Will a new CEO help realize Apple’s smart home potential?
Will a new CEO help realize Apple’s smart home potential?

It took Tim Cook years to launch Apple into major new hardware categories, such as the smartwatch. But John Ternus could start his tenure right away with an ambitious new project: smart home hardware. All signs point to a strong lineup of new smart home devices coming potentially this fall, putting Apple back in the […]

Call of Duty never made much sense for Xbox Game Pass
Call of Duty never made much sense for Xbox Game Pass

Yesterday Microsoft announced some surprising news: at a time when everything in gaming is getting more expensive, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate was actually getting a price cut. Going forward, the subscription service will drop from $29.99 to $22.99 per month, less than a year after getting a major hike. But there’s a caveat. Along with […]

First vacuums — then the world
First vacuums — then the world

Many startups spend years trying to become a household name. Others just spend $10 million on a Super Bowl ad. That’s Dreame’s bet. The little-known Chinese robot vacuum company has grand ambitions to become a global consumer electronics giant and chose to run a pricey 30-second spot as its opening move. If it works, the […]

AI backlash is coming for elections
AI backlash is coming for elections

Ask Americans how they feel about AI and most say they have concerns. Communities have mounted resistance to data center projects, stalling them across the US. On social media, anger at AI companies and executives is unrestrained – sometimes to the point of condoning violence. But look at the issues that most campaigns are focused […]

The Mac is in good hands in Apple’s post-Cook era
The Mac is in good hands in Apple’s post-Cook era

The Mac reached a series of low points in the Tim Cook era: the fiasco of the butterfly keyboard, the clunky transition to USB-C, the underutilized potential of the Touch Bar, and the occasionally lackluster Intel chip performance. For a while, it seemed like Apple had shifted all of its attention, innovation, and care toward […]

John Ternus’ first big problem is AI
John Ternus’ first big problem is AI

Less than a year ago, Apple made headlines for a lack of AI announcements at its annual WWDC event. Ten months later, the company has announced that hardware executive John Ternus will succeed longtime CEO Tim Cook as chief executive – and the official release doesn’t mention AI once. Ternus, currently Apple’s SVP of hardware […]

The SpaceX IPO is a trillion-dollar gamble on the future of space
The SpaceX IPO is a trillion-dollar gamble on the future of space

The great SpaceX IPO is looming, allowing outside investors – including regular Joe Schmoes, or retail investors – to buy a stake in one of the buzziest and most controversial companies on the planet for the first time. Depending on who you ask, it’s either the best investment opportunity you’ll see this decade or a […]

Tim Cook will still be Apple’s Trump whisperer
Tim Cook will still be Apple’s Trump whisperer

Though Tim Cook is shedding his CEO title for the role of Apple’s executive chairman, it appears he’ll keep one of his most important duties: that of the company’s Trump whisperer. “As executive chairman, Cook will assist with certain aspects of the company, including engaging with policymakers around the world,” Apple writes in a press […]

Silicon Valley has forgotten what normal people want
Silicon Valley has forgotten what normal people want

One of the most mortifying things about knowing a lot of techies is listening to them tell me excitedly about some very important discovery that they believe they have made. Recently, I ran into an acquaintance of mine, who began talking my ear off about an amazing discovery he’d made with LLMs. Knowledge, it turns […]

Betting on the news raises ethical questions for journalists
Betting on the news raises ethical questions for journalists

Prediction market exchanges have created an environment where just about any piece of information is potentially monetizable: How well will BTS’s new song perform this week? How hot will Los Angeles get? Will Donald Trump be impeached? Users can wager on all of that and, on some platforms, more gruesome and violent outcomes in the […]