Problem phone use leads to teen depression, Uber announces EV deal with Tesla rival BYD
Teenagers who have a problematic relationship with their smartphones are more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression and insomnia than those who do not, new research has found. Young people who said they had problematic smartphone use, a pattern of behaviours resembling addiction, were twice as likely to report symptoms of anxiety compared to those who did not, according to researchers at King’s College London. Problematic smartphone use refers to behaviours such as panicking when one’s phone is unavailable and finding it difficult to control time spent on a phone. Sky News
We’re now getting very close to the Google Pixel 9’s August 13 launch, but the latest wave of leaks has left us a little less excited about it. One thing you can be almost certain of with a new mainline Pixel is that it will launch with a new version of Android, yet this year that may not be the case, with Android Headlines claiming that the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold will ship with Android 14 rather than Android 15. Tech Radar
Uber has announced a deal which aims to bring 100,000 electric vehicles (EVs) made by China’s BYD to the ride-hailing giant’s global fleet of cars. The two companies say they will offer Uber drivers incentives to switch to electric cars, including discounts on maintenance, charging, financing and leasing. The multi-year agreement will be rolled out first in Europe and Latin America, before being made available in the Middle East, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The announcement comes as EV sales around the world have slowed and Chinese car makers face higher import charges in places like the US and the European Union. BBC
A Which?-led coalition representing some of the UK’s biggest banks and telecoms providers has made a landmark commitment to sharing data, as it urges the new government to make tackling fraud a national priority. The group, which includes Which?, Barclays, BT, Mobile UK, Nationwide, NatWest, Starling, Three UK, UK Finance, Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone, is calling on ministers to provide the leadership necessary to ensure more businesses can better share intelligence to detect fraud and to protect their customers. Tech Digest
The end is nigh for Volkswagen’s range of petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid cars. The maker is winding down the introduction of new combustion-engined models as it looks ahead to an electric car-only future. But before the switch, the German company will manage to sneak in one last all-new petrol model: the next-generation Volkswagen T-Roc crossover. It will follow in the wheeltracks of the revised Tiguan SUV, inheriting much of that car’s engine and interior tech, plus an evolutionary design in keeping with the updated family aesthetic. Autoexpress
Meta’s shares rose in after-hours trading on Wednesday off the back of a strong earnings report that comes as the company is spending heavily on AI tools. The company’s stock price grew around 5% following the report, which revealed the company outperformed analysts’ expectations for its second quarter. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, reported $39.07bn in revenue and $5.16 earnings per share. The Guardian
