Razor made a two-seater cargo scooter

Razor is once again blurring the lines between an e-scooter and a small cargo bike with its latest offering, the EcoSmart Cargo. It looks like a more advanced, and complete version of the company’s EcoSmart Metro, but with a beefy rear rack that holds either a basket or an adult passenger seat, letting you take a friend along for the ride.

The rider, meanwhile, will stick their feet on a wide bamboo deck (covered in grip tape) that holds a 1000W motor paired with a 46.8V battery underneath. Razor says it can reach speeds of 19.9 miles per hour, and has a range of around 16.6 miles, or up to 50 minutes of continuous run time. That’s not a huge range, but is likely just enough for someone’s commute to work (or school) and back.

Standalone image of the Razor EcoSmart Cargo scooter
Razor

That power will be driven, via a chain, to a rear wheel equipped with a disc brake which can be controlled with a standard bike brake on the handlebars. Rounding out the package is a built-in LED headlight and tail light, and 16-inch pneumatic tyres for a smoother ride off-road.

The EcoSmart Cargo is available to order from today, priced at $1,099.99, with deliveries expected to begin towards the middle of September.

Razor's First Cargo Scooter Carries Groceries or Friends for $1,100

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The Morning After: Everything Apple announced at its Far Out event

Apple’s long-awaited Far Out event was a showcase of all the gadgets the company is now ready to sell us. The new iPhone 14 was blessed with a super-size sibling, and the iPhone 14 Pros ditched the notch for a lozenge-shaped punch hole in its display. Sorry, the people at Apple are insisting we call the hole a “Dynamic Island,” since the screen around it will change size for notifications. The new Apple Watch was joined by the Watch Ultra, with all of the added ruggedization extreme-sports types have been waiting for. Plus, the AirPods Pro got touch-sensitive controls and better noise cancellation, thanks to the addition of the H2 chip. It was very much a show focused on quality-of-life tweaks for these devices, with some features you might consider neat, but nothing you might feel compelled to camp outside an Apple Store to be first in line to buy.

– Daniel Cooper

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The iPhone Mini is no more.

Image of the new iPhone 14
Billy Steele / Engadget

There are two iPhones 14: the 6.1-inch standard model and its 6.7-inch Plus variant, harking back to the old regime of one “regular” sized device and one super-sized version. (Sadly, the iPhone Mini’s poor battery life made the unit a poor seller, so Apple has swung the axe.) Engadget’s Cherlynn Low got her hands all over the new handsets, which focus on better camera upgrades. The rear camera has a larger 12-megapixel sensor (with bigger 1.9-micron pixels) as well as autofocus on the forward-facing lens, for better selfies. Despite the phone’s size, the 14 Plus is lighter than its Pro siblings, a small mercy if you’ve ever dropped a phone on your face in bed.

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Apple Watch Ultra hands-on: Built for the great outdoors

The Watch 8 gets some sensor upgrades but looks much like its predecessor.

Image of the new Apple Watch Ultra
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NASA picks Axiom Space to build the first Artemis moonwalk spacesuits

The Artemis III mission will take humanity back to the Moon and will have two astronauts conducting up to four spacewalks on its surface. Now, NASA has picked the company that will be building the spacesuits Artemis astronauts will wear when they leave their spacecraft and explore the lunar landscape. The agency has announced that Axiom Space will develop the mission’s moonwalking system and has been awarded an order with a value of at least $228.5 million.

Axiom is one of the two companies that NASA named as its official Artemis spacesuit partners back in June, with the other one being Collins Aerospace. For this particular order, the agency said it reviewed proposals from the two vendors and had decided on Axiom to design, develop, certify and ultimately produce Extravehicular Activity Services (xEVAS) spacesuits and equipment for Artemis III. 

Axiom’s xEVAS will build off on NASA’s Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) spacesuits that the agency designed for Artemis missions. They will accommodate a wide range of crew members, the company said in its announcement, and will be built with increased flexibility and specialized tools for exploration. 

That Axiom is building the spacesuit to accommodate a wider range of bodies is of particular importance as we prepare to explore the Moon and other deep space locations. If you’ll recall, a planned all-female spacewalk back in 2019 was cancelled due to the lack of properly fitting gear, and it put a spotlight on spacesuit design and the availability of various sizes. Artemis III is intended to put the first woman on the lunar surface, and Axiom has confirmed in its announcement that it will be making an xEVAS spacesuit for that female astronaut.

Michael Suffredini, Axiom Space President & CEO, said in a statement:

“Our modernized, evolvable spacesuits will enable rapid upgrades to implement better, safer technologies over time, ensuring our astronauts are always equipped with high performing, robust equipment. We look forward to providing our space pioneers with advanced tools needed to further humanity’s permanent expansion off the planet.”  

This particular order is for the Artemis III landing only. The vendors are expected to compete for future task orders that include spacesuits for recurring lunar landings, as well as the development of spacesuits for use outside the ISS in low-Earth orbit.

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