The Morning After: New York state moves to ban sale of flavored e-cigarettes
And five years since the end of the iPod.
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Welcome to Monday morning! New York state is rushing to ban sales of flavored e-cigarettes, there are even more Pixel 4 leaks -- focused on the cameras -- and it's been five years since Apple killed off its iPod. But don't worry! It's iPhone week! Hold on to hear our full verdicts on the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 later this week. Unless you already put in your preorder, you maverick.
New York state bans sales of flavored e-cigarettes
New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced an "emergency executive action" that will ban sales of flavored e-cigarettes. The move will see the state Department of Health's Commissioner hold an urgent meeting with the Public Health and Health Planning Council to implement the ban. E-cig makers and stores are "intentionally and recklessly" trying to court a younger audience, Cuomo claimed.
He pointed to Department of Health data showing steep climbs in e-cig use among teens. About 27 percent of high schoolers were apparently using e-cigarettes -- 160 percent more than they were in 2014, according to officials. The governor also referenced a 2017 survey showing that 19 percent of state teens tried e-cigs due to flavors, with 27 percent citing flavor as a reason to keep smoking. He went on to accuse companies of falsely claiming e-cigs are safe, noting that early studies suggested they could lead to cardiovascular and respiratory problems.
E-cig producers will have to sell 'plain' e-cigs in one of the most populous states in the country, and they risk further legal action if New York feels their sales tactics are still too inviting to teens.
More Pixel 4 leaks, in case you missed all the others
Another day, more close-up photos. Vietnamese phone shop D Store Mobile sent nearly two dozen photos of a pre-release Pixel 4 XL to The Verge, and they appear to confirm some of its previously rumored specs. Notably, a main rear camera that will snap shots with a brighter f/1.73 aperture (versus f/1.8 on the Pixel 3). The telephoto camera's specs (yep, more cameras on this model) aren't available, but you can safely presume there will be improvements to low-light photos and some close-ups.
This week in tech history: Apple pulls the plug on the iPod classic
It's been just over five years since Apple killed off the iPod Classic (henceforth known as the iPod because it is the One True iPod). Its death on September 9th, 2014, was no big surprise: Sales had been declining for years as the iPhone surpassed it in sales and feature set. Indeed, the notion of loading files from a computer onto a spinning hard drive to listen to music was totally anachronistic by 2014. Apple Music hadn't arrived yet, but Spotify was quickly becoming the most important way to listen to music. Since we were all carrying smartphones, having another device for music just didn't make sense anymore. Nathan Ingraham tells the tale.
Galaxy Tab S6 review: Good notepad, bad notebook
Samsung's Galaxy Tab S6 is a powerful, long-lasting Android tablet that is excellent until you try to use it as a laptop replacement. Its Samsung-made keyboard cover and DeX desktop software need a lot of work before you can truly multitask heavily on the system. But if all you need is to edit some documents and spreadsheets and reply to emails and chats on the go, the Tab S6 is more than capable. Plus, the S Pen is a truly helpful tool for people who like jotting down random thoughts and having a device that automatically organizes them.
But wait, there's more...
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