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Analysts examining OpenAI's newly released GPT-6 Astra note it outperforms its GPT-5.6 predecessor across writing, math, coding, and especially 3D rendering tasks, jumping from 7.8% to 99.9% on the ARC-AGI-3 benchmark. Speculation has emerged that Astra uses a looped or recurrent-depth transformer architecture and may be concealing parts of its chain-of-thought reasoning process from users.
Android Authority found code in a beta build of the Google app (version 17.56.14) suggesting Gemini's floating overlay could soon let users assign tasks to Spark, Google's autonomous AI agent, without launching the full Gemini interface. The same handover option is also being tested in the main Gemini app, alongside a possible model-switching shortcut in the overlay.
Microsoft, acting through TracerAI, has withdrawn its DMCA takedown notice that accused the open-source voxel game Luanti of infringing Minecraft's copyright. The Luanti app has been reinstated on Google Play immediately, without needing to wait out the standard counter-notice period, signaling Microsoft has abandoned the case entirely.
OpenAI Korea's general manager Harrison Kim said the company has made significant progress working with Samsung Electronics on next-generation chip development and production. This suggests OpenAI could source future AI accelerators from both Samsung Foundry and TSMC, rather than relying solely on TSMC as it does for its current Jalapeño inference chip built with Broadcom.
Private equity firm Silver Lake is combining two of its portfolio companies, French business software maker Cegid and payroll platform Silae, into a single entity valued at over 10 billion euros. The merged company will unite payroll, accounting, e-invoicing and finance data under one roof, with a 1,400-person developer team dedicated to AI investment. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027 pending regulatory approval, with combined annual revenue projected at 1.9 billion euros.
At its fall event, Apple launched the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, and a new foldable iPhone Duo, but held back the standard iPhone 18, which is now expected in early 2026. Alongside this, Apple raised prices by $100 across its existing iPhone 17 models and even the older iPhone 16, which returns to its original $799 price.
Apple's Series 12 smartwatch now offers a ceramic case, the first time the material has appeared since the Series 5 in 2019. Buyers can choose pearl white or night blue finishes, with prices starting at $899 and rising to $949 for the 46mm model, well above the $399 base price.
Payments firm Ramp's survey of 70,000 businesses found only 56% paid for AI tools in August, up just 0.4% from July, marking a sharp deceleration in adoption. Spending per employee among the top 1% of firms fell nearly 10% to $7,205, which Ramp economist Ara Kharazian attributes partly to seasonal vacation effects and partly to falling token prices, now averaging $0.68 per million tokens versus a March peak of $1.15.
Analyst Mark Gurman says the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max will come in four colors: Black, Light Blue, Silver, and Burgundy. This marks a shift from last year's iPhone 17 Pro, which shipped with only three color options and no black variant. Gurman also noted the foldable iPhone Duo is expected in dark blue and white.
Apple has rebuilt core iOS 27 controls and app layouts to suit the iPhone Duo's foldable form factor, borrowing multitasking concepts from iPadOS. The update repositions status icons and navigation elements, introduces a dual-homescreen layout when unfolded, and adds a standby mode that turns the device into a smart display with fullscreen widgets. The Duo will also be the first iPhone to support Apple Pencil, usable on either screen.
Goodyear and Spirit Halloween have partnered on a new Halloween costume shaped like the Goodyear Blimp, priced at $80 and set to launch for the 2026 season. The inflatable, one-size-fits-all outfit includes a battery-powered cooling fan and a matching cap, requiring no crafting or sewing. CNET was invited to preview the costume and take a ride on the actual Goodyear Blimp over Atlanta to mark the collaboration's debut.
OpenAI announced its AI resolved a long-standing open question about the Navier-Stokes equations, one of the Clay Mathematics Institute's Millennium Prize Problems, claiming it did so within days using roughly 10,000 agents. Mathematician Tristan Buckmaster disputes the credit, saying he and Anthropic researcher Levent Alpöge had already developed the key approach before OpenAI learned of it and rushed to finish the proof over a weekend.