Benjamin and Chance discuss the intriguing rumor from Ming-Chi Kuo that Apple is readying a new cheaper MacBook Air powered by an A18 Pro CPU. Also, Apple befuddles everyone with a new byzantine set of App Store rules in the EU, and Apple seems open to powering AI Siri using third-party models.
If you had asked me a few years ago, I would have told you that the review you're about to read would be one of the most-read car reviews of the year. For a while—quite a long while, in fact—the Volkswagen ID Buzz was the hottest electric vehicle you couldn't buy. Starting in 2001, VW began teasing concept after concept that called back to its various Transporters and Kombis, classic microbuses reimagined as modern minivans. When the electric Buzz was greenlit for production after wowing crowds in 2017, it caught the attention of the kind of people who don't normally care about such things. Early coverage of the Buzz showed plenty of interest, and it looked like VW might have a real hit on its hands.
At least, that's how things looked for the first couple of years. It actually took seven years for a version of the ID Buzz to go on sale in North America, two years after Europe. Much of the optimism about EV adoption has now gone. Rather than reaching price parity with regular cars as battery prices dropped, everything just got more expensive during the pandemic. Add in recent worries about import tariffs and clean vehicle tax credits (available if you lease), and you start to understand why they remain a rare sight on the roads. Expect stares, glances, and even people taking out their phones as you drive past.
Some of the wait was for VW's more powerful rear drive unit, which provides this 2025 ID Buzz Pro S Plus with 282 hp (210 kW) and 413 lb-ft (560 Nm), paired with a 91 kWh battery pack. The official EPA range is 234 miles, which sounds disappointingly low, but it's correct. It does seem like a very conservative estimate based on a week with the Buzz. 3.1 miles/kWh (20 kWh 100/km) was possible if I drove carefully, with high-twos possible when I didn't, and with 89 percent state of charge in the battery, the Buzz's onboard brain figured we had 255 miles (410 km) of range.
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates ruled on Thursday that the Trump administration’s Office of Personnel Management did not comply with all necessary laws when it ordered the Department of Health and Human Services to speedily comply with the president’s executive order on “gender ideology.” On the first day of his term, President Trump passed […]
Thoma Bravo is taking restaurant software provider Olo off the public market. The private equity firm has agreed to acquire Olo in an all-cash deal valued at roughly $2 billion, the company said Thursday. Olo’s shares jumped over 13% in early […]
A new Apple Store is opening later this month in Japan, and alongside the first details, the company has released beautiful new wallpapers for iPhone, iPad, and Mac featuring custom artwork.
As I pointed out recently, while Whisper is top of mind and still a pretty good transcription model, OpenAI has moved away from it. That said, the fact that Apple’s new transcription API is faster than Whisper is great news. But how accurate is it? We tested it out.
The deal includes the Paramount Plus Premium plan, which combines Paramount Plus and Showtime content.
If you’re looking for an affordable way to kick off your July 4th weekend, Paramount Plus has a deal worth checking out. Just in time for the July 17th premiere of the third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, new subscribers can enjoy two months of Paramount Plus Premium (normally $12.99 per month) or Plus Essential (regularly $7.99 a month) for just $0.99 per month as part of the Summer Sale.
Either deal includes all the features of the base Paramount Plus Essential plan, but the Paramount Plus Premium plan offers better value by providing extra perks at the same discounted price. Premium grants access to both Paramount Plus and Showtime, so you can stream Star Trek shows as well as Yellowstone prequels 1883 and 1923, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Chi, Dexter, Billions, and Yellowjackets. The plan also includes a wide variety of acclaimed films, ranging from Love Me, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Gladiator 2, to classics like The Godfather and Pulp Fiction.
Paramount Plus Premium (monthly)
Paramount Plus Premium grants you ad-free access to live sports as well as movies and shows from both platforms, including Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Yellowstone catalog, Star Trek shows, Sonic the Hedgehog 3,Twin Peaks, Dexter, and more.
What’s more, Paramount Plus Premium will also let you livestream the upcoming 2025 NFL season, watch 24/7 live news from CBS News, and catch UEFA Champions League matches. And unlike the base plan, Premium is ad-free and allows you to download content to your mobile device for offline viewing, making it perfect for streaming on the go.
Unfortunately, after the two month promotion period ends, prices return to normal: $12.99 per month for Paramount Plus Premium or $7.99 for Plus Essential. If you’d rather not pay for either, be sure to set a reminder to cancel.
Whether you’ve still got the original band that came with your Apple Watch, or if you’re hungry for more band color options, Woot has a bevy of bands available at up to 70 percent off their normal prices. The Solo Loop band is the most affordable option, costing just $14.99 at Woot in a range of delightful colors and several sizes. This model typically costs $49 new when purchased directly through Apple, but now you can get three for around that price.
Woot also has Braided Solo Loop bands available, for those who want something that looks a little more sophisticated. One other perk of this band is that it’s breathable, which is a boon if you use your Apple Watch during workouts. These usually cost a pretty penny at $99 each, but they’re $29.99 a pop at Woot in various color schemes. Just make sure you follow Apple’s sizing guide before you commit to a size. Click this link, then select the “Start your measurement” button.
In terms of compatibility, the 38mm, 40mm, 41mm, and 42mm bands are compatible with watch cases of the same size. Same goes for the 44mm, 45mm, 46mm, and 49mm bands. The Solo Loop and Braided Solo Loop bands aren’t compatible with Apple Watch models that came out before the Apple Watch SE and the Apple Watch Series 4.
Other deals we’re excited to share with you
If you have an original Switch, a Steam Deck, or a different handheld gaming system, you’ll need a microSD card to expand its internal storage. Today you can do that on the cheap, as Lexar’s 512GB microSD card is $26.99 at Amazon. It’s normal to see prices for this amount of storage sell for around $40, but this is a particularly great price ahead of Prime Day 2025.
Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses are pretty cool, but at $299, they are a tad expensive outside of a sale. If you’d like to try out smart glasses — ones without a built-in camera — then perhaps you’ll be interested in Amazon’s bundle, which includes its latest Echo Frames glassesand a Echo Spot speaker for $129.99. The glasses are currently $129.99 alone, so you’re getting the capable bedside speaker for free in this bundle — if you have Amazon Prime, that is.
It’s been a couple of weeks since I last shouted from the rooftops that the LG B4 48-inch OLED TV is a great value at Best Buy. It bears repeating that you can get this great TV for $549.99, which sports a 120Hz refresh rate, four HDMI 2.1 ports, and unbeatable picture quality. If LG’s C-series OLEDs are out of your price range, you’re not really missing out on much by opting for the B4 instead. The C4 and C5 are brighter, but for some, the premium may not be worth it when something as good and affordable as the B4 exists.
If you were looking for some motivation to follow your doctor's advice or remember to take your medicine, look no further than this grisly tale.
A 64-year-old man went to the emergency department of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston with a painful festering ulcer spreading on his left, very swollen ankle. It was a gruesome sight; the open sore was about 8 by 5 centimeters (about 3 by 2 inches) and was rimmed by black, ashen, and dark purple tissue. Inside, it oozed with streaks and fringes of yellow pus around pink and red inflamed flesh. It was 2 cm deep (nearly an inch). And it smelled.
The man told doctors it had all started two years prior, when dark, itchy lesions appeared in the area on his ankle—the doctors noted that there were multiple patches of these lesions on both his legs. But about five months before his visit to the emergency department, one of the lesions on his left ankle had progressed to an ulcer. It was circular, red, tender, and deep. He sought treatment and was prescribed antibiotics, which he took. But they didn't help.
“Right now, the people who create recorded music do it for free, but any money that changes hands goes into the pockets of Daniel Ek.” | Image: Cath Virginia / Sophie Daws
The impetus was Spotify founder Daniel Ek's newest investment in Helsing, the German defense group that makes AI and drones. Helsing raised 600 million euros in its most recent funding round, which was led by Ek's venture capital firm Prima Materia. "Helsing is benefiting from a surge of investment in defence groups, as a highly charged geopolitical environment spurs nations all over the world to increase military spending and the war in Ukraine triggers a rethink of battlefield technology," the Financial Times wrote of the inve …
Qi2 has turned into a lot of disappointment as the magnetic standard continues to be mostly ignored, and Samsung also seems less than enthused as its official Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 cases continue to show that the company isn’t fully investing in the idea yet.
