Samsung has released the Galaxy S25 Edge. Androidpolice.com reports that the new ultra thin smartphone will start at $1100, and will have internals nearly identical to the rest of the S25 series. It has a 6.7 inch screen, 12 gigs of RAM, and 256 gigs of storage and runs Android 15. It does have a 3900 mAh battery, which may be taxed to make it through the day. It shaves a millimeter and a half off the thickness of the S25+, and weighs 163 grams…noticeably less than the 170 of the 6.1 inch screened iPhone 16. It’s not paper thin, but when it comes to sliding a phone in and out of your pocket, that thinner profile and lighter weight can really make a difference. 

With all the wild claims and wilder predictions about AI, you might think that is the most far out domain in tech right now. Well, maybe not. According to macrumors.com, Apple is getting set to allow users to natively control iPhones, iPads, and other devices using brain signals later this year. Apple is partnering with Synchron, a neurotechnology startup that produces an implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) device called the Stentrode. The Stentrode enables users with severe motor impairments, such as those caused by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), to control Apple devices using neural signals detected from within blood vessels located above the brain’s motor cortex. The Stentrode is implanted through the jugular vein and rests inside a blood vessel on the surface of the brain. The device contains 16 electrodes that can detect motor-related brain activity without requiring open-brain surgery. These neural signals are then translated into digital commands that allow users to interact with an interface. Although not for everyone, this brain control is much less invasive than what is being tried by Elon Musk’s Neuralink…although that theoretically gives more complex control. And you were worried about being ‘chipped!’ 

General Motors has unveiled a new ‘manganese-rich’ EV battery they are dubbing lithium-manganese-rich, which they claim will slash costs while producing a driving range that is just short of the most advanced batteries on the market. Techcrunch.com notes that the General says “With LMR, we can deliver over 400-mile range in our trucks while significantly reducing our battery costs.” The LMR batteries also reduce the amount of nickel and cobalt needed…those two minerals aren’t easily obtainable from US sources. Of course, neither is the crucial lithium. GM says the batteries could drop the price of a Chevy Silverado EV by $6,000…the current price is over $73,000. The range drops though, as noted above. It gets 350 miles, down from 492 miles for the present truck on a full charge. 

The Republicans have slipped into the big reconciliation spending bill a ban on state regulations of AI for 10 years. Arstechnica.com reports that this would negate California’s recent law requiring health care providers to disclose when they use generative AI to communicate with patients. It would also neutralize New York’s 2021 law mandating bias audits for AI tools used in hiring decisions. By limiting states’ authority over AI regulation, the provision could prevent state governments from using federal funds to develop AI oversight programs or support initiatives that diverge from the administration’s deregulatory stance. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.