HeyWhatsNew: Mr Beast Has a New $5 Million Reality Show, and Uber Loses a Multimillion Dollar Case in Australia
Greetings, Heyuppers. Welcome back to HeyWhatsNew, where we take a look at the week’s top tech stories that have had an impact on the world. Here’s what went down in the week beginning 18/03/2023.
Starship Test Launch Update: More Work Needed Ahead of Artemis 3 Mission
Space.com reports that some important milestones were reached during SpaceX’s most recent launch of the Starship rocket. The project was commended by NASA, who went on to say SpaceX successfully achieved a lot of firsts in the realm of space travel during this third mission. But there’s plenty of work still to be done.
In a statement issued by Lisa Watson-Morgan at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the space agency says they will need to see numerous successes before attempting to put astronauts on the moon aboard the Starship in 2026.
Taxi Drivers in Australia Have Won a $178 Million Lawsuit Against Uber
A class action suit that was filed on behalf of 8000 taxi and hired car owners in Australia has resulted in the e-hailing company Uber agreeing to fork out $178 million in damages. Initially, the group of drivers had sought compensation amounting to $495 million.
The lawsuit filed by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers in 2019 details how Uber’s aggressive entry into the market caused them a massive loss in income. In a statement posted on its website, Uber says "It would be inappropriate to comment on specifics until the agreement is finalized and the settlement is disclosed to the court.”
Mr Beast Is Bringing the Biggest Game Show to Life on Prime Video
Amazon has announced that the YouTube content creator with the most subscribers in the world, Mr Beast, is bringing the world’s biggest reality TV show to the Amazon Prime channel. It’s alleged that the game show will feature 1000 contestants who will compete for a record breaking prize of $5 million.
No premier date has been announced for Beast Games, but what we know so far is Mr Beast will be the executive producer and host of the show, as expected. In a statement, the creator said his goal is to show other creators that it’s possible to succeed on other platforms.
PlayStation VR2 Production Has Been Placed On Hold by Sony
It’s been reported that until the backlog of stock clears, Sony has taken the decision to pause all production on the PlayStation VR2 headset. Sony is yet to release data surrounding sales figures for the headset, however, this new decision may signal that the gadget isn’t doing well in the market.
Since its release in February 2023, the company has shipped just over 2 million units to retailers. This is just a mere fraction of the number of PlayStation 5 units Sony has shipped, which is slightly concerning.
Android Users Will Finally Get the Transcribe Feature on WhatsApp
When WhatsApp first introduced the voice transcription feature in 2023, it was only available on iOS. Leading up to the anniversary of the initial release, a new APK teardown reveals that the feature could finally be making its way to Android devices.
In order to enable the new feature, Android Authority reports that users may have to download a new 150MB data package. However, it’s not yet clear when WhatsApp plans to officially release the feature.
Google Is Rebranding the Fitbit
In 2021, it was reported that Google had successfully acquired the Fitbit company for over $2 billion. For the past three years, products under this line have been sold as “Fitbit by Google” accessories. In a recent rebranding move, Google has changed this to just “Google Fitbit”, a move that signals the brands complete integration to the Google company.
Following the release of new products earlier this week, 9to5 Google reported a change in Google’s branding of Fitbit accessories.
What to Expect from the March Microsoft Surface Event
Microsoft is scheduled to host the Microsoft Surface Event on the 21st of this month, with plans to release a collection of new technology and developments. It’s reported that Microsoft will introduce new Surface Pro and Surface Laptop models at the upcoming event.
These devices will feature upgraded processors for better performance and efficiency, including Intel Core Ultra and Snapdragon X Elite. The release will begin in April for Intel hardware, followed by Arm hardware in June.
That’s a wrap of the week’s tech news headlines. Join us again next time to find out how technology will have shaped the world in the span of a week. Cheers!
