Today’s Apple Hardware Event and What it Means

WHAT’S INSIDE

👇️ Todays’ Feature: Today’s Apple Hardware Event and What it Means

• Tech News: Rate cuts, weak jobs, France/Japan, Azure, Medicare AI, Anthropic

• Company Watch: Fermi, Netskope, Apple, SpaceX, Rivet, Ramp, Databricks

• Buzzy Tools: Latest Buzzy tech, AI and financial tools

• Deep Tech: The latest in deep tech, biotech, futurism and more

• Space Tech: Latest news in the space race and aerospace tech

• Crypto: Blockchain and crypto policy and startups or protocols to watch

TECH IN THE NEWS

Market Rallies — World stocks rallied and gold leaped to new highs Monday as investors bet on interest rate cuts next week. The economy stagnates with weak job growth reliant on healthcare. Rising inflation & potential Medicaid cut threaten.

Global Political Shocks — France's parliament has ousted its PM after a confidence vote, Macron pressured on new PM, snap election. Japan PM Ishiba resigned after election losses, successors prepare bids. Markets react negatively.

Azure Undersea Cable Crisis — Microsoft's Azure and other services face disruptions after undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea, impacting internet traffic in the Middle East. Services in the UAE, India, and Pakistan are rerouted.

Medicare's AI Experiment — From January, Medicare will launch an AI program to aid in prior authorization for certain procedures. While AI may quicken decisions, critics fear it could increase denials, prioritizing cost savings over patient care.

Stifling AI — Nvidia warns the GAIN AI Act could stifle global competition. The Act requires AI chipmakers to prioritize domestic orders, potentially restricting exports and impacting industries dependent on high-performance silicon internationally.

Win For Writers — Anthropic settles copyright case for $1.5B, compensating authors ~$3,000 per book, sets a precedent for future cases like Apple’s. Also backs AI Bill SB53 bill to mandate transparency for AI developers.

Crypto Debt Conspiracy — Russia accuses the US of planning to eliminate its $35T debt by converting it into stablecoins, devaluing them, and resetting the financial system, according to Putin’s adviser Kobyakov.

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Today’s Apple Hardware Event and What it Means

Vivien Wang

At 10AM pacific time Apple is set to reveal its lineup of new iPhones, Apple Watches, and AirPods. A couple of other products are rumored including the ultra thin iPhone Air. Adding to the drama are new lawsuits, partnerships, tariffs, and more, all of which will influence and supply context to Apple’s future moves. 

The iPhone 17

The iPhone 17 is expected to feature a screen just slightly larger than the 16 at 6.3 inches, and an upgraded 120hz refresh rate, compared to the current 60hz. The front camera will also be receiving an update to 24 megapixels. A couple of new colors like purple and green are rumored to be coming as well. 

The iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max will debut changes in aesthetics, with a remodeled camera placement and a glass cutout and material change from titanium to aluminum to compensate for increased thickness. The most significant upgrade for the 17 Pro Max will be its battery capacity of over 5000 mAh to the 16 Plus’s 4674 mAh. 

Rumors suggest the iPhone 17 Air will be the thinnest iPhone ever at 5.5mm in response to Samsung and Huawei advances, but could come with some tradeoffs on performance and battery capacity. It’s also rumored that the 17 Air won’t have the space for a SIM tray, which would prevent it from launching in China. 

Apple Watches and AirPods

The new Apple Watches will get 5G connectivity and are rumored to include blood pressure monitoring capabilities. Updates to the AirPods line aren’t set to be substantial, with maybe some small design changes being incorporated including a new chip, improved sound quality and better noise cancellation. A new Live Translate feature might be what Apple chooses to emphasize with these new AirPods. 

Essentially, both the Watches and Airpods are likely to be more important for how they tie into Apple Intelligence and Siri with an emphasis on AI assistance.

Fitting into Apple’s Overall Strategy

Apple’s strategy, especially regarding AI, has been the topic of much debate, and also one that we ourselves have discussed quite a few times. While all this new hardware will no doubt be exciting to most, much attention remains on the software upgrades intended for release next year and how these updated products might best serve as a platform for Apple Intelligence. 

Over this year, Apple’s AI strategy has seemingly emerged as one of biding its time and laying long-term foundations. While competitors are busy churning out the latest chatbots and updating their LLMs, Apple has been patiently waiting, quietly building out its own AI infrastructure while staying true to its philosophy of putting the consumer first. Now that AI has developed to a significant level, Apple can capitalize on competitors’ progress– jumping in with Private Cloud Compute (PCC), the highly anticipated 2026 Siri overhaul, and a shiny new Google partnership. 

Last week, Apple and Google reached a formal agreement to integrate Google’s Gemini into Siri, hopefully boosting the AI Assistant’s capabilities to a level competitive with chatbots and AI agents by other companies like Google, OpenAI and Perplexity. The deal comes on top of their existing search partnership, one reportedly worth $20B annually. The implications of such a relationship between two tech giants and fierce competitors are vast – if Gemini is enough to quell the mounting concerns over Siri, it could be expanded and incorporated into other Apple features like Safari and Spotlight search, which would in turn add more fuel to the rapidly growing battle for the market around search in the age of AI. 

Privacy First Approach 

Last summer, Apple brought privacy and independence to a new level with PCC, complete with Apple’s own datacenters, chips, and cloud. PCC is intended to support Apple’s expanding capabilities while keeping users’ privacy at the forefront, unlike many other AI companies currently. President Trump’s renewed vigor for tariffs also bodes well as protection against trade disruptions for Apple, given its $600B commitment to domestic production. Operating horizontally gifts Apple an independence that, when connected to consumers through new hardware and software, could bring about significant competitive advantages. Granted, of course, that the said new hardware and software is sufficiently attractive to consumers. 

With the quality-focused, privacy-drive relationship that Apple has painstakingly established with its customers over the decades, it’s hard to believe that Apple won’t have the data and context it needs to make its AI useful. Consumers are likely to find confidence in Apple through its privacy measures and caution towards AI. However, a lawsuit brought this week by authors claiming Apple trained LLMs with pirated books (after Anthropic just being hit for $1.5B in a similar case) could dent that trust.

It seems like we’ll have to continue to wait to determine the payoff that Apple’s strategy will have in the long run – but maybe events like today’s and Siri’s update next spring will fill in the blanks enough for us to glean what Apple’s future might look like.

COMPANIES TO WATCH

[IPO] Fermi — Co-founded by former U.S. Energy Sec. Rick Perry, Fermi is set to build the world's largest energy and data complex using nuclear, natural gas, and solar power. Filed for a U.S. IPO on Nasdaq, symbol "FRMI", after a $100M round.

[IPO] Netskope — The cloud security software specialist plans a US IPO, aiming for a valuation up to $6.5B by selling 47.8M shares priced between $15-$17 each. Targets the SASE market, driven by rising cybersecurity demands.

Apple — Facing a lawsuit from authors over alleged unauthorized use of copyrighted books for AI training underscoring IP disputes in the AI sector. Also today’s Sept Event to reveal new iPhone 17 range, Apple Watch, Airpods 3 and iOS Updates.

OpenAI — Plans to burn $115B by 2029, with $8B this year alone, as it develops its own server chips to cut costs. Cash burn is projected to exceed $17B next year. Considers exiting California due to regulatory threat to its $19B NFP restructuring.

SpaceX — Aims to dominate global communications by offering extensive 5G services via a major bandwidth acquisition from Echostar. Plans to deploy thousands of satellites and possibly launch its own phone, projects $30T valuation by 2035.

Supernal — Hyundai's D.C.-based electric air taxi startup has paused its aircraft program after the departures of its CEO and CTO. Facing industry challenges, layoffs, and a headquarters closure, it is reassessing its 2028 launch under new leadership.

Uber x Momenta — Uber and China's Momenta will test robotaxis in Munich in 2026 as their first EU venture. Initially, cars will have human safety operators, with plans to expand. Regulatory approval is pending, following testing since 2018.

Rivet — Awarded a $200M contract by the Army to develop AI-enabled soldier glasses, Rivet aims to enhance battlefield awareness with features like night vision and real-time predictive intelligence. To work closely with soldiers for feedback.

Databricks — The U.S.-based data and AI company reached a $100B valuation after a $1B round co-led by Thrive and Insight Partners. With a focus on enhancing AI databases, it boasts a $4B ARR.

Ramp —The fintech startup just hit $1B in ARR and a $22.5B valuation post-funding round. Founded in 2019, it expands into expense management and travel products, leveraging AI agents for expense approvals.

SignalPulse — Read the Top signals, Startups + Deals From Last Week

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BUZZY TOOLS

Buzzy Tech Tools To Watch & Use

SpaceX 5G — Boosts cellphone speeds 20x with 5G global coverage via acquisition.

Alibaba Qwen3-Max-Preview — 1T pm beats Claude Opus 4 in reason, coding.

Dell Pro Max AI PCs — NVIDIA Superchip, 1 petaflop FP4 compute for AI models.

Jetson One — $128k Electric VTOL aircraft offers pilot-free flight up to 20-mins.

Alterego — World's first near-telepathic wearable, communication at thought-speed.

Katalog — Save articles, listen with AI narration for enhanced reading experiences.

Bot Butcher — AI-driven anti-spam tool for secure contact forms.

BUZZY TECH

The Latest Deep Technology & Trends To Watch

OpenAI Hallucination Study — Metrics may reduce AI confident guessing errors.

Quantum Router — Superconducting qubits enhance speed, faster algorithms.

Synthetic Diamonds — Electron beams create defect-free nanodiamonds.

Regulatory T Cell Reprogramming — Targeting drug converts tumor cells.

Solar Concentrator — Liquid crystal films make regular windows solar panels.

Flexoelectric Ice — Ice generates electricity when bent; implications for electronics.

CRYPTO WATCH

Nasdaq's Tokenized Trading Leap — Nasdaq has proposed to the SEC to enable trading of tokenized securities by late 2026. This initiative would introduce tokenized stocks on a major US exchange, ensuring equivalent rights as traditional shares.

Gemini's IPO Launch — Crypto exchange Gemini, founded by the Winklevoss twins, plans to raise $317M through an IPO of 16.67M shares priced between $17-$19. Backed by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, it targets a $2.22B valuation.

Tempo — Stripe is funding Tempo, a new blockchain company focused on high-volume stablecoin processing. Notable partners include Anthropic, OpenAI, and Visa. Led by Matt Huang from Paradigm, aims to offer innovative payment solutions.

Eightco's Meteoric Rise — Stock skyrocketed 3,000% after unveiling a $250M Worldcoin-focused treasury strategy. Dan Ives emphasizes World's role in the AI-driven 4th Industrial Revolution, with potential investments in bitcoin and ethereum.

Ethereum ETF Exodus — U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs saw a $787.6M outflow over four days, driven by staking restrictions and market caution. Bitcoin ETFs gained inflows, signaling a shift towards safer assets amid volatility.

HashKey Group — Launching a $500M Digital Asset Treasury fund targeting public companies accumulating cryptocurrency, focusing on Ethereum and Bitcoin. Aims to standardize crypto assets and support a sustainable Web3 ecosystem.

Strategy's Bold Bitcoin Bet — Strategy acquired 1,955 BTC for $217M, raising its holdings to 638,460 BTC with an average price of $73,880 per bitcoin. Despite criticism and a 26% stock drop, the company remains committed to its crypto strategy.

SPACE_RACE

SpaceX — Launches 5G services via major bandwidth acquisition from Echostar.

Hypersonic Tracking_Radar & AI track Varda capsule's reentry, enhance military

Space DOTS_SKY-I enhances real-time orbital spacecraft threat detection

Project Orbion_ A digital Earth twin for geospatial applications, 3D scanning.

TRAPPIST-1e_Nitrogen-rich atmosphere hints habitable, need James Webb data

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