With Volkswagen officially selling more sausages than cars last year and Nissan building chef knives, these car marques seem to be really embracing side missions. The Z NISMO Precision Sushi Knife feels like something only Japan could birth: half culinary weapon, half rolling tribute to decades of motorsport legacy. Its absurd in premise, laser-precise in execution, and surprisingly grounded once you dig beneath the surface polish.At 8.27 inches long, this kiritsuke-style sushi knife looks less like something from a Tokyo fish market and more like it just downshifted into your kitchen. Designed by Satoshi Kiryuwhose lineage in knifemaking stretches back nearly a centuryits a high-performance edge tool born of collaboration with YouTube-famous sushi chef Hiro Terada and Nissan Design USA. The result feels like a concept car that actually made it to production: rare, obsessive in detail, and unapologetically niche.Designer: NissanThe blade is double-beveled stainless steel, finished in a black oxide kuro zome coating that looks menacing while also helping with corrosion resistance, too. Theres a sleekness here that echoes the lines of the Z itself, down to the subtle taper of the edge. No Damascus showboating, no flashy inlays. Just a blade that means business, wrapped in a minimalist aesthetic that screams control. Its forged with surgical precision and tempered like its preparing for a 14,000 RPM redline. The handles crafted from buffalo horn, accented by a red spacer meant to mimic the crimson detailing on the Z NISMOs aerodynamic trim. Its tactile, elegant, andcruciallyit still feels like it belongs in a sushi chefs hand, not a display case next to a Hot Wheels collection.Only 240 units were made, referencing the original Datsun 240Z that changed the way the West viewed Japanese sports cars back in 1969. Each blade is numbered and boxed in a black lacquer case adorned with the six generations of Z cars etched inside. Its collectible, no doubtbut functionally, its also just a damn good knife.And heres the kicker: It sold out almost instantly at $301. Thats not cheap by knife standards, but anyone whos spent time in either the EDC or kitchen game knows youre getting what you pay for.Would I carry this in an EDC rotation? Absolutely not. Its too long, too purpose-built, too refined to toss into a bag or field kit. But thats like asking if youd daily drive a Z NISMO in Manhattan traffic. Wrong context. This knife, like the car that inspired it, is about intent. Its made to perform under pressure, with grace and discipline. Use it in the right setting, and itll glide like a tuned differential on fresh tarmac.The post Nissan, the Car-maker, just built a gorgeous Nismo-inspired Sushi Knife first appeared on Yanko Design.

Using several recent innovations, the company Databricks will let customers boost the IQ of their AI models even if they dont have squeaky clean data.

The app, which was introduced in 2014 and has hundreds of millions of users, is widely viewed as the safest messaging tool because of its encryption technology.

MacworldTheres been a lot of interest in Apples plans for a HomePod with a display over the years and now it seems like the such a product could be coming, but expect more than a screen on a HomePod. Apple is said to have multiple new smart home related products on the horizon that will integrate smart displays and cameras and bring features from the HomePod and Apple TV together with a means to control smart home devices.Apple has long been rumored to be working on one or more home devices with smart displays. As long ago as 2021 Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman was talking about how a future Apple TV and iPad might incorporate HomePod audio elements and represent a push into the smart home. Over the subsequent years the rumoured products have evolved and multiplied, and AI, and associated Siri improvements, are now influencing Apples plans in this area. Apples HomePod currently sufferers from its reliance on Siri to control it. With Siri not able to understand instructions as well as might be hoped, some HomePod users choose instead to interface with the device via an iPhone, but this can be a drain on the iPhone battery. Incorporating a screen would allow users to interface with the HomePod via its display. However, with Siri set to become more intelligent thanks to Apple Intelligence, the need for this screen to interface with the devices may be reduced. What other plans could Apple have for a smart screen on a HomePod or any other devices for that matter?In this article, we will keep track of all the developments and rumors about these new HomeHub products, which could start arriving before the end of 2025.What are Apples HomeHub products?In Gurmans 2021 report he discussed two products: A product that fuses the HomePod and Apple TV with a camera that could be used for video conferencing via the TV screen. (Think Google Nest Hub and Amazon Echo Show competitor.) This FaceTime Apple TV set-top box combo, was again rumored in January 2023.A product that combines an iPad with a HomePod and a camera on a robotic arm that could follow the user around the room during a video chat. (Think Facebook Portal). According to Bloombergs Mark Gurman in August 2024, this device, code-named J595, will use a thin robotic arm to control a large display, with actuators that allow it to spin 360 degrees or tilt up and down. Gurmans sources say the device is envisioned as a smart home command center, videoconferencing machine, and remote-controlled home security tool.Since Gurmans report in 2021 the following related products have also been referred to:In January 2023 Gurman wrote again of Apples plans to take on the smart home market this time with a low-end iPad that will be used to control smart-home systems such as heating and lights and to make FaceTime video calls. This device, codenamed J490, will combine an iPad-like screen with smart-home controls to control smart-home systems such as heating and lights and make FaceTime video calls. In the same report, Gurman claimed Apple also plans to launch a number of larger smart-home displays. Is the Apple Television not dead after all?Evidence of Apples smart HomeHub projectImagen 3 (Gemini)Its not clear if Apple has multiple new devices planned, or if there is some crossover with the above, however it is clear that Apple has teams involved with this project. In August 2024, it was reported that Apple has a team of several hundred people working on a new home device.In July 2024, code was discovered referring to new a device identified as HomeAccessory17,1. This could relate to the HomePod, which Apple refers to as AudioAccessory. There were also references discovered to a variant of tvOS, similar to what the HomePod runs. The tvOS 17.4 beta back in February 2024 also referenced a device codenamed Z314 that featured an A15 chip and ran tvOS. Both the HomePod and Apple TV already run tvOS. According to a 9to5Mac report, hangtracerd (which is used to debug unresponsive UIs) has also been added to the HomePod version of tvOS 17.4, a big indication that there will be a HomePod with a display although tvOS 17.4 arrived without the accompaniment of a new HomePod.In October 2023 Kotsutami posted (in a since-deleted tweet) an image of what they claimed to be a prototype of the next HomePod with different glass for the display at the top (which could be used as a touchscreen).An Engineering build HomePod frameshell with a completely different glass on top- its set for touchscreen, with black bezelThe design of shell is similar to HomePod 2nd gens, not the 1st genit stands might decided add for 2s but not at last, OR its next generation pic.twitter.com/W5zRIVGPiKKosutami (@KosutamiSan) October 21, 2023At the time 9to5Mac claimed to have sources that verified Kotsutamis pictures as legitimate. That site also reported that the codename of the HomePod is B720, and that Apple is using a version of tvOS with rewritten Apple Music and Podcasts apps that are suited to the display of the prototype HomePod which could show colors based on the album art while audio is playing, and show notifications.In April 2022 Gurman referred to Apples plans, stating that Apple is absolutely still working on a new HomePod, which Gurman says will combine a HomePod, Apple TV, and FaceTime camera into a single combination product will probably be at the center of Apples approach.HomePod with screen/HomeHub: Release dateIts thought that the devices will not be launched at the same time.J490, the iPad/smart display that can be used for FaceTime and controlling home appliances may arrive first. This could launch in 2025, according to Mark Gurman.However, the release date has been pushed back due to delays relating to Apple Intelligence and Siri in particular. In March 2025, Mark Gurman claimed that: The company had hoped to announce a new smart hub product in March 2025, but because the device, to an extent, relies on the delayed Siri capabilities, it has been postponed as well. Apple Intelligence-powered Siri updates that were promised for iOS 18 have been delayed to later in 2025. Indeed, its possible these Siri features wont be fully rolled out 2026, so we could be waiting that long for this HomeHub product.However, testing is underway, according to Gurman, with Apple said to have begun an internal testing program for the hub. The testing apparently involves members of Apple staff being permitted to take prototypes of the device home for testing and feedback.Mark Gurman isnt a loan voice in all this. Back in March 2023 Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote about Apples smart-home plans. He indicated that Apple will unveil a redesigned HomePod featuring a 7-inch panel in 1H24, and that this device could enable tighter integration with Apples other hardware products. At the time Kuo gave the expected release date for the HomePod with a screen as the first half of 2024 (which obviously didnt happen). Then in December 2024, Kuo indicated that the HomePod with screen wont arrive until after WWDC 2025. He wrote on Medium: The mass production schedule for the display-equipped HomePod has been delayed multiple times. Initially forecasted for 2024 (as I predicted in 2023), it was postponed to 1Q25, and more recently, further delayed to after WWDC 2025/3Q25.Kuo blamed software development for the delay in production, although he didnt clarify why the software is taking longer than expected to develop. However, in March 2025 Kuo tweeted that the HomePod with screen will be further delayed not just because of Apple Intelligence delays, but because it needs to align with other new Apple products.ScreenshotFoundryJ595, the iPad-like display with tabletop robotic limb is expected to arrive much later.HomePod with screen/HomeHub: PriceThe devices will have different capabilities and pricing.The price of J490 will depend on what it incorporates. If its a HomePod with screen, the price is likely be at the high end of the HomePod product line, so it could have a price of around $599.J595, which combines an iPad-like display with a robotic limb and is intended to function as a smart home command center, could cost $1,000 or more, according to Gurman in September 2024.HomePod with screen/HomeHub: DesignAccording to Ming-Chi Kuo in March 2023, Apple will unveil a redesigned HomePod featuring a 7-inch panel in 2024. Thats not much smaller than the iPad mini, which has an 8.3-inch display. This tallies with what Gurman originally suggested in April 2021. He described a high-end speaker with a touch screen that would combine an iPad with a HomePod speaker and a camera mounted on a robotic arm that could follow the user around the room during a video chat. The screen would also offer multi-touch functionality.To get an idea of how this could look we need only look at the Amazon Echo Show 10, which combines a display that moves automatically with Amazons speaker. The Echo Show 10 costs $249.99 / 259.99. The Echo Show 10 has a screen attached to a speaker. Apple might do something similar with the HomePod.Foundry / Jim MartinSwiss website Handy Abovergleich and designer Eric Huismann have created a series of concept illustrations of how this new generation of HomePod could look. They have come up with concept designs for two separate devices: the HomePod TV (a mixture of the HomePod and the Apple TV) and the HomePod Show (a HomePod with a touchscreen display).Heres how they imagine the HomePod Showa speaker with a camera and a touchscreencould look. Swiss website Handy Abovergleich came up with an illustration of how an Apple TV HomePod combo might look. They call this one the HomePod TVthe bar under the TV becomes not only the hub for TV, internet, and smart devices but also a sound system with support for standards such as Dolby Atmos and Apple Lossless.For more ideas about how Apple might reinvent the HomePod read: How the HomePod can be Apples new iPod: Fun, popular, and simple. Plus, Could Apples rumored HomePod actually be a tiny Studio Display? and Why Apple needs a HomePod with a screen. Foundry / Jim MartinHomePod with screen/HomeHub: Software, Siri and AIThe key to such products tends to be their smart assistant and Apple has plans to improve Siri with Apple Intelligence (AI). However, Apple has delayed the release of its new improved Siri and this has had an effect on the timing of these new products which, Gurman noted in September 2024, are considered collaborations between Apples artificial intelligence and home device hardware engineering groups.The long-rumored smart home hub has therefore been postponed because the Siri features it was intended to be based around are not ready for action.As Macworlds David Price has previously stated, when discussing why the HomePod needs needs more than a screen What would help is a thorough overhaul of Siri: fix that, and then sure, you can have a screen alongside a voice control system that actually works.HomePod with screen/HomeHub: Specs and featuresWe dont know much about the specs of any of these devices, but their need to support Apple Intelligence will mean they do require high end tech inside:ProcessorThe HomePod that launched in January 2023 featured the same S7chip as the Apple Watch Series 7. This means the current HomePod doesnt support Apple Intelligence and the new Siri features. We expect that a HomePod with a screen will use a more powerful processor, that is compatible with Apple Intelligence.CameraIf the new device combines a HomePod with a camera, or places a camera on a robot arm, that camera may share many of the features of the current range of cameras in Apples Macs, iPad and iPhones.The idea that the camera may follow you around may not be necessary if Centre Stage, a feature introduced in 2021 and now present in all iPads, iPhones and Macs, can perform that function. This camera could also be used to recognize gestures. Some years ago a patent was filed that related to a future HomePod that could interpret 3D hand gestures. That patent describes a HomePod that can interpret three-dimensional hand gestures as a means of controlling the device so as to execute an action or function.Multi-touch display Were hoping that Apple will give us something that will compete with the Echo Show, so we can view YouTube videos and use apps on the new hybrid device. Perhaps we wont get the display we are hoping for, but a more interactive display than the one we have currently would be great. Wed like to see more than just volume controls and a Siri animation.

Apple will host its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) online from June 9-13, with a small number of developers and students invited to attend in person for the keynote and state of the union announcements at Apple Park.As it has beensince the Covid-19 pandemic, WWDC will be an online event. Thats great for developers, as it gives everyone more equal access to the tools, developer contacts and advice offered to attendees. Apple says the event will give developers unique access to Apple experts, and insight into new tools, frameworks, and features,which is what this show is normally about.Were excited to mark another incredible year of WWDC with our global developer community, said Susan Prescott, Apples vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. We cant wait to share the latest tools and technologies that will empower developers and help them continue to innovate.Why WWDC mattersWWDC is a critical event in the Apple calendar. Its where the company reveals upcoming enhancements to its operating systems, developer tools, and hints at hardware news. Its also the most revealing glimpse we get into the companys strategic approach to the coming months.This is going to be of particular importance this year, as the company works at redeeming the reputational damage it has taken thanks to not yet delivering all the features of Apple Intelligence it promised in 2024.Youll be able to watch the keynote online, via Apple TV, and on YouTube. Registered developers will also be able to access all the resources Apple makes available at WWDC using theApple Developer app,Apple Developer website, andApple Developer YouTube channel. This years conference will include video sessions and opportunities to connect with Apple engineers and designers in online labs.The Swift Student Challenge takes place along with the show. Successful applicants will be announced March 27 and given a chance to join the special event at Apple Park. In addition, 50 Distinguished Winners, who are recognized for outstanding submissions, will be invited to join WWDC in California.You can follow me on social media! Join me onBlueSky, LinkedIn, andMastodon.

If youve been interested/enthusiastic about ChinasDeepSeek AI, youre not alone Apple CEO Tim Cook also seems impressed with the tech, which he calls excellent though he fell short of sharing any plans to integrate these models within his companys own AI efforts.Cook was in China towoogovernment and suppliers as the company remains anxious to maintain its second largest business geography even in the face of growing politically-driven tensions with the US. Apple shareholders would expect nothing less from company leadership than to work to preserve company revenue. Apples long-standing manufacturing alliance with China also counts for something, even as iPhone sales have declined 25% in the region.Deep local partnershipsApple Intelligence, the companys so-fardisappointing take on generative AI (genAI), is not yet available in China, but its thought the company has been speaking with local partners and officials to find some way to make it available. Apple is required to work with a Chinese provider of AI services in the market. To that end, it is expected to introduce support for AI models from Baidu and/or the Alibaba Group to replace ChatGPT in Apples implementation. (The assumption about why DeepSeek was not selected is that it isnot yet ready to scaleto meet the needs of Apples huge customer base.) Apple is holding a developer conference in China this week, where it is expected to announce additional plans for Apple Intelligence there.Cost and scaleBut the capacity to scale, or lack of it, doesnt mean DeepSeek isnt impressive. It is, particularly as its powerful R1 model with its estimated development price of just $5.6 million compares really well to more costly models from US-based genAI firms. During the last financial call, Cook discussed DeepSeeks low cost and high performance, characterizing the achievement as proof that innovation that drives efficiency is a good thing.It certainly contrasts with the hundreds of millions of dollars Apple presumably spent on developing Apple Intelligence features it still cant bring to market. Given thechaosthat has hit the Siri team since he made those statements, Im in little doubt hed quite like to have seen the Apple Intelligence team forge a similar path to success. But perhaps the challenges of linking legacy Siri technologies with advanced AI remain too great for this to happen. Perhapstheres a solution available?Tariff troublesThe other challenge in China is the scale to which the current US administration will apply tariffs against Apple products imported from China. With new tariffs as high as 20% being discussed, Apple will want to find some way to navigate the two nations to maintain business in both regions while minimizing the impact of tariffs on product prices. It will, after all, be Apples US customers who end up paying more for the products taxed in this way and the company will want to manage the impact on them.Fundamentally, there is one very big reason Apple makes so many of its products in China the distribution of skills. Apple continues to invest in efforts to educate tomorrows generations of developers, but China can already field them by the thousands.Its not just costCookexplained this a few years back: In the US, you could have a meeting of tooling engineers, and Im not sure we could fill the room, Cook said. In China, you could fill multiple football fields. He also explained that labor costs are only part of the equation, the quantity of skill is also important. The upshot is that until the US solves the fundamental challenge of building workforces fully skilled up for advanced technology manufacturing, no number of tariffs will force jobs to move there. It needs to invest before US leaders can expect that to happen.Apple has made big attempts to build business outside China since 2018. Today, just over 15% of its iPhones aremade in India, and it has factories in locations across the world. It is alsoinvesting heavily in US manufacturing, including its $10 billion Advanced Manufacturing Fund, an academy in Detroit, and its new server factory in Houston.But one thing it hasnt got at least, not yet is its own slick, small and economical answer to DeepSeek. Not for lack of trying.You can follow me on social media! Join me onBlueSky, LinkedIn, andMastodon.

OpenAI has released a new image generator thats designed less for typical surrealist AI art and more for highly controllable and practical creation of visualsa sign that OpenAI thinks its tools are ready for use in fields like advertising and graphic design.The image generator, which is now part of the companys GPT-4o model, was promised by OpenAI last May but wasnt released. Requests for generated images on ChatGPT were filled by an older image generator called DALL-E. OpenAI has been tweaking the new model since then and will now release it over the coming weeks to all tiers of users starting today, replacing the older one.The new model makes progress on technical issues that have plagued AI image generators for years. While most have been great at creating fantastical images or realistic deepfakes, theyve been terrible at something called binding, which refers to the ability to identify certain objects correctly and put them in their proper place (like a sign that says hot dogs properly placed above a food cart, not somewhere else in the image).It was only a few years ago that models started to succeed at things like Put the red cube on top of the blue cube, a feature that is essential for any creative professional use of AI. Generators also struggle with text generation, typically creating distorted jumbles of letter shapes that look more like captchas than readable text.OPENAIExample images from OpenAI show progress here. The model is able to generate 12 discrete graphics within a single imagelike a cat emoji or a lightning boltand place them in proper order. Another shows four cocktails accompanied by recipe cards with accurate, legible text. More images show comic strips with text bubbles, mock advertisements, and instructional diagrams. The model also allows you to upload images to be modified, and it will be available in the video generator Sora as well as in GPT-4o.OPENAIIts a new tool for communication, says Gabe Goh, the lead designer on the generator at OpenAI. Kenji Hata, a researcher at OpenAI who also worked on the tool, puts it a different way: I think the whole idea is that were going away from, like, beautiful art. It can still do that, he clarifies, but it will do more useful things too. You can actually make images work for you, he says, and not just just look at them.Its a clear sign that OpenAI is positioning the tool to be used more by creative professionals: think graphic designers, ad agencies, social media managers, or illustrators. But in entering this domain, OpenAI has two paths, both difficult.One, it can target the skilled professionals who have long used programs like Adobe Photoshop, which is also investing heavily in AI tools that can fill images with generative AI.Adobe really has a stranglehold on this market, and theyre moving fast enough that I dont know how compelling it is for people to switch, says David Raskino, the cofounder and chief technical officer of Irreverent Labs, which works on AI video generation.The second option is to target casual designers who have flocked to tools like Canva (which has also been investing in AI). This is an audience that may not have ever needed technically demanding software like Photoshop but would use more casual design tools to create visuals. To succeed here, OpenAI would have to lure people away from platforms built for design in hopes that the speed and quality of its own image generator would make the switch worth it (at least for part of the design process).Its also possible the tool will simply be used as many image generators are now: to create quick visuals that are good enough to accompany social media posts. But with OpenAI planning massive investments, including participation in the $500 billion Stargate project to build new data centers at unprecedented scale, its hard to imagine that the image generator wont play some ambitious moneymaking role.Regardless, the fact that OpenAIs new image generator has pushed through notable technical hurdles has raised the bar for other AI companies. Clearing those hurdles likely required lots of very specific data, Raskino says, like millions of images in which text is properly displayed at lots of different angles and orientations. Now competing image generators will have to match those achievements to keep up.The pace of innovation should increase here, Raskino says.

While US users have been able to use AirPods Pro 2 hearing health features for six months now, four more countries can finally check them out starting Tuesday.The AirPods Pro 2 can be used as hearing aids - Image Credit: AppleIn September 2024, Apple introduced a slate of new, clinical-grade hearing aid and hearing aid features, currently exclusively available to the AirPods Pro 2. The features included a hearing health test, which takes five minutes to complete and adjusts audio output based on the user's results.The test also allows the AirPods Pro 2 to function as hearing aids which Apple calls "clinical grade" for moderate hearing loss. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Apple's next annual Worldwide Developer Conference is to begin with a keynote video on June 9, 2025, where the company will update its operating systems, may debut a new Mac Pro, and some Apple Intelligence improvements.WWDC 25 starts on June 9, 2025WWDC is a week-long event for developers, but its first morning has become an opportunity for Apple to make major announcements for users, too. Invariably, there will be improvements to the iPhone and all of Apple's operating systems, and this year there will be updates to Apple Intelligence.This year's event will start on June 9 and run until June 13. As usual, it will be a free-to-view event online, with the Keynote and Platforms State of the Union aired on the first day. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Studio Gang has unveiled its design for a Womens Leadership Center at Williams Bay, Wisconsin for the nonprofit organization Lincoln Road Enterprises.The project will help spearhead a rich program of leadership education and development in a retreat-like setting overlooking Geneva Lake. Its size is equal to 24,000 square feet, supporting "the place where conversations happen that change the world," in the words of the Centers President and Founder Ann Drake.Image courtesy Studio GangInside, gently curved spaces punctuated by large windows and skylights allow the design mimic to a phenomenon known as 'crown shyness' as a paean to the 8.6-acre sites tree canopy that informs much of the concept. Local stone and white oak wood will complete its references to the textures of the landscapewhile reinforcing a sense of lightness and warmth throughout. Image courtesy OLINThe three-building program includes the largest Lodge visitors center with dining opportunities and outdoor terra...