Technology
The 10 accessories you need for your iPhone 16
Digital Trends
This year’s iPhone 16 models represent a whole new ballgame for Apple’s iPhone lineup, with the standard iPhone 16 drawing closer than ever to the flagship iPhone 16 Pro. For the first time in three years, Apple isn’t leaving any of its iPhones behind on an older A-series chip, and all the latest bells and whistles, like the new Camera Control, are available across the board.
However, getting the latest iPhone is just the start. You’ll also want to — and in some cases need to — accessorize it. For most folks, the first step is protecting it in a good case. The new Camera Control button makes that trickier than usual, but the good news is that some case makers are already on it.
You’ll find a vibrant ecosystem of iPhone accessories beyond cases, updated for the 2024 models to give you faster wireless charging, high-quality audio on the go, keep you fit and connected, or even just help you keep track of your stuff. Here are our top picks for accessories that will complement any of Apple’s iPhone 16 models, from the 6.1-inch iPhone 16 to the powerful 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Anker
Anker 523 Nano Charger
The best wall charger for iPhone 16
Pros
- 45W charging for a single device
- Solidly built
- Very compact
Cons
- Power is divided between both ports
By now it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that you won’t get a wall charger in the box with your new iPhone 16. However, while you can keep on using nearly any USB-C charger you have available, you might want to consider upgrading this year if you’re going with an iPhone 16 Pro or iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple has boosted the wired charging speeds of its Pro models, and while they didn’t get the rumored 45W speeds, independent tests have confirmed that they can hit around 31W. That works out to a 20% increase in charging speeds with a charger that can supply enough power.
Anker’s 47W Nano Charger will easily have you covered, thanks to its ability to deliver 45W of power to a single device. With a second USB-C port, you can also keep another device powered up along with your iPhone 16, although in that case the power is shared with 27W going to one port and 20W going to the other. That’s still enough to get your iPhone from dead to 50% in about 30 minutes while also juicing up an Apple Watch or a set of AirPods. As the name suggests, this little adapter is also surprisingly compact for the amount of power it puts out, thanks to Anker’s use of advanced gallium-nitride (GaN) technology.
Anker 523 Nano Charger
The best wall charger for iPhone 16
Apple
Apple MagSafe Charger
The best wireless charger for iPhone 16
Pros
- 25W wireless charging
- Portable
- Can be used with a wide range of third-party stands and mounts
Cons
- Requires 30W USB-C power adapter (not included)
Even though it didn’t say anything official about faster wired charging, Apple is giving the iPhone 16 a boost in wireless charging speeds this year, supporting up to 25W charging over MagSafe. That’s a healthy boost over the 15W of previous models, and will let you charge any iPhone 16 wirelessly to 50% in about 30 minutes — provided you’re using the right charger and power adapter.
Sadly, there aren’t too many options yet other than Apple’s official MagSafe Charger, which has been re-released by the company in a 25W version. The good news is that it’s the same size as the older one, so you’ll have no problem finding any number of affordable stands, mounts, and other accessories made to fit the charging puck.
Just keep in mind that it’s hard to tell the new 25W MagSafe Charger apart at from the older 15W at a glance. Unless a MagSafe charger is explicitly labelled as 25W, it’s best to assume it’s using the older 15W speeds. That’s not a big problem, as the iPhone 16 is still compatible with all older MagSafe accessories, but you won’t get the fastest possible charging unless you’re using the newest MagSafe standard. You’ll also need to make sure it’s plugged into a USB-C power adapter than can deliver at least 30W.
Apple MagSafe Charger
The best wireless charger for iPhone 16
Apple
Apple AirTag
The best item tracker for iPhone 16
Pros
- Very easy to use
- Leverages huge ecosystem
- Replaceable battery
- Precision tracking works great
Cons
- Accessories are pricey
- Some privacy concerns
Apple’s robust Find My Network offers support for a variety of different item-tracking tags and other accessories, but it’s no surprise that the company’s own AirTag is among the best. If the iPhone 16 is your first foray into the Apple ecosystem, consider picking up some of these to keep tabs on your keys, laptop bag, luggage, and more. A lost AirTag can report its location through any nearby iPhone or iPad that happens across it, and with a billion such devices roaming the world, it’s the largest crowdsourced item tracking network on the planet, making it much more likely your lost items will turn up.
However, AirTags aren’t just for things you may have left behind. Thanks to Apple’s Precision Finding feature, you can get specific directions to where a lost item is hiding in your home or office, so you’ll never again need to worry about losing your keys in the cushions of your couch. AirTags are available in single units or four-packs at a discount, and are powered by a single coin battery that lasts about a year. Thanks to their popularity, there’s also no shortage of ways to accessorize this accessory.
Apple AirTag
The best item tracker for iPhone 16
Joe Maring / Digital Trends
Apple Watch Series 10
The best smartwatch for iPhone 16
Pros
- Thinner and lighter than ever with a larger screen
- Sleep apnea detection joins other excellent health features
- New stunning polished titanium finish
- Even faster charging
Cons
- Still needs to hit the charger once a day
Whether you’re looking to keep track of your health and fitness or you just want an easier way to stay connected, the Apple Watch Series 10 is the perfect companion to your iPhone 16. While it wasn’t the 10th anniversary spectacular update that some predicted, Apple has still managed to give it a larger screen and make it significantly thinner and lighter than last year’s model.
This makes it more comfortable to wear and easier to read — especially from off-center, where it’s 40% brighter thanks to the new wide-angle OLED display — plus you’ll be able to see even more of your email and text message notifications and quickly respond with a few taps on the on-screen keyboard. The comprehensive array of health and fitness features are joined this year by a new sleep apnea detection algorithm that uses the accelerometer to monitor your sleep patterns and alerts you to this often-undiagnosed condition. Plus, while the Apple Watch is already great for a broad range of activities from running and hiking to swimming and skiing, this year’s model gets new Depth and Tides apps to make it even more useful for snorkeling, surfing, kayaking, and other shallow-water activities.
Apple Watch Series 10
The best smartwatch for iPhone 16
Apple
Apple Watch Ultra 2
The best extreme smartwatch for iPhone 16
Pros
- Titanium design is still gorgeous
- Stunning, super bright display
- Unmatched performance
- Siri is better than ever
- Twice as much storage
- Excellent battery life
- WatchOS 10 is fantastic
Cons
- Double Tap is underutilized
- Virtually identical to last year’s model
Although the Apple Watch Ultra 2 didn’t get any meaningful hardware updates this year (unless you count its stunning new black titanium finish), that’s not a big problem as it’s still the best extreme sports smartwatch available. Plus, watchOS 11 brings some new goodies that put it almost on par with Apple’s new Series 10, while continuing to exceed it in ways that outdoor adventure enthusiasts will appreciate.
For example, you still get an incredibly bright display, with 3,000 nits that should make it easy to see even while hiking up a sunny mountainside, plus battery life that can run for up 72 hours between charges if you put it in low power mode. However, the best news is that it’s gaining Apple’s new sleep apnea detection, which won’t be exclusive to this year’s model — it’s coming to both of Apple’s 2023 wearables as part of watchOS 11. That means you don’t need to choose between this year’s elegant design or last year’s more rugged model to get the best sleep tracking available. The Apple Watch Ultra has also supported a Depth gauge since its inception, which makes sense as it’s one of the few dive-certified smartwatches on the market, so the addition of the Tides app in watchOS 11 just completes the set of water sports features.
Apple Watch Ultra 2
The best extreme smartwatch for iPhone 16
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
AirPods Pro 2
The best earbuds for iPhone 16
Pros
- Excellent noise cancellation
- Top-notch transparency
- Very good sound quality
- Great call quality
- Fun charging case features
Cons
- Not ideal for Android
- Still no EQ adjustments
Apple’s AirPods 2 may be two years old now, but they’re still going strong. They’re among the best wireless earbuds on the market, and their tight integration with iOS 18 make them the go-to choice for wireless earbuds for your new iPhone 16. You’ll not only get best-in-class active noise cancellation (ANC) and excellent transparency features but with recent updates you’ll be able to use adaptive noise cancellation that can automatically adjust to your surroundings, conversation awareness that will lower the volume of your music when you’re talking to someone, plus voice isolation to let you carry on a conversation in a noisy environment. There are even new gestures in iOS 18 that will let you answer or decline incoming phone calls simply by nodding or shaking your head.
Plus, Apple has another trick up its sleeve for its AirPods. Apple has embraced new regulations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that have opened up the field to over-the-counter hearing aids. As long as you’re running at least iOS 18.1 on your iPhone, you’ll be able to use them to take a hearing test and even have them double as hearing aids, in the U.S. at least. Like many health features, the situation is a bit murkier in other countries as Apple awaits approval by government regulators.
AirPods Pro 2
The best earbuds for iPhone 16
Caleb Denison / Digital Trends
Apple AirPods 4
The best budget earbuds for iPhone 16
Pros
- Most affordable current-generation AirPods ever
- H2 chips support modern iOS features
- Both case and earbuds are IP54 rated
Cons
- Weak passive noise isolation
This year Apple introduced two new sets of its fourth-generation AirPods, differentiated only by the presence of active noise cancellation (ANC) on the higher-end version. However, we think the $129 AirPods 4 are the real sweet spot here, as they effectively replace the five-year-old AirPods 2 that were previously in that slot with something that’s fully modern with support for all the latest iOS 18 features.
Both sets of AirPods 4 get Apple’s latest H2 chip — the same one used in the AirPods Pro — which means they can support features like Siri head gestures for answering and ending calls and personalized spatial audio with head tracking, and voice isolation on phone calls. Naturally, the sound quality has been significantly improved overall, with richer bass and clearer highs, and Apple also promises that these are the most comfortable AirPods it’s made, thanks to a new design refined through the use of 3D photogrammetry and laser topography that mapped and analyzed thousands of ear shapes to create the ideal fit for most people.
Apple AirPods 4
The best budget earbuds for iPhone 16
Apple
iPhone 16 Silicone Case with MagSafe
The best case for iPhone 16
Pros
- First-party Apple case guarantees a perfect fit
- Sleek pass-through Camera Control
- Available in fun complementary colors
Cons
- Pricey compared to the alternatives
One of the biggest changes in this year’s iPhone 16 lineup is the new Camera Control, a capacitative touch-sensitive button on the right side of the iPhone that lets you quickly open the camera app to start snapping photos and videos and even adjust a whole range of settings by sliding your finger across it. It’s also a feature that’s required case makers to adapt to avoid blocking the new button.
While most cases simply leave a cutout for the Camera Control, Apple has taken a different approach by adding a sapphire crystal and a conductive layer that passes your finger movements through to the button on the iPhone. This not only offers more protection for that area of your iPhone 16 but it looks cooler too. Like Apple’s past MagSafe cases, it attaches magnetically with fun color-matched animations and supports full-speed MagSafe wireless charging. It’s also available in eight vibrant colors to complement the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro finishes.
iPhone 16 Silicone Case with MagSafe
The best case for iPhone 16
Anker 633 Magnetic Battery
The best power bank for iPhone 16
Pros
- Integrated stand lets you prop your iPhone up while charging
- Very strong magnetic connection
- Can be used in wired mode for faster charging
Cons
- Wireless charging speeds capped at 7.5W
This year’s iPhone 16 models have better battery life than ever, but it’s always a good idea to have a spare tank, especially if you’re someone who’s always on the go. Anker’s 633 Magnetic Battery is one of the most popular battery packs available for the iPhone, and for a good reason. With 10,000mAh of capacity, there’s enough to juice up even an iPhone 16 Pro Max with power to spare, and the strong magnetic connection and integrated kickstand let you prop your iPhone up for watching videos or joining FaceTime calls even while it’s still charging.
Since the Anker 633 isn’t MagSafe-certified, your charging speeds will be capped at the standard 7.5W of any Qi charger. However, that’s only a concern if you plan to use it in wireless mode. No magnetic battery pack offers fast wireless charging; even Apple’s own MagSafe Battery Pack only provides 5W of charging power when used as a standalone battery. However, Anker has another useful trick up its sleeve: if you’re in a hurry, you can use a standard USB-C cable to top up your iPhone at full 20W wired charging speeds, which should get you up to 50% in under 30 minutes in a pinch.
Anker 633 Magnetic Battery
The best power bank for iPhone 16
Apple
Satechi Magnetic Wallet Stand
Pros
- Versatile stand lets you prop up your iPhone at nearly any angle
- Wallet offers room for up to four cards
- Classy vegan leather design
Cons
- A bit pricey
- Not ideal for use with non-MagSafe cases
Satechi’s Magnetic Wallet Stand is the ideal solution for someone who still needs to carry a few cards while being able to prop their iPhone up on the go. Using MagSafe-compatible magnets, it can be attached directly to the back of your iPhone 16 or through a MagSafe case. It folds flat when not in use, adding minimal bulk to your iPhone, and since it attaches magnetically, you can easily pop it off if it gets in the way.
However, where it really comes in handy is letting you prop up your iPhone in nearly any position in either portrait or landscape mode. The wallet hinge will open up to a 160-degree angle, letting you participate in FaceTime or Zoom calls, browse the web, or just enjoy your favorite YouTube videos or Netflix shows.
Satechi Magnetic Wallet Stand
The OnePlus 13 launched last month in China with some amazing features. As we await the global launch, the device was recently spotted on multiple certification sites. Another smartphone that OnePlus will soon debut in the global market is the OnePlus 13R. Previously, rumors have hinted that it could be a rebrand of the OnePlus Ace 5. Now, a tipster has detailed the colors and variants of the OnePlus 13 and 13R ahead of the global launch.
The color options of the OnePlus 13 and 13R surfaced online ahead of the global launch
The OnePlus 13 is likely to launch with similar specs in the global market as well. OnePlus debuted three different variants of the OnePlus 13 in China with 12GB, 16GB, and 24GB RAM options. Today, in a post on X, the tipster (@MysteryLupin) hinted that won’t be the case with global models.
The tipster mentioned that the OnePlus 13 will debut globally with only two variants. You’re likely to see one variant with 16GB of RAM paired with 512GB of storage, while the other will feature 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. That also means OnePlus wouldn’t launch the 24GB RAM variant of the OnePlus 13 in the global market.
Apart from these details, the tipster has also detailed the colors of the OnePlus 13 ahead of the global launch. If we consider the tipster’s words, the 16GB RAM variant of the OnePlus 13 will be available in Black Eclipse, Midnight Ocean, and Arctic Dawn color options. On the other hand, the base variant with 12GB of RAM will come in a single Black Eclipse color option.
OnePlus 13R could be a premium mid-range phone
The tipster has also shared some details about the upcoming OnePlus 13R. According to the tipster’s post, OnePlus will globally launch the OnePlus 13R in only one variant variant featuring 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. However, that model might be available in two color options – Nebula Noir and Astral Trail.
In the past, a popular Weibo tipster hinted that the OnePlus 13R could be a mid-range device with premium features. Moreover, the tipster has also hinted that the device would pack the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC under the hood.
The latest Alteryx platform update provides new capabilities to support all types of data management and analytics system deployments, whether in the cloud, on premises or a hybrid of both.
Included in the vendor’s Fall 2024 Release are the general availability of Standard Mode, a channel in Designer Cloud that provides new data integration and preparation capabilities for working with data in the cloud, and LiveQuery, a feature that improves integrations with cloud data warehouses.
In addition, Alteryx’s update, unveiled on Nov. 12, includes new connectors to data storage platforms, support for analytics applications, whether on premises or in the cloud and improvements to APIs designed to improve efficiency.
Not included are the general availability of any significant new AI capabilities, which Alteryx tends to unveil separately from its general platform updates. For example, the vendor introduced its version of a generative-AI-powered assistant in May. However, one AI-related feature included in the Fall 2024 release now in public preview is Magic Reports, which uses AI to automatically generate insights.
Without any generally available AI features with the potential to change the way Alteryx customers interact with their analytics systems, the vendor’s Fall 2024 Release is made up of additive but not groundbreaking capabilities, according to Doug Henschen, an analyst at Constellation Research.
“The update is delivering mostly incremental improvements such as new connectors, app and user management upgrades and API enhancements,” he said.
While perhaps incremental, the update is providing customers with what they want, according to Jay Henderson, Alteryx’s senior vice president product management.
For example, adding new connectors and improved APIs was driven by customer feedback.
“We’re continuing to prioritize functionality that makes the analytics user’s life easier, and their work more efficient,” Henderson said. “By combining customer-driven product features with cloud advancements, Alteryx is [meeting the] needs of our customers.”
Based in Irvine, Calif., Alteryx is a longtime data management vendor whose platform is designed to automate aspects of the data preparation process.
In December 2023, following a slow evolution to the cloud that led to an executive overhaul in 2022, Alteryx agreed to be acquired by a group of private equity firms for $.4 billion.
Platform update
Standard Mode and LiveQuery are perhaps the most significant features in the latest Alteryx platform update, according to Henschen.
Designer Cloud is Alteryx’s cloud-based environment for data preparation, blending and analytics without writing code. Standard Mode is a new channel within Designer Cloud that contains added Designer Prep and Blend tools that broaden their potential applications beyond what was available and make it more efficient to work with data in the cloud.
LiveQuery, meanwhile, aims to improve Alteryx’s interoperability with cloud data warehouses such as Databricks and Snowflake by enabling users to work with data within cloud-based storage tools more directly. The intended results include reduced data egress costs, improved processing times and a lower risk of accidental data exposure.
“Taken together, the general availability of the new Standard Mode inside Designer Cloud and the LiveQuery capability for cloud data warehouses will be significant for any company that has its center of data gravity in a public cloud or multiple clouds,” Henschen said.
Like Henschen, Kevin Petrie, an analyst at BARC U.S., characterized Alteryx’s Fall 2024 Release as an incremental update. However, he noted that including the public preview of Magic Reports is noteworthy because data and AI teams now view AI-powered tools and enhancements as required features.
Magic Reports combines advanced editing capabilities with automated analysis and AI to automatically surface insights and simplify reporting.
Petrie noted that BARC research shows that enterprises are optimistic about generative AI’s potential with nearly half of them reporting that generative AI will dramatically improve their use of analytics.
Magic Reports feeds into the concept of AI simplifying and improving the analytics process.
“Alteryx is helping [data] stakeholders by providing them with AI prompts and auto-summarization of Magic Reports,” Petrie said.
In addition, Petrie pointed out the value of integrating more smoothly with cloud data warehouses including Databricks and Snowflake with LiveQuery.
“Alteryx is wise to integrate more deeply with Snowflake and Databricks,” he said. “The more they can help users transform and view data within those platforms, the better they can safeguard governance controls and reduce costs.”
Beyond Standard Mode, LiveQuery and Magic Reports, the latest Alteryx update includes the following:
- New connectors, including support for Google Cloud Storage and SingleStore, to enable customers to access their data more easily.
- Support for analytics applications in Alteryx Cloud Extension for Desktop, which allows AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure users to deploy and manage custom applications both on premises and in the cloud.
- New security controls for administrators.
- API improvements that let administrators schedule analytics workloads and retrieve jobs in a move designed to improve efficiency.
Collectively, almost three years after Alteryx overhauled its executive suite, the new features continue Alteryx’s evolution away from serving only on-premises users to meeting the needs of customers with different types of deployments, according to Petrie.
“Alteryx’s recent turnover does show they have struggled lately,” he said. “This [update] helps by making their platform more automated and intuitive, which builds on its strengths.”
However, Petrie noted that customers still express concern over the price of using Alteryx’s data management and analytics tools — Designer Cloud starts at $4,950 per user, per year — and the level of its support for Python, a popular programming language.
“I’d be interested to see them provide more visibility into processing cost with, for example, FinOps features and enhancements to support Python-oriented users,” Petrie said.
Henschen, meanwhile, noted that Alteryx’s presentation of its latest data management and analytics capabilities — highlighting its support for different deployment types — is notable.
Alteryx was founded in 1997, before the advent of the cloud. When data management and analytics shifted from exclusively on premises to cloud-based deployments, Alteryx was slow to adapt its data preparation platform for the cloud. Meanwhile, as it was evolving, other vendors such as Tableau and Qlik began offering data preparation tools in addition to their core analytics capabilities.
As a result, Alteryx lost some of its growth momentum, evidenced by modest revenue growth preceding its sale.
Now, however, as the cost of cloud-based deployments continues to grow, many organizations are reconsidering their data management and analytics strategies. Alteryx’s messaging suggests it’s trying to appeal to those enterprises.
“Alteryx had been struggling to become more cloud-centric and to deliver more value to justify new and existing licenses,” Henschen said. “Like many vendors with on-premises roots, Alteryx is … now reminding customers that it supports hybrid deployments, seeking to ride the coattails of the cloud-cost backlash we’ve seen over the last year.”
Plans
With its Fall 2024 Release now available, Alteryx’s product development plans include adding more AI-powered data management and analytics features and continuing to add cloud and hybrid capabilities, according to Henderson.
“We’re committed to making analytics easier to adopt and use, enhancing AI-assisted functionality to improve productivity and providing cloud-based features that are both powerful and secure,” he said.
In addition, Alteryx’s roadmap includes improving the user experience to enable faster and more efficient insight generation and adding new governance and security features that meet the needs of Alteryx’s largest and most complex customers, Henderson continued.
Henschen, meanwhile, stressed that Alteryx needs to continue working to discover messaging that will attract new customers and help the vendor regain the growth momentum it lost during its slow transition to the cloud, which didn’t begin until 2021.
If it doesn’t, the vendor could be a target for a merger or acquisition.
“The company needs to find a clear new direction to regain the sales growth momentum it once enjoyed,” Henschen said. “However, the competition is fierce, and budgets are tight, so we’re likely to see consolidation in the market overall.”
Eric Avidon is a senior news writer for TechTarget Editorial and a journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He covers analytics and data management.
Amazon and PBS have entered a partnership that will bring content from the public media operation to Prime Video. More than 150 local PBS channels and the PBS Kids Channel will launch as a free ad-supported TV (or FAST) offering on Prime Video over the coming months. The from PBS noted that this is the first time this collection of programming will be available on a major streaming service for free.
PBS Distribution is also launching two new FAST channels that will be available exclusively on Prime Video for a limited time beginning November 26. These channels are PBS Drama and PBS Documentaries. It seems Amazon is looking to focus on a lineup of FAST channels within Prime Video for free viewing, since the company announced that it is .
Having yet another place to watch public media content is a happy development for PBS fans. The broadcaster recently launched a FAST channel with Roku called PBS Retro, specifically with shows from the 1980s and 1990s for those of us who want to dive into a little nostalgic escapism.
Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More
At this year’s annual BUILD conference, data architecture giant Snowflake went all in to give its customers advanced capabilities, including some long-previewed features, to easily mobilize their datasets to build and share powerful AI applications.
The company debuted new tools for Cortex AI, its fully managed offering for developing conversational AI apps grounded in enterprise data hosted on its platform.
It also announced Snowflake Intelligence, enabling users to create ‘data agents’ that could not only answer questions related to structured (organized in tables) and unstructured data (PDFs, documents, etc.) on the platform but also take action across third-party platforms like Salesforce and Google Workspace using the generated answers.
Below is a rundown of all major announcements:
Cortex AI enhancements
Ever since its introduction last year, Cortex AI has been receiving regular updates from Snowflake to simplify how developers create and run AI apps.
At BUILD, Snowflake continued to bolster this offering with new multimodal input support for apps in development, managed connectors to integrate internal knowledge bases to the apps, and knowledge extensions to tie third-party documents, like news articles, to the services.
The company also announced Cortex Chat API combining structured and unstructured data into a single REST API call for fast-tracked RAG and agentic app development; observability for the developed AI apps (building on the TruEra acquisition); and support for SQL Joins and multi-turn conversations in Cortex Analyst to unlock richer insights from structured data.
Snowflake Intelligence
Using the enhancements to Cortex AI, including integration with internal knowledge bases, the company announced Snowflake Intelligence, a unified platform enterprises users can use to build ‘data agents’. T
The agents will use Snowflake-hosted business intelligence data as well as that connected via third-party platforms to provide users with instant answers to their business questions.
Further, once the insights are produced, the users can ask the same agent to act on them across integrated third-party tools.
This could involve a wide range of tasks across third party apps, from automatically and autonomously creating an editable form in Google Workspace using the generated insights to modifying an entry in Salesforce CRM.
Open Catalog, Document AI enhancements
Back in June, during its flagship summit, Snowflake and its industry partners unveiled Polaris as a vendor-neutral catalog implementation for indexing and organizing data conforming to the Apache Iceberg table format.
The offering has since been open-sourced and donated to the Apache Foundation. At BUILD, the company took a step ahead and debuted a fully managed, hosted version of the catalog called Snowflake Open Catalog. T
Now generally available, Polaris helps enterprises grow and evolve by integrating new engines and applying consistent governance controls.
In addition, Snowflake also announced the general availability of Document AI, the product it offers to let users extract data from unstructured documents like invoices, on AWS and Microsoft Azure.
Threat prevention and security monitoring
In light of the recent customer data breach, Snowflake has taken multiple steps to bolster the security of its users, including enforcing multi-factor authentication by default.
At BUILD, the company continued this work with the introduction of Leaked Password Protection, a capability that will automatically detect and notify customers if their Snowflake credentials have been exposed on the dark web (much like Google).
According to Christian Kleinerman, the EVP of product at Snowflake, the company may even go and disable the accounts with compromised credentials for account protection.
In addition to this, Snowflake announced a new Threat Intelligence Scanner Package for its Trust Center, the place where users see how well their accounts are configured.
The feature will provide users with a risky user view, giving them the ability to detect when a potentially risky user is active along with the best steps to deal with the situation.
Snowflake’s Trust Center is also getting extensibility, which will enable third-party partners to leverage Snowflake’s native app framework and add additional checks and assessments to the dashboard.
Snowflake BUILD runs from November 12 to November 15, 2024.
Source link
A 2018 Supreme Court ruling eliminated the requirement that an e-commerce retailer needed a physical location in a state in order for said state to be able to collect sales tax on purchases made by residents. While the decision was a boon for states, it created a headache for e-commerce sellers.
Kintsugi is looking to offload and automate calculating and filing sales tax for companies. The San Francisco-based company’s AI technology connects to a company’s billing and payment systems and figures out in which states they are liable to pay sales tax. It then registers users in the correct states. From there, the system can automatically calculate and remit what a company owes in sales tax to keep companies in compliance.
Kintsugi raised a $6 million Series A round earlier this year led by Link Ventures that valued it at a $40 million post valuation in April. The company has since reopened its Series A round, taken on additional $4 million in capital led by Airwallex, and has doubled its valuation to $80 million.
Pujun Bhatnagar, Kintsugi co-founder and CEO, said that he got interested in the sales tax space while working as a senior machine learning engineer at Meta in 2018. Bhatnagar told TechCrunch that both his father and grandfather worked in taxation their entire careers. Bhatnagar found himself in 2018 wondering what he wanted to do with his life. It just so happened to be around the same time as the Supreme Court ruling, which opened up a whole new market that was worth exploring, he said.
“It’s basically an amalgamation of 52 different types of little countries, which have their
own laws and jurisdictions when it comes to local governments,” Bhatnagar said. “And 48 of these jurisdictions have sales-tax-related laws.”
To really understand the problem, Bhatnagar said he started doing sales tax for e-commerce and SaaS companies by hand for a year and a half to really understand the pain points before writing any code. He made Kintsugi’s first few employees calculate sales tax by hand, too.
From there they built a platform and algorithm to modernize and automate sales tax compliance. Bhatnagar said that building the model in-house has made their results more accurate than competitors that rely on large, all-encompassing language models. He said that the company keeps humans in the loop to monitor for accuracy, too.
The company was formally founded in 2022 and launched its website in August 2023. Bhatnagar said inbound interest was immediate, and Kintsugi has been able to grow its customer base to more than 1,100 users in the past year. It has earned $1 million in revenue.
Kintsugi isn’t unique in wanting to modernize the sales tax process for companies. Competitors include Anrok, which has raised more than $50 million in venture money, and CereTax, which has raised $19 million in venture capital, in addition to numerous legacy companies that outsource the process to folks in countries like India. This is the same type of work that Bhatnagar’s family had worked on.
Bhatnagar thinks that part of the reason demand has been so high for Kintsugi is its approach to landing customers. The company allows potential customers to sign up for free and test out whether they like it. If they choose to proceed, they can pay $100 per tax filing or create a custom plan. Bhatnagar added that some of their competitors charge hefty fees just for onboarding to their platforms.
“We are the only company in the space that has a ‘get started’ button, that has a ‘we will do your sales tax analysis for free [button],’” Bhatnagar said. “And that’s not going to be just done once. You can create a free account, and every seven minutes the report is going to be updated for you. And that’s a value prop that we want to provide to founders for free, even if they decide to not pay a single dime for Kintsugi.”
Kintsugi plans to use its new capital to keep expanding its tech and to help the company gear up to expand into Canada and Europe.
“We are a bunch of nerds,” Bhatnagar said. “We are not trying to sell any snake oil. Connect your data, see the results.”
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is seeking to put Google under federal supervision, a move that could impose the same kinds of monitoring and inspections used on banks, The Washington Post reports.
The CFPB’s concerns are not totally clear and the order may still change, according to the Post, citing two unnamed sources. Both the agency and Google declined to comment on the report. But, plenty could change once President-elect Donald Trump reassumes office in January and puts forward his own pick to lead the agency.
The CFPB was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers from unfair practices by financial institutions. While it already inspects more traditional finance businesses like banks, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra has sought to expand the agency’s activities to cover digital payment providers. The tech industry has argued in comments that this would be an overly broad use of the agency’s authority. “There’s no legal basis for this action, so Chopra is trying to invent one out of thin air — all while the clock ticks on his leadership,” Adam Kovacevich, CEO of Google-backed industry group Chamber of Progress, said in a statement about the reported move.
While we don’t yet know what product the CFPB is focused on, Google does offer a digital wallet to store users’ credit cards and make payments with their phones. The CFPB has received hundreds of customer complaints about Google services in recent years about unauthorized charges, according to the Post.
Still, the finance industry seems to expect a significant ramping down of the CFPB’s more aggressive oversight moves once the incoming Trump administration takes over, according to Reuters. Republicans have long expressed skepticism of the agency and Chopra’s authority to expand its scope. The reported move against Google could be one that falls through the cracks of the transition, unless it’s implemented before Inauguration Day.
-
Science & Environment2 months agoHow to unsnarl a tangle of threads, according to physics
-
Technology2 months agoWould-be reality TV contestants ‘not looking real’
-
Technology2 months agoIs sharing your smartphone PIN part of a healthy relationship?
-
Science & Environment2 months agoX-rays reveal half-billion-year-old insect ancestor
-
Science & Environment2 months agoHyperelastic gel is one of the stretchiest materials known to science
-
Science & Environment2 months ago‘Running of the bulls’ festival crowds move like charged particles
-
Science & Environment2 months agoPhysicists have worked out how to melt any material
-
MMA1 month ago‘Dirt decision’: Conor McGregor, pros react to Jose Aldo’s razor-thin loss at UFC 307
-
News1 month ago‘Blacks for Trump’ and Pennsylvania progressives play for undecided voters
-
News1 month agoWoman who died of cancer ‘was misdiagnosed on phone call with GP’
-
Money1 month agoWetherspoons issues update on closures – see the full list of five still at risk and 26 gone for good
-
Sport1 month agoAaron Ramsdale: Southampton goalkeeper left Arsenal for more game time
-
Football1 month agoRangers & Celtic ready for first SWPL derby showdown
-
Business1 month ago
how UniCredit built its Commerzbank stake
-
Sport1 month ago2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup: Pakistan beat Sri Lanka
-
Science & Environment2 months agoA new kind of experiment at the Large Hadron Collider could unravel quantum reality
-
Science & Environment2 months agoMaxwell’s demon charges quantum batteries inside of a quantum computer
-
Science & Environment2 months agoQuantum forces used to automatically assemble tiny device
-
Science & Environment2 months agoSunlight-trapping device can generate temperatures over 1000°C
-
Science & Environment2 months agoLiquid crystals could improve quantum communication devices
-
Technology1 month agoSamsung Passkeys will work with Samsung’s smart home devices
-
Technology2 months agoUkraine is using AI to manage the removal of Russian landmines
-
Business1 month ago
Top shale boss says US ‘unusually vulnerable’ to Middle East oil shock
-
Science & Environment2 months agoLaser helps turn an electron into a coil of mass and charge
-
Technology2 months agoRussia is building ground-based kamikaze robots out of old hoverboards
-
Science & Environment2 months agoQuantum ‘supersolid’ matter stirred using magnets
-
MMA1 month agoPereira vs. Rountree prediction: Champ chases legend status
-
News1 month agoNavigating the News Void: Opportunities for Revitalization
-
News1 month agoMassive blasts in Beirut after renewed Israeli air strikes
-
Science & Environment2 months agoWhy this is a golden age for life to thrive across the universe
-
Technology1 month agoGmail gets redesigned summary cards with more data & features
-
News1 month agoCornell is about to deport a student over Palestine activism
-
Technology1 month agoSingleStore’s BryteFlow acquisition targets data integration
-
Technology2 months agoMicrophone made of atom-thick graphene could be used in smartphones
-
Entertainment1 month agoBruce Springsteen endorses Harris, calls Trump “most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime”
-
Business1 month agoWater companies ‘failing to address customers’ concerns’
-
MMA1 month agoPennington vs. Peña pick: Can ex-champ recapture title?
-
Sport1 month agoBoxing: World champion Nick Ball set for Liverpool homecoming against Ronny Rios
-
Sport1 month agoShanghai Masters: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz win openers
-
Money1 month agoTiny clue on edge of £1 coin that makes it worth 2500 times its face value – do you have one lurking in your change?
-
Technology2 months agoMeta has a major opportunity to win the AI hardware race
-
Technology1 month agoEpic Games CEO Tim Sweeney renews blast at ‘gatekeeper’ platform owners
-
Science & Environment2 months agoITER: Is the world’s biggest fusion experiment dead after new delay to 2035?
-
MMA1 month agoDana White’s Contender Series 74 recap, analysis, winner grades
-
Sport1 month agoAmerica’s Cup: Great Britain qualify for first time since 1964
-
MMA1 month agoKayla Harrison gets involved in nasty war of words with Julianna Pena and Ketlen Vieira
-
Sport1 month agoWXV1: Canada 21-8 Ireland – Hosts make it two wins from two
-
Science & Environment2 months agoNuclear fusion experiment overcomes two key operating hurdles
-
News2 months ago▶️ Hamas in the West Bank: Rising Support and Deadly Attacks You Might Not Know About
-
Technology1 month agoMicrosoft just dropped Drasi, and it could change how we handle big data
-
News1 month agoHarry vs Sun publisher: ‘Two obdurate but well-resourced armies’
-
Technology1 month agoLG C4 OLED smart TVs hit record-low prices ahead of Prime Day
-
Sport1 month agoNew Zealand v England in WXV: Black Ferns not ‘invincible’ before game
-
Business1 month ago
It feels nothing like ‘fine dining’, but Copenhagen’s Kadeau is a true gift
-
MMA1 month ago‘Uncrowned queen’ Kayla Harrison tastes blood, wants UFC title run
-
Technology2 months agoWhy Machines Learn: A clever primer makes sense of what makes AI possible
-
Science & Environment2 months agoNerve fibres in the brain could generate quantum entanglement
-
Technology2 months agoUniversity examiners fail to spot ChatGPT answers in real-world test
-
Travel1 month ago
World of Hyatt welcomes iconic lifestyle brand in latest partnership
-
Football1 month ago'Rangers outclassed and outplayed as Hearts stop rot'
-
Sport1 month agoURC: Munster 23-0 Ospreys – hosts enjoy second win of season
-
Politics1 month ago
‘The night of the living dead’: denial-fuelled Tory conference ends without direction | Conservative conference
-
Technology1 month agoNintendo’s latest hardware is not the Switch 2
-
News2 months agoRwanda restricts funeral sizes following outbreak
-
Business1 month ago
Italy seeks to raise more windfall taxes from companies
-
MMA1 month agoStephen Thompson expects Joaquin Buckley to wrestle him at UFC 307
-
Technology1 month agoCheck, Remote, and Gusto discuss the future of work at Disrupt 2024
-
TV1 month agoসারাদেশে দিনব্যাপী বৃষ্টির পূর্বাভাস; সমুদ্রবন্দরে ৩ নম্বর সংকেত | Weather Today | Jamuna TV
-
Business1 month ago
The search for Japan’s ‘lost’ art
-
Sport1 month agoPremiership Women’s Rugby: Exeter Chiefs boss unhappy with WXV clash
-
Business1 month agoWhen to tip and when not to tip
-
News1 month agoHull KR 10-8 Warrington Wolves – Robins reach first Super League Grand Final
-
Science & Environment2 months agoA tale of two mysteries: ghostly neutrinos and the proton decay puzzle
-
News1 month agoCrisis in Congo and Capsizing Boats Mediterranean
-
MMA2 months agoHow to watch Salt Lake City title fights, lineup, odds, more
-
Money1 month agoThe four errors that can stop you getting £300 winter fuel payment as 880,000 miss out – how to avoid them
-
Sport1 month agoBukayo Saka left looking ‘so helpless’ in bizarre moment Conor McGregor tries UFC moves on Arsenal star
-
Sport1 month agoHow India became a Test cricket powerhouse
-
Sport1 month agoSnooker star Shaun Murphy now hits out at Kyren Wilson after war of words with Mark Allen
-
Sport1 month agoFans say ‘Moyes is joking, right?’ after his bizarre interview about under-fire Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag goes viral
-
News1 month agoUK forces involved in response to Iran attacks on Israel
-
TV1 month agoTV Patrol Express September 26, 2024
-
Football1 month agoFifa to investigate alleged rule breaches by Israel Football Association
-
Science & Environment2 months agoA slight curve helps rocks make the biggest splash
-
News2 months ago▶️ Media Bias: How They Spin Attack on Hezbollah and Ignore the Reality
-
Science & Environment2 months agoHow to wrap your mind around the real multiverse
-
Sport4 weeks agoSunderland boss Regis Le Bris provides Jordan Henderson transfer update 13 years after £20m departure to Liverpool
-
Sport1 month agoPhil Jones: ‘I had to strip everything back – now management is my focus’
-
Technology1 month agoSamsung Galaxy Tab S10 won’t get monthly security updates
-
Football1 month agoWhy does Prince William support Aston Villa?
-
News1 month ago▶ Hamas Spent $1B on Tunnels Instead of Investing in a Future for Gaza’s People
-
TV1 month agoএই ডিভাইস দিয়ে দেখা যায় পৃথিবীর সব টিভি চ্যানেল! | Smart Tv Box | Independent TV
-
Money1 month agoDWP reveals exact date that cold weather payments will start this winter – can you get free cash for your energy bills?
-
Technology1 month agoMusk faces SEC questions over X takeover
-
Sport1 month agoChina Open: Carlos Alcaraz recovers to beat Jannik Sinner in dramatic final
-
Business1 month ago
Bank of England warns of ‘future stress’ from hedge fund bets against US Treasuries
-
Technology1 month agoJ.B. Hunt and UP.Labs launch venture lab to build logistics startups
-
Sport1 month agoSturm Graz: How Austrians ended Red Bull’s title dominance
-
Money1 month agoFive benefits changes the Government could make next month in its Autumn Budget – from PIP to fraud crackdown
-
MMA1 month ago‘I was fighting on automatic pilot’ at UFC 306
You must be logged in to post a comment Login