Opening thoughts. Motorola is partnering with GrapheneOS. This is a title that probably had more people sitting up and paying attention in 2014 than 2026, but it’s important nonetheless.
Lenovo company is famous in Motorola Android smartphone ecosystem. The GrapheneOS Foundation creates a privacy and security-focused mobile OS that is based on Android. What does this mean? Future Motorola smartphones will support this OS if a user wants to switch.
GrapheneOS says that the first such Android device under the Motorola brand name will arrive in 2027, although it has not been confirmed whether anything from the existing portfolio will adopt this OS support any time soon.
Are we returning to the days when Android enthusiasts could actually make changes to their phones? Perhaps a more sophisticated version of “routing”?
editor’s corner
Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo
Something strange is happening between electric mobility and technology companies, and I have some opinions on it.
Xiaomi Corp. has taken another step into the automotive sector with the impressive 17 series smartphones as well as a few other product line-ups. Even as they confirm that more than 500,000 EVs were delivered by the company in 2025 – the company’s EV portfolio includes the SU7 sedan and its variants, the SU7 ultra high-performance sedan and the YU7 SUV – they are clearly learning fast about making cars that will be of concern to European automakers as well as a brand that has a superiority complex Is – Tesla Inc.
At the Mobile World Congress, the company showcased its fully electric hypercar concept – Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo. Amazingly impressive. The sculpting of the silhouette, contours, cutouts and fine elements needs to be absorbed and appreciated, not just looked at like you would normally see in a car.
“Electric hypercars must answer a fundamental question. Do we pursue ultra-low drag for straight-line speed, or maximum downforce to conquer corners? The optimal solution lies in finding the right balance between the two,” Xiaomi EV design chief Tianyuan Li said at the unveiling. Although this is primarily a digital-only concept, Xiaomi has detailed the high-performance architecture underlying the design. The powertrain is built on Xiaomi’s proprietary 900V silicon carbide (SiC) platform, and power levels are expected to be close to 1,900 horsepower – which is a theoretical beast.
The cockpit includes a “sofa racer” driver’s seat and a butterfly-shaped steering wheel with integrated display, as well as a panoramic screen spanning the dash and a drive selector styled like an aircraft throttle.
The driver will interact with the Xiaomi Pulse system, which uses light and sound. This is to strengthen Xiaomi’s Human x Car x Home philosophy. And a first for a tech company, that puts it in the same hypercar conversation as the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolute, Bugatti Tourbillon, Pagani Zonda, as well as the upcoming Ferrari F80 and McLaren W1. This is no mean achievement.
Tech Spotlight
Stuffcool Zeno 65W
There is an old saying, good things come in small packages. It seems like the smartphone industry doesn’t believe in it much anymore, but the supporting ecosystem certainly does.
StuffCool’s latest gallium-nitride (GaN) charger, the Zeno 65W, follows the template of something we’ve talked about before, the Zeno 30W charger. The main difference, which you’ve probably picked up along with the naming scheme, is that there’s now more power, making it better suited for fast-charging smartphones, tablets, and even some laptops with enough grunt.
In terms of size, there is negligible difference between the siblings, while retaining the uniqueness of a retractable USB-C type cable with a flat design that extends up to 25 inches. The key is to be gentle with this expansion and retraction.
It’s essentially an incredibly versatile travel accessory and a workstation charger, with a retractable cable and a USB-C port on the charger itself. Each method will provide 65W charging speed when used alone, and approximately 30W charging speed when used both.
But ₹At Rs 2,999 for the Zeno 65W (that’s PD PPS output, or Power Delivery Programmable Power Supply Standard), it’s hard to argue against its usefulness, value and convenience. After an initial surge of a few minutes, it’s impressive how well this compact charger stays cool.
If you travel a lot, with a few phones or indeed a phone/tablet combination, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a charger that’s so capable while still being so compact. Every gram counts when you’re lugging that weight around an airport.
second thought
leica litzphone, powered by xiaomi
Those of you who regularly follow my articles on Hindustan Times will remember what I wrote about the Xiaomi 17 Ultra By Leica Edition a few weeks ago. This was early access to a version of the smartphone that was otherwise bound for China, but, that doesn’t change the exceptional camera capabilities in any way. The same phone will now arrive in some markets, as the Xiaomi-powered Alexa Leitzphone. Leica’s heritage does not make its red dot logo available for any product just like that.
In my book, the bigger achievement is the growth (and strengthening) of the Xiaomi and Leica partnership, at a time when OnePlus has lost the Hasselblad ticket and Zeiss’ alliance with Vivo is all about maintaining the status quo.
All the ingredients are present in front of the camera, which I detailed in my experience piece. What touches my heart is the collective philosophy of Leica and Xiaomi – hardware and image processing efficiency cannot be replaced by AI. And up to that point, AI has been kept strictly optional in the Xiaomi-powered Lenovo Leitzphone. No prizes for guessing, I even kept it close at the 120X zoom level.
that’s all folks. stay tuned for next week nerve transmission And wired intelligence. And subscribe, yes, because there are a lot of people coming your way. Want this newsletter sent straight to your inbox? Subscribe here.
