The iPhone 13 Pro can take a nice photo. (Credit: Lance Ulanoff)
Microsoft Re Surfaces
Everyone knew Microsoft was preparing an upgraded Surface Pro, a new Surface Go, and the second generation of The Surface Duo.
The company didn’t disappoint last week, with a new Surface Pro 8 that borrows its design language and technology from the Surface Pro X. It’s thinner, with a bigger screen, more modern ports, and even a new pen and pen holder space (I didn’t love the original Surface Pro X).
The Duo 2 looks like a thinner, lighter, and more powerful pocketable 5G device that Microsoft still won’t call “a phone.”
The big surprise, though, is the Surface Laptop Studio. It’s a laptop with an unusual screen hinge system that lets it convert into a sort of tablet. The device is powerful (Intel’s 11th Gen CPU and discrete NVIDIA graphics) and exciting. Microsoft’s Panos Panay was almost giddy as he showed it off during Microsoft’s live-streamed Surface event.
We didn’t get a price for it or any of the new Microsoft Surfaces, but I cannot stop thinking about the new hybrid device. Will it be expensive? I’m sure of it. Could that screen/hinge mechanism be problematic? Maybe, but Microsoft has, when it comes to the Surface line, a track record of engineering excellence. I expect no less from the Surface Laptop Studio.
Tiny technology
Researchers looked at a tree, watched some polynoses detach, gently spin their way to the ground, and thought… Actually I have no idea what they thought but this nature-engineered way of dispersing seeds across the widest area possible certainly inspired some scientists at Northwestern University.
So, they built a tiny microchip (smaller than a grain of rice) that, instead of flying, unfurls and then floats down to the ground in a controlled manner.
For them, this isn’t about spreading seeds. Instead, it’s about collecting data. Properly equipped winged chips can measure air quality, pollutants, and deliver other data about the environment during a slow but totally controlled “flight.”
I can imagine a giant fake tree with millions of little winged chips just waiting to be released and test the air quality during a massive wildfire. As for what happens after the chips hit the ground, the engineers say they’re working on making them fully biodegradable.
Make it USB-C
The EU is trying to force all gadget manufacturers to standardize on USB-C. It’s a proposal that’s designed to reduce waste, but also appears to primarily target Apple, a holdout in the proprietary port wars.
All iPhones since the 5 series and including the new iPhone 13, use a lightning port. The proprietary port technology is growing old and is clearly not even what Apple plans to use for the future, as it has swapped out traditional USB ports on Macs and lighting ports on iPad (including the new mini) for USB-C.
Android phone manufacturers have virtually all standardized on USB-C, so this barely impacts them at all. There are, though, the occasional new gadget that still uses a micro-USB (why I’ll never know). I’m sure they’re in the minority, but this proposed rule could light a fire under their engineering butts to make the change ASAP.
On the other hand, we have all those new iPhones and even the new 9th generation iPad. In other words, the EU’s plan could really hurt Apple–if it were passed within the next 12 months.
The reality is the EU proposal could take years to become a rule and by then I am certain Apple will have moved on from lighting ports. In fact, I expect the iPhone 14 might be the first one to feature it. And, no, I do not expect Apple to go portless for another few cycles.
Sears sad decline
In my basement I have a few Craftsmen tools and a Shop-Vac, all purchased at Sears, a store I loved primarily for the tools (you could return the hardware–not electric–at any time for a replacement), but I also bought more than a few appliances there.
Over the past 30 years, I’ve watched in disbelief and sadness as the once-powerful retail brand took a back seat to every online retail innovator. As Amazon built a website selling every product category under the sun and a vast inventory and delivery network, Sears kept sending out weekend flyers, offering in-store sales, and changing very, very little.
A few years ago, it sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It’s been shutting stores all over the place and now has closed its last retail store in Sear’s hometown of Illinois (it’s not clear how many Sears, in total, are left around the country).
It’s a shame Sears didn’t take note of how hard Walmart scrambled to stay abreast of Amazon (buying Jet may have been key). Sears simply bought other failing retailers (hello, K-Mart) and tried to win on the scale. It failed and a one-storied brand is so close to disappearing.
Recommended Reading:
This New Yorker long read by Chris Hayes about the real impact of social media and how it’s changed the relationship between the famous and the fan and turned the Internet into one, big, unintended surveillance system.
Missed on Medium:
Apple iPhone 13 Review: Familiar Design and Stunning Technological Achievement
Apple iPad mini (6th Gen) is Reborn as a Perfect Pencil Partner
Stay well
See you soon