Southwest to require passengers’ chargers be out in open when in use

Passengers on Southwest Airlines flights will soon be required to keep their portable chargers in plain sight while using them because of concerns about the growing number of lithium battery fires in a new policy that other airlines may adopt.

Southwest announced the new policy that will go into effect May 28 and said passengers may already have seen notifications about the industry-leading rule when using the airline’s app.

There is growing concern about lithium-ion battery fires on planes because the number of incidents continues to grow yearly, and devices powered by those batteries are ubiquitous. There have already been 19 incidents involving these batteries this year, following last year’s record high of 89, according to Federal Aviation Administration statistics.

The incidents have more than doubled since the pandemic-era low of 39 in 2020, and have climbed annually.

Google, Xreal debut Aura AR glasses

Alphabet’s Google has entered the glasses race by partnering with Xreal Inc. on the first spectacles to run an augmented-reality version of its operating system.

At the Google I/O conference on Tuesday, the search giant and Chinese smart glasses maker showed developers what they call Project Aura, the first eyewear that will run Android XR.

The new operating system was announced in December with the goal of mimicking the Android experience on a range of devices. That includes enclosed mixed-reality headsets; glasses with augmented reality, or AR; and spectacles with cameras but no ability to view content. That month, Google and Samsung Electronics Co. teased a headset known as Project Moohan.

Besides the Xreal glasses, Google also said it’s working with Samsung on glasses and will roll out a reference hardware platform for the device later this year.

The Aura glasses are expected to launch for consumers between the end of this year and early next year, Xu said. Samsung and Meta haven’t announced pricing for their upcoming devices, but they’re likely to cost multiple thousands of dollars. Project Aura should be considerably cheaper, Xu said. The company’s current AR glasses, which plug into a phone through a cable, range from $200 to $600.

Home Depot doesn’t expect to up prices

Home Depot doesn’t expect to raise prices because of tariffs, saying it has spent years diversifying the sources for the goods on its shelves.

Billy Bastek, executive vice president of merchandising, said during a conference call on Tuesday that Home Depot’s suppliers have shifted sourcing across several countries and that the company doesn’t expect any single country outside of the U.S. will represent more than 10% of its purchases 12 months from now.

“We don’t see broad based price increases for our customers at all going forward,” he said.

Other companies, domestic and foreign, have warned customers that price hikes are on the way due to a trade war kicked off by the U.S.

Walmart said last week that it has already raised prices and will have to do so again in the near future. Late Monday, Subaru of America said it would raise prices on some of its most popular models by as much as $2,000.

Compiled from Bloomberg and Associated Press reports.