7 Best 50s Color Palettes that are “The Cat’s Pajamas” In this article:See more ▼Post may contain affiliate links which give us commissions at no cost to you.When I look for inspiration that balances nostalgia with timeless appeal, I always find myself drawn to the refined elegance of 1950s color schemes. There’s something undeniably charming about these palettes that evoke post-war optimism and domestic bliss. If you’re searching for color combinations that feel simultaneously fresh and comfortingly familiar, these 50s-inspired palettes might be exactly what your next project needs. I’ve compiled my favorite midcentury color combinations that continue to influence modern design sensibilities. 👋 Psst... Did you know you can get unlimited downloads of 59,000+ fonts and millions of other creative assets for just $16.95/mo? Learn more »The 8 Most Iconic 50s Color Palettes 1. Diner Delight #E30022 #FFFFFF #000000 #17B2E7 Nothing captures the spirit of 50s Americana quite like these bold, crisp colors inspired by classic diners. The striking contrast between the colors creates immediate visual impact.2. Atomic Pastels #CC2D30 #9BDBC1 #EFE8AD #AADD96 #E8A5AF This palette blends soft pastels with a punch of cherry red, echoing the optimistic, space-age aesthetic of the 1950s. It’s perfect for designs that aim to capture the era’s futuristic yet friendly vibe. 3. Midcentury Mint #80ADD7 #0ABDA0 #EBF2EA #D4DCA9 #BF9D7A A refreshing mix of cool blues and greens, balanced with warm neutrals. This palette reflects the clean lines and organic forms characteristic of mid-century modern design. 4. Lemon Meringue #FFD700 #40E0D0 #98FF98 #FFB6C1 Bright and cheerful, this palette combines sunny yellows with cool mints and pinks, reminiscent of 1950s kitchen appliances and decor.Get 300+ Fonts for FREEEnter your email to download our 100% free "Font Lover's Bundle". For commercial & personal use. No royalties. No fees. No attribution. 100% free to use anywhere. 5. Classic Creams #D0C195 #E2D9B3 #ECEAD3 #C9DCAF #BF9E86 Subtle and sophisticated, these muted tones were popular in 1950s interiors, offering a timeless elegance suitable for various design applications. 6. Diner Daze #EE4483 #24BAB9 #F3FF98 #FFFFFF #000000 A vibrant mix of pinks, teals, and yellows, this palette captures the lively atmosphere of 1950s diners, complete with neon signs and checkered floors. 7. Pop Culture Brights #FFB6C1 #40E0D0 #98FF98 #FFD700 Bold and playful, these colors were prevalent in 1950s pop culture, from fashion to advertising, embodying the era’s energetic and optimistic spirit. Why 50s Color Palettes Still Resonate Today Before diving deeper into these specific palettes, let’s explore why 50s colors continue to influence contemporary design. The 1950s represented a unique cultural moment – positioned between post-war optimism and pre-counterculture conformity. This era embraced both technological innovation and domestic comfort, resulting in color schemes that balanced forward-thinking excitement with homey reassurance. As a designer, I find that incorporating era-inspired colors into modern projects can add depth, warmth, and a touch of nostalgia that resonates with many people. The 50s palettes in particular have an enduring appeal because they offer a perfect balance – neither too bold nor too subtle, neither too serious nor too playful. They occupy that sweet spot of being distinctive without overwhelming the senses. How to Use 50s Color Palettes in Modern Design Now that we’ve explored these fantastic 50s-inspired palettes, you might be wondering how to incorporate them into contemporary projects without creating something that feels like a period piece. Here are some approaches I’ve found effective: 1. Modernize with Unexpected Pairings Try combining 50s colors with unexpected elements like ultra-modern typography or cutting-edge photography. I’ve found that the tension between the familiar colors and contemporary components creates designs that feel fresh yet grounded. 2. Adjust the Saturation The original 50s colors sometimes need slight adjustments for today’s digital environment. Try tweaking the saturation or brightness to give these classic hues a modern update. I often find that slightly desaturating brighter colors or adding richness to neutrals helps these palettes feel current. 3. Use as Secondary Elements If you’re concerned about going too retro, try using 50s colors as secondary elements in your design. A predominantly modern palette with strategic pops of midcentury color can create just the right amount of nostalgic flair without overwhelming the design. 4. Focus on Texture The 50s were as much about interesting textures as they were about colors. I love pairing these color palettes with appropriate textures – think boomerang patterns, atomic starbursts, or subtle linen textures – to enhance their midcentury feel in a sophisticated way. What Made These Colors Define the 50s? As someone fascinated by color psychology and cultural history, I find it particularly interesting to examine why these specific palettes dominated the 1950s: Post-War Prosperity: The bright, optimistic colors reflected economic growth and increasing consumer confidence after years of wartime austerity. Technological Advances: New manufacturing processes allowed for more consistent, vibrant colors in consumer goods and home décor. Cultural Shifts: The emphasis on domestic life and family values influenced the comforting, homey qualities of many popular color schemes. Media Influence: The expanding reach of television, magazines, and advertising helped standardize and spread certain color trends throughout American culture. Design Movements: The midcentury modern movement, with its clean lines and functional aesthetics, favored these particular color combinations. Understanding these influences helps explain why these colors feel simultaneously nostalgic and timeless – they were born from specific cultural circumstances yet tap into enduring human preferences. Implementing 50s Color Palettes Across Design Disciplines One thing I particularly appreciate about 50s color palettes is their remarkable versatility across different design fields: Product Design For product designers, 50s colors offer a perfect blend of approachability and distinctiveness. I’ve seen stunning contemporary appliances that incorporate midcentury palettes to create pieces that feel simultaneously nostalgic and cutting-edge. The key is balancing these vintage hues with modern materials and sleek forms. Digital Design In UI/UX design, 50s color combinations can create interfaces with personality without sacrificing usability. I find the balanced nature of these palettes particularly well-suited for creating hierarchical structures in interfaces – the contrasts are distinctive without being jarring. Environmental Design Retail spaces and restaurants can benefit enormously from strategic use of 50s color schemes. I’ve observed how these familiar yet distinctive palettes can instantly communicate a brand’s personality and create immersive environments that customers connect with emotionally. Fashion The cyclical nature of fashion means 50s colors regularly return to prominence. The current appreciation for quality basics and timeless style makes these color combinations particularly relevant now. I love seeing contemporary designers reinterpret these palettes with modern silhouettes and materials. Conclusion: Timeless Appeal with Modern Applications As we’ve explored these eight quintessential 50s color palettes, I hope you’ve gained appreciation for their enduring relevance and versatility. Whether you’re designing a retro-inspired brand identity, refreshing an interior space, or simply looking for color combinations with proven staying power, these midcentury palettes offer boundless possibilities. The beauty of 50s color schemes lies in their perfect balance – they’re distinctive enough to create character but restrained enough to remain timeless. They embody that rare quality of being simultaneously familiar and fresh, comforting and inspiring. So don’t hesitate to experiment with these classic combinations in your next project. The 50s may have been about conformity in some ways, but their color sensibilities offer contemporary designers a foundation for creating work that stands out while remaining accessible. Happy designing! Preston Lee Preston Lee is a graphic and web designer who grew up drawing, painting, and building with Lego. Okay, let's face it: he still does all of those things. But now, he gets paid to design websites, design graphics, write, and do all kinds of creative things. His advice has been featured by Entrepreneur, Inc, Forbes, Adobe, and many more. What Colors Make Blue? (Well…it’s complicated.)Blue is more than just a color—it’s an experience. When we encounter blue, we’re drawn to its tranquil beauty, finding...27 Famous Red Logos to Inspire YouRed is one of the most powerful colors in logo design. It’s bold, passionate, and impossible to ignore. I’ve spent...The Psychological Impact of Color in Graphic DesignYour brain processes color before words, making it incredibly powerful visual stimuli. If you use it strategically, you can subconsciously...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Google announces Flow, a new AI filmmaking tool for premium Gemini subscribers Pradeep Viswanathan Neowin @pradeepviswav · May 20, 2025 19:18 EDT At Google I/O, Google today announced a new AI filmmaking tool called Flow, powered by Google's latest AI models: Veo, Imagen, and Gemini. Flow is now available exclusively to Google AI Pro and AI Ultra plan users in the US. Flow takes a lot of inspiration from OpenAI's Sora. Google claims that Flow can generate videos with great prompt adherence and create cinematic outputs with better physics and realism. Google is also making use of the Gemini LLM to make the prompting experience better and the Imagen model to generate custom assets. Flow will also allow users to bring their own assets if required. Once a subject or a scene is created, the same can be used in different clips and scenes with consistency. Once the video is created, users can download the video, upscale it to 1080p, or download as GIFs. Flow will support the following features: Camera Controls: Master your shot with direct control over camera motion, angles and perspectives. Scenebuilder: Seamlessly edit and extend your existing shots — revealing more of the action or transitioning to what happens next with continuous motion and consistent characters. Asset Management: Easily manage and organize all of your ingredients and prompts. Flow TV: Spark your creativity with an ever-growing showcase of clips, channels, and content generated with Veo. You can see the exact prompts and techniques used for clips you like, providing a practical way to learn and adapt new styles. Google AI Pro subscribers will get 100 video generations per month along with key Flow features, whereas Google AI Ultra subscribers will get the highest usage limits and early access to Veo 3 with native audio generation (environmental sounds and character dialogue). Tags Report a problem with article Follow @NeowinFeed

Cases News Noctua Case x Antec Flux Pro, New Antec 900, & High Airflow CasesMay 20, 2025Last Updated: 2025-05-20We take a look at the new Antec x Noctua case along with Antec’s new 900 chassisThe HighlightsAntec and Noctua are partnering to make the Antec Flux Pro with NF-A12 G2 and NF-A14 G2 fans, 6 total, for a high airflow PC case with brown accentsAntec also showed off its new Antec 900 case, which uses a lot of aluminum and will have a variant that will come with 200mm Noctua fansTable of ContentsAutoTOC Grab a GN15 All-Over Print Component Mouse Mat for a high-quality mousing surface that'll fit your keyboard & mouse. These mouse mats use a high-quality yellow rubber underside, a blue stitched border for fray resistance, and are covered in PC parts. This is the best way to support our work and keeps us ad-free to support consumer-first reviews!IntroWe visited Antec’s booth at Computex where the company is showing off 2 new cases. Antec X Noctua Flux ProThe first case is a new version of the Antec Flux Pro, which we’ve previously reviewed. What makes it different is that it’s made in collaboration with Noctua and comes with Noctua’s fans.Editor's note: This was originally published on May 19, 2025 as a video. This content has been adapted to written format for this article and is unchanged from the original publication.CreditsHost, WritingSteve BurkeCamera, Video EditingMike GaglioneVitalii MakhnovetsWriting, Web EditingJimmy ThangThis is an interesting case because the Flux Pro was already a thermal chart topper and now the company is adding very expensive, but very high performing fans to it. We’re looking forward to testing it. In terms of changes Antec has made, besides changing the fans, they’ve added the word Noctua to it. The panel covering is also different. Antec tells us that the steel brown paneling on the case was difficult to match with Noctua’s brown hue. In general, we’ve heard that color matching for manufacturing is apparently very hard. Pretty much every factory we’ve been to has told us this. Antec told us it spent over a month trying to get the correct brown to make Noctua happy with how the color came out. It sounds like everyone is happy with the end result. Internally, the brown rubber grommets were apparently more difficult than the steel panels to be the correct shade of brown. You can’t use the same mixture between the 2 materials. The top of the power supply shroud is another steel component that is also brown. They are removable mesh inserts, which we talked about in our review of the Flux Pro. Other than the fans and color difference, the tooling of the case is the same.Noctua is also probably going to include the fan hub pictured above. There’s no ARGB support, which makes sense given their fans don’t have RGB LEDs. It’s simply an 8 PWM fan connector. The PCB has SATA power on one side. The case itself will ship with 6 fans, which is the same amount of fans that the original Flux Pro offered.    The case is the same size and layout as the original Flux Pro and has 2x120mm fans on the bottom (the original featured reverse blade fans on the bottom). The fans used here are the NF-A12 G2s, which are new fans. The rest of the case uses NF A14 G2 fans. This includes 3 of them in the front and 1 in the back. The G2 model we talked about in our NH-D15 G2 review has its fans slightly offset the RPM intentionally to try and avoid beat-frequency phenomenon and such that will create an undesirable noise. Looking at the back side panel of the case, the unit we saw had extension cables for its fans, which Noctua may also use, but that’s not certain at the moment given the build we saw is early. They’re pretty nice and we use them in our test benches. The case is essentially the same case we liked but with fans that should perform a little better or at least roughly the same with a different RPM. The price is currently TBD. The original Flux Pro is about $180 with its 6 fans. The Noctua case, however, comes with roughly $200 worth of Noctua fans. Doing the math, it seemingly adds up to a case amounting to around high $300s or $400s, we think. The case will be sold by Noctua and they are targeting a Q4 release date. The case is also supposed to include a tiny Noctua keychain. (New) Antec 900 Grab a GN15 Large Anti-Static Modmat to celebrate our 15th Anniversary and for a high-quality PC building work surface. The Modmat features useful PC building diagrams and is anti-static conductive. Purchases directly fund our work! (or consider a direct donation or a Patreon contribution!)Antec is also bringing back the Antec 900, which originally came out way back in 2006. We know a lot of people in our audience had it.  There were 2 versions of the Antec 900. The 2006 model is the one most people probably remember. It was a very different time and the case was very well liked. If they launched it today, however, it wouldn’t work. Cable management back then didn’t exist as it wasn’t really a thing yet. It did get the thermal side right as they went with larger fans and it was heavily ventilated. So the company is trying to bring that back with a TBD named Antec 900 model. The case has a lot of aluminum in it. The model at Computex also came with Noctua fans, but they’re not brown. Specifically, the case featured Noctua’s black NF-A20s, which are fans we’ve reviewed and benchmarked. They did pretty well in our testing. Antec told us it will also provide a 6-fan variant of the case with the same fans used in the original Flux Pro, which is pictured above. Antec sort of disappeared for several years in the mid 2010s and then came back with the Antec C8 (read our review), in particular, and has re-emerged on our radar. This new version of the 900 is pretty different from the old one, which is a good thing at this point. The old one was a great case but isn't anymore. There’s going to be 2 versions of the case. 1 will come with dual 200 mm fans, potentially using Noctua ones. Pricing on the case is still TBD. We imagine one with Noctua fans will cost at least $300 or so and we don’t have pricing on the model that will come with 6 fans. The case will have fan rails for its front fans. The fan rails can be offset to different locations via a couple screws. The case we saw was set up for 200mm fans but they can also be moved to accommodate 180mm, 140mm, and 120mm fans. Looking at the top panel, it uses massive holes in its design coupled with a dust filter. In some ways, this is traditional. The upside is that the actual panel itself isn’t doing a whole lot other than just providing the structure, which means it’s not really getting in the way of airflow because of how huge the holes are. It’s really going to come down to the dust filter for how much air can get through. If you’re going to use the top panel for exhaust, we would recommend pulling the dust filter off because it’s not stopping a whole lot of dust. One other thing we wanted to point out is an inner plastic on the filter as it actually ends up completely obstructing the outermost row of holes. Antec has got to cover something to get it in there and we guess that they covered the outer row on all sides to create a symmetry aesthetic. This does make it lose a little bit of accessibility. Looking at the top of the case with the filter removed, you can see that there’s partial obstruction for motherboard clearance. The top of the case can accommodate 120 or 140mm fans. The top tray is held together by a couple of removable screws, which allow you to pull it out.   Removing the glass side panel, which is a gigantic piece of glass, gives us a better look at the inside of the case and exposes the region for the possible shroud top fans. Fortunately, Antec has ventilated the bottom side panel, which is good. There’s no filter included on it so it’s just a mesh panel. Antec has also punched a bunch of holes into the bottom of the case. So if the case uses shroud top fans, they should be able to breathe.  Visit our Patreon page to contribute a few dollars toward this website's operation (or consider a direct donation or buying something from our GN Store!) Additionally, when you purchase through links to retailers on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission.Another thing we liked is that the dust filter is accessible and pulls out from the front. This is nice so you don’t have to pull the case away from a wall to remove it. The case also has big rubber standoffs for the power supply to sit on top of. It also has the iSHIFT PSU mount, which is also seen in Antec’s Flux series of cases.   For drives, it has 2 SSD mounts on top of the shroud and 3 on the back side of the case. The “cheese grater” of holes that you see in the image above means that it’s BTF compatible. The case also has 2 sets of grommets, which we like as it accommodates larger motherboards in case the board covers the first set of grommets. The back panel is also humongous and is perforated on the bottom, which is a good thing for breathability if there’s a shroud top fan. Our understanding is that in the 6-fan model, Antec wants to do the same exact configuration as in the Flux Pro. This means 2x120mm (probably reverse blade) on the shroud top and 4x140mm fans. The frame is aluminum and the motherboard tray is steel, which we think is .8 millimeters thick. Aluminum is very expensive. Sometimes case companies use it to employ a “premium” feel to cases. The plus side is that it makes the case a little lighter but will also make it more expensive. Currently, there are also additional tariffs on aluminum imports into the US, which could affect pricing even further. The case will be over $300. We’ll find out more probably towards the end of the year.  The last feature worth pointing out is that the front top panel with the front IO pops out. This provides access to the top, which is good for open-loop access and getting a radiator in and out.

Mini PCs are all the rage at the moment, cramming laptop parts into a teeny-tiny space to give you a desktop that’s cheap and powerful, and at least a little bit upgradeable. But with most of them relying on AMD APUs, their gaming is limited. Can you make that setup work in a larger desktop form factor? Asus thinks you can, and at Computex it’s game to try. The TUF Gaming T500 looks like a small-ish desktop tower, complete with a transparent window on the side to show off its parts. But while the pre-installed graphics card is obvious (an RTX 5060 Ti in this version). Take a gander above it, and you’ll see what looks like the smallest cooling setup ever on top of its processor, directly connected to a rear exhaust fan. It’s tiny because that’s a laptop processor, an Intel 13th-gen i5 or i7, depending on which version you buy. It’s also soldered in place — this is not an ATX or mATX motherboard, it’s proprietary. That CPU is the only one that the desktop will ever have. Which is not to say there are no upgrade options. With a desktop-style PCIe slot for the graphics card, two DDR5 SO-DIMM (laptop) RAM slots, a pair of M.2 gen 4 slots for storage, and even two SATA ports, you’ve got plenty of options for just about everything except the processor. And that extra space means cooling is much easier and more efficient than on any laptop or mini PC. You can even upgrade the wireless with another M.2 card if you like. The TUF series is Asus’ mid-range or budget gaming line, as opposed to ROG. So the T500 is, nominally, mid-range in terms of performance. But with a starting price of $1300, it’s not really hitting below many pre-built gaming desktops without its restrictions. A little quick shopping on PCPartPicker let me build a substantially more powerful desktop from parts, with an upgradeable 13th-gen Core i5, for at the same level…and that was even including a wildly inflated RTX 5060 Ti price in the current market. And that’s the top-end option according to the specs, I don’t think you’ll get that card for $1300. So like Adam on the floor at Computex, I am skeptical of to whom this gaming PC will actually appeal. Granted, there are plenty who just want to play and aren’t all that concerned about what’s under the metaphorical hood…even if you can see through this one. But I still think it needs to offer a better value compromise if it’s going to stand out from other pre-built designs. For more on the latest PC gaming hardware, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube, and check out our weekly podcast The Full Nerd.

Google is moving closer to its goal of autonomous agentic AI with a series of enhancements to Gemini 2.5 Pro and Flash.Read More

Peter Green Chilled, a major distributor of chilled and fresh products to British supermarkets, has reportedly fallen victim to a ransomware attack orchestrated by an as-yet unnamed cyber criminal operation, becoming the latest organisation in the British retail sector to be affected by a security incident. Established as a haulage company working with Somerset dairy suppliers 60 years ago, Peter Green has grown into a little-known but well-established player in the nation’s cold chain – temperature-controlled warehousing and transport – sector, supplying the likes of Aldi, Sainsbury’s and Tesco among others. It is also a supplier of IT services including transport and warehouse management systems (T/WMS), electronic data interchange (EDI), stock and temperature control systems, and vehicle tracking and monitoring. According to BBC Radio 5 Live’s Wake up to money programme – which was first to report the story – the attack appears to have begun on the evening of Wednesday 14 May and has left the organisation unable to accept new orders. A spokesperson for Peter Green told the programme it was not in a position to be able to discuss the incident further. However, one of the organisation’s customers, The Black Farmer founder Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, said that almost a week into the incident, he had been offered no solution for how Peter Green was going to get stock he had already delivered to its warehouses out to retailers. “If they’re not delivered in the next couple of days, because they’re fresh products, they have to be thrown away,” said Emmanuel-Jones. “For a small business it is pretty devastating. To make matters even worse is that we’ve just also got a delivery that’s come in from Sweden that is stuck at a port because Peter Green is not taking in any other stock from any suppliers, so we have to try to find some way of getting it to the supermarkets.” Emmanuel-Jones told the radio programme that his business could stand to lose up to £100,000, losses that would be hard for a small organisation to bear. Computer Weekly reached out to Peter Green Chilled but found its email addresses non-responsive. Absent further information from Peter Green, at the time of writing, any links to the ongoing DragonForce/Scattered Spider incidents affecting Marks and Spencer (M&S) and Co-op are unproven and merely speculative. However, David Mound, senior penetration tester at third-party risk specialist SecurityScorecard, said the firm’s team was closely monitoring the “emerging pattern” of cyber attacks impacting food retailers. He said that in drawing other household names into the fray, the developing Peter Green incident highlighted the fragility of interconnected digital supply chains, and was creating a cascading effect throughout the retail sector. “These incidents reflect a growing trend among cyber criminal groups to exploit sectors where time sensitivity and perishability heighten pressure to restore operations, increasing the likelihood of ransom payments,” said Mound. “In food retail, even short-term disruption can lead to spoilage, logistical bottlenecks and loss of consumer trust. “Attackers are no longer just targeting data; they’re targeting urgency,” he said. “In environments where product expiration and just-in-time delivery are business-critical, threat actors understand that every hour offline amplifies the pressure to pay. “Many critical logistics and IT providers are insufficiently risk-tiered or assessed,” added Mound. “There is an urgent need for sector-wide collaboration on third-party risk intelligence and resilience standards. “SecurityScorecard urges all organisations in the food and retail sectors to re-evaluate their third-party risk posture and ensure suppliers are assessed not only for compliance, but for operational resilience under duress.” Timeline: UK retail cyber attacks 22 April 2025: A cyber attack at M&S has caused significant disruption to customers, leaving them unable to make contactless payments or use click-and-collect services. 24 April: M&S is still unable to provide contactless payment or click-and-collect services amid a cyber attack that it says has forced it to move a number of processes offline to safeguard its customers, staff and business. 25 April: M&S shuts down online sales as it works to contain and mitigate a severe cyber attack on its systems. 29 April: The infamous Scattered Spider hacking collective may have been behind the ongoing cyber attack on M&S that has crippled systems at the retailer and left its ecommerce operation in disarray. 30 April: A developing cyber incident at Co-op has forced the retailer to pull the plug on some of its IT systems as it works to contain the attack. 1 May: Co-op tells staff to stop using their VPNs and be wary that their communications channels may be being monitored, as a cyber attack on the organisation continues to develop. 1 May: Harrods confirms it is the latest UK retailer to experience a cyber attack, shutting off a number of systems in an attempt to lessen the impact. 2 May: The National Cyber Security Centre confirms it is providing assistance to M&S, Co-op and Harrods as concerns grow among UK retailers. 7 May: No end is yet in sight for UK retailers subjected to apparent ransomware attacks. 13 May: M&S is instructing all of its customers to change their account passwords after a significant amount of data was stolen in a DragonForce ransomware attack. 14 May: Google’s threat intel analysts are aware of a number of in-progress cyber attacks against US retailers linked to the same Scattered Spider gang that supposedly attacked M&S and Co-op in the UK.

Back to work Trump admin lifts hold on offshore wind farm, doesn’t explain why Reasons for the hold were never backed up, and nobody's explaining why it ended. John Timmer – May 20, 2025 1:03 pm | 77 Credit: glegorly Credit: glegorly Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more On Monday, the developer of a large offshore wind farm being built off the coast of New York announced that the federal government had lifted a hold it had placed on the project roughly a month ago. The entire process has been shrouded in mystery. The government never fully enunciated its justification for the hold and hasn't yet commented on the fact that it had been lifted, although there is some hint that it was coupled to a reconsideration of a cancelled natural gas pipeline. Empire Wind is a large project being built off the southeast shore of Long Island by Equinor, a Norwegian energy company. The first of two phases, Empire Wind 1, will have an 800 MW capacity and has already received permitting and environmental approval. Equinor had started construction of the foundations for the towers that would hold the wind turbines and onshore facilities that would support this and future offshore projects. All that changed in mid-April when Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced via a social media post that the approval for Empire Wind had been rushed and his department would be reviewing it. A Fox News article published a few days later suggests that a review by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration "found the Empire Wind approval process relied on rushed, outdated, and incomplete scientific and environmental analysis." But nobody else has indicated that any such report exists, despite requests from the press. Meanwhile, Equinor was given no indication of how long the project would be on hold, even as it took on large expenses due to its idled workers and equipment. On Monday, however, the company announced that the hold had been lifted and construction would resume. But as with the hold itself, the reasons for its end remain mysterious. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management page for the project was only updated with a new letter on Tuesday. That letter indicates a review of its approval is ongoing, but construction can resume during the review. The Department of the Interior has not addressed the change and has not responded to a request for comment. A post by Interior Secretary Burgum doesn't mention Empire Wind but does suggest the governor of New York will approve a pipeline: "I am encouraged by Governor Hochul’s comments about her willingness to move forward on critical pipeline capacity." That suggests there was a deal that allowed Empire Wind to resume construction in return for a pipeline for fossil fuels. The New York Times suggests that this is a reference to the proposed Constitution Pipeline, which was planned to move natural gas from Pennsylvania to eastern New York but was cancelled in 2020 due to state opposition. However, Governor Kathy Hochul has not commented about a willingness to move forward with any pipelines. Instead, Hochul's statement on Empire Wind is very vague, saying that she "reaffirmed that New York will work with the Administration and private entities on new energy projects that meet the legal requirements under New York law." So while it's good news that construction on Empire Wind has restarted, the whole process has been problematic, driven by apparently arbitrary decisions that the government has refused to justify. John Timmer Senior Science Editor John Timmer Senior Science Editor John is Ars Technica's science editor. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemistry from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley. When physically separated from his keyboard, he tends to seek out a bicycle, or a scenic location for communing with his hiking boots. 77 Comments

After a nearly five-year hiatus, Fortnite is back on the App Store for iPhone and iPad users in the United States. Epic Games announced the return of the battle royale gaming app this afternoon, and you can head to the App Store now to download it. Fortnite is also back via the Epic Games Store and AltStore in the European Union. More details to come… Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.  FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Macworld According to the latest Apple tea, Siri is a four-letter word that shan’t pass Apple’s lips. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Siri will not be discussed much at next month’s WWDC. That makes sense. The Macalope never wants to talk about things he’s not good at, either. Coding. Rollerskating. Integrals. Flossing. Both the dental regimen and the dance. Seven years after [Apple SVP of AI John] Giannandrea arrived, the optimism he brought with him is gone. Apple’s AI has only fallen further behind. Mark Gurman, May 19, 2025 This is sort of true and sort of not true. Part of the problem for Apple is that AI has been redefined out from under it. For most, AI is now a user-facing chatbot. That’s it. Sure, there are other, more visual implementations of AI, but the most common implementation is a text-based or verbal chatbot that gives you answers you can’t really trust, but allows CEOs to lay some people off because who cares if our customers are getting good information? Apple continued to chug away at the good parts of AI, the parts that would make your phone operate better or let you get rid of unattractive people or exes or unattractive exes from your photos. The problem is really not that Apple has “fallen behind.” It’s definitely behind on the chatty parts of AI, but that’s not really what most customers want. People do want a Siri that has persistent memory or can just do more things and do them consistently. No one, however, wants a Siri that can write a novel or come up with great recipes culled from Reddit threads where people are jokingly telling each other to eat things humans should not consume. That does seem to be what it’s trying to rush to market, though. According to employees, the chatbot the company has been testing internally has made significant strides over the past six months, to the point that some executives see it as on par with recent versions of ChatGPT. It can get things wrong, but insist that they’re true with the best of them. Excellent. So why hasn’t the company shipped this already? Colleagues say Giannandrea has told them that consumers don’t want tools like ChatGPT and that one of the most common requests from customers is to disable it. You don’t say. So, if the problem isn’t that Apple’s behind ChatGPT, what is the problem? If you’d like to receive regular news and updates to your inbox, sign up for our newsletters, including The Macalope and Apple Breakfast, David Price’s weekly, bite-sized roundup of all the latest Apple news and rumors.IDG Let’s go back to the summer of 2009. The Black Eyed Peas were singing “I Gotta Feeling,” the iPhone 3GS was the latest iPhone, and the hot technology industry trend was… netbooks. Remember netbooks? They were small, cheap, underpowered, and poorly made, but boy, were they cheap. Apple, you might be surprised to learn, was “behind” on netbooks. Netbooks were going to eat the company’s lunch because it didn’t have one. All it had was the over-priced MacBook Air that was only for fancy-pants executives. But Apple didn’t want to make a low-margin piece of junk even if the entire industry was falling over each other to do just that. Despite all the cries, it was out of its mind, it simply made the MacBook Air a demonstrably better product, cheaper and cheaper, and soon enough, the tech industry was chasing something else and had forgotten all about netbooks. The parallels here are not exact but they’re also not that different. AI is “the thing you have to have” because investors–not customers–say so, even though so far no one has really figured out how to make a lot of money off of LLMs. Well, except for the individuals running AI companies who are probably making really good money despite their companies not making any profit. Apple stuck to its guns with netbooks. It didn’t with AI. If Apple had said, “Oh, you kids go ahead and have fun!” it might well have been able to let other companies pop this bubble instead of joining the chase for the latest industry unicorn. One of its long-time strengths was not listening to industry groupthink and instead figuring out what customers really want. This time, it fell victim to the pressure of investors, pundits, and venture capitalists. Time will tell, but the Macalope thinks Giannandrea might have been right.

It should have been obvious that Google I/O 2025 would be jammed-packed, considering the company felt the need to hold a separate event to cover all of its Android news. But color me shocked that Google pulled off a nearly two hour-long presentation, full of announcements and reveals, mostly about AI. Not all AI announcements are equal, of course. Some of the news was geared towards enterprise users, and some towards developers. But many of the features discussed are on their way to consumers' devices too, some as soon as today. These are the updates I'm going to focus on here—you can expect to try out these features today, in the coming weeks, or at some point in the near future.Gemini Live is coming to the iPhoneEarlier this year, Google rolled out Gemini Live for all Android users via the Gemini app. The feature lets you share your camera feed or screen with Gemini, so it can help answer questions about what you're seeing. As of today, Google is now bringing the feature out to iPhones with the Gemini app as well. As long as you have the app, you can share your camera and screen with the AI, no matter what platform you're on. AI Mode is the future of Google SearchGoogle has been testing AI Mode in Search since March. The feature essentially turns Google Search into more of a Gemini experience, allowing you to stack multiple questions into one complex request. According to Google, it's AI can handle breaking down your query and searching the web for the most relevant sources. The result, in theory, is a complete report answering all aspects of your search, including links to sources and images.AI Mode is rolling out for all users—not just testers—over the coming weeks. But it's not just the AI Mode experience that Google has been testing. The company also announced new AI Mode features at I/O. Cram multiple searches into oneFirst, there's Deep Search, which multiplies the number of searches AI Mode typically would make for your query and generates an "expert-level fully-cited report" for you. I would still fact check it thoroughly, seeing as AI has a habit of hallucinating. AI Mode is also getting Gemini Live access, so you can share your screen or camera in Search.Use "Agent Mode" as a real world personal assistantProject Mariner is also coming to AI Mode. Google says you'll have access to "agentic capabilities," which basically means you can rely on the AI to complete tasks for you. For example, you'll be able to ask AI Mode to find you "affordable tickets for this Saturday’s Reds game in the lower level," and not only will the bot do the searching for you, it'll fill out the necessary forms. Google says that functionality will apply to event tickets, restaurant reservations, and local appointments.You can see that in action with Agent Mode, which will theoretically be able to execute complex tasks on your behalf. We don't know a lot about how that will work yet, but we do have a clear example from the Google I/O stage. During the presentation, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai tasked Gemini's Agent Mode with finding an apartment with in-unit laundry, keeping to a certain budget. Gemini then got to work, opening the browser, pulling up Zillow, searching for apartments, and booking a tour. AI Mode will pull from your previous search history in order to deliver you more relevant results. That includes results that apply to your whereabouts—say, local recommendations for an upcoming trip—as well as preferences (if you tend to book outdoor dining spots, AI Mode may recommend outdoor dining when you ask to find dinner reservations). New Gemini features coming to WorkspaceGoogle announced a number of new Gemini features at I/O, some of which are coming to Workspace. One of the features Google focused on most was Personalized smart replies in Gmail. While Gmail has an AI-powered smart reply feature already, this one goes a step further, and bases its responses on all of your Google data. The goal is to generate a reply that sounds like you wrote it, and includes all the questions or comments you might reasonably have for the email in question. In practice, I'm not sure why I'd want to let AI do all of my communicating for me, but the feature will be available later this year, and for paid subscribers first.If you use Google Meet with a paid plan, expect to see live speech translation start to roll out today. The feature automatically dubs over speakers on a call in a target language, like an instant universal translator. Let's say you speak English and your meeting partner speaks Spanish: You hear them begin to speak in Spanish, before an AI voice takes over with the English translation. 'Try it on'Google doesn't want you returning the clothes you order online anymore. The company announced a new feature called "try it on" that uses AI to show you what you'd look like wearing whatever clothing item you're thinking about buying. This isn't a mere concept, either: Google is rolling out "try it on" today to Google Search lab users. If you want to learn more about the feature and how to use it, check out our full guide. Android XRAs the rumors suggested, Google talked a bit about Android XR, the company's software experience for glasses and headsets. Most of the news it shared was previously announced, but we did see some interesting features in action. For example when using one of the future glasses with Android XR built in, you'll be able to access a subtle HUD that can show you everything from photos to messages to Google Maps. (Personally, the main draw here for me would be AR Google Maps while walking around a new city.) On stage, we also saw a live demo of speech translation, which Android XR overlaying an English translation on screen as two presenters spoke in different languages.While there's no true timeline on when you can try Android XR, Google's big news is that it is working with both Warby Parker and Gentle Monster on making glasses with the service built in. Veo 3, Imagen 4, and FlowGoogle unveiled two new AI generation models at I/O this year: Imagen 4 (images) and Veo 3 (video).Imagen 4 now generates higher-quality images with more detail than Imagen 3, Google's previous image generation model. However, the company specifically noted Imagen 4's improvements with text generation. If you ask the model to generate a poster, for example, Google says that the text will be both accurate to the request, as well as stylistic. Google kicked off the show with videos generated by Veo 3, so it's safe to say the company is quite proud of its video generation model. While the results are crisp, colorful, and occasionally jam-packed with elements, it definitely still suffers from the usual quirks and issues with AI-generated video. But the bigger story here is "Flow," Google's new AI video editor. Flow uses Veo 3 to generate videos, which you can then assemble like any oother non-linear editor. You can use Imagen 4 to generate an element you want in a shot, then ask Flow to add it to the next clip. In addition to the ability to cut or expand a shot, you can control the camera movement of each shot independently. It's the most "impressive" this tech has seemed to me, but outside of a high-tech story board, I can't imagine the use for this. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I certainly don't want to watch AI-generated videos, even if they are created via tools similar to the ones human video creators use. Veo 3 is only available to Google AI Ultra subscribers, though Flow is available in limited capacity with Veo 2 to AI Pro subscribers. Two new Chrome featuresChrome users can look forward to two new features following Google I/O. First, Google is bringing Gemini directly to the browser—no need to open the Gemini site. Second, Chrome can now update your old passwords on your behalf. This feature is launching later this year, though you'll need to wait for the websites themselves to offer support.A new way to pay for AIFinally, Google is offering new subscriptions to access its AI features. Google AI Premium is now AI Pro, and remains largely the same, minus the new ability to access Flow and Gemini in Chrome. It still costs $20 per month.The new subscription is Google AI Ultra, which costs a whopping $250 a month. For that price, you get everything in Google AI Pro, but with the highest limits for all of the AI models, including Gemini, Flow, Whisk, and NotebookLM. You get access to Gemini 2.5 Pro Deep Think (the company's newest and most advanced reasoning model), Veo 3, Project Mariner, YouTube Premium, and 30TB of cloud storage. What a deal.