Apple events, Xbox reveals, and Android updates

Fall hardware season is officially in full swing. I’ve been busy reviewing products and so the newsletter has become a little sporadic, but there was so much news yesterday I wanted to send some of it out. Expect reviews of the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Surface Duo soon, but if folding phones aren’t your bag, how about:

• New Apple Watches and iPads?
• Xbox leaks turning into Xbox announcements — the Xbox Series S is smaller than I would have guessed and $399?
• Android 11?
• New Peloton bikes that will (finally) integrate directly with the Apple Watch?
• Apple suggesting that Epic could completely obliterate its business and, um, cause crops to fail if it is allowed to continue its Fortnite lawsuit?

All this and much more happened yesterday, so I’ll send you on your way to catch up on it all:

Apple’s next fall event

┏ Apple announces ‘Time Flies’ event for September 15th. Looks like Apple Watch (or watches, plural) and new iPads — iPad Airs have been rumored. As for iPhone, it seems like Apple wasn’t kidding when it signaled during its earnings call that they could be pushed to October. We will, of course, be live blogging.

┏ Apple’s Tile competitor may finally be in production. Guessing what rumored products will be announced at which event has been getting more difficult of late. My guess is this one won’t come on the 15th.

Microsoft Xbox news

┏ Microsoft confirms $299 Xbox Series S console.

┏ Microsoft confirms Xbox Series S will arrive on November 10th in new official trailer.

┏ Leaked Xbox Series S commercial reveals 1440p, ray tracing, and 512GB SSD. Looks like it’ll cost $299 and that the Series X will cost $499. Speaking of looks, I’m coming around to the belief that they’ll look better in person than they do in photos. There’s plain and there’s austere, and the line between them can be subtle.

Android 11 is here

┏ Android 11 review: features by the dozen. Here’s my review. The more I think about it, the more I think this paragraph from near the end is the most important part. Android isn’t like your typical software, not really. It’s so much more diffuse:

Android isn’t just an OS; it’s an entire ecosystem. And within that ecosystem, there are lots of big forces pushing various pendulums around. Fragmentation may be increasing, Microsoft is a frenemy to Google’s ecosystem of services, update cadences are improving, the pressure to finally figure out a good tablet solution is getting real again, regulators are concerned about Google’s power, and yet updates are increasingly coming directly from Google itself via its Play ecosystem. And who knows how the current political fight between the US and China will affect Android’s future.

┏ Android 11 is here — and not just for Google Pixel phones - The Verge. Some progress on Android getting released to phones more quickly. I’d of course like to see more.

As expected, the final version of Android 11 is now available to download on the Pixel 2, 3, 3A, 4, and 4A. OnePlus has also confirmed that the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro will be getting Android 11 today in North America, Europe, and India through an open beta, as will Oppo’s X2 and Reno 3. Google also promises to expect “more partners launching and upgrading devices over the coming months,” so today’s launch will likely be the first of many Android 11 update announcements for the next few weeks.

┏ Google’s Phone app can now give you the reason for a business’s call. Not an Android 11 story, but still: count me among the people rabidly refreshing to see if I can get Google’s phone app on my Samsung phone. I don’t know how it’s possible to make a phone dialing app annoying, but seemingly three quarters of Android manufacturers somehow pull it off.

Tech news

┏ Peloton announces new cheaper treadmill and pricier Bike Plus. I think these things are outrageously expensive, but I am not as judgy as the rest of the internet seems to be about the people who love them.

The new Tread and Bike Plus follow the same formula as Peloton’s earlier products, offering slick virtual classes via built-in screens. The big upgrade for the Bike Plus is a rotating 23.8-inch HD touchscreen and improved speakers that make it easier to follow along with Peloton’s other non-bike workouts, like yoga and strength training. The Bike Plus also now offers Apple GymKit integration, meaning you can log your workouts by simply tapping your Apple Watch on the frame

┏ Microsoft reportedly launching smaller 12.5-inch Surface laptop for the holidays. Microsoft should be pushing its Edge browser with more gusto for devices like this. Instead of thinking of it as a nerfed Windows laptop, it would be better to position it as a Chromebook with benefits.

Microsoft is even rumored to be pricing this new Surface laptop between $500 and $600, making it an affordable option for the Surface line. It appears to be positioned as the Surface Go equivalent to the Surface Pro, as a smaller and more budget-friendly clamshell laptop.

┏ Samsung reportedly cutting off chip sales to Huawei. The bad news for Huawei keeps on coming.

┏ The LG Wing could have a surprisingly thin flip-around screen, as shown in new leaks.

┏ Bose is almost ready to challenge Apple’s AirPods Pro with new noise-canceling earbuds. Bose still does one of the better jobs at connecting to multiple devices at once without hassle. I’ve been waiting for a good pair of noise cancelling earbuds that do exactly that, so I hope these are good.

┏ Amazon, Apple, and Google’s open-source smart home standard is on track for a 2021 launch. The official acronym is CHIP but in my heart it will always be CHOIP. Anyway, it’s good that this stuff is getting standardized. I care a little more about standardization on a higher level of abstraction, though. For example, I find it increasingly nutty that I have to re-set-up my rooms each time in Apple, Google, Amazon, and Sonos’ ecosystems.

┏ Apple will seek damages from Epic Games for breach of App Store contract. 

“By all accounts, Epic has taken advantage of Apple’s support and services more than any other app developer for the past two years,” the filing reads. “But sometime before June 2020, things changed. Epic decided that it would like to reap the benefits of the App Store without paying anything for them.”

More from The Verge

┏ How video chat fuels the American deportation machine. Big feature from Gaby Del Valle.

The judge overseeing his case — as well as the government attorney arguing for his deportation — would be more than 1,600 miles away, beaming in from a courtroom in downtown San Diego. To them, Samuel was an image on a screen, just one in a series of hearing after hearing telling their sad stories of violence and persecution, as remote and distant as anything they’d see on TV. To the judge, despite having risked his life traveling thousands of miles, Samuel could’ve been anywhere.

┏ Marc Levoy on the balance of camera hardware, software, and artistic expression. Levoy, if you don’t recall, led the team behind the Pixel’s camera. His chat with Nilay Patel is characteristically candid, fascinating, and fun. Definitely listen.

┏ Biden campaign enlists teen’s Instagram account for online organizing.