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DingTalk A1 Pro Redefines AI Recording: 180-Hour Battery Life Meets Power Bank in One Card

On April 30, 2026, DingTalk officially launched the DingTalk A1 Pro, available for purchase at the DingTalk flagship store on Tmall, priced at 1,299 RMB. This all-in-one device combines professional AI recording with emergency phone charging, packing a 2,980mAh battery that delivers up to 180 hours of continuous recording, 180 days of standby, and has passed the new national 3C certification standards.

DingTalk A1 series shares the same card-style design language; A1 Pro builds upon this foundation with a larger battery and touch display.

Listening to Users: Pain Points Drive the Upgrade

DingTalk released its first AI hardware, the DingTalk A1, in August 2025. Praised for its slim profile and AI transcription capabilities, both batches of pre-orders sold out rapidly. Yet users flooded social platforms with feedback: battery life fell short for week-long business trips, and running out of phone battery while on the road remained a persistent frustration.

Responding directly to these pain points, DingTalk dramatically increased battery capacity from 660mAh to 2,980mAh and added reverse charging — transforming A1 Pro into a true 2-in-1 device: recorder and power bank combined.

Industry-First MEMS Directional Microphone: 10-Meter Precision Pickup

A1 Pro is equipped with a MEMS directional microphone, the first implementation of this technology in the AI recording card category. Compared with conventional microphones, MEMS directional microphones offer higher signal-to-noise ratios and stronger anti-interference performance, precisely locking onto and capturing sound sources up to 10 meters away — even in noisy environments. This means clear recordings from the corner of a large conference room.

DingTalk A1 series in two color options; A1 Pro inherits this ultra-slim card design with added touch display and reverse charging.

Ready to Use: Six Months of Exclusive AI Benefits

Purchasers of A1 Pro receive six months of exclusive benefits, including 1,500 minutes of speech-to-text transcription per month — a total value of 450 RMB. Integrated with DingTalk’s AI Meeting Notes, the device transcribes recordings in real time, leverages large language models for intelligent analysis, and supports multilingual live translation.

The product includes over 200 AI meeting note templates covering typical work scenarios: client visits, interview Q&A, legal consultations, and international meetings. Once a recording concludes, content uploads automatically to the cloud, where AI intelligently extracts key points, action items, and conclusions, generating summaries with one click that sync directly to the DingTalk workspace.

DingTalk also offers an enterprise version supporting unified procurement, device management, and encrypted data storage for centralized B-end needs.

Ultra-Portable: 6.4mm Slim Body

A1 Pro measures just 6.4mm thick — thinner than the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max — at approximately 40g. The built-in magnetic design attaches directly to a smartphone’s back without requiring a separate case, making it extremely convenient to carry. The addition of a touchscreen allows users to switch charging modes directly on the device, eliminating dependence on the phone app. Connectivity is handled via a standard Type-C port for both charging and data transfer.

Key Specs at a Glance: A1 vs. A1 Pro

Specification	Previous-gen DingTalk A1	DingTalk A1 Pro
Battery capacity	660mAh	2,980mAh
Continuous recording	45 hours	180 hours
Standby time	60 days	180 days
Microphone type	Ordinary microphone	MEMS directional
Pickup range	8 meters	10 meters
Display	Non-touch screen	Touchscreen
Power bank function	Not supported	Reverse charging supported
3C certification	—	New national standard passed

From Product to Ecosystem: DingTalk’s Hardware Philosophy

Unlike pure hardware manufacturers, DingTalk’s approach to AI hardware centers on “collaboration.” A1 Pro is not an isolated recording device — it is deeply embedded within DingTalk’s office ecosystem. Recording, transcription, AI summarization, and task scheduling flow seamlessly without switching applications, completing an entire workflow within one platform.

This integrated strategy of “AI software + dedicated hardware + cloud services” represents a new trend where enterprise AI applications extend from the cloud to the edge. The DingTalk A1 series has already won the 2026 German Red Dot Award for product design, and the A1 Pro further broadens the product line’s scenario coverage.

Summary

Priced at 1,299 RMB, the DingTalk A1 Pro targets frequent business travelers and “super individuals” with precision. The 180-hour recording capability, the 2-in-1 power bank design, professional pickup powered by MEMS directional microphones, and deep integration with the DingTalk ecosystem make this a noteworthy new productivity tool for professionals. As enterprise AI application scenarios continue to deepen, the “AI recorder + power bank” combination is well positioned to become a standard item in the business travel bag.

2026-05-01

Ascend 950 Orders Exceed 400,000 Units: Domestic AI Computing Reaches Critical Inflection Point

In April 2026, a significant development emerged in China’s AI computing sector: tech giants including ByteDance and Alibaba collectively placed orders for Huawei’s Ascend 950 chips, with total volume approaching 450,000 units and procurement value around 475 billion RMB. This figure represents over half of Huawei’s annual shipment plan, triggering a 20% price increase while demand still outstrips supply.

This isn’t merely a commercial transaction—it’s a critical signal that domestic AI computing is transitioning from isolated breakthroughs to a complete industry chain closure.

Behind the Mass Procurement Rush

Where do these 400,000 orders originate? The answer lies in two core driving factors.

LLMs have entered peak deployment. In 2026, mainstream large models including DeepSeek V4, ERNIE Bot, and Tongyi Qianwen are all expanding iterations, with inference and training computing demands growing exponentially. The Ascend 950PR focuses on inference scenarios while the 950DT targets training, perfectly covering the full LLM workflow.

Supply chain security has become essential. China’s computing market previously relied heavily on NVIDIA, but sustained export controls have made high-end chip supplies unstable and prices volatile. The Ascend 950—with full-stack domestic control from chip manufacturing to HBM memory to software frameworks—has become the core choice for tech giants to mitigate risks.

Orders concentrated immediately, creating supply-demand imbalance. Currently, the Ascend 950PR standard version costs approximately 50,000 RMB, with premium versions around 70,000 RMB. Even with the 20% price increase, orders remain booked through the second half of the year.

Performance Verification: Multiple Metrics Surpass Benchmarks

Major client endorsement isn’t enough—the chip’s own hard capabilities are paramount.

The Ascend 950PR is the world’s first mass-produced FP4 low-precision inference chip. Test data shows single-card FP4 computing power reaches 1.56P, while NVIDIA’s H20 delivers only 0.54P—a 2.87x performance gap. In practical terms, running the same LLM requires just one Ascend 950PR card, while the H20 needs three cards working in concert.

Ascend 950 chip close-up showing precision manufacturing

Self-developed HiBL 1.0 HBM memory represents another breakthrough. Its 112GB HBM capacity exceeds the H20’s 96GB, enabling direct deployment of 70B parameter models without splitting. Crucially, self-developed HBM breaks overseas monopoly while reducing costs by approximately 30%.

At the cluster level, Ascend 950 pairs with the Atlas 950 SuperPoD supernode architecture, supporting full interconnection of 8,192 chips. This architecture boosts computing utilization from traditional clusters’ 30%-40% to 70%-80%, increasing inference throughput 8-10x. DeepSeek V4 running on Ascend 950PR demonstrates 35x faster inference speed compared to NVIDIA chips while reducing energy consumption by 40%.

Manufacturing has also achieved breakthroughs. The Ascend 950 uses SMIC N+3 process (equivalent to 5nm) through MCM quad-die packaging technology, completely bypassing EUV lithography restrictions. Current computing die yield has reached over 80% with steadily climbing production capacity.

Ecosystem Closure: From “Usable” to “Usable and Efficient”

Hardware performance forms only the foundation—software ecosystem determines success.

At the end of 2025, Huawei announced full-stack open source of the CANN heterogeneous computing architecture, directly benchmarking against NVIDIA’s closed-source CUDA ecosystem. CANN 9.0 released in April 2026 provides comprehensive low-precision format support, reducing model migration costs from “months” to “hours” with compatibility rates exceeding 95%.

DeepSeek V4 represents a landmark event—this global top-tier large model achieved 100% Ascend 950PR adaptation with full-stack migration to Huawei’s CANN framework, completely departing from NVIDIA’s CUDA ecosystem. Currently, over 40 mainstream large models and 200+ open-source models have fully adapted to the Ascend ecosystem.

Modern AI data center interior with server corridors

From industry applications, the Ascend 950 series has penetrated over 20 sectors including internet, finance, government affairs, and industrial internet. ByteDance and Alibaba use 950PR for recommendation systems, reducing latency by 50% and costs by 30%; major banks use 950PR for intelligent risk control, improving efficiency by 40%.

Gaps Remain: Closure is the Starting Point

We must acknowledge that domestic computing still lags behind international leading levels. Ascend 950’s single-card FP8 computing power reaches approximately 1 PFLOPS, while NVIDIA’s H200 delivers 4.5 PFLOPS; in manufacturing processes, SMIC’s N+3 equivalent 5nm still maintains a generational gap from TSMC’s 3nm.

Yet the catch-up path is clear. Huawei’s published roadmap shows: Q4 2026 launches Ascend 950DT for training, Q4 2027 introduces the double-computing-power Ascend 960, and Q4 2028 reveals the Blackwell-benchmark Ascend 970.

From 400,000 orders to full-stack ecosystem closure, domestic AI computing is undergoing a critical transition from “substitute product” to “preferred choice.” This process won’t happen overnight, but the trend has become irreversible.

2026-04-30
Alibaba T-Head Expands Chip Portfolio with First Smart Network Card “Panmai 920” for Large-Scale AI Clusters

On April 28, 2026, in Fuzhou, China — At the 2026 Digital China Construction Summit, Alibaba’s semiconductor subsidiary T-Head officially unveiled its first smart network card product, “Panmai 920.” Specifically designed for AI computing clusters with over 10,000 GPUs, this new product marks T-Head’s completion of a comprehensive “computing-storage-networking” chip layout.

Three Years in the Making: T-Head’s Networking Milestone

At the launch event, Li Xuhui, T-Head’s product director, showcased this smart network card developed over approximately three years. The Panmai 920 features T-Head’s self-developed network card chip and has achieved mass production, with initial deployment planned for Alibaba Cloud data centers. T-Head remains open to selling the product to external third parties.

From a product perspective, the Panmai 920 is not an isolated device. Its debut completes T-Head’s comprehensive “computing-storage-networking” triangle layout. The Zhenwu series AI chips handle computing tasks, the Yitian series server CPUs provide general computing power, the Zhenyue series storage controllers manage data reading and writing, while the Panmai 920 focuses on high-speed network transmission. The collaboration of computing, storage, and networking — the three core data center components — forms the foundation for building efficient data centers.

Panmai 920 high-performance smart network card, showcasing its design and core specifications.

Breaking the “Communication Wall”: 400Gbps Bandwidth Breakthrough

In AI large model training scenarios, the “communication wall” represents a frequently discussed yet challenging problem. When GPU computing power continuously rises but network transmission capabilities fail to keep pace, significant computing resource idling occurs. Li Xuhui noted that many enterprise-grade network cards struggle to meet the high-performance demands of the large model era, resulting in only partial GPU computing power being effectively utilized.

The Panmai 920’s core breakthrough lies in elevating network throughput bandwidth to 400Gbps. Current mainstream domestic smart network cards remain at the 100-200Gbps level, making the new product a two to four times performance leap. Higher bandwidth enables faster data exchange between computing nodes in GPU clusters, significantly reducing wait times.

Beyond bandwidth improvements, the Panmai 920 introduces multi-path RDMA technology. RDMA is a high-speed network communication protocol allowing different servers to directly read and write each other’s memory. Traditional RDMA relies on single transmission paths, prone to congestion under high loads. The Panmai 920’s multi-path RDMA transmits data simultaneously across multiple physical paths, effectively breaking through this limitation. Li Xuhui stated that this technological upgrade can significantly shorten the completion time for model training and inference tasks.

Alibaba T-Head semiconductor company logo, representing a significant force in China’s self-developed chip industry.

Architectural Innovation: PCIe Switch Chip-level Integration

At the hardware architecture level, the Panmai 920 employs an innovative PCIe Switch internal integration approach. PCIe is a standard high-speed interface connecting computer motherboards with peripheral devices, while PCIe Switch functions as a traffic hub for expanding connectivity and allocating bandwidth.

Typically, PCIe Switch serves as a standalone device integrated on the motherboard. The Panmai 920’s breakthrough lies in directly integrating Switch functionality into the network card chip. This design delivers multiple advantages: it simplifies server motherboard design, reduces dependency on external switching chips, and more importantly, enables the network card to connect directly to GPUs and SSDs at ultra-low latency, eliminating performance losses from intermediate components. T-Head states this innovation reduces system costs by 30%.

T-Head semiconductor product lineup, including Zhenwu AI chip, Yitian CPU, Zhenyue storage controller, and the newly launched Panmai 920 smart network card.

From Single Chip to Vertical Solutions

Why did T-Head choose diversified layout rather than focusing on a single AI chip product? Li Xuhui explained that this strategic adjustment stems from in-depth understanding of actual AI infrastructure construction needs.

In his view, releasing only one AI chip might result in being constrained by shortcomings in other hardware components when building computing clusters. True efficiency improvement requires coordinated optimization across computing, storage, and networking dimensions. The Panmai 920 was developed based on this philosophy — it’s not merely a hardware device but a key component of T-Head’s vertical solution.

A Milestone for China’s AI Infrastructure

From an industry perspective, the Panmai 920’s launch holds profound significance. As large model parameter scales continue expanding, clusters with 10,000 or more GPUs are becoming standard for training top-tier models. In this trend, network transmission capability’s importance grows increasingly apparent.

The Panmai 920 addresses core challenges in ultra-large-scale clusters, enabling computing chips to fully release their potential. Its mass production marks a critical breakthrough in China’s AI infrastructure at the networking dimension, forming a synergy with already-progressed computing and storage products. It can be anticipated that with large-scale deployment of this product, domestic AI chips will possess stronger competitiveness in building high-performance, cost-effective data centers.

2026-04-30
China’s Humanoid Robot Mass Production Breakthrough: How 15-Minute Production Line Changeover is Reshaping Industry Rules
A figure overlooking the Linkage Intelligent Manufacturing embodied intelligence factory

On April 17, 2026, at the Beijing Yizhuang Xiaomi Intelligent Port, an ordinary-looking launch ceremony might have changed the fate of China’s humanoid robot industry.

The first batch of humanoid robots officially rolled off the production line at Linkage Intelligent Manufacturing’s Beijing Embodied Intelligence Super Factory—including industry-leading models like Tiangong Ultra and Tiangong 3.0. As the first high-automation, high-compatibility, full-chain embodied intelligence super factory in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, it marks China’s humanoid robot industry’s official transition from “laboratory demonstrations” to “large-scale mass production.”

Breaking the “Easy R&D, Difficult Mass Production” Pain Point

The humanoid robot industry has an open secret: prototypes are easy to make, but mass production is extremely difficult.

UbTech spent 13 years reaching “thousand-unit mass production”; Tesla’s Optimus, announced in 2022, has repeatedly delayed its mass production timeline. Why? Because humanoid robots are incredibly complex—dozens of joints need precise coordination, control systems must respond in real-time, and heat dissipation, battery life, and reliability are all major obstacles.

More critically, traditional factories are often designed for single products. Switching robot models might require rebuilding entire production lines, making mass production costly and time-consuming.

The robot features a white body with black joints, a distinctive blue light ring on its head, and Tiangong Ultra markings on its chest. The fact

Linkage Intelligent Manufacturing’s super factory changed this situation. Through three core capabilities, the factory achieved efficient and flexible mass manufacturing:
- Multi-model mixed-line production: Joint line changeover time under 15 minutes—produce Tiangong Ultra today, switch to Tiangong 3.0 tomorrow
- Full-chain manufacturing: Core components, joint modules, complete assembly, and testing verification—all under one roof
- Flexible production: Testing platforms compatible with multi-protocol automatic docking, workstation adaptability for different sizes and configurations
From “Single-Point Breakthrough” to “Industrial Ecosystem”

In recent years, China’s humanoid robot industry showed “single-point breakthrough” characteristics—this company excels in motion control, that company leads in algorithms, another does components well. But these were isolated islands that couldn’t connect.

Now, a complete industrial closed loop is forming:
- Upstream: CATL supplies batteries and other core components
- Midstream: Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center focuses on R&D, Linkage Intelligent Manufacturing handles manufacturing
- Downstream: Application scenarios like automotive manufacturing, consumer electronics, and power inspection continue expanding
More importantly, this super factory doesn’t serve just one company—it opens to the entire industry. It aims to become the “public infrastructure” for the embodied intelligence industry, enabling all companies that want to make robots to access its mass production capabilities.

The Tiangong embodied robot standing confidently in the factory setting, displaying its mechanical joints and blue lighting accents.

Tiangong Ultra: From Half-Marathon Champion to Mass Production

The first batch of models off the line represents the highest level of current humanoid robots.

Tiangong Ultra is the world’s first humanoid robot to complete a half-marathon. In April 2025, it finished the 21.0975-kilometer race in 2 hours 40 minutes 42 seconds, winning the championship. This robot achieves a maximum running speed of 12km/h and can withstand 45N·s impulse, equivalent to a professional boxer’s powerful strike. It maintains stable movement across various complex terrains including slopes, stairs, grass, gravel, and sand, validating reliability in challenging environments.

Tiangong 3.0, released in February 2026, goes even further. Standing approximately 1.69 meters tall and weighing 62 kilograms with 43 degrees of freedom, it can climb over approximately 1-meter-high obstacles with one hand, work flexibly on rough terrain, precisely dial knobs, and even perform complex movements like somersaults, table tennis bouncing, and dancing. As the industry’s first full-size humanoid robot achieving tactile interaction-based whole-body high-dynamic motion control, its operational precision is maintained at the millimeter level.

Ten-Thousand-Unit Production Capacity: Aiming for the Global First Tier

Look at the capacity plan: 10,000 units annually in 2026, 500,000 units annually by 2030.

What does this mean? Tesla Optimus’ 2025 capacity plan was 10,000 units with a goal of reaching 100,000 units by 2027. Linkage Intelligent Manufacturing’s super factory plan is already targeting the global first tier.

More notably, this factory has already received batch ODM orders from multiple North American AI and robotics companies. Foreign companies using Chinese factories to manufacture robots—this is not just a victory in production capacity, but a victory in the entire industry chain.

The Super Factory’s Core Strengths

What makes this super factory exceptional?

Full-chain manufacturing capability: Traditional humanoid robot manufacturing is typically divided—one company makes joints, another assembles, a third tests. Coordination costs between these stages are high. But this super factory integrates everything: precision structural components, joint module manufacturing, complete robot assembly, multi-condition parallel testing, and 24-hour smart logistics. Parts go in one end; fully tested robots come out the other.

High flexibility: Traditional factories might need to shut down for days to switch products. But this factory’s joint line requires only 15 minutes for changeover. Standardized interfaces, modular design, AI systems automatically adjusting production line configurations—small-batch, multi-variety, fast-iteration demands are perfectly met here.

High automation: You can hardly see workers in this factory. Component handling, assembly, testing, and storage are all automated systems. Operating 24 hours a day without stopping not only improves efficiency but, more importantly, ensures product consistency. Every robot coming off the line has equally stable quality.

A Chinese Sample of Industrial Ecosystem

The Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center, the R&D entity behind Tiangong robots, has an interesting shareholder structure:
- Beijing Xiaomi Robot Technology Co., Ltd. (28.57%): Provides consumer hardware support and ecosystem collaboration
- Beijing UbTech Intelligent Robot Co., Ltd. (28.57%): Leads full-stack robot technology R&D
- Beijing Jingcheng Electromechanical Industry Investment Co., Ltd. (28.57%): Provides industrial-grade robot application support
- Beijing Yizhuang Robot Technology Industry Development Co., Ltd. (14.29%): Provides policy support and scenario opening
Xiaomi’s consumer electronics experience, UbTech’s robotics technology, Jingcheng Electromechanical’s manufacturing capabilities, and Yizhuang’s policy support—the four parties working together form a complete “technology + manufacturing + ecosystem” closed loop.

CEO Xiong Youjun stated that technology open-sourcing is key to industry development. The structural drawings, software architecture, and electrical systems of “Tiangong 1.0” are fully open-sourced; the large-scale multi-configuration intelligent robot dataset and evaluation benchmark “RoboMIND” are completely open to external parties; the “HuiSi KaiWu” platform is also open to the industry. Only through technology open-sourcing and ecosystem sharing can the entire industry progress rapidly.

From “Can Dance” to “Can Work”

From Tiangong 1.0 LITE’s release in April 2024, to Tiangong Ultra’s half-marathon championship in April 2025, to the super factory’s production launch in April 2026—in less than two years, Tiangong robots completed the evolution from “learning to walk” to “walking briskly.”

When tens of thousands of humanoid robots roll off this production line, when more automotive factories, logistics warehouses, and power inspection scenarios use these robots, when robot costs drop to levels affordable for ordinary enterprises—

Then, the humanoid robot industry will truly usher in its own “iPhone moment.”
2026-04-29