The Philippou Brothers return with another movie after the huge success of Talk to Me.

A new rumor suggests the entire iPhone 17 family could launch with 120Hz displays, finally bringing Apple up to par with the competition years after high-refresh rate screens became standard for smartphones.

Apple said in August that the Vision Pro had 2,500 apps. According to one firm's analysis, fewer than 1,900 remain active.

Executives at Google and Meta said that Europe's artificial intelligence industry is being held back by excessive regulation.

Brandedis a weekly column devoted to the intersection of marketing, business, design, and culture.Not so long ago, Jeff Bezos seemed on the cusp of a triumphant second act. Handing off the CEO reins to his Amazon empire, he shifted attention to his rocket company, Blue Origin, with a mission to help humanity colonize the solar system; a couple of years ago, he even personally rode one its rockets into space. Meanwhile, he was treated as a hero for buying an ailing Washington Post, and under his ownership, the reenergized paper greeted the first Trump presidency with a dire but defiant new slogan: Democracy Dies in Darkness. Even in the rarified realm of tech centibillionaires, Bezos seemed pretty alpha.These days . . . not so much. In the past couple of weeks alone, Blue Origin announced it would lay off 10% of its workforce, and the Post attracted attention for declining to publish an ad critical of the second Trump presidency and the murky role of fellow (or rival) mega-billionaire Elon Musk. Whether Bezos had any direct role in the latter decision (the Post isnt talking), it adds to a series of incidents that suggest an effort to stay on the administrations good side. In other words, Bezoss personal brand seems to have faded from hard-charging, fearless visionary to just another rich guy trying to stay relevant.To be sure, Jeff Bezos isnt exactly in danger of losing his mega yacht. Amazon is still thrivingits share price hit a record high earlier this month, and its revenue just surpassed Walmartsalbeit under its new CEO. But consider the contrast to Musk, whose portfolio also includes a rocket company (SpaceX) and a media platform (the former Twitter). Even before the new Trump administration took office with Musk practically riding shotgun, SpaceX had established itself as a fixture in Americas space program, and notched achievements like a space walk and the furthest-out orbital flight in 50 years.The Bezos brand, meanwhile, has bogged down. Blue Orbits layoffs of an estimated 1,000 employeesthe company pointed to a workforce that had become bloated during a period of fast growthfollowed a successful launch of its 320-foot New Glenn reusable rocket. But that launch was about five years later than originally planned, and the company is widely seen as lagging behind SpaceX (even though it is actually a couple of years older). It will surely remain in the hunt for NASA and Department of Defense contracts, but not in the lead. Were obviously huge fans, Blue Origins CEO has said of the new Trump regimes seemingly space-friendly agenda.Lots of tech leaders seem to be jockeying to be perceived as, if not already huge fans, then at least optimistic and noncritical players in whatever the Trump agenda turns out to be. But few have attracted more critical blowback for this apparent attitude shift than Jeff Bezos.Again, Musk is the most glaring contrast, having become a de facto-power player within the administration, a role he both amplifies and leverages with his X social media network. Bezos was just one tech titanalongside Metas Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, among othersattending Trumps inauguration, donating to his inaugural fund, and joining the crowd of chief executives seeking to curry favor with, or at least escape the spite of, the president. But while many have been accused of shamelessly displaying fealty, Bezos has taken the most lumps.This traces back to his ownership of the Post and the surprising decision that the paper would not make a presidential endorsement, just as it was poised to endorse Kamala Harrisand shortly before Blue Origins CEO was to have a meeting with Trump. Bezos denied any quid pro quo, but critics saw the incident as kowtowing. Subsequent episodesa cartoonist quitting the Post when one of her anti-Trump pieces was rejected, and now the papers decision to turn away ads from the nonpartisan advocacy group Common Causes calling for Musks ouster from his ill-defined government rolehave only added to a sense of caution and vulnerability that feels like the opposite of vintage Bezos.As the Post itself has reported, its not just Blue Origin that will need smooth government relations. Amazon (where Bezos remains executive chairman) has major federal contracts for its cloud division, with billions more in Pentagon contracts up for grabs in the years ahead. And in the past, Trump hasnt been shy about blaming Jeff Bozo for Post coverage he didnt like, and other perceived slights. The main criticism of Peak Bezos was that he could be severely demanding and hypercompetitive. Given the presidents penchant for retribution, maybe the most competitive move Bezos still has is not antagonizing him.And for the moment, at least, that seems to be working. Trump certainly hasnt had anything negative to say about Jeff Bezos lately. Maybe with this version of Bezos, he neednt bother.

After years of working in PR and branding for luxury beauty, Jaimee Lupton decided to break away and disrupt the space by making beauty products that are accessible. With her business partner and real-life partner Nick Mowbray, she launched Monday haircare in 2020.Lupton saw a gap in the market for a brand that was targeted toward a younger demographic. There were few haircare brands that addressed the needs of younger customers, and even fewer who knew how to speak to those customers through their branding, messaging, and packaging. Lupton knew the power of a personalized message, and she created Monday with that in mind.The haircare company has received its fair share of accolades since it launched. Beauty outlet Glossy named Monday Haircare Brand of the Year for 2024, and the company has 21 other major beauty awards to its name, including from Allure, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and InStyle. Its currently the number-one haircare brand globally on TikTok, according to statistics from the platform measured by the most liked and most followed haircare brands.The brand is on track to reach half-a-billion dollars of retail salesno easy feat for five years of business.The success of Monday then set her up to self-fund other brands. It also put her on the radar of retailers, whichbegan to ask Lupton to work with them to create new bespoke brands. She has since done so with retail partners including Target, Walmart, and Ulta. In the span of five years, Lupton founded five other beauty brands, with more currently in development, maker her a kind of big box Gen Z beauty whisperer in the process.[Photo: Monday]Luptons bespoke portfolio of accessible brandsLuptons most recent brand launch is Daise, a range of playful, mood-matching fragrance and bodycare, which launched February 1 at Target.Its a clear play for younger, emerging markets, Lupton says, referring to the specific spending potential of Gen Z. Theyre in control of $450 billion of spending power, and thats set to increase by 48% before 2030, so theyre a huge demographic that we need to be able to target, says Lupton, referring to a 2021 World Economic Forum statistic cited by Snapchat and November 2022 Gen Z report by Afterpay. She also notes, referring to a report by consumer insights platform aytm, that Gen-Alpha is now the fastest emerging group of beauty consumer. Daise is a way to tap into that purchasing power early, too.[Photo: Daise]It seems to be working. The brand had $1 million in retail sales in just one week, according to Daise sale statistics, and is forecasting over $50 million in retail sales in the first year. The company hit $400,000 of sales in the first four days of launch in Ulta. On February 1, Daise launched at Target. Lupton says that the number of sales are looking more impressive every day as the brand builds.Lupton described Daises creation as a way to build a fun self-care brand where beauty could meet play, and isnt taken too seriously. This manifests in the fragrances many form factors, like spritz, mists, and foams, all with youthful appeal. The visual brand is all very Gen Z-oriented, utilizing many of the visual tools of brands targeting similar demographics. It includes bright, sunny colors, like yellow and light purple, with a sans serif all caps type, and bold gradients with combinations such as pink and orange or blue and green that seem to speak to a younger generation.Its form factors also stand out on the shelf. The body foam, which comes in a uniquely styled body whip, is one example. Daise is one of the first brands to do this at Target and Ulta, creating a product range that is unique to consumers, especially for younger consumers. (Suncare brand Vacation is perhaps most known for popularizing this novel form factor, with its whipped sunscreen that comes in a spray can.) The body mist, bath bombs, and lip balm come in the shape of a flower, with designs including sprinkles or daisies.[Photo: Being]Prior to Daise, Lupton launched Being Haircare in July of 2024 with Walmart, after the mega-retailer asked Lupton to create a haircare brand that was in one aisle and on one shelf, and that could target everyone across demographics and for every hair type. The brand has vivid, color-on-color packaging that carries through to its website, type, photography, and styling.Being was the number-one brand for the retailer in the haircare space in the first three months of its launch. Similarly to Daise, Lupton harnessed Instagram and TikTok marketing as they launched in store aisle endcaps. Its all around being you, says Lupton. And its not a segregation of brands. Were a unisex brand, and the products are shopping arranged for each hair type, noting it will expand into masks and treatments.[Photo: Being]Lupton has a few other brands in her portfolio. Theres Chlon, which according to its website, she made with a leading Parisian perfumer to create scents that convey elegance and tradition but fit into modern life. Then theres Osna Naturals, which is described on its website as a skin- and haircare range crafted with care to nourish both body and mind. Both ranges are free from sulfates, phthalates, and parabens, and are certified cruelty-free, dermatologically tested, and suitable for all skin types.While the brands may target different sectors, the mission across her portfolio of brands stays the same: providing accessible beauty for everyone.Digital-first with a major retail footprintLuptons North Star is to be a modern day LOreal: creating accessible brands that modern consumers want. To do so, Lupton has taken a two-prong approach: the brands have an in-house digital team, but they are also partnering with big retailers. With this strategy, she taps into a beauty business model that has proven success: launching a digital-first brand with a brick-and-mortar retail footprint.I would say were 90% digital in terms of our marketing spend, and we create really unique ways in which we speak to [consumers] on digital platforms, Lupton says, citing the brands creator studios, influencers its consumers naturally migrate toward, and UGC content which together creates a multiplatform digital brand destination.Though Lupton markets her brands as a direct-to-consumer, the digital-first marketing approach is complimented by physical presence in stores like Target, which she views as tween destinations. She explained that the goal is to make the products accessible in terms of price point and purchasabilitybeing able to go to a store and grab a product off the shelf. Retail partners are a big part of how far they have been able to go.Lupton plans on continuing to grow her brands and expand her portfolio into a bigger range, including treatments and styling. There is a lot in the pipeline for Lupton. She has about 22 brands in development, and intends to roll out all of them in the next three years.

The cloud is great and all, but years after the hype has died down, people have come to realize its not the data storage panacea they thought it would be. Yes, it provides access to files on any device and anywhere you are, but youre really at the mercy of a stable and reliable Internet connection. Plus, youre forced to accept and believe in the privacy policy of cloud storage providers, not to mention hoping against all hope they never go under, get taken down, or simply block your account for one reason or another.Network-attached storage or NAS devices offer a bit of a compromise in that regard, providing oodles of data storage space you can access locally or remotely, depending on your setup. Most NAS products, however, have a fixed number of slots for drives and an aesthetic that looks like youre running a mini server from your desk. This fresh new NAS design, however, bucks the trend by providing not only a modular system that you can fit your needs but also an aesthetic object you can proudly display on your desk.Designer: Whipsaw for GridStackAlthough the technical details might be a bit complicated, the concept behind a NAS is pretty straightforward. You basically have a box that holds a collection of hard drives or SSDs to serve as a single data storage space or, alternatively split between storage and automated backups. These are often placed in homes and small offices and can be accessed through a fast wired connection or a local wireless network. They can even be configured to be remotely accessible, practically giving you your personal cloud storage.These NAS products have been around for many years, preceding even the birth of the cloud, and their designs havent exactly evolved over time. You still have a box, often silver or black, with bays or holders for storage drives. Theyre designed for functionality and not for looks as if those two are mutually exclusive goals. They also have a fixed number of bays available, requiring you to buy another box if you ever need more.In that regard, GridStack is rather innovative in that it goes beyond the simple slot-based design to allow for some level of flexibility to add drives or change the type of drives you need. In practice, it means having two boxes that can hold a combination of two HDDs or five SSDs, but the twist is that you can remove these boxes and swap them out for one or the other combination. It doesnt just offer more slots than a typical five-bay NAS but also the ability to change those on the fly as well.The most striking part about GridStack, however, is its aesthetics. Designed with creative professionals in mind, the solid aluminum blocks give the device a more premium and stylish appearance that doesnt scream tech at you. Considering its bound to be left untouched for long periods of time, GridStack is intentionally designed to look good and stand proud on any desk, perhaps trying to reflect the sophisticated tastes of its owner.The post Modular NAS box offers a sleek and future-proof data storage solution first appeared on Yanko Design.

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Wet filament is no longer just a myth, and filament dryers like the SUNLU FilaDryer E2 are helping to combat it.

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