As Disney keeps rolling out live-action versions of its classic animated movies, costume and production designers keep facing the challenge of making attractive animated images look equally good in the real world.Consider the Disney Princess characters: They all have iconic dresses that look gorgeous in their original animated outings (except Aladdins Jasmine, who rocks a pants-and-crop-top combination). In animation, these gowns are all spectacular. But how do they match up in live action?So far, seven princesses from the official Disney Princess lineup have gotten live-action remake movies. The latest, Snow White, gives its protagonist a deeply disappointing wardrobe, which prompted us to look back and see which remake team did and didnt understand the assignment.Like any good ranking, this one has a set of rules.I only included theatrically released Disney live-action movies sorry to the Descendants-verse and the Brandy Cinderella!I am only considering princesses from the official Disney Princess lineup. This means Jasmine makes the cut, even though she isnt the titular character in Aladdin, but Mia Wasikowska as Alice in Tim Burtons take on Alice in Wonderland doesnt. Take it up with Disney!Some characters have more than one Defining Gown. Ill be evaluating their wardrobes as a whole, in which case a passable extra outfit could make up for a terrible main dress. Or not!No sequel dresses included. Sorry, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil!Im also not necessarily looking for fidelity to the animated version. Sometimes thats not a good thing (cough, Snow White, cough). The outfits should simply look good, even if they arent necessarily direct replicas.In order from worst to best, here are all the live-action Disney Princesses and their wardrobes, ranked.7. Snow White in Snow White (2025)Designer: Sandy Powell; Princess: Rachel ZeglerIve seen Halloween costumes that look better than this dress. I feel like I can tell exactly what sort of thick, foam-like material makes up the sleeves. Im also zeroing in on the cheap vinyl stuff in the collar thats suspended between some stiff wires. The skirt is this plastic-looking tulle monstrosity thats a shade of yellow not even in the original animation.Yes, the original Snow White dress does have some questionable color choices, but the live-action solution is not to crank the saturation up on the red, blue, and yellow. Snow Whites plot-relevant necklace a gift from her father with four bland adjectives to inspire her looks like something I could order off Etsy for $20. Its just lazy! I dont know where Snow Whites nearly $300 million budget went, but it certainly was not the wardrobe.Snows other dresses in this movie are so briefly worn and so unremarkable that they cant save the travesty of the main one.6. Belle in Beauty and the Beast (2017)Costume designer: Jacqueline Durran; Princess: Emma WatsonBelles core wardrobe isnt terrible. The blue-and-white dress she wears in the village actually looks like a nice updated version of her animated going-to-town outfit. And her red winter cloak has some lovely embroidery. But when it comes to her big showstopping gown, the one she wears during the romantic ballroom scene woof.For starters, unlike her other dresses, it looks so distinctly modern. And not even in a fun, anachronistic way! I dont give a hoot about whether or not she wore a corset, but its tiering and silhouette just looks more like late-2010s prom dress than 18th-century French ballgown.Her finale dress is thankfully a bit better, at least in terms of the shape, but the pattern looks like a tea towel Id find in a grandmas kitchen.5. Jasmine in Aladdin (2019)Costume designer: Michael Wilkinson; Princess: Naomi ScottIm a bit torn about Jasmines outfits, which are so gaudy and over the top, they almost feel like a parody of the original movie. But then again, the entire movie plays into that aesthetic, so her looks do cohesively fit in. The turquoise ensemble that most directly imitates her animated counterpart is the best, since the others start to encroach on discordant color clashing. They might be splashy, but at least they dont look cheap!They do, however, look more like they belong in the Broadway show bright and glittery, so even audiences in the cheap seats can appreciate them. But up close, they look a little too intense.4. Mulan in Mulan (2020) Costume designer: Bina Daigeler; Princess: Liu YifeiFor the most part, Mulans wardrobe is understandably utilitarian. After all, she spends most of the movie in the military, wearing an official uniform. It works! She has one other dress the gown she wears when her family hauls her off to see the matchmaker. Its different from the animated version, but it still serves the purpose of showing that Mulan isnt comfortable in a fancy dress.3. Ariel in The Little Mermaid (2023)Costume designer: Colleen Atwood; Princess: Halle BaileyAriel basically gets two dresses when shes in human form, and both of them are callbacks to her animated movie gowns, while still fitting in with the new movies visual aesthetic. One is the blue dress she wears while exploring the town with Eric, which in the movie looks like its made of a very light, breathable material thats still super cute. Its now a pretty seafoam green, and the beachy design feels right in line with the Caribbean-inspired setting!The other is the pink ballgown she wears to dinner with Eric and Grimsby, the one where she uses a fork to comb her hair. Lets be real: The original bright pink dress never really worked with Ariels ketchup-red hair. But the live action mutes the colors a bit, making it the softer pink of a conch shell. Its definitely supposed to be inspired by that pink ballgown with the puffy sleeves, but it has its own distinct look, evoking seafaring pirate-y attire.2. Aurora in Maleficent (2014)Costume designer: Ellen Mirojnick; Princess: Elle FanningMaleficent is told from the point of view of Angelina Jolies eponymous dark fairy, but the gowns her adopted daughter Aurora wears definitely give main-character energy. They really fit the movies dark medieval-fantasy aesthetic, with delicate embroidery and more muted (but still gorgeous) color palettes. The blue gown shes wearing when she pricks her finger in the castle doesnt look like the animated version, but it has a lovely, elegant silhouette, and it works better in this context, since the character isnt dressed up for a ball.She ends the movie in a particularly gorgeous gold gown with some intricate floral detailing, which really hammers home the whole child raised by fairies in a magical forest vibe!1. Cinderella in Cinderella (2015)Costume designer: also Sandy Powell; Princess: Lily JamesI have this understandably ridiculous theory that every cent of the live-action-Disney-movie costume budget, past, future, and present, went to Cinderella, leaving nothing for any other Disney live-action redux. This has to be the case, because apparently the costume designer behind the travesty that is the 2025 Snow White is also responsible for Cinderella, and I genuinely cannot think of another explanation as to why the difference in quality between the two is so vast.Every costume Cinderella wears even her servant-girl outfit! looks so ethereal. The pink dress her stepsisters destroy is beautiful, and the wedding dress she wears in the finale, with its gorgeous flower accents, is absolutely stunning.But the pice de rsistance is her iconic ballgown. Its clearly inspired by the animated movie, but Powell gave it an identity of its own. It looks like a watercolor painting come to life, and moves with such elegance that its hard not to gawk at Cinderella as she glides across the ballroom. No wonder everyone in the kingdom immediately falls in love with her, the prince included.Perhaps Powell knew her Disney live-action remake career peaked in 2015, and she didnt lift a finger for the 2025 Snow White? I get it. Why mess with perfection?

Most video game art books follow a certain template: Load up on concept art, show how the game evolved during production, add some commentary to connect the dots. Some lean more heavily on a studios history and others focus on technique, but its a proven formula that, in the best cases, has produced books that are themselves works of art.Ive been especially impressed by Thatgamecompanys books over the years, though, because of what theyve added to that template. Starting with The Art of Journey in 2012 and following with The Art of Sky in 2024, the studio has checked all the boxes youd expect from an art book, then layered on custom interactive extras.In The Art of Journey, that meant releasing an augmented reality companion app that let you see character models pop out of the book, and in The Art of Sky, it meant letting players scan a star to unlock a replica of the book in the game (which they could then use to learn about the games development from within the game itself). Both set a new bar by including digital bonus features as part of the art book experience.As part of an effort to spotlight game-related books and documentaries, Polygon is running an email interview series with the people behind them. Check out the full list to read up on a Mega Man book, a Housemarque documentary, and others. Below, The Art of Sky book project director Cecil Kim and STAR feature designer Julian Jimsa discuss the history behind Thatgamecompanys books and how the STAR feature came about.Polygon: Back at Sony, you worked on some books with a group called Bluecanvas. Can you give a little history on what Bluecanvas was (is?) and what your involvement was in it?Cecil Kim: While working at Sony, I met Justin Yun, the founder of Bluecanvas, an art magazine and online community platform similar to ArtStation but with a stronger focus on traditional art. I eventually joined the company as a partner and chief creative officer, helping spin off a game studio that became Section Studios. Thanks to my relationship with Sony, we were able to work on Art of Journey in 2012. We also published several game art books, including Art of Order 1886, Art of God of War Ascension, and Art of Homeworld. When we first discussed creating an art book for Sky, it felt almost like dj vu, as both games were developed by Thatgamecompany! I also had [the privilege of] working closely with both Matt Nava [and] Jenova Chen on Art of Journey.Would you draw a direct connection from those Bluecanvas books to The Art of Sky?Kim: Yes, Bluecanvas was a boutique studio where creativity was our top priority, and we maintained a strong collaborative relationship with developers. Rather than simply handing off artwork images and writing captions for each piece, we aimed to create something that was more in line with the games experience and narrative structure. Art of Journey set a high bar for both quality and content, so we definitely referenced it and sought to continue the legacy of beautiful art books from Thatgamecompany.What kinds of trial and error went into getting the STAR feature working in The Art of Sky? Were there other physical/digital crossover ideas you considered?Julian Jimsa: We had two goals in mind with the STAR feature: to feel like a directors commentary, and also a scavenger hunt. We wanted to give our players a behind the scenes look of the levels they know and love. It took many iterations to find the correct visual effects to expose the nature of our levels, and lots of time went into deciding which objects to frame during the cutscenes to enhance those visuals. Iterating on the flow of the experience was also crucial, especially because we wanted this to be a social, multiplayer feature that players could enjoy together.Asking on behalf of my bookshelf: Why did you decide to make the Sky book similar dimensions to the Journey book, but not exactly the same dimensions as the Journey book?Kim: The choice of dimension wasnt based on a specific reason, other than our desire to make the book easier to hold, especially since we knew the Sky art book would have more pages than the Journey art book.

Amazons latest sales event is underway. The so-called Spring Sale runs through March 31, and while it mostly focuses on things like apparel and outdoor goods, it still includes a handful of discounts on electronics. Per usual with these big Amazon events, most of those arent anything special.But if youre on a budget and looking to grab a new gadget on the cheap, weve rounded up a few actually decent tech deals that are available now and priced below $50. Some of the discounts below have technically been live for a few days, but a good price is a good price, and the offers include several devices we recommend in our various buying guides. Well update this guide with the latest discounts throughout the sale. Best Amazon Spring Sale deals under $50 Anker PowerConf C200 for $48 ($12 off MSRP): The PowerConf C200 is our favorite webcam for those on a tighter budget due to its crisp video quality, easy setup, solid microphones and built-in privacy cover. Its USB cable is on the shorter side, and it cant match the overall accuracy of our top pick, but its still a clear upgrade over a built-in laptop camera for a much lower price. This is another deal weve seen numerous times in the last year, but its as low as the camera usually goes. Also at Anker. Anker 525 Charging Station for $30 ($36 off): We recommend this reliable desktop charging station in our remote worker gift guide. It cant provide the absolute fastest charge to your smartphone or laptop (topping out at a quick enough 67W), but it packs four USB ports two USB-C, two USB-A and three AC outlets in a frame thats small enough to fit on a crowded desk. This deal ties the lowest price weve seen. Also at Anker. Anker Nano Charger 30W for $13 ($10 off): Its hard to have too many portable wall chargers on standby. This one from Anker should be particularly useful for traveling: At just over an inch thick, its small enough to fit in a pocket, while its 30W USB-C port is enough to top up recent iPhones at full speed. (Thats not enough for some newer Android phones, though.) This discount matches the lowest price weve seen. Also at Anker. Amazon Music Unlimited 3-month trial for free ($24 off): Amazon is offering new subscribers three months of its Music Unlimited streaming service for free. Normally, it gives new users a one-month trial. Though Music Unlimited isnt a top pick in our guide to the best music services, it still gets you lossless streaming quality and an extensive library of both music and podcasts. You could do worse if you just want to bum a few months of music streaming for no cost. Just note that your subscription will auto-renew once the trial period ends until you cancel. Amazon Fire TV Stick HD for $20 ($15 off): This is the budget pick in our guide to the best streaming devices. It can only play up to 1080p, so its really meant for older or smaller TVs that you want to modernize with streaming apps. Its a bit more sluggish than Amazons higher-end 4K sticks, too, and all Fire TV devices tend to promote Amazon-owned services like Prime Video above all else. Still, it works with nearly all the major streaming apps, and its remote has Alexa built-in, so you can control your TV and certain smart home devices with voice commands. It also supports basic HDR10 but not Dolby Vision plus it can pass-through Dolby Atmos audio to a compatible soundbar or receiver. You could do worse if you just want the cheapest streamer possible. This deal is $2 higher than the all-time low we saw during the holidays, but it matches the best price weve tracked otherwise. Also at Best Buy. Blink Mini 2 for $20 ($20 off): This deal ties the lowest price to date for the Blink Mini 2, which is the budget pick in our guide to the best security cameras. This one comes with its share of trade-offs for the low price its image quality isnt the best, it locks certain features behind a paywall and it wont automatically arm when you leave the house but it still provides functional 1080p video, color night vision, motion alerts and Alexa support in a weather-resistant frame. Its fairly simple to set up, too, though youll need to buy an external module if you want to store clips locally. Also at Best Buy and The Home Depot. Chipolo One for $20 ($5 off): The Chipolo One is the top overall pick in our guide to the best Bluetooth trackers. While Apples AirTag can tap into a substantially larger crowd-sourcing network, weve found the One to send separation alerts faster when youve left an item behind and ring louder when youre back in its vicinity. Unlike the AirTag, it can also attach directly to a keychain. It probably isnt the safest choice for long-distance travel, but its a convenient security blanket if you, say, leave your keys or wallet behind at a restaurant. This is another discount thats been available for a few weeks, but its just 10 cents more the best price weve seen.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-spring-sale-tech-deals-under-50-the-best-discounts-on-chargers-earbuds-accessories-and-more-091512674.html?src=rss

Food is probably the third most-discussed topic in Engadgets Slack rooms. Having more than a few cuisine-obsessed folk on staff means when theres an opportunity to review a new bit of cooking tech, we jump at the chance. Right now, thanks to Amazons Spring Sale, a long list of the kitchen tech weve covered is on sale. Were seeing discounts on brands like KitchenAid, Breville, Instant Pot and more. So if its time to update your meal prep situation or invest in a time saver for weeknight dinners, check out the best deals on the kitchen tech we recommend. The best Amazon Spring Sale deals on air fryers, Instant Pots and more Breville Juice Fountain Plus for $140 ($40 off): The powerful Juice Fountain impressed us with its extraction abilities. Plus its relatively easy to clean (as long as you do it right after you juice). It takes up a good amount of space, but can extract an impressive amount of juice from even the driest-seeming carrot. This price isnt as low as the $110 Amazon sold it for back in January, but this is the lowest price weve tracked since then. Cosori 9-in-1 air frier for $90 ($30 off): Cosoris fryer earned a spot as the runner up for best overall air fryer in our guide. It has nine preset cooking modes and a six-quart capacity. We like that it doesnt take up too much space, but can still cook up a decent amount of food Breville Smart Oven Air Fryer Pro for $320 ($80 off): If you want a more traditional toaster oven design with a huge capacity, go for our premium air fryer pick. The fryer-and-oven combo can accommodate a five-quart dutch oven, so its almost an auxiliary oven, which could come in handy when youre cooking for a crowd. This isn't an all-time low it went for $300 at the end of last year. Breville the Smart Oven Air Fryer for $280 ($70 off): This is the non-Pro version of the Breville air fryer we recommend. It has a slightly smaller capacity (0.8 cubic feet instead of one cubic foot) and is missing two cooking functions (dehydrate and proof). But if youre not making your own jerky or baking a ton of bread, this one can toast, broil, air fry and slow cook. You can even get it in cool colors like Red Velvet Cake for the same price. Ninja DZ401 Foodi 10-quart air fryer for $190 ($40 off): If you need to air fry two different foods at once, go for our recommendation for a dual-zone air fryer. Its a beast, so we think its best for larger kitchens and people who make big meals. It went as low as $130 for Black Friday last year, but this is the cheapest price weve seen since then. Instant Vortex 2QT Mini Air Fryer for $50 ($10 off): The budget pick in our guide doesnt go on sale often its already pretty cheap at its $60 list price. Its sold for as little as $48 for Prime Day in July, but this is the cheapest weve seen since then. Its two-quart capacity is probably best for small kitchens and can crisp up food for one or two people. Ninja AF150AMZ Air Fryer for $120 (25 percent off): This went as low as $100 for the holidays last year, but this matches the lowest price weve seen since then. The fryer gets an honorable mention in our air fryer guide because it makes good use of limited counter space with its taller design. The round cooking basket doesnt feel as roomy as square ones but it does have a dehydrate option that other cookers dont come with. KitchenAid Artisan 5-quart stand mixer for $380 ($80 off): Small wonder that the home cooks gold standard of mixers made its way onto our kitchen tech guide. Its ton of available attachments can be used to make pasta, grind food, strain or spiralize fruits and veggies and more. This is no unitasker. This is a solid $80 discount off of the MSRP, but well note that Amazon sold it for as low as $330 at the end of last year and for $350 last month. KitchenAid Go Cordless Hand Blender for $100 ($30 off): The big selling point here is the removable battery that you can use for other KitchenAid Go appliances. In our testing, it had enough power to turn a roasted butternut squash into a smooth, creamy soup. The blender has hit this price a few times over the past few months and the deal isnt as good as the $77 it sold for at the end of last year. Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker for $90 ($40 off): We like this Instant Pot model because it's simple to use and has several quick-cooking modes including beans, cake, sous vide and more. It went as low as $70 earlier this year, but this is still a 30 percent discount off the list price. Instant Pot Pro Plus 9-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker for $133 ($67 off): We also suggest this fancier Pro Plus model in our guide to kitchen tech. Its a Wi-Fi connected unit with a canning function and you can even release the steam remotely using the companion app which has over 800 recipes. This isn't an all-time low it was $125 earlier this week and dipped as low as $99 for Black Friday last year. Fellow Stagg EKG Pro electric kettle for $165 ($30 off): This exquisitely designed kettle has an LCD panel built into the base so you can choose a specific temperature down to the degree. And the hold feature keeps water hot for up to an hour. This is the pro model of the version we recommend in our tea guide. Anova Culinary Sous Vide 3.0 for $129 ($70 off): We named this the best overall sous vide machine after testing a number of models for our buyers guide. This is about $30 more than the low it hit for the holidays last year, but this is the lowest price weve seen in 2025. We appreciate the easy digital controls and found that the high flow rate maintains water temperature better than other machines. Plus, if youre at a loss for what to cook, you can check out the companion app which is replete with recipes. Expired deals Anova Culinary Sous Vide Precision Cooker Nano for $100 ($50 off): This is the machine that led our editor to dub these machines the Millennial crockpot. She uses this one a few times a week to make unfussy meals that keep her alive. The Nano model is a slightly smaller and less expensive version of the top pick in our buyers guide. This is about $10 more than the all-time low, but is the cheapest weve seen Amazon sell it for over the past couple of months.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-amazon-spring-sale-deals-on-kitchen-tech-from-ninja-breville-kitchenaid-and-others-092909576.html?src=rss

Looking for NYT Connections answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, plus my commentary on the puzzles.

Looking for NYT Strands answers and hints? Here's all you need to know to solve today's game, including the spangram.

Continuing its adherence to the tech industrys motto of move fast and break things, the current administration has recently put the U.S. Department of Education (DoE) on the chopping block. This 46-year-old institution (yes, it really is younger than the original Star Wars) oversees federal education policy, ensures equal access to education, and administers the federal student loan program.As a recovering high school English teacher, I would argue that all of the DoEs responsibilities are vital to our nation and shouldnt be part of the Taxes Chainsaw Massacre. And Im glad our executive branch cannot dismantle the Department of Education without Congressional approval. But that doesnt change the fact that the Secretary of Education has slashed the DoE workforce, and the president has floated the idea of moving student loan responsibilities to a different department, like the Small Business Administration (SBA).So, where does the proposed dismantling of the Department of Education leave federal student loan borrowers? Borrowers are subject to the legal loan contracts they signed with the DoE. This means the potential chaos could cause some localized chaos in the vicinity of your bank account.To help borrowers understand what to expect and how to protect themselves while the dust settles around the DoE, I spoke to student loan experts Kat Tretina and Mark Kantrowitz. Heres what you need to know.The SBA probably wont take over your student loansAlthough the president has been treating all government agencies as if they can be changed on a whim, it isnt that simple. If you remember your more obscure Schoolhouse Rock songs, youll recall that we have a three-ring government and no one part can be more powerful than any other is.In this situation, changing the location of the current federal student loan program, creating a new program, or even resurrecting an old guaranteed loan program, would require an act of Congress, Kantrowitz says.Thats because the Higher Education Act of 1965 mandates that all federal student aid programs are located and managed by Federal Student Aid (FSA), Kantrowitz says. Its right there in the statute. They cant really interpret the law as the secretary of Education can delegate the authority to the Small Business Administration.If the current administration decides to try it anyway, they would have to flout the law and face lawsuits to dismantle the DoE and move your student loans to another agency. This may be cold comfort, considering how little lawsuits seem to phase the president. But Kantrowitz offers some logistical comfort, as well: Keep in mind that the SBA is cutting something like 43% of its staff, he says. So, how are they gonna do all this new federal loan stuff with fewer staff? Let alone what they currently do? Its a recipe for chaos.You may struggle to get personalized answers about your loansEven though your loans are likely to stay right where they are, you may still experience some turbulence during repayment. Specifically, the DoE layoffs means the department has lost years of institutional knowledge as well as the necessary labor force to maintain the FSA website and provide call center support.These mass firings may affect borrowers sooner rather than later. Tretina, who has been reporting on student loans for nine years, stated on March 12, 2025, that all of my contacts with the Department of Education were laid off, and getting a hold of anyone for information about the latest changes is near impossible.Kantrowitz does offer a recommendation for how current borrowers can get the answers they need in the wake of this DoE reduction in force: Make friends with your student loan servicer.Federal student loans are serviced by contractor organizations that manage loan repayment. While the DoE owns your federal student loan, a separate loan servicer is the organization you deal with directly when making payments, requesting forbearance or deferment, or changing your repayment plan. Loan servicers have to keep up-to-date with DoE changes and can typically answer questions about your specific loan situation.But there are other calls you can make if youre confused about your loans and cant reach the DoE. Your college financial aid administrator is a good source of information, Kantrowitz says. Even if youve already graduated and you are repaying your loans, they can still provide you with useful information. This is also true for any borrowers who are repaying loans but didnt finish their degree.Get organized to keep the chaos at bayAny changes to federal student loans will only affect new borrowers. Current borrowers can count on their loan agreements remaining the same as they were when they signed them. But very few of us can recite the specifics of the loan agreements they signed in collegewhich is why you should protect yourself by hunting down those documents and keeping them handy.To be clear, it is exceedingly unlikely that the U.S. government will start playing a shell game with your current federal student loan. Locating, downloading, and printing out your loan agreement is a way to protect yourself from misinformation or misunderstandings about your loan.Heres how: If you have your documents available, they can provide you with a starting point for understanding how a proposed change might affect you. If you dont have your loan agreement and an understanding of your borrower rights and responsibilities, its a lot easier to panic if you hear a rumor that the WWE is now in charge of the DoE.That said, Tretina also recommends keeping hard copies of your payments, just in case. If you have student loans, download all of your statements, particularly records of past payments, she says. Having these records will ensure you get credit for all of your payments, even if the overworked remaining DoE employees make an oopsie or experience an IT glitch.Be the order you want to see in the worldIts easy to feel overwhelmed by the chaotic news cycle, especially when it starts affecting things that were already overwhelming, like student loans. In addition to breathing into a paper bag, you can help calm your concerns by remembering that moving your student loans to another agency would require an Act of Congress.While the recent staff cuts at the DoE may make it difficult to get personalized answers about your loans, you can always reach out to your loan servicer or your alma maters financial aid office for assistance. And downloading and printing copies of your loan agreement and statements will help protect you from both misinformation and potential mistakes.

Few apps are as inextricably linked to the iPhone as Apples Messages. Introduced with the original iPhone almost 18 years ago, the app (then called Text) has become the primary messenger for most iPhone users worldwide. It allows users to receive Apples proprietary iMessages, as well as RCS messages and old-school SMS messages.In recent years, Apple has introduced several new features to the Messages app and its iMessage protocol. Most recently, in iOS 18, the company allowed users to stylize text by bolding or underlining words, incorporated animated effects that make words shake or appear to explode, and enabled users to react to a message with any emoji. But while the above additions are nice, theyre mainly eye candyand that only gets a messaging app so far.When it comes to being truly useful, Apples Messages still lacks some basic functionalityand reliabilityother messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal have had for years. Apple is expected to preview the iPhones next operating system, iOS 19, at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 9. Heres hoping the company adds the following improvements currently sorrowfully lacking in Messages today.iMessage needs to work when traveling internationallyApple needs to address how its iMessages work when a user is traveling internationally and using a temporary travel SIMas anyone who has tried to text a friend who is traveling overseas, or who has traveled internationally themselves, knows too well.If an iPhone user removes their domestic SIM card and replaces it with a temporary travel SIM, they often will not receive messages sent to the iMessage account associated with that phone number. Instead, the messages will, more often than not, simply disappear into the ether, never to be received againeven after the domestic SIM card is reinstalled.It may be natural to think that, of course, a person wont receive a text if they dont have the SIM card with the phone number the text was sent to installed in their phone. But thats not how iMessages work. When you send an iMessage, youre not actually texting the users phone number. Instead, youre using their phone number as a routing identifier to deliver a message to the associated iMessage account. This is why your Mac and iPad can receive and send messages to and from your phone number-linked iMessage account.In other words, it shouldnt matter that the users normal SIM card isnt in their iPhonethey should still be able to receive the iMessages. This is how it works with competing apps like WhatsApp and Signal, which also use phone numbers as routing identifiers. Indeed, whenever a friend travels internationally, and I dont get a response to an iMessage Ive sent, I follow up via Signal or WhatsApp. They immediately receive those messages despite not having their domestic SIM card installed.I reached out to Apple about why iMessages dont work in a similar matter, and the company told me that it was a security measure. Apple says that the measure triggers when an iPhone is without its domestic SIM cards for a few weeks, until which time users can still receive iMessages sent to their usual phone number. However, in my experience, this two-week timeframe is not accurate, and as soon as a domestic SIM card is removed from the phone, iMessages sent to the number will not go through. Apple also says that users can keep getting iMessages with a travel SIM if they have their friends send the iMessage to their email address instead of their phone number. But this relies on everyone texting you knowing that you are traveling internationally and without your domestic SIM card.While I understand the security reason behind this problem, it would be great if it were accurate that it only kicks in after two weeks. Even better: Apple should give users the option to disable this security measure for a period of time that the user can designate whenever they switch from their default SIM to a travel one.Archiving would help reduce clutterBut reliability isnt the only issue that Messages faces. For some reason, Apple still hasnt added a feature that allows users to archive chat threads.Archiving helps declutter your messaging app by letting you move chats with people you no longer or rarely interact withlike the plumber who fixed your sink last monthto a separate folder. This frees up screen space and allows you to keep your most important and active chats front and center.Archiving is a great intermediary option between keeping a chat thread forever or deleting it entirely. It has been a standard feature in nearly every major messaging app for years. Why Apples Messages still doesnt support such a basic feature in 2025 is beyond me.Bookmarking would offer quick accessSpeaking of basic featuresApples Messages lacks another one: the ability to bookmark individual messages. Other messaging apps, like WhatsApp, have allowed users to do this for a long time (WhatsApp calls this starring messages).Bookmarked messages are saved to a smart folder that the user can easily access inside the app in order to view their most important messages. This is a great way to quickly access an old message that you would otherwise have to scroll through lengthy threads to find again.There are many reasons to bookmark a message, ranging from the sentimental to the practical. An example of the latter might be when you want to quickly access important information someone had previously texted youlike the PIN code to a friends smart door lock so you can enter their house to feed the cats while theyre away.Labeling forwarded messages would eliminate confusionEven when iMessage does offer basic features that most other messaging apps offer, they are sometimes poorly implemented. The most glaring example of this is message forwarding, which allows you to easily forward a text one person sent you to another person.Other apps clearly indicate that a message is forwardedoften with an arrow or label in front of the forwarded message. But with Apples Messages, the forwarded message simply looks as though it was written by the person forwarding it.Case in point: The other day, I received a message from a friend that had a very uncharacteristic tone and subject matter. It confused me quite a bit. While I was reading it a second time, I received a follow-up message stating that the first one was from another individual, and my friend was simply forwarding it to me. Without that additional text message from my friend clarifying that the first message was forwarded, I wouldnt have known, because Apples Messages doesnt give any visual indication distinguishing a regular message from a forwarded one.Will Apple implement any of these changes in Messages in iOS 19? I hope so, but well just have to wait to see. Apple is expected to preview iOS 19 at WWDC25 in June.

Most of the time when we hear the word robotics, it brings to mind all the different robots that weve seen in movies and television shows. But as weve seen in real life stories, they come in all shapes and forms, not just the ones that might become our overlords someday when we eventually get an uprising. A lot of times we also think of them as complex and high technology creatures that need to be assembled. An experiment by roboticists in a university prove that we can also have low tech and soft robots with the power of 3D printing and the most unlikely element: air.Designer: Bioinspired Robotics LaboratoryRoboticists at the Bioinspired Robotics Laboratory at the University of California San Diego have developed innovative, electronics-free robots that can walk without any electronic components. This soft-bodied robot was 3D-printed for 58 hours in one, single process from a single material, a piece of soft and flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). The robot has six legs, each with four degrees of freedom, allowing for complex movements. They also incorporate artificial muscles and a control system within a single 3D-printed structure.Another interesting thing about this robot is that instead of using the usual electric motors, the legs are moved by compressed air flowing through an internal pneumatic oscillating circuit. The robots function using only a compressed gas cartridge, eliminating the need for traditional electronic systems. The air triggers TPU actuators so the legs move as two sets of three limbs so it can walk through, or more accurately, waddle, across different kinds of surfaces and terrains. When connected to a constant air or gas source, the robots can operate continuously for up to three days. But on its own though, the runtime is of course according to the capacity of the CO2 cannister. So why would you need something like this? These electronics-free robots are ideal for use in environments where conventional electronics may fail or are unsuitable. This includes disaster response scenarios or areas with strong radiation which will not be safe for humans, and maybe eventually even space exploration. This ingenious blend of 3D printing and pneumatics unveils a fascinating new path in robotics. By stripping away complex electronics and embracing the simplicity of air power, these soft robots open up exciting possibilities for exploration and assistance in challenging and unpredictable environments. They stand as a testament to the fact that innovation doesnt always require intricate components; sometimes, the most groundbreaking solutions arise from cleverly harnessing fundamental forces and advanced manufacturing techniques.The post Air-Powered Robots Walk Straight Off the 3D Printer first appeared on Yanko Design.

Brynn Metheney shares her advice for sketching hands with accuracy.