Beware – New timing wearables from Apple and Samsung are on the way.
Apple whispers Mark Gurman reports it Apple plans to release a more robust version of its Apple Watch in the near future. It should be the largest Apple Watch of them all, though its screen is only slightly larger than the Series 7’s 1.9-inch face. It is said to be built with a stronger metal frame and more durable screen and aimed at extreme sports enthusiasts. Perhaps the biggest improvement could be the battery life, which has been pathetic in previous Apple Watch models, which is a maximum of around 18 hours. Gurman says this ultra Apple Watch will last longer, but not that much longer. Who knows, it might even last a whole day now.
It’s been a leaky week for watches, too 91 Mobile reveal some details about what is likely to be Samsung’s next watch. The Galaxy Watch 5, as it is said to be called, comes in two variants: the regular old Watch 5 and the Watch 5 Pro. The “Pro” name seems to be how Samsung is now branding its more expensive model; on the Galaxy Watch 4, it used the name “Classic” for it, which was probably less obvious. Watch 5 Pro seems to discard the rotating frame available on the Classic in favor of a touch-sensitive frame.
When one of these new watches may be released is not clear, but it is likely that they will appear in the fall, when both companies tend to announce new products.
Here are some more news from the gadget world:
Twitter’s testing of Two-eets
Well, it looks like Elon Musk will withdrawing from of his bid to buy Twitter. (Look after lawsuits.) It is not a real shock, given that the agreement has been stoned from the start and has only grown more chaotic and confrontational.
Despite this existential upheaval, the company is soldiering on and testing some quirky new features. The latest is something Twitter is calling Co-Tweets, which allows users to collaborate on tweets. Right now, it only supports co-writing between two users. One invites the other, then the finished tweet goes out to both users’ followers.
This Google Doc confirmation of tweets is not yet available to everyone (if it ever will be). So far, Twitter says it is testing the feature with a select group of users for a limited time. Then only God knows what’s next for Twitter.
Oh, and no, there has been no update on that edit button yet.
Volkswagen wants to be environmentally conscious now, thank you
The German car company Volkswagen has began to build the first of six planned battery factories across Europe. This is in Salzgitter, Germany, and is expected to eventually produce enough batteries to push up half a million electric vehicles. It takes at least 2025 before the plant actually produces cells, but the process is underway.
The project is a big step for the company and a dramatic shift in the direction of electric car production. Volkswagen has been perceived as something of an environmental villain since it was captured rigs its vehicles to play U.S. emission tests in 2015. The trick hit thousands of vehicles and it resulted in significant recalls and large fines for the company. It also undermined any attempt by Volkswagen to create an environmentally friendly image. There is a clear financial incentive for the company, which demand for electric cars growing fast. But if it succeeds, it could be a way for Volkswagen to try to clean up after itself.
TikTok closes store
Last week, TikTok was seen testing a new Shop tab in its app. Now it seems that the experiment is losing steam. According to Financial TimesTikTok has decided that slow down its purchasing plans, and it will not expand the feature to Europe or the US yet. The app’s parent company, China’s ByteDance, blamed the turnaround on low engagement in the UK, where the company had tested the Shop feature. TikTok’s presence in the UK has generally been tumultuous, with the Shop function causing friction among employees at the company’s office in London. Although TikTok may have closed up. Shop for now some places, it is still available in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.