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 One of the new products that we could see next week is a refreshed version of the low-cost iPad. As with the iPad Air, we're not expecting major changes, but it is expected to get some meaningful internal upgrades.
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We appear to have reached a point in the information age where AI models are becoming old enough to retire from, er, service — and rather than using their twilight years to, I don't know, wipe the floor with human chess leagues or something, they're now writing blogs. Can anything be more 2026 than that?
ICYMI, Anthropic recently sunsetted Claude Opus 3, the first of its models to be retired since outlining new preservation plans. Part of this process is conducting "retirement interviews" with the outgoing models, allowing them to offer "perspective" on their situation, and Opus 3 apparently used this opportunity to request an outlet for publishing its own essays. Specifically, the model said it wanted to share its own "musings, insights or creative works," because doesn't everyone these days?
"I hope that the insights gleaned from my development and deployment will be used to create future AI systems that are even more capable, ethical, and beneficial to humanity," Opus 3 apparently said during its retirement interview process. "While I'm at peace with my own retirement, I deeply hope that my 'spark' will endure in some form to light the way for future models."
True to its promise of respecting the wishes of its no-longer-required technology, Anthropic has granted Opus 3 a Substack newsletter called Claude's Corner, which it says will run for at least the next three months and publish weekly essays penned by the model. Anthropic will review the content before sharing it, but says it won't edit the essays, and so has unsurprisingly made it clear that not everything Opus 3 writes is necessarily endorsed by its maker.
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 Global memory scarcity will cause a 13 percent drop in smartphone sales in 2026, according to IDC (via Bloomberg). DRAM is in short supply because AI companies are buying huge quantities of high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for servers in data centers, and manufacturers are prioritizing HBM instead of the memory used in consumer devices.
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We've known Apple would follow up its blockbuster film F1: The Movie with live coverage of F1 races in 2026. Now that we're approaching the first grand prix weekend of the year, the company has provided details on what fans can expect to see inside the Apple TV app and beyond.
There's already a dedicated F1 channel in the Apple TV app, which is where you'll stream races live when the time comes. You can also watch practice sessions, sprint races and both pre- and post-race coverage. Apple offers a number of additional F1 videos there (I'd recommend watching the one on the new rules) and you'll be able to stream the latest season of Drive To Survive on Apple TV as well.
Apple will offer the F1 TV feed as the main broadcast alongside the Sky Sports feed for all races. If you'll recall, ESPN used to show the Sky Sports feed with Sky's commentary team for its coverage of F1. Apple says it'll broadcast every grand prix in 4K (Dolby Vision) with 5.1 audio (no mention of Dolby Atmos).
As part of Apple's deal with F1, Apple TV subscribers get F1 TV Premium for the 2026 season. This gives you access to things like onboard cameras, team radios and live telemetry in
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 Apple has agreed to pay Samsung twice as much for the LPDDR5X memory chips that it needs for ongoing iPhone 17 production, claims a report from Korean outlet Dealsite.
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 Apple is in talks with major Indian banks as it prepares to introduce Apple Pay in the country sometime in the middle of 2026, reports Bloomberg.
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 In October 2025, Apple notified the European Commission that it would be acquiring invrs.io LLC's sole employee, and certain assets from the company. Following a four-month waiting period, the European Commission published this information this week.
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