Good morning! Read on to see how Bird somehow lost about $2.3 million per day in its valuation from October 2019 to now. Or, how to (questionably) mash an avocado…

Cheaper Chromecast coming?

A mystery Google device has passed through the FCC for regulatory approval, and it looks a lot like a cheaper Chromecast.

• As usual with FCC listings, there’s digging to be done, since there’s no smoking gun.
• My colleague Matt Milano sums up the device that has an ID of A4RG454V and mentions Google in the listing title:

• “[A] point that would support the device not being a phone or tablet is the fact that it does not appear to have any kind of cellular connectivity. Instead, the device is limited to Bluetooth LE and Wi-Fi [ dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi].

• The FCC’s notes mention a test connection between the device and earphones, as well as a controller.”

• And having a little dig at it this morning, the FCC filing notes the device streams 1080p/60Hz video while charging from a USB cable.

Rest of the story:

• The other big factor in this is that earlier this year, Protocol scooped that Google was working on a new Chromecast dongle running Google TV, but would skip 4K streaming and stick with 1080p. That hasn’t been released yet so it all lines up.
• Now, Google didn’t announce this at Google I/O, and it spoilered all its other hardware like the Pixel 7.
• So for availability, I couldn’t bet on when it’ll come out with much confidence. Once something enters the FCC though, the clock is ticking.
• Mind you, how cheap will Google go? Its Chromecast with Google TV from 2020 does 4K HDR for $50 (and now sold for $40) and only just rolled out to India and the rest of Europe (for 70 EUR, mind you) this past week.
• Google did do the same with Home Mini/Nest Mini at $50 and cheaper still.
• I guess for twenty bucks or less, it becomes easy to throw in bundles, or almost give away to try and get back the smart TV streaming device market from Roku and Amazon and so on.

Roundup

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 storage leak suggests a 1TB storage option (Android Authority).

iOS 16 code seems to suggest the ‘always-on display’ rumors for the iPhone 14 Pro are real (9to5Mac).

I like micromobility solutions, but it’s somehow wild to see Bird’s fall. It went public via an SPAC deal, and is down over 93% from its SPAC deal, somehow losing about $2.3 million per day from its $2.5B valuation in 2019. 979 days (TechCrunch).

“What things are said to be dangerous but are actually safe?” (r/askreddit). (You’ll need to trust random Redditors…)

Weirdness Wednesday

The New York Times upset a lot of people yesterday, and with good reason!

The NYT Cooking team presented a “lifehack” way of turning avocados into chunks for popping on your bread or taco or for guacamole: mash it through a cooling rack.

• It’s definitely faster than the usual way of like, briefly slicing the avocado inside the skin and then scooping it out with a spoon.
• But, my word, who’s cleaning that thing? What a hassle.
• Anyway, the world is upset! and I enjoyed this gentle riposte in response by LA Taco.

Cheers,

Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor