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Porsche's Mission E pricing might give Tesla buyers pause
Porsche boss Oliver Blume has dropped some details about the Porsche Mission E that should perk up the ears of EV and sports car fans. The all-electric vehicle will look much like the dramatically-styled concept that first appeared in 2015 and get to an 80 percent charge in just 15 minutes. It will also go on sale in 2019 and have a (relatively) reasonable price of an "entry-level Panamera," which is around $80,000-$90,000, he told Car Magazine at the Frankfurt Auto Show.
Apple questioned about Face ID security by the US Senate
A lot of people quickly raised concerns about privacy and security the moment Apple revealed iPhone X and its Face ID feature. Edward Snowden, for instance, thinks it normalizes face scanning, "a tech certain to be abused." Now, US Senator Al Franken is pressing the tech titan for answers, penning a letter addressed to Apple chief Tim Cook with a list of questions concerning the technology's "eventual uses that may not be contemplated by" its customers.
Audi wants autonomous cars to run errands while you're at work
Audi laid out its plans for autonomous vehicles and how it intends to use AI to us back in July, and now the automaker is ready to show off what it's been working on. At this year's IAA auto show in Frankfurt, Audi debuted the AIcon and ElAIne (above and below), a pair of cars capable of Level 4 autonomy (conditional, but fully automated driving) that it claims are empathetic to their drivers' needs. "They will be able to continually interact with their surroundings and passengers, and thus adapt themselves in a better way than ever before to the requirements of those on board," Audi wrote in a lengthy press release.
The iPhone X vs. the competition: Beautiful screens and more
It's been a decade since the first iPhone was introduced, so today's big announcement from Apple marks the occasion with an "X." However, the mobile scene has changed a lot since 2007, with rival companies like Samsung, LG and HTC releasing devices that can compete with the iPhone on power, features and design. We've sized up the new iPhone X against some of the more outstanding handsets out there, including a few with edge-to-edge screens, like the LG V30. See how the X's specs compare now, and check back later this month to see how it holds up in our full review.
Xiaomi's Mi MIX 2 comes with a stunning ceramic unibody
For most of us living outside of China, we tend to be limited to two options when it comes to the choice of materials on our phones: either metal or plastic, or a bit of both (and maybe a touch of wood, if you're lucky). While Essential was grabbing headlines with its titanium device, Xiaomi continued tinkering with something that many others dare not touch: ceramics. Following the Mi MIX, the Chinese smartphone maker has once again collaborated with Philippe Starck's design studio to bring us yet another ceramic device with a near-bezel-less display: the Mi MIX 2.
Amazon wants US cities to bid for its second major HQ
Amazon is looking for a second company headquarters and wants cities around the US to convince the retail giant why it should take up residency with them. Amazon says it plans to invest more than $5 billion in the new site, called HQ2, while creating up to 50,000 new jobs, and claims the development will bring "tens of billions of dollars in additional investment" to whichever area wins the bid. The company points to its Seattle location as evidence of this, claiming that investments in the site from 2010 to 2016 brought in an "additional $38 billion to the city's economy -- every dollar invested by Amazon in Seattle generated an additional 1.4 dollars for the city's economy overall."
Alexa and Siri are vulnerable to 'silent,' nefarious commands
Hacks are often caused by our own stupidity, but you can blame tech companies for a new vulnerability. Researchers from China's Zheijiang University found a way to attack Siri, Alexa and other voice assistants by feeding them commands in ultrasonic frequencies. Those are too high for humans to hear, but they're perfectly audible to the microphones on your devices. With the technique, researchers could get the AI assistants to open malicious websites and even your door if you had a smart lock connected.
Google's new Street View cameras help AI map the real world
Google's Street View cameras haven't changed significantly in 8 years, and that's a problem when the technology world most certainly has. How is the company supposed to fulfill its AI ambitions with 2009-era hardware? Thankfully, it won't have to. Google has revealed to Wired that it's implementing a brand new camera design that should not only produce higher quality Street View imagery, but will prove crucial to Google's use of AI to index real-world locations.
Apple will unveil the next iPhone on September 12th at its new campus
To the surprise of almost no one, Apple has announced it'll be holding its annual iPhone event on Tuesday, September 12th. It'll be the first event hosted at Apple's new "spaceship" campus in Cupertino, California. Sure, Apple didn't say exactly what to expect, but given that the company has introduced a new iPhone around this timeframe for the last six years, it's a pretty safe bet we'll be seeing new mobile phones. That includes the "iPhone 8," a device that's expected to be radically different from its predecessors. Improvements rumored include an edge-to-edge OLED screen, face detection, wireless charging, a virtual home button and an updated dual-camera system.
Alexa and Cortana will soon work with each other
Amazon and Microsoft are integrating their digital assistants. Alexa and Cortana will soon be able to communicate with each other, allowing users of one AI to benefit from the other's skills. In the near future, summoning the AI helpers will be as easy as saying "Alexa, open Cortana," or "Cortana, open Alexa." That may sound like an odd fit now, but both Amazon and Microsoft are convinced of its perks.
India shut off the internet in an attempt to maintain order
Last week, local governments in the northern Indian states of Punjab and Haryana shut down citizens' internet access and text messaging services just before a verdict was to be released on a high-profile rape case. The case involved a cult leader with a large following who was accused of raping two women in his group. A statement from the Additional Chief Secretary of Haryana said the order was "issued to prevent any disturbance of peace and public order" in the region. Around 50 million people lost internet access for five days.
Uber picks Expedia chief as its new CEO
Uber's lengthy, sometimes tumultuous search for a new CEO is over. Sources talking to both the New York Times and Recode have learned that the ridesharing company has picked Expedia chief Dara Khosrowshahi as its new leader. The company will only say that its board has voted on a CEO and will reveal the decision "to the employees first," but the reported decision makes sense in light of recent leaks surrounding Uber's choice.
India’s privacy ruling could disrupt its biometric society
A landmark judgement has ruled that Indian citizens have a fundamental right to privacy, despite the country's vast biometric identification scheme. In a case bought forward by opponents of the government's Aadhaar biometric program, Chief Justice J.S Khehar said privacy was "protected as an intrinsic part of Article 21 that protects life and liberty". The unanimous verdict from the nine-judge bench overturns two previous rulings by the Supreme Court which said privacy was not a fundamental right.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 packs a giant display and a smarter pen
It's been a long, long year for Galaxy Note fans. The Note 7 launched with much fanfare last summer, only to die in spectacular fashion as systemic battery flaws (not to mention hasty decision-making) forced Samsung to recall the fire-prone handset twice and eventually kill it off. Unless you went out of your way to get the Fan Edition, you've had to go without a modern Note for a long time. At last, though, a replacement is here: Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Note 8, and it might finish the redemption process that started with the Galaxy S8.
Solar eclipse gives NASA a rare opportunity to study Mercury
While you're stuck on Earth during today's solar eclipse, NASA jets will be performing a tricky science experiment on the Sun and its closest companion, Mercury. A pair of them will take off this morning from Houston's Johnson Space Center and follow the path of of the eclipse, allowing them to see "totality" for three and half minutes, nearly a minute longer than Earth observers. Equipped with a pair of infrared telescopes each, they'll examine the sun's corona and Mercury's chemical signatures to find out what lies below its surface.
HBO hacking woes continue: this time on social media
HBO just can't catch a break. The cable network got hacked again, though this time, the perpetrators targeted its social media accounts. A hacker group called OurMine took over the company's Facebook and Twitter accounts not to ask for millions or to steal more GoT episodes, but to "test [their] security." OurMine is known for targeting high-profile social accounts and even got Netflix's and Mark Zuckerberg's Twitter accounts in the past.
GoDaddy dumps white supremacist site 'Daily Stormer' (updated)
White supremacist website Daily Stormer just lost its web domain. In a tweet, GoDaddy claims it's giving the site "24 hours" to move to another domain provider, having found it to be in violation of its terms and services. The announcement came in response to a Twitter appeal from The New Agenda co-founder Amy Siskind, who pointed out an article by the neo-Nazi publication. In the piece, Daily Stormer used obscene language in regards to Heather Heyer -- the woman who was killed in Charlottesville on Saturday after a man rammed his car into a crowd of people. Heyer was among those protesting against the Unite the Right white supremacist rallies over the weekend.
FCC wants mobile data to count as broadband internet
The FCC under Chairman Ajit Pai is signaling new broadband policy changes that can only be described as friendly to ISPs and hostile to consumers. In a "Notice of Inquiry," a public comment step often taken ahead of rule changes, the commission proposes that both fixed and mobile can be counted as broadband under Section 706 of its rules. That differs from the current standard, developed under Tom Wheeler, that requires timely deployment of both wired and wireless networks in the US.
EPA docs reveal how Tesla's long-range Model 3 covers 310 miles
Elon Musk once said that Tesla couldn't fit a 100kWh battery into the Model 3, but he didn't specify what kind of battery the car will have. Now, a bunch of EPA certification documents have finally revealed that the long-range version of the all-electric sedan is equipped with a 350-volt, 230-amp-hour battery pack. If you compute for the battery's kilowatt-hour value using those numbers, you'll get 80.5kWh of max capacity. That's what gives the long-range Model 3 variant the power to travel 310 miles between charges, only 5 miles shorter than the 315-mile range of the Model S and X. Tesla upgraded those vehicles' batteries to 100kWh in late 2016.
Faraday Future leases new California plant amidst financial uncertainty
After seemingly abandoning its plans to open a manufacturing plant in Las Vegas, electric car maker Faraday Future has found a new home. The company has signed a lease for a 1,000,000-square foot facility in Hanford, California, and more than 500 employees were already onsite last Saturday decorating the building.
