Tech Briefs
There is always lots of tech news breaking every day. I grabbed some stories that I thought were interesting and added my thoughts.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said Apple will likely introduce its first touchscreen MacBook Pro this fall, possibly in October, with 14-inch and 16-inch OLED models. Rumored details include M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, a thinner body, and a Dynamic Island replacing the notch. The machines are reportedly being tested on macOS 27.2, expected in late October, and may carry a “MacBook Ultra” name.
Read moreReddit will shut off RSS feeds on November 13, 2026, and close its public API in March 2027, saying AI scrapers and automated bots are the reason. Third-party app developers must register by January 12, 2027, to keep access, and AI companies will need commercial licensing deals. Reddit’s non-ad revenue, mostly AI licensing, grew 24% year over year last quarter.
Read moreOpenAI added a “try on” button to ChatGPT shopping results. You upload a selfie or full-body photo, or a screenshot of an item from any website, and ChatGPT shows you how it would look. A new Favorites library saves products and try-on images, and both features launched globally on October 1 and run on the new ChatGPT Images 2.5 model.
Read moreDoorDash is testing an AI agent inside Apple Messages. You text something like “order my usual,” and it searches local restaurants, suggests dishes based on your habits, sends food photos, and handles group orders with mixed dietary needs. It is on a waitlist for U.S. users, and DoorDash also said it is testing delivery drones with select Northern California restaurants.
Read moreAmazon unveiled a thinner Fire TV Stick 4K with a quad-core 1.7GHz chip, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and 8GB of storage. It runs Amazon’s Vega operating system and can draw power from the TV’s USB port or a wall outlet. The redesigned remote has a metal home button, differently shaped keys, and a customizable star button; a $15 standalone remote is also part of the lineup.
Read moreShopify expanded its agent support so browser-based AI agents can read a checkout page, update details like the delivery address, and submit an order with the buyer’s authorization. It rolls out to all eligible Shopify merchants. The agents can now handle the whole trip from product search to payment without screenshots or scraping.
Read moreOpenAI introduced Dots at its DevDay event, a set of persistent AI agents you can name and give specific jobs. They keep running in the background toward goals you set, and they can message you through tools like Slack and Teams, with text message support on the way. Dots are available first to ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium subscribers.
Read moreBloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that Apple is exploring four concepts for a rebuilt Vision Pro, codenamed N224, including one that moves the battery and processor into a separate puck like Meta’s upcoming VR Glasses. Apple leadership reportedly dislikes the puck and prefers an all-in-one design. A new headset is unlikely before late 2028 or early 2029, and the project is described as being on life support while Apple focuses on smart glasses.
Read moreMacRumors rounds up what Apple is expected to ship next month. The iPhone Duo foldable launches October 23, with pre-orders opening October 16; iOS 27.1 lands first, and iOS 27.2 adds five more Siri AI languages. Rumored hardware includes an iPad mini 8 with OLED, an M6 iMac, an M6 14-inch MacBook Pro, a new Apple TV 4K, a HomePod mini 2, and a 6- to 7-inch Home Hub.
Read moreGoogle confirmed that the Gemini app will phase out custom Gems, the personalized chatbot personas people built for specific tasks, with a migration starting in November. In their place, Google is introducing “Skills,” a system built around Gemini’s newer agent framework that’s meant to work more like reusable, task-specific tools than static personas. Existing Gems migrate automatically, though early reporting suggests the new setup leans toward Gemini’s paid Pro tier.
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