If you love the Apple ecosystem but have been waiting for a flagship foldable, you no longer have to choose sides. The HONOR Magic V6 is designed to slot directly into your existing iPhone and Mac setup.

Get direct iCloud integration, seamless 25-second wireless file transfers, and use the inner display as a secondary screen for your Mac. This is a complete breakdown of its cross-platform capabilities, intensive multitasking features, the Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, and the pro-grade camera system.

The HONOR Magic V6 is available with 16GB of RAM and 512GB or 1TB of storage. Both models come with 1-Year Worry-Free Crack Protection for the inner and outer displays, worth RM1,599, and 2-Year Worry-Free Quality Assurance, worth RM599, for free.

Shopee | Lazada

According to Tune Talk, they are the first and only telco in the world to offer the online safety protection to users with patented content filtering services at the network level. This means no apps or complicated settings required on your child’s device.

With a single tap, parents can block content for their kid’s prepaid SIM across 56 categories, while providing the flexibility to adjust digital boundaries as the child grows up.

The online child safety feature comes at a time when Malaysia is restricting social media access for children below 16 years old.

Tune Talk Epik+ Family Safe starts from RM80/month for 2 lines

The Epik+ Family Safe prepaid plan is priced at RM80 per month which provides access for 1 parent and 1 child line (2 lines in total). The plan comes with 700GB of shareable data with uncapped 5G speeds and no FUP.

It also comes with unlimited calls to all networks within Malaysia.

If you have more than one child, you can add-on additional lines at RM20 per month per line.

For one parent and four child lines, that’s a total of RM140 per month while utilising the same shared 700GB data pool.

3 Levels of Internet Protection

The biggest feature of Epik+ Family Safe is its network-level parental control. The feature is enabled through its cloud-native core network in partnership with Nokia.

Unlike app-based or device-level solutions, children cannot bypass the restrictions by changing phone settings, uninstalling parental control apps or deleting the Tune Talk app. VPN services are also blocked to prevent users from circumventing the internet filtering.

Parents can choose between three protection levels: Low, Medium and High. Depending on the selected level, the service can block access for up to 56 categories of online content.

The Highest Protection level blocks adult content, unsafe websites (violence, weapons, drugs, alcohol, gambling dating), social media, chat, forums, games, shopping, entertainment ads, downloads and uncategorised websites. In this level, only educational, government, health, search, email, news, finance, music, travel and kid-safe websites are permitted.

The next level is Medium which allows more access to external websites but it continues to ban harmful and unsafe websites as well as social media, chat, forums, entertainment and ads.

The low protection level provides greater leniency which opens up access to social media, chat, forums, games, shopping, entertainment and more, while blocking adult content and unsafe websites.

If you need to suspend your child’s internet immediately, parents also have the ability the pause access at anytime.

As children grow older, parents have the option to detach a child line from the Family Safe account, allowing it to continue as an standalone Tune Talk prepaid line while retaining the same mobile number.

Extra value added features including free eRoaming in 13 countries

As you would expect from Tune Talk, they are bundling more value to its prepaid plan. This includes free e-Roaming feature which allows subscribers to roam for free using their home data.

Now offered as a beta release, Tune Talk Epik+ Family Safe users can roam for free in 13 countries including Korea, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, India, Vietnam, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand. Unlike typical data roaming plans, Tune Talk has confirmed that there’s no daily FUP for eRoaming.

On top of that, the plan provides free PA insurance with coverage of up to RM100,000 per person, foodpanda subscription and Nova Astrology.

For more info, you can check out Tune Talk’s Epik+ Family Safe page.

Related reading

• Tune Talk Epik+ Family Prepaid: 1200GB 5G data, 5 lines, Roam like Home and RM500K PA Insurance for RM128/month

Suzuki e Vitara Malaysia Pricing, Colourways, Warranty

Interestingly enough, the Suzuki e Vitara enters Malaysia with a price tag of RM188,000 – slightly lower than its twin, the Toyota Urban Cruiser, which was just launched here in early April. Yes, the e Vitara is also fully-imported (CBU) from India just like its Toyota counterpart.

In terms of colourway, there are several choices available to customers, including single-tone options such as Celestial Blue Pearl Metallic and Bluish Black Pearl. For an additional RM1,000, you can also obtain the e Vitara with dual-tone colours featuring a combination of Land Breeze Green Pearl Metallic, Splendid Silver Pearl Metallic, or Grandeur Grey Pearl Metallic with Bluish Black Pearl.

The e Vitara is covered by a 5-year unlimited mileage vehicle warranty alongside a separate 5-year / 100,000km warranty for EV components and an 8-year / 160,000km warranty for its high-voltage battery. Naza Eastern Motors is also offering complimentary EV charging for 5 years at selected dealerships for the first 10 buyers of the e Vitara in Malaysia.

We were informed that only a handful of units are available at the moment. So, if you are curious enough to know more about the e Vitara, you may want to reach out to the nearest Suzuki Cars showroom and you can also take a closer look at the new EV over at the Suzuki Cars showroom in Petaling Jaya this weekend.

Suzuki e Vitara Malaysia Quick Specs

The Vitara’s name has long been associated with Suzuki, so it is good to see that the e Vitara is still an SUV. That being said, the new model has quite a compact physique if you compare its dimensions against competitors such as the BYD Atto 2:

Suzuki e Vitara
Dimensions: 4,275mm (L) x 1,800mm (W) x 1,635mm (H)
Wheelbase: 2,700mm
Boot space: 306L – 320L / 562L (rear seats folded)
Curb weight: 1,891kg

BYD Atto 2
Dimensions: 4,310mm x 1,830mm x 1,675mm
Wheelbase: 2,620mm
Boot space: 400L / 1,340L
Curb weight: 1,590kg – 1,680kg

For the Malaysian market, the Suzuki e Vitara is available in just one variant. Powered by a 61kWh LFP battery, this particular variant is equipped with a front-mounted 128kW (172hp) motor that also produces 193Nm of torque.

Performance-wise, the EV can hit 0-100km/h in 8.7 seconds and has a top speed of 150km/h. When it comes to range, the e Vitara for the Malaysian market has a WLTP-rated range of 426km.

In terms of charging, the e Vitara can support a DC charging speed of up to 70kW, allowing it to be charged from 10% to 80% in around 45 minutes. It can also support 7kW AC charging, and takes around 9 hours to charge it from 10% to 100% .

Other notable features of the e Vitara include 18-inch alloy wheels with MRF Ecotred 225/55 tyres, multi-link rear suspension setup, fabric and synthetic leather combo seats, a glass roof with sunshade, a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, a 10.1-inch infotainment screen, 7 airbags, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Departure Prevention, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and Blind Spot Monitor.

Suzuki e Vitara Malaysia Image Gallery

This is due to the unprecedented surge in demand for memory and storage fuelled by the ongoing mad rush for AI server deployments.

This is also a clear indication that Malaysian buyers may soon need to brace themselves for a higher price tag for the upcoming iPhone that’s due in September.

MacBook Price Hike in Malaysia

From the cheapest MacBook Neo to the range-topping MacBook Pro M5 series, Apple has reflected its new pricing on the Apple Store late last night. Here’s the latest price change for the respective base variants:

• MacBook Neo 8GB+256GB – RM2,499 -> RM2,999
• MacBook Neo 8GB+512GB (with Touch ID) – RM2,899 -> RM3,399

• MacBook Air 13 M5 (8-core GPU) 16GB+512GB – RM4,699 -> RM5,499
• MacBook Air 15 M5 (10-core GPU) 16GB+512GB – RM5,499 -> RM6,299
  
• MacBook Pro 14 M5 (10-core CPU, 10-core GPU), 16GB+1TB – RM7,499 -> RM8,299
• MacBook Pro 14 M5 Pro (15-core CPU, 16-core GPU), 24GB+1TB – RM8,999 -> RM10,299
• MacBook Pro 14 M5 Max (18-core CPU, 32-core GPU), 36GB+2TB– RM14,999 -> RM17,599

• MacBook Pro 16 M5 Pro (18-core CPU, 20-core GPU), 24GB+1TB – RM10,999 -> RM12,499
• MacBook Pro 16 M5 Max (18-core CPU, 32-core GPU), 36GB+2TB – RM15,999 -> RM18,499

If you max out the CPU, memory and storage on the MacBook Pro 16, you’re looking at a whopping RM13,600 price increase!

• MacBook Pro 16 M5 Max (18-core CPU, 40-core GPU), 128GB+8TB – RM29,899 -> RM43,499

Mac Mini and iMac Price Hike in Malaysia

Apple’s desktop Macs are not spared as well. The Mac Mini M4’s base 256GB option was recently removed but it has been restored with a higher price tag.

Here’s the revised pricing for the iMac and Mac Mini in Malaysia:

• Mac Mini M4 16GB+256GB – RM2,499 -> RM3,299
• iMac M4 M4 (8-core CPU, 8-core GPU) 16GB+256GB – RM5,799 -> RM6,499

iPad Price Hike in Malaysia

The entire iPad lineup from the base iPad to the iPad Pro M5 has gotten a price hike across the board as well. Here’s the latest price revision of the base option for Malaysia:

• iPad A16 WiFi 128GB –  RM1,599 -> RM2,049
• iPad A16 WiFi+5G 128GB –   RM2,299 -> RM2,749
  
• iPad mini A17 Pro WiFi 128GB –  RM2,199 -> RM2,699
• iPad mini A17 Pro WiFi+5G 128GB –   RM2,899 -> RM3,399

• iPad Air 11 M4 WiFi 128GB –  RM2,799 -> RM3,499
• iPad Air 11 M4 WiFi+5G 128GB –  RM3,499 -> RM4,199
  
• iPad Air 13 M4 WiFi 128GB –  RM3,699 -> RM4,399
• iPad Air 13 M4 WiFi+5G 128GB –  RM4,399 – RM5,099
  
• iPad Pro 11 M5 WiFi 256GB – RM4,499 -> RM5,499
• iPad Pro 11 M5 WiFi+5G 256GB – RM5,399 – RM6,399
  
• iPad Pro 13 M5 WiFi 256GB – RM5,799 -> RM6,799
• iPad Pro 13 M5 WiFi+5G 256GB – RM6,699 -> RM7,699

If you are a regular reader here, chances are you know your way around a hardware spec sheet. You understand the impact of next-generation silicon architectures, you track the rollout of massive data centres, and you have witnessed how quickly generative AI has shifted from a viral office novelty into a fundamental shift in corporate infrastructure.

Because tech enthusiasts naturally understand the technology, it is incredibly tempting to approach tech investing through a narrow lens. For many digitally active individuals, investing in tech has simply meant buying a handful of high-profile, hyper-visible consumer brands or single stocks that dominate the daily financial headlines.

However, relying entirely on isolated trends or single stocks can introduce significant concentration risk and volatility to an investment portfolio. The reality of the global digital economy is that true innovation does not happen in a vacuum, but relies on an incredibly vast, deeply interconnected global ecosystem.

The Tech and AI Opportunity is a Structural Shift, Not a Passing Trend

To build a future-focused portfolio, it helps to look under the hood of the global tech infrastructure. The ongoing technology rally is heavily underpinned by real-world corporate spending and massive infrastructure upgrades. Technology is no longer an isolated sector; it has become the structural foundation powering almost every global industry.

This structural expansion is spreading rapidly across multiple layers of the global economy:

• Semiconductors & AI Hardware: Advanced graphics processors and foundational chip architectures that make complex AI computations physically possible.
• Cloud Infrastructure: The distributed server networks and data storage systems required to host enterprise-grade software and massive digital platforms.
• Digital Innovation & Platforms: Software ecosystems that optimise enterprise workflows, e-commerce networks, and secure digital economies.
• Advanced Manufacturing & Healthcare: Next-generation automation, automated logistics, and digital healthcare innovations that rely heavily on integrated technology to scale operations.

Because these sectors depend on one another, capturing long-term growth means looking at the entire value chain, from the physical chip fabrication plants to the cloud software platforms that deliver finished products to users.

Why Diversified Exposure is Your Portfolio’s Best System Upgrade

For retail investors, trying to time the market or pick individual winning stocks across all these sub-sectors can be incredibly challenging. This is where a professionally managed, diversified approach becomes a valuable portfolio tool.

To give investors structured exposure to this broad ecosystem, Eastspring Investments Berhad has introduced the Eastspring Investments Islamic Global Technology Fund (“Fund”). Instead of betting on single-stock outcomes, the Fund focuses on capturing structural technology growth across the entire global landscape.

At a Glance: Where the Fund Seeks Growth

Rather than concentrating capital into isolated market trends, the Fund builds exposure across a diversified multi-theme framework, including:

• Semiconductor design and fabrication hubs.
• AI hardware manufacturers and cloud infrastructure enablers.
• Digital software platforms and advanced industrial manufacturing.
• Healthcare innovation and next-generation digital architecture.

By pooling global technology companies into a single, professionally managed vehicle, the Fund aims to smooth out the sharp volatility often associated with individual stock ownership while remaining fully positioned in future-focused industries.

Smart Governance Meets On-The-Ground Regional Expertise

What sets the Fund apart from standard thematic equity options is its unique combination of rigorous financial filters and localised investment insights.

1. Shariah Governance as a Financial Quality Screen

Managed in collaboration with Eastspring Al-Wara’ Investments Berhad, the Fund operates under a Shariah governance and oversight framework. While this ensures alignment with Islamic investment principles, it also serves as an excellent fundamental risk-management tool for all investors.

Shariah-compliant screening naturally filters out companies that rely on excessive debt or highly speculative business models. This means the Fund’s portfolio is structurally anchored by global tech companies that possess healthy balance sheets, robust financial discipline, and tangible commercial value.

2. The Eastspring Taiwan Advantage

Navigating the global hardware supply chain requires specialised knowledge. Eastspring highlights that the Fund utilises an investment advisory collaboration with Eastspring Investments Taiwan.

As Taiwan sits at the absolute epicentre of global advanced manufacturing and semiconductor production, this collaboration provides the investment team with critical, on-the-ground insights into the hardware supply chains that power the entire global tech economy. According to Eastspring, this structural insight allows the management team to identify high-potential ecosystem enablers that retail investors might easily overlook.

Moving Beyond the Hype

Building long-term wealth through tech does not require chasing the next viral stock or exposing your capital to high single-stock concentration risks. A more strategic approach focuses on participating in the long-term growth of the entire global technology infrastructure.

For digitally active and financially literate individuals looking for a balanced, Shariah-compliant gateway to global technology, the Fund offers a way to invest in the future with professional discipline.

Investors can easily manage their portfolios and explore DIY investing options through the convenient myEastspring platform. To learn more about how the portfolio is built, view the relevant fund documentation, or explore structural tech trends, visit the official Eastspring Investments Islamic Global Technology Fund Page.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute personal financial advice. All investments are subject to investment risks, including the possible loss of the principal amount invested. Investors are advised to read and understand the contents of the Fund’s Prospectus, Product Highlights Sheet (PHS), and Fund Brochure before making any investment decisions. This article has not been reviewed by the Securities Commission Malaysia.

BYD Malaysia Managing Director Jacob Ma has confirmed that BYD Flash Chargers will be deployed in Malaysia very soon and it will be open to all EVs including non-BYD brands.

Announced back in March, the Flash Charge technology boasts 10%-70% charge in just 5 minutes and 10%-97% charge in just 9 minutes. These blazing quick charging times are applicable to BYD EVs equipped with the 2nd generation Blade Battery technology which include the Denza Z9 GT.

BYD Flash Charge will be deployed first in Denza showroom

According to Jacob, the Flash Charge stations will be introduced in phases starting with Denza showroom. This is followed by plans to deploy outside of showrooms but it is dependent on the readiness of the policies and the ecosystem in Malaysia.

While the first potential EV in Malaysia that can take full advantage of Flash Charge is the Denza Z9 GT, he said the charging network will serve all customers.

He shared that in China, all EV brands can currently enjoy the Flash Charging technology as it isn’t restricted to just BYD brands. If a non-2nd-generation Blade Battery BYD EV or non-BYD EV plugs in, they will be able to get the maximum DC charging rate for their respective vehicle.

Jacob said for an example an 800V EV that can support 220kW DC charging will be able to get 220kW DC charging from the BYD Flash Charge station. If the 800V vehicle supports 600kW, they will be able to get up to 600kW from these chargers.

BYD Flash Charge can deliver up to 1.5MW supported by BESS

The BYD Flash Charge stations can support a peak charging rate of up to 1.5MW (1,500kW) of DC Charging output. To support the ultra-high power demand, the stations are backed by Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

In most deployments we’ve seen so far, there are two BESS cabinets to support two charging bays as shown above.

The standout design feature is the Flash Charge’s T-shaped pillar which doubles as a “Zero Gravity” cable management system. The charging cables are suspended from the top to ensure that the cables remain clean and off the ground at all times. The suspended cable can also slide from left to right to accommodate EVs with either left or right mounted charging ports.

According to the Flash Charge label on the pillar, it has a maximum rated output of 1500kW. It supports a wide voltage range of 200V to 1000V and a maximum current rating of 1500A.

The Flash Charge technology is backward compatible with 400V and 800V EVs, and on paper should be able to hit their respective rated maximum DC charging rate.

For the optimal and fastest charging experience, the only EVs that can really take advantage of BYD Flash Charge are BYD Group EVs equipped with the latest second generation LFP Blade Battery technology. This includes the Yangwang U7 2026, 3rd generation BYD Yuan Plus and the Denza Z9 GT 2026.

Besides the 10% to 70% charge time of 5 minutes and 10% to 97% charge time in 9 minutes, the Flash Charge and second generation battery also boast impressive cold weather charging performance of 20% to 97% in just 12 minutes. This is tested for -30°C weather and that’s merely 3 minutes longer than charging in normal temperature conditions.

BYD also aims to deploy 20,000 Flash Charging stations across China and it targets to begin rolling out globally at scale by the end of 2026. As confirmed by BYD, these chargers will be open to the public as part of its goal to accelerate the electrification of transportation.

The contract vehicle assembler, which operates a 200-acre manufacturing facility in Kulim, Kedah, revealed that annual production volume grew from 20,500 units in 2021 to more than 31,800 units in 2025. During the same period, the company has exported more than 24,500 vehicles to regional markets, making it one of Malaysia’s largest automotive exporters.

Inokom currently assembles vehicles for seven global automotive brands spanning Germany, Japan, Korea and China. These include BMW, MINI, Porsche, Mazda, Hyundai and Chery, serving both the Malaysian market and the ASEAN region.

Inokom assembles vehicles for some of the world’s biggest automotive brands

One of Inokom’s key partners is Hyundai which started back in 1993. The company later expanded into passenger and commercial vehicle assembly in 2000, beginning with the Inokom Lorimas (Hyundai Porter), followed by the Inokom Atos in 2002.

Mazda, one of Inokom’s longest-standing assembly partners and a joint venture partner, launched its first locally assembled Mazda 3 at the facility in 2011. At the time, it was the only completely knocked down (CKD) Mazda assembly plant in the ASEAN region.

In 2021, Porsche selected Inokom as its first vehicle assembly facility outside Europe. Local assembly operations were later expanded in 2024 to include exports to Thailand.

Chery has also teamed up with Inokom in 2023, broadening the plant’s production portfolio with the Omoda and Tiggo series. The Chery Omoda E5 also became the first electric vehicle assembled by Inokom.

Kulim is home to BMW’s third-largest engine assembly plant

Beyond vehicle assembly, Inokom is also home to BMW Group’s engine assembly plant, which was established in partnership with Sime in 2003 and has operated from the Kulim facility since 2009. According to the company, it is BMW’s third-largest engine assembly plant globally.

Since 2018, BMW Group has exported more than 11,800 BMW and MINI vehicles assembled at Inokom to the Philippines and Thailand. The facility also rolled out its 100,000th vehicle in 2022.

More recently, the locally assembled BMW i5 eDrive40 M Sport CKD became the first fully electric BMW model to be assembled in the Asia Pacific region.

Today, Inokom’s operations include body shops, paint shops, assembly shops and centralised warehouses, supported by a 100% Malaysian workforce of more than 2,700 skilled employees. The company is also supporting Malaysia’s automotive supply chain by working closely with 370 local vendors, including Bumiputera enterprises.

Looking ahead, Inokom plans to further expand its manufacturing capabilities with a new advanced painting facility as it aims to strengthen its operational capacity while raising the bar for what Malaysian manufacturing can deliver on the global stage.

Sime’s Group Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Jeffri Salim Davidson said, “Inokom is a testament to what Malaysian industry is capable of achieving. It continues to uphold the trust of world-leading automotive marques, and this speaks volumes about the depth of capability we have built here in Malaysia. This aligns closely with high-value, homegrown industrial strength that the national GEAR-uP agenda strives to nurture and sustain, particularly in advancing high-value manufacturing built on Malaysian expertise and capabilities that are competitive on the global stage.”

He added, “The automotive landscape is changing rapidly, with new technologies, emerging markets and evolving expectations. We are committed to ensuring that Inokom stays ahead of the curve by continuously investing in our people, raising our standards and expanding our capabilities. As an industrial anchor in the NCER, Inokom also continues to create meaningful opportunities, from developing high-value skills to supporting local businesses and contributing to the country’s broader economic resilience.”

These new bundles are aimed at customers looking for a more affordable way to access multiple streaming platforms under a single subscription.

On top of that, the Pay TV operator has also introduced Astro Daebak, a new Korean entertainment channel powered by tvN.

Astro’s new streaming bundles start from RM15/month

The biggest addition is Astro’s new Disney+ and Prime Video bundle, which combines Disney+ Basic, Prime Video and Astro’s Blockbuster Pack for RM25 per month. Customers who only want Prime Video can opt for the Prime Video Bundle, which includes Prime Video and the Blockbuster Pack for RM15 per month.

• Disney+ & Prime Video Bundle + Blockbuster Pack – RM25 per month (RRP: RM65.69)
• Prime Video + Blockbuster Pack – RM15 per month (RRP: RM35.79)

The Blockbuster Pack includes four movie and entertainment channels: Astro Showtime (CH 411), Astro FAM Time (CH 412), Rock Action (CH 414) and Rock X Stream (CH 415).

These offers are available for subscription until 14 August 2026. Take note that the above pricing excludes SST.

WeTV and Viu Premium bundle for RM15/month

For fans of Asian entertainment, Astro is also offering a WeTV + Viu Duo bundle for RM15 per month (RRP: RM35.80), excluding SST. The package includes access to WeTV and Viu Premium.

The bundle is available for subscription from today until 4 September 2026 and provides access to Chinese dramas, Korean series, Malay dramas, variety shows and other exclusive content available across both platforms.

Astro Daebak channel for K-Entertainment

Alongside the new streaming bundles, Astro is also introducing Astro Daebak (CH 393), a new Korean entertainment channel that will be available on 1 July 2026. Powered by tvN, the channel will feature a mix of Korean dramas and variety shows.

The launch comes following the global cessation of ONE HD and it expands Astro’s Korean content offering, which already includes tvN (CH 395), tvN Movies (CH 416), KBS World (CH 392) and K-Plus (CH 396).

According to Astro, Astro Daebak’s line-up will include popular dramas such as Hotel Del Luna, Mr. Queen, The Devil Judge, Doom at Your Service, Reply 1988, Signal, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim and Familiar Wife. Variety show titles include 3 Meals a Day and Youn’s Kitchen.

Astro says the new bundles can be subscribed via the My Astro app, Astro website and other Astro subscription channels. Customers can also access the offerings through Astro One Packs, which start from RM49.99 per month.

The headlining feature is not four, not eight but a 9-speaker JBL-engineered sound system.

This multimedia-centric tablet is scheduled to be available in Malaysia within the next couple of months.

Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2 Malaysia pricing and availability

The Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2 will be available at Lenovo Exclusive Stores in Malaysia from September 2026.

Globally, the tablet is offered in various RAM and storage configurations from 6GB RAM + 128GB all the way to 12GB RAM + 256GB storage.

There are no details on which variants are coming to Malaysia but Lenovo says the tablet will be offered from RM2,099.

Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2 specs and features

The Lenovo Tab Plus Gen 2 features a 12.1-inch 2.5K LCD display with a resolution of 2560×1600 pixels. The panel supports a 120Hz refresh rate, Dolby Vision, HDR10 and up to 800 nits of peak brightness in High Brightness Mode.

Powering the tablet is MediaTek’s Dimensity 7400 processor paired with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage. If you need more storage, it is expandable via microSD, up to 2TB.

For imaging, the Tab Plus Gen 2 gets an 8MP front camera and a 13MP rear camera with autofocus.

The biggest upgrade appears to be its audio setup. Lenovo has equipped the tablet with a JBL-engineered 9-unit Pro speaker system with Dolby Atmos support, along with dedicated bass units for a more immersive audio experience.

There’s also a built-in Bluetooth speaker mode, allowing users to stream music directly from their smartphones as the tablet functions as a standalone speaker.

Another notable addition is the built-in 360-degree rotating kickstand, which supports both portrait and landscape orientations. Lenovo says the tablet can be positioned in various viewing modes including lean, theatre, stand and hanging modes, making it more versatile for watching videos, following recipes or displaying content around the home.

Keeping the tablet running is a 10,200mAh battery which Lenovo claims can deliver up to 15 hours of YouTube video streaming on a full charge. It also supports 45W fast charging via USB-C.

The Tab Plus Gen 2 also comes with several AI-powered features including Lenovo AI Live Transcript with real-time translation, Lenovo Smarter Reader and AI Notes within Lenovo Notepad. Lenovo says AI Live Transcript supports over 40 languages, although free usage is limited to two hours per day.

In terms of connectivity, the tablet supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4. It weighs approximately 775g and is offered in a single Celestial White colour option.

Lenovo ships the tablet with Android 16 out of the box and promises two Android OS upgrades up to Android 18, along with four years of security updates until 2030.

Samsung has announced its new UFS 5.0 storage solution, which it claims to be the industry’s fastest Universal Flash Storage (UFS) solution to date with sequential read speeds of up to 10.8GB/s.

According to Samsung, the new storage solution is designed to support next-generation on-device AI applications, including large language models (LLMs), by significantly reducing latency and improving response times when processing large amounts of data locally on smartphones and tablets.

UFS 5.0 delivers more than double the read speeds of UFS 4.0

Samsung says its UFS 5.0 solution integrates the latest embedded memory interface standard from JEDEC and offers bandwidth of up to 10.8GB/s. This delivers a sequential read speeds of up to 10.8GB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 9.5GB/s.

That’s more than double of the typical sequential read speeds of 4.2GB/s of UFS 4.0 solutions found on most flagship smartphones.

Besides higher performance, Samsung says the new storage is also more power efficient. It claims a 40% improvement in power efficiency compared to the previous generation while maintaining high performance levels needed for AI workloads.

The packaging for its UFS 5.0 solution has also been made smaller, measuring at 7.5mm x 13mm x 0.9mm, which is said to be 16.7% smaller than its predecessor. Samsung says the form factor boosts design flexibility to allow device makers to optimise internal space utilisation for various applications which include mobile, wearable and extended reality (XR) devices.

Samsung says the growing shift from cloud-based AI to on-device AI is driving demand for faster storage, as large amounts of data need to be processed locally. As a result, storage is evolving from just a medium to store data to becoming a core infrastructure that supports AI computing.

Mass production starts later this year

Samsung says mass production of its UFS 5.0 solution is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. The storage will be available in various capacities of up to 1TB.

The company did not announce which devices will be the first to adopt the new UFS 5.0 storage. However, given Samsung’s history of introducing its latest memory technologies in flagship products first, UFS 5.0 might just make its debut on new flagship smartphones announced towards the end of 2026 or early 2027, which may include the upcoming Galaxy S27 series.