Author: admin
After a prolonged slump, Apple’s business is suddenly thriving again in China. The tech giant said in its latest earnings report last week that revenue from the country rose 38 percent year over year in the last quarter, primarily driven by surging demand for iPhones. The rebound came after Apple’s China sales had declined for 18 consecutive months between 2024 and early 2025.In a call with analysts, CEO Tim Cook said Apple set a new record for iPhone upgrades among Chinese customers and saw double-digit growth in the number of users switching from other operating systems to iOS. “Overall, a…
Gizmo, a TikTok-like app for vibe-coded mini applications, is offering a new way to create interactive media. The relatively new mobile app from the startup Atma Sciences lets anyone create experiences using text, photos, sound, and touch, which are then displayed in a vertical feed, similar to TikTok or Reels. But unlike traditional short-form video apps, you don’t just watch and scroll in Gizmo — you play. Depending on the type of “Gizmo” you encounter, you might poke the screen, swipe, tap, draw, drag, and more to interact with the mini app. These Gizmos aren’t just games but are more…
HBO Max is not just for The Sopranos anymore (but it is the only place to stream The Sopranos). Subscription video service HBO Max not only has The Sopranos, but other content from the best entertainment libraries, including: Warner Bros., Discovery Channel, CNN, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, and other brands.We at WIRED also watch a lot of content—obviously, because we are always testing TVs, soundbars, and streaming devices—and regularly round up our newest favorites from HBO Max so that you’ll know what to watch once you nab an HBO Max promo code. Whether you’re wanting to watch an…
The Internet Archive is a nonprofit that — as you might expect — is devoted to archiving the internet and preserving digital context for future generations. This week, the platform announced a new tool designed to expand on that mission by helping the world’s WordPress users keep their articles in peak digital health. The Archive’s Wayback Machine, which indexes the web through widespread snapshotting, has partnered with Automattic, the company behind WordPress. Together, the two organizations have launched a new WordPress plug-in — the Link Fixer — that is designed to combat the scourge of “link rot.” “Link rot” is…
My first sex toy was a bright blue dildo. I was about 19, and as a college student in New Hampshire, I did what anyone in my position would do: hotfooted it to the closest city to find a sex shop. With my best friend in tow, I jetted in and out of the Condom World on Newbury Street so fast that I only had time to grab the first sex toy I saw and pay for it, keeping my head down the whole time. To say the early 2000s were different when it came to sex toy acceptance would…
Alphabet declined to answer one of its investors during questions about Google’s AI deal with Apple on Wednesday’s fourth-quarter earnings call. Instead of responding to an analyst’s question about how the tech giant is thinking about AI partnerships, such as the one with Apple to power AI for Siri, the question was completely ignored. That decision tells us something, though — Alphabet isn’t ready to talk about how this partnership will impact its core business, which is increasingly focused on AI. Over the years, the Google-Apple relationship has been mutually beneficial. The two companies’ search partnership saw the search giant…
Visible offers access to Verizon’s network in two unlimited plans for as low as $25 per month, with unlimited data, talk and text using Verizon’s 5G & 4G LTE networks, and unlimited talk and text to Mexico and Canada. Buying a new phone and signing up for a new phone contract can be super overwhelming—with all of the options available, confusing contract terms, and hidden fees making things more complicated. Visible makes it easy to save even more on their already affordable plans, and you can even score a free phone with our Visible promo code.It should be said, for…
Anthropic and OpenAI may be rivals, but their presidents Daniela Amodei and Gregory Brockman have one thing in common: they are both Stripe alumni. With former employees who went on to create dozens of startups, the fintech company has become one of the most prolific “founder factories” — and the money is following. The latest example: business identity verification startup Duna, which just raised a €30 million Series A to become the best-funded European member of the so-called “Stripe mafia.” The funding round was led by Alphabet’s growth fund CapitalG, which has also backed Stripe since co-leading its Series D…
Compare These Security CamerasBest MicroSD CardsCourtesy of SamsungSome security cameras support local storage, enabling you to record videos on the camera or a linked hub. A few hubs have built-in storage, and some provide slots for hard drives, but most rely on microSD cards. This is a quick guide on what to look for (plus some recommendations).The microSD card you choose should have fast read and write speeds so you can record high-quality video and play it back without delay. I recommend going for Class 10 microSD cards rated as U1 or U3. You can dive deeper into what that…
Lay’s has two hot potatoes for the upcoming Super Bowl.Today, the company confirmed to ADWEEK that it will have two ads in the upcoming Big Game, with one spotlighting the company’s local farmers and another featuring a fan activation that’ll deliver free chips to thousands.“This is a big year for Lay’s. We’re relaunching our brand, and we decided to go in a big way. It’s not only on the campaign in the Super Bowl, but we are doing a complete rebranding,” Hernán Tantardini, CMO, PepsiCo Foods US, told ADWEEK. “So for the first time, we’re going to do two different…
Europe invests billions into early-stage climate startups, only to watch too many fail at Series B, according to a recent report. But new funds are being raised to fill this gap, and Spain-based Mundi Ventures’ latest fund, Kembara Fund I, is one of them. After securing a €350 million commitment from the European Investment Fund under the European Tech Champions Initiative in 2024, Mundi Ventures has just completed a €750 million first close for Kembara, its fifth fund and largest to date. Regulatory filing from Spain reveals that the fund — focused on deep tech — could even stretch its…
More Bags We LikePhotograph: Adrienne SoJanji Revy Pack for $170: I was going to include this as my best running backpack, since one way you can sneak exercise into your day is if you run to and fro from your home to your workplace, kids’ school, or coffee shop. However, this backpack sold out before I could write about it, so the hunt continues.Rains Mini Backpack for $95: This gorgeous, Scandinavian-inspired backpack is waterproof, fits a 13-inch laptop, and comes in at under $100. Former WIRED reviewer Medea Giordano loved its slim profile and stylish looks.Photograph: Adrienne SoAway Commuter Backpack…
In its fourth consecutive Super Bowl ad, the “He Gets Us” campaign is taking aim at the capitalist dream of “more.”The 60-second spot, dubbed “More,” will air during the second half of the Super Bowl on Feb. 8, starts off with a young girl dressed in pink, clutching an armful of dolls while sitting in front of dozens more.“The one who dies with the most toys wins!” a child-like voiceover says. Cameras flash and a frenetic soundtrack takes over. The rest of the spot is a series of short clips that run the gamut from gambling and scrolling social media…
Snap is on a mission to diversify its revenue sources — moving from a business model in which it largely chases ad revenue to one where it can also make money through subscriptions and, eventually, hardware. The company’s latest quarterly earnings report shows that, so far, the firm is having moderate success with that strategy. In Q4, Snap’s revenue was $1.7 billion, which is up 10% year-over-year. Its average revenue per user was also up, slightly (to $3.62 from $3.44). The company’s net income was $45 million, up from $9 million the previous year, its earnings report shows. The company…
Mistral AI has released a new family of AI models that it claims will clear the path to seamless conversation between people speaking different languages.On Wednesday, the Paris-based AI lab released two new speech-to-text models: Voxtral Mini Transcribe V2 and Voxtral Realtime. The former is built to transcribe audio files in large batches and the latter for nearly real-time transcription, within 200 milliseconds; both can translate between 13 languages. Voxtral Realtime is freely available under an open source license.At 4 billion parameters, the models are small enough to run locally on a phone or laptop—a first in the speech-to-text field,…
This story was originally published in On Background with Mark Stenberg, a free, weekly newsletter that explores the key themes shaping the media industry. You can sign up for it here.In February 2021, Robin Thurston raised $150 million to acquire Outside Media, which at the time included two outdoor publishers, a mapping system, and a registration platform.Five years and dozens of acquisitions later, the company now known as Outside Interactive bears little resemblance to its former namesake. Part of the identity shift comes from its newfound commercial stability. Last year, the company brought in $125 million in revenue, a 23% year-over-year increase,…