Leading Companies Reach New Breakthroughs Across Industries
Emerging Tech Roundup — February 11
The Quantious team’s top picks for timely trending news in the tech world.
This week in tech: A convertible, flying car is cleared for operation, physicists have a breakthrough in quantum computing, Amazon expands its telehealth services, Apple announces its new feature, Chrome introduces Journeys, Apple’s “realityOS” is spotted in upload logs, and French regulators have ruled against the use of Google Analytics.
Flying Car Cleared for Takeoff, but You’ll Need a Pilot’s License
(CNN Business, January 25)
After 70 testing hours and over 200 takeoffs and landings, “AirCar” is cleared for use by the Slovak Transport Authority and European Aviation Safety Agency standards. The manufacturer hopes to make the car “commercially available within 12 months,” and flying it will require a pilot’s license.
Physicists Just Made a Breakthrough: Quantum States That Last Over 5 Seconds
(Interesting Engineering, February 3)
A team of researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy has discovered that adding single electrons to quantum bits allows them to be preserved for longer periods of time. The information preserved on the “qubit” is a key player in quantum calculations. This finding could enable them to “perform over 100 million quantum operations and extend the capacity of quantum machines.”
Amazon Rolls Out Its Telehealth Service Nationwide
(CNBC, February 8)
On Tuesday, Amazon announced its rollout of Amazon Care. When the program launched in 2019, it offered COVID-19 testing and vaccination services in the Seattle area. Given the recent increased demand for both telehealth and in-home care, Amazon plans to expand its offerings to primary care in 20 new cities.
Apple Announces a Way to Buy Stuff by Tapping iPhones Together
(CNBC, February 8)
On Tuesday, Apple announced its upcoming Tap to Pay feature that can turn any iPhone into a POS terminal. As of now, the service will only be offered in the U.S. and “Stripe will be the first payment operator to offer the service.” Apple also mentioned that Shopify plans to integrate Tap to Pay into their POS products.
Google Chrome’s New Journeys Feature Helps You Find That Tab You Just Lost
(TechRadar, February 8)
Google’s new feature Journeys utilizes user browsing data to make previously-visited sites more accessible. It categorizes one’s browsing history and upon typing in keywords and choosing to “Resume your research,” users are presented with a list of relevant sites. If a user interacted with one site more than another, it may be bumped to the top of the list. For now, the feature only works on individual devices.
Apple’s “realityOS” Surfaces in Github Commits, App Store Logs
(Arstechnica, February 9)
Users have found a mention of “realityOS” in the upload logs of the App Store, raising further suspicions that Apple is working on an operating system relating to AR/VR. While experienced analysts have already suspected this, the piece of code implies some degree of confirmation that the tech giant is far along in the project.
French Privacy Regulator Rules Against Use of Google Analytics
(Politico, February 10)
After rulings and warnings from Austria and Dutch regulators, France has also ruled against the use of Google Analytics for an unnamed website. The service’s transferring of personal data to the U.S. is against the European Union’s privacy laws and the French are not in favor of the data being accessible for U.S. intelligence services.
