China Adds Domestic AI Chips to Government Procurement List as U.S. Considers Easing Nvidia Export Curbs 
Moore Threads Stock Slides After Risk Warning Despite 600% Surge Since IPO 
EssilorLuxottica Bets on AI-Powered Smart Glasses as Competition Intensifies 
Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Sparks Global Debate and Early Challenges 
SK Hynix Shares Surge on Hopes for Upcoming ADR Issuance 
U.S.-EU Tensions Rise After $140 Million Fine on Elon Musk’s X Platform 
Trump’s Approval of AI Chip Sales to China Triggers Bipartisan National Security Concerns 
EU Court Cuts Intel Antitrust Fine to €237 Million Amid Long-Running AMD Dispute 
Trump Signs Executive Order to Establish National AI Regulation Standard 
US Charges Two Men in Alleged Nvidia Chip Smuggling Scheme to China 
SoftBank Shares Slide as Oracle’s AI Spending Plans Fuel Market Jitters 
Taiwan Opposition Criticizes Plan to Block Chinese App Rednote Over Security Concerns 
SpaceX Reportedly Preparing Record-Breaking IPO Targeting $1.5 Trillion Valuation 
Adobe Strengthens AI Strategy Ahead of Q4 Earnings, Says Stifel 
Trello Outage Disrupts Users as Access Issues Hit Atlassian’s Work Management Platform 
IBM Nears $11 Billion Deal to Acquire Confluent in Major AI and Data Push 
Apple App Store Injunction Largely Upheld as Appeals Court Rules on Epic Games Case 
The anticipated Google Pixel 3 series could be launched earlier than usual this year. Meanwhile, some specifications of the Pixel 3 XL have been spotted in a leaked benchmark result.
For the past two years, Google has released the Pixel smartphones on the same date: Oct. 4. However, that might not be the case for the Pixel 3. In a report from known leaker Ice Universe on Twitter, the release of the Pixel 3 lineup is listed to happen between September and October.
In case Google decides to launch the Pixel 3 series in September, the company is in for a busy month in the smartphone race. Ice Universe’s tally of mobile flagship launches suggests that the Pixel 3 could be announced in the same month as the LG V40 ThinQ, the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3, and of course, the iPhone 8 lineup.
These flagship phones will be released in the second half of 2018, most of them from China.
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) August 1, 2018
Do you think Samsung does not need to be nervous? I don't think Note9 can make Samsung's state better. There are too many competitors. pic.twitter.com/6W6ccphoIy
The leaked list also shows other highly anticipated smartphones to be released this year. The Galaxy Note 9 secures the Aug. 9 schedule, as earlier reported, while the Huawei Mate 20 is expected to be launched in mid-October. A couple more flagship smartphones are reportedly scheduled to be announced in November such as the OnePlus 6T and the Huawei Honor V11.
Meanwhile, another latest update on the Pixel 3 is coming from a leaked benchmark result. On Aug. 1, a device with the model name Google Pixel 3 XL was tested using the Geekbench 4, which also revealed some of its specifications.
However, the specs revealed in the Pixel 3 XL’s benchmark results are quite few and had been speculated on in many reports within the previous months. The results sheet shows that the Pixel 3 XL tested sports a 4GB RAM and an octa-core Qualcomm chip that is obviously a Snapdragon 845 since it has the base frequency of 1.77 GHz. As expected, the Pixel 3 XL also ran with the Android 9 operating system — the software update that is still in beta and referred to as Android P.
