🍳 AI hits Applebee’s: This is flipping great! IHOP and Applebee’s are rolling out AI for everything from upselling pancakes to spotting dirty tables. The idea? Less drama, more sales. Soon, a robot won’t forget your preferred side of ranch dressing and spin an iPad with a 25% recommended tip.
This phone is made in the USA
Adobe Firefly
“Kim, I love my iPhone 16 but hate it’s made in China and apps track everything you do including your bowel movements. Is there a phone made in the USA that doesn’t track you?” — Paul in Tampa, Florida
Well, Paul, there’s exactly one, the $1,999 Liberty Phone from Purism. If the name makes you want to stand up and salute, you might sit right back down when I tell you the rest.
📱 Parts
First, it’s made in California with mostly American parts. Key components though, like the screen, battery and camera, are from China, South Korea and India.
The Liberty Phone has a 5.7-inch LCD display at 720-by-1,440 resolution (yes, 720p in 2025). The iPhone 16 has a 6.1-inch OLED screen at 2,556-by-1,179 resolution, with over three times the pixel density.
The Liberty Phone is like an Etch A Sketch but grumpier.
It’s 9.5 ounces compared with your 6-ounce iPhone. The Liberty Phone battery is lame, barely gets through a full day.
🚀 Performance
The Liberty Phone runs on an NXP i.MX 8M chip, a processor used in things like smart thermostats. It’s slow. Combine that with just 3GB of RAM, and you’ll feel the lag.
The iPhone 16 runs on Apple’s new A17 chip with 6GB of RAM. It’s like comparing a scooter to a Porsche.
📸 Camera
The Liberty Phone gives you a 13MP rear camera and 8MP selfie cam. There’s no portrait mode, no low-light correction, no HDR.
Meta Quest 3S Xbox Edition
It’s finally here for $399, a year after it was announced. For $100 more, you get a back-and-green theme, a pre-paired Xbox controller, the Xbox Cloud Gaming app pre-installed, an Elite Strap and three months of Game Pass Ultimate. Specs match the regular $299 3S, so think of it as a collector’s item.
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That's when 40% of people are already checking work email to prep for the day
That’s when 40% of people are already checking work email to prep for the day. Microsoft says meetings after 8 p.m. are up 16% in the past year. Welcome to the never-ending workday. The fix? Let AI agents handle the boring stuff like routine reports and admin.
Windows 11 backup warning: Microsoft confirmed it automatically deletes System Restore points after 60 days. ICYDK: They’re like save buttons for your settings, letting you roll your PC back to a previous state when something goes wrong. The fix? Create one yourself every few weeks. Just search Create a restore point and follow the steps.
6 a.m.
That’s when 40% of people are already checking work email to prep for the day. Microsoft says meetings after 8 p.m. are up 16% in the past year. Welcome to the never-ending workday. The fix? Let AI agents handle the boring stuff like routine reports and admin.
More YouTube ads incoming: I’m talking about 30-second unskippable ads on TVs. These used to be part of special deals, but now more advertisers can run them in regular campaigns. And yep, the six- and 15-second ones are still around, too. The fix? Fork over $13.99 a month for Premium.
$4.20 flat fee
What it costs to ride Tesla’s new robotaxi in Austin, Texas. Right now, about 10 self-driving Model Ys are on the road, with a Tesla employee riding shotgun just in case. Elon says 1,000 more are coming in the next few months, with San Francisco and LA up next (paywall link). Good luck, traffic.
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Nearly 1,000
That’s how many ships a day are getting their GPS signals jammed near Iran’s coast (paywall link). It’s making navigation harder and riskier. It’s happening in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but essential route that handles about 20% of the world’s oil.
🔥 Banned phone alert: In 2025, the Samsung Galaxy Note7 is still banned from all U.S. flights. Yes, the one from 2016 that tried to reinvent “fire emoji” as a hardware feature. Apparently, a lot of people are getting a deal on the Note7 and using it. The TSA just went viral on TikTok for reminding people it’s still too explode-y to board a plane.
The $100M cold email: Mark Zuckerberg is personally sliding into researchers’ DMs (like key OpenAI personnel) with $100 million job offers (paywall link). He’s hosting dinners, reading white papers and, yes, planning people’s desk locations himself. It’s like a Black Mirror reboot of Undercover Boss, except the boss is a billionaire trying to build Skynet.
🚨 Prime Day scams are coming: Scammers are ramping up fake emails, texts and calls ahead of July 8. Most say there’s a problem with your account or order to trick you into giving up your login or payment info. Don’t click sketchy links.
Two notes
That’s all it took to write the world’s most terrifying tuba solo. Jaws turns 50 this month, and all composer John Williams needed was just E and F played faster and louder. This helped create a shark so scary, we thought twice about going in a swimming pool.
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🧬 CRISPR takes on chromosomes: You’re gonna want to pass this one on. I sent this news to a few friends. Japanese scientists say they’ve successfully used CRISPR to remove the extra chromosome that causes Down syndrome in lab-grown cells. It’s a major leap. Imagine if this was even possible!
🔐 Wyze’s new safety feature: “VerifiedView” tags every video, image or live feed with a unique ID tied to your account. If someone tries to watch your footage, the app checks whether their ID matches the one in the video. If it doesn’t, they’ll get a 403 error. Update your Wyze app and firmware to enable it.
Roblox predator walks free: A mother called the FBI after finding out her 10-year-old daughter was groomed by a man she met in-game. The sicko turned the conversation sexual, asked for pictures over text and even hacked into her online schooling accounts. And yet? Still no charges. Watch your kids.