The Velvet Underground spent its first two albums demonstrating how much noise, distortion, drones, sexual unease, drug references, and general discomfort could be squeezed onto a record without causing the pressing plant to call the authorities. Then, in 1969, Lou Reed and company did something arguably more surprising: they turned the volume down.
The band’s self-titled third album, The Velvet Underground, traded much of the confrontation of The Velvet Underground & Nico and White Light/White Heat for something quieter, more melodic, and considerably more intimate. More than five decades later, UMe’s Vinylphyle series is returning to the album using one of its most interesting original sources: Lou Reed’s 1969 “Closet Mix” stereo master, cut AAA by Joe Nino-Hernes and pressed at RTI on 180-gram black vinyl. The new pressing sells for $39.98 and is available exclusively through uDiscover Music.
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Why The Velvet Underground Matters
Released in March 1969, the album was the group’s first after co-founder John Cale departed, with Doug Yule joining Reed, Sterling Morrison, and Maureen Tucker. It was also the first Velvet Underground album produced and arranged by the band itself.
Anyone expecting another “Sister Ray” was in for a fairly substantial shock.
Songs including “Candy Says,” “Pale Blue Eyes,” “Jesus,” “I’m Set Free,” and “After Hours” revealed a far more vulnerable side of Reed’s songwriting, while “What Goes On” and “Beginning to See the Light” proved the Velvets had not suddenly misplaced their guitars. “The Murder Mystery,” meanwhile, made it clear that normality was never going to become a permanent condition.
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The stylistic shift was significant. Instead of trying to make White Light/White Heat louder, uglier, or stranger, Reed pushed the band toward spare arrangements and intensely personal songs. That quieter approach anticipated a substantial part of his later solo work while offering another blueprint for subsequent generations of alternative and indie musicians who discovered that emotional directness could be every bit as subversive as distortion.
Naturally, the album failed to become a major commercial success at the time. The Velvet Underground were extremely good at influencing musicians who would eventually sell far more records than they did.
What Exactly Is the “Closet Mix”?
The Velvet Underground exists in two principal stereo mixes from 1969.
MGM/Verve engineer Val Valentin created the version that ultimately became the more widely distributed mix. Reed also prepared his own version, placing greater emphasis on the vocals and reducing the prominence of some of the instrumentation. Guitarist Sterling Morrison dubbed it the “Closet Mix” because he thought it sounded as though the album had been recorded in a closet. Not exactly the type of testimonial a modern record label would put across the top of an advertisement, but the name stuck.
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The differences are not merely subtle EQ adjustments. Most notably, the two mixes use different performances of “Some Kinda Love” from the original recording sessions. Reed’s mix also creates a more intimate, vocal-forward presentation that fits particularly well with the inward-looking character of the material.
The Closet Mix appeared on some of the earliest U.S. LP pressings before the Valentin version became more common. It later resurfaced digitally on the 1995 Peel Slowly and See box set and again as part of the extensive 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition in 2014, so this is not some previously unheard tape discovered behind Lou Reed’s sofa.
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What is notable about the new Vinylphyle edition is the source and production chain.
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AAA From the 1969 Stereo Master
UMe specifies the source as the 1969 “Closet Mix” stereo album master, with Joe Nino-Hernes handling the new all-analog cut. The finished record is pressed at RTI on 180-gram black vinyl. No digitally reconstructed master, mystery file, or creatively worded “mastered from the original recordings” language is required here: this one is AAA.
The packaging is appropriately traditional as well. Buyers get a tip-on wrapped gatefold jacket with a satin-matte finish, an archival poly-lined sleeve, and a four-panel insert containing newly commissioned liner notes from four-time Grammy nominee and author Scott B. Bomar, along with scans of the source tapes.
This also continues UMe’s Vinylphyle series, which launched in November 2025 and previously tackled The Velvet Underground & Nico. eCoustics has also examined the series through its restoration of Erykah Badu’s Mama’s Gun, where the available source material required a very different mastering approach.
And that is part of what makes Vinylphyle potentially interesting. The label is not forcing every album through precisely the same process simply so somebody can slap “audiophile” across the shrink wrap in 36-point type.
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The Bottom Line
Forty dollars is hardly bargain-bin vinyl, but this is also refreshingly free of colored-vinyl gimmicks, enormous box-set architecture, or dubious anniversary arithmetic. What you are paying for is much easier to understand: Lou Reed’s original 1969 mix, the original stereo master, an all-analog cut, and an RTI pressing of one of the Velvet Underground’s most important albums.
Price & Availability
The Vinylphyle edition of The Velvet Underground is $39.98 and currently available through uDiscover Music in the United States. Orders are limited to four copies per customer, and the title is excluded from the retailer’s sitewide discounts.
Paul Lagier builds spare, printable objects on YouTube, and Shiptracker began as a present. His girlfriend already followed cargo ships, tankers, and ferries on websites, reading destinations, speeds, and origins the way other people refresh a weather app. He wanted that ritual to live on a desk without a phone in hand, so he boxed a Raspberry Pi Zero W, a 7.5-inch Waveshare e-paper panel, and two rotary encoders into a pale 3D-printed shell that draws almost no power between screen updates.
Commercial trackers practically map almost every ship on the planet. You’d think MarineTraffic and other similar websites would provide an API you could use for your own small project, but they don’t, and scraping their pages is not an option. Finland managed to tackle their data challenge in a clever way. Fintraffic’s Digitraffic service simply broadcasts AIS locations and a plethora of other vessel metadata for free, at least for the Gulf of Finland, which extends between Finland, Estonia, and Russia. Norway and Singapore had similar feeds, but Finland’s stream was enough to generate a map with real ships on it.
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Now, the map is being drawn using a Waveshare 7.5-inch E-Paper HAT V2. Having multiple shades of gray makes the coastline and ship markers readable, and the greatest thing is that the screen only needs energy when the image changes, making it very power efficient. Uploading partial black-and-white updates isn’t too difficult, but partial grayscale updates take longer. That provided Paul a reason to reconsider his design later. Paul had planned to use a Pi Zero 2 W, but it proved to be too expensive, so he purchased a used Zero W with the header pins already soldered on because it was a much cheaper alternative. That older board can still connect via Wi-Fi and run current software until 2026. However, it still utilizes the largely obsolete micro-USB power port, so he had to wire a USB-C breakout directly to the power pins and order a 5-volt 3-amp supply just to be safe.
Instead of a touchscreen, two buttons do the trick, each having an encoder that spins both directions and has a pleasing click. One knob scrolls among lists and views, while the other allows you to read details about a specific ship, such as its destination, projected arrival time, speed, length, and beam. There are two options: recommended mode displays the larger or more interesting vessels, and full list allows you to scroll through every ship that is currently reporting in. You can even mark one as a favorite with a single button press. After sitting inactive for a while, the interface will switch to watch mode, a calmer layout that only shows one ship, allowing you to have it on in the background without requiring continual attention.
Having images of each ship seemed like a fantastic idea at first, but it turned out that it wasn’t an option in the end. These full-screen grayscale refreshes simply took too long. Instead, Paul simply removed the photos and added a QR code to the detail view instead. If you scan the QR code, you can easily see a snapshot as well as all of the extra records on your phone. If you prefer a written summary of the ship, an AI-generated synopsis is included in the same package. Menus are accessible in both English and German.
He worked on the enclosure using Shapr3D. The front is recessed to fit the display, but a separate back plate just holds the Pi on four screws, preventing any pressure from being applied to the glass. He also used foam tape to keep the display from sliding about. He made a several prototypes in Panchroma Muted White PLA until the holes lined up correctly, then added a bottom cover and matching knobs. You may obtain the 3mf files for the housing, cover, mounting plate, and knobs, as well as an illustrated wiring guide, directly from the shop. [Source]
There aren’t many episodes left of Ted Lasso season 4. In fact, only two more, including this week’s chapter, remain, so there’s not much time left for it to find a match-winning goal.
AFC Richmond Women will have to do so without their star striker Gemma following the potentially serious knee injury she suffered in last week’s entry. Who, if anyone, will step up and try to get the team promoted? We’ll have to wait for this week’s installment to arrive, so read on to find out when it will.
What is the launch time for Ted Lasso season 4 episode 9?
What’s got Keeley and Rebecca looking like this? (Image credit: Apple TV)
Ted Lasso season 4’s penultimate episode should come out in the US and Canada at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Tuesday, September 29.
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Publicly, Apple has always stressed that new episodes of its first-party shows premiere every Wednesday at 12am PT in North America. However, every episode of the hit soccer comedy-drama’s latest season has arrived on Tuesday evenings at the times listed above. Barring an unexpected launch date and time change, I’m confident season 4 episode 9 will do likewise.
As for the rest of the world, this week’s entry will air on Apple TV, aka one of the world’s best streaming services, on Wednesday, September 30. Read on to see what time it’ll be released near you:
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US — Tuesday, September 29 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
Canada — Tuesday, September 29 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
UK — Wednesday, September 30 at 2am BST
India — Wednesday, September 30 at 6:30am IST
Singapore — Wednesday, September 30 at 9am SGT
Australia — Wednesday, September 30 at 11am AEST
New Zealand — Wednesday, September 30 at 1pm NZST
When is the final episode of Ted Lasso season 4 set to come out?
Is Alice cooking up a new, Gemma-less tactic for Richmond Women? (Image credit: Apple TV)
The 10th and final episode of the Apple TV show’s fourth season will kick off on Tuesday, October 6, in North and South America. Meanwhile, viewers on other continents will have to wait until Wednesday, October 7 to catch the series’ latest finale.
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What’ll happen in it? Its story will be dictated by what goes down in its predecessor — i.e. season 4 episode 9. So, be sure to tune in to Ted Lasso‘s next chapter to see what it’ll set up ahead of this season’s last hurrah.
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Hyundai rolled the Staria Camper Concept onto the CMT floor in Stuttgart in mid January 2026, only days after the Staria Electric made its Brussels debut. Visitors walked around a finished looking van with a body colored pop up roof, a galley, a shower, and a solar panel built into the lid. Officials called it a study aimed at European campers who want one vehicle for the week and the weekend. Nine months later it remains a concept. Hyundai is still collecting feedback and seeking approval before any factory build, with Europe first in line if the project moves. A recent report also raised the chance of a wider sale later.
The production version of this camper van will use the same hardware as the Staria Electric. This means it will employ an 84 kWh battery, the same 800 volt system as the Ioniq 5, Ioniq 6, and Ioniq 9, and a single 160kW front motor capable of 218PS. Official documentation estimate that the WLTP range is roughly 400km (249 miles) before the increased weight of the camper reduces that amount. The base van received a certified 430km rating in some regions, therefore we’re using the camper figure as a cautious starting point. Fast charging from 10 to 80 percent takes roughly 20 minutes on a good DC station. We might also expect 2,000 kg of braked towing capacity. To manage the extra load, they strengthened the suspension at both ends and added additional sound deadening to keep the highway runs quiet.
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When you park, simply push a button to lift the fully integrated pop-up roof, which is finished in the same material as the rest of the body. Hyundai designed the lid to make the van as aerodynamic as possible in the air and to reduce wind noise when driving. Once lifted, it provides a great view of the cabin and makes the kitchen much easier to operate. A 520-watt lightweight composite solar panel is installed on the roof. According to Hyundai, this device can recharge up to 2.6kWh a day in just five hours of bright sunlight. That trickle can either charge the traction battery or power the living systems, saving you time searching for a camping hookup.
Front captain seats rotate 180 degrees, allowing two individuals to sit facing the rear lounge. With the stroke of a button, the rear seats fold flat to form a bed for two. Some coverage of the show cars revealed other sleeping choices, including floor rails allow you to take seats or bedding out for bikes and gear. In addition, there is a folding camping screen in the galley that stretches from the roof to the seats and rear windows. That glass is smart glass; you can electrically modify how clear or shaded it is from the screen, and it is meant to provide better UV, heat, and noise control than traditional windows. A foldable table may be used inside the van or dragged out the back for outdoor dining, and the display cars had a Fiamma awning on the passenger side and a shore power connection.
Living kit is simple and electric; think of it as no-frills but functional. A 36-liter fridge fits comfortably in the van’s galley. The portable shower gets its power from the battery, which is a very cool function. The climate control in the cabin can be powered by the battery pack or, if you have a roof panel, you can also charge it from there. Staria Electric vans already feature vehicle to load connectors that allow you to operate small appliances from the traction battery, which is very convenient. None of this is a full-on motorhome kitchen; rather, it is a tiny conversion that drives like a standard tall family van most of the time.
In reality, South Korea has already sold a Staria Lounge Camper with identical living quarters, but those home market vans are powered by combustion or hybrid engines and start in the low fifties, depending on specification. Europe might get an electric only version of the camper van if Hyundai decides to go for it though. Back in January, there was some conjecture that it will be ready in late 2026 or possibly 2027, and if a specialist converter like Westfalia gets involved, it is likely to cost around the mid-fifties in pounds if you wind up in the center of the price range. [Source]
The Microsoft co-founder said that the more present danger is bad actors with access to AI tools.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
After several CEOs of leading AI companies have agreed on slowing down the pace of AI development, Bill Gates has offered supporting sentiments and called for more regulation and safeguards. In an interview with NBC News‘ Meet the Press, the Microsoft co-founder said that “it’s completely irresponsible not to require every AI to have these safeguards and monitoring capabilities.” To that end, Anthropic recently tapped Accenture to act as a third-party evaluator for its latest AI models.
As for other approaches to deal with AI’s rapid rate of evolution, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, proposed a “kill switch” as part of a larger solution. When asked about the kill switch approach to curb AI, Gates said that, “I would never want to say that I’m against a kill switch,” but added that this approach wouldn’t address a more imminent danger. Instead, Gates said the more pressing concern is when bad actors tap into the power of AI to aid with bioterrorism or mass financial fraud incidents.
“The most dangerous thing we’re facing right now is people with bad intent using AI,” Gates said during the interview. “There’s never been a weapon as powerful as the combination of people with ill intent using the latest AI tools.”
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When it comes to legislation, Gates supported law enforcement and politicians getting into the conversation of what safeguards and monitoring should be incorporated into AI companies. The former Microsoft exec said that this approach would add some overhead to the industry, but it wouldn’t be cause a “dramatic slowing of what they’re doing.”
Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve is earning strong reviews for its thrilling aerial combat, cinematic presentation, and excellent soundtrack. Critics call it one of the series’ best entries. Multiplayer adds 100-player lobbies, but the single-player campaign remains the star.
Considering how important it is for everything from navigation to keeping clocks in sync, satellite navigation systems are surprisingly vulnerable to a variety of attacks, ranging from simple jamming to more sophisticated spoofing attacks. This may be changing, though, as Galileo, Europe’s GNSS, recently demonstrated its first cryptographically-secured position fix under spoofing conditions.
Most GNSS systems, including GPS, have no verification measures to keep an adversary from transmitting a false signal at a higher power and hijacking a receiver; since GNSS signals are extremely weak by the time they reach the ground, this presents no great difficulty to a moderately well-equipped attacker.
Galileo’s Signal Authentication System (SAS) aims to fix this. The Galileo ground station pre-selects signal spreading codes, which it then encrypts with a regularly-changing secret key and publishes. A receiver which anticipates needing a verified signal can then download these encrypted codes ahead of time and store them. Galileo satellites then transmit on the E6-C pilot signal, and the receiver records the signal. After transmitting a message block, it then transmits the decryption key on a separate signal, which the receiver uses to recover the spreading codes. The receiver then correlates these spreading codes with the recorded signal to find the satellite’s pseudorange.
It’s a rather complicated system, but it works: earlier this month in Andøya, Norway, the annual Jammertest GNSS testing event took place. For one week, a wide range of organizations tested the resilience of their GNSS systems against various attacks, including jamming, delayed retransmission, and spoofing. Using five Galileo satellites, the European Space Agency was able to obtain a stable lock on their receiver even during spoofing.
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In principle, this method could be extended to other GNSS systems. There’s certainly motivation to do so; very large-scale attacks have been demonstrated recently.
Tesla announced its electric semi-truck back in 2017, but deliveries to its first customers are just about to start nearly a decade later in September 2026. On September 24th, Tesla held a launch event for the Semi at its manufacturing plant in Nevada, where it plans to build 50,000 Semis a year. It may seem like a lofty goal, but Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a pre-recorded video message that there is already a big waiting list for the Semi. At $290,000 for a Long Range Semi, it’s predicted that Tesla will deliver 15,000 in 2026 at most.
One of those early customers includes Zero-Emission Truck Shipper-Carrier Alliance Leading Electrification (ZET SCALE), a shipper alliance with brands like Microsoft and PepsiCo that reportedly ordered 2,500 of the electric semis — the largest electric Class 8 order ever made in the U.S. Tesla’s announcement made it sound as if it was providing all 2,500 of the trucks, but it’s just the primary supplier along with other brands. The fleet of 2,500 electric trucks will be deployed in Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas, New York, Atlanta, and other freight hubs over the next few years.
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Said Dan Priestley, Director for the Tesla Semi Program: “We are proud to have been the primary selection in this RFP and look forward to giving shippers and carriers a new competitive edge.”
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Tesla Semi faces delays and big claims ahead of launch
The Semi has a pretty typical history, as far as Tesla goes. Musk announced the vehicle in 2017 and had lofty goals of launching it in 2019, claiming it would be cheap to operate, carry a full load, and reach 500 miles on a single charge. At the time, experts responded that this was nearly impossible to pull off due to technology limitations. Tesla continued to miss various launch dates, eventually shipping some early examples to PepsiCo in 2022. Next year’s launch date was also missed, although brands like Walmart, Costco, and the NFL were given one Semi to test. Those have now been used for over 5 million miles.
If that timeline sounds familiar, it’s likely because the second-generation Roadster was announced in 2017, delayed multiple times, and is finally getting a reveal October 2026. The Cybercab was revealed in 2024, Musk claimed 2 million would be produced a year, and as of 2026, there are only 69 active Cybercabs besting tested in a few cities.
“This is going to be a revolutionary truck that’s capable of carrying the heaviest loads over very far distances,” Musk stated ahead of the launch event. He also added that it will be the “funnest truck to drive” due to its fast acceleration, which echoes previous statements, noting it will get Full Self-Driving in the future. There will be a Standard Range Semi that has 350 miles and a Long Range that gets 500 miles.
Waymo’s self-driving car technology “continues to outperform human benchmarks,” the company claimed this week. “It was involved in 841 fewer injury-causing crashes — an 82% reduction compared to human drivers.”
Electrek reports:
We’ve seen various Waymo crash data before, with Waymo claiming crash reductions. That’s all well and good when the company says it, but we’ve also seen independent data confirming similar (though lower) crash reduction numbers…
Waymo has enough miles that it’s ready to start quoting how many injuries it has prevented, and the number is pretty high. Its newest crash data states that it had operated a total of 271 million driverless miles through June of this year, which is 50 million more miles added in the 3 months since its end-of-March update. Over those miles, Waymo says there was an 82% reduction in crashes that caused injury, and a 95% reduction in crashes that cause “serious injury or worse” [compared to human drivers].
Waymo also says that compared to human drivers it’s reduced injury-causing crashes involving pedestrians by 93%, cyclists by 86%, and motorcyclists by 82%.
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Waymo’s analysis comes from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta, and Phoenix, and its blog post includes video showing some near-misses where it says its automated system prevented an injury-causing collision.
In this week’s Sunday Reboot, the Apple Watch is better for your health, but maybe the rumored screen-free wearable could be better for your peace of mind.
Sunday Reboot is a weekly column covering some of the lighter stories within the Apple reality distortion field from the past seven days. All to get next week underway with a good first step.
Keeping customers alive with simplification
The September event schedule usually covers the key portable touch points Apple has with its customers. That is, iPhone, AirPods, and the Apple Watch. This year was no different, and for the wearable side, that meant new wrist-mounted models.
There’s a lot to talk about, including things like Audio Intelligence and the privacy implications, as well as Siri‘s overhaul. But health is a big thing here, too.
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It is a bit for me too, on a personal note. After attending a funeral earlier in the week, it certainly makes you think about your life and about doing something that stops you from being the perennially overweight guy. But I digress.
Apple’s added a new health-sensing system with an expanded electrode surface area, more electrodes, and a better photodiode array. It’s now checking your heart every five seconds, so you know how your heart varies throughout the day.
So many electrodes…
The new Readiness score also sounds like a decently simple way to measure your capacity to work out, or quite frankly, to deal with the day ahead. It’s a fairly clear signal to anyone that they need to care more about themselves.
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It’s not quite the Apple Watch screaming “Get more sleep!” or “Work out more!” but it’s going to be helpful to some of its audience.
This all plays into Apple’s changes in the Health app on iPhone and iPad, with a greater use of Apple Intelligence. Though I fear many will look at Health Age with some trepidation.
Some people will see Apple Intelligence comparing them to someone five years younger and think they’re extremely fit for their age. Others will see a Health Age that’s added a few too many years, and quietly laugh it off if it’s brought up by anyone.
I fear that if I check that figure out, I’ll face questions from Apple Intelligence asking how I’m not dead yet.
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Would you just stop already?
These notifications and metrics also tie into something else that came up this week. There were rumors that Apple was prototyping a new fitness and health tracker.
Specifically, a tracker that isn’t intended to be a mini iPhone on your wrist, but more a collection of sensors that hands off the data to your iPhone. Something similar to trackers like the ones sold by Whoop, which collects data on your activity and nothing else.
You may consider it to be a dumb Apple Watch, and you’re right. It’s not going to provide you with information directly, but that is the point.
I have been a long-time user of the Apple Watch Series 4, specifically the Nike Edition one. As if the swoosh will make me do more exercise.
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The Apple Watch Series 4, still working on my wrist. It’s more scuffed now, though.
I have written before about how the Apple Watch is great at data collection, but also that it is also insanely good at nagging you. Every so often, your wrist dings as yet another notification comes in, and you’re too lazy to keep looking at your iPhone for once.
The amount of dings I get every day on my wrist is infuriating at times. On many occasions, I have wanted to punt the Apple Watch through a window because I hear the chime and immediately do Pavlov proud by looking at my wrist.
I have, in recent months, started wearing the Apple Watch with Do Not Disturb enabled. It has certainly helped me become less wound up and more relaxed because I’m able to ignore those wrist pings, but it doesn’t stop me from checking.
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This is a problem that Apple has partially solved. With the introduction of the fitness tracking capability in the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, it does mean I can do some workouts and exercise without the Apple Watch at all.
However, if I want to check my health from throughout the day, that’s not an option. I still have to stick with the Apple Watch and live with the potential auditory distraction.
At least the Whoop-like tracker will be there for keeping tabs on my day.
It’ll still be silently judging me, but that’s the point.
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Last week’s Sunday Reboot discussed the Battersea Power Station Apple Store, and how it should be a more-used design in Apple’s retail landscape
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