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The year 2025, which just ended, was probably not a good one for Samsung.

Not only did the initial launch of the tri-fold design suffer a lukewarm reception, but the entire third and fourth quarters were also mired in rising memory prices.

The DS division, which produces memory chips, cuts off supplies to the MX division, which manufactures mobile phones—a classic plot point that Korean dramas are bound to feature.

Ironically, while Samsung mobile phones had just gone through a very difficult period, the Samsung Group's stock price actually continued to improve in fiscal year 2025-2026.

Therefore, it's not wrong to say that Samsung will win by default in 2026—but it has nothing to do with phones, it's entirely driven by flash memory.

The delayed release of the S26 series is the most obvious example: the Samsung S series launch event, which was usually held in early February, has been quiet until now.

Fortunately, there is still some news.

According to a leak received by GSMArena, the Samsung Galaxy S26 series launch event will be held on February 25th, while the Chinese launch event may be held in early March.

▲ Photo｜GSMArena

Based on existing leaks and industry trends, the main upgrades of the S26 generation will still be the software-oriented Galaxy AI, as well as more intelligent "hardware and software integration" advancements.

But unlike the S25 series, which focused entirely on AI, this year Samsung has actually unveiled several major hardware updates that haven't been seen in a long time.

Cutting-edge technology: Active privacy screen

If you've been following the S26 series, you've probably seen these two images:

▲ Image | Weibo @i冰宇宙

This feature demonstration image, which has been repeatedly "exported and then re-imported" in China, comes from "iIce Universe," a well-known Samsung leaker in China.

According to reports, this year's S26 Ultra is expected to feature a function called Privacy Display.

When displaying sensitive information, mobile phones can add a privacy screen-like effect to a portion of the display area , so that no content is displayed when viewed from a wide angle.

A Samsung press release issued later that day confirmed the existence of the feature.

This feature can be activated not only for notifications, but also for sensitive interfaces such as screen unlock and keypad , and can be applied "to a specific area of ​​the screen":

▲ Photo｜Samsung Newsroom

Based on existing leaks and official demonstrations, the privacy screen on the S26 Ultra may be considered Samsung's biggest advancement in screen technology in recent years.

In principle, Samsung showcased a technology called Flex Magic Pixel at MWC 2024, which is also a wide-angle privacy protection.

The example demonstrated at the time was its use in a car infotainment system, where the screen turned black from the driver's perspective to prevent driver distraction while driving.

▲ Image｜Samsung Display

The one used in the S26 Ultra is most likely an upgraded version of the FMP.

By improving the precision of sub-pixel wide-angle emission and cluster emission, the technology has been upgraded from only being able to achieve full-screen blackout to partial blackout , without affecting the original display quality of the phone screen.

▲ A rendering using Veo simulation

Furthermore, the new privacy screen will most likely be enhanced by AI. The S26 Ultra will use the microphone, front camera, and other sensors to detect the user's environment and intelligently determine whether the mask needs to be activated.

This new feature is fundamentally different from Huawei's "spy protection" feature.

Compared to Huawei's pure software recognition + stop notification, Samsung's solution requires screen hardware cooperation, but its advantage is that it is applicable to a wider range of scenarios.

▲ Image | Huawei

Unfortunately, based on current information, it seems that only the S26 Ultra features a screen that supports FMP, exclusively offering the privacy screen function.

The S26+ and S26 may miss out on the new features, but the Z Fold8, released in the second half of the year, is likely to be the second to receive them.

Furthermore, due to the need for specialized hardware, the S25 Ultra and earlier models are highly likely to be completely out of the running.

In any case, once this new "partial screen hiding" feature is implemented, it can almost completely eliminate privacy screen protectors that greatly affect the viewing experience . We can't wait to see domestic manufacturers follow suit.

Specifications: 2nm has a surprise in store

Although a privacy screen may not be standard on all S26 models, we can still guess most of the other specifications.

According to information from the Geekbench database, the S26 series this year will unsurprisingly be equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, most likely a special version for Galaxy developed in cooperation with Qualcomm, with a slightly higher base frequency.

What's special is that Samsung plans to officially restart its dual-track strategy of Qualcomm + Exynos , meaning Exynos will return to the S series.

▲ Image｜Samsung Semiconductor

Perhaps due to the positive feedback from last year's Z Flip7 using the Exynos 2500, Samsung is expected to equip the Korean version of the S26 (SM-S942N) with the latest Exynos 2600 processor . The S26+ and S26 Ultra are yet to be confirmed.

As Samsung Semiconductor's first product using the 2nm GAA process, the Exynos 2600's performance is highly anticipated.

Samsung officially states that the Exynos 2600 is 39% faster than the 2500, and leaked GB6 benchmark scores even surpass those of the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy used in last year's S25.

▲ Photo｜GSMArena

After many years, Orion has finally returned to a level where it can compete head-on with Qualcomm.

Hopefully, the rumored Xclipse 960 GPU, based on the AMD RDNA4 architecture, won't disappoint us.

Aside from these peripheral features, the S26 series is largely the same as the S25 series.

All models still start with 12GB of RAM, with a maximum of 16GB, and the hard drive options remain 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB.

▲ Image｜Android Headlines

It is widely predicted that the S26 series will see a price increase of 500-700 RMB due to rising memory prices, proving that the DS and MX divisions are indeed unlikely to work together effectively.

In terms of energy, Samsung has also brought something new this time, which is quite rare.

On the S26 Ultra, Samsung is expected to upgrade the long-standing 45W wired charging and, for the first time, support super-fast charging up to 60W.

Following Samsung's naming convention, it should be called "Ultimate SuperCharge 3.0," while the battery capacity remains unchanged at 5000 mAh.

▲ Image｜Android Authority

The bad news is that the rumors that Samsung would follow suit with magnetic charging now seem to have no chance.

The reason is probably that the Ultra sensor will interfere with the S-Pen sensor.

Although the S26 series supports the Qi2 standard up to 25W, it will not use a built-in magnetic charging case, as evidenced by the recently leaked official magnetic case:

▲ Image｜Android Authority

The common explanation is that Samsung originally planned to add a magnetic function to the S26, but actual testing did not achieve the desired effect and even interfered with the S-Pen, so it was ultimately cancelled, leaving only a bunch of official magnetic accessories:

▲ Photo｜Sammobile

New look: Ultra becomes rounder again

The appearance of this year's S26 series is actually the least surprising, because as early as August or September last year, some promotional images and factory photos had already been leaked online.

In summary, the design language of the S26 series can be summed up in one sentence— a complete adoption of the Z Fold7 design .

No joke, this is confirmed in recently leaked official Samsung renders: the independent lens design of the S25 series has been canceled, and it has returned to the style with a central island.

▲ Image｜9to5Google

The good news is that Samsung still refuses to use the large circular module, making it one of the few flagship phones on the market where the index finger won't touch the camera lens.

The bad news is that this means the S26 series cameras don't have any significant changes in their hardware specifications.

The S26 Ultra will most likely maintain the same specifications: a 1/1.3-inch main camera, a 1/2.52-inch periscope lens, and a 3x telephoto lens of approximately 1/4-inch …

▲ Image｜Notebookcheck

On the other hand, the rumored S26 Edge/S26 Pro, having learned a painful lesson from the S25 Edge, is probably stillborn.

In other words, the S26 series still consists of the standard, Plus, and Ultra versions.

The S26 Ultra's body rounded corners are expected to be further rounded, which will affect the S-Pen pen tail located in the lower left corner of the body. It may become the first pen-equipped model in nearly ten years that "does not support flipping the pen for insertion".

▲ Image｜Android Authority

Overall, the Samsung S26 series maintains the same basic design as previous years, with minor tweaks and improvements to a mature design. The biggest upgrade is the new features of the new screen.

And this new screen is indeed something we can really look forward to.

After all, in today's world where the battle for specifications is almost over, even having something that others don't have for just six months or a few months is a huge advantage for a product.

▲ Photo｜SammyGuru

The privacy screen on the S26 Ultra is such a feature.

However, compared to candybar phones with limited screen area, this feature should play a greater role in the Z Fold8 in the second half of the year.

Do you think that in today's environment, mobile phone manufacturers should stop focusing solely on resolution and brightness and instead develop new features that differentiate themselves at the microscopic level?

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.

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This week, Silicon Valley witnessed its most thrilling drama.

Global capital markets indiscriminately sold off the software sector. Salesforce, Workday, Intuit… these companies, which have been among the most resilient landlords in the US stock market over the past decade, saw their market capitalization evaporate by nearly $258 billion (equivalent to RMB 1.978513 trillion) in just one day.

The sell-off was exceptionally fierce. US software stocks led the plunge on February 3rd, with the S&P North American Software Index closing lower for the third consecutive week, a cumulative drop of 15% in January, marking its worst monthly performance since 2008. The panic then spread to the Asia-Pacific markets, with the share prices of many industry leaders plummeting.

There was no macroeconomic collapse, no black swan event. The trigger for this upheaval was simply that an AI company, Anthropic, equipped its AI with "hands and feet."

Wall Street has voted with its feet, offering an extremely harsh prediction: before AI truly takes over human jobs, the traditional software industry may have to undergo a complete reshuffle.

When AI is just a thin layer of paper

The butterfly that triggered the tsunami was named Claude Cowork.

This is Anthropic's trump card for the start of 2026: a desktop intelligent agent application. Simply put, it's no longer just a "brain" that chats with you in a dialog box; it has begun to have "hands and feet" to click the mouse, manage files, and operate software.

Last week, Anthropic released 11 plugins targeting specific roles, covering core business areas such as legal, sales, finance, and marketing. Its "legal plugin," in particular, behaves remarkably like that of a skilled, highly educated white-collar worker.

By connecting to enterprise tools such as Slack, Claude Cowork can even autonomously complete the entire process of "research-drafting-reviewing-archiving" without requiring humans to switch between different software.

But the so-called legal plugin is essentially just a set of prompts and configuration settings. And that's what keeps investors up at night.

In the past, companies like Thomson Reuters made a fortune from their expensive legal databases and so-called barriers to entry in specialized software. Their core product, CoCounsel, even ran on top of OpenAI.

At that time, everyone was at peace because Claude and ChatGPT were just APIs, selling computing power through the interface. Thomson Reuters built on top of them and sold the packaged products to users.

But the logic changed after Claude Cowork was released.

Analysts have pointed out incisively that Anthropic's ambitions have long since gone beyond "selling models," and that it aims to directly "control the workflow."

When landlords started selling fully furnished apartments directly, the traditional contractors were out of business. Anthropic launched ready-made vertical industry solutions, instantly turning the platform itself into a competitor to software companies.

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei bluntly warned: "In the next 1 to 5 years, 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs may be impacted."
From law to finance to consulting, AI is gradually taking over knowledge-based jobs that we thought only humans could do. And the companies that provide the software tools for these jobs are standing on the edge of a precipice.

The "AI shockwave" that is difficult to prove itself.

Software vendors are currently in an extremely difficult position. They must prove they are not vulnerable to the impact of AI. Demonstrating a recovery in revenue growth might alleviate market concerns about the AI ​​impact.

But in the current economic climate, this is almost an impossible task.

Just last week, UPS announced plans to lay off approximately 30,000 more employees this year. On the same day, social media company Pinterest also announced it would cut nearly 15% of its workforce. Just a few days later, Amazon also cut another 16,000 jobs.

Large companies are tightening their belts. With corporate spending downturns and a wave of layoffs, CFOs are more stringent than ever in approving software procurement budgets.

After all, since AI agents can complete tasks at extremely low cost, why spend a lot of money to buy SaaS software? This leads to a suffocating trend for all SaaS vendors: software "downgrading".

Amidst the wails, the man who sold shovels stepped forward.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, speaking at an AI conference hosted by Cisco Systems, directly refuted this market sentiment: "There's a view that the software industry is declining and will be replaced by AI. That's the most illogical statement in the world. Time will tell."

His logic is that, whether it's a human or an AI agent, the most efficient way to perform tasks is to use existing tools, not to reinvent them. AI will become the "super user" of software.

Old Huang makes a good point. AI won't magically create compliance records; companies still need record-keeping systems to store data, manage permissions, and handle audits. The code won't disappear, and the database won't disappear. But he's only half right.

We need to clarify a concept: AI does not replace the code or logic behind software; it replaces the intermediate link of "human operation of software" and the "graphical interface (GUI)" designed for humans.

Think back, how did you use Photoshop in the past?

You need to learn what layers, masks, and channels are, and you need to memorize dozens of keyboard shortcuts. Adobe's competitive advantage is largely built on the time cost you spend learning how to use it.

But what about now? You casually tell AI, "Change the background to a cyberpunk style." In the process, Photoshop's complex interface, its densely packed buttons, and its layered menus all become meaningless.

In the future, Photoshop may simply become a background plugin invoked by AI (or it already is). When software retreats from the foreground to the background, its brand premium, user stickiness, and even its valuation logic will be significantly reduced.

In stark contrast, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes that 1 billion daily active users are more valuable than the most advanced models.

Little did anyone know that while OpenAI was still trying to transform itself into a more respectable SaaS company by piling on product features, Anthropic proved something else with Claude Cowork: the best AI products are not meant to become the next SaaS giant, but to end the current SaaS model.

AI is eating the world

Years ago, Marc Andreessen predicted: "Software is eating the world."

Now, it's AI's turn to devour software. This is a brutal "species selection." Under the impact of AI, the software industry is splitting into two species.

The first type is "tool-type," which is destined to be eliminated.

Software with limited functionality, simplistic logic, and a reliance on simply piling up buttons—such as basic PDF editors, basic tax filing software, and format conversion tools—is powerless against AI agents. AI can directly generate the results, eliminating the need for intermediate toolkits.

The second type is the "systemic" type. They will survive, but they must find a different way to survive.

For example, Microsoft's Office suite, or a sophisticated CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system. Behind them are not just documents, but also the company's organizational structure, compliance processes, and historical data.

AI can help you write documents, but it's difficult for AI to build a corporate compliance system that meets audit requirements out of thin air.

Furthermore, future software companies must learn to stop charging per user, because those using software may not even be human. The rise of AI agents is not merely a technological upgrade; it is fundamentally dismantling the business model upon which the SaaS industry has relied for the past two decades.

A per-seat subscription model where users pay for software.

In the traditional model, a software company's revenue is directly proportional to the number of employees its clients have. The more people you hire, the more accounts you buy, and the more money the software company makes. But the core value of AI agents is automation—reducing the manpower needed to complete tasks.

If Salesforce were to launch a perfect AI sales agent that could replace five salespeople, the first thing customers would do would be to cancel the software subscription accounts of those five people.

In short, the more automated a software company is, the lower its revenue tends to be. It's a death spiral.

In order to avoid being eliminated by AI, SaaS vendors must find a way to survive within a new framework. Since the number of people is destined to decrease, the focus of revenue must shift from people to services.

According to predictions from renowned analytics firm Gartner, by the end of 2026, 40% of enterprise SaaS will include outcome-based pricing. This represents a significant shift in thinking. Software companies will no longer price their IT tools based on the cost of human employees.

For working people, it's like the Centaur model proposed by chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov in 1997, where humans and AI have a clear division of labor and cooperation—in the future, humans will only be responsible for strategic decision-making, while AI will be responsible for computation/data processing, each performing their own duties.

For the past two decades, the most prominent words on our resumes have often been "proficient in Office," "skilled in Photoshop," and "proficient in SPSS data analysis." We've spent countless days and nights learning how to adapt to the software's logic and memorizing those counterintuitive menu paths.

We even developed the illusion that mastering the operation of the tools meant mastering the core of the work.

Claude Cowork and the software crash it triggered ruthlessly burst this bubble. It tells us that the software skills we're so proud of may be worthless in the face of AI.

In this new world of centaur collaboration, your aesthetic sense, your judgment, and your ability to define problems are the true abilities that will make you stand out.

From now on, stop boasting about your software skills. In this new era where AI controls workflows, only one type of person will not be eliminated: those who clearly know what they want and can command a vast army (AI) to achieve it.

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The Spring Festival should be a time of "happiness," but for white-collar worker Kuang You, it carries a sense of anxiety.

The phone never stopped ringing, and things kept piling up, ruining what should have been a joyous family reunion. This chaotic urgency reached its peak with a call from the landlord urging them to move out.

Time is pressing in, and beneath the lens lies a person fragmented by time. Director Yang Lina describes her at this moment as follows:

She was like a lifeless bonsai, having lost her sense of smell, taste, and hearing.

This is OPPO's Lunar New Year short film, "The Time Thief," directed by Yang Lina. Her previous work, "Little Me," focused on the minority group with cerebral palsy and won the Audience Choice Award at the 37th Tokyo International Film Festival. This time, Yang Lina chose to shoot the entire film using the OPPO Find X9 Pro, focusing her lens on young people struggling between work and life.

Through this film, we are convinced that today, mobile phones can not only handle Hollywood-style audiovisual spectacles, but also, with their delicate perception, capture these down-to-earth and human "small narratives".

Respect for authenticity is the key to quality.

The room's darkness engulfed everything like a tidal wave, while a beam of flashlight shone down from the upper bunk like a spotlight. Faced with her niece Xiao Kui's enthusiastic invitation, Kuang You responded listlessly:

It's too late.

In her little niece's eyes, Kuang You, who was lying on the lower bunk at this moment, had lost his energy as a child king and was just a "family member" who could get tired, anxious, and even a little gloomy.

The camera zooms in and freezes on the moment when Kuang You has just woken up.

In the dim indoor lighting, the image didn't show the fake, poreless skin often seen in mobile phone ads, like a peeled egg. Instead, we could clearly see the bloodshot eyes around her pupils, and under the light from the window on the other side, we could also see the fine texture and imperfections on the illuminated side of her skin.

This almost brutal "clarity" represents a bold breakthrough in the image aesthetics of the OPPO Find X9 Pro.

The film opens with a challenging shooting scene – dark and chaotic.

In the past, when faced with such complex environments, mobile phones often suffered from misjudging due to global color temperature calculations—either the face would appear bluish or the background would appear yellowish. OPPO introduced the industry's first Danxia color restoration lens and regional color temperature perception algorithm for the Find X9 Pro to solve this problem.

Unlike traditional color temperature sensors, the Danxia color reproduction lens is an independent camera system with a complete CMOS sensor, filters, and optical lens group, possessing true vision and the ability to clearly see the subject and environmental structure in the image. Combined with algorithmic models and professional data, the Find X9 Pro has leaped from judging color temperature trends in the thousands to judging details in the single digits, maintaining sensitivity even in the extremely difficult-to-reproduce low color temperature range of 2000K to 3500K.

Thus, a detailed gridded color temperature map was built at the system's bottom layer. The system, like a scalpel, separated Kuang You's face from the environment and performed independent partition calibration: accurately identifying and preserving the dullness of the background; at the same time, it keenly captured and restored the faint warm tones of the person's face.

All of these technological foundations were condensed into OPPO's system-level imaging solution in 2025—the LUMO Light Condensation Imaging System. These technologies serve reality, transforming what might have been perceived as a flaw into a cinematic "human touch," thus laying a solid foundation for "good portrait photography."

This is why, in "The Time Thief," the camera has the confidence to not lie. Kuang You's genuine weariness is able to penetrate the heavy screen and directly reach the audience's hearts, also striking into Xiao Kui's innocent eyes, ultimately becoming a key that unlocks Xiao Kui's almost fantastical thoughts—

Since my aunt is stuck in a time warp, I'll go and "steal" some back for her.

There is order within chaos, and that is where dynamism arises.

When the niece Xiao Kui begins her "time-stealing" plan, the stagnant atmosphere is instantly broken, and the film's rhythm shifts to a more exhilarating pace.

Running out of the house, through the alleys, and hiding under the window… Xiao Kui, wearing a red cotton-padded jacket, was like a dancing flame, appearing and disappearing on the streets of the water town.

The entire story unfolds from Xiao Kui's perspective. To enhance the sense of immersion, we used a lot of handheld camera shots to follow her running and jumping around the town. As long as the appropriate level of image stabilization is set, the resulting footage not only has the sense of breathing and immediacy we wanted, but also avoids making the audience dizzy due to violent shaking.

Cinematographer Liang Zhongqiang vividly described the shooting situation of dynamic scenes, highlighting the ability to capture moments with ease even in sudden, fast-paced situations, thanks to the LUMO intelligent video system behind the OPPO Find X9 Pro.

The camera zoomed in sharply, trying to capture Xiaokui's fleeting expression. The electronic zoom, which should have been abrupt and abrupt, now had the damping feel of a physical lens. This was the "intelligent intent perception" at work—it could understand the photographer's purpose and instantly simulate inertia, making the zoom curve smooth in and out.

In order to capture Xiao Kui's running figure, in addition to traditional optical and electronic image stabilization, the smarter DIS (digital image stabilization) began to intervene in the shooting, constantly analyzing the content in the picture. Like an invisible hand, it accurately predicted and eliminated the shaking when Xiao Kui made a sharp turn or accelerated, keeping her firmly in the center of the picture.

At the same time, the underlying computing scheduler is also carrying out a secret resource allocation, tilting all the core computing power of the chip to the image. There are no dropped frames, no stuttering, and every frame is perfectly seamless, all to preserve this fleeting vitality.

The energetic moments in life are often dynamic, vibrant, and fleeting. Xiao Kui's offenses to others are precisely her most clumsy expression of love for her aunt, and this love is hidden in these hurried steps.

At this moment, technology has a very low presence, so low that you can't feel its intervention; but its role is extremely important, so important that it ensures that you can firmly capture the moment in every flustered step.

This stability is an extension of OPPO's technological accumulation and the philosophy of "people first" into dynamic imaging. It maintains stability in every chaotic moment, and its portrait tracking and dynamic response in complex scenes ensure that the video remains orderly amidst chaos, just like the classic quote from Mark Weather, the father of ubiquitous computing:

The best technology is the kind that you can't even feel its presence.

With the support of the LUMO imaging system, these seemingly chaotic yet orderly scenes work together to create the most dramatic moments in the entire film.

Xiao Kui stole other people's time, and the town's order collapsed as a result. This absurd scene is actually a mirror, reflecting Kuang You's current problem—the misalignment and chaos of time will ultimately lead to the disorder of life.

It was in this long-term, hidden chaos that Kuang You was worn down and exhausted.

A high degree of tolerance is essential for creating visual spectacles.

After realizing she had caused trouble, Xiao Kui confessed everything to Kuang You, and the two decided to return the time they had "stolen".

Then, the goldfish began to wag its tail again, the dough started to expand, and the congested waterway cleared up. As time returned to normal, everything returned to order, and the film came to an end with the sound of oars.

Sitting on a swaying boat, the tension-filled combination of the aunt and niece, the leader of the children and the children themselves, begins the most thought-provoking dialogue in the entire film:

My aunt's battery might be damaged, and it won't fully charge.
What can we do then? Can it be repaired?
I'm going to see the aurora borealis and go to the Arctic this year.
Why go to such a far place?

This is a question destined to remain unanswered. Busy people always seek a distant horizon, using it as a glimmer of hope and anticipation in their mundane lives, hoping that they can finally take a breather. But such subtle thoughts, if expressed directly, are bound to fall short of the intended meaning. So the director simply left it open, allowing the audience to provide their own answers.

This blank space didn't last long. The small boat rocked and swayed as it entered the bridge arch. The sunlight refracted on the water and reflected on the stone wall, creating a wave-like effect reminiscent of the aurora borealis, thus organizing the myriad possible answers:

The distant places people yearn to reach may be right beneath their feet right now.

A truly cinematic moment.

Kuang You had always wanted to go far away to see the aurora borealis, to search high and low for a miracle, but little did she know that spring was already in full bloom. That light had always been quietly flowing under the bridge in her hometown.

If you are observant enough, you will find that "light" has always been the hidden protagonist of this film.

When the time was stolen from the goldfish, there was shimmering light on the water; when the time was returned to the boatman, there was a sky full of rosy clouds.

In the final chapter of the story, the "aurora under the bridge" pushes the film's narrative and technology to their limits simultaneously—in terms of plot, it is the moment when Kuang You reconciles with himself; in terms of imagery, to record this spectacle born from the heart, a sufficiently sensitive recorder is needed.

The cave was cold and dark inside, while outside the sun was scorching. The light spots reflected off the water pushed the brightness to the extreme. The huge contrast was stunning to the naked eye, but it was a severe challenge for the camera. The director of photography admitted that the challenge was enormous.

The grand finale scene by the river is the highlight of the entire film and a crucial element in its color presentation. The lighting environment is extremely complex, and we didn't want to miss a single detail.

The OPPO Find X9 Pro supports 4K 120fps 10-bit Log format, like a giant net that completely captures the dark textures and flowing highlights on the stone wall. The visual tension across extreme brightness gives the bridge arch a truly divine "aurora" quality; the footage is seamlessly integrated into Hollywood-level standard color workflows, and the subtle colors refracted from the green water, resembling the aurora, are accurately preserved and reproduced.

This is strong evidence that the OPPO Find X9 Pro can serve serious creative work.

The light and shadow at this moment also string together the answers about "good people photography" and present them to us—the ability to preserve the true texture, to capture fleeting moments in the midst of chaos, and to record the ebb and flow of emotions through light and shadow at this very moment.

Good footage should be like this.

Finally, as the end credits roll, Kuang You and Xiao Kui, having returned the lost time, sit on a swaying boat, passing through the peaceful and tranquil water towns of Jiangnan under the warm sunlight. This story, with its touch of magical realism, slowly comes to a close amidst the shimmering water.

The story has ended, but the reflections continue.

Frankly speaking, making movies with mobile phones is hardly news these days. But in the past, to prove this point, the common approach was to equip mobile phones with heavy external lenses and complex lighting systems, using an extremely industrialized logic to replicate Hollywood-style audiovisual spectacles.

However, "The Time Thief" offers a completely different answer: mobile phones can not only support big productions, but they are actually better at making a "small film".

The "small" here does not refer to a narrow scope, but rather to the subtlety of the perspective and the delicacy of the emotions.

Just like the Oscars every year, there is never a shortage of small films that talk about aesthetics and humanities alongside big-budget productions driven by technology—beyond industrial standards, aesthetics is the soul of film.

Back to reality, we have to admit that no one can truly possess the magic to stop time like Xiao Kui.

On the other hand, the ability to shoot such a mature and nuanced film using the mobile phone that everyone carries in their pocket has become an achievable reality.

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I woke up to find that robots had joined the "melee" of the Spring Festival.

This is not surprising, after all, major manufacturers and car companies are all venturing into robot manufacturing. But what is unexpected is that Jia Yueting, who was still struggling with car manufacturing yesterday, announced three robots in one go today.

This morning, at the NADA Show hosted by the National Automobile Dealers Association of America, Jia Yueting unveiled three EAI (Embodied AI) embodied intelligent robots from FF: the full-size humanoid robot FF Futurist, the athletic humanoid robot FF Master, and the quadruped robot FX Aegis.

At CES earlier this year, Jia Yueting unveiled his new MPV, the FX Superone, which was immediately accused of plagiarizing Great Wall Motors' Wey brand Gaoshan. Netizens, without even needing a magnifying glass, immediately recognized the familiar design of the robot he released, quipping, " We all know the car, but where did he get this robot from? "

We just randomly sent a picture to the AI ​​and asked it , and Doubao said it looked like Zhihui Jun's Zhiyuan robot. And you know what, it really does look a bit like it, especially the eyes and the body joints; it's like a direct copy.

Specifically, this robot is part of the Master series. As its title suggests, it is a humanoid robot designed for movement. Jia Yueting positions it as an "all-around performer and competition master, chief interaction officer, personal fitness coach, and family interaction partner."

In terms of height, computing power, and other aspects, the two robots are indeed similar. The Master series is 131cm tall, weighs 39kg, and has 30 active degrees of freedom joints; it uses the slightly weaker Nvidia Jetson Orin NX computing platform, with an AI performance of 157 TOPS (trillion operations per second); in terms of battery life, it can walk continuously for about two hours.

The Zhiyuan Lingxi X2 is 131cm tall, weighs 39kg, has a battery life of 2 hours, and boasts 30 degrees of freedom. Its high-performance computing board is the NVIDIA Orin NX 157 TOPS. In terms of maximum walking speed, the Zhiyuan Lingxi X2's lab data shows it reaches the same speed as the sports-focused Master, achieving a maximum of 2 m/s.

It's quite possible that Jia Yueting actually followed these parameters.

In other aspects, the Master series focuses on mobility and supports a wide range of network connections, including Wi-Fi/Bluetooth/4G/5G, as well as mobile applications and virtual reality remote operation. Its sensing system includes several RGB cameras, interactive RGB cameras, RGB-D cameras, and LiDAR; these are standard features for most humanoid robots.

Although the official website states that it also has the ability to make autonomous decisions, Jia Yueting's robot is essentially still a robot that needs to be remotely controlled.

This is perhaps the biggest problem facing most robot manufacturers today: the need for remote control, or even VR control. Like the 1X Neo robot we previously shared, which can do housework, it unexpectedly requires a real person wearing VR glasses to control the robot's movements in real time.

Jia Yueting stated that his capabilities were limited, so he released the statement first.

Another robot is called Futurist, part of the Future Home series. It is the most expensive robot released this time. It is 169cm tall and weighs 69kg. It is a full-size humanoid robot with life-size proportions and supports custom skin. The face can also be customized because Futurist's face is also a display screen that can be used for interactive facial display.

This display reminds me of Xiaomi's Cyber ​​One, a full-size humanoid bionic robot.

In terms of flexibility, Futurist has 40 degrees of freedom, including two for the neck, seven for each arm, and six for each leg. Compared to Unitree Robotics' fourth humanoid robot, H2, which is 180cm tall, weighs 70kg, and has 31 degrees of freedom, Futurist seems to be a worthy competitor, except for its height.

In the promotional video for Yushu, the robots perform ballet and Chinese kung fu; Jia Yueting also had his robots perform at the exhibition.

In this 20-second demonstration video, Jia Yueting showcased his humanoid robot and quadruped robot, demonstrating simple movements and interactive demonstrations. The humanoid robot could walk and wave, while the quadruped robot demonstrated basic movements such as walking and turning. However, this only proved that the robots possessed these basic movement capabilities, and nothing more was shown.

According to the official website, the robot's core components are also quite impressive: an NVIDIA Jetson Orin computing platform, 200 TOPS of computing power, and an AI brain that supports upgrades and expansion. It has a 3D LiDAR camera, two RGB-D cameras, a fisheye camera, and a pair of dexterous hands capable of sensing touch.

In terms of propulsion, the Futurist can stand continuously for about 3 hours, has 28 motors throughout its body, a peak torque of 500 N·m, and a maximum moving speed of 1.2 meters per second. However, movement is only supported via VR remote control and cannot be controlled via an app.

Mr. Jia is very confident in this robot. The introduction mentions the scenarios it can support, such as a multilingual super concierge, a professional super sales consultant, a calm and versatile super landlord, a wise brand ambassador, and a forward-thinking research and teaching assistant…

It can also be an efficient industrial partner on industrial production lines and a friendly domestic helper in home services.

This PowerPoint presentation style, which haphazardly mixes up all the popular scenarios, is so typical of Jia Yueting. Boston Dynamics focuses on industry, 1X Neo on home, Unitree on motion control, while Jia Yueting focuses on "having it all." In his view, the future is "360 industries, and every industry will have FF robots."

One intriguing detail is that both Master and Futurist have a maximum computing power of only 200 TOPS (based on NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX).

In contrast, the high-performance computing module in the Unitree H2, with a maximum option of Jetson AGX Thor (2070 TOPS), may be the current entry-level option for running complex embodied intelligence models. Jia Yueting's choice of the "lower-spec version," besides technical considerations, is simply because the high-performance Thor chip is too expensive. After all, everyone knows FF's cash flow situation.

As for the last quadruped robot, Aegis, its form and function are highly similar to those of domestic manufacturers such as Zhuji Power, and it is likely an integrated product of readily available solutions in the supply chain.

Will dreams be suffocated once again?

Jia Yueting has practically explored every mainstream form of robot on the market this time. Netizens joked: Now that he's made cars and robots, is Mr. Jia's next step to enter the commercial aerospace industry and directly compete with Musk's SpaceX?

Although he confidently stated in his weekly report on the dual-listed company structure that the first robot had completed US regulatory certification and aimed for "delivery within the month of launch," and even started pre-orders at $100, with prices ranging from 17,500 to 250,000 RMB.

But all of this gives people a strong sense of déjà vu.

Take his former company LeEco as an example. Before the streaming video business was even mature, he went on to develop LeEco phones and LeEco Super TVs, and later ventured into commercial real estate and digital entertainment. Now, with FF's car manufacturing venture, Jia Yueting always seems to have an amazing sense of industry trends. Wherever there's a buzz, he's there; whatever concept is popular, he'll incorporate it into his "ecological synergy" banner.

Currently, domestic automakers are all investing heavily in AI-powered vehicles, with Musk even halting some Model S/X production for the Optimus. At this crucial juncture in AI, Jia Yueting clearly doesn't want to be absent. He claims he will "migrate" the AI ​​algorithms FF has accumulated in the electric vehicle field to robotics.

The rhetoric was perfect, but the reality was harsh. Even the mass production of the FF 91 was a long and drawn-out battle. Are these cobbled-together robots a true embodiment of human intelligence, or just another "suffocating" new story to tell investors?

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He Xiaopeng finally pulled out his long-prepared "turnaround card".

On February 5th, XPeng Motors officially announced its first flagship large six-seater SUV – the XPeng GX (internal code name G01).

He Xiaopeng expressed his expectations for this car in the following way:

"X" represents the exploration of the wonderful unknown of travel (eXploration), and "1" represents that we start from "first principles" and use complete AI thinking to redesign a full-size family flagship SUV.

As XPeng's latest flagship model, the GX is positioned as a mid-to-large SUV, targeting the 300,000-350,000 yuan price range, and is expected to be launched within the year.

This car not only carries the strategic mission of XPeng to once again break into the high-end market, but is also regarded internally as a key product that will determine the company's development direction in the next few years.

In terms of design, XPeng adopted the style of "Greater Bay Area Range Rover".

According to official images, the GX retains XPeng's signature minimalist and technological design, but its overall appearance is more robust and substantial. Visually, the XPeng GX is estimated to be over 5.2 meters long and have a wheelbase exceeding 3 meters.

The new car features clean and smooth lines, and the front face may be equipped with a continuous front light group paired with matrix headlights. The overall style is solid and full, and it adopts a short front overhang and long rear overhang design, with proportions close to a full-size SUV.

With this body length and design proportions, the Xpeng GX should offer considerable interior space, and the comfort of the third row should also be guaranteed.

In terms of detailed design, the new car features floating logo wheels, completely flat side windows with a hidden exterior water-cut design, a floating roof, and hidden door handles. The rear features a continuous taillight, and the tailgate has a split-opening "top and bottom door" structure, with a long longitudinal trunk space to further meet storage needs.

In terms of technology configuration, XPeng has gone all out this time.

The GX is equipped with the new SEPA3.0 physical AI architecture, which is XPeng's new generation of intelligent vehicle architecture.

The addition of steer-by-wire technology is particularly crucial. This technology enhances the vehicle's handling, enabling dynamically adjustable steering ratios, making low-speed U-turns easier, and high-speed driving more stable.

Moreover, steer-by-wire offers a faster response and a better experience, significantly enhancing the driving experience of larger vehicles.

Furthermore, since the steering column is eliminated by the steer-by-wire system, interior space can be saved, and we can expect the XPeng GX to have a larger front trunk.

For driver assistance systems, steer-by-wire decouples the steering mechanism, allowing the intelligent driving system to directly control the wheels via electrical signals, resulting in smoother steering and faster, safer response times.

The GX was largely created to make up for the shortcomings of its predecessor, the G9.

As XPeng's current flagship model, the G9 has undergone several redesigns, but it has never been satisfactory.

Official marketing materials portray the XPeng G9 as a "technology flagship," emphasizing its superior mechanical quality, excellent chassis feel, and impressive performance of its intelligent driver assistance system. The positive reviews it has received are largely focused on its ease of driving.

However, most consumers who choose mid-to-large SUVs have family needs. The G9 series lacks features such as "refrigerator, color TV, and large sofa". Zero gravity seats, car refrigerator, and HUD head-up display are all missing, which fails to meet consumers' needs for comfort and entertainment.

Moreover, XPeng's configuration management across its vehicle series is quite poor.

The most classic example is that the G9, which is more expensive and of a higher level, is actually 27mm shorter in length than the cheaper G7 model.

People who originally wanted to buy the G9 found after looking around that they could hardly perceive any difference between the XPeng G9 and G7, and the G7 was cheaper and more suitable for family use.

Therefore, the G9 currently has the worst sales among XPeng's models, with monthly sales in the hundreds.

On the contrary, the lower-priced XPeng MONA M03 has a greater influence, and many female consumers' understanding of XPeng started with this car.

XPeng urgently needs a vehicle like the GX to enhance its brand image.

In the first month of 2026, XPeng delivered only 20,011 vehicles, which was not only far lower than Leapmotor (over 32,000 vehicles) and Xiaomi (over 39,000 vehicles), but was even overtaken by Li Auto and NIO, which are positioned at the higher end of the market. It should be noted that the main models of the latter two are generally priced above 300,000 yuan, while XPeng's main models are still concentrated in the 100,000-200,000 yuan range.

In addition to the XPeng X9, other XPeng models have also suffered setbacks in the fierce competition. The new cars only made a brief appearance when they were launched and then disappeared without a trace.

The XPeng P7+ initially sold over 10,000 units per month, but then dropped to 5,000 units; the new P7 saw its sales fall from 8,000 units to less than 3,000 units within three months; and the G7's sales were halved in its third month on the market.

This sales pattern, driven by new car launches and lacking long-term best-selling models, essentially reflects that XPeng still has a lot to learn in terms of both product definition and user reputation.

However, the market environment is actually not friendly to GX.

In the past year, the Chinese auto market has seen a surge in the launch of large six-seater SUVs, ranging in price from 150,000 to 600,000 yuan. New models are emerging one after another, each with its own unique features, including intelligent technology, spacious interiors, and long driving range.

Previously launched new energy large six-seater SUVs include the Li Auto i8, Ledao L90, Wenjie M7, BYD Tang DM-i, Denza N9, Voyah Taishan, and Leapmotor C16.

Other large six-seater SUVs slated for release in 2026 include the Xiaomi YU9, JK8X, Zhiji LS8, Leapmotor D19, Baojun Huajing S, NIO ES9, and many more.

In this extremely crowded, meat grinder-like battlefield, if XPeng GX wants to win the hearts of family users, it must not only prove that it understands technology, but also that it understands the lifestyle of Chinese families.

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