Jan 21

Apple Just Made It Less Worth It To Trade In Your Android Smartphone

Posted in: Today's Chili

Want to buy an iPhone but don’t want to pay full price? We get it, which is why some of you might be aware of Apple’s trade-in program where you can trade-in older iPhones or even Android phones and use that value towards buying a brand new iPhone.

However, if you’re coming over from the Android ecosystem, it seems that it will now be less worth it to trade-in your old Android device for an iPhone. This is because according to a report from MacRumors, it appears that Apple has reduced the trade-in value for a bunch of Android smartphones.

Some of these changes in trade-in value are quite significant. Take for example the Samsung Galaxy S21+ 5G, where previously it was valued at around $435, but is now only worth $325 to Apple, meaning that users lose about $100 in value from before. These reductions in trade-in value don’t just apply to Android phones, but also Apple’s other products like iPads and Mac computers.

So if you do plan to switch over from Android to iOS and want to get rid of your old Android phone, you might actually be better off selling it on a third-party platform to get the best value possible, or if you prefer the convenience of dealing with Apple direct, then you’ll just have to make do with these new values.

Apple Just Made It Less Worth It To Trade In Your Android Smartphone

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

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Jan 21

Arizona Bill Would Ban Transgender Girls, Women From Teams

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Opponents argue the bill targets vulnerable young people who are already struggling to fit in and just want to play sports with their friends.

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Jan 21

Oxford warns mild COVID can reduce cognitive performance for months

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<img width="1280" height="720" src="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/covid-vaccine-vials-1280×720.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="COVID-19 vaccine vials on tray" loading="lazy" style="margin: auto;margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%" data-attachment-id="708121" data-permalink="https://www.slashgear.com/oxford-warns-mild-covid-can-reduce-cognitive-performance-for-months-20708119/covid-vaccine-vials/" data-orig-file="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/covid-vaccine-vials.jpg" data-orig-size="1440,810" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="covid-vaccine-vials" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="

Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock

” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/covid-vaccine-vials-1280×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/covid-vaccine-vials-1280×720.jpg” />Mild cases of COVID-19 that don’t result in obvious “long COVID” symptoms may still trigger memory and attention problems, according to a new study from the University of Oxford. Though participants who’d previously had and recovered from mild COVID were found to have similar test results as the study’s control group, there were two areas related to cognitive performance that … Continue reading

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Jan 21

Peloton is reportedly pausing Bike and Tread production amid lower demand (update)

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Peloton is reportedly pumping the brakes on Bike and Tread production as demand for the home fitness equipment is said to be slowing.

It’s said to be putting production of its standard Bike and Tread (treadmill) products on hold for two months and six weeks, respectively. The company stopped building Bike+ units last month and it doesn’t plan to pick up production of that more expensive model until June, CNBC reports. As for Tread+, Peloton reportedly doesn’t expect to build any more of those in its 2022 fiscal year.

According to CNBC, Peloton said in an internal presentation that there’s been a significant drop in demand due to consumer “price sensitivity” and increased competition from rivals. On top of that, gyms are open again in many regions following COVID-19 lockdown measures. After being cooped up at home for the better part of two years, it wouldn’t be surprising if fitness fans wanted to work out elsewhere. Meanwhile, research firm M Science said it hasn’t seen evidence of a rise in demand for at-home fitness amid the surge of the Omicron variant.

As things stand, Peloton is said to have overestimated demand and thousands of its products are in warehouses and on cargo ships. It reportedly needs to sell many of those before making more bikes and treadmills.

Meanwhile, per the presentation, Peloton Guide was delayed from October to next month, and the product might slip again to April. Peloton Guide is a strength-training system that uses camera and machine learning to track users’ movements and help them match their form against an instructor.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Peloton is looking to reduce costs. Measures could include layoffs and store closures.

Engadget has contacted Peloton for comment. The company will report its latest quarterly financial results on February 8th, which should make the status of Peloton and its products slightly clearer.

Update 01/20/21 9PM ET: Peloton CEO John Foley has denied that the company is putting production on hold. In a letter to employees, he said “rumors that we are halting all production of bikes and Treads are false.” He did say, however, that Peloton is “resetting [its] production levels for sustainable growth.”

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Jan 21

Twitter brings NFTs to profile photos, but only for Twitter Blue subscribers

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Twitter is giving NFT enthusiasts a new reason to pay for a Twitter Blue subscription. The company is testing a new feature that allows NFT owners to authenticate NFTs displayed in their profile photos.

The feature, which is being offered as an early stage “Labs” feature for Twitter Blue subscribers, allows NFT owners to connect their crypto wallet to their Twitter account and display an NFT as their profile photo. While many NFT owners already use the art in their profile photos, the Twitter Blue feature will also add an icon indicating that the NFT has been authenticated and that person behind the account is the official owner of the piece.

Though only Twitter Blue subscribers can access the feature, the authentication symbol will be visible to everyone on Twitter. And other users will be able to tap on the hexagon symbol in order to learn more about the NFT in the image.

Twitter will verify NFTs in profile photos for Twitter Blue subscribers.
Twitter

While Twitter has previously indicated that it was working on an NFT authentication service, it’s notable that it would choose to offer the feature to Twitter Blue subscribers first, The company debuted the $3/month subscription service in November, in a bid to appeal to power users who might pay for specialized features. The NFT feature is “still under active development,” according to the company, and it’s not clear if it plans to launch it more widely. Twitter has previously said that early-stage “labs” features are experiments that could become available outside of Twitter Blue, kept around for subscribers, or killed off entirely.

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Jan 21

An Influencer Pilot Is Under Investigation After Being Accused of Crashing His Plane On Purpose

Posted in: Today's Chili

A pilot and professional YouTuber has run into some trouble after he crashed his plane in the California mountains last month, only to be accused of doing the whole thing on purpose to grab some page views. Now he’s being investigated by the feds.

Read more…

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Jan 21

Samsung Unpacked Event In February, Starts New Galaxy S Era

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Samsung will officially host its next Unpacked event in February to introduce what we expect to be the new Galaxy S22 smartphones.

Dr. TM Roth, President & Head of MX Business at Samsung Electronics, mentions, “the most noteworthy S series device we’ve ever created.” That’s a clear hint the late Galaxy Note series will officially merge into the Galaxy S, marking the inclusion of Samsung’s S-Pen inside the Galaxy S.

Before you get too excited, we’re assuming that only the Galaxy S22 Ultra is large and expensive enough to receive an integrated S-Pen. Still, we’d love to be wrong and see broader adoption in the Galaxy S Plus and Galaxy S. One can hope.

Samsung itself emphasizes the Ultra with the sentence: “Get ready for the ultimate Ultra experience.”

Today’s Galaxy S21 Ultra users can already benefit from the S-Pen (photo above, and don’t miss our S21 Ultra review), but it is not garaged in the phone, and the case to carry it makes the combo a bit bulky. That should all change next month.

The most exciting part of Dr. TM Roth’s blog post is the description of the camera experience: “With it, you will own the night — taking the best and brightest photos and videos you’ve ever captured with a phone. You will also dominate the day with power, speed and tools that can’t be found elsewhere.”

The Galaxy S21 Ultra was considered one of the best mobile cameras in the 2021 US market, but the competition is extremely hot these days with Xiaomi and Oppo featuring excellent camera hardware.

There’s no official date for the event yet, but most rumors place it around Feb 8, so stay tuned.

Samsung Unpacked Event In February, Starts New Galaxy S Era

, original content from Ubergizmo. Read our Copyrights and terms of use.

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Jan 21

Executive Privilege Ruling Lands Steve Bannon, Mark Meadows In ‘Deep Doo-Doo’: Legal Expert

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The decision blocking Trump’s use of executive privilege in the Capitol riot investigation is also a “nail in the coffin” for the two former aides, said Neal Katyal.

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Jan 21

Google just got terrible news in Europe – and it could get much worse

Posted in: Today's Chili

<img width="1200" height="800" src="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/analyfsds-1200×800.jpg" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" alt="Analysis software on tablet" loading="lazy" style="margin: auto;margin-bottom: 5px;max-width: 100%" data-attachment-id="708171" data-permalink="https://www.slashgear.com/google-just-got-terrible-news-in-europe-and-it-could-get-much-worse-20708166/analyfsds/" data-orig-file="https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/analyfsds.jpg" data-orig-size="1440,960" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0"}" data-image-title="analyfsds" data-image-description="" data-image-caption="

Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock

” data-medium-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/analyfsds-1080×720.jpg” data-large-file=”https://cdn.slashgear.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/analyfsds-1200×800.jpg” />Google was just hit by some very bad news coming from Europe, but the news may be even worse for website owners than for Google itself. In an unprecedented case, the court in Austria has just ruled that Google Analytics is in violation with the European data protection laws. As a result, Google Analytics has been made illegal in Austria. … Continue reading

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Jan 21

TikTok joins Instagram in testing creator subscriptions

Posted in: Today's Chili

Soon after Instagram started rolling out paid subscriptions for creators, TikTok says it may be following suit. The service is exploring a feature that would allow influencers to paywall at least some of the content they share on the app, as The Information first reported.

TikTok’s subscriptions are being tested on a limited basis, so you may not see your favorite creators using them anytime soon. The platform didn’t provide more details about how the feature works. “We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience,” a TikTok spokesperson told Engadget.

As with the likes of Twitch, Twitter and YouTube, TikTok allows viewers to send tips to influencers who are enrolled in the Creator Next program. Users can also buy and send virtual gifts to creators.

Given its other monetization options and that rival platforms have embraced subscriptions, it’s hardly a surprise that TikTok is following that path too. In 2020, TikTok announced a $200 million fund to support creators.

Meta is also spending heavily on influencers. The company said last year it would invest $1 billion in creators across the likes of Facebook and Instagram by the end of 2022, in the hope of keeping them away from competitors. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company won’t take a cut of their earnings until at least 2023. Instagram subscriptions are only available to a very small number of creators for now, but there are plans to open up access to others in the coming months.

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