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This week at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced a ton of features across its various upcoming operating systems, including the all-new visual design aesthetic known as Liquid Glass, which is coming to iOS 26, iPadOS 28, and macOS 26 this fall. But the company also spent the first few minutes of its 90-minute keynote presentation focusing not on software, but on the new Brad Pitt film F1: The Movie, which is being co-distributed by its film production arm, Apple Original Films. And now Apple is further promoting the film with what is a first for the film industry: a haptic trailer. What is a haptic trailer? The unique thing about Apples latest F1: The Movie trailer is that it literally vibrates as you watch it. Well, as long as you watch it on a compatible iPhone. Apple calls this latest trailer a haptic trailer. In the two-minute trailer, whenever an F1 car is in motion on the screen, your iPhone will vibrate with an intensity proportional to the on-screen action. So when a cars tires are being changed in a pit stop, youll feel a small vibration in your handand when the car continues racing down the track, youll feel an even more intense vibration. These vibration feedbacks in the gadget world are known as hapticsa technology that simulates physical touch. Apple can make your phone vibrate like thisand at certain points in the trailer, thanks to the iPhones Taptic Engine, a piece of hardware inside the iPhone that is essentially a motor that can vibrate on command. Haptic feedback has been used for years in the iPhone. For example, when you press and hold an icon on the homescreen to rearrange its layout, youll feel haptic feedback produced by the Taptic Engine. You can feel haptic feedback in plenty of other places on the iPhone, such as when adjusting the volume or pressing a widget in Control Center. But Apples application of haptic feedback to a movie trailer is the first time that the technology has been used to promote a film. Given the vibrations and forces an F1 car undergoes while racing down the track, a trailer for F1: The Movie is a natural fit for such technology. How to watch the ‘F1: The Movie’ haptic trailer To watch the F1: The Movie haptic trailer, youll need an iPhone running the latest version of iOS 18. You can find the haptic trailer in the TV app on your iPhone by doing the following: Launch the TV app on your iPhone. On the Home screen of the TV app, you should see the F1 haptic trailer poster image show in the top carousel. If not, you can scroll down and find a poster image for the haptic trailer lower in the Home Screen feed. Tap the poster image. Now, the F1: The Movie haptic trailer will play on your iPhone. As the trailer plays, youll feel various intensities of vibrations in your hand, depending on the action being performed on the screen. Apple has high hopes for ‘F1: The Movie’ F1: The Movie is the most high-profile movie that Apple Original Pictures has ever released. The movie stars one of Hollywoods last big-name drawsBrad Pitt. Its also directed by Top Gun: Maverick‘s director, Joseph Kosinski. Combine the star and directing power with one of Americas most popular sportsF1 racingand you have, Apple hopes, one of the biggest hits of the summer on its hands. If the film is successful, it could help propel Apples film division to new heights, not to mention attract subscribers to its Apple TV Plus streaming service. However, it should be noted that F1: The Movie isnt debuting immediately on Apple TV Plus. Instead, the film will be shown exclusively in theaters starting on June 27. The film will stream on Apple TV Plus later in the year. You can check out the non-haptic trailer for F1 The Move below.
Category:
E-Commerce
WhistlePig Whiskey has found a new CEO in Charles Gibb, a nearly 40-year veteran of the spirits industry, as the brand explores new avenues for growth ahead. The Shoreham, Vermont-based distillery exclusively shared the news with Fast Company, nearly four months after announcing that its previous CEO had stepped down. WhistlePig made a splash in the spirits scene by debuting its first rye whiskey in the 2010shelping to reintroduce drinkers to this once-popular style of whiskey. The company quickly started racking up fans and one award after another, even landing coveted closeups on TV shows like Breaking Bad that werent arranged as product placements. Fast-forward to today, and WhistlePig spirits are sold in more than 140,000 bars, restaurants, hotels, and retail locations around the world and the brand commands a 34% market share of the ultra-premium rye whiskey category, according to 2024 figures from IWSR shared by WhistlePig. But for a period, many headlines about WhistlePig had less to do with its drinks and more to do with the drama unfolding behind its distillery doors. Founder Raj Bhakta was forced out in 2016, resulting in a messy legal dispute that saw him ultimately sell his stake and fully exit WhistlePig in 2019. Jeff Kozak, who became CEO in 2017, left in January to pursue other opportunities. Former master distiller Dave Pickerell, who helped shape WhistlePigs early days, died unexpectedly in 2018. Now, Gibb joins as the company seeks to become a total American whiskey business and expand beyond its rye roots. Gibb most recently led Fever-Trees North American division until earlier this year, when Molson Coors acquired a stake in the mixers business. He also spent several years as president and CEO at Belvedere Vodka and in various roles at Moët Hennessy and Diageo. While there are fun things about moving into whiskeythe Scotsman has a newfound appreciation for the American spelling of the spirit, for exampleGibb says hes really excited to come to WhistlePig when the industrys in a state of flux. And, he says, he wants to make the brand truly famous. Recent years have seen WhistlePig evolve in various ways, something Gibb intends to build upon. The brand sold minority-stake investments to LVMH and an investment firm run by Byron D. Trott, exclusively partnered with Southern Glazers as its national distributor, expanded into single malt and bourbon, hired a woman as chief blender, and later this year, will open a tasting room in downtown Louisville. Gibb sat down with Fast Company to talk about whats next for WhistlePig. (The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length.) Charles Gibb [Photo: WhistlePig Whiskey] What are some of your goals for the first few months in your new roledo you have a checklist of things that you’d like to accomplish? This is a beautiful brand. It’s still in a position that fits all the things that I love about a great brandits dynamic, it’s entrepreneurial, it’s very innovative, it plays in the high-end and luxury space, and I think the danger is that you can come in and [say], “Lets make lots of changes.” The most important thing for me in the first three to four months is learn, learn, learn. Really getting myself up to speedI think that’s the biggest thing, and ensuring that we don’t lose the momentum. The business has had great momentum over the years. It’s got some solid momentum now despite the challenges in the industry, which are well-documented. But we’re in a good place to address some major opportunities. What was so compelling about coming to WhistlePig, and especially right now? Loads of things. Number one, I love the premium-branded spirit space. Every time I mentioned the brand to people, people have got this love for the brand. They’ve got a real respect for it. So it’s loved and it’s respectedI think those are two different things. It’s really well respected for the quality of the liquid; it’s really well respected for the innovation. It’s admired and respected for the way in which they revolutionized the rye whiskey category in North America. And those things are really important to me. I suppose, as a Scotsman who likes to disrupt things, it was quite fun, the idea of working on an American whiskey business. I love this aspect of the brand, as well, this whole idea of zero generations of tradition. I think that allows you to innovate, it allows you to change the rules of the game. What will define this next era of WhistlePig? We were famous initially for our rye whiskeys, and I think we’re looking now to explore and expand further. We’ve launched recently the 10-year-old bourbon and so I think there’s an opportunity to become a total American whiskey business. I think the other big opportunity, it’s really in and around this beautiful, iconic brandand how do we make it truly famous in the U.S and international markets? But let’s be famous at home first. We’re loved, but we’re not yet famouswell, were famous in certain circles, but not more broadly famous, as yet. How do you approach leading an alcoholic beverages company at a time when people are drinking less alcohol? It’s certainly an interesting time to be in the industry. There’s still this whole idea of drinking less, but better. It’s still really fundamental in the consumers minds: I may be going to drink less, but every time I have a drink, I’m going to make sure I’m drinking the best, and I’m going to enjoy it. I’m really excited to be able to come into a brand in an industry in a state of flux and actually finding our niche, finding our spot and being able to push that really hard. These times engender greater levels of creativity and as a small brand with zero generations of tradition, I think it enables us to be more fast moving, flexible, and dothings that are innovative and differentiated. Do you see any challenges of leading a whiskey company versus a vodka company? A lot more age on the product, that’s for sure. It’s funny because we all play in the same industry, and we all play with similar consumers. You’re talking to the same consumer on a different occasion, and I can see a Belvedere martini drinker being a WhistlePig drinker and it depends on the occasion, depends on the people that theyre with, time of year, time of day, and different things. There have been some big changes at WhistlePig in recent years. In the wake of some of these changes, how will you approach leading the company? The first and the most important thing is the brand and the business have done very, very well. So I’m about celebrating the people who started itthe founderscelebrating the achievements. And now, how do we grow from here? I think that’s the most important thing. What’s great is there’s a great team of people assembled, they’ve got phenomenal knowledge of the brand and the business, as I’ve seen in the first week onboard, they’re extraordinarily passionate, and they’ve delivered some amazing new products, innovations, growth, etcetera. My job at the moment is very much to learn from them and then well sit down collectively, as a leadership team and then as a broader company, and take all of that to the next level.
Category:
E-Commerce
Need help sparking conversation on Hinge? Esther Perel has some questions for you. The renowned psychotherapist and relationship expert is celebrated for opening up vibrant, vulnerable conversations between couples. Now, shes helping Hinge bring that same energy to new matches. Users can answer Hinges My World promptsa collection of 10 recently added questions designed to help daters share more of themselves on their profiles. [The prompts] are intended to help someone reading them have a bit more imagination about how your world and their world might connect, says Jackie Jantos, Hinges president and chief marketing officer. Esther contributed what she knows about getting into deeper, more intimate conversation. How Esther Perel is fueling Hinge connections Hinges “My World prompts encourage daters to open up about their lives and relationships. They touch on friendships (In my friend group, Im the one who . . .), family (An award my family would give me . . .), and even petsone prompt asks what your pet might think of you. That sense of play is central to Perels philosophy, which deepens connection through storytelling. Hinge spent a number of years in conversation with Perel, Jantos says. Prompts were the right area to collaborate, as they are where users are already sharing personal insights. Esther is a deep practitioner in the relationship space with decades of experience, and we also have a deep learning and insight around how people engage in relationships, Jantos says. It was a nice opportunity to finally do something together. The new prompts wont feature Perels name or any special branding. Theyre meant to blend in seamlessly with Hinges existing prompts and will replace 10 underperforming ones. (Jantos isnt concerned about losing those; Hinges data showed they were the least likely to spark conversation.) The My World prompts are expected to remain on the app indefinitely. Who likes prompts, anyways? These new prompts reinforce Hinges focus on written conversation. Unlike Tinder and Bumble, where writing is optional, Hinge requires users to answer three prompts in full. That built-in friction is intentional. Our onboarding experience is long, it takes a while, but that is by design, Jantos says. We are asking people to put in a level of effort, because the community on Hinge is intended to be high-intention daters. Jantos frequently refers to the idea of romantic momentum. One good conversation can spark another, which can eventually lead to meeting in person. Prompts help ensure those conversations arent dull. The numbers back that up: In 2024, likes on prompt responses were 47% more likely to lead to a date than likes on photos. Dry messaging is a common pain point on dating apps, particularly for Gen Zers, who often report fatigue with online dating. Some apps, including Tinderalso owned by Match Grouphave seen user declines among younger generations. Match Groups new CEO Spencer Rascoff addressed the shift, saying Gen Z is different: Its not a hookup generation. They dont drink as much alcohol, they dont have as much sex. Match Group’s year-over-year revenue was down 3% in Q1 of 2025, Rascoff’s first full quarter. Despite this generational shift, Hinge has grown with Gen Z, which now makes up 56% of its user base. Jantos highlights the companys work to meet Gen Zers’ needsfrom pandemic-era social setbacks to evolving views on gender and relationships. Strong prompts are part of that mission. Hinge was initially designed for a millennial audience, and weve had to continually iterate to bring the app closer to Gen Zs mentality, Jantos says. Gen Z is looking for intentioned relationships. I do think they need some support in product experiences that are guiding them toward that.
Category:
E-Commerce
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