SourceCode: Reasons why Google discontinued the Nexus line of devices

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

Google is expected to launch an entire new brand of smartphones under its Pixel line of devices which will effectively retire the company's longstanding Nexus brand. Nexus devices have been Google-approved reference designs built by partner OEM's and were created to showcase the latest and greatest features of the Android OS on hardware that often pushed the envelope in design and, more importantly, the Pure Google experience. 

Nexus devices have been popular with enthusiasts, phone geeks and tinkerers who wanted to extend the functionality of their phone way beyond what OEM devices had to offer. Nexus also meant no bloatware from phone manufacturers or carriers which took up a lot of the limited and non-expandable storage Nexus devices come with.

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Faraday Future and LG work together on EV batteries

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Faraday Future has just partnered with LG Chem, one of the biggest lithium-ion battery manufacturers in the world.  LG Chem has provided batteries to GM for its all-electric Bolt. According to Faraday Future’s Vice President of Global Supply Chain Tom Wessner, “LG Chem worked closely with Faraday Future to develop a tailored cell chemistry to optimize the range and safety of our mass production battery hardware.” The batteries they are developing are built specifically for Faraday Future’s VPA platform, which is a modular platform that allows the car manufacturer to build cars with varying sizes and different battery capacities. The structure is arranged in what Faraday Future calls strings, allowing them to add or remove these rows and change the battery capacity.

This’ll fit perfectly into the subscription-based model Faraday Future wants to implement in the future. There is no specific timeline yet when we can expect production vehicles from the company but it has hinted before that we can see the first few cars before the year 2020.

Source: Business Insider

Say goodbye to the Microsoft Band

It looks like Microsoft’s attempt at releasing a fitness tracker has reached its end. ZDNet reports the Microsoft Band 2 has been pulled from Microsoft’s online store. The Verge adds that the wearable device isn’t available on Best Buy either and while it’s still on Amazon, the online retailer is just selling its remaining inventory. The Band’s software development kit has also been removed online. And there are reports that the team working on the Band has been dissolved already. One more telling sign is the renaming of Microsoft’s smartphone health app to Microsoft Band, meaning it’s moving beyond just working for said wearable. Microsoft has said earlier this month that its remains “deeply committed to supporting our customers and exploring the wearables space.” Microsoft does have things like HoloLens still in existence. It’s just you shouldn’t be expecting a Microsoft Band 3 to show up anytime soon.

Apple macOS Sierra will prompt you to download

Slightly as aggressive as how Microsoft rolled out Windows 10, Apple will be reminding and triggering an automatic download of macOS Sierra for compatible Macs. The users who have automatic downloads turned on and have enough storage space to install the download will get the update sometime “over the next week.” The update won’t instantly download without your permission, though. You will have to start it on your own—just like how Windows 10 updates were released. And if you aren’t ready to upgrade yet, you can just delete the installer or disable automatic downloads from the App Store. Plus, the update won’t install and be deleted if the Mac is starting to run low on storage.

Source: The Loop