👋 Hiya! I was at a David Sedaris book tour last night, a first-time experience for me.
I greatly enjoyed a tale he told about buying 170 postcards from a store nearby, because he liked the cartoons on the front, even though he can’t read a word because they're in German. But the story gets better: the man in the store recognized Sedaris, as he’d bought 120 postcards at the same spot on a previous tour, and had kept the receipt stuck to the wall in his store!
The Google Pixel 4 leaks were, at first, just intriguing. Glimpses of the new design, a new color (orange!), a possible launch date... Now they’re getting crazy, as YouTubers upload (extremely early) hands-on impressions.
Here’s what we’re seeing:
Quick Gestures:
And just when you thought that was pretty crazy, some YouTubers in South East Asia already have the device in their hands right now:
🚖 Uber/Lyft's nightmare scenario: The California Senate has voted to end the gig economy as we know it (Quartz). Legal battles, ahoy.
🆕 Android 10 full review: The most personal Android yet (Android Authority).
📸 Motorola One Macro surfaces online: A phone with macro video/photo capabilities? (Android Authority)
🔊 Supposed Google Nest Mini hits FCC (Android Authority), with a diagram revealing a few choice details.
➗ Deal: Master Microsoft Excel formulas and functions, at a pretty good price (Android Authority).
🔨 Fairphone 3 gets a perfect 10/10 repairability score on iFixit (surprise!) (Android Authority).
📨 Chrome now lets you send tabs to your other devices (Android Authority).
🎧 Best wireless neckband earbuds: Hard to lose, easy to wear (SoundGuys).
📺 Does Apple TV+ need to be good? (Gizmodo). Given new product purchases come with 12 months of free Apple TV, even the tiny lineup might be enough, for now.
😎 The Vive Cosmos is coming October 3, with pre-orders today from $699 - and this hands-on says: VR has never looked so good (Engadget). With a bonus 12-month Viveport Infinity subscription, too.
🍎 Apple’s unannounced price cuts keep coming: 1TB iPad Pro models now $200 cheaper (MacRumors). But uh, well, it’s not all good: Apple's keyboard folio shouldn't cost half the price of its new cheap iPad (Engadget).
🆚 Should you buy Apple's iPhone 11 Pro or Samsung's Galaxy Note 10? (Lifehacker). Good rundown although for most people now it’s about their ecosystem preferences. Pricewise, it’s Galaxy Note 10 at $950 vs iPhone 11 Pro at $999, but you’ll want the 256GB model, which matches the storage in the Note 10, and it starts at $1149. Or, get it all done via a carrier at vastly harder to compare costs and benefits! Or! Stick with your current phone, and wait for real game-changing features in 2020.
🔋 Watch Tesla's record-breaking (although not official due to rules) Laguna Seca lap (Engadget).
🎮 Fortnite streamers are desperate for change, and playing a lot of World of Warcraft (The Verge).
🤷♂️ Even 'Civilization VI' is getting a battle royale mode (Engadget).
🌊 Around the planet, enormous ocean currents are traveling to new locations. As these currents relocate, waters are growing warmer (WaPo).
🔋 “Does a fully charged cell phone have enough charge to start a car?” (r/askscience). Yes, but cars need lots of current, which makes it more of a practical no.
(Artist’s impression of the planet K2-18b, its host star and an accompanying planet in this system. Photograph: ESA/Hubble, M. Kornmesser)
Remember when finding water on a distant planet was the biggest goal for scientists and astronomers? Things have come a long way, as K2-18b has been discovered!
Yes, but, as Marina Koren from The Atlantic explained, it’s confusing because space reporting is confusing, and here I’ll paraphrase her good Twitter thread which is worth reading:
So, we haven’t quite found a backup Earth-like planet just yet. But we are getting closer.
Cheers, Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor.
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