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Welcome, Tech enthusiasts.
X just secured another state license for financial transactions.
Is Elon’s ‘Everything App’ finally coming to fruition? Let’s dive in…
In today’s tech rundown:
💸 X gets approval for crypto license
🍎 Apple's iPhone 15 event officially set for Sept. 12
📱 Google accidentally leaks Pixel 8 Pro design
🛠️ 7 new products and 6 quick stories
Read time: 3 minutes
TODAY’S HEADLINES
X (FORMERLY TWITTER)
Image source: Midjourney
The Rundown: Regulators in Rhode Island granted X (formerly Twitter) a license required to custody and transfer crypto, moving it closer to supporting digital asset payments across the nation.
The details:
The license approval lets X hold, send, and exchange digital currencies on users' behalf.
This comes after X obtained similar licenses in other U.S. states over the past months, including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, and New Hampshire.
The financial turn aligns with Elon Musk's vision for X as an "everything app" with crypto functionality.
Why it matters: This license clears regulatory hurdles in yet another state for X to eventually support crypto payments and trading across the U.S. However, the scope of its initial offering still remains uncertain — especially given the country’s currently unfavorable stance on the crypto industry.
APPLE
Image source: Apple
The Rundown: Apple announced its next product launch happening on Sept. 12, where the world will get its first look at the hotly-anticipated iPhone 15 lineup.
Key points:
The event features the tagline ‘Wanderlust’, and four new iPhone 15 models are expected to be unveiled — Standard, Plus, Pro, and Pro Max.
The Pro models are expected to receive more significant changes like A17 chip, titanium frame, and thinner bezels.
All phones are reportedly switching to USB-C, with higher starting prices (rumored to be $1099 and $1199) for the Pro and Pro Max models.
Noteworthy: With its Lightning era ending, the iPhone 15 launch represents a major shift for Apple. But the Pro models' rumored $1100+ prices could limit appeal despite redesigns seeming poised to push iPhone innovation further.
Image source: Google (first spotted by X user @Android_Setting)
The Rundown: Google leaked its own shot of the upcoming Pixel 8 Pro phone, showing off a tweaked camera bump and new beige colorway in a since-removed photo on the Google Store website.
Details:
The image appeared briefly on a Google support page before being removed — but not before being spotted by savvy users on X.
The photo shows an elongated oval camera housing with a "Porcelain" color option and matches previous Pixel 8 leaks pointing to camera and display upgrades.
A Pixel Watch also appeared in the image, possibly hinting at a next-gen model.
Our thoughts: Another release, another leak for Google. While the image confirms Pixel 8 rumors and demonstrates its continued focus on unique colors, battery life fixes may be more critical after Pixel 7's issues.
NEW PRODUCTS
🤖 Tsunami API- A web3 API for everything (link)
📝 OnlySheets 2.0- Sell access to your Google Sheets (link)
🖍️ KTON- Kindle highlights management tool (link)
🙋 Sprig- Get instant answers about survey results (link)
🐦 Postwise- Craft viral Tweets in seconds (link)
🦾 Resolve- ChatGPT-powered customer service chatbots (link)
🔥 YouLearn- Learn any YouTube video with AI (link)
Browse the most popular tools ever featured with our tool database.
SNIPPETS
Seattle leads U.S. cities in attracting young tech talent, with a 15.2% "in-migration rate" from February 2022 to 2023, according to a CBRE study. The growth comes despite recent layoffs at tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon.
The U.S. Department of Energy is allocating $15.5 billion to boost the transition to electric vehicles, with $12 billion aimed at retooling automotive plants and $3.5 billion for domestic battery manufacturing.
YouTube Music has revamped its "Now Playing" screen to include a comments section, making the app more interactive and social. The update also features easily accessible buttons and larger cover art, following the platform's recent launch of "Samples," a TikTok-style short-form video feed.
Google's AI subsidiary DeepMind is testing SynthID, a digital watermark to identify AI-generated images and combat disinformation. Unlike traditional watermarks, these are invisible to humans but can be detected by computers, offering a way to verify if an image is real or machine-made.
California's Department of Motor Vehicles has ordered General Motors' self-driving subsidiary, Cruise, to reduce its active fleet by 50% following two recent collisions in San Francisco. The incidents highlight ongoing safety challenges in the development and deployment of autonomous vehicles.
X, previously known as Twitter, is expanding its safety and elections teams and will once again allow political ads, as the 2024 US presidential election approaches
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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