After selling 23 million Switch two years ago and 18 million last year, Nintendo expects demand for the older console to continue to decline. It expects sales of 15 million for next year and isn’t so sure about that number, according to its latest earnings report. “Maintaining the Switch’s sales momentum is going to be tough in its seventh year,” president Shuntaro Furukawa said in a phone call. “Our goal of selling 15 million units this fiscal year is a long way off.” To achieve this, he added, “we are trying to put not just one system in every home, but several systems in every home.” Well, at least a new Zelda game is just around the corner…
– Matt Smith
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Universal Music claimed that the bots inflated the number of streams.
Spotify has reportedly pulled tens of thousands of tracks from generative AI company Boomy. It is said to have removed seven percent of songs created by the startup’s systems, underlining the rapid spread of AI-generated content on music streaming platforms. Universal Music reportedly told Spotify and other major services that it detected suspicious streaming activity of Boomy songs, to make more money from Spotify, which pays based on listening.
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Choose from a typical and step framework.
Fan Move
VanMoof tries to offer premium e-bike features and build quality for a lot less money. At $2,498, that’s $1,000 less than the company’s top-of-the-line S5 and X5 bikes, but that doesn’t exactly make it cheap. This was an attempt at an e-bike that is “simpler, more accessible and more reliable,” VanMoof Ties Carlier co-founder said in a press release. One major simplification is the move to adaptive engine support and a two-speed gearbox. The SX5 series has a three-speed gear system, and while it has a torque sensor to assist, adaptive motor assist is new for these cheap e-bikes. The company expects range to be equivalent to both SA5 and older SX3 e-bikes, 37-62 miles (60-150km), depending on conditions and rider. The VanMoof S4 and X4 are available for pre-order now.
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Watches have used the same clock since 2020.
The Apple Watch has effectively used the same processor since 2020’s Series 6, but it’s preparing for a long-awaited upgrade. bloomberg Mark Gurman claims that the Apple Watch Series 9 will really use a “new processor”. He believes the S9’s system CPU will be based on the A15 chip, which debuted in the iPhone 13 family. Apple has historically introduced new Apple Watches in September, so the wait shouldn’t be too long.
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Elon Musk says it’s important to “free up abandoned handles.”
Twitter owner Elon Musk has warned users of the social network that they may see a drop in followers as the company has been purging accounts that have “absolutely no activity” for several years. Musk’s announcement was quite vague, so we’ll have to wait for Twitter to announce more specific rules, like the actual duration of “several years.” For now, though, the website has yet to update its Inactive Account Policy page, which only states that users need to log in every 30 days to keep their account active.
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The trial version allows you to record voice messages or chat on Google-supported wearable devices.
WhatsApp is now testing an app for Wear OS 3 on devices like the Galaxy Watch 5, Pixel Watch, and more. It has much of the functionality of the mobile versions, showing recent chats and contacts, while allowing you to send voice and text messages. WhatsApp offers a circular complication that displays unread messages on the home page of your watch. There are also two tiles for contacts and voice messages to allow you to quickly access people or start recording voice messages. It’s an important release for Wear OS 3, with a very popular app that most people have on their phones, which in turn fulfills Google’s goal of getting more developers on the platform.
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Only 951 miles left to go!
Youtube
Twenty-one years after Vanessa Carlton released her first song, A Thousand Miles, a team of robotics aficionados has brought Carlton’s music back to the public ear—this time, to the streets of San Francisco, with an animated performer and, luckily, a disco ball.
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