One of my biggest gripes when navigating a new area is that I’m too busy following directions on my phone to really take in my surroundings. But after trying on Google’s Android XR glasses, I’ve seen a promising solution. 

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, I got a demo of Google’s wearable prototype frames and was more impressed than I expected to be. I’m not big on wearables; I’m good with plain-old glasses and jewelry that can’t ping me with notifications throughout the day. But I decided to give the Android XR glasses a try as I explored a strip of the MWC conference hall dubbed Android Avenue. 

With a thick black frame and clear lenses, the Android XR prototype glasses look rather unassuming — especially because the display in the right lens is barely perceptible. Once I put them on, I long-pressed the right side temple to trigger Gemini and ask questions about objects around me. Then my skepticism slowly began to dissolve.

The feature that sold me was the Google Maps demo. I looked at a photo of Barcelona stadium Camp Nou and asked Gemini to “navigate here.” White text appeared in the center of the lens, showing me how far I’d need to go before turning right. And when I looked down, I could see a visualization of the route, like you’ll find in the Maps app on a mobile device, so I could just follow the highlighted path. That would solve my dilemma of wanting to know where I’m going while also trying to take in the view. 

I also looked at a vinyl cover for Barcelona, the album by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé, and asked Gemini to play a song from it. The audio quality was impressively comparable to what I’d hear with headphones — but without the feeling of something in or on my ears, which I appreciated. 

And lastly, I got a demo of live translation through the glasses. The Google employee showing me the prototype spoke in Spanish and then Farsi, and an overlay of text appeared as I looked through the glasses at him and my surroundings. Perhaps the coolest part is I also heard the English translation spoken aloud in his (AI-generated) voice. 

Google has also tapped this AI tech for its Pixel 10 phones, so if you’re on a phone call with someone speaking a different language, you’ll get real-time translation with a simulation of their voice. Google Translate also got an AI update last year that surfaces audio and text translations in the app as two people chat. Glasses feel like a good fit for this use case, too, since you don’t have to pull out your phone and look down at a screen when talking to someone. If the other person doesn’t have Android XR glasses, though, they’ll need to glance at their phone to see a translation of what you’re saying. 

I walked away from the demo finding I’d softened to the idea of potentially owning smart glasses of my own someday. I’m not completely sold, as I’m not sure I need more tech in my life, but there are certainly instances in which it could come in handy to see a subtle overlay of answers from an AI assistant like Gemini. And because Android XR glasses look more like standard specs than the doomed Google Glass, I could probably pull them off without looking too pretentious. CNET’s Patrick Holland had a similar conversion moment when he tried the Android XR glasses at Google I/O last year.

As CNET’s Scott Stein has noted, smart glasses “aim to be what you want to wear, ideally every day and all day long. They could well become constant companions like your earbuds, smartwatch, fitness band and wellness ring, and as indispensable as your phone.”

I’ll probably have to wait a bit longer before making that call for myself. Google hasn’t shared any specifics on a launch date for glasses with Android XR, though it has said that Warby Parker and Gentle Monster will be the first eyeglass brands to carry the AI-powered glasses. 

The first time I got my hands on a Vitamix blender, I was in culinary school. While I sincerely believed I had been making some nice soups and purees with my immersion blender or conventional smoothie model, the Vitamix made that all seem like child’s play after one go.

Gone was the minuscule, vegetal particulate matter that otherwise defined my early attempts at a velvety butternut squash soup. A truly emulsified, homogeneous mixture was apparently only available with a professional device, a truth I would acknowledge time and time again, no matter which Vitamix model I encountered in various restaurant kitchens.

Professional devices come with professional price tags, however, and I never enjoyed the exceptional outcome available from a Vitamix in the privacy of my own home. But small kitchen appliances have come a long way in the last decade, and with high-functioning brands like Ninja in the mix, it begs the question: Is a Vitamix worth it?

What makes a Vitamix blender better?

One of the primary attributes that sets Vitamix apart from many other blenders is its high-speed motor. If you’ve also had the privilege of ever using one, you will know well that the speed of its highest setting puts most other blenders squarely in the rearview mirror. Its power feels like something that could reasonably be put to use for supersonic travel.

Unlike a food processor and some standard blenders, which contain sharp blades that vivisect their contents into smaller and smaller bits, a Vitamix also relies on stainless steel, dull-edged blades that basically pulverize your food when combined with its ultra-rapid rotation and the gravitational pull of the vortex it creates. This is what creates its unparalleled smoothness, since nothing inside the jug is actually getting chopped to bits.

Vitamix vs. Ninja Twisti

In our most recent lineup of the best blenders, the Ninja Twisti model was neck-and-neck with the entry-level Vitamix Explorian for top honors. Here’s a side-by-side look at how they compare in terms of features, power and price.

One thing that stands out here is that, while the Ninja model has more available power, its lighter base may make blending less stable at top speed, especially with harder items such as nuts. The jug is smaller, which is fine for smoothies, but may make blending soups more cumbersome, assinceyou’ll likely need to do it in several batches. The warranty also pales in comparison to Vitamix. Does that warranty justify the Vitamix price, though, at nearly 2.5 times what you can pay to take home the Ninja?

Is a Vitamix worth it? Experts weigh in

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I asked several chefs and kitchen experts to share their thoughts on whether a Vitamix is worth it. Similar to the results of the same experience with Le Creuset — the (expensive) standard-bearer for Dutch ovens — brand loyalty is real, though everyone I queried brought up valid considerations about functionality, longevity, warranty, origin and whether or not you’re going to actually use the thing often enough to justify it.

First, “ask yourself, ‘how often do I use a blender?’” suggests Joanne Gallagher, co-founder and recipe developer at Inspired Taste. “Consider what you actually cook in a week. If a blender lives on your counter and gets consistent use, the investment is worth it,” she says. “If you make a smoothie every day, love to make your own nut butter, or blend hot soups straight from the pot, a Vitamix could be your best friend.”

Perhaps you believe you would do all of this more regularly if only you had a world-class appliance that inspired you to do so. “I end up cooking and trying new things the more confident I feel in the kitchen,” Gallagher says, and the right appliance can help. “When you know you’ll get the perfect tomato soup, for example, you’re likely to branch out and try new recipes and cooking methods,” she says. There is merit in that thinking, of course, but it’s a potentially expensive gamble if you don’t those sorts of things on a regular basis already.

As for the quality of output, “in the past, I struggled with cheap blenders that left smoothies chunky and couldn’t handle hard spices like cinnamon when making homemade mole sauce,” says Jessica Randhawa, founder and head chef at The Forked Spoon. “I now own two Vitamix blenders, one in each of my test kitchens,” she says. “One is an entry-level model, which is an amazing blender and does everything a blender should do perfectly every time.

The other is one of Vitamix’s newer, top-of-the-line models with food processor attachments, which allowed me to get rid of my old food processor in that kitchen.” The latter point here is a worthwhile consideration. If a Vitamix can do the work of two appliances, the price tag starts to feel a little less like a reach.

Not every chef believes that it is worth it if you’re not really using it all the time. “For most home cooks, I don’t think a Vitamix is truly worth the price,” says Rena Awada, head chef and owner of Healthy Fitness Meals. “Unless you’re making soups, nut butters, etc., daily, or running a small food business, the speed and smoothness it offers rarely justify the cost.”

Chef Molly Pisula of Vanilla Bean Cuisine offers up a workaround. “The price point is high, but refurbished blenders are available, and even sold directly on the Vitamix website,” she says. (“Reconditioned” in Vitamix-speak.) “And Amazon often runs a great Black Friday sale on Vitamix blenders.”

If you do take the gamble on the cost of a new model, though, Randhawa points out some serious upside: “I love that Vitamix is made in the USA,” she says, “and comes with a warranty better than most cars.”

My own Vitamix alternative experiment: Chefman Obliterator

I recently came into possession of a Chefman Obliterator, which has specs very similar to the Vitamix Explorian model, including a self-cleaning mode and speed dial that goes up to 5. (Each speed setting is subdivided by 5 hashmarks, making for effectively 25 speed settings.) Its price is listed at $75 on Amazon, putting it squarely in the budget blender camp. Despite not wanting to give up the moral of the story too soon, without taking you through my process: Run, don’t walk to pick up this blender at that price.

I freely admit that I was initially drawn to the Obliterator on hyperbole alone. “Obliterate” is a serious claim that feels like the blender should also come with a wand and a book of spells. Turns out, those props aren’t even necessary.

Since butternut squash soup is apparently my personal benchmark for evaluating the success of a given blender, butternut squash soup was made. Into the Obliterator’s generous chamber went the chunky, “country style” pre-puree concoction, and then out came something that could reasonably be called obliterated, but in a good way. It was as smooth and ungranular as that which could have been served at any high-end restaurant, and pretty much obliterated the fantasy that I might someday actually spring for a Vitamix.

A new video from Pratt & Whitney has reignited controversy over the Boeing F-47, which is slated to be the 6th Generation fighter that would eventually replace the F-22 Raptor. Halfway through a short animation focusing on engine progress, an animated fighter jet arrives in flight, its two engines burning brightly as it slashes through a picture-perfect blue skies. Observers quickly identified the image as a possible portrayal of the F-47 itself, powered by Pratt & Whitney’s XA-103 engine, which is now under development.

The F-47 was developed as part of the US Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance program, which aimed to create a long-range air supremacy fighter. Boeing received the contract to manufacture the F-47 in 2025, a beast capable of commanding swarms of autonomous drones while also delivering missiles over long distances. The Air Force planned only for a minimum of 185 of these aircraft. Right now, development has moved on to the engineering and manufacturing phases, with the first prototype scheduled to fly in 2028. The first tech demonstrators have been flying in secret since roughly 2020.

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Pratt & Whitney’s Next Generation Adaptive Propulsion program was responsible for developing the XA-103 engine. This XA-103 engine is one of those ingenious adaptive-cycle engines that can alter modes to balance thrust and fuel burn dependent on mission needs. The results are amazing; it produces around 10% more thrust than the F-35 while increasing range by roughly 25%. This increased power will assist sustain all of the new sensors, and who knows, perhaps even directed energy weaponry. Meanwhile, the innovative thermal management system keeps the internal systems cool while also reducing the heat signature, which is an important feature in the aircraft’s stealth capabilities, particularly when operating in the Pacific theatre.

The video demonstrates an all-digital approach to engine design. Now, digital twins allow engineers to mimic engine performance, optimize components, and get a head start on testing without having to manufacture every part in person. Pratt & Whitney recently completed both preliminary and comprehensive design assessments. They are currently planning prototype ground tests for the late 2020s, as General Electric competes in the same propulsion contest with its own XA102 concept.

Notably, the F-47 rendering has characteristics such as a tailless shape to limit radar visibility, blended wing surfaces with less sharp edges, forward canards for control, and a high-placed cockpit for improved pilot awareness. The thrust-vectoring nozzles resemble those used on the F-22, which aid in fast maneuvers at high speeds. Last but not least, a dorsal refueling point indicates that long operations away from bases are a high priority.

Top speed remains about Mach 2, with a combat radius of more than 1,000 nautical miles. Stealth is also impressive, outperforming the F-22 and F-35 combined. The aircraft is plainly meant to first penetrate defensive airspace and coordinate unmanned wingmen before engaging in close-range combat.
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As artificial intelligence becomes integral to global business operations, we must retire the tired ‘AI vs. human jobs’ debate.

The real opportunity lies in augmented intelligence, a human-centric approach at the core of the emerging ‘Agentic Future.’ Rather than ceding control to machines, augmented intelligence positions AI as a force multiplier for human capability.