Latest news with #X10
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lightning-Fast Speeds, Massive Capacities: Crucial SSDs Elevate Gaming and Creative Endeavors
The Crucial T710 sets a new standard with unparalleled Gen5 performance for pro gamers and creators. The Crucial X10 portable SSD combines sleek style, functional durability and storage options up to 8TB. TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today at Computex 2025, Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) expanded its leadership in consumer storage by unveiling its latest high-performance SSDs — the Crucial T710 PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD and the Crucial X10 Portable SSD. Forged from years of dedicated research and development, these next-gen SSDs redefine performance standards across the board by pushing the limits of speed, capacity and durability — powering your world at full speed. 'Our fastest Gen5 drive yet, the Crucial T710 SSD turbocharges gaming and creative applications,' said Dinesh Bahal, corporate vice president and general manager of Micron's Commercial Products Group. 'Meanwhile, our X10 portable drive is a powerhouse, effortlessly handling massive backups, games and photo libraries — no matter where life takes you or what it throws your way. These innovations from Crucial underscore our relentless effort to exceed our customers' storage needs.'A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link. Crucial T710: Blazing fast Gen5 speed for gaming and AI Leveraging cutting-edge NVMe technology and Micron's G9 NAND, the Crucial T710 delivers unmatched Gen5 performance for pro-level gaming, creative applications and data-intensive tasks like AI. Boasting our best Gen5 speeds to date, it features up to: 14,900 megabytes per second (MB/s) sequential read speeds1 13,800 MB/s sequential write speeds1 2.2 million random read speeds1 2.3 million random write speeds 1 The T710 delivers up to 67% more IOPs per watt than previous-generation Gen5 drives, running faster and cooler and making it ideal for PCs, laptops and workstations. The optional integrated heatsink ensures the T710 stays cool under pressure and capacity options up to 4TB2 means users have the storage space they need for their most demanding projects. The increasing demands of AI applications require robust hardware for optimal performance. With its dramatically increased energy efficiency and decreased latency, the Crucial T710 is perfect for enabling real-time local data processing on AI PCs, with the speed to load a large language model from SSD to memory in under one second.3 Crucial X10: Fast and tough portable storage to expand your digital life Crucial's latest portable drive, the X10, delivers read speeds of up to 2,100 MB/s,4 twice as fast as its predecessor.5 The X10 is designed for users who need a fast, reliable and durable solution to back up and store their most important photos, games, movies, documents and more. With 4TB, 6TB and 8TB6 versions available, the Crucial X10 allows users to store massive amounts of data, including up to 500,000 4K photos, 114 games or 2.6 million MP3 files7. With its sleek, matte blue design, the X10 is perfect for content creators, gamers, photography hobbyists and mainstream consumers who require high-speed data transfer and ample storage capacity. Its durable design is IP65 dust- and water-resistant and drop-resistant up to 9.8 feet,8 making it a vault for your data — secure, portable and always ready. The T710 uses Silicon Motion's SM2508 controller, while the X10 uses the SM2322 controller. 'To meet the evolving demands of next-generation AI PCs, we've engineered our industry-leading SM2508 controller to deliver game-changing Gen5 performance combined with significant power savings compared to competitors,' said Nelson Duann, senior vice president of Silicon Motion's Client & Automotive Storage Business. 'Our close technical collaboration with Micron to turbocharge the Crucial T710 will transform the latest notebooks with extreme Gen5 performance that meets the needs of intensive applications like AI, gaming and beyond.' Availability: The Crucial X10 is now available for purchase through etailers, retailers and global channel partners, while T710 will be available starting in July 2025. Additional Resources: Crucial X10 web page Crucial T710 web page About Micron Technology, Inc. Micron Technology, Inc. is an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions, transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology leadership, and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron delivers a rich portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND, and NOR memory and storage products through our Micron® and Crucial® brands. Every day, the innovations that our people create fuel the data economy, enabling advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and compute-intensive applications that unleash opportunities — from the data center to the intelligent edge and across the client and mobile user experience. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit © 2025 Micron Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Information, products, and/or specifications are subject to change without notice. Micron, the Micron logo, and all other Micron trademarks are the property of Micron Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 1 Typical I/O performance as measured using CrystalDiskMark® with a queue depth of 512 and write cache enabled. Windows 11 Core isolation disabled for performance measurement. Fresh out-of-box (FOB) state is assumed. For performance measurement purposes, the SSD may be restored to FOB state using the secure erase command. System variations will affect measured results. 2 Some storage capacity is used for formatting and other purposes and is not available for data storage. 1GB equals 1 billion bytes. 3 As tested in Micron labs using Llama 2 with 13 billion parameters,10.4GB file size and 6-bit quantization vs. the PCIe Gen4 Micron 3500 SSD. 4 MB/s speed measured by Crucial as maximum sequential performance of device on a high-performance desktop computer with Crystal Disk Mark (version 8.0.4 for x64). Your performance may vary. 5 Comparative speed claims measured against maximum reported speeds from Crucial X9 SSD. Your performance may vary. 6 Some storage capacity is used for formatting and other purposes and is not available for data storage. 1GB equals 1 billion bytes. 7 Based on average photo size of 6MB, video at 4K/60fps in H264 format at 24GB/hr and 200GB for AAA games. 8 Up to 3 meters without impact to data on a carpeted floor. CONTACT: Micron Media Relations Contact Mengxi Liu Evensen +1 (408) 444-2276 productandtechnology@ Micron Investor Relations Contact Satya Kumar +1 (408) 450-6199 satyakumar@
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How far mini-LED TV tech has evolved in 9 years and the 'dark side' of Netflix – what I learned on my visit with TCL
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. TCL is a major competitor in the TV market, especially in the world of mini-LED TVs. It has been responsible for some of the best TVs over the past few years, including last year's excellent TCL QM851G in the US and the TCL C855 in the UK. I recently attended an event showcasing TCL's 2025 UK and European TVs, including the C-series mini-LED models, which look primed to take on the best mini-LED TVs from Samsung and Hisense. TCL also carried out various tech demos at the event, including one that showed the inner and outer workings of a mini-LED TV. Three demos caught my eye in particular: one showing the evolution of TCL mini-LED TVs through the years; the deconstructed mini-LED mentioned above; and, lastly, one that revealed how bright or dark the picture can be with shows and movies on streaming services (in this instance, Netflix). Image 1 of 2 Image 2 of 2 The first demo showed the evolution of mini-LED, specifically 65-inch TCL models from 2016 to 2025. The TVs used were the 65X1 (2016), 65X10 (2019), 65C825 (2020), and the 65C8K (2025). Over the years, TCL has added more local dimming zones to the backlights of its TVs, starting with 288 on the X1 and ending with 1,680 for the C8K. Seeing these models side-by-side, the picture quality advantage of having more zones was clear. Watching Life of Pi on the C8K, during a nighttime dream sequence, black levels were rich and contrasted well with the swirling, bright white lights of the spirits, thanks to the TV's greater number of dimming zones. The X10 was surprisingly the next best, but backlight blooming was more apparent, and shadows took on more of a dark gray tone. With a daytime sequence in Life of Pi, the C8K showcased the highest brightness and the most accurate color. Once again, the X10 was second, but the C825 fared better here with bolder colors in the tiger's fur and a stronger perceived depth. Unsurprisingly, the C8K reigned supreme, showing mini-LED's evolution and how important having more dimming zones can be to picture quality. Next up was a demo of the new TCL C-series mini-LED backlight in action, but without a screen to cover it. With the flagship C8K and mid-range C7K side-by-side, both showing the same fireworks video (also displayed on a 'master' screen), the C8K's backlight demonstrated not only higher brightness but more refined detail and stronger contrast than the C7K, which still looked great. Alongside these TVs was a deconstructed mini-LED TV, which had been cut to show the various layers you'd find in one of TCL's sets. This included the mini-LED backlight array (the layer on display in the demo) and three other layers, including one for Light Diffusion (for improved uniformity), QDEF (for enhanced colors) and Light Alignment for better brightness efficiency. Finally, there was the panel that we see on top (although this was turned off). Seeing the panel with its various layers, you could watch the picture taking form as it got further along, adding in the full details as the layers progressed. Netflix may be one of the most popular streaming services, but a Netflix 4K stream is the equivalent of a 1080p Blu-ray, at least in terms of bit-rate. (Streaming often averages around 17 Mbps, whereas standard Blu-ray averages around 40 Mbps, and 4K Blu-ray can hit as high as 128 Mbps, giving it superior picture clarity.) What about brightness? In TCL's demo, a Live Video Analyzer was hooked up to a C-series TV, showing not only the color gamut coverage of a Netflix 4K show but also its average and maximum brightness (in nits). Starting with Emily in Paris, the show hit an average of 40 nits throughout one scene. Doesn't sound very bright, does it? Changing to The Crown, a darkened hallway scene averaged 1 nit. Yes, only 1 nit! This was the same story when cycling through various movies and TV shows on Netflix: the average brightness was lower than I anticipated. The Cloverfield Paradox had a potential max brightness of 700 nits, but only averaged 17 nits in one particular scene. Planet Earth II also hit similar numbers, despite having a very colorful green frog on screen. The takeaway? Your TV may be capable of high brightness, but not everything you watch will take advantage of that capability. I saw a mini-LED 4K TV demo without the pixels – and wow, do more local dimming zones make a difference OLED, mini-LED, LED – which TV type is best for energy efficiency? I spent weeks reviewing the feature-filled TCL QM7K, and it's a great TV that fixes a big problem with mini-LED
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lightning-Fast Speeds, Massive Capacities: Crucial SSDs Elevate Gaming and Creative Endeavors
The Crucial T710 sets a new standard with unparalleled Gen5 performance for pro gamers and creators. The Crucial X10 portable SSD combines sleek style, functional durability and storage options up to 8TB. TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today at Computex 2025, Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) expanded its leadership in consumer storage by unveiling its latest high-performance SSDs — the Crucial T710 PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD and the Crucial X10 Portable SSD. Forged from years of dedicated research and development, these next-gen SSDs redefine performance standards across the board by pushing the limits of speed, capacity and durability — powering your world at full speed. 'Our fastest Gen5 drive yet, the Crucial T710 SSD turbocharges gaming and creative applications,' said Dinesh Bahal, corporate vice president and general manager of Micron's Commercial Products Group. 'Meanwhile, our X10 portable drive is a powerhouse, effortlessly handling massive backups, games and photo libraries — no matter where life takes you or what it throws your way. These innovations from Crucial underscore our relentless effort to exceed our customers' storage needs.'A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link. Crucial T710: Blazing fast Gen5 speed for gaming and AI Leveraging cutting-edge NVMe technology and Micron's G9 NAND, the Crucial T710 delivers unmatched Gen5 performance for pro-level gaming, creative applications and data-intensive tasks like AI. Boasting our best Gen5 speeds to date, it features up to: 14,900 megabytes per second (MB/s) sequential read speeds1 13,800 MB/s sequential write speeds1 2.2 million random read speeds1 2.3 million random write speeds 1 The T710 delivers up to 67% more IOPs per watt than previous-generation Gen5 drives, running faster and cooler and making it ideal for PCs, laptops and workstations. The optional integrated heatsink ensures the T710 stays cool under pressure and capacity options up to 4TB2 means users have the storage space they need for their most demanding projects. The increasing demands of AI applications require robust hardware for optimal performance. With its dramatically increased energy efficiency and decreased latency, the Crucial T710 is perfect for enabling real-time local data processing on AI PCs, with the speed to load a large language model from SSD to memory in under one second.3 Crucial X10: Fast and tough portable storage to expand your digital life Crucial's latest portable drive, the X10, delivers read speeds of up to 2,100 MB/s,4 twice as fast as its predecessor.5 The X10 is designed for users who need a fast, reliable and durable solution to back up and store their most important photos, games, movies, documents and more. With 4TB, 6TB and 8TB6 versions available, the Crucial X10 allows users to store massive amounts of data, including up to 500,000 4K photos, 114 games or 2.6 million MP3 files7. With its sleek, matte blue design, the X10 is perfect for content creators, gamers, photography hobbyists and mainstream consumers who require high-speed data transfer and ample storage capacity. Its durable design is IP65 dust- and water-resistant and drop-resistant up to 9.8 feet,8 making it a vault for your data — secure, portable and always ready. The T710 uses Silicon Motion's SM2508 controller, while the X10 uses the SM2322 controller. 'To meet the evolving demands of next-generation AI PCs, we've engineered our industry-leading SM2508 controller to deliver game-changing Gen5 performance combined with significant power savings compared to competitors,' said Nelson Duann, senior vice president of Silicon Motion's Client & Automotive Storage Business. 'Our close technical collaboration with Micron to turbocharge the Crucial T710 will transform the latest notebooks with extreme Gen5 performance that meets the needs of intensive applications like AI, gaming and beyond.' Availability: The Crucial X10 is now available for purchase through etailers, retailers and global channel partners, while T710 will be available starting in July 2025. Additional Resources: Crucial X10 web page Crucial T710 web page About Micron Technology, Inc. Micron Technology, Inc. is an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions, transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology leadership, and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron delivers a rich portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND, and NOR memory and storage products through our Micron® and Crucial® brands. Every day, the innovations that our people create fuel the data economy, enabling advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and compute-intensive applications that unleash opportunities — from the data center to the intelligent edge and across the client and mobile user experience. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit © 2025 Micron Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Information, products, and/or specifications are subject to change without notice. Micron, the Micron logo, and all other Micron trademarks are the property of Micron Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 1 Typical I/O performance as measured using CrystalDiskMark® with a queue depth of 512 and write cache enabled. Windows 11 Core isolation disabled for performance measurement. Fresh out-of-box (FOB) state is assumed. For performance measurement purposes, the SSD may be restored to FOB state using the secure erase command. System variations will affect measured results. 2 Some storage capacity is used for formatting and other purposes and is not available for data storage. 1GB equals 1 billion bytes. 3 As tested in Micron labs using Llama 2 with 13 billion parameters,10.4GB file size and 6-bit quantization vs. the PCIe Gen4 Micron 3500 SSD. 4 MB/s speed measured by Crucial as maximum sequential performance of device on a high-performance desktop computer with Crystal Disk Mark (version 8.0.4 for x64). Your performance may vary. 5 Comparative speed claims measured against maximum reported speeds from Crucial X9 SSD. Your performance may vary. 6 Some storage capacity is used for formatting and other purposes and is not available for data storage. 1GB equals 1 billion bytes. 7 Based on average photo size of 6MB, video at 4K/60fps in H264 format at 24GB/hr and 200GB for AAA games. 8 Up to 3 meters without impact to data on a carpeted floor. CONTACT: Micron Media Relations Contact Mengxi Liu Evensen +1 (408) 444-2276 productandtechnology@ Micron Investor Relations Contact Satya Kumar +1 (408) 450-6199 satyakumar@
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Lightning-Fast Speeds, Massive Capacities: Crucial SSDs Elevate Gaming and Creative Endeavors
The Crucial T710 sets a new standard with unparalleled Gen5 performance for pro gamers and creators. The Crucial X10 portable SSD combines sleek style, functional durability and storage options up to 8TB. TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today at Computex 2025, Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) expanded its leadership in consumer storage by unveiling its latest high-performance SSDs — the Crucial T710 PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD and the Crucial X10 Portable SSD. Forged from years of dedicated research and development, these next-gen SSDs redefine performance standards across the board by pushing the limits of speed, capacity and durability — powering your world at full speed. 'Our fastest Gen5 drive yet, the Crucial T710 SSD turbocharges gaming and creative applications,' said Dinesh Bahal, corporate vice president and general manager of Micron's Commercial Products Group. 'Meanwhile, our X10 portable drive is a powerhouse, effortlessly handling massive backups, games and photo libraries — no matter where life takes you or what it throws your way. These innovations from Crucial underscore our relentless effort to exceed our customers' storage needs.'A Media Snippet accompanying this announcement is available by clicking on this link. Crucial T710: Blazing fast Gen5 speed for gaming and AI Leveraging cutting-edge NVMe technology and Micron's G9 NAND, the Crucial T710 delivers unmatched Gen5 performance for pro-level gaming, creative applications and data-intensive tasks like AI. Boasting our best Gen5 speeds to date, it features up to: 14,900 megabytes per second (MB/s) sequential read speeds1 13,800 MB/s sequential write speeds1 2.2 million random read speeds1 2.3 million random write speeds 1 The T710 delivers up to 67% more IOPs per watt than previous-generation Gen5 drives, running faster and cooler and making it ideal for PCs, laptops and workstations. The optional integrated heatsink ensures the T710 stays cool under pressure and capacity options up to 4TB2 means users have the storage space they need for their most demanding projects. The increasing demands of AI applications require robust hardware for optimal performance. With its dramatically increased energy efficiency and decreased latency, the Crucial T710 is perfect for enabling real-time local data processing on AI PCs, with the speed to load a large language model from SSD to memory in under one second.3 Crucial X10: Fast and tough portable storage to expand your digital life Crucial's latest portable drive, the X10, delivers read speeds of up to 2,100 MB/s,4 twice as fast as its predecessor.5 The X10 is designed for users who need a fast, reliable and durable solution to back up and store their most important photos, games, movies, documents and more. With 4TB, 6TB and 8TB6 versions available, the Crucial X10 allows users to store massive amounts of data, including up to 500,000 4K photos, 114 games or 2.6 million MP3 files7. With its sleek, matte blue design, the X10 is perfect for content creators, gamers, photography hobbyists and mainstream consumers who require high-speed data transfer and ample storage capacity. Its durable design is IP65 dust- and water-resistant and drop-resistant up to 9.8 feet,8 making it a vault for your data — secure, portable and always ready. The T710 uses Silicon Motion's SM2508 controller, while the X10 uses the SM2322 controller. 'To meet the evolving demands of next-generation AI PCs, we've engineered our industry-leading SM2508 controller to deliver game-changing Gen5 performance combined with significant power savings compared to competitors,' said Nelson Duann, senior vice president of Silicon Motion's Client & Automotive Storage Business. 'Our close technical collaboration with Micron to turbocharge the Crucial T710 will transform the latest notebooks with extreme Gen5 performance that meets the needs of intensive applications like AI, gaming and beyond.' Availability: The Crucial X10 is now available for purchase through etailers, retailers and global channel partners, while T710 will be available starting in July 2025. Additional Resources: Crucial X10 web page Crucial T710 web page About Micron Technology, Inc. Micron Technology, Inc. is an industry leader in innovative memory and storage solutions, transforming how the world uses information to enrich life for all. With a relentless focus on our customers, technology leadership, and manufacturing and operational excellence, Micron delivers a rich portfolio of high-performance DRAM, NAND, and NOR memory and storage products through our Micron® and Crucial® brands. Every day, the innovations that our people create fuel the data economy, enabling advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and compute-intensive applications that unleash opportunities — from the data center to the intelligent edge and across the client and mobile user experience. To learn more about Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), visit © 2025 Micron Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Information, products, and/or specifications are subject to change without notice. Micron, the Micron logo, and all other Micron trademarks are the property of Micron Technology, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 1 Typical I/O performance as measured using CrystalDiskMark® with a queue depth of 512 and write cache enabled. Windows 11 Core isolation disabled for performance measurement. Fresh out-of-box (FOB) state is assumed. For performance measurement purposes, the SSD may be restored to FOB state using the secure erase command. System variations will affect measured results. 2 Some storage capacity is used for formatting and other purposes and is not available for data storage. 1GB equals 1 billion bytes. 3 As tested in Micron labs using Llama 2 with 13 billion parameters,10.4GB file size and 6-bit quantization vs. the PCIe Gen4 Micron 3500 SSD. 4 MB/s speed measured by Crucial as maximum sequential performance of device on a high-performance desktop computer with Crystal Disk Mark (version 8.0.4 for x64). Your performance may vary. 5 Comparative speed claims measured against maximum reported speeds from Crucial X9 SSD. Your performance may vary. 6 Some storage capacity is used for formatting and other purposes and is not available for data storage. 1GB equals 1 billion bytes. 7 Based on average photo size of 6MB, video at 4K/60fps in H264 format at 24GB/hr and 200GB for AAA games. 8 Up to 3 meters without impact to data on a carpeted floor. CONTACT: Micron Media Relations Contact Mengxi Liu Evensen +1 (408) 444-2276 productandtechnology@ Micron Investor Relations Contact Satya Kumar +1 (408) 450-6199 satyakumar@ in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China dominates the drone industry. The West needs to change that fast
At its factory near San Francisco Bay, the American drone maker Skydio produces hundreds of drones a month. Its small, high-tech quadcopters, typically equipped with cameras and capable of a dizzying variety of tasks, are in demand among utility companies, aircraft manufacturers, police, fire departments and the military. Skydio's X10 drone, for example, can be used to detect hairline cracks in a concrete bridge, read a car's licence plate from 800ft away, or inspect potential faults in an electricity substation. It can also pilot itself autonomously and stay airborne for up to 40 minutes, travelling at speeds of up to 45mph. The company, which is the biggest drone manufacturer in the US, proudly advertises its machines as 'home-grown aircraft' that reflect 'the best of American innovation, trustworthiness and craftsmanship'. But as recent events demonstrate, that is not quite the full story. Skydio has depended on a stream of critical components from China to produce its drones for years. That dependence was brutally exposed in late 2024, when the Chinese government ordered the company's battery pack suppliers to cut ties with the American firm over business it had done in Taiwan. The move forced Skydio to rely on stockpiles and ration deliveries to its customers, as it scrambled to find alternatives. On Wednesday, a spokesman for the company declined to say whether it had succeeded in doing so. The company's situation is far from unique. Across the West, analysts have warned that drone manufacturers and their customers have become reliant on the Chinese Communist Party's goodwill. Unsurprisingly, that is now prompting calls for a major rethink. Adam Bry, Skydio's founder, described Beijing's move against his company as a 'clarifying moment' for the industry. 'If there was ever any doubt, this action makes clear that the Chinese government will use supply chains as a weapon to advance their interests over ours,' the chief executive wrote in a statement on his company's website. 'This is an attempt to eliminate the leading American drone company and deepen the world's dependence on Chinese drone suppliers. It won't work.' Experts say the security risk of relying on China is twofold. On one hand, Chinese-made drones could collect potentially sensitive data that could be shared with Beijing. On another, companies using Chinese components could have their operations crippled if they suddenly face export restrictions of the kind unleashed on Skydio. Yet breaking the West's dependence on China, which has built up over decades, promises to be a costly affair. According to research by Drone Industry Insights, China controls 90pc of the commercial global drone market. One Chinese firm, DJI, possesses 80pc by itself. The communist country also has a stranglehold on key components, some of which it makes almost exclusively, such as motors and flight controllers, Lithium-ion batteries, sensors, cameras, propellers and frames. Credit:They are also produced at rock-bottom prices, making it extremely difficult for Western companies to compete. That partly reflects huge economies of scale reaped by firms such as DJI, which produces drones from a base in Shenzhen, the vast Chinese metropolis famous for its sprawling hardware industry. But it is also the fruit of Chinese policies designed to ruthlessly corner the market. Under Beijing's 'Made in China 2025' plan, drones were among the critical technologies singled out 10 years ago for generous government support. This makes using Chinese parts financially irresistible for many manufacturers, particularly those that produce high volumes of drones. 'They are bringing out drones at prices that European manufacturers are not capable of matching,' says Kay Wackwitz, of Drone Industry Insights. Of all the patents related to drones that were filed last year, 79pc were registered by Chinese firms, according to analysis by law firm Mathys & Squire. 'It's an indicator of the level of innovation going on in the sector in China, and a warning sign,' says Andrew White, an intellectual property specialist at Mathys & Squire. China's dominance is most pronounced at the cheaper, high-volume end of the market. But when it comes to low-volume, high-end drones such as those used by the military, many Western governments have already taken steps to ensure Chinese drones or parts are excluded. For example, the StormShroud drones recently purchased by the Royal Air Force from Portuguese aerospace manufacturer Tekever, which has a factory in Wales, use no Chinese parts. In fact, the company has rigorously checked its supply chain to ensure there is no exposure to China at all. Credit: X/@RoyalAirForce 'It's really important that companies in the West, for research purposes, test stuff from all over the world, including China, to make sure they stay at the cutting edge,' explains Ricardo Mendes, Tekever's chief executive. 'But that's completely separate from the actual systems that are going into the field, where you need to have a very careful supply chain in place. 'You need to know who your suppliers are, how they manage their own suppliers, everything.' This is a necessity for Tekever because of the highly sensitive nature of its work. But the cost advantage the company could theoretically get from using cheap Chinese parts is also lower, Mendes says. If you are building a small number of highly advanced drones for hundreds of thousands or millions of pounds each, saving £20 on a small component makes little difference. But if you are building thousands of them, that extra cost adds up quickly. One executive at a Western drone maker also points out that some components are clearly riskier than others. Using a Chinese-made battery or engine does not carry the same risks as using a flight controller or radio system, for example. 'If there's no active component that is processing information, there's no way intelligence could be gathered,' the executive adds. But Beijing's leverage over a large number of commercial drone manufacturers is still prompting serious concerns. In 2023, MI5 warned against using drones made in countries with 'coercive data sharing practices', widely seen as a reference to China. But the devices are still used for a range of sensitive activities anyway. For example, Wiltshire Police says on its website that it uses a fleet of 18 drones made by DJI for searches, aerial photography and monitoring high-risk police operations. At the same time, Chinese firms can sometimes take ruthless measures to protect their market positions, says Ian Hudson, a drone enthusiast behind the UAVHive website. Attempts to challenge Chinese manufacturers at the lower end of the market by companies such as Skydio have largely failed, partly because the likes of DJI can afford to drop their prices dramatically. DJI's cheapest drone on Amazon sells for just £169 and comes equipped with a 4K camera. Skydio pulled out of the consumer market in 2023. But chief executive Bry has vowed that Beijing's coercive behaviours will fail in the long run. 'We will come out of this stronger than ever, with the most secure supply chain in the industry,' he says. 'We were targeted because we are the largest drone company outside of China, and because we serve critical customers that advance our national security, but no Western drone manufacturer is safe. 'As we develop the supply of batteries outside of China, we will share our work with our Western peers to help the world move on from this dangerous dependency.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
