The Morning After: Kim Kardashian is the face of Beats’ skin-colored earbuds
Kim Kardashian has teamed up with Apple on a custom version of the Beats Fit Pro. The new Beats x Kim collab is available in a trio of skin colors, which are meant to either “blend in or stand out,” according to Kardashian. They are still just your standard Beats Fit Pro beneath that skin-tone plastic. But don’t expect to find them at all the usual locations when they hit retail on August 17th. In-person sales are limited to 10 Apple stores (including 5th Avenue, Regent Street and Champs-Élysées) as well as several fashion chains and department stores. They’ll go on sale online, on August 16th at 10 AM ET.
It’s going to be a busy day for tech: Samsung’s big Unpacked event is kicking off at 9 AM ET, just a few hours from now. We’re expecting foldables, wearables and more and will be livestreaming all the announcements — watch with us, right here!
— Mat Smith
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Ford will reopen F-150 Lightning orders this week at a much higher starting price
Trims will cost between $4,200 and $8,900 extra.
Ford will open up orders for the next wave of F-150 Lightning reservation holders this Thursday, but those buying the electric pickup as of this week will need to dig deeper in their pockets. The automaker is bumping up the prices by between $4,200 and $8,900, depending on the trim. Ford cited “significant material cost increases and other factors.”
President Biden signs CHIPS Act to boost semiconductor production
The measure sets aside $52 billion for domestic chipmakers.
President Joe Biden has signed the CHIPS and Science Act into law. The $280 billion measure will provide significant financial assistance to American semiconductor firms. It sets aside $52 billion in tax credits and funding for US chipmakers to expand domestic production. In a rare episode of bipartisan unity, the Senate voted 64-33 in favor of the bill. “America invented the semiconductor, but over the years we let manufacturing of semiconductors move overseas,” Biden said ahead of the ceremony. He added: “A third of the core inflation last year was due to the high price of automobiles, which was driven by the shortage of semiconductors.”
Amazon’s palm payments arrive in 65-plus Whole Foods stores in California
This is the first major expansion for Amazon One in grocery stores.
Amazon’s palm-reading payment technology will soon be available in more than 65 Whole Foods shops in California. As long as you link your palm and payment card to the service, you just have to hover your hand over a scanner to complete your purchase. While you still have to stop at a checkout terminal, you don’t have to pull out a phone like you do with Amazon’s camera-based Just Walk Out system.
Google and Sonos are now fighting over voice assistant patents
Another lawsuit between the two companies.
Google has sued Sonos, alleging its new voice assistant violates seven patents related to its own Google Assistant tech. It’s the latest battlefront in a long-running smart speaker war between the companies, with each suing and countersuing the other. Sonos’ Voice Control assistant arrived in June, letting users give commands with the phrase “Hey Sonos,” much like Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant. In the complaint, Google said it “worked for years with Sonos engineers on the implementation of voice recognition and voice-activated devices control in Sonos products… even providing its Google Assistant software to Sonos for many years.”
Kim Kardashian has teamed up with Apple on a custom version of the Beats Fit Pro. The new Beats x Kim collab is available in a trio of skin colors, which are meant to either “blend in or stand out,” according to Kardashian. They are still just your standard Beats…
