The Morning After: Friday, September 22nd 2017
Eight or wait?
It's officially iPhone 8 day: Apple's newest devices go on sale in stores and start to reach new owners. (Pro tip: To reset the iPhone 8, you have to press volume up, volume down, then hold the power switch for what feels like far too long.) It's not all iPhone, though. Read on.
The Ultra HD Apple TV is here, and it's everything Devindra Hardawar could ask for. Dolby Vision and HDR10 support are present and accounted for, while the remote has a subtle tweak to help users know if they're holding it the right way. We'll have a full review for you next week, but enjoy this taste if you're waiting to find an accessory for your new 4K TV.
Original Xbox's 'Duke' controller is returning for current platforms
Xbox designer Seamus Blackley has been building a near-perfect recreation of the 17-year-old Duke controller for peripheral company Hyperkin. We don't have a price or release date yet, but gamers with super-sized paws should keep an eye out for the return of a classic.
On Sunday, Tesla's vehicle lineup will be smaller by one as it discontinues its cheapest Model S option, the Model S 75. That means the all-wheel-drive version -- the 75D -- will take its place as the low-end Model S sedan, currently listed at a starting price of $74,500.
Researchers claim it's the closest artificial material equivalent to a natural muscle.
Synthetic muscle breakthrough could lead to 'lifelike' robots
A breakthrough in soft robotics means scientists are now one step closer to creating lifelike machines. Researchers at Columbia Engineering have developed a 3D printed synthetic tissue that can act as active muscle. The material, which can push, pull, bend, and twist (thanks to its use of silicone rubber and ethanol-dispensing micro-bubbles) is also capable of carrying 1,000 times its own weight. Finally: Soft robots will be able to actually do things.
Royole's 'personal cinema' headset carries a heavy premium
The personal cinema: A head-mounted display that lets you immerse yourself in a movie, blocking out the distractions of modern life. No matter if you're on a plane or train, you can pretend that you have your very own screening room. The latest entrant into that world is Royole, a company that doesn't have a storied history in consumer devices. It hopes to use its know-how to out-do rival headsets, like Avegant and Sony, which have both offered similar hardware in the past. But is a headset really the future of cinema?
How Peggy Whitson stayed in shape aboard the ISS
Space is no place for battles of the bulge. That's why NASA insists on getting its astronauts into peak physical condition before sending them offworld. But aboard the ISS, in a living space the size of a football field, the human body will readily go to pot. So how did Peggy Whitson, the longest-orbiting astronaut in American history, manage an astonishing nine and a half months in microgravity without having her body and mind atrophy? She hit the astronaut gym.
