UBS sees iPhone prices going up, a concern that's shared by investors and customers due to President Trump's tariffs.

As the European Union looks at how best to respond to Donald Trumps trade war, officials are considering further escalating things, taking them to a point where it could really hurt Big Tech companies.Sophie Primas, a spokesperson for the French government, said the EU is deciding on its response to Trumps blanket tariffs that would include not just tech goods, but tech services as well, an area where the U.S. enjoys a massive trade surplus. That would potentially target companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and X.Apple is already under pressure as tariffs on imported goods will likely result in higher prices for the companys products, such as the iPhone and iPad, but Microsofts stock has largely escaped the drubbing other tech companies have seen on Wall Street since Trump announced the tariffs. (Shares are down just 5% in the past five days vs. 10% for Nvidia and 18% for Apple.)Thats because Microsofts chief products are software and services, such as cloud storage and Microsoft 365. Should the EU place tariffs on those, it would cause more pain for tech companies, which are already sore after a series of tariff-inspired body blows in recent days.Other examples of tech services include Googles ad and cloud network; Metas ad network as well as the Quest (and digital store); Apples Music, Arcade and TV+ offerings; Amazons Web Services and Prime loyalty program; and Xs AI offering and planned financial services unit.The nuclear optionThe EU, its important to note, has not imposed these reciprocal tariffs yet. On Monday, the European Commission said it had offered a zero-for-zero tariff proposal to Washington. Michal Baranowski, deputy economy minister of Poland, following a meeting by the Commission Monday, said EU officials did not want to be trigger-happy. (Elon Musk has espoused a similar zero tariff proposal, in a video call to Italys right-wing, co-ruling League Party.)The White House has, so far, shrugged off talk of zero tariffs, with Peter Navarro, Trumps top trade advisor who is seen as the architect of the tariff plan, dismissing Musk as a car assembler that relies on parts from other countries.When it comes to tariffs and trade, we all understand in the White Houseand the American people understandthat Elon is a car manufacturer, but hes not a car manufacturer. Hes a car assembler, Navarro said. Hes a car person. Thats what he does, and he wants the cheap foreign parts.Should the Trump administration refuse to deal, which has not yet been discussed, EU officials said nothing was off the table, though there appears to be different schools of thought among members about whether placing a tariff on services would be wise.Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris said doing so would be very much the nuclear option.The likelihood of putting tariffs on services is part of what the EU calls the anti-coercion instrument (ACI). Adopted in 2023, it was designed to defend the EU against a trade war with China, but now its being seen as a tool to battle Trump, if necessary. Some EU officials refer to it as the bazooka.The ACI has wide ranging potential powers. It can be used to limit American banks access to certain EU markets or it could also increase tax and regulatory pressure on American digital platforms, said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen last week.Talk that the EU could be considering a tariff on services from U.S tech companies comes as the market continues to show extreme volatility. On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw trading range from 36,705 to 39,198- a nearly 2,500-point swing.

Did you know: 85-90% of car journeys are made by only one person per vehicle. Big, heavy cars, taking up a lot of space on our roads, creating congestion and environmental issues. What if a car would fit you like a shoe? That is what YKS1 One offers: right-sized mobility for one. View the full project here

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), in collaboration with bioSEA, a local ecology and biomimicry design firm, have developed an innovative building material inspired by the remarkable heat-regulating properties of elephant skin. These fungi tiles, made from mycelium and organic waste, offer a sustainable and energy-efficient approach to keeping buildings cool, particularly in tropical climates.Designer: Nanyang Technological UniversityElephants, lacking sweat glands, rely on the intricate wrinkles and crevices of their skin to dissipate heat. This unique texture allows them to retain water, which then evaporates to provide a cooling effect. Inspired by this natural design, the research team created tiles with a bumpy, uneven surface using computational modeling and algorithms to optimize the texture for heat regulation. The fungi tiles are created by mixing the root network of oyster mushrooms (mycelium) with bamboo shavings, along with oats and water, and then packing this mixture into hexagonal molds featuring the elephant skin-inspired texture. The tiles are then left to grow in the dark for two weeks, followed by another two weeks in the same conditions outside the mold. Finally, they are oven-dried to remove moisture and halt further growth.Laboratory experiments have demonstrated the effectiveness of these biomimicry-inspired tiles. The cooling rate of the textured mycelium tile was found to be 25% better than a completely flat mycelium tile, while its heating rate was 2% lower. Notably, the cooling effect of the elephant skin-inspired tile improved by a significant 70% in simulated rain conditions. This enhanced cooling in wet conditions is attributed to the hydrophobic nature of the mycelium-bound composite. The fungal skin that develops on the tiles surface repels water, allowing droplets to remain in the crevices rather than immediately rolling off, leading to more effective evaporation and cooling.Eugene Soh, a researcher at NTU and the studys first author, explained that the tiles design effectively slows down heat absorption while also allowing for rapid cooling of the underside. The water-repellent surface further enhances the cooling process by holding water droplets for longer evaporation. This innovative approach to building materials offers several potential benefits. By utilizing mycelium, a renewable resource, and organic waste like bamboo shavings, the fungi tiles present a more sustainable alternative to conventional energy-intensive building materials. Furthermore, their passive cooling capabilities could significantly reduce the energy consumption associated with air conditioning, contributing to a greener and more energy-efficient built environment, especially in tropical regions. While still in the early stages of development, these elephant skin mycelium tiles hold immense promise for the future of sustainable building design, offering a unique blend of nature-inspired innovation and environmental consciousness.The post Elephant Skin Mycelium Tiles can cool down buildings first appeared on Yanko Design.

Can you tell the difference between Emma Frost, Dagger and Invisible Woman?

Startup Colossal Biosciences has edited the DNA of a gray wolf to produce what it says is a de-extincted animal. Does that make it a true dire wolf?

MacworldAs whinged last week, Im not expecting much at WWDC 2025 this June. Im sick of Apple Intelligence and depressed by the likelihood it will dominate the conversation for a second year in a row. But theres another potential topic that scares me even more: the rumored iOS 19 redesign.In fact, the degree to which Apple will revamp iOSs look (and potentially navigational elements) this year is the subject of some dispute. Last month leaker king Mark Gurman described iOS 19 as the biggest redesign since iOS 7, and predicted that controls, icons, buttons, even user interface dynamics and mechanisms would all be altered to achieve greater consistency between iOS and macOS. Thats before we even get to system-wide glassy effects and rejiggering some applications for a new generation of users to better understand.That sounds pretty major. But Jon Prosser, who is more of a leaker jester, promptly showed off alleged screenshots of iOS 19 and insisted that the changes wouldnt amount to very much at all. And Gurman responded to that response by saying the screenshots werent representative and that the operating system wasnt finished yet. It all became rather tit for tat. Is iOS 19 changing radically, or is it staying essentially the same? Right now we dont know.Personally, I hope its the latter. When it comes to operating system interfaces, the means by which we navigate tech devices on a daily basis, sudden radical change is generally a bad idea. It should only happen when it absolutely has to.Take that iOS 7 update mentioned by Gurman, a less-than-positive experience for the vast majority of iPhone users. WWDC might seem like a big deal to members of the Apple media complex, but most iPhone owners didnt watch the keynote that summer and didnt know what was coming. Hence, the total aesthetic overhaul, complete with new app icons and garish color palette, came as a terrible shock, and search traffic for terms like how to go back to iOS 6 spiked on Macworld for weeks afterwards. It didnt help that focusing so much on the broad design language meant factors like productivity and motion sickness went unconsidered, but the looks alone would have ensured a mixed reception regardless.We can debate about whether it was a better or worse design than iOS 6 (and do bear in mind that the initial launch was especially garish, and was toned down in later versions), but above all, it was different: radically, suddenly, and disconcertingly different. When an interface is different its hard to get things done because all the signposts you use to orient yourself have changed. You become slow, cautious, fearful. Its like being a tech newbie all over again. Its disempowering, at least in the short term.In the long term, of course, it could be argued that iOS 7s changes were necessary and positive. For one thing, it makes sense that a device might need a thorough interface revamp six years after launch, given the impossibility of getting everything right first time and the difference in context between a groundbreaking new device for early adopters and a mature blockbuster. Furthermore, the iPhones original interface created for a less digitally literate era that liked note-taking apps to look like physical notepadshad outgrown its purpose. Apple could have handled the transition more sensitively, but I would agree that skeuomorphisms time had run out and change was necessary.But if Apple feels it necessary to rebuild the very foundations of iOS at this stage, a full 18 years into the products lifecycle, my first three questions would all be variants of, Oh God, why? And then my fourth question would be Why didnt you do this years ago? Like, maybe in 2013, when you were changing things anyway. Because as bad as major interface change can be, its a whole lot better than repeated major interface change.Still, it might not be as bad as Im making out. If Jon Prosser is right and Mark Gurman is wrong, we should be looking instead at gentle iterative change, which is the only form of change an operating system of this age should go through. Which will free up Craig Federighi to spend most of WWDC25 talking about Apple Intelligence, and allow me to sleep in peace.The only problem is that this relies on the accuracy of a man who once claimed Apple was going to rebrand iOS as iPhoneOS, and got another prediction so badly wrong that he had to shave off his eyebrows. So you can probably see why Im not looking forward to WWDC.FoundryWelcome to our weekly Apple Breakfast column, which includes all the Apple news you missed last week in a handy bite-sized roundup. We call it Apple Breakfast because we think it goes great with a Monday morning cup of coffee or tea, but its cool if you want to give it a read during lunch or dinner hours too.Trending: Top storiesThe thought of Apples AI doctor is making the Macalope a little queasy. Whereas Dan Moren cant wait to make an appointment.Hey iPhone users, dont fall for Verizons 3-year price lock.I tried the future of multitasking on the Mac and it was amazing and uncomfortable.Cant decide between AirPods Pro and Powerbeats Pro 2? Dont buy either yet.Heres the 50-year-old Microsoft source code that inspired the first Apple computer.Has your Apple Account been hacked? Heres how to knowand fix it.No, the iOS 19 code name isnt a clue about its design.Podcast of the weekYou have thoughts about WWDC25, iPhones without ports, iPads without Apple Intelligence, and more, and we talk about them on the latest episode of the show.You can catch every episode of the Macworld Podcast onSpotify,Soundcloud, thePodcasts app, orour own site.Reviews cornerAvast Cleanup Premium for Mac review: Genuinely good at getting under the hood of your Mac.Satechi Mac mini M4 Stand & Hub with SSD Enclosure review: More ports and internal storage.Harber London TotePack backpack review: Space miracle for everyday life with small flaws.The rumor millNew chip-and-ship M5 iPad Pro and MacBook Pro updates set for holiday debut.The iPhone 17 Pros improved telephoto camera is detailed in a new report.Three iPhone models are reportedly about to lose iOS support.Can we expect any new products from Apple in April?Software updates, bugs, and problemsiOS 18.4 has arrived! Here are more than a dozen reasons to upgrade now.Although a weird iOS 18.4 bug is reportedly installing apps you dont want.And yet another iOS 18.4 bug breaks CarPlay this time.How Lucid exploits iMessage to send encrypted phishing attacks to your iPhone.Heres why your AirPods Max dont have lossless audio over USB-C yet.And with that, were done for this weeks Apple Breakfast. If youd like to get regular roundups, sign up forour newsletters, including our new email from The Macalopean irreverent, humorous take on the latest news and rumors from a half-man, half-mythical Mac beast. You can also follow usonFacebook,Threads,Bluesky, orXfor discussion of breaking Apple news stories. See you next Monday, and stay Appley.

The AI market could grow to as much as $4.8 trillion by 2033, according to a new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. At the same time, the money is expected to be concentrated among a few players and could increase inequality between countries, CNBC reports.The benefits of AI-driven automation often favor capital over labor, which can increase inequality and reduce the competitive advantage of cheap labor in developing countries, the reports authors wrote. To ensure developing countries are not left behind, the UN group recommends they be involved in discussions on AI rules and ethics.In the same report, the UN also warned that AI could affect 40% of all jobs, even as the technology has the potential to create new industries and empower workers as long as investments are made in training.

Atto Technology has introduced two Thunderbolt 5 adapters built to support uncompressed 8K video editing, high-speed media transfers, and multi-user post-production workflows.Atto TechnologyThe company unveiled ThunderLink TLFC-5642 and ThunderLink NS 5102 at NAB Show 2025 in Las Vegas. These adapters are crucial tools for studios in high-bandwidth post-production, real-time collaboration, and hybrid cloud media operations.With Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, they double the bandwidth of their predecessors and are optimized for macOS environments, including Apple's MacBook Pro and Mac Studio. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Kengo Kuma has designed a special 10-piece limited edition furniture release called the Kigumi Table in a new collaboration with the German brand Eins Zu Eins.The release is said to be inspired by the same Japanese kigumi techniques that were used in his 2013 Sunny Hills bakery design in Tokyo, a previous Starbucks caf location (also in Tokyo), and a Christmas tree installation on display last year at two EDITION hotels in the city.Photography courtesy Eins Zu EinsIts 'wood cloud' delicately latticed table base is made from 20mmx20mm solid white oak slats with the option for an acrylic glass or glass tabletop fastened together by custom-made bronze components.Photography courtesy Eins Zu EinsThe dimensions are 106.3 by 47.2 (inches). Kuma describes it as a "paradox of weight, aesthetics, and optics that almost seems to defy the laws of physics." An artists signature and certificate of authenticity will accompany each of the 10 pieces.Photography courtesy Eins Zu Eins"For me, ...