Apples AirPods 4 earbuds are on sale via Amazon for just $100. This is a new record low price, representing a discount of $29. The deal is for the standard model and not the one with ANC. However, that model is also on sale for $149, which is a discount of 17 percent. These earbuds are generally considered some of the best AirPods on the market. The sound quality is improved over the previous generation, as is the overall design. This leads to a legitimately comfortable fit, which is something of a rarity in the earbud space. We noted in our official review that they dont fall out when moving around. This model features the H2 chip, which was introduced for the AirPods Pro. The H2 chip opens up plenty of high-tech features, like Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking. These earbuds also offer 48kHz audio for FaceTime calls and Adaptive EQ. Speaking of calls, Apples newly introduced Voice Isolation feature helps remove unwanted ambient noise when speaking on the phone. There are some features missing from these earbuds when compared to the companys higher-end models. These AirPods dont have onboard volume controls and theres no wireless charging. Also, theres no ANC on the entry-level buds. Again, the ANC-equipped version is also on sale today. Check out our coverage of the best Apple deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/apples-airpods-4-drop-to-a-record-low-of-100-152213060.html?src=rss

Android 16 Beta 3 has arrived, bringing with it a handful of useful new features that aim to improve accessibility, make it easier to monitor the longevity of your phone, and keep local networks secure.

Apple will, at long last, enabling end-to-end encryption for RCS messages, allowing iPhones and Android phones to text each other with the security encryption provides for the first time.

CEO Allan Thygesen said the company has "started to turn the corner on the core business."

Poppers have always operated in a legal gray zone. Now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is cracking down on their production.This week, many major poppers brands began wiping their websites and social media presences. On Friday, Double Scorpio, a popular isobutyl nitrite brand, posted a statement on its website. Double Scorpio has stopped all operations following a search and seizure at our offices by the FDA, it wrote.Poppers, which are packaged in liquid form and inhaled for a brief euphoric effect, generally need to be prescribed. Still, many manufacturers skirt the law by using alternate chemical formulas and advertising as nail polish remover and leather cleaner. The drug is most popular with LGBTQ+ consumers, something Robert F. Kennedy Jr., current head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has taken aim at. In his 2021 book, Kennedy spread the lie that poppers caused AIDS.Now his department oversees the FDA, which is part of HHS. We dont have a lot of information to shareIn its statement, Double Scorpio signaled an industry-wide crackdown. We dont have a lot of information to share but we believe that the FDA has performed similar actions towards other companies recently, the brand wrote. Two merchants who spoke with Fast Company anonymously to discuss information that wasnt public confirmed that additional producers have also been affected by the apparent crackdown.As a matter of policy, the FDA does not comment on possible criminal investigations, an FDA spokesperson wrote to Fast Company.Meanwhile, other brands have gone entirely silent or wiped their web presence. Pac-West Distributing (PWD), one of the producers of Rush, has replaced its website with a single graphic. It also shut down its phone number. Nitro-Solv, an online poppers retailer that advertised on PWDs site, has also since shut down.AFAB Industrial, another producer of Rush, has been the most public-facing of these producers. Its owner, Everett Farr, sat for an interview with BuzzFeed News in 2021, even as business associates worried about an FDA warning. (Why bring attention to yourself? one asked the outlet.) But AFAB has gone radio silent, too, shutting down its email and denying a request for comment over the phone.Are poppers legal?Once prescribed for chest pain to increase blood flow, poppers grew popular with LGBTQ+ people starting in the 1960s. Since then, their influence has ballooned, also becoming a popular party drug. While the United States has some rules about the production and distribution of poppers, they are rarely enforced.In the late 1960s, the FDA classified amyl nitrites as a prescription drug after observing recreational use. Many producers pivoted to producing butyl nitrites, which were banned over a decade later in the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. Isopropyl nitrites were banned two years later, but with an exception for commercial purposes, hence why many sellers masquerade as VCR cleaners or liquid incenses.But the FDA has been sparse with its crackdowns, save for a few advisories. In 2021, the FDA posted a warning for consumers not to ingest or inhale poppers. Two years later, it launched a social media campaign advising consumers on the difference between Rush and 5-Hour Energy bottles. This lack of enforcement has led many poppers brands, like Rush, Double Scorpio, and Jungle Juice, to create yearslong market dominance.What has RFK said about poppers?Robert F. Kennedy Jr. now runs the Department of Health and Human Services, which the FDA sits under. But Kennedy has long been spreading scientific misinformation about LGBTQ+ people, including that chemicals in the water are affecting childrens sexualities. Some of these falsehoods also concerned poppers.In his 2021 book The Real Anthony Fauci, Kennedy cited Peter Duesberg, a leader in AIDS denialism. Duesberg theorized that heavy recreational drug use caused immune deficiency in gay men, specifically linking the spread of AIDS to the usage of poppers. This theory has long been discredited; in 2008, Franoise Barr-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that HIV causes AIDS.

In his February 2025 cover story for The Atlantic, journalist Derek Thompson dubbed our current era the anti-social century.He isnt wrong. According to our recent research, the U.S. is becoming a nation of homebodies.Using data from the American Time Use Survey, we studied how people in the U.S. spent their time before, during, and after the pandemic.The COVID-19 pandemic did spur more Americans to stay home. But this trend didnt start or end with the pandemic. We found that Americans were already spending more and more time at home and less and less time engaged in activities away from home stretching all the way back to at least 2003.And if you thought the end of lockdowns and the spread of vaccines led to a revival of partying and playing sports and dining out, you would be mistaken. The pandemic, it turns out, mostly accelerated ongoing trends.All of this has major implications for traffic, public transit, real estate, the workplace, socializing, and mental health.Life insideThe trend of staying home is not new.There was a steady decline in out-of-home activities in the two decades leading up to the pandemic.Compared with 2003, Americans in 2019 spent nearly 30 minutes less per day on out-of-home activities and eight fewer minutes a day traveling. There could be any number of reasons for this shift, but advances in technology, whether its smartphones, streaming services, or social media, are likely culprits. You can video chat with a friend rather than meeting them for coffee; order groceries through an app instead of venturing to the supermarket; and stream a movie instead of seeing it in a theater.Of course, there was a sharp decline in out-of-home activities during the pandemic, which dramatically accelerated many of these stay-at-home trends.Outside of travel, time spent on out-of-home activities fell by over an hour per day, on average, from 332 minutes in 2019 to 271 minutes in 2021. Travel, excluding air travel, fell from 69 to 54 minutes per day over the same period.But even after the pandemic lockdowns were lifted, out-of-home activities and travel through 2023 remained substantially depressed, far below 2019 levels. There was a dramatic increase in remote work, online shopping, time spent using digital entertainment, such as streaming and gaming, and even time spent sleeping.Time spent outside of the home has rebounded since the pandemic, but only slightly. There was hardly any recovery of out-of-home activities from 2022 to 2023, meaning 2023 out-of-home activities and travel were still far below 2019 levels. On the whole, Americans are spending nearly 1.5 hours less outside their homes in 2023 than they did in 2003.While hours worked from home in 2022 were less than half of what they were in 2021, theyre still about five times what they were ahead of the pandemic. Despite this, only about one-quarter of the overall travel time reduction is due to less commuting. The rest reflects other kinds of travel, for activities such as shopping and socializing.Ripple effectsThis shift has already had consequences.With Americans spending more time working, playing, and shopping from home, demand for office and retail space has fallen. While there have been some calls by major employers for workers to spend more time in the office, research suggests that working from home in the U.S. held steady between early 2023 and early 2025 at about 25% of paid work days. As a result, surplus office space may need to be repurposed as housing and for other uses.There are advantages to working and playing at home, such as avoiding travel stress and expenses. But it has also boosted demand for extra space in apartments and houses, as people spend more time under their own roof. It has changed travel during the traditional morningand, especially, afternoonpeak periods, spreading traffic more evenly throughout the day but contributing to significant public transit ridership losses. Meanwhile, more package and food delivery drivers are competing with parked cars and bus and bike lanes for curb space.Perhaps most importantly, spending less time out and about in the world has sobering implications for Americans well beyond real estate and transportation systems.Research were currently conducting suggests that more time spent at home has dovetailed with more time spent alone. Suffice it to say, this makes loneliness, which stems from a lack of meaningful connections, a more common occurrence. Loneliness and social isolation are associated with increased risk for early mortality.Because hunkering down appears to be the new norm, we think its all the more important for policymakers and everyday people to find ways to cultivate connections and community in the shrinking time they do spend outside of the home.Brian D. Taylor is a professor of urban planning and public policy at the University of California, Los Angeles; Eric Morris is a professor of city and regional planning at Clemson University, and Sam Speroni is a PhD student in urban planning at the University of California, Los Angeles.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Here's what we looked at this week:Volkswagen previews their 20,000 electric car, designed with "likeable" looks.Fantastic UX design details in this Zilch bike pump.British company Power Roll has developed a solar-harvesting film that they say will be cheaper and easier to install than traditional solar panels. Early UI design: The world's first keyboard was invented for deaf-mutes in 1865."100 Ideas in Consumer Electronics," PSFK's free report on design trends in the sector.Which popular cars get into accidents most frequently?'90s design classic: Gaetano Pesce's Umbrella Chair.In Brazil, an apartment building with swimming pool balconies.Criaturas Infinitas: Getting kids to play and make things irl using pool noodles, not digital stuff.Guess why this doorway is shaped like this.Industrial Design student work: A walker for seniors with pets.Cybex's Solution G2 is a high-end adjustable, foldable child car seat.Fun with form: ID firm Intenxiv's cosmetic package designs.Eye Candy: A flashlight concept that doubles as a reading lamp, by industrial designer Onurhan Demir.This aftermarket Cybertruck shows that you can't fix a flawed design by adding more.UX rethink: From Japan, a physical timer with a progress bar.Vaarnii's pine veneer pendant lamps, based on the techniques of Swedish industrial designer Hans-Agne Jakobsson.Industrial design case study: Zenpack tackles high-end coffee package design for BigFace.

Coffee used to come in cans or bags, now it comes in little plastic totes. But when package design specialists Zenpack learned of the challenges faced by upstart coffee brand BigFace, the firm knew something more special was required.BIGFACE Coffee Pushing beyond the boundaries of coffee packaging to cause big smilesZenpack joined forces with creative studio Brandmonger to develop and produce otherworldly packaging for BIGFACE, the culture-shifting coffee brand founded by Miami Heat All-Star Jimmy Butler. In the NBA bubble of 2020, out of a passion for coffee and community, Butler began selling coffee to other players out of his hotel room. Taking the internet by storm, Jimmy's support among friends and fans was overwhelming, and his side hustle began to take shape. Butler enlisted Brandmonger to contextualize his idea into BIGFACE, but they needed a manufacturer to bring their big dreams to life.The ProblemBrandmonger's goal was to push beyond the boundaries of coffee packaging to imagine the impossible, with renders too good to be true. The resulting concept truly seemed just thatimpossible. They forged ahead searching far and wide for a manufacturer that would take on the challenge of creating a one for one recreation of a box that seemed it could only exist in the digital realm.The OutcomeWhen all hope seemed eclipsed by technical absurdities and manufacturing constraints, Zenpack came to the rescue. With a new alliance, came a new hope. And pushing past a gauntlet of design-imposed obstacles and stringent construction constraints, we sourced the perfect materials, innovated embossing techniques, and did the unthinkable: We took their impossible box, and brought it into the physical world. ChallengesUltimately, due to the ultra-precise nature of the design, the entire packaging system presented multiple challenges. We were determined to achieve perfect edges, hyper-tactile embossing, and unique bags while simultaneously keeping the beans fresh. We set out to create packaging too good to throw away.The emboss proved our first challenge. The dimensionality conceptualized in the renders, combined with the thickness of material, required a not-so-standard precision tool to push the logos far enough out of the surface to create the desired effect. We tested this effect over 30 times with different inks, coatings, and materials until we found the perfect three that would become Silver, Black, and White boxes. Rather than finding something off-the-shelf, we knew we needed to develop a completely custom bag to fit the unexpected proportions of the box. With an unconventional landscape orientation, the bag would surely stand out in a crowded coffee market, yet maintaining coffee bean quality was essential.For the exterior labels, coffee lovers value detailed information about the beans. The BIGFACE labels are the one temporal aspect to the packaging and are designed to be rotated as coffees change seasonally. But that didn't mean they couldn't feel special with a combination of Pantones, finishes, and substrates to maintain brand potency. We focused our efforts on developing a system for perfect sticker placement, every application. SolutionThe depth of the logo emboss at scale created a problem of its own. The embossed areas could be pushed back in if mishandled. We explored beyond packaging and enlisted a special technique similar to puff embroidery, filling the negative space with paper pulp, ensuring that the raised areas stay raised, forever.That covered the front of the box, but where other boxes may rely on the front to do all the work, this box needed to pull its weight from any angle.Painstaking precision was paid to every facet, using double folded corners that are knocked flat to create perfect edges, seams, and closures resulting in an effect usually reserved for luxury electronics packaging.We used a matte PP film to soften the feeling of these larger-than-life boxes, bringing a premium aspect to the finished products. An anti-scuff coating ensures that a material like the mirrored paper, which would otherwise show every scratch or mark, remained pristine after handling. The resealable bags fit perfectly into the boxes, providing an extra unboxing surprise. The tolerances for the bag corner radii were so specific, consistently precise production required a custom mold to stamp and further fuse the seams, ensuring an airtight seal. A one-way degassing valve, affectionately titled the "airlock" allows for any gases produced by the coffee oxidization process to escape to maintain peak freshness.We experimented with various transparent materials and treatments for the perfect balance between translucent and opaque, creating a space-age visual effect for the BF-IO.F (Filter) & BF-IO.E. (Espresso). For BF-X (Blends), we took a different approach and utilized a mylar-type material to create a bag that could bounce light and even serve as a mirror for your smile. Each of the three boxes is designed to give the customer a slightly different experience. When the Silver Boxwhich obscures a lighter roasted filter coffeeis opened, the eyes are met with a pleasing and unexpected semi-translucent white bag, offering the perfect foil to the reflective outer shell. The matte Black Box, on the other hand, contains an espresso roast, doubling down on the dark side to reveal a semi-translucent black bag. The White Box holds a multi-origin blend of coffees, delighting the beholder with an intensely reflective foil bag that distorts and bends light like a wormhole.The Labels on the exterior of these boxes are designed to give just enough information to the consumer: coffee farm/name, tasting notes, country of origin, and process.For full analysis the consumer is directed to a unique QR code that leads to more information around the coffee including satellite imagery of the farm. Each exterior label is hand-applied using a custom-made jig, ensuring precise placement across all boxes.Finally, we developed The Failsafe Security stickerwhich serves a secondary purpose of displaying the roast datethrough many iterations to deliver the perfect tearing experience worthy of any ASMR enthusiast. Upon breaking the Failsafe seal and lifting the top of the box, the customer is greeted with "WE HAVE LIFTOFF". ResultThe packaging is so audaciously ambitious it must be seen to be believed. Every aspect of the package was considered, ensuring a second to none customer experience in the coffee space. Since launching, BIGFACE continues to orbit the planet, delivering perfectly roasted beans and dropping collab after collab. In addition to their roasts, BIGFACE released a bespoke streetwear line, reusable drinking vessels, and limited edition coffee scales, drippers, and grinders with Fellow. The packaging itself was awarded Gold at the iF Desgn Awards, Platinum and Gold at the Pentawards, Third Place at the Dieline Awards, and Runner Up at the Core77 Design Awards. You can see more of Zenpack's work here.

Thanks to the retro design craze, instant cameras are now popular even among young people who have never seen the original Polaroid. It has become hip to instantly print out photos with thick white borders and share them with friends or even strangers right then and there. These instant cameras have quite a number of limitations even compared to film cameras, but thats actually a big part of their charm.With modern technologies, however, much of that is rendered pointless, turning these cameras into glorified photo printers instead. This rather quirky device brings back the appeal of instant cameras and even adds a pinch of whimsical fun as well. It isnt by coincidence, either, that it doesnt even look like a camera but can be mistaken for the photo that comes out of those instant cameras instead.Designer: Escura Camera (via Digital Camera Watch)You know that universal gesture of forming a box with your index fingers and thumbs, trying to mimic the shape of a camera? Thats basically the idea behind InstantSnap, except youre using what looks like an instant camera photo frame to do the, well, framing. This object, which produces a squarish photo, is well-known across the Internet, especially since the square format has long been favored by social media sites such as Instagram.Mixing all those metaphors together, InstantSnap is a digital camera with an obviously unique design. The large transparent area in the middle is pretty much just an open-frame viewfinder and is the only way you can guess what the camera will be shooting. Yes, you can only guess, because theres no immediate feedback to see the photo you just took. Unlike an actual instant camera, you cant even print the photo directly and have to access the photos and videos either through the microSD card or through a USB-C connection.While that might sound like a critical flaw, its actually part of the fun that InstantSnap brings to the table. You literally frame the scene and take a shot, not knowing how it will come out. Theres an element of mystery, surprise, and excitement, but it also makes you more thoughtful about each shot. If you only have one chance to do it, youre more likely to make sure you get it right the first time.InstantSnap is more of a toy than an actual tool for keeping memories, especially if you consider that it only has a 1.3MP sensor and a fixed shutter speed. It has a video recording mode, though you probably shouldnt expect much from it. There is also a switch to include the white frame around the photo when its saved to the card, further adding to the realism of the instant film photo. And although the frame of the device itself is plain white, it can be customized to have some branding, such as the Showa variant that also has a retro effect applied to photos taken with it.The post Instant film photo is actually an ingenious and delightful digital camera first appeared on Yanko Design.

In a fascinating fusion of natural inspiration and cutting-edge technology, designers have created a remarkable wooden table featuring 3D printed legs scanned from real tree trunks. This innovative approach transforms traditional furniture making by digitizing organic forms found in nature and reproducing them through advanced manufacturing techniques, creating pieces that honor the beauty of natural irregularities while embracing modern production methods.The floating appearance of the tabletop creates a sense of lightness and visual intrigue as if the rectangular wood surface is mysteriously suspended above a small forest of transparent tree trunks. This optical illusion adds a touch of wonder to the piece, inviting closer inspection and appreciation of the innovative techniques used in its creation. The contrast between the solid wooden top and the see-through legs creates a compelling visual tension that highlights both components.Designers: Aki Hamada, Yanning Hou (Aki Hamada Architects)The process begins with 3D scanning actual trees to capture their unique organic structures and irregular forms. These digital captures are then carefully edited to maintain their natural aesthetic while adapting them for functional use. The upper portion of each leg is cleverly morphed into a perfect circle, allowing it to rotate freely when attached to the tabletop. This thoughtful modification enables the legs to stand at various angles, creating the visual effect of a miniature grove of trees supporting the floating tabletop.What makes this design particularly noteworthy is the material choice for the transparent legs. Made from cellulose acetate derived from wood fiber, cotton, and other natural resources, these components maintain a connection to their natural origins despite their high-tech creation process. The material is highly biodegradable, breaking down into water and bicarbonate when buried in soil or submerged in seawater after its useful life has ended. Even the plasticizer used is derived from natural, non-hazardous materials commonly found in food additives and space food.The rectangular tabletop resting atop these transparent organic legs showcases another brilliant marriage of nature and design. Crafted from oak wood featuring natural holes created by insects, each tabletop possesses a unique pattern that cannot be replicated. Rather than discarding this imperfect wood as is common in traditional manufacturing, the designers have embraced these natural patterns as distinctive design elements that give each piece its own character and visual interest.This furniture series represents a new paradigm in sustainable design where digital fabrication techniques are used to celebrate rather than eliminate natural imperfections. By applying modern technology to simulate natural irregularities and incorporating the work of living creatures in the production process, manufacturers can mass-produce truly unique products at reasonable costs. The result is functional art pieces that bring the serenity of the outdoors into our living spaces, fostering a deeper connection to the natural world even within built environments.The post Floating Forest: Wooden Tables with 3D Printed Biodegradable Tree Legs first appeared on Yanko Design.