Iterate Weekly - Issue 206
This week we're looking at Acer's new smart ring, Sony's new headphones, electric air taxis for the Olympics, The Pope sells baseball jerseys, and "What if we Get it Right?"!
Welcome to issue 206 of Iterate Weekly.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories shall we?
Thank you as always for reading!
🖥️ Tech
Acer gets in on the smart ring trend
Smart rings seem to be the new hot accessory for tech companies.
I’ve long been a supporter of Oura and have worn one of their rings since 2020. But competition is coming for their throne atop the smart ring landscape.
Acer recently announced that they will be creating a smart ring of their own that will include an influx of AI. (of course!)
The ring appears to have a simple design with black and rose gold color offerings. Acer also plans to not charge a monthly subscription to access the data measured by the device.
Like any other tech accessory, as smart rings become more prevalent, their costs will likely come down. Acer has been a name in the tech space for ages. And one of their calling cards has been selling quality tech for an affordable price.
No pricing details have been released as of this writing, but I imagine it will undercut the rings from Oura and Samsung.
I don’t imagine Acer will be the last company to debut a smart ring this year. Will we look back in the not-too-distant future and claim that a smart ring is a required piece of daily tech like a smart phone or smart watch? Personally, I think so.
🎓 Productivity/Work/Software
Sony’s new headphones may be the perfect cans for work
Noise-cancelling over the ear headphones used to be a daily requirement for me to get work done.
In noisy office spaces, I would don my Bose Quiet Comforts day in and day out. Maybe working remotely changed my feeling about this. Or maybe small earbuds just got really good active noise-cancelling technology. Either way, I’ve been pretty pleased to wear my Pixel Buds 2 during most of my work hours.
But the announcement of Sony’s new wh1000xm6 headphones have me rethinking my strategy.
Yes, that product name is atrocious. I never want to type wh1000xm6 ever again. I think we can just call them m6 from here on out.
It seems like Bose and Sony go back and forth as the top dog in the world of noise-cancelling headphones with each new release. Well, Sony is claiming that these are the best noise-cancelling headphones in the world and who can argue with that?
I appreciate the simple styling and the fact that they brought back the collapsible ear cups for better portability that were missing from the previous generation for some reason.
My workspace is usually pretty quiet, but there is certainly nothing wrong with having the ANC power should you ever need it. These are the cans that I want to bring with me on every flight (as much as you can block out the sound of the world when traveling with two young kids) and whenever I’m working in a coffee shop or other public space.
Of course, the price tag will match all of the hype that Sony is putting behind these things. Are they worth $449? It’s really hard to say. If you’re someone who gets easily distracted by noise in your working space, these are probably the product for you.
♻️ Health/Environment/EVs
Will electric air taxis be the star of the 2028 Olympics?
Air taxi’s have been sporadically popping up in the news over the last few years. I’ve written about a few of the pioneers in the space before, but they certainly haven’t become commonplace just yet.
Could the 2028 Olympics be the catalyst that make them a permanent part of the American transportation system?
The brand Archer sure hopes so. They have become the official air taxi provider of the Olympics in LA and believe this will be the best showcase for the nascent technology.
It sounds like the perfect way to rise above LA traffic which could be at an all time high during the games. The vessels themselves will still only carry about 4 people at a time. We’re not talking about a mass transportation option here. Hopefully, the much-improved rail system is up for that task.
And the technology is still pricey. This figures to be a fun option for corporate types to shuttle between events, but likely out of the budget for the average fan. Hell, I’d say the Olympics as an entirety are out of the budget for the average fan, but that’s another story.
Let’s just hope these electric pseudo-helicopters run smoothly, safely, and efficiently during the games and can become more popular in years to come.
🛍 Grab Bag
Does the new Pope help sell White Sox Jerseys?
Here’s a fun sports story.
Pope Leo has apparently always been a Sox fan much to chagrin of the folks at Wrigley Field who jumped the gun proclaiming he liked the Cubs before fans got to the heart of the matter.
You can’t dispute a photo of Pope Leo attending the 2005 World Series wearing a Sox jersey while cheering for the South Siders.
As the White Sox have been a laughing stock of a franchise the past few years, any Papal good luck will be greatly appreciated.
💬 Quote of the Week
"A good garden may have some weeds."
-Thomas Fuller
📕 Content Review
What if we Get it Right?
If you have any concern about the current state of our climate, “What if we Get it Right?” by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson should be required reading.
The book has had plenty of praise from all corners of the media, and it’s well-deserved. I was pushed to check it out through a local environmentally-focused book club and it delivers a nice mix of harsh facts and optimism.
Personally, I most enjoyed the chapter with Adam McKay about how climate change should be portrayed more in nearly all aspects of media. Not every movie needs to be like McKay’s “Don’t Look Up” but as arguably the most pressing issue of our lifetime, climate change deserves a bit more screen time.
It’s a book that I’ll certainly be referring back to whenever I need some positive vibes or feel the enormity of climate change weighing on my shoulders.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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