5 stories · “smartphones”.
Apple opened iPhone Duo pre-orders on 16 October. By 18 October the $1,999 foldable was quoting January 2027 delivery, and store staff warned against walk-ins.
Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 and 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 on September 22, 2026: two 2nm chips that run 30B-parameter AI models on a phone.
ZTE and ByteDance launched the Nubia NaviX Ultra on September 16, a 5,999 yuan phone that runs Doubao's agent at the system level rather than as an app.
Google unveiled the Pixel 11 lineup and Pixel Watch 5 with the Tensor G6 chip and a more proactive Gemini, betting the whole platform on local, on-device AI.
Samsung began global sales of the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8, Flip8 and two watches on August 7, pushing a wider 'passport' foldable and Flex Titanium frame.
