Apple and LG Are Collabing on Smart Home Gadgets
THE SO WHAT
Apple leaning on LG for thermostats, doorbells, and cameras points to a tighter, more vertically integrated HomeKit stack rather than a loose accessory ecosystem. If you build in smart home or energy, assume Apple will own more of the primary surfaces and push you toward data and services layers instead of hardware adjacency.
READ THE SOURCE
MORE FROM THE WIRE
Tech & Innovation34 Prime Day bargains under £50 — Lego, Blink, Oral-B, Samsung, Ninja, and more cheap deals I'd buy
Sub-£50 Prime Day promos are how platforms train consumers to expect constant discounting on everyday brands. If you sell into Amazon, assume margin pressure is structural and design SKUs and bundles that can survive algorithmic price wars.
Tech & InnovationPocketBook’s New Inexpensive E-Readers Have Swappable Color Shells
Swappable shells on low-cost e-readers are a reminder that even in mature hardware categories, personalisation and modularity still move units. If you build devices or accessories, small physical customization hooks can be a cheaper growth lever than another spec bump.
Tech & InnovationMicrosoft blocks Outlook from sending two more file types over security concerns
Blocking .msix and .msixbundle in Outlook is another example of email clients tightening the default perimeter. If you distribute software or internal tools via email, move now to signed links or managed app stores before security policy breaks your workflows.
Chip and Joanna Gaines turned a 100-year-old building into a boutique Waco hotel. Take a look inside.
A 100-year-old building turned into a Michelin Key hotel shows how narrative and design can re-rate otherwise ordinary real estate. For operators with legacy physical assets, there’s still upside in repositioning around experience and brand rather than square footage alone.