A leaker has broken from the pack, and is now saying that the core iPhone 17 will stick with the already released A18 chip, while the rest of the line gets chips derived from the A19.Renders of possible iPhone 17 designs based on previous leaksIt's generally accepted by the vast majority of leakers that the entire iPhone 17 line, including the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, and iPhone 17 Pro, will boast the A19 chip, with varying amounts of RAM.Now in a new note to investors, Jeff Pu from GF Securities is recanting one of his previous reports. He is now going against every other leaker in saying that the core iPhone 17 will stick with the A18 processor found in the iPhone 16 lineup. Rumor Score: 🤔 Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Moody's downgrades the US credit from Aaa to Aa1. Andrew Kelly/REUTERS 2025-05-19T23:49:01Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Ray Dalio said on X that Moody's credit downgrade doesn't cover the risks of government money printing. Moody's downgraded US credit to Aa1, citing growing deficits and ballooning interest payments. A GOP tax bill could worsen US debts, with proposed tax breaks and increased defense spending. Billionaire investor Ray Dalio thinks Moody's recent downgrade of the US sovereign credit rating doesn't capture the danger of the federal government simply printing cash to cover its bills."You should know that credit ratings understate credit risks because they only rate the risk of the government not paying its debt," Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, warned said on X. "They don't include the greater risk that the countries in debt will print money to pay their debts thus causing holders of the bonds to suffer losses from the decreased value of the money they're getting.""For those who care about the value of their money, the risks for US government debt are greater than the rating agencies are conveying," Dalio added.Dalio's comments came after Moody's, the international financial services company, downgraded the US credit from Aaa to Aa1 on Friday, citing growing deficits and surging interest payments. That makes Moody's the last of the three major credit agencies to bump America's credit off the highest rating. S&P Global Ratings downgraded the US back in 2011, and Fitch Ratings followed suit in 2023.In response to the downgrade, stocks slipped on Monday while Treasury yields spiked. The 30-year bond yield jumped 4.995%, and the 10-year bond yield rose to 4.521%.Adding to investor concerns, economists are sounding the alarm on a tax cut bill proposed by Republicans that could come to pass given the slim GOP majorities in both the House and the Senate.The bill proposes tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans through a higher estate tax exemption, interest tax breaks for private equity, and a $150 billion boost in defense spending. It also plans to increase the child tax credit by $500 and eliminate taxes on tips and overtime pay.Despite the bill also proposing spending cuts to Medicaid and SNAP and to hike taxes for immigrants, the Budget Lab at Yale, a nonpartisan policy research center, says that the GOP bill would worsen America's debt."The bill as currently proposed would substantially add to the deficit, even if accounting for possible tariff revenue," authors ofAccording to the report, Sudan and Japan are the only two countries with a debt-to-GDP ratio over 180%."Assuming temporary provisions expire, the bill's baseline cost of $3.4 trillion would make it the largest spending package in US history," the report added.In a rare Sunday night vote on May 18, the GOP tax cut bill narrowly passed the House Budget Committee, which days before rejected the bill. The bill now heads to the House for a vote this week.A spokesperson for Dalio did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Recommended video

The Saudis discussed buying the F-35 stealth fighter as part of a major agreement to purchase US arms. Here, a Saudi F-15 fighter escorts Air Force One to Riyadh on May 13. Brian Snyder/REUTERS 2025-05-15T13:47:14Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? A US-Saudi arms agreement may get complicated when it comes to Lockheed Martin's F-35 The F-35 could put Saudi Arabia's military on par with Israel in what may be a dealbreaker. The Saudis may also buy advanced US drones and missile defenses as part of the agreement. During his visit to Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump signed what the White House described as "the largest defense sales agreement in history," valued at almost $142 billion, that will provide the kingdom "state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services." The offer, the final value of which may ultimately prove much less than $142 billion, is expected to include Lockheed Martin's C-130 Hercules transport aircraft and other unspecified missiles and radars. Neither the White House nor administration officials have provided further details about which specific systems the deal may include, such as the advanced fighter Riyadh has wanted.The two sides discussed a potential Saudi purchase of the F-35 Lightning II stealth strike fighter and Israel's qualitative military edge came up, Reuters reported Tuesday. The Saudis have sought the F-35 for years since it's one of the world's top fighter jets that could put the kingdom's armed forces on par with Israel, the only Middle Eastern country currently flying that fifth-generation combat aircraft. Washington is legally obligated to preserve Israel's military advantage by, among other things, not selling military hardware to regional countries that are as or more advanced than Israel's arsenal. Unlike the neighboring United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia has not joined the Abraham Accords by normalizing ties with Israel and refuses to do so amid the ongoing war in Gaza."I think an F-35 deal could be agreed upon even absent Saudi-Israeli normalization," Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the risk intelligence company RANE, told Business Insider. "However, to proceed with the F-35 package, it would have to be significantly downgraded to preserve Israel's qualitative military edge." "Such downgrades might diminish the overall sale's attractiveness to the Saudis."Israel took delivery of three F-35s in March, bringing its total fleet strength to 42. It will field 75 eventually. Washington may not agree to sell Riyadh a comparable number, and it may impose limits on their use."I don't think numbers alone will be sufficient, as the Israelis will be concerned that such systems could eventually end up in the hands of adversaries," Bohl said. "Rather, I think we would likely see technical restrictions and end-use requirements that would severely limit the usage of F-35s by the Saudis and reduce their capabilities against the Israelis."Israel's F-35I Adir is a unique version of the stealth aircraft that Israel modifies with indigenous weapons and systems. Therefore, the Adir is arguably already more advanced than any standard F-35A model Saudi Arabia might acquire.Ultimately, it is Israel's arch-rival Iran that may have more concerns over the prospect of Saudi F-35s.Any F-35 acquisition could give Saudi Arabia the "ability to conduct deep strikes in Iran" in ways far greater than presently possible with their current fleet of non-stealthy 4.5-generation F-15s, noted Sebastien Roblin, a widely published military-aviation journalist. Such an acquisition could also "substantially enhance" Saudi airpower and enable Riyadh to participate in any US or Israeli bombing campaign against Iran."I can see such an acquisition affecting the perceived regional balance of power vis-à-vis Tehran," Roblin told BI."That said, in a large-scale conflict, questions would arise about the vulnerability of these aircraft to Iranian strikes when they landed," Roblin said. "And whether these countries could acquire enough F-35s with enough munitions and muster sufficient professionalism and support assets to minimize risks of combat losses." F-35 Lightning II fighters entered service with the US Air Force in 2016. U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Ben Mota Riyadh may not prioritize acquiring the F-35 and seek other advanced American armaments.The US is much more open to exporting advanced drones to Middle Eastern countries than just a few years ago, when Washington largely followed the range and payload limitations suggested by the Missile Technology Control Regime for exported systems.Before Trump's trip, Washington green-lighted a potential sale of MQ-9B drones to Qatar. General Atomics is expected to offer Saudi Arabia MQ-9B SeaGuardians as part of a "huge" package deal."I think the weakening of end-use restrictions will certainly make the Americans more eager to strike deals to sell their drones to the region," RANE's Bohl said. "American drones will still need to compete against Turkish and Chinese drones that may be cheaper and have fewer political strings attached."When Washington previously declined Middle East requests for advanced American drones, China stepped in and supplied its drones throughout the region in the 2010s. In the 2020s, Saudi Arabia and the UAE signed lucrative contracts with Turkey for its indigenous Bayraktar drones."I wouldn't expect a major surge in American drone exports to the region at this point, but rather for them to become part of this region's drone diversification strategy," Bohl said. "Certainly, there will be notable deals struck in the coming years, but China and Turkey will continue to be formidable competitors in the drone arena in the Arab Gulf states."The White House mentioned that the $142 billion agreement includes "air and missile defense.""If we are looking at recent trends, they should be focusing on air defenses, including deeper stocks of interceptor missiles, and diversification of air defenses to cost-efficiently combat lower-end threats as well as high-end ones," Roblin said.Saudi Arabia already operates advanced US Patriot air defense missiles and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, which can target ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere. It completed its first locally manufactured components of the latter system mere days before Trump's visit. Riyadh may seek similar co-production deals to aid in developing its domestic arms industry."There's a need for more long-distance precision strike weapons in the form of missiles and drones, which can be used without risking expensive manned combat aircraft," Roblin said. "There should be some parallel interest at sea, where we've seen Ukraine and the Houthis successfully execute sea denial strategies, one that Iran might seek to imitate in the confined waters of the Gulf.""Thus, the homework of Gulf navies is to ensure their vessels have the sensors and self-defense weapons to cope with small boat threats and cruise and ballistic missiles."Saudi Arabia has already taken steps to expand its navy with more advanced warships in recent years. RANE's Bohl believes Trump may persuade the kingdom to "purchase big-ticket items like warships" as he attempts to "revitalize the manufacturing sector" in the US.Only a fraction of this $142 billion agreement may result in completed deals — as was the case with the series of letters of intent for $110 billion worth of arms sales Trump signed with Riyadh in 2017."These deals involve optioning huge defense sales, but Trump will present these to his supporters as done deals," Roblin said. "So, the Gulf states can gift Trump a large number as a political victory without actually having to pay anywhere near the whole bill.""For the 2017 defense deal, by the following year, Riyadh reportedly had bought only $14.5 billion out of $110 billion optioned."Paul Iddon is a freelance journalist and columnist who writes about Middle East developments, military affairs, politics, and history. His articles have appeared in a variety of publications focused on the region. Recommended video

The New AI Model Paradox: When “Upgrades” Feel Like Downgrades (Claude 3.7) 0 like May 14, 2025 Share this post Last Updated on May 14, 2025 by Editorial Team Author(s): Mandar Karhade, MD. PhD. Originally published on Towards AI. The Allure of the New is misleading when the speed of development is too fast! The tech world buzzes with excitement each time a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) model is unveiled. We’re conditioned to expect these digital brains to be significantly faster, demonstrably smarter, and unequivocally better than their predecessors. Companies fuel this anticipation with announcements of major breakthroughs, showcasing impressive demonstrations that promise to revolutionize how we work, create, and interact. It’s easy to get swept up in this wave of optimism and believe that each new release is a universal leap forward. But what happens when the shiny new AI, despite all the fanfare and positive press, doesn’t quite live up to the hype for your specific, day-to-day needs? What if, for your particular use case, it feels less like an upgrade and more like an unexpected step backward? This is a situation an increasing number of users are finding themselves in. It’s a phenomenon that prompts a deeper reflection on what “better” truly means in the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and highlights that progress isn’t always a straight line for everyone. Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash New AI models often launch accompanied by bold claims of vastly improved capabilities, frequently backed by strong performances on standardized benchmarks. We see statistics showing the AI… Read the full blog for free on Medium. Join thousands of data leaders on the AI newsletter. Join over 80,000 subscribers and keep up to date with the latest developments in AI. From research to projects and ideas. If you are building an AI startup, an AI-related product, or a service, we invite you to consider becoming a sponsor. Published via Towards AI Towards AI - Medium Share this post