Daily Authority: 🚁 Drone-tastic DJI

Good morning! I was up pretty late last night watching Shining Girls on Apple TV Plus. Can’t wait for the next episode!

Google I/O kicks off later today, and if you were up early enough you probably caught the Sony Xperia 1 IV launch (if not, we’ll fill you in on what you missed in just a moment…)

Mini but mighty: DJI Mini 3 Pro

DJI announced its new DJI Mini 3 Pro this week, and Android Authority‘s own Jonathan Feist talked us through what’s on offer:

• This is a compact, folding drone that’s easily the best camera drone under 250g on the market today.
• You get a 4K camera and powerful flight modes, but it’s the design that makes it stand out.
• The Mini 3 Pro has some of the biggest design changes we’ve seen in a long time, with forward-tilted propellers that give the drone a nose-up attitude, improving aerodynamics when in forward flight.
• The craft’s nose has been cut back, so there’s more room for the camera to tilt upwards, and the camera can rotate a full 90 degrees so you can shoot in portrait orientation.
• The camera gimbal’s mounted from two side mounts, rather than hanging from the nose of the craft.
• What else? This time around, the landing gear’s been moved to the fuselage and battery, meaning the propeller arms can operate in any order without contacting each other.
• There are other changes too — you might think many of these seem inconsequential, but they’re a welcome update for experienced Mavic pilots.

What else is new?

Good news: Weighing in at just 249, you can avoid many drone laws and restrictions worldwide!

Take a look under the hood and you’ll find:

• A 48MP 1/1.3-inch camera sensor, up to 4 x zoom, and 34 minutes of flight time with standard batteries, and a whopping 47 minutes with the Battery Plus.
• The Mini 3 Pro shoots 4K video up to 60fps (4K 30fps in HDR), travels at up to 35mph, and has a 12KM (7.5 mile) connectivity.
• DJI’s also introducing a new remote control, the DJI RC, with a 5.5-inch built-in display.

You can pre-order the DJI Mini 3 Pro now, with deliveries expected late June, and choose from three packages:

• DJI Mini 3 Pro with standard RC-N1 controller: $759
• DJI Mini 3 Pro with DJI RC controller: $909
• DJI Mini 3 Pro with no controller: $669

To find out more about the DJI Mini 3 Pro and other drone-tastic goodness, head over to our partner site Drone Rush.

Sony Xperia 1 IV

The Sony Xperia 1 IV launch event didn’t bring any great surprises and was pretty light on details, with a heavy focus on interviewing creatives across image and audio. Sony also spoke about its commitment to using 50% less packaging than before, and zero plastic in its packaging.

• We didn’t hear about the display, software, charging speed, or camera sensors, likely because nothing’s changed since the Xperia 1 III.
• What’s different: The Xperia 1 IV will pack a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, 256GB storage, 5,000mAh battery, 3.5mm headphone jack, 4K 120fps video recording, a new front-facing camera with a bigger sensor for better low-light performance, and a new mode for audio recording.
• Sony also revealed that you’ll be able to livestream mobile games from the built-in game enhancer app, remap controls, and send video directly to streaming apps.
• Gaming peripherals for the phone are also apparently in the works, launching later this year.
• While Sony didn’t announce any availability or pricing at its launch, we’ve got the details: Pre-orders open today at 11 AM EDT, with the phone on general sale September 1, but it’ll set you back $1,600. Pre-order now and you’ll get Sony’s WF-1000XM4 true wireless noise-cancelling earbuds for free.

We also saw the Sony Xperia 10 IV, supposedly the lightest 5G phone ever, with a 6-inch display and 5,000mAh battery. Surprisingly, we didn’t see the Xperia 5 IV — maybe Sony isn’t doing it, or perhaps it’s just delayed.

Roundup

⌚ Here’s how to watch the Google I/O 2022 keynote event at 10 AM PT today, where we could see the Pixel 6a and Pixel Watch.

📱 5G Summit: Qualcomm reveals what’s next for 5G smartphones — better Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, standalone mmWave, and more (Android Authority).

📺 Netflix ads and password sharing blocks coming much sooner than expected: changes could be unveiled by late 2022 (Android Authority).

🍎 Apple is finally retiring the iPod Touch, ending the iPod’s 20-year run (Android Authority).

🌐 We asked, you told us: Here’s when most of you last used your phone’s hotspot — Over 50% of you used it this week (Android Authority).

⚽ FIFA and EA Sports end their partnership after nearly 30 years and the game’s changing its name: After this year’s Fifa 23, it’ll now be called EA Sports FC (Axios).

🎮 Nintendo revealed it now has over 100 million annual playing users as part of its fiscal year financial results, up from 87 million between April 2020 and March 2021 (TechCrunch).

🚴 Specialized launches new utility e-bike brand Globe to replace ‘joyless’ car trips (The Verge).

🚆 Something extra: What’s so special about this train station video? We won’t spoil it for you (Tech Radar).

Weirdness Wednesday

After falling into a deep hole of all things Japanese, started by watching Tokyo Vice and continued with a week of cooking solely Japanese food (I highly recommend Onigiri and Oyakodon, if you’ve never tried either), I thought I’d introduce you to the Oto Hime today…

I’m always up for discovering new podcasts and actually came across this first on the etiquette podcast Were You Raised by Wolves?.

Japanese culture is filled with lots of quirks and peculiarities, but none so strange as the Oto Hime. Also known as a “Japanese Sound Princess,” it’s a standalone device or a feature built into a Japanese toilet that emits a sound when activated, to camouflage the sounds of activity inside the toilet, protecting one’s modesty. The sound ranges from a song to a calming melody or even the sounds of a continuous toilet flushing.

Pretty weird, huh?

See you tomorrow for a Google I/O update!

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor.