Hasta La Gadget!

Apple is facing another lawsuit over Powerbeats battery trouble. New York resident Alejandro Vivar has filed a potential class action lawsuit over allegations Powerbeats Pro design defects prevents the wireless earbuds from charging properly. As it’s reportedly too easy to lose contact between the buds and their charging case, one of the earpieces either won’t charge “consistently” or quickly drain its charge. Apple committed fraud by misrepresenting battery life and failing to address issues it supposedly knew about, the plaintiff said.

Vivar’s attorneys suggest a combination of the case design and an insufficiently sturdy ear “gasket” (the piece that goes into your ear) may be responsible. Customers have had to resort to inserting a “wedge” to keep the charging pins in contact, according to the lawsuit. The lawyers also reject Apple’s claims the Powerbeats Pro are sweat- and water-resistant, arguing that sweat corrodes the charging contacts.

The lawsuit calls for Apple to “correct” the situation, compensate affected users and pay unspecified damages. If the lawsuit is fully certified as a class action, it would cover both New York customers as well as those in Georgia, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Virginia.

We’ve asked Apple for comment. As with many such lawsuits, there’s no certainty it will reach class action status or lead to compensation. And don’t expect a windfall even if the case succeeds — with some exceptions, class actions tend to result in small payouts. If anything, the lawsuit may do more to affect design choices than Powerbeats Pro buyers’ bank accounts.

You might not be thrilled that face masks are a part of daily life during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they could soon be useful for more than protecting others and yourself. Researchers at Northwestern University (including battery-free Game Boy creator Josiah Hester) have developed a “FaceBit” face mask sensor that can track a wide range of health data from inside an N95 mask. The magnetically-attached unit can gauge your heart rate using the subtle head movements from blood pumping, and can detect leaks or a poor fit by looking for sudden dips in mask resistance.

Those measurements, in turn, can help the sensor detect a slew of other conditions. Heart and breathing data could let you know when you’re stressed and need a break. And while the sensor won’t replace an N95 fit test (to verify a proper seal), it’s capable enough to help you maintain that fit over the course of a long day.

You might not have to charge the sensor, either. While there is a battery in the prototype, the sensor uses breathing force, heat, motion and the Sun to extend the mask’s longevity to 11 days. Hester eventually wants the mask to be battery-free.

FaceBit will need to go through clinical trials and other tests before it’s ready for real-world use. However, Hester’s team has already released the project code and hardware to the public to help others build and verify it. While you probably won’t buy one of these for personal use, it could be crucial for hospitals eager to keep workers safe and prevent burnout over long shifts.

Apple employees may have to stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines if they want to avoid significant hassles. The Verge says it has seen internal email revealing that Apple will require corporate and retail staff to offer proof of COVID-19 vaccine booster shots if they want to enter offices or stores from February 15th onward. Once an employee is eligible for a booster, they’ll have four weeks to get it and provide evidence.

Workers who are either unvaccinated or can’t provide proof will have to provide negative rapid antigen test results from January 24th onward, but it’s not certain if this affects both office and store employees.

Apple was plain in its reasoning. The “waning efficacy” of initial vaccine doses and the rise of COVID-19’s Omicron variant meant that boosters were necessary to guard against serious illness, according to the company.

We’ve asked Apple for comment. The report comes just days after Facebook parent Meta required booster shots for a return to the office, and not long after Apple temporarily closed numerous stores following COVID-19 outbreaks. Simply put, there’s a lot of added pressure to require boosters and minimize significant disruptions.

An officer in Florida tried to deescalate a situation between a suspect and her colleague. That’s when Sgt. Christopher Pullease grabbed her by the throat.

Netflix has had a pretty good stack of South Korean shows lately. Squid Game took off as a big success, but if Kingdom and Hellbound are any indication, it’s Korean horror that the streaming service likes. Fortunately, they’ve got a new terrifying tale on the way in the form of the upcoming All of Us Are Dead.

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