Industry

Smartphone market faces worst year in 13 years on memory shortage

Global smartphone shipments are expected to drop to their lowest level in 13 years, Counterpoint Research said, forecasting a 12.4 percent annual decline in 2026 to below 1.1 billion units. It said the biggest drop in the industry’s history is driven by a shortage of mobile memory as chipmakers shift capacity to AI-focused DRAM and enterprise SSD NAND. Counterpoint sees weakness lasting through 2027, hitting sub-$200 phones and emerging markets most.

AI & Enterprise

How far has Google Nano Banana 2 come? Fact check with five tests

Google’s message around Nano Banana 2 is that it is faster, more logical and can generate scenes closer to reality from prompts. TechRadar introduced its own tests of whether those claims hold in actual outputs. The five experiments checked physical logic and materials, complex scenes, text and localization, stability in dynamic mixed-era compositions, and a realistic surreal Seattle street scene with consistent characters and readable signage.