The pursuit of the impossibly thin smartphone has undeniably become one of 2025s most compelling design narratives. This was not a subtle shift; the industrys pivot towards extreme slimness has been a clear and deliberate trend, a collective re-evaluation of what constitutes premium design after years focused on camera bumps and battery heft. With whispers of an iPhone Air variant potentially gracing our screens on September 9th, the question looms: is this a confident stride into a new era of sleekness, or a touch of hubris that might revive haunting memories of bendgate? Either way, the race is on, and the current contenders are pushing the boundaries of what we thought possible.Measuring thinness, however, becomes an intriguing challenge when foldables enter the arena. While a traditional candybar phone presents a single, static dimension, a foldable offers two: its folded state and its dramatically thinner unfolded state. For this list, we embrace the most impressive measurement a device can achieve, celebrating the engineering marvel that allows a phone to stretch into an almost paper-thin profile. This article is about the absolute thinnest a phone can be, plain and simple. And yes, that does make the comparison between candybars and foldables unfair in certain regards, but well try to thread that needle with millimeter precision, so to speak. That being said, stick around till the end to see how a phone from 2014 still holds the thinnest smartphone record even after a decade!Huawei Mate XT Ultimate 3.6mm unfolded (2025)Huaweis approach to thinness is a masterclass in extremes. The Mate XT Ultimate is not just a foldable; it is a tri-foldable, a wild piece of kit that unfolds twice to reveal a sprawling 10.2-inch display. When it is fully unfurled, the device measures a frankly unbelievable 3.6mm at its thinnest point. This is thinner than most USB-C ports, thinner than any tablet, and thinner than any phone ever made. It feels less like a consumer electronic device and more like a sheet of futuristic, flexible glass. For a company to even attempt this kind of engineering is bold, but to actually ship it is a statement that pushes the entire industry forward.Of course, this radical design comes with a significant trade-off. When fully folded into its 6.4-inch candybar form, the Mate XT is a chunky 12.8mm thick, a necessity of stacking three screen layers. Despite this, Huawei did not skimp on the internals, packing a massive 5,600mAh battery, up to 16GB of RAM, and a flagship-grade triple camera system. It is a device of fascinating contradictions, achieving the worlds thinnest unfolded profile while still delivering heavyweight performance. The Mate XT proves that the pursuit of slimness can coexist with a refusal to compromise on power, even if it requires a completely new form factor to do so.Honor Magic V5 4.1mm unfolded (2025)Before Huaweis tri-fold took the ultimate prize, the Honor Magic V5 was the undisputed champion of slim foldables. When unfolded, it measures an astonishing 4.1mm, a figure that makes most traditional slab phones look bulky. Its real magic, however, is its folded thickness of just 8.8mm. This was a groundbreaking achievement because it was the first time a book-style foldable felt less like a niche gadget and more like a normal, everyday smartphone when closed. It sits comfortably in a pocket and can be used one-handed without feeling cumbersome, solving one of the biggest usability hurdles for the form factor.Honor achieved this feat through meticulous engineering, from a custom super-light titanium hinge to the implementation of a high-density silicon-carbon battery. This allowed them to fit a huge 5,820mAh cell into a chassis that is thinner than many competitors with smaller batteries. The Magic V5 was the phone that proved a large-screen foldable did not have to come with a penalty in portability. It set a new benchmark for the entire category and directly triggered the slim-down we are seeing from its rivals, including Samsung.Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 4.2mm unfolded (2025)Samsungs response to Honors challenge is the Galaxy Z Fold 7, a device that shows how seriously the company is taking the thinness wars. At 4.2mm unfolded and around 8.9mm folded, its dimensions are within a hairs breadth of the Magic V5, signaling a direct and fierce competition. This is Samsung demonstrating that it can match its rivals millimeter for millimeter while bringing its own expertise in durability and software polish to the table. The near-imperceptible difference in thickness between the two devices highlights just how optimized the engineering has become at the highest level of the foldable market.While the numbers are impressive, Samsungs focus with the Z Fold 7 is on refining the complete user experience. The phone feels more rigid and durable than previous generations, with a stronger hinge and better screen protection. This focus on practical usability, combined with its class-leading software and multitasking features in One UI, makes the Z Fold 7 a formidable contender. It represents a mature and polished vision for what a slim, powerful foldable can be, proving that extreme thinness can be achieved without sacrificing the reliability that mainstream users expect.Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 5.8mm (2025)Samsungs Galaxy S25 Edge is a flagship entry that proudly claims the title of the thinnest slab phone from a major global brand in 2025, measuring a uniform 5.8mm. This is a deliberate design choice, positioning the Edge as the ultimate style statement within the S25 lineup. Crafted with a premium titanium frame and protected by Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2, it feels incredibly solid despite its featherlight 163-gram weight. The S25 Edge is a masterclass in minimalist design, exuding an aura of understated luxury.To achieve this extreme thinness, Samsung made strategic decisions, including equipping it with the smallest battery among the S25 series and omitting a dedicated telephoto lens. These choices highlight its focus as a design-first device, appealing to users who prioritize sleek aesthetics and a comfortable in-hand feel above all else. The S25 Edge is a clear signal that Samsung believes there is a strong market for phones that are as much about their physical presence as their internal capabilities.ZTE nubia Air 5.9mm at thinnest point (2025)Nubias Air enters the fray with an overall thickness of 6.7mm, but its design tapers to an impressive 5.9mm at its thinnest point along the frame. This makes it a serious contender in the ultra-slim candybar category, especially when considering its other remarkable features. The Nubia Air stands out by pairing its slender profile with an IP69K rating, offering exceptional dust and high-pressure water resistance. This level of ruggedness is almost unheard of in such a thin device, showcasing a sophisticated balance of form and function.Beyond its durability, the Nubia Air surprises with a substantial 5,000mAh battery, defying the expectation that thin phones must compromise on power. It also features a vibrant 6.78-inch AMOLED display, ensuring a premium visual experience. Nubia has engineered a phone that not only looks incredibly sleek but also offers the resilience and endurance needed for everyday use. It is a thought-provoking blend of delicate aesthetics and robust construction, proving that a thin phone can indeed be built to last.Tecno Spark Slim 5.93mm (2025)Tecnos strategy in the thinness race appears to be a two-pronged attack unleashed at IFA 2025, with the Spark Slim representing the purists choice. At 5.93mm, it is the absolute thinnest modern candybar phone you can buy today, period. There is a beautiful simplicity to this device; its primary reason for being is to achieve that single, headline-grabbing number. The design is flat, clean, and minimalist, leaning into the aesthetic that makes thin devices feel so satisfying to hold. This is not a phone weighed down by excessive features; it is a focused exercise in industrial design.By stripping back the complexity, Tecno has created a device that makes a singular, powerful statement. The Spark Slim is for the consumer who is captivated by the raw appeal of an incredibly thin object. It democratizes this design-first philosophy, bringing an obsessive level of slimness to a market segment that rarely sees such engineering focus. In a world of do-everything gadgets, there is something refreshing about a phone that unabashedly prioritizes form to this degree, proving that sometimes, the spec sheets most important number is the one with mm next to it.Tecno Pova Slim 5G 5.95mm (2025)If the Spark Slim is the purist, the Pova Slim is the pragmatist. It is only two-hundredths of a millimeter thicker at 5.95mm, a difference that is functionally imperceptible. What you get for that negligible trade-off, however, is a suite of modern, premium features that make it a more well-rounded device. The Pova Slim boasts a gorgeous curved AMOLED display and 5G connectivity, elevating it from a simple design statement to a genuinely competitive mid-range smartphone. It is Tecnos way of saying that you do not have to give up contemporary features to get a super-slim phone.This device is arguably the more compelling of the two for the average buyer. It successfully blends its headline thinness with the practicalities of a modern smartphone, including a substantial 5,160mAh battery. The Pova Slim challenges the very notion of compromise, offering a sleek, premium-feeling device that does not skimp on screen quality, battery life, or connectivity. It is a testament to clever component packaging and a sign that the benefits of the thinness trend are finally trickling down to phones that balance form and function beautifully.Oppo R5 4.85mm (2014)Now for a trip back in time. In 2014, Oppo released the R5, a phone so shockingly thin that it sent ripples through the entire industry. At just 4.85mm, it was a marvel of miniaturization, featuring a hand-polished steel frame and a beautiful AMOLED display. To put that into perspective, it is a full millimeter thinner than todays slimmest candybar phones. The R5 was a bold declaration of engineering prowess and a testament to how far a company would go in the pursuit of a design record. It felt futuristic at the time, and its thinness is still impressive even by todays standards.The R5 is also famous for a major compromise it made to achieve its slimness: it was one of the first mainstream phones to remove the 3.5mm headphone jack. This decision was highly controversial back then, but it proved to be incredibly prescient, foreshadowing a trend that would become the industry standard years later. The Oppo R5 remains a landmark device, a beautiful and divisive piece of tech that pushed the boundaries of what was possible and gave us a glimpse into the future of smartphone design, for better or worse.vivo X5 Max 4.75mm (2014)Just when the world thought 4.85mm was the absolute limit, vivo arrived weeks later in 2014 and dropped a bombshell: the X5 Max. Measuring an almost unbelievable 4.75mm, it officially became, and still remains, the thinnest slab smartphone ever created. To achieve this, vivos engineers redesigned and stacked internal components with microscopic precision, creating a motherboard that was just 1.7mm thick. The result was a device that felt less like a phone and more like a thin sliver of metal and glass, a true razor-thin gadget.What makes the vivo X5 Maxs achievement even more legendary is that it managed to do what the Oppo R5 could not: it included a 3.5mm headphone jack. This was a direct and brilliant feat of engineering, proving that even at the absolute bleeding edge of thinness, user-friendly features did not have to be sacrificed. The fact that no candybar phone in the decade since has managed to surpass this record speaks volumes. The X5 Max is not just a thin phone; it is a monument to a time when the race for thinness produced one of the most remarkable engineering achievements in mobile history.Apple iPhone Air (Rumored thickness TBD)Apples rumored iPhone Air represents perhaps the most significant wildcard in this entire discussion. While concrete specifications remain under wraps, industry whispers suggest Apple is preparing to enter the ultra-thin smartphone arena in a major way, potentially targeting sub-6mm territory. This would mark a dramatic philosophical shift for a company that has spent recent years prioritizing camera capabilities and battery life over extreme slimness. The timing feels deliberate, arriving just as competitors have proven that modern thin phones can maintain flagship performance and reasonable battery life. If the rumors prove accurate, Apples entry could legitimize the thin phone trend for mainstream consumers in a way that no other manufacturer can match.The elephant in the room, however, is whether Apple has truly moved past the bendgate controversies that plagued the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Those incidents created a lasting association between Apple and structural fragility in thin designs, a reputation the company has worked hard to overcome. An iPhone Air would represent either supreme confidence in their materials engineering or a calculated risk that the markets appetite for thinness outweighs durability concerns. Given Apples typical approach to product launches, we can expect them to address this history head-on, likely showcasing rigorous stress testing and premium materials. The success or failure of an iPhone Air could determine whether the industrys current obsession with thinness becomes a lasting trend or a cautionary tale.The post Ranking the Worlds Thinnest Phones: Why a 10-Year-Old Record Still Hasnt Been Broken first appeared on Yanko Design.

Designing a small apartment is all about making every inch count, and The Emerald Apartment (by Lena Bryantseva) shows exactly how its done. Here, functionality leads the wayclever storage solutions, multipurpose furniture, and clean layouts ensure the space feels open rather than cramped. But practicality doesnt mean plain. Bold emerald green accents add a burst of personality. They turn this compact apartment into a stylish modern home. From the frosted glass partitions that create flexible zones to the sleek dining area that doubles as a workspace, every detail is thoughtfully designed for both living and style.In small apartments, the living and dining space often has to do it alland in The Emerald Apartment, it does so beautifully. The frosted glass partitions are a clever move: they divide the bedroom from the lounge without shutting out light, keeping the whole apartment feeling open and airy. The sofa tucks neatly along the wall, leaving just enough breathing room for the dining area to shine at the center.And lets talk about those emerald green chairs. They anchor the space with a sense of richness, making the dining table feel like a design statement rather than an afterthought. The round glass table adds to the effect: it reflects light, keeps sightlines clear, and makes the room feel bigger than it is.Every piece here earns its keep. From the compact kitchen setup with marble finishes to the way the dining zone doubles as a workspace, this is functional design at its best.The bedroom in The Emerald Apartment proves that a compact space can still feel like a retreat. Separated by frosted glass panels, it has just enough privacy while still borrowing light from the rest of the apartment. The bed itself is low and cozy. It is dressed in soft neutral tones that make the room feel calm and uncluttered.Storage is cleverly integrated. Built-in shelving and drawers run along one wall, creating plenty of space to tuck things away while keeping the design clean. A small desk by the window doubles as a workspace, framed by greenery for a fresh touchshowing that even in a small footprint, you can carve out zones for living, resting, and working.

Artist in residence: take a tour of a versatile home studio designed for all occasions.

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Wondering what youre missing out on? Here are our favorite smartphones not officially sold stateside but are available in markets like the UK and Europe.

He and a partner made their co-working locations feel like private clubs. Among his other ventures, he sought to slash the cost of in vitro fertilization by using robotics and A.I.

MacworldIn just three days, Apple will hold a press event to announce its latest round of new products. Weve seen the artwork, weve read the tagline (Awe Dropping), and we can be pretty sure the iPhone 17 will make an appearance. But everything else is shrouded in mystery.Until now. Yes, thats right. Once again, Macworld sent a team of hard-bitten journalists to rummage through the bins at Apple Park, and once again, they hit pay dirt: the full presentation script, storyboards, rehearsal tapes, props, costumes, one of those old-timey movie clapperboards, and several half-eaten sandwiches. Weve eaten the sandwiches and used the rest to painstakingly construct a minute-by-minute simulation of the iPhone 17 launch event, which you can enjoy below.Just to be 100 percent clear, this isnt real. Our script is based on detailed analysis of credible leaks and rumors, with a few (hopefully obvious) jokes mixed in. Please dont send in any more angry emails.Introductory guff09:58 a.m.: Were live! The pre-stream is up and running. If youre thinking the music sounds familiar, its Platitude Queen by Onion Terror. Which of course was used earlier this year in the opening credits of Apple TV+s gritty remake of Keeping Up Appearances. What a triumphant performance that was from Margot Robbie.10:00: The stream proper begins. Cut to a darkened city street. A young woman is jogging from streetlight to streetlight, glancing periodically at the workout stats on her Apple Watch Ultra. (Is that a bigger watch, or a small actress?) You can do this! the watch says, surprisingly. Just one mile to go. Vitals steady. Plenty of energy left. Youre on track to beat your personal best!10:02: A middle-aged man on a graffitied subway train taps his AirPods. Adjusting audio, it says. Blocking out the annoying guy next to you. Now hes in a restaurant. Translating from Cantonese, the headphones report, and he begins to order.10:04: An elderly woman takes out her iPhonewhich is in a case, so its hard to get a clear view of the designand summons Siri. Has there ever been a boy born who can swim faster than a shark? she asks. Still no, Siri replies wearily.10:06: And now the camera is flying through the clouds above Apple Park. It swoops down, and there, standing in front of the familiar rainbow sculpture, is Apple CEO Tim Cook. Good morning! he says. Weve got a fantastic show for you today.10:07: Apple products make the world a better place, Cook trills. They play a vital role at work and in our free time. They help us to improve our health and stay in touch with loved ones. They put the worlds knowledge at our fingertips. And they deliver sustainable shareholder value by hitting high-margin KPIs going forward.10:09: Todays event is going to focus on three areas, Cook says: iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. To talk us through the exciting changes coming to iPhone, its over to Kaiann.FoundryiPhone 1710.10: Kaiann Drance, Apples VP of iPhone product marketing, has got the big gig once again, after presenting the iPhone 16 last year. Shes standing next to a colossal iPhone box and looks alarmingly enthusiastic.10:11: Thanks Tim, great to be here, she says. Im super-excited to talk about iPhone! After last years thrilling iPhone 16 launch we sat down and asked ourselves one question: whats the absolute minimum we could change and still have people upgrade their phones, thereby maintaining a sustainable long-term revenue stream?10:12: And today Im proud to reveal the answer to that question! Please welcome iPhone 17: Another Year Has Passed.10:13: Time for a marketing video! And were seeing the new iPhone in all its glory. Which largely fits with the leaked images weve been bombarded with for the past three months: theres a handsome new purple finish (here we go again; Apple tried purple on the iPhone 12 and 14, then gave up on the color for a while), the blue model is much paler, and pink has vanished altogether (boo!). But the essence of the design appears the same: the two rear camera lenses, for example, remain in the same vertical alignment as on the iPhone 16.10:14: iPhone 17 is our best ever iPhone, Drance says smugly. We took everything you loved about iPhone 16 and made it fractionally better. Our brand-new A19 processor delivers market-leading performance on even the most demanding apps, while an upgraded 24MP front-facing camera ensures the sharpest selfies youve ever seen.10:16: And as for the screen goodness me, what a transformation! For the first time ever on a non-Pro iPhone, were offering an always-on display, but thats not all. All of this months new iPhones have LTPO screens with a stunning 120Hz rate and our popular ProMotion feature, so you can look forward to buttery-smooth animation while maintaining our usual exceptional battery life.10:18: Pre-orders for the iPhone 17 are open now, and it will ship on September 19. Prices start at $799 for the 128GB model, which is the same as the entry-level iPhone 16 last year. Evidently Apple managed to shrug off the effects of the tariffs, at least for now. Thats good news.10:19: Thats iPhone 17. We think youre going to love it.iPhone 17 Pro (and 17 Pro Max)10.20: Drance is sticking around, and were heading straight into the iPhone 17 Pro. No mention so far of the rumored iPhone 17 Air, but its a bit of a giveaway that the iPhone 17 was only shown in a single screen size. Presumably the Air will be announced later?10:21: Apples Pro series of iPhones are the industry standard for premium smartphone design, Drance says. In fact, they make even our standard iPhones look like disgusting trash. Needless to say, talking about the pathetic iPhone 17 just now was a real ordeal for me. So Im excited to announce iPhone 17 Pro.10:23: Were seeing the new handsets now. Most obviously, the rear camera module has been heavily redesigned: its now a broad bar that covers almost the full width of the phones back surface. (The camera lenses themselves, conversely, look the same.) And here too were seeing new color options, with the Pro models available in a startling new orange and a far more somber dark blue as well as the usual black, white, and gray. And is that a smaller Dynamic Island?10:25: Were talking performance. Is the 17 Pro getting a bump from 8GB to 12GB of RAM, as rumoured? Apple tends to be cagey about such things. iPhone 17 Pro is so powerful youll literally faint when you see it, says Drance, unhelpfully. The A19 Pro chip is faster than a peregrine falcon, which is the fastest animal on earth.10:26: Many people think its the cheetah, she adds. But its not.10:27: Camera performance should see a significant improvement. Aside from getting the same 24MP selfie camera as the iPhone 17, the 17 Pros telephoto lens has been bumped to a whopping 48MP, up from the 12MP lens on the 16 Pro. That means superior zoom performance, Drance says the Pro models now have a 7x optical zoom before the digital version kicks in.10:29: Heres an interesting change: the iPhone 17 Pro gets a mechanical aperture, which means you can customize the amount of light allowed through. This means an unprecedented level of control over the depth of field, Drance boasts. We dont know how this will work in practice, but on the Huawei Mate 50 Pro, you can choose from 10 steps between f/1.4 and f/4.0 or, as most of us will inevitably do, just leave the camera in auto mode.10:31: The iPhone 17 Pro has an industry-leading battery and will last you for a scarcely conceivable single day of usage before needing a charge. And charging is now faster than ever, thanks to a huge upgrade to MagSafe. Its been bumped from a maximum 25W to 50W, although this will depend on having a compatible charging puck (and power adapter) as well as the iPhone 17 Pro. You may just find a bottleneck in a different part of your charging setup.10:33: Were rattling through the iPhone 17 Pros other upgrades now. The screen has a new anti-glare finish (ahead of the event, we heard this was also going to be scratch-resistant, but perhaps Apple wants to avoid any references to its phones getting damaged). And theres a new Apple-designed Wi-Fi/Bluetooth chip, which Drance says will improve power efficiency.10:35: Thats iPhone 17 Pro: Anything Else Is Repulsive. We think youre going to love it. It comes out on September 19 and starts at oh wow, its $1,199 for the cheapest 17 Pro, a crazy $200 bump on last years model! Granted, you get twice as much storage (the 128GB model has been phased out), but still. The 17 Pro Max starts at $1,299, which is $100 more than the equivalent 16 Pro Max last year. This is a lot to take in.New Apple Watches10:36: Tim Cook is back. Thanks Kaiann! Were excited for you all to try out the new iPhone 17 range, which we expect to deliver profitable synergy in key market verticals and boost our customer retention analytics. Now on to Apple Watch, and for the last time, its over to Jeff.10:37: Wow, its Jeff Williams! Williams stepped down as Apple COO at the end of July, but he remains with the company until his retirement later this year. Clearly Cook persuaded him to do one last keynote before heading out the door. The man seems emotional: hes taken off his shoes and one of his socks.10:38: Thanks Tim, he says, visibly moved. You know, customers come up to me, big customers, tall customers, tears running down their customer faces, and they say, Jeff, the Apple Watch Series 10 is the greatest smartwatch in the world! How can you possibly top that?! And I say, were looking into that very strongly.10:39: So today, were proud to announce Apple Watch Series 11.10:40: Video time! And the new watch looks exactly the same as the Series 10 from last year. No new colors: it looks to again be available in black, silver, and rose gold, plus the dark and light titanium finishes. Still, you know. It looks nice. Its fine.10:42: Apple Watch is the most popular health device in the world, says Williams. It saves lives every day, and helps our customers to improve their fitness. And from today, those health benefits will become even more essential.10:44: The Series 11 has a new sensor that enables blood-pressure tracking, which could be pretty crucial in unlocking a range of new health featuresnot least the ability to detect hypertension and thereby predict strokes and heart attacks more accurately.10:46: The new Apple Watch also gets a new S11 processor, inevitably, although the actual benefits of that are unclear. (Ever found your Apple Watch slow? Didnt think so. Plus, pre-launch reports indicated that the S11 is essentially just a rebadged S10.) Whereas its upgrade to 5G connectivity is a nice surprise.10:48: Oh, were done. Thats Apple Watch Series 11. We think youre going to love it. It starts at $399 and will appear in stores starting September 19.10:50: Weve suddenly cut to yet another marketing video. Based on the colorsblue, yellow, pinkand general vibe, its surely a new SE model.10:52: Were proud to announce Apple Watch SE 3, says Cook. You know, for kids.10:53: The SE has been completely redesigned. Its made of plastic, and comes in a variety of bright colors. The display is bigger (up from 40/44mm to 41/45mm) to match the old Series 7 rather than the Series 5 which the last SE was based on. It also gets the S11 chip.10:55: The new Apple Watch SE starts at $249. Thats the same price as the previous model, with the extra cost of the larger screen and the economies of using plastic presumably cancelling each other out.Old news: The Apple Watch Ultra 2.Jim Martin / Foundry10:57: Were on to the Ultra now. And theres a slight redesign here: namely, a larger screen. Customers told us they loved the big, bright display on Apple Watch Ultra, but wondered if it could be even bigger? So were proud to announce that this years Ultra has 5 percent more screen real estate!10:59: The official line is that the screen size has increased from 49mm to 50mm. We understand that the resolution has gone up from 410502 to 422514, which is indeed 5.39 percent more pixels. And Williams insists the watch itself is no larger, thanks presumably to slimmer bezels around the screen.11:00: The Ultra 3, unsurprisingly, also gets the same upgrades as the Series 11: the S11 chip, 5G, and the new blood-pressure monitor.11:01: And were wrapping up for this section. Thats Apple Watch Ultra 3, says Williams. We think youre going to love it. It starts at $799 and will appear in stores on September 19. Its nice that the watches have escaped the price bump that hit the Pro iPhones.AirPods Pro 311:03: Were back to Tim Cook, who wipes a tear and does that namaste thing hes so fond of. Thanks Jeff, and enjoy retirement! he says. And now, on to AirPods.11:04: AirPods stand for all that is great about Apple, he says. They are beautifully designed, supremely functional, and capable of sustaining high-margin profitability across key demos in challenging market conditions. For more AirPods news, its over to Kate.11:06: Thanks Tim! says Kate Bergeron, Apples VP of hardware engineering. (She announced new AirPods at the Glowtime event last year.) Lets talk AirPods Pro.Want a slimmer case? Youll want the AirPods Pro 3.Foundry11:07: Its video time, and were watching the new AirPods Pro swooping and floating around an abstract landscape. First things first, Apple hasnt removed the stems to match the Beats Studio Buds, as was rumored for some time. Its not a radical redesign, then. But there are some other noticeable changes: the buds now seem more streamlined, the charging case is a different shape, and theyre available in black!11:10: We know that the convenient, slimline charging case is one of the things you love most about AirPods Pro, Bergeron says, not unreasonably. So we decided to make it even better. Confirmation that the new case is slimmer, much like the AirPods 4 case, and is paired by simply tapping the case rather than having a dedicated pairing button. And theres no lanyard loop! Sad.11.12: On to the earbuds themselves, which are getting a ton of new features. (This is what happens when you dont properly update a product for three years.) It has a new H3 chip. There are heart-rate and temperature sensors. And, as rumored, it supports live translation!11.14: AirPods Pro deliver industry-leading audio quality, Bergeron says, and thats truer than ever with the new third-generation model. Youll feel like youre in the room with your favorite artists thanks to the exceptional immersion of Spatial Audio.11.15: Active Noise Cancellation has been upgraded, too. It will filter out all the background noises you want to avoid, Bergeron says, but with the latest version of Adaptive Audio, you can be as selective as you like.11.16: Thats AirPods Pro 3. We think youre going to love it. Looks like this section (and perhaps the presentation?) is finished. The device starts at $249 and ships on September 19. Oh, but hang on: Bergeron just added that the live translation feature will arrive later in the, or a, year. It must have been delayed.One more thing11:18: Cook is back. Thanks Kate, and thanks to all of our presenters tonight, he says. Were excited for you to experience all these great products and boost our Q1 top-line revenue performance in line with analyst expectations. And in the end, isnt that what technology is all about?11.19: But before we go, theres just One More Thing Id like to discuss11.20: Video time. Ah, this must be the iPhone 17 Air at last. And what a beauty it is. Its just breathtakingly slim. People are going to love this thing (although they may not love the compromises it comes with).Majin Bu/X11:22: The 17 Air is wildly different from the other models in the range. Aside from being just 5.5mm thick, it has only one camera lens on the rear (inside an oddly broad module) and another on the front. Those are decent cameras, mind you: 24MP on the front, and 48MP on the rear.11:24: It also has its own set of colors: the standard black and white, plus a light blue that, for some reason, is lighter than the one on the iPhone 17, and a light gold that doesnt appear anywhere else in the current range.11:26: No word on the battery capacity, but it must be far, far less than on the other models. Cook only says the Air will last for a full day. Thats not very reassuring.11:27: If youre worried about a repeat of Bendgate, its at least clear that Apple has taken that threat seriously. The Air has a titanium-aluminum alloy metal frame for added strength. (Plus, the even more slender iPad Pro which launched last year doesnt seem prone to bending, so theres that.)11:29: iPhone 17 Air delivers industry-leading performance in an unprecedentedly slimline package, Cook boasts. What that means, apparently, is the A19 processor rather than the A19 Pro (and reportedly a slower GPU, although Apple wont confirm that at this point).11:31: This is iPhone 17 Air: Oh God Why?, says Cook. We think youre going to love it. It starts at $1,099. Oof! Thats a lot for a phone that really isnt Pro-specced. Although it does get 256GB of storage as a minimum.11:32: And that really is your lot. Cook thanks the presenters once again, then does a celebratory backflip. Stay classy, Cupertino!Apples Awe Dropping event is set for September 9, 2025. Want to know what to expect? Were anticipating new hardware releases including the iPhone 17 (running iOS 26), Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3 and SE 3rd-gen (running watchOS 26), and potentially new AirPods. Find out how, when, and where to watch the Apple September Event, and keep tuned to our Event Guide for all the latest coverage.

The European Commission (EC) on Friday hit Google with a 2.95 billion ($3.46 billion) antitrust fine for abusive practices in its adtech business. But observers said that IT leaders should look at the decision as a warning about a potential wave of global regulatory decisions on tech issues.For example, Friday also saw a major genAI player settling a case involving piracy of AI model training data. Anthropic on Friday told federal court officials that it had settled its genAI copyright lawsuit for $1.5 billion, a settlement possible because a federal judge last month dismissed other copyright claims.This is hardly Googles first compliance challenge in Europe, or in other parts of the planet.And the EC statement described the Google fine as limited to one case against the company, keeping the door open to potential future actions.The European Commission has fined Google 2.95 billion for breaching EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in the advertising technology industry. It did so by favoring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competing providers of advertising technology services, advertisers and online publishers, the EC statement said. The Commission has ordered Google to bring these self-preferencing practices to an end and to implement measures to cease its inherent conflicts of interest along the adtech supply chain.Other Tech Issues To Come Into PlayObservers saw the enterprise IT impact as potentially substantial, given the large number of technology issues before regulators in Europe in addition to many other geographies.This fine is bigger than Google and ads. Its Europe signaling that technology monopolies, whether in ad-tech, AI, quantum, or open source, will face scrutiny, said Stephen Klein, CEO of Curiouser.AI and a senior lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley. For enterprise IT leaders, that means regulation is now part of the roadmap. Just as we architect for security and scalability, well need to architect for compliance and fairness.Klein added, however, that this fine is unlikely to change Googles behavior.Google has no incentive to stop. For Google, EU fines are simply the cost of doing business. Since 2017, Brussels has fined the company over 11 billion [$12.9 billion], yet in that same period Googles ad business has generated more than a trillion dollars in revenue, Klein said. The economics are obvious. The profits from bending the rules vastly outweigh the penalties. Until regulators restructure the business, this cycle of rule-breaking and fines will continue.Others echoed the sentiment that this fine wont likely change Googles behavior.Brian Levine, a former federal prosecutor who today serves as the executive director of a directory of former government and military specialists called FormerGov, said this fine will likely be seen by Google as a rounding error.[It] is an enormous fine to almost any company, except perhaps for the company at issue here, Levine said, adding that the compliance push might cause consolidation, or at least cooperation/alliances, among the major technology vendors.Richard Bird, the chief security officer at Singulr AI, agreed that the fine is unlikely to materially impact Google.Since Google was founded, theyve had to pay nearly $20 billion in fines for lawsuits and regulatory actions globally. Either they have terrible lawyers or their old motto of Do no evil was propaganda, Bird said. This isnt remotely the only time theyve been hammered for their unfair practices. But the numbers of dollars in fines compared to their last 20 years of revenue is laughable, and clearly not near enough to get them to fix or change their practices. Or get better lawyers.Industry Consolidation?This kind of regulatory action may make smaller vendors reach out to the larger ones, with a greater appetite for working together, Levine said.[It] might make the big [vendors] out there more open to partnerships, to sharing the wealth and to less tying, he added, referring to the anti-trust legal concept in which a seller with substantial market share forces customers buying one product to also buy a different one of its products.Erik Avakian, a technical counselor at Info-Tech Research Group and former state CISO for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, also anticipated substantial tech changes from the compliance push.Tech leaders, especially those in highly regulated industries like finance or healthcare, need to treat situations like this as a strategic risk, Avakian said. Its an opportunity to push back against lock-in and demand more transparency around how analytics and cloud services are bundled. Better yet, look to decouple wherever possible.[Enterprise IT executives] need to ask providers tougher questions. The fact that structural remedies are now on the table, and not just fines, means that the tools and platforms your organization relies on could change fast or be broken apart, Avakian said. If your entire digital or marketing stack is tightly integrated with one vendors ecosystem, then its time to reassess the risk.

The Alameda Police Department has seized various items of evidence related to an illegal gambling investigation, including slot machines and cash.The Alameda Police Department followed up on reports of a possible illegal gambling den. After a detailed investigation, officers executed a search warrant at a home in the 600 block of Haight Avenue on September 2.The searching officers on the scene found and seized slot machines, table games, firearms, ammunition, cash, and drug paraphernalia. The individuals located at the scene were issued citations by the Alameda Police Department, while all the gambling equipment, alleged to be there illegally, was removed from the property.The Alameda Police Department remains committed to addressing illegal activity that impacts the safety and quality of life of our community, the department said in a statement shared to Facebook. This case remains open and is being followed up by APDs Investigations Unit.A video shared to Facebook as well showed the use of drones as part of the investigation, as well as shots of the machines, gambling paraphernalia, and cash that were seized as part of the operation. At the time of writing, the Alameda Police Department has not how many people were apprehended at the location, what the citations included, or how long the activity was suspected to have taken place.Crackdown on illegal slot machines across the USSimilar seizures of slot machines and illegal gambling equipment have been seized across the US, with nearly 250 slot machines seized in Florida last month. In a drug bust in San Francisco, several illegal gambling machines were seized, thought to be part of making money for a wider criminal enterprise.Those convicted of owning or running an illegal slot machine or gambling operation could face property seizures, steep fines, and up to five years in federal prison.Featured image: Alameda Police DepartmentThe post Alameda Police seize illegal slot machines and cash in ongoing investigation appeared first on ReadWrite.

This is todays edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of whats going on in the world of technology.Putin says organ transplants could grant immortality. Not quite.Jessica HamzelouEarlier this week, my editor forwarded me a video of the leaders of Russia and China talking about immortality. These days at 70 years old you are still a child, Chinas Xi Jinping, 72, was translated as saying.With the developments of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, and people can live younger and younger, and even achieve immortality, Russias Vladimir Putin, also 72, is reported to have replied.In reality, rounds of organ transplantation surgery arent likely to help anyone radically extend their lifespan anytime soon. And its a simplistic way to think about aginga process so complicated that researchers cant agree on what causes it, why it occurs, or even how to define it, let alone treat it. Read the full story.This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Reviews weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here.India is using robots to clean sewer pipes so humans no longer have toWhen Jitender was a child in New Delhi, both his parents worked as manual scavengersa job that involved clearing the citys sewers by hand. Now, he is among almost 200 contractors involved in the Delhi governments effort to shift from this manual process to safer mechanical methods.Although it has been outlawed since 1993, manual scavengingthe practice of extracting human excreta from toilets, sewers, or septic tanksis still practiced widely in India. And not only is the job undignified, but it can be extremely dangerous.Now, several companies have emerged to offer alternatives at a wide range of technical complexity. Read the full story.Hamaad HabibullahThis story is from our new print edition, which is all about the future of security. Subscribe here to catch future copies when they land.The must-readsIve combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.1 RFK Jr buried a major study linking alcohol and cancerClearly, the alcohol industrys intense lobbying of the Trump administration is working. (Vox)+ RFK Jr repeated health untruths during a marathon Senate hearing yesterday. (Mother Jones)+ His anti-vaccine stance alarmed Democrats and Republicans alike. (The Atlantic $)2 US tech giants want to embed AI in educationTheyre backing a vaguely worded initiative to that effect launched by Melania Trump. (Rolling Stone $)+ Tech leaders took it in turns to praise Trump during dinner. (WSJ $)+ Elon Musk was nowhere to be seen. (The Guardian)+ AIs giants want to take over the classroom. (MIT Technology Review)3 The FTC will probe AI companies over their impact on childrenIn a bid to evaluate whether chatbots are harming their mental health. (WSJ $)+ An AI companion site is hosting sexually charged conversations with underage celebrity bots. (MIT Technology Review)4 Podcasting giant Joe Rogan has been spreading climate misinformationHes grossly misinterpreted scientists researchand theyre exasperated. (The Guardian)+ Rogan claims the Earths temperature is plummeting. It isnt. (Forbes)+ Why climate researchers are taking the temperature of mountain snow. (MIT Technology Review)5 DeepSeek is working on its own advanced AI agentWatch out, OpenAI. (Bloomberg $)6 OpenAI will start making its own AI chips next yearIn a bid to lessen its reliance on Nvidia. (FT $)7 Warner Bros is suing MidjourneyThe AI startup used the likenesses of characters including Superman without permission, it alleges. (Bloomberg $)+ What comes next for AI copyright lawsuits? (MIT Technology Review)8 Rivers and lakes are being used to cool down buildingsBut networks in Paris, Toronto, the US are facing a looming problem. (Wired $)+ The future of urban housing is energy-efficient refrigerators. (MIT Technology Review)9 How high school reunions survive in the age of social mediaCuriosity is a powerful driving force, it seems. (The Atlantic $)10 Facebooks poke feature is back If I still used Facebook, Id be thrilled. (TechCrunch)Quote of the dayEven if it doesnt turn you into the alien if you eat this stuff, I guarantee youll grow an extra ear.Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, warns of dire consequences if Americans eat shrimp from countries other than the US, Gizmodo reports.One more thingWhy one developer wont quit fighting to connect the USs gridsMichael Skelly hasnt learned to take no for an answer. For much of the last 15 years, the energy entrepreneur has worked to develop long-haul transmission lines to carry wind power across the Great Plains, Midwest, and Southwest. But so far, he has little to show for the effort.Skelly has long argued that building such lines and linking together the nations grids would accelerate the shift from coal- and natural-gas-fueled power plants to the renewables needed to cut the pollution driving climate change. But his previous business shut down in 2019, after halting two of its projects and selling off interests in three more.Skelly contends he was early, not wrong. And he has a point: market and policymakers are increasingly coming around to his perspective. Read the full story.James TempleWe can still have nice thingsA place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet em at me.)+ The Paper, the new mockumentary from the makers of the American Office, looks interesting.+ Giorgio Armani was a true maestro of menswear.+ The phases of the moon are pretty fascinating + The Damien Hirst-directed video for Blurs classic Country House has been given a 4K makeover.