More Galaxy Leaks; 5G iPhones Set; GM May Roll Out e-Hummer; Some Walmarts Getting Inventory Robots

As we get closer to Samsung’s Unpacked event on February 11th, more keeps coming out about the next gen phones. 9to5google.com reports that the handsets will definitely be named Galaxy S20, skipping ahead a decade in numbering. Also, images leaked out over the weekend, showing the expected ‘domino bump’ on the back with the 4 cams, flash, etc. The phones won’t have the curved glass as previous models, and have a very slight bezel. The top line Galaxy S20 Ultra will be the top line, but the #2 phone…S20+ …will be the one to sport a new 12MP main cam, in addition to an ultra wide angle and telephoto zoom lens. The selfie cam will be a hole punch type, so the phones will have very slight ‘forehead’ and ‘chin’ expansions of the bezel at the top and bottom.

Noted Apple watcher and analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has now said he sees 4 5G phones coming from Apple later this year, including both sub-6GHx and mmWave versions…depending on the part of the world. According to macrumors.com, the mmWave phones will be limited to the US, Canada, Japan, Korea, and the UK. Kuo thinks the phones will launch in the US in September as usual, but some sources say they won’t make it out until late in the 4th quarter. At any rate, don’t expect to have access to 5G service widely in 2020…the providers are building out as fast as possible, but like with LTE when it first bowed, expect your phone display to jump between 5G and LTE (or 5Ge, as AT&T has tried to re-brand it) for at least a year or two!

After killing the gas-guzzling, excess-dripping brand following their bankruptcy in 2009, GM is toying with reviving the Hummer brand. Mashable.com says the new Hummers would be all electric…starting with an e-SUV in 2022. They also are planning a full sized e-pickup. Since GM already has a number of mid-sized and small EVs in the pipeline, it’s expected that the e-Hummers will play off the original’s brand, and be full sized EVs. The new Hummer pickup is slated to be shown off by LeBron James in a Super Bowl ad next month.

While others are grappling with robots that have arms and can restock shelves, Bossa Nova is getting ready to launch a battalion of inventory robots at 1,000 US Walmart stores. According to techcrunch.com, the devices, which look like a roller suitcase with a tall, stationary raised ‘arm’, will only scan the shelves for inventory, and transmit back the info to a central computer. This will enable good ol’ humans to go out and restock the shelves with precisely what’s needed. Bay Area based Bossa Nova had previously done a test run with 350 of the devices. The rollout of 1,000 inventory bots should be in place by summer…covering about 20% of Walmart’s 5,000 US stores.