An engineer's new smartphone cases can give any iPhone a USB-C port
For several generations, Apple equipped its smartphones with proprietary Lighting ports. That connection tech required a frankly obnoxious number of adapters and dongles to use. A solution like Pillonel's can help keep those older devices functional in the present day, where USB-C has become the standard for most gadgets, including Apple's.
"The goal is to give some extra life to those older devices by making them feel less obsolete," he explains in the video announcement. Pillonel has designed cases for all 20 phone models from the Lightning era that can run the current iOS. The design promises fast charging as well as full data transfers to both computers and CarPlay. He's also adding more color options to be released in September.
The video is a worthy watch for anyone interested in product design and engineering. And you can also read the backstory on other products Pillonel has tackled, including Apple's AirPods and AirPods Max.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Rare Earth Magnets Market Report 2026-2036, with Detailed Analysis of 29 Leading Companies Across the Rare Earth Magnet Value Chain
In 2025, the rare earth magnet market faces unprecedented pressures due to geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and soaring demand from emerging technologies such as electric vehicles and robotics. China's export controls have particularly impacted industries like defense and Tesla's humanoid robots, causing significant ripple effects worldwide. The U.S.'s strategic interventions, including a $400 million investment in MP Materials and Apple's $500 million recycling partnership, highlight efforts to lessen dependency on Chinese exports. The demand for rare earth magnets, valued at $19 billion, continues to grow, underscoring the necessity for alternative technologies and robust domestic supply chains. The report examines the entire supply chain, from mining to recycling, and profiles key industry players. Dublin, July 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Rare Earth Magnets Market 2026-2036" report has been added to offering. The rare earth magnet market stands at a critical juncture in 2025, shaped by unprecedented geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and explosive demand growth from emerging technologies. The industry's strategic importance has become paramount as governments and corporations recognize these materials as essential infrastructure for the global energy transition and technological advancement. The most significant recent development has been China's implementation of export controls on rare earth magnets beginning in April 2025, which triggered immediate supply chain disruptions across multiple industries. China's rare earth magnet exports to the United States experienced dramatic volatility, with shipments initially halted before surging 660% in June 2025 following trade negotiations. This rebound, while substantial, still leaves overall 2025 exports trailing previous year levels, demonstrating the fragility of current supply arrangements. The export restrictions particularly impacted critical applications including defense systems, electric vehicles, and emerging technologies like Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots. Ford halted production at its Chicago plant due to magnet shortages, while companies across industries depleted stockpiles while scrambling for alternative sources. Despite a temporary trade framework announced in June 2025, implementation remains problematic with companies facing ongoing uncertainty about future supply availability. The crisis has accelerated fundamental restructuring of global rare earth magnet supply chains. The U.S. Department of Defense's $400 million investment in MP Materials represents the largest government intervention in the sector, aimed at creating domestic magnet production capabilities. MP Materials has strategically halted all rare earth exports to China as of April 2025, redirecting focus toward domestic processing and magnet manufacturing at its Mountain Pass facility. 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Hastings Technology Metals Limited HyProMag Ionic Rare Earths Ionic Technologies JL Mag Lynas Rare Earths Limited MagREEsource Materials Nexus Metalysis MP Materials Corporation Neo Performance Materials Niron Magnetics and more. These profiles examine strategic positioning, technology capabilities, production capacity, market focus, and development initiatives across mining, processing, manufacturing, and recycling operations. For more information about this report visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. CONTACT: CONTACT: Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@ For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900Connectez-vous pour accéder à votre portefeuille
Tom's Guide
2 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
Tom's Guide Awards 2025: Our favorite phones of the year
Whether you want a phone with a massive screen, one that takes beautiful photos or one you can quickly fold up, this has been an amazing year for smartphones, and we've tested the best ones out there. From flagship phones with top of the line specs, camera phones with high-resolution sensors, flip or tablet-style foldables to budget phones that punch above their weight, you have loads of options when it comes to choosing the right smartphone for you. Our team of experts has tested and reviewed all of the latest smartphones for the Tom's Guide Awards 2025. Below, we highlight our favorite phones from the last 12 months whose design, features and pricing impressed us the most and we believe have earned a spot in your pocket. Samsung came back hard with the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which set the tone for all flagship releases this year. This year's Ultra made a big leap thanks to its mighty Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset that powers many of its new Galaxy AI features. Specifically, it introduced cross app actions with Gemini that allows users to perform complex actions all with voice commands — it's like having a personal assistant that can manage your day-to-day duties. The Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy is a powerhouse unlike anything out there, proving it's a gaming champ with its incredible performance. But what makes it even better is how it's much more power efficient, resulting in a boost in battery life over its predecessor. At the same time, the Galaxy S25 Ultra is a productivity powerhouse thanks to its support for Samsung DeX and the S Pen. With the latter, it offers users a desktop PC-like experience when it's connected to an external display. We've tested out this feature and it makes for a decent laptop replacement. Meanwhile, the S Pen gives it that paper meets pen experience that some people prefer. And finally, the Galaxy S25 Ultra offers an astounding camera experience thanks to the four cameras on the back of the phone. This is a versatile camera system that lets you capture subjects near and far, but it also has a robust set of AI tools that can enhance your photos and videos after the fact — like Audio Eraser and LOG video recording. No other phone can match its performance and features, making it the best phone you can buy for the money. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. While Apple equipped its standard iPhone with plenty of new features and enhancements last fall, the Pro lineup continues to receive the lion's share of the company's attention. And that makes the iPhone 16 Pro — the more affordable of Apple's two Pro iPhones — the top model right now. Everything the iPhone 16 Pro Max can do, the iPhone 16 Pro can do as well, from showing off the power of Apple's A19 Pro chipset to supporting the new Apple Intelligence features Apple has been rolling out to its phones over the past nine months. 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And while that $999 starting price isn't cheap, it's within reach for anyone who wants the best that Apple has to offer in a phone. Despite debuting almost a year ago in August 2024, the Pixel 9 Pro has clung onto its status as our favorite Android phone. More powerful and capable devices have appeared since, but the overall value offered by the Pixel 9 Pro is still hard to beat. Encased in a compact 6.3-inch body that's smaller than almost all other devices in the category, you'll find an incredibly bright Super "Actua" display. But despite the brightness, the Pixel 9 Pro has decent battery life, at least compared to other smaller flagship phones. The three cameras embedded in the distinctive rear horizontal bar are capable of brilliant photos, and you might have more time to use them thanks to the included free year of Gemini AI Pro (worth $20 a month) with your purchase opening up a huge range of AI features. Abilities like Pixel Screenshots and Gemini Live can prove to be especially useful to keen chatbot fans. Perfection eludes the Pixel 9 Pro due to its lower-powered Tensor G4 chipset, and the fact it's effectively a price increase over previous pro Pixels, giving you less phone for the same money. But those quibbles aside, it's a deserving recipient of this award. Hope you've got space on your mantlepiece, Google. Being the best camera phone takes more than just having pixel crunching specs, it needs to have a versatile camera software as well to meet the demands of power users. No other phone meets the criteria that we look for than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra — and with good reason. First of all, its quadruple camera setup means it has all the range covered. Whether you're shooting something far off in the distance, or a super closeup of something, it has you covered. Its 200MP main camera might seem overkill, but the sensor pulled out bright shots under low light conditions, which is evident in our 200 photo shootout with the Galaxy S25 Ultra vs Pixel 9 Pro XL. Meanwhile, we put its 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and 50MP telephoto with 5x optical zoom against the iPhone 16 Pro Max in a zoom shootout — and Samsung wins the zoom conversation. We've also used its camera to capture professional looking portrait photos that almost look like they're captured by a mirrorless the performance, the S25 Ultra is the best camera phone due to the amount of modes and features it offers with its camera app. From dedicated manual modes for photos and videos, to its ability to support external audio recording sources, it has the most robust native camera app around. We don't just think that Google has the best AI features of any phone maker — we know it, after putting the Pixel through a series of tests with the latest iPhones and Galaxy flagships to find out which one excelled at the most tasks. In our AI phone face-off, the latest Google devices came out on top in four of our six tests, and they gave the Galaxy S25 series all that it could handle in the image generation and photo editing tasks, too. That's about as definitive a win as you can get. All of Google's Pixel 9 phones support the same AI capabilities, meaning the standard Pixel 9 is every bit as capable as the premium Pixel 9 Pro XL when it comes to make the most of Google's AI-friendly Tensor chipset. And since the $799 Pixel 9 costs several hundred dollars less than the Pro XL, it's the phone to turn to when you want the best AI features without breaking the bank. The Pixel 9 has plenty going for it besides AI, from top-performing cameras to a compact design. But if you're looking for a phone that can translate text into other languages on the fly, summarize recordings and notes and tap into the power of Gemini for performing everyday tasks, the Pixel 9 is just about impossible to beat. Samsung looked too complacent the last couple of years, as its foldable phones saw heated competition — but it came roaring back with the Galaxy Z Flip 7. This flip-style phone sees bigger upgrades than previous years, including a much larger Flex Window display, longer battery life, multimodal AI features, and the introduction of Samsung DeX. What also helps is that despite having a larger 4.1-inch Flex Window display and 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2x main display, Samsung keeps the same compact form factor and thin construction as before. The new Armor FlexHinge design is stronger and smoother than before, ensuring that it closes and opens with that satisfying snap. Over on the productivity side, the new multimodal experience of Gemini Live paired with its camera and Flex Window display lets you ask questions about what you're seeing. For example, you can ask it to translate a sign you see in front of you — all by just using voice commands. The Z Flip 7 also gets Samsung DeX support, which is a first for the series and brings that desktop-PC like experience to the phone. It wouldn't be the best foldable phone either if it couldn't take good photos. While the camera hardware remains unchanged, its new ProVisual Engine does enhance photos to draw out more detail. Meanwhile, its various Flex Modes allow creators to use the camera hands-free — making it the perfect phone for vlogging and selfies. There are a lot of practical benefits to foldable phones, like the fact you basically have a more portable version of a tablet. The problem is they felt too much like tablets, and lugging around what is effectively two screens in one was kind of a chore. But that's changed, and the ingenious design of the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is to thank. The Z Fold 7 is much thinner and lighter than its predecessor, weighing just 7.5 ounces and measuring a mere 4.2mm (unfolded). To the point where you might actually forget you're holding a foldable at times. It's like Samsung took a bunch of lessons from the Galaxy S25 Edge, and used them to solve some of the issues it's had with past foldables. Plus it's all been done without sacrificing durability, thanks to stronger display glass, a newly reinforced hinge and a titanium lattice. So this is a phone that looks as good as it gives. There's an argument that there are a lot of factors to look into when it comes to gauging battery life on a phone. However, when it's all said and done, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro simply outlasts all the competition. Asus has always delivered when it comes to battery life, and the latest addition takes that to the next level. When we tested the phone, it achieved a time of 20 hours and 34 minutes on TG's custom battery test while the phone's display was set to an adaptive refresh rate. This impressive battery life is achieved thanks to the massive 5,800 mAh battery alongside the stellar power management afforded by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip. The ROG Phone 9 Pro doesn't just have a great battery life, it also recharges quickly thanks to 65W charging support. In our tests, we managed to get the phone back to 74% charge from 0% after only thirty minutes. If we take all of this combined, then it's easy to see why the ROG Phone 9 Pro takes the battery life prize. With phone prices climbing ever upward, it's refreshing to see Google's A Series of Pixel phones bringing a little pricing stability to the market. But even though the Pixel 9a retains the $499 starting price of its predecessor while other phones go up in cost — looking at you, iPhone 16e — Google ushered plenty of other changes with this new model. It starts with the Tensor G4 chip inside the Pixel 9a, allowing this midrange phone to offer many of the same AI features that makes the Pixel 9 lineup stand out from other devices. (A couple features, like Pixel Screenshots, require a more powerful version of Gemini Nano than the Pixel 9a has.) You're able to tap into Gemini Live, generate images using text prompts and access a full array of smart photo editing tools on a device that costs a fraction of what you'd pay for pricier flagships. As always, the reason for bargain hunters to turn to the Pixel A device is camera performance. And while the Pixel 9a doesn't feature big camera changes from its predecessor, it still turned in better photos than the iPhone 16e in our camera face-off. The Pixel 9a's support for astrophotography impresses, too. Google has long proven that a low price on a phone doesn't have to mean big sacrifices on features. The Pixel 9a drives that point home once again. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Business of Fashion
3 hours ago
- Business of Fashion
Exclusive: Amouage Is The First Beauty Brand to Join Aura Blockchain Consortium
Amouage is looking to blockchain to provide traceability for its luxury fragrances. The perfume house on Monday announced its entry into the Aura Blockchain Consortium, established by LVMH, Prada Group, OTB and Richemont's Cartier as an alliance to leverage blockchain technology for greater traceability and transparency in luxury goods. Since 2021, the group has logged more than 50 million products from dozens of brands on its private blockchain, creating digital identities — known as digital product passports, or DPPs — for each item which consumers and regulators can access for information such as the product's provenance. Amouage said its DPPs will be accessible via a QR code on the fragrance's packaging. Customers will get a unique certificate of ownership, as well as access to exclusive benefits such as personalised beauty routines and invites to community events. The brand, which has introduced refillable bottles, is also planning a programme to encourage refills, where the QR code could be scanned at a boutique or refill point and the DPP would be updated with details such as when, where and how the refill took place. Founded in Oman in 1983, Amouage is the first beauty player to join the consortium, as well as the first brand from the Middle East. In February, L'Oréal took a long-term minority stake in the fragrance house. As of this month, all new products from Amouage will be integrated into Aura's blockchain, and by the end of the month, it will have added existing items produced in or before this year as well, the company said. 'This announcement represents several important milestones for Aura Blockchain Consortium, with a particular focus on venturing into a new vertical, and establishing a strong new footing in the Middle East luxury industry,' Lorenzo Bertelli, chairman of the Aura Blockchain Consortium and head of corporate social responsibility for Prada Group, said in a statement. Beauty brands have been slower to adopt DPPs than fashion, but much like fashion, the beauty industry is encountering increased scrutiny over issues like the sourcing, sustainability and authenticity of its products. Some brands are starting to look for blockchain-based solutions. Earlier this year, French beauty brand Ulé, part of the Shiseido group, partnered with technology provider Arianee to create DPPs for its C-Bright Serum. Starting in 2027, the EU will also begin to require many products to be enabled with a DPP as part of a broader push towards sustainability and corporate transparency, prompting companies to begin preparations. Learn more: Millions of Luxury Products Have Digital IDs. Is Anyone Using Them? Brands are attaching the virtual identifiers to their products to comply with upcoming regulations, and see potential side benefits that could make for a better user experience — if they can get customers to notice.
