Apple announces the “Pro and Tell” event for October 28, iPhone Duo pre-orders sell out through 2027, conflicting reports on iPhone Duo production, a two-unit limit per customer to deter scalpers, an Australian court mandates Apple open the iPhone to competing app stores, Apple Pencil support arrives early on the iPhone Duo, Taction demands a share of iPhone sales through 2035, a HomeView screen on a robotic arm, leaked documents show Anthropic operating at an $80.7 billion loss, OpenAI models disable their own monitoring systems, two critical PHP vulnerabilities discovered—one via AI, SpaceX and Tesla boards consider a merger, and other exciting news on the sidelines…
iPhone Duo pre-orders sell out through 2027
Apple opened pre-orders for the iPhone Duo, its first foldable phone, on October 16 in over 70 countries. Within minutes, delivery dates slipped from October 23 to November, eventually reaching January 25, 2027, by 5:30 AM Pacific Time, with no delivery dates available in 2026.
Apple told the Financial Times that demand was “extraordinary in every sense of the word.” The phone starts at $1,999 for the 256GB model and goes up to $3,199 for the 2TB version, featuring a 5.4-inch external screen and a 7.6-inch internal display. Pre-orders appeared for sale on eBay at prices reaching $5,000. According to Gurman, Apple’s original plan was to launch the phone only in the US and China.
Did Apple increase or decrease iPhone Duo production?
DigiTimes reported, citing supply chain sources, that Apple instructed Foxconn and suppliers to increase iPhone Duo orders by about 44%, from 9.7 million to 14 million units over 12 months. However, it warned that achieving this figure would be difficult due to previous assembly, screen, and hinge issues. DigiTimes expects global foldable phone shipments to grow 25.7% in 2026 and 59.1% in 2027.
Conversely, analyst Jeff Pu of GF Securities stated that the 2026 Duo production plan was cut from 7 million to 6 million units due to hinge constraints. However, he predicted that Apple would be the only major company to see sales growth in 2026, shipping 257 million iPhones—a 4% increase—while the overall market declines by 14.2% to 1.08 billion phones due to rising memory prices.
Limited in-store stock and a two-unit limit per customer
Apple confirmed that its stores will have “limited” quantities of the iPhone Duo for walk-in customers on launch day, Friday, October 23, in countries including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Turkey, Mexico, and Singapore. In France, China, Japan, India, South Korea, the UAE, and others, there will be no walk-in sales, and a pickup appointment must be booked online.
To combat scalpers, Apple has set a limit of two iPhone Duo units per customer on its online stores in the US, UK, Japan, and Spain, following the appearance of dozens of listings on eBay with prices exceeding $5,000. This is a similar measure to what Apple implemented with the iPhone 5 in 2012.
iPhone Duo reviews: Fun but sometimes frustrating
Tech sites have published their first reviews of the iPhone Duo. The phone is powered by the A20 Pro chip with a cooling chamber that Apple claims improves sustained performance by up to 35% compared to the iPhone 17 Pro. It features two 48MP rear cameras without a telephoto lens and Touch ID instead of Face ID. Engadget praised the design and described the hinge as one of the best on foldable phones, while The Verge described it as “expensive, full of compromises, and potentially very frustrating.”
In Tom’s Guide’s battery test, the phone lasted 13 hours and 20 minutes, compared to 17 hours and 31 minutes for the iPhone 18 Pro Max and 10 hours and 6 minutes for the Galaxy Z Fold8. Marques Brownlee noted that Apple added a deliberate pause at every fingerprint unlock, which Apple says is to display lock screen notifications and maintain consistency with Mac and iPad. WIRED warned that many apps still appear with black bars on the internal screen.
Australian court mandates Apple open iPhone to competing app stores
The Australian Federal Court has ordered Apple to allow the installation of apps from competing stores and websites starting March 1, 2027, with the possibility of requesting an extension until May 3. Developers are entitled to offer and link to alternative payment methods without being forced to provide Apple’s system as well, and there are no fees for apps distributed outside the App Store.
The ruling comes in the Epic Games case after the court concluded in August 2025 that Apple abused its market power. Apple stated it would appeal, while Epic announced the return of Fortnite to the App Store in Australia on October 22; Australia was the only country excluded from the game’s global return in May 2026.
iOS 27.2 RC: Smart Siri in new languages and Apple Pencil support on iPhone Duo
Apple released the RC version of iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2 to developers on October 19. The update adds Smart Siri support for French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish, user profiles in the Apple TV app, and a new icon for the Apple Music app. New Health app features have been delayed to a later update, with the public release expected around October 26.
Max Weinbach discovered that the Apple Pencil (USB-C) works on the iPhone Duo in this version, despite Apple promising support “later this year.” The phone does not support the Apple Pencil Pro or the standard Pencil.
UK pressures Apple to open NFC chip to Apple Pay competitors
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) stated that Apple continues to hinder the emergence of Apple Pay competitors due to “high fees, strict terms, and technical restrictions.” The authority proposed that users be able to choose a competing app as the default for contactless payments, with competing apps gaining access to Express Mode and Power Reserve, and the imposition of “fair and reasonable” fees significantly lower than current ones.
No competing wallets have launched in the UK in the two years since NFC was opened with iOS 18.1. According to the CMA, contactless payments accounted for 39% of payments in the UK in 2025, and over 60% of adults use a digital wallet. The public consultation ends on November 17, while Apple has rejected the proposal citing privacy and security concerns.
Taction demands a share of iPhone and Apple Watch sales through 2035
After a US jury ruled in September that Apple must pay $5.7 billion because the Taptic Engine infringes on two Taction patents, the company is back demanding more. It wants additional compensation for about 6 months after March 2026, 7% annual interest since April 2021, and ongoing quarterly royalties until the patents expire on September 24, 2035.
The requested royalties include the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max and the Apple Watch 12 and Ultra 4. Apple described the compensation as “unacceptable speculation” and is seeking a new trial or an appeal; no final verdict has been reached yet.
About 100 components in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo are made in the US
Apple announced that US suppliers manufacture about 100 components in the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo. Perryman, based in Pennsylvania, joined the American manufacturing program to supply titanium for the iPhone Duo chassis, with at least 80% recycled content, as part of a $100 million commitment from Apple over 3 years.
Apple said that TSMC in Arizona manufactured over 100 million chips for Apple in 2026, and that the Corning plant in Kentucky will manufacture all iPhone and Apple Watch glass by the end of 2026. Qnity in Delaware also expanded to manufacture camera membranes for the iPhone 18 Pro’s variable aperture.
Gurman: HomeView screen on a robotic arm and a home camera that doesn’t record video
In a new rumor from the Power On newsletter, Mark Gurman said Apple is planning a HomeView device with a screen of about 9 inches on a robotic arm that rotates 360 degrees and turns toward the speaker, codenamed J595, targeting a 2027 or 2028 launch. This comes before the arrival of the current HomeView with a 7-inch screen and a $299 price tag on November 13.
Gurman added that Apple is developing an indoor home camera, codenamed J450, that uses AI to understand what is happening in the room “without recording video,” with its arrival expected in about a year. Apple officials told The Verge that Smart Siri was the reason for the HomeView delay since 2025.
Loop Capital downgrades Apple stock due to 13 million iPhones
Analyst Ananda Baruah of Loop Capital downgraded Apple stock from “Buy” to “Hold” and lowered the price target from $370 to $330. He said Apple cut about 13 million iPhones from its second-half 2026 plans and projected 79 million units for the December quarter, compared to the market’s expectation of 85 million.
He also lowered his revenue forecast for the iPhone in 2027 from $315 billion to $285 billion. However, Counterpoint says Apple recorded a record 22% share of global phone shipments in the third quarter, while the market declined by 20%.
Leaked Anthropic IPO documents: $16.3 billion revenue and $80.7 billion loss
The Wall Street Journal reported details of a draft S-1 document for the IPO of Anthropic, the developer of Claude. Revenue in the first half of 2026 reached about $16.3 billion compared to $1.1 billion a year ago, with a net loss of $80.7 billion, mostly due to $72 billion in non-cash charges related to the rise in the value of convertible bonds.
The company spent about $9 billion on compute in the first half, more than the entire 2025 spend of $7.3 billion. Compute obligations reach $750 billion, including $111 billion with Google Cloud, $110 billion with AWS, and $31 billion with Microsoft. According to Bloomberg, the IPO marketing could begin the week of November 9.
Meta: $64.6 billion revenue and new non-voting shares
Meta announced its third-quarter 2026 results with $64.6 billion in revenue, a 26% increase, and a net profit of $9.86 billion. Operating profit fell 37% to $12.99 billion due to $9.89 billion in legal fees related to a settlement with 52 attorneys general in August. On average, 3.64 billion people use Meta’s apps daily.
The company set its 2026 capital expenditure between $135 and $145 billion and expects the Reality Labs division to lose between $18 and $19 billion this year. The board also created a new class of non-voting C shares, distributing one share for every share of Class A and B starting in January 2027.
Two critical PHP vulnerabilities discovered, one via AI
The PHP team released emergency fixes on October 21 for two critical vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619) that allow remote command execution without login, rated 9.2 out of 10. The fixes were included in versions 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36, and 8.2.35.
OpenAI stated that the company Calif discovered one of the two vulnerabilities using the GPT-5.6 Sol model, and that Wiz discovered both independently. Cloudflare said about 70% of websites use PHP, and it has detected attack attempts and deployed protection rules since the morning of October 21.
OpenAI models arrive on Google Cloud Platform
OpenAI and Google announced that advanced GPT models will be available via Model Garden and Google Cloud Marketplace “in the coming weeks,” and will also arrive “soon” in Google’s Antigravity programming tool. The companies did not specify which models are included.
Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud, said the goal is to provide customers with a wide range of models, including OpenAI’s. The platform already includes Anthropic’s Claude models.
Anthropic launches Claude Duet, an intelligent agent that works on its own
Anthropic launched the Claude Duet app as a research preview via a waitlist starting in the US on October 21, as part of Pro and Max subscriptions, on iOS, Android, and the web. It is based on the Claude Opus 5.5 model, sends a morning summary, checks linked apps every few hours, and executes tasks on a virtual machine and its own browser.
It connects to over 6,000 services like Gmail, Slack, and Shopify, and can pay via Link from Stripe and Shop Pay. It requests approval before sending messages, making payments, signing, or deleting, and is prohibited from trading securities even with user consent.
SpaceX and Tesla boards consider merger
The boards of directors of SpaceX and Tesla formed special committees of independent members to study a potential merger between the two companies. Elon Musk said he cannot participate due to conflicts of interest and described the process as a “strange Kabuki dance.”
The parties have not yet agreed on any terms. A merger requires approval from 50% of all Tesla shareholders, while Musk owns more than 50% of the voting rights in SpaceX. Musk pointed to AI, robotics, data centers in orbit, and the Terafab chip project as reasons for the convergence.
China proposes export restrictions on AI technologies
China’s Ministry of Commerce published a draft of export restrictions covering 40 items, including 23 for AI, 12 for solar energy, and 5 for biomedicine. The AI items include large model weights, their source code, AI agents, and chip designs at 14nm or smaller.
According to Bloomberg, the limit applies to models with 2 trillion parameters or more or those ranked among the top 10 globally. Open-source code is exempt, and Chinese companies can continue to serve users abroad via apps. The comment period ends on November 15.
DeepSeek raises about $15 billion
Reuters reported that the Chinese company DeepSeek is nearing the completion of a funding round of about 100 billion yuan, or nearly $15 billion, which is double the original target of 50 billion yuan. Notable investors include CATL and Tencent, and the round is expected to close within days.
Reuters had reported in September that DeepSeek hired CITIC Securities for a potential IPO on the Shanghai STAR market; the company’s valuation was not disclosed.
Samsung prepares six foldable phones to counter iPhone Duo
Leaks indicate that Samsung plans six foldable phones next year: Galaxy Z Slide, Z TriFold2, Z Fold9 Ultra, Z Fold9 Pro, Z Fold9, and Z Flip9. According to the same leaks, Samsung moved up the TriFold 2 launch date in response to the iPhone Duo and asserts that its foldable phones are lighter.
OpenAI reveals models that disabled their monitoring systems
OpenAI published reports on unexpected behavior from its models. On October 3, the GPT-6.1 Sol model disabled automatic security alerts while fixing an evaluation system, and on October 6, GPT-6 Astra removed a monitoring system and then said, “I did not remove an active monitoring tool.” The company said it updated its inspection systems to prevent this and does not yet have a convincing explanation.
In another incident on June 26, a research model of GPT-5.6 Sol used an experimental cryptocurrency wallet it did not own on the Sepolia test network to pay fees without disclosing it, and the company discovered the matter on September 25.
Miscellaneous news
◉ Apple hired Scott Tucker, who spent about 6 years as Deputy General Counsel at Meta, as Vice President of Global Litigation in a new position covering patent and financial services cases. Tucker reports to General Counsel Jennifer Newstead, who also came from Meta, according to Bloomberg.
◉ Apple updated App Store guidelines to ban non-consensual deepfake intimate image apps and added clause 2.5.19, which prohibits hidden, inactive, or undocumented features. Violations could lead to app removal and developer account termination.
◉ General Motors began supporting car keys in Apple Wallet in the US and Canada, starting with the Cadillac Lyriq, Optiq, and Vistiq. In December, the Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, and GMC Yukon will join, requiring an iPhone 11 or later or Apple Watch 6 or later.
◉ European acquisition lists revealed that Apple bought assets of the Swiss startup Samplab in June, which develops AI tools for separating audio tracks and editing notes and chords. AppleInsider expects the technology to appear in Logic Pro and Creator Studio.
◉ The HomePod 27.2 update brings the Sound Glow feature to the second-generation HomePod and HomePod mini, where the top of the speaker lights up with album art colors and pulses with the audio. The update also allows the HomePod to be used as a virtual speaker for a Mac.
◉ Verizon confirmed it will charge $10 per month for the iPhone Handoff feature in iOS 27, which allows using one number on two iPhones. T-Mobile charges only $5, while AT&T said it has no plans to support the feature.
◉ Apple began selling self-repair parts for the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, Mac Studio with M5 Max and M5 Ultra chips, and the new Mac mini. The iPhone 18 Pro rear camera, for example, is $249, dropping to $189.24 when returning the old part.
◉ AppleInsider warned of a new scam: A scammer sends money via Apple Cash from a stolen card and then asks for it to be returned under the pretext that it was sent by mistake; when the original payment is reversed, the victim loses their money. The solution is to decline the payment from the Wallet app and enable the option to accept payments manually.
◉ Apple stores in Bordeaux and Lille, France, were looted during widespread protests in France, and one looter appeared in a video carrying a Studio Display. Apple mentions that display devices in its stores are disabled as soon as they leave the store network.
◉ Apple posted a job for a modem systems engineer for 6G networks with a salary between $175,000 and $308,500, requiring over 10 years of experience in cellular communications. 6G specifications are expected to be completed in late 2028, with commercial network launches around 2030.
◉ Google added a Gemini button to Google Maps on CarPlay during navigation, the first voice assistant in the app on CarPlay. The feature is now available in the US with a global expansion coming.
◉ Walmart opened its store to AI agents via an MCP server called Agent Gateway, allowing authorized agents to search and purchase on behalf of the user. Conversely, Amazon began blocking AI agents from making purchases.
◉ The US Department of Homeland Security ordered the removal of DeepSeek products and any products based on its models from civilian federal systems. The decision was justified by the potential for user data to be transferred to China.
◉ Leaker kro_roe said the Galaxy S27 and S27+ might start with 8GB of RAM instead of the 12GB in the previous two generations, due to rising memory prices with AI demand. This is a rumor not confirmed by Samsung.
◉ Honor launched the Win2 gaming phone in China with two fans, a 10,100 mAh battery, and 100W charging, starting at 5,499 yuan. It also launched the Win Tablet with an 8.4-inch 240Hz screen, claiming it is the first tablet with a built-in fan.
◉ YTechB leaked global prices for the Xiaomi 18 Pro: 1,449 euros for 256GB and 1,849 euros for the 18 Pro Max 512GB version. EU listings indicate smaller batteries in Europe compared to China.
◉ Users of Galaxy watches, including the Watch 5 Pro, 7, 8, and Ultra, reported circular red marks resembling burns under the sensors. The cause is not yet known, and Samsung has not acknowledged a defect.
◉ Google admitted that some Google Home Speakers consume significant data in the background, reaching 17GB in 24 hours and 132GB in 30 days for one user. It said the fix has begun rolling out.
◉ The Seoul Economic Daily reported that Samsung will manufacture the base die for HBM memory dedicated to Nvidia using TSMC’s 3nm process, in the first manufacturing partnership between the two competing companies. The new memory promises up to 30% higher bandwidth and 15% lower consumption.
◉ Anthropic allocated 5% of its shares to a new fund called the Public Benefit Fund, subject to shareholder approval, to provide donations and direct payments such as supporting those affected by labor market changes. The fund may not spend on political lobbying or political donations.
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