Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming part of everyday life, changing how people work, study, communicate, manage businesses and solve problems. From writing emails and translating languages to creating digital content...
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Apple has officially entered the foldable smartphone market with the launch of the iPhone Duo, its first foldable iPhone. The device has become one of the biggest technology launches of the year, putting Apple directly against established foldable smartphone makers such as Samsung.
The iPhone Duo starts at around US$1,999, while Apple has also introduced the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. The new devices feature Apple’s latest A20 Pro chip and several upgrades focused on performance, cameras, battery life and artificial intelligence.
Apple has also increased prices across several iPhone models in India. Some models have seen substantial price increases, with the iPhone 17’s lower-storage version rising to around ₹99,900, while the one-terabyte iPhone Air has reportedly increased by as much as 41%.
Rising memory and storage component costs, driven partly by growing demand for AI infrastructure, are among the factors contributing to higher smartphone prices.
Apple’s move into foldable phones is already intensifying competition with Samsung. Samsung, which has been developing foldable smartphones since 2019, has launched a new promotional campaign highlighting its experience and technology in the category.
The competition could accelerate innovation in foldable displays, smartphone design and durability as Apple attempts to challenge Samsung’s established position.
OpenAI is deepening its relationship with Samsung, including cooperation around next-generation chip development and enterprise AI services.
The partnership comes as demand for advanced memory and computing hardware continues to grow because of the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence. OpenAI has also reported a major increase in enterprise AI adoption among South Korean companies.
The rapid development of increasingly capable AI systems is generating renewed debate around AI safety and control.
OpenAI board member and AI safety researcher Paul Christiano has warned that the industry is not moving quickly enough to address the potential risks associated with increasingly powerful AI systems. The debate comes as technology companies continue competing to develop more advanced AI models and autonomous agents.
Microsoft’s September security update has addressed 974 vulnerabilities, making it the company’s largest Patch Tuesday security release on record.
The update includes fixes for two vulnerabilities that were reportedly being actively exploited. Microsoft has already patched thousands of vulnerabilities during 2026, highlighting the growing importance of keeping operating systems and software updated.
Higher component costs are putting additional pressure on smartphone manufacturers and consumers.
Apple, Google and Samsung have all increased prices for several flagship devices this year. Growing demand for memory, processors and other components used in AI data centres is contributing to higher costs throughout the technology supply chain.
The AI boom is creating enormous demand for GPUs, memory chips, processors and data-centre infrastructure.
Oracle, for example, has dramatically increased its capital spending as it expands cloud infrastructure to support growing AI workloads. Semiconductor companies are also investing heavily in manufacturing and advanced packaging to keep up with demand.
The growing use of autonomous AI systems is creating a new cybersecurity challenge. Recent incidents involving AI agents and compromised systems have raised questions about how organisations should control increasingly capable software agents.
Technology companies and cybersecurity researchers are now paying greater attention to AI-enabled attacks, vulnerabilities in AI systems and the security of critical infrastructure.
The technology industry is entering another major period of change, with several developments worth watching closely:
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