Buy a Car from Amazon?; Instagram Bows ‘Trial Reels’; Samsung Galaxy S25-Qi2 Charging; OpenAI Launches Sora Video Generation Publicly

There are everything stores and then there are everything stores. Costco has everything, including caskets. Now, Amazon is adding cars! Yep, you can add a car to your cart…specifically, a Hyundai. Wired.com reports that Amazon had announced that cars could be coming in 2024, and now you can buy one with a click. Amazon has announced that it will ‘roll out’…ok sorry about that…services with other dealerships and manufacturers in 2025. Right now, go to Amazon Autos, and search for the make and model you want, then you can find matching vehicles at nearby dealerships that have them. You can also get an estimate of your trade in value. Amazon says is is working with an ‘independent third party’ to determine trade values. At check out, you can pay in full (like many Hyundai buyers do that) or get help getting financing. Most paperwork can be e-signed on Amazon. After that, just schedule a pickup at the Hyundai dealer. Yeah, sorry…no next day delivery…or shipping at all!

Instagram has launched a new feature for video creators. Now, you can publish a ‘trial reel’ for non-followers to see, and test it out before revealing the video to followers. According to engadget.com, the feature is in direct response to feedback from creators who “feel nervous” about posting videos that may not perform well. Meta said the new feature is meant to make it easier for creators to experiment with different genres and “easily get a gut check on how your content might perform.” After 24 hours, creators can revisit the video and see how the metrics look before releasing it to followers or not. 

It looks like Samsung will be adding Qi2 charging to the Galaxy S25 phones. 9to5google.com notes that the standard has been out for a couple years, but only one Android phone has gotten it so far, and that’s the little-known HMD Skyline. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhones have the faster charging via their magnetic ring connection. There had been a rumor that Google’s Pixel 9 phones would get it, but nope. A reliable Samsung leaker says the Galaxy S25’s will have it though. We won’t have long to wait to see if that turns out to be true…they’re due out in January.

OpenAI has launched Sora video generation publicly. Arstechnica.com reports that Sora Turbo text-to-video generation is available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers via a dedicated website. The model can create videos of up to 20 seconds long with resolutions up to 1080 pixels from a text or image prompt. Right now, it is available in the US and much of the world, but not in Europe yet. OpenAI is limiting generation of videos of people for the time being to prevent deepfakes. The company notes that there are limitations as it is an early version. The model reportedly struggles with physics simulations and complex actions over extended durations.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.