Latest news with #consumerTech
Forbes
3 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Save Up To 32% With The Best Prime Day AirPods Deals Already Live
Amazon Prime Day 2025 is right around the corner: The four-day event officially starts on Tuesday, July 8, and already we're starting to see discounts on a variety of popular consumer tech items like Apple AirPods. Among the deals currently live are 32% off the AirPods Pro 2, our pick for the best Apple wireless earbuds, and 13% off the Apple AirPods Max (USB-C), for those who prefer an over-the-ear option. The best early Prime Day AirPods deals includes discounts on the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Max. Illustration: Forbes / Photos: Retailer Below, we've rounded up the top deals we've seen so far on AirPods and related charging accessories—like the Magsafe Wireless Charger for 18% off. While we expect to see additional deals drop through the week, discounts on Apple products tend to remain fairly steady through big sale events like this, so it may not be worth it to wait if you see a price that's to your liking. Read on for the best Prime Day AirPods deals available now, and consider checking out our roundup of the best Amazon Prime Day 2025 deals if you want a fuller look at what's on sale. MOST POPULAR
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
12 Next-Gen AI And Social Startups Backed By Thrive Capital And Y Combinator Shaping 2025: 'We're On The Brink Of Another Big Consumer Wave'
A new wave of AI-driven consumer startups is gaining traction among investors in 2025, with many of these platforms blending artificial intelligence with real-world interaction to reshape how people connect, discover, and build communities, Business Insider reports. Vanessa Larco, former New Enterprise Associates partner and founder of the venture firm Premise, told Business Insider, "We're on the brink of another big consumer wave" as interest returns to early-stage consumer tech startups. Don't Miss: Invest early in CancerVax's breakthrough tech aiming to disrupt a $231B market. Named a TIME Best Invention and Backed by 5,000+ Users, Kara's Air-to-Water Pod Cuts Plastic and Costs — The following 12 companies were identified by venture capitalists as emerging leaders across dating, social networking, faith, fashion, and in-person experience, with several being backed by top firms including Y Combinator and Thrive Capital. 1. Sitch This AI matchmaking app uses a chatbot trained by human matchmakers to suggest five setups per week, with tiers from $90 to $160, Business Insider reports. Larco, through Premise, has invested in the company as an angel investor. 2. Margins Margins is a social reading platform designed for the BookTok generation. Since launching in December, the app has grown to approximately 130,000 users. According to Business Insider, the startup has drawn interest from investors including Rhian Horton at Stellation Capital, though the firm has not backed the company to date. 3. Tolan Tolan is an AI companion platform designed to simulate conversation and connection. The startup is among those being closely watched by Larco, though she has not invested in the company, Business Insider says. 4. Swsh Swsh is a Gen Z-focused photo-sharing platform designed for live events like Rolling Loud and Electric Daisy Carnival Vegas. According to its website, Swsh uses AI to help users surface photos and videos from shared albums and includes group chat features for real-time connection. Trending: GoSun's Breakthrough Rooftop EV Charger Already Has 2,000+ Units Reserved — 5. Doji Virtual try-on for fashion, Doji uses AI to generate avatars showing designer clothes and raised $14 million in a Thrive Capital-led seed round, according to Business Insider. 6. Bible Chat An AI chatbot trained on the Bible, Bible Chat has 25 million users and $16 million in funding, Business Insider says. The company's funding reflects growing investor interest in spiritual AI platforms. 7. Series This Yale-founded professional networking app employs AI agents to connect early-career users. According to Business Insider, it has strong early-stage capital behind it, fueling interest from investors drawn to AI-driven professional tools. 8. Beli A real-world dining tracker, Beli gamifies restaurant visits with friend ranking in 30,000 cities and over 65 million ratings. The startup has raised $12 million in funding and highlights how AI and real-world interaction are fueling investor interest, Business Insider says. 9. Lore A fandom-centric AI platform, Lore is still in beta but has caught VC attention for its focus on niche communities, according to Business Insider. 10. Status Status is an AI-powered social platform that lets users interact with fictional characters designed to simulate social media experiences. The app was launched by a team that went through Y Combinator in 2022 and has attracted over 2.5 million users to date. Investors including FirstMark's Derek Chu and Patron's Amber Atherton named Status as a startup to watch, though neither firm has backed the company, Business Insider says.11. Spillt Called "Goodreads for recipes," Spillt lets users clip and share recipes and has collected over 400,000 items. Business Insider says that by combining social discovery and cooking, Spillt shows how niche apps build truly engaged communities. 12. Gigi Marketed as "the AI who knows everyone," Gigi connects users via personalized AI matchmaking. Gigi is co-founded by Clara Gold and backed by Intuition VC angel Hugo Amsellem, according to Business Insider. Artificial intelligence continues to shape the investment landscape in consumer startups. Paul Warren, CEO of Margins, told Business Insider that there have been "no real crazy big raises... unless it is a really strong gen AI angle." That shift in funding strategy is driving the rise of startups that combine AI with specific, high-engagement use cases. General platforms are losing ground to niche communities, Business Insider says. According to Warren, users are turning toward "much smaller things, cozier things, much more niche-oriented things." Read Next: Here's what Americans think you need to be considered wealthy. Image: Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article 12 Next-Gen AI And Social Startups Backed By Thrive Capital And Y Combinator Shaping 2025: 'We're On The Brink Of Another Big Consumer Wave' originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Fairphone 6 lands a perfect 10 for repairability
Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products. Dutch company Fairphone continues to lead the charge on consumer- and planet-friendly electronics, proving that a great phone doesn't have to be impossible to repair or environmentally unsustainable. The Fairphone 6 has just been released, coming two years after the last generation of the phone built to last. The folks over at iFixit wasted no time in conducting a teardown of this new entry to see how it stacks up against previous generations. The Fairphone 6 scored a perfect 10 out of 10, like every generation of Fairphone bar the very first. Fairphones are modular, and have been designed with easy repair in mind, but there is one change from the previous generations that makes things harder. Whereas the last few Fairphones have used hard batteries that could be flipped out with your fingernail, the new handset packs a soft-pouch cell that's thinner than its predecessors. That's slimmed the phone down, but it does mean the battery is now held in place with five screws. It's the same with every other component on the handset, since none of the components are held in with glue. The lack of adhesives does account for the phone's IP 55 rating, which is lower than the rest of the industry. But given you can't exactly get Samsung to send you a video guide telling you how to open your phone with nothing more than a T5 Torx screwdriver, so there's give and take. iFixit is quick to point out that the Fairphone 6 isn't a bleeding-edge smartphone, nor is it intended to be. It's designed from the ground up to be as sustainable and repair-friendly as possible, and this means some trade-offs compared with flagship devices. The Fairphone 6's use of USB 2.0, a less pixel-dense screen, and only 8GB of RAM are all necessary design choices when built with longer life cycles in mind. Nevertheless, this almost certainly won't affect the day-to-day use of the handset for most consumers, and owning a device you can truly repair yourself just might be worth it.
Bloomberg
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
Nintendo Switch 2 Hands-On: Bigger Screen, Faster Chip Live Up to the Hype
The arrival of Nintendo Co.'s Switch 2 marks the biggest consumer tech product release of 2025 so far, with legions of gamers now unboxing and trying the new $450 gaming console for the first time. Despite the hype and a $150 increase over the launch price for the original, the second-generation system manages to impress with faster performance, improved graphics, more comfortable ergonomics and enough tweaks throughout to make this feel like a distinctly new machine.
Forbes
30-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Haier's Sporty TV Push Highlights Lofty Ambitions
Haier Europe CEO Neil Tunstall speaking recently at Roland Garos. Chinese brand Haier, which started life back in the 1980s as a provincial refrigerator manufacturer, has established itself - in terms of market share at least - as one of the biggest brands in consumer tech. In fact, Haier Europe - which is part of the recently re-branded Haier Smart Home - is the No. 1 company globally in major appliances, and has been for more than 15 years now. But the brand still suffers somewhat from an identity problem. And that problem is that a lot of people can't identify it at all. While other brands in the overall Haier Group - think Hoover in the UK and GE Appliances in the US - are well-known entities, the Haier name itself is one that (outside of China, at least) has nowhere near the recognition of more mainstream established appliance brands it outsells, such as LG and Samsung, as well as fast-emerging neighbors like Hisense and TCL. But that's a situation that is likely to change, given the brand's recent push into major sporting sponsorship (the likes of the Australian Open and French Open tennis majors) as well as its expansion into markets outside of appliances. I recently covered Haier's global partnership with KEF. The deal will see KEF co-engineer the sound systems for Haier's upcoming Mini LED and QLED TV lines - including the likes of the M96, M92, M80, and S90 series - which are all set to roll out across 2025. KEF, if you're unaware, make seriously high-end speakers. We're talking five or even six figure price-tags on some of the range, so it's safe to assume that Haier is going after the top-end of the TV market. That was very much the message that Haier Europe CEO Neil Tunstall gave to me, at the launch of the brand's new tennis-based web-series Road to Number One. 'We're not interesting in selling cheap, LCD, HD TVs,' he told me. "That's useless for us and there's no point in going there. 'We're doing it for two reasons. Firstly we should, of course, make money in the TV market. I think also, when you talk about the smart home then it's probably the most visible thing. 'It sits in your lounge, so let's get in there. Let's make sure it has all the apps and everything's working and complete the circle of all the products.' The high-end approach mirrors what Haier has done with its moniker on the likes of washing machines, refrigerators and cooking appliances. But the brand is well aware it needs to make much more of a dent into consumer consciousness before it's widely considered a premium brand; hence the high-profile sports partnerships. 'In the premium market, it's rare that someone will buy something that they haven't heard of,' Tunstall explained to me. 'You have to have the brand awareness and the desirability or you're not going to succeed.' Haier's clearly in this for the long game. It may already be number one in appliance sales, but in a market where perception is everything, the real match is just getting started.
