Hi! The White House has said that President Trump will delay the TikTok ban for another 90 days — the third time that the deadline has been extended since January. Today we're exploring: |
- Singled out: Tinder is hoping that revamping a "Double Date" feature will woo back users.
- Sweating paint: A new invention could help alleviate the world's AC dependency.
- Chasing hard: The premium credit card wars are heating up.
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Tinder is trying everything to return to growth, including bringing back a "Double Date" feature |
Tinder, the OG swipe-centric dating app owned by Match Group, announced the launch of "Double Date" on Tuesday, a feature that allows pairs of users to match with other pairs... betting on a (previously unsuccessful) hypothesis that "Dating is better with friends" to boost the platform's falling user numbers. |
Tinder first tried to launch a double dating product back in 2016, but shelved it a year later due to privacy concerns and confusion about whether the option was meant for monogamous users, per Bloomberg. Now, in 2025 — ironically a time when polyamory has increasingly become normalized, though this is "not what [Double Date] has been built for," according to Cleo Long, senior director of global product marketing — Tinder is doubling down on "low-pressure, group-first" dating with friends. The feature will allow users to invite up to three people to match with other duos alongside their solo accounts. |
The move is one of the initiatives Tinder is introducing to try to turn its fortunes around, as well as using "advanced AI" to help people find matches. But revamping a previously failed feature might suggest that the app, which revolutionized online dating when it first launched in 2012, is running out of ideas. |
The number of paying Tinder users has dwindled to just ~9 million in its most recent quarter — down 18% from a peak of ~11 million in late 2022. While Tinder remains Match Group's biggest brand, Hinge, another dating app under the Match umbrella, saw paying users grow 19% year over year in Q1 2025. Double Date is now available in the US, with a global rollout planned for July. So far, the results seem hopeful: after first trialing the feature in a handful of European countries, Tinder reported that women were 3x more likely to "like" a pair than an individual profile, and that nearly 90% of Double Date profiles came from users under 29. |
Could new "sweating" paint help alleviate the world's AC dependency? |
Scientists in Singapore, which often ranks as one of the most humid cities in the world, have developed a new cooling paint that works by reflecting sunlight and slowly releasing water in a similar way to how the body produces sweat, per reporting from Science News. |
That "sweating" element is what sets the new paint apart, ensuring that the product can be applied in more humid climes, unlike other cooling paints that rely on the more traditional radiative method. While some cities have coated external walls and roofs with cooling paint for years — more than 10 million square feet of rooftops have been daubed with reflective paint since 2009 — this breakthrough could reduce the world's dependence on air conditioning, which accounts for a whopping ~7% of total electricity consumption, according to Our World In Data. |
Though there's still a chasm between rich and poor nations when it comes to air conditioning, related electricity usage has rocketed in the 21st century, as temperatures rise and AC becomes the norm in more homes around the world. In 2001, when 77% of US households had AC (compared to almost 90% in 2020), the world was using 972 terawatt-hours' worth of electricity to power AC, fans, and other cooling tech, figures from the International Energy Agency show. By 2022, that had more than doubled. Singapore's first prime minister, Lee Kuan Yew, singled out air conditioning as "one of the signal inventions in history," adding that it "changed the nature of civilization by making development possible in the tropics." Now, an innovation from his compatriots could provide a more eco-friendly alternative. |
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The credit card wars are heating up |
On Monday, American Express teased the "largest investment ever in a Card refresh" for its Platinum Card — a credit card that has transcended the simple swipe-and-sign, becoming something of a status symbol for young users willing to shell out $695 a year for travel and dining perks. One day later, JPMorgan Chase announced updates to Sapphire Reserve, its rival lifestyle card, along with a whopping 45% annual fee hike to $795. |
The rivalry dates back to 2016, when Chase first launched the Sapphire card at $450, taking aim at Amex's grip on the high-end market. Around that time, Amex began reversing its decade-long push into the mass market — where it had been launching no-fee cards to attract budget-conscious consumers — and refocused on the premium segment it had carved out back in the 1960s. Since then, the 174-year-old company has leaned hard into its premium pricing: over the past decade, its average fee per card has more than doubled to an all-time high of $103. Cardholders seem unbothered by the expense: Amex added another 13 million new accounts last year, and cards-in-force hit a record 147 million. |
To justify the rising costs, both firms are doubling down on perks. Chase is expanding hotel, dining, and lifestyle credits, as well as launching a high-spend business version. Amex, meanwhile, promised new vague benefits for the coming fall "that will far, far, far exceed the annual fee," according to its executive. Of course, lending money to people who can't wait to spend big on dining and travel comes with risk, and younger consumers — the target for both cards — have the highest credit card delinquency rates of any age group. |
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- Dyeing out: General Mills is joining Kraft-Heinz, maker of Jell-O and Kool-Aid, in removing artificial dyes from its products by the end of 2027.
- Meta has been trying to poach top OpenAI staff by offering them $100 million signing bonuses, according to Sam Altman.
- Nintendo stock hit an all-time high on Wednesday morning as Switch 2 buzz plays on, with shares up 56% on the year.
- A new report finds that two-thirds of the world's largest banks increased their financing of fossil fuel companies by $162 billion last year.
- In recline: Furniture maker La-Z-Boy reported profits falling from ~$39 million to just ~$15 million year-over-year in its Q4 earnings.
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| - Father country: The US states with the highest share of paid paternity leave claims.
- Rest of World shares photos from China's pavilion at the World Expo, featuring astronauts and AI-powered robots.
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Off the charts: Which high-earning baseball star made his first pitching appearance in 663 days on Monday? [Answer below]. |
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