Go big, or go Apple Watch Series 9
Want a Watch Ultra-sized display on a regular Apple Watch that won’t bankrupt you? You might just get your wish, if what Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his weekly ‘Power On’ newsletter is true (and it usually is).
You’ll still need to fork over a small fortune to nab Apple’s next-generation Apple Watch Series 10 when it eventually releases – potentially this year. But it should, at least, carry a larger display than we’ve come to expect from Apple’s regular Watch line-up, one that’s “about as large as the one found on the Apple Watch Ultra.” A slimmer body is also reportedly on offer for the Series 10 range.
That goes for both devices under the Series 10 line-up – codenamed N217 and N218 – currently in development. The Watch Ultra, on the other hand, won’t be quite as lucky to see a ‘major design change’ for its third birthday, though it will see the addition of a new chipset, just like the Series 10. Just… don’t expect to see Apple Intelligence shoved in there anytime soon.
New features may be light on the ground this year, too. Apple might be able to cobble together those sleep apnea and high blood pressure tracking tools it’s been working on in time for a release, though according to Gurman, “since making headway on those features last year, Apple has run into some serious snags, I’m told.”
NASCAR goes electric
You know NASCAR, right? The sport that promises all the excitement of Cars, but fails to provide anything more exhilarating than the odd crash (and this). Despite our obvious disdain, we couldn’t help going “ooooh!” once we laid eyes on the new electrified NASCAR, er, car, announced at the Chicago Street Race over the weekend.
It won’t be replacing the traditional petrol-burning racer anytime soon, however. The car’s existence marks a partnership between NASCAR and ABB to bring this electrified prototype to life in the first place. It’s fitted with three electric motors, plus a 78kWh liquid-cooled battery, capable of producing 1,000kW at peak power.
Somebody remind us why these aren’t replacing traditional cars, again? It might have something to do with the fact that despite all its power, and nearly double the acceleration speed, NASCAR’s David Ragan’s best lap in the EV proved to be “two-tenths of a second slower” than a regular racer. There’s still no denying its cool factor though.
YouTube did something good?
It’s not often we get to commend YouTube for a job well done, so forgive us if the occasional tip-of-the-hat slips through the cracks. YouTube’s creators have long since struggled against the rules of copyrighted music, whose use could cause the loss of income on the video or its removal entirely. Now, YouTube has launched a newly improved eraser tool that targets and wipes any trace of copyrighted music in a video.
The tool isn’t a new one, but its launch to the public is. It’s using an “AI-powered algorithm” (this is Google we’re talking about) to better identify and root out the music causing the copyright dispute and remove it without affecting the surrounding audio. Or, it should when it works correctly, at least. It’s still prone to struggle with more difficult songs, according to the support page.
Should the AI prove unable to remove the more difficult bits of music, creators will want to stick with the tried and true method of simply muting the affected portion of their video to avoid dealing with the content claim ID attached to the video. While not perfect, YouTube’s system should hopefully improve, putting an end to the issue once and for all.
Only Meta could make AI boring
Oh, how we wish we were writing about some loophole that would help WhatsApp users rid themselves of the pestilential Meta AI search bar plaguing the app’s home screen (as well as Facebook and Instagram). But we aren’t. Instead, we’re writing about the feature’s expansion that will see users be able to upload images to the chatbots, something not currently in its repertoire.
That’s according to WABetaInfo (who else), which spotted the feature in the upcoming 2.24.14.20 Android version of the app. When it eventually lands, the feature will allow the chatbot to engage with images by ‘understanding’ them and discussing them with users, or in some cases, even editing them.
That’s only if you want it to, of course. You can choose to continue ignoring the chatbot like we have ever since it turned up on our phones demanding attention. But for the few people who do use the feature, this update might make it more useful. WABetaInfo, for instance, believes it “adds convenience to the user experience, as it will allow users to make quick edits and adjustments to their photos directly within the app, enhancing the process and saving time.”