Company Logo The Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality market is at a transformative juncture, evolving from niche applications to mainstream consumer and enterprise use, reshaping industries such as gaming, healthcare, and retail. AI-powered smart glasses, notably Meta's Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses, are pivotal, with shipments set to surpass 5M units by 2025. The convergence of AI, display tech, and ...
Company Logo The Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality market is at a transformative juncture, evolving from niche applications to mainstream consumer and enterprise use, reshaping industries such as gaming, healthcare, and retail. AI-powered smart glasses, notably Meta's Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses, are pivotal, with shipments set to surpass 5M units by 2025. The convergence of AI, display tech, and 5G will drive growth, blurring reality distinctions. Dublin, Jan. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "The Global Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) Market 2026-2036" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality (VR/AR/MR) market stands at a pivotal inflection point, transitioning from niche technology applications to mainstream consumer and enterprise adoption. This convergence of immersive technologies is reshaping industries ranging from gaming and entertainment to healthcare, manufacturing, and retail, while creating entirely new paradigms for human-computer interaction. The market encompasses a diverse ecosystem of hardware devices - including head-mounted displays, smart glasses, and haptic controllers - alongside the software platforms, content, and services that power immersive experiences. A particularly transformative development within this landscape has been the emergence of AI-powered smart glasses, which represent a compelling bridge between traditional eyewear and fully immersive mixed reality systems. Meta's strategic foray into AI glasses with the launch of Ray-Ban Stories paved the way for the groundbreaking Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses, spearheading the surge in AI glasses shipments globally. With a diversified product line and emphasis on user experience, Meta aims to dominate the market, setting the stage for fierce competition among tech giants and premium brands in the evolving AI glasses industry. The success of the Ray-Ban Meta AI Glasses demonstrates that consum...
Donald Trump is sending his border tsar Tom Homan to Minnesota later on Monday, the US president said after an outcry over the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by immigration agents over the weekend in Minneapolis. “Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” he wrote in a social media post. People take part in a demonstration a day after Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal...
Donald Trump is sending his border tsar Tom Homan to Minnesota later on Monday, the US president said after an outcry over the second fatal shooting of a US citizen by immigration agents over the weekend in Minneapolis. “Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me,” he wrote in a social media post. People take part in a demonstration a day after Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. Photo: Reuters White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt separately said on social media that Homan would manage Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the state. Advertisement On Sunday, Trump told the Wall Street Journal that his administration was reviewing the latest shooting and signalled a willingness to eventually withdraw immigration enforcement officials from the Minneapolis area. Federal agents try to clear demonstrators near a hotel, using tear gas during a demonstration in response to federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis on January 25. Photo: AP “At some point we will leave. We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job,” Trump told the Journal in an interview, without offering any detailed timeline.
New York, January 26, 2026, 09:39 EST — Regular session AMD dropped roughly 2% in early trading, giving back some of last week’s gains. Attention shifts to the Fed’s January 28 decision alongside a packed schedule of major tech earnings. On Feb. 3, AMD is set to release its quarterly results, with data-center demand drawing close attention. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices dropped roughly 2% in ea...
New York, January 26, 2026, 09:39 EST — Regular session AMD dropped roughly 2% in early trading, giving back some of last week’s gains. Attention shifts to the Fed’s January 28 decision alongside a packed schedule of major tech earnings. On Feb. 3, AMD is set to release its quarterly results, with data-center demand drawing close attention. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices dropped roughly 2% in early Monday trading, retreating after a solid rally last week. As of 9:34 a.m. EST, the stock was trading at $254.36, down 2.0%. (Google) This shift is crucial as chip stocks now serve as a high-beta bet on interest rates and the speed of data center spending. This week piles on two major market drivers: the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and the peak of U.S. earnings season. (Reuters) AMD’s fiscal fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings are due after the market closes on Feb. 3. The company will hold a conference call at 5:00 p.m. EST to discuss the results. (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.) U.S. stock index futures dipped before the open, as investors prepared for major tech earnings and the Federal Reserve’s announcements, Reuters reported. Markets were also paying close attention to new developments in trade policy. (Reuters) AMD closed last session at $259.68, slipping roughly $5.32 in early Monday trades. According to Google Finance, the stock fluctuated between $253.38 and $258.29 during the day. (Google) The Fed kicks off its January meeting Tuesday, with a policy statement due Wednesday, Jan. 28, and a press conference to follow. Changes to the rate outlook could swiftly impact richly valued growth stocks, especially in semiconductors. (Federal Reserve) Data-center chip competition is heating up. Nvidia announced a $2 billion investment in cloud provider CoreWeave and plans to boost its efforts by launching the new Vera CPUs. This step sets Nvidia more squarely against AMD and Intel in the server processor arena, the Financial Times reported. (Financial Times) So...
Key Points Today is the first day the IRS will accept tax returns, but you have until Apr. 15 to file. Submitting your tax return early could benefit you in a few ways. It's important to be organized, and don't hesitate to get help if you need it. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › If there's one task Americans tend to dread, it's filing taxes. This may hold true...
Key Points Today is the first day the IRS will accept tax returns, but you have until Apr. 15 to file. Submitting your tax return early could benefit you in a few ways. It's important to be organized, and don't hesitate to get help if you need it. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook › If there's one task Americans tend to dread, it's filing taxes. This may hold true even if you're someone who typically gets a refund. Today is the first day the IRS will accept returns for the 2025 tax year. But you have until April 15 to submit your return to the IRS. If that's something that's stressing you out, here are three tips from Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Services, that are worth taking to heart. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » 1. File early You may not be ready to submit your tax return in January. But Steber says one of the best things you can do this year is file your taxes early. "If you start early, that adds a lot of time to calculate your deductions," he says. Also, filing early could mean getting your tax refund early, if you're eligible for one. And it could also help you avoid becoming a victim of tax fraud. If a criminal gets your Social Security number, they can try filing a tax return in your name and stealing your refund. But if you file early and then a criminal tries that tactic, the IRS will likely reject their attempted return as a duplicate, since the agency only accepts one return for each Social Security number. 2. Be organized There are a number of different tax documents you might need to file your return this year, from your W-2 to 1099 forms if you earned income on the side or collected interest in a savings account. Steber says being organized is your ticket to a smooth tax-filing process. One thing you may want to do is make a checklist of the documents you need. That way, you can keep trac...
Alphabet: Ranking the Mag 7, Blue Harbinger VV Shots/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Alphabet Alphabet Inc. ( GOOGL ) stock, also known as Google, is up 77% over the last year, and the gains are driven by several of the same market themes (e.g., the cloud, AI and ecosystem) fueling the “Magnificent 7’s” dominance versus the rest of the S&P 500 ( SP500 ). Alphabet has been a stalwart position in ...
Alphabet: Ranking the Mag 7, Blue Harbinger VV Shots/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Alphabet Alphabet Inc. ( GOOGL ) stock, also known as Google, is up 77% over the last year, and the gains are driven by several of the same market themes (e.g., the cloud, AI and ecosystem) fueling the “Magnificent 7’s” dominance versus the rest of the S&P 500 ( SP500 ). Alphabet has been a stalwart position in my portfolios (especially since the overblown narrative that ChatGPT would overthrow Google’s search dominance), and I’m sharing this report to help readers formulate their own forward-looking opinions. Specifically, this report ranks the Mag 7, including a special focus on Alphabet, and then concludes with my strong opinion on portfolio positioning going forward. YCharts Google’s Big Rally: The Mag 7 Megatrend Themes Making It Possible For starters, Google shares have soared more than 77% over the last year (see table below), and the gains have been driven by many of the same overarching themes benefiting the Mag 7, such as: The Cloud : Over the last two decades, the incredible migration of data (from personal hard drives and company servers into the cloud—basically datacenters) has been spectacular. Companies that missed this trend (e.g., IBM ( IBM )) were left behind and companies that got ahead of it (first Amazon ( AMZN ), then Microsoft ( MSFT ) and Google) have capitalized incredibly. YCharts Artificial Intelligence : This recent theme (in the last few years) has benefited cloud companies even further because the massive amount of data and compute power required by AI means massive ongoing business and revenue growth for cloud companies. It is also only just beginning to open new opportunities for Apple ( AAPL ) (partnering with Google Gemini), Microsoft (partnering with OpenAI (OPENAI)), and other Mag 7 companies spending massively on Nvidia’s leading chips powering almost everything AI at this point. Digital Advertising : Alphabet’s Google and YouTube services (whi...
格隆汇1月26日|包括行业最大运营商Husk Power Systems在内的一些全球最大的太阳能微型电网公司一哥项计划,它们认为,到2030年需要高达460亿美元的投资,才能实现29个非洲国家的电气化目标。这些公司称,为了达到目标,需要多达280亿美元的债务融资、140亿美元的股权投资、以及46亿美元的赠款和补贴。目前,这些公司已在非洲建立了392个微型电网,投资额为3.1亿美元,另有价值82亿...
格隆汇1月26日|包括行业最大运营商Husk Power Systems在内的一些全球最大的太阳能微型电网公司一哥项计划,它们认为,到2030年需要高达460亿美元的投资,才能实现29个非洲国家的电气化目标。这些公司称,为了达到目标,需要多达280亿美元的债务融资、140亿美元的股权投资、以及46亿美元的赠款和补贴。目前,这些公司已在非洲建立了392个微型电网,投资额为3.1亿美元,另有价值82亿美元的待建安装项目。
The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today's research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly. Top 5 Upgrades: Deutsche Bank upgraded Cognizant (CTSH) to Buy from Hold with a $100 price target. The company is positioned as the "clear winner" in IT services amid a challenging backdrop where budgets "remain tight,"...
The most talked about and market moving research calls around Wall Street are now in one place. Here are today's research calls that investors need to know, as compiled by The Fly. Top 5 Upgrades: Deutsche Bank upgraded Cognizant (CTSH) to Buy from Hold with a $100 price target. The company is positioned as the "clear winner" in IT services amid a challenging backdrop where budgets "remain tight," the firm tells investors in a research note. Evercore ISI upgraded Cisco (CSCO) to Outperform from In Line with a price target of $100, up from $80. While investors will debate if Cisco is cyclical or secular, the firm sees "plenty of tailwinds" to ensure Cisco can sustain high single-digit sales and low-teens EPS growth on a multi-year basis, including a campus refresh, AI momentum, the recovery in traditional enterprise and telco markets, and EBIT margin expansion. Needham upgraded AppLovin (APP) to Buy from Hold with a $700 price target. The firm's e-commerce work has given it added confidence in the trajectory of AppLovin's e-commerce revenue growth in 2026. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Meta Platforms (META) to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $900, up from $740. The shares could trade down to the mid $500s post the Q4 report if higher costs move down 2026 earnings estimates, but Rothschild sees a "disconnect" between the current stock price and Meta's long-term value. Phillip Securities upgraded Netflix (NFLX) to Accumulate from Sell with a price target of $100, up from $95. The firm believes the company is well positioned "structurally and financially" for long-term growth. Top 5 Downgrades: Wolfe Research downgraded Cummins (CMI) to Peer Perform from Outperform and removed the firm's prior $540 price target on the shares. Cummins has materially outperformed the past two years and while the firm still sees an improving fundamental backdrop and expects strong EPS growth the next two years, it is lowering its rating given more balanced risk/reward in what th...
(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Monday showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by much more than expected in the month of November. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders shot up by 5.3 percent in November after tumbling by 2.1 percent in October. Economists had expected durable goods orders to jump by 3.0 percent. "Firming domestic and f...
(RTTNews) - A report released by the Commerce Department on Monday showed new orders for U.S. manufactured durable goods surged by much more than expected in the month of November. The Commerce Department said durable goods orders shot up by 5.3 percent in November after tumbling by 2.1 percent in October. Economists had expected durable goods orders to jump by 3.0 percent. "Firming domestic and foreign demand, investment incentives from last year's OBBBA, deregulation, loose financial conditions and continued AI investment will lift orders and shipments," said Nationwide Financial Market Economist Oren Klachkin. He added, "While uncertainty has stayed high in early 2026, we expect a moderation this year to support capital spending as well." The bigger than expected increase by durable goods orders largely reflected a spike in orders for transportation equipment, which soared by 14.7 percent in November after plunging by 6.3 percent in October. Orders for non-defense aircraft and parts led the way higher, skyrocketing by 97.6 percent in November after plummeting by 17.8 percent in October. Excluding the surge in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders climbed by 0.5 percent in November after inching up by 0.1 percent in October. Ex-transportation orders were expected to rise by 0.3 percent. The report showed notable increases in orders for electrical equipment, appliances and components and fabricated metal products. The Commerce Department also said orders for non-defense capital goods excluding aircraft, a key indicator of business spending, increased by 0.7 percent in November after rising by 0.3 percent in October. Shipments in the same category, which is the source data for equipment investment in GDP, rose by 0.4 percent in November after climbing by 0.8 percent in October. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Meta PlatformsMETA is set to report its fourth-quarter 2025 results on Jan. 28. META expects total revenues between $56 billion and $59 billion, including 1% tailwind from favorable forex. The company expects continued strong ad revenue growth but lower Reality Labs revenues. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $58.40 billion, indicating an increase of 20.7% from ...
Meta PlatformsMETA is set to report its fourth-quarter 2025 results on Jan. 28. META expects total revenues between $56 billion and $59 billion, including 1% tailwind from favorable forex. The company expects continued strong ad revenue growth but lower Reality Labs revenues. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is pegged at $58.40 billion, indicating an increase of 20.7% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. The consensus mark for earnings stands at $8.15 per share, down by a penny over the past 30 days, suggesting growth of 1.6% from the figure reported in the year-ago quarter. Consensus Estimate Trend Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Meta Platforms’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in all the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 18.85%. Let’s see how things have shaped up for the upcoming announcement. Strong Advertising Growth to Aid META’s Q4 Results META’s fourth-quarter 2025 results are expected to have benefited from strong advertising revenue growth, driven by strong spending from advertisers as they leverage its growing AI prowess despite macroeconomic uncertainties. The ad business is benefiting from an improved AI ranking system. Annual run rate for META’s complete end-to-end AI-powered ad tools has passed $60 billion. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2025 advertising revenues is currently pegged at $56.85 billion, suggesting 21.5% year-over-year growth. Meta Platforms’ offerings — Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and Threads — currently reach more than three billion people daily. Their staggering reach and increasing ad impressions (up 14% year over year in the third quarter of 2025) make META one of the most important players in the digital ad sales market, apart from AlphabetGOOGL and Amazon AMZN. Meta Platforms, along with Alphabet and Amazon, are expected to absorb more than 50% of the projected global ad spending this year and 56.2% in 2026. META has been leveraging AI...
watch now VIDEO 4:52 04:52 Transportation Sec. Duffy on storm disruptions: Wednesday is our target date to get back to normal Squawk Box Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration still needs two more days to fully recover from the significant flight disruptions that came over the weekend due to the massive winter storm that swept across the country. In a Monday i...
watch now VIDEO 4:52 04:52 Transportation Sec. Duffy on storm disruptions: Wednesday is our target date to get back to normal Squawk Box Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the Federal Aviation Administration still needs two more days to fully recover from the significant flight disruptions that came over the weekend due to the massive winter storm that swept across the country. In a Monday interview with CNBC's " Squawk Box ," Duffy said the FAA is targeting Wednesday as the day it hopes flights will return to normal. "This storm is unique," Duffy said. "You get the ice and you get the snow and, on top of that, we have now a cold weather snap that comes after it. ... So it makes it more challenging to navigate the ice that's going over the last three days." Sunday marked the largest flight cancellation day since early 2020, when the pandemic hit. Airlines canceled more than 15,000 U.S. flights over the weekend, according to flight tracking website FlightAware, as much of the country was covered in snow and ice. As of Monday morning, Duffy said the "massive disruption" was still continuing as the Department of Transportation deals with the fallout of the storm, with more than 4,000 flight cancellations for the day and nearly 10,000 delays. Those disruptions come as the FAA focuses on salting and clearing runways while dealing with lower staffing due to difficulty commuting into work, Duffy added. "We're going to have more capacity as we come back to to a full running schedule," Duffy said. "So you'll expect more full planes, more full flights as you fly this week, just as people are going to their destinations. But again, Wednesday is our target date to get back to normal." Airlines routinely cancel flights ahead of a major storm to make sure that planes, passengers and crew don't get stranded, which can make disruptions even worse after severe weather clears. January is a low season for travel, but the massive winter storm was affecting travel for hundreds of ...
A judge has ordered Saudi Arabia to pay more than £3m in damages to a London-based dissident whose phones were targeted with Pegasus spyware. In a judgment handed down on Monday, Judge Pushpinder Saini ruled that Ghanem al-Masarir was entitled to compensation for psychiatric harm sustained after discovering that his iPhones had been hacked, as well as a physical attack on him outside Harrods in ce...
A judge has ordered Saudi Arabia to pay more than £3m in damages to a London-based dissident whose phones were targeted with Pegasus spyware. In a judgment handed down on Monday, Judge Pushpinder Saini ruled that Ghanem al-Masarir was entitled to compensation for psychiatric harm sustained after discovering that his iPhones had been hacked, as well as a physical attack on him outside Harrods in central London. Saini said there was “a compelling basis for concluding that the claimant’s iPhones were hacked by Pegasus spyware, which resulted in the exfiltration of data from those mobile phones, and that this conduct was directed or authorised by the KSA [kingdom of Saudi Arabia] or agents acting on its behalf”. The judge also found, on the balance of probabilities, that Saudi Arabia was responsible for the 2018 physical attack on al-Masarir, a 45-year-old satirist also known as Ghanem al-Dosari, whose YouTube channels have garnered more than 300m views. “The KSA had a clear interest in and motivation to shut down the claimant’s public criticism of the Saudi government,” Saini said. Al-Masarir said the ruling “brings a long and painful chapter to a close. It affirms that standing up for the truth, no matter how powerful the opponent, is worth the struggle. No amount of money can undo what I have suffered, but I hope the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will now do the right thing and comply with this judgment, without the need for further enforcement action.” Saudi Arabia had sought to have the case dismissed on grounds of state immunity but that argument was rejected by the high court in 2022. After losing an appeal, the kingdom took no further part in the proceedings. The ruling marks a rare legal setback for Saudi Arabia. A US lawsuit accusing the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman of conspiring to kill the journalist Jamal Khashoggi was dismissed on the basis that he was entitled to sovereign immunity, despite the judge finding “credible allegations” that he was involved in th...
As of January 26, 2026, NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) stands not merely as a semiconductor company, but as the foundational architect of the global artificial intelligence economy. Over the past three years, the company has undergone a transformation unparalleled in corporate history, evolving from a graphics card manufacturer into a vertically integrated "AI Factory" provider. Nvidia is currently in...
As of January 26, 2026, NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) stands not merely as a semiconductor company, but as the foundational architect of the global artificial intelligence economy. Over the past three years, the company has undergone a transformation unparalleled in corporate history, evolving from a graphics card manufacturer into a vertically integrated "AI Factory" provider. Nvidia is currently in focus due to its aggressive expansion into the cloud infrastructure space—most notably through its multi-billion dollar strategic alliance with CoreWeave (NASDAQ: CRWV)—and the recent launch of its Rubin architecture at CES 2026. With a market capitalization fluctuating around the $3.5 trillion mark, Nvidia’s influence over global indices and the broader technological landscape has never been more profound. This deep-dive examines how Nvidia has secured its moat through strategic investments and hardware supremacy while navigating an increasingly complex regulatory and competitive environment. Historical Background Founded in 1993 by Jensen Huang, Chris Malachowsky, and Curtis Priem, Nvidia began with a vision to bring 3D graphics to the gaming and multimedia markets. The company’s early years were marked by the release of the RIVA TNT and the GeForce 256, the latter of which was marketed as the world's first GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). The pivotal moment in Nvidia’s history occurred in 2006 with the launch of CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture). By allowing researchers to use GPUs for general-purpose parallel processing, Jensen Huang made a high-stakes bet that accelerated computing would eventually supersede traditional CPUs for complex tasks. For nearly a decade, Wall Street questioned this strategy as CUDA yielded little revenue; however, the emergence of deep learning in the early 2010s—specifically the success of AlexNet—validated Huang’s vision. By the time the generative AI boom arrived in late 2022, Nvidia had a decade-long head start in software and ha...
While cleaning out their parents’ garage, one millennial stumbled across a document that stopped them in their tracks: their first apartment lease from 2013. The price? Just $675 a month for a one-bedroom in Phoenix, with an in-unit washer and dryer. Rent Was Once Reasonable “I remember at the time thinking it was kinda expensive and being super careful with my budget,” the original poster wrote i...
While cleaning out their parents’ garage, one millennial stumbled across a document that stopped them in their tracks: their first apartment lease from 2013. The price? Just $675 a month for a one-bedroom in Phoenix, with an in-unit washer and dryer. Rent Was Once Reasonable “I remember at the time thinking it was kinda expensive and being super careful with my budget,” the original poster wrote in a recent Reddit post. “Now that same complex is going for like $1,850 for the exact same floorplan.” Don't Miss: The AI Marketing Platform Backed by Insiders from Google, Meta, and Amazon — Invest at $0.85/Share Sam Altman Says AI Will Transform the Economy — This Platform Lets Investors Back Private Tech Early Back then, they made $42,000 a year and could still afford a car, a night out now and then, and even had some money in savings. Today, they earn nearly double that and “somehow have less money at the end of the month.” Many millennials flooded the comments with their own rent memories. One remembered paying $375 in 2012 for a one-bedroom outside Pittsburgh, which included all utilities and cable. “It was a total piece of sh*t slumlord run spot… but goddamn that was a DEAL,” they said. Another commenter recalled renting a two-bedroom apartment for $460 in 2011 and said that if they'd known how things would change, they would've saved every extra dollar they could. Trending: Americans With a Financial Plan Can 4X Their Wealth — Get Your Personalized Plan from a CFP Pro Then Vs. Now: A Harsh Comparison Multiple millennials echoed the same shock: rent has tripled, yet wages haven't kept up. “Yep, my salary doubled but housing cost quadrupled,” one person wrote. Others added that even small, run-down apartments they once shared with roommates now go for over $2,000 a month. The comments painted a bleak picture. Many shared that despite earning far more today, they’re living with roommates, paying half their income on rent, or unable to afford homes in the towns they gre...
Casper Ruud suffered a frustrating 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Ben Shelton in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday night, but the silver lining of the three-time grand slam finalist’s loss is that he will finally be able to return home. Ruud, the 12th seed, has had one eye on events back home during his time in Melbourne owing to the fact that his wife, Maria, is heavily pregnant wit...
Casper Ruud suffered a frustrating 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Ben Shelton in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday night, but the silver lining of the three-time grand slam finalist’s loss is that he will finally be able to return home. Ruud, the 12th seed, has had one eye on events back home during his time in Melbourne owing to the fact that his wife, Maria, is heavily pregnant with their first child and is due to give birth this weekend. Ruud had repeatedly stated that he would withdraw and immediately begin the long journey home if she went into labour during the tournament. Ruud told the Guardian last week: “She’s due later in the tournament, so we’ll see. It’s not until the final weekend of the tournament, the due date. It’s not a guarantee that you’ll make it there but you never know, she can come earlier. If I get the call, if she goes into labour I’ll jump on the first flight home for sure.” Although Ruud was solid in the first three rounds and his opening set against Shelton, the seventh seed, he was completely outplayed by the American in the final three sets of their match. Once Shelton’s devastating serve kicked into gear, the 23-year-old played with freedom, winning an incredible 29 of his 30 net points in the match and returning uncharacteristically well. The first nine days in Melbourne have been marked by the top players establishing a historic hegemony as each of the top six seeds in the men’s and women’s draws reached the quarter-finals for the first time in the Open era. The early rounds have been some of the most uneventful in recent memory at the tournament, with nearly all of the main title contenders advancing through with minimal problems. The victors on Monday were led by Jannik Sinner, the two-time defending champion, who comfortably navigated his first meeting with his Italian compatriot Luciano Darderi, the 22nd seed, returning to the last eight with a 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (2) win. Sinner’s full-body cramps in the heat during his ...
Apple on Monday introduced the next version of its AirTag, which will now feature a longer Bluetooth range, a louder speaker, and improved precision finding capabilities. The latter is powered by Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, which is also found in the iPhone 17 devices, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, and Apple Watch Ultra 3. With Precision Finding, the new AirTag can offer ha...
Apple on Monday introduced the next version of its AirTag, which will now feature a longer Bluetooth range, a louder speaker, and improved precision finding capabilities. The latter is powered by Apple’s second-generation Ultra Wideband chip, which is also found in the iPhone 17 devices, iPhone Air, Apple Watch Series 11, and Apple Watch Ultra 3. With Precision Finding, the new AirTag can offer haptic, visual, and audio feedback to guide users to their lost items. Now, those finding capabilities extend up to 50% farther away with the prior generation, Apple claims. The upgraded Bluetooth chip, meanwhile, also helps extend the range at which items can be located. Notably, with this update, Precision Finding will be accessible from the Apple Watch Series 9 or later and Apple Watch Ultra 2 or later. The device’s speaker is also 50% louder than the prior generation, which means you can hear the AirTag’s beep from up to 2 times farther away than before. The AirTag devices will also integrate with Share Item Location, an iOS feature that allows users to temporarily share the AirTag’s location with third parties. Today, 50 airlines are partnered with Apple for luggage tracking. One thing that hasn’t changed is the AirTag’s price: it’s still $29 for a single AirTag and $99 for a four-pack, including free personalized engraving. First launched in 2021, AirTag quickly came to dominate the market for Bluetooth-connected lost item finders, essentially forcing previous market leaders like Tile to quickly find an exit. The company alleged that Apple was unfairly competing as its finding network was instantly as big as the iPhone install base, and Apple was pushing AirTag rivals to integrate with its own Find My app. Other companies, like Chipolo, took Apple up its offer to work with Find My and competed against AirTag with products that work across iOS and Android, or that have different features, like rechargeable batteries. Still, Apple’s AirTag remains the one to beat, with th...