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Apple's fall event introduced only the iPhone 18 Pro and a new foldable iPhone Duo, bypassing a standard iPhone 18 release. Rumors cited in the report indicate the next mainstream models, iPhone 18 and iPhone 18E, won't arrive until March 2027, meaning last year's iPhone 17 will remain Apple's standard offering for well over a year.
TechCrunch announced five additional judges for its Startup Battlefield 200 competition at Disrupt 2026, bringing the total revealed so far to 20. The 200 selected startups will exhibit and pitch at the event, with judges narrowing the field toward finalists who compete for a $100,000 equity-free prize and the Disrupt Cup.
A tech reviewer highlighted the LG xboom Stage 501, developed with will.i.am, as their favorite party speaker, praising its deep bass and clarity even at high volumes. The speaker features twin 5.25-inch woofers and two 2.5-inch drivers, delivers 160 watts on battery and 220 watts when plugged in, and offers up to 25 hours of battery life. It also includes app-based EQ, AI karaoke, synchronized lighting, DJ effects, and built-in phone/tablet stands.
Lightspeed is raising $250 million for its fifth India fund, Lightspeed India Partners V, aimed at early-stage AI startups, according to a letter sent to investors. The fund has already secured 80% of its target and is half the size of the firm's 2022 predecessor, with investments expected to begin within two months.
TechCrunch is offering ticket discounts of up to $200 on passes for its Disrupt 2026 conference, running October 13-15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, with the discount window closing September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. The event features a Builders Stage, roundtables and breakout sessions covering fundraising, AI adoption, hiring and startup strategy, with more than 250 speakers including founders, VCs and operators expected to attend.
Khosla Ventures has recruited Tal Broda, who spent two years at OpenAI, to work on infrastructure investing. Broda will provide technical expertise to companies in Khosla's early-stage startup portfolio.
TechCrunch is offering discounts of up to $200 on tickets for its Disrupt 2026 conference, set for October 13-15 at San Francisco's Moscone West, with the reduced pricing ending September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Buyers can also get a second ticket of the same type at half price, and the event will host over 10,000 attendees along with 200 early-stage startups in its Startup Battlefield program.
Apple's rumored foldable device, the iPhone Duo, runs a modified version of iOS built around its dual-screen hinge design. It supports side-by-side app use on the inner display, a relocated status bar, and hinge-aware layouts that shift keyboards and controls depending on how the phone is folded.
Robby Stein, Google's vice president of product for Search, will join a fireside chat at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, running October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. The session, titled 'From MVP to Billions of Users,' will examine how product teams manage the shift from early-stage experimentation to decision-making at massive scale.
TechCrunch announced another group of five venture capitalists who will judge the Startup Battlefield 200 competition at Disrupt 2026, held October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. Among those named is Aditi Maliwal, a general partner at Upfront Ventures who invests in fintech, enterprise SaaS, AI applications, and developer tools, with a portfolio including Clair and Writer. Early-bird ticket discounts of up to $200 are available until September 25.
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, running October 13–15 at Moscone West in San Francisco, will feature a session called 'From Prototype to Production: Can It Scale in Reality?' on its Real World AI Stage. The panel brings together founders from space communications, autonomous systems, and AI infrastructure to discuss how they moved their technologies from early prototypes to reliable, deployable products.
An Entrepreneur contributor argues that hiring managers should stop overweighting resume signals like big-name employers, large budgets or big teams when evaluating marketing leader candidates. Instead, they say the key question is what a candidate actually diagnosed and improved in past roles, and whether they can quickly assess what a specific business needs marketing to do within their first weeks on the job. The piece also stresses that strong marketing leaders should help shape a company's value proposition, not just communicate it after the fact.