Sci-Tech
Samsung expects profits to soar with boost from AI
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Samsung Electronics expects its profits for the three months to June 2024 to jump 15-fold compared to the same period last year.
An artificial intelligence (AI) boom has lifted the prices of advanced chips, driving up the firm’s forecast for the second quarter.
The South Korean tech giant is the world’s largest maker of memory chips, smartphones and televisions.
The announcement pushed Samsung shares up more than 2% during early trading hours in Seoul.
The firm also reported a more than 10-fold jump in its profits for the first three months of this year.
In this quarter, it said it is expecting its profit to rise to 10.4tn won ($7.54bn; £5.9bn), from 670bn won last year.
That surpasses analysts’ forecasts of 8.8tn won, according to LSEG SmartEstimate.
“Right now we are seeing skyrocketing demand for AI chips in data centers and smartphones,” said Marc Einstein, chief analyst at Tokyo-based research and advisory firm ITR Corporation.
Optimism about AI is one reason for the broader market rally over the last year, which pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq in the United States to new records on Wednesday.
The market value of chip-making giant Nvidia surged past $3tn last month, briefly holding the top spot as the world’s most valuable company.
“The AI boom which massively boosted Nvidia is also boosting Samsung’s earnings and indeed those of the entire sector,” Mr Einstein added.
Samsung Electronics is the flagship unit of South Korean conglomerate Samsung Group.
Next week, the tech company faces a possible three-day strike, which is expected to start on Monday. A union of workers is demanding a more transparent system for bonuses and time off.
Sci-Tech
How to watch Ariane 6 rocket’s maiden launch on Tuesday
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The European Space Agency (ESA) is about to conduct the maiden launch of its new Ariane 6 rocket. The new rocket builds on five decades of Ariane launches, and gives Europe a new spaceflight system for launching any type of satellite around Earth, to the moon, and beyond.
In the words of its operator, Arianespace, the new rocket will provide “new levels of efficiency and flexibility to meet customers’ evolving launch services needs across a full range of commercial and institutional missions.”
Arianespace is building two versions of the 63-meter-tall Ariane 6. Ariane 62 will fly with two strap-on boosters, while the more powerful Ariane 64 will fly with four.
Commenting on the upcoming launch, ESA said: “This is a big moment for Europe, as the rocket will ensure our guaranteed, autonomous access to space — and all of the science, Earth observation, technology development, and commercial possibilities that it entails. With many features brand new to Ariane 6, we’ll be able to carry more and take it further, while sustainably disposing of the launcher’s upper stage to prevent it becoming space debris.”
How to watch
Ariane 6 is scheduled to launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana on Tuesday, 9 July, with a four-hour launch window opening from 2 p.m. ET.
The launch will be streamed live on ESAWebTV and the broadcast will begin half an hour before liftoff. You can also watch it via ESA’s YouTube channel, which we’ve embedded at the top of this page.
What to expect
Ariane 6’s maiden flight will comprise three phases, each of which will demonstrate the various abilities of Europe’s newest heavy-lift rocket.
Phase one will include the launch and early stage of the flight, as well as the separation of the rocket’s main stage from the upper stage. It also involves the first boost of the upper stage’s Vinci engine to take it into an elliptical orbit above Earth.
The second phase will put Ariane 6’s newest feature to the test — reignition of the upper stage to change Ariane 6’s orbit from elliptical to a circular orbit. It will then deploy three satellites — OOV-Cube, Curium One and Robusta-3A — and activate of two onboard experiments, YPSat and Peregrinus.
A few seconds later, the second batch of satellites will deploy — 3Cat-4, ISTSat, and GRBBeta. The last two experiments will also be activated, SIDLOC and Parisat. A third separation command will then deploy CURIE and replicator.
The final phase will push the rocket’s cryogenic upper stage to its limit to validate its ability to perform in microgravity conditions. Two reentry capsules will also separate from the upper stage and descend to Earth by surviving a fiery re-entry through the atmosphere.
With the mission complete, the upper stage will burn up in Earth’s atmosphere to avoid becoming another piece of hazardous space junk.
Sci-Tech
Best Buy Takes Up to $500 Off M3 MacBook Pro in New Sale
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Best Buy this weekend is offering a big selection of discounts on Apple’s late 2023 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro, with up to $500 off select models. These deals are available to all shoppers and do not require a My Best Buy Plus or Total membership.
Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Best Buy. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
14-Inch MacBook Pro
Starting with the 14-inch MacBook Pro, Best Buy’s new sale is focusing on the higher-end M3 Pro and M3 Max models. Prices start at $1,699.00 for the M3 Pro 512GB model, and also include the M3 Max 1TB model for $2,899.00, both of which represent $300 discounts and all-time low prices.
16-Inch MacBook Pro
Moving to the larger display models, you’ll find up to $500 off select 16-inch MacBook Pros at Best Buy this weekend. Prices start at $2,199.00 for the M3 Pro, 18GB RAM, 512GB model, and reach $3,499.00 for the high-end M3 Max, 48GB RAM, 1TB model. Just like the 14-inch devices, every discount in this sale represents a record low price on each computer.
If you’re on the hunt for more discounts, be sure to visit our Apple Deals roundup where we recap the best Apple-related bargains of the past week.
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Sci-Tech
As the E.V. Revolution Slows, Ferrari Enters the Race
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Gliding on robotic haulers, a line of Ferrari frames maneuvers through a gleaming new factory in Northern Italy. At each station, engineers in cherry red uniforms add a component — an engine block, a dashboard, a steering wheel — as they transform the bodies into hybrid vehicles. Up next: fully electric.
A lot is riding on Ferrari’s 200-million-euro “e-building,” which went into operation last month and is nearly twice the size of Rome’s Colosseum. The factory is intended to bring the 77-year-old sports-car maker, known for the sonorous vroom of its gas engines, into the age of electrification.
But the effort comes at a precarious time for the auto industry. The transition to electric vehicles, which was supposed to quickly usher in an era of climate-friendly transport, has instead been squeezed by costly investments and slowing global demand.
Other luxury carmakers have struggled to go electric. Mercedes-Benz and Lamborghini have reduced their ambitions. Tesla reported declining second-quarter sales on Tuesday, and Ford Motor said in April that it would shift production to more hybrids as E.V. losses piled up. A growing trade war between China and the West also threatens to stifle growth.
Despite the challenges, Ferrari sees an opportunity in the industry’s inevitable march toward electrification to reach a new consumer: the wealthy environmentalist. It intends to unveil its first fully electric model in the fourth quarter of next year. As part of its strategy, the carmaker has enlisted LoveFrom — the agency founded by Jony Ive, Apple’s former design chief, and the industrial designer Marc Newson — to hone the car’s appearance.
There is plenty of mystery shrouding the yet-to-be-named car, including its battery life and what it will sound like. The company has not disclosed its look, production run or price tag. But it could be one of the most expensive electric vehicles on the market, analyst say, surpassing Porsche’s $286,000 Taycan Turbo GT.
Ferrari’s foray into electric will be notable for other reasons. Regulators may be pushing electric vehicles, but there is lingering skepticism in the marketplace. Winning over fans of combustion engines will not be easy — even for Ferrari. And the industry is desperate for an automaker, any automaker, to prove that electric vehicles can drive big profits.
“It’s worth watching whether a Ferrari E.V. can maintain the kind of price premium you’d associate with a Ferrari,” said Martino de Ambroggi, an automotive analyst at Equita, an investment bank in Milan. “Often, a Ferrari purchase is also viewed as a kind of investment. Only after a few years will we see if that investment in an electric Ferrari holds up.”
Benedetto Vigna, Ferrari’s chief executive, is doing his best to keep the market in anticipation. In an interview last month in the new plant, he said the company would commence full-scale electric vehicle production by early 2026. By 2030, electric and hybrid cars will make up as much as 80 percent of Ferrari’s annual output as the company seeks to meet stringent European Union emissions mandates.
In the meantime, the e-building will roll out two models: the SF90 Stradale, a plug-in hybrid, and the combustion engine Purosangue.
Ferrari does not need an electric vehicle to pad its bottom line. Under Mr. Vigna, a former executive at the chip maker STMicroelectronics who took the helm nearly three years ago, the company has been on a tear. The stock is one of the best performers in Europe this year, giving it a roughly $75 billion market valuation, higher than that of Ford or General Motors. Profits are soaring alongside prices at Ferrari, which makes some of the most expensive cars on the planet. There’s a three-year waiting list for some models.
Ferrari’s success over the years on the Formula 1 track has also led to a lucrative corporate sponsorship and merchandise business that has transformed it into a luxury brand with a sporty flair. Ferrari’s prancing horse logo can be found on high-end apparel like a €790 cashmere sweater.
Mr. Vigna sees the electric vehicle as part of the company’s growth strategy, despite the industry’s slowdown. “There are some potential clients, I have them clearly in mind, who will never become part of the family unless there is an electric car,” he said.
But challenges loom. Enthusiasts who had gathered outside the factory gates last month wondered: Will it look, handle and sound like the classic Ferrari growler, or have the understated whine of most electric vehicles?
“When you think of a Ferrari, it still has that kind of engine sensation, and you also think of the roar,” Mr. de Ambroggi said. “I don’t know how Ferrari resolves this.”
Mr. Vigna fields that question often, especially from longtime customers, or Ferraristi. They seem to be channeling the deceased founder, Enzo Ferrari, who once broke down in the simplest terms how he built some of the fastest cars on the planet: “I build motors and attach them to wheels.”
Mr. Vigna’s E.V. pitch has a different ring. “The electric engine will not be silent,” he said. “There are ways to make sure that the emotion comes through from driving an electric Ferrari that is the same as when you drive a hybrid or when you drive a thermal Ferrari.”
Battery life is another puzzle piece. Because Ferraris often sell for a higher price on the secondary market, the concern about battery degradation, and its impact on the long-term value of the car, may be felt more acutely by the Ferraristi.
“The E.V. transition raises a whole lot of new issues for them in terms of how you maintain the vehicle,” said Stephen Reitman, an auto analyst at Bernstein.
Ferrari’s longtime partner, SK On, a South Korean battery maker, will supply the components for the E.V. batteries, which Ferrari will assemble in the e-building, where it will also make the car’s electric motors and axles.
And then there is the matter of price. Last month, Reuters reported that the car would cost at least €500,000 ($540,000). Mr. Vigna pushed back on the speculation, saying it is too early to talk price.
Ferrari still follows its founder’s principle for producing a limited number of extremely expensive cars. Ferrari made fewer than 14,000 last year; even with the e-building, production is not expected to increase much at the start.
The limited numbers may explain why fans make the pilgrimage to Maranello hoping to catch a glimpse of a Ferrari, either on the company’s Formula 1 test track or near its red brick factory.
Knowing demand is high, Mr. Vigna has increased the base price of most models more than 25 percent.
“Ferrari consistently sells less than the market demands, leading to a multiyear order book,” said Mr. Reitman, the Bernstein analyst. With a profit margin of nearly 30 percent, Ferrari’s business more resembles that of a luxury brand like Hermes or Rolex, analysts say.
Mr. Vigna is already thinking about how to market the new electric car. The target customer probably will not be buying the car for purely practical or even planet-saving reasons, he said, adding: “The emotional part of the brain is driving the purchase.”
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