Meta launched Threads a day early yesterday, and the new Twitter clone signed up two million in the first two hours, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Techcrunch.com reports that the app is up to over 30 million users in less than 24 hours…again according to data from Meta. Zuckerberg Tweeted for the first time in 10 years to announce the new Instagram affiliated app, in a tweak to Elon Musk’s nose. It is too early to tell anything, but a number of entertainers, influencers, tech wheels, and journalists are already on the new app. 

Samsung’s Unpacked will be on July 26th. We already knew it would be in their home capitol of Seoul, South Korea. According to 9to5google.com, you can now preorder either the new Galaxy Z Fold 5 or the Z Flip 5. Both the new folding phone models will be showed off at Unpacked, along with a new Galaxy Tab S9 and the Galaxy Watch 6. If you preorder either of the phones, you can get a $50 credit right now. 

It has been rumored every year, but now it looks like Apple really will boost the price of at least the iPhone 15 Pro Max this September. Macrumors.com says tech analyst Jeff Pu believes this will be due to the more expensive periscope telephoto lens that is supposed to be exclusive to that model. The present iPhone 14 Pro Max starts at $1099, so a good guess is that we will see a $100 price bump. 

This could be big for self-driving vehicle tech. University of Washington researchers have invented new tech that integrates LiDAR onto a computer chip and uses sound waves running over its surface to steer a laser beam, helping cars to see objects or people and animals that are far in the distance. It is must smaller and cheaper than present LiDAR, and has no moving parts….a likely game changer according to geekwire.com. The researchers have already gotten a seed grant to start to upscale the tech so it might be mass produced and find its way into self-driving vehicles. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.