Hasta La Gadget!

Last year, Honda revealed that it intends to shift all its car sales to electric and fuel cell vehicles by 2040. To make phasing out gas-powered cars feasible, it has to release a wide selection of zero-emission vehicles that customers can choose from. Now, the automaker has announced that it’s spending 5 trillion yen or around $40 billion on its electrification efforts over the next 10 years. 

In a live briefing, the company also said that it plans to launch 30 EV models by 2030 with a production volume of 2 million vehicles a year. The aim is for electric vehicles to make up 40 percent of its fleet by the end of the decade,

As TechCrunch reports, Honda plans to get the ball rolling in Japan by introducing an ultra-cheap mini EV model that costs around $8,000 by 2024. It will also release the Prologue and Acura electric vehicles, both being co-developed with GM, in North America in the same year. In early April, Honda and GM announced that they’re working together to co-develop a series of affordable EVs based on a global architecture and GM’s Ultium battery technology. 

Honda has plans that don’t involve GM, however, and is using part of its $40 billion budget to develop its own electrification platform. It’s also exploring the possibility of teaming up with other companies for battery production. In addition, it’s investing 43 billion yen ($343 million) into building a demonstration line for solid-state batteries by 2024.

Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe has also reiterated that a big part of its electrification efforts is making sure it has a solid presence in China, which is currently the world’s biggest EV market. Like the company announced in the past, Mibe said Honda will launch 10 new models in China under its e:N Series branding by 2027. The company will also build plants in Guagzhou and Wuhan to manufacture its electric vehicles for the country.

Sega has revealed more about its mysterious “Super Game” project, and it’s more complex than you might have suspected. As VGC and Kotaku note, Sega executive VP Shuji Utsumi used an interview on its Japanese recruitment page to explain that Super Game is actually “several titles” in progress within the same framework. He and fellow leaders were shy on many details, but vowed that these would be blockbusters that ventured “beyond” the conventional game experience.

That might include some trendier technology. Producer Masayoshi Kikuchi said in the interview that it was “natural” to expand into areas like “cloud gaming and NFT.” This wasn’t a definite commitment to using either tech and comes soon after Sega acknowledged a public backlash to NFTs. However, Sega recently registered a “Sega NFT” trademark in Japan — it’s at least open to the idea of offering digital collectibles.

Sega unveiled a partnership with Microsoft last year to use the Azure cloud platform for Super Game development. However, this doesn’t necessarily hint at game streaming plans. Sony, for instance, used Azure to help build its online infrastructure.

Super Game might not pan out for a while. Parent firm Sega Sammy said in November 2021 it might invest the equivalent of $882 million into the project over the next five years. You won’t necessarily have to wait that long for the first products, but it’s clear Sega treats Super Game more as a strategic bet than a short-term fix.

DoorDash is courting students with a cheaper DashPass subscription. The DashPass for Students plan costs $5 per month, which is half the cost of the regular DashPass. The annual student plan costs $48. There’s a free 30-day trial as well. All undergraduate and graduate students at accredited US colleges and universities are eligible to sign up.

Those who do will get benefits such as no delivery fees on food and grocery orders above the minimum spend, reduced service fees, five percent credit on eligible pickup orders and exclusive promotions and menu items. For a limited time, DashPass members can order Buffalo Wild Wings’ new Doritos Flamin’ Hot Nacho Wings.

DoorDash cited a study that suggests 70 percent of US college students order from a food delivery app each week. They do so four times per week on average. Around 27 percent spend more than $100 per week on food delivery, and nearly three quarters say they’re more likely to place orders while studying for finals or midterms. Signing up for DashPass for Students could help them save on delivery and service fees — as long as their preferred restaurants are served by DoorDash.

The regular DashPass has more than 10 million members. DoorDash is likely hoping that students who sign up for the cheaper plan will move on to the regular subscription after they graduate.

The Food and Drug Administration has given Fitbit the green light to monitor users’ heart rhythms in the background. A new photoplethysmography (PPG) algorithm can passively check a user’s heart rhythm while they’re still or asleep. If the tech detects signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib) — a type of irregular heart rhythm — it will alert the wearer. Fitbit parent Google submitted the algorithm to the FDA for review last month.

Fitbit previously received FDA clearance to use electrocardiogram (ECG) tech in 2020’s Sense Smartwatch. However, that method requires users to run ECG tests manually. Google notes that AFib can be difficult to detect as episodes can be sporadic and pass without any symptoms. Monitoring heart rhythms in the background could improve detection. AFib affects more than 33.5 million people, and those with the condition have a higher risk of stroke.

In May 2020, Fitbit conducted a study of the PPG algorithm which lasted over five months and had more than 450,000 participants. It found that the algorithm correctly identified AFib episodes 98 percent of the time. Google used ECG patch monitors for confirmation.

Fitbit will soon roll out the background heart rate monitoring and Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications features in the US. They will be available on “a range of heart-rate enabled devices.” Apple Watch 4 and later can also passively monitor heart rhythms for signs of AFib. While neither company’s devices can make a formal diagnosis, they could prompt wearers to consult a doctor for advice should they detect possible AFib.

Sonos has acquired Mayht, a Dutch startup best known for co-creating a Bluetooth speaker powered by light. Mayht specializes in an audio technology called Heartmotion. The company claims to have reinvented “the core of speaker driver” to allow for speakers that can be up to 10 times more compact than other models without sacrificing sound quality or bass output. And it’s that expertise Sonos is paying approximately $100 million to secure for itself.

“Mayht’s breakthrough in transducer technology will enable Sonos to take another leap forward in our product portfolio,” said CEO Patrick Spence, adding the acquisition would help the company “accelerate” its product roadmap.

Notably, Spence said the deal also gives Sonos access to intellectual property that will help it further differentiate itself from its competitors. The company is currently in the middle of a bitter legal battle with Google over speaker patents. At the start of the year, the US International Trade Commission found that the search giant had infringed on Sonos’ intellectual property, creating a situation where Google downgraded the functionality of some of its devices to circumvent an import ban.

Sonos promised to share more details about its acquisition of Mayht during its Q2 earnings call in May.