Apple Extends Deal for Qualcomm Modems; Google Pixel Watch 2 Features; Tesla $25,000 New Gen Car; Waze Security Cam Creepy Breach

On the eve of the rollout of the latest and greatest Apple iPhones and Watches, Cupertino has cut a deal to extend its use of Qualcomm modems for 3 more years. Good news for Qualcomm, as Apple’s their biggest client. Macrumors.com notes that Apple had been expected to roll out their own custom 5G modem. Now, with this extension, they will continue with Qualcomm through 2026, at least in some models. Apple has been working on their own modem since 2018. It is possible that Apple could start using their own modems and gradually move away from Qualcomm. Qualcomm expects to still supply at least 20% of Apple’s modems by 2026.

We will have a full recap tomorrow of Apple’s iPhone and Watches they show off at their annual event…which starts at 10am Pacific time tomorrow will be streamed on Apple’s web site as well as YouTube. 

Google has never made it their policy to be as secretive as Apple with their upcoming products and features. According to androidpolice.com, teaser videos for the Pixel Watch 2…which will be rolled out on October 2nd, show a fair amount. Other leaks indicate that the Watch will have an IP68 rating for water resistance, and will probably feature an EDA sensor to track stress levels, a tech ported over from Fitbit. It also appears from the video to be a bit thinner. Even with those improvements, the Pixel Watch 2 is not expected to be a major upgrade. Android Police called it ‘iterative.’

More pie in the sky from an Elon Musk company? Tesla is reportedly preparing to build a $25,000 electric car built on the company’s next-generation engineering platform. Axios says that Elon Musk biographer Walter Isaacson has detailed the plan to build a $25,000 electric car alongside an autonomous robotaxi that could ferry passengers around. Here’s the fly in the ointment: the car apparently has a futuristic design like the Cybertruck! Back in 2018 Musk promised a $25,000 car within 3 years. On the other hand, the long-delayed Cybertruck now isn’t slated for full scale production until 2024! 

Data breaches and internet hacks bring almost a continuous stream of creepy and disturbing stories. Here’s one that popped up over the weekend. Mashable.com reports that some people who own Wyze security cams logged in to the company web viewer, and were able to look into other peoples’ homes! Apparently, the web pages of some people were ‘cached’ and then accidentally shared with others visiting the site. The merged feeds were caused by ‘a web caching issue’ that only affected desktop users during a 30 minute period on September 8th. Wyze claimed to be working on an immediate fix. The company had already gotten heat for an issue last year where a security flaw allowed hackers to access video storage for 3 years. This creepy leak wasn’t even caused by hackers! Maybe if you have been using Wyze cams, you would be ‘wise’ to dump them and go with another brand!

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ’technified’ for now.