Apple Park’s primary design goal was to foster collaboration and serendipitous interaction — almost the exact words Apple’s own head of industrial design used to describe the building years after it opened, and consistent with what Jobs pitched to Cupertino’s city council in 2011: a ring shape chosen specifically to eliminate hierarchical corners in favour of more egalitarian, encounter-friendly circulation. By most accounts from the people who actually work there, it’s failed at exactly that.

The open-plan floors make it hard to concentrate. The building is so large that getting from one meeting to the next eats real time out of the day. It’s common for people to run meetings with colleagues over Webex — colleagues on the same campus, sometimes no more than two hundred yards away.

Ironically, Apple Park replaced a campus that did far better on the same measure without ever trying to. Infinite Loop produced far more of the accidental, cross-team contact Apple Park was explicitly built to create. Working out why starts with what Infinite Loop got right by accident. It continues with what the research on office proximity says about why that kind of thing happens at all. And it ends with what Apple Park could become instead — including a version of the fix Apple already trusts enough to run for a hundred people a year.

I have heard similar anecdotal frustrations shared by various Apple employees over the years. This is also not exclusive to Apple’s headquarters, as many open-plan offices face the same issues. I can’t say I am surprised that Jony Ive focused on how the building looks rather than how it needs to function.

The amount of detail that went into this piece is incredible, and definitely worth a read.

Signal Ring measures your blood pressure without a cuff. Ever. Not even for calibration. This avoids the inherent accuracy drift problem and offers more convenience than any calibration based approach. A unique, ultra-fast sensor measures blood flow in higher resolution, showing previously undiscovered details.

Assuming it works as advertised, this is an incredible piece of tech. I am convinced Apple will release a ring wearable device at some point because there is so much potential in this category.

According to Mozilla’s latest findings examining the privacy practices of period-tracking apps, Stardust was found to be sharing users’ sensitive health information with third-party analytics company RudderStack. This data included the user’s birthdate, birth control type, reproductive goals, and specific symptoms that the user was experiencing, and it tied that record to a unique identifier in place of the person’s name. (The FTC has long warned that this does not make the data anonymous or prevent it from being linked back to a person.)

“Your data is private. Period,” says period tracker Stardust. Not only is it not private, but users are even given a unique identifier. Stardust is simply a deplorable company.

In New York City, noise is the number one complaint made to 311, outnumbering the next-closest complaint by more than 200,000 calls per year. And according to the New York State Comptroller’s 2018 report, only 7% of New Yorkers felt positive about the sound of their neighborhood. But the issue of noise receives relatively little political attention. During the four debates leading up to the 2025 mayoral election, for example, only one question was asked about how the candidates would address noise. And the answers were dismal: Two candidates provided no responsive answer at all, and the third (now-Mayor Zohran Mamdani) said only that he would seek to reduce congestion. That is not a bad suggestion, but it was clear that no one running had a comprehensive plan to address the problem. This is the current paradox of noise: It is tremendously important to residents and workers, yet these days it receives little political attention.

The Monarch Butterfly

If this emoji looks familiar… you’re not going crazy. That’s because depending on what phone your friends use, you might have been texting them a Monarch butterfly while they were looking at a Morpho.

The blue Morpho is locked down globally as the symbol for “pretty aesthetics” and manicured Instagram feeds. The Monarch is an entirely different beast. This update finally fixes that fragmentation making way for Monarch butterfly to land in its own brand-new home. With its iconic orange-and-black stained-glass pattern, it introduces a different weight class of meaning, carrying a narrative of generational resilience, endurance, and deep ancestral memory. This is a creature that travels thousands of miles across continents over lifespans it will never see the completion of.

The emoji I am most excited for this year:

The Cracked Smiling Face

Because sometimes, “I’m fine!” means “I’m very much not fine!”

A visual externalization of an internal rupture. It’s the “Mask of Perfection” failing in real-time. It moves beyond standard emotion to capture the exact tension between your public persona and your private reality. Use it when your carefully crafted facade has cracked but you’re smiling through the shards.

…and I would be remiss for not mentioning:

The Pickle

“But Jennifer,” you ask, “We already have the cucumber 🥒!”

Listen to me: a cucumber is crisp, hydrated, and best served at the spa. A pickle has seen things. It has undergone a chemical transformation. Beyond being a critical asset for sandwich aesthetics and the American sport of pickleball, the pickle fills a massive semantic void: the tricky situation.

With this update, we are finally forcing a permanent split. The cucumber gets to stay a cucumber across all platforms, and the pickle is officially moving out and getting its own space to ferment.

This data originates from the LegiAlerts team — Liz Saila, Erin Reed, Allison Chapman, and Alejandra Caraballo — whose LGBTQ+ Legislative Tracking project has compiled anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in every state and Congress stretching back more than 20 years: from the marriage-ban era of the mid-2000s, through the bathroom-bill wave, to today’s record sessions targeting transgender people. Every number below traces back to an individual bill you can look up.

In the 2026 session, lawmakers introduced 779 anti-LGBTQ+ bills — 55% of them targeting transgender people.

That trend line for targeting trans people in this country is heartbreaking to see. We need younger members in Congress who (hopefully) aren’t outright bigots. You can also view the dashboard for this incredible resource.

Know what your USB-C cable can really do.

WhatCable explains cable speed, charging limits, e-marker data, and connected devices in plain English. Name a cable and it tracks how the cable actually performs over time, so you can spot the one that has started misbehaving. No more guessing why a cable charges slow or refuses to drive your display.

I tend to purchase cables from either Apple or B&H Photo Video because I am mistrusting of the sourcing from sellers on Amazon and Best Buy. Though I may try some cheaper brands now that I can test their quality with this neat little tool.

New York became the first U.S. state on Tuesday to halt construction ​of large new data centers, imposing a one-year moratorium as concerns grow that the facilities driving the artificial-intelligence boom are raising power costs, straining water ‌supplies and burdening local communities.

…

“As data center development threatens to hike up utility bills, deplete our natural ​resources, and create uncertainty for New Yorkers, it’s my responsibility to take action and lead,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul. She added that she would ​also pursue legislation to repeal sales tax exemptions for large data centers.

The construction ban will apply to data centers that use 50 megawatts ⁠or more of power, officials in the governor’s office said.

The legislation Kathy Hochul signed into law today was Senate Bill S10642, also called the Responsible Data Center Development Act. Politicians on both sides are effectively using AI and related industries like a punching bag lately, but with little actual progress to show for all the rhetoric. In this case I believe it’s actually a positive move as it concerns the people who actually live here. 🥂🚫🔌

Over half a decade ago, I created a collection of topographic Apple Park wallpapers, and today I’m revisiting it.

The collection features a range of colourful and more subdued designs showing the Cupertino area, with Apple’s sprawling 175-acre campus at the centre.

You can see Apple’s enormous spaceship building, which measures 4,805 feet (1,465 m) around, along with the fountain and rainbow arch inside the 30-acre courtyard. Just south of the main campus sits the Steve Jobs Theater, and if you look west of Apple’s current headquarters, you’ll also spot its former home at Infinite Loop.

To create the wallpapers in this series, I started with Terraink, a website developed by Yousif Amanuel that uses open-source map data from OpenStreetMap to generate colourful topographic maps. After downloading the SVG files, I brought them into Sketch and Pixelmator Pro to refine the colours and create a collection of wallpapers for all your Apple devices.

The sheer level of detail is impressive.

Imagination is our window into the future. At NASA/JPL we strive to be bold in advancing the edge of possibility so that someday, with the help of new generations of innovators and explorers, these visions of the future can become a reality. As you look through these images of imaginative travel destinations, remember that you can be an architect of the future.

I’m not sure how I missed this when it was first published in 2020, but these retro-style space exploration posters are gorgeous.

OpenAI also instructs new hires on how to avoid scrutiny when they leave Apple. For example, Mr. Tan warns them not to tell Apple that they have taken jobs at OpenAI, so they can stay at Apple as long as they can. After his own departure, Mr. Tan improperly retained or obtained an internal Apple managers’ document marked “Need to Know” that describes security procedures for employee departures. Messages left on Apple-issued work devices show that Mr. Tan and his OpenAI colleagues have been sharing this document with new hires before they give notice to Apple of their departures, previewing Apple’s security protocols. Unsurprisingly, Apple’s investigation has found a pattern by employees who depart for OpenAI of taking steps to evade the security processes intended to protect Apple’s confidential information.

…

This is the tip of the iceberg. Apple lacks visibility into what’s been happening behind closed doors at OpenAI, where such misconduct is normalized and exemplified by leadership. This much is clear, however: at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information. As a natural result, OpenAI’s nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core by its illegal reliance on misappropriated trade secrets.

Drew Pusateri, a comms spokesperson for OpenAI, responded in what can only be described as wholly dismissive:

Our statement in response to this suit: We have no interest in other companies’ trade secrets. We remain focused on building innovative technology that empowers people everywhere.

We will see how it all plays out, but this sort of underhanded crap coming from Altman & Co would not be the least bit surprising.

My phone came with a free Trump Mobile SIM card, even though I’ve not signed up to the company’s mobile plan, plus an A4 quick start guide that was quite clearly printed on a standard office printer. Inside the box, there’s a SIM tool, clear plastic case, 33W charger, and a gold-and-black braided USB-C cable that feels remarkably cheap. Then you get a second set of instructions, this time a tiny booklet that covers everything from initial setup to how to make a phone call or take a photo with the camera. I get the feeling this phone isn’t intended for a technically minded buyer.

As for the phone itself, my first impression was how oddly tacky it is. And I mean that quite literally – the gold, plastic back panel has a slightly sticky sheen to it, and has already picked up plenty of dust and fingerprints in just an hour or two. Even more encouragingly, my phone has a tiny scratch in one corner that was there before I even took it out of the box.

Just over a year since the first mockups, and the device that has been delivered is unsurprisingly not made in the USA (supposedly it was manufactured in the Philippines). Given the current RAM supply crisis I am truly shocked it has 12GBs onboard.

A new national survey from the Cato Institute, conducted in collaboration with Morning Consult of 2,253 Americans ahead of July 4th and America’s 250th anniversary, finds nearly half (46%) of Americans don’t know what America’s 250th anniversary commemorates. A little more than half (53%) correctly answered that it was the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.

I am not at all surprised by these results.

WalkNYC checks off each block as you walk it on an interactive map across all five boroughs. Set goals by borough, watch your coverage grow, and see how you stack up against other New Yorkers on the leaderboard.

This is such a neat idea. If I had come across this app prior to today I have a feeling I would be doing quite well on the leaderboard. Last year I walked just over 2,600 miles 😮‍💨

Swift went searching for a sound she hadn’t heard before when she moved to New York City in 2014, just in time for her poppiest album yet, “1989.” In the opening track, she officially kicked off her New York era.

…

That same year, New York City’s official tourism organization declared Swift a global welcome ambassador. As part of the publicity campaign, she recorded cheeky videos about New York vocabulary, defining words like “bodega” and “stoop.”…

🎵🗽💍

Google reported that its annual electricity consumption rose by 37 percent in 2025—the largest increase in the company’s history as Silicon Valley’s AI data center buildout continues. But the tech giant says it kept operational carbon emissions down by continuing to purchase massive amounts of clean energy.

The company’s latest sustainability report acknowledges that Google’s total electricity usage has increased by more than 250 percent since 2019, which the company attributed to ongoing growth in Google Cloud, YouTube video streaming, and data center construction and operations supporting various AI products and services. The unprecedented 37 percent annual increase is part of an ongoing trend, given how Google’s total electricity consumption also grew by 27 percent in 2024.

Absolutely wild to think about how much more energy they will be consuming by this time next year. This one passage comparing their usage to entire countries is what really floored me though:

As the bulk of electricity usage, Google’s data centers consumed more than 42 million megawatt-hours of electricity in 2025 compared to 30.6 million megawatt-hours of electricity in 2024. That means Google’s data center energy usage rivals the electricity consumption of entire countries such as New Zealand, Denmark, and Nigeria. More self-reported details from Google are available in the full sustainability report, including water consumption numbers for various data center campuses.

Meanwhile, Mayor Mamdani is asking us to limit A/C to 78° due to being worried about stress on the electric grid.

Today I’m introducing the next generation of code editor. A modern app to satiate the needs of the discerning coder. We’re talkin’ blazing fast collaboration between man and machine.

Try out the demo below (for best experience: desktop Chrome, obvs).

If you’re reading this in RSS I have no clue what you’re about to see… maybe visit the demo it’s a fun one!

Absolutely hilarious, and unfortunately it isn’t much of an exaggeration.

The U.S. is finally getting a new, better sunscreen ingredient. Today the Food and Drug Administration added bemotrizinol, an effective chemical filter that’s been used in sunscreens made in Asia and Europe for decades, to its list of permitted active ingredients in over-the-counter sunscreens. This list hasn’t seen a new entry in more than 20 years.

Bemotrizinol, also called BEMT, brings the list of approved active sunscreen ingredients in the U.S. to 17–a number that still lags behind Europe, which has more than 30 approved filters. While the FDA’s official action comes just seven months after the agency initially proposed it, critics have pointed out that the lengthy regulatory process prolonged bemotrizinol’s approval; the application was filed in 2005. The Environmental Working Group, an environmental health advocacy organization, has claimed this delay has caused U.S. sunscreens to fall behind in better coverage against harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. Experts say today’s decision is a move in the right direction, offering people stronger protection from the sun.

I had no idea bureaucratic red tape held up these sorts of advancements for actual decades. At least it seems to be moving in the right direction:

Not only is bemotrizinol now the first filter to obtain the FDA’s stamp of approval since 1999, it’s also the first and only organic filter to receive the FDA’s safety and effectiveness standard, known as generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE), for over-the-counter drugs or ingredients that don’t require full regulatory approval.

Om Malik passed away on June 24, 2026, at Stanford Hospital after a long health journey with his heart. He was surrounded by family and friends.

We invite you to share your remembrances of Om in the comments below or by posting and tagging his accounts on X/Twitter, Instagram, Threads, or LinkedIn.

To learn more about Om’s life and work, you can visit his About page or read more on Wikipedia.

— Om’s Family

This is truly a loss for us all. I grew up learning about technology from Om’s podcast appearances on TWiT, and drew a lot of inspiration for my hobbyist photography from his extensive body of work. Rest in power, Om Malik.

Here is a full list of the changes made to base models and home products today. Note that if you configure a custom build on higher-end MacBook Pro and Mac Studio models the price increases will literally make your eyes bleed:

HomePod mini: $99 to $129 +$30

Apple TV 4K 64GB with Wi-Fi: $129 to $199 +$70

Apple Vision Pro 256GB: $3,499 to $3,699 +$200

iPad 128GB with Wi-Fi: $349 to $449 +$100

iPad mini 128GB with Wi-Fi: $499 to $599 +$100

11” iPad Air 128GB with Wi-Fi: $599 to $749 +$150

13” iPad Air 128GB with Wi-Fi: $799 to $949 +$150

11” iPad Pro 256GB with Wi-Fi: $999 to $1,199 +$200

13” iPad Pro 256GB with Wi-Fi: $1,299 to $1,499 +$200

MacBook Neo 256GB: $599 to $699 +$100

13” MacBook Air 16GB, 512GB: $1,099 to $1,299 +$200

15” MacBook Air 16GB, 512GB: $1,299 to $1,499 +$200

14” MacBook Pro M5, 16GB, 1TB: $1,699 to $1,999 +$300

16” MacBook Pro M5 Pro, 24GB, 1TB: $2,699 to $2,999 +$300

Mac Mini M4, 16GB, 256GB: $599 to $799 +$200

Mac Studio M4 Max, 36GB, 512GB: $1,999 to $2,499 +$500