Beware – New Timing Wearables from Apple and Samsung are in the works.
Apple whisperer Mark Gurman reports that Apple plans to release a more rugged version of the Apple Watch in the near future. It should be the largest of all Apple Watches, although its screen is only slightly larger than the Series 7’s 1.9-inch screen. It is said to be built with a stronger metal frame and a more durable screen, aimed at extreme sports enthusiasts. Perhaps the biggest improvement could be battery life, which has been miserable on previous Apple Watch models, maxing out at around 18 hours. Gurman says this super Apple Watch will last longer, but not for long. Who knows, maybe it will even last all day now.
It’s been a buggy week for watches, 91 mobile phone A few details about Samsung’s next watch have been revealed. The Galaxy Watch 5 is said to come in two flavors: the regular old Watch 5 and the Watch 5 Pro. The “Pro” name seems to be Samsung’s way of branding its higher-priced models now. On the Galaxy Watch 4, it uses the name “Classic”, which is arguably less clear. The Watch 5 Pro appears to have ditched the rotating bezel on the Classic in favor of a touch-sensitive frame.
It’s unclear when any of these new watches will be released, but they’re likely to appear in the fall, when both companies tend to release new products.
Here’s some more news from the world of gadgets:
Twitter tests two eets
Well, it looks like Elon Musk wants to back out of his bid to buy Twitter. (Watch out for lawsuits.) That’s not a real shock, considering the deal was rocky from the start and only got more confusing and confrontational.
Despite this existential upheaval, the company has continued to work and test some quirky new features. The latest is what Twitter calls Co-Tweets, which will let users collaborate on tweets. Currently, it only supports co-writing between two users. One invites the other, and the finished tweet is then sent to the followers of both users.
This Google Doc-ification of tweets doesn’t work for everyone (if at all) yet. Currently, Twitter says it is trialing the feature with a select group of users for a limited time. After that, only God knows what’s next for Twitter.
Oh no, that edit button hasn’t been updated yet.
Volkswagen wants to be eco-conscious now, please
German car company Volkswagen has started building the first of six planned battery factories in Europe. This one in Salzgitter, Germany, is expected to eventually produce enough batteries to power 500,000 electric vehicles. The plant won’t actually be producing cells until at least 2025, but the process is ongoing.
The project is a major move for the company and a huge shift towards electric vehicle production. Volkswagen has been seen as an environmental villain since 2015, when it was caught manipulating its vehicles to conduct U.S. emissions tests. The trick affected thousands of vehicles and led to numerous recalls and hefty fines for the company. It also undermines any attempt by Volkswagen to create an eco-friendly image. The company has clear financial incentives as demand for electric vehicles is growing rapidly. But if it works out, it could be Volkswagen’s way of trying to clean up on its own.
TikTok closes store
Last week, TikTok was spotted testing a new Shop tab in its app. Now, the experiment seems to be running out of steam.according to Financial Times, TikTok has decided to slow down its shopping plans and won’t expand the feature to Europe or the US for now. China’s ByteDance, the app’s parent company, blamed the reversal on low engagement in the UK, where it has been testing the Shop feature. TikTok’s UK presence has been tumultuous overall, with the store feature causing friction among employees in the company’s London offices. While TikTok may temporarily shut down the Shop in some places, it is still available in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.
