AppleMagazine

ces 2021: 5 trends to watch

CES, the annual gadget show that showcases the buzziest and brightest tech, looks different this year — less Vegas glitz, more internet efficiency. With no physical conference in Las Vegas due to the pandemic, 1,800 companies are instead taking to streaming video to show off new products and technology to 150,000 attendees across the globe. Trends to watch reflect the tumultuous year that preceded it. These include COVID-related robots and gadgets, products that make it easier to work from home, more uses for 5G technology, AI infused in everything, and TVs that can bend or even become transparent. COVID TECH Technology to battle the coronavirus was big on the virtual show floor this year. Several companies are showcasing disinfecting robots. LG is introducing an autonomous UV-C light robot designed to irradiate viruses on…

new mercedes screen to stretch nearly full width of car

Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz has unveiled a key interior component of its upcoming electric luxury sedan: a large, curved screen that sweeps across almost the entire width of the car in the place of a conventional dashboard. The company’s CEO says its not just a selling point for customers but also points to a potential source of new digital revenue. The MBUX Hyperscreen option available on the EQS sedan coming later this year uses artificial intelligence to learn what functions drivers use most, such as navigation and hands-free phone calls, then keeps those functions prominently on display so drivers don’t have to hunt. Ola Kallenius, CEO of parent company Daimler AG, said in a recorded video presented online that the system is intended to be highly intuitive. “It only shows what is needed: no scrolling,…

gm charges up new unit to sell electric delivery vans, gear

The market for battery-powered delivery vehicles and equipment has so much potential that General Motors is forming a new business unit to serve it, a move that lifted the automaker’s stock to a multiyear high. The first product for the new venture called BrightDrop will be an electric-powered wheeled pallet that will take goods from the warehouse to trucks and from trucks to destinations. Then GM will roll out a clean electric delivery van. The pallet, named EP1, will go on sale early this year, with the EV600 van on the roads late in the year with 500 going to FedEx, the company’s first customer. BrightDrop also will offer software and operational support for delivery businesses such as location services, battery status and remote unlocking. But GM doesn’t intend to get into the delivery…

volkswagen triples electric car sales ahead of climate rules

Europe’s push into electric cars is gathering speed — despite the pandemic. Automaker Volkswagen tripled sales of battery-only cars in 2020 as its new electric compact ID.3 came on the market ahead of tough new European Union limits on auto emissions. And Germany, long a laggard in adopting electric vehicles, saw more people buy electrics in December than opted for previously dominant diesel vehicles. Those are early signs of what will likely be an upcoming year of increasing market share for electric cars as EU regulations drive their adoption, despite the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic that has caused the overall car market to shrink. Volkswagen said its namesake brand sold 134,000 battery-powered cars last year, up from 45,000 in 2019. Including hybrids, which combine an internal combustion engine and an electric motor,…

race on: the lineup for the revolution of the car industry

Wherever you are in the world, it’s hard to deny that 2020 was a challenging year - not least the automotive sector. With car sales plummeting amidst stay-at-home orders, consumers had a chance to reflect on their environmental impact, and as a result, electric vehicles are now more desirable than ever. 2021 looks set to be the biggest year yet, with huge launches from some of the industry’s biggest players, helping to create a greener planet for us all. CHANGING CONSUMER ATTITUDES Though there has been a seismic shift in electric car adoption rates over the past decade, the coronavirus lockdowns drastically changed the way we work, travel, and play. Work from home restrictions meant that our cars were less useful than ever before, with 12% saying they’d give up their car…

electric truck maker hits 100,000 orders ahead of fall start

An upstart electric vehicle maker said that it now has more than 100,000 orders for its new pickup truck. Lordstown Motors Corp plans to begin production of the Endurance All-Electric Pickup Truck in September at a former General Motors assembly plant near Youngstown. The company took over the plant after GM in 2019 ended its more than 50 years of car manufacturing at the plant. The automaker employed 4,500 workers there just a few years ago. Lordstown Motors acquired the plant with the help of a $40 million loan from GM. The startup said it will hire hundreds of people to build to the first line of Endurance trucks, but its longterm plan is to add thousands of jobs. The factory’s fate came into the political spotlight after President Donald Trump criticized GM’s decision…