Future Technology[Hardware Weekly] Why every gadget is about to cost a bit more
Every story in this issue points at the same underlying trend: memory chips are quietly setting the price of almost everything with a screen or a battery, from a $1,800 gaming handheld down to the cheapest phone on the shelf. Here's what's actually worth your attention this week.
The Big 3
Samsung's foldables just got real specs, days before Unpacked
Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked lands tomorrow, Tuesday 22 July, streamed from London at 2pm BST (9am EDT), and leaks have finally replaced guesswork with real numbers. Three foldables are expected: the Galaxy Z Fold 8, a wider Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra that looks like the true Fold 7 successor, and the Galaxy Z Flip 8. The Fold 8 Ultra reportedly gets a 200MP main camera matching Samsung's S Ultra tier for the first time on a Fold, a 5,000mAh battery (up 14% on the Fold 7), 45W wired charging and a new Flex Titanium display meant to hide the crease better. Pricing leaks put the Fold 8 Ultra's base 256GB config at $1,999 to $2,099.
Should you care? If the Fold line's camera has always felt like the compromise next to Samsung's flagship phones, this is the closest it's got, for a price that reflects it.
MSI's new handheld beats AMD's best chip, at a very steep price
The MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ is now shipping with Intel's brand new Arc G3 Extreme processor, the first handheld to use it. Intel claims it's 42% faster than AMD's flagship Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip at 1080p, a genuine shift in a category AMD has owned since handhelds took off. The catch is the price: $1,699 at Best Buy and Newegg, or $1,799.99 direct from MSI for the 32GB/1TB model, with MSI blaming both premium components and the ongoing memory shortage for the jump.
Should you care? It's currently the fastest handheld chip you can buy, but at nearly £1,400, a lot of buyers will find a proper laptop for the same money hard to ignore.
Qualcomm bets $15 billion that AI chips don't need Nvidia's memory trick
Qualcomm is targeting more than $15 billion in annual data centre chip revenue by 2029, up from around $0.3 billion this year, built around a new memory architecture called High Bandwidth Compute that's designed to avoid the HBM chips Nvidia and AMD depend on. Microsoft and Meta have already signed on as customers. It's not a consumer product, but it's a serious challenge to Nvidia's grip on AI infrastructure.
Should you care? Not something you'll buy, but it's one of the more credible routes to easing the memory shortage that's showing up in gadget prices everywhere else in this newsletter.
Quick Hits
Budget phones are about to get a lot more expensive. Analysts expect budget smartphone sales to fall around 22% in 2026 as memory chips, now up to 64% of a lower-tier phone's total cost, keep climbing. If you've been waiting for a sub-£200 phone to get cheaper, the evidence points the other way this year. Read more → (Notebookcheck, 3 minute read)
Best Buy's Black Friday in July sale is live. Up to 53% off TVs, phones and tablets in the US, plus fresh cuts on Pixel 10 and Pixel Watch 4 stock, for anyone who missed Prime Day. UK equivalent hasn't landed yet. Read more → (Android Central, 2 minute read)
AMD is putting £2 billion into UK AI supercomputing. AMD's data centre revenue grew 57% year on year to $5.8 billion in Q1 2026, and the company has now committed £2 billion to AI supercomputing infrastructure in the UK, a serious bet on Britain as a compute hub rather than just a customer. Read more → (Intellectia, 2 minute read)
Giant's 2026 e-bikes now come with built-in radar. Giant's refreshed Explore E+ range puts rear radar and a tyre pressure checker on every model, including the entry-level Explore E+ 0, kit that used to be a paid extra. UK/US pricing hasn't been confirmed yet. Read more → (Notebookcheck, 2 minute read)
Pick of the Week
Google Pixel Watch 4, from $289.99 (was $349.99)
Google's second-generation circular Wear OS smartwatch has dropped back to its Prime Day price in the US, $289.99 for the 41mm Wi-Fi model, with open-box units at up to $192 off. It pairs AI-driven health coaching with the most Apple-Watch-like polish available on Android. UK and GBP pricing for this specific deal wasn't confirmed at the time of writing, this is a US retail discount, so UK buyers should check current stock against the roughly £349 RRP before assuming the same saving applies.
Who it's for: Android users who want Apple Watch-level build quality without buying into Samsung's ecosystem, and anyone happy to buy last generation at a discount rather than full price on the current one.
The catch: deal pricing and stock move fast in the US, and a Pixel Watch 5 refresh is expected later this year, which could soften resale value quickly.
Check price on Amazon UK → · Read more →
Worth Waiting For
Samsung's Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and a new AI health companion watch are both expected to launch alongside tomorrow's Unpacked event. Leaks point to a 36% bigger battery, a Snapdragon Wear Elite chipset built on 3nm, and a 5,000-nit display, a 67% brightness jump on the first Watch Ultra. Pre-orders are expected to open the same day, 22 July, with wider availability to follow over the following weeks.
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