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Misfit’s Vapor X smartwatch boasts longer battery life and Spotify

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The Vapor X uses the Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 3100 chipset, an ultra low power platform to extend battery life. Other power efficiency measures include a battery saving mode and a rapid charging feature which means the smartwatch can be almost completely charged in one hour. This should mitigate one of smartwatches’ biggest annoyances — constantly low battery levels.

The device runs Wear OS, Google’s Android version for wearables, and will compete with latest generation smartwatches like the Fossil Gen 5. It’ll be compatible with phones running Android 4.4 and above or iOS 10 and above, with basic specs including 4GB of storage and 512MB of memory. Plus there’s standalone GPS and it’ll be swimproof in shallow water.

It will come with Spotify pre-installed, so you can listen to music on to go. It can even operate as a music player without being paired to a phone, as long as you have a paid subscription to either Pandora or Google Play Music. The Vapor X is compatible with Google Pay, so you can make payments via NFC and there’s also safety app Noonlight pre-installed which can be used to trigger a request to emergency services.

In terms of health tracking, it comes with a heart rate sensor and the Cardiogram app which will monitor your vital signs to keep tabs on your health. For those looking for more style, the Vapor X will come in five colors with interchangeable straps, and the watch face is customizable for a more personalized look.

Misfit is keeping things close to its chest about the exact launch date, but its product page shows the Vapor X will go on sale for $279.99.

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British Airways is offering VR entertainment on flights

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The headsets come from VR company SkyLights and are fully immersive regardless of how the wearer is sitting — they’ll even work if they’re lying fully flat (which is another first class luxury in itself). The line-up also includes a range of expertly-selected therapeutic VR experiences, such as guided meditation and sound therapy, specifically designed for those with a fear of flying.

British Airways is certainly not the first airline to adopt VR entertainment — Quantas trialled it back in 2015 and Alaska Airlines did the same last year — but it is the first UK airline to do so, and it’s a massive name in the air travel biz, suggesting that in-flight VR could soon become an on-board norm.

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What to expect from the next-gen Xbox

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Fancy on a budget.
The Kia Telluride is surprisingly high-tech and stylish (for a Kia)

Kia is making a bid to break out of its image as a maker of small, cheap cars. It’s doing a good job of it, too. The Telluride is a well-equipped, comfortable, midsize SUV with a dollop of tech thrown in for good measure. According to Roberto Baldwin, it’s got tinges of luxury throughout while still being relatively inexpensive. It’s good value without compromising on style.

Steam hit ‘PC Building Simulator’ makes the jump to consoles today.
Build the PC of your dreams… on PS4, Xbox and Switch

PC Building Simulator, a game in which players can create monster PC gaming rigs, is now available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Before you start asking too many questions about the cognitive dissonance of building a virtual PC on a console, know that PC Building Simulator isn’t just a game about building PCs. But, well, it mostly is.

It’s now available on the PlayStation Store, Microsoft Store and Nintendo eShop for $20.

You could play ‘Mario Kart’ as it’s meant to be played.
Nintendo appears to be readying a SNES Switch controller

Nintendo may be planning to make SNES-style wireless controllers for the Switch, according to an FCC filing first spotted by a user on the Resetera forum.

There aren’t many details revealed in the FCC filing, but it does show that the controller would have Bluetooth to wirelessly connect to the Switch. From looking at the image, the controller may have ZL and ZR buttons on the top, or it could be a Joy-Con docking rail. Or possibly both.

Nintendo’s already offered wireless NES controllers, accompanying a run of NES titles that launched on the Switch. Could this mean the company will tap its SNES back-catalog? I hope so.

Backwards compatibility and cross-gen gameplay are also on the agenda.
Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox: High frame rates and fast loading

Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer has revealed even more about what’s in store for the console, which Microsoft claims will be four times as powerful as the Xbox One X.

In an interview with Gamespot, Spencer said that consistency would be at the top of the agenda for the new console. He wants games loading fast and consistently high frame rates. Crucially, backwards compatibility will play a major role in the console’s design — which is great, but Microsoft’s major challenge against PlayStation competition will remain a unique game lineup that players can’t get elsewhere.

It’s also easier to control with one hand.
DJI’s Osmo 3 smartphone gimbal has a travel-friendly folding design

JI’s Osmo Mobile 3 is a cheaper and more travel-friendly version of its smartphone gimbal. The electronic stabilizer has an all-new folding design and locking mechanism that takes up a lot less space. At the same time, it’s easier to operate thanks to a new Quick Roll control that switches the gimbal from portrait to handheld mode with no need to remove the phone.

Despite the extra folding mechanism, it’s still lightweight and lets you shoot for up to 15 hours before the battery dies. On top of that, it gets rid of one big complaint with the Osmo 2, as the redesign doesn’t obscure audio and charging ports. At $119, it might be a very cheap way of upgrading your smartphone videography.

They’ll combine as ViacomCBS to fight cable competition and streaming services.
CBS and Viacom agree to sign $30 billion merger deal

The two companies announced today that they will reunite as ViacomCBS. According to The Wall Street Journal, CBS and Viacom hope that, together, they’ll be better positioned to fight against cable TV competition and streaming services.

If it goes through, the all-stock deal will bring together Viacom’s MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, as well as its Paramount film and TV studio and CBS’s broadcast network and Showtime premium network. The merger is far from a surprise. The media giants originally split in 2006, but rumors that the companies might reunite began circulating ten years later.

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Apple is reportedly in talks to let Siri play Spotify tracks

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When it unveiled iOS 13, Apple opened up the possibility of Siri working with rival music services via new SiriKit updates. If Apple and Spotify can work something out, you’d be able to play Spotify tunes using Siri from an iPhone without the need to open the app. However, Apple Music would still be the default music service for Siri on Apple devices, according to The Information‘s sources.

As part of its antitrust complaint, Spotify put up a website listing the reasons it feels Apple isn’t behaving competitively. Its main gripe is the 15 to 30 percent fee Apple takes on Spotify’s subscription service from the App Store. It feels that by acting as a gatekeeper to services like Spotify, while also offering its own app, Apple is competing unfairly.

Spotify originally said that “Apple won’t allow us to be on HomePod and they definitely won’t let us connect with Siri to play your jams.” However, as The Information notes, it changed the wording, which now reads: “Only recently, Apple announced that it will let us connect with Siri to play your jams…but fails to mention our name (‘I want to play [X] on Spotify’) and your HomePod will default to Apple Music.”

Google’s Assistant and Amazon Alexa both work with Spotify, but Siri does not. Apple has used that fact to push its own Apple Music service, which has tight integration with Siri, HomePod and Apple TV (As of recent counts, Apple Music has over 60 million paid subscribers, while Spotify has north of 100 million premium users.) In any case, the news — which should be taken with a grain of salt — isn’t likely to derail Spotify’s anti-competition suit in the EU.

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NASA chooses four potential asteroid sample sites for OSIRIS-REx

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The fact that OSIRIS-Rex was designed to identify sample sites with an 82-foot radius made things even more difficult. To be able to find four boulder-free areas, the mission team had to adjust the spacecraft’s sample site identification process to be able to detect sites with a radius of 16 to 33 feet. The scientists also had to give its navigation capabilities an accuracy boost to be able to target smaller sites than expected.

The OSIRIS-Rex team stuck to the mission’s Egyptian-themed naming scheme and christened the four sites Nightingale, Kingfisher, Osprey and Sandpiper — all birds native to Egypt. They vary in geological features: Nightingale contains fine-grain dark materials, Kingfisher has hydrated minerals, Osprey may have carbon-rich materials, while Sandpiper could yield water-rich samples. OSIRIS-REx will take close-up images of the four sites and analyze them in detail this fall. That will provide the mission team the data it needs to choose the primary and backup sample sites in December.

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FAA issues flight ban on 2015 MacBook Pros with faulty batteries

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The agency told Bloomberg in a statement that it’s “aware of the recalled batteries that are used in some Apple MacBook Pro laptops.” It has already alerted major airlines about it, telling them to adhere to the agency’s 2016 safety instructions for devices with recalled batteries. As such, you can’t take an affected laptop in your carry-on, and you can’t check it in as cargo either. You can, however, take it on a flight once its battery has been replaced.

Bloomberg says four airlines based in the UK, Italy and Canada managed by Total Cargo Expertise recently implemented the same ban. The company already announced that the MacBook Pro model is no longer allowed in any of its airlines and said its personnel will remind passengers at the gate and before takeoff.

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Twitter is finally working on search for DMs

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There are a couple more minor but welcome additions in development. Twitter is working on the option to support Live Photos from iOS devices as GIFs in case you want your snapshots to be that much livelier. You’ll also have the freedom to reorder photos in the app after you’ve uploaded them. You won’t have to worry about botching an event tweet by posting the photos out of sequence, to put it another way.

The company has good reason to turn its attention to DMs after spending so much time on public-facing features. Remember, Mark Zuckerberg outlined plans for a privacy-focused Facebook with more emphasis on chats and other “simple, intimate” spaces. If Twitter wants to lure people away from those spaces, it has to make DMs more compelling than they are today.

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Twitter’s latest test lets you follow topics

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You’ll also have the option to mute topics, so you won’t have to risk spoiling a show or enduring a done-to-death conversation.

The test is currently limited to Android users and includes a companion test that lets you create separate lists to follow individual interests, including keywords and individual users. If you know someone always has a good hot take on politics, you can keep tabs on them in addition to mentions of the relevant issue.

And yes, there’s still another test after that. True to rumors, Twitter is testing an option in Android to snooze notifications (see below). You’re limited to one-, three- and 12-hour increments, but those could do the job if you’re popular enough that your phone tends to blow up with mentions and DMs while you’re out on the town.

None of these are guaranteed to see a widespread release, but topic following stands a better chance than most. Twitter’s perpetual challenge has been to help newcomers decide who and what to follow. This would get the ball rolling even if you have no idea who’s worth watching. It could also be considerably more convenient than diving into Moments, which exist as separate entities disconnected from your own feed.



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‘Apex Legends’ goes live with Iron Crown event and solo mode

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Players will be able to eliminate enemy squads with Octane, a character who has taken over a part of King’s Canyon. The Octane Town Takeover includes a new mega jump pad course and a gigantic ring of fire. The new area is expected to be a permanent part of the game — and if the community’s reception is positive, they can expect similar updates inspired by other Legends characters.

Fans can also unlock an entire series of new skins, including several that redress Legends characters as medieval warriors. Crowns, a new currency, will allow players to unlock skins, banners and loot items. Each Iron Crown pack will come with either an epic or legendary item in addition to 30 crowns.

The long-awaited Solos mode will pit 60 players against each other. Whether or not the single-player mode will be permanent largely depends on how fans receive it. “We are always striving to ensure healthy matchmaking across all modes, so it’s too early to say whether Solos will be permanent or not, but we’re going to watch and see what happens. As always, we want to hear your feedback, so let us know what you think,” wrote Leeeeeee-RSPN on the Legends website.

For game developer Respawn, this period will allow them to see exactly what the Apex community likes and dislikes. It even launched a public Trello board for players to report bugs and other concerns. For players with either grievances or compliments, now is a crucial time to chime in.

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