• Apple is constantly adding new tools to its iPhones with iOS releases.
• There are apps to automate tasks and other features that stave off overstimulation.
• Here are the coolest things I discovered my iPhone can do.

Apple took the world by storm with the iPhone in 2007, and its crown jewel is only getting more features that can be lifesavers — or just really cool.

I upgraded from the iPod Touch to an iPhone 5 as a 13-year-old in 2012, so I consider myself a bit of an expert. Yet years later, my iPhone 14 Pro Max seems to be outpacing me with innovations. I've grown used to the old ways of manual functions, typing queries into the Safari search bar, and having to rely on my memory.

As Apple introduces new features, I've picked up on the tools that I see every day — like sending voice notes over iMessage or searching for apps instead of looking for them in all of my folders. However, there are more obscure additions that I hadn't made use of.

These days, top-of-the-line iPhones cost over $1,000, and Apple analysts have said they could become much more expensive if President Donald Trump follows through with the steep tariffs he wants to impose on China, the main hub for iPhone manufacturing.

I decided it's time to get my money's worth out of my handset since I won't be getting an upgrade for a while.

Here are four ways I'll be putting Apple's software to good use.

Shortcut Automations

Apple launched the Shortcuts app as part of iOS 12 in 2018. It was marketed as a time-saving app that could perform actions according to custom commands.

I remember the "I'm Being Pulled Over" feature being a big deal in 2020. When activated it would begin recording your interaction with police during traffic stops, but that's the last I paid attention to Shortcuts.

I perused the app again and found a number of customizable features that could come in handy. What's more, they can be automated.

For a trial run, I made a command for my phone to automatically FaceTime my friend whenever he sent me the word "hey." It worked, though it's probably not a command he'd like me to keep on.

You can use Shortcuts for things like:

• Turning on "Do Not Disturb" when you open a certain app.
• Sending a message when you leave a location.
• Changing your wallpaper every day.

Voice Isolation

Voice Isolation is one of my favorite iPhone features of this decade. Since its release in 2021, I've been singing its praises to anyone I talk to on the phone.

In New York City, I find myself talking in a loud environment as soon as I step out of my door. Inside, my two dogs go wild with barking whenever someone gets too close to the windows. Voice Isolation, however, silences all of the fuss.

When my best friends and I fell into the habit of group FaceTime calls, we discovered that we could isolate our voices and silence non-vocal background noise. So, when a ambulance whizzes by with a loud siren, my friends can still hear me recapping my day.

You can enable it by pressing "Phone Controls" in the Control Center while you're on the phone.

Clean Up Safari Tabs Automatically

If you're an organized technology user, you probably don't need this. However, if you're like me, you're welcome.

I like to leave my Safari tabs open as a way to keep track of places I want to visit, things I want to buy, and any other helpful sites that I might need to refer to.

Naturally, many many tabs are never revisited again as I continue to add more. Eighty-nine tabs is modest compared to the 150+ that I've proven to be capable of. I'm hoping that will change now that I know I can set my tabs to automatically close after a period of time.

I think I'll start with monthly tab closings — just to ease myself into the concept.

Follow these steps to close all of your tabs:

Settings > Safari > Close Tabs.

Background Sounds

The most zen discovery of the group is also the coolest. I've played rain sounds and white noise before by looking them up on Apple Music, but I learned that they've been built into my iPhone.

Through the Settings app, you can turn on Background Sounds to hear calming sounds like the ocean, dark noise, or a crackling fire. The sounds will continue playing behind other media if you that setting toggled on.

Follow these steps to enable Background Sounds:

Settings > Accessibility > Audio/Visual > Background Sounds.

• Richard Branson criticized Donald Trump's tariffs, calling them "erratic."
• Trump's levies have led to global trade uncertainty and retaliatory measures from other countries.
• Branson said it's time to call tariff changes a "colossal mistake and change course."

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson slammed President Donald Trump's tariff policies this week.

The 74-year-old billionaire said Trump's recent economic changes are "erratic and unpredictable" and ultimately bad for business as a taxation war rages on between the US and pretty much everyone else.

Global trade has been roiled since Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs on April 2 set off a chain of events, including retaliatory levies from countries like China and chaotic financial markets.

"If he continues, he's in such danger of doing so much damage in this world," Branson, referring to Trump, told UK news outlets on Tuesday ahead of a Virgin Atlantic Airways launch event for its new route to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He added, "It's just such a pity because everything was going so bloody well up to about three months ago."

From trillion-dollar giants to small businesses, Trump's tariff orders have led to CEOs evaluating their expenses and prices to try to mitigate the effects. On April 9, he announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs that could eventually put a 40% or more rate on imported goods from some countries. Leaders have said they're still unsure what comes next.

Virgin Group, Branson's venture capital conglomerate, owns stakes across industries, most notably in travel and entertainment. Branson posted a thread to X a few days after Trump's Liberation Day, calling the market's negative response to tariffs "predictable and preventable."

"Even if you agree with the premise of these tariffs, every reasonable effort should be made to give US companies sufficient and reasonable time to adapt," the British investor said on X.

The results for the average American will be "catastrophic," Branson said in a follow-up post on April 7, saying the rest of the world would suffer as well as the flurry of tariff attacks continue.

"This is the moment to own up to a colossal mistake and change course. Otherwise, America will face ruin for years to come," Branson said.

• With rising gold and gem costs, jewelers are weighing near-term price hikes.
• As rings get more expensive, sellers are also encouraging shoppers to buy more.
• People won't necessarily rush engagements, Angara's CEO said, "but you can buy a ring in advance."

It's a good time to check the price tag on the engagement ring you have bookmarked for that special moment.

With the cost of gold having hit record highs and gemstones no longer exempt from tariffs, jewelers are assessing their pricing strategies to balance business costs and customer expectations.

Gold spot prices on Tuesday briefly topped $3,500 an ounce, up sharply from about $3,000 a month ago. Imported gemstones are now also subject to President Donald Trump's sweeping "baseline" tariffs that took effect April 2.

"For the industry, it's really a double whammy," Angara's CEO and founder, Ankur Daga, told Business Insider.

Daga's company specializes in customized direct-to-consumer jewelry, and he says engagement rings make up more than a third of his business. Most of his production happens in Thailand, but Angara has a US workshop where it finishes items that include the previously duty-free gemstones.

For a typical engagement ring, Daga said, about 80% of the cost is determined by the gem, with about 20% from the metal. For wedding bands without jewels, the price is driven by the metal.

"If nothing changes, our total adjustment upwards will have to take both into account," he said.

"People can't necessarily rush their engagements," he added, "but you can buy a ring in advance."

Audrey Yonkus, a jewelry designer who founded Bieta & Co., said gold prices had risen by more than $1,000 an ounce since she started her own jewelry business last summer. In July, gold reached over $2,400 an ounce. When it comes to engagement rings, customers are willing to pay more for their dream ring, she said.

"Whether or not gold reaches $5,000 an ounce, people are going to want to get engaged, and they're still going to get engagement rings," Yonkus said.

Daga said rising prices have the effect of driving more people to buy rather than discouraging them, an observation echoed by Dominick Gabriel, a cofounder of Gabriel & Co., who has been in business for 35 years.

"Even when prices rise, most consumers don't hold back," Gabriel said. "In fact, they often double down — becoming even stronger believers in the value of gold and choosing to invest more, seeing it as a smart and meaningful purchase."

Bieta's Yonkus told BI that she tried to work within a client's budget using a made-to-order business model, even if it costs the company money, which she says it has.

Sherry Shi, the founder of Roen, told BI that her company had already raised the prices on most of its fine jewelry and engagement rings because of gold costs. Shi said that they tried to keep the increases under 15% but that it was unsustainable to leave them as they were in 2024.

"A lot of us tried not to raise prices as gold was going up, but it's to a point where a year ago it was $2,200, and now it's $3,500," Shi said.

Thankfully, she said, they ordered gems ahead of the tariffs — though they'll have to reassess once that supply runs out.

Angara's Daga also said his company was holding about a month's supply of gems that arrived before the tariffs kicked in.

In other words, he said, would-be fiancés can expect to see across-the-board price increases of 10% or more starting to hit in June.

• Melinda French Gates shared wisdom from influential figures in her memoir.
• Her parents and friends, like Warren Buffett, shaped her perspective on business and beyond.
• Here's what her successful friends have to say about life.

Melinda French Gates has picked up nuggets of wisdom and valuable lessons from powerful friends throughout her decades-long work in philanthropy.

The 60-year-old billionaire is an avid learner, and her new memoir, "The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward," has advice from friends, favorite authors, and her parents sprinkled throughout.

As a leader in global health research and advocate for women's rights, French Gates is often looked to for her own expertise. Sometimes, she said, it's the experiences of others that guide her.

These are some pieces of advice she's kept with her over the years.

Her mother

French Gates' parents empowered her to seek out a successful career from a young age. Her father made her attend a business course at the age of 12 to learn about goal setting.

Her mother gave her advice that French Gates relayed in her book.

She told her,"'Set your own agenda or someone else will,'" French Gates wrote in the book. She took her mother's statement to heart and ran with it.

"It became one of my mantras, especially once I got into global health," she said during a live interview with Abby Phillip from CNN.

Warren Buffett

"'You're working on the problems society left behind, and they left them behind for a reason. They are hard, right? So don't be so tough on yourself,'" French Gates recalled Buffett saying in an interview.

The Berkshire Hathaway boss is a longtime friend and philanthropic ally of French Gates and her ex-husband Bill Gates. Buffett has seen the couple through their Microsoft days and their 2021 divorce. He has dropped some knowledge over the years, according to French Gates.

Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King

In 2024, French Gates sat down with best friend duo Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King to discuss aging and transitions in honor of her 60th birthday. They connected on the stages of life and female friendship. Their conversation yielded advice that inspired her enough to be included in "The Next Day."

"Aging is just another word for living," King said.

Winfrey spoke about an inner voice, or intuition, that might be quietly telling you something you need to know. Listening to it and leaning into the discomfort of the unknown, French Gates said, is a sign of growth.

"Catch it in the whisper," Winfrey said. "What is it whispering to you now?"

• Apple releases earnings quarterly.
• On calls with investors, CEO Tim Cook addresses Apple's results and trajectory.
• The Q1 2025 call was dominated by discussions about Apple Intelligence.

Apple, the tech powerhouse behind the iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more, and services like Apple TV+, Apple Music, and the App Store, releases its earnings quarterly.

Typically, Apple CEO Tim Cook joins the calls to reflect on the results and discuss the company's future trajectory. Cook and Apple's CFO field questions from analysts to keep investors in the know about the company's financial standing.

The calls usually cover topics like the revenue of Apple products. The iPhone almost always makes up most of the company's overall sales, but it fell in the most recent quarter from the year prior.

Apple's Q2 earnings will be reported on May 1, 2025.

Here's a breakdown of Apple's recent earnings.

Apple Q1 earnings 2025

Apple reported its fiscal first-quarter results on January 30, 2025, beating earnings and revenue estimates. The firm pulled a record $124.3 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 4% year-over-year. Earnings-per-share came in at $2.40, above estimates of $2.35.

Revenue in China, though, missed estimates. The iPhone maker pulled $18.51 billion in revenue from its business in China, lower than the expected $21.57 billion.

The firm has yet to roll out Apple Intelligence in the region, which has contributed to the decline in sales, Cook told CNBC ahead of the earnings call.

On the earnings call, Cook added that he was optimistic about new products Apple has in the pipeline, like newer versions of the iPhone.

He also expressed optimism about AI.

"I do believe it will go mainstream," Cook said about artificial intelligence. "I'm getting feedback from people using different features today. Keep in mind that on the iPhone side of our business, you either have to have an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16 to use Apple Intelligence. As that base grows, the usage will continue to grow."

Apple Q4 earnings 2024

Apple reported its fourth-quarter earnings in October 2024, beating revenue and profit estimates. Revenue for the quarter came in at $94.9 billion, slightly above the expected $94.3 billion. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.64, above the estimated $1.60.

The company missed its targets for Greater China. Revenue in the region came in at $15.03 billion, below the estimated $15.8 billion.

On the earnings call, Cook said Apple planned to roll out more AI features in the "coming months," adding that he believed Apple Intelligence was creating a "new era" for the company.

He dodged a question about the impact of the presidential election and potential tariffs on Apple, adding that he didn't want to speculate.

Apple Q3 earnings 2024

Apple held its earnings call for its fiscal Q3 in August 2024, beating estimates. Revenue for the quarter came in at $85.7 billion, above the expected $84.4 billion. Earnings per share came in at $1.40, above the expected $1.35.

iPhone sales may have slowed in Q3, but services soared, and the iPad lineup launched in May received shoutouts from Apple execs. iPad revenue was up 24% year-over-year in the quarter.

Apple Intelligence, announced at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June, was a big talking point during the call. Cook said that its rollout would begin in 2024 and continue in 2025.

Cook said the company was "optimistic" about AI.

Apple Q2 earnings 2024

Apple held its earnings call for its fiscal Q2 in May 2024. Revenue came in at $90.7 billion, slightly above estimates of $90.3 billion. Earnings per share came in at $1.53, above the expected $1.50.

Sales in Greater China were better than expected, but overall iPhone sales fell 10% from the year prior. Apple also announced its biggest stock buyback ever at $110 billion.

Cook praised the Vision Pro headset, which was released on February 2, and said that Apple was "off to a good start" with the device, which was its first major new product line since the Apple Watch.

Apple earnings history

Apple's net revenue for the 2024 fiscal year totaled $391 billion, up 2% year-over-year. Its net income fell slightly to $93.7 billion, down 3% year-over-year.

Apple currently pays a dividend of $0.25 per share.

Jacqui Kenyon contributed to an earlier version of this report.

• Smartphone shipments rose overall in China in the first quarter, but iPhone shipments fell 9%, according to IDC data.
• Apple's Chinese competitors are hitting growth milestones boosted by government subsidies.
• Xiaomi now leads with 39.9% market share, retaking the top spot.

New numbers are out for China's smartphone market — and they're a troubling sign for Apple.

Overall smartphone shipments in China grew 3.3% in the first quarter, according to a Thursday research report from the International Data Corporation, but iPhone shipments notably fell by 9% year over year.

Apple was the only major smartphone maker to lose market share during the quarter, according to IDC.

Local rivals dominated the Chinese market, a key region for Apple that CEO Tim Cook has called "the most competitive market in the world," driven by government subsidies that include smartphones.

IDC analyst Will Wong wrote that the relatively high price of the iPhone meant Apple was largely left out of the subsidy-fueled growth.

Apple's smartphone shipments in China "declined as its premium pricing structure prevented it from capitalizing on the subsidies," Wong said in the IDC report. Apple's iPhones accounted for 9.8 million, or 13.7% of the 71.6 million smartphones shipped in the first quarter.

Local rival Xiaomi, on the other hand, retook the top spot for the first time in nearly a decade with a 39.9% increase in shipments, making up 13.3 million units of the total shipments.

In January, the Chinese government extended subsidies intended to stimulate consumer spending to smartphones and other tech devices. The benefit is capped at products less than 6,000 yuan, or $821, making some Apple phones too pricey for consumers to have 15% of the sale covered.

An iPhone 16 Pro, for example, starts at 7,999 yuan, or $1,095. Local smartphone makers, like Xiaomi and Huawei, have more affordable models that can be discounted using the benefit.

Government subsidies aren't the only challenge Apple is facing in China. President Donald Trump's 145% tariff on Chinese goods still hangs over its head, though Apple's devices are temporary exempt from the higher rate. China is Apple's largest supply chain hub for iPhones. While Trump largely gave the tech industry a break from the highest tariff rate for goods produced in China, he later said that companies like Apple would be subject to separate tariffs down the line.

"Looking ahead, the market is expected to face challenges as the US-China trade tensions may lead to cost increases and tighter consumer budgets," Arthur Guo, senior research analyst at IDC, said.

Apple has plenty of ground to make up in the country as its numbers continue to indicate that the iPhone is losing its foothold. Its share of the smartphone market in China for Q4 2024 was 17% — down 21% from the previous year.

The iPhone giant releases its first-quarter earnings report on May 1, which will give Wall Street a better look at how the company is doing in the highly competitive market.

• Hermès said on an analyst call on Thursday that it will raise prices in the US.
• The price hikes are because of Trump's tariffs, which the brand said haven't yet affected them.
• The Birkin bag, a staple for Hermès, already retails for more than $10,000.

Luxury retailer Hermès announced on Thursday that it's raising prices in the US to offset the effect of President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Eric du Halgouët, executive vice president of finance at the company, told analysts on call that Hermès hadn't yet been impacted by the tariffs, but it was going to raise US prices in May to brace for how the taxes could impact growth.

"The price increase that we're going to implement will be just for the US. Since it's aimed at offsetting the increase in tariffs, that only applies to the American market," du Halgouët said on the call.

du Halgouët said the company has plans to hire an additional 1,000 to 1,500 people, but it will remain cautious about the impact of "geopolitical changes" on financial markets. He also said Hermès raised prices across the US and Europe by 6% at the beginning of 2025.

Hermès caters to the uber-wealthy — even the cheapest versions of its trademark Birkin bags currently cost more than $10,000. It has maintained strong growth amid a challenging environment for the luxury sector, and recently surpassed rival LVMH as the most valuable luxury company.

The French company reported a slow down in first-quarter sales — it grew by 7.2% compared to 18% in the prior quarter. It reported first quarter revenue of €4.1 billion and growth in all geographical areas, according to a press release.

Hermès got caught up in a TikTok fueled controversy earlier this month, when a user posted a now-deleted video claiming that 80% of luxury bags are made in China.

The company doesn't manufacture bags in China and most of its production takes place in France, according to its website. Since Trump issued a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, France is facing a blanket 10% tax.

Representatives for Hermès did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

• Melinda French Gates took her first business course at 12 years old.
• The course emphasized writing and achieving life goals.
• French Gates said she later realized the need to balance goal-setting with enjoying life.

Melinda French Gates picked up her knack for goal-setting at an early age.

During the summer after seventh grade, her father sent a 12-year-old French Gates and her sister off to a business course. It was called the "Successful Life Course," and her dad had attended on an earlier work trip.

He was so inspired by what he learned, she wrote in her memoir "The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward," that he signed his daughters up to attend the class over 100 miles away from her Dallas home.

"'Oh my God,' I remember thinking. 'What did they do to my father?'" she wrote.

Their class used books from self-help guru Dale Carnegie and practiced "mind-controlled relaxation," which French Gates said was essentially power naps. The main lesson, however, was the art of goal-setting. They started with short-term goals and pushed on to life goals — reinforcing their commitment by writing them out each night before.

These are the goals that 12-year-old French Gates set for her future self:

• By age fourteen, to have made the intramural cheerleading squad.
• By twenty, to have taken a trip to Europe.
• And by twenty-one, to own her own car. ("'A Cadillac with velvet seats,' I specified, dreamily," she said.)

After the course ended, French Gates said she kept the navy blue binder she received and continued using it each night.

"Over time, the goals I wrote down started to become more and more serious," she wrote.

Although the goal-setting lessons stayed with her, she added that there was a key part of the class she'd been less disciplined in: reflecting on the goals she managed to achieve. Instead of slowing down after crossing off items on her list, her "entire focus would shift to the next one." Her ambition led her to a job at Microsoft, and, eventually, an estimated net worth of $30.1 billion, according to Forbes.

"I was almost using the goals to just push myself so hard in life," French Gates told CNN's Abby Phillip on Monday.

Yet by 35, she realized it was time to set the goal-setting aside and "ease into life," French Gates said during the live interview. At that age she'd been married to her ex-husband, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, for years and had become a mother. She wasn't done with her ambitions, however.

"I'm gonna have big audacious goals, but I'm gonna give myself some time to achieve them," she said she told herself at the time.

• Melinda French Gates said she tends to focus on one task at a time to avoid mistakes.
• She said multitasking is a myth and led to errors in her career.
• During her career at Microsoft, multitasking was a big deal.

Melinda French Gates believes in taking on tasks one at a time.

During a Monday appearance for her new book, "The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward," French Gates responded to a question about the challenge of focusing in the era of emails, social media, and other distractions.

"I think multitasking is a myth, honestly," French Gates told CNN's Abby Phillip.

She added, "I made some of my biggest mistakes when I was multitasking."

The 60-year-old billionaire philanthropist started her tech career at Microsoft in 1987 when it was a budding company making a name for itself. Even in the pre-smartphone era, French Gates said, there was a lot of urgency in the corporate world.

Once she realized multitasking wasn't for her, she had to do things her way. She discovered that she was "much better off" when she could tell herself to slow down and focus on one thing at a time.

"I might not complete the whole task, but focus on it. Put it aside, even if it's only 60% done, and then focus on the next thing," French Gates said.

Microsoft has a reputation for having a fast-paced culture where the smartest and most productive employees thrived under her ex-husband and former boss, Bill Gates. The Microsoft founder took on loads of information daily as the CEO, managing multiple teams at once, a former employee told BI in 2023.

In French Gates' case, she said taking a different approach "really helped me."

• Melinda French Gates chose Duke University over Catholic schools after a tour as a teen.
• Despite her Catholic background, she was drawn to Duke's cutting-edge technology.
• Duke was her top choice, but she struggled to adjust when she arrived, French Gates writes.

Melinda French Gates went against the crowd to attend Duke, and she's proud to be a Blue Devil.

Catholic universities like Notre Dame were popular choices for high school girls with a religious background like hers, French Gate said in her book, "The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward." Instead she chose to move away from Dallas, where she grew up, to Duke University in North Carolina.

The 60-year-old billionaire philanthropist, who was married to Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates for 27 years, wrote that she assumed she'd follow the path of the Catholic education she'd been on her whole life, but a visit to Durham, North Carolina, changed her mind.

French Gates "absolutely fell in love" with Duke when she toured the campus in the spring of her senior year, and it wasn't just because of its beauty.

"It was the gleam of the state-of-the-art computer lab," French Gates wrote.

She developed an early love for computer science as a kid practicing on an Apple III computer. It fueled her dreams of changing the world. At Duke, the lab had technology that was considered cutting-edge for the time.

"It felt like a portal to the life I wanted," French Gates wrote.

It inspired her to pursue an education in computer science at the university. However, her first semester after moving into her dorm in 1982 was a "culture shock" for a Texas girl who grew up going to an all-girls Catholic school. In the "Next Day," she recalled the "brash, arrogant guys" in her class who shouted out answers instead of politely raising their hands as she'd been taught.

French Gates also said she felt unprepared for her first course in computer science. Her professor spoke a different programming language the one she'd excelled at in high school.

"I had no idea what he was talking about," French Gates wrote.

The ordeal made her doubt her choice — wondering if she'd aimed too high by choosing Duke, she said. Looking back, she wrote, she realized it was a normal experience for freshmen in college.

"If I'd packed up and gone home, transferred schools, and scrapped my plans, there is no question that my life would have been completely different," French Gates wrote.

She graduated with a degree in computer science and economics in 1986 and an MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business in 1987.

• Apple's tariff uncertainty is prompting iPhone users to strategize about cost-saving measures.
• If Trump's hefty tariffs affect Apple, customers could end up paying more for their devices.
• Apple has some solutions to making your iPhone last longer.

The uncertainty over Apple's place in the tariff war has iPhone owners strategizing ways to save money on their devices.

President Donald Trump's most recent comments exempting many tech products from his blanket tariffs on China, a major Apple manufacturing hub, seemed to give Apple a temporary reprieve. Tariffs could send iPhone prices to nearly $3,000, according to Rosenblatt Securities. Apple shares rose, though pared gains to 2.2% on Monday after the news.

Yet some wary iPhone users are upgrading now or doing maintenance on their current phone to avoid potential price hikes.

Users who said they aren't ready to upgrade have been sharing tips and guidance on how to maintain an iPhone in the r/Apple subreddit — including the small things they do to avoid larger costs later.

Those who want to hold on to their current phone for as long as possible face issues with battery degradation and, of course, accidental damage.

Here's what some owners said they're doing for upkeep and what Apple offers for iPhone maintenance.

Redditors said they're keeping up with their iPhone's battery health

Apple offers official guidance on battery lifespan on its website. In an example of a significantly degraded battery, the tech giant showed an iPhone with less than 80% of maximum capacity and recommended a replacement.

Battery replacement extends the lifespan of older phones with a shorter charge than they had fresh out of the box. Consumers can get a new battery at an Apple store when they book a service appointment. iPhone models as far back as the iPhone 6S are available options for replacement on the official website.

For an iPhone 15 Pro Max, the cost starts at $99. iPhone 6S owners can theoretically get their battery changed for $69.

You can pay Apple to take care of everything

New iPhones come with a one-year limited warranty and 90 days of complimentary technical support. Redditors said it's worth investigating Apple's subscription-based coverage plan.

If you want to protect your device, AppleCare+ helps cover repairs, replacements, and theft and loss cases — including free battery replacements on eligible models. AppleCare+ is $13.99 a month or $139.99 annually — cheaper than a brand-new iPhone.

You can also do it yourself

For the more technically advanced users, Apple launched its self-service repair program in 2022. It provides the correct tools and parts for iPhone owners to repair their devices at home. A kit for replacing the back glass of an iPhone 16 Pro Max, for example, costs $199. You'll get a return credit for shipping back the glass you replaced.

Phones running on iOS 18 have access to the Repair Assistant feature, which can recognize authentic Apple parts and ensure they're working properly if you're doing your own repair job.

And, if you're ready to make the change, you could trade in your depleted phone for a possible discount on a new one.

• TJ Semanchin is the co-owner of Wonderstate Coffee, a Wisconsin-based coffee roaster.
• Donald Trump's 10% blanket tariffs mean Semanchin's company will have to make some hard decisions.
• Wonderstate typically imports 40,000 pounds of coffee in one transaction.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 51-year-old TJ Semanchin, the co-owner of Wonderstate Coffee. Business Insider has confirmed Semanchin's identity and role at the company. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.

I've been in the coffee business for the last 25 years. Before that, I was living in Latin America studying issues around sustainable development in coffee lands.

After moving to a small rural town in Wisconsin in 2005, my wife and I started what was Kickapoo Coffee at the time — we've since rebranded — with our business partner, Caleb Nichols. We're a small company. We employ 85 people here in Wisconsin.

Today, Donald Trump's tariffs are 10% across the board, and we're in a business climate where there's so much uncertainty. You can't produce coffee in the United States. There's no replacement.

As an industry, we were in denial when Trump was talking about tariffs last year or earlier. Even as we've gotten closer, we were like, "Well, of course, he's going to make an exception."

We thought we were likely immune, so this has been something that is so disruptive. Importing a product that can only be produced outside of our borders is at the core of our business.

The coffee industry was already in a shaky place

The coffee market is getting zigzagged in every direction because there's so much uncertainty and volatility in everything right now.

For the last six months, the coffee industry has been dealing with historically high commodity prices.

Over the course of a few years, the world's largest producers of coffee, Brazil and Vietnam, have been hit with climate disruptions. It's unprecedented. This affects everyone, from a roaster like us to huge brands like the Maxwell Houses and Starbucks.

So, there's been a supply crunch, which has pushed the price up due to it just being harder for farmers to grow the beans.

It's going to cost a lot

We have coffee on the water right now that we think will be hit with tariffs.

Ethiopia is our biggest African source. In Central America, it's Guatemala, and Peru is the main source in South America.

If I want to bring that coffee into the country and get it through customs, that tariff needs to be paid. I pay that.

We deal in containers, which are 40,000 pounds of coffee. At $5 per pound, I'd pay $200,000 for one container. If we start at 10%, the tariff would be $20,000. We buy about 14 containers a year.

So we're looking at $250,000 to $300,000 of tariff impact. Some of that, no matter what, I have to absorb upfront. I have to finance it, I have to come up with the dollars.

I have to figure out how to afford that unexpected business cost. That means borrowing more money, which comes with interest, but it's also tying up my cash.

What now?

We have 33 coffee shops here in Wisconsin, around the state. We're in Whole Foods regionally, a bunch of Midwest grocery chains, and natural food cooperatives. We also sell to independent coffee shops, restaurants, and corporate campuses.

Tariffs are making me way more conservative in our outlook this year. We can't afford to invest in our people, invest in equipment, or invest in growth. We're pulling back on plans we had for this year.

We are working with the two sides of the coffee world: we're working to empower farmers while providing consumers with some of the best coffees.

We have loyal customers, but as we increase prices, where and when do people stop drinking coffee or go somewhere else? The business environment is really dicey.

I don't even know what the price of the bags that we put our coffee in is going to be. A lot of them come from Asia, and those tariffs are bouncing all over the place. Some come from China; some come from Taiwan.

I've talked to two of the elected officials and a senator from my state. I'm trying to make waves in Washington, DC. This is clearly going to slow our job growth.

Worst case scenario, we're going to have to cut jobs.

• Coffee shops are starting to raise their prices in response to President Donald Trump's 10% tariffs.
• The US has limited coffee production, so beans have to be imported.
• Some coffee entrepreneurs told BI they need to cushion their business against tariff uncertainty.

Don't be surprised if your next cup of coffee costs more.

Coffee shops in the US have begun to pass along tariff costs straight to customers' wallets.

Though President Donald Trump put a 90-day pause on most of his reciprocal tariffs on Wednesday, his 10% blanket levies remain in effect. Some coffee importers and cafés are now raising their prices in response.

"That erases our entire profit margin if we absorb it," Chris Kornman, the director of education at the importer Royal Coffee, told Business Insider. He called the situation "an unprecedented crisis" for the coffee industry.

The Crown, a specialty coffee shop that Royal owns in Oakland, California, announced across-the-board price increases on Thursday. All of its drinks will cost an additional 50 cents from now on, Kornman said, with the exception of its $2 dark roast, which is an entry-level drink for customers who aren't used to a natural-processed pour-over or washed Rwandan espresso.

"Unless we get a resolution in Washington soon, this appears to be the new normal, unfortunately," Max Nicholas-Fulmer, the CEO of Royal Coffee, said in a statement shared with BI.

Other coffee shops have also announced price hikes. The Wakery, an Illinois-based late-night coffeehouse, posted a statement to Facebook on Wednesday informing customers that it would be increasing the price of all of its coffee drinks due to the tariffs.

"Our coffee supplier needed to raise their wholesale price, and in order to make our ends meet, we need to respond by raising our coffee prices," it said.

Local reports also indicate that cafés in Austin, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and New Jersey are raising their prices or considering doing so.

Just the beginning

TJ Semanchin, co-owner of Wonderstate Coffee, told BI a 10% increase for a cup of coffee is only "the starting point."

The US is the second largest coffee importer in the world, with Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam making up around 60% of its coffee supply, according to a 2024 United States Department of Agriculture report. Before he announced pauses to some of the country-specific increases on Wednesday, Trump's sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs varied by country, with a 46% rate for Vietnam and 10% for both Brazil and Colombia. The blanket 10% tariffs remain for all three countries.

"The coffee market is getting zigzagged in every direction because there's so much uncertainty and volatility in everything," Semanchin said.

Uncertainty summer

Shop owners say tariff whiplash doesn't help. When Trump initially announced 25% tariffs on Mexico, Kornman said staff at Royal Coffee scrambled to scale back its Mexican coffee purchases and notify customers that it might charge more for those beans. Now, Mexico's agricultural products aren't affected. Royal has stopped buying coffee from India in case its tariffs go up to 27%, as Trump initially proposed.

"To quote our logistics coordinator, we're digging holes in all the wrong places," Kornman said.

Pierre and Jackie Marquez, who own Tasa Coffee Roasters in Chicago, say they already bumped up their prices in February because of overall rising costs. If Trump's reciprocal tariffs go into effect at the end of his 90-day pause, the Marquez's say they'll have to increase prices again.

"It's almost a guarantee," Pierre Marquez said.

Domestic coffee production is largely limited to Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and small parts of California. Those farms can't replace coffee imports, Kornman said.

The cost of coffee beans was already creeping upward before Trump's tariffs, due in part to shipping costs and extra-warm weather in Brazil, he added.

"There's also the threat of a global recession on the table at the moment, and that makes it pretty unsavory to talk about raising prices when people may not be able to afford a cup of coffee," Kornman said.

"I don't expect to raise prices again in an ideal world," he added. Still, "it's really hard to predict."

• UGG is the number one fashion trend among upper-income females in 2025, a survey said.
• Stanley Cups and other recently hot brands are waning in popularity, according to Piper Sandler.
• Nike is still the most popular clothing brand for teens, though its mindshare dropped for females.

Teenage girls seem to be having a retro moment.

Some big brands, including Nike and Sephora, maintained their popularity with teens, according to Piper Sandler's semi-annual Taking Stock With Teens survey, published on April 9.

Yet Hollister and UGG, which were staple brands among millennial and elder Gen Z teens over a decade ago, are rising in popularity again with Gen Alpha and young Gen Zers in 2025, the Piper Sandler report said. The investment bank got input from 6,455 teens with an average age of 16.2 years.

Hollister, for example, became known for its "dead" locations that were transformed into aquariums or other businesses just a few years ago. Now, it's the No. 1 apparel brand for female teens, disrupting Nike's dominance.

UGG grew the most since Piper Sandler's last survey in fall 2024, edging out Lululemon and its popular leggings for the top trend among upper-income female teens.

The teens surveyed are spending about $2,388 annually on their favorite brands, the bank said, up 6%, year-over-year from 2024. It's mostly on clothes and food, with personal care and video games tying for third place for average-income teens.

Despite maintaining its number one ranking in footwear for all teens, mindshare for Nike dipped below 40% for female consumers, the lowest since 2020, the survey said. On Running, a Nike competitor, gained share in the footwear category, but Hey Dude shoes slipped out of the top 10 for the first time since fall 2023.

Victoria's Secret is continuing to climb out of its slump, with female teens ranking it as one of the top places to shop for fragrances.

Stanley Cups and Crocs were all the rage a few years ago, but upper-income female teens told Piper Sandler that they're "on the way out" in 2025. Both skinny jeans and baggy pants made the top of the "out" list, so it's unclear what teenagers consider the correct fit for pants.

Sephora remained the favorite beauty shopping destination for teens. However, e.l.f., the top cosmetics brand this season, isn't sold by the retailer. They can go to Ulta, the runner-up, for that.

• Apple users have been heading to stores to upgrade ahead of potential tariff-driven price hikes.
• Donald Trump increased tariffs on China, a hub for iPhone production, to 104% beginning Wednesday.
• Tariffs on Chinese imports could increase iPhone prices by over 40%, analysts say.

Apple users are trying to get ahead of tariffs.

The crowds at Apple stores over the weekend had Black Friday vibes, a retail employee said, but shoppers weren't there for holiday gifts. President Donald Trump is in a tariff battle with China, the main country that Apple depends on for manufacturing its products.

With a 104% tariff in effect on Chinese imported goods, Apple is facing a tough decision: raise prices or find another way to offset the costs.

With iPhone prices at risk of going up, customers are flocking to their local Apple stores to upgrade now rather than later.

"It's not innovation or a broken phone that brought me to the store," 42-year-old Joseph Donnelly told Business Insider after posting about his upgrade online.

He had been planning on holding onto his iPhone 13 Pro until the iPhone 17 came out, but traded it in for an iPhone 16 Pro Max on Saturday after the tariffs were announced. Donnelly said he drew the line at paying an extra 20% or more for "an incremental improvement" on current or future models.

At the downtown Brooklyn Apple store on Tuesday, I waited around 15 minutes to talk to a team member about iPhones since they were all occupied by customers setting up their new phones, they said. When I spoke with an employee, she told me the Tuesday crowd was nothing compared to the chaos on the weekend.

As we stood around the iPhone display table, another customer, who asked not to be named, told me he was upgrading "before they get way more expensive."

"I'm just getting the cheapest one to last me a few years," he said as he played with the $599 iPhone 16e.

BI reached out to Apple, but the company declined to share data on store traffic or sales.

Before Trump added a further bump to China's tariff rate, analysts had estimated a 40% price increase on tech devices. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, for example, would go from $1,599 to just under $2,300, according to BI's previous calculations. The 104% reciprocal tariff would push its top iPhone model well over $2,300 if Apple decides to let the cost fall to consumers.

As Apple rolled out the iPhone 16 and its AI offerings in 2024, analysts predicted an upgrade supercycle. That didn't happen right away, but tariff fears could — briefly — spark an iPhone sales boom the tech industry has been discussing for nearly a year.

Donnelly said he's content with his new iPhone 16 Pro Max for the next two years, at least.

"Maybe if the tariffs end by the 20th anniversary of the iPhone in 2027, I'll probably upgrade then, too," he told BI.

• Watches and Wonders in Geneva has showcased new luxury timepieces from top brands like Rolex.
• Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron Constantin debuted new models this week.
• The event comes amid concern Swiss watches will face price hikes in the US from tariffs.

A much-anticipated event in the watch industry is underway, and the heavy hitters have been rolling out new models.

The Watches and Wonders event kicked off in Geneva, a hub for luxury watches, on Tuesday. These aren't your everyday accessories, with Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron Constantin among the brands to debut new products.

The event is the "Super Bowl" of watches, as Bob's Watches founder and CEO Paul Altieri put it.

The future of Swiss-made watches in the US is uncertain as President Donald Trump's 31% tariff on imports from Switzerland could hike prices. Surging gold prices have already caused Rolex to bump up prices on some of its most expensive products this year.

That hasn't stopped watch enthusiasts from enjoying their time at Watches and Wonders. Here are the three pieces that are wowing attendees the most, according to two experts.

Rolex Land-Dweller

The Rolex Land-Dweller is a "polarizing" drop from the brand, Linden Lazarus, founder and CEO at WatchCheck, said. The integrated bracelet design looks like it's meant to compete with rivals Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, and it calls back to a vintage design from Rolex, Lazarus said.

The dial features a white honeycomb motif for watches made of rose gold and Rolesor, Rolex's patented combination of steel and gold. For the platinum option, which costs $63,500, the honeycomb design is blue.

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer appeared in the ad campaign announcing the Land-Dweller, and Watches and Wonders attendees got a closer look in person. The 40-millimeter Land-Dweller starts at $14,900 on Rolex's website.

"They are going to be popular, no doubt, and it will be interesting to see how Rolex iterates on this line in the future," Lazarus said.

Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication — La Première

Vacheron Constantin dropped the "Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication — La Première," which it called the "most complicated wristwatch ever made," at Watches and Wonders 2025.

With 1,521 components and functions that can tell you the positions of the stars and the sun's trajectory, the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication — La Première is a "showstopper," Bob's Watches' Altieri said.

It took nearly a decade and 13 patent applications to develop the watch, Altieri said. It's expected to be one of the most expensive pieces to come out at Watches and Wonders, though experts BI spoke to declined to give an estimate. A Vacheron Constantin employee told BI that store associates haven't yet been told the price of the new watch.

Entry-level watches from Vacheron Constantin start at around $15,000, and the high-end pieces can reach well over $500,000.

Patek Philippe Calatrava ref. 6196P-001

The new Patek Philippe Calatrava is one of Lazarus' favorite releases from the brand "in a very long time." It gives a nod to a 1932 model and highlights the brand's history of functional designs that can hold up a century later.

With an alligator leather strap and a platinum case, its suggested retail price is around $47,130. The salmon dial seems to be a crowd-pleaser, Lazarus and Altieri both said.

"A winner, and a really good decision by the brand to keep their core supporters enthralled at a relatively digestible price point," Lazarus said.

• Apple faces $40 billion in tariff costs due to new US tariffs on China and Vietnam, an analyst says.
• The tariffs could lead to a 40% price increase on iPhones, impacting demand and sales.
• China's retaliatory tariffs add pressure on Apple in the competitive Greater China market.

Apple has some decisions to make.

President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs on Wednesday that will disrupt the supply chain for many businesses. For Apple, the 54% tariff rate on China and a 46% tariff on Vietnam present a challenge: analysts estimate the vast majority of its product line is made in the two countries.

If things continue as they are now, Apple is on track to face $40 billion in tariff costs, Rosenblatt analyst Barton Crockett wrote in a note. The tech giant will have to decide if it will try to offset the fees by raising iPhone prices.

Crockett and Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives predict a roughly 40% price increase on tech devices to ease the impact of the tariffs. iPhones could get more expensive at the same time that Apple is pushing for more demand. Apple shares were down more than 8% at market close following Trump's announcement — its largest one-day drop in five years.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

The iPhone 16 starts at $799. A 43% price increase, as Rosenblatt estimated, would bring it up to $1,142 before taxes — $50 cheaper than the most expensive iPhone in Apple's current lineup. For the top-of-the-line iPhone 16 Pro Max, which costs up to $1,599, a 43% bump would put it at just under $2,300, according to BI's calculations.

Shifting production to the US likely won't save consumers either, Ives said. He estimates that an iPhone made in the US would cost $3,500. However, Crockett wrote that the shift isn't feasible for the immediate future.

China swiftly clapped back at Trump's tariffs with its own on Friday. Beginning April 10, US imports to China will be charged a 34% tariff. It presents yet another challenge for Apple in the crucial Greater China market where it's faced increasing competition from local smartphone makers.

• Swiss watches may increase prices due to a new 31% tariff by the US, analysts say.
• Rolex, a leading Swiss brand, faces challenges in offsetting these increased costs.
• The tariffs, imposed by Donald Trump, affect Swiss and European Union watch imports.

If you're thinking of buying a Rolex watch, you might want to act now to avoid potential price increases.

The biggest names in luxury watches mostly hail from Switzerland — a country that just got hit with Donald Trump's new tariffs. The reciprocal tariff rate is 31% for Switzerland and 20% for the European Union.

Rolex, a privately held company, produces its watches in Switzerland and ships them out to customers across the globe. It's one of the most sought-after luxury watch brands, with pieces that start at over $5,000 and which can reach over $50,000 depending on the material and exclusivity of the timepiece.

JPMorgan analysts said they see potentially the "most pressure on the Swiss watchmakers," including the owners of Cartier, a Rolex rival in the watch space.

With a 31% tariff rate, Rolex, along with its Swiss competitors, will be faced with few options to offset the cost of selling their products to the US. Like many retailers finding out about the official Trump tariffs, it'll have to adapt swiftly.

The levy, if fully passed on to customers, could mean that a $10,000 brand-new Rolex in the US could cost an extra $3,100 if tariffs are upheld. With additional sales tax — about 8% in many states — the final price could reach over $14,000, Paul Altieri, CEO of Bob's Watches, said.

Representatives for Rolex didn't immediately respond to a message left by Business Insider requesting a comment.

If Rolex raises its prices in June, it'll be the second time the watches have gone up in 2025. As the price of gold surged, certain Rolex models made of gold increased in price by as much as 8% on January 1.

• Mark Zuckerberg has been quietly snapping up massive chunks of real estate for years.
• The tech billionaire has bought hundreds of acres of Hawaiian land.
• He also recently reportedly bought property in Washington, DC.

Mark Zuckerberg is one of the world's richest people, and his multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio reflects that.

The man responsible for Facebook is worth around an estimated $180 billion, Forbes reported, and part of that fortune includes assets like a sprawling California compound and acres of lush land on a Hawaiian island.

Zuckerberg's real-estate dealings are often shrouded in privacy, including the use of limited-liability companies and addresses linked to the investment management firm Iconiq Capital.

His most recent purchase appears to be a $23 million mansion in the Massachusetts Avenue Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC. A Meta spokesperson confirmed that Zuckerberg recently bought a home in the area, which reportedly closed in March, per Politico.

"Mark and Priscilla have purchased a home in DC, which will allow Mark to spend more time there as Meta continues the work on policy issues related to American technology leadership," a spokesperson said to Politico.

Over the years, he's bought and sold homes all over the country. He's also reportedly built some — a Hawaiian doomsday ranch that has had many scratching their heads, for example.

Zuckerberg's real estate portfolio has an assessed value of around $200 million, according to Business Insider calculations based on property assessments.

However, the assessed value of properties can be lower than reported purchase prices (or current market value), so Zuckerberg's holdings are likely worth significantly more.

Representatives for Zuckerberg didn't immediately respond to BI's previous request for comment.

Here's what we know about his real estate.

Zuckerberg owns a residential compound in Palo Alto.

It's no surprise that a tech titan has more than one property in Silicon Valley. The Meta CEO owns five homes in the Crescent Park neighborhood of Palo Alto.

He gave viewers a rare peek inside one of them in 2016; the house is even tricked out with a "custom-made artificially intelligent assistant," according to CNBC. The home is only a 10-minute drive from the Meta HQ in Menlo Park.

He bought the first Crescent Park property in May 2011 for $7 million.

Architectural Digest described it as a "'no frills abode" that chooses function over extravagance. Zuckerberg then spent over $43 million on the four homes surrounding his original residence in Crescent Park, The Wall Street Journal reported.

He sold his San Francisco townhouse in 2022 for a reported $31 million.

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom home is located near San Francisco's Dolores Park. He and his wife, Priscilla Chan, reportedly spent $10 million to purchase the townhouse in 2010.

At the time of the sale in 2022, it was the largest residential real estate deal in the city.

He bought two adjacent estates on the shore of Lake Tahoe around 2019.

Lake Tahoe is a popular vacation destination for wealthy Californians in both summer and winter, and Zuckerberg and his family are no exception.

The tax records of the two properties — known as Carousel Estate and Brushwood Estate — display the same address as tax records of other properties linked to Zuckerberg, according to documents viewed by BI.

Zuckerberg reportedly paid $59 million for both properties.

At 5,322 square feet, the Brushwood Estate features six bedrooms, five baths, and two half baths, according to SF Gate. Inside are high-beamed ceilings and picture windows; outside are lush trees, a private dock, and a hot tub. There's also a 2,293-square-foot guesthouse.

The Meta exec owns over 1,200 acres of land in Hawaii.

It's unclear exactly how many acres of land Zuckerberg currently owns on Kauai, but he began buying up a region of the island back in 2014.

BI tracked down at least 1,200 acres between 17 parcels of land that have the same tax address as other properties mentioned above, but are owned by LLCs including Kahu'aina Holdings LLC and Pila'a International LLC.

The 1,200 acres include about 750 acres he reportedly paid $100 million in 2014 for. That encompasses a more than 350-acre span of land on Pila'a Beach.

His plans for Koolau Ranch seem to be in preparation for the worst case scenario.

Another part of Zuckerberg's Hawaii holdings is the nearly 600 acres of land on Kauai's North Shore that reportedly cost him around $53 million in 2021.

On one of his Hawaiian parcels, Zuckerberg is reportedly building a huge compound that's said to include a 5,000-square-foot underground bunker with an escape hatch. It's been dubbed Koolau Ranch, and Wired reported that buying the land and creating the compound cost the executive an estimated $270 million.

In March 2025, he purchased a 15,000-square-foot mansion in Washington, DC.

As Silicon Valley continues to infiltrate Washington, DC, Zuckerberg established a residence in the US capital, Politico said. The home that's reportedly his new pad is situated in Massachusetts Avenue Heights, not far from the Naval Observatory and the Washington National Cathedral, according to Builder magazine.

Zuckerberg kept the purchase private, Politico said. The mansion in question was sold for $23 million in cash. It was designed by local firm Robert Gurney Architect and sits on about one acre of property.

Business Insider was unable to independently confirm that Zuckerberg purchased the property.

Hillary Hoffower contributed to an earlier version of this story.

• Melinda French Gates said she struggled leading up to and during her divorce from Bill Gates.
• French Gates wrote about her nightmares and feeling panicky in her new memoir, "The Next Day."
• Their divorce was finalized in 2021, over a year after their private separation.

Breakups are hard, even if you're guaranteed to walk away a billionaire.

Melinda French Gates' divorce from Bill Gates was years in the making — and presaged by nightmares and bouts of panic that made her face her feelings, she told People in an interview.

Gates and French Gates announced their split in a joint statement in 2021. In her coming memoir, "The Next Day," she wrote about her feelings leading up to their official divorce. French Gates said she experienced cryptic nightmares beginning in 2019 that left her in a panic. The final blow was a vision of herself plummeting into a void while her family stood on the edge of a cliff.

French Gates wrote that that was the moment she knew it was time for her to make a big life decision on her own. In 2020, she told her then-husband that she wanted to live separately.

"It was one of the scariest conversations I'd have had," she wrote.

However, Gates was "understanding and respectful" upon hearing the news, though he was "sad and upset," French Gates wrote. Months later, in the summer of 2020, she asked him for a divorce.

Her panicked feelings didn't end with that revelation. French Gates said she started "having panic attacks" in the months during and leading up to their divorce proceedings.

"Bill has a reputation for being one of the toughest negotiators in the world," French Gates wrote.

Their divorce was finalized in August 2021 after "grueling" and lengthy proceedings, she wrote in the memoir. She walked away with $6.3 billion worth of Microsoft stock, and her net worth is an estimated $30 billion, Forbes reported.

These days, French Gates is continuing her philanthropic endeavors through her company, Pivotal Ventures, and reportedly dating. Late last year, she was spotted holding hands with Philip Vaughn, an entrepreneur and former Microsoft employee.

Correction: April 2, 2025 — Corrects French Gates' estimated net worth to $30 billion, not $30 million.