Amazon has become the world’s top-earning company as several brands plan compact foldable phones; Google rolls out Gemini 3.1 Pro; the world’s smallest QR code is revealed, and lots of tech breakthroughs for today.
1. Amazon becomes the world’s highest-revenue company, ending Walmart’s 13-year reign on the Fortune 500 list.
The two companies are direct competitors in the retail sector. Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, with approximately 2.7 billion monthly visits; Walmart, with over 10,000 physical stores worldwide, is the largest brick-and-mortar retailer. Both companies derive their primary revenue from the US market.
2. Reports indicate that Huawei and Motorola will launch updated versions of their smaller foldable phones, and Apple is also reportedly in the process of initiating such a project.
According to leaks, Huawei and Motorola will be releasing updated versions of their small foldable phones, and Apple has also launched a related project. Huawei’s current Pocket 2 starts at 7499 yuan, and the nova Flip S at 3488 yuan; Motorola’s latest model starts at 3499 yuan. Apple’s iPhone Flip is expected to launch in 2028, emphasizing a lightweight design. Other brands currently have no plans to follow suit.
3. Google releases Gemini 3.1 Pro: Doubled reasoning capabilities, designed for complex tasks.
Gemini 3.1 Pro scored 77.1% in the ARC-AGI-2 benchmark, more than doubling its inference performance compared to the previous generation. It provides visual explanations of complex topics, integrates multi-source data, and helps bring creative projects to fruition. It is now being rolled out gradually to developers, enterprises, and general users.
4. The world’s smallest QR code has been created: only 1.98 square micrometers, and data can be stored for thousands of years.
The research team used focused ion beams to etch QR codes onto ceramic thin films, with each pixel measuring only 49 nanometers. This ceramic storage technology boasts astonishing density, capable of storing over 2TB of data in an area the size of an A4 sheet of paper, and can permanently store data without requiring power, paving a new path for environmentally friendly and sustainable data storage.
5. The news that “all statutory holidays in 2026 will coincide with weekends” became a trending topic, with netizens commenting, “It would be great if there were no work schedule adjustments.”
The General Office of the State Council released the 2026 holiday schedule, stipulating that all statutory holidays, including Spring Festival, Qingming Festival, and Labor Day, will be naturally connected to weekends without the need for make-up days. This arrangement has sparked heated discussions, with most netizens welcoming the “no make-up days” policy, believing it avoids the fatigue of working 6 or 7 consecutive days. However, some netizens feel that the holiday period has become shorter.
6. First case on the entire network: User reports hardware failure in Apple’s self-developed 5G baseband on their iPhone Air.
On February 19th, a user named itstheskylion posted on Reddit, reporting that their iPhone Air suddenly lost cellular signal despite being in a case the entire time and having not been dropped. Tech media outlets such as Wccftech and MacRumors reported this as the first reported case of an iPhone Air baseband failure.
7. Foreign media refute rumors that “Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro will introduce a magnetic connector to replace USB-C”: It’s legally impossible.
Foreign media outlets have refuted rumors that the iPhone 18 Pro will replace USB-C with a magnetic charging port, pointing out that it conflicts with existing MagSafe/Qi2 wireless charging technologies, and that EU regulations mandate the use of USB-C, making this solution “completely impossible.”
8. AI leaders gathered in India for a group photo, but Altman and Amodei appeared out of place.
After a brief pause, the two raised their arms but did not hold hands, a detail that quickly became a focal point of screenshots on social media.
9. The 2026 Audi RS5 has been released, featuring a 630-horsepower twin-turbo V6 plug-in hybrid system, starting at €106,200.
The new RS5 will be available in Europe in the first quarter of this year. In Germany, the RS5 Sedan starts at €106,200 (approximately RMB 866,000 at the current exchange rate), and the RS5 Avant starts at €107,850 (approximately RMB 879,000 at the current exchange rate), with deliveries expected this summer. >> View details
10. The MagicPanda panda robot, featured in the 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala’s “Magic Atom” series, sold for 57,527 yuan at auction.
JD.com announced that the “MagicPanda” panda robot, which charmed audiences nationwide at the Yibin venue of the 2026 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, was officially auctioned on the JD.com auction platform on February 17th, ultimately selling for 57,527 yuan to a netizen from Beijing.
11. Mercedes-Benz teases its new luxury all-electric MPV, the VLE: featuring automatic parking and rear-wheel steering.
The new vehicle will be a completely new three-row luxury MPV, equipped with a wealth of advanced technologies. Unlike its predecessor, the EQV, the VLE is built on a dedicated electric platform and integrates more technological advancements from Mercedes-Benz’s latest passenger vehicle offerings.
12. China Fire Service: Do not place CPC toll cards issued at highway toll stations on car wireless charging pads, as this poses a fire risk.
The strong electromagnetic field generated by in-vehicle wireless charging can cause the metal components inside the card to instantly generate a large amount of heat. Insufficient heat dissipation from the plastic casing can lead to a temperature surge, causing bulging, deformation, or even fire. Please place the toll card in the designated card slot or storage compartment, away from heat sources. In case of any abnormality, immediately exit the highway and return the card for assistance.
13. Ferrari’s all-electric supercar Luce undergoes road test: 1000 horsepower, debuting in May.
On February 18th, automotive media outlet CarScoops published a blog post sharing a set of road test photos taken in Europe, showcasing the Ferrari Luce prototype undergoing testing.
14. Data can be stored at room temperature for over 10,000 years: Microsoft’s innovative storage technology can store 4.84TB of data in a 12cm square glass pane.
Microsoft Research published a paper in the journal *Nature* on February 18, demonstrating a glass-etched storage system called Project Silica. This system boasts a single-block capacity of up to 4.84TB and can stably store data for over 10,000 years at room temperature.
15. Apple M5 Pro/Max Chip Packaging Forecast: Potentially Breaking the 14-Core CPU/40-Core GPU Limit
Apple has officially announced a new product launch event on March 4th, where it is expected to unveil new MacBook Pro models powered by the M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. The core highlight of this chip upgrade lies in the revolutionary packaging technology: Apple will abandon traditional InFO packaging in favor of TSMC’s 2.5D chiplet design.
16. Zuckerberg appeared in court, and those around him wearing Meta smart glasses were warned by the judge.
Mark Zuckerberg testified in his social media addiction case, and the Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses worn by his entourage unexpectedly became the focus of attention. The judge issued a curfew prohibiting the use of glasses for recording in court. The case alleges that products from companies like Meta are designed to harm teenagers, and the verdict could influence similar lawsuits across the United States.
17. First Look at Microsoft Win11 26H1: Upgrading the Kernel and Removing the 32GB Formatting Limit of FAT32
On February 19th, tech media outlet Windows Latest published a blog post providing an initial experience with the Windows 11 26H1 Build 28020.1611 preview version on a laptop powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 series chip. at the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max quickly became the most popular trade-in model shortly after its release.
Data shows that within just a few months of its launch, the iPhone 17 Pro Max quickly became the most traded-in model, accounting for 11.5% of all trade-ins. 86% of these devices were in brand new or good condition, and its depreciation rate (25.4%) was significantly lower than that of the iPhone 16 Pro Max (32.5%), demonstrating stronger value retention. This reflects the shortened replacement cycle for users and the short-term asset attributes of high-end smartphones.
19. The total box office revenue for films in 2026 exceeded 5 billion yuan, with “Pegasus 3”, “Zootopia 2”, and “The Assassination” ranking in the top three.
According to CCTV, the total box office revenue for films in 2026 has exceeded 5 billion yuan, with February contributing over 3 billion yuan. “Pegasus 3” performed strongly, with a single-day peak box office exceeding 700 million yuan, and helped its lead actor, Shen Teng, surpass the 40 billion yuan mark in total box office revenue. The family movie market was maintained by films such as “Zootopia 2”.
20. On February 19, the total number of cross-regional people traveling across society is expected to exceed 339 million, setting a new single-day record since the 2026 Spring Festival travel rush.
The national railway system is expected to transport 13.4 million passengers, with 747 additional trains added. Highway traffic is expected to exceed 60 million vehicles, with heavy traffic on sections of the Xu-Guang and Beijing-Shanghai expressways. Civil aviation is expected to transport 2.55 million passengers. Various regions are actively responding to the return of migrant workers by adding customized high-speed rail services and temporary trains.
21. Bloomberg: Apple’s stock price moves independently, with its correlation with the Nasdaq 100 index hitting a 20-year low.
A Bloomberg blog post published on February 18th reported that Apple’s stock price has recently moved independently, with its 40-day correlation with the Nasdaq 100 index plummeting from a high of 0.92 in May 2025 to 0.21 (1 represents perfect synchronization, 0 represents no correlation), marking the lowest level since 2006. orea will introduce 5G Wi-Fi service to subway/rail transit cars nationwide, supported by operator LG Uplus.
LG Uplus announced that it will deploy 5G Wi-Fi services in subway cars nationwide this year. Construction has already been completed on multiple lines in Seoul, with measured download speeds far exceeding the industry average, ranking first in average speed among all commercial Wi-Fi services in subways.
23. Samsung Electronics’ average annual salary per employee is estimated to have exceeded 150 million won last year, setting a new record.
According to an analysis and forecast by the South Korean CXO Research Institute, Samsung Electronics employees’ average annual salary last year was estimated to be between 153 million and 158 million won (approximately 736,000 to 760,000 yuan), a significant increase of nearly 20% compared to the previous year, potentially setting a new record high.
