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Nick Timiraos, the "Fed's Mouthpiece," stated that when Waller took office, it coincided with the Federal Reserve's shift to a tightening cycle; historically, such periods are often when "forward guidance" plays a key role. It is commonly believed that "forward guidance" originated during the ultra-loose monetary policy period of 2008-2009 and afterward, as the Federal Reserve heavily relied on this tool when interest rates hit the "zero lower bound." However, in reality, the history of forward guidance can be traced back to 1999.At that time, Federal Reserve officials wanted to retract the rate cuts made in 1998 while also avoiding the miscommunication that caught the market off guard during the rate hikes of 1994. Therefore, in May 1999, the Federal Reserve attempted for the first time to issue a policy statement after a meeting where interest rates were kept unchanged.Previously, the Federal Reserve would only release statements after meetings where interest rates were adjusted. Six weeks later, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. The minutes from the May 1999 meeting indicated that officials were already aware of the high likelihood of a rate hike and hoped to guide market expectations accordingly. Officials did not want the market to misinterpret their policy intentions.

The smartphone teardown organization iFixit released a teardown report for Apple's foldable phone iPhone Duo, indicating that screen failures may be related to the hinge. According to Caixin, this model has received a large amount of negative feedback after its launch, with some consumers reporting cracks in the inner screen after just a few days or even hours of use. iFixit stated that many users reported failures that seem to be concentrated near the lower middle part of the right half of the screen.iFixit constructed a 3D model of the hinge by scanning, teardown videos, and studying Apple's patents. One possibility is that the central support rod fails to retract properly when the phone is closed, applying excessive pressure on the screen; another possibility is that the curved guide rail that directs the hinge movement is higher than the surrounding components during the folding process, and if it does not move as expected, it may interfere with the screen. iFixit has not determined the final cause of the failure, but the failure area bears similarities to the internal geometry of the hinge.The report states that the hinge consists of gears, springs, and interconnected metal joints, featuring a teardrop design, and Apple also uses a curved guide rail to control joint movement. iFixit gave the iPhone Duo a repairability score of 5 out of 10, stating that it may be the easiest foldable screen phone to repair. Due to the use of clips instead of relying entirely on adhesives, the frame around the inner screen is removable without damage, and the outer screen is also relatively easy to detach.

According to a report by the Economic Daily, Apple's first foldable device, the iPhone Duo, quickly sold out after its launch on October 23 on the official website and major channels, with all models sold out on the same day. The second wave of shipments is expected to arrive on January 22, 2027. Supply chain sources indicate that Apple has requested its partners to expedite production and increase orders by 30%, with optimism surrounding Hon Hai, TSMC, and New Kinpo Group benefiting from this.The report states that scalper prices once reached NT$100,000, a premium of about 33% over the minimum entry price of NT$74,900. Industry insiders noted that the initial stock was insufficient, affected by assembly yield rates and demand exceeding Apple's expectations. Market research firms originally anticipated a stock volume of only 6 million units this year, which was later revised up to 8 million to 10 million units, with shipments expected to reach 33 million units by 2027, and it is estimated that it could capture about 40% of the global foldable device market next year.Supply chain sources indicate that the complete assembly is exclusively handled by Hon Hai, the core processor chips are manufactured by TSMC, and key bearing components are supplied by a joint venture between Hon Hai and New Kinpo Group, with Amphenol as the second supplier. The industry believes that insufficient production capacity is mainly limited by bearing capacity and the difficulty of complete assembly. The above content is a summary of supply chain and market research estimates and is not an official announcement from Apple.

Zhao Changpeng posted on platform X, stating that many new foldable iPhones may be 'unhinged' by some traders in the crypto trenches, a remark that carries a teasing tone.In the crypto community, some traders engage in frequent operations during on-chain trading, even to the extent of using their phones to the point of 'losing control'.

According to Slow Fog's Yu Xian monitoring, users should promptly update their iPhone and iPad systems and be vigilant about certain installed apps being poisoned by DarkSword.DarkSword mainly targets iPhone cryptocurrency users for pinpoint attacks and coin theft, exploiting iOS-related vulnerabilities to break through the sandbox and steal various passwords and other private data from the Keychain, as well as local wallet private key files, memos, and other private data.

According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), a patent from Samsung Electronics titled "Electronic Devices and Their Operating Methods Providing Blockchain Service" was officially granted on October 20.This technology allows electronic devices to identify nearby devices that support blockchain services through wireless signals, establish peer-to-peer connections, and select the device with the most recent data to complete blockchain synchronization by comparing the latest block heights stored on each device. This patent can reduce network traffic and energy consumption when devices synchronize block data.

According to Engadget, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a proposal requiring Apple to open access to NFC contactless payment on the iPhone and significantly reduce related fees. The CMA stated that Apple's fees and rules hinder the innovation and development of fintech companies in the UK. Currently, 39% of payments in the UK are made via contactless methods, with Apple Wallet being the most used.Unlike the European Union, no company in the UK has launched a competing wallet product against Apple so far. The CMA proposed that Apple open Wallet access to international mainstream contactless standards, with the CMA setting the fee principles without directly pricing them. Apple has expressed opposition, stating that it should not be required to adopt solutions with weaker privacy and security protections. The consultation will close on November 17.

The developer of the Bitcoin yield platform HoneyB, Nectar Group, has completed a $5 million seed round financing, led by Portal Ventures, with participation from Peer Venture Partners, Anchorage Digital Ventures, an unnamed family office, and angel investors. Co-founder and CEO Josh Gordon stated that this round of financing uses a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) plus a one-to-one token warrant structure, with a post-investment valuation of $30 million, and none of the investors received board seats or advisory positions.HoneyB aims to help Bitcoin holders earn yields on their holdings. In its first strategy, users borrow stablecoins using Bitcoin as collateral and then invest them in yield strategies involving U.S. Treasuries, fixed income, credit, gold, volatility, and options. The Bitcoin collateral can be held through on-chain smart contracts or by a tripartite arrangement consisting of borrowers, lenders, and custodians, with Anchorage Digital and BitGo providing custody services. HoneyB has also deployed infrastructure on Ethereum, Sui, Solana, and Arch Network. Gordon stated that the underlying investment products target an annualized return of about 10%, and HoneyB aims to provide users with an annualized return of about 2% to 4% on their Bitcoin holdings after deducting borrowing costs and fees.The first strategy will use a fund under Simplify Asset Management, which manages approximately $13.5 billion in assets, with Alphaledger responsible for managing and tokenizing the fund, and Amber Capital SPC as the issuer. Gordon named Bitwise, Lombard, Solv, and Sentora as competing platforms, noting that HoneyB's differentiation lies in integrating custody, lending, and investment services on the same platform, allowing institutional partners to offer their products under their own brand. HoneyB plans to launch in the fourth quarter of 2026, with its first product aimed at institutional investors outside the U.S., followed by plans to launch institutional products in the U.S. and retail products expected in the first quarter of 2027. Its business model involves charging a platform fee on deployed funds, and this round of funding will be used for product development, custody and financing integration, legal compliance, and distribution. Nectar was established in October last year and currently has more than 12 employees.

Fast Technology reported on October 19 that after the pre-sale of Apple's first foldable phone, iPhone Duo, the initial premium market quickly cooled down, and mobile phone merchants who stocked up in advance faced order price reductions. Zhengzhou mobile phone dealer Xu Shan locked in 50 units of the first batch in advance, with a total payment of 999,950 yuan, having paid a deposit of 25,000 yuan to upstream suppliers. The original plan was to resell to peers, earning 2,000 yuan per unit as initially agreed, totaling a profit of 100,000 yuan for 50 units.The intended buyer lowered the purchase price twice overnight. The price of 3,500 yuan quoted on the morning of October 17 was already below Xu Shan's original cost price plus 4,000 yuan; according to the latest quote, selling all of this batch would result in a direct loss of 25,000 yuan. Xu Shan has suspended receiving goods, will not pay the remaining balance, and has split the order to inquire about prices from multiple old customers, looking for new buyers in batches.The resale premium for ordinary purchasing users has also shrunk, with some consumers originally planning to sell at a 6,000 yuan markup, but second-hand buyers only offered a maximum of 3,000 yuan markup. Apple opened the pre-sale for iPhone Duo at 8 PM on October 16, and the in-store inventory for the launch day was sold out, with some online order delivery times postponed to late January next year. Reports quote industry insiders stating that the production ramp-up speed for the new foldable phone exceeded expectations, significantly shortening the market premium window.

Binance founder Zhao Changpeng responded to community user Spigg regarding the suggestion to launch a BNB phone, stating that he rarely disagrees with Spigg but holds a reserved attitude towards the idea of "walking around with a cryptocurrency phone."Previously, Spigg had proposed launching a BNB phone that natively supports wallets, instant payments and transfers, and can centrally access dApps in the BNB Chain ecosystem, believing that this model would provide a different experience on the BNB Chain.

StepFun, an AI startup invested by Tencent, has released the STEPX Neo phone, which features an AI intelligent agent directly built into the operating system rather than as an external application. The phone began pre-sales on the evening of October 13, priced at 3999 yuan (approximately 560 USD), with its official sale starting on October 16. Pre-sale channels include JD.com, Tmall, and Douyin. Users do not need to open a ride-hailing app to input addresses and select vehicles; they simply need to inform the destination, and the intelligent agent can autonomously complete the subsequent steps. StepFun stated at the launch event that in the era of intelligent agents, AI is no longer an additional feature of smartphones but is the product itself.The device runs on the Step AOS 1 system, which the company claims is designed from the ground up for intelligent agents, featuring long-term memory, task scheduling, and security control capabilities, composed of a mix of Android, Linux, and real-time operating system components. The system uses the MCP protocol to break down functions such as messages, applications, files, and settings into small modules that can be directly called by the intelligent agent, giving users two entry points: a traditional application grid and an intelligent agent space. The intelligent agent is named Amoo, which saves two types of memory: user factual preferences and task execution experiences. Simple commands are processed by a small model on the device, some of which can run offline, while complex cross-application requests are handled by a large model in the cloud. A second MiniLED screen on the back of the device can display Amoo's execution status.Nearly 100 companies and products, including Alipay, Tencent, Trip.com, Didi, and Meituan, have integrated with Amoo. Payments, travel bookings, and content creation are still completed by their respective platforms. This is an alternative path for StepFun in response to the major application blockages faced by ByteDance's Doubao, which previously used screen reading and simulated clicking solutions. StepFun was founded in 2023 by former Microsoft Vice President Jiang Daxin. Its self-developed flagship large model, Step 5 Preview, was launched in September, with a parameter scale of 600 billion and a single activation of 27 billion, supporting a context of 1 million tokens; the earlier released Step 3.5 Flash was open-sourced under the Apache 2 license. The price of 3999 yuan includes a 12-month STEPX Token plan, providing 100 billion tokens per month, while the AI costs after the first year have not yet been announced.

Tech journalist Mark Gurman stated that Apple is launching the iPhone Duo ahead of schedule due to supply shortages, in order to get it to market sooner.It is expected that sufficient supply will not be available until at least November. Apple has not disclosed whether there will be stock available on the first day of sales in physical stores.

Apple's first foldable smartphone, the iPhone Duo, saw its shipping time delayed to December or even later just minutes after pre-orders opened. Strong demand and supply constraints made it difficult to purchase the device priced at $1,999 when it officially launched on October 23. The Apple online store shows that the shipping time for all versions of the iPhone Duo has been postponed.

According to a report by ZDNet Korea on October 15, Samsung Electronics has lowered its production plan for mid-range and low-end smartphones in the fourth quarter. The reasons include rising prices of memory chips and disruptions in the supply of glass fiber used in PCB raw materials CCL. Japan's Nitto Denko is shifting more production capacity towards T-glass for AI semiconductors, reducing the output of E-glass for smartphone PCBs, leading to supply shortages and price increases. E-glass is used in semi-cured sheets for smartphone motherboards HDI and RFPCB.The report states that after the rise in storage prices increased manufacturing costs, Samsung reduced orders for related components. Models like the Galaxy A have lower profitability, making it difficult to significantly increase production. This year, the prices of basic mid-range models have risen by more than 100,000 Korean Won compared to the previous generation. The outlook for component orders communicated to partners for the fourth quarter corresponds to an annual smartphone shipment volume of just over 230 million units, which is below the component industry's expectation of 240 million units and represents a decrease of 20% to 30% compared to before the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Plans for the mobile business next year have not been shared with partners as in previous years.The monthly production outlook for the fourth quarter in mid-September was 14.3 million units in October, 9.5 million units in November, and 7.6 million units in December, totaling 31.4 million units. This was adjusted at the beginning of this month to 9.9 million units in October, 7.6 million units in November, and 6.7 million units in December, totaling 24.2 million units, a reduction of 23%. While the production of mid-range and low-end models has been lowered, the shipment plans for flagship models like the Galaxy S27 at the beginning of next year remain at a high level, and the shipment volume for foldable phones is also planned to increase. The MX and Network divisions reported a loss of 735 billion Korean Won in the second quarter, with the securities industry projecting an annual loss of 400 billion Korean Won.

Market research firm IDC stated that the smartphone market experienced the most severe decline on record in the September quarter, with shipments dropping by 22%, primarily affected by rising storage costs, and the situation is expected to worsen.Over the past year, rising storage costs, driven mainly by demand from the artificial intelligence industry, have harmed the profitability of the mobile industry, forcing companies to raise prices, cut specifications, and abandon models aimed at the budget market. Among major brands, Xiaomi and Oppo were hit the hardest, while Apple and Samsung performed relatively better due to their larger portfolio of high-end models.

Financial Associated Press reported on October 12, citing market research firm Counterpoint Research, that the ongoing construction of artificial intelligence infrastructure continues to squeeze the supply of storage chips, putting pressure on costs and supply in consumer electronics. Preliminary data shows that global smartphone shipments in the third quarter of 2026 are expected to decline by 20% year-on-year, reaching the lowest level for the same period since 2012. The storage chip crisis has impacted the smartphone market for the second consecutive quarter, with rising chip costs increasing the overall bill of materials, leading manufacturers to raise retail prices. Since 2026, global smartphone retail prices have cumulatively increased by about 20%.Samsung remains the global leader, with its market share rising to 23% in the third quarter, although shipments declined by 3% year-on-year, marking the largest share increase among major manufacturers. Apple's share rose to 22%, marking its first time surpassing 20% in the third quarter, but shipments declined year-on-year. The absence of the base model iPhone 18 this year resulted in a lower channel distribution scale in the first month of new product launches compared to the previous year's iPhone 17 series. The iPhone 18 Pro series performed better than its predecessor in China and India.Xiaomi's shipments in the third quarter declined by over 30% year-on-year, with its market share dropping to 10%. Both OPPO and vivo saw their shipments decline by over 20% year-on-year, with shares falling to 9% and 8%, respectively. Counterpoint senior analyst Shilpi Jain stated that consumers are holding onto their existing devices for longer and are considering more refurbished devices. Counterpoint indicated that global smartphone shipments are unlikely to see a significant recovery before improvements in storage chip costs and supply.

Apple will launch a series of new products this week, including the foldable iPhone Duo, a touchscreen MacBook, and a new iPad mini. The Tuesday event will showcase smart home products, such as smart doorbells and thermostats.This product launch is crucial for Apple's stock price, as it has remained relatively flat over the past few months.

On October 9, reports indicated that the significant increase in storage chip costs has forced Apple to raise prices and suppress demand. Apple has requested some suppliers to reduce the production of recently released iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max components. A journalist verified with an Apple supply chain company, where a representative stated that after Apple provided new shipping guidance, orders for the iPhone 18 Pro decreased, while orders for the iPhone 18 Pro Max increased, resulting in little overall change in order volume.Another supply chain representative mentioned that the rumors are clearly one-sided. Due to strong demand for the iPhone 18 Pro Max, Apple adjusted some iPhone 18 Pro orders to the iPhone 18 Pro Max, with the total not decreasing, which benefits the high-end supply chain for the Pro Max. In September, Apple released the iPhone 18 Pro series, and due to product planning adjustments, the basic model of the iPhone 18 has not yet been launched. The starting prices for the two models released this time are 9,999 yuan and 10,999 yuan, which is an increase compared to the iPhone 17 Pro series.During the initial sales in mid-September, a journalist observed outside the official Apple retail store in Shenzhen that the buyback market for the iPhone 18 Pro was relatively weak, with some scalpers not purchasing, and even the buyback price was lower than the official starting price. Currently, the supply of the iPhone 18 Pro is relatively sufficient, with staff indicating that only the black version of the 512GB model is in stock, while other memory versions have ample supply. The iPhone 18 Pro Max has not yet been made available for purchase offline.

According to Nikkei News, due to weak demand, Apple (AAPL.O) has reduced orders for the iPhone 18 Pro.

AI company Hone announced the launch of Engines, referring to it as AI that is accountable for business outcomes. Hone stated that chatbots provide answers, agents perform tasks, while Engines deliver results and measure the value created in actual dollars, rather than in model token usage or subjective feelings.According to Hone, users only need to specify a business metric, and the Engine will autonomously complete the integration, build the required agents, skills, and memory, collaborate with relevant personnel, and continuously improve with experience. Its clients have used Engines to discover millions of dollars in procurement savings, optimize product conversion funnels, manage credit risk, increase qualified sales pipelines in new regions, and accelerate implementation while improving customer management.Hone also announced the completion of a $60 million seed round financing, led by Benchmark and Index, with participation from Elad Gil, Hanabi, Definition, Diffusion, Lux, SV Angel, and Align. Hone stated that the foundational capabilities of AI have clearly outpaced the value it creates in the real world, and Engines will be used to bridge this gap.