Technology 6/7: 'Black Friday mid-year' returns on an unprecedented scale

Amazon Prime Day 2025: 96-hour shopping extravaganza

Amazon has officially confirmed that its biggest shopping event of the year – Prime Day 2025 – will take place from July 8 to July 11, lasting a total of 96 hours. This is the first time Prime Day has been expanded to double the length of previous years, promising millions of attractive deals for global consumers. However, only users who subscribe to Amazon Prime will have access to exclusive deals. New users can sign up for a free trial to participate.

Amazon Prime Day is considered the "mid-year Black Friday" for consumers. (Source: Forbes)

Amazon says Prime Day 2025 will feature millions of discounted products across every category – from electronics, home appliances, fashion , beauty to toys and tech. Amazon devices like the Echo, Kindle, and Fire TV typically see the deepest discounts.

A notable new feature is the “Today’s Big Deals” feature – each day of the event will feature themed deals from top brands like Samsung, Kiehl’s, Levi’s and many more.

The extension of Prime Day to four days shows that Amazon is betting big on the event as a “mid-year Black Friday,” a move aimed at retaining Prime users and boosting sales amid increasingly fierce e-commerce competition.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Ultra: A turning point or a gimmick?

Samsung is set to unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 7 Ultra at its Unpacked event on July 9, 2025. This is the first time the company has attached the “Ultra” label – usually reserved for its most premium devices – to a foldable phone.

Despite all the attention, foldable phones are still not really popular. According to TrendForce, they will account for only 1.5% of the global smartphone market by 2024. Samsung – the pioneer in this field – has not made a big splash after many generations of products.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold model. (Illustration photo - source Samsung)

Samsung’s foldable phone line last year was criticized as a “reheated” old design, lacking in innovation. Meanwhile, Motorola recorded an impressive 253% growth thanks to its clamshell folding phone line.

Samsung hopes that upgrading the Fold line to “Ultra” standard will be a game changer. However, experts are still skeptical that one name can change consumer habits that are accustomed to traditional bar phones?

Huawei claims solid-state battery for electric vehicles can run 2,900 km

Huawei, a leading Chinese technology company, has just filed a patent for a solid-state battery using a sulfide-based electrolyte, with an energy density of 180 to 225 Wh/lb. This equates to a range of up to 1,800 miles (about 2,900 km), 2–3 times that of current electric vehicle batteries.

The Chinese tech giant claims its solid-state EV battery has a range of 2,900 km. (Source: MSN)

The patent reveals that Huawei uses a technique of “doping” nitrogen into the sulfide electrolyte to reduce side reactions at the lithium surface, one of the biggest challenges in developing safe and stable solid-state batteries.

Although it does not manufacture cars itself, Huawei is working closely with automakers to integrate its technology into next-generation electric vehicles.

Huawei now joins the ranks of giants such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and BYD in the race to develop solid-state batteries, which are expected to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry thanks to their faster charging capabilities, lighter weight and safer performance.

Minh Hoan

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cong-nghe-6-7-black-friday-giua-nam-tro-lai-voi-quy-mo-chua-tung-co-ar952924.html