2025 is looking brighter already

RansomHub leaks reported company documents, but MetLife says it is unaware of any incident.

Welcome toAI Decoded,Fast Companys weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every weekhere.Earlier today, senior writer Mark Sullivan published a piece surveying 25 insiders and experts on how they expect AI to further change personal, business, or digital life in 2025. The predictions, which include the rise of AI agents and multimodal models and an uptick in AI-assisted scams, should serve as a blueprint for how we think about the technologys trajectory and its implications for society at large.As an exclusive for our AI Decoded readers, were going to share a few additional insights below:Chuck Herrin, Field CISO, F5: We are in a global AI race condition where everyone is adopting AI at breakneck speed due to the fear of falling behind competition. But this fear is creating a dangerous feedback loop where the pressure to deploy AI faster makes us increasingly dependent on it to manage the complexity were generating. Well see a pronounced AI Divide between those who leverage AI effectively and those who lag behind, both at the company and individual levels.Jeff Burger, Sr. Industrial Designer: Priority Designs: I think well be called on to help people feel more comfortable, safe, and trusting in collaborative robotic environments more deeply than we are today. Well leverage empathy in encouraging people to treat autonomous systems kindly to model kindness, and to receive it in return. The Golden Rule meets The Turing Test.Jamil Valliani, Head of Product, AI, Atlassian: 2025 will be the year of the AI agent. As agents grow richer in interactivity and start to reach across more than just text and into audio and visual elements, they will bring about a powerful cultural shift in how humans collaborate with AI. Im most excited to see agents becoming exponentially more sophisticated in how they can collaborate with teams to handle complex tasks.You can read Marks piece here.More AI coverage from Fast Company:Windsurf Cascade uses AI to help beginners code games and applicationsAI vaporware: 7 products that didnt materialize in 2024AI is helping students with disabilities. Schools worry about the risksLinkedIn is doubling down on AI features, but do they help job seekers?Want exclusive reporting and trend analysis on technology, business innovation, future of work, and design? Sign up for Fast Company Premium.

The so-called AI boom has been going on for more than two years now, and 2024 saw a real acceleration in both the development and the application of the technology. Expectations are high that AI will move beyond just generating text and images and morph into agents that can complete complex tasks on behalf of users. But thats just one of many directions in which AI might move in 2025. We asked a variety of AI experts and other stakeholders a simple question: In what ways do you think AI will have changed personal, business, or digital life by this time next year? Heres what 25 of them said. (The quotes have been edited for clarity and length.)Charles Lamanna, Corporate Vice President, Business and Industry Copilot at Microsoft: By this time next year, youll have a team of agents working for you. This could look like anything from an IT agent fixing tech glitches before you even notice them, a supply chain agent preventing disruptions while you sleep, sales agents breaking down silos between business systems to chase leads, and finance agents closing the books faster.Andi Gutmans, VP/GM of Databases, Google Cloud: 2025 is the year where dark data lights up. The majority of todays data sits in unstructured formats such as documents, images, videos, audio, and more. AI and improved data systems will enable businesses to easily process and analyze all of this unstructured data in ways that will completely transform their ability to reason about and leverage their enterprise-wide data.Megh Gautam, Chief Product Officer, Crunchbase: In 2025, AI investments will shift decisively from experimentation to execution. Companies will abandon generic AI applications in favor of targeted solutions that solve specific, high-value business problems. Well see this manifest in two key areas. First, the rise of AI agentsAgentic AIhandling routine but complex operational tasks. Secondly, the widespread adoption of AI tools that drive measurable improvements in core business metrics, particularly in sales optimization and customer support automation.Brendan Burke, Senior Analyst, Emerging Technology, Pitchbook: A private AI company will surpass a $100 billion valuation, becoming a centicorn along with OpenAI, Burke writes in Pitchbooks 2025 Enterprise Software Outlook. Leading AI companies are growing to the point where this premium revenue multiple can push their valuations over $100 billion, contributing a $17 billion market for generative AI software in 2024. (Burke lists Anthropic, CoreWeave, and Databricks as candidates for centicorn status in 2025.)Dr. Rajeeb Hazra, President & CEO, Quantinuum: Looking ahead, quantum computing will begin to play a critical role in AIs evolution, with early evidence of its impact likely emerging by 2025. One clear advancement will be the ability of quantum-AI systems to generate and analyze massive high-fidelity data sets, unlocking breakthroughs in fields like material design, climate modeling, and personalized medicine, where current data limitations constrain progress. This milestone will demonstrate the transformative potential of AI and quantum working together.Ritu Jyoti, VP/GM of AI, Automation, Data and Analytics Research, IDC: High-quality data sets, cost, and talent have been critical inhibitors to scaling AI initiatives. In 2025, enterprises will double down their efforts to build curated data vaults by domain versus focusing on holistic data modernization efforts. Essentially, they will move from waterfall projects approach to use-case approach, build a minimum viable product, realize ROI, learn fast, and then expand.Grace Yee, Senior Director, Ethical Innovation at Adobe: 2025 will mark a pivotal shift as consumers and businesses . . . gravitate towards tools that embed ethics into their generative AI product DNA from the outset. Companies that embrace ethical innovation will gain a competitive edge, setting themselves apart in a market driven by trust and responsible AI practices.Dr. Alan Cowen, CEO and Chief Scientist, Hume AI: By the end of next year, we wont be able to tell whether were talking to a voice AI or a human (AI will pass the speech Turing test). A few implications of this are that: (a) everyone will want their own voice AI; (b) people will form relationships with them; (c) many people will be manipulated by voice AI doing the bidding of bad actors.Stefan Mesken, VP of Research, DeepL: AIs will not only understand users better, but will proactively offer suggestions, collaborate meaningfully, and adapt to individual needs. Many of these advanced, personalized capabilities already exist but are limited to researchers or developers. Working with an AI will increasingly feel like working with a smart coworker.Amy Wu, Partner, Menlo Ventures: Video AI will finally cross the uncanny valley, with a major Hollywood studio integrating AI-generated video into a feature film. Additionally, voice will solidify its place as the default interface for interacting with AI applications, redefining how users engage with technology.Shawn Carolan, Partner, Menlo Ventures: Well see native-AI apps emerge in nearly all the large consumer categories . . . Voice interactions will replace traditional menu navigation in most apps, while AI-powered systems delivering instant, personalized customer service responses will become the norm. AI will get a face in addition to voice. Facial expressions and more simulated empathy will take Human-AI interactions to the next level.Scott Beechuk, Partner at Norwest Venture Partners: By the end of 2025, roughly 20% of business software buyers initial interactions with vendors will happen through AI. Many AI sales development representative (SDR) products launched in 2024, and the bulk of those purchases will go live in 2025. Their success will pave the way for the next generation of sales automation in the form of AI account executives, which will begin to debut by the end of 2025 and roll out in 2026.Paul Drews, Managing Partner, Salesforce Ventures: Were in the midst of a technological shift: the transition from generative AI to agentic AI. While 2024 was all about building and testing AI models, agents are the next step in putting AI to work in the real world. Consumers should expect almost every major business they interact with to create an agent. Well see agents supporting customers in banking, insurance, healthcare and retail. By this time next year, agents will be a reality of our collective digital lives.China Widener, Vice Chair and US Technology, Media and Telecommunications Industry Leader, Deloitte: Now, we are talking about agentic AIintelligent assistants that can autonomously handle tasks like resolving customer issues, coding software, and detecting cyberattacks. Its like those chatbots youve been chatting with are finally ready to graduate and join the workforce. By 2025, 25% of enterprises using GenAI will have started using these intelligent assistants, marking a fundamental shift in who we work with and how we work.Jon Clay, VP of Threat Intelligence, Trend Micro: AI is going to make digital and online scams far more believable and harder to detect. Next year, were going to see cybercriminals using hyper-personalized deepfake scams and disinformation campaigns, exploiting public data to mimic video, voices, writing styles, and behaviors that feel all too familiar. Deepfakes wont just target individualsbusinesses will face AI-driven attacks that impersonate employees, manipulate supply chains, and exploit weaknesses faster than ever before.Masha Bucher, founder and general partner of Day One Ventures: AI wearable devices, including form factors like earrings and headbands, will monitor focus, productivity, mental health, and overall mental performance in real-time. Brain tracking will no longer be niche; it will become as commonplace and essential as tracking steps or heart rate, empowering individuals to optimize their mental fitness with the same precision as physical health.Yash Sheth, COO/cofounder of evaluation and observability company, Galileo: Multimodal AI will become a reality. Voice will become more widely used as a user interface, especially in consumer-facing applications. AI will become further embedded in our day-to-day lives. The applications we love as consumers (e.g., Instagram, Spotify, Doordash) and as professionals (e.g., Google Workspace, Salesforce, email) will continue to integrate more and more AI functionality into their products.Timothy Young, CEO of Jasper: As AI becomes deeply embedded into systems and data, our relationship with it will evolve: Instead of prompting AI, well be prompted by it, receiving insights, suggestions, and solutions that reshape decision-making in business and personal life. Leaders will need to manage not just the technological transformation but also the cultural shift, fostering trust, adaptability, and a shared vision for collaboration between humans and AI.Raghu Madabushi, Director, National Grid Partners: Energy-aware AI scaling: As LLMs grow in size and complexity, energy consumption becomes the critical bottleneck to their scalability. The narrative for 2025 will shift from simply building bigger models to optimizing training and inference processes for energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability.Dr. Hans Eriksson, Chief Medical Officer, HMNC Brain Health: AI is poised to revolutionize mental health care by moving beyond the outdated one-size-fits-all treatment model. By combining machine learning and genetic analyses, AI can predict mental health issues before they escalate and help match patients to the right treatment faster.Brandon Roberts, GVP, People Analytics and AI, ServiceNow: AI has the potential to create 10-20% additional capacity for most organizations in the next three to five years.As organizations prioritize driving tangible value from their AI investments, well see more of them doubling down on . . . building a workforce plan based on AIs impact on roles and skills.German Lancioni, Chief Data Scientist for the CTO Office, McAfee: AI is giving scammers the ability to create emails and text messages that look like theyre coming from someone you knowwhether its a friend, family member, or even your bank. These messages are becoming more personalized, convincing, and frequent. Falling for one of these scams could lead to stolen identities, financial losses, or even someone gaining access to your personal accounts.Rashmi Misra, Chief AI Officer, Analog Devices: By this time next year I predict that well be using even more specialized edge-AI chips to enable tasks with much more power efficiency, speed, and overall better performance. Well likely see resource-constrained devices at the edge running more sophisticated AI algorithms thanks to advancements in techniques like TinyML and model quantization, which will help enable tasks like real-time speech recognition, computer vision, and predictive maintenance on small edge devices.Andy Sack, Cofounder of Forum3: Over the next year, well see a fundamental shift in consumer behavior as AI-powered platforms like Perplexity, ChatGPT, and Googles SGE (Search Generative Experience) redefine search. Consumers are moving away from lists of links and toward answers and actions. Search engines are rapidly evolving to deliver clear, conversational, and actionable results powered by generative AI.Molly Alter, partner, Northzone: AI will usher in far greater transparency across the healthcare value chain. Healthcare consumers will finally get insights into the actual cost of procedures, due to AI tools that predict costs relative to individual insurance plans and utilization. And there will be greater visibility into patients disease progressions, thanks to the massive unlock of data that AI transcription software unlocks.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment checks dropped last week to the lowest level since March, suggesting that most U.S. workers continue to enjoyunusually high job security.Jobless claims dropped by 9,000 to 211,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which strips out week-to-week ups and downs, fell by 3,500 to 223,250.The overall number receiving unemployment benefits fell by 52,000 to 1.84 million, the lowest since September.Thomas Simons and Sam Saliba, economists at Jefferies, called the drops encouraging in a commentary but cautioned that seasonal adjustments around the holidays canthrow off the numbers.The U.S. job market has cooled considerably from the red-hot hiring days of 2021-2023 when the economy was bouncing back from COVID-19 lockdowns.Through November, employers added an average of 180,000 jobs a month in 2024, down from 251,000 in 2023, 377,000 in 2022, and a record 604,000 in 2021. Still, even the diminished job creation is solid and a sign of resilience in the face of high interest rates.When the Labor Department releases hiring numbers for December on Jan. 10, theyre expected to show that employers added 160,000 jobs last month.The weekly jobless claims numbers are a proxy for layoffs, and those have remained below pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate is at a modest 4.2%, though that is up from a half-century low of 3.4% reached in 2023.To fight inflation that hit four-decade highs two and a half years ago, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rates 11 times in 2022 and 2023. Inflation came down from 9.1% in mid-2022 to 2.7% in November, allowing the Fed to start cutting rates. But progress on inflation has stalled in recent months, and year-over-year consumer price increases are stuck above the Feds 2% target.At its December meeting, the Fed went ahead and cut its benchmark interest rate for the third time in 2024. But the central banks policymakers signaled that theyre likely to be more cautious about future rate cuts: They projected just two in 2025, down from the four they had envisioned in September.

Stackable product design is rapidly evolving to meet the contemporary demands of practicality, spatial efficiency, and eco-friendliness. As urban living spaces shrink and environmental concerns grow, designers are focusing on modular components that allow for easy assembly and the use of lightweight, durable materials. These innovations not only cater to the aesthetic preferences of modern consumers but also address the functional needs of those living in compact environments.The latest trends in stackable product design emphasize convenience and the maximization of space in urban settings. By integrating multifunctionality and sustainability, these designs aim to create enhanced living environments that are both stylish and practical. As more consumers prioritize eco-friendly products, designers are increasingly incorporating sustainable materials and production methods into their creations.1. Innovative MaterialsThe StOol, crafted from sturdy polypropylene plastic, exemplifies the use of innovative materials in stackable furniture design. Polypropylene is renowned for its durability, lightweight properties, and resistance to chemicals and environmental conditions. These qualities make the StOol an ideal choice for short-term seating in small spaces. Its fan-shaped seat and stem-like backrest not only provide comfort but also allow for easy stacking and compact storage, making it versatile for both indoor and outdoor use.In addition to its functionality, the StOol offers a range of uses, serving as a seat, backrest, armrest, side table, or object support. This versatility is further enhanced by its weather-resistant properties, ensuring longevity and durability in various environments. By utilizing innovative materials like polypropylene, designers can create products that are both practical and aesthetically pleasing, catering to the diverse needs of modern consumers.2. Space-Efficient StorageThe Stack chair is a prime example of space-efficient design, featuring a simple yet effective structure comprising a base and a shell that snap together seamlessly. This unique rim design not only allows for space-efficient storage but also simplifies manufacturing and assembly processes. The fastener-free design enhances customization options, offering various colors and materials, such as polypropylene or wood upholstered with fabric or leather, to suit different aesthetic preferences.Moreover, the Stack chairs sustainable design emphasizes durability and recyclability, particularly through the use of a polypropylene shell. Its efficient manufacturing, packaging, and transportation processes further highlight its eco-friendly approach. By focusing on space efficiency and sustainability, the Stack chair caters to both small and large spaces, providing a versatile seating solution for diverse environments.3. Ergonomic DesignFinnish brand Innos Naku Stack Chair, designed by Harri Korhonen, prioritizes both comfort and functionality through its ergonomic design. Crafted from solid wood, the chair features a sleek A-shaped frame that facilitates easy stacking without compromising on style. Available in birch, ash, or oak, with options for fabric or leather upholstery, the Naku Stack Chair is designed to provide ergonomic support for extended sitting, making it suitable for both public and private spaces.The chairs durable, UV-protected varnish ensures longevity and resistance to wear and tear, making it an ideal choice for creating stylish and comfortable seating arrangements. Its ergonomic design not only enhances user comfort but also promotes better posture, contributing to overall well-being. By combining aesthetic appeal with practical functionality, the Naku Stack Chair exemplifies the potential of ergonomic design in modern furniture.4. Multifunctional FurnitureThe SitnSwitch chair is designed to maximize space and versatility, making it ideal for homes, offices, and classrooms. This armless wooden chair features a wide seat and padded backrest, and its sleek, stackable design saves space when not in use. The chairs backrest folds down to create a flat surface, transforming it into a desk. Sitting backward positions the central rail between your legs, offering a convenient workspace.Additionally, arranging four SitnSwitch chairs in a cross formation creates a collaborative bench table, enhancing its multifunctional design. The chair accommodates various sitting positions, making it a practical and stylish solution for multiple environments. By integrating multifunctionality into its design, the SitnSwitch chair offers a versatile seating option that adapts to the changing needs of modern living spaces.5. Modular DesignTotem offers a versatile and space-efficient solution for outdoor gatherings with its innovative modular design. The product features five stackable segments: four stools with thick, cushioned seats on black metal frames and a top segment that transforms into a table with a wooden slat surface. This modular design allows for easy setup and cleanup, saving both time and space while providing comfortable seating for outdoor events.When not in use, Totem serves as an attractive outdoor decoration, blending seamlessly into garden or patio settings. Its design not only prioritizes functionality but also adds aesthetic value to outdoor spaces. By combining comfort, functionality, and style, Totem is perfect for any occasion, offering a practical solution for those who enjoy entertaining outdoors.6. Eco-Friendly MaterialsThe Triplex stool addresses the issue of furniture overconsumption, making it ideal for a nomadic lifestyle. Its three-part, screw-together design uses identical pieces, minimizing its manufacturing footprint and allowing for compact shipping and easy home assembly. Made from flax fiber and bio-resin, this product offers high tensile strength and structural integrity, weighing only 1.8 kilograms for easy mobility and storage.Moreover, the Triplex stool naturally biodegrades at the end of its lifecycle, leaving no pollution. This eco-friendly approach not only reduces environmental impact but also aligns with the growing consumer demand for sustainable products. By utilizing materials that are both durable and biodegradable, the Triplex stool exemplifies the potential for eco-friendly innovation in furniture design.Srishti Gargs Dip-In Tiffin offers a sustainable twist on single-use food packaging, drawing inspiration from traditional Indian tiffins. Crafted from eco-friendly Areca leaf, its stackable design is ideal for dry and semi-dry foods, making it perfect for quick meals at airports. Free from glue or seals, it emphasizes safety and easy disposal after use. By reimagining traditional designs with eco-friendly materials, the Dip-In Tiffin provides a practical solution for reducing waste in food packaging.7. Adaptive Seating ConceptThe Social Chair by Yvonne Hung offers a unique solution for both solitary relaxation and entertaining guests with its adaptive seating concept. At first glance, it appears as a quirky armchair, but each armrest functions as part of a separate chair. Disassembling it reveals three individual seats, perfect for accommodating guests. This innovative design makes the Social Chair practical even when stacked, ideal for small homes in urban settings.By providing flexible seating options, the Social Chair caters to a variety of social scenarios, from intimate gatherings to larger events. Its adaptive design not only enhances functionality but also adds a playful element to home decor. As urban living spaces continue to shrink, the Social Chair exemplifies the creative potential of adaptive design in maximizing utility and style.8. Dual FunctionsThe Turning Chair by Insu Kim features a versatile dual-function design, serving as both a comfortable lounger and a high-seated bar stool. Its unique feature allows it to be flipped 90 to switch between these two functions. In one orientation, it functions as a low-lying lounger with a reclining backrest, perfect for the living room. Flipped backward, it becomes a bar stool suited for kitchen counters due to its angular rear legs.Moreover, the chairs stackable design enhances its space-saving capabilities, making it a versatile seating option for various spaces. By integrating dual functions into its design, the Turning Chair provides a flexible solution for adapting to different seating needs and environments. This innovative approach to furniture design highlights the potential for multifunctionality in modern living spaces.9. A Green ThumbChris Ferences Elevated Planter combines ingenious design with practical functionality, crafted from anodized aluminum. These planters feature toothed bases that securely stack one above the other, allowing for vertical gardening and maximizing space without the need for multiple planters. The grooved bases facilitate versatile arrangements, including edge stacking to optimize plant growth. Each planter includes a drainage hole with a rubber plug, ensuring suitability for both indoor and outdoor use.The modular nature of the Elevated Planter allows users to create a personalized ecosystem within their homes, enhancing indoor environments with greenery. By offering a space-efficient solution for plant enthusiasts, this design caters to the growing trend of indoor gardening in urban settings. The Elevated Planter exemplifies the potential for combining functionality with aesthetic appeal in modular design.Aditi Kedias Prairie Planter redefines traditional planters as landscape features inspired by prairie grasslands. These modular planters stack like mounds of red soil, creating a savannah-like setting when paired with succulents or cacti. Its geometric design offers flexible arrangement options and efficient irrigation management with a built-in water tray. The Prairie Planter seamlessly combines aesthetic elegance with practical functionality, perfect for standalone use or stacked configurations.ToThem is a modular vase system designed for small spaces like city apartments, ideal for organizing and nurturing a variety of plants. Each vase features a unique shape that blends harmoniously with others, optimizing space while adding a playful touch to your decor. It includes a manual irrigation system ensuring even watering across all levels and integrates a drainage system for water reuse. Suitable for aromatic plants, succulents like Aloe Vera, and Hedera Helix, and flowers like Spathiphyllum, ToThem blends functionality with aesthetic appeal, enhancing indoor environments with warm, earthy tones.10.Compact DesignThe PILE Stackable Speaker by bFRANK Design Studio embodies Danish design principles of simplicity, functionality, and aesthetic appeal. Designed by Francesco Brunetti, it maximizes space efficiency with its stackable concept, allowing users to build a modular speaker system for richer sound without compromising on desk space. Each unit features a modern, curvy square design that adds elegance to any setting, available in multiple colors to suit personal taste.Practical and stylish, PILE features a convex top design for secure stacking and serves as a convenient storage spot for small items. Crafted from matte plastic with fabric covering and subtle LED indicators for operational status, it combines functionality with aesthetic appeal. The PILE Stackable Speaker exemplifies the potential for compact design in modern electronics, offering a space-saving solution that enhances user experience.These innovations in stackable product design highlight a growing emphasis on practicality, versatility, and sustainable design. Designers are creating products that fulfill functional needs while also offering appealing aesthetics. As consumer preferences continue to evolve, the future of stackable design promises to bring even more innovative solutions to the forefront of modern living.The post Stackable Product Design: Trends in Practicality, Efficiency, and Sustainability first appeared on Yanko Design.

MacworldWhen Apple unveiled the four new iPhone models last fall, it quickly became apparent that there were fewer differences between the standard and Pro models than had been the case in previous years. Some Pro fans, indeed, were so impressed by the basic iPhone 16 and 16 Plus that they decided to save money and pick the cheaper option.There are benefits to going Pro, of course, and one of these concerns the display. The 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max have slightly larger screens than their non-Pro equivalents with slightly narrower bezels around the edge, but more importantly, they are better specced: As has been the case since the iPhone 13, they are equipped with ProMotion and can dynamically increase their refresh rate up to 120Hz, whereas the standard screens are capped at 60Hz. (The Pro handsets also come with always-on displays, which is a related benefit: ProMotion enables the phone to conserve battery life by dramatically lowering the refresh rate when performing operations that dont require a high refresh rate.)If the latest report is accurate, however, the Pro phones may soon lose this perknot in the sense of having it taken away, but in it being given to the cheaper handsets as well. A new rumor claims all four iPhone 17 models will get screens with higher refresh rates, which almost certainly refers to a ProMotion upgrade.The leak (via MacRumors) comes originally from Digital Chat Station on the Chinese social media site Weibo, and while Weibo can sometimes be a dubious source of intel this particular user has a track record; as MacRumors notes, they made accurate predictions about a few features and design elements of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 15 ahead of those launches.Whats more, the claim both makes sense and fits what weve heard so far about the late-2025 iPhones. As early as February 2024 we were hearing tips that the entire iPhone 17 range would be fitted with LTPO displays; thats the screen tech, in contrast to LTPS on the non-Pro iPhones, which enables ProMotion, and likely means we can also expect always-on displays across the board next fall.But this does leave Apple in a tricky position. How will it differentiate the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max from their more affordable siblings? Early signs hint at a new part-aluminum, part-glass design (the top half will be aluminum and the bottom glass, apparently) and a redesigned camera bump, but customers will need to see more than that if theyre to spring for those models premium price tags.For all the latest news and rumors, check our regularly updated iPhone 17 superguide. But if you cant wait that long for a new handset, pick up a bargain on the current range with our roundup of the best iPhone deals.

MacworldIf one of your New Year resolutions is to finally keep a tidy desk, then this Belkin MagSafe charger is just what you need. Even better, this charger is down to $90 at Amazon, a $30 savings and the best price weve ever seen. (This price is for the black model but the white model is also on sale for $20 off)This Belkin charging tree occupies very little space on your desk and eliminates having a gazillion wires strewn all over your workspace. The base is where you can neatly place your AirPods to charge, while the frame will magnetically hold your phone and watch. Finally, the weighted anti-slip base will ensure the stand stays in place even with the heaviest of iPhones.This 3-in-1 station can simultaneously charge all three of your devices, with up to 15W power for your phone and 5W for your earbuds and Apple Watch. Whats cool is that you can even use this if you have a case on your phone (as you should). It comes with a 40W power adapter and a 5ft cable that is long enough for you to plug under your desk or nightstand.So, dont miss the chance to get this amazing Belkin charging station for $90 at Amazon right now and get your cables uncluttered for 2025.Save $30 on this all-inclusive charging solutionBuy now at Amazon

Combined with its existing solutions, Apples strategic approach to artificial intelligence (AI) deployment could make a radical difference to public health. Here is how it could achieve that.Apple has already told us that achieving better health through better choices is fundamental to its approach. Our goal is to empower people to take charge of their own health journey, said Dr. Sumbul Desai, Apples vice president of health, in 2023.While knowledge is power, anyone whos ever sent themselves into a tidal wave of panic when searching for information on their own symptoms online should know that applying it effectively isnt always easy. Everyone is different, with varying polarities around health. What works for some might work more effectively if optimized and personalized for others, reflecting unique characteristics such as age, weight, or gender. Help is coming. Weve known for a while that Apple hopes to be part of that solution, which is why it isdeveloping AI to optimize the choices people take.What difference does it make?Multiple studies show how making better choices can help keep you healthy. It has already been shown that the iPhone and Apple Watch can help identify early onset of dementia,Parkinsons, respiratory diseases, and sleep apnea. More recently, the Apple-introduced Vitals app seems to be providing people withearly warningsthat theyre about to get sick; the company has also created tools to empower Apples customers with better insights into their own mental health. Apples vision for health straddles all its devices, including AirPods Pro, which now act as bona fide hearing aids and hearing test systems.What problems might these technologies alleviate?The World Health Organization predicts diabetes will impact 1.3 billion people by 2050, up from 830 million in 2022. Cardiovascular disease kills17.9 million peopleeach year. The third biggest killer, chronic respiratory disease, affects around seven in every 100 people on earth. The estimated cost of chronic disease isexpected to reach $47 trillion globally by 2030. What all three conditions have in common is that they can in part be mitigated by early intervention lifestyle changes and better self-care decisions.Better health, one step at a timeSure, its not a panacea people near you will still suffer from health problems. But positive lifestyle changes can mitigate, prevent, and manage these conditions, at least some of the time. But, ultimately, its not just the lives saved when using Emergency SOS via Satellite from a remote location that matter, its also the many that may never encounter problems as a direct result of taking 10,000 steps a day and closing all the Activity rings on their Apple Watch.The Health app is a major component of all of this. Think of it as a digital hub. Not only does it gather information from all your devices, but it also sucks in data from some third-party services and has the capacity to share and ingest information with health professionals. All those insights are private and personal to you, and Apple wants to keep it that way.All of its systems aim to gather as little data as possible about you. When it comes to health, the intention is to ensure your data doesnt enter the surveillance economy, (though Apples privacy commitment could yet be torn apart by clumsy regulation).But is it safe?In taking this approach, Apple is grappling with the biggest challenge to wider deployment of AI. In response to the ever-corroding experience of intrusive surveillance advertising and the challenge of privacy protection in a digital age, people are reluctant to share health data. By crafting systems that dont require direct access to your data, Apple has an opportunity to unlock the potential benefits of personal health AI without also creating another attack surface against digital privacy.The risk is that if the company is forced to open up its systems, it might also be forced to open up your personal health data to third-party firms with which you dont have the same depth of trust. With that in mind, its understandable the company might not introduce these systems if regulators insist on exposing personal information to outside companies less committed to privacy.To avoid this, Apple must convince governments that the benefits of digital privacy far outweigh the costs of removing it. It needs to be able to build a health OS that can support third-party developers while also protecting user data. The prize? The opportunity to build a powerful personalized preventative AI-augmented health care anyone canhook themselves intofor the price of an Apple One subscription. The risk? An incredibly intrusive exfiltration of personal information.You can follow me on social media! Join me onBlueSky, LinkedIn,Mastodon, andMeWe.

Apple's high-performance Mac models, including the Mac Studio and Mac Pro, are expected to get a big upgrade in 2025. Here's how powerful we expect that they'll be.Mac Pro, Mac Studio, M4Mac Pro, Mac Studio, M4The Mac upgrade to M4 chips in late 2024 meant updates to half of the Mac range, with only three models yet to be updated. That short list consists of the MacBook Air, the Mac Studio, and the Mac Pro.With the MacBook Air already on M3, it's the two high-performance models that are surprisingly behind the curve. Both the Mac Studio and Mac Pro are on the M2 generation of chips, and are certainly due to get an upgrade. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums