Will the Apple Watch flop or fly? The staff of Digital Trends debate the merits of Apple’s upcoming, highly contested smartwatch. From the good (“I can keep my phone in my pocket while I’m talking to people.”) to the bad (“You’ll forget to charge it because you’re an irresponsible idiot.”) we talk through the merits and pitfalls of this contentious release, and Apple in general. Does Cupertino still have it? Ian suddenly seems unconvinced.
Meanwhile, HBO Go is headed to your smart TV for $15 a month, but is that actually a good deal? Game of Thrones fans won’t bat an eyelid, but toss in $8 a month for Netflix, $8 a month for Hulu, $20 a month for Dish Sling TV, and the cable subscriptions we’re abandoning aren’t looking so bad after all.
In other news, France has a solution for a problem Caleb isn’t sure actually exists: short-lived appliances. And Elon Musk’s Hyperloop is edging closer to reality. Scary? Yup, but pretty much anything seems better than getting a plane. Caleb wants to ride it before he dies, but after revealing his speed fetish, none of the editors are in a hurry to climb into a tube with him.
We also answer another reader question! Dan’s answer: “Why don’t you get a magnetic pole and just stick it down there?”
Not everyone can afford to hire a personal trainer. And let’s be honest, learning exercises from YouTube or the gym regulars isn’t exactly foolproof. We need a solution that is both affordable and accurate.
A research group at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), led by Dr Biswajit Saha, has a solution. He created a bendy wearable sensor that works in the gym and for sports like tennis and swimming.
The OnePlus Buds Clip are a new pair of open-ear earbuds built around a simple convenience. They join Sony’s LinkBuds Clip in the growing ear-cuff category, but either OnePlus bud can go on either ear.
Sensors recognize how the earbuds are being worn and route the audio channels accordingly. There’s no label to check before putting them on, and the feature also works when only one bud is used.