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DeepSeek V4-Flash costs only 40% of GPT-5.6 Luna; Xiaomi phones officially raise prices starting at 300 yuan; China's...
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- DeepHorus
On August 2, 2026, the latest IT morning report was released, highlighting several major developments in artificial intelligence, smartphones, automotive, and semiconductors. Notably, cost competition in AI large models intensified, domestic chips accelerated breakthroughs, the mobile phone industry faced a wave of price increases, and the new energy vehicle market welcomed the first new forces brand with monthly deliveries exceeding 100,000 units.
In the AI sector, DeepSeek announced via API documentation on July 31 that the official version of DeepSeek-V4-Flash had entered public beta. According to results updated by multiple AI benchmark platforms on August 1, the model's single-task processing cost is about 60% lower than GPT-5.6 Luna, showcasing the significant cost-performance advantage of domestic large models. This achievement may further lower the barrier for AI applications but also puts pressure on international competitors.
In the smartphone market, Xiaomi sales staff collectively issued price increase notices on the evening of August 1, officially announcing a price hike of at least 300 yuan for Xiaomi phones, affecting the Xiaomi 17 series, REDMI K90, and Turbo 5. Meanwhile, GF Securities analyst Pu Deyu estimated in a research report that due to soaring chip and memory costs, Apple's iPhone 18 Pro series could see price increases of $250 to $300, while the iPhone 18e is expected to come with 9GB of RAM, a 12.5% capacity increase.
There were also new developments in education and semiconductors. The latest data shows that the Microelectronics Science and Engineering major tops the salary ranking for Chinese undergraduate majors with a monthly salary of 7,814 yuan, followed by Electronic Science and Technology and Automation. The former top-ranked Information Security dropped to fourth place. In storage chips, according to Yicai, Changxin Storage's LPDDR6 is nearing the end of R&D verification. The first product has a speed of 12,800 Mbps, with low-power design significantly optimized compared to LPDDR5X, and mass production is expected to be introduced in the second half of the year.
The automotive sector brought frequent good news. Leapmotor announced on August 1 that its global deliveries in July reached 101,267 units, a year-on-year increase of 102%, becoming the first new forces brand to exceed 100,000 monthly sales. BYD remained at the top with July sales of 419,211 vehicles, of which overseas sales reached 179,841 units, up 124.3% year-on-year, setting another record. Additionally, Harmony Intelligent Mobility delivered 45,046 units in July, with cumulative deliveries exceeding 1.48 million units.
The semiconductor industry received sad news. Forcechip issued an announcement on July 31 stating that its chairman and founder, Huang Chongren, passed away peacefully at home due to cardiopulmonary failure at the age of 76. Huang had led the company from a debt of 12 billion yuan to a remarkable turnaround, and is regarded as a legendary figure in the semiconductor industry. His death has sparked widespread mourning across the industry.
Other notable news includes: The China Seismological Bureau stated that the integration of earthquake early warning into the community broadcasting system is in the technical docking stage, with plans for pilot projects; CCC certification for electric vehicle charging piles has been mandatory since August 1; and the animated film "Eight Immortals!" has surpassed 1 billion yuan at the box office. Overall, AI cost competition, chip independence, and the expansion of new energy vehicles remain key themes in current technological development, and these trends are expected to deepen in the coming months.
