The 2023 Consumers Electronics show in Las Vegas didn't just feature smart devices to make our lives easier, there were also some gadgets aimed at eliminating waste and improving climate conditions.
The accumulation of plastic waste across the globe accounts for eight to 12 million tons of garbage in the Earth's oceans but a new product from Clear Drop could be a counter to that problem.
The company introduced a new plastic compactor that consolidates loose pieces into a single brick. Over the course of a month, a user can continuously add loose pieces of plastic into the compactor and pressed brick of the material is created for easy recycling.
When it comes to eliminating food waste, food tech company OneThird is looking to help grocery stores reduce their produce waste. They've introduced a grocery scanner that can test produce ripeness rather than a shopper doing a hand test and potentially damaging the goods.
"The problem is that doing that, it actually damages the avocado and that means that stores have to throw away lots of the avocados," Marco Snikkers, OneThird CEO, told Cheddar News.
According to the US Department of Agriculture, food waste is estimated to be around 30 to 40 percent of the food supply.
Items are simply placed inside the scanner and a few seconds later, the device provides a reading of how firm the produce is, if it is good to eat and how many days are left in its shelf life.
"By knowing shelf life at the moment before they ship it, they'll be able to make better choices," Snikkers said.
Amid a backdrop of ongoing tariff uncertainty, more and more gamers are facing price hikes. Microsoft raised recommended retailer pricing for its Xbox consoles and controllers around the world this week. Its Xbox Series S, for example, now starts at $379.99 in the U.S. — up $80 from the $299.99 price tag that debuted in 2020. And its more powerful Xbox Series X will be $599.99 going forward, a $100 jump from its previous $499.99 listing. The tech giant didn’t mention tariffs specifically, but cited wider “market conditions and the rising cost of development.” Beyond the U.S., Microsoft also laid out Xbox price adjustments for Europe, the U.K. and Australia. The company said all other countries would also receive updates locally.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. in the current fiscal quarter will be sourced from India, while iPads and other devices will come from Vietnam as the company works to avoid the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on its business. Apple’s earnings for the first three months of the year topped Wall Street’s expectations thanks to high demand for its iPhones, and the company said tariffs had a limited effect on the fiscal second quarter’s results. Cook added that for the current quarter, assuming things don’t change, Apple expects to see $900 million added to its costs as a result of the tariffs.
Visa is hoping to hand your credit card to an artificial intelligence “agent” that can find and buy clothes, groceries, airplane tickets and other items on your behalf.
Shares of Deliveroo, the food delivery service based in London, are hitting three-year highs on Monday after it received a $3.6 billion proposed takeover offer from DoorDash.
X, the social media platform owned by Trump adviser Elon Musk, is challenging the constitutionality of a Minnesota ban on using deepfakes to influence elections and harm candidates.
