Leaving home with your smartphone is always a gamble. Even as the battery gets bigger, the threat of being out in the world with less time on your device can make it terrifying to witness a natural disaster. And the worst part is, when you go to someone asking for a charging cord, they just don’t have your cable type!
This week GadgetsSen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (i-VT) are working to end this headache for smartphone users around the world. The idea is that if all devices had a universal charging standard, half of us wouldn’t be left out in the cold to charge our smartphones. But that means Apple will have to switch from its proprietary Lightning cable and adopt the USB-C standard prevalent in the rest of the industry.
Then, it’s time to talk about nothing. This new smartphone brand is making the rounds in the hype machine of Android. Prominent YouTuber, Marques Brownlee, showed off the Nothing Phone (1) and some unique features in a half-hour video. Those 900 LEDs on the back are cool to look at and will offer a bit of hands-free functionality for things like checking battery power and notifications. But it’s still up in the air if there’s anything else about the smartphone that will move the needle. The Nothing brand is the brainchild of Carl Pei, formerly of OnePlus, and the playbook here gives us some deja vu.
Finally, we’re curious about Bandai’s new Digimon watch, the Vital Hero. This is a fitness watch for kids based on the virtual pet game, and it simplifies walking and running so that your Digimon’s life depends on how much physical movement you do throughout the day. The more active you are – or your child, if they want one – the faster Digimon’s stats will improve, helping to increase their chances of victory in battles against other monsters. one in the game pokemon go-Kind of vibe to it. Now, if only Apple and Google make our walks easier like this – we’ll be more inclined to continue on the road!
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