Phone accessory maker CASETiFY wants to make its phone cases a little more expressive. The company has announced a new collaboration with the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, adding Andy Warhols iconic pieces to CASETiFYs lineup of phone and tech cases for the new Andy Warhol x CASETiFY Collection.The collaboration will see three of Warhols most iconic works being incorporated into CASETiFY products, including the Banana, Campbells Soup Can, and Brillo Box. The new cases go beyond simply imprinting the art onto the back of a normal phone case too. The Andy Warhol Banana Collectible Phone Case, for example, is designed to be larger than life, according to CASETiFY, and actually takes the shape of a banana. Theres even an option for the Andy Warhol Banana Peel Case, which allows the banana design to be peeled back to reveal a pink fruit inside.To learn more about the collaboration, we had a chance to ask Michael Dayton Hermann, Director of Licensing, Marketing and Sales at the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, a few questions.What makes CASETiFY a great fit for Warhols work?The Andy Warhol Foundation seeks partners who celebrate contemporary art, embrace creativity, and understand Warhols lasting relevance to todays culture. CASETiFY embodies all of these qualities, with a bold approach to design and a deep appreciation for artistic expression. Together, were bringing Warhols iconic works into the hands of a new generation, keeping his legacy alive in ways that feel fresh and meaningful.How did you decide what works would be included in this collection?Rather than simply selecting works, we collaborated closely with CASETiFY to develop a collection inspired by Warhols philosophy, ideas, and approach to creativity. While iconic pieces like the Banana and Brillo Box are included, theyve been reimagined by CASETiFY in ways that feel distinctly Warholian playful, innovative, and thought-provoking.The collection aims to make Warhols art more accessible. Can you elaborate on why accessibility is a key focus for this partnership and how it reflects Warhols vision?Warhols art has always been known for its accessibility he famously said, Pop art is for everyone. His gift to the world wasnt just the inspiring, timeless art he created, but also the permission he gave us to forge our own paths, embrace our individuality, and boldly experiment. This collection embodies that spirit by encouraging self-expression in fun and exciting ways. Were also delighted that revenue from this project will generously contribute to the Foundations endowment, which has allowed us to distribute nearly $300 million in cash grants to date in support of the visual arts.Each product arrives in special edition packaging inspired by Warhols Heinz Tomato Ketchup Box, adorned with his iconic quote: Art is what you get away with.All of the new products in the Andy Warhol x CASETiFY Collection are available right now, ranging in price from $35 to $105. They can be purchased directly through the CASETiFY website.

There's something special about two people listening to the same music over earphones. It can be a movie, or a TV show, it doesn't matter. That scene in Begin Again, where Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley trade playlists with an old school headphone splitter, is etched into my memory. But the days of headphone jacks and audio splitters are behind us.Though not as romantic as tethering two people with a two-meter headphone cord, you can achieve the same results using AirPods, too, all without needing a specialized app. You can share music, movies, or anything you like to your friend or partner's AirPods, without fully pairing them to your iPhone.Share Audio using Control CenterThe most reliable way to share audio between two pairs of AirPods is using the playback controls in Control Center. First, connect your AirPods and keep them in your ears. Next, ask your friend to keep their AirPods case open, or to keep them in their ears as well.In the Control Center, open the Playback controls. Choose your AirPods from the bottom to open the Devices menu. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Here, choose the Share Audio button. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Now, as long as your friends' AirPods are open and available nearby, they will show up in the popup menu. If they don't, try pressing and holding the Pairing button on the back of their AirPods case. Once they show up, tap the Share Audio button. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Now both AirPods will be listed in the Devices menu, and you can independently control their volume levels from here. You can also press and hold the Volume slider in the Control Center to get two distinct sliders, one for each pair of AirPods. Credit: Khamosh Pathak. To disconnect your friends' AirPods, open the media playback screen in Control Center and tap on the "2 headphones" button to open the Devices view. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Here, uncheck the AirPods that you want to disconnect. Credit: Khamosh Pathak Temporarily connect nearby AirPods Credit: Apple To make this process simpler, Apple has integrated a new popup menu that shows up when near another pair of AirPods. If you've seen popups for connecting to an Apple Watch, or for sharing your Wi-Fi password, you'll be familiar with it.While your AirPods are already connected to your iPhone, bring your friends' pair near your device, and make sure that their case is open. After a short wait, you should see the popup menu. Because this is proximity related, you might need to try a few times to get the menu to show upApple is doing its best to prevent you from getting inundated with popups while on a train full of people listening to AirPods, so it's a little strict here.When the popup shows up, tap the Temporarily Share Audio button and press and hold the Pairing button on the back of your friends' AirPods case. Press Done, and now both pairs of AirPods should be connected to the iPhone.To disconnect, go to the Playback menu in Control Center, open the Devices menu, and uncheck the AirPods that you want to disconnect.

The next phase of AI evolution looks set to be focused around agents: AI bots that can not only chat to you and draw pictures, but also carry out tasks on your behalf. These new AI tools won't just be able to tell you about the best hotels close to your next vacation destinationthey'll be able to make the reservation for you.These kinds of multimodal agents are being worked on by Google, OpenAI, and others, and now Perplexity has announced Perplexity Assistant for Android (as per The Verge, Perplexity says iOS doesn't give apps the necessary hooks into the operating system for an iPhone version to be possible right now).You can find the assistant in the main Perplexity app for Android, and it's available to use whether you're using Perplexity for free or paying for a subscription. You'll see a pop-up ad for Perplexity Assistant in the app which you can tap on to enable it, or you can find it by tapping your profile picture (top left), then Enable assistant.During the setup process, you'll be asked to set Perplexity Assistant as the default assistant on Android, instead of Google Assistant or Google Gemini. This is the same process as it is for setting any other default assistant, and you'll be directed to the right screen: It means you can launch Perplexity Assistant with whatever the assistant shortcut is (like a long-press on the power button).When the assistant is active, you can use your voice to interact with it or give it commands, or tap the keyboard icon in the lower right corner to type instead. There are no settings to manage, but there is a button in the lower left corner for switching to camera mode, which lets you ask Perplexity Assistant about anything in your surroundings. You'll need to set Perplexity Assistant as your default assistant. Credit: Lifehacker What you can do with Perplexity Assistant Perplexity hasn't been overly forthcoming in terms of what you can actually do with its new assistant, but it has mentioned booking dinner (via OpenTable), playing songs (in Spotify and YouTube), calling cabs (through Uber), drafting emails, and setting reminders. You can see a few examples here. It's worth experimenting with to see what it can and can't do on your phone.You can ask for directions to a good coffee shop nearby, for example: Perplexity Assistant will search the web for recommendations, ask you to make a pick, then load up Google Maps. It's debatable whether that's any faster or more convenient than just doing the whole process through Google Maps, but it works reliably well.I was also able to call up songs and playlists in Spotify, though again, Spotify's built-in search tools do all this pretty well anyway. It's not an omnipotent digital assistant yet, howeverif you ask Perplexity Assistant to order you something on Amazon, it'll just direct you to the relevant listings pages. Spotify is one of the apps Perplexity Assistant can control. Credit: Lifehacker Another test I ran was getting Perplexity Assistant to draft an email apologizing for being late, and with a task like this, the generative AI capabilities can be useful. The assistant found the right contact, composed a short email with my apologies, and loaded a draft in the Gmail app, ready to gothough if you really are sorry about a recent lack of punctuality, it's probably a better idea to actually write out the apology yourself.It's more evidence of where AI assistants are heading, but they're going to need to be granted the relevant hooks into other appslike OpenTable and Spotifyin order to work properly. They're also going to need to be reliable and accurate enough to gain the trust of users, which has traditionally been a problem for AI: You don't want your AI-booked dinner recommendations to be for the wrong week or in the wrong city, for example.

January is almost over, and Amazon has some new Apple deals for us. The 13-inch M4 iPad Pro is now down to a record-low price of $1,099 if you get the 256GB model. Additionally, the 11-inch M4 iPad Pro is also on sale for $899, and both color options have an extra $50 coupon to reduce the price even further to $849. The M4 is Apples latest chipset, and it boasts 10 cores in its CPU for high-settings gaming and video editing. The 2,752 x 2,064 Ultra Retina XDR OLED screens color accuracy is also great for streaming content on Netflix, YouTube and more. The high refresh rate ProMotion, P3 wide color and True Tone display technologies further improve the experience by improving the refresh rate and colors in our review, we called it one of the nicest portable screens weve seen. Some users also like capturing pictures and videos with their iPads, and the M4 iPads are equipped with a 12MP ultra wide front camera that performs superbly on video calls. The 12MP wide rear camera captures video up to 4K resolution with ProRes support. If youre still not sure, the M4 iPad is on our list of best Apple tablets. Its a premium device, but one that wont let you down when it comes to processing power and screen quality. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-m4-ipad-pro-is-up-to-200-off-right-now-150555119.html?src=rss

Life can be really hard and sometimes all we want is to sink onto the couch, turn our brains off and play game after game. That's part of the reason we're such big fans of the Xbox Ultimate Game Pass, which offers access to hundreds of Xbox and PC games all for one monthly price. Well, right now, you can get a three-month Xbox Ultimate Game Pass for just $34, down from $50. The 32 percent discount means it's a few dollars shy of its December deal, but it's still a great offer. You can shop the sale at Woot for the next two days or until it sells out. Speaking of deals, Woot is also running a sale on lots of gaming items, such as the 8Bitdo Retro Mechanical Keyboard down to $60 from $100 and the 8Bitdo Ultimate 3-mode Controller for Xbox down to $40 from $70. Then there's games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which is down to $40 from $60, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, which is available for $45, down from $70. Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/three-months-of-xbox-game-pass-ultimate-costs-only-34-right-now-143301599.html?src=rss

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman doubles down on claims Apple's priority (and answer to Meta AR glasses) is to fit future AirPods with IR cameras.

The group behind the notorious Treasury hack regularly exploits this vulnerability, but it had a simple fix.

The buzz around Chinese AI startup DeepSeek began picking up steam earlier this month, when the startup released R1, its model that rivals OpenAI's o1.

Its official, Matthew McConaughey is returning to the Super Bowl. We dont know much else about the Uber Eats big game ad, but we do know McConaughey will be in it, based on two new teasers released today.Here, we see McConaughey, who previously starred in Super Bowl ads for Doritos (2021) and Salesforce (2022) recreating the iconic look of former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, along with Da Bears line from the classic SNL sketch.Ubers head of marketing for North America Georgie Jeffreys says the core objective for its big game work is to continue to drive relevance and brand affinity with Americans, particularly in the suburbs. When it comes to teasers, though, the goal is more about setting vibes and piquing curiosity.Theres no other time when people are ready and waiting to watch an ad, says Jeffreys. Theres also no other time when people are anticipating what youre going to do as a brand. You have this opportunity to capitalize on it in a way that you might not with other campaigns at other times of the year. If you can get it right, then its kind of your fire starter.The brand began its run with McConaughey last September, when he floated the conspiracy theory that the function of all sports is to act as a catalyst for us to eat more food. He now revisits that theory with a big game teaser that posits an alternative meaning for this years Roman numerals. Jeffreys says that the response to that spot completely upended its Super Bowl plans (they typically start thinking about the big game in July), and they began a complete redo in October, working with agency Special US.Since then, both Charli XCX and Martha Stewart have joined the roster.Celebrity strategyWhen it comes to picking celebrities to work with, Jeffreys says they have to answer a few different questions: Do they appeal to the audience? Are they somewhat unexpected? Are they willing to be self-deprecating? But at its core, they actually have to amplify the creative idea, she says. They need to fit it, and by being a part of the creative idea, they need to make the idea bigger.Its not the first time the brand has utilized an unlikely pairing of celebrity in its advertising, nor is this its first rodeo in resurrecting a beloved SNL sketch. Back in 2021, it was Waynes World, reuniting Mike Myers and Dana Carvey to resurrect their classic SNL characters alongside Cardi B.In late 2023, Robert De Niro and Asa Butterfield (Sex Education) starred in a delightful spot depicting them as an unlikely pair of BBFs. (Its 2023 Super Bowl spot starring Diddy definitely hasnt aged well . . . does Uber Eats deliver baby oil?)For 2022, it was all about celebs looking silly to emphasize the app delivers more than food. So there was Academy Award winner Gwyneth Paltrow biting into a Goop candle. Nicholas Braun (Cousin Greg from HBOs Succession) guzzling dish detergent. Jennifer Coolidge (White Lotus) trying to eat on paper towels.Last year, the spot revolved around celebs forgetting incredibly obvious facts about themselves. Like Jennifer Aniston forgetting she worked with David Schwimmer on Friends or Jelly Roll trying to scrub tattoos off his face. For that teaser, it was David and Victoria Beckham recreating the viral Be honest moment from their Netflix doc series. The brand courted controversy when part of the spot joked about forgetting about a peanut allergy, a scene it cut before it aired during the game.Big Game opportunityControversy aside, the Uber Eats ad isnt backing away from the sense of humor and tone its established over the past few years. And despite the continued fragmentation of media and pop culture, the Super Bowl remains a unique opportunity.If we hadnt been doing this before the last five years, it would have taken us a lot longer to really establish ourselves as a brand in mainstream culture, says Jeffreys. I think people now have a clearer understanding of our brand and tone because were consistently showing up with a very specific type of spot that is landing a specific type of humor. Even if the message changes, the core tenets of our brand are the same. So there is both a long- and short-term play there, which is why we keep coming back.

A lawsuit seeking to strike down North Dakotas ban on gender-affirming medical care for minors will go to trial Monday, more than a year after families of transgender children and a doctor filed the suit that argued the law violates the states constitution.North Dakota is one of more than two dozen states that have banned gender-affirming care. Like North Dakota, many of those states have faced court challenges to the laws.Our argument is that all North Dakotans have a right to access healthcare that helps improve their lives and well-being, and our clients are no different, said lead counsel Brittany Stewart, senior staff attorney at Gender Justice, a nonprofit advocating gender equity.Court rulings have significantly reduced the scope of the North Dakota case, filed in late 2023. Earlier this month, a state district judge dismissed from the case some of the claims as well as the children and families who were plaintiffs, leaving only a pediatric endocrinologist as a plaintiff.The trial in Bismarck, the state capital, is expected to last eight days. Its unclear when the judge will rule.Then-Gov. Doug Burgum signed the bill into law in April 2023 after it overwhelmingly passed the Republican-led Legislature. It makes it a misdemeanor for a healthcare provider to prescribe or give hormone treatments or puberty blockers to a transgender child, and a felony to perform gender-affirming surgery on a minor.Lawmakers who supported the bill that became law said it would protect children from what they said are irreversible treatments and operations.We were creating an atmosphere where if you felt you had that situation, that you were of that mentality, that we would go ahead and cut off body parts and affirm where youre at without trying to guide you through it, said Republican Rep. Bill Tveit, who introduced the bill. Maybe it was a wrong thought at that age, and if you want to make that decision when youre of age . . . thats your prerogative once youre an adult.He said he hopes the trials outcome affirms the law. North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley declined to comment on the case.Opponents said the legislation would have harmful effects on transgender kids, and noted that gender-affirming surgeries are not performed on minors in North Dakota.A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey last year found that transgender and gender-questioning teens reported higher rates of bullying at school than their peers and that about 1 in 4 transgender teens said they had attempted suicide in the past year.Stewart said, When you ban the only medically supported care for a specific condition and only for young people who are under 18, youre not protecting those kids. Youre actively harming those children.The law contains an exemption for children who were already receiving treatments before the bans effective date. But attorneys for the plaintiffs said providers held off due to perceived vagueness in the law. That led the families to travel and miss work and school to seek care for their kidsincluding an eight-hour round trip drive for one family to attend a 30-minute appointment, Stewart said.The judge later said the law does not apply to any minors who were receiving gender-affirming care before North Dakotas ban took effect, including the three plaintiff children. The judge said they can receive any gender-affirming care they could have received previously. But their access remains unchanged because that ruling was not enough of a final decision to satisfy attorneys for healthcare organizations, Stewart said.At least two pediatric endocrinologists in North Dakota were providing gender-affirming care before the ban, Stewart said.As far as the number of patients, I cant really say, but honestly whether its a lot or a few is really irrelevant to whether this is constitutional, she said.President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order declaring only two sexes, male and female, are recognized by the federal government. State laws on sports participation, bathroom use, gender-affirming care, and other issues are not directly affected.Every major U.S. medical group, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, has opposed such bans and said that gender-affirming treatments can be medically necessary and are supported by evidence. Research has further shown that transgender youths and adults can be prone to suicidal behavior when forced to live as the sex they were assigned at birth.At least 26 states have adopted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, and most of those states face lawsuits. Federal judges have struck down the bans in Arkansas and Florida as unconstitutional, though a federal appeals court has stayed the Florida ruling. A judges order is in place temporarily blocking enforcement of the ban in Montana.The states that have passed laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors include Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.Jack Dura, Associated Press