Month: April 2020

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  These are Apple's AirPods Pro, the first Apple-branded headphones to offer noise cancellation. The new over-ear headphones would as well. [credit: Jeff Dunn ]

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and Debby Wu have penned yet another report revealing inside information on Apple’s product plans, citing people familiar with the matter. Today’s report is all about headphones: Apple is developing over-ear headphones and plans to introduce them later this year.

According to Bloomberg’s sources, Apple is developing two versions of the headphones. One would be fitness-oriented, with breathable materials and perforations, similar in some respects to fitness-focused Apple Watch bands and accessories. The other would aim for a premium feel, with “leather-like fabrics.” Interestingly, the sources claim that Apple will make some components of these headphones modular. The headband padding and ear pads are attached to the headphones with magnets and are replaceable.

That’s obviously important because earpads are sometimes the first part of high-end headphones to go and need replacing, but also because it opens up opportunities for users to buy and install aesthetic customizations. It also means users could switch between the premium and fitness configurations as needed, provided they have purchased the attachments for both configurations.

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson)

A new report suggests Sony may be cutting back on initial shipments of the upcoming PlayStation 5. That's in part because initial demand for the system may be limited by a higher asking price and by the COVID-19 pandemic's global impact on consumer spending.

Bloomberg cites unnamed "people familiar with the matter" in reporting that Sony will only produce 5 to 6 million PS5 units by the time its fiscal year ends in March 2021. That would be down from 7.5 million PS4 units produced in a similar timeframe following that system's late 2013 launch. That PS4 launch included a million units sold in its very first day and over 7 million sold to consumers by early April 2014.

Sony may expect to sell fewer PS5 units initially in part because of a higher-than-normal expected price for its next console. Developers working on PS5 software expect the system to launch for between $499 and $549, according to Bloomberg, driven by more expensive components such as high-speed SSD storage. Some analysts feel the system may launch at a lower, loss-leading price of $450, though, which would be a bit closer to the PS4's $399 launch offering.

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  As I'm based in DC, I tend to go to the cars and coffee events at Katie's Coffee House in Great Falls, Virginia. In 2015, I got to take this Audi R8 V10+ along—you can check out the review here. [credit: Jonathan Gitlin ]

The Petersen Museum in LA, like many museums these days, has shut its physical doors and moved online to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. For the past eight years, the museum has also been the host of a weekly "Cars and Coffee" meetup on Saturday mornings, and it's not about to let a bit of social distancing get in the way of that community-building. So it's moving cars and coffee online, too, opening up the event beyond the normal catchment area of people who can drive to Wilshire Boulevard early on a weekend morning. All you need is your car and a phone that can record video.

"Our Breakfast Club Cruise-Ins have become an integral part of the Los Angeles car community over the past eight years. We didn't want to stop the tradition this month because of the pandemic, so we had to get creative to keep it going and also make it more inclusive than ever before. We look forward to seeing the stories from enthusiasts all over the globe and sharing their passion in a way that unites us all in spirit even while we are standing apart," said Petersen Executive Director Terry Karges.

Bring your own coffee

The idea is pretty simple. You need to record a 20-30 second video of your car; the inside, the outside, the engine, then start it up—the usual stuff you see at Cars and Coffee. Here's an important bit: the videos have to be in landscape orientation. Then host the video (on Dropbox, Googledrive, or YouTube), and submit that link to the Petersen via its website. They'll do the hard work of editing everyone's submissions together, and the first 90-minute compilation will be published on the museum's YouTube channel on April 26 (so submit yours by 10am PST on April 24 if you want to take part in the premiere). The Petersen will also hand out awards, including a people's choice award that you can vote for once the video goes live. Everyone is responsible for getting their own coffee, however.