I’d be scared if I owned Evite: Invites was spotted in Apple’s iOS 18.3 beta code. It looks to be specifically for organizing meetings and tracking RSVPs for in-person events, not just another Calendar app.
Best (and weirdest) tech of CES 2025 so far
Swippitt.com, Amazon.com, Lenovo.com
The annual CES show is underway, so let’s dive into some of the coolest (and, yes, weirdest) gadgets I’ve come across so far.
Foldable phones are so 2024: I told you this would be announced. I’m talking about rollable laptops. Lenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable has a screen that extends from 14 inches to 16.7 inches when you need more space. Neat! Too bad it starts at $3,499, oof.
Fully charged in 2 seconds: The Swippitt looks like a toaster and swaps your phone into a new battery-packed charger in seconds. Pretty sweet and not cheap — $450 for a hub with five batteries. Right now, it works with iPhone 14, 15 and 16, but they plan to expand to Samsung Galaxy S, too.
Like a car wash for your kid’s teeth: The Willo AutoFlo is a $249 toothbrush that brushes your child’s teeth in 60 seconds — no scrubbing required. They bite down on what looks like a horse bit crossed with a water flosser. Voila, clean chompers. Genius.
I can see the headlines now: Roam’s CO2 lid pops onto your water bottle to make instant fizz. Think SodaStream on the go. Imagine the waterfall when someone stores this badly in their bag.
File under “Weird but cool”: The Kirin Electric Salt Spoon uses a weak electrical current to trick your tongue into thinking what you’re eating is saltier. I wouldn’t buy this yet (the first version of tech like this usually isn’t the best), but imagine what a win that’d be for folks who have to eat a (bland) salt-free or low-salt diet.
Don’t tell me vacuums are boring: This is so smart. Eufy’s $549.99 E20 transforms from a stick vac to a handheld to a self-propelling robot. I’ll wait for the reviews, but if it works well … I want it.
Back in my day, you stuck your finger in the diaper: Bosch’s $1,000 AI crib detects changes in air quality so you know when it’s time to change your baby’s diaper. It’s got a camera, microphone and sensor to monitor heart and respiratory rates, and it rocks the baby back to sleep on its own.
I would’ve loved this when I was caring for Mom: The AI-enabled Kami Fall Detect watches 24/7 and sends loved ones an alert if there’s an accident. It has a two-way mic so you can check in and 911 emergency response if you (or another loved one) aren’t available to help.
Tweet, tweet: I’ve had a smart birdhouse on my list, but Birdify’s smart birdbath is even cooler. It has a solar-powered fountain to attract avian friends, and it records them in high-res so you can watch them from your phone. AI will tell you exactly what kind of birds they are. It’s $200.
Homegrown veggies: Plantaform’s $500 indoor smart garden (plants even I couldn’t kill!) took home the CES food and ag-tech innovation award. You add water every couple of weeks, and it slowly releases fog to keep your plants hydrated and happy. Monitor everything from an app.
That was fun, huh? On Sunday, I’ll get into the nitty-gritty on concept cars, robots, AI computers and all that tech-nerd stuff.
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$4.1 million
Average listing price in Hawaii’s priciest ZIP code. Welcome to 96754 on the “Garden Island” of Kauai. I’ll take this 3,315-square-foot four-bedroom, four-bathroom home that’s a mere $12.45 million. Hey, it’s close to Zuck’s compound he says doesn’t have an underground bunker. Yeah, right.
🤑 The art of the deal: Amazon just dropped $40 million for a behind-the-scenes documentary about Melania Trump that will debut in theaters, then stream on Prime Video. Her story is incredible. Now, this is the weird part: The film’s director is Brett Ratner, who’s been MIA since 2017, when he was hit with numerous sexual misconduct allegations that forced Warner Bros. to cancel his $450 million contract.
More like Cost of Duty: How much money does it take to make a video game? Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020) had a $700 million budget, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) cost over $640 million. For perspective, the “Avengers: Endgame” movie only cost $356 million to make. If they’re spending that kind of money, they’re making three times that at least.
Look to Japan: There’s a global nursing shortage, and in Japan, they’ve come up with a solution. Nursing homes there are using robots for tasks like moving patients and monitoring vitals. So far, it’s a win for everyone.
⚖️ Shocker, Google lied: A new class-action lawsuit says even if you turned off tracking on your phone, Google still collected your data. Google says no, no, the disclosures were clear. Surprise, internal messages suggest they were vague on purpose. The judge didn’t believe Google and I don’t, either. The case is going to a jury trial on Aug. 18.
$900,000 watch
On Zuck’s wrist when he announced Meta went MAGA and put an end to fact-checking. He was wearing the Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1; only a few are made each year. His collection includes a $90,000 De Bethune, a $141,000 Patek Philippe and a $12 Seiko. Next week, I’ll wear my favorite watch on my podcasts and show it to the camera. Spoiler: It’s a Rolex a big daily TV host wears, too.
Lights, camera, AI: Johnny Depp says scammers are using AI to fake his voice and attempting to steal cash and personal info. He told his Instagram followers he’s not on X, Snapchat or Discord, so anyone claiming to be him is a fake. Reba McEntire and Kelly Rowland are targets, too. If your idol wants your money, it’s a scam.
Wipe your mouth! There’s a tiny amount of BS on your lips: The FCC approved a “U.S. Cyber Trust Mark” label for smart devices that meet their cybersecurity standards. No word on criteria yet, but expect rules around data privacy, regular updates and issue detection. Most internet-connected devices qualify … but not computers and phones, which we all use all the time.
Gravy train derailed: Hackers breached data broker Gravy Analytics and got their hands on the location info of millions of people. They also named companies who bought their data, like Uber, Comcast, Apple and Equifax. Last month, the FTC went after Gravy for selling sensitive location data. This is why I use Incogni. They remove you from databases like this.
6 pages
Length of Amazon memos. Keeping it short speeds up decisions. AI robotics startup Swiss-Mile followed suit when they pitched to Jeff Bezos in April. He gave them $22 million for testing delivery bots in Zurich. Less is more.
The apple of my lie: Apple Intelligence is messing up news summaries. Phony notifications include tennis star Rafael Nadal coming out as gay and Israel’s Prime Minister being arrested. The BBC says it’s hurting the credibility of news outlets. Always read past the headlines!
🚘 Someone’s always watching: Some 150 automated license plate recognition cameras in a dozen cities leaked real-time video to anyone with internet access. Only law enforcement was supposed to see them. Motorola makes most of the cameras and says it’s now rolling out firmware updates to fix this mess. Too little, too late.
This is so very sad: Open AI CEO Sam Altman’s sister, Ann, filed a lawsuit saying he sexually abused her during their childhood. This allegedly started when she was just three years old, lasting from 1997 to 2006. Sam and his family say Ann suffers from mental health issues and she’s made untrue claims before. Here’s Sam’s full statement on X.
🎮 Doesn’t he have enough to do? My son, Ian, showed me videos of Elon Musk playing video games online, and I found it hard to believe. As it turns out, Musk is one of the world’s top 20 players in Diablo IV … maybe. He bragged about clearing a tough level in under two minutes, a feat that takes days. Musk says he multitasks on business calls, but other players say there’s no way he climbed the leaderboard as fast as he did unless he’s playing day and night.
Las Vegas bombing: Matthew Livelsberger, the soldier who blew up a Tesla Cybertruck outside of the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, used ChatGPT to build the bomb and coordinate the explosion. OpenAI says they’re “saddened” and that their tool only shared public info and warned him about harmful and illegal activities. This is the first known case of ChatGPT being used for terrorism. It’s not going to be the last.
$1,500 in fines
If you don’t clear snow and ice from your car. That includes the roof! Most states have laws against driving with snow on your car. As an Arizona gal, I had no idea. You’d probably end up paying a lot more than $1,500 if a giant slab of snow hit the person behind you.
$1,300 cellphone bill
After a Royal Caribbean cruise. A passenger forgot to put their phone in Airplane mode and got slapped with roaming charges. If you ever take a cruise or travel overseas, remember to switch on that setting!