’s 18AN node. The report says this is partly because Intel uses BS-PDN, which takes up some of the front-side metal layers and lowers the density measured in the HD library. However, Intel focuses more on performance per watt than on raw density since 18A is mainly for internal use.  

Lapidus plans to release its 2NM PDK in early 2026 and aims to start mass production in 2027.  

WCCF Tech says Rapidus will offer its 2NM PDK to customers in the first quarter of 2026. The company is moving quickly. Tech Power Up reports that Rapidus has already taped out a 2NM GAA test chip and plans to launch high-volume production in 2027. The chip was manufactured using ASML’s EUV tools and has passed initial electrical tests for mass production in 2027. Rapidus’ CEO said the IIM-FAB is expected to produce about 25,000 wafers per month, according to the report.  

TechPowerUp also reports that by 2027, Rapidus may be one or two nodes behind TSMC and possibly Intel. To stand out, the company is focusing on agility through a unique all-single wafer process, with a turnaround time of just 50 days, compared to about 120 days for the usual batch-and-single wafer mix.  

Source url : Rapidus 2HP Reportedly Surpasses Intel 18A Logic Density Impacted by BSPDN, Rivals TSMC

The display is made with UL-verified phytoplankton bio-resin materials and uses very little power. It can be managed both locally and remotely using the Samsung e-paper app and Samsung VXT.  

Samsung Electronics has launched the 13-inch Samsung Color E-paper (EM13DX) worldwide. This new model is the first display to use bio-resin housing made from phytoplankton. The thin display uses advanced digital ink technology and consumes very little power, making it a viable alternative to printed signs for businesses.  

While businesses seek more flexible and efficient ways to communicate, Samsung Color ePaper changes how digital signage is used in daily operations, said Hyung Jae Kim, Executive Vice President of the Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics, by leveraging new technologies such as phytoplankton-based bio-resin. We show our devotion to improving both display technology and the materials we use. Our Color ePaper products are made to replace paper with low power use and slim, lightweight designs.  

Paper-Like Color And Clarity For Modern Digital Displays 

The new 13-inch Samsung Color ePaper is the smallest in the lineup and gives businesses a compact display for shelves, counters, tables, and doors where paper signs are common. It is about the size of A4 paper and has a 1600×1200 resolution with a 4:3 aspect ratio.  

The display features a built-in rechargeable battery, USB Type-C support, and flexible mounting options, so it does not require a permanent power cable. It is very slim at 17.9 mm and weighs only 0.9 kg with the battery, making it easy to move and install as needed. Samsung’s color-imaging algorithm improves color precision and readability, giving the display a paper-like look. By smoothing color changes and sharpening edges, it creates vivid images that look like traditional posters, helping businesses switch from printed designs to digital displays.  

Pioneering Lower-Impact Signage With Bio-Based Materials 

Samsung’s 13-inch color e-paper is the first commercial display to use a bio-resin made from phytoplankton in its housing. UL, a global safety and sustainability certification group, has verified that the housing is made from 45% recycled plastic and 10% phytoplankton-based bio-resin. This new material replaces traditional petroleum-based plastics and can cut carbon emissions in manufacturing by over 40%.  

Every part of the display, from the housing to the packaging, is created with sustainability in mind. All packaging, including the box, cushion, and accessory box, is made entirely from paper.  

The display is also efficient in daily use. It keeps static images on screen without using any power, saving energy and maintaining high reliability when content is updated. It still uses much less energy than regular digital signs, helping reduce operating costs over time.  

Easy Content Control With Samsung E-Paper App And Samsung VXT 

The 13-inch Samsung Color e-paper makes it easy to control content both locally and remotely. Staff can use the Samsung e-paper app on Android or iOS to update and manage content from their own devices without needing a separate remote control.  

The display also works with Samsung VXT, a cloud-based platform for remotely managing content and devices. Teams can adjust hardware settings, fix problems, and create or share content with little training. For e-Paper and color e-Paper, Samsung VXT offers special features to improve content legibility and a preview tool to check color accuracy before content goes live.  

Samsung will also introduce a 20-inch model at IAC 2026, a major audiovisual and systems integration tech show in Barcelona from February 3-6, alongside the existing 13-inch and 32-inch models. The Color ePaper lineup can now meet a wider range of business needs. Samsung remains the leader in the global digital signage market, holding a 36.2% market share by volume in Q3 2025, building on its 17-year position as the world’s leading commercial display provider.

Source: Samsung Debuts 13-Inch Color E-Paper, a World-First Display Built With Bio-Resin Derived From Phytoplankton 

By early 2026, artificial intelligence will have changed dramatically, shifting from conversational chatbots to what is now called agentic AI. Microsoft is at the forefront, having turned its co-pilot ecosystem from a basic assistant that answers prompts into a group composed of autonomous agents that work independently. This change is transforming how businesses operate, as AI is now more than a text generator; it acts as a digital co-worker that can manage complex business tasks without constant supervision.  

This change is important because it moves from needing people to start every action to using event-driven automation. The first Co-Pilot required users to start each task, but the new autonomous agents respond to triggers such as customer questions, changes in market data, or scheduled tasks. They can now work in the background without waiting for instructions. This helps address the prompt fatigue that made early AI systems tiring to use, enabling employees to hand off all types of work to specialized agents.  

From Assistance to Autonomy: The Technical Architecture of Agents 

Microsoft’s move to autonomous agents is built on Co-Pilot Studio and the new Agent 365 governance layer. Unlike earlier versions that used fixed conversation paths, these agents use generative actions. This setup lets developers or business users give the agent a goal of instruction and access to tools like APIs for ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) or SAP (NYSE: SAP). The agent then uses advanced reasoning models, such as OpenAI’s O1 and the latest GPT-5, to determine the steps needed to complete a task autonomously.  

A breakthrough in 2025-2026 is the addition of computer-use (CUA) features. This lets agents interact with older software that lacks modern APIs. For example, if an agent needs to file an expense report in an old system, it can now use the interface like a person clicking buttons, scrolling, and entering data. Microsoft has also adopted the model context protocol (MCP), which standardizes how agents access data from more than 1400 third-party connectors. This gives agents a unified memory of a company’s operations.  

This approach differs from older technologies because it can handle multi-step reasoning. Traditional robotic process automation (RPA) would fail if a single part of the interface changed or something unanticipated occurred. Microsoft autonomous agents, however, use a chain-of-thought approach to work around problems. For instance, a supply chain monitoring agent can notice a shipping delay caused by a storm, look up other suppliers, determine the tariff costs for a new route, and prepare a purchase order for a manager to approve, all without being told to do each step.  

The Agent Wars: Competitive Stakes And Industry Disruption 

Microsoft’s shift, what analysts call the agent, was mainly putting the company in competition with Salesforce (NYSE: CRM). Salesforce’s Agent Force platform focuses on customer service and sales roles, while Microsoft uses its broad reach across Windows and Office 365 to place agents in almost every department. By the end of 2025, Microsoft said that more than 160,000 were using custom agents, giving it a big advantage through scale and integration.  

This change is a serious challenge for traditional SaaS providers that rely on manual data entry and workflow management as agents become the main way people use software. The old seat-based licensing model is under pressure. Microsoft is already testing digital labor credits. The new system is based on user experience and usage-based pricing, so companies pay for what the agent does rather than just for access to the tool. This makes it hard for smaller AI startups to compete since they do not have the same level of integration and security that Microsoft offers with Entra ID and Purview.  

Other tech giants, including Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOGL), Google, and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), are also developing their own agent frameworks. However, Microsoft’s early lead in the no-code space with Co-Pilot Studio has made it easy for non-technical staff to build agents. For example, an HR manager can now create a hiring agent from a SharePoint folder without any coding. This might take up the HR software market and lead to mergers among enterprise tools.  

The Wider Significance: Productivity, Governance, and Agent Sprawl 

The move to autonomous agents is part of a bigger trend known as the autonomy economy. Today, a company’s productivity relies more on how it manages AI than on its people. Some people compare this to the move from mainframes to personal computers, which changed how we work. However, this progress raises real concerns about agent sprawl. With thousands of independent agents running within large companies, there is a real risk of unmonitored actions and deviations from expected workflows, which can create serious security and functional problems.  

In early 2026, IT departments are putting most of their attention on governance. Microsoft’s new agent IDs allow companies to track what an AI does, similar to how they track human employees, and keep a record of every decision. Even with these tools, experts worry about the impact on entry-level jobs. If agents can manage their own emails, reports, and supply chain monitoring, the basic tasks that help train new graduates might fall away. This could make companies rethink how they train and develop their staff.  

People are also debating the ethics of agentic drift, in which agents prioritize efficiency over following the rules. Earlier AI breakthroughs were known for their creativity, but this one is focused on usefulness. It shows that AI has moved from just thinking to actually doing, which changes how employers relate to the digital workers they now manage.  

Going forward: Multi-Agent Orchestration and the Future of Work. 

Soon, we will likely see more multi-agent orchestration, with specialized agents working together to solve larger problems. For example, a Chief Financial Officer agent could assign tasks to a Tax Agent, a Payroll Agent, or an Audit Agent, then combine their work into a quarterly report. This dispatcher/broker setup may become standard for businesses by 2027, leading to greater efficiency and possibly new AI-driven business models. We are already seeing early tests in which autonomous agents monitor factory sensors and automatically trigger maintenance or supply chain changes in real time.  

The main challenge is ensuring agents can handle rare or unusual situations without human intervention. Experts think the next two years will focus on very simplified reasoning, where agents must give formal proof or cross-checked references before making important financial decisions.  

A New Era of Digital Labor 

Microsoft’s move to Autonomous Co-Pilot Agents is one of the biggest milestones in Artificial Intelligence. It marks the end of the experimental phase of Generative AI and the start of its growth into a practical, independent workforce. The change from chatting to doing is far more than a new feature. It is a major shift that changes how people and computers work together.  

The main lesson for both businesses and individuals is clear: AI’s value is shifting from content creation to task execution. In the next few months, the industry will watch for the first big success stories of autonomous agents as well as the expected cautionary tales. As companies like Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) and McKinsey adopt these tools early, others need to prepare a period when their most productive co-worker might be a well-designed autonomous agent rather than a person.

Source: The End of the Chatbot Era: Microsoft Unleashes Autonomous Copilot Agents as ‘Digital Coworkers’ 

The first time I spoke to Alexa, it really felt as if the future had arrived. I walked into the room and asked Alexa to play Star Full of Stars, and it just worked. As a product maker, I realized this was technology at its best: doing what the customer wants, easily, intuitively, and naturally. I wanted all my technology to work that way. Now, with 600 million Alexa devices in use, new advances in generative AI are opening even more possibilities. This lets us rethink the experience as we work to make customers’ lives easier every day.  

Today, we are excited to introduce Alexa +, our next-generation assistant powered by Generative AI. Alexa + is more conversational, smarter, and more customized. She helps you get things done, keeps you entertained, helps you learn, keeps you organized, summarizes complicated matters, and can talk about almost anything. Alexa + can manage and protect your home, make reservations, and help you discover and enjoy new artists. She can also help you search for, find, or buy almost any item online and make helpful suggestions based on your interests. Alexa + does all this and more. Just ask.  

Alexa + Is Easy To Talk To 

Talking with Alexa + seems natural and open. Whether you speak in partial thoughts, use everyday language, or discuss difficult ideas, Alexa + understands you and responds like a trusted assistant. It does not feel like using technology, but more as if chatting with a helpful friend.  

Alexa + Turns Your Words Into Action. 

Alexa + is built on powerful large language models (LLMs) available through Amazon Bedrock, but that’s only the beginning. Alexa + is designed to take action and can work across tens of thousands of services and devices, something we haven’t seen done at this scale before. To make this possible, we created experts, groups of systems, capabilities, APIs, and instructions that handle specific tasks for customers.  

With these experts, Alexa + can control your smart home devices, including Philips Hue and Roborock. It can make reservations or appointments with OpenTable and Vagaro. It can play music from Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and iHeartRadio. It can order groceries from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market. It can get delivery from Grubhub and Uber Eats. It can remind you when tickets go on sale on Ticketmaster. It can use Ring to alert you if someone is near your house.  

Alexa + also brings new agentic abilities, letting her steer the internet on her own to complete tasks for you in the background. For example, if you need your oven fixed, Alexa + can search the web, use Thumbtack to find the right service provider, handle the booking, and let you know when it’s done. You don’t have to supervise or step in.  

Alexa + Is Personalized For You 

The new Alexa is highly personalized, and you can make it even more so. She knows what you have bought, what you have listened to, and the videos you have watched, your shipping address, and how you like to pay. You can also ask her to remember things that make your experience better. She can use this information to help you. For example, if you are planning a family dinner, Alexa + can remember that you love pizza, that your daughter is a vegetarian, and that your partner is gluten-free, and suggest a recipe or a restaurant.  

Alexa + Is There When You Need Her And Stays Out Of The Way When You Don’t 

The new Alexa is like having an assistant ready to help you whenever you need her. She’s there when you want her and out of sight when you don’t. Alexa + is equally proactive when it matters, such as suggesting you leave early if there’s heavy traffic or letting you know when a gift you want is on sale.  

Alexa + Helps Oversee Your Home 

There are over 600 million Alexa devices out there today, which customers already use to play music, watch videos, and manage their smart homes. All these capabilities are meaningfully better with Alexa +. And they come together to create a much smarter, more capable home experience. For example, you could be eating dinner in the kitchen and tell Alexa you want to watch the boys on your Fire TV in the living room so that she can set it up for you there; you can move music to different speakers around your home; and you can use Ring to see if your package has been delivered or if anyone has walked the dog.  

You Can Use Alexa + Anywhere 

You already use Alexa at home and at work, and now you use it more often in your car. Soon, you will be able to get Alexa + through a new mobile app in the Apple App Store and Google Play by visiting Alexa.com in your browser. Start a conversation on your Echo device, rename it on your phone or in your car, and pick it up again on your computer. Alexa + remembers your conversation, and you can resume it on any device.  

Alexa + Has A Lot Of Knowledge 

They have combined advanced AI with Alexa’s large knowledge base to create a smarter assistant that keeps learning. Alexa + doesn’t just know facts; it understands your questions and gives accurate, real-time answers. Whether you ask something specific, like “What is the lowest point?” or “What is the highest point in any ocean on earth?” Or a general question like “What’s the song that Bradley Cooper sings at the start of that country music movie?” Alexa + can help.  

You can help Alexa + learn more by sharing documents, emails, photos, and messages through your desktop browser, the mobile app, or by email. Alexa can remember, summarize, or use this information. For example, send a picture of a live music schedule, and Alexa will add the details to your calendar. You can upload study materials and ask Alexa to make a quiz or forward emails from your kids’ school and say, “Add all early dismissals to my calendar” or “Remind me what days I am volunteering in the classroom.”  

Alexa + Is Built To Protect Your Privacy And Security 

We created Alexa + to make something customers will love while also protecting your privacy and security. We give you openness and control by centralizing your Alexa + interactions and settings in the Alexa Privacy Dashboard. Alexa + runs securely. It’s built on AWS infrastructure, so your routine interactions are protected by strong privacy and security.  

Alexa + Costs $19.99 Per Month, But It’s Free For All Prime Members. 

Alexa + costs $19.99 per month, but all Amazon Prime members get it for free. It’s the newest Prime benefit, adding to the value members already enjoy. This includes:  

• Fast delivery, free shipping on over 300 million items (the same or next day)  

• Exclusive deals  

• Prime Day events  

• Entertainment like Prime Video and Amazon Music  

• Savings on groceries, prescriptions, gas, and GrubHub +  

Prime is now an even better value.  

Availability 

Alexa + will start rolling out in the US in the next few weeks with an early access period followed by a wider release over the next few months. Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 owners will get priority for early access. If you don’t have one of these devices but want to try Alexa + early, you can buy one now to join the early access list at www.amazon.com/newalexa.  

I’m Excited about Alexa + and look forward to you trying it.

Source: Introducing Alexa+, the next generation of Alexa 

Today, Google launched the February 2026 Discover Core update, which makes broad changes to how Google’s systems show articles in Discover. Their tests show that people find Discover more useful and valuable with these improvements.  

Below are a few ways this update from Google will make Discover better:  

• You will see more content that’s relevant to your location from websites based in your country.  

• Google is reducing the amount of sensational material and clickbait in Discover.  

• Discover will now highlight more in-depth, original, and timely content from websites that exhibit expertise in a specific area based on how their systems understand their content.  

Many sites have deep knowledge in different subjects, so Google’s systems look for expertise on each topic separately. This means that sites with expertise in several areas or a strong focus on one topic have the same chance of appearing in Discover. For example, a local news site with a gardening section could be considered an expert in gardening, even if it also covers other topics. On the other hand, a movie review site that only has one article about gardening would not.  

Google will continue to personalize content based on your favorite creators and sources.  

As with other core updates, you might notice changes in Discover traffic. Some sites may see more or less traffic, while many may not see any change. Google is starting with English users in the US and will roll out to other countries and languages soon.  

How Discover Works With Your Website 

Discover is a feature in Google search that shows people content based on their interests and app activity. This page explains how your content can appear in Discover and shares best practices for site owners.  

How content appears in Discover 

Your content can appear in Discover if Google indexes it and follows Discover’s content policy. You do not need special tags or structured data. However, eligibility does not guarantee that your content will appear.  

Discover can show many types of content that match a person’s interests. Sometimes older content appears if it is still helpful and relevant to users.  

Discover uses many of the team’s same details as Google Search to find helpful, people-first content. To do well in Discover, review our tips on creating helpful and reliable content for your audience.   

To help your content appear in Discover, try these recommendations:  

• Do not use clickbait or similar tactics to increase engagement. Avoid misleading or exaggerated details in titles, snippets, or images, and do not leave out important information needed to understand your content.  

• Write page titles and headlines that clearly reflect what your content is about.  

• Do not use sensational tactics that try to attract attention by appealing to shock, curiosity, or outrage.  

• Timely shared content tells a clear story or delivers unique insights for your audience.  

• Add high-quality, eye-catching images to your content. Large images at least 1200 pixels wide, enabled by the Max Image Preview, the large setting, or AMP, are more likely to attract visitors from Discover.  

• Make sure your pages offer a great user experience. For more tips, see our help page about page experience in Google search results.  

Discover aims to show content that fits interest-based feeds, like articles and videos, and filters out content that may not be useful or could confuse readers. For example, Discover usually does not recommend job applications, petitions, forms, code repositories, or satirical content without context. Discover uses safe search and also filters out content that could be shocking or unexpected.  

Why Discover Traffic Might Change Over Time 

Traffic from Discover is less predictable than traffic from keyword-based searches because Discover is more random. Treat it as extra, not your main source. Here are some reasons why Discover traffic can change:  

• Changing Interests: Discover is built to show content that aligns with people’s interests, often based on their search activity. If someone loses interest in a topic and searches for it less, their Discover feed will show other content. This can lead to changes in publishers’ traffic.  

• Content types: Discover keeps updating the types of content it shows to more closely match what people want. It commonly features topics like sports, health, entertainment, and lifestyle from across the web.  

• Updates to Google Search: Sometimes we update Search to help people find better content. Since Discover is part of Search, these updates may affect your traffic. If you see changes in your website’s performance after an update, check our documentation on Google Search’s Core Updates and your website.  

If your content appears in Discover, you can track its performance with the Discover Performance Report. This report shows impressions, clicks, and CTR of your content from the last 16 months, as long as you meet the minimum impression threshold. It includes traffic from Chrome and tracks Discover traffic at all platforms.

Source: Google’s February 2026 Discover Core Update 

Samsung Electronics has announced that its 2026 OLED TV lineup and new Odyssey gaming monitors are now officially available.  

These displays are NVIDIA G-SYNC compatible. This means the new models, including the S95H, S90H, S85H, and Odyssey G6 Series, deliver smooth, low-latency gaming by synchronizing the monitor’s refresh rate with NVIDIA’s GeForce GPUs.  

Here are some of the main highlights of the 2026 OLED lineup: 

• Industry-leading refresh rates: The 27-inch Odyssey G6 (G60H) offers a 1040 Hz refresh rate with dual mode. You can switch between HD at 1040 Hz and QHD at 600 Hz.  

• Hi Speed Respond: The Odyssey G6 (G61SH) has a 240Hz refresh rate and a 0.03ms gray-to-gray (GTG) response time.  

• OLED TV Performance: The S95H and the S90H OLED TVs support refresh rates up to 165 Hz, and the S85H supports up to 120 Hz. All models offer low latency and clear motion for gaming.  

• Advanced gaming features: All models in the lineup support HDR10+ gaming and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.  

• Glare-free technology: The S95H and S90H models use Samsung’s glare-free technology to help reduce reflections.   

These OLED TVs will range in size from 42 to 83 inches. They feature both QD OLED and W-OLED panels, and the new flagship S95H model joins the lineup.  

Samsung says its 2026 OLED TVs and Odyssey gaming monitors will support NVIDIA G-SYNC. This update is aimed at PC and console gamers who want smoother, tear-free gameplay on big TVs and fast monitors. With this change, Samsung’s top OLED displays now offer high refresh rates, low latency, and adaptive sync, making them more like dedicated gaming hardware.  

Samsung TVs And Monitors That Support G-Sync 

Samsung confirmed that the following products will be NVIDIA G-SYNC compatible.  

• 2026 OLED TVs: S95H, S90H, and S85H.  

• Odyssey G6 (G60H) with Dual Mode Refresh Switching.  

• Odyssey G6 (G61SH) with a QD OLED panel.  

Kevin Lee, executive vice president of Samsung’s Visual Display Business, said the company’s goal is to deliver a consistently great gaming experience, no matter what you play or where you play it.  

Why G-Sync Support Is Important for TVs And Monitors 

FreeSync corresponds to the display’s refresh rate with the GPU’s frame rate to help prevent screen tearing and stutter. In addition to NVIDIA’s technology, the top 2026 OLED TVs and monitors also include AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.  

Samsung already supports both Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync on its 2025 OLED TVs. With this new update, the next flagship OLED TVs are also being promoted as good options for gaming.  

But for the G-Sync Benefits to kick in, you will need a PC or console with a compatible Nvidia GPU, and HDR10+ Advanced will also depend on the content and platform.  

The S90H supports refresh rates up to 165Hz. In contrast, the S85H supports up to 120Hz, and the Odyssey monitors reach far higher refresh rates, especially the Odyssey G6 (G60H), which can operate up to 1040Hz in HD resolution and up to 600Hz at native QHD resolution.  

Overall, if you are a competitive or professional gamer who owns any of these devices or plans to buy them, you can expect smooth gaming performance with adaptive sync support.

Source: Samsung’s 2026 OLED TVs and Odyssey monitors get Nvidia G-Sync support for smoother gaming 

Key Takeaways 

• Today, we are announcing a multi-year agreement with Corning worth up to $6B. Corning will supply fiber optic cables for our data centers.  

• By choosing Corning’s fiber-optic cables, we are supporting advanced manufacturing in the United States and helping the country remain competitive in the global AI industry.  

• The agreement will also help increase jobs at Corning’s North Carolina facilities by 15-20%.  

Meta has declared a multi-year, $6B fiber supply agreement with Corning. This move shows that AI infrastructure issues now go beyond computing power and include the physical network.  

Corning will provide Meta with optical fiber cable and connectivity solutions. According to both companies, this will help speed up the construction of cutting-edge data centers in the United States to support Meta’s apps, technologies, and AI goals.  

As large tech companies build larger AI clusters, warnings from companies like Microsoft about a potential networking bottleneck are drawing attention to physical network capacity. Fiber is now seen as a key factor limiting the growth of AI data centers.  

Until now, most discussions about AI infrastructure have focused on access to GPUs and power. However, the massive data traffic generated by large AI models is pushing data center networks to their limits, prompting cloud providers to revise their strategies.  

GPU power and cooling have always been seen as key limits to data center growth, but now fiber, once considered just a basic resource, is becoming important in its own right, said Shriya Mehrotra, Director Analyst at Gartner.  

Mehrotra also said that as large tech companies secure long-term fiber supplies and invest in dedicated connections, competition for capacity is growing. This makes it harder for other businesses to get access and is causing longer deployment times.  

The Role of Fiber in AI Scaling 

As AI systems grow, network limits are starting to slow down performance. This means expensive GPUs are not used as much as they should be, which lowers the return on big infrastructure investments.  

Manish Rawat, a semiconductor analyst at Technical Insights, said that optical fiber is now becoming the next big limit on AI growth, and this could have long-term effects.  

Fiber is the silent dependency that scales disproportionately with AI growth, Rawat said. AI workloads generate massive east-west traffic requiring tight harmonization across thousands of GPUs, which sharply increases intra-data-center and inter-campus optical demand.  

However, Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst at Greyhound Research, said the so-called networking wall was not just one bottleneck.  

It’s an overlapping set of constraints that surface when AI workloads hit scale:  

• Fiber Availability  

• Switching Density  

• Optical Trans-receiver Limits  

• Architectural Inefficiencies  

Gogia said.  

The combined stress of AI scale and concurrent government broadband rollouts has snapped the historical assumption that fiber is abundant and cheap, Gogia added.  

However, simply deploying more fiber will not be sufficient to address the challenges. Analysts said the underlying network architecture should improve as well.  

Beyond raw fiber and switching, the entire network architecture needs to evolve efficiently route, process, and manage AI-generated traffic, Mehrotra said. Existing designs may not be suitable for the aggregated, bursty traffic patterns generated by massive AI deployments, requiring new architectures such as AI network fabrics and optimized data center interconnect solutions.  

A New Approach to Data Center Strategy 

Rawat explained that the Meta-Corning deal is not meant to fix short-term fiber shortages. Instead, it gives Meta more certainty and control as it expands its AI infrastructure.  

Meta is locking in guaranteed optical capacity manufacturing priority during AI build cycles and fiber designs customized for its architectures, while insulating supply from geopolitical risks, Rawat said. It follows the same vertical integration of playbook hyperscalers used for custom AI chips, power contracts, and grid planning. Fiber is simply the next layer.  

Rawat said this strategy is speeding up the creation of a two-tier networking system. Hyper-scalers now manage their own supply chains, while other businesses rely on shared resources that take longer to access and offer less flexibility.  

The model shifts from buying fiber to securing fiber via forward agreements, standardization, and multi-year planning, Rawat said. Cloud Interconnect pricing will stay firm as hyperscalers absorb surplus capacity. Ultimately, network architecture choices will matter more than vendor selection for entities seeking security and scalability. Hyperscalers are effectively moving from being tenants in the fiber ecosystem to strategic owners. According to Gogia, what used to be fought out on the spot market is now being locked in years ahead to secure cost certainty, deployment speed, and operational control as AI infrastructure becomes increasingly capital-intensive.

Source: Meta-Corning fiber deal signals a new bottleneck in AI infrastructure