A week's worth of tech news that takes you 5 minutes to read

Welcome to this week's Sunday Download! What we do is simple: we break down a week's worth of tech news in 5 minutes or less so you can stay informed and up to date.

This week we'll cover Big Tech, mobility, AI and Machine learning, fintech, futuristic tech, and everything in between.

In return, we ask that you share it with a friend or colleague instead of keeping the Smartology goodness all to yourself. While greed may be good on Wall Street, sharing is caring here at Smartology. 🤝

Lots of stuff to go through this week, so let's not waste any (more) time. Highlights of this week's issue include:

• X-rated 5G

• Toky-Oh ☹️ 

• Green highlighters go electric

Total read time: 4 minutes and 22 seconds. Let's goooooo! 🚀

X-rated 5G

The first satellite using the new 5G cellular technology has been successfully launched into low Earth orbit by SpaceX. The "GroundBreaker" is a 22-pound data relay satellite. It's the first of more than 250 satellites that will connect with terrestrial mobile towers. On April 15th, Vandenberg Space Force Base launched the GroundBreaker. The satellites will make it possible for a wide variety of Internet of Things applications and help close a significant worldwide mobile connectivity gap. Read more here.

Apple’s court battles

An appeals court has decided that the closed nature of Apple's App Store and its stringent security measures do not violate any antitrust laws. Apple is still obligated to provide its users with access to information about other payment methods. iOS developers are at liberty to direct clients to other locations for the purpose of making payments, so avoiding the payment of a commission to Apple. Apple has lately made measures to address rising antitrust concerns, one of which was the introduction of ways for reader applications to link to their own sites as a means of sidestepping Apple's in-app payment mechanism. Read more here. 

Motorola’s back….tell a friend

The Motorola-designed Lenovo ThinkPhone can now be purchased in the United States. The phone is equipped with a variety of productive features that were developed specifically for use with ThinkPad notebooks. On the side of it is a red button that may be linked to different functions and applications. The mobile device may be purchased directly from the Motorola website for the price of $699. The article includes a few pictures of the item for your viewing pleasure. Read more here. 

Tokyo, we have a problem

The Hakuto-R lander from ispace has reached the moon's surface after a journey of five months in space. The Japanese company anticipated that Hakuto-R would arrive on the moon’s surface on 4/26 but, sadly, this did not happen as communication between Hakuto-R and mission control was lost with the assumption being that the lander crashed.

If this mission would have gone well, it would have helped ispace with their plans to send two more landers to the moon in 2024 and 2025. This achievement would mark them as the initial private company and Japanese spacecraft to land on the moon. Only China, the United States, and the Soviet Union have successfully landed on the moon. But the mission didn’t go well, so future plans are unknown at the moment.

Mission 1 started in December when SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the lander into space. The lander has made some moves to stay on track towards the moon. Hakuto-R went as far as 1.4 million kilometers away from Earth. This is the farthest a privately funded spacecraft operated commercially has flown into space. Hakuto-R is not alone during Mission 1, which is mainly a technical demonstration. The spacecraft contains payloads from NASA and the UAE. The UAE's payload is a small rover, which will be their first craft to explore the moon. However, ispace aims to be more than just a service for delivering payloads. The company from Tokyo plans to send satellites to orbit around the moon and eventually establish a complete lunar economy.

Read more here.

Apple updates

Several new health-related features will be included in iOS 17. Apple intends to make the Health app available on the iPad, giving users greater space to view health indicators. New features for managing vision conditions will also be added to the Health app. A new wellness feature for measuring mood will be included in iOS 17. In 2024, Apple aims to introduce a meditation app for its AR/VR headset as well as an AI-based coaching service. Read more here.

In other Apple news, an article came out this week detailing how Apple has been unable to improve Siri due to organizational turmoil and a lack of ambition on the Siri team. Siri is said to be constructed on a cumbersome database that programmers find tough to upgrade. Due to Siri's difficulties, the team working on Apple's AR/VR headset contemplated developing different methods of operating the headset with voice technologies. Apple employees are pessimistic that the company will be able to produce the next wave of LLM-based goods. Read more here. 

EV Car Updates

MG Motor, previously known as Morris Garages, unveiled its second electric vehicle/rolling highlighter in India on Wednesday, the Comet EV, aimed at the masses looking for a compact vehicle for urban travel.

The British company, a subsidiary of China's state-owned SAIC Motor, claims that its new hatchback is ideal for young commuters in the South Asian country. The Comet is reasonably priced, starting at $9,700 (7.98 lakh Indian Rupees). It's also really cute and available in a variety of vibrant hues. Furthermore, drivers can personalize their ride with over 250 decal and graphics options, according to the company. Check out the little green guy:

In other EV car news, General Motors is “bolt”ing for the door on a few of its models. An announcement came out this week that GM is killing off both the Chevy Bolt and Bolt EUV in favor of other EVs. This comes at a time when other carmakers are saying “the more the merrier” when it comes to building electric vehicles. One study says that 1 in every 5 cars sold in 2023 will be electric. Read more Chevy here and on the green highlighter car here.

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