This might be your moment to buy a smartwatch for tracking your outdoor runs and hikes. Amazon has the 40mm Bluetooth variant of Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4 on sale for $179 in black and white colors. That's a substantial 28 percent off, and nearly as good as the all-time low price. There are modest discounts for 44mm and LTE versions, too, if you either prefer a larger dial or crave independence from your phone.
Whichever color you choose, you're getting a lot of smartwatch for the money. The Galaxy Watch 4 is the best Android-friendly wristwear we've seen with a vivid display, good physical controls and extensive health tracking. The interface will seem familiar if you've used previous Samsung watches, but the move to Wear OS has improved the app selection while taking advantage of Google's ecosystem.
There aren't many catches beyond the Android requirement and relatively short battery life. The biggest concern may simply be timing. There are signs a Galaxy Watch 5 is just around the corner, and you might want to wait a while if you insist on having the latest timepiece. It's unclear just when the Watch 5 will launch, though, and it's safe to say you'll pay considerably more than $179 for the privilege. This is a fine deal if you want a smartwatch right now.
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There’s a big day coming up, and plenty of pressure on you to hand over a gift that somehow represents all of your love and appreciation. It may be called Father’s Day, but this is an event for you to say a loving thank you to whatever person held that special role in your life, irrespective of their gender. Thankfully, we've collated a list of the best tech gifts you can buy to at least go some small way in saying thanks for all of that parenting you did, and probably still do.
Native Union Snap 3-in-1 magnetic wireless charger
Engadget
The first thing you’ll notice about Native Union’s Snap 3-in-1 Magnetic Wireless Charger is how good it looks. With a solid base and a gorgeous, slender neck that you stand your phone on, it blends retro futurism with minimalist chic. It’s the sort of charging gear you’d be proud to let other people see either on your nightstand or on your office desk.
You can magnetically attach an iPhone 12 or 13 to that swan neck, while a tabletop wireless mat is ideal for your AirPods. A charging puck for your Apple Watch is nestled behind, in such a way that you can use your watch as a clock when required. Not to mention the USB-C port ‘round back that’ll let you charge any other device you have lying around. Which, technically, makes it a 4-in-1 charger, but let’s not pick nits on Father’s Day of all days, please.
Sony’s XM series of headphones are the default option for pretty much every regular buyer these days. I’d already picked the XM4s for this guide when Sony dropped the WH-1000XM5 onto an unsuspecting world. The updated models offer a better looking design, a more comfortable fit and even better sound than its predecessor. As Billy Steele wrote in his review, if you thought the XM4s couldn’t get better, you’ll be staggered by the improvement here.
A lot of small things have been tweaked, including the fact there are twice as many noise cancellation microphones as on the XM4. That promises better high-frequency sound blocking, which should be great in crowded areas and on airplanes. For $400, they’re pricier than, say, Bose’s 700s, but that saving might be something of a false economy. If you just can’t stretch that far, then keep an eye out for the XM4, since the old flagship is remaining on sale at a discount.
Samsung made its first worthy AirPods alternative in the Galaxy Buds+, and the company made them even better with the newer Galaxy Buds 2. They’re smaller and lighter, and most importantly, the Buds 2 have better sound quality than their predecessors. Samsung added ANC and an adjustable ambient sound mode to these buds as well, so dad can use the companion mobile app to block out exactly as much of the world as he wants. They also do a better job minimizing background noise during calls, so he can use them to take and make calls without whipping his phone out. Overall, the $150 Galaxy Buds 2 combine a lot of essential and premium features into one fairly affordable gadget. Just be aware that they work best with Samsung phones; Android users will get almost all of the same features as Galaxy phone users, but iPhone owners will be stuck with the default settings.
Let’s face it: You want your loved ones to stay healthy, keep an eye on their heart and generally be around for as long as possible. One way to do that is by upgrading your bathroom scales to something like Withings’ Body Cardio smart scale. Designed to look as unobtrusive as possible, but hidden inside its shell is a number of extra special features you don’t get elsewhere.
You’ll get a heart-health check, automatic person tracking and a full body composition breakdown, telling you how much fat, water and muscle you’re carrying. I’d be remiss not to mention, too, Withings’ class-leading Health Mate app, which is great for collating large chunks of health data and helping you understand it in an easy-to-digest manner.
Mackie’s range of CR-X speakers are generally excellent despite their relatively low price, and that extends to the rest of its audio gear. Its Creator Bundle is designed as a one-stop kit for wannabe podcasters looking to get decent sound quality from the get-go.
First up, you’ll get a pair of CR3-X speakers, the same pair I recommended in this very guide last year. The CR3-Xs offer great sound in a small package, with a three-quarter-inch tweeter and a three-inch woofer. With built-in Bluetooth, balanced TRS and unbalanced RCA inputs, you’ve got a wide variety of ways to get this jacked into whatever you’re doing.
Alongside, you’ll get an EM-USB Condenser microphone which connects to your computer over USB-C with on-board headphone headphone monitoring and gain control. You’ll also get a pair of MC-100 pro headphones, Waveform’s audio editing app and an extra software bundle with various useful plugins thrown in, too.
If dad has a lot of files to keep track of for work or a bunch of family photos and videos he wants to save securely, he’ll welcome an SSD like Samsung’s T7 Touch. He’ll be able to move all of his important documents onto the drive quickly thanks to its support for 1,050 Mb/s read speeds and 1,000 Mb/s write rates, and it’s fairly durable with a shock- and drop-resistant body. It’s also quite compact with a palm-sized design and multiple layers of security, including AES 256-bit encryption, password protection and a fingerprint scanner. That means if dad doesn’t want to bother to remember yet another password, he can use his fingerprint to unlock the drive instead. If your father is particularly clumsy or works in a precarious environment, consider instead Samsung’s latest rugged model, the Samsung T7 Shield.
I’ve been obsessed with Dremel’s electric multi-tools ever since I watched Alexi Sayle ask “did I mention we cut?” back in the early ‘90s. And yet, despite being an adult with my own home, I’ve never needed to actually go out and buy a Dremel like the 8220 you can see here. Look at the thing, it’s like an electric Swiss Army Knife, complete with drill and screwdriver bits, sanding bits, polishing bits, metal-cutting discs, grinding stones and engraving tools! Just think about all of the things I can drill, screw, sand, polish, cut, grind and engrave if I had one of those right now.
I bet you there’s a whole host of parents and parental figures out there who are just itching to get a Dremel into their lives. But I bet they, like me, are also that little bit too scared to just go out and buy one since they probably don’t know what they’d use it for. That’s why you, as loving people, should go and buy them a Dremel much in the same way that I hope my kids, when they’re old enough to earn money, go out and buy me a Dremel. And maybe a book that will teach me how to use it.
For the majority of people, the Apple Watch is the only smartwatch they need to consider if they have an iPhone. There’s only a handful of watches on the other side that can match Apple’s timepiece for versatility, usefulness and affordability. If you’re worried about your parent’s health and frailty, then the fall detection features alone justify your investment. Not to mention the general health tracking capabilities, and the fact you can keep them healthy with a Fitness+ subscription thrown in. I haven’t even mentioned the built-in ECG, which these days is table stakes for a wearable in this class. And if dad doesn't have an iPhone, he can get many of the same features from Samsung's Galaxy Watch 4.
Of course, there are people who don’t want a smartwatch, or at least not one that looks like a smartwatch. It’s something that plenty of even designer smartwatches suffer from, and I get it, some parents don’t want to look like a neeeeeeeerd in their dotage. It’s for those people that I’d recommend Withings’ new ScanWatch Horizon, a hybrid smartwatch in the body of a classic diver’s watch.
The existing ScanWatch was already a best-in-class hybrid, with a digital subdial for notifications and an analog one for step counting. It offers automatic sleep and activity tracking, smartphone assisted GPS and the usual smartwatch bells and whistles. On top of that, it also offers built-in ECG and SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation) tests for keeping an eye on your heart health.
But Horizon steps up with its Dad Chic styling, a chunky case, band and choice of blue or green face colors. Put it on and you’ll instantly feel like a rugged outdoors-type ready to indulge in some wood choppin’ or other Bear Grylls-adjacent nonsense. Withings is even smart enough to throw in a whole bunch of tools to help you size your band without needing to trek to a jewelry store. And that’s before I get to the 30-day battery life.
One thing that COVID-19 rammed home for lots of people was the need for solid video calling to stay in touch with your loved ones. Keeping touch with my mom through WhatsApp calling in the early stages of lockdown was a perpetual irritant. It’s a problem that the new iPad Air, with its wide front camera and Center Stage, was born to solve.
It doesn’t hurt that the slate is also a world-class internet browsing device and doesn’t require a whole host of tech support. Plus, if your parent is of an artistic bent, you can pick up the compatible Apple Pencil and let them doodle to their heart’s content. Given that it’s packing an M1, you would hope this model iPad Air will have muscle to spare for years to come, drowning out any parental complaints about planned obsolescence before they begin.
There are a lot of Bluetooth turntables which are designed for the hip crowd who want to show off their ye olde-fashioned record player. But if you’re looking for something a bit more capital-S serious without shelling out for a high-end Technics unit, Audio Technica’s romantically-named ATLP120XBT might be worth a glance. The fact it could be confused for a Technics SL-1210, right down to the s-shaped tone arm is, I’m sure, just a total coincidence.
The sound is good, and you’ll get adjustable pitch control alongside the belt-driven turntable (sorry, no scratching on this unit). And connectivity-wise, it’s well-stocked, with Dual RCA-out, USB or Bluetooth 5.0, with support for aptX. It’s a unit I’m thinking about getting for my mum, since it’ll enable her to digitize her stack of 78rpm records over that USB connection.
LG’s C1 was one of the best TVs of 2021, and so you shouldn’t be surprised that its successor is even better. I could simply say “this is an LG OLED” and you could probably let its reputation walk you over to your TV store of choice. With a skinny body and almost non-existent bezels, the C2 is close to that perfect idea of a magic window for everything you’re watching, or playing.
But let’s drill down into the specifics: The C2 gets a faster processor which LG pledges will improve dynamic tone mapping, as well as improving webOS performance. Similarly, the screen’s brightness is a little higher than the C1, and contrast has been improved overall. LG’s focus this year was also on quality-of-life features beyond the picture quality, including an easier UI, new voice remote and the ability to add user profiles. Let’s also talk gaming, since if your beloved parent likes to play, you’ll find the C2 supports GeForce Now and, uh, Stadia.
(As an aside, the C2 is very much a luxury television for the sort of kids who really appreciate your parental figures. If your budget won’t stretch that far, you should look out for the C1 which is currently massively, almost stupidly discounted and still beats the pants off much of the TV market.)
Everyone, no matter their age, is going to set a cup of warm drink down somewhere and then forget about it. Maybe it’s on a shelf, or beyond peripheral vision on a desk, but that feeling when you suddenly wonder why you’re thirsty and find cold tea in front of you is the worst. It’s the reason Ember’s smart temperature-controlling mug exists, to help prevent you suffering from a sip of something unpleasantly cold ever again. A built-in battery will keep things running for 1.5 hours at a time, but the bundled charging coaster will give you a day’s worth of use. Not that we’d recommend drinking a latte that you made at 9am in the late afternoon, of course.
Projectors are a minefield, aren’t they? It’s a big investment for something you might not be sure you’ll use on a very regular basis unless you’ve got your own cinema room. I’ve always fancied building something in my backyard so I can run an outdoor theater in the warmer months. But I don’t know how much I’d actually use the thing after spending a hefty chunk on the initial investment.
Thankfully, if I ever do, I’ll likely buy BenQ’s HT2050A, which my colleague (and projector nerd) Steve Dent says is one of the best for performance and affordability. Coming in fairly cheap, it’s bright, has a 1.3x zoom and vertical lens shift, making it easy to place in tricky spots and easy to get the best picture quality out of its small body. It’s HD-only, of course, but then I’m not yet sold on the benefits of a 4K projector if you’re mostly watching live sports or old movies, or even your parent’s pictures of their most recent holiday.
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America is a book by Beth Macy which was adapted into the Hulu series of the same name. It charts the history, effect and battle against OxyContin, a slow-release painkiller that’s at the heart of the US’ opioid epidemic. The book takes you through the history of the drug, its chemical bases, and how it was handled before Purdue Pharma created a slow-release version. Of course, a combination of over-prescription, the hyper-addictive nature of the drug and a lot of incentives from Purdue helped destroy so many lives. It’s the sort of book that you feel it’s your duty to read just to understand what is, and has, been going on for so long.
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou is a similarly unbelievable true story of medical malpractice, this time centering on blood testing. Theranos promised to revolutionize the way the world tested for disease, and hoodwinked plenty of people who knew nothing about medicine. The book is in two rough halves, with the first covering the startup’s meteoric rise and the backstory of its enigmatic founder, Elizabeth Holmes.
The second, meanwhile, focuses on Carreyrou’s own part in the story, as he investigated and reported on the unfolding scandal. This is, by now, well-trodden ground – the book is due to be adapted into a movie for Netflix, while a Hulu miniseries was based on an ABC Podcast. But Carreyrou’s authoritative, I-was-there take is still the authoritative version of the story, at least until the dust settles and we get some even juicier stories out of this particular saga.
The Surface Laptop Go line holds an interesting position in Microsoft’s notebook lineup. It’s not quite as cheap or portable as the Surface Go 3 and it’s not as powerful or flexible as the Surface Studio. But a recent component refresh has added new life to a very travel-friendly system.
Starting at $600, the Surface Laptop Go 2 costs $50 more than the outgoing model. That gets you an 11th-gen Intel Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. Now it might seem strange that Microsoft didn’t opt for a newer 12th-gen chip, but the company says it really wanted to keep the cost of the base model down, and going with a slightly older processor could have factored into that. The big upgrade, though, is Microsoft has finally ditched the 64GB of eMMC storage that came on the original Surface Laptop Go, which on its own is worth a $50 price hike.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if the choice of an 11th-gen CPU was made due to considerations regarding battery life and thermals. A lot of 12th-gen chips tend to run hot and are somewhat power hungry. For the Surface Laptop Go 2, Microsoft says it was able to increase the notebook’s total runtime slightly by 30 minutes to 13.5 hours on a charge, while also reducing fan noise by up to 10 decibels at max speeds. And in my experience, that noise reduction is rather significant, with the system rarely rising above a whisper unless you're doing something more intense like gaming or editing a video.
The new Surface Laptop Go 2 shares a lot of features with the previous model. The design is basically the same, which is fine by me – the clean lines and minimalist aesthetic still look great. There is a new sage green finish that I’m rather partial to. But if that hue doesn’t do it for you, the laptop is still available in platinum, ice blue and sandstone.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
The Surface Laptop Go 2’s 720p webcam is the same resolution as last year. However, Microsoft says it switched to a new sensor that offers improved image quality. And thus far, I’ve found that even though the camera isn’t full HD (which should be the bare minimum nowadays), you do get better color saturation and contrast. So while it’s not ideal for live streaming, it’s good enough for your average video call.
The other area where I wish Microsoft had upgraded a bit more is the Laptop Go 2’s screen. It’s still the 12.4-inch 1536 x 1024 PixelSense display, which is well short of full HD. On a smaller screen like this, the lower resolution looks nice at normal viewing distances, though people with good eyesight will probably still be able to discern individual pixels. Thankfully, colors are punchy and its 330 nits of brightness means you won’t have much trouble seeing it in a sunny room.
Sadly, just like the original, the new Surface Laptop Go 2 still doesn't have a backlit keyboard.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Microsoft also says the Surface Laptop Go 2’s speakers are 24 percent louder. Like before, the drivers are hidden underneath the keyboard (which sadly still isn’t backlit). And while I have no doubt about those volume claims, its audio profile sounds a bit flat, lacking punch in both its highs and lows.
As before, there’s also a fingerprint sensor that works with Windows Hello. But it’s important to note you only get this option on more expensive configs – it’s not available on the base $600 model. Another small bonus is that the Laptop Go 2 is more repairable than before. For regular people, Microsoft says the Laptop Go 2’s SSD, Aurflink cable, keyboard and trackpad, and even the display are user-replaceable. The battery can be swapped out as well, but only by authorized service providers.
Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Finally, port selection on the Surface Laptop Go 2 has stayed the same, with one USB-A and one USB-C port, along with a headphone jack and a Surface Connect Port. And sadly, unlike more expensive Surfaces, the power brick on the Laptop Go 2 doesn’t have an extra USB-A port for charging peripherals, which would have been really handy on a system with just two USB ports.
OK, so that’s about it. Not a ton has changed on the outside, but on the inside the Surface Laptop Go 2 got some much-needed refreshes. The new 11th-gen Intel chip should provide a notable boost in performance, and an extra half hour of battery life is always nice. But I’m going to need a little more time to see how this thing really holds up as a primary work machine, so stay tuned for a full review coming soon.
Uber Eats has launched a new nationwide US shipping service that lets you order products from several cities, widely expanding your range of dining choices. "Whether you want to send dad BBQ for an upcoming Father’s Day gift or want to celebrate date night with your favorite dish from The Big Apple, it’s never been easier for Uber Eats consumers than with Nationwide shipping," the company wrote.
You can order anything from 15 merchants in NYC, Miami and Los Angeles, with more cities and sellers coming soon. Some of the merchants include Bludso’s BBQ and Gotta Have S’More (Los Angeles), Sarge’s Deli and Wafels & Dinges (NYC), and Sabores Market and Doggi’s Arepa Bar in Miami.
It's available on the Uber Eats app when you go "Home" and scroll until you see the nationwide shipping option. From there, you just follow the usual procedure: select the items you want, add them to your cart, confirm the order and check out. From there, you'll receive an email with tracking information from FedEx, the carrier handling the service.
Uber Eats
On the Uber Eats app (above), it shows the new interface, promising that you can "get far-off cravings shipped." Another screenshot shows an order from Pasta Sisters in Los Angeles, with an item called "The Party Box" shipping to New York for $124.30, presumably including delivery. Uber Eats also shows an "Order placed" screen promising a 5-7 day shipping window, which raises a number of questions. Unfortunately, Uber didn't provide more details on food conservation and the like, but you can check it out for yourself as the nationwide service is launching today.
Amazon has brought back a good deal on a bundle that gives you a Nintendo Switch Online subscription plus a microSD card. Normally priced at $70, the pack is now down to $35 and includes a 12-month Switch Online Family membership (delivered via digital code) and a 128GB SanDisk microSD card that you can use with your console.
Nintendo has added a number of perks to the Switch's subscription service over the years. Originally, it only provided online gaming, but now it includes cloud backups for gameplay data, access to a companion mobile app which lets you voice chat with friends while you play together and access to more than 70 NES and SNES titles that you can play any time. The membership that you'll get in this bundle is great for large families, as it supports up to eight users, so this could be a good gift for dad for Father's Day if he enjoys quality game-time with friends and everyone else in his household.
As for the microSD card you're getting, it's arguably a necessity for Switch owners. The console's built-in 64GB of storage won't get you very far if you're primarily getting your games digitally, so expanding with a microSD card is critical. SanDisk makes a bunch of compatible cards and this 128GB model supports read speeds up to 100 MB/s and write speeds up to 90 MB/s. If you already have a Switch Online membership, you can actually pick up the microSD card on its own for less right now, as it's down to a near record-low of $21.
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TikTok will allow users to create and customize animated avatars to star in their videos. The feature, officially called TikTok Avatars, is a lot like Snapchat’s Bitmoji or Apple’s Memoji characters.
Users can customize the look of their avatar by changing its appearance, clothing and other characteristics like piercings and hair texture. The app will have ready-made templates that can be tweaked, or you can start from scratch to create a completely unique avatar. Once the avatar is created, TikTokers can use the character in their videos, with the ability to add different voice effects or animated “reactions.” And, similar to Apple’s Memoji, users can record videos in which their avatar mirrors their own facial expressions and gestures.
TikTok Avatars was first spotted back in February, though the company hadn’t confirmed its existence until now. Though the company is hardly the first to experiment with animated representations of its users, the addition is likely to raise questions about whether TikTok is eyeing a potential metaverse tie-in. For now, the company hasn’t commented on any metaverse plans, but TikTok says it plans to “continue exploring ways to bring Avatars into more TikTok experiences.”
You can get Anker's power banks, cables and other charging accessories for up to 40 percent off only for today at Amazon. The brand's pint-sized 30-watt Nano II charger that's powered by GaN technology, for instance, is currently listed for $23.80. That's the lowest price we've seen for the device, which typically sells for $30. Since it's powered by GaN technology that replaces silicon with gallium nitride, Anker was able to design the USB-C device to be as big as a phone charger even though it can also power laptops like the MacBook Air and tablets like the iPad Pro.
If you're looking for something even cheaper, the Anker 20W Nano Pro charger is also available for $15. While that's only $5 off its original retail price, that's also an all-time low for the USB-C charging accessory. The "Glacier Blue" version of the Nano Pro can be used to charge phones like the iPhone and some tablets like the iPad mini.
Anker is also selling its PowerCore bundle with a 20,000 mAh power bank and the PowerPort III Nano One charger, which is only one-inch thick but has a charging power of 18 watts, for $52.49 or $7.50 off its retail price. The package comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable and a carrying pouch, as well. Another deal worth checking out if you have Apple devices is for the Anker USB-C to Lightning cable package that's currently on sale for $24. That represents a 40 percent (or $16) in savings and is the lowest price we've seen for the pack of two cables, each with a length of 10 feet.
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Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference, an event you should, out of principle, refuse to call Dub Dub, has kicked off. The show started with the customary lengthy keynote showing off all the new software and hardware Apple wants you to get excited about. Including the launch of Apple’s second-generation of homegrown silicon, the M2.
The M2 is very much an evolution of its immediate predecessor, designed to address some of the performance issues from the original vanilla M1. Memory bandwidth has been increased by half, and you can now spec the unit with up to 24GB “unified memory,” more than the maximum cap of 16GB on that first groundbreaking system-on-chip. Apple’s still sure it won’t be beaten on efficiency, claiming the M2 is 18 percent faster than the M1 while drawing the same amount of power.
Of course, with a new chip should come new computers to sit around it, and Apple has finally redesigned the MacBook Air for the Apple Silicon age. Gone is that elongated wedge in favor of a more MacBook Pro-esque body, albeit even smaller. You’ll also get a full-size row of function keys this time around and a bigger 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display that’s brighter than the previous model and has a webcam notch up top. Alas, it’s also $200 more than the M1 MacBook Air, but hopefully we’ll see plenty of retailer discounts in the coming weeks and months. You’ll also find the new M2 in an updated 13-inch MacBook Pro, but there’s no glossy redesign here to get all excited about.
Of course, the point of WWDC is to talk about software, and Apple had plenty to share about iOS and iPadOS 16. The biggest change for the former is a revamped lock screen that’ll give you a choice of fonts, accent colors and layouts for you to customize. You’ll be able to add widgets up front, too, enabling you to check vital data without unlocking your phone. (Sounds like the sort of thing that would be really useful if your phone had an always-on screen, too, doesn’t it?) iPadOS, meanwhile, will let you use overlapping windows just like a real computer, and Apple is even bringing the Weather app to the humble slate, just 12 years after the first model was released.
The next version of macOS, meanwhile, is dubbed Ventura, and the headline feature is the ability to better sort and organize your open applications. Stage Manager will enable you to group windows to the side of your desktop, organizing them by app, letting you switch between each group in turn. You’ll also find incremental updates to Spotlight, gain the ability to search for text in photos and notice long-overdue refreshes to Safari and Mail. But the most exciting feature might be the ability to use your iPhone as a webcam, giving you one fewer excuse to hide your face during those interminable work Zoom calls.
But it might not be that easy for Musk to back out.
Let’s be honest, who hasn’t publicly pledged to do something, made a big show and dance about following through, then got cold feet? It’s something Elon Musk might be feeling right now after he filed paperwork with the SEC to claim Twitter has committed a “material breach” of its deal terms. The Tesla CEO is claiming Twitter is refusing to disclose detailed data about the amount of fake, spam and bot accounts in its user figures. And that it has nothing to do with both Twitter and Tesla’s valuations dropping in recent months, making the deal a lot less enticing (for Musk) than it was when he started the process. For its part, Twitter says it has, and will, continue to share information with the billionaire, and that it fully intends to “close the transaction and enforce the merger agreement at the agreed price and terms.”
We got our first, camouflaged glimpse of Polestar's next EV back in December. We'll have to wait until October, however, to see the rest. The company announced on Tuesday that it will officially reveal the Polestar 3 later this fall.
This EV SUV is not only Polestar's first SUV, it's also the company's first vehicle to be produced (at least partially) in the US. What's more, it will be the first of three new models debuting over the next few years as Polestar seeks to put its vehicles in 30 markets by the end of 2023.
Like the Polestar 2, the 3 will offer 4WD thanks to its dual-motor drivetrain and a 600 km (372 mi) range. It will be built in the US and China, according to the company, with orders opening the same day as the October premiere. There's no word yet on pricing, though production is slated to begin in early 2023.
Europe has reached a deal to make USB-C a common charger for all phones and electronic devices, with the aim to reduce e-waste and inconvenience with incompatible chargers. "Under the new rules, consumers will no longer need a different charging device and cable every time they purchase a new device, and can use one single charger for all of their small and medium-sized portable electronic devices," the European Parliament said in a press release.
Buyers will also be able to choose whether they want to purchase new electronic equipment with or without a charger. "These new obligations will lead to more re-use of chargers and will help consumers save up to 250 million euro a year on unnecessary charger purchases," the EU wrote.
Manufacturers have until autumn 2024 to implement the new rule, which covers "mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, earbuds, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers." They'll have a bit longer to adapt the rule for laptops, up to 40 months after the rule goes into effect.
We have reached a deal on the common charger! 🔌👏
✔️mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, digital cameras & more #USBtypeC ✔️harmonised fast-charging technology ✔️unbundling of sale of chargers from the sale of device
— IMCO Committee Press (@EP_SingleMarket) June 7, 2022
The EU has worked with the industry to reduce the number of mobile phone chargers from 30 to 3 over the last decade, it said last year. The biggest odd one out is Apple's Lightning iPhone port that's used by around 20 percent of devices sold in Europe. Apple has yet to respond to the legislation, but in 2020, said that the push for a universal phone charger would "stifle innovation."
Another issue that's not completely clear is how the EU wants manufacturers to handle different standards like DisplayPort for video. As for power delivery (PD), the EU simply said that "consumers will be provided with clear information on the charging characteristics of new devices, making it easier for them to see whether their existing chargers are compatible." USB-C version 2.1 supports up to 240 watts of power delivery, up from 100 watts, but there's no clear way to identify how much power a given cable can support.
The EU throws away 12,000 tons of chargers each year, many unused, according to Bloomberg. At the same time, consumers spend around 2.4 billion euros ($2.8 billion) on standalone chargers not included with devices. The new rules require formal approval the EU's Parliament and Council, which won't take place until after the summer recess. It'll enter into force 20 days after it's published in the EU Official Journal.
