Damian Pickett · No. 43
Friday 16 October 2026
iPhone Duo pre-orders open today at 1pm UK time.
Tesla’s redesigned Roadster used compressed-air thrusters to leap over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Semi, Model Y and Model 3 at a Texas demo, previewing the car’s planned flight mode.
From 5am Pacific time today, customers can pre-order Apple’s new iPhone Duo on apple.com and in the Apple Store app, ahead of its retail launch.
Meta and Apple worked together on Muse Spark Open, a new open-weight model that runs locally on Apple silicon, extending their collaboration beyond hardware into on-device AI.
Read · Lenny's Newsletter
10 more timeless essays you probably haven’t read but should
Timeless essays for product builders, a good one to have on hand any week you’re thinking about what to build or launch next.
Listen · Founders
With a new Apple TV and HomePod mini out and an iPhone Duo pre-order opening today, a return to Senra’s episode on Jony Ive feels timely.
Listen · David Senra
Pairs well with today’s Tesla Roadster spectacle: a conversation about building for energy abundance from someone tackling the same problem from the grid side.
Listen · Acquired
With Meta’s open-weight Muse Spark Open making news, Acquired’s deep dive on Alphabet is a useful second data point on how the big AI labs actually make money.
Calorie-tracking app Cal AI generated over $30 million in revenue in two years before MyFitnessPal acquired it, built largely through paid influencer marketing rather than traditional ads.
Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, Amazon’s devices chief described a future where ambient AI devices anticipate what people need in the background, rather than waiting for them to open an app.
Developer Simon Willison built Chirp Pong, a two-player browser game that syncs state between separate phones using audio chirps instead of a network connection.
Anthropic has given AI safety group METR employee-level access and given up the right to block its findings, so METR can publish its own assessments of Anthropic’s risks and incidents.
Intero Biosystems beat 199 other companies to take the $100,000 grand prize at TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield this week.
E Ink’s Kaleido 4 panel offers better colour reproduction and faster refresh rates, another step towards a genuinely good colour e-reader.
Figma is releasing new tools to define how AI agents operate within its design platform, and is also opening its code layers feature to open beta.
Volvo is expanding its near decade-long partnership with Nvidia to extend hands-free automated driving beyond its battery-electric models.
John Gruber tallies the price rises behind Apple’s new Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini 2, which push the cost of a combination that was $350 before June noticeably higher.
Withings now requires customers who create an account from 13 October 2026 onward to subscribe to Withings+ for automatic Apple Health syncing, gating a feature that was previously free.
IDC says Apple’s global iPhone shipments fell 4% year-on-year in Q3 2026, even as its share of the shrinking smartphone market rose to 23.1%.
In an interview with TIME, Apple marketing chief Greg Joswiak said Apple Intelligence is built for ordinary users rather than the AI power users he called the ‘lunatic fringe’.
Variety’s review of Judd Apatow’s documentary on Norm Macdonald finds a comic as troubled as he was hilarious, with a streak of Andy Kaufman’s antisocial edge.
Soderbergh is helping complete the final weeks of principal photography on The Batman Part II while director Matt Reeves attends to a family matter.
Villeneuve told Empire he returned for a third, final Dune so he could be ‘severe with the material’, and that directing the new James Bond film will be his next ‘powerful rocket’.
At the London premiere of her dystopian sci-fi film Klara and the Sun, Jenna Ortega said she hopes it reminds audiences to live in the moment rather than stay lost in technology.
Tatum and Robinson looked like a problem for opposing defences in the Celtics’ third straight preseason win, this time over the Hornets.
Boston beat Charlotte 113-94 for a third consecutive preseason win, with a new twin-tower lineup among the game’s notable takeaways.
Known for shooting, Pritchard passed up an open three in Boston’s preseason win to set up an even more open Baylor Scheierman look, a small sign of a more unselfish game.
New England host the Jets on Sunday, a meeting between two second-year head coaches who have had very different levels of success so far this season.
Patriots receiver A.J. Brown returned to practice this week for the first time since a high ankle sprain in Week 1, but his availability against the Jets remains unclear.
Formula 2 championship leader Rafael Camara will make his Formula 1 debut for Haas in 2027 alongside Oliver Bearman, replacing Esteban Ocon.
Beyond racing, Norris’s business portfolio now spans a gaming brand founded in lockdown, a junior racing team and a stake in a ticketing platform, each betting on a different industry.
Looking back at Boston’s 2026 season, Over the Monster highlights Payton Tolle’s standout year as one of its most memorable moments.
Lion Green Road, a south London housing scheme by Mary Duggan Architects with Ruff Architects, has won the RIBA Stirling Prize for the UK’s best new building.
