Batteries Now Beat Gas Turbines on Cost Everywhere — Even for AI Data Centers
Wood Mackenzie says four-hour battery storage now costs less than open-cycle gas turbines in all 43 markets it studied, as AI data centers drive up gas plant prices.
Apple Confirms an October 13 “Welcome Home” Launch: What to Expect
Apple has confirmed a “Welcome Home” launch for October 13, with a long-rumored smart home hub expected, and reports point to new Macs later in the month.
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Ultra Arrives With Nvidia’s RTX Spark
Microsoft and Nvidia launched the Surface Laptop Ultra from $2,599 and the RTX Spark Dev Box from $5,999, with preorders open and shipping set for October 16.
ChatGPT Will Soon Show Visual Ads While You Generate Images
OpenAI announced a test of labeled visual ads that appear alongside ChatGPT image generation in the US, as the chatbot reaches 1.2 billion weekly users.
Google’s Googlebook Replaces the Chromebook, Starting at $1,099
Google’s Googlebook, the successor to the Chromebook, went on sale October 4 with Lenovo’s Googlebook 15, a 15.3-inch OLED laptop built around Gemini.
Sonos Just Launched Its Biggest Product Wave in Years
Sonos launched the Ace Ultra headphones, Beam Ultra soundbar, and a new AI-powered software platform, marking its biggest hardware push since the botched 2024 app relaunch.
Meta Wants 100 Styles of AI Glasses on Faces by Year’s End
Meta used its Connect 2026 keynote to unveil camera-free audio glasses, lightweight VR Glasses, and a plan to offer more than 100 AI glasses styles by the end of the year.
Apple Ordered to Pay $5.7 Billion Over iPhone Haptics Patent
A federal jury ordered Apple to pay Taction Technology more than $5.7 billion for infringing haptic feedback patents used in the Taptic Engine. Apple plans to appeal.
Lowe’s Launches Drone Delivery in 20 Minutes With DoorDash, Wing
Lowe’s launched a drone delivery pilot with DoorDash and Alphabet’s Wing, becoming the first home improvement retailer to offer 20-minute drone drop-offs.
Qualcomm’s New Chip Runs a 30B-Parameter AI With No Internet
Qualcomm unveiled its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chips, built to run a 30-billion-parameter AI model entirely offline, just as memory costs squeeze the entire smartphone industry.
