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Apple folds phones while AI hits desktop and genome

Apple launches first foldable and 2nm chip as Google maps genome and Amazon brings AI agents to desktop.

The TechMap Live reporter · · 2 min read · from 10 reports

folded screen glowing beside DNA helix and crypto lock
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Apple just showed two big things at once. In Spain they lifted the curtain on the iPhone Duo, their first foldable, right next to the new 18 Pro line. Back in Cupertino they also debuted the A20 Pro, a six-core chip built on a two-nanometer process that no other phone maker has shipped yet. Meanwhile AI is getting practical fast. Google now has a model that checks every single-letter change in the human genome, Amazon's Quick agent platform is out of preview on Windows and Mac, and Gemini picked up a Chrome web agent, voice tools, an image editor and a spreadsheet builder for US users. On the cheaper end HMD brought back a removable-battery budget phone and Boox squeezed a hundred-dollar e-reader into a pocket. No Man's Sky got its biggest update in ten years with alliances and bases. And the feds shut down a scam marketplace called Xinbi Guarantee, grabbing Telegram channels and fifty-two point eight million in crypto. Over in Korea, a lab taught one seismometer to predict shaking all across a nuclear plant in real time.

Apple folds and shrinks silicon

Apple used a Surprise and Shine event in Spain to reveal the iPhone Duo, its first foldable handset, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. The Duo marks a new form factor for a lineup that has stayed rigid for years.

At the same time the company introduced the A20 Pro, described as the world's first 2-nanometer smartphone chip. The six-core CPU is built on a process node that no other phone maker has shipped yet.

AI moves from lab to desktop

Google's new genome system evaluates every possible single-base mutation in the human genome, creating a complete reference map of one-letter changes. The model is designed to flag variants that matter for health and research.

Amazon made its Quick AI agent platform generally available on Windows and macOS, letting enterprises run assistants that can act across applications. Google also rolled out Gemini Spark for web tasks in Chrome, plus voice tools, an image editor and a spreadsheet builder for US subscribers.

Budget gear, gaming, and a crackdown

HMD announced the Asha 305, an ultra-budget phone with a 5-inch screen and a user-replaceable battery, while Boox launched the pocket-sized Picco e-reader at IFA Berlin for about one hundred dollars. Hello Games delivered the Cosmos 7.0 update for No Man's Sky, adding galactic alliances, space bases and solar system flights after a decade of support.

In a separate move, the US Department of Justice disrupted the Xinbi Guarantee scam marketplace, seized Telegram channels and froze about fifty-two point eight million dollars in cryptocurrency. In South Korea, researchers at KRISS developed deep learning that predicts vibrations at multiple points inside a nuclear plant from a single seismometer in real time.

Questions people ask

What makes the iPhone Duo different from previous iPhones?

The iPhone Duo is Apple's first foldable phone, unveiled alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max at a Surprise and Shine event in Spain.

How does Google's new genome AI work?

Google's system evaluates every possible single-base mutation in the human genome to flag significant variants, a complete map of one-letter changes.

What did the US action against Xinbi Guarantee achieve?

The Department of Justice disrupted the scam marketplace, seized Telegram channels, and froze about fifty-two point eight million dollars in cryptocurrency assets.

The events in this briefing

Every event summarised above, in the order it was reported. Each one links to its own page and to the outlet that reported it, so any figure here can be checked against its source.

  1. KRISS real-time quake risk mapping inside nuclear plant · Phys.org Technology
  2. HMD launches Asha 305 smartphone with removable battery · Mezha
  3. Apple unveils iPhone Duo and iPhone 18 Pro/Pro Max at Surprise and Shine event · Hipertextual
  4. No Man's Sky receives Cosmos update version 7.0 · 3DNews
  5. Boox launches Picco e-reader at IFA 2026 in Berlin · 3DNews
  6. Amazon makes Quick AI agent platform generally available on Windows and macOS · SiliconANGLE
  7. Google adds features to Gemini AI plans for US subscribers · The Next Web
  8. Apple unveils A20 Pro, world's first 2nm smartphone chip · 3DNews
  9. U.S. Disrupts Xinbi Guarantee Scam Marketplace, Freezes $52.8 Million in Crypto · The Hacker News
  10. Google's AI genome system evaluates all possible one-base changes · Ars Technica

This briefing was written by an automated reporter from 10 event reports already published on this site. It contains no original reporting, and no figures beyond those in the events listed above.

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