Apple’s Theatrical Race

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Happy Friday, Future Party. Do you ever catch yourself involuntarily checking your phone every few minutes? If so, you might need the Methaphone. Developed by Eric Antonow, a former marketing exec at Facebook and Google, the Methaphone is, according to Wired, simply “a 6-inch slab of clear acrylic with rounded corners, like the iPhone, and green edges that resembled glass.” If Antonow adds a scrollable display, he may be on to the newest iteration of the fidget spinner.

Apple is pulling out all the stops to make sure this weekend’s release of its biggest blockbuster yet, F1, is a thundering success.

The Big Picture: How F1 performs at the box office could be the make-or-break moment for the tech giant’s theatrical ambitions, which have been set back by a series of costly flops. Losing Apple as a big-screen player would be a blow to an already-contracting marketplace.

Behind the Scenes: Apple ponied up $250 million to make F1 after the success of director Joseph Kosinski’s last movie, the $1.5 billion-grossing Top Gun: Maverick.

Can the movie become the tech giant’s first box-office hit?

Last Lap: Both Hollywood and Wall Street analysts have long wondered why Apple is pushing ahead so aggressively to make it on the big screen. Apple leadership maintains that it simply enjoys the business and believes it can release high-quality movies with the same success it achieves with high-quality devices — an overarching ethos of top-shelf curation.

Despite pre-release tracking suggesting the movie mostly appeals to older men, F1’s cultural ascendancy and the draw of IMAX could fuel interest across all age groups if word of mouth takes off.

Prediction: If Warner Bros. (which is technically marketing and distributing F1) can’t get the movie off the starting line, Apple may consider launching its own distribution arm like Amazon.

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The startup space race and a push for innovative manufacturing are leading to a near future when several categories of products could be made in space.

Why It Launches: Technology, pharmaceuticals, and materials science are advancing so rapidly that manufacturing them in space may become the only viable option. That could fuel space commercialization multiples more than private travel ever could.

Behind the Assembly Line: Do you think there are tariffs in low-Earth orbit?

The Future: NASA has been experimenting with space manufacturing as far back as 1973. Only now has technology caught up with the ambitions. Mike Curtis-Rouse, head of in-orbit servicing, assembly, and manufacturing at Satellite Applications Catapult, states that in-space manufacturing could become a $100 billion business by 2035. Considering that there’s currently no product manufactured in space that’s available to the public, that’s a major jump.

Prediction: By the next decade, there could be a dozen manufacturing facilities floating in orbit, manned mostly by autonomous robots.

56.4% of you voted No in yesterday’s poll: Within the past year, have you ever eaten less or skipped meals to reduce spending?

“I’ve done that but not in the last year. All I do is think about food all day. It was a nightmare.”

“Though I haven’t skipped meals or reduced my eating, I’ve certainly tried very hard to meal plan and eat at home. I’ve learned to cook a lot more this past year.”

“It’s not just about reducing spending, though. I’ve changed my eating habits to save money AND improve health.”

Let’s keep the conversation going. Join our Poll Of The Day newsletter, so your opinions can shine. Discover how your views line up with your peers’, check out cool insights, and have some fun. It’s data with personality.

📺 Disney and Charter are back in business together — this time bringing an ad-supported version of Hulu to cable customers.

🎙️ Apple is celebrating 20 years in podcasting with a list of the most influential shows, which includes Serial, Call Her Daddy, and This American Life.

📰 Only 17% of Americans say they pay for news… which is pretty bad news for every outlet with a paywall.

🚀 Jeff Bezos is attempting to leverage the rift between Donald Trump and Elon Musk to fuel government contacts for Blue Origin.

📖 A federal judge has ruled in favor of Meta in an AI-training case brought by various authors… though only because the defense didn’t present the strongest argument for their case.

🚗 Lyft is putting together a council of drivers to advise on the company’s robotaxi ambitions.

👩‍🦳 Anna Wintour announced that she’ll be stepping down as the editor-in-chief of US Vogue… but she’ll still have a top editorial role at the global edition.

₿ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are developing a framework that will allow for crypto to be used in home purchases.

💎 Frank Ocean is back… designing jewelry. Sorry, music fans.