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13 Jun 2025

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Inside the secretive labs where Apple’s torturers put iPhones to the test
At an unmarked facility in California, tens of thousands of devices a year are dropped, dunked and dismantled.

Microsoft throws shade at macOS Tahoe’s familiar new vista
If you peeked over the platform wall at WWDC earlier this week and thought that the new “Liquid Glass” look for macOS and iOS seemed a little retro for the Windows faithful, you’re not alone. Social media was immediately awash with nerds comparing the new translucent visuals with Windows Vista from 2006—and Microsoft couldn’t resist joining in. “Just gonna leave this here,” says the caption on a video posted to the official Windows Instagram account. It follows with screenshots of Vista and some familiar boot-up sounds. “Y’all good??? #Windows #WindowsVista #WindowsAero” is all that’s in the description. As of this writing, just one day after it was posted, the video has over 150,000 likes and 3,700 comments. The post was spotted by Windows Latest. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Windows (@windows) Long-time Windows fans know that Vista isn’t fondly remembered, nor does it have a sterling reputation. In the 21st century, Windows seems to be taking the Star Trek movie approach of alternating between quality and lack thereof—XP good, Vista bad, Windows 7 good, Windows 8 bad, Windows 10 good, Windows 11… well, maybe we’ll hold judgment until after that big transition coming in October. But in terms of pure aesthetics and visual design, Vista seems to be undergoing something of a redemption. “Aero Glass” was the much-touted feature that added real-time transparency to the interface, albeit at a serious performance cost. And combined with a lot of faux greenery, the time period’s sleek, transparent, slightly wet look has been retroactively christened “Frutiger Aero.” There seems to be something of a nostalgia kick for the look at the moment, so maybe Apple is hopping on the train. Or maybe Apple’s designers have approached the new look independently. Either way, it’s a small and very rare chance for Microsoft to garner a bit of social clout… which I suppose it could use right now.

PNY’s new dual USB-A/C flash drive hits an extreme 1,000 MB/s
Flash drives are kind of dull as a topic, the modern descendant of floppy disks and burnable CDs. But when you need a good one, you really need a good one—and PNY’s latest are worth a look. The new Duo Link V3 design combines impressive speed and dual USB-A and USB-C connections with a fairly low price. With a USB 3.2 Gen 2 connection, PNY claims that the Duo Link V3 reaches read speeds of up to 1,000 MB/s and write speeds of up to 800 MB/s, assuming you’re connected to a compatible port. That’s fast enough to transfer 100 gigabytes of data in about two minutes. It’s technically an OTG drive, making it compatible with most phones and tablets in addition to the usual PCs and laptops (and just about everything else these days). I’m also a fan of the twirling exterior metal cover, which locks into place with either the USB-A or USB-C port side exposed, making this a lot more stable than some similar designs. The Duo Link V3 is available to order from PNY’s site now, starting at $35.99 for 256GB and going up to 2TB for a hefty $166.99.

Microsoft’s AI helper, Copilot Vision, is now live
Your PC can now see what you’re looking at on the screen, if you choose to let it. Copilot Vision is now generally available for users in the United States, Microsoft said Thursday. Copilot Vision sort of replaces the kinds of how-to articles, TikToks, and short videos you turn to when you need help. Basically, it “looks over your shoulder” at your PC’s screen when you (orally) ask it a question, and it walks you through what you need to do. Copilot Vision debuted at Microsoft’s 50th anniversary party at its headquarters in Redmond, and later was released into Microsoft’s Insider channels, where I was able to go hands-on with Copilot Vision, with middling success. With certain applications, like Photoshop, the app was able to direct me to a specific menu and commands when I needed help editing a photo. But it completely fumbled the ball with basic recognition on apps like Microsoft’s venerable Solitaire. Now, Microsoft is promising that Copilot Vision is more fully baked. Two things have improved since I tested it: First, it can visually highlight what you need to click or do, making it easier to find that command or shortcut. Second, you can now use it in two different applications at once. Microsoft’s original demo of Copilot Vison envisioned it as, among other things, a Minecraft coach.Mark Hachman / Foundry Copilot Vision is part of Copilot, and needs to be turned on. You then need to specify what applications you want it to “see.” Unlike Windows Recall, which periodically takes snapshots of your screen, Copilot Vision has no long-term memory. In my tests, it saw what I saw — if I scrolled to the bottom of a web page, it didn’t see or remember the top. It’s not clear how it will see two applications — a split screen, maybe? It’s easy to call Copilot Vision “AI,” but it’s not clear if it fits the classical definition. Microsoft implied that the technology requires the use of an NPU, but the company’s blog post announcing Copilot Vision’s release made no mention of any hardware requirements. In my tests, I first used a laptop with an older Core Ultra Series 1 processor with just a handful of TOPS. It ran extremely slowly, with Copilot reacting after 10 seconds or more. With a more modern Copilot+ PC, Copilot Vision was pretty snappy. Will Copilot Vision be met with the same distrust as Recall? It might. But its built-in limitations might reassure those who worry that it’s just another iteration of spyware. For me, it just wasn’t that effective.