Things will get a bit meta today as one of the biggest technology news websites on the internet gets a big redesign. There is a new Kindle, iOS news, some Android news, and… Twitter. Because. Let’s go.
The Verge’s New Design Proves Controversial
If you’ve been following this space for a while, you’ll know I often link to stories from The Verge. One of the largest online technology news publications on the internet, The Verge often strikes what I’ve found to be a good balance of pure “gadget technology” news as well as branching off to cover news around technology, and how technology affects our lives. The Verge launched in 2011 and it has been a daily staple for me since then.
This morning The Verge rolled out a new design that, if the comments are to be believed, is not being received well. There are two parts to the redesign, the actual nuts and bolts of the design, fonts, colours, style, and the design. And then there’s the new content strategy.
The nuts and bolts of the design is where I have the biggest issue. Like everything, I’m sure people will adjust, but this design will definitely take some getting used to and has some decisions that are, in my opinion, baffling. The home page features white text on a black background, while the article pages feature black text on a white background. That change is jarring, and Is hard on the eyes. The home page features a disjointed scrolling experience on larger screens, with content on the left and right scrolling at different rates. There are fewer, smaller images on the home page making it hard to easily tell what a story is quickly. It can be hard to tell what is original reporting and what is a repost of other content. This is of course a subjective opinion, but I think the home page is a mess.
The second piece is the actual content strategy. In an interview with Axios, The Verge’s editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks about the design and content. I’ll link that below. But The Verge is now betting on what it calls the storystream. The idea is that writers on The Verge can post and link to content from other sources instead of writing an entire story about it, and that content can appear on The Verge homepage. As an example; if Elon Musk tweets something, instead of writing an entire story about it a Verge writer can embed that tweet on the home page with a bit of context.
The strategy here is clear. The Verge is trying to aggregate content in order to drive more people to its home page, where readers will consume more ads. When users consume more ads, the company makes more money. Patel says as much in the Axios article, saying The Verge’s competition is not Engadget, or Ars Technica. The competition is Twitter and Facebook. This is 100% a play to get more people to visit The Verge more often, for a longer period of time, and consuming more content on The Verge, even if that content is embedded from a competitor of the company.
The strategy here is sound, and could work. Shame about the overall design of the home page. That could torpedo it.
https://www.axios.com/2022/09/13/verge-goes-after-twitter-new-redesign
Twitter Shareholders Approve Elon Musk Deal
The final results are not in, but Twitter says a majority of its shareholders have approved the deal struck with Elon Musk to buy the company. But there remains the small matter that Elon Musk is trying to back out of the deal, and the sides are currently suing each other. But this procedural hurdle has been cleared.
iPhone 14 Battery Replacements Will Be $40 Higher
One thing that really helps the longevity of the iPhone, beyond Apple’s long support of the products, is that when the battery starts to die replacements have been relatively inexpensive. While it cost $90 to replace the battery on the iPhone 13, the cost to replace the battery on the iPhone 14 line will be $130. When compared to the overall price of iPhones that is still a small number, but increasing the price of battery replacements will make users a little less willing to simply get a new battery and instead buy a new device. That is good for Apple, but not as good for the sustainability of the industry.
New Amazon Kindle Brings Better Screen, Longer Battery, USB-C
Amazon has finally given some love to its cheapest Kindle. Last updated in 2019 the basic Kindle model sported the lowest resolution display at 167 pixels per inch (ppi), weakest backlight, and still charged via MicroUSB. Today Amazon has updated the basic Kindle to feature a 300ppi display, the same as the Kindle Paperwhite though it remains at 6”. The Kindle also sees a better backlight, something closer to the previous generation Kindle Paperwhite. Lastly, the Kindle finally charges via USB-C. Amazon says you won’t have to charge the Kindle very often as it claims the battery will last up to 6 weeks.
The basic kindle was not an easy device to recommend recently, as it lagged far behind the rest of the lineup. The new model is much more capable, but at $130 it is just $20 cheaper than the excellent Kindle Paperwhite, and I still find it hard to recommend the basic model when the price difference is so small.
https://mobilesyrup.com/2022/09/13/amazon-new-kindle-with-six-week-battery/
iOS 16, tvOS 16, and WatchOS 9 Now Available
Lastly it is worth noting that Apple released iOS 16 and WatchOS 9 to the world. iOS 16’s main feature is the new lock screen, and the update looks solid enough that most people should probably upgrade.
For those of us with iPads, iPadOS 16 has been delayed, so there is no update today. iPadOS 16 will likely be coming in October.
Apple has released iOS 15.7 and iPadOS 15.7 that features security updates for those unable to update to iOS 16 or those who don’t want to update to iOS 16. MacOS also got a similar security update with MacOS Ventura also not coming until October.