No Windows 11 Android Support at First; Google May Launch Pixel 6 in Next 2 Weeks; Chinese Maker-Colbalt Free EV Batteries; iPhone 13 Satellite Com-Clarification…Maybe

It looks like Windows 11 won’t be shipping with Android app support when it drops on October 5th. According to theverge.com, this would be a disappointing delay for one of the banner features of the upgraded OS. It appears now like the Android support won’t be pushed out until 2022. Windows 11 will be a free upgrade for eligible Windows 10 computers, but new PCs will get it first, then existing devices will be able to download in the following weeks (or months.) According to Microsoft, all eligible Windows 10 PCs will be offered the free upgrade by mid 2022.

Not exactly from a known, accurate leaker, but a Weibo leaker claims the Pixel 6 handsets will be unveiled on September 13th…stepping on Apple’s iPhone 13 event…which will most likely be September 14th, if history is an indication. Bgr.com reports that this shows Google isn’t afraid of the competition. For this writer, it appears to be a gamble…can Google steal enough thunder to make a big splash with the Pixel 6 phones, or will they be swamped by all the glitz and excitement of the Apple iPhone 13 and Apple Watch rollout? Most other competitors (think Samsung) try to show their new units weeks…or a month….from an Apple announcement in order to get buzz and hopefully favorable reviews before Apple’s phones hit, but if this wild rumor is true, it’s a gutsy attempt to grab attention for the latest Pixel phones. 

A Chinese firm called SVOLT says its ready to start making a cobalt free EV battery at scale. Engadget.com says they showed off an 82.6KWh battery pack in a vehicle at the Chengdu Motor Show. (The actual car is from Great Wall Motors…a logo must extend all the way across the back of the car!) It’s claimed that pack can make 373 miles of range off a single charge, and it can push the car forward 0-60 in under 5 seconds. the big deal about cobalt is that it is rare, so in short supply, and mining it is very environmentally unfriendly. Both Panasonic and Tesla have tried making batteries without heavy metals like cobalt. The Model 3 sold in China has a lithium ion phosphate battery in it that doesn’t use heavy metals in production. That unit is made by Contemporary Amperex Technology. No word on when SVOLT will have battery packs on the market.

Yesterday, we reported a rumor from noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that has the iPhone 13 carrying a special chip that might allow satellite communication. 9to5mac.com notes that a couple of experts have downplayed this, as have numerous Twitter trolls who have no clue. Bloomberg also confirmed the rumor, but clarified that it would be for emergency use only, and be a text only function. the experts (and trolls) note that the Qualcomm X60 chip doesn’t operate on satellite frequencies…which is true, but Kuo said that it was a modified version. The X65 chip, for example, DOES operate on satellite frequencies. It may be that the chip is in the phone, but that Apple won’t activate it right away, or has a longer term plan for satellite in mind. We may find out all…or not…considering it’s Apple, in the next couple weeks.