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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
Meta and LG are reportedly teaming up on a new, high-end headset.
Are the VR wars about to heat up? Let’s dig in…
In today’s tech rundown:
🤝 Meta and LG collab rumored on new VR headsets
🏠 Samsung's genAI Bixby to redefine smart homes
📱 Huawei's mystery Mate phone matches Apple's speed
🛠️ 9 New products and 5 quick stories
Read time: 3 minutes
TODAY’S HEADLINES
META
Image source: Midjourney
The Rundown: A Korean news report indicates Meta and LG could join forces for a new high-end Quest Pro virtual reality headset, which may compete with Apple's Vision Pro and reportedly cost about $2,000.
Details:
The LG partnership rumor follows news that Meta is also set to release a cheaper Quest headset priced under $200 in 2024.
The speculated pricing marks a significant hike from the original Quest Pro's launch price of $1,499, later reduced to $999.
Meta has a history of collaborative ventures in VR headset production, including Lenovo-branded Oculus Rift S and Xiaomi-manufactured Oculus Go.
Our take: Meta's potential LG collaboration could see the tech giant continue to bring high-end VR to the consumer market while also maintaining affordable alternatives.
But, with reports of a $2,000 price tag, the question remains — will this next Quest Pro sequel make enough of a splash to justify its hefty cost?
SAMSUNG
Image source: Midjourney
The Rundown: Samsung just revealed plans to level up its voice assistant, Bixby, with powerful generative AI aimed at creating personalized environments in smart homes.
The details:
The AI upgrade will equip Bixby to understand multifaceted sentences and have more natural interactions, a feature intended for all future Samsung smart home appliances.
The company hopes to leverage AI to augment all Samsung devices to better adapt to and recognize customers’ lifestyles and patterns.
Samsung is also introducing Tizen RT, a down-sized version of its Tizen OS uniquely designed for smart home products — with more updates expected in October at the Samsung Developer Conference.
Why it matters: Samsung's play to infuse Bixby with generative AI could change the game for smart home tech — moving from mere connectivity to tailoring experiences based on user habits. While the term ‘smart home’ has been around for a while, we might finally see some innovations worthy of the title.
HUAWEI
Image source: Bloomberg
The Rundown: Huawei's newly released Mate 60 Pro smartphone is reportedly demonstrating wireless speed equivalent to Apple's latest models, signaling its 5G capability.
Key points:
Testing has shown that the Mate 60 Pro exhibits similar bandwidth to other 5G phones — resulting in considerable attention from Chinese investors and the tech industry.
The model reportedly represents China's successful workaround of US trade sanctions, intensifying patriotic sentiment in the country’s tech sector.
Mate 60 Pro displayed speed beyond 350Mbps in testing on China Mobile's network; however, the particular chips used in the phone for wireless connectivity remain undisclosed.
Why it matters: The Mate 60 Pro represents a breakthrough for Huawei's in-house chip ambitions amid U.S. restrictions. But its capabilities may come at the cost of efficiency and higher pricing amid sanctions.
NEW PRODUCTS
🎨 Cannoli- Convert Figma designs into HTML emails effortlessly (link)
🧠 MindPal Creator- Turn anything into carousel posts (link)
🎥 Munch- Extract the most engaging and impactful clips from your long-form videos (link)
📄 Papermark- An open-sourced Docsend alternative to securely share documents with real-time analytics (link)
🖥️ Super- Create a website from your Notion database in minutes (link)
🛒 Marketsy- Create an online store marketplace from a text prompt (link)
🎤 Descript- A powerful all-in-one video and podcast editing tool (link)
📧 Superhuman- The fastest email experience ever made, with AI-powered features (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
SNIPPETS
Threads begin tests for its new search feature in Australia and New Zealand—the new feature on the heels of last week’s highly anticipated web version of Threads.
Apple makes another change to its charging port from Lightning to USB-C. The company has also confirmed the date of Sept.12 for its highly anticipated iPhone 15 event.
Elon Musk says X (formerly Twitter) will enable video and audio calls without users having to share their phone numbers as part of Elon’s master plan to create the “everything app.“
Meta is considering a paid version of Facebook and Instagram with no ads. The subscription plan is being targeted towards users in the European Union as policies around Meta’s data collection practices tighten.
Google has “accidentally” revealed details about its new Pixel 8 Pro ahead of the official launch on October 4th. Improvements include massive upgrades to the camera, Audio Magic Eraser, Video Unblur, and more.
THAT’S A WRAP
If you have anything interesting to share, please reach out to us by sending us a DM on Twitter: @rowancheung & @therundowntech
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