Could satellite smartphones end UK phone ‘not spots’? More affordable Tesla models by summer
Vodafone has carried out what it says is the UK’s first satellite-enabled smartphone video call. The company says the call – made from a mountain in Ceredigion, west Wales – is part of the process of adding satellite connectivity to its UK phone network by the end of the year, and across Europe in 2026. Vodafone boss Margherita Della Valle says it could eliminate “not spots” – places without mobile signal – which regulator Ofcom estimates can be found in 9% of the UK. However, experts say regulatory hurdles will need to be cleared and many more satellites launched for the service to take off. BBC
Meta has agreed to pay $25m to settle a lawsuit with Donald Trump. The suit originated in 2021 when Trump sued the social media company for suspending his accounts after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. The settlement was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and has been confirmed by a Meta spokesperson. The majority of the settlement, $22m, will go toward a fund to pay for Trump’s presidential library, according to the Wall Street Journal. The remainder will pay for legal fees and go to other plaintiffs listed in the case. Guardian
Tesla is on the cusp of launching a range of “more affordable models” in a bid to broaden its appeal after it logged its first annual decline in sales since becoming a mainstream brand. It sold 1.79 million cars last year, down from 1.81m in 2023. The new cars are intended to ultimately boost Tesla‘s annual output by more than 60% compared with these figures, to around 3.0m cars. The company said the new cars will enter production in the first half of 2025. Autocar
Google announced a so-called Identity Check feature for Pixel phones earlier this month. This requires biometric authentication in addition to a PIN or password to change some settings outside of trusted places. Fortunately, this capability is now available on Pixel devices. 9to5Google spotted Identity Check on their Pixels, and we can confirm that the feature is available on our Pixel phones too (including the Pixel 7 Pro and Pixel 8 Pro). Android Authority
January is always super-busy when it comes to the best new TV reveals – especially the best OLED TVs, of which many were revealed at the CES 2025 show at the beginning of the month. Some brands’ release cycles are a little later, though, including Philips – which just revealed its OLED+909 successor for 2025. I got to check out the latest Philips OLED+910 at a preview event ahead of the set’s proposed June release date – and it’s so impressive it could well steal the limelight from both LG and Samsung. T3.com
The European Space Agency (ESA) has revealed it is closely monitoring an asteroid the size of a football pitch that could hit the Earth in a little over seven years. The asteroid, called 2024 YR4, is estimated to have a one in 83 chance of a direct hit, causing “severe damage to a local region”, according to ESA. The space rock, which measures 100m by 40m, is currently at a distance of around 27 million miles and moving away from the planet. But its path will cross the Earth’s orbit on 22 December 2032. Sky News
