Shiny Shiny snippets: Faradair develops hybrid-electric passenger plane
From a small office overlooking an airfield, once home to the UK’s first Spitfire squadron, a tiny British start-up is hoping to make a little history of its own – as one of the pioneers of commercial electrified aviation. Faradair is planning to develop and sell a hybrid-electric passenger plane, aimed at the regional aviation market. It would have up to 19 seats and would be propelled by a fan driven by an electric motor. The necessary electricity would be provided by a small gas turbine. In order to provide extra lift, and allow take-offs and landings from short runways, it would also have a triple level wing. This would give it a passing resemblance to a World War One fighter, despite having state-of-the-art aerodynamics. BBC
Snapchat is today launching Snapchat for Web, a browser-based app for users to access the messaging platform without picking up their phones. It will allow users – at first just Snapchat+ subscribers in the UK and elsewhere – to access the social media company’s calling and messaging features online. The company said it plans to roll out the feature – which involves logging in at web.snapchat.com with a web browser such as Chrome or Firefox – for all users “soon”. While only the major messaging features will be immediately available on the web app, including Snaps, Lenses for video calls should be added soon. Sky News
Speaking plainly, Prime Video is ugly as hell. Its menus are cluttered, its library is a muddled mix of free, paid and add-on content and its general user interface (UI) is about as friendly as those Velociraptors in Jurassic Park. Thankfully, though, executives at the Amazon-owned platform have long been aware of its shortcomings on the design front, and Prime Video is finally getting a makeover worthy of its standing among the very best streaming services in 2022. Beginning this week, Prime Video is rolling out a new, redesigned experience for subscribers using the Prime Video app on living room devices (such as Fire TV sticks) and Android phones.
Microsoft was reportedly planning to launch a more affordable plastic version of the Surface Duo 2, and images appear to have leaked on eBay of the device. Windows Central reports that Microsoft canceled this mysterious midrange version of the Surface Duo 2 in late 2021 after reportedly originally planning to launch it as a cheaper model later this year. The leaked images on a now-deleted eBay listing reveal the device would have shipped with a more rounded design, a plastic matte finish, and a slightly smaller camera bump. Microsoft was reportedly making changes to the form factor of the Surface Duo 2 to position this as a lower-cost model. The Verge
It seems we finally have a date to look forward to for two of Samsung’s most anticipated devices of the year – the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4. A leaked press invite was shared by Evan Blass (@evleaks) and shows us the Galaxy Unpacked event is set for Wednesday, August 10. The new rumors corroborates a previous report about the same date. The invite has a blurred out Galaxy Z Flip4 in the background which we previously saw in renders bearing the same purple color. The tagline for this year’s event is reportedly “Unfold Your World” and we’re also expecting to see the Galaxy Watch 5 and Watch 5 Pro at the event. Based on previous rumor the Galaxy Z Fold4 and Z Flip4 should go on sale from August 26. GSM Arena
