Tech
What It Does And Why It Matters
Port Washington, New York: New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signs an executive order in Port Washington, New York. (Photo by Howard Schnapp/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Newsday via Getty Images
A new line of text is popping up on some online checkout pages in New York this season: “THIS PRICE WAS SET BY AN ALGORITHM USING YOUR PERSONAL DATA.”
The message, a state-mandated disclosure, is part of an important New York law that took effect in November, making it the first state to directly regulate the controversial practice of “personalized pricing.”
Also called algorithmic or surveillance pricing, this is the tactic where retailers use artificial intelligence and a customer’s personal data — like their browsing history, device type and past purchases — to set an individual price, potentially charging people differing amounts for the same item.
If a business uses personal consumer data in an algorithm to determine specific prices, it now needs to show the mandated label, illuminating a process that usually happens in the digital shadows.
“Algorithmic pricing bills are probably the next big battleground in A.I. regulation,” said Goli Mahdavi, a lawyer at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner who focuses on artificial intelligence and data privacy, in an interview with The New York Times.
The push for regulation comes from the rapid advancement of data harvesting and AI, but this isn’t a brand-new concept: A foundational case dates back to 2012, when The Wall Street Journal reported that travel site Orbitz was showing Mac users, whom it statistically associated with higher incomes, pricier hotel options than it showed PC users — a practice that was considered innovative at the time but is now viewed as primitive.
A key federal report earlier this year drew out how sophisticated and pervasive these systems have become. In January 2025, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a report detailing how companies can track subtle consumer behavior, warning, “a person’s precise location or browser history can be frequently used to target individual consumers with different prices for the same goods and services.”
Dynamic Pricing
Per the new law, the disclosure must appear at or near the price offered. Retailers who fail to provide the required disclosure can be penalized by the state — up to $1,000 per violation.
“This new law shines the light on hidden online pricing tactics that take advantage of consumers,” said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
“[The law] ensures consumers understand when algorithms and personal data are influencing the prices they see,” echoed Assemblymember Nily Rozic in their statement.
Dynamic pricing is already familiar in industries like ride-hailing or airline tickets where prices shift with demand, availability or time — what’s changed is scale and sophistication, insofar as modern algorithms can aggregate browsing history, past purchase behavior, device information, location data, loyalty status — even subtle digital footprints — to customize prices.
This personalization arguably enables better price discrimination — a tool used in economics to adjust price to willingness to pay or perceived ability to pay. In economic theory, well-executed price discrimination can increase total social surplus by extracting more surplus from high-willingness buyers while allowing bargain pricing for price-sensitive buyers.
At the same time, it also raises fairness and equity concerns when there is information asymmetry, lack of transparency or first-degree discrimination — i.e. individualized pricing.
In classic economic models of imperfect information, disclosure requirements help correct for asymmetric information. Here, the law’s transparency mandate gives consumers a signal that the price is personalized based on their data profile. That disclosure may alter consumer behavior (shopping around, using VPNs, switching devices, clearing cookies), which in turn may change how retailers build their pricing algorithms.
Legal Backlash
Since the law was signed in mid-2025, it triggered immediate legal pushback. The National Retail Federation (NRF) sued, arguing the disclosure requirement violated retailers’ free-speech rights and mischaracterized pricing as deceptive.
“This law interferes with retailers’ ability to provide their customers with the highest value and best shopping experience they can,” NRF Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Stephanie Martz said.
“Algorithms are created by humans, not computers, and they are an extension of what retailers have done for decades, if not centuries, to use what they know about their customers to serve them better.”
On October 8, 2025, a federal judge dismissed the case, ruling the statute is constitutional and stating that the disclosure is factual and serves a legitimate consumer-protection interest.
The disclosure “serves to ameliorate consumer confusion or deception by ensuring that consumers are better informed about how a merchant has set the displayed price,” U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff wrote in a 28-page decision.
With judicial backing, New York now sets a blueprint for other states, several of which already have draft bills or are considering similar laws.
Unresolved Questions
Despite its strengths, the statute excludes some uses of personal data from disclosure requirements, including certain ride-share fare calculations using solely location data, financial products, insurance and subscription-based pricing — as a result, some forms of price differentiation, even algorithmic, may continue to be opaque or vague.
Also, the law empowers the state’s New York Attorney General to enforce compliance, but enforcement largely hinges on consumers recognizing and reporting violations. A November 2025 consumer alert encourages New Yorkers to file complaints if they suspect non-disclosure. Some warn that many consumers may not even notice or understand pricing disclosures, especially on mobile apps or ambiguous checkout flows.
From a retailer’s point of view, algorithmic pricing may enable better matching of supply, demand and individual willingness — potentially boosting revenue and investment in personalization, but for consumers, especially those with less bargaining power, it may deepen inequality or lead to price gouging.
Given that the law doesn’t outlaw such pricing, the core ethical economic question persists: is disclosure enough to prevent abuse or merely expose or document it after the fact?
What to Watch Next
Several states have bills pending that would either mandate similar disclosures or outright ban personalized pricing based on sensitive consumer data. Personalized pricing sits at the intersection of antitrust, data privacy, consumer protection and fairness — as states experiment with laws, we may see a patchwork regulatory environment that could ultimately lead to a federal standard or consumer-data regulation at scale.
Also, if enough consumers notice and respond to disclosures — for instance, by switching platforms, using privacy tools or avoiding data-heavy retailers — retailers may adjust or abandon aggressive personalized-pricing algorithms altogether.
Enforcement will also matter. If violations trigger significant penalties or reputational cost, firms may end up self-regulating or lobbying for softened laws. And if the opposite ensues, the law may prove to be a symbolic, ceremonial victory with limited real-world effect.
On paper, New York’s law could alter e-commerce economic structures. If enforced well, what was buried under digital code and unclear checkout flows could now become more obvious to every consumer. Whether this important legal move rebalances power and information between consumers and retailers, or simply makes pricing more messy and complex, is yet to be seen.
Samsung’s Galaxy Z TriFold
Samsung Newsroom
Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines across the Android world, including the Galaxy Z TriFold arrives, Galaxy S26 Ultra specs, the new Exynos promise, Pixel 10a pricing, Nubia Fold details, OnePlus 15 heads to America, and Google’s QPR2 source code released.
Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Android in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Apple news here on Forbes.
The Galaxy’s Number Is Now Three
Samsung has launched the highly anticipated Galaxy Z TriFold, a foldable device with three screen elements and two hinges to offer a pocketable phone and a tablet screen that is significantly less square than other foldable devices in the South Korean company’s portfolio. It’s a technical marvel, but it may not be the best seller some in the community are looking for:
“It will be available more widely, but no date has yet been attached. “Samsung Electronics will launch the ‘Galaxy Z Trifold’ in Korea on the 12th and then launch it sequentially to global markets such as China, Taiwan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States,” Samsung said in a newsroom post. No exact date yet, then, though I’d be astonished if it was before 2026.”
The Galaxy S26 Comparison
What will be a best seller, all being well, will be the Galaxy S26 family. With specifications widely available, albeit unconfirmed by Samsung, it’s possible to compare the upcoming S26 devices with the current S25 models. As the flagship, the Galaxy 26 Ultra has the most scrutiny:
“Samsung is switching to a new 6.9-inch M14 AMOLED panel, although it probably will not get much brighter. European users will likely only get 12GB RAM, compared with 16GB in other regions such as China. At least Samsung fans around the world will probably get to enjoy the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 instead of the Exynos 2600.”
Here Comes The Exynos
Samsung has confirmed its flagship Exynos 2600 chipset. This will draw direct comparison to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 chipset, which is currently debuting in premium handsets across the Android space. The Samsung community has generally preferred Snapdragon over Exynos, at least on the top-tier Galaxy Ultra handsets. The S26 Ultra is still expected to ship in the first quarter of 2026 with a Snapdragon chipset, but Exynos could dominate the other handsets in the S26 family. Sammobile’s Asif Shak has more:
“A teaser video of the Exynos 2600 was just published by Samsung on its YouTube channel. In the video, the company says, “In silence, we listened,” hinting at controversies around performance and overheating issues associated with some previous Exynos chips. It is the South Korean firm’s indirect way of saying it understands the criticism around its chips and that it intends to improve upon their shortcomings.”
The Pixel 10a Price Conundrum
Google’s next smartphone is expected to be the Pixel 10a, which will bring the latest AI-focused hardware and smartphone technology to the mid-range. It’s expected to remain at $499, but there are still questions that need to be addressed.I took a closer look at these earlier this week.
“A more interesting question on the price will be around the pricing in the Google Store. The Pixel 9a has been discounted by $100 in the US store for a long time before the Pixel Black Friday offers. There’s every chance that the discount stays in place for Christmas. Will this forever discount carry on into the new year? What happens when the Pixel 10a arrives? Does the Pixel 9a remain discounted, and does the Pixel 10a lock in at $499 for the summer? Or does the continued use of older silicon see the 9a quietly removed from the portfolio, leaving the Pixel 10a as he sole ‘A-class’ on sale as a new handset?”
Nubia Fold Details Published
The first folding smartphone from Nubia has been confirmed by Japanese network Y!mobile. The Nubia Fold has appeared on its website, with a list price of 178,560 yen ($1,145). Given the specs, this is a very competitive offer, especially if this Fold gets a global release. GSM Arena has collected the specs, including the all-important display.
“The nubia Fold features an 8-inch main display with 2,480 x 2,200px resolution and a 6.5-inch cover screen with 2,748 x 1,172px resolution. Both panels offer 120Hz refresh rates, and the main panel supports split view modes for certain apps…
America Is Ready For The OnePlus 15
Following its global release, those looking for the OnePlus 15 in the United States were left in limbo. Without FCC certification, the device cannot go on sale, and with the government shutdown, no certification could be issued. Well, that hurdle has now passed. As GSMArena notes, the FCC is back in business, the certification has been issued, and the OnePlus 15’s US adventure is set to continue.
And Finally…
Google has released the source code for its latest Android update, feeding it back into the open-source community. Given the two-month delay in the release of Android 16’s QPR1, the community is taking the almost immediate release of QPR2 as a positive sign.
“Given that context, some developers worried Google might repeat that strategy and withhold Android 16 QPR2’s source code for an unspecified time. Thankfully, that hasn’t happened. Google started uploading Android 16 QPR2’s source code almost immediately after releasing the update. This suggests the previous delay was indeed tied to the mid-cycle Pixel Drop, and that today’s update — while not officially labeled a Pixel Drop — is one in all but name.
Android Circuit rounds up the news from the Android world every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future, and of course, read the sister column in Apple Loop! Last week’s Android Circuit can be found here, and if you have any news and links you’d like to see featured in Android Circuit, get in touch!
People check the new iPhone 17 lineup at an Apple store in Shanghai on September 19, 2025 (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images
Taking a look back at this week’s news and headlines from across the Apple world, including iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 sales success, balancing iOS 18 and iOS 26, four new MacBooks, Apple Satellite upgrades, moving to Meta, and the Christmas Tree lights are turned on.
Apple Loop is here to remind you of a few of the many discussions around Apple in the last seven days. You can also read my weekly digest of Android news here on Forbes.
An iPhone 17 Pro Display Warning
Apple’s new cover on the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max displays has increased the protection on offer. Ceramic Shield 2 also increases scratch resistance and reduces reflections. Yet its interaction with some screen protectors reduces the anti-reflection technology, which requires direct contact with air. An iPhone 17 study by Astropad has taken a closer look at the impact of a screen protector. Forbes contributor David Phelan looks at the options you have:
“[the report] goes on to say that some screen protectors, when placed on top of Ceramic Shield 2, doubled the amount of reflectivity on the display. An anti-reflective coating is desirable, so this result is not.
“The study promotes Astropad’s Fresh Coat solution as a way or reducing reflectivity, though you could argue that it might be an even better solution to not put any protector on at all, if Apple’s claims of less scratchability prove correct — and they haven’t been widely disproved yet”
Apple Reaps iPhone 17 Rewards
The success of the iPhone 17 in global markets is having a positive effect on the iPhone market. New research from IDC suggests that Apple is on course to grow sales by more than six percent, in large part due to the vanilla iPhone’s adoption by the Chinese market. Juli Clover takes a closer look at the numbers:
“Total 2025 shipments are forecast to grow 6.1 percent year over year due to iPhone 17 demand and increased sales in China, a major market for Apple. Overall worldwide smartphone shipments across Android and iOS are forecast to grow 1.5 percent, primarily because of the success of the iPhone.”
The Balance Between iOS 18 and iOS 26
Since the launch of the iPhone 17 and iOS 26, Apple has been supporting iOS 18 for older incompatible iPhones and for users who are not yet ready — for whatever reason — to upgrade their phones. While the updated versions of iOS 18 are still available, the UI has been reconfigured to highlight iOS 26 and minimze the visibility of iOS 18.
“…the iPhone’s Software Update screen now features iOS 26.1 prominently, while iOS 18.7.2 has been demoted to ‘alternate version’ status. Users may now see a badge on the Settings app indicating the new update is available, but it won’t be installed without direct user action. For major OS upgrades, users need to manually install the new version even when they have ‘Automatic updates’ turned on.:
Three New MacBooks Before One Big Boss
This week saw a rush of details around Apple’s plans for the MacBook. While the M5 chipset has made a soft debut, 2026 should see more variants going on sale throughout the year. These will include a low-cost MacBook that will likely compete with Chromebooks, an update to the MacBook Air and the introduction of an M5 Pro MacBook Pro model. As for the fourth model…
“The biggest update arrives later in the year. Both Kuo and Gurman say Apple is working on a redesigned MacBook Pro with M6 chips and OLED displays. These machines are expected to bring some of the most dramatic changes in years, including …OLED panels with deeper blacks, higher contrast, and better power efficiency …Touch-screen support while keeping the full keyboard and trackpad.”
The Benfits And Cost Of Apple Satellite
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has revealed Apple’s plans for satellite connectivity, including navigation in Apple Maps, support for sending photos in Messages, and an API to allow developers to offer satellite connectivity. The question now is who pays for the services?
“Today, Apple’s satellite connectivity features are available for free. For more advanced capabilities in the future, Apple reportedly plans to let customers pay satellite carriers for features directly. Apple could also create a paid option for extended connectivity with a company like SpaceX. Gurman added that there have been discussions in the company about offering its own satellite service, but concerns that Apple shouldn’t act like a carrier have stifled that possibility.”
Apple To Meta Moves
One of Apple’s longest-tenured executives is leaving the company to join Meta. Alan Dye has been the head of Apple’s user interface design team for ten years. Meta’s move is seen as a precursor to designing and releasing new hardware, and will start work as Chief Design Officer on Dec. 31. Apple confirmed the move in a statement provided to Bloomberg News:
“Steve Lemay has played a key role in the design of every major Apple interface since 1999,” Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said in the statement. “He has always set an extraordinarily high bar for excellence and embodies Apple’s culture of collaboration and creativity.”
And Finally…
The annual Christmas Tree reveal at Apple’s offices in Battersea, South London. Previously, Apple turned to noted designers and artists. This year twenty-four designs by the public are in rotation until Christmas Eve:
“Apple’s annual holiday projections go live at 5 p.m. U.K. time on Thursday, Dec. 4. These projections light up the 330-feet chimneys and washtowers of the Battersea Power Station in south London, Apple’s U.K. HQ. This year, for the first time, members of the public could submit their designs: Apple has just revealed the winners, and they look great.””
Apple Loop brings you seven days worth of highlights every weekend here on Forbes. Don’t forget to follow me so you don’t miss any coverage in the future. Last week’s Apple Loop can be read here, or this week’s edition of Loop’s sister column, Android Circuit, is also available on Forbes.
The Antigravity A1 drone and Vision goggles headset
Ben Sin
Over the past two years DJI and Insta360 — two tech giants which have respectively dominated the drone and 360 camera field — have increasingly ventured into the other brand’s territory. After years of making similar performing smartphone gimbals and small action cameras, DJI launched its first ever 360 camera a couple months ago, and now Insta360 is introducing a drone under its new sub-brand Antigravity.
The A1 drone in unfolded (left) and folded form (right)
Antigravity
The A1 weighs 249g, just under the 250g standard set by many countries that would require registration. This means you can bring this drone into countries and fly it without hassle. In fact, during my testing period I brought the A1 to Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong and Indonesia without being stopped at the airport. While the Antigravity A1 may look like a typical DJI consumer drone at first glance, it has a fundamentally different approach to documenting the skies, which also alters how the pilot controls the drone. This is a good thing, because DJI’s consumer drones are already near flawless, so Antigravity’s new drone going in a new direction is a fresh take.
There are a pair of cameras at top and bottom of the drone to capture a 360 degree view.
Antigravity
The A1 differs from any other drone on the market because it shoots 360-degree videos, just like parent company Insta360’s X series of cameras. In fact, the lens on the A1 are almost the same as the lens on the Insta360 X5: a pair of 1/1.28-inch lenses that each shoot 180-degree field-of-view videos, and with some clever software stitching, the two footage produces a single 360-degree video that covers the entire canvas.
Once the A1 is in the air, the pilot will be able to see an entire 360-degree view of the sky from the headset, which resembles a VR headset or Apple Vision Pro.
The headset is officially named Vision Goggles
Antigravity
Piloting the drone is done via a remote control made up of various dials, buttons and triggers, and is designed to be operated with one hand. The user can navigate the drone using the dials on the controller, or simply by moving and pointing the remote controller, as it has a built-in gyroscope. So in other words, if you want to turn left, you can either rotate the dial left, or simply point the controller left.
piloting the drone with the controller.
ben sin
The footage captured by the drone is in 8k resolution, but you have to remember this is 8k resolution spread across an entire 360-degree canvas, so footage looks clean, but not “razor sharp” like an 8K television footage would look. When the drone is airborne, the goggles show me the entire 360 view, and I have to either move my head, or spin the drone, to see my entire surroundings. I can also look up and down. The experience feels like an immersive VR video, but showing me real-time footage from the drone.
As someone who’s afraid of heights, the first time I looked down from the drone’s perspective gave me a scare, because it looked and felt so real.
A screenshot of a 360 video captured by the A1 drone. This was the perspective looking downwards from high above.
Ben Sin
A screenshot of a 360 video capturing the Bangkok skyline.
Ben Sin
You can see actual video footage from the drone in the video below. You can see the experience can be quite immersive.
A major advantage of having a 360 camera instead of the conventional regular camera on a DJI drone is that the A1 captures everything in one go, so you don’t have to worry about framing, or missing a scene. For example, if I am shooting a skateboarder or a mountain biker with a DJI drone, I may have to do a retake if the first flight didn’t frame and capture the person correctly. Maybe I flew the drone too low and the framing cropped off part of the subject’s face, or maybe the drone was too high and didn’t record the landing. But with the A1, since it captures everything, there would be no such worries.
Of course, one disadvantage of the A1 is that a 360 camera has so many pixels to cover that videos aren’t going to be quite as sharp as a dedicated conventional camera with a narrower field-of-view.
The Antigravity A1, being a flagship drone with excellent 360 cameras, doesn’t come cheap. The cheapest option is the standard bundle which retails for $1,600, and there are higher tier bundles (with more accessories) that go for around $1,700 or $1,800. But this is the price of premium flagship drones, and at least the A1 can claim to be able to capture footage no other drone can do.
IMF’s Executive Board to meet on Dec 8 to approve disbursement of $1.2bn to Pakistan – Business
Wonder Craft: Paper cup dustbin – Newspaper
Story time : The veiled robber – Newspaper
Nawaz, Sahibzada star as Pakistan romp to seven-wicket victory against Sri Lanka
iPhone 17e to Get a Surprise Camera Upgrade Next Year
Three Bonuses In Google’s Special Offer To Pixel Customers
-
Sports2 weeks agoNawaz, Sahibzada star as Pakistan romp to seven-wicket victory against Sri Lanka
-
Tech2 weeks ago
iPhone 17e to Get a Surprise Camera Upgrade Next Year
-
Tech2 weeks ago
Three Bonuses In Google’s Special Offer To Pixel Customers
-
Entertainment2 weeks ago
Meri Zindagi Hai Tu – Hania Aamir Beating Bilal Abbas Khan Goes Viral
-
Sports2 weeks ago
Mohammad Asif and Asjad Iqbal clinch IBSF World Cup title for Pakistan
-
Sports2 weeks ago
India reeling after South Africa mow down top order in second Test
-
Tech2 weeks ago
Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Black Friday Price Rise New Trade-In Deal
-
Sports2 weeks ago
Head’s 69-ball ton powers Australia to victory in Ashes opener