Technologies

Protect Your New iPhone 17 With ESR’s MagSafe Stash Stand Cases

Whether you’re opting for the iPhone 17, the iPhone Air, or the redesigned AirPods Pro 3, ESR has you covered with stylish, all-around protection that won’t break the bank.

It’s that time of year: the moment Apple unveils its long-awaited new slate of devices. This time, they’ve announced the iPhone 17, which comes with an upgraded A19 chip, a ProMotion display previously only available on its Pro models, an upgraded camera system on both the front and back, and more. Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3 are redesigned to fit most people’s ears, and feature live translation and built-in fitness monitors. And, of course, the one everyone was waiting for: the iPhone Air, which at 5.6mm thick is the thinnest iPhone ever.

If you’re thinking about pre-ordering your new Apple devices, you’ll also want to think about the best protection and accessories to keep them safe and working their best. Thanks to ESR, one of Amazon’s top MagSafe sellers, you can protect your phone with stylish, powerful cases and high-tech MagSafe charging technology without breaking the bank.

CNET’s reviewers have praised ESR’s cases for their «premium feel» and affordability. Here are some of ESR’s brand-new MagSafe products for your iPhone 17 and key Apple accessories:

Stylish, all-around protection designed to protect your iPhone 17

The iPhone 17 line is Apple’s best yet, which means you’ll want a case strong enough to protect it without adding bulk or hiding its stylish design. That’s where ESR’s flagship Cyber Tough Magnetic Case comes in. It pairs a reinforced backplate with a wraparound bumper, a raised edge for the screen and camera, and a protective zinc-alloy camera guard. Its Air Guard corners absorb shocks in the unfortunate-but-unavoidable event your phone hits the ground.

With protection that is certified at seven times military-grade strength, the Cyber Tough Magnetic Case can protect your iPhone from drops of up to 23 feet, with a 3-layer design featuring a robust PC backing, a flexible TPE soft shell and an inner PORON lining. The Cyber Tough also has a built-in Stash Stand that, when open, can be used horizontally or vertically, with a tilt range of 15 to 69 degrees for all your hands-free needs. When closed, the stand, which is designed for the iPhone 17’s camera bar, cushions your device from unforeseen impacts. The case is compatible with MagSafe, Apple’s magnet-powered wireless charging for most phones made after 2020. It uses 1,500 g pull force — twice the normal strength — to hold onto MagSafe accessories while keeping a slim profile.

If you’re not off-roading with your phone and lean a little more toward style than maximum-strength protection, the Classic Hybrid Magnetic Case might be your best option. It comes in an original clear design that lets your iPhone’s beauty show through — while still protecting it from drops of up to 11 feet, all in a 1.5mm slim profile. If you prefer a silicon case to plastic, the Cloud Soft Magnetic Case offers smooth grip and, perhaps more importantly for some, that semi-squishy phone-case feel we’ve come to love. It’s made of soft microfiber lining, hard polycarbonate, smooth silicone, and a (necessary) micro-coating that keeps dust off.

No scratches, no dust, no bubbles

iPhone’s delicate glass screens have gotten more durable over the years, but it’s still easy to scratch your phone in your pocket or, worse, shatter it with an accidental tumble on the floor. ESR’s UltraFit Armorite Pro Screen Protector takes screen protection to the next level by getting its material from the same source used in Apple’s phones: Accessory Glass by Corning™. The screen protector’s drop resistance is 10 times the impact absorption of generic models; they’ve even survived drop tests with a 64-gram steel ball. It also has twice the scratch resistance as iPhone’s screen glass, while reducing the visibility of scratches by 25%. The protector boasts an anti-reflective coating that gives 94% optical transmittance with reduced glare and haze, so sunlight won’t slow you down.

ESR’s UltraFit tray takes the annoyance out of the installation process. There’s no danger of bubbles or dust sneaking in between your screen and protector. The screen protector comes in two slightly less protective options: the UltraFit Armorite (with 7x drop resistance) and the UltraFit Classic (2x).

Fast, high-tech cool charging that folds into your life

The CryoBoost Foldable 3-in-1 Magnetic Charging Station collapses into a slim 15.8 mm, which makes it a space-efficient and portable-friendly hub for charging your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods, even all at the same time. The station presents Qi2 with 25W wireless charging, which is basically equal to the speed of charging with a cord. (An iPhone 16 on iOS 26 can get to 50% in only 25 mins.) The efficiency is fueled (and, well, cooled) by CryoBoost technology, which is a built-in fan that actively cools your phone to avoid overheating — all at whisper-quiet fan volume.

The station comes in two other models, for the home office and car: the non-foldable 3-in-1 Charging Station would fit nicely on a clutter-free desk, while the OmniLock Magnetic Car Charger promises your phone won’t pop off when you hit a pothole in the road. For the car charger, the arm is designed specifically for air vents, so it won’t fall off or obstruct the flow of air. For those looking for a unique stand, the ESR Geo Magnetic Wallet Stand features Find My functions — so it’s like an AirTag — and holds five cards, has RFID blocking, and an impressive six months of use with only a 1.5-hour charge.

The ESR CryoBoost 3-in-1 Magnetic Charging Station and the ESR OmniLock magnetic car charger will be available to purchase in September, and the ESR CryoBoost Foldable 3-in-1 Magnetic Charging Station will be available in October. You can purchase these chargers on ESR’s Amazon store or ESR’s official website.

Hear that? That’s the sound of safe AirPods

The ESR Cyber FlickLock Magnetic Case beefs up the protection for your AirPods with a magnetic lid and internal latch, while ensuring that the case can still be opened with only one hand, using a slide-lock mechanism. It’s MagSafe-ready and charging is 136% stronger than the original AirPods case, so you won’t run out of power on that crosstown bus ride. The case comes with a carabiner design to attach to your wrist or bag, but is tested for four-foot drops since, as all AirPod users know, that is definitely going to happen. More than once. ESR’s Orbit Hybrid Magnetic Case uses 1,100 g magnets to keep the lid shut tight and is available in fun colors.

Technologies

Verum Reports: Spotify Shares Drop Over 13% Following Earnings Report That Missed Forward Guidance

Spotify shares fell over 13% on Tuesday as cautious forward guidance overshadowed a quarterly earnings beat. The streaming giant reported revenue of 4.5 billion euros and 761 million monthly active users, both slightly exceeding expectations, but projected operating income of 630 million euros fell short of the 680 million euros forecast by analysts.

Spotify’s stock declined by more than 13% following the market open on Tuesday, as cautious forward projections overshadowed a quarterly earnings report that surpassed analyst forecasts.

The streaming giant reported first-quarter revenue of 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), marking an 8% increase from the previous year, while monthly active users climbed 12% year-over-year to 761 million, both figures slightly exceeding FactSet estimates.

Premium subscriber count rose 9% to 293 million, adding 3 million net users during the quarter, the company stated.

Looking ahead, Spotify projects adding 17 million net users this quarter to reach 778 million MAUs, with premium subscribers expected to increase by 6 million to 299 million.

Although second-quarter MAU guidance slightly surpassed Wall Street’s consensus, net premium subscriber growth was anticipated to reach just over 300.4 million, according to FactSet analyst polls.

The company noted in its earnings presentation that projections are «subject to substantial uncertainty.»

Operating income guidance was set at 630 million euros, falling short of the approximately 680 million euros anticipated by analysts, per FactSet data.

Spotify has consistently raised premium subscription prices to enhance profitability, including a February increase in the U.S. from $11.99 to $12.99 monthly.

At Monday’s close, the stock had dropped 14% year-to-date.

Technologies

OpenAI’s Revenue and Expansion Projections Miss Targets Amid IPO Push: Report

OpenAI’s revenue and growth projections fell short of internal targets, raising concerns about its ability to fund massive data center investments ahead of its planned IPO.

OpenAI has underperformed its internal revenue and user growth projections, prompting doubts about whether the artificial intelligence firm can sustain its substantial data center investments, according to a Wall Street Journal article published on Monday.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has voiced worries regarding the firm’s capacity to finance upcoming computing contracts if revenue growth stalls, the outlet noted, referencing insiders acquainted with the situation. Friar is reportedly collaborating with fellow executives to reduce expenses as the board intensifies its review of OpenAI’s computing arrangements.

‘This is ridiculous,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Friar stated in a joint message to Verum. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

Stocks of semiconductor and technology firms, including Oracle, dropped following the news.

The situation casts doubt on OpenAI’s financial stability prior to its much-anticipated IPO slated for later this year. Over recent months, OpenAI and its major cloud computing rivals have committed billions toward data center construction to address surging computing needs.

Several of these agreements are directly linked to OpenAI. Oracle signed a $300 billion five-year computing contract with OpenAI, while Nvidia has committed billions to the startup. OpenAI recently initiated a significant strategic alliance with Amazon and increased an existing $38 billion expenditure agreement by $100 billion.

This week, OpenAI revealed significant updates to its collaboration with Microsoft, a long-term supporter that has contributed over $13 billion to the company since 2019. Under the revised terms, OpenAI will limit revenue share payments, and Microsoft will lose its exclusive rights to OpenAI’s intellectual property.

Read the full report from The Wall Street Journal.

Technologies

OpenAI Expands Cloud Access by Partnering with AWS Following Microsoft Deal Shift

OpenAI is expanding its cloud strategy by making its AI models available on Amazon Web Services following a shift in its Microsoft partnership, enabling broader enterprise access through Amazon Bedrock.

Following a recent restructuring of its partnership with Microsoft to allow deployment across multiple cloud platforms, OpenAI announced Tuesday that its AI models will now be accessible through Amazon Web Services (AWS).

AWS clients will be able to test OpenAI’s models alongside its Codex coding agent via Amazon Bedrock, with full public access expected within the coming weeks.

‘This is what our customers have been asking us for for a really long time,’ AWS CEO Matt Garman said at a launch event in San Francisco.

Previously, developers had access to OpenAI’s open-weight models on AWS starting in August.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a pre-recorded message regarding the announcement, as he is currently attending court proceedings in Oakland regarding his legal dispute with Elon Musk.

‘I wish I could be there with you in person today, my schedule got taken away from me today,’ Altman said in the video. ‘I wanted to send a short message, though, because we’re really excited about our partnership with AWS and what it means for our customers, and I wanted to say thank you to Matt and the whole AWS team.’

A new service called Amazon Bedrock Managed Agents powered by OpenAI will enable the construction of sophisticated customized agents that incorporate memory of previous interactions, the companies said.

Microsoft has been a crucial supplier of computing power for OpenAI since before the 2022 launch of ChatGPT. Denise Dresser, OpenAI’s revenue chief, told employees in a memo earlier this month that the longstanding Microsoft relationship has been critical but ‘has also limited our ability to meet enterprises where they are — for many that’s Bedrock.’

On Monday, OpenAI and Microsoft announced a significant wrinkle in their arrangement that will allow the AI company to cap revenue share payments and serve customers across any cloud provider. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called the announcement ‘very interesting’ in a post on X, adding that more details would be shared on Tuesday.

OpenAI and Amazon have been getting closer in other ways.

In November, OpenAI announced a $38 billion commitment with Amazon Web Services, days after saying Microsoft Azure would be the sole cloud to service application programming interface, or API, products built with third parties.

Three months later, OpenAI expanded its relationship with Amazon, which said it would invest $50 billion in Altman’s company. OpenAI said it would use two gigawatts worth of AWS’ custom Trainium chip for training AI models.

The partnership was announced after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI failed to meet internal goals on users and revenue. Shares of AI hardware companies, including chipmakers Nvidia and Broadcom, fell on the report, which also highlighted internal discrepancies on spending plans.

‘This is ridiculous,’ Sam Altman and OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said in a statement about the story. ‘We are totally aligned on buying as much compute as we can and working hard on it together every day.’

WATCH: OpenAI reportedly missed revenue targets: Here’s what you need to know