Tech Headlines: 22nd November 2019

Above: The Ford Mustang Mach-E

Audi E-Tron Sportback

At the LA motor show, Audi unveiled its second electric vehicle, the Audi E-Tron Sportback. Powered by a dual motor setup and with a range of of up to 446 kilometres, this car uses the same base drivetrain and battery as its older brother, the E-Tron SUV, which was unveiled last year. The car is expected to be priced at an expensive 71350 Euros for the base spec and would be available in the European market by early 2020.

Google Stadia

Google’s online game streaming service, Stadia, was released earlier this week, and the initial reactions seem to be slightly negative, primarily due to high expectations generated by Google’s marketing. Users and reviews have even gone to say that it’s a “beta that you pay real money for” and that “you don’t get the promised performance.” With a launch lineup of only 22 games and terrible latency, we can only hope that this product fulfills its initial, advertised goals in the months to come.

Mustang Mach-E

Ford unveiled their Mustang Mach-E, an all electric SUV that promises performance and practicality. It’s a brave move from Ford to attribute an electric vehicle to the Mustang name, which is generally associated with pure American muscle. The car partially draws inspiration from Tesla Model 3’s minimal interior and starts at a base price of around 42000 US dollars for a range of about 370 kilometres. The baseline model is scheduled to be delivered by late 2020, while the more powerful GT model is set for 2021. With Elon Musk congratulating Ford for taking the effort to go electric, it’s only time before other popular automakers decide to shift as well.

Apple 16” MacBook Pro

Earlier last week, the MacBook Pro lineup received a facelift with a new 16” model replacing the old 15”. So far, this new upgrade seems to have been very well received in the tech community, with some saying that the product is “reasonably well priced for the specifications” and that “Apple finally listened!” Apart from the larger 16” screen, the new MacBook Pro saw a redesigned thermal solution and audio system as well as a shift back to the old-style scissor mechanism keyboard. In addition, the escape key made a welcome return and the performance jump due to the upgraded processor, RAM, and graphics card proved significant. Overall, it looks like the MacBook Pro may be back in the game! For those of you waiting for a refresh to the 13” line, it’s rumoured to happen early next year.

Microsoft Project xCloud

Microsoft’s game streaming service, Project xCloud, is currently under preview, and earlier this week, the company announced an additional fifty titles that would be available at launch, some of which include Forza Horizon 4, Tekken 7, and Devil May Cry 5. The service is set to release sometime next year, so it provides considerable time for developers and testers to optimise the platform for the promised launch lineup of games. Even while in its preview stage, xCloud has more games than Google’s Stadia, and Microsoft is planning to integrate this service in some way into its already existing Game Pass subscription for a low monthly price. Only time will tell how these two evolve and compete with each other.

Motorola Razr Reboot

Motorola finally announces the much rumoured modern implementation of the classic foldable Razr phone. The phone truly brings back the good old days when smartphone design saw the light of uniqueness and innovation. In addition, it still maintains the incredibly satisfying flick and snap of a classic flip phone. With a promise to be durable and practical, this phone just might see a positive outlook in the modern smartphone market and may even motivate other smartphone producers to tackle the challenge that is folding phones.