This is Time slows down in the world of gadgets and consumer technology, a product purgatory between CES and Phone Announcement Season leads to a scarcity of device news. Right now, there’s only one thing to do for this week’s gadget newsletter: Dive into the rumours and find out what Apple is up to.
Again, new details have leaked about Apple’s ongoing plans to build AR/VR headsets and mixed reality ecosystems. Thanks to the reports from Bloomberg and InformationApple’s vision for the most anticipated device in years is becoming clearer.
Apple seems interested in creating a device that replicates its mobile iOS experience into an augmented or virtual realm. The headset, which Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman says is likely to be called Reality Pro and to be released later this year, will use internal and external cameras to track eye and hand movements so you can manipulate AR objects projected into real space. It will enable AR FaceTime calls, with video showing the person wearing the headset. Reportedly this will work for in-person calls, where calls with multiple people will show them all displayed as slightly appalling Apple Anime Animoji.
Apple has also quietly built an AR software environment in which it and other companies can build apps. Apparently, Apple has leveraged technology commonly used in video games, like procedural generation, to create virtual environments like a meditation garden and even an interactive garden. The Story of Dr. Seuss.
The headphones are expected to cost around $3,000, with cheaper models scheduled for release in 2024 or 2025.
Here are some of this week’s gadget news.
Microsoft will stop selling Windows 10
Windows 10, considered by many to be a pretty good operating systembeing phased out in favor of it almost strong successor. Microsoft says that after January 31, it will no longer for sale license for Windows 10.
But it doesn’t kill the OS completely – at least not quite yet. On its Windows 10 store page, the disclaimer says that Microsoft will support Windows 10 until October 14, 2025. That’s about a decade old for the OS, which is on track with Microsoft’s previous support for its popular operating systems. (Microsoft ended support for the very popular Windows 7 in 2020, more than a decade after it was released.) However, it does signal that Microsoft is looking forward to a more complete transition to its Windows 11 era. The company has released the First big update for its new operating system last September.
Substack has private mode
Substack, the independent blogging and newsletter platform that has become the darling of independent journalists of all kinds, is getting a private mode. It works like your edgy Finsta account or Twitter Circle, where only people you’ve approved can see posts. Comparing it directly with Instagram’s private mode, the company says this will give Substackers a way to check feeds or just make posts available to friends or certain communities. determined. (You know it’s only a matter of time until a certain writer accidentally posts an 8,000-word scathing opinion on main.)
This move has an almost nostalgic appeal to it. After all, having a blog that few people read will probably feel very familiar to us who were online around 2007.
You TikTalking 2 Me?
TikTok has been on the news quite a bit lately, mainly because people keep trying to ban the app in the US. However, the app continues to roll out silent updates to its platform. The latest is the possibility Customize who you receive direct messages from.
You can choose between being available to DMs from everyone, mutual followers, or recommended friends. Recommended Friends Mode will allow DMs from people you’ve added via your contacts or other social media services like Facebook. You can also turn off DM completely. It’s not as comprehensive as Instagram’s recent quality of life updates are aimed at protect young usersbut apparently, TikTok is prioritizing DM as a way to keep people engaged on the app.
