News
Google has officially confirmed the Pixel 4a’s launch date
Plus teased features and a new landing page
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has caused numerous delays throughout the tech industry. Various smartphones lineups pushed back their traditional launch windows in favor of a safer one. One of the pandemic’s victims is the Pixel 4a. Whereas last year’s Pixel 3a launched in May, the Pixel 4a delayed its launch further down the line. Now, Google has officially confirmed the Pixel 4a’s launch date.
On their official Facebook and Twitter, Google posted a teaser image advertising “The Google Phone,” with “Google” and “Phone” separated by five hidden phrases. Further, the image has a grey dot on the top-left corner, potentially hinting at the phone’s punch-hole camera design.
On its own, the image is just a tease. However, the two accounts have also posted links to a new Google Store page. Inside, you’ll find the same “The Google Phone” phrasing separated by unknown words. Further, you’ll see what looks like a placeholder phone and — quite literally — lorem ipsum text.
In this case, Google is taking a page from OnePlus’s recent playful marketing strategy of the OnePlus Nord. The seemingly unfinished landing page holds several clues for the mysterious phone. This time, you can actually click the unknown words, changing their grey colors into the colors of Google’s logo. If you arrange them in order (no clues here!), they spell out “Just What You’ve Been Waiting For.” Solving the puzzle also unlocks a huge “Aug. 3” reveal, confirming the launch date.
Also, upon closer inspection, the lorem ipsum text isn’t the usual placeholder text that designers know and love. Instead, the text has intelligible words pertaining to features on the phone. Right now, we can spot “video chat,” “lowlight capture,” “bokeh,” “megapixel,” and “long-lasting battery.” Did we miss anything? Let us know!
SEE ALSO: Pixel 4A could be just around the corner, here’s everything we know
Apps
Canva teams up with SB19 to turn A’TIN’s passion into creativity
Campaign lets fans access assets, editable templates, more
Canva Philippines has joined forces with SB19 and Sony Music Entertainment to launch the “Kaya sa Canva” campaign.
This first-of-its-kind initiative is aimed at transforming the popular Filipino boy band’s fanbase into creators by giving them access to official design assets, exclusive templates, and powerful creative tools.
That’s of course as fans have a way of creating artwork, banners, and more outputs to honor their idols.
As such, the partnership enables the A’TIN (SB19’s fanbase) to access the Canva-exclusive SB19’s Creative Hub.
This dedicated space lets fans access assets, including SB19-inspired sticker packs, custom typography, and editable templates inspired by the group.
Fans around the world will initially have access to templates for photo-booth strips, wallpapers, posters, and videos.
The campaign will then expand with Canva-exclusive assets celebrating the group’s New Era, as well as their latest single, “Lawless”.
Meanwhile, the original song “KAYA” is accompanied with an upbeat music video, doubling as a love letter to A’TIN and a masterclass in Canva’s tools.
Every visual and animation is fan-inspired, a celebration of the creativity, passion, and dedication that’s defined in the community from day one.
News
The iPhone 18 might sell out for an unexpected reason
The ongoing shortage might play a part in the phone selling out earlier than expected.
An iPhone selling out is not news. Because of how popular the phones are, it’s within the realm of probability that Apple runs out of stock at some point. According to a new report, this year won’t be any different… but it’s for an entirely different reason.
First reported by analyst Tim Culpan, Apple is reportedly struggling to meet its demand for semiconductors for the iPhone 18 and the foldable iPhone. The ongoing memory shortage is cutting off Apple’s ability to deliver the required supply of smartphones in a timely fashion. The report even claims that TSMC, which helps produce the iPhone, is sitting on a shipment of processors, worth US$ 1 billion, that don’t have memory chips.
Now, Apple is still confident that it can weather the launch. However, if the shortage persists, the iPhone 18 generation will likely sell out much more quickly than expected.
It’s an interesting time for Apple to experience such a shortage. It’s been heavily rumored that the company will launch its very first foldable phone next month, creating a new market for the brand. Apple definitely wants this attempt to succeed after the tepid response to its last new product, the Vision Pro.
SEE ALSO: Did Tim Cook just confirm that iPhone prices are going up?
News
These “smart” glasses just sold out in under a week
DuckDuckGo touts that these glasses have zero AI, zero cameras, and an infinite battery life.
Smart glasses are in a weird place right now. While a chunk of the population views them as cool and innovative, another significant chunk sees them as a privacy nightmare. If you’re in the latter group but want to see what life is like on the former, DuckDuckGo has a new product: a pair of anti-surveillance glasses with no camera or AI, otherwise known as just normal sunglasses.
If it’s not obvious, yes, it’s a troll product. DuckDuckGo is a search engine famously known for pushing privacy as a priority, opposing Google’s penchant for advertising and AI. Now, the search engine is taking on the smart glasses market.
Partnering with Knockaround, DuckDuckGo released the Paso Robles, a pair of sunglasses touted as having zero cameras, an always-offline mode, and a battery life of infinity.
It’s a statement piece. The rims have a logo mark, similar to the Meta’s glasses. The packaging also states that the glasses are “designed to block the sun, not send data to the cloud.”
Now, if you want a pair, they cost only US$ 35, as opposed to Meta’s US$ 299 price tag, but they are already sold out.
Which says quite a bit about today’s sentiment against AI and for privacy. Of course, to be fair, DuckDuckGo’s supply is certainly less than Meta’s stock for their smart glasses. It does, however, prove that the sentiment is there.
As of now, the world is slowly realizing that unimpeded smart glasses aren’t such a good idea, leading to people concerned about their privacy. In fact, some states have already started banning the technology in certain public spaces.
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