This is a strange invention that demonstrates outside-of-the-box thinking. A startup called Swippitt has developed this Instant Power System, a way to fully charge your smartphone in just two seconds. The system requires you sheathe your phone in their Swippitt Link, a phone case with a built-in battery. To recharge, you place your phone into the slot of their Swippitt Hub, which looks like the offspring of an Atari 2600 and a toaster. After two seconds, you pull it out, and it's fully charged.What's happening inside the Hub is that it's swapping the case's battery:The Hub can store and charge up to five extra batteries. I would think that this system would be aimed at businesses with employees that rely heavily on smartphones to do their work, but this appears aimed at the consumer sector. It's also only compatible with iPhone models 14, 15 and 16. Whether people will pony up $120 per phone case and $450 for the Hub (plus whatever the extra batteries cost, they don't say) remains to be seen.The system is expected to launch in June, with Android compatibility to be added later.

The Core77 Design Awards Home & Living category features consumer products or services designed to enhance comfort, convenience, security, and sustainability in residential spaces. Products and services can integrate digital tools, smart devices, and automation systems, making everyday life more efficient and enjoyable from home management, entertainment to security and energy efficiency. Examples include home accessories, appliances, home electronics, smart home products, security systems.Mitch Heinrich's work spans an incredible range of subject areas, but they contain a unifying principle: the ability to shape new ideas while focusing on holistic design and sustainability. Over two decades in design, Mitch has empowered micro-entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa, developed stratospheric internet balloons and glucose-sensing contact lenses, co-developed Google Glass's bone conduction transducer, gone deep on AI-driven aquaculture, and led a design team working with synthetic biology to create new sustainable materials. His award-winning design and development work has been exhibited at the NYMOMA and Cooper Hewitt museums. Dozens of granted and pending patents bear his name as an inventor, and he founded the Design Kitchen at Google [x]. Today, he leads Design at Copper, a home electrification company that creates battery-equipped induction stoves powered by renewable energy. In addition, Mitch's boutique design studio, What For, advises companies on sustainable material development.Mitch led the design of Charlie, the world's first battery equipped induction range. The product is designed to conveniently replace gas stoves without requiring any electrical work and features walnut analog touchpoints and a unique radiused brow line. In his practice, Mitch is encouraged to see the shift from touch screens on everything back to thoughtful analog interfaces and physical touch points. "Yes, it adds more cost," he says. "No, you can't add a new button after a product has shipped. It is 100 percent worth it."He worries about the dependency of physical products on software, cloud servers, internet connections, and security updates and the effects of investors, share prices, and company solvency on their long-term value and utility. "A car from the 1990s could easily still work today if maintained. Will a Tesla still work in 30 years? Unlikely."From Core77 Design Awards entries, Mitch is seeking products "that have a reason to exist and are not chasing trends or have single use lifespans. An ideal entry is one that combines utility, aesthetics and has a strong point of view."2024 Winner of the Home & Living Category was Charlie by Channing St. Copper Co.Mitch was the 2024 winner in the Core77 Design Awards Home & Living category for Charlie by Channing St. Copper Co., an energy-storage-equipped (ESE) induction range that offers a superior and more sustainable cooking experience to the traditional gas stove.If you've got a home & living design with potential to build a happier, healthier home, submit it to the 2025 Core77 Design Awards. Enter your work in the Core77 Design Awards today.

Rather than months without rain or the effects of climate change, figures like Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr. are pointing to a familiar scapegoat as entire neighborhoods burn.

The tech industry is fighting new regulations, expected soon, that aim to keep the cutting-edge technology in the United States and allied countries.

Billions in advertising flows through TikTok, which could be banned in the U.S. as soon as Jan. 19. Brands and creators are racing to prepare.

MacworldAre you having problems sending or receiving text messages using your iPhone, iPad, or Mac? Have your usually blue speech bubbles turned green? Are messages not showing up in the right order? Is iMessage telling you that your text hasnt been delivered? Are you wondering why iMessage is not working?In this article, we look at the causes of iMessage failure and offer straightforward troubleshooting tips to help you fix the messages app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Find out how to tell if iMessage is down, what to do if iMessage stops working on your iPhone, and what to do if iMessage is not working on your Mac. We will help you fix all your iMessage problems.Why is iMessage not working?There are lots of reasons why iMessage can stop working: it could be an issue with Apples iMessage server, a problem with the Messages app, or your settings could need adjusting. Before we move on to specific difficulties, lets work through nine simple troubleshooting steps that will solve the most common issues with iMessage.1. Check if iMessage is downThe first possibility is that the server that iMessage is run from is down which could mean that iMessage isnt working for anyone. This is rare, but it does happen occasionally.You can check if any of Apples online services are experiencing outages by checking the System Status page (U.S.) or System Status page (U.K.). Click the + to see all the services and scroll down to iMessage Check Apples site to see if iMessage is down.FoundryOn this page, Apple gives you a heads-up about any services with planned maintenance work, along with a report of any recently resolved issues in any of its services. However, if your issue has only just appeared, bear in mind that the websites update frequency tends to be measured in minutes, not seconds perhaps as many as 30 on occasion so the problem may not have been spotted yet.Even if Apples System Status site suggests all is well, there could be an outage thats local to you. As an alternative to Apples page, you could try Down Detector (U.S.) or Down Detector (U.K.), which provides a graph detailing outage reports from the past 24 hours, and even an outage map to see whether youre in an affected area.You could also search for the word iMessage and related terms on the social media service of your choice; if lots of people are talking about the problem then its clearly not just you.The fixThe good news is that even if iMessage is down, you should still be able to communicate with your friends via normal texts.If iMessage is failing, your message should automatically be pushed into green-bubble texts instead of blue-bubble iMessages. Green indicates that the message is being sent as a text, rather than an iMessage). (Heres how to tell an iMessage from a standard SMS text.)If this isnt working for you, read our guide to sending texts when the recipient isnt getting your iMessages. If an iMessage isnt sending if you hard press on the message you should see an option to Send as Text.2. Make sure youve got a connection (and enough data)iMessage needs a data connection to work, so you need to make sure youve got a good cellular connection available (3G or above), or a good WiFi signal. Without WiFi or a cellular data connection, your iMessage wont send.Check you can access the web by performing a quick search in Safari. If you see no results youve identified the root of your problem.If you dont have a good cellular connection you could try turning Airplane Mode on and off to see if you can improve your reception. Depending on your iPhone either swipe in from the top right or swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone or iPad screen, and select and deselect Airplane Mode the plane icon.Even if the cellular connection is great, you might not have enough data. Is there a chance youve used up all your data for the month? Are you even sure that data is included in your contract? Contact your network provider to check. (Read about how to save data on your iPhone here.)The fixIf you are out of data, or the cellular connection is poor, try one of the following:In addition to switching the aerials on and off using Airplane Mode, turning your iPhone on and off again may also help it find a stronger signal.Log onto a nearby Wi-Fi network to send your iMessage. To find a nearby network, go to Settings > Wi-Fi and have a look to see if there is a free Wi-Fi network nearby.If your Wi-Fi connection is the problem then turn off Wi-Fi and use cellular.If none of those tips works you may need to reset your network settings. Tap Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Settings and see if this fixes the problem.If you still dont get a data connection, and there is no WiFi available, you should be able to press and hold on the undelivered message and choose to Send as text message from the options that come up. A text message should get through even over a GPRS connection.3. Make sure iMessage is on and set up correctlyCheck youre set to send and receive iMessages by going to Settings > Apps > Messages and checking that iMessage is turned on.If when you get to this page you see a message suggesting that iMessage is Waiting for activation or Activation unsuccessful, then read this article: What to do when iMessage wont activate on your iPhone.If iMessage is switched on and there is no message about activation, check that your phone is set up correctly to receive iMessages: Go to Settings > Apps > Messages and check the email addresses and mobile numbers you have listed in Send & Receive.The fixAssuming its not an activation issue, run through the following:Check there is a tick beside your phone number in the Start New Conversations From section if youre using an iPhone.Tap on a mobile number or email address in the list of places where you can Send & Receive from to deselect it. We suggest trying a process of elimination to see if iMessage works with just your mobile number or just an email address.4. Turn it off and on again and restart MessagesAs in all good troubleshooting articles one essential piece of advice is to turn it off and on again. You could start off by swiping up on the home screen and then swiping up to close the Messages app, before relaunching it. If the app was hanging this may well fix the problem.The fixIf things still arent working you could try the following:Reboot iMessage by going to Settings > Apps > Messages and turning off iMessage, then turn off your iPhone and then wait for your iPhone to start up again.Once youve rebooted, return to Settings > Messages and turn iMessage back on.Sign out of your Apple ID and then sign in again. You can do this from Settings. At the top of the page tap on your Apple ID swipe to the bottom of the page and choose Sign Out.Then sign in again and see if this has fixed the problem.For related advice you may also like to read How to send and receive text messages on Mac and How to use Messages on the iPhone.5. Delete some messagesIf your Messages app has a lot of photos and videos it might slow down a bit. Deleting some of your iMessages especially the ones with lots of photos might solve the problem (but note that images sent via iMessage dont automatically appear in your Photos app).The fixThere are a few ways to reduce the size of your iMessage library.To delete messages you can swipe from right to left on a message in the Messages list and choose Delete.Or you can tap the Edit button in the top left-hand corner of Messages and delete messages that way.There is also a Keep Messages option in Settings > Messages. Look for Message History and tap Keep Messages you can select Forever, 1 year or 30 days. Before you decide to delete messages after 30 days, be sure you arent about to lose some important messages! (For related advice, we have a feature about how to retrieve deleted text messages.)While youre here, you can also change your settings so that you send low-res images, which take up less space. Go to Settings > Messages and toggle Low-Quality Image Mode on. (Its the last option, right at the bottom of the page.)6. Check iOS is up to dateIf your software isnt up to date there may be a bug stopping it from working properly.The fixTo check if an updated version of iOS is available (and download and install it if so), go to Settings > General > Software Update.For more detail on the updating process and the issues it may entail, see How to update iOS.7. Check Network settingsMake sure its not a problem with your Network settings.The fixHeres how to reset your Network settings if Messages arent sending.Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Youll have to enter your passwords again after you do this.You could also try turning off Wi-Fi Assist. Wi-Fi Assist will switch to a cellular signal when it is stronger than your local WiFi network. Turning it off has worked for some people. Go to Settings > Mobile Data and scroll down to WiFi Assist and switch it off if its on.ScreenshotFoundry8. Check Time Zone settingsSome users have found that they had problems sending Messages when the time zone wasnt set to update automatically. Its not clear what was causing the problem, perhaps its to do with the carrier settings.The fixHeres how to change your time zone settings:Go to Settings > General > Date & Time and make sure your time zone is set automatically.Set Automatically to ON.9. Reset All SettingsAs a last resort, you could do a full ResetIn Settings go to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset.10. Ask AppleIf you are still having problems then its probably time to get an appointment with a genius at the Apple Store, heres how.Specific problems with iMessageBelow we look at some specific problems with iMessages let us know if you experience any issues with the service, or if you discover a fix of your own.iMessage activation unsuccessfulSetting up iMessage on an iPhone or iPad should be a simple process, but it can sometimes be problematic. In some case people are seeing an error message when they try to activate iMessage (or FaceTime) on their iPhone.You may see one of the following error messages:Activation unsuccessful.An error occurred during activation.Waiting for activation.Could not sign in, please check your network connection.Unable to contact the iMessage server.The fix:We offer lots of advice about how to fix this issue here: What to do when iMessage wont activate on your iPhone.In summary: Check if iMessage has been deactivated in Settings > Messages.Turn Messages off and on again in Settings > Messages. Do the same with FaceTime. Then turn your iPhone off and on again. Once your iPhone is on again go back to Messages and turn it back on.Contact your mobile network about the problem.You may just have to wait it can take 24 hours to be activated.Why isnt my friend receiving iMessages?If you know your friend has an iPhone, iPad or Mac, they should be able to receive iMessages but they may not have the iMessage feature activated, or not be registered for it.Its also possible that they have recently changed networks and need to activate iMessage.Alternatively, its possible that your friend has switched to using an Android or Windows device? They may still be able to receive iMessages on their iPad and Mac, but they wont receive them on their new handset. If they no longer want to receive iMessages they need to deregister from iMessage.The FixIf you know your friend has an iPhone, it may simply be that they need to turn on the service. In which case, tell them:Go to Settings > Messages.Turn on iMessage.However, it may not be that simple, so we have a separate tutorial about the steps they need to take to make sure iMessages will get through.If your friend no longer has an iPhone its still possible that you can send iMessages but they wont be delivered to their new handset. If they would prefer to turn off iMessage to avoid missing out on texts, they can do the following:If they still have the old iPhone they can go to Settings > Messages.Switch off iMessage.Its also possible to deactivate iMessage using a web tool here.After turning off iMessage, the text messages you send on an iPhone will be green rather than blue.iMessage visual effects arent workingThere are some fun animated effects that you can use to enhance your iMessages.For example, you can press and hold on a speech bubble to add a thumbs up or a heart, you can send sketches, and if you press and hold the arrow that you usually tap to send a message you will get access to fun effects like Send with Echo, Spotlight, Balloons, Confetti, Love, Lasers, Fireworks, Shooting Stars, and Celebration.The fixIf the problem is that some of these visual effects arent being received by your recipient, try the following:Check that your recipient has updated their version of iOS (some features may only be available in the latest version).Some effects also wont work if your friend has Reduced Motion activated on their iPhone (they may have changed the setting to save battery power as per the advice in this feature). In that case, they need to Go to General > Accessibility > Reduce Motion > Off.Note, your effects wont work if theyre not sent as an iMessage; if your friend doesnt have an iPhone iPad or Mac they wont see them.Cant send a group iMessageIf youre having trouble sending messages to groups of people, one reason could be that one of your contacts no longer has an iPhone.When you send a group message in iMessage all your contacts will show up as blue, until you add someone who doesnt have iMessage, then they will all turn green as the iMessage group will not be supported.If you had a group iMessage and one of your contacts stopped using their iPhone this would break the group iMessage. To find out if this is the case, start a new group message rather than continuing with the old one.Its also possible that you cant send a group message to an existing thread because you left the conversation.The fixIf you think youve shut yourself out of a group message, as we described above, you will need to do the following:Open the Messages app and tap the group message youre trying to reply to.If youve left the conversation a message will tell you so.You cant unilaterally rejoin a conversation: youll need to have one of the remaining participants add you again.Alternatively, you could just start a new conversation with all the same participants and go from there.We cover this here too: How to fix group message replies that appear as individual ones on your iPhone.What if you are intent on group messaging your friends and not all of them have iPhones? In that case, your best option is to use Whatsapp. We have this tutorial about using Whatsapp here.Lost or accidentally deleted MessagesIf youve accidentally deleted important messages, or if youve updated your iPhone and realised that some messages have disappeared, dont worry: you may be able to get them back.The fixThere are five main ways of getting back lost or deleted iMessages:Retrieve from an iCloud backup.Retrieve from the iCloud website.Contact your phone provider.Retrieve from an iTunes backup.Retrieve using a third-party app.We cover all of these in a separate article: How to retrieve deleted text messages.Messages on iPhone not appearing (or out of order) on Mac/iPadThe matching Messages apps on iOS and Mac should allow you to easily and conveniently carry on iMessage conversations across the two platforms. But sometimes the two apps fail to sync properly, and iMessages sent from (or received on) the iPhone fail to appear on the Mac, or vice versa.The fixDo not worry. This is such a common complaint that Apple has made it possible to store all your in iCloud which means that they will always be in sync on all your devices. For more information, we have this tutorial about using iMessages in iCloud. If you arent keen on turning on iMessages in iCloud (it may impact your available storage) you could try the following:Go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive. Make sure all the email addresses (not just phone numbers) that you want to associate with that iMessage account have been ticked. (You may need to tap Use your Apple ID for iMessage at the top to make the addresses appear.)Now open the Messages app on your Mac. Click Messages in the top menu bar, then Preferences. Click Accounts, then tick the appropriate email addresses once again. You may need to enter more details for some of them.Finally, restart Messages on each device and (hopefully) youll find that the issue is solved.For more detail, see How to sync iMessage conversations on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

AMD's latest Ryzen AI Max chips probably wouldn't have existed without Apple, an AMD executive has admitted, thanks to the popularity of Apple Silicon.AMD Ryzen AI Max - Image Credit: AMDAt CES, AMD introduced Ryzen AI Max chips, an upgraded version of its Ryzen AI architecture with up to 16 CPU cores and up to 40 AMD RDNA 3.5 graphics compute units, and a neural processing unit with up to 50 trillion operations per second.The chips, offering tons of performance in various ways in one focused component, has considerable echoes to the way Apple Silicon works. During the launch, AMD VP Joe Macri hinted that Apple Silicon helped with getting the product made and out the door, reports Engadget. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Game director Mike Kayatta at Remedy, who is currently working on co-op shooter FBC: Firebreak, has revealed why the studio went the route of multiplayer rather making its traditional single-player titles. In an interview with Games Radar, Kayatta spoke about how it was an opportunity for Remedy to tell its stories in a new way.A lot of this is uncharted territory for us, says Kayatta, talking about FBC: Firebreak being multiplayer. We know we have a lot to learn to deliver on the potential we see, but theres a lot of passion and drive behind our push into this space.Kayatta goes on to talk about how multiplayer games tend to have greater chances for emergent storytelling which can only happen thanks to the actions of players, and how this helps shape the world around them.Theres a sort of emergent magic that comes from sharing a game world with other people, said Kayatta. Real people bring unpredictability and a unique type of storytelling to worlds that we simply cant replicate in a focused heros journey type of experience.He goes on to reiterate that developing single-player titles with strong narratives like Control and Alan Wake 2 will continue to be a priority for the studio. FBC: Firebreak being multiplayer, however, gives the studio the chance to explore some new ideas.So, while crafting those kinds of controlled and immersive single-player experiences remains a major focus for the studio, we thought it was finally time to expand the Remedy Connected Universe into shared spaces and brave something new.FBC: Firebreak was originally announced back in October. As its name might imply, the game puts players in the shoes of a first responder for the Federal Bureau of Control. Kayatta has previously described the title as its own thing, being neither a DLC nor a sequel to Control, despite taking place in the same setting.Players will get to explore the depths of The Oldest House the base of operations for the FBC. Throughout their time with the game, players will be able to make use of Altered Items, which grant abilities to the player described by Remedy as its own take on ultimates.The game will take place a few years after the events of Control, and as such, various locations in The Oldest House will also have changed quite a bit. The studio has stated that these old locations will be reimagined from the ground up for FBC: Firebreak.FBC: Firebreak is slated for release in 2025, and will be coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game is set to be a mid-priced title, and while it wont be a live-service game, it will continue to get post-launch support in the form of content updates. For players looking for more single-player experiences by Remedy, the studio is also working on Control 2. Remedy has also previously revealed that, while Control 2 will have bigger budget coming in at 50 million, FBC: Firebreak has a budget of 30 million for development.

Developer CD Projekt RED has revealed that it started training its staff for the themes and style in upcoming title The Witcher 4 by having them design a quest for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. The quest, titled In the Eternal Fires Shadow, was added to The Witcher 3 through the update that also brought it to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.The Witcher 4s narrative designer Philipp Weber took to social media platform X to talk about this, revealing that new designers and writers worked on the quest alongside a senior quest designer that had been with the studio since the first game.2 years ago we released a new quest for The Witcher 3, posted Weber. New designers and writers worked on it preparing for The Witcher 4, together with one of our most senior quest designers, who is with us since The Witcher 1. All in all, it was the perfect start to getting back into the vibe.In the Eternal Fires Shadow involves protagonist exploring a cave that was previously used to keep plague victims quarantined by a local church. The quest features a few themes, as well as a horror-styled atmosphere. As is usually the case for quests in The Witcher 3, there are also plenty of plot twists to encounter.Development on The Witcher 4 had gone into full swing back in November. The game was officially unveiled with a trailer during The Game Awards back in December, and will feature Ciri as its main protagonist. Geralt is also going to be present in the game in some capacity, albeit more details havent yet been revealed.The reveal that Ciri would be the new protagonist was quite controversial, leading the studio to release its own statement on the matter where it reiterated that the game will not be breaking the canon set by the works of Andrzej Sapkowski. The studio has also announced that the role of Ciri has been recast, with Jo Wyatt, who voiced the character in The Witcher 3, will not be returning to reprise her role.When it comes to combat, Ciri will apparently play differently from Geralt. Where Geralt was known for his elegant swordplay in the previous titles, Ciri will instead be a more agile character, focusing on quick strikes and plenty of evasion. As the trailer revealed, Ciri will also be able to use of the same alchemical potions that Geralt was able to use to fight off monsters in a variety of environments.Despite it being a current-gen sequel to The Witcher 3, the upcoming title will keep things in check by having its open world be around the same size as its predecessor. There will be quite a bit of density when it comes to the things players can encounter, however, with the director going as far as saying that every single NPC will look like theyre living with their own story.The Witcher 4is currently in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The studio hasnt yet announced a release date for the game. For more details about The Witcher 4, here are 10 details about it that you might not yet be aware of.2 years ago we released a new quest for The Witcher 3. New designers and writers worked on it preparing for the Witcher 4, together with one of our most senior quest designers, who is with us since the Witcher 1. All in all, it was the perfect start to getting back into the vibe. pic.twitter.com/VCpQ5UpLjZ Philipp Weber (@PhiWeber) January 8, 2025

Sony has unveiled a new line-up of PS5 accessories. Dubbed the Midnight Black collection, the line-up includes a DualSense Edge, Pulse Explore, Pulse Elite and PlayStation Portal, all sporting the Midnight Black colour scheme that Sony says was inspired by galaxies.The new Midnight Black collection peripherals are meant to complement other Midnight Black peripherals DualSense and PS5 console covers.While the colour scheme for the new peripherals largely revolves around a shade of black, there is also some detailing on various parts of the peripheral. This includes various buttons and accents like the PlayStation logo. In keeping with this, the charging case for the Pulse Explore earbuds also sport the same colours with similar accent detailing.The new Midnight Black collection peripherals are slated to hit stores on February 20, with pre-orders kicking off on January 16 through PlayStations own website. The PlayStation Portal is priced at $199.99, the Pulse Explore wireless earbuds are priced at $199.99, the Pulse Elite wireless headset is $149.99, and the DualSense Edge controller is priced at $199.99.