Apple Watch Series 8 Pro is basically an Apple Watch Series X
Apple Watch Series 8 Pro is the logical name for the rumored top-tier version this year. Apple is reportedly ditching the Jony Ive-inspired Edition strategy of selling a better-than-stainless-steel watch with the same guts inside for a higher price. Instead, Apple is expected to repurpose the titanium Apple Watch as the best-in-class-on-paper version this year.
Better screen, new design, same chip. Sound familiar? That’s a lot like the strategy Apple used when it released the iPhone 8 and iPhone X in 2017. Apple skipped the iPhone 9 and went straight to iPhone X (pronounced 10) because it was leaps and bounds more modern than the iPhone 8 (which looked a lot like the iPhone 6). Apple sold the more updated product for a $300 premium.
Strategically, the Apple Watch Series 8 and Series 8 Pro (or whatever Apple calls the thing) sound very similar. The normal Apple Watch is gets a modest year-over-year update. The more technically impressive version delivers designs that will take more time to be sold for the usual prices and profit margins.
It really does feel like the Apple Watch is having its iPhone X moment.
From 9to5Mac
Moto Razr 2022 and X30 Pro launch might be rescheduled for mid-August
Earlier this week, all eyes were on Motorola, as it planned to unveil the new Moto Razr 2022 foldable and the Moto X30 Pro flagship on August 1. Surprisingly, the company called off the event at the last minute, without even stating a reason for the change of plans. Would we ever see these devices arrive? It not only sounds like they’re still coming, but Moto may have just offered a teaser for its rescheduled launch plans, possibly slated for August 11.
In a recent post on Chinese social media platform Weibo, Lenovo Mobile’s China GM Chen Jin shared a teaser image of the Moto Razr 2022 (via GSMArena). The post doesn’t explicitly confirm rescheduled launch plans, but the analog clock seen on the foldable phone’s cover display shows its date and time set for 2pm on August 11. With that coming up in just under a week, it could very well be a lightly hidden hint that the launch event has been rescheduled for then.
From Android Police
The Pixel Fold may skip an important feature used on other foldables
Google is still working on designing the Pixel Fold with a foreseeable release date nowhere in sight, but the lack of the inner camera sounds like a weird design move. In a world where many folks are still working remotely, foldables are perfect for working on the go — and that includes taking Zoom or Microsoft Teams calls. If there’s no camera on the inner Pixel Fold display, that means all of your virtual meetings will have to take place from the smaller cover display. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 may look like it doesn’t have a selfie camera, but it’s thinly veiled under the screen display on the right side.
The Pixel Fold’s lack of an inner camera may give users a hard time when taking selfies and conducting video calls with the phone folded out if that is how they wish to do so. However, they could still do those things with the camera on the outer display. They may also get some extra help with a special mode within the Google Camera app that will prompt them to flip the phone over to the front side and take a selfie when it’s still unfolded. That may not be a deal-breaker for some people, but when foldables are positioned so perfectly as creativity/productivity machines, taking away the inner camera feels like an extremely odd move.
From Digital Trends
Kuo: Apple to start iPhone 14 production simultaneously in India and China
Apple’s key partner Foxconn has iPhone production lines in a few other places in the world outside of China, such as Brazil and India. However, China’s operations remain the most important when it comes to worldwide iPhone shipments. This time, however, it seems that Apple will begin production of the iPhone 14 simultaneously in India and China.
The report comes from reliable analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who revealed that at least one of the new iPhone 14 models will be produced in India at the same time as in China. If true, this will be the first time that production of a new generation iPhone will begin in another country simultaneously with China.
As noted by Kuo, in normal situations, production of a new iPhone outside of China usually takes a few months to start. For instance, Foxconn started assembling iPhone 13 in India in April this year, while production in Brazil began a few weeks later.
Of course, iPhone production in other countries is not aimed at meeting global demand but at serving local markets. According to Kuo, the iPhone 14 production capacity in India won’t be enough to fill the gap caused by production challenges in China in the short term, but it’s still an “important milestone for Apple” when it comes to expanding iPhone production to other places.
The analyst emphasizes that Apple’s decision to accelerate iPhone 14 production in India is due to geopolitical impacts on the company’s supply chain.
From 9to5Mac
The $40,000 Cybertruck is Officially Dead
Elon Musk has a spot of bad news for his Tesla fanboys: Cybertrucks are going to end up costing more than the $40K price-point they were promised.
“I hate to sort of give a little bit of bad news,” Musk told the enthusiastic crowd at Tesla’s 2022 shareholder meeting this week after announcing that the long-awaited truck’s “specs and pricing will be different” from the $39,900 he promised three years ago.
Not only will the trucks cost more — and Musk didn’t specify the new price — but they might also take another year to ship, per the Tesla CEO.
“A lot has changed” since 2019, Musk said, referencing the year he first announced the Cybertruck and began taking $99 reservations for the motorized trapezoids.
“I think there’s no way to have sort of anticipated quite the inflation that we’ve seen,” he continued. “But what I can say is that the Cybertruck will be one helluva product. It’s going to be like a damn fine machine.”
From Futurism
Tecno Camon 19 Pro 5G launching soon in India
Tecno recently launched the Spark 9T in India, and the next smartphone it will introduce in the country is the Camon 19 Pro 5G. Tecno hasn’t revealed the Camon 19 Pro 5G’s launch date yet, but it said the smartphone is “coming soon.”
We don’t know about the Tecno Camon 19 Pro 5G’s Indian price either, but we know what the smartphone has to offer since it’s already available in other markets. The Camon 19 Pro 5G is powered by the Dimensity 810 SoC, runs Android 12-based HiOS 8.6 and has two memory options – 8GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB.
The smartphone’s built around a 6.8″ FullHD+ 120Hz LCD with a centered punch hole for the 16MP selfie camera. Around the back, it has a 64MP primary camera joined by 2MP macro and 2MP depth units. The main camera has OIS and uses an RGBW+G+P lens, advertised to increase the light intake by more than 208%.
From Gsmarena
Major leak reveals all the Samsung gadgets that are launching next week
The next eagerly awaited Samsung Unpacked event is scheduled for August 10, with the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Galaxy Z Flip 4, the Galaxy Watch 5, the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, and the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro on the agenda – and we now have an early look at all of that hardware.
Over at 91mobiles they have a whole host of leaked renders showcasing the phones, smartwatches and wireless earbuds that are due to be officially unveiled next week. What’s more, all the products in the pipeline are revealed from a variety of angles, and in a variety of different colors.
We’re even treated to a look at some extras and accessories – the charging case for the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, for example, the S Pen case that will be available for the Galaxy Z Fold 4, and some of the additional straps on the way for the Galaxy Watch 5.
From Techradar
Amazon lists the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 with specs and renders
Sure, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 leaks are aplenty, especially in the last few weeks right before the Unpacked event on August 10, but it’s always nice to see official information that supposedly comes from Samsung. Hence why we find this seemingly accidental Amazon listing of the still unannounced Galaxy Z Fold4.
Amazon Netherlands seems to have “unpacked” Samsung’s top foldable handset prematurely, showing some renders and display specifications. The outer display measures 6.2″ in diagonal, running on a 120Hz refresh rate with a centered punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera. The inward folding display has a 7.6-inch diagonal and is also ticking at 120Hz.
From Gsmarena
Meta’s New AI Chatbot Loves Anti-Racism and Mean Girls
If you’ve followed the history of chatbots at all, you’ll know many of them tend to have a pretty pesky racism problem.
In 2016, Microsoft released its “Tay” chatbot on Twitter to learn from users’ conversations, only to have the artificial intelligence transform into a racist asshole espousing sympathy for Hitler within 24 hours. Another chatbot trained on 4Chan users earlier this year quickly racked up more than 15,000 racist posts within a day. So, naturally when Gizmodo found out Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, was making its own chatbot available to the public, we expected the worst.
From Gizmodo
Facial recognition smartwatches to be used to monitor foreign offenders in UK
Migrants who have been convicted of a criminal offence will be required to scan their faces up to five times a day using smartwatches installed with facial recognition technology under plans from the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice.
In May, the government awarded a contract to the British technology company Buddi Limited to deliver “non-fitted devices” to monitor “specific cohorts” as part of the Home Office Satellite Tracking Service. The scheme is due to be introduced from the autumn across the UK, at an initial cost of £6m.
A Home Office data protection impact assessment (DPIA) from August 2021, obtained by the charity Privacy International through a freedom of information request, assessed the impact of the smartwatch technology before contracting a supplier. In the documents, seen by the Guardian, the Home Office says the scheme will involve “daily monitoring of individuals subject to immigration control”, with the requirement to wear either a fitted ankle tag or a smartwatch, carried with them at all times.
From The Guardian
