The week in tech: gadget rumours, new inbox and more
An Indian company makes its design framework open-source, rumoured new gadgets and more from the world of science and technology this week
An Indian company makes its design framework open-source, rumoured new earphones from Nothing and a VR headset from Meta, and more from the world of science and tech:
Meta's new VR headset
A new VR headset from Meta is in the works, according to a report from Bloomberg, and will be called the Quest Pro. The report was based on findings from a developer who found the name “Quest Pro” in the code of Meta’s Oculus mobile app. “Meta has long teased a “high-end” VR headset to complement the consumer-grade Quest 2, which retails around $299,” said TechCrunch.
NASA reveals James Webb telescope was hit by micrometeoroid last month
A mirror on the James Webb Space Telescope was struck by a micrometeoroid last month but is expected to continue to function normally, NASA said Thursday. “After initial assessments, the team found the telescope is still performing at a level that exceeds all mission requirements despite a marginally detectable effect in the data,” the US space agency said. “Webb's beginning-of-life performance is still well above expectations, and the observatory is fully capable of performing the science it was designed to achieve,” it added. One of the space observatory's primary mirror segments suffered an impact from a micrometeoroid, which tend to be smaller than a grain of sand, between May 23 and 25.
An open-source design framework that pops
Indian fintech company CRED has made its NeoPOP UI framework open-source. Developed in-house, NeoPOP takes inspiration from the postmodern neo-pop art movement, featuring bright, neon hues that provide pops of colour to a clean and spare background. The framework, which the company claims makes its app “look great and work great”, is also easy to build on top of, and is available for developers building apps on Android, iOS, Flutter and for the desktop. “Design’s purpose stretches beyond solving a problem...design should inspire creativity, bring out emotions, delight, seek a purpose beyond the obvious, and touch humans,” says CRED.
Something from Nothing?
While Nothing, the buzzy tech company founded by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, trended this week with its new smartphone announcement, a smaller rumour flew below the radar: Nothing may also be working on a lower-priced version of its truly wireless earbuds, the Nothing Ear (1). Tech Twitter was agog when technophile Mukul Sharma shared a picture of the purported product, which seems to be called Nothing Ear (1) Stick. There’s speculation that the elongated Stick earbuds could replace the Ear (1)’s silicone tips, making the new product cheaper, said a report on TechRadar. True or not, there’s something about Nothing that gets the tech world talking.
Have you got the new Gmail inbox?
Earlier this year, Google introduced a new integrated view for Gmail, expanding the sidebar (actually, adding a second one) to include applications like Chat and Meet. Starting 28 June, it has begun rolling out the updated inbox worldwide. Following some harsh feedback during beta-testing—the Ars Technica website said “Gmail’s new sidebar feels like a big banner ad for Google Chat”—it has kept these features as an opt-out experience for now. So, while you may see the new Gmail experience by default, you will be able to revert to classic Gmail.
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First Published:10 Jul 2022, 12:22 PM IST
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