Author: Shivendra Singh

MIT researchers and beauty brand Amorepacific made a wearable patch that analyzes skin aging

An artist's rendering of the Skinsight patch showing various sensors and a bluetooth module

Researchers at MIT have been working with the South Korean beauty company Amorepacific for the past few years to develop a wearable “electronic skin” platform that can provide real-time insights about skin aging and make personalized skincare recommendations, and it’s due to debut at CES 2026 as “Skinsight.” Skinsight, which was announced as one of the CES 2026 Innovation Award Honorees this week, is a Bluetooth-equipped sensor patch that sticks to the skin and works with a mobile app, tracking skin tightness, UV exposure, temperature and moisture.

An artist’s rendering of the Skinsight patch showing various sensors and a bluetooth module
Amorepacific

Based on the readings, the AI-powered app will approximate how the different factors might contribute to or speed up skin aging, and suggest the products best suited for the job so the user can incorporate them into their skincare routine. The patch is designed to be breathable and withstand sweat so it can stay on for long periods of time. The team hasn’t yet shared on Skinsight’s availability and cost. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/mit-researchers-and-beauty-brand-amorepacific-made-a-wearable-patch-that-analyzes-skin-aging-225125621.html?src=rss …read more

A federal jury ruled that Apple has to pay $634 million for infringing smartwatch patents

A federal jury ruled that Apple has to pay $634 million for infringing smartwatch patents

In a longstanding and complicated legal battle between Apple and Masimo, a recent ruling from a California jury may be the first step towards a certain conclusion. As reported by Reuters, a federal jury sided with Masimo, a medical tech company known for its patient monitoring devices, when it said that Apple infringed on the company’s patent for technology that tracks blood-oxygen levels.

The case revolves around whether Apple violated Masimo’s patent related to blood-oxygen sensors, which the jury claimed can be seen with the Apple Watch’s Workout and Heart Rate apps. According to Reuters, Apple disagreed with the verdict, adding that “the single patent in this case expired in 2022, and is specific to historic patient monitoring technology from decades ago.” The tech giant is reportedly planning to appeal the decision. 

While there may be some closure with this California lawsuit, Apple and Masimo are entangled in a web of related but separate lawsuits. Masimo first accused Apple of infringing on its pulse oximeter patents, leading to Apple temporarily halting sales of its Series 9 and Ultra 2 smartwatches. In August, Apple redesigned its blood-oxygen monitoring feature and rolled it out to …read more

Black Friday VPN deals: Proton VPN two-year plans are up to 75 percent off

Black Friday VPN deals: Proton VPN two-year plans are up to 75 percent off

A VPN subscription can make for a good holiday gift. Everyone could do with having a VPN to help protect their online activity from prying eyes (and, perhaps, access more things to watch from their favorite streaming services). It’s something useful that a gift recipient may have never realized they needed. Of course, you may be looking for a great deal on a VPN yourself, and the Black Friday discount for Proton VPN is nothing to sniff at. You can get two years of access to the VPN Plus tier of the service for $59.76, which works out to $2.49 per month.

That’s a discount of 75 percent compared with the regular price of $10 per month. Overall, you’d save $180.

Proton VPN is our pick for the best VPN overall because it checks all of the boxes it needs to. There is a free plan with unlimited data, but with that you can only connect to servers in a few countries and the connection might not be fast enough for you to watch anything from your preferred streaming service’s library in that locale. The VPN Plus tier unlocks a lot more options, such as …read more

Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO next year

Wave goodbye.

According to the Financial Times, Tim Cook could step down as Apple CEO as early as next year. And the board has started to seriously work out a succession plan. FT says that John Ternus, Apple’s senior vice-president of hardware engineering, is considered the frontrunner for the position.

Cook, who turned 65 recently, has been CEO for 14 years and overseen both incredible growth and his fair share of controversies. He’s also largely seen as responsible for Apple’s shift to outsourcing manufacturing, which has enabled it to operate at much larger scales than it did traditionally. 

Rumors of Cook’s stepping down follow the retirement of Apple COO Jeff Williams, whose last day at the company was Friday. As part of that departure, there has been some shuffling of responsibilities at the executive level, including expanded roles for Services chief Eddy Cue, head of software engineering Craig Federighi, and Ternus. 

Regardless of who winds up taking over as CEO, it’s unlikely to be someone from outside Apple. Tim Cook has previously said there is a strong preference for an internal candidate and that the company has “very detailed succession …read more

Google ordered to pay $665 million for anticompetitive practices in Germany

Google ordered to pay $665 million for anticompetitive practices in Germany

Google may have to fork over 572 million euros, or nearly $665 million, to two German companies for “market abuse,” according to a recent ruling from a Berlin court. First reported by Reuters, the tech giant was ordered to pay approximately 465 million euros, or approximately $540 million, to Idealo and another 107 million euros, or roughly $124 million, to Producto, both of which are price comparison platforms based in Germany. According to the ruling, Google abused its dominant market position by favoring Google Shopping in its own search results.

Idealo pursued legal action against Google, claiming that the Alphabet subsidiary was “self-preferencing” its own platforms, which led to unfair market advantages that hindered competitors. The company first demanded at least 3.3 billion euros, or more than $3.8 billion, in damages in February 2025. To counter, Google said it made changes in 2017 that allowed competing shopping platforms the same opportunity as Google Shopping to display ads through Google Search.

Idealo said in a press release that it will continue the legal pressure on Google, claiming that “the amount awarded reflects only a fraction of the actual damage.” Albrecht von Sonntag, co-founder and …read more