There weren’t many surprises (thanks to leaks!) at Samsung which took place live in Paris, with satellite events in New York, London and elsewhere. The big announcement was Samsung’s foray into a new type of wearable, the smart ring.
Samsung claims to have successfully integrated its existing sensor technology into the smaller format. Made of titanium, it integrates an accelerometer and PPG sensors to measure blood flow and detect skin temperature. It can track parameters such as sleep score, movements during your sleep, heart rate, respiratory rate and menstrual cycles. Notably, no subscription is required to access all the tracking and measurements. Grab this Oura and The Galaxy Ring will cost you $400 when it launches on July 24.
Then there are the foldables. This year, the Galaxy Z Flip 6 is the one getting the most attention, with improved cameras (50-megapixel wide-angle and 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle sensors), which put the smallest foldable on par with the S24. There’s also a bigger battery.
Meanwhile, the Z Fold 6 doesn’t have many major changes in terms of specs (there’s the annual note that the screens are tougher, and both foldables have even better hinges). Both devices have an Interpreter app, which uses both the main screen and the cover screen to swap translations and streamline communications. There are also even more generative AI tricks.
Find out everything that is announced on the right .
— Mat Smith
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They could still amend and refile their complaint.
Since Elon Musk bought the company, X has faced multiple legal battles. One of them involves more than 6,000 employees laid off by Musk after he acquired the company and complains that he did not pay them full severance. X’s boss won the case by dismissing the class action lawsuit.
Judge Thompson ruled that Twitter’s severance plan was not eligible for the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) because employees had received notice of a separate payment plan prior to the layoffs. She ruled that the severance program adopted after Musk’s acquisition applied to those former employees. Thompson’s order indicated that the plaintiffs could amend their complaint to the non-ERISA claims.
Environmental groups accuse the company of “distorting the truth.”
Amazon says it now sources all of its energy from clean energy sources, seven years ahead of schedule. The company’s claim that it produces 100% clean electricity is based in part on multibillion-dollar investments in more than 500 solar and wind projects. The company’s logic is that the energy generated by these projects is equivalent to the electricity consumed by its data centers. But that energy is fed into the general power grid, not directly into Amazon-specific outlets.
It is also, confusingly, about adding a standard plan.
Xbox is raising the price of its Game Pass again. Starting July 10, new subscribers will pay the updated price, while existing subscribers will see the higher costs take effect September 12. For the US, Game Pass Ultimate prices will increase from $17 per month to $20 per month, while a year of Game Pass Core access will increase from $60 to $75. Xbox Game Pass Standard is a new addition, for $15 per month. This plan offers access to Game Pass titles, but no day-one access to Microsoft-owned titles or Xbox Cloud Gaming.
What happened to Game Pass? It was a really great deal (and probably still is), but Microsoft is making things more and more confusing.