Pebble is set to release the Pebble Round 2, a refreshed version of its thinnest smartwatch, following the launch of its revived smartwatch line and a budget-friendly AI smart ring. The Pebble Round 2, priced at $199, features a rounded screen designed to offer a more refined aesthetic while maintaining affordability, a hallmark of Pebble devices.
The new smartwatch focuses on essential health and activity tracking, including step counting and sleep monitoring. Pebble opted to exclude a heart rate monitor and other advanced features typically found in fitness-oriented smartwatches to extend battery life, which is projected to last between 10 and 14 days on a single charge.
The Pebble Round 2 is a reboot of the Pebble Time Round, originally launched in 2015. The company had touted the original as the thinnest smartwatch on the market. The new version retains a slim profile, measuring 8.1mm in thickness, a slight increase from the original's 7.5mm. By focusing on core functionalities and foregoing more complex features, Pebble aims to provide a user-friendly experience at a competitive price point. The company has not yet announced an exact release date.
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Vox's Future Perfect team has released its annual predictions for 2026, focusing on significant global events and trends. The forecasts, presented with attached probabilities to reflect confidence levels, cover a range of critical issues, from the stability of US democracy to potential economic downturns and international conflicts.
A renewed focus on reducing meat consumption is crucial in 2026, despite recent declines in plant-based meat sales and a shift in public perception. The environmental impact of animal agriculture, coupled with health concerns and ethical considerations, necessitates a return to the aspirational goals of the 2010s, where reducing meat intake was seen as a positive step.
Bogotá is pioneering a radical caregiving initiative, "manzana del cuidado," recognizing and addressing women's unpaid labor through accessible services like childcare and skills training. This innovative approach, which reimagines urban spaces to support caregivers, is gaining global attention as a potential model for equitable social policy.
Since Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, now X, the platform has shifted to favor right-leaning perspectives, leading to a perceived conservative advantage in the culture war. However, this shift has also fostered internal divisions within the right, as disagreements and controversies arise from the prevalence of extreme viewpoints on the platform. Some conservatives are now expressing concern over the prominence of bigotry and conspiracy theories on X.
As AI capabilities advance, experts are considering extreme measures to control potentially dangerous rogue systems, including deploying counter-AI, targeted internet shutdowns, or even nuclear EMPs. However, these drastic options carry significant risks and highlight the urgent need for robust AI safety protocols and ethical guidelines to prevent such scenarios.
A new TLC docuseries, "The Cult of the Real Housewife," explores the controversial life of "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Mary Cosby, focusing on her marriage and religious practices. The three-part series premiered January 1st and is available to watch on TLC, DirecTV (with a free trial), HBO Max, and Discovery+.
Prince's music experienced a massive surge in Spotify streams, particularly among Gen Z listeners, following the use of "When Doves Cry" and "Purple Rain" in the *Stranger Things* series finale. This highlights the power of AI-driven music placement in film and television to revitalize classic catalogs and introduce them to new audiences, demonstrating the potential for significant revenue generation and cultural impact.
Victoria Jones, daughter of actor Tommy Lee Jones, has passed away at age 34 in a San Francisco hotel, prompting an investigation into the cause of death. The incident highlights the intersection of celebrity and personal tragedy, raising questions about media ethics and privacy in the digital age, especially concerning the rapid dissemination of information.
Hollywood's top directors, from Paul Thomas Anderson to Barry Jenkins, are spilling their cinematic crushes of 2025, revealing the films that sparked their creativity and maybe a little envy! Michael Mann, for one, is bowing down to James Cameron's "Avatar: Fire and Ash," praising its immersive world-building and the introduction of a fierce new Navi clan, proving that even the biggest names in the biz get starstruck by groundbreaking filmmaking.
Researchers have developed random heteropolymers (RHPs) that mimic enzyme functions by strategically arranging monomers to create protein-like microenvironments. This innovative approach, inspired by metalloprotein active sites, allows for catalysis of reactions under non-biological conditions, demonstrating a new path for designing robust, enzyme-like materials with potential applications in various fields.
Researchers have created a novel "chiral fermionic valve" that separates electrons based on their chirality using the quantum geometry of topological bands, achieving this without magnetic fields. This innovative device, made from single-crystal PdGa, spatially separates currents with opposite chiralities, demonstrating quantum interference and opening new possibilities for advanced electronic devices.
In 2026, expect to see the rise of efficient, small-scale AI models challenging current large language models, alongside advancements in gene editing therapies for rare diseases. A mission to collect samples from Phobos will also be a key event, while changes to US science policy under the Trump administration are expected to have a significant impact on the scientific landscape.
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