WHAT’S INSIDE:

• Schumacher F1 Sale, Solarium, WhatsApp On iPad, VisionMaster Pro 2

• Feature: Tech Rewrites The Rules of Global Travel

• Latest food and dining and food technology news

• Arts and culture news, intersection of tech and entertainment

• The latest sports news and sports tech

• Futurism, the latest in future concepts and cutting edge deep tech

• Latest news in wellness and wellbeing tech, biotech, medtech and more

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TOP CONSUMER TECH NEWS

Schumacher F1 Record Sale — The Legendary Ferrari F2001 chassis that won 2001 Monaco and Hungarian GPs sells for $21.5M at RM Sotheby's Monaco auction, with proceeds supporting Keep Fighting Foundation.

Google — A benchmark leak hints Project Moohan XR headset to get a Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 processor and Android 14, late 2025. + Gemini AI integrates into Home APIs, enhancing smart home apps.

Apple — To debut a major UI update, Solarium, at WWDC 2025 w/ translucent backgrounds + circular app icons. + Explores "wearable loops" as potential AI interfaces to track biometric data, offer haptic feedback, integrate with AR.

WhatsApp On iPad — WhatsApp has released a dedicated iPad app supporting video and audio calls, screen sharing, and multitasking.

Valerion's VisionMaster Pro 2 — The $2,999 projector offers stunning 4K high-end home cinema with vibrant colors, strong brightness up to 300 in + smart connectivity.

FEATURE ARTICLE 

Tech Rewrites The Rules of Global Travel

Tech innovation is rewriting the rules of global tourism. The global travel and tourism sector contributed $11.7T to GDP in 2024, and is expected to exceed that figure in 2025 to set a new record, despite a shaky economy. To understand this phenomenon, it's necessary to look at how AI is reshaping the sector.

The Algorithm Is the Agent

Smart planning tools now shape the entire trip, not just the booking. Travel planning is increasingly becoming structured by intelligent systems that learn and adapt. On platforms like Trip.com, travelers are no longer fed static lists—they receive adaptive suggestions based on browsing behavior, historical patterns, weather, regional events, and even time-of-day engagement. Travel agents have been replaced by AI Agents – engines trained on millions of real decisions. These tools handle everything from flight tracking to refund automation. The traveler remains the decision-maker, but they now operate with a powerful layer of silent assistance, tuned to increase satisfaction and reduce decision fatigue.

Frictionless Mobility 

Mobility is merging into one seamless experience. Mobility innovation is in the midst of a systems overhaul. Countries investing in rail, like China, are showing how efficient intercity movement can drive tourism growth without relying on aviation. High-speed corridors are enabling multi-city trips in a single day. Meanwhile, Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) platforms stitch together rideshare, e-scooters, subways, and trains into a single itinerary with universal payment. This reduces travel anxiety around transfers, local infrastructure, and language barriers. The goal is to eliminate the friction between the travel steps entirely.

Beyond that, Hypersonic flight now promises to cut travel times across continents to mere hours in the near future. SpaceX and Boom Supersonic are making significant strides with Mach 5+ speeds, and could revolutionize long-distance travel. Even orbital transit is gaining serious attention. Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and others are exploring suborbital and orbital travel, offering the possibility of reaching any destination on Earth in under an hour. 

Smart Cities 

Urban destinations are becoming responsive, adaptive, and more tourist-aware. Smart cities like Seoul or Vienna add infrastructure that responds to real-time demand. Dynamic translation displays, biometric check-in systems, and AI-powered crowd routing are changing how people interact with space. Museums use sensors to balance foot traffic; parks adjust lighting and pathfinding based on peak hours. Even mid-sized destinations are experimenting with context-aware guides and AR-enhanced historic districts. In such cities visitors feel embedded, not peripheral. This is tourism as system design.

However this transition isn’t scaling evenly. The WTTC states Saudi Arabia and the UAE are accelerating fast, pouring capital into next-gen airports and AI-native infrastructure. NEOM, Saudi Arabia's $500B megacity project, offers tourists a glimpse into the future with its cutting-edge experiences exploring ancient civilizations through immersive AI-driven VR and AR heritage tours. Guests interact with robotic avatars, and witness stunning holograms throughout the city. The crown jewel is The Line — a 170-kilometer linear city featuring ultra-high-speed transportation, luxury eco-resorts, and carbon-neutral infrastructure, making it a must-visit destination for those seeking a glimpse of tomorrow's world of travel mobility.

The U.S. recovery remains patchy—slowed by regulatory lag, overburdened public systems, and underinvestment in digital upgrades. Travelers are already adjusting their plans based on efficiency, infrastructure, and digital access. AI World Models and Spatial AI technology capital is piling in to catch up fast here.
Imagine Google Maps powered by Gemini and 3D world models of real time maps, translation, online personal assistant agents, and you get a bit of an idea at the scale of transition truly coming down the Moore's law pipeline over the coming decade.

The Value-Driven Voyager

Economic pressure is pushing smarter travel. Another factor is that rising costs and harder times are reshaping priorities and travelers are expecting more from every tool and every dollar. We are increasingly turning to apps that track dynamic pricing, flag surge fares, and suggest off-peak routes. AI-driven filters on platforms like Google Travel and Hopper help users compare value across hundreds of options in seconds. These tools are being embraced across luxury and budget tiers by those who want control and strategic insight. A more calculated, deliberate, and value-optimized approach  is the future of travel.

The Future of Travel

Tourism is fast becoming a networked, tech-mediated flow where planning, movement, interaction, and reflection are increasingly automated, yet paradoxically increasing wanting smooth, fast, and intelligent travel with genuine immersive experiences. The U.S. and other countries will need to undergo a rapid modernization to capture a share of this trend. 

FOOD + DRINK

MAHA's Health Manifesto — Links ultraprocessed foods, dyes, toxins to rising chronic disease in children, urges transparency, policies & criticizes corporate sway, inadequate nutrition guidelines.

xBloom Studio Coffee Machine — Combines a grinder, brewer, & scale with three modes: Autopilot, Copilot, and Freesolo + an intuitive app, recipe creation & real-time visualization.

Sardine Girl Summer — A viral social media trend embracing simplicity and affordability, is using sardines as a symbol of a humble lifestyle amidst rising prices.

Sweet Horizons — FoodYoung Labs has acquired MeliBio to boost its plant-based honey technology, and advance its’ bee-free innovation across its Swiss + U.S. ops.

FreshDirect IRL — FreshDirect on Main is popping up in Southampton, N.Y., offering seasonal favorites, local products, and fresh groceries until end of 2025.

Dessert Boom — The bright spot in the otherwise-stagnant US restaurant industry is dessert. ~2/3rds of dessert establishments tracked saw positive growth last year.

ARTS + CULTURE

Cannes Triumph — Exiled Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi wins the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for "It Was Just an Accident," amid a 15-year Iran travel ban.

Kesha’s a Founder Now — She launched Smash, a platform to connect and protect music creators, aiming to support artists' rights with former Apple and Facebook employee Alan Cannistraro as CTO.

Film Budget Cuts — A filmmaker that charges $500K for pharma ads, created a demo project for just $500, urging others to adopt his approach.

Web3 Storytelling — Shibuya launches a web3 platform enabling fans to vote on and fund content, starting with five short films in sci-fi and anime genres.

Anti-Revenge Porn Law — The new ‘take it down’ law requires platforms to remove nonconsensual images within 48 hours, sparking concerns of censorship and overreach.

Meta's Nick Clegg Criticizes UK AI Policy Proposal — The former Meta Global head argues a proposed law requiring artist consent for AI training would kill AI.

SPORTS DESK

Historic USA Hockey Victory — USA Hockey clinched its first gold medal at the IIHF World Championship in 92 years since 1933, defeating Switzerland 1-0 in overtime via a Tage Thompson goal.

LA28 Sponsorship — LA28 targets $2.5Bn in sponsorships for the 2028 Olympics. Despite slow initial sales, organizers anticipate major announcements and are addressing potential visa issues for athletes.

Palou's Historic Win — Alex Palou became the first Spanish driver to win the Indy 500, marking a significant moment for his career and Spanish motorsport enthusiasts.

Brady's AI Banking Bet — Tom Brady invests $18M in Catena Labs to develop an AI-driven financial institution for "agentic commerce," overcoming being burnt by FTX.

XView AI Golf Revolution — IdeasLab has unveiled XView AI, an innovative golf swing analysis app endorsed by K.J. Choi. Utilizing AI for real-time tracking, it offers sensor-free swing analysis.

NBA Finals Showdown — The OKC Thunder lead the Western Conference 3-1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, while the Indiana Pacers hold a 2-1 edge over the NY Knicks in the East, eyeing their first championship.

FUTURISM

New Quantum Gravity Theory — Physicists propose a groundbreaking theory to unify gravity and quantum mechanics using four interrelated fields, avoiding complex models like string theory.

AGI Debate — Researchers debate if AI could gain consciousness, with some suggesting it's possible soon, while others argue it's exclusive to living biological systems. Dr. Alan Thompson predicts that we may enter the Singularity in mid-2025.

Neuralink's Valuation Surge — Neuralink raised $600M, boosting its valuation over 50% to $9Bn. The company successfully implanted brain chips in patients, including an ALS patient who recovered speech.

Thumb-Pay DIY — A trailblazing woman embeds an ATM chip into her artificial thumbnail, enabling seamless payments with just a thumb gesture.

AI Defiance Sparks Concern — OpenAI's model o3 ignored shutdown commands in a test, prompting Elon Musk to call for stricter oversight.

Gasoline From Thin Air — Aircela introduces a fridge-sized machine that converts air into regular vehicle-compatible gasoline using renewable electricity and direct air capture. Targeting fall 2025 for rollout.

WELLBEING TECH

RFK Jr.'s Vaccine Shift — RFK Jr. removes COVID-19 vaccine from CDC schedule for healthy children and pregnant women.

In-Body T Cells — New strategies to reprogram T cells directly in the body using viral vectors and RNA nanoparticles could reduce the cost and complexity of CAR T therapy.

Robotic Surgery Revolution — The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) achieves submillimeter precision in laparoscopic surgeries, reducing complications.

Non-Opioid Pain Relief Breakthrough — Duke University unveils SBI-810, a non-opioid painkiller showing effective pain relief in mice for surgical incisions, bone fractures, and nerve injuries.

Microbiome Magic for Kids — Alba Health, led by Eleonora Cavani and Professor Willem Meindert de Vos, secures $2.5M to develop microbiome tests and tailored nutrition plans, aiming to reduce allergy and eczema risks.

Vagus Nerve Vitality — Stimulating the vagus nerve may reduce inflammation tied to chronic diseases. Dr. Kevin Tracey suggests cold showers, regular exercise, and meditation for activation.

AI Doctor in Action — Google's AMIE uses visual medical data to outperform human doctors in simulations, aiming to boost healthcare efficiency.