Aldi’s new range of solar-powered lamps might be just what you need to spruce up your garden this summer — and they’re all under £5
THE SO WHAT
Sub-£5 solar lamps at supermarket scale are another data point that small, distributed solar is now a default consumer good, not a premium upgrade. For hardware teams, the bar on cost, durability, and plug-and-play UX for low-power outdoor devices just moved again.
READ THE SOURCE
MORE FROM THE WIRE
Deep & Emerging Tech'The challenge is no longer only how much power is needed, but whether it can be delivered reliably': Report finds AI data centers are draining more power than the grid can provide
Power is becoming the hard constraint on AI growth—capacity and grid reliability now sit alongside GPUs in the critical path. If you’re planning large-scale AI workloads, you need a power strategy and utility relationship, not just a cloud contract.
Deep & Emerging TechKlarna applies for a US banking licence, its boldest American move yet
A BNPL giant pushing for a full US banking licence is a bet that owning deposits and core rails matters more than just sitting on top of cards. If you’re in consumer finance, assume more product bundling—payments, credit, and banking under one UX—and plan partnerships or defenses accordingly.
Deep & Emerging TechModern EV batteries are more durable than you think, new study reveals — most electric cars still have 95% of their original range after 5 years
If most EVs retain ~95% range after five years, the residual value story is better than many buyers and fleets assume. For operators managing vehicle pools, this supports longer depreciation schedules and more comfort buying used EVs instead of defaulting to new ICE.
Deep & Emerging TechAmnezia VPN restores premium service in Russia following devastating state-sponsored cyberattack
A state-backed attack that knocked out 90% of a VPN’s local servers, then forced a rebuild, is a live-fire test of resilience. Any security or infra product that might be politically sensitive needs a hardened, multi-region failover plan—not just uptime SLAs.