Month: September 2018

Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino)

The fourth iteration of the Apple Watch still looks like a tiny iPhone on your wrist, but for many, it was the most exciting device announced at Apple's event earlier this month. A  larger screen, faster performance with improved sensors, fall detection, and ECG readings are just a few of the features that inspired quick interest in the Apple Watch Series 4. The steps forward in health monitoring alone point to a new era for Apple's wearable, and users who could benefit most from them have a compelling reason to shell out $399 or more for the Series 4.

Otherwise, the Series 4 is an amalgamation of small improvements that make a big difference in the Apple Watch experience. These improvements will attract new users to the Watch who have been waiting for a device that's up to their personal standards, and they will make existing Watch wearers question their happiness with the smartwatch currently on their wrists. But while the Series 4 represents the first major redesign of the Apple Watch since its birth, that alone doesn't make it an automatic upgrade for all Apple Watch users.

The hardware

Models and pricing

The Apple Watch Series 4 comes in two sizes—40mm and 44mm—and as either a GPS-only device or a GPS-and-cellular device. The 40mm, GPS-only Series 4 Watch with an aluminum case starts at $399, and the GPS-and-cellular Watch of the same size starts at $499. The 44mm, GPS-only model starts at $429, and adding cellular ups the starting price to $529. Stainless steel cases are only available with GPS and cellular capabilities: a 40mm Watch costs $699 while a 44mm Watch costs $749.

Enlarge (credit: Valentina Palladino)

The fourth iteration of the Apple Watch still looks like a tiny iPhone on your wrist, but for many, it was the most exciting device announced at Apple's event earlier this month. A  larger screen, faster performance with improved sensors, fall detection, and ECG readings are just a few of the features that inspired quick interest in the Apple Watch Series 4. The steps forward in health monitoring alone point to a new era for Apple's wearable, and users who could benefit most from them have a compelling reason to shell out $399 or more for the Series 4.

Otherwise, the Series 4 is an amalgamation of small improvements that make a big difference in the Apple Watch experience. These improvements will attract new users to the Watch who have been waiting for a device that's up to their personal standards, and they will make existing Watch wearers question their happiness with the smartwatch currently on their wrists. But while the Series 4 represents the first major redesign of the Apple Watch since its birth, that alone doesn't make it an automatic upgrade for all Apple Watch users.

The hardware

Models and pricing

The Apple Watch Series 4 comes in two sizes—40mm and 44mm—and as either a GPS-only device or a GPS-and-cellular device. The 40mm, GPS-only Series 4 Watch with an aluminum case starts at $399, and the GPS-and-cellular Watch of the same size starts at $499. The 44mm, GPS-only model starts at $429, and adding cellular ups the starting price to $529. Stainless steel cases are only available with GPS and cellular capabilities: a 40mm Watch costs $699 while a 44mm Watch costs $749.

Enlarge / Mockup of the NuScale energy plant slated for development outside of Idaho Falls, ID. (credit: NuScale Power)

The benefits of nuclear energy—dispatchable power with zero emissions (excluding emissions from uranium mining)—are desperately needed in a world facing climate change. The disadvantages of nuclear energy are also great. The old light-water reactors that serve America's grid today create nuclear waste that's politically impossible to dispose of. Nuclear plants with traditional reactors are also extremely expensive to build and difficult to permit.

For these reasons, many nuclear hopefuls have looked to advanced nuclear technology. Several startups have popped up, promising to make either the waste problem or the expense problem go away.

This week, two advanced nuclear-technology startups have announced major news, both good and bad for the future of advanced nuclear technology.