New Fitbits; Facebook Squashes Strange Bug; TikTok Trials ‘Nearby’ Feed; Amazon Delivery Partners Touted

Fitbit has freshened 3 of its fitness trackers: the Inspire 3, Versa 4, and Sense 2. Wired.com reports that all 3 are available for preorder today. All are slimmer than the present models, and more powerful as well. What they DON’T have is Google’s wearable OS…all 3 still run Fitbit’s OS. The entry level Inspire 3 runs $100, and sports an always on display and ’10 day battery life.’ The new version adds blood oxygen monitoring, skin temperature, and irregular heartbeat rhythm trackers. the Versa 4 Runs $230, and the Sense 2 is $300. Both work with either an iPhone or most Android phones. Fitbit claims a week of battery life for both after 12 minutes of charge time…compared to less than a day for an Apple Watch 7!

If your Facebook feed was a little bizarre very early Wednesday morning, you weren’t alone. According to theverge.com, many user feeds were spammed with endless posts from celebrity accounts! Some users were seeing post after post from artists like Lady Gaga, Nirvana, and The Beatles. The bug was found and squashed by around 5:15 Eastern Time Wednesday morning. A Meta spokesperson blamed a ‘configuration change.’ Another bug they haven’t eliminated that came with the latest update…the mobile version on iOS keeps switching itself from dark mode back to light mode every time you check the app. No word on when that issue will be fixed. 

TikTok is testing out a third feed for users. Up to now, you have either been able to select ‘For You,’ which features suggestions and content from accounts you follow, or the ‘Following’ feed that focuses on videos from your friends. Now, 9to5mac.com says the third feed being trialed is called ’Nearby,’ and as the name indicates, it focuses on local content. TikTok believes the videos will not only be more relevant for users, but can also help them to find events and places around them. Right now, the test is open to a small group of users in Southeast Asia, but if it seems to strike a chord, could be put into general release. 

Amazon has put out new numbers about their Delivery Partners Program. Geekwire.com reports that there are now 3,000 independent companies delivering over 10 million packages a day and racking up more than $26 billion in revenue the last 4 years. As Amazon celebrates the 4th anniversary of their ‘partners’ in the blue vans, they are hoping to cast a better light on this part of their business, after a parade of stories about the tight controls on those partner employees that brought out word of drivers having to relieve themselves in bottles in the vans to stay on time with deliveries. Your tax dollars have helped keep your boxes coming, according to public records. Two delivery partners, Milum Express and Regional Express, each got million dollar loans through the Paycheck Protection Program in 2020…and those loans and interest were later forgiven!