This week, in the world of technology, we had the Mobile World Conference (MWC 2024), where technology companies presented us with the strange and wonderful mobile devices they are preparing.
We went to the show and saw some impressive tech, including the phone of the show, Xiaomi 14 Ultra, the laptop of the show, Samsung Galaxy Book 4, and the best wearable, the Humane AI Pin, which appeared along with others we summarized in our Top 11 devices from the MWC 2024 roundup.
There was more to it than MWC, though, so to help you catch up on the biggest innovations, we've got a roundup of the seven biggest tech news stories from the past week in case you missed them.
7. We tested the Samsung Galaxy Ring
We had our first hands-on experience with the Samsung Galaxy Ring and were very impressed by its claims of next-generation AI-powered sleep metrics. We learned a lot of new information about the long-awaited wearable, including how it will work with the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, its motion tracking capabilities, and the particular sensors it will include.
Although the rings we tried on weren't exactly connected, by using these early prototypes we were able to learn a lot about the design. In particular, its concave shape protects the main body of the Ring from scratches, a shortcoming of other smart rings such as the Ultrahuman Ring Air.
6. The first truly affordable folding phone finally landed
Foldable phones are great, but they also tend to come with ridiculous prices – until now. This week we saw the arrival of the Nubia Flip 5G, a foldable model that costs almost half the price of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. Granted, it's still not exactly cheap at $999.99 / £1,049 / AU$1,649, but that It's a new low. for a foldable phone, and that's a good start.
While the Flip 5G is still an unknown quantity, we certainly like the sound of its specs. It includes a 6.9-inch foldable AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a versatile external display, and three cameras (including a 50MP wide-angle lens, a 50MP telephoto lens, and a 16MP selfie camera). MP on the front).
Even if the main legacy of the Flip 5G is sparking a new wave of mid-range foldables, as far as we're concerned, it will have done its job.
5. We wore a smartphone like a watch
MWC is the perfect time for tech makers to show off their weirdest, craziest concepts that aren't ready to hit the market yet, and Motorola did just that at MWC 2024. It debuted with Adaptive Display, a phone that can be folded into several different positions and can be attached to the wrist using a magnetic band.
Most phone batteries are solid rectangles, which prevents them from bending this way, but the adaptive display has a neat trick that allows you to avoid this problem. Several smaller batteries comprise horizontal lines on the back of the concept phone, allowing the rest of the phone to fold around them. Smart things.
The pinnacle of wearable technology probably won't be something you can wear on your shirt, it will be a small, ultra-thin device that you can put on your eyes. The latest company to offer promises of a smart contact lens future is Xpanceo. He showed not one, not two, but four smart glasses prototypes that demonstrate four aspects of innovation in the use of the eyeball.
One promises mixed reality (XR) vision, another information, and the other even gives you, basically, a superhero vision.
While the company claims to have built all the functional components, no one has used any of these smart lenses (they need FDA approval for that) and what Xpanceo showed off at MWC 2024 was just a lens on a special mount through the which you could look at. .
The future of smart contact lenses is exciting, but it's probably also a long way off.
3. The Apple Car was permanently parked
Apple has apparently parked its long-born Project Titan EV car project and is ready to shift full-time into generative AI. At least that's the news from a reliable Apple watcher. It's a big deal because Apple may have been working on an Apple Car (or iCar) for almost a decade and spent billions on the project.
On the topic, our US editor-in-chief Lance Ulanoff said: “I, for one, am not surprised. I've been writing about how it was a bad idea and that Apple was never fully committed for almost as long “. Rumors have circulated that he was working on it.
“The auto business is nothing like Apple's other prized categories: too many partners, too low margins, and a very different sales experience that can often result in no sales at all. Furthermore, I also think Apple may have lost its time to intervene (or acquire) and dominate.”
Less surprising than this apparent news is that whoever remains on the Apple Car team will focus their attention on a much more present Apple project: generative AI for all of the company's key categories. So, yes, you'll never drive an Apple car, but your iPhone is probably about to get smart enough to drive for you, maybe.
This week Meta announced that its Quest Plus plan will be updated. Now, in addition to the two free apps you get a month that you can download and keep for as long as you're subscribed, you'll also have access to a Netflix-style library of rotating VR titles. Best of all, the price of a subscription does not change.
Starting March 1, 2024, 12 titles will join the Quest Plus library, including some of our favorites like sports fight, Strollable minigolf and until you fall – and the two free apps you can keep are shooter Contractors and immersive puzzle shadow point.
So for $7.99 / £7.99 / AU$12.95 a month, or $59.99 / £59.99 / AU$99.95 a year, you'll have access to 14 games and apps instead only 2. However, it is currently unclear how regularly the library of 12 games will change, and whether it will always have 12 titles or whether it will grow and shrink month to month.
1. Apple's plans for iPad and MacBook leaked
If you're looking to buy an Apple MacBook or iPad, you might want to wait, as a leak suggests new models will be arriving very soon.
We had heard rumors that Apple's new tablets and laptops could arrive in March or April, and Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a reliable source of Apple information, has said that a spring launch is almost certain. What's more, MacRumors reported that Apple recently updated internal documents about “unannounced or unreleased products” that are intended to help Apple staff resolve questions from potential customers, another sign that new products are likely to arrive.
If the leaks are correct, then we could see an update to the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air laptops equipped with the powerful M3 chip that was installed in the MacBook Pro last year. As for iPads, the new Pro models could get an M3, and the iPad Air could receive the older (but still impressive) M2 chip. They may also get OLED displays, but we'll have to wait and see.
